Random Chapters of MTL Novel

Eric stood up and left in a hurry. Obviously, he wanted to go back and video call Finger Games' headquarters to deal with this matter.

Zhao Xuming had to continue watching the ICL competition and could not leave.

However, he was also very curious. Thus, he took out his cell phone and searched for relevant information online.

It was nighttime in Los Angeles. Players were active on the forums and live-stream platforms.

Zhao Xuming realized that not only were some forums and websites in the United States discussing this. A few popular posts were also being discussed on domestic forums by busybodies, be it GOG or IOI players!

"The ICL hasn't officially started the competition, yet Finger Games is making big news again? I saw the forum in the Northern American Region going crazy. They said that Finger Games is collecting sky-high prices for slots?"

"IOI's ICS slots for the Northern American Region were actually sold for seven million US dollars! It's too expensive, it's practically stealing money!"

"It's alright. I heard that the clubs in America are all very rich. They should be able to fork out seven million US dollars, right?"

"However, GOG is also preparing for the league over there. It's said that the way to obtain a spot is to compete freely. The starting price is only a million US dollars. This comparison shows the difference!"

"It's not just about the price. The clubs in the ICS competition area are very dissatisfied with the differential treatment of Finger Games. That's because the slots in the domestic competition area, which is also the ICL, are half bought and half given. They can almost be said to be cheap. However, the ICS competition area has to spend seven million yuan to buy the slots! More importantly, Finger Games has additional subsidies for the ICL team because of the previous public opinion storm. The ICS competition area doesn't have any."

"The clubs and gamers over there would indeed explode with anger thinking about it this way... They paid more than ten times the price for the slots in the ICL competition zone, but the treatment was not as good. This is equivalent to cutting off their own flesh to benefit the outer competition zone..."

"Now that I think about it, it's understandable that they exploded".

"I wonder how will Finger Games be able to resolve the crisis of public opinion this time. They were just planning to expand their territory, but their houses caught fire!"

Zhao Xuming became increasingly confused.

How could there be such a problem!

The main reason for this incident was that the Northern American Region's ICS was different from the ICL competitions in the country. Finger Games had given the ICL competitions preferential treatment in order to better promote the ICL league and save IOI's local server. They had no choice but to provide many additional benefits to the ICL league clubs because of the GPL.

However, Finger Games did not have such thoughts about the Northern American Region's ICS league.

There were two reasons. First, Eric was in charge of the ICL, but the other higher-ups of Finger Games were in charge of the ICS league. These two leagues were to compete at the same time and did not affect each other.

They would definitely have to earn from the ICS slot. They could not sell the ICS slot for cheap just because ICL did it, right? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?

Second, they had no choice but to compensate the ICL regional clubs with various conditions, such as ensuring that the players had nutritional meals, daily fitness, and so on. Eric did not want to spend this money at all. It was even more impossible to share this condition with all the other regions.

How painful would that be!

Thus, there was indeed such a gap between the ICL league and the ICS league.

In fact, this was very normal. Tengda did not achieve equality either!

Tengda treated GPL like its own son. However, Tengda only found a local company to work with in the outer competition zone.

However, Tengda would not be under such debate pressure!

The reason was that the two companies were in different positions and adopted different strategies.

Tengda was a local company. It was only natural for it to be in charge of GPL's operations and improve the various benefits. The various clubs might have spent money to buy slots but the money had been returned to them. Everyone was willing to spend it.

On the other hand, the slot for the outer division competition zone was to be bought by the highest bidder. The club would not complain whether the price was high or low.

As for the benefits of the GPL in the outer competition zone, even if the clubs in the outer competition zone were not satisfied, they would still aim for the proxy companies in the league and not Tengda Corporation directly.

What's more, these clubs would not be too bothered about the subsidies for food or fitness because they did not realize the importance. They had already saved money on the slots. It did not matter if they did not have these benefits.

However, it was different for Finger Games.

It was precisely because they were an American company that the pressure they faced in the United States was greater.

The clubs in the United States watched. Why were the slots for the ICL league so cheap? Finger Games even paid for the club's benefits. In the end, they had to spend seven million US dollars to buy a slot when it came to us?

Was Finger Games still an American company?

It's alright if you want to promote IOI, but don't suck blood from us!

Many gamers and viewers felt indignant after the public opinion exploded, especially those who started to dig up old scores.

Finger Games had a past record!

Previously, they had priced the skins in different areas and had been sprayed with blood. Initially, this was already in the past. They did not expect the fox to grow gray but never good.

What's more, Finger Games had branches in all the competition zones in the country. They took charge of all the construction work in all the competition zones. Therefore, if any problems happened, the club and audience would definitely direct their blame to Finger Games.

New and old grudges were added together. In addition, many clubs were adding fuel to the fire behind the scenes, wanting to pressure Finger Games. Therefore, once this matter was exposed, it immediately became a hot topic on the internet!

That was why the upper echelons of Finger Games called Eric immediately and asked him to solve this problem together.

As for how?

Zhao Xuming could not guess it, but Finger Games would probably continue to spend a lot this time.

Once this public sentiment crisis erupted, it would be impossible to appease everyone without bleeding.

Zhao Xuming could not help but feel nervous.

Just now, Eric had confidently said that the Northern American Region was Finger Games' home ground. The league would definitely be done flawlessly. Tengda would not be able to interfere.

What was happening now?

How embarrassing!

Not only was there a problem, it was a huge problem!

"Could it be that this was also arranged by Boss Pei? He purposely chose this timing to give Finger Games a hard time?"

"That's not right. Didn't Boss Pei just talk to us about the cooperation with ICL league?"

"Could it be...

"That's right. The public scandal this time is an accurate blow to the ICS league. It has nothing to do with the ICL. Naturally, it will not affect our cooperation..."

"This!"

Zhao Xuming was confused at first. Shouldn't Boss Pei be our ally now? Why did this happen again?

However, on further thought, Boss Pei and Eric's cooperation was only limited to the ICL league. In the other competitions in the world, the two were still mortal enemies and competitors!

Boss Pei did not seem to want to attack the ICL league and affect his own interests. Instead, he turned his spearhead to the Northern American Region and took drastic measures to hit Finger Games' doorstep!

