That evening, Hu Xianbin arrived at Ming Manor for a family-style dinner to have a farewell meal with everyone from the gaming department.

In the afternoon, he had gotten along very well with Boss Ma. Although he had initially felt a bit dissatisfied about being transferred to the streaming department, now he didn’t feel that way at all.

He felt that Boss Ma was a very reasonable person who strongly agreed with his views and had excellent execution ability.

With Boss Ma’s relationship with Mr. Pei, getting resources would probably be very convenient.

This way, Hu Xianbin felt that he could also make great strides at the streaming platform!

Quite a few people attended tonight’s dinner.

Besides old friends from the gaming department, some familiar faces from the GOG project team had also come, including Zhang Nan. After all, the GOG project team and the gaming department had previously been inseparable, and everyone knew each other well.

Everyone ate while discussing recent events, from the GOG Global Invitational to new games, and inevitably ended up talking about the Suffering Journey.

Someone asked curiously: “Old Hu, how much suffering is there in the Suffering Journey? That documentary they filmed—was it exaggerated, or was that your actual situation?”

Hearing this question, many people, including Yu Fei, couldn’t help but prick up their ears.

Who could guarantee that the scope of the Suffering Journey wouldn’t expand to include key members of the department in the future?

Moreover, the content of the Suffering Journey was so mysterious that it naturally aroused curiosity.

Hu Xianbin put down his chopsticks and cleared his throat rather solemnly: “The Suffering Journey…”

“There is indeed some suffering, but it also has important significance.”

“The documentary you saw has a slight element of exaggeration, since it’s for show effect after all. But looking back and savoring it carefully, besides the suffering, there are actually many gains.”

Everyone was somewhat surprised: “Many gains?”

“Yes.” Hu Xianbin nodded. “First, going outside really helps strengthen the body and relax the mind!”

“This opportunity to completely empty your mind and be in close contact with nature is quite rare.”

“Think about it—this kind of experience might not happen even once in a lifetime, and now you can experience it with pay. Isn’t that good?”

“Second, although it’s called suffering, it’s actually tempering. After completing the goal, there’s a great sense of achievement.”

“Finally, after going through hardships together, the relationship among department heads has improved significantly, which greatly enhances the coordination and mutual assistance between departments in the future.”

“I believe this is Mr. Pei’s way of selecting excellent employees!”

“Only after being baptized by the Suffering Journey and passing the physical and mental tests can one have an iron-like will and truly become talent trusted by Mr. Pei!”

“So, if anyone wants to quickly get noticed by Mr. Pei and challenge themselves, they might as well actively participate in the Suffering Journey.”

“Actually, those activities aren’t that difficult. I often take first place in rock climbing competitions.”

Hu Xianbin was completely talking nonsense.

There was no choice—if he said it was truly that miserable, who would want to go in the future?

He couldn’t be one of the few people who went on the Suffering Journey to suffer, right? That would be too tragic.

For such a meaningful activity, it would be better if everyone could participate!

So before returning from the Suffering Journey, the first batch of department heads who went had already agreed on what to say. After returning, no one was allowed to speak ill of the Suffering Journey!

Of course, they couldn’t be too fake either. As long as it was believable, they would try to convince as many people as possible.

After hearing Hu Xianbin’s speech, the people present had various reactions.

Believe it or not, some actually did.

Because there was indeed some truth to what Hu Xianbin said.

Except for Zhang Yuan and a few other department heads, other core employees hadn’t been exposed to Wu Bin’s latest theoretical research results. There were many different interpretations of the deeper meaning of the Suffering Journey.

But one thing everyone could see was that all those who went on the Suffering Journey were department heads of Tenda, and they were heads of core departments who had made significant contributions!

Why would Mr. Pei arrange for them to go suffer even if it delayed their work?

Obviously, according to Hu Xianbin’s explanation, it was a selection and test of outstanding employees, a challenge to oneself.

And thinking from another perspective, if all participants in the Suffering Journey were department heads, and an ordinary employee mixed in… wouldn’t that be an opportunity to stand out in front of Mr. Pei?

If Tenda were to start a new project later, or if a department head were transferred for various reasons, wouldn’t someone who had made an impression on Mr. Pei have a better chance of being promoted?

Some people were content being ordinary employees, but others hoped to move to higher positions to demonstrate their abilities.

So Hu Xianbin’s speech obviously had some logic to it.

Another group of people remained unmoved.

Don’t try to trick me into suffering!

These people didn’t want to be department heads and felt their current positions were just fine—maximum benefits with just the right workload.

As for Zhang Nan, she was secretly amused.

After hearing Wu Bin’s theory from Zhang Yuan, and then listening to Hu Xianbin’s explanation, she knew it was ridiculously wrong and completely misinterpreted Mr. Pei’s intention.

These department heads had really gone to great lengths to trick others into suffering.

Seeing Zhang Nan struggling to contain her laughter, Hu Xianbin’s mouth twitched slightly.

What was with this obvious mockery?

Don’t gloat! You’re a department head now too. Just because you’re in charge of the GOG department, you won’t escape the Suffering Journey either!

Hu Xianbin cleared his throat lightly: “What’s wrong? Do you think what I said is incorrect?”

Zhang Nan smiled slightly: “Of course it’s incorrect.”

“Actually, the way to verify is very simple. Just try actively applying for the Suffering Journey and see if Mr. Pei approves it.”

According to Wu Bin’s theory, the Suffering Journey was meant to correct the misguided notions of workaholic department heads.

If someone actively applied to participate in the Suffering Journey, it would prove they were beyond help, that their workaholism had reached an incurable state.

At that point, forget about going on the Suffering Journey—it wouldn’t be surprising if they were treated unfavorably.

Hu Xianbin was very displeased: “It might indeed not be approved, but that’s because the Suffering Journey is an elite selection process—not everyone has the opportunity to go!”

“Even if you apply, if your resume or abilities aren’t enough, you might not be selected. Isn’t that perfectly normal?”

The two each stuck to their own interpretations, both believing they were correct.

The others looked at each other, unsure whose explanation to believe.

Because when it came to interpreting Mr. Pei’s intentions, department heads rarely had such major disagreements.

In the past, one department head would offer an interpretation, another would nod in agreement and add some supplementary comments, and they would quickly reach a consensus.

But this time, both sides seemed to make sense, and neither could convince the other.

Zhang Nan had initially wanted to explain Wu Bin’s theory to Hu Xianbin, but firstly, there were too many people present, and such content touching on Tenda’s spiritual core shouldn’t be overly publicized, only spreading within the small circle of department heads. Secondly, she felt Hu Xianbin clearly had ill intentions, taking advantage of the fact that he wouldn’t be going on another Suffering Journey any time soon to trick others, so she didn’t want to share the correct answer with him.

So Zhang Nan didn’t explain further. Since neither could convince the other, they stopped arguing and soon changed the subject.

However, regarding the interpretation of the Suffering Journey, two different voices had emerged, causing everyone present to silently note this matter.

…

…

November 16th, Friday.

Morning Dew Gaming Platform.

“You’re Yan Qi, right? Hello, I’m He Desheng, the head of Dreaming Investment.”

In the reception room, He Desheng cordially shook hands with Yan Qi.

Yan Qi felt quite flattered because it had only been just over a week since he had submitted his proposal, and he had already received a response so quickly.

Actually, Li Yada had already briefly informed him earlier, saying that they would respond shortly and telling him to revise his design draft by adding back all the designs that had been cut due to budget constraints.

Li Yada hadn’t made any promises—she had just told him to write in more detail, saying that if the budget wasn’t enough, they could cut back later. The key was to let investors see the best version of the game.

Although he had been forewarned, Yan Qi hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

More importantly, the head of Dreaming Investment had personally come to visit him, rather than having Yan Qi go to them.

While this might have been partly to inspect Yan Qi’s studio, it was still extremely courteous!

Was his proposal that well-written?

Yan Qi didn’t think so. He just updated his perception of Li Yada again, feeling that this person was truly formidable, with resources beyond imagination.

Actually, what he didn’t know was that the delay had mainly been because He Desheng had been in Shennongjia at the time. If he had returned a few days earlier, he might have come sooner.

“Let me briefly explain these additional contents,” said Yan Qi.

He gave a simple explanation of the changes to the design plan for “Millet Apart,” mainly focusing on the newly added content.

He Desheng nodded: “Good.”

“According to Dreaming Investment’s regulations, we need to assign a financial officer to your company and need to consult on some operational issues. But don’t worry, we definitely won’t interfere with the game design.”

“If there are no problems, we can formally sign the contract. The one hundred million in funding will be transferred in two installments, and depending on the development situation of the project, there could be more later.”

“I mainly need to explain the requirement about assigning a financial officer in advance, so you can think about it.”

Yan Qi was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly said: “Of course there’s no problem! Our small studio isn’t very good at this aspect anyway. If professional people can help oversee it, that would be greatly appreciated. Then I can focus my main energy on developing the game!”

“But, is that all? Aren’t you going to study the design plan further?”

Getting such a large investment so easily made Yan Qi feel surprised and even somewhat unreal.

He Desheng smiled: “There’s nothing more to look at. I don’t understand games anyway.”

“This investment was already settled long ago. I’m just here to follow procedure.”

“Actually, Mr. Pei has already seen your proposal and quite approves of it.”

“You don’t need to worry about anything. Just focus on making this game.”