Qin Yi did not have much energy to care about the team in the nest because the main battlefield was also facing immense pressure.
The overwhelming sea of bugs was not just concentrated on the front. These bugs could also suddenly appear from underground without warning, causing many unprepared human bases to suffer heavy losses.
The difference in strength between the two sides made Qin Yi unable to withstand the Zergs' attacks even if he focused all his attention on commanding the main battlefield.
Suddenly, Qin Yi's pupils constricted.
A unit on the main battlefield collapsed in an instant under the impact of the sea of insects. The remaining soldiers fell into disarray and fought on their own. The loss of a strategic location directly caused the entire regional battlefield to collapse. The sea of insects were like flies attracted to rotten meat, tearing a hole in the human defense line. The entire battlefield's situation collapsed instantly!
The defeat was complete. Qin Yi continued to control the various troops to counterattack, but it was useless. Soon, the main battlefield was completely submerged by the sea of insects.
The remaining human soldiers had no choice but to give up on the military base that they had spent a lot of time and energy building on the planet. They retreated back into space and returned to where the command ship was.
Qin Yi did not notice that AS-371-45, like the other elite teams, had died silently in the Zerg nest.
Darkness shrouded the entire command space once again. Qin Yi once again tasted failure.
Qin Yi remained silent for a moment before saying, "Start over."
In his memory, there were at least a dozen major and minor battles that he had not started over.
That was because he had done well in all the previous dozens of battles.
He had once thought that he had already grasped the key to command: He would be able to control the situation on the battlefield as long as he made the right decision on every battlefield, and combined it with the detailed data provided by AEEIS.
However, Qin Yi now realized that things were obviously not that simple.
At a time where humans and Zergs were equal or even superior in terms of strength, such a commanding style was indeed the safest way to win the battle.
However, once the Zergs' military strength was higher than that of humans, such a commanding style would lead them to destruction.
There were a large number of corvettes around the command ship. However, in order to ensure the safety of the command ship, the combined fleet had actually wasted a lot of its military strength. This created the situation where human forces on the surface of the planet to be in a weaker position compared to the Zergs.
Qin Yi had a clearer understanding of the situation at the beginning of the battle after he started the same battle again.
The Zergs that he had seen at the start of the war only accounted for a small portion of the Zergs' true strength. There were even more Zergs hidden in the nests underground, hidden in the space behind the planet, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
The 'decapitation of the leader operation' was just a beautiful wish. Once they entered a tug-of-war, they would only die in the face of the sea of bugs that had the advantage no matter whether it was a frontal battle or a team carrying out the decapitation operation.
Qin Yi took a deep breath and pulled the command ship out, leaving it alone in the pitch-black starry sky.
He then pulled out several large frigates, equipped with a large number of range-killing weapons, together with the command ship, as decoys.
The remaining main force of the Alliance Fleet was attacking the Zergs from the front while the other went around the back of the planet to intercept the Zergs that were waiting in space.
That way, the human forces on the battlefield would surpass the Zergs.
If the Zergs did not execute the decapitation strike on the command ship, the humans who had the upper hand in terms of military strength would have a huge chance. If the Zergs carried out the decapitation operation on the command ship, the commander would still be able to sacrifice a large number of Zergs' military strength. He would be able to guarantee a victory on the battlefield at the cost of sacrificing himself.
The images around Qin Yi kept switching to various corners of the battlefield.
On the main battlefield, the human forces suppressed the Zergs in terms of numbers. Not only did they guard the defensive line, but they also had the energy to continue advancing, closing in on above the Zerg's nest and cooperating with the decapitation mission;
The human fleet in space met the Zerg fleet. Countless starships exploded and disintegrated. The Zergs' countless Leviathan Beasts were attacked by dense artillery fire. The poisonous gas in their bodies burned violently. The flames in the sky were like beautiful fireworks.
He was obviously losing contact with the decapitation teams that had infiltrated the Zerg nest one by one. However, because the main battlefield had effectively dispersed the Zerg army, the survival rate of these teams was obviously much higher than before.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan.
However, at that moment, an ear-piercing alarm suddenly sounded throughout the entire space. Red warning words appeared on the surrounding image. A large number of Zerg troops broke through the defensive line outside the command ship and pounced towards it!
AEEIS' cold voice sounded. "Attention! Once the command ship is destroyed, all units will be taken over by AEEIS. Commander, please make the appropriate arrangements in advance."
Qin Yi quickly turned his attention and gave orders to every unit.
He requested for the frontline troops to speed up their attacks and charge towards the top of the Zergs that the execution team had found. He wanted them to cooperate with the execution team.
He requested the fleet at the back of the planet to stall the remaining Zerg fleet at all costs.
He requested the corvette to stall for time after consuming most of its weapons in a self-destruction move. Finally, the remaining corvette gathered around the command ship and perished together with the insects.
Qin Yi saw countless messages from the decapitation team, including requests for reinforcements from Team AS-371-45.
However, Qin Yi no longer had any troops he could send to reinforce them.
There were several AEEIS reply templates below the request for reinforcements. Of course, Qin Yi could also verbally give instructions to AEEIS.
Still, he opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Instead, he clicked on the console and selected a template reply provided by AEEIS.
[Continue with the mission. Reinforcements are on their way.]
After choosing this reply, he switched his vision back to the command ship. The sea of insects that filled the sky seemed to be right in front of him.
One by one, the command ships crashed into the densest part of the sea of insects. Brilliant fireworks lit up and extinguished in the dark night sky. The huge battleships disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if they had never appeared.
After stalling for as long as possible, the dense swarm of Zergs had surrounded the command ship. The Leviathan Behemoth creature sprayed countless Zergs at the human fleet. From an omniscient view, the human fleet was like a piece of meat surrounded by ants.
The few remaining corvettes moved closer to the command ship and pressed the final detonation button at the same time.
