Chapter 17 Wednesday, August 17th

DGE Esports Club.

Yesterday, after hearing that President Pei had agreed to sell the player, Team Leader Su immediately decided to make a trip to Jingzhou today to try to finalize the contract on the same day.

It was rushed, but necessary.

Because a good player like this might be gone if they waited any longer!

Team Leader Su came prepared this time. The club owner had given a strict order: no matter what, Huang Wang must be bought!

If negotiations failed, they would offer more money. If more money didn't work, they would play the emotional card. If that still didn't work, they would hug President Pei's leg and cry on the spot. In short, H4 Club was determined to acquire him at any cost, setting a very high psychological limit for the transfer fee.

Because H4 Club had vaguely sensed the direction of the wind.

GOG was aggressively entering the overseas market, and Tenda was throwing money around; GOG's international invitational tournament was being held, with a sky-high prize pool; live streaming platforms were starting to lavish attention on GOG players, and signing fees were soaring...

All indications pointed to GOG becoming the next major esports project.

Because Tenda had ambition, live streaming platforms were paying attention, and the player base was large enough.

Therefore, after research, the management of H4 Club unanimously decided to shore up the team's current weaknesses and bring in a strong mid-laner!

They had previously taken second place in a GOG competition. Considering that overseas clubs' GOG divisions were just starting to be formed, the second place in China was basically equal to the second place in the world.

And H4 Club lost after a fierce five-game battle in the finals, which was enough to show that they had the strength, but the player in the mid-lane position was holding them back.

If they could bring in a strong mid-laner, wouldn't they have a good chance to compete for the one million dollar prize at the World Invitational Tournament?

Of course, for the club, they would only get a portion of the one million dollar prize, but the club was not so much concerned with the prize money as with the fame, exposure, and honor.

If they won the world championship, various sponsors and live streaming platforms would come knocking on their door, and they wouldn't have to worry about making money.

So, H4 Club gave Team Leader Su a strict order to buy Huang Wang this time.

"Team Leader Su, please wait a moment. President Pei said he'll be here soon. Please have some tea."

Zhang Yuan handed Team Leader Su a cup of tea. Team Leader Su quickly reached out to take it and nodded. "It's okay, no rush."

Team Leader Su had booked his ticket as soon as he heard that President Pei had agreed, and arrived in Jingzhou early in the morning, around 7:00 AM.

He didn't know that President Pei was still sound asleep at this time, and assumed that President Pei was dealing with other company matters.

Team Leader Su drank his tea while reviewing his task for the day.

There were different opinions on whether the DGE Club's players were non-negotiable.

Some people believed that President Pei didn't lack money, that running the club was very expensive, that President Pei didn't seem to plan to profit from it, and didn't even plan to participate in formal competitions, but mostly used it to play games with himself, and had a good relationship with the players, so he was unlikely to sell them;

Others believed that there was nothing in this world that couldn't be bought, as long as your offer was high enough.

Team Leader Su felt that both of these statements made sense.

If you wanted to buy someone from President Pei, you would definitely have to pay a higher price, especially at this critical juncture when all the clubs were eyeing the influence and prize money of the first International Invitational Tournament. If H4 Club hesitated even a little, the player might be bought by another club.

President Pei might not care about the specific amount of the transfer fee, but he would definitely care about the sincerity of the number.

Team Leader Su couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, wondering if the number he had prepared would satisfy President Pei.

After waiting for half an hour, President Pei arrived.

"President Pei! Hello, hello." Team Leader Su quickly got up and shook hands with President Pei.

"Team Leader Su, hello, hello!" Pei Qian also had an enthusiastic smile on his face.

Team Leader Su felt a warmth in his heart. President Pei was so approachable!

He knew very well that he was coming to ask for a favor, that he wanted to buy players from President Pei, so he definitely had to be humble.

He didn't expect that President Pei didn't have that aloof attitude at all, but was so enthusiastic towards him.

However, what he didn't know was that in President Pei's eyes, he was simply a savior!

Yesterday, as soon as he heard that H4 Club had the intention of buying Huang Wang, Pei Qian was overjoyed.

Great, thank you H4 Club for saving me from this predicament!

Now, the most troublesome thing for Pei Qian in the entire DGE club was this Huang Wang.

The biggest threat that Huang Wang posed to Pei Qian was that he was a live streaming genius. After a period of live streaming, he was heavily promoted by Waiwai Live, and his popularity was already very outrageous.

During the "Making Trouble Competition," Huang Wang's popularity soared even higher with the consecutive victories of the two DGE teams.

If he didn't do something, then Huang Wang would at best attract more sponsorships for the club, and at worst, he would bring all the other players along to become big streamers, causing the entire club's popularity to explode instantly.

This was not impossible.

Although the other players didn't have as good eloquence as Huang Wang, they also worked out every day and had decent appearances. As long as Huang Wang teamed up with them, brought them some popularity, turned on the camera, and added the DGE Club label, they would definitely become popular.

