Random Chapters of MTL Novel

February 16th, Thursday...

In Beijing, at the independent incubation base of Destitution Plan.

The incubation base had returned to normal operations after the Lunar New Year. The independent game designers had also restarted the research and development of the game.

The promotional video released by the Destitution Plan had a very good publicity effect before the Chinese New Year holiday. The success of the 'Survival Guide for Working Adults' and 'Black Ink and Clouds' DEMO had given all independent game producers a boost of confidence, making them feel that their dreams of creating independent games were closer than ever.

Wu Zhicheng was obviously the most motivated.

The DEMO of Black Ink and Clouds was very successful. Moreover, gamers were using real money to support it. They were almost certain that the sales would definitely not be bad as long as they completed the follow-up content of Black Ink and Clouds according to the prescribed order.

What's more, the entire staff of the incubation base was cooperating with him. Wu Zhicheng did not lack anything. He only needed to focus all his energy on the game design.

The only flaw was that there was a rule in the incubation base to ensure a certain amount of gaming time every week to "collect inspiration". That gave Wu Zhicheng a headache.

If only he could use this time to develop games.

At that moment, Wu Zhicheng was at his workstation, seriously designing the follow-up stage of "Black Ink and Clouds".

Every chapter had to be unique in packaging and gameplay. That was a very brain-consuming task.

Qiu Hong came to the incubation base and looked around. He realized that everyone was working very seriously and was very satisfied.

He could not help but recall the situation when he started his own game company, his own business.

At that time, Qiu Hong was also a boss. However, every time he went to the company, he could tell that the employees looked like they were working hard but were actually slacking. The independent game designers at the incubation base were seriously designing their own games.

Qiu Hong could not help but feel emotional. Could this be Boss Pei's charm?

They still did the same thing as Tengda's employees even if almost no one knew about the relationship between the 'Destitution Plan' and Boss Pei, and even if all the independent game designers had not been inspired by the Tengda spirit.

Boss Pei's incentive buff actually worked without revealing his identity? What's more, it could directly affect Beijing from Jingzhou?

It was ridiculous.

Qiu Hong came to the middle of the office and clapped his hands. "Please stop what you're doing. I have two things to announce."

Wu Zhicheng and the other independent game designers raised their heads and listened intently.

Qiu Hong said, "The first thing is that I will be leaving for a period of time. I'm not sure how long it will be. It might be a month or two, or three to five months. It depends on the work situation."

"The independent game incubation base in Beijing is on the right track. I'm going to Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other cities to open independent game incubation bases."

"The initial plan is to establish three bases: northern, eastern and southern bases.

"Everyone, you have to work harder in the future. Our northern base was the first to be established. It would be awkward if the eastern and southern bases surpass us in the future."

"If you encounter any problems at work, continue to look for Xi Hao. He will communicate with me at any time."

Everyone looked surprised but did not overreact.

This was unexpected but reasonable.

The 'Destitution Plan' was meant to be a developer for independent games in the entire country. Once the independent game developers in Beijing were on track, Shanghai and Guangzhou's independent game developers would definitely be next.

It was just that no one expected it to happen so quickly.

However, Xi Hao was in charge of the normal operations of the incubation base. Thus, Qiu Hong's departure did not have much of an impact. No one would make a fuss.

Qiu Hong paused for a moment and continued. "The second thing is that I have created gym memberships in Deposit Fitness for everyone in the incubation base. Everyone has to train on schedule."

"In the future, everyone's work meals must be changed to fitness meals that came with Deposit Fitness. This is to ensure everyone's health."

"After all, the development of the game requires a long period of sitting. If you take too long, your lumbar vertebra and your cervical vertebra are prone to problems. Persist on working out so that everyone would have more energy to develop the game."

Everyone was stunned after hearing this news.

What was that?

He even gave us a gym membership?

Wu Zhicheng looked confused as well. He was already very dissatisfied with the "must have enough game time every week" rule. Now, apart from taking time to play games every week, he had to take time out to exercise?

What's more, everyone had been eating regular meals from Fish-Catching Take-Out. The taste was very good. While it was not as healthy as fitness meals, it was much better than other take-out. Everyone was quite satisfied.

Wasn't it superfluous to have fitness meals with Deposit Fitness now?

Wu Zhicheng quickly raised his hand and said, "Boss Qiu, there's no need for the gym, right? We're all young people. Our bodies are very strong..."

Qiu Hong's expression became serious. "Very strong? Do you believe that?"

"You were making independent games in your own residence before you came to the incubation base. All of you had your days and nights inverted, and your meals were irregular. You might not have any serious illness because you were young but who did not have any small problems with their health?"

"Deposit Fitness happened to be in Beijing. I heard that the fitness effect is very good. I've already arranged for everyone to go. None of you can skip! Xi Hao, you have to supervise everyone and supervise their training. I'll hold you responsible if anyone doesn't go!"

Xi Hao was frozen on his desk, not knowing how to react.

Qiu Hong might sound tough on the surface, but in reality, he was not confident either.

In fact, these requests were all made by Boss Pei. He was just a mouthpiece.

Before this, Pei Qian had been thinking about how to counter Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Fish-Catching Take-Out, and Deposit Fitness after learning that they were opening in large numbers in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities. He had been thinking about how to drag them down.

He suddenly realized that he had a lot of businesses in Beijing!

There was an independent game incubation base and the Cold-Faced Lady. All of them would be assigned to Deposit Fitness. Not only would they be able to generate losses, but they would also be able to interfere with everyone's work progress. Why not?

However, the relationship between the incubation base and Tengda Corporation could not be made public. Thus, Qiu Hong could only continue to be a tool.

Wu Zhicheng and the other producers stood up, wanting to negotiate with Qiu Hong.

There was no need for the gym!

Wouldn't it be better for us to work hard on making games?

However, Qiu Hong had no intention of negotiating with them. He said firmly, "It's settled then." before he left.

Wu Zhicheng and the rest obviously misunderstood. That was because Qiu Hong could not make the decision on this matter. Wouldn't it be wrong to negotiate with Qiu Hong?

Wu Zhicheng and the other producers looked at each other as they watched Qiu Hong leave. They saw confusion in each other's eyes.

At the same time, they felt a sense of familiarity...

...

At the same time, in Shanghai, Long Yu Corporation...

Eric looked at the latest report and smiled very proudly in the conference room.

Zhao Xuming sat opposite Eric, trying his best to reduce his presence and leave the stage for Eric.

It had been nearly a week since Eric's New Strategy was implemented. He could already see some clues from IOI's data.

The reason why Eric was so happy was that the data this time was completely in line with his expectations. The effect was even better than he had imagined!

It was certain that the revenue would decrease. After all, the heroes were completely free and the price of the skins were reduced to thirty percent of the original price. IOI's gamers would not experience an explosive increase in the short term. On average, everyone would spend less money. Thus, the revenue would definitely decrease.

However, the decrease in revenue was much more optimistic than Eric had expected!

Based on the figures, while the price had been reduced, many old players had been compensated and bought many skins that they had not intended to buy before.

Each skin might have been sold for less but the number of skins sold had increased. It had the effect of making small profits and having a lot of sales.

For example, some old gamers had originally wanted to spend 80 yuan on skins. Now that they realized that they could buy two, they would still spend the money. They would not choose to spend only 40 yuan to save the other 40 yuan.

The price of the skins had reached the lowest point in history since it plummeted. Most players felt that it would be impossible to reduce the price of the skins for the long term, so they did not wait for discounts and chose to buy them immediately.

What's more, the huge price reduction this time had created quite a lot of popularity. The number of people in the local server and even in the world server at the same time, as well as the gaming time per capita, had obviously increased.

Many gamers bought a few skins in one go. Naturally, they had to play a few more games to appreciate and experience the game.

In short, Eric was very satisfied with the data in the report. Naturally, he was very proud and even a little arrogant.

Eric looked around at everyone. "The upper echelons of Dayak Corporation are quite satisfied with the new version of the data. It completely fits our previous expectations."

"Therefore, we have to follow up on the victory and make up for IOI's shortcoming."

"A mobile version!"

"One of the main reasons for GOG's success is its mobile version. GOG's mobile version played a crucial role in its promotion in the local server and in the world.

"We were indeed too arrogant before. We felt that the mobile version was useless, so we lost the initiative. We realized our mistake seeing GOG's huge success in the mobile game market."

"Therefore, Finger Games is already developing the mobile version of IOI. It is similar to GOG in terms of client-side and mobile games."

"After making up for this shortcoming, the gap between IOI and GOG will shrink further. Coupled with our price war, we will definitely be able to snatch back the market that GOG snatched away!"

Chapter 896: "Give In"

Eric was very proud. He could feel that IOI was walking on the right path under his guidance. The gap between IOI and GOG was shrinking for the first time.

He looked at Zhao Xuming. "Boss Zhao, Finger Games will release some news about IOI mobile games in the next two days. Long Yu Corporation's mission is to cooperate with Finger Games so that the news can spread better."

"Of course, there is another very important thing. Once IOI's mobile version is released, Long Yu Corporation will be in charge of contacting channels and promoting mobile games."

Zhao Xuming quickly nodded. "No problem, that's my job."

Obviously, IOI's mobile version had always been in Eric's plan. He had already started to make preparations after he took over the operations of IOI's domestic server and became the "Vanguard General" who fought directly with Tengda Corporation.

On one hand, it was to update the version and start the money-burning war. On the other hand, it was to urge Finger Games to arrange special personnel to develop IOI's mobile version.

Of course, changing the client-side game into a mobile game was not something that could be done overnight.

At the beginning, Tengda Corporation was able to change GOG into a mobile game very quickly because the design of GOG itself had some elements of mobile games. The gameplay was short, the map was smaller than IOI, and the game mechanism was simpler. Thus, there were fewer obstacles in modifying it.

It would not be easy for IOI to change the client-side game into a mobile game.

Even so, he could still release the news to warm up.

He would first use the resources in IOI to create a simple DEMO, pick a few heroes that were more suitable for mobile game operations and then use this DEMO to create a few trial videos. Then, he would upload these videos online and hype them up so that IOI players would know about this.

It would be of great help in the promotion of IOI as long as he gave everyone the feeling that IOI was catching up and competing with GOG.

Zhao Xuming also supported this matter with both hands. After all, in his opinion, the arrival of mobile games was unavoidable. IOI could learn from GOG and make the game into a dual-terminal game. This was indeed a move that followed the trend.

What's more, Long Yu Corporation had a very close relationship with the local mobile game developers. In fact, Long Yu Corporation even controlled some mobile games channels. It might be more convenient to promote mobile games than to promote client-side games.

Once IOI's mobile game was released, the old gamers would definitely go and play it. Many gamers who were tired of playing GOG's mobile game would test waters and take a look. If they could think of a few good marketing plans...

It would definitely be effective!

Eric and Zhao Xuming were full of confidence with IOI's operation strategy.

Although GOG's current position in the country was very stable and difficult to shake, everything was difficult at the beginning. They could quickly form a positive cycle as long as they persevered and allowed IOI's domestic server to gradually recover its vitality. At that time, everything would have a turnaround!

...

February 17th, Friday...

Ye Zhizhou hurried to Tengda Games and found Min Jingchao, who was busy creating the new version of GOG.

