TES's official Weibo account celebrated the team's victory immediately.
They posted on the official account, then tagged TES Sports right below to help the parent company pull in another wave of traffic.
From a losing streak to a winning streak, and then charging all the way into the MSI finals—during this stretch, TES's parent company was practically smiling crooked, with traffic surging like crazy.
Once they actually won MSI, the returns would be even more unimaginable.
At the very least, this topic would stay hot for half a month to a full month.
Guo Hao had been walking with a spring in his step lately. He sat in his boss chair with one leg crossed, just waiting for the workday to end.
Of course, the little storm from yesterday still made him feel a tiny bit uneasy.
Even he had almost been brainwashed—just from that, you could tell how terrifying that guy's rhetoric was. But in the end, it only worked because the performance matched it.
The day before the match, Lin Fan went to play in the Teamfight Tactics China Regional Finals, and the entire TES club went with him—so on the surface it looked like the whole club didn't value the match at all…
But this had all been weighed by Luo Sheng, and the team's overall state was actually very good.
After all, during this period, everyone except Lin Fan had been under intense pressure. If they kept tightening the string, it was possible that before the match even finished, someone's mental would crack. Mostly because they'd won too many in a row… going forward, no one wanted to lose a single game.
So everyone pushed training to the extreme. It looked great, but in reality it was a hidden risk.
Lin Fan going to the Teamfight Tactics finals just happened to create the perfect opening.
Relax a little. Sure enough, the next day everyone's mental state was obviously better, and their performance in the match spoke for itself—every player operating at peak form, easily sweeping EG 3–0.
Guo Hao snapped back to himself and stood up from his seat.
The parent company had just sent a message down—he needed to announce it right away.
He'd just reached the training room door when he heard JackeyLove's voice from inside.
"This MSI is exactly like Fan-ge said—the goal is the championship! At the start, not saying it was humility. But now we're already in the finals, and still saying we'll just try our best would be way too fake."
"Our mid lane is this strong. I don't believe we'll lose!"
"At least from the way we've been trading blows lately, I think we have a better chance against T1."
Guo Hao didn't push the door open right away. It was obvious JackeyLove was doing an interview.
Not bad. JackeyLove's state really was starting to look more and more like S8—young, confident, full of energy.
Thinking back to signing JackeyLove two years ago made Guo Hao feel a bit sentimental.
Back then, they built the roster aiming for a championship. And then… they really were unstoppable for a while, even winning the League of Legends Mid-Season Cup.
Everyone thought they were invincible, that the title that year was basically theirs.
But reality dumped a bucket of cold water on them—at Worlds, they fell in the semifinals.
After that, the whole team seemed to lose its direction. The next year, they didn't even make it to Worlds. To strengthen the roster, they signed Tian, rebuilding another "galaxy roster."
The result was a five-game losing streak to start spring…
Now they were finally back on track. This was what a championship team was supposed to look like.
It made him look forward to the matches ahead even more.
But before that, let's take an MSI title first. They'd invested so much—now it was time to harvest.
When the interview inside ended, Guo Hao finally pushed open the training room door.
He looked at the players, smiled, and said, "The championship bonus has been approved. If we win the title, besides the championship prize money—which the club won't take a single cent from—we'll also give each player an additional 500,000 yuan bonus."
"Holy crap, that much?" Zoom was stunned. Five hundred thousand was basically his monthly salary—no small amount.
Back at JDG, even a finals title didn't come with rewards like this.
The boss really was generous.
Not only was the salary better, his career even felt like it had found a second spring.
Maybe his first Worlds title would actually happen here at TES.
If he'd had any resentment when he was first traded out, it was completely gone now. He was even extremely grateful to JDG's manager for making that decision.
"A small bonus from the parent company. If we win Worlds, it'll be even more.
EDG can reward houses. We can too," Guo Hao said, raising his eyebrows, his tone full of temptation.
"And it'll be in Shanghai."
Now that was a truly massive move.
Even in Chongming, the average price was already over 30,000 yuan per square meter. One apartment would run two or three million.
From the way he said it, it definitely wouldn't be Chongming, and the location wouldn't be bad either—so six or seven million was basically guaranteed.
Whether you cashed it out or settled down in Shanghai, it was great. After all, pro players eat off their youth.
In a limited career, the more money you can make, the better.
Simply put—you need to earn a lifetime's worth in four or five years.
"Worlds is still a bit far. As long as you know the rewards are good, that's enough. Right now, the first goal is to win MSI," Guo Hao hurriedly added, worried everyone's thoughts would fly too far.
After all, Worlds was far away. The MSI finals started tomorrow.
From the regular season onward, wasn't everything for tomorrow?
"Relax, relax. With JackeyLove here, we absolutely won't have any problems!" Lin Fan bumped Yu Wenbo.
This guy had really put himself on the grill in that interview.
Didn't he see how humble I was when I did the LCK interview earlier?
Next time I do an interview, I'm definitely crediting the win to bot lane.
Lin Fan was already quietly preparing for the next interview.
"Alright, everyone keep it up. I won't disturb your practice time," Guo Hao said. After explaining the reward, he pushed the door open and left.
