Chapter 11 Sunday, December 11th

The second day of the GPL preseason, the knockout stage of the IOI qualifiers.

As he had done yesterday, Zhao Xuming arrived at the IOI qualifier venue early, urging the staff to debug the equipment and prepare for the start of the matches.

The four teams competing today had also arrived early. They would each play a best-of-five (Bo5) series in the morning and afternoon, making for a very tight schedule and a lot of pressure.

Originally, the three established teams, including SUG, hadn't felt too much pressure. After all, the three slots were pretty much guaranteed for them. They had always bullied the underdog team and were confident of qualifying.

There was a point in fighting for the first seed, which started in the quarterfinals. However, there was no need to compete for the second and third seeds; just qualifying was enough.

But now, with the sudden appearance of the FV Club, there were no weak teams among the four in the knockout stage. Any team could be eliminated if they didn't perform well, and the pressure suddenly increased.

In the team lounges, the players were either seriously preparing their tactics or taking the opportunity to catch a nap and recharge, hoping to maintain a better competitive state for the upcoming matches.

At this moment, Zhao Xuming's assistant hurried over, his expression quite serious.

"President Zhao, the investigation into the FV Club is complete!"

"Those players were indeed sold to them by the GPL clubs. With Wu Yue's financial resources, he definitely couldn't afford them. It was probably a half-sale, half-gift."

"Moreover, these players come from different GPL teams, so someone must have coordinated it. Wu Yue, the owner of the FV Club, doesn't have that kind of ability."

"Only President Pei of Tengda could make these clubs willingly hand over these players!"

"So, it's basically certain that Tengda has a hand in the FV Club, and maybe Tengda has even bought the club!"

"I even suspect that SHG and the other clubs' preemptive move to poach IOI potential players from other clubs was also premeditated, part of President Pei's plan!"

Zhao Xuming's expression also became serious, and he nodded slightly, "As expected."

Yesterday, Ding Gan had already told Zhao Xuming about the suspicious aspects of the FV Club, but all of the FV Club's actions were in accordance with the competition rules, so Zhao Xuming was powerless and couldn't do anything about the FV Club.

But being powerless didn't mean doing nothing.

For safety's sake, Zhao Xuming had asked his assistant to investigate the FV Club's background in order to find out their true purpose.

The assistant was very efficient and had roughly figured it out by today.

Zhao Xuming silently took note of it and asked, "Anything else worth noting?"

The assistant quickly nodded, "Yes, President Zhao! According to our staff's information, a mysterious person wearing a mask came to the venue yesterday and also went to the FV Club's lounge! Judging from Manager Lu's address to him, it was most likely President Pei of Tengda himself!"

Each club's backstage lounge had event staff. Although Pei Qian was wearing a mask, Manager Lu's address had revealed his identity.

Zhao Xuming couldn't help but frown, his expression surprised, "President Pei himself? Are you sure?"

The assistant nodded, "From the information we have, President Pei and his stand-in actor look similar, very young, and the appearance matches; Manager Lu called the masked mysterious person 'President Pei,' very respectfully; after coming out of the lounge, Wu Yue respectfully accompanied him away, also calling him 'President Pei.'"

"In addition, I also asked Ding Gan, President of the SUG Club, who has met President Pei in person, and he admitted that President Pei did come to the studio."

"Considering all this information, the masked mysterious person is likely President Pei himself."

Zhao Xuming frowned slightly, "Ding Gan knows about this?"

The assistant nodded, "He knows, but he didn't take the initiative to tell us, only admitted it when I asked."

Zhao Xuming snorted, "This Ding Gan, still a bit resentful about my previous handling of things?"

"Don't worry about him, as long as we're sure that it was President Pei."

Zhao Xuming couldn't help but fall into thought.

President Pei actually came in person?

What exactly is his purpose?

Zhao Xuming had an instinctive fear of President Pei.

Because President Pei's past achievements were too remarkable, *GOG* had been advancing rapidly, dominating both domestically and internationally, and the executives of the Dayak Group had been dealt with and had no power to fight back.

Zhao Xuming himself had been completely crushed in his simple interactions with President Pei and had unknowingly developed "Pei-phobia."

Now, hearing that President Pei was present, right here in this studio, Zhao Xuming felt an instinctive panic.

But he quickly calmed down.

"No need to panic, he's just an ordinary person, not some kind of murderous demon. Even if he comes, he's just supervising the battle. What can he do on our turf?"

The assistant nodded, "President Zhao is right."

"It's probably because the outside world has always rumored that President Pei is someone who is rarely seen, and once he makes a move, he is sure to win, and he never fights unprepared or uncertain battles. That's why we're a bit on edge."

"So, President Zhao, what should we do now?"

Zhao Xuming frowned slightly, lost in thought.

"I think President Pei's personal trip to Shanghai must be for two purposes. The first is to scout out the enemy's situation, come to the scene to see our arrangements, and know yourself and your enemy, because many pieces of information are inaccurate when relayed by others, and you have to see the details yourself to be sure; the second is to supervise the battle on the spot, to cheer on the FV Club players, hoping that they can successfully get the spot in the qualifiers."

"So, he's very low-key, came alone and even wore a mask specifically, just not wanting to be discovered by others."

"He thought that he had never shown his face online, and no one would notice him quietly, but he didn't expect that we would just happen to grab this information! If we can use it well, maybe we can win a beautiful turnaround..."

The assistant could feel that Zhao Xuming seemed to have thought of a great idea and didn't dare to interrupt his train of thought, waiting quietly by the side.

Zhao Xuming suddenly slapped the table, "Got it!"

"President Pei is acting in a low-key manner, not wanting to show his face and attract attention, so we'll just do the opposite, and publicize the fact that President Pei is here to watch the IOI qualifiers!"

"Find the seat where President Pei is sitting, and then the director will give him a close-up, and then let the two commentators know in advance and have them welcome President Pei's arrival!"

"Then, buy an army of online commentators in advance to create momentum online. The content is very simple. Just say that President Pei didn't go to the GPL league but came to the IOI qualifiers instead, which shows that the IOI qualifiers are better than the GPL league, and it has triggered Tengda's sense of crisis. This shows that IOI is starting to exert its strength, and GOG's dominant position in the country is about to be threatened!"

"In short, transfer all the heat from President Pei to the IOI qualifiers!"

The assistant's eyes lit up, "Great plan, President Zhao!"

"President Pei traveled all the way to Shanghai, sneaking in like an assassin to spy on the enemy's situation, but we welcomed him with great fanfare, which makes us seem upright and aboveboard, while President Pei is sneaky! We will have taken the upper hand in terms of mind and temperament!"

"Moreover, President Pei came to the IOI qualifiers instead of the GPL league. As long as we make a big deal about this point, we can grab a lot of the heat from the GPL league. It's perfect!"

"I'll go arrange it!"

The assistant was about to turn around and leave when Zhao Xuming stopped him again.

"Wait!"

"Just this alone is not enough."

"Here's what you do: prepare for two possibilities. FV qualified as the first in Group B, so they will play the second in Group A first. We'll see the result in the morning."

"If the FV Club wins by a landslide, then don't mention anything about the FV Club, don't bring any heat to the FV Club."

"If the FV Club wins with difficulty, then they probably won't be able to beat the first in Group A and won't be able to compete for the first seed."

"If this happens, before the start of the match in the afternoon, we'll reveal the relationship between the FV Club and the Tengda Group!"

"We can say this: Tengda painstakingly built the FV Club at a huge cost, but it was still crushed by our IOI clubs, and President Pei's face was grim as he supervised the battle."

"Isn't that another wave of heat and traffic?"

The assistant nodded sharply, "President Zhao is brilliant!"

Given the FV Club's lineup, if they get the first seed, then Zhao Xuming's side can only play dead and won't actively spread the relationship between Tengda and the FV Club; but if the FV Club loses, then Zhao Xuming can kick them when they're down and capitalize on the heat.

Of course, the specific action will depend on the situation of this morning's match.

Zhao Xuming was in a great mood, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

"President Pei, ah, President Pei, you're not all-knowing and all-powerful, and you'll show your flaws too!"

"I admire your courage to come alone, but aren't you just handing over the heat? Such enthusiasm, it would be impolite to refuse, so I'll accept it with a smile!"

...

Match venue.

As he had done yesterday, Pei Qian was wearing a mask and sitting in the front row watching the match.

Yesterday, Wu Yue and Manager Lu had wanted to host a banquet, but Pei Qian had decisively refused.

The FV Club players still had to take the time to review the game afterwards, summarize their experience, and then get a good rest. After all, there were two more Bo5s tomorrow, which would be very physically demanding.

So Wu Yue didn't insist and just sent President Pei back to the hotel.

Perhaps because he had changed environments, or perhaps because Saturday's match had left Pei Qian with some unpleasant memories, he didn't sleep well last night, and he was a little listless today, the whole person feeling weak.

But it didn't matter, he was just watching a match anyway.

The match schedule was very full, two Bo5s in the morning and two Bo5s in the afternoon. If each team lost two matches, they would be directly eliminated, and if they won two matches, they could go to the World Championship as the first seed.

The FV Club's match was the first, and SUG's match was the second, playing the second and first in Group A, respectively.

The FV Club players were full of energy and were seriously debugging their equipment.

The two commentators were warming up and analyzing the two teams' tactics and states from yesterday and making predictions about the upcoming match.

However, at this moment, a jib camera suddenly and without warning came to the position above Pei Qian's head, and then, a close-up of Pei Qian appeared on the big screen!

At this time, he was sitting in the front row very casually with his legs crossed, his right hand on his cheek, his eyes relaxed, and the black mask on his face was quite eye-catching.

Suddenly seeing himself on the big screen, Pei Qian couldn't help but be surprised. He froze, a question mark floating above his head.

?

He panicked for a moment, but Pei Qian quickly calmed down and didn't make any movements.

Luckily, he had prepared early and put on a mask!

This was probably just the director randomly taking a snapshot of the audience before the start of the match. It wasn't a big deal, and the whole picture would last at most a second or two.

But... why was the director taking a picture of a masked man instead of so many cute girls?

Pei Qian was a little puzzled but remained calm.

But soon, he realized that he was wrong.

Because the duration of this close-up seemed to be a bit long, the jib camera in the air showed no signs of moving away to take pictures of other people!

The audience obviously noticed this and started to discuss it.

Who is this?

Not a particularly beautiful girl, and wearing a mask and not showing her face, why would the director give him a 5-second close-up?

Then, the two commentators spoke up.

"Well, we see that the director has given the camera to the audience. Maybe many people don't recognize him. Here, we would like to introduce him solemnly: President Pei of the Tengda Group has also come to our match venue!"

"President Pei took the time out of his busy schedule to travel all the way from Jingzhou to Shanghai, which shows his love for our match. Let's applaud together and give a warm welcome to President Pei's arrival!"

As soon as the host finished speaking, thunderous applause and cheers rang out in the venue.

Obviously, there were people who had been prepared by the staff, the kind who were professional at leading the applause. The host and the planted fans cooperated a little, and they led the entire audience to applaud together, instantly creating an excellent program effect.

Pei Qian: "What the f..."

At this time, Pei Qian was very grateful that he had put on a mask, otherwise his expression would be very embarrassing at this time, broadcast live to all the audiences present and in the live broadcast room.

The event organizers were making trouble!

Pei Qian instantly realized that the organizers were doing this on purpose, but it was not appropriate for him to do anything at this time, so he could only continue to maintain a calm and indifferent expression until the camera above his head moved away.

The director shamelessly took pictures for a full ten seconds. Seeing that President Pei was still calm and unmoved, he finally moved the camera away with some regret.

However, this ten-second close-up obviously had a very good effect. There was a lot of discussion at the scene, and on the live broadcast platform that was broadcasting the IOI qualifiers, a large number of comments were flying across the screen.

"President Pei?!"

"What the hell, President Pei, the boss of the Tengda Group, went to the IOI qualifier venue? Shouldn't he be watching GPL? What is he doing?"

"This wave, this wave is the boss personally going out to spy on the enemy's situation?"

"And then being caught on the spot?"

"Hahahaha, does this mean that the IOI match is better than GPL? Even President Pei himself doesn't watch GPL?"

"Are you sure this is President Pei? How did you recognize him with a mask on?"

