As the saying goes, if it’s none of your business, just hang up high and let it be.

The discussions about Garden Warfare were buzzing wildly.

It seemed everyone was intensely focused on the game’s final quality and whether Golden Wind had truly run out of creative steam, sparking heated debates.

The hype was high.

But in reality, those with direct or indirect stakes in Golden Wind weren’t paying their main attention to this game.

For example, Yiyou.

And Komera.

More precisely—Moriya Tetsuya.

Something was off.

When Moriya first saw the news that Golden Wind was going all-out to develop Garden Warfare, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

And when he saw Golden Wind make no public response, while media, competitors, and players were all discussing it, that ominous feeling deepened!

Although!

Golden Wind’s skirmish with Komera seemed to have reached a temporary pause.

The final outcome of their battle was Komera disbanding Yamamoto Studio, Silent Hill’s flop, and Escape’s massive success.

But Moriya always felt this wasn’t over.

Having had multiple contacts with Gu Sheng, he knew that although Gu Sheng appeared easygoing, often smiling and friendly to anyone,

in truth, Mr. Gu was a man of firm will and resolute attitude.

Since they had openly clashed with Komera, according to Moriya’s understanding of him, stopping halfway was impossible.

Either don’t fight at all, or fight to the bitter end.

Because Golden Wind ultimately had to expand outward.

And Komera, their enemy, was the gaming hegemon of the Eastern Hemisphere.

So, whether officially or personally, Gu Sheng would never just back down and maintain “separate waters.”

Because everyone knew “separate waters” didn’t exist.

The market share was limited.

If you take one bite more, I get one bite less.

Moreover, the grudge between them was not about minor shares.

The horror game clash had cost Komera tens of millions!

Uekoe Kagemasa absolutely wouldn’t swallow this silent loss, and Gu Sheng knew it too.

The two sides would fight sooner or later.

For Golden Wind, it was better to strike early than late, to strike hard while Komera’s reputation was still recovering, and give them a knockout blow.

And now!

The best opportunity for that knockout blow—

“Is this year’s Higashitsu Gaming Festival.”

Thinking this, Moriya shuddered involuntarily!

This is bad!

That crafty Gu Sheng was about to pull his old tricks again!

Previously, they had used To the Moon’s charity event as a cover, then pulled out Escape to ambush Komera’s Silent Hill on time!

This time, they had concocted what seemed like a reasonable but actually absurd “main project” Garden Warfare.

But in truth, who knew what evil they were hiding, what real main project they planned to ambush offline!

Not good! Not good!

Remember!

This time, Komera had invested even more manpower, material, and money to restore their lost momentum at the Higashitsu Gaming Festival, with three major studios creating three heavyweight flagship titles!

They were: Hotspot Rally: Return, developed by Takasugi Studio, with a total investment of about 113 million dollars.

This was a story-driven racing game, mainly telling the tale of young driver Yamato Okita, who was once framed and imprisoned but now released, returning for revenge and to reclaim glory.

Next was Nishikawa Studio, one of the newly recognized “Big Three,” taking on a major role for the first time. They focused on stability and produced Wild Dunk EX, with a total investment of about 97 million dollars.

Similarly, this sports game also had a fixed storyline, about a street basketball youth who gradually rose from the streets to world competitions.

It was clear.

Since Golden Wind’s Titanfall had conquered the market with exquisite storytelling paired with superb game quality,

the entire gaming market had started to emphasize “storytelling.”

Racing games needed stories, sports games needed stories.

Of course!

Even these two genres began adding dramatic storylines.

As the FPS genre among the “guns, cars, balls” trio with the largest market share and most suitable for narrative, naturally it needed stronger storytelling.

So much so that!

The veteran Big Three studio Koizumi Studio, always neck and neck with Yamamoto Studio, prepared a pure single-player 3S-grade masterpiece for this year’s Higashitsu Gaming Festival—Torii: Phantom Shadow.

The story took place in a fictional city called Torii, modeled after Higashitsu.

