LOL: I just turned 18, let me fight back and be reborn

Chapter 336 "The Fist of Fear?" Public Opinion Heats Up!
Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Riot Games headquarters.

August, the "Third Ring Road Guy," arrived at the company on time for his early morning commute. As usual, he headed to the {Bilgewater} bar for a Ghost Coffee to start his energetic day.

However, as soon as he got the coffee, he saw his old friend CT and several other designers from "YE Fans Insider Club" push open the door and walk towards him.

The group looked like they had stayed up all night.

"Oh CT, look at your damn dark circles," Brother Sanhuan couldn't help but tease him.

"Did you stay up all night watching YE's game again?"

"I've told you before that our design team should remain neutral and not get too close to the contestants. Oh, by the way, did you show him the promotional video for Belleia? What did he say?"

The upcoming new hero, "Rose of Madness," is the "final work" of Sanhuan Ge as the chief designer.

He will then transition from a frontline designer to a leadership and supervisory role.

This hero is also rare in that it does not have a "three-ring-like" skill mechanism — because Brother Three Rings has always wanted to be a {vampire loli} hero, and this can be considered as the fulfillment of his last wish before retiring from the front line.

Therefore, he attaches great importance to this new hero, which is also his "last dance"!
Naturally, they also hope to collaborate with Ye Bo, a global celebrity, on promotional activities.

After all, the official promotional videos featuring Ye Bo and Akali and the Hundred-Crack Hounds immediately and significantly changed the popularity of the heroes after they were released!
Even after the dog was nerfed multiple times, it is still a favorite in ranked matches in casual games, which shows how strong the ID 【YE】 is in terms of its "product promotion" effect on casual players.

"Let's talk about that later." CT rubbed his dark circles from staying up all night: "Just now, the LPL Summer Finals in China just ended."

"Oh, V5 won again, right?"

There is a time difference of more than ten hours between Los Angeles and China, so it was early morning when the LPL Summer Finals ended.

Unlike the fervor of the "YE fans" led by CT, this is different.

For the finals of a separate regional league, the aging Sanhuan Ge (a nickname) didn't stay up all night to watch it.

"Third Ring Brother" accepted the "Water Ghost Coffee" handed to him by a Bilgewater employee: "If you ask me, what's so interesting about the matches in the V5 region? You'll wake up and it'll be another victory!"

CT nodded first, then shook his head.

"V5 won, but it's not a question of winning."

"It seems like that thing has reappeared."

"?!"

Upon hearing those two words from the other person, Brother Sanhuan almost drowned from the mouthful of his Ghost Coffee, his face filled with disbelief.

You could even see a hint of fear in his eyes!
"You mean changing the cable!?"

"How is that possible? We've banned that stuff for so long!"

Unlike the perspectives of other teams, players, and fans.

If there's anything in this world that the balance team fears more than fixing the bugs on Sylas and Blade of the Ruined King, it's switching lanes!
The mid-jungle "infused jungle carry" system, once popularized by Gem Master, is simply insignificant compared to the lane-swap system!
It's no exaggeration to say that they are the 'lifelong enemy' of the design team, to the point that they are terrified of them!
从最早S2诞生时号称的EU流，到S3微笑卷毛乌兹Tabe双人占中、S4S5厂长扣肉的上野野区甜蜜双排、先互掉个一塔再开始游戏，再到S8莱特米赛恩绝食众生平等.
It can be said that for the first eight years of the professional League of Legends scene, the designers were constantly trying to suppress and block the lane swap tactic.

It wasn't until S9 pioneered the design of the "plating mechanism" that it was completely sealed away!
Therefore, it's not hard to understand why Brother Sanhuan reacted so strongly when he heard those two words.

This thing is a bit like something out of a fantasy novel, where an ancient sect finally managed to seal away an "ancient demon" that could destroy the world after exhausting the lifeblood and essence of all its elders—but when I woke up today and went to work, I suddenly heard that the thing had inexplicably broken through the seal!

Is the world about to end again when I open my eyes?
CT handed over the computer: "Take a look at this video."

