Don't get married if you're reborn.

Chapter 455 The Man Worth Two Hundred Thousand US Dollars (5K)

In the past two days, Zeng Wenjie has dominated the news in China's business circles.

Many people called to ask if it was true that he offered a $200,000 annual salary to poach a Japanese person, because everyone was genuinely curious about it and couldn't understand how a Japanese person could be worth $200,000!

It's important to understand that the top talent at major game companies isn't necessarily worth that price.

How can an unknown Japanese person earn such a high salary?!
Zeng Wenjie explained to the public that he had his own ideas and didn't say much, because the more he talked about it, the more likely he was to expose his true colors.

The reason for setting such a high price is twofold: firstly, Miyazaki is worth the money, and secondly, why would he want to work overseas? He's doing quite well at FromSoftware, and his status is rising year by year.

The reason for offering this price all at once was to avoid being rejected by Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Yan Xueyou was undoubtedly the happiest. He thought Zeng Wenjie had lost his mind and become arrogant after making money, offering such a high salary to a Japanese person!

Moreover, this Japanese man was an unknown nobody, just a project director in a small game company, with pitifully little work experience!
"This might be Feng Xiao's doing," Xu Yuhuan commented, frowning.

"Hiss..." Yan Xueyou gasped upon hearing this. "Now that you mention it, it really does seem like it. Miss Feng has always been like a gazelle with its horns hanging down!"

Xu Yuhuan frowned and said, "I just don't understand why she asked Zeng Wenjie to poach this Japanese guy? Offering such a high salary to a Japanese guy will undoubtedly cause a public outcry, and she might even be labeled and vilified."

Yan Xueyou said, "If that's the case, then it must have been Zeng Wenjie, that stupid dog, who made the decision himself. Miss Feng wouldn't be that foolish."

In fact, Nine City Capital and Zeng Wenjie no longer have any connection.

However, somehow the news got out that they had gone to Zeng Wenjie's door with 10 million yuan to seek investment, but Zeng Wenjie turned around and took 86 million yuan, which was a huge slap in the face for them.

What made Yan Xueyou lose his temper the most was that the news of him being splashed with water had actually spread, which made him feel extremely ashamed and he wished he could tear Zeng Wenjie, that little bastard, to pieces.

Therefore, he has been keeping an eye on Zeng Wenjie's movements.

After seeing him rush to Tencent's headquarters to acquire shares in Tencent Games Hall, which was equivalent to owning a cash cow, he was so angry that he played Hero Kill for half the night.

Later, it was revealed that Zeng Wenjie visited and inspected the headquarters of Tencent, and the next day he reached a strategic cooperation with Tencent and would become a long-term partner. He was so angry that he played Hero Kill all night.

He was amused when he saw Zeng Wenjie spend $200,000 to poach a junior employee from Japan—it was truly like an old lady getting into bed, making the old man laugh.

As a result, opinions are flying online. Most people are puzzled by Zeng Wenjie's actions, while a minority are cursing him for spending his money on the Japanese, calling him a traitor.

Yan Xueyou was waiting for Zeng Wenjie to become Zhuang Aimin's pawn so he could take revenge.

Zeng Wenjie completely ignored public opinion. He told Yuan Xiuqin to return to Fengzhou to pack her luggage and get her graduation certificate while she was there.

He made a special phone call to Principal Mo about this matter, asking Principal Mo to make an exception for him.

Getting a graduation certificate early isn't exactly easy, but it's not difficult either. You need to complete the required credits and meet certain conditions, but Zeng Wenjie has Principal Mo's connections, so it's much simpler for him.

Principal Mo was hoping that since Fengyuan College was close to Chongqing University and could be considered a sister school, Zeng Wenjie would be able to take good care of Chongqing University's graduating students in the future.

These past few days, when Zheng Shouyun encountered Zeng Wenjie on Tencent, his eyes held a hint of utter resentment...

"President Zeng, I just want to know, what the hell were you thinking, offering a Japanese guy an annual salary of 200,000 US dollars!" Zheng Shouyun finally couldn't hold back anymore and cursed while smoking in the lounge.

