Cui Geng's 'Completion Forecast' was very simply written.
"I am 'The Tentacled Beast that Writes for His Life'. I want to tell all of you something from the bottom of my heart.
"I know that many friends hoped that there would be two, three, or even five million words in this book. Some of you even hoped that the book would never end.
"However, I don't have enough experience writing Xuanhuan novels. This book's framework wasn't big from the beginning. The most exciting parts could be written with seven or eight hundred thousand words. After diluting the content, I stretched it to its maximum of a million words.
"All of you could tell that I sped up the plot recently. That's because I was reaching seven hundred thousand words, and I was reaching the end of the novel's plot. "I was afraid that if I ended the book too suddenly, none of you would have been able to accept it. That's why I'm warning you now: the book is probably going to reach its conclusion in one or two weeks. Please brace yourselves.
"I'm preparing for the next book. Once I have something substantial, I'll inform all of you at once."
Just as Cui Geng had expected, the comments section immediately flooded with discussion.
Cui Geng decisively exited Zhongdian Chinese Network's application and stopped its processes so that he would not have to read his readers' comments. That was because he could probably easily guess what the comments would be about.
"So what if they start scolding me? As long as I don't read the comments, it wouldn't affect me. Even if I get scolded, I have to write out what I have in mind!
"I can sense that this idea would be the brightest moment of my writing career!" Cui Geng switched the computer on and created a new document. Then, he quickly wrote out his idea.
"Even at its best, a story set in the city would not be as good as traditional Xuanhuan and Xianxia stories. Still, there'll probably be many readers. It'll be a hot topic for sure."
"However… at the moment, most stories set in the city are interesting because they're about mindless boasting and romance, with powerful soldiers and campus flowers as the protagonists.
"That's not quite my style.
"I can't write about mindless boasting, and I can't come across as preachy because that would not match the uniqueness of this idea.
"That's why I'm going to write a story with a humorous tone.
"I won't make readers just feel good like they normally would. Instead, I will make them feel like God-in control of everything…"
As Cui Geng brainstormed, he quickly thought of a pretty good framework for the novel.
It would be called The Butterfly Game.
He had not thought of a name for the protagonist yet. In any case, he would just be a tool.
The protagonist would be sitting at home one day, slacking. All of a sudden, a system would drop from above. A blue ball of light would smash him in his head and merge together with him.
The protagonist would subsequently realize that he could summon the light ball whenever he wanted. Through the light ball, he could even observe everything that was happening in a parallel world.
The light ball would contain a game called 'The Butterfly Game'. The inspiration for that name came from 'the butterfly effect'.
nan
The protagonist would not be the creator of that parallel world.
He would have certain powers in the game, but he would only be able to make relatively superficial changes in the parallel world. He would be just like a butterfly, gently fluttering its wings in the Amazon jungle.
The aim of the game would be to cause the biggest effect on the people and things in the game through a chain reaction to these superficial changes.
At the end, the game would measure the effect caused by the protagonist and grade him. He would then be rewarded according to that grade.
As the cycle continued, the protagonist would get more and more powers, and his area of influence would increase.
Thus, the protagonist would keep causing butterfly effects. Many people would begin realizing their dreams in that world due to a freak combination of factors.
Cui Geng had even thought about how to write the first scene in the beginning.
He would start with an independent game designer, who would be destitute and dejected… but never gave up on his dreams.
Since this game designer would be destitute and dejected, he would create a very simple and stripped-down game. However, it would be filled with sincerity.
Still, since he would have no money to advertise it, nobody would catch onto it. Helpless and desperate, the game designer would decide to give up on his dreams and return home to work in a factory, which his family would have found for him.
While observing the parallel world, the protagonist would notice this game designer. Thus, using his limited powers, he would find a UP Master in the game channel and then cause the UP Master to 'accidentally' download the game and start playing it.
The UP Master would recommend the game on his own initiative, causing it to become popular at once. From then on, things would spiral out of control. All of these would cause the game designer's dreams to come true.
Of course, since this story was only the beginning, it would be relatively simple.
As the plot developed, the story would become more and more complicated.
For example, there would be an extremely wealthy antagonist in the book. He would be the boss of a multinational corporation, and he would love acquiring game companies all over the world if they had good reputations. He would then milk every last cent from those companies.
To force these game companies into acquisition, he would resort to dirty tricks, plant moles in the companies, or smear their reputations online to cause them to run into financial difficulties. In the end of the dayto pressure the companies that he liked, he would resort to anything.
The protagonist's mission would be to ruin the antagonist's plans by changing certain details in the world using the butterfly effect, which he had become extremely familiar with. By doing so, he would be saving the good-hearted game companies from being maliciously acquired.
All in all, the protagonist would have to use his golden fingers and the 'butterfly effect' to influence everyone in the parallel world and help them to achieve their dreams.
All of those people could come from various industries. They could be game designers, entrepreneurs, cafe bosses, singers, actors, directors, writers…
There would be a whole host of characters like that.
As time went by, the people whom the protagonist had helped would help one another and affect one another. It would get harder and harder to anticipate how things would develop.
As the supporting characters continue to mature and their lives begin to intertwine with one another's, the protagonist's butterfly effect would grow more powerful. Take a child who faced the possibility of dropping out of school for example. Thanks to the protagonist's butterfly effect, the child would get financial assistance from a good-hearted person.
He would go on to graduate from high school and obtain excellent results in university. He would then take a post-graduate course and obtain his Ph.D. before taking part in the research and development of an extremely important project.
The project would become a success, and a new investment opportunity would arise.
At the same time, another supporting character's company would face the possibility of insolvency due to insufficient funds. However, because they had invested in that project, they would rise to success and become giants in the industry. They would go on to deeply change the way the entire world lived.
All in all, the parallel world would slowly turn into the perfect world, thanks to the protagonist's use of the butterfly effect time and time again.
Once he finished writing the idea out, Cui Geng read it a couple of times to evaluate it.
"It's not a typical storyline, and there are bound to be huge risks involved. However, that also means there's opportunity. I don't think anyone has a similar story set in a city.
"The readers would not be made to feel like the protagonist but like God. They would watch as the parallel world accidentally and slowly changes due to each butterfly effect. A plot like that would keep the readers on their toes and fill them with hope for the future.
