Thank you to Hide for the ko-fi~
When the director replayed the recent kill, the highly focused audience finally saw how Lin Lan made his move.
Akali’s second ultimate is non-targeted, dashing toward the mouse cursor and performing a ground slash on nearby enemies upon landing.
Lin Lan leveraged the non-targeted nature of the second ultimate to alter his angle, then used his godlike hand speed and calculation skills to adjust his landing direction and distance with a Flash, landing and slashing Wulen.
If Wulen’s recent Flash-R combo demonstrated a top-level performance expected of a premier top laner, then Lin Lan’s zigzag R just set a new high standard for the LPL!
The commentators on stage couldn’t stop saying, “I haven’t seen such an exciting showdown in a long time. The last time I was this thrilled was during the finals of the Worlds two years ago, in that intense mid-lane battle…”
The protagonists of that match were two Korean teams. The LPL teams were completely eliminated and forced to watch as the Korean mid-laners showcased their skills. That feeling was indescribably painful.
What made it worse was that the domestic teams were in a slump, with only Qi Mo being a noteworthy mid-laner. After ENG’s disastrous defeat, there wasn’t a single decent mid-laner in the entire LPL. Watching Korea turn Worlds into their own internal competition, while LPL couldn’t produce a competent mid-laner for a long time, was a crushing blow to every LPL fan…
Seeing Lin Lan’s gameplay now, everyone genuinely saw a glimmer of hope.
During the period when the LPL had a gap in mid-lane talent, Lin Lan emerged and reached heights that no one even dared to imagine. How could anyone still bear to criticize such a mid-laner?
Those who disliked Lin Lan and criticized him quietly fell silent. When an opponent is too powerful, so powerful that they can’t be disparaged, the desire to slander them transforms into a feeling of awe.
After that godlike play, Lin Lan seemed to be on a roll, continuously making jaw-dropping moves.
After securing the first blood, Lin Lan’s economy was ahead of Viktor’s, and he already had the damage to kill him instantly. Viktor had no choice but to play cautiously and farm.
While Viktor was huddled under the tower farming, suddenly, Hecarim flashed in from the side, giving Viktor no time to react. Hecarim used his ultimate to push Viktor towards Lin Lan.
As a full-damage assassin, Lin Lan didn’t even need a full combo to kill him. He raised his hand for a QA, marked him with an E, and then created distance. Unhurriedly, he used the second part of his E skill to return to his prey, executed a first R slash, and then used the second R to get out of the tower’s range. The elegant and clean kill didn’t even let him take a single hit from the tower.
After diving into the tower and killing a player, Lin Lan was still nearly in full health. Even though IB’s jungler, Deng, had arrived at the scene, he could only take one look before leaving without hesitation.
With two kills under his belt, Akali had reached the point where she could instantly kill anyone she encountered.
At this stage, Viktor was in the most difficult position. His Zhonya’s Hourglass wasn’t completed yet, while Akali already had two items. If she got close, it would definitely mean instant death for him!
Viktor gripped his mouse tightly, calculating Akali’s kill range, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
I can’t, I can’t let Akali get close, absolutely not…
Akali’s maximum kill range with a reverse ER combo could almost cover half the screen. Viktor was fixated on this distance, preferring to miss minions and experience rather than give Lin Lan the slightest chance!
Seeing that it was impossible to kill Viktor, Lin Lan’s killing intent subsided considerably. After clearing the minions, he recalled right in front of Viktor.
The recall animation featured Akali inspecting her weapon. That proud posture looked just like a hunter planning how to assassinate their prey.
Viktor didn’t let down his guard. He kept a safe distance, farming minions from half a screen away from Lin Lan.
He knew that as long as he safely made it through this phase and went back to base to complete his Zhonya’s Hourglass, Lin Lan wouldn’t be able to kill him anymore.
One slash, two slashes, three slashes.
The recall countdown: three seconds, two seconds, one second…
Just as Lin Lan was about to complete his recall, Viktor slightly relaxed his vigilance. He thought that his current position was safe anyway and couldn’t resist stepping forward half a step to take the rear minions.
