IRAJAS Chapter 108

When the cyberbullying began, Xiao Shengjing realized: the rumors must be nipped in the bud.

Otherwise, just like in that world with Lin Lan, even though he did nothing wrong, the situation escalated out of control because the team did nothing, and Lin Lan disliked explaining himself.

To curb the rumors, it had to be done in one decisive move.

At that moment, Xiao Shengjing made up his mind. No matter how troublesome it might be, he would make those who spread falsehoods pay.

Only by hurting their interests would they have scruples, and only then could the rumors be truly curbed.

So he immediately called Brother Mu and expressed his views.

Initially, Brother Mu didn’t take it seriously, but he couldn’t resist Xiao Shengjing’s repeated requests. After all, Xiao Shengjing hadn’t asked for much over the years, so Brother Mu agreed and allocated a sum of money to handle the matter that very day.

Throughout the entire process, Xiao Shengjing was almost always there, fearing that Lin Lan would feel bad if he saw it, so he chose times when Lin Lan wasn’t around to handle it.

When all the identities of the rumor mongers were uncovered, Xiao Shengjing didn’t let any of them go.

Those who cried about having no money had to publicly apologize and pin the apology for a year.

For those who stubbornly refused to apologize, he spent money on lawsuits until they were forced to pay up.

If they claimed to be underage and thus irresponsible, he sent the summons to their guardians, making the guardians enforce it on their behalf.

As for Wu Tianqi, whose behavior was the worst, Xiao Shengjing didn’t give him the option to apologize. He directly chose to let the law handle it.

Xiao Shengjing’s attitude was unprecedentedly tough. No matter how pitiful the other party made themselves out to be, he wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.

Because he knew that when those people used rumors to drive Lin Lan to death, they had never hesitated. Even after Lin Lan’s death, they had never repented.

Since that was the case, why show them mercy?

Hesitating even a bit would be harming Lin Lan.

Xiao Shengjing handled these matters every day. Sometimes, when he got tired, he would come to the bedside and look at Lin Lan’s sleeping face, and he would feel that everything was worth it.

The harm suffered in that world, he wouldn’t let it happen in this one. The things he couldn’t achieve back then, he would accomplish in this world, and do it a hundred times better.

Otherwise, he would feel he had let Lin Lan down.

Lin Lan chose him, so how could he let Lin Lan lose?

Legal statements flooded the internet, but this was just the beginning. DT’s legal department worked tirelessly, issuing new resolutions every other day.

This tough approach thrilled the fans. This was exactly what they wanted. One mustn’t be soft-hearted. Those people were unscrupulous when spreading rumors, so why show them any mercy when punishing them?

While DT’s legal department was busy, Cool Cat wasn’t idle either. They launched a bullet screen AI system that had been in development for two years. This system automatically detected extreme language such as cursing, insults, and vulgarities directed at streamers, and promptly banned the users. Banned accounts could only be unblocked through a manual appeal process. The AI’s speed in banning accounts was nearly a hundred times faster than manual moderation.

Additionally, Cool Cat implemented a real-name registration system. Only users with verified identities could post bullet comments. After ten bans, the user’s ID would be automatically blacklisted.

Fans noticed that the bullet comments on Cool Cat had indeed become much cleaner during this period.

Additionally, the AI provided an interesting statistic: the accounts being banned were almost always the same group of people. Once these accounts were blocked, the frequency of bans significantly decreased.

Netizens immediately exploded with comments: [Turns out the foul-mouthed ones are always the same group.]

[I wonder what kind of people wish death upon streamers in real life.]

[They really come to the internet to vent their rage.]

[I can only say Cool Cat did a great job.]

[Drive these people away, and Cool Cat will be peaceful.]

[Cool Cat never needed this group anyway. Cool Cat is about quality content.]

[Among those banned, 80% are alt accounts, if you know what I mean.]

[A bunch of internet pests. Now they have nowhere to go.]

Cool Cat’s decision to remove these problematic users from their platform received a lot of support from netizens. However, it also caused unease among users of other platforms, as they feared these individuals would migrate elsewhere, worsening the online environment on those platforms.

Consequently, other platforms, to prevent user attrition, felt compelled to develop their own bullet screen AI systems.

As a result, those who freely cursed streamers in the chat rooms suddenly found themselves becoming like homeless stray dogs, forced to behave.

This chain reaction delighted netizens. DT and Cool Cat even gained a wave of new fans due to their firm stance. The law firm partnering with DT also received praise, with people commending its capabilities and expressing a desire to hire them in the future.

DT’s actions made their stance clear: targeting the team was one thing, but targeting the players was unacceptable!

Fans began to understand why Lin Lan preferred to stay with DT despite feeling wronged rather than join IB. It turned out DT truly stood up for their own.

In contrast, IB had a nearly indifferent attitude towards their players and even promoted their controversial paths, leading to more ridicule of IB by comparison.

Interestingly, just as IB was being mocked, they were scheduled to compete against DT.

Currently, the ranking difference between the two teams is quite striking. DT holds a 12-1 record, sitting at the top of the standings. Their only loss was due to experimenting with a new lineup combined with a bit of bad luck.

On the other hand, IB has a 9-5 record, placing them fifth. They have almost never won against strong teams, and netizens jokingly say they’ve already fallen out of the top-tier teams for the summer season.

The prevailing assessment of IB in the community is: top-tier popularity, second-tier skill.

Since IB’s questionable maneuvers, public opinion has been unfavorable towards them. The players’ mental states have been affected to varying degrees, leading to poor performance, which in turn worsens public opinion, creating a vicious cycle.

Indeed, a team should focus on the competition itself. Paying too much attention to public opinion ends up being counterproductive.

Both teams’ players took their positions, adjusted their equipment, and prepared to start the match.

IB has a lot of fans, and DT also has a significant following. Given the friction between the two teams and the interest from many within the community, the hype for this match almost broke the summer season’s viewership record.

The tension was palpable right from the ban/pick phase. IB banned three of Lin Lan’s most-played mid-lane champions, while DT retaliated by banning three of the top champions for IB’s top laner, Wulen.

It should be noted that Lin Lan has played primarily utility mid-laners throughout the summer season. However, this does not mean he cannot play burst mid-laners. On the contrary, Lin Lan proved himself capable of carrying the team and shouldering the entire team’s damage output during the spring season.

What is IB trying to do here?

Do they really think this can target Lin Lan effectively?

In fact, IB’s coach had already considered this issue. He believed, “Lin Lan has played a lot of utility mid-laners this season with great success. He can extend his mid-lane advantage to the other two lanes. Xu Shengwei and Jiang Xu are now also capable of stepping up and dealing damage. We currently have no good solution for this… but, as a rookie who hasn’t taken on the main damage role for a while, his touch might have become less precise. By banning his key utility mid-laners, we can see if this approach will work against him…”

Many teams this season have tried to target Lin Lan in various ways, but they all ended up being defeated by him.

So, IB decided to try a different strategy, targeting Lin Lan’s comfort zone, and hoping for a different outcome.

After banning three mid-laners, only assassin mid-laners were left open for Lin Lan. However, if Lin Lan picked an assassin, IB would immediately counter with Ornn, making their targeting strategy obvious.

Seeing the opponent dare to choose champions this way, Lin Lan immediately smiled.

As a mid-laner with five years of professional experience, Lin Lan has been targeted far more often than his opponents can imagine.

He was long accustomed to such situations.

“How’s Jiang Xu’s Gragas practice coming along?” Lin Lan asked.

Jiang Xu was taken aback for a moment. He didn’t quite understand why Lin Lan suddenly asked him this question. Recently, under Lin Lan’s suggestion, he had indeed been practicing top-lane Gragas. This champion could be highly effective against dive-heavy top laners like Jax and Ornn. Was this what Lin Lan meant…?