"There would be no supporting character who would try to show off and end up being defeated by the protagonist. Instead, all the supporting characters would achieve their dreams one by one, and the parallel world would just get better.
"The book would lean towards being humorous. It would also be quite relaxing. I think it will appeal to readers who are tired of reading books about young underdogs with unlimited potential.
"I can gather material from different kinds of businesses. There are many stories in the country about companies establishing empires out of pure coincidence.
"Even Tengda can be used as an inspiration. Reality is much more exciting than novels…"
The more Cui Geng thought about it, the more inspired he became!
There were holes in this plot; he could not say that it was perfect.
Yet, which plot was perfect?
As long as one was venturing into new territory, there would be risks involved.
At that thought, Cui Geng sent the document to his own email and then deleted the document from the computer.
Things like ideas were extremely important to writers. If others saw the document and leaked the information and someone else began writing a book based on his idea, he would be in trouble.
Once he was done, Cui Geng glanced at his cell phone. It was just about time to knock off.
He stood up and walked out.
Once I get back, I have to focus and work hard to write the ending for the book.
The framework wasn't big to begin with. If I continue writing eight thousand words per day, I'll probably finish what I had originally planned in a week or so.
Then, I'll decisively end the book. So what if I get scolded? I'll quickly start writing a new one and act like nothing happened.
For the sake of my new idea, I'll tolerate getting scolded!
Cui Geng walked out of the game room and bumped into Boss Pei, who had just arrived back at the office.
When Pei Qian saw Cui Geng walk out of the game room, he smiled brightly. "Come, I'll treat you to a meal!"
Cui Geng was stunned. "Huh? But, Boss Pei
"No 'but's. Just come with me."
Boss Pei did not even allow Cui Geng to object. He led the latter onto the car, and the two headed to Ming House for a huge feast.
In the car, Cui Geng's heart was filled with doubts. Boss Pei looked so happy when he saw me. Does he already know that today's lesson on the Tengda spirit was a success?
Is he treating me to a meal to encourage me?
Chapter 401 A Tailor-Made Position
Ming House...
Pei Qian looked at Cui Geng with a smile, making Cui Geng's hair stand.
"Boss Pei, please eat, too."
The dishes on the table looked scrumptious to Cui Geng. Each dish was delicious, and it might not be a lot to Cui Geng. However, he would not be able to finish so many dishes by himself.
Boss Pei did not seem interested in the dishes. He picked at them as though he was eating at home.
Cui Geng was flustered for no reason as he looked at Boss Pei staring at him with some appreciation. He started to subconsciously fill up some outrageous plots.
A web novelist had great imaginations after all.
Of course, Pei Qian did not know what Cui Geng was thinking at this point in time. The main reason why he stared at Cui Geng was that he felt he found a great talent!
Pei Qian did not think much of it originally.
Let the author who wrote the least in class come to the company to learn about the Tengda spirit mainly to let him feel the lazy atmosphere of Tengda. He could then bring this spirit back to class and disintegrate the class of hardworking people from inside out.
Pei Qian did not expect Cui Geng to perform so superbly. Not only did he successfully fulfill his expectations, but there was also a surprise!
He went to the game room in Tengda headquarters to play games in the morning.
He posted a preview in the afternoon, indicating that he would write this book casually in the future and would be finished soon. He didn't care if the readers would read it or not! How carefree!
How casual!
Pei Qian could not help but think that there would be nothing to worry about if all the authors in Zhongdian Chinese Network were the same as Cui Geng.
The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more satisfied he was. He even wanted to entrust Cui Geng with an important task.
However, Pei Qian did not reveal it immediately. He considered it, thinking that he should be more cautious.
He had to at least test Cui Geng if he was really the talent he needed.
"I have a few questions, just casual chat," Pei Qian said.
Cui Geng nodded immediately. "Alright, Boss Pei, please say."
He had some suspicions in his heart since he did not know what Boss Pei had up his sleeve. However, he could be certain that this was definitely not a simple meal.
Boss Pei was a big boss with a net worth of at least 100 million yuan based on the scale of this company. How tight a schedule would such a boss have? How could he have time to dine with a small character like him?
Cui Geng might have been feeling good about himself, but he also knew very well that he was just an ordinary author. He wasn't even considered the top one of Zhongdian Chinese Network.
Cui Geng might be a lazy bum, but he was neither stupid nor silly. He might hate human civilization, but that did not mean he knew nothing about it. Therefore, he immediately plucked up his spirit and geared up his brain, waiting to answer Boss Pei's question.
"This book is progressing rather well. Why are you suddenly giving the notice to end it?" Pei Qian asked casually while eating. He deliberately made his tone very casual and smiled, afraid of putting pressure on Cui Geng.
However, Cui Geng's heart still dropped.
What is this? I only announced the preview of ending this novel less than two hours ago, and Boss Pei knows it already?
The problem was how did Boss Pei know about it?
Did Boss Ma tell him? Impossible, how could Boss Ma disturb Boss Pei over something so trivial?
Therefore... the only remaining possibility...
Could Boss Pei be reading my book!?
Cui Geng suddenly panicked. He immediately realized that this was the only possibility.
Then, Boss Pei's attitude was very interesting...
Cui Geng looked across at Boss Pei with a warm smile on his face under the soft light. Yet, there was an indescribable mystery behind this smile.
Cui Geng understood it instantly.
Sh*t, Boss Pei was urging me in person to update! Inviting me to dinner was trying peaceful means before resorting to force! Cui Geng was not someone who could not discern the good from the bad. He hurriedly replied. "I can delete that chapter immediately if Boss Pei likes to read it! I will not end the book if Boss Pei does not agree to it! I'll write it in five million, no, ten million words!"
Pei Qian, "?"
Sh*t, this Cui Geng got me wrong.
"No, no, no, I think it's good to end it now, or as soon as you can. I'm serious," Pei Qian quickly explained, "A man should be decisive and do things neatly. I admire you for that."
Cui Geng blinked, still lost.
What kind of deity reader is this!
I would be so happy as an author if every reader could be as considerate as Boss Pei!
Cui Geng held up his glass of wine excitedly. "Boss Pei, say no more; it's all in the wine!"
Pei Qian was convinced by Cui Geng's excitedness that axing the book was his true desire.
"Why did you post the ending notice today?" Pei Qian asked.
Cui Geng let out a long sigh. Everything was easy as long as Boss Pei was not here to push him to update. "Boss Pei, I was deeply inspired by the Tengda spirit today. This notice was sent out based on these feelings."
Pei Qian's eyes brightened instantly.
Very good. This guy is really up to speed!
However, he couldn't be sure with one question. He had to ask some more. "What do you plan to do after you write the ending of this book?"
"Collect materials for a while before starting on a new book. What else can I do?"
"What if the readers criticize you?"
"Just don't read the comments."
Pei Qian, "Then, I'll talk to Ma Yiqun to let you leave the study class and find another job. What do you think?"
Cui Geng had some doubts. Boss Pei asked me to leave the study class to find another job? Why?
Boss Pei saw my work ability and is asking me to take charge of a certain department under him?
Impossible, I'm just a web novelist. What work ability would I have?
Could it be possible... that Boss Pei wants to arrange a position for me so that I can better collect materials?
Cui Geng nodded. "Of course, that would be
great."
Pei Qian examined closely and found that Cui Geng replied to all his questions except the last without thinking. There was also firm light in his eyes.
Pei Qian was very happy. He was definitely trainable!
He picked up the wine glass and took a sip, thinking about how he could use this talent.
There were many problematic departments in Tengda Corporation now. The hardworking spirit had been reversed to a certain extent after the recent Tengda spirit compatibility test, but the speed of change was still too slow.
Pei Qian felt that it would be too wasted for a 'talent' like Cui Geng to be placed in a small study class.
He had to send him to the departments which were tough nuts to crack!
For example, the gaming department, Fei Huang Workspace, ROF computer-installation...
These departments had repeatedly stabbed his back since the beginning of their establishment. It had become more frequent recently and had now become rather hard to turn back.
These were all heavy burdens for Boss Pei to carry.
Maybe Cui Geng could reverse this trend if he were to send him there!
As to which department to go to...
Pei Qian was uncertain.
Why not... let him decide himself?
Pei Qian asked slowly, "Which department in Tengda do you like the best?"
Cui Geng was taken aback for a moment. "Uh, Boss Pei, I don't know what departments Tengda has."
Pei Qian took out his cell phone directly and logged onto the TPDb website to show him all of Tengda's current activities. Cui Geng couldn't help but be secretly shocked when he took over the phone.
This Tengda Corporation was already a monster!
He looked a little dazed. He was interested in many departments, but which one was he most interested in? He was not able to decide.
All the departments should be useful to collect materials for novels.
"Boss Pei, I want to go to all of them. Is it possible? Of course, forget it if it isn't convenient for you..." Cui Geng said.
Pei Qian was absolutely delighted. "Convenient! Why wouldn't it be convenient?
"Things are dead, humans are alive. I'll definitely satisfy your requirement since you have them!
"How about this, I'll give you a special position. You can go to any department of Tengda at will. The person-in-charge of the department will prepare a workstation and pay you wages. Everything will be done in accordance with the standard of formal employees.
"Everyone in the department has to cooperate with you unconditionally if you have a need.
"You'll set the job scope yourself, and no one else would have the right to intervene.
"Change the department if you want to. Return to the original department if you want to. No person-in-charge of any department can block you for any reason!"
Pei Qian was simply delighted to hear that Cui Geng wanted to 'go everywhere'. A pure gold dung-stirring stick would be too wasteful if it was only used to stir the class. It should be used to stir the entire Tengda Corporation!
The script in Pei Qian's vision was perfect.
Cui Geng was a rare talent who understood the Tengda spirit in its entirety.
Letting him visit the other departments meant that he could spread the Tengda spirit and reverse the hardworking trend.At the same time, every department had to prepare a work station for him. All benefits such as salary and bonuses were to be given as though he was a regular employee. Setting his own work scope meant that he could laze every day and rouse the jealousy of the other employees in the other departments. Lastly, all departments had to unconditionally cooperate and comply with his requests. He could come and go freely. The person-in-charge of the departments could not do anything to him. That could definitely be able to disrupt the work of these departments! It was conceivable that Cui Geng would set off a bloody storm within the Tengda Corporation sooner or later... Cui Geng's eyes widened slightly. Boss Pei understood me!
Wasn't this position tailor-made for me to collect materials?
Receive wages to eliminate worries...
The efficiency of collecting materials would greatly improve if the departments cooperated unconditionally... Come and go freely felt that he could periodically go to different departments to collect materials, which was conducive to the expansion of themes and linkages of the different fields in the book...
Cui Geng picked up his glass of wine excitedly and toasted Boss Pei's wine glass.
"Boss Pei, I'll definitely fulfill my mission!"
"Very good, I wish you all the best!"
Both of them were filled with smiles... as well as infinite expectations for the future.
Chapter 402 How to Thank Boss Pei
January 22nd, Saturday...
Pei Qian was in a good mood last night. Moreover, he had a little wine with Cui Geng at the Ming House so he slept very well.
He woke up naturally at nine in the morning.
He glanced at his phone after he woke up. There was a memo on it. "Go to Huanyu Tianjie and take a look at the shared phone booth."
Pei Qian took his time, preparing to head to the steamed bun shop downstairs for breakfast before heading over.
Pei Qian received another news when the steamed buns were brought out. Huang Sibo, "Boss Pei, the rough cut of the film is out. Would you like to take a look?"
Hmm? Rough cut?
Director Zhu Xiaoce did seem to mention this when the crew was eating at Ming Yun Private Kitchen. The so-called rough cut version was just a product of simple editing with the material that was shot. There would be no special effects yet, and one had to be imaginative with a lot of the content.
However, it was still a complete film in which you could see something.
Pei Qian considered it. It seemed like this was more important. He could go to the phone booth in the afternoon. He then replied, "Okay, I'll be there soon."
He was about to keep his phone when he realized something was wrong.
"Today is Saturday. You are working overtime?"
Huang Sibo replied in no time, "Um, Boss Pei, we paid overtime."
Pei Qian put on a tough attitude. "You cannot work overtime so self-righteously even if you are giving overtime pay! Avoid it at all costs in the future!"
Huang Sibo, "I understand, Boss Pei."
Fei Huang Workspace was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tengda, not a department. Pei Qian was not able to be too strict with the overtime for it. He could only chide Huang Sibo and let him carry it out by himself.
Pei Qian might not have asked much from Fei Huang Workspace, but he definitely had to take the trip to Fei Huang Workspace. He had to give himself reassurance since the rough cut of the film was already out.
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Handong University branch...
Lin Chang ordered a cup of hot coffee and drank it while warming his hands. He still felt a little dusty. He just came from the airport and had yet to settle down.
The first thing he did when arriving in Jingzhou was to come to the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe near Handong University, hoping to meet Boss Pei to discuss the progress of the previous plan.
AS
Unfortunately, he only knew that Boss Pei had reached Fei Huang Workspace and was watching the rough cut samples when he sent the news.
He would need at least three hours to watch the clips and travel.
Moreover, Boss Pei said that he had a matter he had delayed for a very long time to deal with in the afternoon. He might be delayed for at least another hour.
Lin Chang estimated that he would only be able to meet Boss Pei at three to four in the afternoon.
Now, that was awkward.
Lin Chang knew that Boss Pei was usually busy at work. He fully understood that, but he did not plan to just sit around and wait either. He decided to meet Lin Wan and observe the progress for a while.
Previously, Lin Chang and Boss Pei conspired pretty well to let Lin Wan be in charge of the horror games of Shang Yang Games while being in charge of the cell phone business.
There were many complications on both sides which greatly increased the chance of failure for Lin Wan's projects.
The two of them originally considered leaving room for maneuver.
To better combat the mobile phone business, they were considering releasing a mobile phone here.
Lin Yu was in charge of developing a benchmark mobile phone in Shenhua's cell phone department. The quality of the phone would be a bit better and would be a little cheaper. Their publicity would also be a little better.
Such close-contact combat was to eliminate hidden dangers in the budding stage enough for them to remain invincible.
However, Boss Pei sent Lin Chang a message when this mobile phone was developed halfway: 'there was no need for this backup plan.'
This cell phone was going for 8,000 yuan. Shenhua's flagship cell phone could already meet the requirements for 'higher quality, lower price, and better publicity'. There was no need to build a targeted mobile phone.
Therefore, there was no need for this back up plan.
Lin Wan arrived just as he was thinking. She sat down opposite of Lin Chang and ordered a coffee as well. She then frowned and asked, "Brother, why are you here again?"
Lin Chang's mouth twitched. "What do you mean by 'again'? Can't I see my own sister?"
Lin Wan looked on with disbelief. "I feel like you're running here very frequently. Do you have some ulterior motive?"
"How is that possible?! I just like the livable Jingzhou environment!" Lin Chang smiled rather unassumingly. "Also, don't I have to come over and see you frequently? How are you doing? Everything going well?"
Lin Wan swirled the coffee in her cup. "It's still alright."
Lin Chang couldn't help but be secretly delighted by Lin Wan's low spirits.
There might be an opportunity!
Lin Wan would have boasted about it if these two projects were progressing well. The two projects must not be going well since Lin Wan was not boasting!
He was rejoicing within, but he could not show it on his face.
Instead, Lin Chang showed a face full of concern. "Why, did you meet some difficulties? Do you have anything that you need help with? Let Bro know, and I'll do my best to help you!"
Lin Wan glanced at him. "Forget it, one of my projects is a horror game; the other is a cell phone. Which can you help me with?"
"These projects are still ongoing. There might be some progress, but I still don't have much confidence in them."
"The horror game does not have any problem with its general framework, but there are many small details that need to be modified. Moreover, even if these small details are done, it would be difficult to gauge if the players would accept this new type of horror game...
"So I'm a bit worried.
"Fortunately, we have a very powerful artistic big boss who has been adjusting the game style and enriching the game details with us. It looked a lot better recently.
"For the cell phone... sigh. To be honest, I really cannot do it.
"A horror game alone is enough of a headache so I did not have much time for the cell phone. The staff gave me a brick-like prototype the last time I visited. I felt it was a huge problem even then.
"The prototypes have been made even though I have not been involved in their development. It's impossible to tell them to overthrow and start over.
"I can only wait until the cell phone is made and run to the other departments of Tengda to ask for a bit of welfare. That would be considered a contribution.
"Even so, I think this cell phone will be a flop." Lin Wan's relationship with Lin Chang had always been good. She did not think so much during the meeting and revealed everything – her confusion and distress—to him.
Lin Chang looked worried for Lin Wan on the surface, frowning deeply; but he was jumping for joy within.
Great Boss Pei, this plan is truly perfect! Ah Wan has yet to notice anything.
The blow to Ah Wan will definitely not be small if they were to maintain the current status with the horror games and the cell phone hitting the market together!
Lin Chang could not help to feel elastic when he thought of that. He then whispered, "It seems like I have to find a way to thank Boss
Pei."
Lin Wan frowned. "Hm? What did you say? Why thank Boss Pei?"
Lin Chang was shocked. You heard my whispers?
"What I mean is that Boss Pei trusts you so much, giving you such an important responsibility. As an older brother, I will definitely have to find an opportunity to thank Boss Pei as well!" Lin Chang hurriedly explained, seeing a hint of suspicion from Lin Wan's gaze.
Lin Wan's expression lightened. "That's true." "However, Boss Pei doesn't seem to need anything." Lin Chang thought for a while. "What about if we ask Second Brother to forgo his rent?
"Or I can go and take care of his Fish-Catching Internet Cafe business?"
Lin Wan shook her head. "That feels as insincere. Boss Pei doesn't care about such a small change."
Lin Chang agreed. "That's true. These small favors are not enough to repay Boss Pei's sincerity. Then... is there anything Boss Pei urgently needs? It's best if it's something I can help out with."
Lin Wan frowned and thought for two minutes.
"Aha! You know that the movie Fei Huang Workspace was filming recently was finished,
right?"
Lin Chang thought for a while. Boss Pei did say that he was going to watch the rough cut version so he nodded.
Lin Wan continued, "The movie was Boss Pei's creativity. The entire story summary was written by Boss Pei himself. That effort in itself shows the great importance he must attach to this movie."
