20: Chapter 20 The First Batch of Employees

The hardware is ready; next is the software—employees.

Gu Yi possessed the system, an invincible cyber-worker. He alone could handle the majority of code refactoring, art rendering, plot writing, and musical scoring.

Therefore, he had absolutely no need to recruit any programmers, concept artists, or animation directors.

"If I actually hired dozens of R&D staff, wouldn't my secret of conjuring games out of thin air be exposed?"

Gu Yi rubbed his chin. What he needed now were just a few tools who could help him handle trivial matters and deal with external troubles in the real world.

For example: a seasoned legal expert to deal with those jealous major companies wanting to plagiarize, a few good-tempered customer service representatives to soothe players, and a flexible operations manager to coordinate with the promotional channels of various major platforms.

Once the recruitment notice for [Chaldea Studio] was released online, although only a few people were being hired, tens of thousands of resumes flew into Gu Yi's inbox like snowflakes.

Among them were not only countless fanatical college graduates and gamers, but also veteran industry experts who had indignantly resigned from top-tier companies like Tianpeng Interactive Entertainment, just to come to Chaldea for a "pilgrimage."

In the pure white holographic interview room, Gu Yi sat in the boss's chair, looking at the middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes who appeared somewhat nervous in front of him.

"Supervisor Zhang, I've reviewed your resume. You previously served as the Director of Public Relations and Player Operations at Tianpeng Interactive Entertainment for five years. Your resume is very impressive."

Gu Yi flipped through the documents on his tablet and spoke calmly.

"Yes, President Gu. But I really couldn't stand the disgusting atmosphere at Tianpeng, which only cares about numbers and scamming players for money. It was your 'FGO' that helped me rediscover my original passion for making games!"

Supervisor Zhang stated with extreme sincerity.

Gu Yi nodded, then suddenly threw out an extremely sharp question:

"If—and I mean if—during the large-scale event starting tomorrow, the server crashes due to an overwhelming influx of paying players, as the Operations Director, what would your PR contingency plan be?"

Supervisor Zhang took a deep breath, displaying the professional competence of a major company director:

"First, I would immediately post a cold-treatment announcement on the official website to soothe player emotions. Second, I would order the technical department to fix it within two hours. Finally, to compensate the players, I would apply to distribute 5 bottles of basic healing potions server-wide, and launch a double experience event as compensation. As long as the attitude is firm, the drama will naturally subside after two days."

This was the most standard, and also the most arrogant, approach of major companies in the Blue Star gaming circle.

However, after hearing this, Gu Yi smiled and shook his head.

"No, Old Zhang. In our Chaldea, this approach of yours would get you fired."

Supervisor Zhang was stunned: "Then what do you mean…"

"If the server crashes," Gu Yi leaned forward, crossing his hands under his chin, his eyes flashing with a devilish light:

"Our announcement must be extremely humble, even going so far as to tell the players that we are kowtowing to the server while rushing to fix it."

"As for compensation? What are those worthless potions worth? I want you to directly distribute 30 saint quartz, worth over a hundred yuan, to every single player on the server! Give them a full ten-pull for free!"

"What?!" Supervisor Zhang was so shocked that he stood up straight from his chair, his eyes nearly popping out.

"Pre… President Gu, have you gone mad?! Giving a free ten-pull to the entire server—do you know how much revenue that would lose?! This completely violates business logic!"

"No, you don't understand ACG players, and you don't understand what 'getting rich depends on maintenance' means."

Gu Yi chuckled, leaning back into the spacious chair, looking down at the bustling Tianhai City:

"When you use an extremely humble attitude to shove the currency of the highest value into their hands, not only will they not curse you, but they will actually develop Stockholm Syndrome."

"In the days to come, they will pray for you to pull the network cable every day, begging for the server to crash."

"This is the operational philosophy of our Chaldea—to repeatedly manipulate the players' minds amidst torture and grace."

Supervisor Zhang stood there blankly, listening to this PR theory that subverted the industry's values.

"I understand… President Gu. Being able to join Chaldea will be the most correct decision of my life." Supervisor Zhang lowered his head in sincere admiration.

A few days later, the first batch of… merely four founding employees (one Operations Director, one legal expert, two customer service representatives), having passed layer upon layer of screening, walked out of the elevator on the 120th floor of the Global Financial Center, trembling with nervousness.

When they saw the 1,200-square-meter blue hall that felt like a science fiction movie brought to reality, the holographic projection of the burning Earth "Chaldeas" in mid-air, and the massive quantum server room worth sixty million…

Everyone gasped.

But following this extreme luxury was an extremely eerie emptiness.

"President Gu…" Old Zhang swallowed hard, looking at the office area that was big enough to run a horse in, and couldn't help but ask,

"Where is our company's R&D team? Where do the lead programmer, concept artist, and animation director work?"

"Them?" Gu Yi walked out from the depths of the corridor holding a coffee, a mysterious smile curling at the corners of his mouth,

"They all implement the highest level of 'cloud remote working.' Except for me, no one can contact them."

"As for why this floor is so empty…" Gu Yi patted Old Zhang on the shoulder,

"'FGO' is just the beginning. In the future, we will also make physical merchandise, engage in virtual esports, and even develop entirely new gaming universes."

"Occupy the territory first, and we can slowly fill it up later. I'm a person who just likes it spacious and quiet."

Hearing these words, Old Zhang and the other three employees exchanged glances, and in each other's eyes, they saw deep awe.

So that's it! No wonder 'FGO' could have such era-transcending graphics and unfathomable code logic!

Behind President Gu, there was actually a hidden global, elusive phantom R&D empire!

"It's too terrifying… What kind of sacred team is this composed of." Old Zhang was secretly shocked in his heart.

Meanwhile, in his own independent office, Gu Yi sat in that large boss chair, watching the four energetic employees outside.

The foundation in reality had been completely solidified.

Customer service was online, legal was in place, and crisis-response operations were ready.

"So, the major companies' plagiarism should be coming soon, right?"

Gu Yi watched the drama stirred up by internet trolls online, as well as the news about the beta test of a crude tower defense competitor titled "gods and demons defense line" from Tianpeng Interactive Entertainment, and a mocking sneer curled at the corners of his mouth.

"Get ready to receive guests, Dear Da Vinci."

"Let the bumpkins of Blue Star witness what a real [Forgery] is."