You Call This 'Steady'?

This AD Carry was pretty good at livening up the atmosphere.

After a simple introduction and chat, it was time for Luo Zhen to sign his contract—or rather, replace his old one. Since they were talking LPL-level pay now, a rookie contract really was not enough to motivate a player. Even with a substantial raise for Luo Zhen, the total cost would still be far lower than what they were paying the other four members. The club could afford that much.

After getting fully upgraded, it was time for the rookie recording session that every new player had to go through.

This thing.

Nearly every player had one: a brief welcome interview. If they became famous in the future, it might come in handy. If they did not, it only wasted a little storage space. No problem.

"Lighting, lighting! Find a better angle."

"Where's the makeup artist? Get her over here! Be careful with your work, don't rush, but most importantly, be quick!"

"Hey, you. You're not ugly, so why did you make yourself this skinny? Look at the other LPL AD Carries—Ah Shui from TES has gotten a lot fatter already. How can an ADC not fat carry? Logistics, remember this. Keep a close eye on this kid's meals from now on. Give him more meat."

"Alright, everyone, attention! Shooting is about to begin!"

The moment the contract was signed, all sorts of people and procedures Luo Zhen could not understand began unfolding before his eyes. Before he could even figure out what was happening, he was forcibly pressed into a chair and smeared with makeup. Someone even casually gave him a haircut.

Looking at the clean-cut, slightly handsome face in the mirror, he suddenly felt a trace of unreality.

Holy crap, handsome guy, who are you?

Before he could properly admire his peerless beauty, the makeup artist grabbed him and dragged him into the recording studio. She was so strong that it was hard to imagine she was the same soft girl who usually complained about being unable to twist open a water bottle.

With that kind of strength, Luo Zhen suspected that if her boyfriend ever made her angry, she could twist open the top of his skull with one hand.

"Alright, look over here. We're ready to record."

Seeing that everything was in place, the V5 team leader called for Luo Zhen to face the camera.

It was a vlog, after all.

Though it was meant to film daily life, it still needed a bit of scripting now and then. Otherwise, if he blew up later, it would not be convenient to market his persona.

So... the way they asked questions required a little skill.

The earlier questions were mostly harmless filler. The real focus was the final question.

"Why did you choose to play AD Carry?"

In the Current Version, AD Carries in the LPL were competing like mad, while in regular ranked matches, AD Carries were dying sudden deaths left and right. Choosing to enter the game in an era that did not seem to belong to AD Carries at all gave that question a particularly profound meaning.

"Why? If I had to say... it's probably because I want a Support with Xin Zhao's physique." Luo Zhen tilted his head and thought for a moment. Scenes from his Previous Life flashed through his mind. Hadn't he worked so hard on the AD Carry path because he hoped that one day, he could take over someone's Support? But then... well, life was unpredictable.

V5 team leader: ???

Makeup artist: ???

Camera Staff: ???

"Cut that part." After shouting that to the Staff behind him, the team leader looked back at Luo Zhen. Then he began rubbing his hands together on the spot like he was forming a Rasengan, yelling at Luo Zhen as he did. "Official talk, understand? Do you understand what official talk is? You could at least copy Heo Soo's line and tweak it into 'reviving the glory of AD Carries'! Can you be a little sharper, kid?"

Only after that reminder did Luo Zhen finally snap out of his confusion.

I see.

So that was the kind of answer they wanted. In short, they wanted him to show off. He understood this stuff all too well.

So...

"Why play AD Carry? Maybe because of faith. When I decided to step onto the AD Carry path, the survival environment for AD Carries had already become vastly different from the past. Those scenes of AD Carries taking over games no longer seemed easy to witness. The glory that belonged to AD Carries seemed to have long become history. But I have always believed in Bottom Out and Rebound. Until the day I fell into the abyss with broken wings, I once doubted whether I truly was no longer good enough. I tried. Victory, failure, victory, failure... until my soul and body completely became one."

