Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 62
Knock, knock, knock—
“Come in.”
Gu Sheng pushed open the door and saw Little Nezha holding a stack of papers, grinning like a gremlin.
“What are you looking at?”
Gu Sheng stepped into the office, casually closing the door behind him.
“What’s with that face?”
“Sales summary.”
Shen Miaomiao sighed, slapping that soul-crushing revenue analysis down on the desk, face down.
This was something Chu Qingzhou had just given her. It clearly showed when the sales of Phasmophobia had skyrocketed.
That’s all money that could’ve gone into my little savings stash, wuwuwu...
But with Gu Sheng standing right in front of her, she couldn’t lose her composure. Forcing a smile, she squeezed out:
“Never thought our game could sell this much. Lao Gu, you really... deserve all the credit!”
Those last few words were basically squeezed through gritted teeth.
But Gu Sheng didn’t notice a thing. He even chuckled and teased:
“Right? Impressive, isn’t it? Your Bro Sheng!”
As he spoke, Gu Sheng even did a little push-hand motion, raising his shoulders twice.
S**t!
Shen Miaomiao nearly flipped her computer onto his face!
Already feeling annoyed—why did he have to be so smug about it?
If this chat kept going, she’d need some motherwort tea to calm down. Waving him off, she gestured for Gu Sheng to sit down.
Meanwhile, Gu Sheng fished a lollipop out of his pocket and handed it to Shen Miaomiao, then plopped down on the sofa, rolling up his pant leg.
“Convenience store downstairs just got a new coconut flavor. Picked it up for you while buying smokes.”
Okay... that’s at least something decent.
Taking the lollipop, Shen Miaomiao unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth.
“Not bad, actually.”
“It’s just sugar, what’s so special about it?” Gu Sheng frowned, clearly not getting the appeal.
“You smoke those leaves too, don’t you?” Shen Miaomiao shot back.
“So why are Huazi cigarettes so damn expensive?”
“Hiss...”
Gu Sheng blinked in realization, nodding his head.
“President Shen, well said.”
With that, he fished out an invitation letter from the stack of papers and handed it over to Shen Miaomiao, leaning forward.
“Take a look at this—see if you’ve got any constructive ideas.”
Shen Miaomiao took the invitation letter and began reading, her brows slightly furrowed. Every so often, she’d nod and make little “mm-hmm” noises, looking all serious.
“Hmm... mmhmm... oh...”
Gu Sheng watched her and quietly gave her a mental thumbs-up.
Don’t look down on Little Nezha—back when she first took charge of Golden Wind, she was a total outsider in the gaming industry.
But she’s smart and eager to learn!
If this had been before, Shen Miaomiao would’ve probably taken one look at this invitation and chucked it straight into the trash.
After all, HuayuDian sounded like some sketchy, fly-by-night group waving a flag for clout.
But now?
Look at our President Shen—reading it so seriously, even pausing to think.
Definitely brainstorming strategies and development plans!
A moment later, Shen Miaomiao finished reading, opened her mouth slowly:
“This...”
Shua!
Gu Sheng immediately picked up a pen.
Every word out of Little Nezha’s mouth was pure gold—crucial for deciding their game’s direction!
He sat there in a fully attentive pose, ready to listen.
Shen Miaomiao pointed to the name at the end of the invitation letter—
“This... some kind of Electronics Association... what is this?”
Gu Sheng: ...
I literally just praised her like crazy.
“It’s... an organization that runs promotional events.”
Gu Sheng sighed, trying to keep it simple.
“We’ll be sharing the stage with a lot of big domestic game companies.”
Hiss—
Hearing this, Shen Miaomiao sucked in a sharp breath, her heart sinking.
Wasn’t this basically pre-heating before launch?
She’d been burned by that trick before.
Vampire Survivors, for example, had basically done a stealth pre-launch promo. And wow—those sales figures skyrocketed like they were rocket-propelled.
But then she thought about it.
Wait a second.
HuayuDian’s pre-launch buzz was fundamentally different from YiYou’s.
YiYou had done it because Yan Sheng owed them a favor—they’d given them an entire week of exclusive, all-channel pre-promo.
But HuayuDian was an industry leader. They didn’t owe them anything, and they definitely didn’t care who Shen Miaomiao’s father was.
This was a level playing field.
