Although that was nothing compared to rent ten years later, it was already shockingly high.
The area of this shop was around 800 square meters. The store was not as spacious as before as it was located within a mall.
After they have decided not to offer coffee and drinks services, that saved a huge space in the store. Pei Qian specially allocated an area to be the public leisure and entertainment area. He set up a projector there. The rest of the space could fit 150 computers.
Pei Qian estimated that the monthly rent would be around 300,000 yuan. He needed to hire two cashiers and four internet cafe administrators. That would cost him thirty to forty thousand yuan each month. Adding internet fees, cleaning, and other expenses; the internet cafe would spend about 400,000 yuan each month.
Currently, the occupancy ratio of the computers at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes was at thirty to forty percent. The standard operating duration was from 0800 to 2400 daily. If he continued charging 10 yuan per hour for the computers, he could at most earn 300,000 yuan.
Of course, many internet cafes operate 24/7. However, Pei Qian did not plan on doing so.
It was not because the mall would close at night.
Even if the mall was closed, the movie theaters in many malls all had midnight slots. There would still be customers around two to three in the morning. They were not affected by the closure of the mall.
The mall simply had to keep its doors open. That was not a new occurrence.
Pei Qian’s purpose for opening the internet cafe was to lose money. He would, of course, try his best to reduce the operation duration.
Thinking about it from another perspectivewith the current expenses, the internet cafe needed to achieve a computer occupancy ratio of about sixty percent to profit. Pei Qian thought that the target was almost impossible to hit.
After all, even though the flagship store for Fish-Catching Internet Cafes was very popular, it did not reach that number either.
Of course, Pei Qian did not completely trust the statistics as they were volatile.
Pei Qian did not rush to open many stores. He wanted to open one first and observe the situation there.
If the loss reached his expected amount, he would invest in a few more stores before the settlement. If the internet cafe managed to profit for some unknown reasons, he would find a way to stop that.
When Pei Qian reached the Handong University branch, he pulled out the chair beside Teacher Qiao and sat down. He sipped on his cocktail as he watched Teacher Qiao play the game. His original intent was to see Teacher Qiao suffer. That would add some excitement to his busy work and life.
Qiao Liang felt that he was being valued by Pei Qian and was instantly energetic. The main designer of the game was watching him play the game and was prepared to listen to his opinions and suggestions at any time. That was such a thing to be proud of!
Teacher Qiao was in high spirits. At that moment, Qiao Liang had finished updating the game. He opened the update list conveniently.
“Eh? The epitaph function is completed?”
Qiao Liang was pleasantly surprised. The problem that he raised previously had been quickly resolved by Boss Pei. That showed that Pei Qian really valued his opinions!
Pei Qian saw the update list, too. He said regrettably, “The epitaph function is only available at the beginning of the game. I don’t think you will be able to use that unless you open a new account.”
Qiao Liang entered the game as he replied, “That’s alright. I have coincidentally reached the second round.”
Pei Qian was speechless. “…”
What the f*ck?!
Teacher Qiao’s words might have sounded nonchalant, but they were akin to a sharp knife that pierced into Boss Pei’s heart. He had reached the second round? Pei Qian had indeed completed the first round. However, he relied on ‘Pudu’ and skipped many stages in the process. He might have only truly experienced about thirty to forty percent of the game.
However, Teacher Qiao was different. He completed the first round without skipping any stage. Moreover, he had experienced a huge challenge in the process. The weapon that he was familiar with was downgraded by an unscrupulous game designer, and he had to familiarize himself with a completely new weapon.
Even if that happened, Teacher Qiao’s progress in the game was about the same as Boss Pei. That comparison made Pei Qian upset… He felt that his mood turned for the worse, and he was starting to doubt himself. He did not doubt his gaming abilities. Boss Pei knew that he was a noob, and he had never doubted that.
What he doubted was mainly the difficulty of the game.
How did Teacher Qiao manage to clear the game when the game’s difficulty had been raised to such a level?
God knew how much effort I spent in increasing the difficulty level for the players when producing the game!
However, despite what he did, Teacher Qiao still managed to clear the game. That made Pei Qian extremely dejected.
Even his favorite cocktail appeared less fragrant than before.
However, the good news was that Teacher Qiao was about to challenge himself with the second round. The difficulty of the second round was evidently higher than the first round.
He entered the game.
The opening story plot was still similar to before. After the opening CG, the starting village appeared on the screen. Many villagers who had lost parts of their three souls and seven spirits were lingering around. At the mass grave near the village, the protagonist lifted open his coffin and sat up.
He was deemed to be a dead person, and yet he managed to wake up and head on the Road to the Underworld. According to the original story plot, the player should now pick up a broken sword and fight the monsters.
However, after the update, there was a new transition scene.
The protagonist stood in front of his tomb in the mass grave and saw a shabby tombstone. There were no words on it.
11 Il.
The protagonist knelt down in front of his tomb and touched the coarse and shabby tombstone. He spoke in a low and husky voice, “There is no inscription. In that case, I shall write my own epitaph.”
A text box appeared on the screen. Players could type whatever they want. The word limit was ten Chinese characters.
Qiao Liang scratched his head.
Naming was his biggest frustration. He was currently facing a serious challenge.
What kind of epitaph should he write?
A more optimistic one to encourage himself?
Or a resolute one to fit in with the solemn atmosphere?
Or, maybe he should try to be funny?
He squeezed his brain juices for some literary phrases, and yet he did not have the academic ability for that. Moreover, Boss Pei was watching him from the sides. If what he wrote was too long, it might appear as though he was trying to show off. That was not very appropriate.
Qiao Liang pondered for a while and wrote down four words: You can do it.
This simple sentence could serve as an encouragement to him!
After all, the difficulty level of the game was very high. If he died in the game, seeing that encouragement could boost his confidence and prepare him for the incoming challenges.
After another simple transition animation, the four-word epitaph written in ancient characters was ingrained into the tombstone; and the game had officially begun.
Round two, here I come!
Qiao Liang was extremely energetic. He was prepared to perform well in front of Boss Pei.
After all, he had been receiving Boss Pei’s salary for such a long time. He must be bound to show some improvements.
Qiao Liang took out the mourning stick that he earned after defeating the Black and White Impermanence in the first round of the game. It was a two-handed weapon that looked like a long and thick rod. There were many white papers stuck on the rod.
It was a good heavy weapon, and its damage is quite high. Moreover, it had an additional weapon effect.
After using it, the weapon could deal AOE damage to the enemies at the front and extract a small amount of their three souls and seven spirits.
I need to showcase my abilities properly in front of Boss Pei!
Qiao Liang was very confident. After all, he had completed round one with his own abilities. He had fought many bosses and was very experienced. Those few monsters in the newbie village did not pose a threat to him at all.
The protagonist rushed forward with his mourning stick.
Qiao Liang remembered clearly that those few monsters at the beginning of the game would just stand mindlessly at the mass grave. They would only fight back when they were attacked. Therefore, he rushed forward valiantly.
However, in the middle of his tracks, the three monsters near the mass grave turned and looked at him simultaneously. Then, they surrounded him!
Qiao Liang was shocked at what happened, but it was too late for him to retract. He tumbled on the ground instinctively and found himself directly in front of the monster’s blade. The three monsters each slashed the protagonist once. Qiao Liang was instantly dead.
The screen turned gray. In the middle of the screen was the epitaph that he had written. The words were bloody red and were written in ancient Chinese.
“You can do it.”
No. Wasn’t the epitaph supposed to encourage me?
Why did the connotations of the same few words change?
It was a little awkward.
Qiao Liang scratched his head involuntarily.
He felt that he was using the weapon that was a reward for defeating the boss to fight little monsters. However, he had been killed in no time. When he lost, it felt as though there was a voice-over saying, “You can do it.” Reading between the lines, those words were saying that he did great, considering that he was dominated by the little monsters even though he had the boss’s weapon.
Qiao Liang was unsatisfied with the previous outcome.
When he was revived, he decided to proceed steadily. He managed to successfully defeat the three monsters at the entrance of the mass grave. However, very soon, he was dead once again at the next turn.
“You can do it.”
Those four bloody red words once again appeared on his screen.
Qiao Liang did not know what to say. “…”
He cupped his forehead and was starting to doubt himself.
What was happening…?
Pei Qian was watching everything from beside Qiao Liang. He was trying to hold in his laughter.
This epitaph was incredible. It had perfectly achieved his desired effect!
In reality, Pei Qian had already planned that the words on the epitaph would turn into a sarcastic comment no matter what the players wrote on it.
Even if the players wrote encouraging epitaphs such as ‘Good job. You did great.’, they would become a form of irony when the players died. If the epitaphs were already sarcastic—such as ‘Noob’, ‘?’, ‘Loser’, or ‘Hehe’; the effects would be much better.
That meant that no matter what the players wrote as their epitaphs, 99% of them would be toyed by Boss Pei and mocked repeatedly by him!
That would definitely create an excellent effect that discouraged the players from continuing with the game. Combined with the refund mechanism that never expired, Pei Qian would lose huge numbers of sales volume and money.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Thinking about it made Pei Qian extremely happy! Furthermore, seeing how Teacher Qiao was doubting himself, Pei Qian’s mood turned for the better.
Pei Qian could only tell himself this:
Although inflicting harm onto each other was bad, it made him extremely happy!
