CSGO Unboxing Streamer: A Charity-Driven Tycoon

Chapter 338 Have I offended anyone overseas?
March.

The League of Legends 2021 Spring Split is in full swing.

The start of the Starry Night Cup CSGO Spring Season coincided with the seventh week of the LOL Spring Season regular season.

Fortunately, the main matches for both sides are scheduled at different times. In the eyes of many LOL players, this is evidence that CSGO is afraid of losing viewership to LOL.

This argument will naturally be refuted by CSGO players.

Subsequently, as more players joined both sides, the event's popularity began to rise.

On the 2nd, Lu Yiming received a phone call.

He then frowned and said, "Okay! I understand!"

He breathed a sigh of relief after hanging up the phone.

He then said with a complicated expression, "There are quite a few troublesome things here."

2 p.m.

Lu Yiming started his live stream on time.

At this point, there was no apparent trend in the chat, but if you turned on the comment reduction function, you could see many people commenting that CSGO was a gambling game.

Back in August 2012, CS:GO was officially released. In the shadow of its failed predecessor CS:S, it did not attract a large influx of players from the previous game like DOTA2 did.

On the first day of its release, CS:GO only had 50,000 online players. The number of online players continued to decline, with the highest number of online players per day only reaching a little over 10,000.

DOTA2, which was released earlier, fared much better, so Valve borrowed from DOTA2's success and brought the Workshop to CS:GO, allowing players to design CS:GO game maps.

However, after its implementation, the effect was mediocre, and its impact on the game's popularity was limited.

In August 2013, Valve, not wanting to be outdone, added the item system and case opening system from DOTA2 to CS:GO.

It was like a nerve had been touched. I never expected that the guys who usually love to shoot things would fall in love with opening boxes and buying skins just like girls love buying bags.

The random items dropped from the crates can be bought and sold in the trading system, which makes CS:GO players even more addicted, and from then on, the activity of the CS:GO community greatly increased as Valve had hoped.

However, what Valve did not expect was that a large number of gambling websites also saw the business opportunity in it.

The phone call Lu Yiming received was related to gambling. With the surge in CSGO players in China, the price of skins has also skyrocketed, and gambling websites targeting skins have sprung up like mushrooms after rain on the internet.

of course.

This problem is a persistent and intractable issue.

The fact that he could be reached by phone was an even more serious problem: these gambling websites were offering betting odds on a competition spearheaded by the Starry Sky Group.

The total turnover of overseas betting odds reached 100 million US dollars in just the four matches yesterday.

One hundred million US dollars may not be a lot, but if it's just data from one website, it's terrifying. The news broke this morning, and it shocked the entire internet.

Previously, the number of daily reports about CSGO might only be in the tens, but within three hours of a single incident, the Cyberspace Administration of China received thousands of complaints.

Lu Yiming started his broadcast an hour ago.

Starry Sky Games Company.

Jiang Yuanming was discussing the incident with the public relations department, trying to figure out how to handle the situation, when he noticed the screen of his phone on the table light up.

Upon seeing that the caller was Lu Yiming, he signaled for everyone present to be quiet.

The call was then connected.

"Mr. Lu~"

"Yes! I've already received the message! We're already organizing the public relations department to discuss solutions."

"What? We're not going to do anything about it? We're just letting the situation escalate? Okay! I understand!"

hang up the phone.

Jiang Yuanming's gaze swept across the people in the conference room.

He then said, "Alright! You should have heard that! President Lu said we shouldn't take any action during this public relations crisis. Meeting adjourned!"

Jiang Yuanming was feeling very melancholy.

He didn't know why Lu Yiming made this decision.

But he had no choice but to obey.

The competition has only been going on for two days, and this problem has already occurred just as the appetizers were being served. If it is not dealt with promptly, it will definitely become a laughing stock.

At this time.

Lu Zhen also received a call from Lu Yiming. As the president of Perfect Group, he naturally had to use his resources to find a solution to the project's significant negative impact. However, Lu Yiming asked him to do nothing, which puzzled him greatly.

"President Lu! You need to tell me the truth! Otherwise, I won't be able to explain myself to the board of directors!"

at the same time.

Lu Yiming was taking a bath at home. He felt that the medicinal bath must contain some substance that could make people addicted. Now, if he didn't take a bath for a day, his whole body would feel itchy.

