Lin Wan was curious: “What task did Mr. Pei assign you?”

Wang Xiaobin responded in bewilderment: “Mr. Pei wants me to take half of Shangyang Games’ staff to handle updates for those old games…”

“I don’t quite understand. Wouldn’t this task be more suitable for Ye Zhizhou? I’m a numbers planner; developing features isn’t my strength!”

“And to decide it with rock-paper-scissors, that’s just too…”

Lin Wan furrowed her brow slightly, considering the matter seriously.

“I think Mr. Pei’s rock-paper-scissors game must have some deeper meaning.”

Wang Xiaobin was stunned: “Huh? Does rock-paper-scissors have a deeper meaning? Aren’t we… overthinking this?”

Lin Wan shook her head: “You’re good at balancing numbers, and Ye Zhizhou is good at designing features. Mr. Pei is very clear about this.”

“Assigning you to do work you’re currently not skilled at is meant to further develop your abilities.”

Wang Xiaobin thought for a moment: “But if Mr. Pei wanted to train me, couldn’t he just assign the work to me directly? Why use rock-paper-scissors?”

After some consideration, Lin Wan said, “I think this is expressing a certain attitude.”

“Mr. Pei believes that everyone in Tenda’s gaming division must be versatile. Whether chosen by rock-paper-scissors or drawing lots, anyone should be able to handle a task independently.”

“And from this matter, we can also see Mr. Pei’s attitude toward Shangyang Games.”

“All along, outsiders have viewed Shangyang Games as playing a supporting role, thinking our status within the company is below Tenda Games.”

“But now, Mr. Pei has entrusted us with promoting GOG’s international server and updating Tenda Games’ DLCs, showing that in Mr. Pei’s eyes, he treats us and Tenda Games equally.”

“So we definitely can’t let Mr. Pei down!”

Wang Xiaobin nodded: “I understand now!”

Mr. Pei’s decision carried great risk!

For most bosses, having each employee do what they’re best at is the most economical and practical approach, with the most controllable risk.

Using company projects for employee growth and practice—what kind of good deal is that?

Some bosses have employees take on additional roles, calling it “learning,” but in reality, they’re just unwilling to spend more to hire specialized talent.

But Mr. Pei was completely different. Even after providing sufficiently high salaries and benefits, he continued to reassign employees to different projects.

This approach could very likely lead to project failure, but Mr. Pei didn’t care about that at all. This was about developing every employee into a versatile talent, and it showed tremendous trust in his employees!

Wang Xiaobin felt that he absolutely couldn’t let Mr. Pei down. He had to do a good job with this new version to prove himself!

…

…

October 11th, Tuesday.

In the taxi, Lu Zhiyao was fully equipped with sunglasses, a mask, and a baseball cap, afraid of being recognized by enthusiastic fans and encountering unnecessary trouble.

He had just arrived in Jingzhou and, without even checking into a hotel, immediately headed to Fei Huang Studio.

Since “Better Tomorrow” became a hit, Lu Zhiyao had completely shed his “box office poison” reputation and received many invitations from film crews, with quite a few offering high prices.

But Lu Zhiyao hadn’t accepted any of them.

He wasn’t comfortable with those lacking scripts, and for those with scripts, after reading them, he always felt something was missing.

None had that special feeling of “Better Tomorrow”!

There was one script that Lu Zhiyao was quite satisfied with, but the character setting overlapped with “Better Tomorrow”—another pitiful, devoted male lead.

This film crew had seen Lu Zhiyao’s performance in “Better Tomorrow” and thought he was suitable for the role, hence the invitation.

Lu Zhiyao wasn’t opposed to this. After all, as an actor, one should embody whatever role they play—that’s professionalism.

But Lu Zhiyao felt, having already played such a role in “Better Tomorrow,” what was the point of doing it again?

There was no breakthrough.

While filming “Better Tomorrow,” Lu Zhiyao felt his acting skills had improved dramatically, and he was also highly involved in the creative process—an experience he had never had with other film crews.

So, Lu Zhiyao was hesitant.

Having finally shed the label of “box office poison,” if he carelessly took on a bad film, wouldn’t all his previous efforts be wasted?

Looking deep within himself, Lu Zhiyao knew he wasn’t particularly skilled at selecting scripts.

Some scripts that seemed good might not turn out well when filmed. For him, currently on the rise, he had to be extremely cautious.

Director Zhu Xiaocai’s call had come at just the right time.

Since it was Mr. Pei’s project, it couldn’t go wrong! He just needed to do it!

Of course, he still wanted to see the script first, not because he didn’t trust Director Zhu, but mainly to understand what kind of story it was, to prepare in advance, and cultivate the right emotions.

“Director Zhu!”

As soon as he entered, Lu Zhiyao saw Director Zhu Xiaocai diligently working at his desk.

Zhu Xiaocai was deeply focused on contemplating script issues. Hearing Lu Zhiyao’s voice startled him, and he hid the document on his computer desktop at lightning speed.

Lu Zhiyao was momentarily stunned, not yet having processed what happened, but Zhu Xiaocai had already risen with a smile to greet him.

“You arrived so soon? I thought it would take at least another hour.” Zhu Xiaocai used a smile to cover his awkwardness as he arranged for someone to pour tea.

Lu Zhiyao nodded: “Yes, I didn’t even go to the hotel, I came here first. I’m so excited about the new film that I wanted to come talk with you, Director Zhu, and look at the script. That way, when I get back to the hotel, I can ponder the character and memorize some lines.”

Zhu Xiaocai coughed lightly: “Well… as I mentioned, the script still needs a little bit more work.”

