Chapter 17 I Am No Longer the Destitute Young Man I Used to Be

On the night the match concluded.

Zeri's three-item Runaan's Hurricane and Titanic Hydra build began to ravage the entire Summoner's Rift. After personally experiencing the utterly bug-like brokenness of this build, Luo Ji's reputation as the "Grand Inventor" of LPL esports was further solidified.

Of course,

that wasn't even the most chaotic thing.

The most chaotic part was that, having seemingly realized just how popular V5's voice comms were, the team's media department—which usually took several days to put together a mic check video—rushed it out with frantic overtime work that very same night.

The moment it was released, it instantly dropped the jaws of countless viewers.

The previous matches were just like crosstalk comedy.

Now?

How on earth did Yu-Gi-Oh players and singing suddenly show up, and why was Rookie actually singing along with them?

[God-tier top laner, god-tier team, and god-tier me who actually loves watching god-tier player voice comms.]

[Can someone please fill V5's regular season schedule to the brim? This is too hilarious.]

[I honestly thought Doinb was already the peak of player-generated entertainment value, but who would have expected there to be an even higher master among us!]

[Whenever I think about how this guy was pretending to be cold and aloof when he first debuted, I just want to laugh. Such a waste of a good-looking face.]

The LPL audience was laughing their heads off.

Normally, for a professional player, their in-game skill determines the lower limit of how many fans they can attract, while their antics and variety-show potential determine the upper limit. Back in the ancient era of streaming, famous pro players—even if they weren't all hideous—featured a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and looks; very few of them looked conventionally normal.

Or rather, the normal ones simply couldn't get popular.

Back during Zz1tai’s "Beijing Socialite" persona phase, his streaming room barely had a soul. Even though he wasn't hurting for pocket change, the moment he completely underwent mutation and started going unhinged, his fan-attraction ability skyrocketed instantly.

Considering the team had achieved a perfect 4-0 record before the Chinese New Year.

That night.

Nofe simply conducted a brief review of the day's match and then dismissed the players to go their separate ways. After all, it was the New Year. Even though they were still under semi-quarantine restrictions, given the traditional mindset of the Chinese people, players naturally wanted to head home if they possibly could.

"So, Dream? What are your plans for the New Year?"

As soon as they were dismissed,

Karsa took the initiative to seek out Luo Ji.

They had finished their last match before the New Year on January 26th, but the first match after the New Year would kick off right upon their return on February 11th—a mere two-week window in between. Players like Xiaoyan and Ppgod had no problem going home, and Rookie had Xiao Yu to visit, but he couldn't.

There was no way he was flying back across the strait to Taiwan; the mandatory quarantine for traveling back and forth would consume the entire vacation.

Fortunately.

The club still had Luo Ji to keep him company.

"About that..."

Luo Ji scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed look. "Although I really don't have a home to go back to, I do have matters to attend to and need to go out."

Hearing his words, Karsa looked as though he had been struck by lightning.

But very quickly.

He reacted and asked:

"Then can I tag along?"

"If you don't mind, I have no problem with it on my end."

"Then let's go together!"

Karsa threw his arm around Luo Ji's shoulder with an excited expression. As long as they could go together, it didn't really matter where they went or what they were doing; the main point was that he wouldn't have to spend the Lunar New Year alone at the club keeping Ah Dai the dog company.

That was enough.

The next day.

Watching Xiaoyan and Ppgod pack bags and boxes to head home, Luo Ji sighed and patted them heavily on their shoulders with a grave expression.

"Even though you're going home for the New Year."

"There are still some things I need to tell you. During the New Year festivities, don't just focus on eating; remember to exercise as well. Young men really need to take good care of their physical fitness."

"Why?"

"Because in the future, you will inevitably encounter your own romance. When you're young, you think love only requires sincerity, but once you truly have it, you'll discover that loving each other not only requires sincerity, but even more so, physical exertion."

Xiaoyan: ?

Ppgod: ?

Nearby.

Rookie straight-up couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

However, as someone who had experienced it all before, he nodded in profound agreement. You really do need to keep your body in good shape, otherwise you might as well not even bother.

Under the two players' resentful gazes.

Ultimately.

Luo Ji glanced at Karsa, who had also finished packing his backpack, and flicked the airplane ticket screen on his phone.

"Alright, Brother Karsa, it's time for us to depart."

"GO! GO! GO!"

Karsa beamed with excitement.

Though he had no idea where they were actually heading, looking at Luo Ji's mysterious expression, it had to be a pretty good spot~

Several hours later.

After transferring through various modes of transportation, when the two finally reached their destination and got out of the car, Karsa looked around to find themselves in a town with fairly modern architecture.

"We here?"

"We're here."

Karsa scratched his head. "Where to?"

Luo Ji raised an eyebrow. "Top secret."

This sense of mystery made Karsa feel quite intrigued. It wasn't until Luo Ji made a phone call and summoned a liaison who seemed to act as a guide that, after weaving through numerous alleyways and turns, the two finally managed to stop in front of an industrial factory gate.

Karsa frowned, feeling that something about the place felt a bit off.

However, operating on the "since we're already here" mentality.

Ultimately.

Karsa still followed him inside.

Over an hour later...

When the two emerged from inside once again, Karsa was completely and utterly shaken by Luo Ji. No wonder he had come here with such a mysterious air—he had actually come here to partner with people on manufacturing artificial moonlight devices.

"Awesome."

He pointed a finger at Luo Ji for a long time, ultimately only managing to squeeze out those two words from his mouth.

No wonder this kid never talked about salary, always harped on about risks, never discussed perks without talking about boundaries, lectured endlessly on vigilance, and spoke every single word with an eye on the bigger picture, yet every look and gesture implied he wanted a raise. Turns out he was investing his money in this kind of venture.

It had to be said.

Karsa actually felt tempted at first as well.

But thinking about how getting involved in this might ruin his reputation, he forcefully held himself back from participating.

"Isn't it because I'm broke, Brother Karsa? How many years can a pro player actually play? And how many years does a person have in this lifetime? You've got to plan just a little bit for the future."

Luo Ji shook his head dismissively, treating it as no big deal.

For this partnership, he adopted a nominal-endorsement system. Specifically, someone else would run accounts dedicated to clipping the highlights of his streams and match compilations, and merchandise would be sold through those accounts' storefronts. Of course, the shop bore his name, but if outsiders asked about it, his only job was to play dumb and deflect.

He would neither admit nor deny it.

In essence, it was the exact same model as Doinb's wife Tang Xiaoyou's online store, just selling different products.

Using his own traffic to drive customer flow, which then converted back into money flowing into his own bank accounts. This solved both the general public's repressed physical stress and Luo Ji's insufficient cash flow issues.

A win-win!

Moving forward, whenever there were new products, they would send a few over for him—the shareholder—to test out, and he could even pass them on as gifts to Xiaoyan. He believed that with this stuff around, the "flashing bird" incident involving Xiaoyan in the original timeline wouldn't happen; instead, it would help him focus more intently on his training.

After time-traveling, Luo Ji had indeed pondered it.

Since he knew which players would be strong in the future, should he try to build some so-called LPL star battleship roster?

Reality, however, told him otherwise.

It was too damn difficult. First, the club didn't have that kind of money; second, he was just a player and didn't have the clout to order the club to buy specific people; and third, whether those players themselves would even be willing was a whole separate question.

Since he couldn't choose his teammates, he would just find a way to guide his current ones.

"Alright, Brother Karsa, thanks for your hard work accompanying me today. How about this, I'll take you to eat something delicious later, my treat."

"You?"

Karsa gave him a skeptical look.

Having just witnessed the transaction inside, he knew very well that Luo Ji didn't actually have much cash on hand, and he was usually so stingy. Could this guy actually afford to treat?

