Becoming the richest man by playing games that help cure depression

He got carried away at first, wanting to create a AAA masterpiece with gorgeous graphics and detailed modeling, and excitedly described his vision to his brothers.

He was instantly deflated upon finally finishing the game. "Two million might seem like a lot, but in the gaming industry, it's not even enough to buy a decent cutscene!"

It's like trying to fight a tailed beast with a shurikens—a complete waste of effort.

Li Zhujian pursed his lips, not dwelling on it, and immediately changed his mind.

"Let's start with low-budget, high-quality projects. Don't think that low-budget projects are doomed; if done well, they can still carve out a niche for themselves in the industry!"

A moment later, Li Zhujian suddenly slapped his thigh, his eyes shining like Sharingan eyes: "I've got it! I've come up with a brilliant idea!"

No one was surprised by his loud and boisterous manner; this kid always shouted whatever came to mind.

Everyone crowded around and saw him pointing at the idea on the tablet, spitting as he spoke:

"This is it! Hollow Knight! Look at this little knight, wearing a mask and carrying a bone nail, like he's on a mission in the shadows, so cool!"

And the world-building is incredibly profound, like the secrets of the ninja world back in the day. Add some hardcore combat, and I guarantee players won't be able to put it down!

Li Zhujian knew perfectly well that "A Dance of Ice and Fire" had sold for six figures, with countless players cursing him as a cunning old fox while simultaneously staying up all night to suffer.

With just those two spinning balls, his system leveled up three times.

He has no intention of stopping this kind of pleasure that "tortures players yet makes them unable to stop".

"This time, we're not only going to max out the graphics and storyline, but the difficulty has to keep up! Let them keep cursing; the more they curse, the more addicted they get—that's the real fun of gaming!"

Lee Joo-ji smiled slyly, looking like he'd stolen Madara's Sharingan and was secretly pleased with himself.

"Hollow Knight?" Zhang Zhiyuan picked up the project proposal, scratched his head, and said, "The name sounds pretty mysterious. Can it work?"

"It absolutely has to work!" Li Zhujian patted his chest, his tone resolute.

"This game was a masterpiece of side-scrolling games in its previous life. Its art, music and story were all top-notch. Back then, it crushed many AAA games with budgets of hundreds of millions!"

And we also have a selfish reason: nobody in the world remembers Castlevania anymore.

Since there are no Soulslike games, let's use this as an opportunity to start PlatinumGames' "era of suffering"!

When I'm rich, I'll teach all the gamers in the world how to spell "death"!

Despite his boastful words, Li Zhujian was well aware of reality. Hollow Knight may seem like a small indie game, but it has a lot of intricacies.

Character art, monster design, level construction, and combat system—all are essential, making it a small but complete system.

Li Zhujian's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a rare seriousness: "We only have two paths, either we brothers join forces with Yunshi, or..."

"I estimate it will take three to five years, which we can't afford; either we expand our recruitment, hire enough people, and quickly finish the game!"

Before his brothers could even voice their opinions, Li Zhujian had already made the decision: "Let's expand! Thirty people! Bring all the capable workers here; if we're going to do this, let's do it big!"

The announcement of increased recruitment caused an uproar in the gaming community. Player comments flooded in:

"Hasashi Hashirama is finally releasing a new work? Awesome!" "They've expanded to thirty people; looks like they're serious. Looking forward to it!"

The preliminary round involved a vote to select ten candidates, with the top candidate receiving an invitation. This news sent Chinese League of Legends players into a frenzy, flooding the comment section.

"I nominate Tora! The hero is just a monkey; one hit and half his health is gone!"

"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter! I'd nominate my cousin! What a hero looks like doesn't matter, the key is he has to be neckless!"

"Sister Zhou deserves a mention! She summoned Yao Jiang with her ultimate move, and the two of them put on a performance art show!"

"Wang Boluo! Unleash your ultimate move: throw a hippopotamus! If it hits, the opponent will be stuck standing there!"

"Dumb Girl! Her ultimate move, the Giant Swing, has put her on maternity leave immediately!"

"Doesn't maternity leave need a Shishin? The Yordle leader, just staring at his little sister's pendulum might trigger maternity leave!"

"My family is dying of laughter, what kind of ridiculous heroes are these?"

"Why not just grow a reed, summon Ultraman Gaia with a powerful attack, and wipe out the entire screen in one hit!"

"Teacher Piao must have some prestige! Being forced to smoke in reverse, each puff causing her to lose health!"

"Fico! Passive skill guarantees 100% dodge of non-targeted skills, all enemy skills miss!"