I Really Didn’t Mean to Make Money

Li Chang and Lin Guangqing nodded but didn’t leave right away. They were curious to hear what else Yao Beiguo had to say.

“What I’m about to talk about next is the second point, and it concerns both of you,” Yao Beiguo said, turning to look at them.

“First is your future roles. While using your popularity to promote the club might seem a bit utilitarian, if you think about it more deeply, boosting the club’s reputation ultimately benefits you as well.”

“But considering the issue of raw strength, it’s impossible for you to stay active in the pro scene forever. Sooner or later, new professional players will take your place.”

“In our plan, if you don’t achieve good results after entering the pro league, we’ll start recruiting new players to replace you.”

“And these new players won’t be poached from other professional teams. They’ll be complete newcomers.”

“That brings us to the matter of mentoring. When the time comes, veteran players will lead one or two rookies into matches. That’s where you come in. You’ll be responsible for helping the newcomers get used to the rhythm, the environment, and the mindset of professional play.”

Li Chang nodded slightly as he listened, then voiced a concern that had been on his mind.

“But we can’t keep running a veteran-leading-newcomer model forever, right? Eventually, the whole team will be taken over by new players.”

“In the end, the team will indeed be led by newcomers. But don’t worry. Even when you’re no longer on the field, we’ve prepared a more suitable role for you.”

“You’ll become coaches for the club.”

“With your years of competitive experience, your understanding of the game, and your ability to read the battlefield, we’re confident you’re more than qualified to take on the coaching role.”

The plan was to use retired professional players to promote the club’s brand, then gradually transition by having experienced veterans guide the rookies. Over time, the old guard would step back from the spotlight and move into coaching positions behind the scenes.

“How about it? Are you okay with this arrangement?” Yao Beiguo asked, his eyes resting on Li Chang and Lin Guangqing.

“General Manager Yao, we’re fine with it,” they replied without hesitation.

If the promotional work had made them feel like they were being used, the club’s follow-up arrangements showed that they were still valued.

Whether it was mentoring rookies or becoming coaches, the club had clearly thought about their future.

Before joining the club, both of them had been lost, unsure of what they would do once the game lost popularity.

But now, BL Club had given them a clear path forward.

If they still refused under these circumstances, they’d be fools.

“In that case, let’s work well together,” Yao Beiguo said with a smile. He stood up and pulled two contracts from his desk, handing them to Li Chang and Lin Guangqing.

“These are your signing contracts. Take your time to read them. If everything looks good, you can go ahead and sign. Of course, if you’re still unsure and want a few more days to think it over, that’s perfectly fine too.”

With that, he handed each of them a contract.

Li Chang and Lin Guangqing accepted the documents and began reading through them carefully.

After a while, they both closed the contracts, looking surprised.

Many gaming clubs had all sorts of tricks buried in their contracts with professional players—sky-high breach penalties, exploitative clauses about income from live streaming or sponsorships, and so on.

They had both suffered from such contracts before, which made them extremely cautious now.

But after going through every clause in detail, they found that all the things they had worried about… weren’t there.

No outrageous breach penalties. In fact, there weren’t any penalties at all.

Revenue sharing was clearly outlined, with no room for future disputes.

This contract was just… too normal.

So normal it hardly felt like a contract between a gaming club and professional players.

“Is something wrong with the contract?” Yao Beiguo asked with a smile, watching their expressions.

“General Manager Yao, is there really no breach penalty in this contract?” Li Chang couldn’t help asking. In the gaming world, he had never heard of a contract without a penalty clause.

“That’s right. All of our club’s contracts are like this. If one day you feel unhappy here, or think there’s no future, you’re free to leave at any time. We won’t place any restrictions on you.”

“Of course, if you do decide to terminate the contract, you’ll still need to go through the proper process,” Yao Beiguo said calmly.

The absence of a breach penalty wasn’t his decision, nor was it Tao Ze’s.

It was President Chen’s policy.

President Chen believed that sky-high penalty clauses were stifling the development of the domestic gaming industry.

Why had it been so hard for domestic teams to achieve results on the international stage for so many years?

Most of the reason, he believed, was because of the restrictive nature of these contracts.

Originally, it would have been entirely possible to gather the strongest players into a single team. But due to the restrictions imposed by their contracts, those professional players simply couldn’t come together.

As a result, domestic esports teams had always hovered in mediocrity—neither strong nor weak, just stuck in the middle.

Every team had a few standout players, but also a few glaring weaknesses.

This made it nearly impossible for any truly top-tier team to emerge.

Having managed several gaming clubs himself, he understood this situation all too well.

But no club was willing to change the status quo. After all, giving up those sky-high breach-of-contract clauses or other restrictive agreements would mean sacrificing their own interests.

What truly impressed him, though, was that President Chen had actually made that bold decision.

Yao Beiguo couldn’t help but feel a surge of admiration. President Chen clearly intended to reshape the domestic gaming scene through his own efforts.

Thinking about it,

he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited.

Since President Chen had such a vision, then as the club’s manager, he naturally had to do his part.

“Alright, let’s sign the contract.”

With the contract confirmed,

Li Chang and Lin Guangqing no longer had any doubts. They even began to look forward to joining the Gaming Club.

If they could train a group of powerful newcomers and win a championship on the professional stage,

that would be a truly rewarding achievement.

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