Chapter 114. How Did a Shark Come to a Little Fish Pond?
"Morning~"
"Morning~"
At dawn, outside the doors of ME Corp, Kitahara and "Gramps" Kiritani happened to run into each other and exchanged greetings.
"You're in this early, huh."
Yawning while tapping his badge to clock in, Kitahara spoke lazily.
"Can't be helped."
Sighing, "Gramps" Kiritani followed him and clocked in as well.
Even though there was still a full half hour before official work hours, they had already arrived at the company.
As rookies, they didn't have the privilege of clocking in at the last second.
For the company culture here in the Far East—senior–junior hierarchy and all that—even if they disliked it, they had to follow it.
Sugisaki Ken had arrived even earlier than the two of them.
When they got to the office, he was already cleaning.
"You're really going all in, huh."
Watching Sugisaki Ken mopping earnestly, Kitahara let out an admiring sigh.
"One of the assessment targets is the department's evaluation."
"We can't waste the opportunity Xander gave us."
He answered with a smile and didn't say more, but everyone knew what he meant.
They exchanged a glance.
"Gramps" Kiritani and Kitahara also grabbed tools and helped clean together.
Gradually, the office that had been cold and quiet with just the three of them became lively, as people in immaculate outfits and carrying briefcases filed in one after another.
"Good morning, senpai!"
Every time someone came in, the three of them greeted loudly.
Just from saying good morning all morning, their mouths were already feeling parched.
Just as they returned to their desks, ready to do some simple tasks they'd been assigned, the department supervisor suddenly walked into the office.
The entire office fell silent in an instant.
Only the clatter of keyboards remained.
Everyone stared at their own screens, putting on an air of working in earnest—and the three of them did the same.
But oddly enough, the supervisor who always wore a stiff face looked all smiles today.
He walked up behind Kitahara and patted him kindly on the shoulder.
"Kitahara-kun."
That gentle voice gave Kitahara such a start that he jolted upright.
He stiffly stood and turned around, and when he saw that smiling face, his heart fluttered with panic.
What is going on.
This old geezer who usually keeps a straight face is smiling so brightly all of a sudden.
There's definitely something fishy.
Thinking of one possibility, a look of horror flashed across Kitahara's face, and he quickly covered his butt with both hands.
"No need to be nervous, Kitahara-kun."
"Call Kiritani-kun and Sugisaki-kun."
"You three come to my office now."
"There's something I want to tell you."
Patting Kitahara's shoulder with a smile, the supervisor turned and walked out of the office.
For a moment, everyone in the office looked at one another in bewilderment.
Sitting next to "Gramps" Kiritani, a kinder senior whispered, "This is the first time I've seen that guy smile like this."
"It probably isn't bad news, but Kiritani-kun, you'd better still be careful."
"Mm."
"Thank you, senpai."
Nodding slightly, "Gramps" Kiritani glanced at the other two.
They straightened their backs and walked out together, soon arriving before the supervisor's office door.
Before they could even brace themselves, the door suddenly opened.
"You're all here, great—come in."
The supervisor beamed, stretching out his hand to usher them in with a smile.
?
The three were instantly full of question marks.
What on earth is this situation.
But since the supervisor had spoken, they had no choice but to bite the bullet.
The office was fairly spacious.
On the guest sofa to the side sat a figure that made their scalps prickle even more—smiling.
"G—Good morning, General Manager!"
This poised career woman in her forties gave them a gentle smile and spoke in a soft voice, "No need to be nervous."
"Please, sit."
As she spoke, she urged them to sit on the sofa opposite her.
The supervisor simply didn't come in at all.
He walked away and carefully closed the door behind him.
No way—this is really going to be the casting couch?!!!
Looking at the still-charming General Manager, Kitahara's resistance suddenly shrank a lot.
If it's like that, well, it's not like it's impossible…
While his thoughts were running wild, the General Manager's first sentence only made him more certain.
"How do you feel about working here?"
That kindly voice was like that of an elder.
Afraid his two brothers would say the wrong thing, Sugisaki Ken hurriedly answered, a little tense, "It's very good."
"Our seniors are nice to us and have taught us lots of useful things."
"That's good."
She chuckled lightly, then spoke again, "Do you know Mr. Masato from Fantasyland Company?"
Kitahara, who had been weighing whether to first refuse and then agree or just agree immediately, froze.
He nodded blankly. "We do."
Realizing something, Sugisaki Ken quickly added, "He's the one who gave us the recommendation slots."
"…I see."
