That night, Xie Yunfan and his two companions were escorted by Luo Hang to a nearby five-star hotel.

Qihang had booked premium suites for them. From the reception to the meals and accommodation, every aspect of this trip treated them as “VIPs.” With the CEO and PR manager accompanying them the entire time, receiving such a courteous reception left the trio with a very good impression of Qihang.

However, these were just surface-level pleasantries; the details of the contract had to be reviewed carefully.

After returning to the hotel, Xie Yunfan emphasized to Lawyer Zou, “The contract terms must be clearly stated. I will act as the Chief Planner of the project and have veto power over any changes to the game’s mechanics.”

“For domestic profits, we take 40%. As for overseas, since operational costs are very high and the publisher will also take a cut, I can appropriately concede some profit margins.”

Lawyer Zou asked, “What is the maximum you’re willing to concede?”

Xie Yunfan thought for a moment and said, “I can accept 20 to 30 percent. After all, the maintenance and operation of the overseas experience stores will be funded by Qihang. It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to sit back and reap the rewards by taking too much.”

Lawyer Zou: “No problem. I will go over the contract terms carefully twice. Once we’ve verified the details, you can sign.”

At 10 PM, Xie Yunfan sent a message to Ning Sha on “Painter’s Garden”: “Sister Sha, our Underworld Maze is being adapted into a holographic version, and we need to add a few more characters. Can you continue doing the concept art for me?”

Ever since receiving the Boss’s invitation last time, Ning Sha had been considering it. It wasn’t until she saw the massive amount of praise for Underworld Maze online recently that she finally made up her mind.

—She wanted to join Yangfan Studio!

At her previous company, the boss was short-sighted, and the art director was petty and narrow-minded, constantly making things difficult for her and forcing her to repeatedly revise her art. After two years of torment, they produced a low-quality, reskinned game that completely flopped without making a single splash.

But Yangfan Studio was different. This boss had great ideas for making games, novel concepts, and a vivid imagination. He respected his partners, made his requirements clear and explicit, and was a straightforward and sincere person.

She was willing to follow a boss like this to create their next game.

Ning Sha replied decisively, “Alright, Boss. Please send me the character design documents.”

Little Sailboat: “This time, the work requires an offline presence. Can you come to the Imperial Capital recently? We can communicate on-site and make revisions anytime there’s a problem, which will be much more convenient.”

Since she had resigned and was staying at home anyway, drawing anywhere was the same to her. Ning Sha didn’t hesitate and said directly, “No problem, I’ll pack my bags. What date should I head over?”

Little Sailboat: “Once I have everything sorted out on my end, I’ll book your flight and accommodation.”

Ning Sha: “Understood, awaiting your notice.”

Xie Yunfan immediately followed up by sending a message to the scene artist, Chu Yue.

Chu Yue, who was currently playing Underworld Maze at home, was startled when he received the message: “Boss, you still need scene artwork? Didn’t I already finish drawing the 18 layers of the Underworld?”

Little Sailboat: “The 18 layers of hell are done, but the Ghost Realm has many scenes that couldn’t fit into the standalone game, so we didn’t draw them back then. We still need to supplement a few more pieces. I really like your art style, which is why I wanted to invite you to the Imperial Capital to help me complete this task.”

Chu Yue nervously scratched his head: “I have to go work in the Imperial Capital? Can’t I draw at home?”

Little Sailboat: “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your food and accommodation. If I remember correctly, you’re still a senior in college, right? If you’re willing, you can come work at our Yangfan Studio after you graduate.”

Chu Yue: “…”

Holy crap! What kind of dumb luck had he stumbled into? A wealthy patron had literally fallen from the sky to solve his employment issues?! Previously, he was worried that his bloody, horror-themed artwork wouldn’t be popular and it would be hard to find a job, and taking private commissions didn’t earn much either.

The boss was truly his noble benefactor.

What was there to hesitate about? He better pack his bags quickly and go pay his respects to the boss!

Chu Yue agreed readily: “Alright! I’m free recently, I can fly to the Imperial Capital anytime!”

He paused, then added, “However, to rush the deadline for the previous 18 layers of the Underworld concept art, I got a few of my roommates to help with the coloring. If the deadline for the upcoming artwork is tight, can I also find a few assistants to help?”

