He Desheng and the other high-ranking players from Dream Realization Venture Capital began organizing their modification suggestions for IOI.

This process was quite painful.

Because these high-ranking players were already very familiar with “Genesis,” the game’s high difficulty was exactly what created the key distinction between experts like them and ordinary players.

Now, asking them to suggest modifications to these difficulty mechanics was undoubtedly asking them to negate their own gaming experience and weaken their advantages in certain aspects, making it difficult to choose.

But upon second thought.

If they didn’t suggest modifications now, President Ma’s gaming experience definitely wouldn’t improve.

In that case, even with the nine-protect-one strategy, President Ma would probably get bored soon.

And if President Ma got bored… wouldn’t that mean their jobs would be at risk?

So they had to make President Ma’s gaming experience comfortable!

These game modification plans had to be made!

He Desheng tried out the test version of IOI while racking his brains for modification ideas.

As shareholders of Fingertip Company and domestic agents for IOI, getting the game’s test version wasn’t a problem.

However, they didn’t play it often. When implementing the nine-protect-one strategy, they mostly played “Genesis.”

The reason was simple: in the eyes of everyone, including He Desheng and Ma Yang, the current IOI could only be considered a low-budget version of “Genesis.”

The map size and game mechanics didn’t differ much; the main differences were in graphics and hero skill design.

IOI’s only advantage was that it was an independent game, and as an online game, features like adding friends and forming teams were very convenient.

But since IOI was currently only in the testing phase, even this sole advantage didn’t exist.

In other aspects, such as various game details and the richness of heroes, IOI was still at a stage where it was getting completely outclassed by “Genesis.”

This was normal, after all, “Genesis” had already undergone several years of continuous updates, while IOI’s current development time was too short. This content all needed repeated polishing.

However, for He Desheng and others, this also meant that IOI had more possibilities for reshaping.

Everyone discussed while He Desheng recorded.

“The nine-protect-one approach will probably not work soon.”

“We need to try new challenges, like battling with unfamiliar players.”

“Only this way can we maintain President Ma’s freshness toward this game.”

“But with the current game mechanics… President Ma will likely be targeted as the weak link, and his gaming experience certainly won’t be good.”

“Since that’s the case, we need to consider how to use game mechanics to ensure President Ma’s gaming experience as much as possible when he faces real enemies.”

“I think the current map is too large. When President Ma is in danger, we can’t arrive in time. The map should be smaller to make it convenient for us to support President Ma anytime.”

“President Ma’s last-hitting and denying basics are shattered. Considering his busy work schedule, it’s not realistic to expect him to practice this. Why not just remove the denying mechanism? As for last-hitting, even if he misses, he should still get some compensation.”

“To prevent President Ma from potentially getting killed repeatedly and having a poor experience, shouldn’t there be a bounty mechanism? After multiple deaths, a player’s head becomes less valuable, ending a killing spree gives extra bounty, and there should be appropriate compensation mechanisms for players who fall too far behind in levels.”

“While ensuring President Ma can survive, we must also ensure that skilled players and novices can be differentiated. Otherwise, no matter how good our skills are, we won’t be able to carry President Ma to victory. Wouldn’t that make us seem useless?”

“Yes, I agree. While the game should be simpler for President Ma, for people like us, high-difficulty techniques must be preserved.”

“IOI’s fixed lane assignments are quite good and can be retained. Besides that, could we request a few mid-lane or jungle heroes with high operation difficulty, making it easier for us to carry?”

“I think we could enrich the map resources, preferably adding several large monsters that can provide buffs to the entire team. This way, even if President Ma fails, as long as we control the map well and get these large monsters to provide enhancement effects for the whole team, it can significantly improve our winning rate.”

“And the operation mode, shouldn’t there be some more convenient operation modes for players with poor coordination? President Ma still hasn’t memorized the hotkeys and often clicks on skills with his mouse…”

“There should also be some heroes who can survive easily.”

Everyone began brainstorming, and soon, He Desheng recorded a list of suggestions.

At the root of these suggestions was the goal of providing more survival space for underperforming players while ensuring the game still had a certain difficulty gradient, allowing skilled players to easily control the game’s rhythm in a one-versus-five situation.

