You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

The man who rose from the entrepreneurial era to the pinnacle of capital, the man who single-handedly orchestrated the "Iron Age" project and secured global IP licensing a decade ago, now, for the first time, showed signs of exhaustion in the board meeting.

He sat down and rubbed his temples.

"we lose."

The words that came out of his mouth were like a muffled thunderclap.

"It wasn't because we lost to Lu Yu."

"We lost to 'ourselves'."

He slowly raised his head and looked out the window.

The sky over the capital was dark, with dark clouds looming over the city, like the silence before a storm.

“We haven’t made a ‘human touch’ game in too long.”

Three months ago, when the "Quantum Rift" project was launched, the entire company was in a state of excitement.

Internal promotional slogans were plastered all over the corridors:

"Using technology to build emotional spaces."

"A poem written for the future world."

"We want to create a new era of 'digital civilization epic'."

At the board meeting, Lin Jingchuan personally made the decision: "This time, we're not making 'games,' we're making 'digital art.'"

In the same week, "Don't Play This Game" quietly went into open beta, with promotion consisting of only a forum post and a Bilibili video.

No KOLs, no advertisements, no pre-launch promotion.

But in just three weeks, "Don't Play This Game" broke out of its niche overseas and became a frequent topic of trending searches. Daily active users steadily increased, and the player replay rate was astonishingly high.

More importantly, it "makes people want to stay."

And Quantum Rift—

It makes you want to run away.

"Our problem is that we don't trust the players."

Chen Zhiyuan, one of the directors and content director, finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse.

“We always thought that we had to use the most dazzling technology, the most complex system, and the most ‘blockbuster’ format to capture their attention.”

"But Lu Yu showed us another path."

“He had no ‘system,’ no ‘copy design,’ and not even a clear ‘main objective.’”

"But every frame he created, every line of dialogue, is a 'human' speaking."

"And we're just showing off how smart we are."

Lin Jingchuan looked at Chen Zhiyuan, his eyes not filled with reproach, but with a rare sigh.

"Yes."

"We're too smart."

"So smart that they've forgotten what a 'human' is."

……

The walls of the conference room were covered with whiteboard sheets, each densely covered with game ideas, keywords, player emotion tags, and story motivation sketches, resembling a chaotic yet vibrant art installation.

Lu Yu sat on one side of the conference table, wearing a faded black hooded sweatshirt, his hair slightly messy, and a faint smile on his face. In front of him was a glass of cold brew tea, with a few mint leaves floating at the bottom.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was quiet and focused, but not dull, like the calm before a storm.

“So, it’s time for us to start planning our next game project.” Lu Yu tapped the table lightly, breaking the silence.

Sitting opposite him, Mo Xiaoxuan immediately looked up. He had medium-length hair that was somewhere between handsome and messy, wore frameless glasses, and his eyes always carried a hint of weariness and excitement, as if he had read ten art books yesterday. He was a typical art book fanatic, skilled at constructing fictional worldviews, and always had four hundred unfinished side quests and fifty pages of magic system designs in his head.

“I suggest we make an isekai RPG this time.” Before Mo Xiaoxuan finished speaking, he turned around and wrote the three big characters “Isekai” on the whiteboard.

“We’ve already done rural pixel art, urban mood, and life simulation... it’s time to do something different.” He said as he wrote, “But not the traditional kind of time travel with cheat codes and leveling up by fighting monsters. I want to make a story of ‘reverse growth’, where the protagonist is not the protagonist, and is even kicked out of the main storyline from the beginning.”

Wan Xiaotong rolled her eyes. Sitting in the corner, she wore a loose-fitting knitted sweater and hugged a cushion, looking like a cat just waking up from hibernation. She was the most "gamer-like" planner on the team. She was once a popular otome game content creator with millions of followers. Later, she was recruited into the team by Lu Yu and was skilled in character creation and emotional rhythm control.

"Aren't you trying to write that 'abandoned protagonist's rise to power' trope again?" She yawned. "The protagonist starts out miserable, then suddenly gets a power-up, becomes an apostle of God, saves the world, and incidentally builds a harem?"

