Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

The red wine had gone to his head. The light-headedness coupled with the gentle night breeze made Pei Qian feel slightly hazier.

He retrieved his cell phone and downloaded Shenhua’s application store. Once again, he confirmed that Bloody Battle Song’s mobile version was now first place on the chart.

Alright, everything that had happened earlier was real.

Pei Qian heaved a long sigh.

How upsetting…

When he heard the grievous news, he felt like gray clouds had suddenly blocked the sun from his life. All of a sudden, he was at a loss as to what to do.

The good thing was that he was already used to this feeling

After all, it was not the first or second time that everything was going awry. He had learned enough from his past.

Oh, no. To put it more accurately, he had learned how to adjust his own mood after things went awry. “It’s alright to earn four or five million yuan more each month. We’re still some time away from settlement. We can still create more Upwind Courier stations. I can still take it.”

It was September 20th. Settlement would be on October 31st. There was still more than a month to go.

He could not have unannounced products a week before settlement. In other words, he had to release all new products before October 24th. He could still spend more money.

Take Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and Upwind Logistics for example.

He could rent available spaces and begin operations before October 24th, so that settlement would not be affected.

“I have to say that this group of people at Shang Yang Games caught me unprepared. However, on the bright side, they are quite efficient. If they only completed the mobile version of Bloody Battle Song next month, my hands would really be tied.

“At least I have a chance to make up for their wrongs now. As long as I can think of ways to spend the money, everything will be fine!”

Pei Qian was not quite reacting well in the face of an emergency; he had just been prepared in advance.

After all, things had gone awry many times before. He had to remember the lessons learned.

Ever since this week began, Pei Qian had been doubly prepared. The game incurring losses was the best-case scenario. If that did not happen, Pei Qian still had a trump card. The only businesses that Boss Pei could trust were Zhongdian Chinese Network, Fish-Catching Take-Out, Upwind Logistics, and Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. Among these, Pei Qian did not dare to touch Zhongdian Chinese Network.

It was true that he could burn money exceptionally quickly by working on online literature. For example, he could pour tens of millions of yuan into buying gods of online literature over from Infinite Chinese Network. Alternatively, he could also spend the same amount of money buying tens of ordinary writers.

However, the risks were too high!

What if Zhongdian Chinese Network ended up becoming popular? Wouldn’t he be shooting himself in the foot?

Content was the most important thing in the online literature market. Good content would bring in more readers, more readers would lead to more subscriptions, and higher subscription fees would invite more authors.

All of these formed a virtuous cycle.

Pei Qian wanted to leave this option out because it was too unpredictable. He could easily be setting up hidden threats for his future self.

Fish-Catching Take-Out was not bad. It was still incurring losses, but it was still depending on Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.

If Pei Qian made it independent from Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, he would have to rent a place to act as a kitchen and a disinfecting location. That would be too troublesome.

What’s more, while Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was incurring losses, it was not incurring that much loss. Dei Qian would not be able to spend enough money on this business.

After considering it for a long while, he finally decided that he would be able to spend more money at a much faster rate in physical businesses like Upwind Logistics and Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.

Pei Qian was slightly disappointed with Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. However, he would be able to increase spending on Fish-Catching Take-Out and test waters with Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 2.0.

He would make adjustments to save Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s loss-incurring model. For all he knew, he would be able to save things from going off the path.

Upwind Logistics was the most dependable to Pei Qian.

However, compared to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Upwind Courier stations required less money to operate. Pei Qian had to pay for rent, renovations, computers, and the like in order to open a new Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branch. All of these would add up to at least three million yuan. On the other hand, he would only need about thirty thousand yuan to set up an Upwind Courier station.

That meant he had to open a hundred Upwind Courier stations in order to match up to opening a new Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branch. The rate at which he could spend money was different for each of those businesses.

Although he could set up an unlimited number of Upwind Courier stations, he had to select a location for each one. It was a lot of work to find a location, sign a contract, and interview staff.

It would be manageable if he was only looking to open one or two Upwind Courier stations, but if he was looking at a hundred, even Lu Mingliang and the others would not be able to handle the workload.

Thus, Pei Qian prepared two plans at the same time. He would open both a new Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branch and more Upwind Courier stations. This would allow him to spend as much money as he could.

As for locations and staff, Pei Qian did not have many requirements. His only requirement was that all the shops had to be opened before October 24th.

As long as he could spend all the money and not affect settlement, he would have succeeded.

At that thought, Pei Qian called Zhang Yuan and Lu Mingliang. Time was of the essence. The plan demanded immediate action, and he could not wait for even a second longer.

Standing at the head of the stairs to the top floor, Ye Zhizhou carefully stuck his head out and looked around.

“Boss Pei is so busy.

“He’s still making work calls now.”

Ye Zhizhou could not help but feel guilty.

Although they had successfully shared Boss Pei’s burden with the mobile version of Bloody Battle Song this time, Tengda had way too many businesses still. The thought of himself eating while Boss Pei was working made Ye Zhizhou feel embarrassed.

However, on second thought, Boss Pei must always have been this hardworking. Otherwise, Tengda would not have become so successful.

Ye Zhizhou was just about to leave silently when Pei Qian hung up. He turned around and met Ye Zhizhou’s gaze.

Ye Zhizhou cleared his throat and said, “Boss Pei, everyone noticed that you were missing for a long time. We thought you were feeling unwell because you drank too much, and so I came up here to take a look.

“I didn’t expect to find you still working since it’s already so late.”

Pei Qian’s anger had already dissipated, but when he heard Ye Zhizhou’s words, he felt his blood begin to boil once again.

Why do you think I have to work at such a time?!

If you hadn’t made a mess of everything all of a sudden, why the h*ll would I need to arrange for Zhang Yuan and Lu Mingliang to spend more money now?!

You stabbed me in the back, and you’re still trying to rub salt in my wounds? Ridiculous!

Pei Qian was furious.

However, he could only keep these thoughts in his heart. He could not say them out loud.

Ye Zhizhou noticed that Pei Qian looked unwell. Thus, he asked in a concerned tone, “Boss Pei, are you alright?”

Pei Qian forced a smile. “It’s nothing. I just met with some trouble at work.”

Ye Zhizhou quickly nodded. “Yes, I understand. How can Boss Pei be defeated by small problems?”

Pei Qian was momentarily speechless.

He wanted to say something but quickly stopped himself.

There was no point.

Trying to explain things to Ye Zhizhou would be like a chicken trying to speak to a duck. No one could empathize with Pei Qian’s sorrow.

Pei Qian could only suffer in silence. Was it true that he was destined to be misunderstood?

Forget it; calm down.

It’s not worth getting angry over something like that. I should go back and eat good food.

Pei Qian had been so angry that he had lost his appetite. Now that his anger had dissipated, he was feeling hungry again. He walked back to his own seat, his heart heavy with sorrow. He was prepared to turn his sorrow into appetite and fill his stomach.

He had just sat down and deshelled a huge lobster when Lin Wan ran towards him excitedly.

“Boss Pei, look! The official platform is recommending our game, too! They’re even doing that on their home page!”

“Pfft!”

Pei Qian had just taken a sip of red wine, but now he was spitting it all out. What the hell?!

The official platform was recommending even a game like Bloody Battle Song? Are you kidding me?

Pei Qian was completely confused. How can that be?!

The official platform had a clear direction for making recommendations! Ordinary profit-driven games could get a recommendation spot in the corner of the official games platform at most.

Only top-notch games that the official platform deemed had a healthy direction, were valuable, and would benefit the game industry could take up the recommendation spots on the homepage.

Game Designer was an example of such games.

However, Bloody Battle Song was a traditional web-based game. It was a war game that involved a lot of violence. How could it be validated by the official platform? How could it make it to the official platform’s home page?

Could they be doing this on account of Tengda?

That was impossible. The game was not Tengda Games’s-it was Shang Yang Games’

How could it receive such treatment?

Pei Qian was completely perplexed. He held onto the lobster, not knowing how to respond.

After a long time, he asked, “So… What did they say about the game?”.

Lin Wan could not stop smiling. She read, “As a traditional web-based game, Bloody Battle Song has contributed important innovations in terms of gameplay. “By replacing the original top-up system with the ‘Chosen One’ system, this game changed the root of web-based game models, which typically encourage burning money and buying revenge. As a result, all players are able to enjoy the game calmly and peacefully. This game has served to greatly improve web-based gamers’ values.

“For a long time, web-based games have been blindly imposing paywalls. These games left a bad taste in many players’ mouths and were headed down an unhealthy path.

“Bloody Battle Song’s exceptional game design, bold innovations, and top-notch quality have completely changed this impression in traditional web-based gamers. While keeping the fun elements of classic web-based games, the developers tweaked web-based gamers’ bad spending habits. This move has greatly encouraged improvement in this industry.

“The most precious thing is Bloody Battle Song was once an ordinary game. Yet, the designers did not give the game up. They paid attention to detail and constantly made improvements to the game in order to inject new life into it.

“We hope that Bloody Battle Song will be the last of traditional web-based games, and that Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version will be the first of many web-based games using this new model.

“We also hope that Bloody Battle Song will prove to be the turning point in our domestic web-based games industry.

“For that reason, we are especially recommending this game. May it become the example for other web-based games to learn from.

“May players also put aside their prejudices and give the game a try. Perhaps you will be able to experience the true fun of web-based games.”

After reading these words, Lin Wan looked up at Boss Pei, grinning.

Ye Zhizhou’s eyes were welling up as he listened by the side.

The game had been recognized by the official platform!

This time, they had completely washed themselves clean of the ‘rubbish game’ reputation! They had achieved a complete turnaround in terms of income and reputation!

What’s more, with the official platform’s endorsement and recommendation, the game would surely be more widely discussed. More players would be encouraged to try the game, and they would generate more income!

Ye Zhizhou could not help but feel moved. Good news was coming one after another. It was truly a good day!

Was this how it felt to have the clouds finally parted and the moon shining bright?

Suddenly, he recalled what Director Lin had said before.

Boss Pei’s hope for gamers was for them to stop being slaves to money. He wanted to alter their tastes, so that even if they do not top up money into games, they would be able to enjoy a gaming experience that used to be exclusive to ballers.

There was a high chance of failure associated with making such a heaven-defying move. However, Boss Pei’s ‘heaven-defying move’ had proven successful now! What’s more, he was being validated by the official platform!

This was an official endorsement-people would not doubt it!

Everyone who took part in the development of the game felt like they had just made history. After all, they all had a part to play in trying to change the web-based game industry together with Boss Pei!

Everyone’s eyes filled with respect and gratefulness.

If not for Boss Pei, we would not have realized we could achieve this much!

Pei Qian’s emotions were more complex than everyone else’s. However, his emotions were on the other end of the spectrum.

Pei Qian looked down at the lobster in his hands and then quietly tossed it aside.

Forget it, I’m not eating anymore.

I’ve lost my appetite again!