"Wait, what is that look in your eyes?"

Noticing the odd look in Karsa's gaze, Luo Ji explained with an air of absolute righteousness: "Don't look at me like that, I'm different now. I'm no longer the penniless kid I used to be."

Karsa paused.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard Luo Ji continue:

"The New Year is coming up soon, which means I'll soon be a penniless kid for the new year."

"?"

Having settled the most important matter, Luo Ji and Karsa began wandering around aimlessly everywhere.

Figuring they had less than a week left anyway, the two basically just picked a random direction and wandered along all the way until the timing was right, at which point they started making their way back toward the club.

It wasn't until a few days before the team reassembled.

That the two slowly drifted back to Shanghai.

This period of time could be considered the most eye-opening few days of Karsa's life.

Ever since he started playing professionally, most pro players did nothing outside of going home or staying at the club; their understanding of the outside world was practically zero, which was why they were so easily manipulated by those so-called internet influencer women.

Luo Ji was different, though.

He dragged Karsa through every nook and cranny, eating the most authentic street food, staying in the most culturally rich places, and sleeping—

Ahem.

Sleeping meant normal sleeping, of course.

Even after returning to Shanghai, Luo Ji actually brought Karsa along to work part-time as paid seat-warmers and fake line-backers at various real estate housing launches. Although Karsa didn't really care about pocket change like that, the sheer novelty of this kind of work truly opened his eyes.

While pretending to be in line, Karsa asked in a low voice:

"I've noticed you hanging around these real estate properties these past few days. Are you thinking about buying a house here?"

Though he was from Taiwan.

Karsa understood just how exorbitant Shanghai's housing prices were; even after playing professionally for so many years, looking at the housing prices here still made him hesitate to pull the trigger.

"Not really, the prices are way too high, and I haven't mentally prepared myself yet," Luo Ji replied decisively.

"What kind of mental preparation?" Karsa followed up.

"The preparation to join the Mortgage Slaves Youth Club."

"Pfft~"

What the hell kind of Mortgage Slaves Youth Club!

By the time the matches were just a few days away.

The members of V5—both those who had gone home for the New Year and those who hadn't—finally reassembled at the club. However, on the very first day of their reunion, the club staff were heavily shocked by a giant hemp sack of "gifts" that Luo Ji brought back.

Huh?

Whose post-New Year opening gift to others is a Chalice of Harmony?!

Wait.

You're saying this wasn't given by the company, but rather New Year gifts given by a colleague?

Acquired for free?

That made it all right, then.

Luo Ji was quite sensible as well. Everything was packed in large black garbage bags, sorted by gender. The men's bags contained not only a Chalice of Harmony but also a carton of Zhonghua cigarettes, making it convenient to take out and fool outsiders. The female colleagues' bags contained large vacuum flasks—which also made tallying things up convenient when discussing cups—alongside a few small plush dolls tossed in for good measure.

The point wasn't what was actually being given.

The entire club knew he had the lowest salary among the players.

The point was that he knew he *had* to give gifts.

When it came to the sophisticated arts of human relationships and social tact, he always nailed it.

Upon learning about this, Nofe was left between laughter and tears, pointing a finger at Luo Ji only to raise it and put it down again.

"You kid, are you utterly obsessed with money?"

"If word of this gets out, you won't be finding a girlfriend in this industry for the next few years."

Luo Ji shook his head with an indifferent expression.

"What girlfriend? They always say wise men don't fall into the river of love, adults just go get foot spas and massages. Pure romance is optional, but pure gold needs to come early."

After a brief period of rehabilitation.

Luo Ji also discovered that the designers at Riot Games' Chinese server seemed to have been slacking off.

Normally, after the Chinese server crossed over to Patch 12.2, both ranked queues and professional matches should have synchronized with the foreign servers to update to Patch 12.3. However, right when Patch 12.3 dropped, China was celebrating the Lunar New Year; everyone had gone back to their respective hometowns to see their mothers, and nobody was working.