Brother Sanhuan finished his coffee in one gulp and then focused intently on watching the computer screen.

But I only watched it for a short while.

He immediately frowned: "Fuck, you dog CT, are you trying to scare me this early in the morning?"

"What kind of lane swap is this? It's just a tactic to gank top lane, with the lane swapping done in the process!"

"I remember WBG's top laner; to be honest, that strategy is quite interesting."

CT, however, reached for the rewind button, shaking his head as he said, "No, no, no, don't look at the content of this game."

"Put yourself in the shoes of a V5 player, and imagine that you would want to initiate a lane swap right now."

Clearly, CT, who is capable of designing champions such as Thresh, Kalista, Aphelios, Yasuo, Zoe, Zed, Akali, etc., has unique insights from a counterintuitive perspective.

After listening, Brother Sanhuan also began to re-examine the matter.

Then he found out.

What the other person said seems to be true!

A closer look reveals that V5 clearly excels in early game positioning, vision control for enemy detection, lane pushing and delaying, unified and decisive lane switching, and clear strategic objectives.
None of this seemed like an on-the-spot decision!

To say that this is the true strength of V5, that they can achieve such a flawless effect even when using such a revolutionary tactic for the first time, would be a bit of an exaggeration!
The only explanation seems to be that the other party has undergone special training.

They're specifically targeting the "lane swapping system"!
The man from the Third Ring Road also looked rather grim: "Is this their last match before entering the World Championship?"

"Yes, that's what I'm worried about too. We don't have any more reference samples."

The Asian Games after the Summer Split will not use the latest version; it may even use a very old version from the Spring Split.

V5 isn't fielding the entire team, so this system is unlikely to be used at the Asian Games.

However, the design team had to finalize the update announcement for the [S-Series version] before the end of the month!
If lane-swap tactics were to reappear and become popular, it could have unpredictable consequences for this World Championship!
"CT, what do you think?" Brother Sanhuan slapped his head with a worried look on his face.

"This isn't like getting overpowered equipment and heroes, where you can just tweak a few stats. If you rashly change the towers or other map resources, it could drastically alter the game's meta."

Designers have learned similar lessons more than once in history—the heavy armor warriors of S5 and the Ardent Censer monsters of S7 were both hidden problems in the version that were not discovered before the World Championship.

All of their expectations were shattered at the World Championship, making everyone lose face!
CT, who had stayed up all night, also shared his thoughts: "Don't rush, here's the thing."

"First of all, we cannot be 100% sure that V5 is using this tactic, and we are even less sure if other teams have discovered it. In fact, if it is only used occasionally, it is still beneficial to the diversity of tactics on the field."

"Secondly, nerfing is definitely not an option. You know very well what kind of impact major version changes that haven't stood the test of time will have."

"August, you don't want to see the events of S5 and S7 repeat themselves, do you?"

The heavy armor version in Season 5, and the Ardent Censer version in Season 7.

These two World Championships are considered to be the two least entertaining in the history of League of Legends.

Both have something in common: they both rely on a single carry in the team. One is to protect the top laner and the other is to protect the AD carry. They then farm for 30 minutes without fighting until the carry gets ahead, and then they compare which carry is stronger.

The lane-swap tactic is seen as a thorn in the side, and that's why!

Lacking direct conflict and combat, it's all about constant evasion and resource exchange—even though there's a lot to explore in terms of tactics, strategy, and decision-making.

But the audience just finds it incredibly boring!
"This YE, really is something else."

Brother Sanhuan leaned on the corner of the table and gave a wry smile.

He had a love-hate relationship with this player.

While the Ruined King and the Hundred-Cracked Hound he created were shining brightly in his hands, the development of all sorts of bizarre "mechanisms" was causing everyone a lot of headaches and adding an unknown amount of workload!
Now, the re-emergence of this tactic is clearly inseparable from the opponent!

"That's not entirely true. Tactics themselves are not inherently wrong; developing them is the player's skill, and balancing them well is our skill."

"CT, I think your butt is practically tilting to the Great Wall! It's working hours! And you're still a Riot employee!!"

