The Doctor said I Have to be A Kept Man - Chapter 16

The Xingxiu coach rubbed his shiny forehead and sighed. “We don’t have any points pressure, so just go out there and play freely.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sound more inspiring, but over the past week of daily scrims against Chaoge, they had consistently won a few and lost many, many, many, many.

The Xingxiu members replied, “Understood.”

Both sides entered the game.

Lin Huo maneuvered his Ice Arrow toward the lane, still puzzled. “Why did they only ban the Melee Mage? Doesn’t Brother Chi’s Puppeteer crush them even harder?”

Lu Lu thought for a moment and said, “In the recent scrims, Brother Chi hasn’t used the Melee Mage much. They probably haven’t figured out how to counter it yet.”

“So, you’re saying because they’ve played against the Puppeteer more often, they think they’ve figured it out?” Lin Huo asked.

Lu Lu grinned. “I didn’t say that.”

The camera first focused on the mid-lane.

Commentator Emerald said, “Before today’s match, many fans were focused on this matchup. It was supposed to be the ultimate showdown between the genius rookie and the veteran Mid-lane King. But to everyone’s surprise, both mid-laners have chosen control-type mages.”

Cabbage added, “Control mages lack burst damage and are more team-dependent. It looks like we won’t be seeing that ‘ultimate duel’ between mid-laners this round.”

“Indeed, the mid-lane is very peaceful right now; neither has made a move…” Emerald suddenly paused and spoke quickly: “Wait! Chi Fou’s positioning is suddenly aggressive! He has no teammates nearby, and the Xingxiu jungler hasn’t shown on the map. How does he dare to be so bold?”

“Xiao Ruan?” Jin Zhu noticed the sudden movement and was startled for a split second, immediately wanting to abandon his half-finished jungle camp to help.

Chi Ruanfan said, “Don’t come over. I’m just teasing him.”

“Mn.” Jin Zhu, who had just stepped out of the Bear Pit, turned back and finished off the bears.

The commentary continued: “Chi Fou releases a silk trap to block Heart-Moon Fox’s path, following up with a control chain. Heart-Moon Fox, marked as a puppet, walks right into the trap! A perfect skill sequence, but Chi Fou is just a control mage; he can’t actually kill Heart-Moon Fox solo. Once the effects wear off, he’ll be countered.”

“Heart-Moon Fox burned his Flash!” Emerald shouted. “He didn’t choose to fight back—he Flashed away!”

Cabbage realized what happened. “Chi Fou wasn’t trying to kill him; he was scaring him to force out the Flash! This was a trap set by Chi Fou. He intentionally overextended to make Heart-Moon Fox believe Jin Yi was nearby, forcing the panic Flash?”

“Jin Yi didn’t even move! Heart-Moon Fox was totally baited!” Emerald lamented. “Isn’t Chi Fou a rookie? How is he as cunning as an old fox?”

Cabbage noted, “It’s very strange for Heart-Moon Fox to be baited like that. He didn’t even see a shadow of Jin Yi, yet he Flashed so decisively.”

At the Chaoge bench, Chi Ruanfan said cheerfully, “Heart-Moon Fox’s Flash is gone. Let’s gank him in a bit.”

During this week of scrims, he and Jin Zhu had worn their “Couple” tags, and they truly played like an inseparable pair. If he was mid, Jin Zhu would gank mid five times in three minutes. If Jin Zhu invaded or rotated, he was always right behind him. This had clearly created a psychological shadow for Heart-Moon Fox. The poor kid had developed a conditioned reflex.

Hearing that the Flash was down, Jin Zhu understood Chi Ruanfan’s intent and replied, “Okay.”

The first game was won by Chaoge with zero pressure. It wasn’t necessarily that Chaoge’s players were vastly superior to Xingxiu, but rather that Chi Ruanfan refused to play according to the “scrim logic,” completely throwing Xingxiu off their rhythm.

