You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

On a midsummer afternoon, the sunshine of Shanghai shines into the office through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the air is filled with the subtle aroma of air conditioning and coffee.

The employees of Taoyuanxiang Studio are all busy. The sound of keyboards typing code, the whispers of planning discussions, and the friction of the art team's writing tablets are intertwined, forming a unique symphony belonging to game developers.

However, the atmosphere today is somewhat unusual.

The door of the conference room was pushed open suddenly. Lu Yu put one hand in his pocket and held a document in the other hand. With a faint smile on his lips, he glanced at everyone in the room.

"Everyone, let's have a short meeting. I have an important decision to announce."

Mo Xiaoxuan put down the plan in his hand, pushed up his glasses, and looked at him puzzledly: "What's so formal?"

"Yeah, didn't we just optimize the plot framework recently? Why are there suddenly new arrangements?" Zhang Qiqi also looked confused.

Chu Xiong folded his hands and frowned, "Isn't this another extension of your 'lying down philosophy'?"

Lu Yu smiled, threw the document on the table, and said in a light and natural tone: "It's not lying down, it's collecting materials."

Everyone: "?"

Source?

They make games, so the material they choose is normal.

But the problem is that every time Lu Yu said "collecting materials", it was accompanied by some shocking and outrageous operations.

As expected, the next second, Lu Yu announced with a smile: "Starting today, the employee benefits of our Taoyuan Township will be comprehensively upgraded."

The conference room suddenly exploded.

"First, all employees must have at least four days off per week, and any form of overtime is strictly prohibited."

"Secondly, all positions will receive at least five days of paid leave each month, and annual leave will be doubled."

"Then, we set up an internal 'short-term vacation fund' to provide 20 days of fully paid 'inspiration leave' each year, allowing employees to travel around the world and experience life, with all expenses reimbursed by the company."

"In addition, our cafeteria menu has been upgraded, and all meals are free, ensuring that the food quality is on par with a five-star hotel."

"To improve everyone's work happiness, the company provides a monthly 'interest subsidy'. Whether you want to learn to play guitar, learn to dive, learn racing, or even get a drone license, the company will reimburse you in full."

"In addition, the company organizes overseas team-building activities twice a year. The destinations are not limited, and employees can vote on whether they want to go skiing in Switzerland or snorkeling in the Maldives."

"Finally, we have established a mental health center within the company to provide professional psychological counseling services to ensure that every employee can work at their best."

There was dead silence in the conference room.

It seemed as if even the air had frozen at this moment.

Everyone's eyes widened, their expressions dull, as if they were doubting whether they had heard correctly.

"...Brother Lu, are you serious?"

Zhang Qiqi's hands were shaking slightly, and she could hardly believe her ears.

"We are a gaming company, not a charity!" Mo Xiaoxuan adjusted his glasses, his tone revealing obvious shock.

"Are these benefits really... achievable?" Chu Xiong frowned. His rationality made him want to refute, but in his heart he had already begun frantically calculating the cost of these benefits.

"Of course it can be achieved." Lu Yu nodded as a matter of course, "Money is earned to be spent, otherwise it will get moldy."

"But, but..."

"No, this isn't spending money; it's investing." Lu Yu tapped the table lightly with his fingers. "Don't you understand? Only when our employees are happy can they create truly moving games."

"We're making an open-world game, and the best open worlds aren't created by planners' imaginations, but are built from real-life experiences."

"How do you think those great games were born? It's because those producers and developers have truly experienced those stories, seen those landscapes, and felt those emotions."

His tone was calm and firm, his eyes were deep, and he carried an irrefutable conviction.

Everyone in the conference room fell silent.

Because they suddenly realized that what Lu Yu said seemed to make sense.

However, Lu Yu's series of actions did not only shock the employees.

It also caused the entire gaming industry's capital world to completely explode.

"Has Taoyuan Township gone mad? How can this kind of welfare be sustained?!"

"Are they running a gaming company or a nursing home?!"

"This is completely challenging industry regulations! If all companies do this, how can we control capital costs?"