Lu Zhen pressed for answers.

Lu Yiming said softly, "Responding will only satisfy the purposes of those with ulterior motives. The best way to handle this is not to respond."

Lu Zhen was stunned when he heard this.

Regardless of whether someone is manipulating public opinion, once something has broken out, it must be suppressed first. This is the most effective way to handle crisis public relations.

Doing nothing would only give those with ulterior motives an opportunity to expand their influence.

The explosive popularity of CS:GO is something many people didn't want to see. After all, most of those who have worked hard in this field are people they consider losers, people who can only eat chaff and porridge while they are enjoying the good life.

However, with the increased investment of Fanxing Group in esports events, at least half of the esports market has been taken away.

In fact, the market has been gradually shrinking since 2019. Last year, RSS's championship win did not salvage much of the hype, which proves that esports traffic has entered a period of stagnation. Therefore, the most important thing during this period is to make money.

However, CSGO suddenly became incredibly popular, and by the time many people realized it, it was too late to get on board. Naturally, they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to sabotage it.

Lu Yiming received the information and learned who was involved. It can only be said that they underestimated the size of the current Fanxing Group.

Let's go back to when he started broadcasting.

During the broadcast, he focused on the matches that morning, commenting on the performances of the various teams.

Even with simplified chat enabled, you could still see many people mentioning CSGO betting.

In response, Lu Yiming acted as if he had just seen the news and said, "Spinach? I've already received the news! I'm very grateful for the reminder from the media, and I've already arranged for someone to handle it! I just want to remind everyone in the live stream that you shouldn't gamble on overseas gambling websites!"

Lu Yiming's response did not satisfy some people in the live broadcast room.

Because of the gambling industry, so many families have been torn apart and lives lost. All these grudges have been directed at the Starry Sky Group, and as the owner of the Starry Sky Group, Lu Yiming naturally cannot escape being held accountable.

Looking at comments like these.

Lu Yiming laughed and said, "Hold them accountable? Did I tell them to place bets, or did I force them to deposit money? What responsibility should I bear? Should I reimburse them? How many times have I mentioned this in the live stream? Be careful when opening bets, don't touch gambling websites, or you'll cry when you've lost everything?"

By this time, many viewers had already realized that something was wrong.

They weren't here because of the incident, but because of Lu Yiming, or more specifically, because of the game CSGO.

The impact of the incident continued to grow throughout the day.

Public opinion is divided into two camps. One camp believes that Lu Yiming is not at fault, but the game is. The game's loopholes have given people an opportunity to exploit. The other camp believes that the core reason lies in the lack of regulation. There is no regulation whatsoever in the trading of accessories. If this gray area, where accessories worth millions or even tens of millions of yuan are left unchecked, is allowed to become a tool for tax evasion and bribery in the future, it is not impossible.

Lu Yiming, who was at the center of the controversy, successfully escaped the eye of the storm with the help of his fans.

However, this is only temporary.

There's an invisible hand manipulating the hype, aiming to dethrone CSGO and, in doing so, drag Lu Yiming down with it. At least, that's what Lu Yiming's fans currently believe.

night.

Lu Yiming received a call from Cao Siyun.

"President Lu! The buzz is still quite strong. Don't we really need to use the group's resources to smooth things over?"

Don't be fooled by its high popularity.

In reality, mainstream media outlets did not get involved.

The main problem is that some online trolls are stirring up trouble.

Lu Yiming was eating at that moment.

After swallowing his food, he said, "No need! I want to see who's behind this! Have the people I told you found anything?"

The phone call at noon gave Lu Yiming the names of several companies, and he immediately arranged for Cao Siyun to inquire about them in a friendly manner.

At this moment, Cao Siyun couldn't help but chuckle. After suppressing her laughter, she said in a deep voice, "We've already contacted them! They're just going with the flow; they're not the masterminds behind it all. I suspect it's the same as before—it's probably a foreign force."

Upon hearing Cao Siyun mention foreign forces...

Lu Yiming was stunned for a moment.

There have been several incidents before, and after they subsided, no one was found out who was behind them, but some evidence points to overseas entities.

Lu Yiming immediately asked in confusion, "Have I offended anyone overseas?"

Hear this.

Cao Siyun pondered for a while.

He then nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Lu! Christie's auction."

