League of Legends: League of Unknowns

Team Birdie easily conquered the weekly competition and would be qualified for the provincial qualifiers once they won the monthly game half a month later.

Their biggest headache when coming back to Shanghai was to search for a new base.

Their original place was no longer available as the government had instructed for its demolition, and the owner had had no choice but to terminate the contract prematurely.

This time, they wanted to look for much more proper accommodation which would be suitable for a long-term stay, as it would also serve as their future training center.

They were a team that had competed in the LPL before, but without a presentable training base, the potential sponsors would be hard to convince. Nobody was going to give money to a team living in a sh*t-hole.

Places like Jingan and Xuhui were the first to be crossed out from the list by Luocheng as these areas were simply too expensive.

Most E-sports teams normally lived far from the city center. Although such options were usually much more affordable, the location was rather inconvenient. They would need to take an hour’s metro if they wanted to get to the nearest town.

And so, they narrowed their search area to places around the town, but they still failed to locate any desirable place after three days.

The rooms they visited in the past few days were either too small, or they just could not afford it. Da Luo had not ceased reprimanding the property agents as bloodsuckers for the past few days.

***

Walking in the city under broad daylight further flamed their tempers.

Luocheng, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong grumpily hauled their sweaty bodies and fatigued legs through the streets.

Life was definitely tough for these few young men. They could only look at those skyscrapers and luxurious residences helplessly from afar, not daring to approach it.

Not everyone was greedy by nature, but they couldn’t deny that money was the only thing that could turn their current hapless fortune around.

Time had flown by, and Team Skycrown had been formed for almost one year now.

When they had first started off, Da Luo had cried and sworn that they must one day become wealthy together. They were going to live in a well-renovated condominium without worrying about climbing endless stairs or air conditioning in the winter or summer. Sadly, one year had come and gone, but they were still stuck in the same misery. Once again, they were on a quest to look for a cheap room, and they were worried it might be worse this time…

1000 yuan for a two-hour LOL course was not something you would find every day. They were still poverty-stricken and had no roof to live under!

Sometimes they couldn’t help but doubt themselves as to whether this choice of life was really worth the opportunities and families that they had opted to leave behind.

***

“By the way, this place is very close to the Jingan residence. I remember K said he had some recommendations for us over there?” Da Luo recalled.

“Are you crazy? The rooms here are already freaking expensive, let alone Jingan!” Lin Dong scowled at Da Luo.

“There’s no suitable room around here anyway. Sigh. Since we are here, let’s just go and take a look. I’ve never seen what kind of house the rich live in,” Da Luo complained.

Anyhow, Luocheng had shredded the name card the day he received it, as he had never put any hope on those unrealistic options.

Luocheng understood K was just being kind, wishing to help their lowly LOL team. However, K didn’t grasp their current difficulty entirely. Even with the 70% discount he had offered, they still couldn’t afford the place. Not that they dared to spend 4000-5000 yuan on rental even if they did have the money.

“Oh! I know that place. We are just nearby. What? You will come to fetch us? No need for trouble. Don’t worry about it, we will walk there ourselves,” Da Luo’s voice came from behind.

Luocheng glanced at him and realized that Da Luo had really dialed the number. K seemed to have given him a card as well.

“Grr! You really made the call?” Lin Dong glared at Da Luo who was apparently out of his mind.

“It’s just around the corner. Sigh. Let’s just go and enjoy the cool air while having some rest, I am seriously exhausted,” Da Luo said.

“Me too,” Wu Sen chipped in.

***

They reached the Jingan residence under Da Luo’s lead. The place was surrounded by several cozy gardens paved with cobblestones.

The buildings around this residence were of moderate height, and large fences entwined by vines and climbing plants circulated each block.

Flowerbeds, fountains, rockeries, and man-made forest paths—Such a scene was stunningly different from the area they had been in earlier, where it was rather filthy with noisy vendors and piling trash.

“D*mn it! I don’t want to leave now!” Da Luo said firmly.

Such a perfect residence only existed in his dream before and he couldn’t stop drooling over the shimmering condominium.

“Wait until I am rich.” Wu Sen could no longer hold back as well.

Even though Lin Dong and Zhou Yan remained silent, the thirst in their eyes had betrayed them.

***

They were rendered speechless as soon as they stepped into the designated unit. It would be a dream come true if they could really move into this place.

The five of them instantly regretted coming over. They now required a greater sense of self-persuasion to accept an inferior option, which made the already difficult task at hand even tougher.

The place was huge. Sunlight shone right through the classy French windows but the living room temperature was just nice. The house did not have a lot of furniture inside but the interior design was remarkable. The ceiling and floor were so smooth that it could reflect their images on it.

“Hey, guys. You must all be tired,” A guy in his forties welcomed them and said.

“Hello, mister.” The five of them remained slightly reserved. After all, this was the first time they had laid foot in such an exquisite house. Worse, their purpose was simply to take a look and enjoy the cold air. It was very impolite of them to have the assistant purposely come over for their spontaneous and fruitless request.

“Come in. Kai told me that the five of you are his schoolmates. I understand how difficult it is to find a good job or a good residence when you have just freshly graduated. The environment in this area is pretty decent. Have a look around, if you guys like it, I will call the landlord over to go over the contract.” The middle-aged man said.

After they surveyed the house, it could only be described in one word—perfect! The place was very spacious with a total of four rooms. It had a fully-equipped kitchen, a bathtub in the shower room, and a giant balcony that opened up to breathtaking sceneries. They could almost picture the enjoyment of sitting on the balcony and drinking beer while admiring the beautiful view…

“Argh~ I want to live here! I want to live here so bad!” Da Luo had finally lost it.

Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen’s eyes were lit up too. This place was simply fascinating!

Luocheng now understood why this place was still worth 4000 – 5000 yuan even after the discount. It was standard that such a place would be priced at above 10,000 yuan.

To them, 10,000 yuan per month for a room was nothing short of a fairy tale!

“I’m glad that you all like this place. In that case, there’s no need to visit the other units. Let me inform Kai that I have accomplished the task that he delegated to me,” The man said happily.

“Eh… Mister… Actually, we are just here to have a look. To be honest, we can’t afford this place,” Luocheng felt embarrassed about the trouble they had caused.

He had learned from the conversation he had overheard between Da Luo and Mr. Guang, that the latter had driven all the way here to show them the house. He was obviously not a property agent. They guessed he must be some sort of government officer judging by his attire. He appeared friendly and joyful, but Luocheng felt exposed whenever he met the older man’s piercing sight.

Luocheng was a little startled and he figured it would be best to tell him the truth.

“This room is vacant anyway. I know it might be too much of a burden for you guys, but trust me, you will be extra motivated if you have a good place to live in. I will provide you with an extra discount on the rental. It will roughly be 5000 yuan after the deduction.” Mr. Guang, who was still smiling, said.

“Um… Even 5000 yuan is still pretty high,” Luocheng said lightly and shamefully.

Mr. Guang was stunned and he took a better look at the five young men. He soon understood why Luocheng had said so.

Luocheng did not budge from the beginning. They were not going to live here, plain and simple. This place was truly too expensive. Besides, they would owe K a huge favor if they were going to be spared nearly 10,000 yuan per month if they ended up renting this place.

The other four stopped wandering the house as they saw Luocheng and Mr. Guang fall into an awkward silence. They apologized to Mr. Guang sincerely and hastily left the place.

They had tried to pretend and barge into a world that didn’t belong to them, and a sudden rush of embarrassment and unease took over Luocheng’s mind. He disliked such feelings.

He would rather not face the fact that he, too, wanted to live in this place as much as the others.

***

They almost scrambled out frantically from the place, not even knowing how they walked out of the area. No one was around but they felt scorned somehow.

“Guys…”

Not long after they had left the housing area, Mr. Guang caught up to them in his car.

He extended his arm and offered with a grin. “Here’s the key.”

“Mr. Guang, thanks, but we seriously can not afford to pay for such an expensive place. Not now, and not in the foreseeable future.”

Mr. Guang shook his head and replied courteously, “You don’t know that! If you don’t dare to hold onto something that you yearn to own, don’t you think that you will only waste more time being trapped in matters that you are not satisfied with in the first place? Take it. This represents your goal, your ambition. Now you know that you have to work hard no matter what to deserve this.”

The keys lay silently in Mr. Guang’s palm. It was so close and yet so far, and none of them dared to step closer to pick it up.

They were not even good friends of K, the discount would not last for a lifetime. Could they earn enough to pay for a rental fee of 10,000-plus yuan when the discount was no longer offered to them?

“Come on, don’t let your courage and spirit be diminished by society at such a young age. Why don’t you put more faith in your future self?”

Why don’t you put more faith in your future self?

These words resonated in Luocheng’s heart, and it moved him.

‘If I don’t believe in myself and E-sports, why did I give up on everything else just to bet on this career?’

His run-away from home for the second time was to prove to his family that his choice had been the right one all along.

Luocheng tightened his fist and then walked up to collect the keys.

‘F*ck it! Challenge accepted. Who wouldn’t want to live in a palace?’

Mr. Guang nodded in satisfaction and said, “The discount will last only for 6 months. After that, you will need to pay the original price. You can choose to continue the lease or move out by then. However, I doubt that you all would be willing to part with it after 6 months, so do your best!”