The day after the Weibo trending storm,
TES's esports general manager, Sun Zheng, arrived at Top Esports Esports Club in a private car, keeping a low profile.
As for the manager, Guo Hao, he was already waiting at the entrance early to greet leadership.
The purpose of the visit was actually very clear.
The club's streaming contracts with the two big platforms were being handled directly by Guo Hao. There was no need to bother Sun Zheng over that.
But recently, the parent company's traffic had surged, and the stock even hit limit-up.
And the one who triggered all of this… was a single player inside the club.
That was enough to make TES's upper management take it seriously.
Contracts were pocket change to the parent company.
As long as the club could keep itself running, that was fine.
But now it involved stock price and brand value—those were the real big-ticket items.
Who would've thought that an investment from seven or eight years ago would pay off at a time like this, when things were difficult?
"Mm… the situation right now is that Principal Wang has his eyes on Lin Fan. We asked around, and IG really is making big moves in Honor of Kings.
So what Principal Wang said in the stream is basically true."
"But KPL slots are fixed. And Spring Split is ongoing. There shouldn't be major changes during this period."
"Mm. Stay alert. Raise Lin Fan's salary appropriately. I checked—his annual salary is considered low for a mid laner."
As TES's esports general manager, Sun Zheng wasn't some clueless outsider.
Most importantly, there was the previous mid laner, Knight.
The salary they offered him was the highest in the entire esports circle.
Enough to pay Lin Fan for nine years.
But Knight didn't bring the club any positive returns—he even trended for scandals.
A complete waste. Forty-five million a year, gone to nothing.
Thinking of that, Sun Zheng shot Guo Hao a glare.
Last year, they were pressured too hard by Weibo, JDG, and BLG.
So they overpaid by that many multiples.
If it were twenty million a year, losing it would be losing it.
But forty-five million? Just thinking about it hurt.
"I understand, I understand." Guo Hao nodded repeatedly.
"Once Spring Split ends, we'll sell him immediately. Weibo and BLG probably still want him. In Summer Split they might try to make a Worlds run.
As for JDG, Yagao's performance is still pretty good, so they likely won't pay too much."
After all, Knight's contract only had half a year left…
Paying a huge price didn't make sense.
Weibo and BLG had money, sure, but they weren't suckers.
TES getting even half the money back was unlikely.
"Mm. As long as you know what you're doing. With the platform signing fees plus the transfer fee for Knight, the parent company shouldn't need to inject funds this year, right?"
"Enough, enough. Besides paying salaries, we'll even have profit." Guo Hao nodded again and again.
"Of course, the most important reason I came today is Lin Fan's contract. We all think the restrictions are too low, the price is too low, and the term isn't long enough. We need to renegotiate.
Two years is about right, and we can raise his annual salary to fifteen million. If necessary, even twenty million is fine."
Sun Zheng didn't have much time, so he laid out his purpose directly.
Guo Hao wasn't surprised.
At a company this big, nobody was stupid.
There was no need to offend a player for petty profit.
A company that did that was doomed to fail—brief glory, then bankruptcy and sale.
"If he's unwilling to extend the contract, then raise his annual salary into eight figures anyway. And there's no need to add more liquidated damages."
In just two days, the stock rose five percentage points.
TES's total market cap increased by around fifteen billion.
All because of one person.
You could say Top Esports Sports made a killing, and giving a reward was only right—no need to be stingy.
Even one percent of that increase was tens of millions. If you still added contract penalties, you'd really lose face.
"You did well this year." Sun Zheng patted Guo Hao's shoulder.
"You've generated traffic. Next, go get results. The seats you deserve will be kept for you."
Guo Hao was extremely excited.
When leadership stops drawing cakes for you, you have no value.
But now he'd drawn a huge cake—Guo Hao knew his future was bright.
…
"Come on! Come on! You think I'm scared?"
"Goddamnit—this Kha'Zix is way too arrogant! He really wants to one-shot me right in front of you?"
TL: From now on, "your mom's ass!" will be translated as "Goddamnit!" The exact words are 他麻麻的吻, which also sound like the words "your mom's kiss" in Chinese. It's a fun way of censoring, instead of just doing something like F*ck!
"Damn, Kha'Zix damage is too high." Mark complained helplessly.
JackeyLove stared at his grayscale screen.
He didn't expect Kha'Zix wasn't just trying to pop him—he wanted to butcher bot lane as a pair.
Hearing his bot duo's chatter, Lin Fan couldn't help laughing.
He used to think JackeyLove was pretty cold.
After two months together, it turned out he was a full-on comedy guy.
During games he liked to mutter nonstop, and after games he loved to "teach and educate."
If they weren't off-stream right now, JackeyLove's fans would probably explode.
"Come out, come out, come out!"
Lin Fan stuck to his usual routine—quietly grinding rank on the side.
If he won this lobby, he'd touch the threshold for Grandmaster.
The climb efficiency was great.
"Eat!"
Seeing that shining 3-star Xayah, Lin Fan felt his luck was maxed out.
Even more ridiculous than when he watched Shenchao.
Shenchao spoke and the world obeyed.
Lin Fan was simply blessed by fortune.
Meanwhile, "Shixin Kuangluan" had already run over to Lin Fan's board, spamming question marks.
"This is too absurd. Brother Infinite Borders can actually hit 3-star Xayah?"
While watching, he kept complaining on stream.
But he was also happy watching his own room popularity rise.
He never expected to match into Brother Infinite Borders today.
Since Brother Infinite Borders wasn't streaming, a lot of viewers who wanted to watch him ran to Shixin Kuangluan's stream instead.
Now his room popularity hit 1.8 million, instantly taking #1 in the TFT category.
"Brother Infinite Borders is so sly. Afraid of being queue-sniped, he hides and climbs in secret."
"Being able to match into Shixin Kuangluan means the rating is pretty high."
"I'm numb. No way Brother Infinite Borders actually goes to TOC, right?"
"gggg, how do you beat 3-star Xayah?"
Watching his 2-star Dump Truck melt instantly, Shixin Kuangluan went speechless.
A 3-star 4-cost on the other side was already disgusting.
And Lin Fan even had higher HP.
In that situation, there was no fight.
He estimated he'd get tortured for two more rounds, but he didn't surrender.
If he surrendered, wouldn't all the people watching Brother Infinite Borders leave?
So he stubbornly ate two rounds of suffering before finally getting sent out.
Lin Fan rolled his neck and took the win.
One first place—plus 80 points.
Master, 237 LP.
He was basically at the tournament requirement threshold for Douyu now.
Comfortable.
Lin Fan queued again, wanting to strike while the iron was hot and keep climbing.
But at that moment, Luo Sheng walked in mysteriously and patted his shoulder.
"Come. Your contract's getting changed again."
"Huh? Didn't we just change it recently?"
"Today the general manager personally came down for it. The club values you a lot—upper management at the parent company even knows you." Luo Sheng's voice carried a hint of sourness.
He really was sour today…
No extra conditions. Just sign, and your annual salary goes up by five million.
That put you officially into the "ten-million club."
And if they negotiated further, it could break twenty million.
That was money most people couldn't earn in several lifetimes.
Don't be fooled—he was TES's coach, but his real annual salary didn't compare to players. Even with bonuses, it was only a bit over three million.
But knowing the inside story, he also felt Lin Fan deserved it.
Fifteen billion in market cap growth.
If he were the boss, he wouldn't be stingy either.
They earned it all back—hard.
In the manager's office, Guo Hao relayed General Manager Sun Zheng's terms.
Lin Fan didn't choose to extend his contract by another year.
To be honest, before he had results, five million a year was already a great salary.
But Lin Fan believed he would definitely achieve results this year—he had that confidence.
And after learning JackeyLove and Knight's salaries, even a twenty-million contract felt a bit cheap.
His future value wouldn't be that price.
So Lin Fan didn't accept TES's first proposal.
Guo Hao expressed regret, then presented Plan B:
No other conditions change, but annual salary increases by five million.
He smiled at Lin Fan.
"Everything here—you earned it."
Then he explained the reason, and Lin Fan listened with his jaw hanging open.
Yare!
Fifteen billion straight up?
How many zeros was that?
Nine? Ten?
He couldn't believe he had that kind of power.
"When I heard it, I made the same face you did."
"But we haven't really done any operations lately. The few hot searches were all because of you. No other capital entered…"
The implication was obvious: the stock increase had to be because of you.
"Hahaha. Everything here—you earned it. Sign."
After understanding the reason, Lin Fan happily signed his name again.
Five million picked up for free.
Of course it wasn't paid all at once—it would be distributed with his salary, month by month.
"Go back. Keep working hard."
"OK, OK."
…
Back in the training room, JackeyLove kept staring at Lin Fan.
