Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Chapter 50: High Stakes
Translated by Coldtaco
Edited by Aelryinth
Everyone was shocked when Chen Mo sent that Weibo.
What was he trying to do? Was he seriously going for the chase? This Chen Mo fellow wasn’t leaving himself any room to retreat!
It’s rare to see someone like him who was always looking for a fight. Moreover, his opponent was Emperor Dynasty Entertainment!
The supporters of Qiu Bin started quitting the battle.
-We are here arguing with the players of Plants vs Zombies*, and Qiu Bin isn’t going to say anything?-*
-Look at Chen Mo, he’s tried to draw blood twice!-
This was like a war in the olden times with two sides. On one side, the general was talking smack, saying anything that he wanted. But the general of the other side didn’t even dare respond?
That would surely reduce morale!
The disappointed fans stopped arguing and went to Chen Mo’s DMs.
“Hey, could you say something, Mr Qiu Bin!”
“Mr Qiu Bin, he said he was copying you. Attacking him!”
“Mr. Qiu Bin, you can’t just stay silent at times like this. This really hurts us, your long time supporters.”
“Could it be that Guardian of the Holy Spring did copy Plants vs Zombies?”
—
Qiu Bin finally cracked.
He planned to turn off Weibo, out of sight, out of mind, after all. But an unexplained anger came from inside him, and he couldn’t resist the urge to go back on Weibo.
As soon as he turned it on, all the messages that he missed came at him at once. Chen Mo’s Weibo in particular made him extremely angry.
-What are you trying to say? You think you’re a big deal now? You may be in the right, but you should know your place! You’re quite brave to be challenging someone from Emperor Dynasty Entertainment!
-Alright, I’m going all out today!-
Qiu Bin’s hands were trembling from anger, and he sent a Weibo in reply: I don’t have time to fight with some nobody videogame designer like you, as I’m quite busy. Though your efforts at finding trouble are quite admirable, if I didn’t know who you were I would’ve thought you were some hotshot in the industry. I heard your game did pretty well, five hundred thousand sales in the first month, right? And you’re quite cocky because of it, right? If I got five hundred thousand sales in the first month I would be too ashamed to talk to the others in Emperor Dynasty Entertainment.
His fans were happy when this extensive yet classy Weibo was sent.
He was right! Emperor Dynasty Entertainment was the biggest channel with copious amounts of users. Five hundred thousand sales in the first month wasn’t much for Emperor Dynasty Entertainment.
“Nice one Mr Qiu Bin!”
“A heavy hit! Keep going at him!”
His supporters were leaving comments under his Weibo in support.
Chen Mo laughed, as what Qiu Bin said was quite classy.
Qiu Bin avoided the topic of copying and went straight to his identity to threaten Chen Mo. Although what he said about sales was a bit stretched, Chen Mo couldn’t say anything in retaliation.
However, Chen Mo didn’t mind, as his plan wasn’t to argue with him. He just wanted him to reply!
From Chen Mo’s perspective, Qiu Bin wasn’t his rival, but just a stepping stone in his plans!
However he still had to play out the rival part, so Qiu Bin would take the bait.
Chen Mo replied: I don’t think there’s a point to arguing. How about this? Since you’re quite confident, let’s make a bet!
The spectators were shocked. What, again?
Many of the people involved remembered the bet between Chen Mo and Shi Huazhe. He said confidently that Chen Mo’s first game would never reach a hundred thousand. The result of that was that he hadn’t been on Weibo for more than a month.
Qiu Bin was also shocked, but he couldn’t back off now, and replied: What are we betting on?
Chen Mo responded: Aren’t you confident in your game? How about this, I’ll make a game too, and we’ll release it at the same time. Are you on?
Qiu Bin was confused. What did he mean?
Number of sales in the first month? : Qiu Bin asked.
Chen Mo replied: No, profit from the first month.
Qiu Bin was surprised by Chen Mo’s answer and thought he misread it.
-First month’s profit? Isn’t that a death sentence?- In reality, it didn’t matter if it was sales or profit, Qiu Bin wasn’t afraid. He had Emperor Dynasty Entertainment behind him!**
As long as Emperor Dynasty Entertainment was willing to promote Guardian of the Holy Spring, sales and profit would always be a respectable number.
As for Chen Mo? It was fine if he wanted to bet using Plants vs Zombies, but competing using a new game?
Did he actually think that he was a video game-making genius, where everything he made went viral?
Qiu Bin snickered.-It seems like the success of Plants vs Zombies has warped Chen Mo’s perspective.-
It was very easy to fail in the industry. However, after borrowing inspiration from Plants vs Zombies, adding his own twist to it, plus strong amounts of advertising... Even if the game wasn’t going viral, the results would still be decent!
-What can Chen Mo’s new game do? Unless he also has his own new ideas, but how can he guarantee his success every time?-
Qiu Bin felt that there was no way he could lose.
Qiu Bin replied: First month’s profit? Sure, if you’re down to lose, I’m down to play. What are the stakes?
Chen Mo said: If you lose, you’ll promote my game on the Promoted This Month section on Emperor Dynasty Entertainment’s front page for a month, for free.
Qiu Bin scowled.
Promoted This Month was the best space for promotion on the Emperor Dynasty Entertainment channel, they never gave the space to games from other channels. It was a spot reserved for a few A and S-grade video game designers within Emperor Dynasty Entertainment.
Moreover, a whole month?
Qiu Bin answered: I don’t have that kind of power.
Chen Mo replied: I know you don’t have that power, but you’re still a B-grade video game designer. You must know someone who does inside Emperor Dynasty Entertainment, right? Try to make it happen, I believe in you.
If Qiu Bin begged Lin Chaoxu, the Chairman of Emperor Dynasty Entertainment himself, he might be able to get that spot. But he wouldn’t have any dignity left.
If he lost a bet against a C-grade video game designer and a promotional space belonging to Emperor Dynasty Entertainment? How could he bring himself to ask for that space from his higher-ups?
Qiu Bin was about to explode from all the pent-up anger. Chen Mo was too confident, did he not treat Qiu Bin as a threat at all?
Qiu Bin didn’t believe he could lose!
He didn’t believe in otherworldly forces, either. -How could Chen Mo attack me like that? How could he be so confident?-
Qiu Bin replied: Alright, if I lose, I’ll get you that promoted space! What if you lose? Can you give me a promoted space?
Chen Mo gave it some thought. If the bet wasn’t big enough, Qiu Bin wouldn’t accept it, but he didn’t have anything that would be comparable to the promoted space of Emperor Dynasty Entertainment.
Chen Mo quickly replied: If I lose, I’ll spend time outside the Emperor Dynasty Entertainment building crossdressed!
This shocked all the spectators.
Wow, these guys sure know how to make it entertaining!
In the end, you’re still a videogame designer, can’t you have some integrity?
Qiu Bin decided to accept: Alright! I’ll be waiting for you in four month’s time!
Chen Mo replied swiftly: No problem, get the promotional spot ready!
—
After Chen Mo sent that Weibo, he checked his watch: his fifteen minutes had just ran out.
-Me losing? Don’t be silly!-
Why did Chen Mo want to anger him and start a bet? To prove himself? No!
Chen Mo didn’t mind others copying him, much less tearing each other up because of it. He didn’t see anything meaningful in that.
What he was really after was the promotional space, and the publicity it would bring his game from the attention it got.