The game, with Park Jin-su’s 3 kills, had almost guaranteed CT's victory.

The most popular MBS ace, Shin Ji-ho, had lost the first set, and it seemed like the event was doomed to fail.

However, the audience was still having a great time.

Everyone's attention was no longer on the game itself, but on something else.

- "If they fight, they lose. See, they’re fighting. Look, they lost. Why fight there?"

- "They’ll probably go to the 2 o'clock hill. If they drop a mobile turret there and switch to artillery mode, it’ll just barely reach."

- "It’s just a bluff. They’re pretending to attack while they expand their base."

Lee Shin's direct, sharp commentary!

Lee Shin’s every word, pointing out things even the caster and the commentator couldn’t see, made the fans laugh and enjoy themselves.

Eventually,

- "Lee Shin, this is the commentary booth, not a fortune teller’s shop. Can you stop with the predictions and actually comment? I feel like I'm constantly being spoiled."

Caster Lee Byeong-cheol’s remark caused the audience to burst into laughter.

What seemed like a dull third-round playoff final was made exciting thanks to a surprise guest.

Even Lee Shin's exit was different.

Only 3 minutes had passed since the match between the CT veteran and the MBS captain began.

- "The builds are different. CT wins. Well, I’m off now."

"Build" is short for "build order," which refers to the order in which buildings are constructed to execute a strategy.

Various builds exist thanks to the efforts of each pro team, and there are matchups between builds, like a game of rock-paper-scissors.

In the end, Spacecraft is a game where players hide their own build like poker and try to figure out the opponent’s.

Anyway, Lee Shin's sudden comment startled the caster and the commentator.

- "You’re leaving?"

- "I think now is a good time to leave, before it gets crowded. Well, enjoy the rest of the game."

With that, Lee Shin quickly left the commentary booth.

The two remaining commentators were taken aback but, as professionals, quickly returned to commentary.

- "Ah, Lee Shin leaves after spoiling everything."

The audience laughed again.

- "But thanks to him, the game has gotten quite interesting, right?"

- "Yes, the non-game aspects were certainly intriguing. Anyway, it was great to see Lee Shin again after so long. Now, let's get back to the commentary."

- "Yes, the builds may be different, but there are still plenty of variables that can flip the match. In the end, we won’t know who will win until it’s over."

That day, Lee Shin ran out the back door of the arena and jumped into a taxi.

The next day, the eSports section of the internet news portal was flooded with Lee Shin's name.

[Lee Shin, who had disappeared, reappears at Gangnam eSports Arena] [‘God of the Game’ Lee Shin makes a surprise appearance, surprise commentary] [Lee Shin’s ‘Prophetic Commentary’ sparks discussion] [Lee Shin’s appearance shocks Gangnam Arena] [What happened in the 3rd Round PO Final between MBS and CT?]

The internet media, while welcoming Lee Shin’s appearance, also rambled on about his tragic past.

Suspicions were raised.

People speculated that Lee Shin's surprise commentary might have been scripted beforehand.

In short, some thought it was a prelude to Lee Shin retiring from his player career and transitioning into commentary.

Lee Shin’s sudden reappearance at the arena left a strong impression.

While netizens argued over this issue, Lee Shin himself paid little attention.

When Lee Shin was focused on the game, he didn’t use the internet or social media.

"There are more skilled players online now than before."

As Lee Shin competed against amateur heavyweights in Spacecraft Online, he began to regain the feeling of his player days.

Newly created ID Player_SIN started at F rank and quickly rose to A rank.

Despite a nearly one-year hiatus, Lee Shin made a new ID and had not lost a single match.

'This is a bit boring. I wish I could face off against pro players.'

Most of the players and trainees in the pro team were S rank.

Lee Shin began to challenge S rank users to matches.

"500 million for 2 years."

The player sitting across from Park Sang-hyuk, the director, grimaced.

It was none other than MBS's ace, Shin Ji-ho.

The displeasure was clearly visible on Shin Ji-ho’s face, and Park Sang-hyuk tried to calm him down.

"We offered this because we value you highly, Shin Ji-ho. This is the maximum we can offer. Any more than this is not allowed by the higher-ups."

"So the people in the higher-ups don’t think my value is worth more than this?"

"That’s not it. It’s just that, due to circumstances, this is the limit."

"That’s quite unpleasant. Who do you think people watch MBS games for?"

Shin Ji-ho sharply poked at him, and Park Sang-hyuk scratched his head, trying to respond.

"Of course, we acknowledge your worth, Shin Ji-ho. That’s why we got approval for 500 million for 2 years. But do you know how much Lee Shin was paid before he enlisted in the Air Force?"

"470 million. Who doesn’t know that?"

"The person who had a 90% win rate in the pro league and won every single individual league except for one — that’s how much he was paid."

"When was that? Are you still bringing it up? Is it the same now? With the market expanding thanks to the activation of online spectator tickets, how much has the market size grown? If that person was still active, his salary would be at least 1 billion."

"Lee Shin was someone who used to bring in 4,000-5,000 spectators even before online tickets were available. Anyway, what’s important is that the higher-ups still consider that Lee Shin as the benchmark."

“……”

"Shin Ji-ho, you've consistently maintained a 60% win rate in the pro league. We’re really grateful for that, and taking that into account, we offered 500 million for 2 years. Let’s compare that to the salaries of ace players in other teams. Is this a low amount?"

Shin Ji-ho wasn’t oblivious.

The reason he brought up the win rate wasn’t to praise him.

It was to ask if Lee Shin’s 90% win rate in the pro league for four years in a row was something Shin Ji-ho could be compared to.

At that moment, Bang Jin-ho, the manager, spoke up.

"Ji-ho."

"…Yes, Manager."

"As you know, our team hasn’t been performing well this year, and we’re in urgent need of power reinforcement. Like you said, the market is expanding, and the treatment of star players will improve. But if you look at other teams, you’ll see that it’s not quite there yet."

"By ‘in the future,’ do you mean…"

Shin Ji-ho’s eyes lit up.

"Do you think pro gamers can rely on an uncertain future? Once you pass your early twenties, you’ll be washed up, won’t you?"

Shin Ji-ho, still a young 21 years old.

But the prime years of a pro gamer are in the late teens to early twenties. It was the harsh reality of eSports.