Shi Quan seemed to catch Lin Lan’s drift and smiled, his eyes narrowing, “Jiang Xu’s Gragas should be playable, right?”

Jiang Xu, out of humility, replied, “It should be playable.”

Shi Quan responded, “Good.”

DT instantly locked in Gragas and Lucian, and the choice returned to IB.

The commentator saw this and naturally assumed, “Gragas is for the jungle, and Lucian is likely going bot lane, especially since DT still has the option to pick Nami.”

IB initially wanted to pick Ornn, but seeing DT pick Lucian made them hesitate.

DT’s Lucian could go mid instead of bot, especially since their jungler is Gragas, meaning they wouldn’t lack AP¹Ability Power damage. Lin Lan playing an AD mid-laner was entirely possible, given his background in AD roles and deep understanding of Lucian. The possibility of Lucian mid was significant…

Ornn’s non-targeted abilities would make him vulnerable against a highly mobile AD mid-laner like Lucian, effectively rendering him a sitting duck.

Should they pick Ornn or not? Lin Lan had presented IB with a major dilemma.

They would be in trouble if they picked Ornn and Lucian went mid.

They would still be at a disadvantage if they didn’t pick Ornn and Lin Lan picked an assassin.

IB’s coach, sweating profusely, was brainstorming frantically. As the countdown was nearing its end, he had to make a decision: “Pick Ornn. If it doesn’t work out, Ornn can go top. The main goal is to prevent Lin Lan from snowballing.”

Their mid-lane wasn’t strong enough, so IB had to target Lin Lan to win the game.

This was indeed the best possible approach. The choice was now DT’s: would Lucian go mid or bot? They had to decide quickly.

DT didn’t hesitate; they instantly locked in Nami. With Lucian on their team, picking Nami meant Lucian was definitely going bot lane!

This realization excited IB. During the second ban phase, they targeted Lin Lan by banning mid-laners, while DT continued to ban top-laners and then picked Akali.

Although Akali isn’t the best counter to Ornn, she fares better than other assassins. This was DT’s reluctant choice.

After deciphering DT’s entire strategy, IB’s coach became even more excited. He was about to carefully select a top-laner for Wulen when he suddenly realized a terrifying fact.

DT had banned five top-laners, leaving IB without an AP top-laner to choose from!

If Ornn went mid and they picked an AD top-laner, IB would lack AP damage, resulting in a full AD composition.

A full AD team, known as a “quick blade team”, is extremely vulnerable. As soon as DT started building physical defense items, IB would be completely outmatched. Such a composition is a disaster in professional play!

The commentator exclaimed, clearly recognizing IB’s predicament, “IB wants to pick Ornn for mid, but DT banned five top-laners, leaving them without an AP top-laner. So what will IB do? Ornn has to go top, and they need an AP mid-laner. But if they pick an AP mid, they’ll be countered by Kiner’s Akali… Wow, DT really nailed this draft phase!!”

The crowd erupted into cheers, and the bullet screen was instantly flooded with comments.

They noticed that since DT introduced this new coach, they have been dominating almost every draft phase!

Although the coaching level in the LPL doesn’t differ much, coaches have limited influence on the game. However, players can feel much more comfortable with a good draft phase!

Currently sitting comfortably in first place, DT’s new coach definitely deserves credit!

But, it’s not over yet.

DT set a trap when they picked Gragas.

When IB reluctantly picked Viktor for mid-lane, DT filled their last position with Hecarim!

The bullet screen was filled with question marks at this point. People couldn’t understand why DT made this choice. Why pick a jungle champion when they already had Gragas?

Even the commentators were momentarily stunned until one of them suddenly realized, “Oh! Gragas is going top lane! Recently, there have been instances of top-lane Gragas in the Korean league, and this champion is effective against dive-heavy champions like Jax!”

Seeing this, IB’s coach suddenly felt a buzzing in his head, realizing that this was actually a trap.

Even when they were banning utility mid-laners, DT realized that IB wanted to pick Ornn, so they meticulously led them into a trap…

This draft phase was more than just winning; it was practically a victory already!

And this wasn’t the first time DT had won in the draft phase.

Jiang Xu and Lin Lan’s champion pools provided the greatest assurance for the lineup, while Shi Quan’s bold selections always resulted in highly impactful compositions.

Most crucially, these five rookies had an inexplicable trust in each other. Their teamfights improved with each game, and their strategy became increasingly mature…

Fans could already sense that DT was officially growing into a strong team, in every sense of the word!

With fervent anticipation, they watched the game unfold. They could see Lin Lan’s dominance remained as strong as ever. Despite being unable to outduel Viktor at level one, he still pressured his opponent with his positioning, smoothly farming to level two without any hindrance.

In the bot lane, Xu Shengwei’s Lucian played exceptionally aggressive. He knew the enemy jungle pathed from top to bottom, so he aggressively pushed in the first two levels. Coupled with Nami as his strongest partner, he felt extremely comfortable in the lane.

As soon as the enemy jungler finished clearing a jungle quadrant, Xu Shengwei sensibly retreated to reset the minion wave.

At the moment, Xiao Shengjing in the jungle hadn’t encountered any trouble, and everything was going smoothly.

The only one struggling a bit was Jiang Xu. Compared to Wulen, an experienced veteran, Jiang Xu still seemed a bit immature.

In theory, Gragas could suppress Ornn. But in reality, Wulen had a lot of subtle maneuvers, and he excelled at playing mind games. Jiang Xu was not his match in this regard.

After level one, Jiang Xu realized he hadn’t gained an advantage and clenched his teeth.

In his year as a substitute, Jiang Xu had meticulously studied every game of Wulen’s, thinking he had a solid understanding of his opponent’s playstyle. However, in reality, Wulen’s playstyle defied categorization. Like Lin Lan, he was a natural-born king. Conventional tactics wouldn’t confine him; he played with his esports instincts, adaptability being his doctrine.

By level four, Jiang Xu noticed he was starting to fall behind.

This realization made him break out in a cold sweat, and he even began to entertain thoughts of backing off…

Just then, Xiao Shengjing arrived in the top lane, accompanied by Jiang Jin from the bot lane. “Jiang Xu, watch your positioning. Don’t be too aggressive,” Xiao Shengjing advised.

Jiang Xu suddenly felt confident. Yes. Even if he couldn’t win on his own, he had teammates behind him silently supporting him. What was there to be afraid of?

He immediately flashed onto Wulen, who quickly realized the danger. Xiao Shengjing, accelerating forward, gave him a kick, while Jiang Jin swiftly trapped him with a bubble. Wulen couldn’t release his flash in time, his health dropping dangerously low. However, with his skillful maneuvers, he dodged abilities and managed to flash away…

But in doing so, his minion wave was frozen by Jiang Xu.

Wulen looked at the silent wave.

The commentators chuckled, “My goodness. It’s the first time I’ve seen Wulen’s minion wave get frozen. DT’s pickoff potential is just unstoppable. Who would have thought Nami from the bot lane would join in too? You can tell Morri really loves to roam, especially to the top lane. These two players are both surnamed Jiang. This double Jiang combination works really well together.”

Jiang Jin’s roam caught Wulen off guard. The favorable situation slipped away, and all advantages were now in Jiang Xu’s hands. Wulen had to start rebuilding his advantage.

After painstakingly reaching level 6 and regaining a slight edge, Jiang Xu took a sip of his drink, swaying leisurely, then suddenly flashed to unleash his ultimate.

While in mid-air, Wulen swiftly threw a dart into the bushes, marking his target perfectly.

Here comes Lin Lan to the top lane!

His damage combined with Jiang Xu’s would surely take him down!

Wulen’s heart sank. After being hit by the barrel’s ultimate, he was immediately struck by the E skill’s charge, leaving him almost completely immobilized, only managing to unleash the first part of his ultimate.

Still stuck in the immobilization, Lin Lan flew towards him from the bushes. Before landing, he unleashed the damage of his RAQ combo, then applied Ignite, pushing Ornn’s health to the brink!

What’s even more terrifying is that Lin Lan held onto the second part of his ultimate, not rushing to use it. He wanted to wait for Wulen to flash before delivering the killing blow with his ultimate.

This move sent shivers down Wulen’s spine. He couldn’t fathom how Lin Lan’s reflexes were so fast, and the damage came even quicker than he had imagined!

With his back tense and driven by a strong survival instinct, he flashed back to unleash the second part of his ultimate, summoning a lava elemental that charged straight toward Lin Lan.

Ornn’s ultimate consists of two parts. The first part deals damage to enemies it passes through, which is essentially negligible. The real power lies in the second part. He can choose the direction of the charge, and after strengthening the elemental, he can knock up all enemies along the way, controlling them for up to 1 second!

Meanwhile, Lin Lan’s second part of the ultimate also travels in a straight line. To hit Wulen, he must face his ultimate head-on. However, if he gets knocked up by Ornn’s second part, Lin Lan’s ultimate will be interrupted! It’s almost an unsolvable dilemma!

Seeing this, no one could help but be astonished by Wulen’s maneuver. In such a perilous situation, he still managed to escape death! Truly deserving of the title of the strongest top laner in the LPL!

But is there really no way to crack this? Even Lin Lan can’t kill Wulen?

Lin Lan still had a passive from a previous Q skill, swinging his weapon with a casual indifference. Just as the lava elemental was about to knock him up, he suddenly pressed R for a flash.

Lin Lan’s flash wasn’t directed toward Wulen but was angled slightly off.

This angle shift allowed him to dodge the lava elemental. Then, the subsequent flash brought him back on course, landing exactly where Wulen was trying to escape to.

With a swift “swish swish”, a golden landing, and a splatter of blade light, the killing line of the second part of the ultimate was extremely high. Lin Lan directly executed Wulen with a strange angled line!

This move shocked the entire arena, and even the deceased Wulen had an incredulous expression.

Lin Lan pulled off a zigzag R?

Akali’s R can indeed be followed by a flash because the judgment mechanism of her ultimate is based on the landing execution. By flashing before the ultimate lands, you can indeed extend the range of the execution.

But the premise for executing this move is that the flash and the ultimate’s judgment must be on the same straight line. In other words, you don’t need to move the mouse direction. Just continuously press R and flash to achieve this move. It requires a player who is proficient in controlling Akali’s ultimate time and distance to pull off.

But what if it’s a zigzag R?

This means that the mouse needs to control two different directions. Lin Lan must quickly move the mouse after the first R judgment is generated to immediately find the landing spot for the flash to have a chance of success.

Of course, as long as the hand speed is fast enough, theoretically, it can also be executed.

But Lin Lan’s recent move wasn’t just a simple zigzag R; he also controlled the distance of the zigzag, making the landing point after two angle deviations coincide exactly with Wulen’s position.

Not only does this require god-like hand speed, but also distance calculation!

They couldn’t fathom how Lin Lan, with that seemingly casual expression, calculated the distance and then instantly executed such a freakishly precise move with a failure rate of 99.99%!

The arena was so shocked that there was almost no sound. After a silent half-second, the barrage exploded: [What the heck! What kind of angle is this?]

[Ah, how did Wulen get killed?]

[Did Akali’s R turn into a zigzag?]

[What just happened? Wasn’t Wulen supposed to have escaped?]

[Oh my goodness, my heart is pounding out of my chest.]

[Is this something a human can pull off?]

[Only the game mechanics can keep up with this, right? This is freaking god-level!]

[How on earth was this move executed? Someone tell me. I’m going crazy…]

[Aaargh, my scalp is tingling…!]

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