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

He slowly put down the documents in his hand and leaned lazily back in his chair. His tone was as relaxed as if he was chatting about the weather. "After all, our Taoyuan Township is indeed a small company with limited operating experience, and our publicity capabilities cannot match those of a large group like yours."

Shen Mubai was slightly startled, and then a smile of triumph flashed in his eyes.

Sure enough, Lu Yu is still too young.

As long as they are willing to let Apocalypse take over the promotion and marketing, the next steps will be easy.

Apocalypse can fully utilize its own ability to manipulate public opinion to gradually guide the market trend and eventually shift players' attention from "Don't Play This Game" to their own upcoming new game.

They could even deliberately create some negative public opinion during the "cooperation" period to suppress the market popularity of "Don't Play This Game", and then push Apocalypse's game to the highest point with the attitude of "industry leader".

All of this is under his control.

He smiled and nodded. "Mr. Lu is indeed a wise man. We will go all out to ensure that the global promotion of 'Don't Play This Game' achieves the best results."

However, just when he thought he had won the negotiation, Lu Yu suddenly changed the subject.

"But..."

He gently shook the coffee cup in his hand, and a meaningful arc appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Since the Apocalypse Group is willing to help, shouldn't we also do things in a more impressive way?"

Shen Mubai narrowed his eyes slightly, his intuition telling him that there was something fishy about Lu Yu's words.

But before he could think about it, Lu Yu continued with a smile: "I think ordinary publicity and promotion may not be enough. If we want to do it, we must do it in an unprecedented way."

He casually tapped the table and said cheerfully, "For example, we could launch a super-luxurious 'Immersive Gaming Experience Exhibition' worldwide, inviting all the top gaming media, industry leaders, player KOLs, and even famous movie stars, directors, and tech giants from around the world to witness the charm of 'Don't Play This Game'."

"Of course, since this is a cooperative project, all the expenses of this exhibition should naturally be borne by the Apocalypse Group. What do you think?"

Everyone in the conference room was stunned.

The faces of the top executives of Apocalypse Group changed slightly.

What the hell is this? !
This so-called "Global Immersive Gaming Experience Exhibition" has an outrageously high budget just by listening to the name!
If they really do what Lu Yu said, Apocalypse Group must invest a huge amount of money, manpower and resources.

And the most important thing is——

The core of this exhibition is actually "Don't Play This Game"?!

They originally wanted to use this opportunity to suppress the market influence of "Don't Play This Game," but instead it sounds like... they're actually spending money on publicity for Taoyuan Township?!
What’s even more outrageous is that Lu Yu had a matter-of-fact expression on his face, as if to say, “Yeah, right, right, if you guys are going to do it, just make it bigger!”

Shen Mubai's expression finally changed.

He stared at Lu Yu, trying to find some clues in his eyes.

But Lu Yu still looked calm, with a lazy smile on his lips and a hint of teasing in his eyes.

——Is this guy really stupid, or is he deliberately plotting against them?!

Shen Mubai took a deep breath and tried to keep his tone calm: "Mr. Lu, this proposal... may require more detailed discussion."

Lu Yu blinked, smiled and nodded: "Of course, you guys decide the details, I'm just responsible for suggesting a direction."

He stood up, stretched, and waved his hand casually: "Then I'll leave this matter to you. I won't bother you anymore. I'll be leaving first."

After saying that, he turned around and left the meeting room without looking back.

And the Apocalypse executives in the conference room... all had livid faces and heavy breathing, as if they had been fed a ton of flies on the spot.

Shen Mubai clenched his fists tightly, his nails almost digging into his palms.

He finally realized—

Lu Yu fucking did it on purpose!!!

They originally wanted to use this cooperation to make Taoyuan Township fall flat on its face, but now, Lu Yu has taken advantage of the situation and pushed their Apocalypse Group to the forefront!

The higher you blow, the harder you fall.

They... were tricked!

The atmosphere in the Taoyuanxiang studio's office area is as quiet and orderly as ever. The clacking of keyboards, the low hum of the coffee machine, and the occasional rustle of flipping through documents interweave to form a soothing background sound.

However, today Liu Mengyuan was in turmoil and unable to calm down.

