Capitalists wouldn't even treat you like this!

Sitting in front of the computer, Chen Xu had basically gotten a rough understanding of his current situation.

The gaming industry—that was the direction he was aiming for.

However, even though he had decided to make games, it wasn't that simple.

Even though the black technology of this world allowed game development without building underlying code from scratch.

Art, music, modeling—none of these could be skipped.

Besides, Chen Xu himself was in an awkward position right now.

First of all, he didn't have a game designer certification, so the resources he could use were very limited.

Although Chen Xu estimated that for some classic small indie games from his previous life, these resources would be enough.

But there was another key point—he didn't have much money.

After all, he hadn't graduated long ago, and he was in the magic capital, even if it was the suburbs rather than the city center.

The cost of living was still quite high, and he had only managed to save a little over ten thousand in total.

He set the system aside for now, since it required his own published works to accumulate points.

Plus, it didn't offer a cash exchange function—how ruthless!

"I need to find a way to make some money." Chen Xu rubbed his chin, thinking to himself.

While searching online for various information to understand all aspects of the gaming industry in this world.

He was also brainstorming in his mind.

But when he exited the web page and saw a folder on his desktop, Chen Xu's eyes lit up.

Inside the folder were over a dozen colored strip comics.

The content was a story about some lightly dressed young ladies playing beach volleyball.

The story's tone was positive and uplifting, fully showcasing the vitality and fighting spirit of youthful girls.

Based on the memories in his mind, these strip comics weren't drawn by him, but were handed over by a senior from his same school for him to help color.

Looking at these spirit-boosting strip comics, Chen Xu had already made a decision.

He had an idea for his first money-making work.

A domestic beauty match-three game deeply loved by players in his previous life: "Magic Mirror" (Mirror).

It was ranked second in the 2018 most acclaimed games, topped the Steam global daily bestseller list, accumulated 71,000 reviews, of which nearly 69,000 were positive, and even most of the other 2,000 reviews were negative just for the meme.

The reason for choosing this game was also very simple.

On one hand, this game basically had no need for game modeling.

On the other hand, most of the game's content could be self-produced by Chen Xu with his skill level.

And its game characteristics, without much funding for promotion, gave "Magic Mirror" a unique advantage over other games.

In terms of quickly accumulating initial capital, "Magic Mirror" could be said to be the best choice.

Of course, some of the more borderline content still needed to be adjusted.

"But relying on just one person would still take some time; I need to find a helper." After making the decision, Chen Xu calculated, and an idea formed in his mind.

But before that, he needed to deal with his stomach issue.

Feeling a wave of hunger, Chen Xu got up, grabbed his keys and phone from the table, and prepared to go downstairs to find a restaurant to solve his physiological problem.

"Never underestimate the meat-cutting chef at any Lanzhou Noodle House—what incredible knife skills!"

Chen Xu picked up a slice of beef as thin as a cicada's wing with his chopsticks and sighed.

Dipped in the noodle soup, the beef even gave Chen Xu a translucent feeling.

Six slices of beef were laid out on the noodles, with chopped green onions and cilantro on the side.

Whether in his previous life or this parallel world, the beef was just one word: thin.

Although the meat portion was barely enough to fill the gaps between his teeth, the noodles were still delicious.

Very chewy, and the beef bone broth was equally rich and tasty.

After eating and drinking his fill, Chen Xu paid and left the noodle shop. On his way home, he dialed a phone number.

After about three rings, the call connected.

"Senior, the artwork you gave me earlier is done. I'll send it to you for you to receive."

"Also, do you have time tomorrow, senior? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"No problem, tomorrow at 1 PM, at Island Coffee by the Garden District intersection."

Hanging up the phone, Chen Xu stretched.

He had decided—his first pot of gold would come from "Magic Mirror."

But if he had to do all the work himself...

Chen Xu estimated that even with this workload, it would take him about two months to get the "Magic Mirror" up and running.

And that was with burning the midnight oil.

So if possible, finding a helper would be the best course of action.

But whether it would work out or not, he had no idea.

At one o'clock in the afternoon.

Chen Xu arrived at Island Coffee as scheduled.

By the window on the first floor sat a girl around twenty-four years old, wearing glasses.

She was dressed in a white casual outfit, sitting there with headphones on, listening to music.

"Senior Ruan, sorry to trouble you for coming all this way." Chen Xu walked up and greeted her.

"No trouble at all, my home happens to be nearby." Ruan Ningxue took off her headphones, gave a faint smile, and shook her head.

Before Chen Xu could continue, Ruan Ningxue looked at him happily and spoke: "So, Chen Xu, what did you want to talk to me about? Have you finally thought it over and decided to join my studio? Honestly, I've told you before—stubbornly sticking to comics isn't very wise."

"You can totally hone your skills with doujinshi first, then switch careers! A lot of famous artists in the industry used to draw doujinshi under old pen names!"

"And I've seen your colored illustrations, Chen Xu—you've got real talent!"

Ruan Ningxue said to Chen Xu with great seriousness.

"Cough cough... well, Senior, I appreciate your kind intentions, but that's not what I came to talk to you about today." Chen Xu coughed twice, a bit awkwardly.

She was a senior one year above Chen Xu.

Like the old Chen Xu who wanted to be a manga artist, Ruan Ningxue had the same dream.

But her path was a little different—while Chen Xu kept submitting and failing, Ruan Ningxue had started drawing doujinshi.

With that, at least she had a steady income, and as she put it, becoming a bestselling doujinshi artist, building a reputation, and then switching to become a full-fledged manga artist was also a road to success!

As for what doujinshi meant?

Naturally, it referred to doujinshi telling beautiful love stories—though sometimes they might not be so beautiful.

And as a senior, Ruan Ningxue believed Chen Xu had great talent and had always wanted to recruit him to form a studio.

Sensing that the topic was drifting off and would likely shift to that matter again, Chen Xu immediately brought up what he wanted Ruan Ningxue's help with today.

"Eh... switching to making games?"

Hearing Chen Xu's words, Ruan Ningxue's eyes went wide, as if she had heard something unbelievable.

"My original idea was just to show my stories to others. Whether it's comics or games, they're just a medium." Chen Xu gave her the reason he had already prepared.

"And there are plenty of examples in the industry of manga artists or novelists switching to become directors or game designers." Chen Xu said with a smile.

After all, unlike his previous life, thanks to technological development, the barriers to entry in various industries had been lowered.

So in this world's entertainment industry, crossovers weren't rare at all.

Of course, whether they succeeded after crossing over was another matter entirely.

"That's not the point, okay!" Ruan Ningxue rolled her eyes. "No meals provided, no lodging, and illustration payments delayed! So, Chen Xu, are you trying to freeload off me?"

If the person sitting across from her wasn't her junior, and if she hadn't been trying to recruit Chen Xu all along, Ruan Ningxue would have left immediately, because this looked exactly like a scam.

A wicked capitalist, trying to freeload off her labor!

No, even a capitalist wouldn't go this far!