Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

At night…

Qiao Liang accessed Aili Island and looked through the newest episode of Products of the Gods. The passionate gamers had already pushed him to first place in the gaming channel and third place in the entire site.

At the rate things were going, reaching first place in the entire site by the next day was not a faraway dream for Qiao Liang.

He clicked on the video and scrolled down to the comments section. When he read the praises that his fans had for him, he felt satisfied.

Look, this was a true first-tier UP Master.

A first-tier UP Master only needed to casually upload a video for it to rank among the top videos on all of Aili Island!

While feeling immensely pleased himself, Qiao Liang also felt grateful towards Boss Pei.

If Boss Pei had not produced a game that could generate so much discussion, Qiao Liang would not have had a chance to produce a video like that. He would not have stood out among the other gaming content creators.

After reading comments from all the bootlickers, Qiao Liang prepared to exit the browser and continue editing the first episode of Repent and be Saved's complete walkthrough.

Although Qiao Liang wanted to wait for some time before uploading it, the game was getting extremely popular now. He had to grasp the opportunity to ride on its popularity.

If every episode of his complete walkthrough could be ranked among the top videos on Aili Island, he would obviously gain a lot of new fans. The amount of sponsored partnerships he would receive in the future would naturally increase as well.

Qiao Liang posted an update. "The first episode of the walkthrough is officially in production! Stay tuned! Also, many friends have told me that their hardware is not good enough for the game. I suggest that you try the game at a high-end internet cafe. For my friends who are in Jingzhou, I especially recommend Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. It'll give you the perfect gaming experience for sure. Of course, the only flaw is that you won't be able to blame the hardware if you die."

He took the chance to advertise Fish-Catching Internet Cafe on Boss Pei's behalf.

After making his presence known on the site, Teacher Qiao finally moved to close the browser. At that moment, he received a private message.

He clicked it and realized that it was from another UP Master.

"Hello, Teacher Qiao. I am a content creator and an exchange student from the United States. My name is Hao Shuaiqi. I love Repent and be Saved, too, and I am thinking about livestreaming the game on Link Live. I hope to be able to use some of your content, and I'm wondering if that's okay with you. Thank you."

Qiao Liang paused. He had an impression of this UP Master.

He was an exchange student from overseas. He spoke shabby Mandarin, but his videos were quite good. He was also quite popular on Aili Island.

He clicked the user's display picture and verified that it was him.

Qiao Liang was elated. He quickly replied, "Of course!"

Qiao Liang knew about Link Live. It was a new livestream platform started by a certain popular chat software.

In China, they had ZZ Live-Stream, which was also a relatively new livestream platform.

However, Link Live was started much earlier overseas. There were more functions, and it was more user-friendly. Naturally, it was also more popular than the local ZZ Live-Stream.

If this foreigner could live-stream Repent and be Saved on Link Live, wouldn't he be glorifying traditional Chinese culture?

What's more, if Qiao Liang became friends with this UP Master, they might be able to collaborate in the future. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?

Thus, Qiao Liang immediately agreed to the UP Master's request. He also specifically mentioned that if Hao Shuaiqi met with any problems while playing the game, he could ask Qiao Liang for help. Qiao Liang promised to help him seriously.

After all, Repent and be Saved was a complicated game. There were also many secondary plots and riddles which made use of traditional Mandarin. Given the foreign UP Master's shabby Mandarin, Qiao Liang was certain that he would be confused.

Both of them chatted for a little while more and built a pleasant relationship. They officially became friends and agreed to discuss their experience in the game regularly.

Hao Shuaiqi also expressed interest in recording his Link Live livestreams and uploading them on Aili Island. He hoped that Teacher Qiao would share his videos when the time came.

…

…

October 8th, Friday…

At Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Huanyu Tianjie branch…

Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were seated at the resting area in the internet cafe. The latest episode of Products of the Gods was playing on the big screen.

"Brother Ma, the internet cafe is becoming more and more popular now. That's why I always say Boss Pei is far-sighted."

Zhang Yuan scanned the internet cafe which was already more than half-filled. "Do you think Boss Pei had planned for all of this? Did he know that the game would become so popular after its release? Did he know many people would try and play the game at the internet cafe? Was that why he told us to open this store as quickly as possible and to open three others at the same time?"

Ma Yang giggled. "That's for sure. Brother Qian would never do something he's not confident in. I think he must have planned for all of this.

"Speaking of which, I secretly went to Xing Le Internet Cafe the day before—the cafe that copied us and claimed to be on a 'high-end path'. Guess what I saw. The computers lagged when I tried to run Repent and be Saved. The hardware just could not run the game smoothly at top-quality!"

Zhang Yuan paused. "It couldn't? Aren't Xing Le Internet Cafe's computers high-end as well?"

Ma Yang shook his head. "I saw their specifications. They're a far cry from the computers you set up. They must have cut corners. Our computers—monitors, peripherals, and all—cost more than twenty thousand yuan in total. One system unit alone could cost more than ten thousand yuan.

"From what I observed, a system unit in Xing Le Internet Cafe costs five thousand yuan at most. Can they even be compared?

"It can barely run Repent and be Saved. The graphics and quality have to be adjusted downwards, and the gaming experience is only average.

"Haven't you realized? The people playing games at our internet cafe are mainly playing Repent and be Saved.

"What happened with Chen Lei had already made our Fish-Catching Internet Cafe relatively well-known. Then came the nameless restaurant's success and Quanmin Reviews' ratings. Now, we are extremely well-known in Jingzhou!

"Every time someone mentions a high-end internet cafe in Jingzhou, everyone thinks about Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.

"Brother Qian really emphasized the true essence of internet cafes!"

Zhang Yuan felt moved. "How else would Boss Pei be called Boss Pei? Everything was linked. Temporary loss gave way to long-term profit. He's awesome.

"If this continues, things would look up!"

Of course, Zhang Yuan and Ma Yang knew very well that Repent and be Saved was only presenting an opportunity for the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes to become famous.

On one hand, the original Fish-Catching Internet Cafes had already become quite popular in Jingzhou. On the other hand, the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes already had quite a good reputation on Quanmin Reviews. Many people visited the cafes because of that.

As for Repent and be Saved, the game had extraordinary requirements for hardware. If one's hardware was not good enough, they would experience lags in the game. Most players in Jingzhou went to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to ensure that they had the best gaming experience.

Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Huanyu Tianjie branch was slowly gaining fame. Many males who came to shop eventually felt bored and decided to rest in the internet cafe. That was how the internet cafe became well-known.

Zhang Yuan and Ma Yang felt emotional as they watched the screen. Boss Pei was extremely wise indeed!

"May I ask if the two of you are the bosses here?"

Zhang Yuan turned around to see an average-looking, but extremely well-dressed, young man standing behind him. He looked quite wealthy.

Zhang Yuan did not dare to brush him off. After all, he was a customer. Customers were kings.

Whether he was wealthy or not, he was like a provider to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.

"Can I help you with anything?" Zhang Yuan quickly asked.

The young man smiled. "It's nothing much. I just feel very comfortable using your computers. Can you give me a list of all your hardware? I want to create the same set-up at home."

Zhang Yuan nodded. "Of course. Please hold on."

He looked for a paper and pen and quickly jotted down a list of all the hardware.

Zhang Yuan was extremely familiar with all the hardware in the shop, and so he wrote the list confidently.

"The cable management for this chassis will not be the most convenient. I don't think you'll have a problem, right?" Zhang Yuan asked as he handed the list over to the young man.

The young man scratched his head and said, "Er… I don't really know how to install the hardware. Can you help me out?"

Zhang Yuan, "…"

He was just about to reject him when the young man said, "I'll give you five hundred yuan to help me install the hardware!"

Zhang Yuan replied, "No problem!

"How about this: let's leave our contact numbers with each other. I'll find someone to install the hardware for you. Leave us your address, and we'll deliver the entire set."

"Is that possible? Thank you so much!" The young man looked elated. He thanked them profusely as he left.

However, Ma Yang felt confused. In a low voice, he said, "Ask him to do it on his own. Why should we work so hard for him?"

Ma Yang could not seem to understand why Zhang Yuan agreed. The latter was now the regional manager of the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes after all. Why should he install hardware for others like he used to before?

Five hundred yuan to install computers was higher than average, but Zhang Yuan was already drawing a high salary. Did he have to work so hard to earn that much more?

Zhang Yuan smiled and answered, "Brother Ma, I'm not installing the hardware just to earn those few hundred yuan. I just think there's a business opportunity here!

"Don't you think 'Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's brand of computers', 'the computer for Repent and be Saved', or 'Tengda's chosen computer' sounds quite sensational?"

Ma Yang paused. "Er… it does sound quite sensational. However, even if we can ride on the internet cafe's fame, it would be useless. We would be competing with traditional computer brands. It doesn't sound easy."

Zhang Yuan shook his head. "Traditional brands produce ridiculously downsized hardware, which allows them to earn a huge profit margin. Players who have real standards would know that DIY computers are more worth it."

Ma Yang pondered for a moment and said, "But other brands offer after-sales service."

Zhang Yuan smiled and answered, "We can do the same. Not only that, but we can also deliver the hardware to people's homes! Have you forgotten that Upwind Logistics belongs to Boss Pei, too? It'll be a waste if we don't make use of it!

"Many manufacturers sell computers wholesale online and cheat many people as a result. We would be selling true high-quality stuff and only charging a tiny installment and after-service fee. If we only target high-end customers, we will probably succeed.

"For all we know, we might even create our own ready-made brand in the future!"

Ma Yang looked confused. "Our own ready-made brand?"

Zhang Yuan nodded. "I already thought about it. We can be called Republic of Faith, or ROF for short. What do you think?

"When the time comes, we can cover all of Jingzhou, together with the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes and Upwind Logistics!"

Ma Yang pondered for a moment. "It's not that we can't, but I just think… there's no need to. Why can't we just focus on running internet cafes well?"

Zhang Yuan shook his head. "Brother Ma, you're oversimplifying things!

"We cannot only do what Boss Pei wants us to do. That means we'd be taking zero initiative! We have to actively share Boss Pei's burdens and look for work on our own!

"Brother Ma, although your relationship with Boss Pei is solid, Tengda is now running a huge business. If we don't grab the opportunity to produce results, we will be overtaken by the other departments.

"We can try expanding Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's business this time. If we succeed, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's status in Tengda would be much higher!

"Wouldn't it be great if we can show our achievements off to everyone else?"

Ma Yang nodded, finally understanding. "Yes, you're making sense. We cannot always do only as Brother Qian says. We have to look for work to do on our own.

"Get busy with the computers, then. Look for people we can hire to install the computers and provide after-service.

"I will tell Lu Mingliang about this so that Upwind Logistics can collaborate with us. We'll try to get this business started!"