The first “Script Session Creation Competition” at Yangfan Studio received strong support from players. Just one week after the announcement, the game’s built-in platform was flooded with submissions.

Writing for holographic script sessions is different from writing novels or film scripts.

First, you need character bios detailing the background of each role players might inhabit. It is best to be specific about hair color, eye color, and clothing so the official team can generate accurate 3D models when adapting the script into the game.

Second, you need a complete game flow: what happens in each phase, how to conduct evidence searches, where to place clues, and how those clues logically point to the murderer.

Finally, a complete plot walkthrough is required to clearly explain how the murder actually took place, forming a closed logic loop with the search process.

Creating a script session is far more difficult than writing a suspense screenplay or a novel. In a novel, you can have one protagonist with everyone else as supporting characters. But a script session is a multiplayer game—a collective ensemble—where every character must have sufficient “screen time” and a distinct function within the case. Otherwise, players feel like they are just along for the ride, with no sense of immersion.

Since there are no offline script session stores in this world, nor are there specialized authors or studios for them, most players were encountering this format for the first time. The submissions were a mixed bag, and after Xie Yunfan took a quick glance, he realized 90% were substandard.

There was still one month left in the competition. Xie Yunfan believed that true talent lay among the people; with the official template as a guide, excellent authors would eventually emerge.

In mid-January, Xie Yunfan convened a meeting with the newly established Copyright Department and the Copywriting Group.

The Copyright Department Manager, Yi Yang, had been hired by Xie Yunfan when he first greenlit The Cases of Di Renjie. She had previously worked at a film and television company, specializing in IP acquisition.

Film IP and script sessions are quite different, so Xie Yunfan had Copywriting Team Lead Ye Xiang explain the selling points of script sessions in detail. Yi Yang had also been playing the games to gain a comprehensive understanding of the genre.

Xie Yunfan said, “For this first competition, the Copywriting Group will select the top three scripts. Manager Yi, you are responsible for negotiating copyright procurement with the authors. Moving forward, the open player-creation platform will also receive many excellent works every month. The Copyright Department should read them regularly, screen them, and assign ratings.”

He looked at the members of the Copyright Group and continued: “You can use a scoring system for internal ratings: A-level scripts, B-level scripts, and C-level scripts with no adaptation value. Different tiers will have different procurement costs. We’ll buy B-level scripts at a high flat rate, while A-level scripts will be eligible for profit-sharing.”

Hearing this, Yi Yang’s eyes widened slightly: “Boss, if the scripts are truly excellent and bring in massive follow-up revenue, won’t the company lose out by offering profit-sharing?”

Xie Yunfan recalled back when he was making Underworld Maze, when Wings of Dream offered him a 2-million-yuan buyout. In the face of capital, creators often had no bargaining power. Especially for newcomers who were talented but lacked connections, getting enough money from a standout creative work to cover their living expenses was already a struggle.

But Xie Yunfan didn’t want to acquire these excellent ideas at a low price. The most important thing in script sessions is creativity, and brilliant original authors deserve respect.

He believed profit-sharing was a superior model for copyright acquisition. In his past life, many top-tier script session authors were able to afford cars and houses based solely on their talent.

Xie Yunfan said decisively: “A-level rated works can be given a revenue-sharing contract. It will be based directly on sales, with a tiered increase based on volume. You can finalize the specific contracts with Legal.”

The people in the room looked at each other, stunned.

Xie Yunfan continued: “Generous compensation is a way to attract excellent creators. Only when they can earn money from their scripts will authors have the motivation to create better work. And a steady stream of creators ensures the vitality of our games. Do you understand what I mean?”

Yi Yang nodded: “I understand!”

Ye Xiang felt a twinge of jealousy hearing this. Some of the best-selling horror scripts in The Cases of Di Renjie had been written by him. If he weren’t an employee of Yangfan Studio but a freelance author, he could have sold the copyright to Yangfan and taken a profit share—it would have been incredible… Though the boss was generous with bonuses, they couldn’t compare to profit-sharing!