Wang Xingzhi was somewhat gloating. Now that Tencent and Game Science had deepened their cooperation, he felt that if Zheng Shouyun and Zeng Wenjie's relationship broke down, he would have a good chance to get involved.

Zeng Wenjie took the cigarette from Wang Xingzhi's hand, his expression calm, and said, "When Mr. Miyazaki... well, when he comes over from Japan, you'll meet him and you'll know."

Zheng Shouyun shook his head, feeling frustrated. "Offering a Japanese guy an annual salary of 200,000 US dollars, and the key is that this guy isn't even famous in the gaming industry! You're such a complete traitor!"

Zeng Wenjie laughed and said, "For now, just consider me an innocent victim. Once the person arrives, you'll know how worthwhile this $200,000 was!"

Hidetaka Miyazaki is the creator of the Souls series of games. Games like Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring are all highly acclaimed and have become classics.
Zeng Wenjie now has Feng Ji under his command. If he also recruits Miyazaki Hidetaka, these two generals might create even more intense sparks.

Zheng Shouyun thought of Feng Ji, whom Zeng Wenjie had suddenly recruited, and after a moment, he shut his mouth.

Feng Ji is truly a talent. Although his major is unrelated to the game industry, he possesses superb skills that even Zheng Shouyun admires.

Perhaps Miyazaki Hidetaka is like Feng Ji, only his name is not widely known.

but……

Zheng Shouyun was still somewhat annoyed, because that guy was, after all, a Japanese.

However, he also had to admit that Japanese games are indeed very good, and the currently wildly popular PS2 comes from Japan.

After spending the afternoon at Tencent headquarters, Zeng Wenjie asked Wang Xingzhi to accompany him to the airport.

Wang Xingzhi, the head of the administration department, has recently been tasked with receiving Zeng Wenjie, who is staying in Shenzhen to finalize the remaining details of the cooperation with Tencent.

After several days of meetings, discussions, and negotiations, things are finally starting to look promising.

Upon arriving at the airport, Zeng Wenjie personally held up a sign with Miyazaki Hidetaka's name written in Japanese.

A short while later, a typical Japanese office worker, dressed in a suit and wearing black-rimmed glasses, with the air of an old man, walked out of the corridor.

He saw the sign, quickly walked over, and asked in English, "Excuse me, are you from Game Science?"

Zeng Wenjie nodded and said, "I am Zeng Wenjie, the founder of Game Science, and I am the one who extended this invitation to you! Mr. Miyazaki, please come with me."

Hidetaka Miyazaki was stunned. The founder of Game Science was far too young. Was he still in university? Was he that rich? Spending $200,000 to come to Japan to poach him?
“Mr. Miyazaki, please leave the luggage to me,” Zeng Wenjie said with a smile.

"Oh, okay, thank you for your trouble!" Miyazaki Hidetaka replied somewhat blankly.

His first reaction was regret.

He regretted coming to China because the founder was too young, which he found hard to believe.

Zeng Wenjie said, "I currently have a deep cooperation with Tencent, so I'm staying in Shenzhen for the time being. The company's headquarters are in Fengzhou, Chongshan Province. Once we've reached an agreement, I'll take you to Fengzhou."

Miyazaki Hidetaka nodded, and Wang Xingzhi, who was standing next to him, laughed and said, "Mr. Miyazaki, President Zeng spent a lot of money to recruit you, which has made him a freak in the industry recently."

Miyazaki Hidetaka's lips twitched slightly after hearing this. He was also puzzled as to why Zeng Wenjie would spend such a high price to poach him.

However, if Zeng Wenjie had offered less money, he wouldn't have even considered making this trip to China.

Because he didn't really want to leave his hometown to work.

But Zeng Wenjie offered too much, and he found it hard to refuse. In Gu Long's words, "He finally came."

Zeng Wenjie looked at the somewhat bewildered Miyazaki Hidetaka and felt incredibly pleased!

It's incredibly satisfying to bring these top industry leaders, who haven't even fully matured yet, under my wing. It's as satisfying as when Liu Bang got Zhang Liang and Xiao He!
“Mr. Miyazaki, there’s no point in saying more. I know you’re a game enthusiast and passionate about game development. So, I’ve brought all the materials for a game we’re currently planning, and even had them translated into Japanese,” Zeng Wenjie said.

