Chapter 147 Inspiration

Cui Geng looked around the entire "Inspiration Class" environment and found that it was even better than he had imagined!

Televisions, individual sofas, and even a dedicated audio-visual room. While the "Inspiration Class" couldn't offer a viewing experience surpassing a dedicated movie theater, it definitely beat any other venue.

And it wasn't just movies; there were also a large number of single-player games with excellent storylines, as well as physical books of novels and comics. It was a huge treasure trove of inspiration.

Most importantly, the "Inspiration Class" had no solitary confinement rooms, and there were absolutely no restrictions on the authors' writing time. If you wanted, you could spend two weeks doing nothing but watching movies on the sofa without writing a single word!

For Cui Geng, this environment was simply a dream.

If he were to assemble such a setup himself, it would cost him tens of thousands, not to mention the large number of genuine Blu-ray movies, books, and a dedicated audio-visual room. The overall cost was something no individual creator could afford.

Here, they not only provided food and lodging, but also paid a very high buyout price for the novels they wrote. It was an unbelievable deal!

Cui Geng had initially thought that he was an author with ideals and pursuits, so how could he accept such a buyout arrangement?

But now, he was singing a different tune!

Bring on the buyouts! The more, the merrier!

The editor saw the excited look on Cui Geng's face and said with a smile, "Ah, I really envy you guys. I wish I could join this 'Inspiration Class,' but I'm not qualified."

"After the 'Inspiration Class' officially opens tomorrow, you'll have three days to experience it."

"Oh, I heard that Boss Pei will come to inspect it tomorrow to see how the 'Inspiration Class' is working out."

"During this time, you can try it out first and then decide whether to accept the buyout model and what kind of themes you want to write."

Cui Geng's eyes lit up. "Oh? Boss Pei is coming too?"

This was a truly unexpected surprise.

Cui Geng had met Boss Pei a few times. Boss Pei had even taken time out of his busy schedule to treat him to a meal and give him the position of "Special Observer."

Cui Geng's current success was also closely related to the inspiration provided by Boss Pei.

For some reason, Cui Geng always felt that good things would happen whenever he saw Boss Pei or had anything to do with him.

This time, Boss Pei was personally coming to inspect the place. Maybe if he discussed a few issues with him, he would instantly be enlightened and have an explosion of inspiration?

Cui Geng looked forward to it with relish.

...

...

February 9th, Thursday.

In the morning, Pei Qian took a car to the "Inspiration Class" to see how the authors were doing.

Although Zhongdian Chinese Network's ability to make money wasn't particularly outstanding compared to other industries under Tengda Group, Pei Qian attached great importance to it.

Especially this "Inspiration Class," which was Pei Qian's own idea. If successful, it could bring all of Zhongdian Chinese Network's top authors under one roof, greatly slowing down Zhongdian Chinese Network's money-making speed. It could be said to be of great significance.

Therefore, Pei Qian felt it was necessary to come and take a look.

After arriving at the "Inspiration Class," Pei Qian first looked at it from a distance at the door.

He saw the authors of Zhongdian Chinese Network all comfortably slumped on individual sofas, some watching movies intently, some playing games with controllers, and some reading physical books.

At first glance, it looked like an internet cafe, but it was also different. More accurately, it looked like a large entertainment room.

As for the "writing area" next to it, it was empty. There was no one there.

The only regret was that the "Inspiration Class" currently had a relatively small number of people, only about a dozen or so, and the seats only occupied a small part of the room.

Because many of the top authors' books weren't finished and were still being serialized, they couldn't just abandon their ongoing books to write buyouts, could they?

Therefore, another group of authors would come over later.

The dozen or so people who had already arrived were like Cui Geng, having already finished their old books before signing up for the "Inspiration Class." It was precisely because their old books were finished and there was no pressure to update that no one was writing.

Pei Qian was very satisfied with this.

Excellent!

Just watch movies and play games here. Put off writing as much as possible.

In the crowd, Pei Qian saw Cui Geng at a glance and immediately paid special attention to him!

Because Cui Geng was one of the first authors to become popular on Zhongdian Chinese Network, directly boosting the website's urban channel. He could be said to be a turning point for Zhongdian Chinese Network.

What made Pei Qian even more angry was that despite placing high hopes on Cui Geng and even arranging the position of "Special Observer" for him, Cui Geng not only failed to reduce the work efficiency of the various departments but also wrote a popular book that stabbed Pei Qian in the back!

But this time, Pei Qian felt that the situation would definitely be different.

As everyone knew, Cui Geng was a lazy bum with no motivation. Could a lazy bum still write seriously in such a comfortable environment? Impossible!

