Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

October 30th, Sunday afternoon…

Pei Qian sipped his coffee while checking through forums online with his laptop at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.

Indeed, the managers of the clubs had begun discussing their opinions on the Internet after receiving Tengda's regulations and reading them.

On Friday night, someone leaked news of Tengda's preparations for the GPL on Weibo and other forums. At the same time, there was also news that Tengda was suspected to be squeezing clubs dry.

Among those discussing the news was the very influential Big V and hints of fake reviewers. They shared their own versions of the news rapidly until it became impossible to find the source of the leak. Naturally, no one knew which club was responsible.

The content of all the news was similar, and they were mostly accompanied by the original text of the rules and regulations.

"Tengda is setting up the Esports Division and requesting clubs not to enter into contracts with athletes in private. Moreover, clubs must allow Tengda to mediate any conflicts that arise with athletes. Clubs would not even be allowed to draft their own contracts and freely decide on terms with athletes. Instead, they have to accept Tengda's standard form contract. If the clubs don't accept the above regulations, they would not be able to obtain permission to join GPL. Isn't that harsh?"

"The clubs had invested money and effort into making GOG's invitational tournament so huge. Is Tengda turning against them now?"

"The clubs and the official platform should be seeking to achieve a win-win solution since both are good at what they're in charge of. The official platform for games should be spending its time and effort on improving the contents of the games and keeping the esports competitions. It should not be micromanaging the clubs' environments and acting so rigid!"

"They should be protecting the rights and interests of the clubs. Major clubs would only take part in the GPL without any worries if they are sure that their interests would be well taken care of. What if the League makes ducks and drakes of the funds and resources that the major clubs invest? Would any major club dare to join? This is a lose-lose situation for athletes, the audience, and the clubs alike!"

"I think that the Tengda's official platform should seriously consider protecting the major clubs' interests, and respect the experience and professionalism that those major clubs have accumulated in their years in the industry. The country's esports industry can only develop healthily if each player plays their own role well…"

Many people were already sharing similar content and saying similar things.

All of them were merely emphasizing that Tengda's numerous rules for GPL and excessive restrictions on the clubs served to exploit the clubs and hinder the healthy development of the esports industry. All the clubs seemed to be joining forces to resist this move…

Many clubs had also shared similar viewpoints and expressed their interest in the matter.

Although they did not express themselves plainly, their attitudes were clear.

Below these Weibo posts, players had varying opinions.

Some agreed, some did not, and some just stood by to watch the events unfold.

"I took a look at the rules and regulations, and I think that Tengda had good intentions. It wanted to regulate the esports environment, but it should have thought about what would become of the professional league without any clubs supporting it. The clubs are their business partners, and they should not have attempted to exploit them!"

"That's right. Tengda is obviously doing this for its own interests. It's putting too much pressure on the clubs. Now, look at how things have turned out. The clubs are joining forces to resist this move. How would the GPL form?"

"I think Tengda has acted too quickly. There's no need for this now. They should have given the clubs some room to live and develop."

"What are all of you above talking about? Tengda is not stopping the clubs from generating profits. No restrictions were placed on representing, competing, and sponsoring. There's only a standard form contract and a request for clubs to submit to Tengda's mediation and supervision. Is that too much to ask? Why is everyone reacting so intensely?"

"These are good moves to regulate the industry. What's more, I believe in Boss Pei. Boss Pei has a reason for doing everything!"

"Forget it. Now's not the time to argue who's right and who's wrong. Everyone should take a step back and give one another room to live and make mistakes. Boss Pei can only successfully run GPL if the major clubs cooperate, right?"

"Only children try to decide who's right and who's wrong. Adults only look at profits and interests. I think that it's too much for Tengda to try and exploit clubs from the beginning. They should have offered some sweet treats to begin with before introducing regulations slowly."

"I'm just a member of the audience, and I don't care about any of this. In any case, I just want GPL to be established as soon as possible. I want to watch more competitions!"

Obviously, there were signs of fake reviewers, but they were so faint that ordinary people would not have been able to identify them.

There were two reasons why the discussions did not seem skewed. On one hand, the clubs' voices were too loud, and fake reviewers were joining in. On the other hand, there were too few people thinking about the interests of the athletes.

That was because, at the moment, the local esports industry was only just starting to take off. The athletes had only just gone from eating instant noodles every day to not having to worry about their food or clothing. Many young internet addicts had achieved full transformations into high-income professional esports players.

Many people, who were merely bystanders, did not think that those players would be miserable if they were cheated and exploited in their contracts.

After all, they could earn hundreds of thousands or even a million-odd yuan a year by playing games. How could they have the cheek to claim that they were being cheated?

Furthermore, there was not much news of vicious contract disputes at the moment.

Thus, the vast majority of bystanders had not realized the importance of the matter. They leaned toward the clubs' side and were being instigated by the fake reviewers. As a result, many of them thought that Tengda was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Anyone else would have felt incredibly wronged at that moment. They would have felt immense frustration with nowhere to vent.

However, Pei Qian felt quite happy reading the discussions.

It did not matter whether they understood or not!

In fact, it would be best if the clubs felt like they were winning the game and then sold all of their GOG teams!

That would allow Pei Qian to take over all the GOG teams and incur losses over time. How much would he be able to spend if that happened?!