"No, I already took my annual leave yesterday to watch the game, and I'm going home to sleep soon. Right now, I'm a fan of YE!"

The two old friends were exchanging barbs.

They smiled at each other, and the atmosphere seemed to lighten up.

However, it's hard to say whether CT's words were driven by a little bit of personal bias.

After all, if the World Championship patch is indeed released at the end of the month, they will openly and specifically nerf this tactic.

That's practically announcing to the world: Riot Games is targeting V5!

Don’t say anything else.

Just the sheer number of YE fans all over the world today—if each one of them spat at us, it would drown everyone in the office!
At the same time, deep down, CT was naturally unwilling to "target" the players he liked very much.

"Boss, this is what I think."

"We can start with some 'preventative' nerfs, like increasing early-game tower damage reduction, and then tell the public it's to slow down the pace of the game! It won't attract attention!" "Secondly, since the lane-swapping tactic is criticized for lacking combat effectiveness, why don't we proactively enhance its combat effectiveness? After all, like you said, it's all for the sake of entertainment!"

The global ban/pick (BP) system adopted this year has gone from being heavily criticized at the beginning to being recognized by almost everyone.

Undeniably, it greatly enhanced the viewing experience, allowing us to see many hero combinations that were previously difficult to witness!

The popularity of the competition has also increased significantly this year, which has given the design team a clearer goal.

What makes a player feel uncomfortable during a match?
The most important thing is that the players enjoy the game!

All changes should be made to enhance the entertainment value of the event!
After listening to what the other party said, Brother Sanhuan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and nodded in satisfaction: "OK, I think this is very good. Let's leave it at that. Next week, you and CK will give me a final draft."

"Oh, and don't forget my Bereya! Also, please give my regards to YE and wish him all the best in the Asian Games."

"Don't worry~~~~"

Despite pulling an all-nighter, CT was still full of energy. He immediately grabbed his laptop and ran back to the office, picked up his phone and started scrolling through his contacts, finding the name he had saved as "Akali King".

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean.

Ye Bo, who had just finished the trophy-winning ceremony and was preparing to head to the celebration banquet with his teammates, suddenly had his phone ring.

"Hey CT, it's been a long time!"

"Of course, no problem! Send it to me later. I'm quite free during this period before I go to the Asian Games training camp."

"Okay, please also thank Brother Sanhuan for his blessings!"

hang up the phone.

Ye Bo continued to board the bus with his teammates for the celebration banquet.

As soon as Xun sat down in the front row, he leaned back and asked, "Who is Master Ye? Is he the designer of Akali?"

"Yes, they said they wanted me to participate in a trial activity for the new hero that will be released soon."

"Wow! Does that mean we're getting a cheat code? We can get early access to the World Championship patch information!"

Sitting next to him, Flandre complained, "Xunzi, you're such a casual gamer! Don't you know that the latest hero has to be used by all regions within six months before it can be used in the World Championship?"

"Besides, it's already a miracle that those designers don't give us special treatment and don't target us!"

Xun chuckled and changed the subject: "Hey, Master Ye is really too busy. What was the name of that director that President Jin brought over just now? He wouldn't be looking for Master Ye to make a movie too, would he?"

"Uncle and Auntie! Master Ye is really going to become a star!"

Since Ye's parents had finally made it to Beijing, they eventually joined in the celebration banquet at Mario Ho's strong invitation.

The proud smiles on the elderly couple's faces never faded after they left the competition venue.

Because his parents were present, Ye Bo refrained from arguing with his teammates and instead started surfing the waves on his phone.

The anti-racism forum was bustling with activity at that moment.

The Summer Finals are undoubtedly the most important event of the year in the region, and the media attention they generate is unprecedented!

Ye Bo only needs to see that the GIF animation posts analyzing his Talon "Ten Thousand Blades Return to One" and Sylas "Flying Statue" gameplay have hundreds of replies, which is enough to show how popular they are!

Click on any of the links, and you'll find scenes of peace and prosperity.

[Full of dust! Full of dust! These are the pebbles from World No. 1 Middle School!]

I didn't quite believe it when someone said that even Coach Ye could help my grandma win the championship, but now I'm starting to have some doubts.

