Chapter 1 A Dreamlike Morning

At 7:05 AM, the plane landed at Los Angeles Airport.

Considering the time difference, China is 15 hours ahead, meaning it's actually 10:05 PM in Jingzhou.

Pan Ying had already enjoyed a good sleep on the plane, changed out of his pajamas in the restroom beforehand, and freshened up a bit.

The dozen or so hours on the plane were quite pleasant for him. First, he ate like crazy, with various meals, drinks, ice cream, and desserts constantly on offer. After eating his fill, he put on his headphones and watched two movies, then slept comfortably for eight hours.

Now, he woke up refreshed.

He had filled out the declaration form on the plane, and Wu Yue also gave everyone local SIM cards.

Pan Ying, like the other team members, switched to the new SIM card and turned on his phone.

"Huh? Is it still the 22nd?"

Pan Ying instinctively felt a bit of magic because they had left Shanghai at noon on the 22nd, but arrived in Los Angeles to find it was the morning of the 22nd. It was as if he had gained a whole day for free.

Wu Yue smiled. "You'll have to pay it back when you return home."

"Alright, everyone, quickly grab your luggage. We're about to disembark."

Thinking that they were now on foreign soil, Pan Ying and the other team members were afraid of getting lost. With their limited "construction site English," even asking for directions would be difficult, so they hurried to keep up.

Although the plane was double-decker, there were only a few dozen seats in business class, while economy class had over four hundred. Both the upper and lower levels had economy class.

However, business class had a dedicated aisle, allowing for priority boarding and disembarkation, as well as expedited customs service. This saved a lot of time both when boarding and disembarking.

Wu Yue didn't know where Zhao Xuming and the others were, but since they weren't going to the same place, there was no need to meet up again.

The translator had already arranged for pre-hired bodyguards and a minibus, which would take them directly from the airport to near the competition venue.

Under the guidance of Wu Yue, Ding Gan, and the translator, they quickly met up with the locally hired guide and bodyguards.

The four bodyguards were all dressed in suits and sunglasses, looking like they could stand next to the president without seeming out of place.

Pan Ying sincerely marveled, "This is too impressive..."

"It's like a dreamlike morning."

The other team members were also excited, looking refreshed. The dozen or so hours on the plane hadn't made them tired; instead, they were well-rested and full of energy.

The three photographers were also filming throughout, recording every detail of the team's journey from Shanghai to Los Angeles. After all, they were being paid well and were very dedicated.

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

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

Ding Gan couldn't help but exclaim, "Boss Pei's standard for your food and lodging is outrageously high. I can afford to stay at the Ritz-Carlton myself, but to put 30 people up there, for a whole month... it's too extravagant."

Wu Yue nodded. "Actually, I didn't think too much about it at the time. Boss Pei's food and lodging budget was too generous. I saw that there was a Ritz-Carlton nearby, and it was suitable in every way, so I booked it."

Ding Gan was speechless.

What do you mean, "just happened to be there"?

The Ritz-Carlton is a high-end hotel brand within the resort industry, considered relatively luxurious even among five-star hotels. It's also just across the street from the competition venue, a very convenient location.

Of course, Ding Gan himself could afford to stay there, but Boss Pei had arranged for the entire team of 30 to stay there. It was just an inhumane display of wealth.

Wu Yue looked around at everyone and said, "Check-in at the hotel isn't until the afternoon. When we arrive, we can store our luggage first and then grab something to eat. We have a special chef providing Chinese food here, so to prevent any acclimatization issues, we'll mainly be eating Chinese food from now on."

"Of course, before the official start of the World Championship, you can occasionally go out and try some local delicacies to mix things up."

"Does anyone need to rest at the hotel?"

The players shook their heads.

What was there to rest for? They had already eaten and drunk their fill on the plane and slept for eight hours. They could start training after a quick bite!

Wu Yue nodded. "Alright, let's store our luggage first, settle in, and then go take a look at the training location. We can check in later in the afternoon."

"There aren't many internet cafes here, since internet cafe culture isn't very popular in foreign countries."

"Considering the distance, environment, and computer configurations, there's only one that's most suitable."

"We've already rented all the machines on the second floor of this internet cafe in advance. We'll be training there from now on. But be prepared, even though it's the best internet cafe nearby, it might not be up to the level of Moyu Internet Cafe."

Pan Ying was a bit surprised. "Ah? Are we renting the entire floor? Wouldn't that be a bit wasteful?"

Wu Yue shook his head. "It's not a waste. It's actually more cost-effective."

"The internet fees here are different from those in China. They're very expensive, 10 dollars an hour, 18 dollars for three hours, but only 20 dollars for a full day. That's because most players here only play for one to three hours, so they set the prices like that."

"We'll be training here whenever we're not resting at the hotel. I've already asked the owner. There are many machines in the lobby on the first floor, over a hundred. There are only about thirty machines on the second floor, but the environment is better. Renting the whole floor costs about 600 dollars a day, which isn't expensive."

"This way, we won't have to worry about being disturbed by strangers, or about the possibility of leaking our tactics."

Pan Ying nodded excitedly. "Great, perfect! Then let's hurry up and start training. I can't wait!"

...

More than two hours later, Zhao Xuming and the team members from the two clubs finally arrived, bleary-eyed, at the entrance of the Courtyard Hotel.

Although the distance from the airport wasn't far, getting luggage and other procedures took a lot of time.

The team members were listless, feeling like they were just running on fumes.

Although they had all slept for a few hours, the seats in economy class were too uncomfortable to sleep soundly in. They would wake up every two or three hours, and after waking up, it was difficult to fall back asleep due to aches and pains. All they could do was watch movies boredly.

In short, everyone was poorly rested, feeling travel-weary, with wrinkled clothes and messy hair. They couldn't wait to take a shower at the hotel and get a good night's sleep.

Zhao Xuming thought to himself that it was a good thing the business class passengers could disembark first, otherwise it would be too awkward to run into them again at the airport!

He could imagine the refreshed appearance of Wu Yue and the others as they left the business class section, compared to his own state... it was not something he wanted to dwell on.

In any case, they had finally arrived at the hotel!

The team members looked at the grand building of the Courtyard Hotel in front of them, and the fatigue from the long journey was finally relieved. Their eyes showed excitement.

The official hotel that Riot Games had arranged for each club was this Courtyard Hotel, which would allow for seamless integration when the World Championship started.

The Courtyard Hotel was roughly equivalent to a four-star, mid-range hotel, which was already quite impressive. No one could say that the accommodation conditions were poor.

The hotel's main entrance was a concave, semicircular lobby with a huge billboard above it, looking very imposing.

Just as everyone was about to drag their luggage inside, one of the team members said, "Hey, what's that tall building across the street?"

The others turned their heads and saw a sky-blue skyscraper reaching into the clouds across the street.

Although the Courtyard Hotel building was also quite tall, it was on a completely different level from the building across the street. The latter could be considered a landmark building, estimated to be over two hundred meters high.

Zhao Xuming said, "Oh, that's the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The price is about three times higher than here."

The team members couldn't help but click their tongues, tacitly avoiding the topic.

Three times more expensive?

A double room here was about a thousand yuan, while over there it would be around two thousand five or more. The price difference was huge.

However, the two hotels were just across the street from each other, facing each other, and both were only about 200 meters from the venue, so they were exactly the same in terms of convenience.

Moreover, the Courtyard Hotel was already a decent place to stay. What kind of families lived in the building across the street? Be content with what you have, be content with what you have.

That's how the team members had to comfort themselves.

However, just as these people were about to enter the hotel lobby and forget about it, they saw a group of people walking out of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel across the street, chatting and laughing, and boarding a minibus parked not far away, looking full of energy.

The three photography brothers were still conscientiously following behind, filming.

Although they weren't close, Zhao Xuming and the others immediately recognized that these were the FV Club people. After all, in a foreign country, all compatriots naturally have a high-brightness effect.

The minibus quickly started and drove away with a car full of team members, heading somewhere.

Zhao Xuming and the others fell into awkward silence.

In fact, the team members of the two clubs hadn't felt anything special before, thinking that the hotel across the street was good, but it had nothing to do with them, and was probably only for celebrities, rich tycoons, and the like.

Since Riot Games had uniformly arranged for all clubs to stay at the Courtyard Hotel, with the same food and lodging conditions, there was no need to expect more.

But seeing the FV Club and SUG Club members coming out of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel across the street, subtle changes took place in everyone's minds.

This was just too unacceptable!

These people came in business class, and the hotel they were staying in was two times more expensive than the official hotel, several levels higher!

Their morale was a little down.

Zhao Xuming only had one feeling now, which was that it was outrageous!

What was the relationship between the FV Club and Boss Pei? This was simply the treatment of a beloved son. Was Boss Pei being extravagant to this extent?

Those old foreign clubs, those highly paid star players, weren't they all obediently staying at the Courtyard Hotel?

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that this group from the FV Club was a big deal!

Zhao Xuming was silently jealous. After a moment of silence, he quickly changed the subject. "Let's check in quickly and find a place to eat."

The others responded one after another, never mentioning the FV Club again.

Since check-in wasn't until the afternoon, everyone decided to store their luggage first, eat something at the hotel, and then check in after deciding on a training venue.

The hotel had a buffet for $15 per person, which consisted of standard American food and snacks. It wasn't particularly what they were used to, but overall it was pretty good.

Zhao Xuming, the accompanying translator, and the two club leaders ate while considering the issue of a training venue.

Although the official Riot Games would arrange a training room, that would definitely be after the start of the World Championship. Moreover, the so-called training room would most likely just be renting a few conference rooms in the hotel and dividing them among the team members, then putting in a few computers and gaming chairs. The overall conditions and environment couldn't be relied upon too much.

If they wanted to train in the next few days, they would have to find a place themselves.

The translator said, "President Zhao, I just checked, and there aren't many internet cafes nearby, but there's one that's relatively good, and we can consider it."

"After we finish eating, we can go take a look. Riot Games has also provided the high-elo super accounts, so we can have the team members play some ranked games here, and we can arrange scrims with other European and American teams in advance."

Zhao Xuming nodded absentmindedly.

He didn't care at all about the training of these two teams. After all, he was in charge of IOI operations at Longyu Group, not the teams' caretaker.

Zhao Xuming felt that he was already dipping into his own pocket to pay for these two teams, so he shouldn't have to worry about finding a training venue, right?

He only had one thought in his mind now, which was to check in as soon as possible, take a shower, get a good night's sleep, and then visit the Riot Games headquarters with the other accompanying employees of Longyu Group.

At this moment, one of the leaders suddenly said, "Wow, the hotel that FV Club is staying at... the environment is too good, isn't it?"

The team members next to him all leaned over to take a look.

On the official FV Club Weibo, all the details of this trip to Los Angeles had been updated in real time, including the group photo at the airport and some daily videos.

The latest Weibo post was a photo of everyone dining at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Obviously, the FV Club people had arrived half an hour earlier than them.

The photos didn't focus on the food, but mainly on the players. But you could still see that the dining environment was obviously not on the same level as here. There were all kinds of dishes, sushi, sashimi, cakes, grilled meat, and even Chinese food.

The colors of the food were very bright, and the plating was very exquisite. All the food was carefully arranged and photographed by professional photographers, making it look very appetizing.

Unsurprisingly, the comments below the Weibo post were full of "midnight food poisoning" and "envy, jealousy, and hate," since it was midnight in China.

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

As for Zhao Xuming, he was so angry that he was almost fuming.

This group from the FV Club was just too much!

Acting like country bumpkins, taking pictures all the way, constantly showing off. Was it necessary?

Everyone knew that the hotel over there was good, but it was one thing to casually take pictures outside. Did they have to take pictures of the food too?

What was the difference between that and smacking your lips while eating?

Too much, too much!

Zhao Xuming had thought that the buffet here was good, but now he just felt like he was eating without tasting anything.

Miserable!