Since we are both reborn, of course I would choose the rich woman!

Chapter 313 Li Qiuwen: I Do! (6k views, please subscribe)

In the gaming world, students have always been the majority of players.

Middle school students, high school students, college students... Just these three student stages alone have hundreds of millions of players. If a game company can capture even one-tenth of them, it will be enough to survive.

However, because this group of students is young, energetic, quick-witted, and poor enough, they really like to go to internet cafes.

Especially in 2016, the concept of internet cafes began to emerge, and many internet cafes installed high-performance computers. While providing players with a better user experience, they could also engage in some gray-area virtual currency industries.

Therefore, internet cafes rapidly emerged between 2016 and 2019.

Therefore, Shunwang's ranking of internet cafe game popularity has become the authoritative statistic in the gaming industry, especially in the PC game industry.

In 2016, League of Legends had been running for five years. Many games would have reached the end of their operation in five years, but League of Legends was still very popular in China, especially since it was almost dominated by the Sina team from the neighboring country.

The enthusiasm of domestic players has never been fully released or satisfied.

With this pent-up energy, League of Legends has maintained a consistently high level of popularity.

In addition, the operation of League of Legends in China is indeed quite good. Many top-ranked players and professional players have gradually formed a fan culture for the game through the live streaming effect, gaining a group of loyal followers. Therefore, League of Legends' ability to generate wealth is also top-notch.

To put it simply, when Lü Yao was studying abroad, he met a top-tier League of Legends player on Huya (a Chinese live streaming platform). At the height of League of Legends' popularity, this guy not only had wealthy women coming to spend money on him every week, but he also opened blind boxes with many "e-sports girls" during the same period.

He was living a really comfortable life during that period.

This guy, who was originally just a cog in an electronics factory, managed to "defy fate" to some extent through the game "League of Legends".

Influenced by such "cases," many young people rush in during this period like moths to a flame, hoping to become masters of their craft.

Therefore, the popularity of the game "League of Legends" is almost non-existent in the PC game category.

However, after five years, League of Legends has accumulated many drawbacks in the process of operation, especially the ELO mechanism, which is like a breeding ground for pests. As the mechanism has evolved, it has become more and more mature, but this maturity is not a good thing. It will forcibly lock the player's win rate through mature big data.

Around this time in 2016, many talented young gamers would mock those who couldn't beat the promotion matches or failed to advance, telling them to "practice more if you're bad."

But ten years later, when new players have more and more choices and the residual data in the League of Legends data pool becomes increasingly toxic, even a prodigy will be defeated in Silver rank.

For example, ten years later, the performance of Arora, a Challenger in League of Legends, in Silver rank was comparable to that of a Silver-ranked female player in Challenger rank...

Perhaps the hero Alora wasn't dominant in that version.

But it's already quite problematic that a Silver-ranked female player can achieve similar results in a Challenger-ranked game.

With the impact of Guangan Network Games and Tencent's MOBA mobile games, more young players are flocking to MOBA mobile games, which have lower device performance requirements and a more satisfying gaming experience. As a result, a large portion of the popularity of the PC version of "League of Legends" has already been siphoned off.

With its more innovative gameplay, faster pace, and even the ability to earn some pocket money, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" began to spread rapidly.

Players who were introduced to the game five years ago, as well as those who only became eligible and able to play PC games in the last year or two, have flocked to the embrace of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds".

For players, choosing which game to play is not a difficult choice between two options.

They will play whichever game is fun and offers a richer and more engaging experience.

However, for game developers, players' screens are limited, and the games they can play at any given time are also limited. Therefore, whoever can capture players' screen time wins over the players.

Especially in places like internet cafes.

After losing a few games in a row in League of Legends, many players in internet cafes will think about switching to another game. After all, they paid to go online, and they want to have a good time! That's when PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) comes into their view.

This game is really cunning. The "poor guy gun modification" that has recently become popular in it is all about being able to fight, play defensively, and annoy people. Many passersby in internet cafes are very puzzled when they see their friends being taken down in one go and they laugh. Dude, you're just like a nobody on the street, getting kicked to death in one kick, what are you happy about?
Then the guy who died tells you, "The bullets he fired at me were worth more than all my gear. When he sees my gear, he'll be so disgusted he won't be able to say a word."

This has piqued the interest of many internet cafe gamers.

Players from Dongda University are all somewhat "cunning" at heart. They usually like to pursue "ultimate critical damage" in games, or they have a strange obsession with body size, or they like to annoy others, or they like to gamble in games...

These characteristics are even more pronounced in the game "Auto Chess".

The "search, attack, and retreat" method of tomb raiding takes the "causing trouble for others" aspect to the extreme.

Winning is a huge profit, dying is no loss, and getting your bag looted is a way to annoy the rich guy. Who wouldn't love this kind of game?

The key thing is that this crappy game has a fast pace!

