Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883

by Inebriation-seeking Blue Shirt, 青衫取醉

  Even though he was tactful in his words, a smart man like Zhou Muyan got the point right away.

  Lin Wan’s father did not want her to join the gaming industry but he did not want to go against her openly in case their relationship turned sour – that was why he chose such a roundabout method to do things!

  To something like that, Zhou Muyan naturally agreed to it immediately.

  That was THE Shenhua Corporation! If they could make some ties with them, Sun Strike Studios would only stand to benefit in the future!

  Therefore, Lin Wan was the only one that was retained from the elimination list.

  Zhou Muyan had long considered about what was the best way to mow away Lin Wan’s passion towards the industry as quickly as possible.

  It wasn’t something difficult.

  As long as he could show her the truth about the industry, that would do.

  The gaming industry, or the domestic one at least, was just a sweatshop.

  Elimination lists, 996, giving up dreams and passion for money and turning an art into a money making tool…

  Those were nothing new within the domestic gaming circle.

  Of course, those things weren’t absolute – there were still genius designers and studios with heart domestically.

  However, they were extremely rare.

  Zhou Muyan believed that as long as he showed Lin Wan the truth about the industry, she would definitely be extremely disappointed and leave it. That was a certainty!

  Chapter 50

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “Xiao Lu, there’s still some issues with this function. Do make the necessary changes. You’ll have to ask Brother Bao when it comes to questions regarding hand sensitivity, he’s the expert,” Huang Sibo gave his opinion on the design draft patiently.

  Xiao Lu was one of the members of the design team and he was in charge of creating the ability design of the ghouls.

  His experience was even less than Huang Sibo’s and he was an intern at another gaming company initially. However, he was never assigned to any important role and he merely filled in forms while completing the occasional odd task. As such, even though his work experience could not be considered as empty, it was negligible at best.

  In most companies, people would often be regarded based on their position and experience (capabilities). Even though they had worked for the same amount of time, due to differing experience, Huang Sibo was the senior in this position.

  “Sure thing, Brother Huang! I’ll address it right away!”

  Xiao Lu turned on the game editor and modified the functions based on Huang Sibo’s opinions.

  Ocean Stronghold had already entered the creation phase and the various templates and functions that they had purchased previously were added into the game editor as the designers worked on creating the game.

  Since the game editor itself was not difficult to use and all of them had prior experience, the progress was much faster than when a layman like Pei Qian did it himself.

  “Pay attention to your work and don’t let your thoughts drift about the Guangzhou trip. Focus on your job first,” Huang Sibo reminded when he saw that Xiao Lu was a little lost.

  Somewhat embarrassed, Xiao Lu rubbed the back of his head. “Man, Brother Huang. I’ve never been to Guangzhou before and we’re even heading to the famous Sun Strike Studios! It’s only natural I’m excited about it. But don’t worry, I’ll definitely ensure that quality is still met for our work.”

  Huang Sibo nodded his head and returned to his desk to continue on work.

  In truth, he had not been to Guangzhou before as well.

  It wasn’t just him – most of the people in the company had not been there as well.

  The air tickets from Jingzhou to Guangzhou cost a couple of thousand yuan. For most of these people, they were downright broke before entering Tengda, how could they have afforded it…

  When they heard about the learning exchange, Huang Sibo and Bao Xu were indifferent, contrary to the rest who were cheering.

  To begin with, Bao Xu was a homebody who had no interest towards heading out – he’d rather grind games all the time in office.

  As for Huang Sibo, his thoughts were on ensuring that the progress for the game was not affected.

  After he made a rough estimate of the workload, Huang Sibo found out that the trip would not affect the progress too much and Ocean Stronghold would still be completed on time. It was only then that he managed to calm down.

  For the current Huang Sibo, the only thing that mattered to him was the progress of the game!

  Boss Pei was such a wise man who tasked him with a heavy burden while rewarding him handsomely for it. At the same time, he was even taking everyone to Guangzhou for a learning exchange? There was no way they could repay him for his kindness!

  If Huang Sibo did not ensure that the game was created perfectly, he would be letting down on Boss Pei’s grooming!

  Besides, Huang Sibo wanted to check out Sun Strike Studios as well.

  That was a famous studio domestically and before he had entered the industry, Huang Sibo had once placed that studio as his target to reach in the industry!

  After he had started working, Huang Sibo had heard of rumors relating to Sun Strike Studios as well.

  There were people who claimed that Sun Strike Studios once gave five months worth of salary as bonus.

  Others claimed that Sun Strike Studios’ monthly bonus for the design team was even higher than their own base salary.

  Some even claimed that Sun Strike Studios once gave off a sports car at the end of the year as a grand bonus.

  Huang Sibo had not verified the rumors before but it was clear that Sun Strike Studios was a dream for most people in the gaming industry.

  To be able to visit a place as such would definitely be beneficial for his career!

  …

  …

  A month had passed by quickly.

  November 27th, Friday.

  Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd.’s employees had arrived at their hotel from the airport and were sent to their own rooms to place their luggage.

  Handong Province was in winter right now and it was chilling cold. However, the temperature was higher in Guangzhou and as the afternoon sun basked on everyone, they felt a warm feeling surge through them.

  Huang Sibo could not help but feel a little lost.

  The atmosphere felt completely like that of a holiday!

  Some of the admin girls were checking the schedule on their phones, planning on which tourist location and mall they should visit the next day.

  A few of the lads from the design team were looking for a nearby supermarket so that they could get some beer into their hotel room for drinks and card games at night.

  There were a total of 27 people who were on the trip. Bao Xu did not join in because he was totally disinterested and would rather stay in the office.

  As for Boss Pei…

  He did not join the mob and had returned to his room early on. It was most likely because he was resting over fatigue from the flight.

  The entire trip was scheduled by Assistant Xin and Pei Qian did not interfere.

  Huang Sibo and Xiao Lu were sharing a room. After placing the luggage down, Huang Sibo took out his laptop and began checking on the design draft while modifying the story of the story.

  As of now, the framework of Ocean Stronghold was already completed. However, Bao Xu felt that there was still room for improvement be it in terms of hand sensitivity or general details.

  Huang Sibo was equally worried because he wanted to work hard in perfecting the game.

  The game would be truly excellent if it came to a point where a veteran player such as Bao Xu could find no issues with it!

  “Brother Huang, I’ll head out and join the rest first. Rest first if you’re tired,” Xiao Lu notified Huang Sibo first before heading out to play with the others merrily.

  …

  In Pei Qian�
��s room…

  “Brother Qian, I’m so tired of acting… we’ve got to act so distant to one another because of work…” Ma Yang said tiredly.

  As of now, the only person in the company who knew of Ma Yang and Pei Qian’s relationship was Assistant Xin.

  Because of that, Ma Yang had to act like a complete stranger to Pei Qian in front of everyone else. Having to refer Pei Qian as Boss Pei all the time had him feeling tired.

  They were clearly bros who shared the same bunk bed, and yet there was this gulf between them right now…

  “You’ve got to sacrifice for the sake of the company,” Pei Qian patted Ma Yang on the shoulders. “You’re my eyes in the company right now! You’ve got to notify me of any issues immediately!”

  If Pei Qian had disclosed their relationship, the rest might end up being wary of Ma Yang.

  By then, it would be difficult for him to understand what was happening in the company.

  Pei Qian had to ensure that he knew the situation at the back of his hand. Otherwise, it would be disastrous if they could not manage to lose money!

  Ma Yang’s already large face was pulled even longer. “You make it sound as though I’m a spy. Though, nothing much has been happening recently. Everyone’s just working seriously based on the design draft.”

  Pei Qian nodded his head – that’s great!

  He had gone through the design draft briefly previously. Even though he could not understand what was going on exactly, he knew that his three requirements were met.

  As long as there were no huge changes to the design draft, the game would most likely be a flop and he wouldn’t have much to worry about.

  “Oh, also, everyone seems to be interested in that Sun Strike Studios. Are they really so incredible?” Ma Yang asked.

  “How would I know?” Pei Qian did not have much understanding of the industry to begin with nor did he know what sort of a studio that was.

  He had only wanted to come to Guangzhou to spend money and Sun Strike Studios just happened to be one of the few studios that Assistant Xin had made contact with.

  The other employees thought that Pei Qian had planned for this intentionally but that couldn’t be further from the truth – he did not even know who the creator of Sun Strike Studios was…

  “The first place we’re visiting tomorrow is Sun Strike Studios. Make sure you ask more questions so that it wouldn’t be awkward. We’ve got to be more friendly since they’re so kind to welcome us,” Pei Qian reminded.

  As the boss, it was not convenient for Pei Qian to ask questions or act too casually or he would lower his image.

  Therefore, Ma Yang had to take on that task.

  Ma Yang nodded his head. “Don’t worry, Brother Qian! Leave it to me!”

  Chapter 51

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Guangzhou, Sun Strike Studios.

  Outside their office building, Xiao Lu and the others were in awe.

  Sun Strike Studios had a seven floor office building to themselves! Majestic!

  Right at the entrance was Sun Strike Studios’ plague and the building was surrounded by greenery; the environment was rather decent.

  Any gaming company that could build their own building was definitely one that did not lack money!

  For most people, they wondered what it would be like if they could work at a place as such.

  However, Pei Qian was mostly indifferent.

  He was only here to lose money with the learning exchange as an excuse. Besides, it was just a larger office space and there was nothing to be envious about.

  When the group arrived at the entrance, there were already people from Sun Strike Studios waiting to welcome them.

  “Welcome, Assistant Xin! I suppose this is Boss Pei? Hi, hi! I’m the liaison from Sun Strike Studios, Sun Xi!”

  The person welcoming them looked to be around 26 years old.

  It was said that the producer of Sun Strike Studios, Zhou Muyan, would be meeting with them as well. However, there was no way he would welcome them personally at the entrance with his status – Pei Qian’s group was not at that level yet.

  Sun Xi brought everyone in while introducing the place to them on the way.

  “This is the bamboo forest in our front yard that we’ve built because we have a game project in a traditional style. Oh, there’s an ancient zither there that a lady in traditional robes would occasionally play as well.”

  “At the far end is the car park because some of our colleagues drive to work.”

  “Further up is the main lobby. I’ll take you guys to the guest area to meet the project team.”

  Pei Qian checked out the place.

  A large company was grandiose indeed!

  They should have spent quite a bit of money building this place, right?

  If they were to build an office building, they could renovate it every now and then for things such as implanting a bamboo forest or customizing some sculptures. All of those would require a massive amount of money and he wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to spend his money!

  But of course, it would require a few tens of millions just to build such an office building – Pei Qian could not afford it currently.

  The System Funds provided by the system was still only at the level of 500,000. Even though the games that Pei Qian made had earned him so much money he wanted to puke, they merely amounted in the millions.

  If he could earn in the ballpark of tens or hundreds of million annually, Pei Qian could consider building such an office building in the future.

  However, he wished that something like that would never have to happen…

  He would rather have the company lose a couple of millions annually than rake in tens or hundreds of millions.

  The former would be converted to his Personal Wealth at a rate of 10x compared to the latter…

  Assistant Xin was someone who had been out and about and was unmoved with what she saw as well.

  However, the others such as Huang Sibo, Xiao Lu and Ma Yang were watching with twinkles in their eyes. They resembled bumpkins that were visiting a city for the first time where everything seemed spectacular and fresh.

  But of course, strictly speaking, the benefits offered by Tengda were way better than Sun Strike Studios.

  Be it in terms of the working desk space or computer specifications, no companies domestically or even abroad could compete with Tengda.

  However, because this company had their own office building and a larger total space, they naturally looked more well to do to outsiders!

  At the front desk, everyone could not help but feel pride bubbling within them.

  A point back to Tengda!

  Tengda’s front desk was a pair of twins whose looks alone outclassed Sun Strike Studios’ front desk – this was a victory to them!

  Sun Xi brought everyone to the fourth floor where they met with the producer of Sun Strike Studios, Zhou Muyan.

  He was wearing a casual suit; that was quite a formal attire in the gaming industry.

  However, when he looked at the group of people, his gaze was locked onto Pei Qian.

  ‘Fuck, that’s a custom-made suit!’

  Zhou Muyan could tell with a single look that the suit was costly – it was worth five digits at the very least!

  That caused Zhou Muyan to be the pressured one instead, feeling as though he had lost in terms of image…

  At the same time, he was bothered with how the other party was already a boss who had created a success like Ghost General when he looked even younger than an intern!

  Could he be a rich second-generation heir?

  Yes, that must be the case.

  There was no way anyone could afford those clothes otherwise.

  Most startup bosses were more conservative with their spending and furthermore, there was no need for expensive attire in the gaming industry.

  The both of them exchanged some casual pleasantries, “I’ve heard a lot about you
.”

  But in reality, none of them knew the other…

  Pei Qian did not know the games that Sun Strike Studios had created and vice versa, the other than being the producer of Ghost General, Zhou Muyan knew nothing about Pei Qian.

  Their lack of understanding for the other party created a silent agreement where they both skipped over typical praises of the other party as Zhou Muyan brought them around the studio.

  “This is our sound recording area where the studio is up ahead.”

  “Of course, all our in-game music and sound effects are specially created here.”

  “This is the working area. That’s our arts team at work, creating the original arts.”

  “This is the training area where we’ll periodically provide training of game designing knowledge.”

  “There’s a cosplay outfit here. This was previously worn by a celebrity that we endorsed for a game and it’s been kept here ever since.”

  “This wall displays some of the side products of our games.”

  “This is the resting area and that’s our canteen…”

  Zhou Muyan brought the group around and was trying to gauge their reactions.

  Sun Strike Studios was considered as an old brand within the domestic games market and thus, their working style was more traditional with their own recording studio and arts team. Almost every single part of their game was made in-house unlike Tengda which had to purchase their art and music resources from the online resource site.

  But to Zhou Muyan’s surprise, Xiao Lu and the rest who were exceptionally excited outside the building were now much more indifferent…

  Why was it the opposite?

  There were some students who had visited previously as well and even though they seemed calm on the outside, they were extremely excited within.

  That was because they had a resting area, canteen, pantry and entertainment room right within the building. This was an extremely enticing work environment. That was why the students would all get excited upon seeing those and dreamt about being able to join the company to work.

  But, why were these people from Tengda so indifferent?