Chapter 433.3: You Can Even Make A VR Game... In The Game!

The remaining 20% of the shares were divided among him, Irene, Elf Wang, and several other investors. Although Shelter 404 held the majority shares, the shares they received were also substantial.

For instance, he held 8%. If the game sold 100 million copies, he would effectively own 8 million! After deducting costs and taxes, at least 6 to 7 million CR would end up in his hands!

If that were converted to silver coins... Escaping Mole didn’t dare to think further.

He had just daydreamed for a while when he couldn’t help but drool, worried that he might get too excited.

In any case, using everyone's hard-earned money and carrying everyone's hopes, he started the Skeleton Studio, fully owned by Skeleton Group.

Under his relentless drive, they finally recreated this virtual reality version of parachuting and gunning others down in Wasteland Online.

Naturally, he had to shout out the amazing developer!

Wasteland Online not only allows playing games within the game but even creating games within the game. This idea is just too cool!

Although the beta version of Battle Royale only covered the area of an island, relatively smaller compared to the super A-grade masterpieces popular in Ideal City that recreated entire worlds, he suspected that gameplay and fun were the core of a game.

The market, still a blue ocean, was destined to have a place for him! However... Harsh reality soon struck a blow.

The newly launched Battle Royale did not explode across the internet as he had expected, but remained as unnoticed as a speck of dust falling into a pond. He didn’t cause the slightest ripple.

So far, the only few visits to the server had been contributed by the employees in the studio.

Looking at the stagnant download numbers, Escaping Mole, who had been excited just moments ago, was sweating with anxiety. The only slight comfort was that the lack of sales seemed unrelated to the game itself. It was simply due to the lack of exposure.

Perhaps once the exposure increased. It might light a massive flame across the Endpoint Cloud!

Standing next to the boss, staring at the data on the screen, the studio’s employees also looked regretful. "It’s a pity... Such a fun game is completely unnoticed."

"Yeah... It’s actually quite fun."

"We better not drag it out too long... Even the tastiest soup will spoil if left out too long."

The development tools on Endpoint Cloud were mature, and developing a game didn’t take long, but that also meant that the highly competitive environment led to severe homogeneity and shortened the lifespan of most games.

Apart from those focusing on virtual community development, content-rich, and non-repetitive open-world games, the lifespan of most games was only a month, and the average gaming duration for players often didn’t exceed 24 hours.

The CEO and technical director Xue Hongliang frowned, pondering for a moment before speaking. "We should increase our investment in marketing and promotion."

"There’s a popular game promotion show on Endpoint Cloud recently, though it’s a bit expensive, I think we could give it a try."

At the mention of high costs, Escaping Mole’s eyebrows twitched. "How much?"

"About 1.2 million CR?"

Upon hearing the number, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

1.2 million?!

I can buy six missiles with that!

"Our development costs were less than 1 million... Isn’t this price a bit too high?" Escaping Mole couldn’t help but complain.

Xue Hongliang was stunned for a moment. "Isn’t it normal for promotional costs to exceed development costs?"

Escaping Mole paused for a moment, but seeing the other employees also appeared to agree, it didn’t seem like they were taking advantage of his ignorance. Taking a deep breath, Escaping Mole tried to calm his emotions before speaking. "Anyway... Let me see what that show is like first."

Xue Hongliang nodded, walked over to another desk, and turned on the holographic TV there. A pale blue light emerged, and the current channel was broadcasting the news.

He was about to change the channel when his boss suddenly stopped him.

"Wait... let me finish watching this."

Xue Hongliang paused, retracted his finger, and stepped aside.

The holographic image continued to play, the news being broadcast seemed to be about the situation on the western front. "In order to reverse the downturn on the main battlefield, the Army is deploying nuclear weapons with a million-ton yield to the Sunset Province."

"The Director of the Enterprise Management Group, Yue Qian, emphasized that nuclear weapons above 100,000 tons should be strictly regulated. If those variants continue to mutate, allowing the fragile ecosystem to evolve in extreme directions, this planet will become uninhabitable in the future!"

"The administrator of the New Alliance also spoke out in a public speech, strongly condemning the Army’s deployment of nuclear weapons to the battlefield, stating that the residents of the New Alliance will not succumb to nuclear threats."

"Currently, the Highest Council meeting is in session, discussing more specific countermeasures. According to insiders, if the situation is confirmed, the council will approve the use of sealed weapon stocks..."

In the holographic image, the representative surrounded by interview drones spoke with firm wording. "Without a doubt, those weapons are prepared for this moment!"

Watching the news in the holographic image, the employees in the studio looked at each other. They quickly came to their senses and inhaled sharply. "

Hiss

... A million-ton nuclear bomb?!"

One employee curiously asked, "What does that mean?"

Another employee thought for a moment and replied, "If it's Ideal City, each person in the city will take a blast of 100 kilograms of TNT...”

The sound of hissing resonated throughout the room.

All the cool air seemed to be sucked out, replaced by astonishment.

Everyone couldn't help but sneak a glance at their boss.

They knew the man who spoke hesitantly was called Escaping Mole, and had come from the southern part of the River Valley Province.

However, to their surprise, they didn't see fear on this man’s face. He simply looked slightly astonished.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

And indeed it was so, staring at the holographic image, Escaping Mole appeared utterly clueless.

He did see on the official website that the Army was deploying nuclear weapons to the Sunset Province. Even the announcement clearly stated that the Army planned to use it in the City of Abundance of the Lion Kingdom.

However, watching this news, the way the administrator phrased it... it felt like the nuclear bomb was about to be dropped on the New Alliance’s head!

It’s fake, right?

Seeing everyone looking at him, Escaping Mole coughed lightly, speaking with a serious tone, "Your boss's house is on fire... I probably need to go back and check."

If the news was true, the mobilization order would probably come down soon, and as the leader of the Skeleton Corps, he obviously couldn’t stay behind and let his brothers fight for him.

Xue Hongliang was stunned. "You... are going to the front line?"

Wow.

They were just shooting people in game.

He didn’t expect their boss to be literally shooting people on the front lines.

No wonder he could come up with such an interesting idea! It was all based on real experience!

"That's for sure! Actually, to be honest, driving tanks is your boss' real job, running a company is just a side gig." Escaping Mole laughed awkwardly, coughed, and continued speaking, "But you guys don’t worry about me, just work hard, that’s the best support for me! Actually, I haven’t told you, most of the revenue from this game will go towards the New Alliance’s military funds against the Army. Every 10,000 games you sell, an extra missile will be fired at the Army!"

"After this war is over, I’ll come back and fight alongside you!"

Hearing his words, nearly all the employees in the office looked at him with admiration. Xue Hongliang stepped forward in excitement and firmly grasped his right hand.

"Boss, go ahead with peace of mind, leave the company to me... We will definitely not let you down! Fulfill your dream of a million sales!"

Escaping Mole smiled and patted his right hand. "Good! I’m relieved to have your full support!"