Thinking of this, Pei Qian stepped inside and strolled around.

At the same time, these authors were struggling to choose the material for their novels.

Zhu Xing'an had already emphasized to the authors that they were to write customized articles, which meant that they could only write IP works related to Tengda and not original works.

This was a rule set by Boss Pei and couldn't be changed.

Tengda's current IP works were nothing more than three aspects: Tengda's games and movies, various well-known domestic IPs purchased by GOG, and various comic IPs of Hurricane Comics.

So, which theme should they choose to write? This was very difficult.

They certainly couldn't just make a rash decision and choose the material; they had to repeatedly study these themes and find the best entry point.

Therefore, some of the authors were playing Tengda's games, some were watching movies like "A Beautiful Tomorrow," and some were flipping through Hurricane Comics' comic books and old movies. They had no clear goal and could only try their luck.

Cui Geng was racking his brains when he suddenly saw Boss Pei strolling around.

"Boss Pei, you're here!" Cui Geng was very happy and wanted to stand up to greet him.

Pei Qian pressed him back down. "It's okay, I'm just taking a look around. You can continue with what you're doing."

There happened to be no one next to Cui Geng, so Pei Qian sat down next to him, intending to experience the "Inspiration Class" setup and enjoy himself.

Cui Geng was very excited. He didn't expect Boss Pei to sit next to him, feeling very valued.

While flipping through the various movie and game resources provided by the "Inspiration Class," Pei Qian casually asked, "Have you decided on a theme yet?"

Cui Geng was Pei Qian's key target.

After all, among the first dozen or so authors, Cui Geng had the best results, the most flexible mind, and was most likely to cause trouble, so Pei Qian just asked to determine the degree of threat Cui Geng posed.

Cui Geng quickly said, "Oh, Boss Pei, I don't have a very clear idea yet."

"But I have a general direction, which is to delve into Tengda's game and movie themes!"

"After all, Tengda's most influential cultural content is games and movies. These are Tengda's original content, and the public's acceptance is also the highest. Recently, I heard that the new game 'Mission and Choice' is a big production with a science fiction background and a very grand structure. It has good expansibility."

"I plan to study similar themes and strive to write a novella based on the existing story of 'Mission and Choice'!"

"I dare not say that I will surpass the current story of 'Mission and Choice,' but as long as I write with style and characteristics, it will be enough!"

Pei Qian was shocked to hear this.

What the hell? He had already locked in on "Mission and Choice" in advance?

That was definitely not acceptable!

"Mission and Choice" was a project with huge investment and couldn't be lost. So far, it was just a game and a movie. But if many authors flocked to write fan fiction of it, and if one of the novels became famous, wouldn't all the works, including the movie and the novel, become popular?

Therefore, it was definitely not acceptable!

He couldn't touch Tengda's core business!

Thinking of this, Pei Qian quickly said, "I don't think... this theme is very good."

"Because Tengda's games and movies basically have complete stories. Even if some 'plot holes' are left, they may be filled by the official party themselves, which is related to future development plans."

"If you write fan fiction of 'Mission and Choice' and the setting deviates from the subsequent works of 'Mission and Choice,' wouldn't it be embarrassing? It would be a waste of effort."

"It's not that you can't write it at all, but I suggest that you put it at a lower priority and consider other directions first."

Cui Geng nodded. "Uh... Boss Pei makes sense."

"In that case, there are only the domestic IPs purchased by GOG and the comic IPs of Hurricane Comics. Let me think..."

"Although these domestic IPs are relatively old, they still have some popularity. Maybe writing a fan fiction will evoke some people's childhood memories, and this theme will become popular again. Moreover, it can also create some linkage with GOG..."

Pei Qian frowned again when he heard this.

This wouldn't work either. It was still dangerous!

Many classic IP characters were likely to become popular again. For example, some old movies were originally ignored, but if they were edited with a BGM, they would inexplicably become popular. This wasn't unheard of.

Moreover, although these classic domestic IP characters were outdated, they were, after all, a common memory for a generation of Chinese people, and they had very strong traditional Chinese cultural characteristics. If they really became popular, it would be more difficult to deal with.

In addition, with GOG's huge influence in China, the probability of something going wrong would greatly increase.

Of course, Pei Qian believed that the "Inspiration Class"'s creative model determined that the success rate of authors choosing any theme would not be high, because writing customized articles was like dancing in shackles.

But Pei Qian still hoped that these authors, especially Cui Geng, could choose the theme with the lowest success rate.

