Be reborn and be happy to the fullest

"President Li, please come this way. Let me introduce you to some friends in the industry..."

"President, are you going to give a speech this afternoon? We can arrange a seat for you on the main stage..."

Compared to the World Esports Conference in the morning, when Li Shuo arrived at the venue in the afternoon, he naturally received a warm welcome from Jin Zhengzhi. Jin first introduced Li Shuo to the people around him, and then asked Li Shuo if he wanted to go on stage to speak.

Li Shuo has spoken on stage more than once in China, and several times he has done so as a leader, so he is naturally not afraid to go on stage. Moreover, since he came to the conference, he also wanted to expand the influence of Shuoguo Esports, so he readily agreed after being invited.

However, after the conference began, Li Shuo discovered that the reality was somewhat different from what he had imagined. The main stage was an open platform that seemed to be available to everyone.

Soon, a young president from an unknown company took the stage. He excitedly expressed his gratitude, seemingly quite charismatic. However, when it came to actually giving his speech, it was a completely different story. His entire speech was filled with nonsense, lacking any core arguments, making the audience drowsy and bored.

Seeing Li Shuo's seemingly impatient expression, Jin Zhengzhi, standing beside him, whispered, "Normally, you can't speak freely on the main stage, but starting this year, the Global Esports Conference has changed some of its rules, increasing the invitations to well-known companies and individuals worldwide..."

"Well, as far as I know, Mr. Chen Dong, who is following you, Chairman, is also a beneficiary of this invitation..."

"Due to the expanded scope, this year's conference has seen the highest number of participants in history, with a large number of new attendees bringing some new ideas. Therefore, the rules for the presentations have been slightly changed..."

"However, to maintain the authority of the conference, the speeches are still divided into two parts. This is the first half, where everyone can speak freely. I've arranged for you to speak in the second half..."

Li Shuo nodded. As a reborn person, he immediately felt that this change in the atmosphere was absolutely correct. South Korea was too small after all. Under a special structure and in a special field, it had achieved a monopoly in the e-sports industry, but such a position without a solid foundation could not last long.

If, as it is now, the voices of esports elites from around the world are actively gathered and they are made spokespeople, then this monopolistic position can naturally be maintained.

But unfortunately...

Li Shuo narrowed his eyes, because he keenly realized that this was an opportunity for him:
In South Korea, the esports industry is largely dominated by subsidiaries of large conglomerates like Samsung and SK. While Lee Seok has connections with the Crown Princess and Choi Yoon-jung, these two women at most represent their respective shares. Even if Lee Seok were the heir of Samsung, if he wanted to challenge the esports scene, there would be those who would stand up against him…

Moreover, as an overseas conglomerate, isn't it only natural for them to support overseas e-sports forces and strive to become a global "non-Korean representative"?

With this in mind, Li Shuo had a plan for his speech.

Of course, he wasn't in a hurry to go on stage and mingle with those obviously inexperienced young people. He first chatted with Jin Zhengzhi about the current state of the e-sports circle and the key figures to pay attention to in the venue. After taking notes of the key information, he asked Jin Zhengzhi to arrange the second half of the speech so that he could be the first to go on stage.

"Fellow veterans and friends in the e-sports circle, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon, I am Li Shuo!"

At this point, Li Shuo paused, and then Jin Zhengzhi stood up with a clapping sound and started clapping. Soon after, more and more people stood up and applauded.

The young people who had just given their speeches all widened their eyes in unison, and some even showed signs of anger: they didn't receive this kind of treatment when they went on stage, and they had never even heard of Li Shuo before, so why was he so popular?
In reality, it wasn't that Li Shuo was popular; most of the people applauding him hadn't even heard of him. But that didn't matter. South Korea is a traditional Confucian cultural sphere, and those who stood up to applaud were fed up with the previous "free and undisciplined" atmosphere. Now that they saw Kim Jong-jik leading the way, they easily understood that he was "one of their own."

But they realized it too quickly. Li Shuo chose to go on stage at this time because he didn't intend to give these "core supporters" a friendly welcome.

"Let me introduce myself. I come from China and have founded two e-sports related platforms, Shuoguo Media and Shuoguo E-sports. Unlike other businesses under my Shuoguo Group, my involvement in the e-sports industry is entirely based on my personal interest."

The second sentence, however, moved the "core supporters" once again. These people were well-informed and naturally knew that a new dragon had recently crossed over from the country, someone who dared to challenge the Three Stars Crown Prince.

However, Kim Jung-chi was promoted by the Three Stars, so why would he curry favor with Lee Seok? New doubts arose in many people's minds.

"...Because it's a personal hobby, I play esports without any plans or expectations for the future. And because I have a little money, my approach to esports can be summed up in two words: throwing money at it!"

"My starting salary for the team leader of the Shuoguo Esports team is 2 RMB. If he can bring in resources within the industry, his salary will at least double... We also have famous players who will receive the most lucrative guaranteed contracts in the industry, as well as substantial revenue sharing from commercial advertising..."

"The above concerns money, and there are other benefits as well..." "StarCraft is arguably the most enduring game in the esports scene, and it's also the one you're all most familiar with. But what you might not know is that the number one StarCraft player, 'Master,' is actually a signed artist with a company called Shuoguo Entertainment! I spotted him and signed him last year, before he had even won the triple crown. And now, besides his reputation within the esports world, he's also accumulated considerable fame outside of it..."

"To be specific, here are some pictures for you. These are licensed advertisements that the 'Master' made for Shuoguo's gaming series such as mice and keyboards..."

"The reason I'm saying all this isn't to show off, but to let everyone know that anyone who likes esports can contact me for cooperation. Shuoguo Esports is in its early stages of development and needs a lot of partners..."

"My speech has come to an end. I will be handing out business cards to you all later. Please accept them."

The speech was perhaps a bit "short and concise," so after Li Shuo finished speaking, the audience remained completely silent, especially the old fogies who had just been clapping. They were all bewildered: How come this just sounded like a collaboration advertisement?

A round of applause erupted, as the old guard remained bewildered. This time, the malfunction was caused by the younger generation, mainly composed of people of various European and American descent. They were the people who had been "recruited" to participate in the conference.

For these people, Li Shuo's sales-style presentations are the most logical and appealing, and the achievements he claims are impressive, if true...

"Mr. Li, is what you said true? You already signed StarCraft Master at the last WCG?" someone shouted from below the stage.

Li Shuo nodded immediately, then picked up a large-screen tablet computer as if he had prepared in advance, and zoomed in on the photo. It was a group photo of him, the leader, Xu Yunmei and others at the previous WCG, with the electronic promotional screen of the 10 WCG in the background.

"Wow, that's really amazing! So, was your Shuoguo Esports also founded around that time?"

"No, as I've said before, my true attitude towards esports is to have fun. Back then, I was investing in it to make money... Of course, now I've made enough money, so my attitude towards esports is to increase the fun!"

"Hahaha"

Li Shuo's words were extremely pleasing, immediately eliciting bursts of laughter from the group. Some even immediately pressed for details about the collaboration: "So what kind of collaboration do you need? Or are you going to invest in the players?"

"I welcome all excellent esports projects, teams, and players..."

At this point, Li Shuo glanced at the grim-faced old fogies and softened his tone: "In addition, I will work with President Jin Zhengzhi to launch special promotional activities for this year's WCG. For example, regarding the selection of WCG spokespeople, I will fund a 'Sports Goddess Cup' model competition to increase the popularity of this year's WCG and open up new opportunities..."

The decision to secure the WCG's new spokesperson was made after Li Shuo met Jin Zhengzhi again. He originally intended to give the position as a gift to Xu Yunmei, but given the current situation, Xu Yunmei, who had already served as a spokesperson for one term, might not have much need for it. Therefore, Li Shuo had another brilliant idea and created the "E-sports Goddess Cup".

If this were the internet of yesteryear, the Goddess Cup would have been a completely shoddy tournament. But things are different now. It's funded by Li Shuo and officially co-organized by WCG, so it's quite prestigious. Giving the first champion to Xu Yunmei would be a great gift.

What's even more interesting is that WCG is within the traditional esports sphere of influence in South Korea. When Lee Seok said he would sponsor it, he was actually giving money to these old-fashioned people. So, as Lee Seok continued to paint a picture of the future, the old-fashioned people were filled with excitement and enthusiasm.

Finally, when Li Shuo finished his speech, he was greeted with enthusiastic applause from both the stage and the audience!

The money-spraying tactic has once again proven its unparalleled effectiveness.

"Mr. Li, I'm from the LU team. Can we talk?"

"President Li, you're organizing the Esports Goddess Cup. Perhaps you should find partners, such as an organization to host the event..."

"President, your speech was fantastic! I have a project here..."

After Li Shuo stepped down, he was immediately surrounded by a crowd. He had a lot of experience dealing with this, so he calmly pulled Chen Dong out from beside him. Chen Dong was the real participant representing Chinese e-sports in Korea and was fluent in Korean. So Li Shuo had him connect with Kim Jung-jik and the traditional e-sports forces.

As for other emerging esports forces, represented by Europeans and Americans, Li Shuo temporarily assigned Han Enqing to distribute business cards and asked those interested in cooperation to send their letters of intent to his email address, promising to review them carefully... (End of Chapter)