Chapter 699
A Good Man
Su Mo picked up her chopsticks, took a mouthful of noodles, and put it in her mouth.
hope Ran sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hands, her bright eyes fixed on him without blinking, like a model student waiting for the teacher to correct her homework: "How is it? Is it too salty? I accidentally poured in a little too much dark soy sauce."
"It tastes great, the saltiness is just right." Su Mo swallowed the food in her mouth and gave a very fair evaluation, then picked up a piece of pork rib, "The meat is also stewed very thoroughly. You're usually so busy with work, when did you learn to make this?"
Xi Ran breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the affirmation, and smiled with her eyes crinkling: "I secretly wrote down the recipes after watching Sister Yu watching a food blogger's video a couple of days ago. You've been running around non-stop for the past few days, either eating boxed lunches or attending business banquets every day, so I thought I'd cook some home-style dishes for you to change things up."
She didn't take credit; her tone was gentle and natural, as if she were recounting a trivial matter.
Su Mo didn't say much, but silently sped up her eating, finishing the large bowl of braised noodles completely, leaving not even a single rib. For someone who cooks, this was the highest praise.
After the meal, Su Mo volunteered to wash the dishes, while hope Ran helped tidy the counter. The two worked together seamlessly, needing little to no words, creating a warm and peaceful atmosphere.
"Brother Mo, Manager Abu sent a message in the group this afternoon saying that the transfer window will officially open next week," hope Ran said softly while wiping away water stains. "Now that we've won the championship this year, everyone should stay, right?"
Su Mo placed the washed porcelain bowl into the drainer, dried his hands, picked up the thermos on the table, unscrewed it, took a sip, and his gaze deepened.
"It's hard to say," Su Mo said calmly. "After winning the championship, the players' market value will skyrocket, and the intervention of capital will make the entire market extremely crazy. We just need to do what we should do, and let the rest take its course."
……
Time flies, and it's already mid-November.
With the conclusion of the S13 World Championship, the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) has officially entered its annual and most thrilling "Winter Transfer Window".
If the World Championship is the battle on stage for the players, then the transfer period is a silent war behind the scenes for club owners, managers, and investors. This year's LPL transfer market has been swept up in an unprecedented storm due to EDG's dominant victory.
In an effort to break EDG's dominance next year, all the top esports teams are throwing money around, launching a frenzied arms race. Countless rumors and gossip are circulating daily on various forums and online communities, a phenomenon known as the "LPL Breath-Holding Conference."
The first to make a big move was the deep-pocketed JDG.
After failing to reach the finals in S13, JDG's management, reflecting on their mistakes, decided to restructure their roster. Their star top laner, 369, announced his contract was expiring and stated he would not renew, wanting to return to his former team, TES, to experience the feeling of playing League of Legends with his brothers. The future of their top mid laner, Knight, has become the focus of attention across the internet.
To fill the void in the top lane, JDG not only searched the transfer market extensively but also turned its attention to its own youth training system. Soon, a talented top laner, only eighteen years old and known by the ID "sheer," was officially promoted to the first team.
This sheer player dominated the high-elo Korean server with his incredibly skillful warrior heroes, earning him the title of "the next mechanical monster" from many in the community. However, media reports invariably included a very realistic assessment: "Exceptionally talented, but whether he can overcome the formidable Su Mo remains to be seen."
At the same time, the BLG team also sounded the charge.
As one of the most promising all-Chinese teams, BLG retained their top laner Bin. This arrogant top laner went on a spree of ranked games during the off-season, vowing to crush SuMo's Camille in a head-on match next year. To strengthen their roster, BLG's management directly approached Knight with a buyout clause and an exorbitant contract offer.
"According to reliable sources, BLG is making every effort to pursue Knight, aiming to build a super team of all-Chinese players! If Knight joins, BLG's mid, top, and jungle roster will see a qualitative leap in strength!" This Weibo post, made late at night by a well-known insider blogger, instantly went viral.
Besides these two conglomerates, the veteran powerhouse TES is also eager to join the fray. After welcoming back 369, they set their sights on OMG's young mid-laner Creme, a player known for his assassin prowess. Meanwhile, in an effort to find a top-tier support for JackeyLove to compete in the bot lane, TES management frequently contacted RNG's support Ming and former FPX championship support Crisp.
