Chapter 86: Employees Everyone Envies

October 1st.

National Day.

Chen Qiang, the head of Dream Dragon Studio under Shengteng Technology, gave everyone in the studio the day off to go watch the flag-raising ceremony¹.

Chen Qiang, however, stayed in the office, silently pondering over a new game.

This was a grand era of surging winds and changing clouds!

In this era, some people would be lost, while others would be eliminated because they didn’t know how to adapt…

But some people!

They saw that this era was paved with gold!

Chen Qiang was one of those who saw the gold everywhere.

To date, the paid version of Human Killing Machine had been downloaded over seven hundred thousand times.

If one were to be honest, among paid single-player games, Human Killing Machine still held a spot in the top three. Its first-day paid download count of one hundred and eighty-one thousand remained a legend!

That first-day download data!

Even the paid version of God of Conquest had not surpassed it!

If this were a free game, just how exaggerated would its sales figures be?

This thought suddenly popped into Chen Qiang’s mind.

He then turned on his computer.

He glanced at the download numbers for the free game Road Rash, which had broken through 1.3 million!

On the other side, Soul of Racing had already surpassed 2 million!

“What a pity…”

Chen Qiang suddenly sighed.

He felt it was a great shame.

If one looked solely at the download data, Road Rash had already lost.

It lost on total downloads…

And it lost thoroughly. Judging by how the download growth for Road Rash was starting to slow down, there was truly no hope for a turnaround in the short term.

The God-slayer had raised his sword and charged into the heavens with murderous intent, only to be unexpectedly crushed by the opponent’s sheer numbers.

How could they compete?

This competition was no longer just a battle between games; it had become a battle between companies.

The strength of Universe Technology was simply too far behind Dadi Technology.

As for Dadi Technology and his own Shengteng Technology…

If he were to provide another round of free traffic redirection!

Chen Qiang’s eyes suddenly lit up!

…

Who exactly won this battle of God-slaying?

Opinions varied.

However, in the hearts of many players, it was actually Dadi Technology that had lost.

No matter how terrifying Dadi Technology’s download numbers became, even if they reached a hundred million, Dadi Technology had still lost.

It wasn’t just the players who thought so; even the headquarters of the BMW Group shared this sentiment.

Many people say that capital only looks at data and nothing else, but they are actually wrong.

Besides download data, capital also considers the extent of a game’s promotion and its popularity in Huaxia…

Smith reported what he had seen and heard in Huaxia’s internet cafes to the headquarters exactly as it was.

His report email contained several photos.

These photos were taken by his assistant in various internet cafes…

In the photos…

Many people were playing Road Rash. No matter which internet cafe you looked at, eighty percent of the players playing single-player games were playing Road Rash.

In contrast, players of Soul of Racing were few and far between.

This already explained the situation.

Of course, the most important thing wasn’t this data.

On the other side of the ocean, there was also a player.

This player’s name was Karina.

She was the daughter of Sayid, the Chief Financial Officer of the BMW Group…

“This game does an excellent job of promoting the performance of our BMW motorcycles…”

“Other motorcycles are more or less affected by the snow maps when driving in the snow, making it impossible to demonstrate their full performance. However, once you save enough money and buy the BMW G5 model, you won’t be affected by the snow. Not only will it not slip, but it continues forward at a frantic speed, perfectly interpreting the performance of our BMW vehicles. Integrating performance into the game is exactly what we need…”

“Furthermore, in other maps like the volcano, the tires of other motorcycles are more or less affected by sparks and cannot accelerate, but our BMW motorcycles can traverse it as if it were level ground…”

“This is a brand effect that resonates deeply with people…”

“I have played both games. If it were up to me, I would choose Road Rash!”

“Games serve the players, always the players!”

“…”

At the temporary meeting, the blonde and beautiful Karina operated a laptop, demonstrating the game in front of everyone.

As she demonstrated, she explained her conclusions.

Many of the adults below did not look down on her just because she was a fourteen-year-old child.

