Chapter 20: A Tremor in the Gaming World

It was already ten o’clock at night. Outside, the cold wind howled and pedestrians hurried along, but inside Room 602 of the Entrepreneurship Center at Yanhuang University, the atmosphere was lively and exuberant. The entire team behind Kings of Pesticide was present, each member visibly animated and gesticulating with excitement.

“Haha, one and a half million! The downloads have surpassed one and a half million!”

Qian Jin’s exuberant voice echoed as if he wanted the whole building to hear. Staring at the number on the monitor, he shouted and cheered in a frenzy. As he liked to say, “I can’t develop games, but I sure can applaud!” When he was happy, he believed in celebrating without restraint.

“Haha, user registrations have also broken the million mark. Looks like our target of ten million players in a month really is a small goal after all.”

Wang Wanli was equally elated. Everyone present understood just what these staggering figures meant.

“Wanli really nailed the game promotion. We spent a mere three million and got the name of our game out there. I bet we’ll hit ten million players in less than a week.”

Zhao Dongye nodded, his face radiating with joy. He’d always thought the game would succeed, but now it was clear it was destined to become a sensation. Achieving over a million users on the first day was unprecedented, even in the entire gaming industry. When the reigning champion, Hero’s Alliance, was first released, the Penguin Group pushed it hard, yet even they found it difficult to reach such heights.

“With the spread of smartphones, the mobile gaming industry has much more growth potential than traditional PC games. Just look at what we’re doing now. Of course, we can’t deny that our Kings of Pesticide is a fantastic game.”

Li Qi nodded along, seeing the rapid rise of mobile games as inevitable. He was convinced they would soon replace PC games and lead the entire industry.

“This isn’t good. With so many players joining at once, our servers have become hopelessly congested. We must rent more servers immediately, or soon our players won’t be able to play.”

Bao Yishan, who had been monitoring the game, flushed anxiously. They had already rented two dedicated servers, but by evening, the full force of Kings of Agriculture was unleashed, overwhelming the servers. The rising trend suggested they’d be packed to capacity soon.

“Haha, contact the server rental company right away. Get this sorted out. We absolutely can’t let something as trivial as server capacity ruin our players’ experience.”

Zhao Dongye wasn’t worried at all; instead, he laughed with delight. Full servers meant lots of players—a good problem for any game developer.

“Dongye, how many servers should we rent? We’re down to just over a million in funds.”

Shen Xi, who handled finances, revealed their remaining capital. Though funds were low, he showed no sign of concern.

“Rent as many as you can. Negotiate for short-term leases if possible, and try to secure as many servers as we can. I suspect we’ll be worrying about this for days to come.”

Zhao Dongye thought carefully, then spoke with a frown.

“But Dongye, if we use all our remaining funds for servers, we’ll have nothing left for cash flow.”

Shen Xi reminded him again. As the financial manager, risk control was essential.

“I know. Don’t worry about the funds. Our game will soon generate profits. The key right now is to provide good service. As more players join, if we don’t ensure a quality experience, what use is saving that money? Invest it all.”

Zhao Dongye nodded, acknowledging the risk, but as the overall leader, he knew when to make decisive choices.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it immediately.”

Shen Xi nodded and began contacting server rental companies.

“We’ve all been working overtime for days. None of us have taken a proper break. Tonight, since Kings of Pesticide has achieved such impressive numbers on its first day, I’ll treat everyone. Let’s go out and celebrate together!”

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Zhao Dongye’s face shone with a hearty smile as he made his generous proposal.

“Yeah!”

“Haha!”

“Woohoo!”

No sooner had he spoken than Room 602 erupted in cheers. Everyone was young, and their celebration was wild and uninhibited, echoing throughout the entrepreneurship center.

“It must be some startup that just got venture funding!”

Cheering like this was common at the center; everyone was used to it and couldn’t help guessing the cause.

Zhao Dongye’s celebration was sincere. First, they went to a karaoke bar to sing at the top of their lungs, releasing the immense pressure of recent days. When they tired of singing, they headed to a famous late-night spot near Yanhuang University for skewers and drinks, partying crazily until the wee hours before dispersing.

