NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68
Won-jung had provided me with Feng Wei’s contact information.
With a sense of determination to finalize things, I immediately pressed the call button. After a brief international call connection tone, a familiar yet strange accented Chinese voice answered.
[The call has been switched. Hello?]
It was Feng Wei’s voice—higher pitched for a man but not light-hearted, reminiscent of the few times I had heard him speak before my regression.
“Hello, I’m reaching out after being introduced by Won-jung.”
[Introduction? Just a moment. I didn’t receive any prior notice from Won-jung… Ah, could it be…]
Feng Wei seemed to have realized something but asked hesitantly, not quite believing it.
[Perhaps, you are the one who helped Won-jung…?]
“Yes, that’s correct. I’m Jihojin, the department head at Enson GT.”
Upon hearing my introduction, there was a noticeable silence as if Feng Wei was truly surprised.
“Um, are you there?”
[Oh, yes, yes. My apologies… I was just taken aback.]
“Excuse me, have you perhaps heard anything from Won-jung about this matter?”
[No… Apart from Won-jung mentioning once that he received help from a Korean company, I haven’t heard anything else.]
Listening to him, it seemed they hadn’t exchanged any particular favors.
This made things easier to discuss.
“Mr. Won-jung mentioned a request to support a brother (Shongdi) who needed help, which led to my reaching out.”
[Ah, Shongdi… May I explain something briefly?]
“Please, go ahead.”
And so, Feng Wei began his story laced with exasperation, which turned out to be quite detailed and candid.
“So, the current project has produced only the main character Kiara over the past six months, but her model…”
[It failed to pass our internal QA checks and was scrapped…]
The situation seemed to be worse than I had anticipated.
Even before my regression, I remembered this was the state of affairs…
How in the world did they manage to complete a 3D action game under such conditions?
“Alright, I understand your concerns, Mr. Feng Wei. I’d like to discuss the details of the support in person if possible. When might you be available?”
[I am available at any time.]
“Then, how about a meeting at 10 AM, a week from now?”
[Agreed, I’ll see you then.]
Thus, the meeting with Feng Wei was finally set.
My anticipation began to grow.
Though I am currently the president of a mid-sized game development company still in its growth phase, it’s a well-known fact that in my previous life, I had built a world-class mobile game development company from scratch.
It was exciting to meet a legendary industry figure who could create world-class mobile games and offer my assistance.
And to facilitate this collaboration, I first called Yena.
***
One week later.
When Feng Wei entered the Enson GT conference room, my first impression was… he seemed simpler than I imagined.
I had anticipated the usual aura of sternness or overbearing ego often associated with corporate moguls, but the reality was quite the opposite.
He seemed more of a free-spirited and outwardly humble personality.
His higher-pitched voice might have contributed to that impression.
“Nice to meet you, Director Jihojin. I’m Fengwei from Huayang Games in Shanghai.”
Introducing himself with visibly practiced but awkward Korean pronunciation, as if he had hurriedly rehearsed for this meeting.
“And this is our Art Director, ChiChi,” said Feng Wei.
At his gesture, a woman in a suit standing beside him gave a slight bow.
“C, ChiChi. It’s nice to… meet you…”
Though her Korean was halting, her trembling pupils and voice betrayed her immense nervousness.
She appeared shy to a fault.
“Both of you can feel free to speak in Chinese if it’s easier for you.”
“Ah… Your Chinese is impressive.”
“I’ve had some opportunities to learn. Anyway, I’m Jihojin, the head of Enson GT’s SM Department. And this is…”
As we introduced ourselves, Yena, upon hearing her name called, bowed toward them.
“I’m Yena Lee, the 3D modeling team leader at RA Studio.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Yena Lee, team leader for 3D modeling.”
Feng Wei’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing that the youthful-looking Yena was the 3D modeling team leader.
“Could it be that you were the person responsible for the Operator Channel modeling…?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Hmm… Excuse me for asking, but how old are you, Yena?”
“I’m 24 years old.”
“Remarkable! I assumed that with those skills, you would have at least 10 years of experience…”
Yena smiled modestly at his candid compliment.
Seeing how these exchanges were progressing, I decided it was time to get to the point and drew their attention with a slight clap.
“Well then, let’s move on to the main discussion, shall we?”
At that, Feng Wei’s playful demeanor disappeared, revealing the serious face of a businessman.
“Yes, let’s proceed.”
“Alright, first, I’d like to hear what kind of support you need, Mr. Feng Wei.”
“Primarily, we need technical support related to 3D. Let me show you something. ChiChi?”
At his request, ChiChi nodded and took out a laptop from her messenger bag, handing it over to us.
Opening the laptop, a 3D modeling image appeared on screen.
