Chapter 19: The Devil’s Schedule! The Upcoming Journey to the LPL!

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Ye Bo didn’t quite understand. Because just hearing it like this... it was obvious that EDG was the one taking the loss! If he played well, he could secure a record-breaking contract, even higher than BLG’s, while maintaining his playtime. Even if he didn’t perform well, the team would still guarantee him a certain number of matches for experience, and he would receive a comparable salary! As for the “1+1” contract, of course he had heard of it. It was actually quite common in the sports world. This meant that starting next year, Ye Bo could freely negotiate with all other teams, but if EDG was willing and able to match any offer, he would have priority to stay with EDG. If a team offered an astronomical price that EDG wasn’t willing to pay, Ye Bo could choose to leave. One could say this was a contract with minimal restrictions, even beneficial to the player, maximizing the player’s value!

“Can there really be such a good deal?” Ye Bo found it hard to believe. He asked Abu to wait a moment and muted the call. Then he began searching “LPL Summer Split schedule” on Baidu. When he selected EDG as his observation target and looked at their next five opponents... he finally understood what Abu had been scrolling through just now.

“LNG... WBG... V5... TES!” Besides RNG’s Xiaohu, JDG’s Yagao, and EDG’s Scout, it could be said that all the top four mid laners in the LPL were EDG’s next five matchups. Abu must have realized that these five matches were EDG’s “hard battles” and dared to make such a wager. According to the bet agreement, Ye Bo could lose at most two games. That meant if Ye Bo won, everyone would be happy. But even if he started with a losing streak, EDG would only pay the price of three small match points in the regular season. There was no doubt that three small match points were insignificant. Twenty percent of the games could easily be sacrificed against weaker teams. If that were the case, the “1+1” contract next year would also guarantee that EDG wouldn’t suffer much loss.

From this perspective, EDG’s risk didn’t seem high. But... did Ye Bo have any risk? EDG had just won the Summoner’s Cup half a year ago. Even if their Spring Split performance was poor, their reputation was still at its peak, enjoying a privileged “grace period.” Ye Bo himself didn’t have many reservations about the team. From the perspective of “proving himself,” as a rookie invited directly to rotate with a recently crowned S-champion Korean mid laner, what better recognition could there be?

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From a financial perspective, if he could complete the “challenge,” he would receive 50% more salary! Even if he failed the challenge, he would still have the highest market salary at this moment as a safety net. From the standpoint of gaining experience, if Ye Bo truly wanted to hone his skills, the most important stage was undoubtedly to break into the S global finals! Compared to BLG or other teams keen on “fringe” players, it was clear that even if EDG’s Spring Split performance was lackluster, they still had the potential to be among the frontrunners this year, which was very important.

Ye Bo thought it through step by step. He realized he couldn’t find a reason to refuse. Of course, the more important reason was his inner confidence that he could indeed “win this challenge”! The only thing he still found strange was why EDG would keep such a champion mid laner and still be willing to spend so much money to “bet” on him?

Abu and EDG naturally had their considerations. In fact, the outside world did not yet know the “predicament” EDG was currently facing.

“The feud between EDG and Scout”

The gist of it was that Scout missed home terribly. Since Season 9, he wanted to return to LCK every year but could never find a suitable team. After last year’s championship, Scout, proud of his FMVP mid laner status, wanted to seize the opportunity to return to LCK. So, holding EDG’s off-season offer of a 20 million yuan super high salary, he went to negotiate with KT and eventually reached an agreement. But the problem was... Scout still had one year left on his EDG contract! Because he didn’t disclose this “double contract” incident, KT took the matter directly to Riot. In the end, EDG paid a 10 million yuan penalty to settle the matter with Riot, and Scout was re-signed with a super top salary.

In effect, EDG had spent at least 30 million yuan this year just to keep Scout! Anyone looking at it would say they had done everything they could. But even so, EDG’s management started to hear rumors. Starting mid-year, Scout continued secretly contacting LCK, even reaching out to one of LCK’s most notorious agencies to plan for Season 13 ahead of time. This truly saddened EDG’s management and made them think about finding a “successor.” And at this very moment — Ye Bo appeared!

Compared to Scout’s situation, the 3 million yuan seasonal contract offered to Ye Bo was negligible for EDG. However, if that money could find a truly potential successor, this investment was just a fraction of what they spent on Scout this year. What would it matter to EDG? And in Abu’s heart...

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A rookie would only play one summer split, maybe one S-series at most. How much could his value rise by next year? This was a deal both sides felt they would profit from.

Before long, Ye Bo reconnected the call with Abu. “Have you thought it over?” Abu asked impatiently. He was already prepared to concede and offer a salary still higher than BLG’s, allowing Ye Bo to enter the rotation, but ensuring he would get as much playtime as possible against weaker teams for experience. Abu had great faith in this rookie with seemingly limited potential and absolutely didn’t want to let him slip away!

But what surprised him was Ye Bo’s prompt reply: “I have one more request. I must have a lawyer review the contract before signing, and the promised playtimes must be explicitly written into the contract.”

At this, Abu was stunned. He couldn’t help but ask, “You must have checked our upcoming schedule, right?”

“Of course~ very challenging,” Ye Bo replied naturally. “But I think I can accept this challenge.”

Abu heard the confidence in his voice. He said no more but felt a strange sense of anticipation... Could this guy really pull it off? After all, the upcoming opponents were all at the top of the standings in this year’s Spring Split and had all defeated EDG. This was truly a “devil’s schedule.” Even the previous roster might not manage it.

“Well then, get ready. We’ll send someone to pick you up. It’s best if you can come to the base soon to sign the contract and start training and coordination as early as possible. Your next match is this weekend...”

Ye Bo composed himself, stood up, and looked toward the sunlight streaming through the window. Feeling the weight of what was to come, his heart was filled only with anticipation and excitement, and a fierce fighting spirit surged within his chest for the upcoming opponents.

Ye Bo’s journey in the LPL was about to officially begin!

“Coin brother, I’m coming out now~”