Chapter 1 These Club Managers All Seem to Have Misunderstood

The people in charge of these clubs all seemed to have gotten the wrong idea.

Those who first said they wanted to come to Jingzhou were some of the smaller clubs that hadn't prepared much money.

They originally thought that the money they had scraped together this time wouldn't be enough to buy core players, and at most they could buy a support player for the commander position. But they never expected that President Pei would actually give them a core player, filling the most needed position!

Moreover, President Pei didn't ask for a high price, but directly gave all the clubs a similar uniform price.

The transfer fee was 3 million, and 2.2 million was returned to the clubs to improve their training environment.

For these relatively poor clubs, President Pei was clearly giving them extra favors and care!

They were very grateful and wanted to repay him.

The Tenda Group on President Pei's side was large and wealthy, and didn't lack money. How could these clubs repay him?

The only way was to move to Jingzhou and support him with their actions!

Moreover, after the H4 club moved to Jingzhou, it seemed to be doing better and better, which made people wonder if Jingzhou had some kind of magic.

It was most suitable to spend the 2.2 million that President Pei had returned in Jingzhou, where there were relevant supporting facilities.

What's more, being in Jingzhou meant being closer to Tenda. The DGE club was also a club under Tenda, and Manager Zhang was President Pei's confidant. Clubs based in Jingzhou would definitely receive news of any policy changes or gameplay adjustments from Tenda more quickly.

Having the clubs clustered in Jingzhou would also make it easier to play offline training matches, which were more effective than online matches.

After comprehensive consideration, these smaller clubs immediately felt that moving to Jingzhou was a very good choice.

And since the smaller clubs had already expressed their views, the larger clubs also began to hesitate.

If several small clubs moved, what would happen if they didn't move?

Would they fall behind in terms of training matches and version news?

Would they not get President Pei's approval or the official attention?

Currently, e-sports development was still in its early stages, far from the idea of "one club main venue per city." For these clubs, the best choice was to cluster in resource-rich areas.

After forming a cluster effect, all the clubs would benefit from it.

Therefore, these clubs quickly reached a consensus and decided to move to Jingzhou!

Pei Qian, on the other hand, looked blank and found it hard to express his suffering.

What was going on!

The H4 club came to Jingzhou because Huang Wang had tricked them, but what about you guys?

The contracts haven't even been signed yet, and you're all rushing to Jingzhou?

Are you crazy!

Pei Qian said helplessly, "It's okay, I actually think Shanghai is pretty good too. It's the same wherever you are, you don't have to move to Jingzhou."

The club managers were very touched and expressed their determination.

"Don't worry, President Pei, this is our own choice!"

"Yes, we've thought it over carefully. No one can drive us away from Jingzhou now!"

"President Pei, we'll take care of the move ourselves, and definitely won't cause you any trouble!"

Pei Qian: "..."

Great, he had reinforced these people's misunderstandings, and they were all energized.

Pei Qian looked at the determined expressions of the club managers and knew that it was useless to say anything now. He could only sigh silently.

Alright, come if you want.

Jingzhou is so big, it's not like I can't add to it.

Pei Qian had no choice and said to Zhang Yuan, "You handle the contract signing. I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

Zhang Yuan nodded, "Don't worry, President Pei, I'll arrange everything!"

...

In the evening.

Zhang Yuan had signed contracts with the other clubs one after another. According to President Pei's requirements, he had also arranged a home for the remaining nine players.

But this time, the nine players didn't have to leave Jingzhou.

The two big clubs had also called their bosses and discussed it in detail. After being moved by President Pei's sincerity, the seven clubs unanimously decided to move the *GOG* divisions to Jingzhou!

Therefore, the nine old players from the DGE club only had to stay here and wait for the various clubs to finish moving before coming to pick them up.

After learning that everyone was going their separate ways, Jiang Huan and the others felt a little sentimental.

However, after Zhang Yuan enlightened them, this sentimental mood was quickly diluted by excitement.

Finally, they could go to the World Invitational Tournament!

Before, when Huang Wang was bought by the H4 club and could participate in the World Invitational Tournament, these players were more or less envious.

