Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

1982 12 Month 20 Day.

Ten thousand meters above the Pacific Ocean.

A Gulfstream G2 private jet, entirely black with a gold "Land" emblem on its tail, soars through the clouds like an elegant swift.

Inside the cabin, luxurious Persian carpets covered the floor, and the air was filled with a faint scent of champagne and expensive perfumes.

"Chen, do you think Cola and Sprite will behave at home? What if they run away and get lost..." Ruan Mei leaned against the porthole, looking at the thick clouds outside, her mind filled with worries about her dogs at home.

"Don't worry, Aunt Fei will take care of them. Besides, Grandma will help too, right?" Lu Chen patted Ruan Mei's head helplessly. Ruan Mei had asked him this question at least three times already. He should have brought the dog along too. Anyway, it's a private jet, so it wouldn't be a problem.

"Ah Mei, don't worry. If the Lu family's dog could get lost in Hong Kong, then Darling would have been wasting his life."

Sofia, seated on the opposite leather sofa, elegantly swirled her wine glass. This queen of the Italian underworld and the High Table Group, dressed in a wine-red velvet gown, exuded a languid yet dangerous air of nobility.

"This is our first family trip together, so let's not worry about anything else and just enjoy the journey."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cabin, Yako was asking Laura for advice on next season's fashion trends and discussing what bags to buy on Rodeo Drive when they arrived in Los Angeles.

As for Qiu Di, who had just joined this big family, she stood behind Lu Chen like a well-behaved kitten, gently massaging his shoulders with her slender hands, her eyes full of affection.

The "Overlord Flower" was organizing Lu Chen's work schedule for the upcoming tasks. As the only woman among them who had to work overtime, she was quite resentful at the moment.

As for Ruan Wen, she is busy with matters at the Japanese branch and will arrive a few days later.

……

Ten hours later.

Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

The convoy slowly drove into a luxurious estate covering dozens of acres. This is one of the High Table Group's secret assets in North America, heavily guarded and extremely private.

The California sun is warm and glaring, and tall palm trees sway in the wind.

As soon as they settled in, the women were drawn to the manor’s huge infinity pool and went back to their rooms to change into their swimsuits, ready to start their vacation.

Although Lu Chen also wanted to enjoy the spring scenery, now was not the time.

"Prepare the car," Lu Chen said to Tian Yangsheng, who had been waiting for a long time, after changing into a well-tailored Italian suit. "Let's go to Burbank for an inspection."

"Yes, boss."

3 PM.

Burbank, Los Angeles, North American branch of Golden Harvest.

Although Jiahe's building isn't the tallest, its red logo is particularly eye-catching in the sunlight.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was somewhat heavy.

Robert Lee, the general manager of the North American branch, was pointing at the data charts on the projection screen, reporting with sweat pouring down his face.

"Boss, that's the situation," Robert wiped his sweat. "Although we've invested over ten million dollars in GG across the US, bombarding NBC and ABC during prime time and packaging the JF machine as the 'best Christmas present,' sales are still only a few thousand units per day, but... it hasn't achieved the explosive growth we saw in Hong Kong and Japan."

"What's the reason?" Lu Chen leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"Because...Atari," Robert said with a wry smile. "The Atari 2600 is too dominant in the US. They have over 80% market share. And just this week, in order to seize the Christmas market, Atari announced that the day after tomorrow will be the release of that mega-hit game they claim to have spent $20 million to acquire the rights to—E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial."

"They produced four million cartridges! They were sold in every Walmart and Toys 'R' Us across the US. Many American parents still habitually choose Atari. Boss, while we have superior technology, brand recognition still needs time..."

Listening to their subordinates' reports, the executives in the conference room looked dejected. Compared to Atari, a behemoth with annual revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars, Golden Harvest Entertainment was like a toddler just learning to walk—there was simply no comparison.

however.

"Hahaha!"

A burst of hearty laughter suddenly broke the silence.

Everyone stared at Lu Chen in surprise.

"Boss?" Robert looked completely bewildered.

"It's okay, Robert, you've done very well." Lu Chen stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looked at the bustling Hollywood scenery outside, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

"You don't need to worry about Atari, because... they'll destroy themselves."

"?" The executives looked at each other in bewilderment.

Lu Chen turned around, his eyes gleaming with a knowing light for the future.

As a time traveler, he knew all too well what Christmas 1982 meant.

That was the most famous "darkest hour" in video game history, and the beginning of the collapse of the old order.

To meet the Christmas release deadline, Atari only gave one programmer six weeks to develop "E.T."

To be honest, the final product wasn't bad, and it was even quite innovative in terms of gameplay... However, the game also had two major problems: First, the game lacked a proper guidance mechanism. Many gameplay elements were added but not explained at all, which made it difficult for many children to understand. Second, there were many serious bugs. Often, the protagonist would inexplicably fall into a pit and be unable to climb out.

