You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 248 Unexpectedly Opens Up the International Market

The gaming market was unusually quiet for the next month.

Tencent hasn't made any new moves, focusing instead on optimizing Half-Life, occasionally updating a few maps and weapon skins.

Meanwhile, Tutu Technology remained inactive, focusing on steady development of "Seven Heroes Jianghu" with weekly minor updates and monthly major updates, resulting in a steady increase in player satisfaction.

It was as if both sides had agreed to stay put and keep to their own little territory, with neither taking the initiative to cause trouble.

Although Weibo is also actively promoting the Half-Life game, both sides have stable user bases and there has been no large-scale loss of users.

Lu Ran was naturally very happy with this peaceful situation.

He's not a warmonger, so of course he'd rather relax if he can.

After all, he started with a laid-back work attitude, but before long, he ruined his own image.

Sometimes it's genuinely his own desire to change something, and other times it's an invisible hand pushing him to change.

Although with Lu Ran's current net worth, he could live comfortably even if he went back to a life of leisure, he is no longer alone.

The adult world is not a place where beauty is all alone. He now has Shen Yuege, Shen Yuege's family, TuTu Technology, a group of colleagues at Xingyao, many of his own works, Shen Yuege's studio, and "Super Girl".

When he looked back at all the people and things behind him, he finally understood what it meant to have great power and great responsibility.

But he wasn't a workaholic. Although he knew that this peace would soon be broken, he still thought he should lie down whenever he could.

He'll deal with whatever comes his way, and he's not afraid of any tricks the other side might have up their sleeve.

With the support of a system, how could a Trisolaran like him be afraid of these natives?

...

Lu Ran spent the entire morning leisurely scrolling through his phone and reading the news.

For many small matters, Lu Ran would directly contact Zhou Mingzhe.

I don't want to be a workaholic, but some people do.

"President Lu," Zhou Mingzhe said as he entered the room near the end of the workday. After reporting on the day's work, he added, "There's a situation."

"What's going on?"

"It seems like they're keeping an eye on us overseas."

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow: "Abroad?"

"Yes." Zhou Mingzhe handed over the tablet. "Look at this."

The screen displayed an English news article; the headline roughly translated as:

[Rise of the East: Two Chinese Games Simultaneously Enter Global Top Ten Popularity Charts]

It was conscious of that it was news from abroad.

Lu Ran rarely paid attention to foreign affairs, but he knew that at this time, although the domestic game industry was relatively lagging behind, the level of foreign games was still very high.

In previous years, China had strict controls on game imports, so foreign game companies did not venture into the domestic game market.

However, as China's international influence has increased in recent years, its cultural confidence has also risen, leading to a much looser control over this area.

Lu Ran continued reading:

The news report states that two games from China have garnered global attention in the past month. One is the martial arts fighting game "Seven Heroes," and the other is the first-person shooter "Half-Life." While the two games have vastly different styles, both have earned positive reviews from players worldwide thanks to their unique gameplay and high level of polish.

Half-Life, in particular, has become more popular than some local shooting games in countries with a strong gun culture, such as North America and Eastern Europe.

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow slightly.

I never imagined that while I was just worried about foreign games invading the domestic market, it turned out that my two games and Tencent's games were the ones that were affecting foreign countries first.

"Look at this again." Zhou Mingzhe swiped the screen a few more times.

These are screenshots from several foreign gaming forums:

[Reddit user "JohnnyUSA"]: I've been playing shooters for 20 years, from Thor to Summoner's, and I thought I'd seen it all. But this Half-Life from China really surprised me. While the gunplay isn't quite up to par with top-tier titles, it's quite good for a product from an emerging market. Most importantly, it's free!

[Twitter user "GamerDmitry"]: Russian guys, I highly recommend this Chinese shooting game! The name is a bit strange, but it's really fun to play. And the server latency is even lower than some European games, unbelievable!

[YouTube blogger "AsianGameReview"]: Today I'm reviewing two games from China. One is the martial arts game *Seven Heroes*, and the other is the shooter *Half-Life*. To be honest, I was amazed. Especially the combat in *Seven Heroes*, which is even better than many Japanese fighting games. The Chinese game industry may truly be on the rise.

Lu Ran read through the reviews one by one and found that both games had surprisingly good international reviews.

It's important to understand that, in terms of visual appeal, these two domestic games are far inferior to their foreign counterparts.

After all, these are all finished products that take a few months to develop, so there will inevitably be a difference in quality compared to games from overseas that take several years to create.

However, these two games also have unique aspects in terms of gameplay.

"Brother Zhou," he asked, "what do you think Tencent's feelings are right now?"

Zhou Mingzhe thought for a moment: "It should be... similar to ours, right? After all, we never expected it to become popular overseas, it's a pleasant surprise."

"That's absolutely true." Lu Ran was both amused and exasperated. "They originally just wanted to compete with us for the domestic market, but they accidentally opened the door to the international market. What do you call that? You call it an unexpected bonus."

"What about us? Should we take this opportunity to push our expansion overseas as well?"

Lu Ran shook his head: "No rush. The theme of 'Seven Swordsmen' has limited acceptance among overseas players. Martial arts culture, the Seven Swordsmen, Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit—these things are nostalgic in China, but they represent a cultural barrier overseas. Forcing it won't work."

He paused, then his tone became serious: "And haven't you noticed a problem?"

"What's the problem?"

"We're happy here, thinking our games have gone global and we're making a name for ourselves. But what do those overseas game companies think?"

Zhou Mingzhe pondered the meaning behind Lu Ran's words.

Lu Ran continued, "The Chinese game market has always been more about imports than exports. When big foreign games come in, we pay for the copyrights and operate them as distributors. Now, suddenly two domestically produced games have become popular overseas, and they're even free to play—do you think those big foreign companies that are used to making money hand over fist are happy?"

Zhou Mingzhe's expression changed slightly: "You mean..."

"What I mean is, the domestic game market may be about to change drastically."

...