Chapter 17: Besides me, which game designer would consider the players' welfare?

"Every memorial photo must have a specific trigger method, after mastering it, a whole family can either enjoy blessings or share troubles together," Gao Ming said after finishing dinner, spreading the black and white photos beside him.

"Since I can call on Weird Dad and Weird Mom to deliver cakes at any time, I guess I do have a certain level of self-protection, but that's far from enough to survive the chaos. I need more helpers."

Gao Ming's mind unconsciously flashed to the image of Xuan Wen, the serial killer with a psychological crime pattern who had killed all the heroines and directly approached Gao Ming.

Every step of her plan was vicious and precise; such people are formidable and terrifying.

She developed a twisted love for Gao Ming due to the influence of the unknown world on her through Gao Ming's game design, yet her will was very strong, so strong that she might have wanted to strengthen herself to break free from Gao Ming.

Xuan Wen was a good "colleague," and Gao Ming would help her, but for now, their relationship was merely one of cooperation.

"People like Xuan Wen, there are many such characters in the games I designed," Gao Ming recalled those suspense games he had adapted from real cases. Among the thirty-six criminals, there were some who were complete lunatics, incurable psychopaths, and devilish monsters, but there were also a few who had been reluctantly stained with blood. They probably would not commit murder on their own after the games turned into reality."

No one is born a criminal; many criminal inducements accumulate over a long time.

Some born psychopaths, with abnormal hormone secretions and brain structures different from ordinary people, could become disciplined, progressive, and friendly elites with the help of society and family; some inherently kind and simple people become twisted by the environment and step by step turn into monsters that obliterate humanity.

If possible, Gao Ming wanted to rewrite some of the tragedies he had previously designed.

Hanhai was vast, and it was very difficult to find those criminals. Gao Ming silently memorized the contact information left by the investigators, considering it a good choice to leverage the power of the Investigation Bureau, but once involved, it could leave him with no control over his life.

Sinking into the sofa, Gao Ming listened to the rain outside the window, working late into the night.

He dared not go to bed in the bedroom and finally, too exhausted to stay awake, he simply wrapped himself in a thin blanket and curled up on the sofa to rest.

...

At five in the morning, Gao Ming was awakened by knocking at the door. After sitting up from the sofa, he didn't immediately go to open it, but first looked out the window where the heavy rain showed no signs of weakening.

"Is this some kind of omen? I haven't seen the sun for several days," he murmured.

Stretching his limbs till his body returned to a normal state, Gao Ming then approached the door.

Peering through the peephole, his eyebrows immediately furrowed.

"Gao Ming, are you up?" Xuan Wen stood at the door, holding that familiar red umbrella, a smile on her face.

"What do you want?" Gao Ming dressed quickly, covering himself up tightly.

"I'm calling you to go to work. We need to complete that love game to see if it affects me," Xuan Wen's smile was sweet.

"Aren't you a bit too eager? It's only five o'clock! The subway isn't even open!" Gao Ming had thought about being chased by Xuan Wen but never expected to be forced to work by her, "Besides, I haven't been hired yet, why don't you just go by yourself?"

"Aren't you curious?" Xuan Wen knocked on the door again, "We can take a taxi to work, you don't need to worry about the money."

"If you're not worried about money, then what's the point of working?" Gao Ming said after a quick wash, opening the door. To avoid sharing an umbrella with Xuan Wen, he specially put on a raincoat.

The two descended the stairs together and got into a taxi. At this point, the street lights had not yet gone out, and the continuous curtain of rain twisted the light, making the city feel both dreamlike and unfamiliar.

Having avoided the morning rush hour, it took them only a third of the usual time to get to the company.

Using her employee card, Xuan Wen entered the office of Night Lamp Studio, sat down at her familiar computer, and organized all the storylines of "To Our Love That Will Eventually Fade Away".

Rich, who had been lying sprawled out in the cat bed, stealthily moved behind Gao Ming upon hearing the clattering of the keyboard. With its small paws hooked onto Gao Ming's pants, its big watery eyes seemed to implore—you must not leave.

"I'm planning to cut the storylines of other female leads, or arrange various deaths for them, leaving just the two of us," Xuan Wen worked efficiently, quickly devising a new plan.

"Why don't you kill me off as well?" Gao Ming settled into Wei Dayou's workstation, preparing to catch some more sleep.

"We not only have to complete this game, but also attract more players, feeding on their emotions and letting them learn about our story as they make their way through the game," Xuan Wen laid out the game-related documents in front of Gao Ming. "This is beneficial for both of us. If I succeed with this one, next we'll work on Zhao Xi's game."

Under Xuan Wen's "encouragement", Gao Ming "rallied" and they began designing murder cases together and printed out some horrific images.

...

At eight in the morning, Manager Gou was the first to enter the office. Determined for a comeback, he always worked with great zeal, but today he was met with the ghostly sight of Gao Ming.

"What time did you guys get here?" Manager Gou stared at the crowded annotations on the projector, the hysterical game design, and the brand-new operation plan, his eyes widening: "Gao Ming, you're here too?"

"Director Gou, I have a very bold design idea." Xuan Wen handed the new plan to Manager Gou: "Currently, the game market is highly homogeneous. We have limited funds, and a conventional game design simply won't stand out. Why not think outside the box!"

"Didn't we agree yesterday to honestly work on a romance game? What do you mean by this?"

"What she means is to make the most terrifying love game." With bloodshot eyes and a very unstable state of mind, Gao Ming looked as if he had encountered a ghost the previous night.

"No, we have to be responsible to our clients," Manager Gou shook his head. "We should follow the clients' requirements. If we make a mistake, it's on them. If we go headstrong and do our own thing, who will bear the responsibility then? Will you?"

"Director Gou, you shouldn't be headstrong. We should listen to everyone's opinions," Gao Ming joined the persuasion: "Our studio simply doesn't have the capacity to make mainstream games. Moreover, players have begun to segment into their own interest groups. We just need to target a specific market segment to get returns."

"The way you speak, it's like you're one of our studio's own people," Manager Gou scratched his toupee. He looked down at the design proposal provided by Xuan Wen and Gao Ming, and indeed it was quite brilliant.

The rest of Night Lamp Studio's employees gradually arrived, some with headphones, some carrying coffee.

Although everyone was still quite languid, upon seeing the murder photos and death reports spread all over the tables, their drowsiness slowly dissipated—these were not the sort of things one would expect in a romance game studio.

"You had a chat with me before, and I'm aware of the current situation of our studio." Once everyone had arrived, Gao Ming went straight to the point: "Do you wish to work on games you dislike? Do you really think your romance games are competitive? If we mess up our reputation this time, we might never have the chance to redeem ourselves."

Night Lamp Studio had collaborated with Gao Ming for several years, and everyone was familiar with each other, and so Gao Ming dared to be blunt.

"Horror games have such a small audience, who would willingly switch genres if not to survive?" Manager Gou wished more than anyone for the studio to improve, but unfortunately, the overall circumstances were challenging.

"I used to be half a planner and designer for our studio, but I must admit I haven't done well enough in the past. After days of fieldwork and personal experiences..." Gao Ming turned to look at Xuan Wen: "Now I know what true fear is! Give me a chance to start over, and I can enhance the sense of horror tenfold! I will make sure that every company in the industry remembers our love game!"

Now, Gao Ming was on a mission with the horror game—he wanted to incorporate into the game his own personal realizations of fear, so that if players faced similar terrifying scenarios, they would be psychologically prepared and have strategies for survival.

Thinking this way, he grew even more resolute, after all, looking across the entire gaming industry, aside from him, which game planner considered the real-life survival of their players?