You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Lu Ran scheduled the meeting for 2 PM three days later.

He arrived at the company at 12:30, ate a bland tomato and egg rice bowl in the cafeteria, and then went back to his office to review the prepared ingredients.

He didn't bring many materials, just two sheets of paper: one was the core functional framework of the base system, and the other was a preliminary design plan for the linkage logic.

He read through the two sheets of paper from beginning to end, making sure he hadn't missed any key information, then closed the folder, picked up his teacup, and walked towards the conference room.

When he pushed open the meeting room door, there were already more than a dozen people sitting inside.

Zhou Mingzhe sat to his right, with a freshly brewed cup of tea in front of him, the tea leaves slowly unfurling at the bottom of the cup.

Chen Mo sat opposite him, his laptop open, the screen showing the meeting agenda, and the document page next to it only had a cursor, but he hadn't started typing yet.

Zhao Yiming sat in his usual spot. Today, he brought an external monitor and placed it on the conference table, with the screen facing outwards. It displayed his technical solution drafts, filled with flowcharts and parameter annotations.

Old Wang sat next to him, still the same as always, holding that same cup of tea that never changed, with several rings of tea stains on the rim of the cup, like a map that had been folded over and over again.

The girl from the art group also arrived, sitting near the door with a tablet next to her, displaying her newly drawn sketches of the base's exterior architecture.

Lu Ran sat down, placed the folder on the table, and didn't open it immediately: "Remember the direction we discussed three days ago? The base system, linked with regional activity data. Today we won't talk about feasibility, just how to do it specifically. Who wants to go first? Zhao Yiming, you go first."

Zhao Yiming leaned back in his chair and typed a few lines on the keyboard. The flowchart on the external screen in front of him switched pages accordingly: "I've already broken down the technical aspects. The base system is divided into four modules: plot selection, building placement, creature placement, and decoration collection. These four modules are independent but their data is interconnected. The core indicator is the base level, which is linked to the player's total activity mileage. The higher the level, the more types of decorations are unlocked, and the higher the efficiency bonus of creatures within the base."

He zoomed in on the flowchart on the external screen, pointing to the middle section: "I've written two solutions for the linkage logic. One solution uses regional activity time as a threshold, where players can unlock corresponding decorative parts by accumulating a certain amount of activity time in a specific area. The advantage is that the logic is simple and easy for players to understand. The disadvantage is that it's easy for players to AFK and farm time; even if you leave a location-based service idle, it will still count as time, which will mess up the data you want."

"The second option is to use capture quality as a threshold. Players must capture creatures in a specific area that reach a certain quality level to unlock the corresponding decorations. This way, players are not idling, but repeatedly walking, searching, and fighting, and the speed of efficiency improvement and data accuracy are within your expectations."

After he finished speaking, he leaned back in his chair and switched the screen back to the desktop.

After listening, Chen Mo added, "I suggest using both options. One guarantees a minimum reward, and the other sets a maximum reward. Players can earn basic decorations by spending a certain amount of time in a specific area, and advanced decorations by achieving higher capture quality. This way, ordinary players won't feel the barrier is too high and give up easily, while core players will still have a sufficient sense of purpose."

"Furthermore, if unlocking is based solely on time, players will stay in the same area longer. If unlocking is based solely on capture quality, players will repeatedly walk through the same area. Combining the two provides a more comprehensive coverage," Zhao Yiming chimed in.

After Zhao Yiming finished speaking, Old Wang slowly put down his teacup and said, "I have a question. After the base system goes online, players' activity patterns will become more concentrated. If they find that the unlocking threshold for decorations in a certain area is high, more people will flock to that area. At that time, the location request density in that area will increase very quickly. Have you calculated the pressure on the server? If the server can't handle it, then all we've done is provide free stress testing for others."

Zhao Yiming was prepared: "The existing server capacity in the western United States still has spare capacity, which can probably support the current load for another two to three times. If it really exceeds that, temporary expansion is just a matter of adding a few more machines. I have written this into the technical plan, so we can expand dynamically when the time comes, without needing to prepare in advance."

