mijobooks Chapter 465 The Heavenly Lineage
Chapter 465 The Heavenly Lineage
After the news spread in the company group that League of Legends would be holding an internal competition, more people signed up than Lu Ran had expected.
The young woman from the administration department posted an online document in the group chat, asking everyone to fill in the registration information.
Lu Ran clicked in and took a look. There were already more than 30 people who had filled in their names, followed by the location he had given.
Top lane, jungle, mid lane, marksman, support – every position has been filled in, and some even filled in "substitute" and "coach".
Lu Ran filled in his name in the mid-lane section, then closed the document and continued looking at the EU server data.
An hour later, Zhao Yiming reappeared at his office door, still holding a cup of coffee, with a suppressed laugh on his face.
"Mr. Lu, guess who you're on your team?"
Lu Ran looked up: "Who?"
"Zhou from the administration department, Zhang from the customer service department, and two new interns, Li Chen and Wang Hao. Zhou and I are in the team across from us."
Lu Ran remained silent for two seconds after hearing this.
He had met Xiao Zhou from the administration department before. She was a young girl with round-framed glasses who spoke softly and didn't seem like someone who would play League of Legends.
Old Zhang from the customer service department looks like a gamer; he's almost forty, but he spends his free time playing games at his workstation.
He had no recollection of the two interns, Li Chen and Wang Hao, guessing they were newcomers who had only recently joined the company.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Zhao Yiming added, "Brother Zhou said this is a fairer way to divide them. You have four Bronze players on your side, and he has two Diamond and two Platinum players on his side. If you can carry them to victory, then you're truly amazing."
Lu Ran pushed the computer screen up and leaned back in his chair: "How do you know they're bronze-level?"
"I asked. Xiao Zhou said she'd only played ARAM, never ranked. Lao Zhang said he was Silver, but that might be a bit of an exaggeration. The two interns said they hadn't been playing for very long. Anyway, in my opinion, everyone except you is terrible."
Lu Ran nodded and said, "Alright, we'll see how it goes this weekend."
He doesn't care who his opponents are or who his teammates are.
With his current strength, even with four AI opponents, he could still take on nine opponents at once.
After Zhao Yiming left, Lu Ran leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
In his previous life, he played League of Legends for over a decade, from Season 2 to Season 13. Although he never reached the Challenger rank, he was always in the Diamond 1 Master rank.
Back then, he played mid lane and was good at mages and assassins, such as Zed, LeBlanc, Orianna, and Syndra, practicing each of them hundreds of times.
The timing of team fight engagements, the rhythm of lane trades, and the routes for roaming and supporting—these things are already ingrained in my muscle memory.
The general skill level of League of Legends players in this world is not as good as in his previous life; their strategy, teamwork, and understanding of the current meta are all significantly lacking. He had already felt this when playing ranked matches; at this rank, he was completely dominating.
Therefore, the situation Zhao Yiming described, where "you lead four bronze-level players against two diamond-level opponents," was not a challenge for him at all.
He turned on his computer, logged into the game client, and practiced Zed's combos in training mode.
The feel for it is still there; the shadow of the W skill is placed quickly and accurately. The R skill followed by E, Q, and a basic attack can take down a training dummy's health bar in one go.
He turned off the training mode, exited the game, packed his things, and prepared to go home.
When he arrived at the company entrance, he saw Zhao Yiming and several colleagues gathered together discussing tactics.
Zhao Yiming was talking on his phone, and several people around him were listening and nodding, their expressions as serious as if they were in a product review meeting.
As Lu Ran passed by, he overheard Zhao Yiming say, "I'll pick Nidalee and invade his jungle early on, preventing his mid laner from getting blue buff. That'll cripple him."
Lu Ran didn't stop walking; he pushed open the door and went out.
The weekend match is scheduled for 2 PM at the internet cafe next to the company.
The internet cafe is called "Aurora Esports". The decor is quite new and the machines are well-equipped.
TUTU Technology has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with this internet cafe. Employees receive discounts when playing games here, and they also occasionally book the entire place for team building activities.
When Lu Ran arrived, the competition area was already full of people.
There are three rows of computers, five in each row. The middle row is for the contestants, and the two sides are for the spectators.
A dozen or so people had already moved chairs and were sitting on the side, holding drinks or snacks, as if they were there to watch a movie.
Zhao Yiming was sitting in the middle of the row on the right, adjusting the keyboard and mouse. Zhou Mingzhe was sitting next to him, looking down at his phone.
Zhou Mingzhe was wearing a black hoodie today, and he didn't look like the company's second-in-command; he looked more like a student spending the night in an internet cafe.
Lu Ran walked over and sat down in his row, plugged in his peripherals, and tried out the buttons.
The keyboard is mechanical with blue switches, and the feel is rather crisp. The mouse is a gaming model from a certain brand, and the DPI is adjustable.
He adjusted the parameters a couple of times, felt comfortable with it, and leaned back in his chair to wait for the competition to begin.
Sitting next to him was Xiao Zhou from the administration department. The young woman was dressed casually today, with her hair in a bun, and looked much more energetic than usual.
Seeing Lu Ran sit down, she turned her head and said, "Mr. Lu, I might not have played very well, please don't mind."
"It's okay," Lu Ran said. "You just need to choose a support role and stick with the marksman. You don't need to do any of the controls."
Xiao Zhou nodded, but he still looked a little nervous.
Next to him was Lao Zhang from the customer service department. Seeing Lu Ran arrive, he greeted him, "Mr. Lu, I play top lane, but I only know how to play Garen. I don't understand the other positions."
"Garen's doing well," Lu Ran said. "Just play it safe in your lane and don't feed. I'll roam."
Old Zhang nodded and gripped the mouse tightly.
Two interns, Li Chen and Wang Hao, sat at the far end. Both looked to be in their early twenties, wearing identical black-rimmed glasses and bearing a striking resemblance. Lu Ran couldn't immediately tell which was Li Chen and which was Wang Hao, so she asked, "Which of you plays jungle and which is marksman?"
The guy on the left raised his hand: "I'm the jungler, Li Chen. He's the marksman, Wang Hao."
"Okay," Lu Ran said. "The marksman just needs to focus on farming and leveling up. As for the jungler, don't come to the mid lane early on. Help the bottom or top lane more often; I can handle it myself."
Li Chen nodded, but his expression didn't seem very certain.
Before the match began, Zhou Mingzhe stood up, walked to the open space in the middle, cleared his throat, and said in a moderate voice, "This is an exhibition match, everyone play freely. There are prizes for winners and no punishment for losers. Winning or losing isn't important, having fun is the most important thing."
Someone nearby shouted, "What's the prize?"
Zhou Mingzhe said, "Everyone who wins gets a limited-edition TUTU skin voucher."
The group of people over there chuckled, and the atmosphere lightened considerably.
Both sides enter a custom room and begin the BP (Ban/Pick) process.
Lu Ran's team was on the blue side. He first banned Nidalee, which Zhao Yiming might pick, then banned a mage that Zhao Yiming often used, and finally banned a strong top laner in the current version.
The opposing team was clearly unprepared; all three banned heroes were mid-lane champions, including Zed, LeBlanc, and Syndra, which Lu Ran often played.
When Lu Ran saw those three ban slots, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
The opposing team probably thought that as long as they banned his signature hero, he wouldn't be much of a threat.
Lu Ran chose Clockwork Demon.
Orianna is a straightforward mage, not flashy or requiring fancy maneuvers.
However, this hero's strength depends entirely on the player's awareness and positioning. A well-placed ultimate can wipe out the enemy team, while a poorly placed ultimate is just a waste of time.
After he selected Clockwerk, a message popped up in the chat box on the other side. It was from Zhao Yiming: "President Lu, you're playing Clockwerk? Aren't you only good at playing assassins?"
Lu Ran replied with two words: "Practice."
Zhao Yiming sent an ellipsis.
Game start.
Lu Ran bought a Doran's Ring and two health potions, then walked to the mid-lane tower and stood waiting for the minion wave.
The opposing mid laner is Zhou Mingzhe, who picked Lux.
Lux is a ranged poke champion in the mid lane; she has a long range, wide skill range, and can clear waves quickly.
However, Lux has a fatal weakness: all of her skills are non-targeted, so if she misses, her skills are wasted.
After the minions arrived, Lu Ran didn't rush to last-hit them.
He first stood to the side of the minion wave, used a basic attack to finish off the last hit of the first wave of minions, and then took half a step back to dodge an E skill thrown by the enemy Lux.
The E skill landed in the minion wave, taking away the health of three ranged minions, but it didn't hit Orianna.
