At 7:05 AM, the plane landed at Los Angeles Airport.
Considering the time difference, the current domestic time was ahead by 15 hours, meaning it was 10 PM in Beijing at that moment.
Pan Ying had already slept beautifully on the plane. He had gone to the washroom earlier to change out of his pajamas and simply washed up.
These dozen or so hours on the plane had been quite wonderful for him. First, he ate like crazy—all kinds of meals, drinks, ice cream, desserts never stopped, and after eating and drinking his fill, he put on headphones and watched two movies, then slept comfortably for eight hours.
Now awake, he felt refreshed and invigorated.
He had already filled out the declaration form on the plane, and Wu Yue had also distributed local SIM cards to everyone.
Pan Ying, like the other team members, switched to the phone card and turned on his phone.
“Eh? It’s still the 22nd today?”
Pan Ying instinctively felt somewhat amazed, because when they left Shanghai, it was noon on the 22nd, but arriving in Los Angeles, it had turned into the morning of the 22nd, as if they had stolen a whole day in their lives for nothing.
Wu Yue smiled: “When you return home, you’ll have to give back all this time.”
“Alright, everyone, hurry up and get your luggage. We need to get off the plane.”
Realizing they were now in a foreign country, Pan Ying and the other players were worried about getting lost. With their broken English, they’d probably have trouble even asking for directions, so they hurried to follow closely.
Although this plane was double-decker, the business class only had a few dozen seats, while economy class had over four hundred seats, so both upper and lower levels had economy class.
However, business class had special aisles for priority boarding and disembarkation, plus fast-track immigration services, saving a lot of time compared to economy class passengers.
Wu Yue didn’t know where Zhao Xuming and his group were currently, but since they weren’t going to the same place, there was no need to meet again.
The translator had already contacted security guards and a minibus they had arranged in advance, which could take them directly from the airport to the competition venue area.
Under the guidance of Wu Yue, Ding Gan, and the translator, everyone quickly met up with the tour guide and security guards they had hired locally.
The four bodyguards were all dressed in suits and wore sunglasses. Even standing next to the president, they wouldn’t look out of place.
Pan Ying sincerely exclaimed: “This is way too impressive…”
“It’s like a dream-like morning.”
The other team members were also excited, all in good spirits. The dozen or so hours on the plane hadn’t tired them at all; instead, they had rested well and were now energetic.
The three photographers were also filming throughout, capturing every moment of the team members’ journey from Shanghai to Los Angeles—after all, they were paid well and were very professional.
On the minibus, Pan Ying asked: “Which hotel did we book?”
Wu Yue smiled and said, “Right near the venue, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.”
Ding Gan couldn’t help but sigh: “The per-person accommodation standard Mr. Pei arranged for you is ridiculously high. I don’t mind paying for the Ritz-Carlton myself, but to house 30 people there for a month… that’s too extravagant.”
Wu Yue nodded: “Actually, I didn’t think much of it at the time. The accommodation standard Mr. Pei gave was so high, I noticed there was a Ritz-Carlton nearby that seemed suitable in all aspects, so I booked it.”
Ding Gan was somewhat speechless.
As if it were just a coincidence!
The Ritz-Carlton was a luxury hotel brand, considered quite luxurious even among five-star hotels, and it was just across the street from the competition venue—an excellent location.
Of course, Ding Gan could afford to stay there himself, but for Mr. Pei to arrange all 30 team members there showed extravagance beyond belief.
Wu Yue looked around at everyone and said, “The hotel doesn’t allow check-in until the afternoon. When we arrive, we can store our luggage first, then get something to eat. Special chefs are serving Chinese food here. To prevent any issues with adapting to local food, we’ll mainly eat Chinese cuisine from now on.”
“Of course, before the World’s officially starts, we can occasionally try local specialties for variety.”
“Does everyone need to rest after we get to the hotel?”
The players all shook their heads.
What was there to rest for? They had already eaten well and slept eight hours on the plane, so now they just needed to eat something and could start practicing!
Wu Yue nodded: “Good, then we’ll store our luggage, settle in, and go check out the practice venue. We can check in at the hotel when we return in the afternoon.”
“There aren’t many internet cafes here, since internet café culture isn’t very popular abroad.”
“Considering distance, environment, and computer specifications, there’s only one that’s most suitable.”
“We’ve already booked the entire second floor of this internet café. We’ll all practice there from now on. But be prepared—even though it’s the best internet café around, it might not match Slackin’ Internet Café’s standards.”
Pan Ying was a bit surprised: “Ah? Booking the whole place? Isn’t that a bit wasteful?”
Wu Yue shook his head: “Not wasteful, actually more economical.”
“Internet café fees here are different from home—they’re expensive. It’s $10 per hour, $18 for 3 hours, but only $20 for the whole day. Since most players here only play 1-3 hours, they set these prices.”
“We’ll be training there whenever we’re not resting at the hotel. I asked the owner in advance—the first floor has many machines, over a hundred, while the second floor has fewer than thirty. The second floor environment is better, and renting the whole floor is only about $600 per day, not expensive.”
“This way, we don’t have to worry about strangers disturbing us or potential strategy leaks.”
Pan Ying nodded excitedly: “Great! Perfect! Let’s start practicing then, I can’t wait!”
…
More than two hours later, Zhao Xuming and the players from the two clubs finally arrived at the Courtyard by Marriott, looking sleepy.
Although the airport wasn’t far, dealing with luggage and other procedures after leaving the airport took considerable time.
The players all looked listless, barely holding on.
Although they had slept for a few hours, the economy class seats weren’t comfortable for sleeping. They kept waking up every two to three hours, and once awake, discomfort made it hard to fall back asleep, so they just watched movies out of boredom.
Overall, none of them rested well. They looked travel-worn, with wrinkled clothes and messy hair, wanting nothing more than to shower and sleep well at the hotel.
Zhao Xuming thought to himself, good thing business class passengers could exit first, otherwise meeting them at the airport would have been so awkward!
He could imagine Wu Yue and his group looking refreshed, leaving business class, compared to their sorry state… better not think about it.
At least they’d finally reached the hotel!
Looking at the impressive Courtyard by Marriott building, the players’ exhaustion from the journey finally eased, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
The official hotel arranged by Finger Games for all clubs was the Courtyard by Marriott, allowing a seamless transition once Worlds began.
The Courtyard by Marriott was roughly equivalent to a four-star hotel, a mid-range hotel that was already quite respectable. Anyone would find the accommodation satisfactory.
The hotel entrance featured an arc-shaped recessed lobby with a huge billboard above, looking quite impressive.
Just as everyone was about to enter with their luggage, someone said, “Hey, what’s that tall building across the street?”
Others turned to look, seeing a sky-blue skyscraper across the street reaching into the clouds.
Although the Courtyard by Marriott was also tall, it was in a completely different league from the building across the street, which could be considered a landmark, estimated to be over 200 meters high.
Zhao Xuming said, “Oh, that’s the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, about three times more expensive than here.”
The players all gasped and tactfully dropped the subject.
Three times more expensive? That was something else.
A double room here cost about a thousand yuan, so that one would be around 2,500 or more—quite a price difference.
But the two hotels were just across the street from each other, face to face, both only about 200 meters from the venue, equally convenient.
And the Courtyard by Marriott was already quite nice—what kind of people stayed at that other place? Better be content, better be content.
The players consoled themselves.
However, just as they were about to enter the hotel lobby and forget about this, they saw a group emerge from the Ritz-Carlton across the street, chatting and laughing, looking energetic as they boarded a nearby minibus.
The three photographers were still diligently filming from behind.
Despite the distance, Zhao Xuming and his group immediately recognized them as FV club members—after all, in a foreign country, all compatriots naturally stood out.
The minibus quickly started up, carrying the passengers off somewhere.
Zhao Xuming and his group fell into awkward silence.
The two clubs’ players hadn’t felt anything special before, thinking that the other hotel was nice but had nothing to do with them, probably for celebrities and rich people.
Since Finger Games had uniformly arranged the Courtyard by Marriott for all clubs, everyone had the same accommodation, so no point in expecting more.
But seeing FV club and SUG club members emerge from the Ritz-Carlton, everyone’s mindset shifted subtly.
This was too hard to accept!
First, they flew business class, now they stayed at a hotel twice as expensive and several grades higher than the official arrangement!
Their mentality was a bit shaken.
Zhao Xuming had only one feeling: ridiculous!
What was the relationship between the FV club and Mr. Pei? This was like favorite child treatment—was Mr. Pei this extravagant?
Those veteran foreign clubs and highly-paid star players all obediently stayed at Courtyard by Marriott, right?
People who didn’t know would think FV club members were some big shots!
Zhao Xuming silently felt sour. After a moment of silence, he quickly changed the subject: “Let’s hurry and check in, find somewhere to eat.”
Others responded similarly, avoiding any mention of the FV club.
Since afternoon check-in was required, everyone decided to store their luggage first, eat at the hotel, arrange the practice venue, and then check in.
The hotel had a $15 buffet with standard American food and snacks. While not particularly familiar, it was decent overall.
Zhao Xuming, the accompanying translator, and two club managers discussed practice venue arrangements while eating.
Although Finger Games would officially arrange practice rooms, that would only happen after Worlds began. The so-called practice rooms would likely just be hotel meeting rooms with some computers and gaming chairs—can’t expect much from the conditions and environment.
For practice these next few days, they’d need to find their place.
The translator said: “Manager Zhao, I just checked—there aren’t many internet cafes around, but there’s one with relatively good conditions worth considering.”
“After we finish eating, we can check it out. Finger Games has provided high-ranked super accounts, so the players can do ranked matches here and arrange scrims with other Western teams in advance.”
Zhao Xuming absentmindedly nodded.
He didn’t care about these two teams’ practice situations—after all, he was from Dragon Universe Group managing ioi operations, not the teams’ babysitter.
Zhao Xuming felt paying for these two teams was enough—surely he didn’t need to worry about finding practice venues too?
He only had one thought: hurry and check in, shower, sleep well, then visit Finger Games headquarters with other Dragon Universe Group staff.
Just then, a manager suddenly said, “Wow, FV club’s hotel… the environment is so nice!”
Nearby players all crowded around to look.
On the FV club’s official Weibo, they had already updated details about their Los Angeles trip in real-time, including earlier airport photos and daily short videos.
The latest post was photos of everyone dining at the Ritz-Carlton, clearly having arrived half an hour before them.
The photos didn’t focus on food but on players. Yet the dining environment wasn’t the same level, with all kinds of dishes available—sushi, sashimi, cake, barbecue, even Chinese food.
The food colors were vibrant, presentation exquisite, all professionally arranged and photographed, looking appetizing.
The comments below were predictably about “late-night food torture” and “envy, jealousy, hate”—after all, it was late night in China.
Players from both clubs looked at their buffet, unconsciously slowing their eating.
As for Zhao Xuming, he was furious.
The FV club’s group was just too much!
Acting like country bumpkins, filming everything, showing off constantly—was it necessary?
Everyone knew that the hotel was nice, yet they had to film and post everything, even the food?
What’s the difference between this and smacking your lips while eating?
Too much, just too much!
Zhao Xuming had thought this buffet was decent earlier, but now it tasted bland.
Unbearable!