When Pei Shiyu spoke, everyone was shocked. Only Xu Qing, before Pei Shiyu even suggested the solo match, had instinctively anticipated his move. Pei Shiyu had never seemed like the type to do pointless things.
Tiger heard him and turned beet red, pointing a trembling finger at Pei Shiyu, clearly incensed. “You, what did you say?!”
Pei Shiyu lifted his eyes, his tone ice-cold as he repeated, “I said you are kicked off the team.” He paused, then continued, “Our team may be small, but my requirements for people include both ability and character. Right now, it seems you possess neither.”
Tiger trembled with rage, never expecting Pei Shiyu to actually fire him. “Without me, by next week’s tournament, you will not even be able to scrape together a full squad.”
Pei Shiyu’s tone remained unchanged. “That is no concern of yours. Leave your bank card number for your travel expenses and the salary for these past few days. I will pay you.”
Pei Shiyu acted with swift decisiveness, blocking every excuse Tiger might use to drag things out, leaving no room for argument. Tiger angrily rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to throw hands with Pei Shiyu.
A fight?
Xu Qing watched Pei Shiyu, who remained seated firmly in his gaming chair without moving a muscle. Although Tiger looked big and brawny, if they really fought, he might not necessarily be a match for Pei Shiyu.
Xu Qing scanned the training room. If a fight broke out, the equipment here was not cheap. Would the one who started it have to pay for the damages?
Pei Shiyu looked up at Tiger, who seemed ready to explode at any moment, and remained calm. “Want to fight?” The scar on his brow bone looked particularly striking as he narrowed his eyes. The scar clearly came from stitches. Most people do not get hit in the brow bone during casual scraps. Upon first seeing Pei Shiyu, everyone’s first reaction was that he could be anything, but he certainly did not look like a pro gamer. Whether charisma is innate or not, Pei Shiyu certainly had the air of someone from the underworld.
“Who, who said I wanted to fight?! When will my compensation arrive?!” Tiger’s voice was loud, but his resolve was hollow.
Pei Shiyu nodded. “Then do not let the door hit you on the way out. Wan Yi, help our guest pack his things.”
Wan Yi responded in a very sycophantic tone.
When Tiger finally left, everyone on the team breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had not spent much time together, the space was small, they trained together for long hours, and they lived under the same roof. Having someone so incompatible made even a single day of coexistence feel miserable.
The slightly older Lu Xinyu, however, began to worry. “What Tiger said was not entirely wrong. After he leaves, we really will not have enough people to form a team.”
The city semi-finals were next week, and they did not have any substitutes. Although Tiger’s character was poor, they had at least played online together for a while and possessed a certain level of synergy. That was better than an unknown human factor.
Before Pei Shiyu could respond, Wan Yi heard Lu Xinyu’s concern and immediately cut in. “Who says we do not have a substitute?” He pushed Xu Qing, who was daydreaming, a step forward. “Isn’t the person right in front of you?”
Xu Qing stumbled from the push, looking face-to-face with his real uncle.
Lu Xinyu: “Him?”
Xu Qing pointed at himself, bewildered: “Me?”
Both uncle and nephew were clearly surprised.
Lu Xinyu frowned for a long time. “Xiao Qing does not play our game, right? Even if he did, it is a bit of a stretch to just pull someone in to form a five-man team for a tournament.”
Wan Yi looked at Lu Xinyu. “Who says he cannot do it? What kind of uncle are you? Can you not learn a little about your good nephew?”
Xu Qing shot a glare at Wan Yi. “Do not try to take advantage of me.”
Wan Li spoke up hesitantly. “I watched the replay of the match Xiao Qing played as the marksman last time. He played really well. Xiao Qing, have you really never been on a team before?”
As soon as Wan Li finished asking, even Pei Shiyu looked over.
“Uh…” The pressure of being stared at by several pairs of eyes was a bit much for Xu Qing. He scratched his head. “Right now, I really do not have a team, or even a game account.” His Red Hair account had been reclaimed, and he had never planned to go pro.
Wan Li nodded to show he understood, then looked at his brother. “Xiao Qing specializes in the marksman position, but we are missing a top-laner. Are you planning to step down and let someone else take over?”
Wan Yi shook his head like a rattle. “No, I have no such plan. I still have a lot of room for improvement. Right, Captain?”
Wan Yi looked flatteringly at Pei Shiyu, who had been silent for a long time.
Pei Shiyu gave a flat “Hmm.” He had been at his computer since just a moment ago.
Xu Qing leaned over. “What are you doing? Did you have a plan all along?”
Although Xu Qing asked it as a question, he somehow felt that Pei Shiyu was not the type to act impulsively. Even though he looked like he might be.
Pei Shiyu lifted his head from the computer screen to look at Xu Qing, wondering how he could be so certain. Pei Shiyu leaned back, and Xu Qing’s hair brushed against his cheek, making it itch.
“It is not really a plan.” He paused. “And it is not exactly early either.”
Pei Shiyu turned the computer screen around to face everyone. It showed the top 100 rankings on the pinnacle leaderboard. He had filtered for accounts in the top-laner position, removed the underage options, centered it on Benthung City to select players from nearby provinces, and excluded those already linked to established KOL teams.
Pei Shiyu: “The final filter yielded about 13 people. I sent out invitations in our team’s name.”
Rather than in the name of their newly formed team, it was more like he sent invitations using the clout of being the number one ranked player on the heavenly leaderboard. After all, Jingzhe had not belonged to any team before, so everyone was bound to be curious.
Xu Qing asked, “How were the results?”
Pei Shiyu: “Of the 16 people, all 16 replied.”
However, after Pei Shiyu explained his intentions, only 9 were able to come over.
Xu Qing: “That is already very good news for the current situation of the Dawn team.”
The others showed joy upon hearing Pei Shiyu’s words.
Wan Li: “Nine people can actually come?”
Lu Xinyu was equally surprised. “I knew you were ranked number one, Captain, but I did not think you had such pulling power.” After all, if he had been the one making the request, they might not have come offline.
Pei Shiyu remained silent for a moment. “It was not just because of me. I offered more money.” After all, money makes the world go round.
Wan Yi: “As expected of the Captain.”
Xu Qing looked at Pei Shiyu and burst out laughing. How had he never noticed before that Pei Shiyu had the potential to be a comedian?
Pei Shiyu looked at Xu Qing. “Am I that funny?”