RNG Esports Club.
Team manager Damon personally went to the club owner's office, looking rather grim as he discussed Xu Junyan's contract with him.
Because of Xu Junyan's Weibo post, the contract issue had continued to escalate, and they suddenly found themselves in an awkward position.
Given that they had already completely fallen out with Xu Junyan and intended to take things to the absolute extreme, they naturally did not want to let him go so easily.
No matter what, they no longer wanted to give Xu Junyan even the slightest chance of making a comeback.
But the problem now was that if they did not quickly get rid of Xu Junyan's contract and completely sever ties with him, their previous actions would indeed make them look rather hypocritical.
Besides, almost everyone in the LPL was standing on their RNG's side now. As long as they immediately terminated Xu Junyan's contract and issued an announcement, their public relations campaign would only become more successful. It would also be far more natural for them to continue promoting the club afterward.
"Boss, what should we do? Are we really just going to terminate his contract that easily?"
Damon asked in an extremely displeased tone.
"Mm, that's the only way." Compared to Damon's anger and frustration, RNG's owner, Bai Xing, appeared exceptionally calm. "We've already won public support, so we have to go with the flow. If something minor causes anyone within the LPL to develop even the slightest misgivings about RNG at a time like this, it'll affect our plans for the entire coming year."
"But that ungrateful Xu Junyan went so far, and he was completely disobedient. I'm not willing to let him go that easily." Damon was so furious he wanted to smash the table.
"Are you really afraid he'll make a comeback?" Bai Xing said with a half-smile. "After this incident, his professional career is basically over. Even if we keep that contract, it won't be much use. At most, we would wait another year for it to expire and terminate automatically. You don't seriously think that after ending his contract, he'll immediately find a new team and keep competing, do you? Look at whose side the entire LPL public opinion is on right now. What team would dare commit such a taboo? They'd be courting death."
Damon considered it and thought that made sense. After a brief pause, he asked, "Then we'll terminate his contract?"
"Terminate it. We've already gained enough in terms of reputation from this matter. Everything has its limits. Since we've confirmed that he can't stir up any more trouble, ending it early is fine. We need to begin our next round of promotion."
Bai Xing waved his hand dismissively, speaking with excitement and anticipation. "Promote the LPL's number one all-Chinese roster!!"
Damon was equally stirred up, his eyes gleaming.
Although they had fallen in the semifinals at this World Championship, there was no denying that they had performed strongly enough!
WE, who had also stopped in the semifinals, were no match for them at all. As for EDG, the former Internal War Phantom, they had suffered another blow by being eliminated in the Round of 16. They would probably never recover from it.
So whose era would come next?
RNG's!
And Bai Xing's strategy of promoting an all-Chinese roster was truly intoxicating just to hear about. As long as they put out more publicity and built on RNG's current rise within the LPL, the future would be bright.
Why was I still bothering to argue with a nobody like Xu Junyan, whose career was already destined to end? The sooner we got rid of him, the quieter things would be.
Damon's mind settled. No longer hesitating, he promptly turned to contact the administrator in charge of player contracts, found Xu Junyan's contract, and drafted a termination agreement. Once he had finished, he called Xu Junyan.
The next time he saw Xu Junyan was at a café not far from the RNG base. Damon had expected that after several days of torment, Xu Junyan would surely be utterly listless.
He was confident of that. He also believed that he had an excellent grasp of human nature. Young professional players like Xu Junyan generally had rather poor mental resilience.
Yet when he actually saw Xu Junyan, Damon was greatly disappointed. The other man's mental state was exceptionally good—perhaps even better than when he had still been at the RNG base.
"Oh? Why does the manager look so miserable? Didn't you do a great job framing me for match-fixing and slandering me across the entire internet as a villain? Why are you in a bad mood after succeeding? Have nightmares been tormenting you every night? Has heaven punished you, and your conscience has finally awakened?"
Xu Junyan walked over with a faint smile and sat directly across from Damon, teasing him as though nothing had happened.
Damon had just been about to lose his temper and say that someone already finished like Xu Junyan could still laugh, when alarm bells suddenly went off in his mind. Worried that Xu Junyan might secretly record him and play some dirty trick, he held it in and directly took out two contracts and a pen.
"Terminate the contract."
Damon pushed the contracts toward Xu Junyan and frowned. "Sign them quickly. I can't be bothered wasting more time arguing with someone like you."
"Heh." Xu Junyan knew what Damon was afraid of, so he said nothing more and picked up the contract, reading it word by word.
Damon frowned deeply and sneered. "You don't need to read it that carefully. You're already finished. I'm not going to play any tricks with the contract. There's no need."
"You can't say that for sure. Your RNG is capable of anything. Slandering innocent people out of thin air is already a minor trick for you. Who knows what other schemes you might be cooking up behind the scenes?"
Xu Junyan answered calmly, but his gaze remained locked on every line and every word, not daring to relax in the slightest.
This would be his only chance to negotiate a contract termination with RNG. If his carelessness allowed RNG to trap him this time, he would undoubtedly be creating more trouble for his future self.
Damon smiled coldly, seemingly disdainful of Xu Junyan's caution. Two hours later, Xu Junyan finally finished reading the contract, which was not actually very thick, and signed his name on the termination agreement.
"What a waste of time."
Damon swiftly snatched up one copy of the contract. Before leaving, he still felt that he had to vent the resentment in his heart. In the lofty tone of a team manager, he mocked Xu Junyan, "Little Xu, I know you must regret it to death right now, but unfortunately, there's no medicine for regret in this world. You're really unlucky."
Xu Junyan's expression remained utterly calm. Faced with Damon's mockery, he instead broke into a brilliant smile and said, "Has it occurred to you that you'll be the one regretting this very soon?"
"I'll regret it? What a joke! Even if I, Damon, walked out right now and got hit by a car, I still wouldn't regret kicking an ungrateful wretch like you out of RNG."
Damon thought Xu Junyan was merely putting on a brave face. After smugly throwing out those words, he turned and left.
Before you continue