Not Going Pro

Fang Jun stretched lazily, his bones letting out a series of satisfying pops.

"What an exhilarating battle."

An Yuexin chugged the last mouthful of his iced black tea and gently set the empty bottle on the desk. "Indeed, that last wave was an absolute massacre."

"Nailed it!" Fang Jun slapped his thigh. "We were just the background noise, while Lin Mo alone did all the carrying."

As soon as he finished speaking, the slightly chubby internet cafe owner walked over with a cheerful smile, holding a small notebook in his hand.

He bypassed a few computers, stood straight behind Lin Mo, and peeked at the post-match screen, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Little brother, another Penta Kill? Let me see... is this the third or fourth one tonight? You're about to earn yourself a permanent free membership with all these waived internet fees."

The owner was half-joking and half-serious, unable to hide the admiration in his tone.

In today's internet cafes, League of Heroes was already a standard installation. Coupled with the official promotion of esports tournaments, many cafes had launched promotions like free internet time for Penta Kills to attract customers.

Although ten or twenty bucks wasn't much, if it happened often enough, playing at the cafe essentially became free.

Many people actually came just to hustle for free internet time this way.

Lin Mo simply waved his hand, his eyes still fixed on the post-match screen, and said in a flat tone, "Just good luck. I didn't disturb your business, did I, boss?"

"Hey! What are you talking about!"

The owner waved his big hand, smiling so widely his eyes narrowed into slits. "I open my doors for business, I wish you'd disturb me like this more often! Your Penta Kill announcement on the screen is more effective than me shouting through a megaphone all day. Didn't you notice everyone around here craning their necks to look at you?"

Lin Mo's divine sense swept across the room without a change in expression. In the massive internet cafe, nine out of ten glowing screens displayed the familiar canyon map. The atmosphere was indeed fiery.

Just then, Fang Jun suddenly lowered his voice and slapped Lin Mo's chair hard, as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Look! Someone sent you a friend request. It might be a guy from the enemy team just now."

Lin Mo paused for a moment and clicked on the request.

It really was.

He casually clicked accept, wondering if the other party was a toxic player coming to flame him, or if they just simply wanted to add him as a friend.

The moment the friend request was approved, a message from the other party popped up immediately.

Guzimiao: "Pro player?"

Lin Mo tapped two words on the keyboard.

Lin Mo: "No."

On the other end, a live streaming channel instantly exploded into an uproar.

"Holy crap, not a pro player? Can you believe this?"

Guzimiao was also a bit stunned. Then he said to his stream:

"If he's not a pro player, then he's a solo queue god."

"Brother Miao, ask him quickly! Ask if he plans to go pro! With that hand speed and game sense, he's definitely a top-tier prospect!"

There was a streamer who used to be a member of an esports team, but later retired and became a streamer.

Guzimiao snapped back to reality and felt it made sense. His fingers flew across the keyboard, sending another message.

Guzimiao: "Bro, interested in playing professionally? I can arrange a tryout for you. Compensation is highly negotiable."

Lin Mo looked at this message without even a twitch of his brow.

He had no interest in such things and just casually replied.

Lin Mo: "Not interested. Still in school."

At this time, although esports wasn't considered incredibly huge, it had already begun to take shape.

Later on, it would become a massive industry.

However, Lin Mo was not interested in the slightest.

This reply caused an even more violent shockwave in Guzimiao's stream than when he said he wasn't a pro player.

Holy shit! Still in school?!

He beat Brother Miao this badly while still in school? Where the hell did this monster come from? High school?

Still studying?! Then he's really freaking strong.

Maybe try persuading him again?

"I definitely have to persuade him. A genius like this might even win the world championship in the future."

Guzimiao said to his stream.

Just as the stream was getting fired up and Guzimiao was racking his brains for the right words, the gray avatar in his chat box suddenly went dark.

Guzimiao: "?"

The stream's chat was also filled with question marks.

Where did he go?

Holy crap, he went offline?!

Back in the internet cafe, Lin Mo had already exited the game and stood up.

Fang Jun and the others also quickly shut down their computers.

Playing six matches in a row with intense concentration was indeed a bit exhausting.

After all, students who could get into Guangba High School had some self-control.

Besides, they all had computers at home to play on. Coming out to play as a five-man premade group sitting side-by-side was just to enjoy the atmosphere.

They weren't surprised at all that someone wanted to recruit Lin Mo to play professionally.

After all, Lin Mo was truly incredible, to the point where they had never seen anyone better than him.

They were also not surprised that Lin Mo rejected the invitation.

"Let's go, let's go. Second half playing billiards?"

"Forget it, my eyes are going blind."

Hao Qiang took off his headphones and rubbed his sore eyes vigorously. "Finding a place to fill our stomachs is the real priority. I feel completely hollowed out."

"Alright, we'll get you two dozen raw oysters to replenish your energy."

An Yuexin wrapped an arm around his neck and smirked. "You were the one having the most fun getting carried, now you're drained, huh."

The group of guys threw their arms over each other's shoulders and happily poured out of the internet cafe, leaving the stuffy air mixed with the smell of smoke behind them.

They familiarly turned into an alley and arrived in front of a barbecue stand.

The stand wasn't large, but it was kept clean, with a few folding tables and chairs set up outside. To An Yuexin and the others, this was a new place, but to Lin Mo, every detail here was overly familiar.

Before his rebirth, he and Fang Jun had been regulars here. The owner's culinary skills remained consistent for over a decade.

However, at this point in time, this shop had indeed just opened for business.

Before Fang Jun even sat down properly, he shouted at the top of his lungs toward the shop, "Sister Peipei! Sister Peipei! Come out and receive your guests!"

"Give it a rest, can you stop yelling every time you come over!"

A neat figure wearing an apron walked briskly out of the shop, holding a menu. She slapped it onto the table in annoyance and shot Fang Jun a glare, her eyes sharp like little knives.

"Let me introduce you," Fang Jun said, completely unfazed, and instead spoke triumphantly to Lin Mo. "This is Lao An and my junior high classmate, Jian Peipei. Her dad, Uncle Jian, used to sell fried and grilled skewers from a pushcart at our school gate. His skills are top-notch! Now they've upgraded and opened a proper shop, so as old classmates, we must support them!"

Lin Mo had already heard this speech in his previous life.

Of course, it wasn't entirely just for support. Uncle Jian's skewers tasted genuinely amazing, otherwise their business wouldn't have boomed so much later on.

It was just that they had recently opened and hadn't made a name for themselves yet. Even though it was late-night snack time, there were only a scattered few tables of customers at the stand.

But in a few years, this barbecue stand would be packed with people at meal times.

Often, Lin Mo and the others would even have to make a reservation with Jian Peipei just to get a seat.

Fang Jun had wanted to bring Lin Mo over to taste the food before, but Lin Mo simply hadn't had the time.