Shocking Words

They had waited for two days.

Tang Yu's request to take his game off the Infinite Game Platform still hadn't been approved.

Meanwhile, his inbox was flooded with messages from the Infinite Game Platform.

They hoped Tang Yu would visit Infinite Company's headquarters. They also offered a series of generous terms, hoping he would keep Omnipotent God on the Infinite Game Platform.

To that end, the Infinite Game Platform had even offered to waive its 15% cut of all in-game purchases.

When they realized Tang Yu still wasn't replying,

their later emails went even further, offering to fund Omnipotent God's future development and updates at a high price, with no strings attached. They also promised to promote Omnipotent God across all channels for free.

Every email they sent conveyed the same message:

Please stay, Dad. We're begging you!

Tang Yu had no interest in responding.

If he were a businessman, there would be no reason to turn down such generous terms.

Any one of the terms offered by the Infinite Platform would be hard for a game developer to refuse.

The two offers to waive the revenue cut and promote the game for free had only been available during the Infinite Game Platform's early expansion, decades ago. They had never been offered again since.

Now that the Infinite Game Platform had a complete monopoly on the market, every major game company was desperate for such treatment.

And the platform had never once offered to fund a game's future development since its founding.

But to Tang Yu, aside from the offer to help promote the game, the other terms were worthless.

And trading the convenience of future updates for help promoting the game simply wasn't worth it.

All things considered, Tang Yu believed that staying on the Infinite Game Platform would only hinder Omnipotent God's growth, not help it.

So he ignored the string of emails from the Infinite Game Platform.

According to the platform's terms, any game that hadn't enabled in-game purchases or signed a contract with the platform would be automatically removed if its takedown request hadn't been approved within 72 hours.

For now, Tang Yu chose to wait.

Once the game was taken down, he would personally build a platform exclusively for Omnipotent God, making it a gathering place for its players.

Infinite Games Company.

Conference room.

The executives sat with furrowed brows, their eyes fixed on the virtual screen at the head of the conference table as they waited for Wonder Studio's reply.

Forty-eight hours had already passed.

As anxiety gnawed at them, a sense of defeat began to creep in.

The Infinite Game Platform had faced multiple crises that threatened its very existence since its founding, and they had weathered every one of them.

Whether it was competitors spending heavily to undercut them or large corporations attempting hostile takeovers, they had faced those crises with confidence.

The process had been grueling, but they had always believed they would win.

This time, though, things were completely different.

The crises of the past had all come from within the industry. But now, the entire industry was on the verge of being turned upside down.

When the tide of a new era came crashing in, they couldn't stay safely on the shore. They would be among the first to drown.

This wasn't a problem that confidence and courage could solve.

Take Kodak, for example. It had once been the world's largest producer and supplier of imaging products and related services. Its business spanned more than 150 countries and regions, and it employed around 80,000 people worldwide. It had long been a global leader in image capture, sharing, output, and display.

Its film had even held a monopoly in the industry.

Perhaps in those days, no one believed anything could threaten its position.

Throughout its century-long history, innovation had practically been in Kodak's blood. In its heyday, Kodak could have been called the Google of its era.

But when the camera industry underwent a transformation and digital cameras began to rise, they swept through the empire built on film cameras and brought it crashing down.

When the tide of a new era came in, Kodak still couldn't escape bankruptcy.

Kodak's fate was a glimpse of what the Infinite Game Platform was facing now.

Omnipotent God's player base was still growing rapidly. It was only a matter of time before it claimed the entire market.

Every executive present had already tried the game, and many had become loyal players. By now, they all agreed on what was coming.

Omnipotent God was like a demon king bent on destroying the old world order and building a new world of its own.

Every game on the platform was like a blood bag to Omnipotent God. In the end, all the blood—the players—would flow into the game. The platform's games would be drained of their player traffic and reduced to empty shells.

But things hadn't yet reached the point of no return.

If they could partner with Wonder Studio before Omnipotent God overturned the industry, they could catch a ride on the new era's fast-moving train and become pioneers in building the Second World.

The Infinite Platform's executives knew exactly what they had to do.

So, over the past two days of discussions, they had offered a series of one-sided terms they would once have considered unthinkable, hoping to secure a partnership with Wonder Studio.

Yet even now, Wonder Studio still hadn't replied.

They were tormented by the wait and filled with despair.

The sharp contrast between being an industry monopolist and having to grovel for a partnership left them feeling utterly helpless.

Seconds ticked by.

The agonizing wait continued.

Then Jiang Ming, seated at the head of the table, suddenly spoke.

"I have an idea. Do you want to hear it?"

At once, everyone turned their eyes to Jiang Ming.

"Don't be ridiculous. Wonder Studio would never agree to let us buy Omnipotent God!" Fang Chong frowned at Jiang Ming.

"Uncle Fang, I know. My proposal has nothing to do with buying Omnipotent God!"

"Then what are you proposing?" Fang Chong asked in surprise.

"I don't think we need to keep fighting Omnipotent God in the game industry. After all these days of discussions, we've all agreed that we can't beat Wonder Studio. So why not change our approach? For example... trade what we have now for a share of the profits inside the game?"

The others looked at Jiang Ming in confusion, clearly unsure what he meant.

"Be more specific," Fang Chong said at once.

"Ahem... Don't call me ridiculous after I say this!"

Everyone nodded, urging Jiang Ming to continue.

"Since we all believe this game will become the Second World, and our monopoly in the game industry is about to end, why not just give up the Infinite Game Platform and find new ways to make money inside Omnipotent God?"

Jiang Ming paused, then made a shocking proposal:

"How about this? Before we go under, we sell the Infinite Game Platform and pour all the money into Omnipotent God. We could start a new business in this game that's about to become the Second World, and build a new empire for Infinite Games Company."

Everyone at the table stared at him, dumbfounded.

After a brief silence, they finally began to recover.

Jiang Ming's proposal was undeniably bold—so bold that it sounded absurd.

And yet, for some reason, they felt a stirring of excitement.

After trying Omnipotent God, they had already discovered its potential and the many business opportunities hidden within it.

The game was still in its early stages, making this the perfect time to get in.

If they really could monopolize one field within this Second World, the profits would far exceed those of the existing Infinite Game Platform.

Thinking about it, they all sank into a struggle over what to do.