Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Chapter 1061: You Link Up Pretty Well...

Lin Wan was stunned. “Huh?”

Pei Qian explained, “In Tengda, every employee consumes about 3.2 packs of snacks every day. The coffee and drinks are calculated separately. Basically, they don’t stop working until they get off work. This is under the premise that many employees decide to lose weight and have some control.”

“However, Slow Movement Studio is still very far from this value. You have to work harder.”

“The amount of snacks you eat can tell how much the employees are invested in their work. If you eat a lot of snacks, it means that the employees are working hard and thinking hard. It consumes a lot of energy so you need to eat a lot of snacks as supplements.”

“Therefore, you have to work harder in this aspect!”

Lin Wan looked surprised.

Eating too few snacks?

Was this a problem that needed improvement?

Or could it be that... there was a deeper meaning behind this?

Lin Wan frowned. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly had an idea. “I understand, Boss Pei!”

“Are you saying that these employees have just joined the company not long ago and do not eat snacks? In fact, it reflects that their attitude in their work is still rather old-fashioned and not relaxed enough?”

“On the other hand, game creation is an industry that requires inspiration. Only with sufficient relaxation can good designs be made. Only in a relaxed atmosphere can colleagues communicate more harmoniously and smoothly?”

“That’s why eating less snacks would reflect insufficient teamwork and the atmosphere would not be lively enough. That would actually affect the daily working state and the quality of the game!”

“We can see the big picture. Only if everyone can eat a lot of snacks without worry can the entire team get on the right track faster?”

“In that case, I’ll send everyone a notice later to encourage everyone to eat more snacks in the future! We’ll distribute two packs of snacks every day!”

Pei Qian was stunned.

He had only said it casually, hoping that the employees of Slow Movement Studio would eat more snacks and work less. He had not expected Lin Wan to come up with so many things in less than a second...

Indeed, this was a veteran employee of Tengda?

Pei Qian could not help but want to hold his forehead. He wondered what was going on. How did he train so many strange employees?

However, there was no way to explain it now. Pei Qian could only agree with Lin Wan and immediately change the topic. “Let’s talk about the VR glasses.”

Lin Wan nodded. “Let’s go to the conference room. My big brother is here too.”

Once he entered the conference room, Pei Qian saw Lin Chang playing with his cell phone.

Lin Chang looked up and smiled when he saw Pei Qian. “Yo, Boss Pei, you’re here? Has Tengda’s cash flow problem been resolved?”

The corners of Pei Qian’s mouth twitched.

Wasn’t that asking the obvious?

Don’t think that I don’t know that you’re the one behind this!

Pei Qian did not think much at first, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was amiss.

Logically speaking, the Sloth Apartments building should be very popular. Why did no one want it?

It was actually a little far-fetched to say that none of the companies wanted to take advantage of the situation. That was because it was impossible for all of the companies that were interested to be so respectful to Tengda that they would give up such a huge piece of meat.

Thus, someone must be trying to help them!

It was easy to guess who this person was. He was either Li Shi or Lin Changzhong.

On the other hand, Li Shi did not have that much power. His influence was limited to Jingzhou. He did not have much say in the bigger real estate companies in the country.

The answer was obvious.

Lin Chang had definitely unleashed a huge amount of energy in this matter that prevented him from selling the building!

Pei Qian chuckled. “I have to thank Boss Lin for your ‘help’.”

Pei Qian had tried his best to speak in a strange tone but Lin Chang did not notice it at all. Instead, he waved his hand in embarrassment. “Hey Boss Pei, you’re being too polite. You’re welcome!”

“Actually, it’s nothing much. It’s just a few phone calls.”

“Boss Pei has contributed so much for Slow Movement Studio. You would even sell the building for this sum of money. How can such a relationship be measured with money?! This small amount of help cannot even be considered as anything. Boss Pei, don’t take it to heart!”

Pei Qian: “...”

Why couldn’t you understand? Was I thanking you?

If not for the fact that the System was controlling my mouth, I would have already cursed you!

Pei Qian was speechless. He found a random chair at the conference table and sat down. “Let’s talk about business. I heard that the research and development budget for VR glasses is not enough?”

