CH 4

Lu Yu’s mood was complicated. Hearing Jiang Mo’s words, he didn’t feel any resentment at all. Instead, he found it funny, just like the audience in the live stream room.

Jiang Mo himself didn’t know how insecure he sounded while speaking in that tone.

However, despite Jiang Mo’s lack of confidence, his words still managed to attack the other person.

[“Feeling annoyed: WTF, challenging your dad even before growing your teeth!”]

[“Is this person sick? Doesn’t he have any self-awareness? And he has the audacity to come here with a stutter!”]

[“Stuttering kid, crush him! Big brother will set off some amazing fireworks for you!”]

Jiang Mo added Ru Geng Zai Hou as a friend and joined Ru Geng Zai Hou’s custom room.

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: Follow the usual rules!]

The rules for the solo match were first blood, first tower, and one hundred CS (creep score). If unsatisfied, players could add their own conditions.

[Yu Jian Ni: Alright.]

After Lu Yu started the livestream for an hour, there were only a dozen people in the stream room. Thanks to the enthusiastic netizen who spread the news, the number of viewers increased to over a hundred during Jiang Mo’s solo match. Although the number wasn’t large, they were all there to watch the show.

The solo matches were usually held in the mid-lane, and players could freely choose their heroes. Jiang Mo played all five positions, while Ru Geng Zai Hou specialized in mid-lane, excelling at assassins like Zed and Yasuo.

After some consideration, Jiang Mo quickly chose Yasuo, the Unforgiven.

To Jiang Mo’s surprise, Ru Geng Zai Hou didn’t choose his best mid-lane hero but instead picked Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover, who had the longest attack range in the early game.

[“I’m laughing. Does this person want to take advantage of the range? Can’t win, so just farm?”]

[“Caitlyn against Yasuo is actually not an easy matchup.”]

[“But it also depends on the skill level of the Yasuo player. After all, out of ten Yasuos, nine are bad ==””]

Jiang Mo played relatively conservatively in the early levels. Caitlyn’s range was too long, and he lost a significant amount of health even before getting close. After reaching level 2, he used his E ability to dash back and forth between enemy minions, accurately hitting Caitlyn with a Steel Tempest tornado. Instead of continuing to engage, he used the minions to retreat.

It was true that out of ten Yasuos, nine were bad, but Jiang Mo wasn’t one of those nine. Every time he gathered enough Q stacks, he unleashed the Steel Tempest tornado from different angles, knocking up Caitlyn. In that instant, he followed up with consecutive E dashes, predicting Caitlyn’s flash and her E ability retreat, igniting and attacking her.

— First Blood

The viewers in the stream room were all cheering with [“666”]. After winning the game, Jiang Mo quit, and Ru Geng Zai Hou sent him several messages.

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: I’m not convinced. It’s just a hero issue. I’m not worse than you. Come for another round if you dare!]

Lu Yu: “Is this person mentally ill?”

[“Big brother is absolutely right. There are such mentally ill people who are unaware of their lack of skills and just want to entertain others!”]

[“With this skill level, he still picks Caitlyn. I’ve never seen such terrible positioning. I’m even amazed by how he manages to take all the Yasuo’s tornadoes!”]

[“Well, let’s not provoke crazy people. No matter how many times you win against them, they always have various reasons to argue back.”]

[Yu Jian Ni: I’ll play against you. For the sake of fairness, let’s choose the same hero this time.]

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: Okay.]

Lu Yu tapped Jiang Mo’s shoulder and reminded him, “Jiang Mo, don’t bother with such people.”

Jiang Mo shook his head, “No, it’s not allowed!”

After speaking, Jiang Mo sent another message to Ru Geng Zai Hou.

[Yu Jian Ni: If you lose this match, you don’t need to apologize to me, but you must apologize to my brother and my mom.]

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: Okay.]

A constant stream of warmth attacked Lu Yu’s chest, leaving him sighing helplessly.

[“Aww, why is my little brother so well-behaved!”]

[“I suddenly feel a bit envious of streamers. I also want such a brother!”]

For this match, the hero was chosen by Ru Geng Zai Hou, and Jiang Mo chose the same champion, Zed.

Two identical heroes in a solo match; it showcased individual skills.

One game played as jungle with Lee Sin, the other a Yasuo solo. The audience got a rough glimpse of Jiang Mo’s prowess, and even before the matches started, they believed in Jiang Mo’s victory.

Jiang Mo lived up to expectations and secured a kill against Ru Geng Zai Hou after reaching level three.

This time, everyone thought Ru Geng Zai Hou would apologize and admit defeat.

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: Zed is not my strong suit. I’m not feeling well today!]

[Yu Jian Ni: You should apologize.]

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: Why should I apologize?]

[Yu Jian Ni: You just agreed to it.]

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: I agreed that I don’t need to apologize to you if I lose. I didn’t agree to the second part.]

