Chapter 1 The FV Club

Pei Qian rubbed his eyes and carefully looked at the team logo on the big screen again.

That's right, it was the FV Club, the same weak club he had invested in?

Why would the commentators use "all-star" to describe them?

These three unwanted players, all-stars?

It didn't make any sense.

As Pei Qian puzzled over this, the match continued.

The camera began to film the players preparing, and close-ups of each player appeared on the big screen, showing their game IDs, real names, ages, game ranks, favorite heroes, and so on.

The players also noticed the close-up shots and reacted differently.

Some greeted the audience, some struck poses, while others remained indifferent, burying their heads in practice mode to warm up.

The two commentators were also introducing the players' details to the audience, including their time as professionals, interesting stories from their careers, and memorable memes.

"Now, everyone sees the top laner of the FV Club, one of the earliest star players of *IOI*. He had already made a name for himself on the world server before the national server was opened, and he is very experienced. He is also known for his fierce play style and strong suppression."

"Next is the mid-laner of the FV Club, very young, only 17 years old this year. He reached the first place on the *IOI* world server with more than twenty different mid-lane heroes, and he is also a veritable genius teenager. Today, we can wait and see his performance."

"The jungler of the FV Club was previously a relatively unknown newcomer. It is said that the mid-laner met him in rank, and they have been duo-queuing ever since with great synergy. Today, we can look forward to their cooperation."

"The bottom lane duo of the FV Club were originally the star bottom lane of the SUG Club, also known as the number one bottom lane combination in the *IOI* national server. There were rumors some time ago that the two seemed to be transitioning to *GOG*, but there was no definite news. Unexpectedly, their first match back is a head-to-head battle with their old club. What kind of sparks will fly?"

"On the other hand, the SUG Club, although originally a lineup built around the bottom lane core, the other three veteran players are definitely not to be underestimated. They may have some advantages in tactics and synergy."

"We don't know why the SUG Club replaced their star bottom lane duo. Perhaps it was because the new bottom lane performed better than the original bottom lane, so they released them to the FV Club?"

"In short, today's match is full of highlights and worth looking forward to!"

Below the stage, Ding Gan, the owner of the SUG Club, was also watching the match live. He gritted his teeth in anger after hearing the commentator's words.

The new bottom lane performed better than the original bottom lane?

What a load of crap!

At that time, there was no news about the *IOI* World Championship at all. Ding Gan felt that there was no point in keeping this *IOI* team, and SHG offered a lot of money for the transfer fee, so he sold the bottom lane duo!

If he had known that the *IOI* World Championship would be held so soon, he wouldn't have sold them no matter what!

Ding Gan knew in his heart that although the new bottom lane duo was also good, they were no match for the original two. There was a big gap in hard power.

But there was nothing he could do. Once the players were released, it was like spilled water.

Ding Gan was anxious and angry, and his heart was in a panic.

Not far from him, Pei Qian, who was also sitting in the VIP seat, was also panicking.

Although he didn't know any of these players, the commentators had explained it in such detail that he should have a clear and objective understanding of the team's strength.

It was not an exaggeration to call this team an "all-star" team!

A veteran top laner, a king-tier mid-laner, a jungler who was the king-tier mid-laner's personal jungler, and a star bottom lane duo who were once the tactical core of SUG. This lineup looked ridiculous on paper!

Now Pei Qian was just wondering one thing: where did Wu Yue, the owner of the FV Club, get these people from!

He only gave him three million, right? With that little money, he could buy one or two good players at most, and other clubs might not even be willing to sell.

He directly assembled a dream team, gathering all the best *IOI* players in the country. This was ridiculous!

Pei Qian quickly took out his phone, entered the *IOI* qualifier live broadcast room, and wanted to see what the audience was saying.

"What the hell? Is the FV Club making a comeback? Did the owner win the lottery? Why did they suddenly put in so much effort to assemble an all-star team? Where did the money come from?"

"A ten-year FV old fan reporting in!"

"Beating up the old club? This is going to be a good show!"

"The two sides seem to be in stark contrast. The FV Club's players are all tall and have a good demeanor, which is in stark contrast to the skinny monkeys of SUG."

"I remember that these two players in the bottom lane were also quite thin when they were in SUG. Why do they look bigger and have a better temperament now? Did FV hire a plastic surgeon? Or did they undergo some secret training?"

"So why did SUG release this bottom lane duo? The top bottom lane in the country was directly released to another club? Logically speaking, this should be a non-selling item, right? They shouldn't be sold no matter how high the transfer fee is!"

"I don't know. There were rumors before that these two thought that *IOI* was going to die, so they wanted to transition to *GOG*. There were even rumors that a team from the GPL bought them. I don't know if it's true or not."

"No wonder the FV Club is desperately promoting before the game. I was wondering why they were spending money to pave the way for others. Now I understand, they are creating momentum for themselves!"

The popularity of the live broadcast room had obviously increased before the game even started.

The matches in the morning seemed to have good popularity, but the barrage was not dense, probably because there were not many hot topics to discuss.

But in the afternoon, when the FV Club appeared and everyone saw this all-star lineup, many old *IOI* players and viewers couldn't restrain their excitement and started to discuss it enthusiastically.

Through the promotion of the FV Club and Long Yu Corporation, although the popularity of the *IOI* qualifiers was still far inferior to the GPL league, it at least captured all the old *IOI* players and viewers in the country.

And now, all the popularity that had been painstakingly gathered was focused on this all-star team that had suddenly appeared.

The team had already gained enough popularity before the game even started.

Pei Qian and Ding Gan were both in the audience, nervously watching the progress of the game.

...

"Let us congratulate FV! Although they experienced some twists and turns in the game, they still won this match with some danger!"

Amidst the passionate commentary, a victory screen appeared on the big screen. The five members of the FV Club looked high-spirited, as if they had a domineering aura that looked down on the crowd.

The players packed up their equipment and left the stage. The players of the FV Club did not have too many excited expressions on their faces, but instead looked very calm.

The schedule of this qualifier was relatively tight. There were a total of four teams in the group, and it was a Bo1 single round robin. It was all over in one afternoon, so every small game was very important.

In this group, SUG's strength was obviously higher than the other two teams, so after FV won this game, it was basically certain that they would qualify.

As for whether SUG could qualify, it would depend on whether they would make any mistakes in the next game.

The two commentators began to comment on the match.

"In this game, we saw that the members of the FV Club didn't seem to be particularly happy after winning. Maybe they weren't particularly satisfied with their performance today, or maybe they had higher expectations for themselves."

"Indeed, just from the performance in the game, we can clearly see that the individual abilities of the FV Club are higher than SUG's, but there seem to be some flaws in the selection of heroes and the execution of tactics. Otherwise, this game might have become even less suspenseful."

"Does this mean that the current FV has not yet been fully integrated?"

"I don't think it's all a matter of integration. Their tactical system and game understanding also seem to have certain problems. We can see that the heroes they prioritize are not the strongest version heroes currently recognized. They prefer team-oriented heroes, and in terms of play style and game understanding, they don't overemphasize personal ability, which seems to be out of tune with the mainstream play styles of other teams..."

"Is it possible that their team's tactical team has a different understanding of the game version?"

"There is such a possibility, but this understanding of the game does not seem to be particularly mature. The main reason why FV was able to win against SUG today was because of their stronger individual strength. If they encounter a foreign team whose individual ability is not inferior to FV's, it is questionable whether they can win this game..."

The two commentators were telling the truth, because in their opinion, the play style of the FV team was indeed a bit strange, and it seemed out of tune with the current mainstream play style.

Moreover, this play style did not actually have a very good effect. Instead, it overemphasized teamwork, which caused certain restrictions in the selection of heroes and in-game decisions, preventing the players' individual strength from being 100% exerted.

But these words sounded like complete mockery to Ding Gan.

"What does this mean? Are they using us to practice their lineup?"

"Who are they looking down on?"

"They won and still have a stinky face. Damn it, these people are too arrogant!"

Ding Gan was so angry that he was smoking from all seven orifices. It was nothing to lose the game, but to lose while the other team was practicing their lineup, in his opinion, was FV deliberately showing off their team's hard power.

What's wrong, you don't accept it? An all-star team can do whatever it wants!

That was pretty much what it meant.

Ding Gan was even more angry when he thought that the FV's bottom lane duo was originally released by him. If this duo was still there, how could SUG have lost?

But as angry as he was, Ding Gan also knew very well that the outcome of this game was not a big deal. Anyway, each group had two teams that would qualify. SUG would definitely qualify no matter what. The real thing to worry about was tomorrow's knockout round.

