"Kaka Kaka, Dada..." A pair of nimble hands danced around the keyboard and mouse, the rhythmic tapping sound was like a lively melody. The screen was filled with bright lights as the opponent's character fell to the ground in a splash of blood.

"Hehe." Ye Qiu chuckled, taking the cigarette from his lips. The silver ash had already formed a long string, but it did not fall off as he moved his hands rapidly across the keyboard and mouse. He quickly extinguished the cigarette in the oddly shaped ashtray on the table, then his hands returned to the keyboard. He was about to say something to his opponent when the door was pushed open with a loud "clang."

Ye Qiu didn't turn around, as if he had been waiting for this moment. He simply asked, "Are you here?"

"I'm here." Su Mucheng's response was equally simple.

"Then let's go!" Ye Qiu declined the opponent's invitation to another round of gaming, taking a card from the Glory-specific login device and grabbing his coat from the rack next to the door as he stood up.

It was already late at night, but the Jia Shi Club was still brightly lit. Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng walked out of the room and headed to the end of the hallway. This was a large conference room, with an electronic display screen that almost covered the entire wall, showing the "Glory Professional League" rankings and some technical statistics.

Rankings: Jia Shi team is ranked 19th overall, second from last.

For the former three-time league champions, this result was particularly eye-catching. At this moment, it was displayed on the wall, as if mocking everyone mercilessly.

However, the atmosphere in the room was not at all dull. On the contrary, it was quite lively. The Jia Shi team members were surrounding someone, ignoring Ye Qiu as he walked in. Even those who caught a glimpse of him had cold and mocking eyes.

"Ye Qiu, the club has decided that Sun Xiang, the new transfer, will take over your position as captain. And One Autumn Leaf will be controlled by Sun Xiang in the future." The club manager saw Ye Qiu come in and immediately turned to him to deliver the cold message. There was no prior communication, no euphemistic expression, just such a straightforward and icy notification, cruelly tossing a used tissue aside.

Su Mucheng opened her mouth to speak, but was lightly stopped by Ye Qiu, who smiled and shook his head, indicating that he didn't care.

"Sorry, Ye Bro, I took your seat as soon as I came in." The first seat on the left side of the conference table, which was the captain's exclusive seat, belonged to Ye Qiu. But Sun Xiang sat on it carelessly and said this, without even glancing at Ye Qiu. It was no longer just indifference, but an outright disregard. His gaze was more focused on Su Mucheng, who had come in with Ye Qiu.

"Right, some people are already old and outdated!" "Autumn Leaf should be controlled by you, Brother Xiang, to truly unleash the power of the fighting god." This is the focus of everyone's attention at the moment. Sun Xiang, the new generation of genius players in the Glory Professional League. He won the Rookie of the Year award steadily after entering the league last year, and his personal data was not much worse than that of the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the same year. This season, Sun Xiang led the mediocre team, Yueshan, to rank eighth in the league, with hopes of advancing to the playoffs. However, he switched to the poor-performing Jiashi Club midway because Jiashi owns the account role called "Autumn Leaf," which is renowned as the fighting god in Glory. This young man, who has not been in the league for less than two years, is not old, but the Jiashi team members still address him as "Brother," obviously realizing that Sun Xiang will be their future leader. Sun Xiang accepted these flatteries comfortably, and finally turned his head to glance at Ye Qiu with disdain in his eyes. "Ye Qiu, hand over the Autumn Leaf account card to Sun Xiang!" the club manager said. Although Ye Qiu was usually relaxed and carefree, he could not help but feel a little painful at this moment. Autumn Leaf, as the name suggests, has a close relationship with Ye Qiu, as it was the account he created when he first entered the world of Glory. For ten years, this account has accompanied Ye Qiu for a full decade. The rookie at the time became a renowned expert in Glory, and the small fighting mage became the famous "Fighting God" in Glory. However, seven years ago, when he entered the professional circle and signed a contract with the club, the ownership of Autumn Leaf was transferred to the club. Ye Qiu knew that there would be a day of separation, and that day had finally come. Ye Qiu's fingers trembled slightly. Stable hands are necessary for a professional player, but now the trembling occurred in Ye Qiu, a veteran player with a hard and sturdy mental quality. Su Mucheng turned her head, she did not want to see this scene, but was powerless to stop it. In the eyes of everyone's gloating eyes, the silver Autumn Leaf account card was handed to Sun Xiang. Sun Xiang's eyes flashed with excitement and greed. He willingly transferred to the Jiashi Club, which has not been as good as before for nearly two years, for the sake of owning the top-level Autumn Leaf account. Ye Qiu, the original controller of Autumn Leaf, has had poor performance in recent years and has had constant conflicts with the club. Sun Xiang has one hundred percent confidence to replace him. "Got it!" When Sun Xiang caught the account card, he felt a slight resistance from the card. Sun Xiang sensed Ye Qiu's reluctance and arrogantly smiled and said, "Let go, Brother Ye. Look at your hands, they're shaking like this. How can such a pair of hands unleash the power of the fighting god? Let me do it!"

"Ha ha." Despite the insult, Ye Qiu still laughed and turned around to look at the manager, saying, "A training partner? I don't think it's necessary. Let's terminate the contract!"

"Terminate the contract? Are you voluntarily proposing to terminate it?" The manager's expression looked intriguing.

"Yes, I request to terminate it."

"Don't act impulsively!" Su Mucheng hurriedly rushed over to stop him. The league had its own rules. During the contract period, except for special reasons, anyone who voluntarily proposes to terminate the contract would have to pay a penalty. Ye Qiu still had a year and a half left on his contract with Jia Shi. If he forcibly demanded to terminate the contract, the loss would be significant. But for Su Mucheng, she was more afraid of Ye Qiu leaving.

"The boss hasn't arrived yet, let's wait for him!" Su Mucheng hoped that Ye Qiu could calm down.

But Ye Qiu had already glimpsed the sneer at the corner of the manager's mouth. He smiled bitterly and shook his head at Su Mucheng. "Mu Cheng, don't you understand? The boss's goal is for me to leave. My existence has no value for the club anymore; I'm just a burden on the payroll."

"That's not true. Your strength is no less than anyone else's," Su Mucheng said.

"This is not just about strength; it's about business. And I have never had any commercial value." Ye Qiu said.

"You were supposed to have it, but you chose to give it up yourself." The manager suddenly interrupted.

"Yes, this is my choice." Ye Qiu said. The Glory Professional League is now thriving, with various sponsors coming out in endless streams. The star players in the league are naturally in high demand for advertising and endorsements. But as the top player, Ye Qiu has always refused any advertising and endorsement, even rejecting all kinds of interviews and press conferences. He is like an old netizen, carefully hiding his real identity in the virtual world.

The club was very dissatisfied with this. They saw a golden mountain beside them but could not dig any benefits from him. Finally, Ye Qiu's strong strength helped the club gain fame in the league, and he was tolerated. But with the current poor results, everything is no longer the same.

"The commercialization of the league has kept us alive, but now..." Ye Qiu couldn't continue. He didn't know if this development was good or bad. Today's league is full of copper aura, and every club owner's first consideration is how to use the team to make a profit. With love for the game, Ye Qiu has been working hard for honor, but now he misses the league's early development. Pursuing honor is only for seeking greater benefits.

Su Mucheng didn't speak anymore. She has walked the same path with Ye Qiu and is also a veteran player who has witnessed all of this. Tears filled her eyes. She knew that Ye Qiu really wanted to leave, and stopping him would only make him more painful.

"Since that's the case, I..."

Ye Qiu interrupted Su Mucheng with a smile. He knew what she was about to say. "Don't worry, I haven't reached the point of despair yet. I'll come back."
"Well said, you're really impressive, as I expected from the Ye Qiu I know. Now let's talk about the breach of contract fee. To be honest, you've worked hard for Jia Shi for so many years, we won't be so heartless. Since you want to leave, let's sit down and discuss how to terminate the contract," the manager said.
"Cut to the chase, what are your conditions?" Ye Qiu asked.
"Straightforward, the conditions are simple. You just have to announce your retirement," the manager said.
"Retirement? You're not even trying to be subtle with that condition?" Su Mucheng was extremely annoyed. Ye Qiu was 25 years old, which was considered old for a professional esports player. It wasn't surprising for a player his age to retire. However, Ye Qiu had just expressed that he wasn't ready to give up yet, and the negotiation condition presented by the Jia Shi manager was clearly targeted at him.
Retired players weren't qualified to participate in professional competitions anymore. Although some retired players could come back, the Glory Professional Alliance regulations required them to wait for one year before returning. This was to prevent players from retiring one day and coming back to play for another team the next day. Ye Qiu was already at the end of his professional career, and every day was precious to him. Now he was being asked to waste a year for no reason. Even if he decided to come back after that year, his age and lack of high-level competitions in a year would make it difficult for him to find a team willing to take him in, especially given his fatal flaw of refusing to participate in commercial activities.
This negotiation condition seemed unacceptable, but Ye Qiu agreed without hesitation. "I agree."
"Are you crazy?" Su Mucheng was shocked.
"I've been tired for so many years, what's wrong with taking a year off?" Ye Qiu smiled.
"What... What are you thinking?" Su Mucheng couldn't understand.
"Nothing." Ye Qiu turned his head. The manager had already handed over several documents, and Ye Qiu signed them quickly with a smile. The other party was well prepared indeed. He took a last look at this place he had stayed for seven years, but he didn't say any polite goodbye words. He silently turned around to leave.
"I'll walk you out," Su Mucheng was the only one following him.