Chapter 474 He took on the responsibility of Chinese eSports
Singapore Changi Airport is located in Singapore, a "real tiny country".

总计只有700多平方公里的土地面积，大约相当于1/9个魔都，1/22个帝都。

Or, to use a more popular metaphor in later generations, it is equivalent to 1/81 of Tongliao...

However, this small piece of land, because it is located at the throat of the Malacca Strait, an important shipping route, and because the leadership is good at playing both sides (sitting on the fence) between the Eastern and Western camps, this tiny piece of land produces a GDP that exceeds that of China's most prosperous city, Shanghai.

Every inch of land is valuable, and it is never too much to say so.

Now Zhang Yuan led the gaming team and landed safely at Changi Airport.

Although it is the end of the year and the beginning of winter, the temperature here is still as warm as early summer.

Zhang Yuan glanced at the younger brothers behind him who were wearing cotton jackets and were anxious to take off their clothes because of the heat, and thought to himself, didn’t you check the weather forecast before going abroad?

Changi Airport is very prosperous, and there is still a lot of room to be developed. In the future, this place will basically be equivalent to a large entertainment center.

There are hotels, amusement parks, shopping malls and various restaurants.

The e-sports team members who had never been abroad were dazzled and didn't know where to put their eyes.

Before going abroad, the leaders of the General Administration of Sports even called the club a few times to give them instructions.

The content is nothing more than comparing styles and spirits in the hope of getting good results.

But through the club leader's retelling, Zhang Yuan could hear that the General Administration of Sports had expectations for the e-sports department, but not much.

After all, not much money was spent, and the main funds were still spent on major events such as gymnastics, diving, and table tennis, which produced the most results.

call……

After arriving at the airport exit, two black business cars parked steadily in front of everyone.

This is the pick-up service provided by the hotel. Of course, if you only book an ordinary room, they have to pay for it separately.

"Wow, so classy." Li Xiaofeng, the protagonist of this event, stared at the vehicle in a daze. He had never enjoyed such treatment of being picked up at the airport by a luxury car.

We went to Pan Pacific Hotel in two vehicles.

Zhang Yuan originally wanted to stay at the most famous Singapore Sands Hotel when he went abroad, so let's be generous.

After checking, I found out that in 05, the Sands Hotel hadn’t even laid its foundation yet…

Later I thought about booking a hotel with Hilton, since it is a five-star hotel chain.

After further checking, I found a lot of posts about supernatural events at the Singapore Hilton.

It was either a dismemberment case or the bride crying while holding the urn in the middle of the night.

Zhang Yuan thought about it and realized that he was bringing people here to fight the foreigners, not to find the foreign "devils", so he finally changed to the Pan Pacific Hotel.

This hotel is quite distinctive. There is a circular podium in front of the tall building, and on top of the podium is a large circular swimming pool.

From a distance, this hotel looks like a flush toilet...

"Why did Brother Yuan personally lead the team this time?"

"Yes, he is such a big star and so busy, yet he came with us in person."

In the next car, the club leader was muttering.

"Yeah, I don't understand either." The club manager scratched his head in confusion.

“I heard that he also told Li Xiaofeng that if he finished in the top three, his prize money would be doubled.”

"This time, he took care of all the flights, hotels, food and drinks. I think the expenses for our group of people will be at least hundreds of thousands."

"Well, relying only on the subsidy from the General Administration of Sport, we had to take a three-wheeled motorcycle to Singapore. He paid for it all."

"In that case, there is only one possibility!" said club manager Zhou Hao with a firm look in his eyes.

“That is… he really loves games and e-sports!”

"Yeah……"

"That's right."

"It's just..."

In fact, Zhang Yuan loves playing games, but not as much as they think.

At least not to the extent that it costs millions of dollars these days.

The reason why he is so supportive is that in addition to being the current main game players, who are basically the first batch of Internet users in China's Internet era, this group of people will also be the main consumer group in the game and entertainment industry in the next ten years or so.

Secondly, he did this for a chance to leave his name in history.

After arriving at the hotel, I checked in and looked at the price list on the wall.

The cheapest standard room in this place is about 1500 per night.

Li Xiaofeng thought about it and thought: My monthly salary is only enough to accommodate one night.

If it weren’t for the boss Zhang Yuan leading the team, I would never be able to afford to live in this place!

[Received thanks from Li Xiaofeng, reaction speed +1, game basics +1! ]

After putting down their luggage, Zhang Yuan even took them out for a farewell meal.

Pepper crab, Hainanese chicken, Bak Kut Teh, curry fish head... these people had a great meal.

"I wish you good results in the next few days." Zhang Yuan specially toasted Li Xiaofeng.

When paying the bill, Li Xiaofeng glanced at the receipt in Zhang Yuan's hand.

It costs more than 10 Singapore dollars, and you have to pay a % service fee.

He thought that a top-of-the-line computer could be consumed in one meal.

The boss treated me so well, there is nothing I can do to repay him except to play well.