Thinking of this, Pei Qian said with some disappointment, "Cui Geng, you are an author with ideals and pursuits. Why do you always choose the easy difficulty for yourself?"

"Even if you write this kind of theme seriously, what kind of height can you achieve?"

"If you have confidence in yourself, you should directly choose the highest difficulty and write the superhero characters of Hurricane Comics!"

Cui Geng was stunned. "Ah? Boss Pei, you think too highly of me..."

Writing superhero themes?

I'm just an ordinary online novelist!

Superhero themes were the reserved land of the top two comic companies in the United States. Only they could handle them. Other countries and other authors couldn't capture the essence.

In addition to the objective strength of the screenwriters, there was also a very important reason: cultural background.

The West advocated individualism, so superhero stories were particularly well-suited. And Western audiences were particularly receptive to the concept of superheroes, so the films had a good market.

The top two comic companies in the United States had decades of rich accumulation of hero characters, which was absolutely unshakable. Any superhero they randomly threw out could kill Hurricane Comics' superhero films.

Wanting to make a name for himself in this field?

Cui Geng thought it was a pipe dream.

He had a premonition that even if he, as an online novelist, were to write superhero themes, he probably wouldn't be able to get rid of the strong online novel flavor, and in the end, he would please neither side.

Therefore, Cui Geng immediately wanted to back down.

"Boss Pei, I'm just writing online novels. You're asking me to write superhero themes. Isn't that asking the impossible?"

"The entire story structure and pleasure points of online novels and superhero themes are completely different things. If I force myself to write, the final result will definitely be neither fish nor fowl."

"Besides, the people at Hurricane Comics who created these superheroes haven't been able to make them popular. It's even more impossible for a second-rate like me!"

Pei Qian became even more convinced that his chosen path was correct when he saw Cui Geng's attitude. "Don't underestimate yourself!"

"What is the 'Inspiration Class' for? It's for you to gather inspiration!"

"Why don't we limit the number of words you update? It's to allow you to work slowly and meticulously."

"If we follow the creation methods of online novels and force you to update thousands or tens of thousands of words every day, it would indeed be difficult for you to write a good enough superhero theme story. But now, by slowing down and polishing it slowly, as long as you persist long enough and write enough stories, you will eventually succeed!"

"You are all top authors, all storytellers. I believe that no matter what the theme, as long as you have enough time to study it, you will definitely be able to master it!"

Cui Geng was still at a loss. "But Boss Pei, we originally have a cultural barrier with the West. The superhero theme is a theme that originated from Western culture. If I forcibly write it, wouldn't I be using my weaknesses to hit others' strengths!"

"This isn't something that can be changed just by accumulation."

Pei Qian was silent for a moment and reluctantly admitted, "Indeed."

"But, who said superhero themes can only be written for Westerners?"

"You can also write for domestic readers!"

"A superhero theme that only targets domestic readers may not necessarily fail."

Cui Geng scratched his head. "But, I can't create original content. I can only use the existing IPs to write. But the characters of Hurricane Comics have neither become popular abroad nor at home. This shows that these characters are actually lacking something. Even if I only write for domestic readers, it's probably impossible to succeed, because people simply don't like these superheroes..."

"I don't think I can make domestic readers like them either. It's too difficult."

Pei Qian thought for a while. "Why do they have to like these superheroes? You can also write all these superheroes to death, or make them wish they were dead. Anyway, everyone doesn't like them, which gives you more freedom!"

"Don't let the rules and regulations limit your thinking. Be bold in your assumptions!"

Cui Geng: "..."

He realized that Boss Pei was determined to make him choose the most difficult theme: the superhero theme of Hurricane Comics!

Anyway, no matter how he tried to find reasons, Boss Pei would always bring the topic back to this theme.

But, how could he write this?

An online novelist being forced to write a superhero theme? Wasn't that ridiculous?

Cui Geng was unwilling in every possible way, but he found that Boss Pei's debating skills were too strong, and he quickly ran out of words.

In the end, he had to reluctantly nod his head. "Alright, Boss Pei, I'll take a look at Hurricane Comics' comics these few days and think about it..."

"But, don't have too much hope. If I buy back a bunch of trash with the buyout money, I won't be responsible."

Pei Qian was overjoyed. You're going to write a pile of trash? That's exactly what I want!

He immediately patted Cui Geng on the shoulder. "Don't worry, it doesn't matter if the work isn't successful. It's a meaningful attempt!"

"As long as it's an attempt, there will always be failures!"

"The reason for doing buyouts is for Zhongdian Chinese Network to bear the risk so that you can create freely without pressure!"

"Feel free to try it out. I'll take care of any problems!"