Chapter 421 - Chapter 795: One Street Apart!

The plane landed at Los Angeles Airport at 7: 05 AM.

Considering the time difference, the current time in China was almost 15 hours ahead. That meant that it was actually 10 PM in Jingzhou.

Pan Ying already had a good sleep on the plane. He went to the washroom in advance to change out of his pajamas and then washed up.

The ten-odd hours on the plane were still very wonderful for him. First, he ate like crazy. He ate all sorts of meals, drinks, ice cream, and desserts. After he ate his fill, he put on his earphones and watched two movies. Then, he slept comfortably for eight hours.

He felt refreshed after waking up.

He had already filled out the application form on the plane previously, and Wu Yue had also given everyone their local cell phone SIM cards.

Pan Ying changed into his SIM card and switched on his cell phone.

"Eh? Today is still the 22nd?"

Pan Ying instinctively felt that something was strange. When they left Shanghai, it was noon on the 22nd. However, when they arrived in Los Angeles, it was morning on the 22nd. It was as if they had wasted an entire day for nothing.

Wu Yue smiled. "You'll have to return all the time when you return."

"Alright, everyone, quickly grab your hand luggage. We're getting off the plane."

Pan Ying and the other team members were afraid that they would be lost at the thought that they were already in a foreign land. It would be difficult for them to even ask for directions since they did not know much english. They quickly followed behind.

This plane might have two floors, but there were only dozens of seats in the business class. There were more than four hundred seats in the economy class, so there were economy class seats on both floors.

However, there was a special channel for business class. First, they had to get off the plane. What's more, there was a commercial express service. Thus, they could save a lot of time both on and off the plane.

Wu Yue did not know where Zhao Xuming and the others were at the moment, but since they were not going to the same place, there was no need to meet again.

The interpreter had already contacted the bodyguards and minibus that were hired in advance. They could go directly from the airport to the competition venue.

Under the guidance of Wu Yue, Ding Gan, and the interpreter, everyone quickly met up with the local guides and bodyguards.

These four bodyguards were all dressed in suits and leather shoes. They were even wearing sunglasses. They would not look out of place even if they were pulled over and placed next to the president.

Pan Ying sighed from the bottom of his heart. "This is too f*cking impressive..."

"It's like a dream."

The other team members were also filled with excitement. All of them were full of energy. The ten-odd hours on the plane did not make them feel tired. Instead, they had rested well and were now full of energy.

The three photographers were filming the entire process as well. They recorded everything that happened on the way from Shanghai to Los Angeles. After all, they were given enough money and were very responsible.

In the minibus, Pan Ying asked, "Which hotel did we book?"

Wu Yue smiled. "It's near the venue, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel."

Ding Gan could not help but feel emotional as he said, "The standard that Boss Pei set for all of you is ridiculously high. I can pay for my own accommodation at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, but to give 30 people a month's stay there... that's ridiculous."

Wu Yue nodded. "Actually, I didn't think too much about it at the time. Boss Pei gave too high a standard for food and accommodation. I saw that there was a Ritz-Carlton hotel nearby. It was quite suitable in all aspects, so I decided on it."

Ding Gan could not help but feel speechless.

What the f*ck!

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel was a high-class hotel with a resort brand. Even among five-star hotels, it was considered one of the more luxurious ones. What's more, it was only a street away from the competition venue. The location was very good.

Of course, Ding Gan would be willing to move in on his own. However, Boss Pei had arranged for all 30 members of the team to stay here. This highlighted the inhumanity of a trench.

Wu Yue looked around at everyone and said, "The hotel can only be checked-in in the afternoon. We can deposit our luggage and eat something when we arrive. There's a special chef here to provide Chinese food. In order to prevent us from not being able to acclimatize, we'll mainly eat Chinese food."

"Of course, before the international competition officially begins, you can eat local delicacies from time to time to regulate your diet."

"Do you all still need to take a break at the hotel?"

The players shook their heads.

What was there to rest for? They had already eaten their fill on the plane and slept for eight hours. Now, they could now start training after a light snack!

Wu Yue nodded. "Alright, let's deposit our luggage first. Once we settle down, we'll go to the training area to take a look. We'll check in when we return in the afternoon."

"There aren't many internet cafes here. After all, internet cafes are not particularly popular overseas."

"Considering the distance, environment, and computer configurations, there is only one suitable option.

"We have already booked all the machines on the second floor of this internet cafe in advance. From now on, we will train here. However, everyone should be mentally prepared. It might not be as good as Fish-Catching Internet Cafe even though it is the best internet cafe nearby."

Pan Ying was a little surprised. "Huh? Book the entire floor? Wouldn't that be too wasteful?"

Wu Yue shook his head. "It's not a waste, it's more worth it."

"The internet fees here are different from in China. They are very expensive. They cost 10 US dollars per hour, and 18 US dollars every three hours. However, they only cost 20 US dollars per day. Most players here only play for one to three hours. That's why they set such a price."

"We'll train here other than resting in the hotel. I've already asked the boss in advance. There are a lot of machines in the hall on the first floor. There are more than a hundred of them, but there are less than thirty on the second floor. The environment on the second floor is better. It cost about 600 US dollars a day to book the entire place for the day. It's not expensive."

"That way, we wouldn't have to worry about being disturbed by strangers, nor do we have to worry about the possibility of tactical leakage."

Pan Ying nodded excitedly. "Sure, perfect! Let's hurry up and start training then. I can't wait!"

...

Two hours later, Zhao Xuming and the members of the two clubs finally arrived at the entrance of Courtyard by Marriott with sleepy eyes.

The airport might not be far from here, but it took a lot of time to get their luggage and other operations out of the airport.

The team members were all a little listless. They felt like they were relying on a breath of immortal air to survive.

They did not sleep well in the seats of economic class even though they had slept for a few hours. They would often wake up once every two or three hours. When they woke up, it was difficult for them to continue sleeping because of their soreness. They could only watch movies out of boredom.

In short, no one had a good rest. They were exhausted from the long journey. Their clothes were full of wrinkles, and their hair was very messy. They could not wait to go to the hotel to take a shower and have a good sleep.

Zhao Xuming thought to himself that it was a good thing that the people in the business class could leave first. Otherwise, it would be so awkward if they met again at the airport!

He could picture Wu Yue and the others leaving the business class cabin in such a perfect state. He looked at his own condition... He really did not want to think too much about it.

They had finally arrived at the hotel!

The team members looked at the imposing Courtyard by Marriott building in front of them. Their fatigue from the long journey was finally relieved, and their eyes were filled with excitement.

This time, the official hotel that Finger Games had arranged for the various clubs was this Courtyard by Marriott. They would be able to continue seamlessly after the international competition began.

Courtyard by Marriott was equivalent to a four-star hotel. It was a mid-tier hotel, and it was already considered quite popular. No one could complain that the accommodations were poor.

The main entrance of the hotel was a circular arc-shaped lobby, which was recessed inward. Moreover, they had a huge billboard in it, which was very magnificent.

Just as everyone was about to drag their luggage in, they heard a team member say, "Hey, what is this tall building across the road?"

The others turned around and saw a sea-blue skyscraper across the street.

Courtyard by Marriott was quite tall but it was on a completely different level from the building across the road. The latter could already be regarded as a landmark and was about two hundred meters tall.

Zhao Xuming said, "Oh, that's the Ritz Carlton Hotel. It's about three times the price here."

The team members could not help but click their tongues, tacitly stop discussing about this topic.

Three times more expensive?

A double room here would cost about 1,000 yuan, while the other one would cost about 2,500 yuan. The difference in price was huge.

However, these two hotels were separated by a road, and they were facing each other. They were only about 200 meters away from the venue, so they had the same convenience.

What's more, the accommodation at Courtyard by Marriott was not bad. What kind of family would stay in the opposite building? They would be content and happy.

The team members could only comfort themselves with such thoughts.

However, just as these people were about to enter the hotel lobby and forget about this matter, they saw a group of people walking out of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel opposite them, talking and laughing. All of them were full of energy as they boarded the minibus parked not far away.

The three photographers were still filming behind them.

They might be a distance away but Zhao Xuming and the others still recognized them at a glance. After all, when one was in a foreign country, all of their compatriots would naturally have a halo effect.

The minibus started moving quickly, carrying a group of players.

Zhao Xuming and the others fell into awkward silence.

In fact, the members of these two clubs did not have any special feelings before. They felt that while the hotel opposite was good, it had nothing to do with them. Most of them were celebrities or rich ballers.

Since Finger Games had arranged for all the clubs to have the same accommodation and food, there was no need to ask for more.

However, everyone's mentality changed subtly after seeing FV Club and SUG Club walk out of the Ritz-Carlton hotel opposite.

That was unacceptable!

It was one thing for this group of people to take business class cabins, but the hotel they were staying in was twice as expensive and several levels higher than the official hotel!

Their mentality became a little shaky.

Zhao Xuming only had one feeling now: Ridiculous!

What kind of relationship did FV Club have with Boss Pei? He treated them like his own son. Did Boss Pei have so much spare money to spend?

Weren't the veteran clubs overseas and celebrities with high net worth staying at the Courtyard by Marriott obediently?

Those who did not know better would think that these people from FV Club were big shots!

Zhao Xuming silently felt sour. After a moment of silence, he quickly changed the topic. "Hurry up with the check in then we'll find a place to eat."

The others also responded and stopped talking about FV Club.

Since they could only check in in the afternoon, everyone decided to deposit their luggage first. They would eat in the hotel and settle in after settling the training ground.

There was a buffet in the hotel that cost 15 US dollars per person. They were all standard American food and snacks. They were not particularly used to eating them, but they were not bad overall.

Zhao Xuming, the interpreter, and the two club leaders ate as they thought about the problem with the training ground.

Even though Finger Games' official platform would arrange for training rooms, that would definitely happen only after the international competition began. What's more, the so-called training rooms would probably be renting a few conference rooms in the hotel and be distributed to the team members, They would probably have a few computers and a few E-Sports chairs. They could not ask too much for the overall conditions and environment.

They had to find a place of their own to train if they wanted to start early.

The interpreter said, "Boss Zhao, I just checked. There are not many internet cafes around here, but there is one that is relatively good. We can consider it."

"We can go and take a look after dinner. Coincidentally, Finger Games has also given us high rank super accounts. We can let our players play RANK here. We can also arrange the training competition with the other European and American teams in advance."

Zhao Xuming nodded distractedly.

He did not care about the training of the two teams at all. After all, he was in charge of IOI in Long Yu Corporation and not the mother of the team.

Zhao Xuming felt that it was one thing for him to pay for these two teams, but he could not possibly care about the training grounds too, right?

He only had one thought now. He wanted to move in quickly, take a shower, and have a good sleep. Then, he would go to the headquarters of Finger Games with the other employees of Longyu Corporation.

At that moment, a leader suddenly said, "Wow, the hotel that FV Club is staying in... isn't the environment too good?"

The team members at the side leaned over to take a look.

The official Weibo of FV Club had updated the details of the trip to Los Angeles in real time, including the photo they took at the airport and some daily videos.

The latest Weibo post was a photo of everyone having a meal at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Obviously, the group from FV Club had arrived half an hour earlier than them.

The photo did not focus on the food, mainly on the players. However, it could still be seen that the dining environment was obviously not on the same level as this place. There were all sorts of dishes: sushi, sashimi, cake, roasted meat, and even Chinese food.

The food looked amazing and exquisite. All the food was carefully arranged. After being shot by professional photographers, it looked very appetizing.

Unsurprisingly, there were all sorts of 'posting poison in the middle of the night' and 'envious, jealous, and hateful' comments under Weibo. After all, it was late at night in China.

The members of the two clubs looked at the buffet they were eating. The knives and forks in their hands slowed down unconsciously.

Zhao Xuming, on the other hand, was fuming.

These people from FV Club are too much!

Was there a need to be like a country bumpkin, walking and filming, constantly showing off?

Everyone knew that that hotel was better. In the end, not only did you casually take photos outside, you even wanted to take photos of food?

How was that not slapping their faces?

Too much, simply too much!

Zhao Xuming had thought that the buffet was not bad, but now, he only felt that it was tasteless.

Unbearable!

Chapter 796: Haters, Use More Firepower!

After the meal, the leaders of the two clubs brought the team to the internet cafe that they had set their sights on to inspect the training venue.

Zhao Xuming did not go with them. He stayed in the hotel's resting area and took out his laptop to work.

Of course, work was only one of the reasons. Another reason was that Zhao Xuming could not be bothered to get involved in these matters. In his opinion, he had already done everything to his best to this extent. Yet he had almost caused his mentality to collapse. Now, he only wanted to visit Finger Games. He did not want to continue messing around with these E-Sports clubs.

The distance between the internet cafe and the hotel was considered moderate. They could reach in fifteen minutes.

The two team leaders felt that the distance was not too far. They could still stretch their bodies and admire the scenery of Los Angeles by walking.

After eating and drinking to their heart's content, they walked on foreign soil. The team members' mentality that had been destroyed by FV Club's Weibo gradually improved.

Even though this was the city center, it was not particularly cramped nor was it filled with skyscrapers that made people feel suffocated. Thus, it felt good to walk on the streets.

"It's just up ahead. We're almost there." The interpreter looked at the map on his cell phone and pointed ahead.

The players looked over as well. Their first impression was that the internet cafe was huge!

It was not common for internet cafes to take up so much space in China.

Their second thought was, why did the minibus parked at the entrance look so familiar?

The leaders of the two clubs looked at each other, an ominous feeling rising in their hearts.

Was it not over? Why was FV Club everywhere?!

The two of them could not wait to turn around and leave on the spot. However, on further thought, there was only one internet cafe nearby with better facilities. What if they went to another internet cafe and found that the system was not good enough?

Thus, everyone hesitated for a moment before they braced themselves and entered.

After pushing the door open, a huge hall and rows of computers appeared in front of everyone.

The internet cafes here were obviously different from local internet cafes. Firstly, the renovation style was rather rough. The ceiling was filled with all sorts of intricate and complicated pipelines. All the computer computers were placed on a shelf that was more than two meters tall. Secondly, there seemed to be no concept of private rooms here. There was only a huge hall on the entire floor.

The two team leaders took a look. There were many people playing games in the hall. Some were playing IOI and some were playing GOG. A rough scan showed that it was divided rather equally. Many were playing FPS games.

There were still many empty seats in the hall.

The computer's configurations were not bad, and the seats were all e-sports gaming chairs with famous foreign brands. The only drawback was that the keyboards were not very good and were slightly dirty. However, the players had their own peripherals so this was not a problem.

The two team leaders were quite satisfied with the environment here, so they went to the front desk with the interpreter to ask for the price.

"It's so expensive... 10 dollars per hour, and only 20 dollars per day. Of course we'll take the entire day."

"Sigh, I see anyone from FV Club. DId we mistake the minibus outside?"

The two team leaders quickly reached a consensus. It would definitely be more cost-effective to book on a day to day basis, but the specific location would become a key problem.

The interpreter wanted to talk to the boss about the price and see if there were any discounts for so many people to book the computers together. The two leaders walked around the hall separately to see which place was more suitable.

It was a pity that the hall was too big. No matter which area he booked, they would still be affected.

One of the team leaders' eyes lit up. "Eh? Isn't there a second floor?"

He saw a staircase and wondered if he could go to the second floor to take a look. It would be alright to pay a bit more if the environment on the second floor was better and more private.

However, just as he walked up the stairs to the second floor, he saw four tall and strong men in black suits standing in a line, reaching out to stop him.

"SORRY, @ # ¥% &*..."

The four bodyguards in black suits spoke a long string of English, which confused the leader.

However, this formation still gave him a shock. After all, the four bodyguards were all dressed in black suits with walkie-talkies. They also had a pair of sunglasses in front of their chests. The muscles on their bodies were bulging, and they looked similar to the gangsters in Western movies.

The team leader's English was not good. He could not understand what they were saying. Fortunately, the interpreter quickly followed them. After conversing with the four bodyguards in black, he quickly understood.

"They said that the entire second floor has been booked." The translator explained.

The leader frowned and looked suspicious. He stood on his toes and looked past the four burly men who were almost two meters tall. As expected, he saw the members of FV Club.

"F*ck!"

