enjoyebooks Chapter 452 Top Leader
Chapter 452 Top Leader
When Lu Ran received Chen Mo's call, he was grinning from ear to ear at the data on the European server on his computer screen.
On its third day of release, the European version of League of Legends has already surpassed 800,000 concurrent users.
This number may not seem impressive in the Chinese market, but in Europe, and for a MOBA game produced in China, it's a remarkable achievement.
In the three core markets of Germany, France, and the UK, user retention rates all exceeded 60%, and the paid subscription rate was also significantly higher than expected.
What pleased Lu Ran even more were the crooked English comments in the comment section—"This game is actually good," "Better than I expected," "When is the next patch."
His team was previously criticized on forums for "all Chinese games being reskinned versions of other games," but now these same people are starting to ask about version update plans.
Although this change wasn't worth much money, Lu Ran still laughed out loud when he saw it.
So when Chen Mo called, Lu Ran was in a good mood and answered with a smile.
"Mr. Chen? What's wrong at Tencent that you're calling at this hour?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
Lu Ran's smile slowly faded, because Chen Mo's silence seemed a bit off.
That kind of silence isn't the kind where the signal is bad and you're waiting for the other person to feed you; it's the kind where the rhythm of conversation has been interrupted and needs to be readjusted.
"Mr. Lu, do you remember what I told you at dinner last time?"
Lu Ran switched the phone to her other ear and leaned back. "I remember. What's wrong? Has anything changed on your end?"
"The board has set the tone. TUTU's attitude has shifted from a wait-and-see approach to a more detached, if necessary, stance. Internally, they've already begun preparing self-developed projects in three tracks: MOBA, sandbox, and FPS, with timelines already set." Chen Mo's voice was calm, but that calmness seemed deliberately suppressed. "I voted against it, but it was useless. It's the inevitable trend."
Lu Ran didn't respond. He was waiting for Chen Mo to finish speaking.
"President Lu, does what I said last time still stand?" Chen Mo asked.
Which sentence?
"You said you'd save me a seat."
Lu Ran sat up straight in the chair.
He minimized the European server data on his computer screen, opened a document application, and hovered his fingers over the keyboard. "When are you coming?"
Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone. "I still have some handover and wrap-up work to do. I can't just leave today and go tomorrow; that would be too embarrassing. Give me two weeks to sort things out in the East China region, to give all the necessary explanations, and then… I'll formally resign."
"No problem. Two weeks it is." Lu Ran tapped a few times on the keyboard, created a new document, and titled it "Chen Mo's Onboarding Plan".
"Once you arrive, you'll be responsible for TUTU Technology's omnichannel marketing and external resource integration. You should understand the importance of this position. What the company lacks right now isn't products, but people who can get the product to a sufficient number of players. Your experience will fill that gap perfectly."
Chen Mo's voice sounded somewhat surprised: "Head of Public Relations? Mr. Lu, I work in regional operations at Tencent—"
"Regional operations are still operations. Someone who can manage internet cafe channels, event resources, and government relations in East China can be just as useful at the company level. Moreover—" Lu Ran paused, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, "—you won't just be handling publicity and promotion. The company's external collaborations, the implementation of the competition system's channels, and the localization of overseas markets will all require someone to coordinate. Your decade-plus of experience in regional operations is perfectly suited for this role."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Chen Mo felt incredibly valued.
Then Chen Mo's voice rang out again, a little softer than before, but the deliberately suppressed calm had dissipated: "Okay. See you in two weeks then."
"By the way, Mr. Chen," Lu Ran added before Chen Mo was about to hang up, "Do you have any suitable colleagues you think you could bring over? The company is short-staffed right now, especially people with industry experience who can work independently. You don't need to actively recruit, but if there are trustworthy people who feel that staying at Tencent isn't very fulfilling, you could consider bringing them over."
Chen Mo paused for a few seconds, then laughed: "President Lu, are you asking me to help you poach talent from Tencent?"
"How can you call it poaching? You're providing a better platform for talented people. When they come to TUTU, we offer them higher salaries, greater authority, and more interesting projects. As for what Tencent thinks—you've already left, why should we care what they think?"
Chen Mo laughed out loud this time, a laugh filled with a sense of relief. "Okay. I'll keep an eye out for you."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, staring at the newly created document on his computer screen, a smile playing on his lips.
With Chen Mo's arrival, the missing piece of the company's puzzle has been basically completed.
Zhou Mingzhe is in charge of internal operations and project management, Lao Wang leads the technical team, Zhao Yiming is responsible for product implementation, and Chen Mo is responsible for external publicity and resource integration—only when these four parts are put together can the entire company's framework be truly complete.
He began writing Chen Mo's onboarding plan in the document.
The job title, salary structure, scope of authority, department to which the employee will work, and key objectives for the first three months were listed out one by one, filling two full pages.
After finishing writing, he reviewed it and, finding no problems, saved the document. Then he sent a message to Zhou Mingzhe: "Brother Zhou, I have good news. Chen Mo is leaving Tencent to join us, starting in two weeks. Could you prepare his workstation and office equipment for him, and make sure he has the necessary permissions set up in advance?"
Zhou Mingzhe replied instantly with a string of ellipses.
A dozen seconds later, another message was added: "Wait—Chen Mo? Chen Mo from Tencent East China?"
"Yes. He suggested it himself."
"When did you start digging? I didn't hear a thing!"
"No, he didn't dig. He came of his own volition. We talked about it over dinner last time, and he mentioned it. We finalized it over the phone today."
Zhou Mingzhe replied with an emoji: a Shiba Inu tilting its head with the caption "Outrageous".
Then he said, "You're such a popular boss, everyone loves you. The head of Tencent's East China region even came to you to join your team. What kind of situation is that?"
"That's called competence," Lu Ran replied, then added, "Have the administration department prepare a welcome ceremony. It doesn't need to be too formal, but it should be lively. Let everyone know that the company has a significant newcomer."
Zhou Mingzhe sent a "received" emoji and then didn't reply.
Lu Ran closed the chat window, stood up, walked to the window, and stretched.
The August sunlight in Shanghai shone brightly on the glass curtain wall of the office building across the street, the glare making him squint.
Pedestrians in short sleeves hurried by on the street below, holding parasols, while food delivery riders nimbly weaved through traffic on their electric scooters.
He returned to his desk and glanced at the European server's data panel again.
The number of concurrent online users has exceeded 850,000 and is still rising.
He thought for a moment and sent a message to Lao Wang in the technical department: "Add two more servers to the European server. Don't wait until it's full before adding them; expand capacity in advance."
Old Wang replied quickly: "It's already being arranged. The operations team in Europe said the new servers will be online this afternoon."
"good."
After putting down his phone, Lu Ran glanced at the time again.
Two more weeks. Chen Mo will join the company in two weeks, at which point the company's structure will be truly complete.
He recalled that when he first came into this world two years ago, he didn't even have a proper office, and he could only write code in his rented apartment.
We currently have nearly 300 people under our command, and three main products are running simultaneously. We are about to add another heavyweight executive, along with new resources and a new network of relationships.
Life is definitely getting more and more interesting.
Meanwhile, Chen Mo hadn't been idle since he hung up on Lu Ran.
He spent two days going through his work, making a list of which projects needed to be handed over, which resources needed to be transferred, and which long-term partners needed to be contacted in advance, and then sent it to his successor.
The handover documents were written very clearly, and even the daily meeting schedule and monthly report templates were included.
He's not one to leave a mess behind; he wipes the table clean before leaving so that people won't gossip about him.
Then, during his lunch break and after get off work, he talked to several people one after another.
The first one was an operations manager he worked with at Tencent for five years, named Xu Lei.
He's in his early thirties, very steady in his work, and he single-handedly launched several ground promotion activities in key cities in East China.
Chen Mo invited him to sit for a while at the coffee shop downstairs, and got straight to the point: "I'm leaving Tencent for TUTU in two weeks. They need someone to oversee the offline channels, and I think you're a good fit."
Xu Lei paused, his hand holding the coffee cup still. "TUTU? The one Lu Ran goes to?"
"right."
Xu Lei remained silent for a while.
Chen Mo noticed that his fingers were tapping lightly on the side of the cup, at a moderate pace, as if he was weighing something.
After a while, he asked, "What about the compensation?"
Chen Mo called out a number, and Xu Lei's finger stopped.
He was silent for a moment, this time much shorter than before: "Should I make contact with them?"
"Just contact me," Chen Mo smiled. "If you can't trust others, can't you trust me?"