Lin Wan nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“The research and development funds that we originally set for the game and the VR glasses were 20 million yuan. There was definitely no problem with the game. It was definitely enough. However, the VR glasses... encountered a problem.”

“Actually, according to our original design, this sum of money is roughly enough. However, after the specific design and communication with the factory, we changed a few versions of the plan. Old Song wanted to use some new technology. With this, the cost would increase...”

Old Song was the product manager in charge of the VR glasses project at Shenhua Corporation.

The investment required for research and development of hardware like this could be more or less. The fluctuation was actually very big. The key was how much it had to be done.

Microsoft had spent hundreds of millions of yuan on developing a small controller, much less on a single piece of equipment.

However, such details were too important. For example, the human body design, durability, hand sensitivity, and unique appearance of the controller had to be repeatedly modified and tested.

However, many domestic manufacturers actually knew how to make controllers. The research and development budget for such controllers was much lower.

Of course, there would be a difference between a good controller and a bad controller. However, the difference would not be that big.

In other words, the cheap controller could be used as well.

After all, paying one dollar would get you a certain quality, but it did not mean that you would get 10 times the value if you pay 10 times the price. The price to pay for increasing the hand sensitivity was huge for this kind of equipment.

In terms of VR equipment, the very sensational first-generation Oculus Rift was produced after a crowdfunding of 2.5 million US dollars. That also included some money for production and stock.

Many domestic companies also used crowdfunding methods to develop VR glasses. For example, a domestically-produced VR glasses with an 8K gimmick had been developed with a crowdfunding of three million US dollars. At present, this VR glass has the highest resolution in the world. Even though the base station and controller were readily available technologies, it was enough to show that the development of the VR glasses did not cost that much money.

The current VR glasses actually did not have much technical content. The only difference from traditional monitors was the way they were displayed.

The two lenses of the VR glasses were based on different visual fields and deep cognition that created different images in local space. They formed a virtual reality field in the user’s brain and made a display effect that was different from traditional screens.

In other words, the information was still the same. It was just a different form of display to players.

On the other hand, Slow Movement Studio had invested 20 million yuan, which could be converted to three million US dollars. That was already considered a relatively large investment at the moment. Ordinary companies would not dare to fork out this money for VR, afraid that they would lose everything.

What’s more, VR glasses and cell phones had similarities. For example, they both needed chips and a basic operating system. These were undoubtedly Shenhua Corporation’s strengths. They could save a lot of money in this aspect.

Originally, this amount of money was enough. However, as the product manager, Old Song was a rather geeky person. He had some new ideas in the design process. What’s more, the research and development of the controller was indeed more difficult than he had expected. That was why he found that he had insufficient funds after coming up with a few designs. That was why he reported to Lin Wan.

Old Song even came up with a plan for the Body Sense Gloves, but he quickly rejected it.

That was because there would be a few problems with making gloves. It would be difficult to solve them with the current technical conditions. For example:

There was a huge difference in the size of a player’s hand. Making gloves meant that one had to make many sizes. What’s more, even if one made many sizes, they might not be completely compatible with a player’s hand. On the other hand, things like gloves would be uncomfortable if they were bigger or smaller. If it was a controller, it could be made into an average size, and all players could use it comfortably.

What’s more, in order to complete the corresponding functions, the controller had to be equipped with batteries, sensors, joysticks, and buttons. The gloves would definitely be too bulky and heavy, and it would be very inconvenient to operate.

Therefore, the glove plan would not work with the current level of technology. It would not be good even if it was barely made to use it. He returned to the controller’s plan honestly.

However, even the controller plan required more money than expected because it was different from the existing VR controller.

Once he heard that, Pei Qian perked up. His eyes lit up. “I told you at that time that there would not be enough money!”

“At that time, you said that 15 million yuan would be enough. I was worried that it would not be enough so I raised it to 20 million yuan. Now, it seems like 20 million yuan is not enough!”

“I have to add more!”

At this point, Lin Chang quickly said, “No problem! Boss Pei, no matter how much you add, Shenhua will add the same amount!”

Pei Qian glanced at him, speechless.

Why are you interfering?

Pei Qian did not want to invest together with Lin Chang at first because Pei Qian wanted to incur losses. If Lin Chang offered the same amount of money, wouldn’t he incur losses as well?