Lu Zhiyao wasn’t concerned: “That’s fine, I’ll look at whatever you have.”

Zhu Xiaocai felt a bit awkward but quickly thought of a solution: “Actually… I can’t show you the script yet.”

Lu Zhiyao was surprised: “Huh? Why not?”

Zhu Xiaocai explained: “Because this time we’re using a new filming method. Each section of the script is given separately, to avoid spoilers interfering with your performance.”

Lu Zhiyao found this surprising: “Really? That sounds quite professional. I heard some big American productions do this too.”

“That’s fine.”

“Well then, Director Zhu, can you at least show me the script for the first act?”

Zhu Xiaocai was momentarily speechless.

He felt like an elementary school student who had lied about not finishing homework, but the teacher kept saying, “It’s okay if it’s not complete, just show me what you’ve done so far.”

The truth was, not a single word had been written yet!

However, Director Zhu was a veteran who had weathered many storms, and he could easily handle this minor situation.

After Lu Zhiyao had taken a sip of tea, Zhu Xiaocai solemnly said: “It’s like this. Before seeing the script, I’ve prepared another way for you to understand the protagonist’s psychology.”

“Here, take this.”

Zhu Xiaocai brought Lu Zhiyao a high-performance gaming laptop.

Lu Zhiyao was confused: “?”

Zhu Xiaocai explained: “This has ‘StarCraft 2’ installed. Your task for the next few days is to stay in your hotel room, don’t go out, order takeout for your three meals, and just play ‘StarCraft 2’ continuously.”

“Just play the campaign mode. Winning or losing doesn’t matter, but there’s one requirement: try hard to imagine every little soldier in the game as a real life.”

“Play for three days first, really try to understand deeply, and if you have any insights, whether they seem reasonable or not, write them all down for me to see.”

Lu Zhiyao confusedly accepted the gaming laptop: “But, the script…”

Zhu Xiaocai’s expression turned serious: “You still can’t see the script. If you see it, the experience won’t be authentic, understand? Trust me, just do as I say.”

Lu Zhiyao felt something was slightly amiss, but since Director Zhu was so certain, he decided to try it first.

Perhaps the role required such high standards that only through this method could one better understand the character?

Lu Zhiyao didn’t overthink it. Carrying the heavy gaming laptop, he planned to return to the hotel to rest, and then, as Director Zhu Xiaocai had instructed, properly delve into understanding the character.

“By the way, Director Zhu, what’s the identity of the character I’m playing? What direction should I aim for?”

“I need to know these things to better understand the character’s psychology, right?”

Zhu Xiaocai thought for a moment and seemed to agree: “Hmm… you’ll be playing a space warrior with exceptional psychological strength.”

“Try not to have any emotional fluctuations or unnecessary expressions.”

“No matter what happens, your heartbeat shouldn’t experience significant changes.”

Lu Zhiyao was stunned.

“Huh?”

“Not too many expressions?”

“Then my acting skills won’t be used!”

Zhu Xiaocai patted Lu Zhiyao’s shoulder: “This is precisely where your acting skills are needed!”

“Think deeply about the character. Consider how to showcase exquisite acting without showing expressions!”

“I believe you can do it!”

Lu Zhiyao: “…”

Looking at the seemingly all-knowing Director Zhu, then at the heavy gaming laptop in his hands, Lu Zhiyao suddenly felt like he had been tricked.

…

Meanwhile, at Slackin’ Internet Café’s Handong University branch.

Pei Qian was sipping coffee while browsing the web.

The buzz around “Struggle” had decreased somewhat, but sales hadn’t shown any sign of decline.

Looking at players’ overly enthusiastic praise for “Struggle” online, Pei Qian silently sighed.

He had originally wanted to see what players liked about the game to avoid those elements in future games, but discovered that players seemed to like everything.

Looking had been pointless.

This was quite frustrating.

“Forget it, I’ll just follow Guide Beacon Teacher He’s advice. These players can’t be relied upon.”

Just as Pei Qian was about to close the webpage, he suddenly noticed a player’s comment that caught his attention.

“I don’t know why, but seeing the success of ‘Struggle,’ I feel a bit sad.”

“How many game companies are there domestically? How many make online games, and how many make single-player games?”

“How many companies can only afford to invest small amounts in single-player games, and how many dare, are willing, or able to invest heavily in them?”

“And of those, how many companies can make good single-player games successfully?”

“Thinking about it, there are very, very few companies that consistently, with the right mindset, seriously make single-player games and invest heavily in them.”

Although the success of ‘Struggle’ is a good thing, we only have this one lone example. Many companies are making single-player games, and independent game developers whose projects silently fail, and no one even knows about them.”

“Having Tenda is lucky for domestic single-player games; but having only Tenda is the sorrow of domestic single-player games.”

Reading this comment, Pei Qian inexplicably recalled what Qiu Hong had said before.

The development environment for domestic single-player games in this world, though seemingly good from Pei Qian’s perspective, was still fraught with problems.

For domestic manufacturers without accumulated experience, large single-player games required more investment than online games and had a higher failure rate. This was an objective fact.

Therefore, domestic manufacturers were unwilling to make single-player games because they were thankless tasks.

But this way, they could never accumulate experience, creating a vicious cycle.

Tenda had indeed consistently succeeded with single-player games.

But for other companies making single-player games, the failure rate was very high!

Pei Qian suddenly had a great idea.

Since domestic single-player games were so easy to lose money on, what if he invested in these failing projects and didn’t interfere with their design, letting them fail freely? Wouldn’t that be a way to lose money?