Chapter 7

Great, Dongmen!

Upon learning Xu Dongmen would take the field, Da B jumped up on the spot, leaping three feet high, happier than when he himself started.

Playing alongside Swift in a match is truly agonizing; the whole time I was waiting to die!

If one were to ask who in the world most wants Xu Dongmen to replace Swift, that person is absolutely Doinb.

XDM!

Handsome guy jungler!!

At the match venue, when the camera turned to Xu Dongmen, the crowd immediately burst into cheers, including many female fans' screams.

Clad in a white team uniform, he was strikingly handsome.

From after the EPA match to today, over three days Xu Dongmen's Weibo followers surged from a few hundred to 8000.

Today, in his second appearance in a match, someone already gave him cheering support.

Being good-looking is a natural advantage!

"Welcome back, the current score is 1-0, WE is temporarily leading," Su Xiaoyan's voice sounded.

"In this match QG substituted the new-gen jungler XDM; a few days ago, when QG was behind one game, XDM came on and helped the team turn a deficit into a lead, with one game on Graves and one on Spider, stunning many eyes, including my own!" Gu Ze Yuan clicked his tongue in praise.

"But today their opponent is WE; for QG to pull off a comeback like they did against M3 is still somewhat difficult," Su Xiaoyan thought of her former team.

Gu Ze Yuan nodded: "Of course, M3 definitely cannot be compared to WE."

WE this season has been getting better and better, their performance far exceeding expectations, earning recognition from many longtime fans.

"The main thing is this match decides the group's first place; WE will definitely give it their all!" Su Xiaoyan's voice rose, tone firm.

This WE 2.0 carries the hopes of many people.

"The match has started; let's first look at the ban/pick."

In this match, WE is the blue side.

Graves, Spider!

Both heroes Xu Dongmen used in the previous match were banned.

The most outrageous part is that WE used their third ban on a jungler, even banning Nidalee.

"We can only say WE is too eager for this victory; even if you haven't used it, I will firmly not let go!" Su Xiaoyan smiled brightly, in a pleasant mood.

As a WE family member, she absolutely loves the WE coaching staff's ban choice.

Whether Xu Dongmen will play Nidalee is beside the point; the key is that Condi's Nidalee play is not great.

They simply won't let you play a carry-capable champion!

"Excessive, brother; in the last match Swift was only banned two junglers."

Gu Ze Yuan raised his volume: "XDM, no matter how you say it, is just a newcomer, right? A newcomer showing up and immediately imposing three bans—can't you afford to play?"

On the match stage, Xu Dongmen shrugged his shoulders.

Logically, he should have enjoyed a free win in this game.

But the reality is that further sacrifice is required; QG's third ban cannot be on Thresh, but must go to Xiye's card.

WE snatched Thresh!

QG secured Ekko and Braum, setting the tone for their composition.

Two words: play it safe!

Next, QG's mid and jungle picks were also decided: Xu Dongmen picks Rumble, Doinb picks Lulu.

On the match stage, the coach in charge of BP, Cui Jiaolian, felt a slight regret: "It's a shame Graves was banned; otherwise we could have formed a double AD composition, with Lulu and Braum protecting the carry, Ekko disrupting the enemy formation, making team fights easy to win."

Finally, QG selected Kog'Maw.

In the crucial game, the coaching staff still decided to give the ball to Uzi.

A typical four-protection-one composition!

"Please, everyone, be steady this game; early disadvantage doesn't matter; the key is team fights, maintain vision, protect the big mouth properly, I implore you all."

Before leaving, head coach Pu Longyun gave countless instructions.

At the same time, the mark was triggered.

【Ongoing match: 2016 LPL Spring Season Regular Season】

【Opponent WE, ranked 2nd in Group A, 4th in the league】

【Importance rating for this match: B】

【Considering that the match outcome affects whether the host can start in the playoffs, the rating is raised to B+】

【Can exert 180% power!】

180%?

Xu Dongmen's eyes lit up; this thing, you don't say, it's absolutely worth a five-star rating!

"Let's go, Mo'er, we're swapping lanes."

Uzi's voice came through the headset; QG actively swapped lanes at the start.

Having picked Kog'Maw, lane swapping was part of the plan; moreover, in this game the apocalypse is still played as a hard support.

"OK, we'll clear from below and push up."

What Xu Dongmen uses is us, that is us, definitely not just him alone.

In the lane swap, the top laner has nowhere to develop; at the start he can only follow the jungler to mooch off.

This is a very popular tactic in the current meta.

The top laner can gain some experience, the jungler having multiple helpers to clear camps can get out sooner.

At this very moment, Xu Dongmen is with V starting at the blue buff.

But QG's lane swap intention was seen through by WE; Mystic and Zero came to the top lane from the start to catch the lane opponent.

UZI felt terrible, but V managed to get relief.

Hehe, I'm going to bottom lane to farm the minion wave.

V grinned, eager to run to the bottom lane to find his long‑scattered compatriot brothers.

The top laner was laning in bottom lane, while the duo met in top lane.