A bright light flashed, and the space where Qin Yi was became snow-white. It took more than ten seconds before the scene was restored.
AEEIS took over control from Qin Yi and directed the subsequent battles.
Qin Yi was like a dead man, watching the final scene of the battle as a soul.
They had won the battle, where the result of which was even better than the actual battle.
However, Qin Yi did not look happy at all. After a moment of silence, he said, "Continue."
AEEIS's image appeared again after some time. "Commander, we will be entering the 'random battle' training mode."
"The battles that we face next include battles that have happened before but had a change in their initial configurations; fictional battles that were randomly generated by intelligent systems according to algorithms; even battles where there is a huge difference in strength, harsh conditions, and no possibility of victory."
"There will be no mission targets in random battles. You will decide the battle strategy. There will no longer be a time limit for each battle. You will be the one to judge the situation on the battlefield. Battle or retreat, annihilate or stop losses will depend on your judgment."
"Commander, good luck."
Qin Yi did not say much but continued to command the next battle expressionlessly.
Without a clear target and a clear time limit, Qin Yi had to decide what he wanted to do. Whether it was a frontal attack or to leave a small portion of the troops behind to create an opportunity for the main force to retreat was up to him.
The battlefield could have happened anywhere on the planet. The timeline seemed to have become very chaotic. Some teams that had already been completely sacrificed in the previous battle appeared in the new battle once again. As for the wholesome teams that Qin An remembered from the beginning were now incomplete.
Qin An did not ask further because he vaguely understood the intention behind this move. He wanted to cultivate himself to be able to quickly develop the best combat strategy based on the strength ratio and objective situations of humans and Zergs on the battlefield.
Qin Yi controlled the troops calmly and carried out various tasks. The data that AEEIS had gathered had become an important basis for his decision-making. Human fear, hot-bloodedness, ignorance, and other complex emotions had all become a part of the decision-making reference under the analysis of the big data. Lies and sacrifices had become figures with a higher success rate.
The scene around Qin Yi kept changing. One random battle after another ended.
Precious time passed as he slept for three hours a day.
Another mid-scale regional battle had begun.
As usual, Qin Yi calmly analyzed the situation on the battlefield, considered possible unexpected situations, and fully considered the uncertainties of each team.
Everything was going smoothly.
A few Skylark Battle Teams followed Qin Yi's instructions to explore the unknown Zerg's nest. After collecting intelligence, they could use this as a basis to form a battle plan for the main force.
On the main battlefield, they had to be on guard against any sudden attacks from the Zergs. Therefore, Qin Yi did not pay too much attention to these few squads.
However, very soon, multiple communication messages after another was sent from a team.
Qin Yi could choose to ignore this information, but he still took time out of his busy schedule to take a look.
In the Zerg nest, a certain Skylark team that was carrying out a mission had already lost three members. The team leader was already dead. Of the two remaining members, one of them had his entire right leg blown off. The other member was protecting him, repelling the approaching Zergs.
The two of them might be safe for now but the stronger Zerg warriors would soon discover them. Staying here would only lead to death.
Qin Yi took a look. The task of collecting information was basically completed. The chances of the injured team members surviving were very low. There was no need to send another team in.
Thus, Qin Yi ordered a retreat and turned his attention to other areas of the battlefield.
However, a few minutes later, when Qin Yi looked at the team again, he only saw the image of the mini reactor exploding.
Qin Yi was stunned for a moment. He opened the information on the two team members and realized that they were a couple from the European Fleet.
AEEIS' voice sounded. "The intelligent system's analysis data is more than 87% accurate, but there are also unpredictable behaviors or phenomena sometimes. This is to better simulate unexpected situations in the real battlefield."
Qin Yi did not speak. Instead, he continued to command the battle until the end of the regional battle.
After the battle ended, Qin Yi leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, remaining silent for a few minutes.
"Did that battle just now really happen?"
"Or did you start doing this even earlier?"
"Did you mix the real battles into the 'random battle' mode?"
AEEIS did not answer immediately. Instead, it only answered after a while. "It started in the sixth battle after adding the 'simulated elements'."
"Commander, so far, you have conducted 17 real battles of various sizes. You have done well."
Qin Yi was stunned. "Why from the sixth battle?"
AEEIS: "The Supreme Executive Committee of the United Fleet must be responsible for all the soldiers on the front line. They cannot put their lives in the hands of a new commander."
"Since the sixth battle, AEEIS and the Supreme Executive Committee have recognized that you have the ability to command small-scale battles."
Qin Yi was silent for a long time. "In other words, in these 17 battles, every soldier who was sacrificed was a living person, including the couple just now."
AEEIS: "Yes."
Chapter 746: Sloth Apartments' New Building
Director Zhu Xiaoce's latest script had ended there. Lu Zhiyao was not sure how far into the movie was the script, but based on the estimated time taken to film, they had probably not even covered half of the movie.
The current plot was not enough to infer the entire story even if there were many big scenes with special effects in the later stages.
However, this was exactly the effect that Director Zhu Xiaoce wanted.
Obviously, many stages in the movie had been twisted in the plot. The protagonist Qin Yi's mentality was also changing subtly or drastically.
If Lu Zhiyao knew the final ending from the beginning, he would definitely be affected when he acted in the previous plot.
Thus, the scripts were given one after another. The main purpose was to allow Lu Zhiyao to completely immerse himself in the role and escape the influence of the spoiler.
However, there was still a problem with 'substitution'.
Lu Zhiyao had taken quite a number of scenes up until now. Some of the shots were satisfactory, while others were not.
However, he still felt a little lost whether he was satisfied or not.
He did not have a very clear direction for the performance and did not know the entire story's plot. He did not know if he had an accurate grasp of Qin Yi's character, so Lu Zhiyao would feel confused and not confident enough.
Now, looking at the scripts, Qin Yi's emotions had actually undergone changes several times.
At the beginning, Qin Yi felt lucky to be alive and angry that he had been deceived.