It was better for Boss Pei to bear this alone.

However, when he thought about what Lin Chang had done a few days ago, Pei Qian no longer sympathized with him.

He deserved it!

Pei Qian laughed. “Alright, Tengda will invest another 10 million yuan.”

Lin Chang was stunned. “Huh? That much?”

Pei Qian cleared his throat and said, “If it’s not convenient for Boss Lin, Tengda can take care of everything...”

Lin Chang quickly waved his hand. “No problem! What problem could there be?”

“Shenhua is also investing another 10 million yuan. It’s a done deal!”

“40 million yuan, that’s almost six million US dollars. That’s twice as much as the VR glasses that caused a sensation overseas...”

“There shouldn’t be a problem now, right?”

Lin Chang instinctively felt a little weak even though he was supporting his little sister.

Ten million yuan was not a huge sum to Shenhua Corporation. What he was worried about was whether the project would fail after investing this money. That would be a huge blow to Lin Wan.

However, since Boss Pei had decided to add more money, so be it!

Lin Wan nodded. “That’s definitely enough! However, Boss Pei, is there really no problem with Tengda’s funds? Why don’t you keep the money and let my brother fork out the 20 million yuan...”

Pei Qian’s expression darkened. “Tengda’s funds are fine, very good! You don’t have to worry about that!”

“Instead of worrying about this, you might as well focus all your energy on the research and development of the equipment and the design of the game. I want the product to be released as soon as possible!”

In any case, the day this product was released would not be far from making a loss.

Lin Wan nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell Old Song about it later. That way, his previous designs can be implemented. He’ll definitely be very happy!”

“That’s right, Boss Pei, it’s not easy to come here. Do you want to take a look at the concept art of ‘Animal Island’?”

Pei Qian pondered for a moment. “Alright.”

After all, there was still a long time before DEMO was released. He could roughly understand the game’s style and imagine the game’s graphics by looking at the concept art.

Lin Wan took a laptop from the side, found a few concept drawings of the game, and showed them to Pei Qian and Lin Chang.

Pei Qian scanned it and could not help but feel surprised.

This cartoon concept was... perfect!

The background of the concept picture was a small island on the sea. The island was lush with vegetation and had picturesque scenery. The main part of the picture was various anthropomorphic animals such as kittens, puppies, lions, bears, rabbits, etc. Some were fishing with fishing rods, some were chopping trees with axes, and some were farming with hoes.

There was also a strange robot with a little steampunk style. It was helping these small animals manage the farmland. It created a steampunk-style farming system. Of course, it was also a cartoon version.

Compared to the realistic style of painting, the cartoonish version was relatively easier to master. The cartoonish version would not be too ugly even if one was not particularly talented.

However, it was very difficult to be proficient in the cartoon character. That was because the key to the cartoon character was to draw out the outstanding characteristics in the original image and create it again. It was very difficult to make the cartoon character cute and recognizable while retaining the core essence.

These paintings were obviously masterpieces.

Pei Qian was overjoyed.

Masterpieces meant that they were expensive!

It was definitely a good thing to spend more money.

“One look and I can tell that this is the work of a master. It must have cost a lot, right?” Pei Qian asked casually.

Lin Wan smiled. “Why are you talking about money with Big Boss Ruan? Isn’t there a long-term collaboration price?”

Pei Qian was stunned as a question mark floated above his head.

?

“This was drawn by Ruan Guangjian?”

Pei Qian felt a little lost because he remembered that Ruan Guangjian mainly drew realistic paintings.

Lin Wan nodded. “That’s right. I can only say that the big boss is the big boss. He can draw the cartoon version so well!”

Pei Qian was really speechless.

He suddenly recalled that even though Ruan Guangjian drew a lot of realistic graphics, it did not mean that he did not know how to draw cartoonish designs.

Back then, when Pei Qian looked for artists online for Ghost General, it was because he saw that Ruan Guangjian’s representative works were all cartoonish. He suspected that Ruan Guangjian did not know how to draw realistic paintings. That was why he looked for him...

‘Mission and Choice’ had just been released and Ruan Guangjian was already busy with ‘Animal Island’?

The corners of Pei Qian’s mouth twitched as he said emotionally, “You guys linked up pretty well...”