Originally, Torii was a prosperous metropolis, but one day, all its inhabitants suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving only the protagonist.

When night falls, the protagonist discovers he is not alone—urban legends like the slit-mouthed woman, the Eight-Foot Woman, and cherry blossom spirits appear.

The protagonist’s mission is to defeat these ghosts and uncover the mystery behind the city’s population disappearance.

It sounded like an RPG, and indeed, the protagonist’s attack style had RPG flair—

Players didn’t use guns to attack ghosts but various talismans.

According to the game’s setting, the protagonist, i.e., the player, was a modern-day onmyoji, a descendant of Abe no Seimei.

So players could perform hand seals and chants or burn talismans, casting all kinds of cool spells to take down attacking spirits.

Though the basic routine was still “aim and shoot,”

the experience of shooting bullets versus casting spells was completely different, especially in the motion-sensing pod, where the design was even more intuitive.

Of course!

To maximize industrial-level quality, this game’s cost was naturally high.

After all, it was a 3S-grade masterpiece.

The estimated total cost for Torii: Phantom Shadow was a staggering 189 million dollars—a truly “high-cost,” “major production”!

This was Komera’s chance for a comeback!

Moriya broke out in a cold sweat behind the scenes!

Especially Torii!

When the project started, chief designer Koizumi Kazuo personally declared—they would clean up the mess left by Yamamoto Tsunashiro!

In other words, the company’s expectations for this game were not just to break even or make a profit.

More importantly, it was their hope to recover previous losses!

And Koizumi dared to make this statement and take such a stance precisely because Yamamoto Tsunashiro was out!

He wanted to become the head of the Big Three!

But now!

Golden Wind was secretly brewing a thunderstorm.

Moriya didn’t know what method Gu Sheng would use to launch a sudden attack.

But one thing was certain—never underestimate Golden Wind!

Thinking this, Moriya stood up, wanting to immediately find Uekoe Kagemasa and warn him to be cautious of Golden Wind’s sudden strike.

It would be best to get ahead and investigate Golden Wind’s true main project, plan in advance, prepare PR and marketing strategies, with special targeting!

However!

Before he could take a step!

Buzz—

His phone suddenly vibrated.

Moriya pulled out his phone.

Just one glance!

He froze on the spot—

Incoming call: Gu Sheng Sam

This… this is…

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

Why was Gu Sheng suddenly calling him now?

What did he want?

What was he going to say?

Moriya wanted to let the call drop, pretending he didn’t see it.

But Gu Sheng was very persistent, calling again after no response on the first call!

Moriya couldn’t resist anymore!

Swipe—

Answered.

“Hello, Mr. Gu? Sorry, I didn’t see you just now, private Marseilles—”

While speaking, Moriya walked to the office door and locked it tight:

“Is there something you need?”

“Haha, Sasiburi, Moriya-san, can’t I just call to say hello if there’s nothing else?”

On the other end, Gu Sheng laughed lightly.

“No, no,”

Moriya hurriedly shook his head with a forced smile:

“Mr. Gu knows I don’t mean anything by that.”

“Of course, just joking, Moriya-san, don’t mind,” Gu Sheng chuckled, “How have you been lately?”

“Okay… okay…”

Moriya’s smile was somewhat bitter.

I’m just a lantern, I’m fine.

What have you done to us, what impact you caused, what loss you inflicted—don’t you know yourself?

Are we okay?

It took more than half a year to recover a bit, and now you’re up to more tricks.

“As long as you’re okay, haha,”

Gu Sheng sounded in a good mood:

“So, in a couple of days, I plan to visit Neon. Do you have time? Want to grab a casual meal? I kind of miss that eel rice place.”

At these words!

Moriya trembled involuntarily.

Gu Sheng was coming to Neon?

What was he coming for?

“Mr. Gu is coming to Higashitsu? Is it for business or…?”

Moriya asked.

“Uh… a bit of both,”

Gu Sheng replied:

“A revisit and some company affairs.”

“Oh—”

Moriya pursed his lips, his mind spinning fast:

“When are you coming? Shall I pick you up at the airport?”

“Ah—no need to trouble yourself, Moriya-san, you’re busy,”

Gu Sheng said:

“As long as you’re willing to meet for a casual meal, that’s good enough. I can catch up with you and also talk about… uh… well…”

At this, Gu Sheng suddenly hesitated.

Moriya hated this fishing method the most.

Even though he knew it was bait, he couldn’t help but bite.

“Mr. Gu, do you need my help with something?”

Moriya asked.

“Uh… hehe… well…”

Gu Sheng seemed a little embarrassed on the other end:

“Actually, there is a small matter I need your help with.”

Saying this, Gu Sheng cleared his throat and cautiously asked, “Moriya-san… is now a good time?”

“Yes, it is,” Moriya nodded, “I’m in my office alone.”

“Oh—that’s good,”

Gu Sheng sighed with relief:

“Actually, this matter… well, I probably shouldn’t be telling you,”

“But since you’re one of the few close friends I have in Neon, I shouldn’t keep it from you,”

“Here’s the thing,”

“We’re preparing a motion-sensing pod action game,”

“The rumors about the PVZ projects are all wild guesses,”

“This action game is our real main project, and the leads are your old acquaintances, Sato and Yuki,”

“Since it’s an action game, we definitely need motion capture for CG, and we’ve also added a brand-new motion assist system that requires motion capture actors to provide motion data,”

“I originally thought of going to the United States or Gallia,”

“But our game contains many Japanese-style elements,”

“After all, it’s prepared for the Higashitsu Gaming Festival,”

“So I was wondering if you could help introduce some kendo masters in Neon? Or excellent motion capture actors?”

“Of course, it’s okay if you can’t. This is just an ungracious request, and I hope you won’t take offense if it’s too abrupt…”

He laid it all out!

Action game! Main project! New technology! Participating in the gaming festival!!!

Everything at once!

After hearing this, Moriya was speechless for a long time, his pupils twitching!

How dare he?!

Doesn’t he know who I am?

I’m Komera’s executive in Neon!

How dare he reveal this directly to me?!

After nearly half a minute of silence, Moriya slowly said, “Gu… Mr. Gu… isn’t this your company’s business secret?!”

“Hey, it’s not exactly a big secret,”

Gu Sheng chuckled:

“Besides, even if it were, Mr. Moriya, wouldn’t I trust you enough?”

One sentence!

Completely stunned Moriya!

“I… I…”

Moriya said “I” five times in a row!

Finally, he sighed deeply in his heart:

Mr. Gu… is truly a genius!

He knows who I am, he knows what he’s saying, and he knows he shouldn’t be telling me this!

But that’s exactly why he had to say it!

Had to say it before I could!

No wonder millions of players worldwide were completely under this man’s control!

If time could rewind, I’d rather not have heard your entire plan…

“Ah—!!!”

A heavy sigh of inevitability sounded!

Moriya’s voice came through the receiver—

…

“…I know some excellent motion capture teams. Let’s meet then, catch up, and discuss in detail!”

“Great! Thank you, Moriya-san!”

Click.

The call ended.

Gu Sheng pocketed his phone.

On the other side, Lu Bian, Da Jiang, and Little Nezha—all three were dumbfounded!!!

Damn you, Old Thief! Betraying us in front of a group of executives?!

What the hell… is this operation?!

“Why are you all staring at me like that?”

Gu Sheng shrugged:

“Do I have flowers growing on my face?”

“…No,”

After a moment of silence, Da Jiang said:

“But if you don’t explain clearly, you might get flowers opened on your face.”

You’re joking, right, big bro!

We secretly stir up those “rumors” just to create a smokescreen for Komera, delaying our announcement of participation in Higashitsu Gaming Festival for another ambush, right?

But you went and stabbed Komera’s game executive directly?!

“This… I… I don’t understand!”

Lu Bian was baffled:

“We were ready to fight to the death! Why does Your Majesty betray us???”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com