Chapter 4

It has to be said, the situation now facing Lin Yao is almost unsolvable.

Letting the only remaining member of the planning team, Lin Yao, try to change a game is indeed a difficult task for her.

It's normal for Lin Yao to feel dejected.

She looked at the ceiling, starting to space out.

There's nothing I can do for now.

I'll just let things be for a while...

"Lin Yao?"

A gentle voice suddenly came from behind her.

Lin Yao subconsciously responded with a "Mm," leaning back in her chair, lifting her chin, and tilting her head back to look behind her.

She looked like a fish flopping its head.

The soft light illuminated a tall, mature, and beautiful figure.

Behind Lin Yao stood a woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a pair of thin-framed glasses, with her hair tied up, dressed in a white blouse and black dress pants, looking very professional and elegant.

"Manager Mu..."

Lin Yao subconsciously called out when she saw the person.

"What are you doing?"

The woman Lin Yao called Manager Mu crossed her arms and looked down at her.

Lin Yao tilted her head and subconsciously replied, "Spacing out?"

Manager Mu was momentarily speechless, opening her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.

She sighed, put down her arms, and said somewhat helplessly, "You can space out, but at least browse the web. Don't just stare at the ceiling, or you'll give people something to talk about."

She spoke kindly.

Lin Yao had no reason to argue and could only nod in agreement, "Okay..."

Manager Mu softly asked, "You plan to quit when the game is shut down, right?"

"Uh..." Lin Yao was momentarily speechless. Originally, that was her plan, but the appearance of the "Life Starter" made her hesitate.

Seeing Lin Yao's hesitation, Manager Mu thought she was just embarrassed. After a brief silence, she said softly, "When you look for a new job, don't mention the specific game you worked on. It's not a glorious experience, and this game is already a laughingstock in the industry."

"Also, next time you encounter something like this, don't stay silent. When you should refuse, just refuse. Being the main planner who takes the blame isn't easy... But since you're going to quit, consider this a lesson. Remember it well."

She said these words somewhat awkwardly.

Clearly, she wasn't good at comforting people, but her advice came across clearly.

Lin Yao didn't say anything, just nodded.

Manager Mu looked at Lin Yao, who was leaning back in her chair, tilting her head back to look at her, and hesitated for a moment.

Then she reached out, passing over Lin Yao's shoulder, and pulled up her white T-shirt to cover her delicate collarbone.

"Also, even though your seat is in a secluded spot, be careful. You're a girl."

Lin Yao looked at her clothes, stunned for a moment, and her face turned slightly red.

But soon,

She thought about it and felt it was wrong.

Why should she be blushing?

While she was pondering, Manager Mu had already left.

Lin Yao sat up straight, kicked the ground with her toes, and turned her chair to look at Manager Mu, who was not far away.

Her name is Mu Wanqing, a poetic name, and she is the development manager of the game.

But like Lin Yao, she is also taking the blame.

The director of Development Department Two, to avoid being implicated, had already fled and pushed all the responsibility onto Mu Wanqing.

Now, the planning team has only Lin Yao left as the main planner, without even an executive planner.

The art and programming teams responsible for this game, although the lead artist and lead programmer are still listed, are all busy with other projects.

All the outsourcing contacts have been cut off.

The entire project team is just a shell.

And this is only to deal with the internal audit of the group; otherwise, even this shell wouldn't exist.

The two of them are in the same boat, taking the blame together.

... But, is she actually so easy to talk to?

Lin Yao looked at the tall figure in high heels, which made her look even more slender, and fell into deep thought.

Although her tone was a bit strange, there was no doubt she was concerned about her.

But in Lin Yao's memory, she didn't seem like the type to care about others.

At the beginning of the game's development, she had online battles with the director, opposing the creation of a turn-based game. During the production process, she was very tough, always clashing with the director... She tried her best to prevent unrealistic plans and strictly carried out her managerial duties, whether it was setting up various functional teams, determining personnel, or estimating costs, everything was meticulously arranged.

Lin Yao remembered that during her final interview, she faced this woman, who was particularly difficult, asking detailed and troublesome questions and clearly having doubts about her, thinking she was unreliable.

In short, she wasn't very likable.

In Lin Yao's memory, she was a cold, emotionless workaholic.

But now, it seems she can also comfort people. Could she be... tsundere?

Lin Yao watched Mu Wanqing disappear from her line of sight, and a strange thought popped into her head. Then she turned back and looked at the A4 paper on her desk.

The first item written on it was—how to convince the higher-ups to do a major version update for this dying game.

Originally, this seemed impossible, but now it seems there might be a glimmer of hope.

Should I try writing a proposal?

Lin Yao grabbed the mouse and subconsciously opened a Word document.

But soon, she realized something was wrong.

Wait, that's not right.

Am I crazy? Why am I setting myself a goal right away?

It's like I'm under a curse or something.

Is the "Life Starter" that terrifying?

Is there nothing more worth doing than working?

There must be, right?

Slacking off, for example?

Thinking about this,

Lin Yao quickly closed the Word document and turned to open her browser.

...

Midday

Lunch break.

Lin Yao went downstairs to buy a bread and a lemon tea, returned to her seat, and while biting into the bread, propped up her round thigh and looked at a sample game planning document on her computer screen.

Well,

She overestimated the fun of slacking off in this world. It's boring.

It's better to try to find something to do.

As for why she was looking at a sample planning document instead of writing one directly,

It's simple.

Previously, to be precise, in her previous life, she worked as a game concept artist, part of the art team, which is related to game production, but had almost no interaction with the core planning team.

So, she only had a basic understanding of how to write a planning document.

If she really wanted to write a plan that could save this turn-based online game, a basic understanding wouldn't be enough. This is a massive project.

Don't think a game can be made with just three roles—planning, art, and programming.

Under these three roles, there are actually nearly 20 functions, including systems, writing, numbers, levels, engines, interfaces, clients, servers, databases, 2D, 3D, art styles, characters, scenes, concept art, and more, not to mention audio.

For Lin Yao to revive the current turn-based online game, almost all of these functions would be involved.

This isn't something she can achieve just by having a good idea or thinking it through in her head.

Fortunately,

The planning documents in this world are quite simple, probably because it's still in its early stages, with no set format, allowing for a lot of creative freedom.

Lin Yao looked at it for a while and had a general idea of how to write it.