Started as a comics editor

Chapter 282 The Next Game

"what happened?"

Li Xue was lost in thought, but she soon noticed a troubled look on Tang Yao's face and asked her a question.

"I don't know how to deal with these comic book readers."

Tang Yao snapped out of her daze, turned slightly to the side, reached out and grabbed the hem of Li Xue's clothes, and said helplessly, "I suddenly realized that when the next three new games come out, whether it's Undertale, Left 4 Dead, or Outlast... they have nothing to do with Chainsaw Man."

"Think about it, FGO's sixth chapter just became a legendary game, and its popularity exploded. They're already feeling envious, and then our Avalon Game Assistant launches three new games with different styles and high quality... Won't this just add fuel to the fire?"

"So, you're afraid players will continue to say things like... 'the third-rate teacher is biased' or something like that?"

Li Xue tilted her head and mimicked the wailing tone of those on the forum perfectly.

Tang Yao rolled her eyes at her, released her grip on her clothes, and said weakly, "I knew I shouldn't have drawn it."

"...In fact, if it were an ordinary leader, why would they care about those voices?"

Seeing Tang Yao's expression, Li Xue smiled gently. She reached out, her fingertips conveying a soothing meaning, and gently smoothed Tang Yao's slightly messy high ponytail. Soft, smooth hair slipped through her fingers, and she gently tucked a few unruly stray hairs behind Tang Yao's delicate ear: "Project priorities, resource allocation, risk assessment... there are countless high-sounding reasons to gloss over these issues, or you can simply ignore them and pretend you don't see them."

Tang Yao countered with, "So?"

"So your concern, your fear of disappointing them, your carefulness and difficulty in making choices, all prove that you care a lot about 'Chainsaw Man,' which is also a form of favoritism."

"I didn't expect... you're quite good at comforting people."

"This isn't just consolation. You didn't want to disappoint them, and you certainly didn't want to just throw together some gacha game, did you? We're waiting, aren't we? Waiting for our three new games to prove that Avalon Game Assistant is a free space that can accommodate all creativity and possibilities, waiting for players to get used to experiencing all sorts of completely different games on Avalon Game Assistant..."

Li Xue said softly, "At that time, perhaps your idea about how to make 'Chainsaw Man' will have matured."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yao slightly raised her snow-white chin, thought for a moment, and then said, "That makes sense..."

She was convinced.

just.

She just finished speaking.

"Of course, that's not the point."

Li Xue immediately added, "I think that after the next few updates of Chainsaw Man, readers probably won't care about the game adaptation anymore... Think back to the next part of the plot: Reise dies, Denji says something about perhaps having no more joy or sorrow in this life, and then he jumps up and shouts 'Yay!'"

There's also the Assassin's Chronicle...

Speaking of which.

Li Xue couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "I have no idea how you came up with all that nonsense plot."

"..."

Tang Yao froze, giving Li Xue a slight glare: "Weren't you just praising me?!"

"That's a compliment too."

Thinking of the drafts she had accumulated and recalling those impactful scenes, Li Xue glanced at Tang Yao with a strange expression and sighed, "In some ways, you're really amazing. Reise's death in the alley was already a sad thing, and Denji's 'Yay!' added insult to injury... What favoritism? A third-rate teacher has no heart at all."

Say it.

Li Xue glanced subconsciously at Tang Yao's full, trembling chest, then let out another long sigh: "Ah..."

Tang Yao was bewildered for a moment: "Are you talking about comics or not???"

"of course."

Li Xue held the documents, her chin slightly raised, her beautiful face filled with righteous indignation, but her gaze swept over Tang Yao's heaving chest, and then—

"Ugh……"

The third long sigh was deep and resonant, filled with an incredible and profound emotion.

Tang Yao finally understood...

She instantly bristled and reached out to grab Li Xue's neck.

Li Xue was prepared and deftly twisted her body to avoid Tang Yao's attack while holding the documents. Her crisp laughter echoed in the office.

of course.

She only managed to dodge the first attack; she couldn't dodge the subsequent ones... nor did she even think about dodging.

After all, Tang Yao has now moved to a private office... Without those annoying eyes, the two of them can finally have some alone time and catch their breath without being disturbed.

soon.

Their undulating curves pressed together, and they embraced.

Tang Yao's arm, still tinged with the lingering force of her embarrassment and anger, gently pinched Li Xue's neck.

