Chapter 30: Something’s Wrong with This Data!

“Su, the figures are out!”

“Something looks wrong with these figures!”

“The Steam platform didn’t mess this up, did they?”

《Metal Slug》 had pre-sold over fifty thousand copies.

Now, cumulative sales stood at one hundred and eighty thousand copies.

Meaning in just a single day, it had sold one hundred and thirty thousand copies?

“It’s not a mistake. That really is how many copies sold.”

“The game blew up!”

The money in the studio’s account was cold, hard cash already deposited.

“Holy shit!”

“We’re fucking incredible!”

Li Lei’s excitement was written all over his face; he looked ready to leap straight into the air.

Su Cheng was thrilled as well, of course.

The post-tax revenue share from 《Metal Slug》 was 1.35 million Yuan.

Add to that the 780,000 Yuan from subsequent sales of the two 《King of Fighters》 games.

Su Cheng brought in over two million Yuan today alone, putting more than three million Yuan in his hands now.

“We made 780,000 in just a week. Shi Xiaoqiang offering two million was total bullshit.”

“At this rate, we’ll hit two million in no time, and we won’t have to listen to his bullshit either.”

Later on, Shi Xiaoqiang had put forward an offer of ten million.

At the time, Li Lei thought it was real, but the more he thought about it afterward, the fishier it felt.

Because that ten million wasn’t outright cash; it included the funding for setting up a studio for them down the line.

He hadn’t read the contract, but with lawyers already brought in, there would surely be plenty of restrictive clauses tying them down.

Only now did Li Lei realize that Shi Xiaoqiang’s ten-million offer hadn’t come from a genuine desire to pay them, but rather from throwing a tantrum out of spite against Su Cheng.

Su Cheng walked out of the office holding the data sheet.

Shen Manman had two major lectures today, so she hadn’t come to the studio.

It was just him, Li Lei, and Du Xi.

“Boss Du, did you check Pilipili?”

“The players are giving you rave reviews this time!”

Su Cheng asked Du Xi with a smile.

This time, players finally stopped calling their art trash, and every single one of them was singing its praises.

Even the weapons Du Xi designed had been dissected and analyzed by military buffs in the military section.

Even Su Cheng hadn’t anticipated that.

Both Su Cheng and Li Lei were full of praise for Du Xi.

“How did you come up with the idea to dig through military history for weapon and boss prototypes?”

As for that…

Du Xi could only say she had been driven to it.

On Su Cheng’s design document, aside from the protagonist’s appearance, there weren’t any detailed descriptions at all, dammit!

Take weapons, for example.

A handheld short shotgun.

A tank.

How was Du Xi supposed to have any idea what that looked like?

She was a realist artist, sure, but she mainly painted characters and landscapes.

As for firearms…

How was a girl supposed to know anything about that?

The only gun she could recall was a Huanghe toy gun^[1] the neighbor’s kid played with when she was little.

To keep things rigorous and realistic, what choice did she have but to scour military history for prototypes and see which fit best?

In the eyes of the two men, Du Xi had taken on an “impossible mission” just a few days ago.

In three short days, she had finished all the remaining work.

“Don’t push yourself this hard in the future.”

“If you wreck your health, it’ll be a massive loss for our studio.”

“I’m still counting on you working here until retirement.”

Su Cheng’s joke thoroughly amused the two of them.

Du Xi accepted every bit of praise.

She really had worked herself to the bone.

Over those three days, she felt like her head was going to split open.

Overall, though, Su Cheng had worked even harder.

Du Xi had originally thought that a game thrown together in less than a week like Su Cheng’s wouldn’t have much quality.

She had taken on the task mainly to keep from getting dragged too badly.

After all, the players spent real money to buy the game.

Even if the code was a mess, at least the art shouldn’t take the blame.

If it got dragged through the mud, that would be on her.

Never did she expect what happened next.

Once finished, the game actually received glowing reviews across the board.

She had checked the player feedback on the Pilipili platform, of course, and hadn’t seen anyone reporting any bugs. What was more, the vast majority were praising how well-optimized it was, saying even a Pentium or Celeron could run it.

“All right.”

