H4 Club’s second-place finish was inseparable from DGE’s military-style training.
Or rather, the high competitive level displayed in the GOG matches was all thanks to DGE Club’s rigorous training!
If DGE hadn’t repeatedly drilled all the clubs, these clubs’ tactical awareness wouldn’t have improved so quickly, and they certainly couldn’t have delivered such spectacular matches.
Team Leader Su knew very well that if the DGE Club had been eligible to compete, the trophy would undoubtedly have gone to the DGE Club. The only question would have been whether it would be the first team or the second team bringing it home.
Unfortunately, DGE Club was Mr. Pei’s team with direct ties to the organizer, so they couldn’t participate—truly a shame.
Team Leader Su sighed: “Mr. Zhang, I’ve already heard that several clubs who were previously just watching from the sidelines have decided to establish GOG divisions after seeing yesterday’s matches.”
Previously, Team Leader Su had thought Zhang Yuan held the same position as himself, but after arriving at DGE Club, he discovered that Zhang Yuan’s more accurate title should be team manager, so his form of address changed accordingly.
“The situation is very clear now. IOI essentially has no chance in China anymore, and GOG’s position is unlikely to be shaken.”
“After three rounds of the arms race, IOI has been unable to fight back. Most crucially, IOI didn’t make any wrong moves—they used very correct promotional methods, yet still couldn’t beat GOG. This proves that GOG is as stable as Mount Tai.”
“So, these clubs are following the trend. If they can only choose one, they’ll choose GOG.”
“After all, compared to the ethereal world championships, it’s more worthwhile to first secure the domestic market.”
Zhang Yuan casually asked: “Are they so certain there will be a domestic market?”
Team Leader Su smiled: “Of course, Mr. Zhang, you’re asking questions you already know the answers to.”
“GOG had already introduced a ranked reward system before, then planned to build a grand esports ecosystem with Slackin’ Internet Café, and recently organized competitions… Isn’t the intention obvious?”
“Mr. Pei has grand ambitions!”
“Perhaps Mr. Pei will continue to hold major tournaments, or even establish a complete professional league system. When that happens, our clubs will benefit alongside Tenda, and our situation will keep improving.”
“Everyone can see this; we all have at least this much discernment.”
“Well, Mr. Zhang, until we meet again. You’re welcome to visit Shanghai anytime… It might be better if we visit Jingzhou instead.”
Team Leader Su had initially wanted to extend a warm invitation but then remembered the condition of his team’s training facility and thought better of it.
Zhang Yuan laughed: “Good, you’re welcome anytime!”
The players from both sides also waved goodbye.
“Remember, we’ll queue up together when we get back!”
“Let’s schedule more training matches soon!”
Watching the two taxis drive away, Huang Wang finally sighed.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t participate; we definitely would have won the championship.”
Old Zhou: “Exactly.”
It was obvious that the players from both teams felt somewhat disappointed.
Although DGE Club’s environment and benefits completely outclassed other clubs, everyone still hoped to compete on stage, win championships, and enjoy the cheers of the crowd.
That was every professional player’s ultimate dream, which no material conditions could compensate for.
Coach Yaling smiled: “Don’t overthink it, everyone. Mr. Pei surely has other plans for you.”
Everyone was surprised: “Really?”
Coach Yaling nodded: “Of course.”
“Mr. Pei personally set the training schedule for the club, brought me in to lead your fitness regime, arranged extra meals and nutritional diets, even hired dedicated massage therapists, and approved substantial funds for everyone to travel to other cities for training matches…”
“Think about it, if DGE Club were to remain unknown and unable to compete, who would lose the most?”
“Obviously, Mr. Pei!”
“If Mr. Pei had no other arrangements for everyone, would it make sense to cultivate two strong teams that remain forever in obscurity? Obviously not.”
“So, Mr. Pei most likely has other plans. Don’t overthink it, train hard, and I believe that someday, everyone will have the opportunity to stand on stage!”
Everyone nodded, feeling that Coach Yaling’s words made a lot of sense.
Indeed, how could Mr. Pei invest so much money in the club only to let us remain in obscurity?
He must have other plans!
Don’t overthink it, just keep training and maintaining our level, and opportunities will come!
…
“Achoo!”
Pei Qian sneezed unexpectedly in his office and hurriedly tightened the blanket around himself.
Zhang Wang had just visited to report some good news.
