A soft chuckle came from the other side of the mic.
[……？？？]
[……Wait? Who did you just say?? Huh??]
[Holy shit. Are you serious.]
[Did I hear that wrong or did God A say it wrong—is it who I think it is?? Ah… ahhhh?!]
[Yue Yue Yue Yue Yue!!]
[Is it really him? The real one? But I checked—God Yue’s own stream isn’t live??]
“They’re all calling for you,” Cheng Wensheng said. “Aren’t you going to say hi to the audience?”
“Mm…”
Meng Xiyue responded obediently, “Hello, everyone.”
Through the mic, his greeting reached Cheng Wensheng, and then passed to the audience’s headsets—slightly distorted.
But that voice—anyone who had ever loved Navic could never mistake it.
[……?]
[Holy crap, are you serious!!]
[Fuck ahhhhh——my crispy duck!!! It’s over 30 degrees outside right now but I want to run laps around the block!!]
[Yue, is it really you? I can’t believe it QuQ do you know how long it’s been since we last saw you?]
[It’s been ages since you appeared in Navic’s official daily vlogs… some idiots even said you were retiring—don’t worry, I crushed them all QuQ]
[Long time no see, Yue QuQ]
[The official account said you were taking time off to recover—how are you now? Will you be back for the Summer Split? QuQ]
Cheng Wensheng read a few of the comments aloud, but the barrage was too fast to keep up with. He told Meng Xiyue to open his own stream and take a look.
Meng Xiyue smiled. “I’ve been watching your stream all along. I can see all the comments.”
[Ughhh he said he can see them…]
[Whenever I miss you I just rewatch the Mid-Season tournament. Will I ever get to see you play Fran again QuQ]
[Hey, while you were gone, Navic hasn’t been doing great… at this rate, I’m worried they won’t make playoffs]
[Come on, it’s only a few rounds in—no need to panic yet.]
[Losing even to weak teams—who wouldn’t be worried?]
You couldn’t blame the fans for worrying too much. Navic’s recent games had indeed been rough. Like PNG, they hadn’t met many strong teams yet, but still started the split with 5 losses in 7 matches—Navic’s worst Summer Split start in history.
Meng Xiyue saw the concerns in the chat, but didn’t comment on them. He quietly shifted the topic. “Let’s keep watching the match.”
Cheng Wensheng caught on. “Since we’ve got this many people here, how about you give your thoughts on Wind’s play just now?”
“Very impressive.”
Meng Xiyue’s tone was calm. “Not just mechanically—he’s performed even better than I expected in every aspect.”
“I didn’t hear their team comms, so I don’t know who called for the kills, but the timing of that level-up was way too precise to be coincidence. The kill order too—it ensured that after the skirmish, their level six mid-jungle could finish the cleanup.”
Cheng Wensheng: “Speaking of mid-jungle, we’ve got to mention Cloud too. How do you feel about him and Wind together?”
Meng Xiyue fell silent for a moment, sounding a bit reluctant. “…He’s alright.”
[……？？？]
[LMAO I swear this is the first time I’ve ever heard God C sound guilty!]
[Played pretty well, Cloud—but yeah, ‘just alright,’ hahaha]
[In just four words, I can taste the disapproving father-in-law vibes (?!)]
[Are you sure it’s not more like a farmer judging the pig that got into his cabbage patch…]
“Hey hey, no double standards in my stream.”
Cheng Wensheng laughed, teasing him. “Let me translate that: Wind and Cloud together are great, but you mean if Wind were paired with Navic’s jungler Truik, they’d be even stronger, right?”
Meng Xiyue couldn’t be bothered. “I’m done talking. Your turn—aren’t you going to analyze Erllit’s plays?”
Cheng Wensheng: “…He’s alright.”
[??? This is peak live double standards I’m crying]
[These two are unreal—just a few lines and they’ve managed to make Cloud, Truik, and Erllit all speechless!]
[Big Brother Su: I can’t stand this useless brother another day]
[Truik never imagined his captain spends every day trying to arrange him a marriage hahahahaha]
[Truik: I gave my heart to the wrong person (crying emoji)]
[It’s been so long since I’ve seen Yue, I almost forgot—this guy’s a hardcore Wind fanboy (lmao)]
[“Fanboy” doesn’t even cut it. The head of Wind’s supertopic fanclub jokes about it, but if this weren’t a law-abiding society, I swear Yue would’ve clubbed Wind over the head and dragged him back to the Navic base! Chinese law has saved you, my Feng-bao!!]
