Chapter 71: Zhang Yang’s Free Game is Coming (Part 2)

The afternoon of August 28th.

“This world feels so familiar. In the end, it is still walking the same old path.”

“Sigh…”

Zhang Yang sat in his office, shaking his head as he watched the various game Tieba forums fill with vitriol directed at Legend.

Just like the original Legend in his past life…

This game had finally taken the path of being free-to-play.

Once a game goes down that road, the developers start treating players like leeks¹ to be harvested, frantically plundering wealth through every conceivable method.

Moreover, looking at the update summary for the new Legend maps released by Mumaen Technology, it seemed they were deliberately creating a divide between casual players and “whales.”

The more money you pumped in, the stronger you became.

If you didn’t pay, even if you spent every waking hour grinding, you still wouldn’t stand a chance against a “Renminbi Warrior².”

Anyone who had lived through that era knew the various factors that led to the original Legend’s decline.

One was game bugs, another was cheating software, and then there were the private servers. Of course, even more critical was the exodus of casual players and issues with the game’s aging graphics.

These issues…

Aside from recently starting a crackdown on private servers, Legend hadn’t missed a single pitfall.

They had stepped right into every one of them.

Of course…

Perhaps from Liu Zhongshan’s perspective, this was perfectly fine.

After all, Legend had been in Huaxia for quite a few years now, and there was a looming possibility of it being overtaken by War of Warcraft.

Before being completely replaced, why not just let things slide and make a massive killing? What was wrong with that?

Businessmen, after all, prioritized making money.

If you didn’t make money making games, were you running a charity?

However…

It was likely from this moment on that Mumaen Technology would lose its qualification to claim the throne as the leader of the Huaxia gaming industry.

Zhang Yang felt a wave of nostalgia and regret as he watched history repeat itself.

But he didn’t dwell on it for long.

After all, what happened to Mumaen had nothing to do with him.

It wasn’t his company.

At that moment…

He opened his official website and silently stared at the pre-order numbers for his new game.

Although many people on Tieba questioned if Zhang Yang had gone mad, if there was something wrong with his head, or if he was just like Legend, using the “free” label as a front to fleece people, some had even started overanalyzing the wording in Zhang Yang’s advertisements for loopholes.

Some even said, “It says ‘free’ to get a boyfriend or girlfriend, not a free game download! Downloading the game will definitely cost money!”

Many people swore up and down that Zhang Yang was just playing word games with them.

However…

Regardless of the skepticism, the pre-order numbers on the official website were skyrocketing.

In just two short days, they had already climbed to two hundred thousand!

Likely…

By tomorrow morning…

The pre-orders for this game would break two hundred and fifty thousand!

It was another milestone for single-player games!

“I’m about to break another record.”

“Is it time to start trying my hand at online games?”

“…”

Sunlight streamed into the office.

Zhang Yang lowered his head, falling into deep thought as he looked at his upcoming schedule.

Knock, knock.

“Senior… about the new game, are we sure we want it to be completely free?”

“Mhm.”

“The download is free too?”

“Free.”

“What about the items?”

“The items are free as well, but players have to check in daily. Once they’ve checked in enough, the items will be distributed to users as rewards…”

“…”

Song Qingqing pushed the door open, a flicker of worry in her eyes.

After hearing Zhang Yang’s answer, the concern on her face deepened.

What was wrong with her senior?

Did he have a fever?

“Senior, we’ve spent a lot of manpower, resources, and a great deal of money developing this romance game, God of Conquest. If there’s no revenue, our company will go bankrupt…” Song Qingqing lowered her head and finally spoke her mind.

She felt that ever since her senior had paid off his debts and stopped being a deadbeat, he seemed to be heading in a direction that was increasingly difficult to understand.

Completely free!

If this wasn’t a death wish, what was?

“We won’t go bankrupt…” Zhang Yang smiled and shook his head. “Mumaen Technology is treating players like leeks, and it’s breaking the hearts of the casual players. This is the perfect chance for us to soothe their hearts and lay the groundwork for our future games. This early investment is worth it. In the future, we can make money from players reasonably, but for this game, we’re building a reputation. It’s purely free. Of course, this game can still make money, just not from the players’ pockets!”

“Alright.” She understood the words he said, but Song Qingqing didn’t truly grasp what they meant.

Not making money from the players.

Then whose money was he making?

Wasn’t the price for this far too high?

Ultimately, she said nothing more.

After reporting on her other tasks, she looked at Zhang Yang with a complicated expression. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke. “Senior.”

“Mhm?”

“It’s almost September. My internship is about over, and school is starting soon. I’m planning to resign for now.”

“Ah? It’s September already?”

“Yes. Senior, do you need to find another assistant?” Song Qingqing asked, looking at him.

