Mingyun Private Kitchen, rooftop.

The slight intoxication from the red wine, combined with the cool night breeze, made Pei Qian feel a bit dazed.

He took out his phone, downloaded the Shenhua App Store, and confirmed once again that the mobile version of “Hot Blood Battle Song” was indeed still in first place on the rankings.

Well, everything that had just happened wasn’t an illusion.

Pei Qian silently exhaled.

How depressing…

The bad news had struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Mr. Pei feeling somewhat disoriented.

Fortunately, he had grown somewhat accustomed to this feeling.

After all, this wasn’t the first or second time his plans had backfired; he had already developed some expertise in dealing with it.

No, to be precise, he had developed expertise in adjusting his mindset.

“Earning an extra four to five million every month isn’t that bad.”

“There’s still time before the settlement. I can still rush to open Headwind Stations. I can still handle this.”

Today was September 20th, and the settlement date was October 31st, so there was still over a month.

No unreleased products were allowed in the week before settlement, which meant that as long as projects produced products before October 24th, they could still be invested in.

For example, Slackin’ Internet Café and Headwind Logistics.

As long as they rented existing venues and ensured they opened for business before October 24th, it wouldn’t affect the settlement.

“I have to say, although the people at Shangyang Games caught me off guard, looking on the bright side, at least they’re quite efficient.”

“If they had completed the mobile version of ‘Hot Blood Battle Song’ in the latter part of next month, I really wouldn’t have been able to manage.”

“Now, there’s still a chance to remedy the situation. As long as I find a way to urgently spend money, everything will be fine!”

This wasn’t Pei Qian being resourceful in a crisis; it was more like he had contingency plans.

After all, he had experienced so many failures that he had to learn from them.

From the beginning of this cycle, Pei Qian had already prepared two approaches.

It would be best if the game lost money, but if it didn’t, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

The industries that Mr. Pei could still trust were Endpoint Chinese Web Novel Network, Slackin’ Food Delivery, Headwind Logistics, and Slackin’ Internet Café.

Among these, Pei Qian didn’t dare to make any rash moves with Endpoint Chinese Web Novel Network.

Web novels could indeed burn money quickly, such as by spending tens of millions to poach several great authors from Infinite Chinese Web Novel Network, or by buying out dozens of mid-tier authors.

But the problem was that this approach was too risky!

What if it inadvertently made Endpoint Chinese Web Novel Network popular? Wouldn’t that be like drinking poison to quench thirst?

In the web novel industry, content was king—good content would attract readers, readers would bring subscription money, and subscription money would attract more authors…

Everything would enter a virtuous cycle.

Pei Qian thought for a moment and decided to temporarily pass on this option. It was too unstable and could leave hidden troubles for the future.

Slackin’ Food Delivery was good; it was still losing money, but it mainly relied on Slackin’ Internet Café.

If it didn’t rely on Slackin’ Internet Café, it would need to rent a separate place for kitchens and dishwashing, which was quite troublesome.

And although Slackin’ Internet Café was losing money, it wasn’t losing much. Relying solely on it to spend money couldn’t satisfy Pei Qian’s need to spend money urgently.

Thinking it through, physical businesses like Headwind Logistics and Slackin’ Internet Café burned money the fastest.

Although Slackin’ Internet Café had repeatedly disappointed Pei Qian, on one hand, it could help Slackin’ Food Delivery lose more money, and on the other hand, Slackin’ Internet Café 2.0 was about to be tested.

With a little rescue of Slackin’ Internet Café’s money-losing model, there might still be a chance for it to come back from the dead.

For Pei Qian, Headwind Logistics was the most reassuring.

But the disadvantage of Headwind Stations compared to Slackin’ Internet Café was that they spent less money.

To open a Slackin’ Internet Café, the initial expenses for rent, renovation, computers, and so on required at least three million yuan, while a Headwind Station could be opened with just over thirty thousand yuan.

Opening a hundred Headwind Stations would only equal one Slackin’ Internet Café, so the two weren’t in the same league when it came to spending speed.

Although Headwind Stations could be opened indefinitely, where would each station be located? Renting buildings required signing contracts, and recruiting employees required interviews—the workload was quite substantial.

Opening one or two would be fine, but opening a hundred Headwind Stations at once would probably overwhelm Lü Mingliang and his team.

So after some consideration, Pei Qian decided to prepare both approaches, opening both Headwind Stations and Slackin’ Internet Cafés to concentrate on spending money.

Regarding location selection, employee recruitment, and other aspects, Pei Qian had no requirements except one: the stores must be opened before October 24th.

As long as the money was spent without affecting the settlement, it would be a great success.

With this in mind, Pei Qian immediately called Zhang Yuan and Lü Mingliang.

Time was of the essence, and there wasn’t a moment to lose.

…

At the rooftop stairway, Ye Zhizhou carefully peeked out and took a look.

“Mr. Pei is so busy.”

“He’s still making phone calls and dealing with work.”

Ye Zhizhou couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed.

Although the mobile version of “Hot Blood Battle Song” had successfully solved problems for Mr. Pei, Tenda had too many businesses.

Thinking about how Mr. Pei was still busy while he was eating, Ye Zhizhou felt a bit guilty.

But then again, Mr. Pei had probably always been this diligent; otherwise, Tenda couldn’t have developed so well.

Just as Ye Zhizhou was about to quietly leave, Pei Qian finished his call and turned around, and the two silently made eye contact.

Ye Zhizhou coughed, “Ahem, Mr. Pei, you were gone for so long that everyone was worried you might have drunk too much and felt unwell, so I came to check.”

