The morning sun struggled to penetrate the thick smog of District 9, but inside the Guangyi Interactive Entertainment building, the atmosphere was electric.
Zhong Ming walked into the office at 8:00 AM. He had slept for exactly three hours on a cot in the basement, his body heavy with fatigue, but his mind razor-sharp. The server logs from the night before were still glowing on the main monitor.
**Peak Concurrent Users: 22,400.**
For a triple-A launch, this would have been a disappointment. For a 50MB pixel game with zero marketing budget, launched only in three lower-income districts, it was a seismic event.
"Boss!" Li Wei shouted the moment he saw Zhong Ming. He looked like he hadn't slept at all, his eyes rimmed with red, but he was grinning maniacally. "The retention rates! Day 1 retention is at 65%! Sixty-five! The industry average is 30!"
Zhong Ming nodded, allowing himself a small smile. "And the monetization?"
"That's the crazy part," Li Wei pulled up a new chart. "We didn't even push the ads hard. The players are buying the 'Founder's Cape' skin voluntarily. We made... we made $4,000 in microtransactions last night. From a dollar-per-user basis, we're outperforming *Frontline Duty*."
$4,000 wasn't a fortune, but in the metrics of the industry, the 'ARPU' (Average Revenue Per User) was the holy grail. It meant the players were engaged enough to open their wallets.
Zhong Ming sat down and activated his bracelet, opening the **[Community Sentiment Analysis]** tool he had unlocked. The screen filled with a river of unfiltered player thoughts.
**[District 9 Net - Gaming Forum]**
*Thread: Official 'Survivor's Dawn' Discussion*
*Page 1,245 of 1,245*
**User: SleeplessInSector4:** "I hate this game. I hate the developer. Who makes a game that doesn't have a pause button?! I missed my train stop three times last night. My wife is threatening to smash my handheld. 10/10 would miss work again."
**(Sentiment: Positive - Love/Hate)**
**User: TacticalGod:** "Can we talk about the weapon evolutions? I finally got the 'Death Spiral' by combining the Magic Wand and the Empty Tome. My screen turned into a lawnmower. I haven't felt power like this since... ever. Why do big corporate games feel so weak compared to this?"
**(Sentiment: Highly Positive - Discovery)**
**User: PixelHater:** "The graphics are still trash. My eyes hurt. But my thumb hurts more from pressing 'Retry'. There is something wrong with my brain. I need to beat the 20-minute mark."
**(Sentiment: Positive - Addiction)**
Zhong Ming scrolled through the frustration, the joy, and the rage. This was the "Flow State" he had aimed for. The players weren't just consuming content; they were arguing about strategies, sharing builds, and forming a community.
"We did it," Su Qing said quietly, standing behind him. She looked at the positive reviews with wide eyes. "They... they actually like the pixel art. Some people are saying it looks 'retro-cool'. I thought they'd laugh us out of the district."
"Style is timeless, Su Qing," Zhong Ming said. "Now, take a break. You too, Li Wei. Go home. Sleep. Eat a real meal. You have 24 hours. When you come back, we start planning the first content update."
"Update?" Li Wei asked, yawning. "We just launched."
"The appetite of the player is bottomless," Zhong Ming said. "If we don't feed them, they will leave. We need to keep the momentum."
...
At 10:00 AM, Zhong Ming was summoned to the 40th floor. The Executive Conference Room.
This time, the atmosphere was different. The air wasn't thick with judgment, but with confusion and calculation.
Lin Wan sat at the head of the table. Beside her was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a man named Robert who rarely spoke to anyone below the VP level. Zhou Kai was also present, sitting stiffly in the corner, his face pale.
"Zhong Ming," Lin Wan began. "The numbers are... unexpected."
"Unexpectedly good, I hope, Director," Zhong Ming replied smoothly.
Robert, the CFO, adjusted his glasses. "Let's cut the pleasantries. Your game is a statistical anomaly. It has low acquisition costs, high retention, and a surprisingly high conversion rate for monetization. However, the absolute revenue is still low compared to our flagship titles. The board is asking: Is this a flash in the pan? Or is this a viable business model?"
"It is a paradigm shift," Zhong Ming stated. "The current market chases high-value 'Whales'—rich players who spend thousands on pay-to-win mechanics. *Survivor's Dawn* targets the 'Long Tail'. Thousands of players spending a dollar each. It is a volume game. It is sustainable, and it builds brand loyalty rather than resentment."
"And the server load?" Zhou Kai interjected, his voice strained. "You are clogging the network pipes. We had complaints from the *Frontline Duty* beta testers about lag last night. It's unprofessional to let a side project interfere with the main product."
Robert looked at Zhou Kai. "Zhou, your game uses 90% of the server bandwidth and generates 40% of the revenue. Zhong Ming's game uses 2% of the bandwidth and generated 10% of last night's revenue. Mathematically, his project is ten times more efficient."
Zhou Kai's mouth snapped shut.
Lin Wan tapped the table. "Zhong Ming, we are prepared to officially upgrade your project from 'Prototype' to 'Live Service'. You will be granted a formal budget, a dedicated server partition, and..."
She glanced at Zhou Kai.
"...And we are moving your team out of the basement. You will be assigned a proper development suite on the 12th floor."
Zhong Ming felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The basement was symbolic of his low status. Moving up meant he was officially recognized.
"Thank you, Director."
"There is a condition," Lin Wan added. "The board wants a roadmap. They want to know how you plan to grow this IP. They see the numbers, but they don't see the 'culture'. They think pixel art is cheap. You need to prove that this style has longevity."
Zhong Ming nodded. He had expected this.
"I will prepare a presentation for next week," Zhong Ming said. "I will show you where the industry is going. And I will introduce the next phase of the plan."
...
Leaving the meeting, Zhong Ming didn't go straight back to the office. He needed to think. He needed to bridge the gap between "mobile hit" and "gaming empire." *Survivor's Dawn* was a great start, but it was a "time-killer." To build an empire, he needed "world-builders."
He walked into the company cafeteria, grabbing a tray of nutrient-rich pasta. He sat by the window, watching the flying cars zip by.
He needed to introduce a bigger concept. A concept that would change how people saw games—not just as distractions, but as communities.
His bracelet vibrated. It was a message from his friend, Zhang Kai.
**Zhang Kai:** "Dude. DUDE. Did you see the forums? People are organizing 'Survivor Tournaments' in internet cafes without us even asking! They are racing to see who can survive the longest! This is insane!"
Zhong Ming paused, his fork halfway to his mouth.
Tournaments.
Esports.
In his previous life, competitive gaming was a billion-dollar industry. But in this world, with the regression of entertainment, "Esports" was a dead concept. People watched simulation replays for technical analysis, not for hype.
*Survivor's Dawn* wasn't a PvP game, but the "Race to 30 Minutes" created natural competition.
"Esports..." Zhong Ming murmured.
He opened his **[System Interface]**.
**[Current Culture Points: 250]**
**[Lottery Available]**
He looked at the store. There was a new item available in the "Special Category," unlocked by his recent success.
**[Item: Event Management Protocol (Basic)]**
**[Cost: 150 Points]**
**[Effect: Provides knowledge on how to structure, market, and broadcast competitive gaming events to maximize engagement and community hype.]**
Zhong Ming didn't hesitate.
**[Purchase Confirmed.]**
Knowledge flooded his brain. Bracket structures, casting scripts, viewer engagement tricks, the importance of "Storylines" in sports. He knew how to turn a bunch of kids playing in a basement into a spectacle.
He quickly typed a reply to Zhang Kai.
**Zhong Ming:** "Get the names of the top 10 players on the leaderboard. I want to interview them."
**Zhang Kai:** "Interview? For what?"
**Zhong Ming:** "We're going to make them stars. And we're going to hold the first official 'Survivor's Dawn' Speedrun Tournament. Start next weekend."
He put down his phone. He had the roadmap. He would turn *Survivor's Dawn* into the first "esports" phenomenon of the new world.
But first, he had a more immediate problem.
A shadow fell over his table.
"You think you've won?" Zhou Kai's voice hissed.
Zhong Ming looked up. Zhou Kai was standing there, his food tray forgotten. His eyes were cold, devoid of the corporate mask he usually wore.
"You got lucky with a gimmick," Zhou Kai said. "But you forget. I own the relationships with the hardware manufacturers. The handhelds, the controllers... they listen to me. It would be a shame if the next firmware update made your 'pixel trash' incompatible with the screen drivers."
It was a threat. A dirty, illegal threat. Sabotage.
Zhong Ming stood up. He was shorter than Zhou Kai, and thinner, but his gaze didn't waver.
"Do it," Zhong Ming dared him. "Break the trust of your customers to kill a competitor. See how long you last in this industry."
He leaned in close.
"You're scared, Zhou. You should be. I'm not just making games. I'm changing the rules. And people like you... you're just obstacles on the tutorial level."
Zhong Ming picked up his tray and walked away, leaving Zhou Kai seething in the cafeteria.
The war for the gaming empire had just escalated.