At Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Handong University branch...
After lunch, Pei Qian sipped his coffee and continued smoothing out the mind map. He also added Tengda Games, Shang Yang Games, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, and DGE Esports Club on the map; noting down the connections that they had just made.
The number of lines was increasing as the days went by. Pei Qian felt like each line was a stab in his back.
"Think on the bright side. This mind map is still coming in useful. At the very least, I have successfully predicted something using this very mind map!
"...although, I was two hours late.
"Still, I'll do better next time!"
Pei Qian closed his laptop and suddenly felt the urge to walk around the internet area in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. After finishing his round, Pei Qian realized that something was amiss.
On further thought...
It seemed like more gamers were playing GOG than IOI in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. The former's figures seemed to be crushing the latter's!
It didn't make sense at all.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment. Shang Yang Games seemed to have reached out to more internet cafes and offered more money. Why was this still happening?
"Was it because of Xiao Peng?
"Now that I'm thinking about it, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 3.0 seemed to be tailor-made for GOG. It seems only natural that more people were playing GOG. "Perhaps Xiao Peng is offering more support to GOG because he views it as Tengda's own game. On the other hand, IOI is another company's game that Tengda is only managing as a godson. "Yes... that's most likely the case. "However, the situation would probably be the opposite in other internet cafes, right?"
Pei Qian immediately stood up and walked to another bigger chain internet cafe nearby, Xing Le Internet Cafe. Speaking of which, Boss Li had invested in Xing Le Internet Cafe. At first, it was set up to steal customers from Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
Now, instead of stealing customers, it was just enjoying Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's leftovers.
Pei Qian wondered what exactly had happened.
In short, from the looks of the current situation, the Xing Le Internet Cafe chain of internet cafes was a close second to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe in Jingzhou. On the whole, its facilities were more luxurious than smaller internet cafes. The situation inside should have been representative of what it was like in other internet cafes as well.
A few minutes later, Pei Qian arrived at a nearby Xing Le Internet Cafe. He made a huge round inside, acting as though he was looking for someone. Once he finished his round, he sat at a computer at the back of the internet cafe and fell into deep thought.
Why did GOG still seem to be doing better? It was not right. The script seemed wrong. Wasn't the one with money supposed to be able to do whatever it wanted?
Did Shang Yang Games fail to get Xing Le Internet Cafe on board?
That didn't make sense.
Pei Qian could clearly see the poster at Xing Le Internet Cafe's entrance. It said that all gamers who played GOG or IOI there could use a portion of the in-game skins for free and enjoy discounts on their per-hour charges.
What's more, between both games, IOI was offering a higher discount.
What was the meaning of this? Was money no longer working?
Confused, Pei Qian walked to the front desk and asked the cashier this question.
The cashier happened to be free. Smiling, she answered, "Just one look at you, and I can tell you don't know much about games."
Pei Qian: "?"
The cashier explained, "Gamers can enjoy discounts if they play IOI, but the same applies to GOG! IOI offers higher discounts, but most people have heroes and skins on GOG. Why would they convert to IOI for the sake of saving a few dollars on er-hour charges?
"What's more, people only come to internet cafes to play with their friends and have a better time. Why would they scrimp on a bit of money to learn another game from scratch?
"On top of that..."
The cashier kept Pei Qian on tenterhooks and lowered her voice. "Let me give you an insider's tip. Don't spread it around."
Pei Qian quickly nodded. "Yes, I definitely won't."
The cashier continued speaking in hushed tones. "Both of those games belong to Tengda, but there's a world of difference between them!
"GOG is the company's biological child, and IOI is just a godchild. From any angle, one would be able to see that Tengda's true intention is to support GOG.
"GOG would surely be the main income generator for internet cafes in the future. For the sake of long-term profits, we will naturally have to recommend GOG!"
Pei Qian was confused. "Where... are you getting this insider's tip from?"
The cashier proudly answered, "That's what our boss told us!"
Pei Qian: "And who did your boss hear that from?"
Even prouder now, the cashier answered, "An employee of Tengda approached our boss and told him so!"
Pei Qian: "..."
He understood now.
Min Jingchao had sent a messenger! It was no wonder that all the bosses of internet cafes had been bluffed! There was no need to guess what it was like in the rest of the internet cafes now; they were probably not much better.
This bunch of people was way too stingy!
They knew that they couldn't burn more money than Shang Yang Games, and so they were resorting to lying? Was that even humane?!
Pei Qian remained silent for a moment and then asked, "Has your boss considered that this might be a mere business tactic that should not be trusted?"
The cashier grinned knowingly. "You don't believe it? Have you seen yesterday's news?
"Why is GOG all that the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's newest esports live museum talked about? The live competition was in GOG, and all the gamers present played GOG. There wasn't even a single mention of IOI.
"The esports club that Tengda put together contained only GOG players, right?
"Even Boss Pei's hero appeared in GOG!
"You tell me: don't all of this prove that Tengda's higher management, including Boss Pei, is behind GOG? They're only burning money in IOI to create a dog-eat-dog competition and give GOG more pressure. How could they truly be rooting for IOI?" Pei Qian: "..."
For some reason, the cashier was starting to make sense! Indeed, many people had discovered that Modest was Boss Pei. If he did not like GOG that much, would he put himself in the game? Of course not! Pei Qian really wanted to ask whether the cashier would believe him if he said that he had no idea about any of this or not...
However, on second thought, he decided against it. If even this cashier didn't believe me...
He had been completely won over by this cashier! Pei Qian silently began walking out of Xing Le Internet Cafe as the realization dawned upon him: this was a very serious problem.
It seemed like... less than a week after he had raised the suggestion to Shang Yang Games, his plan was falling apart.
"This is ridiculous! How can you mindlessly follow the methods that your competitors are using?
"Is there no justice? Is there no law?
"Does anyone care?!"
Pei Qian was utterly speechless. It had not been easy for him to come up with this idea, but GOG had stolen it and left no room for IOI to fight back!
Now, he was finally beginning to understand how smaller companies who had been 'copied' felt like. He was furious but helpless!
The most frustrating thing was that, this time, he was both the one being copied and the one copying
The gap between GOG and IOI was not shrinking during this cycle. Instead, it was getting bigger...
"No, I have to think of another solution as soon as possible. Shang Yang Games must be feeling as helpless as I am. I have to think of a way to turn the situation around for them...
"Otherwise, I could take the easy way out and transfer Lin Wan back to Tengda Games. That way, she would win lying down, wouldn't she?
"No, no, that might end up backfiring..."
Pei Qian knew full well that Lin Wan was a proud person. If he transferred her to GOG now, she would not think that she was winning while lying down. Instead, she would think that Boss Pei was telling her to 'watch and learn'.
Then, she would not leave for sure!
Pei Qian pondered hard, but it seemed like the more he wanted to win, the slimmer his chances became.
Actually, other people aside, he had not played IOI before either because the heroes and game mechanisms were completely different from LOL. He had been too lazy to learn...
On the other hand, GOG seemed more familiar.
Pei Qian was as good as other ordinary gamers. At most, he was only a bit better than Ma Yang, the slacker. Of course, GOG suited him better, given its simpler operations and its availability on cell phones.
"No, I cannot give up so easily... "How else can I fight? I can't possibly change the game's mechanism. What's more, IOI's quick to update its content, and it has already partnered with internet cafes for publicity...
"It seems that the only difference between IOI and GOG is esports. "That means I have to work on that. I don't believe that I can't give IOI more funds to make up for its shortcomings in esports.
"If I still lose this time, I'll... I'll let IOI crash and burn..."
Pei Qian sighed inwardly. He had no idea how things deteriorated to this stage. He had meant for GOG to lose money while doing nothing. Now, a few months had already passed, but nothing was going according to the way he had planned.
As Pei Qian quietly walked out of Xing Le Internet Cafe, he felt terribly alone. Just as he walked through Xing Le Internet Cafe's exit, Li Shi walked by.
"Eh? Isn't that Boss Pei? That's strange... am I seeing things? What's Boss Pei doing at Xing Le Internet Cafe?"
At first, Li Shi had intended to call out to Boss Pei. However, on second thought, he changed his mind. Instead, he walked into Xing Le Internet Cafe and asked the cashier, "Did that young man surf the net here?"
The cashier quickly stood up and said, "Hello, Boss Li. That young man just walked around the internet cafe and... asked me a couple of questions."
Boss Li was not the boss of Xing Le Internet Cafe, but as an investor, he had more authority than the boss.
At once, Li Shi's expression became serious. "What did he ask? Quickly, tell me. Think carefully, and make sure that you don't leave out a single word!"
Thinking that Li Shi was going to blame her for revealing the insider's information, the cashier's face drained of all color. "Boss Li, I-I-I-I... I didn't say anything..."
Li Shi frowned. "I didn't ask you what you said. I asked what he said." "He?" The cashier tried hard to remember their conversation. "He... he only asked why more people were playing GOG than IOI. He also... also asked me if I had ever considered that 'Tengda favoring GOG' was a mere business tactic..."
Confused, Li Shi frowned even more deeply.
What did Boss Pei mean by that? Everyone out there knew that GOG was Tengda's biological child. Could it be...?
A realization dawned on Li Shi. Boss Pei was testing him again! Once again, he was releasing false information and trying to shake his partners' confidence!
He had done this for 'Top Student, Come Quick' and Thriller Hostel. On the surface, it seemed like he was trying to dissuade them. However, his intentions were actually the complete opposite!
Boss Pei wanted to test how determined Xing Le Internet Cafe was to partner with GOG!
Li Shi waved his hand and said, "Take down all the advertising material for IOI. From now on, Xing Le Internet Cafe will only promote GOG!"
At that moment...
Liang Qingfan was still seriously considering how he could revise his renovation plans. He had completed those plans last week. This week, the construction team officially started work.
As for filming, Liang Qingfan had reached out to another famous workspace last weekend and hired a reputable videographer.
He had looked through the videographer's previous works, which were not bad. Thus, he felt quite confident that the videographer would complete this task satisfactorily.
Liang Qingfan had already thought about it. First, he would let the videographer shoot all the material. After that, if Fei Huang Workspace resumed work, he would engage them to do the editing and post-production. Before the construction team entered the site, the videographer had already filmed the entire building's original condition. After that, once construction work began, the videographer would film the place at regular intervals.
Renovations would take very long, and the total duration of the videos would probably add up to about half an hour. Thus, the videographer would not need to notify Liang Qingfan each time he went down. He would just have to ensure that he went down every once in a while and filmed for about ten minutes each time.Liang Qingfan would not remain at the construction site either. That meant it would be very unlikely that they would bump into each other.
Liang Qingfan did not see the need to supervise the videographer anyway. After all, the latter was a professional who would know better than he did.
Now, he was more worried about the details of the renovation.
Sloth Apartments was a luxury brand, and all of its details had to be refined. More importantly, they were conducting hard renovation this time, and there was a greater pressure to protect the environment.
Liang Qingfan had decided to follow Boss Pei's instructions and choose the most environmentally-friendly wall paint in the market. As far as possible, he would also choose environmentally-friendly options for the few pieces of furniture that they would purchase.
Of course, he could not achieve zero formaldehyde for either the wall paint or the furniture. However, as long as the formaldehyde levels met national health standards, the windows were kept open for long periods, and a Fresh Air Ventilation System worked to keep the air fresh all year round, the paint and furniture would do minimal harm to the tenants' physical health.
Liang Qingfan was also quite satisfied with his own Management Trainee. The latter often helped him with running errands and doing chores, thus making his life a lot easier.
"Boss Pei's quite considerate; it's almost as if he hired an assistant for me. It's a pity that he has frequent classes and a lot of homework. Sometimes, he doesn't even have time to go down to the construction site with me when I want him to."
Chapter 556 Over-Analyzing was Useful for Once
June 17th, Friday...
At Shang Yang Games...
Once Pei Qian walked into the conference room, he sensed something amiss with the atmosphere. Everyone looked dejected! The energy was even lower than when Pei Qian had visited the last time.
He could not help but feel worried. He had to encourage his comrades!
If even all of you think that you can't win, wouldn't IOI be done for?
What's more, they had not exhausted all their options yet. The game was still being updated, and it was doing quite well overseas. What's more, although the game was not defeating GOG in local internet cafes, it was snatching a greater share of the market!
Pei Qian sat at the head of the conference table, feeling the need to say something to boost everyone's morale. How can we fight this battle if you give up before the fight?!
Pei Qian cleared his throat. "Why do all of you look so down? Quick, perk yourselves up. The battle isn't over!"
Wang Xiaobin glanced at Ye Zhizhou... who glanced at Lin Wan.
Lin Wan sighed softly. "Boss Pei, we know that you have good intentions behind making GOG and IOI compete. You want the winner to give the loser a boost. You even gave IOI more than enough funds from the group of companies. However... this is too difficult!
"The gap between both games is not getting any smaller now. In fact, it's getting increasingly bigger. In just one week, GOG has fully caught up with our on-ground marketing strategy and overtaken us.
"We can only say that GOG is more well-prepared and close-knit than we are. We keep raising suggestions to IOI, but they refuse to accept them..."
Wang Xiaobin nodded. Indignantly, he said, "That's right. Finger Games is even blaming us, saying that our marketing strategy is too weak and that the game is doing extremely well in other countries.
"The question is... does GOG exist in those other countries? We really want to tell them to try fighting GOG if they can. We'll watch and see if they can successfully defeat GOG!"
Ye Zhizhou nodded and chimed in. "Exactly! It's bad enough having a useless teammate who slows us down, but Finger Games is even putting the blame on us and mocking us. How can we tolerate this?!"
Wang Xiaobin turned to face Pei Qian. "Boss Pei, you wanted a dog-eat-dog competition anyway. Why don't you make Tengda buy all the shares in Finger Games?! Then, we can modify IOI however we want to. Alternatively, we can completely take over IOI.
"Then, we won't have our hands bound, and we would no longer feel so helpless all the time."
Pei Qian was shocked.
Buy all the shares in Finger Games? Am I not dying quickly enough for you?!
Pei Qian was just about to speak up when Lin Wan beat him to it. "We can't. Do you think Boss Pei hasn't thought of that before?"
Pei Qian: "?"
Lin Wan continued speaking. "Do you think Finger Games is still worth as much as it was before? Boss Pei was shrewd enough to buy twenty percent of the shares with twenty million yuan. It was a great bargain.
"Do you think good things are as common as cabbage in stalls by the streets?
"IOI is picking up in momentum now. Finger Games' value is picking up day by day. We may have twenty percent of the shares now, but even if we want to obtain control of the company, we would have to spend at least a hundred million or even 150 million US dollars more.
"Tengda Corporation's cash flow is healthy, but Boss Pei wants to maximize the use of the cash he has on hand. All along, he has been investing the cash as quickly as possible.
"What's more, even if Tengda Corporation has spare cash lying around, it would not add up to a hundred million yuan."
Wang Xiaobin stopped talking because he knew that it would be difficult for Tengda Corporation to fork out a billion yuan, even if it was doing extremely well. This was not a matter of whether Boss Pei wanted to, but whether the group of companies could afford to or not.
Since it could not, there was no point saying anything more. Pei Qian was shocked.
What the h*ll? Was Finger Games worth that much now? Then... according to that value, the twenty percent shares that he had spent twenty million yuan on... Would now be worth...
Forty million... US dollars?!
He had made more than ten times the original amount in such a short period?!
Pei Qian began to feel light-headed. At the same time, he noted Ma Yang's mistake in his heart.
If other people had been in Pei Qian's situation, they would be laughing until they cried. However, for Pei Qian, based on the conversion ratios, forty million US dollars could only be converted to forty thousand US dollars. That was about 280 thousand yuan...
Incurring losses would still be more worth the while...
In fact, if he was not careful, his profits and losses could cancel out. Then, he would surely vomit blood.
Speaking of which, that was only a valuation. Not many people would be willing to fork out that amount of money. What's more, if Tengda refused to sell the shares, there shouldn't be much of a problem...
Once again, the discussion reached a dead-end.
They could not buy Finger Games because it was too expensive now. They could not instruct Finger Games either. It wouldn't listen and would even give opposite instructions.
It was no wonder that everyone at Shang Yang Games was so dejected. After all, everyone had been used to working on their own game and running their own marketing campaign. They had been free to modify any part of the game that they had not liked.
However, while they knew where the problem lay now, the developers would not allow them to modify the game. Instead, the latter was blaming them for failing to manage and market the game well as agents. Who wouldn't be pissed? Pei Qian cleared his throat. "Don't be too anxious, everyone. There's always a perfect solution. What's more, things are not the worst now.
"GOG started early, but IOI still managed to win a certain share of the market earlier. A minority was old customers of Gods Rising, and most were gamers of other game genres.
"This means that, while GOG and IOI are competing, more new gamers are being drawn into the pit. That's a good sign. As long as we can maintain a stable footing, there's a possibility of turning the situation around.
"There are a few things we cannot change, like GOG's initial advantage and the game's mechanisms. However, compared to GOG, IOI's local server is lacking in something else that we have not tried to fill—that is esports. "In the next stage, I will allocate more funds for you to organize a large-scale competition for IOI. We will maximize the marketing funds to correct the misconception that Tengda does not care for IOI in esports!" After Pei Qian finished speaking, there was no lighting up of eyes or applause as there would have been before.
After some consideration, Wang Xiaobin said, "Boss Pei, for an esports event to be popular, we need a good foundation. Players aside, where are we going to find the competing teams?
"We can't possibly pick random people from the ranked list and make them form a team at the last minute, can we?"
The others nodded their heads as well.
Pei Qian: "..."
Things were slightly awkward now.
Just as Pei Qian was considering this problem, Lin Wan spoke up.
"No, none of you understood what Boss Pei meant. It is entirely possible for us to contact the bigger esports clubs in the country now and get them to form IOI teams."
Wang Xiaobin was stunned. "That's unlikely, right? Given IOI's current market share, the clubs would much rather form a GOG team if they really wanted to.
"We could offer them money, but the clubs would focus on long-term benefits. If we offer too little money, they might not be interested in complying, but if we offer too much, we would lose out."
If we offer too much, we would lose out?
That was perfect, wasn't it?!
Pei Qian's eyes lit up. He was just about to speak up when Lin Wan did.
"We don't have to give them too much money."
Pei Qian: "..."
Lin Wan continued speaking. "I understand Boss Pei now. We might have entered the esports arena late, but IOI would have some advantage over GOG. That's because IOI is much more popular overseas!
"It's true that the clubs would focus on long-term benefits when forming teams. For those clubs, being able to take part in international competitions would obviously be one of the long-term benefits! "An esports event has to be popular all around the world for there to be enough attention to it. Although IOI is not as popular as GOG in the country at the moment, it could become a large-scale international competition in the future.
"Forming an IOI team now could be a very promising option for E-Sports clubs. We could make a big deal out of this to persuade local esports clubs!
"I guess that's Boss Pei's deeper intention, right?"
Pei Qian cleared his throat. "Er... that's about right."
A realization dawned on everyone else. That's right! That's a great advantage!
Ye Zhizhou was deeply inspired as well. "That's right. We could even invite one or two average teams from overseas as a gimmick and provide accommodation and return tickets for them. Then, we could call the competition an international invitational tournament and make more people pay attention to us!"
Upon hearing the words 'provide accommodation and return tickets', Pei Qian became elated.
Everyone else noticed how comforted Boss Pei looked as he gazed at Ye Zhizhou. At once, they knew that this was what Boss Pei had been thinking
"Alright, let's do as Boss Pei says and get started immediately!"
"I'll contact the local clubs"
"I'll invite the foreign clubs." "Remember to pick the weaker teams. Otherwise, if our local teams get miserably defeated, our plan would fall through!"
"I'll inspect possible venues and come up with the competition schedule."
Everyone split the tasks quickly, and the once-lifeless meeting room instantly burst with vitality. Pei Qian was pleased. Everyone had read too much into what I said again, but it seemed like a positive thing this time!
Alright, the meeting was a success!
June 18th, Saturday...
At the Management Trainees' regular meeting... After settling Shang Yang Games yesterday, Pei Qian felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Today, on the way to the meeting, his footsteps felt lighter.
"Everyone, let's start reporting," said Tang Yishu once she saw that everyone was present. She gestured for the meeting to start and prepared to take notes in her little notebook. After the meeting, she would convert the meeting minutes into a report.
One by one, the Management Trainees spoke.
"Deposit Fitness's members are already using the new application, and feedback has been pretty good. The opening ceremony of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Live Esports Museum has greatly improved Deposit Fitness's reputation. Recently, a good number of customers approached us with questions. The new fitness meals have also arrived..."
"Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Live Esports Museum has been a great success ever since its opening ceremony. Although its charges are higher than the previous two versions of the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, it is still as popular. More and more people are forming teams. I guess that we can organize the first competition in the internet cafe soon..."
"DGE Esports Club has resumed training as per normal. However, the feeling of being sought-after by fans at the opening ceremony has greatly motivated the team members and ignited their fighting spirit. Everyone's training harder now..."
Pei Qian was speechless as he listened to the Manage Loss Trainees' reports. His good mood had completely dissipated by now.
Wasn't this supposed to be a Secret Service meeting?
How did it turn into a funeral?
It's bad enough that everyone's telling me things that I already know, but they're just repeating all the bad news! I went to great lengths to organize Management Trainee meetings, and yet they're just serving to double the back-stabbing effect!
After getting stabbed in the back at the scene, I have to endure another stab at Management Trainee meetings?
Pei Qian was furious, but he had no choice but to pay attention.
That was because he did not know if there was useful information hidden in those reports. Moreover, the Management Trainees had no way of filtering what Boss Pei already knew from what he did not know yet.
Thus, they could only report indiscriminately. Pei Qian fell into deep thought, wondering if something had gone wrong somewhere...
Chapter 557 Application for Funds on Behalf of Zhang Yuan
A few other Management Trainees from various departments took turns to report their updates before it was Sloth Apartments' Management Trainee's turn.
"Mr. Liang has been seriously considering the details of the designs recently. From time to time, he would go down to the construction site and give instructions. He has also carefully selected wall paint and furniture to make the design more environmentally friendly. Last weekend, he also talked to me briefly about Fei Huang Workspace..."
Eh?
Pei Qian sensitively noticed that something was amiss.
Why was Liang Qingfan asking about Fei Huang Workspace for no reason?
"What exactly did he say?" Pei Qian immediately asked.
The Management Trainee of Sloth Apartments pondered for a moment. "I told him that Fei Huang Workspace is on paid leave, and Mr. Liang looked envious. Other than that... there wasn't much else."
He was envious because Fei Huang Workspace was on paid leave?
Pei Qian's frown eased considerably.
Yes, that's not bad. This kind of attitude was
good!
Liang Qingfan had only started work a few days ago, but he was already thinking about taking a paid leave. He was really teachable!
Still, Pei Qian could not afford to be careless. He turned to Fei Huang Workspace's Management Trainee and asked, "Has Mr. Liang contacted Fei Huang Workspace?"
Fei Huang Workspace's Management Trainee looked confused. "Boss Pei, the entire company is on leave. I wouldn't know even if Liang Qingfan contacted anyone in private. However, I've been working in the office and accepting many calls. I can confirm that no one has introduced himself as Mr. Liang."
Pei Qian nodded subtly.
d.
It was unlikely that Liang Qingfan would have called Huang Sibo directly. After all, he had only just arrived in Jingzhou a while ago, and he did not have many contact numbers of people in charge. If Liang Qingfan urgently wanted to engage Fei Huang Workspace's help for something, he would likely approach Boss Pei himself, right? Since he had not approached Boss Pei or called Fei Huang Workspace's office... it meant that Liang Qingfan was only casually asking because he had been interested in the fact that all the employees were on paid leave, right?
At first, Pei Qian had thought about asking the Management Trainee why he had not reported this immediately. However, on further thought, it did not seem necessary to immediately report such a small matter to Pei Qian. It made no difference to report it during the Management Trainee meeting.
Finding nothing suspicious, Pei Qian gestured for the meeting to carry on. It was Fish-Catching Take-Out's Management Trainee's turn.
"The new branches are still incurring losses, but Boss Rui doesn't seem to mind. He's still preparing to open more branches. On top of that, the chef at the Gourmet Laboratory has been making regular trips to the nameless restaurant recently. They seem to be researching a new and more luxurious dish in private."
Pei Qian had been overjoyed to hear the first sentence, but by the end, he was frowning deeply. "A new dish?"
He had not been informed about this before.
However, why was the chef making trips to Ming Yun Private Kitchen? Was he trying to learn new skills associated with high-end dishes?
Still, the dishes produced by Ming Yun Private Kitchen required outstanding culinary skills and extremely valuable ingredients. How could they be made into take-out?
A modified version? The chances of success were not high.
That was because Fish-Catching Take-Out's average-priced meals were still incurring losses. Wouldn't the losses only increase if they tried to venture into the high-end market?
Pei Qian pondered for a moment, and then said, "Keep a close eye on this. I want a detailed report at the next meeting."
He had no intention of putting a stop to this because there were high chances of failure. If they really failed, Fish-Catching Take-Out would be able to burn more money, and Pei Qian would be elated.
Last but not least, it was time for the report from Thriller Hostel's Management Trainee. All in all, everything at the Thriller Hostel was going well. The timeline for the Golden Maze was tight, but there were no huge problems.
Pei Qian was slightly disappointed. He wanted Thriller Hostel's construction to be delayed.
To him, it would be best if Thriller Hostel was only completed at the end of August or at the start of September. It wouldn't affect settlement, and he would be able to generate less income.
However, he was helpless. Chen Kangtuo, Boss Li, and the others were all anxious. Judging by their current speed, Thriller Hostel would be open for business at the beginning of July.
Even if Pei Qian thought up a reason to delay its opening, he would only be able to postpone it by one or two weeks. Any longer than that seemed impossible.
All the Management Trainees had finished their reports. After some thought, Pei Qian concluded that the current situation wasn't horrible. There was still hope.
"Good work, everyone! Keep working hard!"
June 20th, Monday...
At 9 AM, Pei Qian was eating his breakfast at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. As he sipped his coffee, he thought about his plan for the week.
It was the 20th today. In other words, it was the day of the month that he had the entire Ming Yun Private Kitchen reserved.
He had already decided whom to invite to Ming Yun Private Kitchen for a meal: the production team of Tomorrow is Beautiful.
Tomorrow is Beautiful was finally taken out of overseas cinemas yesterday. They had made 1.4 million US dollars in the box offices. However, Pei Qian saw no need to panic just yet, because overseas box offices took much longer to distribute profits than local ones. That would be a problem for the next cycle.
The film's final results in the box offices had also been hotly debated online. The fans analyzed that there were multiple reasons behind it.
For example, there were the effect of the final post-credits scene in Tomorrow is Beautiful, how the Jury Award's reputation could not be compared to the Palme d'Or no matter how good it was, how the film did badly in the beginning so that—no matter how high the row piece rate had become subsequently—the later performance was limited.
In short, one could not say that the film was a hit at the box office. It still fell short of what many fans had hoped.
