Chapter 1 A Private Kitchen on the Top Floor

The tipsiness brought on by the red wine, coupled with the slightly cool night breeze, made Pei Qian feel a little dazed.

He took out his phone, downloaded Shenhua App Store, and reconfirmed that the mobile version of "A Bloody Battle Song" was indeed still at the top of the charts.

Okay, everything that had just happened wasn't an illusion.

Pei Qian silently exhaled.

How melancholic...

The bad news just now was like a bolt from the blue, leaving President Pei feeling a bit lost.

Fortunately, he was already somewhat used to this feeling.

After all, this wasn't the first or second time things had gone wrong; he had gained experience in how to deal with it.

Or rather, to be precise, he had gained experience in how to adjust his mindset.

"Earning an extra four or five million each month isn't that bad, actually."

"There's still time before the settlement date, I can still rush to open Upwind驿站 (Yi Zhan, courier stations). I can still hold on."

Today was September 20th, and the settlement date was October 31st, leaving more than a month.

In the week before settlement, there couldn't be any unreleased products, which meant that as long as projects produced results before October 24th, they could still be invested in.

For example, Lazy Cat Internet Cafe and Upwind Logistics.

As long as he rented existing venues and ensured they were open and operational before October 24th, it wouldn't affect the settlement.

"I have to say, the people at Shang Yang Games caught me a bit off guard, but on the bright side, at least they're quite efficient."

"If they had only finished developing the mobile version of 'A Bloody Battle Song' in the latter half of next month, I really wouldn't have been able to handle it."

"Now, there's still a chance to salvage things. As long as I find a way to rush and spend the money, everything will be fine!"

Pei Qian's actions weren't exactly a stroke of genius, but more of a pre-planned measure.

After all, after so many mishaps, he had to learn something.

From the start of this cycle, Pei Qian had already made two preparations.

It would be best if the game lost money, but if it didn't, he still had a trump card.

The industries that President Pei still trusted were Qidian Chinese Website, Lazy Cat Delivery, Upwind Logistics, and Lazy Cat Internet Cafe.

Among them, Pei Qian didn't dare to move Qidian Chinese Website lightly.

Burning money on online novels was indeed fast, such as directly throwing tens of millions to poach a few great gods from Infinite Chinese Website, or using a buyout method to poach dozens of mid-level authors.

But the problem was, doing so was too risky!

What if he accidentally made Qidian Chinese Website popular? Wouldn't that be like drinking poison to quench thirst?

The online literature industry was still content-driven. Good content would attract many readers, readers would bring subscription money, and subscription money would attract more authors...

Everything would then enter a virtuous cycle.

Pei Qian thought about it and decided to temporarily pass on this option. It was too unstable and prone to leaving hidden dangers for the future.

Lazy Cat Delivery wasn't bad; it was currently still losing money, but it mainly relied on Lazy Cat Internet Cafe.

If it didn't rely on Lazy Cat Internet Cafe, it would have to rent separate places for kitchens and utensil sterilization, which would also be quite troublesome.

And although Lazy Cat Internet Cafe was losing money, it wasn't losing much. Relying solely on it to spend money wouldn't be able to meet Pei Qian's requirements for a spending spree.

After thinking it over, physical industries like Upwind Logistics and Lazy Cat Internet Cafe were still the fastest at burning money.

Although Lazy Cat Internet Cafe frequently disappointed Pei Qian, on the one hand, he could take the opportunity to get Lazy Cat Delivery to lose more money, and on the other hand, Lazy Cat Internet Cafe 2.0 was about to be tested.

If the money-losing model of Lazy Cat Internet Cafe was slightly salvaged, it might still have a chance of coming back to life.

For Pei Qian, Upwind Logistics was the most reassuring.

But the disadvantage of Upwind驿站 (Yi Zhan, courier stations) compared to Lazy Cat Internet Cafe was that it spent less money.

To open a Lazy Cat Internet Cafe, the initial rent, decoration, computers, and other expenses would require at least three million yuan, while for Upwind驿站 (Yi Zhan, courier stations), it only took more than 30,000 yuan to open one.

Opening a hundred Upwind驿站 (Yi Zhan, courier stations) would only be equivalent to one Lazy Cat Internet Cafe; the speed at which they spent money wasn't on the same level.

Although Upwind驿站 (Yi Zhan, courier stations) could be opened indefinitely, where should each station be located? Renting a place required signing a contract, and hiring employees required interviews, which was a lot of work.

Opening one or two would be fine, but opening a hundred Upwind驛站 (Yi Zhan, courier stations) at once would probably be too much for Lü Mingliang and the others to handle.

So, after considering it, Pei Qian decided to prepare for both, opening Upwind驿站 (Yi Zhan, courier stations) and Lazy Cat Internet Cafes together, focusing on spending money.

Pei Qian had no requirements for site selection, employee recruitment, or anything else. His only requirement was: the stores must be opened before October 24th.

As long as he spent the money without affecting the settlement, that would be a great accomplishment.

Thinking of this, Pei Qian immediately called Zhang Yuan and Lü Mingliang.

Time was tight, there was no time to lose, not even for a moment.

...

At the entrance of the rooftop staircase, Ye Zhizhou cautiously poked his head out and glanced around.

"President Pei is really busy."

"He's still on the phone working at this hour."

Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

Although this time the mobile version of "A Bloody Battle Song" had successfully shared President Pei's burden, Tengda had too many industries.

The thought that President Pei was still busy while he was eating made Ye Zhizhou feel a little guilty.

But then he thought that President Pei had probably always been this diligent, otherwise Tengda wouldn't have developed so well.

Just as Ye Zhizhou was about to leave quietly, Pei Qian happened to finish his call and turn around, and the two made eye contact.

Ye Zhizhou coughed and said, "Ahem, President Pei, you haven't appeared for a long time, and everyone was worried that you might have drunk too much and weren't feeling well, so I came to check on you."

"I didn't expect President Pei to still be busy with work so late."

Pei Qian's anger had already subsided a bit, but hearing these words, it immediately flared up again.

Who do you think I'm still busy with work for at this hour?

If you guys hadn't suddenly given me such a big surprise, would I have had to urgently arrange for Zhang Yuan and Lü Mingliang to rush and spend money tonight?!

Eating my food and making me feel worse, it's outrageous!

Pei Qian was very angry.

But he could only think about it in his heart; he couldn't actually say it.

Seeing that Pei Qian's face wasn't very good, Ye Zhizhou asked with concern, "President Pei, are you alright?"

Pei Qian forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, just a little trouble at work."

Ye Zhizhou nodded quickly. "Yes, I understand. How could a little thing at work possibly trouble President Pei?"

Pei Qian was speechless for a moment.

He wanted to say something, but he hesitated.

On second thought, he decided to forget it.

Anyway, no matter what he said, it would be like talking to a brick wall; no one would understand the sadness deep in President Pei's heart.

Pei Qian could only silently sigh. Was the saying "being misunderstood is the fate of the expresser" really going to come true?

Forget it, don't be angry.

It's not worth getting angry over this; it's better to eat something good.

He was full of anger just now, but after the anger subsided, Pei Qian found that he was hungry again.

With a face full of melancholy, he returned to his seat and prepared to turn his grief into appetite and have a good meal.

Just as he sat down and peeled a large lobster, Lin Wan ran over excitedly again.

"President Pei, look! We've even received a recommendation on the official platform! And it's a homepage recommendation!"

"Pfft!!"

Pei Qian almost spat out the mouthful of red wine he had just swallowed.

What the hell?!

"A Bloody Battle Song" can get a recommendation on the official platform? Are you kidding me??

Pei Qian was completely stunned. How was this possible?

The guidance of the official platform's recommendation slots was very clear!

If it was a generally profitable game, it would at most get some marginal recommendation slots on the official platform.

The homepage recommendation slot had to be given to high-quality games that the official believed had healthy values and were beneficial to the development of the game industry.

Like "Game Producer" before.

But "A Bloody Battle Song" was originally a traditional browser game! Its gameplay was a national war game of fighting and killing. How could it get official recognition and be featured on the homepage?

Could it be to give Tengda some face?

That couldn't be. This game wasn't published by Tengda; it was published by Shang Yang Games.

How could they get this kind of treatment too?

Pei Qian didn't understand at all, holding the lobster in his hand, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a long while, he asked, "So... what's the recommendation blurb?"

Lin Wan couldn't stop the smile on her face and read, "As a traditional browser game, 'A Bloody Battle Song' has made significant innovations in gameplay."

"By cleverly replacing the original recharge system with the Chosen One system, this game fundamentally changed the money-grabbing, pay-to-win, and hate-mongering browser game model, allowing all players to enjoy the game with a more peaceful mindset, which has greatly improved the value orientation of browser game players."

"For a long time, the blind氪金 (Ke Jin, top-up/spending money) of browser games has left players with many bad impressions of this game type, and has completely deviated the development of this type of game from the healthy development track of games."

"'A Bloody Battle Song', with its superb game design techniques, bold innovation, and excellent game quality, has completely reversed the traditional browser game's impression in the minds of players. While retaining the classic gameplay fun of browser games, it has tried its best to reverse the erroneous spending habits of browser game players, which has greatly promoted the development of the entire industry."

"What's even more commendable is that the original work of 'A Bloody Battle Song' was originally an ordinary game. The design team did not give up on this project, but instead revitalized the game through careful modification and remaking."

"We hope that 'A Bloody Battle Song' will be the last traditional browser game, and 'A Bloody Battle Song Power Up Edition' will be the first new type of browser game."

"We hope that 'A Bloody Battle Song' can become a turning point in the domestic browser game industry."

"Therefore, we give this game a special recommendation, hoping that it can become a model for all browser games to learn from."

"We also hope that all players can put aside their prejudices and try it out, and maybe they can experience the real fun of browser games."

After reading the recommendation, Lin Wan looked at President Pei with a smile.

Ye Zhizhou, on the other hand, was so moved that his eyes were a little moist.

The game was actually recognized by the official!

This completely washed away the stigma of "garbage game" and achieved a double turnaround in income and reputation!

Moreover, with the official endorsement and recommendation, this game would inevitably generate more discussion, attract more players, and generate higher revenue!

Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but sigh, good news one after another, today was really a good day!

Was this the feeling of seeing the light after the clouds cleared?

He couldn't help but think of what Director Lin had said before.

President Pei hoped that players would no longer be slaves to money. He was trying to change players' tastes so that all players, even without spending money, could enjoy the pleasure exclusive to氪金 (Ke Jin, top-up/spending money) players.

And going against the grain was likely to fail.

But now, President Pei's "going against the grain" had actually succeeded, and it had even been recognized by the official!

This was an official definition, beyond doubt!

Everyone involved in the development of this game felt that they had personally witnessed history.

After all, they were also the people who were trying to change the entire browser game industry with President Pei!

Everyone's eyes were filled with respect and gratitude.

If it weren't for President Pei, we wouldn't even have thought that we could achieve this level!

And Pei Qian's mood was even more complicated than everyone else's.

However, his mood was completely at opposite extremes.

Pei Qian looked at the lobster in his hand and silently threw it aside.

Forget it, I'm not eating.

I'm full of anger again!!