LPL History

Chapter 138 A clever maneuver by feigning weakness, a desperate attempt to seize power by the enchantress.

“Boss, you know, Mingkai and Curly have a lot of complaints about the team right now, and they definitely want to leave.”

"Alright, I'll try my best to persuade them."

Abu hung up the phone, sighed, and went into the training room.

Only Mingkai and Curly were in the training room.

"So, what did the boss say?"

Upon hearing Mingkai's words, Abu shook his head.

"King's attitude was very firm; he refused to release them no matter what."

"What should I do?"

"It's alright, I'll figure something out, I'm sure I can get you away."

As soon as Abu finished speaking, he noticed that the two of them looked a little off.

Turning around, I saw Strawberry standing behind me, looking completely bewildered.

"Go? Where are you going?"

Abu gave an awkward laugh.

"nothing."

"I heard everything..."

Strawberry pursed her lips and continued:

"Are you planning to leave the team...?"

Not far away, Ruofeng and Weixiao, who were walking over, paused for a moment after hearing what Strawberry said, and then quickly walked over.

"What do you mean by leaving the team?"

Big Nose immediately displayed his aura as the team leader upon arrival.

Abu is still trying to smooth things over.

"Oh dear, you misheard me!"

Abu, as an award-winning actor, is very good at acting, but Mingkai and Curly are obviously not.

Faced with the scrutiny of Ruofeng and the others, Mingkai and Juanmao's embarrassed, silent expressions clearly said it all.

Ruofeng came to the group.

Why are you leaving? Where are you planning to go?

Abu sensed something was wrong in Ruofeng's tone and realized something was amiss, but before he could step forward to stop him, Ruofeng's tone became impassioned!
"Why is no one saying anything! Do you even respect me as your captain anymore?!"

"As the captain of WE, I watched you join WE and become the closest of brothers! We achieved so many glorious results together! Are you really going to leave just because of this one defeat?!"

"We're still young! We have so many opportunities! As long as we brothers work together, we'll definitely make it to the World Championship next year!!"

His tone shifted, becoming mournful again.

"If I, as captain, have done anything wrong, you can tell me directly. If you think I'm bad, I can step down. I just hope that our WE team won't fall apart and that we won't let our fans down."

He cried.

Tears dripped from the sides of her nose.

Like two winding streams, they flow on both sides at the foot of the majestic mountains.

While Ruofeng was engrossed in his performance, Abu finally managed to interject.

"Captain Feng, calm down."

Smiling, he looked at Mingkai and said:

“Promise, if the fight before made you feel uncomfortable, I apologize to you, and you can fight back now.”

Strawberry excitedly chimed in:

"I know I haven't been performing very well lately, but I'm working hard to practice. Can we keep going together?"

Just as Mingkai was about to speak, he saw Abu frantically giving him a hard time.

Strawberry sighed as she watched Mingkai and the others leave.

"Is our WE team going to disband?"

Ruofeng lowered his head.

"They don't even want to communicate anymore; it seems they've made up their minds."

Abu offered a hypocritical consolation:
"Don't worry, let me try to persuade them."

Ruofeng looked at Abu with emotion, knowing that Mingkai and Abu had the best relationship.

"Thank you, Abu."
-
The League of Legends community was still quite small at that time.

The news that Mingkai and Curly might leave WE spread quickly.

For a time, the entire league community was discussing this matter.

After all, WE was once the champion of IPL5 and created a 48-game winning streak. Now that their performance is not ideal, the departure of two key members has naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Mingkai was sitting in front of his computer, idly waiting for a ranked match.

Abu pushed open the door and walked in, whispering in Mingkai's ear:

"I'll pack my things this afternoon, and we'll leave tonight."

Upon hearing Abu's words, Mingkai nodded.

In the game chat, there were also messages from friends.

[Your contract hasn't expired, and WE won't release you. How can you leave?]

Mingkai started typing on the keyboard.

When that really happens, it'll be a fight to the death.

Six p.m.

Mingkai and Curly had already packed their luggage and followed Abu toward the club's exit.