As the match ended, Heart-Moon Fox stared at the results screen in a daze. What exactly did we learn from studying them all week? None of it applied! He had specifically practiced the Array Master to counter the Puppeteer, only for Chi Ruanfan to shift his style entirely.

“I know where the problem is,” the Xingxiu jungler said.

Everyone looked at him. Heart-Moon Fox asked, “Where?”

The jungler said, “Chi Fou and Jin Yi’s ‘Couple’ tag is gone. That means they broke up and aren’t clinging to each other anymore.”

“…”

Heart-Moon Fox: “Are you serious?”

“Ahem,” the jungler chuckled nervously. “Just lightening the mood.”

Game 2: The Debut of the Twins

The second game was about to start. The twins came on stage, replacing Lin Huo and Lu Lu.

“Whoa, this is my first time playing in front of so many people,” Chaoyang said, rubbing his hands excitedly.

Zhaoxing put on her headset and began meticulously checking every game setting.

Coach Flying Cloud told them, “Don’t be nervous. Just play the way you crushed them in the scrims.”

“Don’t worry, Coach,” Chaoyang smiled. “We might be wary of other teams, but we don’t fear Xingxiu.” After dozens of scrims, they knew exactly how Xingxiu played.

The screens shifted—the next round had begun.

“We are now entering the pick-and-ban phase,” Emerald said. “In the last game, we saw Chi Fou psychologically suppress Heart-Moon Fox. I wonder what surprises they have for us this time?”

“Wait,” Cabbage said in shock. “Xingxiu has banned the Melee Mage, the Puppeteer, and the Array Master. All three ban slots were used on Chaoge’s mid-laner, Chi Fou!”

“Unbelievable. Every class Chi Fou has used on stage is now banned.”

Emerald added, “I think this is a bit much. Several of Jin Yi’s signature junglers have been left open especially the Wind Assassin. How do they dare let that through?”

Chaoge immediately locked in the Wind Assassin. “What will the mid-laner pick? Chi Fou has to bring out something new.”

Chi Ruanfan said, “I’ll go with the Lightning Mage. I played it with Bamboo and the others recently.”

“Lightning Mage?!” Chaoyang was stunned. “We were playing for fun in a casual lobby! Can a thing like the Lightning Mage actually be used on the pro stage?”

The rest of the team shared the same doubt. The Lightning Mage? That hero didn’t even show up in mid-tier ranked games, let alone the pro circuit. The coach thought he was joking. With the Lightning Mage’s lack of mobility, a jungler would delete him the moment they closed in.

“Why not?” Chi Ruanfan asked. “The Lightning Mage has insane burst damage. Its ability to delete someone instantly is top-tier among all classes.”

“Theoretically, yes,” Chaoyang countered, “but can its skills actually hit anyone?” The Lightning Mage’s crowd control was slow, and its ultimate was sluggish; any high-level player could dodge it.

“You guys saw me play it, didn’t you? Of course it can hit.” Chi Ruanfan gave Jin Zhu’s sleeve a little tug.

Jin Zhu was silent for a moment. “Are you confident? The difference between a match and casual mode is huge.”

“I understand matches better than anyone. Trust me,” Chi Ruanfan said.

Jin Zhu looked at the coach. Flying Cloud hesitated, then sighed. “Fine. I respect the player’s choice.”

When the Lightning Mage appeared on the screen, Chaoyang covered his face. “It’s over, it’s over. My mental state is collapsing.”

The commentators were floored. “Lightning Mage! Am I seeing this right? The Lightning Mage in a pro match?!”

Emerald lamented, “Incredible. It’s been several seasons since we last saw a Lightning Mage on this stage.”

Cabbage checked the data. “The last time a Lightning Mage was picked was 1,101 days ago. That’s three and a half seasons ago.”

The crowd was in an uproar. “Is he crazy? I’d get flamed to death for picking Lightning Mage in a 2,000-point game!” “Does this rookie just not know how to play anything else?” “Chaoge is finished.”

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