Chapter 750: For the Championships
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
When it was about time for Zhang Xinjie to go to bed, Ye Xiu and the others logged on. As a result, they ruled over the boss hunting that night. Their troops had never had such bountiful harvests from wild bosses before. Now they finally had a sweet taste of it. Thee alliance was currently in its honeymoon period. Everyone was in high spirits. Moreover, their day to day schedules being reversed would only last two months at most, so many were quite willing to adjust their biological clocks.
They would fight for the boss, when a boss appeared. If there was no boss, everyone was free to do whatever they wished to do. By the time the sun came up, a total of four bosses had spawned and all of them were won by the four guild alliance. Everyone split the materials joyfully and felt unwilling, when dawn broke.
"Let’s stay for a bit longer. In any case, that guy hasn’t come on yet. We can leave, when he appears." Loulan Slash said.
"I agree."
"Me too."
"Same."
The other three guild leaders expressed their approval. Ye Xiu saw their indomitable will, he could only nod his head and stop once Zhang Xinjie came on. In any case, he also knew how Zhang Xinjie lived like a robot. He went to bed at the exact same time every night and woke up at the exact same time every morning. When he would log on today would be the exact same time as when he logged on yesterday. Right now was still fine. It would be best if a boss would spawn just before he logged on.
"The boss spawns first. Zhang Xinjie spawns second. The boss spawns first. Zhang Xinjie spawns second."
Quite a few muttered these words repeatedly. It was hard to know whether to laugh or cry in response to their prayers. To their surprise, noon came and Zhang Xinjie had yet to appear.
After staying up all night, everyone was getting tired. But Zhang Xinjie still hadn’t spawned yet, so they weren’t willing to leave just yet. Ye Xiu felt that it was a bit strange. Why wasn’t he coming? Could he have seen through their intentions and wanted to deliberately give them trouble?
It didn’t seem like it.
Ye Xiu shook his head. This wasn’t Zhang Xinjie’s style. Perhaps he had some other business to take care of today? Or maybe today was his designated break day?
The first person to find out the truth was unexpectedly Chen Guo. Not in the game, but outside the game. Chen Guo had been browsing the Internet out of boredom and discovered a piece of news. Tyranny was holding a press conference right now to welcome a new player: Lin Jingyan.
"Lin Jingyan has gone to Tyranny!" Chen Guo was looking at the headlines on the official website for Glory news. She opened up the stream for Tyranny’s press conference. Therefore, this information wasn’t merely rumors. When she saw the news, she immediately told everyone.
"Lin Jingyan?" Ye Xiu and Wei Chen were surprised. Lin Jingyan was a rare pro player, who was still in the scene, yet had played against the both of them before.
Lin Jingyan joined the Glory Alliance in season two. He wasn’t like the Gods, who had become famous starting from their rookie years. Lin Jingyan was a player, who slowly made a name for himself step by step, until he became considered as Glory’s number one Brawler.
That was just the class he played though. Lin Jingyan himself was a meek person. He was always very polite towards anyone he met.
Unfortunately, nothing could stop the onslaught of age. As his condition fell, Lin Jinyan’s reputation as the number one Brawler was constantly challenged until this season, when the rising star from Team Hundred Blossoms, Tang Hao, challenged him at All Stars.
Lin Jingyan lost that match.
It was that battle, which lost him the title as the number one Brawler, even if he still held the strongest Brawler character, Three Hits. People were already discussing how Tang Hao would rise if Three Hits fell into his hands.
Rumors of Team Hundred Blossoms buying Three Hits never stopped. It was quite disrespectful to the person, who currently used the character. The competitive scene was merciless though. People wished to enjoy a new star than empathize with the departure of an old general.
When the playoffs came, Lin Jingyan’s days only became worse.
Team Wind Howl failed to enter the playoffs. As the team captain and ace player, Lin Jingyan couldn’t escape the blame. Team Wind Howl wasn’t a weak team. They had two All Star players and All Star characters as well as this season’s Best Rookie, Zhao Yuzhe. The other players on the team weren’t weak either. Their final results didn’t match up with their strength on paper.
Scorching mock and ridicule assaulted him, many of which were from Team Wind Howl’s fans. Even the fans felt like their team captain had held the team back. The more rational fans hoped Lin Jingyan would abdicate from his position and continue contributing to the team with his status as an old general. The more extreme fans described him as a malignant tumor. They vilified him wantonly through all sorts of means, telling him to beat it.
Lin Jingyan was put in a difficult position.
