I'm An Olympic Superstar Chapter 53

“The second story is regarding Rocket Boy, Meng Yang . ”

“Meng Yang was born in a broken family . His father committed a crime and was sentenced to life imprisonment . Since a young age, he had been looked down by all the children around him . In fact, even his teacher humiliated him saying, ‘like father, like son’ . The teacher said that if your father is a murderer, you aren’t around to be anything good either . ”

“As he grew up in such an environment, he was extremely reserved . Afterwards, he made a living with gaming and had started to obtain the approval from the outside world . But someone came out and impa.s.sionately criticized . ”

“A child that is supposed to be studying, isn’t studying and is actually making a living with games . His success is an irony to our education system . ”

“He could only reply in his heart: When my mother and I were struggling with living expenses by penny pinching from day to day, where were all you educators?”

“13th of June 2001, Meng Yang who was rather reputable in the Quake community had obtained better training conditions . Until now, he would never be able to forget his mother’s tears when the train slowly departed as he left his mother to travel 2000 miles to the extremely unfamiliar Beijing . And it was since then, he would be leaving his mother for a long term, his mother who mutually depended on one another since young . It was a sensation that not many would be able to tolerate . ”

“He would return home once or twice a year right now . Everytime he left the city, he wouldn’t dare to let his mother send him off, because he was afraid he would see that scene again . ”

“His only consoling words for his mother would be: I am not really going to partic.i.p.ate in a war . It is just a game . If you miss me and want me to return, just give me a call . ”

“But in fact, he had stepped into a battlefield that didn’t have any smoke or blood . But the battlefield was utterly cruel and he wasn’t allowed to turn back . ”

“In 2001, the next morning after  the China regional finals of the WCG 2001 had ended, he was still immersed in the alcohol after yesterday’s victory celebration . But he knew what he was supposed to do . ”

“At 3 . 00pm, he was abnormally excited and had arrived at the Samsung China’s headquarters to redeem his reward money for being the champion . That was the first time he had witnessed so much money in his life . Furthermore, it was in physical cash . ”

“All the $100 bills had been taken by the contestants who came to claim their rewards . He was left with a large bag that contained thick stacks of $50 . ”

“His eyes were widened as he used all of his concentration to count the money repeatedly . $24,000 RMB . ”

“When he was signing the doc.u.ments, his hands actually trembled nervously just like the time he partic.i.p.ated in his first tournament in 2000 . He thought to himself: Meng Yang, are you able to do this? You are already the national champion, you don’t have to turn back anymore!”

“Afterwards, ‘A Date with Luyu’ invited Meng Yang to the show and during his interview, he mentioned that during his hardest moments, he only had $2 or $3 to spend . He would survive 13 to 14 hours of training with just one bottle of mineral water and a few buns . Now that he is retired, his right hand now has hyperostosis and it was because of the long-term overwork of wrist activity . ”

After Xiao Ran finished speaking, he drank all the coffee in a single mouth as though he was venting something .

He then looked into Jay Chou’s eyes and asked, “After listening to two stories, I wonder if Director Chou has any revelation?”

“I wasn’t an Esports player originally but I have heard of way too many stories of how the senior Esports players made their living in their poor families, societies, and realities . ”

“Esports is a seed that had been germinating under their meticulous care and it has now become a small tree, but far from its maturity . ”

“They had used sweat, tears, and risked their previous youth in exchange for the current Esports trend . ”

“At that time, the so-called teams were all sponsored by internet cafes . Their wages would be a few hundred dollars a month and they would have to reside in the internet cafes . ”

“They didn’t have any other sources of income . Apart from winning tournaments, they wouldn’t have any other income . ”

“Back then, the tournament reward money wasn’t so high and if they partic.i.p.ated in tournaments at other provinces, they would have to apply for reimburs.e.m.e.nt of travel fees . Hence, they could only choose to use trains as their transport . ”

“There wasn’t any live streaming in the past, there weren’t any boosting services to sell either, they weren’t able to live stream on Taobao either . ”

“Right now, professional players earn a few thousand to a few tens of thousand dollars a month . The reward money is very luxurious and the players are given equipment and sponsorships . After they retire, they could continue streaming on Taobao too . ”

“Each of them are earning plenty right now and they still complain that players have it rough? That isn’t even considered rough!”

“They say that players experience great pressure? That is because they have never experienced wages of a few hundred dollars and yet they dare to say their working conditions are bad?!”

“During the S3 World Championships, all the players get to earn delicacies and get to go on tours . In comparison to their seniors who cooked instant noodles with a water heater, do they still dare to shamelessly say that the current Esports’ environment isn’t good?”

“The players can go courting girls, having fun, and would even receive confession letters and presents from female fans . ”

“Back then, there were fans who travel hundreds of miles on train to watch players, just to give a few hundred dollars and some hometown specialty for the players to have better food . ”

“The Esports pioneers had gone through hard work to develop the current Esports’ environment . But with all the jokes, s.e.xual relationships with fans, DJing, the current Esports is no longer Esports!”

“The Esports industry has become an entertainment industry . The players’ aren’t aiming for the t.i.tle of World Champion but to please their fans . The current Esports industry is a small tree that is starting to go in a crooked angle . It has disappointed those people who sacrificed their youths to put down the seed . ”

“There are plenty of professional players who use Esports as a tool to earn money . Who is actually playing Esports because it is their dream or doing it for glory?”

Xiao Ran spoke emotionally for a long time before he sighed and said, “Perhaps there are a few individuals, but it is very rare . It is why China’s Esports is getting increasingly bad results, year after year . ”

“I have an Esports heart . For the glory and my dream, I will fight, charge, and risk everything!”

Xiao Ran stared at Jay Chou’s eyes and said, “Actually, there are many teams that have offered me positions . Among them are prestigious teams like EDG and LGD . But do you know why I am not going to them and would choose J Team instead?”

Jay Chou was already stunned after listening and was shaking his head speechlessly .

“The reason for joining J Tea is very simple . J Team has been recently established and it has a strong adaptability . It is also because it is a team that only has China’s citizens and not Koreans . It is an All-Chinese team!”

“I wish that my teammates are all Chinese and I wish for us to lift the S6 World Championship’s trophy together and stand at the pinnacle of the world!”

Jay Chou’s blood was boiling after hearing Xiao Ran’s words . He looked at Xiao Ran with burning eyes and nodded vigorously .

“Okay, I shall trust you once and go crazy with you . In the future, you will be given full authority for the J Team’s members . ”

Xiao Ran revealed a satisfied smile, “If I feel that the members aren’t suitable, can I go and invite players from other teams to join our J Team?”

Jay Chou hesitated before replying, “Ordinary players are fine . But if it is those world cla.s.s players, putting aside the cost of transfer, it would be that easy for you to poach them as well . ”

“Boss doesn’t have to worry . In the future, our J Team’s members will be world cla.s.s players!”

Xiao Ran guaranteed as he slapped his chest with ambition .

In order to secure his position and authority in J Team, Xiao Ran’s eyes flickered before he asked sheepishly, “Boss, after I expressed my feelings for Esports, I have an inspiration and created a song . Do you wish to hear it?”

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