As for newcomers, besides JDG's sheer, another name that gained significant attention during the transfer period is "Milkyway".
This young jungler, who came from RNG's youth academy, displayed astonishing jungle planning ability and skill ceiling during his trial period. Immediately, several teams, including FPX and WE, extended offers to him, attempting to recruit this promising new star.
The outside world was in turmoil, but inside EDG's base, the atmosphere was subtly heavy.
The manager's office on the third floor was filled with smoke.
Abu, clutching his already thinning hair, stared at the thick stack of price lists on the table, his face clouded with worry. Mingkai sat on the sofa, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knees, his brow furrowed.
"These guys are crazy, absolutely crazy." Abu threw several offer sheets on the coffee table. "WBG offered Chen an annual salary of 12 million! TES even offered 8 million in signing bonus to poach Xiaoyue! And Jack and Tianye, aren't they all waiting in line with top-salary contracts?"
Mingkai sighed: "We won the championship this year, which was inevitable. These young players proved their worth at the World Championship, so it's only natural that other teams would want to poach them. What did the boss say?"
“Boss Zhu’s point is that we must keep the championship-winning roster no matter what. The budget can be increased, but the league has a salary cap now. If we give A-Chen and Xiao-Yue the same maximum salaries as other teams, we’ll have to pay a huge luxury tax. What’s more, Mozi, he…” Abu stopped halfway through his sentence.
The office door was gently pushed open.
Su Mo walked in steadily, wearing a loose black hoodie and carrying a thermos.
He glanced at the price list on the table, his expression completely unchanged, and walked straight to the sofa to sit down, unscrewed the lid of his cup and took a sip of water.
"Are you talking about transfers?" Su Mo asked calmly.
Abu nodded and said with a wry smile, "Mozi, you still have two years left on your contract, and you own shares in the club, so of course we're not worried about you leaving. But for newcomers like Achen and Xiaoyue, the temptations outside are too great. I'm afraid they'll waver."
Su Mo lowered her eyes, looking at the goji berries floating in the thermos, and said calmly, "This is a good thing."
"Good news?" Mingkai was taken aback.
"Playing professionally is for dreams, but also for a living." Su Mo raised his head, his gaze clear and gentle. "They achieved the highest honors at the best age, and now is the time to realize their commercial value. The fact that others can afford high salaries shows that they recognize their strength. As the senior team and management, we don't need to use 'brotherhood esports' or 'championship sentiment' to morally blackmail them."
Abu sighed: "That makes sense, but if the roster falls apart, the cost of integrating the players will be too high if we want to compete for the championship again next year."
Just then, the office door opened again. Ah Chen and Xiao Yue walked in side by side. These two young men, who were usually carefree and loud at the base, now looked unusually conflicted and uneasy.
"Coach, Manager... Brother Mo." Ah Chen scratched his head and called out cautiously.
The office fell silent.
Xiao Yue took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and took out his phone from his pocket, showing several WeChat chat records: "Um... other teams did contact us. The conditions they offered... were very high."
Abu and Mingkai exchanged a glance but remained silent.
Ah Chen gripped the hem of his clothes tightly, his eyes reddening. He looked at Su Mo, who sat calmly on the sofa, and his voice trembled slightly: "Brother Mo, my family's financial situation is average. My parents are still working in our small hometown. The signing fee they offered is enough to buy two big houses back home."
These words are very true, and also express a sense of helplessness. The professional lifespan of esports athletes is very short, and everyone wants to earn more money during their peak years to provide a stable future for their families.
Xiao Yue also lowered his head, not daring to look Su Mo in the eye.
They were terrified—terrified that Su Mo would be disappointed, afraid that the elder brother who had led them to the top of the world would think they had betrayed the team.
However, Su Mo simply put down the thermos in his hand, stood up, and walked to the two of them.
He reached out and patted the two men on the shoulders, his movements as steady and powerful as ever.
"What are you two hesitating about?" Su Mo looked at them, a faint, reassuring smile playing on his lips. "Making a lot of money and improving the family's life is every man's responsibility. What's so hard about saying it?"
