Chapter 125: The Internal Competition

The next day, Jiang Zheng attended his classes as usual before heading to an Internet café, where he rented a private room.

His official livestream was scheduled to begin tomorrow. Today’s match had been arranged with the platform as a test before the stream went live.

Jiang Zheng understood that the platform wanted to assess his skills and might make further arrangements based on his performance.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu, a member of the platform’s staff, said, “Supervisor, he contacted me. He says he’s ready to start the match at any time.”

“Is Wang Hong ready?” the supervisor asked.

Lin Yu quickly went to check. Soon, he returned and said, “Supervisor, Wang Hong is ready as well. He says we can begin whenever we like.”

Wang Hong was a professional player the platform had secretly hired. Among professional players, he was considered to be of average ability.

They had thought long and hard before choosing Wang Hong for the test.

They had discussed the matter among themselves. Jiang Zheng was willing to put up one million yuan as prize money, which clearly meant he had great confidence in his own skills.

Someone without confidence would never dare to offer a million yuan as prize money. Otherwise, he might lose before the event even gained any attention.

They did not believe that someone capable of putting up a million yuan was simply foolish.

After analyzing the situation, they concluded that Jiang Zheng must have considerable faith in his own abilities—perhaps even enough to defeat some professional players.

Otherwise, he would not have made such an arrangement.

That was why they had no intention of inviting a low-tier professional player. Such a player might lose to Jiang Zheng, rendering the test meaningless.

The true purpose of this match was to determine Jiang Zheng’s upper limit and find out exactly where he stood among professional players.

Only after understanding his level would they know how to arrange suitable opponents for him in the future.

Since a genuine match was possible, it was naturally better to have a genuine match. Fixing a game carried enormous risks. If anyone saw through it, the consequences would be devastating.

“Tell them to begin. All of you, watch carefully and determine exactly what level Jiang Zheng is at,” the supervisor said.

“Yes, Supervisor. I’ll arrange it right away,” Lin Yu replied.

Jiang Zheng was drinking iced black tea at the Internet café when he saw the message Lin Yu had sent him. His whole body immediately tensed.

The match was about to begin. He simply had no idea what kind of opponent they had found for him.

Lin Yu invited Jiang Zheng into a room. When Jiang Zheng entered, he saw that someone else was already inside, though the account itself gave no clue as to who it belonged to.

The two entered the game and both chose the middle lane.

After selecting their characters, the match began.

At first, they merely tested each other. Then their first clash began.

…

“Supervisor, Jiang Zheng is quite impressive. His positioning is excellent. He actually fought Wang Hong to a draw in the first exchange,” Lin Yu said.

“Don’t rush to judgment. Keep watching,” the supervisor replied.

They had already expected Jiang Zheng to be skilled. What they did not know was exactly how skilled he was.

On the screen, both players concentrated on last-hitting minions. Their accuracy was astonishing; nearly every attack secured a minion.

After reaching level two, they began their second exchange.

This time, Jiang Zheng gradually gained the upper hand.

“Impressive! He almost solo-killed Wang Hong,” Lin Yu exclaimed in surprise.

“Don’t get excited yet. Keep watching,” the supervisor said gravely.

Jiang Zheng’s skill had exceeded their expectations. At only level two, he had nearly killed Wang Hong alone.

Jiang Zheng did not know that his opponent was a professional player, but he could sense that the other man was extremely skilled. This was the first time he had ever laned against someone at such a high level, and he was not entirely accustomed to it.

But little by little, he adapted. His movements became smoother as well.

Many of the tricks Wang Hong used were quickly seen through. Once Wang Hong tried the same tactic a second time, it no longer worked against Jiang Zheng.

On the other side, Wang Hong was in his dormitory. He had accepted this job during his free time.

At first, he had been completely confident and never believed he would lose. Among professional players, he was considered to be of average standing.

However, being average among professionals did not mean being weak. To think otherwise would be a serious mistake.

Among the professional players produced by nearly two hundred million gamers across the world, someone in the middle of the rankings was certainly no amateur.

Wang Hong had originally assumed this would be an easy victory. But as the match continued, he began to realize that something was wrong. His opponent’s mechanics were no worse than those of a professional player.

What was more frightening was Jiang Zheng’s awareness. Whenever Wang Hong used a tactic, Jiang Zheng could predict it in advance the next time he tried it.

That was terrifying.

Twice, Wang Hong nearly fell into traps created by his own tactics.

Fortunately, his reactions were fast enough. At the last moment, he changed his approach and escaped.

But each successive retreat placed Wang Hong at an increasing disadvantage.

After gaining an advantage, Jiang Zheng began freezing the minion wave and pinning Wang Hong beneath his tower, refusing to let him step out and farm.

Unable to collect the minions, Wang Hong could not earn gold, and the economic gap began to widen.

Neither player had yet returned to base, so their equipment was still identical for the moment. Even so, there was no denying that Wang Hong was now at a disadvantage.

“Supervisor, I have a feeling Wang Hong is going to lose. Jiang Zheng has him trapped beneath the tower, and he can’t even farm,” Lin Yu said.

“As a professional player, Wang Hong shouldn’t be defeated so easily. Look—Jiang Zheng has failed to kill him several times, and Wang Hong escaped each time. I believe that, as a professional, Wang Hong must have a way to fight back,” the supervisor replied.

He still insisted that Wang Hong would win.

Lin Yu secretly curled his lip. Anyone with eyes could see that Jiang Zheng had the advantage, yet the supervisor continued to stubbornly deny it.

Lin Yu was also astonished. He had expected Jiang Zheng to be very skilled, but he had never imagined he would be this formidable.

Wang Hong was a well-known professional player in the country, yet Jiang Zheng had forced him beneath his tower so completely that he could not even collect minions.

Seeing that he truly had no way to farm, Wang Hong returned to base to recover.

When Jiang Zheng saw him leave, he had no intention of diving beneath the tower for a kill. His own health was not in particularly good condition either.

Since Wang Hong had recalled, Jiang Zheng chose to do the same.

As long as Wang Hong was unable to farm, Jiang Zheng would not be losing anything by returning.

After both players replenished their supplies and returned to the lane, a battle erupted almost immediately.

Wang Hong wanted to force Jiang Zheng back and slowly recover from his disadvantage. The difference in their economies was not yet especially large, and he still had a chance to fight back.

Jiang Zheng, however, intended to kill Wang Hong outright and lay the foundation for victory. His advantage was already clearly greater.

During this clash, Wang Hong discovered that he simply could not defeat Jiang Zheng. He tried to escape, but there was nowhere for him to run.

Jiang Zheng had more gold and an extra item. That single item was enough to extinguish Wang Hong’s last hope of escape.

As the gap between them continued to widen, Jiang Zheng claimed two more kills, and Wang Hong ultimately suffered defeat.

The match was decided by either the destruction of the first tower or the acquisition of three kills. Whoever accomplished one of those objectives first would win.

Jiang Zheng did not destroy the first tower, but he reached three kills first and won the opening game.

He and the platform had agreed on a best-of-three format. Having taken the first game, Jiang Zheng needed only one more victory to win the match.