TCWSITD – Chapter 37.2

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Chapter 37.2 – Even If He Doesn’t Like The World

The next morning, when Shen Ju saw Lin Jiang again, he took every chance to avoid him.

Lin Jiang’s attention wasn’t on him anyway. He spent the whole day discussing tactics with the coaching staff.

Because Li Qian’s instincts were too advanced, Fang Luxing often found himself in a cycle of “trying to keep up, going all out, then giving up when he just couldn’t.”

Li Qian sprawled casually in his seat, tapping his notebook. “In the first game, WG will definitely test the waters. That’s our chance. I suggest we go for a fast-paced offense and catch them off guard.”

Lin Jiang nodded. “We have side selection first. We’ll pick the blue side, then first-pick Lucian. They’ll definitely take Nami, and we can use the info gap to play Lucian mid.”

Fang Luxing hesitated, “But Lin Jiang has never played Lucian mid before—isn’t that too risky?”

Li Qian and Lin Jiang exchanged looks.

Did people really think he couldn’t play Lucian?

The match between OT and WG began soon after.

With KUG already out of the playoffs, fans were convinced that win or lose, Lin Jiang had already triumphed over KUG.

Public opinion was favorable towards them. During pre-match predictions, OT’s win rate was higher than WG’s.

Old Mao started broadcasting the match early. Seeing the overwhelmingly optimistic live chat, he couldn’t help but pour cold water on their enthusiasm. “WG isn’t as weak as you think. They’re the gods of BO5.”

The chat exploded in disagreement—

[Didn’t OT beat WG in the regular season? And it was a 2:0 victory.]

[WG’s strength is just their AD carry, but we’ve got Shen Ju.]

[Old Mao, stop fearmongering.]

Old Mao sighed and shook his head, thinking they were too naive. “Just look at WG’s average match duration. They can drag every game into the late-stage—that’s terrifying. OT’s last game with them in the regular season took an hour to secure victory, and that was just a BO3. Imagine if it were a BO5 where every game dragged to 60 minutes. Five full games would mean five hours, not counting halftime breaks and ban-pick time…”

Fans listening to this felt chills down their spines.

Normally, games wrap up in around 30 minutes. Even over a full BO5, players usually can hold their stamina.

But dragging out five to six hours of high-pressure gameplay? That’s physically and mentally draining.

And on top of that, Lin Jiang has a hand injury!

With that in mind, wouldn’t WG’s strategy be a perfect counter to OT’s?

The live chat instantly erupted in despair, wailing in protest.

Both teams entered the stage and took their positions.

All OT members were ready for a five-game battle and seemed to be in good shape.

The first game began. WG immediately targeted OT’s weak points—banning Renekton, Nocturne, and Jayce.

Lin Jiang didn’t back down either. He banned three ADs in a row, leaving both sides’ ADs with no viable picks, then locked in Lucian in a snap.

WG had anticipated this move. They knew Lin Jiang would target the bot lane and expected to pick Lucian.

Forcibly breaking the Lucian-Nami combo, WG grabbed Nami and locked in Aphelios, determined to render Lucian ineffective.

The commentators on stage smelled the gunpowder, excitedly remarking, “Both sides are madly targeting each other. What will OT choose next?”

A faint smile curled Lin Jiang’s lips—the prey had taken the bait.

The subsequent ban-pick phase proceeded swiftly.

OT locked in Lee Sin for jungle and Mordekaiser for top lane. WG secured Sejuani for jungle and Azir for mid.

Then, in a surprise move, OT pulled out AD Kai’Sa as their final pick.

The entire crowd was left stunned!

S-So Lucian was going mid?

In the current meta, Lucian mid wasn’t as effective as the bot lane Lucian-Nami combo, so everyone assumed Lucian would go to the bot lane.

Moreover, throughout Lin Jiang’s career, he had almost never played Lucian mid even during its peak popularity. He was criticized online for half a year because of it.

No one expected that after all this time, Lin Jiang would suddenly pull out this champion to prove himself today!

The live chat erupted in an uproar—

[Lucian’s win-rate is too low, don’t force it!]

[The margin for error is so small, I’m afraid Lin Jiang will mess up, wuwuwu…]

[I’m really scared, this champion basically loses everything after dying once.]

[Why didn’t river pick Azir?]

[Probably afraid that the opponent will drag out the fight, wants to gamble on early-game.]

Indeed, WG’s endurance battles made many teams dread facing them in a BO5. Even if OT managed to outlast them, they wouldn’t be able to fight strong opponents like YIG afterward.

So betting on the early-game was the best strategy against them!

WG caught on quickly too. Originally planning to pick Gangplank for the top lane, they changed their minds and opted for K’Sante to focus on the early to mid-game.

“We absolutely can’t let Lin Jiang get ahead. If Lucian gains an advantage, our entire composition will fall apart.”

Sweat gathered on the palms of WG’s mid laner. Although everyone said Lin Jiang had never played Lucian before and probably wasn’t good at it, he still felt a chill running down his spine.

Lin Jiang smiled gently in front of others, but on the Rift, he played with an unusually fierce aggression.

At Level 2, he rushed forward, every shot landing on the opponent’s vital points, instantly sending the crowd into a frenzy.

By Level 3, he forced his opponent to recall again, and the commentators exclaimed excitedly, “river’s Lucian plays with expert precision—his skill combos and auto-attacks hit like a freight train! No one can stand up to him!”

At Level 4, he returned to lane and immediately chunked half of his opponent’s health, forcing the enemy Sejuani to constantly keep an eye on mid. “Don’t let him poke you anymore.”

Azir knew all too well. He didn’t want to either.

But this was Lin Jiang he was facing.

The fear of being dominated by a top-tier player lingered like a shadow, every step felt like walking on thin ice, terrified that one wrong move would be fatal.

He could tell Lin Jiang was intentionally freezing the lane, forcing him to overextend.

Like a hunter, gently luring his prey into his trap.

The scariest part was that he couldn’t even guess what the trap was.

Azir’s palms were sweating again. He wiped them reflexively, and in that split second of pause, Lin Jiang unleashed another combo, reducing him to half-health.

Blood rushed to his head, his body burning from damage he couldn’t even comprehend.

He couldn’t help but wonder. Did Lin Jiang really not know how to play Lucian?

Back then, when he didn’t dare to pick it, was it because he couldn’t… or because he wouldn’t?

The jungler couldn’t stand it any longer. “I’ll gank at Level 4.”

But the mid laner had already lost his confidence. He didn’t know if this was Lin Jiang’s trap. “Maybe we shouldn’t. Let’s play it safe.”

If they didn’t act while Lin Jiang was overextended, their morale would eventually crumble. The jungler made a decisive call. “Support, come with me.”

Seeing WG’s support is only at Level 3 and boldly heading toward mid, the commentators gasped in surprise. “The support is roaming at Level 3? river must really be threatening them.”

Fans clenched their fists in worry for Lin Jiang.

On one hand, they believed someone as smart as Lin Jiang would surely dodge the gank. On the other, they feared that this was a 3v1 dive from mid, jungle, and support. Could anyone really escape that?

The support activated Oracle’s Lens[mfn]Oracle’s Lens – a trinket item that reveals and disables invisible wards and traps for a short duration, while also granting true sight for a short period. It’s a key tool for clearing vision and countering stealth-based strategies.[/mfn] hiding in an unwarded bush, while the jungler followed closely behind, waiting for Lin Jiang to overextend.

The audience held their breath. The commentators lowered their voices. “river doesn’t seem aware of the danger. He’s still moving forward. If he took one more step, he’s done for.”

Just as Lin Jiang was about to step into the danger zone, he suddenly halted, stopping right at the edge and recalling on the spot.

Recalling at full health?

The enemy jungler’s heart skipped. Had he been spotted?

The jungler hesitated, but the support was certain. “No vision, I’ve been scanning all the way here.”

That meant Lin Jiang was bluffing them.

The jungler decisively commanded. “I’ll flash engage!”

If Jarvan IV’s EQ-Flash combo landed, followed by the Nami’s bubble, it would guarantee Lin Jiang’s death.

But the moment the jungler EQ-Flashed, Lin Jiang suddenly Flashed too, perfectly dodging the chain of crowd control.

The jungler stared, dumbfounded.

Did Lin Jiang actually see them coming?

WG’s mid, jungle, and support were all baffled.

They couldn’t tell whether Lin Jiang had some form of vision that alerted him, or if he genuinely had that kind of reaction speed.

