You've only been playing for half a year, and you've already reached the finals?

Chapter 292 The game continues
The plane landed quickly at Hongqiao Airport, where the club had already arranged a car to wait. The Ming brothers quickly got into the car and headed straight for the base.

While there was still more than an hour's journey to the base, Ming Jing took out his phone and casually browsed various social media apps.

Ming Jing first opened Weibo and took a look.

After not checking for a few days, my Weibo account has received hundreds of thousands more likes, comments, and private messages.

On the very night Mingjing won the S-series championship, he launched a poll on his Weibo account, letting the audience decide who would receive the championship skin.

As for the final result, it goes without saying that it can only be Lucian, the same choice as the previous reporter.

As an AD-to-mid laner, Lucian is both Mingjing's ultimate move at the beginning and his trump card in the final, making him the best choice for the championship skin!

It's worth mentioning that several teammates also made their own choices.

Top laner Flandre chose Graves, jungler JieJie chose Blade of the Ruined King, bot laner Viper chose Aphelios, and support chose Yuumi.

These are mostly heroes that each person personally likes.

Actually, JieJie had asked MingJing if they wanted to create a mid-jungle skin combination for Galio Prince.

But Mingjing's votes have already been counted, so they can't change their minds. Therefore, they can only leave this combination for the next championship.

Unexpectedly, Ming Jing saw his name trending on social media, and at the top of the list again.

"#Phi ranked third nationwide"

As is customary, the official website of the Chinese Olympic Committee will publish the exam results and rankings on its website a few days after the CMO exam.

Because of Mingjing's presence, countless fans had been eagerly anticipating the results of this exam, rushing to check as soon as possible, even overwhelming the fragile website server of the CMO official website.

Many people are really curious to know how much of Mingjing's math skills remain after a year of competition.

But as it turned out, Ming Jing's name appeared in third place.

Clearly, Mingjing's math score improved rather than declined this time, which was quite unexpected.

Even within the anti-racism forums, there are numerous comments related to this matter.

[Holy crap, third in the country? Can anyone who knows explain what level that is?]

To put it simply, Chinese math is roughly equivalent to Chinese table tennis; being third in the national rankings means you could potentially win a team gold medal at the Olympics.

[Wow, so what? Winning video games isn't enough, you want to win math competitions too?]

[As long as the national training team doesn't pull any tricks later on, winning the IMO is a sure thing.]

When will they be able to come back?

[I think IMO is in July or August every year? Anyway, I definitely won't be back before the Summer Split, and I should be back during the Summer Playoffs.]

Wow, leaving the team for more than half a year at once is a bit of an exaggeration!

[Fast forward to EDG's plummeting performance; they failed to make the playoffs in the Summer Split and missed the World Championship altogether, a year's work all for nothing.]

[Stop talking, Xiaofei hasn't even renewed his contract yet, he might not even play next year.]

[Holy crap, no!]

Looking at the comments in front of him, Ming Jing couldn't help but chuckle.

It has to be said that the netizens' imaginations are quite good. Ming Jing got interested when he saw this and started scrolling through the forum. It wasn't until Song Xuan sent a message that Ming Jing was pulled out of his immersive state of browsing the forum.

"Reached?"

"Arrived, on my way to the base," Ming Jing typed back quickly. "I should have time to come see you tomorrow."

"Okay!" The girl's message was followed by a green crocodile nodding emoji.

The nanny van responsible for picking them up slowly stopped at the entrance of the base. Mingjing and his cousin pulled their luggage into the base together, where they could see Abu waiting at the entrance for a long time.

Nice, the dog kept at the base, also rushed over.

Nice is a Pomeranian, and now that it's winter, Nice is wearing a custom EDG team uniform.

It had probably been a long time since it had seen Ming Jing, and it excitedly started spinning around at Ming Jing's feet.

Mingjing bent down and picked Nice up, and then heard Abu say, "Let's go and talk about the final contract."

Everyone walked into the meeting room together.

Ming Jing thought the contract signing would go smoothly, but Abu still caused some trouble.

