Chapter 34

Li Yu's grandfather had a birthday, and the whole family went out of town to celebrate.

Alone and bored, Bian Xuedao thought about the little boys he hadn't seen playing football on the field for a long time. After going to the shanty area behind the school, he inquired and walked to a small book rental shop.

When he went inside, the light was very dim, and novels and comics were lined up on wooden shelves. The smell inside the room was strange.

Bian Xuedao casually glanced at the bookshelf and asked the man sitting on the bed fiddling with a radio, "Does Xu Zhiyou live here?"

The man, seeing that Bian Xuedao wasn't there to rent books but to look for Xu Zhiyou, wasn't very friendly: "He's out working."

"Working? Where?" Bian Xuedao asked.

The man pointed out the window: "The water station around the corner."

"Thanks."

The so-called water station was small, with only one middle-aged woman. Bian Xuedao didn't inquire further and wandered around nearby.

After about ten minutes, Duan Qifeng, Ni Heng, Xu Zhiyou, and Cheng Daqi returned on a tricycle.

Seeing Bian Xuedao, they were surprised. Riding up to him, Cheng Daqi said, "Brother Bian, are you looking for us?"

Bian Xuedao nodded and said, "Yeah, no class, just out for a walk."

"Wait a moment, I'll settle the accounts with the boss lady," Xu Zhiyou said.

A while later, the boys came out, and Xu Zhiyou was holding 15 yuan.

Bian Xuedao didn't ask anything. He knew that children also have secrets and self-respect.

"Do you have time now?" Bian Xuedao asked.

"Sure," the children said.

"Let's go eat something," Bian Xuedao said.

The boys knew Bian Xuedao was generous and were very happy.

"What do you want to eat? Dumplings? Or McDonald's?"

"Dumplings!"

"McDonald's!"

Seeing they couldn't agree, Bian Xuedao used the essence of democratic centralism: "Let's have dumplings!"

As they were about to finish the dumplings, Bian Xuedao told the children to keep eating while he took Cheng Daqi out. He hailed a taxi and told the driver to go to the nearest McDonald's.

At McDonald's, Bian Xuedao ordered enough food for ten people. He and Cheng Daqi each carried two large bags and took a taxi back to the dumpling shop.

Leading the children to the red building, Bian Xuedao went upstairs and took down two tents, moisture-proof pads, and a deck of cards he had bought during the Dragon Boat Festival. Then the small group headed straight for the main building.

After climbing to the top of the main building, they rested for a while. Bian Xuedao set up the tents and asked the children to bring a table and some chairs from the classroom downstairs.

The rooftop camping began.

With food, drinks, and games, the boys were overjoyed.

Bian Xuedao didn't know why he got along so well with these children. He just really wanted to talk to them and relax.

After playing until they were tired, everyone lay in the tent and talked.

All four children came from poor families. Their parents were either divorced or had passed away. Xu Zhiyou lived with his brother-in-law.

Xu Zhiyou said: His parents had him when they were 40 years old. Soon after, they both died in a car accident. He was raised by his sister. His sister was beautiful, and he didn't know how she met her brother-in-law, who was quite wealthy at the time.

His brother-in-law used to be a football player and played in the Jia-A League in the 1990s. Later, he was involved in match-fixing, which offended some people, and he was injured in a match, losing the use of his right leg.

Later, his sister fell seriously ill. His brother-in-law, who could no longer play football, spent all his money but couldn't save his sister's life.

His brother-in-law borrowed money from his former teammates and opened a football school. However, due to poor management, the school's performance declined. Eventually, he rented a bookshop behind Dongsen University. The football school at the repair shop was just a way to pass the time and distract himself.

All the children liked football and had good physical fitness. Xu Zhiyou's brother-in-law agreed that they should use football to exercise but strongly opposed them becoming professional players.

Standing on the rooftop, Bian Xuedao looked far into the distance and asked the boys standing on either side a very cliché question: "What are your dreams?"

"I want to be a player and make a lot of money." This was Ni Heng.

"I want to use a time machine to go back and see my sister." This was Xu Zhiyou.

"I want to travel the world." This was Cheng Daqi.

"I want to live on an uninhabited planet." This was Duan Qifeng.

"I want to stand here and pee down." This was Bian Xuedao.

Dreams are sometimes not the things you want to do but can't, but the things you can do but are afraid to. As long as you overcome your inner fear and do it, your dream might be within reach.

The next day, Bian Xuedao took the four boys to the five elderly people's homes that Li Yu had taken him to. They helped the elderly clean their houses and do some physical labor.

On the third day, Bian Xuedao took the four boys to Tiaoshi Street and found a Gesen sports store. He pointed to the Adidas, Nike, and Li Ning stores and said, "Go in and pick out a full set of football gear. I'll pay for it."

The boys couldn't believe it and didn't move.

Bian Xuedao said, "You have 20 minutes. If you take too long, you'll have to pay for it yourself."

The boys disappeared in a flash.

Ni Heng picked a Nike set.

Duan Qifeng picked an Adidas set.

Xu Zhiyou picked a Li Ning set.

Cheng Daqi mixed and matched.

Bian Xuedao picked a pair of football shoes for himself, then asked Xu Zhiyou's shoe size and bought him another pair of Adidas.

The boys went home happily. As they approached the red building, Brother Wen called and asked if Bian Xuedao had time and if he could meet him at the shelter near the university.

When Bian Xuedao arrived, Brother Wen was already waiting for him.

After sitting down, Brother Wen got straight to the point: "I'll graduate with a master's degree next year. I'm not suited for a regular job. I want to do something on my own. I'll provide the technology. Are you interested?"

Bian Xuedao took a sip of tea: "What do you plan to do?"

"Develop games!" Brother Wen said.

Bian Xuedao was taken aback: "How much startup capital do you need?"

"500,000 yuan," Brother Wen said.

"Develop games?"

"Yes."

"500,000 yuan might not be enough for game development. Besides, what if the game doesn't turn out well?"

Brother Wen thought for a moment and said, "I've thoroughly studied the exciting points of 'Legend.' It won't be bad."

Bian Xuedao said, "Okay, we can copy 'Legend,' but others can copy us too. You should know the Chinese people's ability to copy. Moreover, game development takes a long time. By the time our game is out, it might already be outdated."

Brother Wen said, "I didn't think of that. What do you suggest?"

Bian Xuedao said, "My idea is similar to yours, targeting 'Legend.'"

Brother Wen looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Bian Xuedao said, "Set up a private server."

"Private server?"

"Yes."

"Where do we get the source code?" Brother Wen asked.

"Find a way. Don't forget, this game was bought from South Korea and has been online for two years," Bian Xuedao said.

Brother Wen thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

Bian Xuedao continued, "Also."

"Also?"

Bian Xuedao said, "Continue developing cheats. My skills are too rough. You can do it better."

Brother Wen asked, "Cheats for 'Legend'?"

Bian Xuedao said, "No, if possible, develop cheats for all the popular games on the market. I think 'Legend' is just the beginning of the booming online game industry. Seeing 'Legend' make money, more companies will invest in and develop games."

"What if the operators crack down on cheats?" Brother Wen asked.

Bian Xuedao said, "It's hard for them to make that decision. Secondly, not all operators have the courage to do so."

"Cheats are like drugs in games. Once used, they create dependency and addiction. In a server, if a few people use cheats, others will feel it's unfair and will start using them too, spreading very quickly. At this point, operators have two choices: crack down or turn a blind eye."

"Let's talk about cracking down first. It's not easy to do. To comprehensively crack down on cheats, all game operators need to unite and collectively ban all cheats, implement targeted measures, and seek government assistance to form an effective legal document. Once this is done, cheats will be completely eliminated. However, with the narrow-mindedness of most operators, this is impossible. If ten operators crack down on cheats and one doesn't, players will move to the game that doesn't crack down. This will create a situation where some benefit and others suffer, and the alliance to crack down on cheats will fall apart."

"Moreover, even if cheats are cracked down on, what will be the consequences? Characters in the game have friends. Cracking down on one might lead to the loss of two more, reducing the player base. Even if they have the courage to do so, what will they face? I've said it before, cheats create addiction. Players who have used cheats are already accustomed to games with cheats. If they can't use them anymore, most won't be able to continue playing. Therefore, for the sake of popularity and revenue, most operators will turn a blind eye to cheats as long as they're not too excessive."

"As for turning a blind eye, it's impossible. At most, there will be an unspoken agreement. Cheats will accelerate the decline of the game, and operators will speed up the monetization of the game due to the existence of cheats. Or, they might join the cheat development team, officially developing and selling cheats to maximize profits."

"So, as long as we are careful and protect ourselves, we can make quick money from cheats for a few years."

Brother Wen looked at Bian Xuedao, suddenly feeling that his eyes were like a vortex, deep and dark, leading to an unknown place.