52: Chapter 52 For the sake of sparks, our publishing department has decided...

Although he could hear that Jiang Yuan's tone seemed a bit too calm.

But since he dared to come and make this suggestion, Qin Gong naturally wouldn't be scared off just like that!

He cleared his throat and said solemnly:

"President Jiang, my colleagues in the Publishing Department and I have been discussing this for two days. We feel that for the release of [Plants vs. Zombies], perhaps besides the conventional route, we can take a different path!"

He opened the folder tucked under his arm, which was densely packed with plans prepared by the Publishing Department.

"We've already laid out all the conventional distribution channels. Steam page optimization, media reviews, streamer collaborations, and community hype—these are all standard procedures. We just need to move forward step by step, and basically, nothing can go wrong."

He paused, his eyes glowing slightly as he said:

"But we feel that these seem to be a bit insufficient."

Jiang Yuan remained silent, but that ominous premonition seemed to become even clearer.

Qin Gong looked at her face, which was breathtakingly beautiful even when expressionless.

His voice became a bit more impassioned compared to his previous steadiness.

"We have an incredibly precious resource in our hands, but we have never used it. President Jiang, this resource is more effective than any advertising campaign and more persuasive than any streamer recommendation. And this resource..."

Jiang Yuan had already vaguely anticipated something, and her eyelid twitched slightly.

"Is you!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the office immediately fell into a deathly silence.

Jiang Yuan was so exasperated she almost laughed.

She thought to herself, if you don't explain yourself clearly today, you'd better prepare to resign from HR tomorrow.

If someone who didn't know the context heard this, they might think they were involved in some kind of human trafficking scheme.

Qin Gong looked at Jiang Yuan's expression, and although he was a bit afraid in his heart.

But at the thought of being able to use this excellent opportunity to let Spark Games take off.

He took a deep breath, prepared himself mentally, and finished his sentence in one go.

"President Jiang, you are not an ordinary person, and certainly not an ordinary producer! You are the producer of the two global indie hits, Vampire Survivors and Slay the Spire!"

"Of these two games, one sold over four million copies, and the other sold seven hundred thousand on its first day, breaking one million in two days! Now sales have exceeded three million! Setting aside other places, at the very least, in the hearts of domestic players, you are no longer an ordinary game developer."

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his tone full of excitement:

"Plus... President Jiang, your unparalleled and superior physical appearance! These two things combined can create a sensation! It's something that none of our advertising or promotions could ever achieve."

He flipped to the last page of the folder, which had several screenshots of social media comments printed on it.

"This is a thread where players were discussing you on the forum a week after [Slay the Spire] went online."

"Someone used your Wei-bo to dig up photos from a long time ago when you were still in university. The comments below are all asking: Is this really Jiang Yuan? Are you sure she's not a celebrity? Can I get the producer if I buy the game?"

He pointed to one of the popular comments that had been liked tens of thousands of times:

"If it's really Jiang Yuan, just for this face, I'll buy whatever Spark releases in the future!"

Jiang Yuan looked at these comments, completely speechless.

Ever since she found out that some bored people had used clues to find the Wei-bo account her predecessor had created and dug up life photos from university, causing a small stir on the game forums.

Jiang Yuan had already deleted everything her predecessor had posted on Wei-bo.

It was only because she was busy initiating the new project, Plants vs. Zombies, that she hadn't had time to look at the heated discussions among players on the forums.

She had originally thought that this matter was over and done with.

Who would have thought that her own company employee would be like a reckless youth, presenting these things right in front of her and letting her read them one by one.

"So?"

Although speechless, considering that the other party was ultimately doing it for the company, Jiang Yuan didn't get angry, but spoke in a calm tone.

Qin Gong said seriously:

"So we suggest that for the release of [Plants vs. Zombies], you can take the initiative to step forward, President Jiang!"

"Of course, it certainly won't be that kind of deliberate marketing. It's just... a normal appearance, accepting one or two exclusive media interviews, taking a set of photos inside the studio, posting an update on social platforms, and streaming the game once. It doesn't need to be much, just once."

He added excitedly:

"With your looks, President Jiang, combined with your status as the producer of three hit indie games, just standing there is the best advertisement! By then, Plants vs. Zombies won't even need to wait for its release; just letting this news out will completely explode in the player circles."

Jiang Yuan: "..."

Qin Gong waited for a few seconds, and seeing no reaction, he said again:

"President Jiang, Spark Games is currently at its most critical moment! Two hits have allowed the company to grow from seven people to over thirty!"

"But if we want to go from thirty-odd people to one or two hundred, and from a small studio to a true mid-sized company, we still need a complete explosion in sales performance!"

He closed the folder, placed it on Jiang Yuan's desk, and said with a sincere attitude:

"Plants vs. Zombies was created by you leading all the members of the studio. Whether it's the quality or the sales after release, we all have confidence!"

"But quality is one thing, and exposure is another! If you step forward now, the buzz after the game's release could at least double! At that time, players all over the world will know, oh... it turns out those fun classic games were all made by this girl, so Plants vs. Zombies must be extraordinary! And this..."

"This is the best and fastest chance for Spark Games to step over the threshold into being a mid-sized company. The opportunity must be seized, President Jiang!"

After he finished saying that last sentence.

The office fell into silence again, so quiet that Qin Gong's mood felt like it was on a roller coaster, going up and down.

Jiang Yuan stared at the computer screen and never spoke.

After about a minute, she finally spoke, her crisp voice saying faintly:

"No."

The voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.

Qin Gong was stunned and instinctively asked back:

"Why?"

Jiang Yuan glanced at him and said calmly:

"I make games to strive to bring fun games to players, not for any other reason."

"If players buy my games because of what I look like rather than because the game is fun, then what's the difference between us and those skin-deep web games that rely on idol traffic to rake in money?"

Qin Gong opened his mouth, somewhat speechless.

Jiang Yuan continued:

"What you said just now was for the good of the company, so I can understand."

"But once this path is started, there's definitely no turning back. If I represent Plants vs. Zombies this time, then next time will I have to represent the studio's next game? In the future, when players mention Spark, will the first thing they think of be me and this face instead of the games?"

She paused and shook her head:

"That's not what I want."

Qin Gong was silent for a moment, then nodded and pretended to be calm as he said:

"I understand. Then I'll go handle other matters first."

He turned to leave, but after reaching the door, he suddenly couldn't help but turn back and say:

"President Jiang, I understand everything you said! But there's one problem you might not have thought about for the time being."

"If you don't step forward, others will step forward for you! Although you deleted all the information on Wei-bo, there are still bored people online digging into your information. Players' curiosity about you is growing day by day! In my opinion, instead of just letting them guess and spread rumors, or even make things up, it's better for you to take the initiative yourself!"

After saying this, Qin Gong left.

Jiang Yuan was silent for a moment with a complex gaze.

Her slender body, which had been held straight, suddenly slumped back against the chair as she looked at the ceiling and let out a long sigh.