Chapter 166: A "Like" and the Connection to Tengda's Boss!
Moyu Internet Café.
Coffee Area.
A slightly weathered-looking man was slowly sipping a cup of coffee.
A middle-aged man, around fifty years old, entered the café and sat down across from the weathered man.
"President Liu," the weathered man stood up slightly as a sign of respect.
"Sorry I'm late, President Li. Company affairs kept me tied up. But I have to say, this place is really hard to find," President Liu said as he habitually pulled out a cigar.
President Li quickly raised his hand to stop him. "President Liu, no smoking in here."
President Liu paused, surprised. "No smoking?"
He looked around but didn't see any 'No Smoking' signs. However, a young waiter nearby gave him a slightly apologetic smile—it was a non-smoking area after all.
President Liu didn't make a fuss and tucked the cigar back into his pocket.
"President Li, is this the place you mentioned with investment potential?" President Liu glanced around. "It looks like a regular coffee shop."
He paused, then asked with some confusion, "But what's with all these rows of computers?"
President Li took a sip of coffee and smiled. "You don't know the full story, President Liu."
"The owner of this place has some truly forward-thinking ideas. In my opinion, whether it's an internet café, a bar, or a coffee shop, each one individually has a bright future."
"Unfortunately, the owner of this place, for some reason, decided to combine all of those elements into one. As a result, they've ended up dragging each other down, and now the place feels pretty deserted."
President Li went on to explain in detail what he had observed during his time at Moyu Internet Café, including how bustling it had been when Chen Lei was still performing there.
"Unfortunately, after that singer left, the new one didn't have the same appeal. Gradually, the popularity dropped, and now it's almost back to the lifeless state it was in before."
"Still, my evaluation of this place hasn't changed. This high-end approach might just be the future of internet cafés."
President Liu nodded slightly after hearing this.
"So, you're planning to invest in this place?"
President Li took another sip of coffee, full of confidence. "That's right. As an investor, having that kind of intuition is key. President Liu, you're in real estate. I think a high-end model like Moyu Internet Café, if opened in the right location, could have real potential. That's why I asked you here today—to talk about the possibility."
President Liu thought for a moment and quickly grasped the angle: "Hmm, that makes sense. Whether this place makes or loses money isn't the point. If it serves a high-end clientele and helps raise the property value of the whole area, then that's a worthwhile deal."
"Have you already spoken to the owner?"
President Li shook his head. "Not yet. I'm waiting for the right moment."
"This place has only been open for two or three months. I get the sense the owner isn't short on cash. Judging by his aggressive approach, he's probably a bit stubborn and not the type to listen to advice."
"From what I've gathered, even though the place isn't making money, the owner has already sunk more money into it and opened three or four branches across Jingzhou. Someone this hard-headed… is quite rare, honestly."
"Of course, I haven't done any deep investigation. This is just a conclusion based on what I've seen recently."
President Liu nodded in agreement.
To spend three or four million yuan just to open such a quirky and unconventional establishment would definitely draw a lot of criticism. Yet, the store was built anyway—and not just one, but several branches. This clearly showed that the owner wasn't just wealthy but also quite headstrong and decisive.
Otherwise, no one would dare to pull something like this off.
Li Shi continued, "That's why, if I approach him now, I'll most likely get turned down. He won't accept my investment."
"I need to wait—wait until this shop shows no sign of improvement, until all the other branches start hemorrhaging money. Wait until the owner begins to doubt himself and starts thinking of changing direction—"
"That's when I'll step in decisively, offer a large investment, and naturally obtain some level of control."
"Then, President Liu, we can have a proper discussion about collaboration."
President Liu chuckled, neither agreeing nor refusing. "Quite the plan, President Li. But I think this business model still needs more observation."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I'm just a bit more conservative by nature—not like you investment folks, always seeing the long game. But if your plan actually works out, I wouldn't mind revisiting the idea then."
"Of course, it's also possible that you'll end up with nothing. And when someone does come to me for collaboration, it might not be you."
Li Shi took a sip of his coffee with a smile. "No worries, President Liu. I believe there's no reason the owner would reject me."
. . . . . . .
June 18th.
Several of Tengda's games released new updates simultaneously!
The long-awaited player base erupted in celebration—those who needed to buy DLCs snapped them up immediately, those chasing epic weapons rushed to get theirs. While praising "Tengda's generosity," they frantically made purchases, and took the opportunity to bash pay-to-win games all over the forums.
Pei Qian kept scrolling through the forums while monitoring the backend data.
Sales of several DLCs were rising fast—so fast it made his heart race.
Especially Ocean Fortress and its 500 limited-edition Barrett · Destruction. Pei Qian had originally hoped they'd last an entire day, but now it seemed they might not even last an hour.
Players could see that the 500 units were vanishing at lightning speed, which pushed even the hesitant ones to snatch them up without a second thought.
While this surge in numbers made Pei Qian extremely anxious, after doing the math carefully, everything still seemed within expectations.
After going through several settlement cycles, Pei Qian had become increasingly familiar with the system's rules.
To meet the loss requirements, it wasn't necessary to bankrupt the company. Nor did it mean the company had to grind to a halt.
As long as two conditions are met at the moment of settlement, a loss can be registered, and asset conversion is allowed:
At the moment of settlement, system funds must be lower than the initial system funds.
There must be no unreleased products in the week leading up to settlement.
System funds are replenished at the start of each settlement cycle—starting from 50,000 yuan and now reaching 5 million yuan. Whether the previous funds were under or over, it doesn't matter—the system tops it up for free. Use it or lose it.
For this settlement, all Pei Qian needs to do is ensure that system funds are below 5 million yuan. However much it's under, that amount will be converted as a "loss."
Once the settlement is complete, the games will continue making money, and system funds will be replenished again. The company's cash flow won't break. Growth and expansion can proceed as usual—nothing's affected.
What's more, the money spent from the system funds either goes to employees or R&D—it's not just thrown into a black hole.
At this point, Pei Qian no longer cares that much whether a specific project is profitable or not. Just like the recent DLCs—they were clearly going to be profitable, but he still went ahead with them anyway.
It didn't matter. As long as other projects lost enough money and ensured the system funds were below 5 million yuan at settlement, he could still achieve his goal. It didn't have to be a catastrophic loss to count.
And now, the entire plan was going almost exactly as Pei Qian had laid out. Even the last and latest project, Moyu Delivery, had been completed. Although it still had no users, it had technically entered full operation, and therefore no longer counted as an "unreleased product."
Everything was in place. Pei Qian was in a great mood and decided to browse some player praise—aka "rainbow farts."
He casually clicked into a few game forums.
"Ghost General finally got an update! I almost cried when I saw the update news! And we got so many new generals in one go—I'm good for another half a year!"
He clicked another one.
"The Game Producer update gets five stars from me. New voice acting, new scenes—so much heart put into this!"
Then another.
"Even the Lonely Desert Road is getting an update? And it's still just 1 yuan?? I'm shook! I won't even play it, but I'm still buying it. Tengda's amazing!"
And finally—
"Damn you, devs! Fuck you!"
"You bastards! Such a cool epic weapon and you only sold 500 units? I took time off work and found an internet café just to buy it, and now it says 'sold out this month'???"
"Looking to buy an account with the Barrett · Destruction. Serious buyer!"
"Hurry up and restock, you fuckers! I can't wait until next month!"
Pei Qian silently closed the Ocean Fortress comment section.
Cough cough, that tone seemed… a little rougher compared to the others.
<+>
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