"No... Murder is so confident in that play! He's really that confident!"
Miller came back to his senses and couldn't help exclaiming:
"He tanked Jayce's basic attacks head-on, then turned around and dodged Mo Yu's Q in cannon form. If he hadn't dodged that Q, Fiora wouldn't have gotten in close, and her early-game damage couldn't have beaten Jayce's!"
"And those exchanges, too. Jayce had the range advantage, yet Fiora, with her short range, managed to kite him for so long... Jayce took two Vitals for nothing, and then there was the Q he dodged. Fiora absolutely outplayed him there!"
"That was incredible. And... this is Murder's professional debut! Isn't he even a little nervous or scared? He's so calm!"
Wa Wa was just as astonished.
What rookie would dare play like that?
"If he'd dodged even one ability or made even one mistake while kiting, Jayce could've turned it around and killed Fiora!"
A cheer rose from the crowd as EDG's fans applauded Xu Cheng.
Rita didn't understand the details. She just thought Fiora's solo kill was flashy, but couldn't explain exactly why.
So she kept it simple: "Sick."
Everyone: "..."
The commentators and spectators had the benefit of a bird's-eye view, but there was plenty they could only see on the surface.
Take that solo kill, for example. Aside from dodging abilities and kiting, Xu Cheng's most brilliant move was using two pauses to bait out Vitals, perfectly avoiding Jayce's next wave of damage—
Jayce's level-one Q had a 16-second cooldown. Fiora's Q had a 13-second cooldown, but hitting with it refunded 50% of the cooldown, leaving her with a Q every 6.5 seconds.
Two consecutive pauses to bait Qs took 13 seconds. Add in the dodges and kiting during that time, and even the way he deliberately lured Jayce farther in early on...
Jayce never got the chance to wait for his second round of abilities to come off cooldown. He was cut down before then, with nowhere to vent his frustration.
That was the real brilliance of Fiora's solo kill.
Miss even one part, and it could've gone wrong.
The spectators hadn't noticed, but his teammates were all skilled players. They spotted those details at a glance.
"Holy crap, Cheng Zi! That was so forceful! You got a solo kill right out of the gate?!"
Meiko howled. "So this is what being a Data Monster looks like? I'm sold!"
"Smooth, smooth, smooth."
Scout chimed in with praise, too.
"Bro, you're way too cool! Wait for me, I'll come help you later. As long as you get fed this game, we've got this."
Factory Director grinned.
"The other guy doesn't seem to be taking this too seriously."
Xu Cheng was thrilled, but there was also a nagging feeling in the back of his mind—
He couldn't shake the thought that if the other side had dared to pick Jayce into him, they shouldn't be playing this badly.
"Uh... what are you doing?"
Factory Director had just switched his view to top lane when he froze.
On the field, Fiora had already finished her combo, but then suddenly turned and walked toward the red side's top turret—
Over there.
A wave of red-side minions had just spawned. The minion at the very back was frozen in place, half inside the turret's range and half outside.
A red beam of light appeared around it.
This was...
Jayce was teleporting back after respawning.
But what did that have to do with Fiora?
What was he going over there for?
While everyone watched in confusion, Xu Cheng reached the spot where Jayce would land before the teleport finished.
He drew the minions' aggro, but had already prepared for what came next.
The instant Mo Yu landed, Fiora raised her sword and struck!
???
"What the hell is wrong with this guy? He's tanking the minion wave just to hit me? He's asking to die!"
Mo Yu was dumbfounded by Fiora's move.
But more than anything, he was furious—
It felt like the other guy was deliberately humiliating him.
Who the hell played like this in a professional match? The moment you got back to lane, you tanked the wave and traded with someone at the edge of the turret's range?
Wasn't that just a blatant insult?
Blood rushed to his head. Jayce raised a hand and fired off a Q.
Whoosh.
The next moment, Fiora moved with uncanny grace, as if she'd predicted Jayce's reaction. She sidestepped down at the last possible instant.
Jayce's little projectile missed and slammed into the wall behind Fiora.
The second Q dodge!
??!
Mo Yu froze on the spot!
There was a second one?!
"Another sidestep! Murder! The Data Monster!! That was ridiculous! What is he trying to do here? Is he going for a second solo kill?"
"That can't be right. Jayce just respawned. Even if you dodge his Q, you can't kill him alone, not with those minions there..."
Even Wa Wa, who knew next to nothing about game mechanics, understood that much.
And in fact, Xu Cheng had never planned to kill his opponent again so soon.
He'd done this for only one reason—
"So you're not going to use your real skill against me? You look down on me, huh? Fine. I'll show you how a real top laner plays the lane!"
Xu Cheng muttered like a madman as he controlled Fiora.
After dodging Jayce's Q, Fiora also struck the Vital on his body.
Then she kept brawling with him in a savage exchange. Tanking attacks from three minions, Fiora's health finally dropped into the danger zone.
"Damn it, die!"
Seeing Xu Cheng try to retreat just as his health was getting low, Mo Yu didn't hesitate. He unleashed the Q he'd been holding in hammer form and leaped at him!
Boom!
Fiora's health dropped to critical, while Jayce used his Q to close the distance and stick to her.
But before Mo Yu could celebrate, Xu Cheng's Q came off cooldown at just the right moment. Fiora dashed diagonally with a Q, putting distance between herself and the charging Jayce once more.
Now Mo Yu had two choices—
One: Flash after him, though Xu Cheng would definitely Flash too. They'd just trade Flashes.
Two: Give up the chase...
Mo Yu's mouth twitched for at least two seconds before he finally gave up in frustration.
An aimless Flash trade was clearly something a "seasoned" pro like him couldn't accept.
But...
Looking at his health bar, already nearly half gone just after teleporting back, Mo Yu felt an inexplicable sense of frustration...
"Was Murder deliberately trying to trade health with Jayce there? Did he never intend to kill him at all?"
By now, the spectators and commentators had also figured out what Xu Cheng had been doing.
And then...
Everyone was stunned!
What kind of playstyle was this? What kind of approach?
Who played like this right at the start of the game—tanking the wave, waiting for the opponent to land from Teleport, brawling until their own health was critical, then walking away?
Half the wave was still inside the enemy turret's range!
"Come on... isn't that way too aggressive? Who plays the lane like that? He's hurting the other guy without helping himself at all!"
Wa Wa looked completely baffled. "You just tank the wave to poke him right at the start... What's the point?"
"I don't get it... I really don't understand his playstyle. In all my years of casting, I've never seen anything like this. It's just... so... so bloodthirsty..."
Miller couldn't make sense of it either.
Just as his co-caster had said, who the hell had ever seen a top laner play like this in the LPL?
But it wasn't long before he—or rather, everyone—understood.
On the field.
After that last exchange, Jayce had lost nearly half his health the moment he teleported back.
Fiora looked much worse off than Jayce.
But during the exchange, she'd healed by hitting Vitals, and Xu Cheng had deliberately managed the minions' aggro. Her health loss looked dramatic, but it was nowhere near as bad as it seemed.
After drinking a Health Potion, Fiora's health gradually recovered!
Not only that, but Vitals made Fiora incredibly comfortable in lane when used well.
Just like during the first solo kill, Xu Cheng relied on nothing but his laning fundamentals. His health went from roughly even with Jayce's to slightly higher.
And then...
After that savage, aggressive exchange, Mo Yu had been in lane for only a few minutes before he was already forced to recall again!
He had no choice! At this health, Fiora had a chance to solo kill him a second time!
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