Ruofeng had been keeping an eye on the two of them, and when he saw them carrying luggage, he immediately stepped forward to stop them.

"Why are you going?"

Abu smiled and said to Ruofeng:
"Captain Feng, Mingkai and Curly haven't been in a good mood lately, so I'm taking them on a trip to cheer them up." (*)

He leaned closer to Ruofeng, feigning mystery, and whispered:

"Don't worry, I also want to take this opportunity to have a good talk with them and persuade them to stay."

Hearing Abu's words, Ruofeng was moved and nodded.

"Thank you, Abu."

"We're all brothers."

9:42 PM.

Abu, along with Mingkai and Juanmao, arrived at the entrance of the EDG eSports Club.
-
"Brother Zhou! Abu and the others are here! Should I go pick them up?"

Seeing Xiao Zhu running over happily with pig's trotters, Zhou Li thought for a moment and stood up from the sofa.

"No need, I'll go."

Zhu Kai was stunned for a moment.

"Oh, are you going?"

"Sure, what's wrong with the team owner personally greeting us?"

Upon hearing Zhou Li's words, Zhu Kai's expression turned strange. He nodded and silently mourned for Abu in his heart.

Zhou Li got up and walked outside, his thoughts drifting away.

Having twice made you go out to greet him, Abu, you should be able to die without regrets now.

As Zhou Li stepped outside, he saw three people standing outside the iron gate.

Abu immediately spotted the person he found most annoying.

Seeing Zhou Li open the iron gate, Abu couldn't help but speak:

"why you!"

Zhou Li smiled and said with a cheerful expression:
"Brother Bu, I heard from Brother Zhu that you were coming to our club, so I offered to come and welcome you. Come on, give me your luggage."

As he spoke, Zhou Li took the luggage from Abu's hands.

Abu looked at him with disdain and mocked:

"Now you know how to be attentive? I thought you were always as arrogant as you are online."

"Haha, no way! I heard that you're coming to be a coach for EDG, Brother Bu! It's such an honor for EDG!"

The more Zhou Li flattered him, the higher Abu held his head.

"You don't need to flatter me. If you knew things would turn out this way, why didn't you do this before?"

Mingkai, who was following behind Abu, had a complicated expression and tried several times to remind Abu to stop talking.

But every time he opened his mouth, he could feel Zhou Li's gaze, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"You're only taking my luggage? Do you only have one hand? Can't you see Mingkai and Curly have luggage too?"

Hearing Abu's words, Mingkai's breath hitched for a moment. Looking at Zhou Li, who was walking forward with a smile, he cursed Abu in his heart.

"Can you fucking shut up?!"

"Brother Nuoyan, let me help you with your luggage."

Seeing Zhou Li's outstretched hand, Ming Kai was startled and quickly hid his luggage behind his back.

"no, I'm fine."

"Oh, Curly-haired Bro, I'll go..."

"He doesn't need it! We can take it ourselves!"

Curly, who was completely unaware of what was happening, had already handed over his luggage when he heard Mingkai's words and paused for a moment.

"Sigh, Mingkai, you're just too reserved. From now on, EDG is your own home. With me here, you don't need to be so restrained," Abu's voice rang out again.

Upon entering the training room, Zhu Kai greeted him. Before he could speak, Abu said sweetly:
"Hmph, how interesting, sending Zhou Li to pick us up. Is EDG genuinely welcoming us or just pretending? We came all the way from WE, bringing with us the experience of a major club. I also thought EDG had potential and wanted to lend a hand, but it seems you don't really need it..."

The expressions on the faces of the EDG players grew increasingly grim.

As Zhou Li looked at Abu standing in front of him, memories flooded his mind.

Abu was still rambling on like a woman, and Zhou Li couldn't take it anymore.

He kicked Abu in the butt.

"Ouch! You dare hit me!"

Abu collapsed to the ground, his face filled with disbelief.

But this time, neither Joker nor Ruofeng were there to support him.

"What are you all standing there for? Kill this beaker!!"

