Chapter 1170: The Test
After making an appointment by phone, Jiang Huan arrived at Thunder Interactive Entertainment headquarters right on time.
"This building is really huge..."
Jiang Huan looked up at the building known as "Thunder's Big Dome" and thought it was quite impressive. He felt that working here would be something to brag about for three years, posting on his social feed every single day.
He wouldn't just show off the building outright on his feed. Instead, he'd post a picture of the Beijing sky, "accidentally" capturing the Thunder Interactive building in the frame, and caption it with something like: "Punching in for work! The sky in Beijing is so blue today!"
As for when the Beijing sky actually turned blue... that was easy to handle. Whenever Beijing held a major conference, the sky was guaranteed to be blue.
Actually, if you stayed in Beijing long enough, you'd know that blue skies and white clouds weren't that rare—it wasn't smoggy every single day.
Jiang Huan waited at the entrance for a while, watching all kinds of players streaming into the first floor like they were shopping at a mall, feeling quite envious.
Before five minutes had passed, the person responsible for receiving him arrived.
His name was Zhou Peng, an employee of Thunder Interactive's testing department. Jiang Huan had already spoken with him on the phone earlier and discussed things roughly.
Seeing him in person, Jiang Huan was still a bit surprised, because Zhou Peng was directly dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Apart from the Thunder Interactive employee badge hanging on his chest, his outfit made him look nothing like someone going to work—he seemed more like a student or an ordinary tourist.
But this also made Jiang Huan feel much more comfortable, because he himself was wearing a T-shirt and jeans.
Some companies really liked making employees wear formal attire to work. If it were finance or public relations companies that required this, that was one thing, but some random companies also demanded it, which Jiang Huan found utterly baffling. However, since Thunder Interactive was a game company, they were clearly more relaxed in this regard.
Moreover, Zhou Peng had absolutely no airs about him, with a full smile on his face, just like an ordinary good friend or senior student. This naturally gave Jiang Huan a sense of warmth.
"Come on, this way."
Zhou Peng chatted casually with Jiang Huan while leading the way.
Thunder Interactive's headquarters building had dedicated employee elevators that went straight to the office area, separate from the players' experience zone.
Along the way, Jiang Huan saw more Thunder Interactive employees—all young, good-looking guys and girls, each dressed neatly and looking especially happy.
"This kind of work environment really is comfortable. If I worked here, I'd be happy too," Jiang Huan thought to himself.
He had heard many legends about the inner workings of Thunder Interactive. One of them was that the employees' happiness index was very high, because working here meant earning a high salary while doing what they loved.
And unlike other game companies, they didn't often work overtime, so everyone had a relatively rich private life, giving them the time and energy to take care of themselves, dress sharply, and look good.
Of course, not everyone was like that. There were some employees who were unkempt, but those types were often hidden big bosses with deep expertise...
Basically, the top talent in the domestic—and even global—game industry was gathered in this building. If you were very familiar with outstanding domestic designers and could name them all, you might find plenty of opportunities to ask for autographs just by walking around.
Jiang Huan didn't know that many famous designers, but he felt that everyone passing by looked impressive and high-class, and he envied them.
Zhou Peng led him further inside, arriving at the dedicated testing area.
There were spacious workstations, each equipped with high-end office computers, and next to them were top-tier Matrix gaming pods. Some testers were inside the pods experiencing games, while others were typing away at their computers, presumably recording various test data.
Zhou Peng guided Jiang Huan deeper in: "You brought your medical report, right? Hand it over to me, and then we'll do a simple check-up here."
Before coming, they had required him to bring his own medical report. Jiang Huan had already gotten a check-up at a major hospital, but after arriving, they still needed to conduct some deeper examinations.
"During the examination, you might experience some mild discomfort, but don't worry, it won't have any impact on your health. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, you can call for a stop," Zhou Peng reminded.
Jiang Huan approached a specially made gaming pod. This pod was silver and had never been seen on the market before.
After lying down inside, the pod door closed, and Jiang Huan entered a state of sleep.
He didn't enter some game world, but instead seemed to experience a long, drawn-out dream. The dream wasn't particularly good—sometimes it made him happy, sometimes angry, sometimes fearful...
He went through many complex emotions, but after waking up, he couldn't remember the content of the dream at all.
During the dream, Jiang Huan was conscious. Although he felt some discomfort, he never had the urge to call for a stop.
Jiang Huan had heard that Thunder Interactive had its own unique standards for recruiting testers, and what those standards specifically were had always been kept confidential. However, one thing was clear: the vast majority of applicants were weeded out during this deep examination.
It sounded a bit like a pilot's physical exam—very few people passed—but the specific rules were completely different. Although it wasn't as comprehensive as a pilot's physical, it seemed to have extremely strict requirements for certain special aspects, especially concerning consciousness.
After coming out of the gaming pod, Jiang Huan was led to a meeting room, where he waited nervously.
A moment later, Zhou Peng pushed the door open, a smile on his face.
"Congratulations, you passed the test."
"If you're willing, you can start a one-month probationary period. During this time, we'll arrange for you to test some games, and your salary will be paid at 80% of the full rate. But there's one thing I need to remind you: we might arrange for you to test some relatively 'extreme' games, so be mentally prepared."
"Also, during this period, if you can't meet the work requirements, the probationary period can be terminated at any time."
Jiang Huan was a bit surprised: "Sure, but I have to say... is it really that straightforward? Don't I need to go through any written tests or interviews?"
Zhou Peng chuckled: "No need, because the previous test already covered many aspects. You might not know this, but the pass rate for this test is less than 15%. So everyone who passes is very valuable to us—no need for extra written tests or interviews."
Jiang Huan was delighted: "That's great, of course. So, should I come to work tomorrow?"
Zhou Peng nodded: "Of course. A colleague from HR will come by later to sign the contract with you—all standard procedures. Our normal working hours are from 10 AM to 7 PM. If you come between 8 AM and 10 AM, the company offers free employee breakfast, so you're welcome to come earlier if you like."
Jiang Huan nodded: "Got it, I understand!"
Zhou Peng said: "Remember to bring your employee badge, and get your fingerprints registered. Almost all areas in the employee section of the building require fingerprint scanning to open doors."
Zhou Peng also went over some other precautions, and Jiang Huan noted them all down.
Everything was pretty much arranged, just waiting for HR to come and sign the contract.
Jiang Huan asked one more question: "So, our daily work is testing games—what kind of content are we mainly testing? Will someone teach me that?"
Zhou Peng smiled: "No need for teaching. We mainly evaluate whether the latest games have any adverse effects on players' psychology, especially... fear levels. So just play seriously and record carefully. The relevant data will be generated automatically."
"Fear levels? Are we testing horror games?" Jiang Huan asked.
Zhou Peng nodded: "Yes, horror games are an important part, but not the whole picture. The main focus is on 'experience-based' games—anything that can trigger emotional fluctuations in players falls into this category. Moving games, scary games, tormenting games, and other extreme experiences all count."