Side project

"Boss, what do you mean? We're all very serious, okay?"

"Exactly! With such a serious name, clearly you're the one thinking about weird stuff."

"???"

John rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Alright, enough with the jokes. Let's focus on the task at hand and get the illustrations done."

"Got it, boss!" the girls chorused, immediately getting back to their work.

John leaned back in his chair, observing as Bella and Emily analyzed the concept art and drafted their first designs. Grace and Sophie were still deep into coding mods for Minecraft, enjoying the process of refining the gameplay.

Meanwhile, Sarah, Jessica, and Olivia didn't have much to do. Minecraft didn't require complex planning at the moment, so they skimmed through the background information John had given them on One Piece.

"Boss, the world you're building is huge," Sarah remarked, looking up from the documents. "Do you really need our help with this?"

"Yeah, boss, we're ready to take on more work," Olivia added eagerly.

John, surprised by their enthusiasm, said, "You guys sure seem to have a lot of free time."

Bella chimed in with a teasing voice. "Maybe the boss has some secret project on the side. We might just be one of his many hidden treasures."

John shot her a glare. "You're skating on thin ice! But since you're all so eager, I'll give you another assignment."

"Finally! Boss, what is it?" Sarah asked, excited.

"We had to ask for more work? Where are you going to find employees as dedicated as us?" Olivia joked.

"Boss, come on! We're ready to deliver," Jessica added with a grin.

Amused, John leaned forward. "Alright, ever heard of hide-and-seek?"

"Hide-and-seek? Like the kid's game?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly," John nodded.

"Boss, isn't that a bit too simple?" Bella questioned.

"Yeah, hide-and-seek has been done before, and it didn't make much of an impact in the market," Sarah said thoughtfully. "But knowing you, I bet there's more to it."

John chuckled. "It's not just hide-and-seek. The game I'm talking about is a survival escape game—a story of a farmer and four electricity thieves."

The girls exchanged puzzled looks, not sure where he was going with this.

John smiled as he remembered the excitement of playing survival escape games with his friends, where players worked together to fix broken machines while trying to escape a farm without getting caught.

"The farmer and the electricity thieves?" Olivia asked, tilting her head.

"Is the game set on a farm?" Jessica inquired.

John explained, "Yes, but it's not as simple as just hiding and looking for people. It's a survival game. One player acts as the farmer, trying to stop the others, who play as thieves, from escaping. The thieves have to work together to fix machines and escape while avoiding capture."

The girls' expressions shifted from confusion to excitement as they started to grasp the concept. John handed them the game data for Identity V, a survival escape game that had been a major success in his previous life.

"How do you like it?" John asked with a knowing smile.

"Boss, this is brilliant!" Sarah exclaimed.

"I can't believe you turned hide-and-seek into something so intense!" Jessica added.

"The mechanic of fixing machines while trying to escape—it adds a whole new layer of strategy," Bella remarked.

"The different characters and their unique abilities make the game even more exciting!" Olivia said, her eyes lighting up.

John nodded, pleased with their reactions. "Alright, calm down. This project shouldn't be too hard for you."

"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?" Sarah asked, her usual calm demeanor showing signs of excitement.

"Yeah, boss! Do you have more game ideas stored in your phone?" Olivia teased, glancing at the device.

John smirked. "The data's gone. But if you finish this project, there might be more."

Bella rushed over to grab his phone before it slid off the table. She hesitated, curious but respectful, not wanting to pry too much.

John laughed. "Go ahead, there's really nothing left in there. But if you do a good job, maybe there will be more later."

Relieved, Bella grinned. "I knew it. The boss always has something brilliant up his sleeve."

John clapped his hands to bring their focus back. "Alright, here's the plan: Identity V isn't overly complicated. The gameplay is straightforward."

"The main focus will be on character modeling and map design. The abilities and items are all listed in the data I've provided. You can handle designing the characters' appearances yourselves."

"As for game mechanics and events, that's your specialty, so I trust you to manage it. And you don't need to design all the characters for the initial release. Save some for future updates."

John paused for a moment before adding, "Two months—can you get it done?"

"Guaranteed to finish the task!" the team replied in unison, eager to dive into the new project.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and donate some stones for extra chapters.

Check out my patreon for advanced chapters: patreon.com/AncestorX

Enjoy✌️.