491 DGE Esports Club

Pei Qian felt even better as he looked at Zhang Yuan's confused expression.

Haha, you didn't see this coming, did you?!

All of you used to fill my mind with question marks all the time before. Now, it's my turn to do the same to you! Are you surprised? Are you shocked?

Actually, Pei Qian had already thought about this before. He had just set the trap without realizing it. Still, seeing Zhang Yuan fall for his trap so naively looked humorous in a dark way.

Would esports be that popular in the future?

Pei Qian thought that the MOBA games would become the most popular. While FPS games were not bad, they probably would not do that well in China.

If everything developed mechanically based on Pei Qian's memory, esports would be dominated by games like IOI and Gods Rising in the future. Other projects would lag far behind.

However, everything could be different in the parallel world. Thus, Pei Qian could not be sure how things would develop.

Take IOI for example. Although it looked like LOL, there were also many differences between the two games. For instance, the worlds in IOI and LOL were different, and so were the gameplay, the timeline, and other details.

The butterfly effect was terrifying. Often, the slightest misstep made a world of difference.

Pei Qian pondered for a moment. Gods Rising was not as good as DOTA to begin with, and there was still no news that it would be made into an independent online game. Pei Qian guessed that that would not happen any time soon.

Something had gone wrong somewhere. IOI was much worse than what he remembered of LOL, and both the gameplay and Finger Games' concept design were problematic.

On the other hand, his own GOG was rising rapidly to success in the local market as if it was on steroids. Pei Qian was bewildered.

If this carried on, Pei Qian guessed that Gods Rising would be in the most dangerous position. Until now, it was not a complete and independent online game with a good matching mechanism. Of course, it could not match up to GOG and IOI.

In the end, either IOI or GOG would be used for esports. What was interesting was that both of those games belonged to Tengda!

There was no need to elaborate on GOG. Tengda had developed it and was now managing it.

On the other hand, Tengda was in charge of IOI's operations because Dream Realization Ventures and Shang Yang Games were subsidiaries of Tengda Games.

In the world of esports, the organizers of competitions could not form teams to participate in the same competitions. That would be like dropping soil onto one's pants: no matter how much they tried, things would not be clarified well.

Even if the team operated completely independently, would the audience believe it? Would the other clubs believe it?

How could one prove that there was nothing dirty going on behind the scenes?

Then, if various clubs dissed the results and accused the team of being in cahoots with the organizers, winning the championship would mean nothing.

Even if the team failed to do well, the audience could accuse them of being rubbish because they didn't win even though they were in cahoots with the organizers.

Thus, Pei Qian only had two options:

Zhang Yuan's club could go out on their own, cut off all ties with Tengda, and participate in GOG's competition.

Alternatively, Zhang Yuan's club could work on other games.

The former was impossible. As for the latter… since the club would not be able to take part in GOG or IOI, it would not become popular. Thus, any effort that they put in would go to waste.

What's more, most esports clubs in this world were incurring losses all year round. They were only being used as marketing gimmicks by rich companies.

Pei Qian could not help but feel proud of himself. No matter how he looked at it, he was going to emerge victorious!

Zhang Yuan, how are you going to fight with me?

At that moment, Boss Pei wanted badly to laugh maniacally for three minutes. He had finally allowed his outstanding employee to experience being stabbed in the back without any warning whatsoever!

Zhang Yuan was still speechless. He had intended to lead an esports team to compete in GOG, but Boss Pei had rejected this proposal without another word.

The esports business had not developed properly yet. It was not famous or structured. Thus, Zhang Yuan did not know that the organizers could not form teams and ended up causing a big hoo-ha.

There was a big problem now. What should he do?

Zhang Yuan subconsciously turned to Boss Pei. He was in a fix, and only Boss Pei could solve his problem.

A hint of a smile tugged at Boss Pei's lips at that moment. He looked like he wanted to say something.

Zhang Yuan could not help but feel puzzled. What did Boss Pei's expression mean?

It was horrible that the club could not form a team to compete in GOG or IOI. Why wasn't Boss Pei upset?

Does Boss Pei have a solution that he's not telling me about? Does he want me to figure it out on my own?

He frowned and tried asking, "Boss Pei, what game do you think the club should form a team to compete in, then?"

Pei Qian sniggered. "GOG."

Since you're asking me for help so sincerely, I'll give you the answer just as sincerely.

First, GOG was likely to lose to IOI. If the club formed a GOG team and GOG became outdated, the team would become equally outdated. Their efforts would go down the drain.

Second, even if GOG did not become outdated, the team would still be disqualified.

No matter what, Pei Qian would emerge victorious! Of course, Pei Qian would never explain those reasons to anyone.

Zhang Yuan was tongue-tied. Obviously, he was shocked by Boss Pei's answer.

At the end of the day, they were back at GOG? They could not compete in that game!

Zhang Yuan was beginning to feel light-headed. It was hard to understand Boss Pei's wisdom.

Pei Qian was very satisfied with Zhang Yuan's expression, and he had no intention to explain why he thought the club should compete in GOG.

The more he spoke, the higher the chances of making a mistake. It would be terrible if his words caused a mysterious and unwanted chemical reaction.

"So… does the club have a name?" Pei Qian tried to change the topic.

Zhang Yuan seemed to still be hung up over the previous topic. He looked stunned for two seconds before he replied, "Er… I thought about an impressive name before… World Champion. However, we realized that the name's acronym was problematic when we were trying to design a logo. That's why we gave up on it.

"Boss Pei, do you want to come up with a name for the club?"

Pei Qian sniggered again. "Alright."

Pei Qian was very familiar with the names of various esports teams, such as World Elite, Invictus Gaming, Royal Never Give Up, Funplus Fhoenix, and the like. All of them were pretty good names.

However, Boss Pei always prioritized good luck when naming his projects. He was not being superstitious; saying the names just made him feel better.

The above names were not bad, but the problem was that they had achieved too much success. Obviously, they did not match Boss Pei's expectations for his own team. After some time, Pei Qian suddenly thought about a team that could never win.

"Our team's name will be DGE!"

Zhang Yuan blinked. "What… is that short for?"

Pei Qian explained, "Dark Genius Esports!"

As for the name's real meaning…

It was short for Da Gan Er, which meant 'big godson' in Mandarin.

Lao Gan <anno data-annotation-id="1f53d53c-22af-4a58-8afd-80a23a17e275">Die</anno>, which meant 'old godfather', could come in last in esports. Surely, the godson would be able to surpass the godfather… and do even worse.

As for why Pei Qian did not want to call the club 'little godson', he was worried that it would backfire because two negatives made a positive.

Zhang Yuan pondered over the long English name and said, "What a good name! It sounds powerful, and it rolls off the tongue. Even its full name seems to be of a certain standard."

Pei Qian had more or less completed what he needed to do for Dream Realization Ventures and the esports club. It was unlikely that the tables would turn against him in the future.

However, considering Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan's relationship, Pei Qian decided to leave a few more instructions.

Obviously, Ma Yang was far more interested in the esports club than Zhang Yuan was.

Thus, Pei Qian could not rule out the possibility that Ma Yang would 'lend' Dream Realization Ventures' employees to Zhang Yuan.

All of those employees were extremely good at Gods Rising, and they could easily become Great Masters at GOG as well. Although they were over twenty years old and were considered quite old now, a professional gamer community for GOG had not formed yet. For all Pei Qian knew, those employees could kick off a new trend.

Thus, Pei Qian had to instruct Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan to keep Dream Realization Ventures and DGE Esports Club separate.

At the same time, since DGE Esports Club was fated to incur losses, Pei Qian had to instruct Zhang Yuan to spend generously. If he remained this stingy, Pei Qian could end up losing only one or two million yuan in the end and be utterly embarrassed.

Pei Qian cleared his throat. "It's right to poach those who are at the top of the charts, but I think you must keep age in mind. Young people move faster and possess greater potential. Choosing them to become professional gamers would be more appropriate.

"If branch managers of internet cafes refer to themselves as gaming gods and ask to join the club, do not believe them. Instead, chase them away at once.

"Lastly, do not scrimp and save on the club's physical gathering place. Rent a villa. Let me know once you've selected a suitable location. I'll arrange for Fish-Catching Take-Out to deliver your meals.

"All in all, do not restrain yourself from spending where you need to spend. Bear the Tengda spirit in mind!"

Zhang Yuan listened intently to Pei Qian and then nodded. "Yes, Boss Pei!"

Pei Qian turned to Ma Yang. "Old Ma, you can go to the club, take a look, and help Zhang Yuan out. He Desheng and the others can go there for fun if they're tired of working, but do not let them blindly interfere in the club's business."

Ma Yang was excited. "Rest assured, Brother Qian!"

He Desheng and the others heaved a sigh of relief. They thanked Boss Pei profusely in their hearts.

Pei Qian knew that He Desheng and the others understood GOG much better than ordinary gamers. Of course, he would never allow them to interfere with DGE Esports Club in any way.

As for Ma Yang, throwing him into the DGE Club would allow him to disrupt the training. At the same time, Ma Yang would become reluctant to go back to work, so that Pei Qian would not have to worry about him investing in another company like Finger Games.

He Desheng and the others had been worried that Boss Pei would send all of them to the esports club as well. After all, they only played computer games as a hobby and had no intention of becoming professional gamers.

Now, everyone was happy!

Zhang Yuan was the only one who was still confused.

Pei Qian smiled and patted Zhang Yuan on the shoulder. "Don't look so confused. Spend more money, and things will get better."

He felt slightly bad for Zhang Yuan, but giving DGE Esports Club more money to spend should be able to make up for it.

…

After sending Boss Pei off, Zhang Yuan became sorrowful. He was still conflicted about the club's matters. Boss Pei had already given instructions. DGE Club was to form a GOG team and spend more money and resources on them.

It didn't make sense at all.

Zhang Yuan pondered about it deeply.

"Calm down. Use the same thought process that you cultivated when you were working in the internet cafe and ROF Computer-Installation. Try to understand Boss Pei's intentions.

"The organizers cannot form their own team. It's just like one cannot be a competitor and a judge in the same event for the Olympics. That rule has already been set, and it can't be changed.

"I was given two options: leave Tengda Corporation or give up on GOG.

"Yet, Boss Pei gave me the go-ahead to form a GOG team. That means there must be a third option…

"What's special about the third option?

"No matter what, DGE's team would not be allowed to take part in GOG's official competition!

"Wait… would the team be useless just because it can't participate in the official competition?

"Hm… it would. Without competing, the team wouldn't get fame or exposure. Naturally, it wouldn't get sponsors or prizes either. What's the point of forming a team, then? Wouldn't we be burning money for the sake of our own entertainment?

"D*mn it, I can't figure it out!"

Zhang Yuan was so close to pulling his hair out. The problem that he was faced with this time was far more difficult than any other problem he had dealt with before. After struggling for a long time, he finally decided to give up.

"Forget it. I'll just follow Boss Pei's instructions first. Maybe a solution will present itself when the time comes.

"I was asked to do many illogical things before, but every time I stuck to Boss Pei's instructions, the entire situation miraculously turned around in the end.

"Yes, I'll trust Boss Pei!"

Zhang Yuan decided that, if he could not figure it out, he would not bother trying anymore. He would rent a villa, hire a few potential candidates from the charts, and make the necessary preparations for the club…

All in all, he would follow Boss Pei's instructions first and then try to understand his intentions slowly!

<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="1f53d53c-22af-4a58-8afd-80a23a17e275">This is the nickname for LGD Gaming, which is a professional Chinese esports club.</li></ol></annotations>",