Su Mo faced Qin Lan's beautiful eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts and calmly drank the last sip of champagne in the glass.
The mellow aroma of the wine spread on the tip of his tongue, but his brain was sober as never before.
"A broader stage?" He put down his wine glass, without a trace of ripples in his voice, "Miss Qin might as well be more specific."
What Qin Lan wants is his calmness. If he was easily carried away by this grand concept, then he was not worth her trouble.
She leaned forward slightly, and the neckline of her evening gown formed a more thrilling arc. Her voice was extremely low, with the rigor and courage of a business negotiation: "To be specific, there are three steps. The first step, and the most critical step, is to get a permanent seat in the LPL."
She held out a slender finger: "You also know that since the league reform, there has been no promotion or relegation in the LPL. The seats are fixed. If you want to enter, there are only two ways: either wait for the league to expand its recruitment, but this is far away and the competition is fierce; or, it is to acquire a seat from an existing team."
"I checked," Her eyes became sharp, "There are currently several teams in the LPL that have been at the bottom of the rankings all year round and have insufficient commercial value development. The management behind them has also had capital chain problems and is looking to sell them. For example, TT or V5, their quotation is probably between 200 million and 300 million. I will pay for this money." Su Mo raised his eyebrows slightly.
Two to three hundred million, coming out of her mouth, it was as easy as buying a piece of clothing.
Qin Lan seemed not to notice his surprise and continued to hold out a second finger: "The second step is to form a team. With you as the absolute core and captain, we can even give you some shares and make you one of the team's bosses. As for players, in addition to you, we also need four top teammates. This The simplest thing is that as long as you make a move, the entire LPL and even the free agent players around the world will rush to join. As for the coaching staff, analysts, and logistics teams, we can directly recruit the best base and equipment from the LCK."
“The third step,” her eyes flashed with the famous ambition, “is our real ‘empire’. Team performance is only the foundation, what we have to do is to use your personal IP as the core to radiate the entire pan-entertainment industry. Establish an MCN organization, sign top anchors; develop co-branded fashion brands; invest in the production of e-sports themes Movies and TV series; and even establishing our own youth training academy to create a complete and sustainable e-sports ecological closed loop. What we want to do is not another EDG or RNG, but a giant that spans e-sports and capital." After she finished speaking, she looked at Su Mo quietly, waiting for his answer.
She believed that no man could refuse such a blueprint for creating his own dynasty.
Su Mo was silent.
I have to admit that Qin Lan's plan is logically clear and ambitious, and every step is based on reality.
She is not drawing a pie, but really coming up with a highly feasible business plan.
Having a team that is entirely your own and built according to your own ideas is indeed a very tempting thing.
But he also knew what this meant.
This means that he will transform from a pure player to a complex of multiple identities such as player, boss, and businessman.
He will be responsible for the operation, performance, and future of all team members of the entire team. His current leisurely days of "playing if he plays well and resting if he doesn't" will be gone forever.
More importantly, he has a special affection for EDG, Abramovich and the factory director.
"This blueprint sounds very grand." After a long time, Su Mo spoke slowly. He looked at Qin Lan, his eyes as calm as water, "But Miss Qin seems to have overlooked a problem." When Lan heard this, instead of being disappointed, he smiled even brighter: "Of course I know. It is your quality of friendship that I appreciate. I did not ask you to make a decision immediately, I just provided you with a new possibility. You can consider it slowly."
"It seems that the two of you are having a very interesting chat." Zhou Yi had a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes swept between the two of them calmly, "Do you mind if I join?"
"Brother Mo Zi," Zhou Yi turned his eyes to Su Mo, "Just now I heard Mr. Qin talk about the e-sports empire, which is really exciting. However, I have a different opinion."
"Oh?" Su Mo looked at him with interest.
"From zero to one, there is certainly the pleasure of expanding territory, but the risks and consumption involved are also huge." Zhou Yi shook the whiskey in his glass, "With your talent and industry insight, Brother Mozi, there is actually another easier and more influential path to take."
He paused and extended his olive branch: "Our strategic investment department under Shengshi Group is currently preparing an investment fund focusing on emerging cultural industries, with a scale of tens of billions. We very much need an expert like you who truly understands the industry, understands young people, and has a top reputation to serve as our special consultant. "You don't need to deal with complicated daily affairs, you only need to provide your professional advice when we make major investment decisions. Of course, the corresponding consulting fees and project dividends will definitely satisfy you. "
If Qin Lan's proposal is to let Su Mo end up being the king, he will create a kingdom of his own.
Then Zhou Yi's proposal is to directly invite Su Mo to enter the core of power of an already existing huge empire and become the "imperial master" who guides the country.