Just thinking about it made him happy.

Thus, he had no intentions to clarify himself. Even if he did, it would probably be ineffective.

He would allow the public's resentment to fester. In any case, he would not be disadvantaged.

He was still browsing forums online when his cell phone vibrated. It was Zhang Yuan.

"Boss Pei, the people in charge of the clubs are here again. They're saying that they have talked to their respective bosses and hope to discuss the details of our partnership further.

"They also hope for you to be present."

Pei Qian could not help but smile slightly.

The clubs' managers had read the forums and sat on their anger for a while now. They thought that Tengda was beginning to relax, and so they wanted to discuss and test them out.

Zhang Yuan had no say, and so they wanted to speak to Boss Pei face-to-face.

At once, Pei Qian replied, "Tell them that it's Sunday today, and Tengda doesn't work on Sundays. If there's anything to say, we can talk about it on Monday afternoon."

Obviously, not enough time had passed. Waiting an additional day would not do Pei Qian any harm.

Moreover, Pei Qian was not lying. Tengda's employees did not work on Sundays. Pei Qian could allow himself to drink coffee and surf the web over the weekends if he had nothing to do, but meet club managers and discuss work…?

Pei Qian did not want to do that at all.

…

On the other end of the line, at the DGE Club…

Zhang Yuan remained silent for a moment and then said, "Alright, Boss Pei."

He turned around and faced the club managers who had come to visit him. "Boss Pei said that we don't work on Sundays. Please come at 2 PM tomorrow. I'm sorry. You've made a wasted trip.

Manager Li and the other managers exchanged looks. After a long time of silence, they finally nodded. "A-Alright… we'll come back when Boss Pei gets to work, then."

As they left the DGE Club, Manager Li and the others looked confused.

They had taken the initiative to come knocking today because they had thought that enough time had passed since the discussions began. They guessed that Boss Pei had come to realize the seriousness of the problem and that it was about time that they could discuss it.

They had wanted to give Boss Pei an out. He was an intelligent man after all. He would have understood in a second and graciously accepted the way out. Both parties would sit down and have a good talk, and they would reach a compromise…

Yet, they were leaving without having done anything!

Everyone spoke in whispers.

"What just happened?"

"Manager Li, this is very different from what you imagined…"

"Does Boss Pei still have the mood to enjoy his weekend? The forums are going crazy. Is he really going to allow them to fester for another day?"

"Could we have gotten it wrong? Does Boss Pei even care about this? We've prepared so hard for this. Would it all go to waste?"

"Not necessarily! I think Boss Pei is putting on a front and delaying matters for a day on purpose. He is acting like he doesn't care, so that he would have more bargaining chips during negotiations."

"Hmm, that makes sense. That's why Boss Pei is only delaying the negotiations for a day."

The club managers continued their analysis, but nobody dared to guarantee anything.

That was because Boss Pei's moves were very illogical. Nobody could guess what he was up to.

In addition, Tengda was in the dominant position, which made Boss Pei's actions even more inexplicable. They had to put in effort to decipher his intentions.

Manager Li felt very uncertain, but he still managed to calm himself down quickly. He lowered his voice and said, "Don't scare yourselves, everyone. Perhaps Boss Pei himself is unsure and is purposely releasing smoke bombs to put pressure on us.

"Just continue doing what you have to do. If Boss Pei isn't anxious, there's no need for us to be either.

"We'll wait until we get to the conference table to discuss anything else.

"As long as we remain united against Tengda, victory will be ours!"

…

…

October 31st, Monday…

Pei Qian woke up naturally as he always did and then ate his lunch very calmly. After playing games at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe for a while, he sauntered towards the DGE Club.

Zhang Yuan and the club managers had an appointment at 2 PM. Pei Qian arrived fifteen minutes late on purpose.

He had no special reason for doing so, other than to anger the club managers a bit more.

If they got angry, they would probably decide to sell their GOG teams, wouldn't they?

At the same time, in the DGE Club's conference room…

The club managers looked like they could hardly hang on for any longer.

What was the meaning of this?

It was one thing to not meet them over the weekend, but Boss Pei was now arriving later than their agreed time?

It was said that Boss Pei was a very punctual person.

Could Boss Pei really be that stubborn? He delayed the meeting and then arrived late. That was a clear threat to the club managers to fall out with him if they dared.

Manager Su began to have a bad feeling in his gut.

On the other hand, SUG's Manager Li maintained a straight face. No matter what, he could not give in now. If he did, the other clubs would as well. Then, they would all have worked for nothing.

What's more, Boss Pei was probably only putting on a front. He could not afford to show his weaknesses.

Pei Qian arrived at an empty seat in the conference room. After looking around, he decided not to mention the fact that he was late. Instead, he smiled and said, "Have you spoken to your bosses, everyone? If there are no issues, please raise your hand if you want to sell your GOG teams. We'll sign the transfer contract today."

The club managers looked stunned. Their heads filled with question marks.

???

There seemed to be more question marks in Manager Li's head.

Everyone was confused. They wondered if they had missed a meeting or lost their memory.

Wasn't a negotiation supposed to take place today?

Why was Boss Pei assuming that they would sell their teams even before saying anything else?