November 27th, Sunday.

This morning, Pei Qian hadn’t set an alarm, originally planning to happily sleep until noon, but ended up waking at around 7 AM, completely unable to fall back asleep.

He felt an inexplicable sense of unease in his heart, very unsettled.

“Which department is causing me trouble this time…”

Pei Qian was speechless. After tossing and turning without being able to fall back asleep, he grabbed his phone from the bedside and scrolled aimlessly.

Then he habitually clicked into the IOI forum.

During this period, Pei Qian had been constantly monitoring IOI’s situation, hoping the game would quickly show some improvement so he could justifiably and naturally burn money on GOG.

The online public opinion over the past couple of days hadn’t been favorable toward IOI and Finger Company, making Pei Qian anxious as he followed the drama.

After two days, Dragon Yu Group should have made some moves, right? The players’ anger should have subsided somewhat, right?

Hopefully, IOI was fine.

However, as soon as Pei Qian clicked into the IOI forum, he saw a post that made him somewhat nervous.

“Sharing some foreign forum comments, see how Finger Company’s ultimate blunder is offending everyone inside and out!”

“I thought domestic veteran players were already furious about IOI’s changes, but foreign players are even more outraged! Because IOI is designating the domestic server as a discount zone, with foreign server prices being two or even three times higher than the domestic server!”

“Domestic veteran players only lost out on previous purchases, but can enjoy discounts in the future. Foreign players can only buy at full price forever, harsh reality…”

“The discount zone thing is fine, though. Aren’t many game platforms implementing discount zone strategies? Besides, GOG’s domestic server skins also seem much cheaper than those abroad, right? Yet foreign players aren’t revolting?”

“GOG’s situation is completely different. Actually, in terms of pricing, domestic and foreign prices are the same. Domestic epic skins and legendary skins are 18 yuan and 45 yuan respectively, while foreign prices are $2.49 and $6.99, basically no difference.”

“The reason GOG is cheaper in China, with some skins practically given away, is because we have a Creative Community! This is a benefit exclusive to us. Any hero with player-submitted creative designs has super discounts when new skins are first released.”

“The foreigners don’t have complaints?”

“Very few complaints, because not every foreign player knows about the Creative Community. Looking only at the original prices, all regions are consistent. Besides, prices like $2.49 and $6.99 are already low enough, what more could they want?”

“I think another reason is that GOG’s skins have been dirt cheap from the beginning, so everyone is used to it, and there isn’t much room for further discounts. But IOI’s skins were very expensive initially, and too many veteran players have already bought many skins. Now, suddenly cutting prices in half is something no one can accept.”

“Indeed, it’s like buying a house or a car, and shortly after, the price drops by half with no price protection. Although it’s a business decision, most people’s mentality would collapse…”

“Weren’t they planning to release commemorative skins and profile icons for veteran players?”

Initially, they said it was for domestic server players, but foreign server veterans weren’t having it, so now Finger Company has changed their statement, saying all veteran players will receive them. However, this hasn’t had much of a calming effect…”

Reading the comments below this post, Pei Qian grew increasingly anxious, sitting up in his bed with a jolt.

“This is bad, IOI seems to have entered some kind of vicious cycle.”

“Damn, I’m so envious…”

Pei Qian had thought Finger Company would quickly quell the players’ anger, but now it seemed this matter wasn’t so simple to resolve!

Because now the player base IOI was targeting had become fragmented, and fragmented into three parts.

Domestic new players, domestic veteran players, and global server players—IOI couldn’t afford to lose any of these three player groups and wanted to please them all, but the interests of these three groups were too different.

If Finger Company pleased any one group, it would trigger fierce backlash from the other two.

This had fallen into a kind of “luxury car dilemma.” When luxury car brands face problems, with brand value declining and sales falling, many luxury brands can only choose to reduce prices to cut losses.

But once they reduce prices, the long-loyal car owners become unhappy, and it also gives the impression that “this car doesn’t hold its value,” further damaging the brand value, and fewer people buy the cars.

Raising prices wouldn’t work, lowering prices wouldn’t work either—every move seemed wrong.

Pei Qian became a bit anxious.

Brother, I haven’t done anything.

Surely you can’t destroy yourselves and hand the market over to GOG?

I’ve already split Shangyang Games in half, fighting you with just one hand, but you’re responding by crippling yourself? Don’t tell me you don’t even have this much ability to fight back?

Really?

Pei Qian felt inexplicably irritated, brushing his teeth while continuing to browse the forum.

Finally, perseverance paid off, and he successfully found a piece of news that seemed relatively optimistic.

“Inside information: IOI’s World Finals are happening! They’re reportedly going all out, with a prize pool that will exceed GOG’s tournaments, and it will be held in Los Angeles, absolutely prestigious!”

“Sounds pretty good, and IOI’s competitive aspect should be stronger than GOG’s. If the tournament is well-organized, it will boost popularity. Plus, this will probably successfully shift attention away from the recent controversy.”

Pei Qian had heard rumors about this many times before; this time, it seemed to be happening.

One could only say that IOI’s first World Finals had an extremely troubled fate.

The tournament should have been held long ago, but during that period, Dayark Group had bled heavily to acquire Finger Company and wasn’t very flush with funds. Meanwhile, GOG had pushed its prize pool to a new high, so IOI’s Finals had to be postponed.

After all, holding it later with a lower prize pool wouldn’t look good.

Now Dayark Group and Finger Company had freed up resources, seemingly having prepared the funds and venue, confidently believing they could outdo GOG’s Global Invitational, so they released this news to appease the players.

Pei Qian couldn’t help but sigh that, coincidentally, the course of history seemed to have been greatly accelerated by him.

In his memory, LOL’s S1 Finals were quite modest. A year later, with LOL’s rapid development, S2 moved to Los Angeles, generating massive influence.

Although IOI and LOL were two vastly different games, and Finger Company and Riot Games were completely different entities, there were still some similarities in this matter.

Finger Company had originally just wanted to hold S1 casually, test the waters, and be done with it.

But they were forced to increase the investment to the level of two years later.

“Speaking of e-sports… shouldn’t I visit the various clubs?”

“I haven’t paid much attention to these clubs since the GPL slots were auctioned, and I wonder how their teams are coming along.”

Pei Qian finished washing up and prepared to go out for breakfast, then visit Mingcloud Villa to take a look.

Reportedly, the several new clubs joining GPL had basically chosen Mingcloud Villa for their training bases, though he wasn’t sure about the current specific situation.

…

After finishing breakfast, Pei Qian took a car to Mingcloud Villa.

As they approached Mingcloud Villa, Pei Qian noticed that driver Xiao Sun deliberately made a detour, not following the previous route, but taking a different one.

“Mr. Pei, today is Sunday, that road might be particularly congested. I’m taking a different route, which is slightly longer but should save some time.”

Pei Qian didn’t mind, nodding, “Fine.”

But after Xiao Sun turned onto the side road, Pei Qian suddenly felt something was off.

They had always taken that road to Mingcloud Villa before, and it had never been particularly congested, had it?

Mingcloud Villa was in the southeast of Jingzhou, nestled against mountains and water with nice scenery. But initially, due to poor supporting facilities, the occupancy rate was low, and it was in a neglected state.

Later, Slackin’ Internet Café opened a branch there, followed by No-Name Restaurant. After No-Name Restaurant’s sudden rise to fame, this area gradually became a gathering place for Jingzhou’s wealthy businesspeople and celebrities, and the surrounding streets were also revitalized, becoming a small commercial center and food street.

But even so, Pei Qian hadn’t often encountered traffic congestion when coming here before.

After all, No-Name Restaurant could accommodate too few guests; even if the restaurant was packed every day, how many cars would that be?

Was it necessary to take a detour?

“Maybe it’s because… today is Sunday? Everyone just happened to go out together? Yes, that must be it.”

“Hmm?”

As Pei Qian was trying to convince himself, he suddenly noticed something seemed off outside the car window.

Because he saw an internet café that was doing extremely well, which he had no recollection of from previous visits.

“Huh? Who was so clever? Opening an internet café to divert customers from Slackin’ Internet Café?”

Pei Qian was initially pleased to see this internet café doing well, but upon closer inspection, it was Slackin’ Internet Café itself!

And it wasn’t the original Slackin’ Internet Café Mingcloud Villa branch, but one located just a few hundred meters away from the original one.

Since he didn’t often take this route, Pei Qian did not know of this.

Pei Qian was shocked and asked driver Xiao Sun, “Why is there a Slackin’ Internet Café here?”

Xiao Sun replied, “Ah, Mr. Pei, it just opened recently. Tuoguan Fitness also opened a branch, didn’t you know?”

Pei Qian: “?”

Xiao Sun continued, “Because recently various major clubs have moved in, and teams have been formed, people from all over the country have come for tryouts. Mr. Xiao and Mr. Guo thought one internet café and one gym definitely wouldn’t be enough, so they prepared to open branches here in advance.”

“Sure enough, as soon as they opened, they were immediately packed! It’s said that players from all the clubs now go to Tuoguan Fitness to work out, and these two internet cafés are also full of hidden talents. If they organized a café tournament, you’d see plenty of skilled players.”

“Mr. Xiao and Mr. Guo discussed and felt that in a while, they could consider opening another one or two branches, which should still be profitable.”

“Of course, profit isn’t the main goal—the main thing is to fulfill their function and complement the e-sports environment here.”

Pei Qian: “…”

How unlucky!

Although two booming branches wouldn’t make Pei Qian much more money, this wasn’t a good sign.

What was originally a remote villa area with little attention had been forcibly transformed into Jingzhou’s new commercial district and e-sports capital.

Don’t mess with me!

Pei Qian instantly felt somewhat dispirited, slumping back into his seat with a sense of despair.

Soon, they arrived at Mingcloud Villa, and Xiao Li stopped the car at the entrance of the DGE Club.

As Pei Qian opened the door and got out, he happened to see Zhang Yuan and Manager Cui, Mingcloud Villa’s project marketing manager, walking out of the club, chatting amicably.

“Mr. Pei?” Zhang Yuan hadn’t known Mr. Pei was coming, so he was somewhat surprised.

“Mr. Pei!!” Manager Cui was ecstatic, his face instantly blooming into a smile.

He stepped forward and grabbed Pei Qian’s hand, seeming more delighted than if he had met his closest relative.

Pei Qian was stunned, momentarily unable to understand why Manager Cui was so happy.

Manager Cui excitedly said, “Mr. Pei, you’ve come at the perfect time! I just brought a small gift to visit Mr. Zhang, and I was planning to visit you, but Mr. Zhang said you were too busy, so I didn’t dare go to Tenda headquarters to find you. I didn’t expect to meet you here by chance, what a coincidence!”

Pei Qian looked at Zhang Yuan somewhat bewilderedly, “What’s going on?”

Zhang Yuan smiled, downplaying it, “Oh, nothing major, Mr. Pei.”

“Recently, aren’t all the GOG clubs moving to Jingzhou? The villas here are quite suitable for club training bases, and with all the clubs together, it’s more convenient for arranging training matches or daily communication.”

“Then these properties have all appreciated, including the supporting commercial spaces and parking spots, which have all gone up, so of course, Manager Cui is happy.”

Zhang Yuan turned to look at Manager Cui: “But Manager Cui, you don’t need to take it to heart. For Mr. Pei, these are all trivial matters, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning.”

Manager Cui hurriedly said, “Oh, that’s not true! For Mr. Pei, it might be a small matter, but for us at Mingcloud Villa, it’s a huge deal!”

“Mr. Pei, if you have any issues that need our cooperation in the future, just say the word, and we’ll absolutely arrange everything perfectly for you right away!”

Manager Cui’s face radiated with a blissful smile, who knows how much bonus he had received from his boss.

Pei Qian’s expression was somewhat stiff, forcing out a smile, “No need for formalities…”

Manager Cui smiled, “Alright then, I won’t disturb you. Mr. Pei, Mr. Zhang, take your time chatting, I’ll be off now.”

“If there’s anything, feel free to contact me anytime! Don’t hesitate!”

Manager Cui left, expressing gratitude at every step.

Zhang Yuan smiled, “This Manager Cui, a bit too courteous, it’s not that big a deal.”

“But thinking about it, with a casual decision of yours, Mr. Pei, you’ve brought them such great benefits at Mingcloud Villa. If I were Manager Cui, I’d probably wake up smiling from my dreams.”

“Um… Mr. Pei?” Only now did Zhang Yuan notice that Mr. Pei seemed somewhat distracted.

Pei Qian shook his head, “It’s nothing.”

He said it was nothing, but his heart was bleeding.

The villas at Mingcloud Villa had gone up in price yet again?

Didn’t that mean his fixed assets had increased again?

Of course, the happiest should be Mr. Li, since Pei Qian only had one house in Mingcloud Villa, while Mr. Li had several.

But for Pei Qian, this was a small but significant piece of bad news.

However, having weathered various storms, Pei Qian quickly overcame this minor setback and said, “I don’t have any special business today, just wanted to check on the situation with the various clubs.”