Poor basics, bad positioning, lack of awareness—none of these mattered.

Can’t last-hit well? The game mechanics will give you a salary, ensuring your economy doesn’t fall too far behind, preventing you from having only a pair of boots after forty or fifty minutes of play.

Bad positioning? Just choose heroes that can become tanky with a bit of farming.

Poor awareness doesn’t matter either. With a smaller map, you can mindlessly support any fight you see, and it’s also easier to get help from teammates.

In short, for President Ma, if this version were implemented, it would be an epic-level buff!

He Desheng summarized everyone’s opinions, organized them into a plan, translated it into English, and sent it to Fingertip Company.

After all, being in the investment industry, his English skills were certainly not lacking.

After everything was done, it was almost time to leave work.

Considering the time difference across the ocean and the fact that the next two days were weekends, a reply to this email would probably come on Monday at the earliest.

He Desheng stretched lazily, leaving work exactly on time.

…

…

Saturday.

Slackin’ Internet Café, Mingyun Manor Branch.

Wearing a baseball cap, Bao Xu furtively arrived at the entrance, surveying the situation inside.

Not bad, it wasn’t very crowded.

It was now 8:30 AM. Although Mingyun Manor was currently popular, with many college students coming to play on weekends, the Slackin’ Internet Café wouldn’t be packed until around one or two in the afternoon.

Coming this early, there were still plenty of vacant seats.

Bao Xu pulled his baseball cap low and entered Slackin’ Internet Café.

After reaching the internet area, he quickly found Li Yada, who was also wearing a baseball cap.

Even after sitting down, Bao Xu looked back, as if afraid someone was following him.

“Has GOG’s test version been updated?” Bao Xu asked in a low voice.

Li Yada nodded: “Yes, I’ve already talked to Zhang Yuan. The game has been updated, and all computers in the café can play it now.”

“Moreover, as long as players play GOG for a certain amount of time and write a 500-word suggestion for improvements, they can get some free internet time.”

“And you don’t need to be so nervous. This place is far from the company, so the probability of running into Mr. Pei or others is very low.”

Bao Xu nodded: “Hmm, I know, but it’s better to be cautious. Where are the others?”

Li Yada looked at her watch: “They should be arriving soon.”

Bao Xu asked again: “What about the company?”

Li Yada said, “We’ve temporarily got Xiao Liu and a few others to cover. But… is all this necessary?”

Bao Xu relaxed slightly: “Better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry.”

“Alright, let’s experience the game first, then make modifications gradually. Record the modification plans, and you can submit them uniformly on Monday.”

Li Yada felt a bit embarrassed: “Brother Bao, a large part of these modifications were done by you. Doing it this way makes me feel very uneasy, as if I’m stealing your credit…”

Bao Xu quickly waved his hand: “That’s exactly what I want!”

“If you want to thank me, you only need to do one thing, which is to accept these modifications calmly and never mention my work in front of others!”

Li Yada couldn’t help but marvel: “Brother Bao is truly modest and open-minded, becoming more and more like Mr. Pei.”

Bao Xu shook his head and sighed: “Not at all, how could I compare to Mr. Pei?”

“Mr. Pei is truly modest and open-minded, while I’m just doing this out of necessity…”

The two began playing the game.

As they played, Bao Xu muttered softly: “Strange, why does it feel like there are fewer bugs when playing GOG here…”

…

“Achoo!”

In his rented apartment, Pei Qian, who had just woken up, rubbed his nose and muttered softly: “Strange, why have I been sneezing more frequently lately?”

“Is it because winter is coming and the weather is getting cooler, or because people are always talking about me?”

“I always have this dangerous feeling of thorns in my back…”

Pei Qian quickly picked up his phone to check the list of overtime workers for the day that Tang Yishu had sent him.

“This guy who looks a bit fierce… should be Xiao Liu.”

“Hmm? Li Yada isn’t here today?”

“The overtime list is very different from last week’s.”

“Did everyone arrange to take turns working overtime?”

“On one hand, they can ensure rest, and on the other hand, everyone can get overtime pay.”