Of course, this Su Mo feels that it may not be as good as what he said.
Two completely different paths lay before Su Mo.
Qin Lan's face darkened slightly. She did not expect that Zhou Yi would "poach" directly in front of her.
The atmosphere became a little subtle for a while.
At this moment, an untimely voice broke the tranquility of the moment.
It was Mr. Li from Tianhong Capital before. He was a little drunk. He staggered over and said with a big tongue: "Oh, Mr. Zhou and Mr. Qin are both here... I still think you think too highly of these gamers. Influence? Can influence be used as food? After all, isn't it still youth food? After two years, the operation has declined, who will still remember him?"
These words were full of drunken arrogance and prejudice, and the atmosphere in the scene instantly dropped to freezing point.
A hint of coldness flashed in Qin Lan's eyes, and just as he was about to speak, Su Mo smiled first.
He stood up, walked to Mr. Li, picked up an unopened bottle of champagne on the table, and handed it over with a harmless smile on his face: "Mr. Li is right, our business is indeed a youth meal."
Mr. Li was stunned, thinking that Su Mo was giving in, and a proud look appeared on his face.
However, Su Mo's next words made the smile on his face freeze instantly.
“However, I am a bowl of youth rice,” Su Mo’s voice was still calm, but every word was like a nail. “Last year, I won the S competition. The bonus share after tax from the official tournament and the live broadcast platform alone was eight figures. Not to mention the subsequent commercial endorsements and club renewal fees. I made a rough calculation, and I can probably buy the store you have, Mr. Li. 3% of the outstanding shares of the listed company. "
He paused, put the champagne into Mr. Li's arms, patted him on the shoulder, and his smile became meaningful: "So, you are right, I have to eat more while I am young. Otherwise, when I get old, I may have to rely on bragging to fill my stomach like you, Mr. Li."
"Pfft..."
In the crowd, I don't know who could not hold back and laughed.
Mr. Li's face instantly turned the color of pig liver. He pointed at Su Mo, his lips were trembling, but he couldn't say a word.
Su Mo didn't look at him again, turned around and raised his glass to Qin Lan and Zhou Yi: "It's a great night tonight, thank you both for your hospitality. It's getting late, I have to go back to the base first."
After saying that, he turned around and walked calmly towards the elevator under the complicated eyes of everyone.
It wasn't until his figure disappeared behind the elevator door that Zhou Yi withdrew his gaze, glanced at Mr. Li who was shaking with anger next to him, shook his head, chuckled, and turned to leave.
Only Qin Lan was left. She looked at the direction Su Mo was leaving, her beautiful eyes filled with brilliance.
This man is much more interesting than she imagined.
…
It was already late at night when we returned to the base.
Su Mo took a shower and lay on the bed, still replaying everything that happened tonight in his mind.
Qin Lan's "Empire Blueprint" and Zhou Yi's "Invitation from the Imperial Master" were like pebbles, causing ripples in his originally calm inner lake.
He knows that as his reputation continues to accumulate, there will only be more and more such choices in the future.
But there must be many calculations in it, which you need to identify by yourself.
After thinking about it, he picked up his phone and accidentally opened the factory director’s WeChat account.
"Have you slept?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as the message was sent, the factory director responded almost instantly.
"No, I'm watching the game video. What's the matter, are you worried?"
Su Mo didn't hide anything, and briefly told the factory director what happened tonight, as well as Qin Lan and Zhou Yi's suggestions.
On the other end of the phone, the factory director was silent for a long time.
"Xiao Mo," he spoke again, with a hint of emotion in his voice, "you have reached a height that all of us professional players dream of but cannot reach."
"I have nothing to advise you," the factory director's voice was sincere, "because these two roads are both broad roads for you. I just want to ask you a question."
"What?"
"Do you still want to win?" asked the factory director, "Either as a boss, not as a consultant, or as a player, do you still want to stand on that stage and hold that trophy? Is the fire in your heart still there?" Su Mo held his cell phone and looked at the deep night outside the window, falling into a long silence.
Is that fire still there?
He asked himself.
The answer is self-evident.
Just as he was thinking a lot, the screen of his phone lit up again, showing a new WeChat message.
It’s not Qin Lan, nor Zhou Yi.
but Rita.
"Are you still fooling around outside? I heard that a rich woman drove an aircraft carrier to find you today? (/contempt)"
Su Mo looked at the jealous news and smiled helplessly.
The dynasty has not yet been established, but the harem is already on the verge of catching fire.
He just replied: "A bowl of old vinegar, I can smell the sour smell through the screen of my mobile phone. Don't worry, Sister Tazi's position in the palace is as stable as Mount Tai."
The message was sent out, and there was silence for a long time before an emoticon came back with a blushing face and a small fist hitting your chest.
Ending the call with Rita, Chen Lie sighed silently again.
The factory director's question that hit the soul - "Is the fire in your heart still there?"
Su Mo had already given himself the answer that night.
is still there.
Not only is it still there, but after seeing the larger and colder world built by capital and power represented by Qin Lan and Zhou Yi, the flame of competition itself in his heart burned brighter than ever before.
Business empire? Capital consultant?
That's not what he wants now.
Because he doesn't like to be dependent on others.
Even if he really wants to build his own e-sports empire, he still has the capital and can be his own boss.
But all this seems a bit too troublesome for someone like Su Mo who likes to be lazy.
Let’s think more about it later before deciding.
…
In the next two weeks, the landscape of LPL changed dramatically.
Su Mo did not appear again, and EDG's starting top laner was firmly handed over to Flandre, the holy gun brother.
After defeating TES, the morale and self-confidence of the EDG team have reached a peak. Brother Shengqiang also seemed to have been opened up to the second line of Ren and Du. He was no longer obsessed with stability, and began to incorporate what Su Mo called "bandit spirit" into his playing style.
Against WE, his Kennen thunder rolled and shocked the entire audience.
Against SN, his Gwen was agile and elegant, and thousands of troops took the heads of enemy generals from it.
· EDG has been advancing all the way and has once again started a winning streak. With a near-invincible attitude, it firmly occupies the top spot in the standings.
For a time, the public opinion on the Internet reversed again.
"I announce that the EDG Spring Split Champion has been booked! This dominance is so terrifying!"
h "Brother Holy Spear is the most perfect puzzle piece for EDG! He can resist and C, and the hero pool is bottomless!"
"Viper is simply a god! Steady control of CARRY, this is the champion AD!"
"It's over, Brother Mo Zi can really go on a date with a rich woman in peace, EDG no longer needs him."
Praise from the outside world came like a flood, and the EDG players also unknowingly experienced a subtle change in their mentality.
Victory is sometimes the best glue, and sometimes it is also the poison that is most likely to paralyze people's hearts.
In the seventh week of the regular season, EDG faced a tough nut on their winning streak - IG.
Although IG at that time has long lost its peak glory in S8, TheShy and Rookie, the pair of mid-to-high-end twin stars, are still the most lethal spearheads of LPL.
Their playing style is always unpredictable, full of chaos and passion. When the wind goes down, they are destructive demons; when the wind goes against them, they can always create incredible miraculous team battles.
· EDG’s players obviously underestimated the enemy.
On the day of the match, in the backstage lounge, the atmosphere was as relaxed as if they were preparing for an ordinary Rank.
"It's easy to post on IG." Jiejie asked the makeup artist to fix her hair while bragging, "Look at how I'm doing military training with Xun. I treat his wild area as my back garden!" HeShy's style of play is too aggressive and full of flaws. I just hold my ground and wait for him to come forward."
Su Mo was the only one sitting on the sofa in the corner, looking at IG's pre-match data on the screen and frowning slightly.
"Don't be careless," he reminded, "IG is a team that cannot be judged by common sense."
But his reminder obviously did not attract enough attention from his teammates.
In the first game, during the BP stage, EDG made the first mistake.
They released one of TheShy's unique heroes - Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance.
"Put the skateboard shoes on?" Su Mo saw this BP in the background and immediately said to the factory manager beside him, "This hand is too big. There is no hero in Brother Holy Gun's hero pool who can stabilize the counter skateboard shoes."
The factory director nodded: "It's a bit risky. They may think that we have the advantage in the bottom lane and can win through team battles."
The game started, and the top lane matchup soon confirmed Su Mo's concerns.
Brother Saint-Gunner chose Gnar and tried to pull him with his long hand. But TheShy's skate shoes take the word "pull" to the extreme with an almost unreasonable way of walking.
Every jump, every thrust of the spear, was like opening a hole in Brother Holy Spear's heart.
It was as if Chen Lie was beating others, without giving his opponents any chance to breathe.
Five minutes, without the intervention of the jungler, TheShy took advantage of the line advantage, caught Gnar's slight mistake in controlling anger, and completed a solo kill on Brother Holy Spear!
First Blood!
This single kill was like knocking over the first domino.
EDG's position is in chaos.
Jiejie was eager to help the top lane regain ground, gave up his original jungle farming rhythm, and forced the top lane to gank. As a result, Rookie and Xun, who had been well prepared, performed a perfect counter-crouch, and both Ueno and Jungle were killed.
The snowball began to roll crazily in the direction of IG.
TheShy's skateboard shoes, after getting two heads, completely transformed into a devil on the road. He even gave up the last hit and directly controlled the line of troops in front of the tower, jumping over the tower again and again to consume Brother Holy Spear's health.
Brother Shengqiang's mentality has undergone subtle changes.
He began to become impatient and his operations began to deform.
Twenty minutes, IG had a huge economic advantage and easily defeated the Baron.
Twenty-five minutes, as TheShy skateboard shoes scored five kills in front of the spring, EDG's main crystal exploded.
A hearty massacre.
The atmosphere in the backstage lounge was somewhat dull.
When the team members walked in, everyone’s face was filled with disbelief.
"Cheer up! It's just one round!" Abramovich forcefully boosted morale, "We'll ban the skateboard shoes in the next round, so fight hard!"
In the second round, EDG banned the skateboard shoes.
But IG came up with an even more unreasonable lineup.
Rookie picked mid laner Lucian, and TheShy picked top laner Vayne!
"Top laner Vayne?!" Miller's voice changed the tone in the commentary box, "IG is completely crazy! They are going to use the most extreme attack to destroy EDG's defense!"
The result was indeed the case.
The crocodile of Brother Holy Gun was so favored by Vayne of TheShy online that he could no longer take care of himself. Every time he tried to step forward to exchange blood, he would be pushed away by Vayne's E skill, and then chased and hit with several arrows.
· EDG's entire lineup seems bulky and stiff, completely unable to keep up with IG's stormy offensive rhythm.
Another 23-minute defeat.
0:2!
EDG's winning streak was unexpectedly ended by IG in the most brutal and merciless way!
When the EDG players returned to the lounge again, the atmosphere had dropped to freezing point.
Brother Shengqiang huddled himself in the corner of the sofa, holding his head in his hands, looking remorseful.
Jiejie threw his headphones on the table irritably, making a muffled sound.
"What's going on?! Huh?!" Abramovich finally couldn't help but get angry. He pointed at the dazzling data on the tactical screen, "The two games combined took less than 50 minutes! You were beaten 0:2! Is this your strength at the top of the standings? Where is your confidence? Where is your operation? Was it all destroyed by TheShy alone?!"
No one dared to speak.
Su Mo stood up, waved his hand to signal Abu to stop talking, then walked to the water dispenser, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Brother Holy Gun who was huddled in the corner.
"Drink some water." His voice was calm.
Brother Shengqiang slowly raised his head, his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse: "Brother Mozi... my... is my problem."
His confidence had been destroyed by TheShy's unreasonable hero selection and operation in the two games.
He looked at the group of lost teammates in front of him, and then at the holy gun brother who had fallen into self-doubt, and took a deep breath.
He knew that he had to do something.
He walked to the tactical whiteboard, picked up the pen, and erased all the data analysis on it.
Then, he turned around and scanned the faces of each team member.
"We lost." His voice was not loud, but it was extremely clear, instantly attracting everyone's attention. "It's ugly to lose. Now outside, the Internet must have sprayed us out. There will be all kinds of ugly words about "pseudo-strong teams"."
He paused, and his eyes became sharp: "But so what?! "
"Isn't it embarrassing to be blown up by two long hands of TheShy?!" He looked directly at Brother Holy Spear, "It's uncomfortable, but what's the point of breaking down? Have you forgotten how I used Sword Queen to chase him from a tower to the spring in S8? He TheShy is not a human being. If you reason with him, you have already lost! To deal with a madman, you can only be crazier than him!"
He looked at Jiejie again: "What about you? You were so confused by Xun, a new jungler, that you forgot how you slaughtered Canyon like a pig in the World Championship?"
Finally, his eyes swept across the team: "I We are the champions! They are the world champions who stepped on the corpses of countless opponents! Did one loss in the regular season take away your courage? "
These words hit everyone's heart hard.
The rest room was still silent, but the eyes of the team members had begun to change.
"Next game, we'll play FPX." Su Mo's voice softened, "I hope everyone can be more confident and believe that they can do it. It's normal to lose one or two games."
Brother Shengqiang looked up at Su Mo and nodded seriously.
But at this time, Abu on the side spoke: "How about Brother Mozi, you go up and play a game in the next game to publicize it in advance and stabilize the fans' mentality?"
"This..." Su Mo hesitated.
He didn’t want to be lazy, but he felt that if something happened, let him go. What if he no longer EDG in the future? What to do then?
Before he could think clearly, the factory director also advised him: "Mozi will play a round with you, and show your face occasionally, so that everyone will not forget that we EDG still have a player like you."