I need to push up fast; this lane, they're applying a bit of pressure.

Xu Dongmen skipped the Swamp Toad, cleared the Blue Area and Three Wolves, then headed straight to the upper jungle.

Big Mouth Bronn strikes Lu Xian'an Bard.

In this matchup, we'll definitely be pressured early.

But UZI and Catastrophe kept their health decent, and the minion wave position was also well held.

WE couldn't catch them, nor could they dive the tower.

Big Mouth is in no danger; Xu Dongmen can first secure his own farm.

WE jungler Condi is a ruthless player; after hitting level 3, he charged straight into the river, passing the river crab marked with the Wolf Spirit Sigil without missing a beat, unleashed a Q Arrow Dance to vault over the dragon terrain, and directly invaded QG's jungle.

The Red Buff camp was empty; Thousand Blades hurried to F4.

The Wine Barrel was caught red‑handed!

Holy crap?

Xu Dongmen cursed, his thoughts flying; seeing Thousand Blades on the double buff passive still at zero stacks, he instantly worked out the opponent's jungle clear path.

This match, the first Thousand Blades mark was placed on the river crab in the upper half; Thousand Blades went past the upper river path but didn't take it.

Damn, is this guy on drugs?

"The Wine Barrel just used E to clear the jungle; he has no way to cross the wall!" Su Xiaoyan said excitedly.

"Ah, lol, aren't you pulling out yet this wave? No way, at this time you're still greedy for the big bird?" Guan Zeyuan gasped.

Before Thousand Blades showed up, three tiny Sharp‑beaked Birds had already been cleared by the Rolling Barrel and Meatball Impact; only a large one remains now.

In the match, Xu Dongmen swigged a shot of hard liquor, tanked Thousand Blades' damage, and a Drunken Fury secured the big bird.

This wave, neither of them had Smite.

"The jungle monsters were held, but how did you get away?" Guan Zeyuan said he didn't get it.

At this moment, the Wine Barrel is at 1/3 health, and Thousand Blades has completely cut off his escape.

Whoosh~

Xu Dongmen gave his answer, he flashed over the wall and retreated toward the second mid tower.

"Ah?" Guan Zeyuan gasped.

The next second, Su Xiaoyan beside him also let out an "Ah."

Condi was heated, and flashed over the wall to try to kill.

The Q Arrow Dance was nearly off cooldown, and he had deliberately held E for a slow; if he could land three rings, this wave still had a chance to kill.

Bang~

At the instant fear sparked, the Wine Barrel flung a Rolling Barrel backward.

Both were slowed at the same time.

Thousand Blades cast Q to roll forward, but at that moment the Wine Barrel's Meatball Impact came off cooldown.

Condi braved the second mid tower to unleash three rings, but the damage still fell just short.

Xu Dongmen activated Drunken Fury to reduce damage, took a swig of old liquor, and held his health steady even as it bottomed out.

A thousand‑layer mind game in the jungle clash!

Ordinary spectators see tanky builds and aggression, but the two players on stage have ten thousand schemes.

First, Xu Dongmen didn't use the standard jungle clear this game; after taking two camps in the lower half, he moved to the upper half, skipping F4 and instead going farther to grab the Red Buff.

Xu Dongmen predicted this invasion!

That's also why he took Red before F4: the Red Buff camp is deep in the jungle, and getting caught there would be very dangerous.

Xu Dongmen's judgment was correct!

If he were caught in the Red Buff area this wave, he'd likely suffer a loss greater than any gain, forfeiting both the Red Buff and Flash.

If he switched to the Sharp‑beaked Bird camp near mid lane, the loss could be minimized.

But this wave still had a point that exceeded Xu Dongmen's expectation: Thousand Blades' invasion arrived 10 seconds earlier than he had predicted.

Condi didn't take the river crab—that's the sole error!

There was a slight mistake, but Xu Dongmen also displayed strong mental fortitude and adaptability.

If he had fled right away this wave, he'd end up as a low‑level grunt, jogging from the F4 brush back to the second mid tower on just his legs; being pursued all the way by Thousand Blades would surely leave him crippled, after which he could only return home to resupply.

That would leave the jungle unusable, and the top laner Big Mouth's growth would also be threatened.

Xu Dongmen opted to take the Crimson Sharp‑beaked Bird before flashing over the wall, chiefly to maintain his state and farm.

At one‑third health, he could still head to the lower half to eat the Swamp Toad and river crab.

Use one Flash, secure three jungle camps, then head back to base and go top lane to escort Big Mouth.

Xu Dongmen considered this exchange worthwhile.

It's normal that Guan Zeyuan and the others don't understand; this wave is a deep‑level jungle mind game, certainly not something that one or two layers of people could grasp.

Condi understood, so he flashed to pursue.

To catch a target, Thousand Blades ignored three waves of jungle monsters, wasting a lot of farm time.

Just forcing a Flash is basically pointless.

Outsiders think he's overheated, unaware that he's actually clearer than anyone.

Condi this wave is at least on the fifth layer.