The fully automated contrarian machines had all been mass-produced and were now stacked in the warehouse!
Now the warehouse couldn’t fit anything else. Both Headwind Logistics and Slackin’ Internet Café needed warehouse space for a large number of items, which was quite troublesome, so Zhang Wang came to ask Mr. Pei what they should do.
Pei Qian waved his hand dismissively. Wasn’t this simple?
If the warehouse was full, just rent several new warehouses!
No big deal.
Zhang Wang had intended to extract some information from Mr. Pei, hoping to find a way to sell all the fully automated contrarian machines.
But to his surprise, Mr. Pei completely ignored this topic and directly jumped to the solution of renting more warehouses.
Zhang Wang had no choice but to comply.
After Zhang Wang left, Pei Qian took stock of the current state of these enterprises and felt it necessary to pay a visit to Shangyang Games.
The weekend’s complete domination of IOI’s popularity by GOG would heavily impact the fighting spirit and enthusiasm of the Shangyang Games team.
But there was nothing to be done about it. Mr. Pei had truly tried his best.
Pei Qian felt that continuing to struggle would not yield any good results. It would be better to cut the losses short rather than prolong the pain, and turn the domestic IOI server into a money-losing tool.
With this thought, Pei Qian left his office to visit Shangyang Games and offer his condolences.
…
Shangyang Games, conference room.
Pei Qian and the Shangyang Games team sat facing each other in silence.
The atmosphere was somewhat depressed.
Indeed, what was there to say?
Since the launch of the IOI domestic server, they had made three consecutive moves, but each time, GOG had perfectly countered them. They had burned a lot of money, but it had all ended up benefiting GOG.
Now, GOG’s position in the domestic market was as stable as Mount Tai and difficult to shake.
After three consecutive failures, how could they not feel discouraged?
Perhaps they needed to be captured and released seven times before submitting?
In any case, this was the first time since the Shangyang Games team had followed Mr. Pei that they had experienced such a hopeless defeat, so everyone’s mood was naturally low.
They had truly experienced the kind of helplessness that other companies feel when competing with Tenda.
So, what should be done with the IOI domestic server now? This was the most crucial question.
Pei Qian’s idea was to keep it half-alive, burn more money, and turn it into his money-losing tool.
After considering for a moment, Pei Qian spoke: “Everyone, don’t be too upset. The failure of the IOI domestic server isn’t your fault; it’s mainly Finger Company’s problem.”
“Going forward, leave a few people to coordinate with Finger Company for the normal operation of the domestic server. The rest of you can take a break and prepare for new projects.”
Pei Qian’s expression was very relaxed, as if this were a commonplace matter.
He truly took it in stride, after all, whether GOG or IOI lost, they would both become his money-losing tools, so there was nothing to be conflicted about.
Although IOI’s domestic server failure did cause him some frustration, he had too many concerns now, and the IOI domestic server was just a relatively insignificant matter among them.
Ye Zhizhou remained silent for a moment, then said: “Mr. Pei, are you planning to abandon the IOI domestic server…”
Pei Qian coughed lightly, quickly comforting: “It’s alright, it’s all the same.”
He wanted to find more words of comfort, but found himself at a loss for words.
However, Lin Wan, who was sitting nearby, spoke up: “Yes, Mr. Pei is right, it’s all the same.”
“The ‘arms race’ between GOG and IOI has greatly expanded the boundaries of this type of game. Three consecutive rounds of competition have attracted players from many other game genres.”
“So, the money we spent wasn’t wasted. These players will ultimately be absorbed by GOG, which is more effective than GOG promoting and operating independently!”
“Whether GOG wins or IOI wins, Tenda is the victor. GOG’s victory is even more beneficial for Tenda!”
“Moreover, our main reason for failure wasn’t an operational issue, but rather Finger Company’s problem. IOI lagged in game design and wasn’t as flexible as GOG in response, so its failure in the domestic market is very normal.”
“So…”
“Mr. Pei, was all of this in your plan?”
Looking back on the current results, Lin Wan suddenly deeply realized that “breeding venomous insects in a jar” was indeed the best promotional strategy!
Additionally, Mr. Pei’s flip-flopping between GOG and IOI during their competition—first reminding Min Jingchao about crowdfunding heroes, then having Shangyang Games hold an international competition—further convinced Lin Wan that this outcome was exactly what Mr. Pei wanted.
