Villain’s Programming - Chapter 289



Only Noblemtl

Episode 289: Biribiri’s Choice

Dojun sent Minmay his FTP IP address, ID, and PW via messenger.

Minmay checked the message right away and called right away.

– Sabu, what is this? FTP? What, you need to send me a file?

“Yeah. Minmay, you have something to do.”

– What is it?

“Are you having a headache these days? Cool your head off by looking at these.”

* * *

Minmay sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror.

“There is no such thing as a complete panda.”

Her hair was disheveled and the dark circles under her eyes were deep.

“Ha. Do you think this will solve the problem?”

Minmay returned to the CEO’s office and slumped down on her chair.

These days, Minmay’s head is in a state of confusion due to the ‘Bilibili’ acquisition. Even at 11 p.m., she still hasn’t been able to leave the company.

On the desk were piles of reports about ‘Bilibili’ and ‘Chen Rui’, the representative of Bilibili. There were many handprints on the reports, as if they had been looked over several times.

Minmay looked at the report again and again.

The report listed the strengths of competitors Alibaba and Baeksent. Alibaba’s strengths were its small stake and high price, while Baeksent’s strengths were its synergy effects using WeChat and QQ.

‘But we have no advantage over our competitors. After all, if we want to acquire, we can reduce our stake and increase the investment amount, but it is risky to raise any more funds.’

However, I couldn’t give up on acquiring ‘BiriBiri’. As my father said, if the government starts censoring IT, the YouTube market will become a no-man’s land.

‘The video market is a goose that lays golden eggs. You should never give up on it!’

Minmay gathered her strength again and entered the ‘Bilibili’ site.

‘Ugh… slow.’

Bilibili had all of its servers located ‘overseas’. Naturally, server access was very slow. However, once you connected, it was fine after that.

A number of categories appeared before Minmay’s eyes.

‘Fairy tales, animations, games… … .’

Among the numerous categories, Minmay was placed in the animation category. There were many animations uploaded illegally by users.

To be honest, Minmay didn’t really care about ‘illegal’ sharing. In this day and age, no one really cared about illegal sharing of videos like movies, animations, or dramas.

‘Wait, I think Dad said something about this too… … . What did he say? Right, he said that other countries keep making claims? Even Chinese broadcasting stations are making claims.’

As Minmay was recalling what her father had said, a message arrived.

‘Fight!’

I happily checked, and there was an FTP address written down.

‘what?’

I called Dojun right away, and he told me to cool my head while watching the video, then hung up.

Minmay accessed the FTP that Dojun had taught her. She saw numerous files there.

“What? These are all animation files?”

All the famous animations were there, from ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ to ‘Macross Frontier’ and ‘Gundam’.

Minmay’s lips jutted out.

The way he cooled his head was not through animation, but through a warm conversation.

‘Or at least teach me a solution. If it’s a fight, there must be a solution… … .’

I felt regretful, but at the same time, I also had doubts.

‘But why is Sabu showing this? It’s never happened before.’

Of course, Minmay loved animation. After discovering that her name was the same as the female protagonist of ‘Macross’, she naturally started watching a lot of animation.

‘Is there anything in this anime that might be a hint?’

Minmay clicked on the first anime that came up, her eyes sparkling. It was ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’.

The anime began with the famous ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis’ opening and a brief sponsor introduction video.

Minmay quickly rewinded the video because she had already seen the latter part several times. After watching it for about two hours, Minmay was able to finish watching Evangelion.

It was definitely fun, but Minmay tilted her head.

‘Nothing special? It’s just the same anime I watched before. Did you really send it to me to cool my head?’

That thought occurred to her, but Minmay shook her head.

‘No, that can’t be true.’

Minmay felt regretful.

‘If it were before, I would have told you the reason right away.’

These days, they don’t teach you the reasons, they just present the problems.

‘Maybe because you want me to grow more on my own?’

Minmay drank some cold water and came to her senses.

‘I can’t let you down, Sabu. There must be a reason why you want me to see this. Cheer up!’

Minmay couldn’t leave work in the end. Not only did she watch anime all day the next day, she watched the anime Dojun sent her until 10am the next morning.

I quickly reviewed the things I had already seen and slowly reviewed the things I had not seen. Then I discovered something strange.

‘Huh? All of them… are the versions that feature Kadokawa’s sponsorship videos?’

There were usually two versions of the anime videos floating around on the Internet: one with sponsors, and one without.

Sponsored videos are short videos that are only 2-3 seconds long, but people don’t even want to watch these and prefer the non-sponsored versions.

‘Kadokawa? Kadokawa? Wait, isn’t Kadokawa a company in which Sabu is a major shareholder?’

At that moment, Minmay jumped up from her seat.

“This is it!”

* * *

Dojun has been having some special days these days.

‘The constraint that you can’t change the past, that’s not a bad thing.’

Do-jun has achieved great success so far based on the ‘memories’ he knew from his past life. However, now he cannot do anything based on what he knows from his past life.

‘This unexpectedly made me look back at myself. Up until now, I used to think, ‘I have to do this… If I leave it like this, something big will happen…’ But when I looked back after being restricted, it was all my greed.’

When I let go of my greed, half voluntarily and half involuntarily, I saw something different.

‘People who were kind to me in my past life. And people who are precious to me now.’

He was able to focus on people rather than work. And the person who helped Do-jun the most in his past life was CTO Yang Ha-seong.

After work for the first time in a long while, Dojun went to a ‘pig skin’ specialty store with CTO Yang Ha-seong.

This was the place where Yang Ha-seong often brought Do-jun in his previous life.

“No, how did you know I liked it here?”

“Oh, really? I didn’t know. I just came here because people recommended it.”

When they entered the store, it was full of people. When the store aunt guided them to an empty seat, the two sat down on a chair.

“For three servings of shells, two bottles of soju.”

After a while, a grill was placed over the charcoal briquettes, and the shells began to cook. Dojun skillfully turned the shells over.

“Sir, you come here often. You look like you’re used to grilling.”

“Haha. I came here with someone before.”

“Wow. I don’t know who you are, but you seem to know a thing or two about taste.”

“yes.”

Dojun asked Yang Ha-seong while cutting the shell.

“CTO, is there anything you need these days?”

Yang Ha-seong said as he dipped a shell in seasoning sauce and put it in his mouth.

“No. I’m happy these days. My salary is high, my benefits are good, and I even made a game that has a high chance of winning GOTY. What could I possibly regret? Haha.”

Yang Ha-seong asked while pouring alcohol into Do-jun’s glass.

“How are you doing these days, sir? I’m sure you’re very busy.”

“Me? Well, I like it too. Everyone is doing well. But I have one concern.”

“Are you worried? Oh my, listening to other people’s worries is my specialty. Tell me.”

Do-jun snickered. It was because his past life came to mind. Even then, Yang Ha-seong had patted Do-jun on the shoulder and told him to tell him if he had any worries, and that if he did, he would see a solution.

“It’s just that I want to tell someone something, but I don’t know how to tell them directly. I want to teach them without them noticing… but I don’t know how to do it.”

“Oh, really? Haha. Then you asked the right question. I’m an expert in that area.”

“Yes? Do you have any experience?”

Yang Ha-seong said while downing a glass of soju.

“Sir, do you remember the first time you saw Team Leader Kim Dong-jin?”

I still remember that clearly.

“Of course.”

“Haha. Now I’m a team leader and I get along well with everyone else, but back then it wasn’t like that. I joined the company a week before the CEO, so the seniority thing was no joke.”

Dojun asked with a blank expression.

“Did you know…?”

“Of course. If you’re in that position, you can see everything. He graduated from Korea University and was the nephew of the vice president, so he had a strong sense of superiority. If he had grown up like that, he would have been a capable but arrogant person.”

Do-jun opened his eyes wide. Kim Dong-jin from his previous life was just like that.

Yang Ha-seong put the shell back in his mouth and continued speaking.

“But, the CEO appeared right in front of him. Even though he has a good academic background and is the vice president’s nephew, he’s someone you can’t help.”

“I… what.”

“I worked so hard that it was pitiful to watch him. I said I would try to beat you, sir. But what can I do? Sir, you are not human.”

“Yes? I’m definitely a person.”

Yang Ha-seong shook his head.

“No, no. What should I say about you, sir… It’s like you’re living a second life. No matter what problem arises, you solve it without hesitation. And how much talent do you have? I’ve never seen an ordinary person throw a knuckleball before.”

“…that is.”

“Oh, it’s okay. That’s the CEO. The problem is that Dongjin, this guy, was really depressed one day. It must have been the first time. He saw a wall he couldn’t overcome. Anyway, after that day, I took him to a bar every day. We mostly drank here.”

Dojun felt strange.

‘In my previous life, I was the one taken care of by the team leader, but in this life, it’s Dongjin.’

“So, are you feeling better, Dongjin? Well, judging from your recent appearance, it seems like it was effective. What did you do?”

“Well, what else is there? Just drink with him, listen to his stories, and be there for him until he gets over it. So that he never feels alone.”

“ah!”

Do-jun felt sad for a moment. He was like that in his past life. When he thought he was the only one left out at the company, Team Leader Yang Ha-seong would always come over and buy him drinks, meals, and talk to him.

Dojun gritted his teeth and held out his glass.

“Thank you, CTO.”

“Yes? Is there anything I should be thankful for?”

“Yes. There are many.”

“Haha. Then I’ll take a lot.”

The two drank until they had 10 bottles of soju and left the ‘Shell House’.

Do-jun called a taxi and picked up Yang Ha-seong.

“Yes, sir.”

“yes?”

“I’ll tell you one more thing. It’s about that friend you’re worried about. If he’s really having a hard time, it might be okay to give him a hint.”

* * *

The next day, Dojun went to work. Even though he drank a lot yesterday, he felt refreshed.

Dojun was just sitting on his chair and turning on his computer when he got a phone call.

‘Huh? Minmay. Did you solve my quiz?’

Dojun immediately pressed the call button.

“Minmay!”

– Sabu. I solved the quiz that Sabu gave me!

“Huh? What kind of quiz? I’ve never given you a quiz before.”

– Ha, are you going to keep pretending not to know? It’s animation.

“Annie? I don’t have any. I just thought you might like them, so I sent you a few of my favorite animes.

– Okay. Okay, I see. I knew that.

Dojun heard Minmay’s bewildered voice and snickered and asked.

Dojun recalled the story Yang Ha-seong told him yesterday.

‘Just listen to me.’

Dojun asked.

“But what did you solve?”

– You said you asked your father about censorship last time, right?”

“That’s right.”

– At that time, in addition to censorship of search term content, we also talked about ‘illegal sharing’.

Dojun’s eyes sparkled. This was something Dojun didn’t even know about.

“okay?”

– Yes. Well, I think there are complaints coming in from domestic and foreign companies because of the increase in illegal sharing of movies, animations, and dramas. So I think they are going to strengthen censorship on illegal sharing this time.

“Even if we strengthen censorship, we won’t be able to stop illegal sharing, right?”

– That’s true, but it will still be less than it is now. Some people will be frustrated because they can’t see the content.

“I guess so?”

– Sabu, at this point, what if there was a large site that officially purchased the copyright and broadcast the animation for free? For example… a site that formed an alliance with Kadokawa.

Dojun laughed out loud at Minmay’s words.

“ha ha ha.”

– Sabu, why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?

“No. I think it’s really time to get off now.”

– Sabu! Not yet. This time, Sabu showed me the anime and got the hint. Sabu intentionally showed only the ‘Kadokawa’ sponsored videos, right?

Dojun pretended not to care.

“Huh? What are you talking about? I was just showing you my favorite anime to cool off a bit.”

– Yes, yes. I understand. By the way, isn’t this enough to merit the acquisition for us? Kadokawa, will you help us?

“Of course. But to make it perfect, I think it would be good to have one more merit… … .”

Actually, Dojun had another good idea in his head.

– One more? I don’t think there are any more… … .

Dojun spoke comfortingly to Minmay’s gloomy words.

“Minmay, you can do it. You figured this out too. If it’s too difficult, tell me. I’ll think about it.”

– No. I’ll figure it out on my own this time too!

