That morning, quite a number of people went to work with dark circles under their eyes. Happy Farm had reached nearly two million users in one night, and this included quite a number of people in the Internet industry.
All the people in the same industry tried Happy Farm with the mentality of researching and understanding it. However, they did not expect that this game would be so addictive. The cartoonish style of the farm, the childish way of growing vegetables and stealing vegetables seemed to have a powerful brainwashing effect. Once they started playing, they did not know what their goal was. There was only one thought in their mind. "I want to steal vegetables! You guys are not allowed to steal my vegetables! "
Li Mu knew very well that Happy Farm's popularity had not really started yet. The most amazing stage of the game was when the users built up a huge network of connections. In the past, there were many uncles and aunties in their forties and fifties who set an alarm clock to wake up at night to steal vegetables and collect vegetables. There were also many girlfriends who blamed their boyfriends for not helping them collect vegetables in time and broke up with them. The most interesting thing was that subordinates were fired for stealing their superiors' vegetables …
In short, this game was quite magical. In the next few months, it would create even greater miracles.
Li Zong was addicted, Tan Yaocheng was addicted, Baidu's technicians were addicted. Similar situations were happening in almost every Internet company in the country.
In fact, many employees would secretly open the Happy Farm when they arrived at the company. From time to time, they would go in and steal some vegetables. Their addiction index was full stars.
Li Zong looked for his assistant and asked him to inform the higher-ups that there would be a meeting in ten minutes. However, what he did not expect was that half of the eight higher-ups were not at their posts!
This was really unexpected. The company was in a stage of rapid development. Under normal circumstances, the higher-ups would not be at their posts so late.
Then, the assistant reported again, "Today, a small half of the people in the technical department are also late. The employees who have already arrived do not seem to be in a good state of mind. It's as if they collectively stayed up late last night."
Li Zong could not help but frown. Collectively stayed up late? Could it be that the other people in the company were also playing Happy Farm?
Once he thought about how he was late because he played Happy Farm until late, Manager Li felt that this was a bit f * cking embarrassing!
After waiting for a few minutes, Tan Yaocheng rushed to the company. As soon as he entered the office, he heard from his subordinate that Li Zong was looking for him. He quickly dropped his bag and rushed to Li Zong's office. As soon as he entered, he said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Li Zong. I overslept."
Li Zong looked at him and said, "Overslept? I think you played until too late last night. "
Tan Yaocheng smiled awkwardly and said, "I did play a little late, but the main thing is to study."
Manager Li did not mind. He smiled and said, "I also stayed up late last night playing that Happy Farm. It is indeed a very innovative and creative game."
Tan Yaocheng nodded and said, "Yes, I've been studying this game since last night. The more I study, the more I feel that this game is amazing. It's really a genius idea. Who would have thought that such a stupid and simple game could be so immersed in it so quickly? It's so addictive."
Li Zong looked at Tan Yaocheng's obvious dark circles and asked curiously, "Old Tan, if you were to objectively evaluate this game, what do you think of it?"
Tan Yaocheng thought about it and said seriously, "Damn, this game is toxic!"
"Toxic?" Li Zong furrowed his eyebrows.
Tan Yaocheng said, "It's like an addictive drug. Once you start playing, you can't stop. There's always a hidden force that forces you to keep focusing. If you're late in harvesting, half of your crops will be stolen. If you're late in sowing, your leveling speed will be slower than your friends, and your ranking in the friends list will continue to drop. If you don't steal vegetables and help others, you'll be slower than others in terms of experience, gold, and items. So the pressure of competition is always there, and the motivation to improve is also very strong. It's always toxic, and you can't stop!"
After listening, Li Zong sighed. "I feel the same as you. This game seems to have magic, and it's hard to get rid of its attraction."
After saying this, Li Zong shook his head helplessly. "This kid Li Mu is not simple, really. From the way he released this game, he dug a hole for us early on. This game is the key to the rise of Tieba. He tricked us out in advance, and it's clear that he doesn't want us to play."
"Yes, it's not kind." Tan Yaocheng also smacked his lips. "This game will probably become popular all over the Internet soon. When that time comes, I wonder how much Makino Technology's valuation will rise."
Li Zong said, "That depends on what they're going to do with this game. The game itself shouldn't be very profitable. The most important thing is how it's converted."
Tan Yaocheng asked, "Then what do you think Li Mu's next development direction is?"
Li Zong shook his head. "I don't know, and I can't guess. Li Mu's mind is full of strange ideas and conspiracies. Ordinary people really can't understand him."
Tan Yaocheng said, "If this game becomes completely popular, the number of users on Tieba will definitely rise again. I'm afraid that this kid will become the most manipulative person on the Internet in China."
Li Zong agreed and said, "He's very good at manipulating others, especially users. His platform's ability to subtly influence users is very strong."
Tan Yaocheng said, "Why don't we also gather the technical department for a meeting and let them evaluate the time and cost of developing a similar type of game? We can also integrate this game on the search engine."
Li Zong said with a depressed expression, "Our product's popularity is too low. Even the number of registered users is pitifully small. It's easy to develop this kind of game, but it's too difficult to do it. In front of Tieba, it's like an ant trying to shake a tree. Not only is it meaningless, but it will also be cursed. You also know how Li Mu treats his competitors. If you pirated and copied his way, how good would it be?"
Tan Yaocheng nodded and felt a little emotional. If the company firmly held onto Makino Technology, then the five million invested in Li Mu would be the most successful investment in the company's history. If Happy Farm operated properly, it could at least increase the value of Tieba by more than two hundred million. At that time, Makino Technology could easily be valued at more than five hundred million. When the company first invested in Makino Technology, it only valued it at fifty million. This was a difference of ten times! Counting with his fingers, it had only been a few months.
After thinking carefully, Tan Yaocheng said, "When Li Mu tricked us, I guess he wanted to buy at a low price and sell at a high price. At that time, he let us buy ten points at a fifty million valuation. I guess he was a little upset and wanted to clear our ten points and sell them at a high price. Why don't we talk to Li Mu again and find out what Li Mu's ideal valuation is if we want to invest in Makino Technology's Series B?"
Li Zong rubbed his chin and thought for a long time. Ever since he realized that he was tricked by Li Mu, he had been hurting the ten percent of Tieba shares that he let go. If there was a chance, of course, he wanted to invest in Makino Technology again. Now that Makino Technology was about to usher in another wave of rising momentum, if he really wanted to buy a ticket back, he had to hurry.
Therefore, Li Zong said to Tan Yaocheng, "Go and organize the company's senior management and technical staff. We will have a meeting in the conference room in ten minutes. I'll give Li Mu a call."
Tan Yaocheng said, "Okay, I'll go and organize the meeting."
After Tan Yaocheng left the room, Li Zong took out his phone and called Li Mu.
When he received Li Zong's call, Li Mu was not curious at all. He greeted him and asked, "Robin, why are you calling me?"
Li Zong laughed and said, "I'm calling to congratulate you for making such an awesome game like Happy Farm. It seems like no one can stop the rise of Tieba."
Li Mu said humbly, "Robin, you think too highly of me. It's just a casual and fun game. I haven't even found a profit model yet."
Li Zong said, "That's true. The profit margin of your game can't be compared to games like Legend of Mir. Their instant cards cost 30 RMB per person per month."
As he said this, Li Zong suddenly thought of a problem and said, "Why don't you sell chemical fertilizers on Happy Farm? It's just normal fertilizer, 1 RMB per pack. I'll buy 100 of them first."