"You were gone a bit and you came back glowing. What good thing happened?"
"I signed an NDA. Even if you ask, I won't tell you."
The moment he said that, JackeyLove understood.
"How much?"
"Enough to work one year less."
"Damn. You can't not treat us to dinner tonight."
"Your mom's kiss—one year of yours is several years of mine and you're still squeezing me?"
TL: Chat I think I'ma just keep your mom's kiss here it's funny
"I don't care. I haven't been to the manager's office in forever. You went twice in a month."
"Hot pot?" Lin Fan tested.
"Deal." JackeyLove agreed immediately.
"Fan-ge is treating everyone to hot pot today."
"Nice! The weather is perfect for hot pot." Da Huang scooted over.
The situation in the team was clear now.
Knight had no hope anymore. Fan-ge was locked in as starter.
Building a good relationship was necessary.
Da Huang was young, but not stupid.
Knight listened from the side and didn't join in.
Just now, Luo Sheng called Lin Fan out, and he came back talking about treating everyone to dinner.
That kind of thing was tied to salary.
What was the point?
His annual salary was the highest in the entire league. No matter how much Lin Fan increased, it couldn't surpass him.
At dinner time, everyone got moving.
"Knight, come too." Lin Fan noticed Knight still sitting there and called out.
"I'm not feeling well. Don't really want to go."
"Knight-ge, come." JackeyLove had wanted to invite him earlier, but since Lin Fan was treating and they were both mid laners, the relationship was sensitive.
Even if Fan-ge wouldn't mind, JackeyLove felt it wasn't right for him to invite first.
Now that Lin Fan invited, he followed up.
With the current match pace and public opinion, TES definitely wouldn't keep Knight.
There would be fewer and fewer chances to eat together.
JackeyLove still hoped they could leave a good memory as teammates.
"Yeah. Club dinner. The vibe is right. Everyone together is fun." Zoom's chubby face looked honest.
"Right. Come."
"No. I… I'll… train…" Knight shook his head.
"Huh?"
Knight's Mandarin was already rough, and with that stuttering, JackeyLove didn't catch it.
"Forget it. Knight probably wants to train a bit more. Let's go." Tian said.
Forcing him would just make it awkward at the table. No need.
Tian saw it clearly.
"Knight-ge, want us to bring you something?"
Knight shook his head again.
"Alright. We're heading out, then?"
After saying it, JackeyLove felt a bit of regret. He shouldn't have let Fan-ge treat.
At times like this, he should've done it himself—celebrating for Fan-ge.
Then he could've invited the whole club.
But reality was reality. The club had already picked sides.
Esports was simple: win matches, that's what matters.
Not gossip, not scandals.
Hot pot at night with everyone was awesome, especially with a group—the vibe instantly hit.
The hot pot place was busy at night.
When the owner saw them, he greeted them warmly.
"You're here? Only Box 6 is left."
"Okay, boss." JackeyLove greeted him like an old friend.
Most pros were socially anxious guys. They could talk to teammates, but outside they couldn't get a word out.
JackeyLove was different—pure social butterfly.
He'd made friends with all the nearby restaurant owners.
Walk down the street and people greeted him.
Soon they finished ordering.
A shop that could survive here and still have TES players craving it every night was clearly good.
Lin Fan loved it the first time he came. The taste really was great.
They finished the meal laughing and talking.
Back at the club, everyone quickly snapped back into work mode.
Less than ten days left until the match. Even with a revival life, the pressure was still there!
If they advanced, then to win the title they'd only need to win one more series.
But if they lost, they'd need to win two series in a row to reach finals.
It was clear: the highest returns came from winning.
That revival life? Use it only if you absolutely must.
As for Lin Fan—he went back to slacking like usual.
He opened stream and launched Genshin Impact.
A huge wave of viewers rushed in instantly, and plenty of people strongly demanded Yu Ji lessons.
And honestly, with the Honor of Kings buff, Lin Fan's room popularity could casually break five million…
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a Honor of Kings pro.
They wouldn't even guess he was a League pro.
At the same time, a wave of financial news quietly climbed the trending list.
"Top Esports Sports surges! The reason behind it is unbelievable—dine's value?"
"One player brings 15 billion in value! Top Esports Esports player dine!"
"The influence of esports! An esports player brings 15 billion in added value!"
Some people found the ID familiar and clicked in.
After reading, they were stunned.
Yare!
Brother Infinite Borders has become a god.
One person raised an entire market board? That was insane.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup