‘Doesn’t that just mean she has no working capabilities?’
‘That’s great! That’s the type of employee I like!’
Pei Qian felt that this Lin Wan fit every single one of his recruitment requirements!
A carefree scion from a well to do family should not be too good at working – wasn’t that great?
“Alright, we’ll hire her then! For salary… let’s start with 4,000 a month before increasing it in the future. Sign an employment contract with her for me! As for work… right, we won’t really have much work recently so let’s not assign her to anything yet. Just let her do what she wants. Oh yeah, remember to count her in for Friday’s cohesion!”
Pei Qian finished off briefly and thought nothing about the entire issue as he continued to daydream about his 500,000.
…
At the company, Ocean Stronghold’s development was in its final phase.
Because Bao Xu did not head to Guangzhou, he spent his days grinding through Ocean Stronghold’s story and recorded every single portion that seemed awkward so that Huang Sibo could amend them.
He wasn’t someone who had in-depth knowledge about game design theory; he merely trusted his guts.
Anything his guts pointed out, he recorded them for Huang Sibo.
Huang Sibo was the one who had to squeeze his brain juices to analyze where the issue was and somehow, he truly did manage to amend them.
In his heart, Huang Sibo knew that the story was a huge selling point for Ocean Stronghold and was the key in making it a class of its own. That’s why he had to try and perfect it!
But of course, the other aspects such as hand sensitivity, the game’s models, movements and other modes aside from the story were equally important as they determined the gamer experience.
All of these content were basically overseen by Bao Xu. He was a heavy gamer to begin with and the only thing that changed was him playing their own game instead of other games.
He did not find the work tough at all. Instead, he enjoyed it!
When he played other games, Bao Xu would feel helpless when he came across the parts he did not like.
That was because if he sent in feedback as a customer, it would be a waste of time since his feedback would most likely not reach the development team. Even if it did, things would most likely not change either.
However, it was different for Ocean Stronghold. If he found any issues, he could tell Huang Sibo about it and things would be swiftly amended!
Most of the major modifications were done at the start of the project. What remained were small details that required tuning such as gun trajectory and character hitboxes. Even though they were important to the game experience, they could be easily changed with some simple modification of the values.
As the deadline approached, Huang Sibo found himself heaving a sigh of relief.
He had completed his mission!
Ocean Stronghold’s development would be completed on time with its quality assured – he had not let down Boss Pei’s trust!
However, Huang Sibo knew nothing about how they should market and spread news about the game.
He wasn’t too bothered either since those were decisions to be made by Boss Pei.
Could there be any mistakes in Boss Pei’s plans?
The man who thought of advertising Ghost General through Weibo would definitely be able to come up with a superb way of marketing!
Chapter 56
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Wan sat in the guest room sipping tea offered by Assistant Xin.
Ah, how nostalgic.
That was the taste of home…
How long has it been since she had such good tea? Probably half a year at least…?
Lin Wan was in her final year of university and it would take her another half a year before graduating. However, she had already spent half a year interning at Sun Strike Studios as well.
When Lin Wan made her decision to enter the gaming industry while she was schooling, she had many arguments with her father with everything escalating during the summer of her third year.
With that, she decided to run away from home in a huff to do her internship in Sun Strike Studios.
Thereafter, Lin Wan led a really frugal life. All the branded bags and clothes she could afford in the past were now only accessible to her after saving up.
She had not managed to taste the same tea at home outside either.
This was the first time that Lin Wan had the feeling of home in a long time.
Instantly, her fondness for Tengda rose rapidly!
This was Lin Wan’s first time visiting Jingzhou City and when she debarked from the plane, she was slightly disappointed.
This was a second tier city after all and could not be compared to the glamor of a first tier city like Guangzhou.
However, her disappointment was replaced with admiration and elation upon entering Shenhua View!
When she saw the working environment and the attitude of all the employees, she decided that this was the feeling she wanted!
If she had seen a glimpse of the idealist light illuminating from Pei Qian previously, she was bathing in it at this place!
Assistant Xin knocked and entered, holding a contract.
“Congratulations! Boss Pei has agreed to it! Once you sign this contract, you’ll officially be an employee of Tengda! The starting salary will be at 4,000. Are you alright with it?”
Lin Wan stood up hurriedly. “Of course!”
She took the contract over and browsed through it casually before signing her name.
“So, what will my job be?” Lin Wan asked in anticipation.
Assistant Xin gave it a thought. “Your job… hmms, come and join our cohesion activity at 2pm tomorrow. We’ll go for a movie, have a meal and go for karaoke!”
“Huh?” Lin Wan was stumped.
…
…
Friday afternoon.
Pei Qian who had disappeared for his final exams finally showed his face once more in office. This was because Ocean Stronghold was planned to be uploaded onto the official games platform this week based on the original schedule.
The settlement was due two weeks later because Pei Qian left himself some room for error.