As a professional player, who wouldn't want to stand on the highest stage and prove themselves?

Therefore, although everyone was very reluctant to leave the DGE club, they were also looking forward to being able to stand on the stage of the World Finals like Huang Wang.

And now, the result was already the best possible.

All the players had found a home, and they were all going to fill in their team's weaknesses. They could sit firmly in the main position once they got there. At the same time, the clubs were all moving to Jingzhou, so it would be very convenient to have gatherings or visit the DGE club often in the future. Their living habits and training habits could also be maintained.

A win-win situation!

Zhang Yuan felt a mix of emotions after comforting the players.

He had only just finished trying out one position, but he didn't expect that he would soon have to try out the other nine positions.

After this "clearance sale," it was equivalent to replacing all ten people in the DGE club. Their strength would probably be cut off for a long time.

The best way was to sell some and keep some, so that the old players could lead the new players. After the new players grew up, the old players could be sold, thus creating a perpetual motion.

But President Pei's attitude was very firm, and he insisted on selling them all.

Zhang Yuan thought about it and realized that this made sense.

If old players were left to lead new players, who should be left? All the old players were precious, and who wouldn't be allowed to participate in the World Invitational Tournament?

None of them seemed suitable.

Therefore, Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth. For the sake of the players' future, he still let everyone transfer.

As for the problem of talent shortage... he would take it one step at a time.

Zhang Yuan came outside the villa, intending to smoke a cigarette and relax.

But as soon as he put the cigarette in his mouth, he saw Team Leader Su from the H4 club rushing over.

"Manager Zhang, is this a good time? Can I talk to you in private?" Team Leader Su's expression was a little anxious.

Zhang Yuan could probably guess what he wanted to say, so he put away the cigarette and nodded, "Okay."

The two came to the small garden of the villa.

Team Leader Su was a little embarrassed, but after considering it, he still said, "Manager Zhang, the other clubs are buying people in a group, right? What's the result of the purchase?"

Obviously, the H4 club was the most panicked about these clubs buying people.

After scraping together money to buy Huang Wang, they were originally strong contenders for the championship.

But what if the other clubs suddenly bought two, three, or even more members of the DGE club?

Wouldn't that be the end of them?

Therefore, in a sense, the results of the *GOG* International Invitational Tournament depended on the results of this round of club acquisitions.

After this round of acquisitions, the apparent strength of all the clubs would undergo tremendous changes, and may even make the training during this period before the competition meaningless.

Zhang Yuan smiled, "Team Leader Su, don't worry."

He briefly introduced President Pei's arrangements to Team Leader Su, which was simply: the members bought by everyone had the same transfer fee. Although the price fluctuated, the difference was not significant. Each team was strengthening according to the team's shortcomings, and there was no situation where one team crushed other teams after buying people.

After listening to this, Team Leader Su was both surprised and grateful.

The surprise was that the apparent strength of each club was similar after buying people, and the H4 club had a good foundation after all, and had been working together for a while longer. They were still strong contenders for the world championship.

The gratitude was that President Pei didn't sell the stronger players to those who offered higher prices!

Team Leader Su knew from backchannel sources that SUG had prepared at least more than 20 million to buy people this time. Not to mention anything else, if they directly bought Jiang Huan at a high price and then used the remaining money to snatch two slightly less expensive players, what would the H4 club play?

But President Pei sold all the players at an average price. It was hard to say whether there were other considerations in this, but part of the reason must have been to protect the interests of the H4 club!

Team Leader Su felt that the H4 club was the first to buy people from the DGE club after all, so they were an old customer. Although it was undeniable that President Pei could sell the players to the highest bidder, this approach of taking care of the interests of the H4 club was still quite touching.

"Thank you, Manager Zhang, thank you, President Pei! We will definitely remember this kindness!" Team Leader Su was overjoyed. This transfer result was also the least bad result for their club.

Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Team Leader Su, you don't have to be so polite. You may think that President Pei did this because he considered your interests, but that's not the case. I think President Pei is considering the entire ecosystem and the entire environment!"

Team Leader Su was stunned, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said seriously, "I think President Pei is doing this to regulate the *GOG* e-sports ecosystem, at least from three aspects!"

"First of all, the Global Invitational Tournament is coming soon. The result of this sale will directly determine whether the Global Invitational Tournament still has suspense."

"President Pei's main purpose in holding the Global Invitational Tournament must be to dedicate a series of watchable events to the world. If the strength gap between the teams is too large and the competition becomes a crushing victory, then it will be boring!"

"Ensuring that there is back and forth and full of suspense can maximize the players' discussion and promote the *GOG* game."

"Secondly, to prevent the Matthew effect between clubs." (The strong get stronger and the weak get weaker)

"In the e-sports industry, money is not everything, but you can't do anything without money. Relying solely on burning money and poaching people cannot create a dynasty, but without money, everything will be over."

"However, whether or not you have money is actually a relative concept."

"If you have money, you can poach and buy people at will, and concentrate all the outstanding players under your club, then those small clubs without money will fall into a vicious circle of no money, no attention, and no results!"

"Once they fall into this 'the strong get stronger' Matthew effect, the big clubs will of course be happy because they can monopolize the resources and attention of the entire league, but the small clubs will gradually become unsustainable, and the gap in the entire league will become larger and larger, and will gradually collapse, or there will be a situation of 'bullying the weak internally' and being abused abroad."

"But now, the strength of each club is similar, so if the club wants to win, it must work hard in project management, personnel training, version analysis, etc. There are no absolute strong teams and weak teams, and the ecosystem will be healthier."

"Finally, to prevent the impact of excessive capital intervention on the entire e-sports environment."

"Burning money not only affects the clubs, but also the players. Many players were originally internet addicts, but suddenly they get an annual salary and signing fee of one or two million. This salary level is actually supported by popularity and capital."

"But the players may not be able to realize this. They may become inflated, lost, and compare with each other."

"For some players, if they simply get a sky-high contract, and other people's salaries are only one-tenth of his, can the atmosphere of this team be good?"

"President Pei allows all players' salaries to fluctuate within a certain range to prevent players' salary levels from getting out of control, and to prevent clubs from putting all their funds into the war for talent, but forcing them to use it to ensure training bases and supporting facilities."

"This has a more benign ecosystem for both clubs and players. In the long run, it is of great help to the entire *GOG* e-sports league system!"

Team Leader Su suddenly realized and nodded frequently as he listened.

Well, that makes a lot of sense!

E-sports is still in its early stages. Clubs are divided into two types: one is a relatively old-fashioned club that generates electricity with love. They have no money, but the atmosphere, foundation, and management are better; the other is a *fu'erdai* (second generation rich) club with money, but often has chaotic management and impetuous people.

Both of these clubs have their own problems. If they are allowed to grow freely, then the *fu'erdai* clubs will definitely smash money wildly to poach people and destroy the ecosystem, and then the trash management will waste talented players. In the end, all the clubs will not have a good life.

The road to the standardization of e-sports will become a long way off under this disorderly competition.

And President Pei's actions are equivalent to preventing wealthy clubs from engaging in price wars, and forcing them to learn to work hard in management and player training.

In the short term, they give up some benefits; in the long term, they can allow the *GOG* league to develop better!

Team Leader Su couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "I understand! President Pei's move is really far-sighted!"

"However, although President Pei's original intention was not to take care of our club, it objectively had the effect of protecting us, so we will still remember this kindness!"

Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Train hard and get better results, that's the best reward for President Pei."

Team Leader Su nodded, "Don't worry, we will definitely prepare for the war with all our strength!"

...

...

September 2nd, Friday.

The day before *Struggle* was released.

The people at Tenda Games were still busy, preparing for the release of the game.

The official platform had given them enough face, not only negotiating with Tenda Games in advance to determine the best recommended position, but also allowing Tenda Games to prepare their own promotional materials.

The initial promotional preheating of the game *Struggle* had also been completed, and the players were all looking forward to it.

However, due to the content of the promotion, the players' understanding had indeed gone astray!