After witnessing the defeat of the Zergs and learning that the previous commander sacrificed himself, Qin Yi had mixed feelings. While he understood in his heart that there was no other choice, he did not completely let it go;
In the subsequent commanding process, with the addition of the 'realistic elements', Qin Yi's thinking and mentality constantly changed to the former commander. When he was personally commanding the review of the battle, Qin Yi had already completely understood the former commander's mentality after sending the 'reinforcements are on their way' command to the AS-371-45 team.
When he unexpectedly discovered that part of the battle he was commanding was a real battle, Qin Yi's mentality fluctuated again.
To Lu Zhiyao, it was very difficult to show these emotional changes.
That was because Qin Yi's character design was that he was a very rational and calm soldier. A soldier's duty was to obey orders. He knew very well in his heart that the little grievance he had suffered, and even his own life, was insignificant compared to humanity's victory in the war against the Zergs and the survival of the race.
Therefore, on the one hand, Qin Yi kept suppressing his emotions as a human, making himself colder and more rational. He tried his best to win every battle and minimize casualties. On the other hand, he had doubts about the future of himself and mankind.
These intricate and complicated feelings would have subtle differences in every stage of the plot. For Lu Zhiyao, the most difficult part was how to act out these differences while ensuring that the character of Qin Yi would not collapse.
Lu Zhiyao stood up and took a small mirror from the side. Then, he made various expressions in front of the mirror.
Suddenly, he thought of something and got up to find Zhu Xiaoce.
"Director Zhu, from now on, apart from filming, I have been staying in the hotel room and not gone anywhere. Let me use the laptop that contained Starcraft the last time. I want to use it to continue figuring out my character."
"Also, please give me a set of DV. I want to record my expressions when I play games and watch it afterwards."
"Also, can you help me find a similar smart speaker for AEEIS? It would be best if you could input all of AEEIS' lines into it so that it can act for me. I suddenly realized that Qin Yi's act is not a one-man show but acting against AEEIS. I have always been taking it as a one-man show so I feel that there is something lacking."
"It might be more effective if I could have a system voice chat with me."
Zhu Xiaoce was slightly surprised, but he quickly nodded happily. "Sure, no problem."
"I'll send the DV and computer to you tonight. As for AEEIS... I heard that the sample from Otto Technologies is about to be released. I will get you an OTTO cell phone to make do with it. There's an AEEIS intelligent voice on it. Once the sample of AEEIS' sound system is out, I'll get one to send to your hotel room immediately."
...
...
November 17th, Thursday...
Jingzhou City's Guangming District's Golden Residence, Huating District.
This was a brand new building. Liang Qingfan had selected one of the buildings to make Sloth Apartments 2.0.
Since Pei Qian had nothing else to do so he decided to come over and see how things were going.
Liang Qingfan was already waiting downstairs. After receiving Boss Pei, the two of them went to the model room on the third floor.
"Boss Pei, this building has two floors with three units with an area of 120 square meters, 130 square meters, and 150 square meters. It has a large area of south-facing windows and balconies. The apartment layout is not bad. Considering the location of the building, it can basically satisfy most people's mainstream needs."
"However, because the house itself is exquisitely renovated, the developer priced it at a higher price, which is two to three thousand yuan higher than the surrounding buildings. Thus, it is not selling very well for now."
"I thought about it. In a few months, we might be able to sell it at a lower price. However, if that happens, it would be more troublesome for us to buy an entire building. Thus, we decided to buy it at the current price."
Liang Qingfan explained the basic situation of the building to Pei Qian.
Pei Qian nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, you did the right thing!"
Pei Qian had said before that he would give Liang Qingfan fifty million yuan to buy a place with little potential for appreciation.
This was mainly because Pei Qian had been cheated by the Sloth Apartments' version 1.0 model. He had deliberately chosen a remote location that no one wanted to buy. In the end, the price he had bought was too low. After the renovation, the property prices had skyrocketed.
If not for the special mission, he would have failed the previous settlement cycle.
However, this place did not seem to have much potential for appreciation in the short term.
The location of the Golden Residence's Huating District was not bad. The developer of this house, the style of the house, and so on were all quite satisfactory. However, it was precisely because there was nothing to nitpick on in all aspects that the developer grew complacent. He set a price that was two to three thousand yuan higher than the surrounding houses because of the high-end location, high-end renovation.
A house that was about 150 square meters was immediately more expensive by three to four hundred thousand yuan. It was a painful price to pay in this day and age.
Obviously, the developer's pricing strategy had its own tricks. The prices of houses could only be higher, not lower.
If the price was high enough, it could highlight the 'noble attribute' of their own building. First, they would cheat a group of rich people. When they could not sell it, they would secretly reduce the price. For example, they would give customers a discount so that they customers would feel like they were taking advantage of the situation and use the method of discrimination to the extreme.
However, if they set the price low and raised the price in the future, they would be scolded to death.
Thus, the developer's price was a little too high. Buyers felt that this house was ridiculously expensive and many people were watching. Liang Qingfan took the opportunity to buy the entire building.
If the price was lowered in the future, even 200 yuan per square meter difference would cost Tengda a loss of 600,000 to 700,000 yuan. The more they reduced, the more losses they would incur.
However, that was exactly what Pei Qian wanted. It was a good thing that he could spend more money. He had to praise him!
Liang Qingfan brought Pei Qian to look at the apartments on the third and fourth floors.
"Boss Pei, these three apartments on the third floor were originally the developer's model rooms. Since they were all set up, it would be a pity to tear them down and redo them. That's why we kept them. That way, we can also show customers the difference in taste between our Sloth Apartments and the developer's renovations."
"The three apartments on the fourth floor are the model rooms of Sloth Apartments 2.0. They are completely renovated according to our usual minimalistic style."
"As for the other floors, the renovations are still ongoing. Considering the entrance of furniture, appliances, and other supporting facilities, it might only be completed by the end of December. However, they would be ready for people to move in by the beginning of January, which is consistent with our previous estimates."
Pei Qian first went to the third floor to look at the developer's demo room, and then went to the fourth floor to look at Sloth Apartments 2.0's demo room.
The difference was obvious.
The developer's demo room could not be said to be ugly. Wallpapers, carpet, huge murals on the television walls, dark mahogany furniture, and so on were basically the current mainstream style.
It was still the same problem that he had mentioned before. At the moment, the main group of buyers were still middle-aged people. The model rooms were mainly meant to satisfy their needs. Sometimes, even the designers' aesthetic standards had to compromise for their customers' needs.
However, the entire space of the Sloth Apartments 2.0 model room on the fourth floor felt different!
The Sloth Apartments 2.0 model was the same as 1.0. The only difference was that there was more storage space in the room, which made it more practical.
Pei Qian observed for a while and realized that Liang Qingfan was still very restrained despite the restrictions of the storage space being released in Version 2.0. The cabinets were not filled up everywhere, especially in the living room area. This maximized the empty style.
However, the study, the bedroom, next to the door, and the living room near the balcony were still filled with cabinets that matched the renovation style so that they would not stand out.
Compared to the developer's demo room, the Sloth Apartments' style was obviously more suited to the taste of young people. Whether it was the utilization of space, practicality, lifestyle habits, cultural atmosphere, and so on, there were obvious improvements.
Liang Qingfan asked, "Boss Pei, how do you feel?"
Pei Qian nodded. "Hm, not bad."
Such Sloth Apartments 2.0 units should be snatched up immediately after its launch?
In fact, Pei Qian had decided to make Sloth Apartments 2.0 in order to help those young people who were troubled by renting apartments. At first, the only flaw of Sloth Apartments was that there was too little storage space. Now, this flaw had been made up for. It had become a rental space that completely suited the needs of young people.
That way, it would be difficult to rent Sloth Apartments 1.0 out if he were to make more of them.
However, Pei Qian did not care about that. In any case, he would open as many as he could. He would lose money no matter which one he opened.
Pei Qian walked around the room and felt that the furniture, including the sofa, coffee table, television cabinet, and the like were slightly different from before.
Pei Qian did not notice it when he first entered because the apartment was different.
"These furniture look different from before?" Pei Qian asked.
Liang Qingfan nodded. "That's right. At the moment, most of the furniture in the room has been changed. The reason why it looks not much different from before is because a large part of it was specially custom-made by the furniture factory that we worked with."
Chapter 747: Upgraded Tengda Spirit?
Liang Qingfan introduced, "The more famous furniture manufacturers who wanted to work with us before basically rejected our terms of cooperation."
"Only small, unknown brands were willing to let our inspection team oversee and supervise."
"We did a simple check and selected a few more reliable ones."
"Speaking of which, there are actually a few small brands who are very willing to cooperate with us. They have also completely accepted the supervision of the inspection team and even took the initiative to invite us."
"Take this sofa for example. I actually designed it together with the owner of Fanglan Residence. It was just shipped over a few days ago."
Only then did Pei Qian notice the obvious difference between the sofa in the room and the one in his own room.
Liang Qingfan explained, "The real-leather sofa is also power-driven. The leftmost and rightmost individual seats could be adjusted to rise and fall. People can lie comfortably."
"Compared to the sofa in the third floor developer's model room, the sofa would not look bloated and still fit the minimalistic design without the L-shaped sofa; Moreover, it would be able to satisfy the needs of lying down when compared to the sofa in Sloth Apartments Version 1.0."
"At the same time, the legs and armrests of the sofa are very thin. What's more, they're made of wood. The texture of the North American black walnut is very clear. The wood is dense and exquisite. It feels like something finely woven. It feels very good. Not only does it have clear patterns, but it also has a natural luster. It looks and feels good."
"Apart from that, its hardness, density, and stability are not bad. It has always been one of the high-end wood materials used to make furniture."
"Compared to Sloth Apartments 1.0, the breakthrough this time is that I designed this sofa with the owner of Fanglan Residence. We successfully combined the black walnut armrest with the electric leather sofa. It maximizes the practicality and quality of the sofa while it still fits the minimalist style."
"This could also be considered a product of fusion between Western and Eastern culture. At first, I was a little worried that it would look unnatural to be put on display. However, from the looks of it, the effect is quite good."
Pei Qian asked, "Fanglan Residence... is a sofa manufacturing brand?"
Liang Qingfan smiled and shook his head. "Oh, no. The Fanglan Residence is a newly established furniture brand. They make sofa, cabinets, and other furniture."
"However, unlike the other furniture brands, their boss is a designer. His biggest interest is actually designing. He wants all the furniture to be unique."
"Take this sofa for example. I tried my best to combine the local-style wooden furniture with the power-driven sofa. This idea was quite bold. I thought it was unrealistic at first, but when I started designing it, I realized that it was actually not bad."
"They are one of the manufacturers who are most eager to work with Sloth Apartments. They even took the initiative to invite our expedition team to inspect their workspace and factory."
Pei Qian: "Why?"
Liang Qingfan explained, "That's because their product concept is completely in line with the Sloth Apartments."
"The creator of the Fanglan Residence was a designer who wanted to take the path of high quality premium products. In other words, he wanted to ensure quality, aftersales, and design. However, he wants to sell them at a huge premium."
"However, a small brand with no reputation would not be able to walk this path."
"The competition in the furniture industry is very steep. Take the walnut wood for example. Some brands would say that their furniture is made of walnut wood. if you probe, they would say, 'This is African walnut wood or golden thread walnut wood. It's the same type of wood as North American walnut wood, they just grow in different location.'"
"However, in fact, not only are these trees different, but they are also of different attributes. They are basically unrelated in terms of plant species, and there are also huge differences in their appearance. Manufacturers who use low-grade wood like this would usually not be particularly meticulous when making them. If you don't pay attention, such furniture produced would not even be as good as ordinary real wood."
