Chapter Twelve: A Hasty Escape

Even in Yifan’s streaming room, watching Yuan Song’s maneuvers on the opposing side, one could feel that Haoran was delivering a full-fledged performance. Yet for Lin Hao, he was simply striving to gather rage points more efficiently.

As the match continued, many viewers of Yifan’s stream downloaded Shark Live, searched for Haoran, and joined his room. Lin Hao, seeing the barrage of comments speeding up, felt a wave of satisfaction.

Reviving again, Lin Hao joined his teammates in a dominant tower-pushing rhythm. The enemy’s mid lane had been destroyed in the last team fight; after respawning, they only needed to pressure the side towers, take the dragon, and seek opportunities.

“Yuan Song is essentially an assassin,” Lin Hao suddenly spoke to his audience after clearing a wave of minions in mid lane. “What is an assassin? One who hides in the shadows, looks for a chance, and strikes to kill in a single blow! But isn’t that a bit too sly and treacherous? I believe it doesn’t reflect the commanding presence of our server’s top Yuan Song at all!”

“So, I’ve decided to do as before: I’ll hold the mid lane, lure the enemy out, and, using my magician-like skills, ensnare them all at once!”

Lin Hao was preparing his viewers for his next move—a preemptive explanation, even if he felt he was stretching the truth, at least it was something.

Thus, Lin Hao walked right up to the enemy’s mid tower and started recalling, moving as he did so.

The mid lane minions marched slowly forward, the surroundings empty of any visible enemies. Only the sound of Lin Hao’s recall was clearly audible.

“Haha, recalling in style—I love it!”
“It’s mainly because Haozi has the skill for it. Last time, he recalled in style and managed to set a good pace.”
“No teammates missed their marks. I feel the enemy doesn’t dare to push either.”

Lin Hao glanced at the barrage, nodded, and continued, “Indeed, their lineup—Ma Chao, Marco, Fire Dancer, Ghost Valley, Lan—is a burst heavy dive comp. Almost no poke or harass skills!”

“If you want to come for me, then charge at me!”

Marco Polo appeared under the mid tower, sweeping his skill across the minion wave, completely ignoring Lin Hao.

On the side lane, Lan also showed up on the map.

It seemed Lin Hao’s recall antics had lost their impact.

Rage points from Marco Polo +100.
Rage points from Yifan +100.

Lin Hao received two system notifications and paused. Apparently, the enemy’s mentality was still affected.

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Marco Polo was clearing the lane, watching Lin Hao recall in style—it was understandable he was annoyed. But Yifan? He probably wasn’t pushing side lanes; more likely, he was lying in wait somewhere for Lin Hao.

If Lin Hao tried to use his puppet to dive Marco under the tower, Ma Chao would likely burst from a bush to capitalize on the cooldown window, and a team fight would erupt instantly.

Lin Hao kept stoking the fire, opened the chat, and sent, “Sorry.”

Rage points from Yifan +100.

In Yifan’s stream, he looked calm on the surface, but his lips pressed together—a shift from his usual playful demeanor, now taking things seriously.

“Two are missing on bot, and Yuan Song is still bouncing in mid?”

Seeing Di Renjie and Nakoruru clearing bot lane and appearing on the map, Yifan’s brow twitched.

Last time, he and his teammates were baited into a trap by Yuan Song and his allies.

This kind of trickery is common in low-rank or fun matches, or when gathering highlights—two side lanes facing off, suddenly one recalls repeatedly, provoking the enemy to attack in anger…

At that moment, the jungler would jump from the bush, team up with the side laner, and eliminate the enemy.

Having suffered once already, Yifan decided to wait for the enemy to push the tower.

But unexpectedly, they had no intention of pressuring mid; at least two damage dealers had shown themselves in bot lane.

If that’s the case, I won’t hold back!

Ding!

Sprint activated!

“Yuan Song’s got at most three in mid—charge!”

Yifan shouted, and Marco Polo, along with Fire Dancer hiding in the shadows, sprang into action.

They had all seen the bot lane vision appear at almost the same moment.

…

Lin Hao was happily recalling when suddenly Ma Chao emerged from the bush, glowing red with trailing effects.

Fire Dancer dashed forward with a basic attack, entering Lin Hao’s vision, then immediately flung her fan.

Marco Polo was even more direct, using his second skill to dive and following up with a basic attack.

Goodness, the three coordinated so well! They attacked almost simultaneously.

If these three were at a banquet for assassins, wouldn’t it be a flawless kill?

But Lin Hao was well prepared; he opened with his fourth skill, this time casting it backwards.

After all, the fastest escape is always away from the enemy.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

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In an instant, a barrage of skills struck Lin Hao’s previous position.

It was yet another chase through the canyon.

The contenders: Yuan Song, Marco Polo, Ma Chao, and Fire Dancer.

In a flash, Lin Hao’s Yuan Song unleashed a flurry of skills—opening with his fourth, retreating with his ultimate, swapping positions, then following with his third skill.

But this time, Lin Hao showed no signs of trying to show off, simply executing the fastest escape combo.

By the time Lin Hao reached the safety of the tower, only Ma Chao was still hot on his heels.

Zhang Fei appeared from the central bushes, cast a shield on Lin Hao, then strode forward, gently swinging his serpent spear to push Ma Chao away.

Shen Mengxi continued to lob a giant cat bomb at enemies along the path.

Both times, Shen Mengxi’s bombs were easy to throw—thanks to Yuan Song initiating these escape races; just a bit of prediction and toss along the path.

By the time Yifan nearly reached Yuan Song, he was already down to half health.

Once again, the dazzling cross-slash effects bloomed on Ma Chao, shaving off a bit more of his HP.

Yifan: “…”

He couldn’t catch up.

Ma Chao could only chase Yuan Song when cutting in from the side—making it hard for Yuan Song to escape.

But charging head-on, Yuan Song just needed to run away from them.

So this round, their health was depleted, and they wasted a sprint?

Rage points from Yifan +300!

“This was a textbook skill-bait escape. Everyone should learn from it,” Lin Hao declared, having escaped unharmed, grateful Ma Chao kept his cool.

If it had been a Ma Chao red-eyed with rage, he would have charged recklessly, willing to trade blows no matter what.

Even if you fled into the fountain, he’d chase you.

After all, a puppet-less, skillless Yuan Song is an irresistible target—a fact every Ma Chao player knows all too well.

“666! Baited Ma Chao’s sprint!”
“Slippery as an eel—he really ran fast!”
“That feeling when you annoy them but they just can’t kill you—it’s unbeatable!”

In truth, Lin Hao’s antics were all to bait more rage points, though his audience would never know.

Meanwhile, the bot lane minion wave was pushed up by Nakoruru and Di Renjie during the mid-lane chase.

Lin Hao grabbed a heal under the tower, helped the jungler take the dragon, and prepared to use the mighty dragon to pressure the enemy’s mid tower.