Chapter 9: Game Promotion Playtest

“I heard this place is the most expensive storefront in the office building. Last year, the rent was seventy thousand a year, and it seems to have gone up again this year to eighty thousand. The previous tenant couldn’t stomach the high cost, and after failing to negotiate with the landlord, they finally moved out. They even cursed the landlord out on the community social platforms. Even though there’s a lot of foot traffic and it’s quite lively, the cost-effectiveness just isn’t there. Unless it’s an exceptionally profitable shop, there’s no way to sustain it.”

“Yeah, if it were a restaurant, business might be okay, but opening a tech company like this feels unreliable. If I had that kind of money, I wouldn’t waste it like this. In my experience, tech companies don’t need to be in high-traffic areas. Usually, they’re better off in industrial zones or the middle floors of an office building. Who opens one on the ground floor? Isn’t that just having too much money and nowhere to spend it? Besides, from the outside, this ground floor unit doesn’t even look that big!”

“Shh, didn’t Old Chen say the owner of this shop is a young man who looks like a college student? Maybe he’s some rich second-generation heir starting a business with family money. He probably has no long-term plan and arrogantly thinks he can just open a shop by throwing money around.”

“…”

Chen Shou parked the car and stepped out.

Behind him, his wife and sister-in-law had just climbed out of the back. The moment they saw the storefront, they couldn’t help but start whispering.

They had heard people talking about this place before.

From March of the year before last to May of this year, the rent for this storefront had been steadily rising.

It went from forty thousand to fifty thousand, and then reached the staggering figure of eighty thousand this year. It was truly outrageous.

Furthermore, the tenants of this storefront were constantly changing.

It started as a clothing store, then a high-end cosmetics shop, then a restaurant…

Hardly any of them lasted more than two months.

After all, when you open a business, you have to consider the bottom line, don’t you?

In their minds, tech companies were usually tucked away in the office buildings of some industrial or high-tech park.

Who would open one directly in a street-level storefront?

And such an expensive one at that?

Didn’t he have more money than sense?

At this moment, their first impression was that Zhang Yang was the type of person who had more money than brains – a wealthy heir with no practical business sense who was desperate to prove himself.

Once they stepped into the ground-floor unit, they became even more convinced of their theory.

The storefront wasn’t large, perhaps about thirty square meters.

As they walked in…

They saw rows of office desks.

However, there weren’t computers on the desks, but rather piles of snacks and drinks.

Four or five young people sat in chairs, munching on snacks while staring at the front, looking quite excited.

“Our company’s goal is to grow bigger and stronger…”

“Ren Zhengfei¹, the great Elder Ren, once said that for an enterprise to develop, it must cultivate a pack of wolves. Wolves have three major characteristics: first, a keen sense of smell; second, a relentless, life-risking spirit of attack; and third, a sense of collective struggle…”

“Mr. Lu Xun² once said: Originally, there was no path in the world, but when many people walk on it, it becomes a path. We are all experimenting, walking a path that those before us have never taken. We are pioneering…”

“…”

Even from a distance, Chen Shou could hear a young man in a suit standing before a projector, giving a continuous “entrepreneurial brainwashing” speech.

Ren Zhengfei? Who was Elder Ren?

Lu Xun?

And who was Lu Xun?

How come I’ve never heard of them?

Although they had never heard many of these words before, after standing there and watching for a while, they felt a strange, inexplicable surge of adrenaline.

One had to admit that when this young man gave a motivational speech, he was incredibly invested. His voice echoed through the large meeting area on the first floor, making their ears ring.

This is what youth is like!

Fired up for the sake of a startup and a dream, full of vitality.

Unfortunately…

They hadn’t yet experienced the harsh beatings of society. They didn’t understand that dreams come with a price.

Everyone was young once, and everyone once dreamed of riding the wind and waves³ to reach the heavens in a single bound, but reality…

How many people only truly recognize themselves after they’ve failed?

Chen Shou felt a bit sentimental.