The leader could not help but curse. The premonition had come true!

Most of the machines upstairs had been taken up. There were a total of 15 people from FV Club Team One, Team Two, and SUG Club. However, there were also the accompanying staff and data analysis team.

The data analysis team also had to use the computer to observe the battle and analyze the data. Even the three photographers were using the computer to edit the videos.

The team leader and the interpreter had no choice but to retreat to the first floor.

"What should we do? Change locations, or..." The translator asked for the opinions of the two team leaders.

The team leader sighed. "Let's do it here. We'll pick a corner and a place further away from the stairs..."

The configuration and location of this internet cafe was the most satisfactory, so it was not easy to change. However, they had to stay away from FV Club, or the situation would be awkward.

The two team leaders quickly completed the procedures and arranged for the team members to use the computers.

"Come, everyone, change to your pherpicals. I've already sent the super account given by Finger Games to everyone. Take your own. Let's warm up with Rank today. We'll arrange for a training competition with the teams from Europe and America in two days."

As the team members logged into their super accounts one by one to start training, the two team leaders sat down at the side and finally felt better.

At the very least, they knew that FV Club probably did not obtain super accounts. That meant that they could not play Rank. Moreover, without the official platform to pull strings, they probably did not have any channels to arrange for a training competition with other European and American teams.

"Everyone, work hard and train hard. You must get good results!"

The contestants said in unison, "Alright!"

...

December 23rd, Friday...

Pei Qian sipped his coffee and swiped his cell phone in the morning.

"FV Club is already in Los Angeles. Why are there so many updates on Weibo?"

"Holy sh*t, the food and accommodation are so good? I regret not going..."

"Forget it, forget it. There's nothing good overseas."

"Eh? Why do I feel like I've been scolded? How many melons have I missed in my sleep?"

When Pei Qian woke up, it was already night time in Los Angeles. FV Club had already posted several Weibo posts, from boarding the plane to checking into the hotel, and then starting training. They had posted many pictures and videos.

After all, the three photographers had accompanied them the entire time. Apart from taking photos and editing, they had nothing else to do. They could only try their best to make their presence known.

At the beginning, the Weibo page was still mainly filled with photos. There were even short videos that had been edited.

Obviously, they had nothing better to do in the internet cafe.

There were photos of delicacies in there. There were photos taken from the top level of the hotel and showed the entire Los Angeles and the competition venue. Even the four bodyguards in black suits were included.

Even Pei Qian felt a little envious after looking at it. One could only imagine how the others felt.

Most of the comments on Weibo were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. However, there were also many discordant voices on the forum.

"Oh my god, are they in Los Angeles already? Why are there so many people?"

"SUG Club is there too? What's going on?"

"What about the other two teams?"

"Business class? It should be quite expensive, right? Finger Games are so good that they actually gave them tickets for business class?"

"Holy sh*t, they're staying in the Ritz-Carlton? That's the most expensive hotel in the area, right?"

"I'm jealous!"

"What's the situation with these four black-clothed bodyguards... are they filming a movie? Does Finger Games provide bodyguards? Does every team have them?"

"I remember that FV Club used to only post one Weibo post every week or two. Why did it suddenly become so popular?"

"F*ck! Someone exposed that this was not arranged by Finger Games! All the expenses, including the air tickets, hotels, and bodyguards were paid by FV Club!"

"They paid themselves? How much is that?!"

"Is this Weibo post showing off?"

"They haven't even gotten results, and they're already doing all these fancy things! Are they intentionally messing with the mentality of other teams?"

"As everyone knows, the more things you do outside the game, the worse your results will be. You've enjoyed so many benefits. If your results are not good, you guys will die with me!"

"This money was probably given by Boss Pei, right? However, isn't Boss Pei doting on these players too much? With such good conditions, did he really think they were going on a holiday?"

At first, everyone thought that it was arranged by Finger Games. However, they soon realized that it was not the case. Other teams did not have such treatment!

Many fans of other teams could not accept this.

On one hand, they felt that FV Club's treatment was much better than other clubs. They were a little jealous. On the other hand, many people subconsciously associated material conditions with greed and enjoyment.

The E-Sports industry was constantly developing and the treatment was gradually improving. Ignoring people who did not play games, even many players and viewers felt that E-Sports players did not deserve good treatment.

Instead, many people missed the days when e-sports athletes slept on the streets, ate instant noodles made with cold water, and became champions.

Of course, there were indeed some players who became inflated because of good material standard of living and did not train seriously, causing them to lose the competition. Thus, many people instinctively felt uncomfortable seeing FV Club's players in such good conditions. They posted some discordant voices on the forum.

Pei Qian was not angry at all. Instead, he was enjoying it.

Sure, haters, make use of the time to add firepower to the criticism!

He wanted to tarnish FV Club's popularity and make all the money he spent go to waste!

The team members' cell phones were all under the same management over there. They could not browse the forums. The comments from the haters on Weibo and the forums should not affect their mentality, but at least they could strike a blow to FV Club's image, right?

If they did not do well in the international competition, they would definitely be criticized. The club would not be able to pull in investments or sell for a good price. Pei Qian's share prices in the club would not increase, and the money he spent would be wasted...

It would be the perfect scenario, right?

Chapter 797: Professional Data Analysis Completed

Pei Qian temporarily stopped paying attention after understanding briefly about the situation of FV Club in Los Angeles.

They were half a globe away and there were still more than ten hours of time difference after all. Even if something were to happen over there, it would be too late for Pei Qian to make up for it.

He could only let nature take its course and hope that the decadent life of capitalism could corrupt the fighting spirit of his team members.

Pei Qian continued to check on the other departments.

At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.

Pei Qian looked up. It was He Desheng.

"What's the matter?" Pei Qian asked.

He Desheng nodded. "Boss Pei, it's about the Cold-Faced Lady. Meng Chang is in Jingzhou again. He hopes to meet you again. I haven't agreed yet, so I came to ask for instructions. Do you... want to meet him?"

Pei Qian was stunned.

Why did this Meng Chang come to Jingzhou again?!

While I'm happy that you're running back and forth so that I can spend more money on reimbursement but why do you want to talk to me in person again?

I'm so busy... Oh, alright. I'm not actually busy. However, while I have a lot of time, I have to spend it on losing money. I don't have time to listen to your nonsense.

Pei Qian asked, "What is he here for?"

He Desheng replied, "He said that he wanted to express his gratitude to you in person for the two million yuan that you gave him previously. In other words, he probably wants to fight for the possibility of you investing more money."

Pei Qian instinctively frowned.

Invest more money?

It's not that I can't invest. The key is that you have to spend money honestly and not cause me any trouble!

This time, Pei Qian gave them two million yuan without saying anything. He only bought some shares of the cold-faced lady based on the current valuation.

Pei Qian planned to continue giving the money to Meng Chang after he finished spending it. That was mainly to keep the cold-faced lady in a lukewarm and half-dead state. It was the safest to burn money.

However, Pei Qian did not tell Meng Chang about it. In fact, he did not even give him any hints. Thus, Meng Chang did not know about Boss Pei's subsequent investment plan.

Pei Qian did not think too much about it. "I'll not meet him."

Pei Qian felt that there was nothing much to talk about between him and Meng Chang. Meng Chang came to Jingzhou definitely to get more money to do marketing and increase the valuation of the Cold-Faced Lady. However, Pei Qian did not want that to happen.

Therefore, their goals were fundamentally conflicting. Even if they met, they would probably not understand each other. Pei Qian could not tell Meng Chang the truth and would only be wasting his time.

He Desheng nodded. "Alright, Boss Pei. I'll send him away now."

...

On the other side, in Dream Realization Ventures' guest room...

Meng Chang was anxiously waiting for He Desheng to return. The gifts he had brought were untouched and placed aside.

During this period of time, although he looked calm on the surface, he was actually very anxious.

Boss Pei had suddenly sold all of the Cold-Faced Lady's shares and left, leaving him, the founder, in a sorry state, something big nearly happened.

Fortunately, Meng Chang had a strong character. He managed to coax and deceive the investors so that their confidence wouldn't collapse instantly. However, this matter still had a very bad effect.

The Cold-Faced Lady's daily expenses were huge. Since he could not find any money, Meng Chang could only carefully reduce the cost. He did not dare to make it too obvious, for fear of being discovered.

Once news like 'Cold-Faced Lady cut costs' was exposed, even a fool would be able to tell that the Cold-Faced Lady was out of money and about to die. Then, something big would really happen.

However, no matter how hard he tried on the surface, the money on the accounts would not lie. He could not hold on to the profits of the shop.

Meng Chang was so anxious that he could not sleep at night. After all, the situation was getting more disadvantageous for him as the days passed.

Meng Chang even wanted to give up and just let nature take its course. When the capital chain could not take it anymore, he would directly announce that the Cold-Faced Lady had gone bankrupt. The bankruptcy of the limited liability company would not implicate him, the founder. At the very most, he would at most treat everything as a dream. The sly old fox had met an even more cunning fox that was Boss Pei. At least he would have lost with dignity.

However, at that critical moment, Boss Pei returned!

Although two million yuan was not a lot, it solved Meng Chang's urgent problem and allowed Cold-Faced Lady to continue operating.

What's more, Boss Pei's attitude this time was very interesting.

He had bought the shares based on a high valuation. There was no price reduction, no tricks, and he had not even made any requests. It was as if he was giving money for nothing.

This confused Meng Chang, but at the same time, he seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

If Boss Pei were to invest again... would everyone be able to pretend that nothing had happened and continue playing happily?

Meng Chang knew very well that the Cold-Faced Lady had been popular for a period of time now that it had developed to its current stage. It was now famous and there were no problems with it on the surface. Finding someone to buy him out would depend on this final bluff.

Boss Pei's two million yuan was not much but Meng Chang saw hope again.

What's more, Meng Chang saw FV Club's Weibo on the internet today and knew that Boss Pei was very generous to FV Club. He allowed them to take business class and stay in a five-star hotel. Such a huge team would cost at least a few million yuan for the Los Angeles trip.

Obviously, Boss Pei was very generous and he still had a lot of money on hand.

He would rather give so much money to an eSports Club to go overseas to eat, drink, and play than invest in the Cold-Faced Lady. That was a little unreasonable, right?

Therefore, Meng Chang felt that he could still strive for the money with Boss Pei since Boss Pei had already given him some money. It wouldn't be too much to take ten minutes to meet him, right?

As Meng Chang waited anxiously, He Desheng returned.

"How is it, Boss He?" Meng Chang immediately stood up and asked.

He Desheng shook his head slightly. "Sorry, Boss Pei doesn't have time to see you. Please leave."

Meng Chang opened his mouth slightly, feeling lost.

He was rejected?

Boss Pei had already given him money, but he was not even willing to meet him for five minutes? What was going on?

What was Boss Pei's attitude towards Cold-Faced Lady now?

"Boss He, can we really not fight for it?" Meng Chang refused to give up.

He Desheng sighed, shook his head, and said, "Boss Pei has always been a man of his word. No one can dissuade him when he has thought of something. If he says he won't see me, then he won't. It would only backfire if I ask him again. Go back."

Meng Chang opened his mouth but hesitated.

He was very indignant, but there was nothing he could do. He could only turn around and leave silently.

He Desheng picked up all the expensive gifts that Meng Chang brought and handed them back. "There's no need for these gifts. Boss Pei won't accept them."

Meng Chang wanted to reject him but he had no choice but to take it back seeing how determined He Desheng was.

...

Meng Chang held his gift and felt very lost after leaving Dream Realization Ventures.

The tiny spark of hope that had just risen was extinguished by Boss Pei's rejection.

For some reason, Meng Chang suddenly felt like he had met a scumbag.

What did Boss Pei mean?

He invested and then divested; Invested and then divested...

The key was that they could never predict what Boss Pei's next move would be. When he predicted that he would continue investing, he suddenly sold his shares at a low price. When he predicted that he would not invest again, he inexplicably sent two million yuan to him.

There was no clean break like an old PUA[1.Abbreviated for 'Pickup Artist'].

The chauffeur took the gift and put it back into the trunk. He asked, "Boss Meng, where are we going next? Are we going back to Beijing, or..."

Meng Chang frowned and pondered for a moment.

Suddenly, he thought of something and took out his cell phone to check.

"Boss Li from Fu Hui Investments is also in Jingzhou. Why don't we go there and take a look? We can't make a wasted trip since we're already here, right?"

Meng Chang had a list of potential investors in his heart who might invest in Cold-Faced Lady.

To Meng Chang, this list was extremely important.

Li Shi had been paying attention to the Cold-Faced Lady's situation and had intentions to invest. Meng Chang knew this very well.

Since he was already in Jingzhou, there was no hurry to return. He might as well take this opportunity to pay Boss Li a visit and see if he could obtain some investments.

No matter how small a mosquito was, there would still be some meat. What's more, Fu Hui Investments had a lot of funds. What if Boss Li was persuaded and decided to invest a few million yuan on the spot? That was not impossible.

It was not as if there had never been a case of investing a few hundred million yuan in ten minutes in the investment circle. What's more, it had happened quite a few times. A few million yuan was nothing to them.

At that thought, Meng Chang said to the driver, "Don't go back to Beijing first. Go to Fu Hui Investments."

...

Half an hour later, Meng Chang arrived at Fu Hui Investments' guest room.

He did not bring the gift. On one hand, it was a thank-you gift for Boss Pei. It would be inappropriate to give it to others even though Boss Pei did not want it. What's more, Boss Li was very close to Boss Pei. Meng Chang was worried that it would backfire if he were to be too humble.

Li Shi was very warm and welcomed him personally. Xue Zhebin was with him.

The three of them had known each other for a long time. They chatted while drinking tea, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, both parties entered into the main topic.

"Boss Meng should be very busy in Beijing. Why do you have time to come to Jingzhou?" Li Shi asked as he sipped his tea slowly.

Meng Chang smiled. "I feel a little ashamed."

"If I were a little more hypocritical, I would definitely say that I came specially to visit Boss Li. However, I have always been a rather honest person. I cannot tell such lies."

"To be honest, I came to Jingzhou this time to thank Boss Pei in person. However, Boss Pei was busy with work and did not have time to see me. Coincidentally, Boss Li is also in Jingzhou, so I came to pay a visit."

Li Shi smiled. "Boss Meng, you're too polite. Even a visit along the way is still a visit and is a token of appreciation. Come, have some tea."

Meng Chang knew very well that Li Shi was very smart and was very guarded by nature.

He had been observing and paying attention to the Cold-Faced Lady's since their first news conference, but he had not invested a single cent until now. This was enough to show that Li Shi was filled with doubts about the Cold-Faced Lady and did not trust Meng Chang.

If Meng Chang were to say that he had specially come to visit Li Shi, it would easily arouse Li Shi's wariness and might backfire.

Now, Meng Chang said that he was here to visit Boss Pei and Li Shi on the way. It might sound a little rude but it could remove some of his wariness.

What's more, Meng Chang knew about the relationship between Li Shi and Boss Pei. He also knew that Li Shi had always liked to follow Boss Pei in investments blindly.

Thus, his words had cleverly planted a small trap. It would depend on whether Li Shi would take the bait.

If Li Shi did not take the bait, Meng Chang would not mention it again because that would seem too deliberate.

Li Shi sipped his tea and caught the message from Meng Chang sharply. "You're planning to thank Boss Pei in person? What are you thanking him for?"

According to the information he had, Boss Pei had already sold all of the shares in the Cold-Faced Lady. He had also led a large group of investors to continue watching on the sidelines, causing Meng Chang a lot of trouble.

Since they had nothing to do with each other anymore, why did Meng Chang have to go all the way to thank him? That didn't seem to make sense.

Meng Chang smiled and said, "Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that Boss Pei invested a small sum for a small portion of Cold-Faced Lady's shares again."

He did not want to mention two million yuan since it would not be exciting, at the same time he could not brag too much. What if Li Shi really went to verify with Boss Pei? Thus, he could only vaguely mention it.

Li Shi's eyes lit up with interest.

Boss Pei was investing again?

Previously, Li Shi had told Xue Zhebin that Boss Pei could very likely enter the game again like the 'Top Student, Come Quick' project. That would be the best time to invest.

Now that Boss Pei had invested, didn't that mean...

However, on further thought, Li Shi realized that something was amiss.

If Boss Pei really wanted to copy the 'Top Student, Come Quick' project, he would not only invest in a 'small sum' but buy over the entire Cold-Faced Lady and completely control it.

That was because only by completely controlling it could he modify it according to his own ideas.

The meaning of a 'small sum' was very intriguing.

Li Shi realized that Boss Pei was investing first, then selling, and then continuing to invest. It looked like he was investing time and again, but in fact, every step seemed to be poking on Meng Chang's soft spot.

Boss Pei would pour a bucket of cold water over Meng Chang every time he was getting the investors' attention and was about to succeed. Boss Pei would invest another sum of money to continue the project every time Meng Chang was about to run out of money and could not hold on any longer.

Did that mean...

Boss Pei actually thought highly of Meng Chang's ability but not his character?

Did Boss Pei think that Meng Chang's thoughts were not on the right path, so he wanted to use this method to beat him up?

Li Shi had many thoughts on it in that instant. Boss Pei's previous actions seemed to have a relatively reasonable explanation.

Meng Chang knew nothing about this. However, judging from Li Shi's expression, it was obvious that Li Shi had successfully gotten the hidden message he wanted to convey through the information he gave.

Since that was the case, it meant that there was still a possibility of Li Shi investing!

Indeed, after some consideration, Li Shi said, "I have the intention to invest a sum of money into the Cold-Faced Lady, but..."

Meng Chang was originally very happy when he heard the first half of the sentence. However, when he heard the word 'but', he was instantly splashed with cold water.

Li Shi did not finish his sentence immediately. Instead, he kept him in suspense and asked, "Boss Meng, do you have confidence in the Cold-Faced Lady model?"

Meng Chang nodded. "Of course I'm confident. However... there's still a chance of failure when it comes to entrepreneurship."

Li Shi considered for a moment and said, "Xue Zhebin and I can invest eight million yuan into you. However, there is a condition. You have to sign a supplementary agreement: You must personally bear unlimited joint and several liability for the company's debts."

Meng Chang could not help but raise his eyebrows slightly when he heard that.

Unlimited joint and several liability. Any literate primary school student who heard these words would feel a chill down their spine.

The so-called unlimited joint and several liability meant that as the founder, he had to bear the company's loss of money with his own finances.

Logically speaking, most companies were limited liability companies. Even if Meng Chang messed up the company, it would be nothing more than the company going bankrupt. He would not take on the debt personally.

However, if it was unlimited liability, the company's debt would be transferred to Meng Chang.

There were many situations like this in the entrepreneurial circle. The founders would often have hundreds of millions of yuan of debt on their backs and become executives because they had signed a valuation adjustment mechanism agreement, share buyback agreement, or taken unlimited liability.

The reason why Meng Chang did not get much investment was because he insisted on not signing any valuation adjustment mechanism agreement or agreeing to share buyback.

That was because once he signed the agreement, it was very likely that he would end up with a huge debt no matter how much investment he took. The risk was too great for him to bear.

However, Boss Li's condition was different from other investors'. To be fair, it was obviously much more benevolent.

That was because Boss Li did not request for a valuation adjustment mechanism from Meng Chang, nor did he ask Meng Chang to buy back all his shares in the future and spit out all the investments he had obtained. Instead, he had only asked Meng Chang to bear unlimited liability to the company's debt.

In other words, Meng Chang would have to pay back the debt that the company owed, but the shares would still rot in the hands of the investors.

Meng Chang fell into deep thought.

If the company did not have a debt problem and successfully obtained more investors' money, he could find someone to buy over his shares and cash out. Everyone would be happy.

If there was really a problem with the company, the amount of money they owed would at most be the rent, employee salary, suppliers' payment, and the like. At most, it would be millions or tens of millions.

There would not be a situation where a person would be in debt for hundreds of millions of yuan and become a beggar for life.

He should not take this sum of money if he had to avoid any risks. However, to Meng Chang, this was the most cost-effective investment he could get in the near future apart from Boss Pei.

It would be fine if the Cold-Faced Lady could not succeed at all, however, it had already reached this stage. How could he give up?

As a gambler, Meng Chang really could not make such a cruel decision.

In fact, Meng Chang had been increasing the stakes continuously during the process of operating the Cold-Faced Lady. The more he increased the stakes, the harder it was to give up. He was originally just an ordinary employee who had no right to participate in such a capital game. He did not even have the right to play cards.

He got here one step at a time There might be some twists and turns along the way but chips were gathering on the table. It seemed he would be able to take away most of the chips as long as he persevered a little longer...

Under such circumstances, Meng Chang's heart, which had always been firm, could not help but to be a little shaken. He was willing to take a certain amount of risk for the chips that he had already bet.

After much consideration, Meng Chang said, "Boss Li, I can consider your conditions, but I have to look at the specific investment contract first."

Li Shi smiled and nodded. "Of course."

...

It was 2 PM in Los Angeles.

The three clubs were training in the internet cafe. However, FV Club was on the second floor while the other two clubs were in the corner of the first floor.

The members of the two clubs had just used Finger Games' super account to play a few rounds of RANK with their high ranking accounts. At that moment, they were waiting to compete in training competitions with the European and American teams.

The two teams might be training together but they maintained a certain distance on the first floor of the internet cafe.

The reason was simple. They had to be wary of each other.

While they would definitely not be assigned to the same group, they might run into each other once they left the group stages. Both sides had to reserve some trump cards just in case.

One of the team leaders looked at the time anxiously. "He's not here yet? Is the room number wrong?"

The team member shook his head. "It is correct."

"He's here, he's here!"

Five new players entered the custom rooms one after another. Their IDs were all starting with FRY.

These players did not say anything after entering. They only typed: "GO?"

The leader was a little unhappy but still said, "Yes, let's go."

The training competition officially began after the team members replied with a 'GO'.

FRY Club was considered a veteran foreign club. The GOG team that they had previously formed had made it to the semi-finals of GOG's international invitational tournament and obtained fourth place. That was already the best result that foreign teams had achieved.

To be able to achieve such results in a project that started late showed the strength and foundation of FRY Club.

Currently, FRY was also recognized as a top-tier team in the IOI circle.

It was not easy to invite them to the training tournament this time. Zhao Xuming had only managed to invite them through the official connections of Finger Games. If they were to contact them privately, FRY Club would probably decline.

That was because the international competition was about to start. Every team's time was very precious. There were only a few training competitions they could play in a day. It was equivalent to wasting their time and dragging themselves down if they did not improve after fighting a weak team.

FRY Club was more inclined to compete in training competitions with European and American teams. They were not very interested in domestic Chinese teams.

The club's leader was well aware of this. Thus, they did not say much even though the FRY Club was a few minutes late and had no intention of apologizing. They only started the training competition as per normal.

...

An hour later, the training competition ended.

The team members were obviously at a loss. They looked at the game settlement interface and the output data on the screen, frowned, and began to contemplate life.

They had played two training competitions in that hour. They had been cleanly beaten 2: 0, which included 15 minutes of intermission.

After that, the members of the FRY Club left the customized gaming room without even saying goodbye. It was as if they would be dragged down if they stayed a second longer.

The team leader was just like the other team members, completely lost.

After that, the coach and team members began to discuss intensely.

"What kind of playstyle is FRY using? Why can't I understand it at all? It's so different from the previous version!"

"They have obviously started to choose the modified heroes in terms of lineup. We are still playing on the same tactics as before. How are we going to play this?"

"I said at the start that heroes who cannot be defeated should be banned!"

"Can you not say such useless things after the fact? Do you think we can ban so many heroes?"

"I feel like the style of the European and American teams is not countering us. It doesn't feel like they are playing seriously either. Our side collapsed as we played..."

"What's there to counter? It's just the difference in strength..."

The team members were arguing.

Losing a competition was not scary. What was scary was losing so easily and completely that they did not even know where they had gone wrong.

From the lineup selection, version understanding, to the tactical execution and improvisation in the game, they were totally outdone by FRY Club!

There was not much difference in the basic operations of the players on both sides, but FRY Club could always easily obtain an advantage through some small tricks in the early stages. Then, they could use better tactics to increase their advantage. Once the equipment gap was widened, it would be useless no matter what they did.

