Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Pei Qian had not imagined that he would come across a review of Ghost General on a portal website!

Out of curiosity, he clicked on it. 𝑓𝗿𝐞𝘦𝘄ｅ𝘣n𝘰𝘷eƖ.c𝘰𝗺

“Recently, a game named Ghost General has taken over mobile games by storm. Despite the fact that the game’s creator had not intended to advertise it on his own accord, the download volume for the game in its first week had hit close to 80,000!”

“Based on the figures, be it in terms of active players or satisfaction level and retention level towards the game, it has far surpassed any other mobile game released at the same time. In fact, it has left them entirely in the dust!”

“In the past, industry watchers have analyzed that the mobile card games industry was sunsetting such that even the progenitor of it all, Qute Three Kingdoms, has met with a declining player base and profit margin. There was seemingly no good way of getting about it.”

“However, Ghost General has completely refuted that analysis and has proven that there is still a huge potential for growth within the mobile card games industry!”

“So, why has that game been able to go against the tides and position itself in the eyes of many players as the successor of Qute Three Kingdoms to be the next generation of mobile card games?”

“I shall start my professional analysis to unveil the secret to success behind Ghost General!”

“Firstly, Ghost General did not follow along the cartoonish art style that was started by Qute Three Kingdoms. Instead, it chose to redesign the characters of the Three Kingdoms in a complete overhaul that brought about a fresh experience for the gamers.”

“Most gamers have long grown tired of the repetitive cartoonish characters. The epic ink oil painting style allowed gamers to imagine a brand new Three Kingdoms and that caught their fancy from the get go.”

“Secondly, Ghost General’s gameplay is extremely simple. It removed all the bloated elements of existing mobile card games and merely retained the essence and fundamentals of the classic playstyles which served to remove the burden off gamers!”

“Qute Three Kingdoms and other similarly mature mobile card games have been constantly adding new elements to the game such that an initially casual game turned into one that was extremely exhausting and tiring for the gamers.”

“Since Ghost General has merely retained the fundamental gameplays, a gamer would only have to spend a mere hour or two daily. That earned the good graces of many casual gamers as they no longer had to fight against time like with other games!”

“Thirdly, Ghost General is simply a game of conscience!”

“Other than the purchase price of 10 yuan, the only purchasable item in the game is a 30 yuan permanent membership card. That means that all players are basically equal and without any paywalls, they are able to enjoy the full experience of the game!”

“These are the key elements of success for Ghost General and the reason why it’s been receiving rave reviews!”

“Perhaps, Ghost General might be the impetus for mobile card games to head in the same direction. I believe that in the future, there is going to be more casual and fair mobile card games just like this!”

Beneath the article, netizens were commenting furiously.

“Professional!”

“Amazing article!”

“Indeed, I started playing Ghost General because it was fair and I didn’t have to spend cash in order to get a rare card!”

“Also, I really like the style of the game! Just collecting all the cards and achievements is enough to keep me playing for an entire year!”

Everything else was similar.

After reading the article, Pei Qian was starting to doubt life.

What the hell?

Is the Ghost General I created the same game that you guys are playing?!

The reason why I changed the art style was to deter gamers who liked the cartoonish styles!

Turning the gameplay simple? That wasn’t of my own accord! Those were the only functions that the templates I purchased had! I couldn’t even modify it with the game editor even if I wanted to!

A game of conscience?

That’s because I didn’t want whales to affect my goal of losing money!

How are these being interpreted as pros of the game now?!

Pei Qian truly wanted to die.

This was a mad world and something must be wrong with it!

Placing his phone down, Pei Qian contemplated life silently.

...

“Boss Pei, hi! Sorry for the long wait!”

A man in his thirties clad in a suit knocked before entering and shaking hands with Pei Qian.

“I’m Exxon Human Resources Corporation’s Handong Province’s regional manager, an experienced headhunting consultant at the same time. I’m pleased to be able to serve you. You can call me Lawrence.”

This consultant who started off with an English name was extremely polite because Pei Qian had already informed the receptionist of his identity right upon entering – the boss of Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd.

A one to one service by a headhunting consultant of the managerial level would require additional fees. However, Pei Qian showed no hesitance at all and that was enough to tell of his generosity.

There was naturally no way the headhunting company would drag their feet around such a client.

But of course, Pei Qian’s main intention was to spend money from the system and that was why it did not hurt him at all and he could appear so casual about it.

“Hi, Manager Lawrence. I’m here with the sole intent of hiring an assistant,” Pei Qian started straightforwardly.

“Sure. Could I check with you on your general expectations?”

Manager Lawrence retained a professional smile.

“Hmms... the most expensive one!’ Pei Qian’s face was clear – he had no lack of money.

Since employee salary would be deducted from the System Funds as well, Pei Qian naturally wished to get someone with a higher salary – the more salary deducted, the more he would lose!

Manager Lawrence chuckled. “Alright, that’s one aspect. Noted. However, I’ll still need more details. For example, are you leaning towards a head assistant who’s like an administrative secretary or perhaps a hardworking young blood whom you’re looking to groom?”

Pei Qian was slightly stunned. “Is there a difference?”

Smiling, Manager Lawrence explained, “Of course there is.”

“An administrative secretary type of head assistant is usually an exceptional young woman who is all-rounded but focuses on the trivialities that the president is unable to spare time on. You can think of them as managers of superstars.”

“Their annual salary would range between 100,000 to 350,000. The ceiling cap for the extremely exceptional ones would be around 400,000.”

“Whereas for the young blood, they would normally be exceptional young men who would be groomed to be the backbone of the company. There’s a chance that they could be a vice-president or a successor for the president...”

“But of course, these qualities can coexist as well. What’s important is your requirements.”

Pei Qian did not hesitate at all. “The former.”

There was nothing to think about – Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd. comprised of only two people at the moment. He must be crazy if he were to start contemplating about successors.

Besides, Pei Qian had no interest in male secretaries!

None at all1

Manager Lawrence nodded. “Alright. Hold on for awhile. I’ve got a couple of resumes that you could perhaps screen through and shortlist from.”

After awhile, the resumes were placed before Pei Qian. free𝒘ℯ𝗯𝙣𝗼ν𝑒𝗹.𝒄o𝒎

All of them were beautiful young women who had similar resumes.

They were all elites of the education system.

Not only were their English fluent, there were even those who had mastered a couple of languages.

When it came to past employment, a few of them had taken on the role of a head assistant with some of the top rated domestic corporations.

There were even some with additional skills such as accounting skills and law knowledge et cetera.

Manager Lawrence added, “These candidates are the most exceptional talents for head assistants in the Handong Province. Our headhunters have been in contact with them before and we guarantee that be it in terms of conversation, handling relationships or matters, they are all wise and savvy.”

After flipping through everything, Pei Qian took out the resume with the highest expected salary.