Against the Algorithm

Chapter 34: When Want Becomes Intention

The war room was packed as usual—papers, laptop screens, and stray water bottles scattered across the long meeting table as Rui and Kwon paced through the usual motions of mid-season planning. The whiteboard behind them already held early bracket stats and champion rotations, with Pang halfway through munching on sunflower seeds and Yue spinning a pen like he was preparing to stab someone if the meeting dragged on too long.

Lu Sicheng leaned back in his chair, arms crossed loosely over his chest, eyes narrowed in that unreadable way of his—one ear to the room, the other focused entirely on the sound of footsteps approaching down the hall. He didn't have to look to know who it was. Because the door creaked softly, and there she was.

Yao stepped in quietly, clad in her usual oversized ZGDX sweater, the sleeves tugged over her hands, platinum hair falling in a sleek curtain over one shoulder. She hesitated only for a beat, then moved toward the table with something clenched in her hands, a folder, thick with color-coded tabs and annotated printouts.

Kwon paused mid-sentence, blinking as the room shifted its attention toward her. Rui arched a brow but didn't speak.

"I have something," she said softly, then cleared her throat and stood a little straighter. "About KING."

Instant focus.

She placed the folder on the table and flipped it open with quiet efficiency. "A'Guang—their Captain and Jungler—ambushes nearly every time from brush positions near the Midlane. His rotations aren't random, they're timed. He uses the bot-side river bush at 2:25 and the topside path by 4:10. Always Midlane first."

Ming, blinking, leaned forward. "He's going to target me."

"Yes," Yao said simply, not sugarcoating it. "Which is why you and Lao K need to team up."

Lao K blinked, then straightened, interest piqued. "Bait him?"

"No," Yao answered, flipping to a second page with clipped calm, her hazel eyes sharp and fixed. "Turn his tactic against him. Use his confidence. Let him think you're unaware. You both need to collapse on him before he even reaches the wave. Cut his rhythm, disorient his control of tempo."

There was silence.

Sharp. Focused.

Until Sicheng—who hadn't spoken yet—leaned forward slowly, eyes locked on her, one brow arching with calm approval. "You've mapped all his rotations?"

She nodded.

"Tracked his habits across how many matches?"

"Six full sets. Eight total games," she replied. "I overlaid his pathing. The pattern's there. He's aggressive, but he doesn't improvise well under pressure. If Lao K shifts his route early and delays the second camp rotation by six seconds—"

Kwon, who had been quiet, suddenly let out a low whistle. "She's not wrong."

Lao K leaned over the printout, eyes scanning the data. "She's damn right."

Pang blinked. "Our Tiny Boss Bunny came in with a plan."

Yue, ever the first to needle, grinned. "Guess we're about to turn A'Guang's little bush ambush into a full-blown thorny nightmare."

Lao Mao cracked a smirk. "Let's make sure he regrets ever stepping foot near Midlane."

And Sicheng?

He watched her—silent, still—but his hand reached out without a word and flipped to the next page she had prepared, his gaze scanning the details like he was already memorizing every line. The corner of his mouth twitched upward. She had just declared war and handed them the blueprint to win it.