Chapter 403: Future Warrior

There was no battle on the field, and the commentators' voices were calm as they analyzed the situation.

Actually, VG's Ezreal still has a lot of potential in the late game; the main issue is that WE's lineup lacks a truly tanky front line. Although the crocodile looks sturdy, it's not a traditional tank, and once Ezreal gets his armor-piercing bow, a single Q hurts a lot.

It depends on whether he buys Randuin's Omen. If he doesn't, he can't withstand Ezreal's poke; if he does, a single Q will take off about three hundred health—I mean when Ezreal has his three-item build.

WE's teamfight prospects are grim—Ahri's damage is too explosive, Jayce is almost fully formed, and adding the equally deadly mantis that targets the back line, Jinx's output space in teamfights is too cramped. Even with Ben's fan mom protecting him, it's hard to survive; being able to fire all four shots fully counts as competent.

Indeed.

So WE's lineup actually has no sustained damage in teamfights; it can only go all-in with one burst of ultimates. If they can quickly cause VG to lose members at the start of a fight, I think they need to kill at least two for WE to have a secure teamfight win.

That's too hard—there's Bu Long on this side.

So we need to take out Bu Long first.

Want to kill Bu Long? You'd have to keep him locked down until death, like that wave just now—Syndra's stun into Crocodile's W bite, then straight ult to execute him. Otherwise, as soon as he lifts his anti-theft door, you definitely can't kill him instantly.

But even killing him hasn't happened.

So we need to reduce their numbers by at least two; otherwise VG's pulling and repeated dives are too strong, and Ezreal just keeps pecking at you—it's unbearable.

If we don't teamfight, the only option is to pick off the sides and then take Baron.

Such chances are hard to find—look how stable VG has become.

Objectively speaking, VG already has the advantage at this point, yet they play extremely steadily—every laner, after pushing the line past the river, immediately retreats and disappears.

Condi is like a headless fly, buzzing around the canyon, frantically looking for a chance to catch someone, but the other side gives no opportunity at all.

Condi's really trying, but the other side is genuinely solid.

Guan Zeyuan couldn't help but feel moved, actually still having some things left unsaid:

Their operations are better than yours, their discipline stronger, their vision control superior, their late‑game lineup advantage obvious, and both solo‑lane champions are extremely flexible—how could they possibly give you a chance to pick off the side at this point?

At the start, Guan Zeyuan saw through it—WE picked this lineup to face VG, and if they didn't have a 4000+ gold lead by twenty minutes, they might as well surrender.

The Redmi in the backstage could obviously see that too.

So Redmi actually had no hope for this match, resting his chin on one hand, eyes on the screen but unfocused, his mind thinking about post‑match review.

Do the review well; next time they meet VG, they don't necessarily have to win back, but they can try to give VG a surprise in the playoffs. If they can snag an MSI slot, this coach would have justified the high salary WE's boss paid him.

Yeah, Redmi has already started thinking about MSI.

It's not just Redmi who thinks that way; EDG, which also lost to VG in the spring opener, shares the same idea.

……

Backstage, EDG lounge.

Today's final match is EDG versus QG; A Bu leads the team, everyone arrived an hour early, and right now they're sitting in the lounge watching the live broadcast of VG versus WE while waiting to go on stage.

WE obviously has no comeback chance left; the rest is garbage time, so A Bu chatted with Coach Nofe and the others.

"VG is genuinely strong now—Jiao Shen is incredibly talented, the changes he's brought to VG, this fresh vitality, I'm really envious. Speaking of which, Nofe, you should have studied him carefully before last year's finals; I'd like to hear your evaluation."

He spoke Chinese, which Nofe obviously couldn't understand.

But the translator kid sat nearby and faithfully conveyed A Bu's words.

Nofe was reminded of that nightmare‑like Bo5 match, not wanting to dwell on it too much, a hint of bitterness appearing at the corner of his mouth:

"We did study it, but it wasn't useful."

"How could it not be useful?"

Nofe thought seriously before answering:

"Because all our research is a summary of the past, while he's always ahead of the curve."

A Bu seemed to grasp it, slowly nodding:

"Oh, I get it now—you're saying his understanding of the version is far ahead of yours."

"Even Wanghu was reduced to tears by him."

Nofe sighed, his tone helpless and bitter:

"He's practically a future warrior."

A Bu chuckled, thinking Nofe was a bit exaggerated, but he didn't say anything; instead he turned to look at the factory chief and asked with a smile:

"Is the lane pressure against Jiao Shen really that great?"

His ID had already been changed to Clearlove7's Qi Jiang, who lifted his eyelids without expression.

"Wasn't that day already reviewed?"

"You wouldn't have been given a psychological shadow by that, would you?"

"Pfft."

Qi Jiang gave a dead‑fish look, unwilling to answer.

Maybe his skill has indeed declined sharply, but his mindset keeps getting stronger.

Been given a psychological shadow?

What kind of joke is that—have you just been coasting all these years?

A Bu then looked toward the Second Prince sitting in the back:

"Ai Luoli, how about you?"

"Me… I…"

Ai Luoli shyly picked at her nose:

"I'm fine too—Jiao Shen is indeed impressive, but he hasn't beaten me by much either."

Meiko sat beside the Korean support shooter Zet, both hands tucked between their thighs for warmth, laughing as they interjected:

"Chief Ji, you're overthinking it—it's just the regular spring season; lose and lose, we'll win it back in the playoffs."

A Bu's real surname is Ji; his position at EDG is manager plus supervisor (director), he calls the shots on all big and small team matters, player promotions and demotions are decided by his word alone, and in emergencies he can even step in as a coach for BP—so he really should be called Chief Ji.

A Bu really liked Meiko's confidence, and laughed:

Do you have confidence in the playoffs?

We must have it.

That's great, then get me an MSI spot back, alright?

Is there prize money?

The new rules issued to you this year are written very clearly; there definitely is.

By the way, besides MSI this year, there seems to be another new competition, right?

We had confirmed we weren't participating in IEM, right?

No, no, another one.

You mean the Intercontinental Tournament?

Yes yes yes, the Intercontinental Tournament, that's what it's called. When you mentioned IEM I just remembered...

A Bu suddenly pulled out their phone and made a WeChat call to the person in charge of the team's official blog:

Hey, it's me. Um, you post an announcement on our Weibo later, briefly mentioning the IEM withdrawal. You know the reason, right? Just write it simply, hey. Okay okay okay, up to you, I'm busy.