bioinnovel Chapter 505 Crimson Sky Technology
Chapter 505 Crimson Sky Technology
After Yamamoto left, the first thing Lu Ran asked Chen Mo to do was not to follow up on the Japanese market, but to clear Yamamoto's face from his mind and focus his attention on what really needed to be focused on—finding someone in Japan who could work for TUTU.
He does not intend to hand over the Japanese market to any Japanese company as its agent.
Sakura Games is no good, and neither are other Japanese companies.
This has nothing to do with the terms of the contract, but with one's stance.
However, he doesn't intend to give up on the Japanese market itself. The size of that market and the willingness of users to pay are undeniable; TUTU's products will generate substantial profits once they enter the market. The question is how to enter, and what methods to use.
Lu Ran called Chen Mo and Zhou Mingzhe to his office one Monday morning.
After the two were seated, he stated his thoughts directly, his tone very clear: "I will not grant the agency rights for the Japanese market to any Japanese company. But we must enter the Japanese market. You help me find a company founded by a Chinese person who publishes games in Japan. The company doesn't need to be large, but it must have two strong guarantees—first, the founder must be Chinese; second, they must have a patriotic heart."
After listening, Zhou Mingzhe looked down at his phone and scrolled through his contacts: "There are indeed some Chinese companies that publish games in Japan, but the large ones are basically tied to local Japanese capital, and there aren't many that can make decisions. If you're looking for companies where the founders are still in charge of decision-making and haven't been taken over by capital, I can only think of three or four."
Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "The direction I know is that although foreign capital entering the game industry in Japan is not as sensitive as in China, the local big companies and distribution channels have a very deep bond. Small foreign companies need to accumulate for many years to get stable distribution resources. Most companies founded by Chinese people are stuck in the middle. Their technology is not bad, but they can't get scheduling from mainstream channels. Over time, they slowly become half-dead."
"That's exactly the kind of company we're looking for, half-dead." Lu Ran picked up his teacup. "They have potential, but lack opportunities. Companies like that are easy to get started with; we don't need to build rapport from scratch. You guys split up and screen them out, compile a list of qualified candidates within three days, and prioritize them."
Zhou Mingzhe and Chen Mo started taking action that afternoon.
The two of them automatically used their networks. Zhou Mingzhe contacted several old friends who were doing venture capital in Japan, while Chen Mo went through a list of Japanese market professionals he had met at industry exhibitions over the past few years.
On the afternoon of the third day, the two of them shared the information they had and compiled a list of six companies. They then spent half a day doing two rounds of screening and finally narrowed it down to one company.
This company is called Chixiao Technology.
The founder's surname is Jiang, his given name is Jiang Feng, he is from Shanghai, graduated from the Department of Computer Science at Waseda University, and after graduation he worked for five years at a medium-sized game company in Japan, working his way up from a low-level developer to a project leader.
Five years ago, he resigned from his job to start his own business, focusing on independent game publishing and localization services for the Japanese market.
The team is small, with only a dozen or so people, and they rent a tiny office in Tokyo, which is just enough to keep up with daily operations.
Over the past five years, we have localized and released four products in Japan. The data has been lukewarm, and while we were able to keep operating, we have never achieved any memorable results.
The key information is that this company has never received investment from Japanese domestic capital. All of its operating funds come from Jiang Feng's savings from working in Japan and a few small investments he brought from China.
The shareholding structure is clean, with Jiang Feng himself holding more than 70% of the shares, and the remaining shares held by a few early partners.
The company doesn't have much cash on hand, but its debt isn't heavy either; it's in a situation where it can hold on but can't get ahead.
Chen Mo organized this information and sent it to Lu Ran, adding a note at the end: "This company meets the two conditions you mentioned. The founder is Chinese and has never received money from Japanese capital. Moreover, I checked Jiang Feng's personal social media accounts, and he has expressed a positive attitude towards China in public several times during his years in Japan, so his stance is very clear."
Lu Ran read the document twice, then replied to Chen Mo: "Contact him directly, no need to beat around the bush. Tell him that TUTU is interested in cooperating and ask if he's interested in discussing it. If he asks, say that we're looking for a local team with a foundation in the Japanese market for in-depth cooperation."
Chen Mo contacted Jiang Feng that very evening.
The method of contact was simple and direct. I first made contact through a mutual friend, and then sent a WeChat message explaining my purpose.
Jiang Feng replied very quickly, as if he had been waiting for someone to come to him.
The next morning, Jiang Feng flew back to Shanghai from Tokyo.
He was younger than Lu Ran had expected, around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, not very tall, thin, wearing a faded black T-shirt and carrying a gray backpack.
He lacked the slickness that comes with years of entrepreneurship; he looked more like a technical lead who had just been pulled out of his workstation.
His Mandarin had a local Shanghai accent, and he spoke at a moderate pace, but his expression was very clear.
The three people sat in the small conference room of the TUTU.
Jiang Feng sat by the window, with a glass of cooled boiled water in front of him that he had taken from the tea room after he came in.
He wasn't overly tense, nor was he deliberately trying to relax; it was just a natural state that comes from having seen a lot of things.
Chen Mo didn't beat around the bush and first explained the cooperation intentions.
TUTU plans to enter the Japanese market for several of its products, but hopes to find a local team for a deep partnership rather than a simple agency model.
The forms of cooperation can be more flexible, not limited to traditional revenue sharing, but involving technology sharing, joint development, and even equity.
After listening, Jiang Feng sat quietly for a while, then took a sip of water, put down his cup, and asked his first question: "President Chen, I'd like to confirm something first. Did you contact me because I've lived in Japan for over ten years, or because I'm a Chinese citizen?"
Chen Mo glanced at Lu Ran.
Lu Ran sat at one end of the long table, leaning back slightly. "You asked quite directly. To be frank—it's both. You've spent over a decade in Japan, familiar with the market environment, distribution channels, and user habits there—that's hard power. You're from China, and your stance has always been clear—that's soft power. Hard power determines whether you can do the job well, while soft power determines whether we're willing to entrust the work to you. Both are indispensable."
After listening, Jiang Feng remained silent for a few seconds, then asked another question: "What do I need to do to secure this cooperation opportunity?"
"Do two things. First, send us all the information about the company you currently have—its equity structure, financial status, team composition, and list of existing partners—so we can conduct due diligence. It's not that we don't trust you, but we need to confirm that there are no hidden risks before we cooperate. Second, after you go back, prepare a product entry plan for the Japanese market. The content doesn't need to be too in-depth, but it should clearly explain your thinking. This includes your views on the positioning of TUTU's products in the Japanese market, how you plan to utilize existing channel resources, what problems you expect to encounter, and how you will solve them."
Jiang Feng agreed on the spot without hesitation after hearing the answer.
He pulled a notebook from his bag, quickly jotted down the points Lu Ran had made, then closed the notebook and stood up: "I'll send the materials over within three days of returning. The proposal should be ready within a week. If the due diligence passes, we can discuss the subsequent cooperation details further."
Lu Ran nodded.
Jiang Feng tidied up the things on the table, put the gray backpack back on, and looked back one last time before leaving.
His gaze lingered on Lu Ran's face for a second, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded, then pushed the door open and walked out.
After closing the door, Chen Mo withdrew his gaze, his tone thoughtful: "This person is quite efficient. He didn't ask anything, didn't mention any conditions, and just took the job."
"Because he knows he has nothing to ask. He understands his situation better than we do. He's been struggling in Japan for five years without any success, and his company can't even get a decent distribution channel in Tokyo. What he needs isn't conditions, it's opportunity."
Three days later, Jiang Feng's information arrived on time.
It was even more detailed than Lu Ran had expected, with documents attached detailing the equity structure, cash flow, team backgrounds, and even a review of every project done in the past five years.
The legal department spent half a day reviewing the materials and concluded that they were clean.
There are no hidden liabilities, no equity disputes, and no potential legal risks.
A few days later, Jiang Feng sent over the plan to enter the Japanese market.
The proposal wasn't particularly elaborate, but every point showed his understanding of the market.
He analyzed the potential user profiles of TUTU's three main products in the Japanese market, proposed suggestions for localized operation rhythms tailored to the habits of Japanese players, and also attached a list of channel resources he had contacted and a preliminary assessment of cooperation intentions.
After reading the proposal, Lu Ran didn't make many changes.
He replied to Jiang Feng with a message: "The plan is feasible. When is it convenient for you to fly to Shanghai again so we can finalize the framework of the formal cooperation agreement?"
Jiang Feng replied the next day: "I'll arrive tomorrow afternoon."
Lu Ran looked at the message, put his phone on the table, leaned back in his chair, and sat quietly staring at the ceiling for a while.
A Chinese person conquering the world in Japan using the Red Hearts strategy is indeed a much more righteous path than having Sakura Games' lackeys cooperate.
We've chosen the right path.
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