FOG [e-sports]

Chapter 26

Yu Sui’s injury wasn’t very serious. He was discharged from the hospital that afternoon. For the time being, he couldn’t sit for a long time. Fortunately, they had their substitute Shi Luo. Shi Luo went on when Yu Sui couldn’t play and so FS’ daily training was affected. The best part was that not only could Shi Luo be Yu Sui’s substitute, but he could also be Chen Huo and Old Qiao’s.

Old Qiao had debuted a year earlier than Yu Sui and he was also a five-year veteran this year. Both his hands have little injuries. These usually didn’t present any problem but every year during the playoffs and the World Championships season, the training period would be too long and it was easy to make a little mistakes. This year, he hasn’t had any problems yet, but because he was worried that it might affect the coming games, Old Qiao didn’t dare train too hard. But this will undoubtedly affect the time his teammates’ spent training. Just when he was worrying over this problem, Shi Luo, who had just been replaced by Yu Sui, said that he could also play as a striker.

It was definitely better than nothing and Yu Sui had no objections. Moreover, Shi Luo had played as a striker during his live broadcasts before so he wasn’t a complete newbie. To everyone’s surprise, Shi Luo played striker pretty well.

Moreover, he had the ability of a medic to look at the overall situation. He won’t recklessly charge forward like Chen Huo and his play style was much more meticulous.

“Not bad, Luo Luo.” Puppy praised him. “Your striker play would get you into at least the top 300 of the national server. How come I don’t see you play striker normally?”

After abandoning his post as a medic and changing to a striker, Shi Luo’s attacks were very energetic. He changed the gun magazine and said, “There are too many strikers at the top level of the national server. The queue for a match as a striker is too slow. I hate waiting … There’s not enough medics so you can basically join a match in seconds. ”

Chen Huo was speechless. “Don’t tell me you gave up playing my amazing striker post for this reason?”

Shi Luo glanced at Chen Huo, “Yeah.”

Puppy sighed, “It seems that the most enjoyable this about this game for Xiao Luo Luo is getting points. When you do live broadcasts, you’re accumulating points. When you’re not doing a live broadcast, you’re still accumulating points. The same night you finished your college entrance exams, you spent the entire night getting points … Tell gege, why are you a points-slave?”

“I’m happy when I see that I a lot of points. Is that so wrong?” Shi Luo wrinkled his brows. “What’s there to ask …”

Yu Sui, who was to Shi Luo’s left, restrained himself from smiling. His lips moved but he said nothing.

Shi Luo glanced at Yu Sui and after a moment he said sulkily, “If you’ve got something to say, say it!”

Yu Sui smiled, “You’ll let me say it?”

Shi Luo took the opponent’s heads. He clicked the timer on the purification dish and flung it to the rock bunker. He dodged and waited for the purification dish to take effect. After a while, he said, “Well…go on then!”

“You guys haven’t been to an Internet cafe in a long time …” In the game, Yu Sui avoided the opponents and dodged to Shi Luo’s side. He replenished Shi Luo’s blood for him. “You don’t know what braggarts Internet cafes are now. When players like our Brother Shi here log into the game at the internet cafe, there will be an audio announcement in the entire internet cafe.”

Chen Hu was flabbergasted. “What do you mean?”

Yu Sui said, “It means exactly how it sounds like.”

Puppy was dazed. “Like…a public broadcast?”

“Yup…” Yu Sui healed up Shi Luo and with a completely flat tone, said, “Slot 57, the great god ranked 179th on the national server is logged on. The great god in slot 57 has obtained the free use of facilities reward. Once again, thank you for gracing us with your presence.”

The three outdated Internet-addicted teenagers were dumbfounded.

Chen Huo couldn’t believe it. “So when Shi Luo used to play in an Internet cafe, he didn’t have to pay for use of the computers?!”

“Not just that, the Internet cafe would even send him drinks.” Yu Sui said, “This is the perk given to players in the top three hundred on the national server. After each of his broadcasts, there would be other guys coming to see him. Once, I kid you not, there was even a line right behind him.”

Chen Huo, Puppy and Old Qiao’s hearts flew off to a longed for place. “How extravagant?!”

Shi Luo was very happy inside but he maintained a stern expression. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly and he forced himself to keep it down.

Chen Huo still didn’t believe it. “Is that really true? How do you know? How many years has it been since you’ve gone to an Internet cafe?”

“Why don’t you go through the screenshots of his live broadcasts he used to do at the Internet cafes?” Yu Sui raised his eyebrow. “I used to camp at his live broadcasts the whole day. How can I not know? Unfortunately, even though Shi Luo’s already in the top fifty, he doesn’t have time to go to an internet cafe.”

Chen Huo was so excited that he couldn’t help saying, “How about we go and play at an internet cafe one of these days? Wow, a cafe-wide audio announcement!”

Puppy’s interest was also piqued but after thinking about it, he said, “Forget it, it might be fine if it were someone else but with Yu Sui’s rank, the Internet cafe might explode. It might even cause a stampede.”

Chen Huo thought about it and had to agree. He couldn’t help but sigh, “What kind of misery is this? To have such a high rank and you can’t even use it to intimidate a bunch of internet-addicted teenagers&#k2026;”

Old Qiao, who was resting to the side, commiserated, “We started our career too early. We weren’t able to experience the joys of summoning the wind and the rain.”

Shi Luo, the only person to have ever experienced this joy, pretended to be indifferent. “It’s not that interesting, you get used to after the first few times.”

Chen Huo said sourly, “Alright, alright. No need to pat yourself on the back.”

Everyone finished playing the round while exchanging jealous sentiment. Yu Sui said, “I’m almost done for today. I’m going to take a break.”

Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui and frowned, “Does your back hurt? Or is your stomach upset?”

“Stomach hurts, I’ll go drink some hot water.” Yu Sui plucked off his headphones and got up. “Are you guys going to do individual training or are you going to continue?”

“Continue.” Old Qiao hurried said. He’d gotten enough rest. “Come, Luo Luo. Change back to your medic account. I’ll play striker.”

When Shi Luo changed accounts, Yu Sui smiled. “We’re almost done. Why don’t we let everyone’s substitute take a little break?”

“I’m not tired, it’s fine.” Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui worriedly, “Are you really okay?”

Yu Sui shook his head, “I’m fine. I’ll be okay after I drink some hot water. Sub for me.”

The remaining four people continued training. Yu Sui poured himself a cup of hot water. He leaned on the sofa and took a pillow against his stomach. He picked up his phone and typed, continuing his quarrel with Ji Yanhan.

In the hospital that day, Ji Yanhan actually agreed to sign Shi Luo. That night, he also sent over the contract. However, he not only sent Shi Luo’s player contract, but also his economic contract. This was fine. After all, the club will inevitably tap into Shi Luo’s personal commercial value. This was only reasonable, and moreover the terms of the brokerage contract weren’t harsh. Everything was acceptable except that the contract term was f*cking lousy. He went so far as to make the contract for five f*cking years.

This would mean that he head basically bought Shi Luo’s entire career.

Naturally, Yu Sui wouldn’t agree. He hadn’t told Shi Luo a single thing about the contract. These past few days, he found time to argue continuously about this with Ji Yanhan.

Yu Si drank his hot water slowly but typed lightning fast.

[Whisper]: Nowadays, there aren’t these types of contracts anymore. Five years? Are you asking him to indenture himself?

[Ji Yanhan]: Back then, didn’t you sign for five years?

[Whisper]: … How is this comparable to that? We both know why I signed that back then. But what need is there for him to sign something like this now?

[Ji Yanhan]: …

[Ji Yanhan]: I blurted that out without thinking … Ge knows you originally did it for the team. Sorry, don’t take it to heart.

When Ji Yanhan took Yu Sui and a few of the others to form the FS team, they were basically broke with nothing to their name. The only thing the team had to present were Yu Sui, the player certified as god-level from the moment he set out and Old Qiao, who’d been proven to be a skilled and powerful player.

In order to attract and convince the sponsors to invest in FS, Yu Sui voluntarily signed a five-year contract with Ji Yanhan. There were many restrictions in Yu Sui’s contract, but at the time, the purpose was actually very simple. It was to reassure the sponsors that Whisper, this stabilizing force, at the very least, wouldn’t leave and would be inseparable from the FS Team for the next five years.

Using this contract in which Yu Sui basically indentured himself, Ji Yanhan successfully drew in several yearly sponsors. After a year, he relied on this contract and successfully convinced the genius striker, Chen Huo to sign with FS. After another half a year, Ji Yanhan relied on this tried and tested formula and successfully signed Puppy.

If someone were to look at Yu Sui’s contract now, it would appear to be very unreasonable. But at the time, they were really left with no choice. During their team’s infancy, if Yu Sui hadn’t been there to stabilize the troop’s morale, who would have the confidence to throw money at them? Who would have the confidence to switch over to their team?

Without his sacrifice at the beginning, the current e-sports mecca, Team FS, wouldn’t exist. Yu Sui had no regrets.

[Whisper]: You don’t need him to pull in sponsors anymore, do you? So why go so far?

[Ji Yanhan]: You and Old Qiao both signed on for five years back then. The other’s contracts aren’t short either. Why should he get special treatment? Impossible.

[Whisper]: … Captain, wake up. It’s 2017. The club’s already working fine. Is there a need for this?

[Ji Yanhan]: …Stop meddling. It’s five years.

Yu Sui’s stomach was starting to feel even more painful. He wanted to call Ji Yanhan and curse him out directly. But not only was he afraid that Shi Luo might hear, Ji Yanhan was also busy with who knows what these past few days and he hardly ever picked up his call. Yu Sui could only bear the pain and keep typing.

[Whisper]: Two years.

[Ji Yanhan]: Impossible.

[Ji Yanhan]: Don’t you like him? What’s wrong with signing him for longer? He’ll spend his entire career with you. Aren’t you happy? Shouldn’t you thank me?

[Whisper]: These are two entirely different things. He doesn’t owe FS anything. It doesn’t make sense for him to sign such an unreasonable contract. What’s more, he’s just a substitute now. It’s fine if you give him three million a year but what about five years after?

[Whisper]: Five years later, I’ll probably be retired. He might have already completely replaced or surpassed me by then. Will you still give him just three million? Don’t tell me you don’t know how much his value would be by then.

[Ji Yanhan]: I’ve made enough concessions. Stop trying to bargain already, will you?

[Ji Yanhan]: You’re the one who forced me to make him stay and you’re still making demands? Don’t force me, will you? Min Min is also arguing with me, my head’s about to blow up.

[Ji Yanhan]: If he’s okay with it, then he’s okay with it. If not, I can contact Bison for him. End of story.

[Whisper]: …

Yu Sui’s face went completely cold. He typed: Two years. If you’re okay with it, then you’re okay with it. If not, I can contact NSN for him. End of story.

Yu Sui threw the phone aside. His stomach was feeling more and more painful. The hot water he drank just now wasn’t having any effect. Yu Sui didn’t want to tell his teammates though, He lay flat on the sofa and closed his eyes to sleep.

Not far away, Shi Luo’s mobile phone buzzed while he was playing the training match. He glanced at it, then looked back at Yu Sui.

Yu Sui had the back of his left hand over his eyes, his right arm pressed against his stomach.

Yu Sui was a few centimeters taller than Shi Luo, but when lying on the sofa like this, Shi Luo always felt that he looked much thinner than himself.

He looked pretty tired.

Shi Luo frowned, turned around and picked up the phone. He replied with an “OK” while playing the game with the other hand.

Yu Sui was really tired. He unintentionally fell asleep on the sofa and when he woke up, it was already four in the morning. Yu Sui sat up slightly to find that he’d been covered with a quilt. Without waiting for him to get up, in the faint morning light, a person playing with his cellphone on the couch spoke up. “Are you going to go back to your room to sleep?”

Yu Sui rubbed his brows and frowned, “What are you doing watching over me?”

“I was afraid you’d roll off the sofa.” Shi Luo got up. He stayed up all day and night but there wasn’t the slightest trace of fatigue on his face. He looked at Yu Sui and whispered, “Yesterday, were you … Troubled because of something about me? ”

His argument with Ji Yanhan hadn’t produced any results yet and Yu Sui didn’t want to tell Shi Luo, “It had nothing to do with you. It was just my stomachache. F*ck … I was afraid of stomachaches so I already quite smoking the past few days. But it’s f-ing useless.”

“A good stomach condition is something you cultivate, alright? What’s the use of embracing Buddha's feet in one's hour of need? I’ve also heard that people with a bad stomachs mustn’t drink, mustn’t stay up late and musn’t …” Shi Luo whispered, “mustn’t get angry.”

“What do I have to be angry about?” Yu Sui smiled at Shi Luo. “When have you seen me get angry?”

Shi Luo pursed his lips, “You sure you’re not the type to get angry?”

Yu Sui nodded, “I have a pretty okay temper, basically … have you ever seen me angry?”

“You said it yourself, so in a moment, don’t get angry, okay?” Shi Luo relaxed a little and picked up his phone. “I’m going to…show you a screenshot.”

Yu Sui raised his eyes, “What screenshot? Your new score record? You’ve entered the top forty? Top thirty?”

“No.” Shi Luo walked to Yu Sui and squatted down, handing the phone to Yu Sui. “Look.”

Yu Sui took the phone and took a glance. His face instantly turned livid.

Contract.

A five year contract.

A five year player and economic contract.

“You said you wouldn’t get angry!” Shi Luo hurriedly said, “And it’s useless to be angry! I signed both contracts and the manager took it away already. It’s already binding!”

Yu Sui’s fingers trembled slightly, and for the first time he felt malice towards Ji Yanhan.

This was downright low.

Yu Sui looked at Shi Luo and said coldly, “You signed it, what are you still telling me for?”

Shi Luo froze, then suddenly smiled.

Shi Luo crouched in front of Yu Sui, his eyes sparkling, he whispered, “Captain, you’re distressed for me, aren’t you?”

Far more than distressed.

Yu Sui struggled to restrained his impulse to hit Shi Luo and he said coldly, “Do you know what this means?”

“I know.” Shi Luo didn’t care in the least. “I’ve basically indentured myself. On average, players can go on for about five years. I’m giving my entire career to FS.”

Yu Sui said angrily, “You knew and you still signed?”

“I’m okay with it.” Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui seriously. “Back then, weren’t you also perfectly happy to sign over your career to FS?”

Yu Sui nearly choked and did not speak.

“All along, I’ve never really looked up to Ji Yanhan very much, and I didn’t understand how you can fight so hard for FS.” Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui calmly and whispered, “But now, I understand.”

Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui, “I just did the same thing you did back then. So, why are you scolding me?”

“When you signed that contract back then, maybe you did it for Ji Yanhan or Old Qiao, maybe it was for your own professional aspirations… As for me, I’m much simpler than you.”

The look in 17 year old Shi Luo’s eyes were firm and stubborn. He said simply, “I did it for you.”

“You are the only one who has ever treated me well and so I was perfectly happy to do so.”