Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Chapter 682: Destiny and Choice’s Set

He had developed such a successful game for the company, but the company had given him less than one percent of its income. Anyone else would have felt unhappy.

Of course, Qiu Hong’s situation was considered quite good. Many companies did not give a single cent to the research and development team despite their game’s success. Companies like that existed, and they were not the minority.

It was because Qiu Hong noticed this that he concluded that working for others would not bring him much success. Thus, he decided to start his own business.

Then, it didn’t matter whether the game could earn over a hundred million yuan each month or not. As long as it could rake in a few million yuan or more than ten million yuan, his income would be much more than before.

Still, the problem was that managing his own business was much more difficult than he had imagined.

If his business failed, it was no longer a question of how rich he could be—but whether he would starve or not.

Thus, the price that Boss Pei was offering to him showed the former’s sincerity and sounded extremely tempting.

However, this ‘Destitution Plan’ did not sound like an investment project but a charitable one. Moreover, the bonus structure that Boss Pei was proposing caused Qiu Hong to be undecided.

After a moment’s consideration, Qiu Hong asked, “Boss Pei, may I be so bold as to ask what the aim of this ‘Destitution Plan’ is?”

Pei Qian fell silent.

Honestly, Boss Pei was stumped.

Of course, his primary aim was to incur losses, but Pei Qian could not say that out loud.

A couple of seconds passed, and Boss Pei finally said, “There isn’t a specific aim.”

Qiu Hong looked confused. “How can that be?”

Pei Qian retorted. “Why must there be an aim?”

That stunned Qiu Hong. He blinked a couple of times and processed Boss Pei’s words.

Everyone must have their own reasons for doing things. A man like Boss Pei, who has achieved so much success, could not have been doing things in the spur of the moment.

Why did Boss Pei say that, then?

Obviously, Boss Pei did not really mean that he didn’t have any aims but that he did not have any utilitarian or secular aim.

Actually, Qiu Hong had been very subtle in his questioning. What he really wanted to ask was why Boss Pei was after by investing in domestically-produced standalone games and independent games despite how unprofitable they were.

Boss Pei had also answered Qiu Hong’s question based on the logic hidden within. Why can’t I invest in domestically-produced standalone and independent games just because they aren’t profitable? Why must I profit? Why can’t I do something purely because it’s meaningful for the industry?

Looking at Boss Pei’s determined gaze reminded Qiu Hong of something.

He had indeed spoken to Boss Pei about domestically-produced games before. Boss Pei seemed to be sorry about the catastrophe of standalone games ten years ago as well.

Could Boss Pei have come up with this ‘Destitution Plan’ purely to support the domestic standalone games industry? Could he really not care about earning money?

If that was the case, Qiu Hong had to consider the title of the plan more closely.

Destitution Plan…

Why had the plan been given that name?

On one hand, it could be said that the entire domestically-produced standalone games industry had been on the path to destitution. On the other hand, it could be said that the plan is meant to help those who were on the path to destitution and on the verge of collapse such as independent games companies and standalone game developers.

If Qiu Hong had come up with a similar plan when he first started his own business, would he have ended up in a different place?

After figuring this out, Qiu Hong looked at Boss Pei with a renewed gaze. All of a sudden, he could see the glow of an idealist around the latter.

There was no empty talk or tricks. The name of the plan alone had moved Qiu Hong deeply!

Yet, how was he to explain his performance bonus?

He was not complaining that there was too little; he just found it hard to understand.

At that thought, Qiu Hong nodded. “Boss Pei, I think I understand now.

“However, I still don’t understand a couple of details. There are so many other companies. How exactly do you plan to screen them all? Are you sure that my performance bonus is not based on investment income?”

When he heard the words ‘I understand’, Pei Qian instinctively sighed.

After drinking a mouthful of tea, he explained, “We’ll screen them in a very simple way.

“Search the entire country for teams that produce standalone games and independent games, but don’t announce the relationship between the ‘Destitution Plan’ and Tengda Games.

“Of course, we will reimburse you for all your travel expenses.

“There is a very simple standard to hold the teams so you can decide which ones meet the criteria: don’t invest in projects that you find very reliable or very ridiculous. As for what constitutes ‘reliable’, you can decide.

“There is something that you have to take note of. All the games must be buy-to-play and must not have any in-game purchases.

