Chapter 9
Shangguan's company seemed to have been inherited from his family. Originally it only dealt with electronic products, but ever since he took over, it had started venturing into the internet business.
Over the past two years, online gaming had been continuously heating up, and the company had begun making its mark in this area as well. The year before last, they launched a war-themed game called Starfire, and I'd heard it was quite successful. In less than half a year, they'd recouped their costs. That year, the company even held a special celebration for it.
Based on recent developments, it seemed the company was placing greater emphasis on redeveloping this game. Although I didn't understand much about these things, I really couldn't fathom why they suddenly wanted to create a new game proposal—and even if they were going to do it, why would they assign it to me?
Since I'd already been dragged into this, I had no intention of going back to the company, but I also didn't want to squeeze onto the subway with everyone else, so I walked along slowly while contemplating the task I'd just been handed. The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
My phone rang. I answered it. Shangguan's voice came through: "Why haven't you come down yet? It's already 7:40!"
"Well, I've already come down..." I said心虚ly. Normally Shangguan would be waiting for me in the parking lot at 7:30, and if any special circumstances arose, he'd call to let me know. That was how he was, and of course I was the same way. It's just that I was usually such a free person, never running into any special circumstances, so I'd forgotten about the whole thing today.
"You're down? Where exactly?"
"I'm..." I looked around. "On Jing'an Road."
There was a two-second pause on the phone. I warily and immediately held the phone far away from my ear, and even so, Shangguan's roar still came through: "The hell! What are you doing over there!"
Then followed another string of seconds' worth of furious scolding, along with the sound of a car engine starting, followed by an absolute command: "Stay right where you are!"
I hung up and tugged at my fringe烦恼地. It had gotten dark long ago, but under the streetlights, car lights, shop lights and all that series of lights, the area wasn't dark at all—it was even a little blinding at times.
I sighed softly and squinted. Honestly, I really didn't like big cities. Even though I'd lived here for six years, I still wasn't used to it at all. There were too many people here, too much noise, the pace was too fast. Back then, if it hadn't been for Shangguan, I probably would have found a small or medium-sized city to live in.
Why had I agreed to stay back then? Oh, right—because he said he could give me a job, so I wouldn't have to keep running around looking for work anymore.
I had never been a person with any pride, and I was lazy to an extreme. So even though I didn't like it, I stayed anyway. And once I stayed, another two years passed. Life was still going fairly smoothly. Although I got scolded every day, I had a free ride, someone to cook for me, and I didn't have to do the laundry or cleaning.
Such a life should have been enough to satisfy me. But for some unknown reason, lately I'd been gradually feeling more and more agitated. I originally thought it was just some emotional fluctuations, but today this feeling had gotten even stronger.
I wanted to run away. I wanted to switch environments. I wanted... to go to another city...
I shook my head. Honestly, what was I thinking? This afternoon I was still thinking there was absolutely no way I'd job-hop, and now I was wanting to go to another city. Could it be that I really needed some stimulation and change? The wind was a bit chilly. I tugged at my jacket. A silver-gray sports car stopped in front of me—it was Shangguan's Mercedes.
"Get in!"
I gathered my thoughts, climbed in, and fastened my seatbelt. Before Shangguan could ask, I apologized first, then explained the reason.
"Zheng Hong wants you to do that proposal?" Shangguan's expression was a bit odd.
"Yeah, he said it was urgent—they need to see results by next month. Is something wrong with that?"
"Nothing's wrong. It's just that case is just a plan; it doesn't necessarily mean it'll be implemented. Generally speaking, a game's lifespan won't exceed five years; the shorter ones end in two. So the company has to consider launching another game. But right now, the company's main energy is still focused on Starfire, since it's already built up a reputation and has a solid player base, and there are currently no signs of decline. So rather than launching a new game, it's better to make this one even better and more polished."
"So that means this case isn't important?"
"I wouldn't say it's unimportant either. I've been considering launching another game all along. I just hope that whatever new one we launch would be even better than Starfire—something that could become a classic. This case should have been assigned by Han Min. He mentioned it to me. The purpose is to assess the planning department's awareness of online gaming—to see whether they should set up a dedicated online gaming planning department, or have two teams within the existing department."
"Is there a difference? That just sounds like adding one more office or not."
"Of course there's a difference. Right now the Starfire department's structure is already similar to a company's. If we were to set up a separate planning department, it might as well be spun off—we'd establish a dedicated online gaming company."
"But right now Starfire's affairs are also handled by them themselves." I still couldn't see the difference.
"Yes, but that's now. Back when it was first established, the entire company worked on it together. And their manpower is getting increasingly tight—they need someone dedicated to planning. So this case is really just a test. But Zheng Hong really does have confidence in you."
汗, looks like I can only get one chapter done today~~~~~~