Lin Lan, who had been watching Viktor’s movements, let out a cold, low chuckle. So cautious, yet still fell for it…
In an instant, he struck the keyboard, performing a reverse E-Flash combo. His ultimate struck Viktor, and as Viktor panicked, Lin Lan pressed W to enter the shroud and become invisible! Then he reappeared, hitting Q followed by an auto attack. After Viktor flashed away, Lin Lan calmly used the second part of his ultimate to land and finish him off, claiming the kill with a clean and seamless combo!
Lin Lan closed the gap from nearly half a screen away in about 0.3 seconds, getting right up close to Viktor!
You have to understand that a player’s reaction limit is between 0.4 to 0.5 seconds. Lin Lan’s 0.3 seconds already surpassed Viktor’s reaction time. Viktor was still in the motion of last-hitting minions when Lin Lan was already in front of him, raising that sinister scythe and stabbing it deeply into his main artery…
Impossible. IB’s mid-laner stared at the black and white screen, his pupils trembling slightly. He had clearly calculated Lin Lan’s assassination range, so how…
Satisfied with the kill, Lin Lan returned to base.
In the recall animation, Akali admired the scythe in her hand, with a proud expression that seemed to convey her satisfaction with her prey.
“Hmph, another one who overestimated himself.”
Akali’s taunt mirrored Lin Lan’s taunt. The opponent underestimated him. The kill range of his Akali was not just half the screen, but the entire screen!
Lin Lan had previously performed even more impressive plays with Akali. He once killed an enemy AD from a full-screen distance using a reverse E-Flash combo, ulting onto a minion, then using the second part of the ult and Zhonya’s Hourglass to finish the kill, all from off-screen.
However, that’s no longer possible, as Akali’s assassination range has been nerfed. Now, the first part of her ultimate can only target champions, reducing her kill range.
But even the nerfed Akali remains unbelievably cool!
Under Lin Lan’s superior development, without even using the E skill, he could still execute a nearly full-health Viktor. This kill range and threshold are hard not to fear!
The commentators used every word of praise they knew, yet it still wasn’t enough to fully describe their amazement: “Many of Akali’s skills can be used in combination, especially the R and E skills. Both of these skills activate upon landing, and when combined with Flash, the skill range can be extended. Not only does it extend the range, but it also shortens the combo time due to the game’s mechanics…”
That’s why the term “light speed” exists in the game.
Combos that surpass game mechanics are often called light speed, like Riven’s light-speed QA which can cancel the attack animation delay, significantly shortening the game’s response time.
Lin Lan’s R-Flash and E-Flash work on the same principle. Timing the Flash just before the skill activates seamlessly extends the skill range and shortens combo time, making it nearly impossible to defend against.
Moreover, Akali is one of the most versatile champions, with countless combo variations making each kill unique. In the hands of Lin Lan, whose playstyle is equally undefined, Akali’s unpredictable nature is brought out to its fullest, leaving enemies bewildered.
The chat exploded with frenzied comments:
[Ahhhhh, that move?!]
[How can he kill from such a distance? Help!]
[SOS. I need to get some oxygen for Viktor. Getting killed like that is so suffocating…]
[Does this Akali not even need to use E to kill anymore?]
[I can’t understand this hand speed. Even after a replay, I still don’t get it QAQ.]
[No wonder those teams don’t dare to let Lin Lan have assassins…]
[Does IB regret forcing Lin Lan out of his comfort zone?]
[Letting Lin Lan have an assassin champion was definitely a mistake!]
At this point, the chat finally understood.
Functional mid-laners are not Lin Lan’s comfort zone at all—assassin mid-laners are!
No matter how many games he played as Galio, no matter how many support champions he picked, the moment Lin Lan grips an assassin champion, his instincts are immediately triggered!
Throughout this summer split, so many teams tried to hold back Lin Lan’s hands, but still couldn’t win. And IB had the audacity to let Lin Lan go all out?
They forced Lin Lan to pick Akali, which was a colossal mistake from the very beginning!
At this moment, the IB players also realized this.
