Chapter Two: Blinking Solely to Interrupt the Healing

Oh? Business is already booming!

Lin Hao's lips curled into a faint smile.

Guan Yu, hiding in the grass, couldn’t hold back any longer. He charged out, wielding his five-hundred-meter-long blade, his momentum fierce and unstoppable.

Lin Hao remained perfectly calm. Instead of standing still to recall, he switched to recalling while walking.

Guan Yu noticed the thundercloud hovering above the Old Master’s head, flashing brightly as he paused and moved, an unmistakable sight.

Just as Guan Yu’s blade was about to strike the Old Master, Lin Hao twisted his body sharply. The Old Master, who had been weaving right and left, suddenly activated his second skill, using the acceleration to abruptly change direction, dodging to the left.

Bang!

Guan Yu’s sure-hit strike missed entirely!

“Rage value from Xinran +300.”

Ha! This is footwork worthy of a script!

Lin Hao chuckled; the Guan Yu on the opposing side must be dumbfounded now.

With Guan Yu’s attack missing, Lin Hao felt at ease.

Turning around, the Old Master, wielding his Christmas staff, chased after Guan Yu, landing several consecutive blows.

Guan Yu, now weakened, could only retreat slowly.

He finally escaped the Old Master’s relentless attacks, and Xinran had just begun to relax.

But then she saw the Old Master, once again, starting to recall!

A quick message of apology was sent along with it!

“Rage value from Xinran +500!”

Tiger Fang Live, Xinran’s streaming channel.

Xinran was a female streamer in the King of Glory section, but unlike others, she was known for her technical prowess.

Though she usually played the heroes favored by female players—Xi Shi, Xiao Qiao, or soft supports—her peak ranking was exceptionally high, often placing her among the top ten.

Her primary role was mid-lane, and she had just reached rank 101, making her one of the top hundred mid-laners nationwide.

As a streamer, being a top-ranked mid-laner was already highly noteworthy, especially since she was a woman.

Her channel maintained around 1.5 million viewers, placing her in the top 20 in the Tiger Fang King of Glory section.

If she could reach the number one spot, her status as a female top player would surely attract even more fans.

Unfortunately, the gap between the top ten and the number one peak position was significant.

Not to mention claiming the definitive first place.

In this match, Xinran had to reluctantly fill a role.

Her teammates insisted on taking mid and support, leaving her only the side lane.

Coincidentally, she had recently learned Guan Yu from Liu Wei, so she decided to give it a try.

Though her Guan Yu was marked blue,

Xinran felt confident. When she entered the game, she saw the average peak score was 2095, while hers was 2309!

This meant it was a point-pulling match, and she was the high scorer!

An expert should have the confidence of an expert!

However, she never expected

to run into Lin Hao, who had just acquired script-level footwork—a perfect opportunity for him to test it!

She’d run right into the blade.

After just one exchange, Xinran already sensed the oppressive presence of the Old Master.

Such a player, with such movement...

Could he be high-ranked as well?

Xinran shook her head, putting away her initial disdain.

As the saying goes, match your tactics to your opponent.

Against weaker players, there’s no need to bluff skills, since they likely won’t anticipate much and may not even react in time, while you waste effort on feints.

The two probed and exchanged moves, with Xinran’s Guan Yu swinging his blade again—but missing once more.

She realized she couldn’t quite grasp the Old Master’s movement.

“Haha, Xinran darling is being taunted!”

“Hahaha, that recall is so eye-catching! Why does it make me want to laugh?”

“Quick, show us the strength of a top hundred peak player!”

Xinran’s fans were having a great time.

“Maybe I just don’t play Guan Yu enough, always missing my swings,” Xinran shook her head. “It’s fine, Guan Yu still has the advantage against the Old Master. Since he’s so good at dodging, I’ll adjust my combo—charge and follow with first skill. Even if I miss, the first skill’s damage will still land.”

The two continued to chip away at each other.

The more they fought, the more solemn Xinran’s expression became.

Was this Old Master some transcendent substitute?

But she was a top hundred peak player herself!

If she couldn’t win the lane, so be it—when skill falls short, awareness makes up for it. She’d clear the wave, roam, and crush the Old Master’s teammates!

“Don’t panic, let’s take some medicine, recover a bit. This Old Master is no ordinary opponent. Looks like we need to change our strategy and focus on support.”

At the minute mark, the health pack refreshed. Xinran quickly had Guan Yu grab it, feeling instantly rejuvenated as she returned to lane.

Guan Yu paced a few meters away from the Old Master, his health steadily recovering under the green healing glow.

She couldn’t afford to miss these frontline minions.

Just as Xinran thought this...

Suddenly, the Old Master, who had been weaving left and right, probing and dodging, saw the green glow and rising health bar on her, and refused to stand by. In a flash, he blinked right up to her, and gently hooked her with his ruler!

Smack!

The ruler pulled Guan Yu in front of the Old Master, extinguishing the healing glow that had been steadily rising from Guan Yu.

At the same time, his horse’s legs were broken.

Then, the Old Master tapped recall twice again, the effects of Shadow City appearing once more—an unmistakably provocative gesture.

Xinran froze.

She immediately realized what the Old Master was up to.

Blink followed by first skill, for only one purpose—

To interrupt her healing!

But...

Is blink used like this?

Looking at her health, down to a third, and at the Old Master, who had activated his second skill and chased after her with two auto-attacks—each accompanied by a sudden recall—

Though the Old Master had “wasted” his blink, Xinran felt not joy, but overwhelming fury.

Is this how people play?

“Rage value from Xinran +1400!”

After completing this maneuver, Lin Hao immediately received a system notification.

Effective!

Feeling elated, he glanced at the chat.

The screen was filled with question marks.

This move—honestly, no ordinary person could pull it off.

The chat exploded.

“What the hell kind of move is that?”

“Is this streamer an escapee from the mental hospital?”

“Hao, you were fine before, how did you suddenly get possessed?”

“Stop yelling, I’m the only one who gets it—Hao is suppressing! Suppressing, you know?”

But Lin Hao, straight-faced, explained, “I’m sure many viewers didn’t catch the details here, so let me break it down.”

“Guan Yu is a hero without healing skills, meaning he has no sustain. When trading health in lane, we’re not losing out.”

“If I let him eat the whole health pack, his health would be around two-thirds, and our plan to dive and kill him next wave might be delayed.”

“That’s why I blinked to interrupt him—got it, brothers?”

As soon as Lin Hao finished, the channel erupted, the chat flooding in like a tidal wave.

“Confirmed: upright nonsense!”

“I don’t know if this was flashy, but that Guan Yu must be fuming!”