Chapter 123: The Interview

The scene before Yin Jian shifted rapidly. By the time he regained his senses, he had arrived inside a room. The room was entirely silver-white, illuminated by a large overhead light that brightened everything around it. At a glance, Yin Jian saw three people talking not far away. Perhaps it was his sudden appearance that caused a slight stir. One of the lean young men currently in conversation looked over toward him. Then, Yin Jian saw the man’s eyes light up; he quickly said something to his two companions and walked over.

"Teacher 'You Forced Me'? Hello, I am the host for this interview, Bao De."

Bao De approached Yin Jian, greeted him with great courtesy, and extended a hand for a handshake. Yin Jian shook it casually and asked, "How long until the interview starts? Also, this shouldn't be the interview location, right?" As he spoke, Yin Jian looked around. The room was small and contained only a small table; clearly, it was just a space for backstage staff.

"There is still some time before the interview begins, but we can head over now if you'd like," Bao De said after checking the time. Yin Jian nodded and followed him toward another part of the room. After passing through a security door, he and Bao De arrived in a large hall. The layout of the hall resembled the set of a variety show. In the center was a raised platform illuminated by several spotlights, featuring a high table and two matching bar stools. Clearly, the upcoming interview would take place there.

Yin Jian shifted his gaze from the platform and looked around. He soon discovered eight rows of audience seating surrounding the front half of the stage. Having previously seen the Starlight Wanderer platform, he knew these were for the audience watching the live stream online.

"There are ten minutes left before the live stream starts. Teacher 'You Forced Me', let’s take our seats and wait," Bao De said after checking the time again. He appeared calm, showing no signs of nervousness. After all, he had been in this industry for many years; he could say without reservation that interviewing designers felt as comfortable as being in his own home.

Hearing Bao De, Yin Jian didn't respond immediately. Instead, he opened his operation panel to check his current appearance. Long legs. Long torso. Willow-leaf eyebrows. Large, Carzlan-style eyes. No nose. A ninety-nine percent two-dimensional style. Seeing that Starlight Wanderer had indeed followed his instructions to technically adjust his appearance, Yin Jian replied to Bao De, "Alright."

"Teacher 'You Forced Me', after the interview starts, our technical staff will open the live stream channel, and netizens will begin to join to watch. At the same time, we will organize for the netizens to ask you questions. What do you think..." Bao De asked tentatively. Originally, there was no Q&A session for netizens, but he felt the interaction effect would be excellent and wanted to see if he could get Yin Jian’s consent.

Hearing this, Yin Jian pondered for a few seconds and nodded in agreement. "No problem." It was an interview anyway; it didn't matter who asked the questions. Seeing Yin Jian agree, a trace of joy appeared in Bao De’s eyes. After inviting Yin Jian to sit on one of the bar stools, Bao De took advantage of the remaining few minutes to reiterate some precautions for the interview.

...

In his dormitory, Li Shang exited the game with a smile on his lips. After relentless effort over these past few days, he had successfully turned the Luo City Li family into his own. In an instant, a family that had been on the verge of decline had become a great clan ruling over an entire city.

"Next is to breed descendants and nurture them." As Li Shang mused, his peripheral vision habitually checked the time, and his expression changed. "Damn! It’s eight o'clock! The Starlight Wanderer interview with Teacher 'You Forced Me' has already started."

Li Shang felt a surge of anxiety. As the number one fan of 'You Forced Me', he certainly didn't want to miss this chance for a close encounter with him. He immediately logged onto the Starlight Wanderer website and entered the IP address for the interview.

The scene shifted, and when he collected himself, he found he had arrived in a seat. Looking left and right, he saw that the area was already packed. Although the interview venue could be replicated hundreds or even thousands of times through the platform, meaning there was no need to worry about a lack of seats, these replications cost money. Starlight Wanderer’s main revenue did not come from live tickets, so they only rented ten replicated venues for each interview. If you arrived late, there were simply no seats left.

After scanning the area, Li Shang discovered he was in the tenth venue, occupying the very last seat. A sense of relief washed over him. He was glad he had reacted quickly; otherwise, this opportunity to get close to 'You Forced Me' would have been gone. Thinking of this, Li Shang looked excitedly toward the raised platform surrounded by the audience. Two bar stools were already occupied. Li Shang glanced at Bao De, then shifted his gaze to the person sitting opposite him, Yin Jian.

"So this is Teacher 'You Forced Me'." Li Shang frowned as he looked at the two-dimensional face without a nose. He found it strange that the teacher would hide his appearance. Like many other designers interviewed by Starlight Wanderer, most would give anything for the whole universe to know their identity.

"I get it!" In the midst of his confusion, a flash of inspiration hit him, and everything suddenly made sense. "Teacher 'You Forced Me' is truly the teacher I admire. He is a genuine game lover. By hiding his appearance, he clearly wants us to remember his games, not him as a person. His games are all free, he doesn't care about profit, and now this behavior—it's clear he doesn't care about fame either. To have such a designer in the virtual game world is truly our fortune as players. When I get back, I must post more comments. Such character should not go unnoticed; more people need to know."

Li Shang’s eyes seemed to glow with fervor. He had already drafted in his mind that as soon as the interview ended, he would return to reality to expose the various 'misdeeds' of 'You Forced Me'. He was determined to ensure all players understood what a noble-minded person the teacher was.

Just as Li Shang was feeling fired up, Bao De on the platform saw that the time was up and stood up. He nodded at Yin Jian, then faced the netizens in the audience, bowing slightly. "Welcome everyone to this Starlight Interview. This program mainly features interviews with well-known designers in the industry, aiming to let more players and designers understand the creative philosophy and understanding of game production of the guests."

After the opening remarks, Bao De sat down and looked at Yin Jian. "Great 'You Forced Me', thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to accept this exclusive interview for our [Starlight Wanderer] special column."

Hearing this, Yin Jian knew this was the standard opening procedure. Bao De had already told him about it, so he replied with equal courtesy, "I am also very honored to have this opportunity to exchange creative insights with the players and designers of Starlight Wanderer."

With the pleasantries out of the way, Bao De did not hesitate and dove straight into the topic. "Let’s start with a question everyone is very interested in. Are you currently working full-time or part-time? If part-time, have you considered producing games full-time?" Most designers in the virtual game industry worked part-time because producing games cost a lot of money and carried the risk of failure. If a game failed, one might literally go hungry.

"I suppose I am full-time now," Yin Jian said directly, seeing no reason to hide it. Bao De’s expression showed no surprise. After all, Yin Jian’s current daily income was higher than what most people made in a month, so full-time work was a matter of course.

"Then when did you start full-time? I see that your current *Cultivation Family* is already your fourth game."

"I started from the very first one."

"And how did you embark on this path?"

"I suppose it’s because I love games," Yin Jian said, squinting his eyes. He could never say it was for the money; that would ruin his image. Bao De nodded; this answer was within his expectations. When gathering information, he had learned that the designer before him loved games to an extremely intense degree. According to an anonymous player, when Yin Jian first started making games, he gave them to other players for free, asking for nothing in return. Finally, under the 'insistence' of many players, he very reluctantly added in-game purchases. Thinking of this, Bao De couldn't help but sigh. He had never seen such a selfless designer in his career. He also felt that a huge bombshell story was about to be born in his hands.

He pondered for a moment and continued, "As a talented player like yourself, did you encounter difficulties when you first started making games?"

"That, ah..." Yin Jian thought for a moment and decided not to hide it. "Actually, I don't count as a talented player. If I were truly talented, I would have skyrocketed with my first game. As for the difficulties, I remember that when I was making my first game, *My Little World*, it almost emptied my pockets, and I nearly went hungry. I even searched online to see how many days a person can survive without food. Thinking back on it now, I want to laugh at myself. But at least now I don't have to worry about not being able to afford a meal, which gives me a bit of a sense of achievement. Aside from these external difficulties, the rest is agonizing over the plot and figuring out how to make it fun for players. I thought so hard I almost lost all my hair; my head ached terribly. That was truly a painful memory, but I finally made it through."

"That was indeed a painful memory, but you persevered," Bao De said, continuing his inquiry. "Now that you have produced so many hit games, you must have summarized a lot of your own experience in game production."

"Experience..." Yin Jian frowned and thought for a moment. "Summarize more, observe more, and go out to experience new things—that is very helpful for game inspiration. Come to think of it, several of my games were inspired by trips I took to gather material."

"Go out and gather material more often?" Bao De joked. "That’s going to stump a lot of designers. Based on my understanding, most designers are extremely homebound; some don't even leave their houses for a year or two. No wonder they can't produce excellent works like Teacher 'You Forced Me'."

"Not necessarily. If I get dragged out by other designers and beaten up, you'll have to pay my medical bills," Yin Jian replied calmly.

"Just kidding, just kidding." Bao De waved his hand quickly and continued his questioning. "Speaking of beatings, the 'cliffhanger' trend from before caused a great deal of indignation among a large group of players. They said if you dare to cut the plot, they would dare to cut your 'manhood', and advised you to 'behave yourself'. What is your view on this, Teacher?"

Hearing that players actually wanted to cut his 'manhood', Yin Jian’s mouth twitched. He felt fortunate that his *Cultivation Family* didn't have a cliffhanger, otherwise...

"Ahem!" Yin Jian coughed twice to shake the image from his mind. "I have already corrected this issue. Whenever someone provides feedback on game issues, I think about it carefully, and if I find it reasonable, I will modify it immediately."

Bao De nodded. "With such a habit, it’s no wonder your games keep getting better and better."

"Oh, right," Bao De said as if he remembered something. "I previously saw a player analyze your thoughts on choosing your designer name. They said that you were fed up with other games on the Qi-You platform and, filled with indignation, decided to change the stagnant status quo of the entire virtual game industry. That is why you chose the strange name 'You Forced Me'. The meaning is, 'You all forced me to change the game industry.' I wonder if that is the case?"

After hearing Bao De’s words, Yin Jian’s mouth hung open, somewhat stunned. What kind of master-level corporate interpretation was this? To think his crappy designer name could be interpreted this way—it was completely absurd.

Once Yin Jian recovered from his initial surprise, he didn't want to discuss the designer name any further, as it had become the pain of his life... Wait, could he ask Qing Zhu? Yin Jian’s eyes lit up. Qing Zhu’s efficiency was so high; he felt there was a chance. But that would have to wait until after the interview.

Thinking of this, Yin Jian felt Bao De’s gaze and realized he needed to answer the previous question. "There is no deep meaning. Actually, it was just chosen at random. All the names I wanted to use at the time were taken by others, and in a fit of anger, this accident happened."

"Hahaha, I see. Now those players who love to analyze can finally quiet down a bit," Bao De said with a laugh. He checked the time and continued, "Alright, the small questions are mostly finished. Next, we will begin the Q&A session for the live audience."

Bao De finished speaking, scanned the surroundings, and swiped his finger. Instantly, a girl radiating a youthful and lively aura appeared on the platform. The girl was extremely excited to see she had been chosen.

"Can I ask anything?" She looked at Bao De and then at Yin Jian. Yin Jian nodded slightly. Seeing this, the girl couldn't wait to ask, "Teacher 'You Forced Me', are you looking for a relationship? I can do any position."

With that, the girl looked at Yin Jian full of expectation, waiting for his reply.