Chapter 72 Signing a Gunner

Checking a file is nothing to the league officials. Seeing Fang Zhuo and Zhuang Ruida sit down, the other staff members in the conference room also sat down at the other end of the long table.

"Mr. Fang, the situation of these three teams is quite bad. The match-fixing was orchestrated by those players who were recruited from the PC game. The incidents occurred within three months of each other, and they even encouraged their teammates to collude in match-fixing, which has had a very negative impact on the overall atmosphere of the league."

"Therefore, after the investigation, the committee imposed a heavy sentence on these teams, directly disqualifying them from the competition and imposing an eight-year ban on all players within the teams."

Fang Zhuo frowned slightly after hearing the committee staff's explanation.

The original novel does not include this major match-fixing incident; it was most likely orchestrated by Zeng Ge.

He couldn't see what benefit Zeng Ge would gain from planning such a thing. Not only would he not make any profit, but he would also have to spend extra money to bribe the players who were willing to fix matches.

I've seen people who harm others for their own benefit, but it's rare to see someone who harms both others and themselves.

Those players who were banned all belonged to small teams that might not even qualify for the main league, so they posed no threat to Zeng Ge at all.

Fang Zhuo opened the paper document of the investigation report handed to him by the staff.

Just as he expected, one of the important supporting characters in the original book was not found to have participated in match-fixing. He was only implicated by three mentally challenged teammates and was forced to be banned for eight years.

The suspension period has only lasted for less than five years. Five years ago, this promising young striker played only six or seven games in the secondary league and hadn't even made a name for himself when his teammates sabotaged him and prevented him from ever playing again.

Fang Zhuohe reported: "Chairman Zhuang, let me be frank. I can sell the S-class and competition-level mecha patents, but I have three requests."

"First, for those players who were not involved in match-fixing in the previous investigation, could their suspensions be reduced? After all, they are innocent and did nothing wrong."

"Secondly, since the league committee considers the atmosphere of the competition, could they also take some punishments against teams that maliciously block player contracts, such as canceling their prize money? Of course, I'm not specifically referring to Team IN."

"Third, the Star Alliance will conduct ability tests on all citizens aged fourteen and above. I'm not entirely sure what the specific selection criteria are, but it's highly likely that some part of the testing is outsourced to a third-party testing agency or testing equipment..."

"I'd like to remind you that there's been a problem with this skills test. It would be best if someone could investigate it again."

The first two conditions were quite simple, but upon hearing the third condition, Zhuang Ruida's expression grew increasingly serious.

The chilling implication sent a shiver down the spines of everyone in the conference room.

The ability test is arguably the fairest selection and assessment method in the entire Star Alliance. It not only concerns the individual players or teams, but also the future of the entire Star Alliance.

Now someone is telling him that his aptitude test might have been tampered with.

Who has such audacity? Who has such power?

Zhuang Ruida took a deep breath, exchanged glances with his subordinates, and their eyes flashed with astonishment and disbelief.

"Okay, Mr. Fang, thank you for your feedback. We will take this message seriously."

As he left the building where the conference room was located, the staff specially added him to a problem-solving group, and efficiently sent him the notices of the lifting of the bans for the several players who were implicated.

[Mr. Fang, this announcement is expected to be released on the league's official website at 2 PM. Please check your website then.]

Taking advantage of this time difference, Fang Zhuo still had time to rush to the gunner's team to recruit him.

As one of the two major damage dealers in a mech team, the gunner position is never short of geniuses, but there is always a higher level above geniuses, and there is only one player who shines at the top of the pyramid.

She debuted at sixteen and became famous throughout the Star Alliance at nineteen. In the original book, Ling Han joined the team of the male protagonist Lin Yuzheng at the age of twenty, and the two cooperated perfectly.

Thanks to her connection with the male lead's teammate, Ling Han successfully avoided the plot trap set by the original author, becoming an unmissable ray of starlight on the male lead's path to godhood.

Despite her humble origins, Ling Han's arrogance, stemming from early fame, made her like a cold, hardened sword.

On the field, he is the most formidable artillery output platform beside the male protagonist, turning the long-range gunner into a reckless support role; off the field, he is so cold that strangers cannot approach him, and so aloof that some people are even afraid of him.

In the original novel "Broken Army Soul", this kind of subordinate by Long Aotian's side is exactly what all readers want.

The quality of the underlings is more important than their quantity. These aloof teammates perfectly highlight the male protagonist's unparalleled personal charm, and Ling Han has undoubtedly become the second most popular character after Lin Yuzheng.

The match-fixing incident occurred when Ling Han was eighteen years old. He hadn't yet had a chance to dominate the main league at the end of the year, but he had already begun to make a name for himself in the secondary league.

