After chatting about various topics and finishing lunch, Grace took a walk with Simon through the vast mountain estate, arms linked as they strolled. It gave her a feeling reminiscent of a first love, leaving her feeling inexplicably guilty.
Her daughter happened to be dating someone as well.
But, who cares?
"So, do you really not have to work this afternoon?" Grace asked.
"There were some arrangements, but I canceled them."
"For me?"
"Are you touched?"
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. The Westeros system is becoming a more and more massive machine. One of my goals is for it to operate autonomously, even without me. Otherwise, in a few years, even if I clone myself, I won't be able to handle it all."
"…"
"What's wrong?"
Grace glanced at the man beside her, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. "I was just thinking, if this machine no longer needs your control, would you feel lost and uneasy?"
"Of course not," Simon understood what Grace was implying and smiled. "I'm the master of this machine, not one of those operators who fear losing their jobs. So, the more automated it becomes, the better. If there ever comes a day when I can no longer control it and can't tolerate that, I have the power to dismantle it and sell it for scrap."
Power is never granted without a reason.
Simon's power comes from the vast commercial empire of the Westeros system. The more the system expands, the more powerful Simon becomes.
Regarding control over this commercial machine, Simon is someone who knows how to delegate authority. However, delegation only means temporarily granting power, not permanently giving it up.
While a national leader might be sidelined by those around them, Simon is unlikely to face such a situation. Unlike most political leaders who are, at least nominally, elected by the people, Simon is the true owner of the Westeros system, which underpins his power.
Other large enterprise owners might leave their companies in the hands of management teams, risking being ousted by those very teams. Simon, however, doesn't have this concern.
On the one hand, Simon's wealth is deep enough that no management team within the Westeros system has the power to challenge him, and he isn't worried about one or two companies taking a hit. On the other hand, the Westeros system has no shortage of talent, including top-tier managers who can replace anyone below Simon.
Without realizing it, they reached the end of the estate's lawn, where a neatly trimmed hedge stood as tall as a person. Beyond it, a steep slope was fenced off with shrubs and iron mesh. Behind them, the afternoon sun shone brightly.
Unable to go any further, Grace didn't turn back. Instead, she sat down on the lawn, enjoying the soft warmth of the grass under the sun, and then lay down comfortably.
Simon sat beside her, reaching out with one hand. Grace held it but kept him from doing anything more.
She shifted, resting her head on his lap, and continued to hold his hand, looking up at him as she asked softly, "When are you leaving?"
Simon glanced at his watch. "I'll be heading back to Los Angeles at five. We have three more hours."
"That's enough."
"You're easily satisfied."
"Can I not be?"
"No."
"Ha," Grace reached out to touch Simon's handsome face, feeling the slight stubble on his cheek. "I really don't understand you."
"That's good. They say that mystery is one of the most attractive qualities to women."
"You're quite skilled."
"Yes," Simon's voice suddenly took on a wistful tone, "it's been thousands of years."
Grace's light blue eyes flickered. "What?"
"Did I say something?"
Grace insisted, "You said it. It's been thousands of years."
"You must have misheard."
"No, I didn't."
"Fine. I was just being mysterious on purpose. You know, a little boy has to use some tricks to win over an older sister."
Grace was relentless. "Then, tell me a story."
Simon hesitated briefly before slowly beginning, "A long, long time ago, back when the world was still in its primal state—there were no nations, no peoples, and not even a fully developed language system—there was a primitive man who, driven by hunger, went fishing in a lake outside a cave on a rainy day. Unfortunately, he fell into the water. By a stroke of luck, a bolt of lightning struck him, and the immense voltage of millions of volts caused his body to undergo a transformation. From that day on, he never aged, remaining eternally young, wandering the world like a ghost. He witnessed the merging of tribes, the formation of nations, countless brutal wars fought with primitive weapons, Jesus' ministry, Buddha's advent, the scourge of the Mongols, the dawn of the Age of Exploration, and two devastating world wars. To avoid detection, every ten to twenty years, at most thirty, he would use his worldly powers to find a double, change his name, and even alter his appearance to start a new life. This time, he is known as Simon Westeros."
Grace listened intently, her light blue eyes blinking for a moment before she finally smiled. "That's a pretty good story."
"Do you believe it?"
"No."
Simon smiled. "Why not?"
Grace gently stroked Simon's face, her voice soft. "If you were really an ancient human who had lived for thousands of years, you wouldn't let yourself be so well-known. You would hide as much as possible."
"You're wrong. In one of my lives, I was known as Alexander the Great. I led my army to conquer all of Europe."
"…"
"Later on, I developed an interest in physics and assumed the identity of Isaac Newton. You know what happened after that. When I wanted to retire, I had to find an idiot obsessed with alchemy to take my place. That's why he achieved nothing in his later years."
"…"
"In more recent times, I thought humanity had been ignorant for too long, so I invented the steam engine. From then on, human civilization exploded exponentially. That time, my name was James Watt."
"…"
Simon cupped Grace's face, his tone turning wistful again, tinged with a sense of ancient weariness. "Little girl, do you want to know who I was before Simon Westeros?"
Grace's light blue eyes blinked rapidly, as if struggling to protect her worldview, which was on the verge of collapsing.
After a moment, feeling the familiar, gentle smile on Simon's face, Grace forced herself to relax and mumbled, "Are you going to kill me?"
"Why would I kill you?"
"I know your secret."
"I just made up a story on the spot, remember? You asked for it."
"…"
"I've had this idea for a while, but there were some details I couldn't quite work out. Something that might cause religious conflicts. Now, I've suddenly figured it out. I can work around that issue."
"…"
"I'm planning to make this into a $100,000 film. I'll start right away, and it should be done in a month or two. It'll be just in time for next year's Sundance Film Festival. Bob was complaining recently that Sundance hasn't had any good films in years. This time, we'll remind them of the magic of cinema. You can make a top-tier sci-fi movie for $100,000. I've already thought of a title: *The Man from Earth*. What do you think?"
"Simon, I promise, I'll never reveal your secret."
"Oh, you actually believed it?"
"…"
"Looks like I need to help you clear your head," Simon said, lifting Grace's slender body as he stood up and began walking back toward the villa. "Remember, it's just a story."
"Mm."
"Maybe I do have a talent for this. I should start a religion. It would definitely have more potential than those Scientology frauds. You could be my first disciple."
"…"
"Devote everything to me."
"Mm."
"Foolish earthling."
"Ouch."
"Bear with it. Before you leave today, I need to make sure you're thinking clearly. I shouldn't have told you that ghost story."
"So it really was just a story?"
"Of course."
"But…"
"Idiot."
"Don't call me that, you little boy."
"Here, I'll give you a spot. You can pick one of your girls to act in the film. Actually, let's go with Kriss Goff. That way, the other fairies won't fight over it. Kriss fits the role perfectly. Have her take some acting lessons."
"Can I play the part?"
"A 20-year-old college girl? Can you pull that off?"
"I could be the professor."
"Don't be silly. Just stick to being an agent."
A little after five, after thoroughly reassuring Grace and dispelling her wild thoughts, Simon finally left his Portola Valley estate. He met up with A-girl, who had spent the previous night with C-girl, and boarded a Boeing 767 to return to Los Angeles.
Originally, Simon was supposed to attend a meeting in the afternoon about Egret's online gaming business, focusing on the smash hit *Happy Farm*. But he decided that attending such meetings was unnecessary and asked Allison to take his place, choosing instead to spend a lazy afternoon with Grace at the Portola Valley estate.
Once the plane took off, A-girl handed Simon the minutes from the afternoon meeting, along with a report on *Happy Farm's* performance.
Since its release earlier this year, the social network-based casual game, built on Flash technology, has seen its user growth curve begin to slow after an initial explosive phase.
Even so, after seven months, *Happy
Farm* had amassed an astonishing 53 million players worldwide, easily surpassing the initial two-year target of 50 million players. Currently, the number of global internet users, which had exceeded expectations, stands at 200 million.
This means that *Happy Farm* has captured one-fourth of the global online population. Even though user engagement varies, the fact that one in every four internet users has activated *Happy Farm* is staggering.
The EA and Facebook teams, responsible for developing and managing the game, are considering applying for a Guinness World Record, but they haven't taken action yet since the player count is still growing. Industry analysts predict that within the next two years, the total number of *Happy Farm* players could double, breaking the unprecedented 100 million mark.
Due to the game's immense popularity, EA and Facebook have formed a dedicated team of over 100 people to manage *Happy Farm*.
Given the care and attention from these two tech giants, *Happy Farm* has evolved beyond its original casual nature. It has become a case study in several business schools and serves as a phenomenon in online gaming, with many aspects of its development and operation offering valuable lessons for future endeavors.
A large part of the teams from both companies is quietly collecting and organizing operational data that could provide insights for future projects.
To make room for *Happy Farm*, even though Egret opened up Flash technology and the IE game platform, similar casual games have been suppressed over the past six months. Some blatant imitators were even sued.
Even within EA, a similar game called *Happy Ranch* was shelved after development was completed.
Since *Happy Farm* is still on the rise and remains popular with regular updates, there's no need for *Happy Ranch* to steal its thunder. The plan is to release *Happy Ranch* at an appropriate time, 12 to 18 months after *Happy Farm's* launch.
The two games will be linked to maximize *Happy Farm's* longevity.
For outsiders, the most pressing question is undoubtedly how much money *Happy Farm* is making.
Neither company has released specific figures, but even the most conservative estimates from industry analysts are enough to make game developers and investors alike envious.
Simon, of course, has the most detailed data.
In its first week, with fewer than 7 million users, *Happy Farm* generated $2.61 million in revenue from item sales.
Now, with the user base more than seven times larger, the weekly revenue hasn't increased by the same multiple due to less accessible payment channels in some regions and a lower conversion rate as the player base grows. Still, the game brought in $13.91 million in revenue last week alone.
Overall, from its launch on March 25 to the latest earnings report on October 20, *Happy Farm* has generated a staggering $196 million in revenue over seven months.
For a game developed with less than $1 million, making $196 million in just half a year is such a profit that even Latin American drug lords would be envious.
And unlike drug trafficking, this is legal.
Inspired by *Happy Farm's* success, hundreds of new game companies have sprung up across North America over the past six months. While most of these are small studios with just two or three people, some major investors have also entered the fray.
Many understand that *Happy Farm's* success was partly due to luck and the relentless support from Egret. But who can say they won't be the next lucky one? Even achieving one-tenth or one-hundredth of *Happy Farm's* success would be a pinnacle for many.
Although *Happy Farm's* interests are fiercely protected, Egret has intentionally or unintentionally supported a few successful cases of people who have reached the pinnacle by developing Flash games.
Moreover, *Happy Farm's* global popularity has led Egret's Flash technology to become the industry standard, with Egret's related software selling like hotcakes, bringing in a steady stream of revenue.
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