Little Sailboat: “No need. I will help you solve the assistant issue.”

Chu Yue: “Awesome!”

Having secured these two concept artists, Xie Yunfan breathed a sigh of relief.

It is best for a game’s art style to be unified. Qihang’s concept artists were undoubtedly excellent, but Qihang started out making sci-fi games. Their style leaned heavily toward apocalyptic and sci-fi themes, with characters full of high-tech elements, various machinery, and prosthetics. This was vastly different from the Chinese horror style of Underworld Maze.

Although Chu Yue was a college student with insufficient work experience, his imagination was wild when designing scenes, and his bizarre, eerie style perfectly aligned with Xie Yunfan’s requirements. Ning Sha, on the other hand, had always been a realistic character artist whom he greatly admired. Since she could draw Black and White Impermanence so well, she could naturally draw the Five Ghost Emperors just as perfectly.

As for the music, due to limited funds initially, the mobile version of Underworld Maze had relatively few background tracks. Since the holographic version was a collaboration with a massive company like Qihang, the project wasn’t lacking money. They could have a fitting background track for each of the 18 layers of hell, plus two theme songs for the opening and ending credits.

Music production didn’t require him to supervise on-site; he could just outsource it directly to Dingdang Music.

Xie Yunfan contacted the boss of Dingdang Music, Ding Huai’an, and detailed his requirements.

Ding Huai’an had also been playing Underworld Maze recently. Every time he heard his own recorded screams echoing in the game, he would get goosebumps—it really wasn’t in vain that he had screamed in the recording studio for a whole day. The scariest sound effects he had picked out and handed over to the boss worked perfectly.

Seeing the boss request a fitting background track for each layer of hell, Ding Huai’an couldn’t help but wonder—the game was already on the market, so why were they making more music for it?

Forget it, don’t ask too many questions about the boss’s affairs; just record whatever the boss tells you to record. After their last collaboration, he had subconsciously memorized this principle.

Ding Huai’an excitedly replied: “This is a big piece of business! Don’t worry, Boss. I’ve played through Underworld Maze from start to finish, so I’m very clear on the artistic style of each layer. We will definitely hurry up and produce music that perfectly fits every layer of hell! By the way, what’s the deadline?”

Xie Yunfan said, “Can you finish it within two months?”

Ding Huai’an: “No problem!”

---

The next morning, Xie Yunfan woke up bright and early and went to the Qihang Group headquarters with his brother and Lawyer Zou. Luo Hang had the PR manager meet them at the entrance and bring them directly to the top-floor conference room.

A group of people were sitting in the conference room, and the contract had already been drafted.

Luo Hang had his legal team hand the physical copy of the contract to Lawyer Zou, then looked at Xie Yunfan and said, “This is the first draft of the contract. There are many detailed clauses. If there are any areas that need modification, you can bring them up, and we’ll change them on the spot.”

Lawyer Zou looked it over carefully. The contract didn’t have any obvious traps; Qihang was quite honest. Following Xie Yunfan’s instructions, he hand-wrote a few additional clauses using very precise wording.

Professional lawyers really were on a different level. The lawyers from both sides reviewed the contract together, checking it clause by clause. Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the morning had passed. After two rounds of revisions, the contract was finally finalized.

Xie Yunfan said, “I have no issues on my end. What about VP Luo?”

Luo Hang’s voice was gentle: “I have no issues either. Shall we sign it now, or organize a signing ceremony another day?”

Xie Yunfan disliked those complex formalities and said straightforwardly, “Let’s just sign it directly.”

Luo Hang had someone bring over the newly printed, final version of the contract. The contract was in quadruplicate. The two of them signed and stamped their respective copies, then exchanged them… Because the bosses of both sides were present, it was done very quickly.

After signing the contract, the two stood together holding the documents and took a group photo, representing that the collaborative project between “Yangfan Studio” and “Qihang Games” was officially confirmed.

Luo Hang extended his hand proactively and smiled, “Happy cooperating.”

Xie Yunfan: “Happy cooperating.”

Luo Hang said in a low voice, “Tomorrow afternoon, I will organize a project launch meeting for the Underworld Maze Holographic Version. I’ll bring the task force members over to introduce them to you. This launch is an internal meeting and will be kept strictly confidential throughout. I don’t want our competitors to know we are collaborating on this project. You can understand that, right?”

