ARML CH46

Before Ye Shaoyang had a chance to reply to the coach, the other two “bosses” followed up with messages to him.

I Don’t Look Good in Women’s Clothing: “Hello Xiao Bai, I’m Tianhuan’s player Nie Cheng. Hahaha, welcome to Tianhuan! We’ve already cleaned up the dorm for you. Captain Chi said you’re bringing a cat over, welcome, welcome.”

I Am Not a Baby: “[Picture.jpg] Hello Xiao Bai, I’m Tianhuan’s Support A-Ning. This is a picture of your dorm, it’s all cleaned up. Don’t worry, Captain Chi is a great guy, you can just go directly to him if you have any problems in the future.”

Ye Shaoyang: “…”

He hadn’t expected Tianhuan’s veteran players to be so enthusiastic towards him. Nie Cheng and Song Yuning were already retiring, yet they still paid attention to Tianhuan’s personnel changes, indicating they had a deep affection for this team. Perhaps to them, Tianhuan wasn’t just a team, but their home, the anchor of their youthful dreams.

Ye Shaoyang quickly replied to the messages: “Thank you Brother Nie.” “Thank you Brother Ning.” “After joining the team, I will carry your unfulfilled dreams and continue to work hard ^_^”

Seeing the reply, Nie Cheng’s nose felt a bit sour. He patted Chi Shuo’s shoulder hard and said with a hoarse voice, “You guys have to do your best next season! Although A-Ning and I won’t be able to play matches with you anymore, we’ll watch every single one of Tianhuan’s matches earnestly.”

Chi Shuo nodded: “I know.”

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Ye Shaoyang: “Have you packed your luggage?”

Ye Shaoyang replied: “Currently packing. By the way, some things aren’t very convenient to bring on the plane. Can I buy them online and ship them to the team, and have Captain Chi sign for them?”

Chi Shuo understood: “Are they cat supplies?”

Ye Shaoyang sent a screenshot of his shopping cart to Chi Shuo: “Yes, a litter box, cat bowls, a pet water dispenser, and a box of staple wet food, enough for Xiao Bai to eat for a week. I’ll buy the rest when I get to the team.”

Chi Shuo: “No problem, ship them to the team, I’ll receive them for you.” He sent the team’s address and recipient information to Ye Shaoyang, who promptly placed the order. The pet supply specialty store was located right in the Imperial Capital, so online orders could be delivered the same day.

Chi Shuo added: “I heard from the team manager that they’ve already booked your flight ticket, arriving at 5 PM tomorrow, right?”

Ye Shaoyang: “Yes.”

Chi Shuo: “I’ll go to the airport with the team manager to pick you up.”

Ye Shaoyang: “Okay, see you tomorrow!”

After ending the conversation with Chi Shuo, Ye Shaoyang opened the chat windows for Coach Chen and Zhao Xin’an.

Ears: “Our Jingzhe is a domestic powerhouse team, we made it to the World Championship in S8, and Captain Fang Zhengqing is also a world-class Mid Laner player. If you come to our Jingzhe, you can be Captain Fang’s successor.”

Fang Zhengqing was Jingzhe’s captain, currently in great form, and couldn’t possibly retire. Jingzhe looking for him was indeed to groom a successor in advance. When Fang Zhengqing eventually retired, Ye Shaoyang could take over his position as Mid Laner.

Jingzhe’s idea wasn’t wrong. If Ye Shaoyang was still young, Jingzhe would indeed be a good choice. But he was already 21 years old. Waiting for Fang Zhengqing to retire? Sorry, he didn’t want to wait.

Ye Shaoyang politely declined: “Thank you Coach Chen for appreciating me, but I don’t want to be a substitute player. With Captain Fang in Jingzhe, it would be very hard for me to get stage time. So I’m sorry, I won’t come to Jingzhe for trial training.”

Coach Chen froze for a moment, hesitated for a bit, then asked: “So, you want to be a starter?”

Ye Shaoyang: “Yes.”

