Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

He switched on the television and was just in time for the second GPL competition.

Stronghold's downloadable content kept replaying in Qiao Liang's mind as he ate Fish-Catching Take-Out and watched the GPL competition.

"Despicable cliffhanger ending!"

Qiao Liang was confused by the plot, but his gaming addiction was completely aroused.

He suddenly realized that the downloadable content of the few old games that had been updated over the past few months were linked and had something to do with Tengda's new game!

Or it could be said that it was publicity and warm up.

The new downloadable content of The Lonely Desert Road had a new car skin. It was a mini spaceship with a sense of technology. There was also a new game setting on the surface of a dark red planet filled with sand.

There was an assistant in Game Designer, AEEIS. The facts had proven that it was an artificial intelligence in Ocean Stronghold's new plot and was also the voice assistant in Otto Technologies' cell phone.

Ocean Stronghold's new story mode was equivalent to a large-scale plot preview. Qin Yi and this team's mission plot was so random. It must have something to do with the subsequent game plot. The new epic weapon was the standard weapon for the Cloud Sparrow Battle Armor (weakened version).

The only thing he did not know was the connection between Repent and be Saved's downloadable content and the new game. However, it was likely related to the new sci-fi game based on Zergs.

Qiao Liang quickly found the answer online.

Some gamers started playing Repent and be Saved's reincarnation mode the moment the downloadable content was updated. They relied on their exquisite skills and good luck to obtain the reward for completing the game in the reincarnation mode: a set of Zerg-style clothes and weapons.

This set of clothing seemed to be made from the shells of Zergs. The weapon in his hand was a huge, curved, and strangely-shaped Zerg claw.

Compared to the costumes in other games, this set of clothing had good defense and low burden. It was very useful. On the other hand, while the weapon's value was not as perverted as the BUG weapon Pudu, its attack movements were unique and very handy.

At this point, Tengda's new downloadable content was completed. It enriched the gameplay and game content while collaborating with the new game and advertising it at the same time.

Qiao Liang could not help but feel emotional. "Boss Pei is so crafty!"

"These are obviously the models and scenes of the new game. They could be used to make downloadable content for the old game if they were slightly modified. That would save resources and publicize the new game.

"I just want to say… please increase your strength!"

There might be suspicions of saving resources but it was still satisfactory overall. That was because the quality of the downloadable content for this update was indeed very high and the price was very good.

The only thing he was not satisfied with was Ocean Stronghold's downloadable content's cliffhanger ending.

Even though he knew that this was a very good publicity method, it was still very uncomfortable to not see the plot at the end. He could not wait for Tengda's new game to be officially released tomorrow.

One could only say that good works always had a love-hate relationship, making people desire them. If Tengda Games had made trashy games, then no one would not have such high expectations for it.

Qiao Liang casually browsed the gamers' comments online and found that most of the gamers were very satisfied with the update. What's more, they were really looking forward to Tengda's new game.

"The new downloadable content is too good-hearted! Especially the new plot of Ocean Stronghold. It would be no problem for it to sell for about 45 yuan per game. It's akin to giving it away for free!"

"What do you mean free? Didn't they charge 888 yuan for an epic weapon? Whales spend money and commoners benefit from it."

"You might not believe it even if I were to say it out loud. At the moment, the most conscientious FPS game in the country is Ocean Stronghold that sells the 888 yuan Red Kilins. That's ridiculous."

"I feel like Tengda is really playing a huge game of chess. The downloadable content of so many games is all to promote the new game. This new game must be very impressive! Could it be that they invested hundreds of millions on it?"

"Probably not a few hundred million, but the scale is definitely not small from the looks of it. Can any big boss guess what type of game this is?"

"That's hard to say. From the theme, it must be a sci-fi, a war theme between humans and Zergs. Logically speaking, FPS games should be the most likely. However, Ocean Stronghold's downloadable content is already FPS. Wouldn't it be a little repetitive if it were to be made again? It's quite hard to guess."

"I also think that FPS games are the most likely. The other genres are getting rather cold. I don't think it's possible to make them, right?"

"I don't really understand this plot. Did Qin Yi die in the end? Did the decapitation strike succeed? It might look like it succeeded but what does the story want to express if it really succeeded? Something's not right."

"I think it might not have succeeded. There will definitely be a follow-up plot. Just wait patiently."

Many gamers made use of Ocean Stronghold's plot to brainstorm and try their best to find clues left behind by the designer. They also tried to guess the direction of Tengda's new game story.

However, these speculations were not convincing to the players and contradicted the designers' intentions.

However, everyone continued to guess tirelessly. After all, the process itself was quite interesting.

Suddenly, Qiao Liang saw a post. His eyes lit up. "Holy sh*t! I realized that the AEEIS on Otto's cell phone has a special function. It can actually be a match to the lines in the game!"

Qiao Liang was a little surprised. He clicked on the content of the post and realized that the original poster was using Otto Technologies and said a line from Qin Yi in the game to AEEIS on a whim. AEEIS immediately followed up and perfectly replayed the conversation in the game unexpectedly!

There were many replies below. Many gamers who used OTTO cell phones discovered this function as well. Some even said that the AEEIS Fully-Automated Smart Bickering Machine had the same effect, and the effect was better.

"Eh? That's right. AEEIS seems to be part of Boss Pei's plan!"

"Wait, what is the AEEIS Fully-Automated Smart Bickering Machine?"

Qiao Liang also owned an Otto E1 cell phone and had just updated the new system. He did use AEEIS, but because he did not have the habit of using voice assistants and had not taken the time to experience it.

The promotional page of the AEEIS Fully-Automated Smart Bickering Machine was hidden in the application of Otto Technologies' shopping center. Qiao Liang usually did not buy anything in this shopping center, so he would not pay attention to it.

It was only when he saw this post that Qiao Liang realized that Otto Technologies had actually released such a thing.

Qiao Liang clicked into the shopping center with some curiosity and quickly found the Fully-Automated Smart Bickering Machine.

It looked similar to the original bickering machine, but it was obviously much longer and much taller. Its specifications and parameters were clearly written on the product's details page. Strictly speaking, it should be an echo wall.

Qiao Liang could not help but feel shocked. "There's an upgrade? And it's an echo wall?"

He looked at his big television and then at his first-generation bickering machine.

Then, he decisively ordered a new one.

"It just so happens that I need to surround sound when playing games. It's just right for a big television. I'll order one!"

"It actually has the function of exchanging the old for the new to get a discount. That's quite humane."

Qiao Liang looked at the time. It was already night time and it would only arrive tomorrow morning even if the goods were delivered from Jingzhou's local warehouse.

That made him feel a little regretful. He felt that it would have been better if he had discovered this Fully-Automated Smart Bickering Machine earlier.

Wouldn't it have already arrived if he had placed an order at noon?

From the looks of it, he could only try it out tomorrow and then think of a video to introduce it to his fans.

…

…

January 13th, Friday…

Pei Qian was checking on the progress of various tasks in the office.

He had to pay attention reluctantly to the projects now that the exam was finally over even though he felt that it was very troublesome. He had not asked about these projects because he had been busy preparing for the exam.

It was not that he was afraid of something happening, but he was afraid that nothing would happen.

Based on his previous experience,these projects would one day bring a huge amount of System Funds to him if Pei Qian did not care about these projects at all.

Thus, he had to discover it early and treat it early.

It was Friday today, and it was almost the weekend. Pei Qian planned to do a background check on the various projects on Friday, understand the situation, and organize his thoughts. He would rest for two days on the weekend, and welcome the 'high-intensity working conditions' on Monday.

Pei Qian first checked on Qiu Hong's incubation base in Beijing.

Previously, Pei Qian had asked Tang Yishu to make a trip to Beijing. At the same time, he had dealt a heavy blow to Cold-Faced Lady and greatly affected the incubation base. Many bugs had appeared in the independent game that was being developed, and they had no choice but to spend more effort to modify them.

At the same time, the incubation base followed Pei Qian's instructions and organized independent game designers to play games together, greatly delaying their research and development time.

Thus, most of the games that were originally scheduled to be released last month were pushed to the middle and end of this month.

Those with more serious repercussions would skip to the next month or even the following month after the next month.

However, the incubation base was similar to Dream Realization Ventures in the System. These independent game designers were like the start-up companies that Dream Realization Ventures had invested in. Their products were not directly produced by Tengda, and would not affect the settlement.

As long as the incubation base and Dream Realization Ventures were still operating normally and the companies that they invested in were still operating normally and working, the system would be more lax on them. They would not be as strict as Tengda's direct department.

That was also the reason why Pei Qian was increasingly passionate about giving money to others to spend.

Among the many games in the incubation base, only two had been released under pressure. However, from the looks of the current situation, they were far from being successful. The art style of one of them was not pleasing to the eye, and it could be said that no one was interested in it. The other one had a good reputation, but its sales were not good. It was a classic example of good but not good enough.

All in all, he did not earn any money at all. He did not even make back the investment that the incubation base had invested in these two games.

Qiu Hong also felt ashamed. His guilt and lack of confidence could be felt through the work week report.

However, Pei Qian was very satisfied with this.

Great, didn't I say that there are many talents among independent game designers. There would always be people who could make loss-incurring games!

The incubation base was indeed a good idea!

According to Qiu Hong's thinking, there was no need to continue investing resources and time into games that had already been proven to be failures. He would arrange for these two independent game designers to start planning and developing new independent game projects.

Pei Qian decided to give Qiu Hong a call to correct his wrong thinking at that point.

How could he give up on such a good project?

He had to continue investing as much resources as he could! The more he invested, the better!