Chapter 136: Surpassing the Top Contenders

Whenever he went to farm the minion waves or jungle camps, Jiang Zheng deliberately did the opposite of what Li Jingbo expected, though it did not work every time.

Occasionally, he would run into Li Jingbo, and after a brief clash, Jiang Zheng would retreat. As time passed, the gap between them, created by their differing levels of farm, gradually narrowed.

The two engaged once more. This time, Jiang Zheng managed to kill Li Jingbo with the slimmest possible margin of health remaining.

He then pushed forward with the minion wave, destroyed the tower, and won the match.

Having taken the first game, Jiang Zheng inevitably caused a flicker of unease in Li Jingbo’s heart. His palms grew damp.

The pressure brought by Jiang Zheng’s winning streak was immense. Li Jingbo was afraid of losing as well. He now carried the honor of his entire team on his shoulders. He could not afford to lose.

The second game began, and Li Jingbo locked in the champion he was best at.

As the match started, Li Jingbo reflected on the reason for his previous defeat. He had been far too hesitant. Given the economic advantage he possessed over his opponent at the time, he could easily have tower-dived and killed Jiang Zheng. Even if they had traded one for one, Li Jingbo would still have come out ahead.

He had taken the first kill. Even if the exchange ended one for one, he would have secured three kills first and won the game.

He had simply wanted to play more cautiously and steadily.

He had not expected Jiang Zheng to seize the opportunity and wipe him out in a single assault.

By then, both players’ builds were complete. Losing even one kill would mean having the first tower pushed down.

This time, Li Jingbo intended to change his approach.

At the start, he still focused on farming the jungle and minion waves, trying to avoid confronting his opponent during the early game.

But he had barely entered the jungle when he saw Jiang Zheng advancing toward him aggressively.

With no other choice, Li Jingbo stopped farming and engaged him.

Jiang Zheng had already figured out Li Jingbo’s habits. Such habits were difficult to change, and some people were not even aware that they had them.

This game, Jiang Zheng played extremely aggressively. He understood that he could not match Li Jingbo in farming efficiency, but when it came to mechanics, he held a slight advantage.

So he chose to play to his strengths and avoid his weakness, giving Li Jingbo no opportunity to build an economic lead.

In the end, Jiang Zheng used his marginally superior mechanics to claim the first kill.

After securing it, he returned to base to restore his health and mana.

He did not need to farm more himself. All he had to do was prevent Li Jingbo from farming. As long as the economic gap did not widen, the game would come down to their mechanical skill.

After respawning, Li Jingbo cautiously approached the jungle. He could keenly sense that something was different. Jiang Zheng’s strategy had changed dramatically this game.

Afraid that Jiang Zheng might be lying in ambush within the brush, he carefully checked every patch of grass.

Jiang Zheng had not appeared in lane at all. He could be hiding somewhere, waiting for an opportunity.

And sure enough, Li Jingbo detected someone in the brush. He immediately withdrew, abandoning the jungle camp and switching to the other side of the jungle.

Seeing him retreat, Jiang Zheng did not hurry after him. He had already lost sight of his opponent, and chasing him could easily lead to an ambush.

Instead, he returned to lane.

If Li Jingbo wanted to farm the jungle, then Jiang Zheng would push the minion wave and attack the tower. Let us see whether he could still keep farming.

The principle was simple: to attack the enemy, force him to come to the rescue.

After clearing the wave, Jiang Zheng slipped into the brush.

Soon, Li Jingbo brought his champion out. The instant he appeared, Jiang Zheng rushed forward and launched an assault.

Li Jingbo managed to escape.

Jiang Zheng was not discouraged. If a top professional player could be killed that easily, he would not be a top professional player in the first place.

Still, Jiang Zheng had reduced Li Jingbo’s health considerably. He immediately invaded the jungle and cleared all the camps Li Jingbo had left behind.

Li Jingbo returned to base to recover, and he did not bother checking the jungle. There was no need to think about it; the camps were certainly gone.

It was a shame to lose control of the jungle, but there was nothing he could do. His health had already been worn down, and if he stayed in lane, he would very likely be killed.

Returning to base was therefore unavoidable.

When the minion wave reached the lane, Li Jingbo found himself trapped in the same predicament Jiang Zheng had faced earlier. He did not dare leave the tower to farm.

He was now at an economic disadvantage, and he could not win through mechanics alone. Stepping beyond the tower to collect minions would be little more than suicide.

Jiang Zheng, however, made a different choice from Li Jingbo. He appeared openly in lane and farmed the minions, pushing the wave right up to the enemy tower. Then he began taking only the last hits, slowly keeping the wave under pressure.

Li Jingbo guarded the tower, feeling deeply frustrated. Jiang Zheng seemed to be farming at a leisurely pace, but the moment Li Jingbo left, he would certainly speed up and clear the wave, denying him any chance to return to the jungle.

In a normal situation, if Li Jingbo had teammates, an opponent pushing so far forward would certainly be easy to gank.

But this was a solo match. He had no teammates.

Suddenly, Li Jingbo took several steps backward, deliberately allowing himself to disappear from Jiang Zheng’s vision.

At that moment, Jiang Zheng’s farming speed increased sharply.

Li Jingbo was delighted. Just as he had expected, Jiang Zheng had reacted that way.

Once the minions entered the tower’s range, he would be able to collect some of the tower farm instead of earning nothing at all.

Yet the moment he stepped out to farm, Jiang Zheng charged in. He moved with astonishing speed, unleashing a full combo before Li Jingbo had any time to react.

Fortunately, Li Jingbo was not completely helpless. He began fighting back at once. But his health had already fallen below half, and his counterattack was visibly weakened.

Even so, under the force of his desperate retaliation, he managed to force an extreme one-for-one trade.

Trading kills beneath the tower was entirely worthwhile for Jiang Zheng.

He had claimed a kill, while Li Jingbo had also lost a huge number of minions.

After respawning, Li Jingbo once again remained beneath the tower.

Jiang Zheng repeated the same maneuver, leaving Li Jingbo utterly helpless.

He clung to the tower as cautiously as he could, but after being killed a third time and giving up a third kill, the game came to an end.

Li Jingbo had lost the second game.

According to the rules, Jiang Zheng had won the match outright.

The moment Jiang Zheng secured victory, the live chat erupted.

“Can he really beat even a top professional player? Where did this monster come from?”

“He turned the game around despite being at a disadvantage. Incredible.”

“Who can actually beat this guy? How many wins has he gotten now?”

“He hasn’t lost once. It’s been nothing but wins.”

“Everyone, that is all for today’s stream. I’ll continue tomorrow. Anyone who wants to challenge me, line up properly.”

Jiang Zheng’s final remark was exceptionally arrogant, giving off an air of utter invincibility.

Yet no one questioned whether he had the right to say it.

Just moments ago, he had defeated a top professional player.

Despite speaking with such arrogance, Jiang Zheng’s following continued to grow. Many people simply enjoyed seeing him act so confidently.

After ending the stream, Jiang Zheng rubbed his temples and lay down on the bed to rest.

Today’s stream had been exhausting, especially the final opponent. Fighting Li Jingbo had required far too much concentration. Jiang Zheng had remained intensely focused from beginning to end, never daring to relax for even a moment.

As a result, he was mentally drained.

Taking advantage of that exhaustion, Jiang Zheng soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Li Jingbo sat dejectedly in his gaming chair and said bitterly, “I’m sorry, everyone. I let you down and failed to live up to your expectations.”

The others did not blame him. Instead, they comforted him one after another.