Chapter Eight: Precision Strike

Yifan’s strategy was simple: since he was at a disadvantage in direct combat, he would change tactics. He’d create some distance and use his spear throws to kill the enemy’s backline minions and push the lane. After all, he was Ma Chao! It wasn’t as if he lacked ranged abilities.

However, after Lin Hao chased Ma Chao for a few hits, he switched to attacking the minions instead. His method was unique as well. Lin Hao held down the attack button, dragging it to lock onto the last backline minion of the enemy wave.

A few months ago, a game update had introduced a new precise attack setting. Players could now select precise attacks in the settings menu, allowing them to drag the attack button in-game and choose their attack target, rather than relying on the system’s default of attacking the nearest or lowest-health unit. It was similar to using Smite on jungle monsters or dragging targeted abilities, like Daji’s second skill, to lock on to a specific target.

“Here’s a fun fact: you don’t actually have to kill both enemy backline minions first to push the lane,” Lin Hao explained. “In my current situation, I focus my attacks on one backline minion and let my own minions handle the rest. As long as I kill two minions from the wave, I’ll hit level two just the same!”

On the other side, seeing that Yuan Ge wasn’t pressing the advantage but was instead fighting for level two, Yifan also circled around through the brush to the backline of Lin Hao’s minion wave and started auto-attacking the backline minions. Though he hadn’t managed to hit Lin Hao’s Yuan Ge just now, he’d at least dealt damage to the minions. Yifan was confident he’d hit level two first!

A flash of golden light—Yifan reached level two before his opponent. He quickly unlocked his first skill and activated Sprint.

“Lightning-speed charge!”

Ma Chao surged forward, electricity crackling around him as he rushed at Yuan Ge. With a thud, Ma Chao’s second skill combined with an auto-attack struck Yuan Ge, taking out a third of his health.

“Even if you use Flash, I’m going to dive the tower and kill you!” Yifan thought fiercely.

Yifan’s playstyle was very similar to Lin Hao’s—both favored aggressive, relentless tactics. But Lin Hao, facing Ma Chao’s furious assault, remained unruffled. His default-skin Yuan Ge leisurely attacked again, clearing a backline minion and hitting level two.

He quickly unlocked his first skill, but Lin Hao made no rash moves. He simply stood his ground and traded blows with Ma Chao.

“Not running away?” Yifan was puzzled. But this Yuan Ge wasn’t level three yet and had only unlocked his third skill—trying to escape by swapping places with his puppet would be difficult. Did he realize he couldn’t escape even with Flash and had just given up?

At this point, Yuan Ge was at least ten seconds away from the safety of his turret.

Yifan landed his first skill again, picked up his spear, and stabbed. Lin Hao’s health was already dangerously low, yet he still didn’t move.

Ma Chao thrust his spear one last time, bringing Lin Hao’s health to the brink. Ma Chao was practically glued to Yuan Ge, and Yifan furiously tapped auto-attack, determined to finish him with one more strike.

Suddenly, Lin Hao acted. He Flashed backward, and Ma Chao’s sure-hit auto-attack missed! But it wasn’t over—Lin Hao unleashed his first skill, sending his puppet flying from Yuan Ge’s fingertips and knocking Ma Chao into the air.

In the next instant, Lin Hao’s fingers danced across the screen—his puppet unleashed two casts of the third skill, pinning Ma Chao in place, unable to move.

“This is bad!” Cold sweat broke out on Yifan’s forehead. He didn’t even have resistance boots yet, nor was there a spear stored in hand. How was he supposed to escape Yuan Ge’s grasp?

Once the third skill’s control ended, Lin Hao tapped his first skill to recall the puppet, knocking Ma Chao up once more. He then instantly activated his main body’s third skill. Knock-up plus execution—a guaranteed hit!

Two slender, unassuming threads glimmered across Ma Chao’s body.

“First Blood!”

Lin Hao, a master of Yuan Ge’s skills at the national level, had already perfected the art of calculating Yuan Ge’s damage. After the cross slash landed, he stopped attacking entirely and swiftly pressed Recall.

Most players, upon landing the cross slash, would worry the damage wasn’t enough and frantically spam auto-attacks, just in case Ma Chao survived and needed finishing off. But not Lin Hao. Part of his motivation was to provoke his opponent, but the real goal was to pile on the humiliation after a flashy outplay.

For a top-level player, nothing is more infuriating than being killed by an even flashier opponent—especially when they taunt you afterward.

The chat exploded with glee at Lin Hao’s antics, or perhaps they simply enjoyed the chaos.

“He’s facing Yifan, the 114-star top lane king! He’s a national-level Ma Chao, and yet he just got outplayed by a default-skin Yuan Ge!”

“National Ma Chao gets humiliated by a base-skin Yuan Ge, and then gets taunted with a recall—I bet this game will be featured in tomorrow’s King’s Peak highlights.”

“Yifan must be fuming—just a sliver of health away from killing this arrogant Yuan Ge!”

“Yifan’s rage meter +400!”

Yifan’s mentality had clearly been rattled. In the Ma Chao vs. Yuan Ge matchup, it’s all about minimizing mistakes. Yuan Ge’s margin of error is much smaller than Ma Chao’s. A skilled Ma Chao can use rapid movement and positioning to dodge Yuan Ge’s skills. With multiple dashes and high speed, even Lin Hao, with his script-level footwork, couldn’t always predict Yifan’s Ma Chao.

That was why Lin Hao had gambled on a riskier approach—he waited for Ma Chao to use up all his stored spears. A Ma Chao without spears is a Ma Chao without mobility. As long as he could survive that final spear, it would be his turn to shine.

Yifan had panicked this round. He was just a sliver of health away. On top of that, he hadn’t expected this Yuan Ge to have the skill and presence of mind to turn the fight around. In the end, it was the base-skin Yuan Ge that had really thrown him off.

“This Yuan Ge is no ordinary player!” Yifan put down his phone, clenching his fingers. It looked like he’d have to get serious.

Yifan’s main hero was still Old Master Fuzi, and with him, he no longer cared about stats—he played purely for strategy. But Ma Chao was different. As a national-level Ma Chao, what dignity would he have if he got thoroughly outplayed by a base-skin Yuan Ge?

While Ma Chao was respawning, Lin Hao had already cleared the next minion wave, so when Yifan returned to lane, the enemy wave was already under his tower, with only two backline minions remaining.

“Watch closely—Yuan Ge’s level three now, sure, but when I respawned, I checked the health pack under his tower and it was still untouched. That means he recalled straight home after clearing the wave, rather than lying in wait for me in the top brush. So all I have to do is clear the minion wave and wait until level four before engaging him again…”

Yifan carefully shifted his camera to Lin Hao’s tower. The health pack was still there, suggesting Yuan Ge felt his health was too low and prudently chose to recall home after clearing the wave.

If Yuan Ge had played more aggressively, he could have healed under his tower and then looked for a chance to dive Ma Chao. But just as Yifan finished his thought, a puppet suddenly leapt out from the brush and knocked him into the air!

Damn it!

Yifan frantically retreated, but this time, to his horror, he realized—he’d once again used up all his spears!