After Xie Yunfan and his brother finished looking at the office building, they had just returned home when his phone suddenly popped up a notification: “You have a new email, please check your inbox.”

Clicking into it, he saw the email’s background was a deep blue starry universe, and the main text used white font. The content was written very formally:

“Dear Yangfan Studio:
Hello, I am Nie Xiaozhou, the PR Department Manager of Qihang Games. First, on behalf of our company, I would like to express my sincerest respects to your studio.
Recently, the game Underworld Maze developed by Yangfan Studio has achieved great success. After playtesting the game, we really love its design. We believe that if Underworld Maze could be adapted into a holographic game, it would definitely be immensely popular. We very much hope to collaborate with you.
Our company highly values this cooperation opportunity. If you have the intention to adapt a holographic version of Underworld Maze, please feel free to contact 159xxxx at any time.
Looking forward to your reply.
Wishing you the best of luck!
Sender: Qihang Games PR Department
February 3, 2023
Attachment: Detailed Introduction of Qihang Group”

This was a typical official document, formally issued by the PR department. Compared to a direct private phone call, it appeared much more rigorous and professional.

However, ever since the negotiations with Wings of Dream broke down, Xie Yunfan didn’t have much expectation for these large companies. If he wanted to cooperate with a big company, he wouldn’t be able to get creative control. After all, he was a rookie studio, and it would be hard for the other party to offer terms that satisfied him.

But Qihang Games’ share in the holographic game market was continuously shrinking. Squeezed by Wings of Dream and Cool Play, their situation was precarious. Relying solely on the game Starry Sky Walk definitely wouldn’t last them long.

Since they actively sought a partnership, they probably wouldn’t be as arrogant as Wings of Dream, right?

Xie Yunfan opened the attached document and took a look.

The material was beautifully illustrated, clearly explaining the history of Qihang Games’ establishment, as well as the company’s developments and achievements in recent years. It placed special emphasis on the advantages of Starry Sky Walk having gone global and being promoted worldwide.

Xie Yunfan handed his phone to his brother: “Brother, Qihang Games actively contacted us, wanting to develop a holographic version of Underworld Maze. What do you think?”

Xie Xinghe finished reading the email with his head down and said, “This is a good thing. It shows that Underworld Maze has truly blown up, having so many big companies knocking on our door. But… big companies generally prioritize profits, so it’s hard to get good treatment from them.”

This was exactly what Xie Yunfan was worried about too.

Actually, he didn’t expect Underworld Maze to make massive amounts of money. As his first game, its main purpose was to farm popularity and establish the reputation of “Yangfan Studio.”

The most important thing was creative control; he had to be the one calling the shots for this game.

Xie Yunfan said, “I can compromise on the profit margins, going as low as a 30-70 split. After all, developing a holographic game needs to be based on a gaming cabin. We currently don’t have the ability to build a gaming cabin from scratch. Using someone else’s platform, it’s only right to give the other party a bit more profit.”

Xie Xinghe pondered for a moment and agreed: “Yeah, the R&D and promotion of a gaming cabin truly burn through money. Back then, I threw hundreds of millions into it without making a splash. Just the manufacturing cost for a single machine of this thing is several thousand, plus shipping, sales… Taking 30% of the profits isn’t considered a loss for us.”

Xie Yunfan thought the same; as long as they didn’t lose out, it was fine. Anyway, the game concept was his. Developing the holographic version required rebuilding the scenes and various gameplay mechanics based on the gaming cabin, which would all be handed over to the other party to do.

He would serve as the chief designer, providing the creative ideas and controlling the direction of production.

His only fear was that Qihang would propose an absurd condition like the “20-80 split” from Wings of Dream, or even directly offer tens of millions for a buyout. If so, there would be no need to collaborate.

Just as Xie Yunfan was about to dial the number in the email, his phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown caller ID, originating from the Magic City (Shanghai).

He picked up the call in confusion: “Hello?”

A gentle voice of a young woman sounded in his ear: “Hello, is this the chief designer of Underworld Maze?”

Xie Yunfan: “That’s right. And you are?”

The woman smiled: “Hello Mr. Xie, I am a senior talent scout for Cool Play Entertainment, commonly known as a headhunter.”

