On the afternoon of February 18th, Luo Hang returned from the testing center, walked into Xie Yunfan’s office, and asked, “The second version of the plan is out, right? How’s the progress?”

Xie Yunfan shook his head helplessly: “It still doesn’t work. I had them redo it.”

A full week had passed since the Underworld Maze Holographic Version task force began its work.

Because the various departments couldn’t properly grasp the style Xie Yunfan wanted, all the proposed plans had been sent back, causing the project’s progress to essentially grind to a halt.

Xie Yunfan wasn’t anxious; he liked taking his time to produce fine work.

Just as he was about to ask Luo Hang about the situation with the Combat Mathematics Team, Luo Hang’s phone suddenly rang.

Luo Hang glanced at the caller ID and picked up: “Hello… What?”

The man’s expression instantly darkened.

In Xie Yunfan’s eyes, Luo Hang was a very calm person who almost never “showed his emotions.” This was the first time he had seen such an angry expression appear on his face. The sharp glint that surfaced in the man’s eyes was startling; whoever was on the other end of the line had definitely told him something highly displeasing.

Luo Hang frowned and listened patiently. A long time later, after the other party seemed to have finished speaking, Luo Hang responded in a low voice, “Alright, I understand. Keep following up. Report to me immediately if there are any changes.”

He hung up the phone.

Xie Yunfan asked with concern, “VP Luo, did something happen?”

Luo Hang took a deep breath to adjust his emotions, looked at Xie Yunfan, and said, “I previously went to the US to negotiate with CCN. CCN is the largest operator in the North American region. They don’t develop games; they only act as publishers. They are a highly capable internet company.”

“I wanted to hand the publishing rights for Starry Sky Walk over to them, having them assist me in promoting our gaming cabins throughout the North American region. Going forward, all Qihang gaming cabin exclusive titles would be released simultaneously in the North American region. To reach this collaboration, I conceded a lot of profit margins.”

“We originally agreed that they would send a team to inspect Qihang headquarters in mid-February, and then both parties would officially sign the contract. But now that the agreed time has come, and I’ve prepared everything for their reception here, they suddenly went back on their word.”

Went back on their word?

Tearing up a negotiated collaboration just like that—no wonder Luo Hang was so angry.

There was definitely more to CCN backing out at the last minute. Xie Yunfan asked, “Have you found out the reason?”

Luo Hang frowned slightly: “We were intercepted by Wings of Dream.”

Wings of Dream? Xie Yunfan suddenly remembered that not too long ago, when his older brother went abroad to relax, he had run into Wings of Dream’s Head of Copyright, Ye Teng, and they had even chatted about acquiring the copyright for Fighting Master.

VP Ye wouldn’t go abroad for no reason. Perhaps he went abroad precisely to negotiate? From the looks of it, Wings of Dream also had ambitions to expand into the overseas market, resulting in a direct clash with Qihang.

Luo Hang said, “That call just now was from the director of Qihang’s North American branch. They received news that the boss of Wings of Dream flew to CCN headquarters yesterday to sign a contract, and the two parties will announce it officially soon.”

Having a collaboration that cost so much time and energy to negotiate suddenly reneged on by the other party must have been a massive blow to Luo Hang.

Xie Yunfan stood up, walked over to Luo Hang, and comforted him: “It’s fine. Once our game officially launches, they will regret today’s decision.”

Looking at the brimming confidence of the person in front of him, Luo Hang’s mood suddenly improved drastically. He smiled faintly and said, “I’ve hit a lot of walls abroad these past few years. Ultimately, it still comes down to Qihang not being strong enough, so we don’t have enough say.”

If one day Qihang became a world-class holographic game company, it wouldn’t be Luo Hang running into walls looking for partners, but rather partners lining up begging to work with him.

In the business world, profits and strength did the talking.

CCN backing out this time clearly meant that Wings of Dream had offered them better terms. Coupled with the fact that Wings of Dream’s strength in holographic games was indeed a bit stronger than Qihang’s, businessmen prioritized profits, and Luo Hang had nothing left to say.

He rallied his spirits, looked at Xie Yunfan, and said, “Don’t worry, this won’t affect us much. The markets in regions like Asia, Europe, and Africa have already been opened up. We will still be able to launch globally simultaneously.”

Xie Yunfan smiled easily: “I’m not worried. Honestly, the fact that this game can make it overseas has already far exceeded my expectations. I originally thought it would only launch domestically.”