A terrifying atmosphere enveloped the arena. After dying twice, Viktor involuntarily started swallowing hard.
The suppression Lin Lan exerted was unprecedented. Despite being so cautious in this match, Viktor still felt like a newborn baby before Lin Lan…
Lin Lan wielded his scythe, with a casual gait and posture, executing kills with a single strike!
Viktor quickly built his Zhonya’s Hourglass. After completing it, Lin Lan indeed lost much of his interest in him.
But their AD was in a miserable state!
Lin Lan roamed to the bot lane three times, each time securing a kill on their AD.
Perhaps a 6-0-3 Akali doesn’t need to reason with them; getting close means certain death!
IB’s AD was already being extremely cautious, always staying under the protection of his teammates. As the team fight seemed to be going perfectly, he raised his dual guns, ready to unleash his damage.
Suddenly, he heard his teammate’s panicked voice through the headset, “Lin Lan has engaged!”
The AD’s vision went black as Lin Lan used a reverse E-Flash, followed by a two-part ultimate and QA combo, slaying him instantly from afar, amid the crowd!
Such positioning! Such damage! Only Lin Lan could pull this off!
But that wasn’t the most amazing part. The most incredible part was that Lin Lan, during his reverse E-Flash kill, had also marked his shroud with his E skill.
According to Akali’s skill mechanics, her E skill can mark not only champions and minions but also her own shroud. Pressing E again triggers the second part of the E skill, allowing her to return to the marked spot.
Thus, right after killing their AD in front of everyone, Lin Lan activated the second part of his E skill and returned to his original position, hidden in the shroud.
Infuriating!
They thought they were close to ending Lin Lan!
But Lin Lan had already left himself an escape route when he made his move, almost zero-cost killing their AD!
IB’s initially well-executed team fight was instantly turned around. Xiao Shengjing’s ultimate pushed them back aggressively, and finally Jiang Xu, who had arrived in time, unleashed his ultimate, blasting them apart, sealing IB’s disastrous loss in this game…
Lin Lan swung his scythe and entered the fray for the second time, using his high mobility to continuously clean up the remnants. No one could escape Akali’s pursuit!
As IB suffered a team wipe, their lanes were pushed to the high ground. With a 40-second respawn time, they had no ability to resist, only able to watch helplessly as DT cleared their nexus.
The emotions of all five of them were incredibly complex, becoming more bitter as they watched.
Because of the strained relationship between DT and IB, they hadn’t played a single scrimmage throughout the entire summer split. So, they didn’t know DT’s true skill level.
It wasn’t until they actually faced off that they truly understood why those teams were relentlessly targeting Lin Lan, not letting him pick assassin champions.
Because assassin mid-laners are his comfort zone!
Looking at the grim faces of the entire IB team, the chat was already bursting with laughter: [Hahaha. Lin Lan has been the scapegoat of the summer split. Finally, a team is helping him take the blame…]
[I’m dumbfounded. IB hasn’t scrimmaged with DT? And they let Lin Lan play Akali.]
[IB probably never scrimmaged with DT.]
[Hilarious. In the spring split, IB looked down on DT and didn’t scrimmage with them. And now in the summer split, DT looks down on them haha…]
[Indeed, how the tables have turned.]
[As they say, leave a way out for yourself so you can meet again in the future.]
[IB always followed the black-red marketing route. Now they’ve finally crashed, haven’t they?]
Watching the relentless mockery online, IB’s coach kept wiping sweat, his chubby face turning red from the tension, looking very nervous.
This scene was captured by the broadcast, and the chat was calling out to him: [Stop watching, they’re all insulting you.]
[Stop watching, you won’t be able to sleep tonight.]
[You really should be nervous now, what a crappy draft.]
[In the whole LPL, only you guys let Lin Lan pick assassins.]
[Hahaha, they specifically picked a crappy lineup for Lin Lan to kill. I’m dying of laughter…]
[Now IB not only has bad players but also a bad coach.]
Meanwhile, players from other teams watching the match couldn’t help but laugh at IB: “What’s up with that? Don’t they know Lin Lan’s Akali went wild in scrims?”
“Hahaha. We tried over a dozen different lineups but couldn’t contain him. We had to ban it in the end.”
“This version of Akali is too strong. It’s like it was tailor-made for Lin Lan.”
“I can’t stop laughing. IB has no clue.”
“No one tipped them off.”
“Seriously, are they that unpopular? Makes them look so clueless…”
After not getting Akali for so long, Lin Lan was feeling a bit down. But after wreaking havoc in the game and killing them all, his mood suddenly lifted.
He took off his headphones and stood up, seeming to smile at his teammates. His tense profile softened considerably under the lights.
Fans went wild when they saw this: [Did Lin Lan just smile?]
[Ahh!! This is the first time I’ve seen him smile on camera since that incident!]
[He looks completely different from when he played Galio last time.]
[Lin Lan is really easily satisfied, sniffle sniffle…]
[Please, new coach, don’t be ignorant. Don’t let him play Galio again, QAQ…]
[One plea to the heavens, don’t let Lin Lan play Galio again!]
After this game, fans were basically worry-free.
Lin Lan was not affected by the public opinion at all. If anything, his performance soared under its influence, dealing a fatal blow to IB!
In the second game, IB seemed to lack a good counter-strategy. Their overall tactics seemed disjointed like they were caught off guard by Lin Lan.
In this game, Lin Lan didn’t pick an assassin but instead opted for the roaming mage known as the “Spell Machine Gun”. Xiao Shengjing directly dominated the mid-lane, using it as a breakthrough point to mercilessly slaughter the enemy mid-laner.
This style of slaughter made it impossible for Deng to assist because the synergy between Lin Lan and Xiao Shengjing was simply on another level!
The game started to split open from the mid-lane, quickly radiating to the side lanes. Jiang Xu continued to use Gragas to target Wulen. In two games, his performance soared, allowing him to pull off miraculous ultimates every time. He always managed to blast the enemy carry into Lin Lan’s firing range, while knocking away any hindrances elsewhere. This precise targeting was jokingly referred to by the commentators as “selective blasting.”
IB barely held on until the late game, with a glimmer of hope for a comeback. But the well-farmed Xu Shengwei dealt them a heavy blow in two team fights, leading to their defeat.
With this, DT secured a 2-0 victory over IB and solidified their position at the top of the regular season standings with a score of 14-1.
Meanwhile, IB is now in danger of dropping to sixth place. If they continue to lose, making it into the playoffs will be difficult…
Such a stark contrast left the audience sighing. Initially, IB looked down on DT and refused to scrim with them. Now…
And they also discovered an interesting fact: IB has never won against DT, not even by a small margin.
The barrage of comments burst into laughter: [Maybe this is the benefit of not scrimming.]
[Great job, IB! You should never scrim again. I believe in you. (smile)]
[As long as we don’t scrim, you’ll never know my tactics, so you won’t know how I’ll lose… LOL]
[Hahaha, laughing so hard…]
[Keep it up, worthless.]
After this game, IB faced epic levels of ridicule. Their fans watched the barrage of comments while trembling, completely afraid to speak up for them. Even they felt embarrassed by the performance.
After the match, many fans angrily unfollowed them. According to incomplete estimates, IB lost tens of thousands of followers overnight, and the decline continued.
This rapid decline panicked IB’s operations department. They urgently released promotional videos to salvage the situation, but it didn’t seem to help at all.
On the other side, the fans of DT experienced a surge today. They were thrilled by Lin Lan’s performance and impressed by the team’s coordination, making them unable to resist the urge to follow them. After all, human nature tends to admire strength.
The DT team left the arena in high spirits. Lu Shi shamelessly asked Lin Lan to teach him how to play Akali. Lin Lan found him troublesome and kept telling him to buzz off, but Lu Shih insisted on sticking around, annoying Lin Lan.
Lin Lan wanted to punch Lu Shi. But with so many fans around, he couldn’t resort to violence.
In the end, it was Xiao Shengjing who came to his rescue. He reached out, encircling Lin Lan’s neck and pulling him away from Lu Shi’s grasp, like an eagle snatching a chick, and placed Lin Lan back in the car.