Xie Yunfan: “…”

Good lord, even headhunters are finding their way over, and they’ve investigated my background. Cool Play, are you trying to poach me?

The woman said: “Our boss really loves the game you produced, Underworld Maze, and greatly appreciates your talent. The company is very sincerely inviting you to join us.”

“We will give you the compensation package of a project lead designer, starting with an annual salary of over a million, plus benefits like profit dividends, year-end bonuses, and stock options.”

“Cool Play Entertainment is the largest gaming company in the country. Because we value your abilities, the HR department has specially approved an internal recruitment process. We can sign the contract in advance, and as soon as you graduate in your senior year and get your diploma, you can immediately start working. The office location is in the Magic City, and the company will help you solve your housing needs.”

Xie Yunfan: “…”

The conditions this headhunter offered were indeed very good.

Signing a contract in advance, directly joining a top-tier domestic gaming company upon graduation, a million-yuan annual salary + stock dividends + room and board covered. This was a package many college students wouldn’t even dare to dream of…

It was clear that Cool Play truly valued Xie Yunfan.

They didn’t discuss a partnership with Xie Yunfan, but instead directly tried to poach him. It seemed they weren’t very interested in the game Underworld Maze itself. After all, they already had the horror escape game Zombie Siege. They were more interested in poaching a talented designer to work at their headquarters.

Xie Yunfan wasn’t tempted.

Sixty percent of what headhunters said when poaching people was just painting a big, empty pie. Trusting her would be too naive. Not to mention, he didn’t want to work for someone else, let alone deal with the restrictive workplace competition in a large company.

Working for himself, getting to have the final say on whatever he wanted to do—wasn’t that awesome?

Xie Yunfan said directly: “I’m sorry, thank you for your appreciation, but I currently have no desire to change jobs. I will continue to stay at Yangfan Studio.”

The headhunter said: “The development prospects of your small studio are limited. It’s better to come to a larger platform to display your talents. Our company can provide you with many channels and assistance.”

Xie Yunfan said: “But I want to start my own business. I don’t really want to work for someone else.”

The headhunter: “…”

As a headhunter for a top-tier domestic company, she rarely hit a wall. Yet, this designer from Yangfan Studio was completely impervious to persuasion.

The woman frowned and said: “Won’t you consider it carefully?”

Xie Yunfan: “I won’t consider it. Thank you.”

“…Alright then, sorry to bother you. If you change your mind, you’re welcome to contact me anytime.”

“Alright, goodbye.”

After his younger brother hung up the phone, Xie Xinghe said with a complex expression: “Cool Play is really funny. Instead of discussing a partnership, they directly came to poach you… They definitely don’t know that the studio is just you alone. The profits from Underworld Maze are already equivalent to over a decade of that annual salary they offered.”

Xie Yunfan smiled slightly: “Yeah, there’s no way they could poach me.” He looked down at the email on his phone. “Cool Play really isn’t interested in Underworld Maze; they already have a horror game. In that case, our only remaining possibility for a partnership is Qihang.”

Xie Xinghe patted his brother’s shoulder: “It’s fine. If talks with Qihang don’t work out, we just won’t adapt it. We’ll keep the game, and when we have the ability to make our own holographic cabins in the future, adapting it ourselves will be the same.”

These were just words of self-comfort. Making games also required timing. Underworld Maze was currently very popular, and taking the opportunity to adapt it into a holographic version was the best choice. The mobile game and holographic game player bases could even direct traffic to each other, achieving a win-win situation.

If they waited a few more years, not many people would be playing this game anymore. Plus, many small studios would imitate the successful game and produce a bunch of “knock-offs.” By the time the market was flooded with horror mazes, it would be too late.

But Xie Yunfan had his own principles. If negotiations with Qihang failed, he would rather not adapt it. He didn’t want to ruin this game.

Having made up his mind, Xie Yunfan directly dialed the number in the email.

The call connected quickly, and a deep, pleasant voice came through: “Hello.”

The voice sounded very young.

Xie Yunfan said: “Hello, I am the head of Yangfan Studio. May I ask, are you Manager Nie from Qihang Games?”

The other party chuckled lightly and said in a gentle tone: “I am Luo Hang, the CEO of Qihang Games. I had Manager Nie leave my number as it makes communication more convenient. I’m very glad you called. May I ask how to address you?”

