Chapter 45: Flaunting "Free"

July 7.
Morning.

The first thing Zhang Yang did after waking up was to check the download numbers for his two games.
The total downloads for Desert Bicycle had finally broken through seventy thousand!
Unfortunately...
Its potential was already exhausted.
Although there were still downloads coming in every day, they were basically trickling in by the dozens...
The total downloads for Beat Up Alpaca had surpassed one hundred and thirty thousand.
The growth rate was very slow now, and data from all fronts indicated that this game's potential was basically reaching its limit.

Of course, this could not compare to ShengTeng Technology. ShengTeng Technology's Human Killing Weapon was still ranked first in total downloads, sprinting toward two hundred and thirty thousand...
Another record for single-player game downloads had been forged.
"ShengTeng Technology is still awesome, truly living up to its backing by Q-Dog..."
"..."

Zhang Yang sighed with emotion for a moment, then took out his phone and glanced at the balance in the company's account.
One hundred and thirty thousand!
This figure brought Zhang Yang some comfort.
Of course, he did not immerse himself in the joy of these numbers; instead, he silently gazed at the morning sun on the horizon.
Not enough.
Far from enough.

After a long while, he stood up, looked at the crude decorations in the room, and instantly fell into deep thought.
In fact, he was facing a problem.
That was the production of his new game.
Although the new game would be a single-player title, it could no longer be a small-scale game with limited content like Desert Bicycle and Beat Up Alpaca.
The few people currently in the company working hard together would definitely not be enough.

dating games.
Actually, such games had existed on the market for a long time.
Sales were actually quite decent.
Never underestimate the energy of otaku and hikkikomori.
To truly stand out, one had to make the game more polished and immersive.
In a sense, it was a game defined by visual and sensory settings; players needed to see the most wonderful and longed-for things in their hearts.
The settings, the visuals, and various accidental plot points all had to be pursued to the absolute extreme.
These things were crucial!
Only by pushing these elements to the absolute limit could you give the players a sense of immersion...
And make them more willing to play.

To achieve this extremity, it required more complex programming, as well as more character art and design drawings. Furthermore, these drawings had to be as detailed as possible; if they could be detailed down to every single strand of hair, that would be even better.
The more detailed the work, the greater the workload, and the greater the workload, the more manpower was needed.
The current rented apartment was far too crude and much too cramped.
Even if just one or two people were added, the entire company would feel bursting at the seams.
After all, this was a two-story residential rental house.
"It looks like we need to move the company again!"
"Sigh..."
"This time, it's really going to cost a lot of money..."
"..."

Zhang Yang let out a faint sigh.
His mood suddenly felt somewhat heavy and congested.
Just as Zhang Yang was about to go downstairs for breakfast, he heard the sound of barking dogs coming from beneath his window...
Subconsciously, Zhang Yang looked toward the window.
Then...
He saw his landlord, Bao Qiang, holding a dog on a leash in one hand while eating a hand-pancake in the other, wearing slippers, carrying a bunch of keys, and walking forward with a bored and listless expression.

Alright.
Brother Bao Qiang had woken up super early again, ready to collect rent.
Seeing Bao Qiang made Zhang Yang's mood even more congested.
People like them had no pride, racking their brains day and night, working themselves to the bone just to earn a little money...
And Bao Qiang!
To give his rent collection some sense of ritual at work, this guy personally came over every single time the lease was up.
And what's more!
This jerk didn't collect it annually; he collected it once a month...
So many tenants, so many properties.
Zhang Yang could see him strolling around the entrance of the alley almost every day with a bunch of keys in his pocket, walking through the streets and alleys...
Comparing oneself to others truly made one want to die of anger...
For some reason, Zhang Yang felt like Brother Bao was his nemesis.
He could chat with others about dreams, money, the future, and market trends...
As long as they were ordinary people, Zhang Yang could always find the weaknesses in their human nature and figure out ways to conquer them.
But facing Bao Qiang!
This guy spent his days in shorts and slippers with a dog, radiating an aura of lonely supremacy.
How were you supposed to deal with that?
Were you certain you weren't envious?

Two hours later.
"Director Zhang, originally my plan for the seventh and eighth floors of that office building was a total annual rent of one hundred and twenty thousand, and I was ready to raise the price a bit following the market trend. However, seeing that Director Zhang is young, promising, and has a limitless future, I won't raise the price this year. Oh, and I'll throw in the matching dormitory rooms next door for free."
"..."
"Rent is collected monthly. When the time comes each month, I'll come over to collect it. You sign the contract first, then give me a twenty-thousand-dollar deposit..."
"..."
"Here are the keys. You can mess around with the place however you want... As long as you don't knock down the load-bearing walls."
"..."
"Oh my, Director Zhang, you guys go ahead and get busy, I'm going out to continue collecting rent."

After Zhang Yang signed the contract, watching Bao Qiang cheerfully walk away while still holding his dog on a leash, he felt an unspeakable, aching sensation in his gut.
He had indeed inspected Bao Qiang's office building. Each floor was over three hundred square meters, making six hundred square meters in total for two floors.
Seventy or eighty thousand a year...
The location of the office building was also quite good, considered a relatively bustling spot in the central district, and it was indeed worth the price...
Moreover, Bao Qiang was throwing in the dormitory rooms today. Although the dorms were a bit subpar, they were at least better than so many people crammed into a small space right now.
However...
Comparing people really made one want to die of anger.
Some people dreamed of reaching Rome!
While others...
Freaking born right in Rome.

Finishing the office rental wasn't the end of it; Zhang Yang also had to equip all the core personnel with computers that cost at least around ten thousand each.
After all!
He couldn't possibly let everyone keep using the personal computers they had brought themselves, right?
Currently, there were five core members, which meant fifty thousand right there!
And more computers would be needed later on!
Damn it!
Where was the money going to come from?
Calculating it this way...
Should they outsource first?
Outsourcing was feasible for the time being, but outsourcing also required money, and likely even more money...
Oh, dear.
Money, money, money!

Zhang Yang suddenly felt a chest-clutching pain so severe he could barely breathe.
"Sigh, Director Zhang, do I ever stand a chance in this lifetime to be as carefree as Brother Bao! Once I make some money in the future, I'm going to buy a house..." Zhao Hang, the head of the art department, looked at Bao Qiang's vanished figure outside the window and suddenly let out such a sigh.
"Yeah, once you make money in these few years, you definitely have to buy a property. Other investments might not necessarily be as profitable as buying real estate..."
"Um... Oh right, Director Zhang, you called me over because..."
"Now that the new company space is rented, and the equipment is on schedule, it's about time we cast our net..."
"Huh? Cast a net? What net?"
"When we made Beat Up Alpaca earlier, didn't we specially issue certificates and bonuses to those art masters? You have their information on hand, right?"
"Yes."
"Contact the group with the highest bonuses, and ask them if they'd be willing to take on a job paying ten thousand a month, twelve hundred thousand a year. If they are willing, tell them to come to work tomorrow. Oh, and I heard there are quite a few very pretty girls judging by their photos, right?"
"Yes!"
"Even better, the company is lacking a few easy-on-the-eyes young women right now. Oh right, you also have the contact info of those netizens who are exceptionally good at programming, right? Contact them as well..."
"..."

Seeing Zhang Yang look out the window with an extremely profound gaze in his eyes, Zhao Hang froze!
Then, sudden realization dawned upon him!
At that moment!
He finally understood why Zhang Yang had been so obsessed with collecting this network information, giving out bonuses, and issuing award certificates!
So...
He was picking talent from among them, and then...
Wait!
Starting from Desert Bicycle, Director Zhang had been casting his net to catch fish under the guise of bonuses!
Geng Yumiao, Qian Cai, and those people weren't...
Just fish that had been scooped up?
Furthermore, the netizens who received the bonuses and certificates already held a very favorable impression of the company, feeling that it was extremely reputable and possessed a discerning eye for talent!
Wasn't this...

After Zhao Hang left, Zhang Yang silently looked out the window.
His mind remained fixed on that batch of computers.
Finally...
He turned on a computer and pulled up the contact information of major computer brand manufacturers from the internet.
When he flipped to one particular computer manufacturer...
He hesitated for a moment.
………………………………

Headquarters of Bluebird Computer Company.
Liu Ying, head of the commercial department, meticulously handled various business affairs.
As a newly established domestic computer brand company, the firm had always wanted to find a spokesperson to promote the brand.
Just as she was staring at the celebrity Zhao Yiman, preparing to talk things over with her, she suddenly received a phone call.
"Hello?"
"Hello?"
"Oh, oh, oh, it's Director Zhang! Director Zhang, hello, hello..."
"Hmm?"
Liu Ying listened to the voice on the phone in a daze.
Finding it somewhat hard to believe.
"Hello, Ms. Liu. I hold immense respect for your company's entrepreneurial journey, and I feel that your company's entrepreneurial and operational philosophy align with mine. I am particularly in awe of President Chen; as a woman under thirty years of age, being able to brave such immense pressure to embark on entrepreneurship in this era and forge ahead despite every obstacle is in itself something worthy of deep respect!"
"..."
"To express our admiration and respect for your company... we are willing to design a game for your company free of charge! And we will bundle it with your company's computers for simultaneous promotion for free. We will also base the game's style on President Chen as a personal prototype, incorporating your corporate philosophy and business scenes..."
"..."

(Thanks to Legend of the Paladin, um, thanks to Naiqi for becoming the patron saint of this book! Bowing, ying ying...)
(End of this chapter)