The longest session is half an hour, it's mandatory.

If you're quick, you can start the next game in one minute and thirty seconds.

Therefore, with the boost from the summer vacation, the game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" narrowly edged out "League of Legends" in the summer of 2016.

Shunwang's statistics are published daily on its official WeChat account, Weibo account, and other media platforms. After PUBG first surpassed League of Legends in late June, PUBG has been narrowly widening the gap with League of Legends every day.

By the end of June, the PC game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" had already established a stable lead of 500,000 daily active users over "League of Legends".

So by the end of June, the entire PUBG project team was in a frenzy.

Zhang Jingwen was so excited that he paid for a grand banquet for his officials out of his own pocket.

However, Lü Yao did not seem particularly excited, because it is much more difficult to operate and play FPS games well in the long run than MOBA games.

2016 was actually the peak of League of Legends. Every year after that, League of Legends went downhill, but in the PC game field, only League of Legends has been laughing for ten years.

In 2018, League of Legends experienced a sudden resurgence for a period of time due to IG's championship victory.

But Lü Yao doesn't really intend to crush Tencent in the gaming industry.

The company's efforts in the gaming sector are partly aimed at making money, and partly at diverting Tencent's attention.

Penguins are now facing the dilemma of dividing resources.

At Zhang Jingwen's celebration banquet, after finishing his drinks with a group of people, Lü Yao sat quietly in a corner, pondering possible countermeasures for Tencent.

Douyin is currently in a cold start and slow development stage.

Lu Yao's games are starting to ramp up their efforts again, which will temporarily shift Tencent's attention to Guang'an Network Games. At the same time, the message Lu Yao made at the beginning of 2015 will soon be fulfilled.

Auto Chess will be launched in the second half of this year, and it will be a cross-platform version.

Simultaneously.

Guangan Network Games' gaming platform will also be launched in the second half of this year.

There's a lot to do in the second half of this year.

One is the release of a game, another is the release of a game platform, and yet another is the release of the Xiaomi Geek Phone, which is a collaboration with Xiaomi... This phone will also be released in the second half of this year.

Xiaomi made many moves in 2016.

Whether it's the Redmi 3 and Xiaomi 5 released in the first half of the year, or the Xiaomi 5s series to be released in the second half of the year, the Xiaomi Mix attempting to break into the high-end market, or the Xiaomi Note series... all these actions are enough to show that Xiaomi is under a lot of pressure and has many ideas in 2016.

This also reflects Lei Jun's investment philosophy to some extent: "Whether it works or not, just do it!"

This broad-based approach has indeed allowed Xiaomi to accumulate considerable wealth, but these strategies have not enabled Xiaomi to break into the high-end smartphone market.

This is in Xiaomi's DNA.

Even the later hit "Xiaomi Suqi" attracted a lot of ridicule from the public, forcing Lei Jun to stay active for half a year before he could stabilize the status of "Xiaomi Suqi".

But the geek phone that Lü Yao created might help Xiaomi break into the mainstream in this area.

Amidst the commotion at the banquet, Lü Yao finally made up his mind to play the three cards he had been preparing for so long at the end of October this year.

At the end of the celebration banquet tonight, Zhang Jingwen came over again to offer a toast.

Already quite drunk, Zhang Jingwen was staggering as he walked, his face flushed and head spinning. Holding his wine glass, he spoke with heartfelt sincerity, as if he wanted to give Lü Yao a real-life heart-to-heart: "President Lü! Although I, Zhang Jingwen, am somewhat famous in the gaming industry, if I hadn't followed you, I probably wouldn't have achieved such great success in my life!"

"My life has been worthwhile so far!"

After saying that, Zhang Jingwen picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Lu Yao quickly replied enthusiastically, "Oh, what are you saying? Let's keep up the good work and we'll definitely achieve even greater things in the future."

Zhang Jingwen confidently declared, "I believe that under your leadership, General Manager Lü, we can definitely succeed! Everyone will do their best to achieve even better results."

The atmosphere at the celebration banquet was great, and Lü Yao could tell that everyone was really motivated.

Zhang Jingwen's performance tonight was a bit over the top.

But this is quite normal. Men are three-tenths drunk, and they can act so well that you cry, not to mention that everyone genuinely feels that the future is promising.

After the celebration banquet, Lü Yao said goodbye to the "PUBG" project team and then prepared to call a designated driver to go back and rest. But just as he took out his phone to call a designated driver, a slender and graceful figure suddenly broke through the night and turned to the side of Lü Yao's car.

"Li Qiuwen? What are you doing here?"

Zhang Jingwen chose a large hotel not far from the company as the venue for the celebration. Although it was not far, Lü Yao did not expect to run into Li Qiuwen there.

Li Qiuwen smiled charmingly: "Boss, have you had too much to drink? Would you like me to be your designated driver?"

Li Qiuwen was dressed up carefully tonight. She wore a satin halter-neck, backless, ruffled dress with a thin ribbon hanging from her neck and chest. The loose front was stretched taut by her figure.

The bodycon design perfectly accentuated Li Qiuwen's figure, which was neither too plump nor too thin.

The gentle evening breeze of late June in southern China enhanced her allure to a whole new level. If Lü Yao were still the Lü Yao who had nothing, he certainly wouldn't have refused such a treat delivered to his door.

But even after drinking some alcohol, Lü Yao remains perfectly sober.

In reality, men are always very clear-headed when it comes to matters of the heart. Those who say "drunkenness leads to promiscuity" are just cowardly excuses. In all these years, Lü Yao has never heard of anyone transferring money recklessly while drunk.

So Lü Yao grabbed his car door, looked around, and saw two security cameras in the parking lot of the hotel. Feeling a little relieved, he asked, "I've already called a designated driver. You didn't come here so late just to be my designated driver, did you?"

Li Qiuwen's brain went blank for a moment.

This doesn't match what she envisioned, nor what advice others had given her.

Why is my boss so wary of me?
Li Qiuwen was already very shy, and it was only after being encouraged by others and after a long period of mental preparation that she finally came here to find Lü Yao.

When Lü Yao rejected her, her thoughts, her actions, and the shame and remorse she felt made her face flush red instantly.

Faced with Lü Yao's questioning, Li Qiuwen's mind went blank for a few seconds before she bit her lip and lowered her head, saying, "I...I just happened to be passing by. Um...I was supposed to meet a friend here tonight, but they stood me up."

As Li Qiuwen spoke, her voice grew softer and softer.

Thankfully, women's thinking in 2016 hadn't yet evolved into the later, more obsessive phase; otherwise, after being humiliated by Lü Yao, even slightly obsessive women would probably have started putting on a show:

"Please, you don't think I'm trying to throw myself at you, do you?"

"No way, no way, you can't really be that gullible, can you?"

"Tch, who cares about you?"

Having not experienced the later versions of the story, Li Qiuwen even seems somewhat adorable at this moment.

Li Qiuwen was thrown into a panic after being rejected. She said "I'm sorry to bother you" to Lü Yao and prepared to run away.

Seeing Li Qiuwen's performance, Lü Yao became even more certain of his suspicions.

Lü Yao called out to Li Qiuwen, "Wait a minute."

He leaned against his car, took out some tangerine peel from his pocket and popped it into his mouth—although he no longer needed to quit smoking, tangerine peel had become the new substitute.

Lu Yao looked at Li Qiuwen and asked, "Who sent you here?"

Li Qiuwen panicked even more: "I... no one told me to come. I came here on my own."

Lu Yao remained silent, simply gazing at Li Qiuwen with his eyes.

Li Qiuwen became increasingly flustered and ashamed under Lü Yao's gaze, her head bowed as if it were a withered flower.

After a long pause, Lü Yao finally said, "Have you ever considered that you've been used as a pawn?"

This is actually a way of getting information out of people.

After a violent tremor, Li Qiuwen still shook her head and said, "No, it's because I was too eager to achieve results."

That was the case originally. After listening to Yao Xinjie and Chen Xiaoyu, she realized that to achieve results, one had to pay a certain price, so she consulted Yao Xinjie and Chen Xiaoyu.

Hearing Li Qiuwen say that, Lü Yao laughed.

So Li Qiuwen is just too eager to improve?
But given Li Qiuwen's personality and experience, she wouldn't have thought of such a "wicked" method if she wanted to improve. There must be a sorcerer guiding her behind the scenes, and Li Qiuwen's own words actually confirm this.

Lu Yao chuckled softly, "So the person who gave you the advice was quite cunning. They deliberately threw out the wrong information, making you think that if you wanted to become famous in my MCN company, you had to pay a price. Then they kept giving you confidence and encouraging you to pay the price."

"Isn't this just using you as a pawn?"

Li Qiuwen was stunned.

Although it's the same thing, the whole event takes on a completely different flavor when the starting point changes.

Li Qiuwen, who had only recently entered the workforce, was a little confused: "No, really?"

Although she was starting to believe what Lü Yao said, she couldn't understand what Yao Xinjie and Chen Xiaoyu were after...

As if seeing right through Li Qiuwen's thoughts, Lü Yao asked her directly, "Are you wondering what they're after?"

Li Qiuwen looked up in shock, then quickly looked down again.

Standing before Lü Yao, she looked as innocent and naive as a primary school student.

Lu Yao laughed and said, "They have many motives. For example, they feel that they are not getting enough money now and want to go solo, but they don't want to pay the penalty for breach of contract, so they are trying to ruin me; or someone from a rival company has bribed them."

