Chapter 27: Exceptional Employee Benefits!
Chapter 27: Big Employee Perks!
Half a month ago.
Zhang Yang was still an unknown nobody.
Half a month later.
His game, Desert Bicycle, had become a staple single-player game in internet cafes everywhere.
Even if you hadn’t played it, as long as you used the internet and played games, you’d definitely heard of Desert Bicycle—and all the news of people cashing out their earnings.
The all-night gamer opened the official website of Universe Technology.
Then…
He saw a photo of Ge Yumiao holding a trophy still displayed prominently on the homepage.
He felt a pang of envy.
Great God Ge had once been just like him—one of the three worst players at Star Internet Cafe, all trapped in a bleak, hopeless life despised by society.
But now!
Great God Ge had not only won a cash prize but also secured a job.
Every time he came to the internet cafe, he looked like a proper gentleman; he no longer smoked the cheap five-yuan cigarettes but the ten-yuan Baisha brand.
Especially that bright smile…
Qian Cai remembered that before Ge’s rise, his teeth were always waxy yellow, sometimes going weeks without brushing.
But now…
This guy had definitely gotten his teeth cleaned!
These thoughts stabbed at Qian Cai’s heart.
He felt that Ge had betrayed their shared beliefs.
“Want to write something to vent my frustration?”
“There are just too many people who piss me off…”
“…”
Inside the internet cafe, the noise was deafening.
Qian Cai opened Universe Technology’s official site and navigated to the new game submission portal.
At that moment, he felt filled with bitterness.
After glancing at the prize money again, he immediately began furiously typing.
“In the library, those who ignore warnings and continue to make loud noises…”
“Cutting in line unexpectedly…”
“On the bus, reclining the seat without any regard for the person behind, despite repeated warnings…”
“And people in internet cafes who deliberately or unintentionally blow smoke at others!”
“…”
Qian Cai poured out four or five little everyday scenarios, writing them with fierce intensity.
When finished, his anger had eased considerably.
He then uploaded all the little scripts to the official website in one go.
In real life…
When you encounter such people, there seems to be no way to deal with them.
But!
In the game world, you could do whatever you wanted!
At that moment!
Qian Cai suddenly longed to see these scenarios turned into game plots, so he could beat these people up mercilessly!
Just thinking about it made him feel ecstatic!
Not long after submitting…
Universe Technology’s official site responded immediately.
“Thank you for your participation. Please look forward to the adaptations. If you have more creative ideas, please keep submitting. The more you submit, the more chances you have to win big prizes!”
“…”
…………………………………………
“What kind of plan is this?!”
“Ugh…”
“Are you an idiot? You stayed up all night working on this, and this is what you came up with?!”
“…”
At Mingxuan Decoration.
In the manager’s office.
Xu Yin, who had just started working recently, heard a barrage of scolding from his superior.
He felt both angry and wronged.
Angry about what?
He had already revised this plan more than a dozen times, all overnight, following the boss’s instructions!
But no matter how much he changed it, the boss was never satisfied.
Feeling wronged?
The boss’s demands were vague and contradictory, changing from one thing to another, making it impossible to please him.
Xu Yin had mustered the courage to ask for clear instructions, but the boss just snapped, “If you can’t even do this right, why did I hire you?!”
Back at his desk…
Thinking of the boss’s scowl, he wanted to throw the plan right into his face.
This was downright bullying!
But in the end, he didn’t dare, knowing how hard it was to survive in a place like Yanjing where every inch of land was precious.
Late at night.
After the boss left, he casually saw an advertisement online about a “Game Idea Submission” contest.
Like some spell, he opened the official site and furiously typed out an idea.
Not satisfied, he even described the boss’s appearance in detail!
He uploaded it immediately afterward.
His mood brightened considerably, and he let it go from his mind.
When it was past ten at night, he saw a small popup on the official site…
Then…
A chat button appeared.
He clicked it instinctively.
Shortly, a customer service chat box popped up.
“Hello… Congratulations, your idea has been selected after discussion…”
Seeing this, he was instantly jolted!
Holy crap!
Was this for real?
He quickly added the customer service’s chat ID and, amidst excitement and hope, continued to provide more detailed descriptions.
……………………………………
Qian Du Forum.
The “Fierce Beating of the Grass Mud Horse” thread’s popularity exploded wildly.
From a mere couple thousand followers at first to ten thousand, and two days later, it had surpassed fifty thousand—showing signs of overtaking Desert Bicycle.
Inside the forum.
All kinds of script ideas poured in endlessly.
Many people, frustrated with their real lives, seemed to find an outlet here, flooding the forum with curses and complaints.
Zhang Yang, browsing the forum, was amazed by the sheer amount of pent-up anger.
