2. Return to the day the contract was signed

That fucking hurts!

Lin Jiangxin thought to himself.

Why would anyone bring an iron cup to a match?

And why bother attacking him? He's just someone who came up here to take the blame. If anyone's going to be attacked, it should be Alike. If he hadn't been so arrogant, they would have won the competition much earlier.

He rubbed his head, still dazed from being hit, and in a daze, he suddenly saw the League of Legends interface from many years ago.

Years of professional habit led him to click the mouse almost unconsciously. The game started, and he was assigned to the mid lane, with his ID clearly showing: AD Dematerializer.

"Dematerializer" is a term in League of Legends, roughly meaning that one click can kill the enemy AD carry. It is an extremely arrogant and malicious ID.

Lin Jiang was young and ignorant at the time, and arrogant. Later, he was talked to by the manager and then he obediently changed his ways.

Looking at the ancient ID in front of him, Lin Jiang was somewhat confused.

He seemed to be dreaming, as if some unknown magnetic field was controlling him, and countless interconnected magnetic field lines controlled his hands to lock down his once most beloved hero: Zed.

As the master of shadows, Zed is undoubtedly the god of death in the mid lane; any AD carry is nothing more than a helpless minion in front of him.

Lin Jiang secured a total of 14 kills in this game, 9 of which came from the opposing bottom lane. In the final team fight, he even achieved a pentakill.

A crowd had gathered behind him without him noticing. "Wow, that was an amazing robbery!"

"When the internet cafe announced his ID, I was wondering who was so arrogant? Turns out he really is a pro player..."

"I play AD carry, and watching his gameplay just now gave me goosebumps."

"Hey, if you're so good, why don't you go pro?"

Lin Jiang suddenly remembered that it was because someone in an internet cafe said those words that he embarked on a professional career.

The scene shifts to his team entry competition, where he easily secured a spot, just like he did years ago. Then comes the selection competition, the internal competition, the training competition, and the official competition.

He won medal after medal, created one legend after another, and led KUG to new heights.

Later, he encountered a version change, and the mid laner changed from a carry role to a utility role. The jungler Zeng Yuan even joked with him: "Ajiang, I heard that the version is going to change. Are you going to lose your job?"

Lin Jiang didn't care about his teasing at all, "Even if athletes all over the world lose their jobs, I'm unlikely to lose mine."

He decisively changed his playstyle, transforming from a fixed carry to a team-oriented mid-laner.

To win, smooth out the rough edges.

To win the trophy, I'm willing to play a supporting role.

Until the very end, when that mid-lane carry meta returned, everyone forgot, including himself—

He was once a mid-lane killing machine and a nightmare for young AD carries.

"Your playing style isn't entertaining; the audience doesn't like watching it."

"Why are you afraid to take the assassin?"

"Lin Jiang, are you scared?"

"..."

"River, you are just a small river, why do you dream of becoming the ocean?"

Countless defeats, countless retreats, countless moments of self-doubt.

The image finally lingers on a pair of black sneakers.

The long corridor seemed to devour him like a wild beast, while Alike across from him stared at him with a playful smile.

"Why can't I accept your defeat? River, your era is over, now it's my era."

No, impossible...

Lin Jiang wanted to refute him, but he seemed to be an observer in this life, without any decision-making power.

Fate continued to drag him forward, eventually stopping at that contract that was full of pitfalls and deceptive promises. It was this contract that plunged him into an abyss of no return.

The spacious conference room was as quiet as a slaughterhouse. The manager sat opposite him with a friendly smile.

"Ah Jiang, the club has really shown the utmost sincerity."

"You see, your current condition is indeed not as good as it used to be, and your popularity is also declining. The club also needs to make a profit."

"This is truly the best solution you could have come up with."

He signed it without even thinking about it.

Lin Jiang never expected that the club had made two preparations: they were signing him on one hand, and on the other hand, they were going to great lengths to sign Alike.

When Lin Jiang saw Alike sitting in his seat with ill intentions, he felt as if he had been stabbed in the back several times.

He stood in front of Alike, his face turning cold for the first time.

"Get up from my position."

Alike patted his chair wistfully, then, as if remembering something, suddenly stood up and looked at him.

With a cruelly mocking smile, he said, "River, I told you I'd make you pay after that match. Now the tables have turned, and you'll be crushed into the mud..."

Later, his words came true.

No, Lin Jiang felt like he couldn't breathe.

The contract is fraught with pitfalls at every turn.

Don't sign!

A network of crisscrossing magnetic field lines appeared around him, controlling his behavior. The more he struggled, the more tightly those magnetic field lines restrained him.

His soul and body seemed to have become two separate entities; his soul was rebelling, while his body was firmly held onto the track of fate, unable to escape.

With the contract about to take effect, he was about to be dragged back to that dark and miserable past.

Lin Jiang's eyes were bloodshot. Ignoring the blood streaming down his face from being cut by the magnetic field lines, he struggled desperately to break free from his fate. The magnetic field lines, unable to bear the strain, began to break—one, two, countless…

He finally broke free and lunged forward to stop the pen in his hand.

"Don't sign!"

The surrounding magnetic field lines disappeared instantly, and he completely regained control of his body, with all his senses becoming incredibly clear.

Lin Jiang stared incredulously at the pen in his hand, unable to resist pressing it twice. The sensation was too real; it didn't feel like a dream at all, it was just like—

He really did go back to the day he signed the contract!

Lin Jiang's gaze instantly shifted to the signed document, where the character "Jiang" was missing only one stroke.

The manager's voice came from beside me: "Hey, is your pen out of ink? You can use mine."

The heavy pen rolled to his side, and the cold touch made Lin Jiang pull his hand away. He stared at the contract in his hand, his heart pounding wildly.

He doesn't care whether it's true or not.

He had only one thought in mind—

To hell with this contract!

The contract tore open in his hand with a "whoosh," and Lin Jiang, fearing it was effective and unsure, tore it open a couple more times.

The once composed manager began to panic: "Ah Jiang, if you...if you have any complaints, please let me know, and we can discuss it further..."

Lin Jiang had nothing to discuss with him. He slammed the torn-up contract on the table. "Was this the price when you signed Alike? It's more than ten times that."

The manager was sweating profusely. "Ah Jiang, let me explain..."

"This little bit of money," Lin Jiang said, slamming his weight on the table, finally uttering what he'd been holding back: "You think you can sign me for five years? Dream on."

The resentment that had been building up inside him, and the three years of hellish life he had endured, finally found an outlet at this moment, like Pandora's box being opened, unleashing its malice.

The manager's expression shifted from shock to apprehension, finally becoming cautious: "Ah Jiang, have you heard some rumors? Trust me, the club will absolutely not treat you unfairly..."

Lin Jiang gave him a cold smile, as if asking him in return, "Do you think I believe you?" Then his face turned cold, he turned around decisively, and slammed the door shut as he left.

He had wanted to do this for a long time.

Countless times in the dead of night, I've wanted to slam that contract onto the table and throw it in their faces—

Lin Jiang slammed the door and left, walking faster and faster down that familiar corridor, the thrill of breaking free from fate was unbelievable.

At the end of the corridor, there were still those black sneakers.

Alike stopped in front of him, and just like back then, smiled at him with schadenfreude.

"River, aren't you going to welcome me? I'll be a member of KUG soon."

Lin Jiang gave him a look as if he were looking at a dog, walked past him back to his room, wrote his resignation, and then packed his things to leave.

Alike stared at him for a while, then suddenly realized, "Where are you packing your things to go?"

"go home."

Alike: "?"

His expression changed. "You didn't renew your contract with the club?"

Lin Jiang stopped packing and looked up at him. For the first time, Alike saw a coldness in those gentle eyes. "I won't continue."

Alike wasn't sure if Lin Jiang was scared and preparing to run away, or if he disdained being on the same team as him and couldn't wait to leave.

He lowered his voice: "You're admitting defeat just like that?"

Lin Jiang acted as if he hadn't heard anything, and continued packing his things. Once he received the news that he could leave, he left without looking back.

When he left, some people in the club already knew about it, and Zeng Yuan, the jungler who was usually closest to him, called him immediately.

"Ah Jiang, what are you doing? Have you been cursed? Come back right now! The transfer window is about to close. Aren't you worried about not getting any matches if you leave KUG? I'll put in a good word for you with the manager later. Just come back now..."

Looking at the free sky and the boundless road ahead, Lin Jiang suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation: "No, I'm not coming back."

Zeng Yuan was exasperated: "Where can you go after leaving KUG?"

Lin Jiang's voice was light and cheerful: "Go to a lower-tier esports team, go to LDL, go be a streamer, whatever you do, you won't starve."

Zeng Yuan realized he wasn't joking. "Why did you suddenly make this decision? Did the club bully you?"

This belated concern across time brought tears to Lin Jiang's eyes. Back when he was relegated to the bench, Zeng Yuan was the only one who spoke well of him.

However, KUG is no longer the KUG it used to be. There have been changes in team members, departures of senior management, and several changes in shareholders.

He used to be the backbone of this place, but now he's nothing.

"KUG is not worth it."

The moment Lin Jiang pushed open the revolving door, he felt a long-lost sense of freedom.

On the tallest building in City S, against the dark sky and beneath the ever-changing neon lights, a colorful screen flickers—

Welcome to the joyful summer of 2023.