“Brother Bao!”
“Hello, Mr. Xiao, good to see you!”
Bao Xu and Xiao Peng shook hands warmly, creating quite a sense of a victorious reunion.
Bao Xu’s attention was immediately drawn to the layout of Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0.
Is this… heaven?
The decorations, tables, chairs, arrangements—everything in this internet café was born for esports!
For a moment, Bao Xu almost wanted to apply to Mr. Pei for a transfer.
“So this is Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0? Amazing!” Bao Xu couldn’t stop praising the new version of the internet café.
Xiao Peng sighed lightly. “I also thought everything was perfect, but…”
“Brother Bao, to be honest, people from Shangyang Games already approached me last Friday…”
In a few words, he explained his confusion.
Simply put, all the configurations of Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 had been arranged after predicting that Mr. Pei would strongly promote GOG and abandon ioi.
The current issue wasn’t whether to promote GOG or ioi, but rather not taking the wrong side.
“Brother Bao, I know you’ve worked with Mr. Pei even longer than CEO Zhang. Could you analyze for me what Mr. Pei is thinking? Why did ioi’s people come on Friday, while you’re a full three days late?”
After hearing Xiao Peng’s concerns, Bao Xu had grasped the situation.
The advantage was still with GOG, but the key was how to leverage it.
Xiao Peng was conflicted because ioi had approached him first, giving him the illusion that “Mr. Pei supports ioi behind the scenes.”
The most crucial thing now was to shatter this illusion!
Bao Xu pondered for a moment, then said, “First, let me correct one point. We don’t work on weekends, so we’re only one day behind Shangyang Games.”
“However, your concerns are very reasonable. ioi took action first, and this indeed happened with Mr. Pei’s approval.”
Xiao Peng hadn’t expected Bao Xu to start this way and was momentarily stunned. “Then…”
Bao Xu smiled slightly. “Let me finish.”
“Mr. Pei’s attitude toward GOG and ioi has never changed—it’s a strategy of letting them compete. Mr. Pei firmly believes that competition is everywhere. Flowers in a greenhouse won’t achieve greatness. Only those who laugh last in cruel competition will laugh best.”
“Now that ioi has been beaten by GOG to the point where they can’t fight back, it’s normal and reasonable for Mr. Pei to tilt resources slightly toward them, giving them a chance to catch their breath.”
Xiao Peng nodded.
Although this speech didn’t answer his question, such frank communication gave him more trust in Bao Xu.
If Bao Xu had immediately denied it, claiming Mr. Pei was absolutely on GOG’s side, it would have seemed too rehearsed and less genuine.
Bao Xu continued, “But think carefully, what is Mr. Pei’s greatest help to a department?”
“Is it money?”
“Of course not!”
“In terms of money, Mr. Pei is mostly impartial. He keeps pouring money into those loss-making departments too.”
“Mr. Pei’s greatest help to a department is his brief guidance, his future planning!”
“Between GOG and ioi, which one is in Mr. Pei’s plans? This is self-evident, isn’t it?”
Xiao Peng’s eyes widened slightly, showing sudden understanding.
“I see! I was too close to the situation to see clearly.”
“I had already realized this point before. DGE Esports Club is entirely focused on GOG projects, with nothing for ioi. This indicates that Mr. Pei has reserved a place for GOG in his plans!”
“It was only after Shangyang Games’ people came, solemnly declaring they had received more resources from Mr. Pei and gained his support, sounding so convincing…”
“That I began to question my judgment.”
Bao Xu chuckled. “In business competition, it’s inevitable to use a bit of rhetoric. This is normal—all’s fair in war.”
“And strictly speaking, they weren’t lying. It’s normal for Mr. Pei to tilt resources slightly in their favor due to his competitive strategy.”
“But this doesn’t represent Mr. Pei’s true thoughts, much less indicate that Mr. Pei wants to abandon GOG and fully promote ioi. Shangyang Games’ people were just waving a chicken feather as if it were an imperial edict, deliberately exaggerating Mr. Pei’s intentions.”
Xiao Peng nodded, his tone much firmer now. “I understand! This way, everything makes sense!”
“So… what should Slackin’ Internet Café do now?”
Bao Xu thought for a moment. “Previously, didn’t you have Min Jingchao create a special program? Using data from GOG to control the computer lights?”
Xiao Peng nodded. “Yes, it was specifically prepared for the Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 model.”
Bao Xu said, “That’s good.”
“Since Mr. Pei wants to implement a competitive strategy, completely favoring one side isn’t appropriate. Letting ioi die instantly without a chance to struggle isn’t appropriate either.”
“I think we can do this: In Slackin’ Internet Café 1.0 and 2.0, let GOG and ioi compete freely. If ioi wants to burn money, let them. We’ll try to keep up.”
“But in Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0, focus entirely on GOG.”
“There’s a somewhat tenuous but acceptable reason for this: we can’t waste the computer case lights.”
“This approach neither offends anyone nor conflicts with Mr. Pei’s plans.”
Xiao Peng nodded. “Good, I understand!”
…
Tenda Games.
Min Jingchao, who had been anxiously waiting, received a message from Bao Xu.
“It’s settled. Xiao Peng will send you information about Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 later. In a couple of days, Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 will officially open, offering promotions only for GOG. Start negotiating with those chain internet cafés whose positions aren’t firm. As for those stubborn hardliners… send them the video of Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0’s opening. They’re bound to change their minds!”
Min Jingchao was overjoyed. “When will you be back, Brother Bao?”
Bao Xu: “Uh… this afternoon. I’ll stay here to have more in-depth business discussions with Xiao Peng.”
Min Jingchao: “?”
But on second thought, it didn’t matter. Bao Xu had completed his task, successfully securing Slackin’ Internet Café’s support.
Although Slackin’ Internet Café 1.0 and 2.0 would still maintain GOG and ioi coexistence, the newest Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 had been built as an esports lifestyle center. This small shop, fully supporting GOG, provided plenty of material to work with.
Though it was just one shop, it had very clear symbolic significance.
For example, Min Jingchao could use this case to tell other chain internet café owners: Within Tenda, GOG is part of the future esports ecosystem, while ioi is not. Currently, ioi’s aggressive approach is merely to pressure GOG, serving as a means to cultivate players and expand the boundaries of this type of game…
Min Jingchao believed that even if GOG offered fewer benefits than ioi, these arguments would surely bring long-term benefits into everyone’s consideration.
For those content creators, it was all about making money. ioi might pay a bit more, but not overwhelmingly so. Meanwhile, the popularity gained from making GOG videos could potentially bring more returns later.
Looking at the long term, it was more profitable to stand with GOG.
As for those stubborn hardliners who wouldn’t believe…
Once Slackin’ Internet Café 3.0 opened, sending those hardliners a video showing everyone playing GOG would surely change their minds!
…
…
June 14th, Tuesday.
Around 9 AM, Pei Qian arrived at the managed fitness center.
He had just received news from Guan Peisheng that the APP requested by the fitness center had been completed by OTTO Technology!
After checking the development time, Pei Qian immediately decided to visit personally.
Something seemed off with the timing!
OTTO Technology had a department specifically for software development, and their development capabilities were much stronger than ordinary outsourced teams. Yet for such a simple appointment and registration software, it took nearly two months to develop?
Did OTTO Technology’s developers think this software wasn’t useful, so they deliberately delayed, or were there other possibilities?
Pei Qian felt the former was unlikely.
If they thought the software wasn’t useful, shouldn’t they have completed it quickly to move on to other tasks? There was no logical reason to continue delaying.
If it was the latter… then this was a major hidden danger!
Arriving at the managed fitness center, Pei Qian pushed open the door.
Then, he was stunned.
Chang You had personally come?
Chang You was sitting on a sofa in the rest area, showing Guo Licheng something on an OTTO E1 phone, apparently explaining something.
Seeing Mr. Pei arrive, both men quickly stood up.
“Mr. Pei, what brings you here?” Guo Licheng was a bit surprised.
Chang You also hadn’t expected to run into Mr. Pei here and nodded in greeting.
Pei Qian tried hard to maintain a casual expression. “Nothing special, just felt like dropping by. Why is CEO Chang here too?”
Chang You smiled. “Mr. Pei, didn’t you ask us to develop the fitness software for the managed fitness center? It’s been completed!”
Pei Qian was surprised. “CEO Chang, you’re so busy with work, yet you came personally?”
Chang You waved his hand. “No matter how busy I am, I’m not as busy as you, Mr. Pei. You frequently inspect the managed fitness center. It’s only right that I come personally to explain the software to CEO Guo.”
“We’re all brother departments, we should help each other.”
Pei Qian had nothing to say to that and simply sat down on an empty sofa seat.
He first glanced at the situation inside the fitness center.
There still didn’t seem to be many people—it should still be safe.
Pei Qian relaxed a bit and looked at Chang You. “So, the software is completed?”
Chang You nodded. “Yes! Please take a look, Mr. Pei.”
Pei Qian reached out to take the phone, while Chang You explained beside him.
“Mr. Pei, please look. These are the most basic functions: course arrangement, training appointments, and so on.”
“This is the intelligent training plan arrangement, which can create training plans based on the user’s height, weight, and physical data detected in the gym, for trainers’ reference.”
“This is the user section, where people can upload training and dietary knowledge or tips, or simply share how fitness has changed their lives…”
“And there’s also…”
At first, Pei Qian didn’t think much of it, as the initial features introduced were the basic functions that Guo Licheng had requested.
But it became more and more outrageous as it went on!
Pei Qian grew increasingly confused, with more and more question marks appearing above his head.
Intelligent training plan arrangement?
User section?
Timed check-in reminders?
Basic movement teaching tutorials?
What… what were all these things?!
Pei Qian looked at Guo Licheng with bewilderment. “Were all these your requirements?”
Could it be that you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, fruit juice for children, have also betrayed me??