Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

“Is this your answer?”

Jason felt a little apologetic but still nodded affirmatively, “Yes.”

“Why?” Richard couldn’t understand, “Is it because I didn’t offer you enough money?”

Jason shook his head.

“Not a high enough position?”

Jason shook his head again.

“Where did I wrong you then?”

Jason still shook his head.

“Then you’d better tell me! Why resign at this critical moment?” Richard was not so much angry as utterly unable to understand.

His voice was not loud, but each sentence was said with great force, “You didn’t leave when NetDragon was being scolded all over the internet! You didn’t leave when a large number of employees left! You didn’t leave when leading the DLC team and staying in the company for a week! Why do you have to leave now, when we’re about to turn things around?!”

Richard’s incomprehension made Jason, who was originally feeling guilty, slowly raise his head.

— That’s right, I didn’t run away during the really tough times at NetDragon. Not only did I not flee, but I also managed to produce the DLC under immense pressure. The short amount of time it took to develop amazed the industry, greatly improving the reputation of the “Blaze” series, and sales overseas were also very impressive.

So, did I let NetDragon down?

Jason asked himself in his heart.

The answer immediately emerged in his heart — of course not.

As such, why should he feel guilty?

So Jason didn’t avoid the issue any longer, raised his head and looked straight into Richard’s eyes, calmly saying, “I’ve been in NetDragon for nearly five years, NetDragon has never treated me unfairly, nor have I ever let NetDragon down.”

“Nowadays, NetDragon is not the same as it was five years ago, but I’m still the same as I was five years ago.”

“You mean, I’ve led NetDragon astray?!” Richard’s anger instantly surged, his neck turning red from the rage.

Jason didn’t directly answer but only said, “I just want to make games, pure and simple.”

“From the moment I entered the gaming industry five years ago, this idea hasn’t changed.”

“It’s still the same now.”

Between adults, there’s no need for excessive words.

When Jason had said this much, his meaning had already become apparent: I want to make games simply, pure and simple, and I don’t want to get involved in any illegitimate business crimes.

He could accept competing with Cloud Dream — even eagerly anticipate it, but he couldn’t accept using dishonorable means.

Let alone the risks behind it, even if there is a possibility of escaping legal accountability, he doesn’t want to take that risk.

Moreover, it’s a stain.

It’s immoral, whether in the hearts of players, in media opinion, or in his mind.

Some people can accept this price for the sake of money, but Jason can’t.

He was genuinely tempted, and conflicted — after all, it’s a chance to make several billion!

Most people in their lives don’t get this kind of opportunity.

But Jason couldn’t bring himself to make the decision, and thus spent the whole morning and afternoon wavering and struggling with it.

He would stop and hesitate for a long time after writing only a few words of the resignation letter.

Right up until it was time to clock out and walking into the office, he was still hesitating.

But in the end, he entered the office and handed over the resignation letter.

No further explanation was needed at this point.

Richard couldn’t say anything else to retain him: the conditions he could offer had already been given at their maximum.

Asking Jason to stay without working on virtual reality games and just staying put?

This isn’t some tear-jerking play!

Richard couldn’t do that begging posture.

Furthermore, in the time to come, NetDragon would certainly focus all its efforts on developing virtual reality games, and there’s no value in someone who won’t join the effort.

Leaving the office, Jason took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, feeling like he had put down a huge burden.

There was regret and heartache for losing a large sum of money, but he felt more relief and comfort.

He will pack up his things in the office and complete the handover process tomorrow.

Carrying a small box, Jason walked from the office to the company’s exit, shocking everyone along the way.

Who would have thought that Jason, who had just been announced as the “NetDragon Virtual Reality Game Chief Designer” by his boss yesterday, would leave after only one day?!

This immediately caused a huge uproar in the company.

But Richard didn’t say anything, just urging the programming team to complete the software requirements as soon as possible.

Jason didn’t care about any of that. He only turned around and looked at the building where he had worked for nearly five years when he walked out of the company gate, filled with emotions.

“Just yesterday, I had ambitious plans to compete with Cloud Dream. Today, I suddenly become unemployed. Is this the price of caprice?”

After mocking himself, Jason began to seriously consider, “What should I do next?”

*

As Jason was saying goodbye to NetDragon, Wu Di was also saying farewell to his cheap master.

“Sorry, it seems that I won’t be leaving as a master.” He said this demotivating statement without any pressure, calmly.

“?”

With the support of secondary artificial intelligence, Han Jing, who was almost indistinguishable from a real person, looked at Wu Di puzzled: “How come, you want to give up?”

“It’s not that I want to give up, but mainly that there’s no more time. After tonight, I can’t stay here any longer.”

Speaking of this, Wu Di couldn’t help but complain: “Frankly speaking, your entry-level training is too difficult! Of course, it’s not your fault, it’s all Cloud Dream’s problem.”

“No, it might not be Cloud Dream’s problem, after all, it’s a game in development, and it’s normal for it not to be perfect yet. It’s just that I don’t have enough time.”

“No, the lack of time is still Cloud Dream’s fault! Who told them to give me such a short time!”

Wu Di kept blabbering.

He had given up on completing the entry-level training of [Assassin’s Way] since the day before yesterday – it was too complicated.

It was not the “accept task, listen to a description, and then ‘ding’ to acquire skills” he had imagined, and then the more you use it, the more proficient you become, or improve with experience and level up…it was not like that at all, it really needed him to practice!

Body, combat, weapons, agility, pace, dodge, keenness, stealth, concealment…and a bunch of other sub-skills were all part of the [Assassin’s Way] entry-level task.

The system was not entirely unhelpful –

Each skill had three difficulty levels, and for every level completed, he would gain a large amount of experience and proficiency boost, helping him to do better in the next phase.

But according to his estimation, even without further training, it would take more than half a month to fully learn all the basic skills at this stage.

Complete them in 7 days?

Only if you were a genius.

Unfortunately, he was not.

After realizing this, Wu Di simply slackened off.

Although he still continued doing the training tasks, most of his energy was devoted to touring Chang’an and getting into mischief.

And in the process, he accidentally discovered that these skills he had learned from training were actually very powerful!

Using the [Rapid Movement] skill he had learned, he could play parkour on the densely-packed rooftops of Chang’an city during broad daylight and tease the soldiers to chase him.

He had never been caught once!

Using the [Concealment] skill, he went on a night-time exploration of Drunk Spring Tower, poking holes in the windows outside the third floor to peek inside.

Although he didn’t see any bedroom scenes, he was unexpectedly lucky to see a beautiful woman taking a bath in a wooden bucket.

He also politely knocked on the window and asked, “Beautiful lady, do you need someone to rub your back?”

Seeing the woman staring blankly at him, he added, “Or do you need cupping therapy? Your back is too much of a waste not to be cupped!”

The female NPC finally reacted, letting out a terrified scream.

This scream immediately attracted a group of henchmen, who chased Wu Di for quite a distance.

Speaking of which, after getting the money from Han Jing, Wu Di also visited the cheap entertainment venue.

It had indeed much less sophistication than a brothel, but his money was barely enough to cover the cost, so he could get straight to the point once he paid.

Wu Di was incredulously pulled into the room by a girl, who first took off his coat, and then helped him sit on the edge of the bed, starting to serve him in undressing.

Wu Di was a little uneasy, but he was even more excited. He was stiff on the bed, even thinking that Cloud Dream was finally going to venture into 18+!

The girl then squatted on the bed, bent over, and worked intently on undoing his belt.

But as she kept trying, she just couldn’t undo it.

Finally, with a mixture of grievance and anxiety, she raised her head and asked Wu Di for help: “Young master…”

Wu Di thought the knot was too tight, and the girl’s thin arms and legs were not strong enough, so he decisively took matters into his own hands.

But only after trying himself did he find out: the loose knot had mysteriously turned into a tight one, and he couldn’t undo it either!

So he promptly grabbed the belt and decided to tear it apart with brute force. He pulled with all his might! Once again with all his might! And again with…

In the end, he sadly discovered that he simply couldn’t tear it…

Cloud Dream continued its deceptive practice as usual, even the entertainment venue—charging for shady services, but only providing regular ones.

A man and a woman in disheveled clothing sat on the bed, left to stare at each other awkwardly.

“How about you give me a massage?” Having experienced Night City, Wu Di somewhat anticipated this, so naturally, he knew how to handle such an awkward situation.

Massages at the Huayin Bubble Bath in Night City were also top-notch experiences. Not only were male players fond of them, but countless female players loved them too. The word of mouth was excellent, and everyone who tried them spoke highly of it.

– But this tactic didn’t work now.

The girl apologized to him in panic: “Massage? I’m not a doctor, I don’t know how to do it…”

It was then that Wu Di had no choice but to admit his fate: Entering this door was just a scam he had paid for.

In the end, he left feeling annoyed after listening to a few tunes, and even took the old pimp’s money bag on the way out.

– “Theft” skill, combined with [Palm Extreme Sports], a solid choice for anyone who tries it.

He had also visited the palace, but unfortunately, the palace wall was much higher than he had imagined, and his [Climbing] skill had not even reached the intermediate level, making it very difficult to climb without being noticed.

It was only the next day that he managed to climb up using a homemade grappling hook.

Afterward, he was unlucky enough to be seen by a patrolling soldier, who, along with hundreds of other soldiers, chased and cornered him. He was hacked to death with messy saber attacks, and the scene was too gruesome to look at.

In the end, though there was no system upgrade, the training in the [Body] area greatly improved his physical fitness, far surpassing that of ordinary individuals.

He had once experimented by carrying a female NPC on the street, picking her up and running.

The NPC’s husband desperately chased after him, yelling and running, but could not catch up to him at all!