"Only North American walnut wood is reliable."
"However, ordinary consumers don't understand these things. They would obtain similar things at a cheaper price."
"Brands like the Fanglan Residence would not be able to support a high brand premium if they did not have a good reputation. Other furniture brands would skimp on their materials therefore the price of the same furniture might even be cut in half as compared to the one at Fanglan Residence. They would not be able to compete at all."
"This is also the reason why many big brands are unwilling to cooperate with us: On one hand, they feel that their businesses are huge and have no reason to be controlled by others. On the other hand, it might be because there are some tricks hidden in big brands that we cannot know about."
Liang Qingfan gently touched the armrest of the sofa. "However, it's different for Fanglan Residence. They are more confident in the materials and quality of their products. They can't wait for our inspection team to do a free quality examination for them."
"What's more, working with us, meant they could use the Sloth Apartments' branding to prove that their products are indeed of good quality."
"In other words, what they lack the most is consumers' trust in them, and we can provide it to them."
Pei Qian sat on the sofa. "How much is this sofa?"
Liang Qingfan: "About thirty grand."
Pei Qian nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, good. Cooperate more with this Fanglan Residence in the future."
Wasn't this the type of cooperative brand the kind he was most satisfied with?
First of all, the furniture was of high quality and had no pollution. It ensured that the health of Sloth Apartments' residents would not suffer. What's more, the furniture would not have any serious quality problems if they rented it for too long;
Second, the premium was high and the price was high. That was a very key point.
That was because the Sloth Apartments' model was actually Pei Qian paying to buy a house, renovate it, and add a complete set of furniture and appliances before renting it to clients.
The more expensive the furniture was, the more money that could be spent!
The sofa that Pei Qian had prepared for the Tengda headquarters' office was priced at sixty thousand yuan. However, that was the standard for office supplies in the guest room after all. It represented the company's reputation. Thus, the system gave them a high limit.
The sofa in Sloth Apartments could not be so expensive. 30,000 yuan was already considered quite high.
However, compared to ordinary sofas that cost three to five thousand yuan, a sofa that cost thirty thousand yuan was considered high-end.
A sofa that cost more than 20,000 yuan for a unit, what if they were to use it for 100 units? What about the storage cabinets, TV cabinets, dining cabinets, dining tables, bookshelves, and other furniture?
How much would that be if it was accumulated!
Pei Qian walked around the room and nodded in satisfaction. "Hm, Sloth Apartments 2.0 is doing well. Keep pushing."
"By the way, don't forget about the Sloth Apartments in the past. Remember to maintain it well. If anything happens to the apartments, the housekeepers of each building must report it in time and deal with it. Don't be afraid of spending money."
Liang Qingfan quickly nodded. "Alright, Boss Pei."
...
...
November 18th, Friday...
Tengda Spirit compatibility test.
The recruitment tasks at the beginning of the month had all been completed. A large portion of the new employees had already been in the office for more than a week. They could now undergo their first Spirit compatibility test.
Pei Qian had specially made a trip to the office so that he could see the effects of the modified Tengda spirit test questions.
However, Pei Qian did not go to the big conference room to supervise.
That was because he did not want to mislead everyone. Once everyone knew that "Boss Pei seemed to take the Tengda Spirit compatibility test very seriously", the situation would become even worse.
Thus, Pei Qian remained in his office, pretending that he was here for work with no interest in the Tengda Spirit compatibility test at all.
Once the test was completed, he would sneak a peek at the new employees' answers to determine what went wrong with the Tengda Spirit compatibility test.
The new employees entered the conference room with serious expressions. They sat down in their respective seats and began to answer the questions.
However, many people looked shocked when they saw the questions. They subconsciously looked at the others.
Why was there space to be filled?
Didn't the seniors say that there were multiple-choice questions?
The person in charge of invigilating the exam was a colleague from the HR department. He cleared his throat and reminded everyone to pay attention to the examination hall's order.
The new employees did not dare to look at each other anymore. They quickly lowered their heads and started answering the questions.
Wu Bin was supervising the exam as well. At first, he was just going through the motions and did not take the exam too seriously.
Due to his and many other department heads' tireless efforts, the originally profound and obscure Tengda spirit had gradually spread within the company and became easy to understand.
The Tengda spirit manual that he and Cui Geng had worked so hard to write had been distributed to the various department heads.
While this manual could not be sent directly to all employees, especially new employees, as long as the person-in-charge had the Tengda spirit, he could subtly influence the core employees and gradually influence the new employees.
Sometimes, an old employee's actions or words would inadvertently reveal the Tengda spirit, giving new employees an example.
As time went by, the new employees would quickly adapt to this way of thinking. Before the exam, as long as the department head or the older employees gave enough hints, the new employees would be able to pass the test smoothly.
Thus, the passing rate of the Tengda Spirit compatibility test had been maintained at a very high level. Even if he failed the first time, he would definitely be able to pass within four tries.
Wu Bin felt that this was just a formality, so he did not pay much attention to it.
However, he quickly frowned as he realized that the test this time was different from before.
That was because he realized that all the candidates were using keyboards?
That didn't seem right.
Wu Bin had participated in the Tengda Spirit compatibility test before and had invigilated many rounds. He clearly remembered that the previous tests were multiple-choice questions. All he had to do was click the mouse.
Why did they need to use the keyboard?
Could it be that... the test had been upgraded? Were there subjective questions now?
That was not right.
Boss Pei had set the answer for the Tengda Spirit compatibility test himself, and the system had automatically released the results. How was he going to grade the subjective questions if he added them in now?
Boss Pei could not possibly read the subjective answers one by one, and the HR department did not receive any orders to 'mark the Tengda Spirit compatibility test'.
Then... What was going on?
Wu Bin was very confused.
Could the Tengda spirit have been upgraded again?
Did that symbolize a new mission for me?
