I Really Didn't Mean to Make Money

Chen Mo pondered as he pulled out his spending manual again, flipping to a blank page to brainstorm other ways to spend money.

The previous spending avenues didn’t seem entirely reliable, so it was better to have more options prepared.

Ring, ring, ring!

His phone rang.

Glancing at the caller ID, Chen Mo saw it was Fang Chang.

He answered the call.

Fang Chang’s voice came through the line.

“President Chen, the game has finished testing and everything is normal. It’s now live on the gaming platform.”

“It’s already live?”

Hearing Fang Chang’s words, Chen Mo felt a slight joy. Finally, some good news.

This loss-making game going live should help alleviate a lot of his pressure.

“Yes, President Chen, it’s now live on the gaming platform.”

“Alright.”

Chen Mo nodded and hung up the phone.

He immediately logged into the gaming platform and found the game developed by Fang Chang. He was curious to see what kind of trash game Fang Chang had developed this time.

Entering the platform, Chen Mo chuckled at the game’s name.

[Extreme Survival]

What a mediocre name. Extreme Survival? Why not just call it PUBG?

He casually clicked the link to start the download.

While the game was downloading, he continued jotting down potential spending avenues in his manual.

About half an hour later, the game was installed.

He double-clicked the icon to enter the game.

Huh!

The game’s loading animation was surprisingly well done.

The loading screen featured intense gunfights and explosions, enough to get any gamer pumped.

But no matter how good the animation was, if the game itself was lacking, it was useless.

No wonder Fang Chang had come up with so many trash games before; he was focusing on the wrong things!

Chen Mo chuckled lightly.

Once the game finished loading, he reached the Game Interface.

Chen Mo immediately saw the options for Competitive Mode and Survival Mode.

He casually clicked on Competitive Mode.

As he browsed through the various gameplay options within Competitive Mode, Chen Mo’s initial smile gradually froze.

Seeing the words Ghost Mode and Biohazard Mode, a bad feeling rose in his heart.

Could it be...

No way, it must just be a coincidence.

Chen Mo reassured himself and selected Ghost Mode.

He entered a room, set up a bot, and started the game.

A minute later, Seeing himself transformed into a ghost, Chen Mo felt uneasy.

Damn, aside from the different map and ghost design, isn’t this just cf’s Ghost Mode?

After a brief play, he exited the game and entered Biohazard Mode.

A minute later, Looking at his character turned into a biohazard creature, Chen Mo fell silent.

This Competitive Mode was clearly a simplified version of cf!

Chen Mo took a deep breath and exited Competitive Mode, then entered Survival Mode.

As soon as he entered Survival Mode, he was greeted with a wave of beginner tutorials.

With each tutorial step, Chen Mo couldn’t hold back anymore. He placed the mouse aside and slumped into his chair.

This Survival Mode, aside from the different map, was just like the parallel world’s PUBG!

He hadn’t expected his words to come true so quickly.

Was this game really developed by Fang Chang? Wasn’t he only capable of making trash games?

How did he develop this low-budget cf and this Survival Mode?

Chen Mo clutched his chest. From what he knew about this world’s games, these two modes would definitely have a huge impact on current shooting games.

He was well aware of how popular cf and PUBG were when they first appeared in his past life.

This Fang Chang...

Chen Mo opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he realized:

He was the one who chose the person, and he was the one who invested the money.

But according to the information before the acquisition, those loss-making games were indeed planned by Fang Chang. How did things change when it came to him?

He must have overlooked something.

Chen Mo was determined to figure out the reason. Otherwise, he wouldn’t feel secure using Fang Chang.

He picked up his phone and called Fang Chang again.

“President Chen, is there anything else you need?”

Fang Chang answered the call, feeling a bit nervous.

He had just reported on the game, and now, less than an hour later, President Chen was calling again. Could there be a problem with the game?

This timing was just enough for President Chen to download and try the game.

But according to the feedback from Heavenly Pavilion’s trial, there were no issues, and the response was very positive.

“It’s nothing major, I just wanted to ask...”

Chen Mo briefly mentioned the previous trash games Fang Chang was responsible for and inquired about the reason.

“Oh, it’s about that!”

Hearing President Chen’s inquiry, Fang Chang let out a bitter smile and explained.

“Previously, I was indeed the main planner, but I didn’t have the final say. The decisions were made by the two former bosses, and all I could do was offer suggestions.”

“I...”

Beep, beep, beep!

Before Fang Chang could finish, the line suddenly went dead.

Fang Chang was taken aback, then put his phone away.

President Chen must have encountered something urgent.

...

In the Clothing Factory office, Chen Mo held his phone in silence.

So, all this time, he had been blaming the wrong person. The real culprits behind those trash games weren’t Fang Chang, but the two former company bosses!

This means...

Fang Chang wasn’t incompetent; he was actually very capable.

He had developed both cf and PUBG; this wasn’t just capability, it was talent!

Goodness, He had such a talent hidden right under his nose, and he hadn’t even realized it.

The key point was that he had trusted the wrong person all along.

After a while, Chen Mo calmed down a bit. The game was already live, and there was no stopping it now.

Fortunately, he hadn’t agreed to promote the game before. Without promotion, the game wouldn’t be quickly discovered by players.

There were still two weeks until the system settlement.

In two weeks, without promotion, the game wouldn’t be known by the majority of players.

This way, even if the game was fun, without players discovering it in the short term, there wouldn’t be any profits.

Thus, The game wouldn’t affect his current settlement.

As for the next settlement cycle, whether the game would be discovered by many players, he could only leave it to fate.

In any case, he would stick to the no-promotion plan to delay the game’s rise as much as possible.

Even if it became popular in the next cycle, he would have more time to prepare.

With these thoughts, Chen Mo exhaled slightly.

He wouldn’t worry about the next settlement cycle; he just needed to successfully settle 15 million this cycle.

—————

—CrossFire (CF) is a multiplayer online first-person shooter developed by Smilegate. Released in 2007, it’s especially popular in China and Southeast Asia, published by Tencent in China. The game features team-based modes like Team Deathmatch, Ghost Mode, and Mutation/Biohazard Mode, where players battle as soldiers or special units. Known for its fast-paced gameplay and low system requirements, it became one of the highest-grossing games globally, especially in the 2010s.

—PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) is a battle royale shooter where 100 players fight to be the last one standing. Developed by PUBG Studios, it features large maps, realistic combat, and shrinking safe zones. Released in 2017, it helped popularize the battle royale genre worldwide.