Coach Chen was rendered speechless and couldn’t help but complain: “A rookie who has never played a match before wants to go straight to a powerhouse team as a starter, he sure dares to ask!”

Fang Zhengqing smiled and said, “This person is quite interesting.”

Coach Chen debated for a moment, then quickly typed a line to continue persuading Ye Shaoyang: “You’re still a rookie, there’s no need to rush to be a starter, right? If you pass the talent test, we can make you the captain of the second team to play in the secondary league for a year first, and then enter the main team. This is also a necessary process for many teams to train rookies.”

Ye Shaoyang: “Sorry, I don’t want to go to the second team to be captain, I still want to be a starter ^_^”

Coach Chen: “…………”

How are we supposed to keep talking? You come to be a starter, and let our Captain Fang sit on the bench? Jingzhe’s fans would kill me! Coach Chen’s head was splitting. It seemed Xiao Bai was destined to have no fate with their Jingzhe.

Then, Ye Shaoyang opened the chat window with Zhao Xin’an.

Frontline Reporter 18 indeed sent a long string of messages: “Our Beimu team has a long history, established 10 years ago. Our current captain Zhao Xinping is a very cool female Alpha missy, and she also really appreciates you!”

“Our Beimu’s side lane system is fighter + Marksman or dual fighters switching at any time, the composition is actually very diverse! My sister and I even won the championship at the World Duo Tournament last year, our strength shouldn’t be doubted, right? Everyone knows Beimu’s side lanes are especially awesome, so we want to find another awesome Mid Laner.”

“Xiao Bai, I’ve really been following you for a long time! I happened to see that promotion match between you and Brother Yu, and then I’ve been watching your stream ever since. I think you’re extremely awesome and perfectly suited for our Beimu’s composition!”

“So, do you want to join us? Become an invincible three-lane composition and charge for the World Championship?”

If Chi Shuo hadn’t approached him beforehand, perhaps Ye Shaoyang would have considered joining Beimu.

Beimu was indeed very suitable for him. The top laner Zhao Xin’an was the most hot-tempered top laner in the league, with extremely strong individual laning skills. The bottom lane missy Zhao Xinping was calm and wise; she could play Marksman to push towers, or play fighter to dive the backline. If they added a stable mid-lane, a team strong in all three lanes would truly be invincible.

However, a three-core team would also face a major problem—resource allocation.

Could Ye Shaoyang, a rookie, get more resources than the Zhao siblings? Impossible.

Beimu had always run a utility Jungler. The resources in the top half of the jungle would be yielded to the top laner Zhao Xin’an, and the bottom half would be yielded to Zhao Xinping. What about the mid-lane? If Ye Shaoyang joined Beimu, there was a high probability he would become a utility Mid Laner, mainly playing control mages, playing it safe and defending the tower. The breakthrough points would always be the side lanes.

If he joined Beimu, Beimu would indeed have a hope of winning the championship. However, the highlight moments of triple kills and quadra kills would always belong to the Zhao siblings. He could only appear in the team as the “stable” link, making it very hard to shine brightly.

Therefore, taking everything into consideration, Tianhuan was still the most suitable for him.

After all, he really loved playing mage assassins. Beimu’s system actually wasn’t very suitable for bringing out mage assassins. Once your mid-lane mage assassin collapsed, it would bring the whole team down. Moreover, Beimu’s Jungler was used to being a utility player and lacked Chi Shuo’s decisive sharpness. If Ye Shaoyang wanted to gank someone, the Jungler might not be able to keep up.

Zhao Xin’an truly lived up to being a chatterbox Alpha. In the blink of an eye, he sent several more messages: “If you can pass the trial training, our team boss is also very generous. Your signing fee will be directly set at 3 million, the highest rookie signing price in the league!”

“Back in the day, the strongest players from the Star City youth base, Chi Shuo and Fang Zhengqing, had this exact signing price during their rookie period! A rookie offer of 3 million is a treatment only the top prospect of the youth camp can get.”

“Are you a little tempted?”