Instead, they watched the young girl’s demonstration seriously, nodding from time to time and taking notes!

After she finished speaking, she shyly hid behind her mother.

She was actually quite shy around strangers.

However, her gaze remained fixed on all the voters.

When she saw that everyone had cast a vote in favor, she instantly jumped up in excitement.

In her room.

Karina recalled the looks in those adults’ eyes when they voted yesterday, as well as the rounds of applause.

She still felt excited.

Then…

She logged into the game and began playing the romance version of God of Conquest…

On the screen, when she saw the handsome face of the Knight, she smiled brilliantly.

“Keep it up!”

“Comrade!”

“We won!”

“We won again!”

…

October 1st.

Dadi Technology was also on holiday.

The sunlight was very bright.

But no matter how bright the sun was, it couldn’t block out the faint haze of defeat.

At the same time, there was also a hint of shame.

The fake data looked glorious, but it was merely a final fig leaf.

He didn’t want it to be like this…

But!

He had no choice.

Dadi Technology couldn’t lose. At least in terms of data, they couldn’t lose to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang’s momentum was simply too strong; he looked like he was sharpening his blade to slay a god.

Dadi Technology still needed to maintain its final shred of dignity.

In the office.

Ding Ziguang let out a long sigh of relief. He had finally left the company.

He planned to go home and get some proper rest.

When he arrived home, he turned on the television. He had intended to tune into a channel to watch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square.

However…

The moment he turned it on, he was greeted by a barrage of advertisements for various learning machines.

“Jianpai English Gaming Learning Machine! Let your child fall in love with learning while they play!”

“…”

“Children’s English Point-and-Read Machine². Just point wherever you’re stuck…”

“…”

The advertisements were incredibly catchy. Essentially, after watching any television drama, these kinds of commercials would inevitably appear.

There had never been learning machine advertisements on television before.

But for some reason, lately, these ads had been popping up everywhere like mushrooms after a rain, much like health supplement commercials³.

Before he knew it, they seemed to have taken over the airwaves.

Ding Ziguang was speechless.

He thought of the student version of God of Conquest.

He couldn’t help but admire Zhang Yang’s incredible market sensitivity…

After watching the flag-raising ceremony, Ding Ziguang originally wanted to lie down and get a good night’s sleep.

However, he tossed and turned, unable to drift off.

Finally, he turned on his computer.

Once the computer was on…

And after seeing a series of advertisements…

He suddenly found that he was even less able to sleep.

He even cried out that it was like seeing a ghost!

“Shocking! Every employee at Universe Technology owns a BMW!”

“Universe Technology’s bonuses are staggering!”

“…”

…………………………

The flag-raising ceremony was solemn and majestic.

“Dad, I’ve arrived in Yanjing!”

“Dad, I can see Tiananmen!”

“The national anthem is playing!”

“Dad, I see the national flag! I’m so excited right now!”

“Mom, did you see it? I sent you a picture via multimedia message. That’s me in the photo!”

“…”

As the national anthem resonated through the air…

Sun Lili offered a salute toward the distance.

She felt a sincere sense of excitement for her increasingly powerful motherland, while at the same time, she felt as if she were living in a dream.

Just a few months ago!

She was still an ordinary girl from a small county town, working a nine-to-five job and living a quiet, unremarkable life.

If nothing unexpected had happened, she probably would have ended up like her ancestors, finding a relatively reliable, honest man in that small town, having a son, raising him, and living a life of financial struggle and constant toil…

She loved drawing most of all and was quite good at it. She had once dreamed of making a living through art, but not only did her parents and relatives discourage her, even she knew that it was nearly impossible to get ahead through drawing.

The most likely outcome was that she would eventually put down her paintbrush with regret and stop thinking about such impractical things.

One had to be pragmatic, didn’t they?

But…

Life is always full of surprises…

Through a chance submission, she won an award!

She received the first payment of her life earned through her artwork!

She had been so excited that she couldn’t sleep all night!

Not long after, she received an invitation from Yanjing…

She was completely stunned at the time!

