So fun it made you want to swear

Gao Ming felt certain that Nightlight's Horror Game would be a huge hit, because before long, players would discover that they weren't playing a game, but following a guide that could save their lives.

"If you're really worried, we can pull out Xuan Wen's route, modify it into a test build, and see what players think." Gao Ming projected the latest design proposal onto the big screen. "I've always believed we're the best team, but the client apparently doesn't agree. If we blindly change things to suit their demands, we'll only destroy what makes our game unique and turn a perfect game into a barely passing one. That's why I suggest letting the market judge."

"We really don't have time to start over now. Why don't we give Gao Ming's idea a try?" Wei Dayou took off his headphones and nudged Xia Yang with his shoulder. "Xia, what do you think?"

"The client is making a game to earn money. All we need to do is prove that our game can make money." Xia Yang looked at the big screen. He knew Gao Ming's design style, but even so, what he saw made him draw a sharp breath. Compared with his previous Horror Game designs, Gao Ming had added an enormous amount of detail this time. It felt as though he had actually experienced a supernatural incident. "How did you come up with all this?"

"I ate cake with my parents for three days and achieved enlightenment."

Watching his employees roll up their sleeves, ready to go all out, Manager Gou wanted to say something but held back.

As an industry veteran, he could recognize the brilliance of Gao Ming's and Xuan Wen's designs. He also knew that Nightlight's specialty was horror games. But he had promised the client they would make a romance game that catered to the market.

"Boss Gou, trust me. It'll work this time." Gao Ming stood at the front, with Wei Dayou and Xuan Wen a little behind him. The three game designers—the veteran, the old hand, and the newcomer—made their position clear together. "The test build will only include Xuan Wen's route. If the response is bad, we'll delete it immediately and go back to a normal romance game."

After their persistent persuasion, Manager Gou gave in.

Nightlight Studio began running at full speed like a precision machine, yet Manager Gou couldn't feel happy about any of it. Gao Ming had printed more than a dozen copies of old news reports about the murders used in the design. Crime scene photos covered the studio walls, almost obscuring the romance game's promotional slogans.

The employees were all discussing the cases, putting themselves in the victims' shoes in an effort to recreate everything as faithfully as possible.

"Compared with other romance games, our advantage is that our heroine is special." Gao Ming sent everyone his new character profile. "Next, I'll make a few small adjustments to ensure the heroine is closer to a vengeful Ghost! We want players to feel as if they've really encountered one!"

"Do you even hear yourself?" Manager Gou asked helplessly.

"That's what makes us unique!"

No one could remain calm after actually experiencing a supernatural incident. Gao Ming, too, seemed to have been spurred on by what had happened. Inspiration poured out of him as he incorporated his own experiences into the male protagonist.

"If the protagonist chooses to run at the start, kill him on the spot. If he can't speak, kill him. Fighting back won't work either. Who needs paid items? If he can't make a choice within a minute, he dies! Crank up the difficulty!"

"The Ghost doesn't look right. Her face isn't deathly pale—it's a Flesh and Blood mess. The victim was most likely still barely alive when she was strung up. I need that visual impact! You wake up in the middle of the night and see the face of someone who died horribly beside your bed. She's only thirty centimeters away, and her blood is about to drip into your eyes!"

Everyone's enthusiasm had been rekindled. After thinking for a long time, Boss Gou quietly took out his phone and called the investor.

"Boss Zhao, don't worry. The game is coming along very smoothly. It's just that, after rigorous market analysis and research, we're planning to make one tiny change... yes, just a little innovation."

Closing his office door, Manager Gou tried to help the client understand what was about to happen.

By four that afternoon, the romance game built around the male protagonist's desperate struggle to survive was taking shape. With the support of the experience Gao Ming had gained firsthand, the game frightened even his coworkers at the studio, never mind the players.

"The test build is basically finished. Since we want word of mouth to spread, why don't we give test access to a group of players we know first? We can keep the testing under control and stop immediately if the response turns bad. That way, we'll have an explanation for the client, too." As soon as Team Leader Xia finished, Manager Gou hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"You have far too little confidence." Gao Ming stood beside the computer, both hands planted on the desk. "Don't tie your own hands! Don't put any barriers in the players' way. Use every promotional resource we have and let anyone interested in this game play it! If necessary, we can even pay players. We'll spend money to get them to play!"