Lin Chang was a little puzzled. "So? If you had told me earlier, I could have found a good director and a few popular celebrities. It's useless now that it's done filming." He paused understanding immediately. "Oh, I understand now! You want me to help contact the distributors and theaters?".
Lin Wan nodded. "Yes, it's simple to you, but it's something urgent that Boss Pei requires now."
Good wine needed no bush[1].
as
Lin Chang gave it some thought. That was really the case.
The Tengda Corporation might be big under Boss Pei, but it was Fei Huang Workspace's first film. They did not have relevant contacts and resources.
However, Lin Chang was different. He was responsible for the entertainment, television, and media business of Shenhua Corporation. He had lots of resources on hand.
"Alright, consider it done! I'll let Boss Pei know now!" Lin Chang was very happy, thinking that his 'thank you' gift should be quite sincere."
Lin Wan waved her hand dismissively. "Uh... I think there is no need to tell Boss Pei. Boss Pei has been very busy with work recently. He shouldn't be bothered with such trivialities. "What about I just give you the number of the person-in-charge of Fei Huang Workspace for you to contact?
"Won't it be better to give Boss Pei a surprise when the movie is released?"
Lin Chang thought about it; that seemed right as well.
Boss Pei was going to at least three places today. There was also a long-delayed job to deal with, which showed that he had a very full schedule.
Thinking about it this way, the people from Fei Huang Workspace must be responsible for things like film distribution, talks with theater chains, and the like. Such trivial matters could not be the responsibility of Boss Pei, right?
Wouldn't it be much more splendid if he were to meet the people from Fei Huang Workspace to get it done and give Boss Pei a surprise?
Lin Chang nodded as he thought of this. "Okay, give me the contact of the person-in-charge of Fei Huang Workspace then. I'll talk to him."
[1] This means that something of good quality doesn't need any advertisement as people are bound to discover it.
Chapter 403 What Happened Over the Past Week or So?
In the afternoon, Pei Qian boarded the car and left Fei Huang Workspace for Huanyu Tianjie. He had seen Tomorrow is Beautiful's edits. On the whole, Pei Qian had mixed feelings.
He was happy because the film was not very well-edited. There were no special effects at all either. What's more, the plot looked very toxic. It looked like it had the potential to fail.
Yet, Pei Qian was worried because the actors had acted very well in the film. This was especially so for the three main leads—Zhang Zuting, Lu Zhiyao, and Lin Ruyi. They had delivered excellent performances, which made Pei Qian panic.
Lu Zhiyao had stopped acting in such an exaggerated manner; nobody would be able to tell that Lin Ruyi was a new actress; and needless to say, Zhang Zuting's acting skills as a movie king were flawless.
Pei Qian could not tell what kind of reaction a film like that would get.
As he tried to organize his thoughts, Pei Qian arrived at Huanyu Tianjie.
"Boss Pei, do you want me to go up with you?" Little Sun asked.
After some thought, Pei Qian answered, "There's no need. Wait for me in the car. I'll just take a quick look and come back."
Pei Qian had not thought much about the trip. He only wanted to check if the shared phone booth was safe. Then, he would go back towards Handong University to meet Lin Chang.
At least, that had been his plan until he arrived at the top floor of the shopping mall.
It was a Saturday afternoon. Pei Qian had already been prepared to see many people in Huanyu Tianjie. However, he became stunned when he stepped out of the elevator.
He glanced at the entrance of the cinema and became confused. "Eh? Why are there so many people? Is there a particularly good movie premiering today?"
After taking a closer look, he was stunned. There were many people at the entrance of the cinema, but it did not look like they were planning to watch a movie! Nobody was maintaining order in the area, but everyone formed two neat lines.
The two lines were moving very quickly. One of them was for people to take photographs in front of the shared phone booth before leaving. The other was for people to take a number from the machine in front of the phone booth and then leave.
Pei Qian took a closer look at the phone booth's exterior.
There was a huge painting on it: the Guardian of Justice, Modest!
The huge painting took up most of the space on the front of the shared phone booth. Modest's body was painted to look burly. His resolute gaze was fixed to the front, and there were various types of weapons behind him that made him look even more heroic.
Many people were lining up just to take a photograph with the huge painting.
What's more, it looked different from the ordinary posters and the game's concept art. Ruan Guangjian had sketched the painting himself, and he had employed many special techniques. His thick brush strokes looked like they were done freehand. With one look, anyone could tell that it was very artistic.
It was an outstanding painting, and it was no wonder that everyone in the shopping mall wanted to come and take a photograph with it.
Pei Qian stood in front of the phone booth, looking at the huge painting and feeling speechless. "F*ck..."
He had indeed asked Ruan Guangjian to paint whatever he wanted to decorate the shared phone booth, but he had not told him to draw the Coin-Scattering Hedgehog!
For some reason, Pei Qian felt like the Coin-Scattering Hedgehog was staring at him. Its lips were curled up in a subtle smile... as if it was mocking him...
Then, he surveyed the shared phone booth itself.
A monitor was facing the escalator. At the moment, it was displaying the number of the customer being served: 14, and seven minutes left.
Pei Qian's heart stopped for a moment. A bad feeling overwhelmed him. He looked past the crowd to see the numbers being generated by the machine in front of the shared phone booth. It was now at number 29.
In other words, fourteen customers had experienced the shared phone booth since it opened for business in the morning. In addition, there were fifteen people in line!
Of course, that was not including the people who had taken a number but who had not ended up entering the booth. However, Pei Qian guessed that not many customers fell into the category. At first, Pei Qian had heaved a sigh of relief when he saw many people in line but no one entering the shared phone booth. He had thought that everyone only wanted to look at the phone booth but not pay to enter.
Now, he understood that there were indeed people waiting to enter the booth. However, those people had taken a number instead. The system was more modern!
Pei Qian quickly whipped out his phone and scanned the QR code to download the application for the shared phone booth.
The application had been very simple at first. It had only allowed people to scan codes. However, there were many more functions now.
The most obvious change was the queuing function. One only had to take a number at the door of the phone booth to enter in line. Then, they could fill in the estimated amount of time they would spend inside.
The system would sum up everyone's estimated time so that users would know how long they would have to wait until their turn. Once it was almost their turn, users could go to the shared phone booth to wait.
Users could also do other things on this page, such as give up their position in the line.