[Help, I’m going to die laughing from the comments… truly, only that man could make our crispy duck never move on ^^]
[Tragic, God Yun, truly tragic... Question: what should you do if your biggest fan is constantly thinking about breaking up your CP with your wife?]
[ Easy—just marry into your wife’s family together (starts dreaming)]
[PNG fans are furious! Can you people please talk about the match for once!!]
“The match…? Hard to say.”
Meng Xiyue was speaking more now. “PNG’s bot lane was crushed early on. Even though that last fight went well, Mior didn’t get any gold out of it. It’ll still be tough going forward. If FR keeps suppressing him like this, their midgame dragon fights will be a breeze—and if PNG slips up even once, they could lose control entirely.”
“Exactly.” Cheng Wensheng nodded. “If the marksman can’t scale, then the dragon fights will depend heavily on the mid-jungle duo.”
[……Nooo don’t say that!!]
[The official casters next door were hyping it up so much I almost believed we had a chance… and now you two just dumped a bucket of cold water on me QuQ]
[Sadly, logic tells me that the pros’ game sense is way better than the official casters’, and what they say is usually right…]
[Noooo——]
——
But as it turned out, Meng Xiyue and Cheng Wensheng’s predictions were gradually coming true.
At 11 minutes, FR grouped up for the first time to force the drake. PNG couldn’t contest due to lack of vision near the pit and had to give it up.
By 14 minutes, FR’s bot lane pushed their advantage further, successfully taking the first turret. PNG tried to make up for the loss by rotating top and managed to take the outer top turret at 15:30.
At 17 minutes, FR secured another drake.
“At this rate, it feels like FR is dictating the tempo of the game!”
The commentator Chao Mi sounded worried. “PNG’s mid-jungle have been looking for plays, but FR’s reacting really smartly. Look at their top laner—if PNG’s top TPs in, he immediately backs off; if he doesn’t, they just stall him. Keep this up, and FR will definitely have the upper hand later. Gaogao’s gold hasn’t fallen behind at all—in fact, he’s two thousand ahead of his lane opponent!”
“Right, this is one of those rare games where PNG actually falls slightly behind in the early phase.”
Li Yin added. “They’re down by about 1700 gold at 18 minutes—not an insurmountable lead. Both sides know PNG’s best bet is to have mid and jungle pressure bot, but FR is doing everything to protect Gaogao’s scaling!”
Chao Mi: “But PNG really needs to be careful here! They’ve often used comps with Soul-Piercing Spear as their marksman, and that hero, paired with Shadow of Vengeance, takes Baron really fast. With Gaogao already well-fed, once Baron spawns at 20 minutes, FR might pull the trigger at any moment!”
——
Just as predicted, from 18:30 onward, both teams started battling for vision control around the Baron pit.
“We can’t start Baron first. Look for an opening.”
Sui Ning frowned, pinging several spots on the map. “Check if there’s enemy vision here. Be careful—they might try to sneak it.”
“If they do sneak Baron, they’ll do it fast,” Ji Yunyu hesitated. “Honestly, this Baron fight doesn’t look good for us.”
Cheng Su had a True Sight Ward on him, and after hearing that, he swept the area carefully.
As he moved toward the upper side of the pit, he ran straight into FR’s formation—almost getting caught.
Shadow Hawk was the first to notice him, immediately casting Q to slow him. When it hit, he went for a W to lock him down—
“Wait, wait, wait!” Tang Yu shouted. “We don’t see their vision—careful, it might be bait!”
Good point. Mu Xuesong hesitated, and Cheng Su used that moment to drop his Control Ward and retreat safely under Wei Ye’s cover.
“Whoa—!! Around Baron pit, what’s happening? Are they about to fight?!!”
“Col spotted Erllit and instantly threw out Q feathers to slow him! …But now Myerii’s rotating over—Col didn’t commit to the rest of his combo, probably afraid PNG’s full squad was behind! Looks like that’s not going to turn into a fight.”
Chao Mi let out a breath. “Both sides are playing incredibly cautiously. Their gold is still close, but this next Baron fight might be the turning point. They have to play it perfectly! That just now was a real scare for PNG.”
Li Yin sighed in relief too. “Good thing FR’s vision wasn’t too deep, or if they’d realized Erllit was actually isolated from his team just then, they would’ve instantly focused him down!”
Wei Ye was also shaken by the close call. “Holy crap!! Brother Su, please be careful! If they’d caught you there, we’d be done for!”
Cheng Su replied calmly, “Relax. I know what I’m doing.”
“They’ve all been spotted.”
He recalled the earlier skirmish and confirmed all five opponents were on the upper side of Baron pit. “They’re all there—even top. We’ve got anti-flank wards and cleared vision.”
