Being With These Pests

# Chapter 3: Being Together with These Pests

"Boss! Boss—"

Little Assistant Chen Mengling came running over in a panic, her heels clicking sharply against the smooth floor.

"Something terrible! Our account got hacked!"

Xu Meng looked at the flustered little assistant rushing over and raised a hand to calm her. "Don't panic. It wasn't hacked. I posted that."

"Oh." The assistant patted her chest, relieved. "That's good..."

The next moment she reacted. "Wait! That was posted by you, Boss?"

Xu Meng nodded.

"But... but... this..." The assistant stammered. "When were all these decisions made?"

"Ten minutes ago," Xu Meng replied.

The little assistant leaned back slightly. "I was only out of the office for ten minutes, right? Was there a meeting in that time?"

"No."

"No meeting?" The assistant blinked. "Didn't all important decisions used to be made in meetings?"

"I never saw democratic decision-making make the company any better," Xu Meng said irritably.

"Then..." The assistant was dazed for a few seconds before asking the most pressing question. "The writing team overhaul, was that serious too?"

"Of course." Xu Meng didn't hesitate. "The crap they've been writing—fire them, fire them all!"

Chen Mengling was very surprised. "But... the writing team leader is your senior from college!"

"?" Xu Meng paused, thought back briefly, and realized it was true.

Meng Bing. A woman known in university for her social skills.

Not only was she a senior to both him and Zhang Yang, she'd also joined Dream Building Game very early on.

The writing team she led had a creative philosophy that included: "Characters have their own lives; players are merely observers and witnesses to the game world."

Xu Meng's assessment of this was:

Brain damage! "It's not just the team leader. Several of the writing staff handling plot, side quests, and character writing are also alumni she brought in," the assistant added.

Xu Meng's forehead was covered in black lines. No wonder the story was so toxic and no one objected. Not only was the creative philosophy flawed, but they were all connected through personal ties!

Damn it!

Being together with these pests—how could they ever make a good game? "Fire them! Fire every single one of them!"

"Do it immediately!"

"Alright... I'll go to HR and find Sister Chen right away," Chen Mengling said weakly. "When we recruit new people, are there any special requirements?"

"That's not urgent. I'll discuss the details with Sister Chen later." Xu Meng waved a hand. "First, get me some web novel authors who write harem novels."

Xu Meng had decided. From now on, the story of the "Frost Snow Project" would follow the old-school web novel path of a dragon-soaring protagonist building a harem.

Those harem novel writers were a perfect fit for this.

"Oh oh... okay." The assistant was clearly experiencing quite a shock to her worldview.

"Stop 'oh'-ing and get going. On your way out, call in the art and programming directors. Also, bring the head of the modeling team," Xu Meng urged.

The assistant blinked, dazed, and went out the door, jogging off to find people.

Before long, she pushed open the office door again, bringing in Art Director Yang Hui, Programming Director Peng Linmu, and Modeling Supervisor Chen Wanzhong.

"Boss, they're here." She suppressed her panting, trying to keep her tone steady.

"Mm, have a seat." Xu Meng pointed to the leather sofa on his right.

This sofa was also something Zhang Yang had bought before—seemed to be some internationally famous brand.

After everyone sat down, Xu Meng immediately spoke. "Time is tight, so I won't waste words. Did you all see the announcement I posted?"

"Saw it." Yang Hui and Peng Linmu nodded.

"What announcement?" Chen Wanzhong was confused.

"You..." Xu Meng paused. "Forget it. Mengling, show him."

"Okay." The assistant quickly took out her phone and handed it over.

"Bullshit! You don't know anything..." Chen Wanzhong read from the phone.

"Slap!"

The assistant snatched the phone back in a flash. "No, that's wrong. I was arguing back against netizens attacking the boss..."

She quickly tapped on her phone a few times and handed it to Chen Wanzhong again.

Chen Wanzhong didn't read aloud this time. He obediently lowered his head and looked at the announcement.

Xu Meng looked at the assistant, who was huddled like a quail trying to bury her head in her chest, and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

The comments under that announcement, of course, couldn't all be positive.

Some called Dream Builder desperate, vulgar, and rule-breaking; others accused the operations team of messing around or questioned the development team's competence...

All kinds of comments flooded in.

But within just a few minutes, Chen Mengling had dashed to the Personnel Department to relay the boss's orders, then run to the Art, Programming, and Modeling offices to notify them of the boss's summons, all while squeezing in time to argue with commenters online.

That kind of efficiency genuinely impressed Xu Meng.

The announcement wasn't long—thirty seconds was enough to read it through—but Chen Wanzhong stayed frozen in the same pose for ages without moving.

When he finally looked up, his face was full of confusion.

Xu Meng had no intention of clearing up that confusion for now.

"Finished reading? Then I'll start assigning tasks. Put everything you're working on right now on hold."

"Your core mission from now on is character gender swaps and outfit changes."

"Art Department, redraw characters in order of screen time, from most to least."

"I won't hide it from you—draw them as sexy as possible. The sexier, the better."

"Modeling Department, same thing—as sexy as possible. On top of that, make sure the detail is top-notch."

"Within the schedule, make it as detailed as you possibly can."

Xu Meng turned to Chen Wanzhong: "Your task is very important..."

"Hold on!" Yang Hui, who had been silent until now, suddenly interrupted Xu Meng.

"What's wrong?" Xu Meng looked at Yang Hui.

"Do we have to do this?" Yang Hui asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Turning male characters into female ones and giving female characters vulgar outfits." Yang Hui said with a stern face.

Xu Meng was a bit surprised but answered honestly, "Yes. Game Observer is right—the company is on the verge of collapse. We don't have a choice."

But Yang Hui shook her head. "I can't accept something so vulgar and low-class! Making characters sell their bodies—that's outright objectification of women!"

Xu Meng paused.

He studied Yang Hui's expression carefully.

After confirming she was serious, he said, a little speechless, "Do you know what otome games are? I suggest you find some with a bigger scale and spicier content, play them a bit, and see how male characters sell their bodies. Then you won't be hung up on this."

"Let's move on to modeling..."

But Yang Hui interrupted him again. "That's a completely different matter! Women are already a disadvantaged group. Doing this infringes on the rights of all women—it's objectification and exploitation!"

Watching her grit her teeth, Xu Meng was even more stunned.

What the hell? Aren't we trying to save the company and everyone's jobs here?

How did we suddenly jump into social issues? If you're just opposed to vulgarity and refuse to draw sexy characters, that's fine.

The ACG games in this world were still stuck at the "cute" and "cool" stage. It was normal for older folks to struggle with bold new approaches.

Dream Builder wasn't planning to make this kind of game forever anyway.

A 2D shooter game was already a niche, untrodden path. Now, to save the company, Xu Meng was flooring it straight into the softcore erotica lane—an even smaller niche within a niche.

He never expected this heavy dose to instantly revive Frost Snow Project and turn it into the company's cash cow.

—Not at all.

In Xu Meng's plan, the remade game might bring in a wave of cash flow.

But that wasn't resurrection—it was a final flash of life.

Just buying a window of opportunity.

Because Frost Snow Project was fundamentally flawed from the start.

What truly sustains a game's survival is never the sex appeal—it's the gameplay.

Dream Builder would eventually have to walk the normal path, winning players and market recognition through solid strength.

So if you say outright that you can't do this, fine—I'll just find someone who can.

Once we get through this hurdle, we can all work together on the new game.

But coming at me with feminist rhetoric right off the bat—what's that about??

Do you think I wouldn't dare fire you? I'm back! New book starts, as usual begging for collections, follows, and monthly passes! It's a seedling—please nurture it~