That way, people would not have to stand by and wait in front of the phone booth's entrance. They could do other things like shop or have desserts while waiting for their turn.
Pei Qian glanced at the estimated time remaining on the application. It was nearly three hours!
What's more, there were still people taking numbers. Pei Qian did a quick calculation of the price and turned pale.
The booth made ten yuan every fifteen minutes. That added up to forty yuan per hour. From the looks of the current situation, the shared phone booth had probably been occupied since the shopping mall opened for business. That meant it would be occupied for eleven to twelve hours today.
In sum, the shared phone booth could make four to five hundred yuan per day!
Of course, the shared phone booth was only constantly occupied because today was Saturday, and there were more people in the shopping mall.
vere
On a normal workday, the shared phone booth would probably earn less.
Still, no matter what, that was a considerable figure!
Pei Qian was stumped. This is so strange! Isn't this just a shared phone booth? What are people doing there for an hour?!
He looked around, trying to find out the answer to the question. However, the curtains were drawn in the shared phone booth. He could not see anything, but he could faintly hear music coming from inside.
Since there were many people on this level and it was quite loud, he could hardly hear the music.
Pei Qian refused to give up. He walked one round around the phone booth, but the curtains were too thick. There were gaps, but Boss Pei could not possibly try to peek through the gaps at what was happening inside.
He faintly saw two people seated inside, but he could not tell what exactly they were doing
Still, after making one round around the phone booth, he found a stack of flyers on the other side. The flyers had just been placed there for whoever was interested in taking one.
Pei Qian took one and immediately realized that it was not a simple advertisement like other flyers.
There were words and pictures on the flyer, and the picture looked like a screenshot from a certain television program. 'A customer suffered a cardiac arrest while shopping in the shopping mall, but he was saved by an AED! The shared phone booth's hide a 'life-saving weapon'.' "Recently, in one of Jingzhou City's shopping malls, a worker in the shopping mall used an AED to save a young man's life.
"The scene shown in the picture happened on the top floor of Huanyu Tianjie. A man suddenly collapsed on the ground after walking out of the cinema. When news of this spread to the workers in the shopping mall, they immediately worked together to save him.
"While one called for the ambulance, another dispersed the crowd and administered first-aid on the man.
"At that critical moment, a worker rushed to the 'shared phone booth' and took the Automatic External Defibrillator from inside before attempting to rescue the man.
"After four defibrillations, the man's heart started beating, and he started breathing again... just as the ambulance arrived at the scene.
"After that, the man was sent to the hospital for treatment. Doctors said that the man was fortunate to have been treated with an AED. Otherwise, the consequences might have been dire.
"Professionals say that 85% of all cardiac arrests occur because of ventricular fibrillation, which can only be dealt with by electric defibrillation. If one can be treated with an AED during a cardiac arrest, the chances of him surviving can greatly increase.
"That gave rise to the idea of the 'golden four minutes'.
"Statistics show that over 90% of sudden deaths occur outside of hospitals. That means that being able to do electrical defibrillation on patients using an AED could be the key to saving the lives of those who suffer from cardiac arrests.
"However, there aren't many AEDs available around the country. Reporters have visited various train stations around Beijing, but it seems that the norm is not to have AEDs prepared.
"However, in Jingzhou, a small shared phone booth hides such a life-saving piece of equipment. What's more, it was put to good use and saved someone's life. That's the result of the shared phone booth's creator being equipped with knowledge of public safety and social responsibility.
"The shared phone booth's creator, Zhang Wang, shared his vision with us. His dream is for the shared phone booth to become a cultural landmark of cities, a piece of quiet in the hustle and bustle of city life, and a lighthouse that imparts a sense of social responsibility..."
Pei Qian's eyes widened. On closer inspection, he realized that this was not paper media. The logo in the top corner of the photo belonged to Channel 2 of China Central Television.
"D*mn it, it's only been a week or so since I last visited. How did such a big thing
happen?!"
Pei Qian was dumbfounded. He recalled the last time he had seen the shared phone booth. It had been slipshod and bare, and its surroundings had been so quiet that birds could have built nests there.
Yet, now, not only were there long lines of people waiting to enter, but there had also been a news report on the phone booth!
All of a sudden, Pei Qian felt like he did not know the world at all...
At that moment, the door to the shared phone booth opened. The couple inside left and took their paper cups and microphone covers with them. The couple behind them entered without wasting any time.
During that split second, Pei Qian looked in the phone booth to see what there was.
A drinks machine, jukeboxes, capsule machines... many entertaining activities were lined up inside!
Pei Qian could clearly remember that there had only been a phone and a water dispenser when he had visited the last time...
People could have soft drinks, play with the capsule machine, sing, and show off the fact that they had visited the phone booth. It was no wonder that they did not want to come out once they went inside!
Obviously, visitors had to pay extra to use the drink machines and capsule machines. Adding this to their total revenue...
What's more, this was only one shared phone booth.
As if he had just realized something, Pei Qian quickly walked to the elevator and left.
The phone booth in Huanyu Tianjie was hopeless. Not only had it become popular among customers, but it had also saved someone's life before. There had even been a news report about it!
Pei Qian could not undo any of those now!
However, he could do other things like immediately stop Ruan Guangjian from beautifying the rest of the shared phone booths!
At first, Pei Qian had thought that the shared phone booth would only have a phone and a water dispenser. He had thought that nobody would pay to enter. That was why he had asked Ruan Guangjian to paint the exterior... so that he could spend more money.
However, the painting had undoubtedly turned the phone booth into a cultural landmark. Many people were being drawn from all over to take photos with it. Naturally, those people would want to pay to enter the shared phone booth as well!
Thus, Pei Qian had to stop Ruan Guangjian from painting the other shared phone booths as soon as possible!
Pei Qian did some rough calculations. Ruan Guangjian could only finish one phone booth every three days. That meant he would need two months to finish all twenty phone booths.
Only ten or so days had passed since Pei Qian first commissioned Ruan Guangjian. At most, the latter would probably only have completed four phone booths.
There was still time!
As Pei Qian waited for the elevator, he called Ruan Guangjian.
"Hello, Boss Pei. What's the matter?" It was quiet where Ruan Guangjian was. It did not sound like he was at a shopping mall.
