Chapter 858 - Eric’s Comeback!

Zhao Xuming had also come to Los Angeles as a partner of Longyu Corporation. It would be unreasonable to say that he was completely unaware of this matter.

If Long Yu Corporation knew about this but did not negotiate or stop it, and instead acquiesced and condoned it, then the nature of this matter would change combined with Long Yu Corporation’s preferential treatment towards FV Team!

It was no wonder that netizens were scolding Long Yu Corporation for being a traitor.

Zhao Xuming quickly checked the source of this news and realized that it came from a foreign media outlet. It was said to be an anonymous report. The evidence submitted was a series of photos: Two data Balancers from Finger Games entered FRY’s training ground, discussed tactics with FRY’s coach, and guided training together.

These photos were not particularly clear and seemed to have been taken secretly. However, someone still managed to recognize that the two statisticians were indeed employees of Finger Games.

Many people guessed that the anonymous tipper was an insider of Finger Games or the FRY Team. However, the scope was too big and they could not locate it.

The motive was easy to explain. Such explosive exclusive news meant popularity and traffic. Selling the relevant information to the media would earn a huge sum of money. Finger Games or the lowest-level employees of FRY might secretly take photos because of this motive.

Finger Games was doing emergency public relations at the moment.

Their first reaction was to deny it and insist that it was impossible. However, after the second wave of revelations released a large number of photos, Finger Games could not continue to be stubborn. They could only say that “This matter is still under investigation. The official platform is absolutely fair and just in the competition. If any employee’s personal behavior contradicts the official platform, they will be dealt with severely at once.”

Finger Games’ response was obviously to shift the blame, hinting that even if there was such a thing, it was all the personal actions of these two data Balancers. They were only guiding FRY Team to earn extra money, it had nothing to do with Finger Games’ officials.

There was no other way. He had not wanted to admit it even if he was beaten to death before this. However, there was no way he could deny it now that the photos had been released.

However, such an explanation obviously could not appease the anger of netizens. Even the forums in Europe and America were flaming wildly, questioning Finger Games’ professionalism.

Even if these two statistics balancers took the initiative to help the FRY team, Finger Games could not escape responsibility. This meant that there was a huge problem with Finger Games’ management.

What’s more, most netizens felt that Finger Games must have been behind this. These two statisticians were probably the scapegoats.

Of course, the funniest thing was that IOI’s official statistics balancers had helped the FRY team, but the finals were still 3: 0!

The official staff was even beaten up. This was no different from a joke.

Thus, the current pressure from public opinion was extremely disadvantageous for Finger Games and Long Yu Corporation!

All sorts of news were released one after another, causing them to be overwhelmed. The public relations department of Long Yu Corporation had been looking for Zhao Xuming, but he had been on the plane for more than ten hours, so they could not get to him.

Long Yu Corporation’s public relations department was obviously under immense pressure as well.

The public relations of Long Yu Corporation did not have much choice now. Cold treatment could solve problems most of the time but this matter was obviously not it.

That was because no one knew how long the public opinion would last this time. If Long Yu Corporation did not take the initiative to respond, the initiative would be from others’ mouths. Netizens saw that Long Yu Corporation was pretending to be dead and could not vent their anger. They might not dig out any more shocking news.

The more the matter blew up, the more difficult it would be for public relations.

However, they could not shift the blame now.

That was because Zhao Xuming was indeed the one who had discriminated against FV Team. He had even been involved in sending a statistician to FRY Team.

In other words, the criticism online had been too light.

If he did not step out now, it would be equivalent to having a guilty conscience. If he stood out to take the blame, it would be equivalent to courting death. However, how should Finger Games explain if he stood out to push the blame?

Zhao Xuming leaned back, feeling helpless.

He had thought that the nightmare of the IOI World Finals would finally be over after he returned to China. However, it seemed like this was just the beginning!

Zhao Xuming closed his eyes for a long time before letting out a long sigh. “Return to the office for an emergency meeting.”

He calculated in his heart that he would probably have to spend a lot of time and effort to cover up this matter in front of the higher-ups. He would probably suffer as well if he was not careful.

At that moment, the commercial car he was on started to drive into the bustling roads of Shanghai.

Zhao Xuming suddenly realized that Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s huge advertisement was all over the billboards on the roadside!

He saw more advertisements immediately after that, which included Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Fish-Catching Take-Out, Upwind Logistics, Sloth Apartments… Most of Tengda Corporation’s physical businesses were on it!

The style of these advertisements were all extremely simple. They had a pure-colored background and a logo or shop’s picture. It was very different from the other colorful street advertisements.

However, this simple design emphasized confidence.

The fees for the advertisements were the same. The other companies would advertise with a beautiful background, endorsed celebrities, various product designs, and advertising slogans. All of them would appear at once afraid that the money spent on advertisements would be wasted.

However, Tengda’s advertisements were the exact opposite. They minimized the necessary information and key content as much as possible. Many ordinary people who did not know about these industries did not even know what kind of advertisements they were.

However, this also highlighted a strong sense of confidence. He believed that no matter how simple the advertisement was, it would have an excellent effect. What’s more, it was completely different from those colorful and flirtatious sluts. It stood out.

Zhao Xuming’s expression darkened.

Ridiculous!

For some reason, he felt like Boss Pei was trying to show off his advantage as much as he could.

What was even more ridiculous was that there were not many of Tengda’s physical businesses in Shanghai!

Fish-Catching Take-Out, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Upwind Logistics, Deposit Fitness, Sloth Apartments… Many of these businesses did not have physical stores in Shanghai. Yet, the advertisements continued!

Zhao Xuming was so angry that his face was ashen. He immediately put down the sunscreen at the back of the MPV, not wanting to look at the Tengda advertisements that filled the streets outside.

“Drive faster!”

…

At the same time, in Los Angeles…

The global finals had come to a close. All the teams had left.

However, this was not the end for Finger Games. The storm of public opinion had just begun.

Eric sipped his coffee in his high-end apartment while overlooking the cityscape of Los Angeles.

Of course, Eric had arranged for someone to take the photos of the two statisticians and provide them to the media anonymously.

In fact, Eric had hesitated before submitting these photos. There was no turning back once this news was released after all. The resulting storm of public opinion was enough to severely damage the reputation of Finger Games and Dayak Corporation.

However, Eric made up his mind after much consideration.

He could not guarantee that the upper echelons of Finger Games would replace Chrétien if not for this final fatal blow!

To be fair, IOI’s global finals this time was not badly done. Apart from the results, it was at least famous and popular. It also had a very good positive impact on IOI.

While the fact that FV Team won the championship made Dayak Corporation and Finger Games’ executives very unhappy, FV Team winning the championship was not Chrétien’s fault.

Moreover, taking ten thousand steps back, the popularity brought about by FV Team’s championship was also objectively beneficial to IOI’s local server’s promotion.

Therefore, most of the upper echelons would probably think that Chrétien’s actions were still effective. Chrétien might still continue to be in charge of China region.

There should not be enough reason to remove Chrétien from his position as the person-in-charge of China region even if the higher-ups were not satisfied with his results.

That was intolerable to Eric.

The opportunity was fleeting. If he could not grasp it this time, he did not know when the next time would be.

Thus, Eric still exposed this news, giving Chrétien a fatal blow!

Sending two Data Balancers to help the FRY team formulate strategies was entirely Chrétien’s idea. Naturally, he would be the one to take the blame.

Dayak Corporation and Finger Games’ upper echelons were having an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures now. However, no matter how much they discussed, this matter was already set in stone. Someone had to stand up and take responsibility. Otherwise, they would not be able to appease everyone’s anger.

It would probably not be enough to appease the public’s anger if they had only used the two statisticians as scapegoats.

There was a high chance that Chrétien would be the one to blame.

Eric took the opportunity to submit his research materials for Tengda and GOG in Jingzhou. He also deeply analyzed the pros and cons of the IOI Qualification Competition and the global finals.

Most of them were factual but there were also a small number of biased opinions, hinting that Chrétien’s strategy could not fundamentally change the weak position in IOI’s battle with GOG.

You have to let me do it if you want to turn the tables!

Eric was very confident because no one was more suitable than him after Chrétien took the blame and left.

As for whether Chrétien and the others would suspect him…

It did not matter. Even if they were suspicious, there was no evidence.

Eric had been lying low all these time for this moment.

At that moment, his cell phone rang.

Eric’s lips curled up slightly when he saw the number. He picked up the phone.

“Alright.”

“I’ll rush over immediately.”

Eric adjusted his suit and tie in front of the mirror and smiled confidently.

“Boss Pei, just wait. I’ll be back soon!”

“I won’t give you any more chances this time. I’ll burn money until Tengda Corporation’s true colors are revealed!”