After their young mid-laner gave up first blood, Xiaopang wasn’t surprised. He immediately began re-planning his jungle route in his head.
He reminded, “Just play safe in lane. Without Flash, you’re an easy target.”
Xu Zhiyi knew he was in danger and didn’t dare act rashly. “Got it.”
“The enemy jungler’s probably around here.” Xiaopang pinged a few times near the lower side of the river mid-lane. “I’ll head your way now.”
Unfortunately, his efforts didn’t help much.
Furia’s draft had already left them without a jungler who could suppress Fanlei in the jungle. With Ji Yunyu securing first blood early, the pace of the match quickly turned out even bloodier than either coach expected.
Just as Xu Zhiyi’s Flash was still on cooldown and he was about to hit level 6, Ji Yunyu came mid again.
“Cloud should be there soon—careful.”
Furia’s jungler Xiaopang seemed to sense something.
He hovered nearby for a counter-gank. But Sui Ning had the wave perfectly positioned—if Xu Zhiyi wanted to last-hit, he had to expose himself. Sure enough, Ji Yunyu struck first, chunking him to low HP, and Sui Ning followed up to finish the kill.
[Pikachu (Specter of Shadow) has slain FR_Reling (Stellar Sprite)!]
Xiaopang sighed helplessly. “Ah, that wave…”
Xu Zhiyi bit his lip, frustrated. “It was a cannon wave—I couldn’t just let it go! I’d lose so much gold and XP. I thought you were nearby, but it didn’t help anyway.”
Hearing that hint of complaint, Xiaopang just pursed his lips and said nothing.
He couldn’t help comparing the team’s two mids. Compared to mmgod, Xu Zhiyi was clearly far behind.
Even without that comparison—next to the enemy mid, Pikachu—Xu Zhiyi still looked raw and unpolished.
Xiaopang muttered inwardly, They’re both rookies. How can the gap be this big? He’s supposed to be top 96 on the international ladder, but this…
After dying twice early, the mid-lane matchup was all but lost.
At 12 minutes, Fan’en and Fanlei roamed bottom.
Xiaopang’s sense for counter-ganks was sharp—he got to the bottom brush ahead of time, with Xu Zhiyi also rotating over at his teammates’ call.
But the Fan’en and Fanlei duo, even after emergency balancing, was still absurdly strong. In the 4v4, Furia’s side was quickly forced into a losing position.
As early-game shotcaller, Xiaopang’s heart skipped. “This doesn’t look good—fall back, back up! Vitus, can you TP?!”
The top-laner instantly pressed Teleport.
Wei Ye was playing Blood Count, who didn’t have any ability to cancel teleport channels.
Without his own TP, all he could do was dump his damage before Vitus disappeared. “Their Treant’s TP’ing down—I can’t join!”
“He’s not full HP—half health, half health!” Wei Ye urgently added key info. “He’s got ult and Flash!”
Cheng Su responded, “Got it, I’m watching him.”
He was playing Shadow Hawk, a hard-CC support with both ultimate and Flash ready, his gaze fixed tightly on the Treant’s teleport glow.
1.5 seconds… 1 second… 0—
The instant Vitus landed, Cheng Su W-Flashed into R, locking him down before he could cast a single spell.
“Got him!”
“I’m here, I—damn it, I got CC’d!” Vitus shouted in frustration. “Fall back, back! My Flash didn’t go off—that’s on me.”
He’d planned to land and instantly R-Flash, but Cheng Su was faster.
Vitus clicked his tongue, realizing his mistake. “That TP spot was awful. I shouldn’t have picked that one—landing there made it easy for Xiaozhi to isolate me.”
The analysts behind him nodded, jotting down timestamps.
The teleport misplay had multiple causes—not just Vitus’s split-second judgment, but also the team’s failure to provide a good TP location.
Were there any flank wards? Was there a safe engage point? Could teammates follow up right after the teleport?
There were too many factors to consider, and when reviewing such a mistake, no one on the team could fully escape responsibility.
