Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 105: Sichuan Opera Face-Changing

“Holy sh*t! It’s really President Ou!”

“This year’s Mini-Ga Festival is actually pretty fun, even got a pre-show warmup.”

“Maybe Old Gu was shaless enough to want in on the festival again, and YiYou didn’t dare disrespect President Ou, so they pulled this trick and swallowed the bitterness.”

“President Ou confird as the local tyrant.”

“LOL I’m dying.”

“President Ou is clearly so cute though.”

“Really curious about what kind of mini-ga it is this ti that made Golden Wind hold it back until the perfect mont to release.”

“Since it’s a co-op ga, probably so goofy nonsense, like Who’s Your Daddy.”

“Oh boy, that’d be hilarious. Bet Sheng-ge’s gonna ntally wreck President Ou.”

“New concept for workplace reform, huh?”

“Never seen a developer stream themselves playing their own ga before. This format is actually kind of clever.”

“I wonder if they'll breeze through it since they made it themselves?”

“Probably.”

“No clue what kind of ga it is yet.”

“Can’t wait for the live gaplay segnt.”

“……”

The chat was absolutely on fire.

Inside the livestream, Gu Sheng and the host were chatting away cheerfully.

anwhile, Shen Miaomiao was slowly getting into the rhythm of the stream, chiming in occasionally.

The three of them talked for over ten minutes and watched a few trailers for the mini-gas in this year's lineup.

Everything was going smoothly, the atmosphere warm and relaxed.

At the sa ti, outside the screen—

In front of his computer, Lu Bian popped a peanut into his mouth and pulled down his headset mic:

“Hey, anyone wanna bet ten bucks on which level they’re gonna crash and burn?”

As Lu Bian spoke, his profile icon in the group call flashed.

On the list, there were over a dozen participants.

That’s right!

Tonight, at this very mont!

The entire Golden Wind project team was in a group voice chat, watching the stream together!

Because—

They were the ones who developed the ga!

So—

No one knew better than them just how chaotic this stream was going to get!

In fact, Kitchen Chaos was a very simple ga at its core.

The main objective was cooking.

You process ingredients according to recipes, cook them by boiling, frying, deep-frying, or stir-frying.

Then you serve the dishes based on custor orders to earn revenue, and after they eat, you wash the dishes clean.

Then it’s onto the next cooking round.

Sounds simple enough.

But here’s the catch!

Custor orders keep piling up.

Each one is tid, and the tir depends on how complex the dish is.

So a simple single-threaded task quickly becos multi-threaded chaos—and it only gets worse.

One custor wants mushroom soup, another wants a veggie salad, a third one wants a burrito.

Once the tickets stack up, players get overwheld.

Of course, it doesn’t stop there.

Sure, two people should make things easier.

But two minds will never be completely in sync.

Especially under pressure.

They might completely disagree on the order of tasks—one goes east, the other goes west.

One wants to chase the dog, the other’s wrangling chickens.

That’s when the chaos begins.

And once it starts, the entire operation collapses instantly.

As soon as Lu Bian threw out his bet, the chat lit up—

“I say 2-1. That truck level in the kitchen,” Da Jiang said. “The trucks split apart. It’s brutal.”

He rembered that one vividly—he and Lu Bian had tested that level after developnt.

Despite being ga veterans and longti partners, it still took them three tries to beat it. Enough said.

“I don’t think they’ll even reach the second major level. President Ou’s a total newbie,”

Jiang Yun countered:

“I’ll bet ten bucks they argue before 1-4. That’s when the new recipes co in.”

“Co on, Jiang-ge, don’t underestimate them. Even if President Ou’s no good, Sheng-ge’s skills are top-tier,”

Jiang Shan chid in:

“I bet ten on 1-6. The earthquake level with terrain shifts is nasty. If they’re not prepped, they’ll just stand there watching the kitchen burn.”

“I’m going with 2-2.”

“2-3. Sheng-ge is seriously good.”

“He’s good mainly because the other person listens to instructions. You think President Ou looks like soone who follows directions? I’m going with 2-1 too.”

“Have so faith! I’m betting big—100 million to win a billion! My guess: 3-1.”

“3-2.”

“……”

As the employees all had their fun teasing their bosses, soon—

In the Mutual Back-Scratching Ops Group chat, red envelopes started dropping.

Each person wrote their prediction on the envelope cover and sent it to the group.

Only those who guessed right would be allowed to grab the prize.

As the betting frenzy settled, the opening of the Mini-Ga Festival wrapped up in the stream.

“…You can tell the participating studios this year are all pretty strong,”

The host turned to Gu Sheng and Shen Miaomiao:

“You both saw the trailers—who do you think stands out?”

“Dress-Up Adventure, probably,” Shen Miaomiao replied.

“There aren’t many gas targeted at female players in this event, and this one has really polished models and artwork.”

The host nodded. “And you, Mr. Gu?”

“I think all the gas we saw were excellent,”

Gu Sheng replied with asured words:

“So of them were particularly innovative and refreshing.”

