Chapter Nine: Mockery from the Barely Surviving Song of the Abyss

Normally, Ma Chao should always have a spear in hand to deal with unexpected situations when the enemy comes for him, especially before reaching level four—this is particularly crucial. Yet Yifan had already made the same mistake twice! Even if both times, he had his reasons.

The first time, seeing Yuan Ge’s health almost gone, he thought he could finish him off quickly with an attack and a close-range basic strike, only for Yuan Ge to flash away and counterattack from the brink of defeat.

The second time—this very round—he’d carefully checked the healing pack under the enemy’s tower, deducing that Yuan Ge had gone back to base. Naturally, he hurried to clear the minion wave, hoping to snag the river crab for some extra gold. He never expected that Yuan Ge hadn’t left at all!

In that instant, cold sweat broke out on Yifan’s brow.

On the other side, a faint smile played at Lin Hao’s lips. As a top-tier Yuan Ge player, mastering the matchup against Ma Chao was essential. His system-enhanced memory even included the cooldowns for all of Ma Chao’s abilities at every level!

Moreover, Yifan’s Ma Chao had been too aggressive early on, starting with just an iron sword, and still hadn’t managed to get cooldown boots.

So Lin Hao was in no rush. After knocking Ma Chao up, he didn’t immediately follow with a triple chain control but instead landed two basic attacks.

Now, Yifan also saw Yuan Ge’s health in the brush—a sliver, though apparently recovered slightly. Yuan Ge’s health bar looked just enough to be taken down by Ma Chao’s second ability and another basic attack—probably thanks to a healing item.

But even if Yuan Ge really only had a drop of health left, Yifan could do nothing about it—he had no abilities available.

After two basic attacks, Lin Hao judged the timing was right and decisively locked down with the triple chain. The puppet’s arms spread wide, silk threads binding Ma Chao fast. Then, with a second skill, he pulled his main body over. In the next moment, four shurikens flew out, a basic attack slipped in between, and finally a cross slash.

“You have slain an enemy!”

Another solo kill.

After the kill, Lin Hao promptly started recalling to base, then opened the quick chat. With a casual tap, the “Sorry” chat bubble appeared beside Yuan Ge.

Before doing this, Lin Hao had glanced at how things were going in the enemy’s mid lane.

After clearing the wave, the enemy mid was heading downwards. He hadn’t yet shown up in the bottom lane, so there was a chance he would double back to top, providing fake vision.

But what did it matter? Lin Hao recalled openly under the enemy tower, in full view of the fallen Ma Chao.

“+500 Rage from Yifan!”

If Lin Hao’s first solo kill was so fast that viewers could only gasp in awe, this time, they caught every detail of his play. From calculating with the healing pack under the tower, to hiding in the brush, waiting for Ma Chao’s spear to strike, then chaining with the puppet for the kill—right down to the perfectly timed basic attacks that just finished Ma Chao off.

“Even though Yifan’s Ma Chao ranks high thanks to the ranking system, he’s still a top-tier Ma Chao. For the streamer to solo kill him twice, Yuan Ge’s skills must be among the best in the country!”

“And he’s using the default skin too!”

“Looks like I’ve discovered a hidden gem of a streamer—he’s got both style and skills!”

Having harvested a trove of rage points, Lin Hao was in great spirits and explained to his viewers, “With this little health, Ma Chao could easily drop down with a second skill and finish me off. If he played safe, just tossing his second skill into the brush, I’d probably die too! In this situation, ninety-nine point nine percent of Yuan Ge players would choose to recall.”

“But fortune favors the bold—that’s just my playstyle!”

Of course, only Lin Hao knew that, in truth, he just wanted to collect another batch of rage points!

Just imagine—a sliver-of-health Yuan Ge kills you right in front of your face, then recalls back to base while taunting you like mad...

Who wouldn’t lose it at that point?

In Yifan’s stream room, the moment his screen went dark, he felt an urge to smash his phone. Rage shot from his chest straight to his head, his mind buzzing.

“Damn it!”

He finally blurted out a curse.

After calming down, Yifan realized he had underestimated this Yuan Ge. Never mind the mechanics—just the sheer calculation and foresight was enough for the top hundred. This Haoran guy seemed to be a new streamer...

Having streamed for a few years, Yifan suddenly felt old.

“Should we gank top? This Yuan Ge is playing aggressively and giving us chances!” he called out.

His team’s Fire Dancer instantly replied, then brought the support, Ghost Valley Sage, up to the top lane.

The earlier fights had all broken out in the mid and bot lanes, so no one had paid attention to the solo battles up top. Without realizing it, Ma Chao had been killed twice already.

Still, as Ma Chao was a top-tier player, Fire Dancer reckoned he wasn’t completely hopeless and decided to lend a hand.

Fire Dancer chose, after supporting the bottom lane, to cut straight through their own jungle instead of taking the mid lane, leaving that for the jungler to farm.

Reaching the river, she saw Yuan Ge standing boldly in the middle of the main road, exuding an air of unrivaled confidence. His health was about three-quarters full, while Ma Chao had just over half.

The attack began!

Ghost Valley Sage charged out first, popping both skills in succession for a burst of movement speed, rushing at Yuan Ge.

“He might use his fourth skill to escape!” Ghost Valley Sage thought, deciding to run behind Yuan Ge to cut off his retreat.

Fire Dancer’s plan was simple: wait for Ghost Valley Sage to connect, then immediately follow with a kick.

“Did he let the wave through?” Lin Hao hadn’t expected this move, as the mid lane minions hadn’t met yet; his vision told him Fire Dancer should still be clearing the wave.

Supporting with an unfinished wave was an unexpected and hard-to-guard tactic.

Meanwhile, Ma Chao activated Sprint.

Yifan, still not level four, used Sprint to hunt for an opening from the flank, either to throw his spear for damage or to dash in at the right moment.

Lin Hao narrowed his eyes. With script-level movement skills, not only did his own movements become unpredictable, he also read his opponents’ moves as if they were in the palm of his hand.

In a flash, all the opponents’ movement cues were processed in Lin Hao’s mind, sparking countless ideas.

Ghost Valley Sage moved downward—judging by his positioning, he was trying to block the retreat. If Lin Hao used his fourth skill toward the tower, the puppet could get caught and controlled, then Fire Dancer would chain her crowd control, kill the puppet instantly, and then... it would be game over.

Ma Chao looked ready to charge forward, clearly planning to stay and fight.

Then let’s stay!

Fourth skill to start!

Yuan Ge slipped into the void, casting his fourth skill forward while releasing his first skill backward.

Bang!

In a split second, both sides’ abilities crossed paths.

Ghost Valley Sage’s prediction missed as he went low, catching nothing but air. Fire Dancer’s kick landed right on cue—only to hit nothing but air herself, and in that moment, was knocked up by Yuan Ge’s puppet.