Chapter 49 - GGG Meeting (2)

The car carrying Lee Kyung-bok and Park Joo-ho glided smoothly down the road.

"Just when we thought we were only trying to attract some attention, we ended up catching a big fish."

Lee Kyung-bok said, checking the email sent by GGG again. Park Joo-ho nodded in agreement.

"It was the quality of the bait. It was something we couldn't just let pass by."

"But doesn't it feel a bit rushed? Usually, advertising contracts don't get confirmed in just a day."

"I think there are two possible scenarios."

"What are they?"

Park Joo-ho adjusted his glasses lightly and replied.

"You might have already been on their list of candidates for recruitment. They must have been keeping an eye on community trends, and with the frequent mentions of your collaboration with Ji-nom, they wouldn't have missed you."

"Hmm, and the second one?"

"Someone with significant influence at GGG was keeping an eye on you."

"Huh? On me?"

"Yes. Judging by the speed of the process, I think the latter is more likely. It could be both, though."

While driving, Park Joo-ho skillfully brought up a hologram with one hand.

"The email mentions a confidential event-related proposal, not just a simple promotion. They probably want you to come to the headquarters for that reason."

"Is it different from the Bark case…?"

In a case like Bio Crisis, a visit from an employee would have been sufficient. However, GGG requested that Lee Kyung-bok visit their headquarters.

"Well, we'll see when we get there."

"You don't seem at all tense."

"Why should I be tense?"

"You've always been like that."

Park Joo-ho chuckled.

Lee Kyung-bok rarely worried or felt nervous when starting something new. Instead, he often showed interest and enthusiasm.

'In that sense, streaming might be his calling.'

Streaming is a profession that requires sensitivity to trends; those who can't adapt to changes will be left behind.

* * *

Upon arriving at the headquarters, the two were immediately guided to the meeting room.

"This way, please."

"Thank you."

As they entered, the three people who had been waiting stood up simultaneously.

"Ah, Streamer Purple?"

"Yes, that's me. This is my manager."

"We are truly grateful for your visit on such short notice. Please, have a seat."

As the two settled in, the three introduced themselves.

"Nice to meet you. I am the team leader of the planning department…"

"I am the team leader of the development department…"

"I was surprised to see you are so handsome. I am the team leader of the marketing department…"

They were the team leaders of the planning, development, and marketing departments. Park Joo-ho's eyes widened at this.

'Three team leaders?'

He had thought they would be of a certain rank, but he hadn't expected them to be team leaders.

He looked at his friend with a bit of tension.

But Lee Kyung-bok was his usual self, smiling calmly.

"Normally, we would visit you to propose a contract, but today we had to bring you to our headquarters due to unavoidable circumstances. Thank you for your understanding."

Lee Kyung-bok waved his hand.

"No, it was nice to get out and see the city. I rarely leave my neighborhood since I only stream."

"Ah, your streaming is really impressive. Isn't it?"

"Yes, I was truly amazed by the PurpleTube videos."

"Even from a development standpoint, I couldn't believe such movements were possible."

The atmosphere became more relaxed as they discussed PurpleTube. After a brief conversation, they moved on to the main topic.

"So, the reason we invited you, Purple, is that we are planning a pre-experience broadcast for a promotional event and are looking to recruit influencers."

"Pre-experience?"

"Yes, as mentioned in the email, we are developing a new event mode."

GunnerGround regularly introduced 'event' modes with special rules.

The planning team leader continued, addressing the other two.

"This event mode is called 'Time Warfare.' We are trying to introduce a change to the existing modern warfare-focused gameplay."

The development team leader immediately brought up a holographic presentation. A 3D image appeared in the center of the table.

"Robots…?"

Park Joo-ho frowned slightly. The image in front of them was a human-like machine.

"Yes, that's correct. We call them 'KillerNoids,' which are NPC enemies. In this event mode, we will introduce these third-party enemies into the existing player-versus-player battles."

Originally, GunnerGround was a player-versus-player (PvP) game, but the event mode would add hostile environmental elements, making it a player-versus-player-versus-environment (PvPvE) game.

"These are machines sent from the future to eliminate the old human race."

"Ah, like 'Eliminators.'"

