169: Playing with Fire

Song Yuan was about to have his assistant notify the technology department to hold an early morning meeting when Lu Chi pushed the door open and entered.

His face was full of worry, evidently also coming because of the hot topic on the internet.

"Brother, how confident are you? Don't play with fire."

Song Yuan countered him,

"How confident is a max-level player?"

"Ten out of ten?"

Song Yuan said calmly,

"Then I have eleven out of ten."

Lu Chi stood frozen in place, looking at Song Yuan, unable to tell if he was joking or serious. Did he have eleven-tenths certainty of winning against Xinan Network?

After the previous commotions, Lu Chi knew that Song Yuan understood hacker technology, but how much he understood was hard to say.

Was this gamble his brother was making a bit too big this time?

If they lost, with the current popularity on the internet, their brothers would never be able to work in this circle again.

"Song Yuan, are you sure? It hasn't been easy for us to get to this point. If you don't have a ten-tenths certainty of winning against Xinan Network, I'll find someone for public relations now, and there's still room for maneuver.

If we lose at the venue that day, then that would be..."

Too bad!

Song Yuan's firm gaze told him,

"Lu Chi, I know what I'm doing. I won't joke about our brothers' futures."

Since Song Yuan said so, Lu Chi, as a good brother, naturally believed him.

"Then I'll wait and see."

The morning meeting began.

The newly appointed director of the technology department first reported on the development progress, and then employees responsible for various module functions each reported on the difficulties they faced in their respective code.

The next iteration of the code was scheduled for three days later, and it was currently in a tense internal testing phase.

This time, new features were about to go live, and the test engineers were all so busy they couldn't even drink water or go to the bathroom, almost seeing red from killing bugs.

Meanwhile, the product managers had already started designing new requirements, preparing for the next round of development after launch.

Everything was proceeding according to Song Yuan's plan.

After the meeting, someone called out to Song Yuan,

"Boss, do we really have to go head-to-head with Xinan Network?"

More than twenty pairs of eyes in the conference room stared at him, all with a look of doubt.

Song Yuan knew these brothers meant well; they were all afraid of losing this battle to Xinan Network.

How difficult is it to start a business in the current environment? They finally managed to get the game up and running, and the first batch of users responded very well; this was a good development.

Everyone had put a lot of effort into this game, and there was nothing more fulfilling than personally participating in the development of a game and watching it be recognized by the vast number of netizens.

No one would choose to court death at this time.

Song Yuan understood their feelings.

If he didn't have absolute confidence, he would never dare to provoke Xinan Network.

Compared to Fengxue Entertainment and Xinan Network now, anyone with a normal logical mind would think Xinan Network would win.

Song Yuan laughed,

"What, don't you believe me?"

Li Lei scratched his head,

"Boss, it's not that we don't believe you, it's just... the risk is a bit high. Should we prepare something in advance?"

Before the competition, anything Song Yuan explained would be pale, as he couldn't reveal his identity as James.

"If you must prepare, then finish killing all the bugs in the system in these few days, and launch smoothly three days later. If you've finished your own bugs, help colleagues fix theirs, and optimize the code where possible to improve running speed."

As Song Yuan returned to his office, Huo Ziming's call came through.

"Song Yuan, is what's trending on the internet true or false? Are you really clashing with Meng Xuelin?"

Song Yuan told his brother-in-law,

"It's true."

Huo Ziming sighed,

"Do you need any help? Or should I ask a friend if they know any powerful hackers to introduce to you to assist?"

Song Yuan held his phone and smiled; it seemed the whole world thought he was courting death by challenging Meng Xuelin.

Song Yuan politely said,

"Brother, no need. I think I can give it a try."

Song Yuan didn't make a definitive statement, which would leave people in suspense.

Huo Ziming sat in his office, hung up the phone, and rubbed his temples vigorously.

Where did his sister dig up such a treasure? He actually dared to publicly issue a challenge, and against the industry's leading company. Wasn't this seeking death?

If he lost, his brother-in-law wouldn't be able to save him.

Huo Ziming edited a message and sent it to Gu Shiyu,

"Shiyu, isn't your man a bit too arrogant? If he loses this time, he can forget about ever working in this circle again. This is going to make my thirty million go down the drain! He's too bold, aren't you going to try to persuade him?"

Gu Shiyu quickly replied to him,

"What do you know? This is called courage, this is a real man! Meng Xuelin is nothing but a fart in front of Song Yuan, what will he lose? He can win against that old bastard with his eyes closed."

Huo Ziming's brow furrowed after reading it, and he almost fainted.

Forget it, birds of a feather flock together.

These two were cut from the same cloth; he shouldn't have brought it up.

Huo Ziming thought that the thirty million was most likely gone, considering it his brother-in-law's welcome gift to his brother-in-law.

In a blink, it was two days later, and the scheduled battle between Song Yuan and Meng Xuelin was in the afternoon.

In the morning, everyone was in a state of tension, but Song Yuan was as if nothing was happening.

He conducted nearly two hours of technical training for several developers, took the time to interview two programmers who came to apply, and watered the money tree at the entrance on his way back to the office.

The entire morning passed by.

After lunch, Song Yuan planned to take a half-hour nap before heading to the Beijing Exhibition Center for the appointment.

Lu Chi knocked and entered,

"Old Song, the brothers are clamoring to go with you, saying that even if we lose the battle, we can't lose our morale. Although I believe you, we really can't lose in terms of presence, so why not take them with you?"

Song Yuan smiled helplessly; did these people really think he would lose?

"Those who have finished fixing bugs can come along to watch the excitement. Those who haven't finished stay at the company and continue fixing them; it cannot affect the project launch tomorrow."

Lu Chi said with a smile,

"Of course not, but I see these brothers are not in the mood to write code at the company; they're all worried about that matter. I'll go with you later and bring along a few brothers who have finished their code."

Song Yuan checked his wristwatch,

"We'll depart in thirty-five minutes. I'm going to nap for a bit first."

Lu Chi didn't dare to disturb him,

"You nap quickly, your brain will be very useful later!"

The office quieted down, and Song Yuan lay in the lounge, quickly dozing off.

Half an hour later, the assistant knocked on his door to call him,

"President Song, it's time."

Song Yuan got up, quickly washed his face, and in the downstairs parking lot, Lu Chi was already waiting for him by the car with the brothers.

Several people gathered around his new car, discussing how Song Yuan had changed cars again.

Lu Chi and Song Yuan had been good friends for many years and wouldn't be polite with him,

"Old Song, you're too cool. This is a new product Gus launched this year. I'm still waiting in line for a ready car, and you're already driving one. Let me drive it for a few days, and when my turn comes, you drive mine?"