translator: Ciel
Li Junru was a player brought up by Liu Xiang. Liu Xiang had always felt that this girl was calm and smart, suitable for carrying responsibility, and intended to hand the Red Fox team over to her. However, Xu Lin was unwilling to transfer Red Fox’s captaincy over to Li Junru. At that time, news of Peerless Jianghu’s upcoming public beta test was released, and Xu Lin transferred Li Junru over to the new project as the leader. This approach was naturally understandable. A pioneering team needed an outstanding leader.
But today, Li Junru had actually lost to Liu Hong…
The new captain she had elected actually lost to the old team member she forced away. Xu Lin simply couldn’t tolerate this slap to the face!
Li Junru and Xu Lin sat face-to-face in the hotel’s cafe, calmly playing with their phones.
Xu Lin’s expression was one of hating iron for not becoming steel. “You lost to Liu Hong today with a score of 0:2, why don’t you know to reflect on it? You actually still have the mood to play with your phone?!”
“En,” Li Junru put down her phone and stated seriously, “I have already reflected on this, manager Xu. The first game was A-Hong’s home map. A trap map is more suitable for Xuanbing Palace’s double ring flow, and it is normal for me to lose. The second game was my home map, and indeed, I shouldn’t have lost. I didn’t expect her to use the vision to fight, and her explosive power at the last second really surprised me.”
Xu Lin frowned, not wanting to listen to these explanations. She just felt that Li Junru’s loss to Liu Hong was a shameful matter for the club. What made her even angrier was Li Junru’s calm attitude, as if she were simply observing and reporting about something that happened to others!
In the end, this was the captain she had personally selected. Xu Lin forcibly swallowed back her anger, and replied frostily, “Yes, you will take care of this team yourself. In the future, I won’t attend any of the games!”
Nodding, Li Junru bid her goodbye. “Take care, manager Xu. I will work hard.”
After Xu Lin strode away with a cold expression, Li Junru’s lips curved into a smile. In her heart, she was very clear: everything would be better if Xu Lin didn’t come! Did Xu Lin think that everyone liked having her here to watch their matches? That just because the manager personally made a visit, so everyone had to be grateful? The boss who knew nothing about everything was truly annoying. However, she would no longer be the boss soon enough.
Li Junru picked up her mobile phone, smiling as she scrolled through Weibo. It was inconvenient for her main account to speak, but watching Xu Lin be scolded was still very enjoyable.
Public opinion had tilted to one side, and her opportunity was finally here.
***
That night, a small account with the ID of ‘Insider’ suddenly posted a very long Weibo, exposing the many shady scenes behind the National Grace club.
At that time, the sponsors of the Red Fox team led by Liu Xiang withdrew their hand. Keeping the team operational had become very difficult, and Xu Lin took advantage of this danger to acquire Red Fox. On the surface, her motive was to build a large esports club which could provide female players with the best platform and which they could rely on. In fact, the contract signed by the girls was a very unfair contract of sale, stipulating that the player must unconditionally obey the club arrangement—— an unconditional obedience.
Having been in the business circle for many years, Xu Lin naturally knew how to speak well, and Liu Xiang had a gentle heart. She was moved by Xu Lin’s words, thinking that Xu Lin really wanted to build a large club composed of only female players to give the girls peace of mind, providing them a stable place. Because of this, Liu Xiang signed a contract with Xu Lin, not expecting the contract to contain traps everywhere.
After Red Fox joined the National Grace club, Liu Xiang no longer had a say in how Red Fox was run, and even the inherited classic white magician playstyle from that year was gradually changed—— all because Xu Lin feels that it is not a good style of play.
Liu Hong had made it clear from the beginning that she wanted to play an output, but was rejected by Xu Lin—— simply because the National Beauty team was short of a healer. If your sister played a healer, then you should naturally play a healer as well.
The ‘healing flower sisters’ was something that could attract many investors to the National Grace club, and manager Xu could make a lot of money by relying on the sisters’ advertisement contracts. What was even more ridiculous was that Liu Xiang and Liu Hong participated in countless advertisements and earned so much for the club, yet their income was extremely low. The fee from the endorsement advertisements ought to be divided, right? However, ‘Insider’ tells you—— no, it isn’t!
—— the contract from the National Grace club does not share the advertisement fees, only offering end-of-year awards.
And just where did these awards come about? It all depended on the boss’ mood.
Liu Xiang and Liu Hong earned around five million a year in advertising fees and contracts, but only received an end-of-year award worth 200,000 each.
Haha.
From this, everyone ought to have understood why manager Xu wasn’t willing to let Liu Hong play an output. The ‘healing flower sisters’ pair was not only marketable, but was also favoured by sponsors—— that was the true reason behind the decision.
From the beginning, Xu Lin went to a professional lawyer to formulate an unfair contract that would be completely beneficial to the National Grace club, but how many players were from the legal department? How many could have compared contracts with the other clubs? Everyone simply assumed that just because the club was made up of female players, they could meet many good sisters, and simply signed the contract. Anyway, as long as they could continue playing the game, it was good enough.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Female esports players weren’t as beautiful as female anchors or female stars. Most of them were ordinary girls, and didn’t want to make a lot of money. As long as their salary was enough for them to live, and enabled them to buy a little gift for their parents every now and then, it was enough.
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Xu Lin constantly spoke to everyone about feelings, and used emotions to impress the girls, but only she earned a lot of money—— hiring a personal chauffeur, wearing clothes worth tens of thousands of dollars, and carrying a bag worth not less than 50,000, and even changed a new bag every day. Behind this exquisite and luxurious life, how many girls have suffered? Xu Lin, are you really not guilty in the slightest?
The so-called “creating a first-class club to provide a reliable platform for female players” should actually be replaced by “creating a country of daughters where everyone is obedient, everyone works, and I will be king.”
A round of applause for the first female king of esports.
***
The appearance of this Weibo could be compared to the sudden loud roar of a fierce beast that had been peacefully sleeping in the forest, capable of causing the whole forest to shake!
No one could have imagined that the seemingly harmonious National grace club was actually a dictatorship under Xu Lin!
The players had no right to make choices, had to listen to her for everything, including changing projects and switching professions. She didn’t understand esports, but still insisted on blindly commanding!
Due to the contract’s restrictions, the players did not dare to openly oppose her, and wanted to cancel the contract without paying the penalty—— Liu Hong took the initiative to cancel the contract, but used up all the savings that she had worked hard to gather over the past few years!
After all, a girl who can be as simple and decisive as Liu Hong is rare. Not to mention, some esports players do not have strong family backgrounds, and it is impossible to take out all their savings to break the contract with the club. Gradually, many players have become accustomed to suffering in silence. Under the influence of that repressive atmosphere, the players with potential haven’t been able to develop.
This blogger also cleverly attached several pictures—— Xu Lin’s countless expensive limited edition bags, luxurious private villas, limousines—— she led a more luxurious life than even entertainment stars. In contrast, the simplicity of the female players in their uniforms was simply astounding.
Many fans were distressed for these female players. National Grace club’s official Weibo was instantly overwhelmed, and Xu Lin’s private Weibo was also dug up by netizens and harshly scolded! Many called her Abbes Miejue, an old witch, a vampire, and other such names.
Xu Lin was so angry that she almost choked up blood, publicly stating that she would pursue legal responsibility against the small account named ‘Insider’, accusing the other party of a violation of privacy.
‘Insider’ replied with a row of smiley emoticons: “Come on, call your lawyers to sue me. I’m really afraid.”
In fact, Xu Lin had a guilty conscience, and attempted to use “legal responsibility” to scare the small account. The clothes and bags she usually wears have been photographed countless times by reporters, and her private villa was also known to people. Being rich as a club owner was normal, and if not for the many posts on Weibo today, everyone would have dismissed it as the National Grace club being profitable despite not having very good results.
But now, her wealth was compared to the situation of the players, making her look like a bloodsucking beast who exploited others!
For a time, the tag #Xu Lin should quit the esports circle# swept through Weibo. Many great gods of the circle also stood up to share their views.
Nie Yuzhu: “The esports circle is not the business circle or the entertainment circle. I don’t wish for this circle to be polluted by people who are too utilitarian.”
It was clear that this particular Weibo from captain Nie was directly scolding manager Xu for being ‘too utilitarian’. As the oldest captain in the Peerless Jianghu professional league, he had always been quiet. No one expected him to speak up now, of all times—— in truth, this was obviously giving Liu Hong face. After all, Liu Hong was an opponent he respected back in Wulin.
Immediately afterwards, the great gods Lin Shuangcheng and Xie Changming, who were both captains of private teams and uninvolved in grudges between clubs, also forwarded this Weibo.
Xie Changming: “The circle is so messy! I feel very distressed for our fellow sisters!”
