LOL: Reborn in Season 3, Taming Lee Sang-hyeok

Inside the RISE training room, everyone looked at each other in astonishment.

"Huh? We're not playing anymore?" Kim Hyuk-kyu asked, completely puzzled. "Isn't this so boring?"

Lee Sang-hyeok crossed his arms and gave a cold laugh.

He could vaguely guess some of it.

Who else but the manager/coach could forcibly interrupt a training match?

"The other side can't afford to play anymore."

Li Zhixing chuckled, "They're a powerhouse, a top team in the OGN region. They can't stand being thrashed like this by a newly formed amateur team like us."

Upon hearing this, Looper and Mata exchanged a glance and chuckled.

They felt the same way.

The burden of being a top team is heavier than anyone else's.

Mata thought for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "So what's next? Do we pass this stage?"

"Of course it counts." Li Zhixing shrugged slightly and smiled. "Let's sign the contract."

Upon hearing this, Mata's face lit up with joy.

He seized every single opportunity he had in his life!

Li Zhixing led the contestants up to the third floor.

The layout of the third floor is roughly the same as that of the second floor, still mainly consisting of dormitories for the contestants.

However, Li Zhixing turned half of that space into his own domain.

In addition to the standard single rooms, there is also a dedicated office located at the highest point of the site, which is bright and airy on all sides.

Li Zhixing didn't plan to do anything in this office. After all, he was not only the boss, manager, and coach, but also a player... He usually just needed to stay in the training room.

However, this base still needs a place to talk.

On the empty desk lay a pre-prepared contract.

Since we're going to run a high-end business, the contracts naturally need to be formalized.

It must be said that this is indeed an area that Li Zhixing is not familiar with.

Although he had signed several contracts in his previous life, he couldn't possibly memorize all those dozens of pages.

Fortunately, Li Qiming's company had a dedicated legal department. He sent the legal department's phone number directly to Li Zhixing. The two sides communicated by phone for a long time to align the details, and finally a rough template for the labor contract was drafted.

"The contract fee is two million Korean won per month."

Li Zhixing spoke up, "That's quite a show of sincerity."

Lee Sang-hyeok didn't understand what this number meant, but he glanced at Mata beside him.

From the excited look in his eyes, one can roughly understand that this is indeed a considerable sum.

Indeed, 200 million Korean won is roughly equivalent to 1.1 yuan.

In late 2012, during the early days of esports, when it was still in its infancy, few players worldwide could command such high salaries.

Even Madlife, the current OGN's top support player, isn't much better than this.

For the newcomers, receiving such treatment felt like a dream come true.

"Don't worry, you're all among the top ten in the country, you deserve this money."

Li Zhixing chuckled lightly, a hint of heartache on his face.

If one person earns 10,000 yuan a month, then four people would earn 480,000 yuan a year.

Lately, they've been renting training bases and signing players, spending money like water.

He worked hard for over half a year to build his online store on social media, and now, in just one or two months, he's almost completely spent it all...

Li Zhixing was willing to give this money, which can be considered as taking Li Qiming's advice.

As a manager, there are essentially two ways to get subordinates to obey: one is to find fault with them, and the other is to win them over with virtue.

But these five contestants are all exceptionally talented and gifted, and they are young and have no social pressures, so they can go anywhere.

It is quite difficult to control someone solely by relying on their weaknesses; it is often necessary to use virtue and persuasion as an aid.

It's inevitable that we'll have to spend more money to get the team members to put in more effort.

Moreover, Li Zhixing knew that investing this money would not result in a loss.

In just one year at most, the market value of these esports players will increase exponentially.

In three to five years, it will reach the level of several million RMB per year.

Once we win the championship, the expenditure of over a million RMB will be nothing.

Regarding the contract term...

At one point, Li Zhixing considered whether to use a long-term contract to bind these four geniuses to their side.

In a previous life, a club did this, and it was infamous.

But he still didn't do it.

"The contract term is a uniform 2+1, which is a two-year contract plus the priority signing right for the following year."

Li Zhixing explained, "The difference between this and signing a three-year contract directly is that if your market value increases after two years, I can negotiate the price first. If you are really not satisfied, you can also leave."

Money should still be earned; no matter how kind Li Zhixing is, he can't just sign a one-year contract.

Otherwise, if you bring a player to a championship and increase their value, it wouldn't make sense if the player just walked away the following year and signed a big contract with another company.

Looper and Mata listened to the conditions Li Zhixing mentioned, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Their ideas were completely different from Li Zhixing's.

They just felt that the terms were too good to be true.

This is almost the kind of treatment only top-tier star players receive.

Those players are highly sought after by various clubs and can fetch high prices wherever they go, putting the clubs in a subordinate position, which is why they have to offer various conditions.

They're the ones begging to join the team, yet they still get such good contracts.

The two of them looked at Li Zhixing with a hint of admiration.

My brother really respects us!

Unexpectedly, the two younger men looked troubled when they saw the contract.

"Brother Zhixing..." Kim Hyuk-kyu thought for a moment and said, "I probably can't sign the contract yet."

Kim Hyuk-kyu and Lee Sang-hyeok are both high school students, and at a prestigious high school, they have excellent grades.

The parents were really worried about entrusting their child to a boss who was also just a high school student.

Of course, esports is considered a respectable industry in South Korea, so parents won't be as adamant as they are with China, but they will at least wait until they enter the top OGN league before giving their approval.

"Don't worry, the terms in the contract are very clear."

Li Zhixing calmly stated, "If RISE fails to advance to OGN in the upcoming NLB secondary league, their contract will be automatically terminated, and we will disband on the spot."

It can only be said that some people are born leaders, and their words are naturally full of power.

Hearing this, the other four men's gazes quickly hardened, and they swiftly signed their names on their respective contracts.

"Brother, do we need to sign for every single one of these positions?"

"Yes, and after Hyuk-kyu and Sang-hyeok sign it themselves, they have to take it home for your parents to sign, and then come back to me tomorrow."

"Okay, bro!"

Li Zhixing watched as the four people in front of him signed each document, and smiled slightly with narrowed eyes.

The four people in front of him form the foundation of his business empire.

If this team can win the championship, all kinds of brands and talented people will come to them without being asked.

Whether it's securing sponsorships, selling youth training programs, or even building his own brand based on the team's reputation, he can make a fortune!

Let's give the world's esports scene a shock!