My capital is quite large.

Chapter 180 S2 World Championship

Fiyta Building, Nanshan District, Shenzhen.

An executive from Tencent Entertainment's news department stood before Pony Ma, holding the "exclusive scoop" sent from Tianjin, his face beaming with pride, trying to prove his worth with this so-called "earth-shattering revelation."

"Mr. Ma! This is a perfect opportunity to disgust Haofeng!"

The executive reported enthusiastically, "Mao Xiaotong's biological father is a real drug addict and gambler! As long as we expose this on Tencent's website and label him as an unfilial 'popular actress who disowns her father'..."

"This will absolutely smear the positive image that Haofeng Films has just established! It will ruin their 'Swordsman' series even before it airs!"

"Snapped!"

However, to the executive's surprise, he was not greeted with praise.

Pony Ma's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot after hearing this, and his eyes looked like he was looking at a hopeless idiot!

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Pony Ma pointed at the executive's nose and launched into a tirade of angry words:

"Using this kind of despicable family drama—extorting money from one's own father—as a weapon in a business war to disgust Li Feng?!"

"Do you think netizens these days are idiots?! Do you think this is giving Tencent face?!"

"If this kind of scumbag father who throws his daughter in the trash and is addicted to drugs and gambling were to be exposed, netizens wouldn't condemn Mao Xiaotong for being unfilial; instead, they would feel sorry for her and sympathize with her!"

"not to mention!"

Pony Ma's tone revealed the vision of a top entrepreneur: "When we, Tencent, fight against Haofeng, we're fighting for commercial monopoly, for product ecosystem, and for entry-level traffic!"

"Using such despicable paparazzi tactics to attack a newly debuted actress? If this gets out, what will the industry think of Tencent? Do we still have any dignity or integrity as a major company?! Is exposing this disgusting to Li Feng or to Tencent itself?!"

"Tell the people below to block this scumbag! Anyone who dares to post this kind of trash on Tencent's platform and cause trouble will be fired immediately!"

Faced with Pony Ma's furious outburst, the executives were terrified and broke out in a cold sweat, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

Pony suppressed his anger and turned his gaze to the head of the IEG (Internet Engineering Group) sitting on the other side.

"Hey, how's the Hundred Cities League for 'Qifan' and 'Dream of the Three Kingdoms' going?"

"Has the nationwide esports scene for 'CrossFire' really taken off yet?!"

"And what stage are the preparations for the Dungeon Fighter Online (DFO) China-Korea competition at?!"

Pony Ma's temper flared as he spoke, "Are you guys really that bored?! You're wasting my time with this kind of trivial paparazzi gossip?! What I want to see is whether you can suppress Haofeng's arrogance on the e-sports battlefield!"

When called out by the big boss, the person in charge of IEG stood up nervously and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Mr. Ma... Mr. Ma, things are progressing, and progressing steadily."

The person in charge, forcing a smile, attempted to downplay the situation with an optimistic analysis:

"Actually... Mr. Ma, I think we might be overreacting to Haofeng's e-sports strategy."

"Our people have conducted on-site research in internet cafes and universities. Haofeng's League of Legends City Heroes Championship looks impressive, but it's actually just a makeshift operation."

"Their competition format is chaotic. Many participating teams don't even have uniforms; they're just random teams hastily assembled in internet cafes. This kind of grassroots competition, lacking the foundation of a core professional club, makes it difficult to build long-term fan loyalty."

"So... our assessment is that their threat to our 'CF' and 'DNF' in the esports field may... may not be that great."

"Not that big?"

Pony Ma was so angry at this self-deceiving report that he laughed instead.

He finally understood that the executives at Tencent, who were used to making money hand over fist with traditional PC games, had lost their keen sense of market trends!

"You're fired." Pony Ma's voice was devoid of any warmth.

"Huh? Mr. Ma? I..." The IEG manager was struck dumb, his face filled with disbelief.

"Get out!"

Pony Ma pointed to the door and roared, "You piece of trash who can't even understand the bigger picture the opponent is playing! Staying at Penguin will only hinder our operations! Let your deputy take over your job!"

The meeting room was deathly silent; everyone felt the urgency that Pony Ma was feeling, as if he were fighting a desperate battle.

……

October has arrived.

With the arrival of autumn, the eyes of esports players around the world are all focused on Los Angeles, USA, across the ocean.

The League of Legends S2 World Championship has begun!

Compared to the somewhat rudimentary internet cafe tournament style of S1, this year's S2 has seen a qualitative leap in scale and prestige thanks to Haofeng Network's unlimited investment and comprehensive online promotion!

Domestically, iQiyi and Bilibili simultaneously launched the "highest definition live stream on the entire network," supplemented by simple and straightforward freebies such as "watch the game and get a VIP membership" and "get a rare skin chest."

Countless casual viewers who rarely even play games were drawn into the live stream by this surge in traffic.

"Huh? Mr. Li didn't go to the US to show his support this year?"

"Yeah, LOL is Haofeng's favorite son. Last year at S1, Boss Li even went to the front row to cut the ribbon. This year, with such a big commotion, Boss Li is nowhere to be seen. It's really strange."

In the live stream, many sharp-eyed veteran players sent surprised comments.

However, this question was quickly answered by helpful netizens.

"Boss Li doesn't have time to worry about playing games! Don't you guys watch Liangjiang News?"

"From August until now, Boss Li has been all over the news on Liangjiang TV! Every day he's been leading provincial and municipal leaders to cut ribbons in Xuzhou, and all sorts of high-tech factories and chip manufacturing bases are springing up!"

"What Boss Li is building now is a national strategic asset, a semiconductor industry chain worth hundreds of billions! This is a real great power game! Sending a department director to oversee a game competition is already giving them a lot of face!"

Netizens then realized the significance of Li Feng's vision and felt even greater respect for him.

Just as the comments section was filled with admiration for Li Feng's vast business empire, the camera cut to the start of the match.

Representing the Chinese region are the highly anticipated WE team and iG team!

When the iG team, clad in white jerseys, took to the stage, the expert in the live stream immediately began explaining:

"Look! This is the team that Wanda's CEO, Mr. Wang, bought for five million! He's damn rich!"

"PDD is the number one top laner! He's a true carry! And then there's the twin stars, Zz1tai and Kid!"

"Support player Xiaoxiao Yabolong is a formidable character. I heard he used to be the top Blademaster in DNF (Dungeon Fighter Online) competitions? He switched to LOL and is doing incredibly well. Amazing!"

"With this iG lineup, even though Shadow is a bit less well-known, they are definitely a top contender for the championship!"

Following closely behind was the WE team, dressed in red battle robes.

The appearance of this team triggered an overwhelming barrage of comments!

"WE, go for it!! The pride of the all-Chinese team!"

"Look at this lineup! The world's best ADC, WeiXiao! The best jungler, Clearlove!"

"And then there's the support god, Curly Hair, and the stress-resistant king, Strawberry!"

"The most awesome one is still our world's number one Twisted Fate player—Mid-laner Ruofeng!"

However, the title of "world's number one" is always the easiest trigger for controversy and infighting in fan circles and e-sports circles.

Soon, someone in the live stream jumped out to expose their mistake.

"Give me a break! What do you mean, the world's number one card? Even a beast can boast about that?"

"Isn't it because you couldn't make it in Dota as the 'Death Finger' character, getting utterly crushed by all the pros, that you switched to playing this new game, LOL?"

"Exactly! Everyone else is hailed as the 'world's best top laner' or 'world's best ADC,' but when it comes to Ruofeng, it's just 'world's best Twisted Fate'? Is he a champion-skill master or the world's best? That's a complete misrepresentation!"

"If you want to see real skill, you have to watch iG! iG is awesome!!"

For a time, WE's "60E" fans and iG's "dog sons" were arguing fiercely in the live chat, insulting each other's family history. Their fighting power was so strong that the onlookers were dumbfounded.

"Holy crap... there are so many brainless fans in gaming? How did this fan culture spread to the esports world?"

"You just don't understand! Esports is now synonymous with passionate youth! Conflict is what generates buzz!"

While passersby found it noisy, it's undeniable that these bullet comments, brimming with tension and a sense of factionalism, greatly enhanced the entertainment value and viewership of the event.

During the group stage, WE and iG lived up to expectations, relying on the players' hardcore individual skills to break through the encirclement and advance to the quarterfinals.

However, the situation took a dramatic turn in the quarterfinals.

iG faced off against M5 from Europe.

iG, who were originally highly anticipated by domestic fans, suffered an absolute crushing defeat in the competition!

Team M5 unleashed an astonishing double roaming tactical system: Widowmaker + Xin Zhao!

This advanced understanding of the game and the dominance in the jungle left iG with no chance to fight back. In both games, their base was pushed down in about 20 minutes!

"What the hell is this tactic? Widowmaker can do this?"

"Stop criticizing iG, this isn't even a fair fight! The M5 guys are mad scientists; their understanding of the game is several versions ahead of ours!"

"Sigh, iG is gone. We can only pin our hopes for winning the championship on WE."