Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 70: Someone’s Poaching You!

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Someone’s Poaching You!

July 5th, Friday.

Zhao Haiquan glanced at the time; it was already 4:55 PM.

As a standard nine-to-five company, Nitiandang Game’s quitting time is generally punctual, which is commendable.

Though the base salary is lower than elsewhere, the workload is light, and one can even get involved in successful projects—an excellent stepping stone for job-hopping.

With only five minutes left until quitting time, a sense of restlessness began to surge within Zhao Haiquan.

Mainly because he had arranged to dine with friends that evening.

Capital City’s traffic is notoriously congested, especially on Fridays, and with one friend in the North Fifth Ring and another in the East Fifth Ring, even meeting halfway would take at least an hour.

If he left even slightly late and hit the early rush hour, that would spell trouble.

However, just at that moment, Gu Fan stood up: "Everyone, please hold on a second, I’ll need five minutes of your time to discuss two matters," he said.

Zhao Haiquan, who had half stood up, silently sat back down.

Damn it, leaders have their own concept of time, which often differs from the common folk. What they call five minutes could easily encompass half an hour!

He had thought Nitiandang Game was different from other companies, but as it turns out, success makes people complacent, and even President Gu had adopted this bad habit!

There was nothing Zhao Haiquan could do but sit down and listen.

Gu Fan spoke very succinctly: "Firstly, the new game’s design plan is undergoing final revisions and, following normal development procedures, we can start development next Monday.

"Compared to ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’, this game is larger in scale, richer in content, which means everyone’s workload will also be heavier.

"So, I hope everyone starting next week can work overtime as needed according to your personal situations, aiming to ensure the game’s scheduled release.

"The second matter is that we’ve decided to issue an additional bonus, which you should receive today. The finance department will send you a message with the specific criteria for this payment after the funds are deposited.

"If you have any questions regarding the amount, you may contact finance during working hours, but do not come asking me outside of working hours!

"That’s all for these two matters. You may now leave work."

Gu Fan checked the time; it had been precisely four minutes.

Then he tidied up his belongings very coolly and left the office on the dot.

Zhao Haiquan was a bit stunned. Hey, did I misunderstand something?

When he said five minutes, he actually meant it!

Although it was brief, the amount of information conveyed was substantial.

Of course, the main message was one thing: painting a rosy picture!

The first point goes without saying—encouraging everyone to work overtime. Isn’t the subtext clear enough? And since he didn’t mention overtime pay, that obviously means there wouldn’t be any.

As for the second point, it seems like good news at first, but when considered in conjunction with the first, it’s not so certain anymore.

Typically, after a successful game launch, a company would take at least three months before initiating a new project, not less than a week like this one!

So, a symbolic bonus payout is necessary to boost morale.

But Zhao Haiquan would bet fifty cents that the bonus won’t be substantial.

Because President Gu said, if you have questions about the bonus, you can ask finance privately.

Why would there be questions about the bonus? Why must inquiries be made in private rather than publicly?

Is it because the bonus is too generous? What a joke!

Sigh, but what can you do? We lowly workers don’t have the power to haggle.

Zhao Haiquan still needed to catch the subway, so he hurriedly packed his stuff and headed to the restaurant he had arranged to meet his friend.

...

At 7:30 PM, Zhao Haiquan finally met up with his friend.

The evening rush hour in Capital City was as dreadful as expected. Zhao Haiquan had opted for the subway, yet it still took a full hour on the road.

His friend, Zhang Qifeng, due to traffic, left at 5:30 PM, and didn’t arrive until 7:30 PM.

Zhao Haiquan complained, "Forget about driving that old clunker of yours. If you’d taken the subway, we would’ve been done eating by now!"

Zhang Qifeng shook his head, "That won’t do, I was incredibly lucky to score that number, so if I don’t drive, wouldn’t I be at a loss!"

The company Zhang Qifeng is currently working for is a gaming media called "Play Less Games Network," abbreviated as "Play Less Games."

By the name, it seems like it could be some internet addiction treatment facility, but it actually isn’t.