Happiness had come too suddenly. As a student with only a junior college degree, she had actually received an invitation from a game company in Yanjing!

A monthly salary of ten thousand, totaling one hundred and twenty thousand a year!

When she first saw those terms, she simply couldn’t believe it…

She even thought it was some kind of gimmick!

However, facts proved that it was definitely not a gimmick.

She had been on the job for two months.

In that time, she had already received two bonuses!

The two versions of God of Conquest had allowed her to earn an amount of money she hadn’t even dared to imagine!

Immediately after, she began planning to buy a car…

If she scraped together a down payment and asked her family for a little bit more, she should be able to buy one.

In a big city, how prestigious would it be to drive a car back home?

She never expected it!

Whatever she wished for seemed to come true…

It was as if she were a favorite of the heavens.

The BMW Group had actually partnered with her company!

Did a partnership mean that she could get a discount on a BMW just by showing her employee ID?

That thought had crossed her mind.

But fate favored her far more than that.

When she received a fifty thousand yuan bonus yesterday, she nearly stopped breathing!

Fifty thousand yuan!

In her small county town, that was the amount she would earn in an entire year of working without eating or drinking, even including various sales commissions!

And now…

She had it in her hands after less than two months…

It was simply incredible.

“Mom, Dad, you don’t need to prepare any money for me. I already had twenty thousand in savings, and with the bonus the company gave me, I have enough for the down payment. Besides, the BMW Group is giving us employees a ten percent discount. I’m going to look at cars this afternoon…”

“Yes!”

“Dad, Mom, a lot of my colleagues are going to look at cars together. We’re all going to buy them…”

“It’s not a pyramid scheme, Mom and Dad. You really don’t need to call the police. Pyramid schemes are for stealing money. Why would people in a pyramid scheme give us money? Wouldn’t they be crazy?”

“Alright, I have to go. We have a seven-day break for National Day⁴. I’ll drive home!”

“Right, it’s not just an ordinary car. It’s a BMW, the same brand your factory boss drives. It’s the same brand, a luxury car! That’s right!”

“…”

“…”

Sun Lili hung up the phone with great excitement.

She could already imagine the excited expressions on everyone’s faces when she drove that BMW home.

Just think about it!

What an honor it would be for her family!

After hanging up, she immediately followed her colleagues onto a pre-booked bus.

Together, they headed straight for the BMW Huaxia headquarters!

On the bus…

Everyone was buzzing with excitement.

Many held small national flags and began singing the national anthem.

The bus driver looked at them with envy, repeatedly asking if his own son could join this company and what the requirements were.

His son had graduated from a prestigious university and was currently working as a coder at Shengteng Technology.

At first, he thought his son’s salary was very high.

But comparisons were odious.

From what these people were saying…

After working for just a few months, they had received bonuses, and by scraping together another few tens of thousands from other sources, many of them were now able to take out loans to buy BMWs!

How could that not make him green with envy?

…………………………

October 1st!

It was a day of nationwide celebration and joy.

But…

Many people in the gaming industry were feeling restless.

Their eyes were red with envy, and they wished they could jump ship to Universe Technology right that second.

“Congratulations to Ms. Sun Lili on picking up her new BMW…”

“Congratulations to Mr. Zhao Hang on picking up his new BMW…”

“Congratulations to Mr. Zhong Chongwen on picking up his new BMW…”

“…”

On Tieba.

People saw photo after photo of Universe Technology employees showing off their new BMWs!

In the Q-Dog Huaxia programmer discussion groups.

Similar photos were appearing one after another.

In the photos, some people were dressed in sharp suits and sunglasses, wearing brilliant smiles as they posed next to brand-new BMWs.

Others posted purchase contracts. Although the names were covered, they made sure to show their employee ID cards!

“The new BMW 3 Series really feels great. The handling is sharper, and the exterior is especially sleek and stylish. It’s just a bit pricey…”

“I asked my family for sixty thousand yuan and took out a bank loan. Even with the huge bonus from the company, I couldn’t cover it all on my own…”

“Sigh, but a woman has to treat herself well!”