Li Xue twisted her body slightly, then stopped struggling, and said softly, "Has the pressure been relieved?"

"If you mean relieving stress, then you're teasing me."

Tang Yao glanced down, then suddenly pushed forward, saying irritably, "No! I just don't understand! You or Xun, is it so fun to tease me? It makes you seem like you're weak!"

She's almost become desensitized to their teasing...

Especially after returning from that trip.

She just didn't understand. What's wrong with having big breasts... It's not something she can control.

And did they eat their rice? ...Oh, it seems they did eat Kaoru's rice.

But she bought the rice with her own money!
"Because both Kaoru and I are girls, and we even went to a hot spring together."

Li Xue felt a suffocating sensation in her chest, her ears turning slightly red, and explained, "So we all know very well..."

"you shut up!"

Tang Yao's pretty face flushed slightly. She grabbed her neck and shook it gently, quickly stopping her: "This is the company. I don't want to talk about bedroom secrets... or discuss games with you!"

"Oh……"

Which of the three new games do you think would be most suitable to launch after the new version of FGO?

"Didn't the project leaders for 'Left 4 Dead' and 'Outlast' both say they wanted to polish them a bit more?"

"So there's no choice?"

"No, if you insist, I can coordinate with a few people to go and help those two project teams..."

"Alright... Undertale has the smallest scope, so we can lower the price a bit more. Let's make it our first test game!"

"it is good."

"..."

In less than ten sentences, the work discussion was over.

After all.

The two had too many opportunities to meet in a day... Whenever Li Xue had a little free time, she would go to see Tang Yao.

Therefore, many work-related matters that needed to be discussed had already been discussed.

However, when discussing work, the two remained quite serious.

But if Tang Yao happens to be free too... then things will turn out like this.

As the conversation went on, the topic veered off course.

The two were silent for a while.

Li Xue suddenly said, "How about... we go back to our earlier private conversation in the bedroom?"

Tang Yao asked suspiciously, "What are you trying to say?"

"Actually, I've always been curious."

Li Xue leaned close to Tang Yao's ear and asked in a very low voice, "What exactly is the difference between your bust and waist measurements...?"

"Don't tell you!"

"2..."

No! Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not!

"..."

…………

Next two days.

The buzz generated by FGO's sixth chapter, 'Camelot of the Sacred Round Table,' continues to grow and resonate within Avalon.

The rapid surge in revenue exceeding 100 million RMB, the overwhelming popularity, and the near-godlike praise from players acted like a powerful stimulant, leaving the entire company in a state of euphoria. The FGO project team walked with an air of confidence, and staff in other departments shared in the pride.

of course.

Not everyone is like that...

The atmosphere within the project teams for those three new games was completely different.

no way.

Avalon's mobile and PC versions are simply dazzling.

This not only put pressure on competitors, but also on other project teams within the company.

However, in Avalon, pressure is mostly transformed into motivation.

Si Jinliang, the person in charge of the Undertale project team.

The producer, who had just stepped away from the smooth operation of Hearthstone and plunged into a completely new field, was currently lounging in his office chair in a posture almost like Ge You slumping.

He held up the proposal document, pointing it at the bright light above his head, as if confirming something.

The once-brand-new proposal in his hand had curled and turned white at the edges, clearly indicating that it had been repeatedly handled and read countless times by its owner.

Sudden.

He seemed to notice something that caught his eye, and he sat up abruptly, putting the proposal aside, waking up his computer, and opening the game's internal test version.

Undertale is indeed the smallest of the three new games.

But it is also the most unique among them.

Because the core mechanic of this game lies in its unique combat system, unlike traditional RPGs, players can choose to complete the game in a 'peaceful' way, in addition to basic attack and recovery items—resolving conflicts through dialogue, comforting, or even hugging.

Furthermore, the game blurs the lines between players and characters.

The game remembers every choice the player makes; in the genocide route, even restarting the save file cannot erase the sins.

This concept is truly daring.

to be frank.

For Si Jinliang and his team, making this game wasn't too difficult, but the challenge was avoiding any problems.

Or to be more precise... the difficulty lies in understanding.

In short—why does this game do this?
After all, what they did before was purely commercial games.

This sudden shift to an indie game that emphasizes expression, and one that is completely different from the traditional RPG's leveling and monster-fighting logic, with an extremely unique narrative structure and character design... there is bound to be confusion and bewilderment.

