Chapter 79: The Fourth Level 7! New Compendium Function! Tiger <Hidden

"Dead!" The voices in the second-path stream channel rang out in unison, declaring the death.

"No, this damn Taliyah is just too disgusting! How can she ride on the neck of my General Hu and pull that off!" Zita’s face flushed bright red, but from his words, it was hard to tell if he was praising or cursing.

"She even beat the look in my Hu’s eyes until it was crystal clear!"

On the livestream camera, one could see the expression on Xiaohu’s face as he stood up; it had changed significantly from when he first appeared.

If he had the fierce gaze of a tiger leaving its den when he arrived, ever since that final ambush was outplayed, he instantly looked as if he had been beaten into 'docility.'

Until the very end when their base was about to be pushed, he didn't even make a move to initiate a team fight.

"There's no helping it. If I were outplayed like that—not getting the kill and getting counter-killed instead—I’d also start doubting my life," Letme said, and then gave Zita a vivid example.

"You damn guy! It must be just like that match where you got played by TheShy, the one where you gobbled down two boxes of sugar tangerines!"

"?"

Zita hadn't expected his good friend to manage to sneak a jab at him from that angle while talking.

But thinking about it, it really did have a similar effect.

Back then, Zita was confident, grabbing the only T0 top-lane Gangplank in the patch during scrims, one-shotting everyone, while TheShy picked Fiora, a patch trap known to have only a 26% win rate.

As a result, in just three minutes, he was pushed all the way to the second tower!

The ability Zita used most frequently in that match was the W orange; after that game, Zita was "impotent" for half a year, became a substitute, and then announced his retirement.

The similarity between the two is that—in that match, Zita truly felt the gap in so-called "raw skill," a feeling of utter helplessness!

Not to mention Xiaohu’s own feelings.

Looking at this match from a god's-eye view, it really did have a bit of that feeling.

Letme counted on his fingers: "From the first baiting and deception that doomed the jungle, to the blind-vision prediction and arrest in the jungle, then the bot-lane charge that killed Gala, and then the three-man gank in mid that still failed to get the kill—damn, he didn't even use his Rift Herald charge."

"The main thing is this final play!"

The broadcast screen happened to be replaying Xiaohu’s sudden, impulsive Teleport ambush.

Lissandra and Viego attacked together, a situation almost everyone thought was certain death, yet it was forcibly dismantled by raw mechanics!

"Damn it! This play is truly exaggerated! D-F combo, auto, Flash, then mid-air E-Q-W—even if you planned this out in advance, the error rate would be ridiculously high, let alone coming up with the counter-strategy the instant he was caught!" Zita was so excited that even the pimples on his face seemed to swell.

"I doubt even if Ye Bo turned back time and did it again, he could replicate it!"

In fact, it was impossible to say for sure.

Even Ye Bo himself, after finishing that play, had heavy breathing coming through the voice chat.

In the replay camera, one could clearly see his cheeks flushed red, his whole head shaking as if he had been "electrocuted"!

This was actually a sign of 'adrenaline' secretion exceeding the limit in an instant; many people experience this when in a state of extreme emotional excitement, which is a self-protection mechanism of the body.

The effect is that it allows a person's state and reaction to instantly enter the body's optimal state.

In plain terms, it’s "overclocking."

After all, although that play looked plain and simple, if you think about it carefully, it was an on-the-spot counter-strategy made during an instantaneous reaction, and the connection of the six keys could not have any error or delay.

Everything happened in a true split second.

Ye Bo’s physical talent is not top-tier in the professional circle; what he relies on is his proficiency with a hero, honed thousands of times until it has become instinct.

So even if he enters an overclocked state, he wouldn't dare say he could replicate it perfectly every time.

Ye Bo once heard his teammates chatting about how some professional players, when entering this "electric shock" state, are said to enter a feeling similar to "bullet time," though unfortunately, he had never experienced it.

However, on the way back with his teammates, Ye Bo saw multiple prompt boxes pop up before his eyes.

He saw an extra surprise!

【Congratulations! Extreme play triggered (Taliyah)!】

【Taliyah: Proficiency EXP +40,000 (Overflowed)】

【Mastery Progress: (100,000/100,000) MAX】

【Congratulations! Taliyah has reached the peak Level 7!】

Ye Bo didn't expect that one extreme play would earn a reward of 40,000 EXP!

This was the first time he had seen such a high reward.

The reward for an extreme play is in the range of 5,000 to 50,000, and this was already close to the top-tier reward, showing the extent of its "extremity"!

As one of the strongest mid-laners of the previous patch, Taliyah obviously has a much wider range of applicable team compositions than Zoe, Akali, or LeBlanc.

