Chapter 29: Everyone Doing Tasks

“Work eight hours a day with no educational requirements! As long as you can draw, you can earn over ten thousand a month and a hundred thousand a year. Ordinary people can make money just by sitting at home!”

“Is this for real? Why does it look so much like a pyramid scheme or a scam?”

“I think so too. Since when does money just fall from the sky?”

“I don’t know, but this seems to be an official message from Universe Technology. I saw it on their official website too!”

“Holy crap? Is President Zhang always this flashy? This is wild!”

“…”

“…”

Inside the Tieba forums.

Whether it was the “Desert Bicycle” or “Beat the Grass Mud Horse” forums…

This money-making advertisement was being spammed everywhere.

Many people were staring at the post in disbelief, especially when they saw the promise of earning over ten thousand a month or a hundred thousand a year.

The first thought that popped into their minds was…

A free lunch like this seemed a bit unrealistic!

After all!

In 2005, even in Yanjing, truly high-level talents with impressive degrees didn’t necessarily earn ten thousand a month!

And yet, this post…

When they saw clearly that the poster was an official work account, they took a deep breath!

Their second thought was…

What kind of attention-grabbing stunt is President Zhang pulling now?

However, regardless of what they truly thought deep down, countless netizens clicked on the post immediately.

After clicking…

They saw a link!

What the hell? Could the official account have been hacked? This link…

Many netizens immediately recalled a recent notice.

The public security department had issued a fraud warning a few days ago, stating that you shouldn’t click on links from unknown sources because they could leak your personal information!

However, after only a brief moment of hesitation, they all clicked in anyway.

The moment they entered!

“Can you draw? Yes OR No!”

“Are you proficient in using drawing software? Yes OR No!”

“Please download the drawing software!”

“Task 1: Draw a blade of grass…”

“Task 2: Draw a house…”

“Task 3: Draw a handsome guy…”

“Task 4: Draw a beautiful girl…”

“…”

Upon entering, they saw many options and several seemingly random drawing tasks.

Many people who just scribbled randomly found that the software gave no further response, as if it had frozen.

Another group of people, after finishing their drawings and uploading them, immediately received a notification that the task was complete!

Once they finished the tasks, a QQ account belonging to a beautiful girl suddenly popped up.

“Task complete. Please add Xiao Wei’s QQ number…”

“…”

“…”

……………………….

Mumaen Technology.

Ten o’clock at night.

Shen Yi wasn’t sleeping. Instead, he remained in front of his computer, browsing the “Desert Bicycle” and “Beat the Grass Mud Horse” forums.

“Work eight hours a day with no educational requirements! As long as you can draw, you can earn over ten thousand a month and a hundred thousand a year. Ordinary people can make money just by sitting at home!”

Good grief!

This was incredibly eye-catching.

In fact, this post wasn’t just ravaging those two forums; it was appearing in others as well – the “Art Forum,” the “Otaku Forum,” the “Amateur Science Forum¹“…

These popular forums were all filled with these advertisements.

The topic’s engagement had actually surpassed sixty thousand in just a few short hours!

Universe Technology was as boastful as ever!

Ten thousand a month!

A hundred thousand a year – even at Mumaen Technology, they wouldn’t necessarily offer that kind of price to ordinary people!

As for Universe Technology…

What kind of trick was he playing now?

Shen Yi thought for a long time, thinking until he felt like he was going bald, but he still couldn’t figure out what Zhang Yang was trying to do…

As the moonlight shone on his face, he took a deep breath.

For a moment, he felt like he was getting old.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

At that moment…

He heard a knock on his office door.

“Come in…”

Then, he saw Liu Ruohan walk in, her hair tied in a high ponytail and wearing jeans, looking pure and radiant.

“Uncle Shen…”

“Oh, it’s Ruohan.”

“Uncle Shen… I intended to come see you first thing today, but everyone else was so enthusiastic, and there are so many positions in the company. I’ve been familiarizing myself with things until now…”

“Haha, it’s the thought that counts. The sooner you get used to your position, the sooner you can start working…”

Shen Yi looked at the beautiful young woman.

His feelings were somewhat complicated.

Back when the company was first founded, Liu Ruohan was just a little girl barely ten years old.

On the opening day, she had followed behind President Liu, carefully serving tea and water while trying to act like an adult.

He hadn’t expected that so many years would pass in the blink of an eye.

