Rebirth Must Be Happy

Chapter 293 [291] I dare not, not because I don't want to.
What was your initial goal in making this game?

Li Xiaoming, the head of the Computer Science Department, asked, "What do you think is its significance?"

"To be honest, my initial goal in making this game was to make money, but not through charging fees, but through advertising."

Xu Jinhuan answered frankly, "It can improve reaction ability, concentration ability, and self-control after withdrawal to a certain extent. Now that I'm making money, I think it might also be encouraging for some related practitioners."

Teacher Zhou Qinglin, representing the education system, asked: "Games are still quite controversial in China, and there have been similar discussions in some domestic media recently. Have you paid attention to these?"

This question may seem unrelated to the level of the competition itself, but it is actually very serious and dangerous, especially considering that the other party is a representative of the education system. It cannot be taken lightly, as a poor answer can easily leave a very bad impression on the judges.

This even directly relates to the entire judging system's positioning of game entries.

“I have paid attention to related topics. For example, People’s Daily, CCTV and China Youth Daily have all reported on them. I think these reports are all correct. Whether it is youth game addiction or some games involving pornography and crime, they are objective realities that cannot be ignored.”

Xu Jinhuan was prepared and calmly said, "But this does not mean that the game industry cannot be developed. Instead, we need to solve problems and guide the game industry in the right direction. For example, issues such as pornography and crime should be punished."
"For example, regarding adolescent gaming addiction, on the one hand, we need to improve the educational and growth environment for teenagers and develop the economy. Only when the economy develops, the development level in various regions becomes more balanced, parents no longer need to go out to work, the number of left-behind children decreases, and life improves, will parents have more energy to care for their children... The less happiness a person gets in real life, the greater the possibility of gaming addiction, and vice versa."

Xu Jinhuan spoke eloquently, as if he were giving a speech: "On the other hand, we can start from the games themselves. Most foreign countries adopt game rating policies. Given the special circumstances in China, we can set up a youth anti-addiction system for all games. All players must be real-name authenticated, and those under the age of 18 can only play for two hours. After that time, they can be forcibly logged off..."

"Excuse me, student, may I interrupt for a moment?"

Professor Zhang Yunquan, the representative from the Chinese Academy of Sciences who had remained silent until now, raised his hand and asked, "Did you come up with this anti-addiction system for teenagers yourself?"

"China introduced a standard for an online game addiction prevention system in 2005, which was officially launched in 2007. It includes a 3-hour warning and a mandatory halving of rewards after 5 hours. My idea is simply an upgrade based on that standard."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and replied, "This is my own idea, but I'm not sure if there are similar proposals in China. Many details still need to be discussed when it is implemented, such as banning games at night, distinguishing between weekdays and holidays, and whether facial verification can be enabled to prevent teenagers from stealing their parents' ID cards... There are many technical issues that need to be addressed."

Zhang Yunquan quickly scribbled notes in his notebook with his pen, then looked up, adjusted his glasses, and said with obvious surprise, "Thank you for your answer. Please continue."

"Thank you, Professor Zhang."

Xu Jinhuan politely thanked him, then continued, "These are all solutions to problems inherent in the game itself, but developing the game also has many positive effects. Here are three examples:"
"First, games can drive the development of a huge upstream and downstream industry chain. According to IDC's '2012 Global Games Market Half-Year Report,' the global games market reached $253 billion in the first half of the year alone. Among them, mobile games represented by iOS and Android grew by as much as 89%, while the growth rate in the Chinese market reached a staggering 132%. With the popularization of smartphones, this market will continue to grow..."

"Second, to drive productivity. Over the years, Intel's processors and Nvidia's graphics cards have been updated every year. Are they spending so much R&D funds every year to upgrade equipment performance in order to meet the needs of B-end customers or the office needs of C-end consumers?"

"The answer is clearly no. The huge gaming market is forcing CPU and GPU manufacturers to release more powerful products. Currently, the main market for these products is still gaming, but that may not be the case in the future. When they develop to a certain point, it may bring about a qualitative leap from quantitative change..."

When Xu Jinhuan got to this point, everyone in the defense room—students, teachers, and judges alike—was stunned.

Is this a student who came to participate in the competition?
Anyone who didn't know better would think they had come to an industry conference hosted by a relevant department!

Does this sound like something a normal high school student would say?
Wei Lin, sporting a receding hairline, discreetly observed the reactions of the other judges, especially those from Tsinghua, Peking, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He wanted to interrupt Xu Jinhuan and tell him to stop talking about irrelevant things, but seeing that these heavyweight figures seemed quite interested, he wisely gave up.

