Chapter 1 Three Exits

The three of them walked out of the arched door of the sacrificial hall and entered a dark tunnel.

The further they went, the narrower the tunnel became, quickly shrinking to the size of a normal corridor. Although there were occasional turns in the path ahead, they never found any forks in the road.

"Oh... right." Halfway there, Uncle Waste suddenly seemed to remember something and said to Atobe, "Atobe, there's something I'm curious about, and I'd like to ask you."

Atobe was taken aback when he heard this, thinking: A player of Uncle Waste's level actually has a question to ask me?

"Ah? What is it?" Atobe replied.

"It's just..." Uncle Waste asked, "What type of game studio is your Hyotei?"

"What type?" Atobe repeated thoughtfully on the surface, but in his heart, he was thinking: Are game studios divided into types?

Obviously... they are.

Roughly speaking, there are four main types of game studios.

The first type is "comprehensive." Many of these studios are large corporations with vast resources, strong financial backing, and many star players. Their business scope has long surpassed the realm of gaming, and they can guarantee profits simply through brand recognition.

The second type is "talent-based." These studios vary in size, but their basic philosophy is people-oriented, focusing on cultivating outstanding star players and generating substantial income by exporting talent.

The third type is "commercial." This is a more peripheral type, and not everyone is capable of doing it, but those who do it well can indeed earn a lot. These studios don't have high requirements for their employees' gaming skills; what they need are patient players with excellent observation, analytical, and social skills. They treat the game as a marketplace to be conquered, making money by speculating on virtual items, controlling prices, and buying and selling information. This can be considered an alternative approach.

The fourth type is "practical." Small and medium-sized studios usually fall into this category. Their main business is the most basic aspect of the industry: power-leveling and gold farming. These are mostly unglamorous and unpleasant chores. After doing them for a long time, they become mechanized operations, making people feel tired and bored. Moreover... those who do this have to endure all kinds of abuse and accusations because their gaming style is purely for the sake of efficiency, which often ruins the gaming experience for other players. Even if they are called "locusts," they can't refute it.

The above information is considered fairly basic knowledge. In 2055, if you want to work in the gaming industry, whether as a player or starting your own studio, you must grasp this content. If you don't even understand the basic positioning, then entering the industry is undoubtedly digging a hole for yourself.

Seeing this, everyone has probably vaguely sensed... that's right, young master Atobe, or rather... Jin Fugui, jumped into the tide of the gaming industry without knowing anything.

Fortunately... his family was quite wealthy, which allowed him to make some mistakes.

Jin Fugui's father had been in business for many years and was a sensible person. He thought quite liberally: If his son wanted to start a game studio, then let him do it. At least it was a legal industry, and the required investment wasn't high. Even if he didn't make a name for himself, he wouldn't lose much money. Anyway... it was better than staying at home after graduating from college.

So, Atobe began his gaming career with enthusiasm, anticipation, and ignorance...

"It's... that kind..." Atobe stammered, "With fewer people, but still pretty good... that kind..."

"Oh, so you're taking the elite route? That's the 'talent-based' type," Honghu interjected. "Eh? Speaking of which... why isn't your studio's website online yet?"

"Uh... that..." Atobe replied awkwardly, "Because the company hasn't been established for very long... plus, we're quite busy with business in the game..."

In fact... if no one had reminded him, he probably wouldn't have remembered to build a studio homepage for another six months...

"I see." Honghu didn't suspect anything, but simply said, "Well... understandable. Small studios have few people, so there will be various problems."

"Actually, just maintaining normal operations is already remarkable," Uncle Waste added. "I really admire Atobe for becoming the boss of a studio at such a young age. You must have taken out a lot of bank loans, right? Haha..."

"Uh... not... not really..." Atobe was too embarrassed to reveal that he was a rich second-generation in this atmosphere.

"Hehe... don't worry, back then, Shiva, Dao Jianxiao, and those guys all started their businesses at about your age, and now they've all become influential figures, right?" Honghu laughed. "Your studio is just starting out, but you have powerful players like Qu Mingnan sitting there, so the future is bright." He paused for a moment. "However... since it's a talent-based studio, connections are very important. Even if it's just to show off, you need to recruit more employees. After the newcomers grow, you and the core team can free yourselves up to handle those offline matters."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand..." Atobe nodded.

