Chapter 130: Office Gamers

"Everyone."

Robert stepped out of his office and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Starting today, I'd like everyone to set aside a little time each day to try this... uh... learning tool, Minesweeper."

He was met with a chorus of reluctant responses.

Faced with what they saw as additional work that had appeared out of nowhere, the only thing they could think was that slacking off at work was becoming harder and harder.

Even Robert himself had never imagined the change would come so quickly. So quickly that it happened before he even realized it.

That afternoon, after finishing his work, Robert got up and headed for the employee break room. As usual, he rolled up a coffee filter and poured in the ground coffee, and just as he reached for the kettle at the counter, he noticed something unusual.

Normally, at this hour, Sean from the customer service department would be sitting here reading a magazine or doing crossword puzzles to pass the time. It had practically become one of the company's landmarks.

As long as Sean wasn't on leave, he would always appear in the break room right on schedule during his break.

Robert looked around in confusion.

"Where's that kid?"

"He said he wanted to spend his break learning how to use the PC."

The reply came from one of the company's old-timers, a man who had long since settled comfortably into his routine and paid no attention to Sean's newfound enthusiasm.

"Huh? Since when did he become so motivated?"

Robert found the situation rather unfamiliar.

Spending his break studying new technology?

What an excellent employee!

Just look at that attitude!

If everyone in the company were like Sean, why would they still be struggling to modernize?

Robert made up his mind on the spot. He was going to check on Sean, at the very least, he deserved some verbal praise.

He needed to make Sean into a positive example so the others would be encouraged to follow suit.

Carrying the freshly brewed drip coffee, Robert headed toward Sean's workstation, and before he even got close, he saw the young man completely absorbed in his monitor.

Only, the screen wasn't displaying spreadsheets or documents, it was Minesweeper.

The interface consisted of a grid divided into countless little squares.

Some of them displayed different numbers, while many others had already turned gray. Looking more closely, Robert could also see little flag icons planted on several of the squares.

He slowed his pace and quietly walked up behind Sean, standing silently as he listened to him muttering to himself.

"This square has four mines around it... There's one here, so this overlapping position between these two must definitely contain a mine."

To Robert's surprise, Sean skillfully moved the mouse, guiding the white cursor precisely onto the desired square. With a press of the mouse's right button, a little flag instantly appeared on the tile.

"Phew... That pretty much clears this whole section. Now I just need to…"

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"What does that little flag mean?"

Bang!

Hearing the voice behind him Sean nearly jumped out of his chair.

He stood up so abruptly that his hand slammed against the desk with a loud crash. Panicking, he frantically hammered at the keyboard, switching the screen to a document filled with text before finally turning around.

The moment he saw it was his boss, Sean felt the color drain from his face.

"I-I was analyzing customer data. PCs really are convenient to use."

Robert glanced at him. He understood immediately, but chose not to say anything, instead, his eyes shifted toward the monitor.

"Mm. So, how's the learning going?"

"N-Not bad."

Sean skillfully moved the mouse and opened a document through the graphical interface.

"I've already finished organizing today's files."

Looking at the neatly formatted document on the screen, Robert's eyes flickered. The customer service department had been particularly busy today.

"That was Minesweeper just now, wasn't it?"

Sean smiled awkwardly and nodded. He had been caught red-handed, so there was no point trying to hide it now.

"Play another round. Let me watch."

"So..."

Robert watched as Sean methodically marked one mine after another.

"It really is a game..."

That said, there was one thing Michael hadn't been wrong about. Minesweeper was incredibly effective at teaching people how to use a mouse.

Sean could now move the cursor instantly to any point Robert indicated on the screen. His left and right mouse clicks were equally effortless, as though the mouse were simply another part of his body.

"Interesting."

The game reminded Robert of a famous logic puzzle from the 1960s known as Cube. At its core, it was still a mathematical logic puzzle.

It had simply been designed with remarkable ingenuity, and it almost felt as though it had been created specifically for the mouse.

"Sean, later today I'm holding a small meeting, and I'd like you to teach everyone else how to play this game."

"Huh?"

Even in his wildest dreams, Robert had never imagined that the solution to the problem that had troubled him for so long would turn out to be... a game.

When Michael had first told him about the idea, he had assumed it was merely a sales pitch designed to convince him to buy an otherwise useless mouse.

But Michael was proven right. In just a few short days, Minesweeper spread through the office like an underground phenomenon, and no matter when he looked, someone was always sitting in front of a computer, completely occupied.

Standing in his office, Robert wore a complicated expression. It was both helpless, and amused.

Just by looking at Sean's intense concentration, and noticing that his keyboard hadn't moved for ages, Robert knew full well Sean wasn't actually working.

Robert lowered his eyes to the reports that had been submitted right on schedule. It was machine printed, exceptionally neat, and every figure had been calculated by the PC with astonishing precision.

The absurd contradiction before him left Robert completely at a loss. Whether he intervened or ignored it, neither option felt right.

"Oh, forget it. At least everyone's getting their work done."

Letting out a sigh, Robert returned to his desk. Rather clumsily, he moved the mouse across the grid, trying to follow the game's rules to locate the hidden mines.

This wasn't an isolated case. As shipments from SGI and Dell continued to increase, more and more people were introduced to Minesweeper, the game disguised as a "learning tool."

And, of course, to that strange mouse unlike anything they had ever seen before.

Early one morning, a muscle car screeched to a stop outside GAMENOVA headquarters, leaving a trail of tire smoke across the road.

"Ethan! Open up! Ethan! It's me!"

Steve, the founder of Electronic Games, arrived carrying all sorts of recording equipment.

Since GAMENOVA had relocated, it was much closer to the other Silicon Valley companies.

For Steve, however, it had been nothing short of a disaster. His magazine office wasn't even in Northern California!

Even more infuriating, who could have guessed that Ethan had quietly pulled off another major surprise? He had secretly released a game without telling them!

Minesweeper!

What an incredible title!

Not only had there been absolutely no marketing, but it wasn't even sold to the public. The only way to play it was by purchasing a customized PC from one of GAMENOVA's partner companies.

Even the mouse that had become a hot topic throughout the industry had "Designed by GAMENOVA" engraved on its underside.

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