Chapter 126: Win This Round and Take First Place?

Lin Hao glanced at his teammates' frequently played heroes. One was a "Jungle King" whose pool included Pei Qinhu, Lan, and Kai. Seeing Lin Hao claim the jungle position first, the teammate didn't object, and they proceeded to select their heroes normally.

Lin Hao took a quick look at his stream’s chat.
"It looks like we ran into Yi Fan."
"This hero pool looks exactly like Yi Fan's."
"I just checked, it really is him."
"Hahaha, Yi Fan just went on a win streak and is one game away from hitting rank one on the leaderboard. What a coincidence to run into Haozi."

Guided by the well-informed viewers, Lin Hao recognized that the player in the second slot was indeed Yi Fan. The chat mentioned that this was a crucial match for Yi Fan to secure the top spot on the server. It was a pity; if Yi Fan were on the opposing team, Lin Hao would have made sure to play his best to crush those dreams of rank one. Quickly dismissing that wicked thought, he realized that since Yi Fan was on his side, he would just have to begrudgingly carry him to the top.

Both teams finalized their picks quickly. Lin Hao was in a comfortable position, as his teammates chose their heroes efficiently, leaving him the counter-pick spot in the fourth slot on the blue side. Lin Hao locked in Luna. As a high-skill ceiling hero, Luna was also notoriously unforgiving. Selecting her at this rank wasn't particularly strange, but Lin Hao’s chat erupted.

"Luna?"
"Haozi is actually playing Luna? How bold!"
"Breaking news, brothers: the enemy Li Bai is the 'ceiling' of Li Bai players, Huya's Xiao Jin."
"And the enemy Marco Polo is Wei Liang, the top-ranked player on his smurf account!"
"Sigh, this was supposed to be a top-tier match, but it's a shame Haozi chose Luna."
"Do you guys not trust Haozi? I’ve seen his Luna before—he absolutely carries with her."

As the high-stakes match began, the chat was flooded with everything from leaks about the players' identities to skepticism about Lin Hao picking such a high-difficulty hero he rarely played. Lin Hao watched the messages scroll by faster than usual, mixed with so much misinformation that he couldn't tell what was happening. Just then, the game loaded.

"System notification: The opposing Li Bai is the streamer Xiao Jin. You will receive a triple bonus when collecting his rage!"
"System notification: The opposing Marco Polo is the streamer Wei Liang. You will receive a triple bonus when collecting his rage!"

There were two other minor streamers on the opposing team, offering a double bonus. Wei Liang and Xiao Jin? Both were players of rank-one caliber. They were the ones battling for the top spot at the end of last season. Lin Hao’s expression turned serious. Despite his confidence in his national-ranking Luna, facing two top-tier players simultaneously required his full focus.

In the loading screen, Lin Hao saw the peak ranking of 2 above his teammate Old Master's head, along with the national-level badge. It was undoubtedly Yi Fan.

Meanwhile, in Wei Liang’s stream:
"What? If Yi Fan wins this, he’ll be rank one?" Wei Liang was shocked by the chat's information. He had been about 30 points ahead of Yi Fan, but after reaching over 2600 points on his main account, he had stopped playing to avoid the risk of dropping, switching to his smurf account instead. His smurf was now nearing 2500 points.

Wei Liang’s signature heroes were Jing and Luna. Unlike Bei Mu, Wei Liang was most famous for his Jing, a nightmare for anyone in high-level play. He was still practicing Luna on his smurf. He had ceded the jungle role simply because he respected Xiao Jin’s Li Bai. Playing marksman was fine, he thought—his Marco Polo also held a national-level badge. However, hearing that Yi Fan was about to take the top spot unsettled him. While he was on good terms with Yi Fan, a man always craves honor. Since Yi Fan had gone on a win streak, he was now one game away from surpassing him.

"Looks like I have to play seriously," Wei Liang thought. "If I lose, I’ll have to switch to my main to reclaim the top spot."

The lineups were set. On the blue side, Lin Hao and Yi Fan had Luna, Old Master, Zhou Yu, Sun Shangxiang, and Sun Bin. On the red side, Wei Liang and Xiao Jin had Marco Polo, Li Bai, Ying Zheng, Ma Chao, and Zhang Fei.

During the loading screen, while most of his teammates displayed national or provincial badges, Lin Hao’s Luna badge was only purple (intermediate proficiency). If not for his peak ranking of 29 displayed next to his name, his teammates might have been spamming his avatar in frustration.

Lin Hao planned for a standard blue-buff start. Li Bai was a hero who, like Luna, was relatively weak in the early game; stealing camps was risky and time-consuming. Lin Hao held onto his Retribution spell, not planning to contest the river crab. For a Luna, securing both buffs was already a perfect start.

While clearing the jungle, Lin Hao kept an eye on the mid-lane. After clearing his wave, Zhou Yu headed toward the top lane to support Yi Fan. Ying Zheng, though slightly slower at clearing, followed Zhou Yu and spotted Lin Hao taking the blue buff. His eyes lit up, and he immediately used his first ability followed by basic attacks. Lin Hao timed his Retribution perfectly, securing the buff without incident.

"Thanks for the assist on the buff, Ying Zheng!"

Lin Hao continued his rotation, ignoring the river crab. Suddenly, first blood broke out in the top lane. Yi Fan and Zhou Yu dove the tower, killing Ma Chao. However, Yi Fan was too deep and couldn't escape, so he focused on clearing the minions before falling to the opposing team.

Lin Hao finished his red-side clear, reached level four, and prepared to start a play in the bottom lane.