Chapter 9. Zhao Zhinian was also very much looking forward to today's glory...
Zhao Zhinian was also very much looking forward to today's journey of glory. As a complete novice in the game, she had to figure out many things on her own through hard work, which took a lot of effort and was too costly to learn. In reality, she didn't have that much time to grow slowly.
The company she works for has a relatively sound system for training new employees. Although the onboarding process was very difficult, aside from the hard requirements such as height, weight, appearance, host qualification certificate, education, and language ability, there were three interviews in a row at the beginning, and the three interviews were all conducted in English.
After passing the interview, there is a two-week hosting training camp with daily impromptu quizzes. Failing three times in a row results in immediate elimination. The final assessment of the training camp covers multiple aspects such as "expression ability, stage performance, image management, and psychological qualities".
Zhao Zhinian believes that her success was mainly due to her experience studying abroad, and her fluent English gave her a significant advantage.
The hosts who are selected through multiple rounds of assessments do not initially have a clear career path. Instead, they are randomly assigned to different business units based on their personal preferences, assessment results, and company needs, using a job rotation model. Each newcomer's direct supervisor has veto power; if they deem someone unsuitable, they can reject them. Rejected newcomers then apply to other business units on their own.
As a result, although the company's main business has many positions, it also faces the greatest competitive pressure.
Of the original cohort of hosts, fewer than 20 remained. A dozen or so of them aspired to break into the entertainment industry, as news anchoring, variety show hosting, and talk show hosting were the ideal jobs for most. As the company's core business, it offered high exposure, excellent career prospects, and the greatest chance of overnight fame, naturally resulting in the highest attrition rate. Unsurprisingly, more than half were eliminated in the first month.
The most promising roads are destined to be the most crowded.
At the time, Zhao Zhinian did not have a clear preference. In addition, her overall ranking was only in the middle. Although her appearance was outstanding, it was not the kind of beauty that would stun. So she gave up her dream of pursuing a career in the entertainment industry and, on the advice of her high school friend Lin An'an, took a gamble on the emerging sector of new media.
This sector has a wide range of businesses, including not only esports, but also various types of live streaming, hosting related offline programs or events, and even training streamers and reporters. It is a module with a wide range of career options, offering more job opportunities for newcomers, but few of them are truly high-quality.
Securing more job opportunities, accumulating experience, avoiding detours, and successfully staying on the job are her primary goals.
Of course, their company also has a guaranteed minimum wage mechanism that is particularly attractive to Zhao Zhinian. In general, new employees in companies are paid entirely on a daily basis and according to the specific work content. Many new employees will not have any income if they do not work for several consecutive months.
Their company guarantees a minimum salary for new employees for one year. The compensation structure is "base salary + project performance + other". "Other" mainly refers to the revenue sharing from self-media or live streaming accounts after accumulating popularity.
However, in contrast, this year requires a "sitting-in system" when there are no projects. When the company does not assign work, new employees are required to clock in at the company on time every day, and their daily work mainly involves supporting other colleagues and participating in various company training sessions.
For example, Zhao Zhinian had previously helped senior colleagues with their work by writing articles and even worked as an assistant before gradually getting more work opportunities.
However, after a year, personal income depends entirely on the specific job, and if the performance is mediocre, a group of people will still be laid off at the end of the year.
The esports module also involves many games, and at this stage, the director suggests that Zhao Zhinian focus on Honor of Kings.
The Honor League actually has a large market. Honor matches mainly consist of in-match commentary and post-match interviews. Commentators like Pan Lin and Li Yibo are considered top-notch. Post-match interviews are mainly conducted by esports media reporters. Except for large-scale events like All-Star Weekend, which have specially assigned hosts by the organizers, there are no dedicated hosting positions.
In fact, many teams could have a fixed host at their home games, and add post-match interviews and interactive segments. The league and teams could also develop spin-off programs for the players. In addition, there is a large gap in the number of female commentators.
While this may lead to marketing backlash and fan culture issues, causing resistance from some long-time Honor fans, it must be acknowledged that the traffic and commercial value generated by reasonable marketing are enormous.
Moreover, esports is, to some extent, about winning. If you win, the fans will be much more forgiving. If those top teams do appropriate marketing, it will definitely be a huge boost. Team Samsara and Zhou Zekai are living examples.
All of this presents an opportunity for Zhao Zhinian, but the corresponding challenges are also enormous. She doesn't have much gaming experience or talent, and while hosting events that aren't closely related to games can be done through last-minute cramming, continuous learning is essential for long-term development.
Honor features 24 classes, each with its own unique weapons, skills, gameplay, and role.
The league has a total of 20 teams, plus some veteran teams that were eliminated in the challenge matches. Each of them has its own team culture, core players, players, and account roles.
The competition adopts a regular season + playoff format, and each game is divided into individual games, challenge games and team games. The team games really test professional skills and the ability to read the game.
Not to mention that Honor of Kings has so many maps...
Collecting and organizing the above information into categories has already consumed a great deal of Zhao Zhinian's energy.
She outlined several key areas for improvement: First, she needed to understand the basics, then enhance her game comprehension and hone her commentary skills. She started by watching more matches, learning commentary techniques and post-match Q&A, and later, once she was familiar with them, she would turn off the audio and try to commentate on a complete match herself, then ask questions based on the match content, and record and review her own commentary interviews.
In addition, long-term accumulation is required.
After all, as a commentator or host, it's not enough to just focus on the content of the game on the field. Simply analyzing the game requires not only a high level of tactical knowledge but can also easily become boring.
More importantly, it's necessary to accumulate outside information, understand the topics, background, and highlights of the competition, as well as the stories and bonds between the teams and players, in order to resonate with the audience and fans.
She regards Zhou Zekai as her "lucky star," who not only launched her career as a host, but now also takes her to play games. One-on-one tutoring from a gaming master is bound to be twice as effective. Her only concern is that Zhou Zekai is not talkative, which may not match her current great thirst for knowledge.
Zhou Zekai spent the whole night preparing yesterday so that he could smoothly lead Zhao Zhinian on her journey to glory today.
But ideals are often grand, while reality is often harsh.
It's easy for Zhou Zekai to play games with a newbie. He's more than capable of handling it. Fighting monsters, leveling up, and completing tasks are all easy for him. Even if Zhao Zhinian just plays a quiet support role, she won't slow him down.
Zhou Zekai didn't have high expectations for Zhao Zhinian's hand speed and gaming talent, but the worst-case scenario he had anticipated was that he would be the one dealing damage while Zhao Zhinian cheered him on from behind, shouting "666".
In reality, a host who wants to quickly improve her understanding of games doesn't just cheer; she's practically a walking encyclopedia of "100,000 Whys".
The most important ability of a host is communication, while Zhou Zekai's most prominent characteristic is his taciturnity.
Zhao Zhinian had anticipated his overly concise language, but she still couldn't control her mouth from asking questions.
From game content to player gossip, and the recent transfer period, Zhao Zhinian was very curious. For example, was Lord Grim the same player as Ye Qiu? Would she be able to meet Lord Grim if she ascended to the God Realm? She was also curious about why Lin Jingyan and Zhang Jiale had joined Tyranny to form an "old-timer galactic battleship," and why Xiao Shiqin had chosen to play against Excellent Era, who were eliminated in Season 8…
Speaking of the game content, Zhao Zhinian was more observing and commentating on his gameplay than playing with him. Although her understanding of the game was still lacking and her character was still in the tenth server, she had clearly memorized the skills of each class systematically.
Therefore, every time Zhou Zekai unleashed a skill, Zhao Zhinian would follow behind, reciting the names of dishes.
"Oh! Power Shot! This can increase speed."
"This is a gun-body technique, right? Oh, step shot, I remember this is for downed enemies, it has a control effect, right?"
"Wow, is this what 'controlling the gun' means? Let me look at the definition first." Zhao Zhinian exclaimed while flipping through her notes, "Controlling the gun refers to controlling the target by accurately shooting at it in mid-air, utilizing the bullet's trajectory and impact force..."
Why did you retreat just now?
"Hey, why was the skill forcibly canceled?"
...
In addition to providing commentary, Zhao Zhinian also acted as a reporter, asking questions.
All of this was completely different from Zhou Zekai's original plan. He did admire Zhao Zhinian, and she was indeed just a decoration. However, the two went from dating in the Glory game to taking classes in the Glory game. What's worse, he wasn't very good at lecturing.
Fortunately, Zhao Zhinian was very supportive. Perhaps she understood his personality. Whether he just hummed in response or gave a simple explanation of two or three words, she took it all seriously and generously expressed her praise and gratitude.
Zhou Zekai felt like he had been through a whole season of interviews that morning, never imagining he would answer so many questions about Honor in private.
Zhao Zhinian was clearly a bit carried away, completely absorbed in studying and actively asked to continue in the afternoon.
In the past, Zhou Zekai would have been very happy, but now, seeing Zhao Zhinian so serious, he was even a little embarrassed to have any romantic thoughts.
So after lunch, he poured himself a full glass of water and continued his glorious tour.
When it was time for dinner, Zhao Zhinian finally realized that she had troubled Zhou Zekai too much today. So she expressed her sincere gratitude and said that she would definitely treat him to dinner when she had time. Since she had to work tomorrow, she decided not to play games tonight.
The two parted ways on the Glory Continent. Zhao Zhinian promptly logged off, while Zhou Zekai knocked on his vice-captain's private message.
[Zhou Zekai]: Let's play Honor of Kings together.
On a summer break evening, Jiang Botao received an invitation from his team captain, Glory, and couldn't help but repeatedly confirm, "You and me?"
[Zhou Zekai]: There is also Zhinian.
Zhou Zekai typed out her name with a hint of pride, saying that he had already called her during their last meal, and she hadn't objected.
Jiang Botao was completely bewildered and slowly typed a question mark. "You two playing together is to build your relationship, so why add him?"
Does Xiao Zhou need his translation skills for her love life?
[Zhou Zekai]: She is studying.
Zhou Zekai: Esports host.
Zhou Zekai: I don't talk much.
Jiang Botao understood that Zhao Zhinian's purpose in playing the game was to use it as a learning tool for e-sports hosting, so what was needed was a teacher. Xiao Zhou, who was quiet, was obviously not qualified, so the thoughtful Zhou Zekai found him.
However, Jiang Botao was still a little hesitant to be a third wheel: "Is it really appropriate for me to come along? Did you ask Miss Zhao's opinion?"
[Zhou Zekai]: Now ask.
[Zhou Zekai]: She would definitely be willing.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Special thanks to the friends who provided nutrient solution before!
Thank you again, Qiu Yiyi and Sui Riyue! [rose]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
