Chapter 28: He Can Do This Too!?

The two teams returned to the stage.

As cheers surged in from every direction, Ye Bo could distinctly hear several voices already calling his in-game ID—quite unlike the near-silence that had greeted his first appearance in the opening game.

Ye Bo was certain of it.

This was the stage he had once dreamed of.

He loved this feeling.

“Welcome back, everyone. We are now entering the second game between EDG and LNG, with EDG currently in the lead!” Remember opened from the commentary desk.

“Yes. Let’s see whether LNG can make some adjustments this game. Their performance in the last one honestly didn’t look much like their usual style...” Miller began carefully.

The director’s camera unexpectedly went first to Ye, already seated at the players’ desk, giving the rookie a close-up.

Miller immediately broke into a smile. “This rookie still looks remarkably relaxed and confident!”

“Then, Professor Miller, do you think LNG will continue targeting the mid lane with their bans?” Remember turned to ask.

“It’s certainly possible. Before the match, our stereotype of this rookie was that he had a limited champion pool. LNG have switched to the blue side this game, so they’ll also have more bans available...”

The draft screen appeared.

“Draft has begun! Without further ado, let’s get into the game!”

“LNG once again ban Akali first, while EDG also ban Galio, just as they did last game.”

The first round of bans:

LNG: Akali, LeBlanc, Yone
EDG: Galio, Kalista, Lissandra

“Just as expected! LNG have chosen to ban Yone, who performed perfectly last game. They’re tightening the noose around the rookie’s champion pool!”

“But putting everything else aside, they’re showing him the utmost respect!”

“He’s only a rookie!”

When Li-Ning used their final ban to remove Yone, a faint stir ran through the arena. These were the spectators who had just declared themselves Ye fans on the forums after his performance in the previous game.

Clearly, no matter how one looked at it, forcing the opposing team to spend all three bans on mid lane was proof of his threat.

Of course, LNG themselves did not see it that way.

During the break, Doinb had conducted a meticulous review of the previous game. He had ultimately reached a conclusion.

Yone was the opponent’s hidden trump card!

From the moment EDG had announced their starting lineup the night before, LNG’s coaching and analysis staff had worked through the night collecting data on this rookie they had previously paid no attention to.

In truth, there was hardly any data to collect. Including his time in the LDL farming weaker opponents, he had played only five games in total.

So they could only search for clues in Ye Bo’s recent ranked record.

Unfortunately, although Ye Bo had indeed been practicing Yone intensively, he was no fool.

He had conducted all that extra training in the “Dream Trial” mode. There was not a single ranked game on his account over the past month.

Ye Bo understood his biggest problem perfectly well.

His champion pool was still shallow, making him easy to target.

And when LNG’s analysis team saw the strange champions scattered throughout his record, they were naturally misled.

“Let’s go with this mid-jungle combination. It can punish all of his picks!”

“We’ll play normally this game. Stick to our usual style. As long as we’re careful about their early-game tricks, Tian and I can take over once we get the tempo going!”

Doinb had clearly regained his confidence.

The previous game had admittedly been humiliating. He could already imagine how the kind-hearted internet users had begun “warming” him with their encouragement.

But he was a veteran who had weathered plenty of storms. His mentality was still rock solid.

The best way to wash away the disgrace...

Was to beat it back into them this game!

“LNG pick Vi first, one of the strongest champions in the current patch. EDG respond by taking Poppy and Aphelios.”

“LNG answer with Miss Fortune and Ahri! That’s an Ahri–Vi mid-jungle combination!”

“Wow, their early- and mid-game tempo looks much stronger than it did last game. LNG seem to be returning to the system they’re most comfortable with!”

After studying the compositions, Remember offered his assessment. “The slightly troublesome pick here is Poppy. Shouldn’t LNG have considered banning her?”

Miller replied as if it were obvious. “It’s not too bad. LNG are clearly planning to attack the mid lane. Ye’s Akali and LeBlanc are both extremely slippery, so targeting them makes sense.”

“Let’s see what EDG choose on their third pick...”

Ye Bo studied the opponent’s first three selections, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

“I can pick first, if you want?” Flandre spoke up. “Gragas is available. We can flex it, and it doesn’t really have any natural counters.”

“Or support can go first. Meiko could take Renata Glasc or Lulu, though their lock-on composition means we’ll be under considerable pressure to prevent dives after level six.” Coach Maokai glanced down at his notebook.

“Then let me go first and leave Ye Bo a counterpick,” Meiko said. “But would Zoe be good into Ahri?”

Ye Bo naturally had no reason to conceal anything from his teammates.

Everyone knew that aside from his three signature picks, Zoe was probably his fourth-best champion, and he played her quite well.

However, the opponent’s mid-jungle pairing did not look like a composition in which Zoe would thrive.

“What do you think, Ye Bo?” Maokai asked. There were only thirteen seconds left.

Ye Bo gave them the conclusion he had reached.

“Against this composition, wouldn’t Taliyah be better?”

“I think they might want to play around the side lanes this game. Catching me may only be secondary. With this lock-on setup, Miss Fortune, and a tank support, if I choose something with poor roaming potential, our bottom lane could get tower-dived over and over.”

“Taliyah could work. But...” Maokai paused.

It was not that he had failed to consider Taliyah.

It was just that, in his memory, Ye Bo had used her only once in a scrim, and that game had been specifically to counter the opponent’s Yasuo in mid lane.

“I can play it! No problem! I’m insanely good on Taliyah!” Ye Bo declared three times in succession, his voice brimming with confidence.

“Fine, fine, fine. Don’t overthink it. Ye Bo, take it yourself.”

“Pick, pick, pick...”

His teammates barely hesitated before urging Ye Bo, seated in the third position, to lock in his choice.

As the voice line “Fate weaves like a net; become the bedrock” rang out, the arena erupted in surprise.

“EDG have picked Taliyah for mid? That’s actually an excellent choice!”

“Wait, the rookie can play this too?!”

Compared with the commentators and the audience, Doinb on the opposing side was clearly even more shocked.

“No way! He can play this too?!”

“I seriously don’t believe it!”

Taliyah was the quintessential traditional mage, bearing virtually no resemblance to the type of champions Ye Bo had displayed in his pool before.

Doinb believed the pick had probably been forced out simply to complete the composition.

Meanwhile, Ye Bo was letting out a chuunibyou-style battle cry all by himself.

He poured all 28,275 experience points that had overflowed from Yone in his experience pool into Taliyah.

“Deep Blue! Level me up!”

The experience bar of his level-five Taliyah filled almost exactly to the threshold, and she reached level six.

One hidden champion technique after another shot into his mind with a series of swift flashes.

The two team compositions were now complete.

Blue Side: LNG | Red Side: EDG

Top Lane: Gnar vs. Gragas
Jungle: Vi vs. Poppy
Mid Lane: Ahri vs. Taliyah
Bot Lane: Miss Fortune vs. Aphelios
Support: Nautilus vs. Leona