"That's okay." Su Mo could only reluctantly agree.
…
The news of EDG's tragic defeat to IG, and the announcement that Su Mo was about to "fight the fire" again, were like two depth bombs, once again detonating the entire LPL public opinion field.
The mood of fans is like riding a roller coaster, from disappointment with EDG to fanatical anticipation for the "return of God" in an instant.
One week later, EDG faced off against FPX.
The focus of this game is undoubtedly the showdown on the top lane - Mo vs Nuguri.
One is the VP and the other is the top top laner in S10.
In the first game, Su Mo selected the top laner Qinggang Ying.
Nuguri brought out one of his most iconic heroes - Kennen.
Everyone thought that this would be a classic suppression game with Kennen's long hands and short hands.
However, Su Mo used his almost abnormal positioning and extreme control of distance to make Nuguri's Kenan extremely uncomfortable from beginning to end.
Level 3, Su Mo caught a gap when Nuguri stepped forward to hit him, hooked the wall with his E skill, and knocked him out with a second-stage kick. With a smooth combo, he directly knocked out half of Kenan's health and forced him to flash.
Level 6, after Su Mo pushed his troops into the tower, he directly activated his ultimate move [Hexian Ultimatum] to frame Nuguri under the tower. After dodging the fatal damage from Kennen's ultimate move [Thousand Thunder Heavenly Prison], he exploded and completed the single kill on Nuguri!
Throughout the game, Su Mo’s Green Steel Shadow was like the most elegant assassin, cutting FPX’s formation into pieces.
EDG, easily won the first game!
In the second game, FPX seemed to be awakened. They banned Qinggangying, and Nuguri picked Gnar to stabilize the lane.
And Su Mo, in the last counter position, locked up a hero that everyone expected-
The disaster of the ocean, Gangplank!
"Captain?!" Wawa exclaimed, "Using the captain to defeat Gnar will put too much pressure on the line in the early stage!"
However, the progress of the game once again exceeded everyone's expectations.
Su Mo’s captain used an almost “obscene” way to perfectly survive the early weak period. He used the range of the Q skill and the vision of the grass to constantly pull against Gnar.
FPX jungler Bo tried to gank on the road twice in a row, but Su Mo easily resolved them both with an orange and essence movement.
When the game entered the middle stage and Su Mo's captain made the power of three phases and the collector, his terror really became apparent.
Two barrels in a row, three barrels in a row...
Each barrel is like a precision-guided bomb, exploding in the FPX formation!
FPX’s back row did not even dare to approach the frontal battlefield easily.
Finally, in a big dragon team battle, Su Mo used a "Family Bucket" hidden in the grass, which instantly destroyed FPX's double C to the point of remaining alive, sealing the victory!
2:0!
EDG defeated the powerful enemy FPX in an overwhelming manner!
After the game, Brother Shengqiang sat on the bench behind Su Mo, looking at the figure in the center of the stage who was receiving cheers from the audience, his eyes were complicated but full of light.
He seemed to...understand something.
While the entire EDG team was immersed in the joy of victory, no one noticed that an undercurrent against Su Mo was quietly surging on the Internet.
That night, a marketing account called "E-Sports Insider" suddenly published a long article, accompanied by several carefully processed photos with ambiguous angles.
【Shocking revelation! Bullying within the EDG team is real? The meritorious veteran was forced to give up his position. Behind the persona of God was the manipulation and ruthless suppression of capital! 】
The content of the article is extremely capable of inciting and smearing.
It placed all the responsibility for EDG's loss to IG on Brother Holy Gun, and distorted Su Mo's "fire-fighting" behavior into a "premeditated script" in order to suppress Brother Holy Gun and consolidate his "hegemonic position" in the team.
Those photos have been maliciously edited.
One is a snapshot of Su Mo "reprimanding" Brother Shengqiang in the lounge, and the other is a long-range photo of him and Qin Lan chatting happily at a wine tasting party.
The article finally hints that the reason why Su Mo has such a big say in the team is inseparable from the support of "Mysterious Capital".
This article has been developed rapidly in a short period of time!
Some "just passers-by" who didn't know the truth and anti-fans who were already dissatisfied with Su Mo swarmed in like sharks smelling blood.
focused Generation (IV) #EDG Capital Team#
̶
At the EDG base, Abu looked at the confusing news on his mobile phone and was shaking with anger.
"This is too much! Someone is definitely messing with us behind our backs!"
And Su Mo, looking at the hot search, looked surprisingly calm.
When he thought about it carefully, he didn't seem to have offended anyone.
If I had to say there was one, it would probably be the boss named Li. (End of chapter)