New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 68
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 68. Sincere Lies (3)
A few days later, I visited Korea University again.
The Encore CEO specifically wanted to meet me at Korea University.
“CEO Lee is here? Let me introduce you two. This is CEO Lee Jung-hoo, who serves as both the Rollbook CEO and Deputy Branch Manager of Tiger Fund. He’s one of my cherished students. And this is Lim Taek-hyeon, CEO of Encore.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jung-hoo.”
“You’re the Rollbook CEO? Our employees use it so frequently it’s almost a problem. I’m Lim Taek-hyeon from Encore.”
Thanks to Professor Park’s introduction, the atmosphere was much more relaxed.
And thanks to him lending us his research lab as a negotiation venue, the conversation flowed even more naturally.
“Well then, you two have a comfortable chat. As fellow developers, you’ll probably understand each other.”
“Professor, please go ahead. I’ll visit you again soon.”
“Just don’t get into a fight for my sake.”
After the Professor left and the door closed, we quietly got down to business.
“Tiger Fund Korea Branch would like to formally propose an investment in Encore, which is why we requested this meeting through the Professor.”
“Hmm, actually our funding situation isn’t that urgent. We’re preparing for an IPO, and Linion is generating stable revenue.”
“I understand you’re preparing for overseas expansion. Wouldn’t that process require more funding?”
Linion was already recording mega hits domestically.
Every PC Bang was overflowing with users enjoying Linion, and monthly revenue had reached tens of billions of won.
Even so, funding for global expansion was always insufficient.
“We’ve already finished coordinating with a local company for our Japan expansion.”
“Of course you’d need to cooperate with Japanese companies for Japan expansion, but the US market is a different story. To penetrate the US market, you need a partner with American networks. Tiger Fund can help with that.”
“A private equity fund can help with US expansion?”
“Rollbook is proof of that.”
I could say this confidently.
Rollbook had already succeeded in US expansion and was still growing rapidly.
“I’ve heard through the media that Rollbook is popular in the US too.”
“While I handle domestic operations, Tiger Fund is exclusively managing the US business.”
“From what I’m hearing, it sounds like the US expansion was thanks to Tiger Fund.”
“It’s true that they were a great help.”
Lim Taek-hyeon, the Encore CEO aiming for overseas expansion.
I gently touched upon his ambitions.
But he was a rational person, and desire alone wouldn’t move his heart.
“Japan expansion comes first. The United States comes after that. When that time comes, I’ll contact you again.”
“If everything so far has been Tiger Fund’s conditions, now it’s time to show you the cards that Rollbook and I have prepared.”
“What kind of cards?”
He made a somewhat lukewarm expression.
The conversation so far had been more like that of an investor rather than a developer.
But the topics I was about to bring up from now on were things he could never ignore.
“I heard that illegal hack programs are spreading in Linion these days.”
“…That’s a problem every popular game faces. It’s also proof of success.”
“I understand that Speed Hack, Auto Hunt, and even Item Duplication are occurring.”
“Why are you bringing that up now?”
CEO Lim Taek-hyeon raised his voice.
Illegal Hack Programs were Encore’s reverse scale.
They were also the reason for discord in Encore’s seemingly perfect gear structure.
“If there was a way to completely prevent that problem, would you join hands with us?”
“…You speak too easily. That problem isn’t simple. Countless security companies have failed at it. So what exactly is Rollbook going to do!”
“The reason security companies can’t properly block illegal programs is because they don’t sufficiently understand the internal structure of Windows.”
Even I thought it was an arrogant statement.
It was a nuance that I could do what security companies couldn’t.
Perhaps because of that, CEO Lim Taek-hyeon frowned and retorted with an irritated voice.
“So you’re saying you perfectly understand the internal structure of Windows? Even the supposedly private Windows kernel structure?”
“That’s correct.”
“…You know the Windows kernel structure?”
The core of Windows security lay in the kernel.
System resource control, permission management, driver control, system call monitoring, etc.
Almost all security-related functions were performed at the kernel level.
Most security companies were also creating kernel-based security programs.
But I was different.
What they used was publicly available kernel information.
But I was sharing deeper, undisclosed information and even the latest MS security systems.
“Nexfin is currently conducting security collaboration with MS. We’re sharing everything in real-time, including kernel structure and the latest security systems.”
“Why are you suddenly mentioning Nexfin?”
“Nexfin is also a company under Tiger Fund, and I’m also a member of Nexfin.”
“So you’re saying that right now… you’re the CEO of Rollbook, Deputy Branch Manager of the fund, and also an employee of Nexfin?”
Even to me, these were confusing titles.
But I had a powerful card that could sort out this complex situation all at once.
“I’m the person who created the Millennium Patch distributed by MS. That patch was used not only by Korea University, but also by the government and financial companies.”
“Ah! I remember. That patch that Rollbook distributed for free.”
“Do you believe me now? And I’ve already completed the alpha version of a security system that blocks illegal programs.”
I took out my laptop and showed him the newly created security system.
[IceWall]
That was the name of the security system.
It had a universal structure that could be applied to most games running on Windows.
“Are you saying that installing this can block all hacks and bugs?”
“It’s designed based on MS’s security technology. It can defend against most problems like speed hacks, auto hunt, and item duplication. Of course, hacks that bypass this might appear in the future.”
“Can we test it right now?”
“By all means.”
CEO Lim called somewhere to receive illegal hack programs.
And tried running them on the spot.
Ice Wall immediately detected the hack and forcibly terminated the game.
“…It really works.”
“It’s not the finished version yet. The more we refine it, the stronger its performance will become.”
“To use this system, we’d have to accept Tiger Fund’s proposal, right?”
“That’s right. Of course, even if you reject the proposal, as disciples who learned under the same teacher, I can help you to some extent.”
CEO Lim fell into deep thought for a while.
But the decision had already been made.
Without catching hacks and bugs, overseas expansion would be impossible.
“I’d like to hear the exact conditions.”
“We want to purchase 10% of Encore’s equity shares. I heard the evaluation company estimated the public offering price at 40,000 won. We’ll invest based on that standard.”
“If the public offering price is 40,000 won, the corporate value is 120 billion. Are you really saying this knowing what you’re talking about?”
“Of course. That’s why we’re trying to invest 10%, which is 12 billion won.”
12 billion won for a company just before going public was a proposal that was hard to refuse.
It was sufficient as immediate funds for overseas expansion, and above all, it was like an oasis condition for surviving in the unstable market after the IT bubble collapse.
“When can the deposit be made?”
“Immediately upon contract signing. Even today is possible.”
“I heard that VC investors are having a tough time these days… but Tiger Fund seems to be different.”
“Thanks to Tiger Fund’s General Manager currently being in Korea, we can proceed quickly. And I personally recommended this investment to the General Manager.”
No one dislikes praise.
At the mention that he had recommended Encore to a high-ranking person like a Wall Street fund’s General Manager, CEO Lim Taek-hyeon couldn’t hide his smile.
“Why did you recommend our company?”
“Because it has high growth potential. And Tiger Fund also showed deep interest. Linion had the possibility of applying financial revenue models.”
“Financial revenue models?”
This was the final blow.
I pulled out the game revenue model I had created with Tiger Fund’s financial experts.
“It’s a partial monetization system. A structure where specific items or convenience features are purchased with cash. Wall Street experts call this a variable profit structure, saying it can maximize monetization effects.”
“Those experts you mentioned… are they fund managers?”
“They’re people who majored in finance at prestigious American universities and accumulated extensive practical experience on Wall Street. They designed a model that introduces monetization systems similar to the financial industry into games.”
It was a detailed revenue model on a completely different level from subscription-based systems.
Perhaps because it was created by people from Wall Street who would do anything to extract even one more penny, it was a model that accurately penetrated human psychology.
“Finance can be applied to games?”
“We applied the customer portfolio analysis methods used in finance to paying users. The financial industry operates on the principle that one whale is better than a hundred minnows. The gaming industry is the same.”
“So it’s essentially a method to precisely stimulate paying users.”
Monetization was ultimately designed to be repeated by only specific users.
Even looking at Rollbook’s Point Shop, this was evident.
Customers who used the Point Shop consistently made payments, but users who only enjoyed free services never even entered the Point Shop.
“Introducing partial monetization allows for more precise targeting of paying users. In fact, the first stage of partial monetization can be seen as a sampling process to classify paying and non-paying users.”
“Then how many times do you think revenue would increase by adopting this revenue model?”
“Initially about 2 times, but once sampling is complete and the structure is established, up to 5 times increase is possible.”
His expression was even more surprised than when I had shown him the anti-hack program.
It was a natural reaction since revenue could jump up to 5 times just by changing the profit structure without upgrading game content.
“For 10% equity shares, you can receive both the Anti-Hack System and the revenue model integrated with financial technology. Could there be anywhere offering better conditions than this?”
“…Good. Let’s make the contract!”
CEO Lim jumped up from his seat and offered me a handshake.
We immediately began drafting the contract, and after completing the entire process, CEO Lim spoke with an enlightened expression.
“But Tiger Fund is truly a fascinating place. A fund that simultaneously presents security systems and revenue models—I never could have imagined such a thing. It might not be Tiger Fund that’s special, but rather CEO Lee who’s an extraordinary person.”
“Since I belong to Tiger Fund, I suppose it would be correct to conclude that it’s an extraordinary fund.”
“Would you consider joining our company? We could offer you the maximum stock options possible.”
It was a scouting offer I hadn’t received in a long time.
I gently declined so as not to hurt CEO Lim’s pride.
“Bill Gates of MS and Steve Jobs of Apple have also tried to recruit me before. But I declined them all. I’m most content where I am now.”
“Ah, I was being too presumptuous.”
“I hope we can remain good partners in the future.”
“I would be even more grateful if you would. Let’s meet often from now on.”
“Now that the contract is finished, please speak comfortably with me. We studied under the same mentor, so there’s no need for such formality, is there?”
Since the contract was complete, it wouldn’t matter if we became more comfortable with each other now.
Actually, the current relationship was more comfortable for me, but thinking about the future, I calculated that we should become more at ease with each other.
Perhaps understanding my intention, CEO Lim immediately dropped the formal speech.
“Really? Your name was Lee Jung-hoo, right? Let’s have a drink next time.”
“I’ll come running whenever you call, Senior.”
“I had no idea Korea had talent like you. I wish I had known sooner.”
“You’re too kind. Please take care on your way.”
CEO Lim was the first to rise from his seat.
After seeing him off and returning, Professor Park was waiting for me.
“From your expression, it looks like the negotiation went well?”
“It was a contract that satisfied both parties.”
“Then that’s good. But could you also meet with Nextron’s CEO Kang Jung-woo today? He happens to have time available.”
“I’m ready anytime.”
There was no reason to pass up the opportunity to sign contracts with two game companies in a single day.
And since Nextron was easier to deal with than Encore, I waited for the negotiation with an even more relaxed mind.
And soon after, I had a meeting with Nextron’s CEO.
Very easily and quickly, I was able to conclude a contract exactly as I had designed it.
Annual Salary 1 Trillion New Employee Chapter 68
E-book Publication Date | 2025.11.27
Author | Seo Oh
Publishers | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
Published by | Poten
Address | [04783] 10th Floor, 8 Yeonmujang 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Phone | 02-6320-8500
Fax | 02-6320-8585
ISBN | 9791175305892
Price | 100 won
ⓒ Seo Oh 2025
This e-book is a copyrighted work protected by copyright law.
This e-book is published under contract with the author, and unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, and sharing are prohibited without written consent from both parties.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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