“Today’s Friday. What are your plans for the weekend?”

Li Lei was going to play 《Metal Slug》 to grind for a completion achievement.

Du Xi, meanwhile, needed to visit her hometown; she hadn’t seen her elders since returning to the country.

“Sounds good.”

“The platform just settled our revenue today, so I’ll send over this month’s salary plus your bonuses.”

The bonuses were the same.

Fifty thousand Yuan each.

As for base salary…

When Li Lei first teamed up with him, the two hadn’t discussed salary at all.

Not only had they not negotiated, neither had even brought it up.

Su Cheng had already decided last night to give Li Lei fifty thousand.

This was far better than doing freelance outsourcing gigs.

With a fifty-thousand-Yuan bonus from 《King of Fighters 2^[2]》, a fifty-thousand-Yuan bonus from 《Metal Slug》, plus fifty thousand Yuan in salary, Li Lei walked away with a clean one hundred and fifty thousand Yuan in his pocket today.

As for Du Xi’s share.

It wasn’t even the turn of the month yet, but Su Cheng settled it early mainly so the two of them would have plenty of spending cash over the weekend.

They could spend it however they pleased.

Su Cheng wanted those working under him to know that effort at Qianhe Studio was rewarded handsomely.

What studio boss handed out money like Su Cheng?

Du Xi, in particular, had especially lucked out.

Returning to her hometown with eighty thousand Yuan, how thrilled would her family be!

Neither of them declined or stood on ceremony.

Li Lei and Su Cheng had a rock-solid bond; money was money, and whatever was given was accepted.

Du Xi’s thirty thousand had already been agreed upon beforehand, and the bonus had been promised.

Why be polite?

Why shouldn’t she take what she rightfully earned?

I traded my damn life for this!

“Yes, exactly, keep that attitude.”

“Boss Du, it’s hard-earned blood and sweat you traded your life for. Why shouldn’t you take it!”

Su Cheng greatly appreciated Du Xi.

Not long after the two departed, Shen Manman arrived late, carrying four cups of milk tea.

“Huh? Everyone left already? My class just ended…”

“Yeah, it’s Friday, and there wasn’t much going on anyway, so I let them take off early.” Su Cheng took a cup of mango pomelo sago and took a generous sip through the straw.

“You’re late. We just finished handing out salaries and bonuses.”

“Ah? Already handed out?” Shen Manman wasn’t quite sure how to respond to Su Cheng.

Back then, she had taken the initiative to approach Su Cheng about joining Qianhe Studio.

As for compensation, the two of them had never discussed it.

Still, Shen Manman’s thought was that even if Su Cheng didn’t pay her a single cent, working for free was fine.

Being able to learn and gain experience from a master like Du Xi would be great for her future career anyway.

Then again…

Qianhe Studio was so successful.

There was no way Su Cheng would leave her empty-handed; no matter how little it was, it would at least cover her living expenses.

Back when she was with Shi Xiaoqiang, no one on the team had received any pay.

He didn’t hand out cash directly, but he bought everyone a top-spec laptop.

Plus, they went out for meals and entertainment every single day.

Whenever they sat down at a restaurant, ten thousand Yuan wouldn’t even cover it.

“Just kidding. Of course there’s a share for you.”

“You won’t get shortchanged working for me.”

Su Cheng asked for Shen Manman’s account information and transferred the money in two transactions.

One was her salary: thirty thousand.

The other was a bonus: fifty thousand.

Su Cheng was using a corporate account now, so every transaction required a note.

Seeing the two payments land in her account, Shen Manman’s jaw dropped in shock.

“Huh?”

“I… I get this much?”

“Did you accidentally type an extra zero…?”

Even with a zero shaved off, eight thousand Yuan would have been a very handsome payout in Shen Manman’s eyes.

The laptops Shi Xiaoqiang bought them had only cost around seven thousand.

With a casual wave of his hand, Su Cheng had sent eighty thousand!

“Li Lei’s was a bit higher. He took home the most today at one hundred and fifty thousand, though that includes the bonus for 《King of Fighters 2》.”

One hundred and fifty thousand!

Heavens!

“I… I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“How much did Sister Du get?”