3. Find a team

After leaving KUG, Lin Jiang researched a lot of information and finally confirmed that he had really returned to four years ago.

Before he could even feel happy, he immediately began working on his career plan.

The last transfer window of the year is about to end, and the team rosters are basically fixed. Not to mention strong teams, even weak teams are unlikely to change their mid laners.

His best option now is to wait quietly until next year's transfer window opens, where he can still sign with a better team based on his past performance.

But the worst fear is that KUG will stab him in the back, just like they did back then, controlling public opinion and putting him in a predicament where he has no matches to play.

Lin Jiang crossed out several more teams in his notebook, leaving three teams left, most of which were bottom-tier teams that nobody wanted to join.

His phone suddenly vibrated. It was his private number, known only to a few very close friends.

Lin Jiang answered immediately: "Hello, any news?"

On the other end of the phone was Lao Mao, a very good friend of Lin Jiang in the industry. Lao Mao used to be a professional player, but later retired and became a top streamer. He has excellent connections in the industry, and it was Lao Mao who introduced Lin Jiang to KUG back then.

Old Mao told him, "Forget about DTG. Their mid laner is a permanent fixture; no matter how badly he plays, they won't replace him."

Lin Jiang crossed out another line, "What about VT?"

"This team is absolutely terrible, even a god couldn't carry it. You'd be better off just sitting back and waiting for next transfer window to find a better team than going to VT..."

Lin Jiang crossed out another line, leaving only: OT.

He had some impression of this team; they were able to climb to the top and compete against the best last year, but this spring they quickly fell to the bottom, ranking only behind the terrible VT.

Lin Jiang casually asked, "What about OT?"

"OT?" Old Mao suddenly remembered: "Oh, right, OT's mid laner left. Their manager was crying to me a few days ago."

"They ran away?"

"They left right after the Spring Split, their team ranking was so bad it was despairing, their mid laner found a new team and immediately left. Their contracts are all so weak, just renewed year after year, the salaries aren't high, it's so easy to leave, they don't even have to pay the penalty... Damn, just talking about this team is speechless, their AD is such a toxic troll, I was arguing with him on my stream yesterday..."

Lin Jiang still had some impression of this team.

Their AD carry is incredibly strong. In last year's AD carry meta, he single-handedly carried four subpar teams, propelling them into the top tier and almost securing the last spot for Worlds in the regional qualifier.

Unfortunately, his teammates were all too bad. After the version nerfed AD, OT was immediately exposed and his ranking plummeted.

Lin Jiang thought for a moment, "What do you think about me going to work overtime?"

Old Mao was silent for a moment, then suddenly shouted: "Lin Jiang, are you crazy! OT is at the bottom of the Spring Split, and they're likely to be relegated in the Summer Split. You're throwing away your promising future to go to OT! Do you know what level they're at right now? Their top laner can't even beat one of their teammates, their jungler is just wandering around, and their AD is a complete toxic troll. What are you going to do there?!"

For Lin Jiang in the past, going to OT might have seemed crazy, but for Lin Jiang who had spent three years on the bench, nothing was more important than getting on the court and playing.

He moved his phone away and waited for Mao's roar to subside.

"Their support players are very skilled, and the AD carry is a bit temperamental, but he's a newbie, so it's normal for him to be a bit temperamental."

"Most importantly, I'm really tempted by the OT contract. Is it true that they offer year-round renewals?"

"Lin Jiang—!" Old Mao was going crazy. He roared, "Where the hell are you right now? I'm coming to find you! You absolutely can't go to OT! I'll find you a team a thousand times better than this, you hear me!"

While saying "I heard you," Lin Jiang secretly studied the team.

Not long after hanging up, the phone started vibrating again, displaying the ID "Yu Ge". He is an active LPL support player who is very popular in the community.

Yu called him and asked, "I heard from Lao Mao that you're going to OT? Don't go! Why don't you come to our team as a rotation player? Although we're not as famous as KUG, we can definitely offer you more than OT. Think about it. You really can't go to OT. Their AD is a notorious toxic player in the Chinese server. He even got into a fight with Lao Mao on stream yesterday, and his account got banned..."

Lin Jiang now suffers from PTSD from the word "rotation." He says, "No, you guys don't need to worry about me. Tell Lao Mao not to worry about me either."

Yu sighed, "Don't blame Lao Mao for being overly stressed. OT really isn't working. You're in such good form right now, you should find a team that can compete for the World Championship. If I ask you to join our team now, we'd think it's a waste of your talent."

Lin Jiang knew they were doing it for his own good. "Yes, I know. I'll think about it some more."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Jiang really calmed down and thought about it for a long time. He also asked many people online. Unexpectedly, almost everyone advised him not to go, as if OT was a huge pitfall.

But……

Lin Jiang looked down at the notebook, which was covered in scribbles.

He didn't care about what they were saying; he just wanted to play. The more he learned about OT, the more he was damn attracted to it. What should he do?

Never mind, let's talk about it tomorrow.

After taking a shower, he lay on the empty hotel bed, pondering where his way out lay.

He once dominated the Rift as an assassin, creating the "three-sword style" playstyle single-handedly, which made AD carries in the scene tremble with fear. Later, due to major version changes, the mid lane went from being a carry role to a mediocre role.

He had to change his style to fit in with the team, and by the end, the assassin meta had returned, while he had already begun to doubt himself amidst a long period of criticism...

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night. Lin Jiang lit a cigarette and choked on it in the cold wind.

His reborn body hadn't smoked before and wasn't quite used to it. His phone started vibrating again, and Lin Jiang casually stubbed out his cigarette: "Hello?"

Old Mao's voice was a little angry: "Why weren't you in KUG? I had already stormed in, but you weren't there. You ran into Alike, who acted all high and mighty."

"...Damn it, is KUG crazy? They already have you, why would they sign Alike? Isn't this just blatantly trying to get rid of you? And why didn't they announce it sooner? Why did they have to drag it out until you had no team left to join..."

Lin Jiang no longer cared. "Who cares? Lao Mao, don't worry about my business. I know how to handle it myself. You just focus on your live stream."

Old Mao was a little upset. We talked for a long time, and when we finally hung up, he forced a pep talk on him: "Anyway, you'll shine wherever you go, trust me!"

"Um."

Lin Jiang hung up the phone, looked at the cigarette that had already gone out in his hand, and suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly.

If it were Lin Jiang back then, he would have confidently said, "While athletes all over the world may lose their jobs, I will not."

Lin Jiang is now even experiencing a sense of powerlessness, as if he were a loser all along...

The night was very long, and Lin Jiang didn't sleep at all. He took his notebook and went through the plan again. Everyone said that he had a bright future, but in reality, he had nowhere to go except for OT.

After a long period of reflection, he finally made a bold decision and sent a letter of self-recommendation to the OT manager in the morning sunlight.

I haven't received a response since I sent my self-recommendation letter.

Lin Jiang thought the other party had not received it, so he carefully printed out his resume, packed his backpack, took a taxi to OT, and solemnly handed the resume to the front desk.

"Hello, I'm Lin Jiang, former mid laner for KUG. I'm applying for the mid lane position at OT. Please pass this on to Manager Du. Thank you."

...

When the OT manager received the email, he thought it was a prank.

He was playing flexible ranked matches with some friends at the time and casually complained, "There are all kinds of people these days. Someone actually forged River's cover letter and said they wanted to come for an online interview with me? Can you please not do this, bro? My life is important too..."

The team members burst out laughing, "That's ridiculous!"

"Why not just say he's Qin Shi Huang...?"

At first, no one took it seriously, until another friend joined the team and started saying: "Holy crap, guys, none of you are streaming, right? I have some absolutely shocking news to tell you. I just got word that River left the team last week and is now asking Lao Mao to find him a team. Anyone have a spot? Hurry up and sign him!"

Someone on the other end of the line gasped, "Old Du, you didn't actually receive a job application from River, did you?"

Duren was stunned for a moment. His Frost Archer made a positioning mistake and was instantly killed by the opponent.

Just then, my phone lit up with a message from the front desk: Manager Du, a candidate named Lin Jiang has come to interview for our company and says he wants to talk to you. Would you like to meet him?

In a flash, Durren's brain cells worked at an unprecedented speed. He jumped up and dialed the front desk, "Keep him here! Keep him here! Keep him here for me! I'll be back in ten minutes!"

After saying that, he grabbed his coat and rushed out like the wind.

The four teammates in the game: ? ? ?

"Damn it, Lao Du, you AFK'd us?"

"Ahhh, what breed of dog is Lao Du...?"

"You went AFK as soon as I arrived?"

"Report! Report! We must report this!"