Qihang had already provided him with the largest platform in the world; he couldn’t ask for too much.

Luo Hang paused, then said, “There’s also another piece of bad news.”

Was today “Bad News Day” or something? Was all the bad luck coming together?

Xie Yunfan asked curiously, “Let’s hear it?”

Luo Hang said, “Cool Play has secured the Chinese publishing rights for the top-tier IP game Vampire Legend 2 from the European Telson Group. If nothing unexpected happens, its launch date will also be during summer vacation this year.”

Xie Yunfan: “…”

The pressure from their competitors was a bit heavy!

Internationally, Wings of Dream had started deploying strategies to grab a piece of the pie. Qihang’s gaming cabins facing promotion hurdles in the North American region meant that the Underworld Maze Holographic Version would have a hard time achieving a comprehensive release in North America. That was the second-largest holographic game market in the world; profits would drop by at least 30 percent.

Domestically, Cool Play had secured the publishing rights to the famous European IP Vampire Legend 2. That game also featured a horror style. Furthermore, as the second sequel to a classic IP, it had already accumulated a considerable number of fans. Compared to an unknown little Underworld, that game had a massive advantage right out of the gate.

If the two games launched at the same time, it would be a head-on collision.

It was foreseeable that the competition this summer vacation would be exceptionally fierce.

Xie Yunfan thought for a moment and said, “Since we’re going to clash schedules with this massive game, do you want to launch first, or launch later to counter them?”

The timing of a game’s launch was very important. Luo Hang pondered for a moment and said, “Their game only started development at the beginning of the year, so I’m not too clear on its exact progress. Based on my judgment and Cool Play’s operational habits, the launch time should be around early August… Why don’t we launch early, in July?”

He believed that Underworld Maze could retain its first wave of players. This open-world game had very high playability. Players looking for challenges would need at least a month to clear all the mazes. Story enthusiasts looking to collect all the side quests would also need the better part of a month.

Once the initial wave of hype faded, it would be exactly when the competitor’s Vampire Legend 2 launched.

At that time, they would have to face the impact of a world-class blockbuster IP.

Luo Hang looked at Xie Yunfan and said, “For standalone games, the heat drops after a month on the market. With the other side launching right at that moment, we’ll have to run an attractive event to retain players.”

“An event?” Xie Yunfan lowered his head, deep in thought.

Luo Hang’s counter-strategy of “seizing the initiative” was a good operational approach. After all, the Vampire Legend IP was too famous globally. If they launched later than it, the entire player base would be sucked dry by it, and no one would pay attention to the Underworld.

They needed to grab a wave of users first and use high-quality gameplay to retain them. Then, when facing the impact of their competitor, they could launch a large-scale event to consolidate old users while attracting new players.

What kind of event would be good?

Xie Yunfan looked down, scrolling through his phone’s calendar, and suddenly his eyes lit up: “That’s it! August 18th happens to be the 15th day of the 7th lunar month—the Ghost Festival. We can use it as our first major post-launch event.”

Ghost Festival?

Luo Hang was taken aback, clearly never having heard of this festival before.

Xie Yunfan explained, “In legend, the Ghost Realm also has its own festivals. The Ghost Festival is the day the Ghost Gates open, allowing little ghosts to enter the human realm. On that day, the bustling Ghost Market will also open. The theme of the event will be called—Ghost Festival, The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts!”

The more Xie Yunfan thought about it, the more excited he got: “When the time comes, players worldwide will be able to stroll through the legendary Ghost Market, see all sorts of bizarre ghosts, and shop and entertain themselves in the Ghost Market.”

Luo Hang found it quite interesting as he listened, praising, “This event is very novel.”

Judging from the previous installment, the Vampire Legend series primarily focused on a “standalone story route.” It was a story-driven holographic blockbuster mixed with horror elements and magical combat, making it very popular among players.

But the Underworld Maze planned by Xie Yunfan had much higher playability.

Players who didn’t like watching long story cutscenes could go play in the Ghost Market by themselves! Buy some things, listen to gossip, look at the incredibly diverse Ghost Realm… wasn’t that much more interesting than simply following a storyline?

Xie Yunfan said, “By the way, the holographic game shouldn’t be called Underworld Maze anymore. The word ‘Maze’ will deter a huge number of players—let’s change the name. How about we just call it Ghost Realm?”

Luo Hang smiled faintly: “Alright, I also think Ghost Realm is very fitting.”

