Chapter 25: Silence Is the Ultimate Contempt

"Energy Jelly": "This guy is probably planning to throw the game. Take note: we’re effectively playing without a jungler this match."

The punishment system on the Korean server is extremely strict, especially in high-ELO games. Blatant griefing can lead to lengthy suspensions or even permanent bans. The jungler was likely conflicted, as this was his own promotion series; choosing Mordekaiser in the jungle already made the game significantly harder.

Lu Zi'ang lightning-fast switched to the chat box and typed, "It is what it is. Let's just do our best."

Although the system required him to climb to the top of the Korean ladder with a 90% win rate, some situations were simply unavoidable. Lu Zi'ang hoped the system had at least some humanity and wouldn't make things too difficult for him.

With the Mordekaiser invading the enemy jungle, Lu Zi'ang headed to the bot lane. His support for this match was a Soraka. A Caitlyn-Soraka duo was decent, but it all depended on the player's skill. In the mid lane, Jelly was playing Ahri, one of his most proficient champions, so Lu Zi'ang felt confident about the mid lane.

The top laner on the blue side was a Tryndamere, while their own top laner was a Sion. Honestly, it was rare to see someone playing a brainless champion like Tryndamere at this ELO. Lu Zi'ang had already guessed that the five opponents were likely Korean server Challengers, while his own teammates were probably around the same rank as his current account. The ranked matchmaking system always tries to keep both sides balanced in win rate and skill, which is even more pronounced during promotion series.

At this moment, the viewer count in Lu Zi'ang’s livestream had reached 9 million. This was largely thanks to the buzz generated by JackeyLove’s shout-out. On a normal day, excluding his debut, his viewership usually hovered between 4 million and 5 million. His follower count had surpassed 2 million, though growth had slowed down after hitting that milestone.

Seeing the Mordekaiser head off to invade the enemy Red Buff, the viewers in the chat started venting:

"WTF, this guy is definitely a griefer. I saw the chat during the draft; they’re pissed about IG winning the championship!"

"I guess I can understand the Koreans; they take their honor more seriously than their lives."

"The LCK has dominated LOL for so many years. It’s rare for the trophy to change hands, so I can see why they’re bitter."

"It’s tough, really tough. If things go as expected, the top and jungle will implode early. That Challenger Tryndamere one-trick will crush our Sion."

"The jungle invasion will fail too. There’s a massive gap between a Challenger jungler and a Diamond 1 jungler."

"This game depends on 'Falcon' and Jelly. Jelly’s skill is terrifying too!"

Lu Zi'ang had been duo-queueing with Jelly lately, and the viewers had witnessed his incredible skill firsthand.

Three minutes into the game, the Mordekaiser, while invading the Red Buff, was caught by the blue side’s jungler and gave up First Blood. Mordekaiser is squishy early on with low damage and a slow clear speed. Lacking mobility and hard crowd control, many low-ELO players love using him in the jungle, claiming it's some kind of "black tech" strategy.

After giving up First Blood, a line of Pinyin appeared in the public chat: "LPL, la, ii" (LPL is trash).

The message was sent by the blue side’s Xin Zhao. His ID was in Korean, clearly a hardcore LCK fan. He meant the message for Lu Zi'ang and Jelly, since their IDs were in Chinese Pinyin. Two years ago, Lu Zi'ang might have gone on a verbal rampage, but now, he found such insults beneath him. He would let his performance in the game grind these people into the dirt.

As the great writer Lu Xun once said: "Silence is the highest form of contempt."

Seeing no response, the blue side's Xin Zhao stopped provoking and started ganking. By the five-minute mark, Lu Zi'ang used superior mechanics and positioning to secure a double kill in the bot lane! Luckily, his support was playing Soraka, a versatile healer that didn't require high mechanical skill—just timely heals and properly placed W and Q abilities. Otherwise, the support wouldn't have been able to keep up with Lu Zi'ang’s awareness.

With the double kill secured, the viewers felt vindicated:

"Falcon is insane! How dare these Koreans mock our LPL? We have to wipe them out and make them cry!"

"Kill them all!"

"666, that double kill was perfect. So satisfying."

"I have a feeling the blue side's bot lane is about to tilt. A death at 5 minutes is the worst—they can't buy items and they're falling behind in XP. It's only going to get worse from here!"

As expected, the blue side's bot lane was completely dismantled over the next five minutes. Lu Zi'ang froze the wave, eventually zoning them out of experience range. Caitlyn’s greatest advantage is her range, and combined with Soraka’s sustain, the laning phase was a nightmare for the blue side.

At 10 minutes, the blue side’s ADC had a measly 30 CS, while Lu Zi'ang sat at exactly 107. That’s every single minion—front line, back line, and cannon—meaning he hadn't missed a single one, maximizing his economy. With two kills and perfect farm, Lu Zi'ang had a massive item lead.

In the blue side’s team chat, the ADC started raging:

Ezreal: "Jungler, what are you doing? If you're so good at trash-talking the LPL, why aren't you ganking bot? They've zoned me out of XP range!!"

Xin Zhao: "?? Didn't you see me invading? And I helped Tryndamere kill Sion already, what more do you want? You're just trash. You think you're good enough to criticize me?"

Seeing them argue, the mid laner tried to act as a peacemaker: "Guys, stop fighting. We're still in a good spot, especially top."

"I'm holding even in mid. Let's just stabilize. Fighting won't solve anything; we need to stick together."

The Syndra in mid tried to mediate, only to get yelled at by both the ADC and the jungler.

Xin Zhao: "Even? You call that even? You're trash too. Like the ADC, no lane priority, down in CS, and you call that even? If you were actually even, I could gank! Can't you bait them a little? The enemy jungler is already doing great, but your movement is like an alarm—every time I come to mid, the Ahri knows immediately."

Ezreal: "I'm down 80 CS in 10 minutes, and the Caitlyn has two kills on me. What are you even talking about? How am I supposed to play? Why won't you gank bot?"

Just then, the Tryndamere in top lane interjected: "Xin Zhao, why’d you stop talking? Didn't you say the LPL was trash? I got my own kills top; you didn't even get an assist. What are you shouting about?"