"Really?" Miyazaki Hidetaka was taken aback.

Zeng Wenjie took out the documents and handed them to him, saying, "This is our new project that we've been planning recently. It's called Hollow Knight. It's a low-budget game, but it should be very interesting."

Zeng Wenjie is actually quite an amateur when it comes to game development; he's just relying on his cheat-like advantages.

Hidetaka Miyazaki took the document with both hands and began to carefully read it. It was a detailed proposal for Hollow Knight.

After reading two pages, Hidetaka Miyazaki's eyes lit up. He said, "This Metroidvania game is very well-designed, has great depth, and the story background is also very exciting!"

He had carefully read through the entire document and happened to arrive at the hotel. "Could you wait a moment while I take another look?" Miyazaki Hidetaka couldn't help but ask.

"Let's go back to our room and read it slowly," Zeng Wenjie said with a smile.

Miyazaki Hidetaka smiled awkwardly and said, "Excuse me, this game is really good and exciting, and I couldn't help myself for a moment."

Zeng Wenjie said, "I understand Mr. Miyazaki's obsession with games, but let's go to the hotel and talk things out. We can discuss work, compensation, and games freely!"

Hidetaka Miyazaki asked, "Is the game's planner here? Let him come along."

“That’s me,” Zeng Wenjie said with a smile.

Miyazaki Hidetaka was stunned and couldn't help but take a deep look at Zeng Wenjie.

Zeng Wenjie then took out another document and said, "To show my sincerity, I have also prepared some information about myself, which Mr. Miyazaki may also take a look at. I really hope that Mr. Miyazaki can come to work at my company and work with me to create more excellent games that can challenge players."

The phrase "making things difficult for the players" made Miyazaki Hidetaka's eyes light up.

He hates games that involve mowing down trees and prefers games with high difficulty.

Zeng Wenjie's words were right up his alley. He had always envisioned designing a game that was incredibly difficult, full of all sorts of insidious traps to break players' defenses, yet was also fun and commercially successful!
The Hollow Knight that Zeng Wenjie brought out right away was exactly what he had expected.

After arriving at the hotel room, Zeng Wenjie first let Miyazaki rest for the time being, while he and Wang Xingzhi went to the tea room to drink tea and wait.

Miyazaki Hidetaka carefully read Zeng Wenjie's information in the room and was secretly shocked!

This young man is only nineteen years old, but he has already achieved so many remarkable accomplishments and is a billionaire with a net worth of over 100 million! What amazes him the most is that his first foray into the gaming industry, "Hero Kill," developed in collaboration with Tencent, broke the peak online player count of one million on the day of its launch, which is simply too exaggerated.

"Si Guoyi!"

Hidetaka Miyazaki couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

He washed his face, tidied himself up, composed himself, then took out his room key and left the room, heading towards the tea room.

Wang Xingzhi said, "President Zeng, I don't think this Mr. Miyazaki Hidetaka is anything special! Is 200,000 US dollars really worth it? Should we reconsider? If it goes down the drain, you'll be laughed at in this industry for the rest of your life."

Zeng Wenjie waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "President Wang, you're wrong. Miyazaki Hidetaka's talent is unmatched by ordinary game producers; he's a rare genius. Just wait and see how wonderful and popular the game we release after our collaboration will be."

Zeng Wenjie thought that at worst, he could just throw out all the settings and ideas from the Souls series games and hand them all over to Hidetaka Miyazaki to do.

That was originally created by Hidetaka Miyazaki in the future.

The only challenge is the technology; current engines and equipment cannot achieve the sophistication of the future.

"Haha, I don't believe it anyway, I'll just wait and see," Wang Xingzhi laughed.

He has recently become quite familiar with Zeng Wenjie, and they can joke around very naturally.

To be honest, he didn't think highly of Zeng Wenjie's move at all. Although the young man sometimes had brilliant ideas, he still believed that this was definitely a major blunder in Zeng Wenjie's investment career! He even had a slightly dark thought that Zeng Wenjie might be a Japanophile.

If Zeng Wenjie knew what he was thinking, he would have smashed his brains out and tasted them.

When Miyazaki Hidetaka arrived at the tea room, Zeng Wenjie got up to greet him and invited him to sit down.

Thirty-two-year-old Hidetaka Miyazaki rarely received such courteous treatment.

"Mr. Miyazaki, how are you feeling?" Zeng Wenjie asked.

“Mr. Zeng, I need to learn more about your company before I can make this decision. After all, you know this is a job I’ve come all the way from home, and I can’t make a decision on my own without proper arrangements. That would be a disservice to me and my family,” Miyazaki Hidetaka said sincerely.

He already had a premonition that he would be involved in this game of science.

The main reason is that the salary and benefits are too high. As long as the company isn't too outrageous, it wouldn't be a bad idea to come here and earn money for a year or two.

With a broad smile, Zeng Wenjie said, "Of course, once Mr. Miyazaki joins the company, we will begin developing Hollow Knight."

Setting up the platform is easy; it doesn't even require any technical support from Tencent. The key is that the games on the platform must be excellent. During this process, it's also necessary to negotiate the copyrights of some excellent games and put them on the platform.

The Chinese game market is currently rife with piracy. Without Tencent's support and the large user base it provides, building a platform would be virtually impossible.

Hidetaka Miyazaki nodded and asked, "What kind of game is 'Hero Kill'?"

Zeng Wenjie said, "It's a very simple board game where players take on the roles of heroes from Chinese history and compete using basic cards and the heroes' specific skills..."

After explaining, Hidetaka Miyazaki praised, "What a brilliant idea! This game would sell very well even in Japan."

Zeng Wenjie smiled and said, "We'll give it a try."

Japan was most deeply influenced by Chinese culture, and they were particularly fascinated by the Three Kingdoms period. They even wanted to invest heavily in the production of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," but on the condition that Zhuge Liang be played by a Japanese actor.

This request was too rude, so the production team reluctantly rejected it. After all, Zhuge Liang is a main character in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", how could they let a foreigner play the role?

Wang Xingzhi asked with some curiosity, "Mr. Miyazaki, do you have any experience in game development?"

Hidetaka Miyazaki frowned, pondered for a moment, and shook his head, saying, "I don't have any games that I plan and supervise myself for the time being. I'm just the director of the Armored Core series project."

Wang Xingzhi was immediately disappointed upon hearing this, and looked at Zeng Wenjie with great confusion. Was it really worth paying such an exorbitant price for a novice with no production experience? He was even waiting for Zeng Wenjie to miscalculate so he could start making sarcastic remarks.

This young man succeeds at everything he does; it's too uncanny. Even his failures are a rare and wonderful thing.

Zeng Wenjie laughed and said, "That's great! I have some scattered inspirations here. I'll discuss them with Mr. Miyazaki later. Perhaps Mr. Miyazaki can use these inspirations to create his debut work!"

Hidetaka Miyazaki paused, then asked, "What kind of inspiration?"

“For example, poison pools, curses, and treasure chest monsters,” Zeng Wenjie said.

"what?!"

Miyazaki Hidetaka felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind, as if something in his genes had been activated.

Zheng Shouyun couldn't help but call Wang Xingzhi and ask, "Mr. Wang, what do you think of this Japanese guy?"

Wang Xingzhi said, "He seems like just an ordinary office worker... but President Zeng seems to value him a lot."

Zheng Shouyun grunted and said, "If you didn't value it, would you spend two hundred thousand US dollars?!"

Wang Xingzhi said, "I can't say much, after all, it's Mr. Zeng's own business. However, if Mr. Zeng is willing to spend 200,000 US dollars to poach me, I might switch jobs."

Zheng Shouyun hung up the phone cursing and decided to raise the demands later.

Over the next few days, Zeng Wenjie finalized the contract with Penguin, and then took Miyazaki Hidetaka and Zheng Shouyun back to Fengzhou.

Before leaving, I had to pack some roast meats to ship back home; these were gifts for Mu Qingyang.

Although these are also sold in Fengzhou, they don't taste authentic.

In the past few days, Miyazaki Hidetaka's underwear has been exposed.

Therefore, people are even more puzzled as to why Zeng Wenjie would spend so much money to poach this Japanese person!
(End of this chapter)