"Charge, charge, charge. Hands are hot after those three games—should practice another five or six," JackeyLove glanced at the time. It was only a bit past seven; sleeping before midnight was about right.
"Yeah, no need to go to the cafeteria. Let's order takeout," Mark nodded.
"Then what do we eat…"
If they went to the cafeteria, they could just look and grab whatever they wanted.
But takeout came with decision paralysis.
"Xiao Yang's Shengjian. We've got a buff with that—eat it and we'll be maxed out, slaughter SKT tomorrow," Lin Fan casually suggested.
"Sure. It has been a while since we've had Xiao Yang's Shengjian. Let's add some barbecue to go with it," Zoom's eyes lit up. He pulled out his phone and started ordering.
"Alright. Duke, just eyeball it—don't order too much."
"Then what about drinks?"
"A Little. I still like A Little."
"What about Fan-ge?"
"Mixue Bingcheng…"
"Then everyone gets Mixue Bingcheng. Cheap, drink freely—two cups each, my treat," JackeyLove said grandly.
They were all pro players—ordering speed was lightning fast.
During that time, Lin Fan had already run Dungeon Fighter Online twice.
And honestly, coming back to play a little was pretty fun. Treat it like a mowing game—don't think about gold farming. If enhancement works, great; if it doesn't, no need to force it.
After all, one full Dungeon Fighter Online setup, and without at least one or two million yuan, you can't really play.
Anyway, in Dungeon Fighter Online now, there's no need to spend a cent. Don't be fooled by how crazy the events look—it's all bait to get you to whale. Especially after you spend, it's still a pain: sign-ins, endless tasks, never-ending chores.
With Lin Fan's level and gear, he didn't bother optimizing—he went straight into the Guide of Wisdom abyss dungeon.
These mobs just looked like they had thick HP bars. One full skill rotation and their HP kept melting nonstop.
A run normally took four or five minutes. Of course, grinding nonstop gets irritating. He played for about thirty minutes, and right on cue, the takeout arrived. He finished the boss and logged out.
Today's Dungeon Fighter Online time was over…
The livestream chat kept scrolling.
"Still not satisfied and it's already over?"
"What's there to watch in a mowing game? Go play something competitive. Brother Infinite Borders hasn't played Naraka: Bladepoint in ages—how about a couple games to show off some movement?"
"Yeah, hop in!"
Lin Fan glanced at chat. It really had been a while—he should go slash a couple matches.
But before that, eat first.
It was already eight. After not eating for so long, he was definitely hungry.
Perfect time to let the game update.
"Brother Infinite Borders is eating so enthusiastically."
"I didn't expect him to like Mixue Bingcheng too…"
"I drink it absolutely not because it tastes good—because it's cheap."
"So real. Is Brother Infinite Borders also drinking it because it's cheap?"
"I heard before his monthly salary was only a bit over ten thousand… maybe that's why he likes Mixue Bingcheng."
"He really was a hard-luck guy back then."
"Honestly, being a pro player now and only making ten thousand a month is just wasting time."
After beating EG cleanly, the number of haters in the stream dropped sharply. Even if some were still there, they wouldn't type now.
They were waiting for tomorrow.
As long as SKT pulled off a beautiful comeback, they could launch a wave of attacks.
Earlier they were too young—shouldn't have attacked so early before the result was even decided.
They'd mostly been fooled by those guys—talking about not training and being ultra aggressive, but later turning out to be all freeloaders.
Lin Fan wolfed down the sausage in a few bites, then took a sip of mango pomelo sago, and hit "Start Game."
Three-man squad, go.
His current score was over 5100—Asura. One match was basically all pros, nonstop high-intensity combat.
If he queued solo, he'd definitely get beaten into a fool.
He had to find teammates.
At this hour, there were still plenty of people playing. The queue wasn't long before he got teammates.
He glanced at their hero picks.
Kurumi, Ning Hongye.
After thinking, he still felt Monk was most suitable. This squad composition was common in tournaments.
Crowd control, frontline, and sustain—all there.
Extremely strong in positional fights.
They followed the drop and jumped straight into the wilderness.
But there was already a squad right nearby.
Before Lin Fan even picked up gear, he got beaten down by a three-man squad.
"I'm getting hit, I'm getting hit—three here, three here. No need to come."
In this situation, the kill was basically guaranteed.
But unexpectedly, both teammates came anyway.
Lin Fan outplayed a bit and chunked Yoto Hime low, but he got slashed twice and his HP bottomed out.
He started bunny-hopping and sliding out, and Kurumi's heal was crucial.
"Holy crap, this might work!"
He still died after that, but they traded out Yoto Hime.
Next was a two-versus-two.
His teammates had better gear—two blue armors into the enemy's white—and their HP bars were higher too.
Their coordination was good. Looked like a duo queue carrying him.
They pulled to the side to bait Yueshan over.
Then Kurumi slid back, creating a two-on-one.
They dumped all their combos, perfectly completing the combo, sending Yueshan.
Watching the enemy Tarka Ji blink away, they didn't chase. Instead, they turned back and revived Lin Fan.
"Not bad—these teammates are strong."
Chat kept flying.
"Hahaha, first time watching Brother Infinite Borders get clapped on landing."
"But there was nothing he could do. He had nothing and two people rushed him. I thought it was over, but he still outplayed and traded one."
"He's not fully warm yet. A couple more games and he'll be fine."
As everyone talked, a purple-armor squad charged straight at them.
The moment they met, Kurumi and Ning Hongye were already down to half armor.
And the enemy Ning Hongye instantly popped ultimate.
They had to fight.
Lin Fan timed it and transformed into the Vajra Buddha.
The instant his teammate got stunned, he grabbed the Yoto Hime who was about to burst damage.
He raised his hand toward Ning Hongye and grabbed upward.
Pulled her over.
Double grab!
Both teammates shouted: Great grab!
He slammed them down. Purple armor or not?
Double kill.
The squad instantly upgraded gear—upgrade from bird gun to cannon.
But Asura games really did have slower tempo. After the second Dark Tide spread, there were still thirty-three alive.
So many people in such a small circle—clearly a brutal fight was coming.
But nobody had ultimates anymore, so they could only squat and watch for a bit.
It really did feel a bit like ratting for placement.
Without ultimate, there was no confidence.
When teams met, it was mostly long-range poking, no intent to commit.
The circle was too small—whoever started first would lose out.
But no one expected that after the fourth circle, Lin Fan's squad's position got pinched between two mountains—and worse, there was a team on each side.
They were instantly turned into a target, getting blasted back and forth by two squads.
Thankfully, the Kurumi player was genuinely tough.
She dropped a barrier, tanked the barrage, and healed Lin Fan once. The three of them jumped and dodged nonstop in the center.
But it lasted too long—they couldn't hold forever.
Especially Kurumi—her HP hit bottom.
At that moment, the side enemies couldn't hold back.
Ning Hongye ulted and dove in!
Lin Fan reacted instantly, counter-ulting into the Vajra Buddha.
If he didn't, the squad would wipe here.
Their Ning Hongye ran out of the ult range, turned back, and activated ultimate to tie up the three on the side.
Kurumi was in extreme danger—focused by three. Even with ultimate, she couldn't escape.
She was honestly despairing.
But right then, a giant hand yanked away the Tarka Ji who was outputting on her!
And the giant hand kept grabbing others, instantly relieving the pressure. She healed with her F skill, grappled to the side, and started breaking armor.
The last one was hard to catch. Seeing Tarka Ji about to break free, Lin Fan tossed him toward the Dark Tide.
It didn't kill him instantly, but with Dark Tide damage adding in, it cleared the remaining HP perfectly.
Meanwhile, a teammate stunned two enemies on the side.
Lin Fan reacted fast and grabbed one, then predicted the jump and pulled him back again.
"Double grab, double grab!"
Double kill on landing.
At that moment, everyone finally felt steadier.
The side squad had one left. The front had two.
Now it was three-versus-three, and both sides were mostly recovered.
So this fight was winnable.
If they dared to come, then fight.
The solo player didn't run—he rushed in.
Looks like a trio queue—planning to die together instead of ratting for placement.
The remaining two ran toward the center.
One-on-one is about mechanics, but one versus three has no chance.
"Damn, bro, your Vajra Buddha is insane—two double grabs and a solo grab. You saved us."
"Just so-so. I actually prefer playing Tarka Ji."
"That's 'so-so'? That's definitely pro level, even better than a lot of pros."
"After this, add me. Do you play pro? I'm a Weibo Gaming coach—I think you can come try out." Kurumi's voice changed, suddenly deeper and rougher.
"In three days, it's the first NBPL… If you catch the last bus into the league and get familiar for a week or two, you might get stage time."
"Uh…"
Why does this feel so familiar?
Like I've experienced this somewhere before.
"Naraka: Bladepoint is just entertainment for me. I have no intention of going pro."
"Do you know? With your skill, earning five to six hundred thousand a year on a team is easy. After a championship, the popularity and traffic can multiply your annual salary several times."
"That still wouldn't make me give up my ten-million-plus annual salary to play Naraka: Bladepoint. And I'm still on the rise."
"…"
"Buddha—after this match, still add me. If you get the chance, we can play together." Kurumi's voice changed back. Clearly, the so-called Weibo Gaming coach had quietly left.
"Sure."
At this point, the livestream chat exploded again.
"Hahaha, five hundred thousand a year—how could Weibo Gaming possibly poach Brother Infinite Borders?"
"LMAO… Brother Infinite Borders drops the ten-million salary and the coach goes completely silent."
"Pretty funny. Today's content is maxed out."
Before long, a small headline popped up on Weibo.
"Weibo Gaming Is Going All Out to Sign Player Dine, Coach Privately Contacts Dine."
A lot of fans' hearts jumped at the sight—especially TES.
When Guo Hao saw the headline, he didn't even finish reading it. He rushed into the training room, not even catching his breath.
"What's going on, what's going on! Is Weibo trying to poach you?!"
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup