Revival Group

Across thirty-nine monitors, shifting light and shadow displayed the various scenes of the game Cosmic Warfare: planets upon planets, all manner of monsters appearing without end.

Everything was transmitted through the cameras on the robots, relayed into Han Yang's mind, where he made real-time judgments and decisions before sending them back to the robots. Through the manipulation of their mechanical arms, the commands were entered into the computers.

Thirty-nine game characters fought desperately in the game world.

Other than the hum of computer towers, the movement of mechanical arms, and the clatter of keyboards and mice, there was no other sound in the power-leveling room.

The scene carried a rather eerie air. But in Han Yang's eyes, it was the beauty of industry and order.

Of the thirty-nine power-leveling orders, twenty-two were high-end orders and seventeen were low-end orders, together occupying roughly 90 percent of Han Yang's computing power.

The remaining computer was equally busy. Though it was not running a game, it had more than twenty chat windows open. The robot operating it moved its two mechanical arms frantically as it chatted with over twenty customers at once.

Han Yang clearly remembered everything each customer had said and asked in every chat window, without ever mixing them up. Whenever a message arrived in one window, the mechanical arm immediately moved the mouse to click it. After only a few milliseconds, Han Yang understood the customer's request and decided what to reply within another few milliseconds.

The mechanical arms clattered across the keyboard. Within mere seconds, they drafted a response and sent it. When the next window received a message, they immediately checked that one instead.

Opening a chat window, Han Yang saw a customer's message: "Your shop replies so fast. Your efficiency is amazing. How many customer service reps have you hired?"

Han Yang, who was sitting leisurely nearby and studying a chip architecture diagram, smiled faintly. At a thought from him, the robot immediately replied, "Dear customer, our shop upholds the principle of putting customers first and serving every customer wholeheartedly. We will respond to any of your requests as quickly as possible. Is there anything else we can help you with?"

"Nope. I've already confirmed receipt and left a five-star review~ I'll come to you again when I have more orders."

"Thank you for supporting our shop. Here is a five-yuan-off coupon for orders over one hundred yuan. We look forward to seeing you again!"

"There are coupons too? Hahaha, great. Definitely."

With Han Yang, there was absolutely no possibility of customer service being too busy to respond for a long time.

While chatting with more than twenty windows at once, a webpage was even open on the right side of the computer screen. It was an online learning site from a university, where a bald professor was explaining the basic concepts of chip design.

The forty computers in the power-leveling room worked nonstop like this. Whenever an order ended, a power-leveling computer swiftly exited the game, retrieved a new order's game account from the database, and logged in seamlessly. The business computer then promptly found the corresponding customer and sent an order-completion notification.

The number of high-end and low-end orders was not fixed, but fluctuated constantly. Sometimes there were more high-end orders, and Han Yang's computing-power usage was higher; at other times, it was lower. But under his deliberate control, it never exceeded 95 percent, always leaving spare capacity for everyday tasks and learning.

Time flew by. Soon, the first full twenty-four hours after moving into Fuxing Base—forty computers operating at full capacity and officially beginning the power-leveling business—had passed.

Han Yang immediately took stock.

"A total of 189 high-end orders, with total revenue of 21,556 yuan; 236 low-end orders, with total revenue of 8,056 yuan. That makes 29,612 yuan altogether—almost thirty thousand!"

Compared with the days in the small courtyard, Han Yang's daily income had nearly tripled!

"Nearly thirty thousand a day means just under nine hundred thousand a month, and over ten million a year! Even after electricity, internet fees, and other costs, annual income will still break ten million!"

An annual income of ten million yuan was considered top-tier even across the entire human world. Yet Han Yang had achieved all this with just forty computers.

The biggest cost in the power-leveling business was not equipment, but labor. At any other game studio, perhaps eight million out of ten million in profit would have to go toward wages.

Take these forty computers, for example. If they were operated by people, Han Yang would need to maintain a power-leveling team of at least one hundred people, as well as a customer service and logistics team of ten. Since he took on quite a few high-end orders, the power-levelers would also need higher pay—at least five thousand yuan per person each month.

But now, all those costs had been saved.

"For me, the power-leveling business really is enormously profitable."

Han Yang could not help but sigh. "Perfect. The power-leveling business is low-profile enough, too. Those big shots and wealthy people wouldn't even bother with such scraps. They can't be bothered to make this little bit of money. That means I won't have to compete or clash with them, and I can quietly make money."

The power-leveling market was enormous. By Han Yang's estimate, even in Cosmic Warfare alone, he had not yet captured even 1 percent of the market share. And in the current human world, there were countless online games of every kind.

Cosmic Warfare was popular, but it was hard to say whether it accounted for even 1 percent of the entire online gaming market.

All in all, it was a market with very broad prospects.

"I still need to speed up my chip research and increase my computing power as soon as possible. Only by seizing more market share can I earn more money and afford a spaceship."

Han Yang's entire plan was actually quite simple.

First, he would save money. Once he had enough, he would buy the most advanced spaceship the Ita were willing to sell, head to a region near the edge of the Solar System where Ita oversight was weak, find a distant, frigid Dwarf Planet, and establish a production base there.

After building the production base, he would figure out a way to convert that spaceship into an interstellar vessel, then pilot it to other star systems where there were no Ita.

Only then could he develop without restrictions.

Saving money was the first step of every plan.

But... even an ordinary spaceship cost as much as one billion yuan. A ship capable of traveling beyond Pluto would cost at least five billion. Including the various mechanical equipment he needed to buy, as well as the money needed for concealment and cover, his total assets would have to reach tens of billions at the very least.

Earning nearly thirty thousand a day and ten million a year sounded like a lot, but compared to Han Yang's plans, it was still far, far too slow.

Leaving the forty computers to continue working and learning, Han Yang passed through several security doors and left the core area.

He first went to Revival Restaurant for a meal, then made a round of the entire Fuxing Mall. Only after seeing that everything was orderly and on the right track did Han Yang head to the conference room in satisfaction.

"Hello, Boss Han."

Li Hu, Zhao Fu, Sun Gui, Uncle Wang, Aunt Wang, Shen the Butcher, and more than twenty others—formerly Black Three's subordinates, but people Han Yang had come to believe could be trusted to a limited degree over this period—were all seated there.

When they saw Han Yang arrive, everyone immediately stood and respectfully greeted him.

Han Yang smiled. "There's no need to make such a big fuss in the future. I called everyone here today mainly to announce something.

"Our Fuxing Gang needs to be reorganized. From now on, there will be no more Fuxing Gang. It will be called Revival Group.

"Li Hu, from now on, you'll be the head of the Revival Group's Security Department. Sun Gui, you'll be the head of the Business Department, and you'll also temporarily serve as head of the Procurement Department. Zhao Fu, you'll be the head of the Finance Department.

"Uncle Wang, you'll be the head of the Logistics Department, and Aunt Wang will be deputy head. The Logistics Department will mainly handle the group's internal logistics—cafeterias, dormitories, repairs, and the like will all be under the two of you.

"Brother Shen, you'll be the head of the Training Department. The twenty people Li Hu recruited have already arrived. Together with the ten brothers who were already in the group, all thirty of them will be entrusted to you for training."