Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883
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Of course, he could still spend five million yuan on charity. That would be his last resort.
No matter how much Pei Qian thought about it, his current situation did not seem optimistic. Still, he could withstand the circumstances for now.
He had already made very generous estimates. If everything went well, he would be able to push the balance in the System Funds down to ten million yuan before settlement.
Pei Qian was not being too ambitious. He was just aiming to incur a loss of four or five million in order to convert four to five hundred thousand yuan for himself. At the same time, he would receive a reward from the System. That way, he would be receiving a hundred thousand yuan per month. His hard work would not be wasted.
Of course, he would not get all the money at one shot. Instead, money would be transferred into the account weekly. Pei Qian still had to come up with a procedure for spending on the various projects and invest accordingly. He could not spend it all in one
go.
Pei Qian was still calculating when someone knocked on his door. He looked up to see Li Yada.
“Boss… Boss Pei. Er… are we planning to work on a new game?
“Or should we come up with downloadable content for Repent and be Saved?
“Everyone… everyone’s a little bored.”
She was actually coming to ask for more work? Pei Qian did not like this kind of proactive behavior.
However, he did not say much in response. He only acted like he was in deep thought as he said, “Don’t rush. Let everyone conserve their strength for the big push. I will give all of you a very important task soon.”
Pei Qian had not even thought about what task he should give to Tengda’s games department.
The chances of them succeeding at conventional games were too high. Pei Qian could not bring himself to make them work on those.
He could not allow another money tree to grow from the fifty million yuan he was about to spend on the next game. That would achieve the opposite effect that Boss Pei wanted.
Li Yada nodded. “Ah, alright. Boss Pei, when you’re ready to hand the task to us, feel free to look for me.”
After Li Yada left, Pei Qian slumped back in his seat listlessly.
It’s so difficult being the boss! I have to rack my brains every single day for work to give to my employees. If I give them two days of rest, they would come up to my office to ask for more work.
That’s really intolerable!
Ding! Ding!
He received a message on his cell phone. Pei Qian picked it up and saw that it was from Chang You.
“Boss Pei, the team has more or less been formed. I’ll arrange for someone to choose an office location this week. We’ll be more or less officially ready for work next week.
“Also, our designer felt very moved after receiving the moving allowance and came up with possible logos for Otto Technologies overnight. Please take a look.”
There was an image attached to the message.
Pei Qian clicked on it and saw quite a meaningful logo.
At first glance, one would see what looked like a rectangle on the outside. Inside the rectangle were two circles overlapping in a complicated manner. The rectangle and circles were intersecting uniquely. The rectangle’s lengths twisted into the circles’ sides. Faintly, one could decipher two capital T’s there. In other words, the logo formed the word ‘OTTO’.
From afar, one would see a rectangular pair of glasses, with clear, bright eyes in the rim. Yet, on closer inspection, one would see Mobius loops.
Apart from that, the two circles seemed to intersect in a manner that reminded Pei Qian of the infinity symbol in mathematics. The logo was quite simple, but against the simple backdrop, it looked quite classy and very postmodern.
Pei Qian could not help but feel moved. This was talent.
‘OTTO’ was such a tacky-sounding name, and yet the designer could make such a classy logo out of it?! If they printed this logo on the back of their cell phones, people could really be bought over.
What’s more, this was not the only logo that Chang You sent over.
The second logo looked like a controller made out of two crosses and two circles. The crosses were on the top-left and bottom-right respectively while the circles were on the bottom-left and top-right. They were laid out just like a controller, with the two circles being the joysticks of the controller.
This logo did not look as simple and classy as the one before. The design was a little more complicated, and the colors were bolder. It made Pei Qian think about games and gaming elements.
The third logo was the most mainstream of all. It was ‘OTTO’ written in a single line, with the O’s smooth and round and the T’s stiff and upright as they should be. It looked passable and followed the style of most other tech companies.
The designer had come up with three different designs:
The first was abstract;
The second was game-like;
The third was purely alphabets.
The designer probably wanted to let Boss Pei decide on the final design.
Pei Qian thought all the designs were satisfactory. Thus, he replied, “They’re all not bad. Leave it for now. When the cell phone designs are complete, we’ll still have time to decide which logo to use.”
November 12th, Friday…
Pei Qian was planning to go to Dream Realization Ventures to look for Ma Yang.
He wanted to go the day before, but it happened to be Singles Day. Pei Qian bought all sorts of stuff online and ended up being held back.
Since his packages were not due to arrive yet, he had time to spare to look for Old Ma.
He had transferred the twenty million yuan to Dream Realization Ventures on Monday. Five days had passed since then. A portion of the money should have been spent.
However, based on Ma Yang’s character, Pei Qian guessed that he was still struggling. Until now, he probably had only spent a maximum of two or three million yuan.
Pei Qian had already repeatedly emphasized to Old Ma that he needed to act when he had to and that he could not hesitate.
However… this was twenty million yuan after all.