"Finger Games is doing something new!"

"They released a few trial videos of IOI mobile games just now. They seem to be of good quality."

"However, I suspect that... They are using IOI's ready-made client-side game material. It is still far from the official development of the game. It is now in the stage of 'demonstration deception'."

"However, IOI's mobile game development has obviously been put on the agenda. We have to be cautious."

"At the moment, these videos have produced quite a good response on video websites both domestically and overseas. Many players are looking forward to it."

"Some people have been comparing it to GOG's mobile game to generate popularity. Most likely, Long Yu Corporation's fake reviewers are doing it."

Ye Zhizhou handed his cell phone to Min Jingchao and showed him a few videos of IOI mobile games as he spoke.

There were a few trial videos of IOI's classic heroes in the video. For example, Chaos Misfortune, Storm Swordsman, Specter Blacksmith and other outstanding heroes in the global finals. There were also some commonly used noob heroes.

All of these heroes had one thing in common, and that was that their operations were not particularly complicated. It was not too difficult to transplant them from the client-side game to the mobile game.

What's more, these heroes had their own popularity, and heroes like the Storm Swordsman were more handsome, so the video gave players a good impression.

If one had not played the game yet, this video alone was very attractive.

"They're not here with good intentions."

Min Jingchao immediately saw through Finger Games' intentions.

The current situation could be said to be "attacking and defending differently". In the past, GOG would take the initiative to attack, IOI would be forced to defend and would be beaten to the ground.

However, the situation had completely reversed now.

The mobile version of GOG was a pioneer. Now, a huge group of gamers had gathered. Due to the size of the group, it was not appropriate to take too many risks. It was a passive defense.

On the other hand, IOI's mobile version was a new game. It had many advantages: it could directly refer to GOG's existing gameplay and avoid detours. It could directly tie itself to GOG's mobile version and publicize it. It could easily obtain huge popularity.

The 'freeloaders' would often have a very good effect. On the other hand, the party who was being freeloaded did not have a good solution. The more responsive they were, the more popular the other party would be.

On the other hand, if they chose to deal with it coldly, the other party would be even more unscrupulous and would still gain a lot of popularity.

Ye Zhizhou asked, "What should we do?"

Min Jingchao pondered for a moment. "How about... we ask Boss Pei?"

Even though the two of them could think of some countermeasures, this was a serious matter after all. If they did not handle it well, the consequences would be very serious. Neither of them dared to make the decision.

GOG was currently the game with the largest number of players in Tengda Corporation, the most influential, and the most popular. It also involved GPL, the money tree. Neither of them dared to treat it lightly.

After some discussion, the two of them felt that they had to consult Boss Pei about such important matters. Only then would they feel at ease.

He sent a message to the front desk and found out that Boss Pei had just arrived at the office today. The two of them went to the 16th floor and knocked lightly on Boss Pei's office door.

"Enter."

Boss Pei's voice came immediately from the office.

Min Jingchao pushed the door open and entered with Ye Zhizhou following closely behind.

"Boss Pei, we're here today to report the movements of Finger Games..."

Min Jingchao briefly explained how Finger Games had released IOI mobile game trial videos and how Long Yu Corporation had hired fake reviewers to ride on GOG's popularity.

Pei Qian almost slammed the table and cheered.

Eric did well!

He did not let me down!

From the previous price war to the current IOI mobile version and buying fake reviewers to ride on popularity, Pei Qian was very satisfied with every step Eric took.

The more Finger Games pressed on, the more reason Pei Qian had to burn money to fight back.

However, how should he deal with it...

Pei Qian thought about it briefly.

His first reaction was to fight back. If they wanted to be popular, he would give them popularity. Tengda could also spend a lot of money on this. Why not?

However, on further thought, it seemed a little dangerous.

At the moment, GOG and IOI were not on the same level in terms of size in the country. If they fought back fiercely, IOI would indeed gain a lot of popularity, but GOG would also gain a lot of popularity.

What if both parties' passion for each other and their interest in each other caused GOG's popularity to increase and the players' cohesion and recognition to become stronger?

It seemed inappropriate.

What if he did not bother at all?

It did not seem to be very good either. While it would not bring GOG popularity, IOI's popularity would also accumulate very slowly. Grass would grow as the horse starved, it would need a really long time to pose a threat to GOG. Distant water could not quench the immediate thirst.

After some consideration, Pei Qian decided to follow his previous plan.

"Continue to pay attention to IOI's movements. We will follow no matter what strategy they deploy. However, we have to 'give way' to them."

"For example, if they spend ten million yuan on publicity, we'll spend seven million yuan; if they reduce the price of the skin by ten percent, we'll reduce the price by seven percent."

"It's the same for public opinion. If they provoke us and want to ride on our popularity, we'll fight back. However, we have to leave some leeway when we fight back."

Min Jingchao was stunned. "Er... do you have any other requests, Boss Pei?"

Pei Qian shook his head. "No."

Min Jingchao and Ye Zhizhou looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes.

Just like that?

They had thought that Boss Pei was going to start his 'killing spree' immediately, but in the end, Boss Pei said that he was going to 'give way'?

Boss Pei always seemed to be able to give very subversive and creative suggestions previously. However, this time, Boss Pei's suggestions seemed to be quite standard. There was nothing special about them.

"Give way" sounded nice, but in fact, it was nothing more than passively defending. What's more, Boss Pei had specifically emphasized that one had to spend less money than the other party in a price war?

What kind of logic was that?

However, it was obvious that Boss Pei had said all that he wanted to say looking at his expression. All that was left was an expression that said, "Go figure it out on your own."

Thus, the two of them could only take their leave.

After leaving Boss Pei's office, Min Jingchao and Ye Zhizhou looked confused. Obviously, asking Boss Pei this time had not achieved the effect they wanted.

There were no reliable countermeasures to deal with the threat of IOI.

In other words, Boss Pei had given them a reliable plan, but they had not understood the deeper meaning behind it.

The two of them returned to the 17th floor and sat down in the lounge. They sipped their drinks as they stared at each other.

Both of them saw the same attitude in each other's eyes.

"Do you believe that Boss Pei is that simple?"

"I don't believe you. What about you?"

"I don't believe it either."

"That only means that Boss Pei has deeper thoughts that we have not uncovered."

"Think hard, don't leave if you can't!"

The two of them drank their drinks as they thought hard.

Ye Zhizhou said, "I think there's something fishy about this."

"When has Boss Pei ever lost to anyone else in spending money?"

"Before this, we had to spend more money than the other party, be it in games or in physical industries."

"Yet, Boss Pei is asking us to 'give way' this time? How is that possible! It's not in line with Boss Pei's usual style!"

Min Jingchao nodded. "Indeed."

"The key is that Finger Games and Long Yu Corporation are our arch-enemies. They are our competitors whom we do not have any cooperative relationship with."

"They started the price war but we have to give way to them? Why! This is not in line with Tengda's usual style!"

"That's why Boss Pei must have a special motive behind his 'giving way'!"

The more they discussed, the more they felt that something was amiss.

However, no one could tell what was wrong.

Min Jingchao left the lounge and returned with two laptops moments later.

"These are the relevant data for GOG and IOI in the country, including changes in market share and other data. We might be able to see something from our research."

Ye Zhizhou nodded and took one of the laptops.

The two of them began to look through various documents aimlessly, hoping to find some clues.

Suddenly, Ye Zhizhou seemed to realize something and said, "I noticed something. It's the market share of other games like IOI and GOG's MOBA games and the release of new games."

"There's no need to talk about the market share of GOG and IOI. At the moment, GOG has the overall advantage in the domestic market. Both sides are equally matched overseas. GOG has a small advantage, but it's not very big. Both sides are fluctuating."

"However, the situation of other MOBA games is worth pondering about."

"On one hand, their market share is declining. On the other hand, lesser new games are being released.

"There are at least five or six versions of MOBA mobile games in the same period as GOG, but they are still barely operating. There are only one or two left, and they are in a half-dead state."

"They died very quickly."

Min Jingchao nodded. "Didn't we already know about this?"

"Our competition with IOI will definitely squeeze the survival space of all other similar games. In the end, only one winner will survive."

"Even an old game like Gods Rising has been severely affected."

"Based on the data, Gods Rising still has a group of loyal gamers that are hard to shake. However, there is almost no fresh blood flowing into it."

"More importantly, there was news that a big company wanted to buy Gods Rising to create an online game similar to IOI or GOG, but it was delayed again and again."

Ye Zhizhou said, "What if we dig deeper into the reason behind this?"

"Why are these companies giving up on MOBA games?"

"I think that intense market competition is only one aspect. Another important reason is the anchor effect!"

"Boss Pei's pricing of GOG has actually formed an anchor effect. After IOI was forced to fight a price war with us, this anchor effect became even more stable. This made it extremely difficult for other companies to start, so they did not plan to follow!"

Min Jingchao nodded. "Yes, that's right."

The so-called anchor effect was actually very easy to understand: the operating model was similar for MOBA games. It was nothing more than selling heroes, buying skins, and various value-added services.

They could not possibly sell their battle prowess, right? That would be courting death.

Players would not find it strange if all MOBA games set their skins at tens of yuan.

This price would allow many new MOBA games to survive.

they would only be able to develop and grow after surviving.

However, Boss Pei had forced GOG's skin to be priced like cabbage. He had also forced IOI to engage in a price war and reduce the price of the skin. This had formed an anchor effect: all players felt that the skins of MOBA games should be so cheap!

Thus, even if other games companies created MOBA games of similar quality to GOG and IOI, there was basically no chance of success.

These companies would face a dilemma due to the existence of the anchor effect: if the price was higher than GOG, gamers would think that they were unscrupulous; but if the price was the same as GOG, they would not be able to continue operating.

GOG's skins were priced at a low price, but there was a huge group of players. There was also the GPL league so there were many ways to maintain profits. There were few other MOBA gamers to begin with and they only relied on the skins to earn money. If the skins were priced like cabbage, how could they earn money?

Therefore, the first casualties of the price war between GOG and IOI was not IOI but all other MOBA games.

Initially, MOBA games were the type of games that the winner takes all. GOG had already made use of its huge number of users to gain the upper hand and set the price so cheaply. What else could the other MOBA games play with?

Ye Zhizhou continued, "Therefore, Boss Pei's strategy of 'giving way' is worth digging deeper."

"On the surface, Boss Pei is deliberately allowing IOI to expand its user base. However, on careful consideration, isn't Boss Pei using IOI's power to continue attacking other competitors?"

"GOG has a huge user base and an advantage. Even if we only use 70% of our publicity budget, we can still fight a protracted war with IOI. Let IOI persevere burning their money. The more we fight, the more difficult it would be for the other MOBA games to survive."

Min Jingchao frowned slightly. "However, it's good to get someone else to do the dirty work. What if IOI burns us out? What if their market share rises and enters a virtuous cycle?"

Ye Zhizhou said, "There is indeed such a possibility. However, Boss Pei must think that IOI would not be able to burn us seeing how confident he was."

"Boss Pei said that no matter how much they burn, we will follow but 'give way'."

"This 'giving way' will not put us at a disadvantage. It will also entice Finger Games to continue burning money to help us eliminate our other competitors while expanding their market share and it will also consume the funds of Dayak Corporation and Finger Games."