Chapter 748: I Need to Adjust the Tengda Spirit Test Questions
In the conference room, the new employees were all seriously answering questions. Every time they selected an option, they would type in the explanation on the keyboard. The length of their answers varied as well.
Wu Bin was invigilating the exam so it was not convenient for him to look at the specific questions and answers. In principle, the Tengda Spirit compatibility test was absolutely confidential. At the very least, it would not be good for him to look at the questions openly in the examination hall.
Therefore, Wu Bin could only wait for the exam to end before asking about the changes in the exam questions in private. Then, he could think of the deeper meaning behind Boss Pei's changes.
Soon, the test ended.
The test duration remained the same since Pei Qian had deliberately adjusted the number of questions. The new employees submitted their answers one after another to check the test results.
Some employees' screens showed that they had passed while the screen of the others asked them to work hard.
Wu Bin roughly scanned the computer screen that he could see. He could roughly see the final result even though he could not see the words of the questions.
Only a small portion of the new employees did not pass the test. This was only the first test after all. There were still three more. They would be able to enter the company successfully as long as they passed any one of them.
The passing rate was not much different from the previous batches of employees.
Wu Bin could not help but frown as he analyzed the situation.
"The results would still be released immediately after the exam. This means that the system would automatically calculate the scores based on the objective answers. The content that was filled out would not be counted."
"Then... why did Boss Pei change it this time?"
"Could it be that he wants to see if there was any difference in understanding of the Tengda spirit by the new employees?"
"Or could there be a longer-term plan that I have yet to figure out?"
...
At the same time, Pei Qian was checking the results of the test in his office.
All results were transferred out for him to take a closer inspection, be it for the employees who had passed or failed.
There were not only options on the results of each test, but also employees' own explanations of the options.
Pei Qian picked out two of the most representative questions.
The first question was: It was time to knock off, and you still had one more task to complete. What should you do now?
If he chose to "argue with the supervisor rationally" on this question, he would get five more points. If he chose "do it tomorrow", he would get four more points.
Pei Qian's original intention for this question was to let his employees establish the concept of never working overtime. The stronger the concept, the more it suited Boss Pei's requirements.
Many of the new employees who passed the test chose these two options.
However, looking at their explanation of this option, Pei Qian could not help but frown.
"The Tengda spirit is to not work overtime therefore, I'll not work overtime."
"It's impossible for the supervisor to request us to work overtime. Therefore, the option of 'arguing rationally' is not valid. The department will automatically knock off and lock the door. We can only wait until tomorrow."
"If you don't have a slot for overtime, you won't be able to work over time even if you want to."
"Resting is for better work. If working overtime affects my rest today, my work efficiency will decrease tomorrow, and I will fall into a vicious cycle. Rest well today to be able to finish all my work efficiently tomorrow."
"An outstanding employee of Tengda should not have to work overtime to complete his work. If that happens, he should first consider whether he is too inefficient and work hard to improve efficiency. He should not use his tactical diligence to cover up his laziness."
"The Tengda spirit has said before that we have to strike a balance between work and rest and have a long-term goal. There's no need to be in a hurry if it isn't a pressing issue. As long as it doesn't affect our work schedule, there's no need for us to work overtime. What's more, Tengda doesn't support this."
After reading these explanations, many question marks floated above Pei Qian's head.
???
There were some explanations that seemed like they understood the Tengda spirit, but on closer inspection, it did not seem to be accurate!
While the thought of 'no one is working overtime, so I'm not working overtime', meant that 'no overtime' had become a trend within Tengda, if one dug deeper into the foundation of this trend, they would find that it was completely different from Pei Qian's original idea!
The reason why most people chose not to work overtime was because they felt that compared to working overtime, they should work more efficiently. Taking a break was for the sake of more efficient work.
That way, whether they worked overtime or not, they would be able to fully utilize their working capabilities!
Many companies required their employees to work overtime without overtime pay in accordance to the 996 working hour system.[1.'996 working hour system' is a work schedule commonly practiced by some companies in China, requiring employees to work from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm for 6 days per week.]However, regardless of whether the employees were slacking or being passive because of fatigue, the efficiency of most employees in this 996 working hour system would be greatly reduced. It would be good enough if they could work at fifty to sixty percent efficiency.
Tengda,however, was the exact opposite. Overtime was strictly prohibited, and the 996 working hour system was not allowed. Employees' enthusiasm for work had been fully stimulated. Some of them were even encouraged and motivated mentally. Their working conditions were off the charts, and their efficiency was greatly improved.
In that case, Tengda's working model might be much better than the companies that adopted the 996 working hour system!
Pei Qian's expression turned serious.
He seemed to have discovered the problem!
His original intention was for everyone to slack off and entertain themselves. However, everyone understood it as Boss Pei wanted everyone to have more fun so that they could complete their work better!
It was one more step, but the ultimate goal was completely different!
Pei Qian quickly found another question.
There seemed to be no change to the question, about knocking off. However, this was a task personally assigned by Boss Pei. What should he do now?
The standard answer this time was to work overtime to complete the task. He would be awarded another point if he were to ask for double his original point for the overtime work.
Many people who had chosen correctly, but the reason for choosing correctly was still different from Pei Qian's original intentions.
"We have to achieve whatever Boss Pei wants."
"The task that Boss Pei personally assigned must be a very important one. I must complete it perfectly even if I have to fight in hell for it!"
"There must be a deeper meaning behind Boss Pei's special task. I have to try to figure it out now. I have to dig out Boss Pei's inner most thoughts. Once I understand his thoughts, I will be able to complete the task. It would not be too much to reward myself with more overtime pay."
"You have to be confident of yourself. If you take Boss Pei's overtime pay, you can earn more money for the company in the future. If you don't dare to ask for overtime pay, it means that you don't have confidence in your own abilities. That doesn't fit the Tengda spirit."
