That very night after the termination contract was signed, RNG's official Weibo could not wait to announce the news.
In the post, they also claimed that they had been handling the matter for some time and had originally intended to give Xu Junyan a larger severance package, but since Xu Junyan wanted to terminate the contract as soon as possible, they had accelerated the process.
The moment this hypocritically saintly post was published, it immediately drew the attention of countless LPL fans and viewers.
"RNG really is something. All I can say is, they're overflowing with humanity."
"No, bro, that ungrateful bastard did all that, and you're still treating him this well? There's no need."
"The most humane club in the LPL, bar none!"
"Fuck, I'm actually tearing up. How did such a great club end up signing such a fucking ungrateful bastard?"
"Poor Mud Monster. Hugs, don't cry."
"I'm dying, that parasite really thought he was so important. Saying RNG was holding his contract hostage when our Mud Monster clearly just wanted to give him some severance pay. Well, look at him now—he tried to steal a chicken and lost the rice used to bait it. No severance pay for him, hahaha!"
"+1+1+1. That's how narrow-minded parasites are. He really thought he was somebody. /sweating emoji"
"How is he not somebody? He single-handedly cost our LPL an S tournament championship!"
"Fuck! Just thinking about it pisses me off. Someone like that really deserves to die! The biggest stain in LPL history!"
"I still can't understand how this guy's brain works. Did he know what he was giving up by doing this?"
"Probably not. After betraying RNG, he'll never find another organization this good for the rest of his life."
"Find another organization? Who would dare take someone like him? Just go die already! Get the fuck out of the LPL and stop disgusting me."
"..."
RNG's contract termination and hypocritical statement undoubtedly won them another huge wave of goodwill.
As for Xu Junyan, the "villain" in this matter, he was naturally cursed even more viciously. An unprecedented spectacle even emerged where not a single person on the entire internet spoke up for him. He had thoroughly become the enemy of the entire LPL region.
Xu Junyan himself did not care about any of it.
After completely terminating his contract with RNG, the final boulder weighing on his heart was finally lifted.
As for match-fixing or whatever, RNG had no evidence at all. It was all baseless rumor, so what did it matter if people cursed him out online? As a professional player, he could handle that much.
Besides, now that the system had awakened a new ability, Xu Junyan felt that his future was nothing but smooth roads. He was full of drive.
And so, amid the ceaseless abuse across the internet, Xu Junyan completely vanished from sight and did not show himself for more than half a month.
But disappearing from the world could not extinguish the fury of LPL viewers, especially the Royal Hooligans. Every day or two, or even every few hours, they would still head to Xu Junyan's Weibo and curse him out.
During that time, RNG seized the momentum and heavily promoted Royal Family's grand plans for the coming year.
They first pushed the "all-Chinese roster" gimmick, along with all kinds of marketing, buying trends and traffic, and secretly paying accounts to stir up discourse. For example, whenever they saw someone who disliked RNG, they would immediately ask, "Are you even Chinese?" or comment, "That's just how Korean fanboys are." This series of moves sent RNG's popularity soaring.
RNG's starting players in every position also began streaming on Tiger TV. During their streams, they enthusiastically showcased just how close the players were, constantly interacting in ranked games, casual games, and all sorts of other activities.
RNG's official Weibo also began releasing vlogs from time to time, mostly showing everyday life at the team base. They particularly featured the players patting each other's butts, acting vaguely gay, and creating gimmicks like "Gay Tiger" and "RNGay." They were obviously disgusting, but the Royal Hooligans took pride in them and kept using them to attract attention.
There was no doubt about it: the more prosperous RNG became, the less people could forget Xu Junyan, the man who had fallen out with RNG. Their mockery of him online also grew increasingly confident.
In Xiaohu's Tiger TV stream, thanks to RNG's desperate marketing, Xiaohu's popularity had risen considerably as well. Now, every time he streamed, his channel had at least 1 million+ popularity, and the chat was extremely active.
"What do you guys want to see next game? I'll put on a show for you. Oh, right, Letme! Don't be scared! Hurry up and queue! Are you really that afraid of getting matched with me?"
Seeing the high popularity in his stream, Xiaohu looked smug and self-satisfied as he shouted into the stream in his raspy voice.
Letme, who was sitting beside him, pretended to hesitate for a while to play up the bit. Then he called out, "I'm scared of you? What a fucking joke," and clicked to start queueing.
The two of them really did enter a game at the same time and became opponents.
"Haha, they really got matched together. Letme's on the other side, and he's mid."
"Why did Xiaohu get jungle? Hurry up and ask mid for the role! Lane against Letme and crush him, make him bark, stomp him!"
"RNG without that parasite really is so pleasant to watch. Love it."
"Can we not mention that ungrateful bastard? Just thinking of that parasite makes me mad. Otherwise, our LPL would have won the championship long ago!"
"Agreed. If you want to curse him, go do it on Weibo. That's the main battlefield. Don't bring a traitor like that here to defile Royal Family's pure stream. Pah!"
"Xiaohu, hurry and ask for the role!"
"..."
Xiaohu glanced at the chat. As it happened, Letme was also calling for him to hurry up and ask for mid so they could 1v1.
Without hesitation, Xiaohu typed a message in all chat: "me can mid?"
The mid laner said nothing, but the two players in bottom lane, who appeared to be duo queueing, spoke up.
damengyichang: "Holy shit, Xiaohu?"
aqcft: "For real? We got matched with Xiaohu? Mid bro, stop pretending. I know you can understand this. Hurry up and give the role to Lord Tiger."
damengyichang: "Lord Tiger, I'm your fan. Good luck in the new season, RNG is invincible!"
When Xiaohu saw this, he said nothing aloud, but his vanity was instantly greatly satisfied.
Back when he had just become a pro, nobody even knew who he was. But now? He was practically a superstar. He gained more fans every day, and even when playing ranked on the Korean server, people could identify him and shower him with praise.
Half a month ago, Xiaohu might still have felt the tiniest bit guilty about Xu Junyan leaving and his own betrayal. Now, however, not a trace of guilt remained. All that was left was excitement and pride. He even resented Xu Junyan for not knowing his place back then, feeling that he had gotten exactly what he deserved.
However, aside from the bottom lane duo, the other two players—especially the mid laner whose role he wanted—simply ignored him.
A few teasing comments floated through the chat. "This mid bro is pretty good at putting on airs. He won't give up the role? Is he really going to make Lord Tiger lose face like this?"
Xiaohu also felt a little embarrassed. Maintaining a lofty attitude toward the two fans in bottom lane, he ignored them and sent another message, arrogantly telling the mid laner:
"I pro, RNG Xiaohu! me mid!"
Before you continue