Chapter 51: Welcome to the Real Entertainment Industry (Please Follow, Please Vote for Monthly Tickets)

As soon as the game started, all that bullshit "tense standoff" atmosphere vanished completely.

Everyone instantly turned into internet addicts.

Five of them sat side by side in the internet cafe, all grinning until they got crushed.

Besides the three of them, there was another esports expert and a beautiful female streamer playing with them.

Honestly, even the streamer had some skill—her support play was at least decent.

The biggest pain in the ass was still Lin Gengxin.

Fortunately, because they had a top player at first, they won several ranked games in a row, but once their win rate went up, the matches got harder and harder.

Lin Gengxin: Shit! Why do I suddenly feel like I'm about to get scolded?

"AD, stop greedily farming those stupid minions—listen to the jungler!"

Whoa!

Lin Gengxin sharply turned his head toward Bai Liang, who winked at him.

Damn! You really put pressure on Wang Scong?

"Shut up, shut up, I'm coming—just need a bit more gold for a big item; if the AD isn't fat, how's he supposed to carry?!" Wang Scong cursed, but he was actually explaining.

When he checked the stats panel, Bai Liang's 10-1 record was beautifully satisfying.

Lin Gengxin suddenly understood the meaning of esports: the strong can humiliate the weak!

The expert jungler:...... Bullshit.

His own record was great too, but he dared not say a single word against Wang Scong—he had to coax the guy into playing.

What could you do? The guy started out with billions more gold than everyone else.

Unfortunately, even though Lin Gengxin had an epiphany, gaming really does demand talent—he was one of those who were bad but loved to play.

Finally, after two consecutive bad plays, Wang Scong couldn't hold it in anymore.

He opened his mouth, ready to drop a rap.

"You could pick some underpowered heroes instead."

"Huh? If I can't win with strong ones, how would picking weak ones help?"

Lin Gengxin thought Bai Liang had just interrupted Wang Scong's rant—he was grateful, but he didn't agree with what he said.

"If you pick a weak hero, you can focus on surviving without overthinking; but if you play a strong hero, you'll be tempted to dominate your lane—and when your skill isn't enough, you make mistakes, get crushed, become a joke to the enemy, get cursed at by teammates, and your family gets talked about behind your back, yet you still have to take it."

"Damn! You're a rapper too!" Lin Gengxin cackled.

"Haha, that makes sense! Lin Gengxin, just pick a Golem and tank it out~"

Wang Scong agreed, though he couldn't help wondering if Bai Liang had ever played professionally for EDG.

"But ADC can't just tank like that—you've got to earn your gold and actually contribute!" Bai Liang shifted tone, staying true to his original point.

Pour Young Master a cappuccino!

Apply pressure!

"What the fuck? Why'd you ping me?"

"Actually, I just wanted to get closer to you—I was thinking, maybe I could register as a pro player later and sneak into your pro team for a couple of games just for fun?"

Bai Liang dropped the mask.

He had no interest in Wang's money or his wealthy father—but he was very interested in finding fun.

Who among those who love gaming doesn't want to step onto the professional stage for a real match?

Sneaking in is the best—making an entire pro team treat you like a pet, fully experiencing the thrill of the pro arena.

"Sure! Why not! And your idea... is actually pretty cool—I'll register as a pro player too."

Wang Scong felt profoundly inspired, his eyes lighting up—he thought Bai Liang was truly a master of fun.

A real connoisseur!

Lin Gengxin's eyes lit up too, eagerly saying: "Then can all three of us go together?"

Hearing this, Bai Liang and Wang Scong instantly turned to look at him—their glances were odd.

All three of us going? So we get treated like dogs by a pro team?

Lin Gengxin:...... Why are you two ganging up on me? Bai, which side are you even on?

Time always flies during gaming.

Bai Liang had arrived in the afternoon; before he knew it, night had fallen—it was already past nine.

Without pausing, they headed straight to a bar.

Because Bai Liang was usually quiet and often looked spaced out, Lin Gengxin worried he'd never been to a bar or might not fit the wild, partying atmosphere.

So Lin Gengxin worried whether he had ever even been to a bar, or whether he would be uncomfortable with that kind of atmosphere.

He'd done things Bai Liang had done; and things Bai Liang had done, he hadn't even touched.

It's true: love what you do, master what you play.

Just on the way to the bar, Bai Liang and Wang Scong chatted about sports cars, yachts, private jets—so effortlessly that no one else could interject.

Not just Wang Sicong and Lin Gengxin—even the internet-famous girls looked at Bai Liang strangely.

There's a difference between knowing about something and truly knowing it.

Some people can't afford sports cars or yachts, yet they can recite every detail about them with uncanny precision.

But that's fundamentally different from having actually owned them.

Like those guys who fantasize about beautiful female stars, dissecting their bodies and faces, ranting about "regretting not having been inside," talking like experts—but how could that compare to real experience?

It's like some guys fantasize about beautiful female celebrities, endlessly commenting on their figures and faces, talking as if they know everything—how could that possibly compare to actually having "experienced" them?

"Bro, what does your family do?" Wang Scong finally couldn't hold back—how come you know so much about everything I've "done"?

"Buddy, what does your family do?" Wang Sicong finally couldn't hold back—why did everyone you've "played with" seem to have such deep insights?

"What does my family do?" Bai Liang paused, then replied honestly: "Can't compare to you at all—way behind. At best, we've got a bit of money, a comfortable middle-class family?"

"I believe your bullshit..."

Not just Wang Sicong—Bai Liang's image in Lin Gengxin's eyes had changed entirely.

From a capybara who occasionally told small lies, he'd become a mysterious Young Master playing the fool to conceal his true power.

In a way, his perception wasn't wrong.

Sometimes, going from capybara to "I don't eat beef" just takes a certain amount of stimulation~

Unfortunately, so far, the entertainment industry—still new to him—had continued to show him kindness.

This clearly wasn't real; the world of fame and fortune doesn't have so many fairy tales.

Still, Bai Liang hoped that after seeing the "real" entertainment industry, this circle could withstand the "real" him.

Before entering the bar, Lin Gengxin made a phone call outside, giving his current agent another stern warning.

He mainly feared the agent would contact Mango TV and cut out large portions of Bai Liang's footage from the show.

His agent had thought too much; after seeing parts of the finished footage of "Wushen Zhao Zilong," his vigilance shot through the roof.

Here, I still nominate Dili Reba.

The story of a supporting actress overshadowing the female lead has too much value—it can be endlessly discussed.

Lin Gengxin's agent insisted he wasn't being paranoid and declared outright: Let's find a way to crush this kid in this drama.

At first, they wanted to pressure the production company into making editing adjustments.

But at that time, Lin Gengxin was betting with Bai Liang over some "you're impressive" thing—he felt Bai Liang, this "great immortal," was unlike the typical artists in the industry who desperately clawed for fame, so after hesitating, he refused.

After all, calling someone brother one moment and stabbing them in the back the next—this was just too much.

Now Lin Gengxin worried his agent and the behind-the-scenes team might act on their own—this kind of thing wasn't uncommon.

So he had to make this call and hammer it home!

No matter what you plan to do, don't fucking mess around!

Funny thing—he really had planned to do exactly that: make a call and tell the production team not to give Bai Liang too much screen time.

As if wanting to say to Bai Liang: Welcome to the real entertainment industry!

Lin Gengxin's phone call had interrupted the spell—and suddenly, he felt a weight lift off his body.

As if some curse pressing down on him had drifted away~

He scratched his head. Weird.

Didn't think much about it, turned, and walked into the bar, stepping into the joy of Xingcheng's nightlife.