I Really Didn't Mean to Make Money

“Alright.”

Chen Mo nodded. Internally, he thought Cangxue Games was pretty dedicated—sending over the game report that very morning.

He opened the report and read it carefully. In just a few moments, the smile on his face froze solid.

The joy he’d been feeling from discovering a new way to lose money instantly evaporated.

Yesterday, Tianlong had earned over 500,000 yuan in profit.

What the hell!?

How did it suddenly surge by so much in just one day?

Chen Mo was struck with a sense of foreboding. He quickly called Fang Chang.

“Fang Chang, how did Tianlong suddenly make an extra 500,000 in one day? What’s going on?”

“President Chen, oh, that... I had Zhao Bowen look into it. Turns out someone poured half a million yuan directly into the game last night.”

“Is the game free-to-play now? Who the hell would spend that much money?”

“From the investigation into the account, it looks like the player used the entire 500,000 yuan of in-game currency to try their luck at the weapon draw—100,000 per pull.”

Fang Chang immediately replied when he heard President Chen ask.

He himself had been stunned when he saw the report this morning, so he’d had Zhao Bowen do a thorough check. This was the result.

He also formed a theory—it was probably some rich guy who thought grinding for gear was too much trouble and decided to just throw money at it.

Thinking of this, Fang Chang couldn’t help but admire President Chen even more. So the 100,000-yuan-per-set equipment actually had such a profound layer of meaning?

Yeah!

There are always rich players in every game.

And this 100,000 yuan gear served as a kind of entry-level benchmark.

For players who aren’t short on cash, they could skip the whole newbie grinding experience and save time.

It’s a kind of subtle privilege for high-spending players—but it doesn’t break the game’s balance.

After all, beyond this 100,000 yuan gear, everything still needs to be earned through grinding.

So free-to-play players, as long as they put in the effort, could still catch up pretty quickly.

It’s just like life—some people are born with a head start.

But those who start at a disadvantage can still close the gap through hard work. With a bit of luck, they might even surpass those ahead of them.

So it turns out, what President Chen designed wasn’t just a game—it was a whole philosophy of life.

Not bad.

This could totally be turned into a marketing pitch. Add this interpretation into the Tianlong game description.

That would instantly elevate the whole game.

Chen Mo, of course, had no idea what Fang Chang was thinking. Right now, he just wanted to shout:

What the hell!

Do these people have money to burn?

You could grind for that gear, but no—you just had to pay for it, huh?

He hung up the phone.

Slumping into his chair, Chen Mo looked utterly defeated.

The 200,000 yuan in system funds had now ballooned into over 700,000.

There was no avoiding it now—he’d have to pull out a trump card.

...

Industrial Park Office Building

Manager’s Office

“President Chen, please have a seat. You should’ve let me know you were coming—I would’ve prepared something for you.”

Li Maode greeted Chen Mo and Shen Rou warmly, pouring both of them a cup of tea. After all, this President Chen was a major client—he wouldn’t dare be careless.

“You’re too kind, Manager Li. I just dropped by suddenly—hope I’m not intruding.”

Chen Mo accepted the tea with a polite smile.

Back in the office, he had originally intended to call, but then remembered he needed a large workshop, so he decided to come in person.

Honestly, this was something he could’ve delegated to Shen Rou or Li Shen.

But with settlement time approaching, who knew what kind of drama these people might stir up while trying to arrange a workshop?

He still vividly remembered the last time Wei Yan went to rent a space and came back with a whole new order. To avoid any such surprises this time, he chose to handle it personally.

Li Maode waved his hands quickly at Chen Mo’s polite remarks.

“Not at all! I’d just be sitting in the office doing nothing anyway.”

“So what brings you here today, President Chen?”

“Yes, there is something. I wanted to ask—are there any large workshops still available in your industrial park?”

Chen Mo got straight to the point.

Li Maode’s eyes lit up the moment he heard this.

He just so happened to have a large workshop that had recently been vacated. He’d been trying to find a new tenant, but the place was too big, and the rent too high—he hadn’t had any takers.

And now President Chen showed up wanting to rent a large space?

It was a perfect match.

“President Chen, you won’t believe it, but there actually is one workshop available that fits your criteria.”

“It’s that one you pass by every day on your way from your current workshop to the cafeteria. It’s 1,000 square meters per floor, two floors total—2,000 square meters overall.”

“How about this—I’ll take you over for a look.”

Li Maode figured no matter how detailed his explanation, nothing beat seeing the place in person.

“Sounds good.”

Chen Mo nodded.

They all got up and left the office.

A short walk later—

“President Chen, this is the workshop I mentioned. Let me show you inside.”

Li Maode pointed to a two-story factory building by the roadside, then led the way in.

Chen Mo glanced around. The location really was along the daily path employees took to the cafeteria. If he rented this space, he wouldn’t need to worry about it being too far from the current workshop.

Following Li Maode inside, he looked around briefly. In terms of size, it met all his requirements.

No need to hesitate.

“Alright, I’ll take it.”

“Huh?”

Li Maode was stunned by how quickly Chen Mo decided.

He’d prepared a whole pitch in his head—listing the workshop’s benefits, offering some rent discounts...

But none of that came into play. President Chen just decided on the spot.

“President Chen, you’re sure? Just like that?”

“Yup, decided.” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Well, how about I show you the upper floor first? You haven’t seen that part yet.”

Li Maode was a little uneasy. This deal was happening too fast.

“Why? Is there something wrong with the second floor?”

Chen Mo gave him a skeptical look. Was there some safety hazard he needed to know about?

That would be a no-go.

No matter how desperate he was to spend money, he wasn’t about to risk lives.

Li Maode quickly waved his hands.

“No, no, rest assured President Chen—our workshops are all certified by the relevant authorities. Everything is up to code, no safety issues at all.”

“Then it’s fine. Let’s find a place to go over the price and sign the contract.”

Chen Mo nodded—then something occurred to him.

“By the way, didn’t someone else used to work out of this space? What happened to the previous tenant?”

At this, Li Maode casually replied:

“The factory that used to be here wasn’t doing well—too many losses. They couldn’t afford the rent anymore.”