Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 91

Whoosh——

The employees all left.

In an instant, the spacious office was empty and silent.

Only Lu Bian and Da Jiang remained, sitting awkwardly in their seats, looking at Shen Miaomiao.

"What are you looking at me for? Go home!"

Shen Miaomiao tilted her head, clearly not in the mood.

"You waiting for me to invite you or something?"

"N-no, no no no, we wouldn’t dare... wouldn’t dare..."

At her command, the two of them scrambled to their feet, throwing Gu Sheng a look of sympathy before bolting out of there.

"...Sigh."

After a long pause, Shen Miaomiao let out a deep sigh and turned to Gu Sheng.

"Sorry, Old Gu. I lost my temper earlier. You know how it is—labor disputes are a huge headache for us."

"Didn’t you see everyone’s faces earlier? They were all dying to leave right on the dot."

"If we keep pushing them to work overtime, labor arbitration is one thing, but the resentment it builds up... that’s another problem."

As she spoke, she reached into her small crossbody bag, pulled out a lollipop, and handed it to Gu Sheng.

"I know this project’s stressful. And you’re not usually like this."

"But hey—one bite at a time, one step at a time."

"Didn’t we agree yesterday? Let’s get the game launched first, then we can polish and improve it as we go."

Hearing that, Gu Sheng opened his mouth, unwrapped the lollipop, popped it in, and nodded.

"Yeah... I got a little carried away."

"After all, this is a project backed by Huayu Entertainment, our all-in gamble. I just..."

"Alright, alright—"

Seeing the guilt on Gu Sheng’s face, Shen Miaomiao didn’t push him further. She gave his arm a playful rub.

"Let’s call it a day. Go home, get some rest. That way you’ll have more energy tomorrow!"

With that, the two of them walked out of the company, locking up behind them.

They took the elevator down—Gu Sheng got off on the first floor, while Shen Miaomiao headed straight for the B2 parking lot.

Beep beep—

As the hazard lights of a dark red Porsche flashed, Shen Miaomiao unlocked the car and started the engine.

She turned on the car radio, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and burst out laughing in the car.

Nailed it!

Thank goodness she’d been sharp enough to check in on everyone’s progress before leaving.

If she hadn’t, she really would’ve gotten backstabbed for a second time!

"Whew... that was close—"

Shen Miaomiao grinned wide, exhaling a long breath.

"Looks like the only one in this company who actually wants to work overtime is Old Gu. Everyone else is just too scared to say no."

"Good thing I’m one step ahead—stepping in just in time."

"Otherwise, labor arbitration would be the least of it."

"The real nightmare would’ve been whatever horror show the project might’ve turned into!"

She popped on her sunglasses, slammed the gas pedal—

Vroooom—

The engine roared to life, and the dark red Porsche pulled out of the parking spot, cruising toward the exit.

But...

What Shen Miaomiao didn’t notice was this:

Just as she was driving out of the garage, the window of a nearby VW Bora slowly rolled down.

The man inside lowered his sunglasses, pulled down his mask, and spoke quietly into his phone:

"Boss Gu, this is Jiang Yun. Target is leaving the garage. Over."

Whoosh—

The barrier lifted. The Porsche zipped out of the underground garage.

As the car merged onto the main road, a figure in a Mickey Mouse t-shirt at the nearby smoking area lowered his newspaper, raised his phone to his mouth, and spoke:

"...Copy that, target has exited the danger zone, heading east onto the main road."

As his hand lowered—

The group chat named "Peach-for-Peach Special Ops Team" burst into life with a stream of messages:

'COPY'

'Roger that'

'111'

'In position'

'OKK'

'Reporting to team leader: Planning team assembled'

'Reporting to team leader: Programming team ready'

'Reporting to team leader: Art team in position'

'...'

Eighteen messages in total, not a single one missing!

The young man’s heart surged with excitement.

Two lifetimes. He never thought he’d get the chance again—to be part of a team where everyone, no matter the cost, was united in the sole mission of creating something so spectacular it would shake the world.

With that thought, the young man raised his phone again, speaking in a low, steady voice:

"I hereby announce—Peach-for-Peach Special Ops Team’s first mission..."

"Begins now!"

At that declaration—

Outside the CBD building, two figures stood up in unison...

Inside the café across the street, a girl with floral sleeve tattoos pushed open the door...

In the underground parking lot, the Bora’s doors opened, and two men in their forties stepped out...