Zhao Xuming shuddered.

Boss Pei gave people the feeling that he was suffering from schizophrenia. He would take out a dagger from his chest and stab you without a word while laughing and cooperating with you!

Zhao Xuming suddenly became suspicious. He did not know if this cooperation with Boss Pei was right or wrong...

...

At 4 PM, the ICL exhibition match was about to begin.

The members of the two clubs had already arrived at the competition venue in advance. The staff also began to make various preparations to ensure that the competition would proceed smoothly.

Zhao Xuming watched the audience enter from the backstage.

The venue would definitely be filled to the brim today. After all, it was the first day. It would be ugly if there were empty seats. Fortunately, IOI's old gamers, internal employees, and additional tickets had already taken up most of the seats at the venue. It would not be a problem to hire some people to fill the remaining empty seats.

At that moment, Zhao Xuming noticed that Eric had returned.

"You're back! How are things going?" Zhao Xuming quickly went up to him and asked.

Eric looked very tired. Obviously, he was very tired. "Basically, the solution has been confirmed. The ICS quota has been changed to start bidding from three million US dollars. The clubs in the Northern American Region will enjoy the same preferential treatment as ICL, mainly in food, fitness, and other aspects."

Obviously, the result of a meeting with Finger Games was to admit defeat!

It was already late at night in Los Angeles. The video call had been going on for half the night. It was obvious how important this matter was to the upper echelons of Finger Games.

Tomorrow morning, Finger Games would issue an announcement to appease the clubs and players in the Northern Amercian Region. Their attitude would be very sincere.

That was because the Northern American Region was their base camp. They could not do well in other competitions, but they had to do well in the ICS league!

The discrimination between ICS league and ICL league would indeed fall into the hands of others. It was useless even if they emphasized that the ICS league had more sponsors and that the seats were more precious. This reason was very difficult to justify.

Thus, he could only admit defeat.

The slots for the league had dropped from 7 million US dollars to 3 million US dollars. Finger Games would definitely lose a huge sum of money.

While the bids could be raised indefinitely, there were only a few big clubs in the Northern American Region. There was no need to raise the price of this slot. They definitely hoped that everyone would get the best at the lowest price.

Thus, the final price would probably be sold for four to five million US dollars. Finger Games would lose two million US dollars for each slot.

The subsidies for the clubs' food and fitness might not seem like much in terms of money, but it would be a continuous expenditure. The key was that these clubs might not appreciate it!

They would think that this was a benefit that they had fought for and not the preferential treatment that Finger Games had given them.

That was why Eric was speechless. His ICL was doing so well, but he was suddenly backstabbed!

Even though the money had nothing to do with him, it was obvious that the upper echelons of Finger Games were already very unhappy with his actions. They made the clubs and audience of the ICS very dissatisfied in order to promote the ICL league. Eric had to more or less take the blame.

If he did not manage the ICL well in the future, the upper echelons of Finger Games would settle the accounts. Eric would probably not be able to bear the consequences.

Zhao Xuming saw that Eric was not very happy and did not dare to continue discussing this topic.

"That's good! That's an ICS matter after all. It has nothing to do with us."

"The equipment here has been adjusted and the preparations for Bunny Tail Live-Stream have been completed. We're just waiting for the competition to start!"

Eric nodded and took out his cell phone from his pocket. He switched on the application for Bunny Tail live-stream.

The interface of the application for Bunny Tail Live-Stream was rather simple, even a little shabby but they gave enough recommendation spots to ICL. Once he entered the homepage, there was a huge banner of the ICL league. It was very eye-catching.

On the other hand, Tengda's own GPL league had not even been broadcasted live on Bunny Tail.

Eric temporarily forgot about the unhappiness from before and began to look forward to the official start of the exhibition match!

Chapter 926: Real Data: Less than 30,000

At 5pm, the first performance of the ICL league officially began under the applause and cheers of the audience!

The host greeted the audience at the emcee and the live-stream passionately, trying hard to stir up the emotions of the audience.

Eric and Zhao Xuming felt very proud of themselves.

This was IOI's own league. We finally have a league that can compete with GPL!

It had to be said that the atmosphere at the venue was still very lively. After all, the staff in the ICL league were quite professional. The audience at the venue were all loyal fans of IOI. A small portion of them were specially hired to bring up the atmosphere in the audience. The applause and cheers were just right.

Zhao Xuming heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the competition had successfully completed the BP and entered the game graphics without any hiccups. The huge rock that had been hanging in his heart finally relaxed.

He took out his cell phone and switched on Bunny Tail Live-Stream. He wanted to see how the live-stream was going.

Logically speaking, there should not be any problem.

As long as there were no problems with the event location, the signal transmitted to the live-stream would be OK. What other problems could there be in the live-stream other than being stuck?

Zhao Xuming opened Bunny Tail Live-Stream and quickly found the live-stream of the ICL league on the home page.

There were indeed a lot of recommendation resources. There was a very eye-catching banner on the homepage. There was also a special IOI game section. Once you clicked on it, you would be able to watch the ICL league live-stream. There was no problem in all aspects.

Zhao Xuming felt much more at ease.

Boss Pei might be a competitor and had just created a mess in ICS, but they had already signed the contract!

No matter what, Boss Pei was a very contractual person. He would definitely follow the contract.

However, he fell into a daze when he opened the live-stream and saw the number of people in it.

27,985!

It was a whole number, what's more, this number would constantly change, increasing and decreasing at times.

Zhao Xuming thought that he had seen wrongly. Was there a digit missing?

However, he leaned his face closer to the cell phone screen to take a closer look. After looking at it for a long time, he finally confirmed that he had not seen it wrong. It was a five-digit number. There were less than thirty thousand people watching it!

Zhao Xuming was stunned. He looked at the bullet screen comments in the live-stream. There were quite a number of them too?

There were all sorts of bullet screen comments. People were giving small gifts quite often too!

There might not be many gifts but this was the live-stream of a competition after all. There were not many people giving gifts in the first place. The key was still the density of the bullet screen comments.

There was not much of a problem from the density of the bullet screen. The screen of the live-stream was only so big after all. The bullet screen could keep rolling as long as there were a thousand living people. If there were ten thousand living people, the bullet screen could be filled. If there were tens of thousands of living people, the bullet screen would have to be split. Otherwise, it would affect normal viewing.

The ICL league had been advertising for a long time after all, and many IOI players would be attracted to watch it. It was normal for the number of bullet screen comments to be high.

What was with the number of viewers?

It would be too embarrassing if there were less than 30,000 people!

Other live-stream platforms had millions or tens of millions of viewers easily!

Even if it was a small-time broadcaster, he would be too embarrassed to greet them if he said that his live-stream only had 30,000 viewers.

Zhao Xuming's face fell. Boss Pei was actually lying in wait here?

There was no problem with the other publicity materials, but they secretly limited the number of viewers on the live-stream platform?

Obviously, the audience had also noticed this number. Many people were discussing the bullet screen.

"Isn't it exclusive? There are less than 30,000 viewers?"

"In other words, there are only thirty thousand people watching the ICL league in the entire world? Pfft, I'm sorry to laugh."

"Ai, IOI is still cold. Nothing can save it."

"It's far worse than GPL. I won't watch it anymore."

Zhao Xuming was very angry. Bunny Tail Live-Stream was too dishonest!

Needless to say, Boss Pei must have ordered it!

He had purposely lowered the popularity of the live-stream to create a feeling that the ICL was not popular. He had evil intentions!

Eric noticed this as well and his expression did not look good.

He had always had a PTSD mentality towards Boss Pei. He was afraid that Boss Pei would plot against him in certain areas, so he had always been on guard.

Zhao Xuming immediately called Chen Yufeng.

There was no need to be afraid even if Boss Pei was causing trouble. Both parties had signed contracts!

Zhao Xuming could immediately request for the live-stream of Bunny Tail to be changed if he was caught using such underhanded means. Otherwise, he could request for the contract to be terminated freely and terminate the cooperation between both parties.

Chen Yufeng's voice came through the phone very quickly. "Hello? Boss Zhao, you should have seen the live-stream of ICL, right? Is there a problem?"

Zhao Xuming laughed in his heart.

You still have the cheek to ask me what's wrong? Aren't you asking the obvious?

Zhao Xuming: "Boss Chen, this is not right!"

"Why did you restrict the popularity of the ICL league live-stream?"

Chen Yufeng was stunned. "Restricting popularity? No? Why would we do such a thing?"

Zhao Xuming was even more unhappy. How could he deny it?

"Boss Chen, how is it possible for it to be watched by only a little more than twenty thousand people! It's not even comparable to an ordinary small-time streamer on other live-stream platforms! How would the audience view the ICL league? How could the attention be less than an ordinary streamer? Do they think that no one would watch our league?"

Chen Yufeng smiled and explained, "Boss Zhao, you've misunderstood. This is the real data for the number of viewers!"

"We definitely did not restrict the popularity, nor would we restrict the popularity. The statistics in Bunny Tail's live-stream is real. We would definitely not fake it."

"As for the other live-stream platforms..."

"Their numbers are not actual numbers. A live-stream with three thousand people can be made into tens of thousands. A live-stream of twenty thousand people can be made to reflect five to six hundred thousand."

"Therefore, the ICL league should be around a million viewers if we calculate based on how the other live-stream platforms calculate."

Zhao Xuming opened his mouth, speechless.

According to Chen Yufeng, the live-stream's popularity could reach a million viewers. If the official platform falsified and adjusted the figures, the peak would be a little more than two million viewers. That would be about the same level of popularity as GPL on some small live-stream platforms.

If that was the case, there would be no problem.

However, the key was that based on what Chen Yufeng said, Bunny Tail Live-Stream did not seem to have any intention of helping the ICL league falsify data!

Zhao Xuming was speechless. "Boss Chen, do I have to talk about this?"

Chen Yufeng: "What about?"

Zhao Xuming: "Falsifying data! Do you as a live-stream platform not know about this? We should adjust the data upwards in order to make the audience feel that this is very popular, right?"

"There are no problems with the bullet screen comments now. There are no problems with the discussion. The live-stream is very smooth and not stuck at all. However, the popularity and the number of viewers..."

Chen Yufeng rejected immediately. "Oh, Boss Zhao, that's what you mean."

"I'm really sorry about that. Boss Pei emphasized that all of our data must be real when Bunny Tail Live-Stream was just established. We cannot fake it. I'm sorry, but we cannot make an exception."

Zhao Xuming was confused. "Not even once?"

Chen Yufeng: "Even once would make the website lose it's credibility. It would be useless even if we release real data in the future. I hope you can understand, Boss Zhao."

Zhao Xuming was speechless.

What a mess!

Chen Yufeng's words made sense. This was a principle that had been implemented since the establishment of Bunny Tail Live-Stream. It did not seem to be specifically targeted at the ICL league.

However, the problem was which live-stream platform did not fake data?

If it was not fake, the scene would be too shabby!

The less than 30,000 viewers made Zhao Xuming uncomfortable.

Zhao Xuming did not want to give up just like that. "However, our contract promised that you would cooperate with us to promote it. This popularity..."

Before Zhao Xuming could finish speaking, Chen Yufeng had already answered, "Boss Zhao, our contract did not say that we would help you produce fake data! I'm afraid that this cannot be considered as a normal marketing strategy, right?"

"Look, our live-stream platform has done all the publicity and promotion work. The effect is obvious to all. The bandwidth of the live-stream is not a problem. The audience's viewing experience can be guaranteed."

Zhao Xuming: "This..."

That seemed to be the case. The contract did not mention anything about faking data!

At the time, Zhao Xuming and Eric felt that since Bunny Tail Live-Stream had spent a huge sum of money to buy the exclusive broadcast rights of ICL, they would definitely do their best to promote it. After all, if the ICL was done well, it would bring a lot of popularity to Bunny Tail Live-Stream.

Making fake data was a specialty of live-stream platforms. How could there not be this aspect?

However, Bunny Tail Live-Stream really did not provide it!

Zhao Xuming said, "However, the publicity of the ICL league would definitely be greatly affected. The effect would be greatly reduced!"