He felt that Zhang Yang was highly likely to fail. This method of throwing money away to promote a game was practical, but it was also quite foolish.

But what did any of that have to do with him?

He was just a driver.

Meanwhile, his sister-in-law and his wife were looking at the various game concept posters and success slogans plastered on the walls.

They felt more and more that Zhang Yang was an idealistic dreamer.

Someone like that might very well throw some money around to create some “results” to show his father just to prove he could succeed.

“Ah, Mr. Chen, you’re here? We were just introducing the corporate culture, haha. I hope we didn’t disturb you?”

“Not at all.”

“Haha, that’s good. Mr. Chen, let me take you on a tour of our company and introduce you to the specific rules of our game…”

“Sure, sounds good.”

When Zhang Yang saw Chen Shou arrive, his eyes lit up instantly. After handing the stage over to Zhao Hang, he very enthusiastically had someone brew three cups of tea and took Chen Shou on a tour of the first and second floors.

It had to be said that while the first-floor decor was somewhat ordinary, the second floor was extremely high-end!

All the chairs and tables were made of genuine mahogany⁴, and the tea table alone must have cost at least ten thousand yuan.

Chen Shou’s sister-in-law, Liu Mei, stared with wide eyes.

Of course, Zhang Yang didn’t linger in the open area of the second floor but led them directly into the General Manager’s office.

Inside the office, Zhang Yang sat down and turned on a computer. The computer began running a game called Desert Bicycle.

The game looked very simple. Under a sky full of yellow sand, there was a highway, and the protagonist was riding a bicycle along it.

The visuals were yellowish and monotonous.

He pointed at the webpage. “Our game is downloaded from the Universe Technology platform. This is our website. Our competition registration is also on this site. For every successful download, you get one point. Ten points can be exchanged for one mao⁵…”

“Once the game is finished downloading, we will begin data tracking…”

“The game isn’t actually that difficult. The total playtime is eight hours. Sandstorms will appear at random intervals to interfere with your driving and cause your position to shift. If you dodge ten sandstorms, you earn ten cents…”

“If you dodge twenty sandstorms in a row without going out of bounds, you’ll get an extra reward of five points, which is five cents…”

“The first person to complete the entire game without taking any damage, once confirmed to be without any hacks or auxiliary systems, will be rewarded with thirty thousand yuan!”

“There are many side quests along the way. These quests involve wind and sand, nighttime conditions, and bicycle wear and tear. If you don’t repair it in time, the bike will fall apart. However, you might also encounter a sandstorm while repairing, so it all comes down to luck…”

“If you complete all of these side quests, you will receive an additional reward of twenty thousand yuan!”

“…”

“…”

Chen Shou listened intently.

Then, he watched as Zhang Yang sat down to demonstrate the gameplay himself.

On a yellowish interface, a lonely figure rode a bicycle across a vast, endless desert. Aside from the occasional cactus, the only scenery consisted of scattered sand dunes.

The game interface was very simple, looking much like the pixel games of the past.

But…

“Ding!”

“Completed the first sandstorm evasion task. Reward: 1 Point (one cent)!”

“Ding!”

“Prompt: One yuan (one hundred points) is required to bind for withdrawal⁶! Ninety-nine points remaining until withdrawal is available!”

“…”

“…”

The game seemed incredibly simple, requiring no complex maneuvers.

As long as you kept your eyes glued to the screen, you could earn rewards provided you handled the controls steadily when the sandstorms hit.

“Ding!”

“Completed sandstorm evasion task. Reward: 1 Point (one cent)!”

“Ding!”

“Special Task Triggered: Replenish water, dodge the sandstorm, and repair the bicycle…”

“Mr. Chen, this is a special task involving a major sandstorm. If the special task is completed, you can earn three points at once, which is three cents…”

“…”

The pixel art of this game was quite mediocre, but the display of points and gold coins looked remarkably realistic.

Especially the sound of the gold coins dropping into the pocket after completing a task…

“Ding!”

“Ding!”

Tasks were completed one after another, gold coins continuously entered the pocket, and the system constantly reminded the player how many more points were needed to withdraw the money.

Chen Shou’s wife and sister-in-law didn’t react much at first, but as it went on, their eyes began to glaze over with focus.

Women found it hardest to resist things that sparkled.

Gold!

Gold coins!

Success after success, getting closer to the goal with every step – the dopamine in their brains was being stimulated over and over again.

“Poof!”

“Bicycle tire blown. Caught in a sandstorm. Game over…”

“Current Point balance is thirty points. Seventy points remaining until withdrawal. Spend ten points to continue?”

“Yes – No.”

“…”

“You failed?”

“Over here, over here! Play it like this! Hey, listen to me, press this button earlier! Why are your reactions so slow!”

“Ugh, how could you fail that!”

“…”

When she saw Zhang Yang’s hand slip during a task, leading to failure, Chen Shou’s sister-in-law, Liu Mei, finally couldn’t help but start shouting.

Even though…

It seemed like the money earned wasn’t much!

But!

The joy of these brief successes stimulated her heart time and time again.

She longed to withdraw the money soon, to succeed soon…

She hated failure, even if the person at the controls was Zhang Yang!

This was human nature.

She even hoped Zhang Yang would spend another ten points to try again!

When Zhang Yang turned off the computer, Liu Mei suddenly felt an indescribable sensation.

She felt extremely unsettled.

At this moment, those glittering gold coins kept flashing through her mind.

She wanted to play it herself.

She felt she could do it!

At the very least, she felt she could earn more money than Zhang Yang!

“Mr. Chen, the game is basically this type of thing… It’s not actually hard…”

Zhang Yang turned around. When he saw everyone’s reactions, a slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Boss Zhang, can we download it now?” Before Chen Shou could speak, Liu Mei looked at Zhang Yang immediately.

“Sure, you can download it. However, each user ID costs five yuan…”

“Five yuan is no problem. I’ll download it right now. I happen to have a laptop in the car, should I go grab it? I’ll just give you the cash directly. Sis, I’ll download it for you too. Ten yuan total. We can play when we’re free…”

“Mm, alright.”

Ten yuan in cash appeared on Zhang Yang’s desk.

Liu Mei quickly left the general manager’s office, taking her sister with her.

Seeing his sister-in-law and wife leave with the intention of giving it a try, Chen Shou also wanted to pay for a download.

However, he saw Zhang Yang shake his head.

“Mr. Chen… no rush. Could you help us stick these promotional posters on your taxi windows?”

“Also, counting yourself, there are three of you, right? If you bring seven more people, you can get one free download…”

“Mr. Chen, this is the payment mini-program⁷ in our system. It’s the company’s bank account, which you can check at any time. Also, this system is a referral Reward System⁸… Our Universe Technology platform will provide you with a personal Invitation Code. Once you invite ten people, the game download will automatically unlock…”

“When do we start?”

When Chen Shou saw some of the reward mechanisms on the reward page of the Universe Technology platform, he suddenly became excited again.

He seemed to see a path to earning some extra pocket money.

“Anytime! You can start right now…”

“Good!”

…

After seeing them off, Zhang Yang glanced at the fifteen yuan on the table. He tucked the money away and narrowed his eyes.

He then opened the backend download page. The download count stood at three.

A faint smile touched his lips as he cast the download page onto the projector on the first floor.

Heading downstairs, he saw the newcomers brought in by Zhao Hang and the others staring at the screen that had suddenly flickered to life.

“Everyone…”

“I’ve said all this because I want you to know that we are, without a doubt, on the path to success!”

“The data on this screen shows the downloads and revenue for Universe Technology’s very first game. From this moment on, these figures will be fully transparent to all of you.”

“Over the next day, perhaps the next few days…”

“Everyone, prepare to witness a miracle!”

“Don’t blink!”

“…”

No sooner had the words left Zhang Yang’s mouth…

…than they saw the download count on the backend jump from three to five.

Simultaneously, another ten yuan hit the company’s account.

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes