Chapter 51: What Kind of Power Is This?

Life in South Korea was far from pleasant.

The negotiations had made absolutely no progress.

In Liu Ruohan’s eyes, the people from the official Legend team were out of their minds!

In Huaxia, various cheats for Legend were running rampant, and private servers were beginning to proliferate across the market. Although the Korean side had made plenty of verbal promises, they hadn’t taken any actual action. Instead, they demanded that Mumaen increase the licensing fees, starting with a baseline increase of ten times the original amount!

They were still within the contract’s licensing period.

The previous contract had been signed clearly and explicitly: ten years, with an annual licensing fee of seven million!

When the contract was signed, they had been overjoyed, treating the Mumaen team like honored ancestors¹—or perhaps like suckers.

After all, back then, Legend was the unloved stepchild of the Korean gaming industry and wasn’t making any money at all. When a “big spender” stepped up to take it off their hands, how could they not be happy?

But now…

Seeing Mumaen in Huaxia making hundreds of millions a year off Legend while they only received a few million in licensing fees…

They were blinded by greed and wanted out.

They ignored the messy issues with cheats and private servers, and instead, they wanted to breach the contract and hike the licensing fees.

Of course…

If they had asked for a reasonable increase, Liu Ruohan could have made that decision herself.

But they had demanded more than ten times the original price right out of the gate!

Who could possibly accept that?

Liu Ruohan had already made concessions!

As long as they provided the technical support to solve the private server and cheat issues first, she promised to speak with Liu Zhongshan about a moderate increase in the licensing fees.

But they refused!

They insisted on signing a new contract first, or they wouldn’t do a thing!

When the feedback reached President Liu, Liu Zhongshan flew into a rage and slammed his hand on the table.

He even went so far as to say he wouldn’t add a single cent. His attitude was: take it or leave it.

And so, the matter was deadlocked.

Liu Ruohan knew her father’s temperament. He was a man of his word who never wavered. In any negotiation, he had to maintain control. He hated being blackmailed above all else!

“Agh! It feels like I’m just a translator, acting as nothing more than a megaphone in the middle!”

“Argh! Dammit! This is so frustrating!”

“…”

Liu Ruohan lay on her bed, looking out at the neon lights of a foreign city as she brooded over these messy affairs.

In her frustration, she kept ruffling her hair and gritting her teeth, wishing she could just bite those people to death.

After fuming for a while…

She finally calmed down, opened her laptop, and started listening to music.

She actually quite liked pop music.

She was a fan of the new generation of singers, like Pan Weirong and Zhou Yang.

Not only were they handsome, but they were also great singers.

After listening for a bit…

She felt her agitated mood improve significantly.

Then, she went back to carefully mulling over her work for the following day.

Right then…

She suddenly saw a notification pop up from Qiandu Tieba, which she had left open.

“Shocking: Zhou Yang visits Universe Technology, enters side-by-side with Zhang Yang…”

Her first instinct was to click the ‘X’ to close it, but when she saw the content of the message clearly…

Her pupils constricted!

What was going on?

………………………………

Everyone at Universe Technology was in a state of shock.

It felt like a dream.

Many people rubbed their eyes and then pinched their thighs, staring in disbelief at the door that had just been pushed open.

Their heads were buzzing, and their mouths hung open, unable to close.

Sun Lili felt like she was going crazy!

She saw a handsome young man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, looking incredibly cool as he walked in with a smile.

He was followed by several attendants.

And leading him in was Zhang Yang, who was also smiling.

The visitor seemed to be curiously surveying the entire company, looking somewhat incredulous himself.

The entire office—the rented apartment—fell into a dead silence. Only the whirring of the electric fans could be heard, as if to remind everyone that they were still in reality.

Who was that!

That was…

That was!

That was Zhou Yang!

It really was Zhou Yang!

It’s him in the flesh. I’m not dreaming. He’s a real person, and he actually came to our company?

How could he come to our company!

Why would he come to our company!

Countless questions flooded her mind.

The real Zhou Yang looked exactly like he did on television and in posters!

“Zhou… Zhou… Zhou… Zhou…” Ge Yumiao’s mouth hung open. He was stuttering just like Zhong Chongwen, unable to get the words out for a long time.

“Hello.”

“This is the champion of Universe Technology’s S1 Desert Bicycle tournament, Ge Yumiao—Ge Shen. He is currently the head of our Game Planning Department…”

“I’ve heard of you. Hello, Ge Shen…”

Ge Yumiao felt like his brain was exploding.

He hadn’t expected Zhang Yang to introduce him this way in front of a big star like Zhou Yang.

Champion, Department Head…

The introduction was very proper—it even sounded prestigious!

He used to be just a shut-in internet addict!

“This is Zhao Hang, Manager Zhao. He’s the head of our Art Department…”

“Hello, Manager Zhao…”

“This is Manager Zhong, the person in charge of our Technical Department…”

“This is Manager Wu, the head of our Marketing and Operations Department…”

“…”

“…”

Zhang Yang introduced them to Zhou Yang one by one.

Zhou Yang smiled at them and nodded.

The room was somewhat dim, crowded and cluttered, with the main hall filled with various computers.

Even the bathroom had been repurposed to house various pieces of equipment and servers.

This was the scene that met Zhou Yang’s eyes.

Once Zhou Yang’s group entered, they couldn’t even find a place to sit for a moment.

“Mr. Zhou, this way please…”

Though Zhang Yang felt awkward, he still ushered Zhou Yang and the others into his office.

Well…

It was a room about seven square meters in size.

Inside were a few old-fashioned wooden chairs and stools.

“Mr. Zhou, Ms. Chen, Ms. Li, we… well, this is where we’ve been working until now. We’ve moved to a new office, but the new place is currently being renovated…”

Zhang Yang introduced his new company to everyone.

Zhou Yang’s manager, Li Ziwen, frowned. She felt very out of place in a setting like this.

Chen Weiwei shared a similar, indescribable feeling.

And yet…

She seemed to understand the hardships Zhang Yang had faced.

They quickly headed upstairs.

Once they reached the upper floor, Zhou Yang looked at Zhang Yang with a complicated expression.

“Mr. Zhang, have you all been working here this entire time?”

“Mm, that’s right. Don’t let the size of the place fool you. As the saying goes, a mountain needn’t be high if a celestial dwells there; a pool needn’t be deep if a dragon resides within²…” Zhang Yang maintained his smile as he invited Zhou Yang to sit down.

Zhou Yang seemed moved by the sentiment.

“What was it that brought you all together?”

“Was it a dream?”

“Is your dream to make games?”

“That, I couldn’t say…” Zhang Yang hesitated for a moment, looking down at the people below before shaking his head.

“Oh, I see.” Zhou Yang nodded, scanning his surroundings.

He never would have dreamed that this was a technology company.

He glanced out the window again at the young people working at their desks. Some were stealing cautious, excited, and curious glances toward them, while others remained focused on their screens.

The computers were the oldest style of bulky monitors, and the brands weren’t even consistent.

“Are these second-hand computers?”

“Cough, cough… most of these computers were actually brought in by the employees themselves. Well, basically all of them…” Zhang Yang felt another slight pang of embarrassment.

“What?”

Zhou Yang was stunned.

Chen Weiwei was equally stunned.

They brought their own computers?

This…

She suddenly remembered the scene where Zhang Yang had asked if she could provide computers for free.

This company was dirt poor!

“Just what kind of power do you have to be able to bring them together like this…” Zhou Yang looked down at the floor below, his heart deeply shaken.

He suddenly realized that this trip had been well worth it.

“We just kept moving forward, not thinking about much else…” Zhang Yang said with a smile, his demeanor neither humble nor arrogant.

“Mr. Zhang, that bound manuscript in your hand…”

“Oh, these are all lyrics.”

“What? There are that many?”

“I suppose so.”

“May I have a look?”

“Uh, I can only show you two pages. The others were just finished and I haven’t had time to register the copyrights yet. I hope you understand…”

“I do.”

Zhou Yang watched as the young man pulled out two sheets and handed them over.

He took the manuscript with curiosity.

The moment he saw the lyrics beneath the title “Blue and White Porcelain”…

His entire body trembled!

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes