Chapter 20: I'm Your Fan! "The Master Strategist"!
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695 Lingshi Road, Zhabei District, Magic City.
From afar across the square, the EDG team emblem hanging atop the building was clearly visible.
With a lawyer in tow and EDG staff guiding him to the main entrance, Ye Bo spotted two familiar figures waiting there.
Upon seeing Ye Bo, they immediately came forward to greet him.
However, before Abbu could speak, Ye Bo took two large strides forward and clasped the hand of the person beside him.
“Coach! I’m your fan!”
“...Hello, hello.”
Ming Kai hadn’t expected that this so-called prodigy, recently famous online as the LDL’s one-man army, would greet him with such enthusiasm.
Yet, something felt a bit off.
Abbu introduced, “Ming Kai is now our EDG assistant coach. If you have any questions, you can talk to him more, especially regarding jungle coordination.”
Ye Bo confidently patted his chest, “Got it! Don’t worry, Coach—I understand your style!”
“...”
Ming Kai felt as if the boy was hinting at something but had no proof.
Still, Ming Kai nodded inwardly. The newcomer seemed lively and communicative—qualities that bode well for synergy. As a mid-laner, he could offer a tactical style different from Scout’s.
Mid-laners come in many types: lane-focused, roaming, self-sacrificing, shot-calling...
Of course, there are also “all-rounders.”
But if you can’t excel in any one area or at least maintain above-average skills across the board, you might end up mediocre at everything.
Scout obviously leaned toward the “main carry” style.
As for Ye Bo, Abbu tentatively saw him as a mix of shot-caller and roamer, with strong laning skills on specific champions.
As a true EDG veteran, Ming Kai was naturally aware of Ye Bo’s “Challenge Agreement.”
However, most of the team, including Scout, remained unaware of this pact—only knowing that a new mid-laner was coming for a trial.
Training new mid-laners was nothing new for EDG. From the 2021 top youth prospect Lin Lifeng of L1F to a trainee recruited from T1 in 2022, EDG never stopped experimenting.
However, the 2021 prodigy had performed poorly in internal trials and reportedly, discouraged, went back to school.
The other trainee, from T1’s academy—contemporaries with spring season standouts Oner and Zeus—was a Korean mid-laner named Fisher, nicknamed the “Fish God.” Known as “Little Faker” in T1’s youth camp, EDG had high hopes for him and had loaned him to LDL for development. This was the same “MID 20” that Ye Bo heard of.
But what happened next...
Abbu personally witnessed Ye Bo, in numerous internal scrims, thoroughly schooling Fisher in head-to-head matchups.
This partly fueled Abbu’s strong resolve.
As for not informing the rest of the team about Ye Bo’s challenge—it was unnecessary.
Honestly, Abbu still doubted Ye Bo could endure the grueling schedule.
If Ye Bo lost two matches, he would naturally become a rotation player, avoiding unnecessary complications.
“Here’s the contract drafted per your request.”
Ye Bo took the contract and handed it to the lawyer his mother had arranged to carefully review every clause.
While waiting, Ye Bo learned more about the EDG base through the staff’s introductions.
It was his first time visiting a true professional esports club.
Compared to the noticeably modest youth academy, EDG’s facilities were impeccable, matching Ye Bo’s prior image of an esports club.
About half an hour later, the lawyer confirmed the contract was flawless, meeting all requirements.
Ye Bo no longer hesitated.
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He picked up the pen and signed his name.
The moment the signature was complete, a dazzling notification popped up before his eyes:
[Mission Complete: Join a professional team and restart your career!]
[Congratulations! You have earned 1111 Comeback Points.]
[Congratulations! You have earned: “Gold Medal Analyst”...]
Before Ye Bo could examine the golden, shimmering reward’s details, another prompt replaced it instantly:
[You have finally stepped back onto this arena! This marks the beginning of your new career and the first step on your path to greatness. This time, you will prove everything!]
[Mission: Achieve your first career win.]
[Reward: ?]
Ye Bo’s breathing grew slightly heavy; his flushed face revealed his excitement.
Clearly, his excitement wasn’t about the reward.
It was because, from this moment on, Ye Bo had officially become a “professional player” in the truest sense.
Eight years ago, when he first opened this game.