“Uncle Shen, I came here today because I wanted to talk to you about ‘Desert Bicycle’ and the man behind the game, Zhang Yang…”

“Oh? You’ve noticed him too?”

“During this time, I’ve played through all the games from Huaxia’s three major game companies. I understand the current state of games in Huaxia to some extent. In fact, after returning to Mumaen, I’ve found that Mumaen’s current situation isn’t very optimistic… Of course, that’s a conversation for later. Currently, I’m mainly responsible for operations and marketing, so those aren’t within my scope of duty for now… What I want to talk to you about today is this…” Liu Ruohan took out a lot of documents from a folder, then silently glanced at Shen Yi. “Director Shen, I want to poach Zhang Yang. I think this person is a talent. How much money do you think is appropriate?”

“…”

“…”

……………………….

The night was deep.

Zhang Yang and his group of young people were still at their computers, working away with a rhythmic clatter of keys.

Zhong Chongwen and two other classmates were coding the game framework for “Beat the Grass Mud Horse”!

The framework settings for this game were actually very simple; Zhang Yang had already set them up for them.

Zhang Yang was also acting as customer service, chatting with everyone.

Zhang Yang remained stubborn, still using that same profile picture.

After all…

That profile picture was simply invincible.

Even though some of the shut-ins knew it wasn’t really him, they were still incredibly active.

Even the female users were just as enthusiastic. After all, this profile picture really had a way of appealing to everyone, regardless of gender.

You want to talk about copyright infringement?

Tons of people used this kind of internet photo. Was someone really going to sue every single netizen who used it?

If you want to sue, then come at me!

I’m just using it as a profile picture, I haven’t started any other profit-making ventures with it!

At this moment…

Zhang Yang was already on the path of knowingly breaking the law, and he was completely fearless.

“Hello, I’m going to pull you all into a group.”

“Some of you draw plants, some draw animals, some draw storefronts, and some draw the sun…”

“Yes, it’s that simple, that unpretentious. Anything we accept will be used in the game. Once adopted, we will provide compensation, with a maximum daily rate of three hundred yuan!”

“Everyone, please wait a moment. Tomorrow, I will divide you into groups and distribute tasks!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Zhang Yang set up a Q-Dog group.

In an instant, over a hundred people joined the group.

Seeing these hundred-plus people, Zhang Yang divided them into small teams, thirty groups in total.

Then, Zhang Yang set up another Q-Dog group.

Into this Q-Dog group, Zhang Yang invited thirty more people.

These thirty people were the ones who had previously written scripts and been selected as finalists for the awards!

…………………………

July 1st.

Light rain.

Inside Xingxing Internet Cafe.

“Holy crap, my story passed the review!”

“It looks like I’m going to get a thousand yuan in prize money?”

“Oh my god!”

“Not only can my idea earn money, but I can also get a custom-made game scene with dedicated staff working on it?”

“Is this for real?”

“…”

Qian Cai had suffered from insomnia last night!

In the past, he usually headed to the internet cafe around noon to have fun, but today, he rushed into the cafe through the light rain at four or five in the morning.

The first thing he did was open the official website of Universe Technology.

After clicking it open…

He immediately started shouting with excitement, startling many of the netizens who were sleeping in the internet cafe.

They glared angrily in Qian Cai’s direction.

However, they saw that the guy making all the noise was flushed with excitement, looking like he had gone half-mad!

He subconsciously opened Q-Dog.

Not long after…

His eyes widened as he looked at the group he had been assigned to.

“Hello, sir. What kind of elements do you hope to see in your game script?”

“Please specify three things that you feel are absolutely essential in the scene…”

“…”

Soon.

He was placed into a three-person group.

A three-person group.

Qian Cai was stunned for a moment!

Then, he excitedly clattered away at his keyboard, typing out his concepts.

After he listed the three items…

He stared excitedly at the Q-Dog group.

He was fantasizing about what the Q-Dog group would become in the future…

A short while later…

“Very good, thank you for your input and for your support of our company!”

“Please look forward to further updates!”

“Thank you!”

“…”

“…”

He saw a notification appear in the Q-Dog group stating that it had been disbanded.

His eyes widened.

What the heck?

The group was disbanded?

Why did he suddenly have the feeling…

That he was just being used as a tool?

Wait!

Did I just get scammed?

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes