ARML CH45

After Chi Shuo returned to the Tianhuan base, he intensely prepared for Ye Shaoyang’s entry into the team. Although Ye Shaoyang had confirmed he would sign with Tianhuan, as long as the contract wasn’t signed and sealed, he couldn’t completely relax.

What if the cooked duck flew away and was intercepted halfway?

So he had to urge the club to hurry up with the paperwork.

He didn’t encounter any difficulties on Qu Jiang’s end. Coach Lin’s persuasive skills were top-notch: “I think you can better utilize your strengths in the Support position, and it’ll be better for the team.” “Next season, Cheng Xing will be starting. He is an impulsive rookie, and I can only be at ease if a veteran player is watching over him. You are the most suitable candidate.”

Qu Jiang happily agreed.

So, when Chi Shuo went to find him during mealtime, Qu Jiang smiled good-naturedly, “Don’t worry, Captain Chi. You were willing to become a utility Jungler for the team, so of course I am also willing to make adjustments for the squad. To be honest, the pressure in the Mid Laner position is really high and requires a lot of mechanical operations. Playing the Support role is actually more relaxing for me.”

Chi Shuo gently patted Qu Jiang’s shoulder and said, “It’s best that you think this way.” He knew that Qu Jiang, having debuted from Tianhuan’s youth camp, had a deep affection for the Tianhuan team and wouldn’t harbor resentment just because of a role swap.

Qu Jiang asked curiously, “At first, I thought the team would poach a powerful Support. Since it’s decided that I’ll play Support, the Mid Laner position is vacant. Is the coaching staff planning to poach someone from the outside, or pick someone from the second team and youth camp?”

Chi Shuo replied, “We’re poaching a starter from the outside. The five on the second team will all be substitutes next season.”

Old Nie and A-Ning had already completed their departure procedures. When they came to the cafeteria to eat, they happened to overhear their conversation. Old Nie ran over with a chuckle to gossip, “I heard from Xiao Jiang that he’s switching to Support. Are we getting a new Mid Laner next season? Which team are we poaching from?”

Song Yuning also asked curiously, “The league transfer window isn’t open yet, so even if we poach someone directly, we can’t sign a contract. Did we contact someone in advance to transfer over when the time comes?”

Chi Shuo said, “He’s not a pro player, he’s a Streamer.”

Song Yuning and Nie Cheng exchanged a blank look: “A Streamer?”

Qu Jiang said, “I haven’t watched game Streamers in a long time. Xiao Wei and Mumu from Whale TV, and Brother Cabbage from Douding TV—none of these people can play professionally, right? Could it be someone new who just popped up?”

Chi Shuo didn’t plan on hiding it and lowered his voice, “A rookie Streamer on Whale, named Xiao Bai.”

Old Nie was extremely curious, “Xiao Bai? Is he really good at the game?”

Coach Lin walked over holding his meal tray with a beaming smile, “Old Nie, remember to buy a set of women’s clothing in advance.”

Old Nie was bewildered, “What women’s clothing?”

Qu Jiang unlocked his phone and played the recording of his bold declaration from that night.

Old Nie laughed out loud, “The premise for me wearing women’s clothing is that you guys win the World Championship. The problem is, you guys…” He suddenly froze, looking at Coach Lin in disbelief. “Could it be, it’s actually possible next season?”

Chi Shuo and Coach Lin exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

Chi Shuo said seriously, “I can’t say it’s one hundred percent, but there is hope.”

Old Nie slapped his thigh excitedly, “That’s wonderful! Streamer Xiao Bai, right? I’ll go drop him some gifts later to welcome our new teammate to Tianhuan!”

Coach Lin tapped the table, “Keep a low profile, this matter must be kept secret.”

Old Nie hurriedly mimed zipping his lips shut, “I know.”

Chi Shuo looked at Coach Lin and asked softly, “What did the bosses say?”

Coach Lin smiled broadly, “There will be a shareholders’ meeting next Monday, and your master will be there too. With him personally stepping in, I think there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Ming Sheng was indeed the heir of a commercial family; his way of speaking was profoundly persuasive. The shareholders’ eyes lit up upon hearing his “beautiful prospects for Tianhuan winning the World Championship“, and they all raised their hands to pass the resolution.

The contracts of all active players in Tianhuan were completely re-signed.

Qin Yizhu, Qu Jiang, Chi Shuo, as well as next season’s starter Cheng Xing, and the 5 substitute players on the second team, were all eligible for a cut of the prize pools for the domestic finals and the World Championship.

Although the second team were substitutes, they would have to step up if someone on the main squad fell ill or an emergency required a substitution. Moreover, during daily practice, the second team served as sparring partners for the main squad; their contributions could not be ignored.

Cheng Xing excitedly opened his phone calculator and calculated for a long time. The captain of the second team, Yan Bin, smiled and said, “No need to calculate. If we really win the World Championship, everyone will get at least an eight-figure bonus. Too bad it’s just drawing a pie in the sky!”

Cheng Xing muttered, “That’s still better than no pie at all!”

