44: Counterattack

“Prosperity is awesome.”

“They actually pulled off a comeback.”

“How many years has it been since a comeback like this appeared in professional matches? Let me check, oh my, it’s been fourteen years.”

“Lin Ye is truly too strong.”

“Lin Ye, I want to have your babies.”

...

Lin Ye looked at the cheering crowd, which was like a surging tide, and countless emotions welled up in his heart: excitement, thrill, nervousness, pride, and satisfaction.

He couldn't describe how he felt at that moment, but he liked the feeling.

The players, coaches, and staff of Shengshi Second Team rushed onto the stage, lifted him, and cheered.

In contrast, the Bai Hu club members were in complete silence.

The victor is king, the loser is bandit.

Audiences will never remember the defeated.

...

“Talented Youth Lin Ye”

“A Dark Horse in the Professional Arena”

“Shocking! A Group of Big Men Were Actually Crushed by a Delicate Young Man”

The news of Shengshi Second Team’s comeback against Bai Hu became the top trending topic that day, surpassing the news of a popular young actress cheating with an veteran actor, which was second on the hot search.

Prosperity didn't have to do much; this matter had already exploded across the entire network.

The popularity of professional players on Blue Star always remained high.

In an interstellar era that worshipped strength, the public's fanaticism for the strong was beyond imagination.

Lin Ye downloaded the blog app and registered an account.

The number one gossip app in Xia Kingdom, Blog, was the main gathering place for various big Vs, celebrities, and professional players.

With the group's help, Lin Ye was verified as a Prosperity professional player, Lin Ye.

His follower count soared. Lin Ye accepted the planner's suggestion and posted a blog entry that the planner had meticulously prepared.

At the peak of immortals, I stand proud in the world; where Lin Ye is, there is heaven.

Paired with various cool, retouched photos taken by the planner, it was brimming with chuunibyou vibes.

Lin Ye felt so embarrassed he could have dug out a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment.

However, to cooperate with the star-making plan, he still tried his best to cooperate.

He understood clearly about establishing a persona; many in the fan circle in his previous life would deliberately establish personas.

From the comments, the effect was quite good.

“Arrogant, I, Ye Tian, do not allow anyone more arrogant than me to exist.”

“This is the Lin Ye who beat a fifth-tier with a fourth-tier? Why does he look like he has a bad case of chuunibyou?”

“Lin Ye is so cool.”

“My Lin Ye is strong and handsome, I love him, I love him.”

...

Lin Ye thought, “Sure enough, I still shouldn’t read the comments, should I?” He felt goosebumps.

The company intended to sculpt him into the image of a peerless genius, and in the eyes of the public, arrogance was a common trait for peerless geniuses.

If Lin Ye's own homebody image were used for promotion, how could he gain popularity?

“Hahaha, Lin Ye, you look so funny.” Jiang Xiaoyu laughed uncontrollably.

Thinking of the usual Lin Ye, and then thinking of the image-sculpted Lin Ye, it was so strange, why was there such a contrast that was kind of cute?

“Fish Brother, stop laughing, isn’t this for the convenience of the company’s promotion?” Lin Ye was helpless, feeling like his persona was ruined.

Jiang Xiaoyu wiped away the tears from laughing and patted his shoulder: “Alright, I won’t laugh at you anymore. I’m here to give you the two billion that the company promised.”

Lin Ye's heart burned with excitement, two billion! He had never seen so much money in both his lives combined.

If he put it in the bank for interest, he would still get tens of millions a year.

Jiang Xiaoyu and Lin Ye discussed it and decided to exchange the reward in the form of shares.

If they really gave him two billion, he wouldn't know how to handle it.

And taxes would also be a problem; how much tax would that be?

Taking shares was more profitable; Prosperity shares were constantly rising, and market value was continuously increasing, so getting them meant making a profit.

After a series of complicated procedures, Lin Ye floated back to the training room.

He still had a sense of unreality, that he had become a billionaire so quickly in this life.

He knew this was brought about by strength; without strength, all of this would be an illusion.

He cultivated even harder, even fanatically.

As expected, only Shengshi Second Team made a comeback.

Having obtained a new slot, Prosperity embarked on various sweeping reforms.

They brought in more investment and poured it into club construction.

Currently, not many clubs have two slots, but those that do are all top-tier clubs in the professional arena.

Having more slots clearly offers advantages.

Due to restrictions on professional teams, only five main players and two substitutes are allowed, so it's impossible to cultivate other fifth-tier potential talents.

If there's an additional slot, the number of players that can be cultivated doubles. From these, the best combination can be chosen as the main team, while the other team can train with the main team or target the main team's opponents in matches.

Moreover, having an additional team slot doesn't significantly increase resources, and many measures for the main team can be used simultaneously, greatly reducing costs.

For example, logistics: there's not much difference between providing logistics for seven professionals and for fourteen professionals.

Also, an extra slot provides an extra choice, allowing for teams with different combinations, making it easier to face different challenges.

However, having two slots is not common.

The cake is there; if you take a slice, someone else gets less.

That rich young master also used many connections to buy the slot; otherwise, ten billion was a price with no market.

So Prosperity really hit the jackpot this time.

Regarding Lin Ye's subsequent arrangements, Prosperity also held a special board meeting to discuss.

“I think he should be placed in the Second Team. He rose to prominence in the Second Team, and the Second Team has considerable traffic. With Lin Ye there, many professional players who want to make a comeback will definitely be willing to join the Second Team. This will be extremely beneficial for the Second Team’s development.”

One director stated this.

“He shouldn't be wasted in the Second Team. The Second Team's development will still take a lot of time, and if the popularity fades, it will be a huge loss for the group.”

This director clearly didn't want to give up that huge traffic.

I...

Jiang Feng slowly spoke after listening to everyone, “I have decided to arrange for Lin Ye to be a main player in the First Team. A fourth-tier mixing in a professional arena full of fifth- and sixth-tiers will be a huge hot topic. And I believe that with his strength, he is fully capable of standing firm in the professional arena.”

Everyone below was stunned. Lin Ye had indeed defeated a professional team, but what kind of weaklings were they? They didn't even have a sixth-tier.

What kind of opponents does Prosperity First Team face? Sixth-tiers, almost all sixth-tiers.

Can a fourth-tier really leapfrog a fifth-tier, and even a sixth-tier?

“I disagree. Everyone has seen Lin Ye’s strength, but the gap between fourth-tier and sixth-tier is too great. How can he show his brilliance on the competition stage? If he performs ordinarily, then our star-making plan will be a joke.”

This director’s words garnered unanimous agreement from everyone.

Jiang Feng indicated for them to calm down.

“Everyone knows the situation with Prosperity First Team. Currently, there are four sixth-tier main players and a fifth-tier Martial Artist. How do you all feel if Lin Ye replaces this Martial Artist? Isn’t that very reasonable? Lin Ye’s strength is not inferior to the opponent’s, so the impact on the First Team will be minimal, and it might even slightly increase their strength.”

Jiang Feng looked directly at the directors and said confidently: “As for how to continue to ensure Lin Ye’s popularity, you don’t need to worry too much. Xiao Yu is that child’s teacher and knows his strength best. Lin Ye’s performance on the field is not his full extent.”

Everyone settled down and began to be shocked by Lin Ye's terrifying power. He hadn't even used his full strength yet?

Exaggerated.

They all agreed.