The fourth match began. O Lan controlled his familiar character, swallowing nervously. Suddenly, he spoke in the team voice channel.
“Shixi Ge, I have an idea for how we should play this round…”

On the audience side, everyone’s attention was once again drawn to the match.

Commentator A: “It seems like ST’s O Lan is a bit traumatized from the last game. He’s playing overly cautious, and several jungle camps have already been taken by the opponents.”
Commentator B: “Let’s give the rookie some understanding!”

Commentator A: “ST’s O Lan just encountered WQ’s jungler and support head-on. Perfect positioning—he landed all his abilities! But unfortunately, his early-game damage is too low. He’s low on health now. He’s used Flash to escape, but they’re chasing him!”

Commentator B: “WQ clearly doesn’t want to let this opportunity go to waste. They’ve used Flash as well to secure First Blood. ST’s O Lan is hanging by a thread—one basic attack and he’s done!”

Commentator A: “Ahhh, they’re catching up—wait!”

The “First Blood” banner appeared on the big screen, followed shortly by the “Double Kill” sound effect. WQ’s jungler and support had been killed by ST’s marksman and support.

Commentator A: “…What a save. It seems the marksman anticipated that O Lan couldn’t hold the jungle, so they came to farm there instead. They accidentally ended up securing two kills.”

Commentator B disagreed. “Not so sure about that… I haven’t seen a professional game where the marksman and support come to jungle farm.”

Commentator A, surprised: “Are you saying O Lan planned it on purpose?”
Commentator B: “Not certain. Let’s keep watching.”

What followed on the battlefield became unexpectedly comical. O Lan repeatedly “coincidentally” bumped into WQ heroes in the bushes. After depleting their health with a skill combo, he would retreat across the map at low health. WQ, having targeted O Lan so effectively in the last round, chased him instinctively.

And then, out of nowhere, ST’s other players would leap out and pick up the kills.

Once, twice—it could be chalked up to luck.

But three or four times?

Everyone watching: “…”

Commentator A: “He’s doing it on purpose! Knowing he’s being targeted, he’s simply turning the tables, using himself as bait to lure the enemy into traps for his teammates to kill.”

Commentator B: “But that’s way too risky. If he can’t farm properly, ST will end up in a 4v5 situation like last game.”

Commentator A: “Have you noticed something odd about ST’s support? His build doesn’t look right.”

Commentator B immediately asked for the camera to switch to ST’s support. Upon seeing that his latest item was a magic damage critical strike item, he fell silent.
“ST’s support… surely he’s not building as a mage, is he?”

In HW, hero roles aren’t strictly limited by their official designations. Depending on item builds, a hero’s actual role can differ greatly from its intended one. For example, the game once introduced a hero with significant mobility, officially labeled as a mid-laner. However, players discovered that it performed exceptionally well in the jungle, sparking a trend of using it as a jungler. Even so, the official role remained as “mid-laner.”

In this match, ST’s strategy was unique: O Lan, who was in the jungler role, hadn’t built jungle items but had instead opted for support items. Meanwhile, ST’s support had built mage items. This essentially meant ST was running a dual-mage setup with jungle-support dynamics.

Because WQ underestimated O Lan, they only focused on chasing him down, completely oblivious to this switch in strategy. O Lan used himself as bait to trade kills on the enemy’s damage-dealers, allowing ST’s two mages to grow into powerhouses. By the time WQ realized, it was too late—the two ST mages were fully farmed, and WQ had no way to recover.

Commentator A: “Whose idea was this strategy? It’s dirty but brilliant. Look at the gold difference—ST is miles ahead of WQ.”
Commentator B: “I wondered why O Lan chose a hero with healing skills to jungle. It was premeditated!”

With such a massive economic advantage, ST transitioned into team fights, crushing WQ with their superior resources.

This match ended in a victory for ST!

ST fans erupted in cheers, chanting O Lan’s name, as if they hadn’t just been shouting for his substitution moments ago.

Meanwhile, the live-stream chat was filled with praise for O Lan, though some messages revealed earlier worries:
– “I was so scared. I thought he’d lose again and get flamed by ST’s fans.”
– “I was so anxious I was biting my nails. We’ve seen O Lan grow step by step, and it hurt when he got booed earlier.”
– “Yeah, it was tough to watch. Thankfully, someone in the crowd stabilized the fans by shouting encouragement.”
– “It was a young woman, and her voice sounded familiar.”
– “I thought so too.”
– “Wait, isn’t that Wan? The girl who duo-queued with O Lan on stream before? She’s here at the event.”
– “She’s the Wild God’s girlfriend, so it’s not surprising for her to be here.”

Many spectators were watching the match both live and through the stream, and when they saw these comments, excitement rippled through the crowd.
“The Wild God’s girlfriend is here? Where?!”

—

The score was now tied 2–2. The upcoming fifth and final match would decide the Fall Championship.

In ST’s break room, the coach anxiously scratched his head.
“The strategy worked just now because WQ underestimated us. This time, they won’t fall for it. If we play it safe, we’ll be at a disadvantage.”

Kuang Ye nodded, fully aware of the situation. Suddenly, he said, “I’ll play in the next match.”

The coach’s face lit up with hope, but seeing Kuang Ye’s hand, he quickly shook his head.
“No, no way. Your hand won’t hold up.”

Kuang Ye replied firmly, “It will. Give me a cortisone shot.^[1] Cortisone shots are injections that can help relieve pain, swelling and irritation in a specific area of your body.”