Chapter 2, The Boy Who Guides the Game

Different heroes in the game excel in their respective positions, and making reasonable choices in hero combinations is a crucial aspect of the competition. Pan Ruiming's statement reflects a responsible and reliable attitude—allowing teammates to first select their preferred heroes and positions, and then he will fill in the gaps in the team composition.

"It's alright." The girl looked at him, but the smile on her face made He Yu feel somewhat strange. However, he could not afford to pay much attention to it at the moment, so he nodded and hurriedly left. Pan Ruiming had intended to say a few more words to He Yu, but the game in his hand was not yet finished. He operated the game while getting up to leave, only to see He Yu's figure disappear at the stairway. The girl standing at the door, however, was still gazing at He Yu's back, appearing to be deep in thought.

Did you see? Pan Ruiming was full of pride, and Lanling Wang immediately advanced towards Li Bai

"He has gone out, he is not here." After Pan Ruiming finished speaking, he turned around and continued his match. The jungler who lost the blue Buff started off at a disadvantage, while the Lanling King pitifully cleared the remaining monsters and managed to leech a wave of minions from his teammates, finally reaching level 4. He immediately activated the Lanling King's ultimate skill—Secret Technique: Ambush, entering a stealth state and stealthily making his way towards the enemy's blue area.

"That was my mobile game," He Liang said

My name is He Yu, and I am here to find my brother He Liang

"Hey, where are you going?" The usually easygoing and amiable He Liang displayed such a resolute attitude today, which surprised Pan Ruiming, prompting him to ask.

My younger brother is reporting today, I will go pick him up He Liang walked away without looking back

I will play as the jungler and carry the team. Pan Ruiming confidently stated once again

Three attack skills, the Lanling King missed two of them, only managing to slow down Li Bai with the Shadow Dagger. However, Li Bai's first skill, "Bring in the Wine," comes with a displacement effect. At this moment, the Lanling King, who was trying to escape, was continuously pursued and charged at by Li Bai, leaving Pan Ruiming at a loss, and he was finally stabbed to the ground with a single sword.

Last season was quite exaggerated; after He Liang brought him to the rank of King, he no longer paid attention to him. Pan Ruiming fell back to the Gold rank in just one week. It is not an exaggeration to say that if it were not for the point protection in the Bronze rank and the absence of a demotion mechanism, Pan Ruiming would have likely dropped back to the beginner's Bronze I without any pressure. His gaming talent and skill are evident from this. However, he has never acknowledged this, insisting that his teammates are too unreliable. It is precisely to compensate for this that as soon as he entered this Gold ranked match, Pan Ruiming confidently sent out a message: "Master, I will fill the role."

Ah? You are He Liang's younger brother! No wonder, no wonder! Upon hearing He Yu introduce himself, Pan Ruiming immediately looked bewildered. He felt it was only natural that He Yu could provide him with so many insights about the game. After all, he is the younger brother of a professional player, so he must understand the game very well

The teammates in the game did not respond, but suddenly a voice came from behind Pan Ruiming, startling him to the point that he almost threw his phone away. When he turned around, he saw a boy who looked like a student standing behind him, his gaze fixed on the screen of Pan's phone

Of course I noticed, but who told you to go after him? I am going to the opposite side's blue buff, can't you see that I'm almost out of mana?" Pan Ruiming did not change his course of action as Lanling Wang.

The vision has been established, the opposing marksman and support have not shown themselves; they are either taking the red buff or attempting to counter the blue.

"Who are you looking for?" Pan Ruiming looked at the girl and found her somewhat beautiful, instantly feeling a bit more enthusiastic.

The enemy jungler started at red, if you want to counter-jungle, you should head to the red area now. " Suddenly, another voice came from behind.

"What are you coming back for?" He Liangwen asked

"I don't have time today," He Liang said irritably. The ranked matches are one of the most important gameplay modes in Honor of Kings, where players earn or lose points based on the outcomes of their battles, thus ranking them into seven tiers from Bronze to King, which is the most direct reflection of a player's skill level. However, for professional players, the ranks in ranked matches are no longer sufficient to validate their abilities, as they have transcended to a level of top-tier experts in another realm

"Thank you, I will go down first and be back shortly," said the person.