Xie Yunfan froze for a moment, not expecting that the number left in the email was actually the boss’s. Was the boss of Qihang Games this young? Tucking away his doubts, he said: “My name is Xie Yunfan.”

Luo Hang said: “Hello Mr. Xie. I really love the Underworld Maze you designed. Our company has conducted a detailed analysis and evaluation of this game, and we believe it is highly suitable for adaptation into a holographic game. We are very sincere about partnering with you. Do you have any intention to collaborate?”

Xie Yunfan said straightforwardly: “I also want to adapt Underworld Maze into a holographic game. However, I have a few conditions. I don’t know if you can agree to them.”

Luo Hang said: “Please go ahead.”

Xie Yunfan cleared his throat and said seriously: “I am the lead designer of this game, and I don’t feel comfortable handing it over to someone else to adapt. If it is to be made into a holographic version, I must continue to serve as the lead designer.”

“In other words, Qihang Games needs to establish an Underworld Maze task force, and I will serve as the project leader. Your employees will have to modify the game according to my ideas.”

“Can you agree to this?”

Luo Hang fell into deep thought.

Parachuting in a lead designer from the outside was almost unprecedented in the gaming industry. Most game teams required a long period of adjustment to work well together. The longer everyone worked together, the more tacit the cooperation between the lead designer and the various project teams became.

Qihang’s employees didn’t know this Xie Yunfan at all. If he parachuted into the head office and directly became the project leader, the others would inevitably be dissatisfied, and problems in coordination would definitely arise.

However, Luo Hang could understand Xie Yunfan’s insistence—perhaps it was “sentiment”? Treating the game he made like a child, worried that if he handed it to someone else, they would ruin it.

This also showed that Xie Yunfan was a person who took games very seriously and constantly strove for perfection.

If it were most designers, taking a mobile game and turning it into a holographic one to earn a massive fortune, who would care how you adapted it? Getting the money in hand would be the most important thing.

But Xie Yunfan was different.

The quality of the game was above everything else in his eyes.

With such a lead designer, was there any need to worry about the game not being made well?

For Xie Yunfan to be able to create the dark horse hit of the winter break, his talent was definitely beyond ordinary people.

To put it bluntly, the imagination and innovative thinking of Qihang Games’ design team truly couldn’t compare to this young man’s.

Let the capable reside in the position; what was wrong with that?

Luo Hang said decisively: “I can agree to your condition. You will still serve as the project lead for the holographic version of Underworld Maze. All modifications regarding the game will seek your input.”

Xie Yunfan was somewhat surprised: “Will your company’s people be willing to listen to me?”

Luo Hang smiled slightly: “That’s easy. You be the project leader, and I will join the team to work with you in the capacity of the producer. If they have any complaints, they can come to me.”

Not bad. The boss personally holding down the fort. Whoever is dissatisfied can go to the boss.

Xie Yunfan discovered that Qihang’s boss was quite bold and decisive.

Luo Hang added: “You can rest assured. I will directly transfer the entire Starry Sky Walk task force over. They will go all out to make the adaptation of Underworld Maze the best it can be.”

Xie Yunfan: “…………”

Transferring the entire Starry Sky Walk team over—that was the team that created the world’s first holographic game. The talents in this team were absolutely the elites of Qihang Games.

It seemed Qihang was indeed very sincere about partnering with him.

Perhaps Qihang internally had already made an assessment and wanted to build Underworld Maze into their next signature game, relying on it to snatch back the lost domestic market, which was why they were willing to agree to his conditions?

Negotiations based on mutual respect were indeed much more comfortable.

Xie Yunfan asked: “What about the profits? How will they be distributed?”

Luo Hang said: “What are your thoughts?”

Xie Yunfan said tentatively: “A 60-40 split, I take 40%. Is that okay?”

Luo Hang didn’t hesitate: “Yes.”

Xie Yunfan: “…”

Bro, aren’t you going to haggle?

I still had room to negotiate here.

Luo Hang agreeing so cleanly made Xie Yunfan look at him in a new light. This boss was indeed very special. He handled things cleanly, leaving a very good impression.

Actually, Qihang Games’ situation domestically was indeed getting worse and worse. With the market carved up by Wings of Dream and Cool Play, their gaming cabin sales were consistently at the bottom. They needed to rely on high-quality games to snatch back users.

Under such circumstances, profits were secondary. Making a good game was the top priority.

The boss was far-sighted and had figured this issue out long ago. Xie Yunfan was very happy to collaborate with someone so clear-headed.

Luo Hang said: “The company will be taking its annual leave for the next few days. After the Spring Festival, I would like to invite you to visit Qihang. We can formally sign the contract then. What do you think?”

Xie Yunfan said: “No problem.”

Luo Hang said: “Then see you after the holiday.”

Imperial Capital, Luo family study.

Luo Ting’an had been frowning the entire time. Only after his son hung up the phone did he say in displeasure: “Aren’t the conditions you agreed to a bit too good? A parachuted project leader, and you’re even giving him 40% of the profits?”

Luo Hang said in a low voice: “Dad, whether this project succeeds or not entirely depends on the designer. The charm of Underworld Maze has only revealed the tip of the iceberg right now. Moreover, this game is completely different in style from Starry Sky Walk. Letting Xie Yunfan take the lead is the right move.”

Luo Ting’an was helpless: “…Forget it. Since you’ve already agreed, just follow up on this project personally.”

He didn’t quite understand why his son was so optimistic about Underworld Maze, but he trusted his son’s judgment.

After all, every decision Luo Hang had made at critical moments had proven to be correct.

---

[Two-in-One: Spring Festival]

Three days later, China’s most important holiday, the Spring Festival, arrived.

Although the people of this world didn’t know the specific origins of the Spring Festival, they retained customs like pasting spring couplets and eating a New Year’s Eve dinner. This was the only culture Xie Yunfan could feel was similar to his past life.

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, the two brothers went to the supermarket to buy New Year goods. Their cousin Ming Zhi brought her daughter Ming Xiaoyou to the Xie house to celebrate the New Year together.

Their cousin’s husband was European and worked at a gaming company abroad. It was hard for her to raise a child alone domestically, but fortunately, after leaving the Xingyun Group, she found a good job and hired a nanny to take care of her daughter.

Ming Xiaoyou was currently 7 years old and in the first grade of elementary school.

“Uncle.” The little girl was mixed-race, fair and exceptionally cute. She proactively came over to greet Xie Yunfan. “Happy New Year!”

“Xiaoyou, Happy New Year. Here is your lucky money.” Xie Yunfan handed her a large red envelope, bulging and extremely thick.

Ming Zhi opened it and was instantly shocked: “Yunfan, why did you give so much money?”

Two thick stacks? Giving a kid 20,000 yuan as lucky money—where did he get so much money?

Meeting Ming Zhi’s shocked eyes, Xie Xinghe said proudly: “Sister, just accept it. Our Yunfan is great at making money now. He recently made a game called Underworld Maze that has been on Mobile Game Hub’s best-sellers list for two consecutive weeks. He’s made tens of millions.”

“He’s that amazing?” Ming Zhi looked at Xie Yunfan in disbelief.

“Just relatively lucky,” Xie Yunfan said modestly.

“What game is Underworld Maze? Uncle, I want to play it too.” Ming Xiaoyou took out her phone, opened Mobile Game Hub, and saw Underworld Maze sitting at 5th place on this week’s best-sellers list.

Just as she was about to download it, Xie Yunfan hurriedly stopped her: “Little kids can’t play this game. You have to be 18 or older to play.”

“Why?”

“This game is quite scary. It will frighten little kids.”

“But I want to play!”

“Next time, Uncle will make a game that little kids can play.” Xie Yunfan rubbed her head. “When the time comes, I’ll definitely let you play it first.”

“That’s great! You have to keep your word!” The little girl was clearly pacified and smiled very happily.

“Yunfan, you’re quite good at coaxing kids.” Ming Zhi looked at the two brothers with complex emotions. It was hard to imagine they would have a moment like this, harmoniously celebrating the Spring Festival together.

If she hadn’t discovered Xie Xinghe swallowing sleeping pills in time and sent him to be resuscitated, she was afraid a scene like this would never have happened in this lifetime.

Xie Xinghe was clearly also reminded of his despair from a while ago. Forcing back the soreness in his nose, he proactively raised his drink: “Come, let’s toast. Here’s to hoping that in the new year, everything goes smoothly for our family!”

Xie Yunfan also raised his glass: “Great luck and prosperity in the New Year. May all our wishes come true.”

This was his first Spring Festival in this alternate world.

The bad luck of the Xie family had passed. He believed that the days ahead would only get better and better.

---

New Year’s Eve, 12:00 PM noon.

When all the players of Underworld Maze opened the game, an update package suddenly popped up. Everyone downloaded it with confusion, only to discover…

It was actually a New Year’s Gift Box!

A delicate red gift box with “Happy New Year” written on it. Clicking it brought up a pop-up window.

“Dear players and friends of Underworld Maze, Yangfan Studio wishes everyone a Happy New Year. To thank everyone for your support of the studio’s first game, we hereby present a New Year gift. We hope everything goes smoothly and prosperously for everyone in the new year.”

Received [New Year Limited · Auspicious Blessing Outfit × 1]
Received [New Year Limited · Everything Goes Smoothly Outfit × 1]

Two sets of clothing, one for a male character and one for a female character. Players could choose for themselves. Designed in a mix of red-and-black and red-and-white, with golden patterns on them. The female version included a matching hairstyle and accessories, holding a festive lantern in her hand; the male version held couplets. They were exceptionally exquisite and beautiful.

With this level of quality, they were actually giving it away for free?

Countless players were dumbfounded.

Next door at Wings of Dream’s Elf Kingdom, the New Year limited outfits had to be rolled for in a gacha. It was said that those with bad luck spent tens of thousands of yuan and still couldn’t pull it, and the headwear, top, and pants had to be pulled separately. It was an ugly, greedy cash grab.

Next door at Cool Play’s Age of Discovery, the New Year limited Pirate Ship was clearly priced at 999 yuan in the mall, and players were already praising them for having a conscience.

Underworld Maze… just giving it away?

For free?

Many players excitedly posted on their Moments/social feeds: “I’ve played pay-to-win games for so long, I’m used to everything costing money. Underworld Maze is just directly giving away New Year limited outfits! Badass, I must support them! Anyone who hasn’t downloaded it, come download it now! If you miss it, you won’t get the clothes!”

“Little Underworld has such a good conscience. Yangfan Studio, couldn’t you just harvest some leeks for once? I’d be willing even if you charged money.”

“Keep it up, rookie studio! Favorability maxed out with this move.”

“It’s all thanks to the peers making them look good! Little Sailboat scores big points. I’ll definitely check out any games you release in the future!”

Weibo, livestream platforms, and social feeds were filled with even more organic word-of-mouth promotion.

Underworld Maze‘s downloads surged once again!

Xie Yunfan naturally knew that with Underworld Maze‘s player base of millions and its increasingly booming popularity on major livestream platforms, if he put these New Year limited outfits in the cash shop at a reasonable price, earning tens of millions would be a piece of cake.

But he didn’t want to do that.

There was no need to be in such a rush to sell clothes and cash grab the players right when the single-player game had just gained some popularity.

This was his studio’s first game. The main goal was still to build a name and reputation to pave the way for the future.

He was very grateful for the support and promotion from the massive number of organic fans. Without these players, the success of Underworld Maze wouldn’t exist.

The cost of the clothes was just a few thousand yuan given to the concept artist, plus 3D modeling—it didn’t cost much. He might as well give it directly to the players as a wave of New Year welfare benefits.

---

At the same time, at the Luo family villa in the Imperial Capital.

Tang Yi sat on the sofa with a face full of grief and indignation: “It’s the New Year and you’re still forcing me to play Underworld Maze. Do you have any humanity left? I’m going to complain to my aunt that you’re abusing me.”

Luo Hang glanced at him: “It’s been so long and you still haven’t cleared it. Is this all a world champion is capable of?”

Tang Yi: “Level eighteen, almost there!”

As he complained, he kept his head down, navigating the maze rapidly. Just as he turned a corner, he suddenly saw an old woman leaning on a cane.

Tang Yi’s face changed, and he hurriedly ran away: “Don’t come over here!”

But he was too late.

Meng Po said: “Little ghost, would you like to taste the local specialty of the Underworld?”

Tang Yi yelled out loud: “No! No!”

The system popped up the option box, and he hurriedly clicked “No.”

However, Meng Po smiled and said: “You don’t want to drink it? Then Granny will feed it to you.”

System: Meng Po force-fed you a bowl of soup.
[You forgot what happened during this time.]
[Returned to the last time you drank Meng Po’s soup.]

Tang Yi: “…F*ck me!”

He directly threw his phone.

“She can forcefully feed players soup? Bro, do you think this designer has something wrong with his head?! I already chose no, and she still force-feeds it to me. Is that reasonable? Huh?”

“…” Luo Hang rubbed his nose, trying hard to suppress his laughter.

“You’re still laughing! F*ck… I’m not playing anymore.” Tang Yi was about to explode with anger.

“You didn’t even get this angry when you lost matches back in the day,” Luo Hang said.

“That’s different! Before matches, we analyze our opponents. Winning and losing are normal. But this game is seriously toxic! You never know where the next trap is!”

“Calm down. Meng Po’s soup sends you back to the last time you drank it. This rule can actually be utilized,” Luo Hang hinted.

“Ah… isn’t that just a teleportation point?!” Tang Yi’s eyes lit up. “I can intentionally bump into Meng Po to teleport back and forth?”

“Do you think the game is fun now?” Luo Hang said. “The NPCs on every level have different functions. Across the 18 levels of the Underworld, you rarely see repeated mechanisms and designs.”

“It really is quite fun!” Tang Yi scratched his head, not knowing how to evaluate this bizarre game. “It makes people angry, but also gets them addicted. I’ve been playing this maze non-stop for the past few days. A lot of the mechanism designs are really interesting.”

“If there were a holographic version of Underworld Maze, would you go experience it?”

“Holographic version?” Tang Yi froze for a moment. “Will the tongues in the hallway eat people? Will players be tossed into boiling oil cauldrons to be deep-fried? Are you sure it won’t scare people into insanity?”

“We definitely need to pay attention to the issues you mentioned. The holographic version will have some adaptations. Exactly how it will be modified requires careful study.” Luo Hang lowered his head, deep in thought.

“Bro, is your company going to make a holographic version of Underworld Maze?” Tang Yi asked in surprise. “No way? Can this holographic Underworld turn a profit? Not many players would willingly go look for suffering, right!”

“There will be. Don’t underestimate human curiosity.” Luo Hang stood up, took a figure out of his suitcase, and handed it to Tang Yi. “The gift I promised you earlier. During the development of the holographic version, whenever you’re free, come over to the company to play the game and be our chief tester.”

“…” Tang Yi’s expression was utterly conflicted. “Although I have guts, a holographic Underworld is way too perverted. You have to ensure I won’t be scared into a heart attack.”

“Of course. We will have medical experts acting as gatekeepers, monitoring players’ ECGs and other data in real-time. I will also personally experience it,” Luo Hang guaranteed.

“Then… alright.” Tang Yi reluctantly agreed to the request.

He knew why Luo Hang asked him to test it. He was a former pro player with fast reflexes and strong mechanics. Having him follow up would allow them to discover bugs and shortcomings in the holographic Underworld at the fastest speed possible.

Sigh, I guess I’ll just be the first lab rat for the holographic Underworld.

Luo Hang picked up his phone, opened Underworld Maze, intending to clear the final few levels. As soon as he logged in, he saw the New Year gift package from Yangfan Studio.

Looking at the two free limited-edition outfits and the thank-you note, the corners of Luo Hang’s mouth curled up slightly.

—He hadn’t misjudged him.

Xie Yunfan was a designer with a pursuit for his games.

So young, yet not greedy for immediate profits. He had innovation and imagination in his game design, didn’t treat players as leeks to be harvested, and filled every detail with sincerity.

He had a premonition that this designer would definitely become the strongest dark horse in the future gaming industry.

He was very glad he had discovered the other party in time and was collaborating with him on a major project that had the potential to change the landscape of the holographic market.

Luo Hang took out his phone and messaged Xie Yunfan: “Happy New Year.”

Xie Yunfan replied: “Happy New Year!”

Luo Hang: “Between the 7th and 10th of the lunar month, which day are you free? I’ll arrange the flights and accommodation to invite you to the Imperial Capital for a face-to-face meeting.”

Xie Yunfan thought about it and said: “The 7th works. I’ll go together with my brother.”

Luo Hang: “Alright, see you then.”