He originally wanted to find fault during the defense, but before the defense even started, he was intimidated by the data, reports, and income that Xu Jinhuan listed, and didn't dare to speak directly.

Seeing that none of these big shots had spoken, he didn't dare to utter a sound and continued to lie low.

"Jingle Bell"

Xu Jinhuan was talking non-stop when a bell suddenly rang.

This is the bell that signals the start of the defense, reminding you that time has come.

"It's okay, you continue."

After exchanging glances, Zhang Yunquan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences smiled and said, "That's all."

"Okay, thank you, Professor Zhang, and thank you to all the judges." Xu Jinhuan thanked them and continued, "Thirdly, cultural export. This is the most important reason why I think China should vigorously develop the game industry. 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' and 'Journey to the West' are household names in China. Even kindergarten children can imitate Sun Wukong with a stick. But if we go abroad, what will foreigners think of when we mention the Three Kingdoms or Sun Wukong?"
"They'll think of Japanese games like Dynasty Warriors and Dragon Ball. That's the cultural aspect of games. China has an inexhaustible cultural treasure in this regard, but because our game industry is too weak, it's being stolen by others..."

"The era of smartphones has only just begun. In this regard, mainland China has a unique advantage that no other country has, because we have the entire industrial chain of the mobile phone industry except for SOC manufacturing. Even Apple phones are made in China. But in the future, Chinese domestic mobile phone brands will inevitably rise, and Xiaomi is a prime example..."

The teachers and students below remained numb. How the hell did this turn from games to mobile phones again?

"The mobile game industry is just beginning to develop, which presents a historic opportunity for domestic companies that they must seize. Of course, some companies are already doing so. For example, Tencent established its mobile game division in 2005 and just launched the mobile game 'Hero Kill' last month..."

This last sentence was addressed to the Tencent representative. Xu Jinhuan finished speaking in one breath, and really wanted to drink some water, but unfortunately he hadn't brought any with him. He could only continue standing on the stage and say, "That concludes my answer."

"Crack, crack..."

There was a two-second pause, and then Li Xiaoming, the head of the computer science department at Peking University, led the applause, which quickly spread like a tidal wave.

"clap clap"

Xie Wanqing was stunned. She didn't expect Xu Jinhuan to say so much, and she was even more surprised that the judges would take the lead in clapping. However, she immediately followed suit and clapped vigorously.

Hearing the commotion, the other defense rooms nearby were somewhat bewildered, unsure of what had happened.

I've never heard of a speech by a leader during a defense.

Why are they clapping?
They all sounded quite enthusiastic.

"There weren't supposed to be any Peking University representatives at today's defense,"

After the applause subsided, Li Xiaoming looked at Xu Jinhuan and said with a smile, "I just took a last-minute flight here yesterday, specifically for you... Xu Jinhuan, would you be interested in coming to Peking University?"

Xu Jinhuan was taken aback and a little surprised. He hadn't expected to be admitted through special admissions and was just planning to get into Beihang University or Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications based on the college entrance examination. He never expected to receive an offer from Peking University here.

what?
Xie Wanqing, sitting in the audience, almost cried out. She never expected that Xu Jinhuan would receive an invitation from Peking University at this time.

The others were equally surprised, but they all looked at Yang Shiqiang, the deputy head of the Computer Science Department at Tsinghua University. The competition between Tsinghua and Peking University for talent is always a highlight, no matter where it is.

But Yang Shiqiang remained very calm and showed no intention of speaking.

The other day, neither Tsinghua nor Peking University showed any interest in me, clearly not believing that my little game was enough to qualify me for special admission. Tsinghua's computer science department is definitely a cut above Peking University's, and their requirements are probably stricter...

Xu Jinhuan wasn't disappointed and asked in return, "Special admission?"

He didn't expect to be served by two top universities at the same time. Let alone Tsinghua and Peking University, he didn't even dare to dream of being served by Chen Xingzhu and Xie Wanqing at the same time...

Of course, it's not that I don't want to, it's just that I don't dare.

"No."

Li Xiaoming smiled and shook his head, "We'll lower the admission score; as long as you pass the provincial first-tier university cutoff, you're good to go."

Then what are you talking about?!

Xu Jinhuan muttered to himself, but still smiled and said, "Thank you, Director Li. I have long admired Peking University and will definitely study hard."

The provincial first-tier university admission line is no problem for him at all; he passed it in his previous life, so why would he need to be reborn? This is essentially a special admission, and it's likely just a matter of going through the procedures more easily.

(End of this chapter)