I can't believe it! I used two skills in a row, yet my clone's damage didn't come through. Pan Ruiming exclaimed as Lanling Wang's ultimate skill, Shadow Strike, was unleashed once again, leaving the young man behind him speechless

Li Bai has a powerful move! The young man quickly reminded Pan Ruiming upon seeing the faint glow emanating from the long sword in Li Bai's hand. However, at that moment, Pan Ruiming's Lanling Wang had already launched his attack, and the shadow dagger flew towards Li Bai, followed by his first skill, Secret Technique: Clone, as Lanling Wang summoned a shadow clone and struck towards Li Bai with his fist blade.

The match was about to begin, and Pan Ruiming, who had previously reached the King rank alongside He Liang, completely disregarded the match at the Gold rank, humming a tune as he headed straight for his team's blue area. The jungler gains experience and gold by hunting monsters in the jungle, usually becoming the fastest developing player on the team, thus leading the team's rhythm. While humming a tune and attacking monsters, Pan Ruiming was already devising a plan in his mind on how to move stealthily and dominate the battlefield. Suddenly, two enemy heroes emerged from the upper pass, charging straight towards him

"Take me to rank up!" At this moment, a seven-foot tall man not only spoke but also threw a flirtatious glance at He Liang, making He Liang feel a wave of nausea.

Pan Ruiming hurriedly retreated, while the two opposing heroes effortlessly killed the blue monster he was attacking halfway, seizing the blue Buff that was quite important for the jungler at the start. Pan Ruiming, filled with rage, immediately activated the voice chat: "Why isn't the top laner keeping an eye on me!"

"Who would care about such details? I ask you, who exactly are you?" Pan Ruiming was taken aback; he had played nearly a thousand games yet was still unaware of such a detail regarding Li Bai's ultimate move. While he silently took note of it, he still insisted on being stubborn. However, he finally developed a bit of curiosity about this young man.

One should wait until Li Bai's ultimate ability is no longer restricted before engaging. The young man said. Li Bai's ultimate ability, the Qinglei Sword Song, is typically in a restricted state, only triggering the passive skill, Heroic Journey, after the fourth consecutive normal attack hits the target within 3 seconds. However, this restriction lasts only 5 seconds; after 5 seconds, the Qinglei Sword Song will revert to its restricted state.

Amid the sighs of the arriving guests, the seating chart, which was already nearing completion, was swiftly finalized by He Liang, who promptly sent the document directly to the guests' mobile phones

Different melodies, yet the same effect

"Don't go, it will be ready soon," He Liang said as he continued to busy himself with both hands, the sounds of the keyboard and mouse immediately filling the air, while the layout of the various departments of the school was rapidly outlined on the screen

"He Liang, is the seating arrangement for tomorrow's opening ceremony ready?" a person rushed into the office and shouted.

He Liang said he went to pick you up, didn't you see him?" Huanran finished, and Pan Ruiming continued to speak

I apologize for the inconvenience

Is that so? He Yu took out his phone to take a look and indeed saw an unread WeChat message from He Liang.

Hurry up, we need to mark the lines on the playground before it gets dark, we are now just waiting for your sequence diagram

"Because I take the game seriously." The girl did not look back, she simply said this and disappeared at the stairway.

His speed is truly impressive, as expected of a former professional player! A person standing behind him watched in admiration as he executed his actions swiftly

He Liang is now a graduate student working in the Student Affairs Office of Dongjiang University. Although it is not much more leisurely than when he was a professional player, life has lost the longing and enthusiasm of the past. What will the future hold? He Liang himself has no answer, and can only focus on doing well in the present.

"However, did you use the summoner spell 'Smite' against the opponent? There is still a great chance to secure it, so why run away?" The young man continued. Smite is a summoner spell that is typically carried by jungle champions. This skill can deal significant true damage to jungle monsters, providing a considerable last-hitting advantage. However, Pan Ruiming did not take advantage of this to contest the blue monster and simply retreated.

An attack that suddenly arrives while in an invisible state is indeed difficult to defend against, but when Li Bai was struck by the Shadow Dagger, he immediately used his second skill, Divine Brush, with one hand, transforming his long sword into the Azure Lotus Sword Formation, protecting himself from being hit by Lanling Wang and his clones. He then unleashed his ultimate move, Azure Lotus Sword Song, transforming into a stream of sword energy and delivering a rapid slash against Lanling Wang.

