I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 427
Chapter 427: We Carefully Built the Castle
After communicating with this “leader from the province,” I discovered that they were serious. Moreover, their claimed “metaverse big data” is not just tied to games and movies. It also seems related to the future development of the “Mianyun District” in Shenzhen City.
In the future, if everything goes as expected, the Mianyun District will adopt a similar “big data display platform” model. At that time, we will only need a mobile phone and an identity to realize big data display.
The café here, like the “Age of Aquarius,” is among the first to access the Tongmeng Network big data account.
In fact, compared to the recent smear campaigns against the café, the “Age of Aquarius” is the real center of controversy.
Some people believe that the AI dialogue in the “Age of Aquarius” has a cyberpunk flavor and that future robots might replace humans. Or they fear that with the increasingly advanced VR equipment, a crisis similar to “Sword Art Online” could arise, leading them to call for a boycott of the game.
Others believe that the game concept of the “Age of Aquarius” is too advanced. All NPCs have artificial intelligence and are unique, whereas other games typically have monotonous and repetitive dialogue boxes.
This game could directly impact the global gaming market, causing a recession in the gaming industry or creating a “gaming monopoly,” which would be extremely detrimental to development.
There are also those who think that if this game is allowed to develop unchecked, fewer people will engage in real-world industries. Everyone will become face designers or game construction engineers, and the real world will collapse.
As a result, a large number of people have recently emerged to smear the “Age of Aquarius.” Lin Yidong, one of the game’s founders, decided to collaborate with Tongmeng Network to create such a “metaverse.”
It is said that this is a bold attempt and innovation for Tongmeng Network, the “Age of Aquarius,” and even Shenzhen City. If it fails, the consequences will be disastrous.
Therefore, Tongmeng Network plans to first cooperate with the “Age of Aquarius” and the café here to see the specific effects before making any further plans.
“Connecting our data to Tongmeng Network allows us to receive corresponding badges and data, just like in the game. We can choose to display or hide it, right?”
After reviewing the materials that Su Yunjin and Lin Yidong brought, I thought for a moment and said, “I can’t write the related software.”
“We’ll provide the software engineers. We’ll teach you how to use it when the time comes,” Su Yunjin quickly responded.
“I believe this is a very innovative initiative and will definitely be beneficial for Tongmeng Network’s revenue.”
I nodded, “Yes, I know.”
One could say it’s typical of “high society” people. Just after Mayor Ye Yuqing listed our area as a tourist attraction, Su Yunjin followed up by proposing the setup of a “metaverse.”
The café and the pedestrian street being listed as tourist attractions in Shenzhen City means that within the next few months, special buses will be added here, and tour buses are also likely to pass by.
With the current speed of high-speed rail in the country, even distant northern cities can reach Shenzhen City within 24 hours for a journey of two to three thousand kilometers. For big cities within a thousand kilometers, taking a high-speed train and then transferring to the café might take less than half a day.
With convenient transportation and the status of a tourist attraction, coupled with enough online buzz, everything is ready.
On the surface, Tongmeng Network advertises itself as the largest anime website, but in fact, it could drop the word “anime” because it is currently the largest video website, excluding short videos, with over a billion daily active users.
From the report Su Yunjin gave me, I noticed many small details. For instance, after connecting Tongmeng Network with the café, there will be many café-specific “achievements.”
For example, “First Arrival at the Café” will earn a small mushroom house badge, “First Purchase at the Café” will get a small cat badge, “First Experience at Little Bird’s Leisure Bar” will earn a ch?niby? girl badge similar to “Rikka Takanashi,” and playing in Little Bird’s Leisure Bar for over four hours will grant a cyber friend avatar frame.
In addition, Tongmeng will create special achievement badges for all the cats in the store. Dingman will have a handsome Maine Coon badge, and Miaomiao will have a Sphynx cat badge. Only those who have fed them in the store can activate these badges by finding me or the maid on duty.
Similarly, the dessert shop on the second floor has similar “achievement” settings, such as “trying new products at the café and spending over 100 yuan on desserts on the second floor” and “taking a photo with the maid.” I roughly counted, and there are over 500 of these badges or achievements.
This way, when some trolls post videos or leave comments like “I got diarrhea after drinking milk tea from the café, it happens every time I drink it,” an experienced Tongmeng Network user with the achievement of “purchased this milk tea 30 times” can argue with the troll.
People can then see that one side hasn’t even activated the “first visit to the café” achievement, while the other is a loyal customer who has bought the milk tea 30 times, allowing them to make a more informed judgment.
As the café manager, I had no reason to refuse this proposal. Even if I were foolish, I could see that Tongmeng Network is forcing traffic to the café.
Adding various badges and achievements, as well as backend data integration, only means a bit more workload for us employees, but it will significantly boost the café’s revenue.
This setup will greatly stimulate achievement hunters without needing deliberate advertising. For example, someone might come to Shenzhen City for a tour, stop by the café, pet a cat, and earn a “Dingman avatar frame.”
If they then leave a comment on some Tongmeng Network videos, other users who see the attractive avatar frame might ask how they got it. The response that it was a souvenir from visiting the café could serve as an invisible advertisement.
Every day, passersby will see this, and some may decide to visit the café, bringing us revenue. Since Tongmeng holds shares in the café, they also profit, making it a win-win.
Similarly, Tongmeng Network could offer drinks from the “Age of Aquarius” game, creating a dedicated “Tongmeng City” server for its users. When these users choose this server and purchase in-game currency, the website also earns a share, acting as a “channel server” that can exchange data with the main server.
Tongmeng Network users who earn various in-game achievements may inspire others to download the game out of curiosity. Conversely, gamers who discover references to Tongmeng Network in the game might register an account there out of curiosity.
This series of initiatives forms an invisible web, subtly linking everyone together. If this project succeeds, Tongmeng Network might truly become a massive super company, similar to Arasaka Corporation in “Cyberpunk 2077.”
Looking at the materials before me, it felt like witnessing a giant dragon slowly awakening.
“I have no personal objections.”
After reviewing the materials and demonstration video, I was silent for a few seconds at the dining table before looking up. “It is indeed a massive project.”
“That’s why only a few leaders in the city know about it at the moment,” Lin Yidong said with a smile. “So, do you agree?”
“I agree.”
I turned to Su Yunjin, “Your side will provide the engineers, right?”
“Yes, once the software and hardware are ready, I’ll teach you how to use them. Then you can hold a brief meeting or something to teach Lan Jiajia and the others. It shouldn’t be too complicated,” Su Yunjin said, glancing towards the door. “In the next few days, find some time to notify everyone.”
“Alright,” I nodded. “Is there anything else?”
“No…I don’t think so?” Su Yunjin turned to Lin Yidong. “Anything else from the leader?”
“Nothing else. I came here today just to try some of the special food and discuss this integration with you,” Lin Yidong said, then looked at Xiao Mo, jokingly, “By the way, it seems that Yin Nuo’er’s…partner is rather quiet?”
Xiao Mo crossed her arms, “I don’t really care about anything that doesn’t involve Nuo’er.”
Indeed.
I thought to myself.
For example, the recent “smear campaign against the café” incident was only concerning because “Grumpy Old Dragon” was smearing the café itself and not “Yin Nuo’er.”
I remember seeing a few scattered negative comments about myself online, like “Yin Nuo’er from the café has a dark history” or “How did Nuo’er, an orphan, end up working at Tongmeng Network? There must be something fishy going on.” These comments disappeared within a day, either showing a 404 error or being deleted by the author.
I knew that Xiao Mo had proactively dealt with such comments. She promised me not to kill anyone, but scaring those people a bit with magic should be manageable.
“Perfect answer,” Xiao Mo’s words brought a look of approval from Lin Yidong. “A successful manager should have a supportive partner like you.”
Xiao Mo just raised her eyebrows without saying anything.
“Since there are no issues, let’s finalize this,” Su Yunjin said as she stood up.
“I’ll head back to headquarters and discuss the data integration with the engineers on my dad’s side.”
“Alright.”
I also stood up and said to Lin Yidong, “Uncle Lin, I have to go to work now. Please continue eating, and let me know if you need anything. I’ll be outside.”
“Alright,” Lin Yidong nodded. “Don’t overwork yourself.”
“Thank you for your concern, Uncle Lin.”
“……”
As I left the room with Xiao Mo, I poked Su Yunjin’s shoulder.
“What is his leadership role?”
“He’s higher up than my uncle,” Su Yunjin replied, lowering her voice.
“Shenzhen City might undergo major changes soon. You need to be prepared.”
“While you’re busy with these things, you might also want to pay more attention to the lives of the common people.”
I walked past Su Yunjin. “For example, there’s a transportation technology college in Canjing District where some students pick mangoes on campus to sell for money. Or near the seaside at Nanqi Tower, there’s an old man who’s been guarding the tower for decades, and in the nearby grove, there’s an elderly lady whose child attends Starlight Elementary School. They live in a dilapidated house and haven’t had roast duck in years.”
“The day you can truly solve these issues might be the real transformation for Shenzhen City.”
“……”
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