"Judging from his hairstyle, clothes, body shape, and some details, it is indeed possible. The event organizers shouldn't make such a low-level mistake. They must have confirmed President Pei's identity before giving him a close-up."

"The GPL clubs are embarrassed. We're fighting to the death here, using all our means, but the organizer of the league ran to watch others?"

"SHG: We are willing to fight to the death, why did Your Majesty surrender first?"

There were similar discussions in the live broadcast room and on the forums. Many of these comments were posted by the online commentators arranged by Longyu Group. On the surface, they looked like they were teasing, but in reality, they also played a role in setting the tone.

Once the meme "President Pei doesn't watch GPL but comes to the IOI qualifiers" spreads, even if it is actually a kind of ridicule, it will bring a subtle guiding effect to the onlookers.

This little episode quickly passed, but the public opinion on the Internet gradually began to ferment.

The match between the two teams began, and the audience quickly became immersed in the intense match.

These two teams were already at the top level in the country, and they fought back and forth, which was very exciting.

As Pei Qian had requested, the FV Club players were still strictly following the *GOG* gameplay, and from the selection of players to the operating ideas in the game, they were somewhat incompatible with the conventional gameplay.

In yesterday's group stage, the FV Club and SUG fought very fiercely, and the final victory had a certain element of luck.

Today's opponents had obviously studied the FV Club's gameplay last night and made certain adjustments in terms of player selection and tactics, so the FV Club had a more difficult time.

But even so, the FV Club had no intention of playing a conventional lineup and continued to implement their previous gameplay ideas.

The two sides fought for five full games. Originally, two Bo5s were scheduled for the morning, but the FV's match lasted until 11 o'clock.

...

Backstage at the studio, the assistant quickly came to Zhao Xuming.

"President Zhao! Everything you ordered has been arranged."

"We have prepared several drafts, including the relationship between the Tengda Group and the FV Club, President Pei's personal presence, etc. We will spread these messages in the afternoon, buy trending searches, and stir up the heat. We will definitely be able to create very considerable heat on the entire Internet!"

Zhao Xuming nodded with satisfaction, "Well, very good!"

He watched the entire morning's FV Club match. They fought very hard against the second team in Group A, playing five full games and winning with great difficulty.

And from yesterday's group stage, it could be seen that the first team in Group A had no great pressure to take down the second team in the group, bringing them down step by step.

This shows that even if the FV Club plays five full games and wins the World Championship spot with great difficulty, they will definitely not be able to beat the first team in Group A and will not be able to compete for the top seed.

Not only that, but they are also likely to be crushed by the first team in Group A!

In this case, taking the opportunity to throw out the relationship between the FV Club and the Tengda Group and then kick them a few times will be able to bring a lot of heat to IOI.

President Pei spent a lot of money to build a team to participate in the IOI qualifiers, and President Pei supervised the battle on the spot, but they were still crushed?

Once this news spreads, Zhao Xuming's goal will be achieved.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the FV Club must lose. It is not advisable to output against the wind; only outputting with the wind can maximize the impact.

In fact, Zhao Xuming could also choose to spread these messages after the match, but that would be too late.

There are four Bo5s to be played today. The schedule is too dense, and the first Bo5 will not be finished until nearly 12 o'clock, and the subsequent matches can only be postponed.

Based on a rough estimate of the time, after four Bo5s are played, it may be after 10 o'clock in the evening.

These discussions are time-sensitive, and it takes a certain amount of time to ferment. If these messages are spread after the match, many people may not see them, and they will not achieve the best dissemination effect or the purpose of attracting a lot of heat and traffic.

On the contrary, spreading these messages in the afternoon and letting everyone pay attention to the FV Club's match in the evening, and then the FV Club is defeated, Longyu Group can take advantage of the public opinion to step on Tengda, and this time is perfect.

Zhao Xuming couldn't help but be complacent.

Everyone says that President Pei is planning strategies, but when he encounters things that cannot be controlled by human power, isn't President Pei helpless?

Now everyone with a discerning eye can see that the FV Club's current strength is much lower and they cannot compete for the top seed spot. And Zhao Xuming is just counting on this point to create heat for IOI by stepping on the FV Club and Tengda.

In this situation, can President Pei still turn the tables?

Zhao Xuming felt that he was sure of victory.