Upon arriving in Yangcheng, Tianhua Studio had specifically sent a business van to pick them up at the airport.

This was normal treatment; both professionally and personally, Zhou Muyan should make such arrangements.

Sitting in the business van, Pei Qian cautioned Min Jingchao: “The office conditions at Tianhua Studio are slightly worse than at Tenda.”

“But not by much. Try to adapt, just consider it poverty alleviation.”

“Every company has its own situation. Don’t ask too many questions, understand?”

Min Jingchao nodded: “Don’t worry, Mr. Pei. I understand.”

This was Min Jingchao’s first visit to Tianhua Studio.

Previously, when developing “Sea Fortress,” Pei Qian had organized a company-funded tour, arranging for employees to visit Yangcheng and, incidentally, tour Tianhua Studio.

But Min Jingchao hadn’t joined the company yet; he had joined during the GOG period.

Pei Qian wasn’t worried about anything else, just afraid that Min Jingchao might arrive and, like Ma Yang, immediately launch into a series of soul-searching questions: Why are you working on Saturday? Is there overtime pay? Why are the workstations so cramped?

He didn’t want to accidentally break Zhou Muyan’s spirit.

Although Min Jingchao probably wasn’t as tactless as Old Ma, it was still better to give him a heads-up.

Tianhua Studio had its own seven-story office building, surrounded by green pines, cypresses, and trees, creating a very pleasant environment.

The business van stopped at the entrance, where Zhou Muyan and Sun Xi, who was responsible for reception, were already waiting.

Seeing Mr. Pei arrive, they both approached, welcoming him warmly.

Pei Qian vaguely remembered this Sun Xi. He had been responsible for reception during the previous visit, and his position then seemed to be a core designer for some large MMORPG project within Tianhua Studio. He had also participated in the development of “Bullet Mark.”

He was already a core member, and after more than two years of training and development, he had now become Zhou Muyan’s capable assistant and an influential lead designer within the studio.

They passed through the bamboo grove in the front courtyard, then through the reception area, and continued all the way to the fourth floor.

During the last visit, there had been a tour section, but this time it was skipped because whenever Zhou Muyan thought about it, he felt extremely embarrassed…

To think he had once shown off employee benefits and treatment in front of Tenda—what was he thinking back then!

Even when Tenda was still a small company, its benefits were better than Tianhua Studio’s. Now that it had grown increasingly massive, its benefits had become even more excessive.

Zhou Muyan knew they couldn’t compete in this area.

So this time, they tacitly agreed not to mention previous events, pretending nothing had happened.

After Min Jingchao settled in, Sun Xi would just need to briefly familiarize him with the working environment.

“Mr. Pei, should we sit down and rest a bit, have a casual chat, or…” Zhou Muyan tried to seek his opinion.

After all, Mr. Pei had just flown in and should be somewhat tired. The friendlier itinerary would be to first sit in the reception room, schedule a time in advance, and then let Mr. Pei and Min Jingchao return to the hotel to rest, meeting again the next day.

Pei Qian waved his hand: “No need, let’s start directly.”

He had traveled in business class, so he wasn’t particularly tired. Besides, Pei Qian’s design method was the go-with-the-flow design method, which neither taxed his brain cells nor required accumulated ideas—it was completely spontaneous.

Min Jingchao’s workload might be heavier, but he didn’t need to complete it in one day.

He could record the key points today and gradually refine them later.

The sooner this meeting was over, the sooner Pei Qian could return to Jingzhou to rest.

Zhou Muyan nodded: “Alright, I’ll call a few lead designers to sit in and listen. We’ll pick the most capable one to assist Brother Min.”

“Please have some tea while you wait a moment.”

Zhou Muyan stood up and gave Sun Xi a few instructions, asking him to notify the designers.

While he claimed he wanted to select the most capable designer to assist Min Jingchao, he actually hoped to use this opportunity to let these lead designers listen to Mr. Pei’s lecture and improve themselves.

Such an opportunity was too precious!

It was like watching a true martial arts master practice. Even if you didn’t understand anything, you would still improve.

At the very least, you’d broaden your horizons, learn how a martial arts master trains, and grasp the general direction.

Game design was the same. Everyone knew Mr. Pei was a game design genius, but how exactly did he design games? There were many rumors outside, but without being an insider, one couldn’t access the truth.

Now, with such a valuable opportunity, they must make good use of it and learn as much as possible.

Of course, Zhou Muyan only called a few core lead designers, all people he trusted deeply.

He didn’t call more people partly because he felt others hadn’t reached that level, or weren’t trusted core members, and thus weren’t worthy of listening. Also, he didn’t want to be excessive and annoy Mr. Pei.

If he had arranged a large conference room packed with people inside and out, the intention would have been too obvious and impolite.

In short, this wasn’t just about collaborating with Tenda to create a game; it was also a major learning session for game design knowledge.

Such an opportunity might never come again—how could they not take it seriously?

As for Pei Qian, he was drinking tea while considering how to approach this design task.

Thinking about it, he seemed to only know one design method: designing to lose money, but ultimately making money…

It had to be said, this was rather sad.

Pei Qian was somewhat puzzled. Logically, there were so many ways to make games lose money in the world, so why did he always create profitable games?

Was it because his luck was too good, and he happened to stumble upon all the profitable methods?

Besides this, there didn’t seem to be any other possibility.

Surely he couldn’t actually be a game design genius?

So… maybe if he tried enough times, he’d eventually encounter a situation where he lost money?

Relying solely on Tenda’s own development capabilities was limited; they could make at most four or five games a year, and many money-losing ideas couldn’t be verified.

But if other companies helped, they could develop several more games simultaneously, and perhaps one of them would successfully lose money?

So this time, Pei Qian’s intention was still to design in a direction that would lose money.

If it made money, that would just mean Longyu Group and Tianhua Studio were lucky, and he was simply fulfilling his contract, which was fine.

Though Tenda would get a share of the money, with so many profitable games already, one more or one less didn’t matter anymore.

But if it lost money? That would be significant!

Pei Qian would need to study this money-losing model carefully, hoping to use it for himself.

If it lost badly, even better! Pei Qian could then use the opportunity of compensation to continue cooperating with Tianhua Studio and Longyu Group. At that point, Tenda could cover the bulk of development costs, monopolizing such a great opportunity to lose money.

In any case, this could be seen as an additional attempt, and whatever the result, it would be acceptable.

After a while, Sun Xi returned: “Director Zhou, Mr. Pei, the meeting room is ready.”

Zhou Muyan looked at Pei Qian: “Well then, Mr. Pei, shall we go?”

Pei Qian nodded: “Yes, let’s go!”

Everyone went to the large conference room on the same floor. The designers who came to observe had already arrived early. Seeing Zhou Muyan and Pei Qian arrive, they all stood up to greet them.

Zhou Muyan had left the central seat vacant, gesturing for Pei Qian to sit there.

Pei Qian politely declined for a bit, but seeing Zhou Muyan’s insistence, he stopped refusing.

After everyone was seated, Zhou Muyan lightly coughed twice, signaling for everyone to be quiet.

“Having Mr. Pei come from afar truly brings glory to our humble studio.”

“Regarding this new project, as I’ve previously introduced to everyone, it’s a project jointly developed and operated by Tenda Group, Tianhua Studio, and Longyu Group. The opportunity is extremely valuable, and everyone present should understand how significant such a large-scale project is for designers.”

In the design profession, “gilding” one’s resume was important.

A designer who had participated in a successful project commanded a completely different price in the job market compared to one who hadn’t.

Not to mention designers who held key positions in successful projects.

After all, in such creative fields, there were no clear standards for measuring ability. Given similar basic skills, successful experience became the biggest highlight.

Mr. Pei’s identity and status in the gaming circle needed no explanation; everyone present knew it well.

For these designers, if they could participate in this project, it would definitely be one of the rare highlights of their entire career.

If the project succeeded as expected, forget about bonuses and profit sharing—this resume alone would be enough to elevate their career planning to a new level.

But exactly how many people would enter this project and assist Min Jingchao remained uncertain.

In the end, it might still depend on Zhou Muyan and Min Jingchao’s screening and review.

So these designers were all eager, hoping to listen carefully, think deeply, and then present some unique viewpoints and insights, increasing their chances of being selected.

Zhou Muyan looked at Pei Qian: “Well then, Mr. Pei, shall we begin?”

“From now on, all processes will follow Tenda’s development procedures, and we will fully cooperate.”

Tianhua Studio certainly had its own development processes, but since Mr. Pei was here with a better process, why not use it?

Tianhua Studio was determined to be an apprentice, a tool, trying not to let their own habits interfere with Mr. Pei and Min Jingchao.

Otherwise… if Tenda’s undefeated legend failed here, how embarrassing would that be!

Mr. Pei made hit after hit at Tenda.

But if he came to Tianhua Studio and immediately flopped?

Would that be acceptable?

If such a thing happened, no one would think Mr. Pei was inadequate; they would only think Tianhua Studio was too incompetent and too much of a drag.

How useless would a team have to be if even Mr. Pei couldn’t carry them?

Zhou Muyan couldn’t bear such a blow.

Pei Qian nodded: “Alright, let’s begin.”

“Have you thought about what type of game to make?”

The go-with-the-flow design method was exactly like this, starting from the game type and going with the flow.

This statement sounded normal and ordinary to Min Jingchao, but to the other designers, it was completely different.

Their faces revealed shock.

From Mr. Pei’s tone, he hadn’t even thought about the game type?

They had assumed Mr. Pei had already decided on the game design content before coming!

Did that mean he could design any type of game? And he was confident he could design all of them well?