After briefly learning about the FV club members’ situation in Los Angeles, Pei Qian temporarily stopped paying attention to it.

After all, with half the globe between them and a time difference of over ten hours, even if something happened there, by the time Pei Qian found out, it would already be too late to do anything about it.

He could only let nature take its course and hope that the decadent capitalist lifestyle might erode the players’ fighting spirit.

Pei Qian continued reviewing other departments’ work situations.

At this moment, a knock came from outside his office.

Pei Qian looked up and saw that it was He Desheng.

“What is it?” Pei Qian asked.

He Desheng nodded, “Mr. Pei, it’s about Cold Noodle Girl. Meng Chang has come to Jingzhou again and hopes to meet you once more. I haven’t agreed yet, so I came to ask for instructions. Should we meet with him?”

Pei Qian was stunned.

This Meng Chang, how did he run to Jingzhou again?

Although I’m happy you’re traveling back and forth and claiming more travel expenses, what do you mean by constantly wanting to meet me face-to-face?

I’m so busy… oh wait, actually I’m not that busy, but even though I have plenty of time, it all needs to be spent on losing money, I don’t have time to listen to your constant nonsense.

Pei Qian asked, “What does he want to do this time?”

He Desheng replied, “He says he wants to thank you in person for the 2 million you gave before. Between the lines, it seems he wants to try again to change your mind and get you to invest more money.”

Pei Qian couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Invest more money?

It’s not that I can’t invest; the key is you need to properly spend the money, don’t pull any tricks on me!

This time, Pei Qian gave 2 million without saying anything, just bought some shares of Cold Noodle Girl based on the current valuation.

Pei Qian planned to continue giving more after Meng Chang spent this money, mainly to keep Cold Noodle Girl in a lukewarm, half-dead state, which would be safest for burning money.

But Pei Qian hadn’t told Meng Chang about this, hadn’t even given any hints, so Meng Chang knew nothing about Mr. Pei’s subsequent investment plans.

Pei Qian didn’t think much about it. “Don’t meet.”

Pei Qian felt he had nothing to talk about with Meng Chang. Whenever Meng Chang came to Jingzhou, he was there to get more money for marketing, to inflate Cold Noodle Girl’s valuation, which was exactly what Pei Qian didn’t want to happen.

So their goals were fundamentally completely conflicting. Even if they met face-to-face, they’d probably just be talking past each other. Pei Qian couldn’t tell Meng Chang the truth either, and in the end,, it would just waste his time.

He Desheng nodded, “Understood, Mr. Pei. I’ll send him away right now.”

…

On the other side, in Dream Ventures’ reception room.

Meng Chang anxiously waited for He Desheng to return, the thank-you gifts he brought left untouched on the side.

During this time, though he appeared calm on the surface, he was very anxious inside.

Mr. Pei suddenly selling all his shares in Cold Noodle Girl and cashing out, leaving him, the founder, in an awkward position, nearly caused a major incident.

Fortunately, Meng Chang was capable, using half-truths and half-lies to prevent investors’ confidence from completely collapsing, but this event still had very negative impacts.

Cold Noodle Girl’s daily expenses were huge. Without being able to raise funds, Meng Chang could only carefully cut some costs, not daring to make it too obvious, afraid someone would notice.

Once news broke about “Cold Noodle Girl cutting costs,” even fools would see that Cold Noodle Girl was out of money and about to fail. That’s when real trouble would start.

But no matter how well he maintained appearances, the numbers on the balance sheet wouldn’t lie. Just relying on store profits couldn’t support them.

Meng Chang was so anxious he couldn’t sleep at night. After all, with each passing day, the situation became more unfavorable for him.

Meng Chang had even considered giving up, just letting nature take its course. When the cash flow couldn’t hold up anymore, he’d directly declare Cold Noodle Girl bankrupt. As a limited liability company, bankruptcy wouldn’t implicate him as the founder. At worst, he’d treat it like a dream – an old fox encountering Mr. Pei, an even more cunning old fox; losing wasn’t entirely unjust.