Zhou Mingzhe probably didn't expect him to dodge so easily, so he took another step forward and used his Q skill, Light Binding.
Lu Ran took a step to the left, and the ball of light flew past him and landed on the soldier behind him.
Both skills are empty.
Lu Ran didn't rush to retaliate, but continued to finish off the attackers.
When the second wave of minions converged, Lu Ran had already leveled up to level two.
He learned the W skill, command: Noise.
This skill slows down enemies within its range while accelerating the user.
He timed the moment Lux went to last-hit a minion and used Orianna to throw a W at Lux's feet.
After applying the slow effect, he chased after Lux and auto-attacked her twice, reducing her health by a quarter.
Zhou Mingzhe was a bit stunned by this attack. He took two steps back and drank a red potion under the tower.
Lu Ran didn't chase after him, but turned back to finish him off.
When the third wave of minions arrived, Lu Ran reached level three.
He learned the E skill, command: Defense.
This skill can grant you a shield or attach the shield to a teammate.
He glanced at the mini-map.
Li Chen's jungler has shown up in the bottom lane and is helping Wang Hao's marksman push the lane.
The enemy jungler is not on the map, most likely farming in the top jungle or heading towards the mid lane.
Lu Ran did not retreat, but instead took a step forward.
In terms of finishing off minions, Lu Ran steadily suppressed Zhou Mingzhe, but Zhou Mingzhe was also very experienced, preferring not to take minions rather than give away kills.
That's how I managed to survive until level 6.
Lu Ran pressed closer again.
When Lux saw him pressing forward, she habitually used her E skill to block his movement.
Lu Ran dodged the skill with his movement, then controlled Orianna to take another step forward, passing through the gap between the melee minions and standing in front of Lux.
Lux was a beat too slow to react. By the time she realized Orianna was right in front of her, Lu Ran had already pressed the QR combo.
Orianna's ultimate ability, Command: Shockwave, explodes at Lux's feet.
A huge vortex pulled Lux toward the center, and then the puppet from her Q skill flew over and crashed into her, dealing a second instance of damage.
Press the W skill simultaneously to apply the slow effect, then chase and auto-attack twice.
Lux's health bar dropped from half to almost zero.
Zhou Mingzhe used Flash and ran towards the tower.
Lu Ran did not chase after him.
He stood there, watching Lux, low on health, run back to the tower and press B to recall, then turned around and continued farming minions.
The enemy jungler finally emerged from the bush above the mid lane, but it was too late.
Orianna was standing in the middle of the minion wave with full health and all her abilities available, so he couldn't kill her even if he came up to her.
The enemy jungler stood in the bush for two seconds, then retreated.
With this exchange concluded, Orianna had a 40-creep lead over Lux and a level 1 experience advantage.
Seeing the situation in the mid lane, Xiao Zhou said in the voice chat, "President Lu, you're pushing really hard."
Lu Ran didn't reply, focusing on last-hitting each minion.
Two minutes later, Lu Ran had already dealt more than fifty blows to Zhou Mingzhe, and the level difference was one and a half levels.
While Lux was last-hitting minions under the tower, Lu Ran stood in front of the minion wave. As long as Lux dared to take a step forward, he would throw out a QW combo to poke her.
Lux was forced to stay under the tower and use her skills to farm minions, but while Lux's skills cleared waves quickly, they also consumed mana quickly. After using two sets of skills, her mana bar was empty.
Zhou Mingzhe said in the voice message, "Which of you has time to come over here? I can't handle this clockwork."
No one replied to him.
The enemy jungler was ganking Lao Zhang's Garen in the top lane, and Lao Zhang was so badly beaten that he hid under the tower and didn't even dare to farm minions.
In the bottom lane, Zhao Yiming's marksman was putting pressure on Xiao Zhou and Wang Hao, but the opposing support was Braum. After Xiao Zhou's Nami was hit by Braum's Q skill and had her passive applied, she was even moving around cautiously.
Lu Ran glanced at the minimap and saw that the enemy jungler was still camping in the top lane and showed no intention of coming to the mid lane.
He controlled Orianna to push a wave of minions into the tower, then took two steps back and placed a ward in the river bush.
The moment his vision cleared, he saw the enemy jungler.
The enemy jungler didn't come from the top lane; he came from the bottom lane river and has already reached the Dragon pit. He's preparing to flank us from the bush on the right side of the mid lane.
Lu Ran did not retreat. He took a step forward and stood in a position where he could attack or defend at will.
The enemy jungler emerged from the bush; it was a Lee Sin, with the red buff at his feet.
He moved a short distance by touching his eye and then kicked out a sonic wave.
Lu Ran took a step to the left, and the sonic wave from his foot flew past him and hit a soldier.
The Lee Sin's abilities have been used up.
He didn't stop, but activated the second stage of Echo Strike and flew over with the soldier.
Before he landed, Lu Ran pressed E to shield himself, then pressed Q to place the puppet at Lee Sin's feet, and then pressed R.
The ultimate move exploded.
Lee Sin was pulled to the center of the vortex, taking the second hit of Q and the slow from W, losing nearly half his health.
Lu Ran didn't rush to kill him, but instead took half a step back to create some distance.
Although Lee Sin's health has dropped by half, he still has Flash and W skill available. If he recklessly chases after him to fight back, he will likely be traded for.
Lu Ran stood still for two seconds, and his Q skill was ready.
He pressed Q, and the puppet flew out and crashed into Lee Sin, dealing the third instance of damage.
Lee Sin's health dropped to one-third, so he immediately used his W skill to shield himself and then ran towards the tower.
Lu Ran watched him run away and did not chase after him.
He turned around and continued clearing minions, pushing the wave of minions in the middle lane to the enemy tower.
In the first coordinated attack by the enemy mid and jungle, Orianna used three skills, severely damaging two opponents without losing any health herself.
Among the colleagues sitting nearby watching, one couldn't help but exclaim "Holy crap!" The voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet internet cafe.
Lu Ran said in the voice chat, "If the jungler comes to mid, we can dive."
Upon hearing this in the bottom lane, Li Chen paused for a moment: "President Lu, should I go over? Will the enemy mid and jungle counter-gank?"
"Lee Sin is low on health and needs to recall, Lux is out of mana. Just come over, I've already pushed the lane to the tower."
Li Chen controlled the jungler to circle around from the bottom lane river and crouched down in the bush next to the mid lane tower.
Lu Ran controlled Orianna to walk under the tower and unleashed a Q skill at Lux. The puppet crashed into Lux, taking away two bars of her health.
Zhou Mingzhe's Lux had less than a third of her health left. He took a step back behind the tower, waiting for his skills to be ready again.
Lu Ran didn't give him a chance to wait and pressed the R key.
Lux's ultimate ability exploded under the tower, pulling her into the center of the vortex. Lu Ran pressed W to apply the slow, then chased her down with two auto-attacks.
Li Chen's jungler rushed out of the bushes and finished off the enemy.
Lux fell to the ground.
First Blood.
There was a moment of silence on the audio, then Old Zhang's voice came through, tinged with disbelief: "He killed him already?"
Lu Ran didn't reply. He pressed B to return to the city and bought two small books and a pair of straw sandals.
At this point in the game, the outcome was no longer in doubt.
Orianna single-handedly dominated the enemy mid laner, and once she got farmed up, her damage output became ridiculously high.
In the subsequent team fights, Lu Ran's ultimate skill was able to pull in two or three people each time, crushing the opponent wave after wave.
The two Diamond-level players on the opposing team actually had decent skills. Zhao Yiming's marksman positioning was excellent, and Zhou Mingzhe's Lux skill accuracy wasn't low either.
However, Lu Ran completely controlled the game's pace. The opposing jungler failed to secure a single dragon throughout the entire match, and Orianna's dominance in the mid lane rendered the opposing mid-jungle synergy useless.
The match ended in 23 minutes.
The opposing team's three lanes are all broken, and their economy is more than 10,000 points behind. Even if the opponent is more skilled than us, we can't save them.
When the word "Victory" popped up on the screen, Xiao Zhou cheered over the voice chat, and Wang Hao chuckled. Old Zhang coughed twice and said, "I feel like I won this game without doing anything." Li Chen was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Mr. Lu, are you really in the game business?"
Lu Ran took off his headphones, rubbed his ears, and turned to look at Li Chen: "What else?"
"I thought people who make games don't play games much."
"Then you're wrong about that," Lu Ran stood up, "Game developers are the ones who play games the most. If you don't play games, how would you know what players want?"
...