You Call This 'Steady'?

Bot Lane AD.

Ashe, Jhin, and Kaisa were widely recognized as the three ADCs that felt best for newcomers to play, while also being the best at raising a player's skill level. You could tell at a glance whether someone was good with them, and even if you could not, if they insisted on playing safe, the enemy had no way to deal with them.

Take this game's Jhin as an example. Starting with boots and four health potions, even if you brought Uzi here, there would be nothing he could do against a "Potion Brother" like this who drank potions whenever he could not win a trade.

Might As Well, he completely gave up on the idea of fighting the enemy. He had even taken Lethal Tempo as his keystone.

And what was even more fatal was this.

Just because they had no way to deal with the enemy did not mean the enemy had no way to deal with them.

If Leona caught someone and Jhin followed with his W, that was a full three seconds of crowd control. Even someone who did not die would be crippled. Although Luo Zhen had taken Cleanse as a Summoner Skill this game, it was only a get-out-of-jail-free card for one mistake.

So the question was, how were they supposed to break through such a dire situation?

Drawing on his experience watching matches in his previous life, Luo Zhen very naturally set his sights on the Support sitting beside him.

"Diao Shen, the organization has a mission for you. Time is tight, the task is heavy, and the details are complicated, but it will be excellent training for a Rookie Player. I was originally planning to keep it for myself, but seeing how eager you are to learn, practically itching to give it a try... well then, I'll reluctantly hand this mission over to you."

"???"

What the hell did he mean, eager to learn? What the hell did he mean, itching to try? He had not even turned around to look at him once.

At this point, how could he not understand what his new Partner wanted him to do? He wanted him to bait out the enemy Support's abilities. As long as Leona used her E, not only would Luo Zhen's pressure ease, they might even be able to fight back a little.

But the problem was... that was a fucking Leona!

Despite how reluctant PPGOD seemed, he still honestly went in.

Men were like that—mouths disgusted, bodies honest. Back when Luo Zhen attended social mixers in his previous life, he would watch a group of girls chatter away while he sat there for ten minutes unable to squeeze out a single fart. But when facing his own sex, ten minutes was enough for him to know exactly where the other guy's ticklish spots were.

They said ADCs were dogs raised by Supports, but were Supports not fish raised by ADCs as well?

Luo Zhen and PPGOD's duo was incredibly deceptive.

As a duo made up of a new ADC on a sixteen-game losing streak, any low-level play they made was easy for the enemy to understand. Watching Rakan constantly probe at the edge of the brush, looking as though he wanted to fire a Pierce Minion Q at Jhin, LNG's bot lane was puzzled—but somehow still felt that this might be normal.

Leona finally moved.

As Lü Mao, a Support who had once been at the height of the LPL, he noticed the strange aura of the enemy bot lane combo in the First Moment. You could say they were bad, since they were newcomers yet did not play aggressively at all, instead being so conservative during the Laning Phase. But if you said they were good, every move from the ADC seemed to be selling out his own Support. You could not tell whether they had cut ties completely, or whether the ADC simply trusted his Support too much.

What kind of Support could raise an ADC like this?

Lü Mao was puzzled, but his hands did not stop moving. As a representative of veteran Supports, he immediately gave V5 bot lane something vicious.

He was clearly facing Rakan as he advanced to pressure them, but just as he seemed ready to strike, the direction of his blade abruptly changed. His E skill, Apex Blade, shot directly toward Kaisa, who was positioned higher up near the wall.

A feint!

Light's reaction was especially fast as well. The very instant Leona's E skill flew out, Jhin's W, Dazzling Display, simultaneously switched targets and followed after it.

"Holy crap!"

The moment he saw Leona's move, Luo Zhen instinctively halted his retreat. That sudden stop made Leona, whose prediction had targeted his retreat path, miss her E completely.

"Great dodge!"

In V5's lounge behind the main stage, Karsa threw a fist into the air when he saw it. That nearly limit-breaking reaction earned praise even from a veteran Jungler as experienced as him.

The reactions of an 18 Years Old... were actually this terrifying.

That simple exchange instantly put V5 bot lane on high alert.

"Damn it, Buddy, that E skill nearly scared me to death. Good thing my reactions were fast. I dodged it at the limit and triggered the Global Time-Space Rupture effect, otherwise we would have fallen for their trick." Even Luo Zhen could not help feeling a lingering chill after that exchange.

If his Cleanse had been forced out before the level-three timing when the enemy Jungler was most likely to come bot—

There was no need to think further.

Even if Tarzan had not confirmed XLB's position, he would definitely come bot to help with a tower dive.

Once the enemy succeeded even once, it would be followed by endless Three-man Dive Twos or Four-man Dive Twos centered around Doinb. That would be the real explosion!

He had originally wanted to bait them into using their abilities and Create Advantage, but pro players really were pro players. That act of engaging the Support just now had nearly fooled even him. If the popular stars in showbiz had even half the acting skills of pro players, how could domestic films possibly have such miserable box office results?

"Stop talking nonsense. He has no skills. Just fight!"

Leona missing her E meant that bot lane initiative would switch hands for the next dozen seconds. Luo Zhen even crossed the minion wave and started pressuring the enemy. They now had a crowd-control advantage; as long as the Q skill did not get split among minions, they would come out slightly ahead no matter how they fought.

Faced with V5 bot lane's counterattack, LNG had no intention of fighting back at all.

The ADC had four potions, the Support had two. One or two mistakes were no problem; even several more would be fine. As long as they succeeded even once, bot lane would be dragged into the Doinb tempo they knew best.

Just as Lü Mao was planning to use his abundant Pro Scene Experience to teach the two little rookies a lesson, the Tab key he casually pressed made him freeze on the spot.

The two ADCs' CS counts were 17 to 15. Kaisa had 17 CS and healthy HP, while Jhin had 15 CS and was retreating miserably.

After all those Mind Games and limit-breaking plays, they had gained an advantage while missing only one minion!?

This was a fucking rookie?

AD Survival Law

Bot lane advantages might catch players' attention during the Laning Phase, but in the context of the entire game, bot lane was usually a place with very little spectacle. It was nothing but farming, stealing CS, and ordinary Trading Blows. Unless the two sides actually started fighting and got carried away, the observers would not put the camera on bot lane. A scene of one side leading by a few CS was not particularly interesting either.

But the Upper Jungle was truly exciting.

LNG had underestimated V5. Or rather, they had taken A Le's advantage for granted and looked down on V5's top laner, Rich.

As a Triple Crown Champion of Heroes of the Storm—Storm Jordan, in other words—his transition had not drawn much attention. After all, his performance on the LCK Side had not been particularly good by strict standards. He was considered an LCK castoff.

Yet precisely because of that, once he came to the LPL, he passively triggered the LPL's Import Player First Law: Players abandoned or unwanted by the LCK had a high chance of activating the Avengers template and transforming themselves, such as Doinb, Mystic, and Viper. Meanwhile, players who dominated the LCK Region had a very high chance of becoming washed up after being bought by the LPL.

More importantly, who the fuck would be afraid of a player who crossed over from another game?

Well.

Leave Wei Shen out of this. That guy played in reverse; common sense did not apply to him.

Tarzan had originally thought things through nicely. His Jayce against a Wukong who had crossed over from another game should at least have Lane Control before level three, right? With top lane control, could he not just invade XLB's jungle whenever he wanted?

But now, top lane had suddenly run into a tough opponent because of his carelessness. Jayce had lost out in his trade, and Tarzan immediately did not dare make any rash moves.

Then something even more fatal arrived.

Jayce was on the strong side and needed help, but Ya Sheng in mid lane was also struggling to withstand Song Sheng's pressure. No matter how old Rookie was, his First game would definitely see him in peak form. His Laning Phase pressure was terrifying.

And at a time like this, that greenhorn rookie enemy Jungler inexplicably started invading his jungle again.

Tarzan was completely bewildered now, practically ready to throw his hands up like a cartoon bear and tank: "The enemy Lee Sin is in our jungle. Why is he invading? Mid lane keeps calling me over, but how am I supposed to go? He keeps entering my jungle."

The mid lane suppression, the underestimation in top lane, and the Jungler's recklessness linked together, allowing V5 to gain enormous early game tempo.

Luo Zhen's pressure immediately dropped.

What was the most comfortable thing about playing ADC?

It was staying bot lane and farming while good news came from every direction.

Under peak Rookie's coordinated shotcalling in the first game, XLB, with his Fighter traits, was like a War God, directly throwing LNG's early game into chaos. Once LNG's Top Mid Jungle became a mess, Lü Mao in bot lane could no longer sit still, looking eager to roam.

"The enemy Support wants to run. Diao Shen, I'll leave him to you."

With Jhin on one side and Kaisa on the other, it was obvious that both Bot Lane ADs were going to resist pressure and Play Passive this game. In the S12 Preseason, unless bot lane picked late-game Big Carries like Lucian-Nami, Jinx, or Moon Man, teams generally would not give bot lane much attention.

The reason was simple: the faster pace of the version, the nerfed bot lane experience, and the changes to Crit Gear.

The experience nerf in particular was brutal. Top Mid Jungle were level six or seven while bot lane was only level four—how were they supposed to fight? They would shatter on contact. And ADCs' greatest dilemma was that building damage made them too fragile, and if they could not deal damage, they were finished. Building Tank Gear meant losing one or two damage items, leaving them with no damage anyway.

On a stage full of Top-tier players, unless a team had absolute confidence in its own ADC, it would not easily concentrate resources on him. Luo Zhen was only a little Rookie Player who had just joined the team. He simply did not have enough charm to make the coach immediately build tactics around him.

So What to Do?

He just needed to farm properly and wait for opportunities. After all, he had taken Lethal Tempo instead of Hail of Blades this game. Forcing trades would definitely put him at a disadvantage.

Thus, as the fighting across the map grew more intense, the game formed a strange picture. In the Upper Area, the eight Top Mid Jungle Support players from both sides gathered and fought fiercely, with endless Kiting and engages that left viewers unable to keep up. On the Bottom Side, Both ADs were peaceful and quiet, Immovable as a Mountain, quietly farming minions and pushing waves as though the years were serene.

Good lord, were the two bot lanes just there to make up the player count? The game had gone this far and they still were not joining in?

But what would they go up there for? Rift Herald had not spawned yet, and they were not level six. Supports could give up their own development to go provide crowd control, but what would ADCs do up there? Engage with Body to bait abilities?

Huh? V5's new ADC had such steady Basic Skills. He was already nearly ten CS ahead of Deng Huang.

You could tell from the ID alone—he was paying tribute to Uzi. Maybe he was another CJB whose only strength was farming.

At the time point of the S12 Preseason, match Bullet Comments had already been purified several times over. If, in the past, setting the filter to level ten was enough to create a comfortable viewing environment, now it probably had to be raised above level twenty.

There was no choice.

Even the Anti-bar was already filled with people at Bilibili level five or six, let alone viewers from other platforms. Everyone cursed Uncle, but Uncle had truly made Rat Rat Won Big.

As Bullet Comment culture flourished, new audiences in the new era were even forced to learn the new Six Arts of the Gentleman: meme, rage, joy, filial piety, clam, and win.

Miss even one art, and you were not qualified to hold a meeting in the comments section.

Still, what was coming would always come. Since Both ADs had basically been farming lanes alone, Luo Zhen and Deng Huang both managed to reach level six before Eight Minutes and began moving toward top lane. Neither had recalled during the Laning Phase, so on his first recall at just over seven minutes, Luo Zhen upgraded his starting Long Sword into a fully paid Noon Quiver and bought an additional pair of boots.

If the Rift Herald fight broke out, Lethal Tempo meant he would not lack attack speed. The mobility from boots would be very useful.

That was what ADCs were like.

Even though his damage in this fight at eight minutes would be nearly the lowest in the game, he still considered every aspect of the situation and did everything possible to maximize his Combat Power.

"Come on, Brothers. Can you carry me this game?"

Following the idea that he should play cautiously in the Demacia Cup and throw heavy punches in the Regular Season, Luo Zhen had made his requirements for this match very clear: making no mistakes was enough. He was the only ADC on the team. As long as he did not get carried away and played honestly, the Spring Split starting position was absolutely his. Then, he could slowly use his influence through matches to pull the coach's attention back toward him.

So really.

A Carry Position might be a Carry Position, but on a team, mid lane was a carry, bot lane was a carry, and with top lane competition so intense, top lane was often a carry too. How could there possibly be enough resources to divide among all those carries? If Rookie had not almost never fought for them and was instead passively assigned them, Luo Zhen would have needed to study Empresses in the Palace before trying to secure more resources.

"Don't worry. This one is guaranteed."

Having slightly suppressed Tarzan in early game tempo, XLB was incredibly confident right now.

"You're that awesome?"

"Of course. Just watch my plays."

"Good. As expected of the future world's number-one Jungler. You've got guts. Then, Rookie Brother..."

Seeing that his own Jungler had already been sweet-talked senseless, Luo Zhen immediately turned his attention to Rookie.

First rule of AD Survival Law:

When your Teammates performed well enough and became sufficiently inflated, your chance of surviving Team fights would increase without limit.

With the idea of following the First Law, Luo Zhen directly unleashed a massive praise campaign within the team!

As for whether his conscience would condemn him for doing so?

Luo Zhen said it did not exist. He might once have had such a thing, but now, it was almost completely gone.

If anyone had to be blamed, blame this damn ADC survival environment.

Sorry, guys!

Harvesting System Activated

Strictly speaking, V5's Composition had no Offensive Pressure. Unlike LNG, where Jayce began declining after thirty minutes, Jhin was also an early-to-mid-game Hero, and Akali needed no explanation—she was purely a Souha assassin. Therefore, LNG had to secure a Big Advantage in the early to mid game and end the match. They could not possibly be willing to give up this Rift Herald.

As both sides Kited around Rift Herald, Luo Zhen's positioning was extremely tricky. He did not move forward.

Kaisa's Attack Range was short. Her W skill could poke, but its Cooldown was long, it was only level one, and its damage was low. Not only would poking enemies with it barely hurt, it also made it easy to get hit by Jayce's cannon and lose HP. So what was he doing at this moment?

He was pulling F6 out at the river entrance and happily beating it up. Unlike the tense atmosphere on the Frontline Battlefield, all he felt right now was joy.

ADCs, after all.

The moment they saw gold, their eyes lit up. LNG had already claimed the Rift Herald position first, and if he went over, he would only be AFK, walking back and forth and wasting time. He might as well farm more while he had the chance.

Of course, he could not do absolutely nothing.

After noticing that Akali was completely absent from the Frontline Battlefield, Luo Zhen imagined the angle from which that person would choose to enter. Then... he suddenly turned around and fiercely fired his W skill, Void Seeker, toward the Vision Fog above the dragon pit.

"Huh? That W."

Karsa, seated backstage, voiced his confusion. That Void Seeker had actually struck Akali, who was trying to circle around from above, accurately and steadily, interrupting Doinb's attempt to flank on the spot.

Holy crap, hacks!

X-ray Vision plus aim lock? V5 clearly did not have vision there, did they?

Cheating is Cheating? As an FPS Player, is it really that hard to understand that I know how to fly, burrow, lock on, and use auto-aim?