Chapter 18: InSec, Kakao, Dandy say they're screwed!

EDG (Blue) vs QG (Red)

Game 4, the lineup is set.

Top lane: Big Tree vs Titan

Jungle: Male Gun vs Thousand Pearls

Mid lane: Flying Machine vs Lulu

Bot lane: EZ vs Lucian

Support: Giant vs Braum

QG is a double marksman composition.

EDG was even more ruthless, directly running a triple AD lineup.

"EDG this match actively chose to swap lanes; swapping lanes means wanting to avoid early fights."

"This decision was sensible; EDG was at a disadvantage in the early game of the first three matches, and given both teams' playstyles, swapping lanes would definitely be more advantageous for them."

"Exactly, especially regarding the jungle position!"

"The Factory Chief is a map-control jungler, which everyone knows."

"And in the first three matches, Xu Dongmen displayed his aggressive, fiery offensive playstyle."

"Putting it in today's slang, this is a carnivorous jungler!"

"XDM had decent luck this match; the first mark spawned in the lower half."

"EDG swapped lanes this match; they definitely couldn't reach that mark."

"Thousand Pearls successfully took the first layer of the mark."

"Xu Dongmen's luck was a bit good; the second Thousand Pearls mark was then placed on F4."

"The blue side's F4 is in the lower half!"

"Without breaking a sweat, he easily grabbed two layers of the mark."

"Around that time, both sides had exchanged their first outer towers."

"Both sides adjusted their troops and continued mirror-like exchanges."

"EDG swapped back to bottom lane, QG went to top lane, and they kept swapping towers!"

"The EU flow originated in Season 2, and the reverse EU flow (lane swapping) followed close behind."

"The lane-swapping tactic has developed to the point where many teams can now handle it with ease."

"As a top-tier LPL team, QG naturally understands it as well."

"Wanting not to lose anything is simple: one sentence, you do something, I do the same!"

"You push towers, I push towers."

"You invade my jungle, I invade your jungle."

"Truly, fighting fire with fire!"

"As for this match, both sides are confident in their own lineup strength and are happy to make the exchange."

"\"What the hell, how did the mark respawn right under Thousand Pearls' nose?! \" Long Hair shouted loudly."

"\"This is unscientific! \"

"Joker also widened his eyes: \"Too absurd, how does the mark follow him wherever he goes? \""

"When luck comes, nothing can stop it."

"On the battlefield, as Thousand Pearls just stepped into the upper half, a new Wolf Spirit mark was placed on the Magic Swamp Frog."

"At this moment, Uzi and Doomsday had already swapped lanes to the upper half, while EDG's forces gathered in the lower half."

"All the resources in the upper half belong to QG!"

"For others, obtaining a single layer of the mark in a match is as hard as climbing to heaven, but when it comes to Xu Dongmen, it's so easy it's infuriating!"

"It's as if the heavens themselves are chasing him to feed him!"

"\"No bragging, no bashing, I've played Thousand Pearls and now I also have three layers! \" Joker chuckled, patting himself on the back."

"\"Is it possible that you went up to play and the match already ended 3-0? \""

"Long Hair first raised then lowered his voice, in classic Taiwanese accent: \"Haha, no, just joking……Anyway, there's one thing we must admit: this match, XDM player got off to a very smooth start, but this smoothness didn't come from suppressing the opponent; it's purely down to luck. \"

"\"If you want to compare strength, I could still shamelessly go one-on-one; but if you want to compare luck, I feel the gap is even bigger than the strength gap. \" Joker said in an oily tone."

"Over thirty, it's hard not to be oily!"

"\"Wait a second, QG looks like they want to make a move on mid lane! \" Long Hair suddenly raised his volume."

"\"How so? \" Joker also stopped laughing, turned serious: \"It's XDM and V coming; this wave isn't easy to kill, at most we can force a summoner spell. \""

"Before the words even landed, Doinb flashed with a radiant spear Q, Pawn controlled Kog'Maw to go aggressive, but instantly got his retreat cut off by two big men rushing from the flank."

"\"Cute trick! \"

"The white-bearded pilot was turned into a small animal; Pawn reacted quickly, immediately using cleanse to remove it."

"But V's Titan directly flashed past the minions, his ship anchor dropping down."

"Whoosh~"

"Kog'Maw used flash, yet still got hit by the mountain‑crushing bind effect."

"Then a Smooth Sail shot further hooked and broke the Valkyrie dive!"

"Zhou Ke'er's toxic heal effect triggered, the fat general died on the spot."

"\"They even gave the kill to XDM; this Thousand Pearls is so satisfying! \"

"\"Do you know what's most annoying? A new mark just respawned in the upper half controlled by QG. \""

"\"The Factory Chief is freaked out. \""

"\"……\""

On the match field, Xu Dongmen took first blood, then turned and entered the enemy blue area.

The fourth-layer mark refreshed on the blue buff.

In the current version, the first six layers of the wolf spirit mark have no pattern; they are completely random!

The two long-haired Jokers were indeed not wrong; where the mark refreshes is entirely down to luck.

Boys who love to smile usually don't have bad luck.

Xu Dongmen isn't much of a smiler, but he's handsome!

Kindred's mark, 4 layers.

Xu Dongmen glanced at the game time; it was 8 minutes.

8 minutes, 4 layers — this can be described as a clod of earth in any version.

Of course he has to thank EDG; if EDG hadn't actively swapped lanes for stability, Xu Dongmen couldn't have gotten the 4 layers so easily.

"The jungle monsters have already given me four layers; next I need to find someone to farm."

Xu Dongmen, while recalling to base, selected the sheep spirit as his target.

At the start, he marked Changzhang Nangqiang; because it was a lane-swap game, he still hasn't faced off against them yet.

Hmm… Changzhang probably doesn't really want to see his own appearance.

In the previous gank, to avoid startling the snake, they also didn't mark ahead of time.

After scanning around the EDG team members, Xu Dongmen had an idea.

Koro1, Maokai!

At this moment, Maokai is only level 4, currently farming in the top lane.

After being marked, Kou Rou directly pissed himself; with the minion wave still at his own first turret, he didn't dare to push.

Actually, Xu Dongmen had just returned to base and bought a pair of grass boots and a recurve bow.

After leaving base, he first ate his own red buff, then cleared the entire upper half of the map.

On the other side, the fifth wolf spirit mark refreshed, appearing in EDG's red area.

This time Xu Dongmen couldn't get involved; as soon as he came out, Changzhang took him down.

"There's vision here."

Xu Dongmen detected a fake ward in his own blue buff brush; it was left there by Changzhang during a previous counter-blue.

When Xu Dongmen was taking the fourth mark in the upper half, Changzhang also took his blue in the lower half.

Classic mirror swap!

"Popo, stop controlling the lane and push the wave." Xu Dongmen, while eating a magic swamp frog, communicated with the top laner.

At this moment, V was controlling the lane in the top lane.

His real name is Baibo, and his nickname is Popo.

"Huh?" Baibo hesitated: "Really want to push? I can still control at least two more waves with this minion wave, which would let Maokai lose ten minions for free."

"Push it, believe me!" Xu Dongmen said firmly.

While saying that, he had already killed the frog queen and rushed to the top lane.

At the same time, V also started pushing the lane.

Neither side lane had a turret; the ADC was fine, but there was still support providing vision.

The tough part is the top laner!

As the sacrificed solo lane under pressure, farming is already horrendous, and one must constantly watch out for ganks; being able to control a wave is absolutely the greatest happiness for a top laner.

Baibo actively pushed the minion wave, demonstrating his trust in Xu Dongmen.

Thirty seconds later, the minion wave was pushed past the river and arrived at the blue side's first turret.

Only a turret base remains here.

Koro1 and Maokai came to take over the lane.

This team-oriented top laner, known as the invincible child, upon coming within 500 yards of the minions, detected a dangerous aura.

As for that Titan on the enemy team, why does he not even last-hit minions the moment he sees himself?

What does he intend to do by pushing past the minion wave?

Kou Rou realized the danger and immediately retreated.

But Deep Sea Impact had already been unleashed!

Despite all his precautions, Kou Rou never imagined the enemy would go insane enough to lock onto a full-health Maokai.

Kindred has flanked from behind!

When the guardian ward at the jungle entrance saw Kindred, Kou Rou steeled himself, flashed over the wall, and entered the magic swamp frog camp.

After all, he's a veteran top laner, experienced!

Koro1 knows this flash cannot be omitted, and must flash over the wall; only then can he prevent the Titan's RQ hook combo.

The position of the guardian ward at the jungle entrance saw that Kindred used Q to jump over the wall from the river.

Kindred has no Q available for a short time!

Even though they're in the same jungle, there's still a wall between them.

Thump thump thump~~

Deep Sea Impact released a ripping-the-ground energy wave; the energy wave passed through the wall and boomed as it erupted on Maokai.

The moment Maokai was knocked airborne, Xu Dongmen flashed over the wall.

You flashed, I flashed too!

If Maokai were developing normally, Kou Rou might have a chance to survive and leave the jungle this wave.

But he is a lane-swap solo laner under pressure, only level 5 now!

He didn't need V's help; Xu Dongmen single-handedly cleared that small sapling.

Got the first Sheep Spirit Mark, 5 layers!

Xu Dongmen hurried back to town and enchanted his favorite jungle gear.

Devourer!

This is an attack‑speed jungle item, rarely seen in matches, but in ranked it can be called one of the highest‑pick‑rate jungle items.

What, Master Yi weapon master, even Vayne…

The favorite of elementary school students!

It's time to go on a pilgrimage—I still haven't seen the factory chief yet.

Xu Dongmen gripped the Devourer, invaded the jungle, and caught Clearlove's male gun.

No fancy mechanics—just fight on sight!

Thresh's attack damage is only about 100, but a single basic attack drops the male gun's HP by 200.

Besides the 30 magic damage Devourer adds on attack, the rest is from the passive kicking in.

In the current version, each stack of Thresh's mark gives Thresh damage equal to 1.25% of the target's current HP.

5 stacks, which is 6.25%.

The factory chief was no match; he used flash and his ultimate, and only then managed to get away.

You can run, but you can't hide.

The jungle has fallen again!

Xu Dongmen easily took his sixth stack, completing the primitive accumulation of capital.

EDG's jungle became entirely a breeding ground for Thresh.

Next, after securing the dragon once more, the mark jumped to 7 stacks.

7 stacks, which is like having a built‑in Blade of the Ruined King!

At this point, the time had only reached 15 minutes.

【Factory Chief: I want to hold 【it】, why does he have 7 stacks at 15 minutes while I have 0?】

【This BO5 is practically a public execution of the factory chief; I can only say there's a jungle gap.】

【Youngsters don't know their own strength—does Clearlove not care about face?】

【The factory chief must now regret why he flipped the first game; originally it would have ended after three punishments, but now it's become four consecutive punishments.】

【My Dao heart is shattered, I feel sorry for my factory.】

【Ah, the factory chief is old!】

【Seeing the factory chief get crushed by such a huge lane disparity for the first time, my little pig heart is breaking.】

【Wait for it, XDM; it's normal that my factory can't beat you in our first fight, but don't get cocky, kid—when summer season arrives and my factory's passive 'Kill Familiar' activates, you'll know what a true jungle king is!】

【InSec, Kakao, Dandy, Bengi all say they're very annoyed…】