Cooperation

Guo Yuan was not some man of extraordinary talent and grand strategy, but that did not mean he lacked all business sense.

Guo Yuan understood how much profit a product ahead of its time could bring.

Take smartphones, for example. One of the most important reasons the iPhone rose to prominence was that Jobs came up with the iOS system in 2007.

Guo Yuan remembered that Apple Inc. unveiled the system at the Macworld Conference on January 9, 2007. It had initially been designed for the iPhone, then was gradually adapted for the iPod touch and iPad.

At the time, the system was a product ahead of its era. It could be said that it laid the foundation for today's Apple empire.

According to the narrator, this virtual engine would still be at least twenty years ahead of the world after 2011. If it was developed now, it would be at least thirty years ahead of the world. If he could get his hands on it, he might even become the next Jobs.

The more Guo Yuan thought about it, the more tempted he became. The next issue was money.

It was now August 2022. According to the narrator, the manuscript fees and royalties for White Night Walk would arrive in October, amounting to around 1.5 million. If the film and television rights could be sold, they should bring in another million or so.

Gouzi's company would go bankrupt a month later. Acquiring a bankrupt company should not cost much.

According to Gouzi, the company owner—the rich second-generation heir—had invested a total of fifty million into it. After the company went bankrupt, ten percent of that should be enough to acquire it, right?

Of course, that was only Guo Yuan's guess. He would have to wait and see how much it would actually cost.

Still, Guo Yuan felt that he most likely did not have enough money.

"Looks like I need to make money as soon as possible!"

Guo Yuan then turned his attention back to his computer and phone. After thinking for a moment, he replied:

Fengming: Gouzi, the core code you're missing is too difficult. I can't handle it for now.

Gouzi: For now? Big shot, do you have any ideas?

Fengming: A little. But it'll take at least one or two years to fully refine it.

Gouzi: One or two years? That's way too long. If the company can't come up with a solution next month, it'll go bankrupt.

Fengming: What are you planning to do if the company goes bankrupt? Find a new job?

Gouzi: Yeah, but I want to buy the intelligent engine we've spent so long developing. Maybe one day, I'll be able to write the core code myself!

Seeing Gouzi's reply, Guo Yuan suddenly understood. No wonder the future Gouzi had been able to complete this intelligent engine! So he had bought the rights to it.

Fengming: Even if your product is only half-finished, it shouldn't be cheap, right?

Gouzi: I heard our boss say that just the framework for the intelligent engine is worth hundreds of thousands, maybe even over a million.

Fengming: Didn't you just graduate? Do you have that kind of money?

Gouzi: I don't, but my dad bought me an apartment back home as a marital home and put it under my name. I'm planning to secretly sell it. Unfortunately, my hometown is only a small county town, so it probably isn't worth much—at most seven or eight hundred thousand.

Fengming: I see.

Gouzi: Big shot, didn't you say you had some ideas? How about we work together? We can jointly invest in buying the intelligent engine.

Gouzi's direct invitation left Guo Yuan at a loss for words.

Gouzi had clearly just graduated and had little experience in the real world. Anyone with even a bit of social experience would never discuss something so important with an online friend they merely got along with.

Especially when money was involved.

Then again, if anyone else had invited him, Guo Yuan would probably have refused without hesitation. But Gouzi was different.

The code Guo Yuan had obtained from the narrator had been written by the future Gouzi. In a cultivation novel, this would count as Guo Yuan stealing Gouzi's fated opportunity—a huge karmic debt.

Moreover, since the future Gouzi had been able to write the core code for the intelligent engine, his technical skills would surely grow to an incredible level.

Right now, he was like a thousand-li horse that could not display its talent because it was underfed and lacked strength.

There was also the most important reason: Guo Yuan did not have enough funds on hand, either.

So Guo Yuan decided to work with Gouzi. The two of them would jointly buy the company, then divide the shares according to how much each invested.

With that in mind, Guo Yuan replied directly, "Sure! I also think the intelligent engine your team developed is pretty good. How about we find time to meet and discuss the details?"

Gouzi: That's great! Big shot, I'm in Hangcheng. Where are you?

Fengming: I'm in Bingzhou.

Gouzi: Bingzhou? Shanxi?

Fengming: Yes.

Gouzi: That's a little far! I can't get away recently.

The technical backbone of Gouzi's company was preparing to make one final push. They planned to make use of this entire month, working from 9 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. If they succeeded, great. If not, at least they would have no regrets.

Hearing the narrator's words, Guo Yuan casually replied, "Then I'll come to you! I've got plenty of free time lately."

Gouzi: Sure! Just contact me when you get here, big shot. My phone number is 159xxxxxxxx.

Guo Yuan sent over his own number as well. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two logged off.

Guo Yuan then set aside the work he had been doing, typed out the code he had just received from the narrator, and saved it onto his USB drive. He left no backup on his computer.

After all, this was his chance to become Jobs. He could not afford to be careless.

Meanwhile, Wang Qiu was discussing matters related to White Night Walk with television stations in Japan.

Wang Qiu confirmed with NHK Television executives that Tokyo Television and TBS had both been contacting Guo Yuan's attorney over the past two days.

Wang Qiu did not think much of Tokyo Television. The reason was simple: Tokyo Television was too poor.

The production companies under its banner had virtually no money on hand, and their resources were severely lacking.

There was even a joke in the industry about Tokyo Television's poverty: as long as Tokyo Television was still airing anime, everything was fine.

In fact, it often was not that Tokyo Television wanted to air anime—it was simply too poor to have anything else to broadcast.

That was why Wang Qiu and NHK both regarded TBS as their main rival.

After contacting the production companies affiliated with all three television stations, however, Lawyer Hu personally leaned more toward Tokyo Television.

NHK and TBS were financially powerful. Even without Guo Yuan's work, they could purchase other projects, so neither station placed enough importance on Guo Yuan, and their offers were relatively low.

Tokyo Television's offer was even lower than those of NHK and TBS because it was poor, but the revenue-sharing terms offered by its affiliated production company were indeed the highest—completely at the top industry standard.

If the adaptation succeeded, then once all sources of income were added together, the final returns would definitely be far greater than what NHK or TBS could offer.

Lawyer Hu had also read White Night Walk. He felt that the work could become popular as a television drama as well, which was why he was more inclined to work with Tokyo Television's affiliated production company.