When both games launch simultaneously, it will be Eastern Ghosts PK Vampires… Xie Yunfan suddenly felt that this coincidence was also quite interesting!

Foreigners talked about vampire legends every day. Once the first part finished, they continued making a second part? They might as well let players all over the world see the “ghosts” from Chinese legends. Their appearances and stories were completely different from Western “vampires.”

Thinking of this, Xie Yunfan was brimming with even more confidence: “I’ll add some more lore settings later.”

Luo Hang suggested, “If we want to launch in July, our development has to speed up even more. Let’s build the core gameplay first. Other side quests and events can be slowly supplemented later.”

Xie Yunfan nodded: “Understood!”

When the mobile version of Underworld Maze launched, it was already at 100% completion; there was no need to add content later. But the holographic version was different. For example, with the random encounter system, they could make four or five side quests first for players to play through, and add more side quests during later events.

For the challenge gameplay, they could start with the Eighteen Hells and add some field bosses later.

Casual players could first stroll through the mountains guarded by the Five Ghost Emperors, walk along the River of Forgetfulness and the Bridge of Helplessness, and later participate in the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts event, exploring the Ghost Market and taking photos…

The advantage of an open world was that they could continuously add content. Ghost Realm was a massive world, not a short-term game that you stopped playing after finishing the story or clearing all the levels.

It had the potential to become a long-term, continuously operated game!

In the future, they could hold a Ghost Market event every year during the Ghost Festival.

Just thinking about it was incredibly interesting.

---

That afternoon, Xie Yunfan tapped rapidly on his keyboard in front of his computer, wanting to organize all the side quests needed for the initial launch of Ghost Realm.

Stories he had once read constantly popped up in his mind. He picked and chose, ultimately selecting several representative ghost and monster stories from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

He decided to design the side quests by dividing them into four major categories: Romance, Friendship, Horror, and Bizarre Tales.

The first group, the Romance category, focused on the love stories between male and female leads.

The most representative among these included the beautiful female ghost Nie Xiaoqian and the upright scholar Ning Caichen; the ghost couple Qiao Sheng and Liancheng, who admired and supported each other, never abandoning each other in life or death; and Sun Zichu, who fell in love with A’Bao at first sight and was so deeply devoted that he was willing to turn into a parrot after death just to stay by her side.

These three stories each had their own highlights.

The second group, the Friendship category, focused on soulmates and camaraderie.

For instance, the famous story of a “soul following a confidant.” The scholar Ye Sheng and the local official Ding Chenghe cherished each other. Ding Chenghe highly admired Ye Sheng’s talent. Later, Ye Sheng died of a severe illness, but his ghost continuously accompanied Ding Chenghe, even acting as a teacher for Ding Chenghe’s son and tutoring his friend’s child to attain official success. Years later, upon returning to his hometown and seeing his own skeleton, did he finally realize he was a dead soul.

There was also the story of Tian Qilang and Wu Chengxiu. The two were good friends. Wu Chengxiu was falsely accused of murder and couldn’t clear his name no matter where he sought help, because the officials colluded and refused to let him defend himself. Tian Qilang disguised himself as a woodcutter and killed the Imperial Censor’s brother with a single slash when the official was out, then slit his own throat.

He clearly fell into a pool of blood with his head severed, yet when the county magistrate came forward to inspect the body, his ghost actually possessed his corpse, stood right back up, and killed the magistrate with another slash!

Avenging a friend even in death—this Qilang was a true man.

The third group, the Horror category, heavily emphasized a terrifying atmosphere for players to personally experience.

For example, the classic horror story “The Painted Skin.” An evil ghost using human skin as a canvas to disguise itself as a beautiful woman; the moment it peeled off the beautiful human skin would definitely give holographic players goosebumps.

Then there was “Corpse Mutating.” A female corpse resting in a wilderness inn suddenly reanimating in the middle of the night. As the guests fled in panic, the female corpse would hop after them. Turning this into a “Battle Royale Mode” immersive story experience, having a female corpse chase the players, would definitely be very interesting.

The final Bizarre Tales category told the wondrous ghostly experiences of some “ghosts.”

For instance, the male lead Song Sheng from the Si Wen Lang chapter in Strange Tales. While alive, he kept taking exams but never passed. After dying and becoming a ghost, he still came to debate with the examinees, continuing to take exams because he wanted to be an official in the Ghost Realm.