Still, no matter what, it had been a hit at the box offices. It had also done the best in overseas box offices in those couple of years. Especially considering its initial investment, the fact that Tomorrow is Beautiful had aired in local and overseas cinemas and was being streamed online was a huge win.
Thus, Lu Zhiyao, Zhang Zuting, and the others were taking the opportunity to gather in Jingzhou and celebrate.
Of course, Pei Qian wondered if their real intention was to feast at the nameless restaurant. Why else would they have decided to be in Jingzhou on the 20th?
Zhang Zuting knew very well that Boss Pei had reserved the nameless restaurant on the 20th of every month.
By now, Pei Qian could not be bothered to deal with those people's little schemes. It was just too bad that Thriller Hostel had not been completed yet. Otherwise, he would have sent the entire group of them there to play until they puked.
He needed to teach them that it would be alright if they had incurred losses and tried to get a meal out of Boss Pei; the latter would have welcomed them with open arms. However, they were trying to get a meal after generating a lot of profits. Sorry, but they would have to feel the hospitality that locals of Jingzhou show their guests!
On top of that, Tengda Games and Shang Yang Games had officially started competing in the esports arena.
Shang Yang Games had successfully persuaded several long-standing local esports clubs to form a team for IOI. They had also invited a few overseas clubs to take part in a competition in the city.
Of course, Tengda Games would not be left behind. A few esports clubs in the country had also agreed to form GOG teams.
The wealthier esports clubs decided to spend more money pleasing both sides by setting up teams for both games. On the other hand, the poorer clubs had no choice but to pick a side.
At the moment, GOG and IOI each had their merits. GOG had a big base of gamers in the country, but IOI had better potential to make it to the international arena. As for Tengda Corporation... it looked like it was leaning towards GOG.
However, its multiple attempts at resuscitating IOI's local server made others doubt that it had given up on the game completely. Thus, to the clubs, the situation was looking very confusing once again.
Pei Qian did not want to think about those things for now. After all, things had just started, and there was not much he could tell. Now, his biggest concern was whether to eat with Zhang Zuting, Lu Zhiyao, and the others or not.
If he did, his corpse would be repeatedly lashed at right at the dinner table. He could already imagine what the other men would say to him.
For example: "Boss Pei, you had so much foresight to insist that all dialogue should be in English. Although ticket sales weren't the best, the concept has conquered the entire world."
They might even start talking about every detail related to Cannes as well.
There was no doubt about that. After all, Zhu Xiaoce had even gone so far as to thank Boss Pei by name at the end of his speech. It would be natural to expect everyone to take a stab at Boss Pei at the dining table. Yet, what excuse could Boss Pei give for not turning up? He was too busy?
Yes, that excuse did seem to be a panacea of sorts. After all, it had become common knowledge that Boss Pei was a very busy man. He could use that excuse as a shield against anything. At last, Pei Qian decided to use the 'work shield'. Tomorrow is Beautiful was a beautiful mistake. It would be best if everyone just left it in the past.
As he sipped his coffee, Pei Qian spotted a familiar-looking long face with his peripheral vision.
"Brother Qian! You're here indeed!" Ma Yang looked excited to have 'caught' Pei Qian.
"Old Ma? What are you doing here?" Pei Qian was stunned.
Ma Yang had nothing to do with Fish-Catching Internet Cafe now. He was mainly in charge of Dream Realization Ventures, and he was meant to be working on the Fully-Automated Bickering Machine with Zhang Wang.
Initially, Ma Yang had spent some time at DGE Esports Club. However, ever since he lost 0-28, he stopped going over.
Ma Yang sat down opposite Pei Qian and giggled. "Brother Qian, I'm here to apply for funding!" "Huh? Apply for funding?" This piqued Pei Qian's interest. "What, has something gone wrong with the manufacturing of the Fully-Automated Bickering Machines?"
Ma Yang quickly shook his head. "No, no, no. Manufacturing of the Fully-Automated Bickering Machines has been going well. Apart from the fact that we can't sell a single one of them, everything is fine.
"I'm here to apply for funding on behalf of DGE Esports Club. Many clubs have been inviting DGE to play friendly matches with them. I've been thinking about going with them to other clubs and making a few connections."
Pei Qian was overjoyed. "Have you forgotten your feud? You lost to those young internet addicts 0-28!"
Ma Yang sniggered. "Brother Qian, that's where you're wrong. Since when have I been one to bear grudges? I went back to Dream Realization Ventures to help share your burdens! It was not because I accidentally died a couple of times! The world can testify on my behalf!"
Pei Qian could not be bothered to expose him. He asked, "Why isn't Zhang Yuan applying for funding if he wants to take the club to play friendly matches against other teams?" Ma Yang smiled. "Zhang Yuan feels embarrassed. DGE Esports Club has only been spending money until now. It hasn't earned a single cent.
"He thinks that it would be ridiculous to apply for funding to send the club to various cities to participate in friendly matches. That's why he's too ashamed to ask. He thinks playing friendly matches online would be good enough."
Friendly matches online? Those cost nothing! No way!
In fact, Pei Qian thought that it would be best not to take part in any friendly matches. It would be safest to make DGE Esports Club remain in the villa all day and entertain themselves.
However, their appearance at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Live Esports Museum showed many people—especially other clubs that were interested in GOG—that they existed.
He had no reason to turn down other clubs' invitations for friendly matches. Since there was no avoiding it, Pei Qian decided to let nature take its course and spend as much money as possible while he was at it. Could he invite the other clubs to Jingzhou and provide food and accommodation?No, that seemed inappropriate.
He wanted to invite other clubs to Jingzhou to spend as much money as possible. Of course, he would book the best restaurants and hotels. Yet, what if those clubs became so touched that they misunderstood him? What if they kept investing more money in their GOG teams?
Wouldn't IOI collapse?
Thus, Pei Qian couldn't do that!
On further thought, it seemed like buying the best airplane tickets for DGE's members to travel to various cities and participate in friendly matches was the best option.
He could spend on food, air tickets, and other things as well; but he would not cause other clubs to enjoy GOG anymore. They would just play a couple of matches without affecting the bigger picture.
Pei Qian nodded. "Alright, approved. You, Zhang Yuan, Li Yaling, and the Management Trainee of the club will go together with the team members. Go to the other cities and play friendly matches with the other clubs. Keep to the same standards as other Tengda business trips; we will cover all expenses!"
Ma Yang raised his thumb in excitement. "I knew you would understand, Brother Qian! I knew you would agree! i'll tell Zhang Yuan the good news right now!"
Chapter 558 Some Help from Zhang Zuting
In the afternoon, at the nameless restaurant..
Lu Zhiyao, Zhang Zuting, Lin Ruyi, Zhu Xiaoce, and Huang Sibo... along with the entire production crew, editing crew, and other core employees of Fei Huang Workspace gathered for a meal. As they enjoyed the delicacies in front of them, they drank alcohol and chatted.
