A writer has arrived in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Su Liu returned to Shanghai the next morning.

Last night, I treated Editor-in-Chief Liu and some colleagues from the publishing house to a big meal at the New Crystal Hotel. As soon as we met, Old Liu complained that Su Liu had tricked him, and he kept asking about Su Liu's love life. It seems that he is really interested in the identity of "Muse".

Of course, he was more interested in Su Liu's new work. "Killer Mayhem" had only just been released, and he was already thinking about the next installment.

"Have you considered turning your original screenplay into a novel and releasing it simultaneously with the movie?" Old Liu asked during the meal.

The publishing industry relies on a few best-selling books to sustain the entire industry. In the past two years, as Su Liu's overseas success has gradually gained traction in China, the sales of his novels have also been increasing.

Investing in a film is too risky, so Lao Liu doesn't dare to get involved. But with the film's source material as its basis, plus Su Liu's current influence in the mystery genre, the novel should be a bestseller.

"This story would be a bit too short if it were written as a novel."

Then, Su Liu briefly recounted the story of "The Blade Unsheathed" to him:

Lu Yuan (Harlan), a world-renowned suspense novelist, was found dead with his throat slit the day after his 85th birthday party. His friend, Shen Zhongping (Blanco the Detective), a professor at the Public Security University, received an anonymous tip and instinctively suspected it was a murder.

Lu Yuan's personal nurse, Ma Chun Chun (Marta), is the central figure in this case. On his birthday night, Ma Chun Chun mistakenly injected Lu Yuan with 100 milligrams of morphine, a potentially lethal dose, instead of painkillers, believing it was a mistake made in her haste.

To protect the kind-hearted Ma Chun Chun from being held accountable, Lu Yuan devised an alibi for her and then slit his own throat to fake a suicide.

Lu Yuan left all his inheritance to Ma Chun Chun, leaving nothing to his parasitic descendants. The whole family was instantly devastated, except for his grandson Lu Zerui (Lan Sen), who seemed willing to support Ma Chun Chun.

Finally, Shen Zhongping revealed the answer...

"That's a great story," Old Liu exclaimed after listening. "If it's too short, you could just add a minor case that Professor Shen once solved at the beginning. That shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

That makes sense. Su Liu immediately thought of a small case: a wife who killed her husband, poisoned the family dog, and used the dog grave to cover up the body.

In that case, it's perfectly acceptable to release the novel and the film simultaneously.

The meal lasted for more than two hours before finally ending.

......

After returning to Shanghai, he finally had some long-awaited leisure time. An Wenxiu was still in Yanjing, so he didn't need to go to the company for the time being.

I sent Chen Duling a message to let her know I got home. To my surprise, she replied instantly, complaining to Su Liu about the pain of getting up early. You could practically smell her resentment at being forced to get up early, even through the screen.

Su Liu slowly typed a message: "Good luck, and pay attention in class. I'm going to play games all day without any distractions."

This line of text was like a spark falling into a powder keg. After a brief silence, messages bombarded in like a machine gun. The screen was filled with exclamation marks and indignant emojis, almost making Su Liu's face radiate jealousy and resentment.

Su Liu put her phone aside and turned on her computer.

The game he was playing was called "The Doomsday Scrolls," an indie game he stumbled upon on the 3DM forum this year, made by an individual using RPG Maker.

Su Liu initially played the game on a whim, but the harsh enemy stats and extremely high difficulty immediately ignited his competitive spirit.

As I played, I gradually became immersed in the game's dark fantasy story. The game has a huge amount of text, and the themes of post-apocalyptic survival, factional warfare, and a completely non-linear storyline mean that there is no single correct answer.

Because of work, Su Liu has been playing the game on and off for half a year and still hasn't reached an ending.

Thinking back, Su Liu realized he had joined the game's discussion group and given the developers a lot of feedback. Immediately remembering this, Su Liu logged onto his QQ account, which he hadn't used in a long time.

As soon as I logged on, I saw a group showing 999+ messages. This group only had four people, including Su Liu: the producer Eggplant and two other like-minded people, Wooden Bucket and Tyrannosaurus.

Today is a workday, but the group chat is still flooded with messages.

Eggplant: I just want to make an open sandbox-style martial arts game with no fixed main storyline. Players can freely choose their identity in the martial arts world, freely explore the large map, towns, sects, secret realms, wilderness areas, etc., learn from masters, make enemies and establish sects, get married and have children. There is no forced guidance for any behavior; it is all decided by the player.

Eggplant: Including the social system, human relationships, reputation, and grudges. Interactions with NPCs will affect the direction of relationships and even trigger faction struggles, Jianghu feuds, etc. In short, it is to restore the real Jianghu as much as possible.

Wooden Bucket: ...Your idea is completely different in scale from "The Doomsday Scroll".

Tyrannosaurus Rex: Putting aside the size for now, the idea itself is fucking awesome.

Wooden Bucket: The question is, where will the money come from? In the current environment for domestic orders, is it possible to attract investment?

When the topic of money came up, everyone fell silent. All three were avid gamers and understood the state of the domestic single-player game market. Even setting aside the possibility of securing investment, and even if they did manage to create the game, piracy would be rampant within a day. Whether they would ultimately make money was still uncertain.

Eggplant: "Heavy" indeed, but it's always good to think about it, just in case there's a chance.

Tyrannosaurus Rex: None of the three of us are programmers, otherwise we could really give it a try.

Eggplant: What do you guys think about recruiting another programmer on the forum? Do you think anyone would be willing to come?

Wooden Bucket: I think it's difficult. Programmers often work overtime until late at night, so how can they have the energy to do anything else?

Tyrannosaurus Rex: *Sigh* *Sigh*

Eggplant: *sighs*

Wooden barrel: "Sigh" "Sigh"

Su Liu looked at the messages in the group chat and at Qiezi's description of the game, and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. He immediately typed a message.

Detective: Eggplant, have you thought about what to name this game?

Eggplant: Holy crap! The detective has appeared!

Barrel: Holy crap! The detective has appeared!

Tyrannosaurus Rex: Holy crap! A detective has appeared!

Eggplant: Detective, what have you been doing for the past six months? We thought you had vanished into thin air.

Detective: *wiping sweat* Don't even mention it, I've been so busy, I haven't even had time to go on QQ. You still haven't answered me, what's the name of the game you envisioned?

Eggplant: You know what, I've actually thought it through.

Wooden barrel: What's it called?

Tyrannosaurus Rex: What's your name?

Eggplant: Taiwu Scroll.

It really is that game! Su Liu stared blankly at his phone screen. He never expected that "The Doomsday Scroll," which he hadn't even finished yet, was made by the creator of "The Scroll of Taiwu." He remembered that the game was released in 18 and instantly became a viral sensation. The story of the three-person team developing the game over three years with limited funds was something that countless players admired.

Unexpectedly, Eggplant already had this idea at the end of 13.

As Su Liu watched Eggplant in the group explain the meaning of the name and the game's world setting, he slowly typed out a line of text.

Detective: Let's make this game, I'll invest in it.