Xu Lei smiled, picked up his coffee cup, and took a sip: "Okay. I'll think about it for two days and give you an answer."
The next day, Xu Lei's reply came—"Go."
The second is a senior consultant from the Ministry of Justice, surnamed Lin, named Lin Zhiheng.
He's in his early forties, doesn't talk much, but is extremely meticulous in his work. He drafted and reviewed several important cooperation agreements with Tencent in East China.
When Chen Mo invited him, he didn't specify what it was about, only saying that they would have dinner at their usual place.
Lin Zhiheng arrived, sat down, listened to Chen Mo's words, adjusted his glasses, and asked only two questions: "How many people are in TUTU's legal team right now?" Chen Mo said there were currently only two, one responsible for contract review and the other for intellectual property rights, both working beyond their capacity. "Then you are indeed short-staffed."
Lin Zhiheng picked up a piece of fish, put it in his mouth, chewed it, swallowed it, and then said, "I'm going."
The third is a team leader from Tencent's East China Marketing Department. Her surname is Gu, and her given name is Gu Jia. She is not very old, but she has media relationships and influencer resources in several key cities in East China.
When Chen Mo was talking to her, she was preparing a plan for the weekend's activities. After listening for two minutes, she put down her computer and said, "Mr. Chen, just state your terms. I'm too lazy to beat around the bush."
Chen Mo recited a few figures, then added, "Moreover, once you're there, you won't just be managing one region; you'll be part of the entire company's marketing and distribution system. No one above you will be controlling your budget, your channels, or your deadlines."
Gu Jia turned the computer back on and typed, "Okay."
Chen Mo approached two or three more people; some agreed, some hesitated, and some declined.
He didn't force anyone; it would be good if they came, but it wouldn't be a problem if they didn't.
He created a small group chat for the confirmed attendees, which consisted of four people: Xu Lei, Lin Zhiheng, Gu Jia, and an old partner he knew from Tencent's East China technical department, surnamed Yang, who came from an operations and maintenance background.
He sent a message in the group: "Everyone, see you at TUTU in two weeks. I'll handle all the onboarding procedures. You can each handle your own departure handover. There's no rush; just make sure everything is settled."
Xu Lei sent "Received," Gu Jia sent a cat giving a thumbs-up emoji, and Lin Zhiheng only replied with one word—"Okay."
Old Yang didn't reply to the message, but Chen Mo knew he had already seen it.
Five minutes later, his phone vibrated, and Lao Yang sent a private message: "Brother Chen, are you serious?"
"real."
"Then I'll start the process on my end too."
Chen Mo looked at the conversations on the screen, put his phone on the desk, and leaned back in his chair.
Outside the window is the gray-blue building of Tencent's East China headquarters, its facade gleaming with a cold, hard light in the afternoon sun.
He stared at it for a while, then looked away, opened his laptop, and typed two words in the document—"Resignation Letter."
After typing those two words, he paused for a few seconds, then deleted them and replaced them with another line: "Dear leaders, thank you for your support and trust during my more than ten years working at Tencent East China..."
He wrote a few lines, then paused again.
This time it wasn't deleted.
He continued writing, a little over a page, about a thousand words, without any sentimentality or complaints, just a decent, restrained resignation letter that clearly explained what needed to be explained.
After finishing writing, he saved the document and set the sending time to 9:00 AM on Monday, two weeks later.
Then I turned off the computer, stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the bustling streets below.
He thought that new things were always more interesting than old things.
Two weeks later, Lu Ran waited for a black sedan to stop in front of TUTU's office building.
Chen Mo got out of the car, followed by four people dragging suitcases or carrying laptop bags.
The sunlight shone on the five people, casting long shadows.
Lu Ran stepped forward and extended his hand: "Welcome. It's your first day of work. Let's get the paperwork done first, and then I'll show you around and introduce you to everyone."
Chen Mo squeezed his hand, then glanced back at the people behind him: "These are all people I brought. From now on, they're yours."
Lu Ran's gaze swept over the faces, some familiar, some unfamiliar, and he smiled: "They're all on our side. It's good that you're here."
Upstairs in the office, the administration department had already prepared the workstations and office equipment.
The seats were arranged together, with the middle seat facing Zhou Mingzhe's office door.
Chen Mo's office is right next to Zhou Mingzhe's; he will soon be the company's third-in-command.
...