These club managers had all misunderstood Pei Qian’s intentions.
The first ones to mention relocating to Jingzhou were the smaller clubs with limited funds.
They had originally thought that even after scraping together everything they had, their money wouldn’t be enough to buy core players—at best, they might get a support player in a shot-calling position. But they never expected Mr. Pei to still allocate them core players that perfectly filled their most needed positions!
Moreover, Mr. Pei hadn’t demanded high prices but instead gave all clubs a roughly uniform price.
Of the 3 million yuan transfer fee, 2.2 million was returned to improve the clubs’ training environments.
For these relatively cash-strapped clubs, Mr. Pei was giving them additional favor and care!
They were extremely grateful, with no way to repay him.
Mr. Pei’s Tenda Group was an enormous enterprise that wasn’t short on money. How could these clubs show their gratitude?
The only way was to relocate to Jingzhou and support him with concrete actions!
Besides, after H4 Club moved to Jingzhou, they seemed to be performing better and better, which made people wonder if Jingzhou had some kind of magical power.
The 2.2 million that Mr. Pei returned needed to be spent, and Jingzhou had the most suitable supporting facilities.
Moreover, being in Jingzhou meant being closer to Tenda. Since the DGE Club was under Tenda, and Manager Zhang was Mr. Pei’s confidant, clubs based in Jingzhou would surely receive news about policy changes or gameplay adjustments more quickly.
With clubs clustered in Jingzhou, it would also be more convenient to hold offline practice matches, which were more effective than online ones.
After comprehensive consideration, these smaller clubs immediately felt that relocating to Jingzhou was an excellent choice.
With the smaller clubs already stating their intentions, the larger clubs also began to hesitate.
If several smaller clubs moved, would there be issues if they didn’t?
Would they fall behind in practice matches and version updates?
Would they lose Mr. Pei’s recognition and official attention?
Currently, esports development is still in its early stages, and the idea of “one club home base per city” is still too distant. For these clubs, the best choice was to cluster in resource-rich areas.
Once a cluster effect formed, all clubs would benefit from it.
So these clubs quickly reached a consensus and decided to relocate to Jingzhou!
Meanwhile, Pei Qian stood there with a bewildered expression, unable to express his frustration.
What did this mean?!
H4 Club came to Jingzhou because they were deceived by Huang Wang, but what was wrong with the rest of you?
The contracts weren’t even signed yet, and you’re all rushing to move to Jingzhou?
Are you all insane?!
Pei Qian said somewhat helplessly: “It’s fine. I think Shanghai is quite good too. It doesn’t matter where you are; you don’t have to move to Jingzhou.”
The club managers were deeply moved and began to express their determination.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Pei, this is our own choice!”
“Yes, we’ve thought it through carefully. Now no one can drive us away from Jingzhou!”
“Mr. Pei, we’ll handle the relocation ourselves. We won’t cause you any trouble!”
Pei Qian: “…”
Great, he had reinforced their misunderstanding, and now they were even more enthusiastic.
Pei Qian looked at the resolute expressions of the club managers and knew that whatever he said now would be useless. He could only quietly sigh.
Fine, come if you want to.
Jingzhou was huge; he couldn’t stop them from coming, could he?
Pei Qian had no choice and said to Zhang Yuan, “You handle the contract signing. I have something to attend to.”
Zhang Yuan nodded: “Don’t worry, Mr. Pei. I’ll arrange everything!”
…
That evening.
Zhang Yuan had signed contracts with the other clubs, arranging destinations for the remaining nine players as Mr. Pei had requested.
However, this time, the nine players wouldn’t need to leave Jingzhou.
The two large clubs had also called their bosses, and after detailed discussions, their bosses were moved by Mr. Pei’s sincerity. In the end, all seven clubs unanimously decided to relocate their GOG divisions to Jingzhou!
So DGE Club’s nine veteran players just needed to stay put and wait for the various clubs to complete their relocation before being claimed.
Upon learning they would be going their separate ways, Jiang Huan and the others felt somewhat melancholic.
However, after Zhang Yuan offered some encouragement, this melancholy was quickly diluted by excitement.
They could finally compete in the World Invitational!