Pei Qian was afraid that Ma Yang would not dare to spend the money. That was why he wanted to come down to Dream Realization Ventures; he wanted to check out the situation and give Old Ma some things to think about while he was at it.
Dream Realization Ventures had already rented an office space, which was a fifteen-minute drive from Tengda. This office was also located in a luxurious office building.
Pei Qian referred to the address he had and traveled to Dream Realization Ventures and then walked in quietly.
A huge carpet had been laid out on the ground. Thus, Pei Qian made no sounds as he entered the office. The huge office was still empty, but he could hear shouting inside, echoing throughout the entire space. “Quick, quick! You can beat him, you can beat him!”
“Kill that loser first!”
“Hurry, rescue me!”
“Escort! Escort! Protect Boss Ma!”
Chapter 326 - Quick! Boss Pei is Fainting!
There were twenty-odd workspaces in the huge space, making the office look like an internet cafe.
At the moment, Ma Yang, He Desheng, and other newly-recruited odd-job workers were deeply engrossed in their computer screens, clicking and tapping away at their mouses and keyboards. It was obvious that they were in the middle of a war.
When he saw this scene, Pei Qian was practically moved to tears.
Hear, hear! What have I been saying? My brother is the most reliable!
If everyone worked like Old Ma did, what would Pei Qian have to worry about?
Pei Qian quietly moved behind Ma Yang to observe the game.
The game was already nearing its end. At once, Pei Qian noticed that Old Ma’s KDA[1] ratio was 10-0-2.
After Old Ma dealt a final, normal attack; the enemy’s base exploded. The word ‘victory’ appeared on the screen.<
br />
It was then that Ma Yang realized Pei Qian had been standing behind him.
“Eh, Brother Qian, you’re here!
“We were too engrossed in the game and didn’t notice you. I had to carry my teammates after all. Come on, come on. Let me introduce you to our newly-recruited employees.”
Everyone apart from Ma Yang looked at Pei Qian uncomfortably.
Although many of them had never met Pei Qian, they could tell from Boss Ma’s reaction that he was the boss of Tengda Corporation. That meant he was one level higher than Boss
Ma.
They had just been caught spending working hours playing games with their big boss. Naturally, they felt uncomfortable.
However, when they saw the grin on Boss Pei’s face and how he did not seem bothered, they heaved a sigh of relief.
Ma Yang immediately began introducing them to Pei Qian.
“This is Little Zhou, who has 1780 points in Gods Rising.
“This is Old Li, who has 1730 points in Gods Rising.
“This is…”
Ma Yang introduced the remaining nine people in the game. It was then that Pei Qian realized every single one of them was like He Desheng. None of them had less than 1700 points in Gods Rising, and the highest among them had 1860 points. They only had a little way to go before they could be considered professionals!
Now, Pei Qian finally understood why he had seen what he never expected to see earlier.
How did Ma Yang, who always had a KDA ratio of 0-3-0, suddenly become impressive enough to carry the team?
The nine other people he had been playing with were all his employees. It must have been so hard on the other nine people who had an average of 1800 points on the platform.
Those on Old Ma’s side had to beat the enemies until they were more or less dead before letting old Ma deal the finishing blow.
On the other hand, Old Ma’s opponents had to kill Old Ma’s teammates one by one to keep the balance and suspense in the game. At the same time, whenever Old Ma came for them, they had to try to put up some sort of defense in order to and let Old Ma have some fun.
As for why Old Ma didn’t die…
Nonsense—who would have dared to kill him?!
That would be akin to making a slam dunk over the old boss while playing company basketball.
Pei Qian had no doubt in his mind that old Ma only had two assists because his teammates had slipped up.
After Ma Yang finished introducing the new employees, Pei Qian very respectfully greeted them.
“Thank you for your hard work! We will go to Ming Yun Private Kitchen for a feast this Saturday!”
Pei Qian could not help but feel sorry for them. Life was not easy.
They had studied so hard to do well in the investment industry and make a living. Yet, they ended up playing supporting roles in someone else’s game. What’s more, that someone was incredibly lousy at the game.
Nine of them had to play games with Old Ma and even make sure that he enjoyed it. How could Pei Qian live with his conscience if he shortchanged them?
He had to compensate them for the mental torture they suffered!
Hearing that they were going to be treated to a feast for no reason, Old Ma’s team of supporting players looked excited and puzzled.
At the same time, they looked at Boss Ma with newfound respect. They had already known Boss Ma and Boss Pei were close, but they did not think they would be this close!
After all, Boss Ma was playing games with his employees every day. Yet, Boss Pei did not even seem bothered. How much trust did Boss Pei have in him?!
Ma Yang tugged at Pei Qian’s sleeve. “Brother Qian, do you want to play one game? Come, come. You have to experience fighting players with 1800 points.
“I know this now. I’m stuck at 1100 points not because I’m lousy… but because my teammates have been lousy!
“Playing with professionals is much more fun than playing with newbies!”
Pei Qian was speechless. “…”
Old Ma, you really have no self-awareness whatsoever…
If you had been playing with them as someone other than the CEO of Dream Realization Ventures, you would have been tortured so badly that your computer would be smashed by now…
Still, seeing how happy Ma Yang was to live in his imaginary world, Pei Qian could not bear to expose him to the truth. He could only turn him down, saying, “It’s alright. I have work to do. Next time, for sure.
“Er… Old Ma, how are you doing with the twenty million yuan I gave you? How much have you spent?
“I came to remind you once again that you must not hesitate to invest the money. Spend it when you must. The smaller your investment, the smaller your returns; the larger your investment, the larger your returns, understand?”
Ma Yang nodded excitedly. “Don’t worry, Brother Qian. I’ve already spent all twenty million yuan!”
Pei Qian paused, evidently surprised. “Huh? You’ve spent it all? You’ve spent all twenty million yuan?”
Ma Yang nodded. “That’s right. I only started playing games after finishing my work. Why else would such a professional person like me play games during office hours?”
Pei Qian blinked, feeling confused.
Although this was the outcome he had hoped for, he was still deeply shocked to find out that Old Ma had spent twenty million yuan without hesitation.
Once again, this confirmed that Old Ma was his trusty right-hand man!
Pei Qian’s expression went from bewilderment to elation. Old Ma was burning money so quickly. He did not have to fear even if the company continued to generate more profits.
“Tell me, what did you invest the money in?” Pei Qian was brimming with excitement.
Ma Yang giggled and opened a report on his computer. “This is the company I invested in! It’s called Finger Games.
“My first thought was to buy Gods Rising when I got the money. However, there was no way I could do that. I could not find the game’s creator.
“Also, I heard that the creator is in the midst of discussions with game giants in the West. Of course, our twenty million yuan would be peanuts to him.
“That’s why I instructed He Desheng and the others to look around. That’s when they found Finger Games, which is currently developing a similar game called Imagine of Infinity, or IOI for short. They’re lacking funds at the moment and were looking for investors. I made it just in time!
“They needed eight million US dollars in total. I did my calculations and converted the twenty million yuan into about 2.8 million US dollars. With that, I bought about twenty percent of the company’s shares, as well as the right to be their exclusive agent in the country.
“Although that’s useless for now, the company allowed us to be their exclusive agent for free. I thought that it would be a waste to turn it down. Even if we realize we don’t need those rights in the future, we can still transfer them, right? “Eh? Brother Qian, why do you look so pale? “Quick, quick! Bring a chair over!”
He Desheng quickly swiftly moved one of the office chairs beside him over, so that Boss Pei could sit down.
Pei Qian felt slightly dizzy. He never thought that the first stab in the back in this cycle would be from his trusted brother!
Pei Qian was not prepared to be stabbed in the back like that.
Wasn’t it common practice to only stab him in the back when settlement was near? This cycle had just begun!
Still feeling incredulous, Pei Qian asked, “Don’t you… need to apply for relevant permission before making overseas investments?”
He Desheng explained, “Boss Pei, you do need to apply for permission. However, the review process would be especially long for investments worth more than a hundred million US dollars.
“We only invested about two million US dollars, and so it’s not considered a huge project. We only needed to complete the paperwork in Jingzhou. Fu Hui Investments made overseas investments before as well. That’s why we’re qui
te familiar with the procedures. We got approval quite quickly. “Also, we were buying shares and not property. That’s why the transaction was much quicker.
“Of course, we have to follow up with some more paperwork. That will still take us some time.”
Finished.
Pei Qian turned to Ma Yang listlessly. “Why… why did you choose this company?” Ma Yang smiled. “Brother Qian, didn’t you tell me to invest in whatever I liked? You know that there are not many things I like.”
Pei Qian was speechless. “…”
There was a huge problem.
[1] This stands for Kill-Death-Assist.
Chapter 327 - Let’s Create GOG!
Seeing Pei Qian’s face drained of all colorwithout any sign of approval or satisfaction, Ma Yang suddenly felt lost.
“Brother Qian, you’re not mad at me for spending too much money, are you? Do you think that it’s not worth investing so much in such a small company overseas?”
Pei Qian was speechless. “…”
Looking into Old Ma’s sincere eyes, Pei Qian felt speechless.
How should I put this…?
Pei Qian had been the one who told Old Ma to act when he saw the chance to and not to hesitate.
Pei Qian had also been the one who told Old Ma to invest in whatever he liked.
Playing Gods Rising with friends was one of Old Ma’s few hobbies. Since Old Ma failed to invest in Gods Rising, he had no choice but to back off and look for similar games companies overseas to invest in. What’s more, he threw all twenty million yuan into that one company.
In more ways than one, Old Ma had just been doing what Pei Qian had told him to do.
What’s more, this transaction looked quite unpromising on the surface. It fit perfectly with what Pei Qian wanted at first.
Yet, Pei Qian felt pained inside. He had a strong sense of deja vu with this company!
Was IOI in fact League of Legends (LOL) post-changes?
The main reason that Pei Qian felt so shocked by the turn of events was that he had found similar news online last year!