"That's why I still think that Boss Pei had great foresight from the beginning because he made all the dialogue English! Why else would the film have been so well-received both within and outside the country? Look at the blockbusters over the last few years. How many of them managed to get tens of millions of US dollars overseas?!" "That's right. Boss Pei really gave this film its own soul!"
"At least fifty percent of the praise that the film got from film critics belonged to Boss Pei."
"Just fifty percent?" "Sorry, I've underestimated it. I'll punish myself by downing this glass of wine."
"Director Zhu, have you brought the trophy with you?"
"Yes, I have, I have. Come on, pass it down carefully, everyone. If you break or scratch it, we'll have to wait until next year to get another one."
"Director Zhu, that's where you're wrong. Are you so confident that you would receive the same award next year? What if you get the Palme d'Or instead?"
"That's right! For all we know, this might be the last Jury Award that we would ever win from Cannes. From now on, we might just keep winning Palme d'Ors. This is too memorable. We have to be careful with it!"
"We really have Boss Pei to thank! It's a pity that he can't be here because he's too busy."
"Everyone, let's raise a toast to Boss Pei!"
"That's right, let's raise a toast to Boss Pei!"
Everyone raised their glasses with their faces flushed. Obviously, all of them had been celebrating so hard that they were now feeling light-headed.
However, for some reason, they looked like a family from the same village, drinking together.
Lu Zhiyao also uncharacteristically drank two glasses of wine. He asked Zhu Xiaoce, "Director Zhu, have you started preparing for the next film already?"
Zhu Xiaoce waved. "Don't talk about it. We've been given 'shock therapy' by Boss Pei. The entire department is on paid leave! Still, we took that chance to gather inspiration and strengthen our foundation.
"Honestly speaking, I think Tomorrow is Beautiful could have done better if we had a better grasp of our skills. I feel like our skills didn't do justice to Boss Pei's idea-it's a pity. We have to work harder not to drag Boss Pei down for the next film!"
Lu Zhiyao nodded. "Speaking of which, I feel like I haven't matured in certain aspects of my acting. I have to work even harder. Indeed, working with Boss Pei would cause anyone to think harder about improving."
Zhang Zuting took a bite of his barbecued meat and asked Huang Sibo, "What's Boss Pei busy with? Is he so busy that he doesn't even have time to have a meal with us?"
Huang Sibo smiled. "Uncle Zhang, don't you know Boss Pei well enough yet?
"He doesn't enjoy celebrations to begin with.
"Actually, Boss Pei has always been like that. He was like that when we were working on games together, too. Each time a game became popular and profitable, everyone would happily celebrate, but Boss Pei would move on to think about the next project. He has never been one to be too happy with himself.
"I really can't grasp that. "Of course, on top of that, Boss Pei is really very busy. Look at all the projects he has to work on at the moment: the internet cafes, the take-outs, the Sloth Apartments, the gym, two game companies..."
Huang Sibo started counting, but because he had had too much alcohol, he could not think straight. After a long time, he still couldn't finish counting.
"In short, he's a very busy man. If it were anyone else, they would get dizzy trying to take care of so many businesses at the same time. The connections between each department would be an absolute mess.
"They would have no way to stay on top of it all.
"However, Boss Pei is different. He is still very clear about the inter-departmental connections. He can still cause the various departments to work together and carry out his plan. No ordinary human would be able to achieve this."
Zhang Zuting nodded. "That's true. However... even if Boss Pei doesn't have time for a meal, he should still be able to spare some time to meet us and talk to us, right?
"I haven't seen him in quite a while.
"Why don't we pay Boss Pei a visit? We can leave after we greet him and catch up with him for a while, and we won't take up too much of his time. How does that sound?"
Lu Zhiyao nodded. "Alright, but I don't think too many of us should go. We shouldn't interrupt Boss Pei's work." Zhu Xiaoce said, "Most importantly... do you know where Boss Pei is now? It doesn't seem appropriate for us to call and ask him, right?"
Pei Qian considered it for a moment. "It is inappropriate to call him. If we do, Boss Pei will take our call very seriously and try to make time to meet us. Wouldn't we be interrupting his work, then?
"How about this? We can go to the few places that Boss Pei normally visits and try our luck. If we bump into him we can greet him. Otherwise, we can forget about it."
"Alright!" Lu Zhiyao and the others nodded in agreement.
At 4 PM, in Tengda Games...
Huang Sibo seemed frustrated. "If Boss Pei is not here, we will really be helpless." After the gathering ended, they had visited Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Handong University branch, Deposit Fitness, and Boss Pei's office on the 16th floor of Shenhua Views. Yet, they had not been able to find him.
Finally, they decided to try their luck at Tengda Games. If he wasn't there, they would give up.
After all, Tengda had too many departments, and it would not be practical for them to visit every single one.
Everyone walked into Tengda Games' office, hoping to spot Boss Pei's familiar figure.
At that moment, Hu Xianbin was at his desk, scratching his head. Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a couple of people walk through the entrance. When he looked up, he was shocked! Zhang Zuting? Lu Zhiyao? Huang Sibo? Zhu Xiaoce?
Weren't they the two lead actors and directors of Tomorrow is Beautiful?
Hu Xianbin was overjoyed! He ran towards them and grabbed Huang Sibo's hand.
"Brother Huang! Do you know telepathy? How did you know that I wanted to contact you?"
Huang Sibo paused. "Contact me? What for?"
Hu Xianbin replied, "I wanted you to contact Director Zhu for me so that he can guide the actors' acting!"
The four of them felt light-headed. "Acting? What acting? Is Tengda filming another movie?
Hu Xianbin quickly explained, "The motion-capture actors' acting! It's for Boss Pei's new game, Struggle!"
As he explained, he retrieved Struggle's script from beside him and handed a copy to Zhang Zuting and Lu Zhiyao.
Zhang Zuting read the script, his expression becoming increasingly exaggerated.
After briefly scanning through the two-page-long story outline, Zhang Zuting smacked his thigh. "Why isn't Boss Pei turning this good script into a movie? The message is so deep. Although I don't know if it'll do well in the box office, it'll definitely win an award!"
Huang Sibo had a different opinion. "Uncle Zhang, the game is to be split into two versions
-rich and poor. There seems to be a special meaning behind that. It won't be easy to bring that message across through a film."
"Why not? We just have to think of a way to merge them together! This has to do with emphasizing the gap between the rich and the poor. If we do it well, the film could have a lot of potential!" Zhang Zuting still insisted that the script would be better as a movie.
From the side, Zhu Xiaoce brought the discussion back to the main point. "It's alright, Uncle Zhang. We'll still have time to consider turning the game into a movie after it becomes popular. I'm sure Boss Pei has thought about that."
Turning to Hu Xianbin, he said, "You were saying you need help directing the acting? What's that about?"
