Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 86
That evening, back at home, Jiang Yun shared his thoughts with his wife.
He told her he wanted to quit his job.
He told her he wanted to start over.
He said that even though he knew he had a family to support, a wife and kid relying on him, he still hoped to give it one last shot, even after thirty.
Originally, Jiang Yun thought that this impulsive idea of his would worry his wife, maybe even upset her.
But to his surprise, after hearing him out, his wife simply smiled, a gentle, relieved smile.
“You should’ve quit ages ago.”
That’s what she said.
She’d been with Jiang Yun since their university days.
From a young man full of ambition, to a man worn down by reality.
Once upon a time, he’d been just like Gu Sheng today—
A brilliant young talent, standing tall on stage, giving impassioned presentations, brimming with confidence.
But now, he’d been ground down by the weight of life, becoming a man hunched over with defeat, and it hurt to see.
His wife didn’t say much more. She simply wrapped her arms around Jiang Yun and gently stroked the new white hairs sprouting on his head, one by one.
“You always think that if you quit, our family will lose its source of income.”
“But I’m part of this family too, aren’t I?”
“Little Mango is already in kindergarten, and all the grandparents are fighting over who gets to pick her up. I was actually about to tell you that I wanted to look for a job too.”
“I know you love me, you care about me, you want me to have an easier life at home.”
“But have you ever thought that I love you too? I want to do something for this family too, to take on part of the burden. That’s what makes me happy.”
“So don’t feel so much pressure, okay?”
“My husband is so amazing—he’ll definitely make it.”
As she spoke, she felt her husband trembling in her arms, his body shaking uncontrollably.
She knew—it was all the pressure he’d bottled up over the years finally spilling out.
So she didn’t say anything else. She just held him, gently running her fingers through his hair, softly patting his back…
“…Regarding what happened with Brothers’ Adventure, I once again offer my sincerest apologies to both of you and to Golden Wind Game.”
Jiang Yun bowed his head, saying:
“But I beg you—please, give me a chance. Let me participate in this campus recruitment, even as an expired graduate.”
Though Jiang Yun didn’t go into detail about his family situation, only mentioning it briefly, Gu Sheng could still sense the weight of responsibility in his words.
In truth, the whole dark-rankings incident with Brothers’ Adventure wasn’t really his fault as a designer.
If you put aside the company’s shady tactics, Jiang Yun was just another developer trying to make a living. That project wasn’t even his passion—it was something he’d been forced to work on, a project that crushed his dignity as a designer under the weight of life’s demands.
Besides—
Golden Wind really did need people.
Thinking of this, Gu Sheng couldn’t help but hum in thought.
Jiang Yun saw a glimmer of hope and immediately struck while the iron was hot:
“I know Golden Wind is gearing up for the Asia Games, right?
If your company is willing to accept me, I can also bring along five or six of my old teammates—
the same guys who worked with me on Fantasy Clash.”
Oh?
Hearing that, Gu Sheng’s eyes lit up.
Oh ho, now we’re talking!
Meanwhile, beside him, Shen Miaomiao shuddered from head to toe.
Oh no, this is bad!
Jiang Yun’s resume alone was already intimidating enough.
Whether it was game production or team leadership, he was a seasoned pro, an absolute ace.
Recruiting someone like him was already a risky move.
But now, hearing that he could bring in a whole mature team?
Shen Miaomiao felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She panicked:
“Uh… Mr. Jiang,
we understand and accept your apology and explanation.”
“But regarding your request for a position, we…”
“We think it’s totally acceptable,” Gu Sheng cut in smoothly.
Shen Miaomiao: ???
She froze for three seconds, then fury bubbled up.
Her anger flared, her foot slipped out of her wedge sandal under the table, and she gave Gu Sheng a solid kick in the calf with her bare foot.
Her wide, fierce eyes locked onto him, silently yelling:
Why is your mouth so damn fast?!
“Heh, hang on a sec.”
Forcing a smile at Jiang Yun, Shen Miaomiao yanked Gu Sheng aside.
“You—you—you—come here!”
Without waiting for a response, she dragged him away.
“Are you serious? We said campus recruitment, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, this is campus recruitment.”
