The situation had come so abruptly that neither Meng Suihuan nor Lu Linshen had time to react. She glanced at him, noticing his expression darken, then gently put down her utensils and spoke in a steady tone, “Suisui, can I borrow your car for a while? I need to go to the office.”

Meng Suihuan quickly gathered her bag, coat, and keys, glancing up to see that he still stood there in a daze. She urged him, “Why are you still standing there? Hurry up!”

Lu Linshen glanced at her hesitantly, showing concern, “Suisui, will you feel bad if you go? After all, I lost control last night… I might have gone too far.”

Meng Suihuan:

At a time like this, he still found time to worry about her? Worry about her discomfort?

She didn’t know whether to be happy or frustrated.

She smiled and replied, “It’s just a little discomfort, nothing as severe as you think. I exaggerated on purpose just now. It’s not like you have no self-control…”

“Enough of that. We’d better get going; Lao Qin and the others are waiting.”

—

A Battle to Save the Game

Given past experiences, Lu Linshen had taken double precautions when it came to technology, and the technical team had prepared well. However, Shoucheng Group was ruthless. When they saw no technical breakthroughs, they resorted to dirty tactics, spending large sums to poach several talented artists from the Longting art team.

In the world of gaming, technology was crucial, but so was the artistry that presented the game’s effects.

Shoucheng’s tactic might be underhanded, but it served its purpose.

When Lu Linshen and Meng Suihuan arrived, the head of Longting and its core members were already present. They were discussing solutions.

“Mr. Lu, I’m deeply sorry for this accident. It’s my responsibility; I failed to properly manage my staff, leading to this oversight. I will personally take responsibility. Here are some emergency measures for this incident. You can refer to them,” said the head of Longting.

Longting was a top gaming company in the industry, and its emergency response measures and equipment were well established.

Lu Linshen carefully reviewed the documents the head had handed over, including details about the employees who had been poached, adjustments to their team, and delays in the progress. Noticing a 20-day delay, he couldn’t help but frown.

“A 20-day delay—are there any other ways to compensate or reduce the time?”

After all, the game’s launch date had already been announced and published online. If they couldn’t release the game on schedule, players’ trust in the game and the company would drop drastically.

Shoucheng Group wouldn’t miss this opportunity either, seizing the chance to launch a major attack and potentially destroy their reputation.

The direction of public opinion after that would be unpredictable.

Shoucheng Group had deliberately waited, biding its time until they had completed the first round of internal testing and announced the launch date, then delivered a lethal blow.

“There is a way,” said the head of Dragon Court. “If we can expand the art team and increase efficiency, we can maintain progress, but the cost will increase by nearly half. It might not be worth it.”

Lu Linshen furrowed his brows: “Without considering the costs, how many people do we need to expand the team in order to meet the original launch schedule?”

“About 20 people?” The person in charge wiped the sweat from his forehead. “After all, the previous staff were all experienced Longting employees, familiar with the work and didn’t need much training. To achieve the same level of quality, we’d need to recruit at least 20 more artists… Of course, this is just a possibility; I can’t guarantee it will be 100% successful.”

Lu Linshen raised his gaze: “Increase by 30 people. Will that be enough?”

“Yes, yes, definitely enough! The number of people will be sufficient. But Longting doesn’t have that many available…” The company only had five artists they could reassign.

Lu Linshen said: “Lao Qin, Lao Xu, contact other companies and see if they have any suitable artists. The cost can be negotiated.”

Soon, Qin Yu returned with results: “Lu, these companies have probably all been acquired by Shoucheng Group. I contacted some other game companies, but either they outright refused, or they were asking outrageous prices…”

“It’s probably Shoucheng pulling the strings.” Xu Xuanyi’s feedback wasn’t much better either: “The results are pretty much the same as Lao Qin’s.”

Lu Linshen’s eyes darkened. Shoucheng Group’s reach was getting uncomfortably wide.

At that moment, Qin Yu suddenly spoke up: “Lao Xie, didn’t you strongly recommend Shangge? Go ask them if they can help.”

Everyone turned their attention to Xie Zhixin. His expression didn’t change much, but he calmly looked at Lu Linshen, with a hint of something in his gaze: “Shangge doesn’t do games. They’re focused on the internet now.”

Qin Yu, disappointed, replied, “The internet, huh? Isn’t that similar to our company?”

Xie Zhixin’s gaze remained on Lu Linshen, and with a self-deprecating smile, he said: “Is it really the same?”

The group discussed for a while, still not finding a suitable solution. Qin Yu, anxious, started to get impatient.

“We’re not really going to delay the launch, are we?” He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, the smooth strands now giving off a certain character as he arrogantly tilted his head. “But if we delay the launch, what will we say to the public? What will we tell the advertisers? Ah, this is so frustrating, everything is connected!”

“It won’t be delayed,” Lu Linshen said with certainty, his voice immediately calming the anxious Qin Yu.

Qin Yu couldn’t help but laugh: “Lu, do you have a solution?”

Lu Linshen replied: “If the game companies can’t help, we can look for talent from other channels. We’ll find the right people.”

Qin Yu was still scratching his head, thinking about other possible channels, when someone suddenly volunteered, “My classmates can help. They’re all game researchers. I can ask them to assist.”

“Your classmates?” Lu Linshen looked at him, subtly stroking his fingers, and his voice rose slightly, “How many people are we talking about?”

This subtle shift was hard to notice, but Meng Suihuan, who had spent enough time with him, immediately picked up on it. She was well-acquainted with his temper, mannerisms, and habits. She realized that he had already come up with a solution and thought quickly.

