Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Zhao Xuming's words made Chrétien fall silent.

Indeed, he could not sit back and do nothing.

Based on the current situation, the strength that FV Team had displayed was too strong. Moreover, they had all reached an unprecedented peak whether it was their tactical reserves, player status, or public opinion.

While he did not know who made up the data analysis team of FV Team but there was no doubt that they had the support of the GPL league and even Tengda Corporation's game designers!

Otherwise, they would not have been able to improve their understanding of the game version and tactics so quickly.

Based on the current trend, FV would still have an absolute advantage even in the finals.

If FV Team really won the championship, that would be an extremely bad situation for both Chrétien and Zhao Xuming.

Logically speaking, Finger Games was the organizer of the competition. It did not matter which team won the championship.

However, the agenda for IOI's global finals had changed. FV Team represented not only the domestic IOI E-Sports circle but also Tengda Corporation.

In other words, Tengda Corporation's designers and stats analysts were using IOI's global finals as a battlefield. They had a silent showdown with the designers and the entire team!

Therefore, Finger Games could not lose.

However, as the organizer, Finger Games could not play any tricks. Two may keep counsel putting one away. If they were discovered to be playing tricks, it would be a super scandal that would shock the entire world. Not only would it turn the fairness of the global finals into a joke, but it would also cause Finger Games and Dayak Corporation to lose their reputation.

This became a dilemma.

He would definitely be hurt if he did not give a damn. If he did, there would be a chance of survival but it would also be accompanied by huge risks. A single mistake would be worse than not caring.

This was a difficult decision from Finger Games' perspective.

However, there were other considerations for Chrétien as well.

If FV Team won the championship, the popularity of the global finals would be earned by FV and Tengda. Then, as the person in charge of this series of decisions, Chrétien would definitely be removed by the higher-ups.

At the very least, FV team had to be stopped at the runner-up position. Finger Games would then be able to save face, and the efforts for global finals would not be wasted. Only then could Chrétien protect his position.

Thus, Chrétien did not have much choice from his own perspective.

Chrétien did not dare to be negligent when it came to his position as the person-in-charge of the China region. After much consideration, he lowered his voice and said, "What you said makes sense. I will search for two Balancers in the company to analyze FV team's tactical playstyle, summarize the game's data in the new version, and hand it to FRY battleteam to privately provide them with tactical support."

"We cannot let FV Team win no matter what!"

Chrétien felt that he had to take the risk after much consideration.

As long as he found two Balancers who knew the game well and came to an agreement with FRY team, this news would probably not spread.

As long as the outside world did not know about it, there should be no problem.

There was only one week left until the finals. There was not much time left for FRY team to prepare.

Chrétien suddenly thought of something and looked at Zhao Xuming. "Can you get some information from FV Team?"

Obviously, the strategy of sending two Balancers might not work.

Finger Games' official statistician might have a better understanding of data and games than ordinary people, but he might not be able to combine data and tactics well.

From data to tactics, a lot of details had to be added during this period. What's more, players had to consider their playstyle habits, proficiency in key heroes, and so on.

Thus, Chrétien felt that he would be more confident if he could obtain some information on FV Team.

Zhao Xuming had a bitter expression on his face. "I can't get it no matter whether through a hard or soft approach."

"I have already fallen out with FV's boss, Wu Yue, before I left the country. If I tried to get close to him now, I would definitely be suspected; it would be even more impossible for me to spy on him. That group of people hired four bodyguards and usually trained on the second floor of an internet cafe. They booked the entire place for sparring and would not leak any information."

"This group of people is like a metal bucket. We are not able to penetrate them at all. They won't even fight Rank. The outside world doesn't even know what heroes FV team members have been practicing recently."

After some thought, Cretian asked, "I heard that FV Team is playing mock competitions with SUG Team. Don't you know the boss of SUG Team, Ding Gan? Can you think of a way to obtain some information from there?"

Zhao Xuming's expression became even more awkward. "This… I'm afraid he won't be nice to me now."

Zhao Xuming knew his limits.

Before this, he had promised SUG that they would definitely have a spot in the international competition. In the end, FV team appeared out of nowhere and snatched the spot away. Zhao Xuming felt that Ding Gan and SUG team did not have much value anymore, so he ignored him. Ding Gan must be feeling slighted by this.

However, Boss Pei had paid for SUG to come to Los Angeles out of his own pockets. It was obvious that Ding Gan was on Boss Pei's side seeing Ding Gan and Wu Yue chatting happily at the airport.

Would Ding Gan give Zhao Xuming a good attitude now, if he were to look for Ding Gan so hypocritically now?

Ding Gan would probably turn around and tell Boss Pei and Wu Yue about this, making FV battle team even more vigilant.

Of course, Ding Gan was only the boss of a club. He might not dare to fall out with Zhao Xuming, so he might appear polite on the surface, but it was hard to say what he would do behind the scenes.

Zhao Xuming had no confidence in this.

"What's wrong with you?! Why did you fall out with those who are slightly useful? We can't count on you for anything!" Chrétien exclaimed a little angrily.

Zhao Xuming was very angry, he opened his mouth but could not refute.

Indeed, if Zhao Xuming had treated Ding Gan better, or if he had not chosen to leave FV Team behind, the situation would have been different.

However, Zhao Xuming could not predict the future. How could he have thought of such a situation!

One wrong move and everything cascaded. The seemingly insignificant decision that he had made in a moment of anger and hot-headedness had very serious consequences now.

Chrétien could not say much either, he could only sigh. "In that case, forget it. I hope that FRY can stop FV."

…

…

January 16th, Monday…

Pei Qian woke up as usual and went to the office to check on the various businesses. At the same time, he thought about where he should start his spending plan.

Pei Qian knew nothing about the schemes brewing in Los Angeles.

Pei Qian had strategically given up on them after seeing FV3: 0 win the competition last weekend.

His classmates had all gone home for the winter break after the exam week ended. Pei Qian could not help but feel melancholic at the thought of having to spend so much money.

Two minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

"Boss Pei, the Street Food Contest that I mentioned to you before is starting this afternoon. Do you have any instructions?" He Desheng reminded him.

Pei Qian was stunned. "This afternoon?"

He Desheng nodded. "That's right. This afternoon. Oh, I didn't set the time. Meng Chang's original plan was for this afternoon. Perhaps it's because he was planning to record the broadcast. Boss Pei, if you don't think it's appropriate, you can postpone it until the weekend."

Pei Qian raised his hand. "No, today is good. We'll hold it as planned."

Previously, He Desheng had told Pei Qian that there would be a local Street Food Contest. Pei Qian had thought that it would be during the weekend.

Competitions like these had to be popular and there would be more people during the weekend after all.

However, Meng Chang's original idea was not to live-stream but to record the event.

That was because Meng Chang's main purpose for organizing this competition was to get food vendors from all over the country to become a conduit for the cold-faced lady.

The show first introduced how delicious the local food was, how unique it was, and then highlighted how outstanding the cold-faced lady's taste was. It completely surpassed the best vendors in the country.

It would be easy for accidents to happen during live-streaming. It would be much easier to control the recording. If there were any emergencies, they could just cut the scene and re-shoot.

After editing the video, Meng Chang would spend a huge sum of money to advertise on Aili Island and other video websites to further increase the Cold-Faced Lady's reputation.

This would have been a very effective marketing campaign before the Cold-Faced Lady collapsed.

While some people doubted that the Cold-Faced Lady's roasted cold noodles were not as good as what Meng Chang's bragged about but the overall taste was not that bad. Therefore, the question of whether the Cold-Faced Lady tasted good depended on the individual.

Under such circumstances, marketing could be used to guide public opinion.

It was just like many food and beverage brands. Many customers would choose to try them as long as they had good marketing and everyone said that they were delicious .

However, the situation was completely different now that the cold-faced lady had experienced the previous bankruptcy storm.

The public opinion generated by excessive marketing had completely reversed. Most people would tend to trample on it until it was worthless. No matter how good the cold noodles tasted, they would find it disgusting.

He Desheng was about to leave when Pei Qian stopped him.

"Wait a minute, you just said that the Street Food Contest will be recorded?"

He Desheng nodded. "It will be recorded mainly because we are worried that something unexpected might happen during the live-stream."

"According to Meng Chang's original plan, the judges have already hinted that the Cold-Faced Lady's Cold-Faced Noodles must be first in the final evaluation of taste."

Pei Qian frowned. "How can that work!"

"Change the recording to live-stream."

"Also, let the judges know that the reviews must be realistic. Don't give the cold-faced lady any face!"

"The other dishes are all local delicacies. Cold-Faced Lady has already benefited from the industrialization of fast food and should be stricter in terms of taste."

"When the time comes, criticize Cold-Faced Lady's Cold-Faced Noodles harshly. They must point out any problems strictly. Don't show mercy!"

He Desheng was stunned for a moment but did not ask further. "Alright, Boss Pei. I'll call the person-in-charge and ask him to do as you say."

Pei Qian's two requests did not conflict with the entire process of the food competition. It was easy to change them as long as he spoke to the judges.

The competition venue for the Street Food Contest this time was in a luxury hotel in Beijing. Meng Chang's original intention should be to elevate the competition's style as much as possible so that it would better accentuate the mid to high-end brand of the Cold-Faced Lady.

Cold-Faced Lady might be fast food, but in Meng Chang's imagination, it was mainly targeted at small investors and white-collar workers. Therefore, it had to have a certain style and make a clear difference from ordinary cold noodles that were roasted at roadside stalls.

Cold-Faced Lady organized a Street Food Contest in a luxury hotel and the roasted cold noodles would prevail in the end.

It sounded like a hot topic, and it would have their own traffic.

Pei Qian could not be bothered to make a trip to Beijing for this. Thus, he decided not to go this time. He would just watch the live-stream in Jingzhou.

To be honest, this Street Food Contest Was quite interesting. Perhaps it could generate some popularity.

However, Pei Qian did not panic at all.

He had told the judges to directly criticize the Cold-Faced Lady's Cold-Faced Noodles harshly, making its already bad reputation even worse! He would let everyone know that the Cold-Faced Lady's Cold-Faced Noodles were not that delicious!

That way, everyone would despise the Cold-Faced Lady even more. No one would go to the Cold-Faced Lady's shop to spend money. As time passed, this brand could only burn money…

Wouldn't that make things better?