Lao Zheng always did things with determination and he even had the contract prepared…… Xie Mingzhe took the contract from Xiao Gui and examined it, feeling a little bit surprised, “I can retain the copyright of cards that I design during my work in your club. And the club only has a priority right to use the cards?”
Zheng Feng nodded without hesitation, “Yes. What do you think? Are you satisfied with this condition?”
Xie Mingzhe hadn't expected that Ghost h.e.l.l would really gave him the card copyright. What if he leaves the club with his cards? Then he immediately knew the reason when he noticed the next clause——If the designer leaves the club before the contract expires or leaks the club's confidential research and investment information, the designer would pay ten times the amount of compensation.
There you go, the restrictive clause. But job-hopping and leaking confidential information essentially countered to professional norms, which means if Xie Mingzhe really intended to be a card designer, this contract would be the best offer he could get——a salary of at least a million gold coins a year, plus an award for designing good cards as well as a year-end bonus. In addition, he could keep the card copyright, while the club would only have the right of priority. This may be the best offer he could find in the whole league.
Noticing that he kept silent, Zheng Feng continued to ask, “I a.s.sume that other clubs also tried to sign you on before.”
Xie Mingzhe nodded, “Yes.”
Zheng Feng said, “Allow me to a.n.a.lyse the current situation for you. At present there are several first-cla.s.s clubs at the top of the National Star League pyramid. The Adjudication Club's rules and regulations are so strict that it is impossible for its managers to give up card copyright. Fenghua doesn't lack card designers as it has Tang Muzhou, Zhen Man and Xu Changfeng. These designers' card-creating ability are at the highest level of the whole league, which means Fenghua doesn't need to take such a great risk to sign you.
“The character cards are your signature, but it can't easily synergise with Capital of Darkness's insect and Gu insect cards. The Flowing Frost City Club specializes in aquatic creatures. The four fellow apprentices are masters with Water attribute and it is hard for you to join their little group. As for Pantheon, it has the strongest original card designer of the whole league who has a very close relationship with the players of the club. The only result of you going to Pantheon will be the compet.i.tion for the chief designer position between you and him. Plus the Pantheon Club wouldn't do that for such a great cost——So, h.e.l.lo! Ghost h.e.l.l.”
Zheng Feng was indeed an experienced player from the first season. He was thoroughly familiar with every club in the league. And obviously he wholeheartedly wanted to sign Xie Mingzhe by a.n.a.lysing every club's details for him.
Speaking of this, he stood up and approached Xie Mingzhe, then said sincerely and earnestly, “Uncle Chubby. It's okay to draw pet cards if you work alone. But you can't have a promising future in the Star Card World when it comes to drawing battle cards. The reason is that even if you have great talent, there are still many talented players and cards designers just like you in other clubs. You're only taking the lead in making IDE cards right now. But when it comes to designing a complete card group, you cannot be compared to the players such as Tang Muzhou, Nie Yuandao, Ling Jingtang and the chief designer of Pantheon. You cannot even compete with Xiao Liu in our club.
“Designing a card group requires the acc.u.mulation of great actual battle experience, not just the imagination. I have been playing games for nine years and I have met so many young talents who didn't make it in the end. The compet.i.tion in the league is much more ferocious than you can imagine. If you don't have a prop, you will be doomed to failure in the original community. The best choice for your future is to sign with a club as your prop. The Ghost h.e.l.l Club's boss is my cousin. He is only responsible for investing, while I'm in charge of everything related to the club. We decided to delegate the copyrights to you in the contract because we sincerely want to invite you to join us. As you know, since the fifth season's copyright dispute happened this kind of contract is rare.”
Gui Sirui echoed, “Exactly! Think about it, Uncle Chubby. The conditions that my Shifu offers are basically the treatment that only the top card designers in the whole National Star Card League could enjoy. The reason that we want to sign you is not only because you are talented, but also because Brother Xu likes you very much. He is a research freak. I'm pretty sure you guys will have so many things to talk about if you work together. Besides, your human cards and our demon cards as well as ghost cards are a good match!”
Liu Jingxu went on to say, “My demon cards have the human shape, and Xiao Gui's ghost cards is in human shape too. Adding your human cards to our card group indeed would create a perfect match. You can feel our undoubted sincerity from Lao Zheng's detailed a.n.a.lysis. In so many first-cla.s.s clubs in the league, Ghost h.e.l.l is surely your best choice.”
Xie Mingzhe, “……”
He was a little tempted by the three men's continuous persuasion. In that case, he could have a top club as his prop and simultaneously keep the card copyright. As long as he kept the club's secrets and remained loyal to the club during the contract period, he could enjoy good treatment and also freely design cards without feeling any pressure. Furthermore, these top players' acc.u.mulation of practical experience in battling could provide him a great deal of ideas for designing cards.
