Chapter 15: Glittering Glory Built on Debt

Before twenty minutes were up, the opposing team just ALT+F4'd.

Ka Lao Si still wanted to play a third game, to observe more carefully.

S04, however, absolutely refused to play again.

The opposing coach even called to complain.

"We can't play anymore."

"The summer season is about to start; we're just a new team. If you keep crushing us like this and we end up with some lingering issues, when the season opens we might be totally crushed—Brother Carlos, please understand."

"You guys are so strong; you should go scrim against other top-tier teams instead……"

Just like that, S04 refused to scrim with G2 any further.

That practice match just ended inconclusively, leaving a room full of people each with their own hidden agendas.

To be honest, Ka Lao Si was feeling quite torn at this moment.

He was willing to give Liang Yan this tryout opportunity on the premise that Liang Yan couldn't possibly go undefeated in a match, merely to let this newcomer see his own naivety.

In other words, Ka Lao Si didn't really believe Liang Yan could perform outstandingly.

However, the result was unexpected.

That would be a bit awkward to back out of.

Just go through the motions and let Liang Yan return to the youth academy?

That would be too underhanded; Ka Lao Si wouldn't dare do such a thing, because the esports scene values brotherhood—if you go too far, you'll be despised, your reputation inside and outside the circle will be ruined, and the team would be finished.

Moreover, Ka Lao Si had already seen Liang Yan's potential—he really is a talented youngster—and, combined with other factors, Ka Lao Si had begun to seriously consider cultivating him.

So should we really bring Liang Yan into the starting lineup?

Procedure-wise there's no problem (there's currently no rule that a rookie must have secondary league experience to play in the top league), the contract had already been drafted but not signed—we could just draw up a new one.

The problem is, this is a bit child's play.

Because the Europe-North America region hasn't made it to the World Championship finals in three straight years, some people have started calling EU a 'loot region'—but even so, EU remains one of the world's four major regions.

In other words, the EU league is one of the world's top-tier leagues.

A youth academy recruit brought in as a mere decoration played two tryout games, performed well, and was promoted to the starting lineup……

Just hearing about that sounds utterly unreliable!

Ka Lao Si's goal this year is to reach the World Championship semifinals—and that's no joke!

Although the summer season hasn't started yet, and the World Championship seems far off, G2 has plenty of preparation time—but is it really that far?

As per usual, the World Championship kicks off from late September to early October.

Now, there are only a few days left in May.

Only four months of adjustment time remain—is that really enough?

Ka Lao Si didn't dare to gamble……

No, he simply didn't want to gamble at all!

What he wanted was to directly buy established players with a guaranteed floor, rather than casually plucking a newcomer who merely looks promising.

Developing newcomers can be done slowly, but this year he had to make G2 burst onto the scene!

He had reasons he couldn't avoid doing this!

So what should we do?

Right now there's no one he can consult with; the office is just a bunch of clock‑in‑clock‑out workers going through the motions, and some matters can't even be told to AP and the other players, or morale would collapse.

Ka Lao Si gritted his teeth and decided to go solo.

So he stood up and patted Liang Yan on the shoulder from behind.

"Liang, come with me."

……

They entered the office and sat down opposite each other across the desk.

Ka Lao Si's expression was grave.

Liang Yan, seeing the situation, knew things probably wouldn't go smoothly; he felt a bit disappointed, but having been mentally prepared, he didn't show it on his face.

Ka Lao Si didn't beat around the bush any further; he got straight to the point:

"Liang, first I have something to tell you."

"Okay, go ahead."

"I've borrowed money."

Ka Lao Si raised his hand and swept his gaze across the whole office,

"What you see—this building, including that very cool Guan Yu statue you saw when you came in—all this glamour is built on a huge debt……"

Ka Lao Si opened his heart to Liang Yan.

Founded in Season 4, the G2 team had only just fought its way up from Europe's secondary league at the end of last year, naturally not yet a powerhouse, but Ka Lao Si had big ambitions; after securing a spot in Europe's top league at year‑end, he moved the team's headquarters to Adlershof.

In the eyes of Germans, this place is the center of their universe.

Meaning the land here is extremely expensive.

In such a costly area, where does the money come from to rent such a large headquarters?

Ka Lao Si isn't some super‑rich second‑generation heir, so naturally he borrowed the money.

Sure enough, as soon as G2 arrived, they seized the EU Spring Season championship.

They even advanced to MSI.

Thus G2 shot to fame, and sponsors came knocking nonstop.

But what Ka Lao Si didn't expect was that G2's performance at MSI would be so dismal—on par with a wild‑card team—and they ultimately walked away with a 2‑8 loss.

However, what Ka Lao Si didn't expect was that G2's performance at MSI would be so terrible that, in terms of performance, they could only be at the same table as the wild card, ultimately bringing back a 2-8 record.

What upsets European viewers the most is that CLG from the NA (Bei Mei Sai Qu) region actually took second place in this MSI, with a record even better than the LPL's!

As the saying goes, no comparison, no harm. As rival regions, European netizens have always held the simple view toward international matches: you can be bad, but you absolutely cannot be worse than North America!

And G2's performance is just like rubbing European viewers' dignity in the faces of North American viewers.

How can that be allowed?!

So, angry fans of the region flooded Ka Lao Si's Twitter, verbally attacking him and digging up every bit of his past black material from his pro-player days, wildly whipping a corpse.

In no time, G2, which had been a hot new contender, became a rat that everyone wanted to beat.

Don't be fooled by Ka Lao Si's constant cheerfulness—he really does have a good mindset and is just putting on a front for the players. In fact, he hasn't dared to go on Twitter for days.

G2's situation is just that difficult.

Now another wave of two Korean imports have quit the team.

It truly is a case of when the roof leaks, it rains all night; when there's snow, frost adds on top.

If the summer season results are poor and we can't attract sponsors…

Not to mention keeping this building; by then, even the house Ka Lao Si owns in his hometown in Xi Ban Ya might have to be sold to pay off his debts.

Given this situation, Ka Lao Si really doesn't dare to take any more risks.

He is quite frank, laying out G2's situation clearly to Liang Yan, striving to be an open person.

Liang Yan already grasped Ka Lao Si's meaning halfway through, but he still sat opposite him, listening quietly and waiting for what comes next.

Ka Lao Si took a deep breath:

"Liang Yan, you should now know how much pressure I'm under."

Liang Yan gave an affirmative hum.

Ka Lao Si then said:

"I'm really sorry, although your tryout performance was excellent, I can't let you become a starting player right away. I now have a big family and business—I can't keep taking this kind of risk with everyone. Please understand."

"I understand."

Liang Yan gave a light smile, looking at Ka Lao Si and said,

"It was never part of the plan anyway; if it doesn't work out, I can accept it."

Ka Lao Si stared at Liang Yan, moved to tears.

Where else could you find such a good player!

Then his blood surged, Ka Lao Si felt a rush in his head, and he became impulsive again:

"Although I can't let you be a starter, … would you be willing to be a substitute?"

Are you willing to be a substitute?