And Shen Miaomiao loved a level playing field—because she had no skills to speak of and could mooch guilt-free.
With that in mind, she hesitantly asked:
“This media event... we’re not going to be the only ones who agreed to participate, right?”
“I wish.”
Gu Sheng gave a bitter laugh.
“But they have to let us be, don’t they?”
“Let’s not kid ourselves. Other studios would kill to squeeze their names onto the exhibitor list.”
“Don’t even dream about having exclusive resources. Not happening.”
Gu Sheng laughed a bit helplessly, thinking Little Nezha’s ideas were a bit too wild.
“Oh... I see...”
Shen Miaomiao pulled an exaggeratedly disappointed face—but inside, she was grinning like a cat.
Perfect! The more competitors, the better!
Then, her eyes sparkled as she asked:
“Are the other companies exhibiting with us all bigger than us?”
“Yeah... about 80% of them.”
Gu Sheng nodded.
“Every year, only about 20% of the slots go to small-to-medium companies. And we’re on the small end of the small. Basically... almost every exhibitor is bigger than us.”
“Ow—!!!”
Shen Miaomiao bit back her laughter so hard it looked like she was about to snap. Her face twisted into a mix of joy and agony, like she was about to explode.
It was so hard—she wanted to laugh so badly, but had to act like she was heartbroken.
Under the table, she pinched her thigh to keep from grinning.
“So that means... our promotional slot will shrink too?”
“Yeah, that’s my biggest concern.”
Gu Sheng let out a long sigh, his expression darkening.
Just like Little Nezha said, promo slots were usually proportional to company size.
For a small studio like theirs, they’d probably get shoved into some tiny corner of the exhibition.
That’s why...
He needed a killer game.
Something small but powerful. A “Don’t Underestimate the Underdog” type of game.
Gu Sheng frowned deeply, searching for a way to break through.
He didn’t notice that Little Nezha across from him was nearly turning purple from holding back her laughter.
Her thigh was probably going to bruise!
Hold it together, Shen Miaomiao! Don’t let your smile slip!
You can pop the champagne once Lao Gu leaves!
Shen Miaomiao almost burst out laughing.
This sucker event was just too perfect!
They couldn’t match the others in size, in resources, in anything really.
Even if she dumped all the company’s money into it, she couldn’t match what the big studios could casually throw around.
She was literally just a soup ladle at the buffet table!
If Golden Wind was like a high school jock dominating the school sports meet, then this HuayuDian expo was like sending that jock straight into the Asian Games!
No chance. Absolutely no chance.
This level of competition—those big studios would tear them to shreds on the spot.
Best case, they’d look like eager students learning humbly.
Worst case, they’d look like idiots punching above their weight.
The promo wouldn’t just flop—it could backfire.
And yet—
Shen Miaomiao said, all righteous and serious:
“That’s exactly why I think we must summon the courage to participate!”
Time to make a speech!
“An annual event like this is our golden opportunity to make a name for ourselves in the VR pod market!”
“Sure, we’re still a bit behind the big studios—”
“But I firmly believe that’s not an unbridgeable gap!”
“Golden Wind did it, and so can we!”
Shen Miaomiao’s little pep talk had Gu Sheng all fired up.
See, this is the beauty of having a young boss.
They’ve got drive, confidence, and big dreams!
“I completely agree.”
Gu Sheng nodded sincerely.
“But the problem is... what kind of game can we make to stand out in a crowd like that?”
“Uh...”
Shen Miaomiao opened her mouth.
Honestly, if she wanted to make money, the smart move would be to double down on horror games.
Golden Wind had already carved out a niche in the psychological horror space—some media were even calling it “the beacon of hope for the horror genre.”
Riding the Phasmophobia hype wave and cranking out more horror games would be the safe bet.
They might even, as she’d half-joked, make a splash at the expo and become the breakout star.
But—
Shen Miaomiao didn’t want to make money.
With that 100x rebate card in her hand, she was determined to tank this project for all it was worth!
“I think... maybe we should try an FPS game, test the waters a bit?”
Shen Miaomiao suggested, her brain working overtime to come up with an excuse.
“This is a VR pod-themed expo, and the hottest genre in VR pods is shooting games.”
“Up till now, we’ve been a bit too niche—never dared to touch the mainstream genres.”
“This time, we’ve got a rare opportunity. I think we should take a step forward.”