“Their games must be up for sale and generate profits first before we can calculate our share based on our investment.

“As for your performance bonus… what I said before is the final plan. We will not distribute your bonus based on the income generated by the investments.”

Once he finished speaking, Pei Qian felt slightly guilty.

He was afraid that Qiu Hong would turn him down.

Distributing one’s performance bonus based on income generated by investments sounded more attractive. Although the quantity and stability of the bonus would fall far below the plan that Pei Qian had provided, humans were bound to conjure up best-case scenarios in their heads.

Yet, Pei Qian could not distribute Qiu Hong’s performance bonus based on income generated by investments. Wouldn’t that cause the latter to rack his brains for ways to profit from investing?

Distributing the performance bonus based on Pei Qian’s current plan would be encouraging Qiu Hong to diversify his investment. The more the projects he invested in and the fewer the projects that generated profit, the higher Qiu Hong’s bonus would be.

As for not revealing the link between the ‘Destitution Plan’ and Tengda Games… that was mainly because the plan would probably not be able to remain low profile once Tengda’s name was used. People would start paying attention to the sponsored companies, thus indirectly increasing the chances of their games becoming popular.

Pei Qian had to spend his money quietly and keep the project as far away from Tengda as possible. That would minimize chances of cooperation between various departments to stab Pei Qian in the back.

However, Pei Qian could not say all of those things openly. He could only hope that Qiu Hong would realize it on his own.

Qiu Hong fell into deep thought.

He didn’t think that Boss Pei was being stingy by distributing bonuses in this manner. On the contrary, he felt that Boss Pei was being too generous.

That was because they would be investing in small teams that produced standalone games and independent games. If the chances of those projects succeeding hit a couple of digits in percent, it would be good enough. The chances of failing far exceeded the chances of success.

Logically, since there was a high chance that they would lose money, the current method of distributing bonuses would be advantageous for Qiu Hong.

As for why Boss Pei was especially emphasizing that they could not invest in projects that were too reliable or too ridiculous…

It went without saying that ridiculous projects should not be invested in. Too many companies and developers were out to cheat. No matter how much one invested in them, they would only produce trash. Companies like that deserved to collapse!

Companies that were too reliable were not considered to be on the path to becoming poor. Even if they failed to obtain funds from the Destitution Plan, they would probably be able to find other investors that could get them out of their difficulties.

The companies that needed the most help were those that fell between the two extremes. They wanted to produce good games, but they could not win the favor of ordinary investors.

It was also understandable why Boss Pei wanted to cast his net widely.

On one hand, it was because they could not put all of their eggs in one basket. On the other hand, it would increase the scope of the Destitution Plan.

It would be just like helping the poor. Giving one person a hundred thousand yuan would not be as good as giving a hundred people a thousand yuan each.

Many small companies and teams would not know how to spend five million yuan or ten million yuan even if they received that sum of money from out of nowhere. That could result in wastage. On the other hand, giving them five hundred thousand yuan or one million yuan would be sufficient to help them tide through difficulties and make the most use of the funds.

Keeping everything low profile would be forsaking a boost in reputation, but it would also be preventing rubbish developers with intentions to cheat investors’ money from knocking on their door.

No matter how Qiu Hong thought about it, he could not help but marvel at how well-thought-out Boss Pei’s plan was!

Indeed, only people with careful planning like Boss Pei could achieve success in all fields!

Qiu Hong could not help but think about how he had lectured Boss Pei previously. He felt like an amateur trying to teach a professional how to do things.

Still, perhaps it was because of their previous interactions that Boss Pei had specially picked him.

Boss Pei had once said not to let the sorrow of the times become one’s personal sorrows. Obviously, he had seen Qiu Hong’s deep and persistent passion for standalone games, right?

Now, Qiu Hong could see a more brilliant glow of an idealist around Boss Pei. Within that smile, he could find warmth and trust!

At that thought, Qiu Hong nodded. “Alright, Boss Pei! I am willing to be in charge of the ‘Destitution Plan’. I hope that we will work happily together!”

…

In the afternoon, at Shang Yang Games…

Wang Xiaobin continued to rack his brains, thinking of downloadable content to develop.

Over this period, he had gone onto forums to read players’ suggestions and selected several well-supported plans to consider.

“Eh? Director Zhu has sent his plot overview over!”

