Perception

A week later, after finishing his meeting and business in Beijing, Zhou Xiao didn't rush back to Magic City.

Instead, he stayed an extra day in Beijing with his two subordinates. The three split up and randomly visited various internet cafes to gather information.

That evening, they met at a mid-range restaurant for dinner, sharing the intelligence they had each gathered.

When they saw that everyone had a flyer in hand, they exchanged knowing glances. It was clear they were all focused on the same issue.

Zhou Xiao looked at the large characters "Greedy Blue Moon Legend" on the flyer and pondered for a moment before looking up and saying, "Liu, you go first."

Called upon, Xiao Liu's expression turned grave as he reported, "I visited a total of 7 internet cafes this afternoon. There were 216 people online in total. Of those, 137 were playing Legend. I scanned each one playing Legend. A total of 31 were playing our Hot-blooded Legend of Mir. A few others were playing different Legend private servers. But the one called Greedy Blue Moon Legend had nearly a hundred players. While the data isn't comprehensive, the general trend won't be wrong!"

Zhou Xiao didn't ask how his subordinate could distinguish between the two Legends. He had also spent the afternoon investigating and discovered that if the top-right corner of the screen had any text related to charging, it was that so-called private server.

Hearing his subordinate's report, which was largely similar to what he had learned, Zhou Xiao shifted his gaze to the other person. The latter immediately spoke up, "I didn't go to as many internet cafes. I just went to one and tried out the features of this game called Greedy Blue Moon Legend. I even spent over a hundred yuan. " The man paused here, then tentatively asked, "Boss, I don't know if this is something I should say or not."

"Xiao Ma, speak your mind, don't hold back!"

Xiao Ma thought for a moment, swallowed, and gritted his teeth before saying, "Well, after playing Greedy Blue Moon Legend, I feel like our Legend is incredibly lame!" Another companion unconsciously nodded in agreement.

"Explain in detail."

Seeing the encouraging look on his boss's face, Xiao Ma became bolder. "I can summarize it from a few angles. First, this Greedy Blue Moon Legend is a modified version of our Legend. The member map is a hodgepodge, throwing all the bosses in there. You can kill them casually if you pay. The more money you spend, the harder the map bosses are, and the better the equipment drops.

Second, equipment. I saw a lot of equipment in the safe zone that doesn't exist in our Legend. It's very exaggerated and flashy.

Third, the charging system. It's free-to-play, and there are in-game purchase entrances, allowing both casual players and whales to find enjoyment in the game."

"Anything else?"

Xiao Ma shook his head. Xiao Liu added, "I'll add something, but it's not about the game itself. It's about this website called Beyond Legend Alliance. Besides Greedy Blue Moon Legend, it also lists other Legends, like Blue Legend, Autumn Wind Legend, Dudu Legend... There are six or seven private server Legends listed in total, and the trend is escalating! A single spark can start a prairie fire, Boss. You need to report this to your superiors as soon as possible."

Zhou Xiao nodded. "You don't need to remind me, I know how serious this is. You two did well. I'll add one last thing." The two subordinates immediately sat up straight, leaning forward as if to listen intently.

He tapped the words "Greedy Blue Moon" on the flyer with his finger. "Besides Beijing, Ice City's data has also been affected, Xiao Liu."

Hearing the instruction, Xiao Liu immediately replied, "Boss, you say!"

"Tomorrow, you don't need to return to the company with us. After breakfast, go directly to the ticket office and buy a ticket to Ice City for tomorrow. See if you can find any clues about Greedy Blue Moon Legend. Stay there for a maximum of three days, and report back immediately regardless of whether you find any leads!"

"Understood!"

Back at the hotel, Zhou Xiao directly opened his laptop and began writing a report on Legend private servers.

The points Xiao Ma had raised were summarized into some patterns, but they were still superficial, a result of his youth.

In his position, he needed to view the matter from a higher perspective, seeing the essence through the superficial.

The ability to modify Legend revealed a harsh truth: the official source code for Legend had been leaked!

Not only had it been leaked, but the other party was capable of secondary development, which required the support of a powerful technical team.

The charging system and free-to-play strategy indicated that the other party had a master strategist.

Furthermore, in addition to what his subordinates had mentioned, he had also observed another phenomenon in the afternoon: the game's atmosphere was incredibly fervent. As soon as players left the safe zone, they were forming factions and engaging in bloody PK battles.

This was the norm, so the intensity of siege warfare could only be imagined.

As a seasoned veteran in operations, his keen senses picked up crucial information from the public chat messages: the power balance among the guilds on the server was very stable. In his server, there were three major guilds, with many smaller guilds affiliated with them. The power difference between these three major forces was very close, resembling the Three Kingdoms' dominance.

With his extensive operational experience, he knew that such a situation required human intervention. If left to develop freely, either one would dominate, or two would clash fiercely. The Three Kingdoms' dominance required a long time and certain coincidences to form. Yet, Greedy Blue Moon Legend had only been developing for a month. Was that possible?!

Therefore, the other party must also have an experienced operations team.

Considering all this, although the other party's strength was far from Shanda's, they were likely a company of dozens of people, not to be underestimated.

After finishing his report, Zhou Xiao reread it. The intended message was clear on paper, and he was very satisfied with the report.

He made a call to his direct superior to brief him.

He clicked send on the email.

The email was sent to the inbox of Luo Qianqian, a director and the operations director of Shanda Network. Besides this role, she was also the wife of Chen Tianqiao, the founder of Shanda Network!

The next day, Shanda was holding a high-level meeting. This report did not reach Chen Tianqiao's hands.

Chen Tianqiao, the founder of Shanda Network, was just thirty this year, in his prime! He founded Shanda Network with friends and relatives two years ago, starting with a cartoon website and anime community and securing their first round of investment.

With funds, he decisively entered the interactive entertainment industry last year and astutely licensed the Korean online game: Legend, which was currently developing at a rapid pace, far exceeding his initial expectations.

During the meeting, after setting the goals for the next month and the work content for each department, and as everyone else was leaving, Luo Qianqian stayed behind, looking at her husband as if she had something to say but hesitated.

Chen Tianqiao asked curiously, "If you have something to say, why are you being so reserved between us?"

"Do you know about the situation with the Legend private servers?"

Fiddling with the pen in his hand, Chen Tianqiao said nonchalantly, "I thought it was something big, making you look so unsettled. It's just private servers, isn't it? Someone reported it to me a few days ago."

"Don't we need to pay attention? What if..."

"There's no 'what if.' They're just little tricks conjured up by some clowns to attract attention. Users will get bored after a few days of novelty and come back. We shouldn't split our focus now; all our energy should be on our Legend, especially considering our revenue last month was this much." Chen Tianqiao proudly held up two fingers.

Seeing that her husband knew about it and wasn't concerned, Luo Qianqian felt relieved. She stopped pressing the issue, and her attention was diverted.

"Do you think we can double it again next month on top of this?"

The man said confidently, "Probably more than that. It will only increase from now on, just you wait and see!"

Luo Qianqian left the conference room. Back at her workstation, she directly threw the report into the waste bin.

Indeed, a person's perspective differs based on their position!

Zhou Xiao was still too young!