Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 71: The Unit is Not K, It’s Ten Thousand!

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: The Unit is Not K, It’s Ten Thousand!

Zhao Haiquan hurriedly explained, "No, no, no, that’s not how it is."

"Although I was in charge of the fake-AI for the ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ project, what I actually did was quite routine and basic work, just feeding data and perfecting algorithms, something any competent programmer could accomplish.

"The success of this game actually had little to do with me."

Zhang Qifeng waved his hand dismissively, "Hey, what’s that matter? Do you think other companies don’t know that?

"They want your experience of success with the ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ game.

"So what if the technical content is low? How many game companies in the country have high technical content? Your resume as a ’core developer of a successful project’ is solid, and that’s enough!

"Why be so modest!"

Zhao Haiquan had nothing left to say, just two words: Indeed!

Why do the game and internet industries value experience with successful projects so much? Even to the point of sometimes overlooking the actual ability?

Why do most people only get salary increases by job-hopping?

Isn’t it because the environment promotes this kind of attitude?

Take the game industry, for instance, where most companies like to follow successful game projects. In their eyes, poaching a planner or programmer with experience from a successful project means they at least have someone to ask when facing issues: "How did you solve this problem in your previous project?"

Then they can make a similar decision based on the answer.

That’s how most game companies make decisions on some critical issues.

Moreover, companies don’t treasure their veteran employees from successful projects, because bosses think the success is all thanks to their wise decisions, and the whole team could keep going with anyone.

These two factors combined make "gaining experience from successful projects and then job-hopping" the optimal strategy in this industry.

Is this reasonable? Of course not.

But that’s the current industry climate, and isn’t everyone out working for money? The enticement of a doubled salary is something few can resist.

Zhao Haiquan was conflicted for a moment: "This... let me think about it. Our boss said that he would give out bonuses."

Zhang Qifeng was extremely skeptical, "Bonuses? Give me a break, I’ve looked into your company.

"Our boss heard that ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ was a hit and wanted me to write an exclusive interview, so I briefly looked into your company.

"And just with a little digging, I found out just how stingy your boss is! Even though you guys have made several profitable games already, you’re still working in a coffee shop, not even willing to pay for rented workspaces.

"Even with the game’s success, he can’t even treat you to a decent meal?

"And you still expect a bonus from that kind of boss?

"Even if there is a bonus, it’s probably just a few thousand a month at best, and I bet it’ll only be for two or three months. It’s still nothing compared to double the salary!"

Zhao Haiquan opened his mouth but couldn’t find any reason to argue.

Compared to false promises, a double salary indeed seemed more irresistible!

Just then, Zhao Haiquan’s phone rang.

He didn’t pay it much attention at first, but after a glance at the notification, his pupils dilated, and he stared at the screen for a few seconds.

Zhang Qifeng was still eating seriously, asking without much interest, "What’s up?"

Zhao Haiquan’s expression was complicated, "Our boss said he would issue an additional month’s bonus, and he actually did it!"

Zhang Qifeng nodded, "Oh! How much?"

Zhao Haiquan confirmed the number several times, somewhat incredulously, "18.8."

Zhang Qifeng couldn’t help but show respect, "Oh? 18.8K! Nearly twenty thousand bucks! Not bad, was I wrong about your boss? Maybe he’s not stingy after all?"

In the industry, when it comes to salary, it’s usually expressed in Ks, which stands for "thousand."

For example, 5K, 7K, 13K, means five thousand, seven thousand, thirteen thousand.

This might be a habit picked up from foreign companies, but gradually, domestic companies have also gotten used to this way of speaking. After all, most people’s salaries are not yet at a level where "ten thousand" is the unit of measurement.

So Zhang Qifeng subconsciously thought Zhao Haiquan’s bonus was 18.8K, which is eighteen thousand.

The figure is auspicious and more in line with a probable bonus amount.

After all, it’s a bonus for one month, and the basic salary is just under thirteen thousand; getting a bonus of eighteen thousand is already a lot!

However, Zhao Haiquan said with a look of shock, "Not K, it’s ten thousand! 188,000!"

"Pff!"

Zhang Qifeng almost spat out a mouthful of blood, "Are you serious?"

...

$188,000!

Zhang Qifeng’s eyes bulged like brass bells.

This made no sense, no sense at all!

What kind of boss gives out bonuses like this? A car’s worth in just one month?

If it had been anyone other than Zhao Haiquan, his iron buddy, telling him this, Zhang Qifeng would definitely have said, "Are you pulling my leg?"

The amount was ludicrous, as unbelievable as those WeChat Moments posts where someone’s showing off their new Palamera—it simply didn’t seem real!

Zhao Haiquan couldn’t believe it either, and he checked the payment notification message over and over.

But soon, Zhang Qifeng thought of a possibility.

"I’ve got it! This can’t be the bonus for just one month, right? How long has ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ been in development?"

Zhao Haiquan thought for a moment: "Counting development and testing, less than two months."

Zhang Qifeng tried to reason it out: "I see, this bonus must have started accruing since you joined the company. With two months of development time, plus the first month the game went live, it’s probably the total bonus for three months!"

"That is to say, over $60,000 a month...

"Damn! That’s still outrageous!"

Even if it were the sum of three months’ bonuses, the $188,000 was enough to make Zhang Qifeng shed tears of envy.

However, Zhao Haiquan shook his head slightly: "I’m afraid that’s not it... Strictly speaking, it should be... a three-day bonus!"

Zhang Qifeng was petrified again: "Huh?"

Even fabricating stories has to have some limits!

Zhao Haiquan swallowed hard and pointed to the message he had just received from the company’s financial officer, Xiao Mingyu. President Gu had mentioned earlier that regarding the specifics of this payment, finance would provide detailed explanations to all employees in private messages.

"It’s indeed the bonus for three days, no mistake!

"Our company’s finance said that this money is calculated based on the net revenue of ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ from the 30th of last month to the 2nd of this month. It’s directly divvied up according to a specific percentage.

"All employees in the company are distributed across three different tiers.

"President Gu felt that my work performance was relatively outstanding, so it was calculated at the highest tier, which is a kind of special incentive policy of the company!"

Zhang Qifeng continued to be dumbfounded: "A three-day bonus? What about the remaining 28 days of the month? They’re not issuing those?"

Zhao Haiquan glanced at the message again: "President Gu said, it’ll be combined with this month’s salary when it’s issued.

"After all, this bonus is ’advanced’."

Zhang Qifeng was completely petrified, losing not only his speech but also the light in his eyes.

There were simply too many points of disbelief in this conversation, he was at a loss for words!

A three-day bonus, and it’s as high as $188,000!

Just this statement alone would be enough to smack right into the company’s job advertisements!

Of course, everyone knows that the gaming industry is one with high failure rates but also one where profits can be substantial once a game succeeds, with most of the revenue coming in shortly after release.

But no matter how you look at it, the amount of this bonus is too high, completely beyond the expectations and understanding of ordinary people!

The key question is, what exactly is this "specific percentage"?

If it were some big-shot companies with monthly revenue in the hundreds of millions from their games, it wouldn’t be weird for them to give tens of thousands in staff bonuses. But ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ is only a single-player game. It shouldn’t reach that level, right?

Could it be that the boss has taken out 20%, even 30% of the net income of the game, just to distribute it in employee bonuses?

Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!

The two looked at each other, speechless.

Zhao Haiquan didn’t know what to say, while Zhang Qifeng simply didn’t want to say anything.

Afraid his brother might suffer, yet also dreading his brother might ride in a Land Rover.

It’s fine for you to do well, but not this well!

At this moment, Zhang Qifeng’s phone rang, and he answered it with a wooden expression.

The voice of a middle-aged man came through the phone.

"Hello? Qifeng, about that matter I mentioned to you last time, you said you’d give me a response tonight, right? How did it go? Tell your buddy, if a monthly salary of $25,000 isn’t enough, I can talk to the boss and bump it up to $30,000.

"But, there’s a small condition...

"When your buddy quits, could he bring out a bit of the internal documentation he used in his work? Don’t worry, nobody will follow up on this kind of thing. How about it?"