You made all the streamers on the internet kneel before you when you were asked to make a game.

Manager Liu's smug expression froze instantly.

"Mr....Mr. Gao?"

He looked at Gao Qi with some uncertainty, not understanding where he had gone wrong.

Isn't this kind of underhanded tactic a standard practice for large companies to suppress small workshops?

Why is Mr. Gao's reaction so strange?

Gao Qi did not look at him again.

He turned around, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, turned his back to Manager Liu, and looked out at the bustling night view of Haiyun City.

Maglev trains traced dazzling light trails in the air.

In the distance, skyscrapers shimmer with neon lights, resembling a forest built of crystal.

This is the heart of the federation, the pinnacle of civilization.

"We are Aurora Entertainment," Gao Qi said calmly.

"We are the leaders in the federal gaming industry, the rule-makers."

"We can crush him with capital, block him with technology, and overwhelm him with publicity."

"We can defeat him fair and square on the battlefield of the game and leave him utterly crushed."

He turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife, aimed directly at Manager Liu.

"But we can't resort to such underhanded methods."

"That's something only thugs and hooligans do."

"What you're doing isn't helping me, it's insulting me, it's insulting the entire Aurora Entertainment!"

Gao Qi's voice grew heavier with each sentence.

In the end, it was almost shouted out.

Manager Liu was so frightened by this imposing aura that his legs went weak and he almost knelt on the ground.

He finally understood.

Gao Qi was an extremely proud person.

He can lose, but he cannot lose in a undignified manner.

He could hate Hao Ren, but he also had to admit that Hao Ren had defeated him within the rules of the "game".

If he retaliates using real-world methods, it would be tantamount to admitting that he has completely lost in the gaming world, to the point that he no longer has the courage to even challenge anyone.

This is something Gao Qi absolutely cannot accept.

"I...I was wrong, Mr. Gao! I was wrong!"

Manager Liu was crying and slapping himself repeatedly.

"I'll never do it again! I'll never come up with such a terrible idea again!"

Gao Qi looked at him coldly, his eyes filled with disgust and disappointment.

"Get out."

"Yes! Yes!"

Manager Liu felt like he had been granted a pardon and scrambled out of the office.

The office door slowly closed.

The toughness and anger on Gao Qi's face receded like the tide.

Instead, there was a deep sense of exhaustion and powerlessness.

He slowly slumped onto the sofa, ran his hands through his hair, and groaned in pain.

Pride? Dignity?

That's all just talk for others to hear.

How could he not want to use the most direct and effective means to completely erase that scumbag named Hao Ren from this world?

But he can't.

It's not because of any bullshit pride.

Rather, it's because he doesn't dare.

This is the Blue Star Federation.

An era where the laws were so harsh as to be almost perverse.

A society with more surveillance cameras than trash cans.

Any illegal activity offline will be captured by the AI ​​security system immediately, leaving behind indelible electronic evidence.

Once he does it, he will be disgraced and spend the rest of his life in prison.

He's ambitious, but he can't afford to gamble.

"Hao Ren... Hao Ren..."

Gao Qi chewed on the name over and over again, his eyes bloodshot.

He felt like a lion trapped in a cage.

Despite possessing immense strength, he was powerless against the monkey outside the cage that kept provoking him.

This feeling of powerlessness was driving him crazy.

……

at the same time.

A self-media account with the ID "Federal Game Observation" posted a poll on the Nebula platform.

Where do you think the next phenomenal game will come from?

[A. Aurora Entertainment's "Biohazard Frenzy 10"]

[B. Tenglong Interactive Entertainment's "Cyber ​​Era: Immortality"]

[C. The next Chinese-style horror game from "The Good Guys"]

【D. Other】

This poll attracted tens of millions of players in just one hour.

The result was as expected.

Option C, with over 95% of the vote, is far ahead.

Aurora Entertainment, once the industry leader, received less than 1% of the votes.

This voting result was like a resounding slap in the face to all traditional game companies.

Countless players flooded into the "Underworld Zone," leaving frantic messages under the announcements for "Red Veil" and "Embroidered Shoes."

[You damn planner! Hurry up! My sword is itching for a strike!]

Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn't dare rest like you! Update quickly, I need to save the little girl!

Is the next movie called "Family Portrait"? I can't wait to meet my future in-laws!

[The comment upstairs is too narrow-minded. I'd guess it should be called "Visiting a Grave," which would be more direct and to the point.]

Players' enthusiasm is at an all-time high.

They even started designing the storyline and gameplay for Hao Ren's next game on their own.

Various derivative works have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

There are fan art depicting the heartwarming daily life of a paper doll bride and a little girl.

There are fan fiction stories about Berserk Dragon fighting Faceless Man.

Some people even used the most advanced music software in the Federation to recreate the suona aria from "The Red Veil".

Although the timbre and charm were worlds apart, it still caused quite a stir online.

……

Happiness Apartment, Room 404.

Hao Ren yawned widely.

After working intensely on brainstorming for over ten hours straight, he was somewhat mentally exhausted.

He walked to the window, stretched, and looked at the sky outside, which was already turning white.

It's been half a month.

Half a month has passed since "Embroidered Shoes" was released.

Hao Ren's shock level has been steadily increasing over the past two weeks.

Although there hasn't been the explosive surge like before, it has quietly broken through the 30 million mark.

He is now rolling in money.

"The timing is about right."

Hao Ren returned to his computer, his gaze becoming focused and profound.

He opened the editing backend and brought up a brand new project that he had been conceiving for a long time.

This time, it's not a demo.

It is a complete, official version of the game.

He integrated all the core modules he had recently acquired, including the "ghost marriage" from "The Red Veil," the "search for relatives" from "The Embroidered Shoes," and the "Yin-Yang Road" and "Ghost Wall" from "The Yin-Yang Road."

They built a huge and complex... home.

A Chinese-style horror tycoon family, where the grudges of three generations are buried and endless joys and sorrows are filled.

He's already decided on the name for the game.

Let's call it "囍" (double happiness).

One is happy, the other is sad.

Double happiness is called "囍".

The arrival of two deaths is also considered auspicious for happiness.

Hao Ren slowly typed a few words on the slogan.

This time, we're going home.

He looked at his work with satisfaction, a "kind" smile appearing on his face.

"I'm such a good person."

He clicked the "Publish" button.

The next second, the Nebula gaming platform's servers let out a mournful cry of overload.

"Warning! Warning! Instantaneous traffic overload!"

"The 'Underworld Zone' server is at 100% CPU usage!"

"Database connection pool request overflow!"

Nebula Game Platform, Data Monitoring Center.

The piercing alarm blared throughout the hall.

Dozens of top-notch system administrators were thrown into complete chaos.

They frantically operated on the holographic screen, trying to stabilize the server that was about to crash.

"What's going on?!"

A middle-aged man with gray hair, who looked like a manager, roared at a young programmer.

"Is today some special day? Why is data usage suddenly exploding?!"

The young programmer was sweating profusely, his fingers flying across the keyboard, almost leaving afterimages.

"N-no... I don't know, Mr. Chen!"

"Backend data shows that all the traffic is flowing to one place!"

"The Underworld section?" Mr. Chen was taken aback for a moment, then realized, "Is it that 'good guy'? What did he post this time?"

"Yes!" The young programmer pulled up the latest release history, his voice trembling.

"He...he released an official version of a game! It's called...it's called 'Double Happiness'!"

"The Double Happiness?"