Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 100
“Waaah—”
Watching Shen Miaomiao clutch the certificate like it was some priceless treasure, gently wiping it as if it were sacred, Chu Qingzhou nodded repeatedly.
“This really is a valuable award. After all, it’s a record-breaking one.”
“There are only a handful of games that sell over 500,000 copies in a single week on the Asian Games Expo.”
“And our PUBG not only broke the sales record, but even recouped costs in the first week. That’s definitely something worth cele—”
“Let’s get to the point, shall we?”
Shen Miaomiao quickly cut her off, clutching her chest and waving her hand to interrupt.
“Enough with the compliments, just tell me what you want…”
That’s enough about PUBG’s sales. Any more and it’d just be rude.
I just feel like if I suddenly had a heart attack and keeled over, I’d probably scare you half to death.
“Oh, it’s President Yan from YiYou,” Chu Qingzhou said with a smile.
“Who?!”
The moment she heard the name, Shen Miaomiao raised an eyebrow.
The f***? You still have the guts to show up?
You gotta know—
PUBG’s explosive success wasn’t just due to the game’s solid quality. The publicity campaign was just as crucial!
And among the promotional giants led by Huayu Electric, the one that worked the hardest was none other than YiYou!
They went full-on suck-up mode!
A recommendation today, a promo tomorrow, another marketing blast the day after.
They didn’t just cast a wide net — they ran precision-targeted big data campaigns practically nonstop!
Honestly?
When it came to “promoting PUBG,” Yan Sheng and his YiYou team went all out!
No joke!
I made so much money, my head's still spinning!
And you still dare to show your face here?!
Shen Miaomiao clenched her tiny fists and glanced under the table at her mega squirt gun.
Is he always this bold? Does he not know I know martial arts?
“President Shen?”
“President Shen?”
Seeing Shen Miaomiao still in a daze, Chu Qingzhou called out a couple times. “So? Do you have time right now? Should we bring President Yan here, or…?”
“Let’s go to the meeting room.”
Shen Miaomiao waved her hand.
She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to resist pulling out the big guns in her office.
“Also, bring Gu Sheng too.”
Shen Miaomiao was pissed, but not completely out of her mind.
Yan Sheng’s not the type to drop by without a reason—he must be here for serious business.
...
“President Shen! Congratulations! Congrats, congrats, congrats! Over 500,000 copies sold in Asia in the first week! Total sales have surpassed 55 million! Recouped your investment in one week—it's all profit from here on! Truly worth celebrating! Hahahahaha! Here’s to even greater success!”
You and your f***ing serious business!!!
As Shen Miaomiao shook hands with Yan Sheng, her head was nearly whipped off by how hard he shook it. She barely held back the urge to kick him across the room.
“Ah… haha…”
Shen Miaomiao forced a smile that screamed dead inside.
“Have a seat, President Yan. Sit…”
Just say what you came here to say and don’t waste my time. If you keep going like this, I’ll die right in front of you. As a modern young adult, my life is fragile—I could drop dead any moment.
Everyone took their seats.
Gu Sheng and Shen Miaomiao sat side by side, with Yan Sheng across from them.
“So, President Yan, what new project brings you here today?” Shen Miaomiao opened directly once they were seated.
Take the initiative!
And don’t bring up money-making again!
But if you’ve got a money-losing idea, I’m all ears.
“Uh…”
Shen Miaomiao’s directness caught Yan Sheng off guard.
After all, he was here today to ask Golden Wind to basically walk into a death trap.
No matter how he phrased it, it sounded bad.
Sure, he could’ve dressed it up like, “We sincerely invite your esteemed company to develop a flagship game to launch alongside our motion pod project—it’ll bring mutual benefits!”
But he couldn’t say it.
More importantly, he didn’t dare say it.
Why?
Because Gu Sheng was here.
That’s right.
Even if Yan Sheng was the kind of ungrateful, shortsighted scumbag who’d sweet-talk Shen Miaomiao into walking into a trap, there was no way he could deceive that guy sitting next to her—the smiling, seemingly harmless Supernova Designer with a Mickey Mouse watch.
Gu Sheng’s knowledge of the gaming industry was terrifying.
Whether it was his speeches at the Indie Game Festival, his “MFGA” presentation at the Huayu Electric Expo, or PUBG’s promotion at the Asian Games Expo…
Everything reflected his deep expertise in game development and razor-sharp understanding of the market.
There’s no need to guess—if this was a death mission, the guy would sniff it out before Yan Sheng even opened his mouth.
So!
Yan Sheng steadied his nerves and decided to be completely honest.
From the rise of YiYou x2 to his hope that Golden Wind would develop a flagship FPS to support its launch…
From the current battlefield to the devastating triple-threat of Xunteng’s upcoming titles…
From the type of game needed to the scope of the investment...
