My capital is quite large.

Chapter 181 Eight Hours of Darkness

Team WE, carrying the hopes of the entire village, faced off against North American powerhouse CLG.EU in the quarterfinals.

Before the match, all the domestic commentators and fans felt that with WE's strength, defeating this North American team was a piece of cake.

In the first game, WE indeed demonstrated overwhelming strength, easily winning the first game.

However, starting from the second game, this match, which was originally a foregone conclusion, turned into a "dark eight hours" that will go down in esports history!

Due to frequent network fluctuations and server failures, the competition was forced to pause and reconnect multiple times!

The contestants sat on the stage for hours, their spirits and energy completely depleted.

During the most crucial match point game, WE, despite having a huge advantage, suffered an unfair "network cable disconnection" rematch treatment!

……

Backstage at the Los Angeles event, Lao Chen, the director of Haofeng Games, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"Mr. Li! The network here is terrible! WE's morale is about to collapse!"

Old Chen urgently consulted Li Feng, who was in Nanjing, via an encrypted transoceanic phone call: "Should we use our privilege as major shareholders to demand that they retain the previous game data, or reschedule the match for tomorrow?"

Jinling, inside the CEO's office.

Looking at the angry barrage of comments on his computer screen—"covering the truth," "refund," and "protesting injustice"—Li Feng's lips curled into a cold smile.

"A rematch? Why would we need a rematch?"

"Tell Riot Games' esports organization to follow their existing loophole rules! No interference allowed!"

"But Mr. Li... WE is clearly stronger than CLG! They lost because of the internet, it's so frustrating! Domestic fans will curse the tournament organizers to death!" Old Chen said, somewhat puzzled.

"Old Chen, what's the core secret of esports?"

Li Feng's eyes were deep and cruel. "It's injustice! It's humiliation! It's a lingering sense of regret and injustice!"

"Only by making them suffer a humiliating defeat here, a defeat that leaves fans across the internet seething with rage, will they transform that anger into a burning desire for the championship!"

"Ignore them! Let them lose!"

The logic of capital is always bloody.

He doesn't care whether WE can win the championship this time. What he cares about is how much attention and long-tail traffic these eight hours of darkness can bring to the game "League of Legends"!

Ultimately, after a long and drawn-out battle and a mental breakdown, WE was forced to lose the match and were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Immediately, public outrage erupted on the Chinese internet!

Countless netizens, even those who don't play games, flooded various forums and online communities with righteous indignation after hearing the news that "Chinese teams were hacked by foreign tournament organizers by disconnecting their internet cables."

"Protest against this shady dealing! Give WE justice!"

"What kind of bullshit match is this? I'd have more sportsmanship than these Americans even if I played with my feet!"

"I could do that too! I absolutely have to compete in the City Championship next year and bring honor to our Chinese teams!"

Amidst this fervent rage ignited by humiliation, the popularity of League of Legends did not decline due to the Chinese team's crushing defeat; instead, it was elevated to an unprecedented height in a morbid manner.

......

A few days later, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

The S2 World Championship has finally come to a highly anticipated final battle.

However, the team that stood on the final stage surprised esports media and players around the world!

It's not the European tactical mastermind M5 that was hyped up before the competition, nor is it a veteran North American powerhouse, but rather—the TPA Assassin Star team from the Taiwan region!

This team, which was almost universally regarded as an easy opponent before the tournament, appeared like a divine force in the semifinals, defeating the invincible M5. In the finals, they swept aside all opposition and lifted the heavy Summoner's Cup!

In particular, TPA's top laner Stanley showcased his advanced game understanding with his Nidalee pick in the match!

He never engages in direct team fights with the enemy, but relies on Nidalee's superior mobility and tower-pushing speed to bring the "4-1 split push" split-push tactic to its extreme!

If you try to catch me, I'll run away; if you go to team fight, I'll push your high ground!

This advanced lane control and tactical execution allowed them to outmaneuver those European and American teams that only knew how to fight as a group!

When TPA won the championship, golden ribbons rained down from the sky.

On the other side of the ocean, in the live broadcast rooms of iQiyi and Bilibili in China, the barrage of comments fell into a dead silence for half a minute, followed by a volcanic eruption of comments!

It wasn't a celebration, but rather a mixture of shock, resentment, and complex nationalistic sentiments!

"Holy crap! TPA won the championship?! A Taiwanese team won the world championship?!"

"Damn it! How come they can do this?! Even the Taiwanese can use tactics to make fools of foreigners. WE is clearly so strong. If it weren't for the internet being cut off and their mentality being affected, this championship would definitely be ours!"

"Damn! This is so frustrating! Taiwan can win first place, and our great nation of over a billion people can't find five geniuses who can bring this trophy back to the mainland?!"

"I refuse to accept this! Next year at S3, I'm going to see our mainland teams completely crush these foreigners and Taiwanese!"

……

Jinling, Haofeng Group Headquarters Building.

Inside the CEO's office, Li Feng watched the rapidly scrolling comments on the big screen with a mocking expression.

The team from Taiwan ultimately won the championship, which greatly excited domestic players!

If the Western superpowers win, perhaps people will just criticize them for being less skilled and accept it.

But they are compatriots from across the strait! This competitive spirit and national pride of "we share the same ancestry, why can he do it but I can't" has turned into the most fervent desire to win!

"drop--"

The transoceanic video cable on the desk suddenly lit up.

The screen connected, and the image showed Mr. Chen, the technical director, in his hotel room in Los Angeles.

At this moment, Old Chen even took off his suit jacket, and his tie was tugged crookedly. You could feel his excitement even across the ocean!

"Mr. Li! That's amazing!"

Old Chen was so excited on the other end of the video call that he was incoherent, waving a newly printed data report in his hand.

"Explosive! The domestic data has exploded!"

"In the hours following TPA's victory, the number of new registered users for League of Legends in China surged dramatically! The server load curve plummeted to a near 90-degree angle!"

"Not only are there new registrations, but the real-time online data from internet cafes across the country is exploding!"

"Old Chen, finish up in Los Angeles, finalize the All-Star event and the S3 framework with Riot before you come back."

Without further ado, Li Feng hung up the transoceanic video call and then pressed the internal phone button on the table.

"Get Xu Yi from Bilibili to come see me right now."

……

Less than five minutes later, Xu Yi, the head of Bilibili, rushed into the president's office, panting.

"Mr. Li! You wanted to see me?"

"How are the recent data figures for Bilibili's live streaming section?" Li Feng asked, flipping through the documents on the table.

Xu Yi reported with a beaming smile, "President Li, our early setup of the live streaming framework has given us a head start! Riding the wave of the S2 World Championship, our data has increased significantly. LOL is currently the best booster for the live streaming industry!"

"Those grassroots masters we signed before, now every time they go live, the screen is filled with players coming to learn from us and showering us with gifts! This is absolutely a highly profitable business!"

At this point, Xu Yi's tone became somewhat worried again:

"But Mr. Li... the current game live streaming market is like a gold mine that has just been blasted open. Venture capitalists and investors from all walks of life have already rushed in! If they enter the market and burn money to poach talent, should Bilibili apply for special funds from the finance department to fight this war of attrition over signing fees?"

"A war of attrition?"

Li Feng's eyes swept coldly over Xu Yi.

"Are you complaining that Haofeng has too much money in his account and it's too much to handle?"

Xu Yi lowered his head in fright: "Mr. Li, if we don't follow up, our platform's streamers might all be poached..."

"Let them dig." Li Feng's voice was firm and left no room for argument.

"Inform the legal department to immediately issue a copyright statement regarding esports product livestream footage from Haofeng Group and Riot Games!"

"Make the rules crystal clear! All game footage and esports broadcasting rights for League of Legends must be exclusively authorized by Haofeng!"

"Any third-party platform that dares to broadcast a single game of League of Legends without my permission will have their legal team sue them into bankruptcy!"

Xu Yi felt a chill run down his spine.

The big boss is trying to strangle the entire live streaming industry!

"I'm not only going to sell them exorbitant licensing fees, but I'm also going to take a stake in their platform." Li Feng's eyes gleamed. "If they want to burn through venture capital money, then let them fight it out, and Haofeng will sit back and take the cut."

"Just manage your Bilibili anime community and content creator ecosystem. Don't worry about anything else. Go get to work!"

"Yes! Understood, Mr. Li!" Xu Yi didn't dare ask another question, bowed, and left the office.

……

The office door closed again.

Zhang Xinyu obediently stepped forward and tidied up the scattered documents on Li Feng's table, then asked softly, "Boss, the live streaming market is clearly so big. Since we hold the copyright, why don't we just enter the fray ourselves and dominate the industry?"

"Xinyu."

Li Feng had no interest in explaining to her, and simply instructed, "Go to the confidential archives room, take out the cinema cooperation agreement with Wanda that included the 'right of first refusal,' and file it separately. Have the legal department regularly check on Wanda Cinemas' financial health every year."

Zhang Xinyu was stunned for a moment: "Wanda Cinemas? Boss, Wanda is booming right now, acquiring land and building plazas everywhere, how could they possibly..."

"Go do it," Li Feng interrupted her, his eyes completely expressionless.

"Yes, boss." Zhang Xinyu swallowed back her doubts and respectfully withdrew.

In the huge CEO's office, only Li Feng remained.

He walked to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey.

A live-streaming market worth hundreds of billions?

In Li Feng's view, live streaming has too low a barrier to entry and a very limited audience, and is essentially still just a crude form of content output.

Its ceiling is so high that you can see the whole thing at a glance.

The reason for allowing the livestreaming war to break out is not just to sell licensing fees.

He recalled that young master Wang who had made outrageous claims about integrating the e-sports ecosystem.

"Young people want to play e-sports? Want to create Panda TV? Then let you play freely."

Live streaming is a bottomless pit.

When the live streaming war reached its most intense point, Wang Dashao's 500 million yuan pocket money wasn't even enough to fill a tooth gap!

Once he gets involved, in order to grab streamers and traffic, this arrogant rich second-generation will definitely increase leverage and even sign those fatal "betting agreements"!

When he burned through his savings and made a huge, shocking mistake involving tens or hundreds of billions...

In addition, with the arrival of a downturn in the domestic real estate market a few years later, the seemingly invincible Wanda empire will inevitably face a debt crisis and have to cut off its own arm to survive!

His Haofeng Group's true core business is pan-entertainment and film and television!

What he was eyeing was never any live streaming platform, but rather Wanda's hundreds of physical cinemas across the country!