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

"Playing professionally? Playing professionally? What a load of rubbish!"

HWG headquarters, first floor office.

Lin Shu slammed his phone on the table, turned around, and glared at the two young men standing ramrod straight in front of him.

"Do you two idiots even know what it means to play professionally? You're going to play professionally."

"Why would a perfectly good rich kid like you give up to come here and suffer through life?"

"Is it that you're uncomfortable living in your big villa, or that you're uncomfortable spending the allowance your parents give you each month, which is more than other people's salaries by a decimal point?"

Li Nan and Zhang Hai stood side by side in front of the desk, one carrying a backpack and the other dragging a suitcase. Zhang Hai's face still showed signs of travel fatigue. The two of them had surprisingly similar expressions—heads down, lips pursed, and no words spoken. Despite being older, they looked like two elementary school students being scolded.

Lin Shu was furious when he saw the way the two of them acted.

Not to mention now, even a decade or two from now, when the e-sports industry has developed to a very mature stage, becoming an e-sports player will never be the first choice for Chinese families.

Others couldn't do anything about it, but these two simpletons, who had no worries about food or drink, just went out of their way to get involved.

He plopped back into his chair, grabbed a bottle of water from the table, unscrewed it, took a swig, and caught his breath before continuing:

"Tell me, what are you two thinking?" Lin Shu's gaze fell on the two of them. "It's one thing for a rich second-generation from Shanghai to come all the way here—but you, Zhang Hai, traveled all the way from Sichuan by hard sleeper train for over ten hours. What were you after?"

"Master, my parents have agreed," Li Nan explained. "My mother said that the market prospects for e-sports are good for the foreseeable future, and I have some talent so I can give it a try. Besides, I have already finished my university studies ahead of schedule. If I don't achieve anything after playing for a few years, I can go back and learn to manage the company from my father."

Lin Shu's lips twitched.

Depend on.

He rolled his eyes inwardly.

Having parents who provide excellent material conditions and are also open-minded is amazing!

Starting from scratch, even better beer!

Well, parents like that are certainly enviable.

After taking a bite of lemon, he turned his gaze to Zhang Hai, looking him up and down: "What about you? I remember you complained on WeChat before that your parents were very unhappy about you playing games all day."

"Now you say you want to play professionally—will they agree?"

Zhang Hai grinned, a smile that held a hint of guilt mixed with smugness: "Hehe, I snuck out."

"...Sneaking away?" Lin Shu almost dropped the water bottle in his hand.

"Hurry up and buy your plane ticket now. I'll have Lao Tang take you to the airport." Lin Shu made a move to stand up.

"No! No, no, no, Master!" Zhang Hai dashed forward, grabbed the armrest of the sofa, and clung to it like a koala. "I already told my parents on the way here!"

"They were really angry, and they even said they'd fly over and break my legs—"

Zhang Hai swallowed hard. "But I said, if they really continue to restrict me, I'll just jump into the Huangpu River."

"They...they gave me one chance. Six months, just six months. If I didn't make a name for myself in six months, my old man came and dragged me back home."

"Phew~"

Lin Shu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"To be honest, I think it would be much easier to break your legs now and have your parents take you back directly."

"Waaaaah, Master—" Zhang Hai clung to the sofa, refusing to let go, his expression exaggerated. "Master, please give us a chance, considering how devout we are! We really want to go pro!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Li Nan nodded vigorously beside him, pulling out his phone. "Master, look, our rank has already reached 2,500! We've faced all those top-ranked pro players in solo queue, and we're no match for them!"

Lin Shu looked at the two clowns in front of him and remained silent for two seconds.

"Okay."

Zhang Hai's eyes lit up, but before he could utter half a syllable of "Long live—", Lin Shu's next words choked him back down.

"Solo. Beat me, and I'll take you all."

Zhang Hai's mouth was open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

"Who?"

"Who are we going to fight?"

"I?"

Li Nan silently put away her phone and muttered softly, "...Six."

……

Finally, after Lin Shu made contact with Zhang Hai's parents, who were far away in Sichuan, he decided to keep both of them there.

To be honest, these two are indeed quite eligible.

His Rank score is over 2,500, which is enough to make him competitive even in the professional scene.

More importantly, they have no worries about the future.

One has the full support of their family, while the other has already come clean with their family and received a six-month deadline.

