After receiving his first month’s salary, Chen Zemian roughly calculated that his total income from this job was – 32,085 yuan.
Although he had been paying to work, it was still a very enjoyable job. Chen Zemian had been hired directly by the BOSS and parachuted into a non-existent position. His daily work didn’t really involve any actual work.
During this time, Lu Zhuonian only visited the shooting range once. Chen Zemian had simply shown up to make his presence known. Perhaps he was too flattering and ended up annoying the boss, because Lu Zhuonian never came again.
Cool.
Without the boss around, Chen Zemian felt more relaxed. Every day, he played with guns and crossbows, disassembled firearms, assembled models, copied weapon parameters, worked on the game framework on his computer, played a ton of competing games, and wrote a detailed 60,000-word requirements document.
He just didn’t know how to optimize anything.
Every improvement costs more money.
Originally, Chen Zemian just wanted to mess around and create a basic game to earn some money, but he ended up getting too involved. The investment kept growing, and the budget kept being revised upward.
There was no helping it. In the past, when making games for investors, it felt like raising someone else’s child — it just had to be “good enough.” Whether the game succeeded or not was out of his hands. But now, Chen Zemian was his own boss, raising his own “child,” so of course the emotional investment was different.
Chen Zemian’s game had been approved and was named Re-Deification of the Gods. It was a 3D semi-real-time turn-based RPG mobile game.
Several key scenes had already been built. Now, all that was left was to finalize how these scenes would be presented and to prepare the promotional materials before launching the store page.
The game used ink painting as its visual base and followed a unique Chinese art style. The background was based on the legendary Battle of the Gods during the Shang Dynasty. Character designs were directly adapted from The Investiture of the Gods — Daji, Nezha, Ao Bing, Yang Jian, and Jiang Ziya were all available as character cards. If you want them, just spend some money to get them.
The Investiture of the Gods is undeniably a grand ensemble story, full of potential for development.
Protagonists from different backgrounds form two opposing factions. They gather from across the land, bond like brothers, and fight side by side. Like stars, they shine brightly and brilliantly, but eventually disappear in the torrent of history — leaving behind only a character card that summarizes their life in a few words.
In comparison, the historical weight and grandeur immediately stand out.
Using a well-established mythology as the foundation made it especially easy to work with. There was no need to rack his brain for plot development — there were already too many classic scenes to choose from.
Chen Zemian decided to start with one of the most iconic stories: Nezha Conquers the Dragon King. For the past few days, he had been doodling lotuses and dragons in his notebook.
Being a game planner meant knowing a little bit of everything. In order to better communicate his vision to the artists, he’d learned some sketching so he could outline the visual details himself.
After all, even the roughest picture is clearer than plain text.
He could afford to compromise a bit on programming, but the game’s visuals had to be exquisite.
As the number one rebel in the heavens, Nezha had always been wildly popular. Based on past experience, Chen Zemian decided to write a cruel and poignant storyline. He planned to push the first major story arc to Nezha’s suicide, ending with petals falling from the sky in a breathtaking visual effect.
Brutal, but beautiful.
That day was another Saturday, and Chen Zemian was discussing the design of the Dragon Palace with the environment artist.
He insisted the Crystal Palace had to be dazzling — radiant, transparent, shimmering.
The artist had been “typing” for a long time but hadn’t actually sent a message.
Probably cursing him out.
Before he realized it, it was already noon. Yan Luo still hadn’t returned, so Chen Zemian closed his laptop and went to the exhibition hall to call him for lunch.
Halfway there, he suddenly heard raised voices. It sounded like a customer was unhappy with a staff member’s attitude and wanted to escalate the complaint to the boss.
Chen Zemian had sharp ears and quickly recognized one of the cold voices as Yan Luo. He called out to a nearby staff member and asked what was going on.
The staff member, upon seeing Chen Zemian, looked as though they’d just seen their savior and immediately explained the situation.
It turned out some new visitors wanted to book a training room for themselves, but hadn’t made a reservation in advance. All the ranges were currently in use, and they didn’t want to share. At first, they offered extra money, but then claimed they saw an empty room on their way in and demanded to know why they couldn’t use it.
Yan Luo told them that one of the two empty rooms had already been reserved and the other was the boss’s private gym, so neither was available. The group immediately insisted on speaking to the boss.
It wouldn’t have been a big issue, but Yan Luo wasn’t great at customer service — his tone was cold and blunt. The customer seized on that and refused to back down.
