Chapter 171: Lin Wan + Shangyang Games = ?
"President Pei, to what do I owe the pleasure…"
On the phone, Zhou Muyan's voice sounded a bit weak and listless.
Since their last meeting in Guangzhou at the end of last year, Pei Qian and Zhou Muyan had not contacted each other again.
Mainly because the performance gap between Ocean Fortress and Bullet Hole had grown too wide, making their already fragile relationship even more strained.
Ocean Fortress had become the undisputed #1 domestic FPS game, with a massive user base that was still expanding. Its main competitor had even shifted from other domestic FPS games to Counter-Terrorism Plan.
Meanwhile, Bullet Hole, despite its overwhelming publicity in the early days, saw a gradual decline in popularity. Although it was still maintaining a stable user base and remained profitable, it fell far short of Zhou Muyan's expectations, and the gap between the two titles kept widening.
The two games had completely different design philosophies. When Tenda visited Tianhuo Studio for an inspection, Zhou Muyan had proudly shared Bullet Hole' design approach with everyone.
At that time, he had been full of confidence.
And Pei Qian had sat in the audience, smiling, nodding constantly, eyes full of praise and admiration.
But now Zhou Muyan knew—it had all been an act!
When Ocean Fortress first launched, Zhou Muyan wasn't too concerned. But as its numbers kept soaring, he began to realize something was wrong.
A little digging revealed that Ocean Fortress had been developed almost concurrently with Bullet Hole, and when Tenda came to inspect Tianhuo Studio, Ocean Fortress was already nearly complete!
Zhou Muyan felt a chill run down his spine.
Pei Qian had clearly seen the flaws in Bullet Hole but had still sat there nodding as if everything was fine.
Too calculating!
So afterward, Pei Qian didn't dare contact Zhou Muyan, for fear that Zhou Muyan would think he was rubbing salt in the wound.
And Zhou Muyan had absolutely no intention of contacting Pei Qian—he couldn't stand the embarrassment.
That's why it wasn't until now that they spoke again.
As for why Zhou Muyan even answered the call?
Well... he still had to give President Pei some respect.
After all, Tenda was now officially praised by government media and had real clout in the industry. Zhou Muyan couldn't afford to make an enemy out of Pei Qian on purpose.
Still, his tone clearly carried reluctance.
Pei Qian could feel the resentment on the other end and was afraid of saying anything that might further wound Zhou Muyan's fragile pride, so he got straight to the point.
"President Zhou, sorry to bother you. I just wanted to ask—do you know Lin Wan's background?"
Zhou Muyan paused for a second.
Of course he knew Lin Wan's background. The day after she joined Tianhuo Studio, the Shenhua Corporation president's office personally called Zhou Muyan.
If he remembered correctly, Lin Wan had already been working at Tenda for several months.
Wait…
Does that mean President Pei STILL doesn't know who Lin Wan is?
That… doesn't make sense?
Zhou Muyan was stunned and asked, "President Pei…. You mean… you don't know?"
That single line sent a deeper chill through Pei Qian's heart.
Zhou Muyan's response clearly confirmed that Lin Wan's background was extraordinary.
Pei Qian cleared his throat and said,
"President Zhou, to be honest, I've run into a bit of a problem. I'm hoping you might lend me a hand. I'd be extremely grateful!"
Zhou Muyan quickly replied,
"Oh no, President Pei, I wouldn't dare! If there's anything you need, just ask—I'll tell you everything I know!"
Pei Qian asked,
"Could you tell me in detail what Lin Wan's relationship is with her family, and why she entered the gaming industry?"
Zhou Muyan found it a bit puzzling.
President Pei doesn't even know that?
So the Shenhua Corporation's executive office never contacted him?
That was... strange.
Still, Zhou Muyan didn't overthink it and told Pei Qian everything he knew, honestly and thoroughly.
Lin Wan was the youngest daughter of Shenhua Corporation's president, Lin Zhengnan. She had one older sister and two older brothers.
After graduating, because of her passion for video games, she sought out a job at Tianhuo Studio on her own.
It was clear that Lin Zhengnan was very much against her working in the gaming industry. But since Lin Wan was stubborn and strong-willed, and Lin Zhengnan didn't want to damage their relationship, he called Zhou Muyan personally, hoping Lin Wan's gaming dreams would quickly be shattered, so she'd return to work at Shenhua Corporation.
"That's about all I know, President Pei," Zhou Muyan said sincerely. "As for why they never contacted you… I really have no idea."
Pei Qian fell silent for a moment, then asked:
"What about Lin Wan's relationship with her brother—Lin Zhou, the one in charge of Shenhua Real Estate?"
Zhou Muyan replied:
"I heard it's just her relationship with her father that's strained. As for her brother Lin Zhou, they seem to get along quite well."
Pei Qian's heart sank.
It all lined up.
It had to be Lin Wan who got her brother Lin Zhou to waive Tenda's rent. No doubt about it.
Pei Qian asked with genuine desperation,
"So… President Zhou, what do you think it would take to get Lin Wan to leave the gaming industry… and go back to inheriting her billions?"
Zhou Muyan thought for a moment, "Probably… you'd have to make her completely disappointed in the gaming industry."
Pei Qian fell silent again.
That was… ridiculously difficult.
The worst part was, this completely contradicted Pei Qian's actual goals.
He wanted to spend more money, which meant he had to offer better employee benefits. But the better the benefits, the more Lin Wan would think Tenda was an amazing company—and the less willing she'd be to leave.
Wasn't this a complete paradox?
And right now, it was just about waived rent. Who knew what kind of favors this little heiress might pull off next?
"Thank you, President Zhou. I'll organize a team-building trip someday and make sure to stop by Guangzhou to thank you personally."
Pei Qian thought, 'Old Zhou is pretty solid. These insights were crucial.'
But Zhou Muyan was speechless.
'Visit me again? What—to dig up my corpse and whip it?'
Then he cautiously asked,
"President Pei, may I ask… did Lin Wan do something unforgivable at your company?"
Pei Qian was silent.
He didn't know how to answer that.
Logically, after Zhou Muyan had shared everything so openly and sincerely, it wouldn't feel right to dodge the question, lie, or change the subject.
After a pause, Pei Qian replied:
"She… lowered our office rent from four yuan per square meter to one point five."
Zhou Muyan:
"???"
…
After hanging up, Pei Qian felt the situation had never been more dire.
The first thing he did was check the lease contract for Moyu Internet Café, and after confirming that it had nothing to do with Shenhua Real Estate, he finally relaxed a little.
Thank goodness.
The locations of the Moyu Internet Cafés were all in remote areas, and all chosen to be standalone buildings. Meanwhile, Shenhua Real Estate preferred to buy land in central commercial districts, focusing mostly on high-end office buildings or residential zones.
So the locations Pei Qian picked for the Moyu Internet Cafés had conveniently avoided Shenhua Corporation's properties.
If the rent for the Moyu Internet Cafés had also been waived, Pei Qian might have actually coughed up blood.
Now the real problem was: what to do with Lin Wan.
Letting things continue unchecked? Absolutely not. She was a ticking time bomb.
Using overly forceful methods to kick her out? That was even worse. If he did it too obviously, someone would notice.
Even Lin Zhengnan, the president of Shenhua Corporation and Lin Wan's own father, couldn't do anything with her. Pei Qian had even less of a chance.
If Lin Wan's stubborn streak kicked in, things could quickly spiral out of control.
The only viable option, just as Zhou Muyan said, was to somehow make Lin Wan lose interest in the gaming industry herself.
But judging by her performance at Tenda—working diligently, taking on thankless tasks, never showing off—she didn't seem like one of those spoiled rich kids who had high expectations and low tolerance for adversity. Otherwise, there's no way she could've hidden her identity for this long without anyone noticing.
People like her are usually extremely determined once they've set their sights on a goal.
If some external factor caused her to fail, it probably wouldn't break her spirit—it would just make her even more defiant, eager to try again.
Tough problem indeed…
Pei Qian thought for a long time—and then suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his mind.
Wait a minute—could that Shangyang Games he'd bought as junk be useful now?
Up until now, Shangyang Games had been kept pretty much in its original state since he'd acquired it.
And judging by its current operations, the studio was still bleeding money.
If Lin Wan was put in charge of a doomed project, and it inevitably failed, she might start to doubt her own abilities, or even question the entire gaming industry.
Then, he could happily go back to spending money, while Lin Wan returned home to inherit her billions. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?
Pei Qian thought this idea was excellent.
As expected, so many "setups" really do get planted without you even realizing it.
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 206: The Intel Released by President Pei[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/137696874?collection=1399284[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/137696874?collection=1399284
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/137696874?collection=1399284
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded