《To ascend, I had no choice but to create games》 Chapter 1: I, Fang Cheng, am an Immortal_1

Chapter 1: I, Fang Cheng, am an Immortal_1

"Shen, is your student really here to learn game development? Or did they take a wrong turn at model ss?" It was not the first time Mr. Shen from Tianxiong Game Training College had to answer this question. But it couldn''t be helped, for the student in question was indeed very handsome, at first nce striking enough to be an award-winning actor. Graduated from a top university, well-proportioned physique, anyone would think he should be making a living off his looks, yet he inexplicably chose to make games, baffling everyone as to why. Don''t they know that games can ruin generations and nning one could be regretted for a lifetime? Forsaking a bright future to learn game development here must mean a deep love for games, one would assume. Right now, Fang Cheng, who drew a crowd''s curious eyes, was flipping through the training college''s textbooks, looking over each game design case and thinking to himself: What''s so fun about games? Fang Cheng, twenty-two years old, was a Cultivator, as well as a Reincarnator. A millennium ago, his cultivation wasplete, at the pinnacle among Practitioners, able to move mountains and seize the moon, almost omnipotent. However, just as he was on the brink of ascending to immortality, he suddenly calcted that his almost perfect Taoist Heart was missing a piece. He did not know what entertainment was. From the moment he was sensible, he had been heading towards ascension, rolling up countless lives in his wake, eventually reaching the end of the Immortal Way. But unexpectedly, the saying goes ''tension and rxation are both elements of the Tao''; hisck of understanding in y led to a gap in his Taoist Heart, thus he faced the only path left¡ªfailure to ascend. Thus, he calcted that his opportunity would arise a thousand yearster, through something called "electronic games," and promptly made arrangements for his rebirth by self-dissolution, awakening in the modern world. All he needed to do was to create a game that he found fun, and that many others found fun as well, to seed in his pursuit and fill the gap in his Taoist Heart. However, after his rebirth, even after half a year of study at the training college, he discovered an unfortunate truth. He still didn''t understand why electronic games were fun. What''s the point of stacking blocks in "Your World"? What''s the point of stacking blocks in "Terraria"? What''s the point of stacking blocks in "The Princess was captured, but I am going to find the Master Sword first"? Aren''t they all just stacking blocks? While Fang Cheng was puzzled, Mr. Shen, with his teaching n in hand, carefullybing through his thinning hair, entered the ssroom. ncing at all the students, especially at Fang Cheng, he spoke from the lectern, "Everyone, today is yourst ss as students." "We''ve analyzed the history of games, exined the basics of game development and various categories, so now it''s time for practice." "Games are honored as The Ninth Art, and they aren''t really thatplicated. There are no taboos in game development, the only criterion is that it must be fun." "For the final week, I''d like everyone to design a game based on the concept of fun." "Of course, I know you mightck direction, even choosing a topic might take a lot of time, so I''ll give you a theme: survival. I''ll send some reference gamester. You can spend a day ying them, and then make a simple yable version. Those who do well, I will submit to apetition tform with the chance to win and be rmended to work at a major gamepany." At the mention of this reward, an excited student raised his hand and asked, "Mr. Shen, is Tianyi an option?" Mr. Shen smiled and nodded. The ssroom immediately buzzed with excitement; after all, Tianyi was currently the best gamepany in the country, with seventeen studios of various sizes, covering everything from mobile games to console tforms. Fang Cheng wasn''t interested in joining Tianyi, but there might be some talented people within Tianyi who could solve his problem, so he ced some importance on this opportunity. After ss, he returned to his dormitory, turned on hisputer, downloaded the games Mr. Shen rmended, and while installing them, continued to refine his Mana. Although his Mana waspletely depleted at the start of his rebirth, being a powerful figure in the cultivation world, after twenty-three years his Mana had almost fully recovered. All that was left was to fill in the final piece of his Taoist Heart, and then he could ascend. Having organized his mana, he immediately opened the sample game Mr. Shen had sent and began ying. The game was called "Son of the Forest," and it generally revolved around the story of a protagonist who, along with a father and son, went to an ind resort that was having problems to investigate the situation. On the ind, yers needed to craft various tools, defeat savages and mutants full of arms or legs, and ultimately uncover the ind''s secrets. After ying for an hour, Fang Cheng temporarily closed the game and fell into contemtion. In this era, the gaming industry was highly developed, and AI technology had improved ordingly, significantly reducing both the time and learning cost of game development, but one week was still a bit tight. Therefore, Mr. Shen didn''t require aplete game, just indicating that a rough version was enough as long as it basically disyed one''s ideas. It wasn''t necessary to y the game through to the end, just to understand the basic gamey. However, Fang Chengpleted it anyway. For a nearly immortal being about to ascend,pleting a game was far too easy, even with his eyes closed he could pass through the game without trouble, yet he still didn''t understand where the fun was in this game. Was chopping down trees in the forest actually fun? Was ying with a three-legged female savage truly enjoyable? Mr. Shen said this game had great realism. So, was realism equivalent to fun? With a thought, his body transcended Blue Star and floated in the boundless space. His divine sense swept across thousands of light years, epassing countlesss, before he locked onto one that was full of towering ancient trees. The next moment, his body appeared in the forest, standing on this piece ofnd. The climate here was simr to Blue Star''s, but the high oxygen content led to the nts and animals being muchrger and everything being more dangerous. This ce had once had a civilization, but that was a thousand years ago; that civilization had either left or perished, with only lost relics remaining. After using divine sense to inspect the and ensuring there were no other civilizations, Fang Cheng began his action: tree felling. He felled gigantic trees with his bare hands, cut timber to build a cabin, and in just an hour, established a small base here. Fang Cheng sat inside the base drinking flower tea made with snow water, looking out at the snowy mountains and couldn''t help saying, "This is so boring." It would be better to go back home and meditate. The greatest authenticity was personally striving for survival in the wilderness. But altogether, Fang Cheng didn''t feel it was fun. Perhaps Mr. Shen could provide some guidance? Thus, he employed his mana to tidy up the ce a bit, encapsted everything with an Immortal Spell into a program copied onto a USB drive, and then took the drive and entered Mr. Shen''s office. Seeing Fang Cheng enter, Mr. Shen, who was drinking goji berry tea, smiled and asked, "Fang Cheng, what''s up? Have you run into a problem?" "No, I''vepleted the trial version of my game and would like you to take a look," Fang Cheng replied. Mr. Shen looked at his phone with a puzzled expression and realized that only three hours had passed from assigning the task to Fang Cheng bringing in his project. With a wry smile, Mr. Shen said, "Fang Cheng, I thought you were quite honest normally. Why have you started to cut corners now? It''s not possible to make a good game in such a short time. Forget it, leave the game here, and I''ll have a look." "Oh, I understand now." Leaving the USB drive behind, Fang Cheng epted the lesson humbly. There is a sequence to learning, and every craft requires focus. A teacher is indeed a teacher; he could tell from the timeframe that he hadn''t grasped anything at all. So, ording to what Mr. Shen said, was the so-called development time synonymous with gamey? Back at the dormitory, just as Fang Cheng was about to do some useless things to stretch the time, he saw a call from Mr. Shene in. "Fang Cheng,e back quickly!" Chapter 2 - 2 This Game is Off_1

Chapter 2: This Game is Off_1

Mr. Shen''s office was already crowded with teachers who hade upon hearing the news. This group of gamers in their early forties stared at the screen, shouting like a bunch of silly children at this moment. Mr. Shen secured the second round. He pushed away another teacher who had just fallen off a cliff to his death and then took over the spot to start a new game. Although he didn''t understand what made it fun, Fang Cheng still added some elements he was familiar with to the game during its production. The yer''s character was made of y, but with some Mana added to it, which made the character soft and delicious, with a sweet earthy quality that easily attracted the attention of monsters in the forest. It didn''t matter if they died; he left a Spirit Gathering Array there. Upon detecting the death of the previous character, the Spirit Gathering Array would automatically condense Mana and reshape the earthen body. It was too slow to chop trees with a normal body, so he also added something to this body, allowing yers to possess the strength of the Third Layer of Qi Refining from birth, making it no problem to chop trees barehanded. The backpack was created using a storage pouch, a small bag that could hold arge number of items. The crafting system was reced by an Artifact Refining Magic Artifact, with the Mana source still the Spirit Gathering Array. A filter was added to the graphics to make everything seem more game-like, so as not to let people discover this was another. Making these things didn''t take much time; a few simple Immortal Spells could do the trick, but in the eyes of the teachers, it waspletely different. Before he called people over to appreciate (and show off) the game, Mr. Shen had already yed several rounds and was already adept and thoroughly enjoying himself. While ying, he said, "This game, it''s the real deal. I''ve yed survival games for so long, and I''ve never seen one this realistic before." "Yeah," another teacher couldn''t help but sigh, "Whether it''s the gravity system or the collision system, even the way prey acts after death is extremely realistic. It''s just not harmonious enough; why should the blood be red?" "Young people, you know, not much experience, haven''t been beaten up yet," Mr. Shen said with a chuckle. "Young people? Don''t tell me this is the work of a student in your ss." Another teacher also marveled, "Remarkable, if you told me this was Tianyi''s new work, no, even Bethesda''s, I would believe it. Many of the engines here must have taken a long time to adjust; otherwise, they couldn''t have been produced." "Even with adjustments, they couldn''t produce this, the performance is too strong, the optimization too remarkable, most of it must have been written by themselves." "Impressive, Shen, your level has really gone up recently." Mr. Shen wanted to boast further, but he then saw Fang Cheng, who had alreadye in, and his eyes lit up. He hurriedly waved his hand and said to the others, "He''s here, it''s Fang Cheng!" "Fang Cheng, huh..." "Didn''t expect it to be him..." "Appearances can be deceiving!" Everyone present was familiar with Fang Cheng. After all, he was the one who single-handedly raised the average attractiveness of gamers. Mr. Shen, proudly pulling Fang Cheng over, said, "See? This was made by Fang Cheng, by my student! All of you im your games have sold millions; has anyone taught a student with Fang Cheng''s level?" "Pfft, show-off," one teacher scoffed but couldn''t deny it. The game industry involves a lot of luck, and the legacy is not very strict. Many people hit it big with games, but they can''t seem to teach good students, which shows how random this industry is. Many people could only feel envious. No one suspected that Fang Cheng was giarizing, after all, in this era, it was very easy for AI police to spot a giarized game. Following that would be utter ruin, a lifetime ban from the gaming sphere. After envying for a while, Shen yed for a bit longer and then said, "That''s good enough, I think thepleteness is very impressive now, it can be uploaded to the tform for thepetition. Fang Cheng, tell me the truth, have you been brewing this idea for a while?" "No, it was done in three hours, I didn''t think too much about it beforehand," Fang Cheng said honestly. The office suddenly fell silent. Some of the teachers didn''t feel like talking anymore. It was bad enough that you were good at other things, but how did you manage to learn Shen''s kind of Versailles talk too? "Forget it, just upload it quickly. Put on the digital signature and timestamp and then enter thepetition. If everything goes as expected, Tianyi should be hiring you." Fang Cheng smiled calmly but was still full of doubts. The game he developed seemed quite boring, merely wrapping some Immortal Spells, which ironically reduced the sense of realism. Could it be that realism isn''t necessarily what makes a game enjoyable? What on earth does it mean for a game to be enjoyable? Amidst the collective praise of the teachers, Fang Cheng grew more perplexed. Soon, Fang Cheng''s game was fully uploaded. Nowadays, the gaming industry was highly developed, and various gaming tforms often hosted a variety of game projectpetitions, like the Neer''s Cup from the training institutes, which was one of them. The Neer''s Cup was apetition exclusively for neers, aimed at those aspiring to enter the game industry and who hadn''t yet been recruited by gamepanies. Participants could form groups of five to make games, or produce games solo; the materials used could be free or made with paid services. Because neers often couldn''t produce anything great, leading to varied levels of quality in their work, there were always people willing to download the creations of neers for amusement, subsequently making satirical review videos. "Wang Say Games" was one such content creator. He too was once part of the gaming fraternity, not a bad guy, but a bit sharp-tongued. After reviewing games, he would offer targeted advice for improvements; overall, he was a decent fellow. As usual, he started looking for games in the Neer''s Cup, streaming live while mocking them. "This game is a typical product of the creator''s hubris, insulting and harmful to yers; I think it should be called ''The Ultimate Insult.''" "Some games are gourmet food, others are cesspits; this game is different, it''s a cesspit disguised as gourmet food." ying and mocking at the same time, Wang Say Games realized it was already eleven at night without him noticing; it was time to sleep. "Thest game, huh? I''ll y thisst one and then go to bed. Let''s see, this game, ''The Forest''s Second Son''... this name, clearly trying to cash in on ''Son of the Forest.'' The gaming world is really in decline." Just the name was enough to ignite the soul of Wang Say Games'' mockery,pelling him to click download, eager to unleash his pent-up scorn. Click, that was fast! Thanks to the current inte speeds, the game downloaded almost instantly, and Wang, while starting the game, continued to mock, "A knockoff game is basically always terrible. Its awfulness isprehensive, like being taken to dine in a toilet, an overwhelming stench." But once he entered the game, Wang''s smile gradually froze. This thing... it''s in the wrong ce, isn''t it! Chapter 3 - 3 Is This Game Fun? (Please Favorite, Recommend, Thank You)_1

Chapter 3: Is This Game Fun? (Please Favorite, Rmend, Thank You)_1

Indie games made by neers are typically at two extremes: the good ones are really impressive, even if the screen is filled with baffling mosaics, that''s still considered good. And the bad ones are truly terrible, like tossing paint into a pot to cook, you can''t tell what the end product is supposed to be. But "The Forest''s Second Son" is totally different. This could easily sell for a 98 on a major tform, a rating most official games don''t even achieve. From the time he entered the game, Wang Say Games was in a state of bewilderment. His spawn point was in the middle of a snowy area, and as soon as he arrived, he could see the snowkes, as big as fists, smacking right at him. Even through the screen, you could feel the bone-chilling cold. The ground was already covered in snow, and as he walked, you could hear the shuffling sound of the character moving through the snow. Turning his head, he could even see the tracks slowly fading away in the snow behind him. The whole process was smooth and natural, without anyg. Could a neer really pay attention to such details? Are all neers monsters these days? I remember back in my day, I was thrilled to pieces making a tformer like Super Mario,paring to this neer, I''m nothing but hot air. In the live streaming room of Wang Say Games, a rare moment of silence urred. The five thousand viewers widened their eyes as they stared at the game''s graphics on the screen, and it took quite a while before someone spoke up, "This neer... is really something!" "Isn''t it a gamepany pretending to be a rookie?" "Look at the signature, it''s certified by Mr. Shen from Tianxiong Training Center, the guy''s a big name in the industry. He doesn''t need to cheat in a rookiepetition." "That''s true. But this might be the author using materials from the academy to cobble together, whether it''s actually fun or not, we''ll have to see the gamey." "Exactly, exactly, Wang, let''s get started." Wang Say Games also recovered from his shock and began to control his character to move through the snowyndscape. Just by controlling it a bit, he could tell that the author was definitely a powerhouse. The character control felt incredibly smooth, the responsiveness and dy in the actions were so precise, it was like actually controlling a person running in unknown snow fields. And with the surrounding snowscape, even without any other features, just as a walking simtor, it was enough to look down on other neers. "A neer, huh... Let''s see what this neer is called... Fang Cheng, never heard of him, definitely a fresh face." Approaching arge tree resembling a pine or cypress, Wang Say Games began to pull at the tree bare-handed, the solid sensation of his fists hitting the trunk was satisfying. After a few breaths, arge tree was pulled down, but before Wang Say Games could start dealing with it, something pounced at him. It was a giant wolf, roughly the size of a baby elephant, its sharp ws still stained with blood, its ferocious face closing in on Wang Say Games, you could even see its dinner through its throat. Wang Say Games reacted quickly. Just as he was about to turn and run, the starving wolf pped him over with its paw. The next moment, the screen went ck, and the sound of the wolf feasting filled his ears, making Wang yelp and jump up, continuously rubbing his arms. The realism just then was so intense, it made him feel as though he was actually being eaten by the wolf, nearly turning into his nightmare for life. Looking at the death notification on the screen, Wang Say Games smacked his lips, feeling like he drank a cup of fine wine, savoring the aftertaste. "This game... is incredible! Remember this Fang Cheng, he''s going to be big in the future." "Wang, don''t enjoy it all by yourself! Show us more!" "Yeah, just watching it for a bit, my digital ED seems to be showing signs of recovery." "And Wang, you suck, getting knocked down by wild wolves in less than three minutes, your sister-inw would be heartbroken." "Screw off!" Wang cursed with augh, then sent the link to the group, "Free game, and you can download it instantly. Remember to throw in a coin, give a thumbs up, and add it to your favorites before downloading. Such a good game shouldn''t get buried." "Alright." The five thousand live stream viewers were instantly wide awake, they started downloading the game online and before long were immersed in the world of ''The Forest''s Second Son''. Afterward, even more details were unearthed by them, each one making them exim in surprise or shout in excitement. "I saw Wang start in the snow, and I thought the game only had a snow scene! Turns out I was born on the ins this time! There are wild horses and sheep around, I''m going to try and tame them!" "Don''t tell me I''m thest one to find out there''s actually a crafting system. It''s a shame the game''s creator was toozy to publish the crafting forms." "That''s notziness, that''s a sense of mystery! A game shouldn''t reveal everything, exploring bit by bit is what makes it fun." "Comrades, this game actually has a main storyline! I found a huge relic, and although I got taken out by the Relic Guardian right away, this shows there are definitely secrets here unknown to man!" "What secret is that? I found out this game is actually online! I''ve encountered other yers!" A small game, but it brought boundless joy. With Wang''s live stream as a hub, arge number of yers began to spread this game around, attracting even more yers to join in. Over at the Neer Cup''s website, the game''s likes and votes skyrocketed as if on steroids, exceeding the second ce by tenfold in just one night and dominating the top spot with an overwhelming lead. The crazy rate of growth made the organizers almost think the game was manipting votes, but after ying it themselves, they had to admit, this time theizens were not up to par. Only half the people liked and voted, do the rest have no hands?! In thement section below the game, tens of thousands of people were frantically leaving messages, sharing experiences, looking for strategy posts and crafting forms, turning the modest Neer Cup into a carnival for game enthusiasts. "Author, start charging for this, I''d feel ashamed to y it without paying at least 298." "I suspect I saw a digital Subus." "Me and a few buddies have formed a big family in the game, named Binary, hope everyone can join." "Don''t believe the above, Binary is just 1 and 0, understand the nature of the family, right?" "Joined." "Joined." "...Are all the yers in this broken game male?" In the morning, Fang Cheng was woken up by a call from Mr. Shen. Mr. Shen, who had been up all night ying the game, was extremely excited, and the first thing he said after the call connected was, "Quick, tell me the form for the Seven-Star Sword!" "Oh, just meteorite plus Thunderstruck Wood, but you need to refine the meteorite inva." "Ah, thanks. Also, your game is on fire." Logging onto the website in confusion, Fang Cheng saw the exaggerated amount of likes and downloads for ''The Forest''s Second Son'' and was baffled for a moment. And after reading thements, Fang Cheng was even more puzzled. Is this game... fun? Chapter 4 - 4 I Want to Make a Horror Game_1

Chapter 4: I Want to Make a Horror Game_1

With this doubt in mind, Fang Cheng''s thoughts shifted, and the next moment he appeared above the. This had been officially named "Star of the Forest," a reference to its corresponding game "The Forest''s Second Son." At this time, there were already a million yers active on this, and because the yers had discovered that everyone was in the same "server," they began to constantly search for other people, either forming alliances or making enemies. They had already started to buildrge bases, and the relics of the''s former civilization had been marked, but the guards were too strong. They still needed to continue collecting materials and synthesizing items to deal with the relics and the civilization here. After that, they would be able to utilize the technology within the relics, as well as their own provided Refinement system, to repair the relics before embarking on the journey to the Starry Sea. Of course, the whole process might take decades, enough to turn this game into a family heirloom, passed down to grandchildren to continue ying. Hiding his presence and floating above the, Fang Cheng looked down at the excited yers collecting resources below, still not understanding what was fun about this game. Recalling a previous top-ratedment, Fang Cheng felt there might be some truth to it. "This game is full of mystery and various unknowns. Its exquisite setup fills the game with infinite possibilities, making every entrance into the game full of anticipation." Originally, he thought realism was the greatest standard of fun, but now it seemed that mystery, unknowns, and a sense of anticipation were also measures of a game''s enjoyment. Nodding slightly, Fang Cheng felt as if he had realized something. For the next game, he would try to incorporate this element of unknowns. After confirming his thoughts, Fang Cheng stopped paying attention to this ce and returned directly to his dormitory to study what exactly this "unknown" was. While others were busy making games, he had already graduated early. Seven dayster. The graduation ceremony ended, and the principal of Tianxiong Training Academy delivered a heartfelt speech. Thepleted trainees bade each other farewell, and Fang Cheng, who had been dragged into taking photos all day, saw his portrait collection produced and sold for the high price of five hundred yuan on the same day. Under Mr. Shen''s arrangement, Fang Cheng brought "The Forest''s Second Son" to Tianyi, and Tianyi also expressed a desire to cooperate, hoping Fang Cheng would hand over the adaptation rights of "The Forest''s Second Son" to Tianyi for further development and maintenance. The person in charge of the liaison was a producer from a working group under Tianyi, named KongKong. The other party was a short and chubby little fellow with a kindly smile, but his beady eyes were always darting around, and his tone of voice had a sharp edge when he spoke. After asking Fang Cheng to sit down in the office, he got straight to the point and said, "I think ''The Forest''s Second Son'' is no good." Fang Cheng excitedly lifted his head, feeling he had found a kindred spirit. After all, this thing wasn''t really a game; it was just a haphazardly packaged entrance to a, and heaven knows why those yers thought it was enjoyable. And KongKong, unremarkable in appearance, somewhat sleazy in character, dishonest, and even suffering from hemorrhoids, seemed to have quite a good eye. Therefore, Fang Cheng eagerly asked, "So, what''s not good about it?" "Paying, you intend for this game to be a one-time purchase, right?" "I don''t want to charge a fee, after all, it''s just a few hours..." "Stop right there." KongKong rudely interrupted Fang Cheng: "I''ve seen too many young people. Your way of thinking is too dangerous. Many people only have a momentary spark of genius, creating something that surpasses the times, but then they can''t produce anything afterwards. What you need to do now is to cash in on this game until you reach financial freedom, forget about everything else." "But is that fun?" "Making games isn''t fun, but making money is. Who wouldn''t be happy with an ie of several hundred thousand a month? Listen to me, this game needs to change. The payment system has to keep up, initially use paid posters to hype it up, split the servers into hundreds, and open a new one periodically to continuously attract rich yers." "There have to be opening events, a first charge bonus, monthly cards, and even a leaderboard for the wealthy. First, get a fewrge guilds involved, then invite the rich to be deputy leaders of the guilds, send in a few shills to stir up animosity, and use AI to create trouble when necessary." A series ofbination punches left Fang Cheng reeling in confusion. After mentally calcting KongKong''s n, Fang Cheng instantly envisioned what the changed game would look like, with two words hidden in every corner: "Spend money." "Hurry up and spend money!" Not only was the changed game no fun to y, but it also gave off an impression of being mercenary and scheming, which made Fang Cheng feel that the game was not only unenjoyable but also somewhat disgusting. So, he nodded slightly, "I don''t think it''s necessary. This isn''t fun at all." "Huh, think it over. Tianyi is very powerful, and partnering with Tianyi is the best choice. You need money first to promote the game and let more people see it." "No need, goodbye." He left Tianyi without ever looking back. His Taoist Heart should be focused on "fun," and for things that weren''t enjoyable, he didn''t want to give them even a backward nce. Watching Fang Cheng''s departing figure, KongKong sneered coldly. Very idealistic. But in the end, it will still be him crying. Right after leaving Tianyi, Fang Cheng received a call from Mr. Shen. Upon answering, Fang Cheng heard Mr. Shen''s voice, "You rejected KongKong, why?" "Too many payments required, it feels a bit disgusting," Fang Cheng said bluntly, "Our paths don''t align, so we cannot plot together." "... You," a wryugh came from the other end of the phone, "I figured as much, someone as straightforward as you couldn''t possibly agree." Straightforwardness is almost everyone''s appraisal of Fang Cheng. He seems not to know how topromise, always resolute in action, appearing as if he could never be persuaded. Knowing Fang Cheng''s reason for refusal, Mr. Shen asked, "What''s next then?" "Don''t know. But I''ve got a new idea, I want to create a new game." "Hiss..." Mr. Shen inhaled sharply, thinking this kid might be a bit of a genius! If it were him, he would be considering mizing "The Forest''s Second Son," not already thinking about the next game. It must be said, this is what genius is, a constant stream of inspiration in their mind, as if there will never be a day it dries up. At first, Mr. Shen wanted to ease the rtionship between Tianyi and Fang Cheng. But now, he couldn''t care less about mediating. Don''t anyone stop me from ying the new game! Therefore, his tone became more rxed, kindly saying, "Alright, do you have enough funding?" "Enough, it''s a small-scale game, could be done in a few days." "That''s good then, what''s the theme?" "A horror game," Fang Cheng said confidently. Chapter 5 - 5 The Essence of a Horror Game_1

Chapter 5: The Essence of a Horror Game_1

All fear stems from the unknown. This is a line learned at the training academy, and it''s also one of the guidelines for making horror games. A horror game is the genre that takes the element of the unknown to the extreme, and it''s the subject Fang Cheng is challenging. Having checked out of the academy''s dormitory, Fang Cheng called for a ride-share. While constantly reminding the driver to "keep your eyes on the road, not on me," he returned to his newly rented apartment. The apartment was cheap and far from the city center, basically in the suburbs. However, Fang Cheng could teleport at will,e and go as he pleased, and only asionally took a car to experience life, so distance didn''t matter. His apartment was small and sparsely furnished, with just a bed and aputer. Beyond that, there was nothing else. As an Immortal dedicated to the pursuit of the Taoist Way, Fang Cheng''s room was almost devoid of possessions and devoid of any devices for pleasure. But today, he was ready to indulge. He picked up some soda, took out some high-calorie fried chicken he had ordered online, turned on hisputer, downloaded all the top-ranked horror movies from a famous movie tform, opened sixty-four windows, watched each film at ten times the speed, and finished watching the top three hundred movies within an hour. After finishing, he silently turned off the screen, then chewed on his crispy fried chicken, a question in his mind. Where was the horror in these movies? "Midnight Bell" ¡ª if the protagonist knew Palm Thunder, then the moment the antagonist crawled out, a single Palm Thunder would take them out. "Dawn of the Living Dead" ¡ª if the protagonist knew Palm Thunder, a single Palm Thunder would be enough at the break of dawn. In "Iron Blood Warrior," if the protagonist knew Palm Thunder, as soon as the warrior appeared, a Palm Thunder would suffice. Other movies like "Vampire Legend," "ck Monday," and "Texas Chicken Killer" could all be resolved with a single Palm Thunder, so Fang Cheng couldn''t understand why people found these movies scary. Unable to draw inspiration from the movies, Fang Cheng decided to turn on hisputer and start ying horror games based on rating rmendations. After spending an hourpleting a game involving a music box, ck fog, and Cthulhu, he subconsciously thought "a Palm Thunder solves everything," when suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his brain, and he thought of a keyword. Helplessness. In those highly-rated horror games, the protagonist is always helpless. They have to face terrifying monsters, huge beasts, elusive demons, and all they can do is run. If you ced the essential items for escape on the monsters themselves, then the fear would intensify because the yers would have to confront their own Heart Demons and defeat them. Thinking this way, it seemed a bit fun. So, Fang Cheng closed his eyes, and the next second, his entire being appeared above another. As soon as he appeared in space, he felt a tentacle reaching out for him. sping the tentacle that could pierce through heaven and earth, he saw that the whole had been devoured by a gray monster. This monstrous creature was unimaginably huge, its gray skin covered in slime, which was filled with various rocks and trees, continually being devoured by the beast. Maintaining his posture, Fang Cheng did not act but scrutinized the monster, nodding and saying, "So ugly, so terrifying." The aura emanating from Fang Cheng affected this fearsome cosmic creature, instilling it with both fear and hunger. Instinct told it that this was an existence it could never reach, but its voracious appetite drove its tentacles to lunge at Fang Cheng. But Fang Cheng merely pushed through the void, unleashing a Palm Thunder. The invisible lightning pierced through the monster''s body, shattering its core and killing the beast, which had already be one with the, on the spot. However, he then cast another Mana spell, resurrecting the already dead monster once more. Between life and death, the creature''s will was utterly broken, and it tremulously extended its tentacles to submit to Fang Cheng. "Very good. Eat slowly, and keep still in that position. Later, I''ll let some little guyse over, and you just need to keep attacking them. Right, if any of the little guys touch the marking on your tentacles, then let them leave." The monster in front of him was extremely ferocious in appearance and had an overwhelming desire to attack, making the yers seem insignificantly tiny and utterly unable to escape. The only way to pass the challenge was to touch the switch at the tip of its tentacles, which was, of course, an act of utter despair. Although such a task was simple for him, an Immortal, it must have been terrifying for those yers without the strength to truss a chicken. He had even thought of a name for the game¡ª"Towards Death and Life". The massive Star-devouring Beast had millions of tentacles and could amodate millions of yers simultaneously, allowing him to validate his ideas through their performance and thus strengthen his Taoist Heart further. The Spirit Gathering Array was ready, and the yer''s bodies were formed and their physical functions were adjusted¡ªall was prepared! He was now eager to see the yers panic and scream. Satisfied with his work, Fang Cheng sealed everything with Immortal Spell, packaged the game, and then began to select a tform to release it. Last time, the rookie cup, aside from the honor, included a prize of ten thousand yuan. Although an Immortal could live without money, he still wished to earn a little in the secr way, feeling that it would give him a better understanding of the people''s experiences and help him in game development. Using that money, he bought a small advertising spot and ced "Towards Death and Life" on thergest international Steam tform, still for free, and then returned to the where the Star-devouring Beast resided. Now, all that was left was to wait for the yers'' performances. At this moment, Wang Say Games could hardly take it anymore. Seven consecutive days of grinding "The Forest''s Second Son" had transformed his base dramatically and pushed him to the brink of exhaustion. He had put off ranting about new games, advertising new games, revisiting old games, discussing games, and even his promotional streams. All his time was spent chopping down trees in the forest, crafting, building his base, and preparing tounch a new assault on the Relic Guardian. Thest time, three hundred yers joined forces and finally breached the firstyer of defense of the Relic Guardian, draining its shield and toppling it to the ground. Unexpectedly, that little darling managed to transform a second time. The transformed Relic Guardian was even more formidable, instantly killing all the yers, who cursed the game''s developers while enthusiastically continuing to chop trees and craft equipment. Wang Say Games wanted to continue, but someone in the live chat couldn''t help but say, "Wang, give yourself a break." "Stop grinding, get some sleep. The earlier you sleep, the longer you''ll live; the longer you live, the longer you can grind; therefore, the earlier you sleep, the longer you can grind." "Impable logic, totally convincing." Wang yawned, ready to take the advice, when he saw an advertisement float by on the Steam tform. "From your favorite, the developer of "The Forest''s Second Son" has released a new game "Towards Death and Life", now on hot sale..." "..." "Forget my life!" Chapter 6 - 6 The True Height_1

Chapter 6: The True Height_1

Fang Cheng''s games were always small in size but high in quality, as always. Seeing the [Horror] tag on the game, Wang Say Games chuckled and said, "Can''t brush it off during the day, can''t hide from it at night, tonight is a perfect night to y a horror game." "Wang, don''t die..." "Don''t panic, I know my limits. Let''s make a rule: if I get scared, I''ll go straight to bed. Alright, let''s go!" The title "Towards Death and Life" appeared, set against a gray and murky sky that looked more tragic than terrifying. A massive, unidentified object soared into the clouds, its spiral body structure resembling the mythological Tower of Babel, reaching towards heaven. There were no living creatures around, the trees looked dark due to theck of sunlight, and the ce where Wang was standing looked like a huge za¡ªonly it was devoid of people. "The graphics are still so good, the details wless. The various props have created a strong atmosphere of the apocalypse. Fang Cheng is absolutely a master of environmental atmosphere," he praised. After his moment of appreciation, Wang Say Games began to control his character, executing some moves to be familiar with the character''s traits. Unlike "The Forest''s Second Son," "Towards Death and Life" emphasized the character''s weakness and vulnerability by deliberately setting their strength very low. However, to give yers a stronger sense of escapism, he gave them robust thighs, allowing them to jump as high as possible. ording to Fang Cheng''s idea, upon entering the game, yers would immediately see the massive Star-devouring Beast, and its terrifying presence would shatter their sanity, making them feel a profound sense of despair inparison to its size. But Fang Cheng had overlooked one issue. That was the matter of size. An Immortal with Divine Sense could instantly perceive the enormity of the Star-devouring Beast, but humans couldn''t. In the eyes of the Star-devouring Beast, humans were the size of viruses. It couldn''t even sense the presence of humans and could only wait nkly ording to themands left by Fang Cheng for the so-called "little guys" to arrive. To humans, the tentacles of the Star-devouring Beast were like a towering Tower of Babel, impossible to fully perceive, unable to feel the horror within. After getting the hang of the controls, Wang looked around and asked, puzzled, "Strange, what''s the game''s mission? It doesn''t seem like you can gather resources from trees here. Will there be jump scares?" Jump scares are when something terrifying suddenly appears with a frightening visage, startling the yer and causing their heart rate to spike and limbs to chill. There''s nothing wrong with jump scares, but they are being overusedtely, with most horror games on the market utilizing this feature, leading to a certain rigidity in game design. However, Wang Say Games felt that Fang Cheng wasn''t that kind of person. A gaming genius like him should have more interesting ways to deliver horror. While Wang was scouting his surroundings, someone in the live streammented, "Wang, look up, there''s something on your head!" Quickly looking up, Wang saw something shining with a green light atop the immense tower, seemingly beckoning him forward. "Wow, there really is something. It seems like it''s telling us to go there." "How do we get there?" "Isn''t there a tower beside us? Let''s just follow the tower." Wang nodded in agreement and then began to leap continuously, climbing up along the tower. Minutester, Wang was growing to like the game even more. Even without a tutorial for beginners, he quickly understood the gamey, which was 3D tform jumping. Usually, 3D tform jumping games have problems with perspective and scale, causing yers to misjudge their focus and fail to estimate theirnding point, leading to failed jumps. But in "Towards Death and Life," this issue was perfectly resolved. Wang Say Games didn''t know what the other party''s solution was, he only knew that they had perfectly solved the issue of perspective change, allowing yers to precisely judge theirnding spots, making the previously difficult tform jumping easy and pleasing to the eye. It was as if... he was truly jumping on tforms. Although he had fallen a few times in the process, Wang quickly mastered the jumping technique and sessfully climbed higher and higher. By the time he was three hundred meters above the ground, he could see further buildings, the abandoned city, and copsedndmarks. The ruined sights came at him, making him feel that this was not just any tform jumping game, but one with a world of profound background. What happened here? What lies at the end of the towering Tower of Babel? Why was the city destroyed? Where are the other people? A wealth of details built a world that was both real and detailed, immersing Wang Say Games in all kinds of minutiae. However, when he reached one thousand meters, the joy of jumping gradually faded, his flow state slowly diminished, and he became sleepy. "It can''t be that I have to jump all the way to the top, that would be too sleep-inducing." "Exactly, the difficulty is unevenly created, it doesn''t seem like Fang Cheng''s work," a viewer in the live stream chat agreed. "Jump another hundred meters, then sleep after that." Just as he was about to stop the stream and go to sleep, a viewer in the live stream chat suddenly said, "Wang, stop ying for now and watch this video!" Confused, he clicked on the link sent by the viewer and found it was actually a Bilibili video. Since it waste at night, the video didn''t have many views, but the like-to-coin ratio was incredibly high. "Thirty minutes! ''Towards Death and Life'' clear!" Seeing this time, Wang felt a pang in his heart. He had downloaded the game first thing but only yed it roughly for thirty minutes. He had to go back to his "hometown" several times and start over, and in the end, he probably had not even climbed a quarter of the way. But now, someone had alreadypleted the game, gotten to the crux of it¡ªhow was that possible! He hastily opened the video and immediately started watching, only to realize there was a problem right away. The starting point was different! His starting location was an abandoned za, but the other yer''s starting location was a dpidated spaceship. Although the goal was the same for both¡ªto climb to the top of the tower¡ªthe entire process waspletely different. He thought this time difference might be key, but Wang soon realized that the other yer''s gaming concept was different. This neer YouTuber named "Xiao Douzi" had posted many videos, but had only a few hundred followers. In his gamey, he never spoke, just purely yed the games, and the content was often speedrunning and guide-oriented, showing he was a yer who loved to delve into games. The quality of the videos was high, but because they were too hardcore and didn''t include antics, they could never stand out in this somewhat restless era. But after ying the game himself and then watching Xiao Douzi''s videos, Wang only had one feeling. Brilliant! Truly brilliant! Chapter 7 - 7 The True Meaning of Towards Death and Life_1

Chapter 7: The True Meaning of Towards Death and Life_1

Only those who have truly yed "Towards Death and Life" can understand how high Xiao Douzi''s skill level really is. Wang already felt his hands were steady, butpared to Xiao Douzi, they were simply not on the same level. The other yer was obviously a professional gamer, whose movements during tform jumps were incredibly stable. In several spots where there was barely any room tond, Xiao Douzi would jump with ease and precision. Apart from the fluid movements during the jumps, Xiao Douzi''s judgment of distances was also spot-on. Many times, when Wang thought he wouldn''t make the jump, Xiao Douzi wouldnd exactly where he intended to. The control was mature, and the understanding of the game even more urate. And it was through Xiao Douzi that Wang realized that many objects in the game were not randomly ced. The decrepit elevators could be operated; if the button light on the elevator was on, then it could be used, saving a great deal of jumping time. Some inconspicuous ces could also be used to move quickly and speed up climbing, greatly saving time. After watching for a while, Wang kept nodding, impressed that this person seemed born to y games. But what surprised him was that at a certain tform, instead of jumping directly across, Xiao Douzi took a three-minute detour to activate an unremarkable-looking switch by the roadside. Once the switch was flipped, a multitude of light particles began to converge, and a palm-sized mechanical sprite appeared next to Xiao Douzi''s character, intermittently saying, "We meet again, unknown traveler." Wang Say Games: "...F*ck!" He was thoroughly convinced now. He originally thought it was a horror game, but it turned out to be a tform-jumping game. He thought jumping was the only option, but hidden mechanics revealed so many interactable items. He thought that was all there was to the game, but there was actually a storyline. A small game with so much depth, Fang Cheng, you''re quite something! The sudden appearance of the mechanical sprite gave Wang Say Games a jolt of energy, rousing him from drowsiness and making him watch with renewed excitement. It wasn''t just him; a bunch of users on Bilibili also eximed "F*ck" on the bulletments, causing the entire screen tog for a second before the video could continue ying. At that moment, Wang was certain that Xiao Douzi was the first person to discover the storyline within the game. Xiao Douzi didn''t speak during the stream, but the palm-sized sprite certainly had a lot to say. It appeared to be a semi-transparent little person, its body blurry due to mechanical faults and asionally glitching, effectively conveying its damaged state. Floating beside Xiao Douzi, it intermittently said, "It has been an hour since west met." "Pleased to see you, unknown climber. Let me introduce myself again, I am your climbing aid tool; you can call me Alpha." "This climbing path was built tomemorate the 1100th birthday of the Republic. The whole course is 5 kilometers long, and you can appreciate the magnificent scenery along the way. If you feel tired, you can use the elevator to get to the top. However, ording to my diagnostics, the elevator has broken down, and I have already contacted staff for repairs." "I have learned yournguage, which I find very interesting. Its intonation rises and falls like music, very pleasant to listen to, and I like it a lot." "Why don''t you speak? Is it because you dislike my exnation? My apologies, it''s been thousands of years since I''ve seen a living being, and seeing you makes me overly excited." The sprite chattered ceaselessly while Xiao Douzi climbed in silence, letting the sprite rte everything around them. Although asionally there would be a harsh noise, the sprite''s voice was very pleasant. Through its exnations, yers learned a lot of information. An ancient kingdom fell due to war, and terrifying biological weapons ultimately destroyed the entire civilization. Unknown monsters descended from the sky, began devouring this, which no longer bore signs of civilization, and sent the climb path built tomemorate the Republic into the air. Civilization was destroyed by its own people, all life was wiped out, and only the mechanical beings from thest days of civilization dedicatedly carried out their prior orders, one of which was Alpha. The story wasn''t long, but after everyone heard it, they felt somewhat choked up. What initially seemed like simple environmental design, after the truth was unveiled, had a powerful emotional impact. The dead civilization presented itself to the yers in this way, letting them hear, through their screens, thest echoes of that civilization. Atst, in the video''s finale, Xiao Douzi finally reached the endpoint, a small room at the top of the tower. After entering the room, the sprite flew onto Xiao Douzi''s shoulder and happily said, "Congrattions, you are the first and second person to reach the top after a thousand years. We have prepared a fine gift for you, which you can collect from the administrator after descending the mountain." Then the ground began to tremble, and the massive Star-devouring Beast finally sensed the presence of the "little one" and, following Fang Cheng''s orders, lifted the little one into the sky with its tentacles. As the altitude climbed, the tentacle pierced through the atmosphere and the dustyer overhead, finally reaching outer space where the endless cosmos unfolded. There, they saw the vast universe, the greatness of the cosmos and their own insignificance starkly contrasted at that moment, giving everyone a new interpretation of the game''s name, "Towards Death and Life." This civilization had died. But it still left something behind, lingering in the hearts of the yers after death. In the end, Alpha turned its head towards the screen and smiled, saying, "Thank you for participating, I hope you found the journey satisfactory." "...And thank you," Xiao Douzi finally spoke his only line in the video. Just that simple sentence broke through the defenses of everyone watching. The yful and adorable sprite was like a little angel; behind her optimistic and cheerful demeanor was a millennium of lonely waiting, but luckily, fate had not abandoned her. Xiao Douzi had also be the voice for the yers, finally expressing what they had all been wanting to say. The original triple-digit follower count exploded before their very eyes as a flood of gamers rushed to the Steam tform to download the game and tagged it with a "rmended" review. Wang Say Games was no exception. After turning off the video, he purposefully restarted the game and located Alpha''s switch during the gamey. Apanied by the sprite, he climbed tirelessly until he finally reached the end. After watching the ending scene, standing in the dawn''s light, he couldn''t help but reflect, "This world is truly beautiful." Chapter 8 - 8 Set Up a Studio_1

Chapter 8: Set Up a Studio_1

"''Towards Death and Life,'' a letter from the deceased to the living." "Highly rmended, a thousand years of solitude, just for your arrival." "Fun, no exnation needed." "The only downside of the game is that it''s actually a horror game, well, it''s a bit short, which is indeed quite terrifying." "Alpha, my daughter!" "Upstairs, you''re my father-inw!" "Get lost! You cyber copper-refining addict!" "Get lost! Alpha is over a thousand years older than us!" "The game creator Fang Cheng is undoubtedly a genius, but he also disys a unique and unmatched bad taste. ''The Forest''s Second Son'' already showed his talent in scene construction, and ''Towards Death and Life'' showcases his excellence in storytelling. However, the former''s name is tragic, and thetter''s genre is a disaster. But if you ask me, the more of such wickedly talented geniuses, the better." Fang Chengy in bed, looking at the reviews on the Steam tform, feeling a bit incredulous. Tens of thousands of rmendations pushed the game into the "overwhelmingly positive" category, indicating that most yers found the game to be very enjoyable. The Steam tform even gave it a special small section, which was like free promotion. But... What he intended to make was clearly a horror game! The massive creatures should have brought an indescribable sense of oppression, the helpless climbing process should have been filled with danger and suffocation, and frequent failure should have made the yers frustrated. So why... What made you think the game is therapeutic and the characters are cute? Is it really that hard to have a unified understanding of what''s fun? Just as Fang Cheng was pondering with a frown, a phone call came in. Seeing that it was from Mr. Shen, Fang Cheng answered the call and then heard Mr. Shen''s excited voice. "Fang Cheng, you really did it!" "Mr. Shen, I..." "I thought you wanted to make a horror game, but it turned out to be a tform-jumping game. You do have a sense of humor, but don''t do it like this next time." "I really..." "You can''t waste your talent; let that idiot KongKong whocks vision go to hell. A guy who''s only thinking about money has no right to manage a genius like you. I''m nning to persuade Tianyi to set up a new studio, and you''ll be the producer." "But..." "Don''t want to go? Oh, I get it, working for someone else really isn''t cool. How about this, I''ll help you apply for an office, and you can start your own studio. I still have some influence and can help you get an interest-free loan, as support for neers. It doesn''t matter if you can''t pay it back; I''ll cover for you." "..." "Hire a few more people, go for a big one. And don''t make free games anymore; you need to charge for games." Fang Cheng finally got a chance to speak and quickly asked, "Why should I charge money?" Even through the phone, Fang Cheng could sense the other person''s confusion. Half a minuteter, Mr. Shen finally said, "You can''t dig someone else''s road." After Mr. Shen''s exnation, Fang Cheng finally understood. Games, actually, are quite a money burner. Even if AI technology has advanced a great deal, art requires money to burn, programming requires money to burn, nning and the trial-and-error costs of developing a gamey also mean burning cash. Some people can run on passion, but most game developers see games as a job, and normal instances of "free" don''t threaten their livelihood. But Fang Cheng was an exception. The super high quality of his games would impact the gaming market and form an unhealthy effect. When a new game appeared, others would point to Fang Cheng''s game and say, "It''s not as fun as the free game, and you have the nerve to charge money?" While some trashy games might thus leave the market, over ny percent of game developers would be ruined by this, ultimately a catastrophic blow to the gaming industry. "Too clear a water holds no fish, and too keen an observation has no followers. The same applies to making games, a bit of bubble is healthy, do you understand?" "I understand," Fang Cheng agreed wholeheartedly. No wonder the older generation of game developers were so impressive, they saw the principles of economics so clearly. And Mr. Shen was all about efficiency in handling affairs. It wasn''t long before he had arranged a meeting at the bank for Fang Cheng, and within half an hour, a no-interest loan of five hundred thousand had been deposited into his ount. Not wanting to put too much pressure on Fang Cheng, Mr. Shen did not give money directly but applied for a loan instead. This was not only a reflection of the mentor-disciple rtionship but also the expectation of the older generation of game developers for the new generation. Furthermore, Mr. Shen also got Fang Cheng an office space rent-free for two years. Coincidentally, the location of the office was just opposite Kongkong Studio of Tianyi, close enough that one could simply look up to see the other. Embarrassed about this arrangement, Mr. Shen called Fang Cheng and said that if he disliked it, they could change it, no need to be polite. But Fang Cheng didn''t mind and declined the offer. The office space was ready to use; although Fang Cheng mentioned he didn''t need an entire floor, Mr. Shen insisted it was free and to just use it first. Theputers were also from Mr. Shen''s previous studio. The batch was eighty percent new, and while it was said to be a loan, it was essentially a gift¡ªand even included a bunch of gaming desks and chairs. In essence, Fang Cheng got a studio without spending a dime. Even though he was an Immortal, Fang Cheng still felt the gift from Mr. Shen was too generous. Unable to think of a way to repay him, Fang Cheng simply cultivated a batch of Spirit Grass, packaged it into tea leaves, and sent them to Mr. Shen, then sincerely asked, "Mr. Shen, is there anyone you dislike and want to get back at? If they''re truly vile, it''s not like I can''t just take them out for you, and it''ll be as if nothing happened." Mr. Shen burst intoughter immediately and patted Fang Cheng''s shoulder, saying, "I didn''t expect you to have such a sense of humor, kid. Don''t overthink it, I have my own selfish reasons." "How about two, then?" "Alright, enough joking. Game development is on the wane domestically; many games can only cater to niche markets or sell nostalgia, it''s frustrating to watch. Though we''re only in our forties, our way of thinking has solidified, and we have grown too cautious to make moves. Now seeing such a promising young talent as you, it''s only right that I nurture you a bit." "Mr. Shen, to be honest, I still don''t really understand why games are fun." "I don''t get it either; who can im to havepletely grasped the essence of games? Games are truly an art form¡ªyou never know when or how your game will touch someone''s heart and make them feel that it''s fun. Anyway, don''t put too much pressure on yourself, just stick to your own path and find your own way." "...Thank you." After expressing his heartfelt gratitude, Fang Cheng brought out his tea leaves and said to Mr. Shen, "I didn''t bring any other gifts for the visit, but these tea leaves are cultivated by me; I hope you will ept them. Drinking a little every day will strengthen the body and even help with hair loss." "You grew these yourself... Well, then I won''t hold back. Hair loss and such don''t matter." After seeing Fang Cheng out, Mr. Shen took out the tea leaves from the jar and took a sniff beneath his nose, immediately feeling the fragrance wafting through the air. He brewed a little with hot water and saw the cup fill with vibrant green tea, as if the entirety of springtime had been captured in it. After taking a sip, the lingering taste left Mr. Shen sighing with satisfaction, "This is really good stuff." Not sure if it was just his imagination, but after finishing a cup of tea, Mr. Shen felt refreshed and clear-headed, even his remaining hair seemed to have gained a shine. Chapter 9 - 9 The First Employee_1

Chapter 9: The First Employee_1

Just like that, a freeloading studio came into existence. Right outside the door was the subway station, downstairs was a smallmercial district, not far from a gym, and you didn''t even need to take the elevator to get to the second floor. Now that the studio was established, the next step was to make games. But before Fang Cheng could start, Mr. Shen''s call came in again. "Fang Cheng, have you started recruiting for your studio yet? Have you got your eyes on any candidates?" "Recruit for the studio? Aren''t I enough on my own?" "Are you even speaking humannguage? Can you handle everything by yourself?" "Sure, I can." Mr. Shen was so choked up he couldn''t speak for a moment before he finally said, "You do need to recruit, and the person needs toplement you, like if you''re good at programming, then find someone who''s good at innovative gamey. You''ll be the producer and lead programmer, he''ll be the lead designer, and then gradually add more people." Hearing this, Fang Cheng thought Mr. Shen was right. He had already made two games, and while they couldn''t be called critically acimed, they at least stood out. But the problem was, he didn''t know why the first game was popr even though he didn''t find it fun, and the second game, which he intended to be a horror game that scared people, turned into a healing game. Yeah, it was pretty disappointing. If there was someone who could help with the postmortem to study where it failed, that would be great. So, he immediately began writing a recruitment advertisement, posted the job requirements on BOSS Recruitment, and left his contact information and location. He didn''t know how much to offer for a sry, so he left it negotiable. He didn''t know what to require for education, so he didn''t choose any. There was one test question though, which was to analyze why "The Forest''s Second Son" and "Towards Death and Life" failed? You could pick either one. After listing the job advertisement, Fang Cheng, full of anticipation, began ying games, searching for the secret to what made games fun through experiencing different ones. And while he yed games expressionlessly, as if he were in a ssroom, his job advertisement caused a small stir. Some onlookers found the job posting and couldn''t help butugh after reading it. Taking a jab at "The Forest''s Second Son" and "Towards Death and Life," how dare you! Job-seekers filled with a sense of justice were about tosh out in criticism, but then they noticed something odd about the name of the studio. Fang Cheng Studio... Hmm... This name couldn''t just be a coincidence, could it? Upon seeing the studio''s brief and realizing it really was Fang Cheng, they fell silent. You''re calling works that have made a small name for themselves in the gaming circles recently, failures? You''re lucky it''s not against thew to boast in this day and age, otherwise, we would definitely have to arrest you and sentence you to a few decades in jail. "The Forest''s Second Son" and "Towards Death and Life" were not perfect games, with detailed scrutiny revealing many ws, such as the overly simplistic tutorials, or evenck of them; the game mechanics were hidden too deeply, like a game of hide and seek. But the former''s world was vast enough, and thetter''s humanistic care deep enough, that these two aspects alone were sufficient topensate for all the deficiencies, making them the most popr games recently. A game doesn''t need to be perfect, but it must have fun elements. So, should one give it a try and apply for the job? Thanks to this little wave, Fang Cheng freeloaded another advertisement worth over a hundred thousand, bringing some attention to Fang Cheng Studio before it even started working officially. As Fang Chengpleted another game and began pondering why it was fun, Mr. Shen called again. Mr. Shen was unusually diligent today, even more than when he was dating his wife or when he went to the hospital to check on his hair loss. On the other end of the phone, Mr. Shen asked helplessly, "Fang Cheng, was this job ad on purpose or an ident?" "Um... it was on purpose." "Not bad, you know about negative marketing. And then there''s the twist of using your real identity as the trump card. But don''t do this too often; it can have negative effects." "Okay, it was an ident, I don''t even know what went wrong." "You..." Mr. Shen sighed deeply, feeling that the worry he had for Fang Cheng was tenfoldpared to that for others. "Alright, I get that you''re not good at writing these recruitment ads. I''ll introduce you to a front desk cum HR person to help you. They can also handle finances, an all-around talent, so you can offer a higher sry. Later on, when you have more people, it will be up to them to decide whether to stay or leave." "Okay, I understand." After hanging up the phone, Fang Cheng made a quick calction and found that today was indeed a good day to recruit for the front desk, HR, and finance positions. The Way of Divination was not something he was very skilled at. The previous prediction that his Taoist Heart was unstable and needed video games to replenish it was also impulsive. However, now, making a quick divination of good and bad fortune was still achievable. Having made this realization, he put down his mouse, sat at the front of the studio, and began to wait for talents to arrive. Soon, the sound of high heels cking against the floor echoed from outside. The irregr sound allowed Fang Cheng to sense a woman clumsily walking in high heels through the corridor, just by listening. After stumbling once again, she angrily tossed her high heels aside and then walked in carrying her shoes. She was a very pretty girl, seemingly a recent college graduate with somewhat immature features that gave her a fresh and delicate appearance. At this moment, there was a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead, and a few strands of hairzily stuck to it, adding a hint of charm to her looks. Although she was in a ck business dress, the act of carrying her high heels revealed an uninhibited side, which made Fang Cheng think she might be quite interesting. Upon seeing Fang Cheng, the woman''s previous anger subsided, her furrowed brows involuntarily rxed, and even the pain in her feet seemed to lessen significantly. After pushing a chair towards her and serving her a cup of Spiritual Tea, the woman thanked him and was just about to identify herself when Fang Cheng asked, "Are you here for the job Mr. Shen referred you to?" She took a look at the logo "Fang Cheng Studio" highlighted by the spotlight behind Fang Cheng and immediately nodded, saying, "No, but I could be." "Then maybe you could introduce yourself?" "My name is Xu Qingling. I graduated from Yale Law School, and I''m good at sending the defendant, theirwyer, and even the judge to prison." After making another quick calction, Fang Cheng found her to be incredibly suitable and nodded, "You don''t need to send that many people; just stay. When can you start?" "Right now. You''re the boss, right? How should I address you?" Xu Qingling asked excitedly. "Fang Cheng." As he extended his hand, Fang Cheng felt Xu Qingling shake his hand vigorously for quite a while before reluctantly letting go. Afterwards, Xu Qingling continued to inquire, "So, what does our studio do?" "You decided to join without knowing anything about it?" "I''m just a bit impulsive." "I see," Fang Cheng said, nodding thoughtfully, remembering that Cultivators who were a bit impulsive tended to be like this. He assigned Xu Qingling a workstation and then prepared to figure out what a boss should do. Meanwhile, Xu Qingling went to the restroom, took out her phone, and said, "Grandpa, I found a job." "Yeah, in the game industry." "In our family''s office building. He took a fancy to me at first nce, and I did to him; it''s that simple." "Don''t worry, I''m sure to make something of it. If I don''t, I''lle back and take over the family business. Alright, hanging up now." Chapter 10 - 10 A Little Compensation_1

Chapter 10: A Little Compensation_1

``` In the office, Fang Cheng turned on hisputer and logged into a Q&A tform, where he posed his question, "I''m a first-time game studio boss and not very experienced. What should I pay attention to?" It wasn''t long before a myriad of answers appeared, but a three-word answer quickly rose to the top. "Don''t owe wages." These three simple words,den with so much pain, spoke volumes of the sorrow of those who had suffered from unpaid sries. The other answers were even more interesting, ranging from admonishments against office romances, reminders to pay attention to cash flow, and advice against useless benefits like afternoon teas, team building exercises, and group workouts. As long as the wages are maxed out, I''m all yours, day and night. To this, Fang Cheng wholeheartedly agreed. In his previous life, in order toprehend the Heavenly Heart and umte virtue, he had deliberately opened up his granaries to distribute food after a terrible drought. With enough rice porridge and pickled vegetables to go around, it wasn''t long before he was almost offered the imperial yellow robe¡ªthis showed the effectiveness of maxing out one''s "sry." After thinking it over for a bit more, Fang Cheng took out some Spiritual Tea he had cultivated and sealed it in a jar. Then, he put a Spirit Talisman he had forged into a brocade pouch to create an Amulet, and slipped it into his pocket as a wee gift for new employees. Although their effects were minimal, they did carry the blessing of Immortal Spell, making them quite a unique souvenir. With the gifts ready, Fang Cheng approached Xu Qingling''s workstation and ced the gifts on her desk before asking, "Does your foot still hurt?" "How did you know!" Xu Qingling asked in surprise. Then, her face reddened slightly, realizing she must have made too much noise outside. Sheughed awkwardly, twisted her ankle, and then said in surprise, "Strange, it doesn''t hurt anymore. My ankles are quite sensitive, and injuries usually cause me pain for a couple of days, but nothing seems to work. I guess I''m lucky today." "Then you should drink more Spiritual Tea," Fang Cheng suggested. He patted his little gift package and sat down next to Xu Qingling, noticing she had already finished going through the job postings he had previously circted. Not only that, but she had downloaded both games he had made, yed through them quickly, and startedposing job advertisements with targeted suggestions. Indeed, she was the reliable person he had hoped for. Pleased, Fang Cheng nodded and asked, "Let''s put the job posting aside for now. What do you think of these two games?" "Hmm... not fun," she bluntly replied. Despite speaking to her boss, Xu Qingling didn''t intend to sugarcoat her words, instead, she offered her honest opinion. "Why is that?" Fang Cheng asked, eager to hear more. "I don''t y many games normally, and most of the ones I do y are fairly rxing. I chopped down hundreds of trees in the first game and still couldn''t find the fun in it. The second game is even more baffling; just climbing upwards, I don''t see the appeal." At that moment, Fang Cheng felt like he had found someone who truly understood him. Her impressions matched his own, giving him a sense of solidarity that he was not alone in his views. Mr. Shen was right; hiring people can indeed help one confirm their own thoughts and also reveal one''s shorings. "So what type of games do you like?" Fang Cheng asked. "Love simtion games!" Xu Qingling immediately responded, "But my taste is a bit different. I prefer love simtion games from the perspective of a male character, and I love it when they include stats. The ''Heartbeat Memories'' series is the ssic example, and it''s my favorite." "''Heartbeat Memories'' huh..." "And because everyone is so tiredtely, they prefer to enjoy the sweet moments thate after romance, so there are quite a few girls who make advances, the more proactive, the better." "I see, I understand. By the way, someone mighte byter, and I''d like you to greet them. But I have a feeling they might not want to stay, so just follow their wishes, okay?" "Got it." As Xu Qingling went back to working on the recruitment ad, Fang Cheng returned to his own workstation and started to look up information on the ''Heartbeat Memories'' series. As a ssic in love simtion games, ''Heartbeat Memories'' features a variety of female characters and entertaining stats development, with frequent surprising events that can easily throw yers off bnce, and hidden characters that add a sense of surprise. ``` The female protagonist, Shiori Fujisaki, is also one of the ssic characters in video game history, a dream lover for many otaku. One of the producers of "Heartbeat Memories" is Hideo Kojima, whose representative work is another stealth game, "Metal Gear." It''s evident that great gaming talents share amonality. Even on vastly different tracks, they can exert their unique charm. After contemting Hideo Kojima''s gaming trajectory, Fang Cheng felt that making a romance game next wouldn''t be a bad idea. After instructing Xu Qingling to leave work on time, Fang Cheng stepped out of the studio, ready to find a suitable world to transform and then to create a new game. Seeing the boss leave, Xu Qingling let out a sigh of regret. He seems to have a good temperament and looks agreeable. But he''s probably like me, just graduated from college, clueless about how to manage employees. Without a signed contract or negotiated treatment, he wasn''t afraid to hand over thepany keys to me, fearing I could be a fraudster. There''s a particr innocence unique to college students. "Luckily, you met me, otherwise you''d be in a sorry state. And I''m having such good luck today; even twisting my ankle doesn''t hurt." Rubbing her ankle wrapped in flesh-colored stockings, Xu Qingling smiled contentedly. At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and a bespectacled young man came in and asked, "Is Mr. Fang here? I was referred by Mr. Shen." After looking at him for a while, Xu Qingling said, "So, it''s you..." "What?" "Nothing," Xu Qingling said sweetly, "the boss isn''t here. But you can leave your resume with me. The boss asked me to receive you." After reading through the young man''s resume, Xu Qingling thought for a moment, then asked, "Your previous jobs were unrted to gaming. Why did you suddenly decide to enter the gaming industry?" The young man candidly replied, "I heard that gaming pays well, and I''m in need of moneytely." "Hmm, I see. So, you mean to say if there''s a more lucrative job, you''d switch to that industry immediately?" "That''s the idea, yes. Actually, my top choice is the Finance position at New Oriental Wealth Building''s Dancing Consultation, but unfortunately, they''re not hiring now." Xu Qingling appreciated the young man''s candor and also liked the content of his resume. So, she picked up her phone and made a call, "Hello, Uncle Wang? I have a finance talent here. Could you please take him in? What about the sry package? Hold on a moment." Covering the phone, she asked the young man, "What''s your ideal sry?" "Ten thousand..." Nodding, Xu Qingling continued on the phone, "Offer him thirty thousand then, aspensation from me. Is fifteen sries per year okay?" The young man was so stunned by this pie from the sky that it sounded more like a joke to him, making him nod dumbly. "All right." Putting the phone down, Xu Qingling gave the young man Mr. Wang''s phone number, "Go to New Oriental Wealth Building and call this number. You can start today. Just act normally, and Uncle Wang will give me this face. If you encounter any problems in the future, contact me." After sending off the young man, still dizzy from the shock, Xu Qingling flexed her pale fingers and continued working. Today, she mustplete this recruitment task. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng floated within the void, pondering which world to choose. The universe is vast beyond measure, with a number ofs like the sands of the Ganges¡ªcountless. If he can''t find the right one, he can always leap out of this small world and continue the search in other small worlds. If there''s still no luck in other small worlds, he can turn to the Netherworld, exploring dreams, where he surely would find the right one. Before long, Fang Cheng used his Divine Sense to lock onto another world. Stepping through the void, in the next moment, he was within that world. Looking over this battle-scarred world and after evaluating the situation, Fang Cheng felt he hade to the right ce. Chapter 11 - 11 This is Your Problem_1

Chapter 11: This is Your Problem_1

Having descended to the ground, Fang Cheng looked around and found the atmosphere here to be quite oppressive. The was far from the sun, and the surface was enveloped by ayer of dust, casting the ground into a dim light, constantly shrouded in a gloomy ambiance. From what he saw on the devices, there had once been a civilization here, resembling a sort of medieval world with swords and magic, but simrly devoid of humans. This puzzled Fang Cheng. In his past life, he had also traversed the void, witnessing many civilizations and even discussing the mysteries of the great Dao with cultivators from different civilizations. The entire universe was bustling with activity, with countless experts capable of traversing the void. However, a thousand yearster in the present, nearby civilizations had all perished, with only a few once-great creations barely clinging to life, and not a single one of those able to traverse the void remained, leaving him the sole Immortal of this realm. What on earth had happened during these thousand years? Sighing at the changes that had taken ce, Fang Cheng stepped onto the ground to begin his inspection of the ce. Here, there was a very special structure, that is, the dungeon. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Fang Cheng discovered that there were numerous dungeons scattered across the entire, each oneyered and extending downwards, all the way to the Earth''s Heart. Within these dungeons, there were various traps and mechanisms, different types of monsters, and each dungeon would constantly change at random over time. And at the bottom of the dungeons, there were powerful dungeon guardians, as well as some anthropomorphic statues. Although there were many points worth exploring here, Fang Cheng''s focus was elsewhere. He was here to make a game. ording to his interpretation of romance movies, novels, and games, love shoulde with rescue and being rescued, redemption and being redeemed, apanied by a lot of hardships and random obstacles before sess can be achieved. And while yers nowadays liked to actively pursue love, even such pursuit needed a reason; therefore, having the statue-like princess revive after being saved and immediately falling for the yer would suffice. Add attribute development to give yers a sense of achievement throughout the process, fitting the concept of attribute growth well. Consequently, yers needed to continuously strengthen themselves, defeat monsters, and ultimately rescue the princess from the dungeon. Though they said they didn''t want it, yers seemed to like harem situations, so allowing yers to rescue a princess with each dungeon they cleared perfectly captured this harem feeling. Of course, the princess couldn''t bepletely helpless, so by adding some special mechanics to the princess, she could be a support to the yer, making it easier for them to challenge more difficult dungeons as their circle of rescued princesses grew. Furthermore, there were various pieces of equipment, items, and magic spells in the dungeons that could also be utilized, allowing yers to be addicted to collecting and making the romance even sweeter. After thinking for half a day, Fang Cheng became more and more excited, more and more delighted with his ideas. Making games was actually quite interesting. Mana began to extend, Immortal Spells started to be cast, and his vast Divine Sense enveloped the entire, beginning to reshape it ording to his own ideas. Only after the initial reshaping wasplete did he, contented, leave behind a Gathering Spirit Array to encapste the Immortal Spell, and then he left, returning to Blue Star. After freshening up simply in his apartment, he picked up his phone, feeling refreshed, to find that there were hundreds of missed calls. After calling his mother back, the phone was answered after more than ten seconds, followed by his mother''s scolding voice, "Where have you been? You haven''t be a monk, have you?" "Not in this lifetime." "As if you became one in yourst life." "Hmm." Mother was taken aback for a moment, then continued, "Where have you been these past half a month?" "Half a month?" Confused, Fang Cheng looked at the time and realized that it had indeed been half a month since he started reshaping the. There are no years in cultivation, and when inspiration strikes, it could be a decade. Reminding himself to definitely set an rm next time, Fang Cheng listened as his mother continued, "You''ve also graduated from the panda training base..." "It''s Tianxiong, we don''t do pandas." "It''s pretty much the same. Since you''ve graduated, then find a goodpany to really learn something. I know someone whose son works at Tianyi, when you have time, treat him to a meal, see if you can spend some time at Tianyi to learn." Fang Cheng was about to say that he could have gotten in on his own, but considering that KongKong, the producer, wasn''t very bright, he thought better of it. But this was abor of love from his mother which he couldn''t let go to waste, so Fang Cheng agreed to her request. "There''s nothing else, your dad and I are both doing well. When you have time,e home and your dad will make you some soy-sauce meat." Mr. Fang had once been a chef in a restaurant, and his soy-sauce meat was nothing short of miraculous in its deliciousness, almost unbelievably so. Immortals didn''t need to eat, but this particr dish made Fang Cheng easily reminisce about the past; eating it was full of sentiment, prompting him to promise he''d visit when he had the time. After dealing with his parents, next up was Mr. Shen. Mr. Shen didn''t have much to say, merely asking how the studio was doing and the progress of the game. There was also the matter of the tea leaves from before, which had nothing to do with hair loss; he just remembered enjoying them. After Fang Cheng promised to send some more teater, Mr. Shen hung up the phone, content. Finally, among the hundreds of calls, there was one from Xu Qingling. This girl called two times each in the morning, afternoon, and evening, doubling her efforts on the weekends, a testament to her perseverance. Apart from calls, she also sent text messages from time to time. "Boss, good morning, are youing to work today?" "Boss, are we working today?" "Boss, if you''re not working, then don''t, but can you reply?" "Boss, are you still alive?" "Boss, could it be that I''m the one who died, so you can''t see my messages?" "Boss, the recruitment ad is ready, when will youe?" "Boss, a new person came, I can''t tell if they''re good or bad, but since they seem to know what they''re talking about, I let them stay." "Boss, how should we handle the sry? Although the neer said they''re willing to work without pay, I still feel awkward about it." "Fang Cheng, pleasee back soon!" Reading through all these calls and texts, Fang Cheng was immediately flooded with guilt. I''m sorry, Xu Qingling. I''ll make it up to you in the future. He quickly teleported to thepany restroom and strode into the office, only to see Xu Qingling at the reception desk, giving him a look of reproach. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was disheveled, and she was propping her chin up with her hands, looking every bit the abandoned Faithful Dog Hachiko filled with resentment. Even as an Immortal, faced with such reproach, he couldn''t help but avert his eyes. Then he heard Xu Qingling sigh and step forward to ask, "Boss, where have you been?" "I suddenly got inspired and stayed home to work on the game for over ten days;pletely forgot about everything else." "I guessed as much. The recruitment ad is all set, and I''ve drawn up thepany''s attendance policy. I understand that game development doesn''t need to be too strict, as long as people aren''t too casual and theyplete their assigned tasks within the set time. The attendance policy I put together isn''t very strict." "The sry is initially in line with the industry average, and we can reconsider other options once the studio has a stable ie. There''s also the weekend days off, one day of annual leave per month, and holiday arrangements, etc. Do you see any issues with that?" After reviewing it, Fang Cheng saw no issues and decisively signed off on it. Putting down the pen, Fang Cheng asked, "Didn''t you say we had a new person? Where are they?" "Over there." Following the direction Xu Qingling was pointing, Fang Cheng saw a tall and skinny young man squatting at his desk, scribbling eagerly on a piece of paper. When Fang Cheng approached, the young man nced up through his sses, silently handed over a notebook, and said in a soft voice, "These are the issues I''ve summarized for ''The Forest''s Second Son'' and ''Towards Death and Life.'' Please let me know if there are any errors." Looking at the thick notebooks, Fang Cheng''s face showed a pleased smile. This person, I''ll keep! Chapter 12 - 12 The Difficult Game of Love_1

Chapter 12: The Difficult Game of Love_1

At first nce, it was clear that the neer wasn''t fond of talking. The young man had a rather delicate appearance but was quite skinny, his clothes hanging loose as if he were a kite. If he jumped from the fifth floor, he surely wouldn''t die and might even pull off a cobra turn in mid-air. Having taken the notebook from the other person, Fang Cheng read for a while and then felt something was off. There was nothing wrong with what the neer said, but it was different from what he had in mind. For example, regarding Towards Death and Life, Fang Cheng hoped to see how the neer might uncover why the element of "horror" in the game wascking, but the neer was instead asking for improved route fluidity. It was the same for The Forest''s Second Son. The neer didn''t exin why it failed, only discussing various shorings, which differed from the effect Fang Cheng was looking for. However, Fang Cheng still saw something in the neer''s notes regardless: passion. The neer was obviously a gamer with a fervent love for games, and having such a person by his side would be somewhat helpful for his own game research. So, he nodded at the neer and then asked, "How may I address you?" "Xiao Du, but you can call me Xiao Douzi," Xiao Du said. Then, gathering his courage, he softly said, "Although I provided so many suggestions, Towards Death and Life is my favorite game. I really like all the details in it, especially the obsession with leaving something behind in the universe after a civilization''s demise. I particrly love that. So, I wanted to ask, how did youe up with those concepts?" "I don''t know, it just grew on its own." Fang Cheng was simply honest, but it made Xiao Du even more excited. Looking at Fang Cheng with shining eyes and excitement, Xiao Du said, "I understand now! You mean that a game needs to listen to the voice inside, not just rigidly stick to certain meanings?" "I think you''re reading too much into it. Nevermind that, have you signed the contract? Have the wages been discussed?" Although Xiao Du kept insisting he didn''t need it, because he still had savings from previous part-time jobs, and his recent video earnings were quite good, enough for a while. But Fang Cheng had already etched the concept of "no owing wages" deep into his heart, even believing that a good horse should be well fed. So, he decisively offered him a sry of 12,000 a month. Having given Xiao Du the entry gifts, Fang Cheng took out a USB drive and said to Xiao Du, "This is the game I''ve been developing recently, I''m nning to call it Dungeon. Could you help me test it?" Xiao Du quickly stood up, excused himself with a "sorry" before dashing to the bathroom. When he returned, both his hands were wet. "I''ve washed my hands three times, I can start now." "..." Fang Cheng didn''t say a word, as Xu Qingling patted his shoulder, proudly saying, "A talent, right? This Xiao Douzi is quite fun. You should praise me quickly." "...Why?" "For bringing you such an amusing employee." "Oh, thanks." This time, Fang Cheng spent a lot of time building the world, modifying items, fully disying all he had learned, which made the game size reach an unprecedented level. 10MB. In an era where games typically measure in several GBs, this size was truly refreshing, but the calction method of Immortal Spell was just so crude and unreasonable. In order not to make this seem too odd, Fang Cheng even added quite a few extras, but it was still a bit small. Xiao Douzi contemted for a moment, then had a revtion, "Boss, are you nning to develop for mobile? Data interchange between PC and mobile is a good direction for development. Your optimization is really good." "I hadn''t thought that far ahead." "You should consider it. Sole ownership is a path to death; many games im exclusivity but are just putting up a facade. Okay, I''m going in now." After entering the game and picking up the controller, Xiao Douzi''s facial expression vanished instantly, only the reflection of the screen flickering in his sses. Since starting the game, he hadn''t spoken a word, but continually maneuvered the character on the screen, beginning his exploration of the dungeon. In this game, the main gamey involved constantly eliminating monsters on the route, gaining stat boosts and better equipment, strengthening oneself to explore the dungeon''s deeper levels. Since the game''s theme was romance, Fang Cheng didn''t want to spend too much time on stat increases, so a simple mathematical model suffice. This time, he adopted a top-down perspective to allow yers to see their surroundings more easily. From the moment he gripped the controller, it seemed to fuse with Xiao Douzi''s hands, never once being set down. And unlike his speedy ythroughs showcased in his videos, Xiao Douzi was now ying cautiously. Xiao Douzi spent nearly eight hours on the first dungeon, remaining focused throughout, not even going to the restroom once. He ignored the takeout food brought by Xu Qingling, just staring fixedly at the screen. Only after finishing the first dungeon, having searched every detail and rescued the first ghost form princess, did he set down the controller, remove his sses, tears escaping his eyes in that moment. "This game is beautiful, it really moved me." "Really?" asked Fang Cheng eagerly, "What was fun about it?" "The monster models and mechanics, all kinds of realistic feedback to reality, a highly random equipment system, and the unequalled feeling of mowing down enemies after the equipment set isplete. I dare say, this is the best pigeon-cutting game I''ve yed this year." Fang Cheng was happy with the first part, but the second part felt off. Pointing to the character on the screen who was embracing the ghost princess, Fang Cheng couldn''t help asking, "Why do you think I included this princess?" With bright eyes, Xiao Douzi began talking nonstop, "The princess''s existence is a positive feedback after clearing the game, and her characteristics could even change many mechanics of the game. The only downside so far is that it doesn''t bring the crucial feeling of resource scarcity found in pigeon-type games. No worries, though, I''ll make adjustments." Interrupting, Fang Cheng asked, "What position did youe to apply for again?" "Gamey bncing! I''m a graduate student from Peking University Mathematics Department. Mathematics is as natural to me as breathing, and I will definitely adjust the numbers in this game to the best they can be. Believe in me." "But, I wanted to make a romance game." Xiao Douzi looked at Fang Cheng, sighing subtly. Meanwhile, Xu Qingling took the opportunity to pull Fang Cheng aside and pointed at a certain Q&A on the screen, saying, "Boss, look at this question." When Fang Cheng looked, he saw it was "How would you evaluate Fang Cheng''s poor game genre ssification?" Answers were few, but everyone agreed that Fang Cheng''s way of ssifying games could only be described as tragic. Suppressing the impulse to curse everyone with a voodoo doll, Fang Cheng had to sit aside and ponder why he had failed this time. Love games, they''re so hard to make. Chapter 13 - 13 Time-travel Simulator_1

Chapter 13: Time-travel Simtor_1

``` Creating a numerical model is simple, but perfecting it is quite difficult. In this process, numerical nners need to have a strong understanding of numbers, and some even require their disciples to manually fill in each one to achieve the smoothest and most ultimate gaming experience. After starting work, Xiao Douzi''s state became just like when he was ying games. He sat upright like a pine tree, his hands flying over the keyboard, filling out most numbers with forms and the few remaining by hand to reach perfection. His proficient Excel skills allowed him to quicklyplete various functions with tools like macros, making his numerical modification work fast and efficient, yet this also made him seem geek-like, taciturn, and relentless in finishing one worksheet after another. While Xiao Douzi was working on the spreadsheets, Fang Cheng was reflecting on why his romance game had turned into a pigeon-ying, grass-cutting game, and at which point his own ideas had gone awry. Lovely female characters... there were plenty, with a ghost princess in each of the million dungeons. These princesses were desperate for attention andpletely submissive to yers, not only pleasing to the eye but also transformable into weapons, with some even having the ability to merge and transform, definitely the kind of female character boys fancied most. Attribute growth... though there were no levels, character attributes increased with various actions. In addition, the game included a plethora of random events based on the scene, each potentially raising yers'' attributes at random, offering them the thrill of growth. Affection levels... none! With a sudden p, Fang Cheng felt he had found the reason for his game''s failure. It seemed he had focused too much on the feeling of giving too readily, resulting in ghost princesses that were already at full affection when they appeared, depriving yers of the time to cultivate a rapport with them. However, this process was actually very important, but now it was toote to change anything, he could only try again next time. Satisfied with noting down his insights, Fang Cheng felt he had learned something new. Immortals do not never fail, but through constant failure and learning from experience, they eventually seed. Although he had previously produced a failed title, Fang Cheng still felt confident of sess next time. Three dayster, Xiao Douzipleted the game''s numerical adjustments. Upon importing all the data, he immediately ran the game and, after silentlypleting a dungeon, he said contentedly, "Perfect, as expected of me. Boss, your tool is really good, the import speed is particrly fast. Boss, I''ve always wanted to ask, what engine do you use? Thepatibility is so good? The visual effects are so amazing?" "Immortal Spell 1.0." "Never heard of it." "I wrote it myself." Xiao Douzi immediately showed his utmost respect, rushing to the washroom to wash his hands three times beforeing back to say reverently, "Please ept my admiration." Xu Qingling didn''t understand, so she offered a cup of hot tea and asked while sitting on the side and sipping her tea, "Is that very impressive?" "Well, think of a game engine as the engine of a game, driving everything from the game''s graphics and music to the character''s actions. The better the game engine, the better the game effects it can unleash." "So the engine the boss wrote is powerful?" Xu Qingling continued to inquire. Xiao Douzi nodded emphatically, "Extremely powerful, anyone who can write a game engine is a big shot. But I reckon the boss must have optimized and modified an existing game engine. Starting from scratch seems a bit unlikely." "Hmm... you could say that." Immortal Spell 1.0 was actually an integration of his own Immortal techniques to achieve a game engine-like effect. But at its core, it was a modification of thews of a certain world and involved invoking the Heavenly Dao Laws of that world, so to some extent, it truly was optimization and modification. Xiao Douzi continued with a barrage ofpliments and then asked a key question, "I have onlypleted some preliminary work, but this game is already at a level that can be sold on Steam. How much should we set the price at?" ``` "It''s hard to calcte..." The game took the studio eighteen days to develop and the cost was roughly around ten thousand yuan. But when you add in the effort of this Immortal, along with the cost of transforming a, then it''s astronomical. In the end, Fang Cheng made up his mind, "I''ll ask Mr. Shen." When Fang Cheng called, Mr. Shen was gazing into the mirror. In the mirror, his head, once as smooth as an egg, was sprouting patches of fuzz, precious like crops on fertile ground, growing robustly on his scalp. So precious were these tufts of hair that Mr. Shen didn''t dare to touch them, delighting in their growth as a farmer anticipates his harvest. Seeing it was Fang Cheng''s call, Mr. Shen immediately answered and cheerfully asked, "Hey Fang, what''s up?" "Game pricing? There are many ways to calcte that. But generally speaking, a game is a product, and there is only one basic principle: whether it''s fun or not. If it''s fun, you can sell it for a high price. If it''s not... a game that isn''t fun has no value in existing!" "Not sure if it''s fun or not? Alright, send it over, I''ll take a look." After declining an afternoon ss, Mr. Shen received the game from Fang Cheng and was confused once again to see its size was only 10MB. How did this kidpress it? The entire game was encapsted within a single file, even its save files after the game had finished were packaged within, lending the game an air of elegant simplicity and adding a significant hurdle to cracking it. After all, piracy has always been the bane of legitimate games; in the years when piracy was rampant, many standalone games met their demise at its hands. Reflecting on that barbaric era, Mr. Shen opened the game and began ying. There was no controller in the office, but the game supported keyboard and mouse just fine, and there were no issues in ying it. The opening scene was striking¡ªa gloomy sky, dark trees, and the faceless protagonist sitting before a bonfire, the entrance to a seemingly bottomless dungeon at his back. Every time he saw a game screen designed by Fang Cheng, Mr. Shen felt an illusion, as if this were a real world¡ªeverything was too detailed. Choosing to start the game, he saw the protagonist draw a weapon beside him and stride toward the dungeon''s entrance. There was no loading screen or progress bar¡ªthe scene shifted seamlessly from the dim outside to an even darker dungeon, beginning a legendary adventure. "Nice opening, even without an animation. The atmosphere is on point. Fang has really gone big this time." After his reflection, Mr. Shen nced at the time and saw it was noon. Having put off his afternoon tasks, he began to light torches, explore the dungeon, collect equipment, figure out the best way tobine attributes and gear, and after obtaining the first princess, he quickly got used to her mechanics and embarked on exploring the second dungeon. The second dungeon was more difficult, with various changes in mechanics causing him to die over a dozen times, but death didn''t mean the loss of items. He could reim them and grow further in his understanding of the dungeon. After finally navigating the third dungeon, and with three princesses alongside, Mr. Shen nodded in satisfaction. Looking at the time again, it was now only eleven in the morning. "Not bad, I''ve only yed for negative one hour... Wait, what the hell is negative one hour?" After another look at the date, Mr. Shen fell silent. That... Have I been ying for almost a day? What kind of Time-travel Simtor is this! Chapter 14 - 14 Unlucky KongKong_1

Chapter 14: Unlucky KongKong_1

After exining to his wife that he hadn''t gone for a foot bath but had worked overtime instead, Mr. Shen had to make many promises before his wife let him off the hook. Wiping away his sweat, he felt a pang of heartache for the new hairs wasted whileing up with excuses, and Mr. Shen reflected on his previous gaming experience, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied. How could this game be so fun? The game''s flow experience was nearly wless, the incremental growth in values was not explosive, but it felt solid. Every increase in values gave yers a sense of bing stronger, which was immediately reflected in the game, allowing yers to feel their progress through various details. Moreover, this change was not isted. An improvement in physique allowed yers to face some traps head-on without fearing instant death. An increase in strength even allowed yers to break through walls and reach another room directly. An increase in charm would make the princess in the dungeon perform better, thus making the rewards more valuable after clearing the level. If the game''s scenes and gamey were a good dish, the game''s values were an excellent seasoning, making the game even more delectable. "I wonder who the value nner is, Fang Cheng really struck gold this time. Judging by the scope, 30 yuan isn''t excessive. Considering the graphics, 48 isn''t too much either. If a gamey designer got involved and did some in-depth design, that would be even better," Mr. Shen said. As Mr. Shen was pondering on how to price the game, a phone call came in. It was the CEO of Tianyi. Although Mr. Shen was only in his forties, he was among the first generation of game developers in China, dropping out of school to make games at fifteen and participating in the creation of early DOS, console, and PC games, gaining a small reputation in the gaming world. Furthermore, because he enjoyed mentoring juniors, many in the gaming industry had received his advice, and he was well-connected in the gamingmunity. Not to mention, after joining Tianxiong Game Training College, he sent out a new batch of trainees every six months, which only elevated his status in the industry. Answering the phone, Mr. Shen heard the other person say, "Mr. Shen? We had an agreementst time. Kongkong Studio''s new game is about tounch, and we need to hold a small release event. Are you avable today?" Tianyi''s CEO Zhang seemed unaware of the minor conflict between his studio, Kongkong, and Fang Cheng, and there was nothing unusual in his tone. Mr. Shen thought for a moment and remembered that there had indeed been such an arrangement. After rifying the time and hanging up, Mr. Shen yawned, picked up the Spiritual Tea Fang Cheng had just given him, brewed arge cup, and downed it in one gulp. The hangover-like feeling from an all-night gaming session disappeared, rejuvenating him instantly, feeling like he could go on for a few more hours. Smacking his guilty right hand hard, Mr. Shen dared not experience that time-traveling sensation again, hailed a taxi, and headed to Tianyi''s subsidiary, Kongkong Studio. Although it was nominally a smallunch event, it was actually a small press briefing. Aside from some well-known figures in the gaming world, some media reporters were also present, showing that Tianyi had great confidence in this game. After greeting acquaintances, Mr. Shen found the seat at the front with his name on it, sat down, and began to rest with his eyes closed. KongKong was all prepared, with his slightly chubby figure draped in a id shirt, looking somewhat spirited. During the game loading process, he spoke nonstop, "Our game is a dungeon-crawler focused on farming for equipment. yers need to push through dungeons and then obtain various pieces of equipment to enhance their attributes. Our core gamey revolves around equipment building, as well as..." The surroundings darkened, the screen lit up, and the game''s cutscene began to y. Countless monsters poured out of dungeons, many civilians died violently due to the monsters, and heroes emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, clutching their weapons as they advanced toward the dungeons. Although it was just a brief half-minute, the quality of this CG was very high, ranking at an incredibly high standard even internationally. While watching the CG, some game media journalists began to gleam in their eyes, with their expectations for the game already maxed out, eager to y the game immediately. And when the actual game graphics appeared, some gamers also got excited. The game used a standard top-down perspective, but the graphics were exceptionally realistic, with character modeling lifelike. Whether it was ray tracing or liquid effects, this game was truly one of Tianyi''s recent masterpieces; just the graphics alone were already heavenly. Pleased with their reactions, KongKong continued to exin, "Our game adopts a free base game with a monthly subscription system and includes various VIP levels as well, but these features will be rolled out gradually to lower the financial pressure on yers. In addition, we have also built..." KongKong spoke until he was out of breath; Mr. Shen listened with no interest at all. His values were just like that. In his eyes, a game was merely an instrument for making money. The so-called gamey and philosophy were all in service of this point¡ªprofits through and through. Every game used various leaderboards and VIP payment systems to get yers to spend a significant amount of money in a short time and to quickly abandon the game once its lifespan was exhausted, even selling the game''s source code to sink it into the secondary market. Right, but it was infuriating. After spending half an hour exining his mization philosophy, KongKong finally began to exin the actual gamey of the game. Under the lead designer''s control, KongKong exined one by one, "We''ve implemented an environmental physics system where everything in the environment can interact with the yer. You can smash torches, destroy walls, even dig traps and lure enemies into them, then cause destruction. We have as many as thirteen dungeons, each with its own distinct gamey." At the mention of the number thirteen, the audience was thrilled, eagerly raising their hands to ask, "Thirteen dungeons, and each one has different gamey?" KongKong hesitated for only half a second before confidently saying, "All different. And clearing any one of the dungeons will give you different items and introduce some variation into the game''s mechanics." "Not bad," said a gamer who couldn''t help but remark. He nudged Mr. Shen, who was still yawning, and whispered, "KongKong does have some skills; although he''s always looking at money, at least the game sounds pretty good. What do you think the peak revenue for this game could be? I guess it could hit two hundred million a month." Mr. Shen wiped away the tear from the corner of his eye, then said, "I agreed with your opinion yesterday, today I cannot." "Then what''s your number?" "Two million, at most." "Come on, that won''t even cover the cost." "Well, there''s nothing to be done about it if it''s just bad luck." Sighing, Mr. Shen felt KongKong really had bad luck but also sensed a deep satisfaction. Who told you to be blind to the big fish that I had referred to you? Chapter 15 - 15 Who Can Have the Last Laugh_1

Chapter 15: Who Can Have the Last Laugh_1

After the meeting, Mr. Shen declined the transportation and amodation allowance for this asion. The allowance is a customary practice for participating in such small-scale press conferences; each game developer and journalist receives an amount based on their level of influence¡ªit''s also considered a promotional expense. Given Mr. Shen''s standing, it was normal for him to receive just over twenty thousand, but declining it meant he had other thoughts in mind. Learning that Mr. Shen had turned down the money, Tianyi''s CEO Zhang Ping specifically sought him out and, before he left, asked with concern, "Mr. Shen, is there something wrong with this game?" "No, the pay-to-win mechanics are done well, and various settings are fairly mature. There are no issues." "Then the allowance... was it too little?" "It wasn''t less, but I''m not in need of money. epting it would somewhat damage my reputation." Mr. Shen''s words left the CEO confused. First, he said there were no problems with the game, then he said epting the money would harm his reputation. Are you having a split personality? Seeing the CEO''s confused face, Mr. Shen did not y coy and simply said, "I have a student who recently developed a game very simr to yours in terms of gamey." CEO Zhang nodded, feeling he understood Mr. Shen''s point, "So, you''re avoiding any conflict of interest? It''s fine, we can even help promote it." In CEO Zhang''s view, what threat could a game developed by a student pose? Mr. Shen must think the student''s game is too shoddy. Once itunches, it will bepletely overshadowed by his own game, and people will say "can''t even copy properly." With extensive experience in reading people, Mr. Shen instantly saw through CEO Zhang''s thoughts and smiled as he shook his head. He had thought that Fang Cheng not joining Tianyi was a loss, but now he realized that joining would have been the real loss. Tianyi was getting arrogant. The domestic game industry was currently weak, and Tianyi was already standing tall among the short. Instead of staying humble, they now arrogantly acted as if they were the best in the world. It was one thing for KongKong, but even the CEO had adopted this attitude; there really was no hope for thispany. In contrast, little Fang was much better. With strong technical skill in gaming and a modest disposition, always insisting he knew nothing about games, this attitude of continuous learning alone wasmendable. Taking a taxi, Mr. Shen called Fang Cheng and firmly stated, "Your game should be priced at 68, right?" "Isn''t that a bit high?" Fang Cheng asked, puzzled. "No, quality products should be priced as such." The next day, almost simultaneously, Fang Cheng''s game and Tianyi''s gameunched. Under intense instruction from Fang Cheng, his game was named "Princess Dungeon" and was tagged with "romance" in its listing, priced at 68. Tianyi''s game, on the other hand, was named "King''s Dungeon" ¨C the name alone revealed just how ambitious Tianyi had be. Moreover, this game was avable on all tforms, with promotional channels in ce, and with PC, Apple, and Android versions all sharing data¡ªa testament to Tianyi''s vast ambition. Because of Tianyi''s reputation, major tforms even rolled outrge advertisements, with full advertising expenses ensuring every yer felt bombarded by this game. In contrast, "Princess Dungeon" was in a sorry state. Despite being a pigeon-type dungeon game, it curiously featured a romance tag and was given a name that only veteran drivers would notice, instantly killing the download interest of the potential audience. Moreover, Fang Cheng Studio hadn''t been around for long, the game''s outright purchase price was still 68, and the game size was only 10MB ¨C all of which raised suspicions of a scam. And with the potential usation of copying "King''s Dungeon," the Steam tform gave it a cold shoulder, resulting in many people not even realizing Fang Cheng had released another game. On theunch day of the game, Xu Qingling stared at her own game''s backend, deep in thought. After days of intense learning, she was no longer a newbie in the game industry. Especially with her connections, she could ess the standard data from Steam''s backend through some financialpanies and understand the current situation of her own game''s data. You couldn''t say it was disastrously bad, but it was more a case of having thrown money down the drain. Double-digit sales, and one person who refunded just fifteen seconds after purchase, solely to leave a review: "Not as good as ''King''s Dungeon''." If she could punch someone through the inte cable, Xu Qingling would at least have contributed a vegetable to this world. Heavy-hearted, she handed the report over to Fang Cheng, ready to share her worries with him, but unexpectedly, she heard him merely respond with a casual "good." Startled, Xu Qingling looked up to see Fang Cheng smiling, nodding at the spreadsheet as if quite content with what he saw. "Boss, what''s with you..." "It''s nothing." "After all, the game didn''t cost much to make, so it''s not a big deal. We''ll just make another one." "Don''t worry, I''m really fine." At that moment, Fang Cheng was brimming with joy. The market''s reaction was honest, and both his own feeling that the game was off and the yers'' feeling mirrored that. This just showed that his understanding of "not fun" was simr to that of most people. Though he still hadn''t figured out why games were fun, by eliminating each "unfun" element one by one, what remained must surely be the reason why games were enjoyable. Seeing Fang Cheng''s cheerful demeanor only worried Xu Qingling more. Based on her experience, it was better if he had flown into a rage at such times; ack of response almost meant he was on the verge of madness, ready to crash at any moment. So, she sought out Xiao Douzi, who was busy nning future character stats, and whispered, "Xiao Douzi, the boss seems off." Xiao Douzi quickly looked up: "What happened, did the boss hurt his hand? Should we go to the hospital? Even a single injured finger of his is a loss for the gaming world; his hair is more important than half the people in the gaming industry." "No, it''s not that. You almoste off as a zealot!" "The boss is the faith of my life. Being hisckey is like winning five hundred million in the lottery." "Hopeless... Anyway, the game''s sales are not doing well, just twenty-three sold, and there''s been a refund. I looked into it, wondering if we just had bad luck, running into ''King''s Dungeon'' by ident." Xiao Douzi looked at Xu Qingling with a bizarre expression: "It''s Tianyi''s bad luck, really." "Why are you so confident!" "Because it''s a game made by the boss. Don''t worry, the boss will definitely have thestugh. Look at the boss now, he''s quite happy too." "...Forget it." Xu Qingling sighed and returned to her desk, to idly start browsing Bilibili videos one after another. Tianyi also ced a lot of ads on Bilibili, where various streamers enthusiastically yed ''King''s Dungeon'', asionally praising the game''s integrity, with nearly thirteen different dungeon styles. Though the game had numerous microtransactions, requiring ten purchases of 648 yuan to even scratch the surface, the quality of the game swayed many to give it a try. However, amidst all the videos extolling ''King''s Dungeon'', there was one live broadcast about to wreak havoc. Another of Fang Cheng''s die-hard followers, Wang Say Games, was starting to flex his muscles. Chapter 16 - 16 Don’t Deceive People with Reality_1

Chapter 16: Don''t Deceive People with Reality_1

Wang Say Games didn''t initially notice that Fang Cheng had released a new game. In this era where traffic reigns supreme, many things can be quickly drowned in the sea of information, then sink into the redundant rubbish heap of data. "Good wine needs no bush" no longer applies in this age. He was first drawn to Tianyi''s "King''s Dungeon" and felt good about it after ying all night, even spending 648 on it to draw several characters and weapons. The game''s modeling wasmendable, and the changing environments of the thirteen dungeons were exciting enough to effectively fill the domestic pigeon game niche, though he always felt something was missing. As a professional gaming channel host, Wang Say Games looked at the footage he had recorded and fell into deep thought. The game was already quite remarkable, but itcked a force, a force that kept him wanting to y more. "Could it be that I''ve built up an immunity from ying too many of Fang Cheng''s gamestely?" After pondering for a moment, he opened the Steam tform, ready to y other games as a desensitizing treatment. When he opened the tform and searched for keywords such as "dungeon" and "pigeon," he saw "Princess Dungeon" and its price tag of 68 at the bottom of the search page. "10MB, daring to charge 68 for such a small size, this game is quite bold." He chuckled lightly as Wang Say Games clicked to see the game details, and chuckled again when he saw the "Romance" tag among the game tags. "Pigeon games and romance don''t really mix, the creator''s taste is a bit off, just like Fang Cheng... oh my, it is Fang Cheng!" Looking at the game''s name and tags speechlessly, Wang felt that Fang Cheng''s old problem had red up again. You have no idea what the tags mean, do you! Adding a romance tag to a dungeon, who are you mocking! Yes, I know we gaming enthusiasts treat games like our wives, but what do you mean by saying that out loud! Who are you mocking! Having finished his rant, Wang decisively chose to download the game and, after downloading, he started recording and began ying. When he came back to reality, he realized it was already the third day. The video files he had recorded had be monstrouslyrge, and his eyes were bloodshot, his mouth mumbling continuously. Looking at the five princesses he had already collected, Wang felt he could handle another one, he could take it. Just as he was about to dive into a new dungeon, his phone rang, and the sweet voice of Tianyi''smercial representative spoke, "Hello, is this Sir?" "Uh, huh, what?" Still immersed in the game, Wang answered woodenly, his mind upied with how he would explore new dungeons and build new equipmentter. "I''m amercial representative from Tianyi. We noticed that Sir has made a purchase of 648 in ourtest game ''King''s Dungeon.'' We''re contacting you to see if you''d be willing to promote our game in a video. We''ll refund the purchase amount and offer you a certainmercialpensation. Can we discuss the details on Fetion?" "Ah, no, that''s not necessary, no need for a refund. I''ve ditched the game." "Sir??" "Really, it''s fine, that''s all, I''m going to record a video now." ``` After hanging up the phone, Wang went to the bathroom, washed his face, then cracked open a Red Bull and coffee, mixed them together, and chugged it down with a burst of energy, instantly feeling recharged. Checking out the "King''s Dungeon" promotional campaign on Bilibili, he noticed that nobody was paying attention to the gem of a game "Princess Dungeon", which only pumped him up more. Now, there were a lot of videos rted to "King''s Dungeon" on Bilibili. Most of them promoted the randomness brought by the hundreds of pieces of equipment, the unpredictability of the thirteen dungeons, the random events piling up to random elements, and the final kill methods for each dungeon boss. The video with the highest views was "A Complete Guide to Dungeon Boss Fancy Kills", iming that there were over a dozen ways to kill each boss. But on closer inspection, Wang found that these so-called dozen methods were greatly exaggerated; in most cases, it was just a change of weapon, far from the desired effect. However, it didn''t matter, for he was about to show others what a fancy kill really was. Seventy-two hours of non-stop gaming led to Wang''s countless deaths, but he also beat the dungeons just as many times. Depending on the environment, dungeon bosses had different ways to be killed, and even traps and weapons could bebined to achieve clever chain reactions. No voiceover needed, no gimmicks necessary; the original game footage was already explosive. With just the addition of a drum-heavy track, an incredibly explosive effect could be achieved. This edition was the most satisfying Wang had ever done. Amazingly cool kill effects were ubiquitous. Just the first dungeon alone offered dozens of methods and many more were yet to be unearthed; Wang believed that all the methodsbined would definitely surpass a hundred. Once he picked the song, set up the effects, and synchronized everything to the beat, Wang Say Games felt he hadpleted an unprecedented grand project, sinking into a deep sense of aplishment. As the energy drink high gradually wore off, the exhaustion from not sleeping for three days hit him. He couldn''t help but yawn and, lying down on his bed, fell into a deep sleep. As soon as they got the update notification from Wang Say Games, many loyal fans had already arrived here to dine with the video. "The missing person has returned!" "Wang, so you''re still alive. I thought you''d been ''Wanged'' by the neighbor." "Wang''s ying ''King''s Dungeon'' too? This game is really fun; I''ve been on it for three days." "I haven''t even closed the game!" "Wait, this doesn''t seem like ''King''s Dungeon''. The effects are better than ''King''s Dungeon''; is it some AAA from abroad?" "No, it looks like it''s homemade... ''A Complete Guide to Dungeon Boss Fancy Kills''. When did Wang be a tech streamer, does he even have the hands?" "Stop talking." With the energetic and rhythmic music, Wang''s boss-killing journey began. Knives shing thirty-two times in abo, each consecutive hit doing exponentially more damage, with a flurry of knives ultimately carrying the boss away. Potions altering the terrain, trapping the boss to death on a swampy ground, the whole process sinister and crafty. Poison him, then decisively retreat to the upper level and block the passage, slowly letting the boss die of poison on the lower floor. Find a water source, then lead the river right into the Boss''syer, leaving nothing but a floating corpse in the end. Myriad ways of killing, taking the concept of environment to the extreme, even giving yers the illusion that this wasn''t a game, but rather a real-life scenario. Wang, you can''t fool people with reality! ``` Chapter 17 - 17 A Big Mistake_1

Chapter 17: A Big Mistake_1

Two and a half days of game time were enough for Wang to collect plenty of materials in the game. Even if he wasn''t a technical UP host, Wang was definitely an editing-type UP host. After all, even a blind cat can find a dead rat, and as long as one has enough understanding of Princess Dungeon''s environmental mechanics, there''s a chance to showcase some unusual kills, resulting in explosive gaming effects. Watching Wang''s video, the viewers quickly got excited. "Does anyone have Wang''s contact information? Has anyone confirmed with Wang that this is really the game and not some prank?" "I''m done for, I think I saw a digital subus." "The neighboring King''s Dungeon, each boss only has about a dozen ways to be killed. And I''ve seen it, it''s essentially just different weapons leading to the kills." "That''s right, I''ve seen it too, but in this game, even a noob like Wang can use more than 30 ways to kill; is this game a bit abnormal?" "I checked the name of this game, Princess Dungeon; howe the naming taste is so poor? Oh, it''s by Fang Cheng, then never mind." As a seasoned old fan, Wang had more than once criticized Fang Cheng''s poor naming taste, which was a disaster and became a running joke in his videos. And with Wang''s video boosting, Princess Dungeon finally faced its first small explosion. Yesterday''s download count was still in single digits, but since the release of Wang Say Games'' video, the game''s downloads suddenly soared to 1,100. The share for games on the Steam tform is 70%, and for a game costing 68 yuan, the final cut for Fang Zheng Studio is about 47 yuan. And game studios have many tax exemption policies in their first two years; as long as the studio distributes sries on time and buys social insurance for employees, there''s no need to pay taxes on the game''s ie. So, discovering the surge in download numbers, Xu Qingling happily calcted the ie and figured out they would earn a sizable sum of 50,000 yuan. Although it wasn''t enough for her to buy a bag, for a studio with only three people, this sum was already quite a lot. Gleefully summarizing the data and sending it to Fang Cheng, she excitedly said, "Boss, our game''s downloads have gone up!" Engrossed in his meditation, Fang Cheng lifted his head, frowned at the summarized data, and then opened the Steam game interface, letting out a sigh of relief. Noments, huh. Although the downloads had increased, it seemed likely they were sympathy downloads from other people. After all, his previous games Towards Death and Life and The Forest''s Second Son had been minor hits, and it seemed these yers probably heard about him through other channels and decided to do him a favor. This suggests that the romance game, which deviated from his original idea, isn''t that fun, and his taste seemed simr to most people''s. Therefore, Fang Cheng said with a smile, "No worries." Xu Qingling looked at Fang Cheng''s reply with confusion and couldn''t help but say, "Boss, what I meant was, our game''s download numbers have gone up, now we have 1,100." "No worries, such a small matter is no problem." With her head full of fog, Xu Qingling stared at the reply on the screen, feeling that her thinking wasn''t on the same server as Fang Cheng''s. Why did it seem like Fang Cheng felt defeated when the download numbers increased? After pondering for a long time, she realized she didn''t quite understand the thoughts of these game people, so she went to find another one of Fang Cheng''s loyal followers, Xiao Douzi. At that moment, Xiao Douzi was still tweaking values. With a grim expression, Xiao Douzi working looked like a textbook psychopath in any crime drama, the kind of high-IQ viin who outsmarts the protagonist. At this time, Xiao Douzi gave off a "do not disturb" vibe, and even Xu Qingling dared not interrupt, waiting until he had finished working before voicing her doubts. After listening, Xiao Douzi nodded, "No worries, such a small matter is no problem." "What the¡ªI mean, why are you repeating what the boss said?" "Because the boss and I are simr, both pure game people. This game is the result of our three people''sbor, but mainly the boss''s. He definitely realizes our vision has been conveyed, and this small download count is temporary; the future is bound to be bright." Xu Qingling furrowed her pretty brows and hesitated before asking, "You mean, the boss thinks the number of downloads is too low?" "Yes, you might not understand the significance of this game among indie games. For indie game yers, the content volume is a very important aspect. A decent indie game should have at least a hundred different skills, equipment, or weapons. Did you know how many weapons the recently released King''s Dungeon by Tianyi has?" "I don''t know." "300." Hearing this number, Xu Qingling''s frown deepened even more. Even without much gaming knowledge, she understood that games are like exams; going from 0 to 100 is easy, but from 100 to 200 is a hurdle. And 300 would indicate a scary level of mastery over the exam mechanics, making them top students in the arena. Realizing theirpetition could reach such a level made Xu Qingling shudder, then she asked with concern, "So how many does our Princess Dungeon have?" "3,800, and that''s just what I''m aware of." The sudden jump in numbers left Xu Qingling speechless. Pointing at the screen, without believing, she asked, "You mean to say, you and the boss packed the content of 10 games into one?" "Yeah, and all these differentbinations can work together to produce new effects. Even the boss and I can''t predict how many effectivebinations yers will find in this game. For a fan of indie games, this game is practically endless. And such an amazing game costs only 68 yuan." Having understood the heft of Princess Dungeon, Xu Qingling finally realized why Fang Cheng would say not to worry about minor issues. "So, Xiao Douzi, what do you think the final sales of this game will be?" Indie games might not be a major category in the domestic gaming circle, but they have many hardcore fans. Taking into ount the quality of Princess Dungeon, Xiao Douzi considered for a moment and then gave his estimate, "90,000 copies." This figure was far beyond Xu Qingling''s expectations. 90,000 copies sold would mean their final ie would be about 4 million yuan. After repaying the loans, their studio could continue to operate, and she could stay by Fang Cheng''s side for a long time. She felt quite satisfied with this answer. But it didn''t take many days for Xu Qingling to realize that Xiao Douzi was incredibly wrong. And it was a huge mistake. Chapter 18 - 18 Excellent News_1

Chapter 18: Excellent News_1

``` Under the rmendation of Wang Say Games, thousands of yers purchased and downloaded the game, then experienced what is called real-time space travel. They said they had only yed the game shallowly, but before they knew it, the refund period had passed, and then they inexplicably pulled an all-nighter. It was only when the first rays of the morning sun shone on their faces that they realized, to their surprise, that they had yed the game all night. Amazing! Nowadays, everyone is busy, so getting two or three hours of gamey is considered getting your money''s worth. That experience of binge ying a game through the night and still not having enough is rare these days. Moreover, after ying, that feeling of emptiness, loneliness, and cold didn''t flood in; rather, they were filled with a sense of achievement and the impulse to conquer another dungeon. 90% of the yers, before closing the game and getting ready for work, quickly logged onto the Steam tform and heartily clicked the "Rmend" thumb. Arge number of yers, while yawning on the subwaymute, used their phones to write glowing reviews of the game. "So-so." From a yer who had spent over twenty hours in the game. "I came for the colors, but I found this thing to be more exciting than making colors." "One of the representational works of the dove genre. I can''t recall how many different pieces of equipment I got, or in how many ways I killed bosses. But I find, whenever I feel unbeatable, the game ps me with even better tricks." "As always, terrible naming, as always, terrible genre tags. The only thing that''s not terrible is the explosively engaging gamey." "It''s hard to imagine that in this day and age, someone would set up a variety of functions for a small, seemingly insignificant item. For instance, in the game, you can obtain a small mirror. With this mirror, you see your own appearance; you can reflect sunlight to kill certain enemies that are afraid of sunlight; in some special environments, you can travel through the mirror to another scene; you can even grind the mirror to dust and then cast certain spells." "If the mirror contains silver, then you can also use the shards to kill some vampire-like creatures. A simple mirror, with hundreds of different uses, really surprises me." Praise overflowed, quickly propelling the game''s rating up to "Overwhelmingly Positive." Out of love for Princess Dungeon, these yers started to pack their own provisions, record their exciting moments, and upload the videos online. Thanks to its excellent quality and perfect randomness, any yer would encounter memorable scenes during their gamey. When chased helpless by monsters, just when about to meet your doom, a stroke of luck would trigger a mechanism that burned the boss alive instead. A misstep that caused a fall from the upper levels of the dungeon might result in you smashing through several floors tond directly in the boss room¡ªwhere you conveniently squashed the boss to death. Of course, there were more examples of idental deaths than unexpected victories. Some yers even began topile different ways to die in the game, ultimately gathering many interesting moments. On the 14th day since Princess Dungeon''s release, the game finally caught fire. Social spread reached a tipping point, allowing this "love" game to finally surge to the top. In the second week, Princess Dungeon''s sales finally reached 150,000. And if current trends are any indication, its ultimate sales could likely hit 300,000. For a game priced at 68 RMB, anding from a three-person indie studio, this figure wasrge enough to afford each person a vacation in the Maldives for a week. Seeing over seven million RMB in the ount, Xu Qingling''s eyes bulged as she counted the zeros over and over, then she reflected on how lucrative the gaming industry truly is. While Xu Qingling was puzzled, Fang Cheng was also enveloped in confusion. Was this love game that mysteriously defeated bosses, died inexplicably, and had no elements of romance, really popr? Instead of pursuing princesses, were they all discussing which strategies were unbeatable, focusing on the wrong elements? Was this way of ying games really fun? Fang Cheng, who had paid off his debts in less than a month, and even had a surplus of six million, sighed again in his office. Video games, indeed, are so difficult. Of course, there were doubts about Princess Dungeon as well. Some said Princess Dungeon was a game that hung a sheep''s head but sold dog meat, attracting old gamers with old tricks, and content-wise, it was a low-budget reskin of King''s Dungeon. ``` yers who had yed "Princess Dungeon" immediately fired back. "Try changing skins ande up with 3,000 different item effects. Then, change another skin and expand the number of dungeons from 13 to the tens of thousands we have now. Finally, change a skin again and perfect the so-called environmental system, making it as realistic as a simtion." "If you could do that, we wouldn''t say a word even if you changed skins ten times, we would even hail it as the pride of domestic games, and then find a ce to enshrine you." There was no need for Fang Cheng Studio to hire anyone for PR. Gamers who enjoyed the game could spray these critics until nothing was left of them. Of course, while some rejoiced, others despaired. As "Princess Dungeon"''s sales climbed higher and higher, Kongkong Studio had already entered a state of gloom and doom. They had thought that "King''s Dungeon" could push theirpany''s share price up by a few percentage points, but they didn''t expect "Princess Dungeon" to emerge out of nowhere, stopping their rising trend with a few ps, and ultimately causing the share price to fall by a few percentage points. The day the share price fell, Tianyi''s boss, his face ashen, called KongKong into his office. No one knew what was said inside the office, only that KongKong''splexion was even more ashen when he came out. At this time, nobody at Kongkong Studio dared to approach him as if he were tainted with bad luck. But just because they didn''t go looking for trouble didn''t mean trouble wouldn''te to them. Main nner Huang Ping was called into the office by KongKong, where the fury from above was unleashed on him even more fiercely, and KongKong didn''t stop until he was hoarse from shouting. Exhausted, slumped in the chair, KongKong asked, "How is this month''s revenue looking now?" Wiping the spit off his face, Huang Ping helplessly said, "Before, it might have been possible to break a hundred million, and those who bought monthly passes are still ying, but..." "But what?" KongKong asked impatiently. "But the yer retention rate is continuously dropping. By next month, it might be less than two million." Hearing that number, KongKong felt like he wanted to vomit blood. Fifty million spent on development, and now they might not even recoup the cost. And the thought that all this trouble was caused by that same young man who had dared to talk back to him, KongKong gnashed his teeth in hatred, wishing he could go beat him up right then and there. Taking a deep breath, he said to the main nner Huang Ping, "How''s that idea we discussed earliering along?" "Do you mean the idea of incorporating PvP into the dungeon?" "Don''t y dumb!" "Splitting hairs!" Huang Ping cursed under his breath. You have so many ideas every day, how would I know which one you''re talking about if you don''t rify! But he knew that the producer was on edge, so he immediately said, "It''s not easy to do, after all, bncing a game in the style of ''pigeon meat'' isn''t easy. It''s not simple to create a bnce system that satisfies everyone and also amodates yers who spend money." "Then think faster!" KongKong brusquely sent Huang Ping out the door and sat in the office contemting what to do. He knew his own game well; in terms of gamey randomness, "King''s Dungeon" was already having a hard timepeting with "Princess Dungeon." Even with bias and filled with prejudice, he had to admit that the quality of "Princess Dungeon" was outstanding. Now, the only way to respond was to further innovate the gamey by shifting the core of the game from PvE to PvP. Still fuming, he opened Bilibili to check out theparisons between the two games when suddenly, he came across a message that left him stupefied. "''Princess Dungeon''unches PvP!" Chapter 19 - 19 What is Balance?_1

Chapter 19: What is Bnce?_1

Looking at this message, Kongkong almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. He immediately called Huang Ping, who had already left, back, and mming the table, Kongkong shouted, "Go fix that thing, that thing, right now!" "Which thing?" asked Huang Ping, puzzled. Kongkong widened his eyes, clenched his fists tight, and said with frustration, "That thing, you know!" Noticing that Huang Ping still had no clue, Kongkong turned his own screen around, pointed at it, and said, "Take a look for yourself!" Once Huang Ping had a clear view of the message, which showed that "Princess Dungeon" had introduced PVP gamey, he felt a huge tremor in his heart and eximed in disbelief, "How is this possible!" "Now it''s not about what''s possible or not, but they''ve actually done it! Download the game right now and figure out what''s going on!" Tianyi allots a certain budget for game purchases every month, giving each nner a share of 1,000 yuan. This money can be used to buy single-yer games or to make in-game purchases in MMOs or mobile games, and is considered an extra perk for game nners. So, Huang Ping immediately used his allocation to download "Princess Dungeon" for 68 yuan. It is shameful to say, but as a game nner, he had never even yed his industrypetitors'' games. Since joining Kongkong Studio, a ce he had once longed for, he found himself unavoidably suffering from electronic ED. The normalized 996 overtime culture left him with no time to y games; he would download a game and exit hastily after just ten minutes. Many AAA titles were essentially just gathering dust in his library. ying his ownpany''s games too much also gave him a feeling of nausea; the original passion had vanished amidst the frequent changes made by the producer. When was thest time he enjoyed ying a game? He had thought "Princess Dungeon" was just a superior and conscientious indie project, but when he actually loaded into it, he realized he was wrong. I am so foolish, truly. I''ve always heard myrades online say how fun this game is, yet I never yed it. Only after ying today did I understand just how interesting this game is. From the moment he started ying the game on Kongkong''s orders to conquering the third dungeon, Huang Ping stretched his sore fingers with satisfaction, feeling that this game was truly incredible. At that moment, he finally understood what that "romance" tag meant. ying this game felt as smooth and delightful as being in love, as if he had returned to that time of high school first love, where every minute and every second was so pleasant, so seamless. As Huang Ping was savoring the moment, he saw a colleaguee over and sit down next to him, then teasingly said, "Ah Huang, why did youe in so early today? Not cutting it close, are you?" "What do you mean, came in early?" asked Huang Ping, confused. "It''s only eight o''clock. Usually, you clock in at thest second, but today you came an hour early, that''s not like you." Huang Ping then realized his stomach was empty. Reflecting on his experience from the day before, he pped his thigh and blurted out, "Damn!" His colleague jumped in fright, "What happened?" "I forgot to clock in." "Then go punch the clock." "I forgot to do itst night." "Then you''re in trouble. Kongkong''s been in a bad mood recently, and now you''re going to get chewed out again." pping his forehead, Huang Ping realized that sincest night, he hadn''t left his workstation. He hadn''t even drunk a sip of water or gone to the bathroom once. In this moment, his mighty dder stood supreme, showing him which organ was truly the boss! After a quick restroom break, he returned to his seat and mulled over various aspects of "Princess Dungeon" for quite some time, thinking deeply about each of them. Finally, he let out a helpless sigh. No way around it. This was the work of a King. Their game outssed his in every aspect, and it wasn''t just a small margin¡ªit was better in every way. It was like going out to eat; his ce offered a 648 yuan A5 wagyu beef steak that you could keep ordering more of, but each additional order would cost you money. The other was like a 68 yuan buffet with everything you could want¡ªflying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in the sea¡ªeverything in one ce, and all-you-can-eat to boot. If you even wanted alien sashimi, they''d whip up a te for you. So, how could you possiblypete with that? After sighing, Huang Ping thought hard and realized that there still might be a glimmer of hope. And that would be the PvP system. Fang Cheng Studio was just a small studio, at most seven or eight people¡ªit was impossible for such a small team, no matter how talented, to solve the biggest issue in any PvP-mode: bncing. After all, the randomness inherent in their game was too strong, naturally shing with anypetitive aspect¡ªit just couldn''t be reconciled. Their so-called PvP was probably nothing more than a simple system where everyonepeted over a single numeric value. Then, after scouring the game for a while, he made a surprising discovery. He couldn''t find the PvP entrance. Having no choice, he logged into Bilibili and searched for "Princess Dungeon" videos, then gasped in shock. Had the number of videos about "Princess Dungeon" soared to the thousands in just a few days? Soon after, Huang Ping understood why. Every yer with a bit of dedication could find their own highlight moments within the game. Even identally pulling a horde of a thousand monsters and slowly wearing them down while dragging them along could be turned into a video that would wildly attract other yers'' likes. What''s more horrifying was that tens of thousands of yers were continuously exploring the game''s mechanics, but these seemed to be endless, as if they could never fully be unearthed. Are all neers monsters now? When I first entered the field, I spent half a year just on matching tables! And in thetest released videos, Huang Ping finally found what he was looking for¡ªthe method to enter PvP. The entrance method looked like an Easter egg: by using certain special methods to continuously fly upwards from the ground outside the dungeon, you could see a huge tform in the air. On this tform, yers could meet each other and engage in a delightful (and treacherous) duel. Returning to the game, Huang Ping followed the method from the video and smoothly found the tform, then he noted that the tform was quite crudely made, simply arge stone tform floating in the sky, indestructible. Standing on the tform, he saw that it had already gathered thousands of yers; they were either fighting in pairs or as groups, thoroughly enjoying themselves. It wasn''t just about numeric values? Huang Ping didn''t join the fray but watched from the sidelines, ready to understand how "Princess Dungeon" handled bnce. But after watching one duel, he had an epiphany. There was a problem with his thinking. The game hadn''t considered bnce at all! Chapter 20 - 20 You Gave Too Much_1

Chapter 20: You Gave Too Much_1

Every yer who knew about and had a way to reach the stone tform already had their own unique aesthetic and had integrated a set of equipment that was freakishly twisted. So, why notpletely ignore bnce and let these freaks gather together to ughter each other, and then just let the freakiest of the bunch emerge. Since there were rtions of mutual restraint among the equipment, there was no such thing as a version answer. Moreover, the content of the game hadn''t beenpletely explored yet, and as newbinations and strategies emerged, the old ones would be updated, injecting new charm into the game once again. In this way, even without updating the game, the yers'' various explorations and discoveries could lead to internal self-iteration and updating, thus maintaining the game''s strong vitality. At that moment, Huang Ping was convinced. This kind of bncing gamey was something they could never learn in online games. After all, there''s an unshakeable truth in mobile games: the pay-to-win big shots must dominate everyone. Free yers will never beat the first-time buyers, and the first-time buyers will always lose to the monthly card yers. Spending a thousand will definitely be stronger than the monthly card yers, and spending tens of thousands enters another level. After that, yers who spend ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even more have to be iparably dominant in the game. Therefore, in pay-to-win games, the so-called bnce can simply be summarized as follows, "Cash power must always be the strongest, all bncing is in service of cash power"! And the free yers, they are forever one of the paying yers'' features in the game, the atmosphere setters, the tools who chant "666" when the big shots spend money, the ultimate bootlickers who are there to push when the big shots are surrounded by admirers. However, this is of no concern in single-yer games. Everyone is a yer who has just spent sixty-eight to buy a game; no one is nobler than the other, and strength is more a reflection of understanding the game''s mechanics. In such PVP circumstances, losing would only be seen as ack of skill, not ack of money. After experiencing the gaming atmosphere here, Huang Ping sighed. The deeper he delved, the more he realized that everyone at Fang Cheng Studio was a genius. This kind of bnce-ignoring solution was carefree andfortable, something Huang Ping didn''t dare to imagine or execute. While Huang Ping was reflecting, a voice snapped him back to reality. KongKong had just entered thepany and immediately began shouting, "Huang Ping, what do you mean by not replying to my Feixinst night? How did the task I assigned you yesterday go?" After ncing at his empty notebook, Huang Ping sighed, then walked into KongKong''s office. Even with his eyes closed, he knew what he was about to encounter. But as the lead designer, he had no other choice but to steel himself, close the door, and brace for KongKong''s fury. Inside Fang Cheng Studio, another person was feeling quite helpless. In front of Fang Cheng, Xiao Douzi pointed to the screen and asked helplessly, "Boss, we have PVP in our game, why didn''t you tell me about it?" Fang Cheng looked puzzledly at the screen where yers were engaged in fiercebat, "Oh, I didn''t think this feature was a big deal, so I didn''t mention it." Holding his head, Xiao Douzi felt a headacheing on. He thought he was unconventional enough, butpared to his boss, he wasn''t even worth mentioning. Implementing PVP in Pigeon Games and making it work, such a wildly imaginative move, was something he didn''t even dare to think about. Not to mention the environmental simtion and thebination of numerous random effects, making them run together without conflicts was a huge challenge. But unexpectedly, the boss had actually pulled it off. And he didn''t even think it was any big deal! Fang Cheng fought the urge to kneel and Xiao Douzi continued to ask, "So boss, what was your original purpose for creating this thing? It wasn''t just for fun, was it?" "Nothing much, just that running each dungeon was quite troublesome, so I made something that could instantly reach different dungeons, and then this thing came out." "Hold on a second," Xiao Douzi interrupted Fang Cheng again, "Can I understand it this way: that all yer data is actually on the same server and you didn''t do single-yer storage?" Actually, the storage function was ced on each, and he had just essed the control terminal. However, exining this would be tooplicated, so Fang Cheng simply said, "You could say that." Covering her head, Xiao Douzi felt like her brain was about to explode. Although she had known for a long time that her boss was very impressive, she hadn''t expected him to be capable of this extent. In fact, when she saw that the game was only 10MB in size, she should have realized it then. After all, a few high-definition images would fill up that much space; it was impossible to have such good effects. The only exnation was that the boss had rented a huge data server where all the data processing was actually happening, and the client was just acting as a real-timeputation interface. But thinking about it this way made it seem even more unbelievable. How would the cost of the server be calcted, and what about handling instability in thework connection? Xiao Douzi only understood programming to some extent but still vaguely felt that no software guru could achieve this at the moment. While Xiao Douzi''s mind was in a blur, Xu Qingling came over with the financial report and said to Fang Cheng, "Boss, our project team''s game has achieved its first stage of sess, and I think we can go and pop some champagne to celebrate." "Forget it, I see lots of people online saying they don''t like team building activities." "That''s because foolish leaders always take up their rest time. As long as we hold the team-building activities on a workday and then take a day or two off afterward, no one will hate it." Fang Cheng looked at Xiao Douzi, who was nodding vigorously in agreement. Getting the affirmation from his employee, Fang Cheng also nodded and said, "Alright, that''s possible." "Right. Before the team-building event, we can also distribute the project bonus. Boss, how much do you think is appropriate to give out?" Fang Cheng had no real concept of money. After all, he was an Immortal. Mundane materials held no interest for him. His only interest was to create games that he and the yers found fun, and then to ascend to immortality in the end. However, it seemed the studio did need to keep a cash reserve, as a budget for the next game. Additionally, he needed to set aside some funds for contingencies and to purchase various office supplies. More reserves were needed for hiring new people and for the employees'' sries. But after calcting, Fang Cheng realized he didn''t need much to develop games. After all, his method of game development was simple: use Divine Sense to scan the vast universe, find a suitable, then adjust it a bit, and that was it. If that still wasn''t enough, he could opt for Void Creation or even Dream Creation; anyway, he could always create an environment that matched his ideals. After calcting, Fang Cheng confidently said, "Then let''s distribute 60% of it." Xu Qingling looked helplessly at Fang Cheng and sighed, "Boss, you''re here to do business, not charity." "Ah, what''s the problem with doing it this way?" "That''s enough, 10% is plenty. I hardly contributed anything, just give me 1%. With that calction, my share of the bonus will be a little over sixty thousand, so Xiao Douzi, you can take around five hundred and forty thousand. Oh, but there are taxes, so it might be in the low four hundreds." Suddenly hearing such arge number, Xiao Douzi''s face changed. Boss, you''re really giving too much. Chapter 21 - 21 The Next Preaching Topic_1

Chapter 21: The Next Preaching Topic_1

Standing up abruptly, Xiao Douzi''s face turned red as he stuttered, "I, I, I''ve only been here for less than a month! And the game was basically made by the boss, I just tweaked some numbers. This is really too much money for me!" "The money is no big deal," Fang Cheng waved his hand, "10% is a bit too little, let''s make it..." After considering what Xiao Douzi and Xu Qingling could handle, Fang Cheng continued, "15% then, 6% for Xu Qingling and 9% for Xiao Douzi sounds fair." Seeing Xiao Douzi about to say something, Fang Cheng pped his hands and motioned for the other to sit down, then said, "I personally don''t know much about games, but I can tell you''re someone who loves them. Both your skills and passion are what I desperately need, so I think you deserve this. Okay, let''s settle it like this and put an end to this matter. Xu Qingling, get on with organizing the team-building event." "All right." Xu Qingling smiled and then picked up her phone, beginning to search for a suitable location for the team-building event nearby. Soon after, Xiao Douzi''s phone rang¡ªthe project bonus had been deposited. The project bonus was 540,000, but just the personal ie tax deducted was 140,000. However, the remaining money was enough for Xiao Douzi to put down a payment for a house in Rong City. Staring at the bnce on his phone, even a game fanatic like Xiao Douzi couldn''t help but let out a silly chuckle. Eleven o''clock. With Xu Qingling taking charge, Fang Cheng let everyone finish their work early and then entered the buffet restaurant Xu Qingling had booked. The 598-yuan-per-head buffet wasn''t cheap, but after tasting it, Fang Cheng acknowledged that the vor was decent, reaching 60% of his father''s marinated meat. Dining, chatting, after two hours the meal ended. Fang Cheng handed out some Spiritual Tea as souvenirs and announced that everyone would have the next two days off. The day after tomorrow was the weekend, so everyone could even go home and see their rtives; it was like a mini holiday. The rest would do them good beforeing back. Reluctantly watching Fang Cheng leave, Xu Qingling subconsciously said, "I really don''t want to take a break." "Yeah," Xiao Douzi agreed with a sigh, "just thinking about not seeing the boss for four days makes me miserable. I wish I coulde back and work overtime right away." Giving Xiao Douzi a sidelong nce, Xu Qingling moved a bit aside and then began to self-reflect on why her thoughts were exactly the same as this guy''s. Besides the two of them, someone else was reflecting on a multitude of thoughts. Since Kongkong Studio was very close to theirs, Huang Ping from Kongkong Studio unavoidably witnessed this scene. Seeing the three walking out of the buffet restaurant, Huang Ping felt somewhat bitter. Before "King''s Dungeon" was released, Kongkong too had grandly promised everyone a meal there after the projectunch. Unfortunately, although the project wasunched, now it was as if it never happened. The game''s metrics were plummeting every day, and the repeated halvings meant almost nothing was left. Fang Cheng, he had met before. When the other came to the studio previously, it was Huang Ping who had shown him around. Back then, he felt the young man was too impulsive and too idealistic about making games. Unexpectedly, in less than a month, the others had soared. Eating his bowl of noodles with a bitter taste, Huang Ping thought his noodles were too salty. So salty he felt like crying. Upon returning to the studio, Fang Cheng took a step and crossed through space to arrive at his home. As soon as he entered the door, he found his mother lying on the couch with his father sitting beside her on a small stool,boriously massaging her calf. Seeing Fang Cheng appear out of thin air, both of them were startled. Clutching her chest, Mrs. Fang said, "I thought I saw a ghost in broad daylight, but it''s just my son." In this world, there were only two people who knew Fang Cheng was an Immortal, one was his parents, and the other was also his parents. Not long after his rebirth into this era, he had straightforwardly revealed his identity to his parents, telling them he was an Immortal. Then, Fang Cheng calcted with his fingers and told them that we were parent and child in our past lives as well, so I''ll call you mom and dad, and you don''t need to be reserved, just call me son. As for this, Mr. and Mrs. Fang''s reaction was: outrageous, but eptable. Seeing his suddenly returned son, Mr. Fang stood up and said, "Why did you suddenlye back, without even calling ahead of time?" "I''m not used to it. And calling is too slow, so I just came back directly," Fang Cheng said. "Is the braised pork done?" "You didn''t call, how would I know to make braised pork? I haven''t even bought the meat." With a wave of his hand, a b of prime pork belly was pulled out of thin air by Fang Cheng andid in front of Mr. Fang. Even Mr. Fang, seasoned in many battles, couldn''t help but say, "Son, don''t you think this is a bit too much? Won''t you incur some kind of retribution doing this?" "Doesn''t matter. Besides, to some extent, I am the retribution." "That''s amazing, Immortal!" After scoffing, Mr. Fang still held onto the prized pork belly and went to the kitchen to make braised pork. Meanwhile, Mrs. Fang leaped up from the sofa, nodded continuously at her son, and then pulled out her phone and opened the photo gallery. Pointing to picture after picture of beautiful women in her phone, she said to Fang Cheng, "Son, pick one." Taking the phone, Fang Cheng flipped through it for a while: "Are these employees you''ve found for me? Do they have resumes? Do they like ying games?" Mrs. Fang looked helplessly at Fang Cheng: "They''re potential matches for blind dates. I''ve screened them for you; each one is very obedient. And they''ve also seen your photo, and they don''t mind being the younger partner." "I have no such desires." "But I have the desire to take care of children! Your dad and I retired early, now we''ve got nothing to do every day. The only entertainment we have is watching others go to work, caught between wanting to live and die." "My dear mother, I think your hobby is a bit weird." "You don''t understand. But after watching for a while, it gets a little boring, so hurry up and have a kid for me to fuss over every day. You were too serious as a child; I wasn''t tormented by a kid, and you grew up too fast, now I need to fill that gap." "Don''t listen to your mom''s nonsense," said Mr. Fang still dealing with the braised pork in the kitchen, "Young man, you should y around a bit longer, don''t enter the grave of marriage so soon. I met your mother in high school, missed out on a lot of fun, and sometimes feel like I''m missing something." Mrs. Fang stopped talking, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she looked at Mr. Fang in the kitchen. Mr. Fang,pletely unaware, kept on rambling, "Plus, you need to prioritize your career right now. Even though it''s making games, you need to have passion, and pay attention to cultural transmission. Our country''s traditional culture is pretty good. Isn''t it fun to stick some Spring Festival couplets and set off fireworks in games?" "Traditional culture, huh..." Fang Cheng thought about it, sensing there could be something interesting there. Within traditional culture, there existed a vast amount of symbolic hints and various cultural customs. Delving deep could reveal the developmental processes of different cultures¡ªan amusing endeavor. Why set off fireworks during the New Year? Why have New Year paintings? And who exactly are the Door Gods? There''s a lot of intriguing cultural significance hidden within, and making it into a game should be fun. So, the theme for the next path to immortality was decided. Traditional culture. Chapter 22 - 22 You’re the Test Subject Now_1

Chapter 22: You''re the Test Subject Now_1

Night. After eating the sauce meat cooked by his father, Fang Cheng did acupuncture and cupping for his parents, and took their pulse to make sure there were no issues, before he finallyy down in bed and soon fell asleep. However, after he fell asleep, a glowing human figure identical to Fang Cheng walked out of his body and floated in midair. Different from the Fang Cheng on the bed, the figure wore a Daoist robe with a square scarf on its head, appearing clean and detached from the mortal world, like an exiled immortal. Fang Cheng organized his form and said to himself, "It''s been a long time since I used my Primordial Spirit to travel. I feel a bit unustomed." The Primordial Spirit has no physical form, beingposed only of countless Divine Senses. Although its power of destruction is not as great as that of the physical body, it is more sensitive to the psyche and dreams of others. To the Primordial Spirit, the walls around were almost non-existent, allowing Fang Cheng''s Primordial Spirit to move freely through these ces. He flew directly to the next room, where he saw his parents deep in sleep. Both were sleeping soundly in bed, but bubbles were emerging above their heads, clearly representing their current dreams. In Mrs. Fang''s dream, Mr. Fang and she were yacting aboard the Titanic, spreading their arms on the deck and shouting, "I am the king of the world." It actually looked quite romantic. In Mr. Fang''s dream, however, the scene waspletely different. The daytime events had turned upside down: Mr. Fang was resting on the sofa, while Fang Cheng and Mrs. Fang were diligently serving him tea and water. After watching for a while, Fang Cheng felt their dreams were of no value and casually connected the two dreams together before flying out. Hovering outside in the night sky, Fang Cheng began to overlook the entire world. The Primordial Spirit can enter dreams, and in a state made up entirely of Divine Senses, dreams have be a small world that one can freely traverse. Everyone dreams when they fall asleep, the difference being that some dreams vanish without a trace upon awakening, while others leave fragments of words behind to be savored. Furthermore, dreams are also a perception and a precursor to the surrounding environment. The body can sense danger unconsciously and disy it in dreams, which is what is known as a precognitive dream. In the millennia past, ancestors would also descend into the dreams of their favored descendants to warn or instruct them, which is what is called an ancestral dream. But now, the once-active myriad of heavenly gods and immortals had vanished without a trace, and the lonely spirits and wild ghosts also had fledpletely. What on earth had happened during these thousand years? After inspecting dream after dream, Fang Cheng finally stopped in a room. In the room, a centenariany in bed, clutching his chest and groaning continuously. His dream was as dark as ink, with many terrifying things swirling within, tormenting him with certain things from the past. Fang Cheng scanned the old man''s dream with his Divine Sense and nodded, finding that his fears stemmed from some folk customs of his hometown. When he first encountered these customs, he probably didn''t feel their terror. But upon retrospect and recollection, a deeply unsettling feeling arose. Over time, past memories became blurred and entangled with fragmented and false recollections, ultimately forming the root of his nightmare. Extending his hand, Fang Cheng turned his finger into a sword and directly shed through the old man''s nightmare, pocketing the dark nightmare afterward. The massive dream was like a ck cloud, but once pocketed, it shrank to the size of a sesame seed. Dreams are intangible, able to expand or shrink; that is what makes them fascinating. After Fang Cheng left with the nightmare, the old man''s expression finally settled into peacefulness. Years of nightmares dissipated, reced by sweet memories that brought a relieved smile to his wrinkled face. Before long, the even sound of snoring began, leading him into a tranquil sleep. Having imed his first spoil of war, Fang Cheng continued on, slicing through one dark dream after another, storing them in his pockets. By cutting down the nightmares of various elders across the country, it wasn''t long before Fang Cheng harvested arge collection of dreams rted to folklore. He wished to promote traditional culture, so he had to search within his own country, as it was impossible to find a suitable world to transform elsewhere. After collecting tens of thousands of nightmares, Fang Cheng began the task of filtering them. He crushed some overly absurd nightmares directly, slightly modified the more suitable ones, and then kept them. Once he had enough samples, he processed them again, then connected these dreams to birth a vast Dream World. By infusing the Dream World with Mana, Fang Cheng was pleased to see it operating orderly. Within this world, there were a multitude of NPCs. Although these NPCs were conjured by others'' imaginations, they still possessed their own logic and could produce some basic responses. However, since the world was an amalgam of multiple dreams, there were bound to be conflicts in some details. Nevertheless, the dreams had their own error-correcting logic, so there shouldn''t be any major issues. yers in this extensive Dream World could interact with various NPCs to learn their stories and thereby discover traditional folk knowledge and the underlying cultural significance. One could imagine that after yers gained a vast understanding of folklore through such immersive experiences, they would surely be touched by the nation''s traditional culture and enjoy learning new knowledge. Hence, the theme of this game should be "Education". Hopefully, there would be no disasters this time. With his Primordial Spirit returned to its ce, Fang Cheng used an Immortal Spell to encapste the game, then contemted the packed 5MB file. In the previous game, peopleined it was too small yet its effects too spectacr, making it seem problematic. He didn''t mind suspicions about himself; after all, as an Immortal, such trivial doubts were inconsequential. But if others discerned something was amiss, realizing he was no ordinary person, their motives for ying his games would surely be impure, ultimately affecting his path to enlightenment. Reluctantly, he had to enclose some of the dreams in his own program and randomly added severalrge but essentially useless files to the instation package to finally reach a size of six hundred MB. Looking at the bloated game files, Fang Cheng felt it should now be problem-free. The next step was to find someone to test the results and see how well it worked. Xiao Douzi and Xu Qingling were resting, and a good boss''s basic principle is to y dead during rest times¡ªunless they''re actually dead, don''t disturb the employees. Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang were not interested in games, and having them y would yield no insights. After much consideration, Fang Cheng finally thought of a suitable guinea pig. He logged into Bilibili, searched for the person''s Bilibili ount, and saw the signature in their profile stating, "Wang Say Games, epting rants about bizarre games." Since they had already expressed a willingness to rant about odd games, he figured he might as well let them test it. Chapter 23 - 23 This game... is not right_1

Chapter 23: This game... is not right_1

Wang Say Games has been a bit annoyedtely. The treasure game "Princess Dungeon" was clearly first discovered by him, but he hardly reaped any benefits from it. It''s not that he got nothing, it''s just that he was a bit unskilled, and other "European Emperors" with their incredible gaming skills feasted abundantly, while he failed to catch much in theter stages, and didn''t even gain many followers. Seeing them make money was actually more painful than losing money himself. I was here first, so why didn''t I get the biggest slice of the cake? Although he was still in the first tier of streamers, the longer he stayed in the business, the more he felt like he was walking on thin ice. Aside from a few exceptions, there are very few streamers whost more than three years. Most streamers eventually fall into the lifestyle section, doing streams like "Try Not to Laugh Challenge," "Freeloading Challenge," and "Reading Comments" to ride a wave, and thenfortably retire on their sloppy earnings. But as a game uploader who still has some ideals, Wang Say Games feels he can''t go on like this. "No way, what kind of gig should I take on next?" Right now, it''s almost 8 PM. This is his scheduled streaming time, but he can''t think of anything to stream today, so he can only resort to his traditional talent, the art of transformation. Today, I am the "king pigeon," I''m skipping out! Just as he was about to skip today''s update, he noticed that he had a new message on the site. Living Immortal: "Are you there? I''ve recently developed an educational type game that promotes traditional culture and folklore. Can you help test and roast it?" 8 PM, a new game, a message from a stranger. All these factorsbined gave Wang Say Games a premonition that he was about to sense an element of surprise. Usually he''s the one making a scene, but it seems like today someone''s turning him into the spectacle. However, this is good too. He''s been too engrossed in "Princess Dungeon"tely and hasn''t roasted a bad game in a while. So today, it''s perfect to try out a new game, change the pace, and give the fans something fresh. So, he immediately replied, "Sure, please send it over. But just to ask beforehand, can I use your game for streaming?" "You can." "You should know my style. I might use some aggressivenguage during the stream. Can you handle that?" "No problem." Although Wang can be quite verbally aggressive during streams or videos, he''s actually a pretty decent person at heart. Before roasting any small games that people send him, he makes sure tomunicate with the game developers to ensure they are not overly sensitive, then he begins. Shortly after, the 600MB game was sent over. Looking at the size of the game, Wang couldn''t help but think of Fang Cheng''s game and couldn''t help but muse, "People really shouldn''t bebeled the same, how did Fang Cheng manage with such a small file size?" While waiting for the game to download, Wang set up the streaming equipment and connected a heart rate monitor to himself. He already had a feeling that this game was probably a horror game, because who sends out healing games at night, right? And the heart rate monitor was a good tool, the audience loves to see him with an elerated heart rate, dry mouth, and screaming. But who is Wang, anyway? He''s the kind of guy that even female ghosts take a second nce under their skirts at. Sadako is his dream lover, and the nurse from Silent Hill is his ultimate idol. Afraid? That doesn''t exist for him. Time was just about right. Wang put his live broadcast and the game screen on the same disy, then he started today''s stream. No sooner had the stream opened than a bunch of loyal fans had already swarmed in. "Wang,ing to feed us again, huh." "What''s on the menu today? Slide into my mouth first, give me a show of four dishes and a soup." "Listen to me, Wang, your true calling isn''t streaming, it''s cooking." "My takeout has already arrived, just rice mixed with rice, waiting for Wang to deliver the rest." "Bugger off!" Wang said annoyed, "At least I was once in the gaming industry, and a professional yer, okay?" "Yeah, yeah, a professional poker yer. ssic ys like holding four twos with both jokers, only someone as ''professional'' as you could pull that off." The audience burst intoughter, filling the live chat with a lively atmosphere. Wang couldn''t be bothered to stoop to their level. Opening the game, he said to everyone, "Today, let''s critique a game, a new one made by a friend of mine." "Isn''t this friend actually you?" Ignoring the hecklers''ments, Wang continued, "I just got this game. It''s called ''Traditional Culture Starts with Me''..." After a moment of silence, Wang said helplessly, "No, what kind of game title is this! Who did you learn this naming style from? You think you''re Fang Cheng or something?" After a sigh, Wang went on, "Alright, enough about the name. Let''s get into the game. The graphics... not bad! Probably modded from another game, right?" To better fit the dream world atmosphere, Fang Cheng had specifically applied an Immortal Spell filter, making the game''s visuals ethereal and dreamlike. Upon entering the game, Wang was not greeted with a tutorial but found himself directly in a narrow room. The first-person perspective of the game meant there was no sight of the protagonist''s hands or feet, not even a shadow could be seen. Looking around, Wang noticed the game''s graphics were quite exquisite, conveying the sensation of thete eighties and nies. An old electric fan spun overhead, a green fridge hummed, the simple concrete floor was pocked with dents and dips, and even quotes from great people were stered on the walls. All this instantly transported Wang, of Wang Say Games, back to the eighties. "Impressive detail," Wang couldn''t help saying, "But still the rookie mistake of no tutorial." No sooner had Wang finished speaking than a "squeak" made his eyebrows twitch, sensing something was about to happen. The bedroom door was pushed open, and a kindly-looking old man appeared at the door, "Kid, your grandpa''s got to go out for a bit. You just y around near the house, ande back when it''s time to eat. But remember, no matter who talks to you, don''t answer. Don''t eat anything outside, only eat what''s at home." "Don''t look in mirrors, don''t y with water, don''t touch sharp things. And no matter what, don''t go into grandpa''s room, got it?" The old man looked kind and gentle, and his tone was very warm. But for some reason, when Wang saw him, he felt an indescribable eeriness. It was like seeing someone in a dream, someone incredibly familiar yet impossible to recall who they were. Before Wang could figure it out, the old man had already closed the door, his footsteps slowly fading away. After pondering for a while, Wang walked to the door, then silently stepped out. Outside was the living room of the house, opposite which was a room with a lock on the door, evidently grandpa''s room. Everything seemed so ordinary, even cozy, but something didn''t sit right with Wang. This unease seemed toe from some instinct, making him think more and more, and the more he thought, the more terrified he became. Finally, someone in the live chat spoke up, "Did anyone notice that when Wang left the room just now, the door made no sound?" A chilling realization washed over Wang, sending shivers down his spine. This game... something''s off! Chapter 24 - 24 Collapse of the Anchor_1

Chapter 24: Copse of the Anchor_1

All creatures, including humans, possess an instinct to subconsciously flee danger and seek a safe ce. However, there''s a ce where the lines between danger and safety blur, leaving people unable to distinguish if they''re in peril or secure. Such a ce is the realm of dreams. Although Wang didn''t know it, he was indeed entering a dream in an unconventional manner, vividly experiencing its peculiarities. He instinctively felt something was off everywhere around him, yet it seemed there was nothing wrong. This mingling sensation of safety and danger was driving Wang to the brink of madness. Taking a strategic sip of water, Wang nced at the heart rate monitor on the screen and discovered his pulse had slowly climbed to 110. He hadn''t even done anything yet! Coughing, Wang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and cautiously said, "So... based on what that old gentleman said earlier, we should go y around here." "You''re the streamer, you make the decision." "Right, right, we''re just watching with closed eyes. Wang, just do whatever you want, we don''t mind," the audience chimed in. Watching Wang suffer usually brought the viewers great joy. After all, seeing someone''s reactions while they y horror games is the greatest pleasure these games provide. But today, for some reason, even with Wang as a buffer, they felt their skin crawl and dared not watch intently. The quality of the game''s graphics seemed to transport the stuff of their dreams into reality, giving them the illusion that reality and dreams were slowly blending together. A feeling rooted in cultural gics began to awaken, letting them perceive horror and eeriness in ordinary everyday items. Gathering his spirit, Wang said, "I get it now, this game must be a ssic Chinese horror. Instead of presenting jump scares, it continuously exerts a psychological influence on the yer through the atmosphere. In the end, even without ghosts or monsters, it can still instill fear." "I''ve yed it too," one viewer agreed, "The game I yed before was just a normal little game, but it really scared the pee out of me. The whole process was just click, click, click and then ending with a ghost marriage, but it was super scary." "The concept of a ghost marriage is terrifying in itself!" Exining this ritual allowed everyone to temporarily forget the game, but after the discussion, they still had to return to it. Standing in the living room, Wang found the game environment to be very bright. Outside the window was the brilliant sunshine, and every now and then, the sounds of sparrows could be heard, which helped slow his heart rate. But soon after, ament from a viewer sent his pulse racing again. "Wang, look up, there seems to be something above you!" "I''m not looking up!" Wang shouted instinctively, "Looking up will definitely trigger a jump scare!" "You just said there weren''t any!" "You believe anything I say? I''m not looking up!" "I''ll recharge for you! Twice! Please look up, or I''ll scare myself to death. At least let me know what''s above." Sumbing to the allure of money, Wang reluctantly looked up, and his heartbeat instantly soared to 140. Above him, there was a mass of red threads densely covering the ceiling, as if he''d entered Pansi Cave, albeit at the wrong time. Every ten centimeters on the red threads hung a yellow talisman, creating an extraordinarily eerie sight. Even though there were no jump scares, this bizarre scene emerging out of the mundane left Wang feeling numb in his limbs, unable to move for a long while. Finally, he shifted his gaze toward the door leading out and said to all viewers, "How about we just call it a day?" "That''s fine, Wang, no worries." "Right, right, you''re forgiven for today. If you don''t know what else to do, you could try the ''Don''t Smile Challenge,'' and we won''t call you a lifestyle area uploader." "Or you could readments instead;e on, we''ll recharge for you, let''s leave it at that for today." Everyone was suffocated by the game''s eerie atmosphere, except for one person. That person was Fang Cheng. Seeing Wang was already thinking of quitting, Fang Cheng found it somewhat unbelievable. The game hadn''t even properly started yet, why were you nning to leave already? The educational part of the game hadn''t appeared, and you want out after just a glimpse? Could that be eptable? At that moment, Fang Cheng had a sudden inspiration, realizing he had an unresolved debt with Wang. Wang had promoted his "Princess Dungeon," which was the cause. So he felt it necessary to offer some sort of reward, which would be the effect. Although there was no prior agreement between them, the cause and effect were established and would not shift. Fang Cheng didn''t like to owe others causality. He simply took the opportunity to head back together. So, decisively he recharged and changed the battery, then bought the other party a spaceship gift worth about 4000 bucks and sent it over. In the apanying message, he wrote, "Keep ying." The moment the highest valued gift was received, spaceship effects immediately popped up in the live stream, and Fang Cheng''s message appeared in the most prominent spot of the broadcast. Hearing the gift alert, Wang instinctively said, "Thanks, boss, you''re so generous." But after seeing Fang Cheng''s message, he said with a wry smile, "I really can''t y this. For some reason, ying this game always makes me feel suffocated." However, just as he finished speaking, another spaceship appeared. ncing at the sender''s ID, Wang''s heart skipped a beat. Isn''t this the Living Immortal? You really treat me like a toy, huh! He wanted to refuse, but another spaceship popped up. The words on the screen seemed like a death omen, filling the screen with the phrase "Keep ying." Empowered by the little spaceship, Wang felt a surge of energy. Downing a can of Red Bull, his adrenaline hit the roof! mming the table, Wang dered, "Let''s continue." The other viewers went wild. "Wang, please don''t!" "Wang, isn''t life good? Don''t be reckless." "Kid,e back home, dad won''t me you." But spurred on by Fang Cheng''s money, Wang mustered the courage, rushed to the door, took a deep breath, and twisted the lock to charge out. Outside the door, only the staircase led downwards, towards the exit on the ground floor. At this moment, the sun shone brightly outside, and the air was filled with the chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowers. The spider nts ced on the window sills of the corridor werezily enticing, glistening with moisture. The sister from upstairs was climbing the steps, her stic bag containing half a b of pork and a long green onion. The whole scene was imbued with the essence of life and a hint of ambiguous color, making Wang feel as if he was seeing his first love. Then, the big sister approached, gave him a gentle smile, and said softly, "Be careful when you''re out ying. If you encounter a ghost hitting the wall, don''t panic, just cry." After these cryptic words, the big sister gently tousled Wang''s hair and then walked up the stairs step by step. Wang''s heart rate, which had just calmed down, spiked again. Sister, what do you mean? Wang felt like he had been summoned back from the dead, with goosebumpsyering his back, unable to settle down. "Boss," he couldn''t help but say, "Immortal, can we not y anymore? I really can''t take it." Herees the little spaceship! "...I''ve abandoned this life; I''m devoted to the gentleman! Today, let''s stick to this game no matter what!" Grasping the handrail, Wang descended the stairs with a resigned determination, step by step. Yet somehow, what should have been just a few flights of stairs seemed endless at that moment. Alone on the empty stairs, without help or knowing whom to call for help. And the surroundings became eerily stranger, with the vine chairs ced at the stair entrance seemingly moving on their own. There were no doors, yet someone had put up couplets and lucky characters, even a "Safe Entry and Exit" sign. A few households had their inner doors open but were separated by security gates, through which he could vaguely see an old man with his back to the door, watching TV. But the TV just showed static, nothing else. Grandpa, what exactly are you watching? If you want to watch something specific, I''ll find it for you, just don''t scare me, okay? Walking up these never-ending stairs, Wang finally broke down. Whoever wants to y this damned game, let them y! I''m not serving anymore! Chapter 25 - 25 Dream Droplets_l Chapter 25: Dream Droplets_l Trantor: 549690339 Wang fled in panic, and the live stream screen went dark. However, the audience in the live stream did not disperse; instead, they started discussing in the darkened live room. ¡°This game is kind of spooky, isn¡¯t it? There isn¡¯t a single particrly terrifying thing, but it still manages to be scary. ¡°That¡¯s Chinese horror for you. It¡¯s about adding extremely unsettling elements in certain corners and adding slightly off details to familiar objects to create a sense of horror. It doesn¡¯t rely on particrly terrifying jump scares, but the fear progressively builds up, and the more you think about it, the scarier it gets.¡± ¡°Agree. Are there simr games? Not too scary, just a third as much would do.¡± ¡°I¡¯d settle for a quarter.¡± Watching these people¡¯s discussion, Fang Cheng just wanted to ask, what are you talking about? The essence of the game has not even been yed by Wang, the educational segment hasn¡¯t appeared yet, so why do you all seem to understand it already? And this game¡­ is it really that scary? It¡¯s clearly a very heartwarming scene, alright. There¡¯s the grandfather who helps extend life through rituals, the kind and friendly big sister, and the infinite staircase specially made to prevent everyone from skipping the newbie guide. And the hint was already given; at this time, by pressing K and crying loudly, you could get help from another little sister, who¡¯s pretty cute too. Could it be that my newbie guide is really that bad? After a fifteen-minute discussion by the audience, Wang, who had already gone offline, came back on stream. Wrapped in a nket, he was shivering, even in the heart of summer. This video seemed to be filmed with a smartphone; the quality was not as good as the live streaming equipment at Wang¡¯s home, but it was fairly clear nheless. He now used three phones, one for filming and two for lighting. The peculiar live streaming method sparked the audience¡¯s curiosity, and they started to ask, ¡°Wang, what are you up to now?¡± ¡°¡­The neighborhood¡¯s power is out.¡± Wang was on the verge of tears. No one had worse luck today. He had just been scared to the point of copse, and then he received a notice of a power outage due to a line fault. An empty, pitch-dark room always made him think involuntarily of the game he had just yed, and the more he thought about it, the more scared he became, the more goosebumps he got, until he finally locked his bedroom door and shut himself inside. But being on the bed with the cat didn¡¯t give him any sense of security; any noise from outside could make him shriek with fright. So, he simply returned to the live room to chat with a bunch of people to relieve some of his psychological pressure. In the past, if Wang had been in a situation like this, the audience would have definitely started to mock him in all sorts of ways, letting Wang know thatpared to them, ghosts were nothing. But now, the audience had be incredibly tender, tender to the extent of being almost motherly. ¡°Wang, it¡¯s okay, we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll sing a song for you. I sound just like Jacky Cheung when I sing, my Adam¡¯s apple even moves up and down.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re so scared, and the power¡¯s out, why don¡¯t you go out and find a ce to hide for the night?¡± Wrapped in the nket, Wang gave a smile that was uglier than crying; ¡°I live on the seventeenth floor.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°The elevator has no power either, and I¡¯m scared to take the stairs. Not just walking them, but even thinking about taking the stairs makes my dder tremble.¡± ¡°¡­Wang, just give us your address, and we¡¯lle over to keep youpany.¡± ¡°I¡¯m too scared to open the door; you guys find a locksmith to help me open it. No, forget it, even the sound of unlocking will make me cry now. Realizing that Wang had regressed to the stage of a child, the audience was at a loss. All they could do was talk to Wang in various ways, tell jokes, and make himugh, their behaviorpletely reversed from usual. They kept Wangpany until two in the morning before he finally began to yawn, feeling that these people were quite nice indeed. Although everyone often teases each other without limits, they actually prove to be reliable when things get serious. Except for that Living Immortal! Aside from tipping generously, he is nothing but a viin! While cursing the other party through gritted teeth, Wang turned off the live stream and wrapped himself in a nket. Striving to immerse himself in the world of ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± he forced himself to forget the terrifying game he had just yed and let his consciousness drift away, sinking into sleep. Then, he woke up. Sitting up in bed, he looked around nkly, finding the environment both unfamiliar and familiar. The unfamiliarity came from the decorations exuding a strong taste of the eighties, a ce he was sure he had never visited. The familiarity¡­ it was because¡­ This was a scene from the game! This realization made Wang break out in a cold sweat, and an immense sense of fear struck him, leaving him unable to shout. Afterward, the door creaked open, and the grandfather from the game actually appeared at the doorway, kindly saying, ¡°Child, grandfather needs to step out for a bit. You can y around the house as you please ande back for meals when it¡¯s time. But remember, no matter who talks to you, don¡¯t response. You can¡¯t eat anything from outside, only what¡¯s at home. Don¡¯t look in mirrors, don¡¯t y with water, don¡¯t touch sharp objects. And whatever you do, never go into grandfather¡¯s room, understand?¡± The dialogue was exactly the same! When fear reaches its peak, one can hear a multitude of bubbles bursting beside their ears-these are the desperate cries of brain cells dying a noble death under unbearable strain. It took a great effort for him to break free from this suffocating state; he bit his tongue hard, only to find that it didn t hurt at all. Just as I thought, I am dreaming! So, how do I wake up? ¡°Oh, just press Esc to exit.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no Esc in a dream!¡± ¡°You already know you¡¯re dreaming. Can¡¯t you just create an Esc button yourself?¡± ¡°Oh, right. Thank you. But who are you?¡± ¡°Living Immortal.¡± ¡°It¡¯syou!¡± Wang reached out, trying to grab the person who had suddenly appeared and had been facing away from him this whole time. But a forceful power struck him, ejecting him from the dream world and back onto his bed. Gasping for air as he sat up, Wang found his back drenched in sweat, having soaked a human-shaped mark into the beddings. After catching his breath for quite a while, his mood stabilized, and he felt somewhat refreshed. The memory of the dream was fading fast, leaving only a faint impression. However, the feeling of relief from escaping the nightmare lingered, and the psychological shadow from before sleep dissipated significantly. He felt tired once again, dropped onto his pillow, and fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly. Outside his window, Fang Cheng¡¯s Primordial Spirit nodded slightly. The protective mechanism of the Dream World had taken effect. Dreams have the function to heal wounds and release anxiety, and as a collective of numerous dreams, the Dream World has effects hundreds of times more potent than ordinary dreams. Wang¡¯s previous gamey had begun to cast a psychological shadow on him, and since he had established a slight connection with the Dream World, it absorbed his consciousness and started to mend his inner psyche. After calcting, Fang Cheng decided it was not harmful to Wang but rather it could eliminate some psychological risks, and there was no need to interfere. Moreover, now that Wang had woken, he would only retain a vague impression of the dream, which would not impact his future. Once confirmed, Fang Cheng left, leaving behind Wang, sleeping like a baby. Chapter 26 - 26 The Terrifying Spread Rate_l Chapter 26: The Terrifying Spread Rate_l Trantor: 549690339 | The next morning, Mr. Fang, who had just opened his eyes while sleeping on the sofa, saw his son floating in mid-air and nearly fell into an eternal slumber. He closed his eyes and told himself over and over that this world didn¡¯t have ghosts, only after affirming Fang Cheng did he slowly open them again. Getting up, he grumbled discontentedly, ¡°Son, can you stop scaring me with new tricks every day?¡± ¡°There was a hanged ghost on the ceiling, I just squashed it.¡± ¡°Just kidding, there are no ghosts. I was just thinking about something and identally started floating. Is the sofafortable?¡± Upon hearing about the sofa, Mr. Fang felt a surge of irritation. The night beforest, he was enjoying dedicated service from his wife and son in his dream, reveling in it, when suddenly another wife walked in from outside and started berating him furiously. The scolding was nothing more than ¡°How dare you cheat right in front of me and even keep the other woman in our house!¡± and even as Mr. Fang tried to exin that the other woman was also her, it was no use. Afterwards, he was woken by Mrs. Fang who angrily used him of disloyalty, then got even more upset and banished him to the sofa, unable to return even today. Who did I offend? Was it just for enjoying the feeling of being an emperor in my dream that you have to be like this? And how do you even know what I dreamed about? Did I talk in my sleep? With a bellyful of discontent, Mr. Fang yawned and then asked, ¡°Son, help me out. How can I get your mom to cool down?¡± ¡°Buy her a 38,000 RMB bag, then you guys can have a second child.¡± ¡°Why would we need a second child?¡± ¡°For mom to have something to do instead of always making me go on blind dates.¡± Leaving Mr. Fang to his quandaries, Fang Cheng turned on the familyputer and found people still discussing in Wang¡¯s livestreaming room. Yesterday¡¯s livestream had 20,000 viewers, but even now there remained a thousand, and from their discussion, it appeared that they were actually discussingst night¡¯s dreams. Dragging the chat content upwards, Fang Cheng saw the discussion¡¯s first climax urred at five in the morning. There weren¡¯t many people left by then, with most discussing the game Wang had yed until a viewer came in and said, ¡°OMG, I just had a dream where I seemed to have entered the game. I¡¯ve forgotten most of it, but waking up wasn¡¯t too bad, not as scary.¡± ¡°Weird, me too.¡± ¡°Same here!¡± Onement set off a wave of responses as several yers who had juste online shared that they, too, had simr dreams. Unlike what they witnessed during the livestream, the dream initially seemed a bit eerie, but then it became heartwarming and even a bit tooforting to leave. Moreover, after waking up, they felt refreshed and rejuvenated, and even past issues such as grogginess, irritability, and wanting to punch their boss disappeared. Of course, after going to work, the desire to punch the boss still remained¡ªa matter that has nothing to do with spirits, simply an instinct. As more yers reported simr experiences, eventually over five hundred viewers found themselves in a simr state, leaving those who did not have such dreams feeling envious. Those who dreamed of the game were like Wang, feeling mentally agitated or exhausted, then were absorbed into the Dream World, which healed their spiritual fatigue. Those who didn¡¯t enter probably had no significant mental issues, so there was no need to worry. After confirming there were no problems, Fang Cheng set aside this little episode and then saw Wang¡¯s message. ¡°Immortal, I¡¯ll return the tip you gave meter. I couldn¡¯t finish the game, sorry about that.¡± ¡°No worries, keep it,¡± Fang Cheng replied. ¡°I¡¯m also reflecting on what didn¡¯t work, that I couldn¡¯t keep you hooked.¡± ¡°The game is fine, it¡¯s me whocks courage. But you certainly have talent, you¡¯re definitely one of the standout newbies. Have you joined a gamepany? If not, I rmend you to Fang Cheng Studio; the boss there is also a genius. A content creator I know went there and found it very promising to team up with the studio boss.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± ¡°One more request, some of my fans want to y ¡®Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡¯. Can I distribute your game to them? I¡¯m sure they¡¯re all over eighteen, so they won¡¯t get into any trouble.¡± Fang Cheng was silent for a while, tempted to ask what the other party meant by mentioning age, but eventually he let it go. The creator of the game died after it was released, so how to interpret it is up to the yers, and his Taoist heart wouldn¡¯t allow himself to interfere recklessly. He then replied, ¡°You can distribute it for free, just don¡¯t charge for it. And if possible, I¡¯d like to hear their feedback.¡± ¡± Thank you so much. Lastly, I suggest you could add some guidance for new yers, interactive tutorials are quite popr recently. Also, consider changing the name; it¡¯s a bit off for a game title.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Having received the Living Immortal¡¯s consent, Wang quickly sent the instation package to a few fans. Looking at the time, Wang realized it was now ten in the morning, the daylight was bright and the Yang energy was strong. With such great weather, maybe it was worth giving the game another shot to see what it was really about. After all, yesterday was just a brief encounter, he didn¡¯t even make it out of the apartment building, and he had no idea what his grandfather¡¯s hints meant, which felt somewhat regrettable. Therefore, Wang confidentlyunched the game, and after half an hour, changed into a fresh pair of pants and then cocooned himself in a nket on the bed, recoiling from the world. Next time, he should y the game while wearing a diaper. While Wang¡¯s original intention was to let his fans experience ¡®Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡¯, he underestimated the speed at which fansmunicate with each other. Since the game could be freely distributed, after a couple of fans tried it, they quickly shared it with other friends, who then shared it with more friends, eventually creating a rapid chain reaction that unknowingly copied the game into tens of thousands of copies. Several horror game content creators on Bilibili also discovered this obscure horror game and began to livestream it, but almost all of them were met with defeat. Simply put, it was too horrifying. This eerie game¡¯s psychological impact doesn¡¯t change with the number of yers; even in the most masculine environment of a men¡¯s bathhouse sting with robust Yang energy, yers were still scared to scream by the game¡¯s sinister atmosphere. After many content creators tried it, they dered that no matter how mentally prepared, they would copse on the endless staircase, unable to continue. All sorts of outrageous video titles appeared, such as ¡®The Game that Once Scared People to Death¡¯, ¡®The Forbidden Game¡¯, and ¡®The Game Made by Demons¡¯ to refer to this game, while its original name was forgotten. Just when everyone thought no one could beat the game, an ount quietly surfaced, releasing a video of a sessful ythrough. Chapter 27 - 27 All Endings_1 Chapter 27: All Endings_1 Trantor: 549690339 Throughout the entire gamey video, the UP host never showed their face or spoke, and the gamey style was very simr to Xiao Douzi¡¯s. However, the UP host¡¯s name was Mom of Pingping, which clearly wasn¡¯t Xiao Douzi¡¯s doing. Prior to this, the UP host had only posted some simple craft-making videos and basic food preparation methods, so it waspletely unexpected for them to release a gamey walkthrough video. The ount had many videos, but the technical quality wasn¡¯t high, and there were only a few hundred fans; it was an almost transparent and negligible UP host. The video got straight to the point, with the opening shot being the same as the others, where the character wakes up on a bed and then hears the instructions of the grandfather. Afterward, the UP host deftly controlled the character, left the room, and rushed into the staircase. Upon seeing the big sister going up the stairs, the UP host skillfully took over the food from her and helped her carry the items upstairs. Seeing this scene, the few viewers fell silent, and then, almost in unison, burst out with the bullet-screenments, ¡°We can do that too!¡± Can we actually do good deeds in this broken game? What other good deeds are going toe next? The viewers became excited! When the UP host helped deliver the items upstairs, the big sister opened her room door, and then said to the protagonist, ¡°Do you want toe in and rest for a while? My house is quite big, and we also have snacks and drinks. ¡°Sister Jie, don¡¯t do it!¡± a group of viewers couldn¡¯t help but say. But the character controlled by the UP host nodded and walked straight in, then took the drink handed over by her and took small sips. Before the protagonist had finished half the bottle, the entire screen started to blur, followed by the world spinning as if drunk, and slowly lying down on the couch. And in the ears of the yers, the big sister¡¯sughter rang out, filling the darkened screen and sending shivers down one s spine. ¡°Ending: Don¡¯t eat things recklessly, achieved.¡± Seeing this ending, the audience was somewhat dumbfounded. Is this something we can see in a horror game? What happened to the little boy and the big sister in the end? Why did the screen go ck? Why didn¡¯t you show the most critical part, we¡¯re not short of bandwidth! Author, did you do this on purpose or by ident? But soon after, the viewers frowned upon realizing that things were not so simple. The progress bar hadn¡¯t even reached 1/4. From this, it seemed that this was just one ending of the game, so were there other endings? It seemed as if to answer the viewers¡¯ questions, a new cycle began. The process was the same asst time, still going out the same door, still carrying the big sister upstairs. But unlikest time, when the big sister invited the protagonist to rest, the protagonist shook his head and then pointed to a pair of pliers in the big sister¡¯s room. The pliers looked somewhat heavy, but a little boy could still manage them. After borrowing the pliers, the protagonist immediately returned home, picked up the pliers, and forcefully twisted off the lock on the grandfather¡¯s room door. Pushing the door open, when the audience saw what was inside, they tensed up again. The room was airtight, the windows boarded up, arge number of red candles casting the room in daylight. A brand-new radio sat in the middle of the room, continuously ying strange chanting sounds, making one¡¯s heart tense. And right in front of the door hung a photograph of an eight-year-old child. The photograph was ck and white, with elegiac couplets hanging on it, clearly a death portrait. The child looked hardy and robust, with a cute smile on his face, but the cuter it was, the more eerie it became within a funeral portrait, and the psychological fear¡¯that swept over the viewers made them close their eyes for a long time before daring to continue. Before they could fully understand what was going on, the protagonist started holding his chest and moaning. Ultimately, his vision became blurrier and blurrier, and his moans grew fainter and fainter until the screen turnedpletely ck, signaling the end of the game. ¡°Ending: That room must not be entered, achieved.¡± Having achieved two endings in a row, the story of the game did not be clearer but more eerie and mysterious instead. However, this also indicated that the game did have an ending, and there likely existed a true ending. The number of viewers watching the video kept increasing. They held their breath, watching the video anxiously, scared yet eager to see the ending. And the video uploader did not disappoint their expectations, starting the next cycle. This time, after borrowing the bolt cutters, he didn¡¯t attempt to open his grandfather¡¯s room but instead began to walk down the endless corridor. When he reached the room with his back to his grandfather, he used the bolt cutters to forcefully open the security door, then bypassed his grandfather facing away from him and walked directly into the bedroom. The bedroom window had not been tended to for a long time, years of spider webs intermingled with dead insects on it had formed a thick curtain, blocking out the sunlight from outside. The electric light in the room was out long ago, casting the room in an especially gloomy light. The video uploader smashed the window with the bolt cutters, throwing them outside. The substantial web curtain was torn open, and sunlight streamed through the tear, revealing to the yers that there was actually a mirror in the room. Disobeying his grandfather¡¯s instructions, the boy walked up to the mirror and clearly saw the reflection of a little boy. The boy was dressed in a hospital gown with blue stripes, had dark circles under his eyes, a waxenplexion, and his body was unsteady. What was more terrifying was that he looked exactly like the little boy in the obituary photo! And upon seeing himself in the mirror, the protagonist covered his mouth and began to cough violently. As he coughed, he spat out blood, and the fresh blood from his chest seemed to be endless, soon flooding the room and trapping him in the blood. Finally, amidst the continuous coughing, the game ended. ¡°Ending: Don¡¯t look in the mirror, achieved.¡± Three endings appeared, and the details in the game were now evident, the truth of the game about to be unveiled, making everyone hold their breath in anticipation of the final revtion. No morements appeared; everyone watched the video with bated breath. The fourth cycle began. This time, the protagonist did not go upstairs or enter any rooms. He began to run downwards ceaselessly, sprinting through the endless corridors. He ran for an unknown amount of time until all the doors of the residents disappeared, leaving only walls, and then he sat down on the floor and cried loudly. His crying became louder and more intense, his body started convulsing due to the excessive sobbing, and his vision gradually blurred. Just when everyone thought this would trigger another bad ending, the view brightened again. Looking around, the protagonist found himself in a hospital bed, with his crying having alerted others. When the door of the ward opened, a nurse who looked exactly like the older sister who had gone upstairs walked in. After palpating the protagonist¡¯s head, she tookhis temperature and then asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, did you have a nightmare?¡± The protagonist nodded. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± the older sister said gently. ¡°It¡¯s just a minor sickness. You¡¯ll be fine after two days of IV fluids. Go to sleep; don¡¯t be scared, I¡¯m here with you.¡± With the nurse holding his hand, the protagonist slowly closed his eyes, and a luby from the nurse began to y in his ears. In the warm andfortable environment, the protagonist finally fell asleep. ¡°Ending: It¡¯s just a dream, achieved. Congrattions, you have achieved all endings¡­ Or have you?¡± Chapter 28 - 28 It’s Just the Beginnings Chapter 28: It¡¯s Just the Beginnings Trantor: 549690339 Just when all the audience members were perplexed by the end credits, the 5th reincarnation, which was also thest reincarnation, finally began. This time, when the protagonist got out of bed, he did not leave his room. Even after listening to what Grandfather had said, he did not leave his room but sat on the bed silently staring at the wall. It wasn¡¯t until half an hourter that the bedroom door was opened again, and Grandfather appeared at the doorway. ¡°Kid, Grandpa bought you a cake,e and eat it together, With a slight nod, the protagonist left the bedroom, entered the living room, and sat down on a chair. The cheap cake was ced on the table, a five-yuan cake with bright colors and eight candles stuck on top. After blowing out the candles, the protagonist picked up a stic spoon and began eating the cake bit by bit. The cheap cake gave the protagonist the taste of delicacies from mountains and seas, which gradually dissipated the horror atmosphere and created a warm feeling. Sitting across from him, Grandfather watched the protagonist with a smile and said, ¡°Kid, is it tasty? Grandpa bought it especially for you. Next year on your birthday, we¡¯U eat together again.¡± The protagonist nodded, then pushed the remaining cake towards Grandfather. ¡°Grandpa won¡¯t eat.¡± The protagonist shook his head vigorously. ¡°Alright, Grandpa will have a bite,¡± In the shots of the grandson and grandfather taking turns eating, the true ending, Grandfather, was unlocked. After the words indicating the true ending had been unlocked appeared, the game went ck once more. When the screen lit up again, the camera had moved to the entrance. Through the change in the height of the viewpoint and the scale of the surrounding objects, it could be deduced that the protagonist was now an adult. He walked up the stairs, reached the fifth floor, then pulled out a key, unlocked the door of his house, and stepped inside. The arrangement inside the room was the same as before, the only difference being that now Grandfather¡¯s bedroom door, which was previously locked, stood open. Stepping into Grandfather¡¯s bedroom, one could see that all the strange decorations that were there before had disappeared. The room was exceptionally clean; the portrait of the little boy had vanished, but with close inspection, one could still see the traces left by burned candles. After rummaging through the cupboard in the room, the protagonist took out a book. The book was a traditional thread-bound volume, and it was apparent that it had been perused many times. The pages were somewhat yellowed, but the handwriting inside was still clearly visible. When the protagonist began flipping through the book titled ¡°Death Cheating Method,¡± all of the questions were finally answered at that moment. The ¡°Death Cheating Method,¡± a folk custom originating from the Han Dynasty, asionally appears in ces like Southeast Asia. When a family member suddenly falls seriously ill or encounters a cmity, they can set aside a room to create a portrait of the target and offer tributes, in order to deceive ck and White Impermanence into believing the target is already deceased. During this period, the target must not speak carelessly, eat randomly, look in mirrors, and most importantly, cannot enter this room. Besides these, there are numerous other taboos that must be strictly adhered to entirely remove one¡¯s living essence, thus achieving the goal of cheating death. Linking this with the various endings seen before, the audience had a sudden revtion. ¡°That¡¯s why¡¯ No wonder Grandfather warned against entering that room and stressed so many taboos. It was all because of the ¡®Death Cheating Method¡¯.¡¯¡¯ ¡°Then what was the deal with that older sister upstairs? Why did she give the protagonist medicine?¡± ¡°From ending 4, it¡¯s apparent that the older sister must be the nurse. Drinking the beverage and copsing might symbolize the protagonist being anesthetized before surgery.¡± ¡°Exactly. From earlier on, it¡¯s evident that the protagonist was frail with frequent hospital stays, waiting for surgery. To ensure the protagonist could return alive, Grandfather used the Death Cheating Method.¡± ¡°Indeed, this also corresponds to the implication from ending 4, everything was, in fact, the protagonist¡¯s imagination or dream.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t this just a form of feudal superstition? ¡°It¡¯s not quite the same. The Death Cheating Method is one of the folk customs, and there is a definite difference between folk customs and feudal superstitions. Although it may sound like nonsense, when it is used, it can invisibly strengthen the confidence of the practitioner. This confidence, in turn, manifests itself and is ultimately conveyed to the target, producing a cebo effect. Don¡¯t underestimate the power of cebo; sometimes it really can cure diseases.¡± ¡°Oh, I see, I¡¯ve learned something. Using the Death Cheating Method to lead into a horror story, the game is quite thoughtful.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s just too horrifying!¡± As the audience was discussing, they were surprised to find that there was a second part to the video. Upon opening the second video, they were stunned. Because after the protagonist took the book, the game was not over! Or rather, it had just begun! Carrying the thread-bound book, the protagonist had alreadye outside the apartment building, into the bustling crowd. The surroundings seemed peaceful, but an eerie atmosphere was spreading, so dense that it was suffocating. An old man ced the cooked dregs of medicine into a cloth bag, pressed it on a branch, and clipped a piece of paper filled with writing between the dregs and the branch. By the roadside, someone put raw rice into a bowl and kept tapping the bowl with chopsticks. In the disy window, the paper figurines had no eyes, but one could feel their gaze, filled with curiosity and yfulness. Every unusual ce seemed to have its own logic and deeper meaning, each with its own story. ¡°The Death Cheating Method¡± was over. But this strange world had just begun. It was at this point that the audience finally understood. They thought it was the climax, but it turned out to be just the beginning; the real story had just started. Living Immortal, you really did something there! just with this move alone, calling you ¡®Immortal¡¯ is well-deserved. At the end of the video, the content creator, Mom of Pingping, used an Al voiceover to share her thoughts on clearing the game. ¡°Thankyou all for watching till now, I¡¯m a new content creator, Pingping, and this ount is shared between me and my mom. I appreciate all yourments, thank you. If possible, please follow me and give me a ¡®like, share, and subscribe,¡¯ it¡¯s really important. ¡®Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡¯ is my recently favorite game; I really like the unique, dream-like atmosphere. I was truly happy when I learned that ¡®The Death Cheating Method¡¯ was just the opening of the game. I don¡¯t quite understand why everyone finds it scary, but I find it very warm andfortable. If you like it, I will continue to make videos of this game. Since I can¡¯t go out to work, I asionally promote products in my videos. I hope you won¡¯t hold it against me, thankyou.¡± As the first content creator to pass the opening scene, the ¡°Mom of Pingping¡± ount began to see a continuous increase in followers, eventually reaching over ten thousand. Encouraged by this video, arge number of content creators began to try to clear the game and sessfully passed the opening scene, but got stuck in the subsequent plot. There was no helping it; the following plot was even more horrifying. However, strangely enough, no matter how terrifying the plot was, it seemed to be no problem for Pingping. She yed the game with ease, the so-called psychological horror not affecting her in the slightest, not even causing her hand to tremble. It wasn¡¯t just her; many new ounts also began uploading walkthrough videos of other stories. Their styles were consistent; while ying the game, they did not speak, simply silently disying every possibility of the story, which provided a different viewing experience. Because the game world was vast, they could randomly choose an entry point to create a video of moderate length, even quickly leading to a sub-climax of sorts. But on Saturday night, just after Mom of Pingping had uploaded a new mini-story video, before her fans could even watch it, the video disappeared immediately. It wasn¡¯t just hers; all videos rted to the game were taken down without a trace. A silent crackdown on the game and its corresponding videos had begun. Chapter 29 - 29 Please, I’m Begging You_l Chapter 29: Please, I¡¯m Begging You_l Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Ban¡± sounds a little scary, but actually¡­ it¡¯s just okay. Every yer more or less has mastered some ways to ess the inte scientifically, and those old yers from the ¡¯80s and ¡¯90s havee out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, finding a game is no problem for them. In that era, to y a game, you needed to know not just where to download it, but also how to modify the registry, how to change the game path, and how to download and install software libraries. Sometimes, just dealing with virtual drives could take hours, and being able to y the game the next day was considered good luck. And for a ¡°horror game,¡± being banned is actually an honor. It¡¯s basically official recognition from a tform, indicating that your game indeed has some real merit, especially in terms of being authentically terrifying. Realizing the tform¡¯s attitude, a horde of horror game enthusiasts who had just gotten excited were now in mourning. However, the impact wasn¡¯t that big. The vast number of active gaming area content creators felt nothing because, after all, they were too scared to y the game; it didn¡¯t matter to them. Wang Say Games was filled with guilt, however. Although Living Immortal had told him before that the game could be freely distributed. He hadn¡¯t anticipated that the game could actually stir the tform officials, and so he was filled with guilt towards Living Immortal. Out of a sense of responsibility and guilt, he first sent a message to Living Immortal to express his apologies and assured that he would try his best to reverse the impact. Then, he asked his fans in the fan group to temporarily stop discussing the game and to pause downloading it. Finally, he wrote a letter to the tform officials, stating that he was in contact with the game creator, hoping that the game tform could rx a bit. As a former gamer, Wang knew that the psychological resilience of neers isn¡¯t actually that strong. Or one might say, the psychological resilience of ordinary people is very weak. A single ban, a single blow, could very likely break a promising young individual, and afterwards, no more good games may evere from them. Plus, he felt a certain responsibility for the incident, so he decided to take the lead to see if he could salvage the situation. World Immortal had not yet replied, but the tform had quickly responded. After all, Wang was a top-tier streamer, carrying some weight on the tform, and they already had a contingency n for such matters; now was the time for a quick reaction. A business customer service representative immediately contacted Wang, taking charge of his concerns. At the start of the private chat, the business representative said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Wang, we¡¯ve seen your request. But, someoneined to the tform about this matter.¡± ¡°Someone from above¡­ who specifically?¡± Wang asked, puzzled. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the details, but I can say it was after someone¡¯s son yed this game and got too scared to leave the house. They were quite angry and pointed a few fingers at us, so we had no choice but to ban the game,¡± the representative exined. Wang clicked his tongue, feeling a bit vexed. But he thought he should persevere a bit more, so he asked, ¡°If I get the creator to modify the game and reduce some of its impact, then do you think the game could be released again?¡± ¡°That¡¯s tough,¡± the customer service said regretfully, ¡°In cases like this, it¡¯s rare for a game to be released again. However, we can put it on the back burner for a few years, until the other party forgets about this incident.¡± After chatting with the customer service again, Wang realized that there were other ways out, such as asking some VIP to speak up, or creating a public opinion topic, so the tform could shift the pressure away. However, VIPs wouldn¡¯t care about this issue, and there wasn¡¯t much explosive potential in public opinion, so it was very likely to end with no result. In the end, Wang could only regretfully say, ¡°Ah, there¡¯s nothing more to be done.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Wang.¡± Having ended the conversation, Wang began to think about how to break the bad news to Living Immortal. But, to his surprise, the explosive moment he had been hoping for happened very soon. Saturday night at eleven 0 nine. Horror games were a niche genre, and although it was a pity that the game was banned, the incident passed quickly without causing much of a stir. However, at this time, Mom of Pingping released a new video. In this video, Pingping and her mother, who had never shown their faces before, finally appeared on screen. From the quality of the video, it was clear that they didn¡¯t have professional streaming equipment, but had filmed it with a cellphone. Mom of Pingping was a haggard middle-aged woman. Her hair was half gray, and her checkered shirt had faded from washing. By her side, was a cute-looking girl. The girl¡¯s clothes too were faded from washing, but they presented their most spirited selves, though the video still radiated visible poverty. Beyond the poverty, what caught the viewers¡¯ attention was the girl¡¯s legs. She was sitting in a wheelchair, with her legs absent from below the knees, which was why she had said she couldn¡¯t go out to work. She was disabled. Facing the camera, the middle-aged woman looked embarrassed but still said firmly, ¡°Hello everyone, I am Mom of Pingping, this is my daughter, Pingping.¡± Pingping shyly nodded and then began to speak in a hoarse voice, her words broken and intermittent, ¡°Hello¡­everyone¡­I am¡­Pingping¡­¡± As she spoke, she couldn¡¯t help but wave her hands, using signnguage to express what she wanted to say. After greeting, Mom of Pingping took out medical records one by one and said, ¡°Pingping was in a car ident at the age of ten, leading to the amputation of her legs, and her throat became hoarse due to inhaling arge amount of harmful gas at that time. My husband is working during the day and driving at night to make money, and he hasn¡¯te back yet.¡± She smiled, held her daughter¡¯s hand, and continued, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to evoke pity, just exining our current situation. I need to take care of Pingping at home every day, so I can¡¯t go out. I heard that you can make some ie from making videos here, so I started to film videos of me doing handicrafts and cooking. But each of our videos only got a few hundred views, and the total ie was¡­ sixteen yuan and twenty-three cents.¡± After showing her previous video earnings, Mom of Pingping smiled sheepishly, ¡°But thest three videos got around two hundred thousand views each, and each video made more than four hundred yuan. It might not be much to many people, but for us, it¡¯s a significant ie.¡± Pingping also picked up her cellphone and began using Al voice to y the text she had previously recorded. ¡°These few videos are of the game ¡®Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me.¡¯ I don¡¯t know why you find some parts scary; I don¡¯t feel scared at all, but it seems that only a few people we know can pass this game, which is one of our few special skills. So, I have a favor to ask of the tform¡¯s uncles and aunties.¡± At this point, the girl bowed deeply, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and continued ying, ¡°Please, can you not ban this game?¡± Chapter 30 - 30 The Climax Comes 1 Chapter 30: The Climax Comes 1 Trantor: 549690339 Seeing the girl¡¯s tears, the audience felt a tug at their hearts. However, these days, everyone knows how to write a sob story, so they didn¡¯t blindly believe it. Instead, they began to actively search for relevant information. Before long, some people found the news reports and corresponding photos from that time. Afterparison, they realized that what Mom of Pingping said was true. The girl crossing the zebra crossing was knocked down. The driver who caused the ident was drunk driving, died on the spot, and was driving without a license. His car wasn¡¯t insured and was also a scrapped vehicle. Although cursing that the driver got off lightly by dying, this also meant that Pingping couldn¡¯t get anypensation at all. All the medical expenses had to be shouldered by themselves. Having confirmed the truth of the matter, some viewers began to help Mom of Pingping raise funds online, and a portion of viewers began tagging the tform frantically. It was clear from Pingping and others¡¯ previous upload records that videos of the game ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡± were very popr. Many horror game enthusiasts were too scared to y themselves, but they had no problems watching. Also, given the scale of the game, it was very likely to be a stable focus for videos in the near future and significantly ease the economic pressure on Pingping¡¯s family. If they could secure some advertisements and product endorsements afterward, it would be an unexpected windfall. Cutting off this channel was tantamount to snuffing out the small glimmer of hope they had found after much difficulty. ¡°tform assistant,e out and give us an answer!¡± Oh, ying dead now, are we? Very active when selling VIP memberships online, but pretend nothing happened when ites to issues like this?¡± Blocking someone¡¯s livelihood is like killing their parents; you¡¯re indirectlymitting murder!¡± As the tform had yet to respond, the release of another video further heightened the heat of the incident. It was from a video ount that had coborated with Mom of Pingping. This ount previously had few followers and low video views, practically invisible. However, because it had recorded this game, the ount had also gained a certain amount of views recently. Mimicking Mom of Pingping¡¯s method, he recorded and uploaded his video using a cellphone. The video was made by a somewhat haggard father. A boy around twelve, who looked like a doll, sat in hisp, staring nkly ahead with a vacant, unfocused gaze. Though the boy¡¯s features were neat, his eyes and expression were very dull, as if a door separated him from the outside world. Looking at the camera, the child¡¯s father waved his hand and then politely said, ¡°Hello everyone, I am a humble content creator, Feijun. This is my son; although he looks cute, he is actually a high-functioning autistic.¡± ¡°Unlike Mom of Pingping, our family is quite wealthy, and I don¡¯t rely on video ie to maintain a living. However, I also hope the game isn¡¯t banned.¡± High-functioning autism isn¡¯t what people imagine it to be, with high IQand capable of anything. The IQof someone with high-functioning autism is often normal.¡± 1 ¡®After my child was diagnosed with autism, I tried all sorts of methods to help him break out of his shell, but unfortunately, they all failed. However, just yesterday, a fellow patient suddenly found me and told me that this game seemed to have a therapeutic effect on my child¡¯s condition.¡± ¡°At first, I was skeptical, but after letting him y the gamest night, I was astonished to find that it actually worked.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the specific principle, but I do know that after ying this game, my son took the initiative toe to me for the first time this year. He then asked me how to record the process of the game into a video and upload it online. He loved the dreamlike experience of the game and wanted to share it.¡± ¡°I can say without exaggeration that at that moment, I was overwhelmed with joy, and thinking about it now still brings tears to my eyes.¡± Then, I helped him record his very first video in life.¡± ¡°The first chapter of the game, ¡®Death Cheating Method,¡¯ has already been recorded by Mom of Pingping. However, this game contains much more content about folk customs, so there¡¯s no shortage of material.¡± After uploading the first video, my son sat in front of theputer without moving, watching the screen intently.¡± ¡°He looked for a long time, at every bullet screenment, every message, he read them all, he even copied them onto paper, and said that he really liked it.¡± At this point, Feijun took out the paper and showed the messages his child had copied down. ¡°Autism is a very painful illness, both for the patient and for the parents. It¡¯s as if they have been abandoned by the world, unresponsive to everything that happens around them. But when my child was reading thements, he smiled for the first time.¡± Through these messages, he finally started to understand the outside world I want my child to know that the world out there is wonderful, and the people are kind.¡± ¡°So, I beg you, please don¡¯t ban this game, okay?¡± After watching this video, many viewers were deeply moved. Especially those viewers with children-they could rte to the notion of ¡°as parents love their child, they make long-term ns for them,¡± and they felt even more sympathy for Feijun¡¯s plight. Not long after, another ount appeared and uploaded their own video. My father has Alzheimer¡¯s, also known as senile dementia. He has forgotten many things, even who I am.¡± I also heard that this game might have some therapeutic effect on certain mental illnesses. With a try-and-see attitude, I let my father y it.¡± ¡°He was almost able to y the game immediately upon contact, and the effect afterward was astonishing.¡± ¡°Alzheimer¡¯s, this kind of degenerative disease, is almost beyond the help of medicine, but after he yed and then slept, he looked at me, and his eyes seemed vaguely familiar.¡± ¡°He said he recognized me but couldn¡¯t recall my name. He vaguely remembered that I¡¯m his son, but he just couldn¡¯t call out my name.¡± Even so, that was enough to be a surprise.¡± ¡°I kept teaching him my name over and over, just like he once taught me how to write my name. Time formed a closed-loop at this moment, giving me hope of returning to the past.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what wrong this game hasmitted, but as a son of an elderly man, I beg you, please don¡¯t ban this game, thank you.¡± Simr videos sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a rain, each telling their own story with the game and hoping it would not be banned. The emergence of this tide allowed Wang Say Games to keenly perceive that the opportunity for a turnaround had arrived. He acted immediately, quickly contacting each ount that posted a video. After stating his intentions and obtaining permission from them, hepiled arge number of rted videos and rapidly began editing. Since editing took some effort, Wang didn¡¯t finish the video until five in the morning, but to his surprise, he didn¡¯t feel the least bit tired. The experiences of more than a dozen people were edited into a thirty-minute video, apanied by soothing music, filled with emotional power amidst its calmness. Watching his own edit, Wang felt that this was probably the pinnacle of his editing work. No exnation needed, merely presenting the facts held an undeniable power. After some thought, he gave the video a title: ¡°What Has Gaming Saved?¡± Once he released the video, even in the early morning, its views exploded at a rapid pace. The viral moment Wang had been waiting for had finally arrived. Chapter 31: Defying Fate i Chapter 31: Defying Fate i Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Games that are too scary should be banned. Games are meant to rx people, and if they scare people, they can¡¯t be considered games.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s your take on ¡®God of Farming¡¯s Son¡¯? ording to your im, paintings should also rx people. A painting as frightening as this shouldn¡¯t exist either.¡± ¡°Can games even bepared to works of art?¡± ¡°Ha, the chicken¡¯s true colors are showing! Just admit it, you¡¯re looking down on games, supporting the ban just to satisfy your disdain for our gamingmunity. You high and mighty types can easily jump face output, yet you insist on cloaking yourself in a pretense of caring for us. Honestly, it¡¯s making mewant to cry.¡± Wang Say Games ¡®s explosive material began to ferment at an incredibly fast pace. Furthermore, this day coincided with the weekend, and although Wang¡¯s video was being handled coldly, it couldn¡¯t stop the spread by people. A routine act of banning had eventually evolved into a major debate over whether games should be banned and how to do so, with the situation developing faster than anyone had expected. Giant Blog also became another battlefield, with countless ounts being banned for overly aggressivements, while a great number continued to pour in one after another. As for the elder brothers in the forums¡­ Without uncivilizednguage, they didn¡¯t say anything. While everything was spiraling out of control, amercial officer from the tform approached Wang again. ¡°Mr. Wang, this video, can we delete it?¡± Without needing the other party to specify which video, Wang knew exactly which one they were referring to. The developments had reached a point where some things were beyond both parties¡¯ control. But eliminating the source of impact could at least make some amends. Looking at the message from themercial officer, Wang wanted to say something but found himself speechless, only feeling that pushing even a little bit was too difficult. Before long, themercial officer sent a new message: ¡°Mr. Wang, we willpensate your next three videos. The tform will use big data to boost your traffic, and the effects will definitely satisfy you. Plus, under the same conditions, we¡¯ll give you priority in rmendations. What do you think?¡± ¡°¡­ No need.¡± Mr. Wang, what do you mean? Don¡¯t do anything foolish! Mr. Wang, answer me! I¡¯m your fan, I can¡¯t be without you!¡± Wang closed the chat interface and picked up his phone to start recording a video. The matter was somewhat rted to him, but not particrly so. And since he had triggered the explosive discussion, he had done his part; stepping away now would not incite criticism from anyone. But he was just not happy! Why should gamers be treated as inferior? Why should we yers be casually manipted by others? Why should games bebeled as cmities, with even unrted criminals being pinned with the me, as if it¡¯s all ¡°the fault of games¡±? With the fire already burning to this extent, he might as well be the Sry King and let the fire burn even brighter. Anyway, he had enough money. In the future, he could just open a small inte cafe and sit back as the money rolled in. Opening the recording tool, he looked at the screen and said, ¡°Hello everyone, I m Wang Say Games, and today, I have a very heavy announcement to make¡­¡± A video less than five minutes long took him two full hours to record. From 1 PM to 3 PM, he repeatedly revised his wording, adjusted his syntax, and several times became choked up with emotion, but finally managed toplete the recording. Taking a deep breath, he trembled at the thought of uploading the video, and then saw that ¡®Living Immortal¡¯s¡¯ private message had lit up. ¡°Sorry, I have been reflecting on my own mistakes recently and didn¡¯t manage to reply in time.¡± Seeing the reply, Wang immediately responded: ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, it¡¯s the world¡¯s fault, a good game is not wrong!¡± ¡°¡­ Well¡­ okay. What¡¯s the situation now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this.¡± Fang Cheng painstakingly exined the current situation once over, and Wang typed with a wry smile, ¡°Sorry for getting your game banned. Alright, I¡¯m getting ready to delete my ount and make a run for it. See you again if it¡¯s meant to be.¡± ¡°Hmm, wait a second, if there¡¯s no news by tonight, then get ready to run.¡± ¡°Immortal, do you have a way?¡± ¡°Yeah, after all, I¡¯m an Immortal, right?¡± Wang chuckled to himself, thinking no way, no way, could it be that someone¡¯s online name is Immortal and they actually believe they¡¯re one. I m the guy next door, Wang, but I haven¡¯t done anything treacherous. However, the Living Immortal¡¯s tone was calm yet filled with power, convincing Wang Say Games to trust the other party this time, waiting until evening was also fine. At his home, Fang Cheng quickly learned the causes and consequences and reviewed the various opinions. Although he still couldn¡¯t understand why games were fun, upon seeing the multitude of yers voicing their opinions for the game they cherished in their hearts, and listing the exemry examples in the game and their influence, he was somewhat moved. After carefully watching the video edited by Wang, he realized that to many people, a game isn¡¯t just a game, but also a repository of emotions, an aspiration towards life. The charm of games was so terrifying that even though they brought no tangible benefits, and even wasted the yers¡¯ time and harmed their interests, they were still willing to speak up for games, showing how important games were in their hearts. Closing his eyes to feel for a while, when Fang Cheng opened them again, his eyes had turned to gold. Mr. Fang, who was eating watermelon on the side, was startled by Fang Cheng¡¯s current appearance and hastily called out, ¡°Wife,e out and see God!¡± ¡°Stop yelling, I haven¡¯t forgiven you yet!¡± Mrs. Fang¡¯s voice came from the room. ¡°Your bag is on its way.¡± ¡°Coming!¡± Rushing out of the bedroom, Mrs. Fang discovered that the entire room was bathed in a golden glow. This golden light, like a river, surged through the room, rushing towards the distance like a great river. Seeing this scene, Mrs. Fang held her breath and asked subconsciously, ¡°Son, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m altering destiny.¡± Isn t that a bit of an exaggeration, whose destiny are you trying to change?¡± ¡°Many people¡¯s.¡± This river is the River of Fate, and even a slight change can trigger a huge cause and effect, and the Divine Skill of altering destiny is to control the various tributaries to ultimately change the destinies of those involved. Wang¡¯s video, the online discussions, the demands of some people, these voices had already formed a small tributary of fate, and Fang Cheng was looking for a suitable fulcrum to leverage this point and lead this tributary towards the perfect shore. By applying force at the fulcrum, the karma to be borne is not significant, ultimately affecting only one or two people. For someone like Fang Cheng the Immortal, these karmic consequences are actually inconsequential; he could choose not to resolve them. However, if he encountered the other party involved, it would be better to clear it, othemise, it would always be on his mind. After staring at the long river for a while, Fang Cheng whispered to himself, here ites. With a light tap, a fulcrum appeared, and the tributary of fate changed its course and flowed towards a more beautiful future. Meanwhile, in Rong City, Xu Qingling, who was taking a nap, got up, drowsily wiped away her drool, theny back down. Lying on the bed, she swung her pale legs, first checking her FlyMessage and sighing with disappointment when she found no message from the person she had pinned to the top. Then, she opened up Giant Blog to catch up on the news, and came across the game controversy that was making waves. After understanding the situation, she wiped the reddening corner of her eyes, then made a phone call. ¡°Grandpa, here¡¯s the situation¡­ Okay, I got it, I¡¯lle to see you now, let¡¯s talk face-to-face.¡± Quickly getting up, Xu Qingling changed into a casual outfit and took a cab to her grandfather¡¯s ce. Chapter 32: So It Was You_l Chapter 32: So It Was You_l Trantor: 549690339 Sunday evening, 7:45 p.m. Wang stared at hisputer screen. The video was ready to go, and with just an upload, he could transform into Sry King, fueling the mes even higher. His finger hovered over the ¡°publish¡± button, a gesture that made Wang feel like a swordsman, and it excited him subtly. After an afternoon of deep contemtion, he still hesitated, wondering if he was being too rash, possibly about to make a wrong decision; yet, he felt he had waited for this moment so long, almost forgetting what it felt like to have his blood boiling. If he did it, he might regret it; if he didn¡¯t, he¡¯d definitely regret it! ¡°Men die still clutching their youthful fantasies,¡± Wangmented. Just as he was about to press the button, his business associate suddenly sent a message: ¡°Mr. Wang, check out the major tform!¡± Releasing his hand, Wang opened the major tform with confusion and went to B-site, which he followed, and then saw that they had simply posted a notification. ¡°We apologize profoundly for the idental video-blocking of some ounts due to a system error. The technical issue has been resolved, and we offer our sincere apologies to the affected ounts, have deeply reflected, and ensure such mistakes will not recur.¡± Without any jokes or an IT sacrifice ritual, the fewer the words, the more serious the issue, indicating that higher-ups had intervened. Immediately logging onto the tform, Wang discovered that the previously blocked videos rted to ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡± had been restored, and the tform even created a special feature entry on the homepage as a form ofpensation. The abrupt reversal caught Wang off guard, and made him realize that unbeknownst to him, a silent battle had been waged and just as quietly concluded. Those in the know understood that the so-called technical issues were nonexistent, but the tform had offered a way out, and there was no need for them to press the issue any further. Everyone tacitly enjoyed this victory, the views on the rted special topic videos doubled once again, bringing even more earnings to the likes of Mom of Pingping. In addition, videos began emerging that exined why some people could y the game and others could not. These exnations varied, but a few reliable ones posited that those who could continue ying certainly possessed either a strong will or some psychological ws. A strong consciousness could allow yers to resist the horror suggestions in the game, while psychological ws could overlook that horror, or even turn it into a form of spiritual healing. Some psychologists began studying the game¡¯s mechanisms, indicating they rted to hypnosis and dream therapy, suggesting that the game had identally achieved this effect, with more detailed research required for further exploration. This presented an opportunity to treat rted disorders and a small miracle brought by the game. And this miracle would further influence people¡¯s perception of games, slowly altering the negative impression of them. Wang also enjoyed a wave of dividends, his righteous speech boosting his followers once again, solidifying his position in the top tier. ¡°Mr. Wang, aspensation, you don¡¯t need to delete the previous videos, and the earlier preferential terms will still apply. So let¡¯s not talk about retiring from the inte anymore, it¡¯s kind of terrifying.¡± As his business associate had the right to see unreleased videos, Wang wasn¡¯t surprised they knew about his desire to retire from the inte. After exchanging pleasantries with them, Wang opened the chat box of Living Immortal, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to start. Even though he had only interacted with them for a few days, Wang felt as if he had known them for a long time. In the end, he simply typed: ¡°The issue is resolved, contact me if needed.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Living Immortal replied simply and then went offline. Staring at the darkened profile picture, Wang smiled, then let go of the mouse and looked at the night sky outside, feeling an immense sense of relief in his heart. The next day, Monday. After a busy Sunday, Fang Cheng Studio weed another exhausting Monday. Inside the studio, Fang Cheng arrived the earliest. He stared at the screen, frowning as he read the yers¡¯ments on ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid to y, but the stories inside are pretty good.¡± ¡°A seamless blend of folklore and horror, some stories seem heartwarming at first but turn out to be quite scary upon reflection, while some that appear terrifying initially are surprisingly warmhearted when thought about more.¡± ¡°I like the story of meeting a ghost in the dead of night, but I dislike that it happens on the ninth floor because I freaking live on the ninth floor!¡± ¡°I liked the story about ¡®asking for rice¡¯; if possible, I¡¯d like to ask my deceased grandmother if there¡¯s really a golden rice bowl under our old home¡¯s manure pit. If there is, I¡¯m going all in.¡± The yers¡¯ reactions ran contrary to Fang Cheng¡¯s intentions, the educational impact was notpletely absent, but it was barely there. Indeed, making games is so hard. After shutting off the screen, Fang Cheng sighed, then went to water his Spirit Grass in the tea room on the same floor to change his mood. The Spirit Grass nted on one side of the tea room, a verdant color, shone brilliantly in the sunlight after being watered, always ready to serve as a greeting gift for the employees and the natural fertilizer for Mr. Shen¡¯s hair. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re so early.¡± Xiao Douzi drifted in like a mural adhering to the wall. His dark circles were even more pronounced. After preparing himself a strong coffee, he downed it in one gulp, then muttered, ¡°This coffee is weak.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better for you to take a day off and get some sleep,¡± Fang Cheng sincerely said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s not much to do today, won¡¯t deduct any sry.¡± ¡°I don¡¯te to work for the money, but to admire your esteemed presence, boss. By the way, there¡¯s this super scary horror game recently, have you yed it, boss? It¡¯s called ¡®The Culture That Cannot Be Spoken.¡¯ I watched it the whole weekend and was still watching before work today.¡± ¡°¡­ No, I haven¡¯t even heard of it.¡± ¡°I suggest you don¡¯t y it, boss, just watch the videos, it¡¯s thrilling. No good, I need to sleep a bit, I¡¯ll adjust the values after I wake up.¡± Watching Xiao Douzi leave, Fang Cheng once again contemted whether there was a problem with his game development approach. Not long after, Xu Qingling came into the tea room, yawning, then made herself a cup of coffee. Leaning against the side table, Xu Qingling sipped her coffeezily and said, ¡°Boss, taking care of your leeks again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Spirit Grass¡­ okay, it¡¯s also a leek, but it¡¯s a spiritual leek.¡± ¡°Still a leek though, just nicer to look at.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re right. You look tired, didn¡¯t rest well over the weekend?¡± ¡°Yeah, I went to see my grandpa and then listened to his stories from the past all day. What¡¯s up, boss, why are you staring at me?¡± Gazing at Xu Qingling, Fang Cheng suddenly had an epiphany, a sh of inspiration that made him instantly understand who should bear the consequences of yesterday¡¯s attempt to defy fate. So it was you. Chapter 33 - 33 This meditation, mostly a wonderful thingl Chapter 33: This meditation, mostly a wonderful thingl Trantor: 549690339 For Immortals of Fang Cheng¡¯s level, the matter of cause and effect could already be ignored. With a Palm Thunder strike, any cause and effect could be sted cleanly away, but Fang Cheng still preferred to understand cause and effect in a more gentle manner. Having confirmed that the cause and effect should be on Xu Qingling, Fang Cheng told her that he needed to step out for a moment. His left foot had just stepped out of the tea room when his right footnded in the endless emptiness of space, arriving within a star neb. This star neb stretched for tens of light-years, as a dying star had ejected its outer material, hydrogen, helium, and various heavy elementsbined together, eventually forming this magnificent cosmic spectacle. Looking at the star neb, Fang Cheng felt its structure was good, and the colors pleasing, particrly suited for making earrings. He reached out and grabbed the neb in front of him, splitting it into two, then molded it between his hands. Upon spreading his hands again, the two pieces of the star neb were bound by Fang Cheng¡¯s powerful Mana into two little earrings. The semi-transparent earrings, with the neb still slowly drifting within, emitted dreamlike, gorgeous, and hazy colors that involuntarily immersed onlookers in their mysterious glow. Giving away star nebe was Fang Cheng¡¯s favored method in his previous life, as they were quite convenient whether used as decorations or refined into treasures, much loved by female cultivators. Using these star nebe as a gift to understand cause and effect was truly fitting. Afterward, he spent half a day dealing with the details, then returned to the studio with the star neb earrings. Back at his desk, he said to Xu Qingling, ¡°Xu Qingling, how long has it been since you started working at the studio?¡± ¡°Almost a month now, boss,¡± Xu Qingling replied, counting on her fingers. ¡°I just remembered we haven¡¯t signed an official contract yet, let¡¯s get that done. Also, here¡¯s your weing gift, please ept it.¡± Xu Qingling took the box with a puzzled look, and after opening it and seeing the earrings inside, she let out a small gasp. ¡°Boss, did you go pick out a gift for me this morning? Thank you!¡± Picking up the earrings, Xu Qingling held them in her hands, admiring them lovingly. Every time she looked at them, the patterns on the earrings seemed different, providing a new experience with each view. Under the sunlight, the star neb within the earrings released varying lights, dazzling the onlooker. After admiring them for a while, Xu Qingling felt that the maker of these earrings had to be a master, so she asked with concern, ¡°Boss, the earrings are too beautiful, they must be very expensive, right?¡± ¡°No worries, I made them myself.¡± ¡°¡­I will treasure them as a family heirloom.¡± ¡°No worries, if you lose them I can just make another.¡± Xu Qingling didn¡¯t respond, but held onto the earrings, showing a happy and silly smile. Not far away, Xiao Douzi saw this scene and got excited. In another half-month, I¡¯ll also get a reward from the boss! Having sent off the excited Xu Qingling, Fang Cheng finished with this cause and effect and continued to ponder what to make for the next game. After the previous four failures, he had summed up some insights and believed that the next one should be an improvement. This time, he decided to start with one of his few hobbies, transforming what he liked into a game, and allowing yers to feel emotional resonance, through which they would understand what makes a game fun and interesting. After giving his hobbies some thought, Fang Cheng first wrote down meditation and nting Spirit Grass; then, he felt something was amiss and added braised meat to the front of the list. However, Mr. Fang¡¯s braised meat wasplicated to prepare, requiring half a day for just one piece of meat, making it unfeasible to integrate into the game. Moreover, should the braised meat be ready, he would eat it himself first and none would reach the yers. So, was it only meditation and nting Spirit Grass then? Meditation was very soothing. In the midst of meditating, one could be free of distractions, sweeping away all stray thoughts to be left only with tranquility and harmony. In his former life, he could meditate for half a year at a stretch, and upon awakening, his cultivation level would have advanced by leaps and bounds, which was incredibly satisfying andfortable. Thinking about it this way, it was actually quite interesting! Having told Xu Qingling and Xiao Douzi about his ns to ponder over the game, Fang Cheng teleported instantaneously, his Divine Sense sweeping across countless worlds, soon finding a suitable. The terrain and environment of this were varied, and the scenery was beautiful; every vista featured majestic mountains andkes. Furthermore, the local Spiritual Energy was abundant, a hundredfold greater than that of Blue Star, and the fresh airpelled Fang Cheng to breathe deeply several more times. He then collected some air to bring back as a stockpile of gifts for his employees. The only downside was the frequent natural disasters on this, along with uneven distribution of Spiritual Energy. These uneven Spirit Points could trigger the flow of Spiritual Energy, which on Blue Star would result in a breeze, but here could form Gang Wind that would shred everything nearby, transforming all things and redistributing the Spirit Nodes. However, thanks to the profuse Spiritual Energy, the¡¯s vegetation grew quickly. Even the damage caused by natural disasters would repair itself in a short time and then transform into a different scene. After enjoying the view for a while, Fang Cheng set a timeframe for himself and then rolled up his sleeves to start creating. First, heid out a grid on the, with each grid cell amodating no more than a hundred yers to avoid crowding. The Spirit Points within each grid cell were distributed evenly, ensuring that post-disaster the number of Spirit Points remained approximately the same. He could have made the natural disasters disappear, but the changing ofnds and shifting of stars also provided enjoyment during meditation; this sensation of the world outside being entirely different after a short meditation session was something Fang Cheng wanted yers to experience. Moreover, perishing by ident due to a natural disaster added an extrayer of fun to the game. The focus came next. That was the feedback from meditation. When he first started on the path of cultivation, meditation was mostly used to solidify his abilities, and each improvement in his cultivation level brought him great joy. Thus, he needed to convey the benefits of meditation to yers, to establish the notion that there were advantages to be had from meditating. Remembering what he had learned at Tianxiong, Fang Cheng knew there must be feedback. So he designated the Spirit Points as reward locations. After spending some time meditating at a Spirit Point, yers would gain an improvement in their realm and receive a random Cultivation Technique. Some of these techniques might allow yers to run faster, others provide immense strength, and some could even wield Palm Thunder to contend with natural disasters, granting yers different surprises after each meditation. Spirit Points would appear randomly after a set period, making yers yearn for them, rushing to meditate at the sight of one. And to make yers aware of the benefits of Cultivation Techniques, they could initially be given the simplest technique. Subsequently, through continuous meditation, they would acquire more and better techniques, further emphasizing the benefits of meditation. In the end, every game should have a conclusion, so the game would end when only thest yer remained, determined by the patience each disyed while meditating. The rules set this time were straightforward, so it took Fang Cheng only three days to finalize this game, nodding his head in satisfaction. He was confident that once this game was released, yers would definitely understand just how enjoyable meditation could be. Chapter 34 - 34 Gambler_l Chapter 34: Gambler_l Trantor: 549690339 The day after the game waspleted, Fang Cheng returned to his own studio with the game. He watered his Spirit Grass andpressed and stored the Spiritual Energy he brought back into the spiritual soil. In this way, the Spirit Grass would slowly release Spiritual Energy, allowing his own employees to breathe in the fresh Spiritual Energy. After all, what¡¯s good for the employees is truly good, and it is the duty of a good boss to maintain the health of his employees as best as possible. At 9:30 in the morning, Xu singling walked into thepany lethargically but perked up immediately upon seeing Fang Cheng. She quickly walked over, then straightened her face, frowned, and asked, ¡°Boss, where have you been these past three days? ¡°Working overtime, developing the game.¡± ¡°Boss, originally you were the one who said no to working overtime. What does it mean for you to break your own rule? Don¡¯t do that again.¡± ¡°Certainly not next time.¡± After calming Xu Qingling and Xiao Douzi, who arrivedter, Fang Cheng took out two USB sh drives and handed them to the two. ¡°This is the new game I¡¯ve developed. y it and then tell me what you think.¡± Making a game isn¡¯t hard, but stuffing things into it is a nuisance. A bunch of misceneous things have to be packaged into the installer, and one must pay attention to naming the files, which can be a very tedious task. Sadly, it¡¯s not the kind of job you can just hand off to someone else; Fang Cheng had to do it himself. Upon seeing the game Fang Cheng had provided, Xiao Douzi¡¯s nostrils red, his breathing hastened, and the capiries in his eyes began to swell, entering a highly excited state. He quickly went to wash his hands, then came back, took the sh drive reverently in his hands, plugged it into theputer, and was momentarily taken aback by the size of the game. 800MB! That¡¯s substantial! Had the boss abandoned his previous method of game development, or was the mechanism of this game not suited to the formerpression method? These questions were quickly discarded by Xiao Douzi as he immediatelyunched the game and started to immerse himself in it. The name of the game was very simple and very much in line with Fang Cheng¡¯s taste: ¡°Quiet Cultivation.¡± Upon loading the game, Xiao Douzi sat up straight, his shoulders tightened, he focused intensely, remaining motionless as he stared at the screen in front of him and began to y wholeheartedly. Just like before, Xiao Douzi didn¡¯t say a word throughout the process; only shadows flickered on his 400-degree lenses from the game¡¯s visuals. Xu Qingling was also ying this game. However, unlike Xiao Douzi, she kept asking various questions while ying and would continue after getting answers. In Xu Qingling¡¯s eyes, the game had nice scenery, and the meditating effect after finding a Spirit Point was quite good, although she¡¯d get killed by Gang Wind in less than an hour. But as a sightseeing simtor, it was not bad. Moreover, every time she restarted, the scenery loaded was different: sometimes sea inds, sometimes dangerous volcanoes, and sometimes dense forests full of various animals. After experiencing several locations, Xu Qingling, though unclear about the game¡¯s yability, still felt it made for a pretty good sightseeing app. The test versioncked the feature where a single surviving yer would win, so Xu Qingling was invariably killed by the increasingly strong Gang Wind, but she didn¡¯t feel too down about dying. After finishing the game, she thoughtfully recalled her experience before saying to Fang Cheng, who was awaiting her feedback, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if the game is fun, but I think the feeling after meditating is quite good.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Fang Cheng was a bit happy, ¡°Whyisthat?¡± ¡°I really liked the scenery inside. After meditating, I would asionally gain the ability to soar, which allowed me to see farther and better scenes. The Gang Wind is a bit annoying, but also kind of novel. Boss, were you aiming to create a sightseeing game this time?¡± Although Xu Qingling¡¯s view differed from what he intended to create, it was still somewhat rted to meditation. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t expect his ideas to align with the yers¡¯ instantly, but as long as there was a bit of progress each time, that was very good. Therefore, he gave Xu Qingling an encouraging smile, which instantly made her head spin. After sending off the girl dazzled by his smile, he turned to Xiao Douzi, who also finished the game and was now deep in thought, and asked, ¡°Xiao Douzi, what do you think?¡± ¡°I also liked the meditation.¡± ¡°Really? Why!¡± ¡°Randomness and anticipation, each time the enhancements you get are different, this makes the game full of variables. And I suggest that Spirit Points should also have levels, with higher-level Spirit Points yielding higher quality Cultivation Techniques. That would make high-level Spirit Points more attractive to yers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, then what?¡± ¡°Gang Wind is a good feature¡­ Boss, the game doesn¡¯t end with just Gang Wind, does it?¡± Looking at Xiao Douzi, Fang Cheng felt quite pleased, ¡°That¡¯s right, the real condition is that the yer whosts until the end wins.¡± ¡°I see, I get it now.¡± Letting out a sigh of relief, Xiao Douzi said to Fang Cheng, ¡°I understand how this game works now, meditation andpetition, right? Fang Cheng thought for a moment, the part where it was a test of patience could indeed be consideredpetition. Although thepetition was somewhat different from what he originally wanted to convey, it was still within an eptable range. So, he straightforwardly nodded and said, ¡°You could understand it that way.¡± ¡°Then my abilities aren¡¯t up to par. I can adjust the numbers in the game, but this game relies heavily on gamey, and it needs someone specifically in charge of that. So, I suggest that Boss recruit another person, who should be an experienced game designer who has lingered in the game industry for many years and is familiar with all departments. ¡°You mean¡­ a lead designer?¡± ¡°As expected of the boss, you¡¯re right!¡± Fang Cheng tilted his head and thought for a moment, feeling that Xiao Douzi was right. He could shape a to his liking, but he stillcked in many areas. Realism does not always equate to game enjoyment; sometimes, to make a game fun, you even need to strip away some of that realism for exaggerated, humorous, or exhrating effects. Therefore, he needed an experienced lead designer to help him adjust the game so that he could express his ideas more urately. Letting Xiao Douzi start adjusting the numbers, Fang Cheng nced at Xu Qingling, who had just snapped out of her charm and began to draft the recruitment advertisement ording to Fang Cheng¡¯s requirements. The studio¡¯s previous game ¡°Princess Dungeon¡± was still generating steady profits, with sales momentum of 200,000 copies showing no decline, which gave the studio the financial means to survive. Relying on this capital, they could hire more employees and thus produce better games. However, a qualified lead designer was hard to find, and Fang Cheng wanted an excellent one which made it even harder. But by calcting, Fang Cheng knew that the ideal lead designer would appear before long, and all he needed to do was to wait patiently. While Fang Cheng was leisurely waiting for a lead designer, the opposing Kongkong Studio had already started an unprecedented overtime flurry. KongKong clearly couldn¡¯t let go of ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡±, this obsession partly came from sunk costs, and partly from the resentment of being defeated by a youngster. In his eyes, Fang Cheng wasn¡¯t shooting blindly but had taken aim at his game and fired a cold shot, using despicable means to steal his yers, leading him to an unprecedented major failure. Since it was a sneak attack, then surely, his opponents couldn¡¯t beat his team of experienced and seasoned employees. just let them work overtime for half a month, and they could definitely create a more outstanding PvP system. The nners, artists, and programmers started to work without breaks, spending twenty-four hours a day in Tianyi, not leaving until the PvP was done! The performance bonuses were temporarily suspended, to be issued once the PvP waspleted! There had to be morning and evening meetings every day, where everyone had to publicly dere what they had done that day, how the work progress was advancing, and the one with the poorest performance had to do push-ups in front of the group. The member contributing the least would asionally be called into the office for a scolding, and always left with clenched fists, the corners of their eyes red with emotion. More than one team member, due to overwhelming stress, hid in the bathroom and wept, but by now, KongKong had be a gambler, caring for nothing else. With bloodshot eyes, he went all-in and then charged at Fang Cheng Studio. The PvP system had be hisst straw, his final hope. Beyond that, he wanted nothing else. Nothing else at all! Chapter 35 - 35 Seeking Death_i Chapter 35: Seeking Death_i Trantor: 549690339 330 AM. Kongkong Studio. Chief nner Huang Ping, dragging his tired body, walked out of the meeting room.?? & By his side, four systems nners, one copywriter, and one data nner had be like zombies, speaking without strength. Walking on the thick carpet, Huang Ping felt like a ghost, aimlessly wandering on the river of life and death. Even inside the office, he could hear the sound of crying from the bathroom outside, like a widow weeping by a grave, or like a wronged soul iming lives. The spacious office was now filled with colleagues from the studio. Theyy scattered on the floor, their snoring loud and continuous, deafening. Although he couldn¡¯t smell it, Huang Ping believed that they, who hadn¡¯t bathed in over ten days, definitely reeked. Now it was summer, and every day the buildup of sweat made Huang Ping constantly feel that sticky, greasy sensation, but he endured it all tounch the PVP system as soon as possible. Kongkong jokingly called this ¡®saturation-level rush work.¡¯ Regardless of whether you have something to do or not, you must stay at your workstation for 24 hours, otherwise, you¡¯re a dog that eats shit, a pig that ruins the team¡¯s spirit. Saturation my ass! We work overtime, yet you can rest and sleep in your private office, and even take a bath asionally. It¡¯s an open secret to everyone, just that no one has the courage to call it out. After all, this is Kongkong Studio, and as a famous producer under Tianyi, Kongkong has the capital to enjoy all this. Yawning, Huang Ping told the others to go to sleep first while he returned to hisputer desk, summarized the meeting into a document, and then sent it to each person. The only person he couldn¡¯t send it to was Tianyi¡¯s President Zhang Ping. Because Kongkong would send it personally, to demonstrate his exemry work ethic. By the time everything was in order, it was already 4. AM. After sending the email¡¯d to everyone, he wanted to brush his teeth and get some sleep, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of the stairway and fumbled out a shriveled pack of cigarettes, pulling out a crumpled one. He didn¡¯t used to smoke, but the pressure of these times was too great, leaving him no other outlet but this. Sitting down on the stairs, Huang Ping held his cigarette, took out his phone, wanting to talk to someone, but he didn¡¯t know whom to reach out to. Girlfriend? They had met through a blind date, and it had been less than half a year; it was the time to consolidate their rtionship, so he shouldn¡¯t burden her with his negative emotions. Parents? They would have been asleep at this hour, and even if they weren¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t be right to disturb them, better let the elderly rest properly. Friends? He hade to Tianyi right after university graduation and already it had been nine years. Frequent overtime left him with no energy for socializing, and the few acquaintances he had hadn¡¯t been in touch for a long time. Looking at his phone, he became lost in a daze, only able to spread his legs and weakly puff on his cigarette. The overhead motion-sensing light had already turned off, and in the darkness, only a middle-aged man powerlessly clung to the cigarette butt, trying to get a meager constion from the nicotine. That¡¯s the game industry for you. It looks morous, but behind it, there¡¯s always a mess. Standing up, he looked across the stairwell. Through the ss of the stairwell, he saw that Fang Cheng Studio across the street had already closed for the night. He had never seen overtime work over there; as soon as the clock struck the hour, the boss would start herding people out the door. Even though there was an attendance machine at the entrance, the three members seemed to rarely use it, and the boss didn¡¯t seem to care either. ¡°This must be the leisure of geniuses, confident that they can still churn out great games in a rxed manner. I wonder what big move they¡¯re brewing up now, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± He initially thought of saying perhaps it was an optimization for ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± but when the words reached his mouth, he couldn¡¯t say them. He knew that the game he made was crap, Skinner boxes and leaderboards fully exploited the greed of the yers, and negative emotions likepetition and failure prompted yers to spend money, then after a few hours of pleasure woulde the next wave of negative emotions. This cycle would repeat for a long time, unless some real big spender showed up, otherwise the oue was invariably a breakdown followed by abandonment. But ¡°Princess Dungeon¡± was different. It was truly the pride of national production, the pride of domestic game developers. When used of being incapable of making good games to their faces, they could stand tall and retort, ¡°At least we have ¡®Princess Dungeon.¡¯ ¡± With a long sigh, Huang Ping once again had thoughts of resigning. But then he thought of his mortgage, his car loan, the betrothal gifts, and the wedding expenses, and he didn¡¯t dare go through with it. Not to mention, at KongKong they at least paid sries on the 10th every month without fail, which wasmendable. Dismissing this thought, Huang Ping hadn¡¯t yet finished smoking half a cigarette when his phone lit up, and a call from KongKong came through like a death knell. Seeing who the caller was made Huang Ping¡¯s blood pressure soar, but he still answered the phone immediately, only to hear KongKong¡¯s angry roar on the other end: ¡°Where the hell are you? Get your ass back here!¡± Clenching his fists, Huang Ping stared at the phone that had already been hung up, counted to ten silently in his mind, extinguished the half-smoked cigarette on the ground, and then rushed back to the studio. There, the studio lights were on, and his half-dead colleagues were gathered around KongKong. KongKong gave Huang Ping a disapproving nce, pped his hands, and then said, ¡°I¡¯ve just talked with the CEO, and we need to tweak the arena. We previously discussed having a fair arena where yers¡¯ equipment would be identical to increasepetitiveness. But President Zhang said no, revenues from ¡®King¡¯s Dungeon¡¯ are declining, we have to incorporate payments into it.¡± Huang Ping felt as if he had been hit over the head with a hammer, his mind buzzing. Not worrying about possibly angering KongKong, he immediately said, ¡°That¡¯s not what you said at first! Look at the example of ¡®Princess Dungeon¡¯; PVP in these kinds of games is naturally resistant to pay-to-win! Haven¡¯t I analyzed this before? Our game¡¯s other mization aspects are already a bit heavy, adding more here is a dead end!¡± KongKong stared at Huang Ping and asked coldly, ¡°Are you the producer, or am I the producer? What are you, telling me how to do things?¡± Huang Ping felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, rendering him speechless. Ignoring Huang Ping¡¯s objections, KongKong continued, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s revisit this using the paid charging model. We have a temte for it already, thepany has done it before, we just have to follow the example.¡± After assigning tasks to the programmers and the art team, KongKong got everyone up working and then turned to Huang Ping, saying, ¡°Huang Ping, I¡¯ll temporarily take over your job. You just help out with the spreadsheet and put together the UI. Reflect on your work attitude, got it?¡± Huang Ping clenched his fists again and it took him a long while to nod and say ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Fine, go run the game, see if there are any bugs.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± As KongKong left, the nners patted Huang Ping on the shoulder, silently consoling him. And Huang Ping acted as if it was nothing. Patting his pocket, he realized that hisst cigarette was gone, so he went back to pick up the half-smoked one he had extinguished on the ground and put it in his mouth. Lighting it, he drew a deep breath, sucking hard until the half-cigarette waspletely burned out, then he exhaled a dense cloud of smoke and suddenly started tough. KongKong oh KongKong¡­ You¡¯re diggingyour own grave. Chapter 36 - 36 He Seems Like a Person 1 Chapter 36: He Seems Like a Person 1 Trantor: 549690339 | ¡ª A month after ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡± went online, a bombshell news came out of Kongkong Studio. The PVP system for ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡± was about to go live. As the countdown began, advertisements were deployed en masse, preunch events heated up, and real money turned into paid posters and traffic, luring back yers who had abandoned the game and those who had never yed ¡°Princess Dungeon¡± into the game, thus inting the daily active user count once again. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Kongkong Studio grew increasingly tense. KongKong, having taken over all of Huang Ping¡¯s duties, was finally not asfortable as before. Bogged down by both minor and major tasks, his severe overtime work made his once overweight body slim down, yet his temper grew ever hotter. Whether it was because he had been away from the production role for too long, KongKong¡¯s various skills seemed a bit rusty and made coboration all the more troublesome. What gave the employees even more headaches was that he wanted to get involved in every process, yet he would say that nothing felt right. An otherwise ordinary character illustration would be sent back for revisions over a dozen times, only to end up with thement, ¡°Let¡¯s just stick to the first draft.¡± During smoke breaks, the number ofints about KongKong from fellow smokers rose, while Huang Ping merely responded with a smile. He had already foreseen the consequences that the PVPunch would bring. Fortunately, he had a contingency n. The previously fair arena was almostplete and could be quickly revised andunched when needed to recoup some of the losses. Then, a deluge of gifts and packs would be freely distributed, ensuring yers would act as if ¡°nothing happened.¡± Even though the fallout couldn¡¯t bepletely erased, at least some reputation could be salvaged¡ªit was the greatest effort he could make as the former head strategist. Finally, the day of theunch arrived. When the loyal fans of ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡± finished updating and eagerly entered the game to try out the PVP, they were stunned. Some, after their first experience, silently quit, uninstalled, and left without a trace, while others headed to forums, transforming into veteran posters to dere that it was nothing short of a disaster. The arena and the outer PVE were two separate parts, with no connection between them, and yers were shocked to find that weapons and characters in the arena had to be purchased all over again. All weapons and characters were temporary, and some worthless costume actually cost two payments of 648? yers who purchased the pass could only participate in one PVP season, but with each seasonsting a mere two weeks, it meant that yers were getting their wallets trimmed twice a month. There were no rewards in the arena, not even for the first ce. All you got was a useless title of something like ¡°Champion of the Season.¡± What was even more infuriating was that the so-called ¡°fist-to-flesh, blow- by-blow¡± arena advertised turned out to be just an automated animationparing stats! The more you paid, the more formidable you were, and thus, the higher your rank, ending up with a deceitful prize and continuing to be deceived. The excitement of entering the game turned into disappointment, which further transformed into rage! When the enraged yers bombarded the customer service line, Kongkong Studio¡¯s blog lightly announced, ¡°We¡¯re not like some low-cost dungeon cash pigeon games. If you don¡¯t like ying it, then don¡¯t.¡± Although they didn¡¯t name names, it was clear that the ¡°low-cost dungeon cash pigeon game¡± referred to none other than ¡°Princess Dungeon.¡± At that moment, even the most loyal fans were furious. Boosting one and bashing the other was something even many small studios looked down upon, yet Tianyi, a major studio, was engaging in such despicable tactics? Many yers began to log into Bilibili, releasing all sorts ofparative videos on the tform. They posted clips of the automated battle animations, dering this was King¡¯s. Then they showed a thrilling video of intense fighting, like gods battling, and said this was Princess¡¯s. The former required a pass every two weeks, each costing 328. Thetter, a one-time purchase, allowed for endless fun for just 68 yuan. So please tell me, who is low-cost! An overwhelming wave of scathing criticism caused ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡¯s¡± already shaky reputation to copse in an instant. The phenomenon of ¡°game retirement and ount deletion¡± was everywhere on Bilibili, with many hardcore spenders disying their ounts before publicly destroying them. The game¡¯s daily active user count was halved once again, and the PVP system that KongKong had ced high hopes on didn¡¯t even have a single real person ¡ªonly a swarm of bots continuously ying matches. It was truly a digital life, indeed. After querying the current number of online users through the backend, Huang Ping stared at the screen, and surprisingly felt somewhat exhrated. This exhration stemmed from a sense of schadenfreude, with a hint of an ¡°I told you so¡± feeling. However, after the pleasure of others¡¯ misfortune, he organized the documents of the previously fairpetitive arena and then sent them to KongKong. It wasn¡¯t until the afternoon that KongKong called Huang Ping into the office. He had thought that this would be a heart-to-heart discussion, where everyone would reconsider the game¡¯s developmental direction, resolve conflicts, and start afresh. But to Huang Ping¡¯s surprise, not only was KongKong present, but also Tianyi¡¯s boss, Zhang Ping. The presence of the other party took what should have been an internal studio discussion to a whole new level, giving Huang Ping an uneasy premonition. As soon as he entered the office, Huang Ping heard KongKong sincerely say: ¡°Originally, my intention was to create a fairpetitive arena. Look, I have organized the nning documents, and all the environments are ready. However, the chief designer Huang Ping emphasized that increasing revenue was the most important goal of the game, so we had to add more pay-to-win elements. This is the result.¡± Seeing Huang Ping standing at the door like a petrified chicken, KongKong¡¯s expression showed no change, and he casually said to Huang Ping, ¡°Huang, your timing is perfect. Exin to Boss Zhang what you were thinking back then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, just tell the truth. Even though it has caused a major operational incident, it doesn¡¯t matter. As long as you admit your mistake and then we work quickly to adjust, we can still mitigate a lot of the damage.¡± Hearing KongKong¡¯s shameless words, Huang Ping¡¯s ears buzzed, and his mind went nk. How could there be such shameless people in this world! Although he wanted to explode with anger, thinking of all the debts and liabilities he was shouldering, Huang Ping could only force a bitter smile. ¡°Huang.¡± There was no choice, being the scapegoat was part of a designer¡¯s duty, and the sry paid included these responsibilities. ¡°Huang! Are you listening to me?¡± As usual, he¡¯d bow his head, apologize, and then continue to collect his sry and carry on like a zombie. ¡°Huang, let go! Stop fighting! You¡¯ll kill someone if you keep this up!¡± Only then did Huang Pinge to his senses, realizing he was straddling KongKong, his hands covered in blood. Two colleagues were pretending to pull him back, yet Huang Ping didn¡¯t feel a thing. Beneath him, KongKong was beaten to the point of incoherence, blood continuously flowing from his nose like from a faucet that wasn¡¯t closed properly. Upon realizing what he had done, a sense of peace washed over Huang Ping¡¯s heart. All emotions had been vented moments ago, leaving Huang with a stark rity. After wiping the blood from his hands onto his body, he stood up, and said to Zhang Ping in the corner with a livid face, ¡°Boss Zhang, if you check the emails between KongKong and me, you will see our true intentions. It¡¯s my fault this time, but I¡¯m sure you can also find out how KongKong had previously forced overtime. I have evidence of the enforced overtime, and I¡¯ve recorded incidents of KongKong abusing the staff. Let¡¯s just say today¡¯s incident is retribution; let¡¯s all take a step back and call it even.¡± After a pause, Huang Ping looked around at the people present and, with a bowed head, said, ¡°Thank you all for yourpany over these nine years. I deeply regret making such an irrational act at the end. Consider my sry for this month as medicalpensation. Once again, thank you all for your support and encouragement. I¡¯m leaving.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned and left. His steps were slow but steady. The hunch in his back straightened with each step, and atst, he stood erect like a human being, striding out of Tianyi. Chapter 37: Is it convenient to come for an interview?! Chapter 37: Is it convenient toe for an interview?! Trantor: 549690339 Back in the rented room he called home, Huang Ping drank arge can of beer, theny in bed and slept soundly, making up for more than a month of sleep debt. When he awoke, it was already the evening of the next day. Gazing nkly at the familiar yet strange room, it took Huang Ping quite some time to remember that he had resigned. After considering his options, Huang Ping decided to update his resume first. Since his graduation, he had joined Tianyi to learn and work, starting as an executive nner, then moving on to copywriting, system design, numerical nning, and even bing the main nner. It could be said that he was the most versatile person at Tianyi. In nine years, he had participated in most of Tianyi¡¯s projects and, as one of Tianyi¡¯s elite, was sent to Kongkong Studio to contribute to the production of ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡±. But he never expected it would end in a nightmare. After finishing up his resume for this period, he sent it out, then took out his phone, ready to contact former colleagues to see what had followed. As soon as he opened his Fetion, he realized it had blown up. He received a plethora of messages from former colleagues, some of whom had even created a group to share updates on the situation. Kongkong, who had been beaten up, initially insisted on calling the police. However, after President Zhang Ping investigated the matter, a few words were enough to quiet Kongkong down. Some said what Zhang Ping had told Kongkong was, ¡°If you¡¯re not embarrassed by this, I am.¡± Afterward, Kongkongshed out in the project team and sternly warned everyone not to disclose the incident, advising them to deal with it quietly. And ording to Huang Ping¡¯s understanding of Kongkong, it was very likely he would twist the story, ming him for the entire ordeal, and then spread it to other game project leaders. If that were the case, it would be difficult for him to find a satisfying job in the game industry thereafter. But if not in gaming, what else could he do? Looking around the four walls enclosing him, Huang Ping felt impulsive, but even more so, lost. In the darkness, Huang Ping pondered for a long while, then got up, turned on the light, and prepared to clean as a way to switch his mood. He hadn¡¯t returned for half a month, yet the rented room was still spotlessly clean. His girlfriend, whom he had met through a blind date, did not live with him, but she still came over from time to time to help him clean. She was a very sensible girl, five years his junior, and knowing he had been busy at worktely, she made no excessive demands. She only asked that he call her every day for a quick chat. Seeing it was about time, Huang Ping took out his phone and was surprised to hear the ringtoneing from outside the door. He immediately opened the door to see his petite girlfriend standing at the entrance, triumphantly waving a shopping bag at him. ¡°You were still sleeping when I came by earlier, so I didn¡¯t want to wake you. We¡¯re having hot pot tonight; I¡¯ve bought all the ingredients.¡± IIJ II His girlfriend cut him off, smiling as she said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about anything after we¡¯ve had the hot pot. Nothing can¡¯t be solved by a hot pot; if it can¡¯t, then let¡¯s have another round.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He found the induction cooker that had been sitting unused in the cupboard for a while and silently helped his girlfriend prepare everything. Soon, garlic,tro, spring onions, oyster sauce, and sesame oil were all ready, and the ingredients were neatly arranged on the dining table. As the spicy hot pot broth began to boil, they added pigskin and pork brain first, followed by more easily cooked items like luncheon meat, and duck intestines that his girlfriend had specially packed. After moving his chopsticks silently for a while, Huang Ping put down his bowl and looked at his girlfriend across the table and said, ¡°I¡¯ve resigned.¡± Without looking up from wrapping tofu skin with oyster sauce, his girlfriend asked, ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°We¡­ should break up.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°I used my savings for the down payment, and there¡¯s not enough left for the bride price. I need to save to pay the mortgage; we can¡¯t afford to get married, so¡­¡± His girlfriend took a bite of the rolled tofu skin, and after wiping her mouth and hands clean, she took out the savings book she had prepared in advance from her pocket. On the savings book, money had been deposited every month without fail for five years, eventually umting to a hundred thousand yuan. ¡°This is the money I¡¯ve saved since I started working. You can withdraw it tomorrow and use it as a betrothal gift. Resigning will surely be tough, but it¡¯s okay, I still have a job, and I can support you.¡± ¡°We can get a ring online, cubic zirconia looks just like a diamond and nobody can tell the difference. A simple wedding will do, but we still need to host a dinner. We invite one, we serve one, they give a red envelope at the door¡ªno entrance without it.¡± ¡°So, don¡¯t worry about anything when marrying me, just be ready to pay for the taxi to the civil affairs bureau.¡± ¡°Alright, no more crying. I bought some c, you can drink up today.¡± Looking at his girlfriend through tear-blurred eyes, Huang Ping felt that no matter what, he had to hold on to this girl. The next day, Huang Ping began to tirelessly search for job opportunities online, sending out his resume to various ces. Unfortunately, after three days, he had not received a single piece of news. Even when trying to get rmendations through former colleagues, it wasn¡¯t long before they reluctantly informed him that the incident of him assaulting the producer had been blown out of proportion by Kongkong. ording to Kongkong, Huang Ping had made a grave mistake and expressed dissatisfaction with the project team¡¯s overtime schedule. When asked to reflect, he was unrepentant and even talked back to the supervisor. In the gaming industry, 996 is amon urrence. No producer likes a nner who talks back or bes aggressive because of overtime or being scapegoated. After learning about this, Huang Ping could only give a bitter smile and thank them. Everythinges with a price; this was the price for him losing his temper. But he had no regrets; if any, it was only because he hadn¡¯t hit hard enough. He revised his resume, prepared to be ¡°optimized out¡± into society prematurely, and ready to start over as a security guard or a food delivery rider. While he was revising his resume, his phone rang. Seeing the caller¡¯s name, his heart skipped a beat, but he picked up the phone and cautiously asked, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°You resigned?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Such a big decision, howe you didn¡¯t discuss it with me?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t figured out how to tell you.¡± ¡°You always were like this as a child, never telling the family anything. What¡¯s there to be afraid of? Why did you resign?¡± ¡°Too tired, I couldn¡¯t go on.¡± ¡°Alright then, a rest might do you good. I¡¯ve always felt that the boss at yourpany was no good, treating people like animals. What a shame though, I know a friend whose child is also in the gaming industry. I was thinking of asking you to refer him to Tianyi, but that seems impossible now.¡± ¡°Tell me his name and send me his resume. I¡¯ll see if my former colleagues can help rmend him.¡± ¡°Fang Cheng. You haven¡¯t seen the kid, but he¡¯s really handsome.¡± If it were just the same name, Huang Ping might not have reacted. But with thatst description, Huang Ping immediately knew it was that Fang Cheng. His mother¡¯s words lit up a match in the darkness, illuminating Huang Ping¡¯s path forward. Right, why not consider going to Fang Cheng Studio? Previously, he had subconsciously ced Fang Cheng Studio in the position of apetitor, and so he had not thought of approaching them. But now that he had resigned, there was no problem in joining them at all. No sooner said than done, he immediately found Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s job advertisement, sent his resume online, and soon received a reply. ¡°Mr. Huang, would you be avable for an interview tomorrow?¡± Chapter 38: Huang Ping’s Employment Test 1 Chapter 38: Huang Ping¡¯s Employment Test 1 Trantor: 549690339? 7??? ¡ª Fang Cheng Studio. Huang Ping sat anxiously in the reception room, asionally tugging at his cor to catch his breath. He had joined Tianyi right after graduation and hadn¡¯t moved on for nine years, so he didn¡¯t have much experience with interviews. Now he was at his formerpetitor¡¯s ce, naturally feeling some nerves. Since his reputation wasn¡¯t great at the moment, Huang Ping was even prepared to take a pay cut. Not eighteen thousand, not twelve thousand, just ten thousand¡ªtake home a nine-year veteran game nner. While waiting for Fang Cheng, he took the time to observe the surrounding environment. Fang Cheng Studio was expansive. Mr. Shen, the first-generation gaming figure in the country, had tremendous clout, securing an entire floor for the studio on his own. Moreover, Mr. Shen was particrly sought after by the president of Tianyi, who imed that if Mr. Shen joined, Tianyi would definitely provide a studio and not interfere at all. As a proud disciple of Mr. Shen, Fang Cheng proved the adage that a master leads to great apprentices, so it was only logical for him to have ess to so many resources. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before the studio door was pulled open and producer Fang Cheng walked in. Seeing Fang Cheng again, Huang Ping was momentarily dazzled. Not just by Fang Cheng¡¯s appearance but also by his aura. Two highly attractive free games, one with sales exceeding 300,000 and still rising, and three games had established Fang Cheng as a cutting-edge producer, imbuing him with a divine aura. Especially with ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± he didn¡¯t y on nostalgia or pull at heartstrings; rather, he showcased his strength with the game¡¯s quality, proving his mettle as a rare talent in recent years. Standing up, Huang Ping nervously shook hands with Fang Cheng and then took out his resume and portfolio of past works, saying, ¡°Here are my previous works, please offer your guidance.¡± While Huang Ping had nine more years in the industry than Fang Cheng, he didn¡¯t dare put on airs in front of such a dynamic producer. But Fang Cheng just skimmed through them quickly, did some mental calctions, and nodded in satisfaction. Setting the resume aside, Fang Cheng asked, ¡°Mr. Huang, may I know what your previous sry was?¡± Since he had already left, the previous sry confidentiality agreement no longer applied. And in this private setting, Huang Ping wasn¡¯t worried about Fang Cheng sharing the information, so he promptly replied, ¡°Eighteen thousand.¡± ¡°Eighteen thousand, huh¡­¡± Noticing Fang Cheng¡¯s thoughtful look, Huang Ping was about to offer to take a pay cut when he saw Fang Cheng turn to the attractive employee at the door and say, ¡°Xu Qingling, how much is Xiao Douzi¡¯s sry again?¡± ¡°Twelve thousand, why?¡± ¡°Can we increase Xiao Douzi¡¯s sry to thirty-six thousand?¡± ¡°Why would you do that!¡± Xiao Douzi, who was adjusting figures at theputer desk, looked up in astonishment at Fang Cheng. ¡°Because I saw online that when employees jump ship, their sry is supposed to double, right? Mr. Huang was at eighteen thousand before, so it¡¯s normal to double it to thirty-six thousand, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡± Xiao Douzi continued. ¡°The inte says when a new employeees in earning more than existing employees, it hurts the veterans. So, I¡¯ve decided to raise your sry a bit¡ªno issues with that, right?¡± ¡°But you¡¯re talking about something from the inte; can that be considered normal? Xu Qingling, tell the boss not to waste money!¡± ¡°The increase isn¡¯t too much; I think it¡¯s fine,¡± Xu Qingling said, puzzled. ¡°Are you a second-generation rich kid?¡± And just like that, with the addition of a new member, Xiao Douzi¡¯s sry inexplicably doubled. Even though his main ie was still from bonuses, the sudden hike in sry still left Xiao Douziughing for a long time. Even more astonished was Huang Ping. He had been ready to ept a lower sry, only to find it doubled in a matter of minutes. Had Fang Cheng¡¯s reputation not been so prominent, he would have suspected being caught in an inte scam, about to be sent off to some southern country for who knows what. Dizzy, Xu Qingling settled down beside Xiao Douzi, and another employee wee pack was brought over. After drying Spirit Grass into tea leaves and pressing Spiritual Energy into essential oils, Fang Cheng gave two gifts to Huang Ping and then said to him, ¡°Your desk will be next to Xiao Douzi. You¡¯ll be the lead nner, responsible for adjusting the gamey of the new game with Xiao Douzi.¡± ¡°A new game!¡± Huang Ping was shocked, ¡°You all develop games this quickly?¡± ¡°Because the boss made it,¡± Xiao Douzi said earnestly. Looking at the serious Xiao Douzi, Huang Ping was deeply shocked. Having not worked outside for a long time, had the studios out there evolved to this extent? An omnipotent producer, an heir apparent executive, and fanatical statistics followers ¨C why is this studio so weird? Steadying his spirits, Huang Ping waited for Fang Cheng to leave before asking Xiao Douzi, ¡°There are many things I didn¡¯t ask earlier, when do we clock in for work?¡± ¡°Normally, work starts at 9:30 AM and ends at 5 PM, with a break from 12 PM to 1:30 PM. If there¡¯s nothing special, it¡¯s okay to leave during these times. If you¡¯re not in the mood, working from home is also allowed.¡± Huang Ping gasped, ¡°It¡¯s so rxed? Don¡¯t you do overtime?¡± At the mention of ¡°overtime,¡± Xiao Douzi sighed. The familiar response put Huang Ping at ease. After all, which gamepany doesn¡¯t do overtime? Games are basically a mental endeavor; the boss can¡¯t measure by piecework but only by how long employees work to judge if they are diligent. Not to mention, some workers exacerbate the situation, leading to insanepetition, turning old employees to consider overtime hours as a form of honor. Huang Ping¡¯s requirements weren¡¯t high; 996 wasmon, and he could also endure 007. After sighing, Xiao Douzi said gloomily, ¡°No overtime¡­¡± ¡°I knew it¡­ how could there be no overtime? Without it, how could you lot be so fast!¡± ¡°I would like to overtime. Staying beside the boss everyday, admiring his grandeur is my hobby. But¡­ the boss doesn¡¯t allow it.¡± Looking at the despairing Xiao Douzi, Huang Ping felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right with him. ¡°Exactly, exactly.¡± Xu Qingling, the executive, suddenly appeared behind them, ¡°I think every day about how to make up excuses for the boss to do overtime, but he just won¡¯t. With that appearance, wouldn¡¯t staying around for people to admire him longer be a good thing?¡± Comining about the boss can strengthen rtionships among employees. But Huang Ping never knew that the boss not doing overtime could also be a point ofint. While Huang Ping was still stunned, Xu Qingling said to him, ¡°Huang Ping, could you provide me with a bank card number to use as your sry card?¡± ¡°Oh, sure.¡± After providing the card number, it wasn¡¯t long before Huang Ping received a bank notification of a deposit. ¡°[Rong City Bank] Respected customer: Your ount has received a transfer of 36,000 yuan, bnce¡­¡± Upon seeing this message, Huang Ping was numb. Standing up, he ran over to Xu Qjngling and pointed at the message, asking, ¡°Is there a mistake with the money?¡± ¡°No mistake, it¡¯s the boss¡¯s request. He thinks you¡¯re rare talent, and he feels you¡¯ve been a bit short of money recently, so he told me to transfer your sry in advance.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t deduct taxes?¡± Xu Qingling looked at Huang Ping in confusion, ¡°Our sries are all after-tax. Oh, I get it now, I forgot to give you your joining bonus. Sorry, please don¡¯t tell the boss.¡± With an apologetic smile, Xu Qingling transferred another four thousand yuan. Sitting back at his desk, clutching the bank card, Huang Ping touched his waist. Well¡­ A person could live without a kidney, right? Chapter 39 - 39 I Really Am a Good Boss_l Chapter 39: I Really Am a Good Boss_l Trantor: 549690339 Fang Cheng Studio is a legitimate studio; no one would cut corners here. With that reassurance, Huang Ping settled down and got to work. Having gained ess to theputer, Huang Ping downloaded the new game, ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± designated Pz, in the SVN repository. As far as Huang Ping knew, there were only four people in the entirepany. There were no artists; the programming was handled by Fang Cheng, while art was outsourced. After that, Fang Cheng would apply game filters to create the game¡¯s atmosphere. Although Huang Ping already knew Fang Cheng¡¯s games were well-optimized and made excellent use of filters, he was still profoundly shocked when he entered the game. What kind of immortal filter was this! To align with the environment and the theme of ¡°meditation,¡± Fang Cheng boldly used a water-ink style filter, which infused the game¡¯s graphics with a sense of immortality and vitality. With wide-open eyes, he stared at the screen from the moment he entered the game, as if he had been transported to another world, witnessing majestic sights. Wind was fluttering, clouds were rolling, and violent natural disasters appeared and disappeared with incredible speed, stripping vegetation from the ground and scattering their own flesh and bone. But in the next moment, all things revived, flowers grew rapidly along the ground, and the previously exposed earth was instantly enveloped in greenery, returning to a scene of vibrant naturalpetition. In just a few minutes, he felt the passage of time, with a sense of vicissitude that each frame could be captured and used as a screensaver. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± For those few minutes, Huang Ping stared nkly at the screen, his linguistic abilities rapidly regressing to the point where he could only repeat, ¡°Holy shit.¡± Finding it hard toe back to his senses, he gasped for air. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he looked over at Fang Cheng, who was pondering nearby, and finally understood why Xiao Douzi admired the man so much. With such a great immortal by his side, he too would be willing to pay homage every day, just for a touch of that immortal aura. Xiao Douzi, who was sitting nearby, watched Huang Ping¡¯s reaction with pride and then whispered, ¡°Try controlling the character; it¡¯s even more exhrating.¡± Huang Ping¡¯s eyes widened as he asked, ¡°It gets even better?¡± ¡°Yes, and when you understand the true gamey, it will be even more thrilling,¡± Xiao Douzi assured him. ¡°Noway?¡± Swallowing hard, Huang Ping finally tried controlling the character. The smooth feel of control made goosebumps break out all over his body, and he kept taking sharp breaths. Although Fang Cheng might not have realized it, the tactile experience he provided had gotten increasingly impressive. The early control feel of ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡± was already quite smooth. ¡°Towards Death and Life,¡± the 3D tformer, had markedly improved. ¡°Princess Dungeon¡± had nearly perfected the experience, but ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± was simply sublime. Four games had brought the feel to an inconceivable level; only a genius could achieve such a foundation. The game requiredbined keyboard and mouse operations, and whether the character was moving or using Cultivation Techniques, everything flowed so smoothly that it was tingling. When Huang Ping personally experienced the effects of meditation, the Cultivation Techniques, and the Gang Wind, it was as if something in his mind lit up. He trembled with excitement as if the main and coteral channels within him had been unblocked. ¡°Battle royale?¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Xiao Douzi confirmed, ¡°It¡¯s battle royale. I guess the boss got the inspiration from the PvP in ¡®Princess Dungeon¡¯ and then derived the battle royale gamey from it. That¡¯s why he was able to develop it so quickly. By reusing the original game¡¯s features, he created a new game. That¡¯s our boss for you.¡± This approach didn¡¯t just double-dip; it was a session and refinement of gamey, which also showed Huang Ping the semnce of industrialization in gaming. There are already examples of gaming industrialization abroad. For instance, Ubisoft games have this trait; when one of their games encounters a bug, the others are bound to exhibit the same bug¡ªan undeniable indication of code reuse. Under industrial conditions, a game can be developed quickly through the reuse of code and other elements, saving a significant amount of time and lowering game production costs. However, that question is still a long way off, and what Huang Ping needs to consider at the moment is how to make the game more fun. He started testing the game and became more and more excited. Every time he had an idea, he would stop to discuss it with Xiao Douzi and then continue ying with even more ideas. Thanks to the game¡¯s excellent engine and physical environment, Huang Ping found that all the features he wanted could be realized in the game, which treated his ideas gently and indulgently, like a tender woman, epting them all, and even improving on them. Every cell in his body was celebrating; his brain felt as if it had been massaged, with inner climaxes bursting like fireworks, driving him to an unstoppable excitement. The day flew by quickly, and by five in the afternoon, his notebook was filled with ideas. Even now, he was still so pumped up that he couldn¡¯t stop. That exhrating sensation, the feeling of cheering for every idea, he hadn¡¯t experienced it in a long time. After bing the main nner, Huang Ping¡¯s daily task had been to look at the backend, the data, various reports, and then integrate various profit points. The gamey was no longer his concern; the payment rate and conversion rate were. Where yers dropped off, why this step could increase yer retention¡ª these things, unrted to gamey, were his focal points, not what made the game fun. At this moment, he finally rediscovered the original passion that brought him into the gaming industry, a passion that immersed him so deeply he couldn¡¯t extricate himself. Therefore, when Fang Cheng announced it was time to get off work and go home to enjoy life, Huang Ping immediately shouted, ¡°Boss, I want to work overtime a little longer, you go ahead.¡± ¡°Our studio refuses unnecessary overtime, no excuses.¡± ¡°Have a heart, boss! I¡¯ll pay for the electricity, I¡¯ll pay for the wear and tear on the desk and chairs, just let me work overtime, please!¡± Huang Ping pleaded with a whine in his voice. Facing Huang Ping¡¯s earnest plea, Fang Cheng replied in a calm but upromising tone: ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a matter of principle. You can take your time, I¡¯m really not in a hurry.¡± ¡°But I am! I can¡¯t be at peace until this game is released! Or, I can copy it and take it home, work on it slowly there.¡± ¡°Oh, you just reminded me.¡± Fang Cheng looked thoughtfully at Xiao Douzi, ¡°Lately I feel the progress on the numbers is a bit ahead; it must be Xiao Douzi taking work home. ording to the studio¡¯s regtions, I¡¯mgivingyouaday off.¡± ¡°Boss, you can¡¯t do this to me!¡± Xiao Douzi cried out in protest. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s happily decided then. Let¡¯s call it a day; everyone go home.¡± Forcing everyone out, Fang Cheng replenished the spiritual energy in the office¡¯s essential oils and watered his Spirit Grass in the tea room. Looking at the Spirit Grass that had been trimmed but was sprouting anew, Fang Cheng smiled in satisfaction. That¡¯s how you should treat your staff¡ªwith gentleness. I really am a good boss. On the other hand, Huang Ping, who had just left thepany, felt an overwhelming sense of loss and finally understood why Xu Qingling and Xiao Douzi hadined about not working overtime. Boss, by what right do you deprive me of the freedom to work overtime! At that moment, his phone rang. After answering, his girlfriend asked with concern, ¡°Pingping, how was your first day at work?¡± ¡°Not great.¡± ¡°Did you meet another KongKong?¡± ¡°No, the boss won¡¯t let us work overtime.¡± Staring at her phone, the girlfriend wondered if something was wrong with her soon-to-be husband. Are you even speaking humannguage? Chapter 40 - 40 Swept Awayl Chapter 40: Swept Awayl Trantor: 549690339 At eight o¡¯clock the next morning, Huang Ping was already waiting outside the studio. When Fang Cheng arrived and opened the door, Huang Ping couldn¡¯t wait toe in, turn on theputer, take his seat in one go, and meanwhile brewed some tea before he started his work for the day. The day before, Huang Ping had just started his job and received a reward of forty thousand yuan, instantly relieving his financial pressure. But what was even more surprising was the tea and essential oils from yesterday. The tea leaves looked a bit like dried chives, but a small amount brewed in hot water emanated a fragrant aroma. A small pinch was enough for arge pot of tea, and you could add water four or five times before the tea vor began to fade. The taste of the tea was refreshing. After drinking it for a while, a delicate sweetness lingered in the mouth, and his mind became exceptionally sharp. Even Huang Ping, who was not fond of tea, grew to like it. Once he was ready, he was about to start working when he heard Fang Cheng say, ¡°Huang Ping, you don¡¯t need toe so early in the future. It¡¯s okay to sleep a bit more at home.¡± ¡°Boss, work has be my hobby.¡± ¡°Find a better hobby. Working all the time will only harm you.¡± Huang Ping nodded nomittally, but in his heart, he was thinking about how he could stay at work a little longer. If he could get lunch done in ten minutes, he should be able to save eighty minutes. Giving up smoking would save another forty minutes a day. Having arge water cup would save a bit of time fetching water. And finally, by getting a pack of adult diapers¡­ Huang Ping¡¯s wandering thoughts stopped abruptly as the game started, then he immersed himself in the game time and began constantly drafting documentation for the game system. Immersed in his favorite work, Huang Ping felt time flew by. Three dayster, on Thursday morning, Huang Ping looked at the documentation he hadpleted with satisfaction, thinking to himself how incredibly skilled he had be at drafting documents. Although the game didn¡¯t need too many systems, most were focused on details adjustment. But having finished the rted documents so quickly still surprised him. Fang Cheng Studio didn¡¯t allow overtime, but Huang Ping felt his work efficiency was surprisingly high, even double or triple that of his time at Tianyi. But thinking about it, it made sense. At Tianyi, he had always assumed he would work overtime, so he was prepared with various strategies to ck off from the start. Even during the times when overtime was at its worst, he would find all sorts of ways to skive off. Having a cigarette every hour was normal, hiding in the bathroom for half an hour when others weren¡¯t looking was a basic skill, minimizing the interface window to read a novel was routine, and he had even seen a nner pretend to be working on a spreadsheet while actually writing a novel in Excel. But at Fang Cheng Studio, he had no desire to ck off at all. The nners¡¯ proactive initiative flourished with the stimtion of interest and sry, and the policy of no overtime made him strive to make every second count, which ultimately resulted in a significant boost in efficiency. In three days, he had crafted his own proposal. Combining his understanding of Fang Cheng Studio, he adopted a buyout plus micro-transaction system, where yers who buy the game would only need to purchase a pass each month to meet most of their resource needs. Of course, big spenders couldvish unbegrudgingly, with no cap on spending. yers could still obtain all rewards without spending, but it would take a long time. However, the longer they yed, the more desperate they would be, thus more likely to pay. Plus, the game itself required a purchase, meaning this portion of yers inherently had the potential to pay. Before they were caught by subsequent paid features, the average spender could contribute around 600 yuan. Based on the sales of ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± the revenue from this game could potentially break a billion yuan. Pleased with his work, Huang Ping flexibly moved his fingers before sending the document to Fang Cheng. After receiving the document, Fang Cheng opened it and read through carefully, then nodded. As expected of a nner with nine years of experience, the proposal wasprehensive and could serve as a model in a training center. He also made a schedule based on timeline, as well as future functional nning, even considering production and testing time for various systems. However, what puzzled Fang Cheng was that the other party seemed to have added quite a lot of conflict andpetitive content to the ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± gamey he wanted, but Quiet Cultivation was still an important part. So those additions were not of concern. There was only one aspect that left Fang Cheng somewhat dissatisfied, and after some calction and extraption, Fang Cheng even felt that this part made the game less fun to y. Ten minutester, Fang Cheng called Huang Ping over, then pointed to Huang Ping¡¯s n and asked, ¡°Is this payment model fun to y with?¡± This question stumped Huang Ping. He had prepared himself for questions about the payment philosophy or inquiries about cash flow, but he had not expected Fang Cheng to directly ask him whether it was ¡°fun toy.¡± Could a payment model be described as fun? Isn¡¯t it better the more one pays? Huang Ping pondered for a moment, then seriously said, ¡°The payment model can¡¯t be described as fun. The microtransaction model I¡¯ve adopted is designed to keep yers constantly in a state of craving and dissatisfaction, so that after they purchase the game itself, they will continue to spend more to increase revenue.¡± ¡°So, the fun in this process isn¡¯t because of the game itself, but because spending money brings additional convenience. Can I understand it that way?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Spending money can often bring happiness, so what unique pleasures does this game offer? Moreover, since the wealthy are in the minority, doesn¡¯t your proposed model actually create a lot of unhappy people, who then be the source of happiness for a very small number? Is that correct?¡± After thinking it over for a long time, Huang Ping faltered and said, ¡°That¡¯s correct, but my main consideration was the revenue.¡± ¡°I see, so you made it this way not for it to be fun, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­¡± ¡°Then, is it really necessary for the game?¡± At that moment, Huang Ping had an epiphany. Looking at Fang Cheng before him, Huang Ping only wanted to say one thing: what a grand vision. No wonder he had seeded. The only standard to measure a game should be its fun factor, but he had been at Tianyi for too long, blinded by the dust, and the various aggressive mization tactics had made him forget his original intention. He took a deep breath and said to Fang Cheng, ¡°Thank you, boss. I¡¯ll go back and make changes.¡± ¡°Okay, take your time. Think it through beforeing back to me.¡± Watching Huang Ping leave with determination, Fang Cheng nodded in satisfaction. This young man could be taught. By that afternoon, Huang Ping presented another version, making fun the sole standard for his game design. Although a few settings still did not feel fun to Fang Cheng, as long as the essential element of ¡°meditation¡± remained, Fang Cheng felt that the game would not go astray. After running a simtion, Fang Cheng found that the annoying part of the n had disappeared, and the rest seemed fine. Satisfied, he swiftly granted Huang Ping and Xiao Douzi full permissions to team up and design the gamey. As a ¡°programmer,¡± he then began to adjust the game ording to Huang Ping¡¯s requirements, tweaking the Heavenly Dao Laws of the corresponding world to align with Huang Ping¡¯s vision. Half a monthter, the test version of ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± wasplete. Since the game was a test version, Huang Ping suggested not charging for it yet, but instead offering the test as a free Early ess version on the Steam tform for testing, with ns to charge once the official version was out. At the same time, the Early ess version also served as a form of advertising, facilitating yer-driven promotion in anticipation of the game¡¯s official release. With a rather indifferent concept of money and the studio¡¯s ample cash flow, Fang Cheng readily agreed. The test version ess was distributed via activation codes, and yers who had purchased ¡°Princess Dungeon¡± could apply for and obtain an activation code for free through the Steam page of ¡°Quiet Cultivation.¡± The first batch of activation codes totaled 10,000, which Fang Cheng thought would be sufficient, but he underestimated the yers¡¯ enthusiasm. In just three hours. 9,999 activation codes had all been imed. Chapter 41 - 41 Wang’s Experience :! Chapter 41: Wang¡¯s Experience :! Trantor: 549690339 Seeing the interface prompt disying ¡°Activation codes have all been imed,¡± Wang Say Games sighed and muttered to himself that he waste. He had recorded videos toote into the night yesterday, and by the time he woke up, it was already afternoon, just missing the window to im an activation code. In his fan group, Wang Say Gamesmented helplessly, ¡°Ten thousand activation codes were imed in just three hours¡ªhow enthusiastic can you all be? Whoever got an activation code, could you please lend it to me? I¡¯ll return it right after I record a video.¡± Wang¡¯srge group had thousands of members, each one a dedicated fan; swapping ount details was amon urrence. He had assumed that out of the thousands, at least a few would have gotten an activation code, but after his request, all he got back were confused replies. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t manage to grab one.¡± ¡°I¡¯m starting to suspect there were never any activation codes to begin with. Otherwise, why hasn¡¯t a single screenshot surfaced? This is a scam; I¡¯m going to file aint!¡± Looking at his boiling fans, Wang too felt something was amiss. Could it really have been just fake news? Such incidents were not umon, with some studios faking the development of a game to draw in early purchases or deceive major investors, only to abscond with the funds once they had enough. After all, the gaming industry in China was only governed by ¡°Interim Management Measures for Electronic Games,¡± which is far less stringent than other countries on a legal level, causing the sector to be rife with disorder. However, Wang did not believe Fang Cheng was the type to scam for money; otherwise, he would have packaged his games for sale long ago¡ªwhy bother with all this? After some thought, Wang browsed other tforms looking to purchase an activation code, but the prices made him gasp in shock. The test was only for seven days, yet an activation code was selling for a whopping 2100, and the number was still dropping. That broke down to burning 300 a day on the game, where even taking a bathroom break was disrespectful to money. Torn, and seeing the number of activation codes dwindling, Wang was just about to grudgingly make a purchase when a message from his good friend Living Immortal popped up. ¡°Activation code: [pn32827382111231], for ¡®Quiet Cultivation.¡¯ I got one for you.¡± Seeing the message, Wang¡¯s eyes brimmed with tears. In times like these, good immortals were still plentiful. But what did he mean by getting one? Immortal, did you really take up my advice and join Fang Cheng¡¯s team? Without the time to ask more, Wang boastfully called out in the group, ¡°Sorry, folks, but someone just gave me an activation code. I¡¯m off to experience the game¡ªI¡¯ll let you knowhowit goes when I¡¯m back.¡± After his announcement, he left behind a group of fans cursing him for being inconsiderate and happily went off to y his game. Entering the activation code and downloading the game, Wang nodded at the 1GB size, thinking to himself that this was more like it. The size also filled Wang with great anticipation, and he immediately entered the game. Instead of the usual straightforward entry into the game, this time there was an opening animation¡ªand the quality was high. The scene opened with a strong gust of wind sweeping over, causing all things to wither. But the next second, as the Gang Wind dissipated, the vegetation quickly grew back, the earth regained its vitality, and variously shaped character statues descended from the skies, transforming into human forms with solemn expressions as they eyed one another. The next moment, the clouds in the sky suddenly dispersed and invisible giant hands tore the white clouds apart, then merged them into different locations, creating spots shimmering with white light. Upon discovering these locations, the characters sprang into action. Those who entered these spots first were either suddenly d in golden armor or held thunderbolts in their hands. A range of powerful moves were unleashed, perfectly aligning with Wang¡¯s vision of Cultivators, making him wonder if the CGI team really did have experience as Immortals. Several characters began to engage in fierce battle, and as they entered meditation points more frequently, the subsequent fights grew more heated and exciting, giving Wang a thrilling sensation. Just watching the CG made Wang¡¯s heart surge with excitement, itching to jump into the fray for a whopping three hundred rounds. When atst, only two characters remained, shing with earth -shattering moves, the entire scene settled into tranquility, and the name of the game finally emerged: ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡±. Seeing this name, Wang couldn¡¯t help but think it was so typical of you. The name had nothing to do with the content of the game, except for Fang Cheng; no one else could be behind it. And the tagline beneath the name was filled with a wicked sense of humor. ¡°The first domestic cultivation and meditation game¡ªFang Cheng Studio.¡± Holding his head, Wang felt Fang Cheng was having one of his episodes again. I¡¯m not blind; the CG clearly shows a battle royale game¡ªwho are you trying to fool? A perfectly good fantasy battle royale game, and you call it a cultivation and meditation game, as if you¡¯re afraid others won¡¯t realize your questionable taste in naming? However, generally speaking, games made by Fang Cheng are all about the name, tags, and description images; you have to actually y them to know what they¡¯re like. Clicking ¡°Start,¡± he entered the game, which led to the character creation process. The detailed facial customization wasn¡¯t avable yet, so yers could only choose from four characters: Sword Immortal, Heavenly Soldier, Ape Demon, and Ming General. Different characters had distinct movements, handling, and weapons, and each weapon determined a different attack style. Unlike previous games, ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± clearly had a specialist adjust the camera angles, the UI cement, and tutorials¡ªand this person was skilled. Every button and guide appeared right where Wang needed them, allowing him to grasp the basics of each character within minutes. The Sword Immortal was graceful, with the fastest movements, wielding the Flying Sword to vanquish enemies, although controlling it was the most challenging; the Flying Sword dealt high damage but left the user defenseless once thrown, not suited for casual yers. The Heavenly Soldier had bnced attributes all-around, with an innate burst capability that could explode with damage for five seconds, but would then enter a weakened state for a period. The Ape Demon started off as a small monkey, but as it meditated more frequently, it becamerger and stronger in all aspects¡ªa powerful choice for thete game. The Ming General excelled in moving through shadows, a master of stealth and assassination; however, as other yers grew in strength, it became less formidable, a character that needed to take risks early on. Looking at these four characters, Wang felt as though they were alive, each hair meticulously modeled, a testament to Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s consistently formidable technical prowess. It¡¯s just a pity there¡¯s too much masculine energy and not enough charm,cking a few female characters to lighten the mood. Hopefully, the studio will take note and bnce the yin and yang, showing that women can also hold up half the sky. Choosing the Ape Demon, he counted down to the start of the game. Wang watched his character¡¯s statue rise from the ground, then with a fierce shake, the stone chips burst apart, and transformed into a monkey wielding a staff, leaping to the ground. Brushing the dust off his body, the smooth actions made Wang feel as though he was truly controlling a monkey, the meticulous movements impressing him greatly. At the same time, he was astonished by the surroundingndscape, painted with a brushstroke of ink-wash colors. The opening animation wasn¡¯t CG, but actual in-game footage! Although many games im to showcase real-time gamey, there¡¯s usually some tweaking involved, yet Fang Cheng, with your bold and unwavering resolve, actually used game footage for the animation, tantly challenging the unspoken rules of the industry. After admiring the view, Wang contentedly gripped the mouse and keyboard, ready to take control. But as soon as he began, he inwardly eximed, crap. There was no going back. Chapter 42 - 42 Ape Demon Subdued_l Chapter 42: Ape Demon Subdued_l Trantor: 549690339 As a former professional yer (self-proimed), Wang yed a plethora of games, and his hand for gaming had be instinctive, to the point he could immediately tell which game a knockoff was imitating after ying it for a while. Therefore, when he felt the indescribably delightful handling of the game, Wang realized that inferior 3D games would no longer catch his eye. The tactile experience wasn¡¯t even in the same league, it was like being ustomed to subpar burgers and then suddenly being served a supreme abalone soup, the dimensionality reduction strike of the taste highlighted the mediocrity of most other games and made it difficult for him, now used to this hand feel, to y those inferior games again. Normal yers might not notice such details, but once they get used to ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± ying some other games would soon bring a sense of difort, which in turn would give them an inkling that something was off. ¡°Dimensionality Reduction Strike, this is,¡± he mused. The thought that this was still only the beta version made Wang uncontrobly anticipate its perfected form, believing it would definitely stir up a maelstrom in the current battle royale scene. No, it was already capable now. Because he had been admiring the scenery and familiarizing himself with the feel of the game, Wang hadn¡¯t been able to secure any meditation spot. When he came to his senses, he noticed the sky had changed color, chaotic streams snaking through the air like sinister dragons. Recalling the scene from the opening animation, Wang frowned, ¡°Gang Wind¡­¡± Gang Wind was a fixed natural disaster in the game, appearing automatically after a certain period of time. If yers managed to seize a meditation spot, their powerful bodies could withstand the Gang Wind and ovee this cmity. But if they failedtodoso, they would need to flee the Gang Wind, and this process left them vulnerable to being sniped by other characters, often resulting in death by their opponents¡¯ tactics. Moreover, the Gang Wind would grow stronger over time, and even yers who had greatly progressed would perish beneath it. This mechanic made the game¡¯s pace very fast from the start and encouraged yers to fiercely vie for meditation spots, promoting active direct confrontation. Understanding this, Wang no longer fled and let the Gang Wind blow his character to smithereens, then started to think. ¡°Interesting,¡± he said. Restarting the game, this time Wang chose a strong early-game character, the Ming General. Compared to the weaker early-game Ape Demon, the Ming General¡¯s early game was much morefortable. Being able to swiftly move through the shadows of objects, he could quickly approach and slit an opponent¡¯s throat undetected, and if the opponent had no defense cultivation technique, they would be facing certain death. Additionally, after killing an opponent he could snatch their soul to recover his own health or even enhance his attributes, making him an exceptionally aberrant character. But poweres at a cost, the Ming General was a dead war general from the Underworld, and walking in the world of the living consumed Yin Qi. Without soul snatching, his health and attributes would gradually decline until he restored them by taking souls. After controlling him for a while, Wang felt the handling of the Ming General was truly amazing. Prowling, assassinating, then prowling again¡ªafter every hide, the switch to a ck-and-white world would instantaneously immerse him into the perspective of the Ming General; the strong feedback from each assassination stimted Wang¡¯s nerves wave after wave, leaving him unable to stop. As per the game¡¯s setting, every character was a resurrected statue, so there was no blood upon death, only mud that sttered. But ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± is perverse in that it created up to a thousand types of death animations, and they would vary ording to the manner of being killed. These states made death non-gory yet exceptionally realistic. Not only that, Wang also discovered that in this game, the real environment system came into y¡ªthe vegetation wasn¡¯t ced arbitrarily but could be destroyed, manipted, and even some spells could use these items to achieve even more powerful effects. Terrifying attention to detail made the entire world feel more real and allowed yers to immerse themselves more easily. Because most cultivation techniques were automatically targeted,bat was no longer just about skill alone, but also about understanding the techniques, characters, and environment. Oveing stronger opponents was still not easy, but when it happened, Wang couldn¡¯t help but cheer exuberantly. Not to mention the feedback from acquiring meditation spots; high-level spots could even qualitatively change one¡¯s fighting style, making Wang look forward to meditating. Three hourster, having finally won a battle royale with the Ming General, Wang couldn¡¯t suppress his celebration, jumping up and down like a monkey in his room for a good while before calming down. Sitting in his chair, he watched the Ming General¡¯s final settlement screen, his heart racing at an elevated rate, dopamine surging wildly through his body, plunging him into seemingly endless ecstasy. After quieting down, he rubbed his fingers, feeling it was time to show off to his buddies in the group chat. But looking at the other three characters avable for selection, he hesitated. If the Ming General feels this good, how exhrating might the other characters be? Within three seconds, he had ditched his fans and chosen to start the game with the beautiful Heavenly Soldiers. Heavenly Soldiers, that was another experience altogether. Though they seemed standard and unremarkable in every aspect, once their true form was unleashed, the umted ndness turned into pure exhration in an instant. Ignoring controls, health skyrocketed, and a great enhancement in all attributes allowed Heavenly Soldiers to rival the Gods within five seconds, making Wang understand what ¡°five-second real man¡± meant. And meditating afterwards could strengthen the effect of the true form and extend its duration, which made Wang prioritize meditation and continuously fight for meditation spots based on the situation of each round. With his previous experience, Wang seeded in a two-hour chicken dinner. A massive sense of achievement washed over him, making him forget all about his buddies and start experimenting with the Ape Demon. In the early game, Ape Demons were weak, slow-moving, and without much in the way of tactics; they could only lie in wait and slowly approach the meditation spots. But once they had umted the power of two meditation spots, their overall strength began to climb rapidly, and after five, they could look down upon all other yers, even forcefully snatching meditation spots from others¡¯ spells and emerging from retreat to continue their ughter. Their moves were ferociously limitless, their physical bodies swift as dragons; once mature, Ape Demons strode forth unstoppably, treating Gang Wind as nothing. Their staff, like a key stand, stirred the winds and clouds of the world, ying the thousands of demons. ¡°Ah¡­ exhrating!¡± Roaring with delight in the game, Wang could hear the Ape Demon¡¯s domineering aura which overlooked all heroes; a fervor surged in his own chest, yearning to be released. There were only two yers left in this game. Among the cultivation techniques he acquired, there was one that couldn¡¯t increase his strength but allowed him to see the location of his enemies after use. Having located the final yer, he stepped forward boldly, a Monkey dashing along the mountain path swiftly, determined to cut down hisst opponent. When he arrived at the destination, Wang saw his final opponent, a Sword Immortal. This discovery made him pause for a moment. Hours of gamey taught him that Sword Immortals were the most challenging of the four sses. All their cultivationy in a single Flying Sword, which could protect them with Sword Qi when close by, but when attacking, the Flying Sword had to be sent out, leaving thempletely defenseless; an early-game Ape Demon could finish them off with a single swing of the staff. Althoughter in the game they could increase the number of Flying Swords to a maximum of three, the swords required manual aiming, unlike other spells that could lock onto the target. Engaging inbat meant taking into ount the opponent¡¯s position and speed, making it very difficult to hit the target. That is to say, once a Sword Immortal attacked, one of us was bound to die. The Sword Immortal who hadsted until the end must have some tricks up his sleeve, but he couldn¡¯t possibly be Wang¡¯s match. After estimating the direction and gauging the distance, Wang suddenly let out a roar, raising his staff and charging towards the Sword Immortal who was still meditating. The massive staff was about to crush the opponent into ash when he saw a sh of sword light, like a scorching sun growing everrger, rushing straight towards him. So fast! With no time to dodge, Wang was engulfed by the brilliant light, and the Ape Demon was vanquished, leaving behind only the serene Sword Immortal. So cool! Staring nkly at his opponent¡¯s final move, Wang didn¡¯t win the round, but he was thoroughly impressed. To die at the hands of such an impressive Sword Immortal was a wish fulfilled. ¡°This yer is really amazing,¡± Wang sighed, ¡°another round, and I¡¯m going to try Sword Immortal too!¡± ¡°These yers really have issues.¡± Inside Fang Cheng Studio, Fang Cheng watched the screen, perplexed. They¡¯re not meditating properly and grasping its essence; instead, they¡¯re fighting everywhere. What are you all doing? Is fighting fun? Chapter 43 - 43 This studio is too diligent_l Chapter 43: This studio is too diligent_l Trantor: 549690339 Unlike Fang Cheng, who waspletely baffled, Xiao Douzi and Huang Ping were already deeply engrossed in the game. For Huang Ping, this was the easiest beta test he had ever participated in. In past tests, programmers, artists, and nners all had to keep a watchful eye on the process. A massive flood of bugs would swarm in, putting everyone on high alert. But with ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡±¡­ What¡¯s a bug? They even set up a yer group specifically for bug reports, but so far, not a single piece of feedback hade through. As unbelievable as it was, Huang Ping had to admit that this game seemed to be bug-free. Not only was it quickly made, but every feature was perfectly implemented, the gamey was smooth without anyg, it had been running without a bug sinceunch, and the framerate consistently stayed above 120. Such formidable capability, in any otherpany, would have the CEO kneeling for a couple of knocks, with nners camping out by someone¡¯s door just for the privilege of hitching a ride to work. Huang Ping didn¡¯t understand why things were this way, but when he thought about it being Fang Cheng¡¯s handiwork, it somehow seemed to make sense. People who are both handsome and talented just have a way of making even the most preposterous things seem normal. During a break in the game, Huang Ping stopped to have a sip of tea, then looked at Fang Cheng, who was nearby, frowning in deep thought. His brow was filled with wisdom, his gaze sparked with the light of stars, and though he didn¡¯t know what the boss was pondering, it surely was something beyond his ownprehension. After a while, he saw Fang Cheng lookup and ask, ¡°Huang Ping, do you think it¡¯s fun for yers to fight each other?¡± Huang Ping didn11 know why Fang Cheng was asking, but he honestly replied, ¡°It¡¯s quite fun, yeah.¡± ¡°Then do you think, if we stopped yers from fighting each other, could it still be fun? If we had them unite, could that be fun too?¡± Hearing this, Huang Ping¡¯s brow furrowed. What did the boss mean by that? To earn his wage, and to do justice to this extraordinary game, Huang Ping started racking his brain, thinking hard. When he was forcibly sent home from the office in the afternoon, he had an epiphany! The boss wanted to introduce unfairpetition! The current ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± could totally support the conditions for unfairpetition, designating one yer as the ultimate boss with full mastery over the Cultivation Techniques, thus achieving an unfair state. The other yers would have to join forces to defeat the yer acting as the Heavenly Demon, cooperating to ovee the enemy. This wasn¡¯t difficult to implement, but it could greatly enhance the game¡¯s yability, offering yers a variety of choices. And as long as it was properly adjusted, it could allow for a nearly 50% chance of victory, making half of the yers happy each game, and all yers content after two rounds. True to form of the boss, always prioritizing the yers¡¯ enjoyment above all! The next day, Huang Ping arrived at the office and immediately drafted a proposal. Xiao Douzi bnced the numbers, and on the third day, it was implemented. By the afternoon, everyone had experienced the new gamey, ¡°The Descent of the Heavenly Demon.¡± Four characters corresponded to four types of Heavenly Demons, each possessing unimaginably powerful abilities. The ny-nine other yers needed to work together to defeat the Heavenly Demon. The incredibly fast update speed astonished the yers. We haven¡¯t even figured out thest mode, and you¡¯ve already updated? Such a diligent gamepany, truly lovable. But we do have a modest request, could you add female characters? No ulterior motives, just seeking bnce between yin and yang, it¡¯s the right path to cultivation after all. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng believed Huang Ping had understood his intentions, hence the addition of these features. But after everything was implemented, he found yers fighting even more fiercely. After ying the Heavenly Demon Sword Immortal a few times, Fang Cheng, mowing down the yers like chives with wave after relentless wave, fell into contemtion. in his original n, whether it was the effects of the Cultivation Technique or changes in the environment, they were all meant to be mere embellishments to meditation. yers, no matter how they yed, would eventually return to meditation, beginning toprehend the true wonders of it. But now, it seems that yers have been led astray by external things, losing their true purpose, which in the past could be considered falling into the path of demons. After much thought, Fang Cheng found Huang Ping and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that yers¡¯ destructive power after meditating is too strong, causing them to overlook many things? Should we not restrict the gains from meditation to make yers less powerful?¡± Hearing these words, Huang Ping frowned. What does the boss mean by this? He started to think again, to meditate on this; he sipped his tea as he gazed into the distance, having abandoned cigarettes, which would interfere with his game development; now his mind was filled only with his boss¡¯s hints. After being forced out of the studio when the clock struck the hour, he had an epiphany as he watched the distant sunset. I¡¯ve got it! On the fourth day of work, he rushed to thepany non-stop, drafting ns in the morning, configuring values at noon, and implementing them in the afternoon, rolling out the game one second before closing time. That very night, all the yers in the test server yed the new version, Miniature Mode. All yers became very small, and their cultivation techniques caused minimal damage to the environment. In this mode, the influence of the environment became incredibly intense; yers had to actively dodge Gang Wind, but at the same time, they could use the realistic environment system to perform even more interestingbinations of moves. The burning effects became more impressive, some carnivorous nts turned into terrifying monsters, and insects with strong vitality in the bushes became another formidable force. In a fairy-tale-like world where death and challenge coexisted, the game took on new changes. In Miniature Mode, meditation was not as important, and yers were more about using the environment to trap each other, making group fights even more fun. Two new modes in four days-such a diligentpany is truly lovable. However, we still have a humble request; when will the female characters arrive? White hair with red eyes is fine, ck long-haired beauty is fine too, we can¡¯t wait to be in by the Heavenly Demon ¡®Big Sister¡¯! Seeing the yers enjoying themselves even more, Fang Cheng was speechless. He pondered all night and then found Huang Ping on the fifth day of testing. ¡°What if we extend the meditation time and enhance its effects, do you think that would be fun? ¡± This time, without needing to reflect on it deeply, Huang Ping understood Fang Cheng¡¯s idea and gave him a resolute look. Don¡¯t worry, boss, I get you. He started drafting documents, had Xiao Douzi work on the values, produced documents by morning, tested in the afternoon, and updated the new system on the sixth day. Team mode is out! Groups of four yers formed teams, with no restrictions on the members races. In this mode, meditation time was lengthened, and meditating yers could not engage in any activity and became very vulnerable; the other three yers had to use various methods to protect their teammate during this time, waiting for them to emerge and wreak havoc. At the same time, the battlefield expanded to amodate hundreds of teams fighting simultaneously. The battlefield would shrink rapidly with times¡¯ passing, making meditation a high-risk, high-reward team activity. Seeing such diligent update speeds, yers were astonished. Three modes updated in six days, is thispany run by immortals or what? While you¡¯re diligent, we still hope for the addition of female characters. If white hair with red eyes is a problem, how about animal-eared lolitas? We¡¯re really not just a bunch of old lechers¡­ okay, we are! Give us female characters now, immediately, right now! Don¡¯t force us to kneel and beg you! Seeing this response, Fang Cheng was speechless. Why- Why do you all enjoy fighting so much? Chapter 44: Hang in There, Wang!_l Chapter 44: Hang in There, Wang!_l Trantor: 549690339 Game testing, day seven. Wang, who had only slept for five hours, was woken up by his rm clock. He didn¡¯t go to bed the night before but slept in the high-tech gaming chair given to him during a live stream he used for selling products. The integrated gaming chair, worth 38,000 yuan, came with massage and sleep functions and was even morefortable than lying in a bed. The gift he had recently received symbolized his current status; the price was of no importance¡ªwhat mattered most was the feeling of respect he derived from it. After wiping his face with a hot towel, he returned to his chair only to see a barrage of messages demanding updates in his fan group. ¡°Wang, time for an update, you¡¯ve been gone six hours.¡± ¡°Even the donkey from the production team isn¡¯t as bad as you!¡± ¡°This red envelope is only here for an hour, I hope you show up within the hour. Wang, you might not like me, but you can¡¯t dislike money, right?¡± ¡°Wang, Wang,e back! Wang, what am I going to do without you?¡± Since he went offline in the wee hours, calls for updates had been incessant, even more active than those begging for seeds on forums. Looking at the messages demanding updates in the group, Wang sneered. Are you craving me? You¡¯re craving my game! Usually, these guys in the group would either demand that he cross-dressed or that he cross-dressed with them, which often led new fans to misunderstand his sexual orientation. This group was particrly infectious; soon, neers would be tainted by the group¡¯s culture, making the group even more frivolous. And even though they now address him courteously as ¡°Wang,¡± after the game testing ends tomorrow, they¡¯re sure to start calling him ¡°Old Thief¡± again. But with the hype up, it would be foolish not to capitalize on it. After receiving the activation code, he happily yed for two days before remembering to let the brothers in the group have their share of fun. It seemed the others had done the same, getting so engrossed in the game that they lost track of time, which is why only scattered news hade out now. After shouting ¡°I¡¯m here¡± in the group, Wang opened the live streaming client and said, ¡°Today, we continue the live stream of ¡®Quiet Cultivation.¡¯ Since the game test will end tomorrow, we¡¯ll stream for a longer period. Honestly, I think this whole game testing thing is just a formality¡ªthe graphics and the gamey deserve a 91 out of a too. The remaining 9 points are withheld because the number 6 got flipped. All right, what mode today? Let¡¯s randomize¡­ Team mode, let¡¯s go!¡± Because team mode was still iplete¡ªfor instance, the crucial chat system was not yet implemented. However, the game characters had a wide range of motions, and yers quickly established a so-called conventional method ofmunication to facilitate in-team discussions. Raising the left hand to indicate someone is on the left, raising the right hand to indicate someone is on the right, stamping your foot to signal that someone is using a burrowing technique, or looking up to alert that someone is peeping with Heavenly Eye, etc. Pointing forward to signal ¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± and leaving numbers on the ground to say ¡°this is my QQ, add me and we¡¯ll soar together.¡± Since activation codes were distributed to yers who had purchased ¡¯Princess Dungeon,1 those who entered the game had a solid foundation in 3D gaming, which made the teamwork exceptionally smooth and the gamey incredibly thrilling. Team mode required a great deal of cooperation. With attributes, cultivation techniques, and awareness up to standard, even the strongest yers couldn¡¯t take on three opponents at the same time¡ªexcept perhaps for the highly skilled Sword Immortals. Even the weak had the chance to unite and stand against the stronger ones. On thest day of testing, everyone had figured out their fighting style. Heavenly Soldiers, Ape Demons, and Ming Generals dominated the scene, with only a few Sword Immortals struggling to survive. But the remaining Sword Immortals were all experts. Wang could understand that feeling, that thrill. Controlling a Sword Immortal felt like controlling Li Xunhuan himself; the instant that Flying Sword was cast, the fate of friends and foes hinged on that gleam of the sword, which was jokingly referred to as ¡°the sword of equality for all beings.¡± The formidable Sword Immortals hardly bothered to meditate; after seizing one or two meditation spots and acquiring the right cultivation techniques and sword light, they would start roaming and killing, seeking the thrill thates with hovering between life and death. Today, to Wang¡¯s surprise, aside from being an Ape Demon himself, his three teammates turned out to be Sword Immortals. That¡¯s weird! ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± currently has no feature for naming, but yers have their own habits, and by observing for a while, one could generally guess another yer¡¯s skill level, and then infer who they might be. One of them, right off the bat, started looking for meditation spots¡ªit was the Sword Immortal who had once killed him with a single strike. This guy was really amusing, going online not to kill others but to find meditation spots to meditate, yet he always managed to be thest man standing. Because no matter who it was, they all had to grit their teeth and confront him eventually, ending up being struck down by a single blow. With no extra movements, the viewers in the live broadcast jokingly called him ¡°Meditation Sword Immortal,¡± meaning he cared about nothing but meditation. Another one was even more entertaining. His personality was lively. Though a Sword Immortal, he couldn¡¯t resist joining in whenever there was a fight and wanted to provoke everyone he saw, earning him the nickname ¡°Monkey Sword Immortal.¡± This temperament suited an Ape Demon better, but his aiming was incredibly urate, mastering the control of the Flying Sword¡¯s range to often kill enemies at the edge of its limit. The final Sword Immortal wasn¡¯t as precise as the other two, but was exceptionally steady. He wouldn¡¯t take action until it was necessary, and when he did, his strikes were almost always on target¡ªthus, he was called ¡°Mature Sword Immortal.¡± Seeing these three Sword Immortals, Wang knew he was set. With three top yers on his side, he could recklessly blunder his way to victory¡ªwho in the world could stop him! Just as Wang was proudly preparing to wreak havoc, the three Sword Immortals beside him came to a halt. Striking a puzzled pose, Wang was about to ask what was wrong when he saw the Monkey Sword Immortal suddenly attack, unleashing a sword light towards the Mature Sword Immortal. ¡°Are we starting with infighting?!¡± The viewers watching Wang¡¯s live stream were all moring, each onementing that Wang was true to form, starting the show with a bang. Wang was startled by the Monkey Sword Immortal¡¯s actions but soon noticed the Mature Sword Immortal rolling out of the way, avoiding the attack and quickly putting distance between them. He didn¡¯t strike back immediately buty in ambush within the bushes, slowly retreating and soon disappearing from Wang¡¯s sight. Once the target had left, the Monkey Sword Immortal didn¡¯t continue the attack. After the sword light returned, he nced at Wang and then turned to vanish as well. The team had barely started and had already fragmented, leaving Wang feeling like the white horse in ¡°Journey to the West¡± whose baggage had been divided among others. Looking back at the Meditation Sword Immortal behind him, Wang hesitated for a moment, then gestured, ¡°Shall we stick together from now on?¡± Without any nonsense, the Meditation Sword Immortal immediately abandoned Wang and dashed for the next meditation spot, leaving a disheveled Ape Demon in the wind. I¡¯m an Ape Demon, and at the early stages, I¡¯m just cannon fodder! Moreover, meditation time in team mode is lengthy; I don¡¯t have the strength to fight for meditation spots, and even if I did, I couldn¡¯t defend them! Brothers,e back! What was thought to be an easy victory turned into a descent into hell in less than five minutes. The massive upset not only filled his live stream with showmanship but also left his expression a blend of three parts helplessness, three parts confusion, and ny-four parts gloom. A new meme was born, the live stream viewers were rolling withughter, and they set a small goal for Wang. Survive, Wang! Chapter 45 - 45 Three Sword Immortals 1 Chapter 45: Three Sword Immortals 1 Trantor: 549690339 |? ¡ª ¡°I am the Ape Demon, a weak and lousy Ape Demon.¡± ¡°I originally had three Sword Immortalpanions. They were handsome and skilled, and they spoke so charmingly. They could have made me look cool and help me soar, but before I could show off, they soared away without me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very frustrated now, I don¡¯t knowhow I can die with more ir for the audience. Life is already tough enough, but a bunch of guys who want me to cross-dress are actually hoping I will survive, because that would be more amusing¡­¡± Muttering grievances like Xianglin¡¯s wife, Wang struggled to dodge the Gang Wind, narrowly escaping death several times, filling the live stream chat with a lively atmosphere. However, Wang¡¯s luck has always been in a state akin to Schrodinger¡¯s cat. When he thought he was in a stable situation, he would often crash and burn; but when others thought he would crash, he would rise unexpectedly. In less than ten minutes, Wang actually managed to snatch an unupied Meditation spot. And as he spitefully chose to meditate, two teams arrived right in front of his door. A small-scale team battle unfolded, allowing Wang to catch a rare break. He sessfullypleted meditation and then took advantage of the chaos to eliminate the two remaining yers. Moreover, this Meditation spot was of a high level, substantially increasing his strength and even granting him a Cultivation Technique that could speed up his movement. Seeing this high-level Cultivation Technique, Wang made a split-second decision and dashed towards a Meditation spot on the edge of the map, arriving and seizing it before the area shrunk. Two sessful captures greatly enhanced Wang¡¯s strength and filled him with confidence. Who cares about not havingpanions? I, Wang, am a professional! I can still win! The originally weak Ape Demon had transformed into a hulking brute, each step radiating the aura of a formidable fighter. After skillfully ambushing a team on low health, Wang once again secured a Meditation spot and his power skyrocketed. The Meditation spots in team mode were even more potent. The now immensely stronger Wang couldn¡¯t help but ask the chat, ¡°Am I not magnificent, your brother Wang?¡± ¡°Wang, don¡¯t get cocky. Are you going to crash in the next second?¡± I, Wang, am steady as an old dog. Crashing? That¡¯s not in the cards!¡± No sooner had he finished speaking than a beam of Sword Qi came at him. But this Sword Qi seemed hesitant and unsure, hitting Wang without striking a vital spot, and instead inciting the Ape Demon¡¯s ferocity. Looming like a small mountain, the Ape Demon leapt high, using hands and feet together, and ran frantically on the ground before pouncing straight at the Sword Immortal, who had just missed his strike and was now defenseless. sping his hands together, Wang didn¡¯t use a staff but rather smashed his opponent into a statue, then smashed the statue into dust. In the midst of the flying dust, Wang shouted, ¡°Who¡¯s next!¡± There was silence in the live stream chat. Although no one wanted to admit it, that scene had indeed allowed Wang to show off perfectly. The Ape Demon¡¯s dominance was thoroughly disyed just now, pumping up the yers, who swore to dive into the game once it was released and have a good time ying it. The map continued to shrink. The Gang Wind grew even fiercer. In the end, only two groups of yers were left on the map. On Wang¡¯s side, no one was lost, and the opposing side was down to just one Ming General. It was now thete game, and the early advantage of the Ming General had vanished. The continuously shrinking map left the opponent with no room to maneuver, meaning there was only one way left for them-death. Seeing thest man standing on the enemy side, Wang just wanted to burst into triumphantughter. So what if there are no pros around? I, Wang, will win just the same! However, just as he was about to tear the weak, pitiful, and inept Ming General to shreds, a st of Sword Qi suddenly flew by, closely shaving the hair off his fingers without harming him. Seeing this Sword Qi, a chill ran through Wang¡¯s heart. The opponent could have sliced his throat with a single strike but deliberately missed. What exactly was the opponent trying to do? Turning his head, Wang saw that the one stopping him was the Monkey Sword Immortal. The opponent had also seized several Meditation spots. Three Flying Swords formed the Three Talents formation, revolving around him up and down The Sword Qi they emitted was like clouds dancing, tumbling incessantly. Having repelled Wang, the Monkey Sword Immortal paid no heed to him but stared off into the distance in silence. There, the Mature Sword Immortal had been waiting for a while. The Mature Sword Immortal too was armed with three swords, and relying on the Sword Qi, he blended into the distant environment, bing one with it. ¡°What are they doing?¡± someone asked in the chat. ¡°It must be the encounter of masters, itching to test each other¡¯s skills. That Monkey Sword Immortal has been wanting to measure his opponent¡¯s mettle since the beginning, but only now has he found the opportunity.¡± ¡°I see, a sh of Sword Immortals, a sight rarely seen. Wang, you better protect the opponent so he doesn¡¯t die.¡± Wang stared at the messages in the group chat, feeling that these group members really enjoyed stirring up a big scene. A team dungeon, and you actually want me to protect the opponent, what are you thinking?¡± But Wang was also curious to see a duel between top Sword Immortals, so he made a decisive move, ¡°I¡¯ll just watch, you all do as you please.¡± After stating his intentions, he immediately charged toward the Ming General grabbed the unfortunate Ming General in his hand, and began to watch. Neither of the Sword Immortals made a move; instead, they silently stared at each other, looking for an opening in their opponent¡¯s guard. Before long, the Monkey Sword Immortal made the first move, his green Sword Qi gleaming like ripples on water, flying towards the Mature Sword Immortal. What swordsmanship! Wang eximed in admiration, knowing that masters really are masters If that sword strike were aimed at himself, he might be able to dodge it, but he would undoubtedly be killed by the subsequent strike. Against this kind of Sword Qi, dodging was useless; the opponent had already calcted every possible evasion, and the next strike would definitely kill him. The Mature Sword Immortal had also anticipated his opponent¡¯s n. Knowing evasion was futile, he decisively channeled his sword energy, and the blue Flying Sword behind him shot out, shing with the green ripples in the sky and canceling out the opponent¡¯s Sword Qi. Impressive! urate judgment, decisive action-at the critical moment, he made the best decision, and his strike hit its target every time. He was a master too. The first exchange urred in a blink of an eye, but the peril involved made the live stream viewers hold their breath. Watching masters duel was truly amazing. The second round was initiated by the Monkey Sword Immortal again. This time, with a shake of his hand, the Sword Qi he sent out also started to twist and sway following his motion, moving erratically like a specter towards the Mature Sword Immortal. Seeing this, someone in the live stream couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Wang, how did he do that?¡± ¡°Shaking your hand can create ateral momentum that affects your Sword Qi. I call it the Shaking Sword Style.¡± ¡°Wang, what are you babbling about?¡± ¡°¡­Alright, I don¡¯t understand either. This is just the world of masters.¡± Faced with the unpredictable Sword Qi, the Mature Sword Immortal also reacted swiftly, sending out simrly rippling Sword Qi that annihted both streaks of Sword Qi together. Just when Wang thought it was ail over, from the Sword Qi that supposedly extinguished, a green streak suddenly shot out, piercing through the Mature Sword Immortal and turning him into a statue. Wang, what was that!¡± an audience member eximed. ¡°Hidden Sword Style, stacking two streaks of Sword Qi on top of each other to create a sneak attack effect. I¡¯m not bluffing this time, because I can do it too- probably seed once in ten tries.¡± ¡°But the Monkey Sword Immortal¡¯s Flying Sword is still behind him!¡± ¡°A Flying Sword isn¡¯t Sword Qi, it could be an illusion.¡± As Wang had guessed, the Monkey Sword Immortal removed the disguise from behind, and the only remaining Flying Sword indeed turned out to be an illusion. Looking at Wang in front of him, he made a gesture, ¡°Wait for me.¡± After waiting for his Flying Sword to recover, he walked towards the meditation spot. There, the Meditation Immortal had already been waiting for a long time. Approaching, the Monkey Immortal stepped up to the boundary of his Flying Sword¡¯s range and suddenly attacked, sending three continuous streaks of Sword Qi like towering waves towards the Meditation Sword Immortal. The destructive green light should have torn the Meditation Sword Immortal to pieces, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, he just waved his hand and an extremely condensed Sword Qi flew out first, beheading the Monkey Sword Immortal. After the internal strife of the team ended, Wang decisively killed the Ming General in his hands and then marveled that Sword Immortals were indeed difficult, but if yed well, they were genuinely incredible. And they were cool too! After the settlement, Wang immediately started a new round and continued fighting. Fang Cheng, the Meditation Sword Immortal, watched the screen and felt that the Monkey Sword Immortal wasn¡¯t too shabby; his swordsmanship had some talent, and in the past, he could have cultivated to be a decent Sword Immortal. He even calcted a bit and felt that this person and he had some kind of connection. Xiao Douzi, the Mature Sword Immortal, pondered for a while, then sighed that there were quite a few masters among the yers. Meanwhile, in an e-sports training camp, a young man watched the screen and after a long contemtion said, ¡°Just a little bit more.¡± Chapter 46 - 46 Monkey’s Night Run 1 Chapter 46: Monkey¡¯s Night Run 1 Trantor: 549690339 i???? ¡ã??? ¡ª In the Dimensional eSports Youth Training Camp, Chen Liang was still savoring thest match. At sixteen, Chen Liang was of average height with a slender face. He would often, without realizing, scratch from his left ear down his chin to his right ear, resembling a little monkey, which earned him the nickname Monkey. And just like a monkey, he was mischievous; he would sometimes lose in the training camp¡¯s matches not because hecked skill, but because he would try new strategies on the fly without practicing them first. I m here, I rise, and I get instantly killed, what¡¯s up with that!¡± Winning or losing didn¡¯t matter, as long as there was joy! Because of his unpredictable performance, he kept switching between different eSports titles. However, because he truly had talent, the coaches turned a blind eye, only requiring him to decide on his future direction by the end of the year. After all, eSports is a young man¡¯s game; if you don¡¯t achieve anything before 20, you can pretty much forget about the future. The average retirement age for an eSports yer is 24, and their shelf-life is even shorter than that of young idols, yet they often put in more effort. While Chen Liang was lost in thought, apanion came over to look at his screen and said enviously, ¡°You¡¯ve won again, huh? You¡¯re pretty good at ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to take out that fellow Sword Immortal, that¡¯s a failure.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re ying in team cooperation mode!¡± ¡°Yeah, so? Is there a conflict between team cooperation and taking out a teammate?¡± Looking at the puzzled Chen Liang, hispanion thought there might be something wrong with the boy. God really is fair, grantingyou outstanding talent but also a brain that¡¯s a bit wayward and troublesome. One reason Chen Liang chose to take out his teammates was to have more opportunities to fight against experts, and another reason was so he could watch the team¡¯s rey videos to analyze the strengths and weaknesses from both his and the opponents¡¯ perspectives. His ssmates began to head for lunch, while Chen Liang opened the video reying his own moment of defeat over and over, bing more engrossed with each viewing, even forgetting to eat. After some time had passed, a coach who also happened to be the general manager of the base came by, and stood behind Chen Liang to watch the video. They had only started paying attention to ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ five days ago, and after seeing the game graphics and trying their hands at the game, those who yed it all thought it was bound to be a hit. The game had rich special effects and a distinctive style, with finely crafted character models that varied from one another, allowing different yers to find their ce within the game,ying a foundation for its spread among the gamingmunity. Moreover, the game had a high skill ceiling, with expert matches being particrly exciting and visually pleasing. Some of the special moves also had enough ir to be a talking point, assuring a big hit in the future, provided the developers didn¡¯t mess it up. Watching the video recorded by Chen Liang, the coach behind him began nodding frequently. Chen Liang¡¯s skills were constantly improving, but that wasn¡¯t what struck the coach. What he found remarkable was that Chen Liang, this Monkey, had finally settled down. ¡°Taming the heart¡¯s monkey and restraining the mind¡¯s horse,¡± his ideas had always been erratic, andbined with his high talent, he had quite the unruly temperament, which would sooner orter lead to trouble. However, today¡¯s defeat taught him that there¡¯s always someone better; the operation that Sword Immortal performed at thest moment was like Bodhi Ancestor effortlessly capturing the monkey. Having watched the video, the coach had to admit that the Sword Immortal on the other side was impressive. Sword Immortal had many techniques, but they were all with little margin for error. One couldn¡¯t dare to use the same move in realbat without practicing it thousands of times, as one slight mistake could mean death. The coach was familiar with the Sword Immortal¡¯s move, which involved rapidly circling the mouse to concentrate the sword light into one point, not only drastically increasing the speed of the sword light but also endowing it with a strong ability to break formations. But this move was difficult to execute. After moving the mouse, one had to quickly reset it. Chen Liang had only ever seeded once or twice out of ten attempts, whereas Sword Immortal would ensure an 80% sess rate before making a move. The ease with which the opponent executed the move showed that their skill was far above Chen Liang¡¯s. Watching the video, Chen Liang grew more and more anxious. After hastily eating the roujiamo his ssmate had brought him, he logged into the game and then controlled Sword Immortal to tirelessly search for Meditation Sword Immortal, but to no avail. He yed until midnight, and the coach behind him stayed with him until then. When midnight struck, the test for ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± ended. The game could no longer be restarted, and no matter how many times he clicked, there was only one message: ¡°The game¡¯s test period has ended, please look forward to the official version.¡± The more unobtainable it was, the more he wanted it. Powerlessly staring at the message in front of him, Chen Liang¡¯s desire to face off against Meditation Sword Immortal again grew stronger, and the frequency of his scratching his chin increased. After that, all he wanted to do was y ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± to control Sword Immortal, to constantly hone his skills, and to have another exhrating duel with Meditation Sword Immortal. Looking at the prompt on the screen, he scratched his head and ears for a long time before finally turning around and saying to the coach behind him, ¡°Coach I want to fight Sword Immortal.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve stopped the test, what can you y?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll go out and work until the official versiones out and then return My heart has been stolen by ¡®Quiet Cultivation,¡¯ I may have no more joys and sorrows in this life.¡± You watch ¡®ChainsawMan¡¯ too much, you¡¯re getting obsessed.¡± ¡°So, coach, how can I keep ying this game? I¡¯m willing to do anything!¡± ¡°¡­you¡¯re serious, aren¡¯t you?¡± Realizing Chen Liang was truly immersed, the coach got yful. He began to look up the game¡¯s development team, then, using the name of the team, sought out their address, and pointing at the information on his phone said, ¡°You¡¯re in luck, they¡¯re hiring for an executive nner, no age requirement, interns are wee, and it just so happens to be in Rong City. If you really want to go y, why not go big and enter their studio directly?¡± Chen Liang¡¯s eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, ¡°Really? Is that legal?¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t spread any data privately, don¡¯t tell us anything rted to the game. After the fact, it¡¯ll just be a pro yer who wanted to be a nner, then got tired of it and quit to go back to professional gaming, nobody says that¡¯s not allowed. After you go in, don¡¯t mention your real purpose, just say you want to make games in the future and are here for an internship. It just so happens that you can get an early understanding of ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯s design philosophy, which will help with futurepetitions.¡± Noticing that Monkey was indeed pondering, the coach patted Chen Liang¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m just kidding with you. The chances of sess are too slim, just think about it. During this time, just y with meal recements. I reckon the official version of this game will be out by the end of the year, so just keep your skills sharp with other games.¡± Noticing that Monkey remained silent, the coach said earnestly, ¡°You have talent, and it¡¯s the highest I¡¯ve ever seen. What you need to do is not to let yourself go but to solidify your fundamentals. Don¡¯t think too much, go back to rest, watch some videos tomorrow, and continue training.¡± ¡°¡­The coach is right.¡± Realizing that Monkey still hadn¡¯t snapped out of it, the coach inwardly cursed. He knew Monkey¡¯s character. Small stature, stubborn as a mule, not crying until he sees the coffin, not turning back even after hitting the south wall. He really wanted to p himself now: What was he thinking, saying all that nonsense and getting Monkey riled up again? Escorting Monkey back to the dormitory himself, he specifically asked the roommate to keep an eye on Monkey, to prevent any mischief. He even sat on a stool at the doorstep of the dormitory, yawning and battling mosquitoes all night, but in the morning, he still saw Monkey¡¯s roommate rush out in a panic, nervously saying, ¡°Not good, Monkey ran away!¡± ¡°How did he run away!¡± ¡°He made a rope out of bedsheets and then escaped through the window.¡± Rushing inside, the coach saw the bedsheets tied to the window indeed; Monkey had slid from the fourth floor down to the second and then jumped from the small balcony on the second floor down to the ground and ran away. Besides, Monkey had left him a note: ¡°Coach, I¡¯ve gone to apply for the job. I will be back before the end of the year.¡± Looking at the note, what could the coach say. He could only shake his head with a wry smile and say helplessly, ¡°Monkey oh Monkey¡­¡± Chapter 47: 47 Being a bad investor, I am very sorrv 1 Chapter 47: 47 Being a bad investor, I am very sorrv 1 Trantor: 549690339????? 7??? 3¡ª The day after the test ended, Fang Cheng arrived at the studio on time, ready to open up and begin working. He actually quite liked the idea of using a fingerprint lock, which would allow anyone to open the door and then simply start work, without so much hassle. However, after only a day of trying it out, he found that Xiao Douzi pretended to clock out yet sneakily came back to work, and Huang Ping pretended to be working but, in fact, never left. This discovery led Fang Cheng to decisively discontinue the use of the fingerprint lock, switching back to the more traditional door lock, thoroughly thwarting his employees¡¯attempt to work overtime. The only exemry employee was Xu Qingling, who, as the receptionist, administrator, HR, and legal affairs, always managed to urately follow his own steps, punctually arriving and leaving with him and making her the least worrisome employee. After opening the door, he first went to the break room to water his Spirit Grass, and, seeing its pleasing growth, he smiled contentedly. His love for Spirit Grass was just like his love for the braised meat his father made; no matter when, it could always bring a smile to his face. People often say that Immortals should be like mud-sculpted statues, but cultivating immortality doesn¡¯t mean stripping oneself of passions and desires, instead, it leads to greater determination and vitality. Like is like, dislike is dislike, myriad feelings need not be forcefully suppressed, but should naturally flow. He had seen Cultivators who became estranged from kin, but those who were toyed with by the Heart Demon before even ascending, leaving nothing behind, were always held up as negative examples for future generations. Just after he finished watering the Spirit Grass, Xu Qingling stepped into the studio with a brisk pace. ¡°Boss, good morning. Your chives are also doing well today.¡± Today, Xu Qingling was wearing a breathable white shirt and jeans with holes that made her legs look slender and straight. After entering, she took the opportunity toe over under the pretense of looking at the Spirit Grass and stood next to Fang Cheng. Smiling and nodding, Fang Cheng said, ¡°That¡¯s right, today¡¯s Little One, Little Two, Middle One, Middle Two, Big One, and Big Two are all very healthy.¡± ¡°Although people¡¯s habits aren¡¯t interchangeable, I thinkyour habit of naming chives is really odd, boss.¡± It s alright, I read online that giving nicknames to chives can better deepen the bond between the boss and the chives.¡± ¡°I feel like the ¡®chives¡¯ they¡¯re talking about and your ¡®chives¡¯ are not the same kind.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they both the kind that grow incredibly fast, and once one batch is cut, another grows in its ce?¡± ¡°¡­seems somewhat reasonable.¡± During this conversation, the other two employees had already eagerly entered thepany, greeted everyone, and then immediately started working. Seven days of testing had yielded arge amount of yer feedback. About ten percent was copious praise, twenty percent were suggestions to strengthen some characters and weaken others, and the remaining seventy percent were calls to add more female characters. After organizing and summarizing these opinions, Huang Ping sent the document to Fang Cheng, and then, when the time seemed right, approached him and said, ¡°Boss, I think adding female characters is absolutely essential.¡± Looking at the document, Fang Cheng¡¯s good mood began to slowly fade, and he was left feeling helpless. Indeed, he had failed again. He had originally wanted yers to appreciate the joy of meditation, but to them, meditation was merely a process, whereasbat was the key. They derived great pleasure from it, but this pleasure was the opposite of his initial intent; this attempt at proving his doctrine was unsessful. Fulfilling his Taoist Heart was indeed not so simple. Completing the Taoist Heart was a major endeavor, subject to more disturbances from the unknown, so Fang Cheng didn¡¯t believe that a few games could lead him to aprehensive understanding of what is fun. Although his own Taoist Heartcked only a slight thread, this one thread might take decades to fill. But he was prepared to persevere without yielding, knowing that even if he failed a hundred times, seeding just once would be enough. Of course, there was some frustration, but it wouldn¡¯ tst long. Therefore, Fang Cheng nodded and said, ¡°Okay, state your requirements. I¡¯ll take the lead in creating the female character.¡± Great. By the way, boss, has anyone been chosen for the previous role of executive nner?¡± Even though Huang Ping was versatile, it would be a great waste to entrust him with all the non-numerical tasks. Just as Fang Cheng was about to answer that no one had been chosen yet, he heard someone cheerfully ask at the door, ¡°Excuse me, is this Fang Cheng Studio? I¡¯m here to apply for the executive nner position.¡± All four people looked up in unison. After seeing the person at the door, they fell into contemtion. The person at the door was of average height, with a youthful face that screamed underage no matter how you looked at it. He carried a backpack, chewed gum, and under the brim of his baseball cap were a pair of lively eyes looking at them expectantly. After looking at the four people for a while, he set down his backpack, walked up to Fang Cheng, looked up, and said, ¡°You¡¯re Fang Cheng, right? I¡¯ve heard about you. They say your games are amazing. Although I¡¯ve only yed ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯, I know they didn¡¯t lie to me.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Fang Cheng nodded and asked, ¡°You say you ¡®re applying for the executive nner position, but are you of age yet?¡± ¡°Here, my ID, I¡¯m over sixteen. My¡­ uncle said I could start an internship at sixteen.¡± Fearing Fang Cheng would refuse him, Chen Liang continued, ¡°I really love games, especially the ones you make. My biggest regret right now is that I only got the game on the third day of testing and missed out on two days.¡± Knowing he was talking to a dedicated yer, Fang Cheng asked curiously, ¡°Oh, which part did you enjoy?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s the fighting.¡± ¡®Which part did you dislike the most?¡± Meditating! I hate meditating the most when I y Sword Immortal. That part is definitely the most boring part of the entire game, and it serves no purpose whatsoever.¡± Pointing towards the door, Fang Cheng said, ¡°See that elevator?¡± ¡°I see it.¡± ¡°Go press the button, then take it down to the first floor, exit, turn right, and after three hundred meters you¡¯ll find a police station. They can help you buy a ticket home. If they won¡¯t do it, you cane back here, and I¡¯ll let you go home for free.¡± Xu Qingling stepped forward, pulling the somewhat frustrated Fang Cheng aside, then asked Chen Liang, ¡°Coming out for an internship requires parental consent. Do you have it?¡± ¡°No. After my parents divorced and started new families, they stopped caring for me. An uncle took me in after spotting me ying games at an inte cafe.¡± The topic was a bit heavy, causing Xu Qingling to fall silent for a moment before continuing, ¡°Do you have your uncle¡¯s consent then?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m really good at games! Trust me, no matter what game you challenge me with, I won¡¯t lose.¡± Equating ¡°being good at ying games¡± with ¡°being good at making games¡± is amon mistake among neers. Being a frequent and skilled game yer provides some help to a certain extent, but game development relies more on intuition, inspiration, and teamwork, among other things. There¡¯s a big difference between the two. While Huang Ping was contemting how to decline politely, Fang Cheng had already fired up thepany¡¯s internal game ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ and said to Chen Liang, ¡°Come on.¡± Seeing the familiar scenes and exquisite characters, Chen Liang¡¯s eyes lit up as he pounced excitedly in front of theputer and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this! Let me show you what a top-notch Sword Immortal is like!¡± Two hourster¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m a noob. I¡¯m really sorry you had to see a noob like me. I¡¯ll leave right away.¡± With a longing nce at Fang Cheng, Chen Liang had recognized from the other¡¯s technique that he was the Meditation Immortal. The level of skill in ying the game was indeed impressive, just as expected from someone who could create such a fantastic game. However, just as Chen Liang was about to leave, Fang Cheng, lost in thought, looked at him and then said, ¡°Stay, you¡¯re hired.¡± Chapter 48 - 48 This Money, Worth It_l Chapter 48: This Money, Worth It_l Trantor: 549690339 After arranging a workstation for Chen Liang, Xu Qingling asked doubtfully, ¡°Boss, why did you decide to keep him?¡± ¡°He and I are fated.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Boss, you can tell fortunes too?¡± ¡°A little.¡± Xu Qingling suddenly thought of something and asked quietly, ¡°Then boss, do I have a destiny with you?¡± Fang Cheng shookhis head, ¡°Can¡¯t figure it out.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I tell fortunes on a whim; trying too hard doesn¡¯t work.¡± Xu Qingling squinted at Fang Cheng, and her appreciation of him dispersed the irritation in her heart. Handsome guys always seem to get forgiven more easily. Someone like Fang Cheng could assassinate the President of the United States and still have people moring to defend him as innocent, even going so far as to testify the President threw himself at the bullet andmitted suicide. Xiao Douzi and Huang Ping were also curious at first why Chen Liang was kept, but by the afternoon, they began to feel that the boss was indeed the boss, with an insightful vision. Being good at ying the game doesn¡¯t always trante to being good at making the game, but once it¡¯s good enough, they can start to influence each other. And Chen Liang was that type who was particrly skilled at ying games. Though he didn¡¯t have Xiao Douzi¡¯s numerical intuition or Huang Ping¡¯s experience, he was adept at various tactics inpetitive games and had an instinct forbating, quickly identifying which characters the game was missing. ¡°Forpetitive games, team matches will definitely be keyter on. There can only be one champion in one-on-one fights, but there can be many champions in teampetitions, and it¡¯s more entertaining to watch. Coboration among yers can introduce a variety of tactics, and that calls for support characters and healer characters.¡± ¡°Debuff characters are necessary too. They might not do well solo, but in team fights, they¡¯re incredibly useful.¡± Feeling the extraordinary sharpness in Chen Liang, Huang Ping got interested and started guiding Chen Liang on how to document his ideas. ¡°Documents need to have a format; it makes archiving easier. For anything rted to programming, just write Fang Cheng¡¯s name; the boss will solve all the problems.¡± ¡°No need to fill in the time; I¡¯ll allocate that. When describing your requirements, be concise; don¡¯t use adjectives. For example, don¡¯t write that you want a shy effect; write that you want an ¡®effect that demonstrates high- level skill characteristics¡¯.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t use ambiguous statements; they can cause problems. But you can rest assured with the boss; he can solve all problems. Chen Liang was enthusiastic at first, but it didn¡¯t take long before he started to feel tired. Scratching his chin, he asked puzzledly, ¡°Liu Bei, why am I learning this?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s put the way you address me aside for now, what did youe to apply for?¡± ¡°Game nner.¡± ¡°This is what game nners do. You don¡¯t think nning is just about ying games, do you? Writing documents, and being humble to programmers, artists, testers, and business folks; that¡¯s what a nner does. We¡¯re pretty good here at Fang Cheng Studio, but outside, it¡¯s one sad story after another. Recalling his past experience at Tianyi, Huang Ping sighed and continued, ¡°Being a game nner seems to have no barriers, but in reality, there really are none. Even the toughest, like numerical nning, can be learned in half a year, and beyond that, no one can tell the good from the bad anymore. Right, Xiao Douzi?¡± Xiao Douzi, deeply engrossed in his work, seemed not to have heard, only focusing intently on setting up the spreadsheet. Huang Ping didn¡¯t mind and continued, ¡°But nning is extremely important; calling it the soul of the game isn¡¯t too far-fetched. Since you like Quiet Cultivation,1 don¡¯t you want to leave something of your own in this game? A good document can make your ideas clearer and more precise. Don¡¯t you want to convey your vision for the game to others more effectively?¡± Chen Liang, who had been slouching on the desk, slowly sat up, feeling that Uncle Huang was right. After asking a few more questions, he slowly began to learn how to view the game from the nner¡¯s perspective, understanding the purpose of each feature like a sponge soaking up all things rted to nning. When it was almost time to finish work, he finally had an epiphany and said to Fang Cheng apologetically, ¡°Boss, I¡¯m sorry, I hadn¡¯t realized there was so much to learn about meditating. Now that I think about it, meditating is actually quite important and fun, huh.¡± Fang Cheng paused for a moment, then nodded his head, Mm. The kid is quite sensible. I heard the biggest reward a boss can give to an employee is a red packet; 111 send a red packet to Chen Liangter. When it came to quitting time, hearing the familiar bell signaling the end of the workday, Xiao Douzi and Huang Ping sighed and began packing up. Seeing Huang Ping about to leave, Chen Liang became anxious. He grabbed Huang Ping and hastily said, ¡°I still haven¡¯t finished learning everything, how can you guys just leave? ¡°The studio doesn¡¯t allow overtime,¡± said Huang Ping with regret. ¡°But we¡¯re not working overtime, we¡¯re doing onboarding training. ¡°That excuse is too flimsy, the boss won¡¯t¡­ the boss? Seeing Fang Cheng looking thoughtful, Huang Ping felt there might be a chance! Pointing to Chen Liang, Huang Ping said, ¡°Boss, we¡¯re training the new employee; that should be alright, shouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°Then, if I use my documents as examples during the training, that¡¯s also alright, right?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°So, if I stay behind and just happen to write a bit of documentation by ident, that should be fine, right?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Chen Liang also caught on to something and quickly said, ¡°As a neer, if I y the studio¡¯s game for a while during my onboarding training, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± After thinking it over for a while, Fang Cheng said, ¡°If it¡¯s just for tonight¡­ ¡°Yay!¡± Huang Ping decisively told his girlfriend that he would be workingte and that she shouldn¡¯t wait up for him. Xu Qingling, who had one foot out the door, immediately withdrew it upon hearing that overtime was allowed and started ordering food for everyone, then propped up her little head and watched over here with a beaming smile. Xiao Douzi¡¯s expression remained unchanged; she just reopened her document and began to work overtime like mad. ¡°Then we¡¯ll take two days off next week aspensatory leave. It just so happens we can string together a little long vacation and all go out for a trip,¡± Fang Cheng continued to add. At that moment, nearly all the employees felt that overtime didn¡¯t seem that appealing anymore. Watching the group¡¯s mood fluctuate because of overtime, Chen Liang felt that everyone here was a bit odd. However, as soon as he saw ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± get started, he immediately cast aside the strange atmosphere and began enjoying the game. As he yed, he couldn¡¯t help but think that this ce was great and that working overtime was fantastic. A sixteen-year-old teenager was just like that corrupt by society. With Chen Liang¡¯s addition, the studio¡¯s efficiency initially decreased because Huang Ping needed to take time out to train him. But once Chen Liang got the hang of things, the studio¡¯s efficiency climbed again, the gap in gamey was filled, and many aspects of the game werepleted within a month. After confirming the game was essentially finished, one day in early August, ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± finally reached the stage of bing a paid product. Priced at 128, ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± was a polished gem crafted during that time by Fang Cheng Studio, and a crystallization of all the members¡¯ collective effort. With the foundation of ¡°Princess Dungeon¡± having sold four hundred thousand copies, Fang Cheng Studio was no longer an obscure little studio but recognized as a second-tier studio. The Steam tform specially advertised for it, positioning the game¡¯s interface to appear first and initiated a countdown, thrilling every yer eager to try the game. In the game interface, there were cooler sses, more interesting game modes, and the already sparkling gemstones, after a month of refining, shone even brighter, giving many people hope for the rise of domestic games. And on the day the game officiallyunched, the inflow of ecstatic yers, with tears brimming in their eyes, were overwhelmed with excitement upon downloading the game. The price tag of 128 was a bit steep, but after purchasing, yers unanimously agreed, ¡°The money I spent, worth every penny!¡± Female characters were also added! Chapter 49: The Troubles of Happiness 1 Chapter 49: The Troubles of Happiness 1 Trantor: 549K<3O?a I? ¡ª After a month of meticulous polishing, coupled with Fang Cheng¡¯sprehensive ¡°program¡± support, this game that Fang Cheng Studio invested the most in since its establishment just went live and set off a st in the gaming world. Beyond the new modes, new characters were also introduced. With Chen Liang¡¯s strong support, the original four characters expanded to eight. And to answer the yers¡¯ calls, all the newly added were female characters. The Dragon Girl, skilled in long-distance spells, with an ethereal appearance and a hint of celestial dragon traits. A master of mechanical techniques, the small-statured yet exceptionally flirtatious Mo Family Heires with a buy-one-get-one-free offer: her big sister¡¯s vehicle. The creepy Meng Po, who could revive enemy statues as puppets, ¡®Po¡¯ as in the ¡®Po¡¯ of ¡®wife¡¯. The cheerful Gu Master, whose devious means of poisoning and using gu are filled with mysteries, offering an absolutely adorable contrast that is bound to surprise people to the max. The four female characters are full of personality, each with a different feel and their secret weapons are astonishing, definitely giving yers the best experience! The expanded system didn¡¯t adopt themon fighter-mage-healer structure but added special jobs ording to Fang Cheng¡¯s ¡°actual experience,¡± which should allow for unique tactics. Moreover, to meet Fang Cheng¡¯s desire to have yers enjoy meditation, there will be close-up feature shots of them meditating, prompting yers toment that this cameraperson really understands thenguage of angles. Additionally, toplement the new characters, the number of cultivation techniques has also doubled. New terrains like volcanoes, oceans, and icy snowscapes have been added, offering not just a feast of content but also a fresh feel for yers, even those who were satiated by the beta version, who now admit collectively that the money was well spent. Huang Ping¡¯s other contribution was persuading Fang Cheng to implement a pass system. The monthly 15-yuan pass isn¡¯t expensive but it allows for a 20% increase in earnings per game. The currency earned can be used to purchase character skins and outfits, and various weapon effects can also be bought with the currency. New characters that appearter can also be purchased with currency; more features are still in development. The reason for adding a pass system is to generate a steady ie for the game, which greatly increases the studio¡¯s risk resistance so that even if the game fails, they will have enough cash flow to rest and recuperate before making aeback. The game¡¯sunch time was set for Friday morning at 10 a.m. When the countdown ended, Xu Qingling was glued to her screen on the Steam tform, clutching her little dinosaur pillow, staring intently at the backend data. The refresh button was nearly worn out by her, and even though she knew it was pointless, she couldn¡¯t help but keep refreshing it relentlessly, eager to know just how many people were buying their game. ¡°Xu, chill out. Our game has such good quality, the sales won¡¯t be low,¡± Huang Ping said while sipping tea. ¡°If you¡¯re not nervous, then go write the documentation,¡± Xu retorted with narrowed eyes. Huang Ping set down his teacup and bowed his head, conceding he was wrong to show off. Xiao Douzi had lost her mood to joke, and Chen Liang began scratching his chin every half minute, looking more and more like a monkey. The only calm one was Fang Cheng himself. After all, if this game failed to prove itself, he no longer cared about the sales, he might even be a little d. But things wouldn¡¯t go as he thought. From the moment it officially went live, the game¡¯ s sales did nothing but soar. ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± from itsunch to the present, had already broken through four hundred thousand copies, a small miracle in the world of indie games. But today, everyone witnessed what a true miracle is. ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± first-day sales, three hundred and fifty thousand copies. The next day was Saturday, and the streamers who had gotten the game began broadcasting it en masse. It didn¡¯t matter if you had skills or not, as long as you were streaming ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± you had traffic! You were our half-brother, half-sister from another mother! Some female streamers originally intended to toe the line as before, ying games while offering perks on the side. But the viewers entering the stream were all saying, ¡°Streamer, you¡¯re in the way¡ªplease make the screen bigger and just sit in the corner.¡± Even some female streamers discovered their ace gaming skills, deciding to dress properly and focus on the gamey, apelling story of game streamers going straight. After two days of fermenting, yers realized that Fang Cheng Studio was a goodrade. The price tag of 128 was without a drop of water, just like ordinary games where high school students flirt and hold hands to pass the day, but this game was like four hungry men and women pouncing on you, dragging you into the bridal chamber and refusing to let you out for three days and nights. The game is good, but let¡¯s not be so wild next time. The word-of-mouth promotion started to ferment, and the more than one hundred thousand outstanding reviews directly catapulted ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± into the eyes of even more gamers, driving them further into a frenzy. Domestic gamers had truly been deste for too long. Now, upon encountering a top-quality game, they found themselves like parchednd greeting the rain, like travelers in a foreignnding upon old friends, like spending a wedding night in the bridal chamber, like achieving top ranks and feasting on chicken. The weekend passed, and Monday arrived. The first thing Xu Qingling did when she came to work on Monday was to turn on herputer, check the number of purchasers, and then she gasped in astonishment. The game had already hit a million downloads and was now charging uncontested towards two million, its momentum unstoppable and sharp as bamboo breaking through. The explosive sales brought profits; although it was only a small target, it made Xu Qingling once again aware of Fang Cheng¡¯s potential, and her heart raced even faster when she looked at him. Talent and looks, forever the greatest attractions for a man. Aside from Xu Qingling, Huang Ping was simrly unable to contain his excitement. Most of the studio¡¯s information was transparent, with game sales and profit- sharing proportions clearly stored inpany documents, essible to everyone. Calcting his own share of the profits, Huang Ping found he could actually go back and buy a house outright, and he could even afford to buy his parents a new home nearby, letting them also enjoy a morefortable life. He had been involved in several major releases at Tianyi, but Tianyi¡¯s producers were tightfisted with money. Even for popr titles, his own bonus was only twenty or thirty thousand a month. And for that, he had to be grateful to the production team for not firing them on the spot after the game was released, since the prevalent practice of discarding someone once they¡¯ve served their purpose was all toomon. Xiao Douzi was used to it, but Chen Liang was not. Seeing the sudden increase in his ount bnce, he found Fang Cheng and stammered, ¡°Sword Immortal Master¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Master,¡± Fang Cheng said, correcting him helplessly, ¡°We¡¯re not that deeply bonded.¡± ¡°Okay, Boss, the money¡­¡± ¡°Not enough? Then I can lend you some more?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I¡¯m just an intern, can interns also get a bonus?¡± Only then did Fang Cheng realize, and he said to Xu Qingling, ¡°Xu Qingling, could you please make Chen Liang a full-time employee?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Seeing the genuine Fang Cheng and the eager Xu who helped him get a full- time position, Chen Liang felt his boss was quite peculiar. But a good kind of peculiar. After receiving his share of the profits, Chen Liang counted the zeroes for a long while, then chuckled to himself just as long. His parents had divorced when he was fourteen, and after they both started new families, they stopped caring about whether he lived or died, not even providing him with living expenses. Afterward, he roamed around inte cafes, earned money by collecting bottles for others, and asionally did power leveling. That¡¯s how he idled away until he was fifteen. After being picked up by a coach and taken to a training center, he started training every day. His monthly pocket money was only three hundred and fifty yuan, but since the center provided food and lodging, he didn¡¯t have many expenses. This was the first time he¡¯d ever seen such arge amount of money. Seeing this money, he began to struggle with one thing. At the end of the year, should he really go back? If he earned a bit more and then took the money back, it seemed like he could reduce some of the coach¡¯s burdens. Staring at his bonus, Monkey fell into the sweet torment of happiness. Chapter 50 - 50 Inside the Black Hole (Second Update )_i Chapter 50: Inside the ck Hole (Second Update )_i Trantor: 549690339 With the poprity of ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡±, Fang Cheng¡¯s previous games were also unearthed by people. Games like ¡°Towards Death and Life¡±, which challenge oneself, need not be mentioned¡ªapart from masochists, only Alpha¡¯s die-hard fans would y this game. The sales of ¡°Princess Dungeon¡± were still rising, currently entering a stable period, while the earliest game ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡± still had arge following, and with the increasing fame of Fang Cheng Studio, new yers kept joining. Besides, ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡± had another attractive feature¡ªthe defense of the base. The defense of the base had always been there, with self-repairing robots continuously protecting it, blocking the invasion of yers. The existence of these guards, like the moonlight, filled yers with a desire to topple them. After careful consideration, they locked their sights on one of the guards and nned an all-out attack against it. Countless yers worked tirelessly day and night, chopping wood and smelting, continuously crafting items to climb the tech tree, finally creating an armed team of yers to the teeth. Seventy-eight yers, with top-notchbat awareness and equipment, united with tens of thousands of ordinary yers tounch a sneak attack on the base guard. After easily defeating the guard¡¯s first form, they began a prolonged battle with the guard¡¯s second form. From the videos that circted afterward, the second form of the guard was essentially a doomsday weapon. In closebat, it had a lightsaber that could melt everything, and at range, it had a highly preciseser¡ªits technology was two generations ahead of the yers¡¯. The terrifying power continuously reaped the lives of yers, and their excellent armor was no match for the opponent. Before it, yers were like paper, easily blown apart. But its opponent was the yers. Faced with such a deadly weapon, the yers showed unprecedented cooperation. Utilizing their ability to respawn repeatedly, they charged at the guard without regard for the consequences. If armor was useless, then they would go without. Each person began to snatch top-tier weapons scattered on the battlefield, just to protect the weapons from being destroyed and to find the right moment to deliver a devastating blow. This ¡°world boss¡± event, which summoned nearly all the yers,sted for two full days. No one knew if this guard could be defeated, as ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡± had no health bars. yers could only judge that the opponent was beatable by the increasing damage to its outer shell. Even if each sacrificial attack left only a shallow indent on the opponent, they felt it was worth it. In this way, through the relentless efforts of tens of thousands of yers, the second-stage guard fell. Seeing this scene, all the yers involved in the siege cheered with abandon, and countless viewers who saw it through live streams were boiling with excitement. They had seen the ending of ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡± and prepared to face the final conclusion with a huge sense of achievement and a feeling of loss. In the midst of the fallen silver-white guard, a light sphere slowly appeared. This was a basketball-sized light sphere within which lines of text suddenly emerged, illuminating the skies of the game world. Staring at the dark green letters above their heads, all the yers fell into confusion after attempting to read them. ¡°Strange, it¡¯s not Chinese.¡± ¡°Norisit English¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a programmingnguage¡­¡± As everyone felt bewildered by the final conclusion, the text wobbled, then turned into looping Chinese characters. ¡°You have won, newly born lives.¡± ¡± I do not know what forms you take, nor do I know your appearances. But I sincerely bless you, my descendants. You have continued the bloodline of this; you are our pride.¡± ¡°Doomsday has arrived, and we must depart. This is a migration journey with a high probability of death, but we have no other choice.¡± ¡°Everything in the base is my gift to you, I hope you can integrate our culture into yours, allowing us to rely on you and resurrect once again.¡± ¡°Thankyou, goodbye.¡± ¡°Oh, these are the coordinates of our migration site. We will leave more clues and gifts there. If you desire our treasures, then head to space, to the vast universe.¡± Looking at these words, the victorious yers exchanged nces. ¡°Does this mean ¡®The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡¯ will have a sequel? What would it be called? ¡®The Forest¡¯s Third Son¡¯?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not politically correct, you know. Why assume their gender? If you ask me, it should be called ¡®The Forest¡¯s Third Son Who Contains No Political Reference or Gender Objectification, Yet Is Male In Narrow Biological Terms¡¯.¡± ¡°Wow, your name is asplicated as your logic.¡± As the yers pondered the meaning of the finale, Fang Cheng, who had heard the news, was already pinching the light orb and slipped it into his pocket. The text within the light orb had also been tranted by him. This script belonged to another alien civilization, but a single Immortal Spell was sufficient to trante it into Chinese characters. He had known of the guardian¡¯s existence long before, but he had little interest in it, so he had ignored it until now. What he hadn¡¯t expected was that after the guardian was defeated, it would actually leave behind coordinates pointing the yers towards another location. Such an approach, which would not manifest until certain conditions were met, resembled some kind of Great Divine Power, and indeed would have been easy to miss without close observation. Having calcted the location of the coordinates, Fang Cheng stepped into the void the next moment. After wandering through thousands of light-years, he finally found the spot indicated by the coordinates in a remote star system. It was a ck hole. Facing the ck hole, ordinary cultivators could not escape. Fang Cheng, however, could freely enter and exit. But because of certain characteristics of the ck hole, it was difficult to probe into it using Divine Sense. Furthermore, ck holes usually contained nothing-like someone had dug a temporary hole in the ck expanse of space that would soon vanish on its own ¡ªso he normally ignored them. However, guided by the coordinates, Fang Cheng still approached the ck hole and stepped inside. Terrifying forces tore at his body, but even more formidable mana resisted the power of the ck hole, leaving him unaffected. As he stepped into the ck hole, his eyes sharpened, and he realized he had fallen into another world. Feeling thews of this ce, he stroked his chin and mused to himself, ¡°A minor world? No, this is also a Great Thousand World¡­ Who created it?¡± Three thousand minor worlds can merge into a medium world, and three thousand medium worlds can merge into a Great Thousand World. Confused, after leaving the ck hole, Fang Cheng randomly chose another ck hole to enter, only to find it full of chaos with no Great Thousand World in existence. From this, it was clear that only the ck hole corresponding to the coordinates was the gateway to another Great Thousand World. Thinking of the disappearances of various immortals and cosmic entities, Fang Cheng had a premonition. They might very well have fled into this ce. So, why would they hide here? Upon closer sensing, Fang Cheng realized this ce was carelessly made, its worldws were extremely chaotic, and the Heavenly Tao of each was particrly strange, seemingly created in haste. Earth, fire, water, and air blended in an odd and twisted fashion, making this Great Thousand World resemble a mask scorched by fierce mes, presenting a twisted yet unique appearance. Navigating with Divine Sense here required more effort, and the flow of time in this realm was abnormally fast, ranging from 1:10 to 1:100 in different areas. If life existed here, it might have evolved to apletely different level. After a moment¡¯s contemtion, Fang Cheng¡¯s Divine Sense fell on a nearby, and the next moment, he arrived there. Chapter 51 - 51 You’re still here! (Three more)_l Chapter 51: You¡¯re still here! (Three more)_l Trantor: 549690339 | This was akin to Earth, yet the star it orbited had died, transforming into a dim, lightless ck dwarf star. As his gazended on the ck dwarf star overhead, Fang Cheng realized that this star wasn¡¯t particrly old, but due to problems with thews here, it had perished. Its heart had extinguished, leaving behind only apleted ster corpse. Due to the absence of sunlight, there were hardly any nts on this, and the cold climate filled the ce with ice and snow, sealing it in a frozen tomb. Even though the environment was extremely harsh, within the cracks of the¡¯s crust, some nts still struggled to survive by relying on geothermal heat, and there were even multicellr organisms that subsisted on the sparse oxygen these nts produced, prolonging their species. With a touch to the ground, Fang Cheng pierced the with a fingertip. His Divine Sense spread through the hole within the, capturing the characteristics of the local life forms, and tracing them back to their origins. After the analysis wasplete, Fang Cheng sat on the snowy ground, facing the blizzard, deep in thought. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of water, the airposition is bnced, and the soil conditions are all quite good.¡± ¡°By tracing the origins of these species, I can infer that they share amon root with Earth¡¯s life forms, suggesting they also came from Earth. It seems that the Immortals and Buddhas knew about this ce and escaped here, bringing them along.¡± Knowing that the life here originated from the same universe, Fang Cheng felt a sense of kinship with the life on this. Upon further analysis, Fang Cheng was surprised to find that the nts on this were actually degraded Spirit Grass. Spirit Grass was the most basic and also the most important nt in the realm of cultivation. It was not a single kind of nt, but a collective name for many kinds of nts. Some Spirit Grass had the miraculous ability to purify foul air and exhale Spiritual Energy; others were used to strengthen the body and for making medicinal pills. Moreover, Spirit Grass was highly malleable. The powerful would often personally nurture fair-skinned and beautiful Spirit Grass, admiring it day and night, which was a delight. Thinking of this, Fang Cheng felt an itch in his hands. He took out the degraded Spirit Grass from beneath the crust, and prepared to nt these Spirit Grass seeds to see what they would be. Of course, without sunlight, the growth of the Spirit Grass wouldn¡¯t be great. Looking up at the ck dwarf star in the sky, he calmly said, ¡°Shine.¡± The Mana of a True Immortal expanded. Millions of kilometers away in the ck dwarf star, a spark of light ignited from its silent heart and then spread throughout its body. Like a resurrection from death, the lifeless star once again burst into light, with brilliant sunlight crossing the vast journey, transcending the long stretches of time, and once more shedding its warmth onto the. Since time was very unstable here, Fang Cheng stepped out of the area, looking at the ice-bound white, then flicked the¡¯s time to the right. The effect of elerated time was maximized, and the ice covering the melted at a visible rate, forming streams, then rivers, and finally oceans. Underneath the ice, mountains appeared and nts began to revive. The Spirit Grass, sensing the change in heaven and earth, started to regrow. Some had lost their Spirituality, but in return, they grew into towering ancient trees. Others retained their Spirituality, amplifying it to be more vibrant nts. Seeing the rejuvenated with life, Fang Cheng allowed time to return to normal, then went to a in, personally cleared a fertile piece ofnd, and nted the freshly gathered Spirit Grass seeds. Although he had reverted time, due to the peculiar nature of this, a certain type of stone here possessed the power of time, capable of elerating time again. Burying this stone in the center of the field, nts within a certain range would experience an elerating effect and grow rapidly. The eleration effect was rted to the quality and size of the stones; after some experimentation, Fang Cheng casually set aside the experiment records and continued to document the various characteristics of the Spirit Grass. The creator of these Spirit Grass must be quite skilled, producing lively and talented nts that brought Fang Cheng great joy as he cultivated them. Before he realized it, five days had passed. Fortunately,st month he had caught his employees working overtime secretly at home, and everyone got an extra five days of leave as a result, which meant he didn¡¯t have to go to work this week. After finishing the nting, Fang Cheng still felt somewhat unsatisfied. He had been thinking of nting for another two days, but then a thought struck him, and an idea formed in his mind. This ce could be used to create a game! With eleration and Spirit Grass in ce, it would be perfect for yers to enjoy the fun of farming! No sooner said than done, characters were quickly created, and the Spirit Gathering Array was swiftlyid out; Fang Cheng had be proficient at this process, and it was all set up in the blink of an eye. Moreover, to prevent yers from fighting and neglecting the farming, he specifically set limitations on the y figures so that they absolutely could not attack each other, cause mutual destruction, steal crops, and other such rules. Under the constriction of various rules, yers could basically only cooperate with each other, and even Time Shift, upon seeing this, could only sigh. Additionally, since there was a certain randomness to the growth of the Spirit Grass, the process of cultivation was constantly filled with a sense of randomness, which was also a delightful thing. After carefully reviewing the whole process, Fang Cheng felt there should be no issues¡ªit even seemed quite fun. He also added interactive elements, allowing yers to meet and exchange appraisals of each other¡¯s Spirit Grass. He was confident that before too long, everyone would be immersed in the cultivation of Spirit Grass, unable to extricate themselves. Spending a day to fully realize his ideas, Fang Cheng noticed that it was now six o¡¯clock on a Saturday evening. Having prepared the yer¡¯s entry device to this location, Fang Cheng once again crammed a bunch of useless items into it and then reached out to a familiar figure, Wang Say Games. No need for idle chatter, Fang Cheng sent a spaceship reward with a flip of his hand, then released his game with a message, saying, ¡°Wang, help me test this out, same deal asst time.¡± Before Fang Cheng released the game, Wang was feeling frustrated. Frustrated that he hadn¡¯t captured the full wave of traffic this time. The live stream of ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± was booming, and his Ape Demon character was not too shabby, but he still couldn¡¯t match the poprity of those ying female characters. He considered switching to other female characters, like the Dragon Girl, with her snow-white attire and creamy skin, who, although silent, was the very image of a kind elder sister, capable of gently and shyly enacting every little boy¡¯s dream. Or the Mo Family Heir, the tomboyish character! Her idental sultriness was particrly enticing, and hugging her big sister puppet was a formative experience for certain people. Then there was Meng Po, the yandere dark beauty, who doesn¡¯t love that? And the Worm Witch, she¡¯s great because of her gap moe. He wanted to y every character, and even did when not streaming, but he didn¡¯t dare do so while live streaming. His girlfriend overseas was watching him. With a sigh, Wang was about to start today¡¯s Ape Demon live stream when he saw a notification light up his inbox. The Living Immortal¡¯s greeting came along with the game, giving Wang a start. Bro, are you trying to prank me again! Chapter 52 - 52 This is a Healing Game l Chapter 52: This is a Healing Game l Trantor: 549690339 ¡°Immortal, what¡¯s the theme this time?¡± ¡°Farming.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to nt Cthulhus or Sadakos, are you?¡± ¡°Howcould you have such a bizarre idea?¡± Wang flipped through his previous chat logs with Fang Cheng, then circled the entry that read ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡± and highlighted the educational tag. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this game? It¡¯s very educational.¡± Seeing Fang Cheng¡¯s reply, Wang sighed, knowing this kid was beyond help. Of course, he didn¡¯t rule out the possibility that the other party was feigning ignorance, but Wang felt the guy probably really thought there was nothing wrong with his game. If there had been even a shred of self-awareness, he wouldn¡¯t have beenpletely devoid of it. However, since the other party had provided him with a test code and rewarded him with a spaceship, Wang knew he had to repay this favor no matter what. Heading to the bathroom to change into adult diapers and ready to put on a heart rate monitor, Wang even washed his face to make himself look a bit cleaner, thinking at least he would look better while running away in tears. And, looking at the game¡¯s name sent over by the other party, Wang sighed again. ¡°nt Grass.¡± Fair enough, sinct and clear, certainly a title that made one think of farming. Apart from being a bit abstract, there were no other issues. After the download wasplete, Wang set up the livestream, put on the heart rate monitor, and went online punctually at 8 PM, then began the livestream, saying to the room, ¡°Guys, we¡¯re not ying ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ tonight.¡± [Fine, I¡¯m out then, Old Man.] Someone immediately said. Noting down the speaker¡¯s name on his cklist, Wang continued, ¡°Today, we¡¯re ying a game sent to us by our old friend, the Living Immortal. The name is ¡®nt Grass.¡¯ [The Living Immortal¡­ that¡¯s the author of ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me,¡± right!] [Yes, when I can¡¯t sleep, I still go watch videos by Mom of Pingping for exnations, and I discover something new every day.] [Enough, don¡¯t talk about other creators in the livestream.] ¡°No problem, no problem,¡± Wang hurriedly said. ¡°Feel free to mention Mom of Pingping. It¡¯s okay. She even sent me a box of vegetables from her gardenst time. I just finished eating them yesterday.¡± Because of Wang¡¯s previous outspokenness, he had a good reputation among creators like Mom of Pingping. Some would send him things they¡¯d grown every now and then, making Wang feel a tad embarrassed. After settling down this little digression, Wang continued, ¡°Today, our game is ¡®nt Grass.¡¯ Don¡¯t be misled by the quirky title, but games by the Living Immortal always have a unique charm, so I¡¯m really looking forward to it.¡± ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve discussed it with the Immortal. This game can be freely downloaded. If you¡¯re interested, you can get the download link at the top of thement section. All right, let¡¯s officially start.¡± While Wang was livestreaming, Fang Cheng was on Spirit Grass, watching Wang as he entered the game below. Even though he had jumped from the original world to this one, erging the size of the Spirit Gathering Array and strengthening the spells left on the person¡¯s body slightly meant there would be no problem controlling it. The character controlled by Wang looked nkly around with an expressionless face, resembling nothing so much as a lifeless block of wood. But at the same time, Wang¡¯s somewhat apprehensive voice rang out, ¡°The game seems pretty normal, huh? But I won¡¯t rule out the Living Immortal preparing a big surprise for me. Alright, since it¡¯s a farming game, let¡¯s start by chopping trees. Speaking of which, how did this meme of chopping trees before farming start? Seems like everyone¡¯s doing it now.¡± Approaching a big tree, Wang shakily started to cut it down, asionally stopping to check his surroundings, just in case something jumped out to scare him. Even though he knew the Living Immortal wouldn¡¯t resort to such simple scares, he was still frightened. The original ¡°Spread¡± had left too deep an impression on him. But this game was clearly not of that kind. The sun shone brightly, the branches were lush with leaves, and there were no insects or beasts around, only a world made up of nts which was exceptionally quiet and harmonious. After felling a nearby tree in just a few strokes, Wang felt as though he had actually chopped down a tree and couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°This feels even better than ¡®The Forest¡¯s Second Son.¡¯ Ah, I¡¯m not trying to promote one at the expense of another, it¡¯s really true.¡± ¡°[Wang¡¯s right.]¡± one viewer, who had downloaded the game and was ying it while watching the live stream, said, ¡°[I can testify, it really is better than ¡®The Forest¡¯s Second Son.¡¯ You¡¯ll know once you try it.]¡± ¡°[I am that tree, I can prove it!]¡± Without Wang needing to prompt, viewers in the live chat would automatically make jokes, livening up the atmosphere and giving him an easy time. Using the felled trees to construct some tools, Wang carefully searched the underbrush and found some seeds, then cradling these hard-earned seeds, he returned to his camp. ¡°This game has no tutorial, everything has to be explored on your own. Independent games oftene without tutorials, but it¡¯s still better to have one next time. However, it¡¯s no issue without a tutorial, I, Wang, have yed many farming games, so I know what to do even without guidance.¡± Having nted the seeds in the plowed fields, Wang watered them and then chatted with his audience while keeping an eye on the seeds. However, after chatting for half an hour, discussing everything from national affairs to adult anime and then on to the military conflicts of northern neighbors¡ªwith Wang having drawn over a dozen situation maps¡ªthere was still no sign of life from the soil before him. ¡°Is there a problem with this game?¡± Wang couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°We¡¯ve got sunlight, we¡¯ve got water, so what¡¯s the deal with the grass not sprouting? Don¡¯t tell me these nts sprout ording to real-time, how long do I have to wait then?¡± ¡°[Old Man,]¡± a yer who had downloaded the game bragged, ¡°[I¡¯ve already harvested, oh! The nt I got is Kitty Grass, these grasses meow like cats and don¡¯t shed, so cute to death.]¡± To prove he wasn¡¯t lying, this yer even shared a photo of himself with the Spirit Grass. In the photo, the yer with a vacant look shed a peace sign while arge group of kitties surrounded him, each with a tail connected to the stem of a nt. Thanks to the inherent quality of the game, these kitties looked both realistic and adorable with the filter applied. Especially since these Kitty Grass require only a little water and sunlight each day to live, effectively turning a farming game into something that feels like a ¡°pet house.¡± At that moment, the DNA of cat lovers was activated. They began downloading the game en masse and, after instation, voiced their questions. [Why aren¡¯t my nts sprouting?] [Where did you get your seeds? Why can¡¯t I find any nearby?] [Mine have sprouted, but why did I grow a dog? I¡¯m scared of dogs the most! Don¡¯te over here!]¡± [Um, mine is a goldfish¡­]¡± [Mine is an octopus, and it¡¯s quite cute¡­]¡± [That¡¯s not an octopus, that¡¯s Cthulhu¡­]¡± [Even cuter!]¡± Seeing the variety of strange things everyone had grown, and then looking at his own barren field, Wang felt that there was a major problem with the game. ¡°Good one, Living Immortal, you had me y a game full of bugs, huh?¡± I thought you had stopped messing around this time, but it turns out you¡¯ve still created a bunch of chaos, now let¡¯s see howl¡¯ll¡­ [I know why now!]¡± A viewer suddenly eximed excitedly, ¡°[Have you guys noticed? Those who have grown something, all have one thing in their fields!]¡± [What thing? Love?]¡± [It¡¯s white stones! You love-brain!]¡± Wang immediately swallowed what he was about toin about and then went off searching far and wide for white stones. When he nted the white stones, he watched the nts in the field start to grow rapidly and turn into clumps of Cactus, Wang felt that this game was still kind of interesting. It seemed that this was supposed to be a healing, farming game. Chapter 53 - 53 is an Easter egg! 1 Chapter 53: is an Easter egg! 1 Next, Wang showcased his traditional skill. That was endurance. As a new content creator (self-proimed) without particrly outstanding technical skills, Wang knew he was a bit more sessful than others because he had a good mouth and a great liver. And now, it was time for him to go all out! Bring it on! The game ¡°nt Grass¡± seemed ordinary at first nce, but upon closer inspection, it was quite profound. Although there were only a few varieties of seeds avable for nting, the harvest each time was random, which made the oue full of surprises and excitement. Of course, sometimes it was a shock. Wang had heard more than once people screaming at the sight of huge insects they had identally grown. However, it wasn¡¯tpletely random. Factors like sunlight intensity, the amount of water, and wind strength all influenced the oue of the nts. ording to experiments conducted by numerous yers, the result of nting a seed in this game was drawn from a pool of random oues, and external conditions determined from which pool the final product would be pulled. In order to identify the range and triggering methods of all the pools in the game, thousands of yers began to grind intensively. They made Wang¡¯s livestreaming channel their base of operations, and by that evening, they had set up a rudimentary yetprehensive information site with all known data neatly organized. Information about the Time Stone¡¯s function, range of effect, and how many it took to maximize its potential was soon unearthed and posted on the website. yers born in adjacent regions started to gather. Upon realizing they couldn¡¯t steal from each other but only trade, they quickly abandoned the option of plundering and began to coborate in an effort to identify every possible harvest form. They started to divide thebor. Some yers were responsible for collecting Time Stones, others chopped trees and made huts to alter sunlight conditions, some gathered seeds, while others would photograph and record the experimental results, uploading them afterward. Ambitious to dominate the game with apletependium, yers united, tirelessly grinding away. Witnessing this, Fang Cheng felt deeply gratified. Indeed, all is illusionary, farming is eternal. Not one descendant of Yan and Huang could resist the allure of farming. He had finally made it. After his ascension, he would give each of these yers a of their own. They wouldn¡¯t need to do anything else daily but farm, a token of gratitude for their exceptional contributions. However, as time passed, the smile gradually faded from Fang Cheng¡¯s face. Umm¡­ Has your style be a bit odd? As the ranges for randomness became established, yers discovered that they could grow metals in the fields! And they were metals they didn¡¯t recognize! These agricultural products looked like chunks of metal on the outside, but were essentially nts. If these products were used in secondary production, then second-tier products, gears, could be grown! These gears,posed entirely of nts but in essence Spirit Grass, had the hardness of metals and the lightness of nts thanks to the wash of Spiritual Energy. Apart from being non-fireproof andcking malleability, they were durable and highly useful gears. Beyond that, many semi-finished parts could also be processed. Gradually, yers found that by changing environmental variables, they could decide certain characteristics of the finished products. For example, increasing water input could make the productsrger; controlling the range of light during growth allowed some metal-like products to change shape ording to their desires. Upon this discovery, automation began. yers with a background in mechanics started customizing gears and other structures, and various semi-automated items were crafted into machines. The cultivation of Spirit Grass began to be automated. yers quickly shifted their focus from how to grow Spirit Grass to ¡°how to automate the nting of nts,¡± and then on to how to initiate an industrial revolution here with various parts to modernize this world. Seeing the changes in the yers, Fang Cheng fell silent. ¡°This is the wrong way!¡± Spirit Grass should be nted by oneself to be interesting, the Spirit Grass nted by machines has no soul. However, after a closer look, Fang Cheng felt that there might be some fun in this too. Using Spirit Grass to build machinery has a different kind of interest, one thates not from the Spirit Grass itself, but from using the Spirit Grass as a stepping stone tobine them and the joy of creation that emerges from it. After ying for a while, Fang Cheng had to admit that it was quite fun. Even more fun than just nting grass. Although he didn¡¯t seed this time either, Fang Cheng found that this was quite good. The actions of these yers had undoubtedly inspired him, giving him new insights on the path of ¡°fun¡±. Grasping this insight, Fang Cheng immediately left, stepping into the void to find a ce where he could be alone to understand this insight. On the other side, Wang, who had been up all night, was drinking vegetable juice, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at the screen and shouted, ¡°Hey, does anyone know how to grow spider silk? I want to find some spider silk now.¡± ¡°Lighting 6, venttion 3, height 12, a one in fifteen chance of appearance, just nt a few more times.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Yawning, Wang told himself for the seventy-fifth time that he would nt one more round before leaving, hoard some spider silk, then make a fishing rod for himself, turn the fish into bone meal after catching them, and maybee up with some new recipes. Although he had been up all night, Wang was in a good mood and not too tired. To be exact, ying games all night doesn¡¯t count as staying up all night. Working or studying all night is staying up all night; this is enjoying the nightlife. Satisfied, leaning back in his three thousand eight hundred dor gaming chair, Wang hummed happily, ¡°This game is addictive.¡± At first, he felt the game didn¡¯t have many features, the content was simple, just a farming simtor. But the game¡¯s tactile feedback wasfortable, the response from farming was quick and fun, making it extremely engaging and hard to stop ying. And with the team cooperation mode where yers can¡¯t attack each other, the atmosphere of the game was very harmonious, with each minor discovery quicklymunicated amongst everyone, making the game feel particrly rewarding. After transitioning to semi-automation, the gaming experience changed again. Automation maderge-scale nting possible, greatly liberatingbor at this point, helping Wang understand why the Industrial Revolution was so great. Thebination of variousponents actually followed scientific logic, making Wang suspect that the Immortal had done nothing else but research nt effects andbinations during this time. ¡°Climbing the tech tree is something the Immortal has really gotten the hang of. Too bad the process isn¡¯t long; another ten or so hours of grinding should do it.¡± Great game, just too short. Flexing his fingers, Wang was about to join the other yers in grinding out the remaining random forms when he heard a loud roar from the speakers. He originally thought he had yed the wrong song, his groggy brain even directed his right hand to perform a task like switching the track. However, he quickly realized where the sound wasing from. Right there in ¡°nt Grass¡±. Wang, in the game, looked up in confusion and was surprised to find a silvery shuttle hovering above his field. Seeing this creation that clearly didn¡¯t belong to yers, Wang went from surprise to excitement almost immediately. This thing, it¡¯s an Easter egg! Chapter 54 - 54 This is a farming game (three more updates, asking for votes and follow-up reads)_i Chapter 54: This is a farming game (three more updates, asking for votes and follow-up reads)_i The shuttle looked like a colossal ship, and yet it seemed like a silverfish leaping from the water. The seamless hull shimmered in the sunlight, its streamlined shape possessing a beauty that married the rustic with the modern. Upon discovering this shuttle, Wang¡¯s previous drowsiness vanished instantly. He hurriedly took a screenshot of the shuttle and threw it into the group chat, eximing excitedly, ¡°An Easter egg! It¡¯s an Easter egg! I¡¯ve found an Easter egg!¡± [Old Man!] ¡°What¡¯s up, jealous that I found an Easter egg? How did you know I just found one?¡± [Grab all your family¡¯s valuables and run!] ¡°What?¡± Wang voiced his confusion, and then he realized why the other person had said that. A beam of white light shot out from the shuttle, harvesting the crops Wang was nting in his field, even uprooting thempletely. As if that wasn¡¯t thrilling enough, the shuttle circled in the sky for a moment, then urately located Wang¡¯s warehouse. Seeing the shuttlee to a halt, Wang instantly realized what it intended to do. Rushing towards the warehouse, he cried out from his $380 gaming chair, ¡°No¡­ don¡¯t! That¡¯s the result of a whole night¡¯s work!¡± Clearly, the in-game shuttle couldn¡¯t hear his cries. It simply emitted a calm white light, enveloping the massive warehouse. The crops, the result of hundreds of cultivation cycles, were all swept up by the shuttle, and then it turned and left. From beginning to end, it never took notice of Wang. Ignores, the greatest form of disdain. Staring nkly at the shuttle, Wang watched as it disappeared into the distance, over the horizon. He knew the white light wouldn¡¯t linger; it would search for the next unfortunate yer, and with the utmost disdain, strip away everything, leaving not even a sliver of hope. As healing as the game was before, that¡¯s how much agony it brought now. The shuttle was incredibly fast and had an immense capacity. It didn¡¯t take long before the game chat was filled with wailing; hundreds of yers suffered its robbery, leaving them with nothing in the end. [My kitty¡­] [My puppy¡­] [My little boy¡­] [My helicopter in a pink swimsuit¡­] [To the guy above, send me the nting method. I¡¯m not interested in pink swimsuits, I¡¯m interested in armed helicopters.] Some thought it was a bug, some thought it was an Easter egg, but whatever it was, yers felt a bit angry. Easter eggs are nice, but if they¡¯re the negative kind, that¡¯s a bit annoying. Just as everyone was about to seek a word from the Living Immortal, aizen named ¡°Liuzi¡± spoke up. [Guys, your resilience can¡¯t just be this little, can it? Heh, you¡¯re truly adorable.] [What are you saying! I¡¯ve lost a whole night¡¯s work, and you still have the nerve to make light of this! What color is your blood! ] Before long, Liuzi uploaded an image. Even Wang, who was known as the Gaming Enthusiast, took a sharp breath when he saw it. This yer had constructed a three-dimensional farm; on the ins, farms stood like skyscrapers, showcasing this individual¡¯s extraordinary talent in agriculture and architecture. Looking over the expanse, the whole in had been turned into a cluster of farms, which, if ced in reality, could feed a million people without any issue. Even with automation assistance, this isn¡¯t something an average person could endure. However, due to the violent reaping by the shuttle, most of the three- dimensional farms were destroyed, leaving only ruins, and amidst the debris, the expressionless yer, Liuzi. Seeing this picture, yers who initially wanted to ridicule Liuzi silently deleted their previous messages and then replied: [Sorry, brother, here¡¯s a risque picture for you. Go andfort yourself with it.] [ I know words are pale, but I still want to say, please ept my condolences. ] [I finally understand why my ce was spared, it¡¯s because you, brother, were shouldering the burden. Thank you, brother, you are a true hero.] [It doesn¡¯t matter.], Liuzi cheerfully said in the chat, [On the contrary, it¡¯s fantastic!] [Um¡­ does anyone know the contact info for a mental hospital? Someone here took a hit too hard and isn¡¯t acting right.] [That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying, your tolerance for stress is so weak.] Liuzi typed helplessly, [Think about the games we used to y, almost every one of them was in hardcore mode, where a single death meant the end, and all your progress could be wiped out in an instant. How did you get through those times? Modern games, even in hard mode, are like baby mode. They coddle you, fearing you can¡¯t handle it, and only the Gaming Enthusiast games can excite me a little.] Seeing Liuzi¡¯s message, yers in the chat were silent for a long time. This is a hardcore gamer. Those who have yed ¡°nt Grass¡± until now, to some extent, are all somewhat hardcore. Butpared to Liuzi, they felt as soft as silicone. Liuzi: [Alright, I thought this game was over for me, but it turns out there¡¯s an even bigger surprise. I¡¯m actually starting to like this Living Immortal more and more. Comrades, who wants to join me in something big! ] [What exactly do you want to y? I¡¯ll pass if it¡¯s Old Man.] Wang: [What do you mean?] [Then¡­ can I join?] [What does that mean!] Liuzi: [Stop arguing, of course it¡¯s about trying to bring that thing down! Don¡¯t you want to try and see what happens when we use that kind of flying object as raw material for nting? Maybe we could grow something even more interesting, and then go nt grass on the sun!] Seeing Liuzi¡¯s words, yers were silent once again. What is vision? What is insight? Some people falter after facing setbacks, while others are already considering how to turn challenges into opportunities. At that moment, yers were thoroughly impressed by this farming tycoon and hardcore gamer, all expressing their willingness to follow the lead, determined to strike it big together! Wang also immediately stepped down to let the more capable take the lead, letting Liuzimand the current yers as they all continued to y enthusiastically. Liuzi did not hesitate, quickly typing: [From the feedback we¡¯ve received, we can tell that this thing is only interested in crops, not us. And ording to my stats, it prefers to plunder ces with the most agricultural produce. Therefore, we need to nt the highest yielding crops in one ce to attract it here.] [And then what? How do we bring it down?] Liuzi: [We¡¯ll make our own weapons. The technological system in this game is veryprehensive, and I believe we can recreate some real-world weapons in the game. Starting with catapults, then various traps, bows and arrows, and even crossbows! Brothers, this is a war, a war to protect our wealth and bravely resist! Tell me, who are we!] [Gamers!] [What do we want?] [Sexy¡­ I mean, victory!] [Good, gentlemen, let¡¯s get grinding! Let that white jerk know who it¡¯s messed with!] Wang also watched, his blood boiling with the desire for revenge. He cheered loudly, but after calming down, he felt something was off. This game¡­ it¡¯s a farming game, right? Chapter 55 - 55 New Insights_1 Chapter 55: New Insights_1 When Fang Cheng had finished his meditation and, filled with confidence, returned to his own room and entered Wang¡¯s live streaming room, he was surprised to find that the yers had switched to a different way of ying. Several hosts who were familiar with Wang began to live stream the game scenes and shared the game download link, inviting new yers to join the battle. A simple map was drawn up, and once in the game, yers could determine their location based on the surrounding terrain, and then get in touch with other locals, after which they could choose different tasks to perform. Of course, it¡¯s alright not to join any organization, but then you111 miss out on something really cool. Because, we are getting ready to fight UFOs. With stones! Seeing the yers seriously preparing to attack the UFOs, Fang Cheng¡¯s emotions fluctuated a bit. What the heck are you guys doing? What on earth happened during the time I was contemting? Confused, he asked his question, and Fang Cheng saw someoney out the causes and effects before heading to the yers¡¯ strategy site to learn about the ¡°UFO incident.¡± After reading it, Fang Cheng finally understood what the silver shuttle was, and then he crossed the ck hole to the Spirit Grass. Compared with before his seclusion, this ce hadpletely changed. The number of yers on the had grown to thirty thousand, and under themand of various leaders, they began to build roads, erect tforms, and construct artillery positions in preparation for a fierce battle with the UFOs. Because Fang Cheng initially intended only for yers to farm, he hadn¡¯t set up aplicated Refinement system, simply introducing some tool manufacturing systems. However, the Spirit Grass here contained strong sticity, which the yers fully exploited to start making various simple weapons. After a quick assessment, Fang Cheng realized the level of weaponry here had basically developed to the early stages of firearms. The emergence of ck powder meant their weapons could reach hundreds of meters into the sky, perfect for hitting the flying shuttles. The yers even found a way to grow parts for matchlock guns using Spirit Grass, although it was a pity that these guns were single-use and would be scrapped after a few uses due to high temperatures. But with the help of the Time Stone, they could cultivate matchlock guns inrge quantities and prepare to fight against the shuttles. Concealing his presence, Fang Cheng watched these bustling yers, feeling their emotions, and found they were even more excited than before. A in farming game had been turned into a war game by them, and they were even happier about it. Looking at the busy yers below helplessly, Fang Cheng thought the concept of video games was indeed mysterious. A minor random element couldpletely transform the way a game was yed, and different themes could blend to produce an effect where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. After watching them for a while, Fang Cheng finally made a decision. Blend in with them and understand their thoughts. First, he tagged the departing shuttle, then Fang Cheng prepared to control a game character to join the yers and y with them. This process was simr to ¡°joining the mundane¡± in cultivation, integrating oneself as a character to attempt to understand why they found this process fun. So, Fang Cheng simply created a character, turned on Wang Say Games¡¯ live stream, and entered the game, approaching a nearby yer¡¯s stronghold. As soon as he arrived, a yer ran over and threw a set of clothes grown from Spirit Grass in front of Fang Cheng. Afterwards, he threw down several signs, each clumsily inscribed with the names of various hosts. Understanding the intention, Fang Cheng stood in front of the sign that read ¡°Wang Say Games,¡± indicating he was in Wang¡¯s live room. Signaling Fang Cheng to put on the clothes, someone immediately said in the live room, ¡°Is the newyer who just arrived here? ¡®nt Grass¡¯ hasn¡¯t got a chat system, so wemunicate here. Since the game has no naming system, we use the style of clothing to distinguish each other. From now on, you¡¯re Red Rabbit Beach Shorts, and I¡¯m your guide, please call me ck Silk Bikini.¡± Fang Cheng nced at his game character wearing red rabbit beach shorts and was relieved that at least he looked like a normal person. Having made contact with Fang Cheng, ck Silk Bikini began a private chat with him. ¡°We are currently fighting to defend our wealth, a rigorous process because our technological gap is just too vast. However, we can resurrect infinitely, which is our greatest weapon.¡± Fang Cheng inwardly noted that it wasn¡¯t infinite resurrection, but rather using his own mana to reestablish a clone. ck Silk Bikini: [First, what are you good at?] Fang Cheng: [I¡¯m quite good at nting Spirit Grass.] ck Silk Bikini: [Okay, go to this website first, take note of the ntation methods for the corresponding Water Pistons parts, and thene back to me.] After opening the website, Fang Cheng became interested upon reading the introduction about the Water Pistons. It had to be said, this group of yers did have some capabilities. The various nting methods hidden within the Spirit Grass, they had actually managed to analyze sixty percent of them. After looking at the other nting methods, Fang Cheng reflected for a moment, then returned to the live stream and told ck Silk Bikini: [I¡¯ve got it, I took note.] ck Silk Bikini: [¡­It¡¯s only been ten minutes! yers don¡¯t lie to yers, you can¡¯t be fooling me.] [Not at all.] [Then how much do you know about the four nting methods of the Water Pistons?] [Actually, there are six. 1¡¯11 tell you about the ones I¡¯ve recorded.] After reading the message sent by Fang Cheng, ck Silk Bikini was sincerely impressed. ck Silk Bikini entrusted a piece ofnd to Fang Cheng and introduced a few yers to him, then continued to take new yers with her. With the Time Stone provided by someone, and a continuous supply of water in the channels, Fang Cheng only needed to nt the Water Pistons following certain methods, and the repetitive work made him particrly happy. Without using spells or Divine Skills, but purely nting Spirit Grass, this monotonous activity gave Fang Cheng great pleasure. Compared to the joy Fang Cheng found in it, the other yers seemed somewhat listless. Numbly following the requirements to nt the Spirit Grass, they sometimes stared off into the distance. Following their gaze, Fang Cheng saw a massive warehouse there. The warehouse was buried underground, withyers of bunkers on the surface. The yers¡¯ homemade cannons and catapults were ced here, awaiting the approach of the shuttles. Arge volume of supplies was transported into the warehouse, where they were piled high in a strategic method to make this ce a supply concentration point, meant to lure the shuttles and catch them off guard. After staring at the site for a while, a yer said in their private group chat: [I really want to go there and prepare for battle.] Another yer echoed: [Me too.] [Exactly, it feels like preparing for battle would be interesting.] Seeing the yers¡¯ments, Fang Cheng asked with curiosity: [Isn¡¯t farming fun?] [It¡¯s fun, but¡­] [You can always farm, but encounters with UFOs are rare. Compared to that, these kinds of unexpected events are more interesting.] [Plus, fighting UFOs seems like an advanced form of farming, essentially farming is still serving the purpose of preparing for UFO battles.] [That¡¯s right!] [Exactly my point!] Looking at the feedback from the yers, Fang Cheng was pensive. An insight emerged in his mind, making him feel as though he had understood something. To the yers, it seemed, warfare held more allure than peace. Chapter 56 - 56 Satisfactory Gains_l Chapter 56: Satisfactory Gains_l After recording this newly acquired insight in his heart, Fang Cheng decided to create a game based on this insight next time. For now, he continued to observe the yers, seeing how they waged war and derived pleasure from it. Once the defenses around the warehouse had reached a certain level, Fang Cheng¡¯s nting requirements changed again. yers responsible for farming were tasked with nting a highly productive crop, using this crop to increase yields and thereby attracting the arrival of shuttles. And when the crop reached a certain volume, shuttles indeed appeared. Watching the white dragon materialize, Liuzi, the overallmander, became excited. He adjusted his floral shorts and then shouted in the group chat, ¡°Gentlemen, the moment for war has begun! Follow mymands, fire! The next moment, a barrage was unleashed. The ropes of the trebuchets were cut, and the ancient machinery once more burst forth with its former glory. The shuttles, preparing to plunder the grains mid-air, finally encountered their first resistance. A heavy rain of stones fell down, most of them missing the target, but some hit the shuttles with a crisp impact sound. Then the yers¡¯ second wave of attack arrived. This attack was quite creative¡ªupon realizing the low hit rate of the trebuchets, they began to implement a backup n. That was tounch other yers from the trebuchets like cannonballs into the air! Though they would surely die afterwards, it didn¡¯t matter as long as they got off one shot. It was worth it. These yers had gone through some training beforehand. As they were catapulted toward the shuttles, they could quickly grab the matchlock guns in their hands and fire the bullets before hitting the ground. With the yers¡¯ ability to resurrect, every one of them, whetherunching or beingunched, was filled with a desire for war, revealing to Fang Cheng the yers¡¯ readiness to do whatever it took for victory. Traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books; asionally observing the yers¡¯ actions indeed brought different feelings. A barrage of bullets drummed on the shuttles like a torrential downpour, making it seem as if the shuttles were constantly being suppressed, but in reality they suffered almost no damage. The gap in technology became apparent and cruel at this moment. In the face of the yers¡¯ assault, the shuttles offered no resistance, simply emitting a dazzling white light. This beam of light, like a giant hand, lifted the lid off the warehouse, and the contents werepletely sucked away by the shuttles. After all the materials inside the warehouse disappeared, the shuttles turned and left, leaving behind a group of helpless yers. From start to finish, the shuttles seemed as if they never even noticed the yers, epitomizing the saying ¡°ignorance is the ultimate disdain.¡± ¡°Liuzi, have we failed?¡± a yer asked gloomily. ¡°Don¡¯t know, let¡¯s go clean up the battlefield and see if we can find anything.¡± At Liuzi¡¯smand, the yers went out into the battlefield, searching methodically for any potential spoils of war. Mingling among the yers, Fang Cheng quickly discovered something and confirmed it was just what Liuzi wanted. A small patch of coating. The relentless onught was not without effect; a multitude of attacks had caused slight damage to the shuttles, and this coating was their spoils of war. Though only the size of a fingertip, whenbined with the Spirit Grass here, this coating could produce more interesting things, slightly closing the technological gap between the yers and the shuttles. With the reduction in the technology gap, when encountering the shuttles again, the yers would have stronger armed forces for battle and could elerate the damage to the shuttles, thus obtaining more materials. In this scenario, war was waged to acquire more materials, narrow the technology gap, and eventually achieve true victory, guarding their hard- earned fruits ofbor. With this tiny piece of coating, Fang Cheng handed it to Liuzi. Watching Fang Cheng bring in the coating, Liuzi excitedly shouted in Wang s live streaming room, ¡°This is it! This is what I want!¡±] Handling the coating with extreme care, Liuzi gratefully thanked him and then, clutching the coating, rushed to the fields to start experimenting with the kind of changes the fragments could bring. By now, Fang Cheng had a rough understanding of what was toe and felt the time was just about right. He left the game directly, his physical body once again traversing the ck hole to arrive in another universe, and following the trail he had left earlier, he made his way to the shuttle¡¯s location. This was a massive space base. The base was located on the dark side of the satellite orbiting the Spirit Grass, where time passed rapidly. The entire base had a history of over ten thousand years, but due to theck of oxygen and light, it was well-preserved and still as shiny as new. Due to the chaos of the Heavenly Tao, the information on the base, after tens of thousands of years of erosion, had be untraceable, and it was impossible to understand whom it had once belonged to. The whole base was silent, with most of the machinery in a dormant state. Observing from outside, Fang Cheng soon understood why it had suddenly be active. It was because of himself. He had reignited the local star, the base¡¯s sr energy system had detected the revival of the star, and after charging, it had the energy tounch the shuttle and sent it out. Upon entering, he saw a shuttle missing a piece of its coating unloading cargo. A beam of white light shot out, cing the cargo from the yers inside the base, and then small working robots appeared, transporting the goods to the processing nt. They didn¡¯t notice Fang Cheng¡¯s presence, acting as if he didn¡¯t exist, busily carrying out their tasks. Since there were not many sr panels activated, there was only a small working robot, which was not very efficient. Following the working robot, Fang Cheng watched as it dragged cargo hundreds of times its own size through the base until it arrived at a processing nt. Depositing the cargo into the processing nt, the room-sized factory emitted a slight humming noise, followed by the vibration of machinery at work. The machinery here seemed to be specially designed for processing Spirit Grass; regardless of the final form of the Spirit Grass, it could reduce the Spirit Grass back to its original state and proceed with the next steps of processing. With continuous vibrations, thumb-sized cubes were processed. These cubes were packed into bags, upon which a line of text was printed, and then Fang Cheng used a spell to trante it into Chinese characters. ¡°Great Wall Feed, the trustworthy feed you can rely on. Suitable for pigs, cows, sheep, cats, and other creatures, fully nutritious, factory manager¡¯s heartfelt rmendation!¡± After reading the text on the bags, and ncing at the distant Spirit Grass, Fang Cheng roughly surmised the story that had once taken ce here. The Spirit Grass was originally a ce cultivated for Spirit Grass, and this shuttle was a harvester, which would automatically go to the to harvest crops at set intervals. No wonder the shuttle ignored the yers, for their bodies were remade from dirt by themselves, and to the shuttle, they must appear as tools simr to itself. Then, the yers¡¯ resistance, in the shuttle¡¯s view, was just a malfunction of the robots, but as long as they could provide enough Spirit Grass in time, the shuttle wouldn¡¯t care about anything else. The ce had originally fallen into slumber due to the extinguishing of the star, but when the star awoke, the shuttle was also reactivated, and the yers became the harvest targets. Having sorted out the cause and effect, Fang Cheng couldn¡¯t help butugh. The truth of the matter was indeed amusing. If this incident were made into a game, it would probably be quite fun. With a wave of his sleeve, Fang Cheng pocketed all the feed, nning to use it as employee gifts in the future, specifically for those with pets. These feeds would serve aspensation for igniting the star. Incidentally gaining some insights and now having employee gifts, Fang Cheng felt this experience was quite worthwhile. Noticing the time was about right, Fang Cheng decided to leave this ce to Liuzi and the others, and then he stretched his fingers, getting ready to go to work. Chapter 57: Lawyer’s Letter (Three More) ! Chapter 57: Lawyer¡¯s Letter (Three More) ! Walking into the studio, Fang Cheng routinely watered his Spirit Grass as usual. Growing Spirit Grass on Spirit Grass was fun, but those spirit nts were essentially cultivated by others, and it wasn¡¯t as joyful as nting one¡¯s own. Just as he had finished watering the Spirit Grass, Xu Qingling appeared at the doorway, panting and said, ¡°Boss, good morning.¡± ¡°Morning, why so exhausted?¡± ¡°Woke upte this morning.¡± ¡°If you woke upte, then don¡¯te, get some more rest.¡± If any other boss had said that, it would definitely have been sarcastic and would have left the employee feeling anxious and uneasy. But if Fang Cheng said it, then taking it literally would be just fine. He genuinely wanted Xu Qingling to sleep a bit more. Xu Qingling then stared fixedly at Fang Cheng and after taking a few deep breaths, felt the air be so sweet, filling her with resolve and energy. Last week, due to the Swordsman team¡¯s inappropriate overtime work, Fang Cheng had given the studio a week off, which also granted her, the model employee, an unexpected week-long holiday. Her mood had plummeted. From today on, I swear off overtime! I¡¯ll cut the power right after work each day, let¡¯s see who dares to work overtime! After staring at Fang Cheng for a while longer, Xu Qingling asked, ¡°Boss, you seem to be in a good mood.¡± ¡°Do I?¡± Fang Cheng rubbed his cheeks, an umon gesture that made Xu Qingling¡¯s heart bloom with joy; she quickly took a mental screenshot to save and filed it away in her mind. ¡°Yes!¡± Immediately, Xu Qingling said, ¡°Your lips asionally rise half a millimeter, and your eyes also seem especially kind.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re quite observant, huh. Last week was indeed quite nice. By the way, do you have a cat? I just got a batch of cat food.¡± ¡°¡­Meow-¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°No, what I mean is, I could get one. Boss, if my cat could do backflips, would youe to see it?¡± Looking at Xu Qingling¡¯s face full of anticipation, Fang Cheng thought for a moment. Cat demons that could do backflips were quitemon, and if Xu Qingling¡¯s cat could do backflips, it was likely about to be a spirit. Although he had not seen any demons since his rebirth, it did not guarantee their nonexistence, and he would indeed like to see it if there were one. So, he nodded, ¡°Sure, if there really is one, I¡¯11e to see it.¡± Xu Qingling immediately left happily and dialed her butler from her workstation. ¡°Uncle Li, I¡¯ve decided to get a cat.¡± ¡°The pedigree doesn¡¯t matter, nor does the gender or age. There¡¯s only one requirement: it must be able to do backflips, the more proficient, the better.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s a bit difficult, but that¡¯s my only requirement. Uncle Li, please help me out with this, thank you.¡± After stating her request, Xu Qingling sat down full of anticipation and then continued with her work. Soon, the three game designers also arrived here, equally filled with passion, and began working. After a week-long break, the desire to work had built up to the breaking point; now was the time to explode with productivity! And there was indeed a lot to do today. The sales of ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± had broken through to two million yesterday, and the peak concurrent online had also exceeded three hundred thousand. The game¡¯s solid quality and good reputation achieved a lot of positive reviews without any advertisements or promotions. Seeing the great potential embodied in the game, Huang Ping devoted himself to it with unprecedented enthusiasm, constantly considering the next game mode based on feedback from yers and his own perception. yer feedback is very important; some feedback can help designers think from the yer¡¯s perspective and see where they fall short. But it¡¯s important to pay attention to the silent majority. Historically, more than one game failed because it focused too much on yer opinions, and some failed because they thought they were too cool andpletely ignored the yers, ending up in a downfall. So, how to make choices is something a game designer must carefully consider. It involves yer psychology and game psychology, as well as the designer¡¯s own experience and intuition¡ªit¡¯s a real test for any designer. Drinking tea, Huang Ping guided Monkey, who sat beside him, on sorting yer feedback while exining how to understand yer opinions. Before they knew it, it was time to clock out. Happy times always fly so swiftly. However, the incident from the previous week had already scared Huang Ping, and he dared not sneak in more overtime work. He simply stood up, ready to say goodbye to Monkey. But just as he was about to leave, a postman appeared at the door and politely asked, ¡°Excuse me, is Mr. Huang Ping here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s me, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got mail, please sign for it.¡± Confused, Huang Ping stepped forward to sign for the package, unable to recall when he had made a purchase, let alone why the delivery address was set to the studio. But his eyebrows knitted together when he saw the sender¡¯s name. He immediately opened the package and after seeing its contents, he let out a long sigh. It had stille after all. Packing up the item, Monkey, who had been preparing to go out to eat with Xiao Douzi, approached with curiosity and asked, ¡°Liu Bei, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Xiao Douzi was tall and immediately saw what was in Huang Ping¡¯s hands, causing his pupils to shrink a bit. After a moment of hesitation, he patted Huang Ping on the shoulder and whispered, ¡°Old Huang, you should talk to the boss.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really nothing, let¡¯snot trouble the boss¡­¡± ¡°Do you think the boss is someone who fears trouble? Not telling him would make things even worse.¡± Huang Ping thought it over and felt Xiao Douzi was right. He should have thought of this earlier. He had just been too bewildered upon receiving the package, and that had resulted in his losing hisposure. So, Huang Ping nodded and took the letter over to Fang Cheng¡¯s desk. Handing it over to Fang Cheng, Huang Ping said helplessly, ¡°Boss, I¡¯m being sued.¡± ¡°Is it about the assault?¡± Fang Cheng asked. Huang Ping gave a bitterugh, ¡°You knew?¡± Since Fang Cheng had never mentioned it after he joined, Huang Ping thought he was unaware. However, with Mr. Shen as a contact, it was unlikely Fang Cheng wouldn¡¯t have known. He probably just didn¡¯t consider it a big deal. And indeed, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t consider it a big deal. After all, ¡°When rulers treat their subjects like dirt, the subjects see their rulers as foes,¡± and Mr. Shen had already gossiped to him about KongKong¡¯s issues. KongKong had a history of various shady moves: passing the buck, self- righteousness, enforcing overtime work, forcing employees over thirty-five to resign withoutpensation, and more. Overall, he¡¯d earned the beating he got. A thousand years ago, such a person would surely have sparked a rebellion and ended up skinned and stuffed with straw, as a warning to others. One could only say that awful society had saved his life. But Huang Ping shookhis head, ¡°It¡¯s not about that, Tianyi is suing me for viting the nonpete agreement.¡± Seeing Fang Cheng looking a bit puzzled, Huang Ping exined, ¡°Tianyi has a nonpete use stating that employees can¡¯t work in gaming-rted jobs for two years after departing. Ordinarily, no one cares about this, but KongKong dug it up. And, uh, boss, I¡­¡± Huang Ping was just about to suggest resigning so as not to cause trouble for the studio when he saw Xu Qingling stand up briskly. Handing over herwyer¡¯s ID to Huang Ping, she took thewyer¡¯s letter, her beautiful eyes filled with gravity. After carefully reading the letter, she asked, ¡°Huang Ping, have you received a limitationpensation payment from Tianyi every month since you left?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°That means you haven¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry about this then, it¡¯s useless. But I suspect this is just a blinding method, Tianyi is trying to cover up something, and that¡¯s their real intention.¡± After a moment of thought, Xu Qingling looked to the three nners and asked, ¡°Any recent news about video games, anything about a game simr to our studio¡¯s going online?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Monkey immediately nodded, ¡°A medieval-style battle royale game isunching overseas. It has a simr concept to ours, but the details are way off.¡± ¡°Check out thatpany, I feel like that¡¯s the real deal. And boss, for such a matter, it¡¯s not too much to askfor some overtime, is it?¡± Xu Qingling asked pitifully. Looking at Xu Qingling, who switched statuses in a heartbeat, Fang Cheng nodded, ¡°Sure, you can make up the timeter.¡± ¡°¡­Stingy.¡± It seems that if she wanted more time together, rather than hoping Fang Cheng would let her work overtime, it might be quicker for the butler to find a cat that can do backflips. Chapter 58 - 58 This Person is So Cheap_i Chapter 58: This Person is So Cheap_i Investigation into this matter wasn¡¯t burdensome, and Xu Qingling quickly came to know the relevant intelligence. As the granddaughter and external granddaughter of a bigwig, Xu Qingling had many connections. A few phone calls, and she would learn many inside stories that ordinary people didn¡¯t know. After a few calls, Xu Qingling said, ¡°It¡¯s clear now, Tianyi is nning something. First, take a look at this game.¡± She opened Bilibili, searched, and then disyed a game video. This game was a game CG released by a Korean gamingpany, which effectively showcased Korea¡¯s beautiful but slightly greasy character modeling and apart from character modeling, the gamey was practically non-existent. Despite the shy special effects, it was apparent that this game was likely a battle royale with a swords and magic theme. After watching the two and a half minute demo video, Fang Cheng, standing behind Xu Qingling, asked with confusion, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this game?¡± ¡°This is a new battle royale game from Korea called ¡®Sword of Heroes.¡¯ The art is nice, but the other qualities are mediocre, and it didn¡¯t make much of a ssh in Korea. However, ording to reliable information, Tianyi recently acquired the domestic distribution rights.¡± Flicking thewyer¡¯s letter from Huang Ping, Xu Qingling continued, ¡°So thiswyer¡¯s letter is just a Blinding Method. They probably think most of ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯s sess is due to Huang Ping, so we certainly won¡¯t give up on Huang Ping. Afterward, they can use tactics likewsuits to tie us up and slow down the update speed of ¡®Quiet Cultivation,¡¯ creating a time gap for the localization of ¡®Sword of Heroes.''¡± After contemting for a moment, Huang Ping said, ¡°There¡¯s also the possibility that they want to acquire us.¡± As an old ox who had left Tianyi, Huang Ping knew a lot about their internal affairs. Sorting his thoughts, Huang Ping said, ¡°Tianyi has many studios, with headquarters on the other side in Shencheng, and a total of thirteen studios here in Rong City. Opposite us, Kongkong Studio is just one of them. Buying games m advance and sendingwyer¡¯s letters is very much like the handiwork of Rong City¡¯s Feixiang Studio.¡± Hearing this name, Xiao Douzi showed a face like someone who found half a mouse in their meal, ¡°Feixiang Studio¡­¡± ¡°What about this studio?¡± Fang Cheng asked with keen interest. ¡®It has a lousy reputation,¡± Xiao Douzi said with a frown, ¡°They¡¯ve released a lot of games, including single-yer, mobile, and online games, but they really push the in-app purchases. Also, games acquired by them neverst more than half a year, which is why they¡¯ve been dubbed ¡®The Game ughterhouse.''¡± From the name alone, one could sense a whiff of blood and corruption. Huang Ping nodded in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s right, Feixiang Studio doesn¡¯t have a development team, only legal affairs, business, andwork operations departments. They¡¯re best at finding games with potential, then directly acquiring the studios and beginning extensive in-app purchase modifications.¡± ¡°What if you don¡¯t want to be acquired?¡± Monkey asked curiously. ¡°They¡¯ll acquire a simrpetitor and then sue you for infringement using their powerful legal team. They almost always win. Even if they lose, it doesn¡¯t matter, because small studios can¡¯t afford a long battle and end up being forced to sell their games for cheap. After acquiring the game, they aggressively milk all its value through various channels before discarding it. It¡¯s pretty disgusting.¡± With a wry smile, Huang Ping shook his head, ¡°As despicable as they are this studio¡¯s revenue ranks in the top ten at Tianyi, so Rong City¡¯s president, Zhang Pmg, often turns a blind eye. Many promising games have been mishandled by them. I have a few personal grievances as well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Xiao Douzi nodded somberly, ¡± ¡®Endless Doomsday,¡¯ ¡®Big Prison Warden,¡¯ ¡®Romantic Tales of Peach Boy¡¯¡­ I can name several games offhand that can¡¯t be yed anymore. That damn studio should be ttened by a nuke and have arge public toilet built over it as a warning!¡± ¡± ¡®Endless Doomsday¡¯ was run by them? No wonder the game was fun but the operation was crap! Alright, Feixiang is my sworn enemy from now on.¡± After hearing Huang Ping¡¯s introduction, Fang Cheng was slightly surprised. Feixiang Studio was not a game studio at all but a group of merchants who wouldn¡¯t act without profit. Before hearing about this, Fang Cheng had never imagined games could be so profitable. Piecing together the connections, Fang Cheng pondered, ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that Feixiang Studio has set its sights on ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ and begun targeting us?¡± ¡°Maybe, but not necessarily,¡± Huang Ping sighed, ¡°I hope they just want to target me, not our game.¡± And Xiao Douzi squinted his eyes as he looked into the distance and suddenly said, ¡°Tonight, I¡¯m gonna smash his face with a brick!¡± ¡°Douzi bro, don¡¯t be rash!¡± Monkey grabbed hold of Xiao Douzi. Huang Ping quickly interjected, ¡°Exactly, Xiao Douzi you shouldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°If someone¡¯s going to do it, it should be me! I¡¯m a minor!¡± Monkey added. Monkey, you be calm too! Boss, what do you think?¡± Pretty cute,¡± Fang Cheng remarked. ¡°What?¡± Huang Ping looked at Fang Cheng with confusion, wondering if his boss had been driven mad by anger. But Fang Cheng genuinely found the other side rather adorable. Ever since his own cultivation had reached its peak, just short of ascending, he had never been schemed against. Of course, that¡¯s not to say it never happened, but in the end, none survived. But now, a few mortals actually believed they could plot against him This foolhardiness was like a Chihuahua on the roadside, watching a passing dreadnought barking madly, its show of might quite amusing. And right now, this situation even had a bit of a war-like feeling. The business world is like a battlefield, and the invader (Feixiang Studio) had already sharpened their knives, ready to plunder. Their target was to loot our assets (¡°Quiet Cultivation¡±), their weapons were ready, ammunition loaded, and their full attack would likely unfold soon. Ready to take this opportunity to experience what makes war so intriguing, Fang Cheng signaled everyone to keep calm and then, smiling, said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll just wait at our leisure. Alright, it¡¯s gettingte, and since Huang Ping and Chen Liang joined us, we haven¡¯t had a team-building dinner. Let¡¯s all go out to eat together, and take the next two days off.¡± Boss! You really don¡¯t understand what we want! Our team-building should be working overtime at thepany!¡± Xiao Douzi said nervously. ¡°No use in talking more.¡± ¡°Plus, we just had a week offst week! Don¡¯t you think we spend too little time at work?¡± Huang Ping asked incredulously. ¡°Isn¡¯t that great? Not working and still getting paid, isn¡¯t that the life manyizens dream of?¡± ¡°We¡¯re different!¡± ¡°No use in talking more. We¡¯re going for the buffet, the same one asst time. By the way, you can bring family members, the studio will reimburse.¡± Dragged forcefully to the buffet, Huang Ping watched thepany¡¯s front gate close before his eyes and shed tears of regret. In the past, he had envied Fang Cheng¡¯s studio, envious that they could have a feast during work hours. But now that he had be one of the feasters, he found himself envying those who could freely work overtime. Humans¡­ Really are a bit masochistic. Chapter 59: Overwhelming Battle_i Chapter 59: Overwhelming Battle_i The next day, Fang Cheng awoke and meditated for half an hour before he began to water the Spirit Grass in his apartment. Midway through watering, he whimsically divined his fortune and then donned casual sportswear to stroll at a leisurely pace towards the city center, arriving at the underground McDonald¡¯s at the center¡¯s subway za at precisely eleven thirteen. Checking the time, he ordered two ssic grilled chicken burgers, ten pieces of McNuggets, and arge fries under the eager greeting of the staff. He then sat by the window, quietly waiting while nibbling on fries and munching on burgers. At eleven thirty, a middle-aged man in a white T-shirt entered and, after purchasing a Coke, he sat diagonally opposite Fang Cheng. Unaware of the diagonal opposite him, the man took out his phone and dialed a number¡ªFang Cheng¡¯s phone on the table simultaneously began to vibrate. The sudden sound startled the middle-aged man, causing his knee to inadvertently knock into the small table. The Coke on it bounced high before it was deftly caught by Fang Cheng just before hitting the ground. cing the Coke back across the middle-aged man, Fang Cheng smiled, answered his phone, and put it to his ear, ¡°Hello, this is Fang Cheng. It¡¯s our first meeting, you must be Sun Jue, the owner of Feixiang Studio, right?¡± Hang up the call. Under the other¡¯s stunned gaze, Fang Cheng took his tray and slowly finished another ssic grilled chicken burger. As he ate, Sun Jue¡¯s face showed astonishment as he sized up Fang Cheng sitting in front of him, the confusion in his mind nearly spilling out. Why was this man here? How did he know to call him here? Why had he chosen the seat diagonally opposite him? His head swam with questions, and he ultimately arrived at one conclusion. ¡°You¡¯ve been following me!¡± Sun Jue eximed. ¡°What do you think?¡± Fang Cheng replied as he picked up the second burger. The ambiguous answer put Sun Jue on high alert. ording to his calctions, Fang Cheng should be in his own studio, still unsure whether to save Huang Ping or abandon him. Whatever his choice, Sun Jue would leverage his extensive experience to get Fang Cheng to y to his rhythm. Afterward, with a bit of cajoling and deceiving, this talented yet socially inexperienced studio head would be led right into his trap and be persuaded to sell ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± with thanks owed to Sun Jue afterward. Yet now, the sudden appearance of Fang Cheng had disrupted all his ns, making him feel that the young man before him was enigmatic and possessed an extraordinary energy. He even suspected that there might be corporate espionage among his staff, someone secretly selling out his movements. Damn, why had a regr business acquisition turned into a mystery thriller? Habitually biting down on his straw, he didn¡¯t drink the Coke but instead chewed the straw in his mouth, distorting its shape to ease the anxiety from his nicotine withdrawal. After calming himself down, he looked at Fang Cheng and said seriously, ¡°The letter of attorney¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about such useless things and get to the heart of the matter,¡± Fang Cheng replied, cutting him off. Sun Jue was taken aback once more, his momentum vanishing instantly. He was the producer of argepany, someone whom even the president would greet with a smile. Yet in front of Fang Cheng, he felt himself at a disadvantage. Fang Cheng¡¯s mysteriousness made it difficult for him to gauge the other¡¯s true intentions, forcing him to gather his strength again before he finally said, ¡°I¡¯m thinking of offering¡­¡± ¡± ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ has sold three million copies to date, with a profit of about 240 million thus far. The game is predicted to reach ten million sales this year, and if an international version isunched, the revenue would be even higher,¡± Fang Cheng said, crumpling the burger wrapper and tossing it effortlessly into the trash can ten meters away. Slowly wiping his hands with a napkin, Fang Cheng smiled and continued, ¡°If you want to acquire it, how much are you prepared to offer?¡± Before the other could respond, Fang Cheng seemed to remember something and added, ¡°We also have passes that go on sale every month on the fifteenth, with about forty percent of yers willing to buy and continue to do so. How much do you think that¡¯s worth?¡± In this moment, the plight of mortals before an Immortal was unmistakably exposed. If he wished, Fang Cheng could easily hear the other person¡¯s inner voice, discern their emotions from their heartbeat, and his powerful calcting abilities could even predict what they were nning to do next. In front of an Immortal, all mortal affairs were an open book. However, normally, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t like to pay such close attention, after all, he considered himself to be in the game of life, and allowing himself some confusion helped him appreciate the joy of ying, thereby creating better games. He activated his abilities now to experience the feeling of asymmetric information in war, but soon realized that making yers too omniscient wasn¡¯t good; the game seemed tock difficulty. Back in his days at Tianxiong, Mr. Shen had repeatedly emphasized that overly simple gamescked interest, and now Fang Cheng deeply agreed. Unlike Fang Cheng, who was trying to enjoy the war, Sun Jue sitting opposite him was nearly at his breaking point. The negotiation rhythm he prided himself on waspletely shattered, and everything he wanted to say was guessed by the young man in front of him. Sitting across from him, he suspected even the color of his underwear was known to the other party, leaving him only with endless humiliation. Forcing a twisted smile, he looked at Fang Cheng and said, ¡°Mr. Fang¡­ aren¡¯t you afraid¡­¡± ¡°Not afraid.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t even¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it about using us of giarism?¡± ¡°Why do you¡­¡± ¡°Your cards are just that, easily guessed. So, do you have any other cards up your sleeve?¡± Standing up with a smile, Fang Cheng spoke to Sun Jue, whose face was ashen and who was slightly trembling, not daring to look at him from beginning to end, ¡°Thank you, you¡¯ve made me realize how boring an overwhelming battle can be. I look forward to your attacking me in other ways, you¡¯re always wee.¡± After eating thest french fry, Fang Cheng patted Sun Jue on the shoulder in a friendly manner, then picked up his tray and left. Although Fang Cheng had left the ce, Sun Jue still didn¡¯t dare to move. They had only been in contact for a brief half hour, but that crushing pressure, as if the great Mount Tai was bearing down, still lingered as if the other had never left. Sitting in a daze for an hour, Sun Jue finally dared to reach out for the c ced in front of him. The c had gone t, the ice had melted, and the temperature had risen, making this ss of c particrly unpleasant to drink. But he still sipped at the c as if it were the only thing he could drink before his imminent demise. At the same time, he could not help but start to recount Fang Cheng¡¯s words. Every word, every phrase, every tone was as if it had been chiseled into his brain with a chisel, impossible to forget even if he wanted to. Just then, the phone rang; the secretary¡¯s voice appeared in his ear: ¡°Boss, you finally answered the phone. Didn¡¯t you go to negotiate with Fang Cheng Studio? How did it turn out?¡± ¡°I still want to live a few more years.¡± ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m nning to retire.¡± That evening, the news of Sun Jue, the game butcher¡¯s retirement, caused a small ripple in the gaming world. Some were overjoyed, others were bewildered, but Fang Cheng, who knew the truth, had only one thought. Overwhelming battles indeed aren¡¯t fun. For the loser as well as the victor. So, it needs to be challenging! Chapter 60: The Life of a Hero (Third Chapter 60: The Life of a Hero (Third Update) 1 Taking advantage of the two-day break, Fang Cheng started watching various war movies to further deepen his impression of war. War, in a narrow sense, is a dispute between nations, based on the interests of states. War may require a reason or it may not. However, a war without reason can take a century to erase its impact, and it is very likely to be retaliated in the name of vengeance. In a broader sense, war epasses more, including trade wars, individuals¡¯ struggles against fate, civil wars¡­ all of these are forms of war. There are many entry points to war, such as civilians, soldiers, generals, strategists¡­ Heroes, Demon Kings, magicians¡­ Ordinary people, psychics, anti-psychics¡­ There are countless films and shows about war, and counting the broader definition of war, there are even more. Beyond that, war is also an important theme in games, from real-time strategy to capture the g, from role-ying to civilization simtion¡ªwar is a significant branch in gaming. After watching for a long time, Fang Cheng still couldn¡¯t grasp the interesting parts of war. A single Palm Thunder¡­ Patting his head, he told himself to break away from the Immortal¡¯s way of thinking and not to resolve everything with Palm Thunder. After all, the skirmish with Sun Jue in the morning had proven that overwhelmingly one-sided battles were not interesting, so it would be better to have a battle that was evenly matched or even slightly disadvantaged. Moreover, it was best to have a prototype, ideally a character from one¡¯s own nation¡¯s history, as this would make the game more realistic. Having figured out how to get started, Fang Cheng left his room and stepped into the Cosmic Void, then walked towards the distance. With each step, he traversed over a dozen light-years, eventually catching up with the light from a thousand years ago, witnessing the images of Earth as they were a thousand years past. Light travels through the universe at the speed of light, so by reaching a position a thousand light-years away, one could capture the faint glow of history and see the images from a thousand years ago. Fang Cheng thought this was quite simple, but for some reason, his contemporaries could never learn it. Moving forward and backward through the light of time, Fang Cheng carefully observed the characters within the light, and finally chose one. A character who was inconspicuous in history and hadn¡¯t even been recorded. After all, during that era, there were simply too many people like him. He lived over eleven hundred years ago, during the final years of the dynasty when foreign tribes had severed the kingdom¡¯snds in half, arge expanse of territory falling to the west. Due to theck ofmunication in ancient times, many subjects of the dynasty never set foot on their homnd, only able to reminisce on the glory of the dynasty on this istednd. And this character was born here. He carried the bloodline of the Han people, and their homnd had long been breached by the foreign tribes, himself being enved and driven by them. The rule of the foreign tribes was simple and crude; a group of people were thrown into a deste Gobi to farm and dig wells. Whenever the crops were harvested, the tribes woulde and plunder the food, leaving only the necessary rations for them. If they did not meet the quota, then the tribes would take their children as ves for the city, where these people were likely to die in great numbers shortly after arriving at the cities of the tribes. The protagonist, born in this ce, never set foot on the dynasty¡¯snd, and even his parents were born there, only knowing through the generations that the great eastern nation was their homnd, their home. There, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the generals guarded all directions. There, children could dress warmly, eat their fill every day, the city¡¯s water could be directly drawn from rivers, and the water from the wells was clear and sweet, without the slightest bitterness. The crops in the fields yielded twice a year, the soldiers were kind, and after handing over a certain amount of food each year, the rest was theirs. Once a disaster struck, the court would even allocate funds for disaster relief, unlike here, where theypletely disregarded the life and death of these people. Every time this subject came up, his parents would tell him, ¡°We are not ves; we have our own names. We are Han people; we have our own home.¡± Even though he was young, the protagonist had already developed the desire to return, hoping to go back to his homnd, the Tang Dynasty. However, a young ve couldn¡¯t stir up any trouble and, barring any idents, he would be exploited for hisst bit of value like the others before dying here. But an ident urred. A wounded Soldier appeared, fainting at his doorstep, and the protagonist hastily brought him inside and hid him. That night, the barbarian soldiers searched the ce thoroughly. Outside the house, the hurried footsteps and curses were incessant, and the light of the fire outside the windows flickered, frightening people into forgetting to breathe. Fortunately, the hiding spot left by his parents was concealed in such a way that it was impossible to find without knowing its location. Only after the barbarian soldiers left did he bring the Soldier out. The Soldier¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t serious; he had be separated from his troop in the Gobi, got lost, and finally copsed here, exhausted and thirsty. And it seemed the barbarian soldiers weren¡¯t actually looking for this Soldier, as they had no idea he had been there. As for the Soldier¡¯s purpose, he didn¡¯t tell the protagonist. When the Soldier had rested, he began to teach the protagonist how to read and started imparting martial skills. At night, when he was tired, he would tell the protagonist various kinds of knowledge, and what far-off Chang¡¯an had to offer. From him, the protagonist learned to read, to do arithmetic, how to draw a bow and shoot an arrow, and how to use a shield to block and then find the opponent¡¯s weak spot to finish them with a sword. Once the Soldier had recovered, he told the protagonist about the general location of their stronghold, and cautioned him, ¡°When you grow big enough and strong enough, capable of shooting birds out of the sky with your arrows and slicing falling leaves with your spear, then you can go to the stronghold and join us. Now, I must leave. If I do not return, please tie this lock of hair to the red willow in front of the stronghold. If you forge a way home, take me and mypanions¡¯ hair back to the Tang Dynasty.¡± Afterward, he pulled out his own hair, handed the lock of hair to the protagonist, and then embarked on a journey sure to be hisst. The protagonist¡¯s legend would not unfold until three yearster. After watching the protagonist¡¯s life sh by, Fang Cheng was somewhat moved. The protagonist¡¯s life was full of setbacks and poignant moments, victories and failures. He had once relied on a city wall, resisting the siege of hundreds of barbarians with just a spear and a bow. He had also nearly died of mria, vomiting and suffering diarrhea on the grasnds. He fought in over a hundred battles throughout his life, his body covered in countless scars, flirting with death each time. Only when facing his end did he arrive in Chang¡¯an with hisrades¡¯ hair and, a yearter, passed away in this ce he had longed for. His life had little enjoyment; it was filled with war and the next war. He was a hero, and his story deserved to be passed down. Reaching out his hand, Fang Cheng captured the light that recorded the other¡¯s life. Next, it was time to pass the light on. Chapter 61 - 61 Newbie Plot_i Chapter 61: Newbie Plot_i In history, this hero was a standard war veteran, and one could make a linear game just with a series of his battles, but Fang Cheng felt that yers should be given more choices. The game ought to be free enough to allow yers to take part in wars that The Nameless had never encountered, or even potentially join the well-known battles of history. Such unexpected little Easter eggs, Fang Cheng believed, would excite yers upon discovery. Having realized this, Fang Cheng was quite content. He felt that his recent work on the game had not been in vain and he was gradually gaining some insights. Since he wanted to go in the direction of an open world, the game would need to be designed in a somewhat unconventional manner. That was to extrapte. To set some basic conditions and then to deduce and extrapte the next developments through certain methods¡ªthat was extraption. This Divine Skill differed from divination; divination was a peek into the future, while extraption was a conjecture based on the past. As long as theputing power was sufficient, any Cultivator could extrapte a great deal, but because it wasputed, some idents and variables could cause deviation in the extraption, ultimately leading to an oundish oue. However, what he captured was a ray of the past. By extrapting through the contents recorded within the light, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems. Clutching the beam of light in his hand, the hero¡¯s entire life was recorded within this light beam spanning 45 light-years. Taking the starting point of the light beam as the starting point for extraption, Fang Cheng added various initial variables to make the The Nameless in the extraption more akin to a game character. Besides that, he had to impose certain restrictions on the character, such as prohibitions on joining foreign tribes or ughtering the popce. After all, these were things The Nameless would definitely not do, and he did not wish for yers to act against the hero¡¯s will. Once he finished processing the beam of light, hepleted the packaging of the game, adjusted its size, and then returned satisfied to his own studio. As soon as he entered, he heard the intive voice of Xu Qingling, ¡°Boss, did you get lost in game development and lose track of time again?¡± Looking at Xu Qingling crouched by the door, Fang Cheng nodded and said, ¡°Yes, have I been gone for several days?¡± ¡°Not too bad, just two working days. But Huang Ping and the others have something to say.¡± ¡°A raise? A raise would be good.¡± ¡°When ites to money, Boss, you really don¡¯t hold back at all.¡± Finally, Huang Ping, who had been standing aside, couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He coughed softly, then asked, ¡°Boss, where have you been during the time you disappeared?¡± ¡°Developing games, then identally lost track of time,¡± Fang Cheng admitted frankly. ¡°You¡¯ve been working until now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been working until now.¡± Huang Ping sighed. Although every studio has its own way of making games, Fang Cheng¡¯s method was certainly the most unique. It s not unheard of for a project leader to do the majority of the work, but when it happens every time, one starts to feel somewhat guilty about their sry. Some producers certainly have strong control tendencies and insist on writing all the design ns themselves, but that doesn¡¯t mean they code everything themselves. Even with Al assistance for programming, you can¡¯t be that industrious. Nheless, each person has their own methods, and Huang Ping didn¡¯t feel it was his ce to criticize. And in the gaming industry, results are what matter. As long as the producer keeps creating solid game frameworks, what he does in the office doesn¡¯t matter, even if he were to streak. Coughing, Huang Ping decided not to pursue the issue and instead looked at Fang Cheng to say, ¡°Boss, you were the one who said no to overtime, but aren¡¯t you the first to break that rule? So we¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I understand,¡± Fang Cheng nodded. ¡°You¡­ understand?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll takepensatory leave right away, and you guys continue working. Oh, and here¡¯s the game I just finished developing. Test it out first, and I¡¯lle back the day after tomorrow to hear your feedback. Then we can discuss how to make adjustments.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not¡­¡± Huang Ping had just wanted to exin when he saw Fang Cheng put down the USB sh drive, wave his hand, and leave. What he wanted to say was that working a little overtime asionally wouldn¡¯t hurt, and people shouldn¡¯t be so rigid. To his surprise, Fang Cheng truly led by example and walked away after putting down the game, leaving Huang Ping speechless. Turning around, he saw Xiao Douzi giving him a look of silent resentment, and Xu Qingling¡¯s expression was even more sorrowful. Shrinking back like a turtle, Huang Ping thought of something and pped his hands, saying, ¡°I forgot to tell the boss about thewyer¡¯s letter and Sun Jue¡¯s matter. Does anyone have the boss¡¯s Fetion? I¡¯ll contact the boss.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle this matter,¡± Xu Qingling said, holding her phone and smiling. Just in time, her own cat had also arrived, and she had time to invite the boss over to watch the cat do backflips. Even though it couldn¡¯t do them now, with a little training, it would eventually learn. At the same time, thepany¡¯s rules and regtions needed to be set-the policies forbidding employees and the boss from working overtime both had to be written into the system! Fang Cheng hurried over and then swiftly left, only a USB sh drive with the new game remained behind. Although they were somewhat dissatisfied with Fang Cheng¡¯s strict self-discipline and equally strict expectations of others, the new game was faultless. Especially the boss¡¯s new game, that was definitely wless! First, they uploaded the new game to thepany¡¯s SVN directory, then downloaded and installed it on each of theirputers, and the three nners began to eagerly experience the game. The game is named ¡®The Nameless¡¯¡­ It carries a certain unstoppable momentum. The genre is war¡­ It¡¯s not a romance simtion, is it?¡± Huang Ping asked with confusion. Xiao Douzi did not speak. He had already washed his hands and disinfected the mouse and keyboard with alcohol; now, he waspletely immersed in the world of the game, not even an earthquake could awaken him. Fortunately, there was still a lively Monkey in the studio who immediately replied to Huang Ping¡¯s question, ¡°Liu Bei, no matter how outrageous the boss can be, he surely wouldn¡¯t go that far.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand him. He¡¯s not outrageous, just a very¡­special kind of producer. Just y for a bit, and you should get it.¡± Upon entering the game and getting acquainted with the gamey, the opening scene didn¡¯t take long to introduce the protagonist¡ªThe Nameless. The protagonist¡¯s name didn¡¯t appear, which nicely matched the title, and was presumably rted to some aspect of the game¡¯s settings. Jotting down this question in his notebook, Huang Ping continued ying. After an initial encounter with a Soldier in the start, the game quickly moved three years forward in time. The game employed a first-person perspective, with graphics as refined as ever; to match the game¡¯s theme, everything around looked quite dpidated, people¡¯s faces were numb, creating an unusual sense of oppression. After fiddling with the controls, Huang Ping found that the game was more suited for motion-sensing peripherals. In order to adapt better to the game, he specifically fetched a motion-sensing device, and upon connecting it, he couldn¡¯t help but marvel. The keyboard and mouse controls were already very smooth, but with the motion-sensing device connected, it went up a notch-the simple wooden spear felt tangible at that moment, as if he were truly wielding it. While Huang Ping was contemting, he heard someone outside yelling loudly, ¡°The Tubo areing!¡± Hearing this, Huang Ping¡¯s body tensed. The newbie storyline was here! Excited, he jumped out to find three Tubo Soldiers charging at him on warhorses, like three oversized experience packs,ing from afar right to his spot. Hefting his spear, Huang, just about to showcase his exceptional skills, saw the screen turn to ck and white. In the middle of the screen, the red character for ¡°Defeated¡± stood out conspicuously, leaving Huang Ping, who had wanted to make a grand show of his abilities, frozen in ce. Is the difficulty of this game¡­ possibly wed? Chapter 62: The Meaning of The Nameless_l Chapter 62: The Meaning of The Nameless_l Staring nkly at his own death screen, Huang Ping began to recall what had just happened. ¡°I bravely charged at three Tubo cavalry with my leather shield in front of me, I conjectured that these low-level NPCs should have been knocked away by my shield bash, then I could¡¯ve taken the opportunity to finish them off with my de. But the result was¡­ I got instantly killed? Those cavalrymen all had big beards, but they were definitely all young men, because they had no sense of martial virtue! Disbelieving, Huang Ping restarted the game from the save point. This time, he chose to move stealthily, waiting for the chance tounch a surprise attack. His spear sessfully pierced a cavalryman in the waist, assisted by the game1 s auto ¨C aim. He wanted to press his advantage, but the other two cavalry charged over, their curved swords turned into divine weapons by the speed of their steeds, severly decapitating him. ¡°Defeat¡±. The red text constantly shifted in Huang Ping¡¯s vision, sometimes morphing into ¡°noob,¡± and at other times ¡°weak.¡± Dying twice in the tutorial left Huang Ping speechless. If you want to make a Soul Series type of game that tortures people, just say it outright. There¡¯s no need to sneakily hide it. Though the Soul Series can barely be considered rted to war themes, their relevance is about the same as saying the Soul Series is about romance and character development. After all, both have pretty girls, right? Exhaling deeply, Huang Ping was about tomiserate with Monkey about the difficulty of the game when he noticed that Monkey was ying a scene he had never seen before. Sandstorm filling the sky, unbearable heat, the protagonist wandered alone in the desert. His water bottle was empty, and the character in the game was more prone to dehydration in the desert environment, hovering on the brink of death. But Monkey was fearless. The moment he crossed a patch of shadow on the ground, he sharply bent his bow and shot an arrow. A bird in the sky fell at the sound, bing Monkey¡¯s spoils of war. Hooking the bird on his back, Monkey verified the direction the bird came from and slowly walked toward that direction. He eventually found a water source just before dying of thirst. Watching Monkey¡¯s screen, Huang Ping asked in confusion, ¡°Aren¡¯t our starting points different?¡± ¡°No idea. I was born in a Tubo ve town. Right at the start, I encountered Tubo cavalry looting. What about you? ¡°Same.¡± ¡°Then there shouldn¡¯t be random starting locations; everyone¡¯s initial position is the same. The difficulty level of this game is quite reasonable. It¡¯s quite nice to y.¡± Huang Ping originally wanted to ask how he managed to defeat the three starting cavalry, but seeing Monkey ying so effortlessly, he felt a bit embarrassed to ask. If he didn¡¯t ask, he could still bluff his way through. Asking would only prove that he indeed was a noob. Knowing he wasn¡¯t cut out for such punishing games, Huang Ping simply moved a chair over, sat next to Monkey, and began to watch his gamey. Unlike Fang Cheng¡¯s previous works, this game had no cultivation techniques or tree-punching drills. It had only two words: realism. Through observing Monkey¡¯s gamey, Huang Ping finally started to understand more about the game mechanics. The game had a time system. yers could arrange for their characters to train or allocate time to travel and move to different locations. During this period, if no randomevents urred, the game time would fast-forward until the scheduled event waspleted. Besides that, the game had an extremely detailed attribute system, as well as a battle system that was ruthlessly realistic. Things like health bars didn¡¯t exist; a sh to the head meant instant death, no matter how high one¡¯s attributes were. Nightfall would reduce visibility, and prolonged imbnced diet could even lead to night blindness, rendering one almostpletely unable to move at night. Ill-fitting shoes would cause blisters, which would reduce movement speed and could eventually lead to deformities. Just watching Monkey y made Huang Ping feel dazzled. But because it was very realistic, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to understand, you just needed to treat everything as real. As the role was that of an ordinary person, the game¡¯s perspective unfolded entirely from the standpoint of a soldier. In the game, the Tang Dynasty had already declined, with Tubo splitting the Tang Dynasty in half. The Protectorate of Anxi, located in the Western Regions, had be an istednd, perilously under the assault of Tubo. The protagonist was a nobody born in upiednds, yet he had yearned for the Tang Dynasty ever since his birth and by a twist of fate received training from an injured soldier of the Tang. When he came of age, he killed three Tubo cavalrymen who came to plunder his town and subsequently lived in exile. Knowing that the Protectorate was still resisting Tubo, he resolved to join the Protectorate and then embarked on battle after battle. Before joining the Protectorate, the protagonist¡¯s experiences could only be described as hellish. He moved through the desert like a lone wolf, finding his own food and maintaining his own water sources. Drinking unclean water could lead to parasites, which might then result in a miserable death from vomiting and diarrhea. Modern inconsequential injuries became fatal. Injuries slowed movement and made it difficult to obtain food, which meant that one had to be extremely careful in every hunt and battle. A small cut could lead to tetanus infection and sudden death. However, the more tedious the details, the more exhrating thebat became when it finally urred. Especially watching Monkey fight, one could really experience that feeling of tension and thrill, where every sh drew blood, and every move was lethal. Different from the typical ¡°Souls¡± games, ¡°The Nameless¡± was more like an incredibly realistic soldierbat game. The enemy Al was unbelievably realistic as well. They would feign surrender, flee, and if they sensed defeat, they might even adopt a mutually destructive fighting style, forcing the yer to make difficult decisions. A moment of carelessness, even with victory in sight, could lead to dying on the battlefield; every fight was particrly thrilling. Unlike the precariousness of being a lone wolf, once one sessfully entered the Protectorate, it was a different feeling altogether. The poption of the Protectorate was older, so the young Nameless who came here was treated almost like a beloved mascot. Old soldiers in their thirties would pester the protagonist every day, telling their stories; Some old soldiers would repeatedly speak of the prosperity and splendor of the Tang Dynasty¡¯s Chang¡¯an, even though they had never been there; yers would see the red willow tree at the entrance of the camp, its branches alreadyden with the hair of soldiers who had gone out. It was at this moment that Huang Ping finally understood what his mission as a guide had been. He was a messenger. Every so often, the Protectorate of Anxi would send messengers to Chang¡¯an to tell the Emperor of Chang¡¯an that the Protectorate had not fallen and that they were still resisting Tubo. Our soldiers are insufficient, our weapons are old, we have no horses, food must be self-sustained, but still, we remain here, never surrendering. In thisnd 7000 li away from Chang¡¯an, there are still those whose hearts turn to Chang¡¯an, who are defending this territory for the Tang Dynasty. But the Protectorate of Anxi and Chang¡¯an have been separated for a long time now. The roads have disappeared beneath the sand, Tubo and other foreign tribes ravage thepulsory paths, and the journey to Chang¡¯an is essentially a death march. Yet, every so often, there are those who volunteer to serve as messengers to Chang¡¯an. Even if they are to die, they wish to die on the road to Chang¡¯an. After learning about these things from other old soldiers, Huang Ping fell silent. At this moment, he seemed to understand why Fang Cheng had made the environment so realistic and why the protagonist had to endure so many hardships. Only by experiencing it can one truly empathize. Even separated by the screen, he could feel the plight of the soldiers. If he were to actually experience it in person, he likely wouldn¡¯tst even a day. But these soldiers, they bore hardships that others had never known, and still, they remained stationed here. Their names had faded away; they were the Nameless, illustrating the backbone of the Tang Dynasty in the sands, holding upright the spine of their nation in history. This, then, was the meaning of being The Nameless. Chapter 63: 63 Chapter Night of Games (Third Watch)_1 Chapter 63: 63 Chapter Night of Games (Third Watch)_1 Sitting behind the Monkey, Huang Ping watched him manipte the character, exploring the vast Western Regions and aplishing one incredible feat after another. There really is a natural gap in talent between people, and in Huang Ping¡¯s view, Monkey was definitely one of those with an extraordinary talent forpetitive gaming like warfare. Watching Monkey¡¯s movements, Huang Ping eximed, ¡°Monkey, with your skills, you could totally make it in esports. No wonder you dared to challenge the boss back then.¡± ¡°I was young and foolish back then,¡± Monkey replied with an embarrassed smile, ¡°Now, I¡¯d ask the boss to spare me one hand.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re still a bit naive.¡± in the game, Monkey and his teammates struck from thousands of miles away; his arrows flew true, piercing targets a hundred steps away. With his teammates¡¯ cover, he shot the enemy leader, decapitated him amidst the chaos, and then rode off majestically. He had also been trapped in dire straits, standing alone against a city wall, holding out for a day and a night against the assault of fifty bandits without yielding and ultimately waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Huang Ping had intended to take advantage of the work hours to rush through the nning for the sequel to ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± but as he watched, he became engrossed in the game, as if he too had traveled to the deserts of the Western Regions thousands of years ago, defending the glory of the Tang Dynasty alongside an unnamed soldier. As the game progressed, it became increasingly difficult; the old soldiers of the Protectorate began to die off slowly, and the days of scant clothing and little food grew harder. Sometimes, they even had to eat the enemy¡¯s leather boots to stave off hunger and then continue to resist the invasion of the Tubo soldiers. Fortunately, once they reached the Protectorate, their characters wouldn¡¯t die. After every grave injury, the character would have to convalesce in a sick bed because of the wound, even an esports prodigy like Monkey suffered severe injuries four or five times, wasting quite a bit of time. Moreover, after being gravely wounded, there was a chance the character would gain some permanent negative states, such as disability or Fear of War. Luckily for Monkey, he only received a few temporary statuses that disappeared after convalescing, a great fortune amidst misfortune. Just before closing time, Monkey¡¯s character finally turned twenty-seven. After years of hard work, his skills had matured. He had mastered all the rted survival skills in the wilderness; if you threw him into the wilds, he would still live quitefortably. On this day, he received a special quest. Deliver a message to Chang¡¯an. Seeing this quest, both Monkey and Huang Ping trembled with excitement. This was a mission almost certain to end in death, but it was also an ultimate honor. Only the strongest, most cunning, and wisest soldiers were given this quest, then they would head for Chang¡¯an. He would form a small team with four others, looking out for each other as they marched towards Chang¡¯an. In their flesh and blood, they would traverse seven thousand miles to bring news that the Protectorate of Anxi still stood to the Emperor of Chang¡¯an. Receiving this mission meant his abilities had been acknowledged, Before setting off, Monkey controlled his character to tie his hair to the red willow at the gate, ¡°Body, hair, and skin, received from my parents.¡± Leaving behind his hair was the equivalent of leaving part of himself; even if he never returned, he would still protect thisnd, standing together with his brothers. Looking at the red willow now full of hair, Monkey saluted solemnly, then turned and departed, embarking on the journey with hispanions. But just as his adventure was about to unfold, the music signaling the end of work began to y. Xu Qingling pped her hands and said to the three nners, ¡°Alright, it s time to get off work now, let¡¯s head home.¡± ¡°Xu, can¡¯t you give us another ten or so hours?¡± Monkey pleaded, ¡°we¡¯ve just received the final mission and are ready to die with honor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Xu Qingling said regretfully, ¡°but I really don¡¯t want to be implicated and then have to take a leave. Do you know how much I want to work now? I¡¯m in such a good mood at work that my family is starting to wonder if my job is even serious. Besides, I have to go home and train the cat to do a backflip as soon as possible.¡± Since Xu Qingling had spoken, even Xiao Douzi could only sigh with regret, then get up to pack his things. Xiao Douzi was slightly less skilled in the game, and had been seriously injured more times. In addition to the time lost, he also acquired the permanent negative status of ¡°Lame.¡± Because of this situation, he would never be able to embark on the journey to Chang¡¯an, his final mission nowpletely out of reach. Therefore, he could only do logistics work quietly at the Protectorate, and ultimately died in the camp because of the recurrence of an old injury. Before dying, the old soldier still gazed into the distance, hisst words merely two simple words, ¡°Chang¡¯an.¡± After the game ended, the settlement screen showed the highlights of The Nameless¡¯s life recorded, along with a brief introduction to his life. A lifetime of war, yet in the end, unable to be wrapped in horsehide in death, was certainly an regret. And the longing for Chang¡¯an became a thorn for Xiao Douzi, filling his face with regret. If he had been a bit more careful back then, if he had taken the maintenance of his weapon a bit more seriously, could it have¡­ But when he saw the final score of 64 appear, his regret finally peaked, causing him to p his thigh hard. Startled by the crisp p, Huang Ping turned his head in surprise and asked Xiao Douzi, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Pointing at the number on the screen, Xiao Douzi said with regret, ¡°Only 64 points.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a character evaluation. Based on the information I collected in the game and the materials I looked up online, I believe this part of history has been adapted from real events, and the protagonist is a historical figure. The boss rated the historical figure¡¯s deeds out of too, and I only got 64 points, which is barely passing.¡± ¡°Howe I didn¡¯t see this score?¡± Huang Ping said in astonishment. ¡°Scores below 10 points don¡¯t show.¡± In an instant, Huang Ping felt like a piece of bacon that had been dried out too much. Old, wrinkled, and yet forced to be on disy. Although a bit resentful, what Huang Ping wanted more was to know the ending. Looking at the displeased Xiao Douzi, and then at Monkey, who had started scratching his head again, Huang Ping thought for a moment before saying, ¡°How about you twoe over to my ce tonight? My ce is quite spacious.¡± Xiao Douzi looked at Huang Ping in astonishment, while Monkey also looked at him fearfully, involuntarily shrinking back. ¡°Behave, we don¡¯t want to be etched in your heart,¡± Monkey shouted. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Huang Ping sighed, resigned, ¡°Monkey, you don¡¯t have aputer, right?¡± ¡°Uh, I can¡¯t get an inte connection where I live, so I usually hang out at an illegal inte cafe until about one or two in the morning before leaving.¡± ¡°Xiao Douzi, you want a higher score too, right?¡± Xiao Douzi nodded. ¡°So how about we all go to my ce and y games all night? The proposal was filled with temptation. What could be more exhrating than a bunch of grown men gaming all through the night? After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Douzi asked, ¡°Your girlfriend¡­ ¡°She¡¯s busy tonight.¡± ¡°Then what are we waiting for, let¡¯s go!¡± Monkey eximed excitedly. The group decisively copied their progress, immediately left the studio, bought snacks and drinks, and ordered barbecue and pizza. The game night for the nners had begun! Chapter 64 - 64 This Game is Toxic_l Chapter 64: This Game is Toxic_l Huang Ping used his phone to exin to his girlfriend about inviting colleagues to stay over at his ce, and she curiously said, ¡°This is the first time you¡¯re inviting colleagues over to your house, right? Didn¡¯t you say before that you don¡¯t like to mix work with personal life?¡± ¡°That was in the past. Xiao Douzi and Monkey are pretty good guys, and our personalitiesplement each other, so I invited them over. ¡°Alright, today is Thursday, so I¡¯ll do some cleaning when I get home, and I¡¯ll tidy the room.¡± ¡°No need, tomorrow is Friday, I¡¯ll take care of it. Oh, and I bought some durian, it¡¯s in the fridge, remember to eat it tomorrow.¡¯ Seeing how Huang Ping chatted with his girlfriend, even Xiao Douzi, who had no intention to marry, felt somewhat moved. This kind of dog food hidden in everyday life tasted especially sweet. After finishing theirmunication, the three loaded the snacks and drinks into Huang Ping¡¯s car, and then they drove to the apartment Huang Ping was renting. Carrying their things up to the third floor, they found Huang Ping¡¯s rental tidy and neat, with just some things piled up in the living room, overall it felt very warm. After letting them in, Huang Ping said, ¡°It¡¯s a bit cluttered, we¡¯re in the process of buying stuff and moving to a new home. The new ce is closer to the studio, and it¡¯s also in a good school district.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already considering school district housing?¡± Xiao Douzi asked in surprise. ¡°Yeah. My girlfriend and I want to have two kids in the future,¡± Huang Ping said with a smile, ¡°I actually wanted to show off my cooking skills, but there wasn¡¯t time today, so nevermind.¡± Squinting at Huang Ping, Xiao Douzi felt an urge to have a girlfriend, as powerful and unstoppable as a primal force. Theyid out the pizza and fried chicken, added ice cubes to the c, and the three nners booted up theirputers, importing Monkey¡¯s records, and began to eat and game. After receiving the mission to deliver a message to Chang¡¯an, the difficulty of the game suddenly increased, but the experience improved even more. Heading east from the Protectorate of Anxi, it wouldn¡¯t take long before they were deep into Tubo territory. They had distinctly different features from the Han people, and the five-man squad could easily be spotted, then captured and turned into ves. The Tubo soldiers all had war horses, and each cavalry soldier was assisted by a ve child to take care of the horses and maintain the weapons, whereas the protagonist was all alone with nothing. Even if Monkey had extraordinarybat awareness, fighting two was his limit, and fighting three almost certainly meant injury; such was the inevitable result of realism. Fortunately, the enemy Al was strong, and their own Al was no slouch either, even stronger, in fact. just like the protagonist, they were all veteran soldiers. Their understanding of each other was so strong that a single nce or gesture was enough for the teammates to grasp his intentions and know what to do. The five-man squad was like a sharp knife, thrusting deeply into the territory of Tubo, relentlessly pushing towards Chang¡¯an. Outside the game, Huang Ping was something of a history buff. He quickly confirmed the time period of the game and found a contemporary map online. He directed Monkey to avoid Tubo¡¯s major towns en route and instead travel through mountain viges. Xiao Douzi helped calcte the distance and various expenses, estimated the travel time, and optimized the route based on the weather and other factors. Monkey took the reins of actual operations, and with the three of them working together, the journey became less daunting. Thanks to the Al¡¯s excellent response, along the way, the three yers felt as if theirpanions in the game were not just cold programs but living beings. The youngestpanion was the Scout, also known as the Meat Bun. After arriving at the Protectorate of Anxi, he tasted a meat bun for the first time and got his mouth scalded by the hot oil. But even so, he continued to eat them like crazy, without regard for his own life, stuffing his belly until it was bulging and choking on the food but still continuing to eat. In the end, if it hadn¡¯t been for the Squad Leader pping him unconscious, Monkey believed the kid would have literally eaten himself to death. Because of this, he earned the nickname Meat Bun and fantasized daily about how delicious the meat buns in Chang¡¯an must be. The oldestpanion was called Mr. Fang. Although he was just over forty, the harsh conditions of the western regions- the wind and sun-had merged into his skin, creating deep, knife-hke wrinkles that made him look seasoned and old. He typically stayed quiet, only silently preparing supplies during rest time. Yet, he was the most indispensable member of the team. He was skilled in various survival techniques; he could lie on the ground to hear distant horse hooves and underground water, and he could identify the poison of herbs and snakes at a nce. The Squad Leader, on the other hand, was a rough man with a touch of finesse. He had an incredible intuition for battle, his squad of five was like an extension of his own limbs, each member with a different role but working together seamlessly¡ªso close-knit that they could emerge victorious even against enemies three to four times their number. Thest skinny member, then, was the team s jester. He was a master ventriloquist, proficient in various musical instruments, and spoke four or five foreignnguages. He could even use ventriloquism to imitate different sounds, making him the most reliablepanion when dealing with foreigners. Beyond that, he was also a skilled assassin. Between his fingernails, he always hid a de coated with poison-a light cut was enough to kill an opponent, and the cause was difficult to trace afterwards. Nobody in the squad used their real names, instead addressing each other by nicknames. There wasn¡¯t much deep significance to this, just the feeling that knowing each other¡¯s names would make their connections deeper, and the loss of a teammate would hurt that much more. They were the elite chosen by the Protectorate of Anxi, their sole purpose to go to the Tang Dynasty and make their presence known to secure support. At such a time, names became a burden; better not to know them. Halfway through the journey, resting by the campfire, Huang Ping looked at the screen and suddenly said, ¡°This journey has no oue.¡± ¡°Liu Bei, why do you say that?¡± asked Monkey, resting his fingers. ¡°The Tang Dynasty at this time is no longer at its peak, there are no soldiers left in the country. Even if we reach our destination, we can¡¯t summon a single soldier or a grain of food. The Emperor of Tang will use the existence of the Protectorate of Anxi for political propaganda, but he won¡¯t be able to offer any actual help.¡± ¡°¡­Is it that bad?¡± ¡°Yes. And looking at the map, supporting Anxi would require opening up a corridor, but that¡¯s no different from going to full-scale war with Tubo.¡± ¡°So, are you saying that this entire journey is meaningless?¡± ¡°No, homing is the meaning; to tell others we are still here, that is also the meaning.¡± Rubbing the corners of his sore eyes, Huang Ping felt a bit teary. A man in his early thirties, he was least able to endure this. Though modern people and ancient ones had different thoughts, the blood flowing in their cultural genes still moved him because of these soldiers. Exhaling deeply, he said to Xiao Douzi, ¡°Xiao Douzi, is the journey n for the next halfplete?¡± ¡°Almost. We still have half of our journey to go. ording to my calctions, we canplete the game in another twenty-four hours.¡± ¡°Only twenty-four hours left,¡± sighed Monkey. ¡°I haven¡¯t had enough fun yet.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t yed much, but I haven¡¯t had enough fun either,¡± Huang Ping said regretfully. The enjoyability of this game was a different kind; an immersive experience brought by its realism, an experience of executing perfect battles in cooperation withpanions. The game¡¯s various settings closely matched the overall gaming experience, allowing yers to feel the hardships of The Nameless and the efforts made to reach their goal. This kind of effort would surely filter out some casual yers, but it would undoubtedly make a portion of hardcore yers hooked, even treating it as a masterwork. Regaining his spirit, Huang Ping said, ¡°Alright, we will continue to workhard and try to finish sooner.¡± Just as he finished speaking, Huang Ping heard the sound of the door opening. Turning his head, he saw his girlfriend standing at the door, looking at them in surprise. ¡°You guys¡­ haven¡¯t gone to work?¡± His girlfriend asked with confusion. Checking the time, Huang Ping was suddenly wide awake and immediately said, ¡°Stop ying, it¡¯s 830, we need to go.¡± His girlfriend looked at the three men, walked to the window, and after opening the curtains, pointed outside at the lights of thousands of homes: ¡°Now, it is 830 in the evening.¡± Huang Ping turned pale and stiffly asked, ¡°So today is¡­ ¡°Friday.¡± Monkey, looking at the time in disbelief, finally understood why Huang Ping¡¯s assessment of the boss was what it was. The boss¡¯s game¡­ was addictive! Chapter 65 - 65 He Did It_l Chapter 65: He Did It_l ¡°Oh, no worries, I guessed you guys probably lost track of time ying games just remember to tell me in advance next time,¡± ¡°Taking leave is one thing, but shifting work around is unheard of. Don¡¯t bother thinking about it, fake crying won¡¯t help.¡± After hanging up, Xu Qingling sighed. If women are said to be made of water, then men must be made of games spending every day either ying or creating them. Putting down her phone, Xu Qingling looked at the small kitten snoring beside her and a gentle smile appeared on her face. Gently rubbing the face of the calico kitten, she whispered, ¡°Grow up quickly and learn to do a backflip soon.¡± At this moment, the person Xu Qingling most wanted to invite from her family was brewing Chinese medicine. The Chinese medicine Fang Cheng intended to brew was a bitplicated, requiring the extraction of the essence from the Spirit Grass and the slow ¡¯ refinement of impurities using Samadhi True Fire, a process that would take forty-nine days to seed. However, in the universe beyond the ck hole, elerating time and space was quite easy; with a slight tweak to the hands of time, a batch of Chinese medicine waspleted. Concentrating the health-boosting Chinese medicine into pills, Fang Cheng sent the pills to his parents, and then stayed on Spirit Grass, taking the opportunity to observe the base on this satellite. While he was working on ¡°The Nameless,¡± he took the chance to observe the events that had urred over the past thousand years, trying to understand what had happened during this millennium. Even if he couldn¡¯t understand the causes and consequences, it was essential to figure out where all the gods and Buddhas had gone. He had thought it would be an easy task, but the result was somewhat surprising. Gone. Not just the traces from the past thousand years, but even the signs of immortals from a millennium ago had vanished without a trace. All information in the main universe had been erased by some immense Divine Skill, without even a word left behind. Such a vast Divine Skill definitely could not be executed by a single immortal or uddha; it was the result of thebined efforts of all the great powers of the main universe. The fact that all of those beings had united indicated that an even more terrifying existence had emerged, forcing them to create this unstable universe and flee here to hide. Concerned about the reason for their hiding, Fang Cheng hade here before the results of his ¡°The Nameless¡± were out, releasing his Divine Sense to slowly and carefully search thes here for useful clues. It would be a very lengthy task, but thes he searched could be used as a database for himself, serving as original resources for making his games, so it wasn¡¯t a waste of time. After quietly searching for three days, he was awakened by his biological clock aware that another Monday had arrived. He flicked his clothes; the cosmic radiation dust umted on him was swept away, and in the next second, he appeared outside his studio. As he stepped into the studio, he saw Xu Qingling stand up and walk toward him. While he was watering the Spirit Grass, Xu Qingling picked up her phone and showed him a photo, saying, ¡°Boss, look, this is my cat.¡± The sleeping kitten was only one month old, with white, ck, and yellow fur covering its body and a small, rather adorable appearance. After looking carefully for a while, Fang Cheng sensed some spirituality in the Some animals possess spirituality, and the stronger it is, the more perceptive the animal is. They could possibly stumble upon some cultivation methods by chance and be spirits. However, the spirituality of this calico kitten was a bit subtle, precisely at the cusp between bing a spirit and not; further observation was needed. So he handed back the phone to Xu Qingling, ¡°Pretty good, show me more when you have the chance.¡± ¡°Sure thing!¡± Xu Qingling excitedly returned to her seat, feeling assured about her choice back then. The boss was indeed a cat person! It wasn¡¯t long before Huang Ping, Xiao Douzi, and Monkey walked into thepany, yawning as they entered. After sitting down, the three of them updated the content of ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± making some adjustments for bnce and replying to some emails; then they began scratching their heads like three monkeys. It was not until noon that the three of them cheered and then gathered around Monkey¡¯sputer, immediately embarking on the journey of ¡°The Nameless.¡± Seeing how much the three of them enjoyed the game, Fang Cheng felt immensely gratified. Sitting behind them, Fang Cheng saw that the progress in the game was good; the group had reached the central part of Tubo and was only a thousand miles away from Chang¡¯an. The smoothness of the journey made the trio very happy, but it wasn¡¯t long before this happiness vanished, reced by gravity. Meat Bun had fallen ill. Initially, it was just a fever, but it quickly turned into a chill throughout his body, followed by vomiting and diarrhea. Meat Bun, who used to be slightly chubby, soon became gaunt and pale. His original scout duties were handed over to the other four members, and he himself became a burden to the squad, significantly slowing down their progress. Worse still, Meat Bun¡¯s illness was very troublesome. After consulting the information, Huang Ping and the other two discovered that it was some kind of parasitic infection, which required a long period of convalescence in a certain ce to treat. They had no choice but to call over the Han vige chief after reaching the next vige, give him some silver coins, and leave the unconscious Meat Bun behind. Thinking back to the beginning of the game, Huang Ping felt it was a cycle of rebirth; perhaps Meat Bun would also be a guide for some child, telling him the location of the Protectorate of Anxi and leading him there. Afterward, he would set off again on the journey to Chang¡¯an. The me of humanity never dies, it passes from one to another, and so it goes. Eight hundred miles from Chang¡¯an, another incident urred. The closer they got to Chang¡¯an, the more active the Tubo cavalry became. The Tang Dynasty had begun to weaken, but its foundation remained. The Tubo cavalry converged from all directions, relentlessly plundering the Tang Dynasty¡¯s wealth, people, and food, greedily devouring its flesh like hyenas. Without a scout, they had to proceed with great caution, avoidingbat whenever possible. However, if they encountered less than three cavalrymen, they would still take immediate action, shooting the adversaries and seizing their horses before galloping away. Such a formidable squad naturally attracted the attention of the Tubo and a siege circle quickly formed; by the time they realized it, they were already trapped withinyers of encirclement. To break through, the Squad Leader sacrificed himself valiantly, and Skinny was hit with three arrows in the back, suffering from the lingering wounds. Finally, one morning, Skinny left the squad, not wanting to be a burden anymore, and vanished into the Gobi Desert. Four hundred miles from Chang¡¯an, Monkey and Mr. Fang were discovered by Tubo soldiers; Mr. Fang immediately threw Monkey on the warhorse, drew his spear to face the enemy alone, and died with seventeen spears in his body never falling. The remaining four hundred miles werepleted alone by the protagonist. And it was those four hundred miles that took him a year and a half to traverse. He had been sick, he had been wounded, and after a snake bit his left leg, he even amputated his own leg, then limped towards Chang¡¯an with the help of crutches, step by step. When he finally entered the gates of the Tang Dynasty, in response to the city gate soldiers¡¯ inquiry, Monkey couldn¡¯t help crying out, ¡°I am a messenger from the Protectorate of Anxi, we¡¯re still there, that ce is still holding on!¡± Watching the soldiers¡¯ faces go from skepticism, to shock, to tears of joy Monkey also couldn¡¯t help but cry. At that moment, he was The Nameless, he had traveled seven thousand miles to deliver their message to the Tang Dynasty. He had done it! Chapter 66: New Staff Requirements (Three Chapter 66: New Staff Requirements (Three More)_l ¡°There, there, Monkey, don¡¯t cry. It¡¯s just a game.¡± Patting Monkey¡¯s shoulder, Huang Ping whispered words offort. Watching the protagonist¡¯s final oue on the screen, Huang Ping also felt somewhat emotional. The protagonist, now without a left leg, could no longer continue to fight, and his inevitable end was to die of old age in Chang an. When looking back on his life, he bloomed like an ephemeral flower and shone like fireworks. Leaving the Protectorate of Anxi for Chang¡¯an, this journey took nearly four years of his life, leaving behind a body riddled with scars and a longing for the Protectorate of Anxi. In Chang¡¯an, he was treated like a hero. From the city gates to the imperial pce, countless people mored to see his face. Artists depicted his entrance to the city in woodblock prints for posterity to admire. Promotion and nobility, treasures andnds ¨C the emperor bestowed these rewards generously, even publicly praising the return from Anxi andmenting that he had fulfilled his grandfather¡¯s longstanding dream. But for the reinforcements The Nameless most hoped for, the emperor was powerless to provide. As Huang Ping had said, the Tang Dynasty no longer had the strength to support Anxi. In the end, this battle-weary veteran passed away in Chang¡¯an, still gazing in the direction of the Protectorate of Anxi, reminiscing about the steadfast red willow at the camp¡¯s entrance. Feeling wistful after seeing the final oue, Huang Ping thought this ending deserved at least 90 points. After all, the ending was achieved through thebined efforts of three people; three gaming experts ying one game deserved no less than 90 points. However, seeing the final score, Huang Ping couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Final score: 82 points. The average score almost made Huang Ping think Fang Cheng was making a joke. Only after repeatedly confirming the score did he confusedly ask, ¡°Boss, is there something wrong with this score?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s quite fair,¡± Fang Cheng said. ¡°This score is based on the real-life deeds of the historical protagonist. The smaller the loss ratio in battle and the more battles participated in, the higher the score. The protagonist ended up losing all hisrades and became disabled himself, so the score is low. However, because you made it to Chang¡¯an andpleted the final task, there is a base score, resulting in a total of 82 points. After pondering the scoring criteria, Huang Ping couldn¡¯t help but ask, So, you¡¯re saying that the three of usbined didn¡¯t perform as well as a real person?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡± The straightforward reply incited a surge of frustration in Huang Ping. Xiao Douzi was also a bit unhappy, and Monkey wanted to start another round but was stopped by Huang Ping. Stop making a fuss, everyone. We¡¯ve already dragged on for too long. Although Boss Fang Cheng didn¡¯t object and even mentioned that ying games is part of the nning work, our progress has indeed been too dyed. ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± is still in its growth phase, and the yer base is now substantial enough to holdpetitions. On the Bilibili tform, there are a plethora of live streams, technical streamers are rolling out in droves, and new tactics are emerging every day. Of course, ordinary yers are not without opportunities; a few casual modes allow even those with poor skills to have a great time. As user numbers and poprity continue to increase, majorpetitions will inevitably emerge. By then, the game¡¯s poprity will rise further, and it might even reach the incredible milestone of ten million sales. Besides,petition from the outside world still exists. Tianyi has recently taken a back seat, but other gamepanies have set their sights on the gamey of ¡°Quiet Cultivation.¡± Some majorpanies have begun to leverage their technology, reboot theirpany¡¯s battle royale games, and, like ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± have started to adopt the fantasy genre, ready topete in this new arena. There are also studios targeting niche markets, simplifying games as much as possible, and turning them into mobile games. When a game bes a big hit, simrpetitors will emerge in a short time and engage in intensepetition with the original. Most will perish on the sands, but a rare few will survive and be formidable challengers to the original. Given the quality of ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± this doesn¡¯t seem likely, but what if apetitor also has a game designer as talented as the boss? After all, miracles are not umon in the gaming industry, and no one can say for certain what the future will bring. Now is not the time to indulge in pleasures (games); it¡¯s imperative to perfect the existing game. What¡¯s worse, we are about to finish work for the day! Thinking about how they had neglected several days of work, Huang Ping was so annoyed he wanted to p his forehead. Huang Ping, oh Huang Ping, how could you let yourself fall so low! Grabbing Xiao Douzi and Monkey, Huang Ping said to Fang Cheng, ¡°Boss, your game is already highlyplete, but some of the prompts are still not detailed enough. So, I¡¯m nning to prioritize the work and finish this part first. Also, I think we should hire a tester.¡± ¡°A tester, huh¡­¡± Game testing is a job in game development where professional testers need to master various test cases and check for bugs in the game in various ways, then report the detailed conditions for triggering them. But the idea of Fang Cheng¡¯s game having a bug¡­ That seems unlikely. After all, if there¡¯s a problem with my game, then surely the mistake isn¡¯t with me¡ªit¡¯ s with the world. Seeing Fang Cheng hesitate, Huang Ping also realized something wasn¡¯t quite right. The boss¡¯s game¡­ seems never to have had any bugs. With a sigh, Huang Ping felt that his boss was just too talented. Working under such a boss, one must put forth their very best effort and can¡¯t afford to fall behind. So, Huang Ping continued, ¡°Forget the tester for now, we need to work on some operational aspects. ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ is doing well, but we can make it even better.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need¡­¡± ¡°Boss, even fine wines can be overlooked if they¡¯re in the back alley,¡± he argued. ¡°I know you¡¯re not interested in money, but yers are interested in the game. Plus, good operations can not only increase the game¡¯s profits but can also more precisely ascertain yer needs, allowing us to better understand what the yers want.¡± These words resonated with Fang Cheng. For so long, he had been observing yer reactions through his own eyes, with inevitable limitations. If there was an operations team, it would close the gap between him and the yers, making it easier to learn their needs, and thus produce better games. This way, he could understand more quickly why games are fun, thenprehend Taoist Heart, and ultimately ascend. Therefore, he nodded, agreeing with Huang Ping¡¯s suggestion. It¡¯s time to recruit some operators. Chapter 67 - 67 Truly Adorable l Chapter 67: Truly Adorable l Ready to present a need, Fang Cheng originally nned to have Xu Qingling work overtime, offering triple the overtime pay while allowing her to take the next day off, but saw Xu Qingling returning to her desk with elegant steps, and then finished the recruitment notice with octopus-like speed. Noticing how capable the other party was, Fang Cheng sighed. Again, there wasn¡¯t an opportunity to spend money. Money not spent is just a pile of waste paper, a burden when left in an ount. Only by constantly spending money can one promote the cirction of currency, stimte consumer spending, thereby driving domestic demand and fostering the internal development of the economy. People¡¯s standards of living will improve as a result, and then there will be more time to y and develop games, and maybe even create games that one finds enjoyable. After all, ¡°video games¡± were the opportunity that led to his sess, whether it was making them or ying them. But no worries, when the new employees arrive, paying them high sries is also a way to spend money. After Xu Qjngling posted the recruitment notice, it wasn¡¯t long before Fang Cheng received a phone call. It was from Mr. Shen. Upon answering the call, Fang Cheng found the usually thick-skinned Mr. Shen acting somewhat coy. Empathizing with him, Fang Cheng asked with concern, ¡°Mr. Shen, has your hair loss gotten serious again?¡± ¡°How did you know that!¡± ¡°I saw that at three in the morning you ¡®liked¡¯ a video by ¡®Sweet Little Cat¡¯ and shared it on your Moments. Staying upte is the main culprit for hair loss, so I figured you must be experiencing ittely.¡± ¡°Do you need me to send you some tea leaves?¡± ¡°Thank you. There¡¯s also a favor I¡¯d like to ask of you. A friend¡¯s child of mine has been out of university for a year now. They became very interested in your studio upon seeing the recruitment ad.¡± ¡°Then let theme over.¡± ¡°¡­She entered the emerce department after graduation and worked there in business operations¡­¡± ¡°¡­And then?¡± On the other end of the phone, Mr. Shen sighed, each breath filled with helplessness. ¡°You know, many from the emerce department pick up some bad habits. I owe that friend a favor, so I can only act as a mediator this once. Anyway, let her stay for a day or two, and if it doesn¡¯t work out, just let her go. That¡¯s the least I can do.¡± Puzzled but agreeing, Fang Cheng hung up the phone and turned to Huang Ping, ¡°Mr. Shen referred a candidate from the emerce department. What do you think?¡± ¡°Emerce department!¡± Huang Ping couldn¡¯t help but rub his chin, each newly grown beard bristling with indecision. There was once a talent from the emerce department in Tianyi who had even been recruited by Zhang Ping, the general manager of Tianyi Rong City, with an annual sry of a million. During that person¡¯s tenure as director of operations, the operating costs of each studio increased five to sixfold, the efficiency of the studios plummeted, and everyone was miserable. After considering his words, Huang Ping cautiously said, ¡°Those from the e-merce department have some bad habits. They make really good PPTs, use lots of industry jargon, and love to perpetuate ¡®involution.¡¯ Working overtime until eleven or twelve at night is the norm, and sometimes they even send out requirements at one or two in the morning.¡± ¡°That sounds like it doesn¡¯t match the style of our studio; we might as well have them leave after one day.¡± ¡°Right¡­ wait a second.¡± Biting his lip, Huang Ping started thinking hard. The boss doesn¡¯t do overtime. Emerce people really love to work overtime. If they could bnce the two, they might be able to work overtime themselves. cing ¡°Alibaba colleauges¡± and ¡°can work overtime¡± on the scales in his heart, Huang Ping carefully weighed the options and then said, ¡°Actually, making contact with the other party is not out of the question. After all,ing from a majorpany, their vision and patterns of thinking must be unique. There will definitely be new gains.¡± Huang Ping¡¯s inconsistent attitude was a bit odd. However, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t want to read into Huang Ping¡¯s thoughts. After all, a good boss should be tolerant, and for an Immortal to read minds every day would truly be too bothersome. After nodding his head, Fang Cheng decided to let the other partye in for a trial period, test the waters with ¡°The Nameless¡± first, then hone his skills with ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± and finally help him refine yer feedback to aid his own understanding of the ¡°Heart of Entertainment.¡± Hmm, perfect. The next day, the person Mr. Shen had introduced arrived. What surprised everyone was that it turned out to be a woman. She had a pretty appearance, but had deliberately put her hair up and her makeup leaned towards mature. Her suit also seemed to be carefully pressed, giving off an air of meticulousness. Walking into Fang Cheng Studio with a brisk stride, she nced around at the office workers. Her eyes revealed a hint of amazement when they swept over Fang Cheng, but she quickly reverted to her prim high-powered businesswoman demeanor. And upon seeing Xu Qingling, dressed casually and exuding a mix of youthfulness and innocence, she felt somewhat threatened. Adjusting her sses, she walked up to Fang Cheng and extended her hand, saying, ¡°Hello, Boss Fang. I¡¯m the operations lead introduced by Mr. Shen. You can call me Qu Fangfang.¡± ¡°Hello. But you don¡¯t need to call me Boss Fang, calling me boss or Fang Cheng is fine.¡± ¡°Alright, Boss Fang. Where is my workstation? I¡¯d like to start getting familiar with my duties right now.¡± After introducing herself, Qu Fangfang didn¡¯t waste any words. Under Xu Qingling¡¯s guidance, she headed to her workstation. Xu Qingling led her to the workstation and was about to continue spying on her own boss when she heard Qu Fangfang¡¯s cool and slightly dissatisfied voice ring out, ¡°How can I sit on this kind of chair?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the chair?¡± Xu Qingling asked curiously. ¡°I¡¯m the operations director, my rank is different from those in admin and nning. My chair should be of a higher grade. How much is this chair?¡± ¡°Twenty-seven thousand, with a built-in massage feature. It can recline into a folding bed and is particrlyfortable to sleep on.¡± The price of the chair gave Qu Fangfang a jolt, but she stiffened her neck and said, ¡°Equip me with a fifty-four thousand yuan chair. A director¡¯s chair should be double the cost of an ordinary employee¡¯s. It¡¯smon sense.¡± Watching the assertive Qu Fangfang, Xu Qingling nodded slightly. Her grandfather was a businessman, her maternal grandfather was in politics, and her parents were always busy. She was raised alternately by her two grandparents. Being around two such exceptional people, Xu Qingling had absorbed a great deal of insight and acquired a bit of skill in reading people. She immediately recognized the little office politics game the other party was trying to y. Heh, how adorable. Perfect, I¡¯ll y along a little and see what sort of talent this so-called e-merce culture really has. So, Xu Qingling showed an innocently harmless smile and said, ¡°But our chairs are all uniform, even the boss uses this type.¡± Hearing that Fang Cheng was using the same chair, Qu Fangfang¡¯s mind crashed. In emerce, chairs are a symbol of status, and different job levels must not have identical chairs. Otherwise, it would be seen as not knowing one¡¯s ce, followed by a cold shoulder from colleagues. But having a chair more expensive than your superior is an even bigger taboo in the workce; it could lead to demotion at best, or being forced out at worst. So, what should I do? Looking at Qu Fangfang, who was breaking out in a cold sweat, Xu Qingling found her truly adorable. Chapter 68 - 68 Unfair Tactics l Chapter 68: Unfair Tactics l Ultimately, Qu Fangfang gave up the idea of switching chairs. But she decided to take the opportunity to admonish Fang Cheng; she would tell him that she was the Operations Director, a senior talent, and that thepany should respect her as such. She pushed her sses up the bridge of her nose and silently took her seat, then started to conduct research on thepany¡¯s products. Her so-called research was not actually ying ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± or ¡°The Nameless.¡± She didn¡¯t even watch the videos on Bilibili. Instead, she got the data for the first two games from Xu Qingling and began poring over the numbers. Huang Ping had no idea what she was looking at, but still kindly stepped forward to remind her, ¡°Don¡¯t just look at the data. Games have their particrities; you need to y them to understand.¡± Qu Fangfang pushed her ck-framed sses up again and disdainfully asked, ¡°What¡¯s your rank? P7 or P8?¡± ¡°¡­What¡¯s that?¡± Qu Fangfang exhaled through her nose with disdain and said, ¡°Smallpanies are just smallpanies, don¡¯t they even have a job ranking system? You¡¯d probably be a P6 in emerce, not qualified to direct me.¡± Although it was already known that people from the emerce sector were a bit peculiar, Qu Fangfang, having been with thepany for only a year, had already picked up a slew of problems, indicating significant issues with herself as well. Once outside, she even intended to expand upon the old ways, clearly revealing her strong agreement with that set of principles. With a helpless smile, Huang Ping returned to his work, his expectations for the new colleague gradually diminishing. He had thought he might be able to bring over arade-in-arms but it looked like he had hoped for too much. By noon, the studio¡¯s ordered takeout arrived. The takeout Xu Qingling ordered was from her family¡¯s restaurant, which specialized in personalized service. It didn¡¯t have its storefront in Rong City, but it was a ce sought after by every gourmet. Each guest had their own unique lunch box and chopsticks, both of which were beautifully crafted, with the redwood chopsticks being elegant and generous. Since it was her family¡¯s restaurant, they only charged for the cost of the food, which came to barely more than an ordinary takeout meal. Looking at the exquisite lunch boxes and the bnced and vorful food inside, Qu Fangfang swallowed her saliva but still haughtily said to the only one still working at her desk, Xiao Douzi, ¡°You, go get my lunch box.¡± Xiao Douzi didn¡¯t move. ¡°You! Did you hear me?¡± Xiao Douzi, engrossed in her work, seemed to be in her own world, oblivious to what was happening outside, staring at her screen without giving any attention to the other. Realizing that the other party was indeed ignoring her, Qu Fangfang was about to explode with anger. She immediately rushed to the pantry, ready to severely criticize Xiao Douzi, and then she saw Xu Qingling and Fang Cheng sharing a table together in the pantry. Their shoulders were gently touching, and Xu Qingling was showing off photos of a calico cat on her phone, flipping through them as she said, ¡°See? It¡¯s kneading now. It¡¯s so clever now, it learns everything in an instant.¡± Fang Cheng looked at the calico cat, still unsure whether this cat could be something extraordinary. It seemed that when he had the time, he really ought to go and see it for himself. While Fang Cheng was observing the cat, Xu Qingling sensed something and turned her head to look at the doorway where Qu Fangfang stood. A single nce was enough to send a shiver through Qu Fangfang, and she understood the message. Don¡¯t disturb me. Shivering, Qu Fangfang took her lunch box back to her seat and whispered to herself, ¡°Forget it, if I have to get it myself, then I¡¯ll get it myself.¡± Thecquered surface of the lunch box gleamed, and its simple yet grand design was like a work of art. Each of the three tiers of the lunch box contained different things, and upon opening, it unfolded to disy all its contents. The aromatic soup, vibrant vegetables, perfectly-textured mixed grains, and healthy, tasty chicken breast. A postcard also apanied the lunch box, inquiring about the guest¡¯s opinion on the dishes and whether the vors suited her pte, among other things. The meticulous attention to detail left Qu Fangfang speechless for a moment before she began to eat. The food was delicious, perhaps the best work meal she had ever had, but the thought that everyone was eating the same thing soured the experience for her. After lunch was supposed to be break time, but it appeared nobody in the studio was resting. Even the youngest nner, who was like a monkey, was discussing something quietly with Huang Ping, pausing asionally to jot down notes and frequently showing expressions of sudden realization. Qu Fangfang sneered after watching for a while. Young, yet quite the actor. Knowing the other person was more capable and was a solid support to lean on, she pretended to be eager to learn to curry favor, a born little crafty imp. But of all people to tter, she chose someone in his early thirties likely to beid off; it showed that her ambitions were limited. In the afternoon, Xu Qingling brought Qu Fangfang to the conference room and then handed her the probationary contract. Seeing that her sry actually reached thirty-six thousand, with the full amount provided during the probation period, Qu Fangfang nodded her head in satisfaction. Although other aspects were average, in terms of sry treatment, it still seemed respectful towards her position as a director. Contented with her signature, she casually asked, ¡°How much do the others earn?¡± ¡°The same as you,¡± Xu Qingling said with a smile. The smile on Qu Fangfang¡¯s face quickly disappeared and shifted to Xu Qingling¡¯s face. After ncing at the Monkey who was learning from Huang Ping outside, Qu Fangfang asked incredulously, ¡°Including that minor?¡± ¡°Yes. And don¡¯t underestimate him; he made a significant contribution to the gamey of ¡®Quiet Cultivation.¡¯ Last month¡¯s project bonus was a seven-figure sum, after taxes.¡± Qu Fangfang became even more silent. After hesitating for a long time, she asked in confusion, ¡°Is making games that profitable?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the boss who profits. And you came to workhere without knowing anything?¡± ¡°Qu Fangfang, what exactly did you do at your previouspany? And why did you leave the emerce sector?¡± II J II ¡°Never mind, you don¡¯t have to say so much.¡± pping her hands, Xu Qingling tossed her long hair and her eyes curved into crescent moons, ¡°You probably have some secrets of your own too, but I want you to know that the boss¡¯s dream is my dream, and I don¡¯t want indifferent people to disrupt the operation of the studio, do you understand?¡± ¡°¡­I understand.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand, get to work.¡± Watching Qu Fangfang leave shakily, Xu Qingling still felt something was odd. Flipping through the opponent¡¯s resume and previous operation cases, Xu Qingling felt that Qu Fangfang¡¯s practicality and disyed personality werepletely different. Qu Fangfang¡¯s practical work was clean and elegant. Although it was a bit green in some ces, it already had a vigorous and ambitious quality thatpletely contradicted the character she showed. An unkind thought came to mind, but it was somewhat insulting; without solid evidence, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for her to take action. After pondering for a moment, she made a phone call, ¡°Is this Mr. Liu? I want to inquire about a person, Qu Fangfang. She used to work at your ce, and I¡¯d like to¡­¡± Back at her desk, Qu Fangfang waited anxiously. She looked attentively at the data but was actually staring at her phone. At four in the afternoon, the long-awaited QQmessage notification popped up, and the person typed in the chat, ¡°Senior sister, the data is ready.¡± Immediately receiving the data, Qu Fangfang released a long sigh of relief, and her confidence slowly returned. After reviewing all the data analysis, Qu Fangfang nodded in satisfaction. The data analysis was appropriately detailed, with exquisite diagrams included, and even made into a PPT ording to her requirements, the effect beingparable to the standard of a P8. Thinking that the other party had actually done it in six hours, she felt both envious and impressed. Envy for the person¡¯s talent, and impressed that she had been lucky enough to pick such a fine tool from among her juniors. After some consideration, she sent a three-hundred-yuan red packet, ¡°Thanks a lot, you did well this time, I will look for you again. I¡¯m giving you an extra hundred this time.¡± ¡°I should be the one thanking you, senior sister, forgiving me such a good part-time job.¡± Seeing the reply, Qu Fangfang sneered. University students are so easy to use. She took advantage of them, and they still had to thank her. In high spirits, Qu Fangfang hummed a tune as she started modifying the data analysis into her own version. Meanwhile, in the conference room, Xu Qingling had learned a few things through several phone calls and formted her own conjectures. After thinking for a while, she picked up the phone again, calling a contact at Rong City University. ¡°Could you tell me if you have a student named Wang Xiaoying? She¡¯s a senior and will graduate next year, right? I would like to know if she¡¯s interested in interning at our studio?¡± After hanging up the phone, Xu Qingling watched Qu Fangfang outside. Miss Qu, this kind of thing isn¡¯t very honorable, is it? Chapter 69 - 69 All Done (Third Update) 1 Chapter 69: All Done (Third Update) 1 Having confirmed there were no issues with the report and tweaking some minor details, Qu Fangfang took her time fishing around. She began by making herself a cup of coffee in the pantry, pretended to call someone but actually sneaked down to the coffee shop for a small cake, not returning to the office until ten minutes before five. Seeing that it was almost time to clock out, she immediately tagged everyone in thepany group chat and straightforwardly said, ¡°Everyone, spare a moment before you leave, we¡¯re going to have a meeting.¡± Fang Cheng: ¡°Is this meeting very important? Will there be serious consequences if we don¡¯t have it?¡± Qu Fangfang: ¡°Mr. Fang, this meeting is very important. It¡¯s about the pain points of our studio, the need to venture into apletely new track, and preparing to empower the employees, eventually forming an essential meeting for the industry cycle.¡± Faced with a screen full of iprehensible text, Fang Cheng felt as though he was reading alien script, almost ready to cast an ¡°Immortal Spell¡± on himself to understand what it all meant. After some thought, he said to Xu Qingling beside him, ¡°Is she saying that this meeting isn¡¯t actually a big deal?¡± ¡°I think so too. I don¡¯t understand inte jargon, but I have a feeling she might not even be using it correctly. My grandfather always said that making simple things soundplex is foolish, but makingplex things sound simple is a sign of talent.¡± ¡°And deliberately making simple things soundplex?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a con artist.¡± Fang Cheng nodded, feeling there was some truth to it. Just as he was about to tell Qu Fangfang that it wasn¡¯t necessary to have a meeting at this time, and that they could discuss it tomorrow, Xu Qingling suddenly looked at her phone and said, ¡°Boss, that other operations candidate I mentioned to you is on her way.¡± ¡°Already?¡± She¡¯s a bit short on cash, heard that we pay during the internship phase, and hurried over right away. It¡¯s perfect timing for Miss Qu to showcase her work before we interview the new staff member.¡± In that moment, Fang Cheng felt Xu Qingling had arranged things well, though her smile was a bit fox-like. After agreeing to Qu Fangfang¡¯s request for an operations meeting, Fang Cheng immediately received a private message from the three nners, Huang Ping¡¯s group, with surprisingly consistent content. Does this count as overtime? If it does, we¡¯re not attending.¡± With a long sigh, Fang Cheng felt this resistance from within his team, epitomized by Huang Ping, was too strange. Such a rare specimen, he wondered if it existed anywhere else. He told them it didn¡¯t count but they would get overtime pay. The three nners immediately came to the meeting room, cheerful and ready to eavesdrop. The listeningsted an hour. But it wasn¡¯ t boring at all! Qu Fangfang¡¯s data analysis was profound yet clear, captivating not only Xiao Douzi, the math talent, but also Monkey, who had barely made it through nine years ofpulsory education, to the point where even he could understand the meaning behind the data. Rubbing the part above his neck, Monkey felt as if he was growing a brain! Pleased with everyone¡¯s reactions, especially Fang Cheng¡¯s, Qu Fangfang knew she had secured her position. She cast a covert nce at Xu Qingling, thinking to herself that being attractive was of no use; what mattered was capturing the boss¡¯s heart. And what did the boss need? Of course, a shy PPT! Just as she was about to use the report to propose some of her own ideas and expand her authority, she heard someone knocking on the meeting room door, a familiar voice calling out: ¡°Sorry to interrupt, is this Fang Cheng Studio? I¡¯m Wang Xiaoying, here for the interview.¡± The familiar voice, the known name, the sudden shock caused Qu Fangfang¡¯s face to turn pale, leaving her frozen in ce, unsure how to react. Instinctively wanting to stop her, Xu Qingling had already stood up, bowed slightly in apology, and then opened the door to the meeting room. A delicate girl stood at the entrance, not very striking at first nce, but the longer one looked, the more she seemed like a wildflower in the mountains, with an underlying resilience hidden beneath her tender appearance. She was dressed in a white T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans, her back damp with sweat, and she was still slightly breathless as she entered. Gently shaking the other¡¯s hand, Xu Qingling smiled and said, ¡°Yes, this is Fang Cheng Studio. Wee, Miss Wang.¡± ¡°Are you having a meeting? Then I¡¯ll first¡­ Senior!¡± Seeing that her acquaintance was the one chairing the meeting, Wang Xiaoying couldn¡¯t help but call out, but then she immediately covered her mouth and looked apologetically at Xu Qingling beside her. ¡°So you two know each other, what a small world. Miss Wang, you¡¯re here for the operation position interview, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, Miss Qu is our operation director, and she¡¯s currently in an operation meeting. To save time, let¡¯s go ahead and interview while listening in.¡± Hearing Xu Qingling¡¯s arrangement, Qu Fangfang hurriedly raised her hand, wanting to stop her. But at this moment, Qu Fangfang¡¯s mind was a nk, and she couldn¡¯t think of any excuse. Her report wasing to an end, and all she had to do was to read out the final conclusion, and then the report would beplete. This conclusion was the essence of the report and the most valuable part of it, but the moment she read it out, Wang Xiaoying in front of her would immediately realize what she had done with her results. Then, give some other random conclusion? But now Qu Fangfang was in total disarray, unable to even form a logical sentence, let alone such a conclusive statement. At this time, Qu Fangfang was sweating profusely, and her delicate makeup was washed away by sweat, making her unrecognizable. Even the most oblivious person could tell that something was wrong with Qu Fangfang at this moment. Facing the doubtful gazes of everyone, she looked fearfully at Xu Qingling, seeking help, but she didn¡¯t know what reason to give. And at this moment, Xu Qingling¡¯s face bore a appropriate smile, yet her eyes were exceptionally cold. To shamelessly steal the fruits of someone else¡¯sbor, to be a person without a single original thought, such a person was even worse than a workce rat. What infuriated her even more was the fact that such a person was actually trying to sneak into their studio and bring the inhuman work atmosphere of the emerce department with them; these reasons alone were enough for her to sentence Qu Fangfang to death. Therefore, even though she read the plea for help, Xu Qingling had no trace of pity and instead stepped forward, standing beside the stiff Qu Fangfang. Turning to the next page of the PPT, Xu Qingling stared at the text on the screen and read, ¡°Therefore, the most important thing in the gaming field is not publicity, not promotion, but the yers. Today¡¯s yers are bing more rational, and they are more willing to pay for high-quality games. Our future development direction is to provide more high-quality games.¡± After stating the conclusion, Xu Qingling smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s a very good conclusion, forming a nice closed loop with the preceding data and arguments.¡± Indeed,¡± Huang Ping also nodded, ¡°Looking at the current games, apart from some nostalgic games, most require certain innovations. The era of game oversaturation has arrived, but it also presents an opportunity for us.¡± After listening to the others¡¯ opinions, Xu Qingling looked at Wang Xiaoying and asked, ¡°Miss Wang, what do you think?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty good.¡± Seeing that Wang Xiaoying didn¡¯t expose her publicly, Qu Fangfang felt like she had seen a savior, and she came back to life. That¡¯s right, Wang Xiaoying, that¡¯s how you should be! You¡¯re just an ordinary college student, whereas I am your senior. You should listen to everything I say! Later, I¡¯ll just find an excuse to deceive you, then find an opportunity to let you go, shed a few tears afterwards, and you will remain my source of material, working for me for a lifetime! Just as Qu Fangfang congratted herself on Wang Xiaoying¡¯s enough stupidity, she heard Wang Xiaoying say, ¡°It would be even better if that sentence wasn¡¯t written by me.¡± In an instant, Qu Fangfang felt like she had been struck by lightning! Looking at the trembling Qu Fangfang, Wang Xiaoying earnestly asked, Senior, didn¡¯t you say that was your personal project and not rted to work? Why is it showing up in your work meeting?¡± At that moment, Qu Fangfang knew she was finished. Chapter 70 - 70 Is this Heaven i Chapter 70: Is this Heaven i Afterward, Qu Fangfang, looking utterly devastated, didn¡¯t return to her own workstation but resigned on the spot, earning the distinct honor of being both the first and fastest person to resign from the studio-records that were not likely to be broken for a long time. Outsourcing of work was no small matter. On the one hand, it involved professional deception; on the other hand, casually leaking thepany¡¯s data could allow others to grasp the studio¡¯s intentions and make targeted arrangements. The data this time was not confidential, but as things continued this way, it was inevitable that core secrets would eventually be touched upon and leaked. Therefore, this person could not stay. Qu Fangfang had originally thought she could just coast through the small studio, swindle a year¡¯s sry, and run, but she didn¡¯t expect the other party to expose her deceit so inly with a retaliatory p, triggering a torrent of panic within her. But what she feared was not over yet. While she was handling her resignation, Xu Qingling brought over a piece of paper. ncing suspiciously at the paper, her pupils shrank rapidly, and her shoulders started to tremble again. Written inly on the paper were the fabricated parts of her resume, the true origins of various operational examples, and more. Even the reason for her departure from her previouspany had been investigated¡ªit was embezzling operational funds for chasing celebrities with a higher-up, and after being discovered, thanks to some connections with her father, she was simply let off by returning the funds and resigning. Mr. Shen probably didn¡¯tknow about this; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have introduced her to the job. The piece of paper was like a demon-revealing mirror, inly reflecting the seemingly impable but ultimately empty Qu Fangfang. There were some things she had forgotten herself, yet the other party could dig them all out in meticulous detail within a day-the hidden power behind it sent chills down Qu Fangfang¡¯s spine. ¡°Miss Qu, our studio reserves the right to pursue legal action against you for falsifying your resume, and I have onest piece of advice for you¡­¡± Qu Fangfang had expected Xu Qingling to issue some banal warning like ¡°Don¡¯t engage in sneaky tricks,¡± butXu Qingling¡¯s smile had already faded away as she spoke slowly yet firmly, ¡°You¡¯d better leave Rong City. I don¡¯t want to see you again.¡± Having seen the dispirited Qu Fangfang off, Xu Qingling was certain that this would be theirst encounter. After dealing with Qu Fangfang, she flexed her fingers and then called in Wang Xiaoying.???????????????????????????? 6 Handing over thepany code of conduct and the probationary contract Xu Qingling asked, ¡°Take a look, and do you have any other questions?¡± Wang Xiaoying didn¡¯t immediately read through the documents but hesitated and asked, ¡°Miss Xu, is it really okay for you to let me join?¡± Xu Qingling quickly understood her worries-that she had a senpai-kohai rtionship with Qu Fangfang. Even though she had been deceived before, the fact remained that she assisted Qu Fangfang in fabricating falsehoods. Such a person might bring some trouble not handled well, and somepanies would be reluctant to hire her. But who was Xu Qingling? It would be a favor if she didn¡¯t cause trouble for others. Smiling, she shook her head and told Wang Xiaoying, ¡°You wrote a very impressive operational n, and your teachers at school think highly of you, so I believe you can do the job. Start your internship tomorrow.¡± ¡°What about¡­ the boss?¡± ¡°He said to leave it to me. He only handles game development; I can manage all other matters.¡± ncing at the beautiful but capable Xu Qingling, sensing the trust between her and Fang Cheng Studio, WangXiaoying felt this could be a good ce. Moreover, after seeing the sry for the probation period, she knew she had made the right choice! However, back in her dorm room at school, she was engulfed by anxiety once more. A high sry meant high expectations-thirty-six thousand a month, withmissions on top. It was something that even veterans who had worked for years would note across. Kept awake by the high sry, Wang Xiaoying simply got up, started searching for information about Fang Cheng Studio, and began taking notes. At the same time, she asked on Bihu, ¡°My sry during the internship period is thirty-six thousand. What should I pay attention to?¡± Responses: [Not too shabby, barely makes the boss look human.] [I also earn thirty-six thousand, but it feels like I can¡¯t even afford rent.] ¡°[I¡¯m even worse off, I have to pay the hospital.]¡± ¡°[Same here, I dream of being a glorious taxpayer but don¡¯t even qualify.]¡± After reading for a while, Wang Xiaoying felt that people these days really had money, truly worthy of BiHu with its average millionaire users. But then she realized a problem and revised her question description, ¡°What should I be aware of with a monthly intern sry of 36,000?¡± Reply: ¡°[¡­ is this in Zimbabwe?]¡± ¡± [36,000 is nothing, I made 360,000 right after graduation, thepany provided a car, all of us are Ultramene from the M76 Neb, teleporting from ourpany vis to the office in just one second. Too bad today¡¯s wages only buy two ounces of booze, or else I could keep boasting.]¡± [I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a big deal, I also made over 30,000 after graduation and thepany benefits are especially good; they even took us on a trip to a small country m the south today. Got to go now, I hear knocking at the door, it must be¡­]¡± ¡°[Done for, caught by the YaoGuai]¡± A flood of answers switched frommenting to mocking in the blink of an eye, a true magicalpetition of the inte, making one marvel at the online world¡¯s brilliance. Although nearly all the answers were unreliable, and reliable answers were almost nonexistent, there were still a few somewhat useful responses. ¡°[High sry means high obligations. Such a high amount during an internship means it ¡®ll only increaseter. If I were you, I¡¯d get to thepany early every day to serve tea and wipe the floor until it sparkles.]¡± ¡°[If I earned that much, the boss would be my reborn parents, and thepany would be my home!]¡± ¡°[Those are your parents? Don¡¯t even think about stealing my parents!]¡± Taking note of some small tips, Wang Xiaoying continued searching for material on Fang Cheng Studio, eager to understand the studio¡¯s style as soon as possible. The next day, with dark circles under her eyes, Wang Xiaoying scanned the QR code for a shared bike and yawned her way toward the studio. Although Xu Qingling had emphasized yesterday that the office opens at 930 am, not toe early, andteness was eptable, Wang Xiaoying knew that manypanies might appear liberal on the surface but the boss spends all dav eyeing the attendance machine. Therefore, she arrived half an hour early at the studio, ready to pour tea for everyone to make a good impression, only to find the door was not even open. Hmm¡­ What¡¯s going on? At 9:25, she finally saw the studio¡¯s boss Fang Cheng arriving on time, with the coincidentally there¡± Xu Qingling by his side; the two exchanged cat-keeping tips while walking towards the studio. Rushing to greet them, Wang Xiaoying hurried into the studio, just about to start making tea, when she noticed that Fang Cheng had already prepared a pot of tea, handing one cup to Xu Qingling and another to her. ¡°This is a new variety I¡¯ve just acquired; I thinkit tastes quite good, you guys help me try it.¡±?????????????????? 6 J Fang Cheng took the first sip, found the vor refreshing and pleasant, a real rarity from recent times. Holding the cup of tea, Wang Xiaoying grew even more nervous. Shouldn¡¯t this kind of task be given to an intern?! Boss, you¡¯re way too approachable! Sitting nervously at her desk, she saw the big brother across the waye over and say warmly: ¡°Wang Xiaoying, I¡¯m the lead nner here, Huang Ping this is Xiao Du from damage calction, and Chen Liang from execution. nning and operations have a close rtionship; we¡¯ll have to interact more.¡± ¡°Oh, okay,¡± WangXiaoying replied hastily, ¡°It¡¯s my first day at work, and I don¡¯t know anything, what should I do?¡± This eager-to-leam attitude impressed Huang Ping. Especiallypared with Qu Fangfang, this attitude was even more precious. So, Huang Ping set up SVN for Wang Xiaoying, then pointing to the studio¡¯s games, he said, ¡°Start by ying games.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°These are all ourpany¡¯s games. You y them first, then tell me your thoughts afterward.¡± ¡°Really?¡± And so, with a puzzled face, Wang Xiaoying began her days of ying games on thepany¡¯s dime. Is this ce heaven? Chapter 71: The Place Where I Have Struggled Chapter 71: The ce Where I Have Struggled All My Life_l Wang Xiaoying neither liked nor disliked games. Because she hardly ever yed them. Her family was not wealthy, and her parents had chronic illnesses. In order to reduce the family¡¯s financial burden, she spent most of her time working to earn money, leaving her with little time to y games. She also spent her spare time learning about data analysis and reading case studies on product operations, which left her practically no time for games. After installing the game, she intended to just give it a try, but by lunchtime, she waspletely astonished. Holy moly! Is this really a game? The studio¡¯s most famous gship product, ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± seemed average to her, but the early ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡± and the recent ¡°The Nameless¡± were her favorites. There was one particr aspect of these two games that deeply moved her. And that was freedom. These two games perfectly embodied what an open-world means: anything you can think of, you can do within the game. Especially ¡°The Nameless,¡± which vividly portrayed the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the suffering of its people, and the helplessness of its heroes. This might seem to contradict the concept of freedom at first nce, but upon deeper reflection, this sense of helplessness only highlighted the preciousness of freedom, inspiring yers to act tirelessly in its pursuit. The game actually had only two main missions: joining the Protectorate of Anxi in the early stages and delivering a message to Chang¡¯anter on. These missions ran through the whole game but were far from hollow. Completing each phase of the main missions changed the game experience, from the early lone wolf stage to the mid-gamemunal life, and finally tote-game teambat; these three styles blended skillfully, making her feel a unique sense of freedom in each phase. The freedom of the lone wolf was the most absolute, but also the most dangerous. yers could freely explore the wilderness, but they had to face the terrifying forces of nature and could die at any moment. The freedom in the Protectorate of Anxi was the most limited, yet the safest. Moving with the main force meant that yers only had to focus on their own tasks, using the rest of their time to improve themselves. The period of delivering messages struck a bnce. yers could act freely while still assisting theirpanions. Sophisticated Al allowed yers to form deep bonds with theirpanions and even make sacrifices for them. Even more terrifying was that thesepanions weren¡¯t fixed. Based on earlier choices and actions, thepanions in theter stages could be almost freelybined. Wang Xiaoying even managed to persuade a timid new soldier to be herpanion, deepening her connection to him and pushing her to protect him all the way to Chang¡¯an.please visit ¡± sitestorys(.)c0m ¡± maybe y0u will enj0y the captivating sh0rt st0ries. Of course, this meant greater difficulty, but she chose to focus on equipment maintenance and trap-making instead of directly engaging the enemy, making her gaming experience less thrilling but safer. At midday, she yed the game so intensely that she forgot to eat, onlying back to reality when Xu Qingling ced a food box in front of her. Blushing, WangXiaoying said, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve yed for too long, I won¡¯t do it again.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just reminding you to eat earlier,¡± Xu Qingling said with a smile. Inviting Wang Xiaoying to the break room for lunch, Xu Qingling curiously asked, ¡°Is the boss¡¯s new game fun to y?¡± At that question, Wang Xiaoying couldn¡¯t even care about her food anymore. Putting her chopsticks down, she excitedly said, ¡°It¡¯s really fun, with incredible freedom. I don¡¯t know about other games, but this one is fantastic! Xu Qingling, what¡¯s your favorite genre?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I don¡¯t y,¡± Xu Qingling replied. ¡°Why not? It¡¯s such an interesting game!¡± ¡°I only y male-oriented romance and character development games.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s a shame.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Xu Qingling sighed regretfully, feeling it was indeed a pity. But seeing someone else enjoy the games made by Fang Cheng so much made her happy. It was no wonder she had chosen him as her boss; he truly had talent. After lunch, Wang Xiaoying couldn¡¯t wait to get back to the game, ying until she had to officially start working in the afternoon. Reluctantly putting the game aside, she opened a Word document, started to contemte the unique features of the game, and considered how she could promote it. Many people think that game operations are simple: organize some game events, hand out some benefits, sell some charm on social media, and then, that¡¯s it. And in fact¡­ many operators do just that. But a good operator should proficiently master the yers¡¯ game data, devise operation ns based on retention and demand at various stages, and develop and explore the game¡¯s selling points and gamey, ultimately aiming to increase game sales or the payment rate. One needs to decide when to buy traffic and purchase it for different user groups across various tforms. Typically, a game¡¯s operating costs ount for about 30% of its revenue, which illustrates the importance of operations. However, after understanding the previous operational methods of Fang Cheng Studio, Wang Xiaoying found that their main approach to operation wasissez-faire. I made the game, I put it on tforms, As for whether or not yers buy it or when they buy it, that¡¯s none of my concern. Yet the more it was so, the more Wang Xiaoying felt that this ce was filled with talent. In a situation with absolutely no promotion, achieving sales of millions of copies solely through yer advocacy is truly like getting a million-dor advertising campaign for free. Quality and reputation are Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s ultimate weapons; these two factors can save a great deal of cost in game promotion and enhance the studio¡¯s profitability andpetitiveness. After analyzing the studio¡¯s corepetitive edge, Wang Xiaoying shifted her focus to ¡°The Nameless.¡± This game should be her trial, and the next step should likely be to operate ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± and push its poprity even higher. Flexing her fingers, Wang Xiaoying felt her switch was flipped on, and she started writing documents at her workstation, lost in her work. Drinking thepany¡¯s free tea, she felt an outpour of inspiration, and the words in the document flowed like a floodgate had been opened. By the time work was almost over, she hadpleted the document. Looking at the document with tens of thousands of words, Wang Xiaoying stared at her fingers in surprise, as if seeing them for the first time. Fast! So fast! For some reason, she felt that her work efficiency had doubled today. What should have been a tedious job became quick and efficient, and uponpletion, she even felt a sense of achievement like never before. ¡°This ce is really too awesome!¡± she couldn¡¯t help but exim while sipping her tea. Just as she was about to submit her operation n, the end-of-workday music began to y. Three nners stood up helplessly, packed their things, and left directly. The studio¡¯s boss, Fang Cheng, watered the leeks in the tea room and immediately left without staying a minute longer. And Xu Qingling sighed and said to a confused Wang Xiaoying, ¡°It¡¯s time to leave; don¡¯t stay here. Be careful if the boss discovers you¡¯re working overtime; you¡¯ll be in trouble.¡± ¡°What happens if someone discovers you¡¯re working overtime?¡± Wang Xiaoying swallowed nervously and asked. ¡°They¡¯ll give you triple the overtime pay,¡± replied Xu Qingling. ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Then they will let you take time off at a two-to-one ratio; that means for every hour of overtime, you get two hours of time off, starting from 5 PM.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°If you stay past 6 PM, they give you a meal allowance, eighty yuan; past 7 PM, a transportation subsidy, one hundred yuan; past 8 PM, a health subsidy, two hundred yuan.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± ¡°You can try it; it¡¯s really scary. Especially the time off; nobody can bear the pain of not seeing the boss. Okay, you better go now.¡± Leaving the studio in a daze, Wang Xiaoying saw Xu Qingling really locking the front door of the studio. Walking outside, she felt as if she had found the ce she¡¯s been striving for all her life. Chapter 72 - 72 Propaganda Begins! Chapter 72: Propaganda Begins! The next day, after reviewing the operational n provided by Wang Xiaoying, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t have any objections and simply told her to go ahead and take charge. Operational funds were approved by Xu Qingling; in any case, he didn¡¯t care about money, so it didn¡¯t matter if it was all spent. Good operations could greatly help Fang Cheng inprehending enlightenment; the better the operations, the more yers ying his game, and the better he could understand the characteristic of ¡°fun¡± through the yers¡¯ reactions. What if problems arose? Although it might be frustrating, what kind of Immortal would he be if he didn¡¯t even have the will to resist setbacks? After all, he had weathered many difficulties in the past for his cultivation. Once Fang Cheng gave his approval, Wang Xiaoying started making moves quickly. Toplement ¡°The Nameless¡± ¡®s promotion, she specifically came up with a catchphrase for the game: ¡°Tang Dynasty, I¡¯m back.¡± This catchphrase had multiple purposes: on the one hand, it corresponded to the protagonist¡¯s final mission, and on the other hand, it rted to the entire game¡¯s historical setting, giving deeper meaning to the phrase. After registering ounts on Weibo, Bilibili, and Behu for thepany and getting them verified, Wang Xiaoying was ready to preheat ¡°The Nameless.¡± Having confirmed the release date of ¡°The Nameless¡± with Huang Ping, she decided to start with the promotional video. The promotional video for ¡°The Nameless¡± was particrly easy to make. Screenshots would do the job. With the game¡¯s richly detailed graphics and seamlessly smooth performanceplemented by advanced artificial intelligence, the result was a cinematic ¡¯ experience. Knowing that the release was only seven days away, Wang Xiaoying edited and processed the material she received from Monkey, then she shared the finalized video in the group for everyone to enjoy. The video received unanimous praise from everyone; Xu Qingling even stated that the studio should definitely employ Wang Xiaoying¡¯s editing skills for future promotional short films. At the same time, she mentioned that since Fang Cheng was thepany boss, he definitely needed more screen time when the time came. Wang Xiaoying said there was no problem with the suggestion, but it felt a bit odd to her. Once everything was confirmed to be fine, Wang Xiaoying uploaded the video to Bilibili. As the first video of ¡°Fang Cheng Studio,¡± Wang Xiaoying named it: ¡°Seven Days Away from the Tang Dynasty.¡± A new ount with a new video theoretically shouldn¡¯t attract much traffic. Furthermore, Wang Xiaoying didn¡¯t purchase any traffic or do any coborations; she simply allowed it to grow organically. Most people would leave upon seeing it was a new ount, because very few neers can create something impressive. However, there are always exceptions. Tang Mo was one of them. He had a great interest in history, especially the Tang Dynasty. Every time he discussed the An Lushan Rebellion and the downfall of the Tang Dynasty in itster period, he felt a profound ache in his heart. Today, his regr content creator had failed to upload, so with no video to watch with his meal, he started looking for recently posted videos about the Tang Dynasty and stumbled upon this new one. The double-digit view count made the video seem somewhat pitiable, but the armor on the thumbnail immediately drew Tang Mo¡¯s attention. After carefully examining it for a while, Tang Mo couldn¡¯t help but nod andment, ¡°Exquisite.¡± At a nce, he recognized it as the standard Mingguang armor from the end of the Tang Dynasty, with a few discrepancies from the currently reconstructed versions, but presumably modified for some special purpose. Upon closer examination, traces of sword and de marks could be seen on the armor, with several areas stained with dark red blood, the corners faintly conveying a chilling solemnity. Just one image was enough to make Tang Mo feel extremely satisfied. Many armors made now are too clean. After all, armor is a weapon, and even more deadly than swords. In ancient times, privately owning swords could be regarded as a hobby, but owning full armor was a sign of treason. Armor that had seen battle and been damaged was the real deal; brought back from the battlefield, such armor carried with it a forbidding aura, as if it contained endless murderous intent, causing one to be awestruck. Just one image captured his attention for several minutes, then he clicked to y the video. Afterward, a mocking voice resounded. When recording this video, Monkey made a point to y through it once again. With his previous experience, he was even more skilled this time and, to save time and avoid danger, he even memorized the entire Western Region map. Hispanions were the usual crew: the dumpling, Squad Leader, Mr. Fang, and the skinny guy. He had already developed deep feelings for the NPCs and, in this round of the game, he expended a great deal of energy and managed to bring them all to the Tang Dynasty without losing a single one. Although the final score was only 91 points, Monkey felt it was worth it seeing everyone safe and sound. At the beginning of the video, the one speaking is the skinny guy. The skinny guy¡¯s voice had a peculiar magic, sounding serious but would inevitably make people want tough as he went on. It was like aedian acting in a drama-though he was being serious, it was still funny. Of course, he wasn¡¯t all that serious after all. Lying in the wagon¡¯spartment, wrapped up like a zongzi, with only his mouth firm, which was also the only thing that could be firm. ¡°I¡¯ve heard there are two types of men in the Tang Dynasty, one who¡¯s good for nothing, and the other who¡¯s also good for nothing.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Dumpling asked curiously next to him. Never mind, I¡¯m just bored to death, just saying something to keep spirits up. Monkey, how much longer until we reach the Tang Dynasty?¡± The camera shook, and then the protagonist raised a finger, gesturing a seven. ¡°Seven days, huh¡­ I wonder if the girls in Chang¡¯an like the number seven, I¡¯m quite fond of it. Hey, Monkey, what are you nning on doing when you get to Chang¡¯an¡­¡± The skinny guy was chatting intermittently while the protagonist turned his gaze away, looking into the distance. The scenery was one of withered vines, old trees, crows, small bridges over flowing streams, and homes. They were now in a stolen carriage, with Squad Leader sound asleep, Mr. Fang sharpening a knife, and Dumpling chatting with the injured skinny guy-all very harmonious. If one ignored certain details. There were still bloodstains on the knife, Dumpling¡¯s arm was bleeding, everyone was so fatigued they were almost asleep, but they were all resolutely keeping themselves awake, not allowing sleep to take over. No oneined of tiredness, but everyone had reached their limits of exhaustion, with the whole scene filled with stories-even the old horse pulling the carriage looked dramatic. Tang Mo quickly paused the video and began scrutinizing every item on the screen, finding it more and more pleasing as he looked. This video, it¡¯s got style. Clearly, the creator of the video must have done substantial research on that period, their level of knowledge could be considered on par with that of a university professor. Even with his best effort, Tang Mo could only recognize a few of the items and was confident they were urate-every one of them was meticulously researched to ensure they were period-appropriate. Was this an animated film, a movie, or a game? With this question in mind, Tang Mo clicked to continue and kept watching. The scenes that followed were straightforward. The carriage moved along slowly, the skinny guy rambled on, the surrounding scenery gradually receded, peace pervaded everything. Suddenly, Dumpling stopped. He listened intently, then pointed in a certain direction and said, ¡°They¡¯reing.¡± A few breathster, the sound of horses neighing broke through, piercing the sky with such a sharp tone that it made Tang Mo, who had just been immersed in the video, break out in goosebumps on his arms. In the video, the protagonist also stood up decisively, looking toward the distance. There, five cavalrymen were charging over on horseback, the decorations on them indicating they were Tubo soldiers. Theyughed wildly as they spun their ils in their hands, not caring who the travelers were, seeking only to smash the heads of the convoy. Facing the rapidly approaching soldiers, the skinny guy calmly cracked a smile. ¡°Monkey, go!¡± Chapter 73 - 73 Day 6_1 Chapter 73: Day 6_1 Monkey drew a bow and arrow from inside the goods van, calmly bending the bow, notching the arrow, but withheld the shot. Though targeted by Monkey, these Tubo cavalry showed no fear. At most, they felt this man still had some fight in him; it would feel even more satisfying to crush his skull shortly. To enable free movement here, Monkey and his group had disguised themselves as traders, their clothes tattered and ragged, hardly raising any suspicion. Through Monkey¡¯s point of view, Tang Mo could see the approaching Tubo cavalry drawing nearer, their ils swinging, their sinister grins vividly life-like, making his muscles tense up instantly, and his entire body became anxious. In his heart, he even started to shout loudly, ¡°Shoot! Shoot! They¡¯reing! However, the protagonist didn¡¯t hear Tang Mo¡¯s cries. He merely watched the enemy calmly, and only when the lead horseman stepped just within his effective range did he release the arrow he had nocked with his right hand. Whoosh¡­ The sound, akin to a whistle, was faint and swift. The released arrow, like a swallow vanishing into the dark, merged seamlessly with the surroundings; the next second it appeared at the lead horseman¡¯s throat. The cavalryman on the horse fell at the sound, while the Squad Leader, who had been sleeping soundly on the cart, leapt to his feet instantaneously. He was like an iron tower; his two-meter stature was an imposing giant, so big that he could only curl up to sleep on the wagon. Seeing the fast-approaching cavalry, he reached out to Mr. Fang beside him, who promptly handed him a well-maintained throwing spear. The half-zhang long throwing spear was made from fine wood, its tip fitted with an iron spearhead, gleaming from Mr. Fang¡¯s meticulous maintenance. Weighing it for feel, the serious-faced Squad Leader smiled and said, ¡°Good. The next moment, he threw it. It¡¯s difficult to describe the action of his throw; in that instant, the statue-like Squad Leader seemed to be light itself. The switch from stillness to motion appeared to happen in a blink, with not a single wasteful movement, turning the throwing spear in his hand into a ferocious weapon. The hurled spear shot forth like lightning; the cavalry¡¯s leather armor might as well have been paper, too weak to withstand the thrust of the spear, which impaled them clean through. Before the cavalry could react, the next arrow had already arrived. With two arrows and one spear, the five assants, yet to close in, were reduced to two. The remaining two, petrified, turned to flee, but then another arrow and another spear shot took them down. The horses ran off¡ªamon urrence¡ªbut on the bodies of the five cavalry were supplies of dry food and water, with some even carrying pouches of coin, enough for a feast at the next stop. After handling the spoils, they left the corpses of the five cavalrymen where they fell and continued the journey, led by two old horses. Inside the wagon, a skinny man joked, ¡°Those five cavalry were just weak, if I weren¡¯t injured, one face-off and they¡¯d all be dead.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes, Skinny Brother is the strongest,¡± Meat Bun chimed in. ¡°That tonecks sincerity. Next time you train with me, we¡¯ll have a market in Chang¡¯an, guaranteed you¡¯ll find a wealthy and pretty sister. ¡°Right, right, right.¡± As the sun set in the west, the wagon trudged on. The battle just now faded from mind, but the desire forbat, like the sound of the bowstring, echoed in Tang Mo¡¯s thoughts. At the video¡¯s end, the caption reappeared: ¡°Seven days away from the Tang Dynasty.¡± After watching the video, Tang Mo didn¡¯t speak for a long time. The video was only seven and a half minutes long, but the emotions it stirred in him might take seven hours to calm. Remembering the details he just witnessed, he felt as if he had seen a lonely Tang army traversing the thousand-year void, right before his eyes. The ferocious appearance of the Tubo cavalry was right in front of him, yet in a blink, they were effortlessly obliterated by the solitary Tang army, aligning perfectly with his imagination of the remaining valor of the Tang. ¡°This uploader is awesome! The production quality is impable. Is this a movie or an animation promotion? The uploader is¡­ Fang Cheng Studio? It seems I¡¯ve heard about them somewhere.¡± Without further thought, he hurriedly shared the video to his history group. Worried that his groupmates wouldn¡¯t take it seriously, he added after sharing, ¡°Quick, look, it¡¯s really impressive!¡± ¡°You¡¯rete,¡± a group member replied, ¡°Check out the group announcement, we¡¯ve already discussed it once.¡± Only then did Tang Mo realize that the video was already shared in the group announcement. Just as Tang Mo was feeling a bit embarrassed, the conversation in the group continued, ¡°But no matter, I just watched it for the fifth time and discovered something new. Let¡¯s talk about the armor.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah!¡± Tang Mo typed enthusiastically, ¡°The Mingguang armour is restored so authentically, I¡¯m not sure if this is for a game or movie, but if they release merchandise, I¡¯m definitely buying.¡± ¡°Heard it¡¯s for a game and Fang Cheng Studio often has blockbuster hits. Quiet Cultivation,¡¯ which is really poprtely, is one of theirs.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, it does seem like it¡¯s their game. My nephew always ys ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ on myputer whenever he visits. I¡¯ve even yed a few rounds myself.¡± ¡°Is it a battle royale game? I struggle with those, can¡¯t keep up with the strategy.¡± ¡°There¡¯re various modes, you can still y the Heavenly Demon mode without strong awareness, it¡¯s quite fun fighting Heavenly Demons with a group of people.¡± The conversation moved from the video to history, then from history to games. A once serious history group was gradually morphing into a gaming group, and nobody seemed to think it was odd. The next day, at the same time. Although he thought it unlikely, Tang Mo still began refreshing his following list, waiting for an update from Fang Cheng Studio. And Fang Cheng Studio didn¡¯t disappoint him; the second video was updated on time at eleven o¡¯clock in the morning. ¡°Six days to Tang Dynasty.¡± Compared to the sparse views when he first watched it yesterday, the video had thousands of views as soon as it was released. The y count from yesterday¡¯s video had already reached 270,000, and Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s fan count skyrocketed from zero to seventeen thousand overnight, a testament to the video¡¯s high quality. The second video didn¡¯t disappoint Tang Mo either. This time, the five-person squad arrived at a rundown mountain vige. The vige had just been plundered; bodies of vigers were piled up in the square, parts of houses had been burned to ruins, and faint cries could be heard everywhere. When the peasants spotted the five neers entering the vige, they kept their distance. Only after confirming that they weren¡¯t Tubo soldiers did they timidlye forward. The elderly vige chief, leaning on his cane, burst into tears when he heard that they were Tang soldiers. Kneeling down in front of the protagonist, his tears flowing freely, the vige chief clutched at his hand and choked out, ¡°Is the Emperor of Tang well? When will the Heavenly Soldierse to save us?¡± Upon hearing this, even the normally lively skinny member was silent. The Squad Leader¡¯s face, covered in scars, looked more intimidating. He helped the chief to his feet and then asked, ¡°Where¡¯s that group of Tubo soldiers?¡± ¡°Not far, at a camp. Sir, there are more than twenty of them, you¡¯re no match. Better rest up and head out first thing in the morning.¡± ¡°Only twenty men, huh.¡± The skinny member finally smiled, ¡°Guys, make it quick. I¡¯ll keep watch here for you.¡± ¡°Mind your own business!¡± The Squad Leader red at the not yet fully recovered skinny member and cursed, ¡°You just keep watch, if anything happens before we return, I¡¯m holding you ountable! Then, he rallied his mates, and under the vigers¡¯plex gaze, they headed towards the Tubo camp in the setting sun. As Tang Mo eagerly anticipated the uing battle, the end credits appeared! ¡°Six days to Tang Dynasty.¡± ¡°Dammit! Not now, this is where you cut it off?!¡± Chapter 74 - 74 The Great Idea l Chapter 74: The Great Idea l After cussing out Fang Cheng Studio, Tang Mo hit a quick three-buttonbo and then shifted his attention to another video. Feeling unsatisfied after watching it, he began to search for other simr videos and soon discovered that in just one day, someone had taken the 7.5- minute video and broken it down frame by frame to analyze every element on the screen. From the style of the armor to the technique of drawing a bow, from the geographical environment to the breeds of horses, every single detail in the video could be dissected and discussed at length¡ªit seemed another group of niche content creators had found sustenance. And these creators seemed to agree on one thing, ¡°It¡¯s too real, it doesn¡¯t seem staged.¡± Some joked that the studio had taken a camera back in time for a round of ancient exploration, while others said that no amount of money could make them brave such harsh conditions. While some criticized certain aspects of the video for ack of rigor, others would throw historical facts back at them, telling the critics to watch properly before spewing nonsense. In this back-and-forth exchange of blows, the video¡¯s poprity kept soaring until it finally hit a million views and the fan count rose to fifty thousand. Meanwhile, the dwindling number of days also made the audience aware that Fang Cheng Studio seemed to be gearing up for a major event. On the third day, the next video arrived. ¡°Five days from Chang¡¯an.¡± More details were revealed, more battles disyed. An almost real depiction of thete Tang Dynasty unfolded, presenting the audience with a time that was brutal yet incredibly romantic. The sun of the Tang was setting, but its afterglow remained warm, its evening sun still casting light across the sky, guiding the righteous towards the Tang Dynasty. Massive battles appeared for the first time, not between the Tang and Tubo, but within Tubo itself. ves unable to endure Tubo¡¯s domestic rule began to rebel, their rage sweeping across Tubo like a colossal wave, even threatening to engulf a passing group of five. Facing these oncepatriots, the five-person group could only keep avoiding them, and under Monkey¡¯s lead, they struggled to find their way to the Tang Dynasty. But then, the video ended, ¡°Stay tuned for the next day.¡± Tang Mo, having just indulged in the excitement, started to bang on the table out of frustration, but he also knew that building anticipation day by day was the key¡ªreleasing everything at once would spoil the fun. But it was infuriating nheless! If only he knew where the studio was located, he¡¯d dare to buy a bunch of utility knives and send them over. As Tang Mo anxiously awaited, the videos continued to be released daily, driving the audience¡¯s anticipation for the ultimate event to its peak. Finally, thest video was published. In the video, the five-person group was in dire straits. They got entangled in the ve rebellion, discovered by a group of well-trained Tubo soldiers, encountered sh floods on their journey, and were almost robbed by a band of refugees to be turned into cured meat. But in the end, they made it. The soldiers on the city walls looked in disbelief at these veterans who hade from seven thousand miles away. The group was scarred and battered, their leather armor torn and ragged, but they had protected their military g with their lives, keeping it unblemished. At this moment, as the g waved proudly, the sun and moon on it highlighting the glory of the Tang¡¯s return, the Anxi Protectorate was once again reunited with the Tang Dynasty. ¡°Tang Dynasty, we¡¯re back!¡± It wasn¡¯t until this moment that the video revealed its main theme and the big event they had nned. ¡°Fang Cheng Studio, introducing itstest high-freedom masterpiece, ¡®The Nameless¡¯ is now online. Let us meet in the Tang Dynasty.¡± Seven days, seven high-quality videos for promotion¡ªit wasn¡¯t the first time this had been done. But the higher the expectations raised among yers, the riskier the oue could be. If the game did not meet expectations, it would inevitably lead to a catastrophic oue. But the veteran yers had no doubts. Seeing a game from Fang Cheng Studio, just blindly buying it was the way to go ¡ªthey hadn¡¯t been duped yet. Some new yers hesitated. The standard price of 68 wasn¡¯t high, but deception by CGI was all toomon, and it did make some people reflect for a moment. While some looked on with caution, some gaming channel creators had already jumped ahead to y the game and shared their reviews. Don¡¯t buy it! It¡¯s too, too difficult! To keep up with the current pace of yers, Huang Ping had made some modifications to the game and removed some infuriatingly difficult content. For instance, the voice system. The ent at the end of Tang dynasty was vastly different from the modern one, sounding a bit like Southern Min and Hakka dialects; ordinary yers would bepletely bewildered by it. Besides that, Huang Ping also incorporated a voice system that allowed yers to use microphones tomunicate with NPCs, making it easier to issuemands. Some physical conditions were also digitized, allowing yers to see their current status through a panel to understand their own and theirpanion¡¯s health condition. Even without any skills, they could act as an adept doctor. But it was still too hard! Tang Mo tried it out, too, but was ultimately persuaded to give up, resigned. The game was really fun, the level of detail in the scenes made him feel like the production team had actually visited thete Tang period and then transported that scenery into the game. But it was also truly difficult. Just dealing with the three Tubo cavalry members in the opening scene, he had no idea how to counter them. In the end, he hid in an abandoned well for a day after consulting a guide to finish it. Because he hadn¡¯t resisted the cavalry, he was allowed to stay in the vige, but it wasn¡¯t long before he was conscripted as a ve soldier and subsequently died of humiliation in the military camp at the age of sixteen. After several attempts, Tang Mo never managed to live past the age of sixteen. Looking at the game¡¯s Steamment section, Tang Mo found that most yers shared his experience. [It¡¯s fun, but hard. It really is fun, but just too hard.] [Stepping outside the house, even the dogs passing by could kill me three times.] (I tried tounch a sneak attack, but I was malnourished and didn¡¯t have the strength. The enemy discovered me and gave me one strike, and I died.] (A masterpiece, no exnation needed.] [Toplete it, you just need hands, but the problem is, my hands were chopped off as soon as I stepped outside.] Due to its excessive difficulty and ultra-realistic restoration, those who liked it couldn¡¯t get enough of it, while those who didn¡¯t condemned Fang Cheng for being pretentious and starting to make Soul Series to bully the yers. Tang Mo had also considered giving up, but he really couldn¡¯t let go of the armor avableter in the game. With no other choice, he had to pick up the game again, gritting his teeth and following guides, but got stuck at the Protectorate of Anxi. With no strength in the early game, wandering through the desert left him malnourished and sick. Upon reaching the Protectorate of Anxi, he could only work in logistics, simply gazing at the armor and weaponry, his frail body unable to wear them. With a sigh of regret, Tang Mo temporarily saved the game and exited. He then opened a document, ready to finish today¡¯s draft. He, Tang Mo, a small-time historical fiction writer on a website, didn¡¯t have many readers, but they were all very sweet. Making ends meet every month wasn¡¯t a problem for him. Although ying the game had taken some of his time, some of the game events had inspired him, sparking his creativity. In two hours, he finished today¡¯s quota and, just after releasing it, sawments popping up in the readers¡¯ group: [Old Tang¡¯s recent form is good; the details in his writing are incredibly realistic. Just wish there was more.] [On the Steam tform, ¡°The Nameless¡± by Old Tang has an eleven-hour ytime. Old Tang, you¡¯ve let me down.] [Just eleven hours.] [The game officiallyunched only fourteen hours ago! ] [I think ¡°The Nameless¡± can be considered a form of research.] [I agree, but you can¡¯t always be ying. How about this, Old Tang, you update a chapter every time you die, what do you think?] [You could have made Old Tang just write ¡°death¡±, yet you still let him y the game, real tears!] Reading thements from his readers, Tang Mo found it quite amusing. Writing a book, without readerments, would lessen the fun by more than half. Then, a readermented: [What do you think would happen if we modern people were to be transported to the world of ¡°The Nameless¡±?] [We¡¯d probably die miserably in the early stages, but once familiar, we should be able to survive. However, individual power is limited; to climb the tech tree, it would be best to bring along an external cheat device from Baidu.] [Or having a group of friends brainstorming together would work too.] [Agreed, a group of people sharing one body to strategize and progress together, then change history. I remember there was a simr manga before.] As Tang read through the readers¡¯ discussion, he initially couldn¡¯t help butugh. But gradually, his smile faded. He swiftly reopened the game, and looking at the character who had arrived at the Protectorate of Anxi, a bold idea began to take shape. This idea¡­ might just work! Chapter 75: The Decade-long Promise_l Chapter 75: The Decade-long Promise_l After sharing his thoughts in the group, the readers fell silent. A momentter, someone cautiously typed, ¡°Tang, I know that writing is a job with a lot of psychological pressure. If you¡¯re tired, why not go out and take a break? You can continue writing after youe back.¡± Tang Mo: ¡°Are you speaking human? I think that¡¯s doable. You¡¯ve also yed ¡®The Nameless,¡¯ and experienced the high degree of freedom, as well as the game¡¯s strong artificial intelligence. So, why can¡¯t we give it a try?¡± ¡°But it sounds a bit far-fetched. Telling others future events, modern knowledge, and geography through the protagonist, can such a thing really work? ¡®The Nameless¡¯ is brilliant, but is it that amazing?¡± ¡°Hard to say,¡± a loyal fan of Fang Cheng games said, ¡°I¡¯ve been ying since ¡®The Forest¡¯s Second Son,¡¯ then ¡®Towards Death and Life,¡¯ ¡®Princess Dungeon,¡¯ etc. I¡¯ve found that Fang Cheng likes to embed easter eggs in their games.¡± ¡°I remember, after that guard was defeated in ¡®The Forest¡¯s Second Son, the easter egg that appeared. I¡¯ve even seen Wang Say Games exin it. ¡®Towards Death and Life¡¯ also has an Al named Alpha. But these are just small easter eggs; there couldn¡¯tbe one as big as this, right? ¡°¡­Hard to say.¡± Tang Mo: ¡°Regardless, let¡¯s just give it a shot. I¡¯ll start a live stream and look for others from my history group. With everyone¡¯s collective wisdom, let¡¯s see if we can uncover something new.¡± With a try-and-see attitude, Tang Mo restarted the game, going back from the beginning. The result was unexpectedly good. So good that Tang Mo began to think that this was how the game was meant to be yed. In the opening scene, as the wounded soldier appeared, Tang Mo followed the n made by the group members and directly asked the soldier, ¡°Are you from the Protectorate of Anxi, are you going to deliver a message to the Tang Dynasty?¡± ¡°How do you know that!¡± The wounded soldier was shocked. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that The Nameless was just a twelve-year-old child at this time, he would have considered slitting the other¡¯s throat to eliminate future troubles. Tang Mo was well-prepared for the soldier¡¯s question. In the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism and Taoism were prevalent, to the extent that even princesses and noblewomen identified themselves as Taoists. Manipting his motion sensor device, Tang Mo executed a respectful bow, then said, ¡°I am an Immortal of reincarnation, reborn specially to restore glory to the Tang Dynasty, and I havee here to save you.¡± Calcting with his fingers, Tang Mo said, ¡°Youe from the Protectorate of Anxi, you have seven people in your family, Tubo has taken six of them, and you are the only one left. You¡¯ve been separated from yourpanions, but if you stay here for three days, travel southeast for twenty miles on the fourth night, you will surely find them.¡± Tang Mo¡¯s words made the soldier both shocked and overjoyed. Shocked by the other person¡¯s youth yet mature words, which sounded like those of a thirty-year-old man. Overjoyed that the other person could precisely state his background, even predicting details of his family. Hence, the soldier half-believed Tang Mo¡¯s self-promation as an Immortal. Three dayster, he stealthily left the main character¡¯s straw hut and traveled twenty miles southeast, only to be astonished to find hispanions encamped there. The reunion of brothers naturally led to boundless joy, and after hearing about the protagonist¡¯s miraculous deeds, the Squad Leader pondered for a moment, then took the soldier back to where the protagonist was. Those who receive the task of delivering messages are naturally the elites of the Protectorate of Anxi, very skilled in stealth. They returned quietly; not even the vige dogs barked, and the vige guards did not notice them as they passed by. But upon reaching the protagonist¡¯s residence, the Squad Leader and the injured soldier were stunned to see the door open and the protagonist standing at the doorstep, giving a standard military salute and whispering, ¡°Cheng An, long time no see.¡± The Squad Leader, whose real name had been spoken, shuddered. How long had it been since hest heard that name? Looking at the other person, Tang Mo also felt quite emotional. Cheng An is a renowned character in ¡®The Nameless,¡¯ known to almost every yer. He too was a messenger, but not long after setting out, he encountered Tubo soldiers; he got captured while covering for hisrades to escape. Three yearster, after a grueling escape from the Tubo army camp, he returned without his left leg and blind in one eye, only able to be in charge of logistics at the Protectorate of Anxi. However, he was naturally magnanimous and unconcerned about his disabilities, instead continuously training new soldiers, serving as an older brother to every yer who joined the Protectorate of Anxi. Now, seeing Cheng An unharmed, Tang Mo was deeply moved. He did it! Just a simple act of deception had changed the course of the game¡¯s storyline; some people met ahead of time, and some events could also be changed. Indeed, my guess was correct! After adjusting his emotions, he directly revealed Cheng An¡¯s origins and then said to the astonished Cheng An, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± Cheng An asked, puzzled. ¡°The Protectorate of Anxi.¡± Seeing that Cheng An still wanted to speak, Tang Mo immediately interrupted, ¡°I know you still want to deliver the message, but it¡¯s useless to do so now. I am proficient in the art of alchemy and the Way of Divination; I knew beforehand that you would fail. It would be far more useful for you to escort me back to the Protectorate of Anxi than to deliver any message.¡± Noticing that the other party was still hesitating, Tang Mo continued, ¡°If I return to Anxi, within ten years, granaries will be filled to the brim, weapons will be plentiful, and the soldiers will be strong and horses robust. I will be able to predict every move of Tubo. Such a person as myself is worth more than a thousand troops! Cheng An, what are you still hesitating about! His words struck like a bolt from the blue, making Cheng An make a decision. Turn around; back to Anxi! Without dy, the messengers carefully protected Tang Mo as they embarked on the journey back to Anxi. Looking back at the small cabin behind him, Tang Mo left with Cheng An without hesitation, his emotions surging incredibly. He was right! He was thankful to the other yers who had recorded the life stories of everyone in Anxi in advance, allowing him to y the role of a Prophet and to deceive Cheng An. Beyond that, he was grateful for the maps the other yers had drawn and the historical events they had summarized in the game, which enabled him to persuade others more effectively. And his online friends were continuously devising strategies, acting as advisers by the thousands, bolstering his confidence to change history. The thought that he could do the same things as the characters in his novels excited him so much that he trembled all over and resolved to change everything here. Therefore, he stopped updating. In his live stream sessions, he and a bunch of buddies were making grand ns in the world of ¡°The Nameless¡±. They were altering history, predicting the future, mining iron, gathering refugees, saving ves. The thrill of farming made Tang Mo forget his home, and the idea of updating became irrelevant. The readers didn¡¯t rush him to update either; instead, they confessed in the live streams that this was more entertaining than his writing. To the NPCs of the Protectorate of Anxi, Tang Mo was regarded as an Immortal-like figure. Astronomy, geography, mathematics, fortune-telling, medicine, spirits¡­ he was proficient in everything, knew everything¡ªso much so that there were suspicions he was the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang, earning him the nickname ¡°Little Zhuge¡±. Even if he didn¡¯t know something, he just had to shout, ¡°Baidu, add points , and then everything would be resolved. It must be some sort of Immortal Law that ordinary people couldn¡¯t understand. After the continuous nning and strategizing of a group of people, and the tireless efforts of the NPCs, ten yearster, the Protectorate of Anxi hadpletely transformed. It had be incredibly powerful. With the ten-year perioding to an end, it was time to return to the Tang Dynasty. Chapter 76 - 76 Enemy Forces Heading to the Battlefield_l Chapter 76: Enemy Forces Heading to the Battlefield_l The changes in Anxi were unknown to the rest of the Tang Dynasty, but some clues were still felt. First, the harassment by Tubo on the borders gradually diminished, ultimately disappearing. For the past two years, Tubo soldiers had ceased to appear, and some ves began fleeing to the Tang Dynasty, though they too had no idea where Tubo had gone. Despite the desire to investigate, the Tang Dynasty had no spare soldiers internally and was forced to set the matter aside temporarily. The soldiers stationed at the frontier began to grow idle, and some farmers even started cultivating the fertile fields beyond the border, which gradually improved the lives of the previously impoverished popce. Then, merchants appeared. Merchants of the Silk Road had been absent for a long time, but unexpectedly, a group of them traversed thousands of miles toe here, bringing food and fruits unseen for a long time, and purchased porcin and silk as goods for their return journey. Seeing the long-missed merchants, the Emperor of Tang personally hosted a banquet for them and learned a piece of news that took him by surprise. In the west, an army had appeared. They were as disciplined as mountains, swift as the wind, donned armor impervious to swords and spears, and rode precious horses that could cover a thousand miles a day. They carried the Sun Moon Army g, wielding long spears with iron tips; they roared excitedly upon seeing Tubo troops in groups of five, then they charged or raided. Well-trained and physically robust, they began every battle by shooting a number of enemies with strange firearms, then moved forward to finish them off, never once defeated. Beyond their cavalry, they had numerous technicians and bureaucrats; after conquering a ce, they immediately established a base and put forth the slogan of restoring the Tang Dynasty, which attracted many supporters in no time. With the support of warhorses and another type of strange steel device, teams of five dared to charge at Tubo armies hundreds strong; wherever the cavalry went, they were unstoppable. Their numbers were vast, and Tubo was forced to retreat step by step because of them, even Tubo¡¯s royal g was seized by this army. What was more terrifying was that among them, there was a divine being, all-knowing and omniscient. Every battle, they anticipated the enemy¡¯s moves, and their minds possessed the ability to strategize brilliantly, instilling terror in Tubo at the very mention of them. In just a few years, Tubo was beaten to the point of fragmentation and could no longer harass the Tang Dynasty. Upon hearing the merchant¡¯s report, the Emperor of Tang was thrilled by Tubo¡¯s copse yet anxious about the emergence of a new neighbor. As the Emperor of Tang was about to inquire further, an urgent message from the border arrived. The Protectorate of Anxi still existed! They even sent envoys and had expressed their desire to return to Tang. But this time, it wasn¡¯t just a few scattered messengers. The passage between Anxi and the Tang Dynasty was opened once again, and tens of thousands of cavalry, with mighty strides, marched towards the Tang Dynasty, reigniting Tang¡¯s glory. Everywhere they went, the locals responded enthusiastically, offering food and wine to wee the King¡¯s forces. Lost territories were reimed, alien tribes expelled, and Heaven once again favored the Tang Dynasty, bestowing the throne of the Central ins back to its rightful ce. Amidst the encirclement of cavalry, under the admiring gazes of soldiers, Tang Mo entered the Tang Dynasty as a general, walking proudly towards Chang¡¯an. Tang, I¡¯m back. After aplishing this feat, a deafening cheer erupted inside Tang Mo¡¯s live broadcast room. While other yers were still fretting over reaching 100 points and seeking ways to improve their score, they had already achieved the remarkable feat of eliminating Tubo, reiming territory, and restoring glory through coborative efforts. Proudly walking on thend of the Tang Dynasty, their final score reached an astonishing two hundred and seventeen points. This score was not calcted by multiplicative increases, but rather through an exponential scoring method, with two hundred and seventeen points denoting an extremely high achievement, signifying that what they had done had surpassed the historical Nameless Ones, reaching a new height. [Tang, that was not easy.] [No kidding, but it was thrilling. Even though I couldn¡¯t personally join the battlefield and just farmed and climbed the tech tree, it was so satisfying!] [Yeah, the feeling of pummeling the opponent with a technological edge is just too cool!] [Turns out farming is the real way to y ¡°The Nameless¡±, but why doesn¡¯t the game say so?] [ssic Fang Cheng, always likes to hide something and then secretly wait for us to discover it.] [Do you think there¡¯s a chance that he hadn¡¯t foreseen this gamey himself?] [I think that¡¯s impossible. If he hadn¡¯t anticipated it, would he have included so many lifelike technologies? Would he have added a nearly realistic physics engine and the form for gunpowder?] [Right, even the machines can be urately reconstructed, so I believe Fang Cheng anticipated this. The producer is so sneaky, keeping such a fun way to y hidden.] [Exactly, too sneaky! To punish him, I¡¯ve decided to buy a copy of ¡°The Nameless¡± and do it myself. I¡¯ll shame him by letting him know I uncovered his secret!] [Heh heh, this producer, you wouldn¡¯t want your Easter eggs to stay buried, would you?] [Hold your horses, put together a strategy guide first. You still need to do your homework if you want to y this game and have a st.] Watching the discussion in the stream, Tang Mo also felt veryfortable. This stream, they had yed intermittently over the course of a week. It took so long because they had to pause from time to time, then infer their next best move based on historical records and geography. Moreover, to avoid external interference, this stream room was not open to the public, but a private space. As the first yer to discover the farming gamey and verify its viability, Tang Mo was extremely excited. At this moment, he was The Nameless, leading a lone force rising from istion, and the feeling of aplishment was indescribable. Although the game waspleted, Tang Mo knew it wasn¡¯t the end. There were still many regrets to address and more details to uncover. There was morend to conquer in the north and the west, and beyond the sea, a richnd awaited their arrival. The game still held immense potential, and treating it merely as a war game was a true waste. It was supposed to be a game with a grander vision, a hypothetical and simtion of that era. The nearly perfect simtion allowed one to better glimpse the elegance of that age and let yers fulfill their fantasies of time travel. At this thought, Tang Mo felt his heart start to race. That¡¯s right, such a great game shouldn¡¯t be buried! He began to gather materials, nning topile his gaming experience from this time into a guide. The process was time-consuming andborious, but Tang Mo found it sweet. He was willing to contribute to a game he loved. In Fang Cheng Studio, Wang Xiaoying gnawed on her pen, sighing as she looked at the game data. As her first assignment since arriving at Fang Cheng Studio, Wang Xiaoying was very confident in the game¡¯s quality and full of anticipation for her work results. But the oue¡­ wasn¡¯t great.] Chapter 77: The Industrial Revolution in the Tang Dynasty_i Chapter 77: The Industrial Revolution in the Tang Dynasty_i After seven days spent on warming up,bined with the studio¡¯s prior reputation, the sales of ¡°The Nameless¡± just barely crossed the million mark. For an average studio, that number might call for champagne, butpared to its predecessors, the sales of ¡°The Nameless¡± can only be described as bleak. Moreover, thepletion rate of the game was only 3%, and most yers who finished it scored no higher than 60, which shows just how punishing the difficulty of this game really was. The only constion was that the game received high praise. yers who enjoyed this type of game dered it a masterpiece and said they felt uneasy if they didn11 y it every day, loving the thrill of going through life and death. However, this group of yers was after all a minority, with most preferring games that were more rxing and casual. Life was already tough enough; there was no need to suffer again in a game. After analyzing the data for half the day, Wang Xiaoying sighed and felt that she had screwed things up. No matter how she looked at it, this operation couldn¡¯t be considered a sess. Compiling this operation into a case study, she uneasily approached Fang Cheng with the report and said nervously, ¡°Boss, I didn¡¯t handle this well, the game sales¡­ aren¡¯t great.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯ve done very well,¡± Fang Cheng revealed a smile as warm as a spring breeze, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there is no problem with the oue this time.¡± Seeing Fang Cheng¡¯s smile, Wang Xiaoying felt even more uneasy. Boss, could he have been angered into confusion? Full of doubt, Wang Xiaoying returned to her seat, and the ¡°Workce Survival Guide (Intern Edition)¡± she had read involuntarily sprung to mind. ¡°When you feel you¡¯ve botched something, you indeed have; when you think you¡¯ve done something quite well, it¡¯s possible you¡¯ve also botched it.¡± ¡°After you¡¯ve messed up, it¡¯s best to pray for the boss to berate you; that means he still holds some hope for you. If the boss smiles at you, it means he¡¯s already found a better employee.¡± Filled with trepidation, Wang Xiaoying found Huang Ping and asked in a low voice, Brother Huang, has the boss lost his mind from anger?¡± ¡°No, why should the boss be angry?¡± Huang Ping asked in confusion. Look, the game sales aren¡¯t doing well. Compared to ¡®Princess Dungeon¡¯ and ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ before, this data is really bad.¡± Seeing Wang Xiaoying¡¯s worried face, Huang Ping felt it was time for some rookie education. Having her sit down beside him, Huang Ping asked, ¡°Did the boss smile?¡± ¡°He did.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem. The boss isn¡¯t one to y mind games with us employees; at most, he would make some small jokes.¡± ¡°¡­What¡¯s considered ying mind games, and what¡¯s considered a joke? I can¡¯t tell the difference,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ll understand in time. In any case, if the boss smiled, it means that everything is under control.¡± ¡°What if he didn¡¯t smile?¡± ¡°That would mean the boss is brewing something big; after a while, when the boss unleashes it, there will be no problem,¡± Huang Ping replied. Wang Xiaoying looked at Huang Ping doubtfully, then hesitantly asked, ording to what you¡¯re saying, everything is fine no matter what happens?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± Xiao Douzi, who was sitting nearby, turned his head and said seriously, ¡°The studio actually has only one rule, and that is to trust the boss.¡± Huang Ping pushed Xiao Douzi aside: ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him; he¡¯s just a fanatic. But he¡¯s not wrong; you can always trust the boss.¡± Looking at the confident Huang Ping, Wang Xiaoying felt that there wasn¡¯t much difference between him and Xiao Douzi; both were fanatically trusting to an extreme extent. Although the two said everything was fine, Wang Xiaoying was still quite worried, and could only repeatedly refresh the videos and information on various tforms, hoping to find an appropriate breakthrough. Unlike the anxious Wang Xiaoying, Fang Cheng was feeling somewhat pleased at the moment. Refreshing the steam tform, he watched the yers1ments with satisfaction, feeling that the developments this time were quite good. Although most wereining about the difficulty, yers who enjoyed battle stated univocally after getting into it that it was very satisfying. ¡°The feeling of killing someone with a single blow is genuinely exhrating.¡± ¡°The bow and arrows feel spot on, and even though there¡¯s no reticle, I can make one myself.¡± ¡°I especially love cutting off my opponent¡¯s thumb and then putting it back, they 11 never be able to shoot a bow and arrow again in their life.¡± So-so.¡± (From a yer who had spent over too hours in the game.) The high difficulty of battles and realistic environmental simtions highlighted the fine line between life and death excellently, fully demonstrating the cruelty of war and the pleasure of victory. Looking at thesements, Fang Cheng was very pleased. Staring intently into the sky, Fang Cheng saw the emotions of the world converge into mes that burned fiercely in the air. These were the mes of the secr world, also the mes of Dustfire, with countless people¡¯s emotions gathering here, forming the melting pot of earthly sentiments. While gazing at the Dustfire, Fang Cheng also narrowed down the scope, filtering the content of the Dustfire he saw using ¡°The Nameless¡± as a keyword, until he saw a red me. Red symbolized strife, and for most yers mentioning ¡°The Nameless,¡± their first impression was thebat within it. And he had defined ¡°The Nameless¡± as red as well. As long as the red nurtured by ¡°The Nameless¡± reached a certain level, he could immerse his Taoist Heart into it, blend the two together,plete his Taoist Heart through this, and achieve enlightenment. As Fang Cheng waited for the red to increase, a hint of green began to form and started to constantly infect the surrounding red. Although some impurities would not affect his Taoist Heart, this green had a sense of tranquility and determination, and it was continuously interfering with the surrounding red, making Fang Cheng feel that some anomaly was about to happen. Before he could figure out why, he heard Wang Xiaoying exim with surprise, ¡°Boss, is this also part of your n!¡± ¡°What n?¡± Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze and asked with confusion. Wang Xiaoying then revealed an expression of sudden realization and admiringly said, ¡°Boss, so you¡¯ ve been nning this all along? Worthy of the boss, truly bold. Creating a talking point through hidden gamey and using easter eggs to overturn the previous gamey. But this approach is too risky, and next time, you better let me know.¡± ¡°So what are you talking about?¡± Wang Xiaoying looked dissatisfiedly at Fang Cheng, ¡°Boss, don¡¯t hide it from me now, see for yourself.¡± Clicking on the video link Wang Xiaoying had sent over, Fang Cheng realized where that hint of green wasing from as soon as he saw the title of the video. ¡°The Nameless: Farming is the Only Way to Break Through A Hundred Percent¡± Seeing this title, Fang Cheng had a bad feeling. What have these yers discovered now! Immediately clicking on the video, Fang Cheng saw apletely different scene. In the Protectorate of Anxi, there were workshops everywhere, electrical wires transmitted the electricity generated from simple power stations to every household, making the entire Protectorate of Anxi seem as if it hade to the early 20th century ahead of time. The industrial revolution had arrived nearly a thousand years early, with steam engines fueled by coal roaring as they transported materials to Anxi, thus forging a massive industrial empire. Viewers of the videomented that it seemed like a mod, made quite convincingly. But Fang Cheng knew it was not. Some yer had brought about the industrial revolution. Chapter 78: Have you been wronged? 1 Chapter 78: Have you been wronged? 1 The yer who first discovered the farming gamey in ¡°The Nameless¡± was named Tang Mo. His initial approach was somewhat conservative, still harboring the idea of returning to the Tang Dynasty as soon as possible, so all his actions were in preparation for that return; therefore, his tech tree wasn¡¯t climbed particrlyprehensively. The industrial revolution wasn¡¯t triggered, and his Anxi was merely a military organization with rtively advanced systems, still requiring material support from the Tang Dynasty. After he released his high-score video, it spread like a spark, igniting some yers¡¯ thoughts and prompting them to begin new trials. Existing methods began to update rapidly, and technological innovations flourished. After confirming the viability of Tang Mo¡¯s gamey, these yers almost simultaneously understood a truth: Why should 1 go to meet the Tang Dynasty, when the Tang Dynasty shoulde to meet me! If I am The Nameless, maybe my surname is Li too, wouldn¡¯t that make me legitimate? Thus, a farming trend that disregarded royal authority was born. yers of this trend often mastered both religious and rational knowledge, tradition and freedom, and had a flexible moral baseline, enabling them to wrap their actions with ayer of justified guise. Underneath this guise, they stopped seeking an audience with the Tang Dynasty but instead made the Tang Dynastye to them and forcibly imed its legitimacy for themselves, ultimately making the Emperor of Tang hand over the throne to them with dignity. Then, there was the video that Fang Cheng saw. The industrial revolution had been achieved in the exploration of the second wave of yers, but it required a lot of preconditions and a certain degree of happenstance. However, in this video, the video uploader had found a very simple method. You just need to find a talent and tell him the basic conditions for the industrial revolution, and he will bring about a technological explosion, all within less than a year. This individual was originally an unknown craftsman with no historical records, a true Nameless person. But he was indeed a genius far beyond his time. Such a genius,bined with knowledge fromter generations, could create miracles that change the world. With this method, yers didn¡¯t need much skill or any randomness; by following the steps, they could achieve the industrial revolution and let Anxi rapidly step into the industrial society. After seeing his method, Fang Cheng could only marvel, this was a miracle. But it was also an inevitable miracle. Tens of thousands of yers had made a million attempts, effectively simting that period of history a million times, and finally, using the foresight of modern people, found that one miracle in the river of history. Through this miracle, the game transformed into a civilization expansion game, allowing yers to begin exploring the outside world, to Conquer overseas, and nt the gs of the Tang Dynasty all over the world. The video was only a short six minutes, covering everything from entering the game to joining Anxi; from finding the talent to leaping in time to trigger the industrial revolution, all in just six minutes. And these six minutes wouldpletely change the way the game was yed. After watching the video, Fang Cheng sat silently in his chair, gazing at the Dustfire corresponding to ¡°The Nameless.¡± The fire began to expand fiercely, and arge number of yers, influenced by the emergence of the new gamey, re-evaluated the game and started purchasing it. The color of the me began to change. Although it was still an intense red, green had already begun to grow vigorously, ultimately changing its main hue. This was the choice of the yers. They chose to nt Grass, to experience the world through technology instead of force. And for ¡°The Nameless,¡± this was also the best oue. After staring for a moment, Fang Cheng rubbed his forehead, wanting to pull the yers aside and ask, ¡°What are you all thinking?¡± A perfectly good ¡°nt Grass,¡± and you yed it like a war. A perfectly good ¡°The Nameless,¡± and you yed it like farming. Are you here to y the game, or to defy me? The starting point and the oue had just reversed, plunging Fang Cheng into boundless confusion. Making games is really difficult. After sighing, he pulled himself together and returned to watching the video. It wasn¡¯t just this video; he opened several others from yers and watched in silence. After dispelling the previous gloom, he examined the yers¡¯ strategies from an objective standpoint and couldn¡¯t help admiring their proficiency. Without Divine Skills and only as ves, they aplished feats using nothing but their enhanced physical strength. With just their existing knowledge, they¡¯d created small miracles like the industrial revolution, which was quite exceptional. Even The Nameless, witnessing all this, would likely have tomend them for a job well done. After watching the video, Fang Cheng closed his eyes and began pondering why he had failed this time. Deduction was a Divine Skill that let yers experience a world evolving in reality, enhancing their impact on the world and deepening their sense of immersion. But its omnipotence gave them more freedom than he had anticipated, leading them to find more interesting ways to y. This was the inevitable result of excessive freedom; after many games are made, yers will probably find more enjoyable ways to y, making the games even more fun. After a moment of thought, Fang Cheng nodded to himself. Before gaining the Great Tao, there muste great cmities. Completing Taoist Heart might seem minor, but it would certainly be prefaced by tribtions. Especially since this would be thest trial before his ascension, it was bound to be unprecedentedly severe. And his greatest trial must be these yers. Just thinking about how to make a game fun for the yers while guarding against their potential backstabbing made Fang Cheng feel there was something profoundly wrong with the situation. Yet this was fine too; refining the method toplete Taoist Heart felt rewarding, even in failure. Still, it was frustrating. And so, amid Wang Xiaoying¡¯s joy and Fang Cheng¡¯s reflections, time slowly advanced to the end of the workday. Before leaving, Wang Xiaoying had already begun arranging postunch optimization for ¡°The Nameless¡±. Although the boss¡¯s taste for mischief was substantial and the best gamey was deeply hidden, Wang Xiaoying saw this as an exploitable aspect. For marketing, with a base already established on the tform, it was possible to take this opportunity to coordinate some events, like hosting a high-scorepetition. The game¡¯s uniqueness could be leveraged too, such as racing to see who could reach the Tang Dynasty the fastest. Moreover, because of the game¡¯s freedom, Wang Xiaoying realized features like circumnavigating the world, conquering it, or soaring through the skies could be included as key points in the races, further unveiling the game¡¯s potential. Pleased with the n she¡¯d put together, Wang Xiaoying felt her abilities had improved yet again, with quite a few excellent ideas. The key, however, was the game¡¯s quality-it ensured there was always something to work on. As the workday was ending, she saw Fang Cheng suddenly stand up and then p his hands, saying, ¡°Everyone¡­¡± ¡°Boss, no please!¡± Huang Ping immediately eximed. ¡°We have a new colleague, Wang Xiaoying, so let¡¯s have a meal together¡­¡± ¡°Boss!¡± Watching the nners¡¯ desperate faces, WangXiaoying felt hurt. Is eating with me really such an ordeal for you? Chapter 79 - 79 - The Change of the Light Spherel Chapter 79: ¨C The Change of the Light Spherel The regr spot for Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s team dinner remained unchanged, and Xu Qingling had even secured a VIP membership there. She no longer had to queue or book in advance, and could even request a specific chef to serve her. The quality of the food was consistently excellent. Wang Xiaoying was having such fine cuisine for the first time in her life, but she was too distracted to savor it. Watching the trio of nners with their gloomy faces, she wanted to ask if they had anyints about her, but she didn¡¯t know how to bring it up. Huang Ping and the others also ate sorrowfully. As they ate, they sighed, which made Wang Xiaoying lose her appetite even more. However, she soon learned why the trio was so upset. After dinner, Fang Cheng said directly, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for taking up everyone¡¯s evening time. As usual, we¡¯llpensate with two days off, which makes it a four-day break with the weekend. Everyone should rest well during this period and see you next Monday.¡± ¡°Ah- ¡± Huang Ping heaved a long sigh, resigned to the inevitability of the situation. ¡°Ah!¡± Wang Xiaoying, on the other hand, eximed in surprise, not expecting Fang Cheng to be so generous. She had already thought through the next promotional steps for ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± but the forced rest left her feeling a bit anxious. Raising her hand, she quickly said, ¡°I don¡¯t need the days off, tomorrow I¡­¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do,¡± Xu Qingling interjected, ¡°I suggest you really take a good rest, and don¡¯t think about work at all. By the way, The Nameless¡¯s profit-sharing will be distributed evenly this time, with each person receiving a 3% share. Also, Wang Xiaoying, you¡­¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯m an intern, so I don¡¯t get any, right?¡± Wang Xiaoying immediately said. ¡°No, I forgot to make you a full-time employee. But that¡¯s okay, you¡¯ll still get your share, and we¡¯ll handle the formalities for your full-time position next Monday.¡± Wang Xiaoying wanted to ask more, but then, her phone beeped with an alert for a bank deposit, which made her eyes widen. The current sales of the vapor for ¡°The Nameless¡± reached 1.3 million, as the distribution of the new genre still needed time to spread, and future sales were expected to rise even higher. Even so, a 3% share reached an astonishing 1.5 million, giving her savings of a million just from starting her internship. Counting the digits of the numbers repeatedly, Wang Xiaoying was scared. Having seen plenty of ¡°Internship Bible,¡± she was prepared for the worst from an employer. As long as the boss was only after her surplus value, she could bear it. But here, with a high sry, high benefits, a good-looking boss who was also pleasant to talk to, and generous profit-sharing after the game¡¯s release, she felt utterly unworthy of such a job. Grabbing Xu Qingling¡¯s sleeve, Wang Xiaoying, blushing and breathless, said, ¡°Qingling, let me work overtime! If you don¡¯t, holding this money feels like it¡¯s burning my hands!¡± ¡°No can do,¡± Fang Cheng calmly exined from the side, ¡°Money is trivial, your health is what matters most.¡± ¡°Then please take my mental health into ount as well! Boss, you¡¯ve given too much! Just let me work some overtime!¡± ¡°No,¡± Fang Cheng said gently, yet firmly, ¡°Please rest well, and see you on Monday.¡± After all, ording to what was once said, Wang Xiaoying and the others were Fang Cheng¡¯s Protectors. Protectors were trustedpanions whom Immortals rely on to understand the profound truths of the world, the people an Immortal trusts most. As long as they were diligent and devoted in assisting him, a bit of mortal wealth meant nothing. Each person present was talented and fated to be with him. As long as they weremitted to helping him, sharing the game¡¯s profits was no issue at all. Fang Cheng even considered whether to improve the drinking water at the office by collecting water from a with a Spiritual Spring, so that everyone¡¯s physique could be better. Waving goodbye to his colleagues, Fang Cheng walked to his apartment on foot. Upon entering the gatedmunity, he found the book he had ordered had arrived. After bringing home the several dozen kilograms of books he had purchased, Fang Cheng closed the door of his apartment, touched one of the books, and the characters within crawled out, transforming into a faint glow that entered Fang Cheng¡¯s mind. Having understood the content of that book, Fang Cheng then opened the next one and continued his understanding. After reading all the books, he resumed his contemtion. All these books were rted to game production and included both the methodologies of some well-known domestic producers as well as memoirs of some renowned producers from abroad. Different regions have different gaming styles; for example, Europe and America obviously lean towards driving, shooting, sports, and open-world games, favoring to use their impressive technology to simte the real world, seeking an even stronger thrill. Sakura Country appeared to be entrenched in its ways, aside from increasinglypetitive artistry; many aspects were marking time, and even the game narratives, which were once a source of pride, had slightly regressed. The most popr in the domestic market were still the microtransaction-heavy mobile games, and local manufacturers were indeed doing well in this area. Various design aspects perfectly matched the psychology of the yers, making them unable to stop once they started spending. Linking the content he had read with his understanding from this period, Fang Cheng realized he had gained some insight, but not much. So, what should his next game be about? He didn¡¯t have many inspirations recently and didn¡¯t have a clear direction for what to do next, but it felt somewhat wasteful not to do anything. As he was pondering, a thought struck him that something had changed on the Spiritual Grass. Concealing his presence, he crossed through a ck hole and arrived at the Spirit Grass, only to find that it had dramatically changed. Under Liuzi¡¯s leadership, the yers were nting grass daily, engaging in battle with the iing harvest shuttles. Although they were defeated every time, they were gradually able to take something from the shuttles. Feeding these things to the Spirit Grass led to interesting changes in the nts; they altered and randomly manifested different traits. Some traits might be regressive, but as long as there were evolutionary traits, they could obtain new Spirit Grass and then prepare new weapons for war. However, previously, this ce was filled with the oppressive atmosphere of pre-war, expressionless yers tirelessly preparing for battle and facing the shuttles. But today, the air was filled with a lively vibe, yers in a variety of clothes were dancing joyfully, with all kinds of eye-catching moves abound, but no one cared about these anymore. Because they had finally brought down the shuttle. Even though there was still a technological gap with the shuttles, after repeated harvesting, they managed to narrow the gap to an extent and destroyed the shuttle with overwhelming firepower. The once pristine shuttle was now riddled with cracks, and yers continuously jumped onto it to take photos with the smoking wreckage, creating a scene of celebration. ¡°They actually won, huh.¡± Looking up, Fang Cheng gazed towards the lunar base there. After the destruction of Harvester 1, Harvester 2 was soon to be mobilized. It had stronger firepower, faster speed, and a sturdier shell; he believed the yers would have even more fun. After all, the best reward for yers after defeating a Boss was to give them a tougher one. Just as Fang Cheng was confirming the situation here, he felt something trembling in his embrace. Removing the item from his embrace, Fang Cheng saw it was a light orb from the guardian¡¯s body on the Forest. Not restraining it, Fang Cheng released the light orb and watched as it surged towards the destroyed shuttle and then fused with it. Chapter 80 - 80 This Is Possible i Chapter 80: This Is Possible i The appearance of the sphere of light and the transformation of the shuttle naturally did not escape the eyes of the surrounding yers. Watching the shuttle expressionlessly, the yers¡¯ hearts were engulfed by a tidal wave of shock. It can¡¯t be, can it? There really isn¡¯t a game nner who wants to y around with boss transformations and then kill off everyone! It¡¯s fun to go on a rampage, but the little soldiers who get knocked around in the process don¡¯t think so! The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡± has yed this way, but it¡¯s not a trend that should be followed. While a group of yers were considering whether to attack, only Liuzi was getting excited. Just thinking about the challenge of a stronger boss made this masochistic yer overly happy. However, the sphere merged with the shuttle didn¡¯t attack the surrounding yers, but instead flew straight up into the sky and vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a group of yers relieved to have survived and a disheartened Liuzi. This shuttle traveled rapidly through space, racing towards the satellite factory, and eventually stopped inside the factory. No sooner had ite to a halt than the parasite-like sphere of light released a massive amount of light. This light began to try to infiltrate the interior of the factory, but no matter how much light was emitted, it was all rebuffed by the base. But with each rejection, the sphere of light would release more light, its indomitable spirit akin to that of yers waiting for a game server to open. The refresh button is almost worn out! Observing the behavior of the sphere, Fang Cheng casually added something to it, and saw the light rapidly expand, invading every system with an unstoppable force, taking over every part, and merging with the satellite base as one. When the merging wasplete, arge amount of text appeared in the air, which Fang Cheng tranted into his ownprehensiblenguage using Immortal Spell. ¡°Thankyou,teing civilization.¡± ¡°We apologize for having exploited your kindness to bring the recorder to its intended location.¡± ¡°As we mentioned before, the end times have arrived, and we must move to a new world. However, we cannot be certain the external cmities have ended, and we cannot even ascertain what these cmities are.¡± ¡°Therefore, we left the recorder outside to record everything that happens out there.¡± This recorder contains the records of our civilization¡¯s culture, mythology, architecture, as well as various stories; it also records everything that happens outside. If we still exist, please deliver the recorder to us, and we will analyze what is happening outside. If we no longer exist, then please inherit our culture, thank you.¡± ¡°Again, thank you, our posterity. Out of gratitude for your help, we hand over this base fully to you for your use. If we meet again, we are willing to give more thanks.¡± Seeing the sphere¡¯s performance, and thinking back to the derations it had previously made, Fang Cheng realized that the civilization represented by the sphere had set a trap. They used a so-called treasure to lure others into delivering the sphere here, then deciphered the files within the sphere to gain information about the outside world. The gesture of giving the factory in the end was decent, and the promise of more gifts seemed sincere. The satellite factory here must also be a product of the sphere¡¯s civilization; otherwise, it would not have integrated with it. The destruction of the shuttle acted as a catalyst, allowing the sphere to infiltrate and, consequently, activate the sphere. Having thought it through, Fang Cheng became interested in the so-called recorder. He had long known that the sphere was constantly recording the events around it, but since it hadn¡¯t released any information, there was no harm. Further, he had been too busy working on a game to take much interest in it and had ignored it after acquiring it. However, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t expect that this device was actually used to record the apocalypse, which intrigued him. After all, the history of the outside world from a thousand years ago had beenpletely erased, and it was unknown whether this recorder contained records from that time. Upon arriving at the base, Fang Cheng stretched out his hand to grasp the orb, feeling the information within, and then frowned. The recorder was also malfunctioning. The orb was like a high-performanceputer, internally storing a vast amount of files, including but not limited to stories, history, and myths of the corresponding civilization. For some reason, it seemed to have been infected by a virus, causing every file¡¯s content to be corrupted, as countless files¡¯ contents mixed together and converged into an indistinguishable mess of chaos soup. If he wanted to sort out the contents, he needed to pause the recording and then start from the most recent record to trace back the content in reverse. Fang Cheng first stopped the recorder¡¯s recording function, and then made a withdrawal gesture over the files. A document was pulled out from the light brain, looking normal and logical at a nce but actually filled with nonsensical content due to the pollution. Some nouns had been reced, while the meanings of some words had turned into their opposites, making the text look unproblematic at first nce, but riddled with holes upon closer inspection. Fang Cheng made another gesture, and the text within the document began to change. It became visualized, the words transforming into real scenes that appeared before his eyes, making it easier to spot the ws. However, due to the crossover of content in the articles, to repair this document, he needed to open a new document and then refer to other documents from there. This made repairing the documents quite cumbersome; a single w could be linked to tens of thousands of documents, and even someone like him, a Living Immortal, would need half a month of uninterrupted work to repair it. Furthermore, since he couldn¡¯t confirm whether thest piece of information in the recorder was useful, Fang Cheng felt it wasn¡¯t worth spending time on this task. Just as Fang Cheng was debating whether to waste a precious half-month on such a matter, one of his old friends was also feeling conflicted. That was Wang Say Games. As an adult UP host with Schrodinger¡¯s luck, Wang Say Games was agonizing over what to update tonight. The poprity of ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± remained skyrocketing, with him, the old salted fish, indulging in Heavenly Demon mode daily, resulting in the same content for more than twenty consecutive days, which led toints galore in his live-streaming room. Wang, we don¡¯t ask you to transform into a technical host, but at least go suffer a bit in ¡°The Nameless¡± to entertain us! Wang had his justifications ready. It s impossible to suffer, this life, I¡¯m never going to suffer. I can¡¯t make it doing risque things, just by ying Heavenly Demon, can I maintain a living like this.¡± Given Wang¡¯sx attitude, the viewers in his live-streaming room decisively voted with their feet, leaving rapidly. When the viewership of his live-streaming room declined to an undeniable level, Wang finally realized he needed to engage in some gimmicks. After much deliberation, he finally opened his friends list, finding an old friend who hadn¡¯t been in touch for a while, but every contact brought a surprise. [World Immortal, are you there?] It took a long while for the other party to reply: [Yes.] [Have you been making any new gamestely? Can you let me stir up some trouble?] Fang Cheng thought for a moment then looked at the orb in his hand. This¡­ could work! Chapter 81: The Odd Wife_l Chapter 81: The Odd Wife_l Gamers, a truly magical creature. At least, that¡¯s what Fang Cheng thought. They could find joy in the most mundane things and make a fun activity boring, they could wage war in farming games and farm in war games. They were chaotic, they were disorderly, but it had to be said that some things might actually need them. After setting up the Spirit Gathering Array and pinpointing the coordinates in the sphere¡¯s live scene, adding the Deduce Divine Power and a few other minor Divine Skills, Fang Cheng simply processed the log-in device and then returned to his room. He then said to Wang Say Games, ¡°Yes.¡± Wang was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, ¡°Can I really make sarcasticments? What kind of game is it? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s educational again.¡± After a pause, Wang continued, ¡°Education is fine, I guess. If worstes to worst, I¡¯ll just go outside now and find a crowded ce to make do.¡± Fang Cheng thought for a while and then replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind it is.¡± ¡°How can you not know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the fact.¡± This time, Fang Cheng needed the gamers¡¯ help to straighten out data, something outside his own realm of proving the way, so he didn¡¯t care about the genre. Each gamer would carry their pre-set spells, and as long as they moved within the three-dimensional visuals of the document, small issues would automatically be repaired, andrger errors had to be found and fixed manually by the gamers, ultimately repairing and archiving the document. Therefore, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t know what the gamers would encounter during the process. The virus-infected document was filled with uncertainties, which made every gamer¡¯s experience different each time they yed. If Fang Cheng had to describe it, it would be akin to a collection of instances mixed with interactive elements, requiring yers to find logical loopholes,den with a great deal of mental pollution, since after all, it¡¯s about alien stories. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t know how others felt, but he thought that if some gamers found this thing fun, then their brains must be quite fascinating themselves. Seeing Fang Cheng¡¯s response, Wang was even more puzzled. After hesitating for a bit, he carefully asked, ¡°The content of the game, you didn¡¯t create it?¡± ¡°I just provided an interface; the specific content isn¡¯t from me.¡± Wang nodded, feeling like he understood now. It must be the Living Immortal providing an editor, and then his bunch of buddies used it to create a whole lot of mini-games. So, Wang decisively said, ¡°I get it, please send it to me, I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± After receiving the game client from Fang Cheng, Wang Say Games immediately left the apartment and ran to the biggest inte cafe near his home. Although the inte cafe was filled with the strong smell of cigarette smoke, and full of foot-scratching Han Dynasty-style blokes, it had a strong sense of vitality, making him feel especially secure. He rented a small private room for himself, and Wang Say Games purposefully chose one with a ss door, surrounded by burly fellows, before he finally sat down contentedly. He turned on the camera on the screen and then chugged a can of Dongpeng Special Drink before saying, ¡°Guys, today we¡¯re going to¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Heavenly Demon mode again, right? I¡¯ll give you the script, so you don¡¯t have to worry about what to sayter. Today I m the Heavenly Demon, there¡¯s a Sword Immortal in the distance, what¡¯s with this gamer, huh? Why the hell do they want to train to be a Sword Immortal? Can¡¯t you just be Meng Po? Alright, here I go! Whoa, the youngster is quite good at dodging, that was just for show, I¡¯m not that bad, let¡¯s do this again¡­¡± Thisment was immediately met with a frenzy of likes, and even the streaming room¡¯s assistant administrator pinned it to the top, ensuring that every viewer that came in could see Wang¡¯s sordid nature. Wang Say Games was left speechless. Taking a deep breath, he said to his administrator, who was also his foreign girlfriend, ¡°Zhao, don¡¯t be like this¡­¡± Administrator: ¡°Salted fish like you aren¡¯t worthy of speaking to me! And the king of salted fish should be put to death by everyone!¡± ¡°Zhao¡¯s words are splendid!¡± ¡°That¡¯s justice over family!¡± ¡°Zhao easily insults the Old Man, Zhao is invincible!¡± Sighing helplessly, Wang couldn¡¯t respond. Others¡¯ words, he¡¯d spray them back on the spot. But since it was his girlfriend, he could only hold back. So, he immediately said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ today¡­¡¯ [¡°The Nameless¡±? Old Man, you didn¡¯t get anything hot off the press either, it¡¯s already the Industrial Revolution 2.0 now. If you don¡¯t have anything new, don¡¯t bothering online.] ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®The Nameless¡¯, it¡¯s a new game given to us by our old friend, the Living Immortal. There¡¯s no name for the game; it seems to be a collection of mini-games, mostly narrative driven. Old rules apply, I¡¯ll post the game in thements section in a bit, just to attract some viewers for myself first.¡± [No wonder you¡¯re at an inte cafe, you got scared, huh.] ¡°Yes, a little,¡± Wang admitted generously. ¡°Alright, game¡¯s starting, let¡¯s begin.¡± The game had no title; theunch screen was quite simple, the background was a ckboard, with ¡°Start Game¡± and ¡°Exit¡± written on it in chalk. After clicking ¡°Start Game¡±, the game began to load, and a prompt appeared beneath the progress bar: ¡°Once you enter the game, it will randomly select a script to y with. Games not cleared will remain for an hour before being randomly avable to others.¡± Seeing the prompt, Wang felt there was something to this game. Multiyer online, with others capable of ying through one¡¯s own copy ¨C this game seemed to be ying with some really new stuff. While waiting for the game to start, Wang also told the live stream audience, I asked the Living Immortal, and there¡¯s a main story in the game. We y as an error corrector, who needs to find mistakes in various copies and fix them. However, the presentation of different copies varies, so the gamey can be very diverse, but each won¡¯t be too long.¡± [Wang, you talk too much. If you¡¯re nervous, you could go out and find a gangster, I think the one throwing sultry looks at you from behind looks pretty good.] ¡°Don¡¯t scare me¡­ Oh my gosh, really! I hope that guy doesn¡¯t like me.¡± [Maybe.] ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re that guy!¡± [Maybe-] Doing his best to ignore the silly audience, Wang Say Games continued, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re inside the game now. As usual, let¡¯s first get a feel for it. Very nice, ying normally.¡± The game interface was very simple, with the upper left corner showing the number of errors in the script, and no other UI markings anywhere else. The protagonist was in bed at the moment, surrounded by sci-fi decor with a minimalist yet abstinent aesthetic. The controls were also very straightforward; yers who had experienced ¡°nt Grass¡± could easily get the hang of it without any obstacles. The gamey was about sorting out the issues that appeared; as long as you found a problem, you just had to circle it with the mouse and submit. Once all the problems in a copy were dealt with, that copy would be considered cleared. Just as Wang was familiarizing himself with the gamey, he felt someone lean over by the shaking of the screen and the voice in his ear. ¡°Dear, why so early? Wasn¡¯tst night enough to let you sleep till dawn?¡± The charming voice filled the live stream room with quickened breaths as people began covertly sending tips, urging Wang to turn his head quickly. Wang, however, nervously nced at the chat box, found the moderator had not spoken, and then forced a smile, saying, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to lookback. This game, starting with such things, if not for passing the level, there s no way I, Wang, would turn around!¡± Swiftly turning around, Wang saw delicate skin, barely-there clothing, and¡­ ¡­a head resembling the Cthulhu evil god, with eight tentacles on its neck. [Average, can charge.] [You can only hurt yourselfing at everything headlong!] Determinedly circling the head with the mouse, Wang shouted, Here, the bug is this!¡± But to everyone¡¯s surprise, the number of bugs didn¡¯t decrease. His wife, that¡¯s what she looked like. Indeed, this game was ying with something very new. Chapter 82 - 82 All-New Gameplay_1 Chapter 82: All-New Gamey_1 ¡°I¡¯m Wang, and I¡¯m freakingout right now.¡± ¡°I woke up to find that I had a wife, but my wife is the y girl¡­ It¡¯s not a metaphor, it¡¯s reality. Zhao, I¡¯m not talking about you, so could you stop sending knives in the chat box?¡± ¡°The game says this script is full of various bugs, but I haven¡¯t found a single . one. What I thought were bugs turned out not to be, and what I thought weren t bugs might not be either. So, could it be that I am the bug? The octopus-headed wife didn¡¯t notice the change in Wang. She gracefully stood up, her sticky tentacles waving about like kelp in the sea, and they even looked quite elegant after a while. in front of the mirror, she put on a ne with a gemstone and then said to Wang, ¡°Come, help me put this on, please.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± He stepped forward, took the ne, and as he was about to put it on her, he saw that she had no hair. An eye suddenly opened on the back of her rubbery head, staring motionless at Wang. However, this scene wasn¡¯t very scary, it was actually quite funny, especially the way her eyeball kept moving around, which made Wangugh out loud. Compared to ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture,¡± this was nothing. ¡°What¡¯s this? Quite unique and kind of cute. Is it a bug? [Give her a kiss!] ¡°Don¡¯t fan the mes, my girlfriend is here. Oh my God, Zhao, why are you the one fanning the mes!¡± Unable to resist, Wang circled the moment and realized it wasn¡¯t a bug. Under the eye¡¯s gaze, Wang slowly put the ne on her, and that was the end of the process. The next item on the agenda was breakfast. He had expected breakfast to be something special, but it turned out to be quite normal. However, traditional breakfast items like meat buns and soy milk seemed out of ce in a sci-fi setting and made Wang feel it was a bit odd. ¡°This has got to be a bug!¡± He immediately circled the food, saw the bug count in the upper left corner decrease by one, while the soy milk in front of him shook once before turning into a mosaic and disappearing. When it reappeared, it was a green bean juice. Looking at the green bean juice, Wang fell silent. Then, he exploded. ¡°Are you from old Beijing or what!¡± ¡°Why would an octopus-headed wife make me bean juice! I wouldn¡¯t have said anything even if it was a cup of brain juice! ¡°Do you game developers all love to let loose and then set your brains free too?¡± ¡°Infinite merit to you!¡± Listening to Wang¡¯s dense barrage ofints, the audience in the live stream felt greatly satisfied. Is this not the Old Man? Only with suchints does it get interesting. Although Wang wanted to leave the dining table, the game¡¯s degree of freedom was very low, and most scenes were linear. As such, he had no choice but to sit down and finish breakfast with his wife. After all the breakfast was eaten, the octopus-faced wife smiled sweetly at Wang, then suddenly her expression changed dramatically. Her tentacles waving, a cacophony of piercing sounds filled the room, as if countless people were shouting, or as if someone had buried a million needles in one¡¯s ears, causing an intense headache. ¡°¡­Who is summoning me again! Can¡¯t they give it a rest! I still have half an hour before work.¡± She left in a huff, mming the door behind her, but not before caressing Wang¡¯s head, then she was gone. The game ended, and the screen returned to the beginning. Looking at the simple screen, Wang sank into confusion. Who am I. Where do Ie from? What did I just y? An utterly iprehensible script, a baffling process, getting up, putting on a ne, having breakfast, saying goodbye-it all made up the entire content of the game, which left Wang feeling that something was not quite right. And on the main interface, besides the initial ¡°Start Game¡± and ¡°Exit Game,¡± some new things had appeared. On the ckboard serving as a backdrop, a new photo had been added. The photo showed him having breakfast with his octopus-headed wife, whose octopus head looked somewhat gentle against the backdrop of the filter. What made him feel uneasy was the title of the photo. ¡°Breakfast Before Arrival, neen bugs remaining.¡± Recalling his wife¡¯s farewell, the entire game sequence was immediately tinged with an eerie feeling. Down in the livestream room, the lost poprity began to rise again as viewers who hade for the fame started to leave messages: [This seems kind of interesting.] [Yeah, the plot looks simple, but I feel like there¡¯s a deeper meaning.] [Wang, share it with us, it¡¯s more fun when a group of people y. Oh, I¡¯m not being sleazy.] [You didn¡¯t mention it, but now that you did, I¡¯m starting to feel sleazy too.] After some hesitation, Wang decided to share it in the end. After all, this was a multiyer puzzle game, and the solutions of others could influence one¡¯s own puzzles, so sharing it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Thus, he shared the link, and a group of people started ying the game using Wang¡¯s livestream room as their base of operations. After ying for a while, the atmosphere in the livestream room started to be eerie as well. Unlike the traditional Chinese horror from before, this eeriness was more like a bizarre spectacle, where you could sense something was off, but the things you thought were off seemed to be intentionally done by the creator. The creator had his own set of logic and ideas, resulting in a strange but unique gamey paradigm. Once people in the livestream room learned that Wang was ying a game by Living Immortal, the room¡¯s poprity soared once again. After all, in the niche gaming circle, Living Immortal¡¯s name was quite renowned. He emerged as a peak performer; ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡± was banned by the officials for a while, and then quickly released, a legendary journey that could be deemed an official endorsement. Now, many enthusiasts of niche horror games were watching ¡°Mom of Pingping¡± and other content creators¡¯ videos exining the games, while some turned those videos into articles, reaping a small windfall. The second game titled ¡°nt Grass,¡± with its seamless integration of farming and warfare, was also well spoken of, although the second iteration of the boss turned out to be quite a headache for yers recently. Now, the third game ¡°Nameless¡± had arrived, and its weird style immediately attracted a group of yers fond of uniqueness, and the multiyer online puzzle-solving gamey also felt refreshing. It was a kind ofrge-scale game mode that had rarely been seen before. Not long after sharing the link, Wang was surprised to find that ¡°The Last Breakfast¡± had one fewer bug remaining, down to eighteen. To prevent any memory error, he specifically asked his viewers to confirm, ensuring that the previous bug count indeed was neen. And during the time he was confirming, he noticed that the bug count had decreased by one more. ¡°So this is multiyer online puzzle-solving¡­ The bugs in different instances are interconnected; if others solve their bugs, the rted bugs on my side get fixed as well. I see, impressive!¡± Eagerly, he clicked on the photo to enter the game, where he found the game had started over from the beginning. Only this time, his bed was no longer sky blue but had turned into ayer of mycelium. White fuzz covered his body, and green mold had crawled all over the walls. ¡± So this is where the bug was, who could have guessed this! However, it was odd that although the scene had be more sinister, the previously discordant feeling had disappeared, and the entire scene felt harmonious. This kind of gamey¡­ is quite interesting! Chapter 83 - 83 Mad Gamel Chapter 83: Mad Gamel My instance is my instance, but my bug is our bug. Taking this sentence as a footnote for ¡°Nameless,¡± Wang felt it was quite fitting. When you resolved a bug, it was likely that another yer would benefit, this sense of satisfaction that also fulfilled others gave Wang a stronger sense of involvement. Returning to ¡°Breakfast Before Arrival,¡± Wang began to click incessantly, finally discovering the second bug in a hidden corner. The mural on the wall vanished, reced by a statue of a deep -sea diver emitting an ominous aura, but it really matched the surrounding atmosphere too well. Contemting the way he had just found the bug, Wang was pensive. The game was supposed to be Cthulhu-themed, but it did not involve ying the traditional roles of investigator, folklorist, or detective; rather, it unfolded from a different perspective. With the current scant information, Wang could not determine whether everything was a hallucination of the protagonist or if reality was indeed as such. This confusion between reality and fantasy made the style of the game very peculiar. With the cooperation of the audience in the live stream, Wang, drawing on his understanding of Cthulhu culture, started to identify and point out bugs, eventually cleaning up all the issues in the instance. After all the bugs were resolved, the instance finally started to normalize. Or rather, it became even stranger. White fungal colonies covered the surroundings, strange whispers echoed in his ears, and his wife¡¯s ne turned into the peculiar unknown creature¡¯s skull, which looked curiously good on her fair neck. The room¡¯s contents became indescribable, yet the magnificent artistry ensured that the visuals were not filthy but filled with an alternative beauty. After finding all the bugs, a voice abruptly sounded. ¡°My wife is ill.¡± ¡°Her hair is gone, reced by tender tentacles. Everything in the house has been swapped with marvelous fungal colonies, yet she doesn¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make love to a wife who¡¯s like an octopus, even with the lights off, lean feel the stickiness in the darkness.¡± ¡°I sense the problem may also lie with me, but I cannot distinguish what is real and what is fantasy. Everything I know is gradually being reced, and I am powerless to stop it.¡± ¡°The snow outside keeps falling, the snowkes as big as fists not cold, even slightly warm. Only when they hit the ground do they melt quickly, and the copse of the world bes moreplete.¡± ¡°I have been afraidof snow since I was a child, so on the day of the first snowfall, I did not go outside. Perhaps it was my caution that prevented me from bing like everyone else.¡± ¡°I hate my caution!¡± ¡°In thend of lunatics, the few sane ones are the real madmen. I don¡¯t know how long I can hold on, but I need to keep going.¡± The voice came to an abrupt end, answering some puzzles while creating more for the game. Looking outside the window, Wang saw that it was indeed snowing outside. But rather than snow, it looked more like fist-sized dandelions, each with a small lump of flesh underneath, which was exceptionally disgusting. Not immediately moving on to the next instance, Wang Say Games started a discussion in the live broadcast room. ¡± I originally thought this was a game unfolding from the perspective of the Cthulhu evil god, but now it seems not.¡± [Indeed, at first I thought this was just a normal bug-hunting game, but after listening to the protagonist¡¯s narration, I found that finding bugs was not an isted act, but one that dovetailed with the protagonist¡¯s experiences.] [Since the game is from a first-person viewpoint, there exists deceptive narration and plot trickery; after all, first-person games are a hotspot for ying with such narrative tricks.] [Let¡¯s sum it up, there seem to be two possibilities now. One, the protagonist is sick and sees everything around him as colonies of fungi and Evil Gods, just like in ¡®The Song of Saya¡¯. Another possibility is that the protagonist isn¡¯t sick; it¡¯s the entire world that¡¯s gone mad.] [How are others doing with the game?] [Each person has a slightly different scene experience, but Old Man has revealed the most of the plot here. Deserving of the Old Man, his luck always seems to be in a state of Schrodinger¡¯s cat.] [Do you want to predict what happens next?] [Yeah, I¡¯d love to, I¡¯m especially hooked on detective novels and have been wanting to discuss it with someone for so long.] [Count me in.] [+1.] Wang was utterly dumbstruck as the style of the live broadcast suddenly changed. He had thought everyone was just a goofyizen who ran their mouth about anything and lewdly joked about nothing, but faced with this situation, everyone started to rival Sherlock Holmes. I don¡¯t even understand the plot yet, and you guys are analyzing it one-two- three-four-five, the feel of the game has changedpletely. He had thought these people were just posturing, but as they entered the next scene, the viewers in the live broadcast really started to zone out. The next scene was an office. After breakfast, the protagonist went to the office through an underground passage and saw the situation there. The vast office was covered with white colonies of fungus, and each colleague had turned into octopuses of varying shapes, giving the air a distinct smell of the sea. Sitting down on his own office chair covered in fluff, Wang quickly found a cute little creature with numerous eyes jumping onto hisp and making a purring sound. ¡°Wow, it really likes you,¡± said a female colleague enviously. ¡°Ie to feed it every morning, and it¡¯s never been this affectionate with me.¡± ¡°Uh, thanks.¡± He replied shortly, and the game continued once more. The work was simple ¨C just assign different tasks to various colleagues. Wangwas just about to start when his viewers said: [Wang, circle those tasks.] Dubiously circling the tasks, Wang was astonished to find out that the tasks actually did undergo a change. Originally, the tasks were mundane like ¡°transport goods,¡± ¡°allocate staff,¡± ¡°purchase office supplies,¡± ¡°repair equipment,¡± but after each was encircled, the content of the tasks was reced, bing bloody and spine-chilling. ¡°Clean up those guys,¡± ¡°Find those who can spot the anomalies,¡± ¡°New World,¡± ¡°Dawn¡±¡­ After submitting all the bugs, the protagonist¡¯s voiceover echoed once again. ¡°They don¡¯t know I can see.¡± ¡°However, they know someone can see.¡± ¡°The colleague beside me used to be just like me, a person who could see the unusual things around. The only difference is, she revealed the fact that she could see, and after being taken away, she came back as she is now.¡± ¡°Fortunately, she didn¡¯t betray me; I haven¡¯t been exposed yet.¡± ¡°But how long can I hold on?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already been abandoned once, but a mysterious savior rescued us. Now, with another crisis upon us, who will save us this time?¡± ¡°Is it the world that¡¯s gone insane, or is it me?¡± Chapter 84: The Ending for the Insignificant Characters Chapter 84: The Ending for the Insignificant Characters The worldview of the new world unlocked once more, and the appearance and disappearance ofpanions made the protagonist¡¯s inner monologue even lonelier. And after the monologue concluded, it was time for the third instance. When work hours ended, the protagonist, who worked alone, didn¡¯t go home but continued to work overtime. He didn¡¯t want to go home and didn¡¯t know where else to go, as now everywhere was filled with strange octopus heads and colonies, and there weren¡¯t many normal people like him left to see anymore. As he numbly performed his peculiar work, he saw a line of text appear on his screen: ¡°I know you can see this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss, but don¡¯t be too nervous either. Those octopus heads actually don¡¯t use surveince. They are no longer human, but some kind of monster that¡¯s not quite right.¡± ¡°Remember this address,e to this warehouseter, there are yourrades. We are seeking ways to make the world normal again, we need you.¡± The progressively intensifying story had Wang engrossed in it, the immersive experience and various suspense elements gave Wang and his live-streaming audience the feeling of watching a blockbuster movie. Upon reading these words, the protagonist felt joy. He discovered that there were still quite a few people in this world just like him, this connection made him feel not so alone, he still had hisrades. After memorizing the address, the protagonist immediately made his way to the location, but as soon as he arrived, he saw the warehouse the other party had mentioned aze, with emotionless octopus heads encircling it. When they heard footsteps, the octopus heads turned their heads, staring at the protagonist with expressionless faces, their quiet eyes glowing like phosphorescence on the sea¡¯s surface, harboring malice from the ocean. When they reached this point, there was only one bug left in this instance. Controlling the protagonist to turn around, he silently walked down the road behind him. But no matter which way he walked, this road never tookhim away from the scene. Each loop brought him back in front of the burning warehouse, back in front of the group of octopus heads. By now, Wang knew what thest bug was. The roads that looped back were sealed off, disappearing, leaving the protagonist with no other choice but to head towards the warehouse, to face the octopus heads. He was surrounded by octopus heads, and a multitude of tentacles snaked through his ear canals and eye sockets into his skull, the suction-cupped, slimy tentacles crossing his brain, plunging him into unconsciousness. When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital. The colonies were gone. No more tentacles from octopus heads. His gorgeous wife was by his side, her beauty unchanged. Seeing the protagonist wake up, she excitedly threw herself at him. Hugging his wife stiffly, the protagonist hesitated for a moment, then gently patted her shoulder. At the same time, the protagonist¡¯s inner monologue began. ¡°They say I¡¯ve been sick all this time, that everything I saw was a hallucination.¡± ¡°They say I¡¯ve been ill for a long time.¡± ¡°They say¡­¡± ¡°Let it be.¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to believe what they say.¡± ¡°Let it be.¡± After ying through this three-part script, Wang felt a bit unable to ept it. ording to his understanding, at least the protagonist should have brought some weapons when heading to the warehouse, then fought fiercely. Or, in the face of a group of sea creatures, he could have had a sudden burst of strength and then fought fiercely. If all else failed, a girl could have descended from the heavens, taking the protagonist on a chaotic killing spree, and he would be content just to shout along. The mechanical incarnation of gods seemed a bit counterintuitive, but it didn¡¯t matter, as yers sometimes didn¡¯t care about logic. As long as they were in the right mood and the BGM started ying, getting yers thrilled was all that mattered. Unfortunately, nothing happened. The story came to an abrupt halt, everything vanished as if it were snow, leaving no trace behind. He was expecting a climax, a point where all the previous frustration could be vented, not like now, choosing to ept and be assimted by others. ¡°The ending is so unsatisfying,¡± a viewerined, ¡°I wanted a heroic awakening, not this kind of pettypromise.¡± ¡°There1 s nothing we can do about it, that¡¯s the plotline Wang randomly received. ording to the information we have, the snow is a key detail. This world became this strange because of the snow.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the cause of the snow, then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, that part of the story wasn¡¯t exined. But other people have yed different scripts and seen different plots. We¡¯ll take a look at thatter, and then analyze the story.¡± ¡°Although it¡¯s frustrating, it feels quite realistic. This instance is full of metaphors; the octopus heads here symbolize evil and ugliness; the wife¡¯s octopus head signifies unattractiveness, the colleagues¡¯ octopus heads represent vulgarity. The protagonist said that the female coworker wasn t like that before but became soter, indicating that he once thought she was unusual, but upon real interaction, realized she was quite ordinary after all.¡± ¡°Your analysis makes sense. So how do we interpret the protagonist¡¯s entry into the warehouse at the end?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t download the anti-fraud app, got scammed into a pyramid scheme, and then had all his savings drained.