You Call This Steady

"Talk, or I'll hang up, you damn idiot."

"What are you hanging up for? You said you'd call me when the match started, and they've already finished two games! Where's your phone?"

"Oh, I forgot." The player on the other end, Si Shao, meticulously checked his face mask in the mirror. Once satisfied, he lazily returned to his room with his mobile phone, leaning on a stool and yawning. "Heard you gave V5's new AD some special training a couple of days ago? Didn't see any results."

"Hmm, is that so? What did he play in the first two games?"

"Ziggs and Jhin."

"Oh, that's normal. We didn't play those two at all those days. Wait, you're not even on FPX anymore, how do you know I was giving him special training?" Even though they were on different teams, the two had been a bottom lane duo for many years, and their conversations always had a sense of old married couple camaraderie. This was also why LWX dared to call Si Shao from his hotel room, as there were too many fans shipping them outside.

"Don't worry about that, just tell me what kind of special training you actually gave him."

"Tch, nothing at all. Actually, I just intended to mess with Xiao Tian at first as a sparring partner. But then he kept going without complaining, and I couldn't back down, so we ended up playing for a whole day and night."

"And then?"

"And then we both fell asleep while playing."

"Amazing. So, what were the results?"

"The results..." As if recalling something amusing, Da Congming raised an eyebrow. His expression seemed to liven up, and he said with a slightly mysterious smile, "The results might just exceed your expectations."

Chapter Forty-Six: Whose Soldier Is This? So Fierce.

For the third game, when both teams returned to the stage, V5 was on the blue side. Having lost the previous game, they had the priority pick and decisively chose to change their lineup.

Round 1 Bans:

V5: Lee Sin, LeBlanc, Syndra

TES: Corki, Caitlyn, Poppy

V5's poke-and-siege system had put immense psychological pressure on TES in the first two games. Facing the crucial third game, which would decide the match point, Bai Seyueya no longer wanted to give himself any room for error.

Ban, just ban them hard. Shut down your poke-and-resource-swap system and force you into direct confrontation.

Round 1 Picks:

V5: Thresh (first pick), Jinx, Azir

TES: Leona, Jhin (first two picks), Viego

This was still an issue with the players' champion pools. During the Demacia Cup, TES had a strange problem: very few players could initiate fights. While Qing Tian could initiate, he was in the counter pick slot this game, making it impossible to guarantee he'd get an initiating champion. Xiao Tian's state was a bit volatile, so he needed a champion he was comfortable with, like Viego, Jarvan IV, or Lee Sin. Considering those junglers were often banned, the support had to make the pick.

If your support picked Leona, the ADC couldn't also pick a hypercarry, so TES opted for Jhin. [In the actual Demacia Cup, Bai Seyueya really did pair Aphelios with Leona.]

Round 2 Bans: Xin Zhao, Jarvan IV, Xin Zhao, Aatrox

Nothing much to say, just mutual targeting.

Fourth pick, TES selected Zoe.

Because V5 had already picked two late-game hypercarries in the first three picks, Zoe wouldn't be threatened by them in the early to mid-game. If Zoe farmed well in the mid lane, she could even threaten the enemy's two late-game hypercarries.

No need to kill them; just one well-placed bubble before a team fight could leave them half-dead, essentially winning half the battle.

For the last two picks, V5 revealed Trundle and Gwen.

Seeing this, TES's final pick was Kennen to counter, diving into their territory to electrocute them. Who wouldn't be afraid?

And so, the lineups were set.

V5: Top Gwen, Jungle Trundle, Mid Azir, Bot Jinx + Thresh

TES: Top Kennen, Jungle Viego, Mid Zoe, Bot Jhin + Leona

Looking at the compositions, TES had offensive pressure but very strong early-game combat ability. V5, if they could drag the game past 30 minutes, had only one weakness: a potential late-game "heavenly thunder" (likely referring to a powerful late-game ultimate or combo), but they could basically forget about map resources in the early game; even looking at them would be a luxury.

The third game felt completely different from the first two, like the players had swapped team names.

This composition was arguably Coach Homme's first attempt to build around the late-game potential of his dual carries since the Demacia Cup. However, he seemed very confident, with a smile still on his face as they prepared for the handshake after the BP phase.

Regardless of anything else, both coaches had excellent facial control.

One looked as if he was basking in the spring breeze, the other wore a broad smile. When they met in the middle of the stage for the handshake, they even bowed to each other, exuding an air of amiable prosperity.

As for their inner thoughts...

Coach Homme: "This kid's BP is actually decent. He didn't mess up this game."

Bai Seyueya: "This old guy's BP is as steady as ever, so steady it's nauseating."

Ah, this is what professional coaches are like.

Their job is to scheme, dig traps, and design BPs to make the opponent fall into them. They are all thousand-year-old foxes. If they were truly amiable and mutually prosperous, they'd be the first to lose their jobs.

Entering the game, both teams lined up. However, Rookie positioned himself near his team's F6 camp, guarding against an early mid-lane ward from the opponent.

This game, Trundle would focus on jungle aggression, meaning he'd be farming, but it would be in the enemy's jungle. Karsa needed to keep an eye on Viego's position, invade and farm to suppress the opponent's development, and reduce the pressure the enemy jungler put on his own laners. Therefore, he absolutely couldn't let the opponent see him starting a jungle camp.

In this game, Trundle's invasion was very safe.

In the mid lane, Azir would definitely have lane priority against Zoe in the early game. If a fight broke out in the bottom half of the map, and both sides sent reinforcements, Thresh's lantern would arrive faster than Leona's, maximizing safety.

Of course, this is a professional match; in ranked games, you'd best not trust your bot lane this much.

Thinking about it this way, Trundle's role in this game was quite simple: he had to bear the responsibility of applying early pressure to the enemy, becoming the team's brave warrior, hence: Stick Hero.

Whether the Stick Hero uses a poison staff or a fire staff completely depends on whether the opposing female hero is a Nun or a Princess (dog head).

"Xiao Zhen, just play your game this round, we'll cover the rest for you." Before the jungle even started, Karsa was already making bold promises to Luo Zhen.

It made sense, too. With lane priority in mid and a strong early game jungler, protecting bot lane would be a piece of cake. Karsa's confidence was through the roof this game.

"Alright, then it's up to Brother Ka and Brother Yijin. If I can't carry this game, I'll wash my stomach with FuyanJie, I swear."

"FuyanJie? Do you even know what kind of nonsense you're spouting?" PPGOD couldn't help but interject. He'd heard of people drinking Dongfang Shuye, and eating surströmming, but this was the first time he'd heard someone talk about chugging FuyanJie.

Whose subordinate is this, to be so valiant?

"I do, it has a faint taste of mint and traditional Chinese medicine mixed together, a pure flavor, even with a sweet aftertaste. More importantly, if you chug a whole bottle of FuyanJie, even the king of the nightclub will call you 'bro'."

The other four V5 members: ???

As the minion waves began to push, Luo Zhen's true test finally arrived.

In the first two games, he'd avoided conflict, playing a utility ADC against a hypercarry ADC. In the third game, their roles were reversed. If JKL suppressed him again this game, it would truly be a joke.

[Since that's the case, then... it's time to get serious.]

With newfound resolve, Luo Zhen's state gradually began to change. Soon, JKL at the minion wave keenly sensed the shift in Luo Zhen. It was a change he understood all too well; he had walked the same path himself back in the day.

"Has he... broken through?"

To the spectators watching from a God's perspective, Luo Zhen's change wasn't easily noticeable. There were no flashy dodges that prevented the enemy from auto-attacking, nor any bug-like 100% accurate skill shots. Instead, it was a subtle feeling – his positioning, last hitting, and poke during laning phase all seemed more natural than in the previous two games.

Coach Homme watched this unfold on the big screen, a smile never leaving his lips.

Here it comes, the gateway from LDL to LPL!

There was a seemingly transparent membrane separating LPL and LDL, but breaking through that barrier often required a steep price, such as failure and time.

The difference was akin to the gap between amateur and professional.

Even the worst LPL team back then, VG, when relegated to LDL, could dominate the lower league and get promoted back, only to be crushed by LPL teams again. Meanwhile, LDL players treated opponents in so-called city championship tournaments like mere chickens. And the gap between city championship players and high-ranked streamers was even more significant.

It was like your first few months at a new company after graduation.

For those initial months, the knowledge you absorbed would make every day feel fulfilling, with constant progress. But amidst this progress, you'd also feel immense pressure, because you'd make mistakes, get scolded, and feel wronged by work errors.

However, once you endured those three months and gradually became familiar with your work, you'd find your tasks becoming increasingly easier.

After a few years, you might even know your job inside and out, handling any work-related task with ease, eventually becoming the king of slacking off.

And the turning point for all these changes.

Was the "gate."

Chapter 47: Seizing the Future

Jinx and Thresh laning against Jhin and Leona, as long as their support didn't mess up, there was no need to worry about being hard engaged on, unless Leona flashed and Q'd. But if the enemy dared to play like that, their bot lane matchup would likely be ruined.

Since Jhin lacked sustained damage, the advantage would have to be gained through a duel between the ADCs.

The problem lay right here.

Expecting Jhin to kite Jinx was a foolish endeavor. Jhin's last-hitting rhythm didn't allow for it. If you spent time maneuvering to manage your bullets, you'd inevitably lose one or two minions due to the positioning required for reloading.

Conversely, Jinx had no such worries. She could auto-attack whenever she pleased without the risk of losing minions.

What was even more critical was Jinx's rocket form, which at level one had a base range of 525, plus an additional 75, totaling 600.

Under the same conditions, what was Jhin's laning range? 550.

A significant difference between LPL ADCs and LDL ADCs was this: with a 50 range advantage, as long as your support wasn't pressuring me, I could kite you and gain an advantage regardless of who you were playing. The only variable was how often I could exploit it based on the opposing ADC's skill.

Luo Zhen, having suddenly evolved, piled all the pressure onto JKL.

He had anticipated this scenario, but at least months from now, after the opponent had thoroughly experienced the pro scene, and his own support hadn't improved. Yet, why was it happening so soon?

To reach the threshold of the LPL in just one Demacia Cup, were you cheating?!

Meanwhile, in a hotel room far away, LWX, seeing this, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Yes, he couldn't make drastic changes to players like a coach. But as a championship ADC, it was certainly possible to help a talented ADC break through to the LPL in a day and a night.

"If TES loses and they find out you were the one causing trouble, you'll have to seriously consider if you can beat TES's Qing Tian." Seeing this, Si Shao finally understood what the guy meant by 'unexpected'. Even he couldn't help but feel a slight shock when he saw Luo Zhen's Jinx exert a sliver of health pressure.

"It's fine, I'll have Hang go down and close the door. He won't be able to get up here."

"Chris, is it? Do you know the streamer who said that last time got banned?"

"Why should I be scared? If they come, I'll just lie down immediately. I'll have my fun first anyway."

With the clarity and rhythm becoming more defined, and Luo Zhen's laning phase senses sharpening and gaining an advantage, he couldn't help but recall the hellish training session Coach Xiang had prepared for him a few days prior.

Initially, he never realized how many flaws he had in his laning phase.

Ineffective movement-based attacks, pointless predictions, and even constantly disrupted last-hitting rhythms were all keenly spotted by Coach Xiang, who then proceeded to beat him down relentlessly.

That day and night was a nightmare Luo Zhen would forever wish to forget.

But, at the same time, the benefits were also substantial.

As the training intensified, he could feel significant improvements in himself every moment. Remember, take hits, then deepen your understanding, and finally let your emotions gradually shift from rapid to calm, from excited to composed, and from scattered consciousness to focused concentration.

It was like people escaping workplace disputes and retreating into their cars in an underground parking garage, playing music, closing their eyes, and for a moment, completely abandoning the pressures of work, study, and life, gradually emptying everything.

Then, in a daze.

An ancient, rustic door appeared before him. No key was needed, because the proof of passage was the countless bruises all over his body from being relentlessly beaten by Xiang Zhangmen during this period. The moment he stepped through, the door swung open for him.

Luo Zhen stepped through.

"Holy crap, how did you change so much, kid?" PPGOD next to him was stunned. His control over distance, his trading prowess – their AD was so much better compared to the previous game.

"Hmph, as they say, thirty years east, thirty years west. Don't bully a young man for being poor. What's my talent? I only need thirty minutes!"

"Talking so big, aren't you just bullying them because they picked Jhin?"

"Mind your own business. Jhin didn't pick him because I held a knife to his throat. Just focus on watching Leona for me."

Luo Zhen said this verbally, but his actions were also assisting PPGOD in applying pressure.

Although Zhuo's Leona was one of the few supports he could play competently, his laning phase details were too poor. Luo Zhen could often find opportunities to land an A-Q-A combo.

Here's a mention of three practical tips for playing Jinx:

First: Take Heal. Because Jinx has short legs and no dashes, she heavily relies on the passive's speed boost in teamfights. So, you need to get stacks. You can get them with your ultimate, your W, or even Heal if necessary. The point is to get moving, especially against teams with a lot of engage. Get moving, stay alive, and then you'll have a chance to deal damage.

Second: A-Q-A When you auto-attack with your minigun, then auto-attack with your rockets, and then switch back to your minigun, you can quickly connect a second auto-attack.

Third: The W in minigun form is faster than the W in rocket form because the W benefits from the minigun form's attack speed bonus.

Other tips are almost useless. As for gameplay involving Q skill for single or dual target switching, if you encounter an AD who knows how to kite, they can make you miss your shots and get yourself into a bad spot. So, it's not recommended.