David Thompson thought for a moment, “Reed, don’t you and John have a team? I remember it’s called 396, just named after the dorm room. I think it’s simple and catchy, pretty good.”

“Isn’t that a bit too simple?” Little White suggested.

“Simple is good, isn’t it? We’re just a bunch of pure young guys,” David Thompson laughed.

“Oh wow, not bad, 396, this name has a kind of mysterious depth to it. Don’t you feel the primal power? Out with the new, in with the old—396 Team, number one!”

Very quickly, the four guys unanimously agreed on the 396 Team, full of primal power. Off to the side, Lily Walker was both amused and exasperated—this must be the true nature of straight guys.

Thanks to 玉者 and 邪恶大巨 for their generous 100,000, making them the overlords of the era, mighty and powerful, thank you.

Chapter 10: Commercial Compliments

While the 396 Team was being established with great fanfare, in the private room next door, five glasses clinked together crisply.

“Heh, welcome to my team, led by Andrew Miller. You’re all the top players at Shanghai Political University. For this city challenge, let’s work hard together and bring back a good result.” Andrew Miller raised his glass, smiling politely at the group in front of him.

Standing beside Andrew Miller was Grace Harris, who had changed into a simple outfit and put on light makeup. She also held a glass, but hers was filled with a soft drink.

“Mr. Miller brought us all together, and with your own skills not being bad either, as long as everyone takes it seriously, we should at least make the top eight. If we’re lucky, even the championship isn’t out of reach.”

On Andrew Miller’s other side, a slightly chubby guy smiled with a hint of arrogance as he spoke.

“That’s right, everyone knows Mr. Parker is our school’s number one top-lane king with 800 points, and Sophie Stone is also at master rank. With you two anchoring the team, making the top eight is a sure thing.” On the other side, a tall, thin young man chimed in with some flattery.

Hearing the tall, thin guy’s words, the other two in the room smiled with satisfaction. Sophie Stone, the master-ranked player, looked every bit the rough guy, his face covered in acne.

“Haha, Alice Green, you’re too modest. You’re a diamond player in Ionia, that’s a different level. It wouldn’t be hard for you to reach master or king here. The key is, our team’s roles complement each other perfectly. As long as no monsters show up, we really have a shot at the championship.”

Although Alice Green’s rank wasn’t as high as the other two, being Diamond 1 in the top server was actually better than master or king in other servers. Among the three, Alice Green was probably the best.

It wasn’t all just empty flattery—top players were rare in the city tournament, especially since this year’s main teams were from universities. It was also a campus promotion for o. Having even one king-level player on a team was impressive, considering there were tens of millions of players nationwide.

“Heh, I’ve heard of this city invitational. Last year’s winning team was just so-so, I think. Two kings and a master, and all from the bot servers. Honestly, if Mr. Miller hadn’t asked me, I wouldn’t have bothered with this tournament.” The chubby William Parker took another sip, speaking arrogantly to Andrew Miller. He was a king from Zaun, not your average outskirt player. In the o hierarchy, the top server looked down on all others, and Zaun looked down on the other outskirt servers.

“Hey, don’t say that. There are still a few top players in the city invitational. At least by the semifinals, there’ll be pro team coaches watching.” Sophie Stone quickly added, afraid of upsetting Andrew Miller.

Andrew Miller had put this team together and given each member a 3,000 yuan red envelope. After the school selection, he’d give them another 3,000 as a “training subsidy.” With their skills, it was basically free money—6,000 yuan for just showing up. For college students, that was a huge sum, not to mention there’d be more rewards if they made the top eight, which also piqued Alice Green and the others’ interest.

“Hey, I actually agree with Mr. Parker. The city tournament’s just a bunch of nobodies, not real top players,” Alice Green said with a smirk. “Even though it’s an offline event, it’s nothing compared to the online League of Legends Gold Grand Prix. I’ve even been invited to join a few teams for the Gold Grand Prix before. But with graduation coming up, I just didn’t feel like dealing with it.”

“Uh…” Sophie Stone still wanted to support Andrew Miller, but when he heard “League of Legends Gold Grand Prix,” he just couldn’t say anything more. Alice Green and William Parker had already entered the show-off phase.

“Heh, I’ve played in the Gold Grand Prix too. But honestly, it was too tough—too many top players. I teamed up with a few buddies I usually play with and trained in an internet café for a month and a half. In the end, we only made it to the top 32 before getting knocked out. Bottom line, I just wasn’t good enough,” William Parker said, taking another sip.

William Parker claimed he “wasn’t good enough,” but everyone could tell he was just showing off.

Still, William Parker’s bragging left Sophie Stone and Alice Green at a loss for words. The League of Legends Gold Grand Prix was already one of the top online tournaments in the country. Aside from pro players being banned from entering, basically all the top players in the national server would form teams to compete.