He didn’t want to leave. He felt like he could still fight on. He had played competitively for seven years, yet he had never been in a single finals. Although there were many other players like this, others were others. Lin Jingyan truly wasn’t willing.
Abdicate his position and continue persevering, not even part of the main roster? Lin Jingyan wasn’t unwilling. He only felt that it was a pity that the Club didn’t seem to have any intentions of doing so.
Whether it was in the Club or outside of the Club, the Club never gave a clear response towards his stance.
They neither supported nor opposed it.
Lin Jingyan had been in the competitive scene for seven years. He obviously knew what the Club was hinting at.
If the Club supported him, the Club would have announced their support a long time ago. Not saying anything didn’t mean the Club was still pondering over what to do or hesitating on the decision. In reality, the Club had already come to a decision. They just didn’t want to make things too hard on him. Lin Jingyan expressed his devotion to the team. If the Club coldly rejected him, it would hurt him and their fans.
The Club answered with silence to tactfully tell Lin Jingyan not to make any statements that would leave both sides in an awkward position.
Helpless, Lin Jingyan could only stay silent. It wasn’t a tactical decision. He just didn’t know what he could say. Retire? Or perhaps find a random small team to join?
Lin Jingyan had plenty of invitations, but his wish to continue fighting still held strong! He didn’t want to join those middle tier teams, who were there to read books to the princes. If that was the case, he would rather join a weak team, which needed to struggle to avoid relegations. He would at least have a clear-cut goal.
However, this was just a thought. Lin Jingyan truly didn’t want to have this type of goal. Or perhaps at this point, retiring was the best option.
Lin Jingyan was just about to make this decision, when an unexpected call threw his decision out the window.
"Come to our team! There’s a spot for you."
It was a very surprising invitation for Lin Jingyan.
Han Wenqing! Team Tyranny!
Lin Jingyan would have never expected that a top team would invite a declining player like him.
In Team Wind Howl, their goal was to join the playoffs and perhaps even win a match or two in the playoffs. But Team Tyranny? They were the Glory season four champions and a team, who always aimed to be the champions. Their team captain and ace player was also declining due to age, but their team’s goal had never changed.
This was a team, which never stepped backwards. If they wanted Lin Jingyan to come over, Lin Jingyan was certain that the team needed him for a good reason and not just to save him from a fire. After barely a minute since Han Wenqing had talked to him, Lin Jingyan had already come to a decision. He called Han Wenqing and stated: "I’ve decided to join Tyranny."
Team Wind Howl didn’t stop Lin Jingyan from leaving. They gave the go-ahead towards Tyranny’s quoted price. In the end, the All Star player and former number one Brawler, Lin Jingyan, was transferred to Team Tyranny for 1,000,000 RMB. If this was during his golden days, it would be completely unimaginable.
Team Wind Howl prepared a grand send-off ceremony for their old general, thanking him for his many years of contribution. The meek Lin Jingyan couldn’t bear any grudges towards his Club abandoning him. After shaking the hands of every one of the Club staff, the pro player, who had almost retired, once again set foot onto a path towards the championships. He took this step excitedly.
At Tyranny’s press conference, Lin Jingyan explicitly stated how he wasn’t there to live a nice retirement life at Tyranny. He was certain that he would be making a contribution to the team. When the team needed him, he would be ready to go to battle at any moment.
His words were quite tactful. Lin Jingyan implied: he didn’t care about his status in Team Tyranny. He was fine even as a substitute player. After all, with his status, it was easy to think of him as being a part of the main roster. Quite a few had already started to spread rumors just after the announcement. Many didn’t look highly upon Tyranny’s trade. They thought that a pro player like Lin Jingyan, who was at the end of his career, might argue about his position in the team and his opportunities to go on stage. If the team didn’t handle his requests well, there could be quite some conflict in the team. Lin Jingyan’s statement was naturally aimed towards these doubts.
Lin Jingyan wanted to dispel these suspicions, yet who would have thought that Tyranny would be the ones who countered his statement. Team Tyranny’s Han Wenqin gave a clear statement to the media: "Lin Jingyan will be an important part of Team Tyranny next season. The Club is currently creating a Brawler, just for him. Inviting Lin Jingyan to our team is only for one reason: for the championships."
His words held a completely different meaning compared to Lin Jingyan’s words. Lin Jingyan didn't mind though. Creating a character specifically for him as well as the team inviting him showed how much Tyranny valued him. Lin Jingyan’s uneasiness towards his acceptance of the invitation was now completely eliminated. From now on, he would be a part of Team Tyranny. Here, not just entering the playoffs, but he might even have a chance to be a champion!