"Here, take a look at this."
Her eyes flickered.
The General Manager's smile grew even kinder as she pushed over some already-printed documents from the desk.
Each of the three took one.
Seeing the reassignment notice to Fantasyland Company, they fell into silence.
Did their godfather come to fish them out.
Back when assignments were being handed out, they had in fact looked into Fantasyland Company, but were told it was already full and there was no way to transfer in.
The three exchanged looks, then turned to the General Manager simultaneously.
…
"So we're finally out, huh."
Each holding a box, they stood at the company entrance.
Back in the office, when everyone learned the three would be transferred to Fantasyland Company, a small stir broke out at once.
Now, which employee working under Anti-Entropy Group doesn't know about the Fantasyland Company that's been blazing hot lately.
Just look at how the heat for Pokémon keeps climbing and you can tell the company's future potential.
What's more, it's a brand-new company.
The development inside will definitely be stronger than slowly grinding seniority in an office like this.
The seniors' usual airs seemed to vanish into thin air in an instant.
Everyone crowded over enthusiastically, asking after them warmly.
It took ages and a round of exchanging contact info before they finally escaped.
"Why does this feel like we're protagonists in a power-fantasy webnovel."
Outside, "Gramps" Kiritani spoke dazedly.
"Nobodies with no background—but we actually know some very powerful people."
"Wolves in sheep's clothing?"
"Now that you say it, it really does feel that way."
All three laughed.
They had never intended to lean on Xander's name; otherwise, they wouldn't have quietly worked as bottom-rung office drones.
But this passive flex did feel pretty great.
"Report in next Monday."
Kitahara asked.
"Mm."
"I'll go back and study some materials first," "Gramps" Kiritani nodded slowly.
"Study."
"Any books to recommend."
"No need to read books."
"Log into the intranet with your employee ID."
"There's a usage guide and tutorials for the Titan Game Engine."
"Let's familiarize ourselves with that this week first."
"We can't embarrass Xander , right."
"True."
"See you next week, then."
"See you next week." *2
Elsewhere, St. Freya High School.
With less than three months until the Mini-Game Festival, the staff had entered intense preparations.
Ever since the previous-previous champion, To the Moon, sparked cross-circle buzz around the world, more and more game studios and indie creators had decided to join.
A livelier event is great, but naturally, that means much more pressure on the staff.
Applications were pouring in from all over.
They had to verify them one by one, weed out entries that didn't meet the conditions and obvious trolls, and pick out genuine exhibitors.
"Returnwind Game Studio: founded a year ago."
"Currently has a modest little title."
"Meets conditions."
"HotCard Co.: founded half a year ago."
"Affiliated with Schicksal Entertainment."
"Resources used within limits."
"Meets conditions."
"Shencheng Entertainment… falsified info."
"It's been two and a half years since establishment."
"Not qualified."
"Fantasyland Company: founded a year and a half ago."
"Affiliated with Anti-Entropy Entertainment."
"Sounds familiar, but meets conditions."
Muttering under his breath, the staffer nodded as he looked through the email.
But when he started entering Fantasyland Company's info and reached the "representative works" field, seeing the three big characters for Pokémon in the email, he fell silent.
Wait.
Are his eyes playing tricks on him.
He rubbed his eyes and leaned closer to the screen.
After confirming that it was indeed Pokémon, he sucked in a sharp breath.
What.
Huh.
Why are you here.
He thought it was a little fish pond, so how did a big shark suddenly pop up.
Fantasyland Company—no wonder it sounded familiar just now.
Isn't that the developer of Pokémon.
What's more, the top three works from the previous-previous festival all came from this company.
To the Moon, Eientei, Arahato α.
As he typed those words in, the staffer suddenly felt a toothache coming on.
He didn't hit submit.
Instead, he immediately waved his superior over.
This was clearly beyond his pay grade.
Being called over, the person in charge was annoyed at first.
"Isn't it just some small company."
"What's so hard to decide."
But when he hurried over and saw the completed entry form, he fell silent—just like the staffer.
Standing to the side, the staffer watched his boss's face twitch and ventured, "How about… we reject it."
"Are you stupid."
The roar made the person in charge jump, and he smacked the staffer on the head in anger.
"Come on, tell me—which part do they fail to meet."
"…None."
The staffer thought for a moment, then shook his head, struggling to keep a straight face.
Is this company using cheat codes.
Who else can grow to this level in just a year and a half.
How is anyone else supposed to play.
"But wouldn't this make the competition less fair."
Given Fantasyland's heat, even if they just submitted a single picture of Pikachu, they could easily sit in the champion's seat.
For newcomers, that's dimensionality reduction.
"There's no such thing as absolute fairness."
"Didn't they earn that heat themselves."
"Besides…"
He swatted his junior again and said, "Who says this is necessarily a bad thing."
"Huh."
Ignoring his junior's confusion, the person in charge quickly found the contact number in the email and dialed.
Soon, the call connected.
He straightened his back and said respectfully, "Hello, is this Fantasyland Company."
"Yes."
"And you are."
A young woman's voice came from the other side.
The person in charge didn't dare slack off in the slightest and replied at once, "This is the staff of the St. Freya Mini-Game Festival."
"As for yours truly, I've been fortunate enough to serve as the person in charge this time."
He lowered himself and then continued, "We just received your company's application in our registration inbox."
"Could we confirm its authenticity."
"Mm, no problem."
"Our leadership did decide to participate in this Mini-Game Festival."
"Why, is there some issue."
"No, no, no."
"We're simply flattered by your participation."
"Times are different now—your company's presence brings great luster to our humble event."
Hearing his boss's fawning tone for the first time, the staffer widened his eyes and pricked up his ears.
"No, you flatter us."
"Our leadership said we must guard against arrogance and rashness, and must never get complacent."
"Right, right."
"Your leadership is absolutely right—no wonder you're the geniuses who made Pokémon."
Sensing the timing was right, the person in charge probed, "By the way, we have a small, rather impolite request."
"Go ahead."
"If it's not something burdensome, it should be fine."
"Rest assured, we won't trouble you."
With a smile at the corners of his mouth, the person in charge spoke with anticipation, "The St. Freya Mini-Game Festival is highly anticipated."
"When we do later promotion, we hope to mention that your company has registered."
"Of course, your company doesn't need to respond."
"Publicity matters."
"I don't have the authority to decide that."
"Let me consult my superior now, alright."
"Of course, of course."
The person in charge nodded repeatedly.
Soon, amid a bit of background noise, the receptionist's voice returned, "Leadership says as long as the publicity doesn't smear Fantasyland Company, there's no issue."
"Thank you, thank you."
"You're welcome."
"We all want the festival to be more lively."
"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
"Alright, alright—much obliged."
"You're welcome."
With a beep, the call ended.
He couldn't hold it in any longer.
He clenched his fists and pumped them hard a few times.
"Boss."
"Boss."
"What."
In high spirits now, the person in charge was finally in the mood to answer a few of his foolish junior's questions.
"You just said publicity."
"Won't that scare off the other exhibitors."
"Why would it scare them off."
"They'll be eager to stay."
Raising his brows, the person in charge pressed his junior into a chair, looked him in the eyes, and asked, "Suppose you're a newly founded game company."
"If your game loses to Fantasyland Company, would you feel ashamed."
Hearing this, he shook his head.
"Probably not."
"Right."
"The gap in fame and resources is just too big."
With a sigh, the person in charge went on, "Now, if there's a platform that sets a limited resource cap and lets your company compete with Fantasyland Company under the same conditions—wouldn't you be tempted."
"This…"
"Losing is only natural."
"No one will blame you—they'll even praise your courage for facing the big boss, Fantasyland."
"But if—just if—you happen to win."
"Hiss…"
A spark flashed in the junior's eyes.
"So… that's why you wanted to publicize this beforehand, Boss."
"Boss, that's brilliant."
"Why didn't I think of it."
Watching his junior get all excited, the person in charge felt immensely satisfied.
He coughed twice, put on an air of fathomless wisdom, and patted the junior's shoulder.
"Kid, you've got a lot to learn."
"Do a good job this time—I've got high hopes for you."
"I have a hunch this St. Freya Mini-Game Festival is going to be the most successful one yet."
"Once the achievement drops—tsk, tsk, tsk…"
He turned, then added casually, "The senior supervisor post has been vacant for a while now."
"When my seat opens up…"
Hearing that, how could the staffer not understand.
He got excited at once and patted his chest in guarantee.
"Rest easy, Boss."
"I'll do everything in my power to handle this well."
"Mm."
"A teachable lad~"
"And remember—if you don't know something, don't make decisions lightly."
"If you don't understand, ask me."
"Got it."
"Got it, Boss."
The next day, news that Fantasyland Company would exhibit at the St. Freya Mini-Game Festival was "accidentally" revealed by an interviewed staffer.
The moment the report went out, the internet exploded.
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