"The 'giving way' that Boss Pei said is not for the enemy to advance while we retreat. Instead, it's to give them respect for helping us snatch market share. However, if you want to challenge me if you dare, let's see who will last longer!"

Min Jingchao suddenly understood. "Indeed, that should be what Boss Pei meant! We should hold back and play with Finger Games, burn money with them to get rid of the other competitors. When the time is ripe, we can give Finger Games a fatal blow!"

Both of them felt much more at ease.

What was there to worry about since Boss Pei had already planned everything out with full confidence? He felt that he would definitely win even if he reserved thirty percent of his strength!

Chapter 897: SUCCESSOR (1)

At the same time, in Zhongdian Chinese Network's inspiration class.

Cui Geng looked at the time. There were still two hours to go.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow was the weekend again.

He left the film area of the inspiration class and went to the work area to find an empty workstation to continue writing the plot of 'Successor'.

Of eight working hours a day, six hours were spent watching various movies, novels, and comics to gather material. Only two hours could be used for creative writing. That was the rigid rule of the 'inspiration class'.

At first, Cui Geng felt that two hours was too short. He was not used to it.

The timing was exactly the opposite when he was writing web novels after all. He would spend two hours at most collecting materials and spend the rest of his time writing.

On the other hand, Cui Geng felt like he was not used to the fact that he had only two hours to write. He felt as though the time had gone by before it even started.

Cui Geng felt that the rhythm of his creation was not right during the first half of the week. It took him the entire two hours to get into the right mood.

The computer in the office would record every author's writing time. They could not write for more than two hours.

Of course, it would not matter if the author wrote on his own laptop or went to the internet cafe after work or on weekends. However, there was no requirement for the number of updates and the total number of words in the novel. Who amongst those who chose to participate in the "inspiration class" would write during their break?

That was why Cui Geng found it difficult to adapt at the beginning. He wrote slowly, leaving his readers hanging which was why they scolded him a lot.

However, he gradually adjusted his creative mode.

He used six hours a day to collect materials and finalize the details of the story nowadays. The remaining two hours were enough for him to concentrate on writing. All the content had been carefully considered. He generally did not experience any writer's block.

What's more, the story seemed to be more compact since he had to compress all the content he wanted to write today into a two hour time frame.

Cui Geng felt that it was not bad after gradually adapting to this creative rhythm.

Cui Geng arrived at the work area and quickly got into character after turning on his computer. His hands quickly tapped on the keyboard as each part of the story turned from the concept in his mind into actual words one after the other.

Cui Geng did not dare to delay any longer because he knew that once it was time to knock off, all the mice in the office would come alive. They would run around like real mice and would not be caught anymore.

He had to finish today's work before the mouse ran away.

This week, the "inspiration class" had more people.

More authors from Zhongdian Chinese Network completed their old books, accepted the new Fixed-rate Contract, and came to the "inspiration class" to collect materials while writing.

However, most of them were still being scolded.

The readers of Zhongdian Chinese Network were also aware of the existence of this "inspiration class", and their opinions were growing.

That was because only a small portion of the authors at Zhongdian Chinese Network had finished their old books and started writing Tengda's custom-made IP novels. The range of readers was not that wide.

However, more and more authors were being affected!

Over the past week or so, the readers had watched as the authors who had finished their old books were "unable to protect their integrity". The number of new books that they liked to read had also decreased. Naturally, they were very dissatisfied. They felt that Zhongdian Chinese Network was just messing around and giving instructions blindly. They were biting off more than they could chew. If they took too big of a step, they would easily end up achieving the opposite effect.

However, Zhongdian Chinese Network did not respond to this.

The authors had different reactions.

Some people felt that the current way of writing was quite good. It was very free and could write content that they liked freely if they ignored the protests of the readers. Another group of authors regretted it. They felt that they were not satisfied with the content that they wrote, and the readers were not satisfied. They wanted to go back and continue writing on royalty contract after writing this story.

Obviously, the 'inspiration class' would eliminate a batch of authors after a month or two and leave behind a portion of them.

However, everyone still had to fulfill the current creative contract no matter what. Fortunately, the highest word count requirement was only 500,000 words. It would definitely be completed in at most three months without any delay.

As for Ma Yiqun, Zhu Xingan, and the other editors of Zhongdian Chinese Network, they followed Boss Pei's instructions and let them do whatever they wanted.

Cui Geng did not care about that. It did not matter to him whether the other authors wanted to go back to writing on a royalty contract or continue with the fixed-rate contract.

He wanted to write the story of 'Successor' in peace now.

It would still be a good experience for him even if no one liked it.

Cui Geng had already written the beginning of 'Successor' last weekend.

Cui Geng had almost completed the outline of 'Successor' within a week. He had to perfect the details of every plot.

...

Playboy, rich second-generation heir Phil Simmons, who did not have any special talents, decided to become a superhero. He also obtained a lot of support from his rich father and could use two billion US dollars to realize his dream of becoming a superhero.

Phil had also conducted a very detailed investigation and knew four steps for ordinary people to become superheroes in this era:

Find a way to become a superhero apprentice and debut successfully;

Be careful with his words and actions during observation period, and accumulate supporters;

Participate in the Superhero election and become the spokesperson of a certain group;

Become the top superhero, become the most powerful and influential person in Hope City and even the entire country.

Phil knew very well that it would be extremely difficult for ordinary people to walk this path.

Tens of millions of people in the United States had dreams of becoming superheroes, but only a few hundred people could complete the first step; only a few dozen people could complete the second step; only a dozen or so people could complete the third step; and only three to five people could really stand at the top of the pyramid.

Moreover, Phil was not the first rich person who wanted to become a superhero by throwing money.

