“Mr. Pei, what instructions do you have…”
Over the phone, Zhou Muyan’s voice sounded somewhat listless.
Since parting ways in Yangcheng at the end of last year, Pei Qian and Zhou Muyan hadn’t contacted each other.
This was mainly because the performance gap between “Sea Fortress” and “Bullet Mark” was so vast that it made their already fragile relationship even more tenuous.
“Sea Fortress” had become the undisputed top domestic FPS game, commanding a massive user base that continued to expand. Its competitors had evolved from other domestic FPS games to “Counter-Strike.”
Meanwhile, “Bullet Mark,” after its initial overwhelming publicity, had seen its popularity slowly decline. Although it currently maintained stable operations and profitability, it hadn’t reached Zhou Muyan’s expected goals, and the gap with “Sea Fortress” was growing ever wider.
The design philosophies of these two games were vastly different. When Tenda visited Tianhuo Studio, Zhou Muyan had proudly shared the design concepts behind “Bullet Mark” with everyone.
At that time, Zhou Muyan was full of confidence.
And Pei Qian, sitting in the audience, wore a smile, nodding frequently with approval in his eyes.
But now Zhou Muyan knew that Mr. Pei had been acting the whole time!
When “Sea Fortress” was first launched, Zhou Muyan hadn’t taken it seriously. But as its numbers continued to surge, he realized something was wrong.
A quick investigation revealed that “Sea Fortress” had been developed almost simultaneously with “Bullet Mark.” By the time Tenda visited Tianhuo Studio, “Sea Fortress” was already nearly complete!
Zhou Muyan couldn’t help feeling disheartened.
Mr. Pei had already identified the problems with “Bullet Mark,” yet he sat there nodding repeatedly, pretending nothing was wrong.
So calculating!
Since then, Pei Qian hadn’t initiated contact with Zhou Muyan, mainly fearing that Zhou might think he was showing off.
And Zhou Muyan was even less likely to contact Pei Qian—he couldn’t afford to lose face…
So it was only now that the two reconnected.
As for why Zhou Muyan would answer the phone…
He had no choice but to show Mr. Pei some respect.
After all, Tenda had now been officially commended, and both were in the same industry. Zhou Muyan couldn’t deliberately antagonize Mr. Pei.
But he answered the phone somewhat reluctantly.
Pei Qian could sense Zhou Muyan’s resentment and feared saying something that might trigger his fragile ego, so he quickly got to the point.
“CEO Zhou, sorry to bother you. I mainly wanted to ask about something—do you know about Lin Wan’s identity?”
Zhou Muyan was stunned.
Of course, he knew Lin Wan’s identity. The day after Lin Wan joined Tianhuo Studio, Shenhua Group’s presidential office had called Zhou Muyan directly.
If he remembered correctly, Lin Wan had been working at Tenda for several months already.
Could it be that Mr. Pei still didn’t know Lin Wan’s identity?
That didn’t make sense.
Zhou Muyan was confused and asked in return: “Doesn’t Mr. Pei know?”
Pei Qian’s heart sank further.
Zhou Muyan’s response implied that Lin Wan’s identity was indeed unusual!
Pei Qian coughed lightly: “CEO Zhou, to be honest, I’m facing some issues and hope you can lend a hand. I would be extremely grateful!”
Zhou Muyan quickly replied: “Not at all, Mr. Pei. Feel free to ask anything, and I’ll tell you everything I know!”
Pei Qian asked: “Could CEO Zhou explain in detail what Lin Wan’s relationship with her family is, and why she entered the gaming industry?”
Zhou Muyan was puzzled.
Mr. Pei didn’t know this?
It seemed that Shenhua Group’s presidential office hadn’t contacted Mr. Pei.
This was quite strange.
But Zhou Muyan didn’t think too much about it and told everything he knew.
Lin Wan was the youngest daughter of Shenhua Group’s President Lin Zhengnan, with one older sister and two older brothers. After graduation, out of her love for the gaming industry, she had found a job at Tianhuo Studio on her own.
Lin Zhengnan did not support Lin Wan’s career in the gaming industry. But because of Lin Wan’s stubborn personality and not wanting to strain their relationship, Lin Zhengnan had called Zhou Muyan, hoping that Lin Wan’s gaming dream would be shattered quickly, so she would return to work at Shenhua Group.
