Chapter 603: And, who else!

The dishes were served, and Lu Wenjun was the first to rise with his wine cup in hand; before he even took a sip, his face had already flushed.

"Last winter, when I decided to form this VG team, many people were skeptical, even including General Manager Ding, who had doubts."

"I understand."

"Since VG established its league division, it has been pouring money in, pouring money in, yet it has never achieved results; this time, many also say that throwing money can't buy results for VG—that's VG's fate, and I must accept it."

"What fate?"

"I don't accept it!"

"I will pour money in! Even more! This spring, VG's lineup is the highest-paid in the entire LPL. So, has it been effective?"

"Six months have passed—has the answer come out yet?"

"LPL spring champions—we haven't lost a single game from the regular season to the playoffs!"

"Mid-Season Champion Tournament—we won the championship, losing only two games the whole way!"

"And, who else?!"

"Go ahead, say one more time that VG can't do it—try it!"

Fu Lan Duo chimed in playfully: "Yeah, Zhu Zai says the MSI doesn't have enough gold content because EDG didn't go."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Gangzi said: "Li Xuanjun, are you stupid? That's all just cross-dressing!".

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Lu Wenjun smiled, waited for everyone to quiet down, then continued:

"As for me, doing business is simple—I'm stubborn—I firmly believe that effort yields proportional reward. Valuable! There's a reason for value!"

"How could we possibly get results without spending money?"

"You pay low wages and are reluctant to give bonuses—who will work hard for you?"

"So I will keep pouring money in!"

"Everyone here… you need to be mentally prepared—don't get knocked out by the spending!"

The usually serious Lu Wenjun wore a rare mischievous smile, raised a finger and pointed, then bent over and lifted a travel bag from the floor.

Beside him, Ding Jun cooperated fully, quickly clearing a space on the table.

Seeing Lu Wenjun exert himself with a heave-ho, he hefted the travel bag onto the table with a bang; the large round table with six sturdy steel legs shuddered.

Lu Wenjun caught his breath, tilted his head back and drained the cup, his face glowing red.

"As for the Mid-Season Tournament championship prize, once it arrives it will naturally be distributed to you all…"

"And this!"

"is something the club is paying out on its own."

"Not much—just a little over three million."

"Take it with peace of mind—approved by General Manager Ding."

Lu Wenjun unzipped the travel bag, then pretended to be calm as he looked at everyone.

Stack after stack of neatly bound red banknotes with white paper bands came into view.

Over three million—less than half of the MSI championship prize.

But this is an extra bonus!

Moreover, these fresh banknotes you can see, touch, and even smell the ink of—have far more impact than a string of numbers not yet in the account!

The room fell silent for two seconds, then erupted with a boom.

Liang Yan couldn't help but show a genuine smile, joining the crowd in vigorous applause and cheers.

"In the LPL, clubs that hand over tournament prize money without taking a cut are already few; clubs like VG, which not only pay out the full prize money but also chip in a huge sum to give players extra bonuses, are virtually unheard of!"

"Alright, no more sentimentality."

Lu Wenjun set down his cup, his tone softening:

"These past six months, everyone has worked hard."

"Spring season undefeated, MSI champions—these achievements are unique in LPL history. But—"

Lu Wenjun's gaze swept over everyone again, lingering a moment longer on Liang Yan,

"The season is only halfway over; there's still the summer season and S7 to come."

"S7 is in China, at the Bird's Nest."

"Our ultimate goal hasn't been reached yet. So tonight's meal is both a celebration of our MSI victory and a send‑off for the second half of the season…"

Everyone's faces turned solemn.

"Everyone here has at least a year of experience in the top tier league; some things haven't been brought up yet, but we all know them well inside."

"If we compare VG's yearly campaign to a dungeon run, the first half would be easy or normal difficulty."

"The second half, however, will be hell‑level difficulty."

"Because we won MSI, Riot's balance‑iron fist is about to come down."

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, the conversation naturally turned to the new season.

"By the way, when is the Intercontinental Tournament?"

Fu Lan Duo suddenly asked:

Gao Jun pulled out his phone to check the calendar: "Early July, after the first half of the summer season, we'll go—over to Treasure Island."

"That's the LMS home turf."

"What home turf? When Jiao Shen shows up, the whole world is our home turf!"

"Hahaha…"

Gao Jun put down his phone and smiled: "Over in the LMS this year, only the Flash Wolves are decent; the rest are average, and LPL's main rivals are still the LCK. However, the Intercontinental Tournament is an inter‑regional clash, not a team‑vs‑team match—we definitely have to win, but our focus should still be on the upcoming World Finals."

"Yes."

Ding Zong also smiled and nodded.

"These things our players don't need to worry about; they'll be arranged well. When the time comes, we just need to go and play our own game well. Whether LPL can win the championship still depends on how other teams perform; if only we win, that's also useless."

Wang Liangyi laughed and said: "I think LPL has a chance!"

Gao Jun retorted: "You don't understand games; if you think there's a chance, that's definitely not a good thing."

Wang Liangyi argued earnestly: "How could I not understand? I watched Jiao Shen's livestream and learned real skills—I'm telling you; now I'm almost Diamond!"

Gao Jun stared: "Really?"

Wang Liangyi wiped his nose: "Hmph, more genuine than pearls!"

Lu Wenjun pressed his hand: "What's there to argue about? It's all LPL; we definitely hope it does well, having hope is a good thing..."

After chatting a few more sentences, the topic of the Intercontinental Tournament was quickly brushed aside.

Although this is also an international event, its value is decent for the whole region, but those present didn't pay too much attention to it.

Because after all, this Intercontinental Tournament newly created by Riot Games is a contest of the region's overall strength; for a single team, its impact is limited.

Unless there's a situation where one team keeps losing while another keeps winning, then the impact becomes big; at that point, online opinion will erupt, after all the contrast is too obvious, and a team that seriously drags others down will definitely be booed.

Such a thing wouldn't fall to VG; if it really happened, VG would be the kind that always wins, but netizens would at most praise VG a couple of lines, saying VG isn't worth anything—what actual benefit is there?

No.

So it's no wonder everyone isn't enthusiastic about the Intercontinental Tournament.

……

The meal lasted until almost nine o'clock; the people left guarding Ji Di finally called, saying the outside crowd had mostly dispersed, and they could go back.

Only then did everyone get up, supporting each other as they walked out.

When Ding Zong settled the bill, Easyhoon happened to notice; hearing that the quote was over five figures, he secretly clicked his tongue.

Hmm, VG really is rich.