To the extent that it could be called a syndrome, 【Space War】 was making headlines day after day.
Broadcasts, newspapers, and even portal sites other than 【Jungle】 frequently covered it as their main topic, leading to the saying that if you didn’t know about 【Space War】 in South Korea, you must be a spy.
As a result, PC cafes were booming every day, and the seats were often full due to people coming to play 【Space War】.
Especially among teenagers, the spread was phenomenal.
No wonder, since there wasn’t much proper culture for them at this time.
But in the space of a PC cafe, they could gather, play games, and chat together, making it incredibly fun.
This wasn’t only possible in PC cafes but also at home.
From its release, 【Jungle Game】 had built a proprietary multiplayer service environment called “Online Battlefield.”
This was feasible because it wasn’t designed with PC cafes in mind.
In other words, since there were no PC cafes during its development, it was created with the belief that an online multiplayer service environment must exist.
Naturally, teenagers who didn’t use PC cafes or who didn’t have one in their neighborhood dueled in the online battlefield.
Meanwhile, in the online battlefield provided by 【Jungle Game】, records of wins and losses were kept, and as time passed, skilled players started to emerge.
Among them, one mysterious expert became a hot topic among teenagers.
The game ID was ‘Emperor,’ meaning emperor.
With a record already reaching 100 matches and an astonishing win rate of 90%, players couldn’t help but idolize him.
By the end of April, Emperor even appeared in articles.
『The Faceless Emperor of 【Space War】, Emperor, Who Is He?』
Except for Emperor, the skilled players had already been identified by reporters.
If a reporter went into the online battlefield, revealed his identity, and asked to meet, it was a hundred percent that they would come out.
Most of them, being teenagers, felt their hearts swell with excitement just from becoming a hot topic at that age, responded to interviews, and after the articles were published, gained even more popularity and emerged as heroes of the online war.
Emperor, however, continually refused, leaving reporters frustrated.
Naturally, they inquired with 【Jungle Game】, but due to privacy reasons, they couldn’t confirm Emperor’s identity.
Of course, the employees of 【Jungle Game】 were also quite curious.
“Who could it be?”
“Exactly.”
“First of all, it doesn’t seem like he’s a kid. Usually, at that age, they would jump at the chance of media attention.”
“Of course. Actually, recently, it’s not just teenagers enjoying this game.”
【Space War】 was particularly popular among teenagers, but it wasn’t a game shunned by older age groups.
No, employees even dreamed that as time went on, 【Space War】 could be enjoyed by all ages, as even college students and working professionals were starting to get into it.
Initially, only the employees of 【Jungle Game】 were interested, but after a few days, the entire 【Jungle】 was curious about Emperor’s identity.
However, there was exactly one person in the company who knew his identity.
That person was none other than Lee Jung-woo.
“Hyung, this is getting bigger. Everyone’s really curious about you being Emperor.”
“Let’s keep it a secret.”
Lee Hyun-woo created another character in 【Space War】 like Nostradamus.
Of course, he didn’t expect it to become so popular so quickly.
Initially, he played with others in the online battlefield to improve his skills, but as time went on, he realized he had a talent for this game.
“Can’t you just reveal it? What’s the big deal about hiding it?”
“No, absolutely not. Initially, I built up victories without much thought, but I’m starting to worry. What would people think if the top player of 【Space War】 is the CEO of 【Jungle】?”
“What would they think?”
“First, they might suspect manipulation.”
“Hmm…”
“Even if not that, I need to step aside for new stars to rise. Who knows what could happen then.”
“What do you mean? What could happen?”
“For example, the game could turn into a sport. Something called esports might emerge.”
“Hyung… You’re going too far again.”
“Going too far” meant his imagination was heading to Andromeda.
“No, seeing how big this is becoming, I’m convinced it will happen.”
In reality, he was more confident because he had experienced it in his past life.
“Instead of just waiting, why don’t we take the lead in hosting a league?”
“Huh?”
“It would be good for promotion and wouldn’t be bad. 【Jungle Game】 Cup 【Space War】 League. I just came up with it, but the name sounds good.”
“Whoa, why does it sound like you prepared it?”
“I’ve thought about it a few times. Anyway, if we host the 【Space War】 League, it will help with promotion and shift the spotlight there. What do you think?”
It meant shifting the focus from the online battlefield to the league.
Thinking it wasn’t a bad idea, Lee Jung-woo nodded quickly.
“Okay, then I’ll try contacting a broadcasting station.”
“What? Isn’t it supposed to be an in-house league?”
“It is, but broadcasting it wouldn’t be bad. Think about it. Recently, cable channels have been popping up like mushrooms. Most of them have ratings close to 0%. But what if they broadcast the 【Space War】 League? I guarantee the ratings will exceed 0%. Even if not, it won’t be the lowest.”
“You have a lot of confidence. But listening to you, it sounds plausible. And it strangely feels like you planned everything.”
“Of course, it’s not something impulsive and sudden. I just imagined doing this and that if 【Space War】 became popular before it was released.”
“Got it. I’m specialized in development, so you’ll be good at this. Can I expect something?”
“High expectations lead to great disappointment, but this time, I’ll achieve results beyond expectations. Oh, before that, I think we need to restructure 【Jungle Game】 into an official department. I didn’t expect 【Space War】 to do this well and just put it under your direct supervision, but to respond systematically, it should function like a department.”
“Okay, but won’t I be left out?”
“No, you, Yoo Chul, and Min-woo have always had the freedom to dabble in various things at the company. So you can continue to discuss and work with the game department, or move to another area if something else interests you.”
Lee Hyun-woo had no intention of fixing them to one place.
In fact, he hoped not only them but all employees would come up with world-changing ideas with their free thoughts.
But that was for later, and first, he needed to grow the directors with the philosophy he envisioned.
‘Thanks to the cheat key of past life experience, I can see the success formula once a hit game is out.’
Not just for games, but by applying the success formula to all aspects, 【Jungle】 couldn’t help but thrive.
Also, whether a thousand employees were many or few, Lee Hyun-woo filled in the gaps directly.
When he took charge, the speed accelerated, so the push for the 【Space War】 League and broadcasting had no choice but to take flight.
A few days later, Lee Hyun-woo visited the cartoon channel 【Toonie World】.
The reason he chose the cartoon channel was simple.
The audience of 【Toonie World】 was predominantly children.
So, broadcasting the 【Space War】 League targeting them?
Absolutely not. It could lead to complaints from children’s guardians.
【Toonie World’s】 prime time was usually from morning to evening.
In other words, children head to dreamland afterward, and they had no choice but to air cartoons targeted at teenagers.
The problem was the extremely low ratings during that time slot.
Teenagers were generally outgrowing cartoons, and even if they weren’t, there weren’t many well-made animations to capture their interest.
Thus, the proposal Lee Hyun-woo made could be appealing.
“What do you think? Broadcasting during that time slot?”
Indeed, hearing this question, the eyes of 【Toonie World’s】 programming team leader, Yoon Tae-kyung, sparkled.
Being a cartoon channel, the young team leader, Yoon Tae-kyung.
Still in his 30s, he had perfectly grasped the recent hot topic of 【Space War】.
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
“Shall we proceed immediately? If you think positively about it here, we can plan and announce the league.”
“Yes, I’ll review it positively.”
“Thank you. But how long should I wait?”
The reason for asking this was that 【Toonie World】 wasn’t the only cartoon channel.
If he had the intention, Lee Hyun-woo might contact other places.
Thus, Yoon Tae-kyung quickly answered.
“If I discuss it, I can get back to you within a week.”
“Oh… really?”
“Do I need to respond faster?”
“It’s not that, but reporters keep sticking to me. I had to pull off a 007 operation just to come here today.”
In fact, Lee Hyun-woo held a position similar to a celebrity in the business world.
So, reporters always followed him.
Recently, many reporters were curious about his romance with Kim Ah-young, but as that topic cooled down, business matters reignited.
Thus, if the reporters found out about his visit to 【Toonie World】, it wouldn’t be bad for the cable channel.
It was only then that Yoon Tae-kyung realized he was meeting with a business magnate.
“Then, I’ll contact you by tonight.”
“Yes, please do.”
Lee Hyun-woo grinned.
‘Actually, another reason is that it’s a new channel, so it doesn’t have as many viewers as here.’
He had already decided on 【Toonie World】 and visited them for this reason.
So, by subtly applying pressure, he received a call by evening.
(Mr. CEO, it’s confirmed. The higher-ups said to go ahead without delay, so there’s no need to hesitate!)
Hearing the excited voice of Yoon Tae-kyung, Lee Hyun-woo cheered inwardly.
‘Okay! Let’s start the 【Space War】 League!’
The next day, Lee Hyun-woo immediately instructed to post an announcement on the 【Jungle Game】 page and the company’s portal site.
The content was as follows:
The 1st 【Space War】 League Announcement
Eligibility: Anyone who enjoys and loves 【Space War】
Preliminary Round Dates: May 5th to May 10th at 【Toonie World】 Cyber Battlefield
Prize Money: 10 million won for 1st place, 5 million won for 2nd place, 3 million won for 3rd place
(Details omitted)