...

At nine the next morning, Dong Zhenyun, President of Hero’s Alliance and Vice President of Penguin Group, walked into his office wearing a smile. As a high-ranking figure in both the gaming and internet industries of China, his days were comfortable—especially now, with Hero’s Alliance being the company’s biggest cash cow.

“Mr. Dong, there’s a file you need to see immediately.”

Just as he sat down, his secretary approached with a file, her expression grave. The urgency in her voice made it clear this was something that required immediate attention—she wouldn’t speak so otherwise.

“Hm.”

Dong Zhenyun recognized the urgency and quickly scanned the document. Instantly, his expression darkened and his brows furrowed, now understanding his secretary’s anxiety.

“Call a meeting at once. We need to discuss countermeasures.”

“Contact Mr. Ma for me. I’ll report to him at eleven and discuss this matter.”

After thinking for a moment, Dong Zhenyun issued his orders. His secretary quickly jotted them down and left to carry them out.

“Kings of Pesticide? A mobile version of Hero’s Alliance? I want to see what it’s like.”

While waiting for the meeting, Dong Zhenyun downloaded Kings of Pesticide onto his phone, intending to try it himself and assess its merits.

Despite his executive position, Dong Zhenyun was a gamer at heart. He often played both his own games and those of competitors to experience firsthand their strengths and weaknesses.

“Hoo!”

“We must find a way to acquire Kings of Pesticide, or quickly launch a similar game. With the power of our platform and promotional muscle, we can suppress them. If not, our company risks losing its biggest cash cow.”

After a dozen minutes and a single match, Dong Zhenyun’s expression grew even graver. He realized that Kings of Pesticide was a formidable rival to Hero’s Alliance and could potentially spell its downfall.

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“Mr. Dong, the meeting is ready. We can begin whenever you like.”

His secretary entered to remind him.

“Alright.”

Dong Zhenyun took his phone and documents and headed for the conference room. Inside, his team still wore smiles, but upon seeing his serious demeanor, they quickly sobered.

“Has anyone noticed the new mobile game Kings of Pesticide that launched yesterday?”

Dong Xiaoyun addressed his team, linking his phone to the computer and displaying the data via PPT. His staff looked confused, unsure what this game was.

“This game, Kings of Pesticide, was released just yesterday. In one day, it already has over one and a half million downloads. But that’s not the most important thing—the key point is that it’s a mobile version of Hero’s Alliance.”

Dong Xiaoyun’s voice was strong and grave, as if facing a dire threat. He announced the staggering numbers and the even more alarming facts, making everyone instantly grasp why his mood was so dark.

“Everyone, take out your phones and download Kings of Pesticide. Try it out. This game was developed by a group of students from Yanhuang University. I’ve always told you we need to innovate and maintain a sense of crisis, but where is our innovation?”

“Are we no better than a bunch of college students? The same game—why did they think to bring it to mobile, while we’re still basking in yesterday’s glory?”

“We’re all game developers. We should understand the brutal reality of the industry: if we don’t stay up-to-date, we’ll be eliminated by the times.”

...

Major giants of China’s gaming industry—Meiwan, YiNet, Dasheng, and others—almost instantly obtained the data and information about Kings of Pesticide.

“You all see, right? Innovation means bringing Hero’s Alliance to mobile. That’s innovation. From now on, our company will focus its resources on mobile game development.”

Meiwan’s president lectured his team, frustrated by their lack of progress.

“Over one and a half million downloads on the first day. Look at their numbers, then look at the games we’ve developed. Doesn’t it make you uneasy?”

YiNet’s game president, gesturing to the PPT, passionately scolded his staff.

“Everyone talks about how Hero’s Alliance developers get huge bonuses every year, and you envy them, right? Why haven’t you thought to develop a game like Kings of Pesticide? In just one day, downloads exceeded one and a half million. Remember, this game was built by university students. Innovation, innovation—if we don’t innovate, we won’t even get the scraps.”

Dasheng Game Group’s president’s voice thundered through the conference room, leaving his staff unwilling to lift their heads.

PS: This new book needs your support—collect, recommend, and click as much as possible.

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