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

Pei Shengnan thought for a moment and slowly stood up.

"It started with a 'failed trial'."

The protagonist is a knight of the empire, but during a trial, he is falsely accused of being a 'traitor' and stripped of everything.

"He ended up on the border and was forced to start from scratch."

"But he did not give up. He used his wisdom, strength and skill to rebuild his power step by step."

He will not become a 'hero'.

"He is a wolf."

"Rebuilding order in a chaotic kingdom."

"And the cost of order—is determined by the players themselves."

The system planner immediately suggested: "We can design a 'gray-scale morality system,' which is not a simple judgment of good and evil, but rather a system where different factions and citizens will have completely different reactions depending on your governance style, such as high-pressure rule, tolerant governance, rule of law priority, religious integration, intelligence infiltration, etc."

"It also affects what content you can unlock."

"For example, if you take the 'black market cooperation route,' you can obtain forbidden magic and underground mercenaries, but you will lose the trust of the royal family."

“If you take the ‘faith integration approach,’ you can gain the support of the church, but you must implement their doctrines.”

“If you follow the ‘people’s self-governance’ approach, it will lead to the rebellion of nobles, but it will also trigger a large number of incidents involving commoners.”

"We have made this world a dynamic political chessboard."

"And the protagonist is the only one who can play chess."

After listening, Pei Shengnan took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"very good."

"We're going to make a game like that."

"A dark fantasy setting, where the protagonist turns his life around."

"Power as the core, order as the goal."

"It's not about warm healing, but about cold control."

"I've already thought of a name."

He turned around and wrote a few words on the whiteboard:
Throne of the Deep

He put away his pen, turned to look at the crowd, and spoke in a cold tone:

"I want Lu Yu to understand that not every act of gentleness can defeat strength."

"We, Longteng, can also create a world that the entire industry looks up to."

It's 11 p.m. in the capital city.

The lights in the Tenghui Group headquarters building were still on. The entire glass curtain wall resembled a silent cage of light, with cold white LED lights spilling into the interior, making people's faces pale as paper.

Inside the conference room, Lin Jingchuan sat quietly in the center. He wore a custom-made dark gray suit, his gray hair was neatly combed, his pocket square was folded crisply, and his eyes were sharp as a knife, fixed on the striking data curves on the projection screen in front of him.

That's a forum popularity trend chart for the new "Peach Blossom Spring" project, "Free Clinic: Sherlock the Unlicensed Healer".

The curve is like a surging spring tide, unstoppable.

“They’re in the lead again.” He finally spoke, his voice low and filled with an undeniable anxiety and resentment.

"And we haven't even had a project initiation meeting yet."

Content Director Chen Zhiyuan stood to his right, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. His tone was hesitant: "Chairman Lin, we originally planned to go for a 'high-concept science fiction + consciousness travel' route, but now even Youyi and Mileryou are starting to shift towards the isekai (otherworld) genre. If we don't act now, I'm afraid..."

Lin Jingchuan didn't speak, but simply tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

Silence is like a balloon that could burst at any moment.

Half a minute later, he stood up and his gaze swept over everyone like a cold star.

“We’re launching a new project immediately,” he said. “An isekai (another world) theme. Don’t ask why, it’s all the rage right now. Whoever can combine the two keywords ‘emotion’ and ‘fantasy’ well will survive.”

"Project code name - 'The Book of Hika'".

He turned and walked out of the conference room, the hem of his suit jacket drawing a clean arc under the light.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief the moment the door closed.

Teng Hui has finally made his move.

Meanwhile, in another city, a coastal city in the south...

The headquarters of Youyi Technology, the 20th floor of the R&D building.

Shi Yi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the conference room, his expression complex.

He was always known for his composure, and even on the day "Abyss Fantasy" collapsed, he did not show the slightest emotional fluctuation. But at this moment, his eyes revealed an unprecedented restlessness.

"Lu Yu is already working on an isekai RPG," he said in a low voice, which sounded like an unquenchable flame.

"Dragon Soar has also launched 'Throne of the Deep,' and Teng Hui is following closely behind. Now even Miler Games, which is the slowest to get news, has started recruiting copywriters for fantasy themes."

He turned to look at the vice president of operations behind him, his tone unusually ruthless.

"We can't wait any longer."

"We want to create a work that is 'completely anti-Lu Yu'."

