The boss pitches an interactive design, and the crew is thrown into debate. 7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8r3kZzRK5w
A universe that might one day be unlocked is quietly beginning to take shape.
7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyQs7u9HcU
When everyone returned to the office after the break, they were surprised to find that the person who was supposed to be sitting in the supervisor’s chair was nowhere to be seen.
…Huh. Where did the boss go?
Just as someone was about to ask, the office door swung open.
“Here—! I just queued up to buy these! Don’t be shy, everyone~”
The boss came in carrying a bag of freshly made pastries and several cups of freshly shaken drinks, his smile as full as the bag in his hands.
He even seemed to be glowing faintly—radiant in a way that was frankly unsettling.
The screenwriter’s eyelid twitched.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGLZwAEFuF
Folding their arms, they leaned back in their chair, voice edged with suspicion.
“When you act like this, I get even more scared…”
After a half-second pause, he went straight for the jugular.
“Just say it. What’s this audience interaction thing about?”
Then he closed the eyes, as if bracing themselves for some kind of karmic judgment.
Seeing that someone had finally spoken up, the boss didn’t bother easing into it.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDiscw6pIt
Without any preamble, he launched straight into an overfamiliar, enthusiastically shared vision.
“Xiyu and the others are coming back soon, and The Hidden Moon and the Sea of Dawn has been on hold for ages,” he said.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOaFtsuGOF
“So I thought—why not take the chance to add something new?”
His words sped up as he went, his smile slowly drifting toward something deeply unsettling.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbIfMHToP1
Around the room, everyone’s nerves tightened in unison.
“I was thinking—what if, while I’m watching, an option window suddenly pops up and lets me decide where the story goes?”
“Like in a wuxia story, when the protagonist receives a secret manual from a master. I get to choose what kind of technique is inside, and the protagonist has to walk the path I picked.”
He threw both hands into the air, pride written all over his face.
“I’d be directly inside the story! I’d be that master!”
“Isn’t that amazing?!”
He finished with a look of pure anticipation, the kind of joy someone wears after successfully snagging a limited-edition event ticket.
The office, however, froze solid.
Everyone looked as though they were trying to decipher some kind of high-level Morse code.
A few seconds passed before the screenwriter was the first to explode.
“So this means I’d have to plan every possible branch in advance, right?!7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6kNB3YKl1
And not just that—they’d all have to react in real time?!”
The art lead was half a beat slower, but her brow soon furrowed as well.
“Then wouldn’t I need to prepare multiple versions of the props at the same time?”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HR374VwQm
“And if the cost gets too high, do we wait until the audience votes are in before we even start making them?!”
The manager, meanwhile, held the documents in hand, flipping through pages without looking up as he added calmly:
“To preserve immersion, the choices have to be logically sound.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWt6wwS7kn
Character shifts must stay aligned with the main storyline.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHm0vUV8Sw
We might even need to bring in additional actors on short notice.”
He paused, pen already moving.
“Hold on—I’m logging the current risk projections…”
The room teetered on the edge of chaos, everyone scrambling to salvage the part of their workload that was threatening to blow up.
Then, from the one person who hadn’t spoken at all, a voice finally cut through.
“I… I want to try it.”
The moment the words landed, the air seemed to freeze solid.
Everyone stared, turning toward the director in stunned silence—7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfssfczz41
even the art lead paused mid-motion, temporarily suspending her campaign to destroy the boss.
The director closed his notebook and looked around the room, his expression calm.
“I know this idea is completely insane,” he said.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxU6AGSPRy
“But don’t you think—if we actually pull it off, it would be something incredible?”
“We made Guiltbound happen. All of us.”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8YwqkjDjv
“We’re already stronger than we were before.”
“This task looks impossible…”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WFAOtp0Sg
“But maybe it’s something we can try to take on.”
The meeting room fell into silence for several long minutes.
In the end, the manager was the first to speak.
“Alright,” he said.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn7r2tywQ6
“I’ll compile the technical and practical issues everyone just raised into a report and check with the relevant departments.”
The screenwriter covered their face and groaned.
“Ugh… no wonder the fortune teller said I’m destined for a life of hard labor…”
The art lead lowered her head, clutching her sketches as she sighed.
“This is basically reality forcing me to level up…”
Meanwhile, the director had already reopened his notebook—7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiC8fGgz1A0
sketching, jotting things down, quietly slipping back into his own world.
Seeing the atmosphere finally settle, the boss tried to sneak something in.
“Uh… about the Lil' Pink Easter egg…”
The art lead snapped her head up, smiling with unmistakable menace.
“You still want me to handle Lil' Pink?”7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeZ8vDHa2o
“And you still dare ask me to handle Lil' Pink?”
Just as the boss was about to be backed into a corner, the manager cut in decisively.
“Let’s put anything related to Xiaofen on hold until the interactive system is confirmed.”
“I’ll run the verification process. We’ll reconvene in an hour—get ready.”
“Alright, I’ll think about how to structure the branching narratives…”
The screenwriter began mapping out possible side paths,7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41IeYROjKJ
flipping through past story frameworks while muttering under their breath about whether this was some kind of karmic loop.
The art lead frowned, opened the budget spreadsheet, and recalculated potential materials and time costs.
“If I have to prepare five versions, I might actually die…”
The director had already sunk deep into his notebook—7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGRYxKY0Pz
sketches and branching models taking shape one after another, clearly planning to prototype first.
Meanwhile, the boss quietly shrank back into his seat,7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhL8Nr0IrP
biting into a pastry with his head lowered, as if afraid another sentence might get him executed on the spot.
At that moment, a certain possibility quietly landed—7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFoUkCue0b
whether it would ever take root, no one yet knew.
and then Add to home screen.