When he had decided on the project, he was worried that his slack employees might be too slow such that the game might be delayed. That was why he pushed the deadline ahead by a week so that they would have breathing room.
Today was the day for him to reap the fruits of his labor.
He went to Huang Sibo straight after arriving at the office.
“Boss Pei!” Huang Sibo looked spirited and seemed to have turned handsomer.
The two months spent in Tengda had caused Huang Sibo’s income to rise along with his resting time. As such, his mood was considerably lifted too.
That was why he no longer looked as lethargic as before and was even filled with energy!
Winter had arrived and Huang Sibo had just bought a few coats for the weather just the week before.
Considering the fact that he had more spare cash now and he was working at a place like Shenhua View, Huang Sibo decided to get a decent outfit and thus, he spent more than a thousand on a casual-looking suit. Now, he looked more like a slightly successful professional.
“How’s the progress of Ocean Stronghold? Do we need a week’s extension?” Pei Qian asked.
Huang Sibo shook his head furiously. “No! Don’t worry, Boss Pei, we’ve already tested it repeatedly and fixed all the bugs we found. The game can be uploaded at any time!”
“Hmms, not bad,” Pei Qian nodded his head but there was no joy in his face.
Huang Sibo’s bravado had Pei Qian feeling nervous!
Could the game have been completed with its quality intact?!
But, when he thought about Huang Sibo and Bao Xu’s past experience as well as the three requirements he set for the game…
He felt that
even if the game was successfully created, there was no way it could possibly earn money.
“Do you want to give it a test play?” Huang Sibo asked.
“There’s no need for that,” Pei Qian thought for a moment. “Show me the game’s story mode and epic equipment.”
Pei Qian was clear that more than half of Ocean Stronghold was trash and there was nothing fun about it.
Having to eat the poo he created made no sense to him.
However, to ensure that the game could lose money, Pei Qian decided that he should still check briefly if the game had followed his ideology strictly.
Did they dedicate their efforts in creating the story mode?
Was there an 888 Red Kilin item for the game?
Those were what mattered to Pei Qian.
Huang Sibo nodded his head. “Sure thing, Boss Pei. Let me show it to you.”
He turned on Ocean Stronghold on his computer and started introducing the game to Pei Qian.
“This is our story mode where the gamers will have to climb up the stronghold from the lowest level. The entire story lasts around 6 hours and is split into three different scenes. The main aim of the game is to kill zombies, defeat the mercenaries as well as some simple puzzle elements…”
“This is the market system.”
This is the epic weapon, Rainbow Red Kilin, that we’re going to introduce during the launch month. As you’ve mentioned, the permanent use pass will be sold at 888. We’re in the development of more epic weapons and we intend to launch a new set every two to three months.”
Pei Qian listened to Huang Sibo’s explanation, frowning and nodding at times.
He frowned because he saw the actual gameplay content of Ocean Stronghold.
It was a little different from what he had imagined!
He had initially thought that it would have graphics similar to Crossfire. However, it was much more detailed with better graphics!
Be it the characters, guns, settings or game UI, all of it was brand new. Even though it couldn’t be compared to the top end overseas AAA games, it was not that far apart either.
Pei Qian was initially angry and wanted to question Huang Sibo about why he made the game so beautiful.
‘Don’t you know that such a beautiful game is going to kill us?’
But he suddenly recalled that he was the one who had caused it…
‘Oh, that’s fine then.’
Back then, Huang Sibo came to look for Pei Qian with a procurement list with a budget of 60,000. However, Pei Qian asked him to double it without even looking at it.
The money was indeed spent.
However, that meant that the quality of the art resources purchased had increased too!
When he saw how beautiful the game looked, he felt nervous once more.
Most importantly, he could not get mad at Huang Sibo as well since he was the one who requested for the latter to purchase such beautiful resources.
But when he heard Huang Sibo’s continued explanation, Pei Qian felt more comforted.
Thankfully, they had wasted time on creating the useless story mode. Killing zombies and defeating mercenaries? That sounded boring right away.
The 888 yuan Red Kilin was created as well and that was the only gun available in the marketplace with nothing priced lower.
They were most likely going to be flamed by the gamers but Pei Qian was mentally prepared for it as long as they could lose money!
Old Ma was getting flamed by gamers everyday as well but it wasn’t as though he did not dare to take public transport thereafter?
Furthermore, Pei Qian had already checked and knew that Sun Strike Studios’ Bullet Hole was going to be launched at around the same date. That was why he wanted Ocean Stronghold to clash with it so that they could stand to lose!
With such a strong competitor, what was the use of making Ocean Stronghold a great game?
They would definitely be crushed bitterly by the other party!
“Boss Pei, there’s still some other modes for the game. Should I introduce them to you too?” Huang Sibo asked.
Pei Qian shook his head. “It’s fine! Let’s just send it to the official platform for vetting. It’s been rough on you guys through the long development process! Prepare yourselves for some fun this afternoon! We’ll go have a movie and a great meal!”
Chapter 57
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Wan’s first day of work was a massive welcome party!
2pm that afternoon, everyone gathered in the office before marching off to the cinema.
Based on Assistant Xin’s schedule, they first booked a VIP IMAX theater, costing over 4,000 yuan for them to catch the latest movie – Avatar.
Next, everyone arrived at the most expensive buffet in Jingzhou City, Swan Lake. At a charge of 428 per pax along with 15% service charge, that meal cost Pei Qian another 10,000+.
After dinner, the group of them continued on to a nearby KTV where they booked a luxurious suite with a minimum spending of 6,000. Pei Qian then spent even more time at the bar to knock that figure up to five digits.
Even so, he was still not satisfied.
This sudden splurge of money was not enough!
He could sense that compared to normal days, the system was more relaxed on him spending System Funds today.
It was as though the restrictions of the system were situational. Each time he spent System Funds using a different reason, the max amount he could splurge was different too.
Take the previous time for example, when Pei Qian used the excuse of the Guangzhou learning exchange, they could spend money based on business expenditures.
This time round, with the celebration of Ocean Stronghold’s development as a reason, the choices they had for their meal gatherings and activities was greater too.
If it was any normal gathering, the limit for the buffet would be around 200 per pax; anymore and the system would ring a warning.
But this time round, because of the solid reason Pei Qian had, the system did not even make a peep when they chose a buffet costing 400 per pax!
Pei Qian gathered that the standards of the system were situational rather than rigid.
That was a good thing because it meant that Pei Qian would have a greater reign of freedom in the way he chooses to spend the System Funds in the future.
But of course, System Funds were still limited to company affairs rather than personal expenditure.
Even though he was already trying his best to spend money, Pei Qian still felt that it was a feeble attempt.
Take today’s expenditure for example. They had spent less than 30,000 in total. That was not what he had expected!
But, it was fine. He had more time to continue spending money since there was still a week to go before settlement!
Even though Pei Qian was indifferent for the cohesion, it was different for the rest.
It was especially so for Ma Yang, Bao Xu and Huang Sibo. As the cohesion went on, they found themselves being marveled by everything!
For a movie, they booked an entire VIP IMAX theater to watch the latest show in 3D! How awesome was that!
The dinner buffet cost 400 per pax and there were over 500 dishes and 400 seafood items such as Bluefin Tuna, New Zealand Scampi, Australian Lobster, Crayfish… just anything they wanted!
When Ma Yang saw that the Haagen Dazs ice cream was free flow, he almost gorged himself in it before he was criticized by Pei Qian for doing so.
‘Don’t you know how to choose?’
‘Can’t you tell what’s more expensive? If you really don’t, check with Qiandu!’
Everyone found themselves getting high during the meal as they sped through the restaurant. When they came across strange food, be it nice or not, they would take it away as long as it looked expensive.
Most of them were in their early twenties when they were best at eating. As such, most of the tables had empty dishes stacked tall.
Pei Qian on
the other hand was extremely calm.
Even though it was rare for him to have buffets as such before his rebirth and the food was alluring, he was more bothered with the 500,000.
If he could gain his 500,000, what couldn’t he eat?
He wouldn’t have to wait for the system’s approval and behave himself so that he could have a good meal by then!
Eating a piece of bluefin tuna casually, Pei Qian’s mind was filled with the 500,000.
…
Lin Wan’s attention was similarly not on the menu.
To her, all of those foods were nothing new and she was already long sick of them.
What she was interested about was the attitudes of the employees and Boss Pei!
She saw how happy everyone looked.
Those were smiles that Lin Wan had never seen before on her colleagues at Sun Strike Studios!
Was it because they had good food today?
No, that wasn’t the case.
This was just a buffet that cost around 400 per pax, it was nothing special.
The reason why everyone looked so happy must be because they could feel Boss Pei’s recognition! His character had managed to warm them to a point where they derived joy from work!
Whoever stated that employees and bosses must always be at odds?
Whoever stated that working must be a miserable affair?
Things were clearly not like that with Boss Pei!
It was such a pure gathering! How rare!
Every other company would always choose their gathering dates on off days so that they could eat into their employees’ rest time. Not just that, most of those gatherings were drinking sessions. Rather than improving the relationship between those of the company, it was more like a necessary social event.
Even though most people did not really enjoy it, they had no other choice.
But here at Tengda, things were different.
All of the awkward segments where the leaders would give a talk and people would exchange drinks for ice breaking… they were all gone! Everyone was just purely enjoying their food.
What a pure cohesion!
Not just that, Lin Wan had noticed that Pei Qian was only eating listlessly as though his mind was on something else.
Could he be thinking about the game and company operations?
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