Chapter 36: Truly Worthy of Being a Boss!

In the afternoon, sitting in front of his computer, Huang Feiyang wore a strange expression as he looked at a post on the *Legend* game forum that had just surpassed ten thousand replies.

"My Days of Gold Farming in *Legend*!"

The post was a first-person account from an unemployed young man. After losing his job, he had stumbled into playing *Legend* by chance. Because of good luck, he managed to loot some high-quality gear—items like the Blood Drinker, the Blood-Red Demon Sword, and the Overlord's Blade. Since he was playing in an internet cafe, his cheers attracted the attention of other players, and right there on the spot, someone bought his equipment for a high price. Thus began his journey into gold farming. In less than half a month, his earnings had already exceeded 4,000 yuan.

At the end of the post, the player—whose ID was "One Man One Dog, I Own the World"—specifically thanked *Legend* and Future Network for changing his life. In his own words, it was something he never could have imagined before. Prior to his unemployment, he had worked in a sweatshop garment factory, slaving away twelve hours a day for only three or four hundred yuan a month. But now, in less than half a month, he had nearly earned what used to be a full year's wages.

Reading through the replies, Huang Feiyang nearly choked with laughter. These netizens were truly talented!

"WindBlowsButt": "I highly suspect this is a piece of advertorial written by the game officials themselves! Earning thousands playing a game in half a month? Are you kidding me?"

"RedNameNumberOne": "The guy above is really ignorant! Isn't it normal to make money in games? Besides, Future Network openly supports gold-farming studios joining *Legend*!"

"EatingLemons": "So jealous! Over 4,000 in less than half a month? Wuwuwu! I work hard on the assembly line for a whole year and don't even make 4,000! Brother, teach me, how did you do it?"

"OrcsNeverSlave": "Good heavens! Is the OP blessed by the gods? Most people can't even loot one piece of gear like that in half a month, and you're getting them in batches? Just how much dragon dung did you step on?"

"TravelerInTheHumanWorld": "To be fair, the game is fun! But for the average person to make money from it? You'd better wash up and go to sleep!"

"DragonSlayerInHandIHaveTheWorld": "So envious! Over 4,000 in less than half a month? We're both human, why are you so excellent? Please, let me be your underling! I want to be carried!"

After reading a few more comments, Huang Feiyang thought for a moment and gave George a call. He felt that while the attention was high, they could stir up even more hype.

"Boss, are you sure?" George asked incredulously after hearing Huang Feiyang's suggestion. A game rewards event for the top ten players in the entire server? The deadline is the end of this month? First place gets 100,000? Second place 90,000? And so on, down to 10,000 for the tenth place? He knew that no other game company had ever set such a precedent.

"Of course," Huang Feiyang replied calmly, a smile in his voice. "Do you think I’m joking? Besides, it’s only 550,000! Given the speed at which Future Network is raking in money, this is just a drop in the bucket. And have you thought about the sensation this will cause? How much positive impact it will bring?"

George paused, lost in thought. The more he considered it, the brighter his eyes shone. This seemed like a brilliant marketing strategy!

After the call ended, George immediately had Future Network announce the reward event on the official website. The result was that all the players went wild. First place gets 100,000? Tenth place gets 10,000? Such a good deal? After countless players shouted "Future Network is mighty!", they instantly transformed into hardcore grinders. If they could win 100,000 yuan, they could buy a condo in their hometowns. How could they not be thrilled? Some clever players even started spending money on items to frantically boost their levels.

In Guangzhou, at Future Network, a group of programmers sat in stunned silence as they watched the data in the backend skyrocket. "Holy crap? This works too?" After confirming it repeatedly, they realized it was all real. The players were truly stimulated by the rewards. In less than ten minutes, the recharge volume had surged by 30 percent compared to normal. Seeing such ferocious data, they were left sweating. They immediately reported it up the chain.

In George's office at Huang's International Investment, half an hour later, he looked at the latest revenue report from Future Network. He was completely speechless. He admired Huang Feiyang to the point of total submission. They had only spent 550,000, but the returns were astonishing! In less than half an hour, it had already multiplied several times over. "As expected of the Boss," George exclaimed in awe.

He then emailed the report to Huang Feiyang. In his villa, Huang Feiyang opened the report and felt a sense of suffocation. "No wonder so much capital flooded into the gaming industry in my past life," he thought. "If the game is well-made, this is seriously profitable!" Even Huang Feiyang, who rarely cursed, couldn't help but swear.

As the saying goes, one man's joy is another's sorrow. Future Network was happy, but the executives and bosses of other domestic game companies were now cursing under their breath. With the explosive popularity of *Legend*, their active player counts had already been plummeting. Sure, numbers would recover slightly on weekends, giving them a chance to cling to life, but now? With Future Network suddenly launching this event, how were they supposed to survive?

In just that half hour, their active player counts had plummeted at a speed visible to the naked eye. They knew exactly why. "Damn *Legend*! Damn Future Network!" many manufacturers cursed in secret. Some companies had already called emergency meetings. They had to come up with a response strategy, or they wouldn't survive. The number of internet users in the country was small to begin with, and the number of gamers was even more limited. Now, the entire industry's pie had been carved up by Tencent's farm and ranch games and Future Network's *Legend*. The remaining scraps were being fought over by countless other companies. They had to take this seriously. If things continued this way, they would only have one path left: bankruptcy and a forced career change.