At Zhou Li's command, Zhu Kai led the charge, UZI attacked like a mad dog, Lu Benwei staged Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Lucky took advantage of the chaos to wipe a handful of flesh.
-
"Hmph, how interesting, sending Zhou Li to pick us up. Is EDG genuinely welcoming us or just pretending..."

Zhou Li breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew Abu's ass was a switch.

This was something he knew the moment he first met Abu.

They kicked Abu, sending him back to five minutes earlier.

Now that they've vented their anger, they can clearly accept Abu's rambling...

I still can't fucking accept it!
"Hmph, how interesting, sending Zhou Li to pick us up. Is EDG genuinely welcoming us or just pretending..."

This time I can accept it.

Zhou Li stretched his neck and gave Zhu Kai a wink.

Zhu Kai was already on the verge of exploding from Abu's mockery, but seeing Zhou Li's smiling expression, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"No wonder President Zhou is capable of great things; he has such a magnanimous heart."

Just as he was about to step forward, Mingkai, who was standing behind Abu, couldn't stand it any longer.

"Abu, that's enough, stop talking."

He knew the inside story.

He was genuinely afraid that if Abu continued talking, he wouldn't be able to walk out of EDG's gates on his own two feet today.

Abu was taken aback when he heard Mingkai's words.

I thought it was because Mingkai was just starting out at EDG and couldn't let loose.

"What are you afraid of? From now on, EDG will be your home."

Zhu Kai smiled and said, "Yes, yes, from now on EDG will be your home. Come with me for a moment. We'll discuss the specific contract details in more detail. Let's hurry up and finalize this before WE realizes what's going on."

Seeing that Abu and the other two had left with Zhu Kai, Lu Benwei came over.

"Wow, bro! This Abu is fucking slick. If it weren't for your orders, Brother Zhou, I would have given him a good whack."

Zhou Li glanced at Lu Benwei.

This good-for-nothing is all talk and no action. He was yelling and screaming for ages, but then he was the one who got kicked in the vertical grip by Abu in the chaos and started wailing like a banshee.

Tabe walked to Zhou Li's side and hesitated:

"Brother Zhou...they're here..."

"Don't worry," Zhou Li patted Tabe on the shoulder, "The club will adopt a fair and just evaluation method. And Tabe, with your ability, I have always believed that coaching is the most suitable position for you. We at EDG will be forming a coaching team of more than five people. If you are interested, you and Chris can lead it."

Upon hearing Zhou Li's words, Tabe nodded, feeling relieved.

Zhou Li wasn't trying to deceive him.

Tabe's achievements as a coach are indeed remarkable.

His plan to establish a coaching staff at EDG is also part of his strategy.

In 2013, when the LPL was first established, most clubs were in the early stages of development, with limited resources such as salaries and training facilities. The role of coaches was not yet professionalized, and the common configuration was just one head coach plus a team leader who also served as an analyst.

Therefore, professional competitions are still focused on individual player abilities and have a single tactical system.

This is why EDG still demonstrated extremely strong capabilities even though Zhou Li did not play at all during the entire summer split.

Zhou Li recalls that by the time LPL started bringing in coaching staff, it was already around 2017.

As a time traveler, Zhou Li could only provide the team with some advanced tactics from later generations.

However, not every tactic is suitable for the current version.

Furthermore, with each version update and change to hero equipment, it's impossible for Zhou Li to manage everything.

Chris, who had only been a coach for a little over six months, simply couldn't handle this workload by himself.

Zhou Li looked towards the office, wondering how Xiao Zhu's conversation had gone.

Although Xiao Zhu was no match for Abu before, he had been following him around for so long and had to improve his skills.
-
"Party B shall strictly abide by the club's regulations... Party B shall maintain a good personal image. If the club's image is damaged due to Party B's personal image issues, Party A has the right to terminate the contract."

In the office, Abu put down the contract in his hand and asked:
"Zhu Kai, I'm curious, where is your club's owner?"

Clearly, Abramovich was somewhat dissatisfied at not receiving a personal welcome from the club owner.

