"Who are you?"

Seeing the unfamiliar face of a complete stranger, Xu Yingjie was the first to speak.

"Let me introduce myself-Ye Chen," Ye Chen said.

"Ye Chen?"

The group exchanged confused glances. None of them had ever heard of this name.

"Uh, Mr. Ye, what brings you here?" Xu Yingjie asked, bewildered.

"I heard your company is looking to be acquired?" Ye Chen cut straight to the point without any small talk.

Whoosh-

As soon as those words were spoken, the group, including Xu Yingjie, suddenly perked up. But soon, they frowned again.

The name Ye Chen was unfamiliar, and more importantly, he looked far from the polished, imposing figure of a typical corporate big shot-dressed plainly and modestly.

"May I ask, are you planning to acquire our company?" Xu Yingjie asked tentatively.

"Yes, that's the idea," Ye Chen nodded without hesitation.

"Do you even know the state of our company?" Xu Yingjie probed further.

Ye Chen shrugged, smiling slightly. "Isn't it obvious? You're on the verge of becoming an empty shell."

Although what Ye Chen said was true, hearing it still struck a nerve with Xu Yingjie and the others.

"If you know that, why would you still dare to talk about acquisition?" Xu Yingjie frowned.

If it had been the CEO of some well-known company offering to buy them out, they might have been overjoyed. But a complete stranger-modestly dressed and unknown-didn't inspire any excitement.

Facing Xu Yingjie's frown, Ye Chen smiled and said, "I've looked into your company. I know you've developed a few games that were quite successful in the market. However, you sold them all to focus entirely on developing a game called Samsara. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. You couldn't complete the game, and due to funding issues, you couldn't even pay salaries, causing your team to dissolve-"

Before Ye Chen could finish, Xu Yingjie interrupted him. "So, what exactly about Qianlong makes it worth your time to acquire?"

"You guys."

Ye Chen pointed at them one by one, finally stopping at Xu Yingjie.

In that moment, his demeanor shifted, as if he were once again the commanding figure he had been in his past life.

For a moment, Xu Yingjie and the others were stunned. They felt an inexplicable pressure emanating from him, a stark contrast to his plain attire.

"Us?" Xu Yingjie stammered, still in shock.

"That's right. A team willing to give up lucrative opportunities and risk everything for the dream of creating one game-Samsara-is a team worthy of my respect. No, more than respect-admiration. I'm willing to bet on you and on Samsara," Ye Chen said decisively.

The group exchanged glances. Ye Chen's commanding aura and words reignited a flicker of hope in their hearts.

"And how do you plan to acquire us?" asked a disheveled, unkempt man who was responsible for the company's finances. His voice was filled with urgency, and the others stared at Ye Chen expectantly.

"To be honest, the company itself doesn't matter much to me. It's the talent-you-that matters. So instead of acquiring the company, I'm acquiring you. My offer is 35 million yuan to solve your immediate financial problems, plus annual salaries for all seven of you. You name your price. As for developing Samsara, ask for whatever budget you need-there are no limits." Ye Chen's voice was firm and confident.

His words left Xu Yingjie and the others stunned, as if they had been petrified.

"Thirty-five million yuan?"

In other words, 5 million per person?

Salaries with no upper limit? Unlimited development funding?

What?! Was this guy crazy?

He believed in Samsara more than they did-the very game that had been rejected by countless companies and investors.

"Are you not afraid Samsara will fail? That it won't revive the glory days of online games?" Xu Yingjie asked, trying to stay calm despite his excitement.

If Ye Chen had been a seasoned figure in the gaming industry, he might not have asked this question. But Ye Chen didn't seem like an industry insider, so curiosity got the better of him.

"Something you're willing to risk everything for-forsaking easy profits and even putting yourselves on the edge of collapse-I don't believe it will fail. Honestly, it's not that I'm not afraid of Samsara failing; I'm not afraid of you failing," Ye Chen replied with a smile.

"You're not joking with us?" Xu Yingjie asked, trembling slightly, unable to contain his emotions.

"If I were joking, it wouldn't have been with a single word of this conversation," Ye Chen said.

"Alright, please wait here for a moment while we discuss this!"

Nodding with a faint smile, Ye Chen watched as Xu Yingjie hurried to the office, followed by the other six.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen strolled leisurely around the room.

Elsewhere-Tianhai District, Chebei Village.

A plan to corner a fugitive hiding in a rental building had failed.

The man, wanted for more than a dozen murders and on the run for seven years, had managed to escape the building. Thankfully, all the tenants had locked their doors, avoiding a hostage situation.

After a chaotic chase, the fugitive was finally cornered in an alley.

"You bastard! Keep running, huh? Go on, run some more!" panted Qi Quan, out of breath.

Normally, he wouldn't be this exhausted, but his heavy bulletproof vest weighed him down.

Instinctively, he reached to remove the vest but paused, thinking better of it.

"Better safe than sorry," he muttered.

If that guy Ye Chen turned out to be a fraud, he'd make sure to deal with him later.

"You piece of trash! Eleven lives! If it weren't for scum like you needing to face the law, I'd have shot you already. Hands on your head, squat down!" Qi Quan barked, still catching his breath.

Just as the fugitive was about to comply, a teenage girl, no older than 17 or 18, emerged from a nearby rental building.

Dressed in pajamas, yawning, and seemingly just waking up, she froze at the sight of the standoff.

Before Qi Quan could yell at her to stay back, she strode over with big steps.

"Whoa, is this a movie shoot? Need any extras?" she asked nonchalantly.