But at this critical moment, Mr. Pei came back!

The 2 million wasn’t much, but it solved Meng Chang’s urgent problem, allowing Cold Noodle Girl to continue operating.

Moreover, Mr. Pei’s attitude this time was very intriguing.

He bought shares at the inflated valuation, no price reduction, no tricks, didn’t even make any demands, almost like giving away free money.

This made Meng Chang feel confused while simultaneously seeing a glimmer of hope.

If Mr. Pei invested again… couldn’t everyone just pretend nothing happened and continue playing happily together?

Meng Chang knew that Cold Noodle Girl had developed to this stage; the hype had lasted for a while, brand recognition was established, and and surface work was all done properly. Whether they could find someone to take over depended on this final push.

Mr. Pei’s 2 million wasn’t much, but it gave Meng Chang another ray of hope.

Moreover, today, Meng Chang saw the FV club’s Weibo post, knowing Mr. Pei was very generous to the FV club, letting them fly business class, stay at five-star hotels. For such a large team, the total expenses for their Los Angeles trip must be several million at least.

Mr. Pei was generous and had plenty of money.

With so much money, willing to let an esports club go overseas for food, drinks, and entertainment, but not invest in Cold Noodle Girl – isn’t that a bit unreasonable?

So Meng Chang felt he could still fight for more from Mr. Pei’s side. Mr. Pei had already given money; taking ten minutes for a meeting wasn’t too much to ask, right?

During Meng Chang’s anxious wait, He Desheng returned.

“How did it go, Director He?” Meng Chang immediately stood up to ask.

He Desheng shook his head slightly, “Sorry, Mr. Pei doesn’t have time to meet you. Please return.”

Meng Chang’s mouth hung open, momentarily confused.

He was turned away at the door?

Mr. Pei gave money, but wasn’t willing to spare even a five-minute meeting? What was going on?

What exactly was Mr. Pei’s attitude toward Cold Noodle Girl now?

“Director He, can’t you try to persuade him one more time?” Meng Chang still didn’t give up.

He Desheng sighed and shook his head, “Mr. Pei has always been decisive. Once he’s made up his mind, no one can change it. If he says no, that’s final. Asking again would only backfire. Please go back.”

Meng Chang opened and closed his mouth, wanting to speak but couldn’t.

Very reluctant but helpless, he could only silently turn to leave.

He Desheng picked up all the expensive gifts Meng Chang brought and handed them back, “These gifts aren’t necessary. Mr. Pei won’t accept them.”

Meng Chang initially wanted to refuse, but seeing He Desheng’s firm attitude, he had to take them back.

…

Leaving Dream Ventures, Meng Chang carried his gifts, feeling very confused.

The tiny spark of hope that had just ignited was mercilessly extinguished by Mr. Pei’s rejection.

For some reason, Meng Chang suddenly felt like he was dealing with a heartless lover.

What exactly did Mr. Pei mean?

Invested, then sold; invested again, then sold again…

The key was never being able to predict what Mr. Pei’s next move would be. Predict he’d continue investing? He suddenly rushed to sell at a loss. Predict he won’t invest again? Then out of nowhere, he sends 2 million.

On and off again and again, never able to break it off cleanly – such emotional manipulation.

The driver took the gifts and put them back in the trunk, asking, “Mr. Meng, where to next? Are we heading back to the capital, or…”

Meng Chang frowned, thinking for a moment.

Suddenly, he thought of something and checked his phone.

“Mr. Li from Fuhui Capital is also in Jingzhou. How about we go there and see? Since we’re already here, we can’t return empty-handed.”

Meng Chang always had a list in mind of potential investors who might invest in Cold Noodle Girl.

In Meng Chang’s view, this list was crucial.

Li Shi had been paying attention to Cold Noodle Girl’s situation, showing investment interest, which Meng Chang was well aware of.

Since he was already in Jingzhou, there was no rush to return. He might as well take this opportunity to visit Mr. Li and see if he could persuade him to invest.

