E-Sports Boss Wants To Post Messages With New Players Every Day Chapter 76

5.

Originally, during the Chinese New Year holiday each year, Shen Xiao would either spend time playing casual games with some streamer friends or grind solo queues to pass the time. This year, however, he spent almost the entire holiday glued to Li Huanbin—playing Duo Queue.

With Secret’s confident guarantee of climbing the ranks, Shen Xiao’s score indeed shot up. Looking at his ranking, which had soared into the top ten on the leaderboard, he felt immensely satisfied.

After several days of queuing together, his perception of Li Huanbin’s playstyle had also changed significantly.

He used to think Li Huanbin’s style was too slippery, like an old fox, smiling at you while constantly ready to stab you in the back.

But after truly teaming up, Shen Xiao discovered that Li Huanbin was actually willing to adapt and adjust to his teammates. This wasn’t just for Shen Xiao, but for other players they were matched with in scattered queues as well. If a teammate played conservatively, he would cooperate by playing slightly more aggressively. If a teammate was aggressive, he would become more conservative. This way, even if the team made a mistake, he could compensate for it quickly.

When advancing, he was the sharpest spear; when retreating, he was the most solid shield.

Although their positions were different, the feeling Li Huanbin gave him was similar to Xie Wei.

Did the Captain position possess some kind of magic?

“Seamy, Seamy!”

The shout from his headset brought Shen Xiao back to reality. He snapped out of it with an “Ah.”

“What are you spacing out for? It’s your turn.”

“Oh.” Shen Xiao clicked his mouse and rolled the dice.

He had returned to the team today, but formal training hadn’t started yet. Since he was idle, Shen Xiao had pulled a few streamer friends together to play a round of Monopoly. This game required no skill, relying purely on luck, and was just for entertainment.

These streamers were all popular Resist streamers with good traffic, and they often played together. Their audiences were familiar with each other and enjoyed watching them collaborate on games.

The dice stopped on the screen, and Shen Xiao’s little character moved five spaces, landing right on a bomb square. The bomb exploded, causing him to lose money and be taken to the hospital by an ambulance, stopping his movement for three days.

The bullet screen was filled with a uniform chorus of “hahahahaha.”

Shen Xiao laughed too. “Damn, that’s terrible luck.”

A streamer who specialized in Sniper roles teased, “Just typical performance for God Xiao.”

“Nonsense,” Shen Xiao retorted. “When I play normally, I make over three hundred thousand in minutes and wipe you all out. Don’t look down on a young man in poverty. Just wait until I return to my oil factory to collect some taxes, you’ll see.”

The Sniper streamer said, “I think that’s unlikely.”

“I think it’s unlikely too,” another Medic streamer chimed in. “Seamy only has three thousand dollars right now, and he’s still thinking about a comeback. Give it up.”

The Assault Player streamer, who had already gone bankrupt and become a beggar, said, “Yeah, just come beg on the street with me obediently.”

“You guys take it easy, don’t keep teasing Seamy, or he might not want to play with us anymore,” the Sniper streamer said. “Trying to play a game with Seamy these past few days has been harder than climbing to heaven.”

“Speaking of which,” the Medic streamer said, “I don’t know if my eyes are playing tricks on me, or if the system is bugged, but why does it look like Seamy has been queuing with Secret every day on his match history?”

The Assault Player streamer said, “It must be a system bug, because it looks the same on my end.”

Shen Xiao was stunned, then laughed. “It’s not a bug, and your eyes aren’t playing tricks. I really have been playing with him recently.”

“Oh?” The Sniper streamer’s voice rose at the end. “What’s the situation? Confess honestly. You two were practically mortal enemies before, so how did you end up sticking together every day after the New Year?”

“What sticking together? That’s disgusting,” Shen Xiao said. “It was just a coincidence that we ran into each other. Anyway, we cooperate pretty well. Climbing the ranks isn’t shameful.”

“Oh—” The Assault Player streamer said meaningfully, “Understood, we all understand.”

That tone suggested he understood nothing at all.

Shen Xiao always acted and made friends according to his own will, never caring what others said, but for some reason, he just didn’t want to publicly display the fact that he and Li Huanbin were on good terms.

He would rather let others think he was an easily provoked shrimp than do that.

Just then, his three rounds of inactivity ended, and his character was released from the hospital. He rolled the dice, getting a six, and his character landed squarely on a bonus square. His deposit doubled, turning three thousand dollars into fifteen thousand.

Shen Xiao boasted, “See that? I told you, don’t look down on a young man in poverty. Just wait for me to turn things around and become the master of the house!”

The other three streamers were tactful. Seeing that he didn’t want to delve deeper into the topic of Li Huanbin, they cooperatively laughed and changed the subject.

The four played together until ten o’clock that night before disbanding. After turning off the stream, Shen Xiao picked up his phone. Li Huanbin hadn’t messaged him today.

Normally, by this time, he would have at least seven or eight unread messages on his phone.

What was going on?

Shen Xiao scratched his head, hesitated for a moment, and opened the chat box.

On the other side, at the WOF base.

Li Huanbin sat in the conference room, expressionlessly flipping through a contract. The usual gentle smile was gone from his face; his eyebrows and eyelashes seemed to be frosted with ice, making him look chillingly cold.

After a long while, he put down the contract and said with a fake smile, “Ten million for one season to re-sign Jin? Did I read that wrong, or have you all gone crazy?”

“Captain Li,” the manager said with a troubled expression, “We don’t want to either, but… the team really doesn’t have any usable Assault Players right now, and we’re right at the playoffs. Jin’s skill is indeed mediocre, but he’s played for WOF for so many years. My suggestion is… just treat it as a retirement bonus for him and agree to it.”

“His current contract is only five million per season. Giving a five million retirement bonus? I didn’t realize WOF was so wealthy,” Li Huanbin smiled faintly.

Seeing his smile, the manager thought his attitude was softening and quickly put on a flattering smile. “Then this matter…”

“Rejected.” Li Huanbin stood up and lightly patted the manager’s shoulder. “Manager Chen, you’ve only just turned forty, how can you handle things so foolishly?”

The oppressive force of a Top-Tier Alpha descended, and a bead of cold sweat immediately appeared on Manager Chen’s forehead. “I’m also thinking for the team…”

“You’re thinking for the team?” Li Huanbin scoffed softly. “Then have you considered what the other players will think if you give a player who doesn’t match his worth a ten million high salary—that as long as they cause trouble and break ties, they can earn a five million retirement bonus? With this precedent, won’t everyone cause a scene when they retire to get five million?”

Manager Chen was speechless. “This…”

“I also don’t think we should do this,” the Head Coach, who had been frowning and silent, spoke up. “WOF doesn’t need such petty people.”

Li Huanbin nodded. “Mm.”

“Then, what should we do about the playoffs?” Manager Chen saw that the two had reached a consensus, knowing he couldn’t argue with them, and slumped onto the sofa.

Li Huanbin said flatly, “Handle it as usual. WOF won’t disband because of one loss. At most, we’ll try again next season.”

Manager Chen said, “Next season? Who should we put in then? We’ve waited for several seasons, and there are no good prospects. I’ve contacted the Assault Players on the field, and none of them are willing to come.”

Li Huanbin didn’t speak, but a name surfaced in his mind.

A name he had long favored.

“I’ll handle this matter.” Li Huanbin stood up. “Throw this contract into the shredder. If Jin asks about it later, don’t refuse immediately. Bring him directly to this room to discuss it in detail and try to get information out of him, understood?”

Manager Chen nodded. “…Okay.”

His phone vibrated in his pocket. Li Huanbin took out his phone as he walked out.

Seeing the message, his expression instantly softened.

[Seamy: What are you doing?]

—

After sending the message, Shen Xiao felt somewhat restless, checking his phone every little while.

Fortunately, Li Huanbin didn’t make him wait too long and replied quickly.

[Li Huanbin: Sorry, something came up with the team today. I just finished dealing with it.]

[Seamy: Oh.]

Since it was another team’s business, Shen Xiao didn’t feel comfortable asking too deeply, only replying with a dry single word.

Li Huanbin didn’t mind his coolness and continued typing.

[Li Huanbin: Have you eaten? Are you getting ready to rest now?]

[Seamy: Yeah, I just finished streaming for a while. I’m a bit tired now.]

[Li Huanbin: Then get some good rest. I’m tired too; things have been too much lately.]

Shen Xiao was taken aback.

Perhaps because they were both Alphas, Li Huanbin rarely showed weaknesses or negative emotions like fatigue or irritation in front of him.

Today was a little different.

After several moments of hesitation, he tentatively asked a question.

[Seamy: Did something happen?]

Li Huanbin looked at the screen, a smile curving his lips.

[Li Huanbin: Actually…]

He told Shen Xiao about Jin’s situation without reservation, portraying himself in a few words as a pitiful figure caught between the club and Jin, showing none of the assertiveness he had displayed in the conference room earlier.

In Shen Xiao’s mind, Li Huanbin was already on his side. Hearing this, he immediately became furious.

He typed out a message, but feeling that words weren’t enough to express his inner anger, he directly called Li Huanbin.

“Seamy?” Li Huanbin’s voice on the other end was slightly hoarse, but his tone was still gentle. “What’s wrong?”

A complex emotion flashed through Shen Xiao’s heart. He suppressed his anger. “What’s going on with your club? That guy made such a bizarre demand, and they’re just letting him act up like that?”

Li Huanbin sighed softly. “There’s nothing we can do. WOF hasn’t had any good Assault Player prospects for the past few seasons. We’re in a period of transition right now. If we don’t agree to him, setting aside the playoffs issue, what will we do next season?”

This was the same question Manager Chen had asked him earlier, and Li Huanbin turned around and threw the problem back at Shen Xiao.

Shen Xiao was choked up for a moment, unsure how to answer.

“However,” Li Huanbin said, “it’s only ten million. WOF can afford it.”

“Ten million?! To sign that idiot? Are you crazy?!”

Shen Xiao instantly raised his voice. “Is WOF brain-damaged or do they have too much money to spend? Eight figures to sign an old, weak, and disabled player? Setting aside his character, even a million is too much for his skill. Ten million! That’s ridiculous!”

Li Huanbin smiled. The irritation he had felt earlier about the matter was greatly relieved by the young man’s incredulous angry reprimands. “I think so too.”

Shen Xiao was still indignant. “How can there be people like that in the world? It’s hard to believe I’ve even played matches with someone like him… Ten million. He should look at your skill level and his own. All he does is get jealous all day long. WOF would be better off buying me than buying trash like that!”

Li Huanbin’s heart stirred.

He remained composed, smiling, and spoke as if it were a casual joke. “I would like to buy you. Would you sell?”

Shen Xiao paused, then mumbled, “Why do you say that so strangely…”

Li Huanbin stopped short. “Let’s not talk about this. It’s late. You should rest early.”

Shen Xiao’s mind was a little chaotic. He replied with an “Mm.”

Before hanging up, he heard Li Huanbin say, “Good night.”

Shen Xiao felt a little awkward, but still replied, “Good night.”