The crowd suddenly erupted in screams and frantic photography, mixed with Lu Shi’s grumbling.
Lin Lan: ???
He didn’t think being dragged away by Xiao Shengjing was any better than being bothered by Lu Shi.
Qi Rong was also among those crazily taking photos. After snapping some shots, she quickly sent them to Jiang Xu: “I ship this CP for real!”
Jiang Xu saw the message and chuckled, remaining silent. He had known it was real for a long time.
The captain’s favoritism towards Lin Lan was so obvious that even if they didn’t say it, it was an unspoken understanding within the team.
Jiang Jin and Xu Shengwei, standing nearby, seemed unfazed and accustomed to it. Only Lu Shi was very dissatisfied. He criticized Lin Lan, “You forget your principles for beauty.”
The person who had promised to return in three days during the last vacation had actually stayed with the captain for two weeks before coming back.
Damn!
Was he, Lu Shi, so worthless?
When Lu Shi returned to the base, he started a live stream. To his surprise, DT was now incredibly popular. As a minor, insignificant streamer, he suddenly had tens of thousands of viewers as soon as he went live. Many people were asking him when Lin Lan and Xiao Shengjing would start their own streams.
The barrage kept pouring in one after another, overwhelming him. Lu Shi couldn’t keep up with it all, so he quickly messaged Lin Lan and the others, asking them to join the livestream.
Lin Lan had already taken a shower and was just coming down for a stroll when Lu Shi grabbed him and dragged him to his livestream room. Lin Lan asked him, “What are you doing?”
Lin Lan was dressed in casual clothes, with wet hair from the shower. His skin looked fair, delicate, and flawless even without any beautification under Lu Shi’s camera. After the shower, his eyes sparkled with a certain brightness, appearing clear and transparent. He looked at the screen with focus and seriousness, shining like a gem.
The barrage didn’t expect Lu Shi to do this stunt, so they went crazy in the live stream room, sending gifts like mad. Lin Lan exclaimed, thinking he had seen wrong, “Lu Shi, how come you have so many fans sending you gifts?”
Lu Shi knew these people were sending gifts to Lin Lan, but he mischievously replied, “After all, I’m a contracted streamer, with essential differences from someone like you who isn’t contracted.”
The barrage took the opportunity to spam: [That’s right!!!]
[Those who aren’t contracted, stop watching here and go start your own livestream!]
[This is the live stream room of a contracted streamer. If you’re brave enough, go get yourself a contract!]
Lin Lan couldn’t help but show a puzzled expression, causing the barrage to burst into laughter once again.
But Lin Lan wasn’t one to sit idly by. He leaned over to watch Lu Shi’s gameplay, and with extreme disdain, he clicked his tongue and said, “Your Akali plays like you’ve got one hand tied behind your back.”
As soon as he said that, Lu Shi made a serious mistake. He E’d under the enemy tower, a very foolish move that got him killed by the enemy.
Enraged by embarrassment, Lu Shi exploded instantly, “Lin! Lan!”
Realizing he messed up with his words, Lin Lan quickly slipped on his slippers and made a run for it with quick taps on the floor.
Lu Shi wanted to chase after him and give him a beating. He took a couple of steps but then realized he had just respawned and couldn’t go AFK, so he sat back down with a flushed face to continue his livestream, angrily shouting, “Lin Lan, you wait for me!”
Seeing that Lu Shi hadn’t caught up, Lin Lan peeked back from the side, looking uncertain at first, then, just like a cat sneaking a bite, he glanced again.
The barrage burst into laughter once again: [Hahaha. Why is this so funny…]
[Stop hiding! Everyone in the livestream room saw you!]
[Lin, you little cat. Truly living up to your name hahaha…]
[I didn’t expect Lin Lan to be so cute in private?]
[Hahaha. Lin Lan is becoming more and more like a comedic streamer.]
[Lin Lan, hurry up and start streaming! A day without watching your livestream makes me feel uncomfortable all over!]
[Help, this is too hilarious…]
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