"Then I understood. My Nirvana Rebirth was coming."

This AD Carry Was Solid, He Really Shared the Good Stuff

As the Transfer Period neared its end, the contest of holding one's breath between LPL teams finally came to an end. Among all the moves, the most anticipated were undoubtedly TES renewing their Mid Laner and V5's scavenger-hunt celebration.

Top laner Rich, Jungler Karsa, Mid Laner Rookie, bot lane AK plus PPGOD, and Coach Hong Mi.

Other than the new bot lane duo, AK, leaving LPL Audience members somewhat confused, the other four were all top-tier powerhouses. They might not have been elite T0, but their Paper Strength was at least at the top of tier two, if not tier one. Then people Looked Again at the new AD Carry's profile.

Holy crap?

An LDL bot laner who could slaughter everyone?

This lineup had a certain beauty of raw power to it.

After briefly marveling at the quality of the Raw Material, the Amusement Seekers soon returned to normal.

There was No Choice.

The previous player touted as an LDL slaughterhouse was TES's Qing Tian, and his current performance was obvious to everyone. Before him came VG's Le Ye, and now... he was doing alright. At the very least, the LPL was still relying on Le Ye to pay his salary.

Besides, there were too many CJBs in the AD position. Whether he was truly a good Raw Material would have to be tested on stage.

After the New Team was formed, the first hurdle for Luo Zhen was the Demacia Cup, known as the LPL Winter Championship and also called a rookie confidence station.

As the name implied.

It was meant to build confidence for rookies, keep veterans warmed up, and serve more as practice than a true competition.

Aside from the five starters, they also had XLB as a Substitute Jungler. Unless a Jungler had delivered an outstanding performance in a given year, they generally were not expensive. Considering Karsa occasionally showed signs of turning into pizza, V5 deliberately spent the extra money.

Then the entire team was completely out of money. In order to bring in Hong Mi, V5 had even sold Nofe, the coach they had previously agreed on, to JDG.

They were poor now. Extremely poor.

Yet looking at the lineup before them, V5's management felt incredibly happy, even a little Getting Carried Away.

Meanwhile.

Luo Zhen, who had successfully advanced from the LDL to the LPL, had his brain stuffed full of information by Hong Mi within just a few days. As one of the LPL's best coaches, the first thing Hong Mi did after joining the team was quickly raise its lower limit.

That was... correcting Luo Zhen's Bad Habits from playing in the LDL, while constantly drilling LPL-level macro and vision usage into him.

In short, he was broadening Luo Zhen's competitive perspective.

You might not understand it put that way, so let's put it differently. Suppose One Person went into the sea, and that person already possessed the most basic quality: good looks.

Then.

If that person wanted to keep climbing higher in that industry, he had to learn technique, service, communication, and how to please the Boss—his team.

And the role Hong Mi played was probably that of the person responsible for teaching advanced techniques.

After all that torment.

His Overall Strength had indeed improved significantly, but Luo Zhen's mental state had also become increasingly drained. He looked completely hollowed out. When the others in the room watched him collapse numbly onto the sofa, even Rookie and Karsa, who had decided to establish themselves as Big Brothers, could not help laughing.

"What? Weren't you going to be V5's Savior? You're done already?"

"I'm fine. How can a man say he isn't fine? But you have to let me recover a little. Even at my prime, I need some Sage Time for my Cooldown to reset. This isn't Infinite Cooldowns." Covering his ears, Luo Zhen felt that whenever he closed his eyes, the coach's nagging would automatically replay in his head.

Damn it, before transmigrating, he had never been a kid who liked studying. Part of the reason he chose to Play Professionally was because he could not keep studying anymore.

But how come, in This Life, after finally making it into pro play, it felt even more exhausting than fucking school?

One-star review!

This transmigration absolutely deserved a one-star review!