Lin Shuangcheng: “If anyone wants to change jobs, you can just contact me, I’ll pay the termination fees [smile]”
He Yue was another player with a good character, and directly sent out a Weibo to scold Xu Lin. “We are all female players, yet we are treated so differently! Our Seven Star Grass club contract divides the player endorsement fees into half! Furthermore, there are also event bonuses, end-of-year bonuses, red envelopes, live broadcast platform dividends, etc. National Beauty’s manager Xu is so profit-minded, completely treating the girls as her money-making machine!”
Zhou Xuewei, who was also a female esports player, also forwarded the Weibo message: “Manager Xu’s Hermes bag is a limited edition bag, and costs 250,000 in Europe [saliva].”
As an increasing number of great esports gods forwarded the Weibo, supporting the female players of National grace, Xu Lin suddenly became a target. Her reputation, cultivated from years of painstaking management, fell to a negative value instantly.
At this moment, the screen of her mobile phone suddenly lit up. It was a message from Ling Xuefeng: “Manager Xu, let’s talk about the acquisition of the National Grace club. How about it?”
“…” Xu Lin’s eyelid twitched violently. “What do you mean?!”
Ling Xuefeng responded: “If the club players sue you on the grounds of an ‘unfair contract’, you will definitely lose, and have to pay reparations on top of that. You are a businessman, you should know that this is not more cost-effective than selling the club.”
Unfair contracts were not recognised by the law. Xu Lin herself had taken a class on legal studies. Taking into account how public opinion was against her, if National Grace’s players really took her to court, her loss was a forgone conclusion… and, now that her reputation was putrid, she could no longer thicken her face and continue to mingle in the esports circle. Indeed, the best choice was to allow the club to change hands. She had nothing to lose, and could even earn a fortune.
Thinking of this, Xu Lin quickly calmed down. “God Ling, since you know I will lose for sure if they sue me, why are you still eager to acquire National Grace?”
Ling Xuefeng’s reply was curt. “Because I am also an esports player, and understand that the girls do not have it easy. It takes time and effort to fight a lawsuit. Peerless Jianghu’s professional league has already started, while Wulin and Miracle are soon to follow. I do not wish for them to delay the competition. It’s best for this matter to be resolved before the two major leagues start.”
Xu Lin: “…”
She had no way of understanding this approach. She only knew how to pursue one’s own interests, and had never considered the players… Ling Xuefeng’s words caused her to feel ashamed.
Soon, another message popped up on her phone’s screen. “Manager Xu, this is Liu Chuan. Are you interested in talking about the acquisition of the National Grace club?”
Xu Lin: “…”
Are you both treating this as snatching a slice of cake? Still rushing to buy over National Grace?
For a boss to watch a club that they had worked on for so many years be snatched away, was like watching a dead dog being swallowed by a hungry wolf and tiger. This feeling was one of extreme frustration.
Angry, Xu Lin chose not to reply.
That night, Xu Lin was unable to sleep, remembering the software company that she had started from scratch. Her company grew larger and larger, from earning just enough to cover both food and clothing, to earning profits of more than one million and even ten million annually. She also became famous in the industry as a strong, independent woman. Inadvertently, she saw Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng lead the national team to participate in the Miracle World Competition and take the first world championship. Advertisers swarmed into the esports circle, and the internet buzzed about the world championship victory for days. Furthermore, Li Cangyu, a great god in the esports circle, actually had over one million fans. Her eyes lit up, feeling that she had discovered a huge business opportunity.
In fact, ‘Insider’ had said nothing wrong. What about providing a better platform for female esports players? No, she came to the esports circles to make money.
Now that this mask had been torn off, Xu Lin was very embarrassed, but she still didn’t intend to cause too much damage to herself.
In any case, there were two parties interested in acquiring National Grace, which was good for raising prices.
Early next morning, Xu Lin added both Ling Xuefeng and Liu Chuan on Weibo to discuss with them the price of the club.
“How about four million?” Liu Chuan messaged. “Dragon Song already has three teams. To us, National Grace could be considered optional. My acquisition of National Grace could be considered relieving manager Xu of a hot potato. This price is already very kind.”
Kind? The annual salary of great esports gods was at least a million, and you wanted to use four million to buy a club? Xu Lin almost coughed up blood!
Ling Xuefeng replied: “Five million.”
Xu Lin almost choked. “Do you think you’re here to buy vegetables?”
Ling Xuefeng’s reply was calm. “National Grace’s reputation has already taken a major hit from this incident. If you drag things out, perhaps even a selling price of two million will be impossible. And if the players of National Grace sue you, your own company will also be affected, and the stocks will plummet. Perhaps you would like to see such an ending?”