Zhang Yuan immediately nodded, “Alright, then I’ll show you around.”

Although some clubs had chosen training bases in other parts of Jingzhou, most clubs had chosen locations near Mingcloud Villa.

Five or six young people were casually strolling nearby. Upon seeing Pei Qian, their eyes lit up, and they approached.

“Oh, isn’t this Mr. Pei’s actor? Hello, hello, can we take a photo together?”

“Sure.” Pei Qian was no stranger to such situations, having often encountered people asking for photos when drinking coffee at Slackin’ Internet Café. So he displayed his very characteristic fake smile and took a photo with the group.

After the photo, these young people left with profuse thanks.

Zhang Yuan had played the role of an unrelated passerby throughout. Only after Mr. Pei had finished taking photos with these enthusiastic young people did he continue leading them toward the club.

Pei Qian felt somewhat puzzled, “What are these people here for? They seem like they’re sightseeing?”

Zhang Yuan smiled, “Mr. Pei, they are sightseeing! Now that various e-sports clubs are clustered here, many GOG players come to take a look. Although they can’t enter the clubs, they might encounter team members coming out to eat or work out.”

“So coming here to eat something, play some games at the internet café, and checking out the various club bases is quite nice.”

Pei Qian frowned, “Would Manager Cui and the others be okay with that?”

Zhang Yuan said, “Why wouldn’t they be? These buildings at No-Name Restaurant were originally designed for both commercial and residential use, with shops over there. Now that the foot traffic has increased, Manager Cui couldn’t be happier!”

“As for concerns about training at the clubs, there’s no need to worry. It’s only crowded on weekends, and besides, the clubs are all under closed management; the players won’t be affected.”

Pei Qian was silent for a moment. “Alright then.”

For some reason, Pei Qian always felt like everyone else was happy, each getting what they wanted, while he alone bore all the consequences.

“Mr. Pei, this building and that one are SHG, Shenhua’s club.”

Zhang Yuan pointed to the villa in front of them, then pointed to the one next to it.

Pei Qian was stunned. “Which one specifically?”

Zhang Yuan said, “Both of them. Mr. Lin looked at them and thought they were both good, and he said the club should nurture more reserve players. The GPL team has ten people, the GDL team has another ten—starting with twenty people, don’t you need two villas?”

Pei Qian: “Don’t you think it’s wasteful?”

Zhang Yuan smiled, “I asked Mr. Lin this question too. Mr. Lin said it’s not expensive! Shenhua Football Club’s venue and buildings are all self-built, and the foreign star players all live in townhouses as dormitories. Now buying two villas, how much money is that?”

“Mr. Lin was even worried that living in such villas might not be prestigious enough. After all, they need to film some club promotional videos during competitions, right? If the training base doesn’t look impressive in the promotional videos, it would be counterproductive for Shenhua’s corporate image.”

“What if the training base looks too poor and people think Shenhua is going bankrupt? That wouldn’t do!”

Pei Qian was silent for a moment, “Hmm, he makes a very good point, I can’t refute it at the moment.”

Shenhua’s football expenses could easily carve out a small portion for e-sports, which compared to other clubs, was simply operating on another level, almost as if they had too much money and didn’t know how to spend it.

Buildings? Buy two!

Players? Buy twenty!

Emphasizing a complete disregard for normal constraints.

These clubs operated under closed management, mainly to prevent overly enthusiastic spectators from entering the clubs and affecting the players’ training, so the main gates were shut tight.

Zhang Yuan made a phone call, and moments later, Lin Chang quickly came out from the villa to open the door.

“Mr. Zhang! Oh, and Mr. Pei, what a rare visitor!”

Zhang Yuan was surprised, “Oh, Mr. Lin? Didn’t you leave Jingzhou a few days ago? When did you come back?”

Lin Chang nodded with a smile, “Oh, I went to Magic City with other club owners to buy some players in bulk, just got back yesterday.”

Zhang Yuan was stunned, “Huh? Buying again?”

Lin Chang nodded, “Yes, buying more promising seedlings with potential. If they can’t play in GPL, they can play in GDL. If they can’t play in GDL, they can go to training or watch from the bench. If all else fails, we can sell them to other teams.”

“Our team started late and has a weak foundation, so we have to work harder. From a long-term perspective, talent is most important—buying more talent is never wrong.”

“Besides, these are new players without much market value, so buying them now doesn’t cost much money.”

Lin Chang spoke as if it were nothing.