When Huang Wang was bought by H4 Club and got the chance to participate in the World Invitational, these players had all felt a bit envious.
As professional players, who wouldn’t want to stand on the highest stage to prove themselves?
So although they were very reluctant to leave DGE Club, they also looked forward to standing on the world finals stage like Huang Wang.
And now, the outcome was the best possible result.
All players had found their places, all going to fill the gaps in their new teams, where they would immediately become starters. Meanwhile, with all the clubs relocating to Jingzhou, it would be very convenient for them to gather frequently or visit the DGE Club. Their living habits and training routines could also be maintained.
It was perfect!
After consoling the players, Zhang Yuan had mixed feelings himself.
He had just finished trying out candidates for one position, and now he would soon have to try out candidates for nine more positions.
After this “clearance sale,” all ten members of the DGE Club had essentially been replaced. Their strength would likely be severely diminished for a long time.
The best approach would have been to sell some and keep some, letting veteran players guide newcomers. Once the new players matured, they could sell the veterans, creating a perpetual cycle.
But Mr. Pei was firm—he wanted to sell them all.
Zhang Yuan thought about it and realized this made sense.
If they were to keep veteran players to guide newcomers, who would they keep? All the veteran players were precious. Who wouldn’t be allowed to compete in the World Invitational?
It didn’t seem appropriate for anyone.
So Zhang Yuan steeled himself and, for the sake of the players’ futures, let them all transfer.
As for the talent gap issue… they’d take it one step at a time.
Zhang Yuan went outside the villa, planning to smoke a cigarette to relax.
However, just as he put the cigarette between his lips, he saw Team Leader Su from H4 Club hurrying over.
“Manager Zhang, do you have a moment? Can we talk privately?” Team Leader Su’s expression was somewhat anxious.
Zhang Yuan could guess what he wanted to say. He put away his cigarette and nodded: “Sure.”
The two came to the small garden of the villa.
Team Leader Su was a bit embarrassed, but after careful consideration, still said: “Manager Zhang, did the other clubs come as a group to buy players? How did it turn out?”
Clearly, among all the clubs, H4 Club was the most anxious about these player purchases.
After using all their resources to buy Huang Wang, they had become strong contenders for the championship.
But what if other clubs each bought two, three, or even more members from the DGE Club?
Wouldn’t that be a disaster?
So in a sense, the results of the GOG International Invitational depended on how these players’ purchases turned out.
After this round of purchases, all clubs’ strength on paper would change dramatically, potentially making the pre-tournament training completely meaningless.
Zhang Yuan smiled: “Don’t worry, Team Leader Su.”
He briefly explained Mr. Pei’s arrangements to Team Leader Su. In short, everyone paid the same transfer fee for players, with prices varying slightly but not significantly. Each team was strengthened according to its weaknesses, and no team ended up with overwhelming strength compared to the others after purchasing players.
After listening, Team Leader Su was both surprised and grateful.
The surprise came from the fact that after all the clubs bought players, their strength on paper was roughly equal. Since H4 Club already had a solid foundation and had more time to build team chemistry, they remained strong contenders for the world championship.
The gratitude came from the fact that Mr. Pei hadn’t sold stronger players to clubs that offered higher prices!
Team Leader Su had heard through unofficial channels that SUG had prepared at least 25 million to buy players. If they had directly bought Jiang Huan with a large sum and then used the remaining money to snatch two slightly less expensive players, what chance would H4 Club have?
By selling all players at a uniform price, Mr. Pei’s intentions might not be entirely clear, but he had definitely protected H4 Club’s interests to some extent!
Team Leader Su felt that since H4 Club was the first to buy players from DGE Club, they were old customers. Although it would have been perfectly justified for Mr. Pei to sell players to the highest bidder, his consideration for H4 Club’s interests was quite touching.
“Thank you, Manager Zhang, and thank you, Mr. Pei! We will remember this favor!” Team Leader Su was overjoyed. This transfer outcome was also the least bad result for their club.
Zhang Yuan smiled: “No need for thanks, Team Leader Su. You might think Mr. Pei did this with your interests in mind, but that’s not the case. I believe Mr. Pei was considering the entire ecosystem, the whole environment!”