There were at least dozens of super-rich people who were richer than his father, Ryan Simmons in Hope City. However, most of them had not become superheroes.

Most of them would choose another path: to indirectly exert influence by hosting a Superhero talent show, providing campaign funds for Superheroes, or investing before they debuted.

When a large financial group became the sugar daddy of many superheroes, these superheroes might not be his lackeys, but they would still give him enough face in most cases.

However, the problem was that such influence could not be achieved just by giving money.

Ryan Simmons was also considered a very famous tycoon in Hope City. However, Phil had not reached the level where he could do whatever he wanted because he did not have much control over the superheroes.

The Simmons family could only control some weaker superheroes.

The citizens of the United States would not allow superheroes to become lackeys of the large financial group. Thus, there were many restrictions in the system.

For example: The large financial group could provide campaign funds to superheroes, but it had to be voluntary and indirect. It could exert influence but could not be completely controlled;

A powerful superhero definitely did not only have one huge financial group behind him. Instead, it was a community of interests formed by many large financial groups. These large financial groups would also form checks and balances. What's more, superheroes could reject the requests of a certain large financial group on the basis of the 'wishes of the people'.

If something were to happen to a large financial group, the superhero would cut it off immediately. He might even "place righteousness before family" and deal with the large financial group personally.

To summarize, the entire plutocrat class controlled the superheroes, but they could also be fish on the chopping board when tycoons were considered individually.

The superheroes at the top had huge combat power and huge influence. They even had huge amounts of money in their hands. They had become invisible tycoons and corporations. They could already reverse their positions with the tycoons.

Rich people like the Simmons family were nothing in the eyes of the top superheroes.

The corporations would also fight openly and covertly for the superheroes, and the Simmons family obviously had no advantage in this aspect.

That was why Ryan Simmons was willing to bet half of his net worth on the future of the Simmons family and support Phil Simmons as a superhero.

Chapter 898: SUCCESSOR (2)

Phil knew very well that the chances of failure were too high if he followed the path of ordinary people.

He had a lot of funds to use but it might not be an advantage for him to take the ordinary people's path. In fact, it might have the opposite effect instead.

Previously, there had been a rich man who participated in a talent show for superheroes. He had added more scenes for himself by giving money to the production team, let his mentor give a higher evaluation, and let some contestants cooperate with his performance.

However, such behavior caused the audience to be repulsed and they boycotted. He managed to gain some popularity by burning money during the broadcast of the talent show, but did not make it to the second stage.

He had to admit that becoming a superhero not only required money, popularity, but also strength. At the very least, he had to make the people like him—no matter what type of liking.

After some consideration, Phil felt that if he participated in the Superhero Selection like the others, he would be walking down the same old path. Would the audience like him? There was a high probability that they would not.

That was because rich people would naturally lose points if they participated in the Superhero selection.

The audience preferred superheroes with tragic backgrounds and a strong sense of social responsibility.

Phil might have fans but in the eyes of the majority of the public, he was a playboy who did not do his job properly. He naturally gave people the feeling that he was 'unreliable'.

What's more, the motive of a rich man participating in a superhero talent show was obvious.

Thus, Phil decided to take another path: personally sponsor a superhero talent show.

At the moment, the exclusive title sponsorship fees for several popular Superhero talent shows had almost exceeded 100 million US dollars.

Of course, the production costs of these talent shows were also extremely high.

That was because Superheroes' talent shows were different from ordinary talent shows. Apart from regular venues, these superheroes had to run a large number of outdoor scenes and arrange some special events.

In addition, they would also need to hire a superhero with enough fame and influence as a mentor if the talent show program wanted influence. These mentors' appearance fees would be astronomical.

Thus, Phil had to spend at least two hundred million US dollars for the possibility of his plan succeeding.

The risk of doing this was extremely huge. This price could get the exclusive title sponsorship fee for many Superhero talent shows, and the exclusive title sponsorship fee could give the Simmons family's real estate business a very good advertising effect.

In other words, he would not lose too much if he used this sum of money to buy the exclusive title sponsorship of other talent shows.

However, Phil could not take the title sponsorship, at the very least, he could not be the main sponsor. On one hand, this attitude was still very obvious. It would easily arouse the suspicion of the audience and affect the overall plan. On the other hand, it was because other large financial groups would definitely not participate without sufficient benefits.

Thus, Phil's plan was to unite with the financial groups behind the two most popular superhero talent show variety shows at the moment and organize the 'Successor' talent show in the name of these two financial groups.

On the surface, the Simmons family would be completely cut off from the variety show 'Successor'. People would not think that it was too much even if they felt that they had interest in it as long as they did not take the title sponsorship.

On the other hand, the two large financial groups had already fought so hard in the field of superheroes. The program would obtain extremely high popularity and attention before it was even broadcasted if they were to jointly be the title sponsors of the variety program 'Successor'.

These two large financial groups could get the title sponsorship of a superhero talent show without having to fork out any money. It was worth at least tens of millions of US dollars. Why would they reject such a good offer?

The only thing Phil Simmons wanted was for the production team of this variety show to use their own people to ensure that the program would develop according to the script that they had designed.

Phil would be a mentor in the variety show 'Successor'.

There were a total of four mentors in the program. Apart from Phil, there was a superhero, a star manager of superheroes and a marketing director of a company behind a superhero.

The other three mentors were all big shots in the field of superheroes. The whole point of their existence was to cooperate with Phil, to create the illusion that Phil was of the same level as these people.

In fact, it was absolutely impossible for Phil to perform at the same level as the other three mentors on such a stage with his ability and knowledge reserves.

However, it did not matter. He had a script.

Phil would be successful as long as he acted according to the script.

