Actor: Thank you.

In many cases, death is not a bad thing.

For example, for the wealthy, death means departure, but for their children, it's a great opportunity to transfer wealth.

Kangxi and the princes were the same.

For example, the Titanic.

It was the end of the world for those 1,500-plus passengers, but for Cameron it was a new career peak.

The cold passengers turned into a warm box office.

Zhang Yuan is now dealing with the same thing.

"Why haven't you updated?" he asked, suppressing a laugh and feigning concern.

"Is there a lack of manpower?"

"I was quite busy a while ago, but things are better recently, and I've been able to squeeze out some time."

"You've already provided a lot of help; it's not a matter of manpower," the other person replied hesitantly after a while.

What else could it be?
The game isn't selling well!
I can't be bothered to expose you.

Forget it, let's save face for them for now.

"If it's not human hands, then what is it?"

"Funding?"

"Or have you encountered other difficulties?"

"No!"

"We finally found a game that we could get really into, and now you've stopped updating it. What are we die-hard players supposed to do?"

You can't abandon us!

Zhang Yuan's heartfelt remarks left the other party completely bewildered.

Because the game development team consists of typical otaku, and they have always identified themselves as an otaku group, they are not ashamed of it.

Even their later company slogan was "Otaku change the world".

A characteristic of otaku is that they are clueless when communicating face-to-face, but they are usually quite flirtatious when communicating online.

That is, the legendary repressed passion.

However, Zhang Yuan's overly straightforward and sincere words were a bit too much for these introverted, nerdy guys.

This is his accumulated social experience over the years; sincerity is invincible.

So much so that the production team, who had originally planned to secretly stop updating and take time to consider what to do next, had no choice but to confide in him.

They were short of money and manpower, and no one could see any hope.

The game "Honkai Impact 3rd," which the company is currently operating, has been deemed a failure.

However, disagreements arose within the company regarding the reasons for the failure.

Some people believe that the problem lies with the game genre, as there isn't a large enough player base for anime-style games.

We should play games that appeal to the majority of consumers.

It's the kind of thing that goes like, "If you're a brother, come and fight me."

Others believe that the game itself has problems, but the biggest problem lies in the game's monetization method.

That is, a buyout system!

It only costs 6 yuan on iOS, and Apple takes half of that.

I got three yuan.

How to play?
Selling 100 million copies only yields 300 million in revenue, and that's before tax, without even factoring in any costs.

What's the point of playing then?!

This group suggests imitating the highest-rated mobile game in Chinese history, namely "Three Kingdoms Kill".

Try to replicate their in-app purchase/pay-to-win model.

Skins, cards, equipment, items, and purchase points.

I proposed doing this.

Let's not even talk about whether players can accept it.

After all, these die-hard fans are all here for the buy-to-play model, and they definitely won't agree to the idea of ​​starting an in-app purchase system.

The creator secretly conducted a survey within the group to elicit information, but the response was very negative.

I'm afraid I'll lose my existing fans.

Furthermore, adjusting the pricing model is not something that can be done simply by changing it.

The current engine code does not support in-app purchases; to switch, it needs to be rewritten.

Instead of modifying it, it's easier to rewrite the code and create a new game.

Making new games costs money!

Then the issue returned to internal disagreements.

Even if we're making a new game, should we still go for the anime/manga style?
If we're going to do it, where will the money come from?

Who will do it?
Creating content, whether it's movies or games, is the same.

You think it's good, but the market response is poor.

At this point, most people will doubt themselves and question their abilities and choices.

This kind of confusion is terrifying, and most entrepreneurs simply can't persevere.

They retreated and failed at this step.

In its early years, after Pony Ma launched QQ, it didn't generate profits for a long time and almost got sold.

Once the conversation started, it was hard to stop. The other person chatted with him on QQ for a long time, venting their frustrations.

Besides losing money and being broke, the biggest blow was that his "buddies" fell apart.

As mentioned before, this kind of confusion is terrible; it can destroy a person's confidence.

The production team consisted of four people who started the business together, but now one of them wants to leave.

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan was even happier.

Yoshi!

Where is your company located?

"We've played together and talked for so long, but we've never met."

Let's meet up in person!

"Even if we're going to break up, we should at least have a meal together to commemorate the occasion."

Even if we go our separate ways in the future, we might have a chance to get together again.

"Besides, maybe I can offer some help?"

