Rise

FourEyesChan said into the microphone, “Well, ladies and gents, that’s one way to mentally murder your opponents. What Twisted Fate just did there?” He shook his head and then continued, “That was soul crushing to watch. And if anyone wants to know what a soul crushed opponent looks like, just look at Team Beijing’s Janna.”

Zhang Hongyi’s Janna stood still and watched Lin Feng’s Twisted Fate escape with about a hundred health remaining. She could’ve tried to chase him and might’ve even gotten the kill in the end, but Zhang Hongyi wasn’t in the space of mind for that anymore. He sat behind his computer in a completely silent soundproof booth and stared at his screen through hazy eyes, numb. His spirit was lost.

Cherry started counting all the instances of Lin Feng dodging a skillshot for a third time. She added the charms and Orb of Deception from Ahri, the Howling Gale from Janna and the various skillshots from Nidalee. She finally shook her head and said, “I don’t have enough fingers for this. I’ll need my toes if I want to count how many skillshots Twisted Fate dodged there.” She chewed on her lips for a bit and then added, “I think we’re all a bit stunned here. But… But what else can we be? The level of play Twisted Fate just showed us? That’s so far above and beyond everything else we’ve seen at the Collegiate Cup… I don’t even know what to say. Maybe, woooo? Yeah, let’s go with that. Woooo!”

The audience sat in their seats, stunned. They couldn’t believe what they’d seen, and hadn’t the faintest clue how to process it or react to it. It was only after Cherry woo’d for Team Shanghai that a couple of people found themselves blinking and turning their heads to look around the stands. They then squared their shoulders and started clapping. A few turned to many and from the initial low rumble erupted a cacophony of applause!

“WOOOOOOO!”“HE’S BLESSED BY THE GODS!”“Hah! There’s no best team this year, there’s only a best player! WIN FENG! WIN FEEENG!”“That’s one way to eliminate the opposition… G-fucking-G!”“PLEASE GIMME DANCE LESSONS, WIN FENG!”“THOSE DODGES! WHAT THE FUCK!”“NEVER CLUTCHED MY BUTT SO TIGHTLY!”“IIIIIIII! HAVE MY BABY!”

✹

Su Xue grabbed a glass of sake and clinked it against her camera, shouting, “WOOOOOOOOO! TRIPLE KIIIIIIIILL! WIN FENG FOR THE WIIIIIIIIN!”

「66666」「BEST TF IVE EVER SEEEEEENNNN!!!!!」「WHEN WE GETTING LIL BRO SEMINAR ON STREAM!??!?!?!?」「WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! LIL BRO BEST BROOO!!!!」「im a master and he makes me feel like a complete noob…..」「JESUS FUCKING >>>>>>> HOWS HE THIS GOOD? WTFFTFFF  AARGGHHHH」「SSIIIICCKCKKKKKKK!!!!! INSANE PLAYZ BY THE LIL BROOOOO」「omgomgomg how the fuck… IN FUCKING SAAAAANE!!!!」

✹

“You could’ve helped me get the kill on Mundo, you know,” An Xin said over the team’s voice chat. She glanced at Zhang Hao and giggled. I know. It’s hard to believe what Lin Feng sometimes does. She winked at him and asked, “You okay there?”

Zhang Hao’s mouth hung open as he stared at Lin Feng, incredulous. He finally asked, “How…? What… How did you get the triple there? It was a 4 man gank and Tang Tang and Zeng Rui died! You did that 1 versus 4! You… You… WHAT THE FUCK, DUDE! I know you’re Maple, but… WHAT THE FUCK!”

An Xin giggled and said, “It’s a little ridiculous, right? They should really nerf him a bit.”

“Oi!” Lin Feng exclaimed. He glared at An Xin and continued, “They can’t nerf me!”

An Xin was there when Lin Feng had his Season 1 Worlds run. She knew how good he was, and how special it was when he played at his level. But because she’d seen and experienced it before, it didn’t hit nearly as hard for her as it did to the rest of Team Shanghai, who were pressed with their noses against the facts. Lin Feng was so much better than them that there really was no comparison.

Tang Bingyao stared at her grey screen. More specifically, she was looking at the corpses of Ezreal, Ahri and Nidalee. Her teeth chattered. H-how…? I tried to play it like he would, but… But… She breathed in deeply, forcing back the tears that were trying to appear in her eyes. H-he can play aggressively, because he can do… that. That’s why Zeng Rui wanted me to retreat. Mhm. He knew I don’t have the skill to do what Lin Feng does… I… She sniffed and mumbled quietly, “Nice gank.”