It is precisely because of this.

Since the game was finalized, Si Jinliang has repeatedly checked its content.

After countless confirmations and playthroughs, he had a general understanding of the core of the game that Tang Yao had proposed.

"Does the genocide route offer a different gameplay experience and profound reflections... How interesting."

soon.

Si Jinliang leaned back in his chair, recalling what Tang Yao had said, then glanced at the game screen on the computer, lost in thought.

at this time.

"Brother Liang, the demo of the music for the Trial Corridor on the Slaughter Line has arrived. Would you like to listen to it?"

A colleague in charge of sound effects and music suddenly leaned over and exclaimed, "Perfectly suited!"

"...The music that Tang Yao wrote?"

Upon hearing this, Si Jinliang turned his head and asked a question with some curiosity.

Yes.

It's no secret within Avalon that Tang Yao occasionally makes guest appearances in music.

After the initial shock, most of the staff members have become numb.

"Ah."

The colleague in charge of sound effects and music chuckled: "Although it's still using a pseudonym... the boss was humming a song the other day when he came over, and I secretly listened, and it was exactly the same! There's no doubt it's her!"

Si Jinliang pointed at the other person, laughing and crying at the same time, and said, "You little brat."

The colleague in charge of sound effects and music chuckled and handed the headphones to the driver, Liang.

The driver, Liang, didn't say anything more. Instead, he took the earphones and put them on with a look of anticipation.

soon.

The intense rock music then entered his ears through the headphones.

It is UT's most famous song, 'Arrogant Man'.

Electric guitar, electric keyboard, drum kit.

Together they brought us rock, radical, and exhilarating music with a touch of heroic grandeur.

"..."

The driver, Liang, heard just the intro and his eyes lit up.

He immediately grabbed the mouse and found the Trial Corridor battle in the Carnage storyline.

The headphones blocked out external noise, leaving only the impactful melody resonating in my head.

He certainly played the genocide route, just for testing.

At the time, he only found the combat mechanics interesting, and Sans's attack style in the game was too oppressive, even too difficult!
At that time, he viewed it more from a gameplay perspective—it was a challenging boss battle that required precise player input.

But now, under the impact of this music.

He suddenly felt a sense of tragic grandeur... The players in the massacre route were actually the real bosses.

Because it's truly like the Grim Reaper, death follows wherever you go. In typical RPG games, players can level up by endlessly encountering monsters, but in Undertale, if a player kills enough monsters in a scene, no more monsters will appear in that scene. Even if there are sound effects for encountering enemies, a line of text will be displayed saying "Nobody's here."

And Sans in the Judgment Hall... is like the hero who finally stopped the players in the Carnage route!

Anyway, Si Jinliang really felt that way when he listened to the background music coming through his headphones.

That's probably the charm of music.

"Amazing……"

After a while.

Si Jinliang slowly took off his headphones and sighed.

"Yes."

The colleague in charge of sound effects and music nodded in deep agreement, his face filled with admiration: "This piece... it's practically tailor-made for us. That... how should I put it, a sense of tragic grandeur? I don't know how to describe it, but paired with that insane combat difficulty... tsk, it's just the right feel. Players will definitely love it!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Si Jinliang glanced at the screen again, looking at the insane barrage of comments, and then asked with a strange expression, "Are you sure?"

"Hehe, music is music, and gameplay is gameplay, anyway, I turned it on invincible during the test..."

"Makes sense."

Say it.

The two exchanged a smile, as if they could already imagine the expressions on the players' faces when they first met...

It's going to be really exciting!
However, if players want to try the genocide route, they'll have to face the game's toughest boss! That's the price to pay!

have nothing to say.

"correct."

After laughing, the colleague in charge of sound effects and music glanced at the computer screen in front of Si Jinliang, then suddenly asked, "Brother Liang, speaking of which... have you made a decision?"

"what?"

"The next game."

"Yes, Tang Yao told me that the next game to be announced is our project team's 'Undertale,' which will be the next version to replace FGO..."

Si Jinliang nodded slightly and replied, "It's probably because compared to Outlast and Left 4 Dead, this smaller-scale game is more suitable for testing the waters."

"A trial run... So do you think this game will be a big hit?"

"I can't say for sure, but I know there will definitely be players who like this game! I'm very confident about that!"

(End of this chapter)