"Boss."
The voice outside the room surprised William. Ever since they moved into the villa, this was the first time Cynthia had knocked on his door.
"Come in."
Cynthia walked in wearing a bathrobe, looking like she had just taken a shower—enough to make anyone's blood race.
"What's wrong?"
William kept his thoughts in check. No matter how much he wanted to use "All-Knowing Insight" to peek under that robe, his sense of morality won out.
Cynthia bit her lip and said softly, "There's a bug."
"Huh?" William didn't catch that.
She gathered her courage and said, "There's a bug in my room. Can you help me get rid of it?"
"Oh."
He let out a sigh of relief. For a moment, he thought…
Luckily, no.
After helping Cynthia get rid of the bugs in her room, this was William's first time inside. Compared to his own room, hers was nicely decorated, and even the air carried a sweet fragrance.
"To thank you for killing the bugs, why don't you stay over tonight?"
Sitting on the bed, Cynthia stroked her thigh and gave him a seductive look.
"Goodbye!"
Without a second thought, William slammed the door and left. He didn't even need to check the musical notes above her head to know she was teasing him.
Back in his own room, William wasn't sleepy after resting so much during the day, so he continued working on developing "Craftsman's Wood." As for those resumes, he had checked them and found no issues, so Cynthia could handle arranging interview times and places later.
As usual, he checked the revenue for both games at midnight.
"Happy Mahjong": $65.498
"Happy Match Mania": $30.727
Not looking good.
If nothing special happens, "Happy Mahjong" will probably stay around two million per day in the short term. But "Happy Match Mania" is clearly on the decline. Unless they suddenly add a hundred new levels, its income will likely keep dropping day by day.
No ads, no policy bonuses—the company's operational issues are now fully exposed.
Relying purely on the quality of the game to make players pay isn't impossible, but the challenge is keeping it going. Each player will only spend so much on the same game unless there are constant events and content updates. Otherwise, they have to keep making new games to attract spending.
Fortunately, the company still has strong funds, and with the system in place, development costs can be kept to a minimum. Game development is unpredictable, so avoiding detours saves a lot of time. Even though the studio only has nine people on payroll, monthly salaries add up to nearly 200,000, which all counts toward development costs.
Right now, William's biggest hope is that the "Craftsman's Wood" show becomes a hit. Even if he doesn't put ads inside the game, he doesn't mind accepting ads in the variety show. In fact, without sponsors, the show would have no income at all.
So far, online feedback about "Craftsman's Wood" is very positive. The tie-in with the variety show has sparked a lot of excitement, and there are already over a million comments across the internet. But since it's still just a trial version, the system tasks aren't fully completed yet.
If players are still this enthusiastic when the full version goes live, he'll really owe them his thanks.
Sunday.
William took the day off from Aunt Lisa early because he had to report to the driving school. He was supposed to wait a month or two, but as soon as Cynthia heard he signed up, she immediately pulled some strings to skip the wait so he could take the test anytime.
Driving, Cynthia asked skeptically, "Did you really study?"
"Don't worry."
William hadn't bothered with practice questions. He only did two mock tests, and the questions were the same as he remembered. As an experienced driver without a car, his theory knowledge was still solid.
He easily passed the first test.
As he left the test site, the examiner kindly told him he could take the second part within the month and should make good use of the time. But before he even got out the door, Cynthia had already made arrangements—he could take the second test that afternoon.
"You've got incredible connections!"
William was amazed at her network. In a society based on favors, connections are the greatest treasure.
"You just need to make sure you pass."
Cynthia remembered clearly how William bragged that he could pass every test on the first try without any practice. Whether it was to see him eat his words or because she was tired of being his driver, she was doing everything to help him get his license.
Lunch, of course, cost him dearly. Cynthia picked only the best places—if it was under 1,000 per person, she wouldn't even look. But William was starting to enjoy this lifestyle and was willing to pay.
After eating, Cynthia said, "This place is pretty average. We won't come again."
William agreed. The dishes looked refined but didn't taste special, and the portions were tiny. They still weren't full—might as well have gone next door for a bowl of beef noodles.
In the afternoon, William passed the second test smoothly, though not as effortlessly as he bragged. After so many years without driving, he was a bit rusty, but he got through it safely, giving Cynthia another excuse to eat out.
The third test was set for next week. Once he passes that, he basically has his license, though the fourth test will take a couple of extra days. Until then, he still can't drive on the road.
Either way, Cynthia's days as his driver were numbered, which put her in a good mood. When they got home, she even organized a Mahjong game in the company group chat.
Ever since William mastered "Mahjong Skills," his interest in the game had dropped sharply. Now he crushed anyone he played against—if he wanted, it was impossible to lose. Maybe only a Mahjong tournament could give him a real challenge, but he clearly didn't have the time for that.
After giving Cynthia a few tips and helping her win some big hands, William went back to his room to continue working on "Craftsman's Wood."
Although he had rushed to build the system for the trial version before, it only had basic functions and lacked polish. But that work would come after all the modeling was done. For now, the main focus was completing all the artifact models and designing their crafting steps.
He wasn't the only one working overtime on the weekend. In fact, everyone had started to find fun in the job. It wasn't just Marcus who loved trying out different games anymore.
Angela and Zach were experiencing the storyline early while making the animations.
Leon and Tina were feeling the game content ahead of time while creating the characters.
Chris and Claire were both working solo, but they'd have their own teams in the near future. These tough times were preparing them for greater responsibilities later on.
If there's anyone the studio can't do without, it's probably Cynthia—the one who looks like she's slacking off every day, but in fact, gets everything done and never fails at anything. The effort she puts into the studio is no less than William's.
Is all of this just for money?
No, they have a bigger goal in mind.