That’s why these errors were always logged and dissected during replay sessions—usually for at least half an hour.
Even so, Furia didn’t have time to dwell on it mid-fight.
“Their Shadow Hawk’s out of cooldowns—what’s the call?”
Xiaopang frowned. “Kite back—watch Fan’en’s position!”
Vitus’s mistake gave Cheng Su a perfect [W – Grand Entrance], stunning the tanky top-laner for 2–3 seconds and opening space for his mid, jungle, and marksman trio.
Sui Ning seized the opportunity flawlessly, teaming up with Ji Yunyu to pressure Furia’s bot lane, chunking the marksman and support hard.
“Don’t fight! Back up, back up!”
“Gaogao! Watch your positioning, they’re collapsing—damn it!”
The marksman, Gaogao, was forced into a terrible corner by Children of Void. Lin Zhaoxu’s eyes lit up—he pressed his ultimate, pinning Gaogao in place.
“Peel! Peel for him!” Support Col shouted immediately. “I can counter-engage!”
His instant decision was to fight back, activating his ultimate to share the damage for their marksman.
But Xiaopang’s first instinct was to abandon the doomed Gaogao—and that half-second of hesitation cost them dearly.
In daily life, half a second isn’t even enough to blink, but in a match, half a second can decide whether everyone will be attending the marksman’s memorial feast.
Ji Yunyu didn’t give Xiaopang any time to regret it—his RQ combo landed cleanly on Gaogao, and the support, taking on the shared damage, was bleeding out fast.
Seeing the enemy’s HP dropping lower and lower, Lin Zhaoxu shouted anxiously, “Don’t kill! Hold it! Let me have it, quick! Urgent business! Let me have the kill—! My kid hasn’t eaten meat in days!”
[Bulbasaur (Soul-Piercing Spear) has slain FR_Gaogao (White Bird)!]
[Bulbasaur (Soul-Piercing Spear) has slain FR_Col (Scythe of Calamity)!]
[Red Team Double Kill!]
“Eyy, that’s nice, that’s nice—thank you, dads! Thank you, dads!”
For once, getting to shine early with 600 gold in the pocket, ‘Son-Xu’ was beaming with joy, not even caring how many new dads he’d gained in a single match.
The suddenly promoted dads, Sui Ning and Ji Yunyu: …
Sui Ning: “Not sure I want a son like you, though ^^.”
Cheng Su: “Agreed.”
Ji Yunyu raised a brow: “Didn’t you just say at lunch that PNG’s food was great? What, short one bite of meat now?”
Lin Zhaoxu chuckled. “Heh, this double kill’s part of the meal too. Fresh, tender, not greasy at all.”
Wei Ye, pushing top lane, took a glance at the bot lane fight and teased, “Already acting cocky? Two kills and you’re strutting?”
Lin Zhaoxu didn’t bother hiding his grin. “Fair enough—this game, I’ll carry.”
The mid-jungle duo who’d been parenting and babysitting across the map: … Whatever makes you happy, kid ^^.
After losing the 4v4 bot skirmish 0-for-2, Furia was forced to play much more cautiously.
The analysts whispered among themselves: “They didn’t manage to suppress the enemy mid-jungle early, now the advantage’s radiating outward.”
“Yeah, still a lot of micro issues. That teleport mistake basically threw bot lane too.”
“...At its core, it’s the mid-lane disadvantage snowballing.”
“PNG’s tempo’s quick—feels a bit like that Korean-style snowballing. Note that down too.”
——
Although their drafted lineup never quite clicked, Furia stubbornly held on till the 32-minute mark, dragging the match into a decisive Baron fight.
Unfortunately, the comeback they hoped for never came.
[Red Team has slain Baron Nashor!]
PNG secured Baron cleanly and began their final push.
“It’s over,” Vitus sighed helplessly. “How do we even defend this wave? I’ve got no ult.”
Xu Zhiyi bit his lip. “Let’s just try to find a pick—I’ve got enough damage to one-shot someone now.”
“Gonna be tough,” someone warned. “Their marksman’s flanked on both sides by two guardians, and there’s a support bodyguard in front.”
