Chapter 18: The Modest Goal of Ten Million Gamers

Busy times always pass in the blink of an eye; in just over a month, it was already the end of November.

In Room 602 of the Entrepreneurship Center at Yanhuang University, the entire team of King of Pesticides was present, even Qian Jin, who was usually as elusive as a dragon, had shown up. Each of them wore a smile.

“Everyone, today I have some wonderful news to share: our King of Pesticides has officially passed internal data testing and is ready to launch on the market!” Zhao Dongye’s voice was loud and filled with barely contained joy. He hadn’t expected the development speed of King of Pesticides to be so astonishing, far exceeding everyone’s predictions. Originally, he thought it would be remarkable if the game could launch around this time next year, but to his surprise, in just over a month, the internal testing was already complete.

No one would believe this speed if it were told to them. King of Pesticides is not some simple game—it’s a large-scale MOBA for mobile phones. Its framework, hero design, items, skills, special effects—each aspect is a complex undertaking, with an enormous workload.

If a powerful, well-established network company developed such a game in a month, it might not be so surprising. But this team consisted of only nineteen people, yet they managed to complete the game in such a short time. It was more unbelievable than launching a satellite, but the facts were right before their eyes, impossible to refute.

Yet everyone on the team knew the secret: it wasn’t so strange after all, for the team had a supremely extraordinary member. Li Fu, the all-rounder, could handle anything related to computers, and his speed was simply astounding.

From compiling the game software to designing characters, items, special effects, and skins, Li Fu was involved throughout and was the most critical contributor. His individual speed far exceeded the entire team’s, and most of the game’s work was done by him alone.

Li the Madman—that was the new nickname the King of Pesticides team had given Li Fu. Of course, it wasn’t a derogatory term; on the contrary, it was a heartfelt expression of admiration. The girls in the art and graphics group looked at Li Fu with stars in their eyes, full of adoration.

As for Li Qi, Peng Zhen, Bao Yishan, and the rest of the software development group, they regarded Li Fu as a god—one who could do anything in computer technology. If someone said the Pentagon had been hacked by Li Fu, they wouldn’t find it odd at all.

In just over a month, Li Fu, using his superhuman computer skills and terrifying learning ability, won the team’s absolute admiration—and earned his “madman” moniker.

As soon as Zhao Dongye finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in Room 602. Everyone knew what the completion of internal testing meant: soon, their overtime and hard work would face the market’s scrutiny. Whether they would feast or go hungry depended on the market’s response.

Zhao Dongye raised his hand slightly, signaling he had more to say, his face radiant with excitement.

“From now on, the team’s focus will shift to promoting the game. The critical moment of our entrepreneurial journey has arrived; our game will face the harsh test of the market.”

“Li Fu’s development group will keep refining the game, adding as many heroes as possible and enriching the skins—these will be our main sources of revenue in the future.”

“The rest of us, myself included, will be responsible for marketing. We must make King of Pesticides go viral as quickly as possible. Let’s set a modest goal: ten million users within one month!”

Zhao Dongye was brimming with confidence as he raised his right index finger, boldly declaring the goal of ten million users for King of Pesticides in just one month.

Ten million users was no small feat. Most games could be considered successful with just a few hundred thousand users, but Zhao Dongye ambitiously aimed for ten million in one month—such bravado!

Of course, Zhao Dongye had ample reason for confidence. His optimism stemmed from the most profitable and popular game in online gaming: League of Heroes. As the first mobile MOBA game, Zhao Dongye had conducted detailed market research.

The estimate of ten million was actually conservative. The proliferation of smartphones far surpassed that of computers; everyone has a smartphone—even grandmothers and primary school students—whereas not everyone owns a computer. That’s one reason Zhao Dongye had high hopes for King of Pesticides.

“If we really get ten million users in a month, we’ll be set for life,” Bao Yishan said, his dark face lit up with a smile, dreaming of a better future.

“Haha, absolutely! Yishan, when the game starts making money, everyone’s bonuses will be generous. Maybe you’ll even buy a place in the capital and bring your parents over,” Qian Jin said, as if it were only natural. As a major shareholder, he stood to gain handsomely if the game succeeded. He could already see his five million investment multiplying a hundredfold, a thousandfold.

“Haha, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Whether our game will catch fire is still unknown. While we’re confident, the market is unpredictable.”

“Let’s get moving: those in charge of promotion, get to it; those seeking advertising, get started. I want to see our game’s ads everywhere, as soon as possible.”

...

Because the development period was so short, and with the team working out of Yanhuang University’s Entrepreneurship Center, and all members being students, the development costs were reduced to nearly nothing.

Of the 5.3 million yuan raised for the startup, only about two hundred thousand had been spent; over five million remained for marketing.

Zhao Dongye was both generous and clever, allocating three million for promotion, leaving two million as reserve funds.

Three million was a sizable sum, but for game marketing, it required wisdom. How to make every cent count, and let as many people as possible learn about King of Pesticides, was no easy task.

Advertising on major websites was prohibitively expensive; three million wouldn’t even make a splash, perhaps not even meet their minimum requirements.

But for many specialized small sites and individuals, a few tens of thousands could secure prime ad spots. Wang Wanli, in charge of promotion, focused on these professional gaming sites and individuals.

Moreover, there was another channel—relatively simple and cost-effective, though it required time and manpower—the MOBA gaming communities. These groups are full of loyal fans, and Wang Wanli hired a circle of people to infiltrate thousands of MOBA gaming groups to promote King of Pesticides.

Additionally, another trendy and hot channel was game live streaming. Many influential streamers could spark huge followings just by playing a game—their impact was immense.

...

In a large League of Heroes group called Duck Egg’s League of Heroes Video Squad, there were two thousand members, and the group was highly active—over a thousand engaged members, always a crowd online, frequently organizing internal competitions and even offering prizes.

“@everyone, recently I found a fun new game, similar to League of Heroes, but it’s playable on mobile. Download it and give it a try—soon we’ll organize mobile esports competitions in the group, with generous prizes!”

“I’ve been playing this game lately, and will be posting commentary videos soon. If you want to be featured, don’t miss it!”

A notice appeared in the group, posted by the group owner, Duck Egg—a renowned player in the League of Heroes community, famous throughout the scene, and founder of this group.

...

Tiger Game Streaming Platform was dedicated to game streaming, featuring countless prominent personalities from various games. The hottest, most popular game by far was League of Heroes.

Big Eight God was the most successful League of Heroes streamer, top-ranked in the entire streaming and commentary scene. His daily streams and commentaries drew over two million live viewers at times, with a stable average of around one hundred thousand.

“Today I discovered a great game called King of Pesticides, similar to League of Heroes, but it’s the mobile version. You can play online directly on your phone—a really nice game, worth trying. Let me stream it for you now.”

“This is my first time playing, so I don’t know how it’ll go—plus it’s a mobile game, so the camera work might not be perfect...”

PS: The power outage lasted until 6 pm today, so the update was late. Please forgive me!