Chapter 6: Although the "Tuna" is an Idiot, She's Certainly Good-Looking!!
Kiana's plan to add to the production budget had fallen through.
After all, with the dual rejection from both Su Mu and Bronya, Kiana truly had no reason to pursue that particular issue any further. She could only leave the room dejectedly.
Bronya didn't continue the previous topic either. Instead, she took Su Mu to familiarize him with the company's current situation. Unfortunately, even including the cleaning lady, there were hardly any people at miHoYo right now. The studio looked large, but it was hollow—all style and no substance.
After getting to know his colleagues, Su Mu returned to his office to perform further optimizations on Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy and coordinated with Bronya regarding the game's release details. The game was ultimately set at a launch price of ten yuan and would be released on the HOMU Game Platform tomorrow at 7:00 PM.
Just before the workday ended, Kiana sought out Su Mu once more.
"Is there really no way to increase the budget?"
The game is already packaged and sent for review—what are you even thinking? Su Mu silently rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. What exactly was the "Tuna" thinking? Did she just have too much money and nowhere to burn it?
"Of course, it's not impossible to add money... if it's used for promotion and distribution, that counts as part of the budget, right?" Su Mu said casually, just to appease his boss.
"Promotion?" Kiana froze. No! Absolutely not!
Originally, launching an indie game under the name of miHoYo Studio and Bronya would have attracted a surge of popularity. But the problem was: what if the game didn't fail because of that?
Even Kiana had played the game herself and knew it was pure suffering. But what if? You can never be too careful. She had to nip every possibility of success in the bud!
Kiana had considered this possibility long ago. That was why she had pestered Bronya yesterday, promising that the game would not be released under the miHoYo name.
She would change the name and submit it under the identity of "Phantom Iron Game Studio".
Hehe!
A tiny, broken studio no one had ever heard of!
A crudely made, torturous game!
If this didn't fail, she, Kiana Kaslana, would do a handstand in Su Mu's office on the spot!
But the problem now was...
Kiana had crammed so much knowledge about the gaming industry and was certain the game would fail, but she could only lose two thousand yuan...
A ten-fold rebate on two thousand yuan was only twenty thousand!
That was far too little!
Su Mu replied, "Well, for example, we could find some famous game streamers to play this game."
He wasn't just patronizing Kiana with this suggestion. Paid promotions were a standard tactic, and games usually required people to recommend them before they launched. Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy was the type of game that was more fun to watch someone else play than to play it yourself; the entertainment value for a stream would be maxed out.
In his previous life, there had been extremely popular streamers who created many classic, viral moments with this game.
"You have to play with a smile..."
I have to say, the comedic effect was simply brilliant. Games like Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy belonged to the same category as Cat Mario—they were made for streaming. The appeal lay in watching the audience see the streamer have a complete mental breakdown in various ways.
Although Su Mu gave the advice seriously, Kiana's thoughts were clearly not on the same wavelength.
"Famous streamers? Famous streamers?!"
It was as if she had discovered a new continent. Like a "Longsword Main" perfectly executing a spirit blade iai slash, her entire being entered a state of pure excitement.
Yes!
Why hadn't she thought of that?
The fact that Bronya had such a breakdown playing this game was enough proof of how trash it was!
If she hired famous streamers to play it, they could show the audience exactly how torturous and disgusting the game was...
That way, the game would instantly become an infamous, notorious title that everyone hated. It would be hard for it not to fail!
Furthermore, both Bronya and Su Mu said that promotion was part of the budget! Didn't this give her the perfect excuse to find someone to publicize the game?
It was killing two birds with one stone!!
"Su Mu! You are truly amazing!"
The excited "Tuna" slammed her hands on the table. She leaned halfway across the coffee table, closing the distance between herself and Su Mu.
A pleasant fragrance wafted into Su Mu's nose.
The twenty-four-year-old Kiana was different from the girl in Honkai Impact 3rd. Although she still overflowed with youthful vitality and maintained her clumsy personality, her mature figure was truly eye-catching, looking more and more like Cecilia Schariac.
While she might not match the "Big Duck" in certain areas, her silhouette and grace were still top-tier. Since it was early summer, Kiana, wearing a T-shirt, inadvertently revealed a charm that made it hard to look away.
Su Mu's face turned red, and he couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. As a veteran Captain, he naturally held a great deal of affection for the Valkyries.
Even though Kiana was clumsy and a complete idiot.
But it was precisely because she was an idiot... the strong contrast between her past and present made it impossible to... impossible to refuse!
She might be an idiot, but her figure was incredible and her beauty was off the charts!
Just looking at her gave one the urge to trick her into coming home!
Kiana didn't notice Su Mu's awkwardness; she was completely immersed in her brilliant plan.
"Then... should I head home after work?"
Looking at Kiana roaming in her own world, Su Mu felt a bit helpless. He would tell Bronya about this later. He didn't want any chaos to erupt.
"Go, go! Su Mu, you are our great hero! Go home and rest well! Leave the rest to me!"
Kiana's words of concern warmed Su Mu's heart. Where else would you find a boss so concerned for her employees? Truly, the "Tuna" was the most adorable girl in the world! (Limited to today).
——————
"Is that so... Okay, I understand."
Bronya hung up the phone and rubbed her aching temples. Su Mu had called. In the call, Su Mu informed Bronya that Kiana might be planning something new.
But at this point, Bronya had no intention of correcting Kiana.
She had realized that Kiana was too naive. Only by letting her fall hard once would she truly understand the cruelty of the gaming industry. In this line of work, success was not easily achieved.
Upholding her duties as the Vice President, Bronya opened Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy. She wanted to check for any bugs before it went live.
There was that familiar, classic man in a cauldron.
Bronya started the game.
But she was astonished to find that even though she had been tortured all night two days ago and had nearly reached a breaking point...
Today, her progress was strangely smooth.
Almost effortlessly, Bronya successfully broke her previous record.
Then, in one breath, she continued her charge toward the top.
"Did Su Mu lower the game's difficulty? No, that's not it."
Bronya looked at the man in the cauldron on the screen. The little man holding the hammer now had a gaze radiating unprecedented determination.
"The game didn't get easier..."
At that moment, Bronya realized.
"I... got stronger?"
END OF CHAPTER