Chapter 11: Old Zhang’s Ideal

That evening.

Using his prize money, Su Cheng booked a private room outside and treated Li Lei and Old Zhang to a hearty meal.

“Barring any surprises, you’ll officially enter Supernova next week, competing on the same stage against other game developers from across the country.”

“Don’t worry about the scheduling, though. Before the finals, you don’t need to waste time showing your face. Just do whatever you need to do.”

“What are your plans next?”

Zhang Shunping asked Su Cheng.

“Go to class properly and study hard.”

Zhang Shunping didn’t believe him for a second.

Both King of Fighters 1 and King of Fighters 2 were of high quality; relying on those two games alone was enough to buy an apartment in Yezhou.

Su Cheng definitely wouldn’t stop here.

Still.

Zhang Shunping wasn’t going to say anything.

He couldn’t exactly push Su Cheng’s head down and force him to study.

To that end, Zhang Shunping gave Su Cheng a special pass.

“It’s fine. As long as you pass your exams and don’t fail any classes, you don’t even have to come to lecture.”

“I’m actually a very open-minded teacher.”

Huh?

Hearing this.

Li Lei couldn’t keep his mouth shut anymore, blurting out everything about him and Su Cheng starting a game studio.

Su Cheng rolled his eyes at Li Lei.

Without Old Zhang, they really might not have beaten 《Romance of the Three Kingdoms》.

Old Zhang had some real capability, and he had no reason to harm Su Cheng, so finding out was no big deal.

“Teacher Zhang, I wanted to ask how long Supernova usually takes to wrap up, and whether I can release the game in the meantime.”

This was the question Su Cheng was most curious about.

“Of course you can.”

“Old Tang’s side did that on purpose. Go ahead and publish it as planned; it won’t affect a thing.”

“Releasing it might even increase your chances of winning the national championship!”

Old Zhang felt deeply satisfied.

He never imagined that in his lifetime, such a remarkable student would emerge under his wing.

At the same time, Old Zhang shot Li Lei a pointed sidelong glare.

When he first learned that the individual champion of the national programming contest had been admitted directly to Ye University and chosen him as a mentor, he had been quite thrilled.

Yet Li Lei’s performance had clearly demonstrated what it meant to completely slack off.

Aside from taking freelance outsourcing jobs, he did nothing else.

Old Zhang had urged Li Lei not to squander his talent, but every time, the kid would nod along agreeably in person while taking on contract work even more frantically behind his back.

Teaming up with Su Cheng on a studio was at least striving toward his future career.

That was a good thing.

The key issue was that Li Lei’s awareness simply wasn’t on Su Cheng’s level.

“Su Cheng, I’ve never asked you this before.”

“Why did you choose this industry, and what are you making games for?”

Su Cheng didn’t hesitate.

“To make money.”

“To make money?”

“Yeah, to make money.”

“To make lots and lots of money.”

Old Zhang frowned slightly.

Su Cheng didn’t beat around the bush; he spoke his mind plainly, straightforward to a fault.

Old Zhang actually rather liked that.

Why did so many people choose to major in finance?

Most did so because their family background was poor or average, and they just wanted to make more money.

Zhang Shunping came from the countryside, so he understood the hardships of ordinary life.

Without money, how could anyone talk about ideals?

Those from wealthy families could, like Shi Xiaoqiang, the son of a gaming giant.

Those from poor families were still saddled with student loans, like Su Cheng.

If you tried preaching ideals to someone like him, getting cursed out would be entirely expected.

To accomplish great ambitions, one first had to fill one’s belly.

There was nothing wrong with Su Cheng’s mindset.

Besides, even though the gameplay mechanics in Shi Xiaoqiang’s 《Romance of the Three Kingdoms》 were truly novel and innovative, they were still ultimately aimed at squeezing players’ wallets.

Someone that wealthy was already out raking in cash, so why expect Su Cheng to chase lofty ideals?

Even so.

As an educator, especially one who had transitioned from a tech giant into teaching, Zhang Shunping still hoped his students would carry at least a sliver of ambition, rather than becoming completely obsessed with and corrupted by money.

Old Zhang didn’t take the moral high ground to dictate goals for Su Cheng or lecture him on the true purpose of making games.

It all came down to Su Cheng realizing it on his own.

Su Cheng had good character; he was a fine student.

He believed that one day, Su Cheng would understand.

Old Zhang was a good person.

Otherwise, Su Cheng wouldn’t have agreed to enter Supernova in the first place.

“Drink, drink up!”

…

That same night.

Once the video of the Supernova preliminary round was uploaded, the entire internet exploded.

The contest at Ye University stirred up quite a buzz, and netizens everywhere were passionately discussing it.

“Developing King of Fighters 2 just to debut it at Supernova really blew my mind.”

“Couldn’t he just compete with 《King of Fighters》? Are they messing around?”

“So the developer of 《King of Fighters》 really is a college student?”

“That settles it, I’m applying to this university and picking the exact same major!”

“Hold on, hear me out first. From what I know, Su Cheng originally intended to enter with 《King of Fighters》, but they added a last-minute rule stating that released games couldn’t compete, so he was forced to enter with King of Fighters 2.”

“??? What kind of rule is that? Sounds like deliberate suppression to me!”

“That’s awful, guess I’ll reconsider applying there after all.”

“Wait a second, shouldn’t we be thanking that judge? Otherwise, 《King of Fighters: The Gathering of Clouds》 wouldn’t have been made so quickly.”

“Ah, right, right, right! Looking at it from that angle, it actually makes sense.”

“I think I saw my high school classmate in the video. He won a programming award before. Never would’ve guessed King of Fighters was his work!”

“Just a reminder: King of Fighters was made by Su Cheng alone, not the guy beside him. King of Fighters 2 was co-developed by the two of them, with the other guy serving as lead programmer.”

“Ye University student reporting in! Today was insanely exciting. One of the other contestants was Shi Xiaoqiang, the son of the head of Chaoren Network.”

“Holy crap, did he get laser eye surgery? I almost didn’t recognize him.”

“Apparently, he got his eyes done right after breaking up with his ex.”

“I wouldn’t have noticed if you guys hadn’t pointed it out. That really is Shi Xiaoqiang!”

“No wonder that 《Romance of the Three Kingdoms》 had such a familiar flavor; it carries his dad’s style all over it!”

“Now you’ve got my attention. Blocking 《King of Fighters》 from competing was really just to protect Shi Xiaoqiang.”

“The gameplay of 《Romance of the Three Kingdoms》 is quite innovative compared to other games, and it really is pretty solid. It definitely holds its own on stage, but going up against 《King of Fighters》, it’s hard to say.”

“From a professional standpoint, 《Romance of the Three Kingdoms》 is already a successful online game, but running into 《King of Fighters》 was definitely rotten luck for him.”

“Unlucky my foot! Shi Xiaoqiang brought in his dad’s top lieutenants to develop 《Romance of the Three Kingdoms》, all of them top-tier veterans in the gaming industry. Calling in ringers like that is completely unfair to everyone else.”

“Exactly. The game is good, but it broke the rules and regulations. Disqualifying him was totally justified.”

“The two judges arguing had me dying of laughter! The Supernova organizers didn’t even cut that part out. Did they leave it in on purpose for dramatic effect?”

“Hahahahaha!”

“I really love the Three Kingdoms setting. Honestly, I’m super interested in Shi Xiaoqiang’s 《Romance of the Three Kingdoms》. Wonder when it’ll launch. Looks like it’ll require some grinding, and probably spending some money too?”

“Some money? Take a look at the mechanics he designed. Which one doesn’t cost cash? Saying ‘some money’ is being way too conservative.”

“Well… how should I put it, did you only just realize that now?!”