157: Chapter 157 Obtaining Authorization

"Like this, tell them that revenue sharing is impossible. We can offer a flat fee of six million for the licensing fee. If that doesn't work, we'll go contact Shanda to get the license for 'the legend of mir'."

Chen Fan paused, then added another sentence: "Just tell them that Shanda is currently licensing out the IP for 'the legend of mir', and the price is much cheaper than theirs. We can choose either one; we don't necessarily have to make 'mu online'."

The exclusive agency rights for 'the legend of mir' are still with Shanda, so if one wants to license it, they must purchase it from Shanda.

By now, there aren't many players left for the PC version of 'the legend of mir', and the only thing of value left is this IP.

Therefore, Shanda has started wholesale licensing—they sell it as long as there is money, and the IP for 'the legend of mir' has been licensed to dozens of companies.

Compared to 'mu online', the IP license for 'the legend of mir' is undoubtedly cheaper, and the threshold is lower.

But Chen Fan would not buy the IP for 'the legend of mir', at least not for making 'archangels sword'.

He wanted that style of Western fantasy, large wings, and iridescent colors; the art style of 'the legend of mir' simply didn't fit.

He said this just to add a bargaining chip for his side.

It was just a question of whether this chip would be useful or not.

"Alright." Wang Jing nodded and hung up the phone.

Two days later, after several rounds of tug-of-war negotiations, Webzen finally stopped demanding revenue sharing.

However, they remained firm on the licensing fee of ten million and refused to lower it by a single cent. The other party's attitude was very clear—they could forgo revenue sharing, but the licensing fee could not be lower than this amount; this was their bottom line.

Wang Jing suggested that she could still negotiate with Webzen and perhaps wear them down to lower it a bit more; after all, the other party had already conceded two steps, so it wasn't impossible for them to concede one more.

But Chen Fan rejected it.

Without the revenue sharing requirement, Chen Fan could accept the price of ten million.

This figure was within his budget, and the project's cost structure remained healthy after calculation.

It was also to avoid complications—in case Webzen changed their mind again, or another company intervened to snatch the IP, it wouldn't be a problem that could be solved with ten million at that point.

He had Wang Jing agree to the ten million licensing fee.

However, he left himself a fallback regarding the payment method.

He had Wang Jing tell Webzen to pay in installments, to be paid off within half a year.

Although there was enough money in the company account to pay the ten million, Chen Fan could not do that. The company's daily operations required money; the promotion of 'defend the carrot' couldn't stop, the development of 'happy elimination' needed investment, and building the new team also cost money.

Cash flow was the lifeblood of the company; throwing ten million out all at once was equivalent to handing his own life over to someone else.

Therefore, choosing to pay in installments was the safest option.

Webzen didn't think there was any issue with this condition and readily agreed. For them, as long as the total amount remained the same, it didn't make much difference whether they received it sooner or later.

Just like that, Fanyu Company successfully obtained the IP license for 'mu online'.

And the project 'archangels sword' could officially begin.

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. From twelve million plus revenue sharing, negotiated down to a ten-million buyout—although it wasn't the most ideal result, it could be considered an acceptable outcome.

Next, it was a matter of seeing whether the R&D team could maximize the value of this IP.

He picked up the internal phone on the desk and called Qiao Linlin to his office.

"Boss, did you call for me?" Qiao Linlin pushed the door open and entered, holding a folder in her hand.

She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater today, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail; she looked a bit more energetic than a few days ago, but there was still a faint dark shadow under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well.

"What is the progress on the new office?"

"The tables, chairs, and such have all been installed, and the entrance signage has been renovated. Equipment for other areas like offices, conference rooms, and break rooms has also been installed." Qiao Linlin opened the folder and reported while looking at it, "What remains is installing the computers and setting up the broadband; it's estimated that everything will be finished in about five days. If there are no surprises, we can move in after the 18th."

"Alright. I understand. Have Manager Zhou come to the office."

"Alright, Boss."

Qiao Linlin turned and walked out. Her footsteps were a bit faster than usual, creating a small gust of wind.

Soon, the office door was pushed open, and Zhou Min walked in.

"General Manager Chen, did you call for me?"

Zhou Min was wearing a dark professional suit today, with her hair bunned at the back of her head, looking capable and sharp.

"Yes, sit." Chen Fan pointed to the chair opposite him.

Zhou Min sat down, opened her notebook, and rested her pen tip on the paper, waiting for him to speak.

"The company is about to start a new project, and we need to recruit a new batch of people." Chen Fan leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, "A game team—lead creators, planners, artists, and programmers, we need all of them."

"What about Engineer Zhang?" Zhou Min asked. The Engineer Zhang she referred to was Zhang Tao.

"Zhang Tao has a project in his hands right now; 'happy elimination' is still in development, and he has to supervise it, so he can't get away." Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, his tone flat, "We will find someone else for the lead creator of the new project; we won't add to his burden."

The meaning he didn't say out loud was: Zhang Tao was a good hand at technology, but he was indeed lacking in project management.

The delay of 'happy elimination' this time was a signal that he needed someone who understood products better and was better at schedule control to lead the new project.

Zhou Min nodded without asking further questions and quickly jotted down a few notes in her notebook: "Then about how many people do we need to recruit?"

"Recruit fifteen to twenty people in the initial phase, and we'll add more later depending on the project progress." Chen Fan thought for a moment, "The lead creator part is the most critical; I need a lead planner with experience in complete projects, preferably someone who has worked on web games and has a deep understanding of numerical systems. On the art side, I need one senior artist for original art and one for user interface; for the others, we can recruit intermediate ones and train them slowly."

Zhou Min asked while taking notes: "What about the salary range?"

"For the lead planner, the monthly salary starts at twelve thousand, with no upper limit depending on ability. The others should follow market rates, ten to twenty percent higher than the average level." Chen Fan picked up his water cup and took a sip to moisten his throat, "Additionally, there will be project bonuses at the end of the year. We can decide on the specifics once the team is assembled."

"Alright." Zhou Min wrote quickly in her notebook.

"Try to get the team assembled within this month." Chen Fan put down the water cup, "Time waits for no one; the sooner the project starts, the sooner it can be launched."

"Alright, General Manager Chen, I will go post the recruitment requirements now."

"If necessary, you can use a headhunter. Money is not an issue; the key is to find the right people."

"Understood."

Zhou Min nodded, closed her notebook, opened the door, and walked out.