Without Earth Games involved in planning, WeChat Games finally showed their true colors.
Players noticed that after "Happy Landlord" launched, they were losing beans much faster, and the system's subsidies had dropped from ten to just four times a day. If they kept losing, five matches in a row could easily end their playtime for the day.
The only other option was to go back to "Happy Mahjong" for the daily minimum beans. But as a money-making game, "Happy Landlord's" setup was actually more reasonable. It wouldn't be long before "Happy Mahjong" followed the same model, leaving no way for players to juggle between the two.
Of course, the downside was that it could damage the studio's reputation. But William decided not to worry about it. Once more Happy Universe games were released, he'd quietly spread the word that Earth Games hadn't been involved in any Happy Universe titles after "Happy Mahjong," so any unfriendly changes had nothing to do with them.
After a whole night of play, "Happy Landlord" brought Earth Games nearly $41.781, "Happy Mahjong" $61.279, and "Happy Match Mania" $42.481, with total revenue breaking almost $150k mark.
If it weren't for giving away half of "Happy Mahjong's" revenue, the company's profit would've doubled. But you win some, you lose some — and William believed they'd earn even more after the global release.
Morning.
Cynthia always woke up a bit earlier than William. She was sipping milk when he came over, and she said, "Riverdale TV wants to do a special interview with you. Interested?"
"Riverdale TV?" William thought of Wendy, the one he had turned down with two phones. "Better not."
"Why?" Cynthia asked.
"Uh…" William didn't really want to explain what happened back then. "How about you do the interview instead?"
Cynthia said, "But they specifically asked to interview you."
William's eyelid twitched. "A woman?"
"Yeah."
"Wendy?"
"How did you know?" Cynthia was surprised.
Well, looks like there's no escaping this.
William told Cynthia what had happened back then. After hearing the story, Cynthia quietly gave him a thumbs-up. "Impressive."
William sighed. "I just didn't know what to do at the time."
"Why not just tell the truth?"
"Sigh."
"Alright, since she wants to interview you, just let her. You're not scared she's going to eat you, right?" Cynthia turned and walked into the kitchen.
That settled it. William really had no good reason to refuse. And like Cynthia said, Wendy wasn't going to literally eat him. The interview was meant to give the studio more exposure, and it's not like she'd come with bad intentions.
They say the prettier a woman is, the more she holds a grudge… hopefully not.
William spent the whole morning at work feeling uneasy, even though all three projects were progressing well. He just couldn't be happy because after lunch, he'd have to go for the interview.
"Want me to help you practice?" Cynthia stood at the doorway of his office.
William had chosen to eat lunch alone in his office so he could focus on thinking about how to handle the interview.
It almost felt like the nerves from a job interview.
"Alright."
Cynthia closed the door, pulled over Angela's chair, and sat facing William. "Mr. William, you're so young. What made you decide to make games?"
"Wait, wait, wait." William held up his hand. "Forget it. This just feels weird."
"What's wrong?" Cynthia crossed her legs. "You don't like role-playing?"
It felt like there was some hidden meaning in her words, but William didn't notice. "I'm just not used to it."
"Fine, then just wing it this afternoon." Cynthia got up and left.
Riverdale TV station.
After calling Wendy, the guard let them through. William arrived with Cynthia so that if anything unexpected happened during the interview, she could step in to help.
They took the elevator to the sixth floor, where Wendy was waiting in the studio.
"Welcome, welcome."
Sitting in front of a green screen, Wendy stood up to greet them. "Sorry I couldn't come downstairs to meet you. I had to help with some setup before we go live."
"Understandable," Cynthia replied.
"We meet again," Wendy said with a warm smile to William.
William forced a smile. "You're even prettier than last time."
"Thank you." Wendy turned to Cynthia. "I didn't expect Earth Games' manager to be such a beauty."
"Compared to Riverdale TV's star host, I'm still far behind," Cynthia replied, starting the polite flattery exchange.
"You're too modest." Wendy pointed toward the green screen. "Let's go have a seat."
"Sure."
After sitting down, Wendy crossed her legs in black stockings. "Today's interview is about the journey of game development. I imagine Mr. William has plenty of stories to share with us?"
William glanced awkwardly at the camera on the side. "Has it started already?"
"Not yet. We'll do a quick run-through first so we're prepared later."
This time it wasn't Cynthia pretending to be the host—it was real practice.
"Then… can I say no?"
Wendy smiled. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"
If he had to give a reason, it would be because of the system's influence—but he couldn't say that. Another reason was his love for games after being a player for over ten years, but he couldn't say that either.
So there was nothing he could say.
"I'm serious. I just wanted to make games, so I started making games. There wasn't really any special story behind it."
Wendy glanced at Cynthia, hoping she'd jump in.
Cynthia said calmly, "That's just how our boss is. If he wants to do something, he does it. But he won't do anything he's not confident about. As long as it's something he wants to do, he'll make it great."
"Sounds like you have a lot of faith in him."
Cynthia said, "Don't you think so too?"
Wendy paused for a second, then nodded. "You're right."
"In that case, let's stick to talking about game-related stuff."
"I'm fine with that."
That was something William could talk about.
"Alright, then let's skip the rehearsal and start for real."
Wendy gestured to the other side of the studio.
"Is that okay?"
William immediately got nervous. This was his first time showing his face to millions of players—if he messed it up, he'd be a joke.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
When the director finished counting down, Wendy sat up straight and looked at the camera. "Welcome to tonight's 'Let's Talk' show. Today we're honored to have the two founders of Earth Games with us. Let's welcome them."
Cynthia owned shares in Earth Games and helped build the company, so Wendy's intro was accurate.
"Hello, everyone."
William copied Wendy and greeted the camera.
"Hi there."
Cynthia looked way more relaxed than him.