Three years ago, still a student, chasing high ranks, the dream that had taken root in his heart and driven him for three years was now realized.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem with the contract?” Abbu asked, noticing Ye Bo’s sudden silence after signing.
“No problem at all!” Ye Bo shouted loudly, startling both Ming Kai and Abbu.
They both stood and extended their hands.
“Welcome to EDG!”
“Welcome!”
Ye Bo jumped slightly and clasped both their hands simultaneously in a strange crossed manner.
Then he caught Abbu’s eye and said, “Hey, I noticed when others join, they usually take a photo with the team jersey. Can I get one too?”
Abbu laughed, “Of course, it’s coming whether you say it or not.”
...
Fifteen minutes later.
Holding a satisfying photo, Ye Bo followed Ming Kai down the dorm steps.
“What are you doing?” Ming Kai asked curiously.
Ye Bo suddenly raised his phone, “Come on, Coach, say cheese!”
The flash went off, capturing a goofy smiling face of Ming Kai alongside the boy flashing a peace sign.
“Can I post this on Bilibili?” Ye Bo politely asked.
“B-Bilibili? What’s that?”
“It’s like a dynamic feed on Bilibili. Before going pro, I was a streamer. I promised my viewers I’d play on the big stage someday!”
“Oh... then go ahead, no problem.”
Ming Kai, a seasoned veteran, had countless legendary photos before the camera and wasn’t bothered by one more.
He even leaned closer to see.
On the screen were two photos: one of Ye Bo holding the EDG jersey, and the other the playful selfie, captioned:
“Let’s work hard together! Fight without regrets!”
“...”
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Ming Kai’s expression was a mix of amusement and disbelief, but his gaze toward Ye Bo was clearly friendly.
It seemed the club hadn’t had such a vibrant young player in a long time.
Previous rookies were either painfully shy and silent or trainees barely speaking Chinese.
Performance aside, having such a person would surely boost team morale.
“You should rest now. Watch the scrim videos I gave you earlier and prepare. See you at the afternoon scrim.”
“By the way, Xuan Jun should be back soon.”
Since Ye Bo had just arrived, Abbu let him settle in before scheduling a practice match in the afternoon to test the waters.
Ye Bo’s roommate was Li Xuanjun, aka Saint Gun.
As EDG’s longest-standing veteran, newcomers were usually assigned to room with him, a way for the old guard to mentor the rookies.
Entering the dorm, Ye Bo immediately sensed a strong cultural vibe.
For instance, the opposite bed was neatly made, but the walls were plastered with numerous anime-style posters of beautiful girls...
“The rumors were true—Saint Gun really is an old-school otaku...” Ye Bo muttered to himself.
Sitting on his bed alone, he took a deep breath to calm his excitement.
Then, he opened the newly acquired mission reward he hadn’t yet examined.
[Gold Medal Analyst]
[With a decade of experience, though your talent might be average, you possess invaluable battlefield wisdom unreachable by young upstarts! In pre-match analysis and post-match review, your verbal skills are exceptional!]
“0.0?”
Ye Bo didn’t quite understand the vague description. He wasn’t sure what this glowing, impressive reward actually did.
Could it be... just a compliment for being an old veteran?
He tried various universal “spell commands” on it—“Open Sesame!” and “Deep Blue!”—but found nothing special.
He had to set it aside for now.
However, as he opened his laptop to review the scrim videos Ming Kai had just sent for his study, everything around Ye Bo suddenly transformed.
He felt as if he were physically inside Summoner’s Rift, the scene so vivid it resembled a sci-fi VR game.
A huge meteor streaked past him!
Then, a crystal-clear Twilight Star Spirit appeared, carrying a giant meteor, walking by him and smashing it fiercely onto an enemy’s head.
With another thought from Ye Bo, the view suddenly shifted to a god-like perspective...
“Holy crap!”
Ye Bo roughly understood this function’s purpose.
More than that, he felt his mind suddenly clearer. Watching the entire scrim replay from this vantage point, ideas flowed continuously.
He could even vaguely empathize and guess the real intentions behind the player’s actions on screen.
“Wait a minute.”
“What if...?”
New possibilities sprang to mind.
Immediately, he started searching for LNG’s match videos online...