I am a Big Player
Chapter 146 - 145. Changing life is not so easy (4th update)_1

Chapter 146: 145. Changing life is not so easy (4th update)_1

In the days following the middle school exams, the truly hot days of summer began to arrive, and people switched to short sleeves en masse, while girls donned their dazzling dresses.

The sunlight hung stagnant over the city, as if a massive oven were plummeting from the sky, with rays piercing through gaps in the tree shade, dotting the roads of Luo City with a starry trail of light spots.

This was Luo City in 2006, underdeveloped, with nightlife ending early, and the streets devoid of pedestrians by midnight.

Yet Ren He loved it here, for few people dislike their hometown.

He was quite a lazy person, really. Had someone else had his time-traveling opportunity, they might have become immensely rich in an instant, seized more social resources, and eventually looked down upon the world from the very top of society.

And finally, they might have found reprieve from a busy life in death.

Having lived a second life, his most important concern was not wealth or fame, but rather to create "Dota" or something else indefinitely, and live the life of a comfortably idle rich man, indulging in food, drink, and pleasure.

Ren He had no need to buy a private island, for he too feared loneliness. He didn’t even want to leave the bustling urban area, for that would be inconvenient...

He was just an ordinary person, and after living once again, he still saw himself as ordinary. Sometimes you realize something when you grow up: a person’s character can really determine the direction of his life.

Ren He was inherently a man of ease. Although now he worked like mad, what he hoped for even more was to live at ease outside of his manic endeavors.

If he had stopped to think about it, without the Divine Punishment System, or if there hadn’t been such a crushing sense of threat from the erasure punishment from the start, he probably would never have embarked on a journey to his limits, not even if he had ten more lives to live.

It’s like if a person is inherently unpleasant and disliked by all, how can you expect him to change his whole personality if he got to live again? Rebirth is merely an opportunity to choose anew, with more chances, but how many are truly able to seize them?

Going into business after being reborn might seem easy, but what about for those who aren’t skilled in business? Even if they knew the course of history, they still might not succeed!

In truth, Ren He felt somewhat grateful to the Divine Punishment System. The system might have bloodied his face, but it truly led him onto a path in life he had never before dared to imagine.

These days, Xu Nuo had also emerged from the tension of the middle school exams, finally realizing a problem: why were there so many familiar questions in the exam?

He harbored a certain suspicion, which he kept to himself as the issue was of great significance, and his middle school exams had gone unprecedentedly smoothly.

Despite the hiccup with the jokes, Xu Nuo was still confident that there was absolutely no issue with him getting into his own school; even though Ren He had given him only 80% of the questions, the practice made him much better at the rest.

Xu Nuo quietly asked Ren He what was going on, but how could Ren He tell him the truth? There were still the college entrance exams to think about; any issues couldn’t be allowed to affect those!

Xu Nuo guessed that Ren He must have gotten the exam questions through Ren, so he was profoundly respectful toward him. He had even seen Ren once recently when visiting Ren He’s house, showing fervent enthusiasm and leaving Ren perplexed, causing him to ask Ren He what was going on with Xu Nuo lately.

But Ren He had no time to concern himself with Xu Nuo’s inner journey. What mattered now was ensuring the software development for both Dota and Kunlun was on track before his trip to the Capital!

He and Xu Nuo began gathering programming experts in Luo City, a process much more challenging than recruiting artists. The programmers who could work on Dota had to be well-known in the industry — Ren He didn’t want his Dota riddled with bugs and becoming a laughingstock.

But with experts, certain quirks or independent views were to be expected, and Ren He was prepared for that.

He and Xu Nuo agreed to directly offer upfront pay to those interested! In 2006, programmers’ salaries were roughly around 15,000 yuan per month, which was already quite good, requiring at least four years of development experience. Even in the Capital in his previous life, 2016, the annual salary for senior-level programmers ranged only from 300,000 to 500,000 yuan.

To show his sincerity, Ren He directly reimbursed the round-trip travel expenses and even offered advance payment of salaries. This was truly unprecedented generosity, and he believed that as long as the candidates were willing to come, he could convince them to stay. Moreover, the candidates were well-known figures in the industry, so Ren He wasn’t worried about them making any short-sighted decisions. After all, their potential wasn’t limited to just 15,000; in such a small circle, a bad reputation could ruin even the most talented individual, as no one would dare to hire them.

His generous benefits made some wonder if he was involved in some sort of pyramid scheme... People asked with a mix of belief and skepticism, "This isn’t some kind of Macau’s first online casino opening, is it...?"

Casino my ass!

The salary and benefits were indeed very generous. Within just three days, after Ren He transferred the money into their accounts, six programmers hurried to Luo City to see for themselves.

Ren He took them on a tour of the company. When the guests saw Ren He’s pickup truck, the well-decorated office environment, and the artists leisurely enjoying afternoon tea, they finally believed that Ren He and Xu Nuo were seriously committed to making a game!

They also discreetly inquired about the work progress with the artists and found that the modeling was already in the middle stages. They had seen the concept art and couldn’t fault a thing – these people were indeed determined to make a genuine game!

But there was one question: The company had no game designers!

That didn’t make sense. How could a gaming company operate without game designers? These were experienced professionals who knew that game designers were the soul of a company. Whether it was drawing revenue, earning acclaim for a story, or creating a gameplay that was fun to play, none of it was possible without game designers!

They voiced their doubts directly, as programmers tend to be honest – well, mostly, but not all.

Ren He didn’t explain much. Instead, after providing salaries and additional compensation, he had them sign non-disclosure and non-compete agreements before methodically beginning the meeting with his PowerPoint presentation.

Six programmers were probably enough. They were all experts in their field, and Ren He directly told them if they could complete the work that was meant for eight, the salary allocated for the two additional positions would be distributed to them as a final bonus.

That was cold, hard cash, a topic everyone liked! They immediately replied that it was no problem!

However, at this point, Ren He also laid out his requirement: confidentiality work wouldn’t just stay on paper. From today onward, no one was to take anything out of the office. The computers they used were set up in separate private offices, not connected to the internet, each handling different modules, with Xu Nuo overseeing the coordination between them to ensure progress. The cases were all locked with external devices to prevent code leaks!

For this purpose, Ren He even specially hired two professional security guards at high salaries.

This approach might seem crude and simple, but since Ren He didn’t understand the finer details, this was the only way he could think of. Xu Nuo, although technically skilled, was still too naive. Xu Nuo mentioned that this could be resolved with technical measures in the future, but after Dota dominated the market share and gained a good reputation, who would still worry about code leaks?

In the programming industry, no measure for confidentiality is considered excessive, so everyone was accustomed to it. Some companies prioritized security, some didn’t, and no one felt these methods were insulting. People understood the investor’s intent to protect their financial investment from failure as a reasonable precaution.

On the contrary, everyone was starting to respect these two young men. They might look young, but they seemed to have everything watertight.

But the biggest question remained... was there still no game designer? Could it be that the boss was handling the design himself?

When the meeting got down to business, they realized they had guessed correctly...

The damn boss was personally overseeing the development and design!

...

The promised update is delivered.

We’re still 600 votes away from the leaderboard. You all have been amazing, do we have any more monthly tickets?!