When the crystal’s HP dropped to half, Furia made one last desperate counterattack—but Sui Ning caught the perfect angle and instantly deleted Gaogao.
With no way out, Furia typed GG and exited the game.
Chen Chen looked utterly satisfied. He jotted a few final notes in his book, then asked Sui Ning first, “How did it feel?”
“It was okay.”
“What about their mid-laner?”
“...Uh.” Sui Ning hesitated, then answered honestly, “A bit green.”
“Hahaha, you kid,” Chen Chen laughed. “You’re about the same age—why do you sound like such an old man?”
Sui Ning smiled but didn’t reply.
Chen Chen continued, “Your mid-jungle synergy was solid this game—tempo, coordination, all good. But this combo—think there’s still room for improvement?”
Ji Yunyu glanced at Sui Ning and replied, “Definitely. There’s still a lot to experiment with in terms of playstyle and coordination.”
Chen Chen nodded. “Yeah, we still don’t have enough training matches. Keep grinding. Also, don’t neglect the other combos we need to practice. And Wind, that hero list I gave you—you’ll need to cover all of them.”
Sui Ning nodded silently.
That list basically included every heroes viable in mid lane, rated across dimensions like pick rate, strength, teamfight utility, and laning, sorted by priority under the heading: Mid-Lane Hero Pool Expansion.
It matched his own training plan perfectly—and since the data was more rigorous, he had no reason to refuse.
“Wei Ye was fine this game. A few details we’ll go over in review later.”
After a pause, Chen Chen’s gaze shifted. “As for Mior—you had way too many laning issues early on. Without mid-jungle help, your lane just collapses naturally?”
Lin Zhaoxu shrank his shoulders guiltily. “...Yeah.”
“You’ve practiced Grier for how long now? Be honest—did you leave your brain at home?”
“Brought it.”
“Then how’d you let him poke you two, three times for free outside your range?”
Chen Chen sighed helplessly. “The enemy was faking their movements—you get baited so easily. Just half a step forward and you get poked for free. Why does this always happen whenever you play Grier?”
Lin Zhaoxu wilted instantly, not daring to speak.
Cheng Su gave him a sidelong glance and offered an explanation: “Grier’s attack range is 525, while White Bird’s is 600. He’s not used to the difference yet.”
“This mistake better not happen again next time.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Cheng Su replied evenly.
Lin Zhaoxu knew he was in the wrong and obediently accepted the extra training.
The root of the problem, really, was that he was too good at playing White Bird—his muscle memory was set. Switching to Soul-Piercing Spear - Grier, whose playstyle was completely different, made him act on instinct in the wrong ways. It would take time and games to correct that.
But since White Bird remained one of the most popular marksmen of the spring season, and there was no sign of nerfs in the new patch, PNG had to prepare for the possibility of not being able to pick or ban him at all.
Besides Grier, Lin Zhaoxu’s training list was packed with heroes waiting their turn, even including Shadowmoon Gun.
That hero had been dominant in mid lane during the spring, but no one could guarantee he wouldn’t suddenly return to bot lane one day.
——
Furia training room.
The break between training match wasn’t long. Da Ju briefly went over everyone’s mistakes, then fixed his gaze on Xu Zhiyi.
“We’ll talk about your in-game issues during review.”
The kid had too many bad habits, and Da Ju looked exasperated. “But you need to remember—first, this is professional play, not solo queue. You need to use your brain.”
“Second, a match starts from ban/pick, not from laning. As a player, you need to understand the draft. That’s the absolute basics.”
“Especially BP.”
Da Ju looked as if he had a toothache. “Your grasp of BP is way too shallow. At the start of the game, when I asked you to comment on the enemy lineup, you couldn’t even say anything.”
Xu Zhiyi puffed up his cheeks and muttered, “But that’s what the coach is for… I’m not the coach, how would I know…”
“That’s not the point! You’re supposed to know! This isn’t your first training match—every time, the coach handles BP, and you still can’t follow the logic?”
“I can’t know everything! I know what our picks are, but how would I know theirs!?” Xu Zhiyi protested, sounding genuinely aggrieved. “I can’t possibly guess every pick, can I?”
“It’s not guessing, it’s analysis! Game sense! If you don’t understand that, how will you contribute ideas once you’re on stage?”
Da Ju tried to reason with him patiently. “If you keep thinking like you’re in solo queue—just playing whatever you like—then giving input during BP will only disrupt the coach’s plans.”
“You really need to catch up in this area.” Da Ju sighed.
Not knowing how to argue back, Xu Zhiyi glanced at his teammates, but they all had their heads down, silent, avoiding eye contact. Holding in his frustration, he went quiet too.
Da Ju felt his temples throbbing. This stubborn kid was going to be the death of him.
He kept telling himself: It’s normal. He’s still young. Everyone’s first year in pro play is like this. Solo queue kings are always too confident in their own ways. Think of mmgod, Vitus, Xiaopang—weren’t they the same? This is normal…
But the more he comforted himself, the more convinced he became: Damn it, Fenglan is the abnormal one!
They were both rookie mid-laners—so how come Fenglan was already the one teaching others? Ridiculous!
——
The second training match began quickly. Furia banned Fan’en and Fanlei combo.
Xu Zhiyi felt a bit more confident now—banning one of Fenglan’s signature picks should make things easier…
But PNG didn’t hold back—they instantly locked in Stellar Sprite - Aeria, first pick, clearly setting up a textbook match.
Xu Zhiyi was stunned. “Huh? What are they doing?”
Teammate: “…Playing lane, what else?”
Da Ju slowly closed his eyes, unable to watch.
Sure enough, this game ended even faster than the first.
By the end, Xu Zhiyi was breathing hard, his eyes faintly red. “H-he’s so good with this hero! How did I not know?!”
Remembering how he’d played in the first game, he couldn’t keep it together—his face burned, like he’d been slapped several times over.
For the first time, the unstable rookie was truly humiliated; his voice even carried a hint of tears. “Then—then doesn’t that mean when he was watching me last game, he must’ve thought I was an idiot?!”
He spoke so fast he even hiccupped.
Teammates: ……
Da Ju: ……
Da Ju: “…I told you already—he’s ranked first on the national server.”
“I—hic—I thought barely anyone played that hero here!”
“…You should start playing on the national server more often.”
After a pause, Da Ju added mercifully, “As for Aeria… the average person is here. But Fenglan’s here.”
He placed his left hand on his waist, raised his right hand above his head, and traced a vast gulf in the air, looking at Xu Zhiyi with a touch of pity in his eyes.
Da Ju said, “If you want to play Aeria well… uh, you should learn more from him.”
Xu Zhiyi’s eyes were red as he met his coach’s gaze, looking as if he were about to cry.
But there was no time for him to get emotional—the training match continued.
Then came the third match, the fourth, the fifth…
By the time it was past six in the evening, Furia was making substitutions. The mid laner was about to be replaced by mmgod.
The completely silent Xu Zhiyi obediently typed in the team lobby.
[FR_Reling]: I’m leaving now, coach said the big bro’s taking over.
The “big bro” referred to mmgod. The five members of PNG saw the message and responded with scattered farewells. Xu Zhiyi pressed his lips together and carefully typed another message.
[FR_Reling]: Brother Feng, can I add you as a friend?
[FR_Reling]: I’d like to ask you for some advice~
After sending it, Xu Zhiyi felt that it might sound a bit impolite, so he hurriedly added Fenglan’s favorite emoji.
[FR_Reling]：^^。
[FR_Reling]: ^^.
[Bulbasaur]: Whoa, what’s this development?
[Charmander]: ?
[Squirtle]: Am I about to witness a love story?
[Charmander]: …??
[Ash]: Nice.
[Pikachu]: …
[Pikachu]: Sure, you can add me.
Xu Zhiyi instantly lit up with joy.
[FR_Reling]: Okay bro, thank you bro!! ^^!!
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