"Besides Japanese translation, I also have a tiny bit of savings." That's exactly what Zhang Yuan typed.

It refers to "a tiny bit".

The other person thought he had mistyped or was joking.

To be honest, nobody believes me.

After much pleading, the other party reluctantly agreed to meet.

Let's have a meal, chat, and see if there are any new ideas or opportunities.

"Dandan, buy me a plane ticket to Shanghai!" Zhang Yuan shouted as he put down his phone.

"Hello." But the phone rang again very quickly.

It was Ms. Lin who called him.

Zhang Shaohan, whom I asked to contact, has replied and agreed to meet.

"Okay, thank you."

"She will come to the capital as soon as possible."

"It's not the capital city, I need to go to Shanghai. Tell her to go there instead."

"Okay... I'll give it a try." The other person replied, somewhat surprised.

"She just happened to be in Beijing for work, so it was on her way."

"Going to Shanghai would probably be quite troublesome."

"If it's inconvenient for her, then we can reschedule. I'll be going to Shanghai on a business trip these next few days."

Ms. Lin was very puzzled when she heard the firm attitude.

The other day, you were the one who asked me to help contact you; you seemed very eager.

Now that someone has helped you get in touch, you've just abandoned them.

Things have different priorities, and in Zhang Yuan's eyes, the situation in Shanghai was far more important than that of Zhang Shaohan.

It's roughly the same height difference between Guo Jingming and the Oriental Pearl Tower.

He packed his things and hurriedly rushed to Shanghai.

Meanwhile, in the small, run-down office of miHoYo Studio, now renamed miHoYo Ltd., a scene of "family separation" is unfolding.

Just like Liu Wei and Zhang Yuan, the company's general managers in the group, said, there is not enough manpower because the startup team is about to break up.

There were four people in total, who were known as the "Four Heavenly Kings" back then. Four students majoring in electronic engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University founded miHoYo Studio in the D32 male dormitory of Jiao Tong University.

These guys aren't afraid of being called otaku; in fact, they're proud of it because they're not just shut-ins, but top-notch tech otaku who all scored over 600 on the college entrance exam.

It's not an undergraduate degree; it's a master's degree in electronic engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

A science master's degree from Jiaotong University in the early 2000s is undoubtedly highly valuable.

Several of them originally planned to study in North America.

But the 08 financial crisis disrupted many people's educational plans, which brought these people together.

Some people like anime, some like games, so they got together and started a studio, initially just for their own amusement.

Later, he participated in the "New Entrepreneurship Talents" competition organized by the Shanghai government and won third place.

The prize is a low-interest start-up loan of 10 yuan and a small 50-square-meter office in the city center, rent-free for six months.

This led the four tech enthusiasts to embark on their own entrepreneurial path after graduation.

Otherwise, with their degree in that field, they would have had an easy time finding a job back then, with starting salaries of hundreds of thousands of yuan per year.

I first made a vertical, anime-style flight shooting game, somewhat similar to the once-popular Touhou Project series.

But the pace is much slower, and it's called "Fly Me 2 The Moon".

The song title is the famous song "Fly Me to the Moon".

This piece of music was once used as the ending theme for the TV anime "EVA," which is considered a masterpiece in the anime community.

Few people know about this game, and it will be a one-time purchase on the iOS platform for 18 yuan.

It sold over 3000 copies as its first game.

They definitely lost money, but the team was happy to see that people were playing.

Based on our experience, we found that many players complained about the high price and limited content.

The team also wanted to prove their abilities while earning money to sustain the company.

He then hurriedly quit the second game, namely "Honkai Impact 3rd".

As a long-time anime fan, I still have to find inspiration from Japanese anime.

At that time, there was a very popular anime called Highschool of the Dead.

A group of high school students are fighting zombies. The art style is suggestive and the flesh is partially obscured. If you don't know it well, you might mistake it for an hentai anime.

It's a male-oriented, fan service anime.

These days, zombie elements are popular, such as in movies like "Resident Evil" and "Zombieland," and American TV series like "The Walking Dead" are constantly emerging.

Games like The Last of Us are also variations of the zombie theme.

Inspired by this storyline, the shooting game featuring beautiful girls, "Honkai Impact 3rd", was designed.

As a result, the price was reduced to 6 yuan for a buyout, but only a little over 10,000 copies were sold.

Mihoyo internally jokingly refers to its game as "Shit Game".

Because it was made very roughly, the music was all 16-bit.