Hu Xianbin answered, "I'm worrying about that right now. All the scenes in our game require real motion-capture actors. We need to capture every single expression and detail of the actors.
"What's more, according to Boss Pei's instructions, the game is to take on a more exaggerated style. Each actor's unique facial features are to be emphasized as much as possible.
"However, that requires a lot from the actors. Emphasizing the actors' features means that more exaggerated acting is required. However, all the motion-capture actors are bit-role actors who don't have much experience in this area..."
At once, Zhang Zuting understood. "That's easy. I can go and direct the actors, can't I? I have a lot of experience acting as both a poor person and a wealthy person. I also know a lot about exaggerated acting. Just leave it to me!"
Hu Xianbin was pleasantly surprised. "Really? Thank you so much! But... would that affect your travel itinerary?"
Zhang Zuting waved his hand. "No, it wouldn't. Boss Pei has helped me so much. I'll return the favor by directing the acting. It's a small matter."
Elated, Hu Xianbin exclaimed, "Then, I'll really have to thank you, Mr. Zhang!"
Zhang Zuting grinned. Although he could not meet Boss Pei this time, helping out behind the scenes didn't seem like a bad idea!
June 22nd, Wednesday...
At Jingzhou's old industrial zone...
Pei Qian looked at the Thriller Hostel, which was being built up at a rapid speed, along with the surrounding facilities. An unspeakable sorrow began to fill his heart.
The progress was too quick! Pei Qian hoped that it would slow down, but no one seemed to be able to hear his secret wishes.
Over the last two days, Pei Qian had already visited the old industrial zone twice. He wanted to be clear on Thriller Hostel's current situation so that nothing could be sprung on him at the last minute.
However, after seeing things for himself, he realized that the situation was not looking
good!
Thriller Hostel was meant to be a lonely haunted house in the industrial zone. There wasn't meant to be any facilities around it, and it was supposed to look very unimpressive.
Yet, now, Boss Li and the others had built restaurants and hotels in the area. Even the plaza outside had been renovated. In addition to the fountain in the middle, the area looked quite promising!
Everyone only renovated the original factories in the industrial zone, but after tidying up the surroundings, the weeds and the construction rubbish that had been accumulated was gone. The space immediately looked much neater.
The Golden Maze was still being built in a hurry, but it was looking different every day. The complicated structure with all sorts of intricacies was becoming visible, and Pei Qian was beginning to panic.
Fortunately, there were still a few problems left unresolved at the moment. For example, how would they market the place so that the entire country would know about this place? How would people get to the old industrial zone from the city?
Pei Qian walked two more rounds around Thriller Hostel and then decided to leave.
However, just then, he heard a surprised voice.
"Boss Pei? I knew it! You only say you want to incur losses, but in fact, this area is very important to you. You're still making time out of your busy schedule to visit!" The corners of Pei Qian's mouth twitched. He didn't even have to turn around to know that it was Boss Li.
Pei Qian had been coming here in secret over the last two days, just like a thief, because he feared bumping into Boss Li and creating unnecessary drama. Yet, the situation that he had feared happened. He really bumped into Boss Li!
Pei Qian sighed inwardly. Then, he turned around and smiled. "Boss Li, good afternoon."
Boss Li was grinning. "Boss Pei, are you here because you knew I invited the investors over to discuss Thriller Hostel's marketing? Boss Pei, you must have a lot of insights when it comes to marketing!"
Pei Qian: "?"
There was no such thing! You're mistaken!
Obviously, Boss Li and the other investors knew that Thriller Hostel could not generate profits in its current state. Recovering their capital aside, just maintaining daily operations would be a struggle.
That was because there was simply not enough traffic.
A large-scale amusement park like that could not be sustained on locals alone. It needed tourists from different countries, all over the world.
However, how Thriller Hostel's marketing should be conducted was a problem
The write-up that Quanmin Reviews had done earlier-entitled 'Beautiful Jingzhou'—would have helped, but it was not enough.
Pei Qian sniggered. "I'm sorry, Boss Li. I'll make a move first because I have other work to do. You can take your time discussing."
Once he finished speaking, Pei Qian boarded his car and left at lightning speed.
Li Shi stood where he was, confused about the now-gone Boss Pei. Still, he could do nothing but sigh helplessly. Then, he returned to discuss Thriller Hostel's marketing with the other investors.
Chapter 559 We won't Talk about Tengda's Plans Today!
Li Shi sadly walked into the conference room. However, by the time he entered the conference and saw the investors, his expression became one of realization. The rest of the investors had already arrived one by one. Chen Kangtuo and Hao Qiong were also present.
According to their current progress, Thriller Hostel would open for business at the start of next month. That meant they had to settle the marketing plan for the amusement park. After all, there was a lot to prepare before they officially started publicizing Thriller Hostel. They also needed time to create various marketing materials.
The seat at the head of the conference table was empty, but Li Shi did not sit there. Instead, he took the first empty seat to the left of it.
Obviously, the seat at the head of the table had been left empty for Boss Pei.
Li Shi looked around at everyone else and said, "Everyone, I have good news and bad news."
Everyone else: "?".
Li Shi explained, "The good news is that Boss Pei just visited Thriller Hostel to take a look around. He's avoiding us on purpose. That means he values this project quite a lot.
"The bad news is... he said he has work to do, and so he won't be joining our meeting about Thriller Hostel's marketing."
Everyone else: "?".
Obviously, most of the investors were thoroughly confused by Boss Pei's tricks.
Boss Pei, it's fine if you don't want to come. We weren't hoping you would come either. However, since you were already here, would it have been so difficult to walk a couple more steps and attend a meeting?
Seeing everyone's confused expressions, Li Shi knocked on the table. "None of you has figured out what Boss Pei's attitude means?
"It's very clear!
"He came to check on Thriller Hostel's progress, which means that this project is very important to him. He just doesn't want to make it too obvious.
"He isn't attending the meeting, obviously because he wants to see how sincere we are in our publicity efforts! If we are sincere enough, Boss Pei would appreciate it and reciprocate!"
The other investors pondered hard about this. One by one, they seemed to understand.
That seemed to make sense!
Before this, Boss Pei had acted nonchalant about the project as well. However, when everyone proposed collectively investing in a shopping mall and sharing half of the profits with Boss Pei, Boss Pei took them seriously and came up with the Golden Maze.
It looked like it would be the same with marketing. Boss Pei was waiting to see how they would perform!
When they looked at it that way, Boss Pei's actions seemed to make sense.
After making sure that everyone was on the same page, Li Shi said, "Alright, what ideas do you all have for publicity? Let's put it all on the table. Don't hide your hand anymore."
The investors took turns to speak up.
"I'm thinking about putting up advertisements at public bus stations and train platforms around Jingzhou. We can also organize a shuttle service from the nearest public transport station to Thriller Hostel."
"I can hire people to give out flyers at various shopping malls and universities in Jingzhou. Young people would probably be more interested in amusement parks."
