Chapter 66: The Copyright of Legends of the Three Kingdoms

As the National Day holiday approached, Xu Heng found the contact information for the creator of Legends of the Three Kingdoms.

Huang Kai was currently just a junior in college, and creating Legends of the Three Kingdoms had been a personal hobby he'd taken up on a whim back then; he now had the budding idea of developing Legends of the Three Kingdoms into a systematic tabletop game, but he was troubled by a lack of funds and ability.

The oldest version of Legends of the Three Kingdoms, also called Dragon Edition Legends of the Three Kingdoms, was at that time entirely hand-drawn and produced by him and his good friend Li You; it had already taken shape, and they had even sold a few sets on Taobao.

But he and Li You were now very conflicted about whether they should enter this industry; after all, they were stepping into a field that no one in the country had yet explored as pioneers.

Creating a successful tabletop game like Magic: The Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh! was an extremely difficult task; if they failed, it would mean they would be saddled with high debts and a bleak future.

Just as the two were in this state of conflict, Xu Heng approached them.

He found the two on QQ and said he could put up three million to buy the copyright to Legends of the Three Kingdoms.

At first, Huang Kai suspected he was a scammer; for a tabletop game that only circulated among university clubs, opening with millions to buy the copyright was just too absurd.

Even if Xu Heng had said he would invest a few hundred thousand, he might have believed it a little, but spending millions to buy a niche tabletop game that might fail to turn a profit was something he couldn't believe at all.

So, after only a few words, Huang Kai blocked Xu Heng.

Xu Heng had no choice but to add Huang Kai's friend Li You on QQ, state his intentions, and say that he was sincerely interested in buying the copyright to the Legends of the Three Kingdoms they had created; if she didn't believe him, they could meet in person in Beijing during the National Day holiday, at which time they could find a lawyer to help draft a contract.

Li You didn't keep this matter a secret; as soon as she finished talking to Xu Heng, she told Huang Kai about Xu Heng's intentions.

The two thought about it for a full half-day before realizing that the tabletop game they had created had truly caught someone's eye! Now, only one problem remained before them.

To sell... or not to sell?

If they didn't sell Legends of the Three Kingdoms, they could take out bank loans to build their own company and release the Legends of the Three Kingdoms card game, but the risks involved would be enormous; if Legends of the Three Kingdoms didn't succeed, they would become "debt-second-generation."

If they sold Legends of the Three Kingdoms, they would immediately receive a large sum of money, enough for the two of them to buy a house and a car outside the Third Ring Road in Beijing, but in exchange, they would lose the hard work they had poured four years into.

Huang Kai sat at the stairwell of the tabletop game club's activity room, smoking a two-yuan Double Leaf cigarette, smoke swirling around him, his brows tightly locked. "I still don't really want to sell Legends of the Three Kingdoms."

Legends of the Three Kingdoms was a card game he had created with his own hands, just like his own biological child; what father could bear to sell his own child?

Besides, it wasn't certain they couldn't find other investors; what if next year... next year some rich guy became interested in Legends of the Three Kingdoms, invested a few hundred thousand, and used factory technology to print the cards? It wasn't impossible to sell them.

"Brother Kai, that's three million!" Li You was different from Huang Kai; she couldn't remain unmoved by three million. "We wouldn't earn that much money in a lifetime of working for others!"

"If Legends of the Three Kingdoms can succeed, what we can earn will be ten times three million."

"But you also said 'if'; it's not absolutely guaranteed to succeed! If we fail, what we lose won't just be three million, but also the startup loans and the rest of our lives."

Huang Kai said, "A-You, sometimes a person can't take the rest of their life too seriously; when it's time to take a gamble, you have to take a gamble."

"But... Brother Kai, we're graduating next year. I'm an only child, and my family's situation isn't great. If I had these three million, at least I could let my parents know their daughter has made something of herself out there. I don't want to let them down. Brother Kai, I don't have the power to take a gamble."

As Li You spoke, her voice actually carried a hint of a sob, and her eyes were red.

Huang Kai looked at her for a long time, silent, until the cigarette butt had completely extinguished, and then he sighed and said, "Fine, I'll meet him in person. If he lets us continue to work on the development and creation of Legends of the Three Kingdoms, I'll agree to sell him the copyright."

Back in the dormitory, Cheng Huaiyu was shouting about wanting to crush the opponent playing BeastRace, saying that the Blademaster hero should be nerfed by four thousand plus.

Zhao Gaoyang was playing as a Night Elf, and the two were having a 2v2 battle with Zheng Yang and the others downstairs on Turtle Island.

Just as Xu Heng had guessed, Cheng Huaiyu had the temperament of a child; it hadn't been many days since the club recruitment, and he had already forgotten it completely, still playing heatedly with Zheng Yang and the others.

"By the way, Old Xu, do you have a performance for the Welcome Gala this year?"

After finishing a round, Cheng Huaiyu turned to Xu Heng. "Meimei was bragging to her roommates that she knows you, and she also said you'd definitely be performing on stage at this year's Welcome Gala. She wants you to reveal your performance to her in advance."

"No, I was eliminated."

Cheng Huaiyu's eyes widened: "Nani? You got eliminated? Do those judges have any appreciation for talent at all!"

"This has nothing to do with appreciation for talent," Xu Heng said.

"Then what does it have to do with?"

"Human relationships and worldly wisdom."

"Damn! Then what do I do? You got eliminated, how am I supposed to answer to Meimei when I go back? She already made such a big boast."

Xu Heng said speechlessly, "Her bragging doesn't affect you."

"Meimei is, after all... my sworn younger sister." Cheng Huaiyu scratched his head. "I can't let my sworn younger sister lose face in front of her roommates."

"Let her lose face then. Don't forget that Dan Yuyue is your girlfriend." Xu Heng clicked 'reject' on the QQ prompt of Dan Yuyue adding him as a friend, then asked, "How far has your relationship with Dan Yuyue developed recently?"

"Aiyo, don't mention it. You know what Yueyue's personality is like; she's like a manager, even more annoying than my mom. I said I'd take her to my house for the holiday, but she won't go, saying she wants to go to England and wants me to accompany her abroad. With my English level, barely passing the CET-4, and she wants to go to England? I scolded her right then and there."

"And then?"

Cheng Huaiyu spread his hands: "So I've temporarily fallen out with her. We're in a cold war, don't ask."

Hearing the tone of his voice, Xu Heng knew they were about to break up; in the original timeline, Cheng Huaiyu and Dan Yuyue should have broken up in January of next year, but in this timeline, it seemed to be happening a bit faster.

"Old Xu, are you going out to play for the holiday? Why don't we form a travel group in our dorm and go out?"

"I have things to do."

He still had to go to Beijing to handle official business during the holiday; he didn't have time to accompany a few young men to tour the beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland.

"What about Old Zhao?" Cheng Huaiyu asked Zhao Gaoyang.

Zhao Gaoyang also shook his head: "I have to stay at school for the holiday."

"Staying at school to watch the dorm?"

"No, I found a job as a stocker at a supermarket. I have to go four times a week, and I can't leave even during the holiday."

Cheng Huaiyu said, "Not bad, kid, you've started working in your sophomore year. How much can you make a month?"

Zhao Gaoyang held up a hand: "Five hundred."

"Just five hundred yuan? Are you trying to shoo away a beggar!" Hearing this number, Cheng Huaiyu frowned and said, "You're actually doing this job? Is it worthy of our status as Jin Da students?"