Chapter 73 Live Streaming Marketing
Ling Han was drenched in sweat as soon as she stepped out of the cabin.
The isolation fluid in the old version of the mecha used for training hadn't been changed for several years. After each training session, there would be some liquid residue left in his hair and fingernails, and he reeked of industrial glue.
Ling Han didn't want to appear in this embarrassing state, but the coach was urging her on, even more so than when the team manager usually came to inspect the team.
He had never seen a coach act like this before, as if he were rushing to see an emperor.
Could it be some distinguished guest?
He basically lived a life of going between the training room and the canteen, had little contact with his former teammates, lived a very isolated life, and didn't know any people of any status.
The more she thought about it, the more flustered she became. Ling Han could only haphazardly pull her hair behind her ears, trying to make herself look a little more presentable.
The coach didn't even give him time to shower before hurriedly pushing open the door to the meeting room.
The big boss of Ling Han's team was diligently grinding coffee beans, and an open GO team development commemorative book was on the table. Three or four base support staff stood to the side with their hands at their sides, as honest as eunuchs who had just entered the palace.
Ling Han: ? ? ? What's going on?
No way, there really are important guests?
His gaze swept around the room, and he saw a man in a dark gray suit sitting on the sofa, while everyone in the room was eagerly surrounding him.
Despite having seen countless videos of Mr. Fang on the screen, Ling Han couldn't help but be slightly shocked by the various expensive-looking clothes he wore when she actually met him in person.
The two exchanged a glance. Mr. Fang's eyes were like a rational yet cold X-ray machine, giving Ling Han the unseen feeling that he had been completely seen through.
Fang Zhuo is trying to use the function that the system granted him when he changed worlds before—[Empathy].
According to the description of this feature, after using the skill, he can quickly understand the other party's current biggest difficulty.
The scene shifted, and Fang Zhuo saw Ling Han being pushed onto a hospital bed. Her fingers clasped with her grandmother's dry, rough hand. A tear slid down her cheek from an angle the old woman couldn't see, only to be quickly wiped away.
Then the images merged, and the view suddenly went black.
It seemed to be in the athletes' dormitory at the training base. Before going to sleep, Ling Han carefully took out a bag of dried fruit that his grandmother had peeled for him from his pocket.
A hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and the teammate's joking tone was quite nonchalant:
"Oh, Hanhan, look at you, you're sneaking food again! You don't even know how to share good things with your seniors."
The hand snatched the bag of dried fruit away, leaving Ling Han with not a single one. Then, a sarcastic shout came from inside the room: "Handsome guy, you're treating us to almonds!"
"Ptooey, ptooey, what's that smell? It's rotten! Are you trying to get us killed? You're even seeking revenge now, aren't you?"
"Ling Han, I'm talking to you. Are you deaf or mute? Have you been disliking us for a long time?"
Perhaps even Ling Han himself didn't realize how awkward and helpless his expression looked from a third-party perspective.
But after holding it in for a long time, he couldn't utter a single word of accusation. He just forced a smile and apologized to everyone.
The flashback of the "Empathy" skill took less than a second in the actual timeline, and Fang Zhuo continued to scrutinize the young man in front of him.
Ling Han's hair was swept back, revealing his smooth forehead. His upturned double eyelids gave him a cool and aloof air. His appearance was considered outstanding among mecha pilots, which explains why there were several descriptions of his large number of fans in the original book.
It is often said that sports, crosstalk, and stand-up comedy are the best cosmetic procedures for men, and this statement is fully proven in Ling Han's case.
If you met him in real life, you would only think he looks a little delicate. But with the added bonus of mecha piloting skills, Ling Han instantly becomes a handsome guy with both strength and good looks. This is probably one of the reasons why his teammates bully him.
Strong, poor but handsome, Fang Zhuo leaned back slightly. He had already imagined how much the starting players would secretly resent this little sparring partner, and how much the market would pity this kind of beautiful, strong, and tragic player.
Ling Han's pride had been worn away by years of disappointment and hardship, and now all that remained on her face was the habitual fawning and inferiority complex born from years of oppression.
Fang Zhuo leaned forward slightly.
The owner of the GO team opposite him immediately understood and placed a freshly brewed coffee in front of him, flattering him:
"We have also ordered two of the new energy mechs developed by Juke. They haven't arrived yet, but I'm sure the quality will be very good."
The owner of the GO team is a well-known entrepreneur in their local region, and judging from the details of the team's operation, they are certainly not short of money.
The boss hired sparring partners for each player, and most of the starting players in the team are second-generation entrepreneurs from middle-class or higher backgrounds.
Before coming, Fang Zhuo had done his research and found that the parents of several of the starting players were business partners of the team owner.
Mech battles are an extremely expensive activity, and this expense is not only reflected in team operations but also in the players' personal finances.
Some wealthy players will pay out of their own pockets to hire private training partners, and many middle-class families will enroll their children in all-inclusive mecha training courses that cost more than 200,000 yuan when they are around ten years old.
These training courses start with virtual pods and include physical mech experience classes. The training institutions claim that this can develop teenagers' mech potential at an early age and increase their chances of passing ability tests, and this is indeed the case.
Even in tests that are touted as the fairest, children from poor or middle-class families are already at a disadvantage from the start.
If they weren't exceptionally talented, these kids from ordinary families would end up like Ling Han, becoming sparring partners or marginalized repairmen, even if they entered the industry.
This wasn't the first time; Fang Zhuo had heard from Tao Tao about numerous internal bullying incidents in other teams before, the worst of which had even resulted in a death.
Money and status are like an invisible chasm, silently tearing apart the relationships between the contestants.
Poaching a team's sparring partner should, in principle, involve giving the opposing team's owner a kickback ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan. This is an unspoken rule in the industry. However, Fang Zhuo had no intention of giving this money to the pot-bellied owner in front of him.
Fang Zhuo first watched Ling Han sign the contract terminating her employment agreement with her original team, then explained:
"JR team recently played in the secondary league, and the salaries of all new team members have been uniformly increased to 35 million a year. No objections, right?"
The moment the number was announced, the owner of the GO team couldn't even control his expression.
This sparring partner only earns a little over 500,000 yuan a year here. How come his salary increased more than 60 times immediately after he switched jobs?
Is this a normal rate of salary increase?
If he had that skill, he would want to join the JR team as a player.
Besides, this player is currently serving a three-year suspension. Even if we poach him, he'd only be a sparring partner, which isn't worth it at all. It would be such a waste.
The GO team owner immediately probed indirectly, "Mr. Fang, according to industry practice, shouldn't you also..."
His words seemed to be completely ignored; Mr. Fang didn't even glance at him before continuing:
"Ling Han, I heard that your grandmother's health isn't very good. I transferred another three million to your account as a small token of my appreciation. You haven't been home for a long time, have you? You can take some time these next few days to go back and visit your grandmother. You can come back to the base next week to report for duty."
Everyone in the room looked at each other, their eyes gleaming with envy.
A three million annual salary is enough to cover the salaries of all the workers present, yet Mr. Fang described such a large sum as just a small token of his appreciation.
When will the owner of your own esports team be this generous...?
While several workers in the room were simultaneously complaining, the owner of the GO team sneezed.
Mr. Fang's wealth also exceeded his expectations; he never imagined that the owner of a cutting-edge technology company could be so rich.
Even though this batch of new energy mechs is only a pre-sale, and theoretically the patent prepayment hasn't been deposited into the company's account yet, how could President Fang possibly come up with such a large sum of money for salaries?
I reckon a boss of this caliber could be happy for quite a while just by casually letting a little money slip by.
If the visitation fee given casually is three million, wouldn't the kickback for poaching a sparring partner be even higher?
He could only watch this money go to waste, unable to put it into his own pocket, which made him incredibly itchy to do so. He really wished he could take the family visit allowance from Ling Han's pocket.
Gently wiping his nose with a tissue, the GO team owner continued to subtly hint to Mr. Fang:
"Mr. Fang, there's actually an unspoken rule in the industry: if you poach GO's training partners, then you have to..."
"Excuse me," Fang Zhu interrupted, coldly saying, "Based on my previous research, your team is currently experiencing a serious issue of player bullying. I suggest you take care of your own team first. I will report this to the league officials."
The owner of the GO team looked ashen-faced.
He didn't know how the other person found out about this.
The League's official committee is independent of the Star Government and is a neutral third-party organization with an extremely unique status. Under the current rules where resources are allocated through mecha competitions in various major regions, the League's official committee wields astonishing power, its substantive power even subtly surpassing that of the Star Government.
Bullying within the team is not unique to him in the entire Star Alliance, but few bullied professionals actually report it. After all, bringing such a thing to the top would mean being blacklisted within the industry, or even facing retaliation.
As everyone knows, the league's official investigation is like peeling off a layer of skin, and he doesn't want his team to have anything to do with the league officials.
The team owner glanced silently at Ling Han, who stood to the side with her eyes downcast, pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and said to President Fang with a forced smile:
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Fang. I was indeed negligent in team management before. I was just too busy with my business. I will definitely strengthen management in the future. I'm so sorry. You're so generous. There's no need to bring such a small matter to the official channels..."
Fang Zhuo remained silent, completely ignoring the other party, and simply listened quietly to the system's announcement of the successful contract signing.
[Investment Target Number Five: Ling Han]
[Intelligence: 53][Stamina: 94][Appearance: 72][Emotional Intelligence: 51][Loyalty: 93]
[Recommended Career: Mech Pilot and Related Training Industry]
[Skill Talents: 92]
[Initial valuation: 42,500]
The team manager wanted to call the players over to apologize, but looking at their fawning manner, Ling Han felt only a sense of powerlessness and sadness, as if the lunch she had just eaten was coming back up her esophagus. She stiffly refused this nauseating suggestion.
Once in the car, Ling Han finally recovered from the huge emotional turmoil and kept thanking President Fang.
"You're welcome. When you come back next week, the team will help you plan a live stream. We'll send you the script in advance, and you can work with your new teammates then."
At the time, Ling Han didn't understand why a live broadcast needed a script, but when the long plan of more than a thousand words was actually sent to his terminal a week later, he was overwhelmed by it.
“Mr. Fang, why are there lines in this? I’m afraid I won’t be able to act them out.”
Having been a live streamer for many years, Ma Xusen only glanced at the script briefly before skillfully putting his arm around Ling Han's shoulder:
"No need to act, just be yourself. Don't worry, buddy, follow my lead."
Since leaving the IN team, Ma Xusen hasn't streamed for over two weeks. He eagerly turned on his camera—
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