Xie Yunfan looked at Ye Xiang and smiled: “The scripts your Copywriting Group has written previously are also excellent. You’ll receive project bonuses at year-end. I hope everyone will continue to work hard and keep writing good stories.”

Ye Xiang’s face turned bright red—had the boss seen through his little thoughts?

Xie Yunfan patted him on the shoulder: “Don’t worry, I won’t favor one over the other. If freelance authors can make a living from script sessions, I won’t mistreat our company’s copywriters either.”

Ye Xiang scratched his head and laughed: “Thank you, Boss!”

Xie Yunfan turned to the Copyright Group: “Likewise, if your team can discover excellent scripts, you can also earn sales commissions on those titles. Keep your eyes sharp, be diligent, and find more good scripts.”

“If you find a good script, don’t be stingy with the money. Our company is not short on cash.”

The room burst into laughter. Not short on cash? This was the boss’s confidence!

Yangfan Studio’s games were hits one after another; every project was profitable. If you added it all up, the numbers would be unimaginable. The Cases of Di Renjie and Holographic Script Sessions alone had a monthly turnover of one billion. The peripheral sales for Journey to the West were perennial, and the Market Department hadn’t even released the specific sales figures for the Monkey King figurines, but the boss was clearly very satisfied. Recently, they had started making peripheral items for Di Renjie, such as cards and bookmarks—they would likely be another blockbuster success.

Year-end bonuses, project commissions… wealth was just around the corner!

After the meeting, everyone dove into work with renewed vigor. Xie Yunfan returned to his office and called Luo Hang.

Luo Hang was in the middle of negotiations in Europe. As soon as the call connected, the familiar voice rang out: “Hello, Yunfan, what is it?”

Xie Yunfan said: “I just finished the meeting with the Copyright Department. We’ve decided to share a portion of the profits with authors for script procurement to encourage more top talent to join in. I mentioned this to you before.”

Luo Hang replied: “I remember. You can make the call.”

Xie Yunfan said earnestly: “Since it involves profit, I still had to let President Luo know.”

Luo Hang chuckled softly: “All right, I understand.”

Xie Yunfan asked: “How is it going on your end?”

Luo Hang, having just showered and lounging on a sofa in his pajamas, said: “It’s going smoothly. I’ve found agents and we’re currently negotiating the details. Once that’s done, I’ll head to the United States.”

Listening to his slightly raspy voice, Xie Yunfan said: “Running to so many places back-to-back must be exhausting. Take care of yourself and remember to eat on time even when you’re abroad.”

Such straightforward concern warmed Luo Hang’s heart: “Don’t worry.”

Xie Yunfan asked: “When are you coming back?”

Luo Hang: “Not sure yet. I’ll let you know when it’s decided.”

Xie Yunfan nodded: “Okay, I’ll hang up then.”

After hanging up, Xie Yunfan stared thoughtfully at the computer. He didn’t have a clue what his next game would be yet. He’d think about it carefully once the Lunar New Year passed and the script procurement was on the right track.

In early February, the first “Script Session Competition” officially closed. The Copywriting Group worked overtime to select the top three, and the Copyright Department immediately contacted the authors.

The winner was Wild Village in a Blizzard, a very eerie serial murder case. The killer was hidden extremely well, and the heavy snow caused many traces to go missing, making the deductive process for players extremely brain-burning. The entire script flow design was brilliant. The author’s name was “Ye Xuan.”

The runner-up was Deadly Dance Party, where a group of university students attended a graduation ball, drank, and woke up dizzy to find a corpse in the center of the dance floor—the lively and cheerful campus belle, covered in bright red roses. The killer in this case was perverted, and it was hair-raising to read.

Third place went to The Cage, a multi-player mechanical escape script with highly innovative puzzle designs.

After the official announcement, Ye Xuan waited excitedly for the prize money.

First place meant 100,000 yuan in prize money and a contract with the studio to produce a finished game version for official release.