Chapter 263 - The Treatment That a Biological Daughter Gets!
September 17th…
At Shang Yang Games…
The mobile version of the Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version had been developed. The data in the client-side desktop version were interconnected with the mobile version. Players could log in with their accounts directly.
The changes to the controls of the game were much lesser than expected. After all, the original controls simply included clicking on the screen repetitively.
After changing the user interface in the web-based version to suit the mobile version, Wang Xiaobin and Ye Zhizhou tested it out and found that the hand sensitivity of the game was quite good.
Comparing the gameplay and functions of the mobile and desktop versions, there was not much difference. The mobile version might even be more convenient than the desktop version.
Comparing the gaming experience, the mobile version was very successful in adapting the desktop version. Of course, the true success of the mobile version could only be determined from the players’ reviews when the game was published.
While others were busy with the final alterations, Lin Wan had contacted the application store in-charge for the apps in Shenhua’s cell phones. She had arranged for the best recommendation channels for Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version. Currently, Shenhua Corporation’s main focus was on their cell phones. They did not emphasize as much on mobile applications. The changes to the old application store were merely a step to explore and test the waters.
After all, the development of mobile games was at its peak. Every company that had its own customer base was considering developing app distribution platforms to monetize their user volume.
Shenhua’s decision to create an application store and a games market was expected by everyone.
Because Shenhua was merely exploring and testing the waters, its application store was not perfect. Even if that was the case, Shenhua’s customer base had many high-net-worth individuals. That resulted in every recommendation spot in their application store to become highly valuable.
All their recommendation spots had price tags attached to them. Some of the best recommendation spots could not even be bought with money. The games had to prove that they could attract users. After all—the more money the games earned, the higher the commission the platform could earn. If the game developers and publishers offered the same amount of money, obviously the game that had better user numbers would win the recommendation spot. Because of Lin Wan’s connections, Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version cleared most of the vetting processes smoothly. Lin Yu did not even have to settle the matter personally. She just had to notify the people in charge of the application store, and the matter would be settled by them.
In Lin Yu’s perspective, the recommendation spot this time was merely a way to express her gratitude to Boss Pei and a method to slightly mend her relationship with Lin Wan.
She offered her the recommendation spot to ‘coax’ her and not because she fully supported Lin Wan in pursuing her aspirations in the game industry.
Lin Wan knew that clearly. Therefore, she placed even more anticipation in Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version, hoping that it could achieve great results.
Firstly, completing this task would allow her to live up to Boss Pei’s expectations and trust. Secondly, by being responsible for and publishing a successful project, she would have taken her first step towards achieving her aspirations in the game industry. Lastly, Lin Wan hoped to prove to Old Master Lin and Lin Yu that her choice to enter the game industry was not a rash decision. She wanted to show that she had the capabilities to make a name for herself in this area.
The decision to create a mobile version for Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version was Lin Wan’s. If the mobile version failed terribly, it would be a heavy blow to her.
Maybe she would consider resigning then.
The recommendation spot had been confirmed. The success or failure of the game depended on its release tomorrow.
Ye Zhizhou ran the game once more and was now scrolling through the group chat for the game.
The guild chat group for Bloody Battle Song was never deleted. Players were still monitoring the recent developments of the game in the chat group.
n
Initially, t
hose players did not harbor much expectation for the game.
The web-based version of Bloody Battle Song was almost dead after what Old Liu did previously. Even if the game was to cease operating one day, the players would not be shocked by that at all.
However, the game that seemed like it was going to stop operating was slowly gaining vitality!
Firstly, there were drastic changes to the game’s content. The ‘Chosen One’ system had an update. All of a sudden, it changed from a traditional web-based game that created hate and cheated players of their money into a fair game that even players that did not spend money in it could enjoy.
After that, the game producers invested a lot of resources in producing Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version. The art resources were completely renewed, and the producers found many celebrities to advertise the game.
Those signs showed that Shang Yang Games, the producer of the game, was suddenly not short of money!
Although everyone was unclear where Shang Yang Games’s money came from, it was ultimately still good news. Having money meant that the producers could temporarily accept the loss. They could make huge changes to the game and spend money on publicity. Anyways, those signs all showed that the game was heading towards a bright future!
Meanwhile, there had been rumors claiming that the producers were about to release a mobile version in which data was interconnected with the desktop version. That made the players in the group chat excited.
In that case, they could be online in the game at any time and anywhere.
They could play it on the way to work or when they came home from work and were lying on their beds. If they wanted better quality graphics, they could also choose to open their computers to play the desktop version.
Anyways—in the past, not having a computer around when they were fighting the nation wars was a frustrating issue for them. However, that problem was now resolved! At the same time, the advertisements for Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version went viral. That gave those former players an illusion.
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