Lee Kyung-bok mentioned a similar setting from a movie, and the planning team leader nodded with a smile.

"Yes, we took inspiration from that. Of course, they don't transform into liquid metal or anything. Instead, they use future weapons."

As the planning team leader moved his fingers, the image changed, showing a list of weapons that looked like something from a sci-fi movie.

"Pulse Rifle, Railgun, Laser Sword…"

"These are items that drop when you defeat a KillerNoid. They are powerful, but not easy to obtain. KillerNoids are designed to be difficult to kill, and it will take multiple players working together to defeat them."

"Wow, this is really unique."

Lee Kyung-bok's eyes lit up, and the planning and development team leaders smiled.

Though they were salaried employees, they were also creators. No creator enjoys their work more than when it receives attention.

"Yes. Therefore, we plan to conduct a pre-experience broadcast before the event mode's official release, and we contacted you to participate in it."

On the other hand, the marketing team leader, who was far from being a creator, took advantage of the positive atmosphere to immediately present a contract.

'They must have asked us to come to the headquarters to prevent the event mode information from leaking. But is this really a matter for team leaders to handle?'

Park Joo-ho was puzzled as he tried to look at the contract.

"And one more thing, we have a special proposal for you, Purple."

The marketing team leader brought up another contract.

"Just for me?"

"Yes. Development team leader?"

"Ah, yes."

The development team leader cleared his throat and brought up a new hologram. A complex graph was on the periphery, and a triangle was in the center.

[Body Control]

[Combat Ability]

[Reaction Time]

The words were marked at each vertex of the triangle.

"As I mentioned, KillerNoids must be significantly more skilled than other players. What you see here is the average data of our GunnerGround players."

"To avoid any misunderstanding, I want to clarify that the collection of player data is stated in the terms and conditions. We use this data to conduct balance patches."

Lee Kyung-bok and Park Joo-ho nodded. How many people actually read and remember the dozens of pages of terms and conditions?

"And this is the average data of the top 5%, Master Rank players."

The development team leader brought up another, larger triangle next to the first one, showing a clear difference.

"The data of Master Rank players is about three times better than the overall average."

"We plan to set the KillerNoids to a level where even Master Rank players will find it challenging to defeat them alone. If they could easily defeat them, Master Rank players would monopolize the event items."

Since it was an event mode, a new MMR system would be applied, and players of various ranks would be mixed in one game. If Master Rank players swept up all the items, other players would inevitably complain.

"So, originally, we planned to build the behavior patterns of KillerNoids based on the data of the top 1% skilled players…"

"But then you appeared, Purple!"

The planning and development team leaders looked at Lee Kyung-bok with genuine admiration.

"Me?"

"Yes. I was truly amazed when I first saw this."

The development team leader, speaking a bit faster, brought up a third triangle.

[ID – PerfectPlay]

[Percentile – 0.00001%]

A large triangle filled the vertices, with Lee Kyung-bok's ID and percentile marked on it.

"At first, I thought virtual reality finally had a cheater."

"Or that there was an error in the data collection software."

"Yes, really. I almost came back to the office last night after leaving."

The two team leaders laughed, thinking it was a joke. But realizing they were the only ones laughing, they cleared their throats to change the mood.

"But when I saw the video released yesterday, I realized it wasn't an error at all."

"Yes, I just played the game. But why are you showing me this data?"

Lee Kyung-bok asked with a smile.

The marketing team leader, who had been silent, saw her chance to speak.

"We want to purchase and use your data, Purple."

"Purchase?"

"Yes. We think it would be great to implement your behavior patterns into the final boss and KillerNoids of this event mode."

Lee Kyung-bok's eyes widened.

The concept of buying and selling behavior patterns was unfamiliar to him. After the team leaders finished their detailed explanation, Lee Kyung-bok looked at his friend.

"Let me step out for a moment to discuss this."

"Ah, yes."

Lee Kyung-bok and Park Joo-ho left the room.

"What do you think?"

"Simply put, they want to buy your experience."

"Experience?"

Park Joo-ho explained in a low voice.

"Remember the anatomy class? Ji-nom bought the dummy's skills and used them."

"Oh, right."

