Expansion

However, despite these thoughts, the question remained of how to monopolize the entire market.

"Could it be that I'm too impatient?" Chen Yu couldn't help but ask himself.

Just like QQ, the instant messaging platform, it took them several years to dominate the market. But Chen Yu shook his head. He wasn't like those other big players. They already had a winning hand, no matter how they played it; they were guaranteed to win in the future.

However, what Chen Yu had was a hand of mixed cards. To win against them, he had to carefully strategize every move.

After some contemplation, Chen Yu decided to take a break and get some fresh air.

"Everyone, how's your gaming going?"

In recent days, to better manage the company, Chen Yu had separated two small rooms in the office, one as a management office and the other as a meeting room. Of course, this required another investment in several computers and office equipment.

"Boss Chen, I've reached level 20 in Stone Age."

"I've also reached level 20 in Westward Journey."

"But leveling up in Legend is the toughest, and it's frustrating."

A few of the classmates Zhang Jianming had recruited from Huatian Vocational School were excited as they spoke. They had never imagined that working could be so enjoyable. Spacious offices, the ability to play games while working, and a monthly salary of 500 yuan—it was like a dream come true.

"Hehe, you can play, but after playing, you need to do game reviews. Game reviews mean testing and evaluating games. In simple terms, we can create a table for all the games. The table will include the game's name, type, whether it's competitive, an RPG, or turn-based, as well as details like graphics, game description, difficulty level, and replayability, among other things."

5173 wasn't just limited to virtual equipment trading; it aimed to become a gaming portal in the future. Therefore, game reviews would become a mandatory task for every employee on the website.

"Oh, I see."

They nodded, secretly thinking, "No wonder Jian Ge's friends are so awesome. They don't know anything about this stuff. Even if they spent a few more years in school, they probably wouldn't learn it."

"Of course, besides this, we also need to stay updated with news from the gaming industry."

Although the first batch of employees didn't have elite educational backgrounds, Chen Yu didn't mind much. With the right training, these secondary school graduates might not be any worse than others. Moreover, the gaming industry was a place where talents often emerged. Among these people, some might grow into significant figures in the future.

"Report, Boss Chen, the official open beta for 'Heroes of Jin Yong' is scheduled for the day after tomorrow."

Just as they were discussing, a staff member named Xie Zhang reported to Chen Yu.

"Heroes of Jin Yong?" Chen Yu was momentarily puzzled but then remembered.

In the year 2001, besides the explosive success of The Legend of Mir 2, there was another highly anticipated masterpiece— "Heroes of Jin Yong". Leveraging the charm of Jin Yong's martial arts novels and benefiting from the earlier release of a single-player version in 1996, Heroes of Jin Yong arrived on the scene with a built-in big IP and a significant halo, capturing the attention of the masses.

At the time, media reviews claimed that Heroes of Jin Yong was destined to be the hottest online game in China. Unfortunately, in hindsight, while the name "Jin Yong" was still associated with it, the game itself did not live up to its initial expectations. It couldn't be considered the hottest game, and its significance was mainly due to bearing Jin Yong's name.

However, for the time being, Heroes of Jin Yong was indeed generating a lot of buzz. Countless Jin Yong fans and gaming enthusiasts wanted to give it a try.

"Boss Chen, I have an idea."

"Go ahead."

"When Heroes of Jin Yong starts open beta the day after tomorrow, can I register under the name '5173.com' to play?"

"Why do you want to register under the name '5173.com'?"

"Hehe, I just think it sounds cool."

Xie Zhang chuckled with a hint of embarrassment.

"Sure."

Chen Yu nodded directly. "Your idea is interesting. However, I have a request. Since you want to register as '5173.com', you can't tarnish the reputation of our '5173.com'. I hope that within one month, you can reach the top position in the entire game."

"First place in the whole game? Oh my, Boss Chen, how can I manage that on my own?"

"Don't worry, you can find two more people to assist you. Regardless of the methods you use, if you can reach the first position, I'll reward you with 2,000 yuan."

"Yes, Boss Chen."

Xie Zhang was incredibly excited and shouted to the people in front of him, "Huzi, Dongzi, did you hear what Boss Chen said? For the next month, give me your full cooperation. I'm going to reach the top level in Heroes of Jin Yong."

Back in the management office, Zhang Jianming didn't quite understand. "Chen Yu, there's no need for this."

"Why not, Jian Ge?"

"I mean leveling up."

Returning to the management office, Zhang Jianming was a bit puzzled. "We're not a gaming workshop anymore; we're a game trading website. There's no need to spend so much time leveling up. We just need a general understanding of how these games operate."

"Hehe, Jian Ge, didn't you hear what Xie Zhang said? It's pretty cool to have the name '5173.com', isn't it?"

"Well, it's somewhat cool, but is there any practical use for it?"

"Why not? It can be quite useful."

Chen Yu was also excited. Inspired by Xie Zhang's suggestion, he came up with a brilliant idea.

"We've been thinking about how to effectively promote our 5173, right?"

"Yes."

"But the conventional way would take at least a year or more for people to remember 5173. However, what if we have a gaming fanatic named 5173 in every game? What do you think?"

"Wow..."

Hearing this, Zhang Jianming's mouth dropped open. "Chen Yu, are you saying that we should aim to reach the top level in all games?"

"Yes."

Chen Yu nodded. "I believe this would have an explosive advertising effect. We won't need much promotion because as soon as these players log into a game, they'll remember 5173. To them, 5173 will be an entity they look up to."

"Great, this is fantastic!"

Zhang Jianming clapped his hands and cheered loudly.

"Chen Yu, you're a genius! You came up with such a brilliant idea."

"A genius? Not at all. If it weren't for Xie Zhang's reminder, I wouldn't have thought of it. It seems like you've recruited some good people."

"Hehe, these guys may not be great students academically, but, honestly, they have some sharp minds."

"They're certainly doing well. How could they not with people constantly flattering you?"

"Chen Yu, enough with the teasing."

Zhang Jianming felt a bit embarrassed but then furrowed his brow after a moment. "But Chen Yu, we don't have enough people to play games. To reach the top spot in Heroes of Jin Yong, we would need three people working in shifts 24 hours a day. Besides, there are seven or eight games on the market right now. Should I go back to school and recruit more people?"

"Forget it, we've recruited enough people for now."

Chen Yu shook his head. "We're not really running a gaming workshop. Xie Zhang suggested it, so I let him go for it on the leaderboard. We can't personally participate in all the games."

"If we don't participate, can others use our name to rank?"

"They can."

Chen Yu nodded. "We have partnerships with those gaming workshops, right? Now that Heroes of Jin Yong is officially in open beta, and other games are launching new servers to compete with it, we can focus on these new servers. We can offer a sum of money to these gaming workshops and have them use our 5173.com name on their game IDs. As long as they reach the top, I'll reward them with 5,000 yuan, and I'm sure they'll be more than willing."

"5,000 yuan is quite a sum. They were going to level up anyway, and now they can earn some money. It's a win-win, and the method sounds feasible."

"That's right. Let's also cooperate with Wang Pangzi's side. Heh, Legend is about to launch a new server too, and we can't afford to lose this one. Wang Pangzi might run a gaming workshop, and he might consider leveling up."

"Okay, I'll contact Wang Pangzi later."

Zhang Jianming nodded and logged into QQ to start contacting the various gaming workshops they had previously cooperated with.