“Brother Mo…” Ah Chen’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"If there's a team that can offer you better treatment and allow your families to live a better life, then go for it. Take what you've learned at EDG and become a core member of the new team, stand on your own." Su Mo's tone was calm, without a trace of insincere attempts to persuade you to stay; it was all the understanding and support of an elder.
“But…we want to continue playing with you. Without you, we feel uncertain.” Xiao Yue raised his head, his eyes full of struggle.
Su Mo chuckled lightly: "You're already world champions, you don't need to hide in anyone's shadow anymore. It doesn't matter where you fight, if we really meet on the field, I won't show you any mercy."
Hearing this, Ah Chen and Xiao Yue finally felt relieved. They knew that Su Mo was truly thinking of them.
Abu watched this scene and shook his head helplessly. Just as he was about to say some official platitudes, his office phone suddenly rang.
Abu answered the phone, listened for a few words, and then his expression suddenly became quite interesting.
"Okay, boss. I understand. I'll tell them right away."
After hanging up the phone, Abu took a deep breath, looked at the people in front of him, and finally showed a long-lost smile.
“It was just a call from Boss Zhu.” Abu pushed up his glasses, his gaze fixed intently on Chen and Xiaoyue. “The boss said that EDG’s championship roster cannot be missing a single member. Whatever offers from outside, EDG will make. He’ll pay the luxury tax. He has only one request—next year, keep that trophy at our base!”
Upon hearing this, Ah Chen and Xiao Yue's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Really?! The boss is so generous?!" Ah Chen was so excited he almost jumped up.
Mingkai breathed a sigh of relief and playfully punched Ah Chen, saying, "When has the boss ever been short of money? Since the terms are the same, you two brats, why don't you hurry up and say something?"
Ah Chen and Xiao Yue immediately turned to look at Su Mo, and shouted in unison, "Brother Mo! We're not leaving! We'll continue to crush them together next year!"
Su Mo looked at the two revitalized young people, nodded gently, turned around and walked back to the sofa, picking up his thermos.
"Since you're staying, focus on your studies. We'll resume normal training and matches next week. If your performance dips, I'll have the coach bench you."
It was clearly a stern rebuke, but to Ah Chen and Xiao Yue, it sounded more reassuring than any sweet words.
The transfer season continues to be a whirlwind, with news of sky-high contracts and personnel changes breaking LPL records every day. BLG has successfully assembled an all-Chinese super team including Knight, TES has welcomed back their 369, and JDG has promoted rookie Sheer to prepare for a big splash.
All the teams are gearing up, intending to challenge that man who sits firmly on his pedestal with a thermos cup in hand in this brand new season.
At EDG's base, Su Mo still maintains his low-key routine of going to bed early and getting up early every day, and clocking out on time.
In late November in Shanghai, the autumn wind already carried a biting chill, and the plane trees lining the streets had lost all their leaves, leaving only bare branches.
With the transfer window officially closed, the rosters for the new season of various teams have been finalized. As expected, BLG has assembled a super all-Chinese roster consisting of Bin, Xun, Knight, Elk, and ON; TES has welcomed back 369 and signed Meiko as the bot lane strategist; while EDG has promoted the young academy support player Vamp to partner with JackeyLove, and the rest of the championship-winning roster has remained with the team.
Su Mo was not surprised by this personnel change. Like an ironclad camp with ever-changing soldiers, in this highly commercialized alliance, everyone is striving for a better future.
As December arrives, the League of Legends LPL region welcomes its annual year-end extravaganza – the LPL All-Star Weekend and Annual Awards Ceremony. This year's venue is Sanya, Hainan, with its pleasant climate.
The night before leaving for Sanya, Su Mo turned on the heating at full blast in her river-view apartment.
The living room sofa was piled high with suits and ties of various styles. Yu Shuang, wearing a loose beige turtleneck sweater, was holding up a finely crafted dark black bespoke suit in front of Su Mo.
"This outfit is nice, the cut is flattering, but not too flashy." Yu Shuang nodded in satisfaction, carefully smoothing out non-existent wrinkles in Su Mo's collar. "Tomorrow's red carpet walk will be broadcast live online. You can usually wear your team uniform, but for an occasion like this, you need to dress more formally." (End of Chapter)