Chapter 729: Sincerity from Samsung

The night is deep.

VG members gradually stopped queuing; some had already returned to the dorms to wash up and sleep, while those still in the training room also halted practice and entered relaxation mode.

Zhu Xiaolong had one foot propped on the armrest of his gaming chair, casually chatting with Liang Yan and the others about the Bo5 match that had just ended three hours earlier in the neighboring region.

"Sometimes I really wonder if you're a time traveler—you have no basis, yet you always get it right." Zhu Xiaolong looked at Liang Yan and laughed, referring to Liang Yan's prediction for the LCK playoffs; today's match between Samsung and SKT went exactly as he said, a genuine upset.

"That's really accurate." Easyhoon also nodded in agreement.

Liang Yan scratched his nose, speechless.

Although he really is a time traveler, his prediction wasn't actually based on the "Great Prophecy Technique" but purely on a technical analysis.

In matches directly related to who gets the S7 World Championship tickets, any team without absolute certainty cannot afford to hold back, and based on Liang Yan's close observation of the LCK region over the past month, he simply could not find any chance that the current version of SKT would lose to SSG in a Bo5.

Since losing was impossible, the only option was to win.

While they were chatting, Division Manager Gao Jun strode into the training room clutching his phone, smiling broadly, first greeting everyone, then turning his gaze to Zhu Xiaolong and Liang Yan.

"Perfect that you're both still here; I have a new matter to discuss with you."

"It's pretty late for Gao Jun to make a special trip to the training room; this can't be just a trivial matter." Zhu Xiaolong wiped off his smile and asked seriously, "What's up?"

"Samsung wants to arrange a practice match with us."

Everyone exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Liang Yan also froze, turned to look at Zhu Xiaolong, and saw the same confusion in his eyes.

"Didn't we just finish playing them?" Liang Yan wondered.

Since the start of this season, VG and SSG have indeed played many practice matches, basically keeping a pace of at least one week per month, and even after the Intercontinental Tournament ended, the two teams continued frequent practice exchanges; altogether, they've likely played close to two hundred practice matches, and just two days ago VG finished another round of practice-match arrangements.

And now they're coming again?

What's more, this comes right after Samsung was just swept 3-0 by SKT and knocked out of the LCK playoffs...

"This time is different."

Gao Jun still wore a smile, paused, then continued:

"This time they're coming with conditions, and they've shown great sincerity."

"And there are conditions?"

"No, what right do they have to talk about conditions?"

"Exactly, and they've already been eliminated; the season is practically over—what's the point of scheduling practice with us now?"

Everyone chattered on, while Liang Yan simply asked, "What are the conditions?"

Gao Jun gathered his smile and spoke solemnly:

"First, they want to start as soon as possible, preferably beginning tomorrow morning."

"Second, they want a longer duration, hoping to maintain at least five practice matches per day with us over the next half month."

"Third, they want to raise the intensity of the practice matches, treating everything from pick‑ban to in‑game play as if it were an official match."

Liang Yan frowned upon hearing that.

Zhu Xiaolong obviously realized the problem too, saying, "That won't work—if we have to play more than five games a day at official‑match standards, even if we play fast, with their skill level we'd struggle to sweep each game; each would take around four hours."

Moreover, that's assuming VG doesn't hold back too much; otherwise it would take even longer. Given SSG's strength, if VG doesn't bring its full power, a single game could easily last forty to fifty minutes without a clear winner—after all, SSG is no pushover.

Sima Laozei bluntly said, "You want us to devote four hours each day for half a month to play practice matches with them? On what grounds?"

Gao Jun looked at Sima Laozei and nodded: "They're paying money—fifty thousand per match."

"Ah?"

"Holy crap..."

"Is that for real?!"

The room erupted in noise.

So this is SSG's sincerity?

Even Easyhoon couldn't help laughing and shaking his head: "Having money really lets you be willful."

Liang Yan also laughed and told Easyhoon, "Exactly—with a super‑rich backer, being a bit willful is normal."

"By the way, Samsung's stock has been rising a lot lately!"

"Right, then we should ask them for more!"

"Fifty thousand per match isn't bad..."

One match at fifty thousand, at least five matches a day—that's two hundred fifty thousand.

That truly qualifies as being filthy rich.

As for why SSG is willing to pay such a price, anyone present who knows the current situation next door can guess.

——Promotion Series!

If SSG doesn't want a year's effort to go to waste and isn't willing to just call it a year, fighting their way back from the LCK World Championship qualifiers is their only way out.

As for why they chose VG instead of a domestic strong team, the reason isn't hard to guess either.

One is naturally their recognition of VG's strength—no need to elaborate.

The other is that SSG can't be sure whether they'll face those teams in the Promotion Series—whether it's SKT, KT, or Dragon Pearl. Those three look promising to clinch an S7 spot directly from the playoffs, but it's only a prospect; in reality any of them could falter in the next round and miss qualification, forcing them to battle SSG for a ticket in the Promotion Series. Under those circumstances, SSG naturally couldn't arrange practice matches with them; even if SSG were willing, the other side might not be, especially since the playoffs aren't over yet—who would want to practice with a team that's already fallen behind?

The LCK strong teams can't be booked, and Europe is too far away with high latency, so VG naturally becomes SSG's only choice.

SSG is smart, so they don't bother with empty pleasantries; they come in with a low profile and just offer money—this gives both face and real benefit.

Liang Yan doesn't care about money, but the others might not feel the same.

Zhu Xiaolong needs to support his family, Sima Laozei wants to prove himself in front of his parents, Xiao Duan likewise has to support his family… professional players can't just live off passion.

Even setting money aside, Samsung is still a worthy opponent to keep in touch with.

Liang Yan spread his hands and smiled: "Since they're showing such sincerity, we have no reason to refuse—let's accept."

Xiao Duan gave a couple of hehe laughs, his narrowed eyes glittering with greed.

Zhu Xiaolong showed a smile.

Gao Jun also let out a sigh of relief, nodded and said with a smile: "Then I'll go back to them now."

Hmm.

A few minutes later.

At the SSG Ji Di, Edgar hung up the phone, facing the teammates' expectant gazes, took a deep breath, then clenched his fist and swung it: "They agreed!"

"ohhhhhhhhhh!"