After Claire left, William sent her an email with an attachment: the demo that showed off their game engine's tech the most clearly.
It wasn't as flashy as top-tier movie special effects, but every scene in the demo was interactive. Unlike film and TV, games create an interactive world—one players can fully dive into.
When a player controls a character to explore places they've only ever seen in movies, and lives out the character's story—epic adventures, touching love stories, deep friendships—it's no longer a performance by actors on a screen. It becomes a real experience for the player.
The demo didn't have a story or gameplay yet, but William believed Claire would be able to see the potential in it.
Time to continue working on the Honor of Kings map.
The reason for making it first was to better explain the game features to the team later. Instead of just talking about it, having a war simulation laid out makes everything easier to understand.
["Life Restart Simulator" hits over 500 million active users! Milestone unlocked!]
[Milestone reward: +1 reputation point]
Seeing the notification, William felt a bit let down. Both the 50 million and 100 million milestones in Life Restart Simulator only gave one reputation point each.
"Why don't milestones come with treasure chests anymore?"
[Milestone rewards are based on the first condition you meet. So once you complete one kind of milestone first, you won't get rewards for the others.]
"Alright then."
…
Finally, just before the end of the workday, Tina arrived at the studio entrance.
"Sorry, I was delayed because of work."
Tina worked in a nearby city to Riverdale—apparently, she and Marcus were from the same hometown.
"It's okay, come on in."
William led her into the office. As soon as she sat down, Tina spoke up right away: "Should I start by introducing myself?"
"Go ahead."
"I graduated from the Special Effects Department of Yijiang Film & VFX Tech Academy. I've been in the top three of my class for years. My final project was chosen as the main promo piece for a media event in Yijiang City. I own the rights to 70% of the virtual characters I've created. In my current company, I lead the tech team—basically the head of special effects." Tina said it all in one go.
On this planet, while being an actor was seen as glamorous, the industry's standards for acting were higher than ever. And for various reasons, many productions didn't use real actors. That's where virtual humans came in.
Virtual characters weren't much different from CGI roles in movies. The only difference was that they had official copyright, names, jobs, and backstories.
Each virtual person created was like adding a new citizen to a digital world. They were unique and could appear in any show or film.
Whether a virtual person became popular depended on their backstory and the projects they starred in. The most successful ones even had dedicated AIs that handled fan interaction, livestreaming, and event appearances—almost like real people.
Tina had listed her creations on her resume. Her most well-known one had over a million followers and had starred in three movies and one TV show—once as the lead, twice as a supporting role, and once as a regular on a variety show.
Unfortunately, the rights for that character were owned by her company. Not surprising—if William were in the same position, he wouldn't want to promote a virtual character that wasn't company property either.
Still, just because she didn't own the rights didn't mean the credit wasn't hers. It was obvious she had a real knack for creating characters. She also noted in her resume that she taught herself AI development.
"To give virtual characters basic conversation skills and scene imagination." That was how she described it.
William wasn't sure how advanced her AI knowledge really was, but judging by the video she attached—if that performance wasn't just following a preset script—then it was honestly impressive.
That video gave William the feeling of playing Detroit: Become Human. Not as realistic as the game, of course, but you could clearly see the potential.
"I've looked at the characters you created. They've got personality."
"Thank you."
"Why do you want to join our company?"
"Because I think games are a fresh start. Everyone's on equal footing. And if we're starting from the same place, I don't think I'm worse than anyone. I want to prove it."
By "they," she obviously meant the people who looked down on her because of her academic background.
William nodded. "It is a new field. But do you think you're someone who can stand on that field?"
"I do." Tina's tone was firm.
"Then prove it to me."
William didn't waste words. Her talent could absolutely shine in the game world—it all came down to whether she could adapt.
"I'll do my best!"
It was the first time Tina smiled since she walked in. Up until now, she'd been pretty tense.
Since Cynthia wasn't around, William didn't know how to handle the onboarding. But Tina still needed to go back and formally resign from her current job anyway. They'd let Cynthia take care of things once Tina returned.
After work, William went home.
As soon as he opened the door, he smelled something delicious.
The sounds of cooking in the kitchen were wrapping up. Even though William was the only one eating, the housekeeper had still made three dishes and a soup.
"Want to eat together?" William asked, feeling awkward eating alone while she stood there.
She shook her head. "I'll cook something at home."
"That's too much trouble. Let's just eat together," William didn't mind having her join him.
"That's not proper," the aunt still insisted.
William smiled. "What's proper or not? Just think of it as having a meal with a younger person."
Seeing him insist, the aunt stopped refusing. "Alright then."
At the table, William learned that her name was Oliver. She was in her early fifties and had taken early retirement from the factory due to health reasons. She'd been doing housework jobs for two or three years, mostly short-term gigs. This was her first long-term job.
When William asked where she lived, her answer was surprising.
She owned an apartment downtown—her child had bought it for her.
A home in the city center easily costs tens of millions. William couldn't figure out why she still chose to work.
"Why not just enjoy your life at home?"
"Enjoy what? My kids aren't around, my husband's gone. Sitting at home alone every day—what kind of life is that? I'd rather go out and keep myself busy," Aunt Oliver said.
"Then why not just live here? It'd be easier for you. No need to commute early in the morning or late at night—it's not safe."
The reason William said that wasn't complicated. Seeing Aunt Oliver reminded him a little of his own grandma.
"Oh no, I can't do that—I've got a dog at home."
"Then bring it here. That way you won't have to worry."
"Well…" Aunt Oliver was thrown off by how sincere he was.
"Let's wait until Cynthia gets back and talk about it then."
"Fair enough."
Technically, this house had two owners, so it made sense to hear Cynthia's opinion. If she didn't agree and William insisted, it could cause tension.
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