So, aside from his new hero pool, she had always been one of Ye Bo’s main training targets.

And this unexpected harvest directly allowed Ye Bo to master his fourth Level 7 hero in his life!

Feeling the unfamiliar knowledge flowing into his mind, even Ye Bo’s footsteps became much lighter.

But the surprises didn't end there.

【Congratulations! "Hero Compendium" unlocked four, reached a new achievement node, Compendium function unlocked!】

【Hint: "Basic Talent Training" has been unlocked!】

Seeing the prompt, Ye Bo already had many fantasies in his mind.

However, since it was halftime, he didn't have much time to conduct research and experiments.

Besides, since it was "training," it would be impossible to use it temporarily in this match.

He suppressed his curiosity.

Returning to the backstage, Ye Bo and his teammates began to discuss how to deal with the next game.

RNG backstage.

Xiaohu, who originally had a dazed look, seemed to have readjusted his state during the walk back to the player tunnel.

This is Xiaohu’s strength!

After all, what kind of situations hasn't this Hu guy lost in?

A mere regular-season game, even if he was indeed outplayed quite miserably, is nothing compared to the ups and downs that he experiences almost every year.

As soon as he returned to the lounge, Xiaohu immediately raised his hand to state his position: "The last game was because I wasn't careful enough in the early game, I got stolen from a few times. Next game, they definitely won't have so many strange tricks!"

Head coach Zhu Kai was just about to say something.

But seeing Brother Hu take the initiative to speak, he immediately nodded in agreement: "Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

In fact, no matter what level of coach they are, it is very difficult to guide players on the details of their mechanics—after all, the players' personal game level is definitely far superior to theirs.

As for Zhu Kai...

With his game understanding, any player could beat him with one hand; apart from serving chicken soup and ordering takeout, he couldn't do much else.

Gala’s complexion was slightly flushed, though his skin tone was a bit darker than the previous god, giving him a natural advantage.

Even if he was clearly about to overheat, he still didn't show many signs of "red-temperature"!

The bot lane in the first game could definitely be called "lying down to lose."

Although Gala wouldn't dare say his strength is better than Viper’s, at the very least, there shouldn't have been such big problems in the laning phase. As long as he farmed steadily into the mid-to-late game, he believed his steady damage conversion ability wouldn't be weaker than anyone else’s.

But that Taliyah, from the 5th to the 8th minute, with her "two dry, one defense" routine, basically killed him three times!

Three minutes, and one person disappeared from the whole game!

Facing a super-fed Lucian and Nami, and they were undoubtedly some of the best users of Lucian and Nami.

Even if Gala poured a basin of hot water on himself and performed a mechanical descent from heaven on the spot, he couldn't hold on!

On the lounge TV screen, the MVP selection results for the previous game were being shown.

This time, the selection actually went against tradition and didn't follow the KDA, not giving it to the incredibly luxurious Lucian.

Instead, it was given to Taliyah, whose stats and data were relatively "mediocre"!

4/0/11 KDA, 15% gold share, 22.00% team damage share.

If it weren't for the two double-kill heads at the end, just looking at the stats, it would even seem a bit like "leeching."

【First time seeing someone get MVP with these stats. And they say our junior is a thief! Isn't Ye Bo also a thief!?】

【Oh, awesome. Eating 15% of the damn gold and dealing nearly a quarter of the damage—this isn't eating grass and squeezing milk, this is drinking water and leaking gold!】

【If you don't watch the game, that's how it is. Taliyah was splitting heads to help bot in the early game, giving all the safe lanes to the Angel in the mid-game, and going to push the dangerous lanes herself in the late game. With this kind of sacrifice, how can it be reasonable not to give her the MVP?】

【Can only say these voters finally acted like humans for once.】

【Not to mention anything else, just that final counter-kill alone makes this MVP well-deserved!】

Xiaohu, who insisted on finishing the MVP selection, only agreed to turn off the screen after seeing the result.

"Mid Hu, don't mind it, actually you can't blame yourself for the last game," Zhu Kai tried hard to ease the atmosphere, "I think your laning processing last game was okay, you weren't suppressed at all, you were completely no worse than the opposing mid-laner!"

"It's just that the luck was a bit bad."

Zhu Kai is best at pouring soup without substance; that is, regardless of the specific problems in the game, he grabs the players by the back of their necks and pours it in mindlessly.

"I'm fine~"

Xiaohu’s way of thinking is not quite the same as a normal person’s; he was born with the potential for contrast.

Others might feel embarrassed about being out-MVP'd, as if they had been outplayed.

But Xiaohu doesn't think so.

He thinks that if the opposing mid-laner can get the MVP, doesn't that just show the opposing mid-laner is the most powerful one? If he lost, wouldn't it seem "reasonable"!

This might also be because Xiaohu is experienced, having been inexplicably influenced by years of crushing defeats against the most powerful people.

By comparison, Tabe was more realistic.

"Next game we go to the red side, I don't think we should dwell too much on the mid-lane BP," Tabe looked at his mid-laner: "Xiaohu, do you have any ideas?"

"You'd better pick something that can lane, can fight, and is relatively hard to die."

"Hey, I actually do!"

Xiaohu happened to have an idea, turning into a confident Donald Duck, feeling like he and the other side hit it off immediately.

Not long after.

Both teams of players returned to the stage.

After a brief rest and the formalities, the draft for the second game began.

The sides swapped red and blue for the second game.

Blue side is EDG, red side is RNG.

For the first three bans, both sides made certain changes.

EDG: Galio, Lulu, Tahm Kench

RNG: Taliyah, Kalista, Zeri

"Both sides have chosen to leave the mid lane wide open; they’ve barely banned any mid lane heroes, focusing instead on the bottom half of the map!"

"EDG banned three protective options, while RNG banned three offensive ones. Both sides' intentions are clear!"

The Taliyah ban was partly because the opponent’s performance on her last game was too hot, and the hero herself is strong in the current meta, so banning her is naturally reasonable.

As for Galio, it was actually targeted more at RNG’s "protect the one" system rather than just banning a person.

Both sides were harboring their own secret agendas.

But EDG’s choices were mainly because Ye Bo felt that, purely in terms of laning, Xiaohu barely put any pressure on him.

It was clearly a tier below laning specialists like Knight and Rookie.

And the reason EDG didn’t first-pick Sylas was that RNG’s self-ban while on the blue side in the previous game had already exposed that Xiaohu currently "doesn't know how to play" that hero.

Of course, Ye Bo didn't dare to say yet that his Sylas could handle every situation; after all, the hero had only just been buffed, and he hadn't practiced him for very long either.

EDG first-picked Renata Glasc, "half-dismantling and half-snatching" a core component of the bottom lane system that was still available.

"Snatching Renata Glasc, huh?" Tabe’s eyes didn't seem to show anything unusual: "Then let’s just bring out our bottom lane combo."

RNG, on the red side, locked in their bottom lane picks in the first two slots.

Aphelios and Braum!

"Braum? Braum!" After a moment of confusion, Letme suddenly realized something: "Hey, wait, can't Braum's E block Renata Glasc's ultimate!?"

"You're asking me? I have no idea, but if Tabe is drafting like this, it must be possible!" Zzitai had a good personal relationship with Tabe and was very confident in his drafting ability: "Then it feels like the bottom lane draft was a win!"

"But something feels off, right? Look at the expressions on these EDG guys... why do they look like the other side fell for a trap?"

Renata Glasc was a hero released in early 2022, and although she had been wreaking havoc on the professional stage for half a year, she clearly hadn't been fully explored yet.

And Tabe’s understanding was to use Braum to counter her in team fights!

Since EDG had banned the two major protective supports of the meta, Lulu and Tahm Kench, there weren't many protective supports left available.

Braum is not only between a tank support and a utility support, but he is also a signature hero for Ming and can pair well with Aphelios.

The most important thing, of course, is Braum’s E skill, [Unbreakable]—he can take the brunt of the chemical toxic mist all by himself!

However, looking at the expressions of the EDG members, it wasn't hard to see that this didn't seem to be outside their expectations either.

Looking at team fights in specific situations, Braum does indeed counter Renata Glasc quite well.

But that is only in specific situations.

And it is limited to team fights!

The pros and cons of Braum as a hero are very obvious; simply put, in laning, he can almost only play against tank supports.

Facing long-range heroes, he can only take a beating!

EDG had already thought of a strategy to target this RNG team before the match, and since it had already yielded results in the first game, there was naturally no reason not to continue carrying it out.

"Is EDG picking Caitlyn? This hero doesn't seem very common in this meta..."

EDG picked Caitlyn in the second slot and followed up with Sejuani in the third to complete a classic top-jungle flex.

RNG picked Kennen in the third slot; all of these were relatively steady choices.

Entering the second round of the draft—

EDG: Xin Zhao, Poppy

RNG: Viego, Gwen

Since the red side picks first in the second round, EDG chose to ban two aggressive junglers.

And surprisingly, RNG’s second-round draft still completely lacked any targeted bans for the mid lane!

"No way, is RNG really this confident?" Letme, as one of their own, couldn't quite understand: "Although I definitely believe in Xiaohu, isn't it a bit arrogant not to ban a single one of Ye Bo's heroes!"

"Hard to say, but honestly, you can't ban them all. Maybe Tabe thinks that in Xiaohu’s Poké Ball this summer, there’s still one that can block those heroes?" Zzitai guessed casually.

"Wait, what does that mean? Renekton!?"

"Ah, so it was Xiaohu’s Renekton!"

RNG’s fourth-slot instant lock of the Butcher of the Sands instantly caused the whole arena to gasp.

Because they had already picked Kennen in the third slot.

Clearly, this could at most be a top-mid flex.

In fact, in this year’s Spring Split, a series of [Warrior Mid-laners] like Tryndamere, Renekton, Irelia, and Sett were very common; it was only after the durability update in the Summer Split that the trend was replaced by late-game mage carries.

But in the major regions during the Summer Split, some people were still picking them, so it wasn't a particularly strange or unconventional choice.

It’s just that this was Xiaohu, who had just finished the first game, making this choice in the second!

This, naturally, makes people’s imaginations run wild.

However, at this moment, Ye Bo.

His eyes seemed somewhat vacant.

He was rapidly reading the subtitles appearing before him.

[Because this match has triggered diary content, you can unlock the corresponding chapter in advance and open the hidden challenge for this chapter.]

Xiaohu’s hidden challenge!

Ye Bo was no stranger to this screen; he had already triggered it once when facing WBG and TheShy.

Come to think of it, although the active effect of the "Scientific Player" he obtained back then hadn't been used yet, the passive effect had been playing a significant role while he was picking and practicing mid-lane Pyke.

"What do we do, Ye Bo... what do you want to take?" Mao Kai’s face looked a bit ugly: "I forgot that Xiaohu still had this trick up his sleeve!"

He finally understood why the opponent dared not to ban a single hero.

Akali, LeBlanc, Zoe, and Yone—mid-lane Renekton can "handle" all of them!

The characteristic of mid-lane warrior heroes is that I don't need to be able to solo kill you; I just need to make you helpless against me in lane, then use the hero's stat advantage to control the mid-lane priority and easily suppress a crowd of mages in 2v2 mid-jungle skirmishes.

Mao Kai really hadn't expected Xiaohu to have such a backup energy source!

Of course, it wasn't entirely without a trace.

Last year, in the S11 season, Xiaohu changed positions and played a year of top lane as "Top Hu" for RNG.

He even displayed a rather high "warrior talent"!

The first time he used Gnar in the top lane on the professional stage, he immediately pulled off a "Tathagata Palm" that made the weekly highlight reel, proving with a real-life example that this thing doesn't need a year of practice at all!

It only takes a day!

Ye Bo had already finished reading the [Options].

The [Hidden Mission] gave three choices—

[Camille], [K'Sante], [Quinn]

Ye Bo was very unfamiliar with the name of the second hero.

He guessed... this must be some new hero from the future?

And actually, with a little deduction, it wasn't hard to see that these were likely divided into [Hard], [Medium], and [Easy] difficulty levels for the hidden challenge, though there were only two options visible now.

After some hesitation.

Ye Bo ultimately chose Camille.

He knew, of course, that compared to Camille, Quinn would definitely be much easier to play in a pure laning phase.

But he felt that while this hero is good at winning the lane, she isn't very good at winning the game, and her limitations are relatively large.

By comparison, even if he didn't play Camille in the future, her pick rate on the professional stage was right there; being able to understand her more would definitely have more benefits for future matches.

"Pick Camille for me!"

"I’ve played against mid-lane Renekton before; it is playable in the mid-lane position..."

No one on the EDG team said anything more.

By today, trust no longer needed to be spoken.

The blue side jungler picked Viego, while the red side took Wei’s signature Lee Sin in the counter-pick slot, piecing together a strong mid-jungle skirmishing rhythm.

Team lineups confirmed:

[Blue: EDG || Red: RNG]

[Top: Sejuani vs Kennen]

[Jungle: Viego vs Lee Sin]

[Mid: Camille vs Renekton]

[ADC: Caitlyn vs Aphelios]

[Support: Renata Glasc vs Braum]

Updated to about 6k, sorry, sorry, because there were some issues with the draft written earlier, so rewriting it caused a delay, sorry, sorry qaq

The minimum update is guaranteed, not asking for monthly tickets; I will try my best to update more tomorrow and then ask!

Thanks to the brothers for the monthly tickets!

Thanks to the brothers for the support!

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(End of chapter)