Chapter 10: The brilliant game designer and her foster father 8

At that moment, Ralph slowly stepped in from outside. No one knew how long he had been there or how much he had heard.

Fiona’s face turned ghostly pale, her breathing quick and unsteady as if she might faint at any second.

Ralph didn’t seem to notice her distress. He walked straight to the computer, took the programmer’s seat, and started testing the game himself.

After five minutes, he looked up at Ernesta, his eyes full of admiration.

“Did you write this?” he asked.

Ernesta nodded. “Yes.”

Ralph smiled, his expression noticeably softer. It was the first time he had ever smiled at her.

“You should keep learning programming. Stick with it, and don’t give up.”

Ernesta hesitated, glancing at Ralph, then at Fiona, before speaking cautiously.

“But… Fiona…”

“You don’t need to worry about her. I’ll talk to Fiona. Your job is to develop your talent and give it your best.”

This time, Fiona didn’t even have to pretend to be sick, because she truly felt unwell.

Ever since Ralph walked in, he hadn’t spared her a single glance. A sharp pain clenched at her heart, beyond her control.

She grabbed Ralph’s hand and weakly called out,

“Father, my chest hurts!” The moment she finished speaking, she collapsed against him.

Ralph caught her just in time, holding her in his arms as he asked with concern,

“Are you alright? I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“No need, I just want to lie down for a bit,” she murmured.

“I’ll take you to the lounge. Ernesta, you head home with the driver first.” With that, he carried Fiona toward the elevator and went straight to his office. His office was connected to a small bedroom where Fiona could rest.

On the way home, Ernesta continued discussing what had just happened with 001. The AI was still in shock from Fiona’s actions, seeming completely dazed. Out of every three questions she asked, it could barely answer one.

“001, there’s something I want to confirm.”

It took a moment before 001 responded,

“What do you want to confirm this time, Master?”

Ernesta said,

“According to the storyline, Fiona is supposed to release a major game that will take the world by storm, right?”

“That's right, Master. While recovering at home and unable to attend school, the female lead created Insect Wars. It’s an RPG with a compelling storyline, combined with an open world for players to freely explore. She came up with the concept, designed the gameplay, and personally handled 70% of the programming. Ralph’s team helped, but she was the driving force behind the entire project.”

Ernesta frowned, deep in thought. The technological level of this world was far behind the one she had lived in, but the game development tools here weren’t bad. Creating a blockbuster game in a year was definitely possible, but only with a well-coordinated team working together.

She shared her thoughts with 001, but it immediately objected,

“Master, did you forget? The female lead is a genius!”

“She might be a genius, but she’s also sickly. Her health is unpredictable, sometimes she can’t even walk for long without stopping to catch her breath. Do you really think she could handle the intense workload needed to complete such a massive project in just a year?”

From what Ernesta knew, Fiona had spent almost every day bedridden recently, only managing to sit by the window for a couple of hours to watch the world outside. The fact that she had been out for so long today was already a miracle.

001 couldn’t respond. It was starting to question the female lead all over again.

Back at the Harold estate, Ernesta went straight to her room. She walked over to her bed, knelt down, and reached underneath. After feeling around for a moment, she finally pulled out a brown-covered notebook.

“Master, what is that?” 001 asked, completely confused.

"Ernesta’s diary."

She sat down at her desk and flipped it open. This body's owner had a habit of keeping a diary, but when Ernesta first absorbed her memories, there had been too much information to process at once. It was only now, after everything that had happened, that she remembered it.

The diary wasn’t written daily, only when something important happened would the original Ernesta make an entry. As she carefully turned the pages, she finally noticed something odd.

“Date… Month… Year…

Fiona is incredible! She can even design games. Talking to her is really fun, but she keeps mentioning technical terms I don’t understand. Maybe I should learn some programming so we can have more to talk about.

Date… Month… Year…

Programming languages are so interesting! I can’t stop reading about them. No time to write more, I need to figure out how data conversion commands work.

Date… Month… Year…

This is amazing! If I can master programming, I’ll be able to create my dream game!

I’ve always wanted to play an RPG set in the future, where interplanetary travel is as easy as hopping between countries. Advanced technology, high-tech weaponry… And of course, there has to be war. I love strategy games the most.

But that wouldn’t work. If humanity has already reached the stage of interstellar civilization, they should be united, not fighting among themselves. I need an enemy for them to battle…

How about insects? I hate insects! Let’s make them massive, as big as battleships, with nearly indestructible exoskeletons and the ability to roam freely through space. That sounds fun!

That settles it, the game will be called Insect Wars.”

After reading these diary entries, Ernesta immediately called out to 001,

“Hey, Cutie, what do you think?”

001’s entire belief system had been turned upside down. It took a long moment before it finally responded:

“Master, they lied! This isn’t The Brilliant Game Designer and Her Foster Father. It should be called The Fraud and Her Adoptive Father!”

Ernesta chuckled and replied,

“Finally, you’re showing some intelligence for once.”

***

Author: Are there more secrets hidden in this world? Take a guess!