Chapter 423.2: We Sell Standards!

Wow, even a wasteland dweller knows about brand effects? It's not about taste or nutrition but about mining consumer wallets with added cultural value.

If that were the case, her company really couldn’t kick him to the curb after developing the market and updating the product, because what was valuable was no longer patents or recipes, but the ingrained impression in consumers' minds.

In fact, the popularity of Ideal City’s goods in the wasteland was not just due to technology but also because of the brand influence behind them. And she had indeed considered doing just that, creating a best-selling brand with New Alliance characteristics, using higher barriers to limit competitors and harvest the wallets of Ideal City residents.

However, she had originally planned to do it after Moonlike Group had completely digested their partner’s technology.

After all, a goose that lay golden eggs was better kept in one’s own hands, there was no need to let others have a share. She hadn’t expected that man’s ambition to be so great.

He had just arrived from that backwater land to Ideal City, and he had already planned to make the New Alliance’s products into a best-selling brand in Ideal City.

"Interesting," Li Shuyue’s eyes showed a hint of admiration.

She had seen many wastelanders.

Those people were mostly rough, short-sighted, and naturally cunning. They were lacking smarts but full of small tricks.

Then again, that wasn’t their fault. After all, in the wasteland’s uncertain environment, people with far-sighted visions might not even live to see the next month.

To consider such far-reaching matters... The man sitting opposite her was really something else indeed.

Should I go along with it?

But even if I don’t agree, they can probably find someone else to collaborate with.

Thinking she was praising his proposal, Ample Time revealed a look of satisfaction. "It seems we have a consensus. Let’s talk about the details of our collaboration, such as how to sell our ‘standard’."

Li Shuyue stared at his face for a moment, then threw out a remark unrelated to business. "Although we generally don’t grant permanent residency to wastelanders, there are exceptions."

Casually changing her posture, her right leg gently resting on her left knee, her lips curved in a slight smile. "I suddenly find myself quite fond of you. Have you considered settling in Ideal City?"

Although she sounded like she was joking, her expression seemed to be anything but. Ample Time admitted, the proposal was indeed attractive.

Life in Ideal City was truly wonderful, almost like a different game compared to the wasteland, but...

"It's an honor to be appreciated by you, but my heart belongs elsewhere."

Watching the polite man before her, Li Shuyue was slightly stunned, clearly not expecting her proposal to be rejected. But she merely paused briefly, then smiled indifferently and said, "Don’t misunderstand, I’m only interested in your business acumen. Let’s get back to business, shall we? After all, appreciation is limited to just that.”

It was like passing a shop window and spotting a novel luxury item.

She wouldn’t mind swiping her card to buy it, but she wouldn’t queue up for it like those who just made some new money.

With her assets, family, and looks, she could have any man she wanted. She didn’t need to compete with anyone.

However, Ample Time’s undisturbed demeanor still annoyed her a bit.

Do I have no appeal at all?

Not taking her sarcasm to heart, Ample Time just smiled lightly, his fingers crossed on his knees, and spoke with composure. "Of course, when I say my heart belongs elsewhere, I mean it belongs to the New Alliance."

"Then as you wish, let’s talk about the specific details of our collaboration."

...

In the resting room next to the banquet hall.

Completely slumped on the sofa, Escaping Mole was thoroughly enjoying playing with the pair of virtual reality glasses.

Suddenly, the colorful lights zipped away, vanishing before his eyes. Looking up bewildered, Escaping Mole saw the glasses in Ample Time’s hands.

"What are you so engrossed in?"

Seeing Ample Time about to try on the glasses, Escaping Mole quickly snatched them back, sweating profusely and laughing in embarrassment. "Just some ordinary little games I randomly found on Endpoint Cloud."

Considering the residents of the utopia on the wasteland, these people are really open-minded. Ample Time curiously asked.

"Is it fun?"

"Just average, not very fun, but playing virtual reality games in a virtual reality game is beyond my expectations," Escaping Mole praised. To be fair, these days, the big companies were making games with their feet, DLC with their asses, and scamming money left and right. They were constantly releasing old stuff without trying anything new.

A game where an in-game easter egg could stand alone as a major independent release, a true gem of the industry.

They really had to praise their doggy developer, Light. It was truly a 100% realistic game.

This game is too realistic!

"Overall, the operability is okay, the freedom is okay, and the content is pretty vast, just not very realistic."

Slightly stunned, Ample Time eventually asked, “Are you really playing a normal game? Are you sure its not rated 18?!”

"Huh?! What are you thinking about? It’s just a normal RPG... Ever played

Freerider

? The game is just like that. I was watching spaceships!" Knowing from his expression that he must have misunderstood, Escaping Mole quickly changed the subject. "Enough nonsense! Why are you back so soon?"

He recalled Ample Time leaving close to 8:00 in the evening. It was barely 10:00 at night.

Wasn’t he too quick?

“We talked about business.” Ample Time muttered.

"Just business?" Escaping Mole looked skeptically at him, "I don’t believe it."

Ample Time rolled his eyes, too lazy to explain. He simply found a place to sit.

Of course, he wouldn’t tell Escaping Mole that he had just negotiated a deal worth hundreds of millions for the New Alliance.

The Moonlike Group, controlled by Ideal Corporation, planned to invest 100 million CR and partner with the Bull and Horse Club to establish a restaurant group called Long Moon. Currently, the brands that was confirmed were ‘AFC’, which offered fried chicken and cola, and the ‘Bull and Horse Hotpot Restaurant’.

As for exporting ready to eat meals, or instant noodles...

They could do business like that, but the profits were too low. He really wasn’t interested.

Moreover, Ideal City’s food safety standards were too high. Ordinary food simply couldn’t get in, plus the New Alliance’s own food supply wasn’t exactly abundant. Rather than importing food from the Alliance, it made more sense to produce locally.

Just as Ample Time said, they would export ‘standards’.

The currently agreed plan was for Long Moon to send employees to the New Alliance, with the Bull and Horse Club responsible for arranging their training. After the training, they would return to Ideal City to work as chefs and store managers.

Still immersed in the game he had just played, Escaping Mole pondered for a while, staring at the glasses in his hand, then suddenly spoke. "You know, I find these virtual reality games interesting, but the gameplay is a bit too simplistic."

Ample Time glanced at him and snorted, "How else could it be enriched?"

Escaping Mole replied, "It’s not about how to enrich it, let me give an example. I just played three RPGs, one with a space theme, one fantasy, and one probably alternate history. All three games are like

Skyrim

. They are open-world types, with huge maps and flashy skills. NPCs can interact simply, the freedom in the game is also very high but the selling points of all three games are actually the same!"

Ample Time glanced at him and frowned. "Isn’t that good? If it were real, I’d freaking buy them all. Even the Easter eggs are made with such detail?"

Before, Light boasted to him that most of the content in Wasteland Online was generated based on players' perceptions and dreams, and he didn’t quite believe it at the time. Now it seems, it wasn’t boasting.

He would have to experience it properly when he had the time.

Anticipating Ample Time’s reaction, Escaping Mole made a helpless expression. "That’s what I mean, but it’s boring when the whole game platform is full of this type. I didn’t see any battle royales or MOBAs. Are they already phased out?"

Ample Time paused slightly. Although it sounded a bit unbelievable, he seemed to have discovered another way to make money.

...

The next morning, in a skyscraper within a vast complex, the sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the CEO’s office on the top floor.

Looking at the draft contract in her hand, leaning back in her office chair, Li Shuyue faced the steel forest breaking through the clouds, holding a coffee cup, her brow furrowed as she gently sipped.

100,000,000 CR.

This budget was just a small figure for the parent company, Ideal Corporation, but for Moonlike Group, it was significant. After a moment of thought, she extended her index finger and lightly swiped on the table. A pale blue holographic window projected in front of her, forming a three-dimensional half-body image.

In a flat, emotionless electronic voice, the AI assistant spoke softly, "Respected boss, what would you like me to do?"

She spoke concisely. "Get me a plane ticket to the southern part of River Valley Province."

Across 3,000 kilometers, even the most reliable news can get distorted. Without seeing it for herself, she wouldn’t feel at ease.

The AI assistant reminded, "The company does not have regular flights to the southern part of the River Valley Province. According to Clause 1001, renting aircraft capacity requires filling out a form for reporting, stating the relevant reasons, and providing the necessary proof."

Li Shuyue sighed offhandedly, "Just write something for me. You can state the reason to be market research."

The floating hologram nodded slightly. "As you wish."