“Ahhh!!!” Xia Yi, who was in the middle of her livestream, glanced at her phone and suddenly jumped to her feet, screaming like a madwoman.
She kept jumping up and down while shrieking, leaving her viewers utterly bewildered.
“What’s going on?”
“Finally lost it?”
“Stop jumping or you might bounce your legs right off.” This was an old running joke in her stream chat.
“Beta invite! A beta invite for *Journey*!” Xia Yi took a deep breath and excitedly announced, “That VR game *Journey* from Lin You’s video! He invited me! Aaaah! He remembers me!!”
“Yep, confirmed. She’s officially lost it.”
“And it’s a serious case too.”
“Shut up, all of you peasants! Wait! I’ll show you!” With trembling hands, Xia Yi held her phone up to the camera, displaying the private message:
「Ms. Xia Yi: Greetings. You are cordially invited to participate in the closed beta test for the VR game *Journey* tomorrow at 13:00. If this time works for you, please click the link below to fill out your personal information.
—Lin You」
“See that?! Now flood the chat with respect!” This was Xia Yi’s moment of triumph.
“Legendary!”
“Absolute queen!”
“Now flood the respect into the chat!”
Instantly, a barrage of comments flooded in. Xia Yi felt like her small stream hadn’t been this lively in ages.
Looking again at Lin You’s test invitation, thinking about being able to run with her own legs tomorrow, she felt an indescribable joy and couldn’t help but tear up again.
She realized she hadn’t been herself lately—turning into such a crybaby. Gone was the strong, independent woman who could move mountains with her willpower.
“Bad news! Lin You’s being boycotted!”
A comment flashed by that Xia Yi immediately noticed.
“What boycott? Who dares?!” Xia Yi flew into a rage.
While netizens were still celebrating Lin You starting recruitment and VR equipment getting closer to release, someone leaked that Lin You was being secretly boycotted.
The news came from a reliable insider who had accurately leaked unreleased game info before. Most believed he had sources within major companies.
“Got word this morning—NetDragon, Flying Fox, and Deserted Island are all scrambling to retain employees, raising benefits, boosting morale, even offering huge compensation for non-compete agreements. I wondered what was up—turns out they’re ganging up on Lin You!”
Furious but powerless—that was how players truly felt.
Beyond cursing online, they couldn’t even boycott these companies’ new games since none had imminent releases…
NetDragon’s *Blazing Flame 3* was still months away.
By then? The moment would have passed!
The only silver lining was that the Bluebird Alliance hadn’t joined the boycott.
Little did they know, NetDragon—who orchestrated this—was also struggling.
At this critical juncture, Qin Songyun, lead designer of their highly anticipated *Blazing Flame 3*, suddenly resigned.
No one could change his mind.
Since morning, a parade of people had tried talking him out of it.
His supervisor thought he saw through Qin’s play: After two successful *Blazing Flame* titles proving his skills and earning acclaim (with generous bonuses), wasn’t this just a ploy for better terms before *Blazing Flame 3*’s launch?
So he made an irresistible offer.
Yet Qin refused without hesitation: “It’s not about money. I just need to leave.”
Stunned, the supervisor stared as if seeing Qin anew before finally saying, “Fine, you win. 50% raise, and your bonus still doubles!”
Qin sighed: “Really not about money. I really want to leave.”
Next came HR, colleagues, subordinates—wave after wave of persuasion.
But Qin never wavered: “Sorry, but I must go.”
Finally, young CEO Zhao Yucheng stepped in.
He promised Qin: If he stayed, he’d get 1% profit share from *Blazing Flame 3* and all future *Blazing Flame* titles he worked on—separate from bonuses, in writing.
Based on past sales, this could mean hundreds of millions extra—not just once, but with every successful sequel!
Zhao, though young, had bold vision. He believed no one could resist such wealth.
He was determined to bind this talented designer to NetDragon forever—his ideal future lead designer.
The current lead was an old guard from his father’s era, long past his prime and coasting on past glory—unfit for Zhao’s ambitions.
Yet Qin didn’t even hesitate: “Sorry, I must leave.”
*Does someone who doesn’t love money really exist?* Zhao couldn’t comprehend it.
Eventually Zhao stormed off. After prolonged struggle, Qin left NetDragon, bridges thoroughly burned.
“Xiao Chun, I’m home.” Qin’s first priority was finding his girlfriend.
Seeing her in the kitchen, he hurried over and gently took the knife. “I told you to leave this to me. Just relax and watch TV or something.”
Girlfriend Xiao Chun didn’t argue but stayed nearby, smiling as she watched him work.
“By the way, I quit NetDragon today.”
“What? Why? Things were going well—your new game’s almost done.”
“I’m going to join that Lin You guy. VR gaming is the industry’s future! After dinner, help me with my resume?”
Though Qin sounded casual, Xiao Chun silently teared up, covering her mouth.
Xiao Chun wasn’t ordinary—two years ago, she was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
A progressive neurodegenerative disorder causing muscle weakness, atrophy, eventual speech/swallowing difficulties, and respiratory failure.
An incurable, inevitably fatal disease.
Many in late stages consider how to die with dignity.
Xiao Chun was already showing advanced symptoms—sometimes struggling with cooking, hence Qin’s insistence on taking over.
She knew her time was limited.
Which was why she instantly understood—Qin wasn’t abandoning NetDragon for VR gaming’s future.
He was doing it for her.
(End of Chapter)