Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883
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As the game went on, the members on the lanes suddenly held the advantage. Once their advantage was established, the snowball effect kicked in. The other team’s junglers did not dare to come after them anymore, for fear that he would be akin to playing one against two.
Pei Qian watched as Ma Yang continued to farm and get killed. He had been doing that for twenty minutes now, ever since the game began. His own KDA ratio was at 0-8-0.
Then, a terrifying thing happened.
His KDA ratio stopped moving! He stopped dying altogether!
That was because all of his other teammates had cleared all three lanes, and the other team’s outer turrets had been destroyed. No matter how much Ma Yang fought on his own within his team’s jungle, no enemies came looking for him.
All the enemies had been pressured to go back to their own half of the map thanks to Ma Yang’s four teammates!
With Coach Ma putting on a good show in the back, the other teammates did not have to think about performing anymore. At once, they pulled all stops and conducted a massacre!
Thus, a very strange scene occurred.
As Old Ma continued playing happily on his own, his four other team members happily destroyed the enemies’ home base.
Very oddly, everyone was placed in a 5-4-1 formation.
Those who didn’t know the game well enough might have thought that this was football, and Old Ma was the goal-keeper.
Ma Yang kept farming until he got two sets. Then, he typed in the public chat. “I can finally come out!”
However, just as Ma Yang’s cursor hovered over the enemies’ home base, his screen moved towards their base turret on its own. He watched the enemies’ nexus explode before his eyes.
“Victory!”
A huge, well-decorated word appeared on his screen.
Ma Yang shook his head, clearly disappointed. “Ai, the other team is too lousy. I couldn’t even do anything before they lost.”
The bullet screen comments on the live-stream were flooding the screen! The results of the competition were out very soon as well. They had gotten a full performance index once again!
“All of a sudden, I think that DGE could win even if I went to play as their jungler.”
“It’s true. Their jungler farmed for a full twenty minutes and died eight times, without killing a single person. When he went out to gank, he also gave away a double buff. This Coach Ma has proven that DGE could win with anyone on the team. They could even win with their hands tied!”
“I’m beginning to suspect that Coach Ma did this on purpose. He chose Happy Ruan to put on a good show. Although he gave kills away, none of us felt disgusted. Instead, we were quite entertained!”
“Is this what DGE is really like? Had they just been putting on a show this whole time? Were they able to win while putting on a good show? Were they able to push through the lanes because they went all out this time?”
“They’re awesome. I watched Huang Wang’s first-person view the entire time. He plays completely differently from when he’s playing in ranked matches! While playing in the ‘professional rounds’ before, he always said that he was using fifty percent of his skills. I used to think that he was just taunting his enemies, but now I know that he was telling the truth!”
“I’m a huge fan of a club like that! Where can I find the live-stream accounts of the other team members?”
“Do they sell uniforms and other peripherals? I want one!”
“Now, I’m more concerned about how others look. After all, we’ve already seen Huang Wang, the muscleman and professional boxer. He always says that his team members have similar body types as him in his live-streams. I think that if they show their faces at the same time, it would be a beautiful sight!”
“Quickly, vote for them and give them the highest performance index possible! ZZ Live-Stream, Waiwai, go after them as soon as possible! There are only so many of them in the club—you’ll miss them all if you wait any longer!”
…
Pei Qian watched the entire thing, from start to finish. As he read the bullet screen comments, he fell into a deep silence.
What shocked him the most was that DGE’s team members had already developed to such a state.
This was DGE’s Team Two, no less. He had heard that Team Two was always being beaten by Team One in mock competitions. All the muscles on Huang Wang’s body were sufficient proof of that.
Wouldn’t Team One have been far better than Team Two if they had gone up instead, then?
Nothing could stop DGE’s winning streak—not even Coach Ma, the ultimate weapon.
It was then that Pei Qian realized the situation was more serious than he imagined! Thinking back, he had really underestimated DGE Club’s strength.
At the time, it was his own wishful thinking that he could slow down their progress and keep them far from the veteran clubs in the country—as long as he messed up their training schedule, didn’t hire a professional coach, and kept them busy with physical training.
Yet, from the looks of the current situation, there seemed to be many mistakes in Pei Qian’s way of thinking:
The DGE Club’s athletes were highly-skilled to begin with. All of them had what it took to become prodigies…
The DGE Club was formed much earlier than all the other GOG teams—at least two months earlier. That meant they had been through an additional two months of professional training…
The addition of Coach Yaling had caused all the athletes’ physical bodies and nutrition to improve, which directly affected their performance during competitions as well…
With the added threat of extra training, both team members had been racking their brains, researching the game mechanisms, and coming up with battle strategies. Thus, both teams were pushing each other to improve continuously;
Having a significant amount of highly-customizable training helped every individual team member solidify his basics. As a result, each of them had a firm grasp of the details in the game…
Once their first-mover advantage was established, the team members would continue holding themselves to a higher standard…
Of course, esports was all about talent. If those people had not been talented to begin with, they would not have become this strong even if they had an additional two months of professional training. Obviously, Boss Pei’s luck had played a very important role in that aspect…
Even in a game of chance, he had gotten such a good hand. It was f*cking ridiculous!
In short, due to a number of complicated factors and complex issues, the situation had gotten to this stage!
After reading all the bullet screen comments, an ominous feeling overwhelmed Pei Qian. If the DGE Club continued getting more popular, sponsors might come knocking on their door soon, offering sky-high amounts of money.
At the same time, if the team members’ looks were exposed, people would start to wonder how they had gotten such bodies. For all Pei Qian knew, Deposit Fitness might become popular as well.
No, that won’t do!
Ever since the Tengda Life App was released, Deposit Fitness started getting worse. Every day, new people would arrive at Deposit Fitness’ branches to register for sessions.
If there was another round of publicity, the gym would only become more popular. Then, the losses would be converted into profits for sure!
Pei Qian had to think of something.
Now! Immediately!
Yet, what exactly could he do?
Pei Qian had no idea.
At that moment, Zhang Yuan walked up to him and whispered, “Boss Pei, I just got a call. Please, come over here. I need to speak to you about something in private.”
Eh?
Zhang Yuan looked to be quite conflicted, so Pei Qian stood up and followed Zhang Yuan outside the villa.
Zhang Yuan hesitated and said, “Boss Pei, H4 Club’s Team Leader Su just called me.
“Didn’t GOG recently say that it’s going to organize an international invitatio
nal competition recently? The champion would win a million US dollars and a share of the profits from the sale of skins. Other clubs are getting interested!
“Team Leader Su asked me if DGE would be able to take part. I told him the truth—that we cannot because we’re the organizers.
“Then, Team Leader Su asked me if I could sell Huang Wang to them. Their team is lacking in mid-laners, and Huang Wang and Pang Ling often play together in their own time, so they’re quite close. H4 Club is willing to pay us a huge sum of money to transfer Huang Wang to their club.
“To be truthful, I can’t decide. In my heart, I know that Huang Wang belongs to my team, and I nurtured him. Of course, I can’t bear to see him go.
“However, they can’t take part in large-scale competitions now and can only take part in entertaining competitions organized by live-stream platforms. That pains me as well.
“Boss Pei, what do you think…?”
Pei Qian’s eyes lit up, and he looked overjoyed. “Sell him! Sell him at once! Tell Huang Wang to start packing his bags!”
[1] This is a type of hero that deals strong, continuous damage.
Chapter 620 - Bargaining for Transfer of Membership Fees
August 17th, Wednesday…
At the DGE Esports Club…
Yesterday, after hearing that Boss Pei had agreed to sell Huang Wang, Team Leader Su immediately decided to make a trip down to Jingzhou today to sign the contract.
It was very rushed, but it had to be. If he waited any longer, he could lose such a good member!
Team Leader Su had come well-prepared. The club’s boss had given orders that, no matter what, he had to buy Huang Wang over!
If negotiations failed, they would pay more. If that failed, they would use the emotional card. If everything failed, they would hug Boss Pei’s leg and cry. In short, H4 had set its mind on setting the transfer of membership fees extremely high, without any regard for the cost.
That was because the H4 Club could already feel the change in wind direction.
GOG was entering the international market extremely strong, and Tengda was casually distributing huge sums of money. Tengda was organizing an international invitational competition for GOG with a sky-high first prize. Live-stream platforms were beginning to sign GOG players and offering them very attractive sign-on fees…
All of those signs showed that GOG would definitely become the next big thing in esports.
Tengda was ambitious, the live-streaming platforms were focused, and the player base was big enough.
Thus, after the H4 Club’s management conducted some research, it decided to plug the gaps in their own team and pull in a strong midlaner!
They had already gotten second place in the previous GOG competition. Since foreign clubs were only just starting to form GOG teams, second in the country could be counted as second in the world as well.
Moreover, the fact that the H4 Club had fought fiercely in the finals for five games before losing showed that they were more than capable enough. They just needed a midlaner who wouldn’t drag them down.
If they could rope in a strong midlaner, wouldn’t they have hope of winning the one million US dollars from this invitational competition?
Of course, the club knew that it would only be taking a portion of the one million US dollars. However, prizes were never the club’s goal anyway: it was fame, exposure, and glory.
If they won the international competition, all kinds of sponsors and live-streaming platforms would come knocking on their doors. Would they really have to fear not being able to make money?
So, the H4 Club had given Team Leader Su strict orders to buy Huang Wang over this time.
“Please hold on, Team Leader Su. Boss Pei will be here very soon. Have some tea while waiting.”
Zhang Yuan served Team Leader Su some tea, which the latter reached out and grabbed immediately. Nodding, he said, “No problem; don’t worry.”
After hearing that Boss Pei was agreeable, Team Leader Su immediately booked his tickets and rushed to Jingzhou at 7 AM. He didn’t know that Boss Pei was still sleeping soundly at that time. He thought that the latter was busy with work.
Team Leader Su sipped his tea as he thought about his mission today. Everyone had different ideas whether the members of the DGE Club were up for sale or not.
