One Hour of Rapid Losses!

What the hell?!

This system actually had a hidden achievement system?

Shen Miaomiao was startled!

Was this compensation for her two failed rebate attempts?

Oh, no.

After reading the system prompt again, Shen Miaomiao understood.

Actually, this Rebate System encouraged her to make successful investments.

The system's main function was to safeguard her investments, ensuring that even if an investment failed, she would not be utterly ruined or go completely bankrupt.

To put it plainly, this system was basically a safety belt.

It was just that she, a salted fish, had used it down the wrong path.

But so what?!

Shen Miaomiao shrugged and curled her lips, wearing an expression that said, "Yeah, I'm just this shameless."

She had already experienced investment success twice, and combined, they had not even earned as much as a single loss rebate!

A person only got so many chances to take a gamble in life!

Take a chance and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle! Make a bet and turn that motorcycle into a Land Rover!

Lazing around and taking losses was the true path to riches!

With that thought, Shen Miaomiao summoned the Settlement Time Reduction Card in her mind.

The card read—

Description: After use, this card will randomly reduce the settlement time.

The card's instructions were very simple.

The key was the line of fine print below, which caught Shen Miaomiao's attention—

(Note: If settlement is successful, it may affect the evaluation of subsequent achievements. Use with caution.)

After pondering it over twice, Shen Miaomiao nodded. She understood.

If her guess was correct, the system's achievement rewards should all be granted based on successful investments.

One successful investment unlocked "First Pot of Gold."

Two successful investments unlocked some other achievement, followed by ten, twenty, one hundred, and so on.

But once she failed an investment midway and received a rebate, the achievement system's count would start over.

So her previous judgment had been correct—

The system's original intention was to encourage her to make successful investments—don't fail! Don't slack off!

Heh—

Shen Miaomiao snorted disdainfully.

You really underestimated a salted fish's resolve.

Would I pass up all that easy money from slacking off just to earn those measly profits from successful investments?

Success? Success my ass!

I'm a full-on gambling addict!!!

At that thought!

Without the slightest psychological burden, Shen Miaomiao took out the reduction card and immediately focused her mind!

The next second!

The reduction card turned to ashes in her consciousness, transforming into a ball of golden light.

Then, a crisp chime rang in her mind!

Ding! You have successfully used the Settlement Time Reduction Card!

Random time reduction complete. Your next investment settlement time has been reduced by—

15 days, 22 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds!

What the hell!!!

Shen Miaomiao cried out!

It cut fifteen whole days?!

Oh, no!

More precisely, fifteen days and twenty-three hours!

Wouldn't that mean I could launch a project on the spot, lose money on the spot, and get my rebate on the spot?!

Thinking of this, Shen Miaomiao grabbed her phone and was about to call Gu Sheng, telling him to launch a project immediately, make whatever he wanted, and pour a few hundred thousand into it.

That way, a few million would instantly appear on her card!

However!

The system seemed to have detected her little scheme and promptly issued a prompt—

(Note: The reduced time must be less than the project's estimated rebate settlement duration. Otherwise, an error will occur and the system will fail.)

Shen Miaomiao: ...

I knew losing money wouldn't be that easy.

Awkwardly baring her teeth, Shen Miaomiao began reconsidering how to use these fifteen days and twenty-three hours of reduced time.

It seemed that the best option now was to participate in the "Yiyou Mini-Game Development Festival" Chu Qingzhou had just mentioned.

According to the system's estimate, if their company's project participated in this Development Festival, the settlement time would be thirty days.

And the reduction card in her hand would directly remove fifteen days and twenty-three hours.

Plus the platform's stipulated fourteen-day free trial period...

That made twenty-nine days and twenty-three hours!

Oh-ho!

Shen Miaomiao raised her brows!

In other words, the project's actual settlement time would be reduced to just one hour!

I'm taking off, holy shit!!!

After running the numbers, Shen Miaomiao was overjoyed and leapt off the bed in excitement!

One hour of rapid losses!

No matter how fun Gu Sheng's game was, and no matter whether streamers promoted it, there was no way it could recoup its costs within a single hour, right?!

This round!

This round, I've won so hard!!!

At that thought!

Shen Miaomiao immediately called Chu Qingzhou back and made the decision on the spot!

"Sister Chuchu! Call the Yiyou Platform back right now!"

Shen Miaomiao was no longer cosplaying Xianglin's Wife. Her spirits were soaring, and she looked like Runtu raising a steel pitchfork beneath the moonlight, her eyes blazing:

"Tell them we're honored to receive their invitation, and that we will participate in the Development Festival on time!"

Over here!

Shen Miaomiao had regained her confidence. She was thrilled, her voice ringing loud and clear.

Meanwhile, in the deputy general manager's office at Xingmang Games, another voice rang just as loudly—

"You dare report results like this to me?!"

Slap—!!!

With a roar, the sales report was slammed onto the desk. The heavy impact made the man standing across from the desk instinctively shrink his neck.

Behind the desk sat a potbellied, slightly balding middle-aged man, huffing with rage:

"Fantasy Hegemony! Such a powerful IP! It dominated Yiyou's bestseller rankings for a full three months!"

"How did the sequel turn out this goddamn awful?"

"You let a trash game with clipping bugs beat you by one hundred and fifty thousand in sales?!"

"Jiang Yun, plenty of people told me you'd run out of ideas. I didn't believe them."

"I handed this IP back to you and let you continue it, and this is the kind of result you give me?!"

It was a merciless barrage of scolding!

The man named Jiang Yun opened his mouth, but stopped himself before speaking.

Jiang Yun had no way to explain his bitterness.

Indeed, the once wildly popular Fantasy Hegemony had been made by him.

And through that work, he had shot to fame and become one of the most well-known game designers in China's industry.

But!

Jiang Yun was not someone who wanted to coast on past achievements.

After Fantasy Hegemony succeeded, he had actively prepared to transition into a new direction, hoping to release another action-adventure game.

But the company ruthlessly rejected him.

Their reason was—why research projects that would most likely lose money when there was a perfectly good sequel to make?

However, that was not even the end of it.

The potbellied deputy general manager, Chen Hang, had been blinded by greed.

After seeing Fantasy Hegemony's success, not only did he demand that Jiang Yun quickly produce a sequel that should have concluded the story.

He also kept piling on monetization, changing characters that had originally been acquired through combat into gacha pulls, and maps that had originally been unlocked through exploration into rewards for first top-ups.

He even slashed the flashy awakening skill effects that certain characters originally had, repackaged them as extra effects, and made players pay for them.

Therefore, Jiang Yun had actually expected Fantasy Hegemony 2 to fail long ago.

With that thought, Jiang Yun had nothing left to explain. He could only silently sigh and nod:

"I didn't do well enough. I'm sorry, Director Chen."

Just like before.

This time, Jiang Yun once again chose to swallow his anger.

Yes.

He did not want to leave Xingmang Games, and he could not leave it either.