Pei Qian did not think much of it and said, "Er... how many shared phone booths have you painted?"
Ruan Guangjian's voice was filled with confusion. "Shared phone booths? Haven't I done them all already?"
Pei Qian's mind was filled with question marks.
He began to feel light-headed. "I thought you could only finish one every three days. How did you finish all of them so quickly?"
Ruan Guangjian smiled. "Oh, that's right. Completing one every three days was too slow! I thought that by the time I finished all twenty phone booths, the New Year would have arrived. I had other work to do, and I couldn't afford to be held up with this project.
"I found a group of ten or so friends and outsourced the job. Each of them was put in charge of one shared phone booth, and they just had to paint according to the concept art I gave them. "Don't worry, Boss Pei. They're all my friends, and I can vouch for the quality of their work. I've checked every one of those shared phone booths. They're all nicely done. There were some mistakes here and there, but I've already corrected them all.
"Er... Boss Pei?"
Hearing no reply for a long time, Ruan Guangjian thought that the line had been cut off. However, after a while, Pei Qian said, "It's alright, then."
After hanging up, Pei Qian silently walked into the elevator and descended to the parking lot. "Boss Pei, where are we going now?" Although Pei Qian had spent a longer time than he had expected upstairs, Little Sun did not ask too many questions.
After some consideration, Pei Qian darkly said, "We're going to Shidai Shopping Center."
He refused to give up. He had to see the other shared phone booths with his own eyes!
"Alright." Without asking further, Little Sun started the car and drove off.
Pei Qian whipped his phone out to send a message to Lin Chang.
He had to see all the shared phone booths this afternoon before meeting Lin Chang.
Lin Chang's reply came almost immediately: "Boss Pei, rest assured and work. I have work to do as well. Don't worry."
Pei Qian heaved a long sigh. Luckily, Boss Lin's a fair and reasonable person!
After informing Lin Chang, Pei Qian immediately called Chen Kangtuo. "How's the haunted house doing? Speed things up for me!"
Chapter 404 It's a Small Matter, and I'm Done
January 24th, Monday... Pei Qian's expression was dark as he walked into the office and went into his own room.
Over the weekend, he had visited all 21 shared phone booths in the various shopping malls. By the time he was done, his heart had been completely broken.
Of these 21 phone booths, Zhang Wang had only personally made the one at Huanyu Tianjie. The other twenty had been produced in a factory.
Now, the GOG heroes had been painted on all 21 phone booths. The insides of the phone booths had also been filled with things that had nothing to do with phone booths-in Pei Qian's opinion—such as drinks machines, jukeboxes, capsule machines, and the like.
The phone booth had been well and good at first, but now, it had turned into a mini and multi-functional entertainment room!
What's more, there had been long lines in front of all the phone booths. Many people had even traveled long distances just to take photos with the phone booths and check out the inside!
Pei Qian had approached Zhang Wang after that, feeling speechless. However, before Pei Qian could ask the latter anything, Zhang Wang had proudly reported the shared phone booths' results to him.
Each phone booth cost about ten thousand yuan to make. In addition to the costs of the various facilities and AED inside as well as rent, the initial investment for each phone booth came up to less than forty thousand yuan.
Including the cost of painting the shared phone booths, it would have been seventy thousand yuan.
Yet, the shared phone booths were being occupied for an average of seven or eight hours a day.
At forty yuan per hour-adding the revenue from the drinks machines and capsule machines, each shared phone booth earned about three hundred yuan per day. That meant it would earn about ten thousand yuan per month. Even if they deducted maintenance costs and other expenses, they would make about seven or eight thousand yuan a month.
That meant that the shared phone booths would recover their capital in a year. Then, they would start generating pure profits.
At that stage, the twenty shared phone booths would be making hundreds of thousands of yuan for Pei Qian each month!
Of course, to a war veteran like Boss Pei, hundreds of thousands of yuan was a negligible sum to deal with.
n was a
The main reason Pei Qian felt dispirited was that the project made him feel like a serious failure.
"Even an unreliable project like that ended up generating profits?!"
Mentally, this had been a bigger blow to Pei Qian than his previous profit-making projects. Thus, when he walked into the office this morning, Pei Qian was still in a trance.
"Boss Pei, GOG is going to officially run
tests."
Pei Qian read the message on his cell phone and then replied with a simple 'alright'.
After some consideration, Pei Qian sent a message to Lin Chang, arranging to meet at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branch near Handong University.
Pei Qian had been so busy with the shared phone booths over the weekend that he had postponed his meeting with Lin Chang again and again. Helpless, he had postponed it to this morning.
It was just as well. He could meet Lin Chang and check on GOG's situation at the same time in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
'Officially running tests' meant officially releasing the trial version of the game on the games platform, so that gamers could freely download it and try it out.
Of course, to minimize stress on the server, not everyone would be qualified to create an account for the trial version. However, veteran gamers of Tengda's games would have an easier time qualifying.
Having a group of players trying out the game and giving feedback would help the team find bugs and other problems in the game and then fix them.
The trial version was bound to have bugs, but gamers who enjoyed playing trial versions of games tended to be more forgiving. Most of them were only after novelty and tended to be less bothered by bugs.
Pei Qian thought that he would not be able to decipher GOG's true situation by reading online comments alone. Thus, he decided to go to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and take a look for himself. That was the more reliable
way.
At Zhongdian Chinese Network's authors' class, or what the writers called the 'lockdown area'...
At noon, everyone took their seats around the conference table and ate as they chatted.
The writers didn't have to work over the weekend. Thus, they had uploaded chapters that they had written in advance over those two days. Some of them had also continued writing in the hotel rooms using their own laptops.
That also meant that it had been three days since everyone last saw Ming Yu and Cui Geng, who had been picked out by Boss Pei.
"Ai, Ming Yu, Cui Geng, what did the two of you do on Friday? Tell us." Some writers were very interested in what both of them did.
Ming Yu cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "I found a relatively well-decorated internet cafe nearby and secretly wrote three chapters in the morning. After that, I saved them and played games for the rest of the afternoon."
Some people were stunned. "Didn't they say you're not allowed to write?"
Ming Yu smiled. "That's right, but no one was there to enforce the rule. I just had to wait until the weekend to upload the chapters. How could they find out?".
