Chapter 162: Invitation

After defeating his final opponent, Jiang Zheng heard the prompt in his mind indicating that the quest had been completed.

Without saying a word, he turned off his livestream and went straight to sleep.

That very night, Jiang Zheng left behind his own legend: a clean sweep of five players against a championship-winning team.

Lin Yu’s face was ashen, and only two words echoed in his mind: "It's over."

Jiang Zheng had made no concessions, showing no regard for worldly human relations, leaving only the cold and merciless verdict of victory and defeat.

He had failed to accomplish the task assigned by his superiors, and the outcome awaiting him could hardly be expected to be pleasant.

Contemplating his gloomy prospects, Lin Yu felt a surge of despair and anxiety. Yet beneath these negative emotions, he also felt a trace of envy toward Jiang Zheng's actions.

He envied Jiang Zheng's carefree and uninhibited demeanor, his ability to do whatever he pleased without being controlled by others.

This was something he himself could not achieve at present.

That envy caused Lin Yu’s favorable impression of Jiang Zheng to skyrocket. Even though Jiang Zheng's willful behavior might negatively impact his own future, he held no resentment toward Jiang Zheng.

The senior executives of the streaming platform were consumed with fury when they saw that Jiang Zheng had actually dared to disobey their orders.

They cared little about the outcome of a single match, but for a streamer to defy them was something they simply could not tolerate.

This was a direct challenge to their authority.

"Let's freeze him out for a while and make him realize that he isn't as indispensable as he thinks," the executives commanded.

Naturally, the idea of freezing him out was merely intended to serve as a warning to Jiang Zheng. With his level of popularity, no platform would easily let him go or completely ban him.

They had never intended to permanently ban Jiang Zheng; they only wanted to whip him into shape and make him more obedient.

Jiang Zheng's reckless self-will this time had left the esports club extremely dissatisfied, and certain collaborations between the two parties would inevitably be affected.

When the directive reached Lin Yu, he felt a mixture of disdain and sorrow—sorrow for Jiang Zheng, and sorrow for himself.

Ultimately, an individual's strength was too insignificant to contend with capital.

He had no choice but to carry out the orders from above.

Meanwhile, back at the club.

Every member of the championship-winning team wore a pale, lifeless expression, their eyes hollow as if their very spirit and vitality had been shattered.

At that moment, the coach walked over.

He barked angrily, "Just look at yourselves! What kind of state are you in?"

The young men raised their heads, glanced briefly at the coach, and remained silent.

"Has a single defeat broken you all that easily?" the coach demanded.

Silence. A profound silence hung in the air.

"The only reason you are feeling so defeated is because you are the reigning champions! You have your pride, and I understand that. But have you forgotten that before you won the championship, you experienced countless failures? Back then, every single defeat failed to crush you; instead, all those losses fueled your drive to move forward! Why is it that after winning the championship, a single defeat has managed to break you?"

The coach spoke earnestly, pouring his heart into the admonition.

Finally, someone spoke up: "Coach, it's different. We were swept five-to-nothing."

"How is it different? A sweep is a defeat, and a five-on-five loss is still a defeat," the coach retorted sharply.

"B-but... we're the championship team," someone mumbled.

"So what if you're the championship team? Can a championship team never lose? If that's the logic you use, you would never have won the championship in the first place! You must understand that in this world, there are always people constantly improving and growing stronger. From this failure, you should learn a vital lesson: if you want to remain champions, you have to work harder than before, because everyone's goal is to defeat you and take your place."

Hearing the coach's words, the team members' complexions recovered slightly as they began to ponder his message.

Failure had not truly defeated them; it was simply because they placed too much weight on the glory of being champions that they felt so devastated in the face of loss.

Guided by the coach's scolding and enlightenment, they gradually found their footing again.

After all, they were the ones who had climbed to where they were today by continually picking themselves up from failure.

Watching the players slowly regain their vigor, the coach breathed a sigh of relief. He had genuinely feared that the team's morale would be irreparably shattered.

If their spirit had been broken, the team would essentially have been finished.

Now, however, the situation did not seem as dire as he had feared.

Up on the top floor, in the owner's office, the club president wore a gloomy expression.

………………

The next morning, Jiang Zheng woke up early, though waves of sleepiness still washed over him.

He didn't really want to get out of bed, but remembering that he had classes to attend, he forced himself up. Splashing cold water on his face to banish the lingering drowsiness, Jiang Zheng finally felt a bit more awake.

After tidying up, Jiang Zheng headed off to school for his classes.

During the break, Jiang Zheng rested his head on his desk, closing his eyes to catch a brief nap.

Many students in the classroom were discussing the livestream from the previous night, completely unaware that the protagonist of their conversation was currently asleep right there at his desk.

After dozing for a little while, Jiang Zheng stretched comfortably.

With the morning classes concluded and nothing scheduled for the afternoon, Jiang Zheng returned to his dormitory to rest for a bit and took a nap.

Once the afternoon classes were over, Jiang Zheng planned to visit the library to read some books. With the quest completed, he had nothing pressing to attend to for the time being, so he decided to spend his time reading.

As for the quest reward, he was in no rush to claim it.

His streaming obligation had not yet concluded.

Although the quest was finished, he still had a few days left of mandatory streaming per his contract with the platform.

He had deposited one million with the platform; if he breached the contract now, he would likely forfeit that money and even be forced to pay liquidated damages.

Given his current popularity, the platform would certainly not be willing to let him breach the contract.

Therefore, Jiang Zheng decided to finish out the remaining days of his stream—it wasn't much time anyway.

He was also holding off on claiming the reward because he still had to stream. Since he didn't know what side effects claiming the reward might bring, it would spell trouble if any anomalies manifested during a live broadcast.

For the sake of safety, Jiang Zheng simply chose to endure for a few more days. The reward wasn't going anywhere, and claiming it a few days early or late made no difference.

While pondering these matters, Jiang Zheng suddenly received a phone call.

"Hello, is this Mr. Jiang?" a voice asked from the other end of the line.

"I am. And you are?" Jiang Zheng inquired.

"We are from the ** Club, and we are your fans," the caller replied.

Jiang Zheng raised an eyebrow. How did the other party know his name?

During his livestreams, he had never shown his face nor ever mentioned his real name. How had they found out?

In an instant, Jiang Zheng figured it out.

There was only one other channel through which they could have found out: the platform.

The platform had access to his personal information, having collected it when he signed his contract.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" Jiang Zheng asked.

"Well, it's like this. We would like to invite you to join our club. Would Mr. Jiang be available for a meeting?" the caller said.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit busy right now and might not have the time," Jiang Zheng replied.

"Mr. Jiang, we are extremely sincere, and we are certain we won't let you down," the caller said hastily.

"Alright, I'll contact you as soon as I have free time," Jiang Zheng said.

"Very well, please be sure to contact me first," the caller urged.