Nevertheless, when thinking of what Brother Chen said before, Xie Mingzhe finally made up his mind.
He looked at Zheng Feng and politely said, “Three legends, your sincerity is so touching. Thank you. I didn't expect that you would offer me such good conditions……But, I'm so sorry. I have already got some fellas to start my own business. I don't want to sign with any clubs.”
Zheng Feng frowned, “Your men, do their professional competences come up to the formal club's standard?”
That was impossible. However, even though Xie Mingzhe wasn't involved in the copyright dispute that year, recently when other people repeatedly spoke of this event, he had a strange intuition that being contracted to other clubs equalled working for others no matter how good the offer was.
Working for others means that he had to listen to the boss. What if his idea clashed with the boss's one day and subsequently the relationship between him and the club reached a deadlock, he couldn't fight city hall anyway. When the collision appears, he would be the weaker side who would finally come to grief.
Since he has such great talent, why would he still work for others?
Why can't he be the boss?
Even though Brother Chen's boosting service studio couldn't compete with the big clubs in reference to professional competence, he was an experienced booster whose degree of familiarity with the game was as great as the professionals'. They had been working together for a long time and there was a tacit agreement between them.
It was better to set up his own club than to sign with other clubs.
Xie Mingzhe knew that other people would think that he lived in a fool's paradise with wild ambition when they discovered his thought.
However, he was not okay to be under contract to the Ghost h.e.l.l Club like this. Despite Ghost h.e.l.l giving him the best offer, he still felt something wrong deep down.
Maybe as a free spirit, he didn't like being commanded by others?
Nie Yuandao bought the copyright from him; the partnership between him and Tang Muzhou was equal; Fang Yu approached him about customizing cards. All these things were based on the fact that he was a freelance designer. And all these types of cooperation would be gone once he signed with Ghost h.e.l.l.
He had made up his mind not to work for any clubs earlier.
——My human cards must be added to your card group in order to a.s.sist you?
——Then why don't I just design a complete set of human cards and a.s.sist myself?
Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe became more steadfast. He looked at the three legends and said with a smile, “I really appreciate your recognition for me. And thank you, Legend Zheng, for weighing up the pros and cons for me. I know that you did this for my own good, trying to show me the best development path. But I'm so sorry. I won't join Ghost h.e.l.l or any other club. Think of me as a stubborn person. I insist and I won't change my mind no matter what the condition is.”
The other side's firm eyes and facial expressions made Zheng Feng suddenly freeze. He couldn't resist asking, “In reality, you're not really a chubby uncle of middle age, are you?”
Xie Mingzhe smiled, “Since you're so frank. I would feel sorry if I lied to you. I'm indeed not a chubby middle-aged uncle.”
Zheng Feng, “…………”
Liu Jingxu and Gui Sirui wanted to keep on persuading him when Zheng Feng stretched his hands and stopped them.
He approached Uncle Chubby and said, “In that case, maybe we can only meet each other in the Arena?”
Xie Mingzhe seriously said, “Maybe, if I'm lucky enough.”
Zheng Feng crisply patted his shoulder, “Well then. I won't impose this stuff on you. If fate allows, we'll meet again.”
Xie Mingzhe left the Ghost h.e.l.l Club.
Liu Jingxu held his question until he left, “Lao Zheng, why did you give up?”
Zheng Feng smiled and said, “The man can't be persuaded.”
Gui Sirui felt so confused, “Why didn't he change his mind even facing good conditions like this?”
Zheng Feng sighed lightly, speaking in a low voice, “I've seen so many designers in the last nine years. Some of them were shortsighted and thus ruined their prospects; some of them had extremely wild ambitions while their power was not that strong. But this man is different from any of the ones I have met before. Perhaps he will be one of the largest variables. He reminds me of Tang Muzhou back in the fifth season. It was the appearance of Tang Muzhou that caused the league's great change in the fifth season.”
Liu Jingxu had experienced the fifth season too, and he couldn't resist saying, “You mean, he intends to establish a club and become an original and professional player just like Tang Muzhou?”
Zheng Feng nodded in earnest, “I have a premonition that in the future he will become a strong opponent of all players in the Arena. And the National Star Card League might be reshuffled in the next season.”
Gui Sirui and Liu Jingxu were looking at each other in dismay and at a loss for words.
That chubby uncle's image was very genial. But when he spoke, his tone was so determined that he didn't sound like a middle-aged chubby uncle.
What manner of man is he?