He wrote several large characters on the whiteboard:
Under the Dragon

"The protagonist must not be a gentle healer, but a descendant of a cursed dragon."

"It's not about accompanying players through daily routines, but about letting them see their own dark side amidst blood and fire."

"What we need to do is not heal, but tear apart."

The VP of Operations paused for a moment, then asked, "Mr. Shi, you mean... the Dark Flow?"

“No—” Shi Yi sneered, “It’s anti-emotional flow.”

"Lu Yu focuses on emotional healing, while we focus on emotional deconstruction. We want to question players: Is your so-called gentleness just a weak form of escapism?"

As he spoke, he quickly typed out the system-defined keywords:

“【Hate Resonance】, 【Trust Collapse】, 【Hallucination Perspective】, 【Multiple Personality Dialogue System】.

"We make sure the NPCs aren't there to accompany you, but to question your existence."

He spoke faster and faster, and a long-lost light rekindled in his eyes.

"We want to make a game that makes people uneasy."

"A nightmare world that won't help you fall asleep in the middle of the night, but will keep you awake all night."

The VP of Operations swallowed hard as he quickly took notes.

This time, You Yi has really gone mad.

In contrast, the atmosphere in Miluo, located on the southeast coast, is quite different.

Inside the president's office, the young general manager, Ding Yun, was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, holding a latte in his hand, but his eyes were fixed on the projection screen opposite him.

On the screen was Lu Yu's team's latest recruitment advertisement.

"Hmph, an emotional narrative game?" She chuckled, her tone tinged with amusement.

"Old Shi is indulging in dark fantasy, Lin Jingchuan is creating Chinese mythology, and even Pei Shengnan is involved in power building... but Lu Yu is the most 'unconventional'."

"But it was precisely him who won the hearts of the most players."

She put down her coffee cup, got up and walked to the window. Outside the window was the newly built cultural and creative park of Mileryou, with colorful lights and a gentle night.

“We’re not following trends.” She turned to her assistant and smiled. “We’re making ‘Another World Social Platform’.”

The assistant was taken aback: "You mean...?"

"The premise is that a socially awkward, introverted guy in real life is transported to another world and gains the ability to 'understand other people's thoughts.'" Ding Yun casually picked up a whiteboard marker and wrote a few words on the French windows.

"But—he wasn't hearing the NPC's dialogue."

"It's their 'bullet screen'." "The inner thoughts of each NPC fly past him like bullet screens. Some say they are grateful, but curse in their hearts; some coldly refuse to help, but cry in their hearts."

"He can see the 'flow' of this world."

"Whether to respond, change, ignore, or explain... is up to the player."

“When the ‘flow value’ in a relationship accumulates to a certain level, it will activate the ‘real conversation mode’.”

"We are making a real 'emotional social simulator'."

The assistant gaped, "This...this gameplay is completely anti-traditional RPG!"

“Of course I do.” Ding Yun raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a sharp smile.

"Players are not saviors, knights, or healers."

"He's just a socially awkward person."

"But he is the only person in this world who can hear the 'voice of the heart'."

"We let players truly 'learn to communicate' in another world."

She turned to look at the screen, her gaze calm and resolute.

Project code name: Whispering World.

Just three days later, the concept PV for "The World of Heart Words" was released, and Bilibili instantly exploded with comments.

"Holy crap, do all NPCs have 'in-the-box thoughts'?"

"I love this design! It's so much more realistic than traditional dialogue systems!"

"I want to play it as soon as I saw the PV, please release it soon QAQ!"

Mileryou, with just one PV, has made a strong entry into the otherworldly arena.

But the storm in the gaming industry has only just begun.

Within just half a month, four of China's top-tier game companies—Dragon Games, Tencent Games, Youyi Games, and Miler Games—all announced new game projects, all targeting the "otherworld + emotional narrative" genre, but taking four completely different paths:

Dragon Throne: A Power-Building + Dark Politics RPG

Teng Hui: A Fantasy Epic + The Book of Sheikah: A World-Writing Tale

You Yi: Anti-narrative + Emotional Deconstruction of "Under the Dragon"

Milergame: A social simulation + flow-based bullet-screen game, "Heart Language World"

The entire industry seemed to be ignited overnight by Lu Yu.

He himself remained quietly seated in the conference room of his Taoyuan Township studio, petting his cat, sipping cold brew tea, and watching everyone draw the logical structure of the "World Heart Rhythm System" on the whiteboard.

“Brother Yu,” Fufu suddenly looked up, “Aren’t you worried? They’re all watching us.”

Lu Yu smiled, his tone calm:

"What they're eyeing is the next big thing."

"And we—are waiting for spring."

At that moment, sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the whiteboard behind him, on which were written a few words:
"It's not about winning, it's about staying."

Those behemoths dancing in the wind are still racing on the track.

And he, like someone who planted a seed, is simply waiting—

When the wind stops, the world becomes quiet, and you can hear the sound of a flower blooming.

Lu Yu always felt that the company was not a warship, but more like a small boat.

It's not about expeditions or conquest, but about leaving some people a deck where they can breathe freely in this era of immense pressure and mountains of data.

Therefore, when the second project in Taoyuan Township was launched, he did not rush to recruit more people and expand the team, did not set KPIs, did not sort out the division of labor among functional groups, and did not write a cold, hard document in the style of a "strategic blueprint".

He simply took out the yellowed notebook, turned to a blank page, and wrote four words:

"As long as you're comfortable."

Then, he began his "poaching plan".

He didn't go to a headhunter's office, a job market, or a tech forum—he went to two places: one was the peripheral booth area of ​​an indie game expo, and the other was an indie developer forum that hadn't been updated in years, located behind a used bookstore.

The first "applicant" was someone he picked up at an indie game expo.

That day, he simply picked up an inconspicuous postcard with the game title scribbled on the back: "An Afternoon of a Thirty-Year-Old Loser".

The game consists of only one thing: making tea, airing out blankets, raising cats, and waiting for deliveries in a rented room.

There are no tasks, no numerical values, and no objectives.

He played for a full two hours.

Later, he contacted the author using the email address he left and arranged to meet at a location.

On the rooftop of an old town, sunlight slanted through the wire mesh. A young man wearing a loose cotton-linen shirt and round-framed glasses sat on the concrete ground, holding a cat, his eyes glazed over, as if sleepwalking.

"Are you the author of 'Tea Rice Studio'?" Lu Yu asked.

The man raised his head, squinted, and said in a voice as soft as the wind rustling through the leaves, "My name is Jian Xingzhou, but you can just call me 'Waste Zhou'."

Lu Yu laughed: "Why?"

“Because I hate making decisions.” Jian Xingzhou twisted his body and put the cat off his lap. “I only like doing things that no one rushes me, no one cares about me, and no one expects me to do.”

"Then why do you still develop games?"

He thought for a moment and answered seriously, "Because the game doesn't have to be completed."

Lu Yu looked at him and nodded: "Would you like to come to Peach Blossom Village? We have cats, tea, and no deadlines."

Jian Xingzhou stared at him for three seconds, then asked, "Can you take a nap every day at noon?"

"necessary."

"Then I'll think about it."

Five minutes later, he left with Lu Yu, taking the cat with him.

The second one was found in an extremely obscure city bookstore.

The bookstore was called "Old Pages," and the owner was a young man who looked like a high school student. He carried a canvas bag, wore an earring, sat in a corner typing code, and chewed bubble gum.

"Are you 'Amos'?" Lu Yu asked casually as he walked in.

The person didn't look up, but simply typed out a piece of code, then asked, "Who are you?"

"Lu Yu".

The man paused for a second, his fingers sliding off the keyboard, and looked up: "Lu Yu, the one who wrote 'Don't Play This Game'?"

Lu Yu nodded.

"What are you looking for me for?"

"The source code for your 'NPC intelligent narrative engine' is quite interesting."

The man smiled, blew a bubble, and it popped.

"That thing is useless. No one will really give NPCs free will."

“I will.” Lu Yu sat opposite him, his tone gentle. “I hope that NPCs are not ‘designed,’ but ‘living on their own.’”

“You’re insane.” Amos blinked. “Do you know how many resources it takes to teach NPCs ‘emotional responses’ on their own? Are you trying to kill the programmers?”

“That’s why I came to find you.” Lu Yu looked at him and smiled. “Didn’t you say that ‘human emotions cannot be replaced by emojis’?”

He was taken aback; clearly, old grievances had been brought up.

After a long pause, he said in a low voice, "I can try. But I don't write documentation, I don't attend meetings, I don't reply to messages, my coding style is messy, there are no comments, my Git management is chaotic, and I occasionally commit a bunch of changes at three in the morning."

"Are you willing to clean up my mess?" (End of Chapter)