It seemed like he was focusing on a school full of talented individuals. She silently gave him a thumbs-up in her mind—he was indeed someone who could become a big shot. His ability to read the room and think on his feet was remarkable.

He seemed to sense her awareness, walking over to her. She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up gesture.

“Are you tired? Want to rest in my office for a while?” Lu Linshen glanced at her with concern. Although she knew he was looking out for her, and no one else could hear their conversation, she still felt a bit uncomfortable.

“I’ve only been standing for a bit. I was sitting earlier, I’m not tired,” she replied.

Then, unexpectedly, she called out his name: “Lu Linshen.”

She liked calling his name. For some reason, it felt right.

He looked at her, his gaze softening. “What is it?”

“You’d better prepare for both options, just in case Yang Xun is scheming behind our backs,” she warned.

“Although I’m sure you already thought of this, I just wanted to remind you.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Suisui. I’ll pay attention to it,” he said, before leaning closer and softly whispering in her ear, “I’m very happy.”

—

“Has there been any movement from Wu Hai Net recently?” Yang Xun still remembered the phone incident. He had been thoroughly embarrassed by those two. Originally, he wanted to make trouble for Meng Suihuan, but she had been on high alert, and he couldn’t find any opportunities. So now, he turned to cause trouble for Lu Linshen.

“Recently, Wu Hai Net’s people have been contacting major game companies, trying to borrow art personnel to get through the crisis. Fortunately, Little Yang is strategic and has already arranged everything, so they came back empty-handed.”

“Mm.” This flattery hit Yang Xun’s sweet spot, and he nodded with satisfaction, casually twirling the pen in his hand. “Anything else?”

“Is there anything else?” The person in charge, sweating profusely, thought repeatedly before finally hesitating and speaking, “…For now, that’s all. No other findings.”

Although Yang Xun was arrogant, he had stumbled quite a bit with both Lu Linshen and Meng Suihuan. These two were like slippery fish—once you thought you had a hold on them, they’d slip away, splashing water and mud all over you. He didn’t believe they would be unprepared. He was sure they had something planned behind the scenes.

Thinking of this, he suddenly slammed the pen down, his tone cold: “Stay alert. If there’s any movement, report it to me immediately. If there’s a leak later, I’ll hold you accountable.”

The person in charge responded nervously, and Yang Xun, satisfied, shifted his focus.

“How’s the game development going?” he asked. He wasn’t just digging for dirt on Xuyu; he was also interested in their recently developed games. These two may be detestable, but their brains were sharp. They founded Tianxia Net and boldly ventured into smartphone production. They lacked connections and resources, yet they managed to succeed. Yang Xun was richer, with wider resources and connections. If he put his mind to it, how could he fail?

The person in charge, seeing that Little Yang didn’t blame him, secretly breathed a sigh of relief: “The companies we’re collaborating with have already connected with the team, and they’ve gotten a full understanding of their games and ideas. We’re speeding up development and should be able to launch before they do.”

“Lu, as expected, Shoucheng Group has been very active lately. They’ve been in close contact with major game companies. But what I don’t understand is, why would Shoucheng go to such lengths to stop us from launching on time? What are they after?” Was it just to hurt our company, to take down Lu? Qin Yu thought for a moment, then decisively said, “They must have other motives.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Lu Linshen added slowly, “They’re also making games.”

Qin Yu paused, remembering their history of misdeeds, and gritted his teeth: “No wonder they’re poaching our employees and secretly trying to stop our game launch. So, they’re aiming at this!”

“Lu, let’s sue them again—let’s go all out!”

Lu Linshen looked at him calmly and stated the facts: “It’s been too long, and the game we’re making is a regular game. We’re just upgrading the costume design and gameplay. Legally, it’s hard to define this situation.”

Qin Yu was frustrated: “Lu, how about we spend some money and poach their tech staff? Fight fire with fire?”

Lu Linshen gently rejected his suggestion: “That won’t work either.”

“Then what? Do we just let them bully us like this?” Qin Yu felt suffocated just thinking about it.

Lu Linshen lightly tapped the desk, his gesture neither too light nor too heavy, and said, “Lao Qin, gather everyone, let’s have a meeting and discuss solutions.”

When everyone had gathered, Lu Linshen asked Qin Yu to brief them on Shoucheng Group’s recent actions. Qin Yu, fired up, shared the news, swearing and slamming the conference table to express his emotions. The others became restless after hearing the news, some even cursing along with Qin Yu, but most were focused on what their next move would be.

Lu Linshen didn’t rush to speak, glancing around before calmly saying, “Anyone have ideas?”

People exchanged glances before beginning a heated discussion. Lu Linshen waited until the noise died down and looked at the heads of Longting and Tiancheng: “What do you think?”

“The game industry is different from other industries. Many games innovate or adjust based on existing games. Complete innovation is difficult, even for industry giants,” the Longting representative explained.

“Based on experience, we can modify the game’s launch time and gameplay. But with our limited time, making major changes would be difficult.”

Lu Linshen’s gaze turned to Chen Wen: “Chen Wen, what do you think?”

“My view is similar to Longting’s,” Chen Wen said, taking a deep breath. “In the short term, it’s really hard to innovate, but it’s not impossible.”

Lu Linshen asked, “What’s the possibility?”

Chen Wen took another deep breath. “Well… Actually… we’ve already developed a prototype.”

The room fell silent, and everyone’s attention snapped to him. Even the Longting members, who usually looked down on them, were now staring at him, shocked and surprised.

Lu Linshen’s eyes darkened, and his voice remained calm: “The idea for innovation in game mode is novel and promising, but we don’t have time.”

Chen Wen’s eyes lit up. “But… we’ve already got the prototype.”