The villas in Repulse Bay all came fully furnished and newly decorated — ready for move-in without any hassle.
However, the older generation thought differently from the younger one. Especially in a city as superstitious as Hong Kong, Lin's parents went to consult a fortune-teller to pick an auspicious date. Only on that day would they move into the new house.
Before his rebirth, Lin Baicheng had never been superstitious. But after something as impossible as rebirth had happened to him, who could say the gods truly didn't exist? He couldn't call himself a believer, but he was willing to keep an open mind. "Better to believe than not to," he told himself, and so he didn't object to waiting for a good day to move in.
However, before that day arrived, Lin Baicheng boarded a flight to Japan.
— Haneda International Airport.
This time, Yamada Hideyoshi had come with two employees to greet him at the airport.
"President!"
Unlike Yamada, who greeted him in Cantonese, the two employees spoke Japanese.
"Mm."
Lin Baicheng nodded slightly and handed his suitcase to Yamada, who offered to carry it.
"President, the hotel is ready. Please allow me to take you there to rest."
Yamada led the way while Lin followed behind with his two bodyguards.
Yes — this time, Lin wasn't traveling alone.
After arriving at the hotel, he chatted briefly with the two employees, then dismissed them, leaving only Yamada behind.
"Yamada, I'm here now. Have you set the time and place to meet Miyamoto yet?"
"Not yet, President," Yamada replied. "Mr. Miyamoto said he'd like to meet you personally. There are things he wants to discuss face-to-face. He asked that we contact him once you've arrived in Tokyo to finalize the meeting details."
"Very well. Get in touch with him as soon as possible."
Lin Baicheng had come to Japan specifically to meet Shigeru Miyamoto, intending to recruit him to Galaxy Games as a game designer.
For Nintendo, apart from its president Hiroshi Yamauchi, two people were absolutely essential — Gunpei Yokoi and Shigeru Miyamoto. Yokoi handled hardware design and development; Miyamoto was responsible for game design and creativity.
One led hardware, the other software — and with Yamauchi uniting them, Nintendo's success through the 1980s was built on that trio.
Strictly speaking, Lin should have tried to recruit Yokoi as well. He certainly wanted to. But he lacked the capital.
Hardware required enormous funding, and Yokoi's status at Nintendo far exceeded that of Miyamoto, who had joined the company only about a year ago. Without substantial resources to support research and development, why would Yokoi ever leave Nintendo for a small, unknown studio like Galaxy Games?
Water flows downhill; people seek higher ground — that's the way of the world.
Yamada soon contacted Miyamoto, who said he was available anytime. Lin then asked him to arrange dinner for that evening.
To show sincerity, Lin instructed Yamada to book a table at a renowned kaiseki restaurant. Since he was inviting a Japanese designer, Japanese cuisine was the only proper choice.
That night, Miyamoto arrived at the restaurant. Lin brought only Yamada along, leaving his two bodyguards to dine in a private room next door.
"Mr. Miyamoto, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lin Baicheng — I developed Hong Kong Blocks."
When introducing himself, Lin didn't present as a company owner but as a fellow game developer.
Yamada served as interpreter; Lin didn't speak Japanese, and Miyamoto didn't speak Cantonese or Mandarin.
"Mr. Lin, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Miyamoto was astonished by Lin's youth and said admiringly,
"Your Hong Kong Blocks is truly brilliant. When Mr. Yamada took me to try it, I was amazed that such a game could exist. And when he told me its creator wasn't even twenty years old, I couldn't believe it. I didn't expect such young genius in this industry."
"You flatter me, Mr. Miyamoto."
Lin smiled and waved modestly.
"In my view, talent means little without results. In game development, whether someone's a genius or not — you can see it from the games they make."
"Mr. Miyamoto, your ability is beyond question. I believe that if you take charge of game design, you'll certainly create something remarkable."
"You give me too much credit," Miyamoto replied, embarrassed. "I have many ideas, yes, but I've never led the development of a full game before. I'm not sure I could make something great."
"You underestimate yourself," Lin said, smiling.
He wasn't entirely sure whether Miyamoto already had the same potential as in later years, but he had prepared for that.
"Mr. Miyamoto, as you know, I came here to invite you to join my company, Galaxy Games, as head of our development division. But since you've never led a full project before, I'd like to ask you to work as my assistant for a year or two — to help me develop games."
"During that time, you'll learn how to manage a development team and lead a project. After one or two years, I'll hand full control over to you — to direct the department and create your own games. How does that sound?"
After Yamada translated this, he added persuasively,
"Mr. Miyamoto, right now you're just an ordinary staff member in Nintendo's planning department. You mostly handle character designs. Who knows how many years it'll take before you can lead your own game?"
"You're right, Mr. Yamada," Miyamoto admitted. "But this concerns my future. Please tell Mr. Lin I need a few days to think about it."
It was a difficult choice. Lin's offer was tempting. Miyamoto knew that if he stayed at Nintendo, it could take at least five years — if everything went perfectly — before he'd get a chance to lead a project. Ten years, even longer, wasn't impossible.
But if he joined Galaxy Games, he could immediately participate in game development under Lin's guidance, learning along the way. In one or two years, he could be ready to create his own. It was, in many ways, an ideal path.
Lin listened to the translation and nodded.
"Of course. It's an important decision. But please believe in my sincerity — your compensation will be higher than at Nintendo. I promise you won't be disappointed."
"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Lin."
Miyamoto bowed respectfully. He would give the offer serious thought.
After that, the two men set business aside and simply enjoyed their dinner together, chatting warmly — host and guest both delighted.