"It's even possible that they were actually spies planted in our company by someone from a rival company. More likely, it's that some people just don't like me and want to get rid of me."

Li Qiuwen felt a bit numb. She hadn't expected there to be so many twists and turns behind this matter, which made her feel uneasy, like she had a thorn in her side, a fishbone stuck in her throat, and sitting on pins and needles.

Lu Yao even started to speculate for Li Qiuwen: "You were recommended by Cheng Xinyu in the company and were expected to achieve great things, but you haven't been able to make any significant progress in all this time. It seems that your fan growth has also reached a bottleneck recently. So you have a weakness in your mindset and have been taken advantage of."

"If you've been persuaded to come here, and I fail to make you a sensation in a short time, you'll definitely feel even more resentful. Even if I give you a lot of resources, you'll still feel bitter."

"If someone else then gives you a push, making you falsely accuse me of molesting and defaming you, and uses this to create a stir... do you think you could resist being instigated and encouraged by others at that time?"

Li Qiuwen's lips turned white.

In late June, the evening breeze in Shangnan was as warm as a feather, but Li Qiuwen felt a chill down her spine.

If what Lü Yao said is true, she... really doesn't know if she can resist the temptation.

Lu Yao continued, "In the workplace, no one is ever kind to others for no reason. People who are kind to you always want something from you, either to curry favor with you or to take advantage of you."

Li Qiuwen placed her hands in front of her, bowed slightly, and said, "I'm sorry, boss. I know I was wrong. I will be more careful in the future."

"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

Filled with shame and embarrassment, Li Qiuwen only wanted to escape as quickly as possible, but Lü Yao had no intention of letting her leave so easily. As Li Qiuwen turned and hurried away, Lü Yao began to exert his power: "If I weren't so clear-headed and let the people scheming behind the scenes succeed, have you thought about what would happen to you?"

Li Qiuwen slowed her pace.

Lu Yao continued, "No matter what advice the people who give you later come up with, it's highly unlikely they can completely affect me, especially in Shangnan. At that point, your only option is to put this matter on the internet, let it ferment, and let its influence grow into widespread attention across the internet."

"But that's when your crisis will begin."

Lu Yao stopped leaning against the car and walked over to Li Qiuwen: "You should know that I am very good at marketing and fabrication. It is a bit difficult to make someone a positive internet celebrity, but it is too easy to ruin someone."

“I can even use my own energy to weld some particularly negative labels onto you.”

After hearing Lü Yao's story, Li Qiuwen developed a great fear of him, and instinctively took two steps back as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

Lu Yao smiled and said, "Of course, these are all hypothetical scenarios. After all, I don't think I followed the original script. But being schemed against like this, especially such a low and clumsy scheme, makes me very unhappy."

He looked at Li Qiuwen: "You're not just going to let this go, are you?"

Li Qiuwen's lips trembled.

The treacherous nature of the adult world made her somewhat timid.

Lu Yao continued, "Didn't you want to achieve results as soon as possible? Now you do have an opportunity, and it will also give you more experience, allowing you to see people for who they really are and to purge some bad apples from within the company. It's a win-win situation."

As he spoke, Lü Yao looked at Li Qiuwen from afar and asked, "Are you willing to help me?"

Although it was phrased as an inquiry, even if Li Qiuwen were naive, she would know that now was not the time to refuse her boss. Moreover, she was already angry about being manipulated and used as a pawn.

So without much hesitation, Li Qiuwen nodded earnestly and said, "I'm willing!"

Eh?
Something sounds off.

Shouldn't these three words be uttered by a girl in a pure white church...? Li Qiuwen was momentarily lost in thought.

Looking at Li Qiuwen's appearance, Lü Yao couldn't help but think of himself when he was studying abroad in the future, not long after graduating from school. At that time, he was similar to Li Qiuwen now, or even worse. His eyes were truly clear yet foolish.

This made Lü Yao lament the failure of higher education in China, but amidst the lament... he also felt a sense of nostalgia.

Back then, he wasn't the cunning old man with a mind full of tricks; he could be moved by some pure things.

At this moment, Lü Yao had a deeper understanding of the line, "I wanted to buy osmanthus flowers and share wine, but it's not like the carefree days of my youth."

Looking back at the scenery you saw when you were twenty at thirty, your thoughts and feelings are completely different...

After returning from studying abroad in the future, Lü Yao "possessed youth and the feeling of youth," but he could never experience true youth again.

Lu Yao looked at Li Qiuwen and said, "Be more careful in the future. Think more about the motives behind everything. Once you think about this, you can see through 80% of things instantly, and you won't be so easily taken advantage of or tricked by others."

Li Qiuwen nodded shyly, her voice barely audible, "Mmm."

Very strange.

Although she was being reprimanded by her boss, Li Qiuwen's heart was stirred by these lessons.

This feeling of being taught...

It seems pretty good?
(End of this chapter)