Chapter 18 Sunday, December 18th

Wu Yue and Manager Lu were in the office, counting heads on their fingers.

"Once we get to Los Angeles, we'll hire a local guide, four bodyguards who can also drive, and rent a minibus."

"There's Team One and Team Two from the FV Club, five core players from the SUG Club, plus you, me, the team leader, coach, and analyst. That's 20 people in total. Then add two translators and three documentary filmmakers, so that's 25 people."

"Still five short."

"We'll also bring a team doctor to ensure the players' health. They can also lead some simple physical training exercises at the hotel to keep everyone in shape and maintain their physical condition."

"Still four short."

Wu Yue counted and recounted, but couldn't seem to make up 30 people.

The main reason was that President Pei had given them too many slots. Wu Yue had even brought three dedicated photographers, and all the necessary support staff, including translators, team leaders, coaches, analysts, and a team doctor, but they were still four people short, and he really didn't know who else to bring.

Although President Pei didn't have any special requirements for the identities of the staff, this was still a business trip, and the people they brought should at least be somewhat related to the competition, right?

President Pei was being extremely generous, acting as if he were sending everyone on an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles, but Wu Yue didn't dare to actually turn it into an all-expenses-paid vacation. Instead, he felt immense pressure.

He had been given millions of yuan. What would he do if they didn't achieve good results?

Manager Lu suggested, "President Wu, our club only has this many people. We really can't think of any more suitable candidates. Why don't you ask President Zhang and see if he has any suitable people on his side?"

"After all, President Pei is funding this. If we take four people from Tengda, it'll look better on the surface. Moreover, Tengda's employees should be eager to come on such a high-standard, all-expenses-paid trip."

Wu Yue nodded in realization, "That's right, I'll ask President Zhang."

"In that case, I'll call President Zhang, and you can call President Ding Gan of the SUG Club."

...

DGE Esports Club.

Zhang Yuan: "Still four slots left? No one to choose from?"

"Well... it's not a problem for us to provide four people, but let me think about it."

After Wu Yue explained the situation over the phone, Zhang Yuan fell into deep thought.

The FV Club was going to compete, and President Pei was personally overseeing it, providing a high standard of accommodation and meals, and even requiring them to bring 30 people!

And that didn't even include the tour guide and bodyguards hired locally in Los Angeles.

Why bring so many people?

Right now, not just in China, but even in the global esports environment, things were still relatively informal. Not to mention anything else, in the past two years, professional players in China often had to pay their own way to competitions, and stories of sleeping on the streets and eating instant noodles in cold water were common.

Especially for international competitions like this, because the expenses after going abroad were high, they would save as much as possible, and the fewer people, the better.

But President Pei was providing a standard far beyond expectations. Why?

After a brief consideration, Zhang Yuan immediately thought of two points: first, to showcase Tengda's financial strength and commitment to esports through the FV Club; second, to guarantee logistical support at all costs and strive for good results as much as possible!

Because the FV Club was already tied to Tengda, the better the FV Club's results, the more Tengda would gain face, and relatively speaking, the more it would slap Finger Games and Long Yu Corporation in the face.

Winning prize money was secondary; the key was the publicity and advertising effect.

Therefore, the accompanying staff this time definitely weren't going on vacation, and they had to play a role in some way or another.

Zhang Yuan said, "If we look at the entire Tengda Group, there are actually four relatively suitable candidates, but I don't know if they're willing to go."

"Ye Zhizhou, Min Jingchao, Bao Xu, Zhou Pengyuan."

"Ye Zhizhou is the head of Shang Yang Games and a game designer. He used to be in charge of the Chinese server operations for IOI and knows IOI's various data very well. Of course, his knowledge is limited to the old versions."

"Min Jingchao is a GOG designer who has been in charge of game design and numerical balancing since GOG was launched."

"Bao Xu is a senior veteran designer at Tengda Games, a hardcore gamer, and proficient in most games, including GOG and IOI. Moreover, he has extensive travel experience, is physically fit, and can handle pressure well."

"Zhou Pengyuan was originally a commander for DGE Club's second team, but he's getting older and his performance has declined significantly. He recently decided to retire and return to DGE Club as head coach. He has extensive gaming experience and is familiar with various GOG tactics."

"These four people have the most in-depth understanding of GOG and IOI and should be able to provide you with guidance in strategy development and data analysis."

"The only problem is... I have to ask President Pei about this."

"Except for Zhou Pengyuan, who is currently the head coach of DGE and I can arrange, the other three are either Tengda veterans or department heads, and I'm on the same level as them. I can't order them around."

Wu Yue on the other end of the phone was stunned. "President Zhang, isn't this unnecessary? This is too much of a fuss!"

"Our club is just going to Los Angeles to compete, and the heads and lead designers of Tengda Group's two core game departments are accompanying us? This... seems a bit inappropriate."

Zhang Yuan said, "Don't worry about that. Whether it's appropriate or not is President Pei's problem. If President Pei is afraid of interfering with work and doesn't let them go, then I'll consider other candidates."

Wu Yue thought for a moment and realized that he was right, so he nodded. "Okay, President Zhang, I'll wait for news."

Zhang Yuan hung up the phone and immediately called President Pei to explain the situation.

On the other end of the phone, Pei Qian had just gotten out of bed and was having brunch at Mo Yu Internet Cafe.

Hearing that Zhang Yuan wanted to transfer Ye Zhizhou and Min Jingchao, Pei Qian's eyes lit up, and he readily agreed.

"No problem! Let them go! And they must go, they can't refuse!"

Pei Qian was worried about how to arrange for them.

Currently, Ye Zhizhou was in charge of GOG's overseas version operations, and Min Jingchao was in charge of GOG's new version updates and domestic operations. These two people could be said to be President Pei's current greatest concerns.

If they worked a little harder, GOG's market share would increase significantly!

The better they did their jobs, the harder it would be for President Pei to lose money.

And this time, Pei Qian had arranged for the entire FV Club team to stay until the end of next month, which was the end of the IOI Global Finals.

Pei Qian didn't think that the FV Club could win the championship at all. After all, the European and American teams started earlier, trained more, and adapted to the version first. The FV Club had only been reorganized for less than a month. Why should they compete with the veteran European and American powerhouses?

Most likely, they would be eliminated in the quarterfinals or, at most, the semifinals.

But being eliminated wouldn't stop them from continuing to travel in Los Angeles!

Other clubs would book their flights back home the day after being eliminated. That wasn't humane. The players trained hard every day. They finally got a visa and went abroad. Shouldn't they have a good time for a few days?

Therefore, no matter what the FV Club's results were, Pei Qian would require them to stay in Los Angeles until the end of the IOI Global Finals before returning.

So, if Ye Zhizhou and Min Jingchao, these two major concerns, went to Los Angeles for a whole month, wouldn't GOG's work be completely slowed down and stagnated?

Even if these two wanted to work online, there was a dozen-hour time difference between Jingzhou and Los Angeles. One was daytime and the other was nighttime. By the time they woke up, it would be time to get off work at Tengda.

Great!

So, Pei Qian didn't think much about it and readily agreed.

As for Bao Xu and Zhou Pengyuan on the list, Pei Qian felt that they were dispensable, but since Zhang Yuan wanted them, let them go. They could fill a slot and spend more money.

Zhang Yuan was quite touched.

President Pei really trusted him. He gave away such important department heads so easily!

He immediately called these four people, asking them to arrange their work handover and prepare to apply for expedited visas.

A few minutes later, Bao Xu, who was happily playing games at his workstation, received a call from Zhang Yuan.

His expression changed from contentment to astonishment, and then to shock and confusion.

After hanging up the phone, Bao Xu froze at his workstation and began to contemplate life, remaining motionless for a long time.

...

On the other side, at the SUG Club, Ding Gan also received a call from Manager Lu.

"What? Taking the five members of the SUG Club's IOI division to Los Angeles???"

Ding Gan almost thought he had misheard.

After listening to Manager Lu's explanation of the whole story, Ding Gan still hadn't recovered from his confusion.

He never expected that his team, which had been eliminated in the domestic qualifiers and failed to qualify for the IOI World Championship, would still be going to Los Angeles?

The SUG Club members were going as sparring partners.

Because this team could be considered a first-class team in China, and their strength was only slightly inferior to the other two teams going to the championship.

Being swept 3:0 in the final game wasn't entirely a matter of strength. The main reasons were that their mentality collapsed and their strategic reserves weren't sufficient.