Compared to Shen Miaomiao’s casual answer, his was far more vague.

That’s because Gu Sheng knew—Shen Miaomiao, as the company president, was publicly seen more as the company mascot than a professional.

She could speak freely as a player.

But he couldn’t.

To the outside world, he was the soul of Golden Wind—

Even more, he was gradually becoming a trendsetter in the ga industry.

If he endorsed any one ga, it wouldn’t just be a complint—it would instantly beco the front-runner.

That wouldn’t be fair to the others.

The host understood his caution and moved on:

“Clearly, the studios brought so incredible work this year,”

“Now, I hear you two have also brought a fun little ga to today’s stream. This will serve as the pre-show for the Mini-Ga Festival—can you introduce it for us, President Shen?”

“Uh… of course.”

The host looked toward her, and Shen Miaomiao hesitated a mont.

Why’s he looking at ? Look at Old Gu! I didn’t work on this—I don’t even know what ga it is!

Still, she was quick on her feet. Lightbulb mont!

“We brought a multiplayer co-op cooking RPG today. It supports up to four players on one screen,”

“It’s a great way to unwind with friends, couples, or loved ones,”

“Experience the joy of cooking, make delicious dishes, serve satisfied custors, and feel the gratification of a job well done,”

“Strengthen friendships and deepen romantic bonds,”

“It’s a super cute, cartoony, casual ga.”

D*mn, I’m so clever!

She was proud of herself.

She rembered how Gu Sheng described the ga when they grabbed lollipops that day.

She basically copied him word for word.

Totally satisfied with her answer.

anwhile, Gu Sheng was holding back a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Sh*t. He cursed himself internally.

Shouldn’t have spouted all that nonsense back then.

Now look—Little Nezha really believes this is a peaceful and relaxing ga.

He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when that illusion shattered.

Just then, the host’s voice chid in:

“Wow, sounds like a super chill and fun ga! I’m sure the viewers are excited,”

“So let’s turn the stream over to you two,”

“Take us on a light-hearted, cozy, and joyful culinary journey—”

The cara switched. The main screen of Kitchen Chaos lit up behind them.

Staff ca in and handed wireless controllers to Gu Sheng and Shen Miaomiao.

Everything was proceeding in perfect order.

The comnt section buzzed with excitent.

But back at the Golden Wind office—

The dev team was practically rolling on the floor laughing.

“Who taught President Ou to introduce the ga like that?”

“Obviously the director! Who else?”

“Absolutely ridiculous, Sheng-ge.”

“Director really knows how to sell it.”

“‘Experience the joy of cooking’—I can’t anymore.”

“The kitchen’s on fire, the stove’s blazing—what’s more joyful than literal fire, am I right?”

“Can’t even imagine President Ou’s ntal state once she starts playing.”

“F*** I’m gonna die laughing. Sheng-ge really sacrificed everything for the show.”

“Maybe we should drive to Zhongjing to pick up Sheng-ge. I’m worried President Ou might bury him right on the spot after the stream.”

“It’s happening! Bets locked in, fam!”

With a loud “Let’s go!” from the conference room—

Everyone focused on the stream!

At this point, Gu Sheng and Shen Miaomiao were both ready.

Shen Miaomiao had a bright, excited smile on her face.

This was her first ti playing a ga with Gu Sheng—

No, wait, her first ti playing a ga with any guy!

How should she act?

Her mind was buzzing with possibilities.

Should she be sweet and clingy, just helping out a little here and there, letting Old Gu bask in her complints like “you’re amazing!” until he was giddy with pride?

Or should she take the lead as a little chef—washing, chopping, stir-frying all in one go—flexing her skills and totally impressing him?

Ahhh—

Tough call.

While she was debating, she felt Gu Sheng nudge her with his elbow.

“Hey, ti to pick your character.”

“Huh? Oh, right, right!”

Shen Miaomiao snapped back to attention and looked at the screen.

Gu Sheng had already picked his character—a determined raccoon chef in a wheelchair, dead serious about chasing his cooking dreams despite his broken legs.

Totally absurd.

Click click—

Shen Miaomiao flicked through the character options and chose a cute little girl with twin ponytails.

“Mine’s way cuter,”

She said, satisfied, glancing over at Gu Sheng.

“I’m ready! Let’s go!”

As soon as she said “go,” the comnt section exploded—

“Woooo! Finally starting!”

“This ga actually looks kinda cute.”

“Feels perfect for so casual gaming with friends.”

“Can’t believe Golden Wind made such a normal-looking ga. Wild.”

“Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Don’t get too comfy. I doubt this ga’s that simple.”

“Exactly. Gu Sheng didn’t say a word during the intro, and that wheelchair character… I’ve got a bad feeling…”

As the chat buzzed with speculation, the ga’s cutscene began.

Whoosh whoosh—BOOM!

Fireballs rained from the sky, the city was chaos, flas everywhere.