[My goodness! Three titles in one year! And who knows, maybe even five this year!! On the other hand, some less impressive players don't even have five titles in their entire careers.]

[How dare you!!!]

Seeing Master Ip made me realize that the divine is not a fabrication!

[I've figured it out! There's no such thing as a "king" team in the LPL. Whichever team Ye (the streamer) is on, that team is king!]

Seeing the netizens' enthusiastic comments, Ye Bo couldn't help but smile.

It is human nature to enjoy hearing others praise us.

Even if there are some exaggerations involved, it does sound pretty cool.

Besides Ye Bo, the other four teammates also received a lot of praise.

Among them, Flandre and Beryl are particularly outstanding.

Flandre was initially expected to be no match for TheShy's performance, but he unexpectedly withstood the pressure today—especially in the third game, where the difference in playstyles between the two sides was evident, showcasing Flandre's unique role in "special circumstances."

Beryl's performance in the third game was undoubtedly the reason for his outstanding performance.

Ye Bo forwarded the positive reviews and comments to the group, and then continued scrolling down.

I saw content from external websites that was reposted on the Anti-Fighting Forum.

Riot Games' official Twitter account on foreign websites immediately posted a celebratory message after V5's victory: {Congratulations Victory Five! Becoming the first team to secure the number one seed for the 2023 World Championship}
However, the comments section here is not so harmonious.

It could even be said that the place was filled with all sorts of strange and sour smells, as if someone was howling at the sky from a gutter.

[Hehe~ Why is it V5 again? Are there no other teams in the LPL?]

I think LPL is basically just a bunch of weak teams fighting each other. JDG had such a good lineup but they didn't even make it to the finals. V5 can only bully these lousy players.

[YE says he wants an Asian Games gold medal? To be honest, V5 might be stronger as a team, but if we're talking about countries, KR is definitely much stronger!]

【Completely agree! Haven't all four LPL World Championship titles so far been won with the help of our player KR? Even if one YE is strong, try finding five YEs yourself!!】

[Hehe~ Some people seem to be getting nervous about the 'LCK Destroyer' making it to Worlds~]

[Oh, I can understand. After all, the third region couldn't even make it to the top four at MSI, so now they can only team up with wildcard regions for support.]

[Isn't the reason CN hasn't announced the roster because they simply can't find anyone capable of playing for KR? Is it so hard to admit the truth?]

Those who reposted these posts on the Anti-Fighting Forum were clearly just trying to gain experience points, and they deliberately chose comments that could stir up emotions.

as predicted.

The fans below have already started discussing it heatedly.

[So noisy and fussy, you'd think V5 and EDG were carrying the team!]

[Oh well, there's nothing we can do. They probably realized that this year's World Championship is a dead end, so they're putting all their hopes on the Asian Games~~~~]

[Do you really think mere theoretical strength will work? Do you really think a month is enough for Ruler and Beryl to gel? It'll be a miracle if those two don't start fighting—Kanavi might even be throwing banana peels at the bot lane!]

[To be honest, what they said isn't wrong; there really are people who can't choose five positions.]

The fact is, someone's face is about to be slapped to pieces! Just wait and see!

[So when exactly will the roster be released? Are we really going to have to wait until after the gauntlet matches to announce it? Especially for the bot lane, I honestly can't think of anyone to pick.]

The Asian Games training team probably felt they had already waited long enough.

Even if we select the players early, we still have to wait until all the qualifying matches are over before we can organize a training camp. Determining the roster in advance is meaningless, which is why we are not in a hurry.

Ye Bo was also a little curious about who would be chosen in the end.

Of course, it was just out of curiosity.

For him, the most important thing is to focus on himself.

He didn't want to let everyone down.

As the captain of the CN team, he could not accept the loss of the Asian Games gold medal, believing it to be his inescapable responsibility!
Coincidentally.

The honor points awarded by his third Silver Dragon Cup and FMVP trophy in the Summer Championship will help him unlock the final stage of his second "special training".

Ye Bo also plans to work hard to conquer it in the next few days.
(End of this chapter)