Following Sui Ning’s pings, he’d already placed key defensive wards.
Sui Ning nodded. “Good.”
Other than that brief encounter, PNG’s vision now only caught a fleeting glimpse—0.5 seconds—of FR’s top laner Vitus.
On the live stream, Meng Xiyue explained for the audience: “Even though PNG’s minimap looks empty right now, those ward spots are crucial—they completely block FR from attempting a flank.”
“That means if FR wants to contest Baron, they’ll have to engage head-on—and all five of them will be fully exposed in PNG’s vision.”
[66666, I was just wondering why Su-bao risked his life to ward there—if Cola had been any bolder, that would’ve been a total explosion]
[Cola’s reflexes were insane though—instinctively Q’d the slow the second he saw him]
[Feels like FR’s gotten strong again—is it just me?]
“No idea who’s doing the shot-calling for PNG… the ward placements don’t look like Erllit’s old style.”
The voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. As soon as Meng Xiyue said it, he seemed to realize something.
This style… who else could it be but Wind?
Cheng Wensheng thought of the same thing, letting out a low, muffled laugh into the mic.
Meng Xiyue fell silent, forcefully changing the subject and saying with clear implication, “Amor, you probably know Erllit better than I do—what do you think?”
Cheng Wensheng immediately stopped laughing, his expression turning cold.
When it came to that little brother who’d inexplicably switched to playing support, he didn’t even want to say a single nice word.
——
After the first round of vision control ended, both teams held steady for nearly a minute.
But wards only last so long. At 19:30, the second wave of vision contest began.
They kept tugging back and forth for half a minute, and at exactly 20 minutes, the terrifying roar of a monster echoed across the canyon.
“Baron’s up——!!” Chao Mi’s voice tightened with excitement. “Both teams have been circling around the pit for over two minutes, clearly neither wants to give it up easily!”
The commentators were tense; the players’ comms were even more chaotic.
“What’s the call?” FR’s top laner Qin Jianglin sounded like a bodyguard, sticking closely to his marksman and support.
Mu Xuesong: “Don’t rush, focus on vision—vision’s the most important thing!”
Tang Yu: “I’ve got Smite. Are we taking Baron first or…?”
“Kill them.” Mu Xuesong didn’t hesitate. “Fanlei’s got Smite too, plus two layers of execute damage. If it gets stolen, we’ll have nowhere to cry. We’ve got the edge in teamfights—just protect our marksman.”
“Do they have all ults up? Call out cooldowns!”
Xu Zhiyi: “Brother Feng… mid’s ult isn’t up yet!”
“Myerii’s bear’s still full, no TP. Everyone else’s up. White Bird’s got Flash and ult—hard to engage, best if we can delete Fan’en first.”
Tang Yu added, “I’ll lock onto Fan’en no matter what. Their whole teamfight revolves around him—if he dies, their jungler’s useless.”
As a veteran jungler, Tang Yu immediately saw the enemy’s core. He knew his role perfectly—if he could trade one-for-one with Fan’en, FR would come out ahead.
The commentator barely dared to breathe. “This situation… I’m scared to even speak. Both teams are still pulling around Baron…”
“FR’s moving toward the pit—what’s it gonna be? Are they starting Baron? By all logic, PNG shouldn’t dare to start first, they can only react to FR!”
Wei Ye sounded nervous. “They’re starting it. Do we engage?”
“Not great timing… my ult’s almost up,” Sui Ning bit his lip instinctively. “Hold on, I’ll go bait some cooldowns first.”
The PNG members froze.
“Huh? …Huh???” Lin Zhaoxu lost it. “No, bro! You’ve got no self-peel! We’re counting on you this fight! Nobody touches my dad!”
Sui Ning: “It’s fine. I’ll see if I can bait out their marksman’s Flash. If we kill the marksman, the fight’s ours.”
Ji Yunyu: “…Alright. I’ll follow up. Be careful.”
“Got it.”
FR grouped near the Baron pit.
They didn’t rush in blindly. The map showed top, marksman, and support on the right side, but mid and jungle hadn’t shown yet.
And just then, the white hem of a monk’s robe swept through the fog of war. For an instant, one of FR’s wards at the jungle entrance caught sight of Fan’en.
“Look at my position!”
Yu Gao spotted it first. The Soul-Piercing Spear - Grier, leapt forward with a Flash + R combo, exactly where Fan’en was.
“OHHHHHHHHHH——!! Gaogao! What is this?! How did he even see that??!”
The commentator shouted, “A sudden Flash-R forward—aimed right into a vision blind spot!!”
But the next moment, the scene didn’t play out the way Yu Gao imagined.
That kill-secured [R – Soul Chain] missed.
…No way. How could that miss? For a second, Yu Gao’s mind went blank.
“Fan’en’s there—Winnnnnnnd——!! Oh. My. God. Wind had Flash too—he dodged it! What kind of reaction time is that?!”
Chao Mi gasped, “I can’t—need an oxygen tank! That play from both carries just styled on nine people—eight players plus me! Even their own teammates didn’t react in time!!”
[Holy sh*t???? What just flew past?? Looked like Spear Bro’s Flash ult, then something else zipped away—that must’ve been Fan’en’s Flash?!]
[No way, Wind’s reactions are inhuman! Is he ex-special forces??]
[That wasn’t just styling on nine people—I think my brain short-circuited!]
[Even his teammates are stunned! Col’s Shadow Hawk just started running in circles—didn’t even know whether to turn right for the fight or left to back him up! That was way too sudden—]
[The highest level of play is when you make your teammates go AFK from shock!]
“But clearly, that missed R-Flash from Gaogao cost him dearly—Col’s already moving in to cover him!!”
At the same time, PNG’s comms erupted in thunderous shouts.
Sui Ning: “It worked — he flashed.”
“You’re literally a god, Feng-bao!!”
No time for more fanboying — Wei Ye charged forward to start the fight, yelling, “AD AD AD AD—!!! Their marksman didn’t Flash!! Who’s watching them?!”
“We’re watching! They’re collapsing in on them, watch out!”
“Damn it, White Bird, watch your positioning… crap, protect our AD, save him save him!”
“Anyone got Ult? Hold on a bit longer!”
While Lin Zhaoxu was being focused, the enemy’s Shadow of Vengeance (Xiaopang/Tang Yu) was quietly hunting for an opening.
Sui Ning kept his eyes glued to Tang Yu, giving him no gap to engage.
But unlike some junglers who stubbornly force bad plays, Tang Yu was decisive and smart — he didn’t hesitate: he turned his Shadow of Vengeance, ulted, and flew straight to Lin Zhaoxu’s side.
“He’s on their AD!” Tang Yu shouted. “We can kill him! We can kill him!”
“They’re scattered, scattered!! AD AD AD AD — watch the AD, damn it, focus the AD!!”
“White Bird’s positioning is terrible, take him first!”
“They used Flash… they used it… damn, get some damage, he’s on a sliver!!”
Xu Zhiyi: “I’m chasing!!”
[FR_Reling (Phantom Trickster) killed PNG_Mior (White Bird)!]
“PNG opened fine, but FR’s comp hits so hard at this timing! Now PNG’s carries die first — damn! Col’s Shadow Hawk position was perfect!”
Mu Xuesong and Yu Gao are truly world-class bot lane—especially Mu Xuesong as the team brain. Faced with PNG’s double pincer, he split the fight with commands, isolating the enemy marksman and handing the right-side skirmish to Xu Zhiyi.
PNG’s marksman is under-farmed, and top lane damage is mediocre. At this moment, only the opponent’s mid-jungle pair can threaten FR’s two carries.
Mu Xuesong’s plan was clear: have top Qin Jianglin come help Yu Gao on the left flank.
As White Bird fell, FR’s top and support arrived to guard Soul-Piercing Spear.
“Left side Wind and Cloud are looking at Gaogao, but FR has two bodyguards for him—hard to cut! Ahh, just a bit more marksman damage! Brother Spear keeps dealing damage!”
[FR_Reling (Phantom Trickster) killed PNG_Myerii (Thunderfury)!]
[FR_Reling (Phantom Trickster) is on a killing spree!]
[FR_Gaogao (Soul-Piercing Spear) killed PNG_Erllit (Radiant Goddess)!]
[PNG_Wind (Specter of Shadow) killed FR_Gaogao (Soul-Piercing Spear)!]
[PNG_Wind (Wraith) is Dominating!]
“Sick, sick, wave after wave!”
“One wave? It’s only a few minutes in and the enemy mid-jungle are still alive! Take Dragon now, we can do it!”
With those system messages, the picture clarified.
Chao Mi, who had been favoring PNG, was in despair: “Ahh, damn! They got punished 1-for-3! PNG only has Wind and Cloud left alive, FR lost just Gaogao…”
“FR’s starting Dragon! Xiaopang’s HP isn’t great but four people can tank it—this Dragon’s theirs. Reling’s holding the entrance.”
“What should PNG do? Better clear the wave or they’ll face Dragon-buffed minions next wave… Wind and Cloud, are you two not leaving?!”
Sharp-eyed caster Li Yin fell silent for a moment, then spoke quietly: “I noticed something — before that fight Wind’s ult was about 25 seconds from ready, and now it’s up…”
At the same time, Sui Ning sent his ult-ready ping in team chat.
[PNG_Wind] signals that R — Shadows Upon Shadows is ready!
The black-haired youth smiled and asked, “Can we still play this out?”
Ji Yuny’s lips curved.
[PNG_Cloud] pings to attack enemy hero [FR_Xiaopang].
“You tell me.”
——
“The marksman’s down, FR’s Dragon speed isn’t super fast…”
Hearing Li Yin’s note, Chao Mi also looked at cooldowns
He got excited again: “No way. PNG’s last two alive aren’t leaving? They actually want to contest?”
On screen, Shadow of Vengeance clawed at the Dragon.
“The mid-jungle are still alive — watch them,” Tang Yu said cautiously. “I’ll watch Dragon HP.”
They’d fought well, and taking Dragon would be perfect — if it gets stolen, it would be brutal.
“Why is this Dragon so slow?”
Mu Xuesong frowned.
His eyes flicked to the upper-left mini-map, and he suddenly shouted, “They’re coming, triangle brush!”
“Kill first, kill first! Take out Fanlei — he’s got Smite!”
“Stop! Stop hitting the Dragon!”
Xu Zhiyi shouted nervously, “Watch out for Fan’en—his ultimate is ready!”
As if on perfect cue, in the very instant he spoke, a dense black shadow spilled across every patch of ground that could be stepped on. Countless Children of the Void staggered out from the darkness.
Xu Zhiyi and the Phantom Trickster both looked up in alarm.
Above the Dragon Pit wall, Fan’en stood high and imposing, gazing down at them. The storm whipped up by the Dragon’s roar tossed his white monk robes, revealing bloodstains on the golden embroidery at the hem.
Everyone clearly heard his solemn declaration:
[The source of all things is chaos—and destruction.]
“Wind!!” Chao Mi cried out, voice bursting with excitement. “PNG isn’t backing off—Fan’en activated his ultimate! Xiaopang’s HP is dangerously low—Fanlei marks him instantly with E—”
“They can still fight!!”
“With the bond buff, the brothers’ combo damage is insane! Fanlei can even refresh his cooldowns with the shades summoned from Fan’en’s ultimate—that’s why their earlier fights without it were so rough!”
The masked assassin met the gaze of the Shadow of Vengeance.
—or perhaps they didn’t. In the instant the dagger sliced through the air, the silent assassin had no time to search for the eyes hidden within that thick mist.
[PNG_Cloud (Shadowbane) has slain FR_Xiaopang (Shadow of Vengeance)!]
“Shit, I got one-shotted! Watch the Dragon!” Tang Yu gasped.
Beside him, Xu Zhiyi grew tense—he had to find a way for Fran to take down that shadow-wielding mage quickly. That man was the greatest variable in this match.
But his assassin brother lurking in the darkness gave her no chance.
Fran dared not act rashly. After all, she was just a fragile mage—one empowered strike from Fanlei could end her instantly.
“Back, back, back! Kite out! Xiao Yi, watch yourself—don’t let Fanlei burst you!”
Seeing Xu Zhiyi trapped out of position, Mu Xuesong made a snap decision: “Disengage and let the Dragon heal—enemy jungler’s still alive, and he’s got Smite!”
“Damn it, how does that mid still have ult up?!”
“…Didn’t we just say his ult came off cooldown?”
“This is bad—so bad. I swear, this Peerless Swordsman is a useless hero—can’t even touch anyone!”
“Forget the Dragon, leave it! Don’t die for it!”
FR pulled out of the Dragon Pit—but Sui Ning and Ji Yunyu refused to let them go.
Mu Xuesong sighed, “Fine, let him go!”
[PNG_Cloud (Shadowbane) has slain FR_Col (Shadow Hawk)!]
[Double Kill!]
[PNG_Cloud (Shadowbane) is on a Killing Spree!]
With Mu Xuesong covering their retreat, Qin Jianglin and Xu Zhiyi barely escaped with a sliver of health.
“Cloud—!! At the critical moment, he stood up!!”
Chao Mi pounded the desk in excitement. “That double kill was huge! PNG was about to lose both heads and Dragon—it would’ve been over! But their mid-jungle duo turned it around 2v4! And they kept the Dragon alive!”
Backstage, Chen Chen finally exhaled in relief.
That fight had way too many twists—his poor heart could barely take it.
----------
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