A towering monster made of spaghetti and atballs—bigger than the buildings—was rampaging through the city with a fork and knife in hand.

On top of the tallest skyscraper stood the Onion King, face grave:

“e e ooh wah oh (The spaghetti monster’s too strong!) Yuh oh e wah wah oooh (Try to hold it off!)”

The absurd intro sent the stream into a frenzy!

“WTF! Flying Spaghetti Monster cult confird!”

“HAHAHA what kind of dumbss villain is this?!”

“This is insane, no way Golden Wind made a normal ga.”

“Bruh the Onion King speaking onion language is killing .”

“This is straight up unhinged.”

“Most bullsht villain I’ve seen in a ga to date.”

“I’m f***ing dying…”

“This… this is the villain you designed?!”

Shen Miaomiao stared, dumbfounded.

“The spaghetti blob?!”

“Pretty intense, right?”

Gu Sheng shrugged.

“A massive spaghetti monster—just imagine the pressure.”

“I’m sorry, but your definition of ‘intense’ is kinda ssed up…”

Shen Miaomiao shook her head. Gu Sheng was definitely a little off.

As they talked, the opening cutscene ended, and the tutorial level loaded in.

The raccoon in a wheelchair and the twin-ponytailed girl appeared in the top-down view.

Shen Miaomiao was on the left, surrounded by stoves, with two cutting boards in front of her—she’d be doing the chopping.

Gu Sheng was on the right, near the ingredient boxes, in charge of supplying ingredients and serving dishes to the spaghetti monster.

Ding ding!

Orders appeared at the top of the screen!

This level’s dish was simple: vegetable salad.

Ingredients were just cabbage, or cabbage and tomato.

All they had to do was chop and plate it.

Shen Miaomiao rolled up her sleeves:

“Send the veggies!”

Before she even finished—

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

A bunch of cabbages and tomatoes ca flying her way.

She looked over to see Gu Sheng had zipped his wheelchair over to the ingredient boxes and was furiously chucking veggies across.

“Hey—whoa whoa whoa! Slow down! Stop! Four salads max!”

Shen Miaomiao felt like she was about to be buried alive in vegetables and waved her hands frantically.

“Old Gu! This is a casual ga! Casual, okay? We’re supposed to take it easy!”

“Also! This is a clean, sanitary restaurant that ets food safety standards! You can’t just throw ingredients on the floor!”

She picked up the fallen food and dumped it into the trash with smug satisfaction.

Honestly, if their own projects were this easy to throw money into the garbage, she’d already be financially free.

“Let’s restart. No rush.”

Her behavior left Gu Sheng stunned—he couldn’t help but laugh and nod:

“Alright, if you say so.”

Shen Miaomiao looked at the top order and nodded confidently:

“I say so! Our restaurant is spotless!”

“Okay then.”

Gu Sheng smirked and calmly picked up a cabbage, wheeled over to the divider between them, and placed it down:

“Here you go.”

“That’s more like it,”

Shen Miaomiao picked up the cabbage, walked to the cutting board, chopped it up, plated it:

“Dish up!”

“Got it!”

Gu Sheng hollered:

“Authentic Old Beijing veggie salad—coming right up!”

Plop—

He tossed the salad into the spaghetti monster’s mouth. Ding! Tip received. Progress bar inched forward.

Shen Miaomiao was pleased and just about to say sothing—

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Three more orders appeared. Tomatoes now entered the mix.

“Two cabbage salads! Two cabbage and tomato salads! Coming right up!”

Gu Sheng was still slow and steady, grabbing a cabbage… another cabbage… a tomato… and bringing over a plate.

Trip after trip.

Shen Miaomiao glanced between the wheelchair-bound Gu Sheng and the three ticking countdowns above.

She started to sound a little anxious:

“Chef Gu? Maybe… you could just toss the veggies?”

“Tsk!”

Gu Sheng clicked his tongue.

“We’re a clean and sanitary restaurant! You want to throw food around?”

“I…”

Shen Miaomiao glared at him like he’d lost his mind, but held her ground:

“Very admirable, Chef Gu. Our restaurant has strict standards!”

“Thank you for the complint,” Gu Sheng nodded. “Food safety is our top prio—”

Ding ding ding ding ding—!!!

Five new orders popped up!

Shen Miaomiao’s already big eyes went full ani-mode.

They hadn’t even finished the previous three salads—and now there were five more?!

The screen was flooded with tickets!

Her face instantly changed.

“THROW THE CABBAGE!”

“Huh?”

Gu Sheng was caught off guard by her sudden shift:

“But our food safety—”

“Food safety my *ss!”

Shen Miaomiao smacked his leg—smack!—then pointed at the on-screen spaghetti monster flailing wildly:

“You wanna talk food safety with that thing?! I’m already being too nice by not adding so arsenic to its damn pasta!”

“Hurry up! Throw it here!”

“Holy sh*t!”

Gu Sheng was shook:

“Sichuan Opera Face-Changing?!”