Ling Xuefeng’s words were clear-cut, perfectly hitting the nail on the head. Xu Lin did not only own the National Grace club, but also owned a company that developed software, which was started by herself. That was her real career.
Liu Chuan messaged her again. “This price can be said to be very fair. When you acquired Red Fox back then, it seemed to only have cost you two or three million? :)”
Xu Lin: “…”
Not wanting to talk to this stinking Liu Chuan any longer, Xu Lin grit her teeth and agreed to Ling Xuefeng’s offer, which had a higher price. She quickly asked the lawyers to draft a contract.
Ling Xuefeng’s words were correct. She still had her own company to run, and the incident on Weibo could not be allowed to continue festering. It would damage her own company’s reputation, which would really not be worth the loss.
***
However, Xu Lin could have never imagined that as she sent the contract to Ling Xuefeng, Ling Xuefeng also sent a message to Liu Chuan. “Thanks.”
“Thanks for accompanying you to act out a show?” Liu Chuan replied cheekily.
“What else?” Ling Xuefeng responded. “It would not have been possible to bring down the price so much otherwise. Xu Lin is almost an elite businesswoman, it really isn’t easy to pit her.”
Liu Chuan replied with a smiley emoticon: “No need for thanks. I didn’t intend to acquire National Grace anyway, I just don’t want Xu Lin to earn any more money. Let her go back to her head office to fume about it. In any case, looking at her temper, I fully expect her company to close down in a few years.”
Dragon Song had three teams in Wulin, Miracle, and Peerless Jianghu, as well as many newcomers in the training camp. With so many players under the club, arranging dormitories for the players of National Grace was impossible. If National Grace stayed in Nanjing, Liu Chuan would have to run between the two clubs, which was very inconvenient. There might be new projects requiring teams in the future, but the club was already large enough. Any larger, and he wouldn’t be able to manage it all.
On the other hand, Wind Colour was in Shanghai, which was very close to Nanjing. Wind Colour also lacked a team in Wulin, which was why Ling Xuefeng sought out Liu Chuan when he decided to acquire the National Grace club. Liu Chuan simply agreed to do him this favour, and help him suppress the price.
***
At 9:00am, Li Junru was watching the competition from the backstage lounge, when she received a Weibo from Li Cangyu: “The acquisition of National Grace has been negotiated. Xuefeng and I will go to Nanjing next week to sign the contract. Junru, you can finally relax.”
Smiling, Li Junru sent a reply: “Thank you to our two new bosses. I will prepare the players for the transition.”
Li Cangyu sent a ‘patting shoulders in encouragement’ expression: “You all go compete without worrying, we’ll handle the rest. Also, are there any good places to eat fish in Nanjing? Please recommend ^^”
……
A few months ago, An Ling opened the account ‘Old Dreams of Jinling’, and PKed ‘Three Waterdrop’ in-game. Li Junru then analysed that ‘Three Waterdrop’ was Liu Hong. Later on, she found out that ‘Three Waterdrop’ had quit the National Grace guild in-game, and had switched to Mojue. From that, she inferred that Liu Hong had gone to join the Mojue team.
In the all-sect challenge arena, Li Junru won the championship of Fangcao Hall’s poison master flow, and met both Qin Mo and Xiao Han at Peerless Jianghu’s headquarters in Beijing. From that moment, she knew that Mojue’s luxurious lineup included not just Liu Hong, but also the Twin Stars. Moreover, she followed the finals of Xuanbing Palace’s double ring flow in the competition, where Liu Hong fought against Nie Yuzhu. She believed that Liu Hong would surely become a truly outstanding output player.
All these things she had known since early on, but she had never spoken a single word, all because she was searching for an opportunity—— the opportunity for the players of National Grace to break free.
She contacted Li Cangyu long ago—— instead of searching for the other clubs, she went to Li Cangyu for two reasons. Firstly, Cat God had a good temper, and was also a good speaker. Next, contacting Cat God was also equivalent to contacting Ling Xuefeng. Li Junru was clear that Dragon Song and Huaxia were both clubs that started earlier then Wind Colour, which was on the smaller end of the club giants. Ling Xuefeng was no doubt aware of this, and would definitely have the intention to acquire National Grace to expand the club. Furthermore, Nanjing and Shanghai were close by, thus managing both clubs was comparatively easier after the acquisition. After Cat God’s retirement, he traveled around the world to eat delicious food all day. In any case, he was idle, and Ling Xuefeng might be able to bring him on-board as a shareholder.
When she saw the namelist for the group stage of the individual competition, Li Junru had thought: if Liu Hong was strong enough to defeat her, then all her plans could be implemented immediately.