Li Mu laughed and said, "Are you trying to kill me, Robin? You've just come online and you're already charging fees and buying game items. Aren't you pushing the users out of the door? Not to mention that I'm not planning to sell game items now. Even if I were to sell them, I would have to wait at least a month. For Makino Technology, the most important task is to maintain the users. "
Li Zong said awkwardly, "I'm just joking. Your game is really fun, and the game items are very attractive. If you're really going to sell game items online, I'll definitely support you with my actions."
Li Mu said, "That's great. When we're really going to sell game items online, I'll be the first to inform you."
Li Zong saw that the pleasantries were almost over, so he laughed and changed the topic to what he really wanted to talk about, "Oh right, Li Mu, you should be in need of money right now, right? Do you have any plans for Series B? How about we continue our relationship? I'll lead the investment in Makino Technology's Series B.
Li Mu smiled and said, "I haven't considered Series B yet. When I start thinking about Series B, I'll definitely think about it seriously."
Manager Li could tell that it was Li Mu's polite words, so he didn't say anything more after a few polite words.
What Li Mu didn't expect was that in the following time, his phone was almost exploding with calls from passersby.
Hui Ka Ming called to congratulate him. According to him, the game only took ten hours to become a phenomenal existence. Capital companies all over Yanjing were holding a meeting today to discuss the impact of the game on the valuation of Makino Technology, as well as the future impact of the game on the whole Makino Technology. More and more venture capital companies were interested in Makino Technology, and they began to look for connections everywhere to establish a relationship with Makino Technology.
Li Mu listened and felt a headache coming on. At the moment, he wasn't ready to face all kinds of capital and carry out all kinds of negotiations. Moreover, he already had an idea in his mind to pull Chen Ze in to be the backer of Makino Technology. Series B wasn't at the stage where he could openly talk about financing with all the venture capital companies in society.
Therefore, Li Mu said to Hui Ka Ming, "Let's have a meal together in two days. Didn't your Mingcheng Capital want to invest in Makino Technology? We can talk about this in detail."
Hui Ka Ming was very excited when he heard that, and he blurted out, "You can decide the specific time, I'm free anytime!"
Li Mu said, "I'm a little busy these two days, I'll contact you after I'm done."
Hui Ka Ming immediately said, "No problem, I'll wait for your news."
After hanging up Hui Ka Ming's call, another call came in. It was a woman who first introduced herself. "Hello, Mr. Li, I'm Linda Wu, the investment manager of the Hua Xia region of Red Shirt Capital. I'd like to make an appointment with you to treat you to a meal and have a chat. Are you free?"
Li Mu didn't expect that even an international venture capital company like Red Shirt would focus on Makino Technology. He was surprised, but he said, "I'm sorry, I'm very busy these few days. Let's talk after I'm busy."
After sending away such a famous venture capital company, another call came in. The investment manager of Gao Sheng also wanted to meet Li Mu, but Li Mu used the same reason to reject him.
In one morning, Li Mu received calls from at least eight well-known domestic and foreign venture capital companies. They all had the same goal: to meet Li Mu and talk about capital cooperation.
However, Li Mu wasn't tempted at all. He knew the routine of these veteran venture capital companies too well. If they came in, they would definitely cause some trouble. They would either think of ways to increase their shareholding ratio, dilute the rights of the major shareholders, or sell the company at a satisfactory price after two or three years, then cash out and leave. Therefore, Li Mu decided to avoid capital cooperation with these veteran venture capital companies when he wasn't strong enough.
…
In the afternoon, Li Mu's phone was still exploding with calls.
He didn't know where the people from various internet companies got his phone number. Some called to get close to him, some called to ask for all kinds of cooperation, and some even directly asked for the authorization of Happy Farm.
The one who asked for the authorization of Happy Farm was the leader of the advanced online gaming platform, United World. United World saw the strong popularity of Happy Farm, so when Happy Farm was online for less than 15 hours, they decided to port it to their platform.
The person in charge found Li Mu's contact number and called Li Mu directly. He even offered more than 500,000 yuan for the authorization. Although it didn't seem like much, in this day and age, more than 500,000 yuan was already very shocking.
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