Wednesday, November 4th
Lin Feng and Li Jun held their usual daily Starfall meeting, after the Xunfeng delivery meeting of course.
They reviewed the previous day's work. A few minor conflicts had arisen from the Progression and Shop Integration tasks - mostly on the repo side - but they resolved these issues quickly and safely merged the code.
With both features now marked complete, they moved on to the next phase: UI/UX refinement.
They also began populating the Jokers and other Modifiers using the abstractions they had built earlier.
Li Jun leaned back from his monitor and glanced at the placeholder graphics on screen.
"What are we going to do with all these stock assets?" he asked. "We're not shipping with this, right?"
Lin Feng nodded. "Actually, I was thinking about that too."
He turned to face Li Jun.
"I was thinking we could commission the art to a freelancer. Some sound design too."
He gestured at the screen.
"The whole theme is simplistic, so it shouldn't cost us much. About ten thousand yuan for the art, and around the same for sound."
He looked at Li Jun.
"What do you think?"
Li Jun considered it for a moment. That sounded reasonable.
"We should do that," he said. Then he paused. "But we don't have any money in the company account. Should we begin filling our subscribed capital?"
Lin Feng nodded. "We need it anyway. There's a deal we're about to sign soon."
"A deal?"
Lin Feng just smiled. "It's a secret."
Li Jun leaned forward. "Come on, tell me."
"Let's just say..." Lin Feng's smile widened. "It has something to do with Moon Fairy."
Li Jun's eyes lit up. "Could it be... a collab?"
"No way," Lin Feng said, waving his hand dismissively. "By the time we collab, she'll already have debuted. How can we afford her then…"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Li Jun blinked. "Debut?"
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Ah, ahem." Lin Feng cleared his throat. "Nothing."
He quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, I'll put in fifty thousand. How much will you?"
Li Jun shrugged. "Since we both own equal equity, it's only fair that I match you."
Lin Feng stared at him.
He hadn't even batted an eye at taking out such an amount. Even Lin Feng - who had infinite system money - felt his heart ache a little.
"Is something wrong?" Li Jun asked, noticing his intense look.
Lin Feng shook his head.
"Ahem, nothing." He turned back to his computer. "Let me look for a good artist."
After some searching, he found two freelancers that met his needs. The prices were also close to what he had estimated - 12,000 yuan for the art designs, covering all Jokers, Blinds, and Modifiers, and 6,000 yuan for sound design.
He showed Li Jun the details.
Li Jun looked them over and nodded approvingly. "These look good."
With that settled, Lin Feng commissioned them both.
Thursday, November 5th
Development continued at a steady pace.
Lin Feng and Li Jun spent the day deep in code, refining interactions and polishing the user experience. More Jokers were added to the pool, each with unique effects that played off the card mechanics. Modifier logic was tested and tweaked. The game was really starting to come together.
Friday, November 6th
By Friday, the UI had reached a solid state - clean, intuitive, and responsive.
Bosses and additional modifiers had been fully populated, giving the game the variety it needed. The commissioned artwork and sound design also arrived. Lin Feng was surprised by the quick turnaround, it seemed due to the simplistic nature of the game, it was easier to work on.
They spent the entire day integrating these assets into the game, replacing placeholder graphics and temporary audio with the final polished versions.
The game was nearly complete.
Saturday, November 7th
After their usual morning meeting with the full team, Lin Feng and Li Jun held their separate meeting where they discussed the game's status. They agreed it was almost done - what remained were the achievements system, Game Store integration, and various optimizations and bug fixes.
They decided to dedicate the weekend to these final tasks, aiming to have the game ready for internal testing by Monday.
…
Su Yue sat still as Mengqi worked on her makeup. Yanzi stood nearby, keeping a quiet watch over the room.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Su Yue's expression brightened. She moved to get up…
"What are you doing?"
Mengqi's hand pressed down on her shoulder, forcing her back into the seat.
"You almost ruined your makeup."
"Sorry," Su Yue said sheepishly.
Mengqi sighed and turned to Yanzi.
Yanzi nodded and walked to the door.
She opened it to find Lin Feng standing outside.
"Lin Feng," she greeted.
He nodded in return.
"Are they done?"
Yanzi stepped aside and gestured toward the two women.
"They're still preparing."
Lin Feng walked in and she closed the door behind him.
He approached Su Yue and Mengqi.
"Good morning," he greeted. Then he glanced at the makeup spread across the table. "Why are you so late? I thought you'd be done by now."
Mengqi didn't look up from her work.
"We would be if someone didn't decide to sleep in."
Su Yue pouted. "I was so excited about the recording that I couldn't sleep. I don't even know how I ended up passing out."
"Yeah, yeah."
Mengqi lifted the brush and studied her face for a moment.
"It's done."
She began collecting the makeup equipment.
Su Yue turned to look at herself in the mirror. She tilted her head left, then right.
Then she stood and walked over to Lin Feng.
"How do I look?"
Lin Feng regarded her for a moment.
"Like a moon goddess."
Her cheeks flushed pink.
"Stop it," she said, looking away. Then she glanced back at him. "Should I do my makeup more often?"
"It looks good on you," he said. "But I like your usual look too."
She smiled at that.
Lin Feng's expression shifted slightly.
"Could I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure."
The two of them stepped out of the room.
