Chapter 26: Why Bother? It’s Just an LPL Championship, Isn’t It?

Xin Zhao immediately lost all his bravado and fell silent.

How could he dare to talk back to the top laner? He was very familiar with that Tryndamere’s ID. Even among high-ELO players, he held a certain reputation as a legitimate top-lane overlord and a Tryndamere specialist. People nicknamed him the "Number One Tryndamere on the Korean Server." Whenever he managed to secure Tryndamere in lane, that lane was essentially unplayable.

Seeing that Xin Zhao had stopped spouting nonsense, Tryndamere typed in the chat: "Xin Zhao, no need to gank top. Just focus on bot lane."

"The enemy top is already completely destroyed. In 20 minutes at most, I’ll be pushing into their inhibitor turret! As long as you don't let Caitlyn get ahead, you can just cruise to a win this game."

Since the big shot had spoken, what else could Xin Zhao do? He had to obey.

Over the next five minutes, the top lane died twice more. Just as Tryndamere had said, he was pinning Sion to the ground and smashing him, leaving him with absolutely no room to counterattack. However, the bot lane failed to bear any fruit. Xin Zhao camped for nearly five minutes, yet couldn't find a single opening.

What was most infuriating was that the opposing Caitlyn refused to recall, stubbornly staying in lane to farm frantically. From the 10-minute mark on, her positioning became incredibly disciplined, keeping the wave locked in the middle—a perfect stance for both offense and defense.

This drove Xin Zhao mad. He crouched in the brush like a scarecrow for nearly five minutes straight.

"Sibal! Oh, sibal! Did this Caitlyn get replaced? Why isn't he crossing the midline? Why did his playstyle suddenly become so conservative?!"

Frustrated, Xin Zhao typed frantically into the chat: "Are you guys sure there’s no vision in the brush?!"

"None. The enemy bot lane hasn't even been near the river brush, let alone placed any wards," Ezreal replied, equally puzzled.

Before the 10-minute mark, this Caitlyn had been incredibly aggressive, radiating killing intent; the moment Ezreal went for a last hit, she would immediately charge up to auto-attack him! But once 10 minutes passed, it was as if this guy had become a different person, playing with such caution.

"The level gap is getting wider and wider, and this guy's farming is still terrifying. If this continues, by the time he recalls and returns to lane, he’ll have at least an Infinity Edge and Berserker's Greaves. How are we supposed to play bot lane then..." Ezreal felt helpless, unable to fathom what was happening.

Yet, he overlooked one thing: the current position of the minion wave was perfectly locked on the red side... and Xin Zhao, crouching in the river brush, was siphoning experience.

What kind of calculation and memory did Lu Ziao possess? Back when he was in school, he was an absolute academic genius. He had dropped out nearly two years ago, but the school leadership still invited him back to continue his studies from time to time and had even reserved his student status.

There was no other reason; it was simply because Lu Ziao had a brilliant memory, a sharp mind, and a powerful capacity for learning. He had seen at a glance that the experience values didn't add up. With two people sharing experience, how could they be leveling up so slowly? It could only mean there was a third person in the bot lane. And since the jungler, Xin Zhao, had been missing for a while, it confirmed that the jungler was camping the bot lane.

Lu Ziao wasn't in a rush. He hadn't lost anything. On the contrary, the blue team was suffering a massive loss, as their jungler was leeching experience from their ADC and support. He just needed to keep his economy stable; once he returned to base to update his items, he would play properly with them.

"You like to gank, right? Then keep camping."

Lu Ziao said with a smile, "The enemy Xin Zhao is camping in the brush right now. Has everyone noticed the levels of the blue team's bot lane duo?"

"Since the 10-minute mark, their level deficit has been growing. They are currently three levels behind."

He would occasionally explain the state of the match to the viewers in his stream. Of course, he kept the chat hidden, as it would affect his performance in-game. However, the viewers in the stream were skeptical and expressed their disbelief:

"What is this guy talking about? Is the enemy Xin Zhao crazy? He’s been camping for that long? He should be farming his jungle."

"Yeah, there’s no vision. How could the streamer possibly see that? Unless he’s hacking."

"If Xin Zhao is actually in that river brush, I’ll eat sh*t, alright?"

"Is this just some random hater trying to stir trouble? Everyone who knows Brother Falcon's stream knows he only speaks with evidence. I've been watching for a week and I've never seen him brag..."

"What's wrong with being a hater? I am one. I just look down on this guy! If there's someone in that brush, I’ll eat sh*t while doing a handstand."

The next second, Xin Zhao appeared, brandishing his spear as he emerged from the brush. He danced behind the minion wave and typed "coward" in the public chat, then turned to leave.

In the stream, the viewers began to mock:

"Where's the guy doing the handstand? Eat up!"

"These haters just live to troll in Brother Falcon's stream."

"Damn, does he have to be this flashy?" As the viewers debated heatedly, Lu Ziao acted decisively the moment Xin Zhao turned to leave.

*Whoosh!*

A Q-skill "Piltover Peacemaker" slammed into Xin Zhao’s forehead. The damage was maximized, and Xin Zhao’s HP instantly dropped by a fifth.

It hurt. It hurt a lot!

So, you like dancing, huh?

A flicker of coldness crossed Lu Ziao's eyes. He hated nothing more than people dancing to taunt him; it truly maxed out his enmity. Without giving Xin Zhao a chance to react—since he was positioned too far forward—Lu Ziao stepped past the minions, followed up with his E-skill to close the distance, and placed a trap, predicting Xin Zhao’s pathing.

*Bang!*

Xin Zhao stepped on the trap, followed by another heavy strike. His health bar plummeted to three-fifths.

It hurt, it hurt like hell!

Even though Lu Ziao had no completed items, Xin Zhao had been camping in the brush for five minutes and had fallen behind in levels! Moreover, Lu Ziao had a level advantage, so even his base damage was terrifying—especially against a warrior jungler like Xin Zhao who hadn't bought any items yet.

This guy was really full of himself. He hadn't recalled, hadn't bought items, and had been camping bot for five minutes—just how little did he think of him?

Both skills landed for full damage, and Lu Ziao’s passive "Headshot" reached six stacks. *Bang!* Another auto-attack landed, and the health bar dropped again!

Xin Zhao was caught off guard by the storm of skills, and the bot lane duo in the distance looked on, bewildered. What was going on? Weren't they just farming? How did a fight break out? How did Xin Zhao’s health drop to less than half? What happened?!

Lu Ziao’s movements were fluid and seamless, as if every step had been rehearsed countless times in his mind, making it a joy to watch.

"F*ck!"

Xin Zhao couldn't help but curse. A wave of intense crisis washed over him, and he immediately burned his Flash, attempting to save his life.

*Whoosh!*

As Xin Zhao flashed, Lu Ziao flashed at the exact same moment. He had almost perfectly predicted the enemy’s flash; on screen, both characters moved simultaneously, a sight that defied belief.

The viewers in the stream gasped in shock, exclaiming:

"Can a prediction really be that synchronized? Hiss... he's too strong."

"I feel like Xin Zhao is just reaping what he sowed. Why did he have to dance and taunt? A Korean challenger? Is this his attitude and quality? Why bother? Just because our LPL won a championship?"