Rebirth 08: Can a mobile game company also build a tech empire?

"Bang bang bang!"

"Lu Chen! Come out here!"

"Lu Chen! Go ahead and hide forever if you dare!"

"Hey Lu, we haven't been paid for two months, get out here!"

"RNM! Pay me back!"

……

The noisy commotion outside woke Lu Chen up.

Lu Chen opened his eyes with difficulty and looked around. He was in an office.

The documents on the desk were piled up haphazardly, and a few pieces of paper were scattered on the floor.

A face is reflected through the black screen of the computer.

His face was etched with fatigue and weariness. The heavy dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn't slept for ten days and ten nights.

His hair was piled up like a chicken coop, and his beard hadn't been trimmed for days.

His suit was wrinkled, and his tie had been haphazardly torn off and thrown on the table.

"Why...why am I here?!"

Lu Chen looked at his face reflected in the screen and asked a question.

He was originally a member of the "ox and horse army," lying in his rented room after get off work late at night, scrolling through live streams of pretty girls on his phone. But then everything went black, and he found himself here.

Lu Chen forcefully pulled a handful of dough with his left hand, and the pain on his face came as expected, proving that he wasn't dreaming.

Lu Chen looked around in surprise, and the office he was in suddenly gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

This reminded him of some distant memories.

This was the location of his first and only entrepreneurial venture: ZhengTu Technology.

Journey Technology is a game company whose goal is to become a game giant like Tencent and NetEase.

The company currently produces and operates two large-scale games.

These two games are respectively imitations of racing and music/dance games like Penguin Racing and Penguin Dance.

I thought that by following the lead of a big company, I could at least get a taste of the benefits.

As a result, there was no soup left, and not even a breath.

For a startup to immediately imitate games from major developers is suicidal.

Unsurprisingly, Journey Technology's profits were negligible and unable to support the company's operations, leading to its impending bankruptcy.

Following the original plan, Lu Chen would have been left with a mountain of debt after ZhengTu Technology went bankrupt, and from then on, he would have lived a life of hardship as a beast of burden.

However, perhaps fate was willing to give Lu Chen another chance, so he returned to the eve of the company's bankruptcy.

Lu Chen typed on the keyboard, and the screen instantly lit up from its off state.

With the grainy texture typical of CRT monitors, the date, June 10, 2008, is clearly displayed in the lower right corner.

This is a time brimming with countless opportunities.

Many industries in China are still accumulating strength, and the Internet industry has not yet fully taken off.

Penguin, Forty Thieves, Musical Notes... the well-known big companies are still developing.

Live streaming, food delivery, short videos... there are countless opportunities to make money.

Even a pig can fly if it stands in the right place at the right time!

So, there's still time!

He was reborn and returned to the world, knowing the development trends of various industries over the next ten years.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen was immediately filled with energy and couldn't wait to get up and devote himself to the company's development.

……

"Bang bang bang! Lu Chen! Come out!"

There was another loud knocking on the office door.

Amid the commotion outside, Lu Chen recalled that this was on the eve of the company's bankruptcy. He had already been in arrears with two months' wages, and the employees had reached their breaking point, collectively blocking him in the office. Finally, today was the day the company officially announced its bankruptcy.

Actually, it's not their fault. After all, they were the ones who owed wages first, and people are still relatively naive these days.

If this were in later times, let alone two months, even a two-day delay would have already started the door-blocking.

"Boss... what should we do? We really don't have any money in the company account."

Only then did Lu Chen notice a female employee huddled in the corner, trembling with fear.

According to my memory, the female employee's name was Susie, and she was the company's accountant.

She hid in Lu Chen's office because she was frightened by employees demanding their wages.

"It's alright, our company is about to take off," Lu Chen reassured him.

Susie's eyes widened. Had the boss gone mad from all the shock?

After roughly straightening his wrinkled suit, Lu Chen confidently walked towards the door.

Little brat, I, the Dragon King, have returned! I can become a tycoon even if I'm just lazing around and waiting to die, let alone running a company!

"Boss, be careful, the people outside might be going to eat us."

"It's okay, watch me."

Lu Chen gave Su Xibi a reassuring gesture.

The office door was suddenly flung open, and the employees' pent-up anger finally found its target, with several pairs of bloodshot eyes looking at Lu Chen.

At this moment, Lu Chen felt as if he were being watched by several hungry wolves.

"Hey Lu, if you don't give us an explanation today, we're not leaving!"

One person took the lead in shouting.

"right!"

"Don't even think about running away!"

Several angry employees grabbed Lu Chen's clothes tightly, tearing a hole in the pocket.

"Stop! My clothes are torn! Let go! Are you trying to eat me?!"

The group refused to let go and continued shouting. After several rounds of pulling and tugging, Lu Chen had no choice but to make a promise first.

"Alright, alright! Quiet down, everyone!" Lu Chen shouted, interrupting their chaotic chatter. "Don't worry, everyone, I will definitely pay you all the wages I owe you on time!"

"I assure everyone here that I, Lu Chen, will absolutely not run away!"

Lu Chen's sudden statement disrupted their rhythm.

"Are you telling the truth?"

A thin girl stepped forward and asked timidly.

"You are...Tao Manwen?"

Lu Chen remembered that the girl was from the art group.

After graduating from university, she joined Lu Chen's startup company, hoping to become one of its founding members.

Unexpectedly, he didn't become a veteran, but he did become a victim of injustice.

The young woman had just entered the workforce when Boss Lu gave her a real lesson: startups are unreliable.

With nowhere else to turn, she secretly hid in her rented room for the past two months, eating only steamed buns, starving until her stomach was practically sticking to her back.

Looking back now, he was a real bastard.

"Of course!" Lu Chen said seriously, "Even if I have to pawn my house, sell everything I own, or even work as a male model at a club, or even sell my blood, I will pay everyone back!"

These words were indeed effective; everyone was stunned by Lu Chen's outrageous and daring remarks.

"Holy crap, that's ruthless."

"That's true."

"Do you think our boss's delicate skin and tender flesh can fetch a good price?"

"Of course, the aunties love this."

Seeing that the topic was getting more and more off track, Lu Chen quickly interjected.

"Everyone, please don't rush. It will take me time to raise the money, so please disperse for now."

The employees looked at each other and, finding Lu Chen's tone sincere and his attitude proper, temporarily abandoned their thoughts of fighting to the death and dispersed.

Seeing the employees gradually returning to their workstations, Lu Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, we need to find a way to pay off the back wages, otherwise these people won't stay and work diligently.

After all, it's like making the horse run without letting it eat grass.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

The employees of these companies are the foundation upon which Lu Chen is confident in his future growth and the creation of new glories.

Lu Chen put his hands on his hips and looked around the company environment.

Six desks were crammed into an office of about 70 square meters.

Several wilted potted plants sat listlessly in the corner, clearly unwatered for a long time.

The company's basic structure is divided into an art group, a sound effects group, and a programming group, with two people in each group, plus myself as the boss. That's all there is to ZhengTu Technology.

The group sat at their workstations, seemingly busy with their work, but their eyes kept glancing at Lu Chen, constantly checking whether he was staying at the company.