Even small money was still money, and Fuhui Capital’s funding was quite abundant. What if Mr. Li was convinced and decided to invest a few million on the spot? It wasn’t impossible.

In the investment world, things like deciding to invest billions after a ten-minute conversation weren’t unheard of. A few million was nothing in comparison.

Thinking of this, Meng Chang told the driver, “Let’s not return to the capital yet. Go to Fuhui Capital.”

…

Half an hour later, Meng Chang arrived at Fuhui Capital’s reception room.

He didn’t bring the gifts, partly because they were originally thank-you gifts for Mr. Pei – even though Mr. Pei didn’t want them, it wasn’t appropriate to regift them, especially since Mr. Li was close with Mr. Pei. Another reason was that Meng Chang worried about appearing too humble, which might backfire.

Li Shi was very welcoming, personally receiving him, accompanied by Xue Zhebin.

The three of them already knew each other. They chatted while drinking tea, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

After brief pleasantries, both sides tacitly moved to the main topic.

“Mr. Meng, you must be busy with work in the capital. How did you find time to come to Jingzhou?” Li Shi asked while leisurely sipping tea.

Meng Chang smiled, “This is somewhat embarrassing to say.”

“If I wanted to be fake, I’d say I came specifically to visit Mr. Li. But I’m an honest person, I can’t bring myself to tell such obvious lies.”

“To be frank, I came to Jingzhou originally to thank Mr. Pei in person, but unexpectedly, Mr. Pei was too busy to see me. Since Mr. Li is also in Jingzhou, I came to visit you along the way.”

Li Shi smiled, “Mr. Meng, you’re too polite. Visiting along the way is still visiting – it shows your sincerity. Come, have some tea.”

Meng Chang knew well that Li Shi was very clever with a strong sense of caution.

He’d been observing and evaluating Cold Noodle Girl since their first press conference, but hadn’t invested a single penny, clearly showing Li Shi had doubts about Cold Noodle Girl and didn’t quite trust Meng Chang.

At this moment, if Meng Chang claimed he came specifically to visit, it would likely raise Li Shi’s guard and backfire.

Now, saying he came to visit Mr. Pei and stopped by to see Li Shi, while somewhat rude-sounding, could help lower Li Shi’s guard.

Moreover, Meng Chang knew about Li Shi’s relationship with Mr. Pei and that Li Shi liked following Mr. Pei’s investment moves.

So his words cleverly planted a small trap – would Li Shi take the bait?

If Li Shi didn’t bite, Meng Chang wouldn’t push further, as that would seem too obvious.

Li Shi, sipping his tea, keenly caught the message Meng Chang conveyed, “Coming to thank Mr. Pei in person? Thank him for what?”

According to his information, Mr. Pei had sold all his Cold Noodle Girl shares, causing trouble for Meng Chang by making many investors hesitant.

Since the two parties were no longer connected, why would Meng Chang travel thousands of miles to thank him? This didn’t make sense.

Meng Chang smiled slightly, “Actually, it’s nothing much. Mr. Pei just put in a small investment to buy some minor shares in Cold Noodle Girl.”

He didn’t want to just say 2 million, as it sounded too insignificant, but couldn’t exaggerate too much in case Li Shi verified with Mr. Pei. So he could only speak vaguely.

Li Shi’s eyes lit up with interest.

Mr. Pei invested again?

Earlier, Li Shi had told Xue Zhebin that Mr. Pei might reenter like he did with Xueba Quick Help project, and that would be the best time to follow up.

Now that Mr. Pei had reinvested, did this mean…

But Li Shi reconsidered – something seemed off.

If Mr. Pei really wanted to buy at the bottom like he did with Xueba Quick Help, he definitely wouldn’t just invest “a small amount” but would buy Cold Noodle Girl entirely to take complete control.

Only with complete control could he transform it according to his vision.

So the meaning of “a small investment” was quite intriguing.

Li Shi noticed that Mr. Pei’s actions – first investing, then selling, then investing again – appeared to be flip-flopping but actually seemed to hit Meng Chang’s weak spots each time.

Every time Meng Chang gained investors’ favor and was close to success, Mr. Pei threw cold water on it. But every time Meng Chang was running out of money and about to collapse, Mr. Pei invested again to keep him going.

Did this mean…

Mr. Pei recognized Meng Chang’s abilities but not his character?

Did Mr. Pei think that Meng Chang wasn’t focused on legitimate business, so he was testing him this way?

In a flash, Li Shi had many thoughts, and Mr. Pei’s previous actions seemed to have a somewhat reasonable explanation.

Meng Chang knew nothing of this, but seeing Li Shi’s expression, clearly he’d successfully conveyed the intended message.

If so, Li Shi still had investment potential!

Sure enough, after thinking for a moment, Li Shi said, “I have intentions to invest in Cold Noodle Girl, but…”

Hearing the first part, Meng Chang was happy, but the “but” instantly dampened his spirits.

Li Shi didn’t immediately continue, instead creating suspense by asking, “Mr. Meng, are you confident in Cold Noodle Girl’s business model?”

Meng Chang nodded, “Of course, I’m confident. But… starting a business always carries some risk of failure.”

Li Shi thought for a moment, then said, “Xue Zhebin and I can invest 8 million in you, but there’s a condition: you must sign a supplementary agreement making you personally liable for unlimited joint responsibility for company debts.”

Hearing this, Meng Chang’s eyebrows raised slightly.

Unlimited joint responsibility – even an elementary school student hearing those words would feel a chill down their spine.

Unlimited joint responsibility meant company losses would be his personal responsibility as founder.

Normally, regular companies were limited liability companies. Even if Meng Chang ruined the company, worst case, the company would go bankrupt, but he wouldn’t personally carry debt.

But with unlimited responsibility, company debts would transfer to Meng Chang.

This situation was common in entrepreneurial circles. Founders often ended up with hundreds of millions in debt, becoming enforcement targets, because they’d signed betting agreements, share buyback agreements, or accepted unlimited joint responsibility.

Meng Chang hadn’t secured much investment because he refused to sign any betting agreements or share buyback agreements.

Because once signed, betting agreements often meant taking on as much debt as investment received – too risky for him to bear.

But Mr. Li’s condition differed from other investors’ conditions, and frankly, was much more lenient.

Because Mr. Li didn’t require betting agreements or demand that Meng Chang buy back all shares later, returning all invested money. He only required Meng Chang to bear unlimited joint responsibility for company debts.

Meaning, company debts would be Meng Chang’s to repay, but those shares would rot in investors’ hands.

Meng Chang fell into thought.

If the company didn’t have debt problems and successfully secured more investors, finding someone to take over while he cashed out, everyone would be happy.

If the company faced problems, debt would at most be rent, employee wages, supplier payments – a a maximum of of a few million, or even ten million.

He wouldn’t end up personally owing hundreds of millions, becoming a lifetime deadbeat.

From a risk-averse perspective, this money shouldn’t be taken. But for Meng Chang, this was the best investment he could secure shortly besides Mr. Pei’s.

If Cold Noodle Girl hadn’t gotten anywhere, that would be one thing, but they’d come this far – should he give up?

As a gambler, Meng Chang couldn’t make such a harsh decision.

While operating Cold Noodle Girl, Meng Chang was essentially doubling down constantly. The more he bet, the harder it was to quit. Originally just an ordinary employee, he never qualified to play this capital game, not even a seat at the table.

Step by step, despite some setbacks, chips on the table increased, and it seemed he just needed to persist a bit more to take most of them home…

In this situation, even Meng Chang’s previously firm resolve began wavering, willing to take certain risks for the chips already on the table.

After careful consideration, Meng Chang said, “Mr. Li, I can consider your terms, but I need to see the specific investment contract first.”

Li Shi smiled and nodded, “Of course.”

…

Los Angeles local time, 2 PM.

All three clubs were training at the internet café, except the FV club was on the second floor, while the other two clubs were in corners of the first floor.

Players from the two clubs had just finished several high-ranked games using Finger Company’s super accounts and were now waiting for practice matches with Western teams.

