Chapter Fifty-Five: The Ranked Squad

Yang Zhenwu lay on the bed as Feng Yisheng spoke, “Master, just relax your whole body. In a moment, you’ll feel a faint sensation of blood flowing within you. Don’t be afraid—that’s the effect of the acupuncture.”

“Alright, young man, I’m already in my seventies and have lived long enough. Go ahead and treat me as boldly as you wish,” Yang Zhenwu laughed heartily.

...

Half an hour later, Feng Yisheng followed the master.

“This… how is this possible? It must be fake,” Director Liu exclaimed incredulously.

“What do you mean by that, Director Liu? Are you suggesting that I colluded with this young man to deceive you?” Yang Zhenwu retorted.

“Sir, that’s not what I meant. It’s just… the changes in your internal organs are simply beyond belief,” Director Liu was still unable to accept how much Yang Zhenwu’s condition had improved.

“If the results from your instruments are correct, then it means my health has indeed improved. Otherwise, are you suggesting there’s something wrong with the equipment you brought?” Yang Zhenwu pressed.

“Of course not…” Director Liu had that suspicion in his mind, but didn’t dare voice it. What a joke—he had been treating Mr. Yang for the past five years, and this medical equipment, worth over ten million, had been purchased on his recommendation. He’d even received a million as commission. Not to mention, every three months the equipment needed repairs, each costing tens of thousands. It had been a lucrative source of income for him.

So, when he heard that Feng Yisheng charged ten million for a single treatment, he naturally assumed the young man was a fraud.

As the saying goes, cutting off someone’s livelihood is like making an enemy. Now, in Director Liu’s eyes, Feng Yisheng was nothing less than his nemesis.

...

“Mr. Yang, for the sake of your health, I must insist you go to Changnan City First People’s Hospital for a comprehensive examination.”

“Ah… Director Liu, I’m just an old man. I don’t want to be tossed around any further. Since this young man has cured me, I’ll continue to let him treat me,” Yang Zhenwu replied. “As for you, if you’re unwilling for him to treat me, you’re free to leave…” He had issued his order for Liu to go.

“Well then! Don’t regret this, sir,” Director Liu spat out, his words venomous.

“Wait a moment, Director Liu. Aren’t you forgetting something?” Feng Yisheng called out just as Liu was about to storm off in anger.

“What is it?”

“Director Liu, you should honor the wager we made just now,” Feng Yisheng said leisurely.

“You brat, you really think you’re something, don’t you?” Now that Yang Zhenwu had torn through all pretense, Director Liu’s true colors showed.

...

“So, Director Liu is a man who doesn’t keep his word. No matter—I wouldn’t want a disciple with such poor character anyway,” Feng Yisheng said calmly.

“Hmph…” Director Liu turned and left without another word.

...

Turning to Yang Zhenwu and his family, Feng Yisheng said, “Master, let’s settle the treatment fee.”

“That’s no problem. Third, pay the young man a million,” Yang Zhenwu said with a broad smile. “Why don’t you stay a while longer? Or do you look down on my hospitality?”

“Not at all, Master. I just have something to attend to this afternoon,” Feng Yisheng replied.

“I see… I had hoped to invite you to a meal, but since you’re busy, Third, hurry up and transfer the money to him,” Yang Zhenwu said.

...

Later, at the internet café where he’d arranged to meet Zhou Chuyi, the five of them once again formed a team.

However, this time Feng Yisheng didn’t play AD; he chose the support role.

He picked Blitzcrank, the Steam Golem.

There was good reason for this. He’d realized that playing AD made it difficult to open up the game, so he opted for an initiator support.

In a Platinum-ranked match, Blitzcrank was the best at creating opportunities—though Thresh could be even better, Blitzcrank was simply more aggressive and explosive.

...

On the loading screen, Feng Yisheng examined both teams’ lineups.

His blue side: Top—Kennen; Jungle—Amumu; Mid—Vladimir; AD—Tristana; Support—Blitzcrank.

The enemy purple side: Top—Darius; Jungle—Lee Sin; Mid—Yasuo; AD—Ezreal; Support—Morgana.

Seeing the opposing lineup, Feng Yisheng almost passed out—though, of course, he was joking. He hadn’t noticed during champion select, but now he realized their comp, though a bit short-ranged, was perfectly equipped to counter Blitzcrank. He couldn’t pull the top laner in team fights, Lee Sin as jungler was no good to grab, Yasuo’s wind wall made Blitzcrank’s hook useless, Ezreal’s E had a shorter cooldown than his hook after six items, and Morgana’s Black Shield rendered most control abilities ineffective.

Was it really possible to be countered this hard?

...

The match began, and perhaps because they were a five-man premade and had Blitzcrank, their team was more aggressive in level-one fights.

The five of them instinctively headed towards the opponent’s blue buff. Sure enough, the enemy Ezreal got cocky, threw out a Q, and before he realized it, Blitzcrank had hooked him in. They pummeled him down to half health in an instant, forcing his Flash.

Then, three of them—jungler, AD, and Feng Yisheng himself—flashed after him, while Vladimir had no Flash available. The enemy Ezreal, as was common in the current meta, had brought Teleport instead of Heal and was left with no escape. He was killed on the spot.

It seemed the enemy had wanted a level-one fight too, but their Morgana had only leveled Q and simply tossed it out as a token gesture before retreating.

“This Blitzcrank—damn it! Why didn’t you all come with me for the level-one fight?” one of the five sitting together in the internet café barked at his teammates.

“You’re the one who got cocky. How is that our fault?”

“No big deal. That Blitzcrank just took advantage because I didn’t have E at level one. He got lucky.”

“Alright, we’re a climbing squad—are we really worried about a Blitzcrank?”

...

Feng Yisheng was unaware that he’d run into a rank-boosting squad—a group of five skilled players teaming up to dominate ranked games. This usually made the matches one-sided, but for Feng Yisheng, it just made things a bit tougher—nothing more.

Tristana had secured first blood, which was good. Ideally, mid or jungle would get the early kills, but it didn’t matter much. After buying an attack speed dagger, they returned to lane.

Meanwhile, the enemy Morgana and Ezreal, both having leveled Q, lacked wave-clear. Quickly, Feng Yisheng’s side pushed to level two. Without hesitation, he and Tristana went aggressive past the minion wave, but this time their opponents played cautiously. Ezreal farmed from afar with Q, and both sides soon reached level three.

Because the blue side kept pushing, Lee Sin was already on his way to gank.