Looking at these answers, Pei Qian felt 10% comforted and 90% worried.
Fortunately, the employees seemed to have an obsession and consensus about completing the tasks that Boss Pei had assigned them. They would definitely complete it on time. That way, Pei Qian would not have to worry about not being able to complete the project and the System delaying settlement.
However... what the hell was this' taking Boss Pei's overtime pay and earning more money for the company in return'?
Pei Qian was speechless. Who the f*ck asked you to repay me?
Don't make wild guesses!
Boss Pei had always done good things without asking for anything in return. You're making it very difficult for me!
After reading the answers to these two questions, Pei Qian realized a very serious problem.
The original intention of this Tengda Spirit compatibility test had been severely misinterpreted!
In fact, Pei Qian's original intention was purely to let his employees rest more, slack more, work less, and earn less money for the company. He did not think too much about it.
However, while most people did understand the meaning of 'rest more', for some reason, they took a step further: resting more was to become better at work.
The meaning changed entirely!
Changing from a lazy bum to a hardworking bum.
"No wonder I've been earning so much money recently."
"No wonder no one in the Tengda Spirit compatibility test has been eliminated."
"So this set of questions was completely misunderstood!"
Pei Qian placed his hand on his forehead, feeling a little speechless.
The problem was, what should he do?
From the answers of these test questions, it was obvious that Tengda's new employees were filled with hardworking people.
The problem was that Pei Qian could not do anything to them. After all, they had passed the Tengda Spirit compatibility test based on their own abilities.
At the end of the day, Pei Qian still felt that there was something wrong with his screening method. Everyone had misunderstood him.
Of course, Pei Qian did not think that all the blame was on him. Something that he did not know was definitely happening in the company.
Even if everyone misunderstood the Tengda spirit that encouraged laziness, they could not be as unanimous as they if they had discussed the answers, right?
Someone must be adding fuel to the fire in unifying everyone's thinking!
Pei Qian closed the backend platform of the Tengda Spirit compatibility test and began to think of countermeasures.
First, he had to change the question bank!
The current question bank no longer met the requirements. Many new employees could also pass the Tengda spirit test perfectly using the completely distorted Tengda spirit. The Tengda spirit that had been misinterpreted became an obstacle instead, greatly increasing the efficiency of the employees!
Thus, Pei Qian felt that he should add some new questions and differentiate the slackers from the hard workers based on the original question bank.
For example, he could ask questions like "do you think it's more important for the company to grow stronger or for the individual to earn a high salary" or "do you think it's more important for you to make a successful career or to live a stable life".
Those who had passed the Tengda spirit test would definitely choose to make a name for themselves and help their company develop.
Of course, he had to consider the specific questions carefully. His intentions could not be too obvious. He had to hide the key questions in many confusing questions so that he would not be easily discovered.
In order to avoid alerting the enemy, one would still pass the Tengda Spirit compatibility test even if he chose such an answer. However, Pei Qian would find an excuse to make arrangements for these people.
At that time, he would make it clear to everyone that he would select a portion of people based on the test results and assign them to other projects.
For example... places like Thriller Hostel and Upwind Logistics.
All in all, they had to minimize the impact of their fighting spirit on Tengda!
Other than that, he had to investigate how the Tengda spirit had gone astray. He could not let this matter rest!
Chapter 749: Boss Pei Fishing
November 19th, Saturday...
At the Manage Loss Trainees' regular meeting...
Recently the Management Loss Generation Meeting was held twice a month, but it did not mean much to Pei Qian. There was not much useful information.
That was because the settlement cycle had just reached the middle stage. Many projects were still being developed step by step. There were no particularly dangerous joint events, and there were no signs of profits.
Since there was no such information, an intelligence-gathering organization like Manage Loss Trainees naturally could not gather anything.
However, on the principle of taking precautions, the Manage Loss Trainees' meeting was still held as usual and reported as usual. Pei Qian listened intently the entire time, afraid that he would miss out on some important information.
The Manage Loss Trainees' meeting went on as usual. They reported the recent work of their various departments as usual. Tang Yishu was still taking notes seriously as usual.
Most of the information was already in Pei Qian's hands. Thus, there was not much to pay attention to.
He had to wait until the end of the following month after the next month, when the settlement date was near and various products were about to be released. Only then would he have to be on his guard.
Soon, the regular agenda for the Management Loss Trainee meeting was completed.
Tang Yishu looked at Pei Qian, implying that if there was nothing else, the meeting could end as per usual.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and asked, "Everyone, what is your understanding of the Tengda spirit like?"
The Tengda spirit test yesterday made Pei Qian feel threatened.
If the latest batch of employees' understanding of the Tengda spirit had completely gone astray, then the old employees who had affected them would definitely have a more serious misconception!
However, Pei Qian had no idea how serious this deviation was. Thus, he had to do a background check.
It was a good choice to start investigating from these Manage Loss Trainees.
That was because the manage loss trainees were the most tight-lipped people in the organisation. They would not say much or ask too many questions. They would not spread among the various departments even if Pei Qian asked some questions. They would not alert the enemy.
The trainees looked at each other, not understanding Pei Qian's intentions.
However, everyone still answered according to their own understanding.
"Senior, the Tengda spirit that I understand is to save time and work efficiently. We use entertainment, rest, and relaxation to increase our work efficiency and achieve a win-win situation for both individuals and the company."
"I think that the Tengda spirit is to fight for your own career, and not just completing the tasks given to it as an employee."
"I think we should focus on making products, content, and do what we have to do to the best of our abilities, and use our sincerity to move users."
The Manage Loss Trainees spoke one after another, but Pei Qian's expression became more and more serious as he listened.
None of the Manage Loss Trainees said that the Tengda spirit was to be lazy?
This... was a huge problem!
The misunderstanding of the Tengda spirit had already spread among the Management Loss Students. This meant that the upper echelons, middle and lower echelons of the various departments would not be spared!
Pei Qian's expression turned serious.
