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For a functioning game studio, time always moved at an unreasonable speed—especially when everyone inside was fully immersed in development.
Game creation was never a short process. It demanded patience, repetition, testing, rejection, and rebuilding. But despite how exhausting it was, there was an undeniable sense of fulfillment that came with watching something slowly take shape from nothing. And because of that focus, developers often lost track of everything else. Days blurred together. Nights passed unnoticed. Before anyone realized it, weeks were gone.
That was exactly what had been happening at Northstar Games.
Recently, the studio had officially entered an overtime phase.
Under normal circumstances, this would have caused complaints. But strangely enough, there were none.
Even though Vivian Frost, the studio's boss, was widely known as a genuinely kind and relaxed leader, the current situation left her with no choice. Northstar Games was short-staffed, badly so. Every employee was doing the work of two people.
Fortunately, most of the team consisted of university students.
Before joining the studio, they had all imagined what their future careers as programmers would look like—long hours, harsh bosses, unpaid internships, and endless pressure.
But Northstar Games completely shattered those expectations.
Before this crunch period, working hours at the studio were almost unbelievably humane. Programmers worked from nine in the morning to six in the evening. If overtime was needed, it was paid—no tricks, no excuses.
And during late nights?
Vivian Frost personally paid for energy drinks and midnight snacks.
As a result, not a single person complained.
In fact, even if Vivian hadn't paid overtime and suddenly turned ruthless, most of these students would have stayed anyway.
Because when the studio wasn't busy, she never forced anyone to work.
Never.
Some employees had even been caught playing games during office hours. Instead of scolding them, Vivian had simply stood behind them, crossed her arms, and smiled with mock disdain.
A look that clearly said: "You're really something."
No anger. No yelling. No punishment.
Because of that, these employees were the ones who least wanted Northstar Games to fail—perhaps even more than Vivian herself.
Where else could they find a boss who not only understood games but played them enthusiastically with her own staff?
Such bosses were practically mythical.
Most game company executives didn't even play games. Many treated interns like disposable tools—three months of unpaid work followed by ruthless exploitation.
Compared to that, Northstar Games felt unreal.
So unreal, in fact, that even when Vivian wanted people to leave and rest, she couldn't make them go.
Officially, employees worked in two shifts.
Unofficially, there were always people staying behind "just to help a bit more."
And because of everyone's effort, Northstar Games continued releasing updates about their upcoming title every few days.
Two days ago, they posted an image of a chubby orange cat holding a hammer.
The caption read:
> "MACCHIATO is a cold-blooded gang boss. Though she looks harmless, rumors say she has hoarded a hundred years' worth of canned tuna in her basement."
Five days earlier, they had posted a rabbit standing beside a unicorn. The caption was playful, mischievous, and full of personality.
This rhythm continued steadily—right up until the end of November.
Then suddenly…
The official BiliZone account of Northstar Games stopped posting animals.
Instead, a single post appeared.
A link.
And a string of sunglasses emojis.
😎😎😎
November 29th.
Northstar Games released its third game of the year.
Some people asked, confused: "Didn't Northstar Games release several games before?"
The fans' response was immediate and ruthless.
Those games?
Disowned.
To the community, only games made by Ethan Reed truly counted as Northstar Games titles.
And the name of this new game was—
ANIMAL PARTY.
---
The Moment of Release
Inside the conference room, Ethan Reed, Vivian Frost, Daniel, and the head of the art team sat in silence.
All eyes were fixed on the laptop screen.
On it was the backend data of Skybound, the platform hosting the game.
Vivian refreshed the page.
Once.
Twice.
Then she froze.
A sharp breath escaped her lips.
She slapped her hand against her chest and let out two small, shaky whimpers.
The development cost of Animal Party had reached nearly four million.
Every last bit of Ethan's private funds had gone into it. Even the budget originally meant for Neon Myth IV had been redirected. To accelerate development, large portions of work had been outsourced—then meticulously reviewed by Ethan himself.
Server costs alone were painful.
Compared to this, the combined cost of Night of the Full Moon and Getting Over It hadn't even reached one million.
And yet, Animal Party was priced at just 35 per copy.
If sales failed?
Vivian would truly have to pack up and go home—metaphorically exploding gold coins in despair.
At that point, the company would be dumped entirely onto Ethan's shoulders.
The good news?
Thanks to the reputation built by their previous two games, Northstar Games now had a loyal fanbase.
Only two minutes had passed since launch.
They had posted announcements on the Official Blog, BiliZone, and Ethan's private account.
And already—
Over 300 copies sold.
In other words…
People had been waiting to buy it.
"Alright!"
The art director clapped loudly.
Daniel finally exhaled in relief.
Ethan, however, remained calm as he stared at the screen.
Three hundred copies in two minutes was impressive—but his expectations were higher.
Much higher.
Animal Party wouldn't just be popular.
It would surpass everything they'd made before.
Though it began as a sudden idea to support Neon Myth IV's funding, it had grown into something far greater.
It was destined to explode.
"Let's end work here," Vivian announced as they left the conference room.
"Everyone take three days off. You've all worked incredibly hard."
The employees erupted in cheers.
Soon, only Ethan and Vivian remained.
Ethan had planned to leave.
But Vivian kept staring at him.
Relentlessly.
With the intensity of someone who would absolutely not sleep without seeing today's final sales data.
Left with no choice, Ethan stayed.
Wuwu…
Not only do I sell my talent…
Now I'm selling my body too.
---
8:00 PM – SharkStream Live
On SharkStream, a popular streamer known as Dong Zhuo was live.
A chubby man in a black T-shirt danced enthusiastically in front of the camera.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tick-tock!"
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
"I'm your old friend!"
"PDD!"
The chat exploded instantly.
"My assistant told me a game launched this afternoon—one from Northstar Games, which I've been watching for a long time."
"So tonight, I'm playing it with Kai Lewis, Xiao Ma, Ma Feifei, and a few other streamers."
"If it's fun, great. If not?"
"I'll play red packet games with Kai Lewis and give out rewards!"
A bullet comment asked why he hadn't played with Kai recently.
PDD shouted back immediately:
"Damn Kai Lewis, his mouth is too foul!"
The chat went wild.
"??? Can you be more civilized?"
"THE MOST CIVILIZED NIGHT!"
"Fat Tiger and Xiao Fu forever!"
Minutes later, PDD's phone rang.
A voice call—from Kai Lewis.
He answered it live.
"Hello? Fat pig. Haven't downloaded the game yet? Why aren't you in voice chat?"
"I'm already in voice chat, damn it!"
"Heh. So? Downloaded?"
"I downloaded it this afternoon. Do you think I'm you?"
Kai laughed. "This game has multiple modes. Let's play basketball mode. Three on three."
"You find three people. I find three."
"Losers give 2000 to the live audience."
"Deal!" PDD shouted.
Moments later, both teams logged in.
The game didn't require a separate studio account—Skybound login worked instantly.
As soon as PDD entered the character selection screen, he saw it.
A crocodile.
Wearing sunglasses.
Shaking its head smugly.
PDD burst out laughing.
"Hah!"
"I'm choosing this one."
"I'm the CROCODILE OVERLORD!"
"Brothers, watch me kick Kai Lewis, punch Ma Feifei, and crush them completely!"
"They want to play with me?"
"They're playing with a toy hammer!"