Team Leader Su was surprised: “What do you mean?”
Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said seriously, “I think Mr. Pei’s actions are regulating the GOG esports ecosystem. We can consider it from at least three perspectives!”
“First, with the Global Invitational approaching, the outcome of these player sales will directly determine whether there’s any suspense in the tournament.”
“Mr. Pei’s main purpose in hosting the Global Invitational is surely to present a series of entertaining competitions to the world. If the teams have too great a disparity in strength and matches become one-sided stomps, that would be boring!”
“Ensuring back-and-forth competition full of suspense will maximize player discussion, achieving the promotional effect for GOG.”
“Second, it prevents the Matthew Effect between clubs.”
“In the esports industry, money isn’t everything, but without money, nothing is possible. You can’t build a dynasty just by burning money and poaching players, but without money, you’re finished.”
“However, having money or not is a relative concept.”
“If those with money could freely poach and buy players, concentrating all the excellent players under their clubs, those smaller clubs without money would fall into a vicious cycle of no money, no attention, and no achievements!”
“Once trapped in this ‘rich get richer’ Matthew Effect, the large clubs would be happy because they could monopolize the league’s resources and attention. But the smaller clubs would gradually struggle to continue, the gap in the entire league would widen, and it would gradually collapse or create a situation where teams dominate domestically but get crushed internationally.”
“Now, with all clubs having similar strength, clubs wanting to win must focus on project management, player training, and version analysis. With no strong or weak teams, the ecosystem will be healthier.”
“Finally, it prevents excessive capital intervention from affecting the entire esports environment.”
“Money burning affects not just clubs but also players. Many players were originally just gaming addicts, and suddenly receiving annual salaries and signing bonuses of one or two million yuan—these salary levels are inflated by popularity and capital.”
“But players might not recognize this. They might become arrogant, lose their way, and compare themselves to others.”
“For some players, if they easily receive sky-high contracts while others receive only a tenth of their compensation, how could the team atmosphere be good?”
“Mr. Pei has kept all players’ compensation fluctuating within a certain range, preventing player salary levels from spiraling out of control. He forces clubs not to invest all their funds in player bidding wars but to use them to ensure training bases and supporting facilities.”
“This creates a more positive ecosystem for both clubs and players. In the long run, it greatly benefits the entire GOG esports league system!”
Team Leader Su had a sudden realization and nodded repeatedly as he listened.
Yes, when explained this way, it made perfect sense!
Currently, esports is still in its wild era, with clubs divided into two types. One type was the more established clubs running on passion—they had little money but better atmosphere, heritage, and management. The other type was wealthy second-generation clubs with money but often chaotic management and restless personnel.
Both types of clubs had their problems. If left to develop freely, the wealthy second-generation clubs would frantically burn money to poach players and destroy the ecosystem, while their terrible management would waste talented players. In the end, no club would thrive.
Under such disorderly competition, the path to esports standardization would become increasingly distant.
Mr. Pei’s actions essentially prevented wealthy clubs from engaging in price wars, forcing them to focus on management and player development.
In the short term, he had given up some potential profits; in the long term, he had enabled the GOG league to develop better!
Team Leader Su couldn’t help but give a thumbs up: “I understand now! Mr. Pei’s move shows remarkable foresight!”
“Although Mr. Pei’s intention wasn’t to look after our club, objectively it had the effect of protecting us, so we’ll still remember this favor!”
Zhang Yuan smiled and said: “Train well and achieve better results—that’s the best way to repay Mr. Pei.”
Team Leader Su nodded: “Don’t worry, we’ll prepare for the tournament with all our might!”
…
…
September 2nd, Friday.
The day before “Struggle” was released.
The staff at Tenda Games were still busy preparing for the launch.
The official platform had already shown great support, not only coordinating with Tenda Games in advance to secure the best promotional spots but also allowing Tenda Games to prepare their promotional materials.
The initial promotional warm-up for “Struggle” had already been completed, and players were all eagerly waiting.
However, due to the nature of the promotional content, players had significantly misunderstood!
The promotional content for “Struggle” stated: beautiful graphics with all actions captured from real people; diverse choices with rich strategies; complex plot that grips the heart; dual protagonist mode.
