Colorado.
This state, bisected by the Rocky Mountains, is located in the Midwestern United States, separated from California by only the Arizona.
The Rocky Mountains make this area full of hills and mountains.
Denver is the largest city in this magical land.
"Mr. Lin, welcome to Denver, the world-renowned beer capital."
Mrs. Handler stood beside Lin Lixin, her smile warm.
The maid stood behind her.
However, she didn't need anyone's help; she stood ramrod straight, and you couldn't tell at all that she was a 70-year-old woman who had battled cancer.
Having had two successful collaborations in the past, Mattel and Gamenova are now old acquaintances.
However, this time Mrs. Handler met with Lin Lixin in a personal capacity.
After all, Denver is her hometown, so she's practically the host.
"Such a large mansion is hard to find, especially since you're planning to buy it outright—"
Handler gave a wink to the servant behind him, who immediately understood and took out a stack of documents from her briefcase. "Fortunately, I know a few local real estate developers."
When Mrs. Handler first heard Lin Lixin's request, she was truly taken aback.
A large Western-style mansion with a floor area of at least 2,500 square meters, which, in addition to the mansion itself, must also have an attached garden.
This size is already a medium to large aristocratic mansion, and it's not something you can easily find.
Even in a wealthy neighborhood, this scale is astonishing.
"Look, this one is a newly made antique replica, with a lot of Victorian-style decorative elements."
As can be seen from the photo, this is a beautiful Western-style mansion with very intricate details.
"Hmm... do you have anything with a stronger gothic element?"
Lin Lixin examined them carefully, then looked at the other sheets in Mrs. Handler's hand.
While the building was indeed extremely luxurious, it was far too bright and garish, making it unsuitable for his upcoming plans.
"Gothic style? Hmm... what do you think of this one?"
Mrs. Handler flipped through the list and pulled out information about a manor that was for sale. "It's an old house, a blend of Gothic Revival and Victorian architecture. I heard it was designed by a famous United Kingdom architect."
After saying that, she picked up the photo and examined it carefully for a moment, then said seriously, "However, Mr. Lin, if I were to say, this style of architecture is not suitable for living."
While Gothic Revival houses are beautiful, their style is too serious, and they also have a subtle sense of gloom.
If you were to live there, it would be really uncomfortable.
At least Mrs. Handler herself would not choose such a place as her retirement home.
"Huh? Who said I bought it to live in?"
Lin Lixin looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? Isn't that right?"
Now it was Mrs. Handler's turn to be confused.
Until this moment, she firmly believed that Lin Lixin intended to buy a house and live there.
After all, if it weren't for living in, who would have the time to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy an entire mansion and estate?
"I thought you were planning to retire early."
Mrs. Handler was somewhat puzzled.
"What's going on here?"
Lin Lixin laughed heartily, but it was understandable that the other party would have such doubts.
After all, looking at the whole world, probably only GAMENOVA could do something like this.
"Of course not. I'm gathering material for a new game. Compared to setting up a set in a studio, a real mansion is much easier to model and design."
"Clam?"
It's better not to explain; the more you explain, the more confused it becomes.
What does it mean to buy a manor for game reference?
What kind of game would need such a huge manor?
"This estate is nice, this is the one."
Lin Lixin pointed his finger at the mansion, a blend of Gothic Revival and Victorian styles, and a smile played on his lips.
Just looking at the complex interior design drawings in front of him, he began to feel a bit of pain—oh no, I mean, enjoyment.
"Hmm—it's still too well-designed; it looks like it needs some modifications."
"Well----"
Trevor, the professional architect who had just been poached by Lin Lixin with a high price, was momentarily confused after hearing Lin Lixin's description.
Such an outrageous request is the first I've ever heard of in my career.
"Let me confirm with you again, Mr. Lin, do you mean to transform this garden into a cemetery?"
What kind person would leave their perfectly good garden untouched and instead erect a row of tombstones in front of their house?
"Yes, remember that the cemetery is connected to the platform by a passageway."
"Ha----"
Trevor nodded, pointing to a straight corridor on the first floor. "Then we need to partition off this corridor and create a bypass from here?"
If creating a fake cemetery can be understood as Lin Lixin's perverse sense of humor, then what is the motivation behind this demand?
The originally well-designed room layout was abruptly cut off, turning it into a much narrower and more oppressive passageway.
Not to mention the need to take detours repeatedly, which immediately made the originally clear room layout chaotic.
What should I say?
Even someone who doesn't know anything about this wouldn't have messed it up like this.
This is as absurd as getting zero on a test that's all true/false questions.
This shows that Lin Lixin did it on purpose; he deliberately wanted to transform this mansion into a maze!
"I understand—Mr. Lin, are you planning to use it as a prototype to develop a game?"
Trevor's eyes lit up. After figuring this out, Lin Lixin's strange demands suddenly became clear. "If that's the case, I have a few suggestions."
"Um?"
Lin Lixin raised an eyebrow and gestured with his lips to Trevor, indicating that it was alright to speak.
"Hmm—look here, there's too much lighting design. We can reduce the number of lights and replace them with older, lower-wattage ones."
"In addition, the windows in these rooms can be removed and replaced with decorative facade elements to further separate the interior from the exterior."
"Damn it, Gan, Trevor, you're a genius!"
Lin Lixin patted his shoulder with satisfaction, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh, right, what's the situation with the electrical grid in this house? Is it easy to upgrade?"
"Hmm—although the manor is quite old, it should have undergone a complete renovation after the new owner took over. The plumbing and electrical systems are all modern. You can rest assured, it's absolutely safe and reliable."
Trevor checked the situation in various places according to the blueprints, and then led Lin Lixin to the power distribution room.
"Hmm... Could you design a simple mechanism to add a fuse box to the main power grid?"
"Ha?"
"Don't ask questions, just do it."