I am a Big Player
Chapter 124 - 123, Can’t Be Too Smug (Second Update)_1

Chapter 124: 123, Can’t Be Too Smug (Second Update)_1

Yuan Peng vomited so severely the first time he encountered Ren He that it only deepened his memory of the young man; he felt a sense of familiarity as he watched the video.

His desire to find this youth was not sparked by personal ambition, but rather to use this major news story to stage a stunning comeback. Yuan Peng was no longer the spirited young man he once was; he had been ground down by the unforgiving society. Regardless of whether the protagonist of the video wanted to be exposed or not, for the sake of his own future, he had to unearth the secret. The saying ’every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost’ applied perfectly here.

What was the entire nation and even the whole world most interested in right now? It wasn’t about where a war was breaking out, nor was it about an upcoming economic crisis, but rather the true identity of the ’Knight’!

Many people repeatedly scrolled through comments, hoping someone could reveal the Knight’s identity, but all they found was disappointment. Professional cycling clubs had even gone so far as to declare that if the Knight was willing to join and train with them, they would offer an astronomical annual salary.

The clubs had made a smart calculation— if Ren He joined them, he would bring not just his technical skills and glory, but a tangible reputation! It must be understood that Ren He’s current popularity was comparable to that of an A-list sports star, albeit temporarily. As the video’s popularity waned and if he didn’t make new moves, his presence would gradually fade from public view. But the problem was that if he joined now, the club’s sponsors were ready to invest heavily!

Even if Ren He joined the team and it turned out he wasn’t quite suited for genuine racing competitions, it wouldn’t matter. Money would have been made, and they could just let him start a few times before benching him. At that point, even if they lost matches, it wouldn’t be the club’s fault but Ren He’s!

And by then, with the money pocketed, who would pick a fight with cash?

However, the clubs’ calculations had all been for naught, as Ren He had no plans whatsoever to compete— it was too time-consuming...

Or rather, if the issues with Ren and Mrs. Ren were resolved in the future, it wouldn’t be a problem for Ren He to compete. However, joining a team for training was out of the question...

Ren knew that one day he would have to resolve the issues with his father and mother. Who could hide from their own parents forever, right? But a proper opportunity was needed, perhaps after his graduation?

Fortunately, Ren and Mrs. Ren, being two very busy people, were naturally not too keen on browsing the internet. They would certainly hear about the incident, but actually watching the video was something they probably wouldn’t bother doing. This was a blessing for Ren He.

While the whole world was focused on Ren He’s identity, he had already swiftly eliminated any possibility of his identity being leaked.

What he didn’t know was that there was a reporter in Luo City, Yuan Peng, whom he had met twice, sitting in front of a computer, racked with contemplation over his identity...

With two days to go until Saturday, Ren He planned to complete the last two tasks in his spare time, so he wouldn’t have any further burdens. However, he had some other thoughts regarding the rewards.

Although his plan for the game was to be involved in the early stages and then free up time later, stable finances and free time were essential. The early stage was crucial, after all, his idea was to create a game that would dominate globally to support his extreme sports expenses. Naturally, this game couldn’t be a flop.

But game development came with many concerns; it wasn’t just about having the funds.

Were the programs created by the technicians up to par? Did they leave any backdoors?

If, after all his hard work, a pirated version of the game emerged immediately, then what was the point? At the very least, he needed to build momentum before fearing such issues. With Dota taking a long time to ferment in popularity, his task was to nip these risks in the bud. As for those who wanted to make a knockoff, let them try.

First-mover advantage still mattered. As long as he didn’t commit folly, the first top-tier 5v5 MOBA battle game would rightfully be the boss!

In my previous life, if Dota hadn’t foolishly worked itself to death to produce Dota 2, causing a massive loss of old players, and if they hadn’t made the insane decision not to choose the powerful Penguin for distribution but went for the weaker Perfect company instead, League of Legends would have had no chance to rise.

Choosing this path as my backup and source of funds was undoubtedly the right decision, as long as nothing went wrong.

Ren He asked in his mind, "Can I use multiple tasks to exchange for a certain skill for someone else?"

The Divine Punishment System, after a long silence, said, "You cannot."

As I thought, that path was not viable. Ren He had wondered whether, even if Xu Nuo’s current programming skills were lacking, he could try to see if he could get the Divine Punishment System to quickly elevate his skills, but that path was now closed.

So Ren He needed to see just how good Xu Nuo’s skills were, especially since Xu Nuo himself was quite confident in this area.

The first thing Ren He did when he arrived at the office that morning was to have a serious talk with Xu Nuo, but during the conversation, he suddenly realized something—Xu Nuo seemed to have already made a name for himself in the industry. The projects he was involved in through his cousin all seemed to be significant, and his cousin had initially given him odd jobs just to save himself some hassle and time. However, slowly things had changed, and now his cousin was handing over programs he couldn’t handle properly to Xu Nuo...

And his cousin had now become a well-known programmer in the industry.

That set Ren He’s mind at ease; at least he could be sure that Xu Nuo’s skills were up to par.

Now with everything ready to develop the game, all that was needed was the right opportunity—the right time.

When school let out that evening, instead of going to Yang Xi’s house with her, Ren He went home to get his mountain bike. After signing an endorsement contract with TK, he was now riding a better bike sponsored by TK, because the previous bike’s tires were not wide enough; this one should be considered more professional. It was essentially a bike custom-made by TK Company, suitable for extreme sports, and An Si had taken his old bike away to be displayed as part of TK Company’s collection, possibly to be auctioned off at some charity event for reputation, as specified in the contract.

So with a change in appearance, he wasn’t worried about being recognized while riding. After all, following the high-definition videos under the name ’Knight,’ the old bike was too recognizable. Thus, Ren He was pleased with the bike change.

Ren He plunged into the city’s main artery on his new bike. This time of day marked the evening rush hour for the urban roads; everywhere you went, there were traffic jams, filled with the sound of drivers’ impatient honking.

Riding his bike freely through the gaps between cars was simply refreshing.

The traffic was so congested that, not long after leaving his neighborhood, Ren He had already completed the task of overtaking a hundred cars...

Thank the congested city traffic... Ren He mused.

However, he didn’t dare to be too smug. Experience had shown that the Divine Punishment System’s tasks were not without loopholes, such as the time he was tasked with climbing the high-rise without mention of not using the external units of air conditioners. But they do patch up these loopholes, like making him climb again!

Ren He felt that while the Divine Punishment System seemed amenable to peaceful dialogue for now, the premise was that he couldn’t become too arrogant...