“Ah! Minmay, I’ll call you back. The LoL match starts now!”

* * *

Minmay gained a lot of strength from her conversation with Dojun. But she felt regretful.

‘I wish you could talk a little longer. I have to hang up because of the LoL game… ‘

He watched anime all night and figured out a strategy to take over ‘Biri Biri’ based on the information he got from his father, but the call ended before he could even say hello properly because of the LoL game.

‘under!’

Unfortunately, Minmay took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

Minmay became the CEO of a company at a very young age. She didn’t tell Dojun, but it was so hard that she cried many times and even thought about giving up everything.

But every time, he thought of Dojun and endured with the determination to make the ‘Cross Warrior’ he created a success. The result was the current JM-SOFT.

‘Okay. Let’s do what we have to do now.’

Minmay immediately held a meeting of executives. Minmay talked to Dojun about the plan to purchase the official rights to the ‘animation’ through ‘Kadokawa’.

The executives’ response was tremendous. They had found a way to do something that had previously been impossible, but now they had a way that seemed like it might work.

Everyone said that this would work in ‘Biri Biri’. But Minmay’s last words from Dojun remained in her heart.

– Right. But to make it perfect, I wish there was one more merit?

Minmay asked the executives.

“By any chance, do you have any better ideas? If there’s one better way, I think I can definitely take over.”

Everyone was silent at Minmay’s words. Minmay nodded. She thought about it and couldn’t think of a better way.

“Then, if there is nothing more to say, I will end the meeting. The general affairs team should prepare a proposal to be sent to Biri Biri and send it to me.”

It was then that one of the executives sitting at the end raised his hand.

“Go ahead.”

“Sir. It’s because of the Chinese professional gaming team creation that you mentioned last time. Should we start with LoL as the only game? And I think it would be good to have some advertising contracts with game streamers. Which platform streamers should we use?”

At that moment, Minmay’s eyes widened.

‘Platform? Streamer? Why didn’t I think of this!’

Minmay remembered Dojun’s last words.

– “Ah! Minmay, I’ll call you back. The LoL match starts now!”

‘Is it a coincidence? Or was it a hint given to me?’

Judging from the atmosphere, it seemed like it was just something said, but now that I think about it, it didn’t seem like it was just something said.

Minmay spoke to all the executives.

“What if… we put the videos of Bilibili game streamers on the main page of our LoL game site? And what if we contract Bilibili for the competition videos?”

* * *

Chen Rui concluded the management meeting.

“Okay, then I will go with Baeksent for this share sale. Does anyone have any objections?”

Everyone present at the meeting became quiet after hearing Chen Rui’s words.

“Then we’ll end the meeting here. The head of the business division should talk to Baeksent to coordinate the details and come back with a final copy of the contract.”

“all right.”

Chen Rui finished the meeting and returned to the office.

‘Finally, the money is coming in. There are so many things I want to do once the money comes in.’

Chen Rui, whose heart was excited, looked at the figures.

‘I think the day will come soon when I can formally introduce you to China.’

It was then that the secretary came in with an urgent expression.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Why are you looking like that? What’s wrong?”

“That’s… I heard that the CEO of JM-SOFT came to see you.”

“Yes? Mr. JM-SOFT? Don’t you have an appointment?”

“you’re right.”

It was customary to make an appointment in advance for meetings between representatives.

Chen Rui asked with a slight frown.

“Why did you come all of a sudden?”

“I have something urgent to tell you about the Biri Biri investment.”

Chen Rui shook his head.

“It’s already over. Go and tell them the contract is over and to go back.”

“All right.”

The secretary left the office.

‘Well, it’s obvious I’ll be bullied, so there’s no need to meet me.’

But the secretary who had gone out came back with an anxious expression.

“Representative.”

“Why? The JM-SOFT representative isn’t coming?”

“No, that’s not it… … . I just said I was going to go.”

“Then there’s no problem, right?”

The secretary answered with an impatient expression.

“But he told me to make sure to tell him this. If you want to get all the animation rights that Kadokawa owns at a low price, come down to me within five minutes. Otherwise, he’ll go to a competitor.”