He explained everything.
Start to finish. No sugarcoating. Just facts.
“…So that’s the situation,” Yan Sheng said, rubbing his hands a little awkwardly and letting out a helpless sigh.
“I know this request is sudden and, frankly, unfair to your team,”
“So I completely respect your decision.”
“If you think it’s not the right time, you can wait until YiYou x2 has officially launched before releasing your next title.”
“This won’t affect our long-standing partnership.”
He looked across at Shen Miaomiao and Gu Sheng.
Both of them had their brows furrowed.
...
Gu Sheng’s brain runs on carbon—it’s wired like a normal person’s.
His first reaction? Reject it.
No way.
They can’t win.
This is basically a death mission.
Sure, he’s pulled off underdog wins before.
Like those two titles with “Qiu” in the name—Left 4 Qiu (Left 4 Dead) and Battle QiuGrounds (PUBG).
Let’s talk about Left 4 Dead first.
Back then, their competitor was Radiant Games’ Fearless Sniper.
1v1.
Ten million vs. one hundred million in investment.
They were outfunded ten to one.
Even with their “MFGA” campaign and the innovative concept of second-gen FPS, they were still crushed at launch due to marketing suppression.
It wasn’t until the mod workshop system went live that things turned around.
In other words, to beat a one-hundred-million project, they had to pull two ace cards—2nd-gen FPS and the creative workshop.
That’s how steep the odds were.
Now take PUBG.
The funding gap was smaller—50 million vs. two to three hundred million.
But the battleground wasn’t a 1v1—it was a full-on free-for-all in Asia.
Everyone fighting for market share, launching massive promo campaigns—it was a total bloodbath.
They won because of the breakthrough battle royale gameplay, the massive Huaguo player base, and the Huayu Electric advantage.
A complex win with many factors.
But this time?
Based on Yan Sheng’s pitch...
They’re facing the toughest challenge yet.
The funding gap is now as high as 1:30 or even 1:50!
And this isn’t a battle royale.
It’s a one-on-three.
Golden Wind will be going head-to-head against three major studios, each backed by huge budgets—fifty times their own!
Yan Sheng’s not wrong…
Gu Sheng clicked his tongue.
This really is a suicide mission.
But!
The phrase “flagship title” has a certain allure!
Why?
YiYou x2 is launching not just in China, but globally!
If Golden Wind can seize this chance to go international, it could be a huge step forward!
After all, PUBG’s first-week sales hit 500,000 across Asia—several times more than Left 4 Dead’s 150,000 in China.
If they could go global one day?
Gu Sheng was intrigued.
He didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
The problem is—what kind of game could they make that would break through these insane odds and still stand out?
...
Gu Sheng was deep in thought, calculating like a pro.
Meanwhile, Shen Miaomiao was much simpler.
A suicide mission? Hell yeah!
Comrade Yan Sheng is a good guy!
Wants Golden Wind to go up against Xunteng’s three generals, huh?
My god, President Yan, what kind of diarrhea-brained plan is this?
Look at us—our tiny budget compared to their sky-high millions. It’s like bringing a stick to a tank fight.
In front of their three elite teams, we’re just cannon fodder.
They swing their budget and boom—Gu Sheng’s boxer briefs are gone, and we’re getting slapped in the face!
This trash idea—if it weren’t for my system demanding losses, I’d have smacked you with a brick already.
And you dare call this “unfair”?
This isn’t unfair. This is execution.
If we win, great. If we lose, it doesn’t affect YiYou at all.
You sure you’re not related to Jiang Yingcai?
Listen to yourself—is that the kind of bulls*** a carbon-based lifeform would actually say?
Shen Miaomiao was exasperated but didn’t say anything.
After all, it’s a rare chance—and a prime opportunity to lose money.
...
“Director Gu? Director Gu?”
Noticing Gu Sheng still lost in thought, Shen Miaomiao nudged him with her elbow.
“What do you think of President Yan’s proposal? Do you think we could develop a flagship FPS for YiYou x2?”
Hearing that, Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow.
The f***, you’re really asking that?!
Right now, it felt like Little Nezha wasn’t asking, “Do you think we can win?”
She was asking, “Ready to die?”
One billion vs. ten billion was already insane!
Now we’re talking one billion vs. dozens?
You think we stand a chance?
Look at their three studios:
Tianlang’s firmly entrenched in FPS ground.
One studio’s making 2nd-gen FPS + battle royale, focusing on combat.
Another’s crafting a story-heavy title.
That means—
To win this 1v3, we need to tell a compelling story and launch a game with strong PvP elements—ideally one that innovates on the battle royale formula.
