Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 69

Ye Yuxi fell into an awkward silence.

Ever since she got set up last time, her way of thinking had become… a little unhealthy.

Now, just seeing an employee without a name badge made her suspicious, as if they had sneaked in to attack her or something.

Had she been playing too many games? There was no way the real world could be that absurd, right?

This world was supposed to be full of sunshine and love! Why was she always assuming the worst about people?!

After mentally scolding herself for three seconds, Ye Yuxi took the pen and paper the girl handed her and quickly signed “Miss Ye.” She then used the opportunity to strike up a conversation.

The girl’s name was Meng Zhiyao. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t an official employee of Doudou. However, she had some connection to Lin Ruoyun, the company’s CEO, and was also a huge fan of Ye Yuxi. After begging for a long time, she finally managed to secure the chance to greet her.

At the same time, Meng Zhiyao was also a skilled virtual environment designer—particularly obsessed with horror scene construction.

Currently, she is working independently, often designing terrifying escape room scenarios for various venues. The income was fantastic.

The moment Ye Yuxi heard this, her mind started racing.

A proper game designer usually had assistants—some specializing in environment design, others in character modeling—so that the lead designer could focus on overseeing everything.

But she was doing everything alone, which was why her progress was so slow.

If she could recruit this ready-made scene designer as her assistant, wouldn’t that skyrocket her development speed?

Even if Meng Zhiyao wasn’t familiar with supernatural elements yet and couldn’t immediately help with that aspect, she still had extensive experience in multiplayer virtual environment design!

Escape room scenarios were always built for at least two players, and she had to be an expert in isolation plug-ins, co-op mechanics, and all sorts of networking setups!

With that thought, Ye Yuxi became even more determined to recruit—ahem—hire her properly. Her gaze grew noticeably warmer.

“Zhiyao, I won’t lie—I felt an instant connection the moment I saw you. No need for formalities, I’ll just call you by your name.”

Hearing her idol—her absolute Top 1 idol—speak to her so casually, Meng Zhiyao could barely contain her excitement.

God knew how much she worshiped Miss Ye ever since she burst onto the scene!

In her eyes, Ye Yuxi had single-handedly revived the horror game industry, breathed new life into it, and was the true pioneer of its evolution!

Unaware of her godlike status in Meng Zhiyao’s heart, Ye Yuxi was still racking her brain, painting a grand vision to persuade her.

“Going solo is just too difficult. Society these days isn’t kind to lone wolves. That’s why people like us, who dream of reviving horror games, need to stick together…”

“Of course, talking about work without discussing benefits is just empty talk. Let me tell you about the future of our studio—”

“No need to say more! Miss Ye—no, boss!”

Meng Zhiyao never expected such an opportunity to just fall into her lap.

She could actually work alongside her idol! Witness firsthand how she built one terrifying world after another!

Tears of joy nearly welled up in her eyes as she eagerly commanded a robot to serve tea and snacks for her future boss.

“Say no more! I’m in!”

—

Ten minutes later, Lin Ruoyun rushed into the office, having practically left her assistant in the dust, afraid of keeping Ye Yuxi waiting.

But the moment she stepped in, she heard a very familiar voice:

“Boss, don’t worry! This is what I do best!”

Lin Ruoyun: ???

What was going on? Why was her fearless, troublemaking cousin calling her most valued designer “boss”?!

Then, she noticed something even more horrifying—

That little menace was casually grabbing handfuls of her extremely rare high-grade tea and dumping them into an automatic tea brewer—on quick-boil mode, no less.

“Boss, take your time and enjoy! My sister has tons of tea leaves—we can brew another pot!”

Lin Ruoyun: “……”

You’re using my tea to suck up to your boss?!

No, wait, that’s not the point—the point is—

STOP RUINING MY TEA!!!

As soon as Ye Yuxi heard the door open, she looked up and saw Lin Ruoyun. She immediately waved enthusiastically.

“President Lin, come have some tea! This stuff is actually pretty good!”

…

After a brief moment of chaos, Ye Yuxi finally understood the situation.

Meng Zhiyao, the girl without a name badge, was actually Lin Ruoyun’s cousin. Lin Ruoyun had called her over today because she was worried about her cousin working alone in the industry. The original plan was to recruit her as a scene designer for game trailers at Doudou.

Hearing that she had just stolen someone else’s talent, Ye Yuxi suddenly felt a little guilty.

“If President Lin wanted to hire her, and she’s also your cousin, then maybe I should—”

“No, no, no!” Lin Ruoyun snapped back to reality, the pain of her wasted tea leaves still fresh in her heart.

If this little troublemaker joined Doudou, she’d probably show up at her office every day, ruining more tea. How was she supposed to survive that?!

A talent like this was better off being sent elsewhere!

“This girl has always admired Miss Ye. I think her personal wish should come first. Since she wants to follow you and build something great together, of course, I can only support her!”

Ye Yuxi was overjoyed.

“Great! To be honest, I’ve already started planning Campus Nightmare 2. If Zhiyao can help with the trailer, it’ll make my job so much easier!”

“You’re already starting a new game?” Lin Ruoyun was shocked.

She had dealt with many top-tier designers and rising stars, but Ye Yuxi’s productivity was on a whole different level.

Did she never run out of ideas?

Ye Yuxi smiled modestly, then turned the conversation to the real reason Lin Ruoyun had called her over.

“Actually, the main reason I invited you today is to thank you for choosing our platform in the first place.”

Lin Ruoyun’s gratitude was sincere.

Ye Yuxi might only be a designer, but her arrival had breathed new life into Doudou.

It wasn’t just about having a hit game on their platform. More importantly, as the biggest name in horror gaming, Ye Yuxi had attracted other talented horror game designers to join Doudou as well.

Many of them, just like Meng Zhiyao, had signed up simply to be closer to their idol.

This was a huge win for Lin Ruoyun. After all, even a blockbuster game could only bring short-term profits, but a steady influx of top-tier talent was what truly sustained a company’s future.

That was the power of a high-profile designer—not only could they generate revenue, but their influence could shape the entire gaming industry.

“That’s why, after discussing with our shareholders, we’ve decided to offer you equity incentives.”

The moment those words left her mouth, even Meng Zhiyao looked stunned.

Doudou’s stock?

For a major corporation like Doudou, even 0.1% of its shares represented an astronomical amount of money!

Of course, the stocks weren’t a free gift—Ye Yuxi would have to pay a portion of the cost herself—but given Doudou’s rising stock prices, once she had those shares, she’d basically be making money in her sleep.

Ye Yuxi was obviously tempted, but…

“I’ve been pouring all my funds into setting up my studio lately, so I don’t have much cash flow at the moment. Would it be possible to claim this incentive later? I really appreciate the offer, President Lin.”

Lin Ruoyun smiled and nodded.

The two continued discussing future plans, and President Lin even presented a long-term partnership agreement with Doudou on the spot.

Since the company was offering stock incentives, Ye Yuxi naturally agreed after carefully reviewing the terms.

With that settled, Ye Yuxi happily left, bringing along her rewarded new hire, heading straight to the office space Liu Yuling had picked out in advance.

She was determined to push her team to the limit—get a teaser trailer out within two weeks to build hype, and have the full game ready for launch in a month!