บท 22: My new team!
"Ugh, my brain hurts."
Near noon, John exited the virtual space, but even in the real world, he kept rubbing his forehead. He subconsciously ran his fingers along his hairline. Thankfully, his hair was still intact, but his forehead felt a little warm.
He stood up, walked downstairs, and sat at the table—though it was more like a conference table than a dining table.
"Brother, you seem more irritable lately," Lily teased, her eyes narrowed with a playful smile.
"What's your point? Do you enjoy seeing me annoyed?" John frowned, his frustration evident.
"Hee hee, it's kind of fun!"
"…I should've never sent you that red envelope."
"Too late! It was my well-earned reward."
"Is there something wrong with the game design?" Grace asked, her concern cutting through the banter.
"Well, it's not exactly a problem. It just feels like things are moving too slowly," John replied.
Clink. The sound of a cup hitting the table drew their attention. Michael calmly picked up his cup without saying a word.
"Slow?" Grace raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's slow?"
Though she wasn't a game designer herself, she had learned a lot about John's work. Michael had explained much of John's game development process to her, including his impressive production speed.
"Why don't you bring in more people to help?" she suggested.
"Huh? No need—wait." John's brain suddenly clicked. That's right! Why not get more people to help him?
If this world's designers could create something as complex as "Second World," their tech was clearly up to the task. What they lacked was the information he had! If he provided them with the necessary details, they could help build the virtual world for him.
He could have others handle the tedious parts while he directed the broader project! Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?
"System! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
"Ding~ I assumed the host could figure it out," the system chimed in.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Something wrong?" Grace asked, noticing John's distant look.
"No, nothing at all! Actually, you're right, Mom! I should get more people involved." John gritted his teeth at the system but smiled warmly at his mother.
"Told you so. You can't do everything alone," she replied with a smile. "Want me to help recruit a team for you?"
"Yeah… that'd be great. Thanks, Mom."
John wasn't connected enough to find the right people himself, so it was a relief to leave this task to his mom.
After lunch, John returned to his room, eager to continue working on the virtual world. He was already halfway through building it, so he wouldn't hand that part over. But once the team was ready, he'd have plenty of work for them.
A few days later, Grace introduced John to a professional virtual game development team. In this world, most virtual games were created by teams, and John's solo work was rare. High-level game designers typically formed their own teams once they had a few accomplishments under their belt.
These teams generally worked on a model where the designer provided the creative direction, and the team handled the modeling, programming, and other tasks.
However, the team Grace had found was… unexpected.
"Hello, I'm Sarah Evans, the leader of the Edge Horizon team," said a young woman with long black hair as she extended her hand toward John.
"Uh… hello." John awkwardly shook her hand, his mind spinning as he looked at the group of people behind her—all of whom were women.
What is this, a battalion of female soldiers? John thought, blinking in confusion. He shot Grace a look, hoping for some sort of explanation. But she just smiled serenely at Sarah Evans, seemingly oblivious to John's silent pleas.
I've been outmaneuvered, he thought, trying not to feel too overwhelmed.
"And your name… it's so bold! Can I even handle it?" John muttered to himself before asking, "Is there someone here named Lord Grim?"
"Lord Grim? Boss, are you looking for a different team?" Sarah furrowed her brow, shaking her head. "We don't have anyone by that name here. Never even heard of them in this industry."
"No, no, forget I asked," John quickly replied. "Wait—don't call me boss just yet…"
"But we've already signed the contract with your company, boss," a girl with large, expressive eyes interjected from behind Sarah.
"I… okay." John sighed, realizing this was another case of his mother's clever strategy. A done deal, no turning back now.
Grace clapped her hands. "Well, now that it's settled, the accommodation for the team is next door. You can settle in and later, John can go over the work details with you."
"Alright, boss. We'll get set up," Sarah said, and with that, the group of women waved and headed out.
After they left, John turned to his mom, eyes filled with playful annoyance. "Mom, what's going on?"
"What? You wanted help, so I got you help."
"I meant a group of, you know, tools—people to work. This is…"
"Oh please," Grace chuckled. "Isn't it better to have a team that's easy on the eyes while they're working? You seemed to enjoy watching them just now."
John blushed. "That's not the point. What about their work capabilities?"
"Don't worry. I've already checked them out. They're ranked in the top ten virtual game production teams in the country. Do you really think I hired them just because they're pretty?" Grace smirked.
"Top ten?" John's eyes widened.
"Yes. They used to work under Leo Thomas, a top-tier game designer. There were some disagreements, so I took the opportunity to bring them over."
Leo Thomas? John's mind raced. That name sounded familiar. Wasn't he the guy who designed that "new version of the ship" game I saw when I first arrived in this world?
"So… the company arranged their accommodation next door?" John asked, still processing everything.
"Of course. It's more convenient for work."
Can't argue with that, he thought.
"Now go meet with them and start laying out the tasks," Grace instructed, pushing him toward the door.
"Alright, alright," John muttered, heading off to figure out how to work with his new team.
A/N: Donate some stones guys!, These are the three chapters for today, also I will upload more chapters tomorrow. So stay tuned and Enjoy ✌️.
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