Chapter 5: Review? The Other Players Don’t Want to Listen, So Give it to Land…
Early on a spring morning, the warm sunlight of dawn filtered softly through the window and spread across the bed. Zuo Chi frowned, reaching up to rub his eyes.
After waking up a bit, he couldn’t help but press his throbbing temples.
He was lying in an unfamiliar bed… it should be the VEX team base dormitory, as the VEX logo was printed on the edge of the pillowcase.
The memories blurred by alcohol began to return piece by piece. He sat up lazily, squinting his almond eyes as he sorted through his thoughts.
Yesterday, as the new coach, he had gone to a hotpot restaurant with the VEX players.
Several players toasted him, and he drank it all.
Then, a system appeared in his mind.
After that… he saw Land enter the room. The guy had a Golden Entry above his head, and in his excitement, Zuo Chi rushed forward, yelled at him to come back and review matches, hugged his leg, and shoved the USB drive into his clothes—
The USB!
Zuo Chi suddenly bolted upright, grabbed the jacket beside him, threw it on, and hurried toward the dorm door.
The USB contained many important video files and review notes. Given his state last night, he was speaking gibberish; it would be easy for someone to think he was just having a drunken fit. It would be a problem if the USB was left at the restaurant.
As he rushed around the corner of the bed, he bumped into someone. Zuo Chi instinctively stepped aside. Only then did he see that the person was Ning Luzhao.
The other had just come out of the bathroom. His light grey hair was damp, likely just washed, and he smelled of fresh soap. He was carrying a basin of washed clothes.
Zuo Chi’s mind snapped into full clarity. He had some impression of those clothes because the pants he had hugged and the jacket he had pulled were among them.
Zuo Chi: “…”
The embarrassment that set in after the fact made his voice sound a bit guilty: “…Land, morning?”
“Morning,” Ning Luzhao replied. He walked past Zuo Chi to the balcony and started hanging the clothes on hangers. “Your luggage is back; it’s by the wardrobe. The USB is on the computer desk in the training room downstairs.”
The scenes from last night played out in his mind like slides, swaying slightly with the clothes on the hangers.
Zuo Chi explained: “About what happened at the restaurant last night, I’m truly sorry. My alcohol tolerance is poor. I might have said some nonsense after drinking. Thank you for bringing me back here to rest.”
Such an apology was a bit weak, but he couldn’t talk about the system. He could only make up a lie: “You look a lot like a friend of mine. When I was drunk, I mistook you for him, so… I’m very sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Ning Luzhao finished hanging the clothes, his tone unchanged. “There are no empty dorms left at VEX, so the coach will temporarily stay in this room with me. Training hours are from 10 AM to 10 PM daily, with a two-hour lunch break.”
The VEX dorms were doubles, fairly spacious, with a curtain separating the two single beds.
Zuo Chi looked at the clock hanging above the bed.
It was twenty minutes until ten.
He hurriedly said: “I’ll wash up immediately. I’ll definitely be there on time.”
By the time he finished and rushed to the training room, Ning Luzhao was already playing ranked. However, the room, which held five computers, was devoid of any other players. It was cold and deserted.
Zuo Chi didn’t believe it and checked the time on his phone again.
There were less than two minutes until the scheduled training time. Logically, even if the others hadn’t arrived, they should have come down from the upstairs dorm by now.
“Land, where are the others?”
Ning Luzhao took off his headphones. He had just won a match, a speed-push game that ended in less than twenty minutes. He played a meta assassin jungler and had a beautiful score with over ten kills—the MVP.
“The team is on vacation. They went to Bin Province for a trip. They took a morning flight and should be at the airport by now.”
Zuo Chi: “?”
“Vacation?”
“Mm. The manager agreed. They said they asked the coach yesterday and the coach had no objection.”
Zuo Chi searched his mind and found a few scattered memories. His eyelid twitched.
When he was drunk, several players did seem to have said something about a vacation trip.
“If they’re at the airport… they can still be called back.”
“No need to call, Coach Zuo. I already tried to stop them this morning.” Manager Li Jing walked in from outside the training room. “Our Autumn season results were too poor, and the next match is months away… None of the players are in the mood to train. Besides, the transfer period is coming up after the Autumn season, and their contracts are about to expire.”
“They all plan to transfer out?”
“Probably… yes.”
It was only human nature to not want to stay in a team with no money and no results.
Zuo Chi frowned. “And before the transfer period, they’re going on vacation instead of staying to train? How long is the vacation?”
“A one-month break.”
“Does the professional league have any teams running a charity?”
Manager Li was stunned: “Huh?”
“They were eliminated at the bottom of the group stage, and their contracts are about to expire. Unless some team is running a charity, how do they think they can successfully transfer after slacking off for a month? Is that even possible?”
Manager Li was speechless. He was secretly surprised—yesterday he thought the new coach seemed easygoing, but when it came to matches and training, he was ruthless.
“…They probably haven’t boarded yet. Should I call them and tell them to come back?”
Zuo Chi nodded. “I’ll do it.”
The call connected. First, several sounds of laughter came through. The players’ voices were lazy: “Hello, Manager, what now? We’re boarding in twenty minutes. If there’s anything, tell us when we get to Bin Province…”
“The team vacation is canceled. I’ll reimburse the flight and hotel costs. Come back to the base to train now.”
The other side went silent for a moment.
“Coach… you’re not joking, right?”
Zuo Chi spoke calmly: “I’m not. I was drunk yesterday and failed to notify you in time; that’s my fault. But you know the team’s current standing. Come back to train. We need to start with the match reviews.”
“Can’t we talk about it after we get back?”
“The transfer period is coming up.”
“We know that, Coach. Our contracts expire then, and we might not even stay with VEX. Besides, with these results… it’s not just this season. It’s been trash for a year.”
“Training, training, training. If training worked, why did Land play so poorly against ZAP? Why was he eliminated in the group stage just like us?”
Zuo Chi pursed his lips and instinctively looked at the person sitting at the computer nearby.
He didn’t know if Land heard it, but his gaze remained locked on the screen, though the sound of his fingers tapping the keyboard grew slightly heavier.
Land shouldn’t have been eliminated in the group stage.
Before Zuo Chi could argue, the voice on the phone became impatient.
“We’re boarding. Vacation was agreed upon. We’ll talk when we get back.”
Zuo Chi hung up. After a moment of silence, for some reason, he found it a bit funny.
“Manager, I remember… in the contract I signed with VEX, it stated that I would coach after the Autumn elimination and have the authority to decide roster changes during the transfer period, right?”
Manager Li: “That’s true…”
“You said their contracts are expiring?”
“Yes, they expire at the transfer window.”
“Then don’t renew them.”
Manager Li let out another gasp of surprise: “What?”
“I sent them each a text. I’m giving them seven days of leave—that’s the standard for most teams anyway. It’s enough for a trip to Bin Province. If they aren’t back in seven days, then regardless of whether they find a new team or not, we won’t renew their contracts when they expire.”
VEX Team WeChat Group.
[The new coach is losing it. ‘Don’t renew’? Who does he think he is? Does he think he can kick us out and find some dark horse team to beat the runners-up and champions?]
[Forget it, don’t let this spoil the mood. We’ll stick to the plan and go back after a month. What can he do? If he doesn’t renew, then he doesn’t renew. Who cares?]
[Did you get it? He sent another text. He ‘suggests’ we play at least three hours of ranked a day to maintain our mechanics.]
[Hahahaha, what a clown.]
[Land, how can you stand a coach like this? Just transfer with us when the window opens.]
After sending the texts, Zuo Chi saw that no one replied. He knew these players were so drained by the team’s year-long failure that they had no heart left. They likely wouldn’t listen.
Besides, if VEX wanted to break out of groups next year—let alone reach the top eight, four, or the finals—a complete rebuild was necessary.
Zuo Chi put down his phone and briefly shared his plan to buy new players during the transfer period with Manager Li. Manager Li didn’t object but revealed that the budget was very small, likely only four to five million yuan.
Four or five million sounded like a lot, but in the current market, a championship-level player cost at least fifteen million.
Even a consistent top-four player cost around eight million.
VEX needed to buy players for every role except Jungler. They couldn’t afford top-tier players; they could only look at trainees or second-tier teams.
Zuo Chi asked Manager Li for the lists and data of all major training camps.
He found an empty computer and opened it. Suddenly, a USB drive was pushed toward his hand—it was the one he had given Land yesterday.
Ning Luzhao had walked over to him at some point.
Zuo Chi gave him an inquiring look.
Ning Luzhao: “Match review.”
Right. He had just said he would lead the players in a review of the ZAP match. Since the others didn’t want to listen, he would do a private review just for Land.
Translator’s Note: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the first five chapters of our new project. This one’s a bit different—it combines the “System” trope with a gritty look at the professional esports scene.
Just a few terms to help you out:
- Pinduoduo: A popular Chinese e-commerce site known for being very cheap (like Temu/Wish). Poor Zuo Chi and his “budget” mic!
- BP (Ban/Pick): The phase before a match where coaches choose which heroes to play and which to ban. It’s often where the “chess match” happens between coaches.
- National Server (Guofu): In China, the skill ceiling is so high that being in the “Top 1000” or “Top 10” of the entire country is a massive achievement. Land is a beast!
See you in the next update!
Recommended Reads