The fierce and unyielding Shang Sanguan, who dressed as a man to avenge her father. After her death, she was almost violated but possessed the perpetrator to scare him to death; the loyal and filial Xi Fangping, who personally went to the Underworld to meet the King of Hell and appeal the injustices his father suffered in the Ghost Realm; Gongsun Jiuniang, whose obsession with bringing her bones back to her hometown kept her wandering the graveyard forever…

These interesting and bizarre stories could also greatly enrich the game’s world lore.

In order to finish writing these lore settings, Xie Yunfan worked overtime until the early hours of the morning. Only then did he rub his aching temples, push the door open, and prepare to return to his place.

As he walked out, he happened to bump into Luo Hang. The two locked eyes, and Xie Yunfan proactively greeted him: “VP Luo, are you working overtime too?”

“Mm.” Luo Hang walked over, his voice deep and gentle: “Writing lore until now?”

Xie Yunfan scratched his head: “Yeah, I’m still not finished.”

There was too much to write. He had originally planned that since he got to live a second life, he would definitely go to bed by 11:30 PM to ensure a healthy routine. But today, he had unknowingly worked overtime again…

Making games truly was a life destined for overtime! He couldn’t escape it.

Luo Hang said, “By the way, our company doesn’t have experience making massive amounts of story side quests. I saw you rejected the scripts from the two girls in the writing team, right?”

Xie Yunfan said, “Yes. The pacing and character writing in the stories they wrote didn’t meet the requirements.”

Luo Hang said, “Those two girls originally wrote the alien creature settings for Starry Sky Walk. They aren’t adept at writing complex plots. You can hand over some NPC settings and world-building tasks for them to flesh out, but as for the story, it’s better to find someone else to write it.”

Xie Yunfan actually wanted to hire someone else too. The characters written by those two girls were so broken they were unreadable. The character models, level designs, and map scenes for the random encounter system all relied on the side quest plots. If the story foundation wasn’t solid, no matter how gorgeous the other accompanying elements were, it would be useless.

Xie Yunfan said, “Then let’s hire a writer who specializes in plots. Does VP Luo want to open public recruitment?”

Luo Hang lowered his voice and said, “Last week, a domestic game studio officially disbanded. They made story-driven games. I’ve had the HR manager reach out directly to see if we can poach someone.”

These words finally allowed a heavy stone in Xie Yunfan’s heart to drop.

So Luo Hang had long realized the predicament the side quests were in and prepared to hire someone else. After all, this was Qihang’s home turf. It would be much easier for him to step forward regarding personnel changes than Xie Yunfan.

Xie Yunfan said, “Then I’ll change their work assignments tomorrow, having the two girls follow my general outlines to flesh out the world-building and character bios for various NPCs. For the side quest stories, I’ll wait for the new hire on your end first.”

Luo Hang said, “Alright, I’ll urge HR to speed things up. Once the new writer is in position, you can personally train them and explain the requirements clearly.”

Xie Yunfan asked, “Okay, then I’ll head back first. Good night, VP Luo.”

Luo Hang: “Mm, get some good rest.”

Xie Yunfan went back to sleep. Even though nothing tangible had been produced this week, fortunately, he and Luo Hang were controlling the progress and direction of the entire game, and they had a very clear overall plan for the project.

The navigators had a clear goal; the various teams just needed to keep pace with them, and the entire game could be pushed forward step by step.

---

Three days later, Qihang’s newly hired writer officially reported to headquarters.

As Shen Xingye walked into the Qihang Games headquarters, she maintained a calm facade, but was actually panicking internally.

Her previous workplace, “Paradise Studio,” had been forced to disband recently. Paradise had started out making story games and had once produced a very popular text-based game called Wasteland Paradise. Because the story was so tear-jerking, causing countless players to break down crying, it received massive praise.

But they were a small studio after all. The game they produced was a flash in the pan, their subsequent works couldn’t keep up, and the boss lost interest in games, simply disbanding it.

Lately, she had been submitting her resume to major companies but repeatedly hit walls.

She never expected to receive an unsolicited call from Qihang’s HR, directly pulling her in through internal recruitment to work at Qihang. They even offered an astronomical salary that made it impossible for her to refuse.

It truly was a pie falling from the sky, nearly knocking her out!

Shen Xingye’s heart was filled with both doubt and anxiety. Didn’t Qihang make exploration games like Starry Sky Walk? What were they suddenly hiring a writer for?

She followed the HR manager to the 13th floor to report.

The manager brought her to Luo Hang’s office: “VP Luo, this is Miss Shen Xingye.”

Luo Hang politely extended his hand: “Hello. I played Wasteland Paradise, and the story was written very well. Welcome to Qihang.”

Shen Xingye felt flattered but maintained a professional calmness on the surface, smiling as she said, “Thank you for the appreciation, VP Luo. I am very honored to work at Qihang.”

Luo Hang said gently, “Go next door and report to Director Xie. From now on, all your work tasks will be assigned by him.”

Shen Xingye nodded and followed the HR manager next door.

Director Xie? Was he the director of a new Qihang Games project? He must be someone very impressive, right? Bearing these doubts, Shen Xingye entered the room with the HR manager.

Walking in, she saw that the young man sitting in front of the computer looked to be in his early 20s and was very handsome. At that moment, his hands were flying rapidly across the keyboard, writing who knows what. The crackling sound of keystrokes echoed throughout the entire office.

The HR manager coughed lightly and said, “Director Xie, the new writer has arrived.”

Xie Yunfan stopped his work and looked up. The girl in front of him had a gentle temperament, long black hair, wore a casual, loose creamy-yellow sweater, and had a natural, poised smile.

He had heard Luo Hang talk about her over the past two days.

Shen Xingye, from a small studio. The tear-jerking emotional scenes in the highly acclaimed text-based story game Wasteland Paradise had been penned by her. The romantic subplots she wrote were very delicate and natural, and her writing skills were also outstanding.

Of course, a writer from an alternate world couldn’t write archaic, classical dialogue for you. The original text of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio was written in Classical Chinese, full of archaic particles like zhi, hu, zhe, and ye. Even many readers in his previous life couldn’t understand parts of it and had to read “annotated versions.”

To popularize these stories in this alternate world, using colloquial language acceptable to the people here to clearly convey the core of the stories was enough.

He couldn’t exactly throw in a bunch of Classical Chinese; that would just confuse the players.

Xie Yunfan stood up, walked over to her, and shook her hand: “Hello, welcome to the writing team. I am the Chief Planner, Xie Yunfan. If you have any problems with your work in the future, you can come find me directly.”

Shen Xingye nodded: “Hello, Director Xie.”

Xie Yunfan casually handed her a stack of documents: “Going forward, you will be responsible for all the writing for the story side quests. These are the story outlines for a few side quests. Take a look first.”

Shen Xingye: “!!!”

Are these outlines? This is a thick stack of bricks!

It was her first time seeing an outline with such “weight,” and she couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Are these side quest stories several million words long?”

Xie Yunfan smiled faintly: “Not that long. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to grasp the style of the plot, so I wrote many notes on character personalities and overarching world-building lore for your reference.”

Shen Xingye: “…”

This planner is too nice, he even wrote all this for her to read?

Shen Xingye was somewhat moved. After all, her last planner hadn’t given her anything—let alone an outline—and made her rack her own brains to come up with the plot.

Xie Yunfan explained, “The overall style of our game is a terrifying world of dead souls. But all dead souls come from humans after they die, so they naturally retain human personalities and emotions. I divided them into units for you. For horror-themed stories, highlight the absurd and terrifying atmosphere; when writing romance or friendship routes, emphasize the sincere emotions. I believe you can handle it.”

Shen Xingye wasn’t an industry bigwig, but Wasteland Paradise, which she had previously participated in, was also a story set in a bizarre, absurd world where protagonists accompanied each other and developed sincere feelings.

Luo Hang poaching her over was enough to solve Xie Yunfan’s urgent problem.

After listening to Xie Yunfan’s explanation, Shen Xingye nodded earnestly: “Understood, Director Xie. I’ll go back and carefully read the documents, and write a first draft for you. If you’re dissatisfied, I’ll revise it.”

Xie Yunfan said, “Mm, thanks for your hard work.”

As Shen Xingye walked out the door, she bumped into a guy with a little blonde ponytail, who happened to be knocking on Xie Yunfan’s door. She heard him say, “Boss, the design draft for the Bridge of Helplessness is out. Could you take a look to see what needs changing?”

The Bridge of Helplessness? Sounded weird.

Shen Xingye turned around and went to the writing department, greeted her two colleagues, and lowered her head to seriously read the documents.

As she read, her eyes slowly widened.

This world is too strange, right? Dead people can jump right back up and keep killing? Two people who love each other never abandon each other after death, and then resurrect together? There’s even someone who forgets he’s dead, and his ghost stays by his friend’s side to teach his child?

What a massive imagination!

If these stories were written out, they would definitely make people’s eyes light up.

The “Ghost Realm” the planner spoke of didn’t lose out in the slightest to the wasteland worlds, apocalyptic worlds, and vampire worlds players were used to seeing! The stories here were incredibly spectacular, and these “ghosts” had super strong personalities!

Shen Xingye realized that she seemed to have joined a massive project capable of shocking the gaming industry!

As the lead writer, she had to write well, recreating the stories of these characters… no, ghosts, as closely to the planner’s requirements as possible.

Thinking of this, Shen Xingye immediately buried her head and opened her computer.

---

At the same time, in the office next door, Xie Yunfan finally nodded: “This works. The Bridge of Helplessness is finalized. Hurry up and color it.”

Chu Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

A whole week to finally get a draft approved; he wanted to cry!

Xie Yunfan said, “Keep drawing the rest. Good work.”

Chu Yue smiled and scratched his head: “Mm, I’ll hurry up!”

A moment later, the Level Design Team came to report their work. Director Zhou looked apprehensive, afraid of being sent back to redo it again. Unexpectedly, Xie Yunfan said very good-naturedly, “King Qinguang’s skill designs are fine. Have the special effects team work on the skill VFX. You guys keep working on the other bosses.”

Director Zhou: “Understood!”

Following that, several successive teams had drafts approved.

After several rounds of adjustments, the things everyone produced finally managed to satisfy Xie Yunfan.

The air pressure in the 13th-floor office area wasn’t as low as usual today. During lunch, Luo Hang clearly noticed that everyone on the project team looked much more relaxed, and some people were even smiling.

It seemed the project’s progress was finally no longer stagnant, but had taken its first step forward!

---

Next, the entire 13th-floor office area of the Qihang Group began a hair-loss-inducing period of overtime. Because they had to launch before summer vacation, Luo Hang kept pushing the schedule, and Xie Yunfan’s requirements were very strict, so they spent every day constantly revising and finalizing drafts.

In the art department, just the draft for Nie Xiaoqian was revised seven times. By the end, Xia Yixi’s dreams were full of nothing but Nie Xiaoqian.

Fortunately, it was finally approved. The beautiful female ghost she drew was indeed stunning at first glance, and the scholar Ning Caichen also displayed his honest and upright personality traits perfectly.

After getting approved, she roughly figured out the style Xie Yunfan liked, and her subsequent drafts were noticeably faster.

But the documents Xie Yunfan handed out to everyone also increased.

Side quests came one after another, and scenes followed one by one.

The endless stream of characters, ghosts, monsters, and scenes left everyone overwhelmed.

Every team was as busy as a spinning top, and the Qihang building’s lights staying on late into the night became a common occurrence.

Sometimes, conflicts would even arise between different teams.

For example, the art team and the 3D modeling team argued from time to time. The art team felt the concept art they drew was extremely beautiful, while the modeling team said, “The clothes/scenes you made look ugly when modeled; static and dynamic are two different things.”

The Level Design Team felt they had created a super awesome boss, but the Programming Team would say, “The skills you made are very prone to bugs when actually implemented.”

The two sides argued endlessly, finally seeking out Xie Yunfan to act as the judge.

Xie Yunfan was also going crazy from being so busy.

Not only did he have to urge the progress of every team and personally oversee crucial details, he also had to resolve conflicts between different teams… he was practically the head parent of a kindergarten.

If it weren’t for his rich experience, he would have been driven to a breakdown by these people.

Fortunately, Xie Yunfan handled these endless situations with ease. He could always calmly point out where the problem lay, leaving the various project teams thoroughly convinced.

Under his supervision, the different teams marched forward in an orderly manner.

One month later, the first side quest was completed. With the art, writing, modeling, and level design teams all working together, the flow of the story met Xie Yunfan’s requirements.

Two months later, the 3D modeling and environmental combat math for the Eighteen Hells were all finalized. The Ten Kings of Hell bosses were placed in different mazes, and the challenge section’s completion rate reached 80%.

Every team was frantically rushing their work.

Scenes were modeled one by one and filled into the grand map of the entire Ghost Realm.

The towering Ghost Gates, the bizarre scenery of the Five Direction Mountains, the countless wronged souls in the City of Those Who Died in Vain, the endless River of Forgetfulness, the graveyard erected with countless tombstones, the valleys swept by gloomy winds…

The scenery of the entire Ghost Realm was fully visible within the holographic game.