Phil did not have the experience of creating a superhero variety show, but there would always be brave people when there were good enough rewards. All of these problems could be easily solved as long as he was willing to spend enough money and hire the right person.

Not every top superhero would be interested in coming to such a variety talent show as a mentor because it was a little like child's play. However, they would be able to find suitable candidates as long as they gave enough money.

'Successor' was commissioned to be produced by a very capable television station in Hope City after Phil spent a lot of money. The auditions and filming work were quickly put on the agenda.

The production of 'Successor' was similar to other Superhero talent shows. The pre-selection was carried out normally, and the potential rookies who wanted to become Superheroes were poached from all over the country. The final winner would be decided through a series of practice and competitions.

It was just that there were some innovations in the rules of the show: They adopted the rules of coaches snatching contestants and team competitions.

The four mentors formed teams and snatched contestants. The four teams would form a group competition to determine the final winner.

Phil had obtained the script for 'second place' on the basis of this rule.

The reason why he took the second place script was because first place was simply too eye-catching. According to the script's arrangement, the team that Phil would form would be a team that "did not look strong but was actually very strong".

In other words, this group of people would deliberately not perform so well during the pre-selection. At that time, Phil would see their potential and recruit them under his team. Their potential would be unleashed in the official group competition. However, there was still a certain gap in strength, so they would lose with regret and ultimately obtain second place.

This way, the audience would feel that this group of people with average qualifications, performed well under Phil's guidance.

It was not Phil's fault that they obtained second place in the end. It was just that the team members were too rookie and could not be brought along.

That way, most viewers would think that Phil was a playboy on the surface, but was actually a very capable person, on the same level as the other three big bosses.

This would lay a solid foundation for Phil's next step.

'Successor' soon became popular even before it was released!

Among these names was a superhero who had been famous for a long time, a star manager of superheroes and marketing director of a company. All of them were famous industry leaders in the field of superheroes. However, apart from these three people, there was also the famous Phil Simmons, a playboy and rich second-generation heir who had many fans on Twitter?

There was immediately a wave of doubts online: Phil Simmons might have a good education background and was a CEO of a company, but was he really qualified to be a mentor for such a program?

However, these doubts were quickly overshadowed. That was because the producers of 'Successor' immediately announced the competition format of the show: four coaches would snatch the contestants and start a team competition.

Thus, those who had doubted Phil Simmons earlier began to gloat. They wanted to see Phil Simmons embarrass himself on the show.

Even though all four mentors had the same "recruitment quota", the best and most promising group would definitely be snatched away by the other three mentors. Phil could only pick up some trolls that were one level lower.

At that time, the team battle would probably be one-sided. Phil's team would undoubtedly become a point-sending baby. It would probably be difficult to win even a small game.

The first episode of 'Successor' was therefore officially broadcasted under this huge popularity.

Chapter 899: SUCCESSOR (3)

Phil Simmons spoke quite well on the show. He chatted and laughed with the other three big shots in a completely equal manner. Phil could firmly catch whatever the other party threw at him without any stage fright.

Not only that, Phil would often make jokes at the expense of himself and tell a few jokes, causing the audience to laugh.

However, things developed as everyone expected at the selection stage : Phil could not recruit any capable apprentices.

'The Successor' had already gone through the pre-selection. Those who came to participate had the potential to become superheroes, but only a few of them could obtain the favor of the judges.

During the live selection segment, the main task of the participants was to leave an impression on the judges and the audience. There were many ways to leave an impression: it could be because of their good looks, special talents or skills, or a good story.

Elegant and likable people would have a much higher chance of obtaining the favor of the mentors if they happened to have a pleasing face and special talents and skills.

Of course, if they did not have these, then a complicated background that attracted the sympathy of the audience could give him a special label. Then, he could also obtain the favor of the teachers.

In the first round, all the outstanding competitors were basically divided up by the other three mentors. They had a minimum of one on their team. Only Phil Simmons' team was still empty.

Thus, it immediately became extremely popular on the internet after the first episode was broadcasted.

Some people thought that Phil did not have the qualifications to be a mentor in this show at all and were gloating over it; others thought that Phil had spoken well and was not at all inferior to the other judges. He was also clear-headed when discussing professional questions, which showed that Phil was still capable.

What's more, Phil did not advertise for his real estate business at all on the show. He did not do it for fame or for profit. That bit of appearance fee was probably far from his net worth. In other words, his participation in this show was probably just a carefree attitude in his game life.

On the other hand, none of the apprentices saw any potential in Phil. Instead, they still treated him as a useless rich second-generation heir. The production team even intended to create popularity by having Phil "sell his pitifulness". That was too much!

Both parties were arguing non-stop online, causing another round of heated discussion.

Many of these voices obviously came from Phil's support and instructions.

'Successor' continued filming and broadcasting amidst the high popularity.

In the second episode, Phil finally obtained his first apprentice. He was very happy and embraced this unimposing black apprentice warmly, promising to get him to become one of the top five of this talent show.

There was another heated discussion on the internet, saying that Phil was boasting and making empty promises. Such a mentor was not worthy of the apprentices following him.

The other three mentors who were also in the show were also mocking this point. One mentor even joked that it was not too late for Phil to withdraw from the competition. However, Phil was not angry at all. Instead, he said with surety that he had the confidence to lead the apprentices to win the team competition.

Soon, all episodes from the first part of 'Successor' were broadcasted.

The teams of the four mentors were all filled up. The teams of the other three mentors looked very luxurious. On the other hand, Phil's team looked very shabby. Most of the apprentices joined in the latter half of the game, and they were all types that the other mentors did not like. The live audience's response was also average. There were even two vacancies in the end. The production team had no choice but to start a revival competition at the last minute. They chose two contestants for Phil from the people who had been eliminated previously to complete his team.