“Of course. Confidentiality is good.” To prevent certain “competitors” from playing dirty tricks behind their backs.

“Do you need to bring any assistants over on your end? I’ll have someone arrange their room and board.”

Xie Yunfan said, “Two concept artists will be joining the team with me. Sorry for the trouble, VP Luo.”

Luo Hang said, “You’re welcome. Then it’s set for tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 PM. The holographic adaptation of Underworld Maze will officially kick off.”

---

That evening, Ning Sha and Chu Yue flew to the Imperial Capital overnight.

Their flights arrived at around the same time, and Xie Yunfan went to the airport personally to pick them up.

The character artist, Ning Sha, was a tall, elegant woman, visibly over 170 cm. She had neat short hair, wore a coffee-colored knee-length coat with black knee-high leather boots, and looked around 30 years old, carrying herself with great poise.

The scene artist was a young man in his early 20s, still carrying the greenness of a student. His slightly long blonde hair was tied into a cute little ponytail at the back of his head. He had delicate features and wore a creamy-yellow sweater printed with a garish pattern, dressing in a somewhat alternative style.

Xie Yunfan took the initiative to step forward and greet them: “Hello, you two. I am the boss of Yangfan Studio, Xie Yunfan.”

Chu Yue stared at the young, handsome guy in front of him, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

How old was the boss? He looked even younger than him! Did his “Sugar Daddy” investor suddenly turn into a “Sugar Younger Brother”??

Ning Sha was also extremely surprised, but she quickly and politely extended her hand, saying, “Hello, Boss.”

Chu Yue snapped back to his senses and hurriedly extended his hand as well: “Hello, Boss!”

Xie Yunfan shook hands with them and said, “Your accommodation has already been arranged. The project officially kicks off tomorrow afternoon. After that, you’ll be staying in the Imperial Capital to work alongside me.”

The two exchanged a glance and nodded to show they understood.

Xie Yunfan led them to the car. On the way back, Xie Yunfan said in a low voice, “This project is a collaboration with Qihang Games to develop the Underworld Maze Holographic Version. I invited you here because I want to keep the art styles of the holographic version and the mobile version unified.”

He looked at the two of them, his gaze gentle yet calm: “Nominally, you two are assistants I brought into the team. I hope you can keep your stories straight. If anyone from Qihang asks, just tell them you are concept artists from Yangfan Studio.”

Chu Yue was completely in a state of confusion, wondering, “Who am I, and where am I?”

How did he manage to hitch a ride on such a massive project?! Qihang was the founding father of domestic holographic games. As a die-hard fan of Starry Sky Walk, he had always dreamed of just visiting Qihang’s headquarters!

And now, not only was he visiting… he was coming to work at Qihang?

Boss, what kind of legendary figure are you to actually be collaborating with Qihang?!

In comparison, Ning Sha was much more composed. She quickly understood Xie Yunfan’s intention and asked, “Boss, are you still the Chief Planner for the holographic version of Underworld Maze?”

Xie Yunfan said, “Yes. With you two as my assistants, the other staff members will be more willing to cooperate. If we say you’re freelance artists or temporarily hired external partners, I’m worried they might not respect your authority.”

Having seen plenty of workplace deception and rivalry, Ning Sha instantly caught on: “Understood. I’ll just say I’m the lead character concept artist for the mobile version of Underworld Maze, and that Yangfan Studio has other art assistants.”

Chu Yue forcefully suppressed his excitement and asked, “Then I’m the scene concept artist, responsible for the primary composition of the scenes, and they will assist me?”

Xie Yunfan said, “Exactly.”

Chu Yue: “…”

Qihang’s task force was going to assist him? He hadn’t even dreamed of such treatment.

He was just a total nobody; how did he inexplicably take off alongside the boss?

Ning Sha’s heart was also greatly shaken. She originally thought she was coming to the Imperial Capital to do odd jobs, but the boss had directly made her the Art Director for character concept art… This pressure was a bit heavy!

But she had always been able to keep her composure. She gently clenched her fingers beneath her seat, silently cheering herself on.

From being ostracized in a second-rate small company and forced to resign, to now joining the team with Xie Yunfan for a massive collaborative project with Qihang as the Lead Character Artist.

It seemed that, without even realizing it, her life had also stepped up to a whole new level.