In the arcade of the neighboring mall, two young men of similar age put down their shuffleboard paddles...

One after another, the determined, focused men and women converged from all corners of the CBD, heading into the building, efficiently pressing the button for the 22nd floor.

Back at the smoking area, the Mickey Mouse t-shirt guy checked his watch, nodded, folded his newspaper, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled into the building, taking the elevator straight up to the 22nd floor.

Ding—

The elevator doors opened. The sign for Golden Wind Games came into view.

He turned left. The facial recognition system unlocked the doors automatically.

Inside—an explosion of voices and chatter.

"Good thing we didn’t shut the computers down earlier. Right, Yun-ge, where were we just now..."

"No, no, you were dancing just fine earlier—how’d you forget after stepping out for a milk tea run..."

"My point is, since we’re using the Phantom 5 engine, we should fully utilize its virtual polygon geometry tech. Look here—"

"For supply drops, let’s go with red crates, blue tarps, bright colors that grab the players’ attention—"

"We’ve got haptic feedback now. Even though it’s still limited, we need to make the sense of speed pop—"

"..."

The project team was buzzing with discussions.

Click.

The office door opened.

The next second, the young man in the Mickey Mouse shirt appeared at the doorway.

For a brief moment, the office fell silent.

Then—

Boom—!!!

The place erupted in cheers!

"Boss Gu, you’re the best!"

"Sheng-ge, finally! Here, your milk tea!"

"What? You guys bought him one? I brought Gu-senpai some juice!"

"..."

That’s right.

The mastermind behind this secret, off-the-record overtime operation—

Was none other than Gu Sheng, Golden Wind’s undisputed second-in-command and chief game director!

That’s right!

Everything that had just happened—every move, every plan—was meticulously orchestrated by this group of people.

"Everyone! Listen up!"

As he spoke, Jiang Yun stepped forward, standing beside Gu Sheng.

"In order to give ourselves this chance to work overtime, for the sake of Golden Wind dominating the market, and for the dream that the first game we help create will be showcased in the Bird’s Nest—"

"Director Gu chose to take the hit for us. He was willing to endure a scolding from President Shen to buy us the chance to fight."

"I think... we owe Director Gu a round of applause!"

Clap clap clap clap clap—!!!

Thunderous applause filled the room.

Even though—

Gu Sheng still thought this whole thing felt a bit surreal, almost absurd.

But there was no doubt about it—having a team this fired up and dedicated was a godsend for the project.

So, he raised his hand in a grand gesture.

"A little scolding? Who cares!"

"On the contrary—I should be thanking you all. You’re the ones willing to push through, despite the company’s no-overtime policy, to pour everything you have into this project!"

"But I believe this—"

"Even though right now, it feels like we’re going against President Shen’s kind-hearted ban—"

"Once we take the stage at the Bird’s Nest, once PUBG’s name rings out across all of Asia, once our explosive sales figures are laid out before President Shen—"

"She’ll understand. She’ll thank us."

Yeah!!!

His words fired everyone up.

Gu Sheng seized the moment.

"Let’s get to work!"

...

And so, a bold and determined underground overtime mission kicked off.

Every day, their routine was the same: save all data before 5 PM, then "clock out" on time.

The designated lookouts tracked Shen Miaomiao’s Porsche, reporting real-time updates in the group chat.

Meanwhile, those not on lookout duty would head out in small groups—grab dinner, chill with a coffee, relax a bit.

Little by little, their revolutionary camaraderie grew stronger.

Gu Sheng felt lucky to have found this group of people.

Some were fresh grads, new to the industry, still finding their footing.

Others were veterans who’d spent a decade in the game, their edges dulled by the grind of life.

But here, now, at Golden Wind—

They shared the same dreams, the same passion.

The veterans were eager to pass down their knowledge, filling in the gaps for the newbies.

And the rookies’ energy and hunger reignited the veterans’ love for the craft.

There’s nothing more romantic, more full of legend, than fighting alongside like-minded comrades for a brilliant goal.

Right now, Golden Wind was that place.

Everyone had a fire burning in their hearts.

Because they all knew—

They were working on a game that had the potential to revolutionize FPS gameplay across the globe!

And Gu Sheng, Director Gu—

The heart and soul of the entire Golden Wind team—

His creativity inspired them, moved them, made them willing to give their all.

In the blink of an eye—

Nearly a month passed, calm and steady.

Until one day—