League of Legends: Reborn in Season 3, Tuning the Entire League

Chapter 229 Colossus and Redmi
As the saying goes, carrying five kilograms of water requires me to rest seven or eight times while climbing a flight of stairs, but fifty kilograms of cash? Sorry, today I must compete with Usain Bolt to see who truly deserves the title of 100-meter sprinter.

For today's esports players, or rather, for 99% of the world's workers, promotions, raises, and bonuses are the best medicine for maintaining their form and motivation.

Jiang Ming was well aware of the crossroads the LOL esports scene had reached. In his previous life, large-scale capital entry wouldn't happen until 1516, but now, under his influence, many people in the industry had entered the game much earlier. EDG entered half a year earlier, and although Suning was only sponsoring its own NXG, it was still many steps ahead of its previous life.

Before large-scale investment entered the market, NXG's current size was no match for them.

While Jiang Ming can honestly say that he has not mistreated the players in terms of contract terms, his treatment of the players is not as advantageous as that of some well-funded clubs.

If the normal salary is not competitive, and without considering any grand promises about the future, talking about life and ideals, or playing the emotional card, the only thing that can keep the contestants from being tempted by the financial aspect is the bonus.

In the NXG club, the standard benefits may be somewhat inferior to those of other "rich clubs".

But if you can achieve good results, the prize money from tournaments, club rewards, and even the increase in the player's personal value transferred from the owner are all tangible benefits.

Here, players only need to consider how fast they can destroy the enemy's crystal, without worrying about how quickly their wages will arrive.

As you can see, the Black and White teams only played in a city league championship and just qualified for the LPL, yet they have already become a sensation across the internet.

Can you say that the biggest contributor and driving force behind this is not JM?

Looking at the teams in other city championships, the audience probably didn't even remember their names.

Not to mention that staying with NXG would provide them with training that other teams simply can't offer.

That's why, as long as a player is of sound mind and has the opportunity to become a starter for NXG, they generally won't consider leaving.

For example, Jiang Ming knew immediately when Ed Zhu extended an olive branch to the players of his own black and white teams; in fact, the players themselves came to his office to explain.

He was afraid that the club would think he was trying to betray them and kick him out early.

Moreover, the five players currently competing in the World Championship have already received their prize money immediately after advancing from the quarterfinals to the semifinals. And that means they're guaranteed a spot in the finals, and even if they win the championship...

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Brothers, watch me play forty games tonight!"

"Champion, champion, you little rascal, just wait for us."

The saying goes, "A large sum of money is worse than empty words of concern." When Song Yuan and others clearly saw the balance deposited into their accounts via text message, no amount of words could match the immense power provided by those few cold numbers.

"Keep an eye on them, and don't let them practice too late. They need to balance work and rest. I have to go out for a bit."

Seeing the five wolf cubs howling at the computer, Jiang Ming's eyes flashed with a smile, and he gave instructions to White Crescent and Chen Muxin.

The NXG players have been completely cut off from rest since the start of their S3 campaign. The club will not grant them a vacation until the end of the finals. During the competition, they went to the West Coast to see bikini-clad girls. Being a beach boy is not an option for them.

If you want to see that, it has to be after you've won the championship trophy. Forget about sunshine, beaches, and beautiful women, you could even arrange for a yacht trip.

"Okay, Ming-ge."

Neither White Crescent nor Chen Muxin said much.

Employees should be aware of their role as employees. No matter how easy-going your boss is or how well you get along with your employees, you should always know how to maintain boundaries. If there are questions you shouldn't ask, just give a nod.

They didn't want to lose their well-paid jobs.

Jiang Ming left the hotel, hailed a taxi, told the driver the location, and sped off towards his destination.

……

call!call!
Outside the car window, the taxi, which had reached a certain speed due to the driver pressing the accelerator hard, was surrounded by the whistling wind.

"How about we turn it off for now?" Jiang Ming asked for the third time, looking at the driver's frizzy afro in the front seat.

Compared to the strong winds generated by speeding, air conditioning is clearly more effective at warding off the summer heat.

"Hey boy, don't you think you can better appreciate the honey-colored sunset on the West Coast of Los Angeles in September with the window open?"

The taxi driver flatly refused, and even instantly switched to the persona of a bard, swinging his arm out the window and starting to ramble on about the scenery.

"Look, the palm leaves swaying gently in the sea breeze, and the waves on the sea like mermaid scales, and after get off work, you can let the naughty crazy boy slap your face—ah, just thinking about it makes me want to fall asleep."

Jiang Ming: !!!
“Sir!” Jiang Ming stared at the palm tree the car was about to crash into, his back soaked with cold sweat. “If you don’t watch where you’re going, we’re about to be stuck in a bank counter reminiscing about our first love—their security guards might just use machine guns to help you remember!”

"Haha, sorry, sorry, old people just like to reminisce about the past." The driver once again did something that made Jiang Ming's heart skip a beat, drawing an exaggerated arc with the steering wheel in his hands.

"My wife and I met on the beach; she was the most beautiful one."

"Oh, I still can't forget that scene to this day, I think you can understand!"

Jiang Ming swore that this was the most dangerous taxi ride he had ever taken in his life.

Not only was there a 30-minute verbal barrage from when I got on the bus to when I got off, but I also bumped into trash cans twice, and once I brushed past a couple who were passionately kissing, with the other person's saliva splashing onto the side window.

The steering wheel went out of control three times, heading towards a jewelry store, a bank, and a fire hydrant respectively!

If he hadn't missed seeing any rifles or AKs in the car, he would have seriously wondered if he'd been tricked and was on his way to meet up with some robbery gang.

Fortunately, no matter what happened along the way, they finally arrived at their destination safely.

When I finally saw the coffee shop sign, I practically jumped out of the car.

Jiang Ming was dressed casually today, but the cuffs of his navy blue linen polo shirt were already stuck to his arms with cold sweat.

"How many of you are there, sir?"

As soon as I pushed open the door, a service staff member came to greet me.

"Three of you, I've reserved a table on the second floor by the balcony." Jiang Ming quickly took the menu, the shadow of American tipping culture looming overhead!

Thanks to the shady dealings of American capitalists, he didn't want to repeat his needs to the other party over and over again; otherwise, the extra service fees alone would be enough to cover his treat for the day.

It's not that I'm stingy or reluctant to give this much.

The problem is, have you ever seen tips calculated as a percentage of the customer's spending? And they're ridiculously expensive, starting at 22%.

As a Chinese person accustomed to the idea that "services are included in consumption," he always felt that paying extra for basic services was as absurd as paying for the cup after buying a cup of coffee.

Jiang Ming sat at the walnut table by the window, taking advantage of the lull between the dishes and the arrival of guests to quietly gaze out the window while sipping ice water. Thump! Thump!
The knocking came earlier than expected. The efficiency of serving food in Los Angeles was not as long as the experiments in the movies showed. Moreover, the two guests that Jiang Ming had invited today entered the room along with the dining table.

"Hey Chengrong, I told you taking a taxi would have been faster. Why did you have to squeeze onto the bus?"

Before she even stepped inside, a complaining tone, tinged with a coquettish lisp, drifted in. A draft of early summer heat swept through the room, rushing in with Imp—this young man, who had just squeezed off a bus, was holding up a pair of round-framed glasses, half-crooked on his nose, accusing Hongmi of something that had been smashed to pieces by the passengers who had just shoved him.

Hongmi patted him on the shoulder helplessly and promised to take him to get new glasses when they got back.

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh."

Just as he was about to bow in apology as was his habit, a hand suddenly reached out and stopped him.

"We don't do that here. Bowing is usually something juniors do to seniors." Jiang Ming smiled and stretched out his hand, his palm gleaming warmly under the floor lamp.

Before Hongmi could react, she had just extended her right hand and touched her fingertip when the boisterous Imp had already stuck both hands between the two of them.

“Jm, how are you!” He smiled, revealing two crescent-shaped eyes, with shards of his glasses still clinging to his eyelashes. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Imp, and my name is Gu Shengbin.”

“We chatted online before, duo queue.”

"Hello there, pfft!"

Hearing the other person's hastily learned Chinese, complete with a thick lisp, Jiang Ming, in a playful mood, immediately used the nickname he had given the other person during ranked matches in the Korean server.

That's right. The reason he left his own team and came to the coffee shop alone today was neither to have a secret relationship with his senior or to meet a North American girl behind her back, nor was it because he had any shady dealings. It was simply to keep these two key figures in front of him before his flight to South Korea took off.

