Chapter 1 Watching the Game

Turning on the TV, Qiao Liang managed to catch the second game of the GPL.

While eating his slacking-off takeout and watching the GPL match, Qiao Liang's mind was still filled with the plot of the "Sea Fortress" DLC.

"Damn cliffhanger!"

The plot left Qiao Liang utterly bewildered, but it also completely ignited his gaming addiction.

He suddenly realized that the several old games that had been updated intensively in the past few months all had DLCs that were related, all of which were linked to Tenda's new game!

Or rather, they were promotions and previews.

The "Lonely Desert Highway" DLC update included a new vehicle skin, a futuristic micro spaceship, and a new game scene on the surface of a dark red planet covered in gravel.

"Game Producer" had a wisecracking assistant, Aeeis, which turned out to be the same AI in the new "Sea Fortress" plot and Otto's phone's voice assistant.

The new story mode in "Sea Fortress" was essentially a large-scale story preview. Qin Yi and his team's mission felt abrupt and unfinished, which meant that it was definitely related to the subsequent game's story. The new epic weapon was the standard-issue weapon (weakened version) of the Yun Que combat suit.

The only DLC whose connection to the new game was still unknown was "Turn Back is the Shore," but it would most likely be related to the new Zerg-themed science fiction game.

Qiao Liang quickly found the answer online.

Sure enough, some players had started speedrunning the reincarnation mode of "Turn Back is the Shore" as soon as the DLC was updated. With their superb skills and good luck, they obtained the reincarnation mode completion reward: a set of Zerg-style armor and weapons.

This armor seemed to be pieced together from Zerg shells, and the weapon was a huge, curved, and oddly shaped Zerg claw.

Compared to other outfits in the game, this one had decent defense and low weight, making it very useful. While the weapon's stats weren't as broken as the "Pudu" weapon, its attack animations were unique and felt great to use.

At this point, Tenda's new round of old game DLC updates was complete. While enriching the gameplay and content, the most important thing was to connect them with the new game, drumming up enough advertising.

Qiao Liang couldn't help but sigh, "President Pei is so cunning!"

"These are clearly models and textures from the new game, slightly modified for use in the old games' DLC, saving resources and promoting the new game at the same time."

"To this, I can only say... please do it more!"

While it seemed like a way to save resources, it was generally satisfying because the quality of the DLC update was indeed very high, and the price was very reasonable.

The only unsatisfactory thing was the cliffhanger ending of the "Sea Fortress" DLC storyline.

Although he knew it was a good promotional tactic, not being able to see the rest of the story was very frustrating, making him wish Tenda's new game would be officially released tomorrow.

It could only be said that good works were always both loved and hated, irresistible. If Tenda only made garbage games, people wouldn't have such high expectations.

Qiao Liang browsed some of the players' comments online and found that most players were very satisfied with the update, and the anticipation for Tenda's new game could be said to be unprecedented.

"The updated DLCs are too generous! Especially the new storyline in 'Sea Fortress.' It could easily sell for 45 as a standalone game, but it's basically free!"

"How is it free? Didn't they release an 888 epic weapon? This wave, this wave is for whales to spend money, and for ordinary players to benefit from it."

"You might not believe it, but the most generous FPS game in the country is actually 'Sea Fortress,' which sells the 888 Fire Kirin. It's outrageous."

"I feel like Tenda is really playing a big game. All the DLCs for so many games are promoting the new game. How impressive must this new game be! Could it be the kind with hundreds of millions invested?"

"Hundreds of millions is unlikely, but judging by this scale, it's definitely not small. Can any big shots guess what type of game it is?"

"That's hard to say. The theme is definitely science fiction, a war between humans and the Zerg. Logically, an FPS game is the most likely, but the 'Sea Fortress' DLC is already an FPS. Wouldn't that be a bit repetitive if they did another one? It's hard to guess."

"I also think an FPS game is the most likely. Other genres are a bit too niche, so they probably wouldn't do them, right?"

"I didn't quite understand the story. Did Qin Yi die in the end? Was the decapitation operation successful? Although it seems like it was successful, what is the story trying to express if it really was? Something doesn't feel right."

"I think it's very likely that it wasn't successful. There will definitely be a sequel. Just be patient and wait."

Many players used the story of "Sea Fortress" to let their imaginations run wild, trying to find clues left by the designers and using them to guess the possible story direction of Tenda's new game.

But none of these guesses were convincing to the players and contradicted the designers' original intentions.

However, everyone still enjoyed guessing, as the process itself was quite interesting.

Suddenly, Qiao Liang saw a post that caught his eye: "Holy crap! I discovered that Aeeis on Otto's phone has a special function! It can actually recite lines with me!"

Qiao Liang was a little surprised. He clicked on the post and read it carefully. The poster was using an Otto phone and, on a whim, said a line that Qin Yi said in the game to Aeeis. To his surprise, Aeeis immediately responded, perfectly replicating the dialogue from the game!

The replies to the post quickly piled up. Many players using Otto phones also discovered this function, and some said that the Aeeis Fully Automatic Intelligent Wisecracking Machine had the same effect, and it was even better.

"Hey? That's right, this Aeeis seems to be part of President Pei's plan too!"

"Wait, what's the Aeeis Fully Automatic Intelligent Wisecracking Machine?"

Qiao Liang himself also had an Otto E1, which had just been updated with the new system. He had used Aeeis a little, but since he wasn't in the habit of using voice assistants, he hadn't had a chance to explore it in depth.

As for the promotional page for the Aeeis Fully Automatic Intelligent Wisecracking Machine, it was hidden deep within the Otto Phone Store app. Qiao Liang didn't usually buy things from this store, so he hadn't paid attention to it.

It wasn't until he saw this post that Qiao Liang realized that Otto Technology had actually released such a thing.

With a hint of curiosity, Qiao Liang immediately clicked into the store to check it out and quickly found the Fully Automatic Intelligent Wisecracking Machine in a prominent position.

The design was similar to the original Wisecracking Machine, but it was noticeably taller, with a clear description of its specifications and parameters on the product details page. Strictly speaking, it should be a soundbar.

Qiao Liang couldn't help but be shocked: "There's an upgraded version? And it's a soundbar?"

He looked at his big TV and then at his first-generation Wisecracking Machine.

Then, he decisively ordered a new one.

"It's perfect for surround sound when I'm gaming, and it'll go great with the big TV. Order!"

"There's even a trade-in program where I can get some money for the old Wisecracking Machine. That's pretty considerate."

Qiao Liang looked at the time. It was already late at night, so even if it was shipped directly from the warehouse in Jingzhou, it wouldn't arrive until tomorrow morning.

He felt a little regretful, thinking that he should have discovered the Fully Automatic Intelligent Wisecracking Machine sooner.

If he had seen it at noon and ordered it directly, wouldn't it have already arrived by now?

It looked like he could only experience it tomorrow and then consider making a video to introduce it to his fans.

...

...

January 13th, Friday.

In the office, Pei Qian was checking on the progress of various projects.

Although he found it troublesome and unwilling, he had been busy preparing for exams and hadn't paid attention to these projects. Now that the exams were finally over, he had to take a look.

It wasn't that he was afraid of something going wrong, but that he was afraid of nothing going wrong.

Based on previous experience, if Pei Qian completely ignored these projects, they would eventually come knocking with a large sum of system funds.

So, it was better to detect and treat them early.

Today was Friday, and the weekend was just around the corner. Pei Qian planned to get a grasp of the situation of each project, organize his thoughts, and then relax for the weekend. Next week, he would start to embrace a "high-intensity work state."

Pei Qian first checked on the situation of Qiu Hong at the Imperial Capital Incubation Base.

Previously, Pei Qian had sent Tang Yishu to the Imperial Capital, which had dealt a heavy blow to the Cold Faced Lady and greatly affected the incubation base. Many bugs appeared in the independent games under development, requiring more effort to fix them.

At the same time, the incubation base also organized independent game designers to play games together, as per Pei Qian's request, greatly slowing down their development time.

As a result, most of the games that were originally scheduled to be released last month were delayed until mid- or late- this month.

Some were more severely affected and were pushed back to next month or even the month after.

However, as far as the system was concerned, the incubation base and Dream Chasing Venture Capital were similar in nature. These independent game developers were like the start-ups that Dream Chasing Venture Capital invested in. Their products were not considered products of departments directly under Tenda and did not affect the settlement.

As long as the incubation base and Dream Chasing Venture Capital were operating normally, and the companies they invested in were operating and working normally, then the system's restrictions on them would be relatively loose, unlike the strict restrictions on departments directly under Tenda.

This was why Pei Qian was increasingly keen on giving money to others to spend.

Among the many games at the incubation base, only two games withstood the pressure and were released, but based on the current situation, they were far from successful. One had an unpopular art style and gameplay and could be said to be in a state of neglect. The other had a good reputation, but the sales were poor, a typical case of being praised but not profitable.

In short, neither of them made any money, and they didn't even recoup the incubation base's investment in them.

Qiu Hong also felt ashamed and embarrassed, and his uncertainty and lack of confidence could be felt through his weekly reports.

However, Pei Qian was very satisfied with this.

Good, I knew that there were many talented people among independent game developers, and there would always be talent capable of making money-losing 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 in games that had been proven to be failures. He would arrange for these two independent game developers to start conceiving and developing new independent game projects.

Seeing this, Pei Qian immediately decided to call Qiu Hong to correct his mistaken ideas.

How could he give up on such a good project?

He had to continue to invest resources like crazy! The more he invested, the better!