Hellish Start, I've Been Walking on Thin Ice for These Two Years

Xu Junyan withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the team manager.

Uzi, Xiaohu, and the others also looked up at Damon.

"The record of 3-8 is a fact that's right there. Xu Junyan, I'm not here to discuss this with you today. I'll say it plainly: whether you agree or not, you have to agree."

A hint of mockery appeared on Damon's face as he said, "I'll give you one last day. If you don't do as I say before tonight, you'll face the consequences, and you can't afford them."

Xu Junyan smiled, stood up, nodded slightly, and walked out.

Damon felt a surge of joy, thinking to himself, You have to be forceful with these kinds of guys. Look, as soon as you get tough, Xu Junyan backs down.

If only I'd known this earlier.

What a waste of breath.

Just then, as Xu Junyan passed him on his way out, he flashed a bright smile, a hint of sincerity on his handsome face, and said, "I'll say it again: Fuck you!"

With that, Xu Junyan left, his steps incredibly composed.

Damon's expression froze, then turned from green to purple, his face contorting into a liver-like color as he roared in anger, "Xu Junyan!!!!"

Leaving the conference room, Xu Junyan let out a soft sigh, hands in his pockets, and calmly walked towards the dorms.

In reality, his heart was far from calm.

He had transmigrated to this world two years ago and had been with RNG ever since, also binding to a professional League of Legends system that could be called a cheat.

Through his efforts, he had trained every champion to S-class, reaching a level where he could compete in the professional arena as a mid-to-upper tier player.

While he wasn't exactly strong, he wasn't useless either. Being a mid-to-upper tier professional player was already commendable.

However, setting aside his strength for a moment, starting out in RNG, especially with a three-year "child labor" contract, was a genuine nightmare!

Although the team was somewhat normal before RNG's first MSI championship in s8, a three-year contract... straight through to s9, that was a serious problem. If he really stayed with RNG until s9, he'd probably have to shed a layer of skin to leave.

Therefore, Xu Junyan had formulated a relatively reasonable life plan for himself.

He would live normally for the first two years. Of course, given his doubts about RNG's fundamental nature, he hadn't been too flamboyant during these years, always treading on thin ice and remaining very low-key.

In the final year, after reasonably benefiting from RNG's massive marketing push, he would immediately emulate Zou A Guai, feigning madness and incompetence, playing poorly and being useless. Back then, Zou A Guai could successfully escape the "thieves' den" with this tactic, and he should be able to do the same.

Moreover, by then, his contract would have less than a year left. RNG probably wouldn't be interested in a player with his lack of skill and wouldn't bother to hold him back.

Once he escaped the "thieves' den," he would seize the opportunity to join streaming. Leveraging the residual popularity from RNG and relying on his looks, along with some popular streaming memes he had memorized, even if he couldn't become hugely famous, earning some money shouldn't be difficult.

However, he never expected that before he could even start feigning madness, RNG would make a move on their veteran players before the s8 marketing blitz. And this move had landed squarely on him!

Xu Junyan felt like cursing, and in fact, he did curse, but with little effect. Judging by these two internal meetings, the RNG higher-ups were determined to make him and Fire Fox scapegoats.

"I need to find a way to deal with the aftermath of this," Xu Junyan thought with distress. He knew Damon was right; this wouldn't be over just because he disagreed. RNG would surely find other ways to mess with him.

Should he immediately post on Weibo and expose RNG's misdeeds?

Who would believe him?

Aside from the loss in the World Championship this time, RNG's credibility in the LPL was still quite strong, and their image was excellent.

Posting a clarification on Weibo would be like a mayfly trying to shake a tree; after all, he only had a dozen or so followers.

Xu Junyan thought of Yu Shuang again.

Because Yu Shuang was a die-hard RNG fan, she often interacted with RNG, and through these interactions, they got to know each other.

Xu Junyan had a good impression of her and was already preparing to pursue her. Yu Shuang hadn't explicitly said yes, but her hints were quite obvious, implying that if he dared to pursue her, she would dare to accept.

However, this pursuit never fully materialized before it ended prematurely. This was due to RNG's loss in the World Championship, and more importantly, five days ago, after an internal RNG meeting, Yu Shuang had called him, accusing him of disregarding the bigger picture, their image, and the honor of the LPL. Clearly, Damon had told Yu Shuang what happened, and she had chosen to believe Damon over him, her potential romantic interest and friend.

In the past few days, Yu Shuang had sent several more messages, urging him to admit his mistake and promising that everyone would forgive him if he corrected himself.

Xu Junyan almost laughed in anger, thinking, How did I not realize the female host I was about to pursue was so brainless before? The ripple of affection in his heart vanished. Annoyed, he simply blocked her.

Clearly, he couldn't rely on her anymore. Otherwise, with Yu Shuang's number of Weibo followers, borrowing her account to post a clarification, while not guaranteed to be effective, would certainly create endless trouble for RNG.

Thinking this, he returned to his dorm and was surprised to find that his luggage had already been cleared out by the cleaning lady.

The auntie was still cleaning the dorm, tidying up his original bed. Seeing Xu Junyan enter, she said in surprise, "Little Xu, you're here so soon? I've already packed your things for you. The manager said you're leaving the team. You'll have to take good care of yourself from now on."

Xu Junyan reached up and gently rubbed his temples. He didn't bother arguing with the cleaning lady and simply nodded, picking up his luggage and heading out.

It seemed RNG was determined to cut all ties.

He left the club alone, with no teammates or acquaintances to see him off. Even Fire Fox Feng Ge, who had also become a scapegoat, didn't show up.

Just a few days ago, the few of them were as close as brothers, sharing a can of soda. The RNG team leader had even filmed multiple vlogs and posted them on Weibo to promote their deep brotherhood within RNG. Now, it felt quite ironic.

Xu Junyan left in solitude. Because RNG's salary hadn't been very high during his two years as a professional player, he didn't have much money left, only about 20,000 yuan. This amount wouldn't cover rent in Shanghai for very long. Besides, his future was uncertain, and there was no rush to rent a place.

After much thought, Xu Junyan decided to find a decent internet cafe, book a 10-day private room, and settle there for a while.

Ding dong!

A short message notification suddenly sounded.

Xu Junyan frowned, took out his phone, and looked at it. It was from Fire Fox Feng Ge.

"Silence, why bother? What's the point of going against the club like this? They have ten thousand ways to deal with us. We're still under contract with RNG, and if they just make one move, we'll be completely finished!"

"Am I being recruited by a lobbyist?" Xu Junyan replied unhurriedly, reaching out to turn on his computer, ready to play some games on the Korean server.

Ding dong!

"I'm not a lobbyist, I just want to remind you that you've really upset the manager. If you apologize to him soon, there might still be room for reconciliation. After all, we're just individuals."

Xu Junyan didn't reply this time and started logging into his personal Korean server account, only to find that he couldn't log in.

A prompt appeared: Account has been banned for 30 years!

Ding dong!

Another message came through.

Xu Junyan frowned and opened his phone again. It was Yu Shuang, whom he had blocked on WeChat.

"Xu Junyan, you've disappointed me so much! I always thought you were avoiding things because you felt ashamed after losing your temper and disrupting everyone's mindset after that match. I never expected you to be this kind of person. You, this kind of person, are simply insulting esports!"