Sales were so bad that the company almost went bankrupt.

Especially now, they are facing another blow: their roommate, graduate student, and business partner, Jin Zhicheng, one of the top four tech experts, is leaving!
"Zhicheng, don't..." Liu Wei wanted to persuade him, but he couldn't even open his mouth.

I wanted to persuade them to stay, but the words stuck in my throat.

Because their reasons for leaving were perfectly valid!

I need to live, I need to make money, I need a successful career!

Clearly, miHoYo is a complete failure right now; it's a precarious startup that could collapse at any moment.

No one knew that this game, Honkai Impact 3rd, which led to their defeat once again, would later launch a two-dimensional empire.

This led to the creation of the famous "Honkai" series.

It's just a small, rudimentary game right now.

Jin Zhicheng was also reluctant to leave his brothers, but he received a job offer from Cisco.

It's normal for people to look for a backup plan when their business fails.

That's Cisco, not Feike.

A Fortune 500 company, and one of the top-ranked ones, a world-class information and software company.

A sacred place in the hearts of electronic engineers.

On one hand, there's the game dream built together by his old buddies; on the other hand, there's a job offer from a world-class company.

Ideals versus reality: which way to go, left or right?

Most people eventually succumb to reality.

The same goes for this one.

Many successful people are seen as "crazy" by others. So-called crazy people are just a little more persistent than ordinary people.

"There's nothing we can do, but we'll meet again someday."

"As for the shares I own."

"Let's find a time to hand over the responsibilities."

This person's departure signifies a complete departure, a severing of ties, and a farewell to this entrepreneurial dream.

"It's not worth much anyway." He slung his bag over his shoulder, said this, and walked away without looking back.

His resolute steps silenced his friends.

To make matters worse!

What should we do?

"There are only three of us left, along with a few brothers who have followed us all the way."

"We need to eat, and they need to eat too."

"Speaking of eating," Liu Wei raised his eyebrows helplessly, "that big fan is far away and still wants to meet up in person."

"We couldn't stop them; they insisted on coming to Shanghai."

"Since they're here, even if you don't provide accommodation, you should at least treat them to a meal, right?"

"They've helped us a lot, so we can't treat them to a meal. It wouldn't be appropriate to eat Henan noodles afterward."

The Henan-style hand-pulled noodles they're referring to are a specialty product from Shanghai, Tianjin, and a few other parts of Henan province, featuring a curry beef broth.

It is only eaten in a few places across the country. It is a product of the combination of curry powder and Henan beef noodles brought to Henan by young tech workers from Shanghai who were supporting Henan in the past.

In Tianjin, it's called "Yellow Soup Ramen".

Most people in Henan don't know that such a thing exists.

The miHoYo team didn't know that Zhang Yuan actually quite liked eating these cheap, local specialties.

There was no need to request an expensive banquet from the other party.

But people don't think that way.

They were also "fussy about money," feeling they couldn't lose face for the company and the secondary gaming industry.

"I don't have much money on me; I just paid the rent."

"How about we draw some money from the company's accounts?"

"The company doesn't have any money in its accounts either," another Mr. Cai replied, adding that he had no idea how he would be paid next month.

"What should we do?"

They don't even know where to find their next meal.

"How about we seek financing from a company?" Brother Luo suggested.

They never wanted to raise funds; these tech-savvy individuals hoped to earn money with their own hands and support their work through their creations.

Although they had never worked a regular job or worked in finance, the Jiaotong University alumni association had extensive resources and had heard many stories about their predecessors raising funds.

It's possible to raise money, but it also requires relinquishing some of the company's sovereignty.

They've heard plenty of stories about companies being swallowed up by investors.

Again...

"Is it possible for us to secure funding given our situation?"

"Even if someone were willing to give it, how much could they possibly give based on the game's sales?"

How much more should we pay?

"What if the investors don't understand the industry and try to influence us by making us make games and content that we don't like?"

Luo Yuhao, who was in charge of the content, fired off a barrage of questions.

"Come on, let's focus on surviving first before thinking about anything else."

"Is now the time for us to consider these issues, given the current situation?"

"If this continues, everyone will just have to go out and find a job."

Liu Wei waved his hand, indicating that there was no such thing as a free lunch and that he was overthinking it.

Where can you find like-minded people who understand us, understand anime games, and are willing to spend money?

Meanwhile, the monster from the capital is heading towards the Demon City he serves... (End of Chapter)