The next day, inside the stadium.

In addition to Li Xiaofeng with the ID SKY, the other Chinese players participating in the "Warcraft 3" project this time include SUHO and XIAOT, two legendary "Warcraft" players.

Among them, SUHO signed a contract with the Shaanxi Sports Bureau and is already considered an e-sports player within the system.

XIAOT opened its own club.

In terms of status and financial resources, SKY is the weakest one.

But now he has Zhang Yuan's support behind him, he is simply inhumane.

"What? You guys are staying in a five-star hotel!"

"What? You spent more than 2,000 Singapore dollars on a meal."

When the three of them were chatting before the game, Li Xiaofeng showed off his skills, which made the other two brothers very envious.

"Now I just want to beat you all to death, or be beaten to death by you!" Li Xiaofeng said.

Then, the group stage.

This guy was knocked down by the contestant from Hong Kong and entered the life-and-death elimination battle.

The club's top executives were all silent.

I feel like this time it's cold.

The boss treated us to delicious food and drinks. If we go home in disgrace after the group stage, how can we face him again?

What’s even more terrifying is that SKY’s opponent in the elimination match was the famous Beast King Grubby of that era.

Everyone in the club turned to look at Zhang Yuan in the audience, but was surprised to find that he was calm and composed, without any sign of panic or anger at all.

"Or maybe he is someone who can do great things..." the club manager muttered.

Soon, in the life-and-death battle, SKY easily defeated the Beast King and got the last qualifying spot, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

The main reason is that the Beastmaster has already advanced to the next round, so this game is a bit of a bystander...

The next day, 32 to 16 and 16 to 8.

Zhang Yuan almost fell asleep watching the game that day.

Basically, Li Xiaofeng was just chopping melons and vegetables, because his opponent was really not that good.

On the third day, in the quarter-finals, SKY faced Creolophus, a Norwegian player nicknamed Mushroom, who is also a legend in the "Warcraft 1" project.

After being beaten badly in the first set, SKY exploded and won 20% of the points in a row to win the game.

On the fourth day, the semi-finals, against the European King TOD.

This time, Li Xiaofeng really went abroad to fight the foreigners.

This was a game where they were evenly matched, with both of them playing very well.

And Li Xiaofeng did the same as usual, first "giving up one hand", and then struggling to catch up with two more to win.

Day 5, finals.

Zhang Yuan came to the competition site carrying a large black plastic painting tube.

He specially asked Zhao Xinxin to arrive early and helped him get a front row C seat.

"Brother Yuan, does the doubling of the prize money that we mentioned earlier count?" Before the competition, Li Xiaofeng found him and asked confidently.

"What I said must be counted." Zhang Yuan smiled calmly and replied: "Why, do you want me to write a written agreement and put your fingerprints on it?"

"No, no, I'm just asking..." The man smiled foolishly and scratched his head.

The reason why he was so confident was that in yesterday's semi-finals, Grubby and FoV, two top players from the same team, known as the Beast King and the Ghost King, fought each other internally. The Beast King won, but fell to the average-level ShortRound.

Li Xiaofeng was confused.

This is equivalent to the prime minister going to Qishan, only to find that Cao Wei had been destroyed by Meng Huo...

Happiness came so suddenly that he could hardly believe it.

He came to ask Zhang Yuan specifically because he felt he had a great chance of winning!

At this moment, the balance of victory has tipped towards him.

As expected, in the subsequent final, Li Xiaofeng won two games in a row like cutting melons and vegetables, easily defeating his opponent. This final was as simple as a dream.

The comparison of their abilities is basically the same as the comparison of Zhang Yuan and Liu Qianqian's acting skills in the crew.

We cannot say that we have met a worthy opponent, we can only say that there is no suspense.

The moment the opponent typed GG, an invisible crown fell from the sky and landed on the head of this short young man from Ruzhou, Henan.

From this moment on, he became a legend in the history of Chinese e-sports.

He was not China's first world champion.

They are two players named Ma Tianyuan and Wei Qidi, who won the "StarCraft" world championship in the 01 WCG.

Unfortunately, it was a 2V2 doubles championship.

For a real-time strategy game that emphasizes individual ability, this two-player championship is good, but not substantial enough.

China's first individual champion is still not him.

He is an old man from Sichuan named Meng Yang.

The only difference is that the project for which he won the world championship was called "DOOM3".

That is the famous "Doom".

The game "Doom" is very famous and has greatly promoted the development of the entire gaming industry, but it is not very popular in China.

The popularity is far less than that of CS in the same period.

So this gold medal is important enough, but not popular enough.

Now, SKY has won the world gold medal, which has enough popularity and weight to shake the entire Chinese e-sports industry.

He is the key man who started the e-sports boom in China.

"It's time!" Zhang Yuan called to his assistant.

Zhao Xunxun immediately opened the black painting tube that Zhang Yuan carried with him.

He unscrewed the lid, took out the items inside, and handed it to Zhang Yuan.

This is a bright red national flag!

This is what he asked Zhao Xinxin to prepare for him in advance.

Zhang Yuan stood up quickly, shook his hands, and unfolded the bright red flag in his hands. At the same time, he exerted force with his legs, and the whole person flew into the air, leaping onto the stage which was about one meter high in one step.

On the stage, Li Xiaofeng was taking off his headphones, gritting his teeth and waving his fists, with tears about to well up in the corners of his eyes.

"Take it!"

At this moment, he heard someone whispering in his ear, and then draped a bright red flag over his shoulders.

He took it in a daze, and before he could react, he felt his body lighten.

When I came to my senses, I found myself already in mid-air.

Zhang Yuan exerted force and lifted him onto his shoulders.

Since Zhang Yuan was almost 20 centimeters taller than him, the scene looked a bit like a giant carrying a Hobbit...

After Li Xiaofeng understood, he waved the flag and burst into tears.

The other people in the club also crawled onto the stage, surrounding the two and cheering.

Countless flashes lit up at this moment, freezing the scene and preserving this eternal moment that will be recorded in the history of Chinese e-sports and Chinese sports.

Soon, the news spread back to the country.

The photo of Zhang Yuan carrying Li Xiaofeng, and Li Xiaofeng carrying the national flag, spread to major gaming websites and well-known forums.

"Isn't this Murong Fu?"

Soon someone discovered the highlight.

"What Murong Fu? Isn't that Li Xiaoyao?"

"This is all performed by one person!"

"I only recognize the Axe Gang leader."

"I know him. He was stabbed by Gao Yuanyuan!"

They didn't know that Zhang Yuan had also stabbed Gao Yuanyuan.

And it lasted for several nights...

"Isn't this Zhang Yuan? He's that celebrity, right?"

"Yes, that's him, exactly the same."

"Why did he go to WCG?"

"And he's carrying our world champion."

"Is he also a contestant?"

Soon someone found the answer on the vast Internet.

"Fuck, he's actually SKY's boss!"

“He’s still the club owner.”

“I don’t think there are any celebrities who have publicly supported e-sports yet?”

"We are all electronic XXX, who dares to support it?"

“He supports it.”

"Shit, I saw SKY posted on the forum that the WCG prize money is $2.5!"

“This is getting rich.”

"How much is this? Is there anyone who knows about exchange rates who can tell me?"

"The exchange rate is not important. SKY just said in the forum that Zhang Yuan personally gave him another 2.5 US dollars, which is not included in the WCG prize money."

“That’s $5!”

The forum guys are going crazy.

Not to mention these days, even after the Olympics, there are still many parents sending their children to "quit internet addiction"!

It can be seen that at that time, most people across the country, from top to bottom, held a negative attitude towards electronic games and the Internet.

So let alone supporting e-sports, very few celebrities in mainland China dare to say publicly that they love playing games, for fear of being labeled as villains who teach children bad things by parents.

Not to mention the real financial support from Zhang Yuan.

"Running a club and giving out bonuses, this guy must have spent a lot of money," someone brought up soon.

"This is obviously much more upscale than those who buy luxury cars and mansions!"

"We gamers finally have a spokesperson."

"I'm embarrassed that I've never watched his TV series or movies."

The overlap between the TV dramas and movies shot by Zhang Yuan and the game players is actually not very high.

"I will definitely watch his next TV series and support him no matter what."

"When he makes a movie, I will definitely go to the cinema. I'll just consider it as paying him back with a movie ticket!"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

[Received thanks from Zhang Tianyi, visual ability +1! ]

[Received thanks from Sun Haohan, English basics +1! ]

[Received thanks from Huqinzhu, +1 for programming basics! ]

……

In a blink of an eye, a large group of "ticket-buying party" belonging to Zhang Yuan appeared on the Internet from various industries and professions.

Some people even adjusted the photo of him carrying SKY and added subtitles to it.

"He carried the Chinese e-sports industry!"

This photo went viral in the gaming world and within 24 hours it had spread to all major online media platforms in China.

Because it was so popular, it was even featured in fashion and gossip media, as well as traditional print media platforms.

For a time, Zhang Yuan's image became a hot topic in the world.

Like oil boiling in a raging fire, like a cluster of flowers.

At the same time, someone shouted in the forum.

"Just now, when I was voting for SKY on TOM.com for the most popular e-sports player of the year, I found that Zhang Yuan was also on the list."

"But he is on the list of the top four youngsters, so he ranks pretty high."

"Then don't wait for movie tickets, go vote first!"

The spending power and ability of otakus have always been underestimated.

Especially technology geeks.

After all, Lei Jun and Ma Huateng were actually among the earliest tech geeks back then.

Boss Ma once pretended to be a female netizen and chatted with QQ users.

In the early days, there was a scam on the Internet.

And soon someone will truly feel the powerful energy brought by the unity of game geeks...

(End of this chapter)