Gu Sheng shrugged and waved the resume in her face.
“Look, Binjiang University graduate. Perfect fit, right?
You didn’t specify fresh graduates only. Technically, I didn’t break any rules.”
“You—was that on purpose or what?”
Shen Miaomiao gritted her teeth.
“Your Vice Dean is also a Binjiang University alum, so why don’t you recruit Professor Lin too?”
“On purpose and an accident,”
Gu Sheng admitted shamelessly, not even trying to hide it.
“But hey, your idea’s not bad.
We can’t hire Professor Lin directly, but maybe we could bring him on as a special consultant?
Maybe even ask the school to help us with some stuff…”
“Recruit! Recruit! Recruit already, okay?!”
Seeing that Lao Gu was seriously considering recruiting the Vice Dean as a consultant, Shen Miaomiao felt chills all over.
“Recruit whoever you want, just don’t bother Professor Lin. He’s not young anymore—we shouldn’t trouble him.”
Gu Sheng grinned, thinking, Ah, Xun Ge really doesn’t lie.
You tell people to open a window, they’ll say no.
But if you say you’re going to tear off the whole roof?
Suddenly, opening a window sounds perfectly reasonable.
“You said it.”
Gu Sheng stuck out his pinky.
“No take-backs.”
Shen Miaomiao sulked, pouting, but despite her hundred unwilling thoughts, she hooked her pinky onto his.
Rolling her eyes, she muttered:
“Fine. Pinky swear. Whoever breaks it’s a little dog. Hmph!”
Thumbs stamped the promise into place—sealed.
At this point, Jiang Yun was completely dumbfounded.
Huh? This is… Golden Wind’s hiring procedure?
D**n.
They don’t sign labor contracts with a pinky swear too, do they?
Do I have to hook pinkies with Gu Sheng to seal the deal?
Is it too late to leave now?
Yeah, no chance. The duck’s already in the pot—there’s no flying away now.
Of course, Golden Wind wasn’t that wild—
They still had proper labor contracts.
Backed by Shen Capital, Golden Wind could produce legitimate employment documents when necessary.
And so, the “campus recruitment” concluded, and Golden Wind’s first round of team expansion was complete.
A total of 16 hires—
10 from the standard campus recruitment of Binjiang University graduates and interns,
and 6 expired graduates: Jiang Yun and his old teammates.
Soon after—
Following discussions among Gu Sheng and the others, and with Little Nezha (the mascot) as witness, the project team was officially formed.
Gu Sheng remained as Project Director and Chief Planning Director.
Lu Bian stayed as Chief Programming Director.
Xu Dajiang continued as Chief Art Director.
Jiang Yun was appointed as Deputy Planning Director, overseeing planning tasks and coordinating across departments with Gu Sheng.
Kai Lang became Deputy Programming Director, assisting Lu Bian with programming development.
Jiang Shan became Deputy Art Director, assisting Xu Dajiang with art tasks.
The 16 recruits were distributed across teams according to project needs, kicking off pre-production in an old-mentoring-new structure.
Whoosh—
As the personnel announcements wrapped up, the conference room erupted into applause.
Shen Miaomiao watched the clapping crowd, a satisfied smile on her face.
This… was probably the most lively moment in Golden Wind’s history.
Of course, the excitement was only part of it.
What really mattered—
All these people?
They were on payroll.
Unlike the unpredictable costs of outsourcing teams, employee salaries were stable expenses!
Which meant—
If Golden Wind released a major project in the future, according to Lao Gu’s theory, the higher the investment, the harder it would be to recover the costs quickly, so she could burn money big time.
And if Golden Wind released smaller games, she wouldn’t have to worry about inflating outsourcing budgets—
the salaries alone would be a hefty expense!
Most importantly, since Golden Wind’s finances were tight, the new hires’ salaries were only at average industry levels.
Meaning that once Golden Wind’s financial situation improved, she could raise their salaries further, bumping them up to industry-top levels at system limits!
Big projects? Hard to break even.
Small projects? Still expensive.
Both ends locked!
Hahaha!
If I don’t lose money, who will?!
Thinking this, Shen Miaomiao felt pure joy.
She raised a hand to quiet the room, then spoke:
“Alright, let me say a few words.”
“First, on behalf of Golden Wind Game, welcome aboard, everyone. From now on, we’re all family.”
“Our core philosophy here at Golden Wind is simple: flexible, relaxed, and human-centered.”
“Clock in once a day, rotate weekends off, two days a week.”
“Work hours are 9 to 5, pay on the first of each month—never late.”
“To help everyone stay inspired, we’ve got a break room across from the conference room—drinks, snacks, and even a VR pod for market research, all free for everyone to use.”
“The only rule is—”
Her tone turned serious, brow furrowed:
“Do not empty the lollipop jar in the snack zone.
If it runs out, you must report it to me or Secretary Chu immediately.
This is everyone’s responsibility!”
And with that—
Silence.
The entire conference room fell into a stunned hush.
The new hires—Kai Lang, Jiang Shan, and the others—were wide-eyed with disbelief.
Jiang Yun and his old teammates?
They looked like they’d been struck by lightning.
Did… did Shen always say this kind of thing?
Jiang Yun glanced around—
Everyone’s faces mirrored his own shock.
Two seconds of stunned silence—
Then Jiang Yun’s eyes went from wide-eyed to serious, serious to determined, and finally—
determined to fired up.
At that moment, he even wanted to call his wife and tell her:
Honey! I just saw God!
The Light.
Right now, Shen Miaomiao, sitting at the head of the room, seemed to radiate pure white wings behind her.
A sacred light, dazzling and blinding, making people afraid to even look her in the eyes.
This was the brilliance of a true 8-hour workday.
The brilliance of fair pay and full benefits.
The brilliance of a genuine entrepreneur’s human touch.
Jiang Yun had been in the industry for a decade—ten whole years—
and he’d never seen a company like this.
Such humane management.
Such fair treatment.
Even for someone like him, a “fallen general,” they’d not only welcomed him, but even given him a raise!
Jiang Yun was nearly moved to tears.
Shen was too amazing!
She didn’t just say they were family—
She truly treated them like family!
No wonder this company could produce such mind-blowing games.
No wonder Golden Wind’s imagination and creativity seemed limitless.
Of course.
How could a company like this not inspire loyalty?
As the room’s atmosphere grew more and more charged, with admiration and fervor building to a fever pitch, Shen Miaomiao started to panic a little.
“Uh… you guys…”
Thud!
Before she could finish, Jiang Yun suddenly stood up from his seat.
Whoosh!
The other 16 new hires immediately followed suit, all rising together.
“Rest assured, President Shen!”
“With the company’s generosity in mind, we will give it our all!”
“For this Asia Games project, we’ll fight with everything we’ve got, and aim for the best results!”
The rest of the room followed, their voices loud and clear:
“Give it our all—aim for the best—!!!”
Huh???
Shen Miaomiao was utterly dumbfounded.
Wait, what?!
I just said a few words—how did they end up like this?
What “generosity”?
This is just an 8-hour workday with weekends, isn’t it? That’s a legal requirement!
Paying salaries on time? That’s literally the bare minimum any company should do!
The break room? Those snacks didn’t cost much—it’s just a little fun, and honestly, it’s mainly for my own slacking off!
I’m just following regulations properly!
How did they all end up so hyped over it?
Shen Miaomiao was baffled, unsure how to respond.
Still, deep down, she felt relieved.
Thank goodness this time, for the Asia Games, Lao Gu’s brain slipped, and he proposed a cooking competition game.
If they’d gone with an FPS instead, given how fired up everyone was right now—
The consequences would’ve been unthinkable.
And so, in just a month, the 16-member team was fully assembled!
Gu Sheng’s emotional threshold was also met right on schedule, unlocking the complete proposal for PUBG!
As for funding—though it was still slightly short even after adding Shen Miaomiao’s personal savings of 10 million yuan, the dividends she’d received could barely cover the required competition entry fee.
Time flew by!
By the end of the month—
The much-anticipated event in the Asian gaming industry, the Asia Game Developers Conference, officially kicked off in Neon City—Dongjin!