Chapter 33: This Didn’t Look Like A Couple Game!

Translator: Daoist6fubtiW

With less than a month remaining until Valentine’s Day, the situation could be described as urgent.

Sprout Studio had also started working overtime, and they hadn’t been responding to online messages and topics.

Like a submarine, they remained silent in the depths.

Online discussions about Sprout Studio had been ongoing nonstop. One month might not be too long, but it wasn’t short either.

During this time, countless players had left messages on Sprout Studio’s official account—some were questions, some were expressions of concern, and some were encouraging them to focus on their game rather than caring about external opinions.

There was a lot of information, and it was quite chaotic.

But most players were well-intentioned, as no one wanted to see an excellent studio being attacked and declining due to external pressure.

Although they had only produced three games, the excellence of these games was evident to all. Players didn’t want this studio to lose its original purpose of creating games under external pressure.

“Thank you all for your concern. Game development is going very smoothly, and we’ll meet you on Valentine’s Day as scheduled. [Image]”

A week before Valentine’s Day, Sprout Studio’s official Twitter account posted a message, providing a response to many players and including an image.

It appeared to be a promotional poster for the game.

In the image, the Onion King held a golden onion scepter high in his hand.

In front of him stood four animal chefs.

Cute cartoon animals wore white chef hats, held various kitchen utensils in their hands, and their eyes were full of determination.

The game’s visuals were colorful and fun, and in the background of the image, one could faintly see the quirky and treacherous game maps.

“Breaking Up Kitchen”

The game’s name was presented in a charming cartoon font, giving it an interesting look.

As soon as the message was posted, it immediately attracted comments from players who had been following Sprout Studio.

“Yay, fantastic!”

“So amazing!”

“Hey, we know there’s a lot of pressure from the outside world, but don’t worry about it.”

“Even if this game isn’t perfect, we won’t blame you. Just keep working hard in the future.”

…

Brother Yin didn’t open this Weibo post right away. When he finally did, there were already hundreds of comments below.

He looked at the contents of the comments with a strange expression.

Oh no, this isn’t the art style I expected at all!

You guys should be criticizing him! This will only spoil him!

…

“Yay, fantastic!” Inside Sprout Studio, Ye Feng occasionally heard eerie voices from outside.

Seeing those comments, Ye Feng’s face darkened for a moment.

These players are so peculiar.

“Ahem.” Ye Feng walked out of the office, holding a large lottery box in his arms.

Song Shan followed behind him, with a curious expression.

When Ye Feng was making the lottery box, Song Shan had been helping him the whole time.

“Everyone, take a break from your work. The development of ‘Breaking Up Kitchen’ is almost finished. We just need to carefully check for any in-game bugs in the last seven days before release.” Ye Feng shook the box in his hand.

“Relax a bit and let’s have a lucky draw.”

“Yay, fantastic! What are we drawing?” Inside the studio, someone exclaimed in surprise. They lined up behind the box, taking turns to pull out small cards from it.

Apart from discussing work-related matters, Ye Feng got along well with everyone.

Being a young man in his twenties, he naturally had his own management style.

With just around thirty people in the studio, it didn’t take long for each person to draw a piece of paper.

Opening the paper, there was only one number written on it.

“Well, this time, whoever draws number 16 will have to host a livestream after the game is released to address player issues.” Ye Feng looked at everyone, a hint of an uncontrollable smile on his face.

Visible to the naked eye, the smiles on everyone’s faces were disappearing.

After a game is developed, the studio’s employees are the first ones to play it.

Every game must undergo various tests before it’s officially released.

They knew what challenging levels they had designed themselves. When they tested the game with colleagues, they experienced moments of wanting to smash the keyboard.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the employee who had just cheered looked at the number in his hand, dazed.

There was only a simple number on it.

[16]

“Not bad at all. You must be the best customer service representative.” Other colleagues patted his shoulder and laughed.

Looking at the number 16 in his hand, he forced an awkward smile on his face.

The outside world thought this was just a casually made game.

Players were still comforting the people at Sprout Studio, telling them not to stress and to take their time making the game.

Do you know that the stress is about to fall on you, hey!

The employee holding the paper with ’16’ wanted to cry but had no tears left. He could even imagine how players would criticize them later.

He couldn’t help but turn his gaze to the lottery box in Ye Feng’s hand.

Old scoundrel, you really call this a lucky draw?

A few days before Valentine’s Day, some manufacturers had already started promoting their own games, gradually ramping up their marketing efforts.

From their game descriptions, one could tell that these were games meant to move people to tears.

Love seemed to be tied to tear-jerking stories. The more tears shed, the more memorable the love story was considered to be.

Three days before Valentine’s Day, Sprout Studio also uploaded their game. The game would be unlocked for download three days later.

The game’s cover was still the image they had previously shared.

Brother Yin looked at the game’s details.

The game was priced at 52 yuan, giving it a romantic touch.

However, based on the game description, it didn’t seem to have any romantic elements.

“Is this a special game for Valentine’s Day?” Brother Yin looked at the description with a puzzled expression.

“Why doesn’t this seem like a couple’s game?”

[The Onion Kingdom is in a crisis; only the best cooking can save it! In Breaking Up Kicthen, players must train in different brutal kitchens to become culinary masters and defeat the monsters plaguing the land due to a deadly epidemic.]

“In the game, players can play as one of the 14 chefs, cooking alone or collaborating with friends. Players will showcase their skills in the kitchen, fulfilling various dish orders in locations such as restaurants, pirate ships, dining cars, haunted houses, icy plains, volcanoes, and even outer space.”

From the description alone, except for the phrase “cooperate with friends,” there seemed to be no trace of what a couple’s game should have.

“Alright, let it be. Let’s forgive them. After all, time is limited, and having a game is enough. Why ask for so much?” Brother Yin commented indifferently.