Pei Qian sat very calmly in the meeting room, playing with his phone while waiting for the club managers to finish their calls and return.

Zhang Yuan sat at the side, also unable to fathom Mr. Pei’s true thoughts.

Although he had always known that Mr. Pei’s attitude toward doing things was “do good deeds without asking about the future,” for Zhang Yuan himself, he often needed to assess the situation and observe which way the wind was blowing.

Seeking benefits and avoiding harm was human nature.

People who didn’t understand this point had probably been eliminated during millions of years of evolution.

Looking at this incident, no matter how you examine it, the advantage was with the clubs.

The domestic e-sports industry was immature, the e-sports circle was small, and various clubs dared to ask for sky-high prices because they were certain no one would take over their GOG divisions, and in the end, Mr. Pei would have to spend tens or hundreds of millions to cover for them.

The audience at the bottom and the professional players had no solutions at all, and the event organizers didn’t have many good options either.

If it were someone else facing this kind of resistance, they would have given up long ago.

Moreover, after giving up, they could find plenty of reasons.

For example: to join hands with clubs for development and jointly strengthen the e-sports industry; the current timing is not yet mature, should consider long-term plans and advance slowly; in order to ensure the GPL league can proceed as scheduled without affecting the rights and interests of players and audiences, we sought a win-win cooperation solution with the clubs…

If Mr. Pei decided to take a step back, as long as he presented these reasons, no one could excessively criticize Tenda’s actions.

After all, no one would know the real reasons, and saying nice things was always easy.

On the contrary, persisting might result in a bad reputation.

Other clubs still had many points they could attack.

For example: Tenda disregarded the big picture, excessively squeezed clubs on some unimportant clauses, destroyed the entire e-sports ecosystem, caused the e-sports environment to shrink, reduced the number of participating teams, possibly delayed the GPL league, affected audience interests…

Would the spectators stand on Mr. Pei’s side then?

Not necessarily.

It could be anticipated that many people would stand with the clubs, accusing Mr. Pei of making a mountain out of a molehill.

Some would say, if there were problems with contracts between clubs and players, just let them sue each other. It wouldn’t affect the competitions or the audience watching games, so why keep dwelling on this small issue?

If what Mr. Pei was trying to do now was something easy to accomplish, then the domestic e-sports industry, having operated for so long, should have had organizers achieve this point long ago, and it wouldn’t be Mr. Pei’s turn.

So, although Mr. Pei appeared tough in attitude and confident of victory, he must also be under tremendous pressure…

Looking at Mr. Pei leisurely playing with his phone, Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but sigh that Mr. Pei was truly someone capable of great things, with impressively strong psychological resilience.

“Mr. Pei, is there anything you need me to do?” Zhang Yuan asked.

Pei Qian looked at him. Zhang Yuan’s expression seemed to contain a bit of admiration and a bit of tragic heroism, which felt somewhat puzzling.

What was this guy imagining now?

Pei Qian hurriedly said, “No need.”

“Just wait for these clubs to return, then tell our legal department colleagues to draft a specific contract for them to sign.”

“Oh, and also leak the news about the club transfers in a small circle. No need to make a big fuss about it.”

Pei Qian was afraid that if the news spread too widely and attracted too much attention, all sorts of unexpected people would jump out wanting to take over, which would be troublesome.

It would be best if only a small circle knew about it. Even if people came to buy, they could only buy two or three clubs, and Tenda would cover the rest. Wouldn’t that be delightful?

Zhang Yuan couldn’t quite grasp Mr. Pei’s true intentions either, but since Mr. Pei said not to worry, he would just wait patiently and do his job well.

After a while, the managers of various clubs finished their calls and gradually returned.

Pei Qian looked around, seeing that most people had arrived, he put away his phone and looked at everyone: “So, what have you all decided?”

“If you’re willing to sell, we’ll sign contracts, absolutely guaranteeing everyone can sell at their psychological price point. If you’re not planning to sell anymore, then I’ll assume everyone accepts the GPL regulations and requirements.”

With his boss’s support, Manager Li became more confident. He nodded and said, “Sell! But if we’re signing a contract, SUG Club wants to add another million, making it 12 million.”

This was also a psychological tactic.

Adding another million on top of an already inflated premium. This amount wasn’t very significant—not enough for Mr. Pei to turn hostile—but it was enough to irritate him and apply some pressure.

Because Manager Li knew that once he increased the price, other clubs would likely follow suit.

This would suddenly raise the total price by several million more.

This behavior was somewhat unpleasant, but business was business. Before signing the black and white contract, verbal promises couldn’t be counted on, and there was nothing to blame.

Manager Li had thought that even if Mr. Pei maintained his composure, he would at least show some displeasure when hearing about the additional million.

If Mr. Pei didn’t accept this point, the two sides could continue to drag things out, which would also be fine.

However, Mr. Pei showed no signs of anger at all. Instead, his eyes revealed some delight.

Well done!

With Manager Li taking the initiative to raise the price, other clubs would follow suit. If each added a million, that would be a substantial sum!

Pei Qian almost laughed out loud, but struggled to control his expression as he looked at the other club managers: “So, does everyone want to raise their prices? If you have any demands, you can bring them up like Manager Li did!”

The other managers looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

Of course, they wanted to raise prices. Making an extra million for nothing—where else could you find such a good deal?

But they were also afraid that Mr. Pei would hold a grudge.

Manager Su of H4 Club cleared his throat, “Ahem, Mr. Pei, for H4 Club, there’s no need to raise it further. The previous price has already met our club’s expectations.”

After Manager Su finished speaking, he immediately felt several contemptuous glances directed at him.

But he pretended not to notice.

Because H4 Club’s boss wasn’t as tough as SUG’s boss.

The instruction Su received was that H4 Club was the earliest club to cooperate with Mr. Pei and had benefited the most. Tenda’s regulations were merely requiring a standardized contract, not a matter of principle. They could make a small fuss, but if it didn’t work, so be it.

There was no need to follow other clubs and seriously offend Mr. Pei!

Besides, H4 Club’s boss didn’t want to end up selling the GOG division, as they were the Global Invitational champions after all.

13 million was a lot, but for a championship team, it wasn’t clear whether selling would be a loss or a gain.

So among these managers, Manager Su was the least resolute. He actively rejected Mr. Pei’s proposal for a price increase, not wanting to make the situation too awkward.

The atmosphere in the meeting room became subtle once again.

Pei Qian, on the contrary, began to panic a bit.

No, don’t do this! Manager Li had finally set a good rhythm, don’t bring it back!

This was a great opportunity to spend a few more million. With you taking the lead, no one else would dare to raise prices, wouldn’t that be awkward for me?

Pei Qian waved his hand: “That won’t do! We must treat everyone equally!”

“I think everyone does want to raise prices, but is too embarrassed to speak up due to face considerations.”

“Let’s do this, Zhang Yuan, increase all clubs’ expected prices by one million and sign contracts based on that.”

Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment. What did that mean? Mr. Pei was voluntarily helping the other side raise prices?

But seeing Mr. Pei’s determined gaze, he couldn’t possibly ask more questions in this situation and could only silently record.

The contemptuous glances previously directed at Manager Su disappeared.

Since all clubs were getting a one-million increase, everyone’s minds were at ease, and there was no worry about Tenda holding a grudge.

After all, this was Mr. Pei’s initiative!

Pei Qian was also very pleased. He smiled and asked, “Alright, now I can assume that everyone, like SUG Club, has decided to sell their clubs at this price, right? If no one backs out, I’ll have the legal department prepare the intermediary agency contracts for everyone.”

Pei Qian didn’t plan to ask everyone individually. He directly glossed over it, assuming that those who didn’t publicly stand up were all agreeing to sell their GOG divisions.

The club managers looked at each other, all seeing confusion on each other’s faces.

Mr. Pei… whose side was he on anyway?

How did it seem like he was always speaking on their behalf?

Why did he seem more eager than they to have them quickly sell their GOG divisions?

What exactly was in this gourd?

Manager Su of H4 Club suddenly felt something wasn’t right.

Mr. Pei was too confident!

Actively helping clubs raise prices was too bizarre. This indicated that Mr. Pei had something up his sleeve!

H4 Club had never planned to actually sell their GOG division. They just thought joining other clubs to put some pressure on Tenda would eliminate some of the GPL league’s restrictions on clubs, which would be profitable for them.

But now, Mr. Pei seemed to have revealed his true intentions, and other clubs hadn’t realized the seriousness of the problem!

Although he didn’t know what Mr. Pei’s backup plan was, selling now would probably result in a loss! They would probably be completely taken advantage of by Mr. Pei!

Seeing that Zhang Yuan was about to record all the clubs, Manager Su hurriedly stood up: “Wait!”

“Mr. Pei, H4 Club no longer plans to sell its GOG division.”

The gazes of other club managers instantly focused on Manager Su, with expressions showing three parts surprise and three parts anger.

Betrayal on the spot?

What happened to the agreement to advance and retreat together?

Manager Su remained unmoved. You can court death, but don’t drag me into it! Our boss had no intention of selling the GOG division. If I made that decision on my own, how could I continue working?

Pei Qian’s look toward Manager Su also contained three parts surprise and three parts anger.

You… troublemaker!

Couldn’t you have said this privately? Speaking out in this kind of situation—what if it derailed the other clubs and they decided not to sell, too?

Seeing that two or three club managers were wavering because of Manager Su’s statement, Pei Qian hurriedly raised his hand and said, “Everyone, please be quiet!”

“Selling or not selling is everyone’s personal choice. Don’t always be influenced by others. Don’t you have your own opinions?”

“When Manager Li says sell, you all want to sell; when Manager Su says don’t sell, you all think about not selling.”

“Can you be a bit more resolute?”

“Even elementary school students know to keep their word and that once a move is made, there’s no taking it back. How has the issue become so complicated with you all?”

“Look at Manager Li—he has his own opinions, which I greatly admire.”

“Let’s end here for today. Everyone, go back first, and Zhang Yuan will contact each of you individually to sign contracts.”

Pei Qian felt the direction of the wind changing against him, so he quickly stopped.

He needed to make these clubs follow Manager Li’s lead, not Manager Su’s!

Mr. Pei’s words fit perfectly with what the managers wanted. There was still some time before Tenda would draft the contracts for formal signing, which could be used to carefully reconsider.

Manager Su stood up directly, ignoring the other managers, and left on his own.

At this point, what else could be done?

He wasn’t afraid of offending these clubs either.

Anyway, in a while, when the GPL league was in full swing, these clubs were all driven by profit. Who would hold a grudge forever?

Other club managers naturally wouldn’t say more in this situation and silently left.

Watching the club managers all leave, Pei Qian leaned back in his chair and let out an impatient sigh.

Too tedious!

After two or three rounds of talks, why hadn’t these managers made up their minds yet?

Hurry up and sell me your GOG divisions. Wouldn’t it be nice for you to happily make some money?

Well, at least they were close to the final step. Once the contracts were signed, Tenda’s money would be spent.

Good food was worth waiting for!

Pei Qian stood up and, before leaving, reminded Zhang Yuan again: “Remember, just spread the news about auctioning these clubs’ GOG divisions in a small circle. No need to make a big fuss about it.”

Zhang Yuan nodded in confusion: “Yes, Mr. Pei.”