Though the two teams trained together, they tacitly maintained distance on the first floor of the café.

The reason was simple – they needed to guard against each other.

While they definitely wouldn’t be grouped, after the group stages, they might face each other, so both sides needed to keep some ace strategies, just in case.

A team leader looked anxiously at his watch, “Still not here? Did we get the custom game room number wrong?”

Players shook their heads, “No mistake.”

“They’re coming, they’re coming!”

Five new players gradually entered the custom room, all IDs starting with FRY.

These players said nothing after entering, just typed: “GO?”

The leader was somewhat unhappy but said, “Okay, let’s start.”

Players replied “GO,” and the practice match officially began.

The FRY club was an established foreign club. Their previous GOG team reached the semifinals in the GOG Global Invitational, placing fourth – the best result for any foreign team.

Getting this result in a relatively new project showed the FRY club’s strength and foundation.

Currently in ioi circles, FRY was recognized as a top-tier powerhouse.

Getting this practice match wasn’t easy – arranged through Zhao Xuming via Finger Company’s official connections. Private contact would likely have been declined by FRY.

With world championships approaching, every team’s time was precious. Daily practice matches were limited. Playing weak teams offered no improvement, essentially wasting time and hurting themselves.

The FRY club preferred practicing with Western teams, showing little interest in domestic teams.

Team leaders knew this well. Even when FRY arrived a few minutes late with no apology, they couldn’t complain much, and just normally started the practice match.

…

An hour later, the practice match ended.

Players fell into a state of confusion, staring at game statistics screens, frowning, and contemplating life.

In about an hour, they played two practice matches, getting cleaned swept 2:0, including a 15-minute halftime break.

After finishing, FRY players didn’t even say goodbye before exiting the custom game room, as if staying one more second would infect them with incompetence.

Team leaders, like players, were completely bewildered.

Then, coaches and players began heated discussions.

“What was FRY’s playstyle? From hero picks to tactics, I couldn’t understand anything! Such big changes from previous versions!”

“They’re already picking strong champions from the updated version, while we’re still playing the old tactics. How are we supposed to compete?”

“I told you to ban champions we can’t handle!”

“Stop with the hindsight. Can we ban all those champions?”

“Do Western teams counter us? They didn’t even seem serious, yet we fell apart…”

“Counter what? It’s just a skill gap…”

Players argued chaotically.

Losing matches wasn’t scary, but losing so easily was – not even knowing what they lost to.

From hero selection and version understanding to in-game tactics and execution, FRY completely dominated them!

Individual mechanics weren’t vastly different between teams, but FRY easily gained early advantages through small tricks, then used superior tactics to expand leads. Once equipment gaps formed, mechanical skill didn’t matter.

All players thought the blame wasn’t theirs, but with such a crushing defeat, no one could easily deflect all responsibility.

This situation bred conflict easily.

Seeing tensions rising, coaches quickly clapped to calm everyone down.

“Alright, stop arguing!”

“We still have time before the world championships. Since we recognize the gap between us and strong Western teams, let’s work to bridge it.”

“From now on, let’s study Western teams’ tactics. With the new version confirmed for worlds, if we can’t adapt, we’ll get beaten badly.”

“Let’s review the match together and learn FRY’s tactics…”

After coaches’ guidance, players’ attitudes improved somewhat.

Though such one-sided matches offered little analytical value, coaches and players had few alternatives but to work incrementally.

Domestic ioi clubs already lacked development opportunities, and Finger Company’s decision to use a new version for Worlds made things even harder.

But they had no choice – situations were as they were. They’d press forward regardless.

Seeing the atmosphere still gloomy, team leaders quickly encouraged, “No worries. Let’s do our best and accept outcomes. Our goal is to leave groups, maybe reaching the quarterfinals. If we make the the semifinals, that’s profit.”

“FRY is a Western powerhouse. Many other weaker regional teams will be at worlds. As long as we steadily beat weaker teams, we can leave groups.”

“Besides, FV club doesn’t have our advantages. They lack high-rank accounts and connections to Western powerhouses. Working in isolation, definitely not as prepared as us.”

“FV is first seed, starting from quarterfinals. If we’re lucky, we might face them to compete for semifinals. Even if not, both getting eliminated in quarters means they, as first seed with all that fanfare, will absorb ninety percent of criticism.”

“So don’t stress. Focus on preparation. Even if criticized, FV faces it first. Our media environment will be much gentler.”

Players looked at each other, finding team leader’s points reasonable.

With FV club as backup, what was there to worry about?

They were first seed, flying business class, staying luxury hotels, then directly starting from quarterfinals without warm-up opportunities.

Current situation suggested likely quarterfinal elimination.

Even if losing, FV would get criticized first.

Realizing this, the mood noticeably brightened as players began reviewing previous practice matches and studying FRY’s tactics.

…

Meanwhile, on the café’s second floor, FV Team One and SUG club were in practice matches, while FV Team Two players studied new version tactics and champion strength with data analysis teams.

Ye Zhizhou’s computer showed a spreadsheet densely filled with data on new version changes.

“These champions remain unpopular because they’re still weak in laning phase after updates, and players are less familiar with them, so official statistics show low win rates.”

“But analyzing pure data, their late-game teamfight potential greatly improved with new version and specific items.”

“If we build a composition around them, other positions need to protect during laning, and users need high proficiency – at minimum, lane survival must be strong. If this champion loses lane, it creates chain reactions, collapsing other lanes…”

“Conversely, if stable development happens early-mid game, late game becomes reliable teamfight insurance, significantly improving win rates…”

FV club brought a massive data team including designers like Ye Zhizhou, Min Jingchao, and Bao Xu, plus DGE club coaches and FV’s original tactical team.

Though previously GOG-focused, they quickly adapted to ioi, as both games were similar, and ioi’s new version updates moved toward GOG’s style.

Min Jingchao especially, responsible for GOG’s game balance, felt sensitive to data issues. Most ioi new version champion adjustments could be roughly estimated from numbers.

Of course, pure numerical estimates were unreliable.

Some champions looked great on paper but performed poorly. Even official balance designers couldn’t guarantee game adjustments matched their vision.

But FV’s tactical team didn’t theorize blindly. They used three steps to ensure researched tactics could be implemented:

First, Ye Zhizhou, Min Jingchao, and data analysts identified strong champions and playstyles by analyzing data, establishing a rough framework.

Next, DGE coach Zhou Pengyuan combined mature GOG tactics with these strong elements, proposing tactical prototypes for testing.

Finally, players from three teams repeatedly tested tactics’ early, mid, and late-game strength through lane solo practice and scrims.

If strength fell short, tactical teams analyzed failures and revised. If still insufficient, they abandoned it. If certain tactics proved effective, they’d find substitute champions for key roles and deepen variations under different conditions.

Through continuous cycles, they’d form several basic strategies combining new version strengths, then explore counters to these strategies.

FV team captain Pan Ying had consistently used GOG-style approaches in ioi, earning Mr. Pei’s approval. With ioi now updated, this approach adapted more easily, so players actively cooperated.

As for high-rank matches and scrims with other clubs… did they matter anymore?

High-rank games only maintained mechanics – minimal impact on tactical improvement. Even if certain champions’ popularity indicated version direction, utilizing this in competition remained distant.

Training with other clubs wasn’t necessary, as tactical information sharing worked both ways.

Scrimming Western teams meant revealing new strategies. Winning would inspire opponents to study those directions.

Their tactical gap would narrow.

Of course, this might seem arrogant, but the key question was: whose tactics were more advanced?

Clearly FV had confidence in their data analysis team.

After all, lead designers personally spearheaded analysis, DGE coaches participated, combined with player skill – more likely to find version answers!

Everyone at FV was determined this time.

Getting eliminated in quarterfinals? Absolutely unacceptable!

Mr. Pei provided such conditions, logistics completely handled. If we still underperformed, how could we face Mr. Pei upon return?

Must give everything!