"I'm considering... placing advertisements online. However, I have to think harder about how to do that exactly. Otherwise, I won't be able to guarantee its effectiveness."
"Boss Li, you know Boss Wang of Quanmin Reviews, don't you? Do you think we can run a promotion for Thriller Hostel's tickets on Quanmin Reviews?"
Everyone quickly spoke up one by one until their publicity plan covered every aspect of the country. They were all used to working in this manner.
After all, they had already wrestled and fought when they were deciding who would be in charge of what project at the beginning. Back then, Boss Li had already whipped them into shape.
Now, everyone was in the same boat. All of them had invested a lot of money into this project. If it failed, all of them stood to lose. Although they would not go so far as to kill themselves, there would still be a lot of bleeding.
Li Shi nodded. "I'll talk to Boss Wang about Quanmin Reviews. For now, the problem is... our publicity seems to be focused on Jingzhou. The furthest we have gone to is Handong Province.
"Yes, we can't do much about that. It seems like a long shot to try and cover the entire country at one go."
Everyone knew full well that Thriller Hostel's customers would come mainly from Jingzhou in the beginning. At the most, they would come from different parts of Handong Province.
It was not practical to expect tourists from all over the country to travel all the way to Jingzhou, just to experience scares at Thriller Hostel.
What's more, how much would it cost to run advertisements throughout the country?
They could participate in large-scale variety shows or run advertisements on channels available to the entire country. Alternatively, they could spend a ton of money trying to market the amusement park to the other cities. Either way, the price-quality ratio seemed low.
Thus, this was the best they could do for now.
They had to wait until Thriller Hostel became a hit and became popular among the locals, and its name slowly spread. Then, they could publicize it to the rest of the country.
Li Shi turned to face Chen Kangtuo. "Brother Chen, Boss Pei..."
Chen Kangtuo looked helpless. "Boss Li, you know what Boss Pei is like as well. Nothing that I say can influence his plan."
Li Shi nodded. "Yes, yes, I understand. I'm just saying that we should all try our best."
Chen Kangtuo: "Of course."
Li Shi looked at the publicity plan that they had come up with so far, feeling slightly uncertain. However, that was the best that they could do, given their capabilities at the moment.
In a certain motion-capture workspace in Jingzhou...
Zhang Zuting explained the script to the group of motion capture actors in English. Those actors had all been bit-role actors in Tomorrow is Beautiful, and so they all knew Zhang Zuting quite well. All of them listened intently to him.
Zhang Zuting did not get caught up in the details of every single scene. Instead, he focused on explaining the general concept of the performance.
"Boss Pei has already decided to emphasize the facial features of each actor. Based on my understanding of him, I'm sure he wants all of you to act exaggeratedly. That means every single expression has to be made as obvious as possible. You should feel like you're acting in a drama on-stage or in a theater. "On stage, during live performances, the audience would be located very far away. Thus, they would not be able to catch minor changes in expression. To intensify the dramatic effect, actors have to exaggerate every movement. "You can take this game as an interactive movie. In some sense, it's similar. Looking at characters with over-emphasized features and exaggerated acting could take away from the gamers' immersiveness.
"Although the game would seem less realistic, the symbolism in the story and roles would also be made more powerful. Gamers would be made to think...
"Before this, I gave all of you a piece of paper with your character and the facial feature that's emphasized. Study those characteristics very closely and try to exaggerate your movements as much as possible to bring them to life..."
The actors nodded as they paid close attention.
Before Zhang Zuting came, none of them had been sure how they were supposed to act out their roles. All of them had used their own techniques, and the end result had been very messy. They had not met Hu Xianbin's expectations.
However, after listening to Zhang Zuting's explanation and analysis, all of them had a deeper understanding of their own roles. Now, they were on the same page with their acting.
When Hu Xianbin saw this, he rejoiced. He quickly said, "Good! Work harder everyone! We'll re-film all of those parts that we were unhappy with before!
"We have to meet Boss Pei's expectations!"
"Achoo!'
Pei Qian had been lying down on his sofa, basking in the sun when he sneezed all of a sudden.
"This Boss Li must be badmouthing me behind my back..."
June 23rd, Thursday... In the cafe near Handong University, He An's third lesson with 'Ma Yang' officially began.
Publicity for Thriller Hostel seemed to have started already. On the way to the cafe, Pei Qian had seen an advertisement for Thriller Hostel at a bus stop.
However, Pei Qian did not have a good solution to the problem now. He could only let nature take its course and pray that the publicity campaign would not be too effective.
He An gave 'Ma Yang' the teaching materials for today, sipped his coffee, and prepared to speak.
Pei Qian kept smiling, looking every bit like the curious student that he was trying to be. Yet, his trembling hands were ruthlessly betraying him.
It did not look like they were going to talk about Tengda's plans today!
At least, that was what he could tell from the teaching material.
The title of the teaching material was 'Third Lesson on Successful Designs: Restraint on Smuggling Goods and Expression'.
Just to be safe, Pei Qian flipped through the contents of the teaching material. That was when he realized it contained the plan of one successful game that He An had worked on a long time ago. It was called 'The Landlord Game'. If Pei Qian had seen that name in the past, he might have thought about the three-player Poker game, 'Fight the Landlord[1]' However, he had done his homework after all. He knew about He An's past successful games. In Pei Qian's memory, The Landlord Game could be referred to as something else that was easier to remember—Monopoly. Although the names and packaging were different, the gameplay was the same. Pei Qian could not help but look forward to this lesson.
He An said, "For today's lesson, we will not study Tengda's plans anymore. That's because, for this topic, there's nothing worth learning from Tengda." Pei Qian was surprised. "Oh? Teacher He, what do you mean?"He An smiled. "Today, I want to talk about the restraint on smuggling goods and expression. The exporter of every type of content from novels to movies and games-only becomes an exporter because he or she has a very strong desire for expression.
"Strictly speaking, whatever they want to express is considered a 'smuggled good'. That's because the content comes from the data bank in their own brain and would not necessarily resonate with everyone else.
"When the content resonates with the majority of people, we can say that the particular expression sparked empathy, revealed truth, contained philosophy, and was thought-provoking.
"Otherwise, we would say that the particular expression carried smuggled goods leading to mistaken inducement and was punishable.
"However, if content creators do not 'smuggle goods', they would not qualify as content creators. That's because the content that they export would not contain their thought: it would be empty
"Thus, if a creator wants to succeed, he or she has to exercise restraint. They cannot smuggle too many goods, but they cannot smuggle too little either. They also cannot be too extreme or too vulgar. "As for why there is nothing worth learning from Tengda's plans... "That's because Tengda's games and movies have already surpassed this stage. No matter how many goods they smuggle, everyone would accept it. You can't learn from them." Pei Qian: "..."
At that moment, Pei Qian did not know if he should rejoice or feel disappointed.
[1] This is a popular game in China, in which each player will be dealt 17 cards, and the one who plays out all his cards in valid combinations wins.