The two people in front of you are none other than IMP and Redmi!
This duo, who were once the number one seed in the region but were swept 3-0 by Royal Club in the quarterfinals, were once regarded as a worthless "useless duo" by outsiders, especially OGN viewers.

But who could have predicted that the two, who performed unremarkable in Season 3, would maintain an extraordinary level of performance from the following year until Season 14?

After winning the championship trophy in Season 4, one of them transitioned into coaching, and the team he led consistently ranked among the top in the region; the other, despite being a heavy smoker and drinker with a lifestyle that could be described as "having all the vices," was still able to dominate the Korean server's Challenger 1000 rank.

"sit."

Jiang Ming lightly tapped the table with his fingertips, not in a hurry to bring up the topic. A rare gentle smile appeared on his lips as he pulled out chairs to gesture for the two of them to sit down.

Chinese people like to discuss business over meals, and hot dishes and soups are the best way to break the ice.

The marbled beef on the grill was sizzling and dripping with oil, its aroma mingling with the scent of charcoal fire filling the private room.

Don't ask why there's barbecue in American cafes; Jiang Ming said he was just as curious.

"Okay, okay, thank you, JM."

IMP responded with a drawn-out tone. Being the friendly guy he is, the moment his butt touched the chair, he grabbed a lettuce leaf and skillfully wrapped it around the crispy, charred pork belly.

The Giant Warrior is an optimist by nature and has a strong ability to accept failure. He became a bit neurotic in his previous life because he was emotionally deceived and lost a lot of gold coins by a Japanese woman.

Furthermore, the two had already had considerable contact in Korean ranked games. Although he received an invitation to meet offline—due to a brief period of embarrassment in the S3 World Championship—he quickly put it out of his mind.

In contrast, Hongmi paused, his chopsticks in hand, somewhat confused as to why JM had invited him.

It's understandable that they would invite Imp. Although Koo Sung-bin is usually unreliable, his personal talent is absolutely top-notch, so it's perfectly normal for NXG to invite him to join.

What about yourself?
As a player born in 1985, he is already 28 years old this year, which is not considered old age in the e-sports industry, but rather the age to be buried.

After finishing this World Championship, Redmi is already preparing to step down from the front line.

So what reason does JM have to include herself?

Continue playing for another year?
Forget it, with NXG's terrifying bench lineup, they'd probably have to wait in line even to be on the water bench.

Redmi's face was full of confusion, still unable to figure it out.

However, this dilemma came and went quickly.

"Wow, this beef rib is amazing!" IMP's sudden cheer interrupted Redmi's thoughts.

The giant soldier was holding up a glistening, roasted rib, oil dripping from his fingers onto the tablecloth, his eyelashes trembling as he ate.

Hongmi was about to laugh and curse when, almost unconsciously, she picked up a slice of pork belly—well, for things she couldn't figure out, she'd let the barbecue army take over her brain cells first.

Never mind, let's eat first!
"belch!"

Twenty minutes later, IMP slumped comfortably in his chair, burping contentedly, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the edge of the table as he hummed an unknown tune.

Hongmi sat upright, the hot tea rippling gently in her cup, her gaze quietly fixed on Jiang Ming, who was sipping his iced coffee across from her.

"Are you all full?"

Jiang Ming asked politely, explaining that he had actually been full for a while, but in order to accommodate the gluttonous Giant Soldier, the mid-laner had to wait for the ADC to replenish his health and mana at the fountain.

"I'm full, burp, hehehe, thanks JM."

Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, it's time to get down to business.

Jiang Ming carefully considered his words, "I'm sure you two have already guessed what I'm inviting you to today. Now, I'm officially extending this invitation to you as the founder of NXG eSports Club."

“Okay, okay… Waaah… Brother Chengrong…” IMP suddenly sat up straight, but before he could finish speaking, Hongmi elbowed him hard in the waist.

"Could I ask for the reason, and the specific arrangements between me and IMP?"

Covering IMP's mouth as he was about to agree, Redmi, with his adult mindset, finally raised his own questions.

Even though the person sitting directly opposite me is younger than me, and is even just a college student.

However, as the owner of an esports club, his own nature dictates that the other party cannot share the same way of thinking as them.

It's always better to ask about things beforehand.

"Of course!"

"To be precise, I am not representing the NXG team right now."

"ROX?"

Redmi quickly grasped this keyword in its mind.

(End of this chapter)