The knockout round was a Bo5, and four teams would be eliminated. It would depend on who was the unlucky one.

...

At the same time, at the GPL competition site in Jingzhou.

Zhang Yuan, Ye Zhizhou, Xiao Peng and several other people in charge were watching the opening match of the GPL.

The two teams in the match were the strongest two teams in the current GPL, and they were also the champion and runner-up of the previous World Championship. The match was intense and exciting.

In the Bo3 format, the two sides had tied 1:1 and entered the decisive game. The atmosphere at the scene had also reached its highest point.

In the enthusiastic cheers, the fans of both teams cheered for their teams, and then they did not forget to shout "DGE fighting" in unison, forming a special competition area culture.

The tickets for the Tendai Group's internal staff were not in the front or the back, but in the slightly forward part of the center.

This was because the tickets in the front row were for the core fans and cheering of both teams, and the gift tickets for the internal staff could not affect the fans' viewing experience.

The decisive game was still in the BP interface. Zhang Yuan took out his mobile phone and went online to check the players' comments. He found that only a small number of people were discussing the opening match itself, and most of the topics were focused on the comparison between the *IOI* qualifiers and the GPL opening match.

"The difference in the venues between the two sides is too big. Isn't the *IOI* competition co-organized by Long Yu Corporation and Finger Company? Why is the scene so shabby?"

"To be honest, the *IOI* competition feels like a complete copy of *GOG*. Even the on-site layout and the BP and viewing interface in the game have a very strong sense of deja vu. Is there really no problem?"

"I think it's okay. They are all the same type of games, so don't be so harsh."

"Hey, who made the *IOI* competition held late? *GOG*'s competition has already been held in full swing, and all aspects are very complete. *IOI* easily gives people the feeling of imitation, although in terms of time, *IOI* came out before *GOG*."

"But after learning and learning, there is still a lack of taste. There are many differences in the details. Just talking about the image of the players, you see that the players on the GPL side are all tall and have a completely different mental outlook. On the other hand, the players on the *IOI* side, except for the players in that FV team who are not bad, the others still have the feeling of Internet addiction teenagers. The image is a big difference."

"Indeed, the accumulation of these details makes people feel that there is a lack of taste, and it always feels like the *IOI* competition is a pirated version of GPL."

"Tendai is still awesome. I feel like they are taking the entire e-sports industry a big step forward with their own strength!"

Obviously, the vast majority of viewers felt that the excitement of the GPL league completely crushed the *IOI* qualifiers.

On the one hand, there were more *GOG* players, and on the other hand, the details of the GPL were better.

A point that was repeatedly mentioned was the issue of the players' image. Most of the GPL players were of standard build, and there were even a few muscular men who looked very sunny and handsome, giving people a positive feeling. On the other hand, the *IOI* players were still more traditional Internet addiction teenagers, and their image was inferior.

Details like this continued to accumulate, making the *IOI* competition invisibly lower than the GPL by one level, making people naturally have the feeling that "the competition held by *IOI* is a pirated version of GPL."

Zhang Yuan couldn't help but sigh, "Now that I think about it, President Pei is really strategizing."

"The success of *GOG* in the field of e-sports is partly due to the success of the game and partly due to the success of the details. Besides President Pei, who else could have predicted the importance of the player's image to the popularity of e-sports competitions?"

"President Pei has established training standards through the DGE Club, guiding other clubs to also pay attention to the players' physical exercise. On the one hand, it ensures the players' physical health, and on the other hand, it improves the image of the league..."

"This is equivalent to building a moat for *GOG*. The game and e-sports support each other and complement each other."

Ye Zhizhou, who was sitting next to him, said, "Speaking of which, it's the decisive game, isn't President Pei going to come today? This is the opening game."

Logically speaking, this was the first day of the GPL, which was of great significance. The *IOI* side also had a qualifier, which put a little pressure on the GPL side. He should come to the scene to take a look.

Xiao Peng, who was sitting on the other side, said, "Maybe President Pei feels that he has the chance to win, and the *IOI* qualifiers cannot pose any threat to the GPL, so he won't come."

Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "You are all wrong. In fact, President Pei is not in Jingzhou now."

Ye Zhizhou was stunned for a moment, "Not in Jingzhou? Did something happen and he went on a business trip?"

Zhang Yuan lowered his voice and said, "President Pei went to Shanghai alone to watch the *IOI* competition!"

Ye Zhizhou and Xiao Peng both showed slightly surprised expressions on their faces.

President Pei actually went to Shanghai alone, deep into the enemy's nest to watch the battle?

Because President Pei had always given people the impression of a wise general who strategized and won thousands of miles away. As long as he was in Jingzhou, everything that happened all over the country could not escape his eyes.

But now President Pei actually went to Shanghai in person, to the scene of the *IOI* competition... For some reason, this behavior seemed to have a sense of going to a meeting alone in everyone's eyes.

In addition to feeling emotional, Xiao Peng also felt a little confused, "But, if it's just to get a closer look at the enemy's situation, does President Pei need to go in person?"

Zhang Yuan smiled, "Of course it's not just to get a closer look at the enemy's situation. How can President Pei have only one purpose when he does things? There must be a complete plan!"

"In fact, President Pei has already invested in the FV Club privately and buried a foreshadowing in the *IOI* team."

"I think President Pei is mostly waiting for the right time. The FV Club may become the key to the victory or defeat of *IOI* and *GOG* in the field of e-sports!"

"As for how to operate specifically... I don't know, let's wait and see!"

Ye Zhizhou and Xiao Peng nodded in agreement.

...

"Let us congratulate the FV Club and the SUG Club for winning the final qualifying places!"

"Tomorrow morning and afternoon, we will have two Bo5s to determine the final places to the World Championship. Please stay tuned!"

Ding Gan, who had been clenching his fists in the audience, finally relaxed a little.

The afternoon group stage was a close call for SUG. Although they lost the first game to the FV Club, they still won the game with some danger and won the second place in the group.

Tomorrow's knockout round schedule was still full. The first and second place in the two groups will play a Bo5 respectively, and the two winners will compete for the top seed spot, and the two losers will compete for the last spot.

This time, there was a competition area protection in terms of the *IOI* World Championship schedule.

Because Zhao Xuming knew very well that the strength of the current national server *IOI* team was not good. If they played against foreign strong teams, they would probably be beaten badly. They had to give them a hand in the competition system to avoid losing face.

Therefore, Cretian and the high-level executives of Finger Company decided that the first seeds of each competition area would start from the quarter-finals, while the second and third seeds would have to play in the group stage.

This can avoid the situation where all the teams are wiped out in the group stage, and at least retain the attention of domestic players until the quarter-finals.

If the strongest team in the country is sent to the quarter-finals and is still crushed... then there is really nothing they can do.

After watching SUG crush the remaining two trash teams, Ding Gan's mentality stabilized a lot.

"It seems that it's not our SUG's problem, it's just that this FV is too strong."

"Thinking on the bright side, it's a good thing to run into FV in the group stage. It's basically unlikely that we will encounter them tomorrow."

"There are two Bo5s to play tomorrow. As long as we don't run into the FV Club, it's stable to qualify."

Ding Gan kept comforting himself, and his mentality finally stabilized.

The match ended very late, and the audience left the venue one after another. Ding Gan also stood up and prepared to go backstage to comfort his players.

However, just as he was about to leave, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a familiar figure, as if he had seen him somewhere.

Ding Gan was sitting in the VIP seat in the front row, and many people had already stood up and left, leaving a large number of seats empty. However, there was only one figure wearing a black mask still sitting in his seat, which seemed a bit out of place.

Ding Gan frowned and looked carefully. Although this person was wearing a mask, his eyebrows, eyes, and clothes seemed a little familiar.

"President Pei?!"

After the SUG Club was removed from the GPL, Ding Gan made a special trip to Jingzhou and met President Pei once, so he recognized him.

After confirming President Pei's identity, many thoughts instantly appeared in Ding Gan's mind.

All the conspiracies seemed to be connected in this moment.

Why did the FV Club take the initiative to spend money on publicity?

Where did the star players of the FV Club come from?

Ding Gan believed that President Pei must have many other hidden means, but he had not seen them yet.

All of this was obviously President Pei's plan. It was just a game of chess in the e-sports field for the two games of *GOG* and *IOI*, and SUG and the other clubs were actually just pawns!

President Pei even came to Shanghai in person, to the scene of the *IOI* qualifiers, to admire his layout up close.

Like a perverted killer, after committing the crime, he had to return to the scene to see it and observe it up close in order to obtain a sense of satisfaction.

Ding Gan suddenly felt a chill!