After deciding on the company name and the initial staff structure and positions, Wu Yun said, "It's getting late. Weren't you two going to make me something delicious to eat?"
.....
While the two women went to prepare lunch, Wu Yun entered the system store. He found the Media Company Management Skills, which were also divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. The price was only half of the Corporate Management Skills he had exchanged for before.
Wu Yun exchanged for two beginner-level Media Company Management Skills (for media companies with fewer than 100 employees), spending a total of 200,000. It was enough for the company's initial development and Management.
"System Prompt: The effects of the Management Skills will manifest during the course of managing the company."
With that, Wu Yun gained another 200,000 EXP. He was still over ninety million away from his next level-up. Wu Yun finally felt a glimmer of the difficulty ahead. 'Still,' he thought, 'at this rate, I should be able to level up next month.'
The system retorted, "Host, you should be grateful! In the same amount of time, the previous host had only just reached level two. You're already level five and well past the newbie stage. I have to say, your luck is truly off the charts."
Hearing the system's words, Wu Yun asked in confusion, "The previous host?"
"Don't worry. It was in the timeline before your rebirth. The previous host was erased, which is why the system was reset, time was reversed, and I found you."
"Erased?" Wu Yun was startled. A familiar feeling washed over him. 'Isn't this how all the novels go?'
"Rest assured, Host. You've already passed the novice period, so there's no risk of erasure. The previous host was just playing it too safe and failed to complete the novice-period upgrade missions in time."
"Then why didn't I get any mission notifications?" Wu Yun asked, confused.
"That was in the previous version. Besides, you leveled up so quickly that the system didn't even have time to send the notifications. After the system upgraded, it no longer issues missions once the novice period is over, giving you much more freedom. Now, when you complete milestone achievements, you can claim badges and rewards from the system."
Wu Yun relaxed a bit at the explanation. "Badges? How come I haven't seen them?"
The system explained, "Even if you hadn't asked, you would have found out in a day or two. For example, there are milestone achievements for having intimate contact with beautiful women rated 90 or above. There are corresponding badges for one, five, ten, fifty, and a hundred of them."
Wu Yun was speechless. 'This pervy system... is it a 'Player System' or a 'Tycoon System'?'
"I'm mentioning this because I detected that you're about to establish your first company. You'll get a badge for founding your first holding company, with corresponding rewards for the fifth and tenth as well. As for other functions, I hope you'll explore them on your own. I only provide explanations."
Wu Yun checked his system panel but couldn't find a section for badges. 'I guess I haven't met the criteria to activate it yet,' he figured.
"Wu Yun! Lunch is ready!" Wu Ying's voice called out from the living room.
......
During lunch, the three of them agreed to rent an office space first. After all, a registered business address was required to get a business license.
Of course, they could have used the address of the apartment where Wu Ying and Jiang Xinyi lived, since they had a lease for it.
However, an address like that wouldn't look very impressive on the business license. They all agreed on this and decided to rent a proper office first.
Wasting no time, the two women cleaned up and then sat down on either side of Wu Yun. He pulled up a website specializing in office rentals. Looking at the various options for location, floor space, and price per square meter, Wu Yun asked, "Where do you two want the office to be?"
"The closer to here, the better, of course!" Jiang Xinyi said, hugging Wu Yun's arm.
"Wu Yun, you should check out the Palm Springs International Center outside our complex, and the East Hope Tianxiang Square across the street," Wu Ying suggested, suddenly remembering all the office buildings surrounding their apartment complex. "If the price is right, we could consider one of them."
"The main question is how much space we need. We also have to think about future expansion," Wu Yun said, drawing on the corporate Management experience the system had instilled in him.
Wu Yun then added, "Considering the departments we'll need, you two will be general managers, so you'll each need an office. We'll need one large conference room. The finance department will need a separate office for at least four people. Market Development will have five to ten people. For now, we can group the bloggers, influencers, and copywriters into one large department of ten to twenty people. The photography and editing department will need five to ten people, the front desk two or three, and the general administration office, including HR, will need three to five."
"If we plan for the maximum of fifty-five people, at an average of five square meters per person, that's already 275 square meters. And as a media company, we'll also need a dedicated photography studio, so we should look for at least 300 square meters."
So, Wu Yun entered "Palm Springs International Center" into the website's search bar and then selected a size range of 300-500 square meters.
Thirty listings popped up immediately, all of them fully furnished and ready for a turnkey move-in.
After filtering the results, they picked out two options: a 320-square-meter office and a 500-square-meter penthouse office. Their prices were relatively low compared to the other listings.
They then selected a few more offices of a similar size in the East Hope Tianxiang Square across the street.
After calling the respective sales agents to schedule appointments, Wu Yun turned to the two women and said, "Ladies, let's get ready to go see some offices."
When the agent, who happened to share the exact same name as the famous Zhang Fei, met Wu Yun and his companions, he was a little surprised by Wu Yun's youth. He was also quite envious that Wu Yun was viewing properties with two beautiful women. He greeted them enthusiastically. 'Ah, a rich kid. An easy target!' he thought.
"President Wu, this office space for lease was just renovated. It's already been treated to remove any formaldehyde, so it's perfectly safe."
Zhang Fei led them into the building's lobby and to the elevators. Pressing the button for the 33rd floor, he said, "The office we're about to see is 320 square meters. It's decorated in a modern, minimalist style and has five private offices, one conference room, and over forty workstations."
The elevator quickly arrived at the 33rd floor. Zhang Fei led the trio to the office entrance. "It has automatic double doors," he said. "And the wall behind the reception desk can be customized with your company's name."
Zhang Fei led them past the reception desk and gave them a tour of the main office area. "So, President Wu, what do you think?" he asked.
Wu Yun exchanged a glance with the two women and saw they weren't particularly impressed with the space. "The decor and facilities are great," he said, "but it's a little small. We'll pass on this one. I'd like to see the 500-square-meter office."
Zhang Fei had been watching their expressions during the tour, so he wasn't surprised by Wu Yun's decision.
"No problem, President Wu. I'll take you to the 500-square-meter unit now. I guarantee it will meet your expectations."
And so, Zhang Fei led them to another office building, this one only twenty stories high, and pressed the button for the 20th floor.