The promotional content of *Struggle* was: beautiful graphics, all actions were captured from real people; diverse choices, rich strategies; complex plot, exciting; dual protagonist mode.

In addition, no specific pictures of the game were released, nor were detailed descriptions provided.

Players saw these promotional words, and after a little brain supplement, they immediately felt that it was incredible!

What game would require all actions to be captured from real people? This is obviously a large-scale RPG or action game!

Diverse choices and rich strategies should mean that the combat system is complex.

The plot is exciting and there is a dual protagonist mode, indicating a breakthrough in content.

To sum up, this should be a large-scale action-adventure 3A game with an exciting plot?

Everyone instantly thought of some classic works from foreign game companies and were full of expectations for this game.

Moreover, the name of the game was not *Fendou* (Struggle), but the English name *struggLe*, which added a touch of mystery to the game.

In short, the effect of the early promotion was indeed full.

However, before the game was really launched, no one knew whether this full promotional effect would be positive or negative...

No one could guess what kind of reaction everyone would have after discovering the real situation of *Struggle*.

Hu Xianbin had been worried recently and had lost weight.

As the person in charge of *Struggle*, he was the least confident in his heart.

So far, Tenda Games has an undefeated myth, and every game released has been a double harvest of sales and reputation. If this golden sign is smashed in his hands, wouldn't he become a sinner of Tenda?

Of course, this time, President Pei's degree of intervention seemed to be much higher than the previous times.

But even if the project fails, no one will think that it is President Pei's fault.

Hu Xianbin would only feel that President Pei has explained it so meticulously, but I still haven't done it well, it must be my problem!

Li Yada saw the worried Hu Xianbin and sat down next to him.

"What's wrong, worried about the launch of the new game?"

Hu Xianbin nodded, "Yes. I really don't have any confidence in whether this game will succeed! And now this promotional method seems to only have the opposite effect..."

Li Yada smiled, "That's a coincidence. Do you know *Game Producer*? Before it was launched, Lu Mingliang was just as worried as you, because at that time everyone felt after playing it that there was not enough motivation to continue playing this game."

"Then, Brother Bao put forward a point of view: We think it's not fun because we are too involved. We have already read the game script and are familiar with all the choices. We have spoiled it in advance, so we naturally can't experience the feelings of some details."

"But as an outsider, they will find it very special."

"He said that this is President Pei's attempt at high art, which may lead to deification or a dismal ending. President Pei is actually using this game to express some of his own thoughts. As a work that transcends the times, it may succeed or fail."

"Even if it fails, it is not our failure, nor is it President Pei's failure, but that the current game market is not mature enough and cannot accept this advanced thinking."

"The things that happened after the release of *Game Producer* also verified Brother Bao's statement. The game market and players of our era are worthy of this kind of good game!"

"Although the current market is relatively impetuous, we must have confidence in President Pei and also have confidence in the players!"

After listening to Li Yada's words, Hu Xianbin felt a lot more at ease.

When *Game Producer* was released, he hadn't come to Tenda yet, so he didn't know these things.

Now that he heard that Senior Lu Mingliang had also had the same entanglement and struggle as himself, but in the end he achieved great success, he felt much more at ease.

Hu Xianbin said, "Then quickly let Brother Bao play *Struggle* again from an outsider's perspective and analyze this game!"

"Uh... that's right, Brother Bao has gone traveling..."

Hu Xianbin originally grabbed a life-saving straw, but after thinking about it, he realized that this life-saving straw was now in Africa.

He couldn't help but feel a little more resentment towards Huang Sibo.

I'm telling you, it's okay for you to travel by yourself, but you have to drag Brother Bao along!

Although Brother Bao doesn't usually work much in the game department, as the saying goes, an old man in the family is like a treasure. At this critical moment, the entire department is counting on Brother Bao to solve their doubts!

What should they do now!

Li Yada smiled, "It doesn't matter, I can probably guess what Brother Bao would say."

"In fact, the game *Struggle* is essentially the same as *Game Producer*."

"*Game Producer* is President Pei's lonely expression, and isn't *Struggle* the same? It's just that the former is in the identity of an expresser, while the latter is in the identity of all living beings."

Hu Xianbin sighed, "But the theme expressed by *Struggle* is obviously more sharp and more painful. When I play *Game Producer*, at most I feel a little annoyed and think that the narration is annoying, but *Struggle* gives people the feeling that it's heartbreaking, as if all the despair and pain in reality are all mixed together and forcibly stuffed into me."

"Can the players really accept it?"

"Moreover, the core of this game always feels more difficult to understand and more complex than *Game Producer*."

"I think, as Mr. Zhang Zuting said, this kind of subject matter seems to be more suitable for expression in movies. If it is made into an art film, it should have a larger market. There are too many limitations for games."

Li Yada was silent for a moment and said, "I think that President Pei chose to use a game instead of a movie as a carrier, there must be his ideas."

"Maybe it's because *Tomorrow is Beautiful* was too successful, so President Pei doesn't want to use the movie as a carrier anymore, maybe it's because using a game as a carrier, there are some other considerations."

"It must be because using a game as a carrier, you can express some content that movies cannot express!"

"This may be a breakthrough that President Pei is trying."

Hu Xianbin was stunned, "What kind of breakthrough?"

Li Yada thought for a while and said, "A breakthrough in ideological expression."

"In fact, every game made by President Pei is expressing some kind of thought. For example, *Lonely Desert Road* and *Ghost General* are satirizing the current game industry, *Game Producer* is reflecting from the perspective of a creator, and *Turn Back is the Shore* is questioning everyone's heart by breaking the dimensional wall, allowing players and the characters in the game to merge in mentality."

"We will find that the single-player games made by President Pei are becoming more and more profound in connotation, more and more painful, and the cost of understanding and patience required by players are also constantly increasing."

Hu Xianbin thought about it, it seemed that this was indeed the case.

The games made by President Pei are undoubtedly becoming more and more dissuading. *Lonely Desert Road* is just boring, to *Excellent Producer* it becomes provocative, and then to *Turn Back is the Shore* it becomes a multiple dissuasion from difficulty to gameplay.

And when it comes to *Struggle*, it seems that the degree of dissuasion is even higher than before!

What does this mean?

Li Yada said, "President Pei obviously doesn't really want to dissuade players, but is gradually testing players' psychological endurance in one expression after another, and using it to express his more profound thoughts."

"More profound thoughts will inevitably be more painful and require stronger acceptance."

"As an expresser, President Pei actually values the 'degree' of expression very much. A good way of expression determines whether the audience feels 'preaching' or 'philosophical'."

"Just like *Turn Back is the Shore*, President Pei combines the players' mentality with the choices of the characters in the game by breaking the dimensional wall, and makes this connection unbreakable through the difficulty of the game and various details. In this way, players will empathize with the world in the game and accept the thoughts that President Pei wants to express."

"The more dissuading President Pei's game is, the more it shows that the thoughts expressed inside are hidden deep enough."

"Every work of President Pei is actually cultivating players!"

"Maybe President Pei made *Struggle* at the beginning, then players will definitely not accept or understand it. But now, President Pei has laid the groundwork with many games, and players have a high degree of acceptance, and then taking out *Struggle*, the success rate will be greatly improved!"

"And this also proves that President Pei is not a reckless man. In terms of expression, he does not stuff it into the players' heads, but will consider the players' acceptance. If the players' acceptance is not enough, then cultivate it first, and wait until the players' acceptance is reached before expressing more content."

Hu Xianbin nodded frequently as he listened, and then asked, "Then, Sister Li, what does President Pei want to express in *Struggle*? Class solidification? Matthew effect? Exploitation? Social irrationality? Or is it just describing a phenomenon?"

Li Yada shook her head, "This, I don't know."

"Even Brother Bao can't immediately understand President Pei's thoughts after playing the game."

"President Pei's game is more like a large-scale social experiment. Only when enough players participate, each different player discusses or even argues about it, expresses their views, and different views communicate and collide with each other, can a final answer be reached."

"So, let's wait and see!"