Chapter Forty: The Golden Cicada of the National Server Enters the Fray

Changed the banner?
And what’s with this “Footwork Magician” title?
Fans, surprised, clicked in, only to see lively discussions already unfolding in the streaming room.
“Footwork Magician?”
“That’s a pretty flashy nickname.”
“To be honest, Haoran’s movement is indeed slick. This self-proclaimed title isn’t exactly wrong.”
“Streamer, allow me to mercilessly expose you—could it be because you don’t have any national server tags, so you’re using this title instead?”
Lin Hao chuckled. “Come on, with my skills, isn’t the national server rank a walk in the park?”
“But I don’t really want to play for it. After all, playing the underdog and surprising others is part of the fun. Going godlike with a top-tier hero in a high-rank match is nothing special, but going godlike with a basic Yuan Ge skin? Now that’s something that blows people’s minds!”
“Especially when those salty opponents check my profile to see my Yuan Ge’s match history, only to find—what, a Yuan Ge with just 500 power rating is this terrifying?”
Lin Hao’s remarks sent the chatroom into peals of laughter.
“Thanks to ‘Love Hidden in the Deep Sea’ for the plane!”
“Alright, today’s stream is all about pushing for 2300 points on the Peak Ladder!”
“Let’s begin!”
Once in-game, Lin Hao deftly glanced at the barrage of comments.
He was now a fairly well-known streamer, especially with his recent surge in popularity; viewership numbers soared. Consequently, when he ran into other streamers in ranked, viewers would often tip him off.
Unfortunately, in the first match, he didn’t queue into any streamers.
Lin Hao’s preferred role was still the side lane, and he picked Yuan Ge.
His teammates performed excellently, allowing Lin Hao to rampage through the match, ending with a dance in front of the enemy’s fountain and collecting a massive amount of Rage Points.
But without the streamer bonus, the gain felt a little meager.
In the second match, he queued into a small-time streamer—about the same popularity as Lin Hao used to be, with around 100,000 fans—but the bonus was only 1.5x.
After the game, looking at his collected Rage Points, Lin Hao said, “System, with this 1.5x multiplier, my Rage Points aren’t a whole number anymore, are they? And that extra 0.5 can’t be used for draws or skills, right?”
“Don’t worry, Host. This system will thoughtfully round up—so your Rage Points will always be a whole number.”
The 3216.5 Rage Points instantly became 3217 in his mind, and Lin Hao nodded, satisfied.
Generous!

After a few more matches, he ran into several streamers, but they were all on his own team, so there was no extra Rage Points to collect.
Finally, in the fourth match, not long after queuing, during the BP phase, the chat began to flood the screen.
“It’s Ji Ran!”
“Ji Ran? You mean that top-tier Han Xin player?”
“Who’s Ji Ran? Is he really that good?”
“You don’t know Ji Ran? Tiger Fang’s Ji Ran! His Han Xin can make it to the top 100. Given that Han Xin is a throwaway pick in the current patch, for him to reach top 100 is proof enough of his skill.”
Seeing the chat filled with Ji Ran’s name, Lin Hao perked up. Another streamer encounter?
He’d heard of Ji Ran—maybe not the most popular, but certainly among the most skilled, especially with his signature Han Xin.
“System, is that really Ji Ran on the enemy team?”
“Yes. Scanning confirms that the enemy Peak Summoner 1 is Tiger Fang’s Ji Ran. Based on popularity weighting, when you collect Ji Ran’s Rage Points, you’ll get double the reward!”
At that moment, the enemy’s first pick instantly locked in Han Xin—utter confidence!
Lin Hao sighed with regret.
If only I’d banned Han Xin, I could have instantly harvested a wave of Ji Ran’s Rage Points!
Of course, it might have made collecting Rage Points more difficult later, because if Ji Ran didn’t get Han Xin, he wouldn’t care about the hero’s rating dropping, and winning or losing wouldn’t matter as much, making it harder to provoke him.
However, with the enemy jungler on Han Xin...
I have a plan!
Lin Hao, picking second, immediately locked in Jin Chan!
He’d just acquired the national server Jin Chan skill and could put it to use.
Lin Hao’s Jin Chan was, as always, the plain green bean skin.
Last night, he’d casually played five matches on the Mojia Mechanism Map to build up mastery, since whiteboard heroes can’t be used in ranked or on the Peak Ladder.
The third pick posted in chat, “I’ll take mid,” but Lin Hao’s hand was faster.
The third pick: “...”
No choice, they’d have to support.
In their mind, Jin Chan had only recently been released, but as a utility mid-laner with simple mechanics, as long as you had the right mindset, you wouldn’t drag the team down.
So, even if the second pick was practicing, as long as they had some understanding of wave control, it wouldn’t be a disaster—might as well let them play mid, and pick a trapper for support to score some easy points.
In the streaming room, viewers exploded at Lin Hao’s choice.
“Why not pick Yuan Ge or Guan Yu to totally crush Ji Ran’s Han Xin?”
“The enemy’s Ji Ran! Haoran, take this seriously—why are you practicing heroes?”
“Streamer, show us your match history!”
“Are you nuts? With zero games and zero winrate, how would he even show it?”
Lin Hao, brimming with confidence, said to his viewers, “National server Jin Chan—no further explanation needed. Just watch my plays.”
“This hero’s just been released. I guarantee ninety-nine percent of Jin Chan players haven’t figured out his mechanics yet!”
After hyping himself up, Lin Hao finally entered the game.
His team’s lineup: Jin Chan, Liu Shan, Jing, Marco Polo, Old Master.
Opponents: Lu Ban, Han Xin, Zhou Yu, Ma Chao, Zhang Fei.
At the start, as Lin Hao headed mid, he was surprised to see their Liu Shan going straight for the side lane.
What’s happening here?
Still, he couldn’t out-push Zhou Yu for the wave anyway.
He made his way to mid as usual.
As soon as the minion wave arrived, Zhou Yu stood at the front, using two bursts of fire to clear it out.
Lin Hao, meanwhile, cast his second skill at the front row of minions.
You could see the minions being drawn toward the center of the skill’s area by the pull of the Nine-Ringed Staff.
“This is a little trick for Jin Chan’s wave clear. Early on, many Jin Chan players cast the second skill at the backline, but one cast rarely clears the wave, and you end up losing health.”
“Jin Chan’s second skill attracts nearby minions and jungle monsters toward the array.”
Lin Hao paused for emphasis before continuing, “This is crucial—remember it! Watch closely for my next moves.”
After clearing the wave, meanwhile, Old Master and Liu Shan in the bot lane were lying in wait for Ma Chao as he came to clear the minions.