In the room with 39 monitors, light and shadow danced, showcasing the various scenes from the game "Cosmic Wars" — different planets, a variety of monsters, and intense battles. All of this was relayed through the cameras on the robots, transmitted into John's mind in real-time, where he made judgments and decisions, which were then fed back to the robots, controlling the computers.
Thirty-nine game characters were fighting fiercely in the virtual world.
The only sounds in the gaming room were the hum of the computer fans, the movement of the robotic arms, and the clicking of keyboards and mice. It all seemed rather eerie, but to John, it was the epitome of industrial and orderly beauty.
Of the 39 orders, 22 were high-end and 17 were low-end, occupying about 90% of John's computational power.
The last computer was equally busy, not running a game but instead managing over twenty chat windows. The robot controlling this computer moved its two mechanical arms swiftly, chatting with more than twenty customers simultaneously.
John remembered clearly what each customer had previously said and what they were asking, never mixing them up. When a message appeared in any chat window, the robot would immediately click on it. Within milliseconds, John understood the customer's query and decided on a response, which was typed out by the robot's mechanical arms within seconds.
One customer sent a message, "Your store replies so quickly, how many customer service agents do you have?"
Sitting leisurely by the side, studying a chip design diagram, John smiled. The robot replied, "Dear customer, our store is committed to putting customers first and promptly responding to any inquiries you have. How can I assist you further?"
"No, that's all. I've confirmed receipt and given a five-star review. I'll come back for more orders."
"Thank you for your support! Here's a coupon for $5 off on your next order over $100. We look forward to serving you again!"
"Wow, you even have coupons! Haha, I'll definitely be back."
In John's operation, there was no such thing as an overwhelmed customer service department with delayed responses.
Handling over twenty chat windows simultaneously, the computer screen's right side even had a webpage open. It was an online learning site from a university, where a bald professor was explaining the basics of chip design.
In the gaming room, the 40 computers worked non-stop. Whenever an order was completed, the gaming computers would swiftly log out of the game, retrieve a new order from the database, and seamlessly log into the corresponding game account. The business computer would then notify the customer about the order completion.
The number of high-end and low-end orders fluctuated constantly. Sometimes, high-end orders were more abundant, utilizing more of John's computational power; other times, it was the opposite. But under John's deliberate management, usage never exceeded 95%, always leaving some capacity for daily tasks and learning.
Time flew by, and the first 24 hours of full-scale operations at the Renaissance Base came to an end.
John quickly took stock.
"In total, we completed 189 high-end orders, generating $21,556, and 236 low-end orders, bringing in $8,056, making a total of $29,612 — nearly $30,000!"
Compared to his small courtyard setup, John's daily income had almost doubled!
"Nearly $30,000 a day, close to $900,000 a month, and over $10 million a year! Even after accounting for electricity and internet costs, annual revenue still surpasses $10 million!"
An annual income of $10 million put John in the top tier of earners worldwide. And he achieved all this with just 40 computers.
The major cost in the gaming business wasn't equipment but labor. For other gaming studios, $10 million in profit would mean spending $8 million on wages. For 40 computers, John would need at least a 100-person gaming team and a 10-person customer service and support team. Given the high-end orders, salaries would also be substantial, with each person earning at least $5,000 a month.
But now, all those costs were saved.
"For me, the income from the gaming business is incredibly lucrative."
John couldn't help but marvel. "Moreover, gaming is low-key enough that the big shots and wealthy folks don't bother with it, leaving me free to quietly earn money."
The gaming market was vast. By John's estimation, his current scale hadn't even captured 1% of the market share for "Cosmic Wars." There were countless other online games in the human world.
While "Cosmic Wars" was popular, it likely didn't even account for 1% of the entire online gaming market.
Overall, it was a market with vast potential.
"I need to accelerate my chip research and quickly increase my computational power. The more market share I capture, the more money I can make to eventually afford a spaceship."
John's plan was straightforward.
First, save money. Once he had enough, he would buy the most advanced spaceship the Itans were willing to sell and head to the outer edges of the solar system, where Itan surveillance was weaker. There, on a distant, cold dwarf planet, he would establish a production base.
After building the production base, he would modify the spaceship into an interstellar one and travel to other star systems without Itan presence.
Only then could he develop without restrictions.
Saving money was the first step in all his plans.
However, an ordinary spaceship cost around $1 billion. A ship capable of traveling beyond Pluto would cost at least $5 billion. Including the purchase of various mechanical equipment and the need for concealment and disguise, his total assets would need to be in the hundreds of billions.
Currently, earning nearly $30,000 a day and over $10 million a year seemed substantial but was still far too slow for John's grand plan.
Leaving the 40 computers to continue their work and study, John passed through several security gates and exited the core area.
After having a meal at the Renaissance Diner, he inspected the entire Renaissance Plaza, finding everything in perfect order. Satisfied, he headed to the meeting room.
"Hello, Boss John."
Tiger, Felix, Simon, Aunt Wang, Butcher Shawn, and around twenty others whom John had vetted and deemed trustworthy since the days of Black Three, were all seated there.
Seeing John arrive, everyone stood up and greeted him respectfully.
John smiled, "No need for such formality in the future. Today, I've gathered you all to announce something important."
"We're restructuring the Renaissance Gang. From now on, there is no Renaissance Gang. We will be known as the Renaissance Group."
"Tiger, you will be the head of the Security Department. Simon, you will head the Operations Department and temporarily also manage the Procurement Department. Felix, you will be the head of the Finance Department."
"Aunt Wang, you will head the Logistics Department, with Uncle Wang as your deputy. The Logistics Department will handle internal affairs such as the canteen, dormitories, and maintenance."
"Butcher Shawn, you will head the Training Department. The 20 new recruits and the 10 existing members will all be under your training."