Oh, and we need to shake Tianlang’s FPS throne too.
It’s doable… in theory.
Call of Duty trilogy + tactical team-based gameplay + Warzone?
I’ll stitch it all together for you!
Forget fighting Lü Bu with three heroes—three Lü Bus riding Dian Wei couldn’t stop me!
But the problem is—
To do all that, the game’s dev cost would be higher than all three of theirs combined!
Where’s the money coming from?
And even if we had the money—
I don’t have enough Emotion Points!
Gu Sheng checked his system.
He only had about 250k points right now.
According to Yan Sheng’s timeline, the flagship project needed to start by the end of next month.
At best, he’d have 900k points by then.
But the Call of Duty trilogy alone needed 5 million points.
Add Warzone?
7.5 million!
That’s an impossible number!
Gu Sheng was frustrated.
900k.
Even with his accelerated pace, that’s still not enough for a AAA title.
Forget buying the full Call of Duty bundle—he couldn’t even afford the base game.
He sighed.
Back before the PUBG project, he already struggled with this—staring at Modern Warfare and Titanfall 2, unable to afford either.
But wait—hold on a sec?!
The Call of Duty bundle is 5 million points, sure. Totally unaffordable.
But Titanfall 2…
Hsss!!!
That one’s just 1 million!
Costs maybe one to two billion in dev funds!
That used to be way out of reach.
But now…
Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow.
What era are we living in?
Still playing the traditional Lü Bu trope?
Time for something new.
Come, meet my baby.
You three generals?
Bring it on!
Let’s go—
Three heroes vs. Titan!!!
With that, Gu Sheng stroked his chin and was just about to speak: “I think we could—”
When Little Nezha nodded and cut him off: “Great, we’re in.”
Gu Sheng: ?
Did I just get frame-skipped? What the hell?! Is this a Stand attack? King Crimson? Did the boss just delete my dialogue?
I hadn’t even finished my sentence!
But Shen Miaomiao had been watching him the whole time!
She saw him frown, sigh, hesitate, waver—just like someone stuck on the toilet for an hour, blaming gravity for the lack of success.
She knew.
This project—
Was a go!!!
In fact, she even observed for five whole minutes!
Only after confirming that Gu Sheng’s wrinkled brow hadn’t relaxed at all did she feel reassured!
With a wave of her hand—
Enough. No need to let him speak. Whatever he says is definitely gonna be, “This is too risky. I don’t recommend it.”
I’m just gonna greenlight it now.
“Uh… huh?”
Seeing Shen Miaomiao agree after watching Gu Sheng’s every expression, Yan Sheng was stunned.
He’d been sure the deal was off after reading Gu Sheng’s sour expression!
And yet?
After watching him sulk and frown, Little Shen turned around and said, “We’re in”???
We?
Pretty sure it was just you who agreed?
Director Gu definitely looked like he was about to say no!
But hey!
President Shen’s the boss!
If she’s on board, what else is there to say?
Yan Sheng immediately jumped to his feet!
“Thank you for your support, President Shen! Looking forward to working together again!”
Like he was scared she’d change her mind, he shook her hand with the relieved look of someone who’d just found the perfect sucker—
“Rest assured, our future collaborations will only get stronger. YiYou will always be Golden Wind’s partner!”
His words were vague, but the message was clear.
He knew Golden Wind had little chance of winning this fight.
So he offered reassurance in advance—
Even if they lost, YiYou wouldn’t cut ties. They’d even offer some support.
Shen Miaomiao quickly waved her hands in refusal.
Don’t add insult to injury, man.
“President Yan, your thoughtfulness is more than enough.”
“For this flagship project, we only regret that we’re too weak to help you more. But we’ll do our best.”
“Just hope you won’t mind.”
“Ay—!” Yan Sheng looked flattered. “You’re being too modest, President Shen!”
Watching their overly polite exchange, Gu Sheng’s face was deadpan.
Hello?
There’s still someone else in the room, you know?
You two tossing compliments back and forth—did I suddenly turn into a potted plant?
Both of you were eyeing me constantly before, but when it came time to make a decision, I was invisible?!
Gu Sheng was speechless.
He finally spoke up to break the cringe-fest: “President Yan.”
“Eh? What is it, Director Gu?”
Yan Sheng turned toward him, a little nervous, afraid he was about to object after all.
But Gu Sheng didn’t bring up the flagship project.
Instead, he asked something completely unrelated:
“When does the Indie Game Festival start again?”
“Huh?” Yan Sheng blinked, confused. “It’s… coming up soon?”
“We can still join, right?”
Gu Sheng asked,
“After all, we still count as a small-to-mid-sized company, don’t we?”