Chapter 7: A Monkey’s Uncle

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Those of you who have played Graves before should know that his E-skill ‘Quickdraw’ includes a short-distance dash.

Yu Luocheng was aware that Zhong Xiaoyun wasn’t particularly adept at the game. Although there had been other opportunities earlier, Yu Luocheng had declined to hook Graves until he’d expended his Quickdraw skill. That was the moment when Blitzcrank, golden shell gleaming and machinery whirring, moved to deliver Graves to his doom!

Waiting until the minions had thinned out somewhat, Yu Luocheng decisively activated his W-skill ‘Overdrive’, speeding himself up.

“Zhong Xiaoyun, attack Graves!” he commanded.

Instead of the usual Blitzcrank playstyle of starting the fight with a Rocket Grab, Yu Luocheng instead dashed boldly into the fray with his enhanced movement speed, bearing down on the stumbling Graves.

Too slow to react in time, and without his dash to help him get away, he was knocked up into the air by Blitzcrank’s E-skill ‘Power Fist’.

Miss Fortune was a little late to the party as well, but she made it in time anyway, unleashing everything she had on Graves and reducing him to half health straightaway.

Only then did the enemy Garen come charging out from the brush.

This player had some brains on him, going straight for Miss Fortune and dealing a blow against her with his towering sword.

“Ignore him. Keep hitting Graves,” Yu Luocheng said.

By now, Graves only had one third of his health remaining. Realizing the danger he was in, he hurriedly used Flash to escape.

With that, he was able to get eight hundred units away, beyond the reach of Miss Fortune’s guns. Blitzcrank wasn’t able to pursue, either. It looked like Graves was about to get away.

No one noticed that, in the instant that Graves used Flash to teleport himself a short distance away, Yu Luocheng’s eyes darted to him, his finger pressing down on the Q hotkey.

The robot’s hand detached and hurtled forth, leaving behind a bright golden streak through the air. Finding its mark, strong metal fingers latched firmly onto Graves’ fleeing derriere!

Graves was yanked off his feet, and from what should have been a safe distance of eight hundred units away, he was dragged right back into the waiting arms of the Great Steam Golem!

“What the hell!”

“Nice hook!”

Feng Xiaoqing and Zhong Xiaoyun both cried out at almost the same time.

Even a noob like Zhong Xiaoyun couldn’t fail to finish the job now. A few shots, and the last bit of Graves’ health was extinguished completely!

First Blood!

A golden ‘400’ popped up over Miss Fortune’s head!

“Haha, Xiaoqing has claimed First Blood down in the Bottom lane.” Class 3’s supporters hooted with glee.

“Idiot, it was the enemy team. Xiaoqing’s Graves was the one who got killed!”

“No way, a noob like Zhong Xiaoyun managed to take someone down?”

The seven or eight spectators crowded in around Feng Xiaoqing’s computer. Sure enough, his screen was grayed out, while the player sat staring in disbelief.

“What happened?” Team leader Lin Xu frowned, his tone laced with disappointment.

Feng Xiaoqing winced. “I screwed up.”

“Play properly.” That was all Lin Xu said. It was just one death, after all. It wouldn’t really make that big a difference.

Lin Xu was playing Mid as ‘Kha’Zix, the Voidreaver’, sometimes called the ‘Mantis’.

At the start, it wouldn’t have that much of an advantage against Wang Qin’s Annie. However, his Creep Score was five minions ahead of Wang Qin’s, and he still had Health Potions left. This indicated that Lin Xu was indeed rather skilled at the game.

***

Meanwhile, seeing that one of his own had won First Blood, the team leader of Class 8 was elated.

“Well done, Zhong Xiaoyun!” Wang Qin called out in praise.

Zhao Kesong grinned. “Good kill—oh crap! Run, I’m low on health!”

“Heh, heh…” Zhong Xiaoyun felt good about himself.

Wang Qin, Cao Sheng, and Zhao Kesong were each engrossed with their own respective lanes. Never turning their eyes to Bottom lane until the announcement of First Blood, all they saw was Miss Fortune finishing Graves off.

Therefore they came to the conclusion that Zhong Xiaoyun had been playing exceptionally well.

However, Zhong Xiaoyun knew very well that if not for Yu Luocheng’s beautiful hook at the end, which prevented Graves from escaping with his Flash, this First Blood would not have been his.

He hadn’t really done anything amazing, besides attacking Graves like he’d been told to do.

The Class 8 students watching behind Zhong Xiaoyun were all barely Level 10 or so, and it was doubtful they understood what had happened well enough to appreciate the part that Yu Luocheng had played.

Waiting until the target’s dash skill was on cooldown, then attacking when he was vulnerable, after the minions were out of the way. Speeding up and closing with the enemy in a single moment, he’d kept him in place with a knock-up attack.

Predicting that their prey would use Flash to break away, he’d then used Blitzcrank’s signature Rocket Grab to foil his escape.

And so, Graves had used his Flash, but still hadn’t been able to escape with his life!

Yu Luocheng had already figured out this entire series of events in his head before even beginning his attack. Players at this level generally weren’t capable of such detail in planning or finesse in execution.

The low-level noobs of Class 8 watching from behind might not even have caught everything that had just taken place, besides noticing that Yu Luocheng’s final hook had been super cool, countering Graves’ Flash. They probably realized that the First Blood was thanks to Yu Luocheng, but the rest of the fight was tragically beyond their ability to appreciate.

It was only Yang Qianqian, she of the sensual legs, whose eyes had lit up in that decisive moment, and now her gaze was glued to his screen, flicking over to Yu Luocheng himself now and again.

‘This guy is pretty good. I remember when brother plays Blitzcrank, he also gets close and uses E to knock up, then Q to capture anyone trying to escape.’ Yang Qianqian thought this to herself, gazing at Yu Luocheng.

‘Hmph, yet for all his skill, he’s still a jerk. To think that he’s forgotten me!’

Yu Luocheng had no clue that he was being eyed by the beauty. He did notice that Garen, now all by his lonesome, was still cavorting about in plain sight. So he ran into the second bush, getting behind the minions.

Same plan as before: Get close, knock Garen into the air, and when he tried to flee—pull him back with a Rocket Grab!

Zhong Xiaoyun was way too slow this time, joining in the fight much too late, not dealing enough damage, and therefore allowing Garen to get away by the skin of his teeth. A collective sigh arose behind Yu Luocheng.

Over on Class 3’s side, meanwhile, Garen’s player was in a cold sweat. There had nearly been a Double Kill down in the Bottom lane.

***

Yu Luocheng didn’t lament about Zhong Xiaoyun being slow on the uptake. Now that Garen had been sent home limping, Graves would be alone in the lane when he came back, making him easy pickings.

Meanwhile, Graves was taking his time shuffling back into his lane.

“Xiaoqing, I’m holding out for enough gold to buy a Long Sword. Careful not to get hooked again,” Garen’s player cautioned.

Feng Xiaoqing saw the enemy Blitzcrank leaving, retreating until he was lost in the Fog of War. He harrumphed. “I bet he’s waiting in the brush for me. I’m going to hide under the tower for now! If he hooks me again, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!”

“Just be careful.”