"How about this, let's add each other as friends after the script. I know some people in the industry, some freelance professional players with good skills. I can introduce them to you," Honghu continued.

"Oh! That's like sending charcoal in the snow!" Atobe's eyes lit up. "Thank you, thank you."

"Hehe... you don't have to be so polite..." Honghu laughed. "Although my friends are talented, they don't have enough experience. They can't get hired by well-known studios, and they don't like those small 'practical' studios. And if they go to some strange small studios... they're afraid of being scammed. Your willingness to take them in is a win-win situation."

"Um... we're not that familiar... aren't you afraid that I'm also a black-hearted boss who exploits employees?" Atobe asked with a smile.

"Doesn't seem like it," Uncle Waste interjected at this time. "I'm pretty good at judging people. Although we haven't been in contact for long, neither you nor Qu Mingnan and the other two... seem like the kind of people who would come out of that kind of studio."

"Yeah, I think so too," Honghu added.

"Okay... I'll take that as a compliment," Atobe replied.

Atobe didn't come to this team nightmare instance in vain. Putting aside whether or not he'll get the completion reward, he's at least gained other more practical things.

"Oh, I also wanted to ask you something." At this time, Atobe felt it was time to change the subject, so he said to Uncle Waste, "Regarding your exposure of the Imitation Soul earlier... was your basis really just the stance?"

"That's right, just that," Uncle Waste replied.

Atobe said, "Where does your confidence come from..."

Uncle Waste hesitated slightly, then laughed: "Hehe... actually, the reason is very simple, because I've studied the recordings of the Peak Supremacy Battle many times, and I've made very detailed observations of each player's fighting style. Especially those subtle habitual movements and instantaneous reactions when facing dangerous situations... I watch them frame by frame."

Honghu immediately replied: "Ah... Brother Chai, you've done your homework very well."

"Hehe... same to you," Uncle Waste laughed, "I assume you've studied it no less than I have, right?"

At this point, two sharp gazes briefly met and quickly separated. Everything was understood without words...

Only Atobe lowered his eyes silently on the side. He couldn't help but think... these two professional players who fought in the game in their individual names had achieved this level. In contrast, he was at least the head of a game studio, but until now, he was basically still gaming with the concept of "making money by playing."

Zhen-ge, Lao Qu, and Xiao Ming can have this mentality, because their job is to play games, and they're doing very well. It can be said that they already have the qualities of professional players. This is the only thing they can do—use their gaming skills to support the studio.

But Atobe is different. He is the studio's investor, decision-maker, and operator. The things he needs to do are far from being accomplished within the game.

At this moment, Atobe suddenly realized... why his three mischievous friends always refused to queue for scripts with him, and always said ruthlessly, "You suck, get offline quickly" and things like that.

Actually... they didn't not want to play games with their good brother. They definitely weren't disliking Atobe's level. They just wanted Atobe to do what he should really be doing. Because they were no longer the four students cooped up in the dorm room, they were adults who had entered society and needed to rely on games to survive.

Qu Mingnan and the other two had already understood, only Atobe didn't understand. He seemed to have not grown up yet...

In the end... he was just "playing." Using his youth and his family's money to play. The so-called "studio" was just a facade covered with halos like "dreams, entrepreneurship," allowing him and his good brothers to continue being together and playing games all day long...

Now that he looked back... he wasn't worthy of being this "boss" at all. He rarely did those boring investigations and research, never drafted any detailed or long-term game plans, and the studio's schedule was almost calculated on a day-to-day basis...

"I'm really an idiot who can't grow up..." Atobe thought in his heart, "Not a qualified leader... nor a qualified professional player..." He let out a long sigh, looked up at the two high-level players walking alongside him, "True professionals must have qualities like them... otherwise, how can I have the face to call myself a professional..."

He couldn't help but think of a classic movie line: "Nothing is easy in the world of adults."

"Hey! Look over there!" Suddenly, Honghu stopped and raised his flashlight.

His words pulled Atobe's thoughts back to the script in front of him.

Uncle Waste also adopted a defensive posture, staring intently in the direction Honghu was pointing.

But... a tuft of emerald green light appeared at the far end of the corridor, slowly approaching...