Chapter 283: Grandma Songque? Auntie Chen? Songque: Big Boss Su Mu, please lead the way!
Soon, Su Mu and Mobius arrived at the designated meeting place with Songque.
It had to be said that Songque was quite attentive. Knowing that the two had traveled from afar and must be exhausted and hungry, she arranged the meeting at a rather decent private restaurant.
"Wow! Big Boss Su Mu, you've really kept me and my little partners waiting! Seeing you two esteemed guests arrive, I feel this private room is practically beaming with light!"
The moment Songque saw Su Mu, her lips started moving, delivering a continuous stream of praise.
This level of enthusiasm left both Su Mu and Mobius a bit stunned.
Songque was about to show off more of her eloquence, but fortunately, Senadina, Helia, and Coralie stepped in to hold her back.
"Haha, sorry about that. Grandma Songque has always been like this... she's just a bit too excited. She's been restless ever since she heard you were coming."
Senadina covered Songque's mouth and looked at Su Mu and Mobius with an apologetic smile.
"Auntie Chen! Let me finish my prepared lines! Otherwise, it's just too impolite! How can we treat guests from afar like this! Let go of me!!"
Songque struggled hard; she clearly had a strong desire to make a good impression.
Looking at the group making a scene, Su Mu and Mobius exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit of helplessness.
How should one put it?
Watching these girls joke and play, Su Mu was reminded of Kiana and the others... though the time, place, and people were different.
But the friendship between these young girls was still just as dazzling.
After a while, the farce ended when the waiter began serving the food.
"Big Boss Su Mu, these are eight private dishes I personally handpicked. We've got things that fly in the sky, run on the ground, and swim in the water—everything! To welcome you, I, Little Sparrow, have been worrying day and night, tossing and turning, thinking it over so much I couldn't sleep all night..."
Listening to Songque's "cross-talk" performance, Su Mu gave a wry smile. Perhaps this kid should be renamed Sparrow; her chirping ability was indeed impressive.
"With your eloquence, I think you'd get along great with Pardofelis."
"Pa-Pa-Pardofelis? You mean that high-popularity streamer? No, no, no, how could I ever compare to a big star like her! I'm content just guarding my own little patch of land and making some small change under your leadership, Big Boss Su Mu!"
Senadina and the others whispered comments from the side.
"I feel like Songque is covered in the stench of money."
"True."
"Being so bluntly loyal to one's desires... what can I say? That's Songque for you."
Songque immediately felt wronged: "Sena! How can you guys say that about me? Am I not thinking about our future? Do you know how important money is these days! Without money, it's impossible to move an inch in this world! Have you already forgotten the misery of me having to set up a fortune-telling stall on the street to earn subsidies when the studio was about to go bankrupt?"
"Uh..."
"Come to think of it, the reason the studio almost went bankrupt was entirely Songque's responsibility, wasn't it?"
"Back then, it was Songque who dragged us into investing... If I remember correctly, Thelema also invested a lot of money."
"Songque is just purely afraid of being dragged back by Lady Thelema. After all, aren't you Lady Thelema's 'pet'?"
The trio's words brought Songque to the verge of tears.
"You, you guys... how can you be so cold and heartless! I, I know I've done many things wrong! But there's no need to be so hurtful!"
The conversation made Su Mu feel amused.
As the saying goes:
Certain people are best at playing from behind, always managing to survive in desperate situations.
As for how they got into that disadvantageous position in the first place, don't worry about it—just focus on whether they tried their best, right?
Don't worry about how the studio fell into a slump; just look at whether Songque did her best while telling fortunes on the street, okay?
"Alright, alright. You've been talking nonstop since we walked in. At least let him say a few words."
Senadina sighed.
"Yes, yes, my apologies for being inconsiderate. Big Boss Su Mu, don't mind me! Hehehe."
Watching Songque scratch her head with an embarrassed smile, Su Mu found it quite funny.
He certainly didn't mind. In fact, he thought Songque was quite interesting.
It was no wonder Songque became the group's favorite; she was indeed very good at making herself likable.
And with her eloquence, she probably wouldn't make many enemies. After all, as the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face, and Songque's praise came in one set after another.
He guessed that Bronya must have been called "Lady Bronya" by Songque quite often.
Don't think Songque only had a sweet tongue; not many people could speak like this so shamelessly and recklessly. This was probably Songque's unique talent.
"In that case, let's get straight to the point."
Su Mu didn't stand on ceremony. After all, time was tight and the task was heavy, and the actual control of this studio had already shifted to him.
So, it was no problem to say he was the boss of this studio now.
"I believe Songque has already told you about my purpose... For the coming period, Dr. Mobius and I will be bothering you for a while."
Songque was all smiles: "No bother at all! Please, bother us as much as you like! I've been around Canghai City for years; if there are any problems, just leave them all to me!"
Su Mu gave Songque a helpless look and coughed: "Then let's talk about the studio—who is currently in charge of the financial reports?"
Coralie raised her hand.
Su Mu looked at Coralie. Her full name was Coralie 6626 Planck. She had been adopted by Dr. Einstein and had obtained a doctorate at the age of seventeen. She was a literal genius.
Having such a genius as an accountant... one could only say Songque was somewhat overqualified.
The other one, Erdős Helia, was a member of Schicksal and an idolizes Durandal. She currently worked mainly at the Schicksal branch in Canghai City. She had also invested a sum of money in Songque's studio out of friendship.
After getting an overview of the studio's financial situation, Su Mu chatted with the group about other things, mainly to understand how Songque's studio operated on a daily basis.
Although these had been explained over the phone, it was better to confirm them in person.
"To be honest, I'm very satisfied with life at the studio. It's much happier than a life where work is just meetings and after-work is immediately overtime."
"...Cough, anyway, I'm just saying. Don't go reporting me to Overseer Otto."
Helia was also an interesting girl.
Of course.
When it came to the most "heavyweight" character among them, it had to be the girl named Senadina.
In the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd from his previous life, the player, acting as the Dreamseeker, was pulled into a dream by someone calling herself "Senadina." Through a dance, they signed a contract to "save the world," and she gifted them the "Astral Ring."
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this girl was the starting point of the Part 2 story.
However, Su Mu felt that she and Elysia would probably get along very well.
"I'm not bragging, but our studio atmosphere is top-notch! My employees have happy families, harmonious relationships, friends who love each other, and teachers who praise them in class..."
Watching Songque talk big, Senadina rested her chin on her hand, looking quite helpless.
"Grandma Songque, are you trying to scare away our benefactor?"
"Auntie Chen, are you underestimating my charm? I'm not boasting, but as long as I, Songque, take action, there's no contract I can't negotiate and no benefactor I can't land!"
"Is that so? But I remember someone's studio was almost driven to bankruptcy before."
"That—that was before! The current me is a better, stronger, and complete version of Songque! That's right, the current me is flawless!"
This sentence almost made Su Mu spit out his food. Songque, are you trying to be like Cell becoming a Perfect Form, only to be beaten up by a Saiyan? Hey! Isn't it a coincidence? Songque really can evolve; you just need to turn her into soup... No, catch Jue and refine her instantly...
"Mm, I can see that. Having such a group of good friends by your side, Songque is indeed very lucky."
Su Mu smiled. His words made Songque pause, and then she scratched her head sheepishly.
"Hehe, I know I'm just good with my words and don't actually have much ability... so I'm very grateful to them. If it weren't for their support, my studio would have closed down long ago, right? By then, I really would have been dragged back by Lady Thelema to be a pet..."
"Just to add, Grandma Songque only came out to open a studio because she didn't want to be Lady Thelema's 'pet'."
"Auntie Chen, don't say such misleading things! What 'pet'! What if Big Boss Su Mu misunderstands!"
Watching the "titles" they used for each other, Su Mu couldn't help but laugh. Was "Little Sister Elysia" and "Grandma Mobius" coming up next?
Mobius hadn't said much while sitting on the side. After all, her task was just to watch Su Mu and monitor his use of the Synesthesia Beacon. She didn't ask much about other things, but looking at this group of energetic young girls, her gaze toward Su Mu became somewhat playful.
"?"