The characters also transformed from 2D paper figures drawn by artists into lifelike, three-dimensional holographic NPCs. They could laugh, cry, and perform all sorts of actions. Watching these incredibly lifelike “ghosts” through the holographic projection screen, Xie Yunfan felt deeply moved.

Holographic games were even more realistic than watching TV dramas.

When the time came, players would accompany these characters to clear levels and reconstruct their stories. This kind of “immersive experience” made even him want to try it out personally.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

On May 1st, Xie Yunfan gathered everyone for a mid-term meeting. Every team reported their progress, and the game’s completion rate had reached around 70%.

Next up was the polishing and integration of various details.

Once the story was finished, Luo Hang packaged all the materials and handed them over to a well-known domestic voice acting studio. He had the voice directing team grasp every character’s personality according to TV drama standards and use appropriate voice actors to dub them. For certain climax scenes, he even took out extra funds to outsource CG animation to an animation company.

Animation prices were calculated by the second; Luo Hang was very willing to throw money at this.

In addition, various skill VFX also began emergency rush work.

Xie Yunfan worked overtime until late at night almost every single day, and Luo Hang stayed to work overtime with him. Both of them were holding their breath—because they both knew that for Qihang and Yangfan Studio, this game was a crucial chess piece!

If played well, it could instantly blow the situation wide open.

If played poorly, not only would Qihang lose money, but Xie Yunfan would also be affected.

…

For several consecutive months, the 13th-floor office area of Qihang Games was brightly lit every night. Luo Hang arranged for the cafeteria to prepare midnight snacks for everyone, and some colleagues even just slept at the company directly.

Everyone was working extremely hard, because they all knew they were participating in an unprecedented game project. As long as this game launched smoothly, not only would they get their year-end bonuses, but this would also be an incredibly important piece of experience on their resumes.

On June 10th, exactly 4 months after Ghost Realm was officially established as a project.

The first version of the game DEMO was finally produced!!

That night, Xie Yunfan pushed a cart full of delicious food to reward everyone, smiling as he said, “Although we encountered many difficulties during the game production process, we’ve worked hard to overcome them all. Thank you for your understanding. Next, VP Luo and I have decided to give you all a 5-day vacation!”

Enthusiastic applause erupted in the office area.

Luo Hang emphasized, “Over these next few days, I will find people to test the game DEMO. Everyone, recharge your batteries and get some good rest. Whatever problems arise during testing, we’ll fix them all together when you come back.”

Producing the initial version of the game wasn’t the end for them. Testing for bugs, tweaking details—there was still a lot of wrap-up work to do.

But at least the prototype of the game was out; this was massive progress!

---

The next day, most of the project team went home for vacation. Only a few programmers and the employees responsible for testing remained. Everyone gathered at the Qihang Gaming Cabin Experience Center and climbed into their respective gaming cabins.

Xie Yunfan also personally came to the experience center to observe the testing process.

He and Luo Hang sat in the main control seats, where they could see the players’ expressions and hear their voices at any time.

Not long after the game started, a tragic scream rang out from a certain gaming cabin: “Ahhhh, fuck, scared the shit out of me!”

Xie Yunfan: “…”

Who was that? Screaming so loudly?

Luo Hang forcefully held back his laughter, leaned closer to Xie Yunfan, and said, “The professional tester I hired is named Tang Yi. He used to be the world champion in the Wilderness Crisis shooting competition, and he’s retired now.”

Xie Yunfan looked at him in surprise: “You can even hire a world champion?”

Luo Hang: “…Ahem, he’s my cousin.”

Xie Yunfan understood: “No wonder.”

Hiring a world champion to test the game meant that these gaming experts possessed reaction times and game sense far surpassing ordinary players. They could discover unreasonable combat mathematics in the game at the fastest speed.

Xie Yunfan switched the camera to Gaming Cabin No. 17—the tester, Tang Yi (God T).

The player lying in the gaming cabin actually looked quite cute. As he played, he cursed continuously, occasionally bursting out with terrified screams.

However, despite his boisterous personality, his mechanics were genuinely impressive. He traversed the maze very smoothly. When he encountered the boss in the first level, he remained unruffled, quickly grasping the pattern to fight it.