"You mentioned a couple of days ago that you might not be able to return to the team until August. The actuary reassessed the value and felt that if it were still the old contract, the risk might be a bit too high."

Ming Jing raised an eyebrow slightly as he listened to Abu's words.

Does this mean you're upset about having too many absences?

Of course, that's reasonable.

Clubs buy players half for their skill and half for their popularity.

By the time Ming Jing returns to the team in August, more than half of the season will have passed, meaning the club won't have benefited from Ming Jing's popularity during the first half of the season, which the club is naturally unhappy about.

If they don't generate enough traffic beforehand and fail to win the championship later, then the club's 30 million yuan investment will be completely wasted.

"So," Ming Jing said calmly, continuing, "what's the club's idea?"

"Don't worry," Abu said with a smile. "The club would never treat you unfairly, so we've drafted a new contract for you to take a look at."

After saying that, Abu placed a contract in front of Mingjing.

The vast majority of the contract was the same as the one Mingjing signed last year, except for the salary section, which had many more lines of text.

These extra lines transformed Mingjing's salary into a tiered structure.

Simply put, it's a bet.

The contract offers a base salary of 2000 million RMB per year plus a signing bonus of 200 million RMB, the same as last year's contract. Mingjing only needs to sign the contract to receive this money reliably.

If Mingjing takes another step forward and leads the team to win the Summer Championship after returning to the team, his base salary will increase by 500 million, from 2000 million to 2500 million.

Going forward, as the team's performance in the World Championship continues to improve, this salary will continue to rise.

If we can win the final S-series championship, the salary will reach a final 3800 million!

Including the signing fee of two million, that's a total of 4000 million a year.

Seeing Ming Jing deep in thought, Abu continued, "Although the contract was changed at the last minute, the club was only considering it from a risk-mitigation perspective. I hope you can understand."

Abu knew that Mingjing was fully capable of assessing risks on his own, so he never treated Mingjing as a minor from the beginning and discussed the matter entirely from a rational perspective.

No matter what you say, a base salary of 2200 million RMB per year without any responsibility is still the highest record to date.

Keep in mind that Ming Jing won't be back until August, by which time the summer regular season will be over.

Even if Ming Jing fails to achieve any results with the club after his return, he will still earn a considerable amount of money. Earning 20 million for playing only half of the summer season is an incredible hourly wage.
The club can also use this to reduce expenses and prepare funds for next year's competition.

If they can win the S-series championship, then needless to say, the total salary of 4000 million is much higher than the previous contract of 3300 million.

The club gained the revenue from the championship and was happy to pay for it, making it a win-win situation.

Abu continued, "I believe you can see the club's sincerity from the contract. Knowing that you can't play until August, no other club besides EDG could offer such generous terms."

“Okay.” Ming Jing looked up and smiled, “I have no problem with that.”

From the very beginning, Ming Jing firmly believed that he would win a three-peat.

The new performance-based contract offered by EDG is practically a gift of money, so he has no reason to refuse.

Without hesitation, Mingjing confirmed that the contract terms were correct, then quickly pressed his fingerprint and signed his name.

The contract is complete, but the legend continues.

Mingjing's presence extended the life of EDG, a warship that had completed its golden journey, by another year.

If he could complete the Golden Road again, the titles of the greatest player in history and the greatest club in history might change hands.

Conquering a country is difficult, but maintaining it is even more difficult.

In this new season, not only their opponents, but also the designers may be focusing their efforts on targeting EDG.

After all, Riot Games must be tired of a team winning championships all the time, which is not a good thing for the esports ecosystem.

The real test for EDG has only just begun.

Of course, before that, EDG needs to find another substitute mid laner.

"Oh, by the way," Abu suddenly said, "the team has their eye on Zeka for the substitute mid laner. What do you think?"

“Zeka?” Ming Jing searched his memory for a long time before finally remembering who this person was.

He still had some impression of this person.

Last season's mid laner for BLG, this player is also known for his Akali and Sylas skills, and he also excels at Lee Sin and Irelia in the Summer Split.

However, in order to target Mingjing, the designers disregarded the lives of others and nerfed Akali to the point of being useless, while Lee Sin and Irelia were also nerfed one after another.

Mingjing was relatively easy to deal with, as his hero pool made him unafraid of being targeted, but Zeka suffered a severe blow, being nerfed so badly that he never recovered.

Mingjing remembered him for this reason; at the time, the members of the Anti-Gang forum were full of regret over Zeka being caught in the crossfire. If it weren't for Xiaofei's actions, BLG might have been able to make a run for the World Championship.

"Do you want him to be a substitute?" Ming Jing asked.

“Yes,” Abu nodded and said, “He originally had a contract with DRX, but Scout snatched him away, so he’s still looking for a team. I think he’s pretty good, very cost-effective.”

Zeka has been in the LPL for several years now, experiencing ups and downs, and has basically not achieved any decent results.

So even though he's a Korean player, his price isn't actually that high; you can get him for two or three million a year, which is less than half of Scout's price last year.

It should be more than enough to cover shifts.

Ming Jing thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Let's bring him along and give it a try."

The very next day, new guests arrived at the EDG base.

Zeka looked at the not-so-tall EDG base in front of him, but inexplicably felt a little intimidated.

Is this really a club he should be able to join?

He sent a message with his head down, and not long after, a large group of people poured out of the base ahead, including Abu, Maokai, Clearlove, and several starters including Mingjing.

This scene terrified Zeka even more.

What is this for?

"Hey, you're here." Abu laughed. "Come on, let's go inside."

Mingjing followed behind the group and saw Zeka looking rather reserved.

As a contestant from South Korea, Zeka's Korean heritage can only be described as very pure.

His physique, perfected through years of fitness training, and his signature slicked-back haircut make him look like a living, breathing Korean comic book protagonist.

As Ming Jing was lost in thought, he suddenly saw Zeka turn around and glance at him.

Unexpectedly, Zeka seemed quite afraid of Mingjing's gaze. As soon as she turned her head, she looked down as if she had seen the sun.

scared.jpg.

This left Ming Jing a bit confused. What was going on?

Zeka is not only pure in appearance, but also deeply embodies the traditional Korean hierarchy of seniority and respect.

When he met a senior colleague, he would serve them tea and water.

He was arrogant and bossy towards younger people.

Although Ming Jing is still young, and not even an adult yet, he already has two championships and two FMVP awards.

According to the principle of "the successful take all," he has to kneel.

Is this the legendary Phi?
During last summer's regular season, Zeka was relegated to the bench by BLG and was unable to play alongside Mingjing.

He finally earned his starting position in the playoffs through his own strength, but BLG was eliminated early and failed to reach EDG.

So it's funny, this was the first time Zeka had ever seen Ming Jing in person, the legendary ultimate genius.

"Relax." The ultimate genius was quite amiable, smiling as he said, "Play what you're good at, and passing the trials shouldn't be a problem."

Zeka's Chinese is quite good, but after hearing this, he just nodded timidly and said, "I will!"

With a height of nearly 190cm and double-door-sized frame, this reaction was truly a stark contrast, leaving Ming Jing even more bewildered.

Is this person really that introverted?

With the trial players arriving, it's time to start practice matches.

Maokai specially arranged for Zeka to play a scrim with RNG.

This year, RNG was the first team to complete the transfer period operations.

Of course, the main reason is that they haven't changed much at all.

While retaining its three junglers, RNG recruited young top laner Bin from SN, while Xiaohu continued to fill the gaps by returning to his most proficient mid lane.

On paper, RNG is undoubtedly a major reinforcement compared to S11.

As a mainstay of the LPL mid lane, if Zeka can deliver a respectable performance in Xiaohu's hands, then the task will be considered a success.

However, when the actual fighting began, the outcome was not ideal.

In just the first game, Flandre was completely dominated by Bin. His Gnar was kicked under the tower by Camille and even had difficulty last-hitting minions!
Zeka failed to establish any significant momentum, while Xiaohu roamed to the top lane twice, further widening the gap between the two teams in the top lane.

At this point, there's not much to say. Bin has a huge advantage in the top lane, which EDG has to focus on. This allows GALA in the bottom lane to farm comfortably, and in the late game, team fights will naturally be a complete stomp.

