Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Chapter 162 - 162: 160: Green Hat Alliance

Translator: 549690339

“Is that really true?” Lorin couldn’t help but confirm again, “One week, can it really be done?”

“More than enough.” Lincoln replied with immense confidence.

“Great, let’s go with this plan!” Lorin was very happy, as a key problem had been solved.

“Oh, by the way, you didn’t say whether or not we can avoid integrating this function into the Mirage?” Lorin recalled the question Lincoln had dodged earlier.

“We can. I was actually hesitant about it myself since I didn’t want the cost of the Mirage to increase. So let’s not add it.” Lincoln readily agreed, “It’s just a pity that students won’t be able to use the excuse of ‘buying learning machines’ to have their parents buy them game consoles.”

Lorin just shook his head and pretended he didn’t hear it.

“So, with this, can we use the licensing fee to offset taxes?” Lincoln asked, “Oh, and by directing R&D towards the large-scale neural modulator-demodulator, the costs have actually decreased a lot, so don’t forget to give me more in licensing fees.”

“It’s possible, and there’s even more to it.”

“What else?” Lincoln asked curiously.

“Special benchmark high-tech enterprise demonstration unit. Tax exemption for 5 years, and half the standard tax rate for the following 5 years. This will continue until 15 years later when it returns to the normal tax rate.” Lorin looked into Lincoln’s eyes and seriously added, “During this period, if significant scientific research results are produced, the half-tax period will be replenished up to 15 years.”

Lincoln was astonished, his eyes widened. He didn’t really care about money anymore, and when he said he wanted more in license fees, it was just a joke.

But now, hearing about such an extravagant offer, he was still very shocked.

Over the past two months, the wealth created by Cloud Dream has been unprecedented. Accordingly, the taxes to be paid were also astonishing—even with preferential measures, they’d still have to pay tens of billions or even over a hundred billion in taxes. Moreover, Lincoln hadn’t even applied for any of those preferential measures.

There’s still more than a month left before the third-quarter income tax prepayment deadline. Given Cloud Dream’s current development momentum, if Lincoln did nothing, they might have to pay more than 300 billion in taxes!

But now, the taxes hadn’t been handed in yet, and they were already waived?

Lincoln felt both surprised and honored, “That’s quite an offer! In 5 years, it could be in the trillions! Why don’t I at least pay the taxes for these two months first?”

Lorin waved his hand dismissively, “No need! To Daxia, these amounts of money added together are not as important as the headband you researched! Just focus on your research. In Xiajing City alone, a single quarter generates more than 200 billion in tax revenue. Your brain is more important than any amount of money!”

“In that case, could you guys help me find several reliable accountants? This way, I won’t have to think about these miscellaneous matters and waste my brain cells.” Lincoln decided to strike while the iron was hot.

After his chance to save money on taxes was gone, Lincoln gave up on the roundabout way and just asked for an accountant outright!

Lorin looked at the assistant who had been silent all the while.

Ruan Pingyi then spoke up, “No problem, I’ll find a few trustworthy ones for you within three days. Then, you can pick yourself.”

“Great! You’ve been a great help.” Lincoln hurriedly thanked him.

After some discussion, both sides were satisfied with the results. Lorin and the assistant left contentedly.

Lincoln briefly considered a few feasible ideas for the large-scale neural modem and then went to bed early.

When Lincoln woke up the next day, he couldn’t wait to ask Mavis, “Mavis, has ‘Bullet Curving’ hit the hot searches yet?”

“Nope.”

Mavis’s response left Lincoln very disappointed and not wanting to get out of bed.

He rolled over and grumbled indignantly, “What’s wrong with these people? Bullets are curving! Don’t they think it’s a great idea? Isn’t it cool? Isn’t it awesome? Don’t they want to call the beautiful geese sisters? Even if they scold me a few times, saying I don’t respect the laws of physics!”

“Is there no discussion at all?”

“Actually, there is!” Mavis only continued after Lincoln finished complaining,

“It’s just that another topic has overshadowed it.”

“What topic?”

“Mavis thinks it’s better for Master to see for himself.” In the video, Mavis nods with a serious look, then screenshots appear in the middle of the screen. Lincoln grabbed the tablet and saw the big words #GreenHatAlliance#.

“Huh?”

He carefully examined these posts.

“@Lincoln, have you suffered some psychological trauma? Why do you insist on cucking the players! I played the game sincerely, did tasks earnestly, practiced gun skills painstakingly, and suddenly got a green hat on my head?”

“Are you all the same? I thought I made a wrong choice somewhere that led to this outcome. I even restarted twice!”

“I deleted and restarted three times! I searched for guides online for a whole day, trying to figure out where I went wrong. Now you’re telling me this is a fixed plot???”

“Let me tell you a big secret: Even if you tie her up right from the start, it’s useless. They got together before the game even started!”

“I declare that Firefox is my true love! Who is this blonde girlfriend

Anonymous? Not familiar!”

“As a plot enthusiast, I think all of this is reasonable and necessary for the plot. But! Note, but! Is it too much to let the players catch them in bed directly? Is it really necessary?! The police arrived so quickly! It must be intentional!”

“Welcome to the ‘Green Hat Alliance’!”

“Ah, this…”

Lincoln looked at the posts with mixed emotions.

Is this the price of staying loyal to the original?

Please, I can’t let you love each other, can I? Why should I bother fighting then? Just stick to virtual wife and get naughty all day?

Why not make a virtual reality version of “Love Follows” then!

With this energy, why not go after Firefox? She’s a beautiful woman with an exquisite design!

Beautiful and cool, tender amidst the toughness, the effort taken to design Firefox is far more than that of a random girlfriend!

Um…

Thinking about it, Lincoln suddenly felt like it was not quite right…

If the players fall too in love with Firefox, in the final battle at the textile factory, seeing Firefox die on the spot with their own eyes, would they explode and send him blades in the mail?

“It should be fine… Anyway, they don’t know my address, and the security in my neighborhood is top-notch.” Lincoln comforted himself, “At most, at most, they’ll send the blades to Dream Cloud Studio. Anyway, there are already more than ten boxes of thank-you letters there. A few more blades won’t spoil the elegance… maybe?”

“By the way, Mavis, have these comments affected the sales?”

Although the explosion period has passed, the sales of “Assassins’ Alliance” have been keeping a relatively stable growth curve these days. Lincoln wondered if the nickname “Green Hat Alliance” would affect the game’s sales…

“Master, rest assured, no!” Mavis happily replied to Lincoln, “Not only has it not decreased, but there has also been a counter-market upward trend.”

“Huh?” Lincoln was really surprised this time, “You mean, the nickname ‘Green Hat Alliance’ has attracted a new group of users to place orders instead??”

“Mavis didn’t say that!” Mavis quickly waved her hands in denial, “Mavis just said that the sales curve of the game has risen against the trend after this topic heated up.”

Lincoln was speechless, “What’s the difference? This already says a lot!” They must have hit a bull’s-eye on this one!

Meanwhile, Streamer Yi’s “What’s in the bathroom” player strategy group also welcomed a new group of fresh reinforcements….