"Impossible, it absolutely cannot continue! Sooner or later they will be eliminated by the market!"

Executives from major companies, investors, and industry analysts were all discussing this privately, with some even swearing out loud, "Taoyuan Township's business model won't survive more than a year!"

But Lu Yu didn't care about it.

“The mindset of capital is exploitation, while my mindset is win-win.”

“They only want to make their employees money-making tools, but I want them to be miracle workers.”

"Let's see who is right."

He smiled faintly and continued to move forward with his "charitable enterprise" plan.

After the benefits were announced, the entire Taoyuan Township studio fell into a state of frenzied happiness.

"Holy crap! Is this the legendary dream company?"

"No overtime! Full travel reimbursement! Hobby allowance! Five-star dining hall!"

"Brothers, are we really at work? Have we entered heaven by mistake?"

"If anyone keeps calling capitalists vampires, I'll be the first to disagree! Brother Lu is a breath of fresh air among capitalists!"

The employees were ecstatic, and some were so excited that they posted directly on the company's internal forum:

"How Taoyuanxiang turned me from a social animal into an aristocrat" "Is this company really in the gaming industry, not a charity foundation?"

For a time, Taoyuan Township’s recruitment mailbox was flooded with resumes. Even many employees from other large companies resigned and went to Taoyuan Township just to enjoy this unconventional treatment from a gaming company.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Lu Yu overlooked the night scene of the Magic City with a slight smile on his face.

"They think I'm doing charity, but actually... I want to show the entire industry what a real gaming company is."

"The era of capital exploitation should end."

"A true game should not be based on exploitation, but on creation and love."

"And Taoyuan Township is the starting point for changing the industry."

Planning Director Mo Xiaoxuan stood in the center of the conference room, holding the latest project schedule in his hand, his brows furrowed, and his expression was as if he had just watched a science fiction movie with confusing logic, with a look of "Am I opening it the wrong way?"

He took a deep breath and looked around: "Everyone, can you tell me what Mr. Lu is doing?"

There was dead silence in the conference room.

Everyone lowered their heads, as if pondering an extremely profound philosophical question.

A few seconds later, Program Director Chu Xiong finally raised his head and said in a complicated tone: "I think... he might really be crazy."

"Yes, he is absolutely crazy." Planner Zhang Qiqi nodded, with a hint of unconcealable shock in her voice, "We are making games, and he is building a resort." Everyone nodded, their eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

All this stems from Lu Yu’s recent series of “magical” operations.

First, all employees are required to take mandatory leave.

"You must have two days off every week. No overtime allowed. Anyone who dares to secretly work overtime will have their bonus cut in half."

Sound reasonable?

But the problem is that the game project has entered a critical development stage. Some functions still need to be adjusted, some systems have not been optimized, and some plot branches have not even been completed!

But Lu Yu's attitude was extremely firm.

"No overtime allowed. Leave work on time. Anyone who dares to show up at the company at night must report to the Human Resources Department."

As a result, the development progress of the entire project team has become the most Buddhist state in history.

——I had only written half of the plan when the time ran out and I slipped away.

——I was halfway through typing the code when the time was up and I slipped away.

——I was halfway through modeling when the time was up and I slipped away.

"Brother Lu, our plot system still has a bug..."

"I'll fix it tomorrow, and I'll be off work today."

"But we haven't finished testing this gameplay yet..."

"I'll test it tomorrow. I'm off work today."

"But……"

"No buts, I'm off work today."

As a result, the progress of the entire game project fell into an extreme "balance" in a strange way - it was not completely terrible, but it was definitely not efficient either.

Everyone is slacking off, but they are doing it with professional ethics.

"You know what? Before I went to bed last night, I suddenly thought of an optimization plan for the plot branch. I got so excited that I woke up and wanted to modify the code, but then I remembered Mr. Lu's ban and forced myself back to bed."

"Stop talking. I played games until three in the morning yesterday. Suddenly I felt a little guilty and remembered that I still hadn't debugged the mission system. Then I thought of what Mr. Lu said, and I immediately felt at ease and continued playing the game."

"Do you guys also have that feeling... knowing that the project progress is worrying, but still feeling that it's actually pretty good?"

Everyone fell into deep thought, and then nodded.

Yes, they were a little uneasy.

But - it feels so good!

[More outrageous "material collection" actions]

However, this is not the most outrageous thing.

What left the project team members speechless was that Lu Yu actually began to use "collecting materials" as an excuse to frantically add "weird" experience activities for everyone.

——"In order to enhance the immersion of the game, we need to experience various extreme sports in person."

As a result, the entire planning team was dragged to go bungee jumping, the programming team went to learn paragliding, and the art team was even sent to experience "wilderness survival."

——"Our game has a lot of food-related scenes, so... everyone must experience a high-end restaurant at least once a week."

As a result, employees can enjoy Michelin-starred meals every week, which are fully reimbursed by the company, and they have to write a "food experience report" after the meal.

——"Our game's NPC social system needs to be more realistic, and everyone needs to learn how to socialize more naturally."

As a result, the company organized a "social training camp" where team members were forced to participate in various social activities, including but not limited to blind date simulations, improvisational dramas, and stranger communication challenges.

What frustrates everyone the most is that Lu Yu always emphasizes seriously that this is "necessary material" to make the game more realistic.

And what’s even more terrifying is that he himself is having a lot of fun.

Employees' despair

"So, are we developing a game or experiencing life?"

"Have we stumbled onto some weird reality TV show?"

"I originally thought game development was a demanding profession, but in Taoyuan Township, I feel like a professional player and professional experiencer."

“I no longer know whether our company is a gaming company or a lifestyle company.”

"Is Mr. Lu really serious about making games? Or is he just looking for an excuse to live his ideal life?"

For a time, the entire project team fell into unprecedented confusion and doubt.

At the same time, the capitalists outside were so angry about Lu Yu's series of operations that they suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

"What the hell is this guy doing?!"

"Is he crazy? At this stage in game development, he's still working on this 'life experience' thing?!"

"We invested in Taoyuan Township so they could develop games, not travel around the world!"

"What's going on with this company?! It doesn't conform to market rules at all!"

Major investment institutions and industry analysts were all discussing this crazily in private, but no matter what they thought, Lu Yu still advanced his "lying-down development philosophy" leisurely at his own pace.

Late at night, in the office of Taoyuan Township, Lu Yu sat on his own exclusive sofa, holding a cup of warm tea in his hand, with a meaningful smile on his lips.

He looked at the confusion of his team members, the anger of the capitalists, and the discussions of the players on social media, with a deep light in his eyes.

"Confused? Doubtful? Don't understand?"

"Very good, this is the effect I want."

He took a sip of tea, looked out the window at the night, and the smile on his lips deepened a little.

"By the time they discovered my true intentions, it was too late."

Liu Mengyuan sat at his workstation, holding his forehead with one hand and quickly writing the game design plan on his notebook with the other. He looked focused and his eyes were sharp, like a general commanding thousands of troops on the battlefield.

She is the chief storyline planner of Taoyuanxiang Studio, and also the person who works the hardest, is the most rigorous, and the one who least allows herself to give up in the entire team.

"This time, the plot branches need to be optimized... The player's emotional involvement isn't strong enough... The NPC's behavior logic also needs to be adjusted..."

She was talking to herself and writing and drawing on the whiteboard, her mind full of how to make the game more perfect.

However, at this moment, a hand suddenly reached out and covered her notebook mercilessly.

"Planner Liu, put down your work and follow me."

The familiar voice, the familiar tone, even the sense of self-righteous laziness is so familiar.

Liu Mengyuan looked up suddenly, and sure enough, the person standing in front of her was Lu Yu, the boss of Taoyuan Township, the culprit who was always trying to find ways to make everyone do bad things.

She frowned and asked in a hard tone, "What? I'm busy."

Lu Yu raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and said in a relaxed tone: "What are you busy with?" (End of this chapter)