Late at night, inside a single-room rental in a dilapidated tube-shaped building.
The evening breeze streamed through the window, bringing a slight chill to the small, shabby bedroom.
The dim light of a computer flickered in the bedroom. Xia Xin stared intently at the computer, his fingers rapidly tapping away on the 20-yuan Double Flying Swallow mouse.
The computer displayed League of Legends, currently the most popular competitive online game in China.
The kill count was 15 to 30, a double kill difference. With both lanes destroyed, the home team could only hold on, desperately, beneath the twin fangs of the large crystal.
But it seemed the end was near.
Xia Xin, using the Night Hunter, had excellent awareness, and with a quick glance using his Divination Orb, he saw that the opponent had already begun to take the second Baron.
Seeing his teammates itching to leave, Xia Xin typed on his keyboard, "Let's go! We have no chance of winning in a normal teamfight. I haven't even finished both my abilities yet."
The opposing team had a strong lineup: Moltres top, Twisted Fate mid, Gragas jungle, Nautilus support, and Graves AD. They had burst damage, crowd control, and damage output, plus a gold advantage. The three frontline players were each incredibly tanky.
On the other hand, we had Olaf top, Zed mid, Rengar jungle, Sona support, and Vayne AD.
In the words of Jet Li, "Not a single one could withstand the attack."
And they were a team of melee fighters.
Whether it was Zed, Olaf, or Rengar, Gragas had no chance against a tanky stone. Even Nautilus couldn't cut them down.
As for the two backline players, want to cut them down? Sure, we'll just have to get past these three mountains first.
This battle seemed doomed to tragedy from the start, and it was a miracle that it lasted even 35 minutes.
The opponent's teamfight strategy was simple: mindlessly pick off Xia Xin's Vayne. They considered everything else useless.
As for how to pick off them, there were literally a thousand and one ways to die. Nautilus's targeted hard control was massive, Stone's group control was massive, Gragas's split formation was massive, Grim Reaper's invulnerability was massive, Twisted Fate flew right next to him, and Graves could even use a ranged ultimate to take out half his health.
However, the opponent now had a huge advantage and didn't bother picking him off. Seeing them about to leave, Twisted Fate arrogantly declared, "Whoever comes gets killed."
This wasn't an exaggeration; it embodied the principle that good advice is often unpleasant to the ear.
Of our five men, any one who dared to attack in a teamfight would be killed in a second.
Xia Xin initially called out, telling his top laner Olaf to build some tanky gear and hold the fort, only to be met with a barrage of criticism. "What the hell? An AD player who's already 0-5 at 20 minutes has the right to speak? I'm building tank, and you're supposed to deal damage?"
Xia Xin remained silent for the entire game. He was always too lazy to talk to people, especially trolls.
It was only this time, when the others were about to go out for a Baron fight, that he had no choice but to say again, "Just hold on and fight. There's a chance."
He didn't say the last part. Vayne is a hero who can work miracles.
In the current situation, defending the tower is still manageable. Going out to fight would be like turning on a light in the toilet—seeking death.
But his teammates wouldn't listen. Olaf, who had a rather hot temper, cursed outright, "What the hell are you even talking about? Second lane's broken, they took Baron, and with the Baron buff, they're pushing top lane. How can you defend? Three lanes with minions, and you're still fighting? You're a fool."
League Dog said, "That's right. Go out and fight. Success or failure is just a matter of one wave. It's better than waiting to die. With your mentality, you want to reach Champion? Go home and raise pigs."
Zed said coldly, "Those with a losing record, don't talk. Just play the team and get points, okay? There are nine Champions in the whole place, and you're the only Master. You have the right to speak? 35 minutes, 5 kills, 5 kills, 5 kills. We know. Masters are probably boosted."
Indeed, Xia Xin is currently playing in the highest rank in League of Legends, Telecom Ward 1, the strongest Champion rank in Ionia.
Xia Xin looked at his 15 kills, 13 assists, and a 90% participation rate. He didn't want to say anything more. You guys have already taken all the kills, and you have to use kills to measure your strength?
The two sides engaged in a nearly unrelenting firefight. Halfway through their attack on the dragon, the enemy saw five of our team charging forward. The molten behemoth calmly turned and unleashed a powerful "Unstoppable" attack, instantly knocking two of them off their feet.
Zed, being the king after all, instantly activated his ultimate, "Forbidden Secret! Instant Prison Shadow Killing Array," dodging the blow, but it was useless.
The enemy immediately swarmed forward, slicing through Olaf in the front row and the invisible, exposed Warwick. Both instantly vanished into the vast crowd. Of course, Zed only managed a second longer than them. Then, the delicate, busty Sona collapsed helplessly at the feet of several rough men, suffering a beating.
The screen displayed the words "Grandmaster Quadruple Kill" in bright red.
Grandmaster glanced around. Where was that other person? Where was my quintuple kill?
5 kills! Oh dear! Come out! Come out! Open the door!
A quick look at the minimap: Damn, why is Vayne leading the minion wave in mid lane? We agreed on a teamfight, but why isn't she here? Is he still being loyal?
"Chase! 5 kills!"
The teammates were in perfect harmony. They didn't even bother fighting the half-blood dragon, nor did they bother destroying the crystal. As soon as the support, Titan, added the ball, the five of them shouted, "Kill!" and rushed straight to mid lane.
In reality, if the five of them had just stormed up the high ground, they would have won the game, but... who cared? With such a huge advantage, why worry about that?
