Chapter Twenty-Six: I Think It's Not Bad

The hero emerged from the spring, Yuan Zhong adjusted his support gem, and first followed Gao Jianli to clear the mid lane. After finishing one wave, he moved to the jungle to help accelerate the jungler’s progress.

Dian Wei finished off half of their jungle, and Zhuang Zhou had already returned to mid. He said, “The river spirit has spawned. I’ll block it for one wave, Dian Wei can take it.” Zhang Shun signaled “received” and quickly arrived at mid.

On the enemy side, their mid-lane mage was Wang Zhaojun, who predicted well and instantly froze Gao Jianli. Zhuang Zhou didn’t have his ultimate yet, so to help Dian Wei secure the river crab, he had to abandon Gao Jianli.

The enemy jungler was Jing Ke, swift as ever, and decisively chose the mage’s kill over the river crab. The system chimed “First Blood,” followed by Gao Jianli’s tragic cry.

Sun Shangxiang, on the marksman lane, laughed. “Now you know, don’t you?”

Gao Jianli was frustrated. “Three versus two, and I’m the one who died? What exactly do I know?”

Sun Shangxiang replied, “That’s something you should ask yourself.”

Gao Jianli was confused.

Yuan Zhong prompted, “Gao Jianli as a hero is actually quite noisy.”

Gao Jianli asked, “You mean the sound of his zither?”

Yuan Zhong said, “Not just the zither, but also his scream. Every time he dies, he lets out a particularly miserable cry. Listen closely—it’s really tragic.”

Gao Jianli replied, “Uh, it’s not that bad.”

Sun Shangxiang said, “No rush, there’ll be more chances later. Savor it.”

Gao Jianli grew anxious. “Don’t jinx it! What do you mean ‘more chances’? I won’t die again.”

Just as he finished, the system prompted: Jing Ke killed Gao Jianli, assisted by Wang Zhaojun.

Zhang Shun spoke up. “Is your mage up to the task?”

“Of course! Hey, Dian Wei, come help out. Since the start, you haven’t gotten a single kill. Is your jungling up to the mark?” Gao Jianli grumbled.

Yuan Zhong said, “I’ll come help.”

Sun Shangxiang said, “Go ahead. My hero is agile—unless I roll forward, they usually can’t catch me…” She hadn’t finished when she spotted Jing Ke’s shadow, hurriedly rolled under her turret, but still lost more than half her health. Combined with Luban’s basic attacks, she barely survived.

“This Luban hits hard,” Yuan Zhong commented, adjusting his equipment. “Mid lane, I can’t come right now—hold out if you can.”

“This Wang Zhaojun is so annoying. She clears minions faster than me,” Gao Jianli complained.

Lin Hui said, “It’s normal to lose lane against Wang Zhaojun. Just don’t miss minions and keep your gold up.”

Zhang Shun agreed, “Yes, don’t let the economy gap widen.”

Yuan Zhong saw Sun Shangxiang recalling under the turret and quickly warned, “You’re too low, move back a bit.”

Sun Shangxiang replied, “It’s fine, Jing Ke just used her ultimate, she won’t be back so soon.”

No sooner had she finished than the system prompted: Luban’s ‘Hundred Steps through Yang’ claimed Sun Shangxiang’s head.

“Oh no!” Sun Shangxiang groaned.

Yuan Zhong wanted to say: You really have to watch out for Luban’s cannon.

Mid lane was weak, marksman lane was at best even, jungler not strong—the disadvantage gradually became apparent.

Gao Jianli: “I died again! Dian Wei, where’s your acceleration? Come catch Jing Ke, or Wang Zhaojun will do.”

Dian Wei was pushing dragon at the solo lane, calling Lin Hui’s Cheng Yaojin for help.

Yuan Zhong suggested, “Gao Jianli, hide in this bush. Give the mid lane minions to Dian Wei. If it doesn’t work, let Cheng Yaojin handle it.”

Gao Jianli said, “That’s a good idea.” He happily trotted toward the marksman lane.

Yuan Zhong wanted to say: You should go via the jungle, but before he could finish, the system prompted again—Jing Ke killed Gao Jianli.