And Liu Hong was just that strong. Despite Li Junru’s best efforts, Liu Hong relied on her knowledge to win two consecutive games, instantly causing the fans’ emotions to explode, questioning whether Xu Lin was blind. Li Junru seized the opportunity to open a small account and made a callout post on Weibo, inciting public opinion and causing Xu Lin to be disgraced, which also paved the way for Ling Xuefeng’s acquisition of the club.
As a player, Li Junru was low-key and often non-existent. When Liu Xiang retired and wanted to pass the captain’s position to her, Xu Lin refused, and Li Junru replied quietly: “I’ll listen to manager Xu’s arrangements.” When Xu Lin tasked her to lead the team into Peerless Jianghu, she obediently formed a team, behaving like a harmless little white rabbit before Xu Lin.
Even in her wildest dreams, Xu Lin never could have guessed that the captain she had cultivated for so many years, who had seemed like a meek and obedient little rabbit, actually bit her at this most critical juncture.
Smiling, Li Junru looked at the message sent by Li Cangyu.
—— Manager Xu, farewell. We won’t be seeing you off.
From now on, Ling Xuefeng and Li Cangyu will be the bosses of our National Grace club.
Dragon Song’s family is already very big, and Liu Chuan might not be able to take care of everyone if he bought National Grace, but god Ling and Cat God weren’t the same. After their retirement, the both of them had played overseas for three years, and were just about bored of it. They would definitely manage National Grace well after the acquisition. With their strength and vision, they will definitely be able to provide a platform for female esports players to play games peacefully.
Now National Grace will become monster contenders… Handled by two great god’s in esports…
*gods
ikr, both Ling Xuefeng and Li Cangyu as the boss 😍
QΔQ
Ah chapter ini bikin emosi! Untung Xu Lin diberantas. Li Junru 666! Diam-diam menghanyutkan, euy! Www, jangan pernah nyinggung doi kalau nggak mau rugi XD
Orang yang paling nakutin tuh orang yang keliatannya aja kalem tapi dalemnya punya banyak skema. Kita nggak bakal tau siapa yang jatuhin kita dan nggak bakal nyangka kalau akhirnya tau.
Dia cuma mikirin untung rugi aja, ga mikirin perasaan orang! 😤
tapi, good job buat Li Junru yang minta bantuan ke cat god ❤
Amazing, amazing chapter. I love this chapter. Thankful, thankful.
You’re welcome ~ ❤
thanks for the chapter ~~~
You’re welcome ~ ❤
YOOOO LI JINRU REALLY BE THE BEST ????? Shes so fucking smart bruhhhh and im so glad that the National Grace team will finally have a competent owner who at least knows how these bloody game work!!!! Just, Li Jinru, I think youre my fav female character in the whole of the series already????
Manager Xu really deserved everything she gets + i hope Xuefengs prediction of her company falling will come true. Thank you for this wonderful, face-slapping chappie, Ciel-sama!!!
ikr, she is really the best!! She knows what she’s doing, seeking help from cat god, it’s a brilliant move~
and manager Xu deserves that!! 😩
I really look forward to see more of Catgod and LXF!~ Thank you for the chapter! 🌹
+1, Li Junru indeed has a good insight, national grace will be better from now on~
Lol, i love their cameos, you’re welcome~ ❤
awalnya baca novel ini karena penasaran, tapi akhirnya malah jadi ketagihan 😅
ketagihan bareng2 kita 😈
I love how everyone banded together to stop the tyranny… most of our
cast made a cameo here supporting Liu Hong. I’m glad the dads get to
have their own team too, now they can test their apprentices’ skills in
the arena ;D A good king defends his generals’ actions because he trusts their judgement.
Thanks for the chapter!!
You’re welcome~
It’s a touching chapter I think, all of them support Liu Hong to fight evil woman 🙈
Dang Mojue vs National Grace will be apprentices vs masters lol
… but does this mean Cat God won’t be invited to Dragon Song’s end of year party anymore? 😡
I know I am late but the club was bought by Xuefeng not Cat God. Besides the requirements for the party are to be a current or retired player of the Dragon’s club, so he should be able to attend
I didn’t expect it was the Ling Cat but it is reasonable though since they are really idle hahahaha
only passionate fellow esports players like liu chuan, ling xuefeng and li cangyu can understand these poor female players, and will be able to manage them well. so glad and thankful that cat god and xuefeng took over.
This chapter made me so happy and proud of Cat God and Ling God
Li Jinru is such a mastermind 🥺😆 being able to think so far and the steps to make the bang