"No, no!" Mo Xiaoxuan exclaimed anxiously, pushing up his glasses. "I'm talking about 'true reverse growth,' where the protagonist starts as the strongest healer, but then stops pursuing battles or victory and turns to an ordinary life—listen to me, this is the scenario I'm imagining."

He stood up, brandishing the whiteboard marker, and spoke faster.

"A genius healer, with his skill tree maxed out, frantically spamming healing, group recovery, shield coverage, status cleansing, speed boosts, and resistance enhancements during battle—but his teammates thought he was a burden, saying he only knew how to hide in the back and heal, and didn't understand 'true fighting spirit,' so they kicked him out of the team."

"At this moment, he was walking down the street in a sorry state, wearing a tattered cloak and with a crack in his staff. He passed through an alley and saw an injured elven girl lying on the ground."

"She was poisoned, and no one dared to touch her. He knelt down and cast a healing spell, clearing the poison away. The girl opened her eyes, glanced at him, and said, 'You...you're not from the Holy Temple...why did you save me?'"

Then the protagonist smiled and said, 'I'm just an unlicensed therapist.'

There was a moment of silence in the meeting room.

"Wow," Hua Wu exclaimed softly. She was the youngest planner on the team, with light pink hair, and was munching on snacks while recording the dialogue on her iPad.

“I love this beginning.” She looked up, her eyes sparkling. “It feels so gentle, unlike those other stories about ‘I want to become stronger.’ He’s not becoming stronger to prove himself, but… to live for himself.”

“Yes,” Mo Xiaoxuan nodded vigorously. “He no longer pursues ‘becoming a hero.’ He just wants to open a small clinic, help passersby, live in the slums with the elf girl, take on small jobs, and rescue cats and dogs.”

“But—” he changed the subject, a sly glint in his eyes, “His healing skills are too strong. The civilians, mercenaries, goblins, and demon princesses he has treated have all started to spread rumors behind his back that he is ‘the forsaken of the gods’ and ‘abandoned glory to save people’.”

"Rumors began to circulate in the capital that he was the 'Shadow in White Robes,' and that even the young prince in the palace, who was seriously ill, specifically requested his help."

“He didn’t want to get involved in the center of power anymore, but the kingdom began to build a ‘faith’ around his legend.”

"The more he tried to keep a low profile, the more he was caught up in the storm."

"He wasn't the main character, but he became the fuse for the world."

At this point, Mo Xiaoxuan finally stopped, panting as she sat back down in her chair.

Lu Yu had been silent until now, but finally smiled and gently put down the cold brew tea in his hand.

“I like this setting,” he tapped the desktop.

"It's not about the rise of a hero, but about how a person finds a new 'way of self-existence' after being abandoned by society."

“He had no ‘goals,’ no ‘victory,’ he just wanted to live his own life, but unexpectedly became an echo of the world.” “This is exactly the kind of ‘emotional narrative’ that we excel at.”

Wan Xiaotong nodded in agreement, "Moreover, this protagonist has a sense of rebellion."

He does not accept that 'fighting' is the only rule of the world.

"He is a therapist, but he doesn't belong to any official system. He doesn't rely on rank, status, or employment. He is a free man."

“I can write about the daily lives of NPCs in the slums.” Hua Wu quickly wrote down, “The old lady comes with her cat every morning, the newbie in the mercenary team needs stitches every time he comes back from a fight, and the elf girl is in charge of the clinic and wakes him up every morning.”

“We can create a system that combines clinic management with adventure commissions.”

"It's even possible to set an 'emotional temperature value,' which, depending on the number of people a player helps and the way they help him, will affect the attitude of the entire neighborhood towards him, and even influence the direction of the plot."

"If you only help the strong, the common people will stay away from you; if you only save the nobles, the lower classes will distance themselves from you."

"But if you choose to take Fou along and help save that goblin child who's being chased..."

"Then one day you will see the entire street of people hold off the royal guards for you."

Mo Xiaoxuan slammed her hand on the table and exclaimed excitedly, "This is exactly the feeling I've been looking for!"

Lu Yu leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.

"What we're going to do isn't an 'otherworldly fighting game'."

"Instead, it gives players the freedom to choose their own way of life in another world."

"They can choose to be heroes, or they can choose to be unlicensed healers."

"But whichever way they choose—"

"The world must respond to them seriously."

The orange cat rolled over, and sunlight shone on its fluffy belly.

The sound of keyboards clicking filled the conference room.

Inspiration sprouted like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

The atmosphere in the meeting room gradually became more pleasant.

The orange cat had somehow jumped onto Huawu's lap and curled up in a ball, while she petted the cat and quickly jotted down the inspiration that had just struck her on her iPad.

Lu Yu took a sip of cold brew tea, glanced at the group, and said in a gentle tone, but with a hint of anticipation: "We already have the setting, now let's talk about the gameplay."

"If we want to make an RPG, we can't just rely on the story. The gameplay system must be deeply integrated with the atmosphere of the story."

"If the main character doesn't fight, how are players supposed to play?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Mo Xiaoxuan seemed to be ignited: "I have an idea."

He stood up, picked up the whiteboard marker, and quickly wrote several large characters on the whiteboard:
[Therapy System] [Clinic Management] [Emotional Interaction] [World Response Mechanism]

“We don’t do combat systems in the traditional sense.” He looked up, his eyes behind his glasses shining like stars. “We’re redefining the concept of ‘combat’ from a healer’s perspective.”

"Healing should not be an adjunct to combat. It can be the main gameplay element."

“We can design a system called 'symptom recognition'.”

“Every NPC who comes for treatment has different symptoms, not just external injuries, but also poisoning, curses, psychological trauma, magical imbalance, soul shattering... Players need to observe, talk to, and even use magical perception to determine the cause of the illness and then choose the appropriate treatment method.”

"The treatment method is not to press a button, but a small interactive puzzle system."

"For example, when purifying a curse, you need to find the contaminated emotional node in the NPC's memory maze; or when repairing a fracture, you need to arrange runes to make the bone regeneration spell work stably."

“We make treatment a kind of ‘adventure’ as well.”

"It's even more intense than a battle."

At this point, he was completely absorbed in the conversation, speaking rapidly and gesturing wildly, like a mad scholar who had just completed a magical experiment.

Hua Wu held up her iPad and added, "We can add a 'therapeutic style' tag system."

“Players will receive different style ratings for each healing action based on their choice of method, such as ‘gentle,’ ‘decisive,’ ‘calm,’ or ‘sacrificial.’”

"These labels can affect NPCs' attitudes toward the protagonist, and even the emotional connections between them."

"For example, if you save an arrogant noble girl in a forceful way, she will initially dislike you, but when she realizes that you saved her life, a 'tsundere-type affection line' will appear."

“If you treat a homeless boy with kindness, he will treat you as family and trigger a ‘dependency side’.”

“We’re not building a dating system,” Hua Wu said seriously. “We’re building an ‘emotional connection system.’”

“The attitude of each NPC is dynamic and changes. It does not follow the script, but is gradually shaped according to your behavior.”

"They are not plot devices, but living people."

"We want players to experience genuine 'emotional feedback'."

Upon hearing this, Wan Xiaotong perked up.

She leaned forward, hugging a cushion, her eyes gleaming with an "otome spirit": "We can even make NPCs influence players in return."

"For example, if you refuse too many requests for help, negative emotions will gradually accumulate, the screen will turn gray, the background music will become depressing, and you may even experience auditory hallucinations."

"And your emotions will recover when you choose to help others again."

“We’re creating a ‘psychological state UI,’ which isn’t numerical, but rather visual and auditory emotional feedback.”

"This is not a 'moral system' or a 'good and evil value', but an 'emotional resonance mechanism'."

"The protagonist is a therapist, but he also gets hurt and doubts himself."

“We want players to feel ‘healed’ as well.”

Lu Yu listened attentively, nodding slightly with a hint of approval in his eyes.

“Very good.” He said softly, “Our protagonist is no longer a savior standing at the center of the world. He is someone who, in a corner, warms others with his own little light.”

"And this world will slowly change because of him."

He paused for a moment, looking out the window where sunlight streamed onto the windowsill of the conference room.

"Then let's continue to think about how the world will respond to him?"

"We need a 'global response mechanism'."

Mo Xiaoxuan immediately chimed in, "I'll do it! We can design a 'word-of-mouth marketing system'." (End of Chapter)