Aside from the 100,000, would there be a signing fee? Forget it, better not dream, lest I be disappointed. Ye Xuan’s script was incredibly detailed, with 50,000 words of text. 100,000 yuan came out to 2,000 yuan per thousand words, his highest earnings since he started writing web novels. Capitalists valued profit; Yangfan Studio would need to go through original art, 3D modeling, scene rendering, and programming to turn his text into a game. It was a massive undertaking. Surely, a high-profit game company wouldn’t share that with an author. A one-time buyout was the most reasonable approach. If he were the boss, he’d do the same.

Ye Xuan only wanted the 100,000. He didn’t harbor any other hopes.

On the afternoon of February 5th, Ye Xuan suddenly received a call.

A clear, calm female voice came through: “Hello, is this Mr. Lin Xuan? Pen name Ye Xuan, author of Wild Village in a Blizzard?”

Ye Xuan immediately replied: “Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”

“I am Yangfan Studio’s Copyright Manager, Yi Yang. Your work won the championship in the Script Session Competition. We will remit the 100,000-yuan prize money to you shortly.”

“Thank you!” Ye Xuan said happily.

“Because your script received an A+ rating internally, our Legal Department has drafted a separate copyright contract for you. If it’s convenient, please add me on WeChat so I can send it over for you to review.”

A+? Is that high or low?

Ye Xuan added the manager with a trembling heart. The other party sent the contract quickly, and he opened it to read carefully—

The contract was extremely professional: the author transfers the copyright to Yangfan Studio for game adaptation and peripheral development. The signing fee is 100,000 yuan, and after the script is listed in the game, the author receives a 5% share of the sales (pre-tax), settled quarterly.

Ye Xuan rubbed his eyes vigorously… Sales share? Holy hell, am I seeing this right?!

For example, if this script was an 8-person session, costing 15 yuan per person, that’s 120 yuan per play. A 5% cut meant every time a group of players started the game, he would get 6 yuan.

Direct profit-sharing? This was incredibly generous!

Ye Xuan was so excited his hands were shaking: “I’ve reviewed the contract, there are no issues!” He couldn’t wait to sign it, fearing the other side might change their mind.

Yi Yang said: “If there are no issues, please print, sign, attach three copies of your ID, and mail them to our company. I will stamp and return them to you as soon as possible.”

Yi Yang added: “The company’s finance department is working overtime recently. The boss hopes to get the payment to all authors before the Spring Festival. Thank you for your support of the game ^^”

Ye Xuan: “…”

Holy hell, a conscientious boss who is this prompt with payments is rare.

He immediately opened his document and started writing another script session!

[Three updates]

The Finance Department had been busy out of their minds lately. First, they had to calculate the year-end bonuses for Yangfan Studio, which remained as generous as ever, breaking the six-figure mark once again. Second, they had to settle the script commissions that Xie Yunfan had promised the Copywriting Group.

Of course, the Finance Department had their own year-end bonuses, so while the overtime was tiring, everyone was quite happy.

Finance Director Ling Xiao stared blankly at the countless zeros on the studio’s account. Working at such a wealthy company meant that when inputting figures for employee bonuses, one had to check repeatedly. If you typed one too many zeros, hundreds of thousands would instantly become millions.

She was shocked by the Copywriting Group’s bonuses this time. Calculating it, Copywriting Team Lead Ye Xiang’s commission had actually broken the seven-figure mark.

Ling Xiao thought she had made a mistake and called Xie Yunfan to verify, receiving a generous reply from the boss: “No mistake. For the copywriters whose scripts had particularly good sales, they get extra commissions.”

Ling Xiao: “…”

Suddenly, I’m envious of those talented writers.

Two days later, Ye Xiang received his bonus and rubbed his eyes hard, counting the SMS figures on his phone several times. Confirming it was correct, he hurriedly called Ling Xiao: “Director Ling, was an extra zero added to my year-end bonus by mistake? Why do I count over a million?”

Ling Xiao replied calmly: “No mistake. There’s a project commission. Your group’s was the highest, but all groups received commissions—everyone’s was higher than last year.”

Ye Xiang: “!!!”

Holy hell, the boss keeps saying “the company is not short on cash,” but this is too extravagant! Who gives out million-yuan bonuses?

At this point, the Copywriting Group’s chat was exploding.

“Just asking quietly, was this year’s bonus input wrong? It’s so much higher than last year. Should I check with Finance to return it?”

“If it was input wrong, that’s a major work accident for Finance, and Director Ling would be punished.”

“How much did you guys get?”

“Can’t say the exact number, but it’s several times higher than last year.”

Ye Xiang popped up: “Guys, don’t doubt it. I just called Finance; there was no error. The script commissions the boss promised have been calculated in. Boss is invincible!”

“Holy crap, is that it?”

“Looking at that string of zeros, I suddenly feel so happy~”

“Who said the Copywriting Group is the bottom of the game production ladder? We’re the top tier this time!”

Ye Xiang watched the messages popping up in the group with complicated feelings. In script session games, the story is what matters most—the boss clearly understood this, so he highly respected the copywriters and gave them the highest bonuses.

But when he was a screenwriter before, had anyone ever respected him? Investors changed the script at a whim, actors added their own scenes, and finally, the script was changed beyond recognition. When the show crashed, the screenwriter was the one dragged out to take the blame. In the entertainment industry, unless you’re a famous writer, a minor screenwriter has zero bargaining power.

Fortunately, he escaped the screenwriting industry early and came to do game writing. However, the game industry didn’t value writing much either. He heard that copywriters in other companies got the lowest bonuses, especially in hack-and-slash or adventure games where the story was just thrown together.

Yangfan Studio was the first company to make “story-driven” holographic games. Their Copywriting Group was likely receiving the highest bonuses in the industry this year; he had finally made it.

Ye Xiang happily tucked the money away into his private savings. Wealth was just around the corner!

This year, Yangfan Studio took a 10-day holiday for the Spring Festival, from February 9th (New Year’s Eve) to the 19th.

On the night of the 9th, Xie Yunfan had just finished work and arrived home when he suddenly received a message from Luo Hang: “Negotiations are finally over. I’m at the airport, flying straight to Rongcheng, arriving tomorrow morning.”

Xie Yunfan was stunned: “Aren’t you going back to the Imperial Capital for the New Year?”

Luo Hang said: “My parents are out traveling, and there’s no point in me spending it alone. Besides, I don’t care much for these holiday rituals.”

Xie Yunfan thought for a moment and said: “Then I’ll pick you up at the airport tomorrow, and we’ll spend it together.”

Far away in North America, Luo Hang curved his lips slightly and replied: “Sounds good.”

He hadn’t cared much for holidays like New Year’s since university. His father was a busy man, and his mother was always running around the country. Whether he celebrated or not made no difference. This year was special; he would arrive back on New Year’s Eve, so he might as well go bum a New Year’s Eve dinner at the Xie family’s home.

The next morning, Xie Yunfan drove to the airport to pick up Luo Hang.

Luo Hang returned from abroad, travel-worn. He had lost a layer of weight, and there was a clear stubble on his chin, making him look somewhat decadent.

This was the first time Xie Yunfan had seen him like this, and he couldn’t help but laugh: “You really are a workaholic. You didn’t even have time to shave?”

Luo Hang rubbed his temples in exhaustion, his voice hoarse: “These agents are very shrewd; negotiating with them is a headache. With the continuous jet lag, my schedule is completely wrecked. I had to get up early to catch the flight, so I really didn’t manage to groom myself…”

Xie Yunfan said softly: “It’s okay, I won’t make fun of you. Sleep for a while if you’re tired.”

Luo Hang murmured, tilted his head, and rested against the passenger seat. Xie Yunfan adjusted the seat for him so he could rest comfortably.

