The Great Thief

The top 16 was a whole new world.

No one would look down on the Xin Xin Mercenary Group as a random team anymore as their

achievements could clearly be seen.

Previously, it was only the businessmen who considered giving them products to endorse. But now, they

even had financiers who wanted to acquire them because they were optimistic about their group’s

growth.

As the gaming industry grew, it even spread to the poorer parts of the community.

As a result, the star players’ fame grew even greater.

Dawn, a game that had become so universally accepted, was gaining more and more players every day

from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a great

business opportunity.

They were offering eight million dollars!

For an up and coming force that wasn’t even a big guild, this was already a very generous amount.

However, Wandering, without first consulting Lu Li, rejected the Northern Chinese Power Company’s

offer.

Lu Li didn’t oppose this decision either.

It wasn’t that the amount was too low, although, this was still a factor.

Lu Li’s primary concern when playing Dawn was to make money, but he wasn’t going to sell himself for a

short-term benefit.

After taking the $8 million, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would become the Northern Chinese Power

Company’s designated competitors. A portion of any money from endorsements or competitions would

be returned to their sponsors.

Additionally, they would also need to listen to the decisions made by the club managers.

Naturally, the club manager would be someone appointed by their sponsors.

My life belongs to myself, and I make all my decisions willingly and freely. I have never been controlled

by anyone; not even gods can do so! I lower my head to others out of respect and admiration, but never

out of subservience!

These were the words on Aegwynn’s book that had deeply resonated with Lu Li.

In his past life, he had sold himself to raise money for his sister’s treatment. However, after his rebirth,

he had promised himself that he would never bow to anyone ever again.

He might have come from a poor background, but that didn’t mean he needed to yield to anyone.

The Northern Power Company wanted a team that was completely theirs. Lu Li, Moonlight and March

Rain would be their battle generals, and they would send a ‘specialist’ to manage the rest. This was the

exact reason why Lu Li refused the offer.

Lu Li preferred to dominate his niche rather than to dominate everything.

The head of Northern Power Company wandered off, thinking about how such a large sum of money

had failed to buy the cooperation he wanted.

However, an important issue had been raised – the direction of future development for the Mercenary

Group.

Were they just waiting for a better price? Or would they never accept any offers and remain as a

Mercenary Group?

"Mercenary Groups are too simple and don’t scale well." The only qualified person here seemed to be

Wandering. He had managed a guild in the past but was kicked out because of his vicious tongue.

At first, they didn’t want to start a guild because of the costs. They were unlikely to overtake any of the

larger guilds anyway.

However, things were different now – they had an opportunity before them.

If they started a guild now, there would surely be countless players swarming to join them. They could

even pick whatever criteria they wanted for entry.

After all, they were the fourth-ranking team in the top 100.

"How about we start a club first, then a guild later?" Wandering suggested.

He looked at Lu Li before making a decision. Lu Li usually didn’t care about a lot of things, but that didn’t

mean he couldn’t learn from them.

He was very clearly someone who was the master of his own affairs.

A wise man would never make the same mistake twice.

"A club?" Lu Li looked vacant.

"It’s pretty similar to the current guild structure..." Wandering then described the current guild structure

and the club structure in detail. Although there were some subtle differences, they were essentially the

same thing.

Some players weren’t part of their guilds but were part of a club instead. This meant that the guild did

not bind them.

Star players like Hornet’s Nest or Lucky Southern Persian were often part of these clubs. In fact, they

were often the leaders for these clubs and were solely responsible for them.

Of course, there were also some players who were subordinates in the club. Jade Flower Lover was an

example of this.

Most guild presidents weren’t the club leader. The main sponsors would generally send someone they

trusted to control the club.

Of course, there were some leaders who were presidents for both the guild and the club. For example,

Sorrowless was the Glory Capital’s Club leader and the Glory Capital’s Guild President.

However, news was circulating that Sorrowless was transferring his President title; his intention was to

return to the competitive scene. It was possible that there was going to be a new president in the near

future.

In a sense, the guild served the club.

The star players’ skill books, level and equipment were unconditionally provided by the guild.

This architecture freed up the star players from the complicated guild obligations, giving them time to

practice PVP, participate in competitions or do various other jobs to represent the guild.

A club’s income came from a number of places. These could be fees, winnings or endorsements and so

on.

"Let’s do it then."

Lu Li didn’t have big ambitions, but he couldn’t refuse this development. The Xin Xin Mercenary Group

was no longer just about him.

He wanted to make money but Wandering wanted to develop the group. There was no need for this to

become a conflict – each person could still accommodate for their needs.

"What should we call it? Xin Xin Club?" Wandering asked Lu Li. The others had been silent. Remnant

Dream was already napping and Hachi Chan was absent-mindedly drooling.

"Let’s all discuss it together. The first name was little too casual." Lu Li didn’t have any ideas.

"Consider the fact that the guild name has to be the same," Wandering said then continued, "Now we

need to pick a guild president and a club leader."

"You can be the guild president," Lu Li said.

"I’m not too suited for that role. I’m too lazy to deal with trivial matters and I’m very likely to offend

people."

The guild president was the overall manager and had to deal with all kinds of players outside of the

guild. With Wandering’s vicious tongue, the other players were bound to be offended.

"If he was the president, there would be players declaring war on us every day," Azure Sea Breeze

quipped.

"How about you do it?" Wandering sneered.

"I’m too lazy," Azure Sea Breeze shrunk back in fear.

He knew that he wasn’t someone who could manage people. In fact, he had grown up being bullied by

Wandering for that.