Xia Xin also cooperated by pressing the surrender button. All three of them pressed the green surrender button, leaving only one crucial vote to decide the outcome.
Olaf didn't click. He angrily cursed, "Shabi AD, what the hell are you doing? I told you to fight, and you're going to collect the troops?"
"Do you understand what I'm saying? You useless piece of shit!"
In reality, Xia Xin knew it was over when he saw the Stone's ultimate attack on the two frontline players, so he turned back to collect the troops. Given their current situation, they had to rely on physical strength to avoid the ultimate attack to have a chance at a teamfight.
Seeing the team wiped out, he thought about pushing the lane up to the high ground, perhaps to delay them for a while.
Even when the surrender button appeared on the interface, he didn't even glance at it.
Xia Xin's consistent motto was: Never surrender until the world is dead.
In reality, turning back to push the lane was the right decision at the moment, but it depended on who made it. If it was someone with a good record, others wouldn't say much. But if it was someone with a 5-10 record, then everything they did would be wrong.
Even with 15 kills, 13 assists, and a 90% engagement rate, even with 5 opposing players focused on him, even with only one support protecting him, and even with several critical mistakes that cost him his life,... no one cared. They only cared about the results, the kills.
With a few people's swarms, without equipment, Xia Xin couldn't possibly out-compete them.
Zed said, "Look at the results, it's a guaranteed Silver dog. Boosted, no sense."
Walker said, "Exactly. If it weren't for that rubbish AD, we'd have won this game long ago. Go report him."
Olaf said, "You're not terrible. What's terrible is that you're not listening to orders. Just play your Silver tier properly, okay? Trash."
"..."
The support muttered, "The AD is actually pretty good. It's my fault. He missed a few big plays. I'm really not a support. I'm an AD."
But several people chose to ignore it. The game was already over, and now it was time to blame. Undoubtedly, this was the AD's fault, and it had nothing to do with them.
Xia Xin wasn't paying attention to the typing on the screen. His mind raced, calculating the various heroes' abilities.
Stone, Graves doesn't have his ultimate, Gragas and Twisted Fate have theirs. Flash, who used it just now? Twisted Fate's ignite is still there, and I have my flash and heal all working.
This wave... maybe we can win!
Seeing the five men charging at him like wolves and tigers, Xia Xin ran along the river toward the dragon. Suddenly, an eye appeared above his head. It was Twisted Fate's ultimate, Destiny.
A sign indicating Twisted Fate's fall appeared just inches away.
There was no escape.
In the bushes in front of the dragon gate, with a resounding clang, the yellow card struck Xia Xin without a trace.
Then a wild card pierced through him.
His health bar instantly shrank in half.
The two-second stun was enough for the others behind him to catch up, but Qin Tian didn't rush. He walked and hacked, one step, one strike, one step, one turn, one strike. In two strikes, he had already slashed through half of Twisted Fate's health.
Twisted Fate was stunned. How could Vayne still deal so much damage in such a disadvantageous situation? Never mind; the outcome was inevitable.
Seeing Xia Xin's third attack, the arrow was already in mid-air. Twisted Fate then activated his invulnerability, wasting an extra attack from Xia Xin. This was a testament to the King's attention to detail.
Twisted Fate comfortably typed "88" on the screen. His execution was flawless, holding off until the final second before activating his invulnerability, stalling Vayne and allowing the others behind to catch up.
Meanwhile, our team was already arguing. "Click, why aren't you clicking yet? Are you waiting for a pentacere? Damn, who else hasn't clicked yet?"
"Hurry up, surrender! I'm in a rush for bed."
"You rubbish AD, don't let me see you! I'll kill you every time I see you."
Just because Twisted Fate was stun, and the few seconds Vayne was slashing, allowed the others behind to catch up.
The situation was now one AD, five enemies, most of whom were between half and three-quarters health.
Xia Xin was completely absorbed in the game, so nervous he'd forgotten to breathe.
Vayne took two more steps forward, but the people behind her couldn't wait any longer. Titan flashed over and unleashed his ultimate, "Deep Sea Shock." A shockwave coursed through the dirt, aiming for him.
An unavoidable skill, another targeted control.
Vayne could only roll forward as far as he could, into the brush. Deep Sea Shock collided with him, knocking him back and stunning him for two seconds.
There's a subtle detail here: entering the brush.
The brush wasn't large, but it was also big enough for two body lengths.
At the same time, Twisted Fate's ultimate timed out, and Titan unleashed his Q, "Clear Channel," launching a blind ditch hook right into the middle of the brush.
But the person he was supposed to hook didn't appear, and he was surprised to find he'd missed.
That's because Vayne didn't roll into the middle of the brush, but rather to the edge, where she couldn't be seen or hooked.
It was a crucial detail; she dodged the fatal hook, which would have been fatal.
But... that didn't stop the five of them from brutally beating him.
If there were any late-game ADCs Vayne least wanted to face, Graves would definitely be at the top of the list.
Why?
One close Q and he'd be down to 1,000 HP. With his ultimate, he wouldn't even need to hit you again before stepping over your corpse and returning to the city.
Graves cursed, "You're such a runner! I wonder if you can even get a 5-kill? Fuck you! I told you to run."
Graves charged forward, using his E, quickly drawing his gun and dashing forward a distance. Then, with a flash of golden light, he instantly closed the gap across half the screen.
He instantly locked horns with the desperately running Xia Xin.
"Haha, die! 700 HP, not even enough for one Q."
Graves laughed maniacally, "Big Buckshot," and his Q unleashed with the whistling sound of death.