After the meal, the leaders of the two clubs brought the team to the internet cafe that they had set their sights on to inspect the training venue.
Zhao Xuming did not go with them. He stayed in the hotel’s resting area and took out his laptop to work.
Of course, work was only one of the reasons. Another reason was that Zhao Xuming could not be bothered to get involved in these matters. In his opinion, he had already done everything to his best to this extent. Yet he had almost caused his mentality to collapse. Now, he only wanted to visit Finger Games. He did not want to continue messing around with these E-Sports clubs.
The distance between the internet cafe and the hotel was considered moderate. They could reach in fifteen minutes.
The two team leaders felt that the distance was not too far. They could still stretch their bodies and admire the scenery of Los Angeles by walking.
After eating and drinking to their heart’s content, they walked on foreign soil. The team members’ mentality that had been destroyed by FV Club’s Weibo gradually improved.
Even though this was the city center, it was not particularly cramped nor was it filled with skyscrapers that made people feel suffocated. Thus, it felt good to walk on the streets.
“It’s just up ahead. We’re almost there.” The interpreter looked at the map on his cell phone and pointed ahead.
The players looked over as well. Their first impression was that the internet cafe was huge!
It was not common for internet cafes to take up so much space in China.
Their second thought was, why did the minibus parked at the entrance look so familiar?
The leaders of the two clubs looked at each other, an ominous feeling rising in their hearts.
Was it not over? Why was FV Club everywhere?!
The two of them could not wait to turn around and leave on the spot. However, on further thought, there was only one internet cafe nearby with better facilities. What if they went to another internet cafe and found that the system was not good enough?
Thus, everyone hesitated for a moment before they braced themselves and entered.
After pushing the door open, a huge hall and rows of computers appeared in front of everyone.
The internet cafes here were obviously different from local internet cafes. Firstly, the renovation style was rather rough. The ceiling was filled with all sorts of intricate and complicated pipelines. All the computer computers were placed on a shelf that was more than two meters tall. Secondly, there seemed to be no concept of private rooms here. There was only a huge hall on the entire floor.
The two team leaders took a look. There were many people playing games in the hall. Some were playing IOI and some were playing GOG. A rough scan showed that it was divided rather equally. Many were playing FPS games.
There were still many empty seats in the hall.
The computer’s configurations were not bad, and the seats were all e-sports gaming chairs with famous foreign brands. The only drawback was that the keyboards were not very good and were slightly dirty. However, the players had their own peripherals so this was not a problem.
The two team leaders were quite satisfied with the environment here, so they went to the front desk with the interpreter to ask for the price.
“It’s so expensive… 10 dollars per hour, and only 20 dollars per day. Of course we’ll take the entire day.”
“Sigh, I see anyone from FV Club. DId we mistake the minibus outside?”
The two team leaders quickly reached a consensus. It would definitely be more cost-effective to book on a day to day basis, but the specific location would become a key problem.
The interpreter wanted to talk to the boss about the price and see if there were any discounts for so many people to book the computers together. The two leaders walked around the hall separately to see which place was more suitable.
It was a pity that the hall was too big. No matter which area he booked, they would still be affected.
One of the team leaders’ eyes lit up. “Eh? Isn’t there a second floor?”
He saw a staircase and wondered if he could go to the second floor to take a look. It would be alright to pay a bit more if the environment on the second floor was better and more private.
However, just as he walked up the stairs to the second floor, he saw four tall and strong men in black suits standing in a line, reaching out to stop him.
“SORRY, @ # ¥% &*…”
The four bodyguards in black suits spoke a long string of English, which confused the leader.
However, this formation still gave him a shock. After all, the four bodyguards were all dressed in black suits with walkie-talkies. They also had a pair of sunglasses in front of their chests. The muscles on their bodies were bulging, and they looked similar to the gangsters in Western movies.
The team leader’s English was not good. He could not understand what they were saying. Fortunately, the interpreter quickly followed them. After conversing with the four bodyguards in black, he quickly understood.
“They said that the entire second floor has been booked.” The translator explained.
The leader frowned and looked suspicious. He stood on his toes and looked past the four burly men who were almost two meters tall. As expected, he saw the members of FV Club.
“F*ck!”
The leader could not help but curse. The premonition had come true!
Most of the machines upstairs had been taken up. There were a total of 15 people from FV Club Team One, Team Two, and SUG Club. However, there were also the accompanying staff and data analysis team.
The data analysis team also had to use the computer to observe the battle and analyze the data. Even the three photographers were using the computer to edit the videos.
The team leader and the interpreter had no choice but to retreat to the first floor.
“What should we do? Change locations, or…” The translator asked for the opinions of the two team leaders.