Her fingers tapped lightly on the table, her eyes fixed on the computer screen in front of her, her brows slightly furrowed, and a complex emotion flashed in her eyes.

On the screen is a data analysis report on the latest version of "Don't Play This Game".

The growth rate is astonishing, the player retention rate is extremely high, and the user feedback on the AI ​​dynamic system is almost overwhelmingly positive...

More importantly, although the team's development pace is already fast enough, there is still a lot of room for expansion in the core gameplay and world view of the entire game.

This means... they can go even further!
Liu Mengyuan took a deep breath and his eyes gradually became firm.

She finally understood.

Mr. Lu’s plan is far larger and more far-reaching than they imagined!

The beginning of misunderstanding

Thinking back on the past few months, the more Liu Mengyuan thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

At first, she thought Lu Yu was just a "Buddhist boss" who took a laissez-faire approach to the company's operations and was even a little too leisurely.

But then, she began to sense something was wrong.

such as--

She originally thought that Lu Yu didn't care about the research and development progress because he was too lazy to take care of it.

But what about the facts?

Whenever they encountered a technical bottleneck that was difficult to break through, Lu Yu could always "inadvertently" give them key inspiration to solve the problem.

She originally thought that Lu Yu had no interest in marketing and was even too lazy to ask about the game's promotional plan.

But what about the facts?

Whenever industry competition intensifies and rivals like Apocalypse Group try to suppress "Don't Play This Game", Lu Yu can always easily resolve the crisis in a way that makes people "incomprehensible but shocking", and even make his rivals suffer the consequences.

Can these things really be explained by "good luck"?
impossible!
The only reasonable explanation is that Lu Yu had already seen through everything, but just deliberately didn't say it out loud!

He seemed to be giving up, but in fact he was using a "strategic perspective beyond ordinary people" to guide them, allowing them to grow independently and making the entire team become stronger without realizing it.

This is a true top manager!
Thinking of this, Liu Mengyuan's breathing quickened involuntarily. She finally understood Lu Yu's intention.

He is not ignoring the company, but is "delegating power to train the team" and letting them explore, grow and evolve on their own!

It’s not that he doesn’t care about research and development, but that he is “giving them the greatest degree of freedom” so that they can break through the constraints of the industry and truly create an unprecedented gaming experience!
It’s not that he doesn’t care about the market, but he is “deliberately showing weakness” to make the entire industry underestimate them. When they really explode, the entire market will be caught off guard!
This is a big game, and they are the key pieces in this game!

Liu Mengyuan's eyes gradually became fanatical.

She clenched her fists and secretly made up her mind——

Since President Lu has already shown them the direction, she must not let him down!
That night, Liu Mengyuan quietly gathered several core team members and held an "informal meeting" in the conference room.

"Everyone, I have something important to discuss with you."

She glanced at everyone present with her sharp eyes, her tone firm and full of fighting spirit.

"We can no longer advance the project at the slow pace we did before. We must speed up R&D, expand our business, and take the worldview and gameplay of Don't Play This Game to the extreme!"

Everyone was stunned and showed surprised expressions.

"why?"

Program Director Chu Xiong frowned. "The game is already very successful. Players' reputation and market feedback are very stable. Why are you suddenly speeding up the pace?"

Liu Mengyuan took a deep breath, his tone more resolute than ever before: "Because Mr. Lu's plan is far beyond our imagination."

She lowered her voice, her eyes flashing with a fanatical glint: "Have you ever thought about why President Lu never gives us clear instructions directly?"

"Why is it that every time it's a major decision, he always has an attitude of 'whatever you want to do'?"

"Why does he always act like he's on vacation, not caring about anything, when he could easily be in control of the situation?"

Everyone looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

Liu Mengyuan tapped the table lightly, his voice deep and powerful, "Because he's seen through everything a long time ago. He's 'cultivating' us, letting us explore on our own, to improve, and to break through the ceiling of the industry!"

She took a deep breath, her eyes firm: "We cannot betray his trust. We must take the initiative to attack, to expand, to explore, to create an era that truly belongs to Taoyuan Township!"

In the conference room, after a brief silence, the atmosphere gradually became heated.

Chu Xiong slowly raised his head, a smile on his face: "Hearing you say that, it does make sense."

Art Director Yang Cheng also nodded, his eyes gleaming with fighting spirit: "Since President Lu has created the best environment for us, we must not let him down."

Marketing Director Zhang Qiqi gritted her teeth and couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, then let go completely and do a great job!"

Liu Mengyuan nodded vigorously, his eyes determined: "From today on, we will fully accelerate research and development to push "Don't Play This Game" to unprecedented heights!"

In the next few months, the entire Taoyuanxiang studio fell into a "frenzy state" of ultra-high-speed operation.

The program group's code submission record soared from 50 times a day to 200 times. Everyone was frantically optimizing the AI ​​system to make the game world more realistic and dynamic.

The modelers in the art team worked overtime all night to create an astonishing number of new scenes, characters, and monsters, making the world view of "Don't Play This Game" even larger and more detailed.

The marketing team's publicity campaign was fully launched, and the global promotion plan was rapidly implemented. In just a few weeks, the attention to "Don't Play This Game" soared again, becoming the hottest topic in the gaming circle.

The entire industry was shocked by Taoyuan Township’s “runaway mode”.

However, as the "behind-the-scenes pusher" of all this, Lu Yu still looks like he's on a leisurely vacation, drinking coffee every day and looking at the scenery outside the window, as if all this has nothing to do with him.

He didn't even know—

He was simply too lazy to take charge, but was misunderstood as a "far-sighted business genius", which unexpectedly drove the rapid development of the entire company.

Taoyuan Township has unknowingly become the most terrifying existence in the entire gaming industry.

"Mr. Lu, are you serious?"

Planning director Liu Mengyuan held the notebook in his hand, and the expression on his face could no longer be described as "shocked", but rather a kind of confusion as to "what on earth is going on in this world?"

Opposite her, Lu Yu sat calmly on the sofa, taking a leisurely sip of coffee, and said casually: "Of course, otherwise why would I call you to a meeting?"

"But... can what you just said really be done?" Liu Mengyuan swallowed and forced himself not to be overwhelmed by the outrageous idea that Lu Yu just proposed.

Lu Yu shrugged casually: "Whether it can be done or not, you will know if you try it. Besides, I am just making a suggestion. As for how you implement it, that is your business."

There was dead silence in the conference room.

Everyone looked at each other with complicated expressions.

They had already witnessed the "horror" of Mr. Lu's imagination, but this time... it seemed to have refreshed their cognitive bottom line.

"First of all, I hope to add a 'time reversal' system to the game."

Lu Yu spoke lightly, his tone so relaxed as if he was discussing what to eat for lunch.

"Specifically, players can rewind time at any time within the game world and influence past decisions. However, these decisions cannot simply be saved and loaded. Instead, the entire game world's NPCs and plot must dynamically adapt to the player's rewind behavior."

Liu Mengyuan: “…”

Everyone in the Planning Department: “…”

Wait, isn't this the real-life "Butterfly Effect"?!
Although their game already utilizes the most advanced AI dynamic calculation technology, to achieve this level of performance... this is no longer just a normal game concept, but closer to the setting of a science fiction movie, right?!

However, Lu Yu's outrageous remarks were not over yet.

"Secondly, I hope to add an 'ecological evolution system' to the game."

"Every battle and every exploration by the player will affect the world's ecology. For example, after a powerful monster is defeated, its offspring may evolve new abilities, and even the entire food chain may change."

"For example, if a player plants a tree, ten years later that tree may become a forest, and even affect the climate of the entire terrain."

The corners of Liu Mengyuan's mouth trembled slightly, and he felt that his brain had started to run at high speed uncontrollably.

All she could think of was—

This is not an ordinary game at all, but a living, real "digital world"!
However, Lu Yu remained calm and continued, "Finally, I hope to add a 'civilization evolution system'."

"Every choice the player makes will affect the direction of world civilization. For example, if the player introduces a new agricultural technology to a village, then a few decades later, that village may develop into a major agricultural country and even influence the course of world history."

“Of course, all NPCs must have the ability to learn autonomously and dynamically adjust their cognition based on the player’s behavior.”

"Simply put, we want this game world to truly possess the ability to 'self-evolve.'" (End of this chapter)