Lin Lan began to take it seriously.
Opening the panel and taking a look, he chuckled, “You, who took 120 gold in 20 minutes, dare to curse at me?”
The surroundings fell silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. “Lin Lan, take a look at your own gold count, okay? You, who managed only 80 gold, have the nerve to mention Xie Shao?”
80 gold? Lin Lan thought he might be seeing things.
Indeed, it wasn’t 180, but 80?
He took another glance and, sure enough, it was only 80 gold. His equipment was pitifully lacking, not even a complete two-piece set.
In 20 minutes, just the minions alone should yield around 176 gold. Adding occasional jungle farming with F61TL’s note: I’m not quite sure what command this corresponds to. I am currently asking a friend who plays LOL. Might edit this later… and grabbing a few blue buffs, Lin Lan sometimes even managed to reach 200 gold.
These 80 gold meant he missed more than half just on minions?
The most crucial part was that he was playing a mid-lane assassin, Shadow Fist – Akali. This was a hero designed for early to mid-game dominance. If you didn’t secure an advantage in the early game, playing in the late game was basically futile.
Lin Lan was speechless.
No wonder people were calling him useless.
At this moment, the mockery from the opponent resumed, “Lin Lan, you’re just a waste. A waste like you is still pretending with me.”
Lin Lan took a deep breath. It had been many years since he felt this kind of adrenaline rush. Manipulating his hero, he entered the enemy jungle, found the weakest jungler, controlled the vision, and used E2(Akali)Shuriken Flip: Flip backward and fire a shuriken forward, dealing 30/56.25/82.5/108.75/135 (+85% Attack Damage) (+120% bonus Ability Power) magic damage and marking the first enemy or smoke cloud hit.
Re-cast: Dash to the marked target, dealing 70/131.25/192.5/253.75/315(+85% Attack Damage) (+120% bonus Ability Power)., a combo, took down the enemy, securing a kill and giving himself a gold boost.
The enemy top laner wanted to trouble him again but, after searching all around, couldn’t find him. It seemed like Lin Lan disappeared after the kill.
So naive.
Lin Lan secured his vision and pressed the recall key.
Xie Zilu from the opposite side started again, “What’s there to be proud of? Useless, killing a useless jungler serves no purpose. Come and try killing me.”
Fine, if you said so.
Returning to base, Lin Lan quickly adjusted his equipment, bought a stopwatch for himself, and headed to the mid-lane for a duel against the opponent.
This time, Xie Zilu played Yasuo again. In Lin Lan’s eyes, Xie Zilu was a technically deficient player who liked to show off, talk big, and play aggressively. Wasn’t this behavior more suited for elementary school?
“Waste, take a good look at this.”
Lin Lan’s fingers danced on the keyboard. The opponent’s damage was indeed much higher, and in just a few moves, they brought his health down by half. Unfazed, Lin Lan, using the two dashes of his E, evaded two Q3(Yasuo)Steel Tempest: Thrusts forward, dealing 20/45/70/95/120 (+105% Attack Damage) physical damage.
On hit, Steel Tempest grants a stack of Gathering Storm for 6 seconds. At 2 stacks, Steel Tempest fires a whirlwind that knocks Airborne.
Steel Tempest is treated as a basic attack: It can critically strike (+60% critical damage), applies on-hit effects, is interruptible by crowd control and its cooldown and cast time are reduced by Attack Speed.s, passed through the wind wall and dared to engage Yasuo in close combat.
Everyone gasped as Lin Lan’s health was far from healthy!
And Yasuo had a terrifying combo!
Yasuo’s Q couldn’t target opponents, but his E4(Yasuo)Sweeping blade: Dashes through target enemy, dealing 60/70/80/90/100 (+60% bonus Ability Power) (+20% bonus Attack Damage) Magic Damage. Each cast increases your next dash’s base Damage by 15-25%, stacking up to 4 times.
Cannot be re-cast on the same enemy for 10/9/8/7/6 seconds.
If cast while dashing, Steel Tempest will strike as a circle. could be directed. When E-Q was connected, it turned into a directional control skill!
As long as he controlled Lin Lan, a follow-up ultimate would secure the kill!
Everyone, including Xie Zilu himself, thought victory was imminent when Lin Lan suddenly pressed the stopwatch, becoming invulnerable in place for 2.5 seconds, directly avoiding Yasuo’s E-Q combo!
This was Yasuo’s most deadly combo, and also his only chance to kill Lin Lan. Xie Zilu realized he had fallen into a trap, becoming like a toothless snake, making consecutive mistakes in panic.
Lin Lan effortlessly executed two ultimate combos, taking down Yasuo.
“Heh, useless.” He threw the words back at the opponent.
Xie Zilu, who was solo-killed, changed expressions repeatedly. Through the gaps of the computer, he looked at Lin Lan with disbelief. The opponent’s sharp and arrogant gaze made his heart tremble as if something familiar had returned.
“You, you…”
Before he could think more, Lin Lan killed again in the bottom lane, securing two more kills. With low health, intercepted by the enemy jungler, he calmly used his ultimate’s second phase on minions to escape.
Taking four kills in a row, along with bounty rewards, Lin Lan had caught up in development. A well-fed assassin was truly fearsome.
He moved like a phantom, mercilessly slaughtering their squishy champions, making the opponents too scared to leave their base. In two consecutive waves, he perfectly harvested kills and directly pushed to the enemy Nexus5The crystal at the center of the base, which is the primary objective to be destroyed to win the game..
The moment the crystal exploded, Xie Zilu’s heart felt a stab. He jolted up, eyebrows raised in shock, and the chair almost overturned. “How… how did you…”
Leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, Lin Lan looked at him with a disdainful and arrogant gaze. “Waste, did you see my skills clearly? I spared you last time from calling me dad; you really haven’t improved at all, still as trash as ever…”
He enjoyed cursing, having grown tired of the game. However, in the comeback match just now, he unexpectedly found a trace of interest.
Indeed, bullying elementary school players who play Yasuo was satisfying.
Xie Zilu on the opposite side seemed to be dumbfounded by the insults, staring at him in a daze. Teammates beside him reminded, “We lost, no chance for promotion. Let’s go, Xie Shao.”
With a face full of doubt about life, Xie Zilu followed them as they left. Before departing, he turned back to glance at Lin Lan, his expression somewhat complex.
As soon as they left, Lin Lan was surrounded by teammates, who enthusiastically gathered around him. “Wow, Lin Lan, you’re amazing! You don’t seem like a platinum6The ranking system goes like this: Iron (l, ll, lll, lV), Bronze (l, ll, lll, lV), Silver (l, ll, lll, lV), Gold (l, ll, lll, lV), Platinum (l, ll, lll, lV), Emerald (I, II, III, IV), Diamond (l, ll, lll, lV), Master, Grand Master, Challenger player at all. I feel like your skills are even better than Xie Zilu’s diamond! We were all dumbfounded…”
“See! I told you Lin Lan is the real deal!”
“Fantastic, we’re advancing…”
Lin Lan was engulfed in their enthusiasm, smiling triumphantly. “I didn’t do much, just took the opportunity to mess with Xie Zilu, a piece of cake.”
“Haha, modest.” A teammate playfully punched his shoulder.
Lin Lan paused for a moment, realizing that except for the early days when he first started, he hadn’t been this close to his teammates. The him that rose to fame at a young age, receiving countless applause and honors, gradually distanced himself from those who once walked alongside him.
A hot tear fell on the back of his hand. Lin Lan lowered his head and saw an actual tear. Surprised, he looked up and saw another world’s Xiao Shengjing crying in his arms.
“Lin Lan, I beg you, wake up…”
“Don’t leave me, please…”
His hoarse voice pierced through the layer of the mirror, distorting the surrounding world. Lin Lan was pulled back into the white hospital room.
What on earth is going on?
After experiencing it twice, Lin Lan has realized the peculiar circumstances. It’s as if he is traversing between two worlds, and the version of himself in the other world seems to be going through some trouble, seeking help through the mirror.
Driven by a single-minded desire to unravel the mystery, disregarding Xiao Shengjing’s pleas, Lin Lan once again sank his consciousness and returned to that place filled with mirrors. He casually picked a mirror and indeed saw another version of himself. This time, he appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen, still as weak as ever.
“Hey!”
Lin Lan shouted through the mirror.
The other side seemed to hear him, lifting his head and extending a hand, pleading in his gaze: Help me…
Without hesitation, Lin Lan covered his palm, and as consciousness spun in a whirlwind, a burst of white light flashed, and he found himself once again in the world within the mirror.
The world within the mirror…
Yes, this is the world within the mirror!
Lin Lan had faintly guessed some things. As the white light dispersed, he found himself sitting in front of the computer, displaying the game screen. Urgent voices from teammates echoed in his headphones, “Lin Lan, what are you doing? Initiate a team fight.”
Behind him, there were whispers among the leaders, “These interviewees aren’t performing well, especially this Lin Lan, particularly mediocre…”
“After this match, consider advising him to withdraw from consideration…”
Lin Lan quickly glanced at the panel data. His years of professional experience allowed him to recognize that the numbers were all real, meaning the world within the mirror was not a figment of his imagination but another existing reality.
Because of the plea for help from the person within the mirror, he was pulled into this mirror world, facing one challenge after another on their behalf.
It sounded absurd, but that’s how he felt. Besides, aren’t those anime stories portrayed similarly?
“Support, are you waiting to die without initiating a team fight?”
Lin Lan couldn’t care less about anything else; he first assessed the battlefield.
He was playing as support, and a 0-5 support at that. The AD7Attack damage carry on his team was not as developed as the opponent’s, and while the mid-lane looked decent, the team composition here only had the support as an initiator. However, at this moment, the Alistar, who should have found the right opportunity to initiate, was not thinking about initiating but was instead hiding behind the team, afraid of sacrificing himself.
Is a 0-5 support scared of anything?
Without hesitation, Lin Lan flashed into the enemy backline with vision control, used his Q8(Alistar)Pulverize: Alistar smashes the ground, dealing 60/100/140/180/220 (+80% bonus Ability Power) magic damage and tossing nearby enemy units into the air for 1 second., and swiftly turned to reposition.
His teammates, after all, were semi-professional players. They immediately followed up on his initiation, taking down the enemy backline and executing a beautiful team fight.
“Damn, impressive, Lin Lan.”
“You were hesitating in the back for so long, finally decided to initiate.”
“Alright, let’s play well. If we lose, everyone has to leave.”
So, is this a selection match for the team?
Lin Lan didn’t have time to think about it carefully. Watching his teammates considering Baron9Complete name: Baron Nashor. the most powerful neutral monster on Summoner’s Rift. It is located in the baron pit, which inherits the monster’s namesake.
Killing Baron Nashor grants to all living teammates for 180 seconds, which grants bonus attack damage, bonus ability power,, and an aura that greatly increases the power of nearby minions., he quickly intervened, “Don’t start Baron, take the Dragon first.”
The mid-laner, without a second thought, retorted, “You, a 0-5 support, what do you understand?”
Lin Lan blurted out, “The enemy wants Dragon Soul.”
Teammates were stunned for a moment. “Are you crazy? What’s Dragon Soul?”
Lin Lan suddenly realized that the versions on both sides might be different. In his world, the Dragon Soul version had been running for over three years, but in the mirrored world, this version hadn’t introduced Dragon Soul yet!
He remained silent and followed his teammates quietly, realizing that this attempt to take Baron might go wrong. The enemy’s respawn time wasn’t long, and their team’s Baron-taking speed was quite slow…
The coach behind them analyzed in a hushed tone, “This could go wrong.”
Suddenly, Lin Lan made a bold decision. Manipulating his hero to the area above the Dragon pit, he placed three wards, monitoring the enemy’s movements comprehensively.
As the enemy respawned, Lin Lan calmly activated his ultimate. Even if all five of them ganged up on him, they couldn’t kill him in a short time.
As the Baron was about to be taken down, the enemy jungler was desperate to jump down, but Lin Lan intercepted him in mid-air, interrupting his displacement.
Huh? What’s going on?
Did he interrupt his displacement?
Without further delay, the enemy jungler, realizing the situation, flashed down to contest the Baron. Almost simultaneously, Lin Lan flashed down as well and used his W10(Alistar)Headbutt: Alistar rams into an enemy, dealing 55/110/165/220/275 (+100% bonus Ability Power) magic damage and knocking them back. to knock him back up.
Flashed, but not a complete escape.
Enemy jungler: ????
The coach watching from behind couldn’t help but laugh, “That was good, really well played…”
With no intervention from the enemy jungler, Lin Lan’s team successfully secured the Baron, pushed directly to the enemy high ground, and claimed victory.
Lin Lan didn’t expect playing support to be this interesting.
As a player who achieved the Grand Slam, won three consecutive S championships, and witnessed countless versions as a top professional player, Lin Lan was highly satisfied with his performance. It could be said that their victory relied heavily on his two crucial plays.
However, his teammates didn’t see it that way. They all gathered around the mid-laner, praising him because his stats looked the most impressive.
Lin Lan’s mind was filled with question marks.
Shouldn’t they be praising him?
The young newcomers naturally lacked the discerning eyes of experienced players. The coach, however, recognized Lin Lan’s skill and chatted with him with a smile, “You played support quite well.”
“It’s alright. Actually, I usually play as a carry.”
“A carry?” The coach chuckled, “I’ve seen you play that, not very impressive. You’re more suited for support…”
Someone actually said he didn’t play well as a carry?
Lin Lan instinctively retorted, “How is that possible? I’m a mid-lane…”
As he spoke, his voice gradually distorted, and his consciousness was once again pulled back into the vast white sea of consciousness. The reflection in the mirror showed himself curled up in a corner, trembling as if witnessing something terrifying, his eyes filled with despair.
What’s wrong with you?
Lin Lan walked towards him.
He gradually made out his lip movements, as if saying: Save me.
Lin Lan, save me—!
——————–
Thanks to the little angels who sent mines: Aurora 2; Xiao An 1.