Between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts, teacher-student clashes, boss-worker struggles, and public disputes…
Countless little stories woven from these conflicts nearly overwhelmed the entire forum.
What amazed Zhang Yang to no end was…
He even saw a story about son-in-law conflicts!
Yes, you read that right.
A user named “I am Qian Cai” wrote a story resembling the opening of a son-in-law novel.
“For three years as a live-in son-in-law, I suffered endless humiliation, looked down upon by the wife’s family, even beaten and scolded…”
Zhang Yang’s eyes widened instantly.
It was like being transported back to 2021 in the old world, inundated with novel ads on every video platform!
He clicked on the “I am Qian Cai” user profile and found that this user had submitted over ten anger-filled little scripts all at once.
This guy’s writing skills were impressive; each story was so pungent it made you want to spit blood!
“This guy’s a talent!”
“We have to recruit him!”
“…”
Thinking this, Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes.
After finishing browsing the forum, Zhang Yang checked the download stats for Desert Bicycle again.
The total downloads had already surpassed 390,000.
However,
The download rate had slowed considerably.
After the grand prize ended, all cash rewards except those for completing hidden levels—which were still pending due to someone’s abandonment—had stopped.
This game was primarily a marketing tool.
Without the lure of money, once the novelty wore off, the gameplay itself felt rather ordinary.
Zhang Yang then checked other similar games on the market.
They had downloads too, but overall, the situation looked bleak.
Many were trying to emulate Zhang Yang’s marketing methods…
But whether due to luck or other reasons, these games at best made small profits and never broke into the “Single Player Game Rankings.”
Some had many downloads, but still…
Zhang Yang noticed these games seemed to be losing money.
After shutting down his computer, Zhang Yang left the office.
Outside the office, in the lobby, a group of people were furiously typing away.
Since Desert Bicycle had become a small hit…
Those students who had been brought in for a tour, like Zhao Hang, had all joined the team.
Their first game was slated to be Fierce Beating of the Grass Mud Horse.
But even with everyone on board, the team only numbered seven or eight.
Zhang Yang was taking a big swing this time…
Players’ feedback had overwhelmed the official site and forum.
Clearly, they were still short-staffed.
“Boss Zhang…”
“We really can’t keep up with all the responses…”
“Yeah, Boss Zhang, we’re like a small workshop now, all this information is driving me crazy!”
“Boss Zhang, can we get more people?”
“…”
Zhang Yang heard Zhao Hang stand up, both excited and helpless.
Excited because the game hadn’t even launched yet and player enthusiasm was already blazing.
Helpless because they couldn’t keep up with the flood of players.
Even the art and graphics folks had joined in responding to players.
And…
Zhong Chongwen?
He was busy typing maintenance code nonstop…
Their official site’s servers kept crashing under the pressure!
“Hang in there, guys!”
“This phase will pass…”
“I’m with you! Today, unlimited Red Bulls on me!”
“…”
Zhang Yang found a computer, sat down, and, still under the guise of a “young lady” avatar, joined the busy work.
Not long after, his phone rang.
He returned to his office.
“Is this the boss of Kaidi Electric Bikes?”
“Haha, hello Boss Zhang… I haven’t forgotten—I bought an electric bike next door a few days ago…”
“You saw our game’s popularity? Want to cooperate? Hoping we don’t buy from the neighbor anymore?”
“Sure, cooperation sounds great. Want to hear my proposal?”
“Haha, you asked the right person…”
“…”
Right after that call ended…
His phone rang again.
Seeing the caller ID, his eyes lit up!
“Hello…”
“…”
Half an hour later.
Zhang Yang walked out of the office.
“Everyone, stop for a moment!”
“To all the new team members, after careful thought, I know the future will be tough and commuting isn’t easy…”
“So! Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I’m giving every team member without an electric bike one! For those who already have one, I’ll upgrade it—helmet, raincoat, and an extra battery included. Also, later, everyone give me your size—I’ll get you all a suit. From now on, we’re all people of status. Stand tall and speak with confidence!”
“Also, the company is considering purchasing a batch of smartphones internally. Soon, everyone will have a color screen phone capable of taking photos and playing music…”
“…”
As cheers and applause erupted in the lobby…
Zhang Yang smiled, eyes crinkling.
Zhao Hang and Zhong Chongwen hesitated for a moment…
Imagining everyone riding electric bikes, blasting high-pitched horns…
It was a little awkward.
“Boss Zhang, since it’s a perk, what about those horns…” Ge Yumiao took a deep breath.
“Oh right, thanks for reminding me, I almost forgot. Let’s upgrade the horns too and add another one…”
“Boss Zhang, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re like scrap metal collectors roaming the streets. We make games—we don’t need to be so… um, exposed in real life. That could be a major social embarrassment…”
“…”
“…”
(The End of This Chapter)