After Brother Ma emerged from the consulate, his face was etched with shock. Today had truly opened his eyes. One minute he was rejected, believing his destiny was incompatible with the beautiful country, thus preventing him from inspecting it.
No one expected the turnaround to be so swift. Zhang Tianxing entered for just five minutes and casually pulled him back in.
A lovely staff member immediately handed him a new application form. He refilled it, and without even a glance, she took it back, informing him that he had passed.
What kind of world was this? Why, with all his talent, did he receive such treatment, needing to go through the visa process twice?
Thinking of this, Brother Ma felt wronged. But thankfully, Zhang Tianxing was there, and the outcome was good.
"I owe you a great debt this time. Otherwise, I would have had to explore other options," Brother Ma sincerely thanked Zhang Tianxing. This benefactor of his seemed quite decent, suiting his tastes.
"A small favor, hardly worth mentioning!" Zhang Tianxing inwardly rejoiced. Brother Ma having such a day! In the future, when Brother Ma achieved success, this would become a wonderful anecdote.
"Go forth and be well. You for your studies, me for my company. We will both strive forward!" Brother Ma sent his blessings. Although Zhang Tianxing was already quite wealthy, there were no wasted paths in life; every step counted.
Learning in youth was far more efficient and easier than learning in old age.
All roads lead to Rome. Life presented countless choices, and each choice was correct as long as one kept moving forward.
Life had meaning only with persistence. Brother Ma believed in his own strength and in Zhang Tianxing's judgment. He secretly made a firm resolution. He must work hard.
His contemporary, Ding Sanshi, had already founded NetEase, leading many aspects in China.
NetEase was now a giant in the internet portal landscape, yet his QQ Instant Messenger was still struggling.
He recalled the boasts they had made together on BBS in the past. Ding Sanshi had achieved most of them, while he had achieved less than half.
Fate played tricks on people. No one's money was wind-blown. He absolutely could not let Zhang Tianxing's money go to waste.
He had to prove himself!
NetEase was reportedly preparing to list on NASDAQ soon. By then, the gap between him and Ding Sanshi would widen even further. He was a programmer from Tianya, yet why was the gap so vast?
Brother Ma cheered himself on while bidding farewell to Zhang Tianxing.
Time was tight, and the mission was heavy. With Zhang Tianxing's investment, Brother Ma's operations expanded. First, he would recruit talent, then explore the outside world to determine his next steps.
...
Zhang Tianxing returned to Tianxing Network Company, and Gao Ningning immediately approached him.
"Boss Xiao Zhang, something's gone wrong! Cheats for Legend are starting to appear. What do we do?" Gao Ningning hadn't expected so many idle experts; Legend had only been popular for a short time before cheats emerged.
If cheats became rampant, it would directly impact the game's lifespan.
Hearing this news, Zhang Tianxing's expression became grave. He hadn't anticipated cheats appearing so quickly.
"Let's do this. Gather the team, and we'll have a meeting to discuss this matter."
"Understood. I'll arrange it right away." Gao Ningning immediately passed down the orders.
She hadn't expected Zhang Tianxing to take the issue of cheats so seriously, even more so than developing new games.
Anything that affected cash flow deserved attention. His funds were limited, and there were many things he wanted to do. His money couldn't even make a ripple.
Ten minutes later, everyone arrived in the conference room. Their expressions were somewhat bewildered, unsure why Zhang Tianxing had summoned them.
"Everyone, cheats for Legend are starting to show. I require all of you to come up with a solution," Zhang Tianxing stated in a deep voice.
"Boss Xiao Zhang, isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill? These cheats are mostly 'wax-free' versions, which help with the player experience," Yang Huawei said dismissively.
It seemed this young chap truly considered himself just a player, only thinking about his own gaming convenience.
Zhang Tianxing's eyes swept across them. He said gravely, "Everyone must take this matter seriously. The rampant use of cheats will harm the game and lead to its demise. I'm stating this now: the lifespan of any unfair game will not be long. What we must do is create a fair and just game."
Everyone looked at Zhang Tianxing, barely daring to breathe. From his demeanor, they could tell Zhang Tianxing was truly angry. They all lowered their heads and began to ponder.
"Boss Xiao Zhang is right. This time it's 'wax-free,' but next time they might directly modify game items. That would break the game's balance and lead to player attrition."
"How about this? We strengthen backend scanning. Players caught using cheats will have their accounts banned. Should we give them a chance?" Gao Ningning asked.
Zhang Tianxing pondered. He couldn't just ban everyone outright. "Let's do this. During game upgrades, users caught using cheats will be required to pay a deposit. After paying the deposit, they can continue playing normally. This will be limited to three offenses. The deposit amount must be high."
Everyone's eyes lit up. This idea was good! It could recover in-game currency and didn't completely ban players. It seemed Boss Xiao Zhang had a lot of good ideas!
However, this method wouldn't fundamentally solve the cheat problem. Cheats were an eternal challenge hindering game development.
Everyone's brows furrowed; they couldn't think of any better methods.
"How about we embed a Trojan horse in the game backend? This way, we can monitor data on the player's computer. What do you think?" someone suggested.
Everyone present was a technologist and very familiar with Trojans. They all nodded, feeling this was feasible and would be highly effective.
"This won't do. We shouldn't underestimate players; there are masters among the common folk," Zhang Tianxing directly rejected the proposal.
This suggestion would be effective, but it had potential drawbacks. If a master discovered their illegal data collection one day, he would be in a lot of trouble.
Thinking of this, Zhang Tianxing thought of a method. "I've thought of a way. See if this plan is feasible!"
In his haste, classical Chinese slipped out.
Everyone's ears perked up, ready to hear Zhang Tianxing's brilliant idea.
"My proposal is to update the in-game shop. We'll sell 'wax-free' functions and other reasonable cheat functions in the shop. Gather information, report back to me on what's acceptable, and we'll integrate it into the game," Zhang Tianxing declared fiercely. Was it not for player convenience? He could do that too. Technically, it wasn't a problem, and implementation was not difficult.
Little ones, you make cheats, I'll make them too. Let's see who can outperform whom and who laughs last. Let's see if the legitimate product defeats piracy, or if piracy kills the legitimate product!