Its philosophy is: Gamers’ time is extremely precious, and as a gaming media, we aim to carefully select and prioritize the best games for players, so they spend less time on rubbish games and more time on classic games.

So, it’s called "Play Less Games Network."

Zhang Qifeng’s current position is as a content supervisor, responsible for a mixed bag of tasks, including writing text and video interviews as well as some news articles. In addition to that, he also manages various social media and video site accounts.

Even though Zhang Qifeng didn’t study journalism, he has a decent writing style and can handle interviews, drafting articles, and even video editing, making him quite the all-rounder.

The two sat down at their respective seats and chatted while they ate.

Zhao Haiquan asked, "Before you came, you told me you had some good news for me, what is it? Don’t tell me you’re just pulling my leg?"

Zhang Qifeng put down his chopsticks, "What are you saying, Brother Quan, when have I ever tricked you?

"It’s absolutely good news."

"A gaming company has been asking about you, they want to poach you!"

Zhao Haiquan was taken aback, "Huh? Poach me?"

Zhang Qifeng nodded, "Yeah! Poach you!"

Zhao Haiquan found it quite surprising. Before joining Nitiandang, he had been jobless at home for a while and submitted quite a few resumes, but for various reasons, he didn’t succeed.

Even as a back-end programmer with great technical skills, aren’t good programmers a dime a dozen these days?

With the economic downturn being a growing trend, job positions have drastically shrunk. Otherwise, why would Zhao Haiquan end up at a start-up company like Nitiandang?

And yet, in no time at all, someone was specifically targeting to poach him?

It sounded a bit far-fetched.

However, Zhao Haiquan also knew that Zhang Qifeng really did have such connections.

As the content supervisor of a gaming media company, he had very close relationships with many gaming companies in the industry. So, it wouldn’t be surprising if a company decided to extend an olive branch to Zhao Haiquan because of Zhang Qifeng’s recommendation.

Zhang Qifeng obviously was quite excited, "Do you know how much they are willing to pay to poach you?"

Zhao Haiquan thought about it and blurted out a psychological price at which he might loosen up, "...Twenty thousand?"

Before coming to Nitiandang, Zhao Haiquan’s monthly salary was about 16,000 yuan. As an experienced back-end programmer, this salary isn’t considered high in Capital City.

Originally, Zhao Haiquan expected a salary of 18,000 or even 20,000 yuan. However, due to the poor economic climate, he ended up with a pay cut at Nitiandang, earning only 12,800 yuan now.

Back then, President Gu had taken a calculator and pressed "zero" several times in front of Zhao Haiquan, then directly calculated 16,000 multiplied by 80%, eventually giving Zhao Haiquan the figure of 12,800 yuan, which chilled his heart.

A 20% pay cut might not seem like much, but when it comes down to the exact figure, it feels like a major artery has been slashed.

Losing the price of a smartphone every month, who could withstand that!

If there really were a company willing to offer 20,000 yuan to poach him now, compared to his current salary, that would be a very substantial increase.

Yet, it seemed the situation was even more optimistic than Zhao Haiquan had imagined.

Zhang Qifeng shook his head slightly, speaking with excitement, "Twenty-five thousand! This offer is almost double your current salary, isn’t it? In this economic climate, there are hardly any programmers who can get this much money!"

Zhao Haiquan couldn’t help but widen his eyes, obviously, this number was beyond his expectations.

"But why would they be willing to pay so much to poach me?" Zhao Haiquan was puzzled.

Zhang Qifeng waved his hand dismissively, "Isn’t it obvious, it’s because of that game from your company, ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’!

"You have no idea how popular this game has become inside the gaming industry. The rest of the content isn’t hard to make or copy; it’s mainly about the fake-AI!

"Apparently, even the official platforms are very satisfied with the game.

"Originally, after the fake-AI technology was made into a template, it became hot for a while, but none of the games using this technology took off, leaving the officials quite embarrassed.

"Who would have thought that ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ would reignite this technology!

"Players love it, and the officials are planning on promoting it too. This is the new trend. So, other companies have the same idea.

"Aren’t you the one specifically working on this part at Nitiandang? It’s perfectly normal for them to want to poach you."

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