Chapter 32: Is a Blood Pressure Spike Just Causing You to Feel Stuffy?

The next morning, by the time Lin Ruo got up to wash, the winter sun was already high in the sky. He hadn't stayed up late the night before, but for some reason, he had slept straight through until noon. Perhaps it was the biting cold, or perhaps he hadn't fully recovered from the early start for yesterday's event. Fortunately, Xiao Bu didn't come to hound him, likely out on business as expected.

After eating, he headed to the training room, played a few perfunctory ranked matches to appease Nofe, and spent the rest of the day in his usual routine of bickering with netizens. The other teammates had been up since ten, grinding out their daily solo queue. Only Lin Ruo could drag himself in at midday, eat his fill, and then decide he didn't even want to play after a single game.

The fans, ever diligent in their role as keyboard warriors, were the first to launch an offensive.

[You don't even have the most basic attitude. Do you have any original intention for playing professionally?]

"Are you kidding me, little sister? What middle school? I didn't start playing professionally until high school, alright?"

[If you don't want to play, just leave. Don't ruin the professional careers of your teammates.]

"Thanks for the concern. I just finished lunch, so I really should go out for a walk."

His snarky retort left Tian Ye, sitting nearby, speechless. He wondered how they had both gone through the same nine years of compulsory education, yet Lin Ruo could spout such nonsense so effortlessly.

After fulfilling his required streaming hours, Lin Ruo slumped in his chair like a ragdoll, playing on his phone until he eventually drifted off into a light nap. When he woke up, Clearlove7—known as "Ailoli"—was looking at him with resentment. "Did you play on your own last night?"

"No. Don't you remember us walking back to the dorm together at midnight?"

"We don't sleep in the same bed. Who knows if you snuck off to get some games in?" Ailoli was aggressive; he hated it when his "brother" secretly put in extra work behind his back.

"For heaven's sake, why don't you just check the match history yourself?" Lin Ruo rolled his eyes and ignored him.

At 2:00 PM, the scrim against KT began. Nofe had stepped outside to smoke two cigarettes, still unable to decide on a team composition. He walked back into the training room clutching his notebook, feigning composure. Once in the custom lobby, Tian Ye immediately began chatting happily with his "ex-husband" Deft, exchanging jokes in Korean, leaving Lin Ruo completely bewildered.

As there were no bans in this scrim, KT, on the blue side, first-picked Jayce. As the undisputed overpowered pick of the S7 Spring season, Jayce was a must-ban or must-pick in the LCK. Smeb, the "Jayce King," didn't even need to be mentioned—if it was available, he took it. In the LPL, Jayce was also a permanent resident on the ban list, but the difference was that even if he were left open, the LPL top laners—accustomed to playing "three phantom gods" tanks—wouldn't dare pick him. Fear of taking the blame was one thing; established team tactics were another. This historical inertia had produced many famous LPL marksmen, whereas the LCK had been churning out super top laners since MaRin in S5. This was why LPL top laners were always outclassed at international tournaments. Over the years, TheShy and Bin stood as the only representatives of LPL's offensive top lane talent.

Feeling the immense pressure from across the map, Mouse scratched his head. "What can even beat Jayce?"

The opponent was the man who had once forced SKT to use five bans on top lane. After weighing his options, they settled on Shen for utility and Varus for the bot lane. KT responded with the highly aggressive Elise and Syndra, looking to push the early-to-mid-game tempo. They seemed intent on crushing their opponents early. Nofe frowned as KT locked in Ashe and Malzahar for a utility-heavy support pick. He had no choice but to pivot, locking in Lulu for Tian Ye to ensure late-game protection. With Cassiopeia and Lee Sin in the mid lane, they managed to keep the mid-jungle synergy from falling too far behind.

In the final seconds, Scout made the rare decision to swap Cleanse for Teleport. He knew that if they wanted to drag the game to the late stages, relying on a Shen that grew weaker as the game progressed wouldn't work. He had to step up to counter the pressure Jayce exerted through side-lane splitting.

"Don't mess around this game. We'll play steady in the bot lane; the late game depends on your damage," Tian Ye said seriously.

Lin Ruo nodded. Dammit, this composition was basically "protect the carry," so he had no choice but to play steady.

"Good luck. It gets easier after 25 minutes," Nofe said, completely shameless. He didn't care at all how difficult the early and mid-game would be.

...

Across the ocean, compared to the tense atmosphere among the EDG players, the KT squad was laughing and joking.

"Dong-bin, how many minutes do you think it'll take for me to clear the top lane?"

Hearing Smeb, the jungler Score smiled. "Then I'll focus on helping the kids in the bot lane. If we crush their AD, we're guaranteed to win."

"Well, Scout is quite strong. I'll try to push the mid lane and assist," Pawn said with his usual humility. As a former EDG starter, he knew Scout's capabilities well.

Deft adjusted his hair, sighing, "It's been a while since I played with Meiko. I wonder if his new AD is any good."

The arrogant Smeb laughed aloud. "Kim Hyuk-kyu, if you're scared, just say so. I'll carry this game, but you're buying me drinks afterward." He had played against EDG at Worlds last year; even with Pawn and Deft, they weren't a match for his team. Now that both had joined KT, and EDG lacked strong Korean imports, he looked down on them even more. After all, he bullied LPL top laners every time they met.

As the game started, KT's top and jungle invaded EDG's top-side jungle, forcing Lee Sin to retreat. The greedy Score chose to take the Raptors and the Red Buff, looking for a free meal in EDG's jungle. With no other option, Ailoli was forced to head bot. Lin Ruo made a split-second decision, directing Ailoli to use his ward-hop over the dragon pit to force a counter-steal on the Red Buff. If they didn't secure that buff, their jungler would be ruined early, and Lin Ruo didn't want to imagine the state of their bot lane.

At 1:50, the minions hit the lane. Leveraging Lulu's early lane dominance, EDG secured level two and seized lane priority. Score, finding no opportunities top after clearing the top jungle, snuck into mid lane and forced out Scout's Flash. Ailoli, having taken the enemy red, cleared his own blue-side jungle and recalled. With his tempo disrupted by the early jungle trade, he was confined to the bottom quadrant for now.

"Ailoli, don't go to the top side to wait for your camps after you recall. Elise will definitely come bot. Use our lane pressure to enter the jungle and find him," Lin Ruo instructed with meticulous detail.

Rather than wasting time ganking top, it was better to sacrifice some farm to track the Elise, ensuring they could safely navigate the laning phase. To Lin Ruo, that was the most beneficial answer for their current situation.