Restart life

Chapter 47 0046 [A mere case of scabies, utterly worthless]

Shanda headquarters.

Wednesday marked the sixth day since the release of Legends of the Abyss.

"Mr. Zhang, the technical department refuses to use hacking techniques."

What do they mean?

"Director Chen said their main responsibilities are network security maintenance and technology development. Currently, they have a heavy workload and cannot spare extra manpower to do hacking."

"I see."

Zhang Yingfeng, the legal and copyright manager, was somewhat angry at this moment.

He was busy arranging manpower to investigate infringing manufacturers in reality, and he didn't care about the private server part at all.

Two days ago, Zhang Yingfeng received a report about "Legend of the Abyss," but he didn't take it seriously and readily signed off on the hacking attack.

But when he went to the technical department as per the procedure, it was rejected again.

Zhang Yingfeng couldn't even get angry because the head of the technology department was Mr. Chen's younger brother and one of the founders of Shanda.

Let's call him Brother Chen for now.

The acquisition of Qidian.com by Shanda was orchestrated by Chen Xiaodi.

At that time, Shanda had a CEO, a vice president, and a large number of department directors.

The boss is naturally Mr. Chen.

Vice President Zhu Weilian was originally the founder of Rongshuxia. He was recruited by Boss Chen six months ago to improve the internal structure, expand the external acquisition strategy, and contact Wall Street to seek a listing.

Chen Xiaodi, on the other hand, is at the director level.

After calming himself down and making sure he wasn't angry, Zhang Yingfeng went to meet with Chen Xiaodi himself.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Please come in."

Chen Xiaodi wore half-rimmed glasses, a T-shirt, jeans, and a sweater over them. He also had a bed in his office, where he often worked until midnight and then slept there.

"Director Chen," Zhang Yingfeng greeted with a smile.

Chen Xiaodi typed away on the keyboard without looking up and said, "Sit down."

Zhang Yingfeng sat down at the next table, and his secretary brought him coffee.

"Is there something you need?" Chen asked.

Zhang Yingfeng carefully chose his words and said in the calmest tone, "Director Chen, it's like this. Recently, a private server was released, and it's had a very negative impact. I need to use a few hackers."

Chen Xiaodi is always straightforward: "I know about 'Abyss Legend,' but its player base is smaller than 'Dudu Legend.' 'Dudu Legend' doesn't even need hackers, so why are you attacking 'Abyss Legend'?"

"The public opinion impact was extremely negative, and they even came to 'Legend' to recruit players," Zhang Yingfeng said.

Chen Xiaodi said, "Weren't you supposed to cooperate with the five ministries in a special crackdown? Just take down the private server platforms. Since the end of last year, why hasn't the company used hackers to attack private servers? Besides the fact that there are too many private servers to handle, hacking would have a serious negative impact on the company!"

“Director Chen, it’s just my duty, I hope you can understand,” Zhang Yingfeng said.

“I don’t understand,” Chen Xiaodi retorted. “I’m in charge of technology, and I opposed the use of hackers last year. It’s a double-edged sword; if you use it too much, it will eventually hurt you. If you’re going to use hackers for every little thing, what’s the point of having a legal department?”

Since using hackers in late 2002, Shanda has been very cautious about them.

A few years later, although they resumed using hackers, they were still unwilling to do it themselves. Instead, they first formed a small group (which later became a subsidiary) and used external personnel to infiltrate various private servers. These hacking teams were also formed by external personnel and had no direct connection with Shanda itself.

There's really no connection; Shanda even went too far.

One of the outsourced staff members colluded with members of Shanda's anti-private server team to directly collect protection money from private servers on the market. Private servers that paid protection money were allowed to survive, while those that did not were severely cracked down on.

Finally, they targeted private server platforms, threatening hackers with threats against anyone who disobeyed. Gradually, the largest private server platforms in China all had to listen to the orders of Shanda's outsourced personnel…

Shanda chose to report the incident to the police, but arresting the person only resulted in a fine, and the relevant departments found it difficult to convict them.

In other words, apart from the initial emergence of private servers when Shanda used hacking attacks, for the next two decades, no matter how rampant private servers became, Shanda never directly resorted to hacking methods again.

Zhang Yingfeng patiently explained, "The legislation is not yet sound, and normal legal means are ineffective, which is why I suggested using hackers."

Chen Xiaodi was too lazy to say anything more: "If you want to use a hacker, you can, but you have to get my second brother (Boss Chen) to sign first."

"Okay, goodbye Director Chen." Zhang Yingfeng left, seething with anger.

Chen Xiaodi also put down his keyboard, lay back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

His only formal education was vocational high school, and after graduation he worked as a cashier. However, he taught himself computer technology and developed China's first internet billing software, breaking Microsoft's monopoly in this field in China.

At the age of 21, he joined his brother in founding Shanda and became Shanda's second-largest shareholder.

But now, he's almost been squeezed out of the decision-making circle.

This wasn't a case of brothers turning against each other; rather, Chen's younger brother was only decent in terms of technical skills, and was criticized by his older brother in public on more than one occasion.

From now on, he will only be responsible for two parts:

One part is Shanda Literature, which includes a bunch of literary websites such as Qidian, Jinjiang, Rongshuxia, Hongxiutianxiang, Xiaoxiang Academy, and Xiaoshuo Reading Network.

One is Shanda Innovation Institute, which has become a pioneer in China's cloud computing, voice input and other fields. It was the first to develop cloud computing in China.

……

Seven days after the release of "Legend of the Abyss", Boss Chen finally flew back to Shanghai.

His trip to Beijing wasn't just about attending a meeting; he was also received by high-level leaders and discussed the development of China's online gaming industry. He then exchanged views with other game developers and visited several technology companies in Beijing.

Minor matters like private clothing had long been forgotten by Boss Chen.

As soon as Mr. Chen returned to the company, Vice President Zhu William came to his office: "The acquisition of ZONA has been agreed upon, and we can officially sign the agreement next month."

"You're quick and reliable at handling things," Mr. Chen said happily.

ZONA is an American company with world-leading game engine development technology.

Shanda's acquisition of ZONA is naturally aimed at enhancing its own research and development capabilities!
Mr. Chen asked, "How did your trip to the United States go with your contacts with Wall Street?"

William Zhu said, "I contacted several old friends who are very interested in Shanda. If Mr. Chen wants to list on NASDAQ, it would be best to find another industry insider to be in charge of this part."

"What do you think of Tang Jun?" Boss Chen asked.

"Which Tang Jun?" William Zhu asked.

Mr. Chen said, "This is Microsoft's representative in Shanghai."

William Zhu frankly said, "I don't know this person and can't comment on him."

Boss Chen added, "If Tang Jun comes, he will take over all of your current work."

This is to take away all of William Zhu's existing authority.

William Zhu smiled but remained silent. Boss Chen continued, "After Tang Jun joins the company, I will hand over Shanda Xinhua to you."

"What does Mr. Chen want?" William Zhu asked.

Mr. Chen said, “Shanda Xinhua has been established for six months, but it hasn’t made much progress. I need you to expand its territory, integrate all of Shanda’s products and related components, and build a strong technical team to be responsible for the research and development of computer software, hardware and network technologies. You also need to build an investment and marketing team to be responsible for acquiring some promising companies. You need to work hard for Shanda’s diversified and technological development. Shanda’s future is in your hands. You can also take some of the technical personnel from headquarters with you.”

"Director Chen..." Zhu Weilian didn't want to take away the power of the company's second largest shareholder and the boss's younger brother.

Why should outsiders interfere in matters between brothers?
Mr. Chen said, "I will personally go and persuade my brother."

William Zhu no longer refused, and instead offered a condition: "If I go to Shanda Xinhua, I want sufficient power."

“From finance to management, you can handle everything yourself without consulting me. Just treat Shengda Xinhua as your own company.” Boss Chen was giving him maximum authority.

"I'll give it my all," William Zhu said before leaving.

A scholar dies for a confidant.

William Zhu's departure truly had a sense of devotion and dedication.

He will increase Shanda Xinhua's profits 18 times within nine months and build a powerful investment, marketing and technology team.

However, he was so exhausted that he suffered two stomach hemorrhages and voluntarily resigned.

Because his resignation was so sudden, no amount of persuasion could change his mind, which made it difficult for Mr. Chen to find a suitable successor for a long time.

……

No sooner had Zhu Weilian left than Zhang Yingfeng entered.

“We have identified seven piracy factories and dens,” Zhang Yingfeng reported. “We will provide leads to the relevant departments as soon as the special operation begins. We have also been monitoring a gang that counterfeits and sells game cards for more than two months.”

Mr. Chen praised, "Well done."

Zhang Yingfeng hesitated for a moment: "There's a private server for the game Legend that's caused quite a stir. I'd like to use a hacker to attack it."

"Just contact the technical department," Mr. Chen said.

Zhang Yingfeng hesitated before saying, "Director Chen... doesn't agree to use hackers."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen remained silent.

Zhang Yingfeng was quite uneasy, but he forced himself to say, "Director Chen said that if you have his signature, he will agree to implement it."

After thinking for a long time, Mr. Chen finally spoke up: "He has a point. Hacking is ultimately dishonorable."

“Then…” Zhang Yingfeng was dumbfounded.

Boss Chen has been working to weaken his younger brother's power, so he has to give his brother face in this small matter.

Sigh, his younger brother is sometimes very obedient, and sometimes very stubborn.

Just like a child who hasn't grown up.

He is indeed quite young; Chen is only 25 years old this year. Yet, he is already the second-largest shareholder and the third-most powerful figure in Shanda!

They have to suppress it, but also appease it.

Mr. Chen said, "You don't need to worry about private servers. Just stick to the original plan and focus on cracking down on private server platforms."

Zhang Yingfeng still wanted to try: "That private server has a very bad influence."

"Is it a large scale?" Mr. Chen asked.

Zhang Yingfeng said, "It's not the largest in scale, and the number of players is not as high as 'Dudu Legend'. But the public opinion impact is very bad, and it even made it to the homepage news of 17173."

Mr. Chen finally became interested: "How did they do that?"

Zhang Yingfeng said, "A series of posts guided public opinion, aroused players' resentment towards Shanda, and even netizens from Tianya and Xici Hutong came to join in the fun."

"Is it the one that posted the 'game refugee' thread?" Boss Chen asked.

Zhang Yingfeng said, "That's the one, called 'Legend of the Abyss'."

After logging onto the 17173 forum and skimming through the posts, Mr. Chen exclaimed in admiration, "These people are really good at promotion! What do their Abyss maps look like?"

"It's about taking a map with a boss, making a copy, and selling tickets for it. Each team gets to use only one map. And only the floor where the boss is located is copied," Zhang Yingfeng said.

Mr. Chen thought for a moment and said, "We can also add an abyss map gameplay to our game 'Age of Heroes' that we are currently developing."

Zhang Yingfeng said, "The game 'Heroic Age' sells game cards, which conflicts with the map ticket pricing."

"Let the development team look into how to combine them," said Mr. Chen.

Zhang Yingfeng asked, "Are you really not going to remove this private outfit?"

Mr. Chen sighed and said, "You can't catch all the rats. Your job is to clean up the rat nests."

For Chen Guiliang and Tao Chenggang, "Legend of the Abyss" is a major event.

But in Mr. Chen's eyes, it really was just a trivial matter. He saw the post half a month ago and was only curious about how Chen Guiliang would do it, but now that the mystery has been revealed, he's no longer interested.

Recruitment?

impossible.

If we recruit a private server team, what positions should we offer them? How much should we pay them?

They make money running private servers, so why would they be willing to be recruited if they're paid less? If they're paid more and given higher positions, what will the other employees at Shanda think?
Moreover, Shanda was already developing two new games at this time, so there was no need to make a third one in the short term.

Resources are limited.

The development team of Shanda's "Age of Heroes" was poached by Boss Shi because they couldn't get resources and the conflict intensified.

As for the dungeon gameplay of "Abyss Legend," it conflicts with the sale of game time cards for the official "Legend" game. Although it has a novel selling point for the time being, it is not worthwhile in the long run and is far less profitable than the game time cards provided by "Legend."

Even if you want to borrow ideas from other games, just use them for free!

Chen Guiliang and "Legend of the Abyss" are of no value to Shanda, and there is no reason for them to use hackers.

……

Chen Guiliang's monthly exam is coming up soon.

Shanda's lawyer's letter hasn't been sent yet, and no Shanda employees have called or messaged them on QQ.

This only made Chen Guiliang more suspicious, and he would call Tao Chenggang every noon: "Brother Gang, has Shanda made any move yet?"

Tao Chenggang was also puzzled: "Yeah, we've already opened up to the tenth server, and the previous servers are about to be merged in pairs. Why the hell is Shanda not saying anything? Are they planning something big? I'm worried the police might suddenly show up at our door."

"Uh... let's wait a bit longer. Even if we get caught, it'll just be a fine, or at most a few days of detention," Chen Guiliang said.

Tao Chenggang said guiltily, "Let me consult a lawyer again."

(End of this chapter)