All the team members felt that they were not personally to blame. However, they had lost so badly. It was not easy for anyone to push the blame away.

That was the easiest way to generate internal strife.

The coach clapped his hands to calm everyone down.

"Alright, stop arguing!"

"There's still some time before the international competition begins. Since everyone has already recognized the gap between us and the European and American teams, we should make use of the time to change."

"From now on, we will study the tactics of the European and American teams. We have confirmed that the international competition will be a new version. Given our current situation, we will definitely be beaten badly if we cannot adapt to the new version."

"Now, let's review the training competition and learn from FRY's tactics..."

The players finally calmed down a little with the coach's guidance.

They might not be able to analyze much in a competition with such a huge gap, but coaches and players did not have a good solution either. They could only do things bit by bit.

The development environment of the IOI clubs in China was not good to begin with. It was making things worse for them now that Finger Games had decided to use the new version for the international competition.

However, he had no other choice. He could only bite the bullet since things had already come to this.

The team leader saw that the atmosphere was still gloomy and quickly comforted them. "It's alright. Everyone, do your best and let nature take its course. Our goal is to qualify for the top eight in a small group. We would have reached our goal as long as we work hard to get into the top four."

"FRY is a veteran strong team in Europe and the United States after all. There are many weak teams from other regions in the international competition this time. We can also qualify in teams as long as we win the weak teams steadily."

"What's more, FV Club doesn't have the same conditions as us. They don't have high-end game accounts, and they don't have any channels to contact these strong European and American teams. They can't compare to us if they rely solely on themselves."

"FV Club is the first seeded team. We'll start from the top eight directly. If we're lucky enough to meet them, we'll be able to fight for the top four. Even if we don't meet them and both get eliminated in the top eight they'll attract ninety percent of the firepower since they are the first seeded team."

"Therefore, don't feel pressured. Just prepare well. FV Club will be the first to be criticized even if we are criticized. Our public opinion environment will definitely be very tolerant."

The team members looked at each other and felt that the leader's words made sense.

What was there to worry about with FV Club at the bottom?

They were the first seeded team. They travelled overseas in business class and stayed in luxury hotels. Then, they would start directly in the quarterfinals. They would not even have a chance to warm up.

Judging from the current situation, they would most likely be eliminated in the first round of the quarterfinals.

Even if they lost the competition, FV Club would be the first to be criticized.

At the thought of this, the atmosphere in the venue became livelier. The players began to review the previous training competition and learn the playing style of FRY Club.

...

At the same time, on the second floor of the internet cafe, FV Team One and SUG Club were having a training competition. The members of FV Team Two were working with the stats analysis team to research the new version of tactics and hero strength.

There was a form on Ye Zhizhou's computer. Various data were densely written on it. They were all changes to the new version.

"These heroes are still unpopular. That's because they are still weak in terms of the game's timeline after the modification. What's more, passersby are less familiar with them. That's why their chances of winning seem very low in terms of official statistics."

"However, after the new version was equipped with specific equipment, their ability to fight in the later stages is greatly improved based on pure data."

"If we choose a lineup with it as the core, we have to pay attention to the protection of the lines at the other locations. At the same time, the user has to be very proficient. At the very least, they have to be strong enough to resist the pressure of the lines. That's because if the hero we choose collapses, it would definitely cause a chain reaction and the other paths would collapse together..."

"On the other hand, if we can stabilize our development in the early and mid stages, the team battle would be stable in the later stages. Our chances of winning would obviously increase..."

FV Club brought along a huge data team this time, including designers like Ye Zhizhou, Min Jingchao, Bao Xu, DGE Club's coach, and FV Club's original tactical team.

These people might have been researching GOG before, but they adapted to IOI in no time.

These two games were of the same genre after all. What's more, IOI had made the gameplay more similar to GOG.

Min Jingchao, in particular, was in charge of the balance of GOG's games. Thus, he was more sensitive to data. He could roughly estimate the strength of the heroes that IOI's new version had adjusted.

Of course, this pure data estimate was very inaccurate.

Some heroes' stats looked beautiful, but in reality, they could not produce results. Even the official statistics guy could not guarantee that the actual adjustment of the game would be as perfect as he had expected.

However, FV Club's tactical team was not just doing a paper exercise. Instead, they were divided into three steps to ensure that the strategies developed could be implemented.

First, Ye Zhizhou, Min Jingchao, and the other stats analysts used their analytical data to determine the strong heroes and playstyles of the new version. They roughly determined a vague range.

After that, DGE's coach, Zhou Pengyuan, would combine the more mature tactical system in GOG with these strong heroes and playstyles. He would propose a prototype of the strategy and wait for verification.

Lastly, the players of the three teams would test the strength of this tactic repeatedly in the first, middle, and later stages through the Solo and mock competition.

If the strength did not meet the standard, the tactical team would analyze the reason for the failure and modify it. If the strength still did not meet the standard, they would give up. If there was a certain tactical effect that was good, they would continue to look for the replacement hero of the key heroes and continue to deepen the changes in playstyles under different conditions.

This cycle would continue until they finally form a few basic combinations of powerful heroes and playstyles. Then, they would continue to dig out play styles that could counter these basic playstyles.

The captain of FV Team, Pan Ying, had been insisting on playing IOI with a more GOG-like playstyle and had received Boss Pei's affirmation. Now that IOI had been modified, it would be easier to adapt to this playstyle. Thus, the team members were all actively cooperating.

As for the high ranking accounts and the training competition with the other clubs... was that still important?

Playing Rank could only help them maintain the feel of the game. It did not have much meaning to improve the team's tactical skills. It might be possible to use a high ranking hero and be familiarized with it but it was still far from being able to use them in the competition.

There was no need to train with other clubs because obtaining tactical information through mock competition was a double edged sword.

If they were to compete in mock competition with the European and American teams, they would definitely come up with new strategies. Once they won, the European and American teams would also be inspired and research in that direction.

At that time, the tactical gap between both sides would shrink.

Of course, this might seem like blind arrogance, but the key was who had the most advanced tactics?

Obviously, FV Club was more confident in their own data analysis team.

The stats analysis team was personally handled by the chief designer and DGE Club's coach after all. It was more likely for them to find the answers to this version when coupled with the team members' personal abilities!

This time, everyone from FV Club held their breaths.

Being eliminated in the first round of the quarterfinals? That is absolutely unacceptable!

Boss Pei arranged such good conditions for us with a dream logistics team. How would we have the face to return to China to meet Boss Pei if we cannot not obtain good results after all that he has afforded us ?

We have to give it our all!

Chapter 798: The Competition Is Nearing

December 26th, Monday...

Pei Qian woke up naturally in the morning. He reluctantly got out of bed, brushed his teeth, and washed his face.

"Perhaps I won't go to the office today..."

"Damn it, I have to study hard from today onwards!"

Pei Qian brushed his teeth in frustration as he made up his mind.

It was a weekend two days ago. Pei Qian could not remember what he had done. It seemed like he had only slept at home, played games, and surfed the web as the two days passed.

Pei Qian had intended to find a quiet place to revise.

It was almost exam week after all. In order to realise his goal to surpass Old Ma, he had to take some time to revise.

However, the problem was that everyone knew that time was like water in a sponge. There would always be water if they squeezed, but sometimes, they would not have the strength to squeeze it out.

Pei Qian felt like his time was like water in the desert. He would always lose it at the speed of light if he was not careful.

What's more, there was a huge problem with his mentality.

On Mondays to Fridays, the company was working normally. Pei Qian often had to keep an eye on them and deal with some work-related matters, such as making decisions which took some strength from him, causing him to have no time to revise.

The company was indeed on holiday on Saturday and Sunday. Logically, Pei Qian should have time to revise, but he was too lazy to move at home.

He was so busy from Monday to Friday. Shouldn't he have a good rest during the weekend? Relax a little?

Yet, for some reason, all the time disappeared.

Pei Qian could not remember how many times he had made up his mind to revise from today onwards. However, his revision progress was still worrying. He had not even finished reading a few pages of the notes that he had already copied.

It was too difficult.

After washing up, Pei Qian wiped his face hard and sat on the sofa to read his notes.

Five minutes later, he picked up his cell phone and habitually swiped it.

