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That's right—the online content for this FA chapter was rushed out by Max, who had stayed up all night.
Enduring... certain torments... while also losing hair from the late nights.
It was all sweat and effort, with no shortcuts or tricks involved.
Ah? You ask why his emotion points had dropped to only 250 million?
That's not something you should ask. Don't ask.
In short, it was due to Max's diligent efforts that this invitation to Maverick and the others—as well as this joint livestream and internal beta opportunity—came to be.
Besides Maverick, Chen Ge, and William, the remaining eleven spots were given by Max to the major streaming platforms.
Of course, it wasn't because he had any great fondness for these platforms.
It was just that the CEOs of both major platforms had called him privately, expressing interest in exclusive livestream rights and such.
As for the remaining platforms? Heh heh.
As for Goose Corporation? There was even less to say.
If the system hadn't been protecting its "good son," Max would have already been celebrating their downfall.
In any case, it was a gesture of reciprocity.
Moreover, they'd offered a lot.
Platform A was uncharacteristically generous, giving him 2 million. Platform B gave 3 million.
Max felt for the first time that making money was so easy.
So this joint livestream was settled. Excluding the three spots reserved by Max himself, of the remaining eleven: Platform A got four, and Platform B got seven.
One could only say that Platform A still lacked the financial muscle.
However, it didn't matter, because the download count for Holy Grail War had already exceeded 130 million.
And with the money from platform deals, the tips from previous livestreams, and the enthusiastic spending by players after the premium features were opened—
In just a few days, Max had already accumulated a net worth of 57 million after tax.
So during this period, aside from Goose Corporation—which still treated him like an idiot and planned to acquire him for a measly tens of millions—
The most frequent calls Max received were text messages from banks and lending companies.
Damn it, this is outrageous!
I'm already this rich, and people are still asking if I need a loan?
Shouldn't they be asking if I want to buy insurance?
Just now, while having a big meal with his... companion... at a seafood buffet hotpot restaurant that cost 998 per person, the phone rang again.
Sigh. Max suffered from being too well-mannered. As his private ringtone sounded, he naturally picked up.
"Uh, I'm not buying insurance. My money is already deposited in a state bank, and I don't plan to transfer it. Also, I don't have any lending needs, nor do I want to buy a house."
"..."
"If you don't speak, I'm hanging up."
"Wait, wait, wait! Mr. Max, please don't hang up yet."
The voice on the other end was professional, polished, and clearly foreign.
"I am the CEO of the Samwol Group from South Korea. Our group is currently planning to develop a VR game business, and I wonder if you would be interested in letting us be your agent for Holy Grail War?"
Max raised an eyebrow.
"Go on."
"As one of the top financial conglomerates in Korea, partnering with us offers many benefits."
"Such as?"
"As long as you agree to our agency and provide us with the source code of your game, we can offer you a 5 million USD agency fee."
Max's expression remained neutral.
"At the same time, we can help you complete multi-language translations of the game and promote your game worldwide. You can also use our historical heroes from South Korea as characters in your game."
The CEO paused, clearly expecting enthusiasm.
"What do you think?"
Max was quiet for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Hmm. So you've finished listing the disadvantages."
"...Excuse me?"
"What about the advantages?"
"..."
The line went silent.
Max could practically hear the confusion on the other end.
"Mr. Max, I believe there may have been a misunderstanding. Those were the advantages I was listing—"
"Let me make sure I understand correctly."
Max's voice was calm, almost pleasant.
"You want me to hand over my source code—the proprietary technology that no other company in the world has been able to replicate—in exchange for 5 million dollars."
"That is correct, and it's a very generous—"
"And you want to 'help' me with translations, when my game already has AI-driven adaptive dialogue that would break if you touched it."
"Well, we have excellent localization teams—"
"And you want me to add Korean historical figures as Servants."
"Korea has a rich history of heroes! Admiral Yi Sun-sin, for example, or—"
"Let me stop you there."
Max's tone hadn't changed, but somehow it had become much colder.
"The Holy Grail War is based on the Fate franchise's Throne of Heroes system. The Servants are drawn from myths, legends, and historical figures who have achieved a certain level of fame across human civilization as a whole."
He paused.
"I'm not saying Korean historical figures couldn't qualify. Some probably could. But that decision is made based on the lore and game design, not because a conglomerate waves money at me."
"Mr. Max, I think you're being unreasonable—"
"And the source code request? That's not an agency deal. That's an acquisition attempt disguised as a partnership."
"..."
"Here's my counter-offer: nothing. I'm not interested."
"But Mr. Max, you should consider the benefits of having a major corporation backing your—"
"I've considered them. The answer is no."
"Perhaps we could discuss this further at a later—"
"The answer will still be no. Goodbye."
Click.
Max set his phone down and returned to his hotpot.
Across the table, his companion raised an eyebrow.
"Trouble?"
"Just another vulture trying to pick at my corpse before I'm even dead."
He picked up his chopsticks.
"Now, where were we? I believe you were about to tell me which sauce goes best with the abalone."
The Samwol Group wasn't the only one sniffing around.
Over the past week, Max had received similar offers from companies across the globe.
American venture capitalists who wanted to "help scale the business."
Japanese gaming giants who wanted to "collaborate on future content."
European tech firms who wanted to "explore strategic partnerships."
All of them wanted the same thing: access to his technology.
And all of them received the same answer.
No.
The Holy Grail War wasn't for sale.
Not the source code. Not the AI systems. Not the sensory technology.
Max had built something unprecedented. Something that had changed the gaming industry overnight.
And he wasn't about to hand it over to corporations who would strip it for parts and bury the innovation under layers of monetization and corporate bureaucracy.
The Holy Grail War belonged to the players.
And as long as Max was in charge, it would stay that way.
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