Zhu Kai smiled, thinking to himself that if his boss really came out to greet him, Abu would probably wet his pants in fright, but he said aloud:

“Our boss is mostly abroad. He’s very open-minded, and I can handle all the club-related matters.”

Seeing the displeasure on Abu's face, he immediately guessed what the other was thinking and added:
"However, our boss said that he has always thought highly of you. Once you come to our club, I can let go and hand over all the club's affairs to you to manage."

Upon hearing Zhu Kai's words, Abu was stunned for a moment, clearly finding it hard to believe.

"Leave everything to me to manage?"

"Yes, I'll be your assistant then, haha, Brother Bu."

Even with Abu's composure, he could no longer contain his excitement and joy.

Most of the bosses are located overseas.

The club's affairs were entrusted to her for management.

That's a huge amount of power!
It seems that leaving WE for EDG was a wise choice.

Mingkai forcibly looked away from Abu's excited expression.

Abu picked up the pen, about to sign, but then, as if remembering something, he spoke again:

"By the way, I'm quite curious about Zhou Li. Why are you still keeping him at the club? He can't play in matches anyway."

Upon hearing Abu's words, Zhu Kai chuckled sheepishly.

"His contract hasn't expired yet, so we'll let him go once it does."

"Even if his contract hasn't expired, we can still let him go. Isn't it an eyesore for such an annoying guy to stay at the club?"

Seeing the last vestige of friendship, Mingkai couldn't help but speak up to remind him:

"Abu, stop talking."

"What separate management?" Abu raised his eyebrows and asked, "Does unified management of the club mean that I'll also be in charge of the club's personnel?"

Zhu Kai nodded.

"Sure."

Abu then asked, "So, if I just come up here and kick Zhou Li out of the club, it shouldn't be a big problem, right?"

Zhu Kai smiled broadly.

"Of course there's no problem. Not only is there no problem, but I think everyone in EDG would be in favor. To be honest, I, Xiao Zhu, just don't have the same boldness as you, Bu Ge."

Abu snorted and signed her name on the contract.

Abu had just signed the contract when WE's owner, King, called.

"Abu! Where are you?"

Now that his own people have joined EDG and signed contracts, officially becoming EDG's head manager, Abu simply stopped pretending and said:

"Oh, King, Mingkai, Curly, and I have arrived at EDG's side."
-
WE Esports Club.

Ruofeng and the others were standing next to their boss, King, waiting for news.

After Abu left with Mingkai and Curly, he felt increasingly uneasy and finally told King.

King was on the phone with Abu at that moment.

"Oh, King, Mingkai, Curly, and I have arrived at EDG's side."

The sound coming from the hands-free speaker made everyone present pause in surprise.

King's blood pressure spiked so high it almost burst through the top of his head, and he instantly lost his mind.

But still unwilling to give up, he asked:
"Abu! What are you doing at EDG?!"

The voice on the other end of the phone showed no remorse whatsoever.

"We are already part of EDG."

Upon hearing Abu's words, King finally snapped!
"Abu, what exactly do you mean! Mingkai and the others' contracts haven't expired yet! What do you mean you're already EDG members?! You guys come back here right now!!"

At this moment, King was so angry that he was about to lose his mind.

He single-handedly raised Abu to this position, and now this beaker has betrayed him.

He told him to his face that he would persuade Mingkai and the others to stay with the team, but then he made up a pretext to go on a trip and took Mingkai and Curly to EDG!

And of all places, why did you go to EDG?!
This team has been at odds with WE since the beginning of its formation!
While WE's own decline in performance is partly due to its own shortcomings, EDG's current reputation, even surpassing IG in popularity, can be said to have been built entirely by stepping on WE's head!

As a result, Abu actually took Mingkai and Curly to EDG!

What kind of beast would do something like this?!
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hello, this is Zhu Kai, the team manager of EDG. Our boss told me that we actually want to cooperate with WE."

"If possible, the two teams could merge to form a new team." (*)

"EDG.WE." (*)

(End of this chapter)