Chapter 1 Aftermath

After finishing this opening, Cui Geng contentedly opened the backend and published it on Qidian Chinese Website.

According to his plan, the entire story was roughly divided into four or five parts. This opening was just an introduction, and the official content of the first part would begin next.

In fact, Cui Geng could have chosen to bury himself in creation, writing hundreds of thousands of words at once and publishing them all at once, but after considering it, he finally decided to continue serializing in real time, writing and publishing as he went, according to his previous writing habits.

On the one hand, the backend calculated remuneration based on the number of words officially published on Qidian Chinese Website. On the other hand, he also wanted to see the readers' reactions and adjust some details of the novel in a timely manner.

Of course, Cui Geng had also made sufficient psychological preparations.

The story of *The Successor* takes place in a foreign setting, and the protagonist is a rich and handsome man, and he is particularly despicable. The entire novel tells the story of how a second-generation rich kid, born with a silver spoon in his mouth and using extremely inferior means, successfully seizes power and does all kinds of bad things through the loopholes in the superhero system.

This is basically incompatible with the current mainstream reader tastes of online novels. Whether it is the protagonist's background, personality, or the core of the entire story, they are all demerits.

If Cui Geng were to decide on a subject himself and write for a share, he would absolutely not dare to write this subject because writing it would be tantamount to suicide.

But now that President Pei was buying out the manuscript based on the number of words, Cui Geng could relax and be bold. He didn't have to be restricted by the original rules and regulations, but could boldly let himself go.

Although this kind of letting go by the author would be a disaster most of the time, if all authors were forever trapped in rules and regulations and dared not try, how could they write something different?

Cui Geng increasingly felt that President Pei's buyout was clearly implying to these authors who had already thoroughly grasped the laws of online novel writing: I'll cover you, so feel free to explore and write more excellent works!

After uploading the opening, it would take some time for it to be reviewed.

Cui Geng silently closed the website and went out for dinner.

Before, his inspiration had struck, and he had been very eager to write out what was in his head, so he had temporarily forgotten his hunger. Now that the beginning of the story had been written, Cui Geng's pigeon spirit constitution relapsed, and he suddenly felt hungry.

…

…

February 11th, Saturday.

Pei Qian woke up naturally again, rolled over and sat up from the bed, and yawned.

This week, he had been non-stop assigning work tasks to several departments, and his working hours each day were close to six hours. The intensity of his work was quite high, so naturally he had to rest well on the weekend.

After ordering a 'slacking off' takeout, Pei Qian took out his mobile phone and swiped aimlessly, wanting to see if there was any news recently.

"Huh? Cui Geng opened a new book last night?"

"And some other authors from the 'Inspiration Class' also opened new books?"

"The 'Inspiration Class' has only been held for two days, and these people have already opened new books? Could it be that the 'Inspiration Class' really inspired them?"

"Don't mess with me!"

Pei Qian instantly became nervous, as if facing a formidable enemy.

The authors in these "Inspiration Classes" had signed new buyout contracts to write customized articles related to Tengda IPs. Had they already conceived the content in just two days?

Something's not right!

Pei Qian hurriedly and anxiously clicked on the new books opened by several authors in the "Inspiration Class."

But after looking at the comments in the comment section, he immediately felt relieved.

The voices in the comment section were very noisy!

The authors in the Inspiration Class had a variety of new novel themes. Some were writing fan fiction of Tengda games, some were writing fan fiction of the superheroes in Hurricane Comics, and some were writing background stories of GOG heroes…

But the readers basically weren't buying it.

After all, they were all online novel authors. Whether they wrote about xianxia, xuanhuan, or urban themes, they all couldn't escape the circle of online novels. All their accumulated experience was in online novel writing.

Now that they suddenly started writing customized articles and the update speed dropped off a cliff, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction among the original readers.

Many readers even felt that they were just earning quick money, and that the buyout plan launched by Qidian Chinese Website was "cutting themselves off from the people." Old readers were very disappointed and abandoned the books one after another.

From the data in all aspects, the newly released books had a cliff-like drop compared to the data of the authors' old books.

In comparison, Cui Geng's new book *The Successor* was criticized the least. From the comments, it was basically half and half: some readers said that it was a new theme that made their eyes light up and they were looking forward to the follow-up; while other readers said that they were not interested in this theme and hoped that Cui Geng would continue to write urban themes.

These authors did not respond in the comment section, probably because there was nothing to respond to. The book had already been opened, and the beginning had already been written. Even if someone didn't like to read it, they had to continue writing it.

Pei Qian couldn't help but feel great.

"I said that letting these online novel authors write buyouts would definitely be useful! Look, the eyes of the masses are discerning!"

According to the current trend of development, the books written by these "Inspiration Class" authors would definitely not be read by many people and would not bring traffic to Qidian Chinese Website. Pei Qian was essentially paying the manuscript fees for nothing.

Of course, according to the regulations, these authors could write at most two buyouts. If the response was not good, they would have to continue writing for a share. But that didn't matter. After all, the length of these buyout books would not exceed 500,000 words at most. Even if they wrote two books, 1 million words, and then went back to writing for a share, it would not have much impact on the authors.

All the buyout books were open to readers for free. The interests of the authors and readers would not be harmed. President Pei would pay more manuscript fees and spend the money for the "Inspiration Class," and everyone would be happy.

Pei Qian felt much more relieved about the "Inspiration Class" and Qidian Chinese Website and temporarily put the matter down.

He continued to swipe through the recent news on his phone.

"Huh? Eric is finally starting to throw money around!"

Pei Qian was overjoyed.

The official website of the Chinese server of IOI released the latest version of the IOI update and operation plan. The content involved many aspects, but it could be summarized in two words: "throwing money around"!

According to the official website, all the heroes in the Chinese server of IOI would be free, the basic price of all skins would be reduced to 30% of the original price, and the price difference would be calculated based on the heroes and skins that old players had already purchased and converted into tokens for return. At the same time, there would be various preferential policies for old players returning and new players registering!

Such a level of discount could be said to be unprecedented.

More importantly, this discount was not only for the Chinese server of IOI, but the world server of IOI had also undergone the same update, and the price of skins had also plummeted.

Obviously, Eric had also learned from his previous experience.

To fight a price war, he had to fight it to the end. If there was no way to reduce the price level of IOI heroes and skins to the same level as GOG all at once, then it would be better not to reduce it at all. It would not only fail to have the effect of grabbing players, but also reduce its own income, displeasing both sides.

After the price reduction, the interests of old players had to be taken care of, and sufficient compensation had to be given, otherwise it would accelerate the loss of core players.

After Eric returned and was in charge of the Chinese server of IOI, he did not repeat the mistakes that Zhao Xuming had made before.

The feedback from IOI players online could also clearly show the immediate effect of this price war.

"Headshot Corporation's IQ is finally normal! They're finally not making any more brain-dead operations!"

"Indeed, this level of discount is more like it. The compensation for old players is also in place. Before, that little price reduction was just like sending beggars away, right?"

"But with price reductions in both China and abroad, this discount... I'm afraid Headshot Corporation's income is going to plummet!"

"Headshot Corporation: Yes, yes, you guys have earned it, we're about to go bankrupt."

"What are you thinking? How could Headshot Corporation lose money? They have the Dayak Group behind them, they have a lot of money. Besides, burning money now is to seize market share. Small profits and quick turnover can also attract players to buy more skins. In the long run, it's definitely profitable. Continuing to maintain the original price is just a slow death!"

This time, all the IOI players were cheering, and many even felt that the Chinese server of IOI should be rising.

Objectively speaking, the game quality of IOI was not bad. The reason why it had widened the gap with GOG was mainly due to gameplay details, pricing strategies, and promotion.

Now, IOI had come to the same level as GOG through the price war, which was indeed a major positive news.

Although it was unlikely that GOG's old players would switch to IOI, there were still new players joining the game!

Currently, the player base for MOBA games was still expanding, and there were still many players who had never even touched MOBA games. IOI was mainly targeting this group of people.

This sum of money was thrown down, making the long-term competition between IOI and GOG full of suspense again.

Pei Qian was very happy about this. Eric was cooperating well!

With Headshot Corporation burning money so desperately, Tengda also had a reason to burn money!

Before, Pei Qian had helped IOI a bit, specifically dividing half of the staff from Shang Yang Games, which was in charge of the international server of GOG, to update the old games of Tengda. It was equivalent to fighting IOI with one hand, for fear of accidentally killing IOI.

Now, he could finally increase the intensity!

However, after careful consideration, Pei Qian felt that he still couldn't get too excited. He still had to restrain himself a little and couldn't overexploit.

Burning money should be only a little less than IOI's, and the promotion should also be a little worse than IOI's. This way, Eric could always see the hope of a comeback, so that he could continue to burn with Pei Qian happily.

The more Pei Qian thought about it, the happier he became, and he couldn't help but hum a little tune.

With Eric's help, great things could be accomplished!

…

At the same time, in a tourist city in the United States, it was already late at night.

Bao Xu and Ye Zhizhou and others had just finished visiting another attraction today and had returned to the hotel to prepare for rest.

This hotel had a sauna, so everyone was wrapped in bath towels to take a sauna to relieve their fatigue, and then go to sleep.

In the steam-filled sauna, Bao Xu leaned against the corner, his whole person looking like he had lost the will to live.

Although steaming could relieve physical fatigue, Bao Xu's mental fatigue was beyond redemption.

He was like a walking corpse now, completing his itinerary step by step every day, and even felt it was superfluous to say an extra word. He just wanted to return to Jingzhou immediately and stay at home for a few months.

Ye Zhizhou and Min Jingchao were chatting.

Ye Zhizhou said, "On the way back, I saw a message that Headshot Corporation is finally going to fight a price war with us. All heroes are free, and the price of all skins has been reduced to 30% of the original price…"

Min Jingchao nodded, "Yes, I noticed it too."

One of them was responsible for the research and development and domestic operation of GOG, and the other was responsible for the overseas operation of GOG, so they paid special attention to similar information and knew the movements of Headshot Corporation as soon as possible.

Ye Zhizhou was a little worried: "The newcomer is not kind." (idiom)

"In the short term, Headshot Corporation's income will definitely fall. But Headshot Corporation, especially the Dayak Group behind them, is a big family with a lot of money to burn."

"The challenge we face this time is more severe than the previous ones."

Min Jingchao nodded: "Yes, there are still smart people in Headshot Corporation. The Dayak Group is worthy of being a super-large multinational group. They have repeatedly fought with President Pei. Although they have never won, they have persisted until now and can still make such a strong resistance. It is indeed powerful."

Since joining Tengda, they had witnessed many business wars.

Whether it was in games or other fields, President Pei was invincible. Almost everyone who dared to oppose President Pei ended in a crushing defeat.

The difference was that most companies had no voice after a crushing defeat and no longer posed a threat to Tengda, while only Headshot Corporation and the Dayak Group had persisted until now.

From this point of view, they were indeed more difficult to deal with than any enemy they had encountered before.

Ye Zhizhou said, "This time, Headshot Corporation has launched a price war, which is more difficult to deal with than before."

"Previously, whether it was digging deep into the gameplay or holding the GPL league, President Pei won by relying on his vision and layout. But once it involves funds, Tengda does not have an advantage."

"Sure enough, when the competition between the two sides reaches a fever pitch, they still have to compete on who has stronger financial resources."

Min Jingchao nodded: "Indeed, for the Dayak Group and Headshot Corporation, this should be the last step. They have no better way and can only fight a price war with us."

"But…"

"I believe in President Pei. No matter what method Headshot Corporation comes up with, President Pei will definitely have a countermeasure!"

Ye Zhizhou: "I wonder what kind of countermeasure it will be."

Min Jingchao sighed: "How could we possibly guess how President Pei acts?"

"However, I believe the answer will be revealed soon."

"Our vacation is coming to an end too. Let's pack up our mood, return to work immediately, fully cooperate with President Pei, and fight the last battle with the Dayak Group!"

Ye Zhizhou nodded: "Yes, that's what I think too!"

"I can understand Brother Bao's feelings a little now. After working for a long time, you want to go out and relax. But if you're always out, it's also quite torturous."

"I've completely had enough fun during this vacation. I can't wait to get back to work right away!"