Lin Feng put his thumbs up, grinning, and said, “Nice baiting them there! That was some great thinking!”

Tang Bingyao chewed on her lips and nodded. I was just trying to… I didn’t think… She breathed in and mumbled, “Thanks.”

Zeng Rui put his hand on his chest and felt his heart battering against his rib cage. He’d watched the fight and he’d been convinced a dozen times that Lin Feng was dead. Yet every time Lin Feng made the crucial sidestep. At every junction, Lin Feng made the correct call. Zeng Rui lowered his head and rubbed his forehead. So this is what it feels like to play with a world class player. The thundering dumbass… that’s me, isn’t it? I’m the idiot. I didn’t see just how good… How did he…? He sniffed and said, “That was… That was probably the best outplay I’ve seen.”

Lin Feng grinned and said, “Thanks, ZengZeng!”

✹

There was a heavy silence in Team Beijing’s soundproof booth. No one knew what to say or do. Zhang Hongyi was still staring in front of him at nothing in particular, the fast beating of his heart booming in his ears like explosions. Team Beijing’s Jungler, ad-carry and Toplaner weren't much better. They were trying to find an explanation, a reason why everything happened.

“No way…”“How did he just go 1 versus 3 us?”“This can’t be happening…”

But their mumbles were ignored by the others. They were the ramblings of lost souls. Players who were trying to come to terms with what just happened, knowing perfectly well that there was nothing they could say, do or think that would dampen the impact. The fight ended with two kills for three deaths. That wasn’t disastrous; it happened all the time in teamfights. But it was the way in which it went down. The pure skill from Lin Feng that left them so completely helpless that they’d lost every bit of fight in them.

However, compared to Yu Ping, the rest of Team Beijing was relatively well off. Yu Ping sat behind his computer with slumped shoulders. His anger and rage were gone. He’d gone into the series believing he was the better Midlaner. When Lin Feng went with a strong late game Champion in Varus, he felt offended. And when Lin Feng did it again in the second game with Twisted Fate, he was truly upset. But that was all healthy in competition. It made him a stronger and more motivated player!

Yu Ping sighed and shook his head. I’m not the better player. I’m not even close to how good he is. I should’ve known. I should’ve known. Fan Yuan warned us. He told us to watch out for Team Shanghai. But how could anyone be as strong as us? How could there be another team with such a well-rounded lineup? Team Guangzhou looked interesting enough, but was ultimately boring. And Team Shanghai looked like the weaker team. Lin Feng… He closed his eyes, but the hint of anger that he associated with the name didn’t appear. His spirit was lost. Lin Feng never looked that good. He just… He just won. Even after the first game, I still felt like I could play against him and beat him. The difference felt so small! And then we got off to such a good start in this second game! We were beating him and he needed the Nocturne to get a kill! He needed—

He didn’t need Nocturne at any point. Yu Ping scratched under his eye and grimaced. He never needed any help. He just went into a 1 versus 4 and outplayed us so completely… What’s left to do or say? Just… What’s the point? He’s so much better than I am that there’s nothing I can do to stop him. He’s so much better that even with our entire team we can’t stop him! His teammates don’t matter. They never did! It’s all him! People can yap all they want about how League is a team game. That’s only the case when teams are evenly matched. There’s no evenly matched here. One team is a university level team and the other is a high school level team. And the third team is a single player who’s playing at the World Championship level.

Yu Ping sighed again and then asked over the team’s voice chat, “Where did he come from? Who is he?”

✹

Lin Feng grinned and declared, “I’m fed! I’ve got all the gold in the world and now I can spend it to buy whatever item I want!”

“Get Zhonya’s,” Zeng Rui suggested.

“Great idea!” Lin Feng exclaimed. He opened the shop and bought Zhonya’s Hourglass. It was an expensive item most players didn’t get until the 20 or even 25 minute mark. But Lin Feng bought it 15 minutes into the game. The active skill from this item granted him another method to dodge skillshots and evade crowd control. It made it that much harder for Team Beijing to do anything against him. He clenched his fist and said, “Time to close this baby out!”

Tang Bingyao pressed the Tab key and looked at the game score. Lin Feng’s Twisted Fate had the highest kills/deaths/assists ratio with his 5/1/0 score and he had the highest creep score. She chewed on her lips and snuck a glance at him. You’re so far ahead that you can solo carry this game now. That’s what I wanted to do. That’s why I played so aggressively! I didn’t bait them for you… I was trying to do what you do, without your skills. It just doesn’t work without your skills… She put her hand under the table and clenched it. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up! Mhm-mhm!