Xun Haoran

At exactly eight o'clock, a waiter led a man over to Guo Yuan's table. He had a buzz cut, wore glasses, heavy dark circles under his eyes, a suit jacket on his upper body, and jeans with sneakers below.

"Are you Gouzi?" Guo Yuan asked, sizing the man up.

"Yeah. Hello, boss. My name is Xun Haoran."

"Xun?" Guo Yuan nearly lost it when he heard that surname. In an odd tone, he said, "No wonder your online handle is Gouzi."

"Everyone knows Xun Yu equals Gou or, right?" Xun Haoran said nonchalantly.

The two exchanged a smile, and the unfamiliarity between them immediately faded quite a bit.

Guo Yuan then introduced himself as well. When Xun Haoran learned that Guo Yuan was only twenty-four, his face was full of surprise.

He had been born in 1996 and was twenty-six this year. Having graduated from graduate school last year, he had only just entered the workforce. Guo Yuan was two years younger than him, yet his technical skills were already this strong. That was incredible, wasn't it?

As they ordered, the two asked each other about their circumstances. Before long, with the narrator's help, Guo Yuan had gotten a fairly thorough understanding of Xun Haoran.

Xun Haoran was from Zhejiang, though not Hangcheng. His hometown was a small county town in Taizhou. When he had been looking for work after graduating from graduate school last year, a rich second-generation boss had talked him into joining this company.

Xun Haoran had performed very well in school, and his technical ability had been among the best of the students. That was why the rich second-generation boss had gone to such lengths to recruit him.

During the year since graduating, Xun Haoran had worked diligently at the company, joining the others in developing Unreal Engine.

At first, their work had progressed smoothly, and they quickly put together the framework.

Until half a year ago, when they got stuck on Unreal Engine's core algorithm.

Over those six months, everyone in the company had worked together to write who knew how many algorithms, yet not a single one had turned out usable.

The rich second-generation boss gradually lost confidence. He had poured fifty million into it without even making a splash. Anyone would have lost confidence under those circumstances.

Moreover, the company's rent would be due in another two months. The rich second-generation boss decided that if they could not come up with a suitable algorithm by next month, the company would declare bankruptcy.

After learning these specific details, Guo Yuan asked, "Haoran, how many people are there in your company?"

"Twenty-seven including me."

"Where is your company? How big is it?"

"It's over at the Digital Information Industry Park. Our company isn't big; we only rent a 150-square-meter office. Most of the company's investment has gone into software development."

Guo Yuan nodded at that. Honestly, Xun Haoran's company was more or less what he had expected. Given those conditions, buying this soon-to-be-bankrupt company should not be much of a problem.

The only question was how many employees he could retain, and how the company should continue developing after Unreal Engine was completed. All of that needed careful consideration.

"Guo Yuan, do you really want to buy Unreal Engine?" Xun Haoran suddenly asked.

Xun Haoran had indeed only just entered society and lacked experience in many areas, but that did not mean he was stupid. The questions Guo Yuan had asked made Xun Haoran feel that his goal was not merely their unfinished Unreal Engine. He had other intentions as well.

After hearing the narrator's words, Guo Yuan smiled and said, "Of course I want to buy Unreal Engine, but Unreal Engine isn't the only thing I want to buy."

"Not just Unreal Engine?"

"That's right. Haoran, have you considered how we would develop Unreal Engine after cooperating to buy its framework? Would the two of us have enough manpower? And once Unreal Engine was completed, how would we operate and promote it?"

"This..."

"So, Haoran, simply buying Unreal Engine's framework isn't enough. If we want to develop Unreal Engine, your company is indispensable."

Upon hearing that, Xun Haoran suddenly understood. "Guo Yuan, you want to acquire our company?"

"Yeah. Your company's core product is Unreal Engine. Since its development has failed, your company doesn't have much value left."

"Even so, that would still cost several million, wouldn't it?"

"It's hard to say right now. It mainly depends on how far along your product framework is, what patents your company has, and what talent reserves you have."

"You'd need to see the product before making a judgment. As for patents, our company has three related patents. In terms of talent reserves, everyone in the company has signed non-compete agreements."

"I see! Looks like your boss planned everything out. Then acquiring your company probably won't be cheap."

"I don't have that much money," Xun Haoran said with his head lowered.

"It's fine. Put in however much you have, and I'll cover the rest."

Xun Haoran froze, then asked with a shocked expression, "Guo Yuan, are you a rich second-generation heir too?"

"No, but my son probably will be."

"Then where did you get the money? You were born in 1998. By all rights, you should have only graduated two years ago, right?"

Guo Yuan smiled without directly answering the question, instead changing the subject. "Haoran, do you like reading novels?"

Xun Haoran nodded.

"Do you like detective novels?"

Xun Haoran shook his head. "I only read web novels."

"I see! I thought I could show off a little. But it's fine. You can Baidu my name. You should be able to find some things."

Xun Haoran immediately pulled out his phone and searched Guo Yuan on Baidu.

"Y-you're a detective novelist? But why are your programming skills so good?"

"Those two things don't conflict, do they?"

Xun Haoran scratched his head. It seemed they really did not conflict, but he still felt that something was off.

But now, Xun Haoran had no worries about Guo Yuan's financial resources.

Someone who had published two mystery novels and won awards should have some money on hand.

"Then how should we split the shares after we acquire the company?" Xun Haoran asked.

"Of course, you get shares based on how much you invest. For example, if it takes five million to acquire the company and you put in five hundred thousand, then ten percent of the company's shares will be yours."

Xun Haoran thought it over, then nodded in agreement.

"Then, Guo Yuan, I should keep your plan to acquire the company confidential, right?"

"Yeah. At least don't tell anyone else for the next month. After a month, your company will declare bankruptcy, and then I'll go negotiate with your boss.

That way, we can take over your company at the lowest possible cost. It'll be good for both of us."

After pondering for a moment, Xun Haoran nodded and agreed, but he immediately raised another question. "Guo Yuan, one last question. How confident are you that you can develop Unreal Engine's core algorithm?"

"About fifty-fifty. I only have a rough idea. I'm not sure whether it'll work."

Xun Haoran felt that a fifty percent chance was a little too low. For him, this was undoubtedly a huge gamble.

After hesitating for a long time, Xun Haoran still decided to go through with it. He did not want the project he had poured so much effort into to die prematurely. Besides, this was the first project of his life, and it meant a great deal to him.

"Guo Yuan, if we fail a month from now, I'm willing to take this gamble with you! And during that time, I won't tell anyone else about your plan to acquire the company."

Xun Haoran was a man of his word. Once he agreed to something, he would not go back on it.

After hearing the narration, Guo Yuan smiled. He held out his hand and said, "Then here's to a successful partnership?"

Seeing this, Xun Haoran also extended his hand, shook Guo Yuan's, and said, "Happy cooperation!"