Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

November 3rd, Thursday…

At Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Handong University branch…

As Pei Qian sipped his coffee and browsed the web, he frowned.

He was puzzled.

Why was the public opinion on the internet changing every day?

Before this, everyone on the internet had been saying that Tengda was putting too much pressure on the clubs. The clubs had decided to quit, thinking that Tengda would most likely suffer and that it would not be able to run a GPL.

All in all, most of them either felt worried or felt bad. Some even felt indignant for the clubs.

Pei Qian had been quite happy at that time.

If everyone had continued moaning and groaning, no one would have wanted the clubs' GOG teams. Then, he would have bought them all. Wouldn't it have been wonderful to buy them all at a high price?

Yet, in less than two days, everything had changed!

For some reason, the news that the three clubs had decided not to sell their GOG teams, and that Shenhua Real Estate and Sun Strike Studios were also preparing to purchase GPL slots had spread. The public opinion then took a 180-degree turn!

"Am I seeing things? Shenhua Real Estate has entered the market? They want to dabble in E-Sports? This is a f*cking downturn! Can the other clubs compete with such money?"

"The GPL actually wants to have sixteen teams. How are they going to arrange the competition schedule?"

"One look and I can tell that this would be a huge investment!"

"It's over, I've been slapped in the face. I thought that the GPL would not be able to make it. Now, it looks like it's unstoppable. Just the slots alone are enough to drive everyone crazy!"

"They're only selling once? For three days? Hurry up and fight for it! Even if you get a slot for twenty million yuan, you'll still make a killing!"

"That's right. The entrance of large capital means that the entire market is optimistic about this prospect! Who knows, we might be able to earn millions or even tens of millions just by selling GPL slots in the future!"

The more Pei Qian read these comments, the more he felt that something was amiss.

Were there fake reviewers leading these discussions?

Two days ago, people had been saying that no one would want the GPL slots. How long had passed since? Had the public's opinion changed so quickly?

It was impossible to believe that no one was responsible for this.

However, even if he knew this, Pei Qian was helpless.

That was because Boss Pei had already fallen into a reverse Tacitus trap: once everyone saw him as the embodiment of wealth, people would take whatever he did as the secret to getting rich.

If Boss Pei said that the GPL would become popular, everyone would think that it would become popular.

If Boss Pei said that the GPL would not become popular, everyone would think that he was just being humble or trying to dissuade those with weak willpower.

All in all, as long as Boss Pei spoke, the GPL would become popular!

Thus, Pei Qian could only feel anxious and helpless. He could not do anything else.

However, on further thought, there were only a few days left until the auction. There was no need to struggle. He could sell them for as much as he wanted.

All he had to do after that was burst more brain cells thinking about how to spend money.

As he continued browsing the web, his cell phone rang.

He picked up his cell phone and saw that it was Old Ma.

"Brother Qian! I've already prepared the first episode. I'm planning to do a live-stream. Do you want to watch it live?" Ma Yang's excited voice sounded through the phone.

Pei Qian looked at the time, confused. It was 2 PM on Thursday.

After recovering from the initial shock, Pei Qian quickly nodded. "Alright, I'll be right there! Uh, where's the address?"

Ma Yang said, "I'll send it to you now!"

After hanging up, Pei Qian could not help but feel emotional again. Old Ma was indeed reliable.

Wouldn't it be better to choose a weekend for the first live-stream? Wouldn't it be better to choose a prime time of around eight in the evening?

Why did you have to choose an afternoon on a work day? Everyone's at work. How many people would watch your live-stream?

Still, this suited Pei Qian's expectations. After all, the smaller the number of viewers, the less likely it would become popular!

Pei Qian looked at the address on his cell phone.

Old Ma had rented a special office space for the live-stream this time. Chen Yufeng and the entire professional review team usually worked there.

Pei Qian immediately rushed over.

…

At the same time, Ma Yang was reading Chen Yufeng's script seriously.

Although he did not have to memorize it and could watch the teleprompter during the live-stream, Ma Yang was afraid that he would stutter. Thus, he wanted to read it twice through in advance. That way, the live-stream would be smoother.

Initially, Chen Yufeng had thought of hiring someone to do some makeup for Boss Ma, but Boss Ma rejected him.

Ma Yang was very repulsed by makeup and had no interest in wearing a suit.

At last, at Chen Yufeng's persistent insistence, Ma Yang went to wash his hair.

On the table in front of Ma Yang were piles of learning materials.

Plastic book covers, pencils, erasers, table mats, folders, solid glue, and so on. There were several sets of learning supplies, each with a different brand.

The other staff were busy with their own tasks. Some were checking the cameras, some were adjusting the lights, and some were preparing various emergency plans.

This group of people had been hired by Chen Yufeng one by one after he entered the company. They were talents in all fields. Now, the entire team was serving Ma Yang alone. Their task was to provide Ma Yang with live-stream content.

As for whether Ma Yang could really become an internet celebrity, it was hard to say. It would depend on fate.

However, at the very least, the live-stream content provided by these teams was accurate.

Boss Pei entered while everyone was busy.

Chen Yufeng rushed forward. "Boss Pei!"

Pei Qian nodded. At once, he spotted Old Ma reading his script seriously, as well as the mess of learning materials on the table.

Pei Qian was stunned. "This is…?"

Chen Yufeng quickly explained, "Oh, Boss Pei, there are the things that we prepared for Boss Ma's first live-stream: learning supplies evaluation."

Noticing that Boss Pei looked a little surprised, Chen Yufeng quickly said, "Boss Pei, you said that we could review anything earlier on. That's why we decided to start with some small things. If it doesn't work, we'll change it next time…"

Pei Qian raised his hand. "No need! This is good enough."

Obviously, Chen Yufeng was afraid of offending big manufacturers. He did not dare to evaluate popular digital products right from the start. Instead, he had chosen to review unimportant things first.

That was not bad to Pei Qian.

After all, being scolded could generate traffic as well.

No one would be interested or pay attention to these small things. Naturally, there would be no traffic. That was good.

Ma Yang noticed Pei Qian as well. He turned his long face around and said, "Brother Qian, you're here!"

"I'm busy, and so I won't have time to host you. Just watch my performance later!"

After Ma Yang finished speaking, he started reciting the script once again.

Pei Qian stood calmly by the side, took out his cell phone, and entered Old Ma's live-stream, waiting to watch the bullet screen comments.

He had to admit that Ma Yang had accumulated hundreds of thousands of fans over this period of time.

After all, he had been burning real money. Since Ma Yang had nothing better to do on Weibo, he had been posting about the Dream Fund every day and garnered a lot of attention as a result. Earlier on, he had also asked DGE's players to play games with him. That also directed a large number of fans to the live-stream.

What's more, Old Ma had shared his investment experience in the live-stream. He was regarded by the audience as an 'investor driven by interest' and had thus attracted countless fans.

Finally, the preparation work was almost done. They waited for the live-stream to begin.

Ma Yang read the script two more times, then raised his hand and made an 'okay' sign. "We can start now!"

Chen Yufeng nodded. "Alright, we'll officially start the live-stream then!"

Pei Qian could not help but feel emotional. It all looked quite legitimate.

After being packaged by a professional team, Old Ma looked like a real live-streamer.

However, there was something wrong with the goods he was reviewing.

Everyone else reviewed lipstick, cosmetics, and the like, but Ma Yang was reviewing learning materials.

Those who did not know anything would have thought that this was a live-stream meant for primary school students!

An image appeared on the live-stream, and a big group of viewers flooded in. However, since it was a work day, there were not many people.

"Boss Ma is starting the broadcast!"

"What has Boss Ma been busy with recently?"

"Boss Ma, do you know about the recent GPL matter? Do you have any insider information?"

"Eh, Boss Ma's live-stream background has changed. Why? Has the background been specially prepared?"

It had been a while since the fans saw Boss Ma live-streaming. All of them were very passionate, and sporadic gifts floated by.

Ma Yang quickly asked, "Who's sending me gifts?

"Manager Fang, permanently ban anyone who gives me presents, understand?

"I don't lack money. Please don't give me gifts. I'll fight anyone who does!

"Alright, almost everyone's here. Let's get straight to the point.

"Today, I'll introduce a few items to everyone."

Ma Yang brought the items that he had prepared in front of the camera.

A bunch of question marks appeared on the live-stream.

"???"

"Boss Ma is… advertising?"

"If Boss Ma is so rich, why is he advertising?"

"Are they promoting some high-end luxury goods?"

"What is this? It looks like a pencil, eraser, and solid glue?"

"What the hell?"

The audience was stunned.

They had not expected Boss Ma to introduce items at the start of the live-stream. What was that supposed to mean?

Ma Yang ignored the bullet screen comments and read his script.

"Today, I'll show everyone a few items that you must not buy.

"These pencils and erasers have high levels of polycyclic hydrocarbons; these table pads and folders are overpriced; these solid glues contain a large amount of formaldehyde; these plastic books have high levels of polycyclic hydrocarbons and benzodiazepines…"