Everyone could not help but feel emotional. He was really a hard worker! He had been forced to go on leave, and yet he could still continue to write in secret!
Since Zhu Xingan was not around, the writers could speak to their hearts' content.
Ma Yiqun had sent Zhu Xingan to supervise the writers before. However, when Boss Pei came to visit them the last time, he had transferred Zhu Xingan away and allowed the writers to supervise themselves.
Ming Yu turned to Cui Geng and asked, "How about you, Brother Cui? You didn't really get educated on the Tengda spirit, did you?"
Another writer chipped in. "That's right, Brother Cui. Did you post that 'Completion Forecast' in spite?"
To the writers who had not understood the truth, Cui Geng's behavior had been puzzling, to say the least.
He had gone to Tengda's headquarters on Friday and posted a 'Completion Forecast' that evening. All the readers had been sufficiently frightened.
At first, they had thought that the book would end there. However, Cui Geng had uploaded new chapters on Saturday-four chapters at that!
Over Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning; Cui Geng had continued to write diligently. What's more, his word count had not fallen. He had not shown any signs of wanting to cut the book short.
His behavior had been very confusing.
What had happened on Friday? Was Cui Geng going to continue writing the book or not?
One had to understand that, among all the writers who were taking part in the class, Cui Geng was showing some best results.
Many of the newer writers would have made a book with five to six thousand subscriptions last forever.
Faced with everyone's questions, Cui Geng smiled. "I was indeed educated on the Tengda spirit on Friday, but not in the ancient way of education that you're probably thinking about. I was educated through an original approach.
"You'll know once you get there. That approach was very interesting indeed!
"As for this book... I am planning to finish it as soon as possible, but that's only because...
"I've achieved speedy enlightenment. I want to finish this book as quickly as possible so that I can start on a better one!"
Cui Geng's eyes lit up. During this period, he had been thinking non-stop about The Butterfly Game's framework. He was waiting to visit Tengda's various departments to gather material. Then, he would be able to start writing!
Ming Yu felt curious. For some reason, Cui Geng's mental state seemed different from before. Before, Cui Geng had a serious procrastination problem and a minor slacking one. What's more, he had been a bit arrogant.
Honestly, Ming Yu had thought that Cui Geng had been wasting his own talent away.
He could easily get five to six thousand subscriptions. Yet, instead of updating his books seriously, he had always cut them off halfway, as and when he had felt like it.
Ming Yu believed that as long as Cui Geng could take writing seriously and upload six thousand to eight thousand words per day, his subscriptions would be through the roof.
However, looking at Cui Geng's expression now, he felt like the latter had turned over a new leaf.
Could education on the Tengda spirit really be that effective?
Cui Geng continued speaking. "After learning about the Tengda spirit, I understood one thing: I shouldn't fight or despise rest and entertainment. Instead, I should use them wisely to maintain a good working state. "I shouldn't just focus on my word count but also focus on maintaining my novels' quality.
"Big Boss Ming Yu, haven't you always asked me how I got five thousand subscriptions? I think you should reduce your daily word count and improve your writing quality. That should be your priority for now." At that point, Ming Yu fell into deep thought. "Hm... that makes sense. Should I write less today and focus on learning the Tengda spirit?"
Although he had gotten a day off, Ming Yu was not interested in that at all. As the most diligent writer in the class, he was more concerned about writing more and writing better.
Seeing how Cui Geng had completely changed after just one lesson on the Tengda spirit, Ming Yu suddenly felt interested in learning about it as well.
Another writer said, "Eh, I want to go, too!"
"Me, too!"
More than half of the people at the table wanted to attend the lesson that had helped the legendary 'no-show' deal with his mental demons and see how it had made it happen.
Yet, how should they arrange for a lesson given that so many of them were interested?
After some thought, Ming Yu said, "How about this? We'll just write as much as we can based on our own abilities. The one who writes the least would go for the lesson. Those who have attended the lesson before should take some initiative to write more, so that they won't go again. "If multiple people happen to hit the same word count, the one with the least subscriptions should go."
Everyone thought about it and agreed that this was a good idea. Thus, they nodded, one by one.
On the other hand, Cui Geng no longer had to participate in this. That was because... after tidying up over the next two days, he would leave the class and begin his new job (of gathering material) at Tengda's various companies.
At Fish-Catching Internet Cafe...
Pei Qian had arrived earlier than Lin Chang. However, instead of sitting down and drinking coffee, he walked around the internet area.
The situation was not as good as he had imagined, but it was still acceptable and not completely horrible.
At first, he had thought that GOG would fail miserably.
That was because GOG would not only be competing with traditional online games like Ocean Stronghold but also games in the same genre like IOI and Gods Rising.
amne
Gods Rising had a huge group of loyal gamers, and IOI was fast becoming popular overseas. Its popularity was even spreading to China.
Like other internet cafes, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe had also installed IOI's international server and Chinese Localization Package. Although it was laggier, the internet cafe's customers could still enjoy the game.
Thus, Pei Qian had thought that few people would play GOG.
However, when he arrived at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, he realized that many people were playing GOG. In fact, the number of people playing GOG was almost on par with the number of people playing Gods Rising and IOI!
Of course, IOI was the clear winner in terms of image quality and extent of completion. After completing his round around the internet area, Pei Qian fell into deep thought. "Hmm... it looks like IOI is in stable condition now.
"The internet cafes are still running IOI's foreign server. That's why it's so laggy, and players are finding it difficult to speak with their teammates in a match. Naturally, the game is at a disadvantage.
"Even then, IOI is more popular than GOG in the internet cafes. More people are playing the former.
"Once IOI releases a local server, the lag and communication problems would be dealt with. It'll definitely be even more popular than GOG then, right?
"That means GOG is likely to fail. My judgment should be right."
Pei Qian thought hard about it and concluded that the current situation was not that bad. He could still be cautiously optimistic.
Just as he was thinking, Lin Chang arrived. "Boss Pei, it's been a long time," said Lin Chang, smiling
Pei Qian detected a deeper meaning in Lin Chang's smile. It was almost as if he had news for him. "Boss Lin, have you been very busy lately, too?" Lin Chang sniggered. "It's a small matter; I'm done with my job as the go-between."