Meiko typed "GG," and both players exited the game. They then began to review the replay.

Zeka was a little nervous after losing the first game of the training match, and even sweat was beading on his forehead in the dead of winter.

"It's okay, don't feel pressured," Maokai said with a smile. "You'll be fine this time."

Behind him, Ming Jing also crossed his arms, replaying the match in his mind.

From an omniscient perspective, it's not hard to see that it wasn't that anyone on EDG played poorly; it was simply that RNG played exceptionally well.

RNG seems to have become quite strong after Bin joined.

This year's RNG team has essentially adopted the same playstyle.

Wei and Cryin have average carry ability but top-notch rhythm control.

Xiaohu and GALA are weak in lane, but one has top-notch split-pushing ability and the other has top-notch team fight ability.

So the group took turns supporting each other, forming a perfect system where the mid and jungle players worked together to help the top laner, Xiaohu split-pushed to help GALA farm, and team fights decided the outcome. This resulted in what is probably the biggest dark horse comeback in LPL history.

The current new version of RNG is undoubtedly the ultimate version of the S11 RNG.

Xiaohu has a stronger rhythm and carry ability compared to Cryin, and Bin has also made up for Xiaohu's weakness in the laning phase, making the whole team a step up!

Ming Jing even had a vague feeling that if this team could gel together to the end, they might actually become a formidable opponent for EDG on their road to the championship.

Of course, they are just formidable rivals.

Next, the training matches continued.

Subsequently, EDG decisively adjusted their strategy, having Flandre pick a tank top laner to withstand pressure, shifting their focus to the bottom half of the map, creating a situation where both sides engaged in a mismatched offensive battle.

Zeka's assassin mid-lane play also started to make an impact in the second game.

He first went to the bottom lane to farm a few rounds of gold to fatten himself up, and in the mid-game, when split pushing, he fought back and forth with Bin, delaying RNG's split pushing rhythm.

In later team fights, he even showed outstanding performance by single-handedly taking down GALA.

Unfortunately, they still couldn't win in the end.

This version of RNG's individual abilities are no longer a weakness, but rather a strength. With efforts from all three lanes, even without GALA, they still have Xiaohu and Bin.

EDG struggled to cope and ultimately lost the game.

Fortunately, EDG's champion player was no pushover. In the third game, Viper finally started to shine, delivering a perfect performance with Aphelios, dominating the lane and dealing damage in team fights.

Zeka, as the team's second player, also performed exceptionally well. His Sylas effectively neutralized GALA's damage output in team fights, and he ultimately secured the victory after Viper's burn was depleted.

Seeing the opponent type GG, Zeka finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the person behind him.

At that moment, Maokai Abu and Mingjing were quietly discussing Zeka's performance that day.

"I think it's alright, what do you think?"

"It's alright," Ming Jing said. "Winning one game is already pretty good."

Zeka is only worth three million. He is not only a temporary substitute who lacks chemistry, but also lacks confidence due to playing against weaker teams for many years. It is unrealistic to expect him to crush Xiaohu. Being able to play his own style is already a remarkable achievement.

Besides, someone who can master assassin mid-lane is bound to have decent mechanics.

Since Mingjing had spoken, Maokai and Abu naturally wouldn't deny it, they just nodded.

"Then let's sign it."

After saying that, Maokai smiled and nodded in Zeka's direction.

Zeka breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he only became a substitute, this substitute position was of great significance to him!

That very night, EDG officially signed a contract with Zeka, and submitted it to the league for review the following day.

This time, the alliance was quite swift, without deliberately stalling the review process, and the application was approved very quickly.

That evening, EDG's official Weibo account posted a series of messages, starting with "[The game continues]", officially announcing EDG's roster for S12.

Moreover, there's an unexpected surprise in this lineup.

Manager: Ji Xing

Coach: Maokai
Supervision: Clearlove
Top laner: Flandre
Jungler: Jiejie
Mid lane: Phi, Zeka
Bottom lane: Viper
Support: Meiko
(End of this chapter)