Cao Siyun helped Lu Yiming recall that he had indeed offended a powerful force overseas, but hadn't they apologized afterward?

Um.
"They" here refers to Christie's.

Perhaps sensing Lu Yiming's doubts.

Cao Siyun reminded him, "Mr. Lu! It was Christie's Hong Kong that apologized and compensated you at the time, not Christie's Paris branch that offended you."

These words made Lu Yiming put down his chopsticks.

Don't tell me yet.

It's really possible!

The system had previously sent him a VIP invitation to Christie's October Autumn Auction in the Fog City. He originally thought it was a one-time offer, but he didn't expect that this VIP status was for life. Moreover, apart from him being just a small-time auctioneer at the time, the other people who had this status were at least wealthy.

The difference between a tycoon and a nouveau riche lies in the fact that in addition to wealth, they also possess a certain social status.

Cao Siyun reminded her.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yiming immediately dialed his personal customer service number at Christie's.

This was the second time he had proactively made this call; the first time was before he set off.

The call was connected very quickly.

"Hello Mr. Lu! I am your dedicated customer service representative, number 4396. How can I help you?"

"Please ask me! I've been harassed online by foreign forces for the past few years. I want to know if you're the ones doing it."

That statement completely baffled the customer service representative.

Having received professional training, she couldn't understand why she would receive such a question.

Lu Yiming didn't say much. He had already achieved his goal of alerting Christie's, so he hung up the phone and waited for Christie's to give him a satisfactory answer.

soon.

Less than an hour had passed.

Lu Yiming received a reply from Christie's.

"President Lu! It's me, Qin Hao! I don't know if you still remember me!"

Hear the name.

Lu Yiming recalled the young man in a tuxedo who looked like a butler who had received him that time, and immediately nodded and said, "Hello! I was very satisfied with your reception that time! Are you still working in Wudu now?"

Hear this.

Qin Hao gave a wry smile. With such a big incident happening at the time, how could he possibly stay any longer? Not long after Lu Yiming left, he was transferred back to Hong Kong.

But that's not the point.

At this moment, he said in a deep voice, "Thank you for remembering me! I have learned about your concerns from your dedicated customer service representative, and on behalf of Hong Kong, I assure you."

The words were not finished.

Lu Yiming interrupted, "I don't need your guarantees. Besides, if you only represent Hong Kong, does that mean you can't handle things in Chongqing?"

As the saying goes, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. At present, Lu Yiming is not afraid of any spear in the open. He has many trump cards to protect himself. As for arrows in the dark, they can't hurt him, but that doesn't mean they can't annoy him.

He was always feeling that someone was secretly plotting against him, which made him very unhappy. So this time, he simply let the situation escalate and wanted to see if he could catch the rat in the shadows.

Qin Hao immediately tensed up upon hearing this.

He immediately replied, "The city of Fog has already become independent, and now Christie's is handled by local representatives in each region, so I really can't guarantee whether the city of Fog has done anything."

A very sincere tone.

It's about coming here to resolve the issue.

Lu Yiming nodded upon hearing this and said, "Understood! I'll check things out in Wudu. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up!"

The phone hangs up.

Lu Yiming thought for a while, then continued eating.

This was just a minor incident, a test of Christie's reaction. Unexpectedly, Christie's has now developed internal problems.

It's highly likely that it has nothing to do with Hong Kong, so the investigation must focus on Chongqing.

Have I offended anyone else in Chongqing?
Thinking about this, Lu Yiming stopped eating and pondered for a while, but he really couldn't think of anyone he had offended, so he continued eating.

After giving Cao Siyun the clues, Lu Yiming waited for what would happen next.

At that moment, Cao Siyun also received a phone call. Her facial features instantly tightened, and she said softly, "Okay! Thank you for your hard work!"

hang up the phone.

Cao Siyun began pressing her temples with both hands.

Although they haven't found out who's behind this, the message from Lu Yiming, along with the phone call they received, all point to the location of Wudu.

There's only one possible outcome.

Lu Yiming must have offended someone in Wudu.

Based on the available intelligence, it is true that after Lu Yiming returned from Chongqing, some people started paying domestic online trolls to cause trouble for him.

So here's another question~
Over the past two years, they've spent nearly hundreds of millions of dollars on these underhanded tactics with high costs and low returns. Who would do something like this?

(End of this chapter)