When that time came, it would be too late to regret!

Therefore, Pei Qian felt that Huang Wang was the crux of all the problems in the DGE Club. For H4 Club to be willing to buy him, it was simply like sending charcoal in the snow!

As for whether Huang Wang would continue to become popular and gain even higher popularity after going to H4 Club, that was all H4's business. It couldn't be said that it had nothing to do with my DGE Club, but at least it wouldn't lead the others astray.

What's more, Huang Wang himself would definitely not have any objections, as he couldn't play in official competitions while staying at DGE Club.

The transfer fee was impossible to waive. Although Pei Qian really wanted to waive it, it was against the rules to give away his players who were still under contract to other clubs. The system would not allow it.

However, the transfer fee was the result of friendly negotiation between both parties, and the system would not interfere whether it was higher or lower.

Pei Qian decided to use his traditional advantage, reverse bargaining!

Let the other party raise the price first, then he would mention some of Huang Wang's shortcomings to let the other party lower the price, lower it until it couldn't be lowered anymore, and then he would gladly accept it.

In short, earning a little less was still earning!

Pei Qian, Zhang Yuan, and Team Leader Su came to the meeting room and began their friendly meeting.

Seeing that President Pei was so enthusiastic towards him, Team Leader Su was also very moved and decided to directly state the club's originally planned transfer fee amount to show his sincerity.

If President Pei had any questions about this amount, they would continue to increase the price.

Team Leader Su took a sip of tea and said, "President Pei, I've already discussed many issues with Manager Zhang yesterday. So, I'll get straight to the point today."

"H4 Club is indeed very short of a mid-laner, so we are eager for talent! Huang Wang is a player that our club admires very much. We are willing to pay a transfer fee of 1.5 million, and give Huang Wang a personal signing fee of 800,000 and an annual salary of 800,000. We hope that President Pei can part with him!"

Pei Qian's teacup, which had just been brought to his lips, stopped.

So high?

This number was indeed somewhat beyond Pei Qian's expectations.

Pei Qian did remember some sky-high signing fees of players reaching eight figures, but that was the result of six or seven years of professional operation of the esports league. Now, it was still in its infancy, how could they give so much?

In his memory, during the S2 season of League of Legends, domestic clubs basically just gave them food to eat, and the players' monthly salaries were basically only a few thousand yuan, and this was already more generous than other projects.

As a result, H4 Club was offering a transfer fee of 1.5 million, a signing fee of 800,000, and an annual salary of 800,000 right from the start?

Were they messing with him?

Pei Qian calculated in his head. This 1.5 million transfer fee was for the club. If one player was sold for 1.5 million, wouldn't ten players be sold for 15 million?

Too outrageous!

The key was that DGE Club hadn't spent that much money since its establishment!

The villa was rented at a friendly price by President Li, the computers were provided by ROF Assembly, they usually ate at Lazy Cat Takeout, worked out at the hosting gym, and even the water and electricity bills were reduced by Ming Yun Villas.

To say that the players' salaries, the expenses for going out to play training matches, etc., weren't that much!

This was earning money like crazy, both from receiving sponsorships and selling players. My club was being run way too unsuccessfully!

Pei Qian thought for a while and felt that this price wouldn't work and was unacceptable.

He had to mention more of Huang Wang's shortcomings and give Team Leader Su some hints.

Pei Qian considered it for a moment and said, "Team Leader Su, Huang Wang, he's a chatterbox. He talks a lot during matches, which may affect others. You must take this into consideration."

Team Leader Su was stunned.

What did President Pei mean by this?

On the surface, he seemed to be picking on Huang Wang's faults?

Huang Wang was a chatterbox? Yes, everyone knew that.

Huang Wang talked a lot during matches, which might affect others? Uh, that seemed predictable.

Could it be that President Pei was suppressing the price of his own players?

That was impossible!

These players were clearly President Pei's treasures, how could he suppress the price himself?

Oh, he understood!

President Pei was saying the opposite, hinting!

Team Leader Su tasted it slightly and immediately understood the true meaning of President Pei's words.

Huang Wang was a chatterbox, talked a lot during matches, and was easy to influence others. This sentence, translated, should be saying:

Huang Wang was not only a mid-lane player, he was also the captain and commander of the second team! As a commander, his improvement to the team's tactics would be immediate, and at the same time, he could exert influence on the players and was a leader figure like the backbone of the team.

Buying one Huang Wang would definitely improve the team more than buying a first-class mid-laner.

So, they had to add money!

As expected of President Pei, he raised the price so politely, fully taking our face into consideration.

Team Leader Su understood and, after considering it for a moment, said, "President Pei, we didn't consider it thoroughly."

"How about this, a transfer fee of 2 million, a signing fee of 1.2 million, and an annual salary of 900,000?"

Pei Qian fell into confusion.

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