Whenever He Liang leads him, victory is almost guaranteed. However, the problem is that he himself has played far more games than He Liang has led him in. Today, He Liang helped him reach the King rank, but in just two days, he could lose his way back to Diamond. In the days without He Liang leading the team, Pan Ruiming's ranked match record has always been marked by double-digit consecutive losses and countless complaints and penalties in the system message box.

Damn! Pan Ruiming was extremely frustrated, but this time it was entirely due to his own operational issues, leaving him unable to blame his teammates. His resentful gaze immediately turned towards the boy behind him

Ambushing for 60 seconds? The young man was quite puzzled. Not to mention the critical opening phase, even in the mid to late game, spending 60 seconds lying in wait in the grass would be an enormous waste of time. How could there possibly be such a strategy?

He Liang, once a prominent KPL star jungler, has now become a tool for his colleagues to rank up in the game, which leaves him feeling somewhat disheartened. He had originally planned to give up gaming entirely after retiring, but after meeting his colleague Pan Ruiming, he found it hard to resist his persistent invitations and ended up picking up the game again, frequently taking him to rank up. Currently, the ranked matches in the game have just started a new season, and Pan Ruiming has been nagging He Liang about ranking for several days. However, today He Liang's refusal is exceptionally resolute, not giving Pan Ruiming the chance to showcase his nagging skills, as he grabs his coat and heads out.

When the restrictions are lifted, the sword blade will emit light! The young man was very surprised that Pan Ruiming would ask such a question

"How do you know?" Pan Ruiming asked in surprise as he looked up, only to see the other party already leaving

"Who are you?" Pan Ruiming looked up and down at the young man who was guiding him in the game

He Liang's thoughts returned to the computer in front of him with that shout, and without turning his head, he replied, "I am working on it."

How do I know if his ultimate is on cooldown?" Pan Ruiming said irritably

Autumn comes and goes, and in the blink of an eye, a year has passed

"Better not run away." He muttered to himself as he began a solo ranked match.

"What do you understand? I am planning to ambush him and take both the blue buff and his kill!" said Pan Ruiming

"The enemy's red is open, and the blue buff will not respawn for at least 60 seconds. You might as well go take your own blue, it should be ready soon," the young man said

Gazing out at the falling leaves outside the window, He Liang felt a sense of melancholy. Today marks the start of the KPL Autumn Tournament. For the past five years, he has begun this day with dreams of embarking on a new journey, and no matter how busy he became afterward, his heart was always filled with excitement and anticipation. ... But now ...

"Don't look for anyone, Jia Lan has refreshed immediately, hurry up and go get it," said the girl

What? Pan Ruiming was taken aback, and when he looked down, he indeed saw that the blue monster in his home wilderness was in a respawn state

"What are you arguing about? Just look!" Pan Ruiming said fiercely

When Shadow Strike is activated for the first time, Lanling Wang will enter a stealth state for 30 seconds after 1.5 seconds. During this period, if activated again, Lanling Wang will launch a surprise attack in the direction indicated. However, the issue is that Li Bai is still in the process of casting his ultimate skill, Qinglian Sword Song, and, like when using the skill Divine Brush, he cannot be targeted or attacked. Therefore, if Lanling Wang activates Shadow Strike again at this time, it is equivalent to a miss.

"Is your younger brother a freshman? Which department is he in? Hey! Can I use your computer?" Pan Ruiming asked a few more questions, but He Liang had already disappeared. Pan Ruiming paid no mind, sat down in front of He Liang's computer, forwarded the seating arrangement diagram that He Liang had just completed a few times, and then made a phone call to give a few instructions before leisurely opening Honor of Kings on his phone.

"You haven't left yet?" Pan Ruiming, startled again, exclaimed, but his attention quickly returned to the game: "How did you know he started with red?"

However, before he finished speaking, Pan Ruiming's Lanling Wang encountered the opposing jungler, Li Bai, in the river.

"Oh, I am looking for He Liang, is this not his office?" the young man said, finally diverting his gaze from Pan Ruiming's phone.

"Did you not notice the Buff on him when he passed by while you were checking the vision in the middle lane?" the young man said

Apologies for the interruption! He hurriedly turned around to leave, but nearly collided with a girl outside the door

The four teammates seemed unaware of his words, yet they quickly selected their heroes. Pan Ruiming noticed that in the game, all five positions were filled: top lane, mid lane, marksman, and support, with only the jungle position remaining. He immediately chose an assassin hero, Lanling Wang.