Chapter 139: Monopoly Company
Chapter 139: Monopoly Company
Over the past year, Earth Resource had grown with tremendous effort.
The expansion was so explosive that it was hard to even calculate the growth rate.
Because of that, we'd been focusing on solidifying our foundation while simply aiming to increase subscribers. But then massive articles about the Last Survivor tournament broke out.
[Last Survivor Tournament to Crown a Winner with $4.56 Million Prize]
[Entries Pouring in from Around the World—Final Participation Expected to Exceed 30 Million]
[Earth Channel Game Subscribers Surge]
[Over 4 Million Entries from Korea Alone on Day One]
"You behind this?"
"Yeah. My doing."
The game tournament hosted by Oh Myeong-woo had become a huge media sensation.
The top prize was $4.56 million.
It was a hefty sum, but not burdensome for the company.
'Even if we just gain a million game subscribers, we'll break even in a month... As long as the subscribers are happy.'
One of the secrets to Earth Resource's rapid growth was that we didn't pour a huge chunk of revenue into advertising like other companies.
That allowed us to run fun events like this without worry.
I said to Oh Myeong-woo,
"Let's give some commemorative prizes to the final 10,000 survivors, at least."
"Sounds good. What kind of prizes?"
"Hmm. Figures of the characters from Last Survivor? Or clothing and model gear. They'd love that, right?"
"That'd make 'em risk their lives for it."
We partnered with a clothing manufacturer to mass-produce Last Survivor jackets.
It was like bringing the in-game outfits into real life.
―Those military jackets are tempting.
―Wearing that around certifies you as Last Survivor Challenge level, right?
―Totally hooked. The design's pretty too.
―Female character gear is the truth. Ripped thigh jeans.
―ㅗㅜㅑ
Once we announced the prizes, gamers responded with overwhelming enthusiasm.
Even users who only watched broadcasts or videos on Earth Channel but hadn't subscribed to the game started changing their tune.
Oh Myeong-woo said in surprise,
"Game subscribers jumped by a whopping 6 million today."
"That many?"
"Yeah. Earth Channel gained 3.5 million new users, and most of them subbed to the game too. Especially a ton from China."
They were signing up to chase that $4.56 million prize.
'No event can beat the allure of gambling.'
Who gets rich pinching pennies?
In this era, shooting for a windfall was the rational choice.
The Last Survivor tournament drew scorching hot interest from all angles.
"Guess we should make gloves, shoes, and T-shirts too."
"Gonna do merch?"
"Planning to hand out small prizes to the final 100,000 at least."
It meant spending money, but the tournament's effects made it well worth it.
Oh Myeong-woo suggested,
"Let's join the tournament too."
"Us? Aren't we company staff?"
"Who cares? It's just a game of running, farming, and shooting. No special perks for Earth Resource's CEO anyway."
"Fair point."
Oh Myeong-woo and I both entered.
Eddie and Lee Jong-yeop joined naturally, and most Earth Resource employees participated too.
The Last Survivor game manager on Earth Channel posted in the community forum that Earth Resource staff were joining the tournament.
[Earth Resource CEO Kim Shin Joins Last Survivor Tournament]
[Kim Shin Known to Be an Avid Last Survivor Player]
[Tournament to Be a Festival for Survivors]
Articles exploded across the internet.
I'd worried about backlash for a CEO entering a game tournament, but there was none.
―Would be fun to match against Kim Shin hyung.
―His nickname's out now!
―ㄷㄷㄷ He's been grinding 3-4 games a day steadily?
―An hour of gaming a day is healing.
―How's he find time for games with investing and business? Alt account?
―The busier you are, the more you crave games lol.
―Western stock retail traders: If you match with Kim Shin hyung, hesitate just a sec before shooting, human decency.
―I couldn't shoot Kim Shin hyung.
―Then you're dying? It's $4.56 million.
―Grenade incoming.
People seemed to just enjoy the fact that I was participating.
The tournament, which kicked off on Saturday, drew a total of 42.6 million entrants.
With no entry limits or fees, people worldwide flooded in, and game channels from various countries even broadcasted it.
"Kim Shin! Just picked up a rifle."
"Sticking to warehouses mostly."
"Teaming with VP user Khan to fend off a four-man ambush."
From day one, I appeared on game streams, with Earth Channel streamers relaying the matches.
You could team up with one other person for the tournament.
Amid the massive attention, we fought hard and survived in joint second place in our third match.
[Kim Shin Survives Day One of Last Survivor Tournament]
[Kim Shin Shows True Korean Skill]
[Secret to Survival: The K2 He Used in Service?]
The community buzzed over my gameplay.
―Cleared day one easy, as expected. Korean certified.
―Solid basics. Building angles, password grabs—knows optimal routes.
―Successful CEO and investor, but gaming feels so relatable.
―Was I the only one pitying him running unarmed from the rooftop like a noob?
These were fresh comments, different from the envy when I'd made bank.
Running unarmed before grabbing a gun, I was desperate to survive—for my life and my pride.
* * *
A few days earlier, I'd chatted with Eddie, Earth Resource's core developer, about Pangea Live.
"You're a real genius, hyung!"
After that, I often saw Eddie lost in thought.
Then Eddie came to my desk with a confident grin.
"Heh heh heh. Your idea seems to aim for at least four effects."
"......"
Four?
I probably hadn't intended even one properly.
"First, it reduces user burden since apps are expensive."
"Right. Spot on."
Fortunately, the first one was something I'd considered.
No one buys every pricey software just to use it once in a while.
PC users often searched for free software, but doing so exposed them to malware and viruses.
Ideally, Earth Channel would provide them.
"Second, boosts Pangea Live efficiency. Users need diverse uses to keep coming back."
"That's right too."
I'd thought of the second one as well.
Having invested in Pangea Live, I wanted lots of users.
Up to here, our thinking aligned on common-sense lines.
"Third is the app market."
"App market?"
"Come on, hyung. Your acting clueless is top-tier."
I really was clueless—spill it already.
"PC users don't need that many programs, right?"
"True."
After reformatting, essentials plus about a hundred softwares cover most needs.
"Earth Channel distributes games. Once Pangea Live launches officially, users can play anytime."
"Yeah."
"Extend that to utilities and most programs."
"......"
"Like Google's Android Market or Apple Store—Earth Channel builds its own software sales system. No need for users to download and install. Pangea Live handles everything from the main server."
"Hmm."
He was describing a massive app market that would dominate PC software.
'Did I intend this?'
I'd just acquired decent software with fresh investment cash to offer users free or cheap.
Expanding from games to utilities and Pangea Live software overall.
'How big a market is this?'
Add phones to PC software, and it's Android/Apple app market scale.
Earth Channel installs via web, offering tons of services on its platform.
We would pay no fees to Google or Apple.
Pangea Live centered on screen streaming from the start.
"Am I right?"
"...For now. What's the fourth?"
"As expected! Knew you intended it."
Geniuses think everyone's a genius around them.
Lucky for me—or I'd hate to see the pedestal crumble.
"Fourth was tricky to guess. And shocking you'd foresee that far."
How far was that?
Honestly, I had not thought that far ahead.
The buildup had me hooked now.
"PC operating systems."
"Hm."
"Guessed it again. Haha."
I asked the grinning Eddie seriously,
"Explain the exact principle. Gotta know if you're right."
"It's simple. Once Pangea Live goes mainstream, no need for clunky Windows on desktops or laptops. Run most software via Pangea."
"So?"
"We offer our own free OS service. A light, simple system just for booting and accessing Pangea Live."
It would be far smaller and lighter than the mobile version of Android.
Users could install it from a USB drive and boot directly into it.
Desktops and laptops run on internet-connected Pangea Live.
No pricey OS needed, plus one convenience perk.
'Log in on any computer—living room desktop, office rig, even laptop—and same environment everywhere.'
Use any software on Pangea Live: games, docs, graphics tools.
Cloud-save work data, naturally supported.
Users avoid slowdowns, annual formats, hardware fails, viruses.
It amounted to complete domination of personal computing.
A shiver ran through me, like discovering Bitcoin three years back—unforeseen.
"You named it Pangea, hyung."
"Yeah."
"Got the hint there. No way you picked it randomly. Your goal: unite all computers as one."
"......"
For a moment, I pictured Pangea Live serving worldwide.
We would control the exclusive content.
We could monopolize both the operating-system and software markets.
Earth Resource would become unstoppable.
It would become a truly monstrous company.