Old Wang nodded, picked up his teacup again, and didn't ask any further questions.

Taking advantage of the lull, the art team member spoke up: "No matter how well the base system is designed, players won't use it if they don't find it visually appealing. We want to maintain a consistent style with the main game, avoiding overly flashy elements, but focusing on details—such as different floor materials, wall textures, and plant types. Every decoration needs to be useful to players; there can't be anything that 'looks bad when placed, but feels wasteful not to.' Additionally, we suggest three ways to acquire decorations: as rewards from system quests, purchased from the in-game store, and unlocked through area exploration. The area exploration unlocking part is the part we've linked to location data. Each decoration corresponds to a specific area; players simply need to complete designated conditions in that area to unlock it—no gacha pulls or gift packs required."

She paused, as if hesitating whether to continue, but finally said, "If we could go a little further, the base could support players uploading custom designs, such as flags or slogans they draw themselves. The technical cost of this feature isn't high, but players would love it. I strongly suggest adding this feature because once players start 'creating,' their time spent in the game will skyrocket."

After listening, Lu Ran wrote the suggestion down in his notebook. He looked up and asked, "Is there anything else to add? Feel free to share any thoughts you have."

He glanced around the room, but no one answered. Everyone was looking down at their notes or waiting for someone else to speak.

Chen Mo turned a page in his notebook, glanced up at Lu Ran, and then looked down again.

Zhao Yiming's fingers were still on the keyboard, but he wasn't typing.

Lu Ran waited a few seconds, then leaned forward slightly and opened the folder in front of him: "Let me explain how it will be implemented. The base system will be released with the next major update, about four weeks from now. The functionality will be divided into two phases—the first phase will include land selection, building placement, and creature placement, while decoration collection will be in the second phase. The first phase will give players a place to place creatures and set up their bases, letting them know what this function is for. The second phase will be implemented once the number of players has stabilized, allowing regional activity data to be linked to decoration unlocking, creating a continuous incentive for activity."

He looked at Zhao Yiming: "On the technical side, focus on getting the core logic running smoothly. Prioritize developing the linkage logic and the decoration acquisition system tied to specific areas. On the operations side, prepare a targeted promotional script to promote the system based on the unlocking conditions of decoration components. Don't reveal the specific locations in advance; just say something like, 'Exploring specific areas can unlock limited-edition decorations.'"

Zhao Yiming quickly jotted down a few notes in his notebook, gave a nod, and said nothing more.

The operations team members were also writing furiously, and after finishing, they looked up at Lu Ran.

"That concludes today's meeting. Each group's plans should proceed on schedule, and any problems should be communicated promptly." Lu Ran closed the folder. "Also, those who know the content of this meeting should not discuss it with outsiders."

People in the conference room stood up one after another, the sound of chairs being dragged across the floor echoing for a while, before they left one by one.

Lu Ran remained seated and waited until everyone had left before flipping through the folder again to take a look at the core functional framework diagram.

If the base system really works, players will repeatedly linger in order to decorate those specific areas, and those locations happen to be exactly where they want them to linger.

He sat in the conference room for a while longer, then closed the folder, stood up, and left the conference room.

The lights in the corridor were still on, casting long and short shadows on the dark floor.

When he got home that evening, Shen Yuege wasn't there. He went to the studio and was told that there was a newcomer's audition to listen to that day. Lu Ran made himself a bowl of noodles in the kitchen, and while eating at the dining table, he opened his phone and glanced at the data in the backend.

Location requests in the western United States have remained at recent levels, with no significant increase or decrease.

After finishing his noodles, he washed the bowl, went upstairs to his study, sat down at the computer, and reopened the design document for the base system.

He mentally reviewed the process of selecting plots, building and placing structures, and installing organisms in the first phase. Feeling that the overall approach was sound, he saved the document and shut down his computer.

If this step succeeds, it will be a momentous milestone in gaming history.

...