Sun Shangxiang asked, “What’s going on with you? You’re either dead or on your way to dying.”

Gao Jianli retorted, “You have the nerve to talk? The first turret still isn’t down after all this time, and you can’t even beat little Luban!”

Yuan Zhong sighed, “Hey, did you forget you’re playing a mage? Mages aren’t like supports—they’re fragile, you have to stay back.”

Sun Shangxiang echoed, “Exactly. Strolling boldly through the river, you still think you’re a tank support?”

Gao Jianli sighed, “I’m used to it. You kept forcing me to play support, and now it’s ingrained. But you know, after hearing it so many times, I do feel Gao Jianli’s death cries are a bit tragic.”

Sun Shangxiang said, “That’s why I say you’re well-matched—with that ‘jian’ character in your name.”

Gao Jianli protested, “Hey, cut it out! I’m already annoyed at dying so much.”

Yuan Zhong checked the economy panel. “Let’s change tactics—stop fighting, just clear minions and defend turrets. Wait until the gold gap closes before team fighting.”

Lin Hui agreed, “I’ll try to split push here.”

“Gao Jianli, your economy is terrible. Get a gem to share some gold. I’ll roam for vision, you stick with Sun Shangxiang—don’t wander off,” Yuan Zhong said.

Sun Shangxiang reminded him, “Don’t go too far—I can’t count on Gao Jianli.”

Yuan Zhong clicked “received,” and while the marksmen on both sides cleared minions, he checked the enemy blue buff: “Jing Ke isn’t in the blue zone—Dian Wei, come take jungle.”

Dian Wei ran over, and together they stole the enemy blue buff.

Zhang Shun said, “Sun Shangxiang, come, let’s take the dragon together.”

Yuan Zhong added, “Gao Jianli, hide in the bush. Don’t move unless Jing Ke shows up.”

So Dian Wei, Sun Shangxiang, and Zhuang Zhou quickly attacked the dragon. It was close—at the last moment, Jing Ke appeared. Zhuang Zhou reminded Gao Jianli to use his ultimate. Dian Wei snatched the dragon at the limit, then retreated.

Gao Jianli asked, “Why not attack Jing Ke?”

Yuan Zhong answered, “Wang Zhaojun came over. With our positioning, her ultimate would’ve injured us all.”

Zhang Shun said, “Right, we had to avoid her power. They were late because Cheng Yaojin was distracting them top lane. Marksman, take red—your economy needs help.”

Sun Shangxiang said, “Can we stop saying ‘not good’ for once?”

Yuan Zhong wanted to laugh, but held it in. He adjusted his equipment—money was short, so he had to think about the most cost-effective build, prioritizing smaller items over big ones.

The match was tough, but at least it dragged into late game, and the economy gap was closed. Jing Ke’s late-game damage wasn’t as scary—a combo couldn’t kill anyone and Sun Shangxiang’s poke quickly whittled her down, making her hesitate to strike.

Wang Zhaojun’s ultimate cooldown was short, but everyone had a Witch’s Cloak, so her attacks weren’t as painful. She had to save her ultimate to clear minions, so she wasn’t as threatening.

The biggest problem was still little Luban—his title as ‘First Gun God’ wasn’t for nothing, even Cheng Yaojin couldn’t tank his shots.

Lin Hui said, “Luban is invincible, I can’t withstand him.”

Yuan Zhong replied, “His economy is good, he got the Cursed Blade early. You were split pushing early and didn’t run into him.”

Zhang Shun said, “Luckily you took out the top high ground, so we have super minions.”

Gao Jianli said, “Sun Shangxiang, where’s the promised team leader? All that gold went to you for nothing.”

Sun Shangxiang replied, “Get lost, you fed them so much, made the enemy fat.”

Yuan Zhong bought Guardian Angel. “Let’s wait for the Storm Dragon King. We’ll team fight—if we win, push the high ground, at least take one more lane. Super minions will help with the tower.”

Looking at their lineup, Yuan Zhong knew their side had the advantage in late-game team fights, though he was still worried about Gao Jianli—his positioning was unreliable.

“Gao Jianli, in the team fight, stand behind me,” Yuan Zhong reminded him.

Sun Shangxiang said, “No, Jianli, go up front and run hard—that way I can clean up.”

Yuan Zhong was speechless.

Zhang Shun laughed, “Let’s do that, it won’t make much difference.”

Yuan Zhong couldn’t say anything, inwardly thinking: Surely Gao Jianli isn’t really that clueless?

The Storm Dragon King spawned. The group pretended to attack the dragon; if the enemy came, they’d start a team fight. If not, they’d secure the dragon. With the dragon in hand, pushing high ground would be an easy win.

The enemy knew they couldn’t let Yuan Zhong’s side take the dragon, so they began to squeeze in.

Seeing Wang Zhaojun enter the nearby bush, Dian Wei activated sprint and charged at her. In team fights, two types need dealing with first: crowd control and damage. Damage was Sun Shangxiang’s job; crowd control was Dian Wei’s.

Wang Zhaojun was forced to use her ultimate. Yuan Zhong’s Zhuang Zhou was right behind, using a mass cleanse, nullifying Wang Zhaojun’s ult. Dian Wei took her out.

Sun Shangxiang focused fire on Luban, while Gao Jianli supplemented the damage. The enemy support was no slouch, blocking for Luban. Luban healed quickly, Sun Shangxiang was too agile to target, so Luban switched to Gao Jianli, killing him in a few shots.

Yuan Zhong said, “You’re still too far forward.” He hurried to pressure Luban—Zhuang Zhou’s reputation as a team fight disruptor was well-earned.

Of course, Luban’s reputation as the ‘First Gun God’ was also deserved. Seeing Zhuang Zhou low on health, thankfully Cheng Yaojin followed up, letting Yuan Zhong retreat.

Jing Ke hadn’t appeared yet, so Yuan Zhong focused on protecting Sun Shangxiang.

As the support struggled, Luban became vulnerable. Jing Ke finally appeared, attacking Sun Shangxiang.

Sun Shangxiang rolled away, Zhuang Zhou moved forward to absorb damage, but with low health, was slain by Jing Ke.

“It’s fine, I can revive,” Yuan Zhong said. Soon, Zhuang Zhou got back up and rejoined Sun Shangxiang.

Luban was already weakened by Sun Shangxiang’s attacks and began to retreat. Dian Wei and Cheng Yaojin finally took care of the enemy support and chased Luban down. With his short legs, Luban couldn’t escape and was killed by Dian Wei.

Jing Ke, seeing the situation, didn’t dare advance and began to recall.

“Dragon or push high ground?” Lin Hui asked.

“I’m too low,” Sun Shangxiang said, “I’ll heal with a few small monsters first.”

“There’s a minion wave, let’s push high ground,” Yuan Zhong answered.

Sun Shangxiang hit a couple of jungle monsters, restored most of her health, and followed the push. Jing Ke alone couldn’t possibly defend.

After a fierce battle, Yuan Zhong’s team finally secured victory. Checking the time, it was the longest match yet.

Gao Jianli sighed in relief. “Good thing we won, otherwise you’d be nagging me for two months.”

Sun Shangxiang said, “With your performance, support suits you better.”

Gao Jianli replied, “Fine, I accept my fate.”

Yuan Zhong said, “Don’t give up, try again. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll play better.”

Lin Hui was drinking water and nearly sprayed it out.

Sun Shangxiang laughed, “You call that playing well?”

Yuan Zhong defended, “In the last team fight, he may have died, but at least he used all his skills and dealt the damage he needed.”

Lin Hui agreed, “Makes sense. Let’s play another, it’ll definitely be better.”

Zhang Shun said, “Up to you, but I’m sticking with marksman.”

Yuan Zhong wanted to play support, so he encouraged, “One more match—try Zhou Yu, his skills can burn towers.”

Sun Shangxiang said, “I can’t stand being called ‘not bad.’ I’ll play mage and show you all how it’s done.”

“No, you’re better as an assassin!” Yuan Zhong quickly protested.

Lin Hui agreed, “Try Zhuge Liang, see who’s better, you or Yuan Zhong.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhong’s eyes lit up—such a provocation was perfect!