Moreover, both of them voluntarily gave up their comfortable lives to pursue their dreams, and they have a genuine love for esports, so there's basically no need to worry about their professional attitude.

They are perfect for use as training... cough cough, they should be excellent role models for cultivating high-quality e-sports players.

Sometimes Lin Shu thought about it and felt that the script of his life was written quite absurdly.

He had only taken on two apprentices while working on his points and individual tasks.

At the time, I was simply thinking that even a small amount of money is still money, and it would be good to have a reliable teammate to cover for me when playing duo queue.

Who would have thought that this casual scoop would yield such a rare and promising stock?

Zhang Hai needs no further explanation.

This guy's talent in the top lane is top-tier.

With his already decent team fight skills, after learning Riven from Lin Shu, he became obsessed with split pushing, from Jax to Jayce, he could push lanes until people were tilted to the point of exploding.

It's fair to say that he's mastered all the top lane champions for the entire upcoming season, making them his signature heroes and never playing any tricks.

As for Li Nan, his situation is slightly different.

This young man originally played mid lane, and his skill level was only around 2000 points. Even after learning some strategies from Lin Shu, he could only reach 2200 or 2300 at most. Lin Shu originally thought he was just a solo queue king, and that he wouldn't be able to go pro.

However, during the period when he was aiming for the top spot in the national server, Lin Shu played duo queue with him and let him try jungling.

This test had an amazing effect.

Li Nan seemed to have been suddenly switched on, and her entire demeanor changed.

After moving to the jungle position, the player no longer experiences the same dilemma as when playing mid lane.

operate?

That's enough.

Game strategy?

As long as you can understand what your older brother wants to do, that's fine.

support?

Occasionally, a flash of inspiration will occur.

Resource control?

Not top-tier.

What truly allowed Xiao Li to thrive as a jungler in the high-ranking Chinese server was one thing—he knew how to support his teammates.

Yes, it's the core tactic of that three-time world champion jungler that later generations of LOL players are so familiar with: the "protect your carry" strategy!

Protect your dad in jungle!

Other junglers actually find it difficult to find a balance between personal development and being a carry for the team.

Either starve yourself and sacrifice yourself, turning yourself into a second support;

Either they can't bear to part with resources, and in the end, the classic scenario of the mid-jungle duo breaking up and the "you take my blue buff and I'll AFK" scenario plays out.

Li Nan is different.

This kid seems to have a unique algorithm in his head—within a few minutes of entering the game, he can accurately determine who the "father" of this round is.

Then, throughout the entire game, he would prioritize his own development while frantically supporting his "dad's" lane.

He was incredibly attentive, providing everything from lane clearing and counter-ganking to giving up resources and blocking skills. He was even more caring than a biological father.

Of course, Lin Shu would feel a pang of regret at the emergence of one or two geniuses in the Chinese server who were not known to the world in their previous lives, but he was not surprised at all.

China is so vast!

The population is also large enough.

With such a massive base, countless industries will have their own prodigies, so how could esports be an exception?

In their past lives, they didn't go out, probably because they couldn't continue down this path for some reason, or perhaps they didn't meet a mentor who could recognize their talents.

Maxima often has it, but Bole does not often have it.

The ancients are not deceived by me.

"Alright." Lin Shu stood up from his chair, patted his trouser leg, and said, "You two go find Manager Tang and ask him to arrange accommodations for you."

"The accommodation is in a four-person room, so don't expect any special treatment for you."

"It's alright, it's alright, Master. We were mentally prepared. We were even prepared to struggle for two months on instant noodles in internet cafes..."

"Who told you that playing esports means eating instant noodles at an internet cafe?"

That's how it's written in novels!

"roll……"

Zhang Hai chuckled and grabbed Li Nan, dashing out the door.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing!"

Before the two stepped out of the room, Lin Shu added, "A few passersby will be coming over for a trial this afternoon. I'll leave the screening to you two, using the methods I taught you."

"Then...we'll sign the contract together tonight."

The door closed.

In the corridor, Zhang Hai and Li Nan looked at each other for a second.

"Master said... sign a contract?" Zhang Hai's voice was a little unsteady.

"Mm." Li Nan nodded.

"contract!"

"Um."

"Damn, I'm going to go pro!"

"Gagaga!"

The next second, a loud shout came from behind the door, "Stop yelling! If you have time, go help tidy up the dorm!"

……