You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 359 What threat could a small cube pose?

While Wang Huabing was worrying about the data report in his office, Lu Ran was having a morning meeting with Zhou Mingzhe in the conference room of TuTu Technology.

The two-person meeting had no set procedure; they just talked about whatever came to mind.

"It seems like Weibo has been making some moves lately," Zhou Mingzhe said, scrolling through his phone. "I heard Wang Huabing is contacting EA, wanting to secure an exclusive community partnership."

"Oh." Lu Ran picked up his water glass and took a sip, his expression unchanged.

Zhou Mingzhe waited a few seconds, and when he saw that Zhou only said "Oh," he couldn't help but ask, "Is that all you're going to do?"

"Otherwise what? Should I say, 'Oh my god, Weibo is going to partner with EA, Tutu Technology is finished'?"

"That's not what I meant. I meant you should at least give some response. After all, it's Weibo, with nearly 200 million daily active users."

Lu Ran put down his water glass and leaned back in his chair: "Brother Zhou, I have a question for you. When was the last time you opened Weibo?"

Zhou Mingzhe paused for a moment, then thought for a moment: "It seems like... last month? No, the month before last? I can't remember."

"Do you remember when the last time Weibo released any fun game content?"

Zhou Mingzhe thought about it again, and this time his silence lasted even longer.

"Never mind if you can't remember," Lu Ran said. "I can't remember either. The gaming section on Weibo has practically disappeared. It's not a recent phenomenon; it's been like this for months. Users have left, content has left, streamers have left. All that's left are some automatically scraped information feeds and the occasional marketing account. Even EA couldn't save this place. It's not that EA isn't strong enough; it's that the environment on Weibo is no longer conducive to growth."

After listening, Zhou Mingzhe nodded and put his phone away: "So we're just going to ignore it?"

"Never mind," Lu Ran said. "What Wang Huabing does is his business, it has nothing to do with us. Our opponents are EA and Sakura Games, not Weibo. Weibo has never been our opponent, not before, not now, and never will be."

He said this in a very calm tone, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Looking at his expression, Zhou Mingzhe suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

Six months ago, Lu Ran would argue with someone for ages over a single "GG" spot on Weibo's splash screen.

Now that the founder of Weibo is personally trying to stir things up, Lu Ran doesn't even bat an eye.

This change doesn't mean Lu Ran has changed; it means that Tutu Technology has reached a new level.

"Alright, let's get down to business." Zhou Mingzhe opened his notebook. "The recruitment at the Chengdu branch is basically over. We received nearly two thousand resumes from four schools, and finally narrowed it down to sixty-three people. That's thirteen more than the original fifty. Would you like to see the list?"

"No need to look further. You can decide," Lu Ran said. "I trust your judgment. Sixty-three people, plus the thirty-eight from Shanghai, that's a total of one hundred and one new recruits. Do you have any ideas on how to arrange this group?"

Zhou Mingzhe flipped a page in his notebook: "My idea is to first gather everyone at the Shanghai headquarters for a month of training. During the training, there will be no departmental divisions, and everyone will learn the same things—the company culture, the product logic, work processes, and collaboration standards. After the training, we will assign people to different departments based on their strengths and preferences. Those who want to go to the Chengdu branch will be given priority, and those who want to stay in Shanghai are also welcome, but there are limited spots available, so it's first-come, first-served."

"What will the training cover? And who will conduct it?"

"You'll talk about one part, I'll talk about another. Lao Wang will talk about the technology, Xiao Yang about operations, and Lao Zhao about marketing. Everyone will talk about what they're best at."

Lu Ran thought for a moment: "One month isn't enough. At least two months. These people aren't here for internships; they're here to work. If the training isn't adequate, sending them out will only cause trouble. Two months: the first month is intensive training, and the second month is practical experience with experienced employees. After that, they'll be reassigned, and they can work in whichever department they're assigned to without needing to spend time adapting."

Zhou Mingzhe jotted down a few notes in his notebook: "If it's two months, then it will be February next year."

"February is February. Sharpening your axe won't delay your work. Newcomers learn quickly, saving even more time later."

Zhou Mingzhe closed his notebook: "There's another problem. What should these new recruits do during their training? They can't just attend classes without doing any work, or just talk the talk without walking the walk."