"Eh? Boss Li and Xue Zhebin invested in the Cold-Faced Lady?"

When he saw He Desheng's message, Pei Qian immediately became alert and frowned.

A bright red word seemed to appear above his head: Danger!

Pei Qian immediately stood up and walked around the living room twice.

Boss Li treated Pei Qian as a windmark for investment, but Pei Qian also treated Boss Li as a warning line for investment.

Pei Qian had already carefully recalled his painful experience of investing and earning money. He realized that Boss Li played an important role in most of the profits.

Many projects that had been losing money well previously, once Boss Li led the other investors into the venue, the situation immediately took a turn for the worse. The projects suddenly started turning profitable!

Yet, Boss Li had invested in the Cold-Faced Lady. That was a clear signal.

Something was going to happen!

Pei Qian had originally planned to invest in two million yuan trenches into Meng Chang to symbolically buy some shares. His main goal was to burn money and lose money silently.

However, Boss Li was investing now. This was a very dangerous signal. It meant that the Cold-Faced Lady project was going to make a killing!

At that thought, Pei Qian felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He felt like his plan to incur losses had been completely overturned.

If he continued to invest in two million yuan trenches according to his original plan, the Cold-Faced Lady's valuation would skyrocket. Wouldn't he make another profit?

That must not happen!

Pei Qian looked like he was about to turn soupy. He nearly had Boss Li PTSD syndrome when it came to investments. He immediately decided to overturn his previous loss-making plan and run!

After some consideration, Pei Qian immediately called He Desheng.

"Sell all the shares that you bought for two million yuan immediately! Sell them to anyone. It doesn't matter if the price is low. Sell them!"

The person on the other end of the line was obviously stunned.

He was confused. What was Boss Pei up to again?

Two million yuan was not a lot of shares. Was there a need to sell them in such a hurry? Going back and forth in the short term meant they could forget about making money. It would be good enough if they did not lose money.

The operation was really incomprehensible and very magical.

However, hearing Boss Pei's determined tone, He Desheng suddenly felt that Boss Pei must have had a higher level of understanding.

He Desheng did not dare to ask further and agreed readily.

He Desheng began to analyze Boss Pei's intentions after hanging up.

"Boss Pei asked me to sell my shares fast once again even if they were at a loss as soon as I gave him the news that Boss Li was investing in the Cold-Faced Lady."

"Could it be... Boss Pei and Boss Li had discussed this beforehand? Or could it be a tacit understanding between top-tier investors? Could it be that the bit of shares that Boss Pei spent two million yuan on previously had some special meaning?"

The more He Desheng thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was not simple.

Boss Li and Boss Pei seemed to be cooperating as though they had discussed it beforehand.

However, He Desheng only vaguely felt that there might be a chess game here even though he could not tell what it was.

After much consideration, He Desheng still followed Boss Pei's instructions obediently and called Meng Chang.

...

"Selling again?"

"No, are you selling such a small portion of shares?"

On the other end of the line, Meng Chang was completely dumbfounded after receiving the call.

He was as shocked as He Desheng. He could not understand what Boss Pei was doing.

It was ridiculous that Boss Pei had only invested two million yuan previously. After all, Boss Pei had spent a few million yuan on FV Club's overseas trips. In comparison, the two million yuan that Boss Pei had given the cold-faced lady was no different from throwing a rice millet to a pigeon.

It was clear at a glance the close and distant, rich and poor.

Yet, Boss Pei still wanted to sell these shares?

Boss Pei had been working so hard for so long, but he was still not earning anything!

Was he playing with him?

It would be fine if they could do this secretly. Boss Pei had sold all his previous shares. This time, he was only selling a small portion of the shares that he had bought for two million yuan. Anyone would be able to eat it.

However, he could not do it secretly.

As long as it involved the transfer of shares in the company, he had to inform the other shareholders according to the company's regulations. They also had to make changes to the company registration.

Boss Li was now a shareholder of the Cold-Faced Lady.

Once Boss Pei sold it, Boss Li would definitely know about it. The other shareholders would also know about it. All the investors who were still observing would also receive the news.

Wouldn't that be bad?

Boss Li had just invested in the Cold-Faced Lady less than two days ago and Meng Chang had not even warmed up after receiving the money in his hands. Who could stand this sudden move?!

After Meng Chang received this sum of money, he had intended to go all out.

As long as investors were once again filled with confidence in the cold-faced lady and could continue playing the game that pushed up the valuation, the entire script could continue to develop according to Meng Chang's plan.

There were some twists and turns but the impact would not be huge.

However, Boss Pei's sudden move was like pouring a bucket of cold water over Meng Chang's head, extinguishing the little flame that had just ignited in his heart!

That wasn't a lot of shares but it did not sound nice at all!

Boss Pei had thrown out all of the Cold-Faced Lady's shares again in less than half a month...

What would others think of Cold-Faced Lady's company if word got out?

Previously, Meng Chang had to put in a lot of effort to suppress the fact that Boss Pei had sold all of his shares. For it to happen again would make it beyond saving!

Meng Chang quickly realized the seriousness of this matter. He quickly said, "Boss He, why are you doing this?"

"Tengda shouldn't be so short of money, right?"

"How about this? Tell Boss Pei to make an exception. Give me another month, no, half a month or even a week, sell it after a week. Is that alright?"

Meng Chang thought that he would hide this from Boss Pei and drag the time. Then, he would make use of this time to look for the buyer and try to turn the situation around. That would minimize the negative impact of Boss Pei selling shares for the second time.

He Desheng sighed on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry. You know Boss Pei's character. There's no room for negotiation."

Meng Chang's hand trembled slightly as he held his phone.

The cold-faced lady's future was bright ten minutes ago, but now, it suddenly became dark...

...

...

December 28th, Wednesday...

It was 10 PM in Los Angeles.

On the second floor of the internet cafe, Min Jingchao sorted and saved the data sheet. He copied it all onto his laptop and shredded the source documents on the computer in the internet cafe.

While doing this would seem like making a mountain out of a molehill, it was still better to be careful. The contents of the team's training could not be leaked. This was equivalent to military secrets during wartime.

After everything was done, Min Jingchao stretched. His work was done in stages.

"Brother Bao, it's been hard on you these two days," Min Jingchao said to Bao Xu, who was sitting beside him.

Bao Xu shook his head. "No, no, no. It's not tough at all. I think I can accept it if every trip is the same as this one..."

Bao Xu had felt like a bolt out of the blue when he heard that he was coming to Los Angeles. However, he realized that it was much more comfortable than his previous overseas trips!

Every day, he would stay in a five-star hotel at night. During the day, he would go to a nearby internet cafe. Apart from analyzing data and researching tactics, he could also play games.

He might be overseas but he did not have to check in at various attractions. That was very comfortable!

It would not be unacceptable if he could stay in hotels or internet cafes in a new city every time he went overseas.

Thus, Bao Xu had put in a lot of effort in analyzing the data and helped Min Jingchao a lot.

The team members were still in the training competition, continuing to perfect their tactics.

Tomorrow was Thursday, the official start of the IOI World Finals Group Competition. The schedule for the IOI World Finals this time was different from GOG's international invitational tournament.

In order to ensure that teams could enter the top eight in the weaker competition zones, Chrétien decided to adopt the 'seeded guarantee' rule.

There were a total of 16 teams this time. Four of the first seeded teams were guaranteed to enter the top eight. The other 12 teams were divided into four teams. Three teams in each team would play a double loop BO1. In the end, only the top team emerging from this could qualify.

After that, they would draw lots for the top eight competitions. There was no avoiding mechanism for the same competition area. They would fight whoever they drew.

FV Club was the number one seeded team of China. They started from the top eight. The group stages had nothing to do with them. What's more, the opponents for the top eight matches had not been decided.

However, that did not mean that they could let their guards down.

The team members had to continue their high-intensity training to maintain their condition. The stats analysis team also had to make use of all the time to study the tactical playstyles of the various teams in the group stages to ensure that their understanding of the version was not problematic.

If they could not make sufficient preparations in the group stages, they would probably be eliminated from the first round of the top eight.

In any case, the real battle was about to begin.

...

At the same time, on the first floor of the internet cafe.

The other two clubs had also finished their training for the day. They packed their belongings and walked back.

These few days, the training schedules of these two clubs were the same. Basically, they would train until 12 AM every day before leaving.

The daily training arrangements were mainly to play mock competitions, review the mock competitions, hold meetings to discuss tactics, play high rank games to maintain hand sensitivity, and so on.

Since the group stages would officially begin tomorrow, they had to go back earlier today and rest as much as possible.

At the entrance of the internet cafe, everyone pretended not to see FV Club's minibus as usual.

At the beginning, the leaders of the two clubs even specially studied FV Club's training time and deliberately avoided it to avoid the relatively awkward scenes.

However, they later realized that there was no need to deliberately avoid it. FV Club spent more time training than them almost every day!

The members of both clubs only woke up around 10 AM in the morning. They would only come to the internet cafe to train after having lunch in the hotel. However, every time they arrived, they would see that the minibus was already parked at the entrance of the internet cafe.

Both clubs left around 12 AM. The minibus was still there when they left.

The leaders and players of the two clubs were very confused.

What exactly was FV Club practicing for so long hours everyday?

The reason why these two clubs woke up late was not because they were lazy. They were mainly arranged according to the schedule when they were training in the country. No high ranks could be arranged in the morning and there were no mock competitions to play. It was meaningless to wake up early.

What's more, there was a limit to a person's energy. Excessive training might affect one's condition, and the efficiency of training might not be high.

On the other hand, FV Club had been practicing from morning to midnight. It was a stark contrast to them.

The two team leaders were very curious. There were a few times when they pretended to pass by unintentionally, wanting to sneak a peek at the second floor to see how FV Club's training was going. However, they were caught by the four responsible bodyguards and left without any useful information.

That made the two clubs even more curious.

One of the team members asked in confusion, "FV Club probably slept for six or seven hours today. They seem to be training the rest of the time. What are they training for? Can their bodies take it?"

The other team members obviously had the same doubts.

FV Club was really too hardworking, making themselves look like lazy bums.

The leader quickly said, "Don't take it to heart, everyone. The key to training is efficiency, not time. There's a good saying that many people are using their tactical diligence to cover up their laziness in strategy."

"Don't worry, everyone. After asking around, I've basically confirmed that FV Club did not play any mock competitions with FRY or any other foreign clubs. They probably did not even play rank."

"They don't have super accounts on hand, but we can't rule out the possibility of them buying accounts."

"These people are at most playing mock competitions with SUG and their own Team Two. No matter how much they play, they are just two lousy players playing chess. The more they play, the worse they will become. There won't be much improvement."

"Alright, everyone, stop staring at FV Club. The group competition will officially begin tomorrow. Everyone, maintain yourselves in tip top state and show the results of our mock competition."

"We might not be able to win against the strong teams like FRY now, but we've improved since the beginning. Our grouping this time is still alright. Everyone should follow the rhythm and routine of the training competition and fight steadily. It's not a problem for the team to qualify for the top eight."

On the way back to the hotel, the team leader cheered them on, afraid that their mentality would be affected.

Ever since they came to Los Angeles, the FV Club seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally messing with the mentality of the members of these two clubs.

They took business class, stayed in a luxurious five-star hotel, booked the second floor in an internet cafe, hired a mini bus and bodyguards to take care of them all the way. What was even worse was that the three photography brothers worked extremely hard. Apart from taking photos, they edited videos every day. They never stopped posting on the official Weibo of FV Club with at least three or four posts a day.

The official Weibo was completely unmoved even though many people were criticizing it. They would update it however they wanted. At most, they would just block the haters.

In the end, the haters got tired of it and gathered their strength. They would wait for FV Club to lose before they started flaming it with all their mights again.

After training for the past few days, the other two clubs felt a little sour seeing the members of FV Club enjoying themselves.

It was the same today. It was already early in the morning. The breeze on the street was slightly chilly, and everyone subconsciously quickened their steps.

One of the team members suddenly thought of something and said, "Hey, will the FV Club stay in our hotel starting today?"

The competition would officially begin tomorrow. Finger Games would provide food and accommodation for all the participating clubs.

The food and accommodation fees for these two clubs had been paid for by Long Yu Corporation. They thus checked into rooms provided by Finger Games this afternoon.

What's more, the other clubs had also arrived during the past two days and checked into Courtyard by Marriott.

Logically speaking, the members of FV Club should have been changed over, right?

Finger Games provided food and accommodation. If they did not change over, wouldn't all the money be wasted?

The other members had obviously not thought about this question before. They looked at each other, their eyes revealing a hint of anticipation.

That's right, there was no reason not to move in!

It was fine if they had to pay for their own luxury hotels previously. Now that Finger Games was providing food and accommodation, were they going to continue paying out of their own pockets?

Wasn't that too extravagant?

If everyone stayed in the Courtyard by Marriott together, everyone's food and accommodation conditions would be the same. FV Club might still have the minibus and bodyguards, but the impact on the mentality of the other two clubs would be slightly reduced.

However, before everyone could finish their beautiful dreams, they saw the black minibus drive by. It was still parked in front of the entrance of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The members of FV Club alighted from the car and entered the hotel lobby. They did not even look at Courtyard by Marriott.

Obviously, FV Club would stay there during the competition and would not move to Courtyard by Marriott.

Their hopes were dashed.

The members of the two clubs quietly entered the lobby of Courtyard by Marriott. Their hearts, which had finally calmed down, were shaken again...

...

...

December 29th, Thursday, 9 AM...

It was 11 AM in Los Angeles, which was 3 AM in China. IOI's global finals were about to officially begin.

The members of FV Club were doing basic fitness training in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel's gym.

After arriving in Los Angeles, the team members maintained good fitness habits. It was precisely because of their regular working hours and good physical conditions that they could maintain a better state and focus. They trained longer and were more efficient every day.

The accompanying team doctor watched the team members' condition seriously from the side to prevent them from practicing too much.

Working out now was not to train to the point of exhaustion or to increase muscles after all. It was just to maintain the body in a good state and increase the focus in the competition. It was enough to move their body. If one was too tired, it would affect the training effect.

The team doctor had to ensure that the team members were in their best condition.

In the hotel's resting area, the coach and the data analysis team were studying the competition that was about to begin today.

The competition schedule this time was a little strange because they had to ensure that the first seed of each division would make it to the top eight.

There were a total of 12 teams and four groups in the group stages. They would play the double loop BO1, and the first team from each group would qualify.

There would be a total of four days. From Thursday to Sunday, with six matches a day. On Sunday, the group stages would all be finished and the top eight would draw lots.

As for why the first match was held at 11 AM, no one knew.

According to the GPL's habits, they would usually play during the prime time from afternoon to night. However, Finger Games probably took into account that there were too many audience members. They were afraid that if a bug appeared in the competition and the game was delayed for too long due to other reasons, it would be inconvenient for the audience to leave. Thus, the time was brought forward earlier.

The venue for this competition was a famous local coliseum. It could accommodate nearly twenty thousand people and was very famous around the world.

This time, Finger Games was obviously determined to use this global finals to exact revenge. That was why they spared no expense.

The prize pool for the IOI global finals this time was three million US dollars. At the same time, Finger Games had also specially produced a skin model. 25% of the sales of the skin would also be counted into the overall prize pool.

In terms of the distribution of the bonus pool, the champion would get 50%, the runner-up would get 15%, the third and fourth teams would get 7.5% each, and the fifth to eighth teams would get 2.5% each. The remaining eight teams that did not qualify would split the remaining 10%.

In other words, the prize pool had slightly surpassed GOG's international invitational tournament and the venue was more spectacular.

Finger Games had always been influenced by Tengda after all. They had wanted to hold a global final for a long time. However, they had been repeatedly interrupted by Tengda and failed.

They had finally managed to organize the world finals. They had to surpass GOG even if they had to sacrifice everything. This was a matter of face.

Wu Yue looked at the time and saw that it was about time. He asked Manager Lu to bring his team members back to their rooms to wash up. Then, he came down to have breakfast and prepared to set off for the opening ceremony.

FV Club's competition would only start next week, but this week, the players would go to the venue to watch a few key battles selectively to look at the playstyles and standards of the other teams and prepare in advance.