Xie Yunfan watched for a moment, frowning slightly: “The boss combat isn’t fluid enough. The Level Design Team still needs to adjust the skill cooldown intervals. Also, for the maze modeling, the distance between the walls needs to be widened by one meter. Otherwise, if the player brushes against the tongues while walking, it’ll be too disgusting.”

The tongues in the holographic game weren’t like the ones in the mobile game. Not only did they look disgusting, they were physiologically disgusting. Even for a horror game, they shouldn’t make the players literally throw up inside their gaming cabins.

What mattered was the atmosphere. Therefore, many details in the hell sections needed further revision.

Luo Hang said, “Understood. We’ll adjust it later.”

The testing proceeded in an orderly manner. When Tang Yi emerged from the gaming cabin, his entire face was pale. He muttered softly, “I fought for two hours and only cleared one hell!”

Luo Hang said, “Do you feel the pacing is acceptable?”

Tang Yi thought for a moment and said, “It’s about right. An ordinary player would probably take over two hours. The boss difficulty is medium. Even though the maze is terrifying, once you grasp the technique and sprint wildly for your life, it’s really fucking thrilling! Scared the shit out of me!”

He paused, looking eagerly at his older cousin: “I want to play the second one.”

Luo Hang pointed at the gaming cabin: “Go on.”

Getting an evaluation like this from a professional player made Xie Yunfan very gratified.

Next door, Shen Xingye, who was testing the story routes, also emerged. She said, “There’s a bug with the side quest encounters. Halfway through the Qiao Sheng and Liancheng storyline, the dialogue can’t be triggered? I can’t progress.”

A bug that swallowed the dialogue was the Programming Team’s fault.

Luo Hang said, “Have them fix it.”

Those who were wandering around testing the scenery also gradually submitted all sorts of bizarre bugs, like players getting stuck in walls or walking around only to end up back where they started.

After collecting a wave of testing feedback, Xie Yunfan prepared to personally lead the Programming Team to make fixes.

This game needed at least three rounds of testing to ensure there were no obvious bugs before it launched; otherwise, the players’ experience would be terrible.

---

At the end of June, the third test for Ghost Realm was officially completed.

The later-stage animations and voice acting had all been fully organized as well. With half a month left before launch, Luo Hang and Xie Yunfan discussed the operations plan.

Luo Hang said, “Currently, holographic gaming cabins are expensive and take up a lot of space. Most families don’t have the means to buy one for their homes. Those who want to play holographic games can go to Experience Centers and pay a fee to play.”

This was equivalent to internet cafes from the old era, where everyone went to use the internet.

Xie Yunfan asked, “How exactly does the charging work?”

Luo Hang said, “The hourly fee for using a gaming cabin is 2 to 5 yuan, independently priced based on the Experience Center’s environment. The items inside the gaming cabin cost extra. For example, Wings of Dream’s Great Player is 2 yuan per mini-game session, and Cool Play’s Zombie Siege is 10 yuan per instance.”

Xie Yunfan thought about it and suggested, “Is our game more suited to charging by the hour?”

Luo Hang said, “Exactly. We have an open world where players can freely explore the Ghost Realm, do storylines, or run mazes—they can play whatever they want. Charging by time is more reasonable.”

Xie Yunfan asked, “As for pricing… should we make it a bit cheaper? Let’s pull in a wave of experience-seeking players first. Whether we can retain these players will depend on the quality of our game.”

Luo Hang said, “5 yuan an hour. What do you think?”

Xie Yunfan smiled: “Operations are your responsibility, VP Luo. Just give an evaluation. I don’t really understand the pricing in the holographic market; I’m just offering some suggestions.”

Luo Hang said, “Alright, I’ll synthesize the pricing of other domestic games. Our game doesn’t charge for items, nor does it have various gift packs. If we only charge by the hour, our initial revenue might not be that high. We’ll have to rely on later events to generate momentum.”

Xie Yunfan said, “Don’t worry, the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts event is already being prepared.”

Luo Hang smiled faintly: “Then I’ll start preparing the marketing on my end too. How about we set the official launch date for… July 15th?”

Xie Yunfan said, “Alright!”

Launching on July 15th. The 15th day of the 7th lunar month would be exactly next month on August 18th. One month after launch, they would open their first major event—Ghost Festival, the opening of the Ghost Gates, the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts.

A major event could generate a wave of revenue, consolidate old players, and simultaneously attract new players, resisting the impact of their competitor’s new game.

This pacing was just right.

Next up, they just had to prepare everything and look forward to the day Ghost Realm officially met the players!