Pei Qian let out a long sigh. It looked like he could leave Shang Yang Games alone for now.
The next thing to focus on was the research and development of Repent and be Saved.
Two days ago, Pei Qian discovered that official novels about Repent and be Saved were being uploaded onto Zhongdian Chinese Network. This gave him a good scare indeed. After being through so much, Boss Pei was now extremely cautious and wary. Any slight movement or breeze would catch his attention.
Thus, nobody could hide the official novels about Repent and be Saved on Zhongdian Chinese Network from him.
However, after reading the feedback from readers, Pei Qian relaxed considerably.
Until now, Zhongdian Chinese Network had been developing slowly. Although they had already attracted a good number of authors using their excellent full-time rates, the contents of the library were still horrible. Thus, the rate at which people were creating new accounts was devastating.
Until now, Zhongdian Chinese Network only had over two thousand visits daily. What’s more, this included people who only visited the site out of curiosity and decided to say goodbye forever afterward.
Yet, even so, hundreds of people had read the official novel for Repent and be Saved.
This was because the novel was placed on the homepage of the website, in a particularly eye-catching position. Most people who visited the website would notice it immediately.
However, all the comments under the novel were negative.
“What are you writing? I don’t understand.”
“I read three chapters, and I still don’t understand who the protagonist is!”
“They’re all descriptions of the world? My head is hurting just reading this.”
“A novel of this standard made it to the homepage? What kind of rubbish website is this?”
“Repent and be Saved? What a nonsensical name! I don’t know what it’s driving at!”
“I strongly suspect that this is an insider’s publication. So many other books are much better than this, but they’re placed in much worse spots.”
“If it was written by an insider, this proves that the website would not have a future!”
Repent and be Saved was still in the research and development stage. There was no news about it as well. That was why they did not advertise on Zhongdian Chinese Network that this book was written for the game, Repent and be Saved. The novel could not ride on any of Tengda Games’ glory.
Ma Yiqun and Zhu Xingan’s intention was to upload the official novel for their own entertainment. At the same time, they wanted to get feedback from potential players.
Mindless fans of Tengda might praise the designs without thinking much about it. Then, Ma Yiqun and Zhu Xingan might let the praise go to their heads and fail to maintain an objective view. This might affect subsequent plot planning endeavors.
In the end, the readers’ feedback could not be more realistic.
Pei Qian read the first two chapters of the novel and found that the readers were right to criticize it. Zhu Xingan and Ma Yiqun had not been wronged at all.
Zhu Xingan had written this novel. The others only had to raise ideas and suggestions.
Since Ma Yiqun had to run the website, he did not have time to write novels. What’s more, he felt that he had been more deeply influenced by online literature and was more likely to digress from the topic. Thus, he handed the task to Zhu Xingan.
On the other hand, Zhu Xingan had no foundation in writing online literature. As he wrote the official novel about the game’s world, he naturally gravitated towards the plots of foreign games, including foreign AAA games’ original novels, official serial publications, and the like.
Everything was very confusing and impossible to unravel.
There was no problem using his writings as the plot plan for the game. However, they were far from deserving of being uploaded to a website for online literature.
The fact that this official novel had been placed on Zhongdian Chinese Network’s homepage also turned many readers away.
Many new readers would first click on the books displayed on the homepage upon arriving at the website. This was because they normally represented the highest standard of the books in it.
When they read the book, they discovered this was the standard.
Of course, they would leave at once and never return.
Pei Qian quietly observed all of these behind the scenes. He could not help but celebrate in his heart.
Excellent! Zhongdian Chinese Network has not let me down indeed!
Ma Yiqun-who only got thirty subscriptions for his first book-was placed together with a group of laymen who had zero understanding of the world of online literature. Now, everything was going as Boss Pei had expected!
Pei Qian decided not to do anything about Repent and be Saved’s official novel being placed on Zhongdian Chinese Network’s homepage. In any case, this novel would not attract anyone’s attention for now. Instead, it worked to dissuade readers from staying on the website.
It was infinitely valuable!
[1] This was a famous, funny advertisement for a game in China. In Mandarin, the tagline sounds like ‘I keep searching for a future with you’.
Chapter 214 - Boss Pei and Big Boss Ruan are Two Peas in a Pod
Pei Qian had still been in deep thought when someone knocked on the door of his office. Looking up, he saw Lu Mingliang.
“Boss Pei, we’ve produced a few concept drawings. Do you want to take a look?”
Before that, Lu Mingliang had instructed Ruan Guangjian to handle all concept designs for Repent and be Saved. This included the sceneries, the characters, the monsters, the equipment, the weapons, and the like.
Ruan Guangjian could not have finished all of this alone. However, he had his own workspace now.
After graduation, Ruan Guangjian used his fame and connections to open a small workspace, right next to the finance university which he had been studying at.
The workspace was called Halo Workspace. Thanks to its work for Ghost General and Game Designer and its other concept designs, it had already made a name for itself in the industry.