Chen Yufeng chuckled. "Don't worry, Boss Zhao. We'll take care of the publicity for the ICL league. Nothing will go wrong!"

"You just have to observe for a few more days. The popularity will definitely continue to rise!"

Zhao Xuming hesitated for a moment but did not have anything else to say. He could only hang up reluctantly.

Eric saw Zhao Xuming hang up and asked, "What did they say?"

Zhao Xuming repeated Chen Yufeng's words.

Eric fell silent as well.

This was awkward.

Bunny Tail Live-Stream was indeed doing everything according to the contract. They were not at fault. Naturally, Finger Games and Long Yu Corporation could not terminate the contract directly.

Of course, they could also use that termination clause to pay the seven million yuan penalty.

However, the problem was that it was not worth it!

At the moment, Bunny Tail's live-streaming and publicity work for the ICL league was quite satisfactory in all aspects. The only thing was that the number of people in the live-stream was not fake. The real data looked a little hurtful.

However, was he going to throw away seven million yuan to terminate the contract with Bunny Tail live-stream just for this one reason? Return the exclusive broadcast fee? Then find other live-stream platforms to work with?

He would be crazy to do that.

Zhao Xuming and Eric were in a dilemma.

This was obviously not a big problem, but it was like a small bug crawling around in their hearts.

Eric thought about it carefully and said, "Let's wait and see for a few more days. We'll settle scores with Boss Pei if the effect is really bad and has a serious negative impact on the ICL!"

Chapter 927: This Is A Win-Win Situation!

March 8th, Thursday...

The exhibition match of the ICL league was about to begin.

After today's exhibition match, he could basically confirm that all aspects of the league were fine.

The equipment had been adjusted and the live-stream signal was OK. There should not be too many accidents apart from rare emergencies. It could give the audience a more stable and good viewing experience.

The ICL league officially began on Saturday.

Today, neither Zhao Xuming nor Eric went to the ICL league venue. Instead, they were busy working in their own offices.

There should be no problem with the venue. There was no need to watch it every day.

The problem was the live-stream.

Zhao Xuming looked at the time. FV and SUG exhibition match was about to begin, so he took out his cell phone to check.

He had been reading the comments online ever since the competition ended yesterday. The more he read, the angrier he became.

Most people were mocking them, saying that the ICL league was not popular enough, that no one would watch it, and that they were wasting money!

There were also people who speculated that Boss Pei had deliberately bought out the ICL league and put it on Bunny Tail Live-Stream. Then, he deliberately lowered the popularity of the league so that it would die.

In fact, Zhao Xuming had thought the same at first. However, he felt that he had wronged Boss Pei after talking to Chen Yufeng on the phone.

That was because the standards of Bunny Tail's live-stream seemed to be the same. Boss Pei was a straightforward and upright person. Even if it was a business competition, it would be upright. He would not lie over such a small matter.

He could only say that the real data of the ICL league was indeed a little sad. He had no choice.

It had to be said that the internet was filled with negative comments about ICL. This made Zhao Xuming very frustrated.

The ICL league had just begun, but it was already declining. There was no way to attract more viewers. What would happen in the future?

However, he did not have a good solution. He could only wait and see.

Zhao Xuming looked at the number of people in the ICL league live-stream once again.

This time, his eyes lit up.

There were 59,837 viewers in the live-stream!

Last time, it was less than 30,000. This time, it was close to 60,000. The number had doubled!

Zhao Xuming's awkward expression eased a little.

It had to be said that FV Club's traffic was indeed quite high. After all, it was a team that had beaten foreign teams and won the world championship not long ago. It 'doubled the number of audiences' the moment it appeared.

However...

Sixty thousand viewership was still very shabby!

There was still a huge gap between 60,000 viewers compared to live-stream platforms that had a million viewers.

Fortunately, the number was still increasing as the competition progressed.

Many people did not pay attention to the preparations for the ICL league in real time. Perhaps they only knew about the live-stream of the competition after seeing the discussion on the forum. Thus, the number of viewers kept increasing.

No matter what, it was much better than the competition yesterday. Zhao Xuming could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

However, he was still worried about this shabby popularity.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

Zhao Xuming looked up. It was his assistant.

"What's the matter?" Zhao Xuming asked.

The assistant said excitedly, "Boss Zhao, didn't you ask me to think of a countermeasure yesterday? I thought of it!"

Zhao Xuming was stunned for a moment. Then, he realized that the so-called 'countermeasure' referred to 'countermeasure for solving the problem of too few people in the live-stream'.

Zhao Xuming was pleasantly surprised. "Tell me about it?"

In fact, he did not expect his assistant to come up with any reliable countermeasures. He was just saying it casually. After all, the contract had already been signed. There was no such clause in it. It was impossible for Bunny Tail Live-Stream to change the numbers in the backend. Boss Pei was famous for being stubborn.

Now, the assistant had actually said that he had thought of a countermeasure. It was always good to hear it no matter whether it would work or not.

The assistant said confidently, "Boss Zhao, I really didn't think of a good idea at first. After all, it's impossible to get Bunny Tail Live-Stream to help us fake the data."

"That's why I couldn't think of a good solution even after thinking about it all night."

"But just now! I had a flash of inspiration. I think we misunderstood Boss Pei!"

"We should do the opposite!"

"Actually, is it embarrassing to have numbers like 30,000 or 60,000? The key is who we are competing with. Compared to the popularity of other live-stream platforms that had a few million views easily, the numbers look much worse."

"However! We can make use of this to make an issue out of it!"

"We can hire fake reviewers to publicize it on the internet. The other live-stream platforms are all fake. Millions or tens of millions of viewers in fact only had about thirty to fifty thousand viers. The entire live-stream circle works on fake data except for Bunny Tail live-streams. We are the same as Bunny Tail Live-stream. We are very honest and sincere. We will definitely not lie to the audience!"

Zhao Xuming was stunned.

Do the opposite?

Made sense!

Since he could not change the data for Bunny Tail Live-Stream, he could just drag the other live-stream platforms down with him, right?

Thirty thousand to fifty thousand viewers did look very shabby, but if all viewers accepted the fact that the live-stream platform was faking data and all viewers felt that the millions of popular live-streamers on other live-stream platforms only had ten to twenty thousand viewers, wouldn't that prove that the ICL league was very popular?

What's more, the other live-stream platforms would not be able to fight back if he were to pull them down with him.

That was because the popularity of these live-stream platforms was fake to begin with. They were calculated based on the number of people, gifts, and various other data. The algorithms were all confidential and would not be leaked out at all.

They could announce the actual number of people on their platform if they had the ability!

These live-stream platforms would definitely not dare to.

That was because they were different from Bunny Tail Live-Stream. Bunny Tail Live-Stream had the real number of viewers as soon as it started. It had already established such an image, and the audience had accepted it. On the other hand, other live-stream platforms had been using popularity to create an illusion. Once they announced the real number, no matter how low it was, the audience would not believe it!

For example, if a platform with millions of popular streamers said that their real number was 500,000, the audience would definitely not believe it. If they said that their popularity was only 50,000, the audience would mock him for faking it, but at the same time, they would still not believe it!

That was because everyone would only think that the live-stream platform was fake. The 50,000 viewers also meant to make it sound better.

The live-stream platform, which had been using popularity to replace the real number of people and using agreement gifts to replace the real gifts, had actually lost the trust of the audience.

Most of the viewers were just watching for fun and did not take the numbers seriously.

Therefore, the other live-stream platforms would not be able to counterattack or prove themselves if they seized this point!

The best part was that they had the reputation of Bunny Tail Live-stream and Tengda Corporation as their backers!

Bunny Tail Live-Stream was a platform created by Boss Pei. All the live-streams were real data. However, the live-stream platform did not deliberately highlight this point.

Some viewers knew that Bunny Tail's live-stream showed the real number of viewers, but they did not publicize it, so it did not have much influence.

If Long Yu Corporation were to fork out money to do marketing and let more people know that the number of people live-streaming Bunny Tail was real, while the other live-stream platforms were fake popularity and filled with various fake situations...

Wouldn't that prove that the ICL league was actually very popular? The data looked as though it was burning because they were too honest?

He had solved this problem perfectly!

Zhao Xuming was elated. "That's a good idea! Let's do that!"

"Buy fake reviewers immediately. Get someone to go online to set the tempo. Say that other live-stream platforms are seriously faking it. Those popular live-streamers only have tens of thousands or even fewer viewers. The number of viewers for Bunny Tail's live-stream is completely real!"

"In that case, the ICL league's audience would not be small, it would be real!"

"What's more, we can also compare the number of people yesterday and today's number. This means that the ICL league has a constant inflow of fresh blood. The attention for the entire league is constantly increasing!"

"Quick, take advantage of the fact that FV Team is in the competition now and has more attention, do it immediately! We must create a hot topic of discussion on the internet before the competition is over and start a discussion on the internet after the competition!"

The assistant nodded immediately. "Alright, Boss Zhao, I'll do it right away!"

After the assistant left the office, Zhao Xuming entered the live-stream of Bunny Tail again to check the number of viewers in the ICL league.

The first round of the competition had already begun. The number of viewers had reached 65,782. It was increasing!

Obviously, this could be made used of as well.

The audience could not determine the real number of viewers from the popularity of live-streams if it were other live-stream platforms, because they changed too much and there were often situations where the popularity was fake.

Was this live-stream really becoming more and more popular? Or was it just a facade created by the platform?

The audience could not tell.

However, Bunny Tail Live-Stream was different. The audience had already accepted that this was real data. There was no falsification of data. Thus, the increase in the number of people was real.

30,000 yesterday and more than 60,000 today. Didn't that mean that the attention and influence of the ICL league were gradually increasing?

Zhao Xuming could not help but feel emotional. It seemed like he had wronged Boss Pei!

On the surface, Boss Pei's real data seemed to make the ICL league lose face, but in fact, it was a method of suppressing one's desires!

He released real data the entire time, making the ICL league with only thirty thousand viewers on the first day mocked by the entire internet.

However, this would also let everyone know that the data of Bunny Tail's live-stream was real and not fake.

The next day, the actual number of viewers doubled, and it was still increasing. Didn't this prove to the audience that the ICL league was definitely popular?

"I see, Boss Pei is far-sighted!"

"Indeed, this is in line with Boss Pei's usual marketing methods. It's unique and creative!"

"We have indeed wronged Boss Pei previously. It looks like Boss Pei really wants to cooperate with us and promote the ICL league!"

"Since that's the case, we have to do something as well. Help Bunny Tail live-stream publicize their real statistics!"

Zhao Xuming was very happy. As the saying went, it was impolite not to reciprocate.

It seemed like Boss Pei sincerely wanted to cooperate. He had done all sorts of work well, and the publicity was very good. The only small misunderstanding was the problem with the number of people in the live-stream. Now, even that has been resolved.

Since that was the case, he would help Boss Pei advertise Bunny Tail Live-Stream.

After all, wouldn't the ICL league become popular after promoting Bunny Tail live-stream?

This was undoubtedly a win-win situation!

Chapter 928: Bunny Tail Live-Stream: A Clear Stream In The Live-Stream Industry!

At the same time, Pei Qian, Ma Yang, and Chen Yufeng were watching the live-stream of the ICL league.

"Boss Pei, there were less than 30,000 people in the ICL league yesterday. Today, there are more than 60,000 people. It can be seen that FV Team's influence and popularity are still very high."

"Zhao Xuming called me yesterday and was very dissatisfied with the number of people on our live-stream platform. He wanted us to fake their popularity, but I rejected him flatly!"

"I believe that they will understand our good intentions in the future."

Pei Qian nodded slightly. "Yes, you did the right thing."

Even though Pei Qian wanted Bunny Tail Live-Stream to promote the ICL league but this matter was a priority.

The priority of maintaining Bunny Tail Live Broadcasting was not to make money, but to promote the ICL league in Pei Qian's heart.

He had long set the rules for Bunny Tail Live-Stream. All the statistics including the number of people in the live-stream and the gifts had to be real. This was the key condition for making Bunny Tail Live-Stream unable to become profitable in the long term.

The ICL league had to be promoted, but it could not affect Bunny Tail Live-Stream's loss. Chen Yufeng's decision was in line with Pei Qian's wishes.

