10:40 AM
William stepped out of the apartment complex after getting a call from Cynthia. It was a cloudy day, and the wind was biting cold.
A black Audi A8L was parked by the curb outside the complex. A woman in a white down jacket stood in front of the car, looking like she was waiting for someone.
William walked up and greeted her. "Hi, are you Cynthia?"
Cynthia seemed a little surprised by William's age. She paused for a second when she saw him, but quickly recovered and held out her hand. "Hi. I didn't expect you to be this young."
"You too."
Cynthia looked like a college sophomore — around twenty, full of energy and confidence.
"You think I look young too, don't you?" she pouted.
"Ah, no, I just meant…" William quickly tried to explain.
Cynthia suddenly laughed. "Haha, I'm just messing with you. I may look young, but I'm actually twenty-six already. I've been working for two years now."
To already be in a supervisor role after just two years of work — William was genuinely impressed.
Even though Tencent on Blue Star doesn't have a gaming business like the one on Earth, it's still the dominant tech company there.
Thanks to its app WeChat, it's completely taken over the communication space. More than 40% of the world's 7 billion people use WeChat daily. It was even recognized as the first app to break down cultural barriers.
"Cultural barriers" refers to the protection mechanisms between cultural zones. There are six major cultural zones in the world, and communication between them is strictly controlled — kind of like managing invasive species. Any content from other zones has to go through heavy filtering before entering a different culture. The only place where people can freely experience all six cultural zones is at the World Cultural Exchange Conference.
Held every five years, the conference is always a massive event.
Unfortunately, William only had fragmented memories of the grand scenes from past conferences. Even those scattered pieces were amazing enough to make him dream of seeing it for himself one day.
And the exclusive global streaming platform for the event? It's WeChat.
It's easy to imagine just how terrifying Tencent Group's global influence is. And for Cynthia to be the head of one of its many business divisions—there's no way she's just for show.
"You look young. Just started college?"
Inside the car, Cynthia started the conversation.
William shook his head. "I'm from a mountain village. People there don't care much about education, so I stopped going to school after middle school."
Cynthia tilted her head. "Then you must be a genius."
She had definitely done her homework before coming. Even though William's application to the company was still under review, it wouldn't be surprising if she had already looked into him with her connections.
"Do you believe in superpowers?" William looked her in the eye without hesitation. "I've got something like that inside me—it lets me learn things super fast."
"Haha." Cynthia laughed. "I believe you, because I have them too."
She made a gesture like she was firing energy from her hand, and added sound effects: "Zzzzt~"
After messing around for a bit, Cynthia got serious again. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How many people work at Earth Games right now?"
"Just me."
Cynthia frowned. William thought she didn't trust him and was about to explain, but then she said, "Looks like I underestimated you. Maybe you really do have powers."
"Who knows?" William smiled faintly.
"I believe Earth Games has a lot of potential. That's why I already applied for a super contract before coming here—one that's better than any of our current external deals." Cynthia pulled a thick folder from her briefcase.
Inside was a confidentiality agreement.
William skimmed through the terms. They were definitely tempting. But signing this would mean Earth Games enters a strategic partnership with Tencent. And in reality, that would just be selling himself to Tencent. He would go from being the boss to a high-level employee.
"The terms are great, but I can't accept them."
If William wasn't clear about the path he wanted to take, signing this would remove all worries. Tencent would carry all the risks. He wouldn't have to fear going bankrupt, or failing and ruining his reputation. He could make loads of money and never worry about finances again.
But William knew exactly what he wanted, and he had full confidence he could achieve it. No matter how tempting Tencent's offer was, it wouldn't shake his resolve. Cynthia had simply bet on the wrong approach from the beginning.
"Which part are you not okay with?" Cynthia still left room for negotiation.
"All of it." William wasn't trying to be difficult. "I think our partnership can be more straightforward. You invest and provide resources, and I give you returns. We can still do strategic cooperation—but only if we're on equal terms."
"I know it's hard to go from being your own boss to working for someone else," Cynthia sighed. "But to be honest, what I see value in is the future of the gaming market. Earth Games alone isn't enough to meet our partnership standards."
To put it bluntly, Cynthia was trying to get ahead and secure a spot in the gaming market. With Tencent's money, they could easily spin up a new game division. Open 17 or 18 studios and crank out games nonstop.
"Well then, you've seriously underestimated me." William was easygoing, but that didn't mean he didn't have a temper.
The tension in the car was high—until the driver broke the silence just in time.
"Miss Cynthia, we've arrived."
Cynthia dropped her arrogant act and returned to her sweet, girl-next-door tone. "Come on, let's talk over lunch."
William wasn't some hot-headed teenager anymore. A little attitude wouldn't throw him off.
The restaurant was a the one that only served set meals, starting at 140 dollar. It was considered high-end for business dinners.
"You have no idea how scary the potential of this market really is." As soon as he sat down, William went on the offensive.
Cynthia frowned and replied bluntly, "Our company has the best evaluation team in the world. The gaming market might be big, but it's not going to shake things up. At most, it'll just tag along with mainstream culture."
"Then I suggest you re-evaluate your evaluation team, because they couldn't be more wrong."
William knew very well how much potential the gaming market had. Earth was the best example—games were undeniably one of its mainstream cultures.
"If you're so confident, then all the more reason for us to work together. After all, only through cooperation can both sides win."
"If I wasn't willing, I wouldn't be sitting here."
"You…" Cynthia was momentarily at a loss for words. "You have to believe me. I've met so many indie developers, studios, and small companies. They all started out just like you, full of confidence in their path. But once they ran into setbacks, they began to doubt themselves. What they once believed in turned into uncertainty, and in the end, everything fell apart."
What Cynthia said wasn't wrong, but the difference was William had something those people didn't—he was a transmigrator.
But that identity was a secret, not a bargaining chip. William couldn't just say, "Hey, I'm a transmigrator who knows exactly how to dominate the gaming market." That would just make her think he was crazy.
"Let's put this aside for now," Cynthia said, trying to ease the mood. "Let's talk about the new game you mentioned before."