Ye Shaoyang: “…”

3 million was the highest rookie signing price in the league, but Tianhuan offered him a 5 million signing fee + 5 million bonus, plus a full share of the domestic championship and World Championship prize pools.

He now truly and profoundly experienced how highly Tianhuan valued him. Chi Shuo asked Captain Ming to step in and persuade the shareholders. The contract Tianhuan offered him wasn’t a rookie treatment at all, but the treatment of a tier-one player.

Ye Shaoyang was silent for a moment, then typed a reply: “Thank you Beimu for acknowledging me. I’m very sorry, but you came a step too late. I’ve already signed with a team, and I can’t break the contract to sign elsewhere.”

Seeing this message, Zhao Xin’an spat a mouthful of coffee all over his screen and immediately swore: “Fuck fuck fuck! You must be lying to me! How could a team be faster than us?!”

Ye Shaoyang: “There’s no need to lie to you.”

Zhao Xin’an’s pupils directly quaked: “You really signed? Then who did you sign with?!”

Xiao Bai: “The contract requires confidentiality, sorry, I can’t say ^_^”

Zhao Xin’an showed the WeChat conversation to his sister.

Zhao Xinping frowned slightly and said coldly: “Which team is in such desperate need of a Mid Laner that they acted faster than us?”

Zhao Xin’an scratched his head: “It must be a tier-two team, right? A tier-one team signing a player couldn’t possibly be this efficient. It still requires an upper management meeting and coaching staff discussion. The only tier-one team in the league desperately lacking a Mid Laner is us, right? We acted fast enough! But fuck, Xiao Bai actually signed with a team.”

Beimu’s coach hurriedly said: “If he signed with a tier-two team, ask him how much the penalty fee is. We at Beimu can help him pay the penalty fee and poach him over.”

Zhao Xin’an asked: “How much is the penalty fee?! If you terminate your contract with them and come to our Beimu, we can help you pay the penalty fee!” Beimu was also thirsting for talent. With their Mid Laner retiring, as long as Ye Shaoyang could gel well with the team, he could directly become a starter next season.

Unfortunately, he had a better choice in Tianhuan.

Ye Shaoyang replied: “I don’t plan to terminate the contract, thank you.”

The coach had a splitting headache: “It seems he really did sign!”

Zhao Xin’an pounded the table in regret: “Damn it, why did I post the screen recording in the group back then? If we just watched it secretly ourselves, wouldn’t that have been fine?!”

As a result, by posting the recording of that promotion match into the group, all the teams in the league found out about Xiao Bai. It was as if he found a treasure chest in the wild, but instead of hiding it, he shared the coordinates in the group and yelled, “Everyone look, there’s a treasure chest here!”

Was anyone stupider than him? No. Zhao Xin’an was about to shut himself off from the world.

Zhao Xinping patted her brother’s shoulder and said, “There’s no need to be depressed. It’s not like our Beimu absolutely must have him. There are still a few months before the next season, we’ll take our time finding someone.”

Zhao Xin’an sighed heavily: “Sigh, that’s all we can do.”

Both Jingzhe and Beimu thought Xiao Bai had joined a tier-two team to be a starter, which was why he politely declined their invitations. No one imagined Xiao Bai would join Tianhuan.

Because Tianhuan didn’t lack a Mid Laner; Tianhuan had Qu Jiang, a stable Mid Laner with an extremely low mistake rate.

They couldn’t possibly imagine that Tianhuan would burn their bridges to such an extent, actually having Qu Jiang switch to Support so a new Mid Laner could start. And even offering a rookie with zero match experience the signing treatment of a tier-one player?!

Only Chi Shuo knew. Xiao Bai was worth it.

The coaches of other teams only saw Xiao Bai’s superficial skill level—8 national server badges, knows how to play all types of Mid Laners, probably capable of playing professionally.

But they didn’t know that Xiao Bai also had 5S esports talent test results and top-tier game sense.

They missed this treasure chest. As a result, Chi Shuo preemptively dug up the most precious treasure.

Chi Shuo had a wonderful dream in a great mood.