Jiang Mo’s eyes instantly turned red, as he had experienced this kind of situation more than once. His previous boss, who owed him money, had said the same thing. He could only use his gaming skills to educate people in his area of expertise. When facing shameless individuals, he truly didn’t know what to do.

With his mouth, for every word he said, others could come back with five.

Lu Yu shouted directly, “You fucking piece of shit.”

The sudden explosion of sound startled Jiang Mo, and he trembled all over.

Seeing Jiang Mo’s reaction, Lu Yu swallowed all the remaining curses he had in his throat. He awkwardly explained, “I was cursing at him.”

Jiang Mo, with his red eyes, looked at Lu Yu and choked out, “I… I know.”

[“Damn, I’ll remember this idiot. Little brother, don’t cry. I’ll gather my friends to deal with him. I won’t let him thrive in the Canyon!”]

[“I’m angry. Whoever dares to make my little stuttering brother cry!”]

[“Baby, don’t cry. We’ll expose him on the forum!”]

The look in Jiang Mo’s eyes tightened Lu Yu’s heart.

Regardless of manners or the possibility of the stream room getting banned, he didn’t care anymore. He was determined to show this person what it meant to be a master of comebacks.

Lu Yu grabbed the microphone and fiercely ranted in the stream room, overwhelming Ru Geng Zai Hou’s typing speed with his fast-paced speech, and the barrage lost its voice due to his sudden change.

Lu Yu didn’t know if Ru Geng Zai Hou was still in the live streaming room. He bent over and moved his keyboard, wanting to continue ranting in the chat box.

Just as he wondered if he had been too ashamed to speak, Ru Geng Zai Hou’s message came through.

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: If you want me to apologize to your family, I’ll have my friend fight you. If he wins, we’ll call it even today.]

Lu Yu: “F*** your mother! With your shitty rank, do you think you deserve to play games with my little brother? If you want to reach Master tier, go back to your Iron tier!”

[“Big brother, good job cursing him!”]

[“He’s not worthy!”]

[“Little brother, don’t believe his bullshit. If he loses, he’ll definitely come up with more excuses. Don’t let him deceive you!”]

Jiang Mo asked, “What did you say?”

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: I said it.]

[“…Brother, your little brother is too easily trusting. If he goes out, he’ll be easily fooled. You have to keep an eye on him!”]

[“It makes me so angry, but my little brother’s efforts to seek justice for our family are so obedient. Ah, I envy streamers who have such adorable little brothers.”]

[“Little stutterer set off two starry fireworks in your live streaming room.”]

[“Little brother, go to sleep after this match. Kids shouldn’t stay up late. Leave the adult stuff to us!”]

Approaching midnight at SVP League of Legends E-sports Club.

Having just finished a practice match, SVP’s top laner, Xie Ning, received a message from his friend.

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: Brother, help me with a solo match!”]

Xie Ning felt irritated. Ru Geng Zai Hou was his cousin, and ever since he joined the team, he had been bothering him incessantly.

Out of familial obligation, Xie Ning had to deal with him. This guy had a bad temper and always liked to stir up trouble. This time, he probably had conflicts with his teammates and wanted to reclaim his dignity through a solo match.

[“Why is Ning Ning not happy? Are the practice matches too tiring?”]

[“If you’re tired, go rest quickly!”]

“It’s nothing. I promised to livestream, can’t just end it right after starting,” Xie Ning smiled at the camera, but his heart was filled with bitterness. He owed twenty hours of livestreaming this month and it was almost the end of the month. If he stopped now, he wouldn’t be able to make up for it.

[Ru Geng Zai Hou: Brother, you promised my mom to take care of me. I’m being bullied, can you help me?]

Seeing the message, Xie Ning felt even more annoyed. When he went home during the Lunar New Year, he had to talk to his aunt and make it clear that he couldn’t take care of this younger brother.

Afraid that Ru Geng Zai Hou would continue to pester him, Xie Ning agreed. The solo time wouldn’t exceed ten minutes anyway, so he considered it as a break.

Xie Ning logged into a smurf account, added the ID of his solo opponent, and the opponent accepted the request instantly.

[“Is this a solo match?”]

[“Ning Ning, who is this “Yu Jian Ni”?”]

“Just playing around, after this match, I’ll go play ranked,” Xie Ning didn’t explain much.

In Lu Yu’s live streaming room –

[“Huh, the ID “Suan Ningmeng” looks familiar. I think I’ve seen it somewhere.”]

[“Me too.”]

Custom rooms could accommodate ten people, and this time Jiang Mo was going to solo against Suan Ningmeng. Ru Geng Zai Hou also joined Suan Ningmeng’s team, apparently intending to watch the match.

Jiang Mo easily got emotional and his eyes turned red, but he wasn’t actually crying. His resentment piled up, his hand gripping the mouse tightened, and a rare trace of ruthlessness flashed in his dark pupils, illuminated by the screen’s glow.