Chapter 29 Friday, April 29th

Early in the morning, Pei Qian took a car to Mingyun Villa.

Not to eat at Mingyun Private Kitchen; he didn't have a reservation today.

Pei Qian was here to check on the DGE club.

The rent was already a steal, the property management fees were waived, and it was in Zhang Yuan's old stomping grounds…

Was it okay for the DGE club to have such a smooth start?

He had to see it for himself and make some arrangements!

The DGE club's villa was a little ways away from Mingyun Private Kitchen, but not too far, about a five-minute walk.

Entering the villa, the first thing that caught the eye was the somewhat empty-looking hall.

Because it was a different floor plan, the layout here wasn't exactly the same as Mingyun Private Kitchen, but overall, it was similar.

Computer desks and gaming chairs had already been set up in the living room, with a uniform row of ROF computers neatly arranged, clearly indicating that this largest space was intended to be the players' training room.

As for the other rooms, they were probably intended to be the players' dormitories.

President Li had bought three villas in one go, hoping their value would appreciate, so obviously he didn't need to spend a lot of money redecorating all the villas according to his own preferences. This villa, for example, basically maintained its original condition, with only basic renovations to the walls, floors, and lighting.

This saved Zhang Yuan a lot of trouble, as it could be used with just a little preparation, without delaying too much time.

There were a total of twelve computers in the entire hall, and ten people who looked like internet addicts were intently staring at the screens, typing away at their keyboards and mice, completely focused and rarely speaking.

Pei Qian was a little surprised.

Were they playing GOG in a 5v5?

Shouldn't they be shouting to command their teammates? Why were they so quiet?

He glanced at the computer screens again, confirming that it was indeed GOG. And it seemed to be the same game?

Then why wasn't anyone talking?

Seeing President Pei arrive, Zhang Yuan hurried to greet him.

Pei Qian looked around. "Isn't Ma Yang here?"

Pei Qian had previously told Old Ma to come to the club more often to help Zhang Yuan when he had nothing to do.

And yesterday Zhang Yuan said, "The ROF computers are very good, President Ma is very satisfied," which meant that Ma Yang was here yesterday.

Zhang Yuan smiled somewhat awkwardly. "President Pei, President Ma has been here recently, but it seems he doesn't plan to come today."

"He was, well, a little unhappy yesterday…"

Pei Qian: "Hmm?"

In his impression, Old Ma was an optimist. Apart from failing a test with a score of 59, what else could make him unhappy?

Zhang Yuan explained, "Yesterday, after these players arrived, President Ma was very excited and said he wanted to test their level, so he personally went on stage and played a game with them."

"These kids don't understand social graces at all. Despite my repeated subtle hints, they still killed President Ma 0-28…"

Pei Qian couldn't help but laugh.

Old Ma, oh Old Ma, you’re finally getting your comeuppance?

This was simply delightful!

Serves you right for always slacking off and blaming me for not carrying hard enough!

Now you know your true skill level, right?

After experiencing a beating from society, will you dare to show off your game knowledge in front of me again?

Pei Qian looked around the room. "Which warriors did it?"

Zhang Yuan thought President Pei wanted to seek revenge, and quickly said, "President Pei, I have already severely criticized and educated them. This will never happen again!"

"What's more… I'm also responsible for this matter."

"I saw President Ma die twice, and quickly gave everyone a subtle hint, signaling everyone to throw the game, but instead, everyone got more and more excited about killing."

"Afterwards, I asked and found out that they thought I was telling them to increase their efforts…"

Pei Qian really wanted to laugh out loud three times. "How can you criticize them for that?"

"Immediately reward everyone!"

"If they don't even have the spirit of fair competition, how can they be good professional players in the future? The fact that these people can be ruthless and go all out even when facing President Ma proves that they are all good seeds for becoming professional players!"

"This spirit must be encouraged!"

Zhang Yuan pursed his lips, his eyes filled with emotion. "Okay, President Pei, I understand!"

He thought President Pei would be angry because his good brother had suffered inhumane abuse, but unexpectedly, he didn't care at all and even wanted to reward them?

President Pei's spirit of fairness was worth learning!

The two continued to chat, while the players continued to play the game seriously, wearing headphones and focusing intently, completely unaffected.

While talking to Zhang Yuan, Pei Qian continued to observe and found that these people really didn't say a word, so he couldn't help but wonder, "Are they solo queuing? Or are they in a match?"

Zhang Yuan: "They're divided into two teams playing against each other."

Pei Qian was even more puzzled. "Then are they communicating through eye contact or brainwaves?"

"Don't tell me you found two teams of quintuplets who can read each other's minds?"

"They don't even look alike."

Zhang Yuan smiled somewhat awkwardly. "Ahem, President Pei, you're so humorous."

He turned to look at the players, then led President Pei out of the living room and into the yard to continue talking. "These players are a little… how should I put it, too introverted, or as people say, socially awkward, and particularly don't like to talk. I'm working hard to train them."

"I also know that GOG is a team game, and it's definitely not okay if the team members don't communicate, but personality isn't something that can be changed overnight."

Pei Qian was a little surprised. "Ten people, all socially awkward? Even for internet addicts, the probability shouldn't be that high, right? Or is it…"

"Did you deliberately pick them?"

Pei Qian couldn't help but wonder if Zhang Yuan had finally figured things out.

I didn't even specifically instruct him, and he already thought of specifically picking socially awkward kids to be professional players?

Zhang Yuan was slightly embarrassed. "President Pei, I didn't deliberately pick them, there were just so few choices left, I had no choice…"

Pei Qian: "Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Yuan sighed softly. "It's all because of the nature of the DGE club!"

"President Pei, you have always emphasized that we must be open and honest, and not conceal or deceive. I have always adhered to this idea when handling my work."

"So when I went to the GOG ladder榜 (bǎng - ranking) to scout for people, I told them the truth."

"At first, I briefly mentioned the club's conditions, including the base salary, bonuses, and so on. They were all very satisfied because our club's treatment was higher than other clubs, and there were various tempting benefits."

"But as soon as I said that our club couldn't participate in any official GOG events, they refused on the spot."

"Because those who are willing to play professionally all want to win championships. Coming to our club means not only can they not win championships, but they can't even participate in competitions."

"No exposure, no bonuses, just a base salary."

"Playing professionally is a career for young people, who wants to just take a base salary?"

"So, in the end, I recruited players who really had no other choice, were not good at talking, and had introverted personalities."

"Even so, when I signed contracts with them, they were unwilling to sign for three years and only wanted to sign for one year…"

"But President Pei, don't worry, these ten people all have high ranks, are very young, and have a good understanding of the game. They can be considered good seeds."

"I'm trying to find a way to correct their mentality."

Pei Qian understood and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

Good, very good!

Indeed, for those internet addicts who are truly determined to play professionally, even if they sign with a club, they will definitely compare several options.

A professional player's career is a short one, and the most important things are bonuses and exposure. What will they do when they get older if they only rely on this fixed salary?

The DGE club cannot participate in any official events, so there is no way to rely on bonuses and exposure. Who would want to come?

Even if he recruited a few unwanted internet addicts, they would all be using this place as a stepping stone. After playing for a year and slightly improving themselves, they would want to transfer to other clubs as soon as they had the opportunity.

Pei Qian was very satisfied with this.

Great!

This way, the club was even less likely to make money, and would only burn money!

However, he couldn't be too optimistic.

Zhang Yuan said he was "working hard to correct their mentality and train them well," which was obviously serious.

"So, what are you planning to do?" Pei Qian asked.

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment. "I plan to give them two days to adapt first. At the same time, I'm also trying to find a coach."

"It's best if they have more seniority, have worked as coaches in other esports departments, and can be convincing. I'll ask them to comprehensively transform these players, requiring them to communicate with their teammates and work hard to develop various tactics."

"The coaches or assistant coaches of some *Shen Qi* (God Revelation) teams would be good."

Pei Qian was silent.

That seemed like a pretty reliable method.

Indeed, a good coach was crucial to the team's improvement and could even have a transformative effect.

Then he couldn't let Zhang Yuan go looking for one!

Pei Qian cleared his throat. "I don't think that's appropriate."

Zhang Yuan was stunned. "President Pei has other brilliant ideas?"

Pei Qian slowly paced through the villa's garden, while Zhang Yuan silently followed beside him, listening attentively.

"First of all, GOG is a brand new game. Its game mechanics are very different from *Shen Qi* or other similar competitive projects. Introducing a coach from other projects, their rigid thinking may affect the players."

"The players are all high-ranked solo queue players. You're letting someone with less game knowledge than them teach them. On the surface, it improves teamwork, but in reality, it severely suppresses their talent!"

"Secondly, as you said, a socially awkward personality is innate and cannot be changed overnight."

"Forcing them to communicate with each other may not only fail to achieve the effect of communication, but also cause them to lose their original advantage of focusing on their own operations. It's like trying to learn the gait of Handan, ultimately losing one's own." (Handan is a place. This is an idiom meaning to blindly imitate, losing one's own original skills in the process)

"Finally, *Shen Qi* and many other esports projects are not developing well and are very irregular."

"Currently, the main esports clubs in the country are either where the players also work as boosting services and the club is also a studio, or they are rich kids playing around. Both types of clubs are in chaos internally and cannot provide any useful experience. On the contrary, they will bring bad habits."

Zhang Yuan was silent for a long time before suddenly nodding. "Hmm… I didn't think about that level, President Pei…"

"But according to your statement, this problem seems unsolvable?"

"The players are all socially awkward, so should we just not let them communicate? The clubs are all irregular, so should we just not look for a coach? That… also seems a little inappropriate, right?"

Pei Qian was a little speechless.

Why didn't you use your imagination at this time?

Really, I have to find a way to explain.

Pei Qian cleared his throat. "What I mean is, don't always be so eager for quick success in this kind of thing. You have to take it slowly."

"You have to slowly, let these socially awkward kids open their hearts to each other."

"We don't hire coaches from other clubs, we can also use other methods to scout!"

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment. "Okay, President Pei, just tell me what to do!"

Pei Qian couldn't help but nod slightly. Yes, this was the normal style!

"How about this."

"Cancel all the collective training projects and let them continue to play solo queue."

"As for the coach, I'll find a way to scout them and bring them to you within two weeks."

Zhang Yuan didn't doubt him and nodded. "Okay, President Pei, I absolutely trust your eye for talent!"