Rong City, the sibling city, had a much rougher experience. After the team changed hands several times and was poorly managed, it has now completely disappeared.

As for the small professional teams that had sprung up, they didn’t last long either—they’re gone too. Now, the large area has turned into a football desert.

When Liu Ben heard Wu Hao say that 20 million wasn’t enough, Liu Ben couldn’t help but mentally complain, “As expected of someone destined to become a billionaire. Now, even tens of millions aren’t worth much.”

However, even though Liu Ben was internally grumbling, he was quite pleased because this meant that his and Hong Lei’s football dream could come true.

Actually, it was Liu Ben who had brought up the idea and taken the lead. Hong Lei was only a casual football fan, and on top of that, he was still managing a machinery factory. To be honest, with his current abilities, running that factory was already a bit of a stretch, so there was no time for him to run a football club as a full-time thing—it was just a hobby.

Of course, if they didn’t have Wu Hao’s support, their hobby would remain just that, with little chance of turning into reality.

Because, in this country, football isn’t something ordinary rich people can afford to play. For example, those football clubs in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are all backed by big corporations.

Nowadays, in wealthy circles, the way to tell if someone is a true or fake tycoon is whether they own a football team. For instance, the richest man, Wang Jianlin, made his fortune by running a football club, and there’s even news that Ma Yun is also preparing to invest in football.

In other words, domestic football has become nothing more than a toy for the rich, which is quite different from how it’s handled in European clubs.

As the world’s number one sport, football generates massive revenues in Europe every year, and it has become a part of everyday life for Europeans.

In Europe, even a small town with tens of thousands of people has an amateur team. Take England, for example—despite being smaller than one of our provinces, they have over a hundred professional teams, and even more amateur ones.

And that’s just one country. The situation is similar across all countries in Europe’s top five leagues. Even the leagues in other European countries, while not as strong as the top five, are still far better than those in China and Asia.

“Alright! Brother Hao, I admit that my vision was too narrow. While 20 million may be just a drop in the bucket for you, it’s a big deal for me and Lei. Plus, if you invest too much right away, and we mess it up, it wouldn’t be worth it. So, if we can get an investment of one to two million, I’ll be more than satisfied.” Liu Ben first half-jokingly flattered Wu Hao before briefly explaining.

To be honest, the idea of starting a football team was more of a dream, or a hobby, for both Liu Ben and Hong Lei. Now that Wu Hao had agreed to it, Liu Ben was starting to feel uncertain.

After all, so many people had tried to run football teams before, and they all failed. Even though Wu Hao didn’t seem to care much about a few tens of millions, if Liu Ben ended up messing it up, he really wouldn’t know how to face Wu Hao.

“Haha! No problem. Since we’ve reached this point, we can’t do things half-heartedly, and we need to do it well! Liu Ben, are you saying you don’t have the confidence? If that’s the case, I’d rather invest in someone else.” Wu Hao teased lightly.

“Alright! Brother Hao, since you put it that way, I’ll definitely work hard to make this team a success! Don’t you agree, Lei?” Liu Ben signaled to Hong Lei.

“Uh! Don’t look at me. At best, I can give you some advice. After all, I still have a factory to manage! I don’t have much time to play around with football. But I’ll support you in spirit!”

“Damn! I knew you’d say that!” Liu Ben rolled his eyes but didn’t force Hong Lei any further.

“Alright then, let’s settle it. I’ll start by giving you 100 million!” Wu Hao casually said after thinking it over.

When Liu Ben heard this, even though he had prepared himself, he was still startled by Wu Hao’s generosity and quickly refused, saying, “No, Brother Hao, we don’t need that much. After all, we’re just starting with a second-division team. If it’s too big, I’m afraid I won’t be able to manage it. Plus, since this is a newly registered team, we have to start from the second division. No matter how much money we have, we still need to move up one division per year, and it’ll take three years to get from the second division to the Super League. So, Brother Hao, a second-division team really doesn’t need 100 million.” Liu Ben hurriedly explained, knowing that Wu Hao probably didn’t understand football.

“Oh, I see! In that case, I won’t set a specific investment amount. Whenever you need money, just go directly to Lei and take it from the factory’s accounts.” After hearing this, Wu Hao understood the details and didn’t insist further, but he had other thoughts in mind.

“That’s perfect! Don’t worry, Brother Hao, Lei and I will definitely make the team successful. Right, Lei?” Liu Ben nudged Hong Lei.

Hong Lei couldn’t help but chuckle. He knew what Liu Ben was up to—trying to drag him along. But this time, Hong Lei didn’t refuse because, deep down, he also had a passion for football. He had only initially pushed the responsibility onto Liu Ben because he had the factory to manage.

Now that Wu Hao, the owner of the machinery factory, had spoken, what else could he say?

After finishing their discussion, the group chatted for a while longer, wrapping up the meal. Then, they all went their separate ways.

Wu Hao also stopped by the company, took care of the necessary instructions for Wu Zhengwei, and then drove back.

This time, Wu Hao didn’t bring any bodyguards with him, as he didn’t need them. With his combat skills, it was clear who would be protecting whom.

In the car, as Wu Hao drove, he activated his communicator and connected with the base’s ‘Zero.’ It must be said that Wu Hao’s high-tech equipment is truly impressive.

First and foremost, he had a large-screen phone-like communicator. This device, which resembled the latest touchscreen phones on the market, not only had all the functions of a regular phone but was also a handheld computer.

It was also highly durable, with strong waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof capabilities. On top of that, the phone used a new generation quantum-level core processing chip, giving it processing power comparable to large computers.

It also featured augmented reality (AR) technology, allowing it to project a 3D dynamic display. And that’s just one of many additional features. In short, this phone-like communicator was a fusion of various cutting-edge technologies.