Chapter 276: One must follow the rules

In the hotel room.

Liang Yan finished his shower and started packing his luggage, while Lao Zhang sat on the bed thinking.

Liang Yan zipped up his suitcase, stood up, and saw Lao Zhang sitting on the bed hugging a pillow, his brow alternately furrowing and relaxing—clearly he was torn inside.

Liang Yan found it funny and asked:

"What are you thinking about?"

Lao Zhang came back to his senses and slowly shook his head:

"I'm not sure either, I just feel…"

"Feel what?"

Lao Zhang shook his head again.

He couldn't even sort out his own thoughts; he just suddenly realized that, ever since Liang Yan's line "Do you want to win the championship?" got him to join G2, half a year had already passed.

Liang Yan actually knew what Lao Zhang was agonizing over.

After a moment's thought, he sat down on the opposite sofa.

"Lao Zhang, let me ask you a question."

"Huh?"

"Between honor and money, which do you value more?"

If it were before he became a big streamer, Lao Zhang would have unhesitatingly chosen the latter.

This is actually quite thought‑provoking: although Lao Zhang's family wasn't fabulously wealthy, they were comfortably well‑off; back when he debuted as a pro, he did it purely out of passion, wanting to make a name for himself and to compete against the top LOL pros.

Three words describe Lao Zhang's mindset back then:

"Fight, awesome!"

But as time went on, he actually reached the point where, without asking his family for money, he couldn't even afford meals; Lao Zhang first realized that going pro wasn't as simple as he'd imagined, and his mindset quietly shifted.

Later, retiring to become a streamer was a natural progression.

Unexpectedly, thanks to his solid skills, he blew up overnight; before long he became a top streamer, and even after the platform took its cut, his monthly gifts and tips still amounted to six figures.

Now he's abroad, streaming on Mouse Platform, and he still has plenty of die‑hard fans who go out of their way to follow him; although the paid subscriber count in his livestream can't match Liang Yan's, the combined revenue from subscriptions and gifts, converted to RMB, is still twenty‑to‑thirty thousand a month.

Once food and shelter are no longer a worry, people naturally start to think about all sorts of things.

Put bluntly, people become fussy.

So Lao Zhang's mindset shifted again.

Now his answer is:

"Honor is more important."

Liang Yan nodded after hearing that.

"Then let me ask you another question: when competing in the LPL versus in Europe, with the same world‑championship results, what's the difference?"

Lao Zhang froze; a faint thread appeared in his muddled mind, but he still couldn't grasp it right away.

Liang Yan didn't intend to play riddles with Lao Zhang; he just spelled it out directly:

"Riches not returned home are like fine clothes worn at night."

By saying that, Liang Yan made his choice clear.

So he's willing to give VG a chance.

But we have to follow the rules.

Moreover, it's not just VG that's come knocking—there are even offers beyond the LPL.

In fact, the very night after the quarterfinals ended, someone slipped little cards under his door—some just a string of numbers, others even with a quote attached.

The sums are so large that someone with weaker resolve would probably lose sleep all night.

Liang Yan wants to return to the LPL.

Although Riot hasn't announced the venue for S7 yet, Liang Yan knows that on such big‑picture matters, there shouldn't be major changes down the line—history will unfold as promised.

At least by next year.

Liang Yan wants to compete as an LPL player.

As for which team he'll ultimately pick, he still needs to wait and see.

Or, with his current fame, he could even spearhead a new team himself. Although he can't yet afford to buy an LPL slot outright, Liang Yan believes that if he puts the word out, plenty of investors will step forward.

Just like A Bu and Changzhang back then.

"I understand."

Lao Zhang took a deep breath, about to say something, when the door was knocked.

Liang Yan got up and went to open the door.

Ka Lao Si stood outside, smiling, and said:

"Got time?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, let's chat a bit."

"Sure, just a moment."

Liang Yan came back, opened a drawer in the nightstand, pocketed something, then left for Ka Lao Si's room.

Liang Yan sat down on the sofa.

Ka Lao Si opened the mini‑fridge and asked him:

"What would you like to drink?"

Liang Yan said he didn't need anything, so Ka Lao Si set a bottle of mineral water on the table.

Then he opened the door and—

Are there any other clubs looking for you?

Liang Yan said yes, then pulled out a stack of small cards from his pocket and threw them on the table.

Ka Lao Si was instantly startled.

He knew someone had been contacting Liang Yan in private, but he didn't expect there to be so many.

He counted the small cards on the table, and there were actually six!

But they only had numbers on them, no names, or at most just a team name.

"The team names on them are written by me; for those I don't know, I didn't write anything."

Liang Yan added.

Ka Lao Si took the small cards and examined them carefully, and was shocked.

When he saw the last one, his pupils constricted sharply, then he flipped over the previous one and looked at the team names on the two cards.

SKT

SSG

Ka Lao Si slowly lifted his head and looked at Liang Yan:

"SKT?"

"Yeah. After the interview I went to the restroom, and Coach Kkoma gave it to me."

Ka Lao Si opened his mouth.

He had originally prepared a lot to say, with many cards he could play, planning to talk slowly with Liang Yan and discuss the details of contract renewal during the transfer period.

But when he saw this pile of small cards with contact information and even quotes written on them, including one from the opponent that had just been defeated by G2, Ka Lao Si realized that the cards he had prepared were still not enough.

So Ka Lao Si didn't bring up contract renewal again.

The two chatted awkwardly for a few minutes, then Liang Yan got up and left.

Liang Yan clearly knew what Ka Lao Si wanted to talk about, but he said nothing; as for why he produced the small cards to show Ka Lao Si, that was a matter of attitude.

Liang Yan has not yet dialed any of the numbers on those small cards.

In the end, Ka Lao Si tried to return the small cards to Liang Yan, but Liang Yan didn't take them.

……

The actual worth of a player, in the minds of the management of major clubs, actually follows a calculation formula.

Simply put, first look at the data; international tournament data is best, if not available then look at the top league of the region; if they haven't even played in a top league, then taking the LPL as an example, a player's first contract salary with an LPL team generally does not exceed 500,000.

Data determines the lower limit.

Then what determines the upper limit?

That gets a bit complicated.

First look at tournament performance, second at the player's own popularity, third at potential.

In short, when a team wants to recruit a player during the transfer period, they first assess the data to set a low price, then look at tournament performance, referencing the market value of peers with similar performance to set an upper limit, finally compare some details to determine a median, and then give an offer.

So far, three teams have given Liang Yan offers.

The lowest is 1.5 million.

The highest is 2.5 million.

US dollars.

And it's negotiable.

If G2 ultimately wins the championship, it's unimaginable how high Liang Yan's offer could go.

This is exactly why Ka Lao Si refuses to talk about it.

He needs to first talk to sponsors to see if he can afford that price.