Chapter 207 Erik Returns

February 2nd, Thursday.

Pei Qian sat in his office, continuing to consider the upcoming work arrangements for each department.

He was quite satisfied that the new mobile phone and the smart fitness clothes-drying rack had directly taken care of Otto Technologies, Shang Yang Games, and the managed fitness gym.

He was especially pleased with the smart fitness clothes-drying rack.

No matter how he looked at it, this thing should be impossible to sell, right?

The thought that this idea could simultaneously resolve three departments that might stab him in the back filled Pei Qian with a touch of pride.

However, the task remained heavy.

Because Tengda Group had too many industries and departments now, it was basically difficult for Pei Qian to fully oversee everything himself. But he couldn't afford to be careless, because he didn't know which department was brewing some big plans, and he might be forced to make money if he wasn't careful.

Pei Qian still browsed through the work reports of each department, searching for clues and thinking about which projects that were guaranteed to lose money he should assign to these profitable departments.

After reading for a while, Pei Qian felt a headache coming on, so he took out his phone and scrolled through the news.

"Hmm?"

"Changes in the upper echelons of Finger Company? Two data balancers who privately contacted the FRY Club were dismissed, and the former Greater China Region head, Kretian, was removed from his position and replaced by Erik…"

"Erik is back?"

Seeing this news, Pei Qian couldn't help but feel a little surprised and delighted.

Erik, an old friend!

Although the IOI Global Finals had ended, the subsequent buzz about the competition had not subsided. After the FV team won the championship, their popularity and attention grew unprecedentedly, transforming them from an obscure little club into a world-renowned team.

Although IOI's market share in China had been squeezed to almost nothing by GOG, FV was, after all, a domestic team, and many GOG players were paying attention after their victory. Not to mention the worldwide situation, where foreign players basically recognized this team and its five members.

After the competition, various surrounding news about the FV team were dug up.

This was partly because the FV team had always been low-key, so there were many interesting details to unearth, and partly because FV's official blog continued to generate buzz, which also garnered a lot of attention for the FV team.

As a result, FV team's discriminatory treatment by Longyu Group, President Pei's provision of top-notch food, lodging, and logistical support, the strongest coaching team in history, and other details were all discussed repeatedly.

Finally, the news that two official data balancers from Finger Company had helped the FRY team develop tactics was revealed, which completely detonated public opinion!

Not only were domestic players protesting strongly, but foreign players were also expressing their unacceptance.

Because this incident made FRY team's loss even more embarrassing!

Losing 3:0 in the finals was already embarrassing enough, but now, having received tactical guidance from official data balancers and still losing 3:0, it was even worse!

After the exposure of this incident, foreign players also felt humiliated and pressured Dayaak Corporation and Finger Company.

Within Dayaak Corporation, Erik, leading the faction that had been eyeing Kretian's position, seized the opportunity to start infighting.

After much turmoil, the official announcement of personnel changes signaled that the power struggle within Dayaak Corporation had finally come to an end.

Although many players were still dissatisfied with the result, Finger Company had, after all, fired two data balancers and removed a high-level executive, which was enough to quell the uproar.

However, the negative impact of this incident on Finger Company and GOG would likely be difficult to remedy for a long time.

Pei Qian wasn't clear about the power struggles that had taken place within Finger Company, but from the results, Erik's return as the head of the Greater China Region might not be a bad thing.

Because Erik was more direct than Kretian. Kretian liked to play tricks with the game's mechanics, while Erik preferred to burn money directly, which was more in line with Pei Qian's wishes.

"This time, Erik was able to regain the position of head of the Greater China Region, which shows that Dayaak Corporation's higher-ups also approve of his plan. So… is the real money-burning war about to begin?"

"Suddenly, I'm a little expectant!"

Pei Qian suddenly hoped that Erik could take over the IOI national server as soon as possible.

Come on, burn money with me!

I was just worried about not having a reason!

…

At the same time, in Shanghai, at the headquarters of Longyu Group.

Zhao Xuming, with a beaming smile, welcomed Erik into the conference room.

"Mr. Erik, welcome, welcome!"

"You've been on a plane for over ten hours, you must be exhausted, right? Would you like to have some tea, rest for a while, and then we can start discussing business?"

Erik waved his hand. "No need, I'm in high spirits right now. Let's get straight to the point and talk about the latest cooperation matters for the IOI national server."

Zhao Xuming didn't dare to say much, and hurriedly nodded, "Okay, no problem."

He didn't say it out loud, but he knew very well that Erik's spirited appearance was probably a sign of a new boss asserting himself, and he had to be careful and cooperative.

Otherwise, his situation would be even more dangerous.

After the public relations crisis was exposed, Zhao Xuming and Longyu Group's public relations department were also exhausted dealing with it, spending the entire Spring Festival holiday doing nothing but crisis management.

Although the matter was barely suppressed, Zhao Xuming was warned by senior management because of this.

If he hadn't been so good at shifting the blame, he might have been dismissed along with Kretian.

And Erik's replacement of Kretian was enough to show that he had completely gained the trust and support of Dayaak Corporation and Finger Company's senior management. At this time, Erik was definitely going to show off his abilities. If Zhao Xuming dragged his feet, Erik could negotiate with Longyu Group's senior management and have Zhao Xuming replaced at any time.

So Zhao Xuming didn't dare to be negligent. He knew very well that everything now had to be based on Erik's decisions. He absolutely couldn't go against Erik, or he would be the one being carried away.

Erik looked Zhao Xuming up and down. "President Zhao, I've heard some things about you. It seems that you also made many mistakes in promoting IOI before."

"But don't worry, I like to look forward, so I can forgive the things that happened in the past."

"But I want to emphasize here that Erik and Kretian have different styles, and I hope you can cooperate with me well."

Zhao Xuming hurriedly nodded, "Of course, it's my job."

He understood Erik's subtext very well.

Erik meant that Zhao Xuming was also to blame for the previous unsuccessful promotion, and the blame was not small. If Erik wanted to, he could replace Zhao Xuming through some means at any time. But Erik didn't do that, and instead continued to let Zhao Xuming be the head of the IOI operations and cooperation department, obviously hoping that he could be 100% obedient.

Zhao Xuming had originally planned to do so, so he naturally didn't show any resistance.

Erik was very satisfied with this and continued, "Then next, I'll briefly talk about the new operation strategy for the IOI national server."

"Although the changes in the new version have objectively reduced the difficulty of the game, attracted new players, and improved the viewing experience of the competition, they have also had many adverse effects. The biggest of these is that the convergence of IOI and GOG designs allowed the FV team, which used GOG tactics, to win the championship. Many players therefore believe that GOG's game design and competitive level are higher than IOI's."

"This is difficult to deal with."

"But it's impossible to change it back. On the one hand, it would give players the bad impression that we are 'changing our minds frequently' and 'thinking incoherently'. On the other hand, it would also lead to negative effects such as an increase in the game's difficulty and a decrease in the viewing experience of the competition."

"So, we can only make some minor changes to the game content and plan for the long term."

"But this time, I brought a winning weapon against Tengda."

"That is… burning money!"

"Tengda's trump card is burning money. If you want to defeat them, you must burn more money than they do!"

"I have persuaded the company's senior management to engage in a price war with GOG worldwide. Starting from the next version, all IOI heroes will be free, all skin prices will be reduced to 30% of the original price, generous in-game rewards will be prepared for old players, returning players, and new players, and a large amount of funds and resources will be invested in publicity to regain the market share stolen by GOG!"

"This time, I have obtained very high authority and funding from the head office. I will burn until Tengda's cash flow can't hold on!"

"As for President Zhao, your task is to cooperate with me and do a good job in publicity in the Greater China region."

"Although this behavior will also affect Longyu Group's income, I believe Longyu Group can distinguish between long-term interests and immediate interests, right?"

"If we allow GOG to continue the price war, IOI's market share will sooner or later be completely eroded, and everyone will have nothing to earn. If we can burn money and win against GOG, then our future will be infinitely bright!"

"President Zhao, please communicate with Longyu Group's senior management."

Zhao Xuming hurriedly nodded, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

He knew very well that Erik's words "please communicate" sounded very polite, but in fact, given Finger Company's strong position, Longyu Group didn't have much room to refuse.

Looking at Erik's confident appearance, Zhao Xuming felt a little apprehensive.

Burning money against Tengda Group?

Can it really work?

Zhao Xuming was very doubtful about this, but when he thought about Dayaak Corporation's financial strength, Zhao Xuming felt that there should be hope.

In any case, it was difficult for him to participate in this level of immortal fights, so he might as well do his job well and quietly watch from the sidelines.