“I didn’t expect Mr. Pei to still be busy with work so late.”

Pei Qian had almost calmed down, but upon hearing this, he immediately became furious again.

Who do you think is the reason I’m still busy with work so late?

If it weren’t for you all suddenly causing such a big mess, would I need to urgently arrange for Zhang Yuan and Lü Mingliang to rush to spend money tonight?!

Eating my food and giving me trouble—how unreasonable!

Pei Qian was very angry.

But he could only think these thoughts and couldn’t say them out loud.

Seeing that Pei Qian’s expression wasn’t very good, Ye Zhizhou asked with concern, “Are you alright, Mr. Pei?”

Pei Qian forced a smile: “Nothing, just some minor trouble with work.”

Ye Zhizhou quickly nodded: “I understand. How could a small work issue possibly trouble Mr. Pei?”

Pei Qian was momentarily speechless.

He wanted to speak but stopped, then wanted to speak again.

On second thought, he decided to let it go.

No matter what he said, they would be speaking different languages, and no one would understand the sadness deep in Mr. Pei’s heart.

Pei Qian could only silently lament. Was the saying “being misunderstood is the fate of an expresser” really going to come true?

Forget it, don’t be angry.

It wasn’t worth getting angry over this; better to eat something good.

He had been full of anger before, but after calming down, Pei Qian found he was hungry again.

He returned to his seat with a melancholy face, ready to transform his sorrow into appetite and have a good meal.

Just as he sat down and peeled a large lobster, Lin Wan excitedly ran over again.

“Mr. Pei, look quickly! We’ve also received a recommendation on the official platform! And it’s a homepage recommendation!”

“Pffft!!”

The mouthful of red wine Pei Qian had just drunk almost sprayed out.

What the hell?!

Even a game like “Hot Blood Battle Song” could get an official platform recommendation? Are you kidding me??

Pei Qian was completely stunned. How was this possible?

The orientation of the official platform’s recommendation spots was very clear!

For ordinary profitable games, at most, they might get some marginal recommendation spots on the official platform.

The homepage recommendation spots were only given to premium games that officials believed had healthy value orientation and were beneficial to the development of the gaming industry.

Like the previous “Game Producer.”

But “Hot Blood Battle Song” was originally a traditional web game! Its gameplay was a combat-focused national war game. How could it possibly receive official recognition and make it to the homepage recommendation?

Could it be that they were giving Tenda face?

That couldn’t be—this game wasn’t released by Tenda; it was released by Shangyang Games!

How could it possibly receive such treatment?

Pei Qian was completely confused, holding the large lobster in his hand, momentarily at a loss for words.

After a long while, he asked, “So… what’s the recommendation text?”

Lin Wan couldn’t suppress the smile on her face as she read: “As a traditional web game, ‘Hot Blood Battle Song’ has made major innovations in gameplay.”

“After cleverly replacing the original recharge system with the election system, this game has changed the money-burning, hatred-selling model of web games at its roots, allowing all players to enjoy the fun of gaming with a more peaceful mindset, which has a huge improvement on the value orientation of web game players.”

“For a long time, the blind spending in web games has left many negative impressions on players about this game type and has led the development of these games to completely deviate from the track of healthy game development.”

“With its sophisticated game design methods, bold innovation, and excellent game quality, ‘Hot Blood Battle Song’ has completely reversed the impression of traditional web games in players’ minds. While retaining the classic gameplay fun of web games, it has maximized the correction of web game players’ wrong consumption habits, greatly promoting the development of the entire industry.”

“Even more commendable is that the original ‘Hot Blood Battle Song’ was an ordinary game, but the design team didn’t abandon this project. Instead, through meticulous modifications and reworking, they gave this game new life.”

“We hope that ‘Hot Blood Battle Song’ will be the last traditional web game, and ‘Hot Blood Battle Song: Power-Enhanced Version’ will be the first new type of web game.”

“We hope that ‘Hot Blood Battle Song’ can become a turning point in the domestic web game industry.”

“Therefore, we give this game special recommendation, hoping it can become a model for all web games to learn from.”

“We also hope that all players can set aside prejudices and try playing it. Perhaps they can experience the true fun of web games.”

After reading the recommendation text, Lin Wan looked at Mr. Pei with a smile.

Ye Zhizhou stood nearby, so moved that his eyes were a bit moist.

The game had received official recognition!

This completely washed away the label of “garbage game,” achieving a double reversal in both revenue and reputation!

Moreover, with the official endorsement and recommendation, this game would spark more discussions, attract more players, and achieve higher revenue!

Ye Zhizhou couldn’t help but sigh that good news was coming one after another—today was truly a good day!

Was this the feeling of persevering until success finally comes?

He couldn’t help but recall what Director Lin had said before.

Mr. Pei hoped that players would no longer be slaves to money, that he aimed to change players’ tastes, allowing all players to enjoy the exclusive pleasure of whale players without spending money.

Going against the trend was indeed likely to fail.

But now, Mr. Pei’s “defiance of the trend” had succeeded and even received official recognition!

This was an official characterization, beyond dispute!

All those involved in the game’s development felt they were witnessing history.

After all, they were the ones who tried to change the entire web game industry alongside Mr. Pei!

Everyone’s eyes were filled with reverence and gratitude.

If it weren’t for Mr. Pei, we wouldn’t even have imagined that we could achieve this level!

And Pei Qian’s mood was even more complex than everyone else’s.

However, his emotions were completely at the opposite pole.

Pei Qian looked at the lobster in his hand and silently put it aside.

Forget it, he wouldn’t eat.

He was full of anger again!!