Starting as a Manga Chapter 217: What Am I Even Needed For?

Tang Yao saw the legendary creator of "Essence."

Of course...she also noticed his expression.

Tang Yao remained expressionless. She was used to this...for so reason, every external staff mber who saw her tended to make a big fuss.

As if she were so kind of monster.

Was it really that surprising that she was Avalon's CEO?

It's not like she'd eaten their family's rice, so why did everyone have that "this makes no sense" look?

Sorry for being an otaku, I guess.

Tang Yao complained internally but showed nothing on her face. Instead, she stood up and tried her best to appear authoritative: "Hello."

Of course.

It wasn't very authoritative at all.

With her striking looks and natural approachability, few people found her intimidating or believed she could be fierce.

"Hello..."

Wei Chi sat down across from Tang Yao in a daze.

...The CEO of Avalon, creator of FGO, the company that understood otaku preferences so well—was actually a beautiful girl?

What kind of otaku fantasy was this?

"..."

Seeing Wei Chi's shell-shocked expression, Tang Yao decided to cut to the chase: "About 'Essence'—what are your plans moving forward?"

At the ntion of the ga, Wei Chi snapped back to reality.

No matter what.

The person sitting before him held the fate of his ga in her hands.

Appearance and age were irrelevant.

With that thought.

Wei Chi quickly averted his gaze from Tang Yao's face: "Apologies, I didn't expect Avalon's leader to be so young."

"I also thought Producer Wei would be older."

Tang Yao shook her head: "Let's focus on the ga."

"Well..."

Wei Chi pulled out his laptop from his briefcase: "I actually brought the follow-up proposal for 'Essence.' I don't know if CEO Tang would be interested..."

Tang Yao's eyes lit up with curiosity: "May I see it?"

"Of course."

Wei Chi handed over the laptop.

Tang Yao took it, lowering her head slightly as her fingers glided over the touchpad, reading intently.

Her expression grew focused, her delicate brows sotis relaxing, sotis furrowing slightly.

Wei Chi used this chance to observe the gaming industry's rising star—she wore a simple T-shirt and jeans combo, her long hair casually tied in a high ponytail. With fair skin and delicate features, she radiated a youthful liveliness. She was undeniably pretty—the kind of gentle, non-threatening beauty that put people at ease.

...Honestly though, she looked more like a student than a corporate executive.

"Fascinating."

Tang Yao suddenly looked up with her assessnt.

Wei Chi snapped back to attention.

"However..."

After the praise ca the pivot.

Wei Chi imdiately forgot about her looks, watching her nervously now.

Don't tell ...she's going back on her word?

If the ga was going to have in-app purchases anyway, he might as well have listened to Chu Jian back then—at least he'd have retained full creative control.

"But I think there's room for improvent. Would you like to hear my suggestions?"

Tang Yao continued: "Consider these personal recomndations."

"Uh..."

Wei Chi glanced at her uneasily: "Please go ahead."

"First, the visual style."

Tang Yao didn't hold back, pushing the laptop back to him before picking up her phone: "From what I saw, you're aiming for a tranquil, philosophical feel—hence the off-white color sche and basic geotric shapes like cubes and pyramids.

But currently, the textures have too much detail, like the wall cracks, which clash with the 'block color' aesthetic. Could we switch to solid colors, using only light/shadow for depth?

Take this floating platform—what if the underside used translucent light blue, mimicking optical glass?

Of course, if solid colors seem too flat, we could add subtle noise textures via shader at around 0.3 intensity—enough for texture without compromising simplicity.

I've mocked up an example—take a look."

She showed him Avalon's level design reference on her phone.

"...?"

Braced for monetization demands, Wei Chi slowly ford a question mark in his mind.

He instinctively took the phone, then slightly widened his eyes.

The effect...did seem significantly better.

"Also."

Tang Yao picked up another reference sketch: "So levels have issues too. Like Level 4's 'Endless Staircase'—the 45-degree angle doesn't create the optical illusion when rotated. Could we adjust to 60 degrees with longer steps? Reference the Penrose triangle, so players suddenly realize 'this path actually connects' when rotating the view?"

"...?"

Still processing, Wei Chi unconsciously ford another ntal question mark before replying: "At 60 degrees, character models might clip through geotry?"

"Custom colliders can solve that. Just overlay the visible model—minor clipping is hard to notice if the logical path works."

Tang Yao explained gently: "Plus, adding dynamic lighting—like warm yellow shifting to cool blue as stairs rotate—could make this the ga's standout mont for maximum wow factor."

"...?"

"The music also feels overly dense for this style. Strategic silence might work better—like 3-second gaps between lodies, with subtle ambient sounds (distant wind or water droplets) when players pause. What do you think?"

"Also—not sure if you handle programming—but high-poly models hurt mobile performance. Your demo has this issue."

"Then there's narrative pacing..."

Tang Yao shared all her critique notes from the past few days without reservation.

From art direction and color sches to level design, optical illusions, dynamic interactions, puzzle difficulty curves, and sound design.

She even covered technical implentation suggestions.

Leaving absolutely no stone unturned.

"..."

Wei Chi was...not just impressed, but outright awestruck.

Many of Tang Yao's points were things he'd considered but couldn't resolve, while others hadn't even occurred to him.

Only now did solutions click into place.

Right!

That could work!

Gradually.

He began feeling like he was attending a masterclass.

And only now.

Did it truly sink in that this young woman really was Avalon's CEO.

Because she was just that capable...

Which frankly crushed him a little.

Wait.

What am I even needed for?

Avalon could easily make a similar ga themselves...

"Feel free to reference these suggestions."

After confirming she'd covered everything, Tang Yao handed Wei Chi her notes: "And reach out if anything's unclear. I look forward to the final product... Welco to Avalon."

"..."

Wei Chi numbly accepted the docunts before blurting: "What about monetization?"

"In-app ads or purchases would ruin this ga's atmosphere."

Tang Yao shook her head lightly: "I'm thinking premium pricing. Your thoughts?"

"...Huh?"

Wei Chi could only stare at her blankly.