Rebirth is fine, but I get eight hundred dollars right from the start?

If you encounter other teams recruiting you along the way, put that aside for now.

Chen Ye frowned, the lighter he was holding frozen in mid-air.

He stared at the college student wearing a baseball cap across from him, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes—they had been playing in the city championships for the past two years, and although they hadn't seen much of the world, they knew the principle of "whoever feeds me is my mother."

It's good enough to even make it into the professional scene, why be so picky?

But the next second, his gaze fell on the Xiangcheng University campus card on the table. The school emblem and photo printed on the card instantly lessened his hesitation by more than half.

Wow, this guy is a student from a reputable university. He speaks with conviction and doesn't seem like he's just bluffing.

Chen Ye put his cigarette on the table, pulled up a chair and sat down next to Cheng Zhiyuan, leaning forward slightly: "Brother, tell us in detail."

The others also joined in.

The college student in the baseball cap was named Cheng Zhiyuan, a third-year computer science student at Xiangtan University. Seeing that the young man in front of him had a good attitude, he went from casually mentioning it to seriously explaining, "You all want to take this opportunity to go pro, right?"

"Yes!" the tall, thin guy spoke first, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement. "We've been playing in the city championships for a while now, and we've accumulated a lot of offline experience. We were thinking of honing our skills and trying to form a team to break into the professional leagues."

"result……"

"It turned out that there are always people even more skilled than you, and you simply didn't have a chance by trying to figure it out on your own!"

"Ahem...that's roughly the idea."

"Our thinking is that since Emperor is doing this show, it'll definitely generate exposure. Even if we can't get a job with HWG, we can try our luck with other LPL teams or even secondary league teams. Anyway, as long as we can make it to the professional scene, what team doesn't matter?"

But the advice from this guy in front of me is to go all out against HWG?

"Have you ever thought about this question—" Cheng Zhiyuan leaned forward and chuckled, "What exactly is the core value of the Emperor program?"

The three people looked at each other, but none of them said anything.

What is the core value of the program?

make money?

To select new players for the team?

Cheng Zhiyuan continued, "Let me start by saying something a little unpleasant—according to the application requirements of the 'Next Stop, Career' program, the kind of talent you guys have is indeed outstanding among ordinary people. You're at Diamond 3 or Diamond 2 rank, and you can even make it to the third round of the provincial competition in the city competition. You can brag about these achievements."

"But you have to understand, there are at least several hundred people like you across the country. Given how popular the Emperor program is, how many people do you think will actually sign up?"

Chen Ye was not angry when he heard this. Instead, he nodded. He knew in his heart that what Cheng Zhiyuan said was true.

"So here's the question," Cheng Zhiyuan shifted to a more comfortable sitting position, "you guys go through the normal tryout registration process. If you can't get into HWG, you can settle for other teams without any problem."

"But it's different now—Emperor's logic for this program is completely different from what you think of as 'selection.' It focuses on 'development,' meaning that as long as you meet the admission criteria, you have the opportunity to enter HWG's system and be personally trained by them."

"Have you ever considered how many professional League of Legends clubs there have been in China since 2013?"

"You can count the teams that can offer a perfect management system, stable salaries, and a standardized training system on one hand. HWG is the only one among them where everyone from the owner to the coaches to the players can be described as 'professional.' When you join their youth training system, it's like being fed the most advanced methodologies in the entire professional scene—from morning training plans to post-match analysis templates, from version analysis strategies to mental stress training. You might not even get a glimpse of these things after three years in the industry. These are the core values ​​of this program."

"Speaking of which, I really admire the Emperor. He leads the way, not only without blocking the way, but also willing to give a lot of help to you newcomers."

"I'm sure that during the filming of the show, you'll get contacted by various teams through staff, coaches, or even the players themselves. Maybe before filming is even halfway through, someone will be handing you a contract, offering more than HWG, with conditions that sound even more tempting. If you're going to leave just because you're interested—then what are you even doing on this show? Just to get a contract from another team? Why don't you just go try out for other teams?"

Old Li pushed up his glasses on his chubby face and thoughtfully replied, "Brother, you mean—regardless of the final result, after registering, just stick with HWG to the bitter end?"

Cheng Zhiyuan nodded: "It's not that HWG is the only option. It's that since the Emperor endorses this show with his own reputation, he has to be responsible for you. If you stay until the end, even if you don't sign with HWG, he will definitely recommend a suitable path for you to protect his reputation and brand—it could be to another LPL team, it could be to be relegated to the secondary league to hone your skills, or it could even be recommended for you to become a coach or analyst. As long as this prestigious brand is established, you won't lose out by following it."

"More importantly—what you learn during this time is the most valuable thing. HWG's system, from training methods to tactical reserves to professional habits, is all practical experience that Emperor gained from dominating the Rift and the LPL. Learning from them for a month is more useful than spending a year playing ranked games on your own. Even if you don't get a contract in the end and are eliminated—as long as you learn well during that time and leave with that training rhythm, review ideas, and the underlying logic of teamwork, you will be a game-changer in any team."

The moment his words fell to the ground, Chen Ye paused for a moment, then grinned.

He handed the cigarette back to Cheng Zhiyuan: "Got it, bro—you want us to go on this show and learn how to be a professional gamer, right?"

Cheng Zhiyuan took the cigarette, but didn't light it. He just twirled it between his fingers, and a smile finally appeared on his lips: "You summed it up more concisely than I could."

The fat guy scratched the back of his head, then suddenly clicked his tongue: "Tsk... When I was in school, I didn't study hard and skipped classes to play games every day. Now that I want to become a professional gamer, I have to think about how to study properly. What do you call that? A hellish joke?"

The tall, thin guy slapped him on the back, laughing so hard he almost fell over: "Just tell me, are you going to learn or not!"

"Learn!" The fat man staggered forward after being slapped, but once he regained his balance, he puffed out his chest and shouted louder than anyone else, "Even if I get into the HWG system and get a beating, I'll accept it even if I'm eliminated in the end!"

The group was laughing and joking around, and the sound of keyboards clicking and laughter mingled in the corner of the internet cafe, which attracted the attention of the people at the nearby computers.