157: Chapter 157 Zhulong! The First Person in the Star-Seeking Project!

Fei City, South District.

An old industrial park forgotten by time, with moss crawling on red brick walls and a huge, rusted water tower.

In the deepest part of the park, on the second floor of a three-story old factory building.

In an office of less than fifty square meters, the sign on the door that read "Zhulong Studio" had faded and yellowed due to years of sun and rain, with cracks even appearing on the corners.

Inside the office, smoke swirled, and the air was filled with a complex scent of instant noodles, sweat, and shattered dreams mixed together.

The founder of the studio, Lu Zhao, was sitting at the only table in the corner that was still relatively clean.

He was thirty-five years old, his hair was dry and yellow, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and there was stubble on his chin that he hadn't shaved for days. He was once a star producer at a major domestic game company, but because he couldn't bear the company's philosophy of "everything serves the revenue," he took a few like-minded brothers and resolutely left to start his own business.

Three years.

They had poured all their youth, savings, and the last cent from investors into an open-world game called "Ancient Gods Era."

Now, they were at the end of their rope.

The studio's account only had a few thousand yuan left, not enough to pay for next week's server rent. The team members' salaries had been in arrears for two months.

Just half an hour ago, Lu Zhao had just hung up a call from the investment department of Tencent.

The acquisition terms offered by the other party were generous, but also harsh. They had their eyes on the unique art style of "Ancient Gods Era" and the underlying code that was already half-finished, and were willing to pay eight million to buy these assets.

But the condition was that Lu Zhao had to disband the team on the spot.

"Sorry, not for sale." Lu Zhao said these four words to the phone, then hung up.

He looked at the game design concept art plastered all over the wall—those ferocious yet divine ancient giant beasts, those magnificent and strange mountains and rivers, the world that he and his team members had spent countless days and nights outlining.

He couldn't sell his own child to a trafficker.

He picked up the last half-pack of cigarettes on the table and lit one.

The smoke blurred his vision.

Perhaps, tomorrow he would have to tell his brothers to break up. There is no banquet in the world that doesn't end; at least, they had a good dream together.

Just then, the wooden door of the office was knocked on with a "knock, knock."

"Who is it? Just leave the utility bill at the door!" a programmer who was fixing bugs in front of the computer shouted without raising his head.

There was no response from outside, and the knocking sounded again.

Lu Zhao extinguished his cigarette, got up, walked over, and pulled the door open.

A woman stood outside the door. Her makeup was exquisite, and her temperament was capable.

"Excuse me, is this Zhulong Studio?" Guan Yi asked, her eyes involuntarily looking at the wall of original paintings in the office.

When her gaze fell on a painting depicting "Nine Phoenixes" and "Xiangliu" entangled in the clouds, a flash of light appeared in her eyes.

This studio had been dug out by "Zero" from countless abandoned projects and information fragments on the Internet.

The evaluation given by "Zero" was: The team has master-level potential in underlying program optimization and art style, but lacks funds and a platform. The completion of its core project, "Ancient Gods Era," is less than forty percent, its commercial value is rated as zero, but its artistic value and technical potential are rated as S-level.

Lu Zhao looked at the woman in front of him, his heart full of vigilance.

"I am Lu Zhao, and you are?"

"Mr. Lu Zhao, hello." Guan Yi extended her hand. "I am Guan Yi from Star Technology. Chairman Chen asked me to come to invite you and your team to join our newly established Xingchen Entertainment."

Star Technology? Chen Xu?

Lu Zhao was stunned. He thought it was the people from Tencent who wouldn't give up and had sent someone else to his door, or some small company wanting to pick up a bargain.

He never expected it to be the name that had recently stirred up a huge storm on the Internet.

Then he smiled self-deprecatingly.

"General Manager Guan, don't joke around. Our small temple can't accommodate a big Buddha like Xingchen. We are about to close down, and there is nothing worth you taking a fancy to."

He thought the other party was here to acquire his semi-finished code.

Guan Yi didn't waste any expression, nor did she say any other nonsense. She took a printed contract directly from her briefcase and placed it on the table covered with sundries in front of Lu Zhao.

"This is an employment contract."

"Star Technology will acquire Zhulong Studio in full. We will retain the 'Zhulong' brand and continue to operate it as a first-party independent studio under Xingchen Entertainment."

"You, Mr. Lu Zhao, will serve as the Chief Producer of Zhulong Studio and the Game Business Director of Xingchen Entertainment, reporting directly to Chairman Chen."

"All your current team members will be accepted by Xingchen Entertainment. Salaries will be increased by one hundred percent on the existing basis."

"All current debts of the studio, including unpaid wages, rent, and server fees, will be paid off by Star Technology within one working day."

Every time Guan Yi said a word, Lu Zhao's eyes widened a little more.

In the office, the other few people who were pretending to work also stopped their movements, pricked up their ears, and didn't dare to let out a breath.

Guan Yi pointed her finger at a page of the contract.

"We provide unlimited budget, the strongest technical support, and a platform that allows you to create freely without any KPI assessments."

Lu Zhao took the contract with trembling hands.

His gaze went past the generous terms regarding salary, benefits, and equity incentives, and finally, it rested on a line of small print in the contract appendix.

[The final interpretation right of the game belongs to the producer.]

This line of text completely broke the gloom in Lu Zhao's heart.

He had been making games for fifteen years and had changed three companies, but this was the first time he had seen such a clause.

This meant that he would have absolute control over his work.

He didn't have to change his designs to cater to the market anymore, and he didn't have to add the pay-to-win systems he hated just for revenue data.

He could truly make the game he wanted to make.

Lu Zhao raised his head and looked at Guan Yi in front of him, his voice excited and hoarse.

"Why... why us?"

He couldn't figure out why Star Technology would take a fancy to their bankrupt grassroots team.

A smile finally appeared on Guan Yi's face.

"Because Chairman Chen said that talented people should not be buried."

"What he wants to make is not just a commodity, but a work of art."

Lu Zhao stopped talking and picked up the signature pen on the table.

At the end of the contract, he signed his name stroke by stroke.

When the last stroke fell.

In the office, those brothers who had worked with him for many years could no longer hold back.

They buried their faces in their arms, and their shoulders heaved violently.

Lu Zhao looked at his team, then looked up at the gray sky outside the window.

He felt that the dawn had come.