Chapter 77: The Beauty of Imagination

Zhou Quan contacted He Fei once again to express his gratitude.

"Brother Fei!" Zhou Quan's voice carried gratitude.

"Mr. Zhou, how's everything going? Business alright?"

Zhou Quan hastened, "The market response to the plug-ins has been fantastic. In just this short period, I've only worked for a few days, and it's already earned me more than what I typically make in a year!"

He Fei chuckled, responding, "In the realm of computers and software, we need to seize the new era and opportunities. I'm entrusting the Jiangyang Province and nearby provinces and cities to you. Make your mark in the market as swiftly as possible. This wave of benefits— who knows when it will ebb."

Zhou Quan chimed in, "It won't fade so quickly. As long as everyone is playing 'Legend,' there will always be a demand for plug-ins."

He Fei noted, "Your plug-in's features are comprehensive as well. We've reviewed the design, and your plug-in has an edge over the external ones in terms of functionality. This should allow us to carve out a place in the plug-in market. But be cautious; there will soon be new imitations and copies of plug-ins. Until we secure the market, our primary income will be from maintaining our foothold."

Zhou Quan acknowledged, "Of course, Brother Fei. I appreciate your advice. And when you're free, please allow me to express my gratitude in person by inviting you for a drink in Jiangcheng."

Later, as Zhou Quan turned on his computer and checked the administrator's panel, he noticed that numerous internet cafe administrators under him had recharge accounts for the plug-in. The count of recharges was growing consistently.

What's quick money? In just a few days, Zhou Quan had earned over 30,000 yuan. That's quick money!

At this rate, making a few hundred thousand yuan over the next couple of months should be straightforward.

Zhou Quan's friends had all built their own villas in Jiangzhou. He began to believe that if he could seize this opportunity, he could build one too.

Zhou Quan even did some calculations. Presently, the official website of "Legend" showed approximately 600,000 users online simultaneously. Extrapolating, the active users of "Legend" should number over a million.

Excluding regions with extremely low internet usage, Jiangyang Province, with its large population, boasted around 100,000 active users.

If 30% of them used plug-ins, that's 33,000 people. If 30% of those also paid to use plug-ins, the number was nearly 10,000 people. With a recharge of 4,500 minutes, this would bring in at least 200,000 in profit.

Upon using the plug-in, addiction followed. It was highly unlikely that users would cease using it after 4,500 minutes (2.5 days), making it more likely they'd buy more.

Many players needed to play "Legend" for over 15 hours a day. That meant they'd exhaust their plug-in time in less than a week. These players would undoubtedly continue to purchase more time.

The intelligence Zhou Quan received from the Shenzhen market suggested that he should be the agent for Jiangyang Province and the surrounding regions. This meant his plug-in might cover over 100,000 players. As the plug-in user base expanded, Zhou Quan's profits would grow as well.

Zhou Quan's optimism soared. As long as enough internet cafes promoted his plug-in, making a million yuan was within reach!

A million yuan! Zhou Quan had never even dared to dream of such a number before!

The prospect of huge profits propelled Zhou Quan to put aside his other work. He rallied his few employees to oversee all the internet cafes in Jiangzhou and the neighboring districts and counties. He was confident that the lure of substantial profits from plug-ins would attract more cafes.

As for his partnership with Chen Xiao?

At the outset, their agreement had been verbal. If they decided not to continue, there was little Chen Xiao could do.

Plagiarism?

Hah!

Could they prove who copied whom?

With a final look at his computer, Zhou Quan shut it down and went to bed.

Meanwhile, Chen Xiao had been at home for several days. Zhang Kai had asked him out multiple times, but Chen Xiao had declined each one.

He was immersed in finalizing the design and production of the MP3 player.

Chen Xiao approached this work meticulously. He not only designed the MP3's motherboard and decoding chip but also its external appearance.

He was confident in creating a compact-sized MP3, allowing for a small design.

Chen Xiao offered Zhou Linghua two potential MP3 appearances: one resembled a lipstick, and the other was reminiscent of a biscuit pack. Both were slim and lightweight.

Having completed this task, Chen Xiao planned to submit the relevant information to the State Patent Office for a patent application.

In the meantime, he continued working on the programs for the internet cafe management system. The program needed to be lightweight, making it convenient for computers with limited performance capabilities. However, it also needed to be comprehensive and user-friendly for internet cafe administrators.

"Xiaozi, where are you?" Chen Xiao's phone rang, and it was Knife calling.

"Brother Dao." Chen Xiao answered, "I'm at home."

Brother Dao informed him, "Come to the internet cafe. I've got something to discuss with you."

Chen Xiao already had an inkling of what it might be about. He responded, "I'll be there in half an hour."

The internet cafes Brother Dao mentioned were the ones tucked away in alleyways—where he and Chen Xiao often went online.

It was peculiar because today, Brother Dao and his group had turned on the computers, but they weren't playing games. They had remained there without moving.

As usual, Chen Xiao bought some Coke for everyone.

When Brother Dao arrived, he couldn't contain his urgency, saying, "Zhou Quan doesn't want me to promote the plug-in you developed! He's introducing his own plug-in, can you believe it?"

Chen Xiao calmly nodded, "Zhou Quan didn't tell me, but I suspected as much. When I visited the internet cafe that day, I noticed many 'Legend' players using different plug-ins."

Knife couldn't help but add, "Peerless Legendary Assistant, right? That's Zhou Quan's agent! The features of that plug-in are identical to our Water Moon Legend Assistant! I suspect Zhou Quan just rebranded your plug-in and is marketing it!"

"What an audacious move!"

Knife said this, followed by a few choice expletives.

If Zhou Quan had developed a plug-in on his own and claimed the market, that would be one thing. But Zhou Quan had used Chen Xiao's plug-in to establish relationships with internet cafes, securing the majority of the market share, and then cast Chen Xiao aside without a second thought.

"What a despicable person!" Knife's comrades chimed in, expressing their anger.

"I heard that Zhou Quan has connections in the Shenzhen market, with a bunch of computer experts. Chen Xiao, do you think Zhou Quan could have given our plug-in program to them and had them copy it?"

Everyone seethed in indignation. "Isn't it obvious! This is blatant plagiarism! Damn it!"

Knife and his comrades were furious. He had introduced Chen Xiao and Zhou Quan and received nothing but grievances from Chen Xiao.

Zhou Quan was now pushing a new plug-in while ignoring them entirely.

Chen Xiao weighed in, "Some things are inevitable. Even if Zhou Quan hadn't plagiarized, as long as someone perceives the plug-in business as easy, they'll attempt to copy it."

Plug-ins weren't innovative products that brought societal benefit, making them ineligible for patents and intellectual property protection. Consequently, they were a one-time endeavor, and Chen Xiao wasn't overly concerned. Of course, he had other tricks up his sleeve.

Just then, someone whispered something to Knife.

Knife's eyes widened, and he exploded, "He dares to come to Jiangcheng? Let's go! Let's find him!"