Pei Qian was silent for a moment, then nodded: “More or less.”
He had initially wanted to say that the current situation deviated greatly from his plan, but on second thought, this would only lead to more speculation.
Everyone might wonder what Mr. Pei’s original plan was. Did we fail somewhere? Can it still be salvaged? Why hasn’t Mr. Pei pointed out our errors?
If everyone continued to let their imaginations run wild like this, the consequences would be unimaginable.
It was better to just admit it and let everyone peacefully abandon IOI.
Hearing Mr. Pei’s “more or less,” everyone’s expressions relaxed.
So it wasn’t our problem—this was Mr. Pei’s plan all along!
And the main blame for not winning fell on Finger Company, not us!
With the blame shifted, their mood naturally improved.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a failure. Everyone played the role they were supposed to play, helping Tenda’s game, GOG, ascend to the throne.
Looking at it from another angle, this was indeed a good thing. Since both were the company’s games, wasn’t it the same regardless of which one won? Moreover, GOG was Tenda’s biological son and could earn more.
Pei Qian was happy about what Lin Wan had said.
Lin Wan’s thinking was so open-minded, indicating that this matter hadn’t given her too much of a setback. There might still be hope for continuing to persuade her to return and inherit her family business…
However, Lin Wan paused and sighed: “But after this experience, I’ve more clearly recognized my shortcomings and how far I am from my goals. I feel I still need more experience at Tenda! Mr. Pei, please assign more tasks to Shangyang Games!”
Pei Qian: “?”
Wait, hadn’t the blame already been shifted?
Why did she still want more experience at Tenda?
Please don’t gain more experience; just go home, alright?
Pei Qian quickly said: “This isn’t your problem, you’ve already done very well! Don’t be too hard on yourself!”
Lin Wan shook her head: “Mr. Pei, you don’t need to comfort me. I’m very clear about my abilities.”
“Although I led Tenda Games to play our role well this time and shouldn’t be held responsible for IOI’s domestic server failure, I didn’t see through Mr. Pei’s true intentions, which shows my perspective is still far too limited!”
“Only when I can, like Mr. Pei, plan strategically and determine victory from thousands of miles away, will I truly stand on my own!”
Pei Qian held his head in his hands, feeling exhausted.
It’s over; this young lady had no intention of leaving!
Well, the plan to drive out Lin Wan would have to be put on hold for now and reconsidered later.
After all this effort, at least he had gained the IOI domestic server as a money-burning tree, so it wasn’t all for nothing.
Let’s leave it at that for now.
Pei Qian looked around at everyone: “You’ve all worked hard. Take a good rest during this time, give yourselves a vacation, and don’t worry about any IOI matters anymore.”
Everyone was taken aback.
Don’t worry about any IOI matters anymore?
Just because they couldn’t beat GOG, they couldn’t completely abandon it, could they?
Normal operational activities still needed to be maintained, right?
After all, Tenda still held the operational rights to the IOI domestic server, plus there were Finger Company’s shares!
Wang Xiaobin asked with confusion: “Mr. Pei, do you mean all operational activities for the IOI domestic server should be stopped as well?”
Pei Qian nodded: “Yes, pause for a few days, and we’ll discuss it later.”
Having received such a definitive answer from Mr. Pei, Wang Xiaobin could only remain silent.
Pei Qian stood up: “Well, if there’s nothing else, everyone can disperse.”
Everyone also stood up, with various expressions.
Some were unwilling to give up, others felt relieved.
Pei Qian began to ponder how to use the IOI domestic server to burn money without arousing too much suspicion.
This was a technical matter that required careful consideration.
However, at this moment, Lin Wan, scrolling through her phone, exclaimed, “Oh!”
“Mr. Pei, it seems Handong Province is about to fully implement garbage classification! And reportedly, this garbage classification is very strict. This classification table is quite complex!”
Pei Qian was unconcerned: “So what?”
Was garbage classification such a big deal that it warranted this reaction?
At most, it would just make disposing of garbage a bit more troublesome.
Moreover, he usually ate Slackin’ Takeout, so he didn’t even need to throw away garbage. What did garbage classification have to do with him?
Hmm?
Wait, Slackin’ Takeout?
Pei Qian suddenly realized this wasn’t so simple, and his expression instantly froze.
The four words “garbage classification” were like countless steel knives suspended above his back.
This was a major problem!!!