Lee Kyung-bok recalled Ji-nom's words.

'They are motion capture sources from real masters.'

With the introduction of virtual reality, personal experiences are also considered assets. Abstract concepts like experience can be converted into tangible data.

This meant that Lee Kyung-bok's genius skills could also be a commodity.

"The amount is 10 million won, and the usage period is 30 days after the event mode ends."

While Lee Kyung-bok listened, Park Joo-ho finished reviewing the contract.

"…10 million won?"

"Yes. It's a bigger deal than I thought. The pre-experience broadcast contract is 5 million won, calculated based on your YouTube subscribers. Not bad."

The total contract was 15 million won.

Park Joo-ho was tempted but didn't push further, as the decision ultimately had to be Lee Kyung-bok's.

'Something feels off.'

Lee Kyung-bok observed the three team leaders again.

He sensed positive energy from the planning and development team leaders, but the feeling from the marketing team leader was ambiguous.

It wasn't bad, but it felt a bit off-putting.

After some thought, he re-entered the room. The three team leaders immediately focused on him.

"Thank you for the proposal."

The three smiled at Lee Kyung-bok's response, but their expressions soon changed.

"However, this is the first time for such a case, so I need more time to think. If there are other suitable candidates, you can proceed with them first."

"Excuse me? No…"

"Really?"

The team leaders looked confused. But Lee Kyung-bok smiled and greeted them.

"Thank you for the proposal. I'll contact you again later."

"Ah, yes."

"Please take care."

"We look forward to your response!"

The three team leaders saw them off, despite the firm farewell. After the two left, the planning and development team leaders looked at each other.

"Wow, this is unexpected…"

"…Let's go."

The marketing team leader, understanding their words, stiffened and followed them. They arrived at the development director's office.

The director welcomed the three with a nod.

"Oh, so how did it go?"

"Well, it…"

There was no need to explain. The director could guess the result from their expressions.

"Huh, what was the problem? Did they think the event mode was bad?"

"No, no. They were very positive."

"Really? Then what, did they feel pressured or something?"

"It doesn't seem so. They were confident and didn't even blush at our compliments."

"Indeed, from watching his streams, I knew he had that kind of personality."

The development director nodded and then frowned, looking at the marketing team leader.

"The only issue left is the money, right? Team Leader Choi, stay, the others can leave."

Only the marketing team leader remained as the others left. The door closed, and the development director leaned on his desk.

"I understand your frustration, Team Leader Choi. I know the business department cut the budget I estimated. Of course, it's good to save money. I'm not using the company's money just for fun, you know?"

"…I'm sorry."

"No, why are you apologizing? If you apologize, will he come back and sign the contract?"

The marketing team leader remained silent. The development director chuckled and tapped his desk lightly.

"This is really frustrating. We need the resources to make the game, and it would be better to listen to the developers' opinions, but that doesn't always happen, right? The business department only sees the numbers."

The tone was gentle, but the marketing team leader swallowed hard.

"But if we can't get the data, the development schedule will be delayed. Who will cover the loss? Who will take the blame? Right?"

"Sorry…"

"No, why are you always apologizing? If you ask a question, you should answer it. Right? Without your data, the KillerNoids will just be tough players. I clearly said they are irreplaceable. It's rare to have data of someone who can handle so many players alone, so you need to pay extra attention. Right?"

This was why the development director chose the streamer Purple. There were other streamers or players who had faced multiple opponents, but Purple was the only one who had achieved a complete victory against many enemies.

"What should we do now? Should we just use average data? No, we can buy external resources. Let's buy from Outro Universe. They are good at that. How much royalty will we have to pay?"

The development director asked sarcastically.

This event mode was also aimed at attracting users from the competing game 'Outro Universe.' It was also a way to show that GunnerGround could express sci-fi themes and to gauge the potential for expansion in future projects.

But by trying to save a bit of money, they lost valuable data. This was a classic case of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.

"I'll visit him again myself…"

"Ah, forget it. Tsk, I'll talk to the higher-ups. Raise the contract amount to 30 million won and pass it on again."

The development director clicked his tongue.

Scolding the marketing team leader was not a solution but merely a way to vent frustration.

"…Understood."

* * *

On the way