“I’ll probably be eating dirt for the next few months!”

“I’ve been struggling in this big city for three months now!”

“From being worth nothing at the start to signing a BMW purchase contract today…”

“I’m so grateful for the support of my brothers and friends, and to President Zhang, and our Universe Technology!”

“I’m truly thankful to everyone. Universe Technology is like a big family, giving me a sense of warmth I’ve never felt before!”

“Next plan!”

“Buy a house!”

“Keep going!”

“Oh yeah!”

“…”

What is the ultimate form of humblebragging?

It is acting a bit miserable while gleefully envying your own hard-earned results, then pouring out a bowl of motivational “chicken soup” in your excitement to encourage yourself to keep working hard!

After drinking that chicken soup, many netizens felt like they were about to lose it!

If this were after 2016, many people would question the authenticity of such posts. Most would just laugh it off or express deep disgust…

Isn’t this just a recruitment ad for some pyramid scheme?

But this was October 2005!

There was no WeChat!

And there certainly weren’t any “micro-business⁵” ads flooding social media feeds!

“Damn it, can you guys have some mercy!”

“Fuck, I’m so jealous. I’ve worked so hard at Dadi Technology for so long, and I…”

“So annoying, this is too much!”

“Dammit!”

“Shit, is Universe Technology still hiring? I want to jump ship!”

“I want to jump ship too!”

“Dammit!”

“…”

Across the gaming industry, a chorus of complaints rose up…

They were aching with envy, and their lungs were practically bursting with rage!

………………….

“President Zhang, what’s next?”

“Hype the concept… I’m going to hype the concept of our company buying cars after only three months! Of course, it’s not really hype, because it’s the truth.”

“And what about us?”

“While we’re hyping that, we will subtly promote the idea that the BMW 3 Series is the car every young person wants… To be honest, the reason your BMW 3 Series didn’t sell well in Huaxia before was indeed because of the appearance and the price. Now that you’ve changed the look and offered appropriate discounts, this car will basically become a hit model in the minds of young people…”

“President Zhang, if the choice were yours, would you choose a BMW 3 Series?”

“No…”

“Why?”

“I’m a low-key person. I’m not interested in luxury cars…”

“…”

No one would have expected the scene inside the BMW Group office.

Zhang Yang sat there quietly, looking out the window.

Qian Liang, the head of Huaxia operations, stared blankly at Zhang Yang’s back…

Smith was also watching Zhang Yang.

They suddenly felt very lucky that they had given that money to Zhang Yang instead of Dadi Technology!

At the same time, they felt immense respect!

This man…

He actually took half of that money and distributed it to his employees as bonuses.

Then…

He brought those employees to their company to order the BMW 3 Series that was about to hit the market.

A large portion of the money flowed right back into their company.

What kind of maneuver was this?

It was definitely a case of one plus one being greater than two!

In fact…

When the BMW 3 Series first entered Huaxia, sales were very disappointing!

Due to the appearance, the price, and various other factors, the sales were so poor they were almost unacceptable to the group!

But this time…

Headquarters had analyzed the Huaxia market and was making a comeback.

Only the day before, they had been in a meeting discussing how to organize promotional activities.

They hadn’t expected…

That halfway through the meeting…

He would receive a call from Zhang Yang…

After taking that call, his worried expression had instantly brightened!

The meeting ended quickly.

This morning…

October 1st!

Before the event announcement was even out, the stores were already crowded with people…

The morning light shone through the glass onto Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang’s shadow stretched out long across the floor.

Smith suddenly stood up. “President Zhang, it’s truly a pleasure to know you! I will report everything you’ve done in Huaxia to headquarters. I look forward to our next collaboration…”

“Haha, sounds good.” Looking into the distance, Zhang Yang nodded with a faint smile.

………………….

The afternoon of October 1st.

Some were happy, some were worried…

The thing that the major game companies found most infuriating and annoying finally appeared!

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes