LPL History

Chapter 117 Lu's ingenious plan to lure the tiger into devouring the dog, Jian's fist pounding the table and questioning the heavens.

Shanghai Grand Hotel.

To celebrate IG's successful advancement to the LPL Spring Split, PDD led the IG team to this grand-sounding hotel, which only had one storefront.

Pushing open the door, you find a long, narrow shop that can barely fit a few tables. Faded wooden chairs are scattered about next to oil-stained plastic tablecloths. An old-fashioned oscillating fan creaks in the corner, stirring up the smell of cooking oil wafting from the kitchen.

PDD generously booked the only private room at the Shanghai Grand Hotel.

Everyone took their seats, and PDD, as the team leader, scratched his head and sighed.

"Wow! I really didn't expect him to just leave like that."

When the IG team returned to the club after the match, they learned that Zhou Li had been dismissed.

I was hoping to persuade them to stay, but it turned out they had already packed up and left.

None of them had Zhou Li's contact information, so it seemed that this connection could only end here.

Sun Yalong poured himself a glass of wine and began to speak:

"They're gone, so be it. Our kids are doing just fine."

Upon hearing Sun Yalong's praise, Kid smiled and began to flatter him.

"Brother Sun provided excellent support."

It must be admitted that Kid is indeed very strong and is definitely a world-class player!

However, this only applies to ranked matches.

Kid, Ruofeng, and Factory Manager are known as the three top players in the Chinese server.

Ruofeng and Clearlove are WE's mid and jungle players. In the words of high-elo players, if Ruofeng and Clearlove duo queue, they can win even if they are matched with three pigs.

Sixteen-year-old Kid has three accounts that are his smurf accounts in the top ten of the Chinese server rankings, and he has even achieved the number one ranking in both the Chinese and Korean servers.

In 12, Kid had just debuted as a mid-laner and solo-killed Ruofeng in a match.

After winning the Best Newcomer award at the 2012 TGA National Finals, Kid was scouted by IG and joined the team.

He can be considered a child prodigy.

However, KID's problems soon became apparent.

Your attitude is terrible.

Kid often gets so nervous during matches that he sweats, and in crucial games, he becomes completely silent and even makes some inexplicable, basic mistakes.

Compared to Zhou Li's ability to calmly and rationally command during team fights, this presents a stark contrast to PDD and others.

He sighed with emotion:

"Pity."

Noticing that Kid's expression wasn't quite right, PDD interrupted Zita and said:

"Well, let's do a post-match review. Although we won today, to be honest, there was a certain element of luck involved. We still need to learn from our mistakes and analyze where the problems occurred..."

A voice rang out from the corner.

"Let's order... let's order first..."
-
February 5th. Nothing much to do, so I practiced Latin dance.

February 6th. Latin dance practice.

February 7th. Latin dance.

[February 8th. Latin.]

February 9th. No, I can't keep going like this. For four or five days straight, no club has contacted me. Given my performance that day, this shouldn't be happening.

In the apartment, Zhou Li squinted at the online comments and laughed in exasperation.

Because the preseason match between IG and OMG didn't attract much attention, my performance that day didn't generate much buzz.

However, although his performance didn't go viral, his words did.

Zhou Li's voice chat, filled with insults and profanity from his teammates, has earned him the title of "China's Number One Trash-Troll" among netizens.

What Zhou Li found most amusing was that KidGod on Instagram seemed to have a lot of opinions about him and kept smearing him on Weibo.

He saw the child's wandering spirit as a death trap.

His ID further fueled the hatred of some of the 60e fans.

Zhou Li sighed.

Who would have thought that Zhou Sheng, who was once incredibly successful and hailed as a role model in esports by netizens, would now be universally reviled online?

Fate is so fickle, and the big intestine is bound to the small intestine.

Looking at the balance in his bank card, Zhou Li did consider just giving up.

There are currently four million yuan lying quietly in his bank account.

It's also worth mentioning that this amount will increase once again after a period of time.

It's estimated to be a share of the championship-winning icons and skins from the S2 timeline.

This made Zhou Lidu realize that the system truly had humanity.

However, he soon learned that if he could not complete the current world exploration mission within a year, the historical records would be closed.

At that time, I won't get a single share of the profits from the S2 timeline.

Zhou Li calculated that at the current rate of increase, he would only have six or seven million in his account at most after a year.

Six or seven million is actually enough for a person to live comfortably for the rest of their life.

However, it's clearly unlikely that one could aspire to even greater heights.

If you keep a mistress, you might be financially drained in a few years.

After thinking it over, Zhou Li decided to take action.

[February 10th. Went to visit my old teammates at WE, but got kicked out by Abu. Abu, who hasn't even studied the Six Arts of a Gentleman, is utterly vulgar! I think Abu is courting death, I want to curse him to death!]

【February 19th. Man. 】

March 1st. Only two weeks left until the LPL Spring Split starts. Forget it, I'll just tank.
-
Twelve o'clock in the morning.

Royal Family Training Base.

The three people are sitting together having a meeting.

Lu Benwei lifted his thick bangs, scratched a boil on his forehead that had grown due to prolonged lack of sunlight, and then sucked on it.

"Wow, bro, what do we do now? The Spring Split is about to start! What did Tabe say?"

Chris, sitting opposite Lu Benwei, looked quite helpless and sighed.

“He absolutely refuses to come back. He says the salary is too low and he needs to make money to get married.”

Everyone remained silent; they all knew this was just Tabe's excuse.

The Spring Split is about to begin.

Royal Club, who have a direct qualification spot for the Spring Split, are facing some internal problems.

Because their team's support and captain, Tabe, was flamed away by UZI. (*)

Lu Benwei was clearly getting angry.

"Wow, this dog is fucking difficult to deal with! Sometimes I really want to yell at him. He'll curse at the other team to death during a scrim! Tabe left, fine, we changed supports for him, three in a row, and he drove them all away with his trash talk. How are we supposed to play like this? Sometimes I really want to yell at him too!" (*)

Shen Chao lowered his voice, interrupting Lu Benwei's complaints.

"Keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear us. The puppy is still young, and we've always spoiled him. But to be honest, he really has the skills. How can we refute what he says unless we're better at it?"

"Damn, bro, does having power give you the right to insult people like this? Tabe is seven years older than him, who could stand being insulted like this every day?"

Lu Benwei couldn't help but stand up for his friend.

"This guy's insults are completely unreasonable. Take that last scrim, for example. They lost to PE, and his Mad Dog bot lane got completely destroyed by Nami's Twitch! When he came back, Chris told him he could practice Twitch too, and guess what he said?"

Seemingly to prove he wasn't talking nonsense, Lu Benwei looked at Chris and said, "Chris, you tell me."

Chris gave an awkward laugh.

"I told him, 'How about you try playing Twitch, UZI? This champion is really good.' He pointed his finger at me and yelled, 'You motherfucking idiot champion! Don't make me practice! If I, UZI, play Twitch, I'll change my surname to yours!'" (*)

Lu Benwei sighed, then his eyes lit up as if he had suddenly thought of something.

"Hey bro! I just remembered someone!"

Chris quickly asked:
"Who?"

"Zhou Li!" Lu Benwei jumped up excitedly. "The locksmith who came to our club last time, the former team manager of IG, did you guys watch the IG vs. OMG match? Wow, I'm telling you, his command is really good, let him play support!"

Chris frowned.

"Isn't that guy foul-mouthed too? Why make him play support for the puppy?"

"That's what makes you foul-mouthed, bro!" Lu Benwei said with a grin. "Let him go at it with that little dog. What if the little dog can't beat him?"

Chris thought Lu Benwei was joking, but to his surprise, Lu Benwei had already picked up the phone.

"Luckily I got his phone number last time. Wow, I, Lu Benwei, really had foresight!"

Shenchao couldn't help but ask:
"Can it be done?"

"It'll definitely work, bro," Lu Benwei exclaimed excitedly. "Our first match of the Spring Split is against IG! That Zhou Li, he was kicked out by IG, he must hate IG to death. Wow, I'm giving him a chance this time. Bro, I, Lu Benwei, am great!"
-
Zhou Li was playing Blade & Soul in his apartment when his phone rang.

Upon seeing the unfamiliar number, Zhou Li immediately hung up, but the other party quickly called back.

The moment the call connected, a highly distinctive voice came through.

Hey bro! What have you been up to lately?

Why is that bastard Lu Benwei calling me?
Could it be that because of what happened last time, you're going to treat me to Lizhuang boiled pork?

Zhou Li didn't think much of it and said:

"Playing Blade & Soul? What's wrong?"

"Wow! Bro!" came Lu Benwei's exaggerated shout from the other end of the phone. "Why are you playing Blade & Soul? With such great talent, why waste it on Blade & Soul? Bro, I have a great opportunity for you right now, do you want it?"

Zhou Li's expression turned strange.

"You're not suggesting I play for you, are you?"

"Smart bro!" Lu Benwei's voice rang out immediately. "So, are you coming or not? The Spring Split is about to start, and Royal Club's first match is against IG. It's your chance to get revenge!"

After hearing Lu Benwei's words, Zhou Li thought for a moment.

Going to Royal Club isn't out of the question. After all, Lu Benwei was a key figure in Season 3.

Staying with royalty also makes it easier to unlock historical records.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard Lu Benwei continue:

"Bro, I have a high opinion of your leadership skills. If you come and play support, you'll definitely be the best support in the world!"

Zhou Li was taken aback.

Go play support for Royal Never Give Up?

Should we assign UZI to play support?

Without thinking, he spoke:

"roll."

Then he hung up the phone directly.

Royal Training Room.

Lu Benwei stared at the disconnected phone for three seconds.

He then scratched his head, looking pained.

"Wow, I asked him to play support for the puppy, and he just told me to get lost."

Chris said helplessly:

"Why don't you try to persuade Tabe again and get him to come back?"

Lu Benwei nodded helplessly and began editing the message.

"So, has Tabe replied yet?"

Lu Benwei shook his head.

"She's probably asleep."

Zhou Li, who had just hung up the phone, didn't think much of it at first.

It's not that he can't play support.

He's just afraid of the heat.

He was also afraid of appearing on legal programs.

But when Zhou Li thought of the legal program, he suddenly thought of the current owner of the Royal Club team.

And a news article he once saw.

The current owner of Royal Never Give Up (RNG) team is Tianci.

This person is someone you can practically know just by imagining things.

According to online rumors, Tianci spends at least 20 million yuan annually on the YY platform and has also spent tens of millions of yuan building top-tier guilds in games such as Conquer Online and Dragon in the Sky.

He can be described as a famous online tycoon.

And that news was—

In 2014, a man surnamed Lin from Fujian was imprisoned for crimes including fraud and embezzlement, involving tens of millions of yuan.

This Mr. Lin is actually a gift from heaven.

Based on the timeline, Tianci went to prison in 14. So, at this point in time, even though he is still active on YY and spending a lot of money on his team, his cash flow should have already started to run into problems.

After all, the collapse of such a huge sum of money, amounting to tens of millions, is definitely not something that happens overnight.

Furthermore, according to Zhou Li's understanding, after Royal Club's second team, LMQ, was sent to North America to participate in the league, the players' salaries had actually been in arrears.

In other words, Tianci's life is actually not very stable now.

In 2013, the LPL was just established.

Building a team doesn't actually require a high cost.

The players' salaries are generally below 10,000 yuan.

The true purpose of Tianci in establishing the Royal Family Team is no different from his purpose in establishing guilds in Dragon in the Sky and Conquer Online.

It's really just something I did for fun.

The team hadn't achieved any results yet, Royal Club was considered a non-mainstream team with hardly any fans, and there was no commercial value to be seen. In addition, they also had their own financial problems. At this time, someone said that they wanted to buy your team, which would not only allow you to recoup your investment immediately, but also make you a fortune...

There's no reason to refuse.

Zhou Li acted quickly because he knew that even if he waited another year, he wouldn't be able to reap such benefits.
-
3 month 6 day.

When Lu Benwei walked into the training room yawning, he saw a well-dressed man in a suit with his hair gelled.

He didn't know this man.

Looking at the royal family members who had all gathered in the training room, Lu Benwei asked in confusion:
"What's going on? Who is this guy?"

The man in the suit clapped his hands with a smile and said:

"Is everyone here? Please introduce yourselves."

"My name is Zhu Kai, and I will be the manager of our Royal Family team from now on."

Zhu Kai's words left everyone in the royal family stunned.

Lu Benwei subconsciously asked:
"Where's Wang Lipai?"

"Wang Lipai has been arrested for embezzling team funds."

The members of the royal family looked at each other in disbelief, and before they could react, Zhu Kai dropped another bombshell.

"Today, I'm here to announce a few things."

"The first thing is that the owner of our Royal Club team has changed. The new owner is low-key and does not want to reveal his name. If you have any problems in the future, you can come to me and I will report to the owner."

Lu Benwei wondered if he had acted too quickly.

How come everything was fine, and suddenly the team changed?

"The second thing," Zhu Kai, dressed in a suit, looked quite respectable and was exceptionally persuasive, "is also to let us welcome our old teammate Tabe back to the team."

Seeing Tabe walk back from outside, Lu Benwei instantly let out an excited gorilla roar.

"Hehehehehehe! Brother, I knew you couldn't let us go! You'd still come back!"

After everyone had finished catching up, Zhu Kai continued:

"Thirdly, let's welcome our Royal Never Give Up team's new AD carry, Zhou Li."

After Zhu Kai finished speaking, the royal training room fell silent for a moment.

Lu Benwei only realized what was happening when Zhou Li walked in with a big smile.

"Wow! Bro, you really came! I was just kidding..."

"Go to hell, shut the fuck up, you idiot."

Zhou Li immediately extended a warm greeting to Lu Benwei.

This left Lu Benwei frozen in place, completely stunned.

At this moment, the Royal Club members were also a little confused as to why the team suddenly had a new AD player.

That mad dog?

Early in the morning, Zhu Kai brought a series of explosive news, leaving everyone still a bit dazed and unable to process it.

Even UZI is the same.

Until Zhu Kai looked at UZI and spoke:

“UZI, you’ll be a substitute for now, let Zhou Li start.”

UZI was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening and flew into a rage!
In his view, Zhou Li was obviously someone who got in through connections, so why should he take his starting position right away?
Without even thinking, UZI blushed and questioned:

"Why?"

"Why should I?" Zhu Kai raised his thick eyebrows. "Because I'm the team manager, I can appoint personnel."

UZI was trembling with anger. He glanced at his teammates and realized that his usual bad temper and tendency to yell at anyone had offended everyone.

Surprisingly, no one stood up to speak up for him.

He clenched his little fists and stubbornly said:

"I'm not convinced."

"You're not convinced?" A hand landed on his shoulder.

UZI turned his head and saw a chin. He looked up and saw Zhou Li smiling at him.

"Yes, I'm not having it! Why should I be a substitute as soon as you arrive? What's your skill level anyway?"

"What's my skill level?" Zhou Li asked with a smile. "I'm number one on both the Chinese and Korean servers. Two of my accounts are in the top ten on the Chinese server, and five of my accounts are in the top ten on the Korean server. What's your skill level?"

Lu Benwei was stunned for a moment.

During this period, the rankings on both the Chinese and Korean servers have been dominated by an ID called "LILI".

No one knew who this person was, only that he played AD, and because of some of his illogical actions, many people even "confirmed" that he was using scripts or cheats.

He remembered that the puppy had encountered this person several times in ranked matches.

As a result, he was completely crushed in lane every single game.

This led to the puppy slamming the base table loudly and cursing every day, and he was also the culprit who drove away three support players.

"Damn bro, you're Lili! Everyone's saying she's a cheater, and some people even say she's a woman."

For some reason, when the words "Lili" came out, Lu Benwei had a strange feeling of familiarity.

UZI's expression instantly turned sour.

Because he remembered the pain of being repeatedly rubbed against the ground during those several all-nighters.

But he still stubbornly insisted:
"If you say you are, then you are."

Zhou Li sighed.

"I don't want to bully you. You're still young. Take this opportunity to go down and settle down first."

(End of this chapter)