OK.

So when they came back after the New Year, the version had already jumped straight to Patch 12.4 to synchronize with the foreign servers, while the tournament realm patch lagged slightly behind at Patch 12.2.

Furthermore, this round of updates and adjustments was ruthlessly precise.

Top lane Smite Janna, you say?

Snap, nerfed into the ground, hit the support items.

Chemtank Irelia, you say?

Snap, nerfed again, hit the dash stacking mechanic.

Zeri's Q ability triggering Runaan's Hurricane, you say?

Heh heh, keep chopping, hit the Runaan's interaction effect.

Aside from Hullbreaker, which the designers didn't touch much, almost everything V5 had pulled out on stage was targeted and battered by the designers.

Luo Ji naturally knew that even if he hadn't picked them, the designers would have eventually nerfed those things anyway. But the fact that he *had* picked them created the illusion that the balance team was swinging their nerf hammers while watching V5's matches.

Weren't they successful baiters now, then~

The various casual players who had finally managed to learn Luo Ji's tactics felt their skies collapse when they looked at the patch notes.

The Spring Split after the New Year hadn't even started yet, and you've already butchered everything for me? Who am I supposed to look to for nourishment to make up for my lost strategies now?

For a time.

The follower count on Luo Ji's account skyrocketed massively, with everyone pleading for him to continue spreading cheap... ahem, climbing strategies!

[Silver division, tactics, save us!]

[Is this designer staring at V5's matches to swing the nerf hammer? Why does whatever V5 plays get nerfed?]

[I was out visiting relatives for the New Year and didn't get to play much. Why is my bro's house gone?]

[Dream, bro has never begged you for anything in his life, please start streaming right now. Bro is already starting to fail his promos QAQ.]

While flipping through the patch notes, Luo Ji reminisced about the knowledge stored in his brain.

After reminiscing for a long time.

Mhm.

He didn't recall a single useful thing; you still had to actually play the game with your own hands to figure out what was going on.

"Aren't you planning to stream? So many people are begging you." Seeing that Luo Ji showed zero intention of starting a stream, Xiaoyan, whose eyes were turning red with envy at the traffic, couldn't quite wrap his head around it and hastily asked.

"That's because you're young."

Luo Ji shook his head, pointing at the patch notes and saying: "This thing just updated, and Brother Karsa and I just got back. We don't have a hammer's worth of meta-understanding right now."

"Even if I stream, I need to figure out what strategies are unplayable in pro matches but can still be taught out to others before I even consider turning it on."

"Besides."

"If they want it and you just hand it over, that's simping behavior. Simps don't get houses. But if it's when their rank falls so fast due to the meta shift that they can't stand it anymore, and *then* you come out and bestow a strategy upon them, they'll remember your kindness and enshrine you as a god."

"Moreover, we have more important things to do right now."

More important things?

The group of players in the room paused, including not just the two starting veterans and the bot lane duo, but also the various substitute players.

Luo Ji swept his gaze around the room and spoke with a smile:

"Did everyone eat well going home for the New Year?"

"Does anyone feel like there's nothing left in your stomach, you can't shit when you go to the bathroom, or even feel like nothing's clicking when you do anything, and you always feel like your body is missing something?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the group of players nodded fiercely.

Right!

That was precisely the feeling!

Except for Karsa, who had been wandering around everywhere with Luo Ji and didn't have this problem, everyone else who had gone home felt like something was slightly off-key ever since they returned, though you couldn't really call it being sick.

How strange.

Seeing this, Luo Ji explained with the demeanor of an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor:

"You guys are sick. You're lacking a tiny, teeny bit of trace elements that aren't strictly necessary for the human body."

"Come on, head out with me."

"Relax, I'm not taking you to the hospital to see a doctor; I just want to take you to experience Shanghai's wildest Thursday."

The group of players in the room: !!!