Chapter 12: The Stat Monster Who Always Thinks He Has Skill.jpg

After enjoying a rare half-day off, the team at the club finally gathered to study their next opponent.

Buoyed by three consecutive series victories, V5's morale was soaring. Even though they knew their next opponent, WBG, boasted a lineup fully capable of rivaling any star-studded galactic battleship out there, the players felt not a shred of fear.

"WBG actually shares a lot of similarities with us," someone noted.

"Both teams rely heavily on their mid-jungle duos as the engine. The combination of Angel and SofM is top-tier among all major LPL powerhouses. Their greatest strength lies in SofM's hyper-aggressive jungle style, which often requires the mid lane to make sacrifices for him."

"And their mid laner is well aware of his positioning, much like Lao Song who loves to graze on grass and squeeze out milk."

"The only difference is that Angel compensates for his development through team economy, while Lao Song's mind is constantly plotting how to ambush and assassinate isolated opponents."

Hearing this, Rookie chuckled softly.

He had realized this issue a long time ago, but there was nothing he could be done about it. Back in his IG days, his teammates were too heavy; if he didn't transform into a firefighter running around putting out fires everywhere, the game would instantly collapse.

That playing habit had even carried all the way over to V5.

Changing one's playstyle takes a little time, and transformations simply don't happen overnight.

As for WBG—

Everyone knew about SofM. He was the evergreen tree of esports. While most junglers in the LPL maintained fairly standard pacing in the jungle, a few exceptions stood out:

MLXG, the fasting-style jungler: a reckless brawler.
SofM, the bandit-style jungler: a brawler with a brain.
Karsa, the radar-style jungler: a jungler with only a brain.

Matching Karsa against SofM meant the jungle was destined to be a battlefield of various mind games. The mid lane was relatively fine; Rookie had experienced a second spring in the mage meta, and suppressing Angel to keep him from roaming freely should be no problem at all.

However, the top lane...

Zero hesitated for a moment before casting his gaze toward the head coach. Nofe didn't put him on the spot, instead proactively throwing the question out to the room:

"What we can almost confirm right now is this."

"Aside from SofM in the jungle, the hardest part of WBG to deal with is TheShy in the top lane."

"Now."

"Do we stick to our normal strategy centered around contesting the bottom half of the map, or should we shift our focus to the top half because their top laner is TheShy? I want to know your thoughts."

The group looked at each other.

Normally, following the version's meta by playing around the bottom half would make it easier to win.

But this was TheShy!

Putting aside his ferocious playstyle—the kind of man who would boldly die if you dared to gank him, presenting plenty of opportunities—even if they didn't camp him, this was a prime chance to temper their own top laner.

So—

"How about this, tomorrow I'll primarily match up against SofM on the opposing side," Karsa said, casting a glance at Luo Ji sitting beside him. "As for TheShy, he can serve as a whetstone to sharpen my dream. Even though he's getting a bit old, I can still learn a lot from playing against him."

"Seconded."

Rookie nodded, choosing a simple and brutal show of support.

As for the bot lane duo of Xiaoyan and Ppgod, it went without saying. The combination of Huanfeng and ON wasn't enough to make them overly apprehensive.

Seeing everyone actively creating opportunities for him to lane against TheShy, Luo Ji felt deeply moved.

Then, he proposed a tactical idea of his own:

"I think we can counter WBG's playstyle by adopting a war-of-attrition strategy against them."

"A war of attrition?" Nofe looked bewildered.

The team already had three veterans in Rookie, Karsa, and Ppgod. Who on earth were you planning to wear down with a war of attrition?

Besides, it was a best-of-three, not a best-of-five. Surely it wouldn't reach a point where people were exhausted to death by the matches?

"Right."

"Even though our Brother Ka and Rookie aren't very young anymore, we entered the training mode for the playoff format much earlier than the opposing team. Our daily training intensity might not be the highest in the entire LPL, but at least we're ranked near the top, right?"

Hearing this, the players in the room nodded earnestly.

The V5 roster carried the buff of avengers; they were a group of discarded players, which made them all the more desperate to prove themselves and slap their former organizations in the face with their results. The entire team underwent over fifteen hours of high-intensity training every day, a regimen approaching playoff-level intensity.

Most teams only maintained about twelve or thirteen hours of practice at the start of the season, slowly ramping it up only when the playoffs arrived.

At this, Nofe understood Luo Ji's intention.

If it were the standard operational intensity, playing three games naturally wouldn't be particularly exhausting. But what if they actively accelerated the tempo, sped up the collisions, and dragged out the frontlines?

Then, that high-intensity match would cause WBG's roster to fracture into a state where the old couldn't hold on, the young couldn't sit still, the skinny couldn't endure, and the heavy couldn't bear it.

Damn it, this was actual tactics!

In Season 12, Tencent's focus had not yet fully shifted. Valorant on the Chinese server wouldn't launch until June of 2023, meaning people were still enthusiastic about stirring up competitive drama among teams within the LPL circuit.

If playing against TES meant the primary marketing angle was Xiaoyan stepping onto the Yunlan Sect, then playing against WBG transformed into the Super Rookie versus the Elderly Demon King, with even Rookie and TheShy reduced to secondary promotional material.

There was no helping it.

Luo Ji's traffic and clout during this period were simply too massive.

The emergence of various quirky strategies in matches had sparked a wave of learning trends in solo queue, compounded by the runaway popularity of *Heroes Microphone*.

Right now, he stood undeniably as one of the most prominent players on the League of Legends scene, leaving only the question of how much influence he could distill and convert.

Looking at the massive online hype that was so easily whipped up, Xiaoyan had to admit—

He was jealous.

Especially when he saw a flood of female fan accounts suddenly popping up under V5's official Weibo page, the sourness in his heart gradually reached its peak, prompting him to lean closer and ask:

"Bro, spill the beans. How on earth do you manage to be so popular online?"

"Huh?"

Luo Ji rubbed his chin and guessed:

"Maybe my playstyle appeals to them?"

"?"

Your playstyle?

A win-rate-obsessed playstyle could certainly attract people, but it couldn't possibly attract girls—people didn't watch pro matches just to climb ranked ladder points.

Instead, Karsa earnestly patted his shoulder, shook his head, and said:

"Accept your fate, kid."

"Did you see that face of his?"

"His face matches his damn personality. He's the type of numerical monster who genuinely believes in his own mechanics. If you looked like him, you'd be just as popular as him."

"..."

Having successfully resolved his confusion, Xiaoyan felt that not only had he failed to feel better, but he had somehow grown inexplicably sadder. What kind of situation was this?

Several days later, when they once again stepped foot into the competition arena, the livestream chatroom was already densely packed with scrolling comments:

[First!~]
[Incheon veterans, assemble!]
[The battle for IG orthodoxy, plus getting a firsthand lesson in the esports mad inventor's new ideas.]
[Hahahaha, are matches nowadays made this celebratory? The Spring Festival atmosphere feels quite festive.]

As one of the few matches held before the New Year, this round was called by commentators Yutong and guest caster San Da-dio.

The two of them were old acquaintances. Naturally, the latter was slightly more famous—not for his gaming prowess, but for the antics he pulled outside the arena.

Things like claiming the Baron buff, endorsing "chewing gum," and dancing in women's clothing on Douyin, whose view counts completely crushed those of countless female baiting streams.

One could only say that Lord San truly understood the secret to capturing internet traffic.

Following a round of opening pleasantries, Yutong decisively made the first move:

"Ahem, Lord San, looking at this match, which team do you favor more? Is it the veteran powerhouse WBG, or the rising newcomer squad V5?"

"For me, I'd probably lean more towards WBG."

Xiao San had also been watching the matches. V5's recent victories were largely due to the explosive performance of their rookie top laner, Mebius, but this round he was laning against TheShy.

The sheer strength of Teacher Shy could only be truly understood by veteran players.

"My opinion here is different. I actually favor V5. I feel that V5's execution is sharper and their mindset is much broader."

Hearing that Xiao San picked WBG, the smile on Yutong's face bloomed even brighter.

Yes.

He had wanted to pick V5 from the very beginning.

There was a very interesting selection criterion during the Season 12 regular season: when voting for the MVP, the subjective initiative of the commentators carried a massive weight.

In his past life, Tongxi used to form small cliques at the commentator desk to vote for her favorite players, a matter that later became practically common knowledge.

As a time-traveler, Luo Ji was well aware of this and naturally wouldn't remain indifferent.

Money had to be spent where it mattered most to count as well-spent money. Therefore, the moment he started making a name for himself, he consciously began contributing tips and subscriptions to these commentators' livestream channels every single month.

Though not a fortune, it at least signaled his attitude.

In the waiting room, looking down at his phone and feeling the livestream hype that contrasted sharply with the chilly venue, the V5 crew rekindled their fighting spirit.

"I am ready!"

Luo Ji spoke with a deadpan earnestness, forcefully dragging the attention of everyone in the room onto himself.

"Today, my rice was made with glutinous rice, my fishing rod was carved from peach wood, my bait was mixed with rooster blood, my fishing line was made from a carpenter's chalk-line, my fishhook was forged from a coffin-nail, my fishing spot was found using a geomantic compass, and the moment the float dips, I'm drawing my sword—I'm going to fish out these zombies and beat them to a pulp!"

"Fine spirit!"

Karsa slapped him heavily on the shoulder.

"Then you can handle the top lane yourself. Since you're so fierce, you should be able to take down their jungler together even if he comes to gank, right?"

"You might as well just kill me right now."

Hearing Karsa's words, the combat spirit Luo Ji had just managed to ignite instantly deflated.

Playing against TheShy was already a trial of extreme pressure.

And you want to add SofM into the mix on top of that?

Might as well just forfeit the match right now.

"Don't be like that. Weren't you full of morale just a second ago? You can sing like you did in that match against RA; I actually thought it sounded pretty good."

The black-bellied Rookie chimed in right on cue, choking Xiaoyan—who wanted to join in the banter but didn't know what to say—until his face turned completely red.

"Singing is out of the question, but we could always have someone play a musical instrument."

"An instrument?"

"Right."

Luo Ji nodded vigorously.

"In this life, a person simply must learn a musical instrument so they won't have any regrets. What I play is called beating a retreat."

Hearing this, Ppgod's face darkened.

"Then I'm learning one too."

"What are you learning?"

"Playing devil's advocate."

The remaining three members of V5: "..."

As the match time officially arrived, Luo Ji finally caught sight of the legendary Shy-brother before taking the stage.

He still maintained that sunny, shy, boy-next-door appearance, but upon spotting Rookie, his eyes would light up as he waved a cheerful greeting from afar.

Seemingly sensing Luo Ji's fixed gaze, TheShy looked over and likewise waved in his direction. This gesture caused Luo Ji to momentarily freeze before he hurriedly returned a smile.

TheShy in Season 12 was already slowly descending from his peak.

And that was natural.

Human reaction speeds inevitably decline with age, not to mention the well-known hand injuries TheShy carried.

Yet, a god descending the mountain remained a god. As long as he exerted even a sliver of seriousness, he could still recapture glimpses of his prime era.

It was worth mentioning that WBG's support position didn't field SwordArt, choosing instead to start their "gamer boy" ON. They were likely harboring the intention of nurturing a rookie, seeing as SwordArt was getting older.

"I'm starting to feel my blood boil a bit."

For the first game, Luo Ji didn't rashly interfere with Nofe's draft.

As the saying went: Nofe's drafts rarely had fatal flaws; the real issue lay in his idealistic reliance on his players. If the players could execute their abilities normally and follow his established tactical framework, then his draft would hold the advantage.

Conversely, once the players' form slumped or a breakdown occurred in tactical execution, then reasoning backward from the results made every single composition look wrong.

Ultimately:

WBG: Top Graves, Jungle Trundle, Mid Corki, Bot Caitlyn + Sett
V5: Top Akshan, Jungle Zhao Xin, Mid Viktor, Bot Zeri + Nautilus

A quick note here:

The champion Akshan had been banned in the World Championship, but he remained unbanned in the LPL, and in the current patch, Akshan equipped with Press the Attack was insanely strong. Almost every team's top laner was practicing him.

However—

Practicing him was one thing; pulling him out so quickly and daringly was an entirely different matter.

"Everything good, my dream?"

"Of course. You guys even picked a counter-pick for me against the enemy, so there's obviously no problem at all."

It had to be said—

As his dazzling performances on stage accumulated, the preferential treatment Nofe gave the top lane during the draft phase grew increasingly pronounced. The bot lane's Zeri was picked purely to weather the storm; why pick her then?

Because Zeri's self-preservation capability was absurdly high.

Placed in the bot lane, she didn't require much attention and had nothing to fear. Teamfights became even easier since she could kite endlessly, and even if an accident happened and she exploded, Akshan's revival mechanic provided a fail-safe safety net.

"I'm so envious of how fast you pick up champions."

Xiaoyan sounded genuinely envious.

He had practiced Zeri until his hands were practically crippled, yet his progress remained mediocre, whereas this freak in his team mastered and perfected whatever he touched with effortless ease.

The word "talent" was vividly and thoroughly embodied in Luo Ji.

This time, both the top and bottom lanes of V5 had simultaneously showcased niche picks, delivering a full sensory shock to the spectators outside the venue the moment they appeared.

"Get used to it. This stuff is genetic; you can't envy it, you can only grind harder in the lab."

Savoring the envy in Xiaoyan's tone, Luo Ji shamelessly flexed his talent.

Hide things?

Why hide anything within his own team?

Doing that outwardly was called "acting like a pig to eat a tiger," but internally, if he didn't flex, wouldn't he be wasting the talent he was gifted with?

"Wait, this has to do with genetics?"

"Of course~"

Luo Ji nodded with utmost solemnity.

"Human reproductive inheritance has limits. For example, if your parents can't give birth to children, then you likewise can't give birth to children. By the same logic, if your parents suck at playing alternate accounts and learning new characters, then your ability to pick up new champions will suck too."

Hearing this, Xiaoyan paused.

He thought about it carefully. He seemed to be an only child, and if his ability to pick up champions was mediocre, did that mean—

Huh?

Wait a second!

Something felt terribly wrong here?!