Yan Bin thought it made sense, leaned back in his chair, and sighed, “Sigh, I really hope this drawn pie becomes real. If we actually win the World Championship, we can share in the glory, and I’ll be able to buy a house in my favorite city.”

Cheng Xing’s eyes curved into a smile, “I want to buy a sports car!”

The whole club knew a new Mid Laner was coming, and everyone’s curiosity reached its peak. However, aside from the heavily trusted Old Nie, A-Ning, Qin Yizhu, and Qu Jiang, no one else knew who the new Mid Laner was.

Coach Lin and Captain Chi were tight-lipped.

One day, Chi Shuo suddenly took a poll in Tianhuan’s internal group, asking if anyone was allergic to cat hair. Everyone successively indicated they weren’t. Someone popped up and asked, “Captain Chi, are you going to keep a cat?”

Chi Shuo said, “En, a cute little cat will be arriving at the team in a few days.”

Everyone thought Chi Shuo bought a cat; they never imagined it was the new Mid Laner bringing a cat over.

On Tianhuan’s end, they began intensely rushing through the procedures.

Ye Shaoyang’s contract was finalized by the legal department and reviewed by the big boss once more.

A week later, Tianhuan’s legal department sent the electronic version of the contract to Ye Shaoyang, saying politely, “Mr. Ye, this is the Tianhuan club’s contract. Captain Chi asked me to send it for your review. If there’s anywhere that needs revising, please let us know.”

Ye Shaoyang read through the contract carefully. He had seen many contracts as an esports player in his past life, and there was truly nothing to nitpick about this one. It had no hidden traps, and the revenue splits across all aspects were the highest treatment he had ever seen.

After reading it, he immediately replied, “I’ve read through the terms. There are no problems.”

Legal: “Then will you come directly to the base to sign in person, or sign and mail it?”

Ye Shaoyang thought for a moment and said, “I’ll sign in person.”

Legal: “Alright, please remember to bring your ID documents. The team will handle bank cards for the players collectively.”

Ye Shaoyang began packing his luggage. Aside from his personal belongings, there were many of Xiao Bai’s things—a litter box, furball toys, staple wet food, etc. He planned to mail a portion directly to Chi Shuo and buy the rest later.

Over these two weeks, he still hadn’t neglected practicing heroes.

He had a fixed schedule of playing Ranked with Mumu and Xiao Wei in the morning, watching match VODs in the afternoon, and playing the Peak Tournament at night.

Because the trio’s Ranked win rate was extremely high, not only did Ye Shaoyang secure the national badges he wanted, but Xiao Wei and Mumu also each gained two extra national badges.

Xiao Wei happily said to Mumu in private, “Why do I feel like the two of us hugged a massive thigh? This Xiao Bai is too awesome. His skill in the mid-lane is almost on par with professional players I’ve seen!”

Mumu replied, “Exactly. He’s got a great personality too. Doesn’t brag when winning, doesn’t flame teammates when losing, and even yielded quite a few kills to you, satisfying the vanity of a kill-stealer like you.”

Xiao Wei: “Hehe [Dog Head.jpg]”

Xiao Wei: “At the Whale new Streamer awards ceremony at the end of this year, he’s definitely going to take first place, right?”

Mumu: “No doubt about it. No one in the same period can beat his stats. Haven’t you noticed that the people cursing him in the group have lessened recently?”

Xiao Wei: “Yeah, why did people like Brother Yu and Mengmeng Xiong stop cursing him?”

Mumu sent a smiley face: “Because they know we’re trio-queueing with Xiao Bai, so it’s awkward to curse him in front of us. They definitely created a private group to curse Xiao Bai while simultaneously dragging us through the mud.”

Xiao Wei: “…”

Xiao Wei: “They really are too fucking idle! Instead of thinking about improving their skills, they’re sour over others every day. No wonder they’re still tier-two Streamers after several years. This is the extent of their ambition.”

Mumu: “Xiao Bai is about to get 8 national server badges.”

Xiao Wei: “Hahaha, thanks to his blessing, I have 8 now too! Let’s go drop him some gifts.”

At midnight on Monday, the familiar national server leaderboards refreshed.

Two weeks had passed since Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo chatted by the lake. Grinding at the pace of two national badges a week, Ye Shaoyang had, to date, collected the National Rank One markers for [Abyssal Lord], [Illusionist], and the six Goddesses: [Frost Goddess], Flame, [Thunder Goddess], [Storm Goddess], Ocean, and [Goddess of Destiny]—a total of eight Mid Laner heroes.

The Goddess series bookmarks still sat on his desk.

He had fulfilled the promise he made to Chi Shuo back then.

He was about to report to the Tianhuan team, and this was his “report card” for arriving at his new club.