Compared with Manager Gou, Gao Ming seemed more like the leader. Calling this treating the company like his home no longer did his behavior justice. It felt as though he regarded the company as his very life—if it went under, he would die.

"We only have one chance. We have to give it everything!" Gao Ming raised the promotional copy in his hand. He had slightly altered the title provided by the client, "To Our Love That Will Eventually Fade." The first page now bore the game's new title—"To Our Love That Will Eventually Die."

Nightlight Studio bypassed the client and began player testing. As Motu Technology's lowest-ranked studio, they had very few resources at their disposal, so the game's quality had to be exceptional.

At four thirty that afternoon, after a long conversation with Manager Gou earlier, Boss Zhao still felt uneasy about this investment. They had been friends for years, but even brothers had to keep their accounts straight. He wanted Manager Gou to bring the game over in person.

"Nightlight Studio hasn't released a hit in ages, but Gou Youzhi and I were classmates. Surely he wouldn't screw me over?"

After hanging up, Boss Zhao logged onto the industry's largest discussion platform. He wanted to search for the latest news about Nightlight Studio, but instead spotted several trending posts in the horror and thriller section.

"They barely have anyone at that studio, and they're bold enough to make two games at once?"

A little curious, Boss Zhao clicked on one of the posts. Nightlight Studio had released its game-in-testing for free, and the players in the comments were arguing furiously. One-star reviews and five-star reviews were neck and neck.

"The reviews are completely polarized. Interesting." Boss Zhao downloaded the game, then fell silent as he looked at its title.

"To Our Love That Will Eventually Die? Why are they ripping off my idea?"

He launched the game, and its gentle, unassuming, kindhearted homebody protagonist appeared. He lived alone in a cozy, comforting, sweet murder house.

"A very ordinary protagonist. There doesn't seem to be anything special about him."

As the sun sank below the horizon, the girlishly decorated rental transformed completely. Before Boss Zhao could react, the protagonist he controlled had already died a gruesome death.

Sitting in front of the screen, Boss Zhao watched the male protagonist's body being dragged away and instinctively started the game again.

Sitting on the sofa meant being strangled from behind by something; hiding in the bathroom meant the killer would break down the door; lockers that served as safe hiding places in other Horror Games became man-eating mouths in this one; trying to hide under the bed meant lifting the sheet and meeting the murderer's eyes; even staying still brought a barrage of death threats by email, slowly driving him insane.

No one in this game could be trusted. Every NPC, including his parents, was a ghost in disguise. The whole world seemed intent on killing the protagonist.

"What the fuck!"

Without realizing it, Boss Zhao had already played for twenty minutes. The game had a peculiar magic that fully engaged the player's emotions and made him want to punch straight through the screen.

Promotion for the test continued, and players kept leaving comments.

"I actually died seventeen times in a romance game about living together! Seventeen!"

"It's way too realistic! They must have spent practically the entire budget on the dead heroine! I wonder which sucker invested in this project."

"Has any expert made it to day seven?! Isn't this basically an unnatural death simulator?"

The game's popularity was growing. Starting in the horror and thriller section, this romance game gradually caught the attention of some niche gaming content creators, and more and more people began to notice it.

At five forty that afternoon, after dying more times than he could count, Boss Zhao finally reached the eleventh night. As he frowned deeply, trying to work out who the killer was, Manager Gou entered the office with an awkward smile.

"Zhao, I got you two tins of tea. Both kinds you like." Manager Gou deliberately tried to avoid the subject of the game, but as he placed the tea on the desk, he caught a glimpse of Boss Zhao's computer screen. The familiar game graphics made the fat on his face freeze.

"I trusted you, and I wanted to give you a helping hand, so I left the game in your care without any worries. But it's been several weeks now. You ought to tell me where that money went, shouldn't you? How's my romance game coming along?" Boss Zhao didn't look up, concentrating on steering the male protagonist away from the vengeful Ghost.

Manager Gou ran through every art of tactful speech he knew. Finally, he said quietly, "Aren't you playing it right now?"

The tapping of the keyboard stopped. Boss Zhao lifted his head. He pointed at the game screen, then slowly turned his finger toward himself. "Huh?"

"Yeah."

(End of chapter)