Beyond this, they hadn’t released specific game visuals or detailed content descriptions.
When players saw these promotional phrases and made some mental connections, they immediately thought it was incredible!
What kind of game would need all actions captured from real people? This was a large-scale RPG or action game!
Diverse choices and rich strategies suggested a complex battle system.
A gripping plot and dual protagonist mode indicated breakthroughs in content.
Based on this analysis, it should be a big-budget 3A action-adventure game with an exciting storyline, right?
Everyone instantly associated it with classic works from major foreign game studios and became full of anticipation for this game.
Moreover, the game’s name wasn’t the Chinese “奋斗” but the English “STRUGGLE,” adding a mysterious aura to the game.
In short, the early promotion had indeed achieved maximum effect.
But before the game launched, no one knew whether this maximized promotional effect was positive or negative…
And no one could guess what people’s reactions would be when they discovered the true nature of “Struggle.”
Hu Xianbin had been deeply worried lately and had lost weight.
As the person in charge of “Struggle,” he had the least confidence.
Up until now, Tenda Games had maintained an undefeated record, with every released game achieving both sales and critical acclaim. What if this golden reputation was tarnished under his watch? Wouldn’t he become Tenda’s sinner?
Of course, this time with “Struggle,” Mr. Pei’s level of intervention seemed far higher than in previous projects.
But even if the project failed, no one would blame Mr. Pei.
Hu Xianbin would only think: Mr. Pei gave such detailed instructions, and I still couldn’t do it well. This must be my problem!
Li Yada saw the worried Hu Xianbin and sat down beside him.
“What’s wrong? Worried about the new game launch?”
Hu Xianbin nodded: “Yes. I have no confidence in whether this game can succeed! And the current promotional approach seems to only have a counterproductive effect…”
Li Yada smiled: “Coincidentally, do you know about ‘Game Producer’? Before its launch, Lü Mingliang was worried just like you, because at that time, everyone who played it felt that there wasn’t enough motivation to continue playing.”
“Then, Brother Bao raised a point: we think it’s not fun because we’re too close to it. We’ve already seen the game script and are familiar with all the choices, pre-spoiling ourselves, so naturally, we can’t experience certain details.”
“But as observers, others would find it very special.”
“He said that this was Mr. Pei’s attempt at creating something ahead of its time, which might either make him legendary or end in dismal failure. Mr. Pei was using this game to express a certain philosophy. As a work that transcended its era, it might succeed or fail.”
“Even if it failed, it wouldn’t be our failure, nor Mr. Pei’s failure, but rather that the current game market wasn’t mature enough and couldn’t accept such advanced thinking.”
The events after ‘Game Producer’ was released confirmed Brother Bao’s statement. The game market and players of our era are worthy of such good games!”
“Although the entire market is quite impulsive now, we should have confidence in Mr. Pei and confidence in the players!”
After hearing Li Yada’s words, Hu Xianbin felt much more at ease.
When “Game Producer” was released, he hadn’t yet joined Tenda, so he didn’t know about these things.
Now, hearing that Senior Lü Mingliang had once experienced the same struggle and confusion as himself, only to achieve great success in the end, he felt much more reassured.
Hu Xianbin said, “Then let’s quickly have Brother Bao play ‘Struggle’ again as an observer and analyze this game as well!”
“Uh… Oh right, Brother Bao went on vacation…”
Hu Xianbin had just grabbed onto a lifeline, only to realize that this lifeline was currently in Africa.
He couldn’t help but feel some resentment toward Huang Sibo.
Fine, you go on vacation, but did you have to drag Brother Bao along?
Although Brother Bao didn’t work much in the game department normally, as the saying goes, “having an elder at home is like having a treasure.” At this critical moment, the entire department was counting on Brother Bao for guidance!
What should they do now?!
Li Yada smiled: “It’s okay, I can roughly guess what Brother Bao would say.”
“Actually, ‘Struggle’ and ‘Game Producer’ are fundamentally connected.”
“‘Game Producer’ was Mr. Pei’s expression of loneliness, and isn’t ‘Struggle’ the same? The only difference is that the former was from the perspective of the creator, while the latter is from the perspective of ordinary people.”
Hu Xianbin sighed: “But the theme expressed in ‘Struggle’ is sharper and more painful. When playing ‘Game Producer,’ I felt at most a little annoyed, thinking the narrator was irritating. But ‘Struggle’ feels like it’s piercing my heart, as if it’s forcibly combining all the despair and pain from reality and stuffing it into me.”
“Will players accept this?”
“Moreover, the core of this game feels more difficult to understand and more complex than ‘Game Producer.'”
“I think, as Mr. Zhang Zuting said, this kind of theme might be more suitable for expression through film. If made into an arthouse film, it might have a better market. As a game, there are too many limitations.”
Li Yada was silent for a moment, then said: “I think Mr. Pei must have his reasons for choosing a game rather than a film as the medium.”
“Perhaps it’s because ‘Beautiful Tomorrow’ was too successful, so Mr. Pei doesn’t want to use film as a medium again. Or perhaps it’s because using a game as a medium has some other considerations.”
“It must be because using a game as a medium can express some content that film cannot!”
“This might be a breakthrough that Mr. Pei is attempting.”
Hu Xianbin was taken aback: “What kind of breakthrough?”
Li Yada thought for a moment and said, “A breakthrough in expressing thought.”
“Each of Mr. Pei’s games expresses a certain philosophy. For instance, ‘The Lonely Desert Highway’ and ‘Ghost General’ satirize the current game industry. ‘Game Producer’ reflects from the creator’s perspective. ‘Turn Back to Shore’ questions everyone’s inner self by breaking the fourth wall, merging the mentality of players with the characters in the game.”
“We’ll find that these single-player games made by Mr. Pei have increasingly profound implications, becoming more and more piercing. The understanding cost and patience value required from players are also continuously rising.”
Hu Xianbin thought about it and realized it was indeed the case.
Mr. Pei’s games were undoubtedly becoming more and more discouraging. “The Lonely Desert Highway” was merely boring; “Excellent Producer” became provocative; “Turn Back to Shore” turned into multiple deterrents, from difficulty to gameplay.
And now with “Struggle,” the level of discouragement seemed even higher than before!
What did this indicate?
Li Yada said, “Mr. Pei isn’t truly trying to discourage players, but rather, through successive expressions, he’s gradually testing players’ psychological endurance to express his deeper thoughts.”
“Deeper thoughts will inevitably be more painful and require stronger acceptance capabilities.”
“As an expresser, Mr. Pei values the ‘degree’ of expression very much. A good expression method determines whether the audience feels they’re being ‘preached to’ or receiving ‘philosophical insights.'”
“Like in ‘Turn Back to Shore,’ Mr. Pei merged the player’s mentality with the character’s choices through breaking the fourth wall, then made this connection unbreakable through the game’s difficulty and various details. This way, players empathized with the game world and accepted the philosophy Mr. Pei wanted to express.”
“The more discouraging Mr. Pei’s games become, the more it indicates that the thoughts expressed inside are hidden deep enough.”
“Each of Mr. Pei’s works cultivates players!”
“Perhaps if Mr. Pei had made ‘Struggle’ right from the start, players would not accept or understand it. But now, Mr. Pei has laid the groundwork with many games, and players’ acceptance levels are already very high. Releasing ‘Struggle’ now greatly increases the chances of success!”
“This precisely proves that Mr. Pei isn’t reckless. In terms of expression, he doesn’t just force-feed players but considers their acceptance levels. If players’ acceptance levels aren’t sufficient, he cultivates them first, and once players reach the required acceptance level, he expresses more content.”
Hu Xianbin nodded repeatedly as he listened, then asked: “Then, Sister Li, what exactly does Mr. Pei want to express in ‘Struggle’? Class solidification? The Matthew Effect? Exploitation? Social injustice? Or is he merely describing a phenomenon?”
Li Yada shook her head: “That, I don’t know.”
“Even Brother Bao can’t immediately understand Mr. Pei’s thoughts after playing the game.”
“Mr. Pei’s games are more like large-scale social experiments. Only when enough players participate, each different player discusses it or even argues about it, expressing their views, and different perspectives interact and collide with each other, can a final answer be reached.”
“So, let’s wait and see!”