At noon the next day, the base security guard sent a message to Chi Shuo, saying there were packages for him. Chi Shuo personally went downstairs to get them; indeed, it was the litter box, cat bowls, and cat food Ye Shaoyang bought online.

Seeing Captain Chi carrying three boxes upstairs, the team members couldn’t help but wonder, “What did Captain Chi buy? So much?”

Cheng Xing sharp-eyedly spotted the cat design on one of the boxes and said, “It must be food for a cat! Didn’t my master ask in the group a few days ago if anyone was allergic to cat hair? He seems to be getting a cat!”

The team members exclaimed in surprise, “Captain Chi is serious?” “Following Captain Fang, is Captain Chi going to become the league’s number two pooper scooper?” “I wonder what kind of cat Captain Chi will get. Will we be able to pet it every day?”

Chi Shuo placed the packages in the room and set off for the airport at 4 PM.

The plane arrived right on time at 5 PM, and Chi Shuo’s phone received a message: “Captain Chi, I’ve arrived. Xiao Bai is coming through pet cargo, so I’ll go pick it up first. It’ll probably take another ten minutes or so.”

Chi Shuo: “Okay, Exit E, the team car is waiting for you.”

After ten or so minutes, Chi Shuo saw from afar a tall young man walking briskly towards them. He carried a white suitcase in his left hand and a pet carrier in his right. The afternoon sunlight cast a warm glow on his face, highlighting his fair skin and making his smile even brighter.

Meeting those clear eyes across the crowd, the corners of Chi Shuo’s mouth couldn’t help but lift into a smile. He quickly stepped forward, helped him take the luggage, and said in a low voice, “Was the trip smooth?”

Ye Shaoyang replied, “En, I stayed up packing my bags last night, so I slept the whole way on the plane, right until we landed.” He lifted the pet cage and said, “Xiao Bai, come say hi to Captain Chi.”

Xiao Bai, seemingly not understanding, cooperatively let out a “meow”.

Chi Shuo didn’t particularly like furry pets, but today, looking at Ye Shaoyang’s cat was exceptionally pleasing to the eye. The snow-white cat curled into a ball inside the cage, revealing a pair of chocolate-colored ears, looking very well-behaved and cute.

Chi Shuo led Ye Shaoyang to the car and introduced, “This is Tianhuan’s team manager, Tang Can. We all call her Sister Can. She’s also in charge of logistics management, so if you have any daily life issues, you can go to her. This is Master Liu, the driver. You can find him if you need to use the team car to go out.”

Ye Shaoyang politely extended his hand, “Hello Sister Can, hello Master Liu.”

Tang Can looked at the cat cage excitedly, her eyes shining: “This cat is so cute!”

Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, “Its name is Xiao Bai. Please look after it in the future, Sister Can.”

Tang Can laughed and said, “No problem! If you guys are busy with training, just leave feeding the cat to me!”

Chi Shuo opened the back door and brought Ye Shaoyang into the car. Ye Shaoyang placed the cat cage by his feet.

Along the way, Tang Can dutifully began introducing the Tianhuan team. She gave Ye Shaoyang a printed map: the third floor was the dorm area; the second floor housed the training rooms, meeting rooms, and office areas; the first floor had the cafeteria, tea bar, gym, etc., giving Ye Shaoyang a preliminary understanding of the Tianhuan team.

Outside the window, the towering skyscrapers and carefully designed green belts on both sides of the street all showcased the grandeur of the Chinese capital. Holding the Tianhuan team map in his hand, Ye Shaoyang looked at this unfamiliar city through the car window, feeling incredibly joyous—he was about to start a brand new life here.

After joining the team, he couldn’t be called Xiao Bai anymore, because his cat was named Xiao Bai, and teammates would easily get confused.

As the captain of the GD team in his past life, his registered ID in the professional league was: GD-Lieyang.

Then, from now on, his name would be Tianhuan-Lieyang.

Chi Shuo’s name was Tianhuan-Shuoyue.

Sun and Moon paired together, mid-jungle synergy? That didn’t seem bad at all!