Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: Empire vs. StarCraft

"StarCraft, 1v7, who’s up for it?" Lin Feng wanted to show everyone the charm of these two games today.

"I’ll do it!" Four of the seven people from earlier had been replaced, clearly not convinced. It was understandable; they were all young, and being 1v7’d was embarrassing. They had to save face.

Their mindset played right into Lin Feng’s hands. If he could crush them today, they would surely come back every day to practice hard. The nature of these two games meant that one person practicing alone would find it difficult to become an expert. They would naturally call their friends to practice together and improve. At that time, there would be no worry about “Chu Feng Net City” not being packed again.

Soon, after the seven people were seated, Lin Feng chose the Zerg, while the others had a mix of all three races. Lin Feng took a quick look at their operations and smiled faintly. One hand on the mouse, the other either cracking sunflower seeds or drinking tea—there was no way they could win.

Lin Feng adopted a strategy of stealing workers and double base play, his hands moving as gracefully and freely as a pianist playing a world-renowned piece. While the seven were still struggling with their economy, Lin Feng had already filled the battlefield with fast Zerglings and Ghosts, sweeping through like a gale, wiping out the seventh person in less than 30 minutes from start to finish.

A master among masters!!!—Everyone in the net city looked at Lin Feng with admiration, their gazes no less intense than fans meeting their idols, almost ready to ask for his autograph.

Lin Feng just smiled casually. He knew his skills were actually quite poor, but no one in Chu City had seriously studied “Age of Empires” and “StarCraft” yet. Once such people appeared, he would be the one looking up to them.

"Brother, how do you play like that?" Chu Zhixuan’s eyes sparkled. He felt he had finally found his ideal game—“StarCraft.” This was definitely the game he had always dreamed of. Although he had played it before, he didn’t understand how to play and barely found any enjoyment. After watching Lin Feng’s operations, he realized he had been playing it wrong all along, never grasping the essence of the game.

"Use keyboard shortcuts and micro-management!" Lin Feng shared his limited insights. The rest they would naturally look up online, watching videos or reading tips from experts.

Oh!—Everyone nodded in unison, their admiring gazes once again directed at Lin Feng, the “super expert.”

Lin Feng’s performance-like match not only unveiled the mysteries of “Age of Empires” and “StarCraft” but also ignited everyone’s passion. From that day on, “Chu Feng Net City” never had an empty machine again, whether in the early morning or late at night, the sounds of galloping horses and Zergling saliva filled the net city.

The popularity was no less than the heyday of “Street Fighter,” perhaps even more so!

Seeing everyone obsessed with these two games, Lin Feng felt secretly pleased. Just by looking at the students waiting in line to play, he knew that “Chu Feng Net City” wouldn’t have to worry about empty machines for at least half a year.

The only thing that surprised Lin Feng was that Chu Zhixuan, who was in his thirties, also became obsessed with “StarCraft,” spending his days gaming and nights sleeping. However, because of this, Chu Zhixuan unexpectedly became the top player in “Chu Feng Net City.” Yes, the top player.

Two weeks after Chu Zhixuan started playing “StarCraft,” Lin Feng challenged him to a match and was thoroughly defeated, losing all his dignity. The super expert who had confidently announced 1v7 in front of everyone no longer existed. Fortunately, Lin Feng didn’t care about this fleeting fame; as long as the net city made money, it was fine.

However, with the precedent set by “StarCraft,” Lin Feng no longer accepted challenges from students who had practiced hard and become experts in “Age of Empires.” One loss was enough; another would just prove his low IQ.

Fortunately, new talents always emerge, each leading the trend for decades. Although Lin Feng had stepped down from the “pedestal,” “Chu Feng Net City” saw the rise of new “god of war”-level players.

The “god of war” in “StarCraft” was Chu Zhixuan, who, despite being in his thirties, dominated “Chu Feng Net City” without any rivals. Despite his chubby hands, his micro-management was terrifyingly fast, and his strategies were grand. He even gave himself an easy-to-remember English abbreviation—pj. Lin Feng always felt this name was familiar but couldn’t quite place it.

The “god of war” in “Age of Empires” was one of the seven people Lin Feng had easily defeated in the 1v7. He was fair-skinned and looked like a diligent student. However, his gameplay in “Age of Empires” was full of surprises, often winning with unexpected moves. Lin Feng didn’t know his real name, but everyone in the net city called him cath_joe. This name also seemed familiar to Lin Feng.

During this time, Lin Feng also took a break to visit home and went to Aunt Huang’s net bar, installing these two games and playing a few rounds with the local “Age of Empires” and “StarCraft” enthusiasts.

Re-experiencing the feeling of “standing at the peak and looking down at the world,” Lin Feng also promoted these two games in Liao Yuan District, which quickly spread to all net bars in Chu City. Everywhere he went, he could hear discussions about “Age of Empires” and “StarCraft.” The popularity of these games unexpectedly stabilized the net bar prices in Chu City, keeping them at 2.5 yuan per hour.

Learning that his casual action had saved the net bar prices in Chu City from a price war and prevented many net bars from going bankrupt, Lin Feng found it amusing. What surprised him even more was that by introducing “Age of Empires” and “StarCraft” to Chu City early, he inadvertently accelerated the emergence of large net cities and drastically shortened the survival time of small net bars, ultimately leading to the failure of his plan to open a net city in the city center.

This series of events made Lin Feng realize the terrifying power of the butterfly effect.

The only regret from this trip home was not seeing the lively and energetic Huang Piaotian helping out at the astronomy club.

As everyone’s skills rapidly improved, the revenue of “Chu Feng Net City” also reached new heights. At the end of the month, the 63 computers generated a gross income of 105,840 yuan, and the bar’s food and drinks made a pure profit of 1,200 yuan. After deducting expenses, the net profit was 101,140 yuan. Because business was so good, Lin Feng increased the salaries of the cashier and cleaner by 100 yuan each and hired two university students majoring in network technology as network administrators, freeing him from daily management.

Many students who stayed up all night complained about dry mouths and lack of flavor, and that staying up all night made it hard to improve their skills. They hoped Lin Feng could help. While Lin Feng thought they should just rest more and play less, from a business perspective, he added two automatic coffee machines.

Of course, both coffee machines were domestic, costing 1,000 yuan each. The coffee powder was Nestlé’s 700-gram pack for 25 yuan, which could make 50 cups of high-concentration coffee, costing 0.7 yuan per cup. Lin Feng set the price at 1 yuan per cup, not intending to make a profit but to attract all-nighters and keep them alert.

The introduction of the automatic coffee machines, due to their low price, was well-received by the students who stayed up all night and even attracted nearby passersby to buy a cup of Nestlé coffee. This not only increased the popularity of “Chu Feng Net City” but also indirectly boosted its business. Students waiting for a machine no longer had to be bored; they could buy a cup of Nestlé coffee and sit on the sofa, enjoying a moment of leisure.

Following the agreement, Lin Feng added 22 more computers, bringing the total to 85 in the second month of operation. This further increased profits and put more pressure on the surrounding small net bars.

The strong expansion of “Chu Feng Net City” left the small net bar owners with no choice but to lower their prices. Limited by their space, they couldn’t add more computers to compete with Lin Feng. The severe air pollution in their net bars also made it hard to retain customers. Although they tried to ban smoking like Lin Feng, the students, who were already used to smoking, wouldn’t comply. If they weren’t allowed to smoke, they would go to “Chu Feng Net City,” which, though more expensive, had better air quality, a better environment, and more girls, and was more convenient for multiplayer games.

This further discouraged the small net bar owners from buying new computers, forcing them to resort to extreme price cuts to respond to “Chu Feng Net City’s” expansion. The most extreme net bar had already announced a price of 1 yuan per hour for the next two years.

Lin Feng had been keeping an eye on the price cuts by these small net bar owners. There were already murmurs among the students in the net city about “Chu Feng Net City” being too expensive. If this issue wasn’t handled properly, it would cause significant losses to “Chu Feng Net City.”

Lin Feng absolutely couldn’t allow the 1 yuan per hour price to happen now.

Perhaps I should talk to them. —Lin Feng thought to himself.