When he watched the Demacia Cup before, he saw JKL fail to break through Luo Zhen's bot lane and even mocked JKL for getting worse with age. But when it was his turn to play against him, he finally realized what kind of bullshit the opposing bot lane was.
Long Sword Three Potions, Exhaust and Flash, Dual Lifesteal runes. Whenever a minion felt even remotely dangerous, he simply gave it up. What the hell was the difference between that and a turret?
Huan Feng had played professionally for several years, yet this was the first time he had seen an AD who, fresh onto the scene, could play so selflessly for the team. From another perspective, he was practically Karsa in the AD role. His early-game playstyle leaned more toward making his teammates as comfortable as possible.
"Hang in there a little longer on bot. I can hit Level 6 before them."
While Rookie used his formidable fundamentals to suppress Angel's Corki, he was also calculating the experience needed to reach Level 6. Corki was indeed extremely popular in the current patch; otherwise, Coach Homme would not have kept picking Corki for Rookie during the Demacia Cup.
But this thing was weak during the early Laning Phase, and it could not push waves very well.
Sleepless Poppy was different. One full combo could clear most of a wave. With Lane Control, Rookie had to roam. He needed to use this Level 6 window to get the tempo rolling, not only to quickly establish an advantage for his teammates, but also to use his ultimate early so it could come off Cooldown before the eight-minute Rift Herald fight.
"Don't worry, Brother Yijin. Bot lane is very steady. You can come collect whenever you want."
Luo Zhen glanced at his condition. Before Level 6, although Caitlyn's range gave her immense pressure, her support was melee, so his farming rhythm had not really been affected by the enemy's range.
Not to mention that he had specifically recalled midway and bought a Sleepless Tu Niao Scepter.
"Are you sure there won't be a problem?" PPGOD was not entirely certain about the enemy jungler's location. If Sofm was also bot lane during their Level 6 play, then even if they could get kills, they might have to give up some deaths themselves.
"Ah, no problem." Luo Zhen nodded as he calmly looked at the opposing Caitlyn and slowly said, "Although their AD is strong, if this is all he can do, then he isn't enough to force out my Horse Sword."
"???"
Somewhat Too Much of a Scumbag
Level 6.
Rookie's Sleepless Poppy arrived on bot lane right on time for a GANK. Anyone familiar with Sleepless Poppy knew that this thing's GANKs depended heavily on landing the ultimate. Since not everyone was a Sniper God like Luo Zhen, capable of aiming, flicking shots, and somehow spinning around, they could only try their best to give Rookie an immobile target.
And who was supposed to create that?
Wasn't it obviously PPGOD's Titan? To be safe, even Karsa came over for a Four-man dive on bot.
"Diao Shen, if your hook misses this time, you know what the consequences will be, right?"
"Steady, very steady. This hook will definitely land. Just follow up with damage."
"Alright, let's see what you've got."
Titan was actually a Hero with a fairly low entry barrier, because the real effective range of his hook was slightly larger than the range shown by the hook's model. So during the period when Titan's numbers had not been nerfed, supports could practically Rank Up while lying down with this thing.
Then why did things look completely different in professional matches?
All that could be said was that this thing perhaps naturally clashed with pro players. At least, when some supports played Titan, they often pulled off plays so terrible they made people want to eat three bowls of rice.
But PPGOD had learned his lesson this time.
Of course he knew that using Q skill could result in a missed hook. So... could he hold someone in place without throwing the hook?
The answer was: yes.
"Whoosh—"
Flash came out. His passive held the target in place. PPGOD's target was also clear: he struck when the opposing Xin Zhao tried to auto the Siege Minion to trigger his Support Item, rooting him first before pulling him with Q skill for a full two seconds of Control Skill.
Sleepless Poppy had arrived.
The purple "shadow" struck the immobile Xin Zhao squarely. After Vex flew in and landed, she used W skill, applying Fear. Titan followed with an E. Forget triggering Phase Rush—under all that crowd control, ON's Xin Zhao could not even press a single skill.
WBG initially wanted to fight back, because Sofm had seen through the enemy's plan. His Trundle was waiting in the nearby brush.
But just as he was about to go in, Xin Zhao appeared from the river.
Then they looked at their own mid lane. Corki was still clearing the wave in mid, showing absolutely no intention of coming to help.
Huan Feng, Sofm: ...
Should they just sell him?
They felt they could still fight a 3v3. But going into a 4v3 would just be feeding kills, would it not?
Seeing this, Trundle and Caitlyn prepared to retreat. But at that moment, Luo Zhen, who had previously been standing farther back in the Backline, suddenly dashed through a minion with E and charged forward. Facing WBG's bot duo as they tried to run, he directly put Exhaust on Caitlyn.
Huan Feng: ???
Were you fucking sick? I was already preparing to run, yet an AD like you charged up to keep us here?
Caitlyn used E skill, but Luo Zhen activated W skill and blocked it hard. Then he immediately began Riding Face at close range. In a Four-man dive on bot, if the enemy dared to turn and fight him, his teammates could Follow Up and hold them down. If they did not turn and fight him, he could practically shit on their heads.
It was a rare chance to borrow the tiger's might. It would be a shame not to use it.
So he fucking drew his blade!
Seeing his AD act so fiercely, even a seasoned pro like Karsa could not help but marvel. "Amazing. I've never heard of swordsmanship that moves through the gaps between molecules. This Soldier didn't even notice he had been cut in half! Your Excellency truly is a divine being."
"Whether I'm divine or not is beside the point, Brother Ka. Hurry up, Brother Yijin. Caitlyn has no E skill now."
"Coming, coming!"
Xin Zhao was still a support with Deveastating Blow. Even after they threw every early-game Control Skill at him, they still could not completely lock him down, letting him press W. It took them a little more time to deal with him.
V5's Rookie has slain WBG's ON
His ultimate reset, and Rookie once again turned his attention to Caitlyn, who Luo Zhen was tangling with. Karsa understood immediately. He used W skill to dash in from maximum range, then charged with E skill and applied another stack of Slow Buff at just the right moment.
Sleepless Poppy's ultimate landed, and she flew in for the second engagement!
To completely take down the enemy, Luo Zhen went all out as well. He followed them all the way under the turret, even drawing the turret's aggro first and directly Trading Lives.
Now Sofm and Huan Feng truly had no choice but to fight.
The commentators outside were going crazy. Used to AK's steady playstyle, they still could not adapt to him suddenly pulling something this huge.
"Wow, AK is so aggressive this time! He just Rides Face against Caitlyn and Trundle. Isn't he scared at all?"
"Here he comes, he's going under the turret! The AD is Tanking Tower and absorbing damage—I have seen this scene before!"
666666
Is AK also called Little LWX? No, this is clearly Little JKL!
The Incheon people were in tears. After all his twists and turns, Rookie had finally found another AD willing to Tank Tower for his teammates.
Too fierce. Why did this Samira feel like she was the one with the advantage?
A one-for-two trade.
Luo Zhen used his own life to Tank Tower and create an opportunity for his teammates, forcefully trading for Caitlyn's life. In the end, the enemy simply had not expected an AD to play like this. Of course, it was normal that they would not expect it.
Because most ADs thought about how to survive, while his thinking had already transcended to the mindset of a duelist.
A true duelist would win by any means necessary, doing everything possible to find the opponent's weakness. There had even been a duelist who asked the referee to check the opponent's COVID test. The opponent's was seventy-two hours old, so he got kicked out, granting an automatic victory.
Tanking Tower? Nothing to worry about.
"Holy shit, Xiao Zhen. The Incheon people are in tears." The moment the skirmish ended, Karsa began shouting.
Rookie, who had taken two kills, felt somewhat embarrassed. Although snatching those kills had felt great, they had actually gotten the Double Kill by sacrificing their AD. When Karsa said that, he really did get the feeling that JKL was on bot lane again. But he quickly forced himself to ignore that thought.
Bot lane clearly had a new AD now, yet he was still thinking about the old one.
That seemed a little too scumbag-like to him.
"Basic stuff. Don't six, everyone sit. My demands aren't high—just carry me this game, alright, Brother Yijin?" Luo Zhen did not feel anything about dying. Bot lane had been getting pressured anyway. This one-for-two had at least earned him two assists, so it was not a loss at all for him.
"Of course there won't be a problem. Definitely!" Rookie patted his chest, indicating that they only needed to watch him this game.
The Pro Scene was different from ranked games, because opportunities to get early kills were scarce in professional play. Even in the LPL Region, where teams fought frequently, there tended to be more fighting only during Resource Fights. Those were fights they had no choice but to take.
But before the Rift Herald fight spawned, Four-man dive on bot GANKs like this almost always followed one rule: whoever got the kills early would carry.
A Thrifty AD
The Double Kill from that major bot-lane play abruptly stalled WBG's early tempo for quite a while. Caitlyn had originally been able to use her range to control the lane, giving her team priority to gather five players for the eight-minute Rift Herald fight.
But now, they no longer dared to push.
Because the jungler was no longer bot lane. No one could guarantee that the enemy Mid-Jungle would not ignore Rift Herald and force another play on bot lane. For an AD like Caitlyn, who played a Fast Push style, dying too many times early basically meant she was out of the game before thirty minutes.
Since the enemy no longer dared to pressure them, Luo Zhen had a much more comfortable lane. To maximize efficiency, he sent PPGOD away to roam and apply pressure, protect Sleepless Poppy while she had no ultimate, while he stayed alone on bot lane to farm.
Don't ask. It was the AD rush-Level-6 strategy.
As for whether he could successfully rush it, he did not know. But he really did need to farm alone for a while.
"Be careful. Don't get Tower dove by them." PPGOD was still worried before leaving. After all, Xin Zhao had not used Both Summs during the previous play. It was hard to tell whether the enemy would ignore the risk and force a Tower dive.
"Try not to show yourself. If they don't see you, they probably won't dare to engage on me."
"What if they do engage?"
"Then just take Rift Herald. If they Tower dive me on bot, I'll definitely lose health. Wouldn't you easily take Rift Herald in a 4v3?"
V5's strategy was already very clear.
They would definitely contest the Rift Herald fight, but because Luo Zhen had died once just now, he also needed to make up for his farming. So the support would go first. Once the enemy finished pushing the wave and left, he would finish collecting his Gold Coin and then head over.
Samira was short-ranged anyway, and she was not Level 6 yet. If a fight broke out, she could only watch from the edges at first. So it was better to arrive late.
Maybe if he arrived late, he could clean up the fight?
Now WBG's bot duo were the ones caught in a dilemma. Seeing the enemy AD alone on bot lane defending the wave, they knew they could Tower dive and force a kill. But after diving, their health would be too poor to contest Rift Herald, and Corki had already picked up his Yordle Snap Trap.
But if they let the enemy AD eat such a huge wave, Huan Feng felt very uncomfortable.
Really.
Most people had this kind of mentality: seeing someone else make money hurt more than seeing themselves lose money, yet they could not stop it.
After a brief struggle, WBG ultimately chose to swallow their anger. After pushing the wave into the turret, they began moving toward Rift Herald, attempting to rapidly gather and force a tempo play.
"Their bot lane is heading over."
"Got it. How are things on your side?"
"I clear waves fast. I'll be able to follow over soon."
"Watch out for a Bush Ambush. Use your coin toss to scout the way."
Samira was a very special Hero. As mentioned before, most of her tricks involved quickly stacking her S rating, but few people knew that hitting someone with Samira's coin-toss taunt also gave her one stack of rating.
When entering a brush where they did not know whether someone was waiting in ambush, they could use this to determine whether anyone was hiding there.
Except...
"Please forgive my refusal!"
What a joke. It might be a taunt, but that was still a real Gold Coin being thrown away. Luo Zhen could not bear it.
"It's just one Gold Coin. Do you really have to be this stingy? You aren't even this serious when there are kills to take."
"This isn't a matter of being stingy or not. When there are kills to take and I don't take them, it's because that money might not necessarily belong to me. So if I get it, I'm fortunate; if I lose it, that's fate. But the Gold Coin I'd throw away is something that has genuinely entered my pocket. I know it belongs to me, so it hurts especially badly to throw it away."
"May I boldly ask where you developed these values? LDL?"
"No, Cross Server 1."
The V5 members: ???
To be fair, although Dungeon Fighter Online was not a good game, if you played many online games but had never played Dungeon Fighter Online, then your gaming life was actually relatively incomplete.
Because there, not only could you witness all kinds of scams at least ten years ahead of other games and avoid many detours, you could also learn thrift and frugality in Cross Server 1. You would see even players with two supreme sets carrying clients through exile, all while being extraordinarily friendly. Finally, you could even improve your math skills through the game, because there, even one percent extra damage was an absolute blowout.
Having lived through the DNF era, Luo Zhen was never in a rush over money that might not become his income. But if someone wanted to take money out of his pocket?
Hmph, sorry.
He was the ultimate Free Damage leech. No money, just one life!
Since WBG had gathered first with all five members, this meant they had priority to rush Rift Herald. Of course, V5 had no intention of starting it first, because their composition was for engaging rather than defending. Trying to defend from their side would definitely put them at a disadvantage.
"What do we do? Fight or not?"
"Fight. We have to fight. Wait for 369 to flank first."
"Corki has the Yordle Snap Trap. See if we can steal Rift Herald, bait out the Yordle Snap Trap, pull back, then fight."
"We can try."
Both sides were focused on Rift Herald. If Caitlyn took it, her Push Tower tempo could get going again, which was definitely not something V5 wanted to see. But if they forced their way in, they were afraid Corki would melt them with a single Yordle Snap Trap. So they might as well let their jungler try to steal it.
Before you continue