“That’s about all I know, Mr. Pei,” Zhou Muyan said quite sincerely. “As for why they didn’t call you… I don’t know.”
Pei Qian was silent for a moment: “Then, how is Lin Wan’s relationship with her brother, Lin Zhou of Shenhua Real Estate?”
Zhou Muyan: “I’ve heard that while her relationship with her father is somewhat tense, her relationship with her brother Lin Zhou is quite good.”
Pei Qian’s heart sank.
Alright, everything matched up!
It must have been Lin Wan who asked her brother Lin Zhou to waive Tenda’s rent. There was no doubt about it.
“So… CEO Zhou, how can we get Lin Wan to leave the gaming industry and go back to inherit her family’s vast fortune?” Pei Qian asked sincerely.
Zhou Muyan thought for a moment: “I’m afraid she would need to become completely disillusioned with the gaming industry.”
Pei Qian fell silent.
This was far too difficult!
More importantly, this situation ran completely counter to Pei Qian’s original goals!
If Pei Qian wanted to spend more money, he needed to provide more employee benefits. But doing so would only make Lin Wan think Tenda was exceptionally conscientious, making her even less willing to leave.
Wasn’t this a deadlock?
Currently, it was just the waived rent, but who knew what other tricks this young lady might pull in the future?
“Thank you, CEO Zhou. I’ll organize a team-building event sometime and come to Yangcheng to express my gratitude in person.”
Pei Qian thought that Old Zhou was quite helpful, as this intelligence was crucial.
Zhou Muyan, however, was speechless.
Come again?
To rub salt in my wounds?!
“Mr. Pei, if I may ask one more question: has Lin Wan done something unforgivable to your company…”
Pei Qian fell silent.
He didn’t know how to answer this question.
Logically speaking, Zhou Muyan had been so forthcoming, and had only asked this one question. If Pei Qian avoided answering, changed the subject, or lied… it would seem rather ungrateful.
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian said: “She… reduced our company’s rent from 4 yuan to 1.5 yuan.”
Zhou Muyan: “???”
…
After hanging up, Pei Qian felt that the situation he faced was unprecedentedly grim.
Pei Qian immediately checked the rental contracts for the Slackin’ Internet Cafés and was somewhat relieved to find they had no connection to Shenhua Real Estate.
That was fortunate.
The locations chosen for these Slackin’ Internet Cafés were all rather remote, all in standalone buildings. Shenhua Real Estate preferred to acquire land in city center business districts, mostly developing high-end office buildings or residential areas.
The locations of the Slackin’ Internet Cafés had effectively avoided Shenhua Group’s properties.
If the rent for the Slackin’ Internet Cafés had also been waived, Pei Qian would truly have been coughing blood.
The current problem was how to handle Lin Wan.
Doing nothing was not an option—she was a ticking time bomb.
Using overly harsh methods to drive her away was even less acceptable; being too obvious would be noticed.
Even Shenhua Group’s President Lin Zhengnan, Lin Wan’s father, had no good way to handle her. Pei Qian had even fewer options.
If Lin Wan’s stubborn temperament flared up, the situation could become unmanageable.
The only solution was as Zhou Muyan suggested: to make Lin Wan lose interest in gaming on her own.
Judging from Lin Wan’s diligent and uncomplaining work ethic at Tenda, she didn’t seem to be the type of rich second-generation with high expectations but fragile psychology. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to conceal her identity for so long without being discovered.
Such a person would likely be extremely persistent about the goals she had set for herself.
If failure came from external factors, it probably wouldn’t be enough to crush her enthusiasm and would only make her more determined to try again out of defiance.
This was difficult…
After thinking for a long time, Pei Qian suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
It seemed that… Shangyang Games, the garbage he had picked up earlier, could finally be put to good use?
Until now, Shangyang Games has maintained its original state from the time of acquisition.
Moreover, judging from the current operational status, it was still consistently losing money.
If Lin Wan were put in charge of a game project destined to fail, when the game failed, she would naturally question her abilities and perhaps even the entire gaming environment.
At that point, Mr. Pei could continue happily spending money, and Lin Wan would return to inherit her family’s vast fortune—wouldn’t that be a win-win?
Pei Qian thought this was a good plan.
Indeed, many things often lay the groundwork for future developments in unexpected ways!