The team leader sighed. “Let’s do it here. We’ll pick a corner and a place further away from the stairs…”
The configuration and location of this internet cafe was the most satisfactory, so it was not easy to change. However, they had to stay away from FV Club, or the situation would be awkward.
The two team leaders quickly completed the procedures and arranged for the team members to use the computers.
“Come, everyone, change to your pherpicals. I’ve already sent the super account given by Finger Games to everyone. Take your own. Let’s warm up with Rank today. We’ll arrange for a training competition with the teams from Europe and America in two days.”
As the team members logged into their super accounts one by one to start training, the two team leaders sat down at the side and finally felt better.
At the very least, they knew that FV Club probably did not obtain super accounts. That meant that they could not play Rank. Moreover, without the official platform to pull strings, they probably did not have any channels to arrange for a training competition with other European and American teams.
“Everyone, work hard and train hard. You must get good results!”
The contestants said in unison, “Alright!”
December 23rd, Friday…
Pei Qian sipped his coffee and swiped his cell phone in the morning.
“FV Club is already in Los Angeles. Why are there so many updates on Weibo?”
“Holy sh*t, the food and accommodation are so good? I regret not going…”
“Forget it, forget it. There’s nothing good overseas.”
“Eh? Why do I feel like I’ve been scolded? How many melons have I missed in my sleep?”
When Pei Qian woke up, it was already night time in Los Angeles. FV Club had already posted several Weibo posts, from boarding the plane to checking into the hotel, and then starting training. They had posted many pictures and videos.
After all, the three photographers had accompanied them the entire time. Apart from taking photos and editing, they had nothing else to do. They could only try their best to make their presence known.
At the beginning, the Weibo page was still mainly filled with photos. There were even short videos that had been edited.
Obviously, they had nothing better to do in the internet cafe.
There were photos of delicacies in there. There were photos taken from the top level of the hotel and showed the entire Los Angeles and the competition venue. Even the four bodyguards in black suits were included.
Even Pei Qian felt a little envious after looking at it. One could only imagine how the others felt.
Most of the comments on Weibo were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. However, there were also many discordant voices on the forum.
“Oh my god, are they in Los Angeles already? Why are there so many people?”
“SUG Club is there too? What’s going on?”
“What about the other two teams?”
“Business class? It should be quite expensive, right? Finger Games are so good that they actually gave them tickets for business class?”
“Holy sh*t, they’re staying in the Ritz-Carlton? That’s the most expensive hotel in the area, right?”
“I’m jealous!”
“What’s the situation with these four black-clothed bodyguards… are they filming a movie? Does Finger Games provide bodyguards? Does every team have them?”
“I remember that FV Club used to only post one Weibo post every week or two. Why did it suddenly become so popular?”
“F*ck! Someone exposed that this was not arranged by Finger Games! All the expenses, including the air tickets, hotels, and bodyguards were paid by FV Club!”
“They paid themselves? How much is that?!”
“Is this Weibo post showing off?”
“They haven’t even gotten results, and they’re already doing all these fancy things! Are they intentionally messing with the mentality of other teams?”
“As everyone knows, the more things you do outside the game, the worse your results will be. You’ve enjoyed so many benefits. If your results are not good, you guys will die with me!”
“This money was probably given by Boss Pei, right? However, isn’t Boss Pei doting on these players too much? With such good conditions, did he really think they were going on a holiday?”
At first, everyone thought that it was arranged by Finger Games. However, they soon realized that it was not the case. Other teams did not have such treatment!
Many fans of other teams could not accept this.
On one hand, they felt that FV Club’s treatment was much better than other clubs. They were a little jealous. On the other hand, many people subconsciously associated material conditions with greed and enjoyment.
The E-Sports industry was constantly developing and the treatment was gradually improving. Ignoring people who did not play games, even many players and viewers felt that E-Sports players did not deserve good treatment.
Instead, many people missed the days when e-sports athletes slept on the streets, ate instant noodles made with cold water, and became champions.
Of course, there were indeed some players who became inflated because of good material standard of living and did not train seriously, causing them to lose the competition. Thus, many people instinctively felt uncomfortable seeing FV Club’s players in such good conditions. They posted some discordant voices on the forum.
Pei Qian was not angry at all. Instead, he was enjoying it.
Sure, haters, make use of the time to add firepower to the criticism!
He wanted to tarnish FV Club’s popularity and make all the money he spent go to waste!
The team members’ cell phones were all under the same management over there. They could not browse the forums. The comments from the haters on Weibo and the forums should not affect their mentality, but at least they could strike a blow to FV Club’s image, right?
If they did not do well in the international competition, they would definitely be criticized. The club would not be able to pull in investments or sell for a good price. Pei Qian’s share prices in the club would not increase, and the money he spent would be wasted…
It would be the perfect scenario, right?