"The main reason is that you haven't played in the LPL before. Your foundation in game sense is too weak, and there is too much room for improvement, so it feels like this. Once you master these things, learning new things in the Follow-up will be much faster." Rookie truly deserved his reputation as the league's nicest guy. He handed Luo Zhen a drink while earnestly comforting him.

"I understand the logic, but... it still feels like I'm learning a little slowly."

"No, actually, you've already mastered it very quickly."

During the learning process, V5 had also begun competing in the Demacia Cup fairly early. As his First game on the Pro Scene, Luo Zhen initially took it very seriously. He had even imagined himself slaughtering opponents from the moment of his debut and becoming famous in a single stroke.

And then... reality soon ruthlessly slapped him across the face.

Because their Group Stage opponents were all too weak, while their own lineup was absurdly strong, all four Group Stage games ended with Luo Zhen still last-hitting minions in bot lane while Mid and Top Lanes had already been cleared by his teammates.

As a Big Carry AD Carry, after four games, his last-hitting was the only thing that caught people's attention. He had not shown anything else at all.

He had even absorbed so much information that he could not process it all at once. As a result, he failed to make several lane rotations and support plays he should have made, and after leaving the stage, Coach Hong Mi caught him and harshly criticized him again.

The team advanced into the top eight, but he felt like he had barely participated beyond Push Tower. It gave people the illusion that his teammates could play a four-man premade with a dog in bot lane and still win.

So far.

LPL Audience members' first impression of him was merely that he was a clock-in AD Carry, aside from having a rather flashy ID.

"You need confidence in yourself, but also confidence in us. AD Carry is supposed to be the role that closes things out. When the game needs your performance to determine victory, that means the team is already at its most dangerous point."

Karsa had been a Big Brother leading a team before. At a glance, he saw what Luo Zhen was thinking.

"Not everyone is a player like Uzi, becoming famous the moment they debut. Besides, didn't you say your ID was modeled after his precisely so you could surpass him more effectively?"

"That's right. Believe in yourself. You're the final card of our V5." Rookie patted Luo Zhen on the shoulder and spoke with absolute certainty.

Uzi's era had gradually drawn to a close with his retirement announcement.

But AK had been born to inherit the will of those who came before.

Luo Zhen's ambitions were even greater. AK alone would definitely struggle to surpass Uzi's influence, but there were evolved versions, weren't there? AK47—Fire Qilin, AK47—Shadowless, AK47—Qilin, and so on. It was all about late-game growth potential.

Listening to his teammates comfort him one after another, Luo Zhen's mood gradually improved.

Everyone had times when they felt stifled. The key was whether they could endure the hardest stretch. Feeling the care from the "old men" around him, Luo Zhen knew he could not keep Clutching things to himself.

"Thank you, bosses. Since this Little Brother is a rookie and doesn't have much to repay you with, how about this? I'll give everyone something good. But... don't spread it around." With that, Luo Zhen took out his phone and fiddled with it. At the moment he hit send, he posted the entire thing in the team Group Chat.

Everyone took out their phones in confusion. Then, in an instant, they all tapped save at speeds beyond normal human capability.

In the chat group, beneath the avatar marked with Luo Zhen's ID, was an entire list of Chinese medicine ingredients: Shu Di, 15 grams; Alisma, 10 grams; Chinese Yam, 15 grams; Cornus Officinalis, 15 grams; Paeonia Suffruticosa, 8 grams; Poria Cocos, 10 grams; Gou Qi, 15 grams; Cherokee Rose Hip, 15 grams; Huang Qi, 12 grams; Morinda Root, 15 grams; Cuscuta Seed, 10 grams; Suoyang, 15 grams; Honey-Fried Licorice, 10 grams; Cinnamon, 8 grams. Boil it or soak it in liquor. Take it continuously for seven days, and it would guarantee that you performed well and lasted long.

Even someone as experienced as Hong Mi could not resist quietly saving the list when he saw it.

This AD Carry was someone worth knowing!

When he had good stuff, he really shared it!

Rookie Benefit Period

By the time the Demacia Cup Elimination Round began, the eight advancing teams had appeared clearly before the Audience. Because of Luo Zhen joining this year and V5 Team's intention to train their roster, V5 fielded almost all of their starters in this Demacia Cup. Compared to the Original World's result, they had successfully replaced OMG and advanced into the top eight.

And their opponent in the top-eight Elimination Round had become Suzhou LNG.

Coach Homme stood solemnly at the front of the meeting room and seriously began introducing LNG to the Team Members. Like V5, LNG had also made a fortune picking up overlooked talent this year. They had not only acquired Doinb, the Roamer Mid Laner said to come with his own system, but had also signed Lü Mao, the former JDG brain and shotcaller.

Their current lineup was clearly built to develop synergy and contend for the championship.

Top laner A Le, the fifty-yuan spokesman, was a version-dependent top laner. When the meta suited his Warrior champions, he could shine brilliantly. But once the meta drifted even slightly away from him and he no longer received resources from the team, his Bad Habits of Getting Carried Away would become fatal. He was considered one of the best top laners in the current T2.

Jungler Tarzan was a reliable Korean import. Based on his performance throughout all of S11, he could be called the LPL's number-one Jungler. Put him on any team, and he would be a terrifying engine for setting the pace. His only weakness was communication, but that had steadily improved the longer he spent in the LPL.

Mid Laner Doinb was weak against the strong and strong against the weak, the LPL's best roaming Mid Laner. He was a player who played with his brain, but as he got older, it was obvious that he was finding pro play increasingly difficult. Public opinion about him was also sharply divided.

Those three in Top Mid Jungle formed LNG's New Tactic system.

What exactly did that mean?

Judging from their roaming tendencies, Doinb and Tarzan moved downward far more often than upward during the Demacia Cup. So why was it said that their focus was Mid-Top-Jungle? Because although they roamed bot more frequently, most of those roams were ineffective. Meanwhile, whenever they GANKed top, they almost always took something from their Opponent. It was a classic feint to the east, strike in the west.

As for Deng Huang and Lü Mao in bot lane, their S10 performances had both been Act Up-level disasters. Deng Huang's skill points were not in Laning, but in Team fights and Kiting. As a result, in most LNG games, his Laning Phase required more attention from his Teammates.

At that point, Luo Zhen suddenly had a question.

"Didn't I remember that A Le, Doinb, and Deng Huang were all jungle-farming maniacs and resource hogs? With those three on the same team, didn't they fight their Jungler?"

Luo Zhen's question received unanimous agreement from everyone present.

Nothing else needed to be said.

Doinb was absolutely a gluttonous Mid Laner who ate milk and farted it out. As his Old Opponent, they had seen that plenty of times.

"That logic is correct, but the other side has Doinb and Tarzan, two engines for setting the pace. If they fail to gain an advantage or at least an even state early on, then the farm of LNG's three carries will definitely affect their Engage Support, Tarzan. But once they get an advantage..."

At that point, all the V5 players could already picture the scene in their minds.

With the reactions of those three resource hogs.

Once they got ahead, wouldn't the jungle be turned into complete chaos?

"So tomorrow, we'll directly play Mid-Jungle collisions against them. You're all Old Opponents, so you should roughly know how to deal with their system. Pay close attention to how hot A Le's hands are in top lane. If you feel his form rising, you must find an opportunity to interrupt him!" Hong Mi specifically reminded XLB. Although Karsa was a Killer Weapon, the Demacia Cup was a practice event, so rookies still needed their chances.

Luo Zhen was a rookie, and XLB was also a rookie. Naturally, the Demacia Cup prioritized rookies.

A Le in the 2021 Demacia Cup was in excellent form. He definitely had the ability, but version-dependent top laners had an important flaw besides relying on the meta: their performances were highly unstable.

And Hong Mi's deepest research was into player form.