Su Mu slowly typed a question mark, feeling like the Snek was up to no good.
He shook his head. The immediate priority was the meeting with Topaz. Whether they could form a partnership with the Interastral Peace Entertainment Company depended on this meeting.
Originally, Su Mu wanted to sign with the Interastral Peace Company as an individual, which would make it easier to collect evidence of Scott's crimes and find proof of him exploiting game developers.
But Topaz's invitation made him change his mind. He decided to cooperate in the name of a studio. After all, using his own people was more reassuring; Su Mu didn't want anyone to trip him up later.
Of course, the relationship between Songque's studio, Bronya, and Su Mu was perfectly hidden. The Interastral Peace Company wouldn't be able to find any connection.
After all, money transfers were handled by a certain genius hacker; even the Interastral Peace Company wouldn't find a single trace.
This is why having many friends means having many paths—the skills of a genius hacker are truly useful.
Therefore, the public head of the studio was still Songque. When they met Topaz, Su Mu would attend as the Game Director of Songque's studio.
The burden of negotiating with Topaz was given to Songque, while Su Mu would play a supporting role.
Naturally, he wouldn't use his real name. He had taken on a new identity to join Songque's studio.
For Kevin, it wasn't difficult to obtain an identity with a substantial "life resume."
Even if the Interastral Peace Company investigated, they wouldn't find anything.
After dinner, Su Mu and Mobius went back to their hotel to rest, and Songque followed them.
Though it was called resting, Su Mu immediately entered work mode and discussed specific details regarding the meeting with Topaz with Songque.
"Can—can I really pull this off? That's a high-level executive from the Interastral Peace Company! The reputation of the Stonehearts is legendary even in our Canghai City!"
Seeing Songque about to revert into "Cowardly Sparrow," Su Mu said with a smile:
"This task must be done by you. I believe in your ability... and I've already prepared a product that will make Lady Topaz sign with us."
Saying this, Su Mu took out his laptop and opened a game that was still in production but had completed the sequence from the twins waking up to touching the Statue of the Seven for the first time.
"This—this is..."
The sunglasses Songque had perched on her forehead fell down instantly. She stared at the game screen, completely stunned.
"Genshin Impact. It should be considered an early, incomplete deep-test version. You're probably the first person besides me to see this version. How about it? Want to give it a try?"
Songque nodded and immediately began playing this open-world game that had once caused a sensation in his previous life.
Although there wasn't much content—one could even describe it as having almost no content at all.
But after playing it, Songque couldn't help but sigh.
"Is this the strength of Big Boss Su Mu? Besides admiration, I have no other words..."
It had to be said that even as an unfinished deep-test version, the smoothness of the character animations far exceeded Songque's imagination.
The art style of Genshin Impact itself had a broader appeal and was easier for people to accept. Thus, with just one look, Songque saw the potential value of this game.
Although she didn't have much talent for making games, she had been in the industry long enough to have some unique insights.
Furthermore, this deep-test version was actually completed by Su Mu alone—from the framework and code to the character modeling, animation, and move design... he did it all independently.
Songque had truly witnessed what kind of terrifying strength the man who had set off storm after storm in the gaming world possessed.
"How is it?"
Su Mu smiled at the dumbfounded Songque. Although it was an early development version, because the technological level of this world was much higher than in his previous life, the refinement of Genshin Impact far exceeded the original.
Of course, for the sake of the player experience, he had optimized many things, such as removing the stamina limit for running in the open world and changing it so that only dashing consumes stamina. Naturally, stamina would still be consumed in combat, aiming to increase the comfort of exploration.
"I will win!"
Songque put on a face full of confidence. However, the line she spoke made Su Mu pause, and then he gave a wry smile.
"Do you know? That sentence is already like a flag..."
A vision of Sparkle lying on the ground with Topaz and her Warp Trotter standing before her inexplicably popped into Su Mu's mind.
["I'm sorry I couldn't make Lady Topaz use her full strength..."]
No, no, wrong show. Small-sized Zhao Shuang, medium-sized Zhao Shuang, and large-sized Zhao Shuang—it really made it hard for him to tell who was who.
END OF CHAPTER
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