Lu Ran had already thought this through: "I have something for them to practice on. The game 'Seven Heroes of the Jianghu' is currently under maintenance, with a moderate daily active user count, which is perfect for newcomers to practice on. I'll open up the code repository to them, let them look at it, modify it themselves, and launch it themselves. Even if they encounter bugs, it's not a big deal, since there aren't many users. If they fix it well, it's their achievement; if they mess it up, I'll take responsibility."

Zhou Mingzhe was stunned for a moment: "Seven Heroes of the Jianghu? That was the first game you made yourself. You just dumped it on a newbie like that?"

"What's wrong with doing it yourself? You only know if a good horse is good or bad after you take it out for a spin. The maintenance cost of 'Seven Heroes Jianghu' is too high right now. Old Wang has to spend a lot of time dealing with its various small problems every day. Instead of having Old Wang spend all his time on it, it's better to hand it over to a newbie. The newbie gets practice, and Old Wang saves time. It's a win-win situation."

"What about 'Three Kingdoms Kill'? Should it also be handed over to newcomers?"

"We're splitting up a portion of 'Three Kingdoms Kill.' The core components, such as the matchmaking algorithm, ranking system, and anti-cheating measures, will still be handled by veterans. The peripheral parts, such as the event page, check-in system, and shop interface, can be handed over to newcomers. If problems arise, the impact will be minimal, and they can be fixed quickly."

After listening, Zhou Mingzhe remained silent for a moment: "You're quite open-minded. Although 'Seven Heroes' and 'Three Kingdoms Kill' aren't your most important projects, they were still developed with real money. You're really willing to hand them over to a bunch of recent graduates?"

"I wasn't comfortable with that. So I had the experienced staff handle the key parts, while the newcomers did the peripheral tasks. And each newcomer was paired with a mentor who supervised their work and took responsibility for any problems that arose. This way, the newcomers learned quickly, and the burden on the experienced staff wasn't too heavy."

Lu Ran paused, then looked at Zhou Mingzhe: "Brother Zhou, do you know why I'm giving these projects to newcomers to practice on?"

Why?

"Because our focus isn't on those two games. 'Seven Heroes' and 'Three Kingdoms Kill' are just icing on the cake for Tutu Technology. Having them won't make Tutu Technology stronger, and not having them won't make Tutu Technology weaker. What will truly elevate Tutu Technology to the next level is the next game."

Zhou Mingzhe looked up at him: "My world?"

"Yes." Lu Ran sat up straight. "Minecraft is the most important thing for Tutu Technology going forward. League of Legends is stable, Three Kingdoms Kill has launched its open beta, and the recruitment for the Chengdu branch is done. Now we can free up our resources to work on Minecraft. I've already spoken to Lao Wang, and he'll start building the core team this week. All the best people in the tech department will be transferred over. You should also find a few reliable operations staff to be specifically responsible for the community building of Minecraft. I'll oversee the planning and art; you can rest assured and let the newcomers take over their work."

Zhou Mingzhe quickly jotted down notes in his notebook, then looked up and asked, "How many people are needed for the core team?"

"We don't need too many people at the beginning, around twenty is enough. We can add more later. Minecraft isn't technically difficult, the challenge lies in its design philosophy. Anyone can write code, but the design philosophy of 'giving players endless possibilities' isn't something everyone can understand. So I need a group of people who truly understand games to help me, not just programmers who can write code."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"Yes. Lao Wang will be in charge of the technical architecture. Zhao Yiming, that newbie, can learn from Lao Wang and be responsible for some of the underlying code. Zhang Hao, the math major, will be in charge of the world generation algorithm. He showed me his plan before, and the idea is very clear. I'll handle the design myself, and you can help me find someone for the operations side."

Zhou Mingzhe nodded, wrote a few names in his notebook, and then looked up: "So, when will the 'Minecraft' project officially launch?"

"Now," Lu Ran said, "starting today, the core team will step away from other projects and focus full-time on Minecraft. League of Legends and Three Kingdoms Kill will be handled by others. Don't worry, I've already prepared all the plans, and the tech department's progress shouldn't be slow. Creating the first playable version within three months shouldn't be difficult."

Zhou Mingzhe looked at him with a complex expression in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Lu Ran asked.

"It's nothing," Zhou Mingzhe closed his notebook. "It's just that I think you're incredibly bold. EA's Wildlands is still ahead of the game, and you dare to make an open-world game. EA has been working on it for years and spent hundreds of millions, and you want to make the first version in three months. Who would believe that?"

"EA makes exquisite dishes, while I make a handful of flour. A fine meal takes a long time to prepare, but flour is ready to use right away. Players can make whatever they want to eat themselves."

Zhou Mingzhe stood up, tucked his notebook under his arm, and said, "Fine, you're the boss, so you call the shots. I'll make the arrangements."

He walked to the door, stopped, and turned back: "By the way, are you really not going to get involved in Wang Huabing's matter?"

"Never mind." Lu Ran leaned back in his chair. "If he can attract all of EA's users to Weibo, I'll give him a banner. EA's users can't stay on Weibo; they'll leave, and then they'll come back. It's all for nothing."

Zhou Mingzhe pushed open the door and went out.

Lu Ran sat alone in the conference room, picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, then took out his phone, opened Lao Wang's WeChat, and sent a message: "Lao Wang, have the core team members for My World been selected?"

Old Wang replied instantly: "It's settled. The eight best people in the technical department are all in place. When are you free? I'll call them over, and you can explain the plan to me."

"2 PM. Large conference room."

"receive."

Lu Ran put down his phone, opened his notebook, and turned to the page filled with his Minecraft plans.

He glanced at what he had written, felt there was nothing to change, closed his notebook, and stood up to walk towards his office.

The corridor was quiet, and most of the employees were already working at their workstations.

As he passed by the technical department, he saw Zhao Yiming standing in front of the whiteboard, drawing something with a marker.

Zhang Hao was standing next to them, and the two of them were discussing things back and forth.

Lu Ran didn't go in to disturb them, and continued walking forward with his cane.

His leg is much better now; he walks with only a slight limp and uses his crutches less and less.

The doctor said that in another week or two I will be able to completely stop using crutches, and after a period of rehabilitation training, I will be able to return to normal.

Back in the office, Shen Yuege was sitting on the sofa, reading a magazine. Seeing him enter, she looked up and asked, "Is the meeting over?"

"It's finished."

"What did Brother Zhou say?"

He said I was brave.

Shen Yuege laughed: "Haven't you always been bold?"

"That's not about being bold, it's about having foresight." Lu Ran walked behind the desk and sat down, putting his right leg on a footstool. "By the way, Yuege, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"My world is about to start. I'll be very busy for a while and may not have much time to spend with you."

Shen Yuege put down the magazine and looked at him: "When are you not busy? Ever since TUTU went online, haven't you been busy until midnight every single day?"

Lu Ran felt a little embarrassed by her words and scratched his head: "I'm really busy this time. A new project has started, and there are many things to keep an eye on. Once my world is online, I'll definitely spend more time with you."

"You said the same thing last time. You said the same thing the time before that. And the time before that."

"This time it's for real."

"You always say this time it's for real."

Lu Ran opened his mouth, but found that he really didn't have anything to refute, so he could only say, "Then I'll try to finish the project as soon as possible."

Shen Yuege looked at him and couldn't help but laugh: "Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. You go about your business, I'm not a child, I don't need you to accompany me every day. If you take care of my world, that's keeping me company."

Lu Ran was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"Because I want to play it too. Your game is so good, of course I want to play it as soon as possible. When you make a good game, I feel like you're with me when I play it."

Lu Ran felt a warmth in her heart from those words and smiled: "Then I have to make the game even better. If it's not done well, you'll have a hard time playing it, and I won't have a good time either."

"It's good that you know."

Shen Yuege picked up the magazine again and continued reading.

Lu Ran turned on his computer and began to organize the plan he would present to the core team that afternoon.

Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting long, thin shadows on the desk.

Lu Ran stared at the light and shadow for a while, and a question suddenly popped into his mind.

Does EA know that a game called Minecraft is being quietly launched in the offices of Tutu Technology?

Even if they found out, they probably wouldn't care.

What threat could a small block game made by a small company pose?

...