It was none other than Kiara, the protagonist of Huayang Games’ flagship title, Melt Down 2.
From my perspective, with a basic understanding of 3D modeling, I could only tell that the quality seemed subpar.
However, Yena had a different take.
“First, the details are all over the place… The biggest issue lies in the mesh, which is distorted…”
She went on, rattling off technical terms as if estimating the model at a glance.
But realizing all eyes were on her, she blushed and bent her head.
“I’m sorry… It’s just a habit from giving feedback normally…”
“Not at all, please continue.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Finally, ChiChi’s nod.
Encouraged by all of us, Yena hesitated but continued.
Occasionally, the conversation became technical, but the conclusion was clear: things were a complete mess.
After finishing her explanation, Yena took a sip of coffee, clearly thirsty.
Then, she suddenly thought of something and asked Feng Wei.
“Um, about Kiara… Is it absolutely necessary to use a spandex suit for the outfit? It might be easier if we used a more standard design…”
Yena was suggesting lowering the modeling difficulty by changing the outfit.
But Feng Wei shook his head gently, declining the suggestion.
“That suit is part of Kiara’s identity, so it would be difficult to change it.”
“Oh…”
Listening to Feng Wei’s response, I suddenly remembered why he insisted on keeping the suit.
It was because Feng Wei was an avid fan of *Evangelion*.
To subtly hint at this to Yena, who wasn’t aware of it, I casually asked Feng Wei.
“By the way, the resemblance of Kiara’s suit to the EVA suit… Is there any connection there?”
At my question, Feng Wei lit up.
“Sharp observation, Director Jihojin. It’s indeed inspired by *Evangelion*. I’m a huge fan.”
Hearing his enthusiastic reply, I couldn’t help but nod.
Feng Wei, clearly a devoted subculture enthusiast despite being a businessman, couldn’t help but get excited when talking about his favorite topics.
Yena seemed to understand his personality better now, nodding in agreement as she returned the laptop to ChiChi.
“Then, starting from the basics, I’ll show you tips to improve the quality of the spandex outfit effectively while minimizing the workload.”
With that, Yena stood up.
I got up along with her, addressing Feng Wei and ChiChi across from us.
“Let’s head to the Art Team to view the 3D production process and make a decision from there.”
Upon hearing this, Feng Wei and ChiChi glanced at each other, nodded, and stood up.
“Agreed.”
***
Yena’s hands moved ceaselessly.
The polygons taking shape in sync with her movements were an artistic masterpiece in itself.
Her speed and skill were nothing short of breathtaking.
It wasn’t just me; our two guests were also fixated on Yena’s work in utter absorption.
ChiChi, in particular, seemed more shocked than Feng Wei; her expression suggested that she was in a state of disbelief.
The attention we drew did not go unnoticed by the Art Team members, who occasionally glanced our way.
Nevertheless, Yena, seemingly oblivious, only after completing the polygon mesh work did she speak.
“Do you see? You must first sculpt the base mesh perfectly to get an excellent result. Even if you put effort into the top layer when the base mesh is flawed, imperfections will still show.”
ChiChi nodded in understanding.
“Then next, for the spanned outfits suitable for Mr. Feng Wei and Ms. ChiChi, I found this…”
Yena opened a file with a twin-tailed girl in a Japanese school swimsuit.
“Though it’s a swimsuit rather than a suit, they’re comparable in terms of fabric rendering. We’ll use this, alright?”
“Uh, yes!”
Surprisingly, it was ChiChi, not Feng Wei, who answered.
Enthusiasm filled ChiChi’s voice, and looking to her side, she had an interested expression, completely different from her shy demeanor when she first entered the room.
Watching Yena’s work had clearly left a significant impact.
Feng Wei watched ChiChi’s transformation with a warm look.
Regardless, Yena continued to mentor ChiChi without interruption.
“For spandex materials, you don’t need to overwork the coloring to create texture. Simply baking a lighting map like this…”
As Yena demonstrated, ChiChi eagerly took notes and asked questions one by one.
Watching the mentor-mentee dynamic between them, Feng Wei turned to me with a question.
“Director Jihojin, may I ask a question if it’s not too much trouble?”
“Yes, feel free.”
“Honestly, this opportunity feels too good to be true… Why are you helping us so well?”
To Feng Wei’s question, I shrugged before replying.
“Let me clarify something first—I’m not helping you for free, Mr. Feng Wei.”
“Then what does that mean…?”
“I’m making an investment. I believe in your potential, and this support is a strategic investment.”
At the mention of investment, Feng Wei’s expression became complex. I continued.
“As part of this support, I intend to take a 15% stake in Huayang Games.”
***