Some thought that Boss Pei was not lacking money and had spent a significant amount of funds nurturing this team. It did not look like he wanted to use the club to generate profits, and the club was not even allowed to take part in competitions in any case.
Thus, they guessed that Boss Pei had formed the club to personally play with them. He was probably quite close to them and would not be willing to sell the members.
Others thought that there was nothing in the world that was not for sale: the question was just how much one was offering.
As for Team Leader Su, he thought that both views made sense.
If he wanted to buy Huang Wang from Boss Pei, he had to be prepared to name a high price. That was especially so now, at this critical juncture, when all clubs had their eyes on the influence and prizes of the first international invitational competition.
If the H4 Club continued to hesitate, other clubs might buy DGE’s members over.
Perhaps Boss Pei didn’t care about the actual transfer fees, but he would definitely care about the sincerity that the fees would represent.
Team Leader Su could not help but feel apprehensive. He wondered if the figure that he had prepared would satisfy Boss Pei.
After more than half an hour, Boss Pei finally arrived.
“Boss Pei! How are you?” Team Leader Su stood up and shook Boss Pei’s hand.
“Team Leader Su, how are you?” Boss Pei had a wide grin on his face as well.
Team Leader Su’s heart warmed immediately. Boss Pei was really easy to get along with! Team Leader Su knew very well that he was here with a favor to ask—to buy one of Boss Pei’s members. Thus, he had to be more respectful.
However, he hadn’t expected Boss Pei not to put on airs at all. Instead, he looked very passionate about this matter.
Yet, what he didn’t know was that he was a hero in Boss Pei’s eyes! Boss Pei had been extremely surprised that the H4 Club wanted to buy Huang Wang over.
It was great! He could not thank the H4 Club enough for offering water to put out Tengda’s fire!
The most problematic member of the DGE Club was Huang Wang.
Huang Wang was the biggest threat to Pei Qian because he was very talented in live-streaming. After doing it for a while, he gained Waiwai’s support and became ridiculously popular.
Moreover, after the club’s winning streak in the Performance Competition, Huang Wang became even more well-liked.
If Boss Pei continued to sit back, Huang Wang would lure more and more sponsors to the DGE Club. He might even cause all the other members to start live-streaming, so that the club would instantly go viral.
That was very possible.
Although the other members were not as well-spoken as Huang Wang, they worked out every day and looked presentable. Huang Wang only had to invite them to play a game with him, give them some exposure, and switch on his webcam.
Together with DGE’s name, the other members would also become famous for sure.
Then, it would be too late to turn back!
So, to Pei Qian, Huang Wang was the root of the problem in DGE. The H4 Club was doing him a huge favor by offering to buy Huang Wang over!
If Huang Wang got more and more popular after being transferred to the H4 Club, it would be their problem. Of course, Pei Qian could not go so far as to say that it would have nothing to do with DGE, but at least he wouldn’t drag DGE down with him.
What’s more, Huang Wang probably wouldn’t have any objections. He could not take part in official competitions by remaining with the DGE Club.
Pei Qian could not turn down the transfer of membership fees even though he didn’t want it. If he offere
d to give his contracted team members away to other clubs for absolutely nothing, he would be breaking the System’s regulations. The System would not allow it.
However, the System would not interfere in negotiations between two parties and whether they decided on a higher or lower price.
So, Pei Qian decided to use his traditional strength—reverse bargaining!
He would allow the other party to name a price first. Then, he would mention Huang Wang’s flaws and allow the other party to lower their offer. He would only accept the offer once the other party reached the minimum.
In short, he would try to earn as little as possible!
Pei Qian, Zhang Yuan, and Team Leader Su arrived in the conference room, ready to commence negotiations.
Seeing how passionate Boss Pei was, Team Leader Su could not help but feel moved. He decided to cut straight to the chase and tell Pei Qian how much the H4 Club was willing to offer for a start as a display of his own sincerity.
If Boss Pei had any questions about the figure, he could slowly raise the price later.
Team Leader Su took a sip of his tea and said, “Boss Pei, I’ve already spoken to Manager Zhang about many issues yesterday. Let’s just cut to the chase today.
“The H4 Club is really lacking a good midlaner so you could say that we are quite desperate! Our club really appreciates Huang Wang, and we’re willing to offer 1.5 million yuan to transfer his membership.
“We’ll also give Huang Wang eight hundred thousand yuan for signing on and eight hundred thousand yuan a year as remuneration. We hope that sounds acceptable to you, Boss Pei!”
Pei Qian’s teacup lingered at his lips. He was stunned.
That much? That figure was much more than Pei Qian had expected.
As Pei Qian recalled, there were esports athletes who earned sky-high sign-on fees that went into eight digits. However, that was only after they had remained in the career for six to seven years. Huang Wang was still a beginner, but they were already offering him so much money.
Based on his memory, when LOL entered season two, the local esports clubs were only giving their members petty allowance. Each team member received a mere few thousand yuan per month, and that was already considered much more generous than other clubs.