Given Ling Han's arrogant and aloof personality, it's understandable that her path to fame was abruptly cut off by her teammates and the league officials. Fang Zhuo could already imagine how angry and frustrated Ling Han must be. It would be reasonable for her to hate mecha competitions from now on.

This signing might be a bit difficult.

Sitting in the van, Fang Zhuo opened the original book in the system and used the automatic navigation function on Ling Han's name.

The address that popped up in the box turned out to be the training base of last year's main league runner-up team.

Now that nearly five years have passed since the fake tournament incident, how could Ling Han have quietly appeared in another team's base?

The team definitely won't sign him as a player, so is he going to be a repairman?

Fang Zhuo asked Jiang Yu to adjust the vehicle speed to the maximum within the speed limit, took a small sip of his hot Americano, and placed the coffee on the cup holder extending from the center console.

The liquid in the glass rippled slightly.

The ceramic cup was slammed heavily onto the steel tabletop, accompanied by a loud, angry shout:

"Ling Han, I'm calling you. Didn't you see that your senior's cup is empty? Are you the only one in the whole team who has no sense of propriety and doesn't know how to pour water?"

The remaining half-cup of water in the cup splashed all over Ling Han's face. He hurriedly wiped his face, grabbed the cup in a panic, and ran to the water dispenser to fill it to the brim.

He then went to each of the starting players in the team and carefully filled their cups with water.

All the team members ate in the cafeteria. After the starting team members finished eating, Ling Han took the initiative to help them empty their plates.

These are just small favors, nothing to worry about.

As the lowest-ranking sparring partners in the entire team, they not only have to take care of the starting players like they're royalty, but also have to unconditionally cooperate with any training requirements of the team.

The most painful time is training right after losing a match. On the one hand, the coach will increase the intensity of training, and on the other hand, the players will take their anger out on their sparring partners indiscriminately.

Unlike in competitions where the durability of the mech's outer plates is recorded and forced to be replaced when the durability reaches zero, in training, a set of outer plates is often used until it's worn out, and the feelings of the sparring partner are not taken into consideration at all.

After the outer panel was damaged, the force of the energy cannon hitting him was exceptionally strong, and Ling Han was blasted into the wall of the training room more than once.

This is the time he dislikes the most.

The coach doesn't have the time to watch the training details of each player, so the starting player he's serving often takes the opportunity to beat him up.

The anger after losing the game manifested as punches and kicks landing on him. The metal components under the outer panel would transmit the weak current generated by the friction back to his body, creating a dense, needle-like pain.

Ling Han was pinned against the wall of the mecha's internal cabin, her limbs forced into a twisted angle, completely unable to move.

Staring at the stark white ceiling of the training room, he silently endured the throbbing pain in his chest and arms.

He has no right to be angry, nor can he bear the consequences of resistance. He needs this job, but this job can be replaced at any time.

After all, a coach's salary is over 600,000 yuan a year, which is a high salary in the entire Star Alliance. There are plenty of veteran players who are about to retire and young people who have just made a name for themselves waiting to take his place.

Ling Han no longer wanted to recall the incident five years ago. His memories gradually became blurred under his forced ignoring, leaving only a few distant details that frequently appeared in his nightmares at midnight.

In an instant, his teammates were in tears—the player who had just been recruited into the team cried and swore to the manager that he had been set up.

The contestant claimed that the person who set the trap was highly skilled and had specifically created an investment scheme for him, causing him to incur millions of dollars in debt, and also plotted to get the match-fixing bookmaker to contact him.

According to that player, several gamers recruited from PC games were tricked using the same method.

That day, the entire base was filled with cries and the sounds of people slapping themselves.

In an instant, the scene in my memory transformed into my grandmother's crumpled white handkerchief and the wet tear stain on it.

"Hanhan, go ask if any other teams want you, or I'll go sit downstairs in the league committee office building... I'll ask the chairman what exactly caused your suspension."

The handkerchief was filled with a handful of peeled salted almonds. As Grandma spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

The old lady was ill at the time, and when she spoke, half of her face would strain.

Grandma, who knew nothing about the internet, studied and posted her first short video, trying to find him a new job online.

Ling Han's family was poor, and he became the pillar of the family at a young age. He knew he couldn't fall apart. He gave up his studies for the mecha competition. If the industry couldn't take him in, he would almost only be able to do manual labor, and his life would only slide from one abyss to another.

Fifty seconds after being pressed against the bulkhead, Ling Han finally heard the coach's shout to stop her.

Seemingly having just returned from outside, the coach's expression was somewhat indescribable, a mixture of disdain and a hint of jealousy. He beckoned Ling Han to come out quickly.

"Your training ends here for today. Someone is looking for you in the meeting room."