“An assistant… I really do need to consider that. Actually, I’m also missing someone to handle the finances…” Zhang Yang lowered his head, feeling a bit of a headache coming on.

The truth was…

He was currently handling the company’s accounting himself.

The messy debts and the series of taxes were making his head spin. He wasn’t a professional, and he often made a mess of things, frequently unable to balance one set of figures against another…

As the company continued to grow, these tasks would only multiply. How could he handle it all alone?

He truly did need to hire an accountant to help out.

“Senior, I remember there are some older students from our school. If they haven’t found a job yet, should I help you get in touch with them?” Song Qingqing asked tentatively.

“Sure.”

For the rest of the time, Song Qingqing finished handing over her work to Zhang Yang.

Once she was finished, she took one last look at the office, a place so full of youthful energy, before finally stepping into the elevator with her luggage.

Even after leaving the building, she still couldn’t understand why her senior would release a free game.

Was he really just doing it to build a reputation?

But even if you wanted a good reputation, you couldn’t just throw money into the wind, could you?

The company had made a decent profit and survived its initial crisis, but its liquid capital wasn’t high to begin with, and Zhang Yang had given most of it away as bonuses and rewards!

Even she had received a bonus of over ten thousand yuan when she left.

This was just an internship, and she hadn’t even been there for a full month!

Besides, during her internship, she hadn’t done much beyond drafting company regulations, helping plan some legal matters, and researching data for reports.

Zhang Yang had handed her ten thousand yuan in internship fees without a second thought.

Was this generosity, or had he lost his mind?

It would be a lie to say Song Qingqing wasn’t worried.

After spending time with him, she felt that Zhang Yang didn’t act like a boss at all. In fact, what kind of boss was so generous to his employees that he treated money like it was nothing?

But…

Every time she tried to warn him, she saw Zhang Yang shake his head.

He would say things like people can’t work well on an empty stomach.

Then there was the free game…

Wasn’t that just a guaranteed loss?

As she reached the ground floor, she suddenly saw Manager Wu, the head of the marketing department, leading a group of people from several luxury cars into the building.

She brushed past them.

Vaguely…

She seemed to hear talk about meetings and signing contracts.

She instinctively looked back.

She saw Manager Wu smiling brightly, constantly introducing the company’s situation, including the staff and the company’s market value. It looked as if he was trying to attract investment!

Wait!

Could her senior be planning to sell the company?

Was he planning to use the hype of the free game to cash out and leave?

The possibility crossed Song Qingqing’s mind, and her eyes widened in shock.

But on second thought, that didn’t seem quite right either.

Then…

Not long after, several more cars pulled up at the company entrance.

Leading the group was Chen Weiwei from Bluebird Technology…

The one escorting them was Zhao Hang, the head of the company’s art department…

Zhao Hang was also beaming with smiles, introducing the company’s situation in much the same way.

What on earth was her senior trying to do?

…………………………………………

Liu Ruohan felt as though Mumaen was like a runaway horse, charging madly toward the edge of a cliff.

Even though she was Liu Zhongshan’s biological daughter, she had no control over this carriage.

She had been unable to stop Shen Yi from leaving.

Liu Zhongshan hadn’t handed over any real power to her at all.

Perhaps…

In his heart, he was the only one who had a say in this company. No one, not even his closest kin, was allowed to defy his word.

August 31st, midnight.

Liu Ruohan silently opened the official website of Universe Technology.

She saw that the pre-orders for the romance version of Zhang Yang’s new game, God of Conquest, had already surpassed three hundred and ten thousand.

Thanks to the reputation of the study version of God of Conquest, the hype for this game was skyrocketing!

Seeing this staggering figure, Liu Ruohan gasped.

As of now!

Three hundred and ten thousand pre-orders!

That meant the first day’s downloads would be at least a hundred thousand!

It might even reach two hundred thousand, a level that even Shengteng Network’s Human Killing Machine couldn’t achieve!

And because it was a free download, the users didn’t have to commit to anything!

Liu Ruohan couldn’t imagine it…

“Is this man crazy? Is he doing all this just for the data, just to break a record?”

“Does he really not want to make money?”

“Even if you get a million downloads, what’s the point if there is no profit?”

Like many other netizens, Liu Ruohan had originally thought Zhang Yang was playing a word game, advertising a free download while charging for in-game items.

But…

When she clicked on the pre-order page and saw Zhang Yang’s promise of completely free content…

She felt Zhang Yang had truly gone mad.

The promised content stated that not only was the download free, but even the items were entirely free!

She pondered it for a long time but still couldn’t figure out how this game was supposed to make money!

At the stroke of midnight!

She was among the first to download the game!

Then…

Her eyes widened, and she suddenly gasped.

“Heavens!”

“So that’s how he’s making money!”

“He tricked the capitalists into coming in, and then he harvested them like leeks!”

“…”

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes