Little Genius

"Excuse me for a moment."

A light bulb went off in Shen Miaomiao's mind. It seemed she had found a new direction to strive toward in life.

She nodded apologetically to the other companies, then temporarily left the crowd and headed to the restroom.

Door shut, lid down, locked!

Click!

At last, the world was quiet.

Sitting on the toilet lid, Shen Miaomiao let out a long breath.

She needed a quiet place to think.

That was right!

The idiotic questions from the other companies just now had given her a brand-new idea!

First!

For a small game company like theirs, the VR pod market was practically a guaranteed money-losing track.

To begin with, simply purchasing a VR pod game development engine was no small expense!

Shen Miaomiao did not know the exact figures, but according to what she had heard, a mature VR pod game engine could cost hundreds of thousands, or even several hundred thousand, per quarter just in usage fees!

Spend money!

Secondly, making a VR pod game was not something two or three people could simply pull off.

The scale of the project was enormous. Without a team of dozens, it was fundamentally impossible to complete!

Spend money!

Finally, most of the current VR pod game market share was occupied by major companies.

So, if they wanted a place in the market, they naturally had to measure up to those major companies in every aspect.

Still fucking spend money!

In short!

The first step to entering the VR pod market was investing a huge amount of money.

At the low end, it would cost several hundred thousand; at the high end, millions, or even tens of millions!

Most importantly!

There was no guarantee that the money invested would ever be earned back!

Quite the opposite—small companies that were willing to invest would most likely lose everything.

Just like that competitor who had asked a question at the event earlier.

She wanted this!

Shen Miaomiao nodded repeatedly!

Wasn't this a textbook losing proposition?!

It was perfect for her!

Of course!

If the plan had been that simple, Shen Miaomiao would not have needed to come to the restroom to think.

Yes.

Besides wanting to enter the VR pod market, Shen Miaomiao had also found inspiration in another idiotic company's question!

That was the genre of "horror games"!

One had to know!

There were only a few mainstream genres in the current gaming market.

And there were even fewer game genres suited to VR pods!

As for horror games, they were rarely seen even on regular platforms these days, let alone in VR pods.

Anyone who had studied market economics knew this.

If a product had all but vanished from the market, then nine times out of ten, there was only one reason—

Nobody bought it.

No market meant no profit, and naturally, nobody made it.

Mmm—!!!

Sitting on the toilet lid, Shen Miaomiao wore a subtle expression.

A money-burning market that was highly likely to run at a loss.

Combined with an unpopular game genre with no market.

Oh ho.

Wasn't this a guaranteed money-losing project?

Shen Miaomiao could not help but grow excited.

If this loss succeeded, it would be a massive loss!

Even if she held back on the investment, she would still need to put in at least a million or so!

Even if she invested one million and only lost half of it!

"That would still be five million...!!!"

At the thought, Shen Miaomiao let out a soft cry, her huge eyes glittering!

I really am a little genius!

Thinking of the fifty yuan she had framed, Shen Miaomiao pumped her fist!

Don't worry, Fifty! I'll keep climbing higher and higher!

This Development Festival Exchange Event had been an exceptionally fruitful one for Golden Wind.

Through the other companies' "brainstorming," Shen Miaomiao had gained new inspiration for losing money in the restroom.

And Gu Sheng had also gotten his wish, consulting many designers from other companies about VR pods at the event.

Through those discussions, Gu Sheng learned that VR pod technology had actually been achieved in this world a full decade ago.

However, back then, its production costs were exorbitant and its compatibility was poor, so it generally served only high-end users.

It was not until several years ago, when several top global electronics brands jointly developed the technology, that VR pods finally achieved a breakthrough in mass production and began expanding from the high-end market into the mid-range market.

As market ownership steadily increased, electronic information resources suited to VR pods also saw an explosion.

Watching movies and shows, education, shopping, gaming, relaxation... all of it could be done inside a VR pod.

So, having spotted the opportunity, major game companies entered the field one after another.

And amid that earth-shaking capital war, VR pod game formats gradually settled into place—

Shooter, Driving, and Sports became the three dominant categories battling for global supremacy.

As for other game types, such as gal games, card games, and rhythm games, one or two might appear from time to time, but none could make much of a splash.

There were no horror games?

After looking into it, Gu Sheng was still somewhat surprised.

In his experience, VR pods and horror games were practically made for each other!

Yet for some unknown reason, that seemingly perfect pairing had no real market in this world.

Gu Sheng tucked that question away, planning to go back and ask Lu Bian and Da Jiang about it in detail.

It could be said that this round of "reconnaissance" had been highly successful.

That was his personal gain.

As for what the company gained, it was even greater.

As reports from gaming media outlets began to roll out.

The day after the event!

Gu Sheng and Shen Miaomiao became the hottest figures in the domestic gaming industry!

"A true rising star! Golden Wind's chief designer is astonishingly young!"

"Shocking! The creator of three hit games is still in school!"

"Young? Green? Let us uncover the true strength of Golden Wind's president!"

"This event showed me the true new generation of the gaming industry!"

"..."

All sorts of reports flooded in, while player comments blanketed the internet!

"Damn! Gu Sheng is actually the same age as me!"

"Don't you feel ashamed saying that?"

"My verdict: kkrj."

"So this is the champion of crazy tricks. He's even kind of handsome."

"Honestly, I always thought a designer capable of making an absurd game like Who's Your Daddy would be pretty absurd himself. Didn't expect Sheng Zige to be such a sunny guy."

"A sunny, cheerful big boy, that's what he is."

"I really didn't expect Sheng Zige to be so young."

"Otherwise, why would he be called a rising star?"

"By the way, Golden Wind's president... she looks so chibi. Kind of cute."

"Hahahaha, chibi? Are you talking about those two bun hairstyles?"

"Gotta say, she kind of looks like Lotus CEO."

"You're brutal. Just call her Nezha, why the hell Lotus CEO? Hahahahaha!"

"How dare you mock my Lotus CEO!"

"You know, you really know—Lotus CEO's dad is genuinely at the level of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King in the business world."

"..."

Comments streamed across the screen one after another, and Gu Sheng watched them with great interest as he reclined halfway in his executive chair.

He grabbed a handful of chips and tossed them into his mouth, then chugged a mouthful of cola. It felt absolutely incredible.

Just as he was enjoying himself!

Click.

Suddenly, someone knocked on his office door.

Chu Qingzhou poked her head in and looked at Gu Sheng. "Director Gu, do you have a moment? CEO Shen said she wants to talk to you about the new project."