Shortly after the car started, Luo Hang fell asleep. Xie Yunfan looked over at the man’s handsome profile and sighed softly. Actually, it’s normal to work overtime making games. I died of overwork in my past life due to pulling all-nighters, which is why I value a schedule so much now, hoping to live a little longer.

But Luo Hang is really life-risking when he works, running nonstop for over a month, traveling to seven or eight countries, fighting jet lag—it’s a miracle he can still hold up.

I can’t let him continue like this and ruin his health while he’s still young. You can’t take all your money to the grave. I’ll slow down the pace from now on. I hope Luo Hang can also be healthy and live a long, happy life.

He knew that Luo Hang had a grand dream in his heart—to conquer the problem of global networking servers and witness the era of true holographic gaming. That dream, they could achieve together, step by step.

An hour and a half later, the car arrived at the Xie family’s villa in the suburbs. Xie Yunfan gently woke Luo Hang up.

Luo Hang rubbed his eyes and asked blankly: “We’re here so soon?”

Xie Yunfan smiled: “Yeah, let’s go in.”

Luo Hang took his suitcase from the trunk and carried it into the house. Xie Xinghe was wrapping dumplings in the dining room. Seeing them walk in, he hurriedly greeted them: “President Luo is here! Yunfan, hurry and pour President Luo some tea. We’ll eat dumplings for lunch first, and I’ll make you guys a New Year’s Eve dinner tonight.”

Luo Hang opened his suitcase, took out two gift boxes, and said: “These are gifts for you.” He looked at Xie Yunfan, handed one of the boxes to him, and smiled: “Passed by a showroom abroad, thought you would like it, so I bought it.”

Xie Yunfan took the box and looked—it was the latest imported blind-box egg. Inside his blind box was an exquisitely modeled mechanical doll. The doll moved when poked and recited blessings. It was a smart AI version that could be set to Chinese, so you could chat with it when bored.

Xie Yunfan poked it twice, and the doll said: “Are you tickling me?” Xie Yunfan poked it again and said: “Happy New Year.”

The doll immediately replied: “Happy New Year to you too!”

Xie Yunfan looked at Luo Hang: “Thanks, I love it. You were so busy on your business trip, yet you remembered to bring us gifts. That’s very thoughtful.”

Luo Hang smiled: “It’s the New Year, wouldn’t be right to come over for a free meal empty-handed.”

Xie Yunfan looked at the mechanical doll thoughtfully. Actually, we could make this kind of peripheral. AI dolls for companionship seem fun.

However, their current games weren’t quite suited for this type of companion doll. If it were an Otome game, making the male lead into a smart doll that calls the player to wake up every day and chats with them when they’re bored… that would probably be very popular, right? Of course, there were no Otome games in this world yet. How players would react to such a game still required investigation.

Seeing Xie Yunfan lost in thought, Luo Hang asked: “You’ve got another idea, haven’t you?”

Xie Yunfan nodded: “I do have a bit of inspiration, but I need to observe for a while longer before deciding what my next game will be.”

Just then, Xie Xinghe’s voice came from the dining room: “It’s the New Year, you two stop talking about work and come eat!”

They immediately washed their hands, changed clothes, and headed to the dining room. Xie Xinghe was a good cook, and the dumplings were delicious. Luo Hang’s schedule had been chaotic abroad, and he hadn’t eaten well, so tasting these delicious dumplings, he couldn’t help but finish two big plates.

Xie Yunfan watched him devour the dumplings and couldn’t help but chuckle. Luo Hang was actually quite casual in front of acquaintances, and even more so in front of Xie Yunfan, showing none of the seriousness or coldness he displayed at work. Such a relaxed Luo Hang made Xie Yunfan feel warm inside.

Today, no work talk. Just enjoy the holiday.

“Eat more, there’s plenty if you need it.” Xie Yunfan personally picked out several dumplings for Luo Hang.

Flying nonstop for a month abroad has really worn President Luo out. Xie Yunfan planned to let Luo Hang rest properly during the Spring Festival holiday and, by the way, adjust his schedule. He would supervise it personally.