Under Chen Hao's strict training, Pang Ban and Xu Pengkun had both become qualified shills.
There were now three servers, and the presidents of the second- and third-largest guilds were leading teams of their own. Their levels and equipment had all been adjusted by Chen Hao, making them nearly equal to those top-spending whales.
Over the past two days, Pang Ban had transformed into an Eight-Armed Arhat, switching between three computers. Sometimes, he personally led a group of underlings into battle against the number-one guild in daily PKs, beating them until their brains nearly spilled out.
Especially after the Sabuk City battles were changed to once every three days, the fights became rivers of blood. Some whales died in guild battles and dropped their equipment. Without a word, they would recharge, buy new gear, and keep fighting!
Aside from working during the day, Lin Lang devoted all his evenings to setting up the server room. He had even taken several days off for it.
Over the past few days, all four members of Chen Hao's small team had been incredibly busy.
Fortunately, after everyone's efforts, Greedy Blue Moon: Legend's revenue reached a new high once again.
Before the end of the month, the dedicated server room Lin Lang had built officially went into operation. The total cost had exceeded a million yuan.
Chen Hao released an announcement in advance: the servers would be shut down for five hours at midnight to migrate them to the new server room. It was a complete upgrade. All the current servers were officially online and could now accommodate fifty thousand players simultaneously.
Three days in advance, Chen Hao posted an announcement on the Greedy Blue Moon: Legend website,
To celebrate Greedy Blue Moon: Legend surpassing one hundred thousand registered players and more than thirty thousand players online at once!
At ten o'clock on the morning of April 1, Greedy Blue Moon: Legend would open a new server: Ride the Wind and Break the Waves, Set Sail for the Journey.
He also added an investment opportunity at the bottom: All private servers were welcome to join and settle in. Cooperation email: XXXX.
The recharge system was also adjusted. After completing a recharge on the first day, players could leave a message for customer service, and the funds would arrive within twenty-four hours.
Chen Hao's appetite was huge now. He was making money from both the consumers and the merchants!
On the last day of the three-month period, at Drink Away One Shoe Barbecue Restaurant.
This time, there was one more person and one more phone than the last time they drank.
The extra person was Pang Ban, who had joined later. The extra phone belonged to Xu Pengkun, who was drinking remotely with his speakerphone on.
This was the current lineup of Chen Hao's small team.
"Victory in our first battle, boys! Let's have one!"
"Bottoms up!"
After making the proposal, Chen Hao personally filled the old brother's glass and toasted him.
After putting down his glass, Chen Hao said, "Old Brother, you've been busy with work during the day and our business at night. You've put a lot of effort into the server room. This is your share."
He pulled a newspaper-wrapped "grand gift pack" from his backpack and handed it to Lin Lang and Pang Ban.
Lin Lang took it and weighed it in his hand. It was quite heavy. "Yo, is this a hundred thousand?" When he saw his little brother nod, he downed his drink and said excitedly, "Good heavens, that's more than my annual salary. The overtime was worth it."
"Once things develop, there'll be more in the future. Old Brother, you're now an undercover agent infiltrating IBM to learn their technology. We've still got a long road ahead of us, brothers."
When it was his turn, Pang Ban had already filled his own glass.
"As for Old Ban, you're an unparalleled expert, yet I turned you into a shill. You've worked tirelessly, and honestly, it's been a waste of your talent. There'll be better opportunities in the future! Soon~"
Pang Ban raised his glass in acknowledgment and drained it in one go. Then he accepted the "grand gift pack." Everything was understood without words.
Before Chen Hao could say anything about the last person, Xu Pengkun's voice came from the phone. "Don't pretend you can hold your liquor. Hurry up and eat! Hehe, the phone can only transmit sound anyway. You can't see whether I actually drank or not."
"Haha, same here. I only took a sip to show my sincerity!"
That was what he said, but Chen Hao still drained the wine in his glass. In distant Jing City, Xu Pengkun did the same!
After several quick drinks, Chen Hao's face had begun to flush.
While he was still sober, he hurriedly got down to business.
He gave the others an early update on the March summary and the plans for April.
"We started our Open Beta on March 15, and it's been exactly half a month. So far, our revenue is nearly five million. After deducting the cost of setting up the server room and the servers, along with miscellaneous expenses such as promotion, we still have a net profit of three million."
"Three million? I never even dreamed I'd get to participate in a project worth over a million~~~" Lin Lang clicked his tongue inwardly.
"Freaking awesome!"
Pang Ban's astonished, phoenix-shaped eyes widened a little more than usual.
The others cried out in surprise, with the loudest voice coming from the phone. Then they had another drink to celebrate.
After finishing his glass, Chen Hao hurriedly pleaded for mercy. "I can't do it anymore, I can't. Let me catch my breath~"
Lin Lang called Xu Pengkun, exchanged a knowing smile with Pang Ban, and gestured. The three of them had a drink together without Chen Hao.
Chen Hao could drink five or six bottles of beer, but that was the sort of slow, steady drinking that accumulated over time. He couldn't handle quick drinks. After downing five or six glasses in a row on an empty stomach, the equivalent of two bottles, his chest immediately began churning.
After calming himself down and eating a few skewers, he continued, "Everyone's worked hard these past few days. One hundred thousand each. Don't think it's too little. This isn't a one-off deal. We'll keep the remaining money for further investment. Next month, I plan to continue expanding and strengthening the business from this foundation."
As Chen Hao explained the plan, he grew serious. "Old Brother, your task is to manage the servers. We're doing extremely well right now, so someone jealous may resort to underhanded tricks. The most likely possibility is an attack on the servers. We need to prepare our defenses in advance!"
"Don't worry. The servers already have built-in Firewall protection. I've been upgrading the settings these past few days." Lin Lang was very confident. This was his area of expertise.
"Big Bird, continue handling promotion externally. Old Ban, continue managing the shill-training internally. I'll be responsible for event planning and game updates. If any problems come up, talk to me at any time. Our goal for next month is to double our revenue."
Chen Hao spoke firmly, his expression radiant and his confidence soaring!
With concrete results to show, the others were thoroughly convinced and had no objections.
"Haozi, charge ahead as hard as you can. We've got your back!"
Old Brother, that's all well and good, but why are you raising your glass again?
Chen Hao was close to tears, but he could only pick up his glass and keep drinking~
Brothers, beer, and a little barbecue.
They ate, drank, and chatted happily. For a while, they enjoyed themselves immensely!
Magic City, Shanda Network.
"Supervisor, this is the monthly user data report for Legend. Please take a look~" A beautiful professional woman handed the report to the plump, middle-aged man seated across from her.
As the operations supervisor, Zhou Xiao reviewed Legend's various operating figures at the end of every month, monitoring the game's real-time status so he could adjust the upcoming operation plans.
After looking through the report for a while, Zhou Xiao suddenly voiced his doubts.
"Hmm? Did the data department make a mistake? The figures for Jing City and Ice City are basically unchanged from last month. They haven't increased?"
The current online game Hot-blooded Legend was at the height of its popularity nationwide. It had become the market leader, and its figures should increase by at least fifty percent every month.
Ice City's lack of growth would not be particularly surprising, but as the capital, Jing City's failure to grow while Legend dominated the market was abnormal. When something went against the norm, there was usually a hidden cause!
"Go ask the data department. No, I'll go myself. You can get back to work!"
With that, Zhou Xiao slowly rose and walked outside.
An hour later, he returned to his seat and sat there deep in thought with his eyes closed.
He had checked with the data department, and there was nothing wrong with the statistics they had compiled.
Tomorrow, he needed to give the big boss the monthly report, but this minor matter was not worth bothering the boss with. Otherwise, what was he being paid for?
At least, the overall figures looked extremely good. In March, all the major figures had increased by an average of seventy-eight percent compared with the previous month, which was more than enough to earn him praise.
As it happened, he would be traveling to Jing City next week on business. He could investigate while he was there.
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