For Atari, E.T. was just a beautifully packaged electronic sh*t. Countless expectant children opened their presents under the Christmas tree, inserted the cartridge, and then discovered a pile of electronic junk inside that they couldn't even properly control the characters... leading to anger, disappointment, and a wave of returns.

This is not just the failure of one game; it will directly trigger the "Atari Shock," causing the entire North American game market to shrink by 97% in the following year!

"Listen, everyone," Lu Chen's voice turned serious, "Atari is committing suicide, and that 'E.T.' is their death rope."

"I have concrete information that Atari's 'E.T.' is essentially a half-finished product. When Christmas Day arrives, and children across America are crying in front of Atari's black screens, and angry parents are storming into stores demanding refunds… that will be the perfect opportunity for Golden Harvest to enter the market!"

"And I've also brought my trump card," Lu Chen snapped his fingers, "bring that box up here."

Tian Yangsheng walked in carrying a silver briefcase with a combination lock, placed it on the conference table, and opened it.

Inside, several beautifully packaged game cartridges were neatly stacked.

The cover features three monsters that are different in appearance but exceptionally cute: a frog carrying garlic seeds on its back, a little dragon with its tail on fire, and a turtle that looks silly.

At the top are two colorful words – Pocket Monsters.

"What's this?" Robert asked curiously, picking up a box.

"This is... a nuclear weapon."

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Lu Chen's eyes.

This game was completed by Jiahe's R&D department over three months, under his personal supervision.

Thanks to the JF console's superior performance compared to the original FC console, the graphics have reached 24-bit, perfectly replicating the desired visuals. Furthermore, Lu Chen ported Pokémon Red and Green, originally from the GB era, to the console, incorporating many advanced concepts from the second generation (Gold and Silver).

"This is not your average level-based game."

Lu Chen picked up the handle and demonstrated it himself.

On the screen appeared the famous opening line: "Welcome to the world of Pokémon!"

"It has 151 kinds of monsters that can be captured and collected."

"It has elemental weaknesses and strengths, upgrades and evolutions, and a complex battle system."

"Most importantly..." Lu Chen pointed to the specially made slot with a small protrusion on the cartridge, "We've built the world's first 'button battery memory chip' into the cartridge. Players can save their progress at any time; it's their partner, whom they've invested dozens of hours in nurturing, and it's unique data."

In 1982, most games didn't have a save function; if the power went out, you had to start over. The ability to save was its biggest selling point.

"Moreover, this is an RPG (role-playing game)."

"While other kids are playing those boring block-breaking games on Atari, our players will be adventuring in a vast world to capture their own mythical beasts."

"Collect, train, trade, battle."

Lu Chen looked around at the stunned executives.

"Six hundred thousand cassette tapes have already been cleared through customs. Now I need you to do one thing."

Lu Chen turned off the TV and gave the final instructions.

"Notify all distributors to place Pokémon promotional posters next to the Atari E.T. posters."

"GG ​​wrote me: 'Let your child enter another world this Christmas!'"

December 24th, Christmas Eve.

"Simultaneous global release"

"I'm going to use Pikachu's electric shocks to wake up this market that Atari has spurred into a lifeless state!"

……

The meeting ended at 8 p.m.

Lu Chen declined Robert's invitation to the victory celebration party and drove back to his estate in Beverly Hills.

As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a burst of laughter and cheerful chatter.

The fireplace was burning brightly in the huge living room.

Ruan Mei, Qiu Di, Sophia, Ya Zi, Ba Wang Hua, and Laura, several stunning beauties, were sitting around on the carpet, each holding a JF machine handle.

"Ugh! I died again! This Contra is too hard!" Qiu Di angrily threw down the controller.

"That's because you're clumsy," Yako said, expertly manipulating the controller. On the screen, Lance (2P) dodged a bullet with a roll. "Watch this! Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A! I have thirty lives!"

"Wow! Yako-nee, you cheated!"

"Are you all playing?"

Lu Chen took off his coat and walked over with a smile.

"Ah Chen!"

Upon seeing Lu Chen return, the women immediately put down their games. Qiu Di was the first to rush over and cling to his neck.

"How's it going? Is the Atari thing sorted out yet?" Ruan Mei asked with concern.

"Soon."

Lu Chen flicked Ruan Mei's nose, then took out several Pokémon demo tapes from his pocket and distributed them to the girls like candy.

"Here, I've brought you a new game."

"This is an internal beta version that hasn't been released yet."

"Wow! This yellow mouse is so cute!" Qiu Di immediately spotted Pikachu.

"This fire-breathing dragon looks very strong," Sofia said, picking up the little dragon.

Seeing the women instantly become engrossed, discussing the name of this monster and how that one evolved, Lu Chen smiled with satisfaction.

Even women who don't play games much can't resist the charm of Pokémon, let alone those energetic children.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the dazzling night view of Los Angeles, a glass of whiskey swirling in his hand.

In the distant city, countless children are eagerly awaiting gifts from Santa Claus.

But what the children don't know is that this Christmas, Santa Claus won't be riding a reindeer, but will be accompanied by a group of elves in his pocket, ready to completely change the world.