Chapter 24: New Game, Beat the Grass Mud Horse¹!

“We are ordinary people.”

“We encounter many things in reality that we are powerless to change, yet we are forced to endure.”

“Many of these things are truly disgusting…”

“You’re dying to clench your fists, dying to beat them into a pulp and then spit on them…”

“For instance, the parents of certain bratty kids, the sanctimonious ‘Holy Mothers’ in TV dramas, or that balding boss…”

“But in the end, we can only bottle it up. We have no way to vent because we are civilized people, refined people…”

“I believe that it’s not just us, many players feel the same way!”

“I’ve always felt that games are another world. Many people who are tormented by reality come to games longing for a good way to vent…”

“Now, we are providing them with such a platform!”

“We will make the cathartic games they need!”

“…”

It was morning.

Inside the office.

Zhang Yang stood by the projector, chewing gum as he introduced the original intention behind his game design.

Yesterday…

The news about the bratty kid and the numerous comments from netizens below it had sparked something in his mind.

He suddenly thought of a small web game from his original world.

The name of that game was “Dad ‘n Me.”

Back when he was in middle school, he had played that game during computer class.

Although it looked very low-budget by his current standards and lacked any real technical depth, he had played it with immense excitement and satisfaction back then.

In fact, that game held a certain weight in the hearts of many players, and its overall traffic was quite significant.

And then!

At that moment…

A flash of inspiration hit him!

If he used the side-scrolling combat template of “Dad ‘n Me” and paired it with some frustrating scenarios from real life, then…

Would it create a unique stress-relieving effect?

What kind of characters would people detest?

“Holy Mothers, manipulative ‘Green Tea’ types, meddling male besties, overbearing bosses, bratty kids, snitches, mothers-in-law demanding exorbitant dowries…”

There were simply too many such characters…

Take these characters and plug them into the “Dad ‘n Me” template!

Then…

There would surely be at least one that players could project their frustrations onto!

“President Zhang, what’s the name of this game?” Zhao Hang asked subconsciously, staring at the text descriptions on the projector with a sudden sense of novelty.

“This game is called, Beat the Grass Mud Horse!”

“…”

Upon hearing this name, Zhong Chongwen, who was in the middle of drinking water, instantly spat it out.

He stared blankly at Zhang Yang and stammered, “Pre-President Zhang, this name, won’t it… won’t it get harmonized? Why does it sound like a curse word?”

“It won’t be harmonized! And it fits the theme perfectly. In fact, we can take that highway from ‘Desert Bicycle’ and replace all the game characters with horse templates. I’ve considered this very seriously. These horses will include the Balding Boss Horse, the Bratty Kid Horse, the Long-Haired Parent Horse, the Radiant Holy Mother Horse…”

“They are all just groups of horses at the end of the desert highway, out on the prairie, smelling the fragrance of the mud. How is that swearing?”

“…”

Zhong Chongwen, Zhao Hang, and the expert Ge Yumiao, who had just walked in, felt their heads buzzing after hearing Zhang Yang’s words.

“For the game’s name, we first need a sense of humor, something that makes people unable to look away at first glance. The core of the game also needs humor… Of course, since it’s a stress-relief game, we start relieving stress right from the title. How many people have been holding back those words, unable to say them out loud?”

Zhong Chongwen and Zhao Hang could no longer hear what Zhang Yang was saying.

A sudden silence fell over the cramped meeting room.

Everyone at the table felt their minds go blank.

The game we’re going to develop…

Is this the one?

The silence didn’t last long before they heard the sound of a door opening.

Then, the “General Manager of Marketing,” Wu Zhuang, pushed the door open, holding a data report.

“What’s the engagement on the post?”

“Followers have broken ten thousand!”

“Oh?”

Zhang Yang took the data, a “just as I expected” smile appearing on his face.

Then…

He turned to look at the stunned crowd.

“Do you see, comrades? If we don’t start running now, it’ll be too late! Comrades, this is what the people want, things the masses love to see. As long as it’s permitted by law, we will resolutely support it!”

“…”

“…”

Zhang Yang’s voice, full of excitement and seemingly endless energy, echoed through the meeting room.

Zhao Hang swallowed hard.

For some reason, he felt like he had fallen into a trap.

Right then…

“Old Zhao!”

“Yes, President Zhang…”

“I have a concept for the art. What do you think of this? Can you pull it off?”

“…”

Zhao Hang looked up at the crooked drawing of a “balding horse” on the projector.

Zhao Hang opened his mouth.

He swore!

This had to be the ugliest design among all the art assets he had ever created!

“Cough, cough, my own drawing skills might not be great, but we’re going for this kind of design. You can do this, right?”

“I can, President Zhang…” Zhao Hang looked away.

It was a total eyesore.

“The villains must be ugly!”

“Of course, the protagonists don’t need to be too handsome or beautiful, just decent enough to look at. Can you finish designing these templates within two days?”

“I can…”

“And some weapons like gas tanks, knives, boxing gloves, and so on. Basically, the more common and everyday the household item, the better. You can draw those, right?”

“I can…”

Zhao Hang nodded, but he still refused to look at those hideous drawings on the projector.

Then…

Zhang Yang turned his gaze toward the General Manager of Design, Zhong Chongwen.

“Old Zhong, we’ll go with a stage-clearing approach…”

“…”

In the massive conference room.

Zhang Yang was assigning tasks one by one.

After the meeting ended, Zhang Yang didn’t dismiss them immediately. Instead, he looked up electric scooters online.

Then…

“I’ll get each of you an electric scooter!”

“…”

…………………………..

Noon, June 27th.

Liu Ruohan passed by the Dadi Technology exhibition hall, Shengteng Technology, and other game companies in Yanjing.

She had a general understanding of the current situation of these companies in Huaxia and the state they were in.

In fact…

In her heart, she didn’t feel very optimistic.

Dadi Technology’s War of Warcraft was coming on strong, seemingly indestructible…

Building on the foundation of Interstellar Mission, it now showed signs of becoming the industry leader.

Shengteng Network had switched to a new framework. Relying on their Q-Dog user base, they seemed to have adopted a strategy of copying whoever released a hit game…

Mumaen Technology’s Dragon OL had been locked in a messy legal battle with Shengteng for a long time.

It seemed…

Mumaen Technology was always the one losing out…

Liu Ruohan’s expression suddenly turned solemn.

Just as she was about to contact Liu Yun to let her know she had arrived in Huaxia…

She heard the sound of a loudspeaker.

She instinctively turned her head…

“Universe Technology! Universe Technology is officially scouting for new game scripts and storylines!”

“If your script is used, you can receive a bonus of up to ten thousand yuan!”

“Honest business, fair to all!”

“Universe Technology, Universe Technology! We welcome netizens and the general public to collaborate with us…”

“For business advertising inquiries, please contact 13586**…”

“…”

She saw several young men riding electric scooters, flashily carrying loudspeakers as they cruised through the streets and alleys…

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes