Universe Infinite Canteen

"Ah?" Ma Lu recalled that not long ago he himself had suggested replacing someone's boss with a voluptuous elder sister character, and he too felt a bit awkward.

Fortunately, Baldy was magnanimous and did not dwell on the matter, but instead waved his hand and said, "It's fine. It's my fault I didn't make things clear before."

"So why does Lord Aisagon suddenly want to switch to developing electronic games?" Ma Lu asked.

"Here's the thing, recently the Secret Treasure left by the Lich King Glenys was found. Glenys is an anomaly among the Abyss Lords, because he was not fixated on expanding his territory like the other Abyss Lords were.

"Instead, he was engrossed in his studies, especially in the research of necromancy spells—he was probably the first in the entire Abyss. So, when his Secret Treasure appeared, it immediately provoked a frenzied scramble from various powers.

"A great war had been raging in the Abyss recently, with every faction suffering heavy losses. Even the Demon King and the Demon Generals could not escape unscathed, and many lords fell.

"And even those powers lucky enough to survive were greatly weakened, so the Abyss Lords agreed to a truce for one year, to fight again next year."

"Just at that time, some of Glenys's research somehow leaked out. It's about a new type of skeleton warrior, no, wrong, it should be more properly called a Skeleton Puppet.

"This kind of Skeleton Puppet is different from the ordinary Skeleton Warrior. It doesn't need Soul Fire and can be summoned just from the bones that are everywhere in the Abyss, with nearly zero production cost.

"Yet, they are capable of doing much more than the Skeleton Warriors who only know how to fight. They can be used as cheap cannon fodder and labor, but they need someone to control them."

Ma Lu had roughly understood what this game was all about.

"So the characters that players control are these special Skeleton Puppets you mentioned. Now the Abyss is in dire need of people because of the war, so you want to increase manpower through this method.

"The so-called game disc must be the medium for controlling the Skeleton Puppets, and the mention of a game is just a disguise. You've only done some local adaptation and numerical work. In fact, everything happening on the other side of the screen is real.

"This is why the previous numbers planner complained to me that although he could change the numbers at will, after changing them they didn't match up with reality."

Baldy nodded, "Exactly. Now the Abyss Lords are all desperately setting up game studios, recruiting players to work for themselves. Our Red Ridge Project Team was also created for this reason."

"I have another question that I don't understand," said Ma Lu, "There are humans in your own plane as well, right? Why not recruit locally instead of going to the trouble of coming to our plane to recruit people?"

Baldy explained, "In our plane, because humans always venture into the Abyss, the relationship between us is quite poor, so we all go to other planes to recruit."

"As far as I know, currently the one who has gained the most is the Succubus Queen Corinna. She was originally a minor Abyss Lord who could only survive in the Abyss by clinging to other powerful lords.

"However, now the number of Skeleton Puppets under her command is said to be nearly ten thousand. Give her a little more time, and she might become the number one force in the Abyss. What's more fatal is that she had some conflicts with Lord Aisagon before…"

"What about you?" Ma Lu asked casually.

Baldy fell silent again, and after a moment replied, "Right now, our online rate is only in the single digits, and it seems Lord Aisagon's other groups aren't progressing too smoothly either."

"Succubi... indeed they have a natural advantage in attracting players." Ma Lu, stroking his chin said, "18+ and the Abyss together, it's really hard not to play. Have you considered changing your job as well?"

Baldy also sighed, "Lord Aisagon has shown me kindness, and I would not leave him in his time of crisis."

"Bald Boss is indeed a loyal and righteous man," Ma Lu remarked.

"Anyway, that's the situation. Some of the suggestions you made earlier in the room, like the problem of wasting time on the journey, we are aware of them, but it's really hard to change. Even if we alter the figures on our end, it would just be changing the numbers."

"Mm-hm, I've got a basic understanding now. So what you're saying is that what you can actually do is mostly on the front-end and the operational side of things."

"Yes," Baldy took another drag on his cigarette, probing, "Boss Ma, do you think there's still a possibility of saving us?"

"Of course, there is," said Ma Lu, "after all, your foundation is not bad, and the theme of exploring the Abyss is attractive to many players. Being too realistic is an issue, but not a fatal one.

"If operated well, it can still be salvaged, maybe even turn weaknesses into strengths. Hardcore players might not make up a high proportion of the gaming community, but that doesn't mean there are none.

"And even if the operation isn't good, as long as we crazily buy traffic, with a large base, there will always be masochists like me who damn well grind to the extreme."

Baldy frowned, "But we can't buy traffic on a large scale... I promised the City Manager to keep a low profile, and it would be best not to step outside the bounds of City B."

"Then you'll just have to come up with operational strategies," said Ma Lu.

"I wonder if Boss Ma would be interested in joining our project team to guide us in operations," Baldy invited again, very sincerely.

"To tell the truth, we're good at brawling, but operating a game is new to us, even though I've read some works on the subject. But without experience, a lot of things are only half-understood.

"We are really lacking talent in this area, and the City Manager doesn't allow us to hassle ordinary people."

"But I already have my own business," said Ma Lu.

"I know, and we certainly won't affect the normal operation of your restaurant. We just hope that you can guide us when you have time. I intend to hire you as a special consultant for the Red Ridge Project Team."

"As for the base salary, I can pay you 800 Star Currency a month."

Baldy knew this amount was a bit low, but the problem was that he was not exactly flush with cash; otherwise, he wouldn't have come out for team building with 14 people and only ordered 12 dishes.

Ma Lu pondered for a moment, didn't refuse, but didn't immediately agree either. Instead, he asked, "What about the game's operational revenue?"

"Operational revenue?" Baldy was a bit puzzled, "Do you mean the currency of this Plane, Boss Ma? Although we are a game project team, we are not an ordinary game project team. Money doesn't have much meaning to us.

"Having players play our game is the greatest help to us. And our online rate isn't ideal. If we start charging now, isn't that like driving away another batch of players?"

"No, no, no, you're not players, you don't understand the joy of spending money in a game," Ma Lu said. "Besides, spending money also helps increase player stickiness. When considering quitting, if they think about the sunk costs they've incurred, they might just grit their teeth and stay."