Ruan Guangjian also invited the few classmates whom he roomed with in university to join him. What’s more, their business had been making profits recently. They had just hired a new group of employees. While they could only undertake small-scale tasks before, they could now handle much bigger ones.
As they became more famous, more games merchants began to contact them through the website for resources. From time to time, they would even be placed on the waiting list.
People who wanted Ruan Guangjian to personally handle the drawings would face increased prices and more difficult scheduling.
However, Ruan Guangjian remained loyal to Tengda Games.
No matter what kind of demands they made, they would be fulfilled as long as they did not affect Ruan Guangjian’s current projects!
Once the requirements for Repent and be Saved’s plot, world structure, and various art resources were released; Lu Mingliang immediately contacted Halo Workspace and handed the responsibility of the concept design to Ruan Guangjian.
Now, the first batch of concept drawings was complete.
With the company of Lu Mingliang, Pei Qian reviewed the drawings. The first drawings he reviewed were concept art for the backgrounds.
The strategically-placed Gate to the Netherworld was located in a continuous mountain range. On either side was a bizarre mountain. In front of it was a 100,000-feet deep abyss, filled with grievous spirits.
Light blue fog encircled a big, light-gray memorial arch. The ancient, awe-inspiring, yet sinister Chinese characters written on the memorial arch made chills run down Pei Qian’s spine.
Behind the gate was the Road to the Underworld, which stretched into the horizon. Countless grievous spirits roamed the Road to the Underworld. They walked forward in a muddled fashion, looking far from exhaustion.
On either side of the Ro
ad to the Underworld was whirling, green fog. From time to time, dried-up, scaly hands would reach out from within the fog, trying their best to grab people on the Road to the Underworld and drag them in.
After crossing the Bridge of Forgetfulness atop the River of Forgetfulness, one would arrive among a group of sinister-looking spirits. A few spirit-conjuring lanterns hung from the sky. One by one, wandering spirits would walk past it. They would either disappear into the fog in the distance or jump off the bridge into the River of Forgetfulness, never to be seen again.
Apart from these, there were a few more drawings of random items and a few concept drawings for monsters’ animations.
Among these were drawings of worn-down temples, Buddha statues, Tudi’s temples, Tudi statues, ordinary malicious spirits, broken weapons, spirit-conjuring flags, and the like. Mengpo on the Bridge of Forgetfulness and the netherworld’s four great magistrates were among the monsters.
Although many other games had the same characters as monsters, Ruan Guangjian designed these monsters from scratch. Using his own expertise, he drew these monsters and made them particularly dark.
After looking at the drawings, Pei Qian could not help but feel sorrowful.
“Ruan Guangjian’s work is really stable.”
The underlying meaning in Pei Qian’s words was this: Damn it, why can’t you just fall short in your work for once?!
Most importantly, from Ghost General to Game Designer to Repent and be Saved, this person seemed to be continuously improving in terms of his skills. It was infuriating!
One could immediately tell that the concept art for Repent and be Saved was produced much quicker than before. The style also looked much more proficient.
Compared to Game Designer, Repent and be Saved’s content was more suited to Ruan Guangjian’s epic ink oil painting style. This could be one of the main reasons why he seemed to be getting better at his work.
Lu Mingliang fully agreed with Pei Qian’s comment. He nodded and said, “That’s right. We can only say he’s a big boss indeed. He’s so steady! We can relax if we hand our animations to him!”
Pei Qian, “…”
He really wanted to sever ties with Ruan Guangjian and never work with him again. Yet, there was no reason to do so!
He drew so well, he was giving them a discount, and his style completely matched the game. What reason could Pei Qian give to avoid working with him?
The good thing was Repent and be Saved was not a game that depended on its graphics to succeed. He would dissuade players using the gameplay. On top of that, engaging Ruan Guangjian would indeed allow Pei Qian to spend more money. At that thought, Pei Qian gritted his teeth and decided to go through with it.
“It’s quite good. Let’s continue based on this.”
Pei Qian looked at the drawings for a long time and still could not find anything to say. The concept drawings were too well done; there was nothing to change. He also lacked knowledge in the area of concept art. Thus, he had no choice but to allow Ruan Guangjian to do him in.
Lu Mingliang felt emotional hearing Pei Qian’s words. “Boss Pei and Big Boss Ruan have telepathy indeed. You are two peas in a pod.
“Big Boss Ruan said that he would take a break for a couple of days once this project is done. Then, he might come to Jingzhou and visit our office. At the same time, he would pay Boss Pei a visit.
“After all, both of you have been communicating online for a long time but have never met face-to-face. It is a pity. Boss Pei, you must be thinking the same, right?”
The corners of Pei Qian’s mouth twitched.
I’ll be d*mned if I think the same! I don’t want to meet him at all!
The first name on his blacklist in his notebook was Teacher Qiao, but the second was this fellow!
Most importantly, ever since they worked together on Ghost General, Ruan Guangjian and Pei Qian’s relationship was no longer a purely business one.
Instead, Ruan Guangjian seemed to take Pei Qian as his trusted companion. Although both of them were in different industries-one was in the games industry and the other was doing concept art, the feeling of being like two peas in a pod seemed to plug the inter-industry gap between them.
The corners of Pei Qian’s mouth twitched again. “Hehe, when he comes, I’ll make sure to ‘host’ him well.”
The two games were progressing according to plan. From the way things were going, it did not look like there were any serious problems Pei Qian had to correct.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment. There were many more things to keep him busy from now on. In the blink of an eye, July was nearly over. There were three more urgent things to handle.
First, according to Pei Qian’s plan, he had to select the outstanding employee on August 1st. Pei Qian had a rough idea of how to conduct the evaluation this time. The outstanding employee would be selected based on votes. Pei Qian did not plan to manipulate things behind the scene because he did not trust his own judgment.
Crowds were the best judges. The outstanding employee whom they selected must be widely-recognized to be important in the company. Pei Qian would not protect or keep him or her for sure. Even if the employee happened to be his beloved and trusted confidant, Pei Qian would have to eliminate him or her!
Apart from this, there were also the high-end restaurant and Upwind Logistics. They were still in the midst of preparations to open for business, but it was about time to decide who should be put in charge of these.
Pei Qian remembered that one of the branch managers of the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes was a chef. That man should be assigned to take care of the high-end restaurant.
After all, the chef did not manage to achieve anything after becoming the branch manager. It was obvious that he was not that skilled. If Pei Qian put him in charge of the high-end restaurant, it would look like a match on the surface in terms of profession. Yet, in reality, he would become a liability.
As for Upwind Logistics…
Pei Qian thought about asking the outstanding employee this time if he or she would be interested in being in charge of Upwind Logistics.
If he or she was not, Pei Qian would give him or her a Dream Fund of a million yuan to blindly chase his or her dreams. If he or she was, Pei Qian would put him or her in charge of Upwind Logistics.
Lastly, it was time to produce some results out of the money Pei Qian had taken from Lin Chang
Chapter 215 - Hardcore Reviewer Wa-Oh
That was two hundred thousand yuan in remuneration after all. There was also a hundred thousand yuan for props. To Lin Chang, this wasn’t a huge sum. However, Pei Qian still had to make something out of it.
Pei Qian knew very well that this project was bound to fail. Yet, it did not matter. As long as Pei Qian showed that he did not really need the money and that he was just playing around, Lin Chang would not grow suspicious. That would take care of things.
Lin Chang called this remuneration, but Pei Qian had no intention to produce short videos or short films.
It was simple: he did not have enough capital.
Pei Qian wanted to earn the remuneration and just leave a hundred thousand yuan for props. However, this much money was not enough to pay the director, supporting actors, and salaries, much less to pay for video equipment and whatnot.
Fei Huang Workspace had these available, but Pei Qian did not want to involve Fei Huang Workspace in any way.
After all, Huang Sibo and the others might question why Boss Pei wanted to film short videos on his own. He would not be able to answer them.
Thus, Pei Qian decided to do everything on his own and try his best not to let anyone apart from Lin Chang find out what he was up to.
He would use his own cell phone to film. He did not know how to do complicated editing, but he would just cut out additional scenes and piece the other pieces together.
He would try his best to fill everything in a single shot. Whether the product was good or bad, he would upload it onto Aili Island once he wa
s done.
As for whether people would see it or not…
It would be best if no one did.
What’s more, Pei Qian had no intention to reveal his face. He would either cover his entire face or half of it. In case the video became popular, he could not allow his employees to recognize him.
His only aim in filming this short video was earning that two hundred thousand yuan.
If Lin Chang really asked about how the three hundred thousand yuan was spent, at least Pei Qian could produce videos to show him. He would prove that he really did work hard at filming something.
As for whether his productions would become popular or not…
He could not do much; just as horses stumbled, humans made mistakes. Boss Pei’s performance art was too deep, and society was too shallow. Even if nobody caught on, Boss Pei could not be blamed.
Lin Chang would not look too deeply into it, and he would not grow suspicious either.
At that thought, Pei Qian packed up his things and collected the delivery which he received that day. Then, he left the office and returned to his rented apartment.
He would have to produce the first episode tonight!
Although he was not given a deadline, Pei Qian had to produce twenty episodes. Even if he started now and produced two episodes a week, it would take him more than two months to finish everything. That meant he had to start as soon as possible.
The earlier he finished, the more relieved he would feel spending that two hundred thousand yuan!
Pei Qian set up his cell phone and then placed the package on his table.
This was a cell phone that had only been released over a month ago overseas. It was Pineapple 4, and it was selling for 4,999 yuan. It fell nicely within his five thousand yuan budget.
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