Chapter 157: Arrogance

Without waiting long, the referee got the answer and said, "With the opponent's consent, once you win, you may continue to challenge the next one."

Jiang Zheng stretched out his hand and said, "That works. In that case, let's go from left to right."

As soon as these words were spoken, the bullet comments exploded even more.

"Arrogant! Extremely arrogant, but I like it!"

"I just love this arrogant streak in the streamer! From left to right, one by one."

"If anyone else said that, I'd definitely spit in their face, but coming from the streamer, all I can say is well played!"

…………

While the chat room on Jiang Zheng's side was filled with excitement, the chat room on the other stream was boiling with anger.

"The opponent is way too arrogant! How dare he say something like that? Who does he think he's facing?!"

"Saying things like that, isn't he afraid of getting slapped in the face? If he loses the first match, we're going to have a good show to watch."

"Take him down and wipe that arrogance off his face!"

…………

Lin Yu looked at the bullet comments in both streams with considerable worry and asked, "Director, is it really okay to just let this go on like this?"

"Let it continue. Emotional polarization is the best time for us to harvest views. Isn't that what those PK streamers do?" the director replied.

Lin Yu nodded, though he still felt uneasy.

This was a match, not a PK stream. Those PK streamers really did make money by exploiting people's emotions—deliberately stirring up antagonism and then profiting from it.

You might feel furious and passionately support your favorite streamer, only to find out behind the scenes they are actually good friends.

Lin Yu felt it was somewhat inappropriate, but since the director had spoken, he didn't raise any more objections.

Meanwhile, inside the club, the team members were also highly emotional. The last time they had been looked down upon like this was before they won the championship.

Ever since they claimed the title, no one had ever belittled them in such a manner.

They were a championship team, having proven their strength on the world stage.

Now, being looked down upon, anger naturally flared in their hearts.

Had it been up to them, they certainly would not have agreed to Jiang Zheng challenging them one by one. Why should they accept being looked down upon?

However, the club had agreed to it, leaving them with no choice.

As for what kind of profit-driven compromises had taken place behind the scenes, they had no way of knowing.

"Xiao Jiu, give him a taste of our power! He actually dares to look down on us—make him lose the first game!"

"That's right, teach him a lesson! Does he really think we're easy targets?"

"Don't hold back, completely shut him out."

The team members were all riled up, demanding that Jiang Zheng be taught a lesson.

The team member known as Xiao Jiu went online.

The two officially entered the game.

This was a bot lane matchup, and both players were extremely cautious at the start.

They probed each other, testing the waters.

Although Xiao Jiu and his teammates had been fierce with their words, they all understood that the opponent was a formidable rival.

If he weren't a top-tier adversary, it wouldn't have fallen to them to play.

Therefore, Xiao Jiu played cautiously from the very beginning, treating this match like a professional league game, just as their coach had instructed.

At this level of competition, even the slightest mistake could lead to defeat.

In terms of mechanics, the two were evenly matched; purely winning through raw mechanics alone was something neither could achieve.

What it came down to was the seizing of opportunities. Once one side made a mistake, a storm of relentless attacks would inevitably greet them.

Thus, whoever made the first mistake would lose.

At the same time, both sides were adapting to each other's playstyles while figuring out how to counter them.

In this aspect, Jiang Zheng was clearly the superior one.

As the exchanges continued and their heroes clashed, Jiang Zheng gradually figured out some of Xiao Jiu's operational habits, though he wasn't entirely certain whether the opponent was deliberately exposing flaws or if it was truly his habit.

To be sure of this, further combat was required.

Suddenly, Jiang Zheng seized a fleeting opportunity and launched an attack.

To his surprise, this was a flaw deliberately faked by the opponent. Letting his guard down for a split second, Jiang Zheng fell right into the trap.

This setback also handed over the first kill of the match.

Up to this point, the two had been fighting for over twenty minutes before the first blood finally broke out.

Although this was partly because it was a solo duel with no teammates to assist, managing to fight for this long was enough to demonstrate the caliber of both players.

They weren't farming peacefully; rather, they were constantly thinking about how to eliminate each other at any given moment.

When Jiang Zheng gave away the first kill, the bullet comments in the opposing stream surged dramatically, flooding the screen with remarks about "getting slapped in the face."

Meanwhile, Jiang Zheng's chat room remained remarkably un-discouraged.

"Keep calm! This is all part of the normal routine. The streamer's true brilliance only shines after he gives away a kill or loses a round."

"Newbies, don't panic. The streamer is about to start flexing."

"Normal, normal, we're used to it. But seriously, can the streamer stop imitating Ultraman?"

…………

After losing the first kill, Jiang Zheng felt a pang of regret.

Fortunately, he had cleared the minion wave right before dying, so his tower should hold.

With that thought, Jiang Zheng hurried back to the lane.

The opponent was already pushing the tower, and by the time Jiang Zheng arrived, the structure had very little health left.

Seeing that the enemy was attempting a forced push, Jiang Zheng immediately stepped forward and unleashed a combo.

Realizing he couldn't win the trade, the opponent hastily flashed away, allowing Jiang Zheng to clear the minion wave.

At this moment, the outer tower was left with just a sliver of health; another wave of minions entering the tower and hitting it twice would bring it down.

Not only that, but if the opponent wanted to force the push, they could easily accomplish it.

Once the outer tower fell, he would be considered defeated.

Jiang Zheng maneuvered his hero outward, refusing to let the enemy approach the tower.

Even though he had died once, the economic gap between them was narrow, and the enemy held no absolute advantage. The core of the battle remained the same as before.

Xiao Jiu replenished his status and returned to the lane, thinking to himself that one more kill on Jiang Zheng would allow him to directly push the tower and win.

As for failing to secure the victory through three kills, he didn't feel any regret or disappointment. Matches were played this way—if you wanted to win, you had to fully utilize the rules of the game.

Since the rules stated that destroying the outer tower counted as a win, he would make the most of that rule.

The two resumed testing each other and playing mind games in the lane. Neither rushed to attack; instead, they watched each other closely, waiting to seize every opening and opportunity.

Through this process, Jiang Zheng grew increasingly familiar with his opponent. His operational habits were gradually laid bare before Jiang Zheng's eyes.

He had to admit that a player who had won a championship was different. Habits existed, but they were very well-concealed and hard to detect.

If it were a lesser opponent, Jiang Zheng would have figured them out long ago; yet here they were, nearly thirty minutes in, and he had only just unraveled them.

Naturally, even if an ordinary person knew Xiao Jiu's habits, it would be useless without the corresponding skill level to exploit them.

As it happened, Jiang Zheng possessed precisely that level of skill.

Xiao Jiu faked another opening, but this time, Jiang Zheng didn't fall for it.

Gradually, Xiao Jiu began to sense that something was wrong. His skirmishes with Jiang Zheng were becoming increasingly difficult.