Pei Qian casually picked up the program sheet for both teams. Different methods and requirements for winning were written on it, and they seemed to be arranged in order of increasing difficulty.
Until now, both teams had already ticked off three methods.
Pei Qian knew very well that each tick represented fifty thousand yuan earned by the club! He only needed one or two seconds to calculate that both teams had already won three hundred thousand yuan for the club!
It was ridiculous.
I invited you here to burn money for me, but you ended up doing the opposite.
Cheaters! I’ve raised you in vain!
Of course, three hundred thousand yuan was a small sum, and Boss Pei did not need to feel so furious. However, the important problem was that this was a bad sign.
If the DGE Club’s two teams managed to put on a good show from beginning to end and won every single game…
How much traffic would that bring to DGE?
Then, its popularity on every single forum would shoot through the roof, and all kinds of sponsors would fight one another to throw money at them.
What’s more, the DGE Club had already accepted two sponsorships. Of course, Zhang Yuan would increase his asking price. Then, how many major sponsors would increase their offers just to win the opportunity to sponsor the DGE Club…?
The situation looked disastrous.
Thus, Pei Qian felt the need to break the teams’ winning streak. He could not let them win the entire competition, just as they planned. Otherwise, the live-stream platforms would have a field day, and Boss Pei’s hands would be tied!
Pei Qian quietly read the program sheet from start to finish.
Include Coach Ma and win?
This program sheet seems to be arranged in order of increasing difficulty. Does that mean that all team members think adding Old Ma to their teams would pose the greatest challenge?
That’s great! I shall summon Old Ma, then!
If Pei Qian wanted to take part, he would definitely be able to as well. However, he would only play the part of an actor. Then, if he ended up with a score of 0-27, he would be personally attacked.
If the news that Boss Pei didn’t know how to play GOG spread, then Pei Qian would not be able to tolerate it. He would feel even worse than if people said ‘Boss Pei doesn’t know how to lose money’!
Although Pei Qian wasn’t strong at the game, he was not terrible. He could not allow people to think that he was such a noob that he did not know how to play GOG at all!
Thus, he needed his good friend, Old Ma, to help him with this. In any case, Ma Yang was really terrible. No matter how many times he got killed, it would be due to his own skills.
Pei Qian called Ma Yang and asked him to come down at once.
The team members were already warming up when they heard Boss Pei call Coach Ma and invite him to come down. All of them were stunned.
Was Boss Pei… intending to see how hard we can work? Why else would he immediately push us into hell mode?
Huang Wang and Jiang Huan exchanged a look, and each could see the imposing look in the other’s eyes.
Calm down. It’s not like we’ve never brought Coach Ma to a mock competition before. We’ve gone through this. We have a complete battle plan. As long as we carry it out strictly—no matter how hard we have to fight, we can still win in the end…
Huang Wang and the others kept comforting themselves inside to calm themselves down.
…
Before the competition started, Ma Yang finally arrived.
“Brother Qian! Your best employee has arrived!”
Ma Yang looked very excited. “Brother Qian, don’t worry. With Coach Ma stepping out, the other parties will definitely be restrained!”
Pei Qian smiled, feeling only one thing inside.
Good!
He sniggered and casually said, “Old Ma, didn’t you play the game with them before?”
Old Ma shook his head. “No…”
Pei Qian: “?”
Why is Old Ma lying through his teeth? Didn’t he say he had personally stepped up the last time?
Ma Yang explained himself very seriously. “Brother Qian, I didn’t play a game with them. I participated in a mock competition. I was not just an ordinary player but a special tactical coach.
“Brother Qian, please respect my professionalism. Never say that I was just playing a game with the team members.”
Pei Qian: “…”
After remaining silent for a few seconds, he patted Ma Yang on the shoulder. “Alright, Old Ma. I appreciate your candor. You’re really a valuable treasure that I can’t go without. How did the mock competitions go with you as the special tactical coach?”
Ma Yang very proudly replied, “We won them all!”
Pei Qian: “?”
Won them all? Wasn’t this supposed to be hell mode?
Pei Qian had initially thought that, with Old Ma in their team, each team would be playing with four members against six. The chances of winning should have been forty percent at most.
How could they have won them all?
Have I worked so hard to plan all of these things in vain? The teams could win, even with Ma Yang on their side!
No way, I have to calm down. I have to break their winning streak no matter what!
There must be some other way!
Pei Qian remained silent for a moment, and then asked, “What position did you play in? Were you the leader?”
Ma Yang shook his head. “No, Brother Qian. I was the bottom-laner—the classic carrying position!”
“Hmm…” Pei Qian fell into deep thought.
He was beginning to understand why the teams were able to win, even with Old Ma. If four members were to carry deadweight, the two positions in the bottom lane were the best.
That was because two people only needed to remain under the tower to kill soldiers. If the other partner was highly-skilled, he could look after him. They would not lose the lane just because of the deadweight.
The top-laner, midlaner, and jungler would be in charge of the other three corners and destroying the opponents’ jungle. Those in the bottom lane could slack and win.
What’s more, they could say that Ma Yang was in a position to carry the group in the bottom lane, but in reality, he would have the support protecting him. Thus, he wouldn’t die so easily.
That was why the teams could still win with him in the mix.
After some consideration, a light bulb switched on in Pei Qian’s head.
He had an idea! He could just switch Ma Yang’s position, couldn’t he? If Ma Yang was placed as the top-laner, mid-laner, or jungler; he would be badly beaten up, wouldn’t he?
If anyone in those positions collapsed—even just for a while, he could catch up by farming. An experienced esports athlete may be able to catch up on development, but Ma Yang would just give up on himself.
So, which position should Pei Qian choose?
On further thought, he decided to make Ma Yang a jungler!
The DGE Club’s teams had very strong junglers. If Old Ma played in the top or middle lane, he could be made to remain under the tower to kill soldiers. The opponents would push through the lanes and DGE’s jungler and support would go after them.
That way, Ma Yang would have successfully acted as bait.
Thus, making him a jungler would be Pei Qian’s best bet.
Ma Yang was rubbish at being a jungler. That meant the other team’s jungler would maximize the pressure on all three lanes. If the team were slightly more experienced, they could counter-jungle so that Old Ma becomes nothing more than a super-soldier.
Yes, reliable!
At that, Pei Qian cleared his throat. “Old Ma, I want to test how good you are in the other positions and as other heroes. Are you willing to accept that?”
Ma Yang patted his chest. “Brother Qian, rest assured!”
Pei Qian nodded. That’s good. I like that you are naturally bold. Good. Use the Happy Ruan and be the jungler. You’ll wander around.”
Ma Yang’s eyes lit up. “Brother Qian, how did you know that I’ve been working in that position? Don’t worry! I won’t let everyone down!”
Pei Qian nearly believed Ma Yang after seeing how confident he was. However, he reminded himself to be logical and remember that Old Ma would never disappoint him.
It was just like when Ruan Guangjian said that he didn’t know how to play the game. When Ma Yang said that there were no problems, it meant the exact opposite.
Of course, all the team members looked like brave warriors about to go out for battle.
Coach Ma was going to be the jungler, and with Happy Ruan, at that! This game would be more difficult, then.
Huang Wang and Jiang Huan had already decided to make use of the same plan from before. However, they could not use it at all now!
Fortunately, Boss Pei was a bit kinder than Zhang Yuan had been. He did not set any requirements for Boss Ma’s KDA ratio. That meant there was still hope.
They had to work hard to go through a cruel time in hell before they could play with skill and ease!
The jungler quickly got up from his seat and allowed Coach Ma to warm up.
Ma Yang accessed his customization screen very confidently, picked out over ten woodpiles, picked Happy Ruan, and then happily practiced between the woodpiles.
Pei Qian quietly nodded when he saw how happy Old Ma was.
Yes, all is good!
Old Ma really never disappoints me.
Actually, Pei Qian had considered letting Ma Yang use his account to play. That way, he would have ‘Designer of Ruan’ on top of his character, which might cause him to be made fun of even more.
However, on further thought, he realized that he could not allow others to use his account or let others train his character on his behalf. That was a principle underlying technical games.
Pei Qian believed that, even without the title ‘Designer of Ruan’, Ma Yang could still stand out!
…
The competition soon began.
Pei Qian switched on his cell phone and read the bullet screen comments. At the same time, he watched Old Ma’s first-person view. The live-stream was three or four seconds delayed, but it was not much of a hindrance.
Many people in the comments had also noticed that a member had been uncharacteristically swapped out.
“DGE.CoachMa? Why is that name so long?”
“What’s the meaning of this?”
“Er… it is probably translated to mean Coach Ma in Mandarin, but it seems weird to be used this way. It’s broken English.”
“Holy sh*t, I thought that it was Huang Wang playing as Happy Ruan, but it’s actually Coach Ma? He’s not DGE’s secret weapon, is he?”
“Alright, alright. With Happy Ruan as the jungler, the game will be a good show for sure!”
“Sh*t, is this Happy Ruan really going to show so much mercy? Isn’t he a coach? Is this how he coaches?”
“He farms, goes home, buys items, and continues farming… holy sh*t, brother. At least buy a vision ward, right? Aren’t you going to gank even once?”
“Holy sh*t, Coach Ma has gone to counter-jungle! Ah, Coach Ma was killed single-handedly by the other team’s jungler, giving him a double buff!”
“I’m sorry, Coach Ma. I wronged you. Please continue farming!”
“I think you should just stop playing. Let the other teammates take care of your jungle. That would be better than farming and giving away all the benefits…”
Pei Qian watched the live-stream and Ma Yang’s first-person view at the same time and could not help but raise his thumb.
Old Ma really wouldn’t disappoint me! He was remaining rooted in the jungle and being trashed by the other team. He was really living up to his name.
If that carried on, it would only be a matter of time before the winning streak was…
Holy sh*t.
Pei Qian had not even celebrated for two minutes before he received an update from the top-laner.
A solo kill!
Two minutes later, the midlaner gave an update as well.
Another solo kill!
Three minutes later, the bottom-laner sent the same update.
The other team’s jungler tried his best to dive, but by the time he arrived at the bottom of DGE’s tower, it was three against one. Attack Damage Carry[1] made three kills at once, sending him through the roof!
As for the few kills that Coach Ma had given to the other team… it didn’t seem to have affected the gameplay in any way.
Pei Qian was stunned.
What was the other team doing?! How could they still lose with five members against four?
Pei Qian already knew that DGE’s teams were strong, but this was ridiculous, wasn’t it? The other four members were fully focused and going all out in the game!
Before this, everyone had to think about how to put on a good show. Thus, they could slack off on the techniques and only get serious during team battles.
Yet, now, the situation was different. Coach Ma was handling the performance index on his own, and so everyone else could go all out to ensure victory!
What’s more, Coach Ma had given away a double buff to successfully lure the other team’s jungler. The other team’s jungler was so happy killing Coach Ma that he neglected the other lanes for a while.
As a result, Huang Wang and the others could go all out on their techniques and destroy everyone in their own lanes!
As the game went on, the members on the lanes suddenly held the advantage. Once their advantage was established, the snowball effect kicked in. The other team’s junglers did not dare to come after them anymore, for fear that he would be akin to playing one against two.
Pei Qian watched as Ma Yang continued to farm and get killed. He had been doing that for twenty minutes now, ever since the game began. His own KDA ratio was at 0-8-0.
Then, a terrifying thing happened.
His KDA ratio stopped moving! He stopped dying altogether!
That was because all of his other teammates had cleared all three lanes, and the other team’s outer turrets had been destroyed. No matter how much Ma Yang fought on his own within his team’s jungle, no enemies came looking for him.
All the enemies had been pressured to go back to their own half of the map thanks to Ma Yang’s four teammates!
With Coach Ma putting on a good show in the back, the other teammates did not have to think about performing anymore. At once, they pulled all stops and conducted a massacre!
Thus, a very strange scene occurred.
As Old Ma continued playing happily on his own, his four other team members happily destroyed the enemies’ home base.
Very oddly, everyone was placed in a 5-4-1 formation.
Those who didn’t know the game well enough might have thought that this was football, and Old Ma was the goal-keeper.
Ma Yang kept farming until he got two sets. Then, he typed in the public chat. “I can finally come out!”
However, just as Ma Yang’s cursor hovered over the enemies’ home base, his screen moved towards their base turret on its own. He watched the enemies’ nexus explode before his eyes.
“Victory!”
A huge, well-decorated word appeared on his screen.
Ma Yang shook his head, clearly disappointed. “Ai, the other team is too lousy. I couldn’t even do anything before they lost.”
The bullet screen comments on the live-stream were flooding the screen! The results of the competition were out very soon as well. They had gotten a full performance index once again!
“All of a sudden, I think that DGE could win even if I went to play as their jungler.”
“It’s true. Their jungler farmed for a full twenty minutes and died eight times, without killing a single person. When he went out to gank, he also gave away a double buff. This Coach Ma has proven that DGE could win with anyone on the team. They could even win with their hands tied!”
“I’m beginning to suspect that Coach Ma did this on purpose. He chose Happy Ruan to put on a good show. Although he gave kills away, none of us felt disgusted. Instead, we were quite entertained!”
“Is this what DGE is really like? Had they just been putting on a show this whole time? Were they able to win while putting on a good show? Were they able to push through the lanes because they went all out this time?”
“They’re awesome. I watched Huang Wang’s first-person view the entire time. He plays completely differently from when he’s playing in ranked matches! While playing in the ‘professional rounds’ before, he always said that he was using fifty percent of his skills. I used to think that he was just taunting his enemies, but now I know that he was telling the truth!”
“I’m a huge fan of a club like that! Where can I find the live-stream accounts of the other team members?”
“Do they sell uniforms and other peripherals? I want one!”
“Now, I’m more concerned about how others look. After all, we’ve already seen Huang Wang, the muscleman and professional boxer. He always says that his team members have similar body types as him in his live-streams. I think that if they show their faces at the same time, it would be a beautiful sight!”
“Quickly, vote for them and give them the highest performance index possible! ZZ Live-Stream, Waiwai, go after them as soon as possible! There are only so many of them in the club—you’ll miss them all if you wait any longer!”
…
Pei Qian watched the entire thing, from start to finish. As he read the bullet screen comments, he fell into a deep silence.
What shocked him the most was that DGE’s team members had already developed to such a state.
This was DGE’s Team Two, no less. He had heard that Team Two was always being beaten by Team One in mock competitions. All the muscles on Huang Wang’s body were sufficient proof of that.
Wouldn’t Team One have been far better than Team Two if they had gone up instead, then?
Nothing could stop DGE’s winning streak—not even Coach Ma, the ultimate weapon.
It was then that Pei Qian realized the situation was more serious than he imagined! Thinking back, he had really underestimated DGE Club’s strength.
At the time, it was his own wishful thinking that he could slow down their progress and keep them far from the veteran clubs in the country—as long as he messed up their training schedule, didn’t hire a professional coach, and kept them busy with physical training.
Yet, from the looks of the current situation, there seemed to be many mistakes in Pei Qian’s way of thinking:
The DGE Club’s athletes were highly-skilled to begin with. All of them had what it took to become prodigies…
The DGE Club was formed much earlier than all the other GOG teams—at least two months earlier. That meant they had been through an additional two months of professional training…
The addition of Coach Yaling had caused all the athletes’ physical bodies and nutrition to improve, which directly affected their performance during competitions as well…
With the added threat of extra training, both team members had been racking their brains, researching the game mechanisms, and coming up with battle strategies. Thus, both teams were pushing each other to improve continuously;
Having a significant amount of highly-customizable training helped every individual team member solidify his basics. As a result, each of them had a firm grasp of the details in the game…
Once their first-mover advantage was established, the team members would continue holding themselves to a higher standard…
Of course, esports was all about talent. If those people had not been talented to begin with, they would not have become this strong even if they had an additional two months of professional training. Obviously, Boss Pei’s luck had played a very important role in that aspect…
Even in a game of chance, he had gotten such a good hand. It was f*cking ridiculous!
In short, due to a number of complicated factors and complex issues, the situation had gotten to this stage!
After reading all the bullet screen comments, an ominous feeling overwhelmed Pei Qian. If the DGE Club continued getting more popular, sponsors might come knocking on their door soon, offering sky-high amounts of money.
At the same time, if the team members’ looks were exposed, people would start to wonder how they had gotten such bodies. For all Pei Qian knew, Deposit Fitness might become popular as well.
No, that won’t do!
Ever since the Tengda Life App was released, Deposit Fitness started getting worse. Every day, new people would arrive at Deposit Fitness’ branches to register for sessions.
If there was another round of publicity, the gym would only become more popular. Then, the losses would be converted into profits for sure!
Pei Qian had to think of something.
Now! Immediately!
Yet, what exactly could he do?
Pei Qian had no idea.
At that moment, Zhang Yuan walked up to him and whispered, “Boss Pei, I just got a call. Please, come over here. I need to speak to you about something in private.”
Eh?
Zhang Yuan looked to be quite conflicted, so Pei Qian stood up and followed Zhang Yuan outside the villa.
Zhang Yuan hesitated and said, “Boss Pei, H4 Club’s Team Leader Su just called me.
“Didn’t GOG recently say that it’s going to organize an international invitational competition recently? The champion would win a million US dollars and a share of the profits from the sale of skins. Other clubs are getting interested!
“Team Leader Su asked me if DGE would be able to take part. I told him the truth—that we cannot because we’re the organizers.
“Then, Team Leader Su asked me if I could sell Huang Wang to them. Their team is lacking in mid-laners, and Huang Wang and Pang Ling often play together in their own time, so they’re quite close. H4 Club is willing to pay us a huge sum of money to transfer Huang Wang to their club.
“To be truthful, I can’t decide. In my heart, I know that Huang Wang belongs to my team, and I nurtured him. Of course, I can’t bear to see him go.
“However, they can’t take part in large-scale competitions now and can only take part in entertaining competitions organized by live-stream platforms. That pains me as well.
“Boss Pei, what do you think…?”
Pei Qian’s eyes lit up, and he looked overjoyed. “Sell him! Sell him at once! Tell Huang Wang to start packing his bags!”
[1] This is a type of hero that deals strong, continuous damage.