“After all, if we’re staying in the VR pod space, we can’t avoid the big three: shooters, racing, and sports.”
“What do you think?”
Nice one, Shen Miaomiao!
She practically applauded herself for how quick she was.
“Hmm—!!!”
Gu Sheng looked delighted.
He’d been worrying about how to bring this up with Little Nezha, but she’d beaten him to it!
“Good, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Gu Sheng nodded enthusiastically.
“But the only thing I’m not sure about is... the game’s theme. Any ideas?”
The theme?
Shen Miaomiao froze.
This was usually where she’d spout some random nonsense.
But thinking about Phasmophobia’s “kill yourself” theme made her shudder.
Maybe she should keep quiet this time.
Just toss out some vague ideas and let Lao Gu handle the rest. The game would probably turn out worse that way anyway.
After all, she’d picked him for his “big brain” energy—might as well let him run wild.
With that in mind, she scratched her cheek.
“The theme... um...”
She was still figuring out how to brush him off when—
Ding dong!
WeChat on her computer pinged.
Shen Miaomiao made a “hold on” gesture and clicked the voice message.
Chu Qingzhou’s voice came through: “Miaomiao, I sent you that movie link—free of charge, even in Blu-ray.”
Shen Miaomiao’s face lit up. She grinned, baring her little white teeth, and picked up her phone.
“Okay, okay! Thanks, Chu-jie!”
She turned to Gu Sheng and raised an eyebrow.
“Wanna watch it in the conference room? Big screen, projector and all!”
Gu Sheng: ???
“...Weren’t we just talking about the game’s theme?”
Gu Sheng was baffled by Little Nezha’s wild train of thought.
“Hey—”
Shen Miaomiao waved him off, all righteous and proper.
“I am helping you brainstorm! Don’t be so narrow-minded, Lao Gu! Getting inspiration from movies is totally a valid approach!”
Two seconds of silence.
“Wow—”
Gu Sheng couldn’t help but clap, impressed.
“You really make slacking off sound so righteous. What movie is it?”
“Uh... horror film.”
Shen Miaomiao shrank into herself a bit, looking sheepish.
Hearing that, Gu Sheng gave her a long, scrutinizing look.
“So... you’re just scared and looking for a movie buddy, huh?”
Shen Miaomiao blushed.
“W-what are you talking about! I’m just... looking for inspiration, yeah, that’s it!”
Watching Little Nezha being so stubborn, Gu Sheng couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“Alright, alright. Let’s get inspired.”
Seeing Gu Sheng agree, Little Nezha grinned and nodded in satisfaction.
“Ah, that’s the spirit! How can you call finding inspiration slacking off?”
And with that—
The two of them left the office, one after the other.
On the way, Shen Miaomiao darted to the break area and grabbed a bunch of snacks and jelly.
Whoosh—
She dumped the snacks onto the table and quickly closed the curtains.
Then, she pointed for Gu Sheng to help push the sofa into position across from the projector.
Plop! She flopped onto the sofa, patted the spot next to her.
“Come on, Director, let’s get to work!”
Her moves left Gu Sheng a bit dumbfounded.
“You...”
Gu Sheng stared at her, eyes full of disbelief.
“You’re... weirdly good at this???”
“Part of the daily grind!”
Ever since she’d found the perfect excuse of “getting inspiration,” Shen Miaomiao had become a lot more confident—logic be damned.
“Don’t act so surprised. Here, energy boost.”
Without waiting for a response, she shoved a bag of chips into Gu Sheng’s hands.
Absolutely ridiculous.
Gu Sheng was speechless, but he sat down next to Shen Miaomiao and opened the chips.
Then, with a tap of Shen Miaomiao’s finger—
The movie started.
A long stretch of highway.
A small truck carrying livestock drove toward a checkpoint.
Ahead, at the tollbooth, a few people in white hazmat suits were carrying out inspection tasks.
As the truck approached the checkpoint, one of the workers approached with a spray gun and began disinfecting the vehicle.
Another worker followed, signaling the driver to roll down the window.
Buzz—
The window lowered. The driver, clearly impatient, shoved out his papers.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on now? Foot-and-mouth disease again? When’s there ever a break?”
Hearing the Japanese dialogue, Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow.
Wait a second...
Why does this movie feel so familiar?