Normally, Yan Luo didn’t handle reception duties, but today he just happened to get dragged into this dispute.
Chen Zemian heard a staff member explaining again “I’m sorry, sir, that really is our boss’s private training room. There’s a sign that says it’s not open to the public. Maybe it wasn’t noticeable, and you missed it.”
But the customer wouldn’t let it go. “Your boss is running a business too, isn’t he? He’s not even here, and the room’s empty. Why can’t we use it? Is your boss that rigid?”
The moment Lu Zhuonian was mentioned, Yan Luo’s face darkened and he said coldly, “No means no.”
The customer instantly bristled “Hey, what kind of attitude is that? ‘No means no’? I can’t deal with you. Get your boss. I’ll speak to him directly.”
That voice sounded familiar. Chen Zemian peeked around the doorway toward the source.
Sure enough, his gaze locked with theirs.
It was someone he knew — the very first person he’d met after traveling through time:
Wu Xu.
What a small world.
Wu Xu clearly didn’t expect to run into Chen Zemian either. He turned his head and muttered something to the person next to him.
Who else could be with Wu Xu?
Chen Zemian shifted his gaze — and wasn’t surprised to see Xu Shaoyang, the second young master of the Xu family.
Xu Shaoyang was wearing the latest season’s GUCCI sweatshirt. The designer had gone all out with bright colors — clashing red and green — and overloaded it with intricate patterns. It was impossible to miss him.
Young Master Xu was still as flamboyant as ever, dressed to the nines for a visit to the shooting range.
Chen Zemian raised an eyebrow but didn’t get a chance to think before Xu Shaoyang pointed directly at him and shouted:
“Stop!”
In an instant, all eyes turned to him.
Chen Zemian “…”
I wasn’t trying to leave.
He pushed open the door and entered the room: “Second Young Master Xu.”
Wu Xu’s expression changed when he saw Chen Zemian — clearly a bit afraid.
He was the only person present who had fought Chen Zemian before. Even now, he wasn’t sure whether he’d lost because Chen Zemian was actually that skilled or because he’d been too drunk that night.
Just seeing Chen Zemian again gave him a headache.
Xu Shaoyang squinted and stared at the name badge on Chen Zemian’s chest.
So this is where you’ve been hiding.
That night at Lushui Pavilion, Lu Zhuonian had personally intervened to protect Chen Zhe, causing quite a stir. After hearing about it, Xu Shaoyang’s family strictly forbade him from clashing with Lu Zhuonian again, so the matter was dropped.
But Xu Shaoyang never forgot the humiliation. And now, he’d heard rumors that Chen Zhe had offended the Liu family’s young master and hadn’t been seen with Lu Zhuonian lately.
Without Lu Zhuonian’s protection, Chen Zhe was nothing. And today, he had walked right into Xu Shaoyang’s hands.
Xu Shaoyang sneered “Chen Zhe, you’re good at hiding, aren’t you?”
Yan Luo heard the hostility in Xu Shaoyang’s tone, quickly walked over to Chen Zemian, and asked quietly “Do you know this guy? Should I call the manager?”
Chen Zemian shook his head “It’s fine. You go. I’ll handle it.”
Yan Luo gave him a skeptical look “Can you handle it?”
Chen Zemian replied confidently “Easy.”
A group of people arrived in clusters. Although there were many of them, they were all useless — none could fight.
If Yan Luo had known how easy it would be to deal with Chen Zemian, he would never have entrusted him with handling the guests.
Unfortunately, he was still too young and didn’t know Chen Zemian well enough. With just a few coaxing words, he had been misled.
“Do you work here?” Xu Shaoyang asked.
Chen Zemian nodded.
In a commanding tone, Xu Shaoyang said, “Come with me to the training ground.”
Chen Zemian replied, “Then we can only settle things with a match, Second Young Master Xu.”
Xu Shaoyang sneered at him. “Fine. I just want to have a bit of fun with you. Any competition will do.”
He had originally wanted to use this opportunity to humiliate Chen Zemian. The more people who witnessed it, the more satisfied he would feel.
Xu Shaoyang licked his back teeth, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes.
In the training ground, the sound of gunfire echoed.
Chen Zemian rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, exposing his pale forearms. “What game do you want to play, Mr. Xu?”
Xu Shaoyang took a pistol from the coach and spun it between his fingers. “None of the bodyguards could stop you the other day. That means you’re pretty skilled.”
Chen Zemian remained calm. “I get by.”
Xu Shaoyang pointed the gun at him. “Since you’re so capable, you shouldn’t be afraid of a pistol.”
Staring calmly at the muzzle, Chen Zemian replied indifferently, “Not really.”
Xu Shaoyang aimed at his forehead and lowered his voice, cold as a snake’s hiss. “Of course, there’s no need to be afraid. I’m not insane. Why would I shoot you here? But in other places… you’d better watch out, Chen Zhe.”
“I don’t know where you plan to shoot,” Chen Zemian said as he slapped a box of bullets onto the training table, “but I do know there are no bullets in your gun. Rule three of the shooting range’s safety regulations states that guns and bullets must be kept separate. It’s posted in the most obvious place in the hall. Young Master Xu must have missed it.”
Xu Shaoyang: “…”
Chen Zemian pushed the box of bullets toward him. “Young Master Xu must have poor eyesight if he couldn’t see such a big sign at the entrance to my boss’s private training hall.”
Xu Shaoyang took out the magazine and checked it. Sure enough, it was empty.
Threatening someone with a gun is intimidating — but an empty gun makes it look ridiculous.
Especially in front of an audience.
Having failed to show off, Xu Shaoyang’s expression darkened. “Is this your service attitude? Does your boss know he employs someone as sharp-tongued as you?”
Chen Zemian remained indifferent. “Feel free to file a complaint.”
Xu Shaoyang was stunned for a moment, then chuckled.
He had never met someone so unyielding.
Chen Zemian feared nothing, cared even less. No matter what Xu Shaoyang said, he remained unfazed — as if Xu had been punching cotton this entire time. He was the only one getting angrier.
Frustrated, Xu Shaoyang ran a hand through his hair and tried to assert control. “Call your boss.”
Chen Zemian’s expression remained blank. “The boss isn’t here.”
Xu Shaoyang raised his voice. “Just because you say so? Call him! I want to complain about you!”
“Second Young Master, can’t you see that complaint box right next to you?” Chen Zemian pointed at the box, then looked at Xu Shaoyang with a hint of sympathy, his tone lazy and unhurried. “Did you forget your contact lenses today?”
One of Xu Shaoyang’s followers slammed the table. “Stop talking nonsense! Our Young Master Xu isn’t nearsighted!”
Chen Zemian raised an eyebrow, pretending to suddenly realize something. “Oh? If he’s not nearsighted and still can’t see clearly, then the only explanation is…”
He didn’t finish the sentence — but everyone filled in the blank themselves.
He’s brainless.
“What did you say?!”
Xu Shaoyang was furious. He grabbed Chen Zemian by the collar and yanked him close, jabbing a finger at his face. “If you’ve got the guts, say it out loud! What kind of man are you, hesitating like that?”
Chen Zemian tilted his head to avoid the finger. “I said you have no brains. You look like someone with mental retardation. Haven’t you been diagnosed?”
“!!!”
It was the first time in Xu Shaoyang’s life someone had insulted him to his face. Rage surged through him. His blood boiled.
He immediately threw a punch at Chen Zemian’s eye.
But Chen Zemian had been waiting for that. He grabbed Xu’s fist, twisted his wrist, and flipped him over with a clean shoulder throw.
“Mr. Xu!” “Mr. Xu!”
Xu Shaoyang was thrown into the air. Wu Xu and the other followers were shocked. They tried to catch him but were too slow.
Chen Zemian had moved lightning-fast, giving no warning.
Who would’ve thought he’d attack someone — at work, no less?
Did he have no fear of consequences?
With a loud crash, Xu Shaoyang slammed to the ground. All the bones in his body seemed to rattle. His internal organs felt displaced, his soul shaken loose. For a few seconds, he felt numb and dazed — then pain crept in, sharp and searing.
“Chen Zhe, you’re dead meat!” Xu Shaoyang groaned, clutching his ribs while others helped him up. “How dare you assault a customer?”
Chen Zemian pointed at the surveillance camera. “You struck first. Should I call the police for you?”
Xu Shaoyang froze.
He realized he would be the one in trouble if the police got involved.
He had just pointed a gun at Chen Zemian!
Enraged, he grabbed the bullet box and hurled it at him. “Who the hell is your boss? How dare he hire someone like you! I’ll make sure he fires you!”
“I’m his boss,” came a cold, sharp voice from the doorway. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Everyone turned toward the door.
Xu Shaoyang’s pupils contracted violently. It felt like someone had grabbed him by the throat — he couldn’t get a word out.
It was Lu Zhuonian.
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
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