However, he was a little confused. The Manage Loss Trainees seemed to be talking about the same thing, but the way they described it was different.
Pei Qian asked, "Is there a more uniform and generalized explanation?"
The managers looked at each other and shook their heads.
"No."
"The core of the Tengda spirit lies in comprehension, right? How can there be a standard?"
"That's right, Senior. Isn't that your usual attitude?"
The corners of Pei Qian's mouth twitched.
How the f*ck is this my usual attitude? Since when did I have an attitude?!
However, there was a problem. Since these Manage Loss Trainees had said that they did not have a unified standard and mainly relied on their own comprehension, why did their understanding just happen to deviate to the wrong place?
This made Pei Qian very confused. The entire company's interpretation of the Tengda spirit was problematic, but he could not grasp it!
They had hidden it well.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment. He could not continue digging out information from the Management and New Employees. There would definitely not be any results.
That was because the people who could truly determine a department's culture and understanding of the Tengda spirit were definitely not the lower level employees. They were, instead, the leaders of the upper management and the middle management.
The formation of a department's culture would definitely be from top to bottom. The various department managers' understanding of the Tengda spirit had gone off track. They had gone in the direction of striving. This meant that there must be a huge problem with the heads of each department!
If he wanted to change the current situation, he had to start from these people in charge.
Pei Qian looked at the date and suddenly had a plan.
The next day was the 20th. It was the day where the nameless restaurant was booked once a month.
Pei Qian decided to use this gathering to fish once and for all!
He invited all the department heads to be present so that he could 'test' their understanding of the Tengda spirit.
If he could find the culprit from these people in charge, Pei Qian would not mind arranging for him to be transferred to the Thriller Hostel or kicked out to be in charge of a marginal business. In short, he would not be allowed to continue destroying Tengda's culture!
If the culprit was well-hidden and could not be found, he would think of a way to reverse the current trend and guide everyone's interpretation of the Tengda spirit back to the right path.
At that thought, Pei Qian said, "Alright, that's all for today. Meeting dismissed!"
"Little Tang, please stay for a while."
The other Manage Loss Trainees left, leaving Tang Yishu alone with him.
"Senior, what's the matter?" Tang Yishu asked.
Pei Qian smiled. "Nothing special. I just want to give you a new task."
While Pei Qian planned to fish for information and investigate the mole in the department head who had misinterpreted the Tengda spirit tomorrow, he knew his own limits and was mentally prepared to find out nothing.
Pei Qian had only noticed the misinterpretation of the Tengda spirit after so long after all. This meant that the mole was very good at hiding himself.
Since that was the case, Pei Qian would definitely alert the enemy and raise their guard if he were to conduct a large-scale investigation. That might not be effective.
Under such circumstances, Little Tang's identity as the Encourager could be a very good disguise!
Pei Qian continued, "I want you to investigate the Tengda spirit in the company. I realize that many employees like to talk about the Tengda spirit, but everyone has different interpretations of it."
"I hope you can find out where everyone's interpretation of the Tengda spirit comes from, apart from the parts that they have comprehended themselves. How were they affected? Where is the transmission node if someone has an objective acceleration effect on the Tengda spirit?"
"All in all, secretly observe everything related to the Tengda spirit, especially the source."
Tang Yishu blinked, her face filled with confusion. "Senior, Yuan, aren't you the source?"
Pei Qian: "..."
"Ahem, I mean, besides me, is there a second or third source?"
Tang Yishu nodded. "Ah, alright, Senior. I'll remember that. However, I'm stupid. I might not be able to find out..."
Pei Qian waved his hand. "It's alright. This is a long-term task. You just have to pay attention and slowly investigate. If you find anything, let me know immediately."
Tang Yishu: "A-alright."
...
...
November 20th, Sunday...
At the nameless restaurant...
The heads of the various departments of Tengda Corporation arrived one after another. They hugged each other warmly and exchanged pleasantries. It was a harmonious scene.
"Long time no see! How's the project going?"
"It's alright, it's all thanks to Boss Pei's leadership."
"Ai, I was just about to tell you that I have a small matter that requires your cooperation."
"Sure, we'll definitely cooperate! If you need anything, just tell us!"
The people in charge of the department chatted and laughed as they walked into the nameless restaurant and took their seats.
It had been a long time since there was a gathering for all department heads.
The nameless restaurant might be booked on the 20th of every month but Boss Pei had to use it for all kinds of reception after all. For example, he had to receive the bosses of other companies, treat departments that had made outstanding contributions to the restaurant as a form of praise, and so on. There were fewer opportunities for the heads of the various departments to gather for meals.
While the heads of the various departments were usually in contact, they were all rather busy. There were not many opportunities for them to gather together for a meal.
There was no competition between the departments, and there was not much work pressure. Most of the people in charge knew each other and were good friends. Thus, the atmosphere was very harmonious.
There were also other people in charge who did not come, such as Qiu Hong. He was still busy preparing the incubation base for the 'Destitution Plan' in Beijing.
Some of the new department heads did not have much interaction with the more senior department heads. Liang Qingfan, for example, used this opportunity to get to know the other department heads.
Soon, Boss Pei arrived. Everyone took their seats and chatted as they ate.
As Pei Qian ate, he looked at the twenty-odd department heads in front of him, feeling inexplicably melancholic.
How did Tengda manage to develop so many departments out of nowhere?!
What's more, these were all top-tier departments within Tengda Corporation. The companies that they had invested in were not amongst them. There were already so many people.
Initially, he had only wanted to incur losses. However, he did not expect the goal of incurring losses would get further away from him as he opened more departments.
How melancholic!
Pei Qian felt that it was about time after eating for a while.
Thus, he gently knocked on the table, gesturing for everyone to quiet down.
The people-in-charge immediately stopped discussing and looked over with a serious expression when they saw that Boss Pei was about to speak.
Everyone had a fresh face of hopefulness.