“That’s impossible… I’ve only seen this kind of hand speed a few times.”

The game seemed to be controlled by invisible hands. The support, still uncertain, rushed to buy a control ward and swept the whole jungle, still unable to figure out where Lin Jiang’s vision came from, completely throwing off their rhythm.

Meanwhile, the audience and commentators with the god’s-eye view saw it clearly. “There was no vision at all! How did river manage to Flash at that exact moment?”

The broadcast team slowed the replay down to its absolute limit, showing that Jarvan IV initiated first. Lin Jiang only Flashed the instant Jarvan IV’s ability was about to land.

In other words, Lin Jiang had no vision. No wards whatsoever!

He relied purely on his reaction time to dodge that chain of crowd control!

WG’s coach who was watching from the sidelines was so nervous he wiped sweat from his brow. Although he couldn’t see Lin Jiang’s exact timing, based on his experience, he estimated Lin Jiang’s reaction time might have been around 0.2 seconds.

How terrifying was that?

Reportedly, such reaction speeds only existed among players aged 16-18 years old.

Yet Lin Jiang was already 21 this year!

WG on the opposing side still hadn’t realized what kind of terrifying player they were up against.

The jungler returned to mid lane, timing his Flash engage with Lin Jiang’s auto-attack animation, only for Lin Jiang to sidestep it with a slide.

Lin Jiang then activated his R[mfn]The Culling (R) – Lucian’s ultimate ability; it allows him to rapidly fire a barrage of shots in a single direction for a duration, dealing damage to the first enemy hit by each shot.[/mfn] forcing them to retreat.

Now the jungler was in a dilemma whether to gank or not. His rhythm was completely disrupted, while A’Deng had already secured the team’s second dragon under Lin Jiang’s command.

WG had never been strong in the early-game, and with their rhythm in shambles, they quickly fell behind by 4,000 gold.

Only then did the jungler belatedly realize, “We’ve been tricked. Lin Jiang was deliberately forcing us into early-game fights.”

Lucian was a champion with a low-margin for error. Once his E was on cooldown, he was basically a sitting duck waiting for death. Yet in Lin Jiang’s hands, this high-risk champion underwent a complete transformation.

The match reached the 20-minute mark, and Lin Jiang directly led his team to take the Baron. WG wanted to contest but lacked the strength. Before they could even get close, they were decimated by a barrage of holy bullets from his ultimate.

Originally planning to drag it into the late-game, WG found their rhythm completely disrupted, forced into team fights by OT.

The rest of the game unfolded pretty much as everyone expected. Lin Jiang secured the Baron, pushed to the high ground, then turned back to take the third dragon, setting up for the Dragon Soul.

WG struggled desperately, but during the fight for the Dragon Soul, they were relentlessly pummeled by Lin Jiang and Shen Ju, losing three members. Shortly after, they lost two more high-ground turrets, and they lost the first game.

In the final wave, Lin Jiang pulled off a godly play, firing five shots in one second. Their enemy AD only managed to auto-attack three times before instantly exploding.

The entire arena was stunned. The damage comparison was nothing short of brutal!

Lin Jiang slid right up to the enemy Nexus and blew it up with a single shot, cementing his legendary status at that moment.

Only then did WG realize—

Lin Jiang could play Lucian!

And not just play him—he was a master at it!

The haters who mocked Lin Jiang for not being able to play mid lane Lucian were brutally silenced by the post-game stats.

After a year, Lin Jiang slapped them in the face with a 5/1/7 score and declared, “Your dad knows how to play.”

Last year, Lin Jiang had stayed silent to protect his teammates.

This year, to protect his teammates again, he locked in Lucian without hesitation and stepped up.

[Wow, I’ve been wanting to say this for so long. Back then, Lin Jiang didn’t pick Lucian because the champion only had damage and couldn’t spread advantages to the side lanes.]

[After a year, our Lin Jiang finally gets the justice he deserves!]

[Does anyone understand? I spent all of last year defending river, only to get flamed for it!]

[KUG must be kicking themselves now, huh?]

[I bet WG will ban Lucian next game.]

[Both Lin Jiang and Shen Ju are Lucian masters. They have to ban him!]

[If you say that, then what about his Jayce? Should they ban that too?]

[LOL, they can’t ban them all.]

They really couldn’t ban them all.

Can you even imagine how broken WG is feeling?

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