The competition was in progress.

FV Team and SUG Team played back and forth brilliantly. SUG Team had been sparring with them the entire time during the World Competition after all. Their strength had improved by leaps and bounds. The two teams knew each other very well and understood the version. In addition, this was an exhibition match, everyone was very open, so the effect of the show was very good.

All sorts of bullet screen comments flooded the live-stream. It looked very lively.

Apart from the five-digit number of viewers who looked a little shabby, everything else was perfect.

Pei Qian nodded slightly in satisfaction. It looked like the matter of buying exclusive broadcasting rights for ICL was almost done.

The money had been spent and the live-stream of the ICL league had started smoothly. It seemed to have brought some popularity to Bunny Tail's live-stream platform but it was far from enough to make Bunny Tail's live-stream profitable.

Chen Yufeng said, "Boss Pei, according to our previous plan, the GPL league this Saturday will also be broadcasted live on our platform. The relevant preparations have been done."

Pei Qian: "Oh, alright."

In fact, Pei Qian did not want to live-stream the GPL league. That was because it was his own business. He did not need to spend money and could take the broadcasting rights as he pleased.

It was something that did not cost money and purely earned popularity. Wouldn't that be a loss if it was broadcasted live on Bunny Tail?

However, he had no choice. Eric and Zhao Xuming had requested that the GPL league be broadcasted live on Bunny Tail when he signed the contract with them.

The reason was very simple. He was afraid that Tengda would cause trouble, so he hoped to tie the GPL together.

The GPL would be affected if the live-stream platform got stuck or collapsed. Eric and Zhao Xuming felt that Boss Pei would not play any tricks then.

Pei Qian had not intended to play any tricks, but Eric and Zhao Xuming did not believe him. He had to use this method to gain their trust.

Thus, there were also relevant terms in the contract.

Pei Qian had no other choice. Since he could not give up his child to lure the wolf, he would just broadcast it.

In any case, the other live-stream platforms had already been broadcasting it for so long. The audience watching the competition had basically been divided up by the other platforms. If the GPL were to log into the Bunny Tail live-stream at this time, it should not bring too much popularity, right?

The work at Bunny Tail Live-Stream had probably come to an end. Pei Qian took out his cell phone and casually browsed the forum.

It had to be said that IOI players had a lot of discussions about the ICL league.

Especially today, there was the world champion FV Team. The exhibition match was very exciting, so the forum was very popular.

Among these posts, some discussed the competition, some discussed the strength levels of all clubs in the ICL league, and some discussed the celebrity players.

Suddenly, Pei Qian frowned.

The titles of the popular posts felt a little strange!

'ICS League protests Finger Games' double standards! '

'Everyone, don't say that ICL's viewership has gone down the drain. Revealing the fact that the other live-stream platforms' data are fake!'

Both posts were very popular. Pei Qian clicked on the first one.

This post was mainly to move the discussion content of the overseas forum. Finger Games treated ICS league differently from the ICL league, causing the ICS club and audience to protest.

Finger Games had already responded by saying that they would lower the starting price of the ICS league slots and apologised to everyone.

The key was that this post had analyzed many details of this matter and reached a conclusion: Tengda was behind this!

GOG's overseas league was also in the midst of preparation. They deliberately raised the price for very few slots for the overseas club. It was a stark contrast to Finger Games. That was why the ICS club was incited and Finger Games had no choice but to admit defeat...

Pei Qian was confused.

What the hell!

This has nothing to do with me. Don't push the blame onto me!

Pei Qian realized that he had the attribute of getting the blame now. He was obviously not the one who did this. Yet, both netizens and competitors had blamed it on him. It was ridiculous!

Pei Qian did not take this news to heart.

If Finger Games wanted to lower the price, so be it. In any case, the starting price of GOG's Northern American Region had already fallen to one million yuan. The other regions were even lower, and they could not make much money anymore. They were no longer a threat to Pei Qian.

He clicked on the second post.

"Recently, many people with bad intentions came to the forum to set the pace. They said that less than thirty thousand people watched the ICL league's premiere. The league has turned cold and no one is watching it anymore. Many people are discussing and agreeing seriously. I really want to laugh."

"Could it be that people really think that the popularity of the other live-stream platforms of millions to tens of millions is real?"

"Let me explain. The popularity of the other live-stream platforms is calculated based on the algorithm. What's more, backstage can adjust it at will. In fact, there are only ten or twenty thousand viewers in the live-stream for millions to tens of millions of viewers!"

"Everyone will find out after a slight comparison. Aren't the bullet screen comments in the ICL league's live-stream much denser than the millions of viewers on other platforms?"

"That's because Bunny Tail Live-Stream is Tengda's business, and the aim of Bunny Tail Live-Stream is to 'never falsify'! All the live-stream data in it is real! The ICL league and Bunny Tail Live-Stream are obviously a clear stream in the entire live-stream industry, but they were mistaken for 'going cold'. That's ridiculous!"

There were a few similar posts, and they were all quite popular.

These posts listed a lot of data strongly supported their own views, including the density of bullet screen comments in various live-streams, the change in popularity and the like. They also compared them to Bunny Tail Live-Stream.

No one knew the exact ratio of popularity and number of viewers on other live-stream platforms but it confirmed that all other platforms were faking it.

It completely proved that Bunny Tail's live-stream data was real coupled with Tengda's credibility letter!

The popularity of these posts was not low. It seemed like someone was still reposting them everywhere. There were discussions on Weibo, forums, and various other places. It had set off a wave of 'denouncing the live-streaming websites that create fake data'!

The netizens were obviously in agreement.

"Indeed, the fake figures on live-streaming platforms are getting more and more overboard! Do they really think that people are fools to play with the popularity of millions or tens of millions? How could everyone in the country be watching live-streams?"

"There are too many unspoken rules behind the scenes. They have to increase the live streamers' popularity. Suppressing the live streamers' popularity would lower popularity. There are also various agreements and gifts. They would burn money while thinking of ways to make the streamer spit out more money..."

"It's all business. The waters are too deep."

"The money of the ballers will be returned but commoners' money would be split thirty to seventy percent."

"Indeed, the number of viewers for the ICL league is unreasonable. Do you really think that the other platforms are really popular? There might not be thirty thousand viewers!"

"Don't be embarrassed. The number of people in the ICL league today has increased to more than sixty thousand! It had completely beaten the millions of popular streamers on many platforms looking at the density of the bullet screen comments!"

"Bunny Tail Live-Stream is actually Boss Pei's live-stream platform? That data must be real then!"

"Eh? Is Boss Pei going to change the live-stream industry again? I'm going to watch Bunny Tail live-stream now!"

"I realize how difficult it is to see real data these days only after being played by these live-stream platforms for a fool. I won't say much more. I will support Bunny Tail Live-Stream and Boss Pei!"

Obviously, Bunny Tail Live-Stream had established a second memory point in the audience's mind after all these posts spared no effort in advertising: real data!

Once the audience accepted this point, there would be a result: the audience would adopt a different standard for the number of people live-streaming on Bunny Tail.

If it was any other live-stream platform that had fifty thousand views, the audience would feel that this live-stream was cold; if it had one million views, the audience would think it was alright; if it had seven or eight million views, the audience would think that this live-stream was very popular, but they would also think if it was the official platform deliberately uplifting it and making fake figures?

However, it was different in Bunny Tail Live-Stream.

If there were a thousand viewers, the audience would think that the live-stream was still quite popular. If there were tens of thousands of viewers, it would definitely be very popular!

The key was trust.

If other live-streams were to publicize that they were real figures, the audience would not believe it. However, with Tengda Corporation as a credibility backer, most viewers would believe it.

What's more, while the entire live-stream platform was fighting to fake and generate fake popularity, Bunny Tail Live-stream was like a clear stream that left a deep impression!

Many people realized that Bunny Tail Live-Stream was Tengda's business and expressed their desire to watch it.

Pei Qian was confused.

What's going on?!

All of you should have discussed the ICL league properly. Why did you bring the topic to Bunny Tail Live-Stream?!

Why did it suddenly become publicity for Bunny Tail Live-Stream?

"That's not right. Why do these posts seem to have been released in a concentrated fashion? What's more, for some reason, they became popular very quickly..."

Pei Qian carefully studied the contents of these posts and the speed at which the topic became popular. For some reason, he smelled the familiar smell of fake reviewers.

Could it be... that someone was causing trouble?

Chapter 929: Small Program For GPL Live-Stream

Logically speaking, even if Bunny Tail's live-stream data was different from other live-stream platforms, it should not be repeatedly exaggerated like this, right?

Most viewers would only pay attention to the content of the live-stream. They would not pay much attention to the number of people in the live-stream.

Moreover, looking at the wording of these posts and the replies below...

There was obviously a rhythm!

Who did this?

Needless to say, it was most likely done by Zhao Xuming!

That was because there were only a few companies with interest in Bunny Tail's live-stream. The other live-stream platforms could not possibly buy fake reviewers to defame themselves, right? Their boss was not Boss Pei after all.

As for Bunny Tail Live-stream, they themselves had never hired fake reviewers to boast about their real statistics.

Then, the answer was very clear. Obviously, Zhao Xuming was deliberately setting the pace. It would give the audience a feeling that the ICL league was very popular through the real data of the Bunny Tail live-stream. That would offset the impression that there were too few people in the live-stream!

However, that would also drag down Bunny Tail live-stream!

Pei Qian had nowhere to vent his anger.

Why did companies that had business dealings with him always bring him along?

You can brag about the ICL league, but what has it got to do with my live-stream?

Great, now that all the other live-stream platforms had been AOEed, Bunny Tail's live-stream was highlighted again!

...

At that moment...

Guangzhou, ZZ Live-Stream Headquarters.

Liu Liang paced back and forth in his office, looking very anxious.

"It's starting, it's starting!"

"I knew that Boss Pei would definitely not leave ICL league live-stream alone so calmly after working with Zhao Xuming. He would definitely cause trouble!"

"This time, they've completely stripped the unspoken rules of the live-stream circle. It is an indiscriminate AOE!"

"It looks like Zhao Xuming is determined to be in the same boat as Boss Pei. Does he not care about the attitude of our live-stream platforms?"

Liu Liang had been paying attention ever since Bunny Tail Live-Stream won the exclusive broadcasting rights of the ICL league. This time, it was suspected that fake reviewers had appeared online and exposed the data falsification of the live-stream platform. Naturally, Liu Liang noticed it immediately.

Liu Liang did not dare to let his guard down because this matter had a direct relationship with ZZ Live-Stream, Waiwang Live-Stream, and the other live-stream platforms!

Competition between live-stream platforms had always been very intense. In order to attract more attention and create a higher popularity to attract investors' attention, 'faking data' had become the unspoken rule of all live-stream platforms. Everyone was faking data to compete on who could be more ridiculous.

Before this, no one would bother about it.

That was because all live-stream platforms faked data. It was just a little more or less. The audience could not tell which was more popular.

All the live-stream platforms benefited from this. No one would say anything.

However, now that the anomaly of Bunny Tail Live-stream had suddenly appeared, coupled with people with ulterior motives on the internet, it instantly occupied the high ground and launched an inhumane AOE attack on all live-stream platforms!

In Liu Liang's opinion, Boss Pei was definitely behind this!

That was because Boss Pei was the biggest beneficiary of this matter. At the same time, Boss Pei gave people the impression that he was a strategist.

Boss Pei had bought the exclusive broadcasting rights of the ICL league. He would definitely lose money if he only broadcasted the competition.

How could Boss Pei lose money? He must have other plans after buying the exclusive broadcasting rights of ICL league!

The crazy AOE attack on all live-stream platforms through 'data making' was obviously one of the backup plans.

As for Eric and Zhao Xuming, they definitely knew about it.

However, what confused Liu Liang was that Zhao Xu knew about it but did not stop it. Wasn't he afraid of becoming enemies with these live-stream platforms?

Liu Liang's assistant said, "Boss Liu, I think Zhao Xuming would be more than happy to do this!"

"The exclusive broadcasting rights of the ICL league have already been sold. He won't be dealing with live-stream platforms like us for the time being. What's more, he had a lot of friction with us when he was selling the broadcasting rights of the ICL league previously. I guess he's just watching the fire from the shore and gloating."

"What's more, the more popular Bunny Tail is, the more popular the ICL league would be."

"Therefore, even though Zhao Xuming stood on Bunny Tail Live-Stream's side and opposed all other live-stream platforms, it was nothing compared to the benefits he had obtained so far."

"I think we're the ones in a bad situation."

"The ICL league is getting better and better. We have to admit this no matter how unwilling we are. Are we really going to give up on this popularity?"

Liu Liang fell silent.

Indeed, what the assistant said made sense. Now was not the time for Zhao Xuming to beg them to buy his broadcast rights. Instead, the other live-stream platforms need the broadcast rights for the ICL league instead.

No one dared to doubt Boss Pei's ability. Boss Pei would definitely want to promote Bunny Tail Live-Stream and ICL league as long as he wanted to. It was just a matter of time.

At first, everyone thought that Boss Pei had GPL and would no longer promote ICL. However, what happened in the past few days proved that this was a completely wrong view.

Boss Pei's attitude was obviously: I want all of them!

Thus, losing the popularity of the ICL league would be bad news for all major live-stream platforms.

Liu Liang pondered for a moment. "Do you think... Boss Pei would distribute the broadcasting rights for the ICL league?"

The so-called distribution was to sell the exclusive broadcasting rights in their hands to others. It depended on their own preferences on who they sold it to and how much they sold it for. Of course, they would also have live-streaming rights, but it was no longer exclusive.

The assistant looked troubled. "I think... It's difficult!"

"Generally, they would choose to distribute the exclusive rights after they felt that they could not earn money from the exclusive broadcasting rights, or that their expenses were not proportional to the popularity of the exclusive broadcast."

"But who is Boss Pei?"

"Boss Pei has always been generous in whatever he does. It's fine if he doesn't eat, but if he does, he'll probably become the monopoly. Now, the ICL league is the only exclusive broadcasting content of Bunny Tail live-stream, and it's still on the rise. He wouldn't sell it now even if he wanted to sell it."

"The price would definitely not be low if Boss Pei really intends to sell it. I'm afraid we have to be prepared to spend a lot."

Liu Liang nodded slightly. "Yes... We have to buy it even if it costs a lot!"

He was filled with deep regret.

If he had known earlier, he would have spent nine hundred thousand yuan to buy the broadcasting rights of the ICL league from Zhao Xuming. Now, he might not even be able to buy it from Boss Pei with three or four million yuan!

However, that could not be helped. No one could predict the future.

Even if someone had told Liu Liang that Boss Pei would spend a huge sum of money to buy the exclusive broadcast rights of the ICL league two weeks ago, he would not have believed it.

Now, it was no longer a matter of whether other live-stream platforms could afford it. It was a matter of whether Boss Pei was willing to sell it.

Liu Liang did not have a good idea either. He could only continue watching.

However, he was also filled with anxiety. That was because the more popular the ICL league was, the less likely Boss Pei would distribute ICL league's broadcast rights. The more expensive it would be if they were to buy it.

Liu Liang was speechless as well. He could have easily won the broadcasting rights with seven to eight million yuan, but who knew how much money he would have to spend to win it now!

...

...

March 9th, Friday...

At Tengda Games...

Chen Yufeng came to the office and saw his colleagues in Tengda Games working nervously.

At the moment, Tengda Games was still divided into two parts. One was in charge of the development of Mission and Choice while the other was in charge of GOG's daily maintenance and operations.

At the moment, the development of Mission and Choice was coming to an end. They were in the final stage of modification and bug repair. They were mainly polishing the details and were expected to start publicity for next month.

The movie was scheduled for the Golden Week on May 1st. The game would be released officially at the same time that the movie was released.

As for GOG, they were still doing daily updates and maintenance work, including the design of the new heroes, the balance of the version, and so on.

Chen Yufeng could not help but feel emotional. The games department was indeed Tengda's elite department. Everyone looked very focused and efficient!

The Bunny Tail Live-Stream was still a role model for Tengda Games. He had to study hard.

He went straight to GOG's current chief designer, Min Jingchao.

Min Jingchao was stunned when he saw Chen Yufeng. "Why are you here personally? Just nice, the functions you wanted are ready. I'll show you."

Min Jingchao opened a small program on his computer.

The video was showing the competition that GPL had finished yesterday. The OB, commentary, and post-match segment were all exactly the same as the content on the live-stream platforms.

However, the difference was that the interface below the image displayed some data in the game in real time.

For example, the real-time economy of the players on both sides, the amount of money they had on them, the output and injury of the players on both sides in a team battle, the vision score, and so on.

Apart from that, he could also check the historical data of these teams, including one health, one tower win rate, hero BP rate, and winning rate.

The real-time data of the game and the historical data of the entire team were displayed according to a certain format.

For example, the team battle output was a column, the economic distribution was a fan shape, the economic gap and equipment change were a fold line map, and so on.

What's more, there were players' IDs, hero avatars, and equipment icons in these icons. It was obvious at a glance.

These figures had always been in the backend platform, but they had not been released. The director would only release them when he felt that it was necessary. He was mainly afraid that it would affect the audience's viewing experience.

Now, Min Jingchao arranged for someone to make a simple data interface for Bunny Tail live-stream. That way, the audience could see the content in real time when Bunny Tail live-streamed the GPL competition.

Chen Yufeng was elated. "That's great! That's what I want!"

"I've been thinking about it previously when Boss Pei wanted to let Bunny Tail live-stream the GPL league. The other live-stream platforms have been broadcasting for so long. The audience would be too lazy to change platforms. Who will come back to Bunny Tail live-stream to watch?"

"With this data, we should be able to attract a relatively hardcore audience."

"The GPL league will premier on Bunny Tail Live-Stream this Saturday. The ICL league is also the opening ceremony. It would definitely not be appropriate if the number of people in the GPL league were to be too ugly by the ICL league."

"There should be no problem with this little program! Thank you so much!"

Min Jingchao smiled. "You're welcome. This is our job. If you have any requests in the future, feel free to ask. We'll definitely be able to satisfy them!"