Wang Xiaobin quickly downloaded the document.

The plot overview was the framework for Ocean Stronghold’s downloadable content and not the story outline for Destiny and Choice.

In fact, the story outline for Destiny and Choice was not yet complete or clear.

Still, Wang Xiaobin couldn’t care less about it at this point. For now, he had enough work on his hands.

After opening the document, Wang Xiaobin realized that it was not merely a plot overview—it also contained simple sketches including the Zergs that one would come across in the game, the looks of characters in the games, weapons and equipment, and so on.

Although the game would be played from a first-person perspective and one would not be able to see the protagonist’s face, they would be able to see how other players looked.

Just like in other movies or games, these characters would be dressed in special combat uniforms which were high-tech armors.

It was just that they were different from heavy combat uniforms, which were three meters long and weighed half a ton. These combat uniforms were slim and light.

According to the description of the sketches, such combat uniforms were to be called ‘Skylark III Combat Uniforms’. They would be powered by miniature fusion reactors on the chests, which could charge the combat rifles in their hands. There would also be jet ports on the back to dissipate heat and support ultra-short-distance flights within a short time.

At the same time, human soldiers had undergone physical, chemical, genetic, and other means to strengthen their bodies, speed up their reaction time, increase their strength, and improve their vision. Although only a few human soldiers would persist, they would gain the ability to control their Skylark combat uniforms in this manner.

On top of the fact that they were light and capable of short-distance flight, the combat uniforms would be named ‘Skylark’ for another important reason: finches were the natural enemies of Zergs.

The combat uniforms would have recoil counteracting devices on the arms and gravity devices on the legs. The weapon would be a special rifle that individual soldiers could carry, which had dual propulsion of gunpowder and magnetic tracks.

The helmet would have an integrated system with functions such as instant communication, infrared detection, terrain navigation, ballistic calculation, condition monitoring, artificial intelligence, and so on.

Although the rifles would be extremely powerful and have an extremely high fire rate, the ‘anti-recoil’ effect could be achieved quickly once soldiers turned the recoil counteracting devices on the hand. The gravity devices on the legs would also enable soldiers to stand firm on any flat surface.

In other words, every soldier wearing the Skylark combat uniform would be able to climb walls, see over a certain range, avoid recoil effects, aim, and fly short-distance.

The soldiers’ battlefield data would be uploaded in real-time, and the massive amounts of data would be processed and analyzed by the artificial intelligence, which could then command the soldiers’ actions.

That meant that the artificial intelligence would be able to answer most combat-related questions raised by soldiers at any time and guide their actions.

Of course, communications within small teams could be retained, and team members would be allowed to react according to the situation in front of them.

The appearance of all team members would be hidden inside the helmet of the Skylark combat uniforms, but Wang Xiaobin could faintly see the scene inside the helmets: A huge monocle eyepiece covered the soldier’s left eye and extended towards the left side of the chin. There weren’t many expressions, but one would be able to identify the unique characteristics of guys and girls.

In addition, every combat uniform would come with a huge serial number and a bit of personalized paint. Thus, even if everyone put on the standard combat uniform, one would be able to distinguish between different people if they looked closely enough. Of course, that was if they weren’t already engaged in serious combat.

Lastly, the storyline briefly explained the team’s mission.

On the main battlefield, armored vehicles and heavy tanks would be the main fighters against the Zergs. Human soldiers would not have to fight with the Zerg army in their combat uniforms.

Still, armored vehicles and tanks would not be able to fend against the acidic and thorny claws of the Zergs. At the same time, most Zerg units’ shells would not be able to fend against the gunpowder and magnetic tracks from the human soldiers’ rifles.

To the individual units, protective armor and stronger gunfire would not be meaningful. Thus, the main effect of the Skylark combat uniform would be to provide high mobility and concealment.

On that premise, the mission of the team wearing the Skylark combat uniform would be to avoid the Zergs’ main army, sneak into the depths of their nest, and behead the Zerg Queen.

There would be many other teams with the same mission, and the protagonist would play the team leader of one of such teams.

All team members would firmly believe that, as long as they behead the Zerg Queen, they would be able to turn the tides of the battle and possibly even eliminate the entire Zerg army.

However, the story outline said that beheading the Zerg Queen would not be that simple.

What’s more, the team in the story would have no idea of this.