Chapter Sixty-Four: Misdirection

At the very moment he saw Ma Chao, Juzi’s first instinct was to retreat. He was still waiting for his skill cooldown. Even with the red buff, if Ma Chao played his pulls well and Juzi couldn’t land a hit, what good would it do?

Fish, on the other hand, charged forward without hesitation. As a fish, he feared nothing.

Yet Lin Hao didn’t spare him a glance; his target was Shang Jie. In that instant, through the gaze of the hero in the game, Lin Hao seemed to lock eyes with Shang Jie, witnessing the panic and despair within them. It was the universal experience of any wounded hero confronted by a sprinting Ma Chao out for blood.

As the saying goes, no one rushes toward you recklessly—except Ma Chao with his sprint activated.

Especially against Yuange.

After you use your puppet for a dazzling escape—initiate with skill four, dash in with skill two, swap positions with skill one, execute a cross slash, retreat, then use skill four again to vanish—yet discover that the sprinting man still catches up, shouting, “No matter how fast you are, lightning always catches up,” the despair and frustration are overwhelming.

“No!”

“Brother Jie, don’t!”

“Ahhh!”

Shang Jie howled, dodging as best he could, but Lin Hao’s Ma Chao closed in, landing a precise spear strike that finished him off. Lin Hao’s hand speed soared to its peak; as he withdrew his spear and backed away, he sent out a quick, “Sorry!”

“Anger value from Shang Jie +500.”

That was his real aim. After making the effort to come down from top lane, how could he leave without collecting some anger points?

Turning around, he now faced Ju Youjing and Zhuang Zhou.

The fish could be ignored for now. The real concern was Ju Youjing, still three-quarters health, with red and blue buffs, freshly healed by his blade, and brimming with fighting spirit.

In the early game, Ju Youjing isn’t afraid of Ma Chao at all—unless the skill gap is simply too vast.

Juzi was merely waiting for his skill cooldown.

Lin Hao wasn’t familiar with Juzi, but he had a rough idea of his cooldown timings; they should be almost ready.

Lin Hao played for a moment, landing his second skill on Ju Youjing. As he withdrew his spear, Ju Youjing was still backing away, and Lin Hao, accustomed to reading movements, immediately caught the nuance.

A master at the pinnacle of human mechanics can deduce an opponent’s intentions—and much more—from their movements.

Lin Hao couldn’t tell if Juzi’s skill was ready now, needed another second, or even two, but Juzi’s retreat was certainly not a feint.

If Juzi had his first skill ready, he wouldn’t bother with fancy footwork. In a battle of pulls, Juzi could never outmaneuver a sprinting Ma Chao. He’d charge straight in, and at the instant Ma Chao attacked, unleash his first skill at close range for explosive damage.

But Juzi’s first skill wasn’t ready!

Lin Hao flicked his left thumb on the joystick, turning Ma Chao’s figure in a 180-degree arc. As his spear hovered back into position mid-air, he thrust out with his first skill—decisive!

Juzi took the hit. In the next moment, as Ma Chao continued to retreat, Juzi suddenly shifted his movement forward.

His first skill was ready now!

Lin Hao apologized again, repositioning himself. To the audience, it was as if Lin Hao performed magic: first, he guided his movement downward, and at the moment he retrieved his spear with his first skill, he suddenly veered upward. Juzi’s immediate counter with his first skill missed entirely!

Juzi had excellent sense for distance, always careful to control it. This first skill had the range—but not the direction.

Ma Chao’s movement wasn’t simply about back-and-forth pulling; he led with a downward move, then abruptly shifted upward, spearing Juzi directly.

At the same time, Ma Chao managed the distance between them.

Juzi’s missed skill made him visibly anxious. After a slowed auto attack, he quickly threw out his second skill.

But Lin Hao pivoted again, spearing to Juzi’s right and dodging the second skill with a movement ability.

Next came Juzi’s ultimate, multi-stage damage. Lin Hao was only struck once, for in the following instant, Ma Chao used his third spear thrust to move behind Juzi.

At this point, Ma Chao was temporarily out of spears.

But that hardly mattered; Juzi’s entire burst had been flawlessly dodged by Lin Hao’s movement.

“Damn, is he really this good?” Xinran exclaimed through the mic, joy evident in his voice.

This round, having finished off Yuange, Ma Chao was soaring again, but now Lin Hao was up against a mid-game powerhouse Juzi with both buffs, and Xinran had been nervous.

Who would have thought Lin Hao’s Ma Chao could dodge nearly all of Juzi’s skills?

Juzi and Ma Chao exchanged another auto attack.

But Juzi had nothing left; Ma Chao’s Sun-Setting Lone Spear descended from the sky, struck Juzi, was quickly retrieved, and thrust again point-blank—

And Juzi was taken down.

Only the fish remained, still off to the side dealing extra damage, finally realizing the gravity of the situation.

In fact, when Juzi’s second skill set was almost ready, Zhuang Zhou felt confident he had Ma Chao cornered.

But fortune shifts; now Juzi was dead, and it was Zhuang Zhou’s turn.

He had no means of resistance, his health already depleted from the fierce battle just now. After two hits from Ma Chao, he too fell.

Triple kill!

“Awesome!”

“That was insane!”

The teammates all witnessed Lin Hao’s display, showering him with praise and positive interactions.

In solo lane duels, teammates often don’t see your moves; only when you enter after everyone’s dead do they have time to watch your play and exclaim, “Amazing!”

This round, Lin Hao did pick up some kills, but his duel with Juzi showcased his skill perfectly.

“Hao’s Ma Chao pulls are top-tier, that movement is national server level!”

“I didn’t catch all the steps—how did Juzi’s first skill just miss completely?”

“I think Ma Chao changed directions and left Juzi behind!”

“Maybe Juzi just wasn’t good enough; couldn’t he have waited for Ma Chao to get closer before using his first skill for a point-blank burst?”

Lin Hao was heading home, and the system notification chimed in his mind.

“Anger value from Ju Youjing +1200!”

“Anger value from Zhuang Zhou +300!”

Juzi was furious, probably because he’d been outplayed.

Only those involved truly understand how sharp Lin Hao’s movements were this round.

Watching the audience begin to discuss his mechanics again, Lin Hao chuckled and brought out some entertainment flair: “The movement I just used is something you can all learn. The scientific term is misdirection!”

“Misdirection!”