Guangzhou, Tianhuo Studio.
Outside the Tianhuo Studio building, Xiao Lu and the others stood astonished.
Tianhuo Studio had an entire seven-story office building all to itself—which is impressive!
Right next to the entrance was the large sign of Tianhuo Studio, and the building itself was surrounded by lush pine trees and greenery, creating an excellent environment.
A game company that could afford its own dedicated building was undoubtedly a very wealthy one!
Many of the team secretly looked forward to the day when they might also work in a similar place.
Pei Qian, however, showed no particular reaction.
After all, he was only here under the guise of "visiting and exchanging ideas," he's actually just looking for ways to burn money.
To him, it was merely a slightly larger office building—not really something to envy.
As they approached the entrance, someone from Tianhuo Studio came out to greet them.
"Assistant Xin! And this must be President Pei, right? Hello, hello! I'm Sun Xi, responsible for receiving guests at Tianhuo Studio."
The one greeting them was a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, tasked with reception duties.
It was said that Zhou Muyan, the lead producer at Tianhuo Studio, would also meet them later, but as a producer, he naturally wouldn't come all the way to the gate to greet them. Pei Qian and his group hadn't reached that level yet.
Sun Xi led the group inside, introducing the place as they walked.
"This is our bamboo garden at the front courtyard. Since we have an ancient-style game project, we've planted a bamboo grove here. Oh, over there we also have a guqin—sometimes a young lady in traditional costume will play music."
"A little further over there is our parking lot. Some colleagues drive to work."
"Straight ahead is our main lobby. I'll take you directly to the guest area and our project team."
Pei Qian looked around while walking.
Indeed, large companies were impressive!
Constructing such a large space must have cost quite a bit, right?
Building an office building, occasionally renovating it, planting some bamboo, customizing a few statues—all great ways to burn money efficiently. He wouldn't need to worry about not spending enough anymore!
Of course, to construct such a building would cost tens of millions, far beyond Pei Qian's current capabilities.
The funds provided by the system were still stuck around 500,000, and although Pei Qian's games earned him so much profit that it made him nauseous, they only accumulated a few million at most.
If someday he earned tens of millions or even hundreds of millions in annual profit, then perhaps constructing a building could be considered.
But Pei Qian hoped such a day would never come…
Compared to having tens of millions in annual company profit, he'd much rather have a company that lost several million a year.
Because the personal assets converted from losses were ten times that of profits...
Assistant Xin, having seen plenty of impressive setups before, remained indifferent.
But the others—such as Huang Sibo, Xiao Lu, and Ma Yang—looked around curiously, somewhat like countryside folks visiting a city for the first time, finding everything novel.
Strictly speaking, Tengda's actual office conditions were even better than Tianhuo Studio's.
Whether it was the spacious workstations or the top-tier computer setups, very few companies nationwide—or even abroad—could match Tengda.
However, Tianhuo's own large building, with its impressive exterior, naturally appeared much more lavish!
When they reached the reception desk, the group couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride.
They'd reclaimed some dignity!
Tengda's receptionists were a pair of attractive twin sisters who completely overshadowed Tianhuo Studio's front-desk staff in terms of appearance.
They had won!
Sun Xi led the group up to the fourth floor, where they met Tianhuo Stu
dio's lead producer, Zhou Muyan.Zhou Muyan was wearing a casual suit, which was already considered very formal attire within the gaming industry.
But the moment he saw the group opposite him, his eyes immediately fixed on Pei Qian.
Damn, it's a custom-made suit!
Zhou Muyan could instantly tell this suit was incredibly expensive—at least in the five-figure range!
Suddenly, Zhou Muyan felt immense pressure, sensing he'd already lost in terms of aura…
Zhou Muyan was perplexed. How could someone looking younger than an intern already be a company boss, and even create a successful mobile game like "Ghost General"?
Could this guy be a second-generation rich kid?
Hmm, that must be it.
If he wasn't a second-generation rich kid, he wouldn't be wearing clothes like these.
Generally, startup entrepreneurs tended to be frugal and wouldn't spend extravagantly, especially since the gaming industry had no particular dress code requirements.
The two briefly exchanged pleasantries, saying how much they'd "long admired each other."
In reality, neither knew anything about the other…
Pei Qian had no clue what games Tianhuo Studio had produced, and Zhou Muyan had only recently learned that Pei Qian was the creator of "Ghost General," knowing nothing else about him.
Since both were equally unfamiliar with each other, they tactfully skipped the customary flattery. Zhou Muyan began to give them a tour of the studio.
"This is our recording area. Right ahead is the recording studio, specifically used for game dubbing."
"Of course, the music and sound effects for our games are also produced here."
"This area is our workspace. You can see our artists here working on concept art."
"Here is the training room, where we regularly conduct game design lectures for trainees."
"Over here is a set of cosplay outfits. These were worn by celebrities we hired to endorse our games and are now kept in display cabinets."
"This wall displays various peripheral products from our games."
"Here is our lounge area, and over there is our cafeteria—"
As Zhou Muyan led Pei Qian and his group around, he observed their reactions.
Tianhuo Studio was a relatively established game studio in China, so its working methods remained quite traditional. They had their own recording studio, art team, and other departments, essentially capable of completing nearly all aspects of game development in-house—unlike Tengda, which bought art and music resources directly from online asset stores.
But something unexpected struck Zhou Muyan. Xiao Lu and the others had been visibly excited outside the building earlier, yet now that they were inside, their expressions had strangely grown more subdued…
Wasn't this the opposite of the usual reaction?
Previously, when students came to visit, they'd typically be calm when they are outside but get excited on the inside.
After all, the building included facilities like lounge areas, cafeterias, beverage bars, and entertainment rooms—a truly luxurious work environment. Students usually became enthusiastic at seeing these amenities, fantasizing about the day they'd join the company.
Yet, why were Tengda's employees completely reversed?
Take a good look—this is an entertainment room! And a lounge area!
Isn't this big TV attractive? Isn't this sofa comfortable?
Why aren't you all reacting at all?
Zhou Muyan felt completely baffled.
But the group's lack of reaction was actually quite normal.
Most of them had only one thought when seeing this so-called "entertainment room" and "snack area":
That's it?
You have the nerve to call this pigeon-sized space an "entertainment room" when all you have is a small TV and a single console?
And your "snack area" is just a few bags of biscuits and chips, with a sign that even limits each employee's daily amount? You dare to call this a "snack area"?
You've been bragging for a long time, but Tengda had all this stuff too, and theirs was way better!
Of course, no one said these things out loud, but internally they all felt deeply unimpressed...
They all are very disappointed.
So, this was the office environment of a top-tier domestic game company?
Tengda was miles ahead!
From outside, the building looked impressive, but clearly, it was all superficial. Once inside, it was obviously mediocre at best!
With everyone's lukewarm reactions, the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.
Remembering Pei Qian's instruction, Ma Yang instantly realized this was his moment to shine.
He couldn't let things become awkward—he had to actively ask questions and provide feedback!
Thinking of this, he glanced at the densely packed workspace and casually asked, "Hmm? Isn't today Saturday? Why are there so many people working overtime?"
Zhou Muyan froze.
What kind of question was that? Wasn't it obvious?
How many game companies in China didn't have a 996 work schedule? If today wasn't a regular working day, would he even be here welcoming them?
This question was so naïve that Zhou Muyan didn't even know how to answer...
Huang Sibo quickly intervened, smoothing things over. "It's normal to work overtime sometimes, you know, for the sake of the project."
Ma Yang nodded thoughtfully, "Ah, makes sense. Plus, there's overtime pay, right? With this many people working extra hours, your studio must pay quite a bit in overtime each month, huh?"
Overtime pay?
Zhou Muyan was completely stunned.
He wondered, where did this long-faced fellow even come from?
Why did he seem to know nothing about this industry, continuously asking these absurd questions?
Overtime pay in the game industry? What overtime pay? Wasn't it all unpaid 996 everywhere?!
Seeing Zhou Muyan's awkward expression, Huang Sibo and the others instantly understood the reality.
Only Ma Yang was oblivious, clearly intending to continue asking similar questions.
Pei Qian quickly grabbed Ma Yang.
Damn it, what the hell kind of questions are you asking?!
I asked you to ask questions, not sabotage this visit! If you keep going, Zhou Muyan might literally kick you out!
I didn't come all this way just to offend people!
Ma Yang scratched his head, confused about why Pei Qian was pulling him back.
Weren't his questions pretty normal? What was wrong with them?
Fortunately, he wasn't foolish enough to persist and quietly shut up.
Though speechless, Zhou Muyan was still professional enough to ignore this little incident and continued proudly showing off the studio's environment.
However, after seeing the harsh truth, everyone's enthusiasm had already dropped significantly, and they were barely even pretending to be interested anymore.
Zhou Muyan was baffled.
By normal logic, shouldn't they have been full of anticipation and envy?
Tianhuo Studio's working environment should easily surpass 90% of game companies in China!
You people not envying this made no sense!
Looking at the workstations in the office, Xiao Lu unconsciously muttered in a low voice, "These desks... are really cramped…"
<+>
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