“Not bad, everyone is quite sensible.”

Pei Qian nodded with satisfaction.

For now, he hadn’t discovered any project that seemed to be getting out of control.

Originally, Pei Qian was most worried about IOI, but after so much time had passed, he hadn’t heard any news like “IOI testing is wildly popular.”

Probably, in this settlement cycle, there should, hopefully, be no major issues?

…

…

December 13th, Monday.

The hotel venue had already been set up for the interviews.

Wu Bin arrived early, but he hadn’t expected the interviewers to arrive even earlier.

In the interview room, several interviewers were chatting happily, cramming relevant knowledge.

Tenda Games’ Lead Game Designer Li Yada, Shangyang Games’ Head Ye Zhizhou, Headwind Logistics’ Head Lü Mingliang, Fei Huang Studio’s Head Huang Sibo, Slackin’ Internet Café’s Head Zhang Yuan, Terminus Chinese Website’s Head Ma Yiqun…

Almost everyone had arrived.

The interview process was as follows:

When a candidate was interviewing for a position at Tenda Games, Li Yada would temporarily leave the interview room, and the heads of other departments would conduct a joint interview.

The questions and standard answers were prepared in advance, with a copy for each interviewer.

Candidates had a time limit for answering and had to stop when time was up.

Afterward, all interviewers would score based on the candidate’s answers, comparing them with the standard answers they had.

After removing the highest and lowest scores, an average would be calculated as the candidate’s interview score.

The interview score would be added to the written test score, then ranked. Candidates would be hired for positions from front to back, and enter an internship phase.

If these people could pass the Tenda Spirit Compatibility Test after one month, they would become formal employees of Tenda.

Theoretically, interviewing wasn’t a very complex task.

It only required setting aside two days once a year.

But these interviewers had all arrived more than an hour early.

Because they were nervous!

Although nobody might pursue them for random scoring, many department heads came from Tenda and knew each other. Giving random scores would be face-losing.

If they weren’t serious about the interviews and let someone in who was incompetent into a friend’s department, wouldn’t that be disappointing both their friend and Mr. Pei?

A department head is a person who takes responsibility.

If they couldn’t take this responsibility, what kind of department head would they be?

So, everyone had agreed to arrive early to cram before the exam.

For instance, the questions for the gaming department were set by Li Yada, so she would briefly explain to everyone the key points of these questions and what kind of new talent she preferred.

The same applied to other departments.

The scoring sheet was very detailed, including not only concrete content like how many knowledge points the candidate answered but also some abstract content like the candidate’s appearance, fluency of speech, clarity of expression, and so on.

These all had very quantified scores and couldn’t be filled in carelessly.

The department heads exchanged questions while chatting.

“Brother Huang, how’s the studio been recently? Is the film shooting going smoothly?”

“Can you get me an autograph for my mom? She’s a fan of Zhang Zuting.”

“President Lü, thanks for helping me deliver the ROF console last time with Headwind Logistics. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”

“Yada, the website and game collaboration last time was quite successful. How about doing it again in a while? I’m already considering planning activities.”

“Sounds good! When the new game comes out, Terminus Chinese Website can organize a writing competition with GOG as the theme, how about that?”

“No problem, organizing a writing competition is just a matter of saying the word.”

“By the way, Lin Wan doesn’t seem to have come today? She should have contacted you all, right? What plans did you provide?”

“That’s not urgent. We haven’t even made a prototype yet. Let’s talk about it after the phone is made.”

Everyone’s conversation became increasingly lively.

When they first heard they would be interviewers and had to conduct cross-interviews, many were confused.

Like Zhang Yuan.

I’m now in charge of internet cafés, and you’re asking me to interview candidates for Headwind Logistics and Terminus Chinese Website? Isn’t that nonsense?

But now, everyone understood.

This activity could be completely treated as an experience exchange and sharing meeting for the various department heads!

Everyone could chat, learn about the recent situations of other departments, score the candidates together, and after the interviews, gather for a meal to discuss inter-departmental collaborations.

Wasn’t that perfect?

Mr. Pei had arranged this recruitment process with deep meaning!