On the night Ye Shaoyang secured the 8 national badges, the stream’s gift notifications were about to explode—

[I Don’t Look Good in Women’s Clothing] gifted Streamer Xiao Bai Deep Sea Torpedo x50, message: Xiao Bai 666! [I Am Not a Baby] gifted Streamer Xiao Bai Deep Sea Torpedo x50, message: Xiao Bai 6666! [Frontline Reporter 18] gifted Streamer Xiao Bai Deep Sea Torpedo x50, message: Xiao Bai let’s add each other as friends. [Ears] gifted Streamer Xiao Bai Deep Sea Torpedo x50, message: Can I add you as a friend by gifting? [Mumu] gifted Streamer Xiao Bai Deep Sea Torpedo x50, message: Go Xiao Bai~ [Xiao Wei] gifted Streamer Xiao Bai Deep Sea Torpedo x50, message: I got a national badge too hahaha! [Xiao Bai’s Fan] gifted Streamer Xiao Bai Deep Sea Torpedo x10, message: Is today a team-building event? So many big spenders gifting at the same time?

The netizens in the stream were stunned by the spam in the bottom left corner.

At midnight, many people were startled awake from their drowsiness.

[A bunch of wild big-spender fans suddenly popped up?] [Holy crap, our Xiao Bai is awesome. The top male and female streamers came to gift too.] [These random IDs have never appeared before, what’s with the sudden gifting?] [Did the big spenders coordinate this? Is the gifting world starting to get fiercely competitive too?]

Meanwhile, at the Jingzhe team base.

Logged into his alt account [Ears], Coach Chen couldn’t help but curse, “Is the esports circle having a team-building event? [Frontline Reporter 18] is obviously Zhao Xin’an! And who is this [I Don’t Look Good in Women’s Clothing]? Anyone recognize them?”

Fang Zhengqing was quite calm. While petting the cat in his arms, he smiled and said, “Zhao Xin’an was the first to discover Xiao Bai and send the video to the group. Their Beimu has been keeping an eye on Xiao Bai; this is perfectly normal.”

Coach Chen frowned, “Could it be they want to poach Xiao Bai to play professionally?”

Fang Zhengqing said, “Has Coach forgotten how Beimu lost yesterday’s match?”

Two weeks ago, Tianhuan fought Beimu and was eliminated 2:3. The teams knocked down from the winner’s bracket fought in the loser’s bracket. Consequently, Beimu unluckily bumped into Jingzhe, who had dropped from the winner’s bracket.

Beimu’s strongest point was their side lanes; Jingzhe’s strongest point was their Mid Laner.

Would the side lanes crush the mid-lane, or would the mid-lane pierce straight through the opponent’s heart? The final result was hard for Beimu’s fans to accept—with Fang Zhengqing standing in the mid-lane, no matter how awesome their side lanes were, they couldn’t push down the mid-lane tower!

Moreover, Jingzhe also had the Marksman Xie Yuan, who had similarly won the World Duo Championship. Jingzhe utilized a classic Mage + Marksman Double Carry system, and Jingzhe also possessed an awesome and calm Support.

In the deciding match with Blind Pick, Beimu simply couldn’t resolve Jingzhe’s Poison Comp.

Beimu lost 2:3 to Jingzhe and was regrettably eliminated.

Internal rumors said Beimu’s Mid Laner would retire after this season, and the Mid Laner on their second team wasn’t an exceptionally talented player. Thus, Beimu was currently in desperate need of a Mid Laner. The Streamer Xiao Bai was a mid-lane pubstomper who had recently emerged, drawing attention from many teams. Beimu was definitely the most desperate to poach him into their team.

Coach Chen was terrified: “If Xiao Bai goes to Beimu, wouldn’t Beimu’s strength surge? Awesome side lanes, plus a Mid Laner who knows how to play every hero? All three lanes would be very strong; it would be too hard to play against them!”

Fang Zhengqing said, “So, Coach, have you decided to make a move?”

Coach Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “He doesn’t reply to the private messages I sent on Weibo, and my direct messages on the site were definitely buried. So, I had no other choice but to directly gift torpedoes. Xiao Zhao is definitely in the same boat.”

Very quickly, Coach Chen received a private message from [Xiao Rui]: “Hello boss, thank you for the 50 torpedoes you gifted the Streamer. You can add my WeChat ruiruiXXX, and I’ll pull you into Xiao Bai’s fan group.”

Coach Chen: “…Can I add Xiao Bai’s personal account?”

[Xiao Rui] turned back to ask his brother: “Brother, the boss who gifted you 50,000 in presents wants to add you as a friend.”

Ye Shaoyang said, “Then add him, since he spent so much money.”

A moment later, Ye Shaoyang received several verification messages. Ears, Frontline Reporter 18, I Don’t Look Good in Women’s Clothing, I Am Not a Baby—the four bosses who gifted him today all added him as a friend.

His WeChat list began blowing up with messages—

Ears: [Hello Xiao Bai, I am Coach Chen of the Jingzhe team. Are you interested in playing professionally? We very sincerely want to invite you to come to the Jingzhe team for trial training.]

Frontline Reporter 18: [Hello Xiao Bai, I’m Zhao Xin’an, Top Laner of the Beimu team. Our coach asked me to contact you to ask if you’re interested in playing professionally? Our Beimu is in desperate need of a Mid Laner, and we want to invite you to the team for trial training.]

Ye Shaoyang remained silent for a moment, looking at the flight ticket information from Star City to the Imperial Capital in his hand.

You guys…

Are more than just a little late, aren’t you?

Captain Chi already made his move long ago; I’m already on my way to Tianhuan for the in-person contract signing.