None of the audience was optimistic about Phil's team for the upcoming team competition. More than 70% of the audience thought that Phil's team would definitely be the last in the randomized questionnaire done by the television station. Almost no one thought that Phil's team would be in the top two.

However, none of the audience knew that this was all a script arranged by Phil.

The second part of 'Successor' was a team competition led by four mentors. The competition was divided into four forms:

The first was speech or debate. The production team would give a topic which would often attract a lot of attention. It was most likely related to superheroes.

The mentors would lead their teams in their preparations. They would give a live speech and debate with the opposing team. They would decide the winner based on how much they could convince the audience.

Superheroes had groups that they represented, had their own ideas and principles, and often had to give speeches. The format of this team competition was to test the ability of the apprentices in this aspect.

The second was to formulate a rescue plan. The program team would give a specific scenario, such as a group of criminals holding hostages, and the apprentices would come up with a rescue plan.

However, they did not need to rescue the hostages themselves. Instead, a mock up by professionals would be carried out according to the rescue plan.

Superheroes often had to participate in similar rescue operations, but they could not be brainless pigs. That would instead cause harm to the hostages or cause greater damage to the city.

Superheroes with brains were more popular in the public. The format of the team competition was to test the apprentices' ability in this aspect.

The third type was the combat ability test. The production team would give a specific physical challenge stage, including physical confrontation between the teams, to see which team completed better.

Superheroes needed brains but the necessary physical fitness and combat skills were also indispensable. A superhero who could "fight" would make the public feel safer and would not feel like "this superhero was wasting his superpower".

The fourth was a large-scale comprehensive test.

This kind of test often contained many aspects. It required the team leaders of each team to coordinate and distribute the load amongst the members. The program team would conduct a comprehensive evaluation after completing the task.

These four tests were done step by step. The program team would record the preparations of the various teams throughout and give more scenes to the key characters in it. Gradually, the public would become familiar with these apprentices who might become superheroes in the future.

During this process, there had to be a limit to the coaches' guidance. They could not take it all on and do it all. That would steal the limelight from the apprentices and cause the apprentices who did not have the chance to show their faces to be defeated in the following ratings of favorability. They could not completely leave it alone either, or it might lead to a crushing defeat in the team competition.

All in all, a team competition like a talent show was like a prelude to a superhero's future work.

The first episode of the team competition was indeed as everyone had expected. Phil's team had suffered a crushing defeat in the competition with the other teams.

The production team also gave the least number of shots to Phil's team. This created an illusion for the audience: It seemed like Phil did not do anything, and his team was as useless as him. They quickly lost.

Thus, the discussion about Phil became even worse.

However, Phil's team seemed to have changed completely in the second episode. They obtained second place with outstanding performance.

However, this time, the production team still gave Phil's team the least number of shots. This caused a lot of information during the preparation process to be missing, causing the audience to be dissatisfied.

The audience felt that it was the production team who looked down on Phil's team and did not take them seriously. They gave more shots to the other three teams, causing Phil's team to be treated unfairly even though they achieved good results.

Thus, in the third episode of the team competition, the production team gave Phil's team more screen time. This time, the audience could see the entire process of the preparations made by Phil's team.

Phil Simmons played a crucial role in the preparation process. He constantly encouraged the apprentices and gave them hints and pointers. He did not decide on the plan for the apprentices to carry out. Instead, he used a more enlightening method, to make them think of a more perfect plan.

The originally disorganized apprentices suddenly became full of fighting spirit. Not only did the trust in the team increase by one notch, but they were now united and their individual abilities seemed to shine.

Thus, Phil's reputation in the show began to change.

Many people's impression of Phil changed drastically, and more dimensions appeared in their evaluation of him:

He was a playboy, a rich second-generation heir. He was born at finishing line of many, making people envious and jealous.

He was a genuine person who spoke without thinking on Twitter. The things he liked were no different from poor young people. It made people feel that he was very down to earth.

He had a high education and had opened a company with good results. At his age, this meant that he was very talented and successful in business. He was not only smart but also hardworking.

The most impressive thing was that he was very clear about many problems. He understood a lot more than the average person. Not only was he chatting and laughing with the other three mentors on the Successor, he was also strategizing and leading a team with lousy abilities to win. His standard was completely on the same level as the industry big shots.

Of course, there were still doubts about Phil, and they were getting stronger.

However, the voices supporting Phil became stronger, completely overshadowing the voices of doubt.

Phil's performance in the show had already won over many people after all. Those who doubted him could easily be called "green-eyed monster", "rich-haters", and "Loser mentality".

After the program ended, the black man from Phil's team obtained second place with his outstanding performance.

Phil's promise to bring him into the top five was fulfilled. What's more, he exceeded his promise.

The black man was very grateful to Phil on the show. His eyes were filled with tears, but Phil only smiled and said, "This is all your own effort. I'm only helping you to dig out your potential."

This made the audience feel that Phil was a good judge of character and deserved his title as a "mentor".

After the program ended, the program team worked with a few big management companies. A few outstanding apprentices were arranged to debut as superheroes. They were in great limelight.

Many people thought that Phil would take this opportunity to debut as a superhero.

However, Phil sent a tweet saying that participating in this program was a spur of the moment idea and that he had no intention of becoming a superhero.

After that, Phil no longer participated in any topics related to superheroes. That caused the audience to feel that it was a pity.

However, what they did not know was that Phil's first phase of the plan had been a success.

He might not have debuted as a superhero but he obtained a lot of attention and successfully changed the public's impression of him: from a rich second-generation heir who was completely unrelated to a superhero to a real and capable industry insider who knew the professional content of superheroes like the back of his hand.

Phil had to wait for a better opportunity to carry out the next step of his plan.