Since the qualifiers, the IOI division members had been disheartened for a long time.

They originally had a chance to show their faces at the World Championship, but one step away was a world of difference. Who could bear this!

But now, things seemed to have taken a turn for the better.

Although they couldn't go to the World Championship, such a high-standard, all-expenses-paid trip was a great way for the players to relax!

Ding Gan thought about it and realized that he really had no reason to refuse.

The only question was, why was President Pei doing this?

Ding Gan buried his head in thought.

"Could it be... some kind of hint from President Pei?"

"President Pei has always been clear about what he loves and hates and rewards and punishes accordingly. SUG had a dispute with President Pei over the GPL slot, so it was removed from the GPL, but President Pei didn't go too far and gave them a GDL slot."

"This time is the same. After President Pei reorganized the FV Club, he squeezed out SUG's World Championship slot. This isn't targeting the SUG Club, but President Pei is a man of compassion. He's spending money to invite our players to Los Angeles, calling them sparring partners, but they'll be served with good food and drinks and stay in five-star hotels. This treatment is better than a vacation."

"President Pei is a generous man! The SUG Club offended him, but he still doesn't hold it against us... In contrast, Long Yu Corporation, which had promised so much, immediately discarded SUG like worn-out shoes once it was eliminated..."

"The difference is clear!"

Thinking of this, Ding Gan immediately nodded and said, "Okay, then thank you for President Pei's kindness!"

"However, I have one request."

"Can I go to Los Angeles with you? I've been wanting to go out and play for a few days recently. Don't worry, I'll pay for all my expenses. You only need to cover the expenses of the five players. I'll have fun on my own in Los Angeles and won't disturb the daily training."

Manager Lu thought for a moment. "Of course you can come, President Ding."

Since Ding Gan was paying his own way, there was nothing to say. If he wanted to go to Los Angeles, Manager Lu and Wu Yue couldn't stop him, could they?

They were already bringing thirty people. They didn't mind bringing one more.

Moreover, the SUG players were helping with sparring, and Ding Gan was the owner of the SUG Club. They had to give him face.

...

After settling the SUG Club's side, Manager Lu returned to Wu Yue's office.

"President Wu, the SUG Club's side has been arranged!"

Wu Yue nodded. "Okay, we have the remaining four slots filled as well."

"President Pei is taking the FV Club's trip to Los Angeles very seriously. Now our team can be said to be the ultimate dream team!"

"Look at these four new additions: a GOG designer, the former head of operations for the Chinese server of IOI, a veteran game designer from Tengda Games, and a former star commander from GOG... Plus our own coaches, analysts, and players from three teams, this reserve strength is simply off the charts!"

Manager Lu's face was also filled with shock after Wu Yue finished introducing the four new members.

Even the lead designer of GOG was personally going?

It was too surreal!

It was as if the lead designer of Finger Games was personally doing data analysis for a certain club at the GOG Global Invitational Tournament. Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut couldn't even begin to describe this behavior!

The FV Club's data analysis team could now be said to be the ultimate in luxury.

More importantly, Ye Zhizhou and Min Jingchao weren't just fighting alone. Behind them were two game departments, Shang Yang Games and Tengda Games. If they really encountered any problems, they could directly hand them over to the designers of the two departments to solve together.

Manager Lu couldn't help but sigh, "If that's the case, then we don't need an IOI world server account!"

"Why bother playing high-end ranked games? We brought three teams, fifteen people. We can completely train with ourselves!"

"The members of Team One can play practice matches against Team Two and the SUG players. Then, when Team Two and SUG play practice matches to test the strength of their lineups, the members of Team One can listen to the analysts' post-match reviews and explanations of tactics."

"During spare time, the players can divide into groups and practice laning to maintain their feel for the game. Isn't this more efficient than high-elo ranked games?"

Previously, Manager Lu and Wu Yue hesitated about going to Los Angeles, mainly because they were worried that they wouldn't be able to get high-elo accounts there, and the training effect couldn't be guaranteed.

They couldn't just go there and solo queue from scratch, could they?

But now they didn't have to. As long as they brought enough people, the training schedule would naturally be packed, and whether or not they had high-elo accounts wouldn't matter.

Wu Yue immediately became motivated and full of fighting spirit. "Everything is ready. This time, we must train hard. If we don't get good results, we'll be letting President Pei down!"