¡± ¡°Hiss¡­ Now that you mention it, it¡¯s a horror story! I¡¯m downloading the anti-fraud app right now.¡± ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s be serious, the protagonist was clearly assimted in the end, which probably signifies the protagonist¡¯s finalpromise with society and self. In fact, we all long to be heroes, but none of us are. In the end, the protagonist s belief that they were also a form of reconciliation with himself, shows that each of us will go through this step.¡± ¡°Yes, well put. Old Thief, what¡¯s your take? Why haven¡¯t you said anything?¡± Wang stated, what else could I possibly think? I¡¯m on my knees! Normally, you guys share dirty pictures and behave like lewd nursery school dropouts. When I y games, you just fan the mes, demanding that we take everyst coin from NPCs and even sell them to work in mines in Africa. But when things get serious, each one of you bes a modelnguage student, with perfect scores in readingprehension. Nobody would believe you didn¡¯t attend top universities. So, it turns out everyone is an actor, and I¡¯m the only clown, right? Seeing the group¡¯s plot analysis start to escte, drifting from the lowly ending to cynicism and existentialism, Wang hurriedly stopped everyone and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll continue with the next instance. Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s more interesting.¡± ¡°Sure, hurry up, but I still want to talk about the symbolic significance of the snow here¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m out of here!¡± As Wang Say Games continued to grind through instances, Fang Cheng stood in the void of the Mirror Universe, watching the spectacle unfold within the sphere of light. The speed at which a single yer cleared data was slow, but with thousands of yersbined, it became somewhat considerable. Although, in the end, the speed was still much slower than if he did it himself, he wasn¡¯t in a rush anyway. After all, others were doing the work, and it allowed him some leisure. However, the performance of the yers still surprised him. They actually seemed to enjoy what he saw as the most boring task, and they could even analyze profound aspects from the storyline, something he couldn¡¯t understand no matter what. Game enthusiasts really are strange. Beyond that, the luck of some yers also amazed him. For instance, Wang Say Games. Most of the data within the sphere was rted to culture and arts, but some yers always managed to enter documents with detailed records and personal memories, allowing Fang Cheng to gain a rough understanding of the past events. ¡°Snow, assimtion¡­ sounds like the work of the Disease Demon Lord. However, that guy should be dead already. I finely minced him along with his Primordial Spirit into mince meat; how could he possiblye back to life?¡± Reminiscing about the past, Fang Cheng fell into deep thought. Chapter 85: The Story of the Researchers_i Chapter 85: The Story of the Researchers_i Back then, before Fang Cheng prepared for his rebirth by dispersing his body, it goes without saying that he arranged the rebirth array himself, and he had also eradicated all unfavorable factors. To be more specific, this unfavorable factor was the Demon Sect. To be even more specific, it was the big shots of the Demon Sect, each of the Demon Lords. Amon Demon Sect leader didn¡¯t qualify to be called a Demon Lord; only those who had grasped the profound understandings of earth, fire, water, wind space, time, past, and future could be called Demon Lords. At that time, he was the key stand of the righteous sects, usually uninvolved in worldly affairs, focusing solely on cultivation, but his mere presence acted as a stabilizing force, rendering the Demon Lords of the Demon Sect incapable of any action. Moreover, his cultivation level was extremely high. Had it not been for the excessive karma that killing a Demon Lord would bring about, the Demon Sect would have ceased to exist long ago. Later on, calcting the opportunity for his own enlightenment, he took this chance to disregard karma and started a massacre in the Demon Sect. The wicked Demon Lords were killed one by one, and the troublesome Demon Sect was wiped out in one fell swoop, cleansing the cultivation world¡¯s atmosphere, marking it as the best era of cultivation in history. The Disease Demon Lord was just casually killed by him during that time. Having dealt with all the Demon Lords, he immediately underwent rebirth by body dispersion, thus settling his worldly karma, not expecting to wake up to find everyone gone. Now, suspecting that the Disease Demon Lord might have reappeared, Fang Cheng became more interested in the records within this orb and began to watch them with even greater attention. As the game progressed, yers unearthed record after record. A rted wiki was created, and yers began exporting and sharing the documents they saw in the game on the wiki, organizing and summarizing the content of the documents, and then ranking their favorite documents. By Friday night, thousands of valuable documents had been uploaded, and among these many documents, a few were particrly popr. Ranked in the top three was a document titled ¡°Heroes¡±. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t know why so many people liked it; he still found a few others more interesting. This document unfolds from the perspective of a researcher. After the snowfall, the higher-ups of the new government quickly noticed the changes brought by the snow¡¯s infection. But the infectivity of the snow was too strong; before some people could react, they turned into octopus heads, and the whole world became enveloped in a white mycelium carpet. In this situation, a group of individuals secretly organized; they began to iste and research the mycelium, confirming its properties through repeated research, and stood at the forefront of the fight against the mycelium with immense determination. The researcher¡¯s document is presented in the form of a diary, showcasing the situation at the time. ¡°New Era Year 135, July 13. I want to go out, I crave a drink. I¡¯ve been in istion for seven years now, andst month the supply line waspletely cut off, it seems the surface contact point has also fallen. That receptionist upstairs was quite friendly to me, too bad I only saw her twice before she turned into an octopus head. Although it¡¯s said that this disease doesn¡¯t spread easily, and you¡¯ll be fine as long as you don¡¯te into direct contact with the snow, we still chose to sever ties with the octopus heads, no one knows what other issues they might have. Today was another day without progress, the nature of the mycelium remains undetermined. Its structure is somewhat simr to our local life forms, but it has a distinctly different evolutionary tendency. I can only assume that it shares the same origin as us, but it evolved on another. Damned alien lifeforms. Today they started rationing food, it seems theb¡¯s supplies are running low Good thing I¡¯ve hidden some; I¡¯ll brew some rice wer, hopefully, I¡¯ll get to drink it soon.¡± ¡°135 Year, August 3. Good news, after several failures, I finally have my rice wine, I can finally have a drink. Bad news, the wine got discovered. Theb director tore into me harshly, and then confiscated all the remaining food, the miserableso-and-so. But the rice wine wasn¡¯t taken, the director still has a soft spot for me, after all. Speaking of which, the director is quite attractive, even more so from the back Tomorrow morning I¡¯ll ask if she¡¯s interested in a romantic rtionship. It¡¯s the end of the world anyway, no harm in asking.¡± ¡°135 Year, August 4. I got told off, and cried. But this feeling of being forcefully cornered against the wall, it¡¯s actually pretty good. Should I call her dear next time?¡± ¡°135 Year, August 5. I called her ¡®dear¡¯, and then I got hit. Subsequently, the wholeb found out about our rtionship. What surprised me, though, was that almost everyone seemed relieved, and they congratted the director for finally getting her wish. Does this mean the director has wanted to be with me for some time now? This tricky guy! But a bad guy can be pretty cute too, whatever. Continue the talk tonight!¡± ¡°Year 135, September 6. I¡¯ve been really degeneratetely, not even stepping out of the door every day. Lin, oh Lin, how can you be so degenerate, go research bacterial colonies tomorrow!¡± ¡°Year 135, September?. Didn¡¯t leave the house.¡± ¡°Year 135, September 8. Didn¡¯t leave the house.¡± ¡°Year 135, September 9. Didn¡¯t leave the house didn¡¯t leave the house didn¡¯t leave the house.¡± ¡°Year 135, September 10. Still didn¡¯t leave the house. This won¡¯t do, I need to talk to the director about this issue, we can¡¯t keep on like this.¡± ¡°Year 135, September 11. Damn, those Meow Meow Pills really work wonders!¡± ¡°Year 135, December 17. Today I finally left the house, I¡¯ve really been in the pits these days. Our research institute, true to its name as a biological research facility, found a way to obtain food through algae and artificial power sources, even though we¡¯ve lost contact with the surface world. Plus, we have geothermal generators. Even without support, we couldst quite a long time. Though there¡¯s definitely no rescueing, that¡¯s for sure. No one¡¯s said it out loud yet, but we all understand, humanity is finished. Ourb is a thousand meters underground; this position effectively istes us from the snow above, but we basically also have no chance to go out anymore. The signals from otherbs are fading away. Some institutes, due to ack of food, have dered their resignation. They left the research institutes and came to the surface, surrendering to the snow. Some refused to leave, fighting until the veryst moment, earning themselves a funeral fit for heroes. I definitely won¡¯t end up trapped here, at worst I¡¯ll go up and be Octopus-head, no way I¡¯m just waiting to die.¡± ¡°Year 136, March 21. The director asked me if I wanted to get married, I did not reply. Because I was crying and nodding incessantly, afraid that the other person would change their mind. I always thought I was an old hand at ying the field, but unexpectedly, I actually fell for someone here, damn it.¡± ¡°Year 136, April 21. I¡¯m widowed. The experiment was a massive failure. The bacterial colonies exploded suddenly, and the director vanished inside it. Logically, the director should have turned into Octopus-head, but he didn¡¯t. He just disappeared, along with several other researchers. Fortunately, I¡¯ve always been a bit scared of getting married; now I don¡¯t have to. A bunch of people have been consoling me, what a joke, I¡¯m actually quite pleased. Why the director? Why¡­¡± ¡°Year 136, May 7. I¡¯m no longer in a state of widowhood! The director hase back!¡± Chapter 86: Remnant Soul_l Chapter 86: Remnant Soul_l ¡°May 8,136. Aftering back, the director doesn¡¯t like to talk anymore. He didn¡¯t turn into an Octopus-head, but he¡¯s very sluggish. I knew it, the director isn¡¯t so easy to kill, after all, he often told me, ¡®I will absolutely not die before saving the world.¡¯ Although he¡¯s not young, the director is still pretty childish, huh. Love it to death! I asked the director how he survived the fungal colony outbreak, no answer. I asked why he got so much smaller when he came back, still no answer. Forget it, if he won¡¯t talk, that¡¯s fine. It¡¯s good enough that he came back.¡± ¡°May 11,136. The director still doesn¡¯t talk, doesn¡¯t eat, doesn t sleep. He just sits under the tablemp all day, spacing out, asionally only drinks water. Who would have thought that the experiment failure hit the director so hard, but it¡¯s fine, I willfort you well.¡± ¡°May 17,136. Theb issued an emergency notice: If you discover your deceased colleagues have returned, you must immediately report it, and you can¡¯t hide it. I went over the notice carefully, it didn¡¯t specify the reason, but it¡¯s definitely not about the director. Because the director didn¡¯t die at that time, did he? He wasn¡¯t dead.¡± ¡°May 20,136. The director began to show signs of copse. I tried to feed him some Chlore nutrient solution, but it was useless. Switched to a fungal colony culture solution, and it worked. But even so, his body started to deteriorate, the skin on the surface began to crack,rge patches of skin fell off, exposing the fungal colonies underneath. But as long as you rehydrate in time, there¡¯s no problem So, there¡¯s no problem. We will be fine.¡± ¡°June 1,136. Today, our motor malfunctioned, and the lost parts can only be found on the ground. We have no choice but to take a risk and explore the surface. The ground is no longer suitable for living. The snow has long stopped, but the Octopus-heads have all disappeared, and numerous caves leading straight to the bottom have appeared on the surface. Those Octopus-heads have all stepped into Earth s Heart. The surroundings are all upied by fungal colonies. These terrifying organisms have consumed all the nutrients of our. The air is also filled with a faint presence of fungal colonies, the sky has turned ck, blocking out all light from the stars. They even don¡¯t spare the sunlight! If we don¡¯t take action, extinction will be our only end. Sad to say, we don¡¯t even know who our enemy is. The snow appeared out of nowhere, descending regardless of our will, turning our world into a mess! To hell with it! Just destroy it already, hurry up!¡± ¡°June 10,136. The research institute is almost devoid of activity. Thest exploration shocked everyone too deeply. Despair pervades the institute, even the head of the institute can¡¯t stand the psychological pressure brought by doomsday, locking himself in his room, refusing toe out. I don¡¯t care anymore. After all, I have the director. The director is right there, silent, without any expression. Every time I help him wash, it¡¯s like taking care of a puppet, no reaction at all.¡± But the director is here. That was enough.¡± ¡°July 1st, 136 years. Today is the director¡¯s birthday. We ate a non-existent cake together, blew out non-existent candles, and then made a wish together. It was at this moment that the director woke up. Suddenly clutching me, the director let out a wind-like voice from his throat and kept blowing on me. I understood what he meant and held him tight. The colony spread between us, letting me hear the voice of the soul. The director told me a lot of things. When the outbreak urred, the director had already died once. After death, his soul was dragged into the colony where he witnessed that terrifying entity and understood the truth about the snow. The snow was the remnant of some indescribable entity, which was killed by an even more indescribable entity and then saved by yet another indescribable entity. The leftover body had its life and death inverted. Those snowkes were one of its lingering souls, and our world was the seedbed for its resurrection. Everything we have, from the world to the soul, would serve as nourishment for it to repair its lingering soul. Fortunately, other indescribable entities were handling these beings, but they were also about to leave, and we didn¡¯t have much time left. We must transmit everything here, liberate all the souls, and send the information to those indescribable entities¡ªthey will strike at this world. We will surely be destroyed, but at least we can die along with the instigator and there¡¯s a slight possibility that the spark may remain. Such things sound troublesome, and I definitely wouldn¡¯t have bothered with it before. But for you, I am willing to be the enemy of the world.¡± The record ended here. The content after this was not provided; everything remained unknown. How the protagonist managed to fulfill his partner¡¯s wish, whether he seeded in the end, and what actions he took¡­ All of this was no longer known. Everything was just like the snow from that year, dissipated in the river of time. After reading a few more stories, Fang Cheng pretty much confirmed some things. He was certain that he had indeed shattered the Disease Demon Lord back in the day, and it should have been impossible for the opponent to be resurrected. However, someone tried to resurrect the Disease Demon Lord by scattering its lingering soul here, which was the origin of the snow. That person¡¯s strength must be considerable, and the Immortal from a thousand years ago was probably avoiding this entity,ter fleeing to the Mirror Universe and not daring to appear. Fang Cheng only felt respect for the mortal who thwarted the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s resurrection n. With a mortal body, they destroyed the Demon Lord¡¯ s n for resurrection. Even if the opponent was a dead Demon Lord and despite assistance from other immortals, it was an incredible feat. Of course, Lin was not the only one resisting. A group of people, whether for their lovers, for their rtives, or for those young children, stood up and struggled against the invincible enemy. Arge number of mortals did everything they could as the apocalypse approached, and with the help of the deceased, they continuously worked hard and ultimately managed to slow down the pace of the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s resurgence. Nodding gently, Fang Cheng quietly waited. Something wasing. After three days of processing, the yers had sorted out only a small portion of the erroneous data, but this small portion was enough to cause some aberrations. While the yers were dealing with bugs, some of the hidden bugs began to gather. These problems, like a virus, slowly came together and formed a strange silhouette. This silhouette was quite thin, looking as if it were just a piece of paper, slowly peeling itself away from the records of the past. Finally, with a jolt, the existence that was only in past images escaped from the past. The paper-thin form swiftly expanded and eventually took the shape of a figure familiar to Fang Cheng. It was the lingering soul of the Disease Demon Lord. Every Demon Lord is proficient in earth, fire, water, wind, and Great Divine Power, including past and future. If not properly dealt with, even a single shadow could potentially lead to its resurrection. He had already made many preparations before, although he was interrupted midway, the remaining preparations were enough to support him inpleting thest step. The protagonist of ¡°Hero¡± transmitted the coordinates of this ce, attracting a strike from other Immortals. The entire¡¯s colony consequently perished, but a shadow of the Disease Demon Lord was still etched in the¡¯s original records, disrupting the original records and surviving in the form of a virus. Now, the images in the recorder had been repaired, and the shadow from the past appeared again, allowing the Demon to resurrect once more. However, the resurrected Demon Lord was just a lingering soul and was noticeably sluggish. He looked around nkly and then, following his instincts, flew towards his own body. Chapter 87 - 87 Inspiration for a New Gamei Chapter 87: Inspiration for a New Gamei The soul remnant¡¯s speed was not fast. But Fang Cheng was neither impatient nor hasty, casually following behind. In this Mirror Universe, thews of the Heavenly Tao were somewhat ambiguous and unclear; in many ces, even with Divine Sense, it was difficult to investigate, so following the other was a shortcut to finding its true body. After crossing thousands of light years, the soul remnant finally stopped in a star system. The structure of this star system was simr to Earth¡¯s, but what was different was that in Earth¡¯s orbit, there were actually fours scattered. Within the central star, a Demon Lord sat, upying almost the entire star. His body was shrouded in ck mist, tinting the star a ckish-red color, with Demonic Qi rolling nearby and his appearance exceptionally loathsome. The flying soul remnant cheered, instinctively merging into the Demon Lord¡¯s body, bing one with it, then began to rapidly integrate. The Demon Lord within the star was the true body of the Disease Demon Lord, and as it merged with the soul remnant, the sound of the Grand Dao burst forth from his body, spreading throughout this world. His innate Dao was the Path of Disease, so every ce tainted by his Dao inevitably fell ill. Animals began to fall sick, humans likewise, and even the Heavenly Tao was contaminated with disease qi, bing bizarre and inscrutable. And the true body of the Disease Demon Lord was particrly thoroughly diseased. His body was full of hideous wounds, and under the rotting skin wriggled countless tiny worms. His face wore a strange smile, taking pleasure from the world¡¯s sickness yet pained by his own illness. By his side, cultivators indistinguishable from their festering bodies beat drums and shouted, their hoarse voices full of weakness and exhaustion, which did not hinder the spread of their sound to every corner of the world. As the other was merging with the soul remnant, Fang Cheng observed him. The other¡¯s body was dead; some mysterious being carefully collected his body, slowly piecing it together, and used an entire world to nourish its soul remnant all to revive this demon. For the righteous, such revival would be troublesome, but for the Demon Lord, it was somewhat easier. And the Demon Lords of the Demon Sect almost all looked like this, choosing not to follow the proper Dao, but rather these deviant and heretical paths. Their progress was faster and their means were many, but their strength,pared to the righteous path, was as different as heaven and earth, hardly warranting serious opposition. When the soul remnant entered the body, the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s body finally shook slightly. The huge, pale eyeballs rolled about, the ck pupils flipping from the back of the head to the front, finally bringing some vitality to his face. Disease qi was not death qi but a force that constantly decayed and degraded; under the influence of disease qi, the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s body was always in a state of sickness, and it continuously released disease qi to its surroundings. And now with the soul remnant, he finally awakened the scarce vitality within him, and the dead flesh truly came to life. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed a cultivator who was beating the drum and shouting. The captured cultivator, far from panicking, instead revealed supreme joy, praising the name of the Disease Demon Lord before being swallowed by him in one gulp. Before long, all the drum-beating cultivators around were consumed one by one, acting like miraculous medicines, bringing an aftertaste of enjoyment to his face. Only after relishing did the Disease Demon Lord exhale a long breath of turbid air, joyfully stating, ¡°It is indeed better to be alive; when dead, there are no diseases. This world, after a thousand years, is really quite delightful. And with Heavenly Lord Fang now gone, it¡¯s even more enthralling.¡± ¡°Thinking about me?¡± The Disease Demon Lord turned pale with shock upon suddenly seeing Fang Cheng appear beside him, and he eximed in a lost voice, ¡°Heavenly Lord Fang! How are you still alive!¡± Upon seeing Fang Cheng, countless Divine Skills emerged, numerous magical weapons went awry, and the sky-darkening Immortal Spells swept in, carrying the might of world annihtion towards Fang Cheng, only to be blown away into nothingness by a bolt of his Palm Thunder. Looking at the stunned Disease Demon Lord, Fang Cheng sighed. As I¡¯ve said, the Demon Sect¡¯s Demon Lord is just like this, if not for their overwhelming numbers, the Demon Sect really wouldn¡¯t amount to much. What use is a good-looking scene if a single Palm Thunder can solve everything? Fang Cheng doesn¡¯tck sophisticated techniques, but against trash like the Disease Demon Lord, he really can¡¯t take it seriously. The Disease Demon Lord wanted to say something, but was then killed by a palm strike from Fang Cheng, and his Primordial Spirit was extracted once again. The Primordial Spirit of the Disease Demon Lord was riddled with diseases, with millions of illnesses devouring each other here, evolving into even more terrifying gues. Although most of the diseases were crushed by Fang Cheng¡¯s palm, this world had already been deeply contaminated by the Disease Qi, and it wouldn¡¯t recover in a few years. Looking at the fours here, Fang Cheng silentlymented their misfortune. The area of the fours was vast, with countless habitable spots, and the inhabitants were descendants of the Han people, but theirbined poption was just over four hundred million. The Disease Qi of the Disease Demon Lord infected not only living beings but even nts and thend, rendering this world uninhabitable. Thend was polluted, resulting in a surprisingck of fertile fields, causing habitable areas to shrink increasingly. Some creatures even fed on the Disease Qi, turning into ugly, bloated monsters that then attacked the Human n, making the living environment here even worse. From this, one can see that the sins of the Demon Sect are immense and vile and even dead members of the Demon Sect are unforgivably wicked and must be killed twice. As he sifted through the information in the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s Primordial Spirit, Fang Cheng knitted his brows. Just like the history of light, the information within the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s Primordial Spirit had been erased, not a single piece from a thousand years back remained, which made Fang Cheng feel the other side was quite cautious. Dead, they can¡¯t spit out any information, and while alive, it¡¯s even less likely. After slicing the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s body and Primordial Spirit into slivers and burning them all, Fang Cheng began to address the world before him. He extended his hand, and mana began to spread, his surging mana enveloping the world and starting to attempt to Repel the Disease Qi. However, the world had been too deeply contaminated by the gue. The Disease Demon Lord¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t up to par, but he was quite skilled at contaminating the world. The Little Heavenly Way of this ce seemed to be still functioning, but it was actually riddled with holes; the entire Law was maintained in a state close to copse but could still barely operate, and a hasty repair would only make it deteriorate faster. Fang Cheng could only infuse mana to temporarily maintain the bnce, but the finer points needed gradual repair. Feeling Fang Cheng¡¯s goodwill, the dying Heavenly Way manifested as a little girl, giving a sliver of merit with trembling hands to Fang Cheng. This sliver of merit was also full of Disease Qi, and the Little Heavenly Way realized this, holding the merit, unsure whether to give it or keep it, and almost ready to burst into tears. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take it, but this ce is badly infected, and it needs to be adjusted slowly. Unless someone can enter your world and gradually repair it from within¡­ wait, why not?¡± Staring at the grayish world, Fang Cheng began to think. Doing good deeds umtes merit, and I also quite enjoy the process of gaining merit; the whole process is quite fun. So let the yers enter this world, then they can start doing good deeds, earning merit, and I believe they would find joy in it too. After all, this world is severely afflicted, and there¡¯s a lot of merit to be had; as long as we restrict certain behaviors of the yers, preventing them from ¡¯ doing evil, that would suffice. And since thend here is full of Disease Qi and unable to be farmed, they can only diligently do good deeds. I was still worrying about what theme to make for a game next, but who would have thought that the theme would present itself like this. I¡¯ve decided, the name of the game will be ¡°Healer¡±! Chapter 88: Game Expo (First Update) ! Chapter 88: Game Expo (First Update) ! While healing this world, Fang Cheng spent the weekend absorbed in contemting the entire game¡¯s n. When it was time to go to work, he changed into a fresh set of clothes at his apartment, then teleported directly to thepany¡¯s doorstep and entered the studio. This time, he decided to thoroughly brainstorm the gamey. He couldn¡¯t let those yers farm anymore! He would employ every strategy possible to ensure the yers understood thepassionate heart of a healer and the virtue of performing good deeds! Coming up with a new gamey could take a while, but healing the lingering mise would also require time; he roughly had a month to handle everything. Sitting in his chair, Fang Cheng multitasked, both repairing the world and pondering about the game¡¯s issues. WangXiaoying, who was undertaking the operational work for ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± looked at Fang Cheng and asked Huang Pingin a low voice, ¡°Huang, what¡¯s the boss doing thinking so hard?¡± Confusion painted Huang Ping¡¯s face as he whispered back, ¡°This is my first time seeing the boss like this. He¡¯s probably gearing up for some major project.¡± Wang Xiaoying drew in a sharp breath. The tasks the boss usually set were challenging enough, and now there could be something even tougher? ¡°The Nameless¡± had already be her favorite, and now she spent very happy days ying it with new strategies every day after work. Thinking that there could be a game even more fascinating than ¡°The Nameless¡± on the horizon filled Wang Xiaoying with anticipation and gave her more motivation in her work. The faster she could draft the operational n, the longer she would have to experience the new game when the time came; this notion transformed what should have been monotonous work into a moment brimming with energy, imbuing Wang Xiaoying with determination and zest. Xiao Douzi and Huang Ping exchanged nces, both preparing to coax some information out of Fang Cheng about what game he was devising when the straightforward Monkey blurted out, ¡°Boss, are you considering a new game?¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Fang Cheng nodded. ¡°Is it apetitive one?¡± Monkey asked eagerly, ¡°Ideally with maximum realism and rivers of blood.¡± After some thought, Fang Cheng replied, ¡°The second part is no problem, but the first part might be difficult to realize.¡± ¡°No worries, the second part is enough for me!¡± Content, Monkey stepped back, and Xiao Douzi immediately asked, ¡°Is it the kind with strong randomness?¡± Fang Cheng considered again. Since the yers would face different diseases each time and need to treat them ordingly, there indeed was significant randomness. So he nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Douzi was satisfied too. After some thought, Huang Ping asked, ¡°Is it healing and yable even for the unskilled?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s possible,¡± Fang Cheng affirmed. ¡°Can it involve romance?¡± Xu Qingling also leaned in to inquire. ¡°If you wish, it can,¡± he replied. ¡± High freedom? ¡± Wang Xiaoying lifted her head to ask. ¡°Extremely high; you can go anywhere except farm.¡± Everyone¡¯s needs had been met, and they all were satisfied, yet they couldn¡¯t quite imagine what this game would be like. However, that was alright. Fang Cheng¡¯s past creations had already proven his prowess, and for his new project, all harbored nothing but anticipation, striving to make it the best they could. Yet, alongside the anticipation, there was a profound sense of urgency. Fang Cheng had never set any KPI requirements and his evaluations of the studio members were near non-existent, with the attendance machine at the entrance serving more as a decoration, standing lonely at the door, even more useless than the ¡°Are you over eighteen years of age?¡± prompt. Fang Cheng¡¯s assessment criteriay in just one thing: the product. Raw, uncut gemsy before your eyes, some already polished and about to shine brightly, whilst the rest awaited your touch. Any carelessness could ruin the creation. This trepidationpelled them to grow quickly to keep up with Fang Cheng¡¯s pace. This inner drive born from within spurred them to continuously improve and produce better games. Fang Cheng sat at his station, pondering how to constrain certain actions of the yers and how to encourage others. In previous games, the freedom granted to yers was excessive, leading them to inexplicably turn the games into farming simtions. Although farming is the basis of all things, aren¡¯t you taking it a bit too far? However, in that world tainted by Heavenly Tao, there were too few areas suitable for farming, and sowing there would likely lead to total loss. One could expect that yers would not be able to farm. Moreover, to prevent yers frommitting evil acts and harming the NPCs in the world, the inability to attack NPCs would have to be fixed with Immortal Law, to avoid any yer-caused disturbances. Given the fragility of that world, Fang Cheng had no desire to send a bunch of vandals over. Due to this world¡¯s delicacy, Fang Cheng had to gradually infuse Immortal Spell into it, a process that couldn¡¯t be rushed. By the time the preliminary work wasplete and the framework was built, half a month had already passed. The foundation of the Spirit Gathering Array had beenid, and the overall environment was set up. Now it was up to Huang Ping and the others to build the game systems and structure the attributes. Just as they were undertaking the construction, Mr. Shen¡¯s call came. Mr. Shen had learned about Qu Fangfang¡¯s situation the very same day. After discovering Qu Fangfang had fabricated her resume and work experience, Mr. Shen chided his old friend harshly and decided to sever ties decisively. Chapter 89 - 88: Game Expo (First Update)_2 Chapter 89: Chapter 88: Game Expo (First Update)_2 ¡°You dare to rmend such a dud, you really took me for a fool.¡± It all started with Mr. Shen, so he had been pondering over how to express his apology and finally found a way recently. ¡°Fang Cheng, have you heard of the Mo City Game Expo?¡± ¡°I have, what about it?¡± I got you a spot to exhibit there. Are you interested in participating?¡± Holding his phone, Fang Cheng started to ponder. The Mo City Game Expo is actually an International Animation and Gaming Exposition which includes a variety of cultural products rted to animation, idols, games, and sensory equipment, and has been one of therger expos in recent years. The qualifications for the expo need to be booked in advance. However, because the expo is a significant tform for games andpany publicity, it has always been in high demand. The autumn expo will open in October,st for four days, and studios can send their games as exhibits to the expo where various awards will be given at the end. After understanding the significance of this expo, Fang Cheng became somewhat interested. The major framework for his new game ¡°The Physician¡± had already beenpleted; sending it there would be perfect for some early publicity and to test the yers¡¯ reactions, which could help make targeted adjustments. The testing phase was indispensable, otherwise, they would have to go back to farming again. Having made up his mind, Fang Cheng decisively said, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Shen. I¡¯m willing to participate.¡± ¡°Great, that¡¯s great.¡± Upon hearing Fang Cheng¡¯s response, Mr. Shen felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. Fang Cheng was the most outstanding among the students he had trained While others were still struggling with nning, testing, and intern programmer positions, he had already created three sessful games proving his worth. The domestic gaming industry had been quiet for too long, and the void in domestic games was filled by reskinned mobile games and pay-to-win games, which are more like capital¡¯s games than real games. Now that a neer has emerged and proven his ability to shoulder the responsibility, Mr. Shen, as a veteran in the gaming industry, felt it was his duty to provide Fang Cheng with the best resources and help him go further. So from now on, anything rted to Fang Cheng, I won¡¯t recognize any favors, everyone stay away from me! After arranging the details of the trip to Mo City with Fang Cheng and giving him the contact information, Mr. Shen was about to hang up the phone when he heard Fang Cheng say, ¡°Mr. Shen, I recently got some nice tea leaves; I¡¯ll send some over to youter.¡± Patting his resolute hair, Mr. Shen said solemnly, ¡°Okay.¡± When Fang Cheng told everyone in the studio about his uing trip to Mo City, his colleagues were devastated. ¡°Boss, are you really leaving us?¡± Xiao Douzi said sadly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the boss canmand us remotely!¡± Huang Ping put on a brave front. ¡°Boss, who¡¯s going to beat me up in ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ if you¡¯re gone?¡± Looking at the three peculiar individuals, Fang Cheng said in confusion, ¡°What are you thinking? Of course, everyone will go together.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The expo is four days. We need to adjust our game based on yer feedback; we can¡¯t just make it and run like before. This time, I definitely want the yers to follow my pace.¡± ¡°¡­Does this count as overtime?¡± ¡°¡­No, it counts as regr work hours.¡± ¡°Nopensatory time off?¡± ¡°Nopensatory time off.¡± ¡°Long live the boss!¡± Looking at his celebrating colleagues, Fang Cheng felt each of them was a bit strange. Not only could he not understand the thoughts of the yers, but now it seemed he couldn¡¯t understand the thoughts of his employees either. Human hearts are truly unfathomable. Knowing that everyone was going, Xu Qingling immediately set about booking ne tickets, reserving hotel rooms, and nning the itinerary to ensure that all six people could enjoy the trip. The next day, after gathering at thepany, everyone took a taxi to the airport and flew to Mo City. The hotel in Mo City was personally booked by Xu Qingling, not far from the exhibition venue. Standing by the window, you could see the Huangpu River outside, one of the best scenic areas in Mo City. The dinner was also chosen by Xu Qingling, the delicately vored Chinese food was very much to Fang Cheng¡¯s liking. After resting for one night, the group arrived early at the exhibition hall and started setting up their booth. Even though they already had three sessful games, Fang Cheng Studio still had some gapspared to those old factories with over twenty years of heritage. This was evident from the size of their booth. The booths of well-established game giants wererge and had countless gaming-rted peripherals. Action figures, posters, mascot pillows, cosy, game prop models, badges¡­ These items that could showcase game culture were dazzling and overwhelming. The exhibition hall, having hosted eighteen exhibitions already, was adept at this kind of event, with various preparations proceeding in an orderly fashion. Upon learning that Fang Cheng and his colleagues were exhibitors, the attendees confirmed their information and quickly led them to their spot. This position was tucked in the innermost side of the exhibition hall, where the flow of people was sparse, and the booth was temporarily constructed, almost certain to attract no one. The attendees, feeling apologetic, said to Fang Cheng, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Fang, but we allocate spaces ording to certain rules. This spot just opened up because the studio that had it dissolved.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, this ce is good.¡± ¡°d you understand. By the way, could I get your autograph? I¡¯m a big fan of ¡®The Nameless¡¯. And if you have a poster, could I buy one?¡± Xu Qingling had already pre-ordered a batch of peripherals, which had now been delivered and set aside. Taking out a poster, Fang Cheng signed it and handed it to the staff member, then saw the grateful staff member off. After arranging their disy cab together with his staff, Fang Cheng saw that there was still some time before the official opening. This time was somewhat of a benefit for all exhibitingpanies, providing them an opportunity to meet producers they wanted to know, to experience some games that were still in the testing phase, or towork with industry leaders and possibly gain new insights. As soon as they entered the ce, the nning trio became a little restless. Wang Xiaoymg also saw a few big names in marketing chatting away, and she too felt the urge to go over and have a look. Xu Qingling noticed a resurgence in romance games and was hence slightly tempted. J Alright, you guys go ahead, we have some time before it officially starts, we can wander around.¡±????????????????? ¡¯ Letting his excited colleagues go off to explore, Fang Cheng roamed the exhibition hall by himself. This exhibition was gamer-oriented, featuring many cool yetmercially unworthy items. Seeing too much here could invoke a feeling of having arrived in a future world ahead of time. The most appealing were still the gaming machines here. Some gaming machines had virtually nomercial value; they were made simply to convey a concept or to promote their own philosophy. After trying out thetest motion-sensing gaming machine and ying a while on a light-sensing gaming machine, Fang Cheng felt that these gaming devices were closer to reality in terms of controlpared to traditional games, but the games within were indescribablyckluster. He couldn¡¯t quite grasp what was fun, but he had a rough idea of what was not. The gaming machine that most caught his attention was the newly produced Kirin series VR integrated machine. The integrated machine looked like a sealed small room with soundproofing so that yers could shout without problems inside. It featured a movable tform that could tilt horizontally to stimte effects like slopes. yers could walk and run on the tform, and when tired, switch to another control method. The bioelectric gloves could mimic real hand movements, and the VR headset on top allowed yers to wear VR equipment without any pressure. Besides, it was equipped with thoughtful features like a microphone, offering an innovative experience that significantly enhanced gamey. But the games inside were really subpar. Noticing Fang Cheng frowning after trying the games, a staff member from the booth hurried to exin, ¡°Our machine performs very well and can run some big games, but there¡¯s a problem ¨C its adaptability is poor. Developing games for this kind of integrated VR machine requires readjustment, almost like rewriting half the game, so many manufacturers are reluctant to do it. We can only repackage some small games and then put them in.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Looking at the uniquely designed integrated VR gaming machine, Fang Cheng asked, ¡°So, are you interested in selling me a couple of them?¡± Chapter 90 - 89 Unprecedented Grand Occasion (Two more updates) ! Chapter 90: Chapter 89 Unprecedented Grand asion (Two more updates) ! After learning that Fang Cheng wanted to pair it with his own game, the staff requested approval from their superiors and then sold two units to Fang Cheng at a price of 28,000 yuan each. Fang Cheng had the two VR all-in-one machines delivered to his disy cab, and looking at them, he felt extremely satisfied. Why hadn¡¯t he thought of this sooner! The hardwareponents of the VR all-in-one machine were already taking shape, but the software aspect was very weak. Because it was expensive. Decent equipment required several thousand yuan, and the matching software hadn¡¯t caught up, resulting in the equipment collecting dust over time. Nobody knew whether a technological revolution would impact this field, and the devices purchased today could be obsolete in a few months, further reducing the cost-effectiveness of VR all-in-one machines. The number of machines also affected game sales, and the high cost deterred game manufacturers from investing in this area, leaving only low-quality games in the end. Without sales and unclear prospects, capital wasn¡¯t too fond of such ostentatious but impractical content, and the eventual result was everyone calling for VR devices, but nobody willing to buy them. No buyers meant no money, and other manufacturers were even less willing to invest, creating a vicious cycle. However, for Fang Cheng, none of these issues were problems. His games were actually built on Immortal Spell, and by simply upgrading from Immortal Spell 1.0 to 1.1 and incorporating adaptability for VR all-in-one machines, there would be no issue. For Fang Cheng, the cost of software adaptation was almost zero, and the time cost was negligible. He had tried it himself; VR all-in-one machines could improve the level of realism in visuals and sensations to 70%, a limit most games could not reach. But what was the limit for others, was just the starting point for him. After all, his games were based on the real world, and no other games couldpare in terms of realism. Quickly upgrading the operating system, Fang Cheng connected the two VR all- in-one machines to thework, and then transferred the games into them. After the adaptation wasplete, Fang Cheng nced at Xu Qingling, who had just returned, and pointed to the VR machine. Xu Qingling shook her head without hesitation. Although Fang Cheng had stated that the game included romantic elements, she hadn¡¯t even made it past the tutorial, not to mention seeing anything romantic, so she decided to pass on it. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t insist, and instead sat next to Xu Qingling. The two chatted idly about raising cats while waiting for the first visitor. The exhibition booth¡¯s location was indeed unfortunate, and since there were already VR machines on disy in front of it, some people lost interest upon seeing this, resulting in not a single visitor. It wasn¡¯t until an hour after the exhibition opened that the first visitor arrived. Chen Rang, a game journalist. Once a passionate gamer who imed to have yed games in his mother¡¯s womb and continued ying throughout his childhood. But after gaming became his job, his love for it quickly faded and eventually turned into loathing. Every day he had to y a plethora of games, drowning in countless crappy games. What was worse, some game manufacturers were paying him off! Under the coercion and enticement of these sponsors, he was forced to consume these crappy games and then feign a smiling face, pretending everything was fresh and delicious. Once or twice was bearable, but perhaps due to his strong writing skills, Chen Rang devastatingly found that the number of crappy games he had to consume was only increasing. You manufacturers, can¡¯t you produce anything other than crap? Have your brains and intestines swapped ces? How can you expect to make good games when you¡¯re surrounded by vermin! Finally, tormented to the core, Chen Rang decided to quit. He was done with those rotten games! This anime and game exhibition was hisst shift. He nned to y all the games and then on the spot, thoroughly trash each one, breaking the developers on the spot! However, when he learned that his first opponent was Fang Cheng Studio, he hesitated for a moment. Fang Cheng Studio¡­ This was a rather exceptional studio he had recentlye across, with first- ss technical strength and no scams for money, quite conscientious among domestic studios. But he always felt that their games werecking something, missing that soul-stirring impact. He could sense that their games could be a bit better, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on what changes were needed. His feelings had surpassed his understanding, and this in-between feeling was particrly ufortable. ¡°Forget it, just have a quick experience and then leave. VR games¡­ probably something like ¡®Fruit Ninja¡¯ or ¡®Archer,¡¯ I guess.¡± Although he wasn¡¯t confident in VR games, Chen Rang was still prepared to try it since it was a Fang Cheng Studio product. Heeded by Fang Cheng, he sat in the gaming chair, fastened the safety belts, and then took down the VR headset from above and put it on his head. The goggles on the helmet began to adjust the angle ording to his inter-brow distance and the level of myopia. After a few seconds of focusing, the game officially began. He had assumed this game would be simr to other minor games, but once connected to the VR device, Chen Rang realized he was wrong. Utterly wrong. As this was a demo version, there was no opening animation, and the title was very simple, but the overall sequence ran smoothly, and various functions were also experiential. But to Chen Rang, that all seemed unimportant now. Chapter 91 - 89 Unprecedented Grand Occasion (Second Update )_2 Chapter 91: Chapter 89 Unprecedented Grand asion (Second Update )_2 His body told him he was still in reality, but his eyes told him he was not. The game¡¯s graphics, already impressively lifelike, became even more realistic with the enhancement of the VR equipment. Every de of grass and tree around him was clearly visible, everything so vivid it was as if he had truly stepped into another world. This world had been eroded by the Disease Demon Lord. The sky was filled with ck miasma, swirling like dark dragons, wantonly destroying the very foundation of this world. The surroundings were shrouded in a grey mist, with countless terrifying creatures roaming in the darkness, rampant and eying him closely from not far away. The path ahead glowed faintly, as if beckoning Chen Rang to hurry forward, to the end, to ept the fate that belonged to him there. But he dared not move. The diseased environment made him feel that a single step would result in being devoured by the darkness. A wave of intense fear struck him, rendering Chen Rang as rigid as a wooden chicken. ¡°Boss¡­ Boss! Can you grab my arm? I haven¡¯t really crossed over, have I?¡± A warm and firm handnded on his shoulder, its strong touch relieving Chen Rang, who then realized he was drenched in sweat. Taking a deep breath, he offered his thanks and began walking on the path. The movement tform beneath his feet allowed him to walk freely here. The ground, slightly muddy from a recent rain, was replicated so authentically that it felt as though he was truly walking on the path. Bats fluttered and insects droned, with 3D sounds emerging constantly, keeping Chen Rang¡¯s sense of wonder active from the start. The walking simtor might be terrifying, but it was awesome. The gaming passion that had long dimmed was reignited by a walking simtor, making Chen Rang realize domestic games weren¡¯t all bad¡ªthere were still some strong contenders. But he soon found out he was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. At the end of the path stood a dpidated Taoist temple, its buildings riddled with holes and on the verge of copse. Out of ce amid the ruins, however, was a girl in a white robe in the yard. She was roasting corn by a fire, and on the blood-red corn, each kernel had a tiny mouth, each one shrieking in agony. The girl was pretty, her ssical adornments endowing her with traditional elegance, while her gentle and cheerful smile added a touch of warmth. In a world full of ruin and ckness, the girl¡¯s presence was like a bright light, illuminating the path ahead. Hearing approaching footsteps, the girl by the fire lifted her head, then swallowed the corn that was still wriggling in her mouth. Wiping her mouth, she raised her hand and said to the approaching Chen Rang, ¡°Yo, you¡¯re back again. Who inhabits your body today?¡± The nonsensical words gave Chen Rang a feeling of being a riddle solver, but then he realized this must be the game¡¯s character naming segment. The microphone inside the all-in-one machine was already on. Chen Rang spoke into the microphone, ¡°Chen Rang.¡± ¡°Quite an ordinary name, huh? Alright, I¡¯ll remember it. You possess no merit in your body; you can¡¯ t be a good Benevolent Doctor like this. Come here, I ¡®ll lend you some merit and teach you a few tricks.¡± Standing up, the girl channeled the power within her body, and a faint purple light began to emanate from her fingertips. Drawing a circle in the air, the purple light did not dissipate but closed to form aplete loop. Once the circle was formed, the purple light burst forth violently, killing the mosquitoes within a five-meter radius, reducing the annoying buzzing in the air. Afterward, a stream of purple qi floated into Chen Rang¡¯s body, and the girl raised her hand, indicating it was his turn. Attempting to draw a circle, Chen Rang was again stunned. The movements were smooth, the feedback delicate, the effects spectacr, and the ray tracing outstanding¡­ Everything seemed incredibly perfect, made even more real with the haptic gloves in hand. When a purple light circle waspleted, the entire circle burst into arger arc, clearing all mosquitoes in an even wider area. The girl¡¯s eyes widened with surprise as she said to Chen Rang, ¡°You¡¯re more talented than I thought. To be able to perform the Purifying Sky Skill so smoothly on the first try, you truly are worthy of being sent by the Great Heavenly Lord.¡± The girl¡¯spliment made Chen Rang endlessly pleased, even though he knew it was a preset reaction from the game, and the lines might have been poorly written. But it felt oh so satisfying. After enjoying the moment, he inquired, ¡°Who is the Great Heavenly Lord?¡± ¡°The Immeasurable Heavenly Lord who relieves suffering and distress. This world was nearly destroyed, but the Great Heavenly Lord descended to save the Heavenly Tao of this ce. After vanquishing the Demon Lords, the Great Heavenly Lord had to leave, but he sent a multitude of healers to expel the disease from this realm, restoring peace to the world. Right, you are one of those healers.¡± ¡°Then you are¡­¡± ¡°Me? I am without name or lineage, a puppet of the Heavenly Tao here to assist you. If you don¡¯t mind, you can call me Mukuai.¡± ¡°Why that name?¡± ¡°Wooden puppet. Do you always have so many questions? Were you raised on ¡®why¡¯?¡± ¡°Mind your own business.¡± Chen Rang had already experienced the Powerful Artificial Intelligence Fang Cheng Studio once before, briefly sampling ¡°The Nameless,¡± but he hadn¡¯t gotten the full experience yet. However, now, with a cheerful, generous powerful Al appearing before him, wrapped in a good-looking shell, Chen Rang instantly connected with it. He had thrown his interview mission to the back of his mind,pletely forgetting the n he had prepared to catch people off-guard. Chapter 92 - 89 Unprecedented Grand Occasion (Third Update )_3 Chapter 92: Chapter 89 Unprecedented Grand asion (Third Update )_3 He simply wanted to follow Mukuai and journey on, building up merit to save the world! Together, they cleared thend¡¯s soil of diseased qi and eradicated the Disease Beasts that gued the world. With Mukuai¡¯s presence, the terrifying and bizarre game scenery became incredibly warm and even made Chen Rang feel as if crossing over wouldn¡¯t be such a bad idea. As their journey progressed, new spells were slowly unlocked, and merit began to multiply, which could be used for upgrades to enhance his abilities. Moreover, the amount of merit previously earned at certain levels granted him new Divine Skills, adding a fresh twist to the game experience. The intense feedback and scenes so realistic made this design deeply engaging even without VR equipment, and with it, only more addictive. And this was just the tutorial content! ording to Mukuai¡¯s exnation, they were only in Lost Valley; outside, there were towns, cities, and even the legendary ruins. The outside world was bigger, with greater challenges and more expansivendscapes. ck seas churned, dead leviathans floated in the sky, colossal skeletons reaped the lives of creatures, and puppets infected by diseased qi moved across the ground. But there were also mountains andkes; unyielding people and cunning bandits. The world was already sick, but it still had a breath left in it. So, go and save the world, healers! Just as Chen Rang¡¯s blood was boiling with excitement and he wanted to continue, Mukuai suddenly stopped. Looking into the distance with a grave expression, she regretfully said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t continue with you.¡± ¡°Why!¡± Chen Rang yelled anxiously, ¡°Did some plot get triggered? Is it the parting scene next? Fang Cheng, you can¡¯t be so melodramatic! Tell me, how much do you want to change the plot? Fifty thousand, a hundred thousand?¡± ¡°No, ording to the Great Heavenly Lord¡¯s notice, each healer¡¯s experience time is only one hour. So, you have to go back.¡± ¡°Go back where?¡± Mukuai helplessly said to Chen Rang, ¡°Back to reality, you haven¡¯t forgotten that you¡¯re actually a stranger here, right?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me leave, I want to stay here forever!¡± ¡°Sorry, goodbye.¡± ¡°Wait, did I really y for an hour? It only felt like a few minutes! I want to file aint!¡± At that moment, the screen went dark, and Chen Rang frantically tried to grab onto something, sadly unable to catch anything. Someone removed his VR helmet, someone unbuckled his safety belt, someone led him out of the all-in-one cabin, and then hastily took his ce. Only then did Chen Rang notice that outside Fang Cheng Studio, a long line had formed. Three more VR all-in-one machines were brought in, each with external equipment broadcasting the yer¡¯s performance inside. A huge crowd of yers, drawn by the game¡¯s reputation, packed the ce so tightly that what should have been the least popr spot had be the exhibition hall¡¯s hottest attraction. ¡°Have none of you ever yed a game before!¡± After muttering a curse, Chen Rang grumpily and grudgingly rejoined the queue. Standing in the crowd and looking at the eager yers around him, Chen Rang even felt a bit of superiority. I¡¯ve already yed for an hour! I¡¯m a second round yer! Due to the sheer number of people, the experience time was reduced from the initial one hour to half an hour, and eventually, to only ten minutes. But even so, the crowd showed no signs of diminishing. They watched the external screens without blinking, and even after seeing the same ten minutes dozens of times, they were still captivated. The dense crowd finally drew the attention of the event organizers, and after understanding the situation, they made a decision. To open a new exhibition area. An area previously used as a temporary storage was immediately cleared out, and twelve new VR all-in-one machines were brought in and installed with ¡°The Healer¡± for public use. This spectaclested until five in the afternoon, and just when the event organizers considered extending the closing time further, Fang Cheng made an announcement. Sorry, we¡¯re off work now. Chapter 93 - 90 Greetings from Kirin Industry Chapter 93: Chapter 90 Greetings from Kirin Industry (Third Update) 1 Since he was here for work, Fang Cheng believed that everything shouldply with the workflow, which meant clocking out on time and without any ambiguity. Moreover, the exhibition had agreed to close at three-thirty in the afternoon, and strictly speaking, he was making his employees work overtime. However, after Xu Qingling¡¯s reasoned argument, he decided it was best to calcte it ¡¯ ording to Rong City¡¯s work hours. Upon hearing this news, the yers found it somewhat unbelievable. ¡°You¡¯re currently in the limelight. If you¡¯re not seizing the opportunity to expand your influence and let your name as a genius producer echo through Mo City, why the rush to go home!¡± Do you really think without you, the butcher, we can¡¯t handle this scruffy pig! However, watching Fang Cheng lock up the integrated machine and call hispanions to leave, the yers present instantly remembered the days when their mothers confiscated theirputer power supplies. Some began to search online for a demo version, but to no avail. Some tried to plead with Fang Cheng, but it was of no use. Some imed they would die without ying, but Fang Cheng said, ¡°You have the life of a turtle. Living past a hundred won¡¯t be a problem for you.¡± After exhausting all other options, they found one method. That was to wait. A long line formed on the street outside the exhibition area. The snake-like queue stretched out from the entrance and wound around the building three times before one could find the end of the line. In Mo City during October, the nights were already a bit chilly. Blending into the crowd, Chen Rang had his colleagues bring him clothes hot drinks, food, and a small stool, while he began to draft an article based on what he had witnessed. Mainly his experience with ¡°The Healer¡±. He had queued up four times today, each time taking longer than thest because there were just too many people. One could say that he spent an hour and a half ying the game today, and the rest of the time queuing and queuing and queuing. But he felt it was all worth it. Sitting on the stool, Chen Rang opened his Bluetooth keyboard and connected it to his phone to begin writing his report on the spot. ¡°A groundbreaking game performance¡­¡± Realistic character modeling and Al reactions without any dead angles¡­¡± ¡°The practice of breaking the fourth wall, far from destroying the sense of immersion, made the experience even more enthralling¡­¡± ¡°The VR somatosensory technology integrated with the game scenes so perfectly, it brought a realistic feeling of crossing into another world¡­¡± ¡°It feels like the charm of the game is still confined by the VR integrated machine. Kylin Industry, the producer of the integrated machines, is already quite well-known within the industry, and the performance of their machines has reached international standards, but it is still a bitweak. Can¡¯t you guys be a bit more ambitious!¡± ¡°Out of ten, I¡¯d only want to give a hundred.¡± It feels like my life has been divided into two stages: before ying ¡®The Healer¡¯and after.¡± Next to Chen Rang, a curious colleague looked at his report and asked with a frown, ¡°How much did you get paid this time? Didn¡¯t you swear up and down yesterday that you would absolutely refuse payment and criticize anyone you encountered?¡± ¡°Quiet,¡± Chen Rang said irritably, ¡°Do you realize you¡¯re insulting my heart¡¯s masterpiece!¡± You¡¯re quite professional in taking money. Praise online, self-maintenance offline, huh?¡± Looking at his colleague¡¯s ugly mug, Chen Rang sneered coldly. Another poor soul who has never yed a good game. But it¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s the world¡¯s fault, the environment¡¯s fault. However, the almighty Lord is merciful. He has given you a chance to re-experience the beauty of games and awaken the little boy in your heart. Chen Rang shrugged his shoulders and pointed towards the end of the queue, gesturing his colleague to go line up. Some things aren¡¯t believed when said; you have only to try for yourself. Watching his colleague leave, Chen Rang continued writing his article with excited anticipation. After finishing, however, he gradually calmed down and scrutinized his article, then said helplessly, ¡°Is it a bit too conservative?¡± But he felt he had tried his best and simply couldn¡¯t capture the feeling he had at the time. In the end, he could only send the article to the chief editor and received a reply within minutes. Chief Editor: ¡°Is this your resignation letter?¡± Chen Rang: ¡°Huh? Did I send it wrong?¡± Chief Editor: ¡°You really want to resign, huh! What I mean is, do you not want to do your job anymore? Why did you only write a game review report, and why such an exaggerated one? I know for sure you took money, but you can¡¯t make it so obvious; your patron might question your professional skills.¡± Chen Rang: ¡°I didn¡¯t take any.¡± Chief Editor: ¡°Oh- so it¡¯svish praise, but that¡¯s not your style, is it?¡± Reading the chief editor¡¯s reply, Chen Rang sighed. Yet another poor soul who hasn¡¯t yed the game. He took a photo of his surroundings and replied to the chief editor with a simple ¡°Come and queue up,¡± then ignored the chief editor. Believe it or not. Don¡¯t disturb me as I reminisce. At nine-thirty in the morning, the line finally began to move. The yers yawned, like a flock of hungry quails, following the queue inside to experience a groundbreaking work. At three in the afternoon, the chief editor staggered out of the integrated machine and looked up to see Chen Rang watching him with a half-smile. Approaching, he took the bottle of mineral water from Chen Rang¡¯s hand and drank half of it gulp by gulp, then patted Chen Rang on the shoulder and said, ¡°That article still needs revision; it¡¯s too conservative.¡± ¡°I knew it!¡± ¡°Also, keep an eye on Kylin Industry; thispany is likely to take off.¡± ¡°I knew it!¡± Of course, themotion from yesterday naturally also caught the attention of Kylin Industry. Chapter 94 - 90 Greetings from Kirin Industry Chapter 94: Chapter 90 Greetings from Kirin Industry (Third Update) 2 As providers of the all-in-one gaming console, their disy case saw people excitedly running over every ten or so seconds, asking if their console came pre-installed with ¡°Healer,¡± and if so, could one be delivered within fifteen minutes if they purchased now? Upon learning the answer was no, these individuals would instantly go from filled with hope to brimming with despair, then leave disheartened and discouraged. Although there were many inquiries and few purchases, the high traffic volume meant that even pigs might fly. The fourteen units sold earlier were already quite remarkable, but before long, the influx of attendees had wiped out all the stock in the disy case, even the sample machines intended for disy were sold. The manufacturer¡¯s orders began to skyrocket, creating an unusual situation that led the president of Kirin Industry to personally call to inquire about what was happening. A rapid increase in orders in a short period was not necessarily a good thing. Because it was uncertain whether this surge in orders was sustainable, and expanding the production line required additional time and economic costs. If they expanded production rashly and orders decreasedter on, this part of the production line would be a burden, with daily machinery wear and factory costs amounting to a significant sum. Yet if they didn¡¯t expand, the continued umtion of orders would impact thepany¡¯s reputation, making it a difficult dilemma. After understanding the situation through the phone, the president immediately flew from the south to Mo City, and uponnding, was driven straight to the expo by staff. Seeing the expo¡¯s bustling crowd, the president nodded and remarked, ¡°Mo City truly lives up to its reputation, always so lively.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t this busy yesterday; most of them came today after seeing the game review reports and havee here out of admiration,¡± someone replied. ¡°What game is so fun?¡± ¡°¡®Healer.¡¯ Look, the organizers gave the rights to use the big screen to Fang Cheng Studio free of charge, even begging them to let them show it.¡± The president furrowed his brows, feeling that this matter was a bit magical. He had heard of Fang Cheng Studio; though they had several popr titles, it wasn¡¯t enough to warrant such treatment from the event organizers. But looking out the car window, he clearly saw the game screen disyed on therge screen in the square. The expo¡¯s big screen measured 55.536 meters wide and 31.008 meters high, facing directly onto the expo square, making it a highly visible spot. The off-season rental price was as high as 170,000 per day, and during the expo, it was priceless, as all sorts of industry bigwigs were eager to showcase their products for even a few minutes to demonstrate their strength. Now, it was being overshadowed by a new game from a studio, making the president realize the gaming industry was indeed full of miracles. The president had the car parked to the side, and upon getting out, discovered the square was already packed with people. They were craning their necks, mouths agape, eyes wide open as they fixated on the live game footage on the screen, their gaze as if welded in ce, motionless. This spectacle resembled kids ying with an iPad for the first time, their linguistic abilities vanished due to the intense impact, with just one thought in their heads: Amazing, amazing, amazing! After standing and watching for a while, the president¡¯s eyes had widened as he, too, forgot what he was supposed to do. Behind him, a gamer whose view was blocked twisted around for some time before finally remembering he had a mouth. ¡°Mister, could you not stand there? You¡¯re blocking my view,¡± the gamer said. ¡°Oh, sorry about that,¡± the president apologized. Only then did the president snap out of it, promptly sitting down to watch along with the others. If he observed the scene from a third-party perspective, it would indeed appear quite fantastical at this moment. In the center of the square was therge screen ying ¡°Healer,¡± to the left were idol singers performing cheerfully, and to the right, arge cosy event. However, they weren¡¯t the stars of today. The gamers in the square were silent, simply watching the game screen intently. They all wore numbered badges on their chests and when their turn came, they would step into the VR all-in-one machines to experience it, then get a new number and queue up again. After watching for over two hours, the president was awakened by his staff and received the numbered ticket they had helped to queue for that morning. He quickly headed to the corresponding all-in-one machine. After enjoying it for ten minutes, the president emerged in a daze. Incredible¡­ It was just too incredible! The game was fun, but what was even more terrifying was the person who ported the game. He knew the capabilities of his own machinery the best. Yet, the game ¡°Doctor¡± somehow managed to harness 100% of the machinery¡¯s capabilities, leading him to discover that the theoretical limit and practical limit actually coincided that day. The programmer of ¡°Doctor¡± was definitely a mythical figure in the field! Although it was a bit embarrassing and a bit sneaky, he decided that he had to get this person on his team! With this programmer, the software shorings would bepletely ovee, and Kirin Industry would soar, breaking international barriers in one year, establishing a foothold internationally in two years, dominating the world in three years, and exploring the universe in four years! With him, he could expand the production lines as much as he wished, produce as many units daily as desired, thepany size would be asrge as he wanted, and the stock prices after going public would be as high as he wished. Those game manufacturers who were indifferent to him today would know what it meant to be out of their league tomorrow. With that thought, even the shock from the game seemed to fade. He quickly found a staff member nearby and said to this exceptionally handsome man, ¡°Excuse me, are you an employee of Fang Cheng Studio?¡± The man, who had been chatting with a stunningly beautiful woman, stopped and nodded, m.¡± That s great, has your studio¡¯s lead programmer arrived? I have a few questions to ask.¡± Fang Cheng and Xu Qingling exchanged puzzled looks. However, he still said politely, ¡°That would be me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± The president eagerly shook his hand, moving it up and down excitedly, and then handed over his business card. m the president of Kirin Industry, Gao Tianyun, with a 77% controlling stake in thepany, and I have the final say in everything. Kirin Industry is an established enterprise based on VR devices, originally Kirin Heavy Industries, with many years of insight in gaming machine equipment. Starting with arcade game boards, we have significant expertise in physical industries. Ourpany¡¯s philosophy is¡­¡± Interrupting him, Fang Cheng asked with a puzzled face, ¡°Excuse me, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Sorry, I got too excited. Here¡¯s the thing, I¡¯ve seen the strength of your software, the ability to fully exploit the potential of gaming machines is truly amazing. So, I wanted to ask, are you interested in switching tracks? To put it more clearly, are you interested in working for ourpany as the head of the technical department, as a vice president?¡± ¡°I knowyou might hesitate, but hear me out. VR is one of the future trends of gaming development, and it¡¯s a key milestone towards virtual reality. But itcks a breakthrough, a point that could truly ignite the trend. I thought this point would umte slowly, onlying in ten years. But then I saw you. You are heaven-sent, a deity in the software world.¡± ¡°Please, let me finish. Your capabilities shouldn¡¯t be limited here; you could contribute so much more, much greater. You will be the pioneer in the VR field, and the history of game development will record your name. And in your chapter, you should be associated with VR gaming and virtual reality, bing a target of reverence for every gamer.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Worried that your studio¡¯s boss won¡¯t let you go? No problem, I¡¯ll talk to Fang Cheng myself. Not to brag, but I do have some connections, and I know your boss too; we are quite familiar with each other in private. As long as you agree, I can offer you 25% of thepany¡¯s shares, and I absolutely won¡¯t mess with ¡¯ you with any underhanded contracts, it will be notarized at the notary office. And even if you don¡¯t produce any results, I dare to offer you an annual sry of up to a billion.¡± Grasping Fang Cheng¡¯s hand firmly, Gao Tianyun earnestly persuaded, ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate,e with us to Kirin Industry. By the way, where is your boss? I¡¯d like to have a few private words with him.¡± Off to the side, Xu Qingling was holding her stomach, nearly dying ofughter. When she finally recovered, she walked up to Fang Cheng, wrapped her arm around his, and said with augh, ¡°This is him; he is the very Fang Cheng you said you ¡®re familiar with.¡± Gao Tianyun stopped talking. He looked at the nearby subway entrance and started to consider whether he should just dive in and flee back home. Chapter 95 - 91 Official Release (Four Updates)—1 Chapter 95: Chapter 91 Official Release (Four Updates)¡ª1 Gao Tianyun ultimately didn¡¯t leave. Those who achieve great things are not troubled by trivialities. What¡¯s a little embarrassment? It¡¯s not worth worrying about. Moreover, Gao Tianyun really liked a saying from his father, that the opportunities in one¡¯s life are limited, and you never know whether the opportunity before you might be thest one. So, when an opportunity arises, you must seize it. Seize it at all costs. So, even though he was already so embarrassed that he could have dug out a pearl from underneath his feet, he still said earnestly, ¡°Mr. Fang, I want to acquire your studio, but more importantly, I want you to name your price.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in money,¡± Fang Cheng said calmly. ¡°What a coincidence, neither am l! We¡¯re quite fated! I am only interested in advancing the development of games; we are both idealists, so shouldn¡¯t we join forces? Do you have timeter to have a meal and talk about the future?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very fond of socializing.¡± ¡°Alright then¡­¡± Gao Tianyun sighed with regret. Great minds have their own dispositions, and it was clear that Fang Cheng¡¯s aspirationsy in gaming; nothing he said would make a difference. Thus, he changed his tactics, looking at the VR set inside the exhibition for a moment before bidding farewell to Fang Cheng and making a phone call as he turned away. Afterward, Gao Tianyun¡¯s figure was no more seen at the expo. For the organizers of the expo, this year was undoubtedly a very special one. A small booth became the hottest topic by mid-morning, an almost unheard-of turnaround. But regarding this reversal of fortunes, they werepletely convinced. After all, the only standard that counts for a game is whether it¡¯s fun to y. And the game ¡°Medic,¡± with its perfect integration with the VR unit, pushed realism to new heights, its near-perfect quality eliciting endless praise from every yer who experienced it, and left them wanting more. The scenes of packed crowds were reported by the media, and gaming journalist Chen Rang even became a fervent fan of ¡°Medic,¡± spending his days queuing to y ¡°Medic¡± and using the queue time to write reports praising how fun ¡°Medic¡± was. He even changed his Feixin nickname to ¡°Mukuai¡¯s One and Only Husband,¡± showing just how fanatic he was about the novice guide girl in the game. In various gaming forums, ¡°Medic¡± also became a widely discussed topic. yers who hadn¡¯ t tried the game didn¡¯ t understand why a beta version garnered such high levels of discussion. Other yers crowded in to assure them it was an awesome game. If you use the VR unit to y, it¡¯s even more awesome! And on the forums, discussions about the game hadn¡¯t stopped since day one. [Waited in line for seven hours, yed for ten minutes, worth it.] [When I got there and saw the queue, I was desperate. Luckily there were scalpers. They¡¯d been queuing all day, and just when it was their turn, they changed their mind and went to y the game themselves. Now they¡¯re in the hospital, and I¡¯m in jail. After I get out, I still want to beat them up!] [Mukuai Mukuai Mukuai! ] [In the game, Mukuai is a puppet of Heavenly Tao, each yer has their own unique Mukuai, and it seems that each Mukuai has a different personality. Mine is a cat Mukuai that loves to meow, what about you guys?] [Mine is a cat Mukuai that loves to meow, what about you guys?] [Mine is a cat Mukuai that loves to meow, what about you guys?] [¡­Why are there Minotaurs in this damn ce too!] [Fang Cheng Studio has never disappointed me. From the Easter eggs in ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son¡± to the inspiration in ¡°Towards Death and Life,¡± the construction in ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± thebat in ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± the tragedy and farming in ¡°The Nameless,¡± and now ¡°Medic.¡± Fang¡¯s understanding of gaming seems to be continuously improving, while I can only look up in admiration.] [In my heart, there are only two top domestic producers, one is Fang Cheng, the other is Living Immortal.] [Same here, but I feel like Living Immortal is just a little bit behind, the creativity in his games is good, but the polish is alwayscking a bit.] [Fang Cheng has a studio; Living Immortal seems more like he¡¯s just ying around.] [Agree!] [+1] [Mukuai Mukuai Mukuai! ] [Enough already, alright!] The fourth day, the final day of the expo. Chen Rang looked at the long queue forming outside, filled with a bitter mncholy. After this departure, he did not know when he would see the Mukuai girl again. His heart was brimming with sorrow, and he had no one to share it with, which made him seem all the more sentimental. Today, however, he had another task, which was to document thest part of the expo, the game award ceremony. On this autumn game show, there really were plenty of high ¨C quality games. There were puzzle games like ¡°Stranger.¡± Horror games like ¡°My Husband Is Dead.¡± Anime card games like ¡°Swimsuit, White Hair, and Pigtails.¡± Open-world adventures like ¡°The Great Navigators.¡± In a usual year, such a gathering of high-quality games would surely lead to a fiercepetition, as each was a game scoring over 80 points¡ªa rare urrence for domestic games. s, they met with a perfect score this year. Fang Cheng Studio burst onto the scene like a pike from the corner, flexing its muscles with the bearing of a king, earning the reverence of all. Currently, in the spacious expo hall, various gaming magnates were sitting together in amiable conversation,pletely devoid of the usual tense rivalry. Chapter 96 - 91 Official Release (Four Updates) ! Chapter 96: Chapter 91 Official Release (Four Updates) ! Even though it was time for the award ceremony, they were still chatting andughing. Every year, the Comic and Game Expo would present various game awards, including Best Music, Best Graphics, and the most coveted of all, Best Game. The prestige of these awards wasn¡¯t particrly high. In previous years, sponsoring the organizers could pretty much guarantee an award for any game with a bright spot. However, this year, everyone knew that one award could not possibly go to anyone else. That was the Best Game Award. This award was the pride of the Comic and Game Expo. While other awards could be tainted bymercialism, this one could not. After announcing the various subcategories, the person in charge of the event picked up a small card and said helplessly to everyone, ¡°Usually, I would y coy and tease you a bit. I really enjoy this process ¨C it¡¯s like the vinegar I came to eat with my dumplings.¡± After a pause, he sighed, ¡°This year, well, everyone already knows the results. There¡¯s no point in ying coy, so let¡¯s just skip to the end. Mr. Fang Cheng, congrattions. Your game ¡®Healer¡¯ has shown us the proper way to unfold a VR game and the limitless possibilities of VR gaming. With impable integration of console performance and in-game environment, the only w of ¡®Healer¡¯ is that it leaves us with too little time to y.¡± Amidst apuse from the crowd of industry giants, Fang Cheng stood up, nodded to those around him, and then made his way to the podium. He took the gold-ted trophy and shook hands with the host to express his gratitude. Knowing he had to give an eptance speech, Fang Cheng smiled and said, ¡°Sorry, I might not have much insight to share. I still don¡¯t really understand why games are fun, but I will continue striving towards making them enjoyable.¡± ¡°Abrief speech, but I quite like it,¡± the host nodded. ¡°Congrattions again to Mr. Fang, and thank you for the enjoyment he¡¯s brought us over thest few days.¡± After the predictable award ceremony, Fang Cheng epted an interview with the reporters, concluding his four-day trip to Mo City. That evening, the team from Fang Cheng Studio took a flight back to Rong City with the VR integrated machines they had acquired, along with a wealth of yer feedback, ready to make targeted improvements at thepany. When Fang Cheng returned to Rong City on Friday night and rested over the weekend, he found that the previously vacant first floor had already begun to be upied as he walked towards the studio on Monday. Workers were moving goods, employees were organizingputers, and the person directing the work looked familiar¡ªit was Gao Tianyun, the CEO of Kirin Industry he had met in Mo City. As Fang Cheng observed him, Gao Tianyun also felt Fang Cheng¡¯s gaze and immediately approached him, saying, ¡°Mr. Fang, what a coincidence.¡± ¡°¡­Do you think I¡¯m that easy to fool?¡± ¡°Hehe. Alright, I came here for you. Since Mr. Fang didn¡¯t want toe to me, I thought I¡¯de to you. I¡¯ve moved thepany¡¯s tech department here, and I¡¯ll stick to my previous offer ¨C Head of Tech, Vice President of thepany, and a 30% stake.¡± ¡°How did it be 30%?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve bought back somepany shares recently, so I can offer more now. Mr. Fang shouldn¡¯t feel any pressure; juste to me if there¡¯s anything. I know some people in Rong City and have some influence here.¡± Fang Cheng found the young CEO¡¯s words half credible at best. However, Fang Cheng had already realized the impact ofbining VR with his own games. VR amplifies the yer¡¯s experience and allows the yer to better connect with their emotions. The discrepancy in understanding between each other can be reduced with VR, making it easier for him to convey his own feelings to the yers. So, he nodded and said to Gao Tianyun, ¡°Alright, you can ask me if you have any technical problems.¡± This promise made Gao Tianyun overjoyed, and he quickly thanked him, ¡°Thankyou, Mr. Fang. I won¡¯t disturb you further.¡± At 9:30, other members of the team arrived one after another, and they were all curious about thepany set to move in downstairs. When they learned it was Kirin Industry, they all expressed that this man had determination and persistence ¨C truly a warm-hearted guy. Moreover, regarding the integration of games and VR, the studio members also felt it was quite an exciting prospect. ¡°The Healer¡± had already proven the exceptionalpatibility between the game and VR, so what kind of changes would ur if other games from the studio were ced into it? Continuing to chop trees in ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son,¡± making diligent leaps in ¡°Towards Death and Life,¡± galloping through ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± ying demons in ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± and fighting with real swords in ¡°The Nameless.¡± The gamey would undergo a revolutionary change with the advent of VR, which made Huang Ping and his colleagues see the day of game-changing revolution was approaching. Consequently, they were even more eager to work overtime! As for this, Mr. Fang¡¯s answer had always been unified: No. Amidst the employees¡¯ dilemma, the game improvements began to proceed in an orderly fashion. Although a specificunch date had not been set, the discussion about ¡°The Healer¡± remained hot, and Gao Tianyun reached an agreement with Fang Cheng: moving forward, each Kirin VR Integrated Machine woulde preinstalled with five games from Fang Cheng Studio, each game purchased at full price, but the price of the VR machine remained unchanged, effectively providing yers with a bit of a discount benefit. And after confirming that these perks would increase sales of the integrated machines, Gao Tianyun finally made up his mind to expand the production line to keep up with the production of the VR integrated machines. Finally, the time came to the end of October. The release date for ¡°The Healer¡± was finally set. The associated gamey was revealed one by one, and the coboration with Kirin Industry was confirmed; the studio¡¯s five games not only had standard versions but also VR versions, an arrangement that immediately sparked heated discussions among yers. Some yers expressed disbelief, as VR adaptation is not such a simple task. The VR version of ¡°Biohazard 4,¡± although very sessful, required substantial changes, lowering its difficulty level. The VR versions of many other games, however, ended up being a tragedy, as, without sufficient technical prowess, a game¡¯s VR version could encounter all sorts of bizarre problems, further driving up the cost of the game. Thus, there was another surge of online discussion regarding Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s arrangements. On one hand, some thought Mr. Fang¡¯s approach was a misstep, biting off more than he could chew. On the other hand, some argued that ¡°The Healer¡± had already proven the studio¡¯s capabilities, and that Fang Cheng must have had his own considerations; we yers shouldn¡¯t worry about anything else, just y the games. Although both sides were fans of Fang Cheng Studio, they shed again due to differing philosophies, highlighting the diversity of yers once more. But regardless of the yers¡¯ opinions, at the end of October, ¡°The Healer¡± went live. Upon release, the download count on the Steam tform shattered the two million mark. The t price of 128 not only didn¡¯t deter the enthusiasm of the yers but instilled in them even more confidence in the quality of the game. Game journalist Chen Rang also purchased and downloaded the game at the earliest opportunity, eagerly awaiting what was toe. With the officialunch, Fang Cheng Studio stated that only a portion of the data would carry over, but it was not disclosed which parts would be inherited. Chen Rang had no interest in the umted merits from before, he was only interested in one character, that was Mukuai. During the time away from the game, he reminisced daily about Mukuai in the game, then realized he had actually developed feelings for a virtual character. Every Mukuai was unique, they were the envoys of Heavenly Tao, responsible for assisting the healers in curing the entire world and protecting the Human n living there. If possible, Chen Rang hoped that his Mukuai could be passed down, even if she had forgotten him, that didn¡¯t matter. His Mukuai was a gluttonous, somewhat cheerful girl. He still hoped to explore the world of ¡°The Healer¡± with her, to see the vast and limitlessnds together. When the game was fully installed, Chen Rang, sitting in the VR integration chamber, took a deep breath and put on the helmet. Chapter 97 - 92: Methods of Obtaining Merit (Five More)_l Chapter 97: Chapter 92: Methods of Obtaining Merit (Five More)_l In order to have a better experience of the world of ¡°The Physician¡± in the official version, Chen Rang specifically purchased the Kirin VR Integrated Machine and ced it in his study. Before the official release of ¡°The Physician,¡± he had already experienced other games from Fang Cheng Studio with the VR Integrated Machine and was moved by how VR truly enhanced those games. Butpared to Mukuai, those games really tasted nd. Entering the official version, Chen Rang found the graphics had be more refined, the control felt more urate, and the sensory connection between the yer and the game world was further enhanced, bringing another qualitative breakthrough in the game¡¯s authenticity. His birthce was still the same as before, located in a ce in Lost Valley. Following the small path, he walked through a forest filled with eyeballs, waded through ck river water, avoided the Night Owls in the sky, and kept moving along the glowing path until he finally saw the abandoned Taoist temple. A girl in white sat by the campfire, the glowing mes casting her in an iparably beautiful light. She was just as perfect and pretty as she had been over a month ago, and the corn on the cob in her hand was still screaming in a non-human voice. When she saw Chen Rang approaching, she lifted her head and with a bright voice identical to the one in his memory, she said, ¡°Yo, you¡¯re here again. Who¡¯s within you today?¡± As expected¡­ She doesn¡¯t remember me¡­ But looking at her familiar smile, Chen Rang was already prepared to rebuild their rtionship and said earnestly, ¡°I am¡­¡± Before he could finish, the girl burst into giggling andughed so hard she clutched her stomach. Wiping away the tears that came out fromughing, she stood up and gave Chen Rang a big hug. Mukuai¡¯s voice rang in his ears, soft and lingering, with a nostalgic vor, as sweet as cotton candy. ¡°Just kidding, I remember you, Chen Rang. Wee back, my partner.¡± The haptic gloves conveyed the feeling of the hug. Memories poured out like flowing water, making Chen Rang marvel from the bottom of his heart: This game¡­ Is amazing! Holding Chen Rang¡¯s hand, Mukuai walked ahead, chatting as they went, ¡°The merits in you are gone, but no worries, we can earn them back¡­ Well, actually your previous merits are with me, but I have eaten them all up.¡± ¡°You still want to eat merits?¡± Chen Rang asked, holding her hand with a puzzled tone. ¡°Of course, we Heavenly Tao Messengers live on merits. Though we won¡¯t actually die¡ªwithout merits, we will return to the Heavenly Tao and descend again next time.¡± ¡°What kind of bizarre setting is this!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. We Heavenly Tao Messengers rely on merits to exist. Of course, you can also use these merits to strengthen yourself, just like before.¡± Chen Rang nodded to show he understood. ¡°Since you have returned this time, you must proceed ording to the official version. Wait a moment, let me get into the mood.¡± After coughing once, Mukuai covered her face and said in a mysterious tone: ¡°Distant stranger¡­¡± ¡°Is it really that fun?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Shut up, listen to me. This world has been corrupted by disease, and the core of the has be the source of the disease. It releases disease every moment, causing all life to decay and turn to filth. And you, my partner, join me on this journey to save the world. By the way, there are two million four hundred thousand other Physicians like you.¡± ¡°That many!¡± Mukuai covered her mouth and snickered, ¡°You didn¡¯t think you could handle everything by yourself, did you? The power of a single Physician is very small; you need to unite to make a difference.¡± ¡°Will I meet those other Physicians?¡± ¡°For sure, we are scattered on four differents, with different climates, and some ces even have survivors of the Human n. So, partner, are you interested in exploring this world with me? Let¡¯s devour all the deliciousness. Oh no, I forgot you don¡¯t have the taste function. Hahaha, look at you, look at you!¡± Watching Mukuai unabashedly tease him about his own deficiencies, Chen Rang felt a little annoyed but mostly warmth. In such a decaying world, having such a partner was really lovely. In Chen Rang¡¯s view, the world of ¡°The Physician¡± was no longer just a game, but a home. A home that bore his dreams of adventure and where he had a partner to support each other. ¡°Alright, stop getting sentimental there. Have you decided where to go next?¡± Snapped out of his thoughts by Mukuai, Chen Rang pondered for a bit and then said, ¡°Dead Water Lake? There seemed to be traces of humans therest time; I want to check it out.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± The world of ¡°The Physician¡± is an open world where yers rely on merits to cast spells, repair Heavenly Tao, and expel evil spirits to gain merits. The quickest way to gain merits is bypleting the tasks of local residents, which yields the most merits. Killing massive Disease Beasts can also earn arge amount of merits, but Disease Beasts are monsters with a Monster Core formed inside their body from the disease. Either extraordinarily powerful or as fleeting as the wind, before amassing a substantial amount of merits, one must stay far away from these Monsters, or risk fatal dangers. Having decided on the next destination, Chen Rang was about to set off when he heard hurried breathing. Turning his head, he saw a wild boar as tall as a man jump out behind him, its blood-red eyes staring intently at them. Chapter 98 - 92: Methods of Obtaining Merit (Five Chapter 98: Chapter 92: Methods of Obtaining Merit (Five More)_2 The wild boar was surrounded by ck qi, and itsrge boils looked like twisted faces emitting continual groans, as if they were the wails from the Underworld. Seeing such a creature, Chen Rang immediately shielded Mukuai behind him, but was quickly pushed aside by her. ¡°You don¡¯t have a speck of merit on you, so what are you doing in front of me! Stay still and don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll lure it away!¡± After saying that, Mukuai took to her heels, with the wild boar in hot pursuit behind her. It wasn¡¯t long before Mukuai looped back, and with a princess carry, scooped Chen Rang up into her arms and dashed towards the distance. Behind them, more than a dozen wild boars covered in boils appeared, charging madly towards them. Seeing this group, Chen Rang turned pale. ¡°An elite monster right from the start, is this ce really that dangerous?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t been here for over a month, what¡¯s wrong with having more monsters?¡± ¡°The monsters in this ce can even reproduce!¡± ¡°What did you think! Don¡¯t the animals at your house reproduce?¡± This kind of setting left Chen Rang utterly speechless. It was brutal of Fang Cheng Studio to make such a realistic setting in a ce like this! The wild boars were closing in fast, the distance between them gradually shrinking. Eventually, Mukuai was trampled to pieces, and Chen Rang, who was held in her arms, vanished into smoke as well. When he woke up again, he found himself restored to his original state. During the beta test, he never encountered monsters strong enough, and waspletely immersed in his interaction with Mukuai, forgetting that this world was fundamentally a very dangerous one. Demons roamed freely, evildoers were everywhere, the entire world was actually bleak and grim with no paradise in sight. With his mindset corrected, he suddenly heard Mukuai¡¯s voice, ¡°Yo, you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°Yeah, Mukuai, you¡­¡± Turning his head, Chen Rang was stunned. He was a yer, with his body anchored by the Spirit Gathering Array, allowing him to revive indefinitely. But Mukuai was different. She was fundamentally an NPC here and didn¡¯t have the ability to resurrect endlessly. Although she could repair herself with merit, it had been a long time since she umted any, and she had very little left. After the attack by the boar demon, Mukuai¡¯s body was full of gaping wounds. Her clothes were covered in mud, her skin cracked all over, with nothing underneath. Realizing Chen Rang was looking at her, she awkwardly covered the damaged ces with her clothes and then sheepishly smiled, ¡°Sorry, I ran too slow.¡± ¡°You should have dropped me then! You definitely could have escaped by yourself!¡± ¡°Oh, I forgot. I¡¯ll make sure to remember next time.¡± Watching Mukuai sticking out her tongue in an effort to look cute, Chen Rang knew that she wouldn¡¯t abandon him next time either. She was Mukuai, a puppet of the Heavenly Tao, a tool person assisting him in purifying the world. But she was also Mukuai, a foodie with a taste for delicacies, someone who asionally retorted to him, but always put him first. The burden of saving the world was too heavy; yers were just here to y the game and couldn¡¯t shoulder such a great responsibility. But for Mukuai, Chen Rang felt he could be omnipotent. Helping the battered Mukuai to her feet, Chen Rang felt, for the first time in the game, a strong conviction. He wanted to umte merit; he wanted to save the world. He didn¡¯t want to be the savior of the world; he just wanted to be a hero to one person. On the seventh day after the game¡¯s official release, the game finally entered a stable period. The number of downloads had already broken through to three million and was striving towards four million. The character of Mukuai in the game was an excellent setting; the various personalities of Mukuai were extensions of the Heavenly Dao Laws, and the different Mukuais, each with their distinct personality, were greatpanions for yers exploring this world. The adorable appearance and variable personality made Mukuai the most popr NPC in the game. Although a portion of yers developed more than a normal friendship towards NPCs, the majority still treated them as goodpanions and grew and improved together. Gazing at the Dustfire represented by ¡°Physician,¡± Fang Cheng noticed that, overall, the game was developing in the direction he wanted. The blue mes burned, with yers taking on the role of doctors, continuously saving this world and slowly healing its diseases. Satisfied with the yers¡¯ performance, Fang Cheng felt he had done well this time. This time, he set strict limitations on the yers-they could only choose to gain virtue and improve themselves. And from the feedback of the yers, they seemed to quite like this mode of gamey. The area spanned four massives, and as the yers grew stronger, deeper regions would unlock, with more fearsome Disease Demons and deeper secrets, ensuring yers would have a great time. Taking a long breath, Fang Cheng felt assured of its stability. The blue Dustfire showed no sign of discoloration, pure and wless, signifying the yers¡¯ consistent pursuit of virtue. If this quest for virtue were sessful, he would bring Mukuai from the Mirror Universe to be by every yer¡¯s side as a goodpanion! Due to the smooth progress, Fang Cheng could feel his Taoist Heart bing more rounded. With a few more days of fostering, once the Dustfire waspletely stable, he would be able toplete his Taoist Heart. While Fang Cheng was repairing his Taoist Heart, an enthusiastic discussion about the game unfolded within the yers¡¯ unofficial groups. Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games had many unofficial groups, each established with different goals. Some were to find better female NPCs, others to study better gamey tactics. The function of each group varied depending on the type of game. The group with the most discussion at the moment was the Virtue group. The yers had grasped the gist of how to y ¡°Physician¡±; whether it was raising a wife, a sister, or a daughter, an ample amount of virtue was essential. Therefore, the most discussed topic among the yers in the group was how to acquire virtue. [I don¡¯t have enough virtue¡­] [Same here, I can¡¯t even properly take care of my Mukuai at home.] [I want the Flying Divine Ability so I can fly up and explore the skeletons in the sky. But collecting thirty thousand virtue for it is tough; where am I supposed to find so much virtue?] [I¡¯m the same. I did my best to help a group of disaster victims out of trouble and even expelled the illness from their bodies, only to get three hundred virtue. Had I known, I would have learned more attack spells to trouble those Disease Demons instead.] [Don¡¯t, hunting Disease Demons is also a hassle. It¡¯s hard to locate a ce, and when you do, they¡¯re gone in a sh. Waiting for Disease Demons to respawn is slow, and moving between locations is quite annoying.] [Still, can¡¯t this game turn on some pay-to-win feature? I would absolutely spend a fortune!] [Same here, it¡¯s the first time I wish a game had pay-to-win options; I¡¯d be satisfied even with just a monthly card.] [Want virtue? Just do a release, right? Last time, I released a group of vipers in the neighborhood and now I feel like I¡¯m full of virtue.] [Admin, please call the cops and kick this guy out. How did he even get in here!] As everyone sighed andmented, one yer asked uncertainly, [So, is it really hard to get virtue?] [Admin, call the cops, kick¡­ wait! ] They saw a yer named Xiemen Waidao post a screenshot, prominently disying his in-game virtue. Seeing the amount of virtue he had, all the yers gasped in shock. Ai ma, this guy must be a paragon of virtue from ten past lives! With over ten thousand virtue, he stood out among the yers in the group, who eagerly inquired how he had umted so much virtue. [I just couldn¡¯t find my way back during an adventure and was preparing to jump off a cliff to respawn. But when Inded, I identally crushed an NPC to death.] [Really? How did that give you virtue?] [That¡¯s howit happened. Afterwards, I found out that this guy was a notorious thief in the area with several lives on his hands, and I had identally finished him off.] After reading Xiemen Waidao¡¯s description, the yers fell silent. The game imposed restrictions on yer behavior, preventing actions that would deduct virtue¡ªusually criminal acts. But Xiemen Waidao seemed to have found a clear path. Who decreed that killing couldn¡¯t result in virtue? Chapter 99 - 93 The Awakening of the Local People (First Update)_l Chapter 99: Chapter 93 The Awakening of the Local People (First Update)_l At the hour of Yin, Li awoke. There was no crowing from his sickly chicken; perhaps it had died. That meant there would be meat to eat atst. Alive with sickness, dead and free of it; illness clings only to the living. The dead may look horrifying, but they¡¯re actually quite delectable. Ambling over to the chicken coop, Li leaned his hands on the fence, stepped on clumps of earth and, on tiptoe, peered with his one good eye into the coop, only to find the chicken sprawled on the ground, eerily staring back at him. ¡°Not dead, eh¡­ Then why didn¡¯t you crow?¡± Eyeing the chicken with suspicion, Li noticed arge tumor hanging off its neck, a sign it had contracted a new illness. To fall ill anew, it must still possess the vitality of life; it wouldn¡¯t die anytime soon. He sighed and returned to the courtyard to endure the hardship for yet another day. His eldest son¡¯s wife had been coughing all night, but now she was finally quiet for a while. That coughing through the night always made others¡¯ throats itch as if they wanted to cough too. His younger son had suffered an injury to his arm and with no ce to seek treatment, he was now bearing with painful purple sores covering the limb. Illness seems to have a particr fondness for robust life; the young and strong are full of it, with every bump and bruise spawning a myriad of ailments. But in old age, in decay, illness no longer seems so interested. To live to sixty, that¡¯s when good days truly begin; to reach such an age is to triumph over life in these times. Thus, when the older generation tends to the ailing young, they always say, ¡°Endure a bit more, just endure a little longer. If you endure to my age, life will be easy.¡± Sitting on a chair, Li felt like singing a few lines from an opera, some tunes from happier times long past, but it all felt strangely unreal to him. It is said that long ago, people fell ill too, but not as gravely as nowadays. Youth could bask infort, roam the mountains, swim the rivers, and lie close together in the sunlit meadows. They were like the wind, the clouds, the rushing rivers, and the wild grass by the road; carefree and unconcerned, they¡¯d be lively again the following day. Li was willing to believe such good old days had existed, but his two sons and daughters-inw did not. They were young and naive, unaware that belief in something is essential for hope and survival. Yawning, Li felt somewhat weary. His body seemed light; his bones no longer ached, he wasn¡¯t cold, and he was free from all ailments. ¡°Ha, so it¡¯s my turn to die today.¡± Closing his eyes, he wasn¡¯t afraid but instead felt quitefortable. But gradually, he sensed that something was amiss. Thefort in his body kept growing, to the point where he began to feel hungry. When ill, one doesn¡¯t feel hunger, but the elders would force them to eat something, else they would surely perish. Most of the food had to be handed over to the City Lord, and the remainder was only fit to be mixed with ck muck; it was dark, tasteless, neither satisfying nor particrly edible. Only when an animal died could they sneak in an extra meal ¡ª that aroma, even a sick child in bed couldn¡¯t help bute over for a taste. In the past, eating was just a chore, but now there was something in his stomach crying out for him to find something to eat immediately. Opening his eyes, he saw a man and a woman standing opposite him. They had no tumors on their faces and their skin was delicate and smooth. The man was expressionless, the woman silent and reserved, yet both were extraordinarily attractive. Noticing that he was awake, the man withdrew the purple light from his hands,menting, ¡°Old man, did you know you were on the brink of death just now?¡± Li looked at them in bewilderment and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Are you ck and White Impermanence? Have they be so good-looking these days?¡± ¡°No,¡± the man quickly waved his hand, m Xiemen Waidao, and this is mypanion, Mukuai 1234. My Mukuai doesn¡¯t talk much but is very reliable.¡± ¡°¡­I thought your name was strange enough, why is yourpanion¡¯s even stranger?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not important. We are from the ¡®Ethical Mutual Aid Guild¡¯, healers here to save the world and earn merit through our deeds. Do you know of any morally corrupt individuals nearby? We¡¯re looking to experiment with something using them.¡± Before Li could answer, violent coughing erupted from the adjacent room. Hearing the cough, Xiemen Waidao¡¯s body jolted. In just a few leaps, he dashed into the room, as swiftly as an agile wild dog, exuding an indescribable sense of joy. Suddenly, the room filled with a burst of purple radiance, and even the airborne illness was jolted, creating a gap, which made Li¡¯s heart race with shock. What is this person¡¯s background? What had he done? Rushing forward in panic, Li saw that his daughter-inw on the bed had actually fallen asleep, a content smile on her face. The grandchild in her arms also seemed unusually peaceful, no longer crying or fussing. Even the jaundice on the baby¡¯s body had faded significantly. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve dispelled the illness from their bodies, but it will likely return after some time. I¡¯ll write you a prescription, and you can take the medicine ording to it every day.¡± ¡°You think they have money too?¡± sighed Mukuai 1234. ¡°Oh, right. Never mind, Mukuai A Dream, I want to exchange merit for money ¡ªhelp me exchange it!¡± ¡°Can you not waste your merit? And why can¡¯t you just exchange it directly for the item?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve just earned a good amount, and there¡¯s plenty left from thatrge chunk we got earlier. After adding to it, there¡¯ll be a substantial remainder.¡± Then, looking at his total merit with pleasure, he said, ¡°Ten merits, just enough to open my Heavenly Vision¡­ That¡¯s like having a mini-map! ¡®Healers¡¯ is such a stingy game, system functions have to be unlocked by umting merit, but it¡¯s such a big help. Oh, and now I can see the health bars too, well done! Twenty thousand merits to unlock the mini-map and health bars, I should share this in the group.¡± Chapter 100 - 93 The Awakening of the Local Chapter 100: Chapter 93 The Awakening of the Local People (First Update)_2 Mukuai 1234. looked at Xiemen Waidao with displeasure, ¡°Companion, can you please stop saying those peculiar things in front of themon folk?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I quite enjoy seeing their confused reactions. After all, I¡¯m a ¡®fun yer,¡¯ not a ¡®role-ying gamer¡¯.¡± Role-ying gamers are those who, in the world of ¡°Medic,¡± act and speak in ways befitting the identity of a medic, striving to immerse themselvespletely in this world. But fun yers love seeking different ways to y, striving to break the bounds of the game system, finding more joy in the game. One should y games with a smile, and as for whether others smile or not, that¡¯ s beyond my control. Mukuai 1234 sighed once again. All these outsiders were sent by the Great Heavenly Lord to save the world. They had excellent talents, learned quickly, could help mend the world, repel disease, and just required virtue in return. However, their temperaments were varied and strange, like the Xiemen Waidao in front of her who always did inexplicable things. If only it were possible to choose one¡¯s ownpanions, she really wouldn¡¯t want to act together with him. It¡¯s not that she¡¯s always silent, she just doesn¡¯t want to talk to you. Following Xiemen Waidao¡¯s instructions, Mukuai 1234 directly exchanged the medicinal ingredients for finished products and then handed them to Li. Li¡¯s first reaction to receiving the medicine was not gratitude but fear. In these troubled times, there was little feeling between people. The nearby City Lords just strung along their lives, letting them survive only to produce disease. How could anyone be so kind-hearted as toe over and help treat illness? Clutching the medicine, Li hesitated for a long time, still unable to figure out why they would help him, but not daring to ask. They might look pretty, but for all he knew, they might be ruthless and brutal inside, ready to ughter him at the slightest displeasure. His old body really couldn¡¯t withstand such torment. As Li hesitated, there suddenly came a knocking at the door. Unlike them, the weak old folks and the young people full of disease, the person knocking sounded solid and forceful, carrying an air of arrogance and unreasonableness. Before they arrived, Li had a feeling. The visitors were here for Xiemen Waidao and Mukuail234. After hiding them in a decrepit back room, Li tremblingly stepped forward and opened the door, only to see three robust constables rush in. They were young and strong, but they had no disease on them. In their arms, each one wore a piece of green jade that the City Lord had acquired at great expense from the Demon Lord Temple, which could repel evil and disaster, and resist the invasion of disease. The jade¡¯s effectiveness was limited, however, protecting only one person and needing recharging with Mana every ten days. This made the City Lord beholden to the arrangements of the Demon Lord Temple. Apart from being disease-free, these constables could eat meat, train in martial arts to refine their bodies, and a knife in hand meant they could ughter a vige. Ordinary people were less than chickens or dogs in front of them. After opening the door, the lead constable pushed Li aside, stood in the yard, looked around, and said, ¡°We just saw a purple light sh here. Do you have any idea what that was about?¡± Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Indeed, they were here for the medic. After pondering for a moment, just as he was about to answer, a purple light shed inside the house, and the disease in the air opened up once again. Then Xiemen Waidao dragged his young son over, shouting fiercely, ¡°Don¡¯te any closer! I¡¯ll kill him if you do!¡± ¡°Hmph, a mere medic trying to threaten us like some bandit! We don¡¯t need him alive, chop him to death!¡± Drawing out their machetes, the constables rushed forward and hacked Xiemen Waidao to death. Dragging the bloody corpse with them, the constables turned to leave, but not before threatening, ¡°These medics are all lunatics, and the Demon Lord Temple is very displeased. Don¡¯t associate with them from now on. You were supposed to be taken in for questioning as well, but since you seemed to be coerced, take this gue Chicken as walk-away money.¡± The tumored gue Chicken was taken away, and as it left, its eyes coldly watched Li. It wasn¡¯t until they had gone that Li stood still for a while before waking from his stupor and hurrying to his son¡¯s side. He had assumed his son would suffer some minor injury in the recentmotion, but upon closer inspection, he discovered not only was there no injury, the wound on his arm had significantly healed, presumably Xiemen Waidao¡¯s doing. What¡¯s more, his son¡¯s previously burning forehead was now cool to the touch, and the son, regaining consciousness, opened his eyes, looked at Li, and uttered his first words in three days. ¡°Dad¡­ I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Dad went to find food.¡± ¡°No need, I brought some.¡± The familiar voice that rose made Li shiver down to his bones. Turning his head, he saw Xiemen Waidao and Mukuai 1234 standing right behind him, holding the food that had just been exchanged with morality. The smell of blood still lingered in the air, and the bloodstains on the ground had not yet dried. Li had just watched the other party being killed and dragged away, but now they were standing there as if nothing had happened. Covering his mouth, Li tightly controlled his throat, it took a while before he could calm himself a bit. Struggling to contain his voice, he asked tremblingly, ¡°Are you, are you a human or a ghost?¡± ¡°Neither, I am a healer.¡± ¡°Are all healers ghosts?¡± Watching the extremely frightened Li, Xiemen Waidao couldn¡¯t help but screenshot the scene and then said to Mukuai 1234 beside him, ¡°See, this is how you should y games, the reactions of these NPCs are really too funny!¡± Mukuai 1234 sighed again. Looking up at the sky, she began to wonder when she could deplete all her virtue and then return to rest with Heavenly Tao. Following such an odd ounder was really exhausting. But the other party had umted too much virtue, and she felt she couldn¡¯t leave even if she wanted to. Heavenly Tao, save me! Although still very wary of Xiemen Waidao, at the crucial moment, Li decisively reacted. He quickly shut the door and then invited the two inside his room, closing the room door before feeling somewhat safer. Looking at the food handed over by Xiemen Waidao, Li hesitated for a long time but finally opened it and found a bowl of steaming rice porridge. The porridge was so thick that a pair of chopsticks could stand upright in it; it also contained chopped Leaf greens and marbled meat. The porridge must have been simmered for a long time, with the aroma of rice, meat, and greens all mingling together, making it extraordinarily appetizing. Smelling the aroma, his younger son once again opened his eyes, his misty eyes fixated on the bowl of porridge, filled with desire. At this moment, Li had a host of questions. For instance, where did this porridgee from, and why is it still so hot? You were clearly killed, so how can you still appear? What exactly are you healers, why can you heal diseases, and why do the constables seize you? But in the face of survival instinct, Li finally took an empty bowl, portioned off one-third of the rice porridge, and handed it to his younger son. Unlike the dark and thick gruel, the rice porridge was tasty with salt added, and a hint of sesame oil. The meat was marbled, giving it a savory taste. The instinct for life made the younger son recognize that this was good stuff and he gulped down the porridge, absorbing the nutrients. As the nourishment entered his body, like rainwater on barrennd, it moisturized his physical body and a glow appeared in his eyes. Having quickly finished his share of the rice porridge, the younger son subconsciously looked at the remaining portion, just about to ask for more, he forcibly held back. Slowly, he licked his bowl clean, even licking around the rim, before reluctantly handing the immacte bowl, free of any residue, back to Li. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m full.¡± Li nced at the remaining porridge. This was what he had nned to give to his eldest son and his family, but his younger son was still growing, and the porridge was important too. Just as he was torn about what to do, Xiemen Waidao reached out and conjured up another bowl of steaming rice porridge. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have plenty.¡± Seeing another bowl of rice porridge appear, Li was certain. No matter if you are a human or a ghost, just for these two bowls of porridge, I, Li, would give you my life! Chapter 101 - 94: The Great Path of Doctors (Second Update)! Chapter 101: Chapter 94: The Great Path of Doctors (Second Update)! Watching Li go from disbelief at the start to now being moved to tears, Xiemen Waidao found the game ¡°Healer¡± to be truly interesting. For someone looking for fun, the best part is seeing the reactions of others to the amusement they¡¯ve provided. Without those reactions, the level of joy would be at least halved. In recent times, many games im to have incorporated strong artificial intelligence, but in reality, they¡¯re just connected to a chatgpt and linked to a behavior tree defined by the nners. There are asional highlights, but most of the time, they still feel limited. But Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s artificial intelligence is particrly impressive; most responses are just right, making the game a lot of fun to y. Of course, y is y, but their Morals Aid Group still had tasks toplete. When he was killed by the constable just now, he experimented and found that he couldn¡¯t directly attack the constable. The spells avable to healers are based on merits used as fuel to drive the spells and dispel nearby illness essences. These spells are highly targeted and can only be used against illness essences, so those without illness essences cannot be targeted. Direct physical assault wouldn¡¯t work either; the game wouldn¡¯t allow attacks on NPCs, even if they were hostile. So, the only reason he had killed that thief was by chance. Although he didn¡¯t know how the game determined it, Xiemen Waidao believed the game had strict limits on intentional actions but was less rigid on unintentional ones. He noted this down and prepared to start his next experiment. The hot porridge he handed to Li was all created through Mukuai 1234. As a Heavenly Tao Messenger, Mukuai 1234 could help yers consume merits, directly converting them into personal strength or various materials. Steaming meat porridge was one such item; giving it to an NPC could some merit and improve the NPCs favorability, but overall, it was a loss in terms of merit. Of course, some studios used this mechanism to make money by selling merits, reportedly at a good price and with decent sales, though it was a bit expensive. Having Mukuai 1234 create a batch of meat porridge, Xiemen Waidao handed it to Li and said, ¡°Uncle Li, please distribute this porridge so everyone in the vige can have some.¡± With only twenty-four households in the vige, the meat porridgeid out on the table was more than enough, making Li nod continuously, ¡°Rest assured, Healer, I will make sure to distribute the porridge and ensure everyone knows your name.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t say it was me, just say you cooked it. If anyone asks, don¡¯t mention anything about me, understand?¡± Li looked at Xiemen Waidao, puzzled: ¡°But Healer, this is a good deed; why can¡¯t it be said?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask too much; just know that this is very important to me. That¡¯s enough. Oh, and leave twelve households for me, now go.¡± Watching Li leave, Mukuai 1234 couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Xiemen, what kind of shady business are you up to now?¡± Xiemen Waidao didn¡¯t respond directly but instead, watching Li¡¯s departing figure, spoke to Mukuai 1234, ¡°Can you see the merits on Li?¡± ¡°I can, but it would cost merits.¡± ¡°No matter, have a look and then take note.¡± ¡°So what are you trying to do?¡± ¡°Just verifying the logic of merit distribution.¡± ¡°Doing good deeds earns merits; what¡¯s there to not understand?¡± ¡°No wonder you¡¯re just a Heavenly Tao Messenger, without even a proper name, only a number.¡± Mukuai 1234¡¯s mouth twitched, and she kicked Xiemen Waidao in the leg, costing him ten points of health. After healing him in return, she sat beside him, resting her face in her hands, and asked weakly, ¡°Found out anything yet?¡± ¡°Just a moment.¡± Since there were twelve households, it took Li an hour to return with an empty bowl, telling Xiemen Waidao, ¡°Healer, it¡¯s all delivered. The porridge was eaten clean, they even scrubbed the bowls. The twelve houses near the vige entrance didn¡¯t get any.¡± Xiemen Waidao observed his merit points and nodded. While Li was delivering the porridge, he hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about him, but he still gained some merit. Pulling over Mukuai 1234, Xiemen Waidao asked, ¡°How much has Uncle Li¡¯s merit changed?¡± After hearing the number from Mukuai 1234, Xiemen Waidao went out himself to deliver porridge to the twelve households at the vige entrance. Returning, he contemted the figures. He personally delivered porridge twelve times, and Li delivered porridge twelve times. With the outer conditions being nearly identical, the merit gained could be considered about the same. From the test results, he concluded twows. First was the First Law of Merit: the Merit Distribution Law. Even though Li hadn¡¯t mentioned his name, once Li finished delivering the porridge and they ate it, some merit still trickled back to him. Even if they didn¡¯t know who he was, because he was the initiator and provider of the porridge, the merit he received was about four times that of Li¡¯s. The secondw was the Conservation of Merit Law. From his own porridge deliveries, he discovered that the merit he received for each delivery was the same as the total merit he and Li received when Li made the deliveries. This showed that merit didn¡¯t suffer any loss. Chapter 102 - 94 The Great Path of the Healer (second update) _2 Chapter 102: Chapter 94 The Great Path of the Healer (second update) _2 After discovering these twows, Xiemen Waidao excitedly dragged Mukuai 1234 along to exin them for a long while, which resulted in Mukuai 1234¡¯s helpless sigh. ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you realize the significance of these two discoveries?¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°It seems youpletely don¡¯t understand!¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°¡­Forget it, there¡¯s another experiment to conductter.¡± Xiemen Waidao had quite a lot of merit, so he could afford to be experimental for some time to see the effects. He asked Li to go with him around the households in the vige, using spells to expel the sick qi from the people there, then calling over an elder from each household. After sitting all the elders down, Xiemen Waidao got straight to the point, asking, ¡°Do you want to keep your children away from sickness?¡± His straightforward persuasion immediately had the elders sitting up straight. Having many children was considered a blessing by the older generation, and everyone hoped to see a room full of strong, healthy offspring. However, in this world, where diseases were deeply rooted, the likelihood of children dying young was too high, and adults were sickly. Only by serving the City Lord could they lead healthier lives. But serving the City Lord also meant risking one¡¯s life at any time. It might mean dying in a war between City Lords or in an experiment at the Demon Lord Temple. To put it bluntly, once you joined the City Lord¡¯s service, your life was no longer your own. Xiemen Waidao¡¯s words were full of temptation, yet some still asked fearfully, ¡°It¡¯s not against thew, is it?¡± ¡°The porridge is plentiful, and the sick qi will be expelled daily.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s illegal, let¡¯s do it! Tell us, who do you want to kill?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that dramatic, but it might actually involve killing. Let¡¯s gather up all the able-bodied men from each household first. Have theme to me daily, and I¡¯ll take care of their meals.¡± Over the next seven days, Xiemen Waidao spent his merit like water, and his once plentiful stock finally ran low. But the results were immediately apparent. Among the twenty-four households, each household had their own able- bodied men who were once merely burdens. But after Xiemen Waidao¡¯s intervention, and with enough food every day, in just seven days, they had puffed up like inted cowhide bags, their bodies much fuller. Moreover, Xiemen Waidao tasked them with sparring in pairs, wielding weapons, and in those seven days, they had developed some strength. They were not quite on par with constables, but they were much stronger than before. Throughout the process, Xiemen Waidao kept making detailed records and sent his daily observations to the group. And today, looking at the thirty visibly stronger men, Xiemen Waidao felt it was finally time to reap the rewards. Last time, he identally crushed a bandit nearby, who had a map on him. This map was of the area nearby and even marked Li Family Vige, indicating that the bandits were targeting it next. Based on feedback from the able-bodied men patrolling at night recently, there had been some suspicious figures moving around. They carried sickqi too, but for some reason, these people didn¡¯t seem to be affected by it and were quite strange. Recently, their scouting frequency had increased, and it seemed only a matter of time before they would raid the ce, take everyone captive, and drag them away as food. Considering the timing, it felt about right. With the remaining merit, he purchased bows and arrows, and Xiemen Waidao entered the game every hour, afraid of missing anything. On the third day of his vigil, the bandits finally made their move. Although it was daytime, this group of bandits didn¡¯t think there would be any resistance here. After confirming there were no constables around, they arrogantly strolled into the vige. However, before they could speak, the vige¡¯s young and strong ambushed them, aiming their bows and arrows at the bandits. A volley of arrows shot forth, but only three or four bandits were hit, and the wounds weren¡¯t deep. Aside from the risk of tetanus infection, there was no serious harm. The hastily learned archery was only capable of so much. Yet the appearance of bows and arrows undoubtedly led to a misjudgment by the bandits, with the refined craftsmanship of the arrowheads making them suspect an ambush. Lacking organization and discipline, the bandits immediately fled in panic. In the chaos of their scramble, a couple of bandits even had their legs broken, scattering in all directions like startled wild dogs. Behind them, the previously timid youngsters were now buoyed by high morale, cheering as they pursued the fleeing bandits. Along the bandits¡¯ inevitable path awaited Xiemen Waidao. These bandits didn¡¯t know who Xiemen Waidao was, they only knew that those who block their way die! Charging at Xiemen Waidao, their spears thrust forward, but Xiemen Waidao merely drew a circle with his hands. A purple light flickered, and as virtue fueled the spell, it blossomed, turning the sky purple. The purple light did no harm but only Repelled Disease. However, the bandits bathed in the purple light were forced to prostrate themselves on the ground, appearing quite pathetic. Seeing their sorry state, Xiemen Waidao nodded and said, ¡°As I thought¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on now!¡± Mukuai 1234 shouted discontentedly beside him, ¡°Do you have to speak in riddles? Will you die otherwise?¡± ¡°I thought it was quite obvious, and you would have noticed it. I mean, no offense, but did you ever go to school?¡± Mukuai 1234 dealt another kick, deducting ten points of health from him. Xiemen Waidao pointed at the bandits and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that these guys are immune to the Disease Qi, and I found that suspicious. Now, after experimenting, it¡¯s confirmed. They¡¯re not uninfluenced by it, rather, they can utilize the Disease Qi to sustain themselves. They must have reached a symbiosis with the Disease Qi, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a result of natural selection.¡± Pausing for a moment, Xiemen Waidao further unfolded his thoughts, ¡°Based on the background information, the big Demon here is called the Disease Demon Lord, who was vanquished by the Great Heavenly Lord. The Demon Lord Temple is where the Disease Demon Lord is worshipped. They¡¯re still quite powerful and influential in many aspects. So, I suspect the recent frequent raidings by bandits have something to do with the Demon Lord Temple.¡± ¡°Why are you fussing over it!¡± Mukuai 1234 asked, puzzled, ¡°You¡¯re wasting virtue feeding them, Repelling Disease Qi from them, and now also dealing with bandits. You could¡¯ve spent this time hunting Monsters. Look at you, you had over ten thousand virtue before, and now you only have twenty-three thousand left¡­ How is it twenty-three thousand already!¡± ¡°Everything is as I have calcted,¡± Xiemen Waidao nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Why is that!¡± By now, Mukuai 1234 no longer held back, her broken defense expression provided Xiemen Waidao immense satisfaction, and he rejoiced heartily, finding her expression most amusing. Next time, he would y the same game. Before taking a kick and a deduction in health, Xiemen Waidao exined, ¡°It¡¯s quite simple, I objectively had no intention to harm anyone, I simply wanted to ensure the young and strong were well-fed and defended. When the bandits attacked, I only helped with their defense. As for their injuries or deaths, that was done by the vigers, not rted to me at all.¡± Mukuai 1234 thought for a while and realized it was indeed true. ¡°What about the virtue¡­¡± ¡°These bandits are all murderers; killing them is a great deed. Since the vigers are able to kill these bandits, and it¡¯s objectively rted to me, I can share part of the virtue.¡± Capturing and saving the screenshot of Mukuai 1234¡¯s puzzled expression, Xiemen Waidao felt his partner was just too adorable. Too bad he couldn¡¯t take her with him; otherwise, she would apany him in every game he yed. After the exnation, Xiemen Waidao started to summarize his experiences over the period. Seven days and twenty-three thousand in virtue, the process wasn¡¯t hard at all, as long as the environment was well-scouted in the early stages and the bandits¡¯ location was clear. The initial investing cost was about five thousand virtue, which could be earned with about three days of hard grinding, and afterward, they could use the well- fortified vige as a base and proceed from there. As the vige development required his virtue as a healer, the young and strong could help by clearing out Monsters as repayment. Evenmoners could use the Spell to Repel Disease, which he could exchange and allow themon people to provide some support. Moreover, the prescription should be universal; once exchanged, he could share it in the group online, which would benefit future generations even more. At this point, Xiemen Waidao finally found a method to swiftly umte virtue. Healing one person is merely a minor way. Rousing those around him to take action, to develop a sustainable path of self-rescue, is the grand way. This, indeed, is what a true healer should be. Chapter 103: 95 Another Match (Third Update)_1 As a connoisseur of fun, what do people like more? That¡¯s letting others know they¡¯vee up with some mischief. After summarizing the achievements of the past few days, Xiemen Waidao threw his experience into the group chat, immediately sparking lively discussions. Havingpared the efficiency of umting merit, they all agreed that this was a good move! umte merit, find a vige, cultivate young adults, and then just wait for bandits toe and deliver more merit. And they didn¡¯t have to worry about not being able to beat the bandits. These bandits¡¯ strength and weakness were both due to illness, and the doctors just needed to cast a spell, and the bandits would be left without any energy. Besides, we¡¯re not attacking NPCs here, we¡¯re helping them get treated for illness. Even for those who wanted to have us killed, we maintained a healer¡¯s benevolence, holding no grudges and seeking to redeem these evil-minded bandits. Was there any doctor morepassionate than us? Getting weaker after a treatment is normal, isn¡¯t it? As for NPCs getting killed by young vigers, that¡¯s an issue among NPCs, what does it have to do with us yers?
Because of the high cost-effectiveness, and the ease of getting started, this method spread quickly among yers and became popr for a while. However, while the yers were happy, Fang Cheng started to get confused. The reputation of ¡°Healer¡± was impable, and Dustfire seemed entirely above board. The yers¡¯ pursuit of merit hadn¡¯t changed, but he just felt restless, as if something was amiss. After dissecting his thoughts, he pondered for a while, but still couldn¡¯t see any problem. yers impersonated healers, used magic to save NPCs and purified their sickness, then took a liking to doing good and umting merit. The whole process had both gamey and moral integrity, and the resulting emotions among yers were exactly as he expected. But where was the problem? Although he wanted to go there to see what the matter was, another issue was holding him back. That was thepetition operation activity for ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± had been fully nned and was ready to beunched to increase the game¡¯s poprity and elevate its fame. The fairness of the game was beyond doubt; after all, this game had never exhibited any bugs thus far. Since ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± had reached four million downloads, the efforts to crack the game by cheat-makers had never ceased. But what was absurd was that they couldn¡¯t find a way to hack it. They couldn¡¯t find any local data to exploit, packet capturing didn¡¯t work, and all conventional and unconventional cheat-making techniques were ineffective. Any cheats purported to work in ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± found online were all scams. This situation led to an extremely harmonious game environment for ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡±. If you couldn¡¯t beat it, that just meant you weren¡¯t good enough; if you were bad, you should just learn from Wang Say Games and y the Heavenly Demon mode. Everyone there was skilled, their conversations delightful, and she adored that ce. Of course, if one wanted to cheat, hiring someone to y in their stead was an option. However, in officialpetitions, having a substitute yer was almost pointless, as it would be quickly discovered. Originally, this game had the potential for both spectator value andpetitive y, so turning it into apetition shouldn¡¯t have been that difficult. Wang Xiaoying had thought so too, but she only realized the true level of difficulty after getting involved.
Firstly, there was a problem with how tomentate. In every match with hundreds ofpetitors, thementator, reading off a list, had to introduce each contestant¡¯s characteristics. Some might get eliminated before even getting a mention, leaving viewers looking at emptiness. Moreover, due to the game¡¯s inherent randomness, some seeded yers could unexpectedly crash out, leaving their supporters feeling empty. At the final stage, it was unlikely to have over a hundredpetitors left, and if those remaining chose to y it safe, then the event would be dull.
¡°This is such a headache, what kind ofpetition format should we use?¡± Wang Xiaoying¡¯s pen cap was already chewed to a mess, yet she still couldn¡¯t think of any good ideas. Fang Cheng was now furrowing his brows, probably mulling over what big move to give to ¡°Healer¡±. Huang Ping didn¡¯t know much aboutpetitive games and couldn¡¯t offer much help. Xiao Douzi was a hardcore yer who would focus on work and ignore everything else. Xu Qingling hadn¡¯t yedpetitive games either, seeming unable to provide any help. After much consideration, the only person she seemed to be able to ask for help, apparently, was the sixteen-year-old Monkey, Chen Liang. However, he didn¡¯t look like someone who would have his own proposal that could solve the problem. But after all, he was a game nner, and he yed ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± every midday break, using the extremely challenging Sword Immortal character, with a high win rate. After agonizing for a long time, Wang Xiaoying, who had been racking her brains all day, finally made up her mind. She decided to ask for help! Hence, she waited specifically for Monkey to take his seat in the morning before approaching him and said, ¡°Chen Liang, your thoughts about thepetition for ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯¡­¡± Before she could finish, she noticed Chen Liang had frozen.
He was like a toy that had run out of batteries, staring nkly into the distance without responding for a long time. ¡°Chen Liang, thepetition¡­¡± ¡°Oh my god! I totally forgot about thepetition!¡± ¡°Chen Liang?¡± ¡°Wang sis, just wait for a sec, I need to make a call outside!¡± Chen Liang dashed out the door and after making his call, came back relieved, patting his chest and saying, ¡°Thank goodness, the ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯petition hasn¡¯t started yet.¡± ¡°Yeah, because I¡¯m in the midst of nning it.¡± ¡°¡­Oh my god!¡± Only then did Chen Liang realize the awkward position he had just put himself in. Chapter 104: 95 Another Match (Third Update)_2 He had originallye to Fang Cheng Studio just to y ¡°Quiet Cultivation, but the studio¡¯s benefits were so good, they gave so much every time, life was sofortable, and the asional get-togethers with the three nners after work were too much fun. As a result, he had forgotten about thepetition. He had just called the coach of Multi-Dimensional and, after being scolded, he learned there was still no news about the match, which made him feel a huge sense of relief. But when he heard Wang Xiaoying actually asking him how to arrange the match, he realized his own problem. Who would be both the referee and a yer! If this were to leak out, the fairness of thepetition would be questioned, and even if he won, his victory would be doubted as being undeserved. Plus, there would be suspicions of insider dealing, and both Fang Cheng Studio and Multi-Dimensional Club would be dragged into it. After much thought, he found that no matter what choice he made, he seemed to be stuck choosing between two paths. Either resign from his nning position at the studio and earnestly y professionally, or ignore Multi-Dimensional Club and sincerely continue nning. Whichever side he chose, he felt he would regret it.
After a long time thinking, he lifted his head and, looking at Fang Cheng who was deep in thought not far away, said, ¡°Boss, I have something I need to confess. Actually, I am a former youth yer for Multi-Dimensional Club, and when I joined this job, it was really just to y games.¡± ¡°Oh, and then?¡± Fang Cheng lifted his head, asking curiously. Fang Cheng¡¯s attitude was very calm, as if being reminded that one should cover themselves with a nket when going to sleep at night. However, his calm attitude helped Chen Liang calm down, and he felt less panicked. After reorganizing his thoughts, he exined his dilemma and considerations, then earnestly asked, ¡°Boss, what do you think I should do?¡± Staring at Chen Liang for a moment, Fang Cheng frowned and said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t think it matters anymore, going for it all is also fine. And our fate hasn¡¯t ? ended, nor has your connection with Multi-Dimensional, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°No, a match is a pretty serious matter, if going for it all then¡­ wait, going for it all¡­¡± Monkey returned to his seat, chin in hand, pondering. He was like a monkey, scratching his chin continuously, his brain working at high speed outside the realm ofpetition for the first time, making him feel as if he had a great idea. There are precedents for being both a referee and a yer, and there are quite a few of them. Even the audience likes the situation where someone is both a referee and a yer because it¡¯s fun enough. In WWE (United States professional wrestling), referees asionally enter the ring, beat up various yers, and these kinds of sudden arrangements make the matches full of surprises and delight, while also making them extremely interesting. But WWE is a kind of reality show, with strong elements of performance and entertainment. If you strip away the performative nature and amplify its entertainment nature, it would be even more suitable for a battle royale game like ¡°Quiet Cultivation.¡± With a longer season duration, there can be many matches, points can be earned and lost quickly, but audience rmendations could also be part of a yer¡¯s scoring system, encouraging yers toe up with all sorts of stunts to make the match more entertaining. Every viewer could have their favorite yer, and their continuous interest wouldst a season, keeping thepetition¡¯s poprity at a high level. Each contestant could market themselves as an idol, each with their own stunts, making the matches less tense but more entertaining. Later, they could also create more offline topics between the yers, so that viewers look forward to encounters between yers who have had conflicts before and to more stunts being pulled off during the matches. Besides, ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± isn¡¯tcking in entertainment. Through their continuous exploration, ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± has added quite a few gaming modes.
The ssicshave a hundred-yer battlefield, Heavenly Demon mode. There are entertainment modes like the miniature mode, reverse mode, etc., each capable of generating plenty of discussion. Team coboration mode can also offer lots of interesting activities, those professional yers cane up with more interesting strategies than me, and it will be more entertaining. Since it¡¯s an entertainment-orientedpetition, then me entering the field as a referee would not only be unopposed but would also be more topical.
Furthermore, my role as a referee would also be a highlight of the antics, with wins and losses both serving as topics of conversation. And for those who lose, as long as they put on a good show, they¡¯ll still have fans and a chance toeback. With these thoughts, Monkey felt inspiration surge like a fountain, creating an itch on his scalp as if he were growing an extra brain. Excitedly crouched on the chair, Monkey poured his thoughts onto the keyboard, one brilliant idea after another, getting him so pumped up he felt like he was flying. After Monkey handed over the draft document to Wang Xiaoying, she became somewhat excited after reading it. This thing¡­ seems kind of interesting. Manypetitive games on the market are intense but seem a bit too harsh. For one general¡¯s sess, a thousand bones rot; behind every champion lies countless unknown fallenpetitors. Most esports yers can¡¯t even make it to the final stage, wasting their youth, ending up working in factories, or possibly watching their former teammates on the award stage without them. There¡¯s only one champion, but many who fail. There are already so many brutalpetitive games on the market, sowhat¡¯s the harm in adding one that¡¯s less cruel and more entertaining? The game market can be vast, and so can the live streaming market. If thepetitive aspect is made more entertaining, Quiet Cultivation¡¯s top yers will lose some of their pull. But it will distribute more evenly at the bottom of the pyramid, extending the lifeblood ofpetition downward, providing a softernding for those whose dreams touch the ground. Touched after reading Monkey¡¯s proposal, WangXiaoying felt moved.
Only someone who had truly experienced the cruelty ofpetition and never forgotten their roots could treat every failure with such gentleness. She flexed her fingers and stated firmly, ¡°I understand now, I feel this n is really good. Let¡¯s refine the details of the proposal together and try to get it out this week.¡± ¡°Okay, Sister Wang!¡± Just as the two were brimming with confidence and preparing to work on it, Fang Cheng looked at the time and said, ¡°Excuse me for a moment, it¡¯s time to get off work.¡± ¡°Eh! So soon! Boss, we¡­¡± ¡°Working overtime? That¡¯s fine, I can arrange forpensatory time off¡­¡± ¡°¡­No need, we¡¯ll call it a day.¡± They had intended to find somewhere else to discuss, but then heard Xiao Douzi, who was packing up her things, say, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about sneaking in overtime at home, and don¡¯t dream of working overtime together either. Boss can tell from the progress.¡± ¡°That can¡¯tbetrue!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve warned you, and I understand this eagerness to work immediately.¡± Seeing Xiao Douzi¡¯s deste silhouette, Monkey and Wang Xiaoying finally understood why Huang Ping was always eager to work overtime. This bubbling excitement in their minds that couldn¡¯t be vented was truly torturous. But they really dared not overstep their boundaries, so they clenched their teeth and left the studio, arriving early at thepany the next day, then got down to some frantic work. For the first time in his life, Monkey found work truly fascinating! That afternoon at closing time, Monkey was looking forward to continuing the next day when he saw Wang Xiaoying checking the date and turning ashen. Sensing something was wrong, Monkey immediately asked, ¡°Sister Wang, what¡¯s the matter?¡±
Wang Xiaoying didn¡¯t speak, she just pointed at the date. Upon seeing the day on the calendar, Monkey finally understood what despair meant. Tomorrow¡­ It¡¯s Saturday! After another agonizing weekend, the two managed to hand over the entertainment mode gamey to Fang Cheng on Monday and received his technical support. Monkey also immediately got in touch with the boss of the Multi-Dimensional Club, his coach, and shared the news about the entertainment mode, securing his coach¡¯s off-line support. After being online for half a year, the entertainment tournaments for Quiet Cultivation were officially about to start. Chapter 105: 96: The Sudden Attack (Part 1)1 When the owner of Dimensional Training Center learned of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s arrangements, he felt a tinge of surprise, yet what he sensed even more was an air of audacity. Esportspetitions had already established a rtively mature temte; as long as businesses followed the procedures of the past, the ceiling wouldn¡¯t be too high, but the floor wouldn¡¯t be too low either¡ªit was a rtively safe approach. But to directly adopt an entirely new mindset, breaking down the whole into parts, stretching out the event¡¯s timelines, and shifting the matches frompetitiveness to entertainment¡ªthis indeed was a very courageous move. No one knew whether this process could seed; the gambling element was too pronounced. And the Dimensional Training Center was directly issued a letter of intent for partnership, including but not limited to providing and training yers, cooperating with the game for promotion, maintaining the reputation of ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± and leasing venues, among other things. The demands were somewhat extensive, but what was offered was even more so. Seeing the contract the other party presented, Coach Lin felt as if he had been led to a vault, with the other party pointing at the gold bars inside and saying, ¡°Helpyourself, don¡¯tbe shy.¡± Coach Lin didn¡¯t know what others would do in such a situation, but he only knew that he himself should go over there to kowtow in gratitude daily¡ªthat¡¯s how he could barely feel at ease. Originally, he had intended to personally discuss the partnership matters, but Monkey stated the studio¡¯s operations team woulde over for an inspection, and that all he had to do was to be a good host. On Wednesday, Coach Lin arrived at the entrance of the youth training center very early to wait. The weather near Rong City was always peculiar.
Its summers were too hot, its winters too cold, and spring and autumnsted for only a brief ten days or so before being supnted by extreme heat or wet cold. In November in Rong City, the beginning of the chilly season was just right. And Coach Lin, waiting at the doorstep before dawn, awaited their arrival. He stuck to his Warmer, asionally getting up to jog a fewps, not able to stay still for a moment. Monkey kept saying it was no big deal, just a formality. But his mood, like the sky overhead, was under a constant cloud, never settling down. Not until nine in the morning did he see the chauffeured car pull up, and Monkey stepped out with a very delicate-looking girl. Although he had already received word from Monkey, informing him that the studio¡¯s operations manager was an intern in her senior year of college. But upon seeing her in person, Coach Lin was still somewhat taken aback. She¡¯s really a senior?! Is the youngdy reliable? After greeting Wang Xiaoying, Coach Lin first gave Monkey a noogie, then, while rubbing Monkey¡¯s head, said, ¡°Told you to run!¡± Monkey chuckled a few times, then pointing at Coach Lin, said, ¡°This is my former coach and the owner of Dimensional Training Center. This is Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s operations manager, Wang Xiaoying.¡± After exchanging pleasantries, Coach Lin took Wang Xiaoying for a tour around the youth training center, introducing the facility¡¯s equipment and personnel situation, among other things. These past few years, esports youth training centers hadn¡¯t been doing very well. The top-heavy effect was too pronounced, with arge portion of the resources being consumed by the champions of variouspetitions, leaving ordinary training centers virtually without any sponsorship. And Coach Lin was in an even more dire situation. The center also offered paid training services, but most of its students were like Monkey¡ªtalented but without financial means.
For some, he even subsidized their pocket money, which led to his training center¡¯s constant deficit. If the plot ofnd hadn¡¯t been converted from his family¡¯s old factory, thereby saving him the cost of rent, he would have starved a long time ago. After introducing the training center, Coach Lin wanted to mention a few basic terms when he heard Wang Xiaoying say, ¡°That¡¯s enough, let¡¯s just sign the contract.¡± ¡°¡­We¡¯re really signing?¡±
¡°Is there something you¡¯re not satisfied with?¡± asked Wang Xiaoying, puzzled. ¡°The money¡­ isn¡¯t it a bit too much?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s per our boss¡¯s instructions. He says it¡¯s easier to get things done with more money, so he told me to give twice the industry standard. Plus, he feels Dimensional is pretty good, so paying a higher amount is no issue.¡± ¡°Mr. Fang is so generous?¡± ¡°Our boss has always been generous,¡± Monkey interjected proudly. Coach Lin cast Monkey a sidelong nce, then gave him another noogie. Had he forgotten where he came from in such a short time? After carefully confirming the partnership details, Coach Lin wanted to keep them for a meal, but they resolutely refused. ¡°We still have to work when we get back, and if we don¡¯t leave now, we won¡¯t make it,¡± Monkey exined. ¡°Coach, next time youe to Rong City, I¡¯ll treat you to a meal.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Watching the two swiftly finalize the partnership and then hurry off, barely pausing for a moment, Coach Lin thought that Fang Cheng Studio must be rather strict, with its staff being so busy. But they must be wellpensated. This time, he forgot to ask Monkey how much he earned per month; it should be over ten thousand at least. After reflecting on Monkey¡¯s circumstances, Coach Lin felt an immense sense of relief as he patted the contract in his pocket.
This was a long-term contract, not only establishing direct financial interactions with the training center but also signaling cooperation intentions with the camp¡¯s trainees. With this contract, the training center could not only make it through this year but also expect a decent New Year. Looking up, he saw snowkes beginning to drift from the sky. Snow was falling. It was an unusually early snowfall this year; the white kes dissolved into droplets before reaching the ground, but they lent the day a distinctive atmosphere nheless. Breathing out a white puff, Coach Lin couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°A timely snow promises a good harvest, eh.¡± Even though it wasn¡¯t a timely snow, he felt it was going to be a good harvest indeed. With the technical yers and venue sorted out, the next step was to recruit other yers. Chapter 106: 96: The Sudden Attack (Part 2) 2 *** These people need to have certain skills, but they also need to have some ability to stir things up; these individuals can be chosen from among the various top streamers. Take Wang Say Games, for instance. Looking at the digital invitation, he asked incredulously, ¡°Is there a mistake? I only y the Heavenly Demon mode! You want me topete in a tournament? What is this, a new prank project?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t this show how professional you are, Mr. Wang?¡± Wang Xiaoying, who was in charge ofmunication, replied. ¡°You¡¯re making me professionally lose face. No, I¡¯m not going!¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, before you refuse, take a look at thepetition schedule, why don¡¯t you?¡± Wang felt the other party was up to no good, but since the invitation came from Fang Cheng Studio, he had to give face. He really liked the games from Fang Cheng Studio, and his soulmate, the Living Immortal, had quite a deep rtionship with Fang Cheng Studio. No matter how he thought about it, he had to give this face. However, after looking at thepetition schedule provided by the other party, Wang Say Games was tempted.
Thepetition wasn¡¯t an elimination format but a points-based one, where everyone could y through the entire event without being knocked out in just one round. The mechanism testedpetitive skills, but it also tested the yers¡¯ ability to stir things up. The quality of the show also became part of thepetition¡¯s evaluation, allowing some streamers who weren¡¯t exceptionally skilled to participate. Of course, the ultimate champion would likely be a strong technical yer, but the entertainers could also get a slice of the action and gain arge following. Even if they failed afterward, they could still leave with their poprity, rather than leaving otherpetitions with nothing to show for it. After reviewing the entirepetition schedule, Wang Say Games nodded in agreement. This was aiming to train the yers to be stars. Prolonging the duration of thepetition would give the yers more opportunities to showcase themselves; although this approach wasn¡¯tmon before and cost more, overall, it was indeed a whole new direction for development. But the biggest question was whether he could be sure the general public would ept this TV drama-like form ofpetition. Moreover, to make it visually appealing, they needed a bunch of streamers who were proficient in stirring things up to warm up the crowd. It also required a group of talented yers to ensure the event¡¯s appeal. Altogether, it posed a considerable challenge. But if it really seeded, then that would truly be awesome. After much consideration, Wang made a decision. I¡¯m in! Having sent his agreement, Wang Xiaoying replied with a thank you and sent over the contract. After a close examination of the contract, Wang Say Games sensed something was amiss. Sending over the parts he felt were not right, Wang asked, ¡°What¡¯s with this fifteen-day closed-doorpetition?¡± ¡°It¡¯s part of thepetition format. As this is the first time we are hosting such apetition, we¡¯ve adopted an invitation system and have invited you to a specific location to record thepetition process to ensure a baseline for the show. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not in some southern country; it¡¯s domestic. During thepetition, you can move around freely, live stream, etc., and our studio will provide amodation and meals at no cost to you, and we will additionally give you a subsidy of six thousand a day. Moreover, we will purchase broadcast time on televisionworks, have a professional team edit thepetition footage, and have it aired on TV,¡± she exined. Upon hearing such generous treatment, Wang Say Games immediatelymitted.
No time for hesitation; even a second¡¯s hesitation would be disrespecting money and fame. A weekter, all the pre-event preparations were finallyplete. With the ne ticket sent by Fang Cheng Studio, Wang Say Games boarded the flight to Rong City andnded at Shuangliu Airport four hourster. After another hour and a half of driving, Wang Say Games finally arrived at the designated location, the Dimensional Training Center.
Upon verifying the invitation, the photographer assigned to follow him introduced himself to Wang Say Games, then led Wang to the conference hall to reconfirm thepetition arrangements. Looking at the other yers in the room, Wang saw many old acquaintances, veteran broadcasters. Afterparing the types of streamers in the room, Wang nodded in satisfaction. The majority were clowns, which indicated that thispetition leaned heavily on entertainment. Butpared to them, I¡¯m the technical streamer. Ironically, the others had the same impression when they saw Wang. Everyone greeted each other, silently pondering how to use others for their pranks while also wondering why there were still some seventeen or eighteen- year-old kids here. Among them was a youngster who resembled a little monkey and didn¡¯t seem very formidable. It looks like my era has arrived, Wang thought with a smug smile, feeling that agreeing to this venture was a wise decision and that his luck was exceptionally good. At this very moment, in the world of ¡°Ee#¡±, the doomsday for the banditshad also arrived. These bandits, illiterate and half of whom couldn¡¯t even write their names, finally understood what entrapment meant. Thanks to the externalwork, the new strategy of gaining virtue points through baiting and countering bandit NPCs became known overnight, and everyone learned how to pit bandit NPCs against themselves and then counter-attack to turn them into virtue points. What to do if all the bandits are killed off?
Now that they had virtue points, they naturally called on the vigers to purify thend, thus continuing to farm virtue points. Offering porridge and ying bandits brought about vast prestige among the vigers, and at this point, yers could even rally the vigers to attack constables. Vigers who had be adherents of the yers would only think about where to stab for a quick kill, not why they should stab someone. After all, on one side were the constables who robbed them of their gue Chickens every day, and on the other was the ¡°[¡ê#¡± who provided meat porridge and cured their diseases; whose side to protect was obvious. Using the bandits as initial capital, yers moved on to the second phase of their actions in the world of ¡°El#¡±. That is the vige construction phase. Xiemen Waidao meticulously calcted the virtue one could gain from purifying thend and the virtue from hunting demons, eventually formting the thirdw of virtue: Live creatures can absorb disease; afterward, purifying these creatures is far more efficient than directly purifying the soil. Among these, locusts have the highest efficiency in absorbing disease, and after absorbing it they transform into demons that then brazenly attack each other. All that was needed was to let them fight amongst themselves until almost none were left, then one spell could remove the disease from thest locust, leaving the rest as chicken feed to help the vigers get valuable protein from eggs- The vigers needed to help breed the locusts, but the virtue spent was far less than the virtue gained, ultimately leading to a virtuous cycle of umting virtue. They used the purifiednd for crops and gradually worked towards a sustainable development path where vigers could live off thend and fend for themselves. Once the vige was on the right track, yers could leave with peace of mind.
As the vige was saved by the yers, as long as the vige existed, it would be a self-sustaining virtue generating machine, constantly providing virtue. Afterward, yers only needed to visit asionally to check if there were any issues with the vige. Having put his theory into practice, Xiemen Waidao looked at the thriving Li Family Vige with great satisfaction. Now, even if he did nothing, he would receive virtue points daily, achieving the ultimate victory of earning without effort. By his side, Mukuai 1234 stared at the vige in front of her with widened eyes, eximing how incredible it was. Even though this guy was somewhat crazy and sick in the head, he really did make it happen! As if seeing Xiemen Waidao for the first time, Mukuai 1234 asked in astonishment, ¡°How did you know this would work?¡± ¡°We have a predecessor, the pioneer of surrounding the cities from rural areas, truly impressive,¡± he replied. ¡°That¡¯s really impressive,¡± Mukuai 1234 remarked, her gaze softening considerably as she looked at Xiemen Waidao. She asked gently, in a rare tender moment, ¡°Where to next?¡± ¡°I¡¯m nning to umte some more virtue points, get the teleportation, and then talk about it. After that, it¡¯s off to others to see the sights.¡± Mukuai 1234 was just about to nod when she suddenly sensed something was wrong. She forcefully pushed Xiemen Waidao¡¯s head down and a bolt grazed past her face, leaving an arrow scratch on her cheek. A few armored figures emerged gracefully from the bushes, their movements as elegant as that of a cheetah.
Their attire showed that they were neither bandits nor constables, but an even more ruthless existence. They were the Personal Soldiers of the City Lord. Chapter 107: 97: Healers of the World (Second Update)! The Personal Soldiers d in ck armor, fully armed, each a carefully selected killing machine, hade solely to capture the two. There were about thirteen of them. After the initial volley of crossbow bolts missed, they immediately drew their waist swords and charged at Xiemen Waidao and Mukuai 1234. Without time to ponder why the Personal Soldiers would attack him, Xiemen Waidao turned and leaped onto Mukuai 1234¡¯s back, pointing toward a nearby vige and yelling, ¡°Giddy up!¡± ¡°You son of a ¡ª ¡± Mukuai 1234 cursed angrily. ¡°Cut the crap! You wouldn¡¯t want to waste your precious merit here for nothing, would you?¡± ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I just drop you as bait? Anyway, you¡¯re one of the Great Heavenly Lord¡¯s men; they can¡¯t touch you here!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like senseless sacrifices. And considering you run faster while carrying me than I do on my own, ridingyou is the best option. Anyway, let¡¯s move!¡± Mukuai 1234 had no choice but to flee for his life. Behind them, the City Master¡¯s Personal Soldiers may have been weighed down by armor, but they were strong and vigorous, moving swiftly despite the load, and closing the distance more and more. Just as Mukuai 1234 could feel the breath of his pursuers on his back, the young and able men of the vige finally noticed the anomaly here. A piercing whistle sound rose, and the vigers rushed out, sprinting toward the scene, shouting aloud, ¡°Do not harm our benefactor!¡±
Faced with these armed vigers, the leading Personal Soldier momentarily stopped, raising his token high and bellowing, ¡°I am a City Master¡¯s Personal Soldier, the rank of Squad Leader. I am now on a mission to capture a healer, and not only do you not cooperate, but you even hinder us. Are you nning to rebel?¡± His reply was a barrage of arrows. Quickly retrieving the shield on his back, the Squad Leader blocked the arrows, his gaze upon the young men now filled with anger. Indeed, the City Master was right; these people already harbored rebellious thoughts. However, the prime culprit was that healer who bewitched people¡¯s hearts; it was imperative to capture the ringleader, while the rest needed only a bit of punishment. With a fierce wave ofhis hand, the soldiers behind him drew their swords and advanced, charging at the vigers. Unlike constables, Personal Soldiers were not only immune to disease but were also allowed to wear armor. Squad Leaders and above could even receive a blessing from the Demon Lord Temple once a month to stimte their potential, making them as strong as Monsters. This blessing had nothing to do with disease; it was the miraculous result of countless experiments by the Demon Lord Temple, a supernatural realm beyond normal humanprehension. So, even though the vigers outnumbered them by three to one, the Squad Leader didn¡¯t think these hastily trained militia could stand against them. Surveying the nearby terrain, the Squad Leader disregarded the encircling vigers, pointed at Xiemen Waidao and Mukuai 1234 in the crowd, andmanded, ¡°On my order! Draw swords, charge!¡± The remaining twelve men, with the Squad Leader at the heart, drew their swords and rushed into the crowd toward Xiemen Waidao and Mukuai 1234. They were imposing with every step, carrying the sound of whistling wind, bearing down on the crowd like an iron wall, ready to crush the vigers and their targets alike. The first wave of vigers confronted them but were immediately sent flying by the nearly two-meter-tall Squad Leader, their shoulders shattered. Yet they still struggled to stand, ignoring the pain and shouting fiercely, ¡°Do not harm our benefactor!¡± The second wave of vigers stepped up only to be cut down and pushed aside by the Personal Soldiers, each one bleeding profusely. The third wave consisted of the vige elders; some were already frail, barely able to hold their weapons, but each one had a resolute gaze, determinedly defending the two. Seeing the whole vige¡¯s people falling one after another to protect Xiemen Waidao, the Squad Leader was finally moved.
Swatting away the elders before him, he grabbed the unguarded Xiemen Waidao and demanded fiercely, ¡°What is going on here? What kind of spell have you used to make them willing to die for you?¡± ¡°I just treated them a little better,¡± Xiemen Waidao said helplessly. ¡°Is the City Master not good to them? There¡¯s ample food here,fortable bedding, no worries about disease every day. With such a benevolent City Master, why would you rebel?¡± Xiemen Waidao looked helplessly at the Squad Leader and said, ¡°That¡¯s your privilege; they don¡¯t have it.¡±
The Squad Leader was at a loss for words. At that moment, he saw Xiemen Waidao start to draw circles, with purple arcs forming extraordinary symbols as they joined end to end. Immediately grabbing the other¡¯s fingers, he demanded again, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Healing them. Some of them are near death. Let me treat them first; we can talk about killing me afterward, okay?¡± The Squad Leader was once again at a loss for words. A healer¡¯s spells are all rted to repelling disease and healing wounds. None had spells for attacking others, but they were the best physicians. With his arms crossed and standing aside, the Squad Leader watched Xiemen Waidao treat the people around him and couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished. Some wounds, even the Demon Lord Temple could not heal, at best could only stave off disease, but still, the victims would die. But this healer had the power to regenerate flesh and mend bones. Some wounds that looked fatal were healed with a single symbol. If such a person were in the City Master Mansion, thebat casualties between City Masters could be reduced to an unbelievable extent. A person like this should be invited into the City Master Mansion, ced on par with the Demon Lord Temple, so why must he be killed? Although his healing wasn¡¯t quick, his movements were steady.
Chapter 108: 97: Healers of the World (Second Update)_2 The woman in white beside him had been looking at him curiously the whole time, not sure what she was thinking. After half an hour, all the able-bodied had finally recovered, and Xiemen Waidao¡¯s time of death had finally arrived. Regretfully withdrawing his waist de, the Squad Leader said, ¡°Your skills are extraordinary, but our orders are to kill you. Although we don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve done, these are the City Lord¡¯s orders.¡± After a pause, the Squad Leader added, ¡°But rest assured, after you die, I won¡¯t touch those vigers; you can go in peace.¡± Xiemen Waidao looked at the Squad Leader and suddenlyughed, ¡°You do have a kind heart.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just human nature. Do you have anyst words?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re here.¡± As soon as these words were spoken, the Squad Leader suddenly became alert and hastily leapt backward. Where he had just been standing, more than ten crossbow bolts were nailed into the ground, almost turning him into a porcupine. Not far away, arge group of voluntary soldiers had already rushed to the scene, their crossbows aimed at the Squad Leader.
Within a hundred miles, there were hundreds of viges,rge and small, but only one city. At this moment, the young and strong men from many viges had gathered here, five hundred of them watching the thirteen Personal Soldiers below with predatory eyes, and many more were on their way here. Beside each wave of new arrivals, there was a healer, there was a Mukuai. Even if a Personal Soldier could take on ten opponents, healers could bring the fallen back to their feet. Not to mention that more people were heading here under the guidance of healers, to aid theirrades. Faced with this group of determined young men, the Squad Leader suddenly felt fear. An always overlooked force was gathering; they had awakened and were beginning to bare their fangs at their former rulers. This was the power of themon people, it was a fire-like force. In the face of this power, they were nothing. Raising his hand to signal his men not to resist, he dropped his weapon and said to Xiemen Waidao in front of him, ¡°We surrender.¡± The yers who hade upon hearing the news were a bit depressed to find there was no battle to fight. The thieves near their homes had been wiped out, and the monsters in the surroundings dealt with; although earning merit by doing nothing was nice, it somehow still felt a bit dull. During this time, they could only umte merit slowly. Until they unlocked new features, they had to stay put. ¡°Since we¡¯re idle anyway, let¡¯s find something to do.¡± ¡°Agreed, it¡¯s rare for us all to gather together. How about we hold a contest to see whose Mukuai is the cutest?¡± ¡°How could there be such a boringpetition? It¡¯s definitely mine, of course!¡± ¡°Confidence is a good thing, but what would you do if I brought out my home¡¯s cat-eared, tsundere Mukuai?¡± ¡°My stoic Mukuai is the best!¡± ¡°Is tsundere outdated now?¡±
The healers, who had just fought side by side, were now arguing noisily over their respective Mukuai, causing the Squad Leader¡¯s face to twitch incessantly. Did I surrender to the wrong people? Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t long before the yers realized that arguing was pointless, just as debating whether sweet or salty tofu pudding is better is unnecessary. And with the young men having gathered together with difficulty, why not start building roads to connect the viges and towns, making future mutual support more convenient? So, they transformed into a whirlwind of activity; one moment, they were quarreling over their Mukuai, and the next, they were arm in arm, setting out to work on infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Squad Leader and his men had their armor stripped off, were bound with oil-soaked ropes, and were locked in a jail cell. Before long, Xiemen Waidao walked in with Mukuai 1234. The disarmed Squad Leader, a tall and muscr man with well-developed muscles and scars almost everywhere on his body, clearly a veteran of many battles, sat down opposite Xiemen Waidao. In a puzzled tone, Xiemen Waidao asked, ¡°You¡¯re a Personal Soldier of the City Lord; why did he order an attack on us?¡± ¡°It was the City Lord¡¯smand. We¡¯re not supposed to think about the reasons; we¡¯re just supposed to do it.¡± ¡°Then why did you surrender?¡± ¡°If it were just me, I would¡¯ve fought to the death. But I have brothers; they can¡¯t fall here.¡± ¡°The City Lord won¡¯t me you?¡± ¡°Let it all be my fault then,¡± After hearing Squad Leader¡¯s response, Xiemen Waidao felt this person was quite foolishly loyal. But his previous actions revealed to Xiemen Waidao that there was still some sense of righteousness in him, unlike those war machines that only knew ughter. Let him stay; who knows, he might be of some use one day. He ordered others to keep a close watch on him, then rubbed Mukuai 1234¡¯s head as he began to ponder.
Mukuai 1234, being stroked like a cat, kept kicking at him, but to no avail, further angering her. Now, what puzzled Xiemen Waidao the most was why the City Lord wanted him dead. He had merely improved the living conditions for the residents, expelled the illness, and organized the young and strong to resist the bandits. In ancient times, that might at most be considered¡­. rebellion¡­. Hisss¡­ With a sigh, Xiemen Waidao finally understood why the City Lord could not tolerate them, the healers. In the eyes of modern people, their actions would be seen as normal poverty alleviation, but in the eyes of the City Lord, it was akin to harboring disloyal intentions. Moreover, backed by the Demon Lord Temple, it seemed like the Demon Lord Temple was also using the bandits to stir trouble, and since the healers had inadvertently offended the two most powerful forces¡­. ¡°Who would have thought that just by making the lives of themon people a little better, we would offend two great mountains,¡± Hearing Xiemen Waidao¡¯s reflection, Mukuai 1234 stopped kicking and said with a cold sneer, ¡°So you realize that.¡± ¡°This kind of thing¡­¡± ¡°Are you scared?¡± ¡°This is way too cool!¡±
Mukuai 1234 widened her eyes in shock, staring at Xiemen Waidao, thinking that he must have lost his mind from fear. ¡°Are you insane?¡± Mukuai 1234 asked, ¡°You¡¯re ying with your life here!¡± ¡°Yeah, but are we afraid of losing our heads?¡± ¡°¡­Well, you have a point. But is this kind of thing fun?¡± Looking into the distance, Xiemen Waidaomented, ¡°I feel like there¡¯s nothing more interesting or amusing than rebelling in a feudal society!¡± ¡°But what you¡¯re doing is different from the Great Heavenly Lord¡¯s arrangements!¡± ¡°Maybe this is the Great Heavenly Lord¡¯s arrangement. If not, why would he create such a dark environment, and why would he send us here? Why would we be called healers? To cure one person is to be a small healer. To be able to cure the entire world, that is a great healer, that is a true healer!¡± Xiemen Waidao¡¯s voice rang out powerfully, leavingMukuai 1234 stupefied, radically changing her opinion of him. Does he really think on such a grand scale? Even though she knew he might just find rebellion more amusing, this vision was indeed grand. ¡°So, what do you n to do next?¡± ¡°Of course, to continue to call everyone to action, and then to raise the red g here. The disease of this world is not in the body, but in the mind. We healers are here to cure and save people, to cleanse the disease of the heart and let everyone know what they should live for!¡± Mukuai 1234 felt her heart pounding uncontrobly, her vision clouding over at his words.
Watching Xiemen Waidao, she realized that this man, whom she should have disliked, appeared radiant in an instant, almost blinding to look at. Covering her chest, she felt as though a new heart had sprung forth within her, making her fearful of staying, yet also wanting to draw closer. What¡¯s happening to me? When Squad Leader surrendered, inside the Demon Lord Temple within the fortress, someone awoke. The city¡¯s walls were tall and strong, with no civilians inside, only the armored City Lord and his Personal Soldiers. At the center of the city, a ck tower twisted skywards, its side covered in ck cysts, like diseased lungs, tirelessly inhaling the illnesses of the world. These ck towers were the symbol of the Demon Lord Temple. Cultivators who worshiped the Disease Demon Lord made this their base, enjoying the City Lord¡¯s offerings while exchanging the green jade that protected them from the illnesses for their blessings. The temple keeper of the Demon Lord Temple, shrouded in ck miasma, calcted with his fingers, then issued a deep sigh. A spark has appeared. It must be contained. Chapter 109: 98: When the Map is Unfurled, the Chapter 109: Chapter 98: When the Map is Unfurled, the Dagger is Revealed (Three More)_l The Demon Lord Temple is thergest religious organization in this world. Everpresent within the stars, the Disease Demon Lord bestows the boundless Disease Qi upon the world, which, in turn, sustains it through the cycle of life, gathering the Disease Qi for itself. The Cultivators of the Demon Lord Temple gain blessings from venerating the Disease Demon Lord, thus continuously enhancing their own strength. However, some time ago, the existence of the Disease Demon Lord suddenly disappeared; although they could still perform certain spells, the departure of the source filled them with fear. Subsequently, a mysterious group of healers emerged in the world, causing unease among every temple keeper of the Demon Lord Temple. As time went on, the healers¡¯ actions became more and more presumptuous. They repelled Disease Qi, they eradicated Disease Beasts¡ªthese were the very actions the temple keepers of the Demon Lord Temple detested most, and yet they were powerless to stop them. The healers¡¯ methods could precisely contravene the Demon Lord Temple, an alignment that covertlyplemented the interests of the City Lords. The fewer Disease Beasts there were, the safer the environment became.
The fewer the sick, the greater the tax revenue that could be collected, and the more they could strip away the control of the Demon Lord Temple. Therefore, in the beginning, the City Lords didn¡¯t dislike the arrival of the healers; on the contrary, they weed these benevolent individuals who asked for nothing in return and were solely focused on saving people, helping them to repel Disease Qi and lessen the influence of the Demon Lord Temple. In response to this, the temple keepers of the Demon Lord Temple were powerless and could only silently bide their time. However, not long ago, the healers finally went too far. They began distributing porridge to themon folk, an overt act of gathering prestige that directly crossed the City Lords¡¯ red line. The campaign against the healers had already begun; some healers in certain areas had been eradicated, but the City Lord of the area where this particr temple keeper resided was less lucky, with thirteen out of one hundred Armored Soldiers captured and currently whereabouts unknown. The opponents¡¯ misfortune was an opportunity for the Demon Lord Temple. With a slight chuckle, the temple keeper rose to her feet and descended the spiral staircase of the dark tower. All the way down, the scenery from the outside world filtered in through the windows-the ck sky, once filled with twisted Disease Qi and terrifying flying beasts, had been a sight of beauty, but ever since the arrival of the healers, the sky had gradually turned a disturbing shade of blue. Disease is beauty, and the distortions it brings should also be seen as beautiful. Life is a natural ailment, and it ought to be apanied by disease throughout, until death finally ends this painful bond. At the base of the ck tower, the temple keeper looked at the bronze mirror ced there. The reflection showed her still beautiful self. Although she was of a great age, over one hundred years old, her body showed hardly any signs of aging and still exuded the vibrancy of youth. Aside from the fact that all her teeth had fallen out, leaving only pitch-ck holes in her mouth, she exhibited no other abnormalities. The temple keeper1 s illness was not in the body but in the soul. Illness within her soul caused her to be in a constant state of mental haze and to experience, within her hallucinations, the vastness and benevolence of the Disease Demon Lord, as she listened to his maddening teachings. Having left the dark tower, she calmly greeted the respectful attendants around her and proceeded to the City Lord¡¯s manor. No announcement was needed; her perfect appearance was the best calling card, allowing her to pass by everyone and head straight to the City Lord s chamber. There, the City Lord, who was over fifty years old, had already received word and was awaiting her arrival.
ording to the teachings of the Demon Lord Temple, the City Lord is the body, the temple keeper is the soul, the soulmands the body, and the body protects the soul. The two are indispensable to each other. As for themon people, they are meat on the te, consumed toplete the cycle and achieve eternity. They need to provide Disease Qi for the soul, andbor for the body-this is their eternal fate, unchangeable. But the emergence of the healerspletely disrupted the original bnce. The supply of food was interrupted, the perfect equilibrium broken, and the world thereby threatened to slide into the Abyss.
They should not exist, they must be repelled. Exchanging greetings with the City Lord, both parties¡¯ movements were full of ritual significance, no exchange in the middle and a necessity to maintain coldness and restraint¡ªthe proper way for body and soul to interact. Once seated, the temple keeper calmly said, ¡°Fire has appeared, and these healers are that fire. Fire can burn Disease Qi, burn bodies, and destroy souls. Therefore, the fire must be extinguished.¡± The City Lord looked at the temple keeper with a gaze full of vague emotions. He was over forty years her junior, having grown up under her watchful eye. As a child, he had thought the temple keeper was beautiful and even felt some ambiguous emotions. But as he grew older, he learned more and more about the temple keeper,ing to realize that she was not human at all but a concentration of Disease Qi, just the mad will of the Disease Demon Lord. She was madness itself, the personification of the gue. In her eyes, human life was worth very little; everything in the world was but fodder for the Disease Demon Lord, and they were but the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s cooks, preparing everything-including themselves with Disease Qi- before serving it to the Disease Demon Lord. If it weren¡¯t for the healers¡¯ excessive actions, he really wouldn¡¯t want to seek help from the people of the Demon Lord Temple. They wielded control over Disease Qi, possessing extraordinary abilities, but each one was a madman, risking self-destruction with the slightest carelessness. Now, however, half of his territory had lost contact, with healers stepping all over his domain, taking vige after vige into their fold, putting the City Lord¡¯s rule in peril. He had just over a hundred Armored Soldiers, most of whom were needed to guard against the neighboring City Lord. There, where the healers had not yet appeared, the other lord eyed hisnds greedily, ready to swallow him up at any moment. In this time of external threats and internal turbulence, his only option was the Demon Lord Temple.
Chapter 110: 98: When the Map is Unfurled, the Dagger is Revealed (Three More)_2 Chapter 110: Chapter 98: When the Map is Unfurled, the Dagger is Revealed (Three More)_2 With a long sigh, the City Lord asked indifferently, ¡°People of the Demon Lord Temple, I apologize for my previous rudeness; I should not have scorned your power.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± the temple keeper said with a smile. ¡°What I mean is, I wee your return, and I hope¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± The City Lord looked at the temple keeper for a long time. The weather was getting colder and colder, so cold that they all had to chop down trees to keep warm. The expression on the temple keeper¡¯s face reminded the City Lord of a tree he had seen when he was younger, green in color, upying a whole hill by itself, with no other nts around. Under the barren soily the tree¡¯s root systems, resembling blood vessels, which the pestilence had transformed into a disease tree that devoured everything, but on the outside, it looked lush and even somewhat gentle. Just like the temple keeper in front of him. Swallowing hard, the City Lord forced himself to say, ¡°What I mean is, as long as my territory can be returned, I am willing to wage war for the Demon Lord Temple. All the people obtained can be followers of the Demon Lord Temple, and they will wholeheartedly worship you.¡±
Finally hearing something materially beneficial from the City Lord, the temple keeper tilted her head and revealed a dark smile. Her pupils had turned ck, her toothless mouth showing a ferocious smile, and copious amounts of pestilence vapors emanated from it. ¡°Agreed, the pact is sealed. Remember your words, City Lord,¡± she said. Then, she stretched out her withered hand and reached into her mouth. For a moment, the City Lord held his breath. He saw the fingers wriggle at her throat, causing the startled worms beneath her skin to scatter, creating a tingling sensation that made one¡¯s skin crawl. The sight beyond theprehension of ordinary people made the City Lord feel nauseated; even his battle-hardened soldiers turned pale, struggling just to stand firm. The withered hand delved deeper, and something was extracted from her belly ¡ªit was astonishingly a clutch of ck eggs. After coughing twice, the temple keeper tossed the object in front of the City Lord. Staring at the pile, the City Lord asked in bewilderment, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Disease Bug, a kind of worm that can absorb pestilence and then transform it into strength. Once ingested, the Disease Bug will parasitize within the body. Soldiers will be immensely strong, fearless, never weary, and will obey your everymand. Their food will be pestilence, removing the need for supplies. How does that sound, quite remarkable, isn¡¯t it?¡± Upon hearing that the Demon Lord Temple actually had such amazing things, the City Lord hesitated. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, ¡°What is the downside?¡± ¡°Savagery, bloodlust, and they may mutate different organs. We have experimented on bandits. However, the resistance of the bandits to the medicine was too slight, so we tried to refine it once more; this time, it should be better.¡± Hearing that the Demon Lord Temple had actually experimented on bandits caused an instant change in the expressions of the City Lord¡¯s two Personal Soldiers. However, the City Lord remained unusually calm. He had long suspected that the bandits were covertly supported by the Demon Lord Temple; otherwise, how could those fellows have escaped the ravages of the disease vapor? Patted his two Personal Soldiers, he signaled them to sit down, then continued to inquire, ¡°I want to ask, do the Disease Beasts have anything to do with you as well?¡± ¡°The small ones, no, but therge ones, yes.¡± ¡°As I thought.¡± The elderly City Lord burst intoughter, pping his thigh as he spoke, ¡°Indeed.¡±
After he hadughed his fill, he looked at her and asked, ¡°Last question, can it be used on the dead?¡± ¡°As long as they¡¯re not too long dead. And the better the body, the better the effect.¡± ¡°Understood. I¡¯m sorry, don¡¯t me me.¡± Standing up, the City Lord drew his waist knife and said to his two Personal Soldiers, ¡°Turn around, I am going to behead this evil being.¡±
The two Personal Soldiers didn¡¯t suspect a thing and immediately turned around, their backs facing the City Lord. Immediately after, a chopping sound was heard, the wet sound of a neck being severed. Only, the sound seemed a bit too far away¡­ Before the Personal Soldiers could react, their own necks were cut open. Thest thing one of them saw was the City Lord picking up an egg and forcefully stuffing it into his wound. A little farther away, the temple keeper was still sitting unmoved in her ce. And hispanion had already been parasitized by the eggs, the wounds on his neck gone, with only the blood remaining. His abdomen swelled ominously, something lively barely visible within. ring at the City Lord, he opened his bloody mouth and let out a forceful scream, then his eyes feebly closed. In front of him, the City Lord¡¯s eyes held not a ripple of emotion, mechanically repeating, ¡°Don¡¯t me me.¡± The Personal Soldier¡¯s consciousness faded, and when he opened his eyes again, his appearance hadpletely changed. His body looked like a melted candle that had just solidified, muscles, nerves, and skin merging into one mass, then amalgamating with armor and weapon into a different kind of weapon altogether. Vast amounts of Disease Qi gathered, making the already imposing Soldier even more terrifying, hispletely abnormal body unrecognizable, virtually indistinguishable from the Disease Beasts outside. To thoroughly destroy and cultivate weapons, the City Lord skillfullybined the two into one action.
And this indicated he had wholly sided with the Demon Lord Temple, bing a pawn under the Demon Lord Temple¡¯s g. Looking at the expressionless City Lord, the temple keeper wore a satisfied smile. Approaching, she gently stroked the City Lord¡¯s head and said with a smile, ¡°Wee back to the righteous path, my child.¡± Outside, the medical practitioners were eagerlyunching their life-saving operations. Some constantly roamed about, others tirelessly scouted. Knowing they could instigate greater events, nearly all medical practitioners excitedly dered it would be a pity not to join in on such significant actions. A portion of medical practitioners didn¡¯t directly partake in the insurrection but supported them in another manner. That was to write battle reports. Chen Rang was among the best of them. With excellent writing skills and a widework, he had witnessed the first siege from start to finish and recorded every moment worthy of song with an objective and detailed style. He wasn¡¯t particrly interested in the matter himself, as he preferred to spend more time frolicking with his Mukuai. But his Mukuai found his work quite interesting, so Chen Rang found it interesting as well. To prevent his Mukuai from being reimed by the Heavenly Tao, he even spent money to buy ¡°Bl?¡± from game merchants and with it, purchased a pink dress and other trinkets, transforming a regr Mukuai into a dainty one.
The clothes were indeed nice, incredibly so when worn. But the fact that the clothes couldn¡¯t be destroyed made some yers feel it was unrealistic and imed it was definitely a bug. So, Fang Cheng Studio, don¡¯t be ungrateful, hurry up and fix the bug! Today, having finished work early, Chen Rang immediately left the office, made a hasty dinner, and logged into ¡± gg¡± only to see Mukuai dozing off on the table inside their home. The house had also been bought with ¡°ft?.¡± The game didn¡¯t allow for the purchase of real estate, but one could buy materials to hire vigers to help build a house. Building a house had be amon thing among yers; after all, few wanted their Mukuai to be without shelter, so even without the other¡¯s request, they desired to provide a home. Chen Rang, after logging in, didn¡¯t want to disturb Mukuai, but the sound of his footsteps woke her. Stretching like a little cat, Mukuai rubbed her eyes and said to the entering Chen Rang, ¡°Old Chen, you¡¯re back. You¡¯re early today.¡± ¡°Yeah, the medical practitioners in this area are finally preparing to attack. I n to work on a battlefield report.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that be tiring? Oh, I made dinner for you. Go eat.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m not hungry.¡± ¡°I promise the potatoes are dead this time! No eyes in them! Even if there are, they taste just like poached eggs after being boiled!¡±
¡°¡­I¡¯m not hungry.¡± ¡°Eat, you must eat! Can¡¯t let me suffer alone!¡± ¡°You really had no good intentions, and that thing is definitely messed up!¡± While Mukuai was forcing Chen Rang to eat, they heard a massive thudding of footsteps. Chen Rang poked his head out in confusion and realized a gigantic creature was approaching their location. Watching the creature and confirming its path, Chen Rang looked at his own house and said helplessly, ¡°My newly bought house, three thousand ¡®ft?¡¯¡­¡± Chapter 111: 99: The Squad Leaders Journey Chapter 111: Chapter 99: The Squad Leader¡¯s Journey Observations (First Update)_1 The imposing figure drawing closer was a colossal mountainous entity. Its shape resembled a giant centipede, with legs as thick as ancient towering trees extending from either side, ceaselessly pounding the ground, producing a sound like the beat of a drum. However, it moved by wriggling along, which made the symbolic significance of its legs much greater than their actual function. What made Chen Rang even more ufortable was the fact that he could tell this thing used to be a person. It¡¯s just that their body had been expanded tens of thousands of times, and the immense pressure had reshaped them into a pyramid structure, broad at the base and tapering toward the top. The bones within were unbelievablyrge; even with disease energy support, it had to move in this inhuman way. Yet its face remained human, only that the face was continually weeping. It was unclear whether this was due to overly developed tear nds or if the person inside was still conscious and could feel the present agony. At this moment, Chen Rang didn¡¯t know whether to admire the preciseness of Fang Cheng Studio or to despise their twisted sense of humor. The preciseness was because even when designing a boss, they strictly adhered to the physics of the supernatural world. The twisted sense of humor was because this world seemed particrly prone to producing things that could drive one¡¯s sanity to the edge. Yet he had to admit there was a perverse form of biological beauty to it.
What was more terrifying was that the more he looked at it, the more he found the thing surprisingly handsome. He could only refresh his eyes by looking at Mukuai next to him to maintain a semnce of normal aesthetic standards. Facing this behemoth, yers who had also bought houses with their merit points were on the verge of tears. My newly bought house! The little home full of love I share with my Mukuai! We were all set to adopt two or three children, raise a not-too-ugly dog, and live out our days! Why are you sending a demolition expert now-what¡¯s the meaning of this?! Can¡¯t stand to see yers livingfortably, can you?! The opponent was huge and yet not slow, scouts who went to investigate quickly sent back their findings. Run! That thing is immune to spells, you can only physically assault it! After calcting the time it would take for the opponent to reach the battlefield, Chen Rang had Mukuai swiftly pack up their essentials. Then he headed there alone, ready to conduct a thorough close-up report. The closer he got to the creature, the less of that terrifying and eerie feeling he felt. Being so close, the full image of the monster was no longer clear to everyone; they could only see the train-like shape and massive legs, which actually imparted a sense of the ridiculous. Below the monster, arge number of medical practitioners were gathered, pondering how to deal with the gigantic creature. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen such a massive Disease Beast.¡± ¡°Yeah, and I thought such a big guy would yield a lot of merit points after being purified, but why are spells ineffective? ¡°Is the game glitching?¡± ¡°You should understand the characteristics of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games. First, there are absolutely no bugs in this game. Second, if a bug does appear, please refer back to the first point.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s with this big fellow being immune to spells?
¡°A hidden feature? A trait?¡± ¡°I think our focus should be on how to take this thing down. I think¡­¡± The medical practitioner hadn¡¯t finished speaking when suddenly the boss¡¯s body began to writhe. A gigantic arm emerged from the side of the monster, grabbing the medical practitioner in front of it, crushing him to bits, and then tossing him into its mouth. ¡°Wow, impressive.¡±
¡°An instant-kill attack.¡± ¡°But it has a long wind-up time; if you time it right, it should be easy to dodge.¡± It was quite normal to die a few times when pioneering a new area; to the yers, this didn¡¯t feel like a big deal. Creative ways of dying were instead considered a topic of conversation. In the future, they could brag with pride: ¡°Our family was killed by the boss on our first encounter, and I must be born peculiar, or why would the boss choose me over all others?¡± Moreover, all their merit points were with Mukuai, so as long as Mukuai was safe, these yers could die thousands of times without care. Is death without penalty even death? That¡¯s just part of the gaming experience, not to be missed out on. Nevertheless, this scene made the temple keeper observing from afar furrow her brows. Disease energy was omnipresent in this world, and the temple keepers of the Demon Lord Temple had developed numerous spells relying on disease energy, remote spying being one of them. Through disease energy, she could see scenes from thousands of miles away, noting the medical practitioners¡¯ rxed demeanor. But the more she watched, the more rmed she became. These medical practitioners were definitely not from this world. The temple keeper of the Demon Lord Temple was not foolish, but their vision was limited to the fours in front of them, entirely missing the anomalies taking ce between heaven and earth.
The Disease Demon Lord they worshiped had be a joke, and the disease energy they revered was merely pollution in the eyes of the Great Heavenly Lord Fang Cheng. If cleaning it up wasn¡¯t such a hassle, they wouldn¡¯t have noticed the emergence of these equally matched opponents, the medical practitioners. Now, after observing these decidedly abnormal medical practitioners for a while, the temple keeper looked up at the sun above her head. The sun was golden, and usually, by staring at it, one could feel the mad will of the Disease Demon Lording through the sunlight, which allowed her to sense the omnipresent love of the Demon Lord. But now, the madness in the sunlight was gone, the source of the disease energy cut off, and the frail Heavenly Tao was finally retaliating, signaling to her the change of an era. But it didn¡¯t matter. The power of the Disease Demon Lord was eternal; he had merely departed temporarily. The great Demon Lord would not abandon his followers, and everything would soon settle down. Chapter 112: 99: The Squad Leaders Observations Chapter 112: Chapter 99: The Squad Leader¡¯s Observations Along the Way (First Update)_2 At this time, it was a test of the believers¡¯ faith, and all she needed to do was to steadfastly hold to her own beliefs and continue to trust in the Disease Demon Lord. Thus, she said to the City Lord beside her, ¡°Carry on, I have seen that the battle is going smoothly.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The Personal Soldiers infected by Disease Bugs began to mobilize. A portion of the corrupted Personal Soldiers started moving toward the north side, where other City Lords¡¯ territories were located. Facing Personal Soldiers as corrupted as mountains, those City Lords would be powerless, only able to watch helplessly as the monsters devoured theirnds. To deal with these terrifying monsters, their only choice was to seek refuge in the Demon God Temple, receive protection from the Demon God Temple, and create simr Personal Soldiers to resist the monsters. Afterward, the City Lords who acquired monsters would attack in all directions, causing more and more City Lords to seek refuge in the Demon God Temple and, ultimately, grant the Demon God Temple unprecedented power. This was the Demon God Temple¡¯s opportunity, a chance given to them by the healers, but it was predicated on their proving they had the strength to defeat the healers.
If, however, they demonstrated an inability tobat the healers, then obliteration would be their only oue. But it didn¡¯t matter, for the power of the corrupted Personal Soldiers was absolute; the healers would not have the capability to confront these Personal Soldiers and were doomed to defeat. And, in fact, the situation was very much as the temple keeper had imagined. After trying over a dozen methods, the yers discovered that they were utterly helpless against these colossi. Impervious to des and arrows, resistant to fire and water, even if the young and strong managed to hack off a few pieces of flesh, the original wounds would quickly heal, with no impact whatsoever. After determining the trajectory of the opponents¡¯ movements, all they could do was to get others to evacuate, to clear a path along the monsters¡¯ route of march, thus minimizing losses. The Squad Leader who was captured by Xiemen Waidao was also within the evacuation zone. Seeing Xiemen Waidao entering with a knife in hand, the Squad Leader sneered, ¡°You finally couldn¡¯t resist revealing your true colors, could you?¡± ¡°He actually knows your true colors,¡± Mukuai 1234 said happily beside Xiemen Waidao. ¡°Everyone outside says you¡¯re a great saint; finally, there¡¯s someone who gets it.¡± ¡°I was wondering why someone has been tarnishing my reputation recently, so it was you.¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with me; I¡¯m just telling the truth. ¡°You¡¯re leaking yer privacy!¡± Xiemen Waidao sliced through the Squad Leader¡¯s ropes and then pointed outside, saying, ¡°Something ising, we can¡¯t resist it; you should just run. Moving his wrists, the Squad Leader looked at Xiemen Waidao with a strange expression, ¡°Are there a bunch of archers lying in ambush outside, ready to shoot me as I embrace freedom?¡± ¡°Like it or not, go! Mukuai 1234, let¡¯s go outside and organise the evacuation. Realising that Xiemen Waidao really left him behind and didn¡¯t care anymore, the Squad Leader paused for a moment, then noticed the chaos outside, as if people were indeed fleeing. Walking out uncertainly, he discovered that the vast vige had been abandoned, and everything that could be taken had been moved away, leaving a stark emptiness behind. Before he could understand what the vigers had in mind, an immense fear struck him, making him scream involuntarily, ¡°What is that! A massive monster appeared from the north, a gigantic creature writhing between the mountains. Even the Squad Leader, who was ustomed to seeing Disease Beasts, fell into a state of terror, his entire body numb and immobilized.
Its unfamiliar form made it seem like a non-human entity, yet bizarrely, it wasposed of human shapes; this contrast and peculiarity sent the Squad Leader into even greater panic. With great difficulty regaining his senses, the Squad Leader took control of his body with a strong will and quickly left the area. Not long after his departure, the massive monster swept through the vige like a natural disaster, pulverizing both the residences and the healers buildings. Having destroyed the vige, the monster¡¯s pace did not slow as it barreled toward its next destination.
The Squad Leader wanted to see where hisrades were, but realizing that the monster hade straight from the north, he became anxious. The north was the direction of the City Master Mansion, and if the monster¡¯s preferred targets were humans, then the City Master Mansion might also be under threat of attack. Personal Soldiers need to prioritize the safety of the City Lord at all times, so upon realizing the City Lord might be in danger, he didn¡¯t bother to summon his subordinates; he immediately followed the trail of the monster toward the City Master Mansion. Although he had been imprisoned for a while, Squad Leader¡¯s body, during that period, had not only not weakened but had actually improved somewhat. The food here included both meat and vegetables, and they were liberal with the use of oil; they even dared to use three eggs for scrambled eggs! The rice was pure white, without any sand or foreign objects, and its fragrance was mouthwatering. Adhering to the principle that every bite he took meant one less for the healers, Squad Leader had been eating unrestrainedly during this time, desperately eating, until he finally gained about five pounds and his strength increased considerably. Sensing the growth in his body¡¯s strength, Squad Leader did not feel much joy, as he had begun to find everything along the way strange. This monster should be able to sense where crowds of people were gathering. Many viges had been destroyed by the monsters, and refugees were everywhere. At this time, the importance of healers was especially evident. These selfless healers were aiding the refugees, and the massive distribution of various supplies, along with the saturation rescue efforts, resulted in only minor injuries among the vigers, with seemingly no deaths or disappearances. Despite the disaster, the refugees also behavedmendably. They did not cause trouble amidst the chaos, nor did they hoard goods for profit. Some able-bodied people formed protective squads to help the healers fend off Disease Beasts and distribute supplies. Some children even found it quite fun. After all, previously, to prevent the spread of disease, children would stay inside their houses and could not go out.
Even though the healers had arrived, the old customs couldn¡¯t be changed overnight, and adults still preferred to keep children inside the house rather than going out. But now, with no houses left, adults were too busy salvaging supplies to take care of the children. The children finally got to y with their peers as long as they didn¡¯t stray from the refuge; then there was no problem. Seeing this scene for the first time, Squad Leader felt that this was how children should be. The refugees were calm and cooperative, and one could even hearughter and joyful voices, which made Squad Leader feel as if this ce hadn¡¯t suffered a disaster. The stark contrast between the grim scenery and the spirits of the popce led Squad Leader to reevaluate the meaning of being a healer. It seemed what the people needed was not a City Lord, but healers¡­ Dismissing the disgraceful thoughts from his mind, Squad Leader tried to convince himself that the City Lord was indeed the most important. But it wasn¡¯t just one or two cases; along the way, the same scenes were everywhere, which made Squad Leader increasingly doubt his previous ideas. Fortunately, he arrived at the City Master Mansion half a dayter. Although there were signs of towering Disease Beasts¡¯ activities, the city walls had not copsed, and there were no signs of disaster. Everything inside and outside the City Master Mansion was normal which, upon his rushed return, reassured Squad Leader but also left him somewhat puzzled. If there was no disaster, could it mean that the Disease Beasts were born here? Staring at the traces, Squad Leader noticed that they started narrow and shallow. But as the Disease Beast moved southward, its tracks grew deeper and the surrounding width increased, indicating that the beast¡¯s size was growing over time. After looking at the traces for a while, Squad Leader hung the waist knife he had found on the road on his belt and ced a Heart Protection Mirror inside his chest, covered by his clothing, before shouting, ¡°I am the Personal Soldier Squad Leader, and I havee back alive from the battlefield.¡± He shouted three times before the city gates finally opened. Expressionless soldiers stood on either side of the gate, their dull and turbid eyes like those of dead fish, looking at Squad Leader and making him feel a hint of eeriness and difort. The interior of the city remained quiet, but this quietness was especially eerie now; the strange cries of insects had vanished, turning the entire city into a grave-like ce.
Standing not far ahead was the casually dressed City Lord, smiling and watching him. Everything was as usual; his body, despite being middle-aged, was still robust, and there was still a sparkle in his eyes. Opening his hand, he smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯ve returned, Squad Leader.¡± Facing the City Lord, who was acting as if everything was normal, Squad Leader hesitated for a moment and then finally knelt halfway. ¡°I have returned, City Lord.¡± Chapter 113: 100: The Battle Inside the Black Tower (Part 2)1 Chapter 113: Chapter 100: The Battle Inside the ck Tower (Part 2)1 When Squad Leader arrived, the City Lord¡¯s reaction was entirely normal. Upon hearing Squad Leader mention the abnormally huge Disease Beast beyond imagination, the City Lord nodded and said, ¡°That thing appeared out of nowhere and headed straight south after appearing. I have no idea what¡¯s going on.¡± Upon hearing the City Lord¡¯s response, Squad Leader silently nodded in agreement. The City Lord¡¯s reply raised no issues, which alleviated some of his suspicions. He then continued asking, ¡°What about my other brothers? Has anyone returned?¡± ¡°No one,¡± the City Lord said regretfully. ¡°You¡¯re the first one to return in this period.¡± ¡°I see¡­ I understand.¡± After briefly updating the City Lord about his situation, Squad Leader returned to his room andy on the bed in contemtion. Among the captured Personal Soldiers, his speed was not the fastest; more than half of the people were quicker on their feet, and they should¡¯ve returned earlier by logic. Moreover, he had spent some time observing the situation of the refugees on the road, causing further dy, so how could he possibly be the first to return? The doubts he had suppressed earlier surged up again, giving him a strange feeling that something was amiss.
Two small figures appeared in his mind; one saying, ¡°The City Lord was kind to us before; we mustn¡¯t doubt him.¡± The other, with a face full of sneers, retorted, ¡°Do you believe that idiot or do you believe me?¡± Just as Squad Leader was in a dilemma about what to do, there was suddenly the sound of something hitting the floor at the doorway. Immediately rising from the bed, Squad Leader grabbed his waist knife, silently approached the door, and peering through the crack, saw no one outside, only a waist token lying on the ground. The waist token served as the identity proof for Personal Soldiers, made from the finest ck iron, not easily broken. During battles, Personal Soldiers could vanish without a trace, but the waist tokens often remained intact, serving as confirmation of the deceased¡¯s identity. Without rushing out, Squad Leader listened carefully for a while, making sure there were no footsteps, before opening a slight gap in the door. He poked out his waist knife, hooking the waist token over to him, and then promptly closed the door. This action was swift as lightning andpleted in the blink of an eye. Upon seeing the waist token, Squad Leader¡¯s breathing became rapid. It belonged to one of his subordinates. This person was the fastest runner among the Personal Soldiers, responsible for allmunication between the squads, and should have been the first to return. The City Lord imed he was the first, but the appearance of the waist token here suggested otherwise. The most likely scenario was that the City Lord had lied, and his subordinate had already returned. So why would the City Lord lie? They were all his Personal Soldiers; did he really have to? Although Squad Leader did not know who had stolen the waist token and who had dropped it, his suspicions grew so deep that he feltpelled to get to the bottom of it. He didn¡¯t go through the main door. Instead, he leaped out of the window, rolled on the grass as hended, leaving barely any sound. Bitting his waist knife, he cautiously made his way into a room on the first floor. This was originally the room of the other Personal Soldiers, but now, it was empty. The room was chaotic, with signs of struggle and bloodstains everywhere, indicating that a fierce fight had taken ce here. It seemed the City Lord was overly trusting in him, trusting to the extent that he didn¡¯t bother to clear up the traces from before, so tantly leaving the evidence before his eyes.
Or was it that he didn¡¯t expect to survive the night? Hugging the wall, Squad Leader waited for a while until he heard footsteps. Someone was ascending the stairs, walking up to the room above his and opened the door. After discovering it was empty, the footsteps from above didn¡¯t show any panic, just silently left the room, likely to report to the City Lord. Concealing himself in the shadows, Squad Leader saw through the window, by the bright moonlight outside, the departing figure dressed in the robes of the Demon Lord Temple.
The City Lord usually despised the people from the Demon Lord Temple, saying they were no better than pigs and dogs, mere vampires. If not for the necessity of their help in maintaining the vitality of Qingyu, he wouldn¡¯t bother with them at all. But now, it was evident that the City Lord was colluding with the scoundrels of the Demon Lord Temple, furtherplicating Squad Leader¡¯s doubts. Those figures were not headed towards the City Master Mansion but towards the pitch-ck tower. Following them, Squad Leader maintained a careful distance. The skills of a veteran soldier in tracking should not be underestimated, and he was the best at tracking among the Personal Soldiers. Many enemy Scouts wouldn¡¯t even realize they had someone tailing them until they unknowingly led Squad Leader inside their camp. After bing Squad Leader, he stopped engaging in tracking, but his capabilities hadn¡¯t lessened, and now they hade to his aid once again. Watching those temple keepers enter the ck tower, Squad Leader knew he could wait no longer. Although somewhat rushed, if the City Lord and those from the Demon Lord Temple knew he had be suspicious of them, any investigation or escape would be extremely difficult. Moreover, if he wasn¡¯t prepared, it was likely they weren¡¯t either. Neither the City Lord nor the temple keepers would expect the most loyal Squad Leader to investigate them. Squad Leader also considered the possibility of a misjudgment. If he truly wronged the City Lord, he would immediately apologize and voluntarily go to the northern battlefield to fight until death. The doors to the ck tower closed before him, but its twisted shape was not hard to infiltrate. Biting the back of his waist knife, Squad Leader rubbed his hands together, then grabbed the outer wall of the ck tower, and began climbing upward.
The material of the ck tower was unlike any construction material, neither earth nor wood, neither gold nor stone; it felt like some kind of creature¡¯s bones, with a faint sense of rhythm to it. Chapter 114: too: The Battle Inside the Black Chapter 114: Chapter too: The Battle Inside the ck Tower (Part 2) 2 Normally, just getting close to this ce would cause one to feel an indescribable sense of nausea, as if something were alerting him, warning him not to approach. Today, that disgusting sensation is still present, but strangely, it has slowly weakened, allowing him to climb without too much difficulty. As he climbed up along the twisted ck tower, Squad Leader could still hear the conversational voices from within the tower, even through its outer walls. These voices were unlike those of ordinary people, sounding like sticky tentacles caressing each other, with mucus and suction cups rubbing against the tendrils, making one¡¯s skin crawl just by listening. Peering through the windows of the tower, Squad Leader saw two temple keepers in ck cloaks facing each other, with numerous tentacles emerging from beneath their cloaks and intertwining. The folks from the Demon Lord Temple are indeed monsters! As he continued to climb, he encountered more and more horrors. This ce was essentially a massive experimental site where countless ordinary people were gathered and infused with disease to be experimented on. The experiment subjects on the lower levels retained some human-like appearance, but the higher he went, the more terrifying and ghastly they became.
In a hidden room, he saw what he did not wish to see. The leather armor and waist tags of his own subordinates were carelessly piled up there, some stained with blood, suggesting that they had likely met with a grim fate. Although he had anticipated this oue, Squad Leader still felt dizzy and disoriented. After the shock, a pain clenched his chest, and an endless rage burned within him, leaving him gasping for breath! City Lord, how dare you! We revered you as the City Lord because you were meritorious to the civilians, you treated us personal soldiers well! But now, you have sent the people here to be experimental subjects, and you have callously discarded your personal soldiers who loved you like a father. You deceived us with your eloquent words¡ªwas it all for the sake of these monsters? Footsteps approached; a temple keeper who had business there pushed open the door and saw Squad Leader who had climbed in from outside. He made an abnormal sound and was about to turn around and call others when a short de pierced through his neck from behind. Ripping open the opponent¡¯s cloak, Squad Leader found that the temple keeper beneath was a detestable monster with a face full of tentacles, even the vocal cords in their neck were filled with tentacles, making it so they could only emit strange noises. Forcefully severing the monster¡¯s head, Squad Leader tossed the head aside and locked the door to prevent being discovered, then jumped outside and continued climbing. He checked room after room until finally, in one of them, he found familiar faces. They were his own brothers. They were chained tightly to the walls, rows of fist-sized bugs were ced on one side, and two temple keepers were murmuring to each other. The bugs were enveloped by a miasma of illness; they were clearly out of the ordinary. Although Squad Leader did not know what the temple keepers nned to do with these bugs, he knew he could not let them seed. With the short de in his mouth, Squad Leader silently waited until the room had only two people left, then he abruptly made his move. Leaping in from the window, he did not wait for one of the temple keepers to react and swiftly ended him with a sh. The other temple keeper trembled all over, terrified by the murderous intent on Squad Leader¡¯s face; just as he began to beg for mercy, Squad Leader¡¯s de came sweeping through and pierced his chest, then he twisted it sideways, putting an end to this man.
To prevent these monsters froming back to life, he beheaded the dead as well, then he noticed that his de had be jagged. Tossing the damaged short de aside, he searched the temple keepers¡¯ bodies, found the keys, unlocked the chains, and took down his brothers one by one. These brothers had been tortured beyond recognition, but fortunately, they still clung to life. Looking outside, then back at his brothers, Squad Leader clenched his teeth, about to carry his brothers down one by one, when he saw a purple glow shing by, and the spell of healing was cast upon these personal soldiers, restoring a healthier glow to theirplexions.
A few of the personal soldiers who were not seriously injured could even open their eyes, and upon recognizing Squad Leader, immediately grabbed his arm and silently wept. Squad Leader also wanted to cry, but he knew this was not the time for tears; he could only cover their mouths with his hand, then turned to look at the person behind him. He was a healer, and not just any healer, but the one who had captured himself, Xiemen Waidao, and Mukuai 1234.. Looking at the other party, Squad Leader had a thousand words in his heart, but they all converged into one question, ¡°How did you get here?¡± ¡°We came with you. We were just hiding in your pocket.¡± After speaking, Xiemen Waidao directly demonstrated the Divine Skills he had acquired from umting merits, which allowed him to be asrge as a normal person one moment, and as small as a green bean the next. Once he finished transforming, Xiemen Waidao, unable to resist the urge, took a screenshot of Squad Leader¡¯s shocked expression and then said to Mukuai 1234 beside him, ¡°This guy¡¯s reaction is just too funny, I really love this game.¡± Mukuai 1234 looked at Xiemen Waidao speechlessly, then deducted ten points of health from him. To think that she had once found this guy somewhat handsome, she really must have been sick at the time. After healing every personal soldier, Xiemen Waidao looked at the bugs set aside and fell into thought. These bugs were teeming with disease, with the ones the size of a thumb carrying several times the disease of an ordinary person, which didn¡¯t seem like a result of natural evolution. Combining this with what had happened to the personal soldiers, Xiemen Waidao had a bold thought. The Demon Lord Temple was using these creatures to create Disease Beasts, and the original model for these beasts were human beings.
Thinking of what the Demon Lord Temple had done to the bandits before, Xiemen Waidao felt that the Temple must have been plotting for a long time. They were definitively the ultimate boss in this game, their deeds so vile that there was no chance of whitewashing them. Such pure evildoers would definitely feel great to beat up. As the personal soldiers regained their strength, Xiemen Waidao opened his Backpack System,id out the armors and weapons he was carrying, and then said to the Squad Leader, ¡°Hurry up, get armed¡­ why are you looking at me?¡± Pointing to the weapons and armor on the ground, Squad Leader widened his eyes in astonishment and asked incredulously, ¡°How did you take these out?¡± ¡°The Backpack System! Even huge items only take up one slot when you put them in. It¡¯s really convenient to use. But this feature is exclusive to us yers, you NPCs can only envy it, you won¡¯t get it!¡± In that moment, Squad Leader finally understood how Mukuai 1234 felt. Even though he didn¡¯t understand half of it, the half he did understand was enough to make him want to hit someone. However, since the other party was his savior, and the savior of his brothers, he still bowed in thanks and then asked, ¡°What do we do next? Run away?¡± But after a moment of thought, Xiemen Waidao stared at the Heavenly Vision, that is, the mini-map for a while, then pointed upwards firmly and said, ¡°No, we go up.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Squad Leader asked seriously. ¡°Well¡­ I am a healer after all, and some things can¡¯t be said too openly. But look, the City Lord¡¯sbat forces are all outside, and there¡¯s hardly any protection for the temple keepers and the City Lord in here. Up there, there are many people suffering from illness who need our help. Of course, if some can¡¯t be saved, we need to give them a swift end so they can departfortably. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± Squad Leader was not stupid. Despite not fully grasping why Xiemen Waidao had to be so vague, he understood his intentions.
It meant to fight their way up. The temple keepers here could no longer be saved; most of them had lost their humanity and even what little beastly instincts they had. For the sake of the nearbymon folk, these tyrannical beings must be destroyed. That¡¯s what Xiemen Waidao was getting at. Nodding slightly, Squad Leader looked at his brothers and said, ¡°Brothers, do you know who¡¯s torturing you, who wants to infest you with bugs and turn us into monsters?¡± The personal soldiers who had recovered nodded. ¡°The City Lord has been kind to us, but we have paid back his kindness with our continuous service. Now, if someone wants our lives, what should we do?¡± ¡°Kill!¡± ¡°Good, let¡¯s go!¡± Leading his brothers, Squad Leader protected Xiemen Waidao at his back as they charged toward the tower¡¯s summit. Chapter 115: 101: Success? Or Not? (Three updates) 1 Chapter 115: Chapter 101: Sess? Or Not? (Three updates) 1 The corridors of the ck Tower were not spacious; three Personal Soldiers standing side by side could block the way. The temple keepers along the way were no match for the squadron of Personal Soldiers, who could merely charge toward the top of the ck Tower. With the support of Xiemen Waidao, these Personal Soldiers seemed to have nearly inexhaustible physical strength. They¡¯d discard their weapons as they broke and Mukuai 1234 would immediately assist by providing new ones. And with each temple keeper they killed, Xiemen Waidao would give a silent cheer of exhration. These rascals were up to no good, every one of them a walking package of virtue. Although it wasn¡¯t him but his Personal Soldiers who killed them, his share of the umted virtue was plentiful. Seeing Xiemen Waidao so excited, Mukuai 1234 sneered, ¡°What do you n to do with all that umted virtue? Are you saving up to get me a swimsuit or some other unspeakable outfits?¡± ¡°None of that. I¡¯m just curious to see if umting enough virtue unlocks an easter egg. After all, Fang Cheng Studio is famous for its easter eggs.¡± ¡°So, what kind of easter egg are you looking to find? Getting me a swimsuitor other unspeakable outfits?¡± Xiemen Waidao, eyeing Mukuai 1234, said, ¡°I hope next time they make a virtual game assistant and assign you to be specifically for me. Although I know you¡¯re a strong artificial intelligence, how should I put this, there are so few like you that really suit my taste. You¡¯re sarcastic, skillful in the art of mockery, and I find the asional kick from you ratherforting.¡± ¡°Hold on, thatst part sounded off¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sweat the small stuff. What I mean is, I know my tastes are peculiar and I¡¯m quite the oddball in reality, too. When I y games, I always run toward the darker path. You¡¯re the only one who doesn¡¯t despise me and is willing to y along.¡±
¡°Anyway, let¡¯s just umte for now and see if the production team is willing to indulge my little request. Let¡¯s move.¡± Under the protection of the Squad Leader, Xiemen Waidao began charging aggressively, with Mukuai 1234 following behind. She watched his back and murmured, ¡°Lunatic¡­¡± Then she followed suit, a smile involuntarily appearing on her face, even humming a tune. With the aid of Heavenly Vision, the City Lord and the High Priestess¡¯s locations were as clear as day. The interioryout of the ck Tower wasplex, yet Heavenly Vision acted as an absolutely precise mini-map, marking the locations of both clearly. It didn¡¯t take long for them to be found. A branch of the ck Tower pierced through the clouds, rising above them. On the tform above the clouds, the High Priestess sat facing the only ess route. Soon, screams filled the air as the temple keepers guarding the entrance were hacked into mincemeat. The Squad Leader and his brothers ascended to the high tform and faced the High Priestess. The ck Tower stood alone, reaching into the sky, with the roaring wind causing the surrounding dark clouds to billow like undting waves. Under the clear moonlight, the High Priestess was d in a voluminous ck robe, her dark lips giving off an eerie glow at this moment. By her side, the City Lord in armor was expressionless, but his body was teeming with Disease Bugs, revealing that he had ingested them. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived, healer, Squad Leader,¡± the temple keeper said with a smile. ¡°Yeah, uh¡­ could you speedupyour lines abit? I¡¯minabit of a hurry. It¡¯s half an hour until 3:30 AM, and I have a calculus exam today.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still ying games before an exam!¡± Mukuai 1234 shouted in surprise. ¡°And sote at night!¡± ¡°Calculus is trivial. Failing it would be fine.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t treat it so lightly!¡± Disturbed by Xiemen Waidao¡¯s interruption, the momentum that the High Priestess had been building up faltered and could no longer be gathered. With no other choice, she shook her head and told the City Lord, ¡°Go ahead.¡± The City Lord nodded silently, walked to the edge of the tform, and jumped without hesitation.
His figure quickly vanished into the clouds, but soon after, the sound of a dragon¡¯s roar burst forth, piercing the sky like an arrow, echoing far and wide. A Dragon of Disease, dozens of meters in length, emerged from below, its long body weaving through the clouds before lunging towards the high tform, floating above the High Priestess¡¯s head. Only when the Dragon of Disease got closer did Xiemen Waidao realize that its body was not truly draconic, but made up of heads. Countless heads formed the dragon¡¯s body, each seemingly still alive, monotonously chanting the True Text, spewing out Disease Bugs to construct this mythical creature.
And among these heads was unmistakably the former City Lord. Recognizing the head, the Squad Leader said in shock, ¡°City Lord¡­¡± m not the City Lord, I am the Dragon of Disease. Such powerful and terrifying body, such majesty. Compared to this, the human flesh is insignificant. Squad Leader, join me and indulge in the beauty of eternal life together.¡± The pervasive Disease Bugs exuding from him exerted such pressure that even the Heavenly Tao Messenger Mukuai 1234 felt wary, saying, ¡°How many people did this guy kill to gather such a massive amount of Disease Bugs?¡± Mukuai 1234¡¯s reaction pleased the High Priestess. She was about to exin the origins of the Dragon of Disease when she noticed Xiemen Waidao was attempting to pick his nose, but he couldn¡¯t manage to get his finger in the right spot. The uracy of this model is still not high enough. With no other options, he just shrugged and looked at the Dragon of Disease, saying, ¡°You call that immortality? In my view, the only thing that can truly be called eternal is life itself. You removed yourself from the cycle of life, and you dare call it immortality¡­¡± Chapter 116: 101: Success? Or Not? (Three updates) Chapter 116: Chapter 101: Sess? Or Not? (Three updates) 2 ¡°¡­A mayfly can hardly grasp the wonders of immortality. And besides¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m toozy to chat with a fool like you, Squad Leader, follow me, we¡¯re pulling out!¡± Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Xiemen Waidao, dragging Mukuai 1234, leapt off the tform and vanished into the clouds. The Disease Dragon and the temple keeper, who had hoped for a grand battle, stared nkly at the spot where Xiemen Waidao disappeared, not understanding what had happened. The Squad Leader was also unclear, but the situation now was that they definitely couldn¡¯t beat the Disease Dragon in front of them. Instead of gambling their lives here, it was better to heed Xiemen Waidao¡¯s advice. Thus, the Squad Leader also shouted, ¡°Brothers, let¡¯s go!¡± Under the Squad Leader¡¯s lead, a few Personal Soldiers jumped off the tform and, soon afternding, felt the scenery around them expanding rapidly. Then, the Squad Leader realized it wasn¡¯t the surroundings that were growing, but rather they were shrinking.
In an instant, their bodies shrank to the size of sesame seeds, a gust of wind could blow them away, and their descent slowed down like snowkes. Beside them, a series of purple rings lit up, and Xiemen Waidao, riding on Mukuai 1234, came to their side and said, ¡°I know whatyou want to ask. The slower descent is due to air resistance, and because the air here has Disease Qi, it¡¯s denser, making our descent even slower. There won¡¯t be any problem once wend.¡± Only then did the Squad Leader remember that Xiemen Waidao possessed Divine Skills that could shrink or erge people. He had thought that the Divine Skills could only be applied to himself; he hadn¡¯t expected it to affect others around him. Although he felt they could escape, he still asked with confusion, ¡°We¡¯re escaping, but what about the Disease Dragon?¡± ¡°That thing is easy to deal with, just wait for it toe. We specte that the previous spells didn¡¯t work on the Disease Beasts because we targeted the wrong object. Our actual target should be the bugs inside them, and that outeryer is merely a byproduct of the bugs. I must admit, the Demon Lord Temple has some skills, but s, they met us! Exterminate hahaha!¡± The Squad Leader looked at Xiemen Waidao with puzzlement, not knowing where his confidence came from. Suddenly, something obscured the moonlight above, and a giant dragon made of skulls flew by, charging towards the medics¡¯ gathering spot. There, the medics had already been waiting for a while. They had seen the intelligence provided by Xiemen Waidao and tested it on therge Disease Beast earlier, then confirming that the method was effective. Every man-made Disease Beast had an abundance of Disease Bugs inside, and only by attacking these Disease Bugs could they achieve results. Sitting on Mukuai 1234, Xiemen Waidao said, ¡°From here on out, it¡¯s none of our concern. Let¡¯s watch their performance.¡± The next second, purple rings shed, and a spot on the Disease Dragon was illuminated by purple light, revealing a hidden ck spot, followed by a second spell. The ck spot was extracted, with the Disease Bugs inside shattered by the purple light, dissipating into nothingness. As for the head that had been the host of this Disease Bug, it too perished, its face showing a relieved smile. Compared to the head¡¯s relief, the face of the Disease Dragon showed a mix of shock and rage. He was the trump card of the Demon Lord Temple, the secret weapon against the medics, but who could have expected that the weapon would be countered so fiercely upon its arrival, its prestige not even matching that of the previous slug. Before he could react, another sh of purple light struck. The moment the Disease Bug within the head was detected, several spells descended, eradicating the Disease Bug on the spot.
Then, one after another, spells lit up, hundreds of medics gathering nearby,mencing thergest-scale boss battle in the game. The purple spells, like explosions, went off in session, each wave annihting a vast number of Disease Bugs. The frenzied Disease Dragon ran wildly, close to the ground, causing only single-digit casualties, unable to stop the medics from continuing to respawn and keeping to eliminate it. Not far from the battlefield, Chen Rang stared at everything unfolding before him, beginning to write the battle report.
His battle reports were highly popr outside the game, as well as inside it. This game seems to also encourage yers to write battle reports, as some of the vigorous youth appear to always glean something from them. Each time they have an epiphany, he himself would receive more virtue and have more money to buy clothes for his Mukuai. And when his battle report waspleted, it was also the moment the Disease Dragon fell. Defeating the boss took a total of forty-seven minutes, with the difficulty lying in the boss¡¯s berserkform at the end. Upon realizing that the healers could not be eliminated, the Disease Dragon finally became enraged, making its actions unpredictable. Moreover, because its body shrank, it became exceptionally agile, requiring more time to capture the Disease Bugs within the opponent¡¯s body, but the oue would not change because of this. At the moment of the Disease Dragon¡¯s fall, the Great Temple Keeper atop the ck tower also witnessed everything. She wanted to ask for help from the Disease Demon Lord, questioning what she should do, but there was no response. The Disease Demon Lord had already died, the era of disease wasing to an end, and these healers were the dawn of a new age¡ªan era where they no longer had a ce. Realizing this, the Great Temple Keeper leaped from the ck tower, giving herself a dignified end. Her body was not found among the rubble until the break of dawn, swarmed by a multitude of bugs that left her beautifully once alive, now riddled with holes. Before long, Chen Rang¡¯s battle report was released, letting everyone know the oue of the battle. ¡°Although the two prime culprits have been eliminated, the steps of the healers will not stop. Once the wheels of progress begin to turn, they will not stop. The meaning of the game title ¡®Healers¡¯ has been fully exined, showing us how grand the scope of a game should be. By the way, there are stillrge unexplored areas waiting for yers to discover, and I hope more yers will join in to enjoy the joy of revolution and exploration.¡±
During work hours, Wang Xiaoying finished reading the yers¡¯ periodic achievements and Chen Rang¡¯s battle report, and couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°It¡¯s still these yers who know how to make things exciting. When I was looking for the game¡¯s selling points, I didn¡¯t think it could be yed as a revolutionary game.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it either,¡± Huang Ping remarked while drinking his tea, ¡°But I must say, the game seems more interesting after expanding its scope. Plus, the game¡¯s early gamey andter gamey are unified yet progressive, which really shows the boss¡¯s foresight.¡± ¡°You guys only know how to tter, huh?¡± Gao Tianyun, standing at the door, said discontentedly, ¡°If you ask me, this game ispletely no good! Mr. Fang, you shouldn¡¯t have wasted time on games, better to coborate with me on VR. Just think, if the performance of VR equipment could be tapped into further, this game¡¯s presentation would be even better. Every day you waste now dys the birth of virtual reality games by one day.¡± Looking at Gao Tianyun seated by the door, Huang Ping asked in confusion, ¡°Boss Gao, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Nothing much, just came to see Mr. Fang, and then express my dissatisfaction with Mr. Fang¡¯s stubbornness. Hmm, where is Mr. Fang anyway?¡± ¡°Right, the boss was just here a moment ago, where did he go?¡± At this very moment, Fang Cheng was hovering above the Disease. Although it was working hours, the fours were enveloped in smoke, with battles raging fiercely everywhere, almost every ce engaged in warfare. The main force on the battlefield was naturally the healers. Although the Demon Lord Temples had more reserves of disease qi and various trump cards, the healers possessed advantages that the other side couldn¡¯tpare with. Infinite respawns, as well as a strong grassroots foundation. Chen Rang¡¯s battle reports might have just documented individual battlefields, but he would also add analysis, as after all his Mukuai loved to read them. Of course, the vigorous youth loved to read them too. Through the battle reports, the vigorous youth found that the terrifying Demon Lord Temples were not so fearsome, and could be defeated with the right strategies.
At the same time, they also realized that it was eptable to pay taxes to the City Lord, but the City Lord should also fulfill their responsibilities. Responsibility should equal obligation, and one-sided giving is an abnormal rtionship. If it¡¯s abnormal, then there¡¯s a need to shatter it! Bodies were healed, minds were armed, and the red mes began to burn, spreading to the entire world. All of this was witnessed by Fang Cheng with but a thought. By his side, the Heavenly Tao of this ce had taken the form of a little girl who stood by Fang Cheng¡¯s side in fear, not knowing why the Great Heavenly Lord furrowed his brows. The reason for Fang Cheng¡¯s frown was quite simple. Had this turned out to be a sess, or not? Chapter 117:102 : The 7th Employee (First Update)! Chapter 117:102 Chapter: The 7th Employee (First Update)! Saying I haven¡¯t achieved it, yet the yers are indeed all pursuing merit. But to say I have achieved it, the reason the yers pursue merit is different from what I had in mind. Some of them do it so they can change Mukuai¡¯s clothes, some to experience more Divine Skills, and some to build bigger houses; there are not many who purely enjoy the happiness brought by doing good deeds. Through the Dustfire, Fang Cheng saw that the Dustfire that gave birth to ¡°The Healer¡± had no issues; it was all blue, but the taste just felt wrong. Submerging his consciousness into his own Primordial Spirit space, Fang Cheng stood tall upon the boundless Sea of Soul. The Sea of Soul is also the sea of human consciousness, each person has their own Primordial Spirit, only a small portion of Cultivators can sense the Sea of Soul, but those who can enter must be of great cultivation. In the Sea of Soul, Cultivators can clear their minds and see their true nature peeking at their own hidden thoughts, checking for the presence of things like Heart Demons. If one¡¯s thoughts are too numerous, the Sea of Soul will churn with turbulent waves and thoughts, making it difficult to meditate and cultivate in tranquility. Yet Fang Cheng¡¯s cultivation was nearly at its peak, and his Sea of Soul was almostpletely waveless; smooth like a mirror, stretching endlessly into the distance, joining with the horizon. But even beneath the calm surface of the Sea of Soul, there were still thoughts in abundance, entwined with one another. Plucking a single thought from the Sea of Soul, Fang Cheng touched it, and the thought thread transformed into a small child-like version of himself. After saluting his original self, the thought immediately said, ¡°No, the pursuit of merit shoulde from the heart, it shouldn¡¯t be forcefully attached to external things.¡±
But immediately after, another thought emerged and contradicted, ¡°Yes, doing good deeds is about the deed, not the intention, no matter their goals, they are pursuing merit.¡± Another thought sprang up right away, ¡°No, they¡¯ve deviated from the path we set out for them, and whether you admit it or not, their final actions are that of great goodness; the path we arranged before was only minor goodness at best.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°No¡­¡± One thought after another emerged, causing the originally tranquil surface to be unsettling. Quietly observing for a while, Fang Cheng noted more and more thoughts appearing, and the arguing intensifying. Seeing this, he knew he hadn¡¯t seeded. True sess wasn¡¯t the absence of other voices, but the gradual diminishing of voices, eventually converging into one. But now, with more and more morous thoughts, it showed that his true heart was still hesitating. Hesitation means no achievement. Letting those thoughts return, he returned to the Mirror Universe and sighed looking at the of ¡°The Healer¡± before him. Walking further away, he took several stars in his hands, squeezed them to explosion then restored them, repeating the action a few times before he felt somewhat relieved. Although he hadn¡¯t seeded again, overall, there was still a significant gain. The pursuit of merit can easily be reced by the pursuit of the benefits it brings, leading yers to abandon the essence and shift their focus to thetter. But this isn¡¯t the yers¡¯ fault; it is human nature, and they can¡¯t be harshly judged for it. Storing away this insight, Fang Cheng decided to cancel the rewards he originally intended to give to the yers, and will only distribute them once he has found his own path. Back on the of ¡°The Healer,¡± Fang Cheng found that the Heavenly Tao was still there, watching over it. Every world has its own Little Heavenly Way, responsible for all the great ways of that world, controlling the bnce between the ways, to prevent any one way from bing too strong or too weak. The Heavenly Tao is nature itself, the embodiment of harmony; some Heavenly Tao even have their own personifications, like the Little Heavenly Way before him now. During thest encounter, this world¡¯s Little Heavenly Way was riddled with holes, swathed in Disease Qi; this was the result of the Disease Demon Lord¡¯s presence, where the Tao of Disease Qi had be overly powerful. But now, with the advent of ¡°The Healer,¡± the bnce of Disease Qi here has started to be rectified, and it won¡¯t be long until the Little Heavenly Way here returns to normal.
Although still somewhat recovered, the Little Heavenly Way couldn¡¯t speak, but upon seeing Fang Cheng¡¯s brow loosen, it clearly let out a sigh of relief and ¡¯ awkwardly managed a bow. She looked no more than eleven or twelve years old, indicating she wasn¡¯t created long ago, didn¡¯t understand many things and wasn¡¯t ustomed to much. After all, it was her first time being human; after changing forms a few more times, she would get used to it. Returning the courtesy, Fang Cheng asked, ¡°Little Heavenly Way, do you remember how you came into being?¡±
The Little Heavenly Way pondered for a moment, then lifted her hair to reveal the ravines underneath. These ravines were intricate and spread chaotically across her head. Luckily, traces of purple were beginning to show, slowly mending these ravines. Ravines formed by Disease Qi, the influence of Disease Qi still lingered, muddying her memory, making it hard for her to recall her own origins. But in time, allowing ¡°The Healer¡± to continue to Repel Disease, it¡¯s believed she¡¯ll eventually remember. Then, she pointed to the healers below still battling and showed a troubled expression. Fang Cheng understood why she was troubled. Just as he didn¡¯t like to owe cause and effect, the Heavenly Tao didn¡¯t like owing merit. Even though the yers were a bit reckless, always engaging in new gamey, generally, their level of ruing merit was quite impressive. Now, because of the continual overthrow of the Demon Lord Temple and the City Lord¡¯s rule, the yers had cumted quite a bit of merit that couldn¡¯t be cashed in a short time, which put the Heavenly Tao in distress. Wanting to help these yers by doing something to use up some merit, but aside from indulging in risque activities, most of the yers are desireless most of the time. Chapter 118: 102: The 7th Employee (First Chapter 118: Chapter 102: The 7th Employee (First Update)_2 Little Heavenly Way couldn¡¯t think of any effective methods to spend his virtues, and in the end, he could only feel distressed. After understanding the other¡¯s distress, Fang Cheng thought for a while and then said, ¡°I¡¯m trying to think of what¡¯s fun, and you¡¯re thinking about how to repay kindness, so why don¡¯t you be my Protector, and we look for ways together?¡± Upon hearing Fang Cheng¡¯s invitation, Little Heavenly Way¡¯s eyes immediately sparkled, his bright eyes full of expectation as he looked at Fang Cheng. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not tricking you. Let¡¯s go take a lookat our world.¡± Grabbing Little Heavenly Way¡¯shand, Fang Cheng stepped out, walking directly from the restroom into his workshop. Gao Tianyun, who was squatting at the entrance chatting with people inside, was overjoyed to see Fang Cheng and hurried up to him, saying, ¡°Mr. Fang, you¡¯ re finally back! Is this your daughter?¡± Xu Qingling, who sat at the reception, stood up with a face full of surprise upon seeing the entrance. Not just her, Huang Ping, Xiao Douzi, and Wang Xiaoying came over too, and they all looked surprised to see the eleven-year-old Little Heavenly Way. ¡°Wow, she¡¯s so cute. The boss¡¯s daughter really looks like him. Aren¡¯t you cold in those ancient clothes? Do you like cosy?¡±
¡°She feels very close, very approachable.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can you call me brother?¡± Xu Qjngling hesitated for a moment, then walked over to Little Heavenly Way and said, ¡°You can call me mom, too.¡± ¡°She is a distant rtive of mine, her parents are busy these days, so I¡¯m looking after her for the time being.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Xu Qingling sighed in relief, but also felt a hint of disappointment. Touching Little Heavenly Way¡¯s face, she looked at Fang Cheng and asked, ¡°So boss, what about her schooling?¡± ¡°She¡¯s already sixteen years old, but she can¡¯t speak, so she usually studies at home. However, there¡¯s no need to treat her specially because of this. Also, she wants to work in the studio for a while, so if she takes interest in something, just let her learn it. Xu Qingling, you can delegate some of the administrative tasks to her, that way, you can rx a bit.¡± ¡°Okay, boss.¡± With a sweet smile to Fang Cheng, Xu Qingling bent down to take Little Heavenly Way¡¯s hand, smiling, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll start by teaching you how to make tea. But just so you know, I am the one who makes the boss¡¯s tea, so don¡¯t try to take over.¡± Little Heavenly Way looked at Xu Qingling, sensing only that the other was well-behaved and her scent made onefortable. She couldn¡¯t help but grip the other¡¯s hand tightly, nodding vigorously to show she understood. When registering employee information and asked for her name, Little Heavenly Way thought for a moment, then wrote down her new name: ¡°TianXuan.¡± And so, the workshop weed its seventh member, who appeared to be only twelve years old but was actually thousands of years old. She had been in charge of a world and was now learning how to repay the yers ¨C Little Heavenly Way TianXuan! Huang Ping was genuinely happy about Tian Xuan¡¯s arrival, but he soon realized a problem and couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy. In his heart, he silently dreaded, hoping that Fang Cheng wouldn¡¯t notice the issue, but Fang Cheng still pped his hands and said, ¡°Tian Xuan is here; let¡¯s have a team-building event.¡± ¡°Boss!¡± ¡°No use in talking more. Also, Boss Gao, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll settle the bill for you,¡± Gao Tianyun dered righteously, ¡°as if it were business dealings. After all, since pre-installing your game, our VR machines have been selling very well. Also, at the dinner table, I¡¯d like to understand more about Mr. Fang¡¯s future intentions. Let¡¯s all look forward and who knows, in the process, we might just end up coborating.¡±
¡°We don¡¯t discuss work during our meals.¡± ¡°¡­Ah, alright then.¡± Leaving the woeful Gao Tianyun behind, Fang Cheng went to dine with several others who were just as aggrieved before announcing the details of their time off. Subsequently, they had another four-day long weekend ahead.
Bringing the neer, Tian Xuan, Fang Cheng returned to his home that evening, and met Mr. Fang, who was attempting to meditate in the living room. In front of himid a thread-bound book with obvious signs of artificial aging, filled with grotesque poses that challenged the limits of the human body. Mr. Fang, trying out one pose after another, puzzledly said, ¡°Strange,st time I saw Fang Cheng he was just sitting in this posture, why doesn¡¯t it work for me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯recking the mental cultivation method,¡± Fang Cheng seriously said, ¡°With the right method, you can even progress by lying down. Without it, no amount of practice will be of any use.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ Son, can you let me know before youe back next time? My heart nearly stopped just now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sweat the details. Besides, if you die, I can bring you back as long as it hasn¡¯t been over thirty years.¡± ¡°What happens if it¡¯s over thirty years?¡± ¡°Only half will be salvaged.¡± Mr. Fang pondered for a long time but couldn¡¯t figure out which half would be salvaged. Then he saw Tian Xuan beside Fang Cheng and asked in surprise, ¡°When did you have a kid? Is the child¡¯s mother human?¡± ¡°¡­Age-wise it doesn¡¯t make sense, and why do you assume the other party is not human?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just feels like your other half might not be human in the future.¡± Fang Cheng thoughtfully looked at Mr. Fang, ¡°I think I know what you think of me now.¡± At this moment, Mrs. Fang, who had been browsing TikTok in the room, came out and affectionately said to Fang Cheng, ¡°Son, you¡¯re back? When did you have a child? Is the child¡¯s mother human?¡±
Looking at his mother, Fang Cheng felt that his parents were definitely a couple for ten lifetimes. Their unspoken understanding was unmatched. After learning the truth about Tian Xuan¡¯s identity, Mr. and Mrs. Fang quickly epted this reality and became very affectionate towards Tian Xuan. After preparing the meal, they filled each other¡¯s bowls with various dishes, then spoke lovingly, ¡°This child looks so cute, and her eyes are particrly spiritual, very pleasant to look at.¡± Mrs. Fang had always wanted to raise another little one to make up for the regrets of these years. Now seeing Tian Xuan, her long-dormant maternal love burst forth once again. And Tian Xuan truly was charming¡ªbeing Little Heavenly Way, she naturally possessed an affinity. After changing into a newly bought little dress, she appeared even more adorable. After dinner, Mrs. Fang didn¡¯t even care about ying mahjong. She tookTian Xuan out for a walk to show off her new daughter to others. While Mr. Fang cleaned up the kitchen, it slowly dawned on him. Sitting next to Fang Cheng, who was meditating, he quietly asked, ¡°Tian Xuan is Little Heavenly Way, so does she have any special abilities? Like winning the lottery or getting unexpected windfalls?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the Heavenly Tao of another world.¡± ¡°So can I win the lottery in that other world?¡± ¡°Would you like to experience it?¡±
¡°Really?¡± Fang Cheng opened theputer and downloaded ¡°The Healer¡± for Mr. Fang to y for a while, then decide whether to go on vacation there. After a while, Mr. Fang came back and said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ve lost interest. It¡¯s okay if I don¡¯t win the lottery.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t your pension enough?¡± ¡°It¡¯s enough, but people always hope for some extra unexpected wealth.¡± Fang Cheng looked at Mr. Fang and silently took note of his words. His father always had many desires; he had tried many things when he was young, only to find out that the most sessful thing was raising an immortal son. Observing his father, Fang Cheng could always find interesting points to prepare for future games. By the afternoon, Mrs. Fang returned with Tian Xuan, looking like a porcin doll, her hands full of gifts. Looking at the gifts, Mr. Fang asked in confusion, ¡°What are these?¡± ¡°Gifts from others, they said Tian Xuan looked so cute that they sent them to build a connection. You should have seen the scene, they were almost ready to arrange a child betrothal. Oh, and someone sent this.¡± Taking the lottery ticket handed over by Mrs. Fang, Fang Cheng asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ticket lottery ticket. Isn¡¯t there arge amusement park opening in Rong City? They say it¡¯s going to be the happiest ce in Rong City. They¡¯re in a trial operation now, and tickets can only be obtained through a draw, this is the lottery ticket. The odds aren¡¯t high, so just take it as entertainment.¡±
The idea of the happiest ce piqued Fang Cheng¡¯s interest. After stowing the two lottery tickets properly, he confirmed the date, then said to Tian Xuan, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the amusement park tomorrow.¡± Tian Xuan, who was nibbling on a lollipop, nodded her head. Seeing Fang Cheng so confident, Mr. Fang asked, puzzled, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say she¡¯s not good at drawing lots?¡± ¡°But I am.¡± ¡°What about my lottery ticket¡­ Okay, it¡¯s a karma thing, right?¡± Mr. Fang sighed, feeling that being an immortal seemed omnipotent, but the father of an immortal seemed not so much. Chapter 119: 103 Botanic Garden (Second Chapter 119: Chapter 103 Botanic Garden (Second Update)_l The next day, Fang Cheng and Tian Xuan, who had won the trial operation privilege online, arrived at Rong City Happy Valley. The park covered an area of 620,000 square meters and featured ten differentrge theme areas, each with over a dozen attractions. Just visiting one area could take up a whole day, making it nearly impossible to see everything in one go. Unless one was an Immortal. But Fang Cheng did not want to visit as an Immortal; he preferred to experience it as a mortal, in order to understand mortal happiness. The other two who were supposed to have won had their fates slightly adjusted by Fang Cheng; soon they would receive triplepensation, thus avoiding entanglement of karma. Standing outside, Fang Cheng noticed arge number of tourists gathering, the winners excitedly queuing for entry, boarding the sightseeing car at the entrance after receiving visiting instructions, and then heading off to different areas. Each winning ticket was good for two adults and one child, and so there were quite a few couples or spouses arriving, excitedly stepping into thisrge amusement park. Fang Cheng, dressed in a white windbreaker, and Tian Xuan, in a red woolen sweater, also boarded the car, constantly looking around.
However, unlike the other tourists who kept admiring the scenery, Fang Cheng and Tian Xuan were mainly observing the expressions of the people around them, discovering that they indeed all seemed very happy. [Why are they happy? Because the tickets are free?] Fang Cheng wondered inwardly. Tian Xuan shook her head, indicating she did not know either. She was the Heavenly Tao of the ¡°Physician¡± world, the embodiment of the corresponding world1 s Great Tao. Her cognition was limited to the corresponding world; once in an unfamiliar ce, her cognitive abilities were about as good as her appearance. The ¡°Physician¡± world never had so many people crammed into a 620,000- square-meter area; the high poption density shocked Tian Xuan, and her mouth had not closed since they entered. All kinds of strange things kept her eyes busy as well; she wanted to try each new thing, wanting to go and see everything. Unlike the indifferent Fang Cheng, Tian Xuan found everything fun. Even though they were both extraordinary beings, their attitudes towards things still differed greatly. After ying for half a day and experiencing an eighteen-round roller coaster ride, the two sat down by the roadside, drinkingplimentary hot beverages and pondering their own emotions. Tian Xuan found it very enjoyable because she had never yed with things like this in the ¡°Physician¡± world. Even the few times she had yed, the childlike nature of a newly born Heavenly Tao instinctively made her think everything here was fun; her eyes were sparkling as she continued to think about what she wanted to y next. She even bought rabbit ear decorations and wore them on her head, making her particrly noticeable and adorable as she turned heads in the park. But Fang Cheng found it all rather boring. In his previous life, from the moment he was born, he was set on pursuing the Great Tao, and entertainment was never something he had experienced. After trying it, he did not find it as interesting as the Great Tao. Now, after half a day of ying, he still had not found anything particrly enjoyable, only feeling that the surroundings were a bit noisy, preventing him from being happy. Just as he was considering whether to continue, he noticed Tian Xuan¡¯s eyes light up across from him; she then got up and waved her arms as if to catch the attention of someone across the way. Turning his head, Fang Cheng saw someone happily running over from behind. It was Xu Qjngling from his own administration. The tall and the small embraced each other, spinning half a circle on the spot, as intimate as sisters.
It seems fate still ys a role between people¡­ and Heavenly Tao. Xu Qjngling was clearly the type that Heavenly Tao takes a special liking to; even doing nothing, she would naturally draw the Heavenly Tao to her and elicit a feeling of closeness. After sticking with Tian Xuan for a while, Xu Qjngling let go of her and sat down next to Fang Cheng, smiling and saying, ¡°Boss, what a coincidence.¡± After taking a quick look at Fang Cheng, Xu Qingling snapped a mental screenshot of Fang Cheng¡¯s attire for the day and saved it in her mind,beling it as ¡°Casual, SSR.¡±
Fang Cheng calcted and realized that her being here waspletely coincidental, so there was no need to consider it overtime. But thest thing employees probably want to see on their day off is their boss. So a good boss should leave smoothly at this time, not to put employees in an awkward position. Just as he was about to leave, he saw Xu Qingling ordering a hot beverage. As she waited for her drink, she looked at Fang Cheng and said, smiling, ¡°Boss, you were thinking that a boss shouldn¡¯t disturb employees¡¯ rest time, so you were nning to leave, right?¡± ¡°Do you have the Mind Reading Technique?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Mind reading.¡± Xu Qingling covered her mouth andughed, but did not say anymore. Today, Xu Qingling wore a ck-and-red cape with a short skirt paired with warm ck stockings, her neck and wrists exposed and looking even whiter by contrast, which made her seem full of youthful energy. After the hot milk tea was served, she took a sip through the straw and said, ¡°Boss, I¡¯ve been wanting to say,e out and y with us sometime. Everyone wants to get closer to you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea. It¡¯s not nice to disturb others¡¯ leisure time.¡± Xu Qingling looked at Fang Cheng, then let out a wistful sigh. ¡°All right then, let me put it another way. Fang Cheng, how about I take you out for fun this time? You must rarelye to ces like this, but I¡¯m familiar with them.¡±
The change in how she addressed him suddenly gave Fang Cheng a sense of a shift between professional and personal. And after that shift, Xu Qingling in front of him seemed much more lively, appearing even more approachable. Chapter 120: 103 Botanic Garden (Second Chapter 120: Chapter 103 Botanic Garden (Second Update)_2 After pondering for a moment, Fang Cheng felt he really couldn¡¯t make much out of anything by himself, and it might be better to have someone else lead the way. So, he nodded, an action that made Xu Qingling smile even more joyfully. Ignoring the calories in the hot drink, she gulped down her beverage, and then asked. Boss, what do you like to do in your free time?¡± ¡°Meditating, nting grass.¡± ¡°Got it, let¡¯s go to the botanic garden then, there are lots of nts there, and Fang Cheng, you should find something of interest.¡± Although skeptical, Fang Cheng still followed Xu Qingling toward the botanic garden. As arge area within Rong Cheng Happy Valley, the botanic garden was divided into over a dozen smaller exhibition halls, each adjusted to the climate needs of the different nts grown there. Just entering the garden, Fang Cheng began to nod in approval. This ce¡­ not bad at all! nts from all over the world could be found here, some of which were rarely seen outside, but the person in charge here managed to get them and nt them in the garden.
Walking along the designated paths, Fang Cheng found new crops every so often that, when crossbred with Spirit Grass, would certainly bring about new and interesting things. At his side, Xu Qingling quietly observed Fang Cheng¡¯s reactions, and upon seeing his expression rx, she couldn¡¯t help but reveal a happy smile. ¡°The botanic garden in Rong Cheng Happy Valley was jointly constructed with the Rong City Botanic Garden, which is even bigger and homes more rare and precious nts. Shall I apany you there next time?¡± Fang Cheng, looking at the environment around him, couldn¡¯t help but sav ¡°Sure.¡± Then it¡¯s settled,e on, let¡¯s go to the next scene. Since you like meditating, Fang Cheng, we can try going to Cloud China to have a look. There are quite a few spots with nice scenery there, great for meditation and probably a lot of fun.¡± Under Xu Qingling¡¯s guidance, Fang Cheng finally found a great deal of enjoyment. Xu Qingling was as familiar with the amusement park as the back of her hand, knowing every ce inside out. With her lead, Tian Xuan, who already liked the ce, had a st, enjoying every single attraction immensely. Although Fang Cheng felt it was just okay, the introduction to the various nts alone made him feel the trip was worthwhile. Not until the park closed in the afternoon did the three of them reluctantly leave the amusement park. After agreeing toe together again next time, Xu Qingling got into the car that hade to take her home, preparing to leave with a lingering reluctance. In the front passenger seat, a female housekeeper asked with concern, ¡°Miss, how was your day out?¡± ¡°Very happy.¡± ¡°And the amusement park matter¡­?¡± ¡°It can officially open for business, the effect is quite good, our boss also thinks it s fun. Remember to step up security measures when it opens, that¡¯s most important. Also¡­¡± ¡°What else?¡± ¡°How about we buy thend next door and open a botanic garden?¡± ¡°Miss¡­¡± ¡°Just kidding.¡± ¡°No, I was going to ask if sixty hectares would be enough?¡±
¡°Just kidding!¡± Yawning, Xu Qingling felt a bit tired. Sheid down in the back seat, curling up her slender legs, and quickly fell asleep on the pillow. In her dream, she saw herself bing a princess in a castle, a prince on a white horse charging into the castle, then getting enchanted by the nts in the garden. Taking a gardener and some seeds, she ran off with that particrly sexy cactus.
What a weird dream! Meanwhile, Fang Cheng and Tian Xuan returned home, had dinner, and each embarked on their own contemtion into the Heavenly Tao. The Heavenly Tao considered how to create a ce where yers could all be happy. And Fang Cheng thought about how to transform his experiences of the day into a game, to also make it fun for everyone else. He closed his eyes and quickly reminisced about his feelings throughout the day, then sighed that amusement parks were indeed quite fun. Different areas had their own unique features, allowing yers to find interesting things in the amusement park and start having fun. Everyone could find something suitable to enjoy and have a great time with it. So, should he create an amusement park? But making an amusement park alone seemed troublesome; he had only spent one day in an amusement park and was not very familiar with the other facilities inside. However, he really liked the botanic garden, and it was not difficult to create; all you needed to do was nt the vegetation and let it grow freely. Wandering around the botanic garden and admiring those marvelous nts would likely refine the yers¡¯ sentiments, allowing them to experience the tranquility of the Heavenly Tao. And if it was a botanic garden, it would need someone to tend to it¡ªa being that ideally would never tire and could find joy in this work. Luckily, he knew just the one. The sprite from ¡°Towards Death and Life,¡± Alpha. Once he figured it out, Fang Cheng took Tian Xuan by the hand, and in the next second, they appeared in the skies above the of ¡°Towards Death and Life.¡±
The ce was still enveloped by the Star-devouring Beast. The colossal creature had merged into the world¡¯s interior, having be a part of the world, unable to leave before it devoured the. Yet Fang Cheng restricted its movements, preventing it from continuing its consumption, which perfectly trapped it, unable to leave. Looking down at this ce, Fang Cheng recalled his initial frustration. Originally, he had wanted to create a horror game, but due to an unexpected turn of events, it ended up being a tformer, which was quite annoying. But this time, he felt that he could set up a botanic garden here, allowing yers to understand the joy within after visiting. Afterward, he could slowly expand the amusement park until he constructed the ideal park he had in mind, making it extremely fun to visit. Most of the patterns in ¡°Towards Death and Life¡± had already been explored by the yers, and the game¡¯s online poption had declined, so it was enough to n a small area for yers to continue climbing. The rest of the area could be used to n out the amusement park, making a gigantic amusement park a possibility. Staring down below, Fang Cheng silently contemted the arrangement of the site. Then, pping his hands, he grabbed a visitor terminal from the ground and brought it into space, where itnded in his hands. After fiddling with the terminal, Fang Cheng reconnected the broken circuits and saw the terminal being activated. A holographic image appeared, and a clear sprite, Alpha, walked out of it, bowing respectfully to Fang Cheng:
¡°It is a pleasure to see you, unnamed climber. Allow me to introduce myself again: I am your climbing assistant tool. You may call me Alpha.¡± ¡°Switch mode, activate debug mode.¡± ess denied, user does not have the necessary permissions¡­ Adjusting permissions¡­ Permissions adjusted¡­ Wee back, debugger.¡± Having obtained the highest authority through the terminal, Fang Cheng browsed its effects and discovered that it was more than just a simple assistant tool; it also had various other functions. It was a multipurpose guiding Al; besides climbing assistance, it also offered city tours, attraction introductions, zoo knowledge, and the botanic garden knowledge Fang Cheng most desired. Pleased, Fang Cheng nodded and asked, ¡°Was there ever a botanic garden here?¡± Yes, there was. But in the previous chemical warfare, nts and animals were among the first species to be contaminated, and that ce is no longer suitable for visitors. If you insist on going, I will call you a taxi. There are currently zero operational drivers, with zero passengers waiting. It is anticipated that it would take an infinite amount of time for you to get there.¡± ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll go myself.¡± ¡°You have chosen to go by yourself. The nearest botanic garden is approximately three hundred kilometers away, with an estimated travel time of three days and sixteen hours. A route for you has been nned.¡± Before Alpha could finish speaking, Fang Cheng had already arrived at his destination. After a pause, Alpha continued, ¡°Transport method error has been corrected to spacecraft. Thank you for using our service, goodbye.¡± Letting Alpha float by his side, Fang Cheng walked into the botanic garden and found it had almost beenpletely abandoned.
Everywhere were wilted nts, and the greenhouses meant to preserve the vegetation were shattered, causing the once-valuable nts inside to be utterly dead. Moreover, due to the use of bioweapons in the past war, the nts here had also mutated. Some nts even fused with animal characteristics. They had developed skeletons and teeth inside their bodies, with some teeth even stained with dark red, indicating that these nts even preyed on animals. Watching the scene before him, Fang Cheng was quite excited. The thought of a botanic garden filled with exotic characteristics being revived by his hands brought great delight. Chapter 121: 104: A Harmony of All Things, A Beauty Too Great to Endure (Third Update)_1 Chapter 121: Chapter 104: A Harmony of All Things, A Beauty Too Great to Endure (Third Update)_1 ¡°Before you is the Botanic Garden¡¯s seed vault. Unfortunately, all the seeds here have been contaminated by bioweapons.¡± ¡°The bioweapon that attacked this ce used a method of DNA blending. The DNA of nts and animals fused at that moment, resulting in the birth of a peculiar species of animal-nt hybrids. I advise you to be very careful when using these seeds; do not let an attack by the animal-nts cost you your life.¡± As Fang Cheng listened to Alpha¡¯s exnation, he began to remove the seeds from the storage. Despite the long passage of time, these seeds were all stored at temperatures close to absolute zero,bined with dry conditions for preservation, and astonishingly, they still retained their vitality. After detecting the seeds in Fang Cheng¡¯s hand, the sprite Alpha conducted a brief check and then said, ¡°The spection is that it¡¯s abination of green nts and terrifying beasts; that kind of beast has a fearsome physique, chilling teeth, and a sharp nose that can recognize over a hundred thousand smells. It possesses a pathological loyalty to its owner and will shred any enemy that approaches.¡± Injecting Mana into the seed, the seed began to grow at a surprising rate under the stimulus of Mana, soon maturing into a ten-pound cabbage. However, unlike ordinary cabbages, it also exhibited distinct animal traits. Some of its leaves turned into tails, and it grew green facial features on its face. Its slightly bloated body looked somewhat cute, and it would asionally let out a pleasing ¡°woof woof¡± sound. As soon as it had grown, it started running around Fang Cheng excitedly, asionally pausing to rub against Fang Cheng, showing its affection for him. Staring at it for a while, Fang Cheng asked in confusion, ¡°This thing seems like a dog, doesn¡¯t it?¡±
Next to him, Tian Xuan nodded vigorously. ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by its appearance.¡± Alpha spoke earnestly, ¡°This is the first form of the bioweapon. It has a second form. Once it umtes enoughbat experience, it can evolve and take on the second form.¡± ¡°The second form of the dog will be even more dangerous, and it has an extremely strong regenerative capacity. Even if it¡¯s reduced to pieces, as long as there is water, it can recover instantly.¡± ¡°Furthermore, they can mimic. They can disguise themselves as ordinary nts by the roadside, but the moment they sense something amiss, they will immediately jump out to attack.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Summoning a thread of Mana into the soil, Fang Cheng molded a creature simr to a dog from the earth and endowed it with the ability to fully awaken thebat instincts of the surrounding creatures. Stimted by the Immortal Spell, the dog immediately started fighting with the earthen dog with a roar. As a bioweapon, its innate abilities were also triggered, and every few minutes of battle saw itsbat experience rapidly improve, along with increasing control over its own body. Half an hourter, the vegetable dog let out a roar, and a green light burst from its body, spreading across its entire form. The umtedbat experience caused it to start evolving. Its original body was no longer suitable for its currentbat needs, so it instinctively sought a new form. Before everyone¡¯s eyes, the vegetable dog absorbed thebat experience from its fight with the earth dog and underwent a significant change in form. Its limbs became slender, its ws sharp, and its formerly cute body became fierce; it finally began to resemble a bioweapon more closely. The evolved vegetable dog disyed an extraordinary speed. The earthen dog, created based on its physical attributes, was quickly sliced into pieces by it. Standing triumphantly on the corpse of its formidable enemy, the vegetable dog raised its head proudly and came over to Fang Cheng¡¯s side, lifting Fang Cheng¡¯s hand with its forehead to rub against it. ¡°Oh, were you jealous because I summoned another dog? You¡¯re a child capable of jealousy?¡± ¡°They are bioweapons, with strong learning capabilities and intelligence simr to an eight-year-old child. They probably understood what you did just now,¡± exined Alpha from the side. ¡°Its aggression has increased¡­ What is the mimic state like?¡± Understanding Fang Cheng¡¯smand, the vegetable dog promptly leapt to the roadside, dug a hole in the ground, and quickly buried itself in it. Next, it stretched its tail out of the hole, and in an instant, the fluffy tail transformed into a nt that you absolutely couldn¡¯t find on Earth.
It looked just like a half-meter-tall weed resembling a healthy dandelion, with each strand of hair splitting into fluffy fments that even flickered with an icy, crystal-like white light. Inside the hole, the vegetable dog could put itself to sleep, and from the outside, its tail appeared merely as an ordinary but unusually attractive nt to Earthlings. Moreover, Fang Cheng could feel a hint of Spiritual Energy in the creature¡¯s mimicked state. Many creatures passively inhale and exhale Spiritual Energy, but far fewer umte it within themselves to eventually turn it into Spirituality.
Although all these little creatures are bioweapons, the fusion of animal and nt traits seemed to make it easier for them to umte Spirituality, thus enhancing their physique even more. Rounding up, these nts are also Spirit Grass! Thinking this way made nting them even more delightful. Beyond the vegetable dog, the storage contained arge number of nt seeds. When Fang Cheng inquired why there was a need to store so many seeds, Alpha immediately responded, ¡°Storing nt seeds is a tradition of the Botanic Garden, maintaining species diversity is one of the missions of the Botanic Garden, it¡¯s something that has to be done.¡± Chapter 122: 104: A Harmony of All Things, A Beauty Too Great to Endure (Third Update)_2 Chapter 122: Chapter 104: A Harmony of All Things, A Beauty Too Great to Endure (Third Update)_2 Having understood the reasons of the other party, Fang Cheng then carefully learned about the matter of the seeds and set about making preparations. With a fierce pinch, all the trash on the ground was crushed into powder, and tens of thousands of square kilometers of ground instantly turned into tnd; walls emerged from the ground to serve as the boundary for the Botanic Garden. With a wave of his hand, the Immortal Spell was cast, and a three-dimensional map of the nearby area appeared in miniature form beside him, looking like a scaled-down courtyard box. Dragging his finger across the courtyard box map and drawing on a nearby snowy mountain, a surge of snow water came rushing forth, crossing through the courtyard box and streaming into the ocean. A twist on the ground here, and a pat in another ce there, hills and valleys were effortlessly created. Fang Cheng took up a brush to paint, and numerous small paths appeared on the ground; they were intertwined andplex, subtly hinting at the mysterious ways of the Heavenly Tao, leading those who walked on them to feel as if they were journeying through a secluded realm, further immersing yers into this world. Rockeries and exotic rocks were pinched into existence one by one; finally, the entire courtyard box was constructed into a vast garden, a destination where one could feel the tranquility and beauty. Summoning the Star-devouring Beast, Fang Cheng sent it a Divine Sense, and the massive creature immediately understood Fang Cheng¡¯s intention, beginning to help dissipate the clouds here to let the sunlight shine brightly. There was no moon at night on this, so Fang Cheng simply gathered dust to manifest a moon in the sky, reflecting moonlight. Under this moonlight, the Botanic Garden looked even more serene; under the virtual reality all-in-one machine, the feeling was sure to be even more profound.
There had to be rain, and there had to be snow; the Botanic Garden could even amodate different weathers at the same time, slowly cycling through climates to reveal different scenic beauties. Once the setting wasplete, what followed was the most important thing¡ªthe seeds. Infusing the Immortal Spell into the seeds, Fang Cheng had Alpha nt them one by one. Numerous universal aid machines set out, cradling the seeds and, following Fang Cheng¡¯s instructions on the courtyard box map, nted the seeds into the soil. These seeds, which Fang Cheng had pre-arranged with Immortal Spells, would grow to be like nts that sleep, appearing as mimics in front of the yers. After the entire courtyard box was arranged, a variety of nts were scattered about, and the surrounding scenery was beautiful and pleasant. Because they were personally crafted by an Immortal, the entire courtyard was filled with Taoist charm; the nts even absorbed and exhaled Spiritual Energy on their own, turning this ce into a blessednd for Immortals. Afterpleting all this, Fang Cheng looked at the Botanic Garden, which had taken on a new look, and felt very satisfied. In the past, when he made things by himself, they were always a bit rough, so it didn¡¯t feel quite right. But now, doing things meticulously by himself was actually quite fun, which gave him another new hobby alongside cultivating Spirit Grass and sitting in Quiet Cultivation. With further development and summarizing relevant experiences, he would be able to use this to create games next time. Seeing everything here, Tian Xuan waspletely dumbfounded. Like a little deer running relentlessly within the courtyard box, Little Heavenly Way took in her surroundings, breathed in the fragrant air, and rolled back and forth on thewn, not wanting to leave at all. The richness of the Taoist charm here was even more intense than in her small world, giving her the feeling of wanting to call this ce home. Meanwhile, Alpha recorded the entire process. Its system kept operating, finally asking, ¡°May I modify your information to ¡®Gods¡¯?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Fang Cheng said indifferently. ¡°All right, these nts are all mimics, and once they are activated, the mimicry will be lifted. When visitors arrive, they will need¡­¡± Fang Cheng was about to say that Alpha should remind the yers not to do anything rash, but then he stopped. He had dealt with yers many times before and knew that they were a rebellious bunch, even Wei Yan would nod in agreement upon seeing them. If they were directly told what they couldn¡¯t do, they would certainly do just that.
After contemting for a moment, he said to Alpha, ¡°I need you to set rules; list the things yers are not allowed to do in an ambiguous way within the rules. And make it impossible for them to lift the nts¡¯ mimicry, okay?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can do that,¡± Alpha nodded, ¡°I am the universal aid machine Alpha, this kind of task is very simple for me.¡± ¡°Good.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for Alpha to generate a vast number of rule exnations, and the method to prevent yers from lifting the nts¡¯ mimicry was hidden within these contradictory rules, making it impossible for yers to find the correct method to lift the mimicry.
Having done all this, Fang Cheng was utterly satisfied. Seeing that the time hade to be Monday morning at 9:20, he had Alpha post the rules where needed and then returned to his studio with Tian Xuan. Behind them, Alpha¡¯s swarm thinking kicked in. They started to divide the work and methodically wrapped up Fang Cheng¡¯s tasks, and, following his instructions, posted the rules in every corner. Back in the studio, work followed suit. The progress on the Dimensional side was rtively smooth; after the initial adjustments, the streamers and yers finally started to create content actively and continuously. Although ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± failed in its attempt to achieve enlightenment, Fang Cheng was still set on seeing the game through to the end. After all, the game was a medium that had already connected him with the yers. Having chosen to seek enlightenment through the yers, even if it ended in failure, he wasmitted to apanying them until the very end, thus concluding their intertwined fates. So he carefully reviewed all the work reports, agreed to the nners¡¯ requests for revisions, and finished up everything just before the end of the afternoon shift, after which he brought out the new game. ¡°I visited an amusement park during my vacation and got some inspiration, so I created a walking simtor. It¡¯s called ¡®Amusement Park¡¯, and this game is its first chapter, ¡®Botanic Garden¡¯.¡± Huang Ping, who had been racing against time to crazily get work done in hopes of pushing for one final effort before the day ended, was stunned. Next to him, Xiao Douzi was also taken aback.
They checked the clock, realized there was only ten minutes left until the end of their shift, and immediately put on a gloomy face, saying, ¡°Boss, why are you only mentioning this now?¡± ¡°I thought you were quite busy earlier.¡± ¡°We could have yed at noon!¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better to get some sleep at noon. It¡¯s a bit torturous not to nap midday.¡± ¡°I think what you¡¯re doing right now is more torturous!¡± They hurriedly searched the public resource library for the game, quickly downloaded it, and managed to start ying in the final five minutes. Without waiting to use thepany¡¯s integrated machines, they immediately began experiencing the game on theirputers. Just like the name of the game suggested, it was a botanic garden; what yers could do was simply walk through the garden and shut out their surroundings. There were many such games on the Steam tform, and most were apanied by a narrative that fit the game¡¯s aesthetics, thus showcasing the author¡¯s unique artistic talents. The recent game ¡°Nameless¡± was just that kind of game. But the Living Immortal¡¯s ¡°Nameless¡± was a strong narrative-focused game; could the boss¡¯s game achieve a better effect? And after experiencing it for a while, Huang Ping realized¡­ Definitely so!
The game¡¯s graphics were refreshing andfortable, with the climate in each area changing slowly with time, each frame as perfect as if it were part of a dream. The high-quality dynamic visuals wereparable to a movie¡¯s CGI in beauty, and the unique and mystical ambience seemed to shine through the screen, offering both of them a sense of spiritual peace. The game¡¯s visuals had transcended the category of simply being pretty or not, reaching another level altogether, making it hard to believe that a 3D game¡¯s graphics could be so exquisitely touching. The starting screen alone left the two dumbfounded. In the end, it was Huang Ping, who was more experienced and knowledgeable, who first came to his senses. He stared at the screen and remarked emotionally, ¡°Boss, the artist here is extraordinary. This modeling, these scenes, the natural feel of thendscape as it changes, must be hard to find someone to do the game visuals like this.¡± In Huang Ping¡¯s view, such modeling standards and original painting quality were rare internationally, and the few who were collected as treasures by major studios were guarded jealously, fearful of others taking them away. After quietly admiring it for a while, just as Huang Ping was about to move and enjoy what it felt like to roam in such a heavenly world, the end-of-day bell rang. ¡°Boss¡­¡± Huang Ping asked pitifully. ¡°Sure, consider it overtime.¡± Fang Cheng replied with a smile. Huang Ping sighed, feeling it was definitely going to be a sleepless night. But to his surprise, he slept exceptionally peacefully that night. In his dream, the moon hung high as he and his girlfriendy on the grass, surrounded by the gentle sound of water and the crisp chirping of insects, with sakura petals continuously falling before them. At that moment, all was in harmony, and the beauty was beyond words.
Chapter 123 - 105: "Botanic Garden" Goes Live (Part One)_1 Chapter 123: Chapter 105: ¡°Botanic Garden¡± Goes Live (Part One)_1 When he woke up in the morning, Huang Ping still felt somewhat hazy. He felt he had had a wonderful dream, withndscapes that were enchanting and blurred, filled with an indescribable mood that left one indulging in their beauty. Arriving at thepany in a daze, he found that the receptionist, Xu Qingling, was also somewhat hazy, as was Xiao Douzi beside him, and Wang Xiaoying opposite him. Fortunately, this haze did notst long, and they soon felt clear-headed and invigorated, their work efficiency further improved. Observing the reactions of his colleagues, Fang Cheng felt good. His Botanic Garden contained the charm of the Dao, and even Little Heavenly Way Tian Xuan was captivated by it, not to mention ordinary people. However, he had restrained it somewhat; otherwise, just seeing the Botanic Garden would have caused people to neglect sleep and food, staying immersed for days before managing to pull themselves out. Furthermore, this Dao charm was constantly flowing and changing, presenting the same scenery with different sensations in various environments, ensuring the yers always felt something new. Drinking a satisfying sip of Spiritual Tea, Fang Cheng felt this time it should be secure. Tian Xuan was also standing at her station, waving the mouse as if she was ¡°Attending the Scene¡± through the screen, though it seemed to becking a bit of essence. The sensation of being fully immersed was so much better than standing here. Although it was just a walking simtor, the environment of the Botanic Garden was so vast that the nning and operations team yed for three days before they roughly understood its content. In the afternoon working hours, Huang Ping finished his work and then called Xiao Douzi and Wang Xiaoying to a small meeting in the meeting room. Monkey had recently participated in a Dimensional training center program and couldn¡¯t make it for a while, so their work group was temporarily just the few of them. As Tian Xuan learnt that they were having a meeting, she immediately prepared three cups of Spiritual Tea for them. Although it was just ordinary water-brewed Spiritual Tea, for some reason Tian Xuan¡¯s tea leaves had a special vor, as if the natural aroma of the leaves was fully released, which everyone praised endlessly. Asking Tian Xuan to take a seat and listen, Huang Ping started, ¡°Let¡¯s cut to the chase. Does anyone here think there are aspects of the boss¡¯s game that we could optimize?¡± Wang Xiaoying immediately raised her hand, ¡°While its freedom is limited, I think for a walking simtor, this game is already pretty impressive. I¡¯vepared it with other walking simtors. ¡®Botanic Garden¡¯ mightck a plot and have a very simple gamey, but it excels tremendously in terms of graphics.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Devout follower Xiao Douzi immediately nodded, ¡°I can feel the boundless mood and charm in the game. The boss¡¯s understanding of the game has transcended that of ordinary people and reached a realm I don¡¯t understand. However, I think the boss reused some materials this time, because some parts of this game feel simr to ¡®Towards Death and Life¡¯.¡± Huang Ping looked at Xiao Douzi, ¡°While I also think it¡¯s not bad, aren¡¯t you being a bit too extreme? It is not good to excessively tter or criticize. And I can¡¯t find any simrities between this game and ¡®Towards Death and Life¡¯.¡± ¡°Huang Ping, you don¡¯t understand the boss like I do,¡± Xiao Douzi said wistfully. ¡°Cult followers are scary. Alright then, do you think there is anything else that can be improved?¡± ¡°Not really, but¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± Xiao Douzi thought for a moment before sharing his doubts, ¡°The boss provided us with a data table, which included 1213 nt categories, each with its own name and detailed attributes.¡± ¡°A data table doesn¡¯t seem strange¡­ wait a minute, a walking simtor should only need to control the walking speed, right? Why is the nt data so detailed?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either, so I¡¯m still wondering. And have you noticed that in every corner of the Botanic Garden, there are visitor notices?¡± ¡°I saw them, but didn¡¯t pay much attention,¡± Wang Xiaoying said, ¡°Most of them are like, ¡®do not trample on the grass,¡¯ ¡®do not litter,¡¯ and such. I didn¡¯t find anything peculiar.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve read each one,¡± Xiao Douzi said. ¡°¡­Why?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s designed by the boss, there might be some special arrangements. And it seems like there actually are special arrangements.¡± Thinking of the massive amount of text in the Botanic Garden made Wang Xiaoying shudder. Cult followers were indeed terrifying. Ignoring the odd looks from the others, Xiao Douzi continued, ¡°Some rules seem normal, like, ¡®do not pick the nts.¡¯ But some rules look a bit off. I roughly summarized some of them; you can take a look.¡± Pulling out his phone, Xiao Douzi disyed what he found questionable. ¡°One, this is a Botanic Garden, not a Zoo. If you hear a low moaning sound, please ignore it. If the sound grows louder, please mute the volume and seek help from Alpha.¡± ¡°Two, Alpha can be trusted. In case of emergency, just follow its instructions. If someone tells you Alpha is untrustworthy, they¡¯re definitely a bad guy.¡± ¡°Three, the warehouse is currently under repairs, and we do not know when it will be fixed; what¡¯s more, there are no nts inside.¡± ¡°Four, asional sr or lunar eclipses are normal; there¡¯s no need to panic. But if you feel a strong wind during the eclipse, please contact Alpha.¡± ¡°Five, the weather system asionally malfunctions, which is normal. However, if you see snow in a ce where it should not be, please stay away from it, or you may be forcibly logged off.¡± Chapter 124 - 105: "Botanic Garden" Goes Live (Part One)_2 Chapter 124: Chapter 105: ¡°Botanic Garden¡± Goes Live (Part One)_2 ¡°Six, if you see other yers suddenly disappear, like they¡¯re walking on the grass or in the forest and suddenly they¡¯re gone, those are some special Easter eggs, and you won¡¯t die either. Just follow the path through the Botanic Garden, and there will definitely be no problem.¡± ¡­ ¡°One hundred and seventeen, a reminder again that this is the Botanic Garden, not the Zoo, wishing you a pleasant visit. Your sincerely Alpha.¡± After making everyone read it, Xiao Douzi continued, ¡°This is only part of it; I¡¯m still organizing the rest.¡± The content was originally scattered throughout various tour notices, looking innocuous on its own, but altogether it made people feel a bit uneasy. Looking at the content, Huang Ping muttered to himself, ¡°It¡¯s just like the boss to bury all sorts of Easter eggs in the game.¡± Burying Easter eggs is a matter of showmanship if done poorly, but if done well, it¡¯s called genius. And their own boss was definitely a genius with a wicked sense of humor. Digging out his Easter eggs felt like two different games before and after the discovery, allowing people to pay once and y two games, which could be called the phnthropist of the video game industry. Now, many veteran gamers were still enthusiastically searching for Easter eggs in old games, and indeed they had found a few minor ones. Moreover, Easter eggs are usually used as a selling point of the game, and a good Easter egg can create a ripple effect, so they¡¯re not made to be too hidden. But Fang Cheng seemed to almost fear others discovering them, which made Huang Ping couldn¡¯t help but marvel at Fang Cheng¡¯s unusual tastes. After his reflection, he tried to connect these strange rules and data together, feeling there must be some rtionship between them. What could that connection be? Seeing that Huang Ping and Xiao Douzi were deep in thought, Wang Xiaoying asked in confusion, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just ask the boss directly?¡± ¡°The boss won¡¯t say,¡± Huang Ping shook his head, ¡°Think about it. If he would tell us, he¡¯d have just told us already. Besides, the hints he gave are already very clear. It¡¯s a riddle he¡¯s ying with us, and we have to guess it.¡± ¡°We¡¯re out of time,¡± Wang Xiaoying sighed. ¡°The boss is already asking me when I can go online. It seems that he has great expectations for this game. We can only go ahead and release it.¡± At this statement, Huang Ping felt a sense of defeat. The boss hadid out all the clues, but they just didn¡¯t know how to solve them. If the boss wanted it released, it showed that he had full confidence in the game; thus, they just had to trust the boss. Luckily, there were still a few days before the official game release. Wang Xiaoying needed to first warm up the game with promotional activities, thenunch it on the Steam tform. In the next few days, they could thoroughly enjoy the game, striving to discern the deeper meaning Fang Cheng had hidden in the game early on. Unfortunately, they still did not seed. While the workgroup employees wracked their brains trying to understand where Fang Cheng wasing from, the few promotional videos that had been released had already caused a stir. The ¡°Fang Cheng Studio¡± video ount had already amassed a million followers, and the newly released videos showcased various corners of the Botanic Garden. From mountains to running water, from gardens to primeval forests, different terrains boasted different scenery, which also varied ording to time, climate, and other factors. In that world, just lying still allowed one to feel that magnificentndscape; to walk through it was even more dreamlike and fantastic. Even before its release, the game¡¯s visuals had sparked discussion. [I can¡¯t even handle it, it¡¯s just too beautiful. I can¡¯t imagine this level of detail is possible in game graphics¡ªit¡¯s a true work of art.] [Each image is wallpaper quality; if only ces like this really existed.] ¡°The visuals are really evocative too. My old man studies the I Ching, and after watching these, he¡¯s stopped watching those master¡¯s videos altogether. Now he¡¯s got three daily routines: watch the video, pester for more, and watch it again.¡± ¡°What a coincidence, my old man¡¯s just the same. And I feel like these videos are especially soothing to watch, you know? Look at them before bed, and your mind instantly cools down, then you can easily sleep through the night.¡± ¡°Really? I gotta try that tonight.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tested it, and it¡¯s true, but don¡¯t binge-watch, or you¡¯ll feel a bit out of it the next day. Though it¡¯s nothing serious, it can still be a hassle.¡± Although most people couldn¡¯t stop praising the game¡¯s visuals, there were also some dissenting voices. These voices were from the same group that had previously questioned the gamey in ¡°Nameless.¡± Simr arguments were released, questioning whether this thing was really a game and if the price was too high. ¡°I admit that the visuals of ¡®Botanic Garden¡¯ are stunning, but for a walking simtor, isn¡¯t a price tag of 128 a bit steep?¡± ¡°Exactly, I really like ¡®The Nameless¡¯ and ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯, and I¡¯m very willing to support Fang Cheng Studio, but for a sightseeing software that you¡¯d only y a few times, this price is honestly too high.¡± ¡°A real-world botanic garden ticket costs just ten yuan, and you can get a discount with a student ID, yet a game simting a botanic garden is charging 128. Also, from its name, it seems to be just the first chapter of somerger series. I think it¡¯s really too expensive.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not even a game; it¡¯s just a pure sightseeing software. I might buy it, but if it doesn¡¯t meet my expectations, I¡¯ll definitely refund within two hours.¡± Doubts were voiced, and opposition was heard. No one questioned that it was a visually pleasing game, but many were skeptical whether it was a fun game. Some game reviewers held back frommenting, after all, Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games often hid various easter eggs, and no one was sure if they would do the same this time. But then there were the true believers who, after seeing the video, were so excited they couldn¡¯t contain themselves, beginning to write reports and madly promoting it. Like Chen Rang. After watching the game¡¯s video, he closed his eyes and imagined himself touring the ce with Mukuai, and he immediately became ecstatic. Without waiting for the editor¡¯s instructions, he picked up the keyboard and started typing furiously. ¡°An indisputable masterpiece, the pinnacle of walking simtors. It needs no story; just the visuals and the ambiance conveyed by the imagery are enough to resonate deeply. I¡¯m at a loss for words to describe my feelings right now, but if you ask me how I want to spend the rest of my life, my wish is toe to the Botanic Garden with my Mukuai. We would adopt a couple of kids, have a little dog, and revel in the countryside scenery.¡± ¡°Fang Cheng Studio is definitely one of the premier studios I¡¯vee across, and it¡¯s also quite an ambitious studio. Its owner, Fang Cheng, has been pushing the limits of himself and continuously delivering unique and outstanding games. Thestpany that boasted ¡®quality guaranteed with our brand¡¯ has now fallen. A new era of gaming needs a new leader, and I hope that g will be carried by our domestic games, by us. I won¡¯t say too much ttery, but I think you all get my point.¡± ¡°Finally, I have an unusual request. Can we do a crossover with ¡®The Healer¡¯? I¡¯ll even pay extra! Fang Cheng Studio, I know you always put yer demands first, so can we have the crossover, please? If it¡¯s too difficult, it¡¯s okay not to do the main character, but can Mukuai join in?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m begging you!¡± As the editor read Chen Rang¡¯s draft, he thought the beginning was fine, but thetter part was just Chen Rang¡¯s personal fantasy,pletely detached from reality. Crossovers aren¡¯t that easy, what with the data structures and underlying codes all being a mess, not something to be done lightly. However, he didn¡¯t change a word of the draft and directly published it. After all, he wanted a crossover with ¡°The Nameless¡± too. What kind of emotion would it bring, to have yourrades-in-arms from the gamee into this world and witness its splendid beauty? Finally, amid the anxious waiting of a group of people, and the anticipation of arge number of yers, Fang Cheng¡¯s magnum opus, ¡°Botanic Garden¡±, wasunched! Chapter 125: 106: Your Botanic Garden, Our Home Planet (Second Update)_1 Chapter 125: Chapter 106: Your Botanic Garden, Our Home (Second Update)_1 The most excited about the new game release had to be Gao Tianyun from Kylin Industry downstairs. Thanks to a coboration with Fang Cheng Studio and the pre-instation of several of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s products, theirpany¡¯s VR integrated machines saw yearly sales skyrocket, already reaching over 1.3 million units, and it¡¯s projected that this year they could hit 1.5 million units. These sales far surpassed the second ce, which was at 920,000 units. This made him extremely excited when interacting with others, often starting conversations with, ¡°How could you know our Kirin VR integrated machines reached sales of over 1.3 million? Initially, I didn¡¯t expect us to reach 1.31 million, but once we hit 1.32 million, it wasn¡¯t a big deal, and by the time we reached 1.33 million, it mattered even less.¡± Now, with ¡°Botanic Garden¡± online, its superb visual presentation was particrly suited for their integrated machines, which is expected to trigger another surge in sales. Having money allows for further research and development, illuminating virtual reality technology, and pushing the game industry towards even more vigorous growth. Beyond that, the VR integrated machine is also a new tform. This tform directly bypasses other mainstream gaming tforms, and the cooperative rtionship between Fang Cheng and Gao Tianyun ensures a guaranteed sales volume for Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games. Although Fang Cheng basically doesn¡¯t care about this guaranteed sales volume, it has nheless alerted other game manufacturers to the business opportunities, prompting them to start considering reallocating internal resources towards VR. Besides, the revenue share terms for the new tform aren¡¯t as harsh, and it can satisfy traffic needs, making now seem like one of the best times to enter the market. This process may take some time to manifest, but for the future of VR, it¡¯s a crucial step.
When ¡°Botanic Garden¡± officially went live, its first-day sales broke through 1.5 million copies, and not even the high price of 128 could hinder yers¡¯ enthusiasm. Beyond the domestic sales of 1.5 million copies, what surprised Wang Xiaoying even more was the overseas market, which ounted for a million sales. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t pay much attention to the overseas market; after all, the cultural genes were here, and he preferred to be with people of simr cultural heritage. As such, the studio¡¯s games were almost devoid of foreignnguages, and since their games couldn¡¯t be cracked, nor was there a creative workshop, this left overseas yers with only one choice. They had to learn Chinese. ¡°Towards Death and Life¡± was manageable, and ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± was fine too, as the amount of text in both games wasn¡¯t significant so yers could understand after just a little study. But ¡°The Nameless¡± was truly a hassle; when the voice-enabled, yers often saw the NPCs looking bewildered, not understanding what on earth the yer was babbling about. If you were lucky, you might get a yellow soup cast out demons, but if unlucky, the next second you might be mistaken for being possessed and get chopped down. Even so, Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games still had a loyal fanbase overseas. Even if they couldn¡¯t understand, they were still captivated by the rich gamey, fascinated by the bizarre gaming environment, willing to overlook their misunderstanding. The emergence of ¡°Botanic Garden¡± perfectly met one of their needs. Even without understanding Chinese or being able to read the visitor¡¯s notice, they could still stroll through the Botanic Garden and admire the magnificent scenery. Images so poetic it tore through the barriers between East and West, weaving through the annals of history, allowing everyone to roam in beautifulndscapes andprehend the profound mysteries. The only regret was theck of background music; there was only ambient sound. If there had been apanying background music, this game would truly have no weaknesses. Even a week afterunch, the daily online yer count could reach two million. Logging in before bedtime to view the scenery had already be a habit for most yers. Those who couldn¡¯t afford the VR integrated machine opted to buy VR sses. While not as immersive as the integrated machine, the beautiful visuals still won hearts. Of course, this game was not without issues. Beyond appreciating the variedndscapes, some odd details caught people¡¯s attention.
Just like Xiao Douzi initially noticed, the ubiquitous visitor notice also became a hot topic among yers. Due to the sheer number of yers, the details theypiled were moreprehensive, and some content was particrly worrisome. Why did these visitor notices seem innocuous at first nce, yet upon closer thought, they be utterly terrifying? Why can¡¯t you step on snow?
What¡¯s the deal with having to turn back decisively when you see your shadow split into four? When it starts raining overhead but the ground remains dry, why do you need to immediately find Alpha? And why can¡¯t you walk on water when it seems possible to do so? All these strange rules sparked immense curiosity among the yers. As a result, deliberately viting the rules became another pastime for the yers. yers would often intentionally step on the snow, run onto the water to see if it held, and press forward when they had four shadows. Whenever this happened, a floating machine woulde to warn the yer against the vition, and continued breaches would result in being logged out immediately, making it almost impossible to continue testing (tempting fate). [Do you guys think this might be because the game was rushed, and that¡¯s why there are so many bugs? Maybe every single ce is a bug.] [I want to believe you, but I¡¯ve never seen a bug in Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games.] [That¡¯s right, I heard their lead programmer is the boss, Fang Cheng, a big wig in the coding world. He develops things quickly and well, reputed to have special programming techniques.] [No wonder he makes money, no wonder he¡¯s blessed with long life.] Chapter 126: 106: Your Botanic Garden, Our Home Planet (Second Update)_2 Chapter 126: Chapter 106: Your Botanic Garden, Our Home (Second Update)_2 ¡°Guys, are you possibly overthinking this? Maybe they just wanted to make a joke.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get it, I feel like these rules must have something to do with the easter eggs. Everyone¡¯s heard about the padilloes of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games. Their boss, Fang Cheng, always takes pleasure in hiding the most fun gamey elements. Maybe he¡¯s watching us scratch our heads and secretlyughing at us right now!¡± ¡°Agree, I can already picture his obnoxious smirk!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what he looks like, but appearances stem from the heart, he must be exceptionally sleazy.¡± ¡°Exactly, definitely a sleazy uncle!¡± After much discussion, the group couldn¡¯te to any conclusions and could only enter the game with a sense of frustration, letting the beautiful scenery soothe their restless hearts. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng was quite satisfied. His studio¡¯s reputation was growing, and with the genius operator Wang Xiaoying and Gao Tianyun¡¯s VR integrated machineying the foundation, the sales of the new game were quite good. He wasn¡¯t interested in the profits from sales. What interested him was one thing only, the Dustfire formed by the emotional cohesion of the yers. The Dustfire rted to the keyword ¡°Botanic Garden¡± was burning fiercely, with a massive convergence of yers¡¯ emotions, it illuminated a pure and wless me.
Appreciating the mood brought about by the Botanic Garden,bined with the essence of the garden itself, their Dustfire carried a transcendent charm, which was consistent with what Fang Cheng wanted to convey. This feeling was very pure; even Fang Cheng didn¡¯t detect anything amiss. Although there were some disturbances, they were just normal urrences. Pleased with the Dustfire, Fang Cheng drank a sip of freshly picked Spiritual Tea, enjoying the Dustfire while waiting for its growth. But just when everything seemed to be going well, a disturbance rippled through a ck hole outside the Botanic Garden. A battered shuttle struggled to fly out of the ck hole, desperately heading towards the nearest. Behind the shuttle, enormous and twisted handsposed of Shadows reached out from the ck hole, frantically trying to drag the shuttle back. Realizing it was caught by the giant hands, the shuttle began to struggle vigorously. Its internal engines ran at full power, and the resulting thrust tore the shuttle in half. One part was pulled back into the ck hole by the giant hands, while the other half continued to charge forward due to inertia, crashing into the approaching Star-devouring Beast. The Star-devouring Beast, which was regting the climate, noticed the arrival of the shuttle. However, this matter was too trivialpared to the instructions from Fang Cheng, not worth mentioning at all. So it let the shuttlend, ensuring only that it didn¡¯t damage the Botanic Garden, and then ignored it. The shuttle deployed its parachute beforending, but still zed red from air friction, finally managing tond on the ground with great difficulty. Afternding, condensation water sprayed from above the shuttle, and a copious amount of white vapor emitted, spraying for a full half hour before stopping. When the shuttle cooled down, the door, the size of a bus, was opened. Three drivers d in spacesuits stumbled out from inside andy gasping on the ground. The drivers, even in spacesuits, stood only thirty centimeters tall. Their dark helmets effectively blocked cosmic rays, also veiling their faces behind the spacesuits. After resting on the ground for a while, a driver marked with a number one on the helmet raised a hand and shouted in an aliennguage, ¡°I am Captain One, if anyone¡¯s still alive, please, raise your hand!¡± ¡°There might be no air here, so your voice can¡¯t carry over, you idiot.¡± Number Two, the driver, said discontentedly, ¡°Besides, dead people can¡¯t raise hands, youplete idiot.¡± ¡°Then how can you hear?¡± Driver Three asked curiously. ¡°That means there¡¯s air here, you¡¯re an idiot too.¡± One and Three got up, exchanged a look confirming their thoughts, then proceeded to give Number Two a sound kicking.
This was their race¡¯s way of expressing discontent and anger. Although it seemed fierce, there was no harm due to the spacesuits. Moreover, this act also served to dispel anxiety; by transferring the irritation of two individuals onto a third, it increased the number of happy individuals in the team to two. After venting, they left Number Two on the ground sulking, and released their all-purpose exnation robot, Beta. Beta was what they had found within the remnants of their ancestors.
ording to the records of the ancestors, their descendants had escaped into another universe for a thousand years. However, within that millennium, their technological strength not only failed to improve but showed signs of decline; their technological development now depended entirely on archaeology, which was undoubtedly a step backward. But there was no helping it, for the universe was truly too dangerous. Moreover, due to the different naturalws in various ces, the same experimental conditions could lead to different oues, making technological development a very random affair. As the exnatory robot Beta scanned the surrounding environment, Number One began inspecting his own shuttle and the more he looked, the colder his heart felt. The spaceship had been snapped in half by the force of the Shadow Apostles, its engine now in the hands of the Shadow Apostles, and there was no chance of getting it back. If there were no other civilizations on this, they would probably be trapped and die here. And even if there were other civilizations, it was uncertain whether they would be willing to ept three stranded astronauts. If the civilization here was barbaric and practiced live sacrifices, then they would truly be doomed. As Number One pondered what to do, the exnatory robot Beta finally finished scanning theposition of the air. ¡°Nitrogen ounts for about 78%, oxygen about 21%, rare gases about 0.939%, water vapor about¡­¡± After reporting theposition of the air, it added with a monotonous electronic tone, ¡°The air here is suitable for your survival conditions, you cane out of your spacesuits now.¡± Number One let out a sigh of relief, extended his four-wed hand, took off his helmet, and then began to stretch out his fur. He looked like a giant snow squirrel, with neat and glossy fur indicating that his diet had been quite good up until now.
Number Two was a chipmunk with fine ck stripes on his back, but the expression on his face always seemed displeased. Number One could understand this because anyone who had just been hit would not be pleased. Number Three was a ck Demon King squirrel, also the bulkiest among them. Although all ck made him look more fierce, his personality was the most honest among the three squirrels. But if there was a chance to fight, he would certainly not miss it. After removing their spacesuits, the three squirrels frolicked on the barrennd, drank water, ate fast food, and then heard the voice of the exnatory robot Beta, ¡°Hypothesizing this ce to be in the Pisces Gxy, Changfeng System, X-3 spiral arm, the specific location is¡­¡± While Number One and Number Three were still nibbling on nuts, they noticed Number Two stop, staring nkly at the exnatory robot Beta. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Doesn¡¯t it taste good?¡± Number One asked. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to eat, can you give it to me?¡± Number Two swatted away Number One¡¯s paw and then said to the exnatory robot Beta, ¡°Expand the scanning range, tell me, what universe is this?¡± ¡°The main universe.¡± ¡°Request confirmation.¡± ¡°Confirming¡­ confirmationplete, no error in the message, this ce is the main universe.¡± Number One and Number Three were taken aback by the chipmunk¡¯s expression. At this moment, the chipmunk¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed tight, he didn¡¯t say a word, the severity of his demeanor made Number Three forget about sneaking food, and it made Number One feel that something was amiss.
After a long while, Number Two slowly asked, ¡°Do you still remember the history of our ancestors?¡± ¡°I remember, the bipeds took us away from the main universe, but they couldn¡¯t adapt to the climate of the new universe and perished one after another. Our ancestors sessfully ascended to power, eventually forming our great Squirrel Man kingdom.¡± ¡°Then do you still remember which our ancestors came from?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s¡­ no way!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Number Two nodded vigorously, ¡°This is the ce. This is our home.¡± Chapter 127: 107: Eachs Mission (Three More Updates)_1 Chapter 127: Chapter 107: Each¡¯s Mission (Three More Updates)_1 Confused, Number One and Number Three turned their heads and stared nkly at Number Two before finally asking, ¡°And then¡­ what happened?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you at all shocked? After passing through the ck hole, we actually returned to our home. This is a huge discovery! Why did the bipeds, that is, humans leave? Why did our ancestors suddenly gain intelligence? Aren¡¯t you curious about these things?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more curious about why today¡¯s pine nuts taste like salt and pepper,¡± Number Three said, holding the pine nut in front of him and asking dissatisfiedly. ¡°That¡¯s because they were salt and pepper vored when they were put in, idiot.¡± Realizing that hispanions were indifferent to this discovery, Number Two felt utterly despondent about his small team. Could it be that he was the only one with a brain in this team? The three of them were Technology Hunters. By exploring the relics of the bipeds, they excavated technology to promote technological progress. Their technology had be quite twisted. The Squirrel Men already had the capability to travel through the universe, but agriculture wasgging, and their gic technology was extremely underdeveloped. Growth had hit a barrier, and the end of their civilization was drawing near. It was an irreversible gic degradation.
For reasons unknown, their genes had mutated, and some squirrels were showing nt characteristics that could not be reversed. The diseased squirrels would grow increasingly stiff in their movements, roots would sprout from the soles of their feet, and they would start trying to attach themselves to the ground. After that, their thought process would slow down, the squirrel would be dull and eventually turnpletely into a nt. As this process was at gic level, the existing technology of the Squirrel Kingdom couldn¡¯t identify the cause of the disease. This strange condition forced them to continue exploring the ruins, searching for that slim hope. However, the universe was too dangerous. Horrific gamma storms, sudden supernova pulses, and aftereffects of ster fluctuations from several hundred years ago could at any moment im their lives. The Shadow Apostles they encountered before were just one of the less dangerous things, but when triggered by unknown reasons, they would violently attack the living creatures around them. Having luckily escaped into a ck hole and survived was an extremely fortunate event already. But behind every cmity, there is a nut. This ancient proverb was so true. They had actually returned to their home! Knowing this ce, hope ignited in Number Two¡¯s heart. The key to saving their race might be here! ¡°Beta, help look for signs of life.¡± ¡°Checking¡­ checkplete, they are everywhere.¡± ¡°Why are they everywhere?¡± ¡°There are-Level Life Forms present.¡± This time, not only Number Two but also Number One and Number Three gasped in surprise. The universe is vast. In their Mirror Universe, Super-level Life Forms were everywhere. ording to the size of the life forms, they categorized them as Satellite-Level Life Forms,-Level Life Forms, Super-Level Life Forms, Star-Level Life Forms, and so on. The Shadow Followers they encountered, whose main body was also a Satellite-Level Life Form, still had a significant gappared to-Level Life Forms. Now that the presence of-Level Life Forms had been confirmed, Beta felt the need to be more cautious.
Looking around, he immediately saw a magnificent park not far away and pointed at it with his tiny paw, asking, ¡°What is that ce?¡± ¡°Large amounts of lifeform data detected, numerous early model exnation robots detected, numerous inanimate constructs detected¡­¡± Hearing Beta¡¯s sessive announcements, Number Two became even more curious about that ce. In the midst of ruins all around, that vast and exquisite garden was like an oasis, hard not to draw attention.
Shaking off the roots on his paws, he said to Number One and Number Three, ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out. Remember to bring the nuts.¡± ¡°What about the spaceship?¡± Number One asked. Turning to look at the spaceship, now broken into two halves, Number Two shook his head helplessly. The spaceship was also a part of biped technology, of which they could only make simple imitations, but were no longer able to produce. This one was a particrly traditional piece of equipment, and they no longer had the means to restore it. Although it was a pity, its mission hade to an end now. Petting the spaceship, Number Two could see many things from it. Corrosive traces left by the Shadow Apostles, scrapes from small meteorites, scorch marks from Interster Pirate Weapons¡­ Each mark was evidence of them facing life and death together; every wound had a story behind it, and these stories together made a legend. And today, the legend mighte to an end. ¡°Thank you, old friend.¡± Patting the hull of the spaceship, Number Two called Number One and Number Three to take their belongings, and led by the floating Beta, they headed towards the Botanic Garden. It took them a full three hours to reach the ce. Even though they had removed their space suits, the journey was still exhausting.
And when they got there, they realized that it was even bigger than they had imagined. The three-meter-high wall reached the clouds in the eyes of the squirrels. The long wall extended all the way to the horizon, reminding them that the ce was bigger than they had thought. However, squirrels were natural wall climbers. Climbing along the wall, when they scaled over it, the beautiful scenery on the other side left them stunned. Water-loving nts were seen everywhere, delicate trees were interspersed among them, and blue flowers bloomed in the flower beds, everything looked so perfect. Chapter 128: 107: Eachs Mission (Three More Updates)_2 Chapter 128: Chapter 107: Each¡¯s Mission (Three More Updates)_2 ¡°` Staring nkly at the enclosing walls for a while, Number One couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°This ce is really beautiful, what is this ce?¡± Beta was silent for a moment before he finally said, ¡°Switching to Botanic Garden exnatory mode. This is the Botanic Garden.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a botanic garden?¡± ¡°A ce for cing nts and for people to enjoy looking at them. Bipedal Beasts, that is, humans of the past, were very fond of such facilities. They liked toe here during their leisure time to pass the time by observing nts.¡± ¡°Then are these foods delicious?¡± asked Number Three, drooling. ¡°Most are only for ornamental purposes and are poisonous, and moreover, they require a lot of sunlight, clean water, and fertile soil, etc.¡± ¡°What a waste!¡± Number Two cried out, ¡°Using preciousnd and resources to cultivate things you can¡¯t eat, were humans this wasteful?¡± ¡°To the humans of the past, this was merely amon way to entertain themselves.¡± At Beta¡¯s answer, Number Two fell silent.
The human era was a grand golden age, their advanced technology andprehensive industry allowed them to dominate the Mirror Universe, even though they had perished, their legacy still guided their pets. The resources required by a massive botanic garden were beyond their imagination. And that such a massive structure was merely a facility for entertainment, this luxury left them at a loss for words. Just as Number Two was about to jump down to experience the nts here, he heard Beta say, ¡°Please do not approach the underbrush, especially not by hopping on one foot.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It looks like underbrush, but it is essentially a kind of mimetic nt. This nt preys on a certain one-foot hopping creature known as the Alien Rat, so hopping at a certain frequency will trigger its predatory instinct and result in its attack.¡± ¡°I see. Wait a minute!¡± Feeling something keenly, Number Two continued to ask, ¡°I have a question, nts don¡¯t move, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Beta answered. ¡°Animals move, right?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°Then why do the nts here move?¡± ¡°Because of the need for biological weapons, humans broke down the barrier between nts and animals, merging them into one. So, the nts here look like nts, but essentially, they are evolvable nt-animal hybrids.¡± Number Two¡¯s expression became even more solemn. Thinking of the unavoidable nt disease in their race, he asked incredulously, ¡°Then, our disease¡­ ¡± ¡°Connected to the localwork, database updated¡­ Yes, it can be inferred that the source of your disease lies here.¡± ¡°Our ancestors¡­ were they biological weapons?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The sudden truth gave Number Two a sense of absurdity.
They had always been trying to solve the problems within themselves, to understand their origins, but they never expected the truth to be like this. Biological weapons, that was the reason they were created. Watching the ashen-faced Number Two Squirrel Man, Number One nudged him and asked while munching on nuts, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, if you¡¯re not eating the nuts, give them to me.¡± ¡°We are biological weapons!¡±
¡°Oh, and then?¡± Looking at the bewildered Numbers One and Three, Number Two suddenly realized the crux of the issue. Right, and then what? Knowing that their origin was as biological weapons, what impact did it have on them? They were still themselves, still the squirrels who had ousted the bipedal human beasts, still the creatures at the top of the food chain. You were luxurious, you were great, but what of it in the end? We still stand at the top of the food chain! And I will find a way to save our kind on our home, we Squirrel Men will be perfect again, great once more. With these thoughts, Number Two was filled with boundless passion. Just as he was about to rise and express the emotions in his chest, he saw a strange fellow walking out from a corner. The other¡­ was weird. ¡°` His body was very uncoordinated; his arms and legs looked slender, and there was only a small pinch of hair on the top of his head. There was no tail on his lower body, and it was unclear how he maintained bnce. He was very tall, six of himself stacked on top of one another would only be as tall as the other party, which was a mystery as to how he survived without breaking any bones.
Immediately lowering his gaze, Beta stood on top of the wall, looking down at the creature below and asked in terror, ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°It resembles a human in shape, but there are no signs of life,¡± Beta said in confusion, ¡°An entity never seen before, it needs to be recorded, temporarily registered as humanoid.¡± ¡°Humans look like that? That¡¯s not what I saw in the documents! Aren¡¯t they the species that either don¡¯t have a tail or have it in the front?¡± ¡°Documents are mostly spective, and deviations from the facts are normal. I suggest we continue observing.¡± epting Beta¡¯s proposal, Beta could only continue observing. But after only a short while, Beta found that the human¡¯s actions could only be described as bizarre. From the moment he appeared, he had never been quiet. He was attempting to invade the Botanic Garden. Next to the Botanic Garden, there were obvious warning signs, but he ignored thempletely, constantly charging toward the garden. He tried jumping into the garden and was stopped by a machine simr to Beta. He tried digging holes with his bare hands outside the garden and was stopped. Climbing up an artificial hill and then trying to jump into the garden from there, he was stopped in mid-air. Trying to damage the garden fence, then arguing with the machine that a garden without a fence was not a garden, he was stopped with a p from the machine and then ordered to restore the original condition.
In the process of restoring, he tried to enter the garden to pick flowers and was stopped, then he disappeared for five hours. After five hours, he reappeared, dutifully restored the garden, politely said farewell to the machine, and then started trying to dive into theke. He tried jumping directly into theke and was stopped. He tried¡­ Three Squirrel Meny on the city wall, staring dumbfounded at the spectacle in front of them. At this moment, Beta felt that even the most delirious fantasy novel couldn¡¯t write the scenario before his eyes; the humanoid¡¯s actionspletely overturned his understanding, making him feel as if he had fallen into madness. However, strong rationality forced him to return to normal, but hispanions had already lost their wits. Looking at the creature in front of him, Jin muttered to himself, ¡°Who am I, and who is he? Is the world just a dream of My Little Pony or a massive bubble of nothingness?¡± Ignoring his twopanions for the moment, Beta asked, ¡°Beta, is it possible to specte what these humans are doing?¡± ¡°Insufficient data, unable to specte for the time being. Please continue to collect intelligence to assist in my judgment,¡± Beta replied. After some thought, Beta gave each of hispanions a p to the face, waking them up with a physical method. Having ryed Beta¡¯s deductions to them, Beta seriously said, ¡°Next, we need to observe these humanoids and then discover the secrets here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡± Jin screamed in fear.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the third Squirrel Man agreed with a fearful nod, ¡°Just looking at him nearly drives me insane, there¡¯s no way I can investigate his secrets.¡± ¡°But we have no other choice,¡± Beta sighed. ncing at the humanoid who was still trying to jump into theke, a primal fear came rushing in, preventing him from looking any longer. However, to save his species from the brink of extinction, he steeled his resolve and started to watch those creatures intently. ¡°Look at them with me,¡± Beta said, ¡°Slowly, little by little, dispel the fear in our hearts. We can¡¯t be afraid, we are thest hope.¡± ¡°But what if I¡¯m still scared?¡± the third Squirrel Man asked fearfully. ¡°It¡¯s okay, just keep looking until you¡¯re not afraid anymore.¡± While the three Squirrel Men were oveing their fears with desensitization therapy, their presence had already been noticed. The all-knowing Alpha, the exining robot, had already spotted the three Squirrel Men and his own second-generation product, Beta, invented in another universe. Their origin sparked some curiosity in Alpha, but their bodies shared the same origin with the animals and nts of this world, yet they had evolved in a different direction. This peculiar expression aroused its curiosity about these creatures and prepared to observe and record their behavior, identify their covert state, andpile and file a report. Thus, a bizarre scene began. The yers were unaware that they were being watched by three Squirrel Men, and the three Squirrel Men were unaware that they were being watched by Alpha. With different goals in mind, their behavior in the Botanic Garden began to intertwine and influence each other. Chapter 129: 108: The Key to Activating Dynamic Plants (Added for the ally of Boss Qiu Ge)_1 Chapter 129: Chapter 108: The Key to Activating Dynamic nts (Added for the ally of Boss Qiu Ge)_1 Three days shed by in an instant. After three days of observation, Number Two hade to a conclusion. And that conclusion was that these humanoid entities were definitely not human, not even biological. They neither ate nor drank water, and they could appear or disappear at will, which was entirely unnatural. They were merely a bunch of things resembling humans, shrouded in human skin, wandering around and carrying out inconceivable rituals. With Beta¡¯s reminder, Number Two finally realized how dangerous the Botanic Garden was. Every seemingly beautiful nt was actually a hybrid of animal and nt, much like itself. The only difference was that they were more nt than animal, while it was the opposite. Each hybridy in ambush, like spiders lying in wait in the darkness, nesting and waiting for the moment to be activated, then pouncing to capture their prey. The suddenly appearing snow was some kind of microorganism, slowly descending upon its host before consuming it. The extra shadows were another kind of hybrid, possessing the strong ability to mimic shadows to catch their prey.
Fake water would appear on the surface of the water, and false wind on the dead-end roads. This ce was entirely a massive hunting ground, a ce of terror where one might die at any moment. But even more terrifying than these horrific hybrids were those humanoids. Because, they actually seemed to enjoy this ce! Based on Beta¡¯s analysis, although these humanoids showed no signs of life, they possessedplete emotions. By deducing from their behavior, Beta discovered that these humanoids had a fondness for this ce. It was like a chipmunk that had entered a home of hawks and wolves, admiring the sharp teeth and drool of the other while musing how nice those teeth looked. What was even more horrifying was that these humanoids were provoking the hybrids. Even though theycked the ability to trigger the hybrids, let alone make them cease hiding, they seemed tirelessly fond of trying to coax these lurking creatures to attack them. This behavior, utterly fearless of death and even treating it as fun, convinced Number Two that these beings were definitely not human. They were just a group of monsters wearing human skin, or perhaps some kind of mechanical imitation of humans, but decidedly ineffective puppets. After carefully observing for three days, the chipmunk felt it needed to take action. The stockpile of nuts was running low, and they had to try to obtain food from a nt resembling nuts, which unfortunately included squirrels on its menu. As soon as they approached, the nt would drop its mimicry andunch an attack on them. Therefore, it had to try coordinating with Beta to obtain the nuts together. With its mind made up, Number Two began to devise a n. It would use its sharp wit, a brain that even a King had praised, toe up with a perfect n to acquire the nuts it wanted! ¡°Time to eat!¡± Number One called from not far away. Interrupted, Number Two moved over discontentedly and started gnawing on a nut. The nut today tasted sweet and fragrant, unlike any it had tasted before, making it deliciously enjoyable. It wasn¡¯t until after it ate one that Number Two became alert and asked Number One, ¡°What¡¯s going on, where did you get these nuts from?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you give them?¡± Number One asked, confused. ¡°I picked them up.¡± The dopey Number Three raised its paw and said. ¡°And where did youe from?¡± ¡°I slept at the side of the road, and those humanoids brought some to me.¡±
Number Two felt like it had a mouthful of swear words it wanted to say. Grabbing Number Three by the chest, it angrily demanded, ¡°What are you doing? Do you know how hard I work every day to avoid those humanoids? Why did you have to expose us today!¡± ¡°Not today, I was exposed since we arrived. Although I¡¯m still quite scared of her, she¡¯s really gentle when feeding.¡± ¡°Then what have I been monitoring for the past few days!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but you seemed pretty happy doing it.¡± ¡°Happy my ass!¡± Panting with frustration, Number Two released its paws, utterly speechless. It had thought itself a super agent, only to turn out to be an ultimate fool, self-involved in its act for three days, ignorant of their exposure. Standing there, it looked up at the sky and muttered, ¡°I¡¯m not acting anymore, I¡¯m going to touch the snow now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Number Two! If you go, who will we bully?¡± ¡°Screw off! Bully whoever you want, there¡¯s no damn future with you two idiots!¡± ¡°Have you forgotten your mission?¡± shouted Number One suddenly. The angry Number Two calmed down, also remembering its purpose.
After calming itself, it said to Number Three, ¡°Who did you expose yourself to?¡± ¡°To a humanoid marked as female.¡± ¡°Does she havepanions?¡± ¡°No, just her alone. And she doesn¡¯t move very fast, so I¡¯m not worried about her catching me.¡± ¡°Alone, nopanions¡­ How did you meet her?¡± ¡°I just went to the side of the road, and she came over by herself.¡± After confirming the details with Number Three and learning that indeed the other was alone and not very swift, Number Two felt it could take action. The fact that she fed nuts every day suggested she must bear some kind of goodwill toward squirrels, so using this goodwill to make contact with her and understand the humanoids seemed like a good choice. Chapter 130: 108: The Key to Activating Dynamic Plants (Added for the ally of Boss Qiu Ge)_2 Chapter 130: Chapter 108: The Key to Activating Dynamic nts (Added for the ally of Boss Qiu Ge)_2 Since number three had already been exposed, it seemed alright for him to join in as well. Having made up his mind, he said to number three, ¡°Alright, I forgive you this time. Take me to meet her.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Number one, don¡¯te over here. Observe from the shadows and if anything seems off, run immediately and don¡¯t worry about us!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t bother with you.¡± ¡°¡­At least pretend to hesitate a bit. Number three, let¡¯s go.¡± The brown and ck squirrels began to sprint, using all four limbs to make their way to the roadside. There wasn¡¯t a soul on the small path and the two thirty-centimeter-tall squirrels waited for a moment before finally seeing a female human approach, wobbling as she walked. Her steps were unsteady and slow, her face had a gentle expression, and although her features were delicate, there was no sign of vitality. When she saw the two squirrels, she paused briefly but still slowly approached and ced the nuts she had gathered in front of them.
Realizing that there was indeed only one human present, number two rxed and asked number three, ¡°How should wemunicate with her? By numbers or by drawing?¡± ¡°Just talk directly; she understands,¡± number three said, looking at the nuts the female human had brought. ¡°Yes, I understand,¡± the female human nodded and said. To facilitatemunication with Alpha, Fang Cheng had equipped every character created for the yers with Immortal Spell. This spell allowed direct trantion of variousnguages, making it seamless for them tomunicate even with extraterrestrials. Upon learning this, number two was even more speechless. He looked at number three and sighed,menting that he really had observed nothing over the past few days. He hadn¡¯t even done as well as the foolish number three. In the face of such an unreasonable existence like the human, was behaving irrationally the correct way to respond? With this in mind, number two also gave up and began to nibble on the nuts, oblivious to the fact that his actions had already been live-streamed. The yer in front of him was known as Pingping, and she had her own ount on Bilibili, named Mom of Pingping. This ount started by narrating little stories from ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡± and had umted a following of two hundred and thirty thousand fans. Pingping was her daughter and the main yer of the game. Recently, a fan had sent her a copy of ¡°Botanic Garden¡± and suggested that she log in daily for a stroll topensate for the regret of not being able to leave the house due to her disability. Along with the game, she also received a set of VR goggles. With these goggles, she was able to better appreciate the scenery of the Botanic Garden and immediately fell in love with it. Everything here was lifelike; the magnificent natural scenery made her forget her physical impairments, and walking here every day had be her favorite activity. Then, she spotted a ck squirrel on the roadside. The squirrel was basking in the sun while soundly sleeping, looking utterlyfortable.
At first, she thought that it was just part of the game, so she ignored the oversized ck squirrel and continued to visit other sights. It wasn¡¯t until she saw one of the odd rules about the Botanic Garden summed up by someone that she realized she might have discovered an easter egg. The rule was: ¡°There are no animals in the Botanic Garden. If you encounter any, please notify Alpha immediately and evacuate straight away.¡± Although a bit annoyed at having missed it, she could let it go since there was still so much of the garden¡¯s scenery she hadn¡¯t enjoyed. She decided to continue enjoying the scenery.
That afternoon, she saw the ck squirrel again. The creature had apparently been sleeping until now! And it still hadn¡¯t been discovered! This time, she started a live stream, and the message that an easter egg of ¡°Botanic Garden¡± had been found quickly spread, bringing significant traffic and attention to her modest-sized channel. In her live stream, the audience watched therge squirrel and burst into exmations. [There really is an easter egg! I thought there wouldn¡¯t be one this time!] [Fang Cheng, Old Man, we¡¯ve finally found your easter egg!] [It must be a Demon King squirrel, with such a big size. Its fur is so pretty, must be quite a prestige to raise it!] [Capture it, then bully it! Put it in a spacious house, provide it with plenty of nuts every day, ensure it gets some exercise, and offer it enough toys to keep it from ever going back to the wild!] [¡­The person above, your hobby is twisted.] However, Pingping didn¡¯t heed the suggestions of her viewers and instead gathered nuts from a nearby tree and ced them next to the Demon King squirrel. Lured by the scent of the nuts, the bleary-eyed Demon King squirrel began munching on them and only subsequently realized that it had been discovered. Fear, despair, and annoyance flooded its tiny heart, almost driving it to madness.
But fortunately for the squirrel, this humanoid didn¡¯t mean to harm it but simply sat nearby until it left with the nuts. Having confirmed that the humanoid didn¡¯t attack it, Number Three spent a whole night drawing a conclusion. That was a good humanoid! Since it was a good humanoid, the food it gave was safe to eat! And if the food was safe to eat, then there was no problem getting close to it again! wless logic, tightly knit reasoning, and a fine judgement made Number Three feel like a very intelligent squirrel indeed! And just like that, Number Three was bought over by a serving of nuts. Knowing the whole story, Number Two groundhog sighed and then gave Number Three a fierce kick. I¡¯ve heard of teammates screwing each other over, but this is just next-level! You¡¯re just lucky this time, meeting a kind humanoid. Otherwise, you¡¯d have been skinned and boned already! Nibbling on pine cones, Number Two could only abandon all his previous caution. Looking at Pingping in front of him, he asked, ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to ask, what the hell are you doing every day? Why do you keep trying to kill yourselves?¡± ¡°Kill ourselves?¡±
¡°Yes. This ce is brimming with danger, and yet you¡¯re running around like clueless little rabbits dancing in a wolf¡¯s den. It¡¯s a miracle you¡¯re still alive.¡± Pingping didn¡¯t understand what Number Two meant, but someone in the livestream room had an epiphany: [Isn¡¯t this groundhog talking about us attempting to break the rules?] [That must be it! The Easter egg is interactive!] [I knew those rules had deeper meanings, and it¡¯s alling together here! Pingping, go show it the rules board.] Seeing the viewers¡¯ request, Pingping nodded and then said, ¡°Can I take you to see the rules board?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit far,¡± said Number Three, looking towards the distant rules board. ¡°I can take you there.¡± Number Two wanted to refuse, but Number Three had already nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, sure, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Pingping reached out her hands and grabbed two squirrels, one in each hand, and started walking towards the rules board. This action made the viewers¡¯ hearts flutter with excitement, and they all expressed the desire to trigger Easter eggs themselves and to pet the giant squirrel. Upon reaching the rules board, Number Two studied the rules for a while, discussed them with Beta, and then said, ¡°These rules are probably meant to prevent you from triggering the hunting mechanism of the nt-animals.¡± ¡°nt-animals? What¡¯s that?¡±
¡°A type of life simr to us. All the nts you see are actually nt-animals.¡± This revtion sent the livestream room into an uproar once again. It was thought that squirrels were just a solitary Easter egg, but as it turned out, the whole area was full of them. They say it¡¯s darkest under themppost, but Fang Cheng, you¡¯ve hidden everything too deeply! The idea that all the nts around could be Easter eggs, each capable of transforming from a nt into an animal like the squirrels, immediately stirred the viewers¡¯ desire to explore. Following suggestions from the viewers, Pingping said, ¡°Could you help us trigger a nt-animal? We would love to see what it looks like.¡± ¡°Us?¡± Number Two looked at Pingping skeptically, sensing something odd about her phrasing. It was strange that she, an individual, was using a plural noun. Attempting to activate a nt-animal could be either very dangerous or very safe. Choosing a nt-animal with less threat to activate might satisfy her curiosity and could also lead to better cooperation with him. After making the decision, Number Two nodded and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s find a suitable nt-animal to activate.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Pingping, carrying the two big squirrels, set out to search within the Botanic Garden. Chapter 131: 109 This is the Pet System (First Update)_1 Chapter 131: Chapter 109 This is the Pet System (First Update)_1 ¡°Visitor Notice: Please do not make loud noises, and if you have an urgent need to make noise, disguise it as something other than a sneeze.¡± After reading the sign next to a garden, Number Two sat on Pingping¡¯s hand, chatted with Beta, and then said to her, ¡°This rule has been rigged. The rule-maker knows your psyche well. If you want to break this rule, what would you do?¡± ¡°Sneeze.¡± ¡°That would exactly fall into their trap. The nts here indeed need loud noises, but they require pleasant sounds. The hidden creatures here feed on a type of bird that sings, so they instinctively attack such creatures. And sneezes can never be considered pleasant.¡± ¡°I see¡­ How do you judge what¡¯s a pleasant sound then?¡± ¡°Your voice isn¡¯t bad, just sing a song.¡± Just when the live stream audience thought Pingping would sing a song to lift everyone¡¯s spirits, Pingping skillfully opened her ylist and yed a new song. [¡­Sigh] [I actually had expectations just now.] [s¡­]
[Sister Pingping, we¡¯re quite disappointed.] Although she felt the audience was being rather inexplicable, her attention was soon captured by the creatures in front of her. Under the stimulus of music, the nt-animals emerged from underneath the flowerbed. Contrary to the expected horror scene, these nt-animals were very adorable. It was a palm-sized creature that looked simr to a pixie, its body seemed to be made of light particles and was semi-transparent. There was arge, fresh flower on its head, and right after appearing, it charged towards Pingping but stopped abruptly after getting a clear view of her size. The nt-animals still retained some animal characteristics, and because of different animal traits, they had various features. This type of nt-animal, called ¡°Pixie Flower¡±, had a preference for things that are big. Upon seeing the tall Pingping, its initial intent to attack was quickly reced by admiration for her size, causing it to hug Pingping¡¯s leg and press up against her. Seeing the small creature suddenly appearing and clinging to her, Pingping felt her heart nearly melt. Not just her, but the viewers in thement section also expressed being charmed by its cuteness. The entire Botanic Garden was constructed by the Immortal, and even without any interference, it would automatically absorb surrounding Spiritual Energy. Each nt-animal inside had been absorbing Spiritual Energy in a blessed and magicalnd, and had long evolved into high-quality Spirit Grass. The better the object, the more exceptional its appearance, because Spirituality is revealed outwardly, easily attracting people. Gently rubbing the flower on top of the small creature¡¯s head, Pingping discovered that although the flower appeared delicate, it felt like it had an animal-like texture, proving that it was sturdier than she had imagined. Moreover, this little fellow was quite clingy and could follow Pingping¡¯smands, which made it particrly interesting. Although it couldn¡¯t speak, it could express its emotions through movements and facial expressions, makingmunication not a problem. However, after seeing the two squirrels on Pingping¡¯s shoulder, the Pixie Flower¡¯s mood became noticeably agitated. The flower on its head began to change color, shifting from the previous pink to an intense red, and then it charged towards the two squirrels. Facing the aggressive Pixie Flower, Number Three stepped forward.
With each step, the squirrel¡¯s muscles expanded a bit more, and the ck Demon King Squirrel at this moment seemed to transform into a real Demon King, standing in front of the Pixie Flower. Its muscles bulged, its face appeared fierce, and the veins at its eyes looked ready to burst, making it seem as if it were possessed by a Demon God, bing an earthly god of misfortune. In front of the thirty-centimeter-tall Demon King Squirrel, the Pixie Flower¡¯s strength was insignificant. Directly grabbing the creature¡¯s head, Number Three pulled forcefully, and the flower on its head was immediately plucked off.
Without its flower, the small creature instantly lost its fight and ran back, crying into the flowerbed, hiding in its burrow, refusing toe out again. Holding its trophy, Number Three devoured the flower and then roared fiercely, ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± ¡°So savage!¡± Number Two couldn¡¯t help but say. Although it lookedzy and indifferent, Number Three, after all, was the Squirrel Squad¡¯s powerhouse, with unmatched brute strength. And the Pixie Flower was among the weaker nt-animals it had chosen to highlight Number Three¡¯s strength, which was just too appropriate. The satisfied squirrel surveyed the devastated battlefield and then looked at Pingping proudly. Scared now, human-like creature? This is the might of us Squirrel Men! By flexing its muscles, it let the human-like creatures understand that they were a force to be reckoned with, thus mitigating the adverse effects of Number Three¡¯s previous cowardice and greed, which was also part of Number Two¡¯s n. With such a neat arrangement, Number Two felt worthy of pride. Yet, after watching the recent battle, Pingping and the live stream audience fell silent. After a moment, Pingping couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Although I feel sorry for that little flower, that scene just now was quite cute, wasn¡¯t it?¡± [I feel that too, this big squirrel vs. little flower scenario is really cute.]
[Look, its cheeks are still moving!] [This Easter egg is pretty good. We have the cage, we have the nest, but where to find the squirrel?] Hearing Pingping¡¯s words, Number Two¡¯s smirk slowly faded. Dragging the still excited squirrel, he roared angrily, ¡°You call this cute! Buffed with muscles, like a Demon God, such a savage appearance, and you say it¡¯s cute!¡± Chapter 132: 109 This is the Pet System (First Update)_2 Chapter 132: Chapter 109 This is the Pet System (First Update)_2 ¡°` ¡°But it¡¯s all furry, and I can¡¯t see its muscles, so it¡¯s still cute!¡± ¡°You anthropomorphs!¡± In the heart-wrenching cries, Number Two understood. His efforts were seen as just cute acts in the eyes of anthropomorphs. Slumped on the ground, he said weakly, ¡°Tired, whatever.¡± ¡°Would you like some nuts?¡± Pingping asked with concern. ¡°¡­Yes.¡± After soothing Number Two, Pingping once againforted the Pixie Flower. Although the flower on its head was pulled off, it was just a part of its mimicry, akin to human hair.
Aside from Mr. Shen, most people don¡¯t care too much about their hair, and neither did the Pixie Flower. Moreover, unlike Mr. Shen, the Pixie Flower¡¯s hair regenerated very quickly, and soon, a new flower sprouted. Having been badly beaten, the Pixie Flower developed great respect for Number Three and, by extension, some fear of Number Two. And through Beta, Pingping also learned about the Pixie Flower¡¯s reason for attacking. It was jealousy. They could recognize an owner, but they could also feel jealous; it¡¯s best not to let two animal and nt spirits meet at the same time, as this would cause them topete against each other. Unless the animal and nt spirits don¡¯tpete for the same ecological niche and have a solid emotional foundation between them, only then might they coexist peacefully. After hearing Beta¡¯s exnation and seeing the Pixie Flower acting normally again, and beginning to fawn over Pingping, the audience thought it wouldn¡¯t be bad to bring a pet alongter for a tour of the Botanic Garden. So this Easter egg is the pet system after all! At home watching the livestream, Xiao Douzi also shouted with excitement, uncontrobly thrilled. Unlike those who only saw the cuteness of the animal and nt spirits, he thought back to the values Fang Cheng had given and finally understood Fang Cheng¡¯s true intent. So these Easter eggs are the animal and nt spirit pets! At this moment, his feelings were like Archimedes in the bath, wishing he could emte that ancient sage, strip off his clothes, and take ap around beforeing back. Who would have guessed that the Easter egg arranged in the game by the boss would be this! Thinking back on his previous deductions, he realized how close they hade to the truth. Despite knowing that the boss had arranged for over eight hundred different animal and nt characteristics, and despite having seen the methods for summoning animals and nts posted, he failed to grasp the intricacies and in the end, it was the yers who discovered it through other Easter egg linkages. However, it¡¯s not toote! Taking out the data given by Fang Cheng, he immediately began making adjustments. He knew the data of Pok¨¦mon by heart, having even won a regional championship once, so he was highly proficient with all aspects of the data.
Yet, even so, he could only make a rough adjustment, as the volume of data was indeed vast. But that didn¡¯t matter, the yers would take action. News of the Easter egg had spread, and it wouldn¡¯t take long for the yers to learn how to trigger it and each own an animal and nt spirit. Then, they would inevitably engage in battles, rapidly consolidating data from all aspects, and at that time, yers¡¯ adjustments to the data would be more efficient than now.
Working through the night for three days straight, Xiao Douzi holed up at home, treating Spiritual Tea like water and instant noodles like food, his spirit reviving more and more, even beginning to glow with health. After finalizing the initial draft, he couldn¡¯t wait to dash to thepany andid the revised proposal in front of Fang Cheng. At that moment, Xiao Douzi had red eyes, was panting heavily, his hair was messy like a bird¡¯s nest, and there was a lingering odor of having been cooped up for too long. But his eyes were bright, shining with vitality, and the slender figure carried a sense of presence, making it seem as if he had grown significantly in an instant. Before Fang Cheng could speak, Xiao Douzi immediately said, ¡°I know, I¡¯ve worked three days and nights straight, I¡¯m off to get some rest now, but I just couldn¡¯t hold back! This is the new data; I¡¯ve rushed it out! Huang Ping, I came here just to tell you this, I¡¯m off!¡± He tossed the USB drive to Huang Ping and gave him a thumbs-up. No need for many words, just one look conveyed Xiao Douzi¡¯s sincerity to Huang Ping. He too had seen the Easter egg of ¡°Botanic Garden¡± and deduced its true content, amazed that Fang Cheng could actually keep it to himself. You hid an animal and nt spirit pet in the game, and you actually managed to keep silent? It¡¯s not just eight, or eighty, but eight hundred! Huang Ping suspected that the boss was also incessantly working overtime, stowing away any ideas as they came, which over time resulted in a wealth of content. And when a suitable idea urred, he would integrate these materials. The sensitivity to the game, the recycling of materials, the control over the overall quality of the game¡ªall of that truly warranted thebel of genius.
But working overtime in secret, that¡¯s too much! Someday, I¡¯ll find evidence of your overtime and announce it to the world! From then on, I will ensure that all studio employees have the freedom to work overtime! Taking the USB drive, Huang Ping returned Xiao Douzi a ¡°I get it¡± look. The romance of men can often be conveyed with just a nce. Xiao Douzi was already spent, but before leaving, he passed his results to Huang Ping and believed he would definitely be sessful. Wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes, Huang Ping nodded vigorously. Go ahead, Xiao Douzi. I will. You take your well-deserved rest. We¡¯ll see each other in eight days. Their exchange was wordless, like a slow-motion scene, leaving Wang Xiaoying and Xu Qingling, who were watching, utterly stunned. ¡°`
Chapter 133: 109 This is the Pet System (First Update)_3 Chapter 133: Chapter 109 This is the Pet System (First Update)_3 Do all nners have so much drama between them? What¡¯s more, both of them found it eerie that they could actually understand it. Exchanging nces, they confirmed that the other had understood as well. Clutching their heads, they both let out a long sigh,menting that the game industry really is one that turns women into men. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng observed all this but had absolutely no clue what was going on. He just felt a chill down his spine, as if something was about to happen. True to expectations, Huang Ping implemented the data that very afternoon. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t see any issues with these numbers, but he felt a strong sense of unease. Asking Huang Ping to hold off on the updates, Fang Cheng went directly to his Botanic Garden to observe the current state of things. In just one day of not seeing it, the ce had changed dramatically.
Behind every yer there was either a nt or an animal, with dogs and cats among them, which made the ce quite lively. What used to be a tranquil Botanic Garden seemed to have turned into a pet paradise overnight. Luckily, these nts and animals did not need to eat or excrete; they thrived quite well with just sunlight and water and also looked pretty cute. Even though he initially did not want yers to go around with nts recklessly, after seeing it in action, he thought it was fine. After all, even with millions of yers wandering around and each collecting a nt, the garden still had hundreds of millions of nts. And with pets that did not poop or pee, had a gentle nature, and were cost-effective, the surrounding scenery looked even more enchanting. After observing Dustfire, Fang Cheng noticed that yers were still immersed in the beauty of the Botanic Garden and Dustfire¡¯s color hadn¡¯t changed. However, the feeling of unease persisted, so he asked Huang Ping to take care of the following updates while he descended into the Botanic Garden, concealed his presence, and started searching meticulously. Before long, the crashed spaceship in the distance caught his attention, and the three squirrels lurking in the Botanic Garden also entered his view. Now, the three little guys were living quitefortably. As the only three squirrels in the Botanic Garden, their daily meals werepletely provided by humanoid figures who didn¡¯t require them to forage themselves and brought them fine nuts. If their back itched, people raced to brush their fur. Their home floors were covered with wood shavings, and they had as many exercise wheels as they wanted, making Squirrel No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 suspect that they had died and were now in heaven. ¡°I could lie here for a hundred years,¡± No. 1 said blissfully amidst the soft wood shavings. Even the usually discontent No. 2 was lost in the pleasure of being groomed and saidzily, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s reallyfortable here.¡± ¡°Howfortable?¡± ¡°Like reaching the pinnacle.¡± Suddenly, No. 2 felt himself being picked up by something. Annoyed, he opened his eyes and said grumpily, ¡°It¡¯s time for high-lift in the afternoon, and did you make a reservation? Hmm¡­¡±
Seeing who had picked him up, No. 2 suddenly understood something. The innate instincts of an animal emerged abruptly, filling him with an intense and overwhelming fear. Inparison with the person in front of him, humanoids were insignificant, the Shadow Followers behind the ck hole were just rubbish, and ster life forms were as minute as cells; even the ck hole life forms only dared to crawl at his feet, beseeching his favor. This was an existence that transcended knowledge and science.
Following its instincts, No. 2 did what came naturally to it. It began to y dead. Chapter 134: 110: The Immortals Bewilderment (Part 2)_1 Chapter 134: Chapter 110: The Immortal¡¯s Bewilderment (Part 2)_1 Fang Cheng took the feigning dead No. 2 and the other two squirrels aside and said, ¡°Alpha.¡± The omnipotent exnatory robot Alpha appeared, floating beside Fang Cheng, and said, ¡°I am here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the deal with these little fellows?¡± ¡°They are one of the indigenous inhabitants here, as well as a type of flora and fauna. I hypothesized that they have no impact on the overall ecology of the Botanic Garden, so I did not list them as a target for clearance.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Nodding in agreement, Fang Cheng picked up the chipmunk and then traced its origins back to their source. After casting an Immortal Spell, he looked at the chipmunk in his hand, frowning, and said, ¡°Are you human?¡± No. 2, who had been feigning death until now, finally couldn¡¯t hold back and raised its head, saying, ¡°How is that possible!¡± ¡°But there are indeed human genes inside of you. You are a hybrid of human, animal, and nt, and the three different types of genes havebined into a brand-new characteristic. It¡¯s quite an interesting manifestation.¡± Putting down No. 2, Fang Cheng sat in front of the three squirrels and began to sort out the cause and effect.
After understanding the situation, he said to the three squirrels, ¡°This is your mother star, but as you can see, I have transformed it into a Botanic Garden. I n to continue utilizing this ce and transform it into the theme park of my dreams. Although your ancestors have already left this ce, nominally, it is still your homnd, so that creates a cause and effect between us.¡± Fang Cheng was speaking in Chinese, but by using Immortal Spell, he could easily make the three squirrels understand his thoughts, including theplex implications of cause and effect. Sensing that Fang Cheng harbored no malice, the three squirrels sat down in a row and then looked at Fang Cheng, asking, ¡°So, what is it that you are telling us all this for?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like being indebted due to cause and effect, so I need to deal with these. The more direct method would be to eradicate you along with your tribe, then there would be no cause and effect.¡± No. 2¡¯s fur instantly bristled as the squirrel puffed up like a dandelion. Its twopanions also erupted in an instant, each one without a doubt that the person in front of them had the ability to do this. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s just a more direct approach,¡± Fang Cheng said with a smile. ¡°Personally, I don¡¯t like such simple and rough methods, so I can grant each of you a small wish. This wish can be for satisfying yourselves or for helping your tribe.¡± At that moment, the three squirrels instantly realized something. The so-called small wish mentioned by the other party was a big deal that could affect their tribe. They had many wishes, like the gic diseases that were troubling them, the issue of bing nt-like. Their technology needed to be supplemented; their wed technology was insufficient to support the continued progress of their kingdom. They also wanted to know their origins, to discover the mystery of human disappearance. They also wanted a protector¡ªsomeone who would allow them a moment¡¯s peace in a universe filled with dangers. They¡­ But they also knew not to be greedy. They could not ask for something like ¡°give me three more wishes¡±; that was pushing one¡¯s luck. What the other party was offering was an exchange of equivalences, merely apensation for upying their mother star. Looking for loopholes would be courting death. All kinds of thoughts churned in their minds; theplex tangle of ideas nearly brought their little squirrel brains to a boil. Raising its paw, No. 2 tried several times to voice its wishes but felt that each wish was a waste of this rare opportunity. Just as No. 2 was about to be driven mad by its own thoughts, their leader, No. 1, raised a hand and said firmly, ¡°Please employ us.¡±
¡°Eh¡­¡± Fang Cheng furrowed his brow, seemingly reluctant to take on the three squirrels. All his employees were multitalented, each connected to him by destiny, each with boundless potential, qualified to be his Protectors. These three squirrelscked everything and did not seem particrly bright.
¡°Change it to something else, or I might consider exterminating your tribe,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t!¡± No. 1 shouted urgently, ¡°Temporary workers are okay, or even mercenaries!¡± Eventually, the three squirrels joined the theme park as temporary workers of temporary workers. Their job was to check for deficiencies and to work with Alpha to observe the yers¡¯ reactions; when necessary, they also had to y the roles of staff members in the Botanic Garden to enhance its yability. Though they were temporary workers, Fang Cheng still provided them with some decent benefits and also retained the right to throw them back into the ck hole and never see them again at any time. Having dealt with the three squirrels, the next issue was the ck hole. Due to the characteristics of the ck hole, Fang Cheng had refrained from exploring the celestial body near the with his Divine Sense. Now, after learning that the three squirrels came from the Mirror Universe and that the passage was the ck hole in the sky, Fang Cheng thought it was time to check. No sooner had he stepped into the ck hole than the ghosts and goblins inside were about to attack, only to burst into a series of screams. Fang Cheng had never imagined that such a multitude of strange beings could exist within a mere ck hole. Some were the Shadow Apostles described by the squirrels, others were fragments of unknown Demon Gods, and still others were oddities resulting from a blend of fantasy and reality¡­ These creatures converged in this ck hole, cramming the space until it was airtight and instinctively bursting into screams upon discovering Fang Cheng, the Immortal.
Chapter 135: 110: The Immortals Bewilderment (Part 2)_2 Chapter 135: Chapter 110: The Immortal¡¯s Bewilderment (Part 2)_2 They scattered in all directions, frantically rushing toward the deepest parts of the ck hole, not caring even if they were torn to shreds by the overwhelming gravity. For them, the presence of Fang Cheng was far more terrifying than a trillion depths of ck holes! ¡°You guys¡­¡± Mana was unleashed, and the creatures within the ck hole¡¯s inner recesses were all sliced into pieces, turning into a viscous malevolence. Slicing up this malevolence once more, Fang Cheng cleaned out the contents of the ck hole in two moves and then stepped out of the ck hole into the Mirror Universe. The Mirror Universe was a strange and peculiar cosmos where every ce was unlike the others. There was not a singleplete Heavenly Tao here; various Little Heavenly Ways divided it, making it difficult for them to form awork with each other. Opposite this ck hole, however, was a rarework of interconnected Heavenly Ways. Interestingly, the Little Heavenly Ways in this ce had their unique modes of operation, with one or several Little Heavenly Ways presiding over the same. Their power did note from the natural order, but from the faith of living beings.
In the mouths of these creatures, these Little Heavenly Ways had another name. Gods. Because they were too close to intelligent beings, the Little Heavenly Ways here had also taken on many colors of intelligent life. They became more personified, and their emotions turned more extreme. They started to depend on intelligent beings and reveled in their worship. This ce even developed its own logic, a set of rules recognized by all the Little Heavenly Ways. Observing thework of Heavenly Ways here, Fang Cheng found it quite fascinating. He had never thought that Heavenly Ways could unite in such a way, and that different Little Heavenly Ways could be based on an agreement rather than fighting each other. Of course, to say there were no conflicts would not be urate; their battles had moved to the shadows, and the believers became their chosen representations, engaging in endless wars through their followers. Hiding his presence, Fang Cheng discovered that the Little Heavenly Ways here were very interesting. Studying them showed him the different possibilities of the Heavenly Tao, and he immediately indulged in it. While Fang Cheng was engrossed in studying the Heavenly Ways, Huang Ping had alsopleted his modification n. Before Fang Cheng left, he had entrusted Huang Ping with the responsibility for optimizing the Botanic Garden, and today was the day he would showcase his results. Xiao Douzi¡¯s statistics had been nned out, the ripples just before apanion¡¯s death¡­ The numbers were in his possession and the game was about to undergo a revolution. All sorts of features were ready, a new adventure was about to unfold, and the yability of the Botanic Garden was set to be further developed, with a new chapter soon to be unveiled. The first free DLC for ¡°nt Elves,¡± ¡°nt Elves,¡± was online. After the update, every yer could see a new area in the game: the arena area. Elsewhere, pets would not attack each other; yers could only walk with their newly acquired pets in the Botanic Garden, enjoying the tranquility. But once they entered that ce, it was a journey of blood and fire. yers would be able to obtain up to eight hundred and thirty-one types of nt elves, each with its unique attributes and characteristics; real-timebat tested the yers¡¯ reflexes and battlefield control, and the ability to have up to four nt elves in battle at the same time made the arena even more lively. However, yers could only control one elf at first, as the elves would attack each other out of jealousy.
It was then essential to master each elf¡¯s characteristics, to interact well with them, and to develop emotional bonds with them. Once the rtionship reached a certain level, the other side would understand its ce in the yer¡¯s heart, and the feeling of jealousy would not arise, allowing them to battle each other thereafter. Besides, capturing pets required a full understanding of the corresponding rules, and if one did not know them, it was okay because special NPC squirrels would appear randomly in the Botanic Garden. The three squirrels were enthusiastic and very passionate about serving the yers, and a few nuts would make them tell you how to capture the nt elves.
Of course, if you don¡¯t want to find the squirrels, you can also check the relevant wiki, but who can resist the joy of petting a big squirrel? The DLC had only been online for a day, and yers were already on their knees. The free DLCpletely overturned the original gamey and turned it into an entirely different game. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Fang Cheng Studio, for my initial remarks, I shouldn¡¯t have said this game had no gamey at all.¡± ¡°Today, I nted a wife, and tomorrow, I¡¯ll harvest many wives. This isn¡¯t a horror game, this is ¡®Botanic Garden¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­Nobody treats nts as their wives¡­¡± ¡°Ten out of ten, I give this game twenty. Because it¡¯s like ying two perfect-score games.¡± ¡°Masterpiece, no exnation.¡± ¡°All four of us in the dorm are game enthusiasts, one likes sightseeing tours, one likes horror mysteries, one likes pet development, and one likes battles. Guess which game allows us to y together without conflict?¡± ¡°My nephew said he wants to be a creature trainer, so I took him to the arena and gave him a hard lesson with my Four-veggie Dog. Hehehe, little rascal, the trainer will be me!¡± ¨C¡°Supplementalment after three days: Got beaten up by my mom, couldn¡¯t get out of bed for three days, but it was worth it!¡± The same game, four ways to y, and the transition between them feels incredibly natural. With the four gamey methods building on each other, Pingping yed a huge role in uncovering them. If it hadn¡¯t been for her lucky discovery of a squirrel by the roadside, yers would¡¯ve been kept in the dark for much longer.
Her follower count began to skyrocket; audiences who learned about her story started to tip her, and they began thinking about crowdfunding a surgery for her. And the yers who discovered the real gamey, while gritting their teeth, calling Fang Cheng an old man for hoarding the gamey, were having the time of their lives. Once yers had figured out the various methods of summoning animals and nts, they found the game to have grown warmer. yers interested in sightseeing stayed away from the arenas, and those who liked fighting didn¡¯t disturb the other yers¡¯ fun. However, when it came to caring for pets and trying to carry more of them at the same time, consensus was reached. They exchanged tips daily on how to better care for pets and how to make them happier and more affectionate. Of course, some debated whether raising pets here was about nt Grass or cultivating animals, but those were minor issues that didn¡¯t matter much. What was once a tranquil Botanic Garden began to buzz with activity. Leisurely vine turtles carried yers around, and colossal Treemen hoisted them up for viewing tours On the water surface, faux water creatures began to surf with the yers, diversifying the gamey even more. But the liveliest spot was still the arena. Every day, the arena was packed with yers. The 4V4 battle mode tested both the trainers¡¯ teamwork and their on-the-spot reactions. Plus, the creatures could evolve from fighting, and they looked even prettier and more charming after evolving. Many yers aiming for aplete collection needed to battle constantly to evolve their roster of creatures. Even though Fang Cheng Studio had not yet organized officialpetitions, yers had started organizing their own tournaments, with an abundance of sponsored events emerging.
Newbination strategies were discovered every day, and various interesting tactics and ideas emerged, making the matches more intense and engaging. Unlike ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯spetitive mode, Botanic Garden¡¯s arena battles were in a 4V4 format, which confined the battles to a set area and made them more spectacr and worth watching. No one doubted that Fang Cheng had this endpoint in mind from the start. Keeping key gamey hidden and waiting for yers to uncover it had be a ssic marketing case, and many began to analyze why Fang Cheng Studio did this and how they executed it so well. The high-quality game andplementary gamey were the studio¡¯s confidence and a marketing tactic that others couldn¡¯t replicate. While the inte was filled with praises, some people werepletely clueless. Seeing one serious analysis after another of their reasons for doing this, Fang Cheng, freshly returned from behind the ck hole, was totally baffled. Are you guys analyzing me? Chapter 136: 111: Pranks in Progress (Three Updates)_1 Chapter 136: Chapter 111: Pranks in Progress (Three Updates)_1 [What¡¯s the Secret Behind Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s Marketing Tactics?] [Three Practices to Make Your Game Sell as Well as ¡°Botanic Garden.¡±] [From Obscurity to Millions in Sales, Fang Cheng Studio Only Got These Few Things Right.] [Is Game Quality or Marketing More Important?] As he read article after article, Fang Cheng couldn¡¯t help but feel confused. He couldn¡¯t understand why, after he had only contemted Heavenly Tao for a few days, the buzz around ¡°Botanic Garden¡± hadpletely changed upon his return. Failure was no big deal, since he had failed many times in his previous life, like when he just wanted to y a Demon but identally destroyed itsir too. But failure should have its reasons. It shouldn¡¯t just be iprehensibly unsessful. Randomly clicking on a report, he found that the writer seemed not to be writing about their studio.
¡°Miraculously cunning marketing tactics, an artful approach to marketing. Fang Cheng Studio has shown us what attitude an excellent studio should have.¡± ¡°In an era filled with anticlimactic offerings, every game strives to put its best content in the first two hours, so yers miss the refund window. The rest of the content often feels like it¡¯s pieced together or edited in, with tedious side quests and extensive collect-a-thon missions that drag the game out for dozens of hours.¡± ¡°Open-world games absolutely will not introduce fast travel points. They¡¯ll tell you it¡¯s for realism, but they¡¯ll never admit they want you to run through the map to prolong the ytime.¡± ¡°A game iming to have five hundred quests might only have a dozen or so with any novelty, and these unique side stories are all experienced within the first couple of hours, with the rest being repetitive content.¡± ¡°The gaming industry is gradually turning into a scam industry, with industry leaders focusing on how to keep yers expectant and forgetting how to leave them satisfied.¡± ¡°Therefore, in this period, Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s work is such a pleasant surprise to me.¡± ¡°A stunning opening, progressively enjoyable gamey, unveiling the world¡¯s secrets and understanding the gifts within through exploration¡ªthis kind of surprise, akin to opening a mystery box, is something I haven¡¯t experienced in a long time.¡± ¡°I had lost hope in domestic games, but I am thankful to Fang Cheng Studio for reigniting my confidence as a nearly despairing gamer.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t mind hiding the good stuff tillter because they know the initial delicacies are enough to keep you, and the delicaciester on are enough to keep you reminiscing.¡± ¡°Fang Cheng Studio is like a skilled chef. He opens a small restaurant, sits by the roadside watching the scenery. When you pass by, he won¡¯t call out to you deliberately, just disys the sign, telling you what¡¯s special for the day.¡± ¡°You might hesitate, because the spot used to be another restaurant that mainly sold curry, but only the first half of the meal was curry, thetter half was crap. By the time you reached the part you shouldn¡¯t eat, it was toote for a refund.¡± ¡°Before that, there was a restaurant that served tasty food, but only a little bit of it, the rest required a membership card purchase, and then you would receive the good stuff six monthster. However, less than a month in, the restaurant had run off, taking your membership along with it, disappearing without a trace.¡± ¡°Before that, it was a scam-shop, ostensibly free to enter but with blind boxes inside. Most of the blind boxes contained fragments, and only by collecting theplete set could you get a good meal. When youined about not getting the whole set, someone next to you would pull out aplete menu they got from the draw, fondly call the restaurant owner ¡®cousin¡¯, and start feasting in front of you, while you got nothing.¡± ¡°Because of the wrongdoings of predecessors, you were filled with distrust towards this newly opened small restaurant. But eventually, with encouragement from others, you dug into your pocket, took out your money, and bought the set meal.¡± ¡°You were led into the little restaurant, and the lovely atmosphere made you look forward to the dinner ahead. The owner wouldn¡¯t talk much, just serving you a delicious dish.¡± ¡°The tasty meal made you linger and satisfied you fully. When you got up to leave, the owner pushed you back down and brought out the second steak dish.¡± ¡°The steak was sulent and juicy, each bite dancing on your taste buds, with a perfection in cooking you had never experienced before, and it brought a satisfaction like never before.¡± ¡°You were full and ready to leave, but the next dessert arrived.¡± ¡°When you thought the dessert marked the end, baked lobster was served, followed by sashimi, roast duck, spicy duck heads, well-water crayfish¡­¡±
¡°Finally, you were full. You left reluctantly. When you looked back, you saw the owner had already changed the sign and was serving the next set meal.¡± ¡°You stopped.¡± ¡°You turned back.¡± ¡°You reopened the door of the restaurant, paid, and sat down in your old spot, ready to enjoy the next delicious meal.¡±
¡°And this is how I feel about Fang Cheng Studio.¡± ¡°Lastly, please raise the game¡¯s price a bit. I can afford it.¡± The poetic description garnered many likes for the article and filled thements with replies of ¡°I feel the same.¡± But Fang Cheng couldn¡¯t believe they were actually describing his game and could only marvel at how intense the fans¡¯ filters were. It was the weekend, and to truly understand what his own game¡¯s yers thought, he didn¡¯t disturb Huang Ping and others. Instead, he logged into the game himself and observed through his gaming character. Chapter 137: 111: Pranks in Progress (Three Updates)_2 Chapter 137: Chapter 111: Pranks in Progress (Three Updates)_2 But as soon as he entered the game, his ID was recognized, and he was pulled up to the guest seats. Sitting in the guest seat, Fang Cheng looked utterly bewildered. Next to him, the game journalist Chen Rang was brimming with excitement, while a young camera guy, acting as the camera, squatted beside them. Due to the game¡¯s perspective, in a first-person game like ¡°Botanic Garden,¡± it was convenient for a photographer to open the game and use their own screen as the interview footage. It looked strange from another person¡¯s perspective; this was a huge mental challenge for the camera guy, and someone might even take a screenshot and caption it with ¡°When you feel your job is pointless, remember someone is acting as a camera in a game.¡± ¡°Today is our seventh Sprite Battle of Flora and Fauna. We have introduced all sixteen contestants, and we¡¯re about to begin ourpetition! But before we start, please allow me to introduce our special guest, Mr. Fang Cheng from Fang Cheng Studio!¡± After finishing the introduction, Chen Rang faced his idol, Fang Cheng, took a deep breath, pondered for a long time, and finally asked the question he most wanted to ask. ¡°Mr. Fang, I heard that Mukuai is about to be a permanent character in your studio¡¯s game, what do you think about that?¡± ¡°I think creating facts through fictional news is illegal,¡± Fang Cheng said seriously. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I publicly apologize. Then, the next question, as a special guest, how do you feel?¡±
¡°It¡¯s a public execution.¡± ¡°Mr. Fang has quite a sense of humor! Who do you think will win this time?¡± ¡°I just want to know if abusing nts is a crime?¡± ¡°Mr. Fang really is very humorous! Alright, let¡¯s enjoy thepetition. How would you prefer I interview you during the match?¡± ¡°The silent interviews are best for me.¡± Having watched the yers¡¯petition with a nk expression, Fang Cheng was at a loss for words. Why do you think letting your Spirit Grass fight each other is such fun? But I must admit, these yers have raised their Spirit Grass well. The evolved forms look strong and dazzling, each with a remarkable appearance. So, why use Spirit Grass to fight? It felt to him like night pearls were meant to be admired, yet someone insisted on ying marbles with them. Fang Cheng couldn¡¯t understand such a waste of splendor. Thepetition was incredibly intense, with various battles between flora and fauna. Thementators, although amateurs, spoke clearly and wittily, making the obscure tactics understandable for everyone. The oue was even more thrilling, with one side pulling off a miraculous underdog victory that brought the audience to a climax. After participating in thepetition in a daze and then logging off in the same state, the next day Fang Cheng¡¯s first order of business upon arriving at the studio was to find Wang Xiaoying and have her dig up recent reviews of ¡°Botanic Garden.¡± ¡°[Several evolutionary pathways, the randomness of evolution direction¡ªevery evolutionary trait is rted to previous actions, and cultivating your favored sprite feels amazing!]¡± ¡°[Walking in such a beautiful environment makes me question whether I¡¯ve joined the ¡®Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon¡¯ film crew. Whenever I think this way, I switch to a bamboo forest arena and engage in a sprite battle.]¡± ¡°[I never knew fighting could be so aesthetically pleasing. This is a shot of the four divine beasts fighting in the snow, what do you guys think?]¡± ¡°[The gorgeous setting is especially suited for sprite battles.]¡± ¡°[A moonlit night, flowing water, bluish rockeries¡­ what do these remind you of? That¡¯s right, sprite battles!]¡± After reading message after message, Fang Cheng felt he had something to say, yet found himself speechless.
Poking his head out, he said to Wang Xiaoying, ¡°Do we have an official game group?¡± ¡°No, maintaining a group involves additional costs, but there are yer-run discussion groups for the game. Would you like to join, boss?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s necessary,¡± Fang Cheng said. His mind felt muddled; he was unsure about the yers¡¯ thoughts and needed to see what they were really thinking.
After receiving the group number from Wang Xiaoying, he immediately changed his name and joined the group to start lurking and understanding the yers¡¯ thoughts. First, the group files shocked him immensely. A full 4GB of group files; the content was evenrger than his expanded game. ¡°` The file wasprehensive, and the most important part was the number and illustrated guide for each nt. A yer designed an app to enable other yers to search for animals and nts and understand each one¡¯s acquisition method and cultivation technique. Due to the certain randomness of evolution, thousands of group members together experimented with every method of evolution, leading to each nt¡¯s description amounting to tens of thousands of words. And for every nt and every direction of evolution, there were illustrations, with each path of evolution¡¯s characteristics meticulously noted. It was quiteprehensive. What came next were the recordings of the matches. Because the game¡¯s background was so visually stunning, even a random recording of a match set against the exquisite backdrop had an ethereal quality. The originally violent battles, with the help of this setting, seemed to have an ultimate romantic ir. After watching a few battles, Fang Cheng couldn¡¯t help but reflect that editing the matches really made them quite appealing to watch. Especially since those that could be shared in the group were the exciting matches from unofficialpetitions, making each one remarkably engaging. And the chat content of the group members was arguably pushed to the extreme of abstraction.
[Just got a wless Snow with an indifferent personality, but when provoked, it bes furious. When it rains, it¡¯s passionate. So, does this one have any cultivation value?] [What about the trait values?] [5, 6, 5, 6, 5.] [Not bad, worth raising.] [Thanks.] Even though it was a game he had created, Fang Cheng found he couldn¡¯t understand the content yers were discussing. After looking through the previous discussions of the yers, Fang Cheng realized that they were all having a great time. Every yer had nothing but praise. It seemed that thepliments were almost free-flowing, and it made him deeply feel that they were not ying the same game he had made. ¡°Botanic Garden¡± had even be a cultural phenomenon, with every yer thoroughly enjoying themselves and all eagerly anticipating the next chapter. After all, ¡°Botanic Garden¡± was just the first chapter of ¡°Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,¡± and nobody knew what content the subsequent chapters would include. But they knew Fang Cheng Studio wouldn¡¯t let them down! After reading all thesements carefully, Fang Cheng was utterly baffled. Sitting at his desk, he began to ponder the root of all these issues but found it more confusing the more he thought about it. It felt like just making an ordinary game, so why had it turned into what it was now?
With a helpless shrug, Fang Cheng decided to put those unpleasant thoughts aside and started to think about what game to make next. However, soon after, Wang Xiaoying sent him a message: ¡°Boss, Dimensional is nning on hosting an event, do you want to participate?¡± ¡°Dimensional, huh¡­¡± Over at Dimensional, ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡±petitive matches were taking ce. Initially, everyone yed quite cautiously, but as they grew more familiar, various attention-grabbing antics emerged, making thepetition, originally scheduled for half a month, unexpectedly extended further. But since it was apetition meant for entertainment, extending it a bit was no issue. The amassed material could lead to better show effects, so Fang Cheng allowed it. Moreover, now that he heard the other side wanted to include him in their shenanigans, Fang Cheng felt a bit interested. If you guys like to fight so much, and I¡¯m feeling a bit miffed, let¡¯s all y together then. So, with a smile, Fang Cheng replied, ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Xiaoying also breathed a sigh of relief and conveyed the message to Dimensional¡¯s boss. And when the boss ryed the news to the other participants, they also got excited. They could finally see what the legendary Fang Cheng looked like! They could finally involve Fang Cheng in their pranks!
¡°` Chapter 138: 112 He Makes so Much Sense (First Update)_1 Chapter 138: Chapter 112 He Makes so Much Sense (First Update)_1 The head coach of the Multi-Dimensional Club was both delighted and worried about the news that Fang Cheng wasing. He was happy because the owner¡¯s arrival indicated the Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s importance to the Multi-Dimensional training center and the entire tournament. His concern, however, stemmed from the fact that after this period of entertainment, his yers and those streamers had bepletely fixated on antics. Losing a match was eptable, but the shenanigans were indispensable! Life doesn¡¯t pause, the antics never stop! Just watching the recent match highlights, the head coach had fully experienced what is called biodiversity and what it means when ¡°meanness is the passport of the mean, nobility is the epitaph of the noble.¡± Exchange of moves, deception within deception, sometimes the offline portion was even more exciting than online, content that might be problematic to pass censorship. One second they were arm in arm, the best of brothers. The next, they were betraying trust, teaming up with others to set someone up. Overall, it was like watching arge-scale extreme challengepetition, where from head to toe, everyone was alive with activity. He himself would asionally be pulled into ying a match or two, only to be thoroughly trolled by this group of crafty people.
And now the thought of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s owner, Fang Cheng, actuallying here and even participating in a friendly match had the head coach in aplete panic, unable to sleep night after night. Finally, the day of destiny arrived. It was now December, nearly the end of the year. The weather around Rong City had officially entered winter, the damp cold even made one start to miss the noisy summer with its cicadas. Waking up early, the head coach noticed that the sky had be even gloomier, with the light grey cloudyer pushing down a notch, deepening the gloom in his heart as well. Atst, the car arrived, and Fang Cheng, d in a ck trench coat, smoothly stepped down from the car and approached the head coach with a surprised gaze before extending his hand. After a gentle handshake, he smiled and said, ¡°Hello, I am the owner of Fang Cheng Studio, Fang Cheng.¡± Although it was their first meeting, the head coach found that there was no feeling of strangeness between them. For some reason, upon seeing Fang Cheng for the first time, he felt the other man was an idealist. The other person¡¯s gaze was pure and unclouded, like a wise old man calmly surveying him, yet with mes burning deep in the eyes. And if he weren¡¯t an idealist, he wouldn¡¯t have spent a fortune to create such an interestingpetition. Thus, the head coach was even more anxious. Unable to help himself, he turned to nce at his club yers behind him. They looked at Fang Cheng as if tigers that had spotted amb, their eyes full of hunger. They were still children, with no respect for the financial backer; all that upied their minds was ¡°This is the producer of ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯; let¡¯s use him for fun soon.¡± From their expressions, it was evident that they hadn¡¯t remembered a single thing he¡¯d repeatedly emphasized the previous night. Just as he was about to say something, Fang Cheng looked at the coach and asked, ¡°Where is Chen Liang?¡± Before the head coach could reply, Monkey hurried over from a distance, shouting while he ran, ¡°Boss, I didn¡¯t work overtimest night.¡± ¡°Hm, remember to make up the rest day when you get back.¡±
Monkey stomped his foot in frustration but soon cheered up again, chattering non-stop around Fang Cheng. Being away for over half a month, he even missed the people at the studio, asking about everyone¡¯stest news. Then, he expressed that he had been ying Sword Immortal every day recently and that his Sword Immortal skills were now more than five times better than before. Without the antics, meeting those streamers would¡¯ve meant immediate defeat for them; they wouldn¡¯tst another minute.
Meanwhile, Fang Cheng just looked at Chen Liang and gave a slight nod. Chen Liang himself had a natural talent for Sword Dao, once the kind of Sword Cultivator coveted by major sects. But now, such talent had be redundant. The Human n had evolved beyond the need for Sword Cultivators; many past talents were now superfluous. Thankfully, games still existed. With that thought, Fang Cheng gained a new appreciation for the significance of games. They could carry part of a person¡¯s ideals and provide a space for some to exercise their talents. Their abilities weren¡¯t very relevant in the current era, but within the game, they found opportunities to showcase their skills. It showed that although gaming was entertainment, it could carry a lot and possess its unique meaning. Deep in thought, Fang Cheng felt that people needed to get out more. Some things could never be fully understood without going out and experiencing them personally. Following Chen Liang into thepetition room, Fang Cheng saw it was already crowded with people. yers and streamers mingled together, indistinguishable at a nce, but their expressions betrayed their identities.
Their eyes brightened, and those who were ready to troll him were definitely the staff from the training center. Their eyes brightened, and those who were ready to collude with him for antics were definitely the streamers. As yers from the training center, they were still kids, and their thoughts were simr to Monkey¡¯s. They had no awe for money and power, brimming with youthful spirit, their minds filled with thoughts of how to have the most fun. But streamers were different; they may not have the skills, but they knew how to create spectacle and how to maximize their viewership. A good appearance was worth four or five explosive show effects, and even a few minutes of joint streaming with them was worth it. Chapter 139: 112 He Makes so Much Sense (First Update)_2 Chapter 139: Chapter 112 He Makes so Much Sense (First Update)_2 Especially after finding out that he was actually the owner of Fang Cheng Studio, the star effect surrounding him became even more evident. Despite being a hotshot producer ofte, the owner of Fang Cheng Studio didn¡¯t seem to enjoy making public appearances. Now it looked like he wasn¡¯t trying to create a sense of mystery; he simply wasn¡¯t interested in that sort of thing. After watching for a while, Fang Cheng walked directly to a broadcaster with thick eyebrows and a righteous face, and asked in a friendly manner, ¡°You must be Wang Say Games, right? I¡¯m Fang Cheng. It¡¯s great to meet you.¡± Wang¡¯s eyes lit up, and he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He had been anxious and unsure about how to break the ice with Fang Cheng. After all, they had known each other virtually for a long time, and Fang Cheng¡¯s first game, ¡°The Forest¡¯s Second Son,¡± was unearthed by him. The subsequent games had been mutually beneficial, but today was their first face-to-face meeting. Now, while Fang Cheng had soared to great heights, he was just a guest invited by Fang Cheng, which left Wang unsure of what facial expression to use when meeting him. Fortunately, Fang Cheng recognized him straight away.
This act immediately bridged their rtionship, also livening up the atmosphere between them. Using Wang Say Games as a stepping stone, the other invited broadcasters introduced themselves one by one, and with Monkey making the introductions on the yers¡¯ side, everyone finally established a preliminary emotional foundation. Seeing this scene, the head coach breathed a sigh of relief. Fang Cheng wasn¡¯t a stern person; his amiable and approachable demeanor was very affable, and he quickly became one with everyone. That way, he thought, when the time came for them to pick on him, they might go easy on him. After all, his club was dependent on Fang Cheng, and he hoped his yers wouldn¡¯t go too far and upset the benefactor. When it was about time, the head coach pped his hands and then said, ¡°All right, we¡¯re ready. Today¡¯s match is just for fun, no points will be counted. The cameras are all set up, and everyone is free to y and form teams as they wish. Our event today will be determined by the roulette wheel. If no one minds, I¡¯ll get it started.¡± With that, he spun the wheel, and it began to oscite before finallying to a stop at one position. Seeing the pointernd on the spot, the head coach¡¯s heart skipped a beat. It was ¡°Helping the Evil¡±! In the Helping the Evil mode, four yers will act as ¡°Tiger Demons,¡± having the option to kill a yer outright or turn them into a ghost minion after defeating them. The performance of a ghost minion appears the same as a regr yer; they can also meditate to cultivate, but most of their cultivation progress feeds back to the Tiger Demon. At the same time, by fooling two yers into getting killed by the Tiger Demon, a ghost minion can gain freedom and break free from the Tiger Demon¡¯s control. This mode has a bit of a ¡°Werewolf¡± feel to it, with lots of deceit, backstabbing, and retaliation happening one after another, making for explosively good entertainment. But for yers trying this mode for the first time, it¡¯s an absolute nightmare. First they¡¯re deceived by a ghost minion, and after the ghost minion, the Tiger Demon deceives them, and then they¡¯re fooled by the regr yers until they can¡¯t even remember who they are. However, as the owner of the studio, Fang Cheng should have yed this mode before. The head coach nced at Fang Cheng and noticed his brow was slightly furrowed, boding ill. He hadn¡¯t yed it!
That made sense, after all, a game producer of his caliber was busy creating new games every day, so how could he have possibly had the time to y through all of his old games. The coach wanted to switch to another mode, but the others were already geared up and entering the VR machines to start the game. The VR machines were donated by Kirin Industry as a form of advertising, in exchange for a sponsorship credit. By now, everyone knew that Gao Tianyun, the owner of Kirin Industry, was keen on getting to know Fang Cheng. His club was just coteral damage, which made the head coach even more concerned that the youngsters might overwhelm Fang Cheng and break his defenses.
He approached Chen Liang, intending to remind him to protect the boss, only to find him looking very serious. Normally, even when faced with the other club yers ganging up on him, Monkey would keep his humor, asionally even catching a slip and counterattacking to achieve impressive results. But now, Monkey¡¯s expression was extremely solemn, and his muscles were tensed. ¡°Monkey?¡± The head coach called out softly, but the yer beside Monkey said helplessly, ¡°Coach, don¡¯t bother; he¡¯s been like this since a while ago,pletely unresponsive.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, he seems really tense; maybe because the studio owner¡¯s here, and he wants to put on a good show?¡± Looking at the monkey with bulging eyes, the head coach felt something was off. It was as if he had seen his lifelong nemesis, his entire being involuntarily tensed, ready for battle with his opponent. ncing at Fang Cheng not far away, the head coach thought to himself, ¡°That can¡¯t be right.¡± Meanwhile, Fang Cheng put on the VR headset, slipped on the VR gloves, and fastened the safety belt. This batch of all-in-one VR machines was thetest model. He had even given some feedback on the underlying software and increased the degree of realism by 5 percentage points. After all, effort determined oue. Gao Tianyun had indeed done a good job, and Fang Cheng was happy to offer some help by optimizing some of the content.
Compared to Immortal Spells, programming was a bit simpler, and he could easilye up with decent optimization solutions. And although it was only a 5 percent increase, it was already close to the VR limit, just waiting for a technological breakthrough to blow the virtual reality technology wide open. After familiarizing himself with the VR hardware, Fang Cheng¡¯s vision went dark as the game officially started. ¡°You are an ordinary Cultivator who has rushed here to exorcise demons after hearing that a small fishing vige has been troubled by monsters. But you don¡¯t know what awaits you.¡± The weathered voice sounded, immediately immersing the yer in the setting. The opening narration hinted at Fang Cheng¡¯s current identity as an ordinary yer, with the goal of exterminating all the Tiger Demons. The death of a Tiger Demon also meant the death of its thrall ghosts, inherently pitting them against each other. If one were a Tiger Demon, the narration would take a different tone, suggesting what the Tiger Demon yer could do. As the voiceover ended, the game also finished loading. The surrounding environment was presumably a new addition by Huang Ping for thispetition. At that time, Fang Cheng had casually created some buildings to meet his requirements, but he didn¡¯t expect Huang Ping to do such an impressive job. Under the overcast sky and howling Gang Wind, this ce wouldn¡¯t be destroyed, but there were scattered meditation spots for yers to improve their Cultivation. He stood in a corner of the small fishing vige, where all yers were evenly distributed across various spawn points, beginning to explore and form alliances.
The fishing vige had been celebrating a festival, but all the vigers had vanished, leaving only a half-prepared scene andnterns all over the vige. In the gloomy night, the rednterns swayed with the wind, illuminating some areas as bright as day, while others, withoutnterns, were too dark to see anything. The superb environmental effects put non-Tiger Demon yers on high alert, also making the game atmosphere incredibly spooky. Having produced such great effects with limited resources, Huang Ping was indeed talented. Sighing in admiration, Fang Cheng was about to move when he heard a scream piercing through the sky. It was a yer who had just entered the game and encountered a Tiger Demon. The Tiger Demon¡¯s initial strength was equivalent to two rounds of meditation, an insurmountable force for new yers. An encounter meant certain death. And the first yer to be killed was usually transformed into a thrall ghost. To ensure their own revival and for showmanship, these thrall ghosts would try to trap yers, leading them into Tiger Demon pitfalls. After the scream, the surroundings became even quieter, but the tension was palpable. Thrall ghosts appeared identical to ordinary yers, indistinguishable without special Cultivation Techniques. Now, all yers who had not yet met each other were potential thrall ghosts, making cooperation suspicious and tentative from the start. However, this didn¡¯t matter much to Fang Cheng.
Just as he was about to find a ce to meditate, he heard someone excitedly shout, ¡°Fang Cheng!¡± Turning his head, Sword Immortal Fang Cheng saw an Ape Demon running toward him from afar, carrying an ID above its head: ¡°Wang Say Games.¡± The ID was a result of the official release; yers could choose to show or hide their IDs now. Seeing Wang approaching, Fang Cheng, without a word, sent a streak of sword light flying past, eliminating Wang. With eyes widened in shock, Wang¡¯s body pierced through the chest, began to fade, revealing the true nature of the thrall ghost. Lying on the ground, still with a breath left, Wang asked, ¡°How did you know I was a thrall ghost?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know,¡± Fang Cheng replied, ¡°But my game¡¯s goal is to eliminate the Tiger Demons, so if I kill everyone, can¡¯t I achieve the goal just the same?¡± In that moment, Wang felt Fang Cheng¡¯s words made a lot of sense. Chapter 140: 113 Everything contains the Dao (second update)_1 Chapter 140: 113 Everything contains the Dao (second update)_1 Stepping out of the VR unit, Wang from ¡°Wang Say Games¡± arrived at the rest lounge and, after grabbing a coffee, prepared to take a break. Victory and defeat aremon in the art of war, and especially for an entertainment streamer like Wang, dying a hundred times was nothing out of the ordinary. Moreover, having his undercover identity blown was just part of the job, so dying wasn¡¯t exactly unjustified. In the rest lounge, there were over a hundred screens set up, allowing yers to observe the performances of variouspetitors and further strategize for what was toe. Apart from Wang, the head coach of the Dimensional Training Center was also there. Cradling a teacup filled with goji berries and licorice root, the tea had lost its heat, but the cup was still full. Coach Lin silently watched the screens, his eyebrows tightly furrowed, his expression as serious as if it were carved from iron. Sitting beside him, Wang from ¡°Wang Say Games¡±mented, ¡°Ah, just my luck. I wanted to team up with Mr. Fang for a while, but the moment I raised my hand, he took me out. Mr. Fang is quite cautious; he must¡¯ve been betrayed a fair amount in the past.¡± After taking a sip of coffee, Wang continued, ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect Mr. Fang¡¯s skills to be quite good. He managed a sneak attack on me. However, next time, if I¡¯m prepared in advance, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± ¡°Even if you prepare in advance, it won¡¯t be enough,¡± Coach Lin stated firmly.
¡°Coach Lin, I know you¡¯re deeply tied to Fang Cheng, but you don¡¯t need to be that ttering. Not to boast, but I feel like Fang Cheng and I are evenly matched; it could go either way.¡± Looking at Wang with pity, Coach Lin pointed at the screen: ¡°Look for yourself.¡± The small fishing vige where ¡°Helping the Evil¡± took ce wasn¡¯trge, a change Huang Ping made after careful calction and observation. With a smaller area, yers could quicklye into contact with each other, deceive one another, and consequently create a good gaming effect. At the same time, the small area prepared the stage for an uing outburst. Once yers knew who the Tiger Demon was and who the betrayers were, they could unleash a series of battles in a short time, fully releasing the tension and suspense built up previously and drawing a perfect end to the scenario. But now, in less than 10 minutes, half of the yers had already met their demise. Discovering that two Tiger Demons had died, Wang sighed, ¡°The Tiger Demons aren¡¯t doing well this time. Normally, it takes about twenty minutes before one is exposed, but why did two die so quickly this time? Are they not putting on a good act, or is there another n?¡± ¡°No, both were taken out by Mr. Fang alone,¡± Coach Lin replied, his expression still grave. ¡°Did the Tiger Demons intentionally throw the game? No, this isn¡¯t just throwing the game; you¡¯ve unleashed a flood here.¡± Just after making thisment, Wang was captivated by Fang Cheng¡¯s actions disyed on the screen. Only at this moment did he understand why Coach Lin had looked at him with such pity earlier. On the screen, Fang Cheng¡¯s Sword Immortal moved as if he were in a realm with no others, ughtering gods and men alike as he encountered them. After meditating a few times, Fang Cheng had reached the limit of Flying Swords he could wield, with three swords orbiting endlessly. The gleam of the Flying Swords was dim, indicating they had not yet reached full power. Yet even so, Fang Cheng¡¯s operation was still absurdly good. When the Sword Immortal entered a narrow alley, three betrayers immediately sprang out,unching a despicable ambush. An Ape Demon broke through a wall, lunging at the Sword Immortal, but a streak of blue light shed by his cheek. Thinking Fang Cheng had missed, the Ape Demon was overjoyed and took the opportunity to leap at Fang Cheng.
Unexpectedly, the blue light turned back after flying past and pierced the Ape Demon from behind, ending him on the spot. Another Ming General tried to strike from below, but without even a nce, Fang Cheng¡¯s sword thrust directly downward,pletely annihting the assant below. In the skies, Thunder Law coalesced as Dragon Girl¡¯s figure hovered ceaselessly, soaring like a white dragon in mid-air. Her Spell gathered, the Thunder Law forming amidst clouds, striking at the Immortal Sword before her.
Butpared to her majestic thunder resembling a natural disaster, Fang Cheng merely tossed out a streak of light from his sword. The glistening sword light soared upwards, dodging numerous bolts of lightning, and struck the Dragon Girl in mid-air, reducing her to dust with a single blow. In a sh of lightning, the ambush by three yers was foiled, leaving Wang from ¡°Wang Say Games¡± with a chill down his spine. The three ambushing yers were all officialpetitors from the training center. One of them was usually too proud to join forces with others unless facing Monkey. But today, those three had teamed up against Fang Cheng, which meant that in their eyes, Fang Cheng had risen to the same level as Monkey. Wang was familiar with Monkey¡¯s strength. The opponent was the widely acimed Monkey Sword Immortal, who in recent times focused solely on ying Sword Immortal and no other character. And in the entire training center, only Monkey could walk away unscathed from being surrounded by three yers, and might even manage a counterattack. After watching for a while, Wang shook his head and sighed, ¡°I underestimated him, I didn¡¯t expect Mr. Fang to be so formidable. Maybe only Monkey could handle him.¡± ¡°Even Monkey wouldn¡¯t be up to it,¡± Coach Lin said regretfully. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t use Sword Immortal well, so you¡¯re not aware of just how strong a Sword Immortal really is. Even if an opponent¡¯s move is a bit quicker or more urate than yours, that small margin is a lethal advantage.¡±
Chapter 141: Everything Contains the Dao, Volume 2 (Second Update)_2 Chapter 141: Everything Contains the Dao, Volume 2 (Second Update)_2 Wang Say Games nodded, acknowledging he had learned something. ¡°But Coach Lin, when you give an example, you give an example. What do you mean by saying directly that my Sword Immortal isn¡¯t up to par?¡± As time passed, more and more yers were defeated, and the rest area gradually filled up with people. At first, they discussed their gains and losses and shared their experiences of dying. But after witnessing Fang Cheng¡¯s technique on the screen, they all fell silent. They hadn¡¯t felt much when they died, but stepping out of their own perspectives and viewing it from another angle revealed the horror of Fang Cheng. Watching Fang Cheng¡¯s battle, they only had one thought: it was wless. The opponent didn¡¯t engage in any fancy tricks or methods; every fight involved only two basic moves: sheathing and drawing the sword. Yet, it was these two actions that disyed an upright majesty and an unquestionable strength. The opponent¡¯s fundamentals had reached an inconceivable level. Those two basic moves carried an aura of vastness and made one feel that this was what a true Sword Immortal should be like. They couldn¡¯t even imagine what a more powerful artificial intelligence than Fang Cheng would look like.
After 20 minutes, the game should have ended. Thest Tiger Demon was found, and the yer who found it charged up and knocked it to the ground with a stick. One more hit and the game would be over. However, the Monkey ying as Ape Demon didn¡¯t give the final blow to his opponent. He signaled for his opponent to get up, then pointed towards Fang Cheng¡¯s location. The Tiger Demon, deeply understanding the spirit of mischief, immediately nodded, indicating that he understood the Ape Demon¡¯s intention. To ambush Fang Cheng. Chen Liang¡¯s personality was naturally suited for this kind of entertainingpetition. He didn¡¯t care about the result of the match; he just wanted to fight a stronger opponent. Seeing that the Monkey had chosen Ape Demon surprised the other yers. Because in previouspetitions, the Monkey had never used any ss except Sword Immortal. Seeing the Monkey¡¯s Ape Demon reaching its full potential, Coach Lin nodded and said, ¡°He might have a ten to twenty percent chance of winning.¡± ¡°Coach Lin, I really don¡¯t understand Sword Immortal, but I do understand Ape Demon! How can it only be a ten to twenty percent chance sote in the game?¡± Coach Lin sighed again, feeling that Wang didn¡¯t understand Ape Demon either. But he still patiently exined, ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot. Actually, you don¡¯t know this, but the Monkey ys Ape Demon even better than Sword Immortal.¡± ¡°Then why does he still keep ying Sword Immortal?¡± ¡°Because Sword Immortal is cool.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s damn right! Then why isn¡¯t Ape Demon effective either?¡± ¡°Because Mr. Fang¡¯s Sword Immortal is too good.¡± In the midst of conversation, the Monkey¡¯s Ape Demon and another Sword Immortal portraying Tiger Demon had approached Fang Cheng.
They were thest batch of yers. Other yers had either been killed by the Tiger Demon or in by Fang Cheng. Dozens of yers were now reduced to three, but it seemed like the advantage was on the side of the regr yers. After confirming they were within effective range, the Tiger Demon Sword Immortal rushed to attack, his sword¡¯s glow darting towards Fang Cheng. But Fang Cheng was equally quick to act, a nearly identical cyan glow flying out and entangling with the sword glow in the air. The two glows shed and negated each other in the air, intertwining and erupting in a continuous series of impacts, and in the blink of an eye, a victor was decided.
The cyan glow shot toward the Tiger Demon Sword Immortal, but just as it was about to hit, it was knocked away by the Monkey¡¯s Ape Demon with a stick in mid-air. ¡°Again,¡± said the Monkey seriously. The Sword Immortal did not dare to dy and sent out another sword glow. But before it could get close, it was shattered by a graceful sword glow. Even though the sword glow was shattered, Fang Cheng¡¯s swordsmanship did not slow down. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and pierced through the Tiger Demon Sword Immortal, ending him on the spot. Thest Tiger Demon was finished, and the yer had won. At this moment, a 30-second countdown for settlement appeared on the screen, a time when everyone would instinctively rx a bit, and that¡¯s exactly what the Monkey was waiting for. His Ape Demon was still in its prime, but Fang Cheng¡¯s Sword Immortal only had one sword glow left. Additionally, using the settlement as a weapon to numb the enemy, the Monkey knew his opportunity to strike was now! One Cultivation Technique after another was used instantaneously. The alreadyrge Ape Demon swelled to twice its size, its roar resounding, and with rapid strides, it charged towards Fang Cheng. The hundred-meter distance was crossed in an instant, and the huge club was raised high, mming down towards Fang Cheng. In that moment, the atmosphere changed dramatically. The sky was thrown into turmoil by the might of that one strike, and the air trembled continuously with its power. Amidst the terrifying hum, the Ape Demon¡¯s club hit the ground, dust flying everywhere. Yet, not a trace of tion showed on the Monkey¡¯s face but instead grew more solemn.
Within the cloud of dust, a cyan light emerged, its angle so tricky, its speed so rapid, the Monkey had never seen the like. Before he could react, the massive Ape Demon was split in two down the middle. The Ape Demon, defeated once again! With that, only one yer remained: Fang Cheng. The rest room fell into utter silence at this final result. Although developing games isn¡¯t the same as ying them, Mr. Fang, your gaming skills are truly exaggerated. If this weren¡¯t an away game, everyone might think you¡¯d written a cheat code for yourself. After contemting the process, Wang Say Games put himself in Fang Cheng¡¯s shoes, feeling the sense of invincible loneliness, the feeling of being unparalleled under heaven and earth. Chapter 142: 113 Everything Contains the Dao (Second Update)_3 Chapter 142: 113 Everything Contains the Dao (Second Update)_3 Mr. Fang, with such strong abilities like yours, it would be a shame not to y games. What? You¡¯re better at making games than ying them? Well, that¡¯s alright then. A few minutester, a refreshed Monkey and aposed Fang Cheng walked out of the VR unit. Even though he lost, Monkey still wore a cheerful smile. As they walked, he said excitedly, ¡°Boss, you¡¯re really amazing. I specifically used Ape Demon for today, but I still couldn¡¯t beat you. But no worries, next time I will definitely im your life.¡± ¡°You did very well already,¡± Fang Cheng replied, ¡°In the past, you would have been a decent Sword Immortal. y a few more times, and you should reach my level from back then.¡± ¡°Really!¡± Monkey asked excitedly, ¡°What age level was Boss at back then?¡± ¡°I started sword training early, around nine years old, I think.¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡±
As Fang Cheng entered the lounge, he noticed everyone was looking at him. Someone started pping, and it was a long time before the apuse finally ceased. With his superior skills, yers from the Dimensional Training Center treated Fang Cheng with utmost respect. They settled him into a seat and then pulled up thepetition video to ask questions and consult on technical details. Wang Say Games also listened in for a while. Even though he didn¡¯t understand much, he felt he had learned a great deal and would possiblyst longer next time. Five minutes after the next match started, Wang Say Games left his VR pod with a despondent look, grabbed a coffee, and sat down in the spectator section. Seeing Wang Say Gamese out early, Coach Lin didn¡¯t know whether to speak or to remain silent. In the end, he patted the other man¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Next time you see Mr. Fang, you might as well just kneel and beg for mercy.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Make sure you¡¯re a bit more graceful when you beg for mercy, maybe if Mr. Fang sees how standard your posture is, he might spare you.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Afterward, Fang Cheng spent two more days at the Dimensional Training Center, recorded some footage for a show, and then left amid the reluctant gazes of others. Although he still couldn¡¯t understand why everyone found fighting so fun, Fang Cheng had another insight. That was the cooperation between yers could also be a source of joy. Especiallyter on, seeing other yers strategize and work together with the aim to take him down, their spirit of cooperation moved Fang Cheng quite a bit. Although they kept failing, the brilliance and courage shown throughout the process still touched Fang Cheng¡¯s heart. A group of people working hard and struggling together was quite an enjoyable process. The gloominess in Fang Cheng¡¯s heart from the failure of ¡°Botanic Garden¡± had dissipated, and new inspiration bubbled up within him. He felt that he had umted enough and that it was time to move on to the next game. Combining this with the inspiration he received while designing the botanical garden box earlier, Fang Cheng decided to blend these two elements to create a new gamey experience.
This game would need to have some construction elements but also cooperative gamey. It would require yers to join forces to build their homnds, making them more secure. Of course, to encourage yer cooperation, there must be some imminent danger, prompting yers to work together. ¡°The world is dangerous, and all we have to rely on is each other.¡± This phrase would be the best description for this new game. Having rified the main idea, Fang Cheng left the Dimensional Training Center.
But he didn¡¯t go straight back to Rong City; instead, he headed to the Mirror Universe behind the ck hole, to the area he wanted this time. Chapter 143: 114 "Dark Builder" (Three more)_1 Chapter 143: Chapter 114 ¡°Dark Builder¡± (Three more)_1 On the other side of the ck hole was the Mirror Universe region with multiple Little Heavenly Ways that Fang Cheng had previously explored. Here, dozens of stars were epassed within the Heavenly Taowork, with nearly every star having a, and almost every inhabited by humans. They should all be people who had escaped to the Mirror Universe from the main world a thousand years ago. Although Fang Cheng was quite curious about how they formed their current rtionship with the Little Heavenly Way, he was more concerned with how to utilize the resources of this world to create a game. The secrets of a thousand years ago could wait. Standing quietly on the outside, Fang Cheng continued to observe this area. Within the range covered by the Heavenly Taowork, the world could still function normally. But beyond that range, the outer world was already shrouded in thick shadows. These shadows, simr to the bizarre entities that had taken up residence in the ck hole previously, wereposed of certain dark and chaotic contents. When they came into contact with humans, part of them would transform and solidify into different forms based on the most terrifying fantasies of humans and possess abilities that matched their transformed forms. The dark shadows that chased after the three squirrels were this kind, and for the squirrels, apparently the giant hand capable of traveling through ck holes was the most terrifying thing.
These shadows were designed to hunt humans. Outside the Heavenly Taowork, within the range covered by the shadows, many stars were enveloped by shadows, their heatpletely taken away to be the energy for the shadows. Since they were manifestations of human fears, these monsters took on a variety of forms and, as long as the shadows did not perish, they could regenerate from the shadows, making them almost immortal entities. Having selected a with an especially rich variety of monster species and numbers, Fang Cheng decided to use it as the base for his new game. The tags for this game were horror, construction, multiyer cooperation, and survival. The monsters sprawling over thendscape would provide the external pressure to stimte yer cooperation, while the intrinsic pursuit of their own safety was their inner driving force. Since the theme included construction, yers would also need to collect materials to build their own shelters and a mechanism for monster attacks had to be incorporated after a set period. Controlling the monsters toy siege was too troublesome, so Fang Cheng directly added a Spirit Talisman he had refined beneath the Spirit Gathering Array. As long as yers arrived and fulfilled certain conditions, the talisman would release the Immortal Spell to attract shadows, prompting the monsters within a certain range to attack the yer¡¯s base. yers¡¯ bases had to be built around the Spirit Gathering Array as the center, which forced yers to continually build structures to resist the external monsters. Each area needed to support up to five people, and the more people there were, the more cost-effective it became to construct certain buildings, further encouraging yer cooperation. Fang Cheng hit a snag concerning the materials needed for base construction. These materials needed to be abundant and repeatedly obtainable. Using the resources of this world alone would almost make this impossible. Therefore, he decided to modify this aspect slightly and disseminated Spiritual Energy throughout the area. A little bit of Spiritual Energy was negligible; allowing it to reappear in certain ces, yers could exchange different types of Spiritual Energy for different types of buildings, and they could also upgrade existing structures. Then, he added basic operations like Artifact Refining and expanded some basic rules, including start and end conditions¡­ Once he had constructed the game, Fang Cheng was very pleased with himself. Although it was a bit embarrassing to say, if ¡°Botanic Garden¡± was his ultimate disy of visual artistry and poetic charm, then this game¡¯s gamey was certainly his masterpiece. He wove his understanding of construction and multiyer cooperation throughout it, aiming to align yers¡¯ perceptions with his own, confident that there wouldn¡¯t be any problems this time.
After all, he had amassed quite a bit of inspiration in both construction and multiyer cooperation, so he believed there would be no problems among the yers this time. However, just to be on the safe side, he decided to release this game as a Living Immortal. Observing over the past few days, he noticed that the yers had gone crazy over Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games. They began to tirelessly search for Easter eggs in each and every game he made, firmly believing that there were undiscovered Easter eggs that wouldpletely change the gamey.
If he were to throw out the new game, it would definitely lead these yers to creatively find issues, and eventually, they woulde up with some usible-sounding content, which they would then embellish through a series of conjectures. But there wouldn¡¯t be any such problem with Living Immortals. Moreover, to highlight gamey and reduce potential issues with the graphics, he had deliberately set the game¡¯s resolution low, adjusted the yer¡¯s perspective to a top-down view, and removed the 3D effect, resulting in a purely pixted 2D game. After making all the adjustments, Fang Cheng looked at his creation and nodded in satisfaction. He couldn¡¯t involve anything risqu¨¦ or do any farming, and the gamey was mainly the path he had specifically emphasized. It seemed like there should be no problems this time. Taking his packaged program with him, Fang Cheng immediately left the ce and returned to his studio to deal with other matters. Chapter 144: 114 "Dark Builder" (Three more)_2 Chapter 144: Chapter 114 ¡°Dark Builder¡± (Three more)_2 After all, the one working overtime on the game during the weekend is the ¡°Living Immortal,¡± which has nothing to do with me, Fang Cheng. Moreover, I must say, working overtime without the other employees knowing does give a slightly thrilling feel ofmitting a crime. A criminal idea, got it! Pleased with jotting down the inspiration, Fang Cheng felt that his frequency of getting inspired had been increasingtely. After dealing with today¡¯s work, he also received a message from Wang Xiaoying. Thepetition recording for ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± had ended. What came next was the editing process. The contestants could all return home and wait for the show¡¯s release to skyrocket their poprity. Fang Cheng suddenly got a bright idea, did some divination, and then knew what he should do next. Wang Say Games also returned to his own apartment, contentedly lying on his bed. Although things were good at Dimensional, with great food and afortable ce to stay, where he could y games all day and even get paid for it, it still couldn¡¯t beat thefort of his own little ce.
After loafing on his bed for a while, he leisurely turned on hisputer and entered his fan group. As soon as he entered, he saw the group notification. ¡°Our belovedrade, Old Man, passed away from exhaustion after being relentlessly hounded by five burly Han Dynasty men demanding updates. Hereby, wememorate ourrade Wang. He was a pure man, but also a despicable one, in fact, someone who was nothing but despicable. He always jumped back and forth between being perverse and too perverse, a person who tried to create trouble but always ended up being the butt of the joke.¡± Upon reading the announcement, Wang was furious. He deleted the announcement straight away and demanded in the group: [Who did this!] [He¡¯s back from the dead!] [Don¡¯t dodge my question, who the hell did this!] [Why don¡¯t you ask your magical girlfriend?] Wang was taken aback for a moment. Since when did I have a girlfriend? Suddenly, the name of Zhao, his girlfriend studying abroad, came to mind, and a horrifying realization dawned on him. During his days at Dimensional, he hadn¡¯t called Zhao at all! He had meant to call, but as soon as he arrived, he was brutally thrashed by Monkey, and without saying a word, he just kept sparring with Monkey until he finally, by sheer luck, won once and then fell into a deep sleep. After waking up, his time was spent dominating other streamers since sparring with Monkey had significantly improved his skills, standing out among a group ofedic streamers like a chicken among a flock of eggs. Once familiar, every day after thepetition was over, the group would sing, drink, barbecue, all fully provided by Dimensional, and they had the time of their lives. So, he truly forgot. Opening WeChat, he saw that theirst conversation went like this: Zhao: [I have something important to tell you. Call me whenever you¡¯re free, and I¡¯ll give you a surprise.] Wang: [Okay~]
Time: Fifteen days ago. He immediately messaged Zhao, no reply; he called, no answer; he thought about calling her parents, but felt embarrassed¡­ After several attempts, he felt like he wouldn¡¯t have a girlfriend anymore. Only an ex-girlfriend now.
With a sigh, Wang felt like crying. Just as Wang was wallowing in self-pity, his apartment door was pushed open, and Zhao¡¯s figure appeared at the doorway, looking even more surprised than him. ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re not dead!¡± eximed Zhao, in surprise. ¡°Howe you¡¯re here! Aren¡¯t you supposed to be studying abroad?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve returned afterpleting my studies. The surprise was me. I wanted to see how long it would take you to discover this surprise.¡± Wang was overjoyed but just as he was about to approach and apologize, he found himself spinning head over heels and mmed to the ground with a shoulder throw. Then, his arm was expertly locked in a cross armlock by his girlfriend, and the intense pain reminded Wang that his girlfriend was a ruthless judo expert. Hastily tapping the floor to surrender, he barely got his girlfriend to release him, then heard her angrily say, ¡°Next time you go without contacting me for a long period, be ready to get your head cracked open by a frozen avocado.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Having exined his whereabouts for the past few days, Wang could finally rx and start his long-awaited live stream. Then, he worried about what to stream next. He had been ying ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± so intensely recently that he felt like messing around whenever he saw the interface, but it didn¡¯t seem fun to do it alone. ¡°Botanic Garden¡± was thetest game, but joining in now would easily be suspected of bandwagoning, and most of the traffic had already been taken.
The result of not streaming for a long time was that the fans couldn¡¯t be bothered with him anymore. If he didn¡¯t produce something big for this live stream, he¡¯d definitely be among the top ten with the most unfollows on B site tomorrow. That kind of thing absolutely couldn¡¯t happen. ¡°How about you y ¡®Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡¯?¡± Zhao seriously suggested. ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on the issue of losing followers,¡± Wang replied. Just as Wang was agonizing over it, the hero who always managed to calm the storm, Living Immortal, appeared. Seeing the game sent by him, Wang¡¯s eyes brimmed with tears. Whenever he felt like he had no mischief to get into, Living Immortal always managed to hand him a beautiful opportunity. Wiping away non-existent tears, he replied, ¡°Thanks, bro.¡± ¡°y it.¡± After epting the game, Wang first checked the title and found that it was actually not bad this time. ¡°Dark Builder,¡± the name was standard and at least made clear what type of game it was. The game tags were ¡°Horror,¡± ¡°Building,¡± ¡°Survival,¡± ¡°Multiyer Cooperation,¡± and ¡°Pixel Art.¡± Seeing the horror tag, Wang felt less afraid.
As everyone knows, Living Immortal¡¯s tagging was on the same level as Fang Cheng; it was somewhat frightening without a horror tag, but with it, you could consider falling in love with the evil spirits within. And the pixel art tag was somewhat intriguing. Living Immortal¡¯s graphics technology was also top-notch. This time he had abandoned his expertise in 3D modeling to take on pixel art, showing that he was fully confident in the yability of his game. Pixel art games were either infuriatingly bad or overwhelmingly satisfying. Since it was a Living Immortal game, it was likely thetter. Thinking of this, he was immediately filled with anticipation for the game. Upon learning the game required multiyer cooperation, his girlfriend Zhao immediately set up herptop and got ready to coborate and stream together. At eight o¡¯clock in the evening, the live stream began. After it started, Wang first apologized to his fans, then swiftly got into the main event and started streaming the game. After all, fans are actually quite pragmatic. You entertain, I follow. If there are enough followers, I¡¯m your cash crop; you can harvest me, but not too harshly, lest I can¡¯t grow back. The rtionship between everyone was simple and direct, pure and natural. Seeing the simple pixel art interface, an audience membermented, ¡°Old Man, are you roast-reviewing a crappy game today?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s Living Immortal¡¯s, the one who made ¡®Traditional culture starts with me.''¡±
¡°¡­Is Immortal out of his mind? Such good 3D technology, and even making an R-rated stuff would be better than pixels!¡± ¡°Although I don¡¯t discriminate against pixel art games, I think you¡¯re right.¡± Ignoring the audience who started withic dialogues, Wang went straight into the game. Despite being pixel art, the rity of the graphics was very high, and the various scenes, even when blurred, made their horrific atmosphere even more apparent. With the top-down perspective, he could easily survey his surroundings and roughly understand that this was a post-apocalyptic style game. He spawned next to a bonfire, his teammate Zhao was right beside him, and the game interface clearly listed the inventory and crafting recipes. No tutorial, no storyline. The character controlled by the yer would only asionally say things like ¡°I¡¯m a bit thirsty,¡± ¡°There seems to be a monster over there,¡± or ¡°I don¡¯t like camping,¡± to hint at what the yer needed to do. Communication was possible through voice, but there wasn¡¯t much need for it yet. Although it was pixel art, the immersion was strong in the game. The simple graphics allowed yers to receive more information from the screen at the same time, also ensuring the game was filled with a strong personal style. Looking around, Wang realized that beyond the bonfire, everything was shrouded in darkness. Moving towards the bonfire, he followed the prompts to take out a burning stick of wood as a light source and then walked into the darkness ahead. Chapter 145: 115: Another Wave (Part 1)_1 Chapter 145: Chapter 115: Another Wave (Part 1)_1 ¡°This game seems to encourage exploration,¡± said the torchbearer. The light from the torch didn¡¯t extend very far, with brightness diminishing the further it reached. Living Immortal¡¯s skill in depicting changes in light intensity with pixel art made Wang Say Games remark admiringly that the strong remain strong; even when 3D experts turn to pixels, they still manage to impress. Even without a tutorial, Wang found the game fairly intuitive to understand. As he ventured deeper into the darkness, he began to hear strange sounds lingering in the shadows, asionally catching sight of red eyes that opened and closed swiftly before vanishing into the night. However, when he bravely approached the ce where the eyes had been, with torch in hand, he saw nothing at all. The creatures of the dark seemed to have an innate fear of the light, instinctively shrinking away from it, yet at the same time disying intense curiosity towards Wang, who carried the source of light. Apart from the hidden creatures in the darkness, Wang noticed numerous small, glowing objects around him. As he approached these tiny objects, they were automatically collected, each taking up a bit of space in his backpack, making it clear they were all items that could be gathered. When he opened the crafting menu and building mode, he realized both functions had to be executed near a bonfire.
¡°Ah, I see, the bonfire is the most essential structure in this game.¡± With this realization, Wang felt his gamey bing smoother and smoother in Living Immortal¡¯s game. The earliest version of ¡°Spread¡± bore a strong mark of self-indulgence; theck of a tutorial was something Wang could criticise for a lifetime. But with ¡°Dark Builder,¡± although still missing a tutorial, the various subtle settings remind yers of what they should or shouldn¡¯t do in an almost imperceptible but clever way, revealing the developer¡¯s sophisticated understanding of yer psychology. Impressive. From the moment he started collecting items, Wang became so engrossed that he forgot to speak or grumble. Though it wasn¡¯t a 3D game, the pixel art style gave him a different kind of feelingfort. The controls felt satisfying, and carrying a torch through the darkness brought a strange, fairy-tale atmosphere, making him feel as though he was traveling through a realm where dark and reality coexisted. As he energetically collected items from the ground, Wang had no idea that he had strayed further and further away. The mini-map on the screen let him know his exact position and the location of the bonfire. But one problem escaped his notice: the torch¡¯s light was getting weaker and weaker, until finally, only a small area in front remained illuminated. It wasn¡¯t until someone pointed it out that he realized he had been enveloped by darkness for far too long. As the torch faded away, the strange whispers in the dark grew louder, mixed with peculiar and sinisterughter. The once-hidden eyes now boldly approached, their veins thickening with bloodlust as tiny mouths squirmed within their gaze. Seeing these creatures, Wang was especially thankful Living Immortal had chosen pixel art; otherwise, he would have certainly been reduced to tears. Yet even so, just the sight of these blurred figures sent chills down his spine. He turned and sprinted towards the bonfire, hoping to reach it before the torch went out, but it was toote. As the torch was extinguished, the realistic surround sound made it feel as though something was crawling up his spine. Although there was no physical sensation through the screen, the sound seemed to prate Wang, making him almost feel the squirming motion.
As Wang leaped up and shook himself, trying to rid himself of the non-existent creepers, a light appeared once again on his screen. Zhao, holding a torch, came into view, her bright light scattering the darkness around and granting Wang a feeling of rebirth. Looking at Zhao, Wang saw her as an angel descended to earth and instinctively said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±
In the light of her torch, Zhao led Wang back to the bonfire. On the way, her own torch almost went out, but she calmly retrieved another spent torch from her pack and lit it anew. Thanks to Zhao¡¯s carefulness, the two of them finally made it back to the bonfire together. With a deep breath of relief and a newfound sense of safety, Wang felt an unprecedented tranquility wash over him. As he settled down by the fire, he realized from the time he had left to explore until his return was merely fifteen minutes. But it felt like half an hour had gone by, the tension in the atmosphere stretching time; he almost felt like he had gained something from the experience. Handing Wang a cup of boiled water, Zhao said proudly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to thank me? If it weren¡¯t for me, you¡¯d be dead by now.¡± ¡°Thanks a lot, I let my guard down. But I got a good haul this time, snagged quite a few materials to bring back.¡± Opening his backpack, Wang began to check the items he had collected. Unlike the typical rocks and branches, the basic items in ¡°Dark Builder¡± wereprised of only five types of Spiritual Energy: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. However, by the bonfire, these five energies could bebined into different materials, and with time spent, one could use the materials to build various structures. Building had to be centered around the bonfire. yers could freely mix and match different structures to create unique configurations. On top of basic structures, there were also options of upgrading and furniture enhancement. The variety ofbinations made Wang feel like he was ying ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± finding the depth and enjoyment of the different buildingbinations.
Chapter 146: 115: Another Wave (Part 1)_2 Chapter 146: Chapter 115: Another Wave (Part 1)_2 Studying thesebinations would be a lengthy task, although the entire process was full of various feedback, and for now, Wang couldn¡¯t see an optimal solution. As Wang Say Games was contemting over thebination issue of the construction, Zhao felt that something was amiss. The intensity of the campfire¡¯s light began to drop, and the luminous range that used to fill most of the screen began to shrink. A countdown started to appear on the screen, and with every decrement in the countdown, the brightness of the campfire diminished by a notch. By the end of the countdown, although the campfire had notpletely died out, the monsters in the dark seemed no longer afraid of its light. They swarmed forward, charging at Wang and Zhao, a tide of creatures that, even though they would melt in the campfire¡¯s light, their melting bodies still managed to whittle down the brightness bit by bit until it finally extinguished. With the campfire extinguished, night descended, thest bit of light on the disappeared, and everything returned to perpetual darkness. And with that, the screen of Wang and Zhao turned ck, their previous explorations were all reset to zero, leaving behind only a light-hearted line, ¡°Before the dark tide descends, you had better have a shelter.¡± ¡°Dead, huh.¡± Setting down the mouse, Wang Say Games sighed and then started pondering the game¡¯s core.
Cooperation, exploration, and building,bined with the game¡¯s environmental setting, made Wang Say Games feel it was quite novel. The eerie settingbined with pixel art was not as simple as one plus one, but a whole new experience. After pondering for a moment, Wang Say Games sighed again, interesting. The game could support up to five people acting together around the same campfire. On the starting screen, yers could create a room, invite other yers to join the same room for group y, or quickly join another room and then act together. Once the maximum number of yers was set, he immediately sent the game to a few familiar streamers he knew, and after gathering a full five-person group, they started with full confidence. The previous two-person game went quite well; if it hadn¡¯t been for being unaware of the dark tide mechanic, they would have survived the first wave. Now with five people,sting for a good ten minutes or so shouldn¡¯t be a problem. But soon, Wang Say Games realized he might have overestimated the others. Or rather, he underestimated his own ability to be messed with. He had just gathered a bunch of materials outside and returned home, only to find a lot of toilets built around the campfire, prematurely granting all five of them toilet liberty. Even though they were made up of a bunch of mosaics, these toilets still looked shiny and clean and possessed different properties. Gold toilet, wood toilet, water toilet, fire toilet, earth toilet¡­ Five different types of toilets shone in intery, creating a harmonious scene. So¡­ Why is there even a fire toilet! Luckily this game didn¡¯t have smell, or else using the toilet would absolutely amount to open poisoning! Then, because of the existence of a bunch of toilets, they smoothly made it through the first dark tide. Wang Say Games: ¡°?¡± When the first dark tide arrived and they found all materials had been used on the toilets with no resources left to build defensive structures and weapons, they could only wait for death. But surprisingly, the toilets, assembled in groups of five, with their light swirling incessantly, emitted a glow as bright as daylight, impervious to even the tide-like monsters, allowing them to survive the first wave smoothly.
After researching the logs, Wang Say Games found that this was because the correct proportions of the five kinds of Spiritual Energy were used, which triggered the cycling property of the Spiritual Energy and began to produce fluorescence. And because the first wave¡¯s monsters could not break through the fluorescence, there was no problem. Understanding this, Wang Say Games was rendered speechless again. Although the situation had its twists and turns, it made for a decent broadcasting effect for aeback, but thinking about having been saved by toilets made Wang Say Games feel like life was full of ups and downs.
And the original perpetrator, a streamer called Dumb Dragon, looked at his grand toilet array with satisfaction, smugly stating, ¡°Everything is within my grasp. Watch me, I¡¯ll take you all to the skies.¡± ¡°I really thank you for that,¡± Wang said helplessly. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Tonight we build trash cans, I¡¯m going to achieve trash can liberty.¡± ¡°I beg you, please don¡¯t. Just don¡¯t!¡± After the second Dark Wave ended, Wang saw the bonfire regain its light and then asked helplessly, ¡°Dumb Dragon, what shall we build next, a garbage disposal nt?¡± ¡°Wang, you¡¯ve finally seen the light!¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Putting aside the jocr effect, Dumb Dragon¡¯s actions made Wang realize one thing: this game possessed the attributes of the five elements. Thebination of the five elements could indeed activate additional functions of buildings, enhance various attributes, and even allow buildings tobat lower-level monsters. However, as the number of Dark Waves increased, the monsters in the darkness would be stronger and stronger. Early-stage monsters would melt at the slightest touch of light, but theter-stage monsters would be more fierce and irritable. They seemed like the fierce beasts from the ¡°ssic of Mountains and Seas,¡± transformed into shadows charging at the bonfire, aiming to rip apart the yers along with the mes. Building defense structures in cooperation, pairing with defense towers, climbing the tech tree, and adding equipment for oneself was the mainstream gamey method of this game.
However, the individual strength of yers was still limited, and the key was to continuously build structures, revitalize them from the inside out, and ultimately resist the waves of Dark Waves. Having held off forty-three waves of Dark Waves with a group of prankster streamers, the weaknesses in their buildings finally became evident, leading them to fall short of sess. Looking at the screen turning ck, Wang couldn¡¯t help but sigh, and there was a sense of regret in the livestream room. [Such a pity, just a little bit more was needed.] [Wang is still not up to par. Look at the stuff he collects when he goes out, he can¡¯t even afford a toilet cover.] [Toilet cover? Sounds like it¡¯s for protecting toilets.] [Why would you protect Wang?] [This game¡¯s demand for cooperation is quite high, but it¡¯s really fun when you coordinate well. Actually, during the ninth wave, they should have considered dismantling the inner structures, but Wang was too stingy to do it.] [That¡¯s right, it¡¯s all Old Man¡¯s fault.] [Get lost.] After cursing his silly fans, Wang Say Games realized it was already midnight. The timing and rhythm of each Dark Wave¡¯s arrival were just right, leaving Wang Say Games entirely unaware that it had gotten quitete. Just as he decided to end the livestream, he found that this game session hadn¡¯t ended directly but instead disyed a row of cards.
¡°Every time the maximum wave number reaches a multiple of twenty, a Magical weapon slot can be unlocked, and after every twenty Dark Waves passed, one can draw a random Magical weapon.¡± ¡°Magical weapons are not distinguished by quality but by a change in mechanics.¡± After reading these lines, all Wang had was an expletive to say. Living Immortal, are you the legendary liver destroyer? Wang Say Games hadn¡¯t anticipated such important features being hidden behind, making him feel that the World Immortal truly understood the yer experience, always enticing yers to keep ying at crucial moments. And seeing the Magical weapon he drew, Wang expressed that he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep tonight. Since they had survived forty-three waves, Wang Say Games could draw two Magical weapons and carry both with him. The names of the Magical weapons were very straightforward, easy to understand. The first Magical weapon was called ¡°Second Floor.¡± With this Magical weapon, yers could build a second story on top of existing rooms, making a 2D game be three-dimensional. Furthermore, the distance between the second-story buildings was calcted based on actual spatial distance, making the bonuses between buildings much easier to achieve. The second Magical weapon was called ¡°Basement.¡± As the name suggests, with this Magical weapon, yers could construct underground structures, with effects simr to ¡°Second Floor.¡±
Having seen these Magical weapons and aftermunicating with others, Wang Say Games dered: ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s have another round!¡± Chapter 147: 116: I Want to Copy This Game (Second Update)_1 Chapter 147: Chapter 116: I Want to Copy This Game (Second Update)_1 The appearance of magical weapons greatly expanded the game¡¯s yability. These magical weapons were introduced by Fang Cheng to expand the gamey. Cultivators, powerful in Mana, would craft a magical weapon to assist them in tasks they didn¡¯t want to handle personally, leading to a variety of unique magical weapons umting over time. By restoring some of the magical weapons he had seen and forged in his previous life, he could add randomness to the game and provide yers with a unique experience. Aside from the second floor and basement that Wang acquired, he also found that his girlfriend Zhao had obtained a peculiar magical weapon. Unmovable as a Mountain. After equipping this magical weapon, the corresponding yer could only move within the buildings of their base and was unable to go out and gather various materials. However, in return, the movement speed of other yers increased by 50%, their backpack capacity significantly expanded, and the duration and brightness of torches held in their hands were doubled. This was a purely supportive magical weapon, which, at the expense of one yer¡¯s ability to venture outside, greatly enhanced the abilities of the other yers. If a new yer acquired this magical weapon, they would suddenly be one of the most popr characters, and the yer could safely AFK (away from keyboard) in the camp and umte experience by observing the actions of other yers.
Having Zhao equip Unmovable as a Mountain, the five yers started a new round of the game with their newly acquired magical weapons. This time, the game experience became exceptionally thrilling. Wang¡¯s magical weapon allowed him to construct three-story buildings, Zhao¡¯s magical weapon greatly improved their outdoor exploration capabilities, one streamer¡¯s magical weapon increased their collective luck, and Dumb Dragon¡¯s magical weapon had a high chance of doubling the Spiritual Energy acquired. After coordinating their efforts, the base began to rapidly expand around the bonfire, with the three-story buildings rendering its defenses as solid as Jin. The game, once so challenging, became a joy to y with the magical weapons. Although they still sumbed to the sixty-third wave, a new Magical weapon slot unlocked at that moment, offering new magical weapons to draw, allowing everyone to switch up and try new strategies. [Wang, how about we try the Thunder defense tower flow this time? Wearing the Heaven Thunder Pool, Shadow splitting stone, and Reversing sand, we can create a constantly spreading effect of thunder, which is very effective againstrge groups of monsters.] [Not so good, many bosses are immune to thunder, and just onerge boss could potentially breach the defense tower. I suggest using the pit flow; a single ¡°Bottomless Abyss¡± can take shape.] [The pit is good, but there¡¯s a limit to the number of entities it can hold, and it¡¯spletely countered by splittable Shadows.] [So let¡¯s go with a mixed flow, I think that¡¯s the real answer for this version.] The streamers hadpletely forgotten they were broadcasting, utterly engrossed in the joy of ¡°Dark Builder.¡± ording to Wang Say Games, it was estimated that there were several hundred magical weapons in this game. Some magical weapons only worked for the wearer, but others could affect everyone; finding a bnce between the needs of the individual and the group was one of the key points in matchmaking. The negative effects of some magical weapons meant that new yers were not useless in the game. Even serving as a mascot, by equipping magical weapons that enhanced the attributes of others, they could y a significant role. In this situation, new yers only needed to focus on providing buff effects beside the bonfire. It was even better if they could lend a small helping hand. Thus, new yers and veterans needed each other, ensuring that newbies didn¡¯t be a burden. In addition, magical weapons also included some negative effects, but if one wore magical weapons with negative effects together, they could potentially transform into positive effects. For instance, if one magical weapon¡¯s effect was to continuously drain health, and another¡¯s effect was to swap most healing and damage effects, by carrying both magical weapons, the yer¡¯s effect could turn into continuous healing. In the early stages, they could even venture into the Abyss with monsters in the darkness, gathering materials in the wild until their backpacks were full before returning.
There were many such effects; this setting of magical weapons made the already fun game even more enjoyable, and repeatedly clearing the game in pursuit of higher wave numbers became an entertaining endeavor. As Wang Say Games excitedly teamed up with others for a session, some people became discontented. Inside his stream room, yers¡¯ opinions began to boil, but Wang, immersed in the game, hadn¡¯t noticed for the moment. Not all games can be painted with the same brush.
Some games are for viewing, not ying, like horror games. The best way to enjoy such games is by eating fried chicken and drinking soda while watching streamers fumble around due to various scares. At that moment, the streamers¡¯ reactions are the best electronic side dish. But some games are indeed only for ying, not watching. Like eroge, or ¡°Dark Builder.¡± After seeing the magical weapons each streamer had acquired, some yers, particrly adept at the ¡°meat pigeon¡± style, involuntarily began constructing builds in their minds and conceived even betterbinations. As the number of magical weapon slots increased, so did the variety of construction methods, and many yers even felt a rush of excitement imagining the possibilities, eager tounch the game and realize their own builds. Chapter 148: 116: I Want to Copy This Game (Second Update)_2 Chapter 148: Chapter 116: I Want to Copy This Game (Second Update)_2 And so, the style of the live-streaming room changed immediately. ¡°Wang, you must be tired. Here, let me y the game while you rest.¡± ¡°Wang, your gaming skills are poor, your strategies stereotypical, and your actions not sharp enough¡ªleave it to me.¡± ¡°Wang, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s very nice to hog the game all to yourself.¡± ¡°Wang, did you hear that? If you release the game now, we can still continue to support you.¡± ¡°We were wrong to say you had died the other day; we apologize, so can you share the game with us?¡± Watching the group affectionately calling him ¡®Wang¡¯ one after another, the Wang Say Games who hade back to his senses couldn¡¯t help but let out a coldugh. Humph, humph, humph, humph. I knew you guys couldn¡¯t hold back! You were all so happy fabricating news of my death before, and now you¡¯re groveling to y the game.
But I still prefer your defiant attitude from before! In response to the yers¡¯ requests, Wang Say Games took out his usual expression from when he dyed updates, feigning innocence and asked, ¡°What? What are you talking about? The wind is too loud; I can¡¯t hear you.¡± ¡°Saying I¡¯m tired? No worries, I¡¯m not tired.¡± ¡°What game? I don¡¯t understand; what are you talking about?¡± After teasing the audience mercilessly, Wang let out a sigh of relief and felt refreshed, as if the skies had cleared for him. A real host should be just like this. Seeing that the timing was almost right and afraid that teasing any further would lead to being lynched by the fans, Wang Say Games prepared to share the game. But before sharing, he found Fang Cheng and asked, ¡°Living Immortal, can I share the game this time?¡± ¡°Not this time; I have other ns.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks¡­ Wait, what?¡± ¡°I said not this time, just wait a bit.¡± ¡°¡­Can I know why?¡± ¡°I want to know the yers¡¯ true feelings, so I¡¯m nning to build a website for yers to leavements and interact, then use the game to drive traffic to it. Therefore, don¡¯t share the game for now; we¡¯ll share it after the website is built.¡± Wang Say Games wiped away his cold sweat, feeling like he had yed his hand too far. The yers in the group had already been stirred up by him, with some even giving tips to ask for the link. If he said now that he couldn¡¯t release the game, losing fans would be the least of his worries¡ªthe real danger would be receiving razor des in the mail. Several steadfast fans had even met him in real life, knew his address, and were now the most enthusiastic in the group. If they found out he couldn¡¯t deliver the game, Wang had no idea how he would meet his end. Taking a deep breath, Wang¡¯s brain started to work at high speed, as if he had returned to the day of his college entrance examination. That day, with half an hour left in the math test, he realized he hadn¡¯t started on thest page!
His brain had worked just as fast then as it was now. Once he had thought everything through, he quickly typed a message with coherent structure and clear logic, even impressing himself with his quick-wittedness. ¡°Immortal, everyone¡¯s enthusiasm has been aroused, and it doesn¡¯t seem nice to keep them waiting. How about this: provide a test version first, so everyone can have afortable gamey experience. Then, when the website is fully operational, you can release the official version. Plus, using a test version makes it easier to drive traffic, and yers will have higher expectations for the official release.¡± Looking at Wang Say Games¡¯ suggestion, Fang Cheng felt the other party had quite a bit of self-interest, but the overall idea was good.
Plus, after the trial version is released, we can gather feedback from yers about it and summarize their feelings about the game; then we can improve and enhance the official version.¡± After considering it, Fang Cheng replied, ¡°Ok, but what do you think should be provided in the trial version?¡± ¡°Just cut out the magical weapon; let the magical weapon be content for the next version. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Good, thanks for your opinion; I¡¯ll send you a trial version.¡± Seeing the trial version, reduced by half, sent his way, Wang Say Games calmly expressed his gratitude and then released the trial version. Seeing a barrage of responses from fans wishing him well, Wang Say Games breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, his Schr?dinger-like luck had worked its magic. Every time he felt he was about to reach the pinnacle of life, reality would p him in the face. But when he thought he was about to be doomed, reality would gently lift him back to the clouds. The rise and fall of this sensation was truly too terrifying. After hearing Wang¡¯s opinions, Fang Cheng directly entered the Botanic Garden and found three squirrels nestled together, gnawing at pine cones. Looking at them, Fang Cheng directly asked, ¡°Do you know how to useputers?¡± ¡°I do!¡± Number One immediately responded, ¡°I¡¯m the team¡¯s technical expert, proficient in more than a dozenputernguages, and I¡¯ve already self-taught all the programmingnguages you have here, boss. What do you need me to do? Modify your Alipay so that it increases instead of decreases?¡±
¡°You even know about Alipay, huh.¡± Number One, the snow squirrel, puffed out its chest proudly, patting its little chest and saying, ¡°I¡¯m a quick learner, just not fond of using my brain. After interacting with humans for a while, I can ask anything. Alright, boss, what exactly do you want to do?¡± ¡°Help me make a webpage, one that allows people to download programs and leave messages to chat.¡± ¡°¡­that¡¯s it? How about I add a function to guess what Dirty Picture you like, using the big data that humans have leaked? I guarantee an uracy rate of over seventy percent, and the more you use it, the more urate it gets.¡± ¡°No need, just a single website.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Number One sighed in disappointment, ¡°Just send the specific requirements to me.¡± After reviewing the requirements Fang Cheng provided, Number One felt even more disappointed. This functionality, something a squirrel that had just graduated from school could handle, was even simpler for it. However, this was the first task given to the three temp workers by the boss, and it needed to be done excellently, with as many features and as extensive coverage as possible. In short, it had to be as cool as possible to repay the boss¡¯s kindness for taking them in and to earn karma points to return home. After pondering the specifics for a bit, it asked, ¡°So boss, when do you need it by?¡± ¡°Within fifteen days.¡± ¡°Got it, pleasee to collect it after fifteen days.¡±
Based on Fang Cheng¡¯s basic requirements, this website could be done in an hour. But since the boss had given fifteen days, it was determined to go all out and add unprecedented cool effects to the website! While Number One was working swiftly, other yers also downloaded the demo version. But after ying it enthusiastically, they came one after another to leave messages, expressing great dissatisfaction with Wang Say Games. [Wang, I feel like something¡¯s not right with this game, where¡¯s the promised magical weapon system?] [Where¡¯s my magical weapon? Where are the many, the huge magical weapons?] [The game with magical weapons ispletely different from the one without!] [Not happy, I¡¯m going to give you a bad review.] As for these yers¡¯ments, Wang had a simple response. Just y dead. Stream as usual, y dead when needed, and if that didn¡¯t work, justugh it off and continue ying dead. The yers were indignant, but there was nothing they could do but wait for the day the official version would be released. And at this time, an old friend of Fang Cheng was starting to make a move.
KongKong had not been doing welltely. King¡¯s Dungeon had finally shut down today, this once highly anticipated dungeon exploration game couldn¡¯tst eight months and met its demise before the new year. Most of the team members had been transferred to other projects, and the once golden producer now faced his darkest hour. His studio was left with only a few people conducting a project review, while he sat with Zhang Ping, the president of the Rong City branch office. After a moment of silence between them, it was Zhang Ping who finally said, ¡°KongKong, one failure isn¡¯t the end¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± KongKong silently stared into the distance, not saying a word. ¡°You¡¯re still one of the old-timers here, and your sry is still secure. If it really doesn¡¯t work out, pick a smaller game and try again.¡± ¡°¡­I have an idea.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Pulling out his phone, KongKong pointed to a game he found in the product n that was popr among yers recently and said, ¡°I¡¯m nning to copy this game.¡± Taking over the phone, Zhang Ping saw the name of the game. Dark Builder, demo version. Chapter 149: 117 Im Here (Three More Updates)_1 Chapter 149: Chapter 117 I¡¯m Here (Three More Updates)_1 ¡°` giarism is amon urrence in the game industry. Many games have even giarized their way to ssical status, bing milestones in the history of gaming. When ites to giarism, as long as there¡¯s no direct use of code, original artwork, or models, then copying gamey is generally not legally recognized as giarism. In the past year, there have been countless incidents of giarism, but only a very few have actually been judged as such by a court. Tianyi has not been exempt from giarism; in fact, one could say they built their business on it. They have many experienced nners, who can deduce a game developer¡¯s thought process and the remaining gamey from the game kernel exhibited by a beta version, through clues and traces. Even with just a test version, or a few minutes of a demo, they can discern the core enjoyment of a game and deduce additional gamey from it. Through a brainpower advantage brought by arge nning team, they could even make others¡¯ core gamey more interesting, and through capital promotion, expand its influence to absurd lengths, ultimately achieving the ridiculous feat of giarizing their way to the death of the original. Afterwards, Tianyi would even use the others¡¯ corpses as case studies, packaging the original clone aspetition to cover up their past.
Besides that, they had another major advantage, which was their rich art and programming resources. After all, Tianyi was apany with decades of history, and it had startedying out 3D a long time ago, umting a vast amount of art resources and 3D technology. Their massive art library contained a plethora of reusable resources¡ª Eastern, Western, ssical, and modern. These years of umtion were the deep reserves of a massive gamepany, significantly reducing their art costs. In addition, Tianyi had a big killer application in experimentation. That is, AI programming modules. Tianyi had specialized AI programmers internally, who continuously fed all sorts of codes to the AI program. The end result was that as long as the nning document was written ording to certain specifications, the program could automatically fulfill more than eighty percent of the work. Although it still couldn¡¯t rece programmers outright, it could directly cut down programming workload by sixty percent, and bugs were virtually nonexistent afterward. Thinking about thepany¡¯s existing resources and flipping through the materials provided by product operations, Zhang Ping¡¯s brain worked at high speed. Before long, he had estimated the approximate costs of giarizing ¡°Dark Builder¡± and the prospects of such a game, based on the avable materials. By coborating to build different structures to resist the threat of darkness, each battle could be very short. Such a fast-paced game fit the current market well. The co-op mode would entail some light social elements; the game could enable voice chat, but by default, voicemunication would be turned off, avoiding the presence of stress inducers and satisfying the light social needs of yers. The gamey was simple, but the market feedback was good. Through anonymous surveys, the product operations found the game had a positive reputation, though some yers criticized its pixel art style. Therefore, by optimizing the art and grafting on some mization elements and other features, it was very likely to achieve a game with monthly revenues exceeding one hundred million. Looking at Kongkong, Zhang Ping felt that he hade to his senses not toote. He was a game producer who could make money, not one who could create great games. Recently, several good games from Tianyi¡¯s headquarters had emerged and received a good reception among yers; they were both critically andmercially sessful. In contrast, the much-anticipated Rong City branch had not been performing well. Plus, the fact that a producer from Feixiang Studio announced retirement put him under considerable pressure. He urgently needed some sessful games to boost morale and show the higher-ups they were also striving hard. So, although giarism was not exactly honorable, especially when the victim was an independent game, if the giarism was sessful enough topletely outdo the original, yers would only remember the victor in the end. Losers do not deserve to be named.
Patting Kongkong on the shoulder, Zhang Ping said, ¡°Go ahead and do it with confidence, thepany supports you.¡± After a pause, Zhang Ping continued, ¡°But if it fails, someone will have to take the fall. You understand what I mean, right?¡± Kongkong nodded. As a producer who often made others take the fall, he knew all too well how big the ¡®pot¡¯ could be if he failed.
This was to be a high-stakes gamble with his past reputation on the line. It was still not toote to back out now, but he had grown ustomed to sitting on the throne, reigning like a local emperor in his own studio. The taste of power was more exquisite than anything else, once tasted, it could never be forgotten. Tianyi was quick to respond. They decided to kick off the project in the morning, and by afternoon, Kongkong Studio was reorganized. A group of battle-tested programmers and artists capable of ¡®007¡¯ work were transferred in to staff the studio. Game outsourcing was maxed out as Tianyi once again went all-in on a project, working at an almost insane pace to start production of the new game non-stop. The game¡¯s code was notplex. Although they couldn¡¯t crack ¡°Dark Builder¡¯s¡± code through reverse engineering, ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡¯s¡± code and art resources were readily avable. By re-skinning the models and adjusting the camera angle, they could create a simr effect. ¡°` Chapter 150: 117 Im Here (Three More Updates)_2 Chapter 150: Chapter 117 I¡¯m Here (Three More Updates)_2 As the programmers, artists, and nners were working overtime like crazy, Kongkong was not idle either. He began to investigate the gamey of ¡°Dark Builder,¡± ying the demo version multiple times each day, and with each ythrough, new insights would emerge. Such a genius producer. The ideas of the opponent were wild and unrestrained yet unconventional. The creator did not seem like an experienced producer, but the work produced was full of spiritual energy, leading Kongkong to sigh that the creator must be another genius following Fang Cheng. However, what displeased him was that he only had ess to the demo version. This game had not been officially released and was only circted informally. The game maker¡ªLiving Immortal¡ªseemed uninterested in profiting from the game, creating it solely out of passion. The official version had appeared only once, and ording to interview records, it was not officially distributed, but the inclusion of magical weapons made the game much more interesting. After thinking for a while, Kongkong still wanted to know what these so-called magical weapons were really like. Although there were no official versions on the market now, he knew there must be someone who had them. Three dayster, a special guest visited the live streaming room of Wang Say Games.
At that time, Wang was live streaming a niche game. Although it was a horror game, during the live stream there were almost no warnings for high-intensity moments in the barrage, and the yers were enjoying themselves immensely. Wang himself could not help but burst intoughter several times, filling the atmosphere with cheerfulness. The game¡¯s author had some interesting ideas, seemingly tired ofmon ghosts and ghouls, so he reced them with aliens. The justification for the viins harming people was packaged as aliens wanting to capture humans for experiments, and their sudden, inexplicable actions were attributed to the aliens¡¯ teleportation. However, the problem was that all the sounds of the aliens in the game were produced by the creator himself. Without any changes, the noise made by the aliens when they attacked sounded like a shrieking chicken, causing both Wang and Zhao to burst into uncontrobleughter every time they heard it. Following audience suggestions, Wang reced the sound effects, but the result was even more explosive. Because he reced them with ¡°Good Luck Comes.¡± Whenever the aliens appeared, the cheerful ¡°Good Luck Comes¡± would y throughout the entire live streaming room, turning what was a subpar horror game into an unexpectedly festive atmosphere reminiscent of the New Year. After struggling to beat the game, Wang checked the time and felt it was time to rest. It was a workday, and there were not many people in the live streaming room. Most people were also busy ying the ¡°Dark Builder¡± demo version and didn¡¯t have time to watch him. So Wang just wanted to maintain his poprity a bit before preparing to log off. But just then, a small spaceship flew across the screen, full of special effects. A wealthy viewer made a grand entrance at this moment, sending over a big gift. Seeing the spacecraft fly by, Wang jumped up, grabbed the microphone excitedly, and said, ¡°Eh, thanks for the spaceship, bro. Much appreciated, boss. You¡¯re so generous.¡± However, after seeing the ID of the sender, Wang found that it appeared to be a neer, someone he had never seen before. As Wang hesitated, the viewer suddenly sent a private message. [Mr. Wang, I really enjoy your live streaming shows, and I watch yourmentary every time. I learn a lot from it.] The viewer¡¯s praise made Wang a little happy but also alert. It probably wasn¡¯t an old fan trying to trick him, as those guys would act too high and mighty after donating.
After careful consideration of his words, Wang replied cautiously and politely: [Thank you for the praise, and for your spaceship.] [Don¡¯t mention it, that¡¯s what you deserve, Mr. Wang. Actually, I have a small favor to ask. I really loved that game you live streamed before, ¡°Dark Builder.¡± But as you know, only the demo versions are circting in the market right now. So, I was wondering if you could send me the official version to y for a while? I promise I will be the only one ying it, and I will not distribute it.] Responding to the viewer¡¯s request, Wang immediately replied: [Sorry, that game belongs to a friend of mine, and my friend has instructed me not to distribute it for now.] [But Mr. Wang, I really want to y it, please. Are you stillcking spaceships? I can donate as many as you want.]
Seeing the viewer¡¯s earnest attitude, Wang became instantly vignt. The official version would be yable in just over ten days, so why was the viewer so eager now? He knew that there were rich fans who would spend a fortune on a game, but those were mostly just stories. Moreover, if you really wanted to y so badly, why don¡¯t you contact the author directly? Whye to me? No good deed goes unpunished: either a schemer or a thief. Wang Say Games quickly located an administrator, reported the incident, and immediately sealed away the little spaceship he had received. Then, he contacted other streamers and asked them not to share the official version externally. After receiving affirmative responses, he once again messaged the person who tipped him: [I don¡¯t know who you are or what your intentions are. If I¡¯ve made a mistake, I apologize. However, your incessant requests for the official version feel very wrong to me. I, Wang, may love money, but I¡¯m not someone who would disregard everything for it.] [I¡¯ve archived our chat logs, and I reserve the right to wield thew as a weapon to defend my rights. Although I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re nning, please stop doing this. Lastly, if I¡¯ve got anything wrong, I apologize.] After replying, Wang saw that the other party¡¯s input box was continuously active, but in the end, they did not say a word. Though he did not know the true intentions of the other side, Wang felt he had done the right thing. He exhaled a breath of relief and immediately contacted the Living Immortal, to whom he ryed the entire matter in detail.
After reading the message from Wang Say Games, the Living Immortal took a while before replying: [Thanks, got it.] [No need for thanks.] Having replied, Wang felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. Wang Say Games wasn¡¯t that soft-hearted; he was merely upholding the promise he had made to the Living Immortal, regardless of a potential few tens of thousands in losses. Even if it was a few tens of thousands¡­ A few tens of thousands¡­ Banging his head against the desk, Wang felt a bit foolish. That was tens of thousands we¡¯re talking about! But if given another chance, Wang would probably do the same thing. On the other end of the inte, Fang Cheng whimsically decided to divine his own fortune. His skills in divination were never that profound. At this moment, all he could deduce was that the matter was probably rted to Tianyi¡¯s KongKong. Divining once more, he saw a result that was uneventful. No matter what happened, it was best to ignore it. Thus, he stopped worrying about those matters and went back to his meditation.
In Kongkong Studio, KongKong sighed after knowing his attempt to demand the game had failed. Wang Say Games was somewhat greedy, and he had thought that through tipping, he could obtain the official version, but it turned out to be impossible. However, it didn¡¯t matter. He had a rough idea of how the magical weapon worked and nned to incorporate its usage into his own game. Not only that, but he would also add more interesting designs. Bloodlines, pets, Divine Beasts, equipment, smithing¡­ He would release all these former paid elements and reduce the depth of payments required, allowing yers to experience strong feedback after spending only a little. In terms of numbers, he had the data nners make arge number of adjustments to ensure the game would be incredibly satisfying to y for the first three days. The operations were ready, and fifteen days of intense momentum were enough for them to build a preliminary game model and allow yers to indulge in endless fun. In the subsequent versions, they would iteratively develop the game so that yers could have a brand new experience every week. Once everything was set, Kongkong Studio¡¯s game-changer, ¡°Dark Guardian,¡± was released. Although it only took fifteen days, this game¡¯s quality in all aspects reached their highest standard, and a deluge of promotions instantly brought the game before yers, enabling them to see it anywhere, anytime. Compared to ¡°Dark Guardian,¡± theunch of the game it had copied, ¡°Dark Builder,¡± seemed rather low-key. It didn¡¯t even have an official release, but merely a statement on its freshly built official website.
¡°I am here.¡± Chapter 151: 118 Silent Competition (Extra 2 for Boss Qiu) Chapter 151: Chapter 118 Silent Competition (Extra 2 for Boss Qiu) ¡°` The release of Tianyi¡¯s ¡°Dark Guardian¡± almost coincided with Fang Cheng¡¯s ¡°Dark Builder¡±. The difference was that one came in with a bang, draped in a yellow robe, surrounded by stars that held it aloft like a child of destiny, bringing with it infinite power. A host of live streamers rmended it, with paid posters disguised as haters and iron fans inciting conflicts wherever possible, stirring the game¡¯s poprity with various topics. ¡°Dark Guardian¡± imed to be a pay-to-y, delete-on-exit test, and just a first test at that, but its final performance indicated that it already matched or even exceeded the level of other games¡¯ third or fourth tests. Aplete game system, a self-cycling game mechanism, excellent artistic expression, and 3D capabilities made this game possess points that were highly spreadable. And its gamey was also quite unique, with multiyer cooperation, construction melded with a dark style, giving this game the strength to advance towards being a high-quality game. Moreover, the game supported cross-tform data, with PC, Apple, and Android data allpatible, showcasing Tianyi¡¯s ambition. The profound foundation of argepany can be terrifying like this. Sometimes, saturating thepany with game development can really create a miracle. In contrast to the heavily marketed ¡°Dark Guardian¡±, ¡°Dark Builder¡± seemed very modest.
It released quietly, without a game license, just as a free game, not even avable on the Steam tform. The only official website provided a download link, but the whole site was made so cool that Fang Cheng could feel a strong sense of the future. Although Squirrel No.1 imed to have added many special functions to this webpage, such as allowing ess in various regions through Fang Cheng¡¯s ¡°Immortal Spell¡±, and amodating a million people chatting online at the same time, Fang Cheng only verified the website could download, thenmended Squirrel No.1 for the good job, which made Squirrel No.1¡¯s tail stick up with excitement. After telling Wang Say Games the game link could be released, Fang Cheng arrived at the office on time, then watered his Spirit Grass. Although it was winter, the air conditioning in the office was always on, and the Spirit Grass not only remained unaffected by the temperature but also seemed more vibrant. Content with his tender green Spirit Grass, Fang Cheng felt a sprinkle of water in his heart, a sense of tranquility within. Looking up, he could also see the flickering Dustfire of ¡°Dark Builder¡±, the pale red mes symbolizing cooperation and passion, and the increasingly vigorous mes indicated the yers were engrossed, with no anomalies appearing for the moment. After the official release, the Dustfire flickered even more vigorously. The yers¡¯ experiences in the game were in high alignment with what Fang Cheng wanted to convey, giving him an immense sense of warmth. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re smiling at the leeks again,¡± Xu Qingling said as she took off her scarf and ced it on the rack, addressing Fang Cheng. ¡°You don¡¯t understand the goodness of Spirit Grass.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, boss, are you free on the 24th? I¡¯ll take you to experience the arcade in the mall; there are a lot of fun things there,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve beaten that westerner before, although I don¡¯t know where he is now, but if he knew I¡¯d been to his anniversary, he¡¯d probably be nervous, right?¡± Xu Qingling thought for a moment, then asked with confusion, ¡°Boss, you¡¯ve fought with a priest?¡± ¡°In a way, yes.¡± ¡°Then, boss, you¡¯re pretty wild. Next time you fight, count me in, I¡¯m especially good at cheering with ¡®666¡¯.¡± ¡°Next time for sure.¡± After chatting with Xu Qingling about the recentpany situation, Fang Cheng returned to his seat after officially starting work. Monkey had finished recording his show, which was set to air after the New Year. Although he kept thepetition results confidential, the championship trophy on his desk made the oue clear to everyone. Because he had been absent for almost a month, he had a lot to catch up on.
During the lunch break, just as he was about to ask Huang Ping a question, he discovered that Huang Ping and Xiao Douzi¡¯s actions were highly synchronized. They opened the same cool website together, found the same game, ¡°Dark Builder¡±, and decisively chose to download and start ying it. Leaning next to Huang Ping, Monkey discovered that it was actually a pixel-style game. After watching for a bit, he couldn¡¯t help scratching his chin, his face drawing closer to the screen, almost sticking to it.
And Huang Ping, seemingly unaware of the need to block, tilted to watch the screen, also leaning closer and closer. After a failed defense, Huang Ping couldn¡¯t help sighing, but upon seeing he had broken through forty waves, he immediately cheered up, began drawing magical weapons, and pondered the special effects of the two new magical weapons he had acquired. ¡°Tooth of Gluttony can devour Shadows to boost strength, but its side effect is the random entry into a Gluttony state, followed by indiscriminate eating. It¡¯d be nice to have a Hungry Ghost de, as the hunger state can turn nearby Shadows into hungry ghosts, allowing for unlimited consumption.¡± ¡°I think it works better with Desperate Grass,¡± Xiao Douzi said, also finishing a round and casually adding, ¡°Under the influence of Desperate Grass, the worse the character¡¯s state, the higher the attributes. This way, you can pair it with jumping into Dark Tides, and if you survive the wave, you¡¯ll eat a lot.¡± ¡°I think itbines better with Gluttonous Insect,¡± Fang Chengughed and added, ¡°The hungrier one feels, the higher the attributes, and the side effects of Gluttonous Insect and Tooth of Gluttony counteract each other. Those two are the perfect match.¡± ¡°` Chapter 152: 118 Silent Competition (Extra 2 for Boss Qiu)_2 Chapter 152: Chapter 118 Silent Competition (Extra 2 for Boss Qiu)_2 ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± Huang Ping mused, but he quickly realized an issue and hurriedly asked, ¡°Are there cravings in the game?¡± ¡°Oh, there weren¡¯t.¡± Fang Cheng replied. ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll add them now¡­ Done.¡± After adding them, Fang Cheng was ready to continue discussing the magical weapons in the game when he noticed Huang Ping staring at him in astonishment. A momentter, Huang Ping asked in confusion, ¡°Boss, what do you mean by ¡®add it just like that¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing really; it¡¯s my own game, I¡¯ll add what I want. Oh, I never mentioned it before because I didn¡¯t feel it was necessary: ¡®Living Immortal¡¯ is also me.¡± Covering his head, Huang Ping felt his brain buzzing, and it took him a long while toe to terms with a fact he wasn¡¯t particrly prepared to ept. The two game creators he admired had suddenly merged into one. He didn¡¯t doubt that Fang Cheng was lying because there was no need to lie about such a thing. And boss¡­ Do you secretly work overtime every day?
It took him a long time to ept this fact. When he turned his head to look at Xiao Douzi, he found that she wasn¡¯t surprised at all, and was even getting ready to restart the game. ¡°Aren¡¯t you shocked?¡± Huang Ping asked in a low voice, ¡°The boss is that ¡®Living Immortal¡¯.¡± ¡°I knew it a long time ago,¡± Xiao Douzi replied. ¡°The boss¡¯s style is so obvious, I realized it afterparing a few games. I was a bit excited when I found out, but after that, it didn¡¯t matter much to me.¡± ¡°The subjects arepletely different. You could tell that?¡± ¡°Game tags are always a mess.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± After thinking about it for a while, Huang Ping found that Xiao Douzi was right. But then, he asked in confusion, ¡°Then¡­why?¡± ¡°Some game creators do that, too. I know there are a few who had no money and then became adult game creators. Because it¡¯s too shameful, they use pseudonyms. The use of aliases is verymon.¡± ¡°I know about that, but why did the boss do it?¡± ¡°To validate his own ideas, I guess. Some ideas are not convenient to test under his own name, like ¡®Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me.¡¯ Such a terrifying game doesn¡¯t look like something the boss could make; it¡¯s better to experiment under an alias.¡± Huang Ping could more or less understand the reasoning behind it, but still found it hard to believe. Yet, once he got it, it didn¡¯t bother him anymore. What the boss wanted to do in his own time was his business. There was no need for him to report everything to his employees. And no one said that a studio¡¯s boss can¡¯t publish games privately, anyway. After making sense of it all, Huang Ping decisively restarted ¡®Dark Builder¡¯ and, brandishing his magical weapon, asked, ¡°Boss, which magical weapon should I use?¡± ¡°None are of much value. Just stick with Xiao Douzi for co-op y.¡± ¡°¡­Alright.¡± Afterward, a new question suddenly urred to Huang Ping, and he asked, ¡°Boss, I won¡¯t inquire into your decision to secretly create games using an alias, but Tianyi is clearly copying your games. Aren¡¯t you going to do something about it?¡±
Upon hearing this, Xu Qingling had the enthusiasm of a Husky, ready to be unleashed. At a singlemand from Fang Cheng, she would morph into a legal advocate and drag Tianyi through every court she could. Even if they lost the case, it wouldn¡¯t matter; they could just find new reasons to sue them all over again. But Fang Cheng just shook his head: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Let them continue.¡±
Xu Qingling sadly bowed her head. Fang Cheng¡¯s calm demeanorpletely put Huang Ping at ease. For some reason, Fang Cheng¡¯s words always had a special magic that made people feel particrly reassured. The next day, ¡®Dark Guardian¡¯ officially broke through five million downloads across all tforms. Free to download and with its light pay-for-y setting, this game earned a great reputation. Nowadays, bigpany games were all about gacha, MOBAs, and battle royale, a homogenized product range that had left yers utterly exhausted, yet the inertia of gamingpelled them to keep ying. Games from Fang Cheng Studio were all very good, butpared to the vast demand of users, their output was just too little. And now, with the finely crafted ¡®Dark Guardian¡¯ arriving on the scene, those gamers had finally found a worthwhile game to invest their time in. Under Tianyi¡¯s overwhelming promotion, ¡°Dark Guardian¡± quickly dominated the sales charts, and the substantial returns allowed KongKong, who had been closely monitoring the data, to breathe a sigh of relief and put the development of subsequent versions on the schedule. ording to his past experience, games with numbers like ¡°Dark Guardian¡± could be considered S-grade masterpieces in the mobile gaming world, and distribution channels would be eager to promote such a game, turning it into a golden goose. The upward trend in profits continued for three days. But on the fourth day, revenue suddenly halved, with the rising trend sharply interrupted, yet KongKong saw no problems with the data. On the fourth day, profits rebounded by thirty percent, softening the blow slightly for KongKong, but on the fifth day, they were halved again.
He immediately had the operations team pull all the data, and KongKong scrutinized it carefully, but found no issues. He had the operations team quickly conduct a user survey, only to be shocked to discover that the data had plummeted for two more consecutive days before entering a slower downward trend. Although it was no longer as frightening as the halving trend, the daily decline was torture in its own right. Especially for KongKong, who was sure he hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, the invisible torment was all the more painful. Finally, the user survey done by the operations team arrived. Eager to see the results, KongKong saw that the operations group had distributed thousands of survey questionnaires. Furthermore, the operations team hadpiled information about the users, including their age, gender, whether they made in-game purchases, and whether they were still ying ¡°Dark Guardian,¡± culminating in an objective and detailed report. The overall rating of the game could reach 86 points. Although it was from an initial test, the game¡¯s quality was stunning, and it truly deserved the 86 points. When asked about the game¡¯s shorings, minor pay-to-win elements were the biggest w, followed by an abundance of cultivation elements, giving it the feel of a PC RPG. But apart from that, the game was fine. All things considered, ¡°Dark Guardian¡± had almost achieved the best results possible, yet it still had an extremely high yer churn rate, which was quite iprehensible. A significant number of yers were leaving even after making in-game purchases; logically, these yers should be the most inclined to stay, but they were departing without looking back. As KongKong looked at the survey results, he felt lost. He couldn¡¯t understand how he had done everything to perfection, yet the oue was so absurd.
Where exactly had he gone wrong? As KongKong wallowed in confusion, the operations director sent over another survey. ¡°We¡¯ve conducted a survey with thepeting game ¡®Dark Builder¡¯ as the focus. I think you might need this.¡± Staring at the document, KongKong was afraid to read it. He didn¡¯t know why, but he had the feeling that the document contained something that could shatter his Taoist Heart, even make him fear creating games again. But he also knew that if he didn¡¯t look, he would never get past this obstacle. This survey also integrated feedback from about a thousand yers who had tried ¡°Dark Builder.¡± Right from the start, he saw that this game¡¯s score was only 72 points, which could only be considered good. The yers had a lot moreints about this game. ¡°I don¡¯t really like the pixel art style; it doesn¡¯t look asfortable as 3D.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no background music, only ambient sounds, which are particrly scary.¡± ¡°No tutorial for beginners, thumbs down. Not enough cultivation elements, can¡¯t spend money, thumbs down.¡± ¡°Dying in the dark tide without an option to watch an ad to resurrect, thumbs down.¡±
¡°They don¡¯t provide a guidebook for magical weapons, can¡¯t understand how tobine them at all.¡± One was overwhelmingly praised, the other overwhelmingly criticized, but KongKong had long known that yers are creatures who lie. They can fool anyone, but not their own hearts. These people had all yed ¡°Dark Guardian¡± for a while before decisively switching to ¡°Dark Builder,¡± and theirints seemed less like grievances and more like advice. ¡°Kid, you didn¡¯t do well here; do better next time.¡± A high or low rating does not reflect the real yability of a game; after all, people are easily attracted by first impressions, but what truly keeps them around is its yability. Having finished reading the report, KongKong felt his Taoist Heart had shattered. He knew why he couldn¡¯t produce good games at the moment. He had grown old. Chapter 153: 119: An Old and a Young (Part 1)_1 Chapter 153: Chapter 119: An Old and a Young (Part 1)_1 The declining numbers for ¡°Dark Guardian¡± had likewise sounded an rm among the senior management at Tianyi. With the support of President Zhang Ping, a second version of the game was released during the first test phase. In this version, a new pet system was introduced where yers could acquire brand-new pets without spending any money, and these pets yed a role within the game. The pets could be used tobat monsters in the darkness, randomly obtain materials, and even be petted and interacted with, greatly relieving the fatigue of battle and giving yers a chance to rx. This feature led to a temporary recovery in user numbers for ¡°Dark Guardian,¡± which had been in continuous decline, but soon the numbers began to fall again. In contrast to the continual data copse of ¡°Dark Guardian,¡± the meticulously monitored statistics for ¡°Dark Builder¡± were on a steady rise. ording to the Qian Du Index, active yer participation, and average daily visits to the official website, it was found that the poprity of the two games hadpletely reversed. Their data curves crossed each other on the screen, as if mocking the efforts of ¡°Dark Guardian¡± and marking them with a resounding failure. Seeing these results, Zhang Ping became confused. Everything seemed excellent in the surveys, the graphics and music crushed thepetition, and the public rtions on all fronts were very well managed, with outstanding critiques from both the media and yers.
But why were the numbers still dropping? On B Station, the UP owners, who had been crazily ying ¡°Dark Guardian¡± during the promotion, stopped as soon as the promotion ended and immediately switched to ying a few rounds of ¡°Dark Builder.¡± Are you all NTR enthusiasts? One streamer even titled their live broadcast: ¡°Darkness is for livelihood, Dark Builder is true love.¡± Surviving by day, dwelling by night, is that it? Armed with data, Zhang Ping sought out KongKong¡¯s opinion, only to find that KongKong was not in a good state. After not seeing him for two or three days, his hair had turned white at the roots, and he looked deted like a balloon with no air, as if all his energy had drained away, leaving nothing behind. He recalled the annual meetingst year when ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡± was testing well, and KongKong was brimming with confidence, holding onto Zhang Ping¡¯s arm while drinking and asserting that his game was definitely going to be a big hit before taking it international to show yers around the world what a mature microtransaction system looked like. But now, KongKong was utterly exhausted. In the game industry, sess was the best tonic. Back then, KongKong looked like he was just over thirty, but two failures hadpletely shattered his Taoist Heart, leaving him almost unable to get back up. Standing by the window, KongKong stared nkly across at Fang Cheng Studio. It was already 5:30 in the afternoon, and the sky was beginning to darken. Everyone in the opposite building had already left work, except for a pot of chives by the window that was vibrant with life, stretching out with vigor. In stark contrast to the chives was his own reflection in the mirror. Aged, decayed. Standing behind KongKong, Zhang Ping opened his mouth to say something but then felt that everything seemed pointless. Swallowing his dry throat, he said, ¡°KongKong, how about you take some time off?¡± ¡°No need,¡± KongKong shook his head, ¡°If I rest, the me might fall on you. Many people in the headquarters already look at Rong City with displeasure; we can¡¯t give them a chance to attack you.¡± ¡°KongKong¡­¡±
¡°That¡¯s how bigpanies are, strong when the wind is favorable, weak when it¡¯s not. Not to mention the infighting and office politics in thepany can be enough to cause a headache to death.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, let¡¯s leave it at that. I¡¯ll make onest effort to see if I can salvage something. I¡¯m going to talk to the nners.¡± KongKong left slowly, but suddenly lost his bnce at the door and nearly fell on the carpet.
Zhang Ping instinctively wanted to help, but KongKong steadied himself using the door frame and shook his head, then pushed himself up with his hands. Watching his deste figure, Zhang Ping realized something. KongKong was about to leave too. Gathering all the nners, KongKong put out some of the game data collected by operations. He did not reveal the current indexparison but insteadpared ¡°Dark Guardian¡± and ¡°Dark Builder,¡± and asked, ¡°Everyone, these are thepetitors¡¯ games and reviews. What do you all think?¡± After reading the materialid out on the table, a nner said nonchntly, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any threat, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just an indie game with graphics that use a shortcut pixel style, nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°Too few features, how could yers possibly be interested in the development?¡± ¡°The music is no good, it¡¯s just one sound effect, this game won¡¯t cut it.¡± ¡°They actually don¡¯t charge money; is the producer a living saint or something?¡± Thisment made the nners burst intoughter, creating a merry atmosphere in the room. KongKongughed as well. It¡¯s hard to judge a nner¡¯s skills since everyone can write a nning document but few can make it shine.
But KongKong could see that there were few truly outstanding nners here. Most nners had just muddled through projects, with resumes full of flowery words and grandiose ideas. But over the years, other than being good at ttery, their skills hadn¡¯t improved in the slightest. However, amid the jovial atmosphere, a nner with two and a half years of experience, frowning while reading the reviewments, said, ¡°This doesn¡¯t look good.¡± Chapter 154: 119: An Old and a Young (Part 1)_2 Chapter 154: Chapter 119: An Old and a Young (Part 1)_2 The meeting room fell silent in an instant. The nners first looked nervously at KongKong, then dissatisfiedly at the nner named Qiu Yu. Everyone is singing praises, do you have to throw cold water on it? What kind of person is KongKong, don¡¯t you know? Someone gently tugged at Qiu Yu¡¯s clothes, but he didn¡¯t bother with the person behind him and continued, ¡°Although our scores are high, I feel that part of our score should be attributed to the 3D and art enhancements. If we remove that part, our game¡¯s yability should only be around 70 points.¡± ¡°Qiu Yu, stop talking,¡± a nner whispered. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t care,¡± Qiu Yu said calmly, ¡°Getting back to the game, ¡®Dark Builder¡¯ might have lower scores, but that¡¯s because pixel art inherently faces challenges in the art department. Yet, I¡¯ve also yed it extensively, and the art style is actually very impressive.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so impressive about pixel art?¡± a nner scoffed disdainfully, ¡°Have you seen many pixel art games take off?¡± Qiu Yu turned his head, his youthful face looked very young, but his eyes shone with a sword-like gleam. Facing the old nner¡¯s nitpicking, he said directly, ¡°¡®Dead Cells,¡¯ ¡®Terraria,¡¯ ¡®Under the Legend¡¯¡ªI can easily name many pixel games. Have you yed any of those?¡±
The old nner wanted to argue, but couldn¡¯t utter a word. In the face of these universally acimed masterpieces, any rebuttal seemed pointless. Standing up, Qiu Yu spoke leisurely, ¡°Although it¡¯s pixel art, ¡®Dark Builder¡¯ pays great attention to detail, and the handling of the finer points is not weakened by the pixtion but allows yers to focus more easily on the game itself. In contrast, our game may look pretty, but the high cost of art rendering has brought on a problem, which is the need to limit the number of enemies on the screen. This greatly reduces the game¡¯s exhration.¡± Hearing this, KongKong nodded slightly, ¡°This is a problem, but why didn¡¯t you mention it before?¡± ¡°I did, but you didn¡¯t listen.¡± These words seemed to shift the me, instantly sparking a defensive reaction from the old nners present. But before they could refute, KongKong raised his hand and said, ¡°I remember now, there was such a thing. That¡¯s my fault, continue.¡± The other nners looked at the two in astonishment. Today¡¯s KongKong was obviously different; he looked exhausted, like an elderly man on his deathbed, delivering hisst words. Nodding his head, Qiu Yu continued, ¡°As you can see, ¡®Dark Builder¡¯s¡¯ style is meant to create a sense of oppression through the environment, achieve coboration through building structures, and ultimately gain unparalleled tion by defeating wave after wave of frenzied enemies. Here, the quantity of enemies is critical; the more there are, the stronger the tension and sense of oppression before victory, and the more thrilling the release once they¡¯re ovee. I¡¯m not sure if Living Immortal did it intentionally or by chance, but the difficulty of his monsters wasn¡¯t particrly high, which made the hacking and shing feel even more exhrating. In contrast¡­¡± ¡°In contrast, we couldn¡¯t put too many so we had to add arge number of elite monsters,¡± KongKong added. Qiu Yu was taken aback, then blurted out, ¡°You knew?¡± Then, realizing his impoliteness, he quickly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± He could be candid, but he couldn¡¯t be impolite; the result of his character and upbringing taking effect. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s better to be straightforward, but don¡¯t say it in front of so many people next time.¡± KongKong smiled benignly, which led to wild spection, with some even beginning to think of Qiu Yu as KongKong¡¯s illegitimate child. After nodding, Qiu Yu continued, ¡°Indeed, the appearance of elite monsters can greatly intensify the tension, but at that moment, yers don¡¯t need elite monsters to provide pressure; they just want to feel more exhrating. Alright, having exined that, let¡¯s discuss the next issue, where is the core element of ¡®Dark Builder¡¯?¡± ¡°Farming monsters?¡± a nner asked. ¡°It¡¯s cooperation,¡± Qiu Yu corrected with a smile, ¡°The producer has been pushing the game towards cooperative y. Personally, I think it would be more interesting if a bit ofpetitive element were added. Of course, just a personal thought. With this focus on cooperation, the rival has introduced many magical weapons that even neers can y an important role with, such as Unmovable as a Mountain.¡±
¡°We also have lots of magical weapons, and neers can use them too,¡± another nner retorted. ¡°And how much would that cost?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡°Top up 128 to immediately receive it, but it¡¯s just a seed. To make this seed useful, you need to spend money on materials to upgrade, and on gemstones to inset. Only then can a newbie be useful. And as for ¡®Dark Builder¡¯¡­ I¡¯ve opened five or six ounts to test, and it takes about two or three tries to obtain a simr magical weapon, after which a newbie can join the official round and start learning the veterans¡¯ gamey. This means that basically after a few rounds, a newbie can y the game officially.¡±
There was a pause, and something urred to Qiu Yu. He then added, ¡°Speaking of magical weapons, I remembered something. We have too many leveling systems.¡± ¡°Is that bad?¡± ¡°Yes, bad. That is a traditional RPG approach suited for client-based games, and it¡¯s obviously not suitable for games like ¡®Dark Builder¡¯ anymore. yers nowadays prefer fast gamey and simple character development. They can live with some grinding and paying, but they can¡¯t deal with overlyplex cycles. Life is already tiring as it is, so don¡¯t force them to learn content they don¡¯t enjoy.¡± After that, Qiu Yu continued to calmly discuss issues with the game for half an hour. Through his speech, it was evident that he had thoroughly researched both games and made detailedparisons. Many nuances that can only be discerned after a lot of gaming time were starkly contrasted with the nners around him who only knew how to look at data, and some who even hadn¡¯t yed their own games much. Looking at Qiu Yu¡¯s free-spirited brilliance, even KongKong couldn¡¯t help but admire him. A nner, filled with malice, asked, ¡°You seem very familiar with it. You must have yed these two games a lot in your spare time, right?¡± This question was insidious. Even though it¡¯s a gamepany, Tianyi does not allow nners to y other games during work hours, and they try not to let nners y their own games unless it¡¯s for feature testing. For a gamepany, this rule indeed goes a bit too far. And the opponent¡¯s question was clearly a direct inquiry to Qiu Yu: ¡°You¡¯ve been breaking the rules, have you?¡± But Qiu Yu just smiled and said, ¡°I y them in my free time. I only sleep four hours a day, and I y these two games whenever I can.¡± ¡°You¡­¡±
¡°Moreover, if I had broken any rules, HR would havee to have a chat with me. What¡¯s your intention in asking me this now?¡± ¡°¡­No intention¡­¡± The other party stuttered, trying to end the conversation, but Qiu Yu suddenly mmed the table, the loud noise causing a bunch of people to tense up instantly. Staring at the nner who asked the question, Qiu Yu spoke harshly, ¡°So what is it you really mean! The game¡¯s not good, and all you think about every day is how to make someone else take the me. You¡¯re useless and only know how to stir the pot. Your age is increasing, but your morality is decreasing. Calling you a senior is really giving you too much credit!¡± The nner who was berated face-to-face turned pale, unable to say a word. After the outburst, Qiu Yu¡¯s expression softened, and he added, ¡°As I analyzed, everything in our game is fine except that it¡¯s not fun. ¡®Dark Builder¡¯ seems simple, but it¡¯s fun. Fun is the only standard to measure a game, and unfortunately, we¡¯ve lost sight of the essentials.¡± KongKong listened and nodded, and at this point said directly, ¡°That¡¯s enough, meeting dismissed. Qiu Yu, stay behind.¡± As the nners filed out, the spacious meeting room was left with only the two of them. An old man and a young one, standing opposite each other, but Qiu Yu was not intimidated and stood firmly, looking at KongKong in front of him. Looking at Qiu Yu, KongKong saw a younger version of himself. Back then, he was just like his opponent, outspoken and daring in his actions. And then he was suppressed by others, wasting much time before he got back on track. The KongKong who returned became oily and slick, the ideals he once had slowly faded away, bing adept at passing the buck, with the only remaining goal being making money.
Exhaling deeply, KongKong felt truly old, even starting to reminisce about the past. Turning back to face Qiu Yu, he asked, ¡°Tell me, how do you understand Tianyi?¡± Chapter 155: 120: Crossroads (Two More)_1 Chapter 155: Chapter 120: Crossroads (Two More)_1 After hearing KongKong¡¯s question, Qiu Yu pondered for a while before saying, ¡°There are quite a few problems: office politics, a culture of shifting me, suppression from all sides¡­¡± ¡°Focus on the main point.¡± ¡°Well¡­ that would be you guys. To be more specific, it¡¯s you producers.¡± KongKong shook his head slightly, feeling annoyed but having to admit that the other party was right. The old who do not die be thieves. Tianyi is arge gamingpany, but inevitably, it also carries various historical issues. The biggest historical issue is these producers who once had sessful projects. For most game producers, their golden age is before fifty years old; by fifty, they start facing cognitive issues. As technology innovates and times progress, the experience they umted in the past will start to be ineffective or even turn into stumbling blocks, making these people continue as producers, though ensuring the lower limit of a game¡¯s quality, severely caps the upper limit. Moreover, what¡¯s even scarier is that sometimes, past experiences can backfire, which is an issue every producer must face. They should follow Mr. Shen¡¯s example, dutifully impart their knowledge to the next generation, and then head home to retire and look after their hair.
Nodding her head, KongKong asked Qiu Yu, ¡°Do you want to stay here, or find another path?¡± ¡°Of course I want to stay here. I haven¡¯t made my mark yet.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Turning her head to think for a moment, KongKong continued, ¡°Don¡¯t leave after work;e here every day. I¡¯m probably going to retire at the end of the month. I¡¯ll tutor you during this time.¡± ¡°¡­Why me?¡± ¡°Because I like you.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± As he watched Qiu Yu leave, KongKong leaned back in his chair, feeling emptied but somewhatforted. He had to take full responsibility for this defeat; retirement at the end of the year was already a certainty. Reflecting on his career, he realized he barely left anything behind in the gaming industry, with the only game he could talk about being the first online game he made when he first joined Tianyi. The game emted ¡°A Chinese Odyssey¡± and included features such as teaming up, capturing pets, questing, and treasure hunting. It was the kind of game that required yers to log in daily and invest four to five hours. He had all the conventional settings in his game and innovated upon them while emting others. Although it was naive, that game was his most heartfelt creation, still in operation today, with people logging in to y it every day. Thinking of this, he suddenly lost interest in ¡°Dark Guardian¡± and wanted to y his game instead. Turning on hisputer, he smoothlyunched the client, logged into his ount, and immediately received a message from a friend he hadn¡¯t seen in half a year: [Why have you been offline for so long? Remembered your ount?] The other person didn¡¯t know he was the producer of this game, and KongKong hadn¡¯t revealed his identity either. Realizing the other person was still ying, KongKong promptly responded: [Yeah.]
[Come on then, we¡¯re just missing one more for our ghost-hunting team of four. Good thing your gear¡¯s up to par and your level¡¯s not bad. Let¡¯s go. ] [Okay.] And so, KongKong neglected many of his duties and immersed himself in the old days, engaging intensely with the game. Afterward, as KongKong and Qiu Yu had expected, the data for ¡°Dark Guardian¡± worsened.
yers said ¡°Dark Guardian¡± was decent in every respect but just wasn¡¯t engaging enough. Spending money gave a momentary thrill but soon became dull. In contrast, the poprity of ¡°Dark Builder¡± was steadily growing. As a free-to-y game, the spread of ¡°Dark Builder¡± was nothing short of legendary. There was no marketing push from the promoters, and the team didn¡¯t buy traffic. The only way to download was through an official website, which was pretty cool. Yet, with a daily download volume of two hundred thousand, it became a miracle that was passed on by word of mouth. Its mild social element meant that it could effortlessly persuade yers to introduce the game to four friends, allowing them to form a five-man team to y together. Coboration was the base upon which it could grow virally, and its high quality with highly unpredictable gamey was what facilitated its spread. Different genres made it socially vibrant, and the various Earth-shattering magical weapons made yers eager to continue ying after each session. The game¡¯s pace could be elerated; the time for thest round of each session could be reduced to half an hour, making it particrly suitable for weary young people to y in a short break. Someone once joked that if the Living Immortal were to charge, he¡¯d instantly be a millionaire. But the Immortal didn¡¯t care. All he cared about was whether the yers were enjoying themselves. Because of its replicable gamey, aside from Tianyi, a myriad of game developers started to imitate it. Suddenly, a surge of ¡°Dark Builder-like¡± games sprouted up like bamboo shoots after rain, nearly one new game every day, even overseas there were many imitators. Most of the one-to-one replicas failed. Those who survived were the ones who built new gamey mechanics on top of the original, filling certain gaps.
Although it was only a niche genre, ¡°Dark Builder¡± created a new branch of games and helped some developers find a direction that was cost-effective yet had a high chance of sess. They used early replication to acquire the capital to survive; some continued to imitate, while others embarked on original endeavours, adding some bright spots to the gaming industry. Chapter 156: 120: Crossroads (Two More)_2 Chapter 156: Chapter 120: Crossroads (Two More)_2 However,pared with the achievements created by ¡°Dark Builder,¡± Tianyi seemed very shabby. In order to rapidly iterate apetitive product, Tianyi¡¯s Rong City branch invested a significant amount of manpower, and afterwards, went through a frenzy of iterations, but ultimately failed to make a ssh. The high-precision art seemed ipatible with this genre; at least, until there was a breakthrough in the performance of existing game consoles, the two were ipatible. Ultimately, before the arrival of the new year, KongKong¡¯s newly established studio disbanded once again. The once bustling office was now deserted, with seconded employees returning to their previous project teams to continue their struggle at Tianyi. President Zhang Ping originally wanted to see KongKong off, but KongKong refused. Having returned full of ambition and now leaving like a stray dog, the process seemed too disgraceful, better not to be seen by others. However, in the empty office, he still called over hisst student, Qiu Yu, and gave him one final lesson there. ¡°What do you think is the most important thing for a game studio?¡± KongKong asked, looking at the gloomy sky in the distance. ¡°Making a good game?¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s surviving. Making a good game is the ultimate aim of the studio, a game that can be remembered for centuries, talked about with relish even decadester, and even having people make MODs for it, is every game maker¡¯s obsession. But before you achieve that goal, your most important objective is to stay alive.¡± Seeing Qiu Yu still somewhat perplexed, KongKong continued to exin, ¡°A good game doesn¡¯t necessarily make you money, but a bad game doesn¡¯t necessarily lose you money, either. Every game maker must learn to cut their losses in time, sever ties with sunk costs promptly, and find every opportunity to make money and keep themselves alive.¡± ¡°Idle games be popr, you make idle games; card games are hot, you make card games; anime¡­ let¡¯s not touch that for now, the anime scene is toopetitive, we¡¯ll wait until a bunch have fallen and then hire some original artists at low cost.¡± ¡°If the domestic environment is poor, work on overseas projects; whatever foreigners like, make that; even if they want to see dirty pictures, put them in the game for them.¡± At this point, Qiu Yu couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°That¡¯s pretty bottom-line!¡± ¡°But you can survive! For a gamepany, the bottom line isn¡¯t important, surviving is. Only if you survive do you have a say, do people listen to you, can you wash away your past. If you die, no matter how good the games you made were, others will only mourn your corpse.¡± ¡°People often say I¡¯m pragmatic, but I¡¯ve managed to keep you all alive, which is why I was sessful until¡­ never mind, let¡¯s not talk about that. Anyway, survive. No need to see me out, I¡¯ve driven here.¡± Patted Qiu Yu on the shoulder, KongKong left the pondering student behind and left the office. He had already arranged Qiu Yu¡¯s fallback n; although he was now out of favor, he still had some connections that could secure Qiu Yu a job as a chief nner. Of course, it was the chief nner for a very small indie game, but he believed that with Qiu Yu¡¯s abilities, he would quickly make a name for himself at Tianyi. Descending the stairs, he was about to head to the nearby parking lot to drive away when he noticed that it had started snowing. This year, Rong City had ample water, and asionally the temperature would drop quite low; there had already been several snowfalls after the onset of winter. Pausing for a moment in the snow, he lowered his head to leave when he noticed someone else had emerged from across the way. It was Huang Ping. Since theirst conflict, they had stoppedmunicating, but each was still able to hear about the other through some channels. Seeing Huang Ping¡¯s figure, KongKong knew the other must havee to wait for him, so he sneered, ¡°Came to see me make a fool of myself?¡± ¡°¡­No, after all, we¡¯ve worked together in the past, I¡¯m not that idle. What are you nning to do next?¡± ¡°Retire, n to write some textbooks. A few publishers are quite interested in my past experiences, so I¡¯m nning to go back and write.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±
After a silence, KongKong suddenly asked, ¡°Living Immortal¡­ that¡¯s Fang Cheng, right?¡± Huang Ping didn¡¯t respond, but his silence had already proven a lot. Sensing Huang Ping¡¯s attitude, KongKong felt relieved and, patting his chest, said, ¡°I thought so, that¡¯s really great.¡± Nowadays, KongKong had be very thin, his hair half white, but he seemed somehow more spirited and wise.
Pointing to a nearby caf¨¦, he said, ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m free now, and your studio doesn¡¯t work overtime at night, so, care to have a chat with me?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Huang Ping nodded with a smile. In the dim light of the caf¨¦, they talked for a long time. They discussed the first game they coborated on, the bizarre incidents involving former colleagues who had resigned, their shing criticism on the prospects of the game¡¯s development, and ns for the future. Having once coborated, then be adversaries, and now finally sitting together with past grievances thawed, the two exchanged words they had previously been unable to say due to their statuses. They talked until eleven o¡¯clock at night, when they finally needed to go back. Donning a coat and wrapping a scarf around his neck, KongKong took out his car keys and asked, ¡°Still living at the old ce? I¡¯ll drive you.¡± ¡°No, I bought a ce nearby and moved over a long time ago.¡± ¡°Mortgage? How much was the down payment?¡± ¡°Paid in full.¡± KongKong was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Huang Ping. The fatigue brought on by previous overtime work was no longer visible, and the originally prominent dark circles under his eyes had disappeared. The Huang Ping standing before him seemed to revert to the youth he once was, ovepping with the image of himself when he first joined Tianyi. With a slight nod, KongKong said softly, ¡°That¡¯s good then, you guys are doing quite well, and it was good that you left when you did.¡±
The two walked towards the parking lot, preparing to part ways at the fork there. The snow had stopped, leaving a rareyer of white on the ground. Though it would melt before long, it still gave a clean, vast whiteness to the scene. The orange glow of the streetlights lit up like torches, but as they approached the parking lot, the paths suddenly diverged, creating an entirely different route. At the fork in the road, Huang Ping hesitated before saying, ¡°The reason I joined Tianyi back then was actually because of you.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yeah. The first game I ever yed was the client game you made. At that time, I never imagined a client game could be so fun, and I set my sights on Tianyi ever since. Before I was hired, I always thought you were the best producer in the country. I even wrote to you once, including my various views on games and suggestions for improvements, as well as my admiration for you. But you probably forgot.¡± ¡°¡­Indeed, what do you think of me now?¡± ¡°Heh.¡± ¡°¡­Alright, it¡¯s gettingte, goodbye then.¡± ¡°Goodbye.¡± After a friendly handshake, they went their separate ways. Huang Ping followed the streetmps into the distance, slowly blending into the warm, orange glow as he walked towards his warm home. KongKong, on the other hand, walked through the snow into the nearly deserted parking lot.
His steps slowed down, and by the time he reached his car, he was almost unable to stand. How could he possibly forget! How could he forget such a naive and passionate letter! His original passion for games finally came flooding back; his past ideals and ambitions pierced into his chest like spines, making him realize all at once that he had be the person he once despised the most. Kneeling by the side of his car, he cried silently, like a stray dog that had lost its home. The next day, the news about ¡°Dark Guardian¡± shutting down was circted but didn¡¯t attract much attention. There were already many games like ¡°Dark Builder¡±; every day, new genres of games emerged and others disappeared. Aside from a simple report by a gaming news uploader on B station, who mentioned KongKong¡¯s resignation, no one else paid any attention. Unknowingly, a new year arrived. And Fang Cheng felt he could let go. Chapter 157: 121 Getting More and More Interesting (Three updates in one day)_1 Chapter 157: Chapter 121 Getting More and More Interesting (Three updates in one day)_1 Having enjoyed the Earth¡¯s sunrise from the moon with his parents, Fang Cheng brought the two of them back home and then asked, ¡°How was the first ray of the New Year¡¯s sunrise?¡± ¡°The universe is so vast,¡± Mr. Fang murmured, ¡°And was there really a Chang¡¯e on the moon?¡± ¡°There was, and she had a pretty good rtionship with Hou Yi. However, the couple separated due to certain reasons, and from what I know, they have been apart for several hundred years now.¡± ¡°Then¡­ what type of person did she like?¡± ¡°In any case, not the type you are.¡± A thousand years ago, when the Moon Pce still existed, Chang¡¯e had once invited him to drink osmanthus wine, while Hou Yi took aim at Wu Gang on the ground, making him only dare to chop down the tree. Unfortunately, now the Moon Pce has vanished without a trace, and the toad and the jade rabbit have disappeared as well, with even their traces being erased. Nothing could be seen anymore. Feeling nostalgic about how everything changes with time, Fang Cheng saw it was only three in the morning, so he told his parents to go to bed first. Tian Xuan was also sent to bed by him, to sleep like a person does. After ensuring no one would disturb him, he stepped into the void to start preparing for his ascension.
This time, the game of proving the Tao could be called perfect. The gamey of ¡°Dark Builder¡± was exceptionally powerful, with therge number of Angel Envoys gathering robust Dustfire, the bright light making his Taoist Heart equally hot. His understanding, highly unified with the Dustfire, made Fang Cheng feel that this time it should be possible. However, the cmities still existed, and some sudden situations could still happen. But as the process of proving the Tao must be isted from external disturbances, he could only leave it to fate. While Fang Cheng was in seclusion preparing to break through, the number of yers in ¡°Dark Builder¡± continued to climb. The forest has grown big, and all kinds of Angel Envoys could be found. With wave after wave of foolish Angel Envoys flooding in, all sorts of novel strategies emerged, creating a myriad of ying methods. If one looked from outside the, they could see the entire performing fireworks shows in every location, with a multitude of structures appearing and disappearing in an instant, various lights rising and falling, which was indeed a spectacle. And just as Fang Cheng cut off all contact with the outside world, preparing to prove the Tao, the Shadows that felt the disappearance of Fang Cheng¡¯s Divine Sense began to stir. The things swallowed by the Shadows were assimted as part of the Shadows, and at this very moment, some things that had been swallowed were regurgitated by the Shadows. Arge amount of Heavenly Tao Fragments were spat out by the Shadows, and the fragments contaminated by the Shadows began to condense on their own, eventually converging into the dark side of Heavenly Tao. The origins of these fragments were not unified, some had transformed from the corpses of Little Heavenly Ways, while others had been stripped from various Little Heavenly Ways. These fragments, interconnected by the Shadows, eventually transformed into a strange and iprehensible existence. The existence that they feared had temporarily left, but the Angel Envoys it left behind were still there, crazily dispersing the¡¯s Shadows and constantly eroding the energy of the Shadows. Although this energy was negligible for the entity of the Shadows, for the nearly immortal Shadows, the situation was not to be calcted that way. They concluded that as long as these Angel Envoys existed, the power of the Shadows would be gradually weakened. And since the adversary could not be destroyed, it too was an eternal existence. In the face of eternity, even the smallest reduction is infinite. Thus, as long as these Angel Envoys are not destroyed, their Shadows would inevitably be cleared away. Beyond that, those bonfires also had a fatal attraction to the Shadows. Every now and then, as the bonfires suddenly appeared, they would emit strange fluctuations at regr intervals, attracting the Shadows to attack them. They were not living beings, but they possessed the same instinct to survive. To ensure their own continued existence, they decided to deal with these Angel Envoys in the same special way they dealt with those intelligent beings before. Taking into ount the characteristics of these Angel Envoys, the conglomerate of Heavenly Tao Fragments began to condense and transform. Arge number of fragments integrated in a special way, forming a brand new Little Heavenly Way.
Only, the Little Heavenly Way corrupted by the Shadows was an evil and chaotic existence. It possessed the same powers as other Little Heavenly Ways, but its sole duty was to perpetuate the Shadows. In local culture, such a bizarre and evil being was referred to as the Evil God. The Evil God was a personified entity. After its birth, this female Evil God with a bewitching appearance understood the behavioral patterns of the Angel Envoys. She looked quite enchanting, with a shadowy evening gown enveloping her graceful figure, the stars of the sky torn down to serve as her shawl, and concentrated Shadows forming her gloves. If it weren¡¯t for the Shadow Hands squirming below her gown and the asional eye peeking out on her face, she would be quite an alluringdy.
As the Angel Envoysbated the Shadows, the Shadows recorded their actions through repeated revivals and passed all these records to the Female Evil God. Observing the busy Angel Envoys below, the Female Evil God revealed a wicked smile and murmured, ¡°Warriors who never tire, who face death without a hint of fear, devoid of any desires but the intention to clear the Shadows, and capable of infinite rebirth, they truly are perfect soldiers.¡± For such warriors, the best course of corruptiony in their longing for power. Then, assimting them as part of the Shadows, record everything about them, and when convenient, ¡®spit¡¯ them back out. Chapter 158: 121 Getting More and More Interesting (Third Update)_2 Chapter 158: Chapter 121 Getting More and More Interesting (Third Update)_2 Unfortunately, something inside them prevented the Shadows from corrupting them, making it impossible for the Shadows to erode their being unless they resorted to special measures like contracts. Otherwise, she simply could not obtain the structure of these guys. But that¡¯s okay, corruption and the seduction of people into downfall are the specialties of the Evil God. With millions of warriors here, not every warrior is a valiant hero, always some who couldn¡¯t resist temptation, then bow down to power. Among these warriors, the Female Evil God chose a warrior. The inner thoughts of these warriors couldn¡¯t be read, but through their actions, the Female Evil God could roughly understand the logic behind this warrior¡¯s behavior. Compared to those who followed the rules, this warrior seemed to be more unorthodox. He would often rush headlong into the Shadows to confront monsters, just to test new Divine Artifacts on himself. Like others, he too could build structures, but his constructions often didn¡¯t align with other warriors¡¯ ideas, because his buildings could frequently be seen being ruthlessly torn down by others as soon as they were erected. Sometimes, other warriors couldn¡¯t help but step forward, give the guy a thorough beating, and then throw him into the Shadow Tide. However, he would quickly resurrect elsewhere and continue his inexplicable activities with vigorous energy. After watching for a while, the Female Evil God found his pattern of action quite interesting.
Although it looked like mischief, his antics had a strong purpose, and in the process of fooling around, he would suddenly be fierce and unstoppable. In such a state, the Shadows could hardly harm him, and he could even withstand hundreds of waves of attack, clearing all the surrounding Shadows before finally falling to a greater tide of Shadows. However, he wouldn¡¯t continue with the same routine but would start experimenting with other Divine Artifacts and return to his previous state. After observing for a long time, the Female Evil God felt that this guy must be the warrior among the group assigned to research. He was smart and full of yearning for power, such a guy especially susceptible to being beguiled by power, to be a pawn for the Female Evil God. Having formted a n in her mind, a mass of Shadows beneath her skirt was severed and transformed into an enchanting woman as it hit the ground. This woman embodied all the beautiful fantasies of the world. Any sentient being could see the most beautiful vision of the opposite sex that conformed to their own aesthetic from her. As the target resurrected and began to jump around wildly again, this woman waited on his inevitable path and fell to the ground as he approached. With previous observations, the Female Evil God had mastered thenguage of these Angel Envoys. As her Avatar, the woman knew it as well. As he drew near, the woman immediately reached out her hand, emitting a perfectly pitiful cry. ¡°Oh, valiant warrior, save me!¡± Hearing this voice, Xiemen Waidao stopped. Holding a torch, he nced at his headset and then at the woman in the darkness before he couldn¡¯t help but ask in the ¡°Morals Aid Group¡± QQ group, ¡°Who¡¯s got a new skin?¡± ¡°y the game like a normal person, will you? What¡¯s with the crazy act?¡± a group member replied annoyedly, ¡°And Xiemen Waidao, I¡¯m warning you, if you try out so-called ¡®new strategies¡¯ and turn our base into a KTV again, I¡¯ll face you in a real-person PK!¡± ¡°You talk as if you could find me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to find you to PK with you! And there were no bunny girls at your KTV, was that even a KTV?!¡± ¡°You¡¯vepletely missed the point! If you¡¯re unsatisfied, go cosy it yourself!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no costume, alright!¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re totally missing the point!¡±
The Morals Aid Group was a QQ group Xiemen Waidao joined while ying ¡°Healer,¡± and it¡¯s still very active now. However, ¡°Healer¡± has now entered a stable phase, the revolution has moved to consolidating its territory, and expelling the Disease toward a peaceful stage. These ¡°Healers¡± log in daily just to fight Disease Beasts, purify thend, exchange merit for food, tease the nearby Mukuai ¨C that¡¯s about it. While waiting, they¡¯d take the chance to y ¡°Dark Builder¡± with their buddies in the group, an activity they really enjoyed.
The only downside was that ¡°Dark Builder¡± had no VR version, which meant friends who bought VR devices could only y it on their PCs for the time being. After messing around in the group for a while, someone curiously asked, ¡°Xiemen Waidao, what¡¯s this sudden question about new skins all about?¡± ¡°Oh, I saw a female NPC appear and thought one of ourpanions was ying cosy with a new skin.¡± ¡°` [Is this some kind of April Fool¡¯s joke that¡¯s arrived too early?] Xiemen Waidao: [Check this out.] A mysteriously appearing female NPC.jpg. Even though it was already eleven o¡¯clock at night, seeing such an image still blew up the chat with a ton of reactions. After carefully examining the image that Xiemen Waidao shared, they all agreed: although it¡¯s pixted, this gal actually looks pretty good. [Eighty percent chance it¡¯s an Easter egg, I¡¯ve never seen another NPC like this before.] [Why don¡¯t you try talking to her, see if you can get a quest or something?] a yer suggested. [So the quest reward is her clothes?] Xiemen Waidao responded. [Sss¡­ This fellow has the makings of an emperor!]
[No, why should we y the good guys? Isn¡¯t it easier to just rob her of her clothes?] [This one¡¯s a heavyweight.] [How about this, we take the quest, pretend we¡¯re good people and try to escort her home, then rob her whole family, seize her husband, and take over her property, how¡¯s that?] [I have no objections to the rest, but seizing her husband? What the hell? You¡¯re getting me excited.] [Yeah, yeah, bullying men and domineering over women is sost season. Bullying women and domineering over men, that¡¯s the current trend!] Watching the nonsensicalments of his group mates, Xiemen Waidao felt like he might be too normal, too out of sync with this group. By the way, do you guys even remember what our chat group is called? Taking the majority¡¯s opinions into ount, Xiemen Waidao shared his game screen, then moved up close to try to interact with the NPC as if dealing with an item. He saw the character on-screen automatically asking the question he had in mind: ¡°How can I assist you?¡± The game was quite advanced. The quickly growing impatient Evil God Avatar sighed with relief, then nervously said, ¡°I¡¯ve been separated from my n, and I don¡¯t know where they¡¯ve gone. Can you take me back to your base, and then help me find my n together with yourrades?¡± ¡°I could, but what will you give me in return?¡± ¡°I have a family heirloom¡­¡± ¡°Hand it over.¡±
¡°Eh? But you haven¡¯t even¡­¡± ¡°Hand it over, and I¡¯ll protect you.¡± After a moment of contemtion, the Evil God Avatar hesitantly took out a gemstone and handed it to Xiemen Waidao. Having secured the gemstone, Xiemen Waidao didn¡¯t hesitate for a second, pulling out his gold, Spiritual Energy-crafted spear that had been upgraded fifteen times with armor-piercing capabilities, then impaled the NPC with it. ¡°What!¡± The Evil God Avatar looked at Xiemen Waidao in disbelief. ¡°Why¡­¡± ¡°When we first met, how did you know I hadrades? And with this ce being so dangerous, a sudden appearance of an NPC, especially a weak woman, definitely spells trouble.¡± As he watched the NPC dissolve into a cloud of Shadows and vanish, Xiemen Waidao nodded, ¡°I knew something was off.¡± [Hold on, Xiemen Waidao, even if there was something fishy, didn¡¯t you think twice before acting?] [Why should I hesitate?] [I¡¯ve seen you treat Mukuai1234 quite well; I thought you were the kind to cherish fragility and beauty.] [You just said it¡¯s Mukuai1234. I¡¯m obviously going to treat her differently from other NPCs.] [Oh, I see. But you weren¡¯t wrong, there was indeed something off about that one. And that gemstone you got, what is it?] [I don¡¯t know.] Staring at the gemstone in his backpack, Xiemen Waidao also couldn¡¯t figure out what it was for.
But it seemed the game was bing more interesting. ¡°` Chapter 159: 122 Defeat That Boss (Additional Chapter 3 for Boss Qiu Ge)_1 Chapter 159: Chapter 122 Defeat That Boss (Additional Chapter 3 for Boss Qiu Ge)_1 The red gemstone was the size of a fist, and the red within it didn¡¯t look normal, but rather like blood that had coagted into form. In the center, fluffy red vessels surrounded a core of dark red flesh, which also pulsated rhythmically. In the game, there were only five types of Spiritual Energy, so this peculiar gemstone that had suddenly appeared was clearly different from other materials, making Xiemen Waidao feel that this object was no simple matter. Bringing it back to the campfire, Xiemen Waidao had just started to further study the object when he saw the gemstone fly out of his backpack on its own, heading straight for the campfire at the center of the camp. Floating above the campfire, a vast amount of blood mist poured out from the gemstone, merging with the fire and casting an eerie red glow over the mes. The otherpanions, who were preparing to resist the dark tide, gathered around and asked in puzzlement while looking at the still bleeding gemstone, ¡°Xiemen Waidao, what are you up to now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you read the group chat?¡± They were all members of the same group chat and had gotten to know each other while ying ¡°Healers.¡± They had then happily joined ¡°Dark Builder¡± together and embarked on a journey of mutual sabotage. In response to Xiemen Waidao¡¯s question, one yer said, ¡°I read it alright, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be true. I thought you had used Photoshop to fool us.¡± ¡°Who would do such a boring thing, using Photoshop to deceive others? Oh, right, it¡¯s me. No problem then.¡±
Glossing over the issue lightly, the five yers just squatted by the fire, neither stepping forward to stop it nor thinking of what to do, simply staring nkly as the gemstone spewed out an enormous volume of blood thatpletely dyed the campfire red. It was fortunate that this was a pixel art game; otherwise, Xiemen Waidao was sure the scene just now would have gotten the game banned. After the struggle to turn it red, the Female Evil God lurking in the shadows could barely maintain her stance. Before now, she had no opportunity to get close to such a campfire. But just moments ago, thanks to Xiemen Waidao¡¯s intervention, she had finally seeded. However, she had not expected that the force contained within a single campfire would be so formidable that even as an Evil God, she would need to expend a great deal of her power to taint it. Most of the¡¯s shadow energy had dissipated just to corrupt this one campfire, but fortunately, the abundance of shadows in this region meant that there were enough to call upon from other ces. However, considering the many campfires that could appear or disappear at any moment, she temporarily abandoned the idea of corrupting the others, deciding to start with the person known as Xiemen Waidao. From what she could see, these adventurers might well be the Angel Envoys of a powerful Outer God, whose abilities were definitely associated with light, or else such powerful campfires could not have been created. A red light flew out. In an instant, Xiemen Waidao¡¯s fourpanions were in, leaving only Xiemen Waidao alone. She had wanted to entrap these warriors¡¯ souls, but she discovered that their bodies shattered without releasing any souls, a realization that deepened her understanding of the terrifying nature of that Outer God. While attempting toprehend the power left by this Outer God, she manipted the Flesh and Blood Gem over the campfire and issued amand to the stunned warrior before her, ¡°Kneel, and submit to me.¡± The voice rang in Xiemen Waidao¡¯s ears, seductive like the sound of heaven itself, carrying an arrogance that viewed all living beings as mere ants. However, Xiemen Waidao paid it no heed and asked in confusion, ¡°Why should I?¡± ¡°¡­I am a God.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your great-uncle too. The NPCs in this game are kind of rude, demanding people kneel straight away.¡± The Evil God was baffled by the warrior¡¯s disregard. As a deity, even as an Evil God, she held an exceptional allure over any intelligent life form. Even a mere image, a tone of voice, or a single sigh could ensnare intelligent beings, leaving them unable to extricate themselves. Yet, the warrior before her was not beguiled by her, leading her to question whether he was truly an intelligent life.
However, no matter how much she doubted, it couldn¡¯t change the fact that he was unmoved by her temptations. Ordering the nearby dark tide to halt its assault, she decided to use these warriors¡¯ hands to achieve her goal of tainting the other campfires. Thus, she shifted her tone, speaking with a voice full of seduction, ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal then. I will give you supreme power, wealth to rival nations, formidable weapons, and you only need to do a few small favors for me. Just some minor tasks, and then you can receive the rewards I offer.¡± ¡°Such as?¡±
¡°I will make you immune to the Shadows¡¯ assaults, and as long as you bring me a few of your kind and sacrifice them to me, I will grant you certain powers permanently. The more you sacrifice, the more I will bestow upon you. This gift won¡¯t be evident to yourpanions, meaning you can turn them into your downline. When yourpanions make sacrifices, you too will receive some blessings.¡± The Female Evil God believed that these warriors¡¯ resurrection was not without a price but depended on the power of an Outer God. If they used the Shadows to kill these warriors, each warrior¡¯s death would take away a significant amount of shadow energy, eventually weakening the Shadows continuously. But if the warriors killed each other, it would greatly reduce the consumption of Shadows and continually erode the power of the Outer God. Chapter 160: 122 Defeat That Boss (Additional Chapter 3 for Boss Qiu Ge)_2 Chapter 160: Chapter 122 Defeat That Boss (Additional Chapter 3 for Boss Qiu Ge)_2 Seizing the opportunity while the Outer God was absent, the Female Evil God prepared to quickly expel it and continue indulging in this world. Xiemen Waidao, having ryed the Female Evil God¡¯s words verbatim in the QQ group, asked, ¡°Gentlemen, what¡¯s your take on this?¡± ¡°This Easter egg is just so-so.¡± ¡°Yeah, individual strength isn¡¯t important in this game; what matters more is thebination of defensive structures and magical weapons. This Easter egg ispletely unoriginal; I suggest we just stab that guy to death.¡± ¡°Stab what to death? Didn¡¯t you see that thing kill four yers instantly as soon as it entered the battlefield? Such a creature is clearly mechanistic in nature; it can¡¯t be defeated.¡± ¡°No, it can be defeated,¡± said Xiemen Waidao, ¡°The magical weapon I carry can see health bars, and this guy has a health bar, so it can be defeated.¡± ¡°¡­Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s kill it!¡± ¡°Exactly, never mind whatever terms it proposes. The rewards from killing it will clearly be greater!¡± ¡°But it can kill us instantly¡­¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s just agree to its demands for now, gradually milk it for benefits, umte enough, and then kill it!¡±
¡°I¡¯ll go call people. I¡¯ll bring over a bunch of gaming experts soon. We agree to all its demands for now, and when the time is right, we can take it down together!¡± Members of the Morals Aid Group spread the word, and news of the new Easter egg spread instantly on the official game website. Less than half an hourter, almost all yers were aware of this, the appearance of a new Boss. And it had a health bar! Although they didn¡¯t know what loot this ultimate boss would drop, yers unanimously decided, guided by the principle ¡°If it has a health bar, even a god will be ughtered for all to see!¡± This Easter egg, we¡¯re taking it! Number One Squirrel¡¯s previously built website started handling immense data exchange, its excellent design capable of amodating up to a million yers chatting at the same time. Not only that, but Number One Squirrel¡¯s previous settings were alsoing into effect. Alpha also started to manage the website, analyzing the yers¡¯ chat content, filtering out useful information, then categorizing it automatically to facilitate retrospective review. Various modules were automatically generated, and the intellectual achievements of the yers were collected here, subsequently bing an aid to defeat the Boss. A temporarymand group was formed, with Xiemen Waidao, the discoverer of the Easter egg, being selected as the group leader tomence the battle against the Boss. A number of highly skilled yers were selected; each of them had the strength to pass through two hundred waves, and the slots for their magical weapons had reached ten. And after much grinding over time, theirbination of magical weapons was nothing short of perfect; each one of them was akin to a god of war, capable of making hordes of monsters cry just by standing still. Having selected the right people, Xiemen Waidao directly led these yers to the side of the Flesh and Blood Gem, where they received the gemstone¡¯s blessing. After the blessing wasplete, blood-red patterns appeared on the yers, which would automatically record the number of their kin they harmed, and in an equivalent exchange, grant them immense power. Beyond that, they would be immune to Shadow attacks, able to see in the dark, and move freely within it. Having received the blessing, the ten yers, ecstatic, passed through the darkness. Guided by a map-type magical weapon, they located another bonfire, and after confirming the other party¡¯s willingness to cooperate, Xiemen Waidao promptly executed them. The death of five yers converged into power, flowing into Xiemen Waidao through his mark, and providing feedback. Speed +1.
Feeling excited for a moment, Xiemen Waidao¡¯s smile gradually solidified. Five people were worth 1 point of speed, which roughly meant his speed increased from 10 meters per second to 11 meters per second. It was faster, sure, but only by a little bit. When the unnamed yers revived, he tried again and obtained a new reward.
Metabolism +1. At this attribute, Xiemen Waidao was even more speechless. A game character, showing off metabolism to whom, exactly? After experimenting for a while, Xiemen Waidao discovered that killing five yers would grant him one point of random attribute, but the random attributes were incredibly unpredictable, ranging from lousy ones like Hair+1 to decent ones like Strength+1. However, the whole process was too slow. Even if the ten yers chosen as boss killers spread out to different bonfires and the yers at the bonfire fully cooperated, the process of ughtering yers and gaining attributes still took half a minute. Moreover, ording to a detailed investigation by a yer, the boss¡¯s attributes at the bonfire were outrageously high, and it would require boosting every attribute to over ten thousand for there to be a chance of defeating the opponent. For safety¡¯s sake, the higher the attributes, the better, so twenty thousand would be considered a safe value. Taking into ount randomness and attribute types, the total time needed was estimated to be about a million minutes. All told, six hundred and ny-four days without sleep would suffice. Looking at the calcted figures, even the yers most eager to defeat this boss felt a hint of despair. Why would any game developer be so crazy as to expect yers to spend almost two years on a single easter egg? ¡°No, that¡¯s not right,¡± Xiemen Waidao said after thinking it over, ¡°I have a feeling Living Immortal wouldn¡¯t make it that simple, there must be an easier way toplete this easter egg.¡±
¡°What, go back and kneel down to let the boss kill itself?¡± ¡°That¡¯s thest strategy, consider it when we have no other options. Let¡¯s go and experiment together.¡± Xiemen Waidao went to a bonfire, killed the five very willing cooperative yers, and then started to observe their respawn point. The five yers respawned at a position one meter away from the bonfire, but it was impossible to ce any buildings at that location. Attempting to build structures one meter outside someone else¡¯s bonfire, Xiemen Waidao found that it was sessful. Building a trap worked. Pushing other yers into the traps and testing whether they would be killed by their own traps worked. Letting other yers jump into a trap he had built and testing whether the kill count would be attributed to himself also worked. After a series of experiments, Xiemen Waidao concluded, ¡°I can build traps around someone else¡¯s bonfire, and as long as the bonfire doesn¡¯t go out, the kills of yers due to the traps would count for me.¡± With this conclusion, Xiemen Waidao¡¯s fully automatic attribute farming machine was born. Setting up traps one meter away from other yers¡¯ bonfires, those yers just had to jump into the traps immediately after respawning, allowing Xiemen Waidao and other yers to gain attributes. Still, it seemed a bit slow. The slowness was partly due to the need to run to each bonfire, build traps there, and then have yers cooperate to farm attributes. Even with yer cooperation, it required non-stop farming for about thirty days.
How could they make the process more efficient? Xiemen Waidao started brainstorming, and other yers began looking for faster and more efficient ways to kill themselves, changing the vor of a game that was supposed to be about cooperative defense in an instant. With the help of group brainstorming, Automatic Attribute Farming 2.0 was introduced. The new machine required a magical weapon, a Wind Orb, to start, which would create a wind sphere and propel yers out of it. At the spot where they were flung, just a dozen branches grouped together could easily kill the yers, thus serving the purpose of farming attributes. This design reduced the time to fifteen days, but it was still somewhat slow. Sensing there was still room for improvement, the yers continued to ponder, and before long, Automatic Attribute Farming 3.0, 4.0, 5.0¡­ were developed. Before they knew it, iterations had reached version 12.0. And this was the final version. Through the coordination of multiple magical weapons, the chosen yers needed only an initial burst of effort and could then reap the rewards. Other yers didn¡¯t need to do anything, just keep the game on and go to sleep, and they would happily farm attributes for the chosen yers. After sleeping through the night, Xiemen Waidao woke up the next day and saw his attributes had soared to a number he previously couldn¡¯t even dream of. Satisfied, he nodded and said in the group, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s time to kill that Boss!¡±
Chapter 161 - 123 Have you failed again? (First update)_1 Chapter 161: Chapter 123 Have you failed again? (First update)_1 In the Shadows, near the crimson bonfire. The Flesh and Blood Gem still floated above the corrupted bonfire, and within the shadows it dragged forth, the graceful figure of the Female Evil God lurked, continuously emitting titters of sinisterughter. Carnage crazily continued, with death arriving efficiently and swiftly, making her even willing to believe that an Evil God presiding over death had descended upon this ce and had begun the frenzied ughter of those warriors. Without the warriors¡¯ protection, the bonfire was quickly extinguishing, the power of the Outer Gods was weakening, and soon she would be able to steal the authority of the Outer Gods and snatch the light¡¯s power from their hands. At that time, the power of the Shadows would grow stronger once more and spread toward the central regions of the world, filled with humans, until itpletely devoured them. As the Female Evil God fantasized about the splendid future, she heard footsteps. Ten warriors appeared, their bodies glowing red that had turned to purple. Although she didn¡¯t know how they did it, each of them had somehow wrought carnage in the millions in just one night, an efficiency beyond belief. ording to the records of the Shadows, not even the most brutal Evil God had achieved this; these fellows had elevated death to an art form, causing even the Female Evil God to marvel. The Flesh and Blood Gem extended tentacles, wanting to caress these brutally inhumane warriors, but Xiemen Waidao pped them away. Seeing this, she didn¡¯t mind but instead said with augh, ¡°Congrattions, brave warriors. You have obtained unimaginable power. How are you feeling now?¡± ¡°I regret it,¡± Xiemen Waidao said. ¡°¡­You don¡¯t like power?¡± ¡°The condition is to be human!¡± He was now covered in hair, each strand thick andrge, making him resemble a giant kelp creature. Two hundred thousand strands of kelp grew wildly on him, swaying with the wind, envied by Mr. Shen to the point of tears. His attributes partly distributed to his hair were still okay, but the yer beside him was a bit more bizarre. These special attributes seemed to vary from person to person. He randomly received attributes like ¡°Hair +1,¡± ¡°Hair Hardness +1,¡± ¡°Hair Width +1,¡± while hispanion got ¡°Number of Arms +0.01,¡± ¡°Arm Length +0.01,¡± and so on. Hence, thispanion transformed into a Thousand-Armed Guanyin, with each arm ridiculously long, allowing him to control arms from the sky to wield weapons and bring down retribution. The others had also be bizarre and odd in shape; some had numerous legs, others had thick shells on their backs, and still others had an absurd number of eyes¡ªnone of them looked like a normal person anymore. The power of the Evil Gods was full of weirdness and disorder; dealings with Evil Gods always risked the warping of wishes, or receiving things one didn¡¯t desire. Seeing these fighters, who no longer looked human, the Flesh and Blood Gem again let out an evilugh and then said, ¡°I don¡¯t see any problem; you all look very spirited, quite cute in fact.¡± ¡°Cute my foot, is there something wrong with your taste?¡± Xiemen Waidao said, helpless. Being strong was the yers¡¯ pursuit, but looking good was equally important. The game¡¯s PVP wasn¡¯t strong, and with such appearances, they¡¯d first disgust themselves and then theirpanions. If it wasn¡¯t for the Easter eggs, he would have deleted his ount and started over. The mes began to flicker, and the eyes within the Flesh and Blood Gem closed slightly, the voice losing its previous charm and ttery. Scratching her head with a tentacle, she said discontentedly, ¡°It seems I need to remind you to be mindful of whom you¡¯re speaking to. You who have ughtered your kin over a million times can no longer turn back, your only way out is to serve me. So, kneel down!¡± ¡°Attack!¡± Xiemen Waidaomanded harshly. The Thousand-Armed Guanyin¡¯s assault rained down from above, each arm holding a weapon forged with the help of yers, thousands of strikes nearly simultaneously hammering down upon the Flesh and Blood Gem in front of them. Electricity surged, mes burned, and the Five Element Spiritual Energy along with its advanced forms instantly enveloped the Female Evil God, the resulting white light nearly frying the graphics cards of the yers watching the live stream. After the first wave of attacks, half of the Flesh and Blood Gem in the sky was blown apart, dark red blood overflowed from the crystal walls, and the flesh within tumbled out along with it. ¡°Lucky this game has pixel graphics, otherwise it really wouldn¡¯t pass review,¡± someone remarked. From within the partially shattered Flesh and Blood Gem, a beautiful eye coldly observed the surrounding people, then let out a disdainful sneer. ¡°Is this your objective? To use my power to attack me. I admire your courage and determination, but¡­¡± ¡°Again!¡± themander Xiemen Waidao shouted. The ground began to shake, someone was approaching. With every step he took, the earth quaked as if it was shaking. A giant yer, towering a kilometer tall, arrived, with each joint being ten meters long, and the viewers watching the live stream couldn¡¯t even see his entire form. No weapon was big enough for his use, so his method of attack was simple: to grasp the Flesh and Blood Gem and the ground beneath it, and then smash it fiercely to the ground. The impact,parable to a meteorite strike, thebination of strength, speed, and technique, caused the Flesh and Blood Gem and the soil to rapidly heat together. Unlike his colossal body, the kilometer giant moved surprisingly fast, repeatedly forging the Flesh and Blood Gem and the soil into a pool of magma. Chapter 162 - 123 Have you failed again? (First update)_2 Chapter 162: Chapter 123 Have you failed again? (First update)_2 ¡°Indeed,¡± the voice of the Female Evil God rose again from theva, ¡°but is that all you¡¯ve got?¡± A swordsman stepped to the edge of the moltenva. Unlike the other yers who underwent mutations, his attributes were somewhat monotonous each time he gained power. ¡°Sword damage +1¡± and ¡°Sword speed +1¡±. The yers beside him couldn¡¯t see the speed of his sword swings, only those who could see the health bar noticed that the Flesh and Blood Gem¡¯s health was rapidly dwindling. Feeling the waning of its life, the Flesh and Blood Gem struggled to stretch out its tentacles, pleading urgently, ¡°Don¡¯t! I beg you, spare me¡­ Just kidding.¡± Evilughter echoed, and as the Flesh and Blood Gem was finally ground to dust, the figure of the Female Evil God emerged from within. The Flesh and Blood Gem was a division of her flesh and blood, which she used to probe the strength of the Angel Envoys; now, she felt it was about time for her to appear. Seizing the moment of her appearance, the swordsman yer disregarded any martial code and went into a frenzy, pummeling her with attacks. But her health bar seemed as if it was welded shut, showing no sign of change; instead, it grew considerably longer. When herplete form appeared, gasps echoed through the live stream, followed by a frenzy of recording and taking screenshots. The gorgeous Female Evil God had a charm so captivating that, despite being rendered in pixel art, it left the yers watching the live stream feeling a shock from the pixted magnificence. Moreover, she was colossal, reducing the yers to the size of children in her presence. Many had thought the Living Immortal dabbling with pixel art was foolhardy, yet even his pixel art turned out to be strikingly beautiful. And proportionate to her entrancing appearance was her terrifying power. The moment she appeared, the once gigantic giant was crushed into a mist of blood by her, enveloping the entire world in a haze of red. The next second, the swordsman burst apart instantly, a multitude of Shadows sprouting from his body, forming a ck throne for the Female Evil God to royally perch upon. With her legs crossed, the Female Evil God bit into the little finger of her right hand, her slender finger punctured by her own teeth, blood trickling down her chin, casting an extremely bizarre expression on her face. ¡°You actually managed to draw out my true form; you deserve some praise for that. So, do you have any more entertaining acts to show me?¡± Seeing the Female Evil God in herplete form, Xiemen Waidao felt a bit surprised, but still within the realm of control he could handle. Raising his right hand high, Xiemen Waidaomanded, ¡°Meteors.¡± A yer nodded and then sprang into action. His special attribute was ¡°Maniption of Matter +1,¡± and a great deal of matter would move under his control, further amplified by the strength of his own body. Asteroids floating in outer space were under hismand, beginning to fall; rubbing against the atmosphere, they turned into fiery meteors and then crashed down heavily upon the Female Evil God seated on the Shadow Throne. Facing an apocalyptic assault, the Female Evil God simply flicked her hand, deflecting the ferocious fire meteors away, emerging entirely unscathed. ¡°Division!¡± At Xiemen Waidao¡¯smand, another yer sprang forth. His special ability was ¡°Number of Individuals +0.01.¡± After repeatedly enhancing his attributes, he had reached a count of over a thousand individuals, each possessing the same abilities as him. Over a thousand bald brutes, each bearing divine weaponry, swarmed toward the Female Evil God. Just as they drew close, a mist of blood spread out, and the onught of copies melted away like snow in sunshine, dissipating into the bloody haze. Failures piling up, high-status yers eradicated, the ranks of warriors thinned until only Xiemen Waidao remained. Looking at Xiemen Waidao, the team leader, the Female Evil God spoke with a smile, ¡°How interesting, it was you who brought me back, and now you¡¯re the only one left. To think you humans dared challenge the Gods with your mortal strength, should I admire your courage or ridicule your recklessness?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me. And besides, why do you think I didn¡¯t make a move while you ughtered mypanions?¡± ¡°You got a lot of hair?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s because I have another special attribute, ¡®Revenge!''¡± The death of hispanions at that moment became Xiemen Waidao¡¯s driving force for revenge, the mes of vengeance burning within him, a surge of power beginning to gather inside his body. The strengths of his fallenrades emerged within him, causing his physical body to shatter, his soul¡¯s power dramatically enhanced by revenge, eventually transforming into a colossal being aze with dark mes. Not only that, but the force of revenge was still expanding. Every yer who had ever had their heads harvested now became fuel for vengeance, causing Xiemen Waidao¡¯s soul to turn into a pitch-ck existence, akin to a ck hole. Facing the revenge spirit forged by hundreds of millions of deaths, theposure on the Female Evil God¡¯s face finally disappeared. She realized she hadpletely underestimated these warriors¡¯ determination and courage, to think they would create their ultimate weapon in this way. Revenge will always be one of humanity¡¯s most powerful weapons, it grants humans the courage and determination to ignore everything and gives birth to a power that even the Gods fear. In the face of such a dark soul, the Female Evil God finally felt fear. She turned to run, but the spirit of revenge had already turned into chains, binding her tightly and dragging her into the pitch-ck Abyss. Each chain burned with ck mes, the mes of vengeance scorched her body, and together they erupted into a zing inferno. In Xiemen Waidao¡¯s view, the Female Evil God¡¯s health bar began to plummet dramatically, finally incinerating along with his game character. The world finally returned to darkness. After exerting its final tremendous power, the vengeful spirit, along with the Female Evil God, burned out, leaving behind only a pitch-ck, ice-cold. But no matter, the bonfire would soon be lit. Meanwhile, in the live streaming room, the yers involved in this action burst into a series of cheers. ying this kind of world boss that requires teamwork easily ignites the yers¡¯ sense of team spirit and immerses them in the satisfaction of the final kill. [Can¡¯t even, I¡¯m so thrilled! Xiemen Waidao, you¡¯re amazing!] [Although it¡¯s a mutual destruction, the final tactic was the right one.] [The joy from killing this boss makes the previous elimination of Shadows seem like nothing. Working together like this feels so awesome.] [Strange, I remember the discontinued ¡®Dark Guardian¡¯ had a simr setting too, why wasn¡¯t it as thrilling?] [Must be the novelty. Bosses like that in ¡®Dark Guardian¡¯ became toomon, they lost their novelty once encountered. But here, the boss is unique, so it¡¯s exhrating to kill it.] [Agreed, and activities where all yers need to participate to kill a boss really add to the sense of immersion, as if I were fighting on the field myself.] [Exactly, and now that the Revenge style has proven lethal, I wonder if other styles could work too?] [What are we waiting for then, go hunt for Easter eggs and summon the boss! Maybe this game has more than one Easter egg, and more than one boss we can y.] [Let¡¯s do it together!] Having in the Female Evil God, Xiemen Waidao felt exhausted. But his heart was extremely exhrated. He hadn¡¯t slept all night, but he still opened ¡°The Healer¡± and found his Mukuai 1234, excitedly saying, ¡°You have no idea what I just did!¡± ¡°Uh-huh, you¡¯re great,¡± Mukuai 1234 replied indifferently. Pouring a ss of water for Xiemen Waidao herself, she dropped a mint leaf into it with her merit, then sat across from Xiemen Waidao and asked, ¡°Tell me, what did you do?¡± ¡°We just killed an Evil God! I was themander-in-chief! We did it together¡­¡± While different yers were dissipating their excitement in various ways, within the Shadows, the figure of the Female Evil God began to reconstitute. All her information was recorded in the shadows, as long as the Shadows did not extinguish, she would not perish. Although arge amount of shadow power was lost, she etched the power of the bonfire deep into her heart, the humans at the center of the world were doomed. Chuckling softly to herself, she was just about to use this newfound power against the humans when a detached voice sounded close beside her: ¡°What did you do earlier?¡± The Female Evil God was shocked. She had no idea when or how the other hade; the Shadows hadn¡¯t even reacted to them, indicating their power was so formidable that not even the Shadows could respond. Which Outer God could it be¡­ The thought of the Female Evil God was cut off as her recently reformed body dispersed into nothingness, and along with it, the records about her within the Shadows vanished without a trace. Having dealt with the Female Evil God decisively, Fang Cheng looked down at the below and sighed. Did he fail again? Chapter 163: 124: First Under Heaven (Part 2) - 1 Chapter 163: Chapter 124: First Under Heaven (Part 2) ¨C 1 Above the Sea of Consciousness, Fang Cheng was seated above his Sea of Consciousness, beginning to retrieve his thoughts from within it. Soon enough, a chibi version of Fang Cheng was scooped up by him and sat next to the original Fang Cheng above the Sea of Consciousness, then began to stroke his chin and ¡°Hmm¡­¡± started. Finding that this thought was still struggling, Fang Cheng reached in again for another thought. A new thought emerged and likewise began its contemtive ¡°Hmm¡­¡± After a dozen or so thoughts, the space above the Sea of Consciousness was filled with little Fang Chengs, each one tangled in indecision. Realizing that nearly all of his thoughts were mired in indecision, Fang Cheng pped his hands to disperse these thoughts, then knew that this attempt was likely a failure as well. He had been well-prepared, but then Dustfire threw everything into chaos, a sign that something had gone slightly awry. Since arriving here, he had casually resolved the unexpected matters, but the yers¡¯ attitudes had markedly changed. On the official game website ¡°Home of the Game,¡± a group of people were leavingments under ¡°Dark Builder.¡± [When will the world boss be open again? We can hardly wait!] [That¡¯s right, hurry up and bring it on!]
[I¡¯m going to die without a world boss.] [The third hour without the world boss, I miss it.] The cooperative tone of the game hadn¡¯t changed, but the building tone hadpletely skewed into another form. A massive number of yers were no longer discussing how to resist the Shadows but instead began discussing how to construct traps to efficiently eradicate yers, ultimately aiming for rapid attribute leveling. Others discussed strategies beyond the revenge build, incorporating magical weapons into the process to further consider how to maximize efficiency and strengthen their efforts, making the yers¡¯ demise all the more efficient. Covering his head, Fang Cheng wondered if he had had too easy a life in his previous incarnation to deserve such torment by the yers in this one. Why must his opportunity for the Great Dao be in a video game and rely on this chaotic group of yers for help? A mere Evil God, just a shadow aspect of Little Heavenly Way, could shift your goals, couldn¡¯t you all just stick to one gamey and continue down that path? Eager to realign the yers¡¯ gaming objectives, Fang Cheng extrapted the current situation and discovered there was no going back. For the yers, ying the world boss was far more enjoyable, leading them to focus merely on how to steamroll bosses, while the basic gamey took a back seat. Realizing this, Fang Cheng felt that his approach to taking down the Female Evil God might have been a bit hasty. She should have been made to suffer a fate worse than death. Extracting the memory of the Female Evil God, Fang Cheng painstakingly went through it and then learned about her origin and grew curious about the Shadows. This sort of thing that could devour Heavenly Tao Fragments and reassemble them had existed before, albeit with not as many traits and not in such vast numbers. But now, many areas of the Mirror Universe were filled with Shadows, making the world extremely dangerous. The origins of the Shadows must also be rted to the mystery of the Immortals¡¯ departure. Directly eradicating all the Shadows wasn¡¯t impossible, but the affected region had already integrated with the Shadows at the foundational level; to remove them, the Heavenly Taowork connected with the Shadows would need to be destroyed as well. Yet, employing more gentle methods would require a lot of time and be rather troublesome to carry out. He needed to locate individual nodes and deploy Immortal Spell at these critical points to block the invasion of the Shadows, a time-consuming, effort-intensive, and utterly tedious process.
But if he neglected it, there was an eighty percent chance that more oddities would arise from within and interfere with his pursuit of the Dao, so he had to find a solution. With a sigh, Fang Cheng had hoped to let yers enjoy the pleasure of constructing their dwellings here after his sessful ascension to immortality. It seemed that this privilege would have to be temporarily withheld. He wanted to leave directly, but seeing the growing calls on the website forum for the return of the ¡°world boss,¡± he could only shrug his shoulders and bring Tian Xuan over.
Pointing at the Dark filled with bonfires, Fang Cheng purified all the Heavenly Tao Fragments obtained from the Female Evil God and turned them into little cookies, cing them into Tian Xuan¡¯s pocket. ¡°These little snacks are for you to eat. And since you wanted to repay the yers, these yers highly ovep with those from the ¡®Healer¡¯, so you can repay them. As for how to repay them¡­ I suggest you just create a few more world bosses for them, and give them whatever they wish for as you see fit.¡± Feeling the origin of the little treats, Tian Xuan carefully stored them away and then nodded vigorously. ¡°You begin constructing the Heavenly Taowork here. I feel that the Little Heavenly Ways here should have some information. Later on, we¡¯ll search together.¡± Tian Xuan nodded again. After sending Fang Cheng away, Tian Xuan carefully took out a piece of the little treats and started to nibble on it cautiously. Being a personification of Little Heavenly Way, these Heavenly Tao Fragments were like rare tonics to her, not only delicious but also greatly beneficial to her growth. The devoured Heavenly Tao Fragments began to repair her body, which remained riddled with holes even after expelling her afflictions, but these fragments started mending her gaps, slowly making her whole. After eating one, she licked her lips, wanting to have another piece, but ultimately refrained. Eating too much at once could satisfy the concept of gastronomic desire, but it wouldn¡¯t aid much in healing herself and would instead waste these precious Heavenly Tao Fragments. Chapter 164: 124: First Under Heaven (Part 2) - 2 Chapter 164: Chapter 124: First Under Heaven (Part 2) ¨C 2 Forcing her attention away from the fragments, Tian Xuan began to address the demands of the yers. At a nce, she saw that most of the active yers carried virtue rted to her, and indeed satisfying them could fulfill her desire to repay her debt of virtue. But before that, she needed to construct key points here to extend her influence into this area, forming her own Heavenly Taowork to better demonstrate her power as Little Heavenly Way. With a p of her hands, her angel envoys, a group of Mukuai, arrived. Pointing around, the Mukuai who had received her orders nodded slightly and began to help Tian Xuan construct her Heavenly Taowork here. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng, following the records of the Female Evil God, started to move through ces dense with shadow energy. ording to these records, he found that most of the surrounding space was upied by shadow energy. This energy would devour everything it came into contact with, yet, curiously, an infinitesimal point was not upied by the shadows and stubbornly resisted the shadow¡¯s incursion. Having confirmed the coordinates of this small point through the records, Fang Cheng soon found its location amidst the thick shadows. This point was almost minuscule in size, but its interior was filled with matter, bringing it to the brink of copsing into a ck hole; however, it was fortified by a certain wondrous force, preserving its spatial structure and preventing copse.
Probing with his Divine Sense, Fang Cheng was thrilled to discover that this force was mana. In this region, all forces came as gifts from Little Heavenly Way; this mana was unique here and likely left behind by some cultivator. Discovering this novelty, Fang Cheng¡¯s previous despondency due to failure instantly vanished, prompting him to utter, ¡°Interesting.¡± Finding the mana veins on the small point, Fang Cheng channeled his own mana into them, resonating with the internal mana, and then activated the Teleportation Array within the small point, before stepping directly into it and arriving inside. Here, he did indeed find a hidden realm. A vast continent floated midair, with the sun, moon, and stars orbiting thend, creating day and night for the continent. The sun¡¯s distance from the ground varied, orbiting in a fixed pattern and giving rise to the illusion of seasons. Clouds steamed up, forming white clouds in the sky, followed by mana naturally appearing to adjust them, turning them into rain or snow before returning to the ground. Such intricate designs made the continent like arge ecological garden, perpetually cycling with the support of mana. The continent also had mountains,kes, seas, and at the other end of the sea, morend, with Teleportation Arrays transferring water from one side to the other. Apart from the clever natural environment, there were even towns on the continent, with buildings of ancient charm and orderly streets, as if traveling back a thousand years. And within each town, there were even pedestrians bustling about. However, although these pedestrians looked full of vitality, they were actually mana puppets, not flesh and blood. Attempting to destroy a wild dog seeking shade, Fang Cheng saw it shatter into a cluster of mana, while the surrounding pedestrians panicked as if they had seen blood. But soon, they returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. After a short while, the shattered mana reformed, and the wild dog continued to enjoy the shade, seemingly unaffected. All of these designs gave Fang Cheng a strong sense of intricate design. Paying close attention, Fang Cheng realized this world was like a beautifully crafted treasure box; everything on the outside was a lock, and hidden inside were secrets unknown to others. Although forced destruction could reveal whaty inside, it would also require demolishing all these intricate designs, which Fang Cheng, who had recently taken a liking to constructing garden boxes, found unbearable. It would be a pity to destroy such a delicate creation.
But to probe into the contents following the creator¡¯s method would be very troublesome. The prohibitions constructed on this treasure box by its builder were numerous, totaling tens of thousands. These prohibitions were named ¡°The Supreme One,¡± requiring challengers topete with these humanoid puppets for first ce in various industries and records without using more mana than allowed. Each achievement of a first ce would unlock a prohibition, and when all firsts were achieved, all prohibitions would be lifted, and the true face of what¡¯s hidden inside the box would be revealed.
After figuring out the setup here, Fang Cheng pondered a bit and felt that the setting sounded quite interesting. And especially suitable for yers. Every yer loves achievements, leaderboards, andpetition, so letting them continuouslypete for various titles in this open world seemed pretty fun. Although individual yer progress couldn¡¯t be shared, he could use Immortal Spells to disguise yers as the same person, thereby tricking the restrictions in ce. Let the yers reach the goal of being First Under Heaven through legitimate means, allowing them to achieve one target after another throughpetition; the entire process, filled with effort, sweat, and self-challenge, seemed quite fun. Nodding, Fang Cheng knew his second amusement park, ¡°Theme Park,¡± was born. This would be a millennium-old theme park, vast enough to satisfy yers with various ystyles and imaginations. He believed that even the most outrageous yers wouldn¡¯t be too excessive, after all, their ultimate goal was topete for first ce. He needed to construct new bodies for the yers, these bodies didn¡¯t need to have too powerful Mana, mostly requiring the yers to improve themselves through the means provided here. He needed to datafy various attributes, present the rankings, register all NPC names on the leaderboard, and let yers startpeting with these NPCs. Beyond that, NPCs also needed to be more lifelike; their ability to resurrect needed to be preserved, but they could also record yer actions, thereby reacting more genuinely. Conservatively estimated, yers would need a year¡¯s time to achieve all the achievements, and during this period, he could absolutely use this to verify his sess beforeing back to check what was in the treasure chest. After confirming his strategy, Fang Cheng started to take action. A host of Immortal Spells were added into the underlying logic of this world, as an extra logic incorporated in, finally blending in inseparably.
Even though the world was already there, adding rules to an already sophisticated model wasn¡¯t easy, and it took Fang Cheng a full week toplete the task. When he reappeared in his studio, his staff were speechless. Looking helplessly at Fang Cheng, who had been working overtime alone for a week, Xu Qingling finally said after half a day, ¡°Boss¡­¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯ll take time offter. But I¡¯ve made a new game, Huang Ping, you¡¯re in charge of optimizing it.¡± ¡°No, what I¡¯m saying is, ording to the studio¡¯stest policy, the boss doesn¡¯t make up for overtime.¡± Fang Cheng, puzzled, looked at Xu Qingling, who then added, ¡°We all agreed to it.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°On the third day you were gone. We feel this rule helps the studio run smoothly, so we all agreed.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Having the boss away has a fatal impact on the studio¡¯s operations. Although we¡¯re not very supportive, we could only agree in the end. So, please go to your own desk and then start working.¡± And just like that, Fang Cheng inexplicably gained the freedom to work overtime. From now on, he could work overtime whenever he wanted, and until whatever time he pleased. In response, the other nners felt quite envious but were helpless to change their situation. Afterward, Xiao Douzi washed her hands three times then, with a pilgrim¡¯s devotion, downloaded Fang Cheng¡¯s new game and entered the world of ¡°The Supreme One.¡±
ording to Fang Cheng¡¯s introduction, this was an open world filled with random events where yers could y the roles they wanted andpete for the titles of ¡°First Under Heaven.¡± Its world was vast, with countless events. Achieving First Under Heaven would forever leave a yer¡¯s name in the world, and their actions would have a unique impact on the world. After roughly understanding the gamey and specific settings of the game, Wang Xiaoying was beyond excited. A game this free truly suited her taste! Various operational ns surged to her mind, making her gaze at the three nners with bright eyes, only one thought in her mind: You guys have to be fast! Chapter 165: 125 New Easter Egg (First Update)_1 Chapter 165: Chapter 125 New Easter Egg (First Update)_1 ¡°` After receiving the game, Huang Ping immediately began testing, and soon felt the pressureing at him. Thepleteness was as high as always, the gamey was so full it seemed to seep through the screen, and the ink wash art style perfectly presented an ancient world in front of them, making Huang Ping feel as if it were a living world across from him. The game was exquisite, but it also brought with it an extraordinary amount of pressure for Huang Ping. In Huang Ping¡¯s view, Fang Cheng¡¯s games must involve various reuse; Fang Cheng definitely went home to work overtime right after office hours, sleeping only four hours a day, and spent the rest of the time organizing materials so they could be ready to use at any moment. It was especially the application of filters that stood out; each filter could perfectly showcase different styles, and did so with such wless polish. Just thinking about having to optimize such a refined work made Huang Ping¡¯s hands shake; he didn¡¯t know if it was from excitement or nervousness. Xiao Douzi had already started to adjust various parameters ording to Fang Cheng¡¯s requirements, and Monkey had begun to test various gamey elements, then tried to optimize each one. Their fearless spirit was unmistakable, and it reminded Huang Ping that he was starting to show his age. Getting older as a nner means bing a bit slick; seeking stability in all things, rather than innovation.
But here, ying it safe was not an option. The gentle Fang Cheng was like a mountain, weighing down on them from behind, forcing them to grow with each outstanding game. Every game was a trial, pushing them to unleash their full potential, then to improve wildly. He moved his fingers to loosen them up and brewed himself a pot of tea, immersing himself in work, continuously recording items that could be optimized, and then making changes as best as he could. It wasn¡¯t until the lunch break that Huang Ping stopped, and he let out a satisfied sigh. Back when he was at Tianyi, he would look forward to every break¡ªlonging for the lunch break, the end of the workday, for overtime to be over, for KongKong to roll out sooner¡­ Oh, KongKong did leave, but I left too, so no worries. However, at Fang Cheng Studio, going to work had be a pleasurable experience instead, with all kinds of benefits maxed out; all he had to do was concentrate on making good games. In Huang Ping¡¯s opinion, there couldn¡¯t be a better environment than this. After quickly finishing his meal, he looked at the game list with some concern, not knowing whether he should y a game for a bit or continue working. Before he knew it, he saw Tian Xuan standing in front of her workstation, at a loss as she looked at thements on the screen. ording to Fang Cheng, Tian Xuan was his distant rtive who had just turned sixteen this year and wanted to enter the gaming industry, so she was brought here. But everyone felt¡­ this kid didn¡¯t seem like she was sixteen. However, it was understood that if it¡¯s not brought up by the people, it won¡¯t be pursued by the officials; as long as everyone knew, they could bluff their way through any inspections by saying she was just there to y. That should be good enough. If not, there was always Xu Qingling as a backstop. Now, she stared at the screen, flipping through onement after another, her brow growing more furrowed. Leaning over, Huang Ping discovered that Tian Xuan was looking at the game website ¡°Game Inn,¡± which belonged to ¡°Living Immortal.¡± All of Living Immortal¡¯s games were on there, including the horror-themed ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me,¡± ¡°nt Grass¡± that goes from farming to warfare, the narrative game ¡°Nameless,¡± and the recently popr ¡°Dark Builder.¡± Unknowingly, the boss¡¯s alternate ount had amassed so many games, a truly impressive feat.
And what Tian Xuan was looking at were thements rted to ¡°Dark Builder.¡± After thest world boss event ended, yers were still raving about it, demanding that Living Immortal hurry up and bring on the next world boss. Some yers argued that there should be some reward after killing the world boss, preferably a groundbreaking award. Other yers said that one world boss was not enough; they wanted to fight ten! They desired a hearty and grand scale boss battle!
Even more extreme yers wished to be the world boss themselves, beating up any yer they encountered, one by one or in pairs, to provide a sufficient shock of ¡®love¡¯ to the yers. Confronted with so many yer demands, the young girl was a bit overwhelmed. She had just finished setting up herwork in the Shadow Area of Heavenly Tao. As she was surrounded by shadows, these shadows would constantly erode herwork, but under Fang Cheng¡¯s Mana, it wasn¡¯t a problem. Yet satisfying the yers had be her biggest challenge. Although Fang Cheng said she could do whatever she wanted, she owed these yers gratitude, and being too casual about it didn¡¯t seem right; it would leave her feeling guilty. But satisfying every single demand didn¡¯t feel quite right either, as if doing so would somehow make them even more ufortable. As she was torn over what to do, Huang Ping came over and looking at thements, asked, ¡°Did the boss assign you to optimize ¡®Dark Builder?''¡± Tian Xuan turned her head and looked at Huang Ping with her big watery eyes, then nodded vigorously. ¡°How luxurious, at any other studio this game would be a cash cow, but the boss handed it to you for practice. Wait, could it be that ¡®The Supreme One¡¯ he gave us is also for practice?¡± This thought made Huang Ping uneasy, wishing he could go back to work immediately, but fortunately, he restrained himself. ¡°`
Chapter 166: 125 New Easter Egg (First Update)_2 Chapter 166: Chapter 125 New Easter Egg (First Update)_2 After carefully looking at thements for a while, Huang Ping said to Tian Xuan, ¡°yer feedback can be referenced, but should not be followed blindly. Everyone has the right to make suggestions, and we need to respect that. The overtly frivolous insults can be deleted outright¡ªthe website admin will take care of it. But what needs more attention are the silent majority.¡± Tian Xuan looked at Huang Ping, her eyes seemingly able to speak, directly conveying her confusion. ¡°Most yers don¡¯t speak out when they y games. They simply immerse themselves in the game world, asionallyining about one or two cumbersome operations. And then there are those who do give feedback, but that may just be the asionalint. Copying those wholesale would actually damage the integrity of the game.¡± Tian Xuan thought for a moment, then pointed to a nk space on the website while looking at Huang Ping, as if asking, ¡°Then how do I satisfy the majority?¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting to the heart of the matter. A bestselling game, at its core, is one that satisfies the majority of yers. Many people are pursuing this, but some infer what yers want through data, while others actuallymunicate with yers, understanding what they want in different scenarios¡ªeach time to great benefit.¡± As a former lead strategist for Tianyi, Huang Ping had a wealth of experience and continued to improve within Fang Cheng Studio. He hadn¡¯t realized it himself, but he had reached the level of an excellent producer, his wide-ranging gaming experience flowing smoothly, causing Tian Xuan to nod repeatedly. Seeing that the break time was almost over, Huang Ping let out a breath, then said to Tian Xuan, ¡°That¡¯s enough for today. You can go y the game, and interact more with the actual yers to see their thoughts.¡± Tian Xuan nodded again, and then her lips moved silently, forming the words ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No need to thank me, we¡¯re colleagues, after all¡ªit¡¯s what we do.¡±
Back at his desk, Huang Ping remembered Tian Xuan¡¯s youthful but serious demeanor and suddenly felt an urge to get married and have a daughter soon. He shook his head with a wry smile, reflecting on how terrifying the human parenting instinct is¡ªto want to make anything cute into a daughter. Meanwhile, Tian Xuan took Huang Ping¡¯s advice, preparing to y the game with yers to discover why they liked it and what features they hoped would be added. But she alone was a bit slow, so she directly summoned hundreds of Mukuais that had the best rtionships with yers, having them seek out their corresponding yers in ¡°the Healers¡± and y the game with them to help her find the true essence of the game. When Mukuai 1234 was summoned by Tian Xuan, she was resting in her room. The world of ¡°the Healers¡± was approaching stability, with disease-free zones expanding. Plus, Little Heavenly Way Tian Xuan¡¯s strength had also recovered and grown recently, allowing the world to slowly heal and get back on the right track. ¡°Thanks to Little Heavenly Way, thanks to Great Heavenly Lord,¡± Mukuai 1234, reaping the merits of Xiemen Waidao, genuinely sighed in gratitude. The Mukuais were messengers of Heavenly Tao. Before bing messengers, they were sacrificial offerings that the Demon Lord Temple raised to offer to the Disease Demon Lord. In life, they were cultivated until sixteen, then sacrificed to the Disease Demon Lord amid a multitude of illnesses, and tormented by disease even after death. The previous Little Heavenly Way Tian Xuan had been too weak, but she did her utmost to save a group of tortured souls. And after Great Heavenly Lord Fang Cheng arrived, he transformed them into Mukuais to act as Tian Xuan¡¯s will and begin walking the world. Mukuai 1234 reflected on her life before andpared it to her current leisure, thanking Tian Xuan and Fang Cheng again, and incidentally, also offered a slight thanks to Xiemen Waidao, who provided her with so much merit. After all, regardless of character, that guy had been pretty good to her. While Mukuai 1234 was reflecting, Tian Xuan¡¯s will emerged in her heart, instantly making her understand Tian Xuan¡¯s thoughts, and she couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°Eh¡­¡±. ¡°[Isn¡¯t that¡­]¡± ¡°[I am grateful to that guy, but you want me to go to another world and cooperate with him¡ªthat seems a bit off, doesn¡¯t it!]¡± ¡°[I was resting sofortably in this world, and suddenly you want me to go find that annoying guy in another world, how could that be?]¡± ¡°[I want to go? Don¡¯t be ridiculous!]¡± ¡°[Alright, I¡¯ll go!]¡± Aftermunicating with Tian Xuan in her mind, Mukuai 1234 began to pack her belongings.
The thought of having to meet that bothersome Xiemen Waidao at this time made her feel particrly irked. But this was a request from Heavenly Tao; she would not and did not want to disobey Tian Xuan¡¯s request. Before leaving, she looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted her attire. Reflected in the mirror was her dressed in a ck cloak, creating a mysterious aurapletely different from that of the world of ¡°the Healers.¡±
¡°` After putting on her hood, she saw in the mirror that her appearance hadpletely changed, cloaked in an aura of mystery and ancientness, except for the corners of her mouth, which betrayed an unstoppable smile. ¡°What am Iughing for?¡± She rubbed the corners of her mouth fiercely, trying to return to normal, then heeded Tian Xuan¡¯s summoning and went to another world. The world full of Shadows made her feel very ufortable, these Shadows made her think of sickness, and there was a certain degree of simrity between the two. However, the bonfire before her gave her a strong sense of security. The range of the bonfire was notrge, but it was enough to illuminate the surroundings, warming her body and soul, providing the greatestfort in this ce. ¡°Thank you, Great Heavenly Lord.¡± After thanking the Great Heavenly Lord, Mukuai 1234 sat by the bonfire, waiting silently. Before long, a yer emerged from the void, with more than a dozen magical weapons floating around him, radiating treasure energy that made him stand majestic like a mountain. Although the yer¡¯s face was expressionless, Mukuai 1234 still sensed a hint of cheapness from him. Especially the ID above his head, who knows what¡¯s up with this guy, using the same name in every game. ¡°Alright, today I¡¯ll try out a new tactic by myself¡­ eh, another NPC?¡±
Seeing Mukuai 1234 at the bonfire, Xiemen Waidao was overjoyed and rushed to ask, ¡°Madam, how may I assist you? I must say upfront, I give out the rewards before doing the task.¡± ¡°And then you¡¯ll stab me in the back?¡± Mukuai 1234 raised a mocking half-smile at the corner of her mouth. ¡°What are you talking about? Why would I use a knife?¡± Xiemen Waidao replied immediately, ¡°I always use a gun. Now, hand over the reward! I don¡¯t have the patience to loot corpses.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m a friendly NPC.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what every viin says. Last time, that NPC also pretended to be pitiful, but in the end, she sent us a boss. Luckily, I anticipated it and shot her dead right away.¡± ¡°I mean, what kind of games do you usually y?¡± ¡°Games where I match wits with the nners. Wait, why do I feel so familiar talking to you? Even though it¡¯s pixel art, why does your plump figure look so familiar? Especially that mouth of yours, always slightly mocking, it keeps reminding me of someone.¡± ¡°Mukuai 1234?¡± ¡°How do you know that! Who on earth are you!¡± Looking at Xiemen Waidao, who was outwardly expressionless but clearly shaken inside, Mukuai 1234 felt a surge of pleasure. You too have a day when you¡¯re scared. Her mouth curled into a gentle curve, her bright smile glistening under the bonfire¡¯s glow, the ck sound intertwining with the light, entuating the peculiar aura about her even further. As she pressed her right index finger to her lips, she whispered softly, ¡°What do you think?¡±
¡°You are Mukuai 1234, aren¡¯t you? You really are Mukuai 1234, right?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± That day, over a hundred yers nearly simultaneously discovered that a mysterious NPC was sitting by the bonfire. Their figures were graceful, their voices enchanting, they carried a bewildering sense of familiarity, and they had an alluring quality about them. Some had already guessed that it was probably Mukuai and almost immediately formed an idea in their minds. That was, Fang Cheng must have some connection to the Living Immortal. But let¡¯s set aside that question for the moment; it¡¯s now time to joyfully protect the bonfire with the Easter egg NPC! Teammates? What¡¯s that? We¡¯re not familiar! ¡°` Chapter 167: 126: How to Endure? (Second Update)_1 Chapter 167: Chapter 126: How to Endure? (Second Update)_1 The employees at Fang Cheng Studio started working in sync, striving together. Fang Cheng began to make adjustments in ordance with Huang Ping¡¯s needs, Xiao Douzi started actively setting the values, Monkey began to test the gamey, and Wang Xiaoying started to conceive the game¡¯s operational n based on the existing content. After spending some time in ¡°The Supreme One,¡± Wang Xiaoying realized that this game was truly to her liking. It was apletely free world where yers could travel everywhere like merchants, enter the courts to serve their country and people, join the military to expand the territory, or wander the world upholding justice and righteousness. Wang Xiaoying tried to study the era within the game but soon discovered it was a fabricated period, with a logically rich but mixed history, and certain details showed an especially distinct touch of ingenuity. Especially the game¡¯s title and the specific gamey embodied Fang Cheng¡¯s unique way of thinking. It was clear that Fang Cheng aimed to create a multiyer online open-world game, but in this world, individual strength was not the sole pursuit; yers could achieve different goals through different paths to be their ideal First Under Heaven. For instance, Wang Xiaoying¡¯s desired First Under Heaven was to be the first person to travel throughout this world¡ªa goal that might just be an achievement in other games but could certainly be a long-term goal in this one. To traverse the world, one would need Silver Coin, otherwise, what about food on the journey? Necessary skills were essential, otherwise, what to do when encountering strong foes on the road?
A map was needed as well; without it, one wouldn¡¯t know anything about the seas, let alone thends beyond them. A single goal was enough to link most of the gamey in the game, forming an organic whole. Moreover, this driving force was spontaneously generated by the yers, which deepened their emotional connection to the game and their motivation to continue ying. Beyond that, this world was not an ordinary one. After chatting with some NPCs, Wang Xiaoying easily discovered that there seemed to be unusual things existing at night. Above the temples, there were Masters of various factions showcasing extraordinary Martial Arts, and it wasn¡¯t easy to seize the title of First Under Heaven from them. Every ordinary person also had their own version of First Under Heaven¡ªan endearing beggar had First Under Heaven Beggar, a constable had First Under Heaven Constable, a thief had First Under Heaven Thief¡ªeveryone could find their First Under Heaven here. The game¡¯s numerical system was rtively simple, with everyone having their own base attributes like strength, bravery, physique, and soul, but the most important were the skill attributes. The skills included basic ones like walking and breathing and advanced ones like cksmithing and Martial Arts. Both attributes and skill levels affected how the skills performed, and honing skills could, in turn, enhance attributes, achieving aplementary effect. After ying for a while, Wang Xiaoying felt as if she had been thrust into some fictitious ancient dynasty, as if she had traveled back in time, beginning to experience a different kind of life. ¡°The boss¡¯s game is still so amazing,¡± she said. After ying for some time, Wang Xiaoying started to genuinely admire Fang Cheng¡¯s ideas and then began to think about how to promote this game. However, promoting this game was quite straightforward; by piecing together the stories of a few key NPCs, one could create somepelling videos. Chewing on the end of her pen, Wang Xiaoying pondered for a while, then opened her document and began her marketing n. A weekter, the first promotional video waspleted and uploaded to the ¡°Fang Cheng Studio Official ount¡± on Bilibili. This video arrived quietly, only seen by some followers, but that didn¡¯t hinder it from shooting to the front page within an hour, rapidly climbing to the top to be the day¡¯s must-watch across the whole site. As a die-hard fan of Fang Cheng Studio, Tang Mo saw the update immediately and began to watch it right away. The video¡¯s title was quite grandiose, conveying the unique arrogance of youth right from the start. ¡°I, First Under Heaven!¡±
The name exuded confidence and seemed boastful, but Tang Mo felt that Fang Cheng Studio had the clout to back it up. He thought that a studio capable of creating a game like ¡°The Nameless¡± could truly im to be First Under Heaven without exaggeration. Not to mention the strong reputation of their other games among domestic gamers, which could even outshine the older establishedpanies. Yet, Tang Mo also felt it was a pity; if they were willing to produce versions in several foreignnguages, their fame would surely be even greater.
Subsequently, Tang Mo felt fortunate to be living in an era where he could witness the rise of a strong domestic game studio and hoped it could go even further. To help Fang Cheng Studio reach further, he even bought thirty copies of ¡°The Nameless¡± with his own manuscript fees, asionally using them for giveaways in his fan group to further promote ¡°The Nameless.¡± After his musings, Tang Mo saw that the game video had finished loading. The screen was pitch ck, with only the innocent voice of a child ringing out, ¡°Master, who is the true First Under Heaven? Is it Ye Qingguo?¡± Before Tang Mo could understand who Ye Qingguo was, he noticed the darkness on the screen dissipating like sand, as multiple palm prints flew towards him. Even through the screen, Tang Mo could feel the strength of those mountain-splitting palms, as if they were about to break through the monitor andnd directly on him. Chapter 168: 126: How to Endure? (Second Update)_2 Chapter 168: Chapter 126: How to Endure? (Second Update)_2 Soon after, a handsome man in his early forties appeared, each of his palms carrying a relentless force. In front of him, ordinary people could not withstand a single palm strike from him, and the crowd of skilled martial artists that swarmed toward him were like y Buddhas entering the water, disintegrating into soft mud at a touch. What an impressive palm strength! No, it should be said, what a performance! Although Tang Mo didn¡¯t know about Ye Qingguo¡¯s life story, the disy on the screen alone made it clear to him that this man had to be at least a Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch. He thought the video would revolve around Ye Qingguo, but as the elder¡¯s voice rang with a ¡°not necessarily¡±, everything fell silent once more. Then, a childish voice sounded again, ¡°Is that Yue¡¯e?¡± The image changed, and on the dark screen, the woman¡¯s smiling face appeared; even through ayer of veil, one could feel her myriad charms. The rhythmic drumming began, and she too started showcasing her extraordinary dance moves. Enveloped in a mystical and profound aura, her captivating dance made her seem like a celestial being descending from the heavens. However, what drew the most attention was the smile beneath her veil.
That smile, pure and innocent, slightly mboyant, was like a me full of vitality, brimming with a passion for dance. It made Tang Mo feel that she truly loved dancing. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± the old master continued. The splendid dance vanished, but its aftertaste remained, leaving Tang Mo feeling lost, and at the same time, curious. If neither of them is First Under Heaven, then who is? It wasn¡¯t long before the third person appeared. Above the temple hall, the atmosphere was solemn. On the throne of the Emperor, there was a five-year-old child, now looking forward in fear. Beside him, a tall eunuch with a hooked nose was staring emotionlessly at the courtiers below; those under his gaze were like frogs spotted by a snake, trembling and unable to do anything else. Without any dialogue, without any other action, Tang Mo understood that this person must undoubtedly be the First Under Heaven in terms of power. With the young emperor on the throne, thete emperor¡¯s favored servant had be the real master of the pce but was also inevitably the enemy of all the civil and military officials in the court. Faced with the scared courtiers below, who wished nothing more than for him to die quickly, the eunuchughed. In thatugh, countless conspiracies and ughters wereid bare, startling Tang Mo but also stirring great interest in him for this person. This person¡¯s life must be incredibly fascinating. Suddenly, a great variety of First Under Heaven was showcased. The First Under Heaven culinary master, whose simple egg fried rice could make one¡¯s mouth water and forget all other foods. The First Under Heaven detective, whose nose was like a dog¡¯s and could distinguish different scents to apprehend criminals. The twenty-minute video showed Tang Mo a myriad of First Under Heaven, but the question posed by the childish voice in the video remained unanswered. After all, who is the First Under Heaven? Tang Mo vaguely felt that the question should be ¡°the yer is the First Under Heaven¡±, but until the end, the question was not answered.
He felt like he had be that little child, constantly wanting to know what the First Under Heaven was, but the riddle-like old master adamantly refused to give an answer. Until the end, the answer to that question never appeared, instead, an official advertisement popped up at the conclusion. ¡°On January twenty-first, ¡®The Supreme One¡¯ early ess version goes on sale, let¡¯s see who is the First Under Heaven!¡± Watching this expressionlessly, Tang Mo unfollowed with a flick of his hand.
ying hard to get with me? I¡¯ll show you that I¡¯m not a man to be trifled with! Returning to the beginning, Tang Mo watched the video again and then followed the ¡°Fang Cheng Studio official ount¡± once more. It¡¯s been twenty minutes since I unfollowed, I hope you¡¯ve learned your lesson. So, don¡¯t y coy tomorrow, just release the video properly. Also, I want to meet who the First Under Heaven novelist is, remember to arrange that for tomorrow, thank you. At Tianyi, Qiu Yu was also watching the video. He repeatedly watched the video many times and then discovered through many details that only a small part of the video was made with software, but the majority of it was an actual showcase of the game graphics. ¡°Open world, huh¡­¡± The previous few games from Fang Cheng Studio all have elements of an open world, but they also have a clear main storyline in them. yers can choose not to follow the main storyline, but if they do, they will find more interesting developments, so most yers choose to follow the main storyline. But ¡°The Supreme One¡± is different. From this promotional video, Qiu Yu felt that this game would probably not set a clear main storyline.
The goal of the yers is to chase after the title of First Under Heaven, but which one to chase is the yers¡¯ own choice¡ªFang Cheng just set the targets there, but how to choose is up to the yers themselves. ¡°Without a main storyline, letting yers set their own goals, while chasing these goals they alsopete with other yers and need to surpass the current First Under Heaven¡­ Without a substantial amount of gamey support, this game could easily copse.¡± Most open-world games are actually just a pile of side quests, or artificially created barriers through stats, forcing yers to grind monsters or gather materials, turning time into power, to eventually reach subsequent content. This is because the nners¡¯ capabilities are limited while yers¡¯ capabilities are unlimited; what the nners design in half a month, yers may clear in just a few days, which forces the nners to design various barriers to prolong the consumption rate of the game content. If it were amon game, then Qiu Yu felt the other party might have used some gimmicks and then wouldn¡¯t take long to fall back into old patterns. But that¡¯s Fang Cheng! Qiu Yu seriously suspected that there might be a secret team of over a hundred people supporting Fang Cheng; otherwise, how could they produce so many good games? As Qiu Yu pondered the reasons and deduced the gamey, a balding programmer suddenly appeared at the door, cautiously calling out, ¡°Qiu Yu¡­¡± Without lifting his head, Qiu Yu said, ¡°I¡¯ve already sent the document to you.¡± ¡°Sorry, I just went out for a smoke and didn¡¯t see it. I¡¯ll go take a look right now.¡± The person immediately left with an amiable attitude. It had been almost a month since Qiu Yu was transferred to this small game nning group. This nning group mainly focuses on WeChat Mini Programs, serving as an experimental division within Tianyi. There were a dozen nners here, each equipped with a corresponding programmer, and their daily work was to conceive instant-y mini-games.
Since the games were very small, they only needed one core gamey mechanic. No need for art; Tianyi¡¯s internal art resource library had a plethora of art assets, and nners just needed to drag these resources over to the programmers. Because of these conveniences, as long as there was an idea, the nners here coulde up with a mini-game in two or three days, and then pass it to the operations department to distribute traffic for testing. If it was suitable, they would push for promotion, and consider mization when it gained a certain level; if not, they just let it be, to live or die on its own. Although the pace was fast, this ce was adept at cultivating nners¡¯ insight into gamey construction and was one of Tianyi¡¯s incubators for nurturing neers. Most nners took about two months toe up with a decent hit, but it only took three days for Qiu Yu to create a viral mini-game. The game was actually quite boring, with a gamey that was themon matching game, but he had made a transformation. That was the difficulty. The difficulty level of this game was frustrating; the first level already had a difficulty of level 5, and the second level shot up to level 10, which was a level that most matching game experts would balk at. The third level then was at level 20, a difficulty that one could hardly pass unless blessed with incredible luck and skill. Although there were only three levels, the difficulty of the third game and its rapid restart speed quickly became a hot topic, turning it into a hit among WeChat mini-games and causing many people to give it a try or two on the subway. This game earned Qiu Yu a special bonus of fifty thousand, and significantly increased his clout in the mini-game group, even carefree ck-offs like this were not a problem. And Qiu Yu did not let everyone down, as the three mini-games he followed up with, although all adaptations of existing gamey, had his own ability to turn trash into treasure, making the games be popr.
However, even someone like Qiu Yu frowned after watching the video. Because¡­ He felt that ¡°The Supreme One¡± was definitely going to be incredibly fun. So fun that he wanted to run over right now, then p the desk of the other party and shout, ¡°Hand over the demo!¡± ncing at the calendar, he leaned back in his chair and mumbled to himself, ¡°Ten more days, huh.¡± How is he going to endure this time? Chapter 169: 127 Each Ones First Day (Part 3)_1 Chapter 169: Chapter 127 Each One¡¯s First Day (Part 3)_1 Had you asked a few days ago what a ¡°bad guy¡± looked like, you surely would have received a myriad of answers. However, now, 90 percent of the fans following Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s official ount would proudly disy their following list and point to that one name, ¡°Him!¡± Ever since the decision to start promoting, the ount has been posting actual gamey videos at irregr times each day and began a countdown. This meant that yers had to check daily, and every time they did, they realized how many more days were left until the game¡¯s official release, which left them in a state of eager frustration. Of course, some people were not frustrated at all but rather thrilled. Kirin Industry on the first floor had already obtained the authorization. ¡°The Supreme One¡± VR version was going to be released simultaneously, with cross-tform data integration. This news triggered another sales frenzy for Kirin Industry¡¯s VR integration machines, securing their sales volume for the first quarter. Expectations for the game had be a hot topic recently, with other game developers even choosing to stay clear of that day to avoid a head-on sh with the wildly popr ¡°The Supreme One,¡± which could diminish their own game sales. There were those who sourlymented that the higher the pedestal, the harder the fall, advising everyone to y games rationally and not to deify any particr studio. A variety of voices began to converge, with every opinion represented, as a massive crowd started to speak up about ¡°The Supreme One¡± across different tforms, expressing their viewpoints.
As Dustfire, the red passion associated with ¡°The Supreme One,¡± continued to surge and burn, the mes mixed with assorted colors. But Fang Cheng believed it wouldn¡¯t be long before it all merged into one pure hue. Finally, January 21st arrived. The severe winter had just passed, and it was still cold, yet many game enthusiasts were burning with anticipation for the game¡¯s release. Once the game was released at eight in the morning, the download numbers skyrocketed, causing a slightg and leading to some yers only getting their turn with the game by noon that day. After finishing the character customization, yers would first see this immense world, admiring its vastness and grandeur from afar. Then, they would be thrown directly into this world, each spawning at different locations, ready to integrate into this world and be a part of it. Tang Mo was one of them. Despite his utmost confidence in Fang Cheng Studio, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little nervous as the game¡¯s release date was drawing near. His new book had sold well, earning enough money for him to justify purchasing a VR machine in the name of research and enter this world with thetest VR equipment to appreciate the supreme elegance of this world firsthand. And when he officially entered, walking in the small towns of South Water Town, all his previous doubts vanished, reced by a profound sense of satisfaction. It was exactly the same. The surrounding style was identical to the one shown in the trailers; the quaint scenery seemed like someone had materialized everything from his dreams, making him finally rx and start enjoying everything around him. Opening the in-game guide, he walked while reading through its contents. ¡°The Supreme One¡± was a buy-to-y game, still updating its content, and while the likelihood of encountering a bug was very low, it was still possible. The main goal for the yers was to choose their field of development and strive to reach the status of being ¡°First Under Heaven.¡± And for the yers who did achieve the title of ¡°First Under Heaven,¡± their statue would be ced atop the world¡¯s summit, their visage forever immortalized for future yers to behold. Sessors wouldn¡¯t be without their own challenges; when they sessfully challenged the previous title holders, their images too would be etched at the summit, bing the new ¡°First Under Heaven.¡± Therefore, yers, please take care with your character¡¯s appearance. Although it¡¯s possible to create a body fit for ancient gods, consider the feelings of other yers. Reading this tip, some yers began to regret not having created a body of an ancient deity for themselves.
Using the initial copper coins in his pocket to buy steamed meat buns from a roadside stand, Tang Mo saw that they were made lifelike, and upon tearing one open, he could see the meat filling inside. Even though he couldn¡¯t smell them, just the sight of the glistening buns was enough to whet Tang Mo¡¯s appetite. While eating and walking, Tang Mo skimmed over all the tips, understanding the purposes of attributes and skills, and then he started looking at the ¡°First Under Heaven¡± list. Tens of thousands of entries appeared before him, causing him to gasp in astonishment. So many!
The copywriters for this game must be exhausted! Sympathizing with these kindred spirits for a moment, Tang Mo continued his exploration. Each subcategory detailed the methods to achieve its goals, with each category listing who currently held that title, whether NPC or yer. Tang Mo wasn¡¯t into fighting and killing; he was eager to see how the game let yers be the top novelist. In reality, he had always hoped his novels would top the charts, be bestsellers, and make him a star in the literary world, basking in the glory at the summit. Yet, he had also realized his talents were limited, and some aspects werecking, which left him feeling discontented. This yearning had gradually turned into torment, making his daily writing somewhat painful. If he could achieve this goal in the game, maybe he¡¯d feel a lot happier. The search bar appeared in the air, positioned just in front of him at a convenient height, allowing him to directly interact with it with his fingertips, which was very handy. Chapter 170: 127 Each Owns First Day (Three More)_2 Chapter 170: Chapter 127 Each Own¡¯s First Day (Three More)_2 When he entered his search terms into the search bar, Tang Mo instantly found that there were several storytellers rted to novelists. Novelists, one of the many philosophers and schrs, traditionally recorded public opinion and reported it to their superiors, somewhat akin to abination of a public opinion inspector and a journalist. The meaning of novelist has changed nowadays, but Tang Mo still wanted to give this profession a try and see which path it would lead him down. In ¡°The Supreme One,¡± the game epassed both its original and current meanings, even considering storytellers as a simr profession, which piqued Tang Mo¡¯s curiosity even more. Discovering that the top-ranked storyteller was nearby, he decided not to look for other schools of thought and turned towards a nearby restaurant, where he saw the system-recognized, number one storyteller. The sight was truly stunning. Although he was acimed as the number one storyteller, he was not pretentious at all. Those who came to listen could support the performance with money if they could afford it, or just with their presence if they couldn¡¯t. Despite wearing only a simple robe, his demeanor was extraordinary and approachable, making people feel fondness and affinity towards him. Just by purchasing a pot of tea, one could sit in the restaurant for an hour. It was up to the listeners whether they wanted to tip or not; the storyteller did not rely on it for a living. But when he spoke, Tang Mo was astounded.
His voice was moderate and calm, yet when it came to crucial moments, it fluctuated with emotion and emphasis. A simple matter was rendered passionately while unprecedented events were described with apparent ease, leaving listeners contemtive for a long time afterwards. His voice, his expressions, the audience¡¯s reactions¡­ Every detail was expertly managed. Just listening for a while could lift one¡¯s spirits immensely. What was more astonishing was that this storyteller seemed to be an extraordinary being, and the audience around him appeared to find his presence quite normal. With each segment, one could see the air around him stir, as the coloured sand by his side danced with the wind, conjuring images of shing armors and romantic figures. Then, as the coloured sand swirled, the beauty of the previous moment turned into bones in a grave. The words and the coloured sand echoed each other, multiplying the story¡¯s emotional impact a hundredfold. Tang Mo had thought that the NPCs here couldn¡¯t be all that impressive, but with just one look, he realized how na?ve he had been. The man was truly First Under Heaven. Even with limited experience, refined skills, passion for the craft, iparable talent, and extraordinary power could still lead one to the pinnacle of their profession, making them the best in their field. After listening to one segment, Tang Mo was deep in thought. He used all his money to tip generously, respectfully gave a bow, and then exited. Behind him, the number one storyteller looked curiously at Tang Mo¡¯s retreating figure, then smiled softly and began the next chapter. yers who entered the game thinking ¡°This is going to be easy¡± were all taught a lesson on the first day. The extraordinary world was indeed not that simple. Some casual gamers soon decided to back off, finding contentment in living a carefree life, learning some extraordinary skills, and doing what they wanted. Some yers, however, were filled with apetitive spirit, yearning to be like the esteemed number one in various fields they admired and began to work hard to achieve it. That very night, Tang Mo, who had forgotten to take a break, stepped out of the VR capsule, reflecting on how truly interesting the game was. The game had so many engaging aspects, including the numerousndscapes he sawter, but his greatest realization was freedom. With no main storyline, yers could ignore everything, find a spot to retreat and farm if they desired. They could actively explore various clues, attain extraordinary powers, and uncover the secrets of the world.
You can work hard, but no one dictates that you must because there¡¯s no set way to y the game; moving forward ording to one¡¯s own thoughts suffices. Following guides might make it easier, but not following them is alright too, just go with the flow and enjoy the freedom. Without goals, there¡¯s no failure; even if one road leads nowhere, everything learned along the way bes skills and attributes, making sess in other areas that much easier. As the echoes of the emotions and freedom he gained in the game resonated, Tang Mo began to reflect on how long it had been since hest felt such liberty.
Life is much like this game; there may be various goals, but there is really no need to force oneself to pursue them. Do I really need topete for the title of ¡®The Supreme One¡¯ among novelists? Do I truly need to dwell on so many things? Recalling that ¡®Supreme¡¯ storyteller, how dashing he looked when telling stories, the gleam in his eyes showing his genuine love for storytelling, for creating his stories with Coloured Sand, and disying them before an audience. Passion, that is his greatest weapon. Closing his eyes, Tang Mo felt an inner peace, all the entanglements and frustrations about writing seemed to vanish at that moment, leaving only his original love for words. The experiences in the game had also provided some sce to his real life, seemingly easing the internal struggles he faced. Standing by the window, Tang Mo took a deep breath and then returned to hisputer to catch up on the content he hadn¡¯t updated that day. When Tang Mo left, Qiu Yu logged on. The small game project team wasn¡¯t busy, but he still habitually organized everything before preparing to enter the game. He didn¡¯t have a girlfriend and wasn¡¯t that old, so sleeping at thepany every day was no big deal, and there was no need to go home on weekends, which also saved on electricity bills and travel costs. Moreover, ying games in the quietpany with a VR headset gave an enjoyable sense of immorality from not separating work from leisure. Upon fully entering the game, he started considering everything around him from a nner¡¯s perspective and soon found that everything perfectly lined up with his vision.
¡°This is exactly the vor I was looking for!¡± The day and night changes in the game mirrored reality, and it was now deep into the night, with the city¡¯s curfew already in effect. I had assumed the curfew was just for show since I¡¯d never heard of a game that required yers to stay put at home at night. But no sooner had I started moving around than I was arrested. The charge, of course, was for viting the curfew. Even as he was locked up in the prison, Qiu Yu couldn¡¯t believe that he had been arrested right after logging in, only to then see more and more yers being thrown into jail around him. A group of us stared at each other until someone went online to look up information and came back to say, ¡°You can¡¯t leave your house during curfew, but you can move around in ces like inns. In the countryside, you can try ying mahjong, and in the wilderness, you can rob bandits or be robbed by them.¡± ¡°So what do we do now?¡± someone asked. ¡°Just squat in jail or start a rebellion, it¡¯s one or the other.¡± ¡°Can we choose something else? No, we want thetter!¡± Seeing that this group of yers was up to no good, the prison guard immediately turned around and left to report, leaving behind a group of yers whose spirits were rising. They excitedly broke through the wooden jail door, prepared to rush out and take the county magistrate hostage for a revolt, only to find a thin man guarding the door, blocking the way out with his foot, while holding half a roasted chicken and a bowl of leftover wine in his hands. The man looked like a sickly figure, with a bit of a rosyplexion from the alcohol, but still giving off the vibe of someone who was just recovering from a serious illness.
Nheless, upon the man¡¯s sudden appearance, some felt that things weren¡¯t looking good, so they tried to investigate his background, and then said, ¡°That¡¯s ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ prison guard. The titlees with his description.¡± ¡°With a body looking as sickly as cured meat, how could he possibly be ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ prison guard? Even if he is, if we all charge at once, he might not be able to fend us off¡­ arg!¡± The yers here had just logged on and were utterly unaware of the significance of NPCs with titles like ¡°First Under Heaven.¡± One yer had barely approached when the prison guard kicked him to the ground with one foot. The guard then slowly put the wine aside, staggered forward, and in a blink of an eye, dislocated the troublemaker¡¯s joints and neatly folded him up like a nket. Pleased with himself, the tipsy guard belched and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ burp¡­ you won¡¯t die. I won¡¯t make it hard for you all, I¡¯ll let you out during the daytime. So, could you do me a favor and go back to your cells?¡± ¡°Of course, big brother. You¡¯ve worked hard, big brother; please rest early.¡± With utmost respect, a line of us nodded, smiles on our faces as we returned and obediently squatted in our cells. And just like that, Qiu Yu¡¯s first day passed in a jail cell. Chapter 171: 128: A Gift for the Players (Making up for the three missed updates from yesterday)_1 Chapter 171: Chapter 128: A Gift for the yers (Making up for the three missed updates from yesterday)_1 [This crappy game destroyed my youth, making me carry a criminal record prematurely. I won¡¯t even be able to apply for a civil servant job now.] [No worries, I asked the prison guard. The prison guard said it won¡¯t go on the record. But I¡¯m not sure about this info because the prison guard also asked me what a ¡®record¡¯ is.] [Has anyone else managed to escape from prison sessfully?] [Nope, the prison guards are too strong. I¡¯d estimate it will take a decent amount of gamey to pull off a sessful escape.] [Alright, then I¡¯ll work hard at the game and strive to escape from prison as soon as possible.] [¡­Do you think, just maybe, there¡¯s a chance that by the time you do, you won¡¯t be locked up anymore?] [¡­Then I¡¯ll be the Number One Escapist in the world!] In the game¡¯s chat group, Qiu Yu vented about today¡¯s events andined about the game with others who had shared experiences, then returned to the game to think about how to y next. Refunds are out of the question, never in this lifetime will I get a refund, especially since the game is so good and realistic. They even weed me with a big prison package, Qiu Yu couldn¡¯t think of any reasons to ask for a refund. But being locked up in a cell is too boring; after all, it seemed all he could do there was increase his Boredom Level, which only made him more boring.
I mean, why on earth is ¡°Boredom¡± a basic skill¡­ Basic skills in the game are ones you have from the beginning, like breathing, walking, running, and so forth. Advanced skills, on the other hand, are skills you have to learn, such as cksmithing, sword forging, swordsmanship, etc. Watching his Boredom Level slowly rise, Qiu Yu started to think aboutpeting for the title of the Number One Bored Person in the world. But after seeing the description of the title and the characters rted to it, he realized that even this title was quitepetitive. After thinking for a while, he felt he couldn¡¯t go on being so bored. He had work during the day, he couldn¡¯t waste such good time at night in a cell; he had to find an opportunity to get out and about. Stepping out of the cell through a hole in the door, he saw the Number One Prison Guard at the entrance drunk as a skunk, lying across a nk bed in deep sleep, snoring away. He tapped the ground with his left foot and lifted his right foot high against the door frame. The sleeping poses looked terrible, but Qiu Yu had the feeling that the guard¡¯s actions might have some deeper meaning. Since it doesn¡¯t hurt to try things in the game, he imitated the guard and twisted his body into a strange pose. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Turning his head, Qiu Yu saw First Under Heaven looking at him with confusion. ¡°Nothing, just can¡¯t sleep, so I came over to imitate you,¡± he replied. ¡°And what did you achieve with that imitation?¡± ¡°Absolutely nothing.¡± ¡°I thought so. You can¡¯t get much from imitating my bad sleeping posture. However, I see you¡¯ve got some nerve, so I¡¯ll give you a job. If you do it well, I might teach you something.¡± ¡°Please go on, big brother.¡± First Under Heaven came closer and whispered, ¡°I have a brother who did something not so nice, and he¡¯s going to be beheaded tomorrow. But he¡¯s a filial son and wants to go home tonight to care for his mother. If you stand in for him tonight, he¡¯ll definitelye back and rece you tomorrow. Then I¡¯ll owe you a favor, and whichever Martial Arts you want to learn, I¡¯ll teach you.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re a prison guard!¡±
¡°So what, prison guards can¡¯t have social interactions? Prison guards can¡¯t break thew? Besides, he¡¯ll definitelye back, round up, and it¡¯s like nothing happened.¡± Qiu Yu thought for a moment, then asked seriously, ¡°What did your brother do?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, he butchered a few thugs who were harassing his mother. It was a crime of passion.¡± ¡°Righteous fellow. But how did he get caught?¡±
¡°One of those thugs was the illegitimate son of a local wealthy merchant. He would hang out with riffraff when bored, and after he was killed, my brother got caught. Just bad luck all around. The merchant paid some Silver Coins, and the cops brought him back, and that¡¯s that.¡± Qiu Yu looked at First Under Heaven, feeling his brother¡¯s business outside was definitely not as simple as visiting their mother. Perhaps there was something else he had to do. But then he thought again and said to the prison guard, ¡°To be honest, your brother¡¯s case seems rather honourable, and I¡¯m willing to stand in for him on the execution grounds.¡± ¡°Young man, you mustn¡¯t! When you end up in the Underworld and people ask how you died, if you say you vited curfew and got beheaded, what will they think of us?¡± ¡°No problem; I know the art of reincarnation. After my head is chopped off, once my neck starts itching, it will naturally grow back, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± First Under Heaven looked at Qiu Yu, not sure if he was mad or if his own ears were faulty, to hear such bizarre words. In the end, though, he was persuaded by Qiu Yu, who led him to the neighboring cell to see the man locked inside. Undoing the man¡¯s shackles, First Under Heaven said to him, ¡°Get going, this brother thinks highly of your righteousness and has decided to take your ce in death.¡± The man flew into a rage upon hearing this and asked the prison guard, ¡°How could you agree to something like this?¡± The guard didn¡¯t waste words. He stepped forward, kicked the man down, dislocated his joints, and assembled them into arge square. He then bowed to Qiu Yu and said, ¡°Thanks, young brother! If you really can revive from death,e find me in the cell. I¡¯ll teach you any Martial Arts I know and can even volunteer to be your sparring partner. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll try to find your body tonight and ensure you get a proper corpse.¡± Chapter 172: 128: A Gift for the Players (Making up for the three missed updates from yesterday)_2 Chapter 172: Chapter 128: A Gift for the yers (Making up for the three missed updates from yesterday)_2 ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Watching the First Under Heaven prison guard leave with the man on his back, Qiu Yu directly exited the game, and then slept for a while in the office. The next morning, he woke up and took the day off, but he didn¡¯t go home. Instead, he climbed into the VR gaming pod right in front of everyone and started ying again. The project supervisor had never seen anyone y like this, dumbstruck by Qiu Yu¡¯s astonishing moves, and then began flipping through thepany handbook to check whether this constituted a vition of the rules. Back in the gaming pod, Qiu Yu saw that his game character had been killed. If a safe point wasn¡¯t found, logging off in the game wasn¡¯t safe. Their bodies would remain in ce, making it easy for others to pilfer their Silver Coin, and yers vying for the title of the game¡¯s top thief didn¡¯t mind practicing their thieving skills on these yers. As he got up, Qiu Yu found out he had been dumped at Chaotic Grave Mound. Pulling up the game log, he discovered that he had been whacked just a moment ago. However, now his head hade back, the wounds on his neck were gone, but the initial copper coins in his pocket had also disappeared.
It was just fifty copper pieces, and since his backpack had nothing in it, dying wasn¡¯t too painful. Compared to fifty copper coins, Qiu Yu was truly looking forward to the benefits that mighte afterward. Now, the time had arrived to witness a miracle! Walking into the cell, Qiu Yu saw the cell door open; yers who had vited the curfew the night before had already gone, leaving only a few yers who had logged off sitting vacantly inside. The sickly-looking First Under Heaven prison guard was still drinking, but upon seeing Qiu Yu resurrected from death, he widened his eyes, his bowl of wine slipping from his grasp and crashing to the floor. ¡°Are you a person or a ghost!¡± eximed the First Under Heaven in surprise. ¡°I¡¯m human. Alright, prison guard, it¡¯s time to keep your promise.¡± The First Under Heaven prison guard looked at Qiu Yu¡¯s shadow and felt around with his hand, confirming that the other person¡¯s body was indeed alive. He could only marvel at how big the world was and the variety of strange characters it contained. Straightening his posture, he bowed respectfully to Qiu Yu, and then said, ¡°Thank you kindly for your great grace and mercy, sir. I will thank you on behalf of my brothers. What would you like to learn?¡± ¡°That thing you did yesterday, where you folded a man into a Tetris shape without killing him, what¡¯s it called?¡± ¡°Are you referring to the Bone Diverting Hand? It¡¯s not easy to learn. I can teach you, of course, but whether you can learn it will be a matter of fate.¡± While Qiu Yu was still contemting how difficult it could be to learn, a dialogue box appeared before him: ¡°The First Under Heaven prison guard wants to teach you the Bone Diverting Hand, do you want to learn?¡± He decisively clicked ¡®learn¡¯, and Qiu Yu saw a new advanced skill added to his skill list. He couldn¡¯t help but drag it to the quick skill slot and started to execute it in front of the prison guard. The prison guard, watching Qiu Yu¡¯s clumsy movements, looked at his own hands. Although it was unrefined, the movements were indeed those of the Bone Diverting Hand. But, I haven¡¯t taught him yet¡­ Am I that amazingtely that I can teach martial arts to someone with just a thought? Despite this, Qiu Yu had finally taken a First Under Heaven as a master. Now he could learn the other¡¯s superior martial arts and had stepped into the top tier. The thought of others still considering their own paths while he had already advanced to the front made Qiu Yu let out a chuckling ¡®heh heh heh.¡¯
Meanwhile, outside, members of the little game project team watched the VR pod emitting strange noises and began to ponder whether they should suggest to HR adding a new rule to thepany policies. That rule would be that employees who had taken leave must leave thepany immediately. What was the meaning of taking leave yet ying games in thepany! We want to y too! However, implementing a new regtion would take a month, and for now, they could only watch Qiu Yu chuckle ¡®heh heh heh¡¯ helplessly.
Unbeknownst to them, a week had passed. After seven days of gamey, the yers had finished the initial phase of confusion and started to further integrate into this world. The quick skill-learning system allowed yers to rapidly acquire various advanced skills, but to catch up with those at the top, First Under Heaven, they still had a long way to go. During these days, the nners were continuously adjusting the game content, while Wang Xiaoying was consistently gathering game data. Following Fang Cheng¡¯s request, shepiled information on yers who had chosen different paths in the game, which could intuitively show thepetition for different titles and calcte the likelihood of attaining them. Looking at this intelligence, Fang Cheng noticed that some titles received almost no attention; even those who noticed them did not seek toplete them. It wasn¡¯t because the titles were too peculiar; it was simply that no one knew how to go about achieving them. Even with a specificpletion path provided, they were still unclear. For example, The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller, a profession that required yers to have an extremely deep understanding of the I Ching, Eight Trigrams, and Tao Te Ching, something Fang Cheng himself wouldn¡¯t im to be proficient in, let alone other yers. Separating these near-impossible titles, Fang Cheng decided to slowly achieve them himself to unlock the hidden treasure chests in the small world. This process would also allow him to observe the yers closely, understand what they wanted, and prepare for the next game development. He didn¡¯t believe he would fail this time. However, nning for a way out was always a good habit, which ensured that even in case of failure he would gain a lot of experience. Realizing it was almost time to finish work, Fang Cheng pped his hands and said to everyone, ¡°Monkey has returned, and it¡¯s time for us to have our reunion dinner, give Tian Xuan some team building, and then distribute the previous project bonuses and the year-end dividends.¡±
Though it sounded like a lot, it all boiled down to eating, distributing money, and then taking a holiday, returning to work in February. But today, the surprise Fang Cheng had for them was far from small. Looking at everybody, he continued, ¡°Our studio mandates a yearly vacation every month, but you¡¯ve never taken it, so let¡¯s all take it together at the end of the year. Today is the 29th, and by adding in the annual leave andpensatory time off, it coincides with the Spring Festival. We¡¯ll continue through to the Lantern Festival, so after dinner today,e back on the 26th of next month.¡± Huang Ping, who had been ready for the worst, was dumbfounded, staring wide-eyed. In otherpaniesunching new games, which studio wasn¡¯t on standby 24 hours, almost wishing their employees stayed in thepany to fix bugs immediately. If a game didn¡¯t make money that was one thing, but if it did, they¡¯d immediately work on DLC, trying to squeeze everyst copper coin out of the yers¡¯ pockets. But their boss was busy giving them a holiday and distributing money. How confident he must be in his own game! He had thought about asking Xu Qingling to persuade the boss, but seeing her equally gloomy face, he knew she probably had tried already. The boss¡¯s will was nearly immovable, so they could only choke back tears and ept this month-long vacation. With dissatisfaction towards Fang Cheng, the group ate their dinner tastelessly, then prepared to start a long winter break. After dinner, everyone parted ways, Fang Cheng took Tian Xuan around the street corner, and the next second they appeared at his hometown. Lying on her own bed, Tian Xuan held the card Fang Cheng had arranged for her, and the bnce emerged on the card in digital form. Looking at the seven-figure bnce, Tian Xuan looked at Fang Cheng in confusion, not understanding the purpose of these numbers.
¡°This is currency, think of it as a form of merit among humans,¡± he said. Hearing that this was akin to merit, Tian Xuan wasn¡¯t very pleased. Little Heavenly Way liked to umte merit, but did not like it piling up in her hands; she preferred it to circte quickly, a notion that happened to align with Fang Cheng¡¯s. Looking at the digits almost reaching eight figures and feeling the merit owed regarding the yers, she suddenly had a sh of inspiration and roughly knew what to do. Under her will, every Mukuai received her request. ¡°Ask those yers what they like. I want to give them gifts.¡± Chapter 173: 129 Battle Between Divination Masters (First Update)_1 Chapter 173: Chapter 129 Battle Between Divination Masters (First Update)_1 ¡°In the world of ¡®Dark Builder,¡¯ Mukuai 1234 propped her chin with both hands, helplessly watching the Xiemen Waidao by the campfire. Although Heavenly Tao Tian Xuan had instructed them to ask yers what they wanted, Mukuai 1234 felt that this question was truly too difficult. Just bluntly asking like that made it seem like she was very eager to give a gift to the other party. But she wanted to do something for Heavenly Tao, so in the end, she could only gaze into the distance and mumbled under her breath, ¡°#£¤#@£¤#¡­¡± The Xiemen Waidao, who was contemting new ideas with a magical weapon on the side, looked up and asked with confusion, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°¡­Nothing¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I thought you were asking what gift I wanted.¡± ¡°You heard it clearly!¡± ¡°There were subtitles, and how did you know my birthday ising up? Big data?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pressure me!¡±
Rubbing her aching forehead gently, Mukuai 1234 stepped forward and lightly kicked the Xiemen Waidao before asking, ¡°So, what gift do you want?¡± The Xiemen Waidao wanted to say ¡°you,¡± but it somehow felt weird saying such things to a virtual character. He wasn¡¯t some sort of real-life winner but did reasonably well in reality and wasn¡¯tcking suitable girls around him, yet he found Mukuai 1234 to be exceptionally interesting. In the past, he always thought how could yers possibly invest too much emotion in an NPC, but now it seemed he was the shallow one all along. Now that Mukuai was asking this way, he assumed it was part of a game management survey follow-up, just unsure how seriously they would take yers¡¯ suggestions. He thought about it for a long while, deciding to take advantage of the secret connection between Fang Cheng and the Living Immortal, and said directly, ¡°I¡¯m nning to y ¡®The Supreme One¡¯ter, and if possible, I hope to see you in that game.¡± Mukuai 1234 looked at the Xiemen Waidao with a yful gaze. For some reason, she felt her mood was exceptionally good right now. Nodding slightly, she said, ¡°Okay, I will pass on your feedback. Now, I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°Ah, where are you going?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± The Xiemen Waidao watched as Mukuai 1234 turned away and vanished into the light of the campfire. Afterward, he suddenly realized something and immediately opened the already downloaded ¡®The Supreme One,¡¯ creating a character that quickly appeared in a small town of the South Water Town. Looking around, he didn¡¯t see the person he wanted to see, feeling somewhat mncholic. However, soon after, someone patted his shoulder, and a female hero wearing a veil appeared beside him, dressed identically to Mukuai 1234¡¯s attire in ¡®Doctor.¡¯ ¡°Young hero, the jianghu is treacherous. Would you like to join me?¡± Mukuai 1234 asked with a smile. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s go!¡± The arrival of the Mukuais made this world more interesting and also gave Tian Xuan a way to repay her karmic debts. Beyond that, some yers¡¯ suggestions were good too, creating in-game merchandise to gift to yers. These gifts weren¡¯t very expensive, but they represented some of her considerations.
However, she wasn¡¯t very familiar with such matters. Who should she ask for help? After thinking for a long time, Tian Xuan took out the cell phone that Fang Cheng had bought for her, stared at the only contact, Xu Qingling, and after a while, awkwardly initiated a text message. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng had also downloaded the game and began his journey in ¡®The Supreme One.¡¯ He had a VR game pod at home, but for Fang Cheng, there wasn¡¯t much difference in using it.
Even at home, his Divine Sense could still connect to his character across the way, controlling it to y the game. After familiarizing himself with the basic controls, Fang Cheng pulled up his list of objectives, drawing out several goals he aimed to achieve. First up was The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller. This divination was extremely difficult, nearly impossible for yers toplete, so he had to do it himself. However, his divination skills were stillcking; he could manage basic predictions and avoid tant misfortune, but attempting to peek into the future was a challenge. He wondered if the fortune tellers here had any true abilities to help him fill in the gaps. Following the directions from his objective hints, he entered the town¡¯s Teleportation Array and arrived at the imperial city. He had personally added the Teleportation Array, which greatly facilitated yers¡¯ movement between cities and made trading a lot easier for them. However, the Teleportation Array was only set up domestically. To go to further destinations, a group of yers needed to learn how to create Formations and buy expensive materials to slowly establish the Arrays. This also involved thepletion paths for the First Under Heaven Traveler and the First Under Heaven Array Master, which were equally challenging goals. As soon as he stepped into the imperial city, Fang Cheng felt the air grow dense. The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller was a Divination Master employed by the pce and served the head eunuch Zhao Qin. ording to the objective description, this person was greedy, lecherous, loved alcohol and was insatiable. After befriending Zhao Qin, they immediately colluded and worked together.
One supplied the other with ample luxuries for enjoyment, and the other provided fortelling services to convert misfortune into luck, creating whispers of malice that left the Da Liang dynasty teetering on the edge of peril. In between, many sought to rid the world of these two scoundrels, but apart from being the First Under Heaven Eunuch, Zhao Qin held several other titles. The First Under Heaven Debater, the First Under Heaven Viin¡­¡± Chapter 174: 129 Battle Between Divination Masters (First Update)_2 Chapter 174: Chapter 129 Battle Between Divination Masters (First Update)_2 Aside from that, he also held numerous titles of being the second best in the world, such as the second greatest martial artist and so on. With all these titles, coupled with being a Divination Master, Zhao Qin was an overlord here, with hardly anyone daring to defy him. However, as soon as Fang Cheng entered Capital City, the Divination Master sensed it. In the depths of the imperial pce, a three-hundred-pound behemoth suddenly awoke from his bed made of golden Phoebe wood. A life of luxury and indulgence made him obese, with servants at his beck and call causing his weight to increase day by day, which was precisely what Zhao Qin wished to see. In this way, the Divination Master would not leave the house, and he could inquire whatever he wanted without worrying about other matters. Gazing towards the city gate, he immediately realized that someone was approaching. This person¡¯s strength was insignificant, yet he carried a profound sense of oppression. Even separated by tens of thousands of meters, the aura exuded by the stranger felt as imposing as mountains and as inexorable as a prison. From afar, he almost saw towering peaks reaching into the clouds, and at the same time mountains and rivers under the sun and moon, a mixture of insignificance and grandeur; this duality caused such turmoil in his chest that he felt as if he was about to vomit blood. After regaining control of his breathing, he took his craft seriously for the first time in a long while and sat cross-legged.
The battles of Divination Masters are invisible. They need to capture the initiative, predict and triumph over the enemy, discerning the opponent¡¯s true intentions from the faint signs of the future before setting traps to disrupt the enemy¡¯s divination efforts. The entire process is fraught with danger¡ªa moment¡¯s carelessness can lead to a bacsh from the future, causing one¡¯s brain to be scalded as if in a hot pot, leaving them senseless, like an idiot. The portly man was the first to attack,ying out traps in the future one by one, but they were time and again dismantled. After hundreds of exchanges, he finallyughed triumphantly. Is that all there is to it? The opponent seemed not to be using full strength, but the portly man felt that the overall strength of his adversary was indeed weaker than his own, someone he could defeat. In The Way of Divination, it¡¯s nearly impossible to hide one¡¯s capabilities; a slight probe reveals the levels of each other¡¯s powers. Now it was time for him to demonstrate his skill. Suddenly boosting his calcting power, traps spread out like a carpet bomb toward Fang Cheng at the city gate, swamping him like a tidal wave, intent on burying him beneath the traps of the future. To his astonishment, however, the opponent resisted. The fatty had foreseen a future imprable with traps, but amidst theyers of lethal intent, the opponent casually found an alternative exit from the original trap. How is this possible! Cold sweat rolled down the chubby cheeks, and the warm room felt as chilling as a cave of ice. Biting his lip, when he red with eyes wide, veins popping on his temples and eyes bloodshot, his calcting power reached its limit. More traps appeared, more lethal movesid out. Any one of these traps could have terrible consequences in the future, but the opponent casually neutralized each one, disarming them in an unprecedented manner. It seemed as though the opponent was consistently keeping a stable performance, always disying a slight edge over him. No matter how hard he tried to push, the opponent always maintained a slight upper hand. But the portly man couldn¡¯t stop now. The terrifying vortex had formed; their divination of the future finally provoked divine punishment. A ck vortex enveloped them both, turning this war with the future into one where only one could emerge alive. Putting aside all else, he bellowed, ¡°Bring me sugar water, as much as you can, and bring it now!¡± Hearing the portly man¡¯smand, the eunuchs and maids here did not dare to dy, immediately fetching buckets and sugar, dissolving it in water before presenting it to him.
Diving headfirst, he drained the water from the bucket. Sugar turned into energy flooding his brain, while the water rapidly evaporated, filling the room with steam. A single nce sent his way, he red fiercely at the attendants and continued to demand, ¡°Don¡¯t stop, bring me water, bring me sugar! And don¡¯t forget the salt!¡± Reenergized, a new round of exchanges kicked off. The ck vortex whirled beside them, and he could feel that detestable curse which cursed them, those who dared to peek into the future.
The inky vortex seemed like the hands of ck and White Impermanence, like the brush of a death judge, while Yama¡¯s gaze lingered yfully over them both, as if choosing who to take away. Even with the constant supply of sugary water, the portly man¡¯s body visibly withered away. Excess skin hung from his body like dough, and the insane calctions made his cheeks hollow to the point of gauntness. The ck vortex clung to both men, preventing any chance of escape. Knowing that his death was inevitable, The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller actuallyughed. Looking at his opponent, he saw that the other was also stuck to the vortex, and their fight was bound to end mutually destructive, which at least gave him a sense of revengeful pleasure. However, his smile had barely appeared when it vanished immediately. The opponent stepped out of the vortex with ease, as if it were not a vortex but a small pebble on the side of the road. Such an extraordinary act shattered all of the fat man¡¯s beliefs, tearing apart all themon knowledge he had known before. The ck vortex was a curse from the future; even someone as strong as his own master had suffered excruciatingly after being slightly contaminated, struggling to live but unable to die, until passing away in agony. But this person¡­ But this person! Just before he was dragged into the ck vortex, he reached out his hand towards the other side, and screamed with all his might, ¡°Who are you, who in the world are you!¡± Fang Cheng didn¡¯t respond.
He just left the ce, leaving behind a former fat man who was screaming incessantly. Although the whole process seemed thrilling, well¡­ that was that. The creator of this world had clearly put some thought into the fat man, whose soul was stronger, his personal consciousness more intense, and his divination skills were probably a manifestation of the creator, but it was clear that the opponent was not an expert in this respect, not even as good as himself. He didn¡¯t even know how to avoid the ck vortex. The ck vortex was a chaotic future created after a divination skirmish between fortune tellers, containing massive amounts of cause and effect. However, with proper technique, or if one¡¯s power was strong enough, a Palm Thunder could extinguish all cause and effect. Such chaos was trivial and not worth mentioning. Sighing, Fang Cheng heard the notification sound in his ear. Not only him, but the surrounding yers also heard this voice. ¡°yer Fang Cheng Ex has sessfully challenged ¡®The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller.¡¯ Congrattions.¡± After the simple notification sound, thunder rumbled atop the high mountains, and the statue of Fang Cheng rose from the ground, appearing in front of the yers with the title of The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller. [Holy cow, that¡¯s awesome! The first goal has been achieved!] [And it¡¯s The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller!] [I had no idea how toplete this goal. I can¡¯t believe someone actually did it.]
[I looked at the goal description. The first step is to read ¡°I Ching,¡± which is okay; the second step is to find out The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller¡¯s location and then defeat him. The leap in difficulty is just too much! How is this different from learning that one plus one equals two and then going to prove the Goldbach Conjecture!] [Incredible, who is this person?] [Judging from the name, he must be a fan of Fang Cheng. Today I saw weird IDs like ¡°True Fang Cheng,¡± ¡°Fang Cheng¡¯s Alt,¡± none of which were real.] Hearing the yers¡¯ discussions, Fang Cheng also felt a bit helpless. Who would have thought that he couldn¡¯t use his own name? Huang Ping probably didn¡¯t want others to do evil deeds under his name, hence IDs containing the words ¡°Fang Cheng¡± were not allowed to be registered, and as a result, the creator himself was blocked. After sighing, he was about to go andplete the next goal when he saw a squad of cavalry racing towards him. The leading officer stopped his horse in front of Fang Cheng, looked at him for a while, and then said straightforwardly, ¡°Sir, pleasee with us.¡± Fang Cheng was unfazed by this, mounted the horse, and after being jostled on horseback, lost half his health, and was then forced to learn the advanced skill of horse riding. Looking at his health bar now reduced to half, Fang Cheng felt that the game being too realistic might not be all that great. Soon, he met the person who had invited him. The World¡¯s Best Eunuch, Zhao Qin.
Chapter 175: 130 Chapter 175: 130 As the guards entered the Golden Throne Hall, Fang Cheng saw Zhao Qin, towering at two meters tall, seated upon the throne. Hey sideways atop it, his clothes coarse and full of patches, with onerge foot ced directly upon the Dragon Throne. He looked like an old farmer who had returned from tilling the fields and was resting at home, not at all like a eunuch with power over the entire imperial court. A five-year-old little emperor sat on hisp, his face pale and his whole body trembling, yet he didn¡¯t even have the strength to cry. The guards who brought Fang Cheng in then took their leave, and Fang Cheng curiously surveyed his surroundings before noticing an object hanging from the ceiling. The thing could barely be recognized as human; its body was as ck as charcoal and dangled from the ceiling, continuously trembling slightly and emitting a cicada-like moan. That was the once ¡°The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller,¡± who, due to a mistake when shing with Fang Cheng, had been backfired upon and turned into this unrecognizable form, neither human nor ghost. ¡°That was my former fortune teller,¡± said Zhao Qin while caressing the young emperor¡¯s head, as if ying with a kitten, ¡°He once told me that The Way of Divination is extremely dangerous. If he were to fail and transform, he should be killed immediately to prevent cmity. What do you think?¡± Unlike a typical eunuch¡¯s voice, Zhao Qin¡¯s voice had a maic quality. If one listened with their eyes closed, it would seem as though a learned schr was giving a lecture, possessing a uniquely refined charm. Looking at him, Fang Cheng felt that the creator of the world also showed favoritism towards Zhao Qin. Every ¡°First Under Heaven¡± was a favorite child of the world¡¯s creator. They possessed more spirituality than ordinary people and seemed more alive.
And Zhao Qin, with his many titles, was undoubtedly a puppet carefully crafted by the creator, which made him appear even more vivid. After hearing Zhao Qin¡¯s question, Fang Cheng replied directly, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal, just that it might bring about some karma, nothing serious.¡± ¡°What kind of karma?¡± Zhao Qin asked with a smile. ¡°If it were you, probably the annihtion of your entire n.¡± Upon hearing Fang Cheng¡¯s answer, the young emperor in Zhao Qin¡¯s arms immediately burst into tears, desperately signaling Fang Cheng with his eyes not to talk recklessly and attract trouble. The floor of the great hall, where they stood, was stained with blood. Some belonged to those who held different opinions from Zhao Qin, while others were assassins summoned by various powers. Although he was very young, the little emperor had already witnessed too much bloodshed. The dying gazes of those people remained etched in his heart, unforgettable. Gently wiping away the tears of the little emperor, Zhao Qin drank the tears and said cheerfully, ¡°I¡¯m speaking with my guest. Why are you crying? Afraid I¡¯ll kill someone? Don¡¯t worry, this man is even more formidable than that fortune teller, I have yet to invite him to serve me, so why would I be willing to kill him?¡± Squeezing the little emperor¡¯s chin, Zhao Qin spread his arms and embraced the emperor like a ghostly figure, then looked down at Fang Cheng and said, ¡°Alien, I like your answer, you¡¯re very honest. That fatty knew his end wasing, so he constantly thought about how to release himself. Unfortunately, how could I not know his thoughts? Let him enjoy that karma slowly by himself.¡± The object on the ceiling started shaking violently, the wretched buzzing filled the hall, but then abruptly stopped. A copper coin pierced through his throat, and in a flicker of rity before dying, the once ¡°The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller¡± regained his senses and uttered a difficult ¡°thank you¡± before passing on. Seeing this, Zhao Qin¡¯s smiling face slowly became solemn, and he asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I wanted to do it, so I did it. There¡¯s no why.¡± ¡°That karma¡­ never mind, if you dare to do it, you must be someone who disregards karma. Then let me ask you, do you want to work with me?¡± ¡°Not interested.¡± ¡°What a pity¡­¡± With a heavy sigh, Zhao Qinmented for a moment, then he said, ¡°Then, sir, please leave. I won¡¯t see you out.¡± ¡°I shall take my leave.¡± Fang Cheng turned and left.
Now that he had seen Zhao Qin, he became even more interested in the structure of the world and even more curious about the secrets hidden beneath it. Zhao Qin, meanwhile, watched Fang Cheng¡¯s retreating figure, deep in thought. For a moment, he had considered killing him. The title of ¡°The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller¡± was such a resounding one.
The ability to divine the future was endlessly tempting. If he could have such a person¡¯s assistance, sure enough, he, Zhao Qin, would be able to firmly sit upon the throne of power until death. But if he couldn¡¯t have him, he must destroy him, to prevent the fortune teller from falling into others¡¯ hands and bing a dire threat to himself. But¡­ He was scared. Even though he was above ten thousand people and the Emperor had be his puppet, and all the realm was in his grasp, he still felt boundless fear. The man didn¡¯t seem human, but rather some unfathomable, unpredictable entity. ¡°These aliens¡­ they¡¯re really strange indeed.¡± Alien was the term they used for outsiders. They were numerous, seemed to have inexplicable powers, and enthusiastically sought to challenge each of the ¡°First Under Heaven.¡± Zhao Qin didn¡¯t know the true purpose of these aliens, but as long as they didn¡¯t interfere with his realm, he didn¡¯t care. Gently stroking the head of the little emperor, he closed his eyes and said softly, ¡°Emperor, your servant is tired. Sing a little song for me, let your servant rest awhile.¡± Immense humiliation surged in the small emperor¡¯s heart, but fear of the old man made him obediently open his mouth and begin to sing the popr court song slowly, ¡°The wind blows the fairy sleeves up high, as if it¡¯s the dance of the Rainbow Feathered Dress¡­¡±
Chapter 176: 130 Grand Ambitions (Second Update)_2 Chapter 176: Chapter 130 Grand Ambitions (Second Update)_2 ¡°Louder.¡± ¡°When the wind flutters my immortal robes high, I seem to dance like a goddess in rainbow feathers!¡± ¡°Good~¡± Satisfied, the old man patted the little emperor¡¯s head and, like a fierce tiger, closed his eyes, leaned against the throne, and fell into a deep sleep. Yet, even as he slept, the emperor¡¯s chanting still echoed in the vast hall, filled with a haunting sorrow. Before falling asleep, Zhao Qin had issued an order that no one was to obstruct Fang Cheng¡¯s actions. Having left the pce, Fang Cheng pulled up his list of targets and started selecting his next one, First Under Heaven Taoist. This target was also quite troublesome, mostly because one had to traverse the world¡¯s Taoist Academies, discuss the insights of cultivation with each Taoist temple¡¯s master, and garner their approval and willing handover of their seals. Only with all the seals could one meet the current First Under Heaven Taoist, converse with them, and persuade or overpower them to gain the title. However, it was almost impossible for a yer to practice the Dao, and even if one did, it was unlikely they could out-talk those masters, and should the masters refuse to give their seals, the yers could also not defeat them, making the task quiteplicated.
But Fang Cheng didn¡¯t mind and was even a little excited. After all, since his rebirth, he hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to engage with any fellow cultivators. Now, he was looking for a proper exchange to reminisce over the good old days. Since he was already in Capital City, he would start with the city¡¯srgest Taoist temple and move on from there. With a clear n in mind, Fang Cheng walked toward the Taoist temple. But just as he arrived at the entrance, he saw a man and a woman getting thrown out of the temple. The man hit the ground hard, and upon getting up, he turned around and shouted angrily, ¡°I donated money! What¡¯s wrong with eating your two bowls of rice!¡± ¡°Donor,¡± said the young Taoist dressed in daoist robes, ¡°you donated only five copper coins, yet stayed in our temple for seven days, eating plenty and even asking for food to go. We feel quite merciful for not having hit you.¡± ¡°Why must you outsiders be so petty!¡± ¡°We may be outsiders, but we¡¯re not fools. Donor, here¡¯s a suggestion: take a right turn outside, and the Buddhist holynd is that way. Go trouble them.¡± ¡°They referred us here!¡± ¡°¡­Please, don¡¯te back.¡± While the man was speaking, the woman by his side kept her distance, clearly wanting nothing to do with him. Once the male yer had vented, he noticed Fang Cheng nearby and immediately spoke up, ¡°Hey, bro, you looking to enter and try your luck at an advanced skill? I suggest you avoid this ce, they¡¯re too stingy. By the way, I¡¯m Xiemen Waidao; I feel like we¡¯re destined to meet. Do you also like Fang Cheng?¡± Fang Cheng looked at Xiemen Waidao and nodded, ¡°I know you.¡± ¡°Really? I feel like I have some renown. Thatdy over there is Mukuai 1234; we¡¯re good partners. You know Mukuai, right? She¡¯s a special Easter egg for ¡®The Healer.¡¯ Aren¡¯t you envious of me? Join our Morals Aid Group, and let¡¯s uncover the secrets of this game together.¡± Noticing that Fang Cheng was getting entangled with Xiemen Waidao, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh and then approached, saying, ¡°yer, I¡¯ll kill him in a moment, and you can just take the chance to leave. This guy¡¯s not right in the head, and it¡¯s best not to get involved with him. Wait¡­ Great Heavenly Lord!¡± Mukuai 1234¡¯s eyes widened as she stared at Fang Cheng. His familiar Divine Sense immediately made her recognize his identity. Fang Cheng had no intention of hiding himself and simply nodded at Mukuai 1234, then turned his attention back to Xiemen Waidao. Fate, truly ineffable.
The yer before him, Xiemen Waidao, served as half a nemesis of his own. Once in ¡®The Healer,¡¯ the Red Fire ignited by him had raised the stakes for the healers and in turn caused his own great endeavor of Dao confirmation to fail. The second time was in ¡°Dark Builder,¡± where the yer¡¯s movespletely turned the game¡¯s objectives on their head, and cut off his own path to enlightenment right in front of him. Afterward, he found that this yer¡¯s thought process was incredibly unorthodox and his methods far exceededmon sense, and critically, the yer also had great fortune which frequently led to sess.
Although it was not entirely his fault, every time Fang Cheng thought about his rival in enlightenment right in front of him, he felt the urge to throw him out and fill a riverbed. But then, on second thought, he felt this was a good opportunity. Observing such an entric yer, understanding their way of gaming, and getting familiar with how they managed the game could greatly enhance his own understanding of the game and substantially increase his resilience to oddball yers. So, gaming with the other party might be a good chance to understand them better. While Fang Cheng was pondering, Mukuai 1234 was also thinking about what to do. In her heart, Little Heavenly Way Tian Xuan was her lifesaver and had given her a second chance in life, which was extremely admirable! And Fang Cheng, the lifesaver of Little Heavenly Way Tian Xuan, who had effortlessly annihted Disease Demon Lord and then allowed yers toe and mend the world, possessed such great mana andpassion that he was a thousand times more remarkable. Such a towering figure now stood before her, causing her to be so nervous that she was at a loss for words. Then, she began to ponder Fang Cheng¡¯s intentions, trying to figure out his thoughts, attempting to understand what Great Heavenly Lord wanted to do, and finally reached a conclusion. Not a clue! Absolutely no idea! In her eyes, such a person could recreate heaven and earth at a whim, so his everyday thoughts must involve the profound principles of the universe, far beyond what a small Heavenly Taoist like her could fathom. Having sorted out the cause and effect, she immediately grabbed Xiemen Waidao and said, ¡°This yer must have his own issues, we shouldn¡¯t bother him. Come with me!¡±
¡°But¡­¡± ¡°No buts,e with me! You can make me wear whatever you want, maid outfit, swimsuit, or whatever, let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°The more you say that, the more I want to invite him.¡± While Xiemen Waidao was still conflicted about whether to satisfy his curiosity, Fang Cheng beside them spoke up. ¡°Please wait a moment,¡± Fang Cheng called out to them and then said warmly, ¡°I was actually thinking of teaming up too, so let¡¯s form a group for the time being.¡± ¡°My good sir, you¡¯ve got a keen eye, let¡¯s now consider how to break into this Taoist temple and then go inside.¡± Mukuai 1234 looked at Xiemen Waidao in despair, praying silently that he wouldn¡¯t create a scandal that would disgust both gods and men, causing Great Heavenly Lord to notice that the person she was assisting was an amoral clown and thereby also lowering her own standing. Fang Cheng paid no attention to Mukuai 1234¡¯s emotions but looked at Xiemen Waidao and asked, ¡°Why are you so fixated on this Taoist temple?¡± ¡°The old Taoist here is said to be skilled in the ancient Qi refining method, and a genuine cultivator. I reckon he must have some advanced skills, so I wanted to learn a few. Unfortunately, that old Taoist is very protective of his possessions, and I can¡¯t get a glimpse no matter what.¡± Upon hearing this, Fang Cheng became somewhat interested and asked, ¡°You¡¯re learning the Qi refinement methods to be a Taoist?¡± ¡°Who would want to be a Taoist? I¡¯m all about boosting my strength. ording to our Q group¡¯s research, Qi Refinement should be one of the fastest ways to increase attributes. Having high attributes also makes learning other skills significantly faster; it¡¯s theoretically one of the quickest ways to increase one¡¯s strength.¡± Knowing that the other party did not wish to be a Taoist, Fang Cheng heaved a slight sigh and continued to ask, ¡°So, what¡¯s your goal?¡± ¡°To be the Number One Evil Person Under The Heavens, of course! Butmitting evil deeds requires sufficient strength, at least enough to beat the First Under Heaven God-catcher, and then I can calmlymit every crime there is. When I first started ying, I found that this title was tailor-made for me, and I would never rest in peace if I didn¡¯t get it!¡±
Such lofty ideals made Fang Cheng sense the unfathomable depths of Xiemen Waidao¡¯sck of morals and his determination to find amusement at any cost, even if it meant ruining his reputation. Beside him, Mukuai 1234 had already covered her face,pletely at a loss for the right expression at this moment. Chapter 177 - 131: The Latest Evaluation (Three Updates)_1 Chapter 177: Chapter 131: The Latest Evaluation (Three Updates)_1 Number One Evil Person Under The Heavens needed tomit various kinds of crimes, many of which were unforgivable and heinous. Of course, there was no need to do all the bad things, just select over seventy percent and sessfullyplete them. In addition, one mustmit an evil deed daily and constantly consider doing bad things as their philosophy and pursuit, thus bing the incarnation of sin itself. Unwilling to do good, never wanting to stop doing bad¡ªthis was the kind of person they were talking about. Watching Xiemen Waidao delight in bing a great viin, Fang Cheng reflected that the other party was truly worthy of being his nemesis, with such unimaginably bizzare ideals. Still, he kindly reminded his adversary that this path was not an easy one, please be fully prepared to be abandoned by everyone. For instance, one item on your list of bad deeds to do was to stab yourpanions twice. Now that you only have twopanions, who do you n to stab? Xiemen Waidao nced at Mukuai 1234 beside him and shook his head with difficulty. After all, they were an easter egg, and who knew if they woulde back to life if they died; he could not bear to do it. So, he turned his gaze to Fang Cheng and asked earnestly, ¡°Fang Cheng Ex, may I ask you¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± ¡°Just twice.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± Xiemen Waidao still wanted to use his gift of the gab to persuade Fang Cheng to agree, then he saw Mukuai 1234 firmly clutching him, shaking her head frantically. Sighing in resignation, Xiemen Waidao could only say forget it, when the timees we can just find a scapegoat to do the stabbing. Looking at the Taoist temple before them, Xiemen Waidao said, ¡°Our target now should be to sneak in first. I¡¯m confident this time, I can definitely snatch an appropriate advanced skill from the Old Temple Master. Once we infiltrate, you guys help me guard the entrance, I¡¯ll go seduce him andplete my great viin goal¡­¡± ¡°Stop talking, can you!¡± Mukuai 1234 said with a sobbing voice. ¡°¡­Wasn¡¯t this your idea?¡± Xiemen Waidao said in confusion, ¡°Back then, you told me I was somewhat attractive and that seducing the Old Temple Master would definitely work.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t lie in front of our new teammate now.¡± ¡°I¡­I was being sarcastic¡­¡± ¡°How much truth is spoken in jest, though?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Looking at Fang Cheng¡¯s calm face, Mukuai 1234 really wanted to cry. In front of this person, I really don¡¯t dare to lie anymore! Clenching her fists, she fell silent, tearing up without wanting to say another word. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng looked at Mukuai 1234, contemting the frightening influence of a yer, even tainting Mukuai. He decided to suggest to Tian Xuan that they work on team building, establish the right direction, and not let the bad influences spread within the team. Speaking of bad influences, he always felt that someone in the team had been working overtime in disguise recently, and that had to be corrected, to prevent them from going down the wrong path. pping his hands to quiet the two, Fang Cheng curiously asked, ¡°So how do you think we should get in? You seem to have already made the cklist.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided to set a fire, then extinguish it, that way I canplete the small goal of arson and pose as a firefighting hero to blend in. Just thinking about how people will thank me for doing something bad gets me so pumped. Hm, Mukuai 1234, why aren¡¯t you critiquing me this time?¡± Mukuai 1234, her spirit crushed, responded with a deadpan voice, ¡°Do whatever you want, I¡¯m not serving you anymore. To die sooner orter makes no difference to me now.¡± ¡°But you¡­¡± ¡°Shut up, listen to the teammate!¡± ¡°But I¡­¡± Grabbing Xiemen Waidao by the neck, Mukuai 1234 said fiercely, ¡°I don¡¯t care what you want to say or do, all your actions and thoughts have nothing to do with me, I just want to work peacefully with you! My biggest regret now ising over so cheerfully to meet you! If you still have a shred of conscience, just act like a good person to achieve your goals, and then get lost when you¡¯re done!¡± Mukuai 1234¡¯s voice echoed far and wide, even the closed doors of the Taoist temple couldn¡¯t help but reveal curious Taoists, gossipping about the young couple. Xiemen Waidao was also dumbstruck. After some thought, he felt that Mukuai 1234¡¯s request¡­ was rather amusing! Being good the entire time, yet stillpleting all evil deeds and achieving the title of ¡°Number One Evil Person Under The Heavens,¡± this ystyle was much more fun than just obtaining a mere title. Plus, with Mukuai rarely this agitated, he had to listen to her demands. So, he nodded earnestly and then said to Mukuai 1234, ¡°Understood, I promise you.¡± ¡°Be a good person?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°No messing around?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°Give up your goals?¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± After a long struggle, Mukuai 1234 turned to look at Fang Cheng and found him still with an indifferent face,pletely unreadable as to what the Great Heavenly Lord was really thinking. However, this was the best promise she could extract from Xiemen Waidao. Reluctantly letting go, she straightened the folds on his clothing for him, then pointed at the Taoist temple and asked, ¡°So how do you n to get in there?¡± ¡°Start a fire¡­¡± ¡°You promised a damn hammer!¡± Finding the pair still entangled and unresponsive, Fang Cheng felt a little bored and decided to go in and take care of business. Knocking on the door of the Taoist temple, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t say much, just pointed to the statue of The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller at the top of the distant mountain, then pointed at himself. Chapter 178 - 131: The Latest Evaluation (Three Updates)_2 Chapter 178: Chapter 131: The Latest Evaluation (Three Updates)_2 Pair by pair inparison, the Taoist Boy at the door immediately turned pale with shock and hastily led Fang Cheng inside. Noticing that the Xiemen Waidao still wanted to follow, the Taoist Boy spat fiercely on the ground and then mmed the door shut with force. Watching the gate being closed in front of him, the Xiemen Waidao grumbled dissatisfiedly, ¡°This NPC is really impolite.¡± ¡°You had iting.¡± ¡°Mukuai 1234, you¡¯re pretty impolite too.¡± ¡°You had iting.¡± Once led into the Taoist temple, Fang Cheng looked around the environment and found that the temple was almost an exact replica of his memory, which stirred a sense of familiarity within him and led to a deep sense of emotion. When dealing with this world, most circumstances needed to be managed on a macro scale, with many details only briefly touched upon. Now, merging in as a yer, he could appreciate the intricacy and details here, which he found quite satisfying. He was led to sit down on a meditation cushion, and a pot of fragrant tea was brought over. Through the steam rising from his cup, Fang Cheng heard the soft sounds of a qin nearby, the essence of Taoism spreading out with it, filling the room with a profound and mysterious ambiance. Seeing this scene, Fang Cheng thought it would be a good idea to have a simr room where he could meditate and drink tea during his leisure time, which would be quite delightful. Recording his current emotions, Fang Cheng continued to enjoy the tranquility of the moment, and before he knew it, a quarter of an hour had passed. Only then did he hear a hearty voice say, ¡°Fellow Taoist, your meditation skills are truly remarkable.¡± Turning his head, he saw a middle-aged man walking leisurely toward him, his ample daoist robe moving with the breeze, his sleeves fluttering, making him look quite carefree and natural. In this world, there were extraordinary cultivators, but their levels of cultivation were average because the upper limit of this world was locked, preventing cultivators from breaking through it, no matter how much theyprehended the heavenly heart. Of course, there were not many who could even reach this limit. After entering, the daoist sat cross-legged in front of Fang Cheng and said with a smile, ¡°Fellow daoist seems like someone with destiny. I am the eldest disciple of this Taoist temple. Are you seeking Taoism or magic?¡± ¡°I¡¯vee for a seal impression.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± After sizing up Fang Cheng, the eldest disciple said with a smile, ¡°You are very courageous, fellow daoist. Then, I shall have a contest with you to see whether you are worthy of meeting the Temple Master. What would you like to contest in?¡± ¡°Whatever you want.¡± ¡°Good, then let¡¯spete in divination. Not to brag, but among the disciples, I¡¯m pretty strong in that.¡± It took less than five minutes for this distinguished eldest disciple to leave with a covered face, streaming with tears. Then an old daoist came in and sat in the eldest disciple¡¯s original spot, saying gently, ¡°Fellow daoist¡­¡± ¡°Whatever you want.¡± ¡°¡­Let¡¯s stick with divination, then.¡± It took less than five minutes for this venerable daoist with the appearance of a young child to leave with a covered face, streaming with tears. Finally, the Temple Master made an appearance. This person was clearly of high cultivation, a significant figure in the imperial city, with an inscrutable level of cultivation, truly worthy of the status of Temple Master. Sitting on the meditation cushion, the Temple Master fixed his phoenix-like eyes on Fang Cheng without moving, his gaze already flowing with a divine charm, quite extraordinary. It took less than five minutes for this silent Temple Master to leave with a covered face, streaming with tears. In an hour¡¯s time, Fang Cheng walked out with the token of the Taoist temple and also acquired an advanced skill, Taoism. After battling and defeating three enemies in the Taoist temple, his Taoism skill level rose to 15. A level 15 Taoism allowed Fang Cheng¡¯s character to use some derivative spells, such as Palm Thunder. Palm Thunder, although it included the word ¡°thunder,¡± could actually shoot out anything from the palm. For example, mastering fire could unleash Palm Fire; mastering Gang Wind allowed the release of Palm Wind. Fang Cheng had also seen someone adept at sunlight able to emit rainbow lights from their hands, always asked toe and liven up the atmosphere at sect gatherings. Looking back now, the life of cultivation was actually quite colorful and varied. And another item, a token, was an even more amusing thing. This Taoist temple belonged to a Sect called the All-Heart Sect, and possessing the token essentially made you the Sect Leader; all other Disciples had to obey you. Apart from that, it was also a small magical weapon that, when mana was infused into it, could summon a mist of blood, which was quite nice for cooling off in the summer. Seeing Fang Cheng walk out, Xiemen Waidao, who had been waiting at the door and was so bored his Boredom Level had increased, cheered and ran over to ask, ¡°Good brother, you finally came out. Did you manage to handle it?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Then have you learned the way of cultivation? Can you teach me?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ definitely next time.¡± ¡°People who say that often don¡¯t have a next time!¡± Xiemen Waidao was about to retort when he was pped to the ground by Mukuai 1234. Watching these two, Fang Cheng felt it was quite alright to asionally join the yers for some fun. After making ns to meet next time with Xiemen Waidao, Fang Cheng logged off and then began to browse through the yers¡¯ments. The first thing he saw was a report from a well-known media journalist, an avid fan of Mukuai, and a famous Fang Cheng Studio devotee,rade Chen Rang. This report was brief but fully showcased the reporter¡¯s somewhat abnormal mental state and a desperate need for assistance. The reporter paid out of pocket for a spot in their ownwork media and used erged, bold, and darkened font to write one sentence ¡°Fang Cheng Studio, I adore you!¡± Fang Cheng couldn¡¯tprehend what the reporter was thinking until he saw the screenshot of him with his Mukuai in thements section, and then he realized why the other party was so excited. Because of this report, the discussions among yers about ¡°The Supreme One¡± became somewhat sidetracked, with many specting whether Fang Cheng Studio was nning a crossover event. If there really was to be a crossover, then would their equipment from ¡°Princess Dungeon¡± be transferable? And could the little animal and nt spirits from one¡¯s own ¡°Botanic Garden¡± also be brought over to this game? Many people became happier and more excited as they entertained this idea, eventually sparking a vote on which game they most hoped ¡°The Supreme One¡± would do a crossover with. Ultimately, ¡°Healers¡± won by arge margin; after all, every yer who had yed ¡°Healers¡± hoped their in-game spouses could appear in the new game, joining them in the quest to be First Under Heaven. In addition to this, the report almost became a gathering spot for fans of ¡°The Supreme One,¡± with arge number of fans sharing their gaming experiences andvishing praise on the game. [I tried farming, my crops grew incredibly well and the vige chief¡¯s daughter would send me longing looks every day and bring me meals, but I just found her annoying. I just want to farm in peace, please don¡¯t disturb me.] [Being a butcher, ughtering pigs, thenying down the cleaver to immediately find enlightenment and bing a monk to earn karma. Moving from one temple to another every time, until my karma was so high I would get chosen as the Abbot right away. I love this bug, and I love this game.] [Steal something then give it to apanion, turn yourself in, and vehemently request to be beheaded. After revival, the item is still there, although it¡¯s easy to bring one¡¯s reputation to a negative value. The NPCs in this game are dumb, but ying it is truly a st, 10 points!] A free world leads to free gamey. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t impose any restrictions, because he believed in the yers¡¯ ability to cause mischief, and once they had amassed attributes and skill levels, they would certainly start pursuing more ambitious goals. For now, this was their free time;ter on, they would discover that ying the game with motivation and purpose was an even more interesting and goal-driven endeavor. Besides this report,ments from other prominent media outlets were also being released. Fang Cheng Studio had now been promoted to a first-ss developer, and many media outlets had begun to review its games. Different media had different focuses, with some gaming outlets having strict reviewers whose opinions tended to be more stringent and critical, ready to point out a multitude of issues even in well-known games. The freshlyunched ¡°The Supreme One¡± was also a key focus for these reviewers, and their evaluations were in, offering the game¡¯s final verdict: Truly fun! Not buying it would be a loss! Chapter 179: 132 Start Working Overtime (First Update)_1 Chapter 179: Chapter 132 Start Working Overtime (First Update)_1 [Our reviews are known for being verbose, but today, our verdict is pretty straightforward: aside from being fun, there¡¯s nothing much to say.] [I advise against ying this game, contrary to what most people suggest, because it really eats up too much time.] [Ever since some lunatic in the office discovered that holding one¡¯s breath could level up the ¡°Breathing¡± skill, the number one cause of death in the game has been drowning. Kudos to the game¡¯s realism.] [I love petting cats, but I¡¯m allergic to cat fur. However, in the game, I can enjoy raising cats without worrying about going to the hospital, so cheers for the virtual kitties. By the way, this is my in-game cat, isn¡¯t it cute? Even if it¡¯s cute, I won¡¯t share it with you.] [I suggest buying the official version because you won¡¯t find a pirated one. I¡¯m really curious about their anti-piracy technology; I¡¯m willing to sacrifice ten years of my colleague¡¯s life for that secret.] [This game was only worth a perfect score out of ten, but because of its interconnectivity, I¡¯ve decided to give it a million points! I highly suggest that yers download and y other games from Fang Cheng Studio before ying this one, because you never know what wille first: the linkage or the Easter eggs.] After reading the game media¡¯s reviews, Fang Cheng felt quite satisfied. Even though he didn¡¯t think ¡°The Supreme One¡± was as fun as they made it out to be, the tone of the game they reflected was exactly what he wanted yers to experience. A gamey full of freedom indeed triggered lots of positive feedback from yers, which showed that he had made great strides recently and had generally figured out what yers wanted. However, the current state of Dustfire was still too chaotic.
yers were still in the early stages of exploration, with most of their attributes and skills at rtively low levels. They were still learning the rules of this world, trying to enhance their attributes and touch upon the extraordinary, using their immortality to uncover the secrets of various ces. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, Fang Cheng was physically present in ¡°The Supreme One¡± world the next second, observing it with a detached perspective. Millions of yers gathered here, and the number of yers online during the daytime could reach a million, indicating that many were so engrossed in the game they no longer wanted to go to work, choosing to y and entertain themselves each day instead. Standing here, he saw areas where yer-built cities had begun to rise, with rudimentary shops and huts sprouting up and progressing towards grander cities. It wouldn¡¯t be long before the City Lord of First Under Heaven would emerge, making the peak of the high mountain even more bustling. Wang Xiaoying¡¯s character was also present, the freedom-loving and exploratory girl had begun to actively learn wilderness exploration skills, preparing to fulfill the desires that reality couldn¡¯t satisfy in the game. Monkey was no exception; with nothing better to dotely, he came into the game and started seeking out Sword Immortals¡¯ whereabouts, aiming to be the ¡°First Under Heaven Sword Immortal¡±. Xu Qingling was also in the game, started buying and selling goods, and was on her way to being known as the ¡°The World¡¯s Wealthiest Merchant¡±. Besides his own title of ¡°The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller¡±, more yers had sessively achieved other ¡°First Under Heaven¡± titles. The difficulty level for these titles wasn¡¯t high, and subsequently, many yerspeted for them. Some titles even became speedrunning contests which made Fang Cheng reflect: yers have limited gaming time, but their imaginations are boundless. The fervor continued until February when things started to slow down. Because it was the New Year. Though the festive spirit has been waning, the Spring Festival remained one of the most important holidays, a time when rarely seen aunts and uncles would show up, eagerly asking Fang Cheng if he had a girlfriend yet, as there was a bunch of girls ¡°aow-aowing¡± for him. Each time, Fang Cheng would reply with a consistent answer, ¡°I don¡¯t need that, and please, keep it down, I need to watch the New Year¡¯s G.¡± The New Year¡¯s G was an annual must-watch for Fang Cheng, and not just watching it live; he would also record it and carefully study it afterward. Since the show aired every year and consistently had high viewership, he reasoned there must be something particrly captivating within it, so he wanted to study and maybe apply those elements in video games, making them more beloved by yers. Every year at this time, Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang would seem to be on the verge of speaking, yet holding back, and vice versa. This year in particr, other than Fang Cheng, Tian Xuan also dragged her little stool over to sit next to him, attentively watching the screen with the New Year¡¯s G, asionally nibbling on a small biscuit.
Seeing both children like this, Mr. and Mrs. Fang really didn¡¯t know what to say anymore. Beyond the real-world New Year¡¯s G, there was another special one this year¡ªthe New Year¡¯s G in ¡°The Supreme One¡±. As Fang Cheng had synced the game world¡¯s time to align roughly with reality, NPCs would automatically enter the New Year¡¯s mode and start celebrating, even if yers like Wang Xiaoying didn¡¯t initiate any event. The young emperor of Da Liang began to grant amnesty across thend, and heaps of firecrackers appeared free of charge, filling the game with explosive sounds and the scent of gunpowder that the outside worldcked.
With firecrackers in unlimited supply, numerous yers started exploiting this opportunity to bug out titles like ¡°The Supreme Destructor¡± and ¡°The First Firecracker Fanatic¡±, infusing the game with a jovial atmosphere. That day, all resources were freely provided, but the following day, all settings and items were restored to their original state, preventing yers from using bugs to gain an unfair advantage. Chapter 180: 132 Start Working Overtime (First Update)_2 Chapter 180: Chapter 132 Start Working Overtime (First Update)_2 Some targets that fell in the crime category could bepleted on this day, considering all NPCs and items would reset by tomorrow, which led the yer who aspired to be the Number One Evil Person Under the Heavens, riding the steed named Mukuai 1234, to run wildly. The rampage they went on was continuous, resembling an unleashed wild dog that acted recklessly. Others chose to leisurely drift down rivers, singing songs with wine cups in hand, enjoying thenterns hung high alongside the myriad of household lights, savoring the unique vor of the New Year. In the final countdown, Fang Cheng and Tian Xuan entered the game and arrived at thekeside, where they saw tens of thousands of yers gathered, each holding a skyntern in their hands. After getting a free one from an NPC, the two joined in the surrounding countdown silently in their hearts. Five¡­ Four¡­ Three¡­ Just as it was about to reach two, a familiar voice rang out, ¡°Fang Cheng, Tian Xuan, it¡¯s you. What a coincidence.¡± Turning their heads, Fang Cheng saw Xu Qingling¡¯s character appear beside them, also holding a skyntern she had just received. Just in time, the countdown ended, and the skynterns took flight, filling the sky with rednterns that, with the help of the wind, formed a sea of lights drifting into the distance.
Against the backdrop of a spectacle rarely seen in reality, Xu Qingling looked at the two and said with a smile, ¡°Fang Cheng, Happy New Year.¡± ¡°Yeah, Xu Qingling, Happy New Year.¡± Cheering erupted at that moment, and the scent of the New Year arrived along with the sound of firecrackers, making Fang Cheng feel that the New Year here was somewhat more interesting. Apart from them, many yers spent this special Spring Festival in the game. Tang Mo, buried in reading ancient books within the game, smiled and nodded as he watched the fireworks burst forth in session outside. The Monkey, dueling with a Swordsman, was unexpectedly beheaded in one swift strike. Upon waking, he couldn¡¯t help butugh on the snow-covered hillside. Qiu Yu and the Number One prison guard were practicing in their cell. There was no curfew today, ideal for a sneaky breakthrough that would astound everyone. With different expectations and emotions, the past year ended, and the new one arrived. The first day of the new year. Mr. Fang, who slept until he naturally woke up, crawled out to make brunch only to find Fang Cheng and Tian Xuan, one big and one small, seated in front of the TV, rewatching the New Year¡¯s G. They sped up the video of the G to sixty-four times the normal pace, allowing them to watch it in less than four minutes, and they nned to keep watching it on repeat. Heaven knows how many times they reyed it! And are Immortals all so imperious? Watching shows at abnormal speeds means you¡¯re watching without soul! Fang Cheng was somewhat scary during this time in previous years, and now with Tian Xuan added to the scene, it made them seem even more eerie. Especially because both of them sat motionless, not even blinking, their focused expressions were akin to the atmosphere of a horror film, causing Mr. Fang¡¯s heart to race. He had to repeatedly remind himself that it was his son and foster daughter to calm down. Even after over twenty years, this annual event was still a bit too much for him to handle. Yawning, he realized it was already eleven o¡¯clock in the morning. Heading towards the kitchen, he was about to reheatst night¡¯s New Year¡¯s Eve dinner to use as lunch when he heard Fang Cheng pick up a phone call and respond with a nod, ¡°Yeah, Happy New Year.¡± ¡°Alright, continue to work hard in the new year. You can just enjoy yourself in the Dimensional for some time now. Yeah, see you after the holidays.¡±
After chatting for a few more moments, Fang Cheng put down his phone, ready to continue watching the G, only to notice Mr. Fang staring at him in disbelief as if he had just seen something inconceivable. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Fang Cheng asked, puzzled. ¡°Did someone just call to wish you a Happy New Year?¡± ¡°Yeah, a colleague from the studio, a lively one who¡¯s not very old.¡±
¡°You actually talked a bit more! I remember you never wanted to say more than necessary on the phone, regardless of whether it was a man or a woman.¡± ¡°Because it usually takes them half a day to say half a word, which makes the conversation boring. Besides, they are our own people, so it¡¯s okay to chat a little more.¡± Mr. Fang stared at Fang Cheng with wide eyes, feeling his eldest son had changed quite a bit over the past six months. He wanted to ask if Immortals could get sick, or if Fang Cheng might be ill, when Fang Cheng¡¯s phone lit up again with an iing call. Asking Mr. Fang to hold his questions, Fang Cheng answered the phone and said, ¡°Yeah, Happy New Year.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to wash your hands before calling, just dial normally.¡± ¡°Okay, yeah, I understand.¡± After chatting casually for a few more sentences, Fang Cheng ceased chatting with Xiao Douzi and then realized Mr. Fang¡¯s expression had be even more astonished. ¡°You actually took two phone calls?¡± ¡°Yeah, is there a problem?¡± ¡°You actually know people? And they dare to call you?¡± ¡°¡­Are you being sarcastic?¡± Mr. Fang was full of doubts; after all, Fang Cheng seemed approachable, but most people didn¡¯t dare to get close to him.
Perhaps it was an instinctive feeling that they were on different levels; just encountering each other was a matter of fate, and they wouldn¡¯t ask for more. So, seeing Fang Cheng take calls one after another, Mr. Fang felt his eldest son really was different. But what surprised Mr. Fang the most was yet toe. After a round of phone calls, Fang Cheng looked at his phone and actually took the initiative to dial a number. He actually took the initiative to call someone else! Once the call connected instantly, even from two meters away, Mr. Fang could feel the nervousness of that girl on the other end of the phone. ¡°Yes, you dialed correctly, happy New Year.¡± ¡°The cat can do backflips now? I see, I¡¯ll visit when I have the time.¡± ¡°The past year was hard work. Tian Xuan¡¯s matter? She hasn¡¯t spoken to me¡­ Ah, merchandise for the healthcare profession¡­ Yes, I understand, I know some channels for subcontracting, I¡¯ll take care of that. The sales issue is yours to handle. Thanks a lot, Xu Qingling.¡± After hanging up, Fang Cheng flicked Tian Xuan¡¯s forehead, and she winced slightly and raised her head, then looked at Fang Cheng with tearful eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t disturb your colleagues outside of work hours, apply and resolve matters during work hours. You¡¯re saying she¡¯s not a colleague but a friend? Hmm¡­¡± Fang Cheng began to ponder the definition of colleague versus friend, but when he turned around, he saw another confused person had been added to the scene. Standing side by side with a toothbrush in her mouth, Mrs. Fang¡¯s expression synchronized perfectly with Mr. Fang¡¯s, both wearing a look ofplete bewilderment.
¡°Hold on, son, did you actually just call a girl?¡± ¡°Colleague.¡± ¡°Colleague? But I¡¯ve never seen you take the initiative to call one! Exin more about this person! Are they human, or not some ancient deity, alien, or supernatural being, monster, or ghost cultivator? Never mind, it doesn¡¯t matter, your parents are very open-minded, as long as it moves it¡¯s fine.¡± Looking at his parents starting their morning this way, Fang Cheng probably understood Huang Ping¡¯s thoughts. Sometimes, working overtime really is a good sanctuary to avoid family issues. And so, he really did go to work overtime. With Tian Xuan in tow, they stepped directly into the Mirror Universe, the nting Grass. The yers here had already handled Harvester Number Two, which was thetest model for the satellite factory here, and to overwhelm the yers now, they would need to do so with sheer numbers. However, the energy of the satellite factory was limited, making it challenging to crush the yers through spawning more fighters. But the online yer count had also dropped, so a dynamic equilibrium was currently maintained. Walking into the satellite factory, Fang Cheng found it close to shutting down. The harvester could no longer harvest Spirit Grass, and everything in the factory began to grind to a halt, leaving the vast satellite factory temporarily in a state with no grass avable, making everything even quieter. After taking a stroll around, Fang Cheng and Tian Xuan were quite satisfied with the ce.
The factory was massive and capable of processing various kinds of Spirit Grass. Although it was initially set up for pet snacks, it could actually produce different products based on the unique properties of each Spirit Grass. Of course, at the core, they were still snacks, just snacks with special functions. For example, some Spirit Grass with charging and discharging functions could be processed into edible batteries and then be used in various small toys. Since these products are derivatives of Spirit Grass, a continuous supply of its source was needed, so yers would have to help produce different functional kinds of Spirit Grass. Moreover, the factory would need to relocate its entrance to its own, camouge it appropriately, and set up Immortal Spells, among other things. Calcting the workload, Fang Cheng realized it was quite substantial. However, he felt it was worth it if it meant being able to promote Spirit Grass. Come on, it¡¯s time to start working overtime! Chapter 181: 133 Abstract Culture (Second Update)_1 Chapter 181: Chapter 133 Abstract Culture (Second Update)_1 The satellite factory had been abandoned by its original managers, after all, the stars here had once died out and it was only rekindled by Fang Cheng himself that activated this satellite factory. Previously, Fang Cheng was not very interested in this ce, but after a thorough inspection, he found that there were still quite a few well-preserved things here. The harvester used for collecting, sr panels with an energy conversion rate as high as 95%, a versatile processing factory¡­ All sorts of ck tech indicated that the people here once possessed a rather high level of technology. Although Immortals don¡¯t seem to mesh well with technology, if you simply think of these technologies as various spells, then understanding them isn¡¯t difficult at all. For example, the spacecraft harvester is actually a Machine Puppet, the sr panels are actually a Sun Capturing Array, and the universal processing factory is actually a Refining Furnace, and so on. Once you understand their uses and basic principles, the paths of cultivation and technology converge, being just different observations of the world ¡ª cultivation simply errs on the side of idealism more, but idealism also has its own rules and logic. Once he had cleared up the working logic of the satellite factory, Tian Xuan entered the scene. Her powers would be significantly lessened in the main universe, but since the satellite factory was located in the Mirror Universe, she could easily summon her Angel Envoy Mukuai over. However, as there was no need to interact with yers, she didn¡¯t need to summon the humanoid Mukuai, just the useful ones would suffice. As a result, two-headed Mukuai were summoned, each only about half a meter tall, but as strong as a normal male adult, and they worked very efficiently.
Since the Mukuai were souls Tian Xuan had saved from torture, although some were so deeply traumatized that their intelligence had decreased significantly and they were almost incapable of doing most jobs, working at the satellite factory turned out to be quite suitable for them. Moreover, working here could help Tian Xuan create gifts for yers as a way to repay the merits she owed, so these little Mukuai also enjoyed this work. After enhancing the spacecraft harvester a bit, all the factory¡¯s worker and space issues were resolved, and next came the gifting. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t n to sell these products but intended to give them away directly, because the starting point for manufacturing them was to enable Tian Xuan to repay her debts, so there was no need to sell them. He wasn¡¯t sure about the current sales volume of ¡°The Healer,¡± but it should be around four million, so he decided to produce four million units first and then send them out asmemorative gifts. Later on, these products could also be gifted to yers as game merchandise rewards, to thank them for their support and encouragement of his game. Happy with his arrangements, Fang Cheng went home alone, while Tian Xuan began to operate the factory at full throttle, preparing to produce a batch of suitable game merchandise. Five dayster, the first batch of goods arrived. Fang Cheng specially drew a door on a wall in his home, and once the door waspleted, the other side opened to the satellite factory. The little Mukuai lined up in a row, carrying small Spirit Grass Dolls through from the other side of the door, quickly piling them up like a mountain in the room. Mr. and Mrs. Fang, watching TV in the living room, watched this scene in disbelief before finally hesitantly asking, ¡°Son, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I made some game merchandise.¡± ¡°¡­I thought when you made things, it was just a grand gesture and then automatically done.¡± ¡°That¡¯s me, not Tian Xuan. And even when I make things, it takes time, it¡¯s not as easy as you think.¡± Mr. Fang was momentarily at a loss for words, feeling once more that being an Immortal was truly incredible. Picking up a small Spirit Grass Doll, Mr. Fang noticed the solid craftsmanship, the fine touch, and each one had a fresh, pleasant scent of herbs, a natural aroma that made one feel as if they were in the midst of nature, the pure natural essence calming one¡¯s mind. But the appearance, well¡­ In his hand was a fierce and evil-looking wolf, with a row of eyes on its head, the red eyes emitting a ferocious glow as if ready to prey upon someone. These Spirit Grass Dolls came in various sizes, and this hungry wolf was almost life-sized, making it look particrly ferocious. Especially since the wolf looked so lifelike, positioned there as though it could pounce and crush one¡¯s throat at any moment, contrasting starkly with its refreshing scent.
Looking at the thing, Mr. Fang felt it would be perfect for guarding the house; a burr would be scared off at first sight, but so would the family members. Each Spirit Grass Doll was of a different type; some were monsters like the hungry wolf, others were lovely girls as cute as flowers, and each of these girls had a number on their back. Though they looked identical, the craftsmanship of these dolls was truly remarkable; by using expressions, postures, and clothing, they managed to convey different personality traits. Marveling at these dolls, Mr. Fang asked with curiosity, ¡°Why are there so many scary dolls?¡±
¡°We don¡¯t know which dolls will be popr, so we decided to make all the characters from ¡®The Healer¡¯ and then send out real photos for yers to choose their gifts.¡± ¡°¡­You don¡¯t even need to choose; obviously, it¡¯s the little girls who will be popr! Although I don¡¯t y games much, I know too well what the yers like.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case. All these Spirit Grasses are so cute, and the finished products are so adorable, I can¡¯t even make a choice myself.¡± Looking at Fang Cheng, the Spirit Grass enthusiast, Mr. Fang felt there was no saving his son. Chapter 182: 133 Abstract Culture (Second Update)_2 Chapter 182: Chapter 133 Abstract Culture (Second Update)_2 ¡°` If he wasn¡¯t an Immortal, he definitely couldn¡¯t have been this sessful. Otherwise, he would only be left with his handsome but useless face to break into the entertainment industry! After posting actual photos of these gifts online, they quickly received feedback from yers on the website. Although it was the Lunar New Year, everyone was quite idle in the days following the holiday, and they were naturally very excited to see ¡°The Supreme One¡± release merchandise, so thements were particrly plentiful. When Mr. Fang discovered that the most popr item wasn¡¯t Mukuai but Li¡¯s gue Chicken, he waspletely stunned. What¡¯s so good-looking about this chicken! However, upon opening the picture, Mr. Fang suddenly felt that there might be some reason to it. This gue Chicken was riddled with disease, but it didn¡¯t look particrly unpleasant, and instead had a sense of fortitude despite its physical frailties. Especially the way ity motionless on the ground, it was like it had beenpletely crushed by fate and resigned itself, a true reflection of aborer worn down by life.
Its gaze was indifferent, its eyes dull and lifeless, staring off into the distance as if it had lost all will to live. But even though it was lying down, having given up on everything, it was still slowly chewing on a strand of grass, seemingly determined to keep living stubbornly until the sun rose again. It was hard to imagine that a gue Chicken could provoke such profound philosophical thoughts, reminding Mr. Fang of his own days at work, where every day he seemed to be just like this chicken, silently chewing, existing in a state neither alive nor dead. If even he, who had retired early, could have such deep reflections, then surely others must feel the same. Upon reading thements, Mr. Fang found that many people shared his feelings. [Although I¡¯m a die-hard Mukuai fan, I have to say, when I saw this gue Chicken, I actually felt a connection to it.] [You and I are not gue Chickens, yet you and I are all gue Chickens in a way. The pressure of life looms over us like a lingering illness, and all we can do is passively ept our fates.] [Strange, it kind of looks like a dog, and that dog somewhat resembles me.] [I couldn¡¯t help butugh the moment I saw this gue Chicken, but as Iughed, I started to cry.] [I wonder if this chicken is still alive?] [Reply: It¡¯s alive. The constable didn¡¯t have time to eat it; it¡¯s still in the base, sickly as ever and waiting for death on the ground.] [That¡¯s good, as long as it¡¯s alive.] Thus, the first batch of yer benefits was decided to be gue Chickens. Afterwards, Mr. Fang took over all the other issues. For some reason, he felt that he saw his own life in the gue Chicken, developing aradeship with it as if they were of the same ss, which led him to decide to promote gue Chicken culture. After dealing with various misceneous things, purchasing an abandoned factory outside of town, and nting Spirit Grass on the back mountain, a part of the satellite factory was moved here by Fang Cheng to serve as an outlet for products, making it convenient for Mr. Fang to release arge number of dolls at any time. It wasn¡¯t long before the gue Chicken dolls were finally produced. The appearance of this doll set off a small cultural craze, its confused eyes and stubborn eating antics creating stark contrast, and with its abstract cultural core, it became a hot topic online. Although the first batch of gue Chickens was only sent to yers, the burgeoning demand drove Mr. Fang to go full throttle in releasing a second batch, and its unique fragrance acted like an anti-counterfeiting mark, deterring factories that considered forging it.
At the same time, yers of other games also raised their voices, excited by the merchandise of ¡°The Supreme One¡± and expressing their desire for their own merch! They wanted the little spirit dolls of animals and nts from the Botanic Garden, thousands of them, identical, to buy them all up! Characters from ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± had to be life-sized, especially the female characters¡ªboth the original skin and the premium skins were required! The various armors from ¡°The Nameless¡± were also in demand, with many yers having long coveted the Mingguang armor, yearning to wear it in real life just once.
Temporarily ignoring these demands, Fang Cheng wrapped up things at his old home and then re-entered the game, beginning his journey in ¡°The Supreme One¡± once more. Having not logged on for seven days, the game environment had changed again. As expected, yers had moved beyond the new yer stages and started the next phase of gamey. The early yers were like headless flies; they knew the game was fun and were willing to invest time and energy into it. ¡°` But because everything needed to be slowly discovered, their strength grew slowly, and imprisonment and death were the norm. However, now, thanks to the developedwork and the upensated sharing of various bugs and tactics by the yers, the game finally entered its second phase. That was the officialpetition for the title of ¡®First Under Heaven.¡¯ Notable powerhouses had already emerged, and the more straightforward ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ titles had been conquered. Aside from a few titles with a racing element, those alreadypleted ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ had lost all their allure. Although there were still yers genuinely pursuing this honor, yers¡¯ focus had shifted to various more difficult and topical titles. ¡¤ Many guilds with the goal of ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ were formed, their sole objective being to assist the big shots in the guild to achieve the goal together. A portion of gaming experts was even hired by guilds for money, providing additional ie for the gaming elite. The live streaming industry rted to ¡°The Supreme One¡± also took off, its poprity even surpassing ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± and bing a favorite among streamers.
When Fang Cheng logged into the game, he found himself already brought onto a ship, apanied by his teammate Xiemen Waidao, as well as some other yers. Although he had logged off, the game had a very good party system. As long as a yer was in a party, their spawn point would automatically follow the party leader and appear next to the leader when they logged on again. Of course, this feature could be turned off to avoid being tricked by a bad party leader. Now it seemed that Fang Cheng had been brought onto the ship by his teammate, and then he faced the terrifying waves ahead. Huge waves several meters high wereing head-on, the ocean lifted by nature¡¯s overwhelming power and then smashing down on the ship like the wrath of the Dragon King. The heart-stopping visuals made many yers scream in panic, as though they would be buried at the bottom of the sea in the next second. But the colossal sailing ship was incredibly stable, and the sailors onboard remained unfazed by the giant waves, skillfully navigating the ship through them. Turning his head, Fang Cheng saw the captain of thisrge ship not far away. The storm drenched the captain, but he stood erect amidst the wind and rain, his back straight as a spear,pletely disregarding the terror around him. He was like a lighthouse; as long as he didn¡¯t shrink away, even the fiercest of storms would be cleaved in two by him. He was Zheng Quan, the ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ captain. This captain had been a government official in his early years, but unable to tolerate Zhao Qin¡¯s tyranny, he decided to fund his own fleet and set sail to avoid disaster. Unexpectedly, what was supposed to be a simple excursion awakened his talent for navigation. In just a year¡¯s time, he had grown from a newbie with a rudimentary understanding of sailing to a towering captain. Now, with a mere nce at the starry sky, he could determine the current time, position, and even asionally harness the power of the stars to perform extraordinary feats.
Xiemen Waidaoy on the deck, heaving violently. It took a while for the sea to calm a bit before he could grab a rope and struggle to his feet, saying with difficulty, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve gotten seasick in a game. And does the game have to be this realistic, sensing even my seasickness?¡± ¡°This game is that realistic,¡± Fang Cheng said. ¡°And why did you go to sea?¡± ¡°To rob ships¡­¡± ¡°Who would let you do that?¡± Fang Cheng pointed at Zheng Quan through the storm. Xiemen Waidao chuckled, then heaved again before saying, ¡°He¡¯s willing. I have my reasons¡­¡± Just then, Zheng Quan noticed them and walked over unhurriedly. When he reached Fang Cheng¡¯s side, he asked softly, ¡°The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°Are you really his friend? I thought he was tricking me before.¡± ¡°I was careless at the time.¡± ¡°I thought so too.¡± Zheng Quan patted Xiemen Waidao¡¯s shoulder and then looked at Fang Cheng earnestly, ¡°Then I request sir to divine for me.¡± ¡°Please speak.¡±
Pointing at the tumultuous sea in front of them, he asked solemnly, ¡°Will the Ghost Ship truly appear here?¡± Chapter 183: 134: The First Under Heaven Taoist (Third Update)_1 Chapter 183: Chapter 134: The First Under Heaven Taoist (Third Update)_1 The Ghost Ship was a local legend among fishermen, rumored to be manned by the souls of sailors who had died unjustly, navigating a vessel that should have sunk, drifting endlessly at sea. It would only appear amid ferocious winds and terrifying waves, and its emergence was always apanied by death and disaster. No one who saw it would live to tell the tale. Previously, there was a bug in this legend: if everyone who saw it died, then who passed on the story? But ever since yers came into the picture, that bug was no longer an issue. After doing a simple divination for Zheng Quan, Fang Cheng said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°So, there¡¯s nothing in these waters? Alright, let¡¯s move on and search the next sea area.¡± No sooner had the order been issued and the sailboat started to turn, did the group of people witness something appearing in the distance. It was a massive sailboat, its surface covered with mottled marks and barnacles clinging to the wooden hull, giving the vessel an air of weather-beaten antiquity. Even as the surrounding seas roiled with wind and waves that could shake even the rocks, the boat sailed right past Zheng Quan¡¯s front, ignoring the storm and vanishing into the distance. In the darkness, the hull of the ship emitted a faint luminescence. You could vaguely see pale-faced sailors adjusting the sails, passing by without a care.
Pointing at the ship, Zheng Quan asked incredulously, ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely not a Ghost Ship,¡± replied Fang Cheng. ¡°But a normal ship shouldn¡¯t look like that!¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s normal or not, I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s definitely not a Ghost Ship.¡± Xiemen Waidao, on the other hand, was suddenly intrigued. He wiped his mouth and then grabbed Mukuai 1234 beside him, excitedly saying, ¡°Mukuai 1234, it¡¯s time to cash in on some merit!¡± As an ¡°Easter egg¡± from a coboration, Mukuai 1234 could use all functions from ¡°The Healer,¡± including exchanging merit for various materials. And ironically, Xiemen Waidao, who aspired to be the Number One Evil Person Under the Heavens, had a considerable amount of merit. He had instigated a revolution in ¡°The Healer¡± and spurred the people¡¯s resistance, which won him the favor of Heavenly Tao and a significant amount of merit. Despite Mukuai 1234 consuming it day and night, there was still a massive amount left, causing Tian Xuan to worry daily about how to make him spend this merit quickly. Following Xiemen Waidao¡¯s instructions, Mukuai 1234 took action. A white glow emerged, and the silvery merit at this moment solidified into a long bridge, allowing Xiemen Waidao to dash along it, speeding toward the other side and the Ghost Ship. Although Mukuai 1234ined about Xiemen Waidao daily, their coordination was incredibly in tune, almost to the point where one nce was enough to understand each other¡¯s thoughts. Yet, just as he was about to jump aboard, he immediately turned back and leaped, returning to the ship before the wooden nk beneath his feet vanished. Afternding, he shook the rain off his face and said with lingering fear, ¡°It¡¯s not the legendary Ghost Ship at all!¡± ¡°What did you see?¡± asked Zheng Quan, curious. ¡°The moment I got on, I saw a bunch of barnacles on the ship. The entire deck opened its mouth as soon as it felt my presence, trying to swallow me whole. Lucky for me, I reacted quickly and ran back. Otherwise, I¡¯d be dead. I realized then that it wasn¡¯t a ship at all, but a monster disguised as one.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Zheng Quan with a nod, then shouted loudly, ¡°Everyone, follow that ship. We can¡¯t let this demon escape; let¡¯s charge!¡± ¡°Charge!¡±
Reversing course, the vessel began to navigate through the storm. In the face of nature¡¯s power, the massive sailboat was like a toy in the hands of a child, tossed about by the huge waves. But even so, the ship persisted in its pursuit of the monster ahead, constantly maintaining a certain distance. On deck, Zheng Quan stood firm like a key stand, steadying the sailboat that nearly capsized several times. Each time, a burst of starlight descended from the sky, using a special force to realign the vessel just right. While Xiemen Waidao, who had logged off feeling sick and dizzy from the sea¡¯s tumult, was offline to recover, the storm suddenly ceased.
It was peaceful here, the sea¡¯s surface smooth as a mirror, making the previous tempest seem like an illusion. The Ghost Ship ahead had alsoe to a halt. Seemingly aware it couldn¡¯t shake off its pursuer, the sea vesselpletely transformed, revealing its true form. The deck unfurled, and the fake figures steering the ship flew into midair, turning out to be a multitude of barnacles in mimicry. The front half of the sailboat opened up, exposing its starfish-like body and the dense array of nail-like teeth inside. ¡°It¡¯s a starfish!¡± eximed Zheng Quan in shock. ¡°So, the so-called Ghost Ship is actually a starfish¡¯s mimicry?¡± ¡°Instead of marveling, you might want to think about how to take it down,¡± said Xiemen Waidao weakly as he came back online. ¡°Got it, open fire!¡± The cannons on the deck targeted the starfish; the calm sea was ideal for aiming. The court¡¯s artillery locked on the target and then fired. Although no one knew why the starfish could grow sorge, a starfish was still a starfish, a creature of flesh and blood. And the artillery¡¯s sixteen-pound Iron Ball, fired with each deafening st, unleashed the power of human intellect from an alchemist¡¯s form, hurtling forth with great force. The Iron Ball easily struck its target and just as easily pierced through. Several volleys of Iron Ball created a myriad of gaping wounds in the starfish. The starfish, blood and flesh flying in the explosion, was wiped out in the blink of an eye. What was once a menacing starfish became a lifeless entity, floating on the water in mere moments.
Chapter 184: 134: The First Under Heaven Taoist (Third Update)_2 Chapter 184: Chapter 134: The First Under Heaven Taoist (Third Update)_2 ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Xiemen Waidao asked with a sneer, wiping the corner of his mouth. ¡°Someone who puked the whole way has no right to say that,¡± Mukuai 1234 said coldly. ¡°Did I say I wasn¡¯t up to it?¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re ruthless.¡± Even though the sea star was no longer moving, Zheng Quan did not rashly approach. Instead, he looked at Fang Cheng, ready to follow his lead. After a quick calction, Fang Cheng said, ¡°It¡¯s dead, but something feels off. Let¡¯s go up and take a look.¡± Nodding, Zheng Quan summoned the sailors to start rowing. The sailing ship moved across the calm waters and soon reached the body of the sea star. Leaping from the deck, Fang Cheng¡¯s Taoist skills took effect, and his game character floated down gently, like a feather, onto the sea star. Seeing Fang Cheng¡¯s move, Zheng Quan¡¯s eyes lit up, and he couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Mr. Fang turns out to be a Cultivator too.¡± ¡°Of course, my Taoism level is 30 now.¡±
In this period, although Fang Cheng only logged on asionally to check on the yers¡¯ situation, he had still traveled with Xiemen Waidao, challenging several Taoist temples and obtaining three tokens. With each sessful challenge, his Taoism level increased. This was the fastest way to level up in Taoism in the game. In ¡°The Supreme One,¡± skill levels capped at 50, and the higher the level, the harder it was to progress. At level 30, one¡¯s advancement level could be termed as a master in the game. Certain spells could be cast at will, and some temple masters were just a little over level 30. Under Zheng Quan¡¯s admiring gaze, Fang Cheng hadnded on the giant sea star. He then reached out and snatched up a chip in his hand. Jumping back onto the deck, Fang Cheng looked at the chip with a sense of unease. This thing isn¡¯t listed in the item inventory. Seeing this sudden appearance, Fang Cheng immediately felt an intense sensation of an impending backstab. Something wants to harm me. The Dustfire of ¡°The Supreme One¡± was yet to be purified, but the signs of betrayal had already manifested, making Fang Cheng feel he had to act quickly to figure out the origin of the chip and nip the trouble in the bud. After disbanding the party, he bid farewell to the others and, stepping on the seawater, left the calm sea area, venturing back into the earth-shattering hurricane. Watching Fang Cheng appear and disappear suddenly, the captain Number One Under the Heavens, Zheng Quan, felt a sense of loss, as if something had gone forever. As for Mukuai 1234, she breathed a sigh of relief, then became concerned about how the Great Heavenly Lord might judge her actions. She hade to aid Xiemen Waidao, whose performance¡­ well, could only be described as befitting a merry troublemaker. He had fully honored their prior agreement: aftermitting mischief, he always provided a favorable oue for the other party. After robbing, the items were returned intact, and double the amount of Silver Coins was offered aspensation. If houses were to be burned, he would ensure that new ones were rebuilt with good merit afterward. When it came to injuring people, he only targeted those who were utterly wicked.
As for forming gangs, although they were nominally thugs, every member received a daily wage and was required to do good deeds every day. Thus, even though the task list of the Number One Evil Person Under the Heavens was almostpleted, Mukuai 1234 found that Xiemen Waidao had actually earned some merit through his misdeeds. Managing to earn merit from mischiefs, Mukuai 1234 thought there was nobody else but Xiemen Waidao who could achieve that. This time was no different. Realizing he couldn¡¯t imitate the pirates to rob ships, Xiemen Waidao simply pulled over Zheng Quan and dered loudly, ¡°This is a robbery.¡±
¡°Alright, alright, will one Silver Coin do?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Taking the single coin, Xiemen Waidao found that his task of ¡°piging a ship¡± wasplete and said contentedly, ¡°Thanks a lot, Big Boss Zheng.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, but is that really all there is to it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Then what about Mr. Fang? Are we just going to let him go?¡± ¡°No choice, people have their own ambitions. No worries, though, our fates are deeply intertwined; we¡¯re sure to meet again.¡± Mukuai 1234 kicked Xiemen Waidao hard, docking ten health points from him. Shut up, you harbinger of doom. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng stepped onto the shore, walking on the water; with Palm Thunder, he dried the sea water from his body and then walked briskly toward the nearby town to find the Taoist temple there, ready to seize the token that would improve his Taoism level. Something seemed to be about to happen in this world, as if it were going to be affected by certain things, and he was determined to find out what this influence might be in the game. But just as he arrived at the entrance of the Taoist temple, he noticed the air in front of him twisting. A Teleportation Array was conjured out of thin air; someone had directly cast a spell and created an array before Fang Cheng.
After the air stopped warping, a Taoist appeared before Fang Cheng. The person seemed to be no more than sixteen years old, with a clear brow, handsome eyes, red lips, and white teeth, looking just like a pretty little Taoist. However, what did not match his age was his aura of simplicity and naturalness, as though he was one with the world around him. Though he had appeared suddenly, his natural demeanor made it seem as if he had always been there and never moved. Such a unity of man and nature was close to the Dao itself. If he wanted to, he could merge into the world so that other passersby would not notice his presence, just like travelers hardly pay attention to a small pebble along the way. While he could make himself like a pebble, he himself was unfathomable. Standing before this person, Fang Cheng felt like he was facing the sea he had seen the night before; it could be calm but could also stir up a storm that could destroy heaven and earth. With utmost respect, the young Taoist smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen Mr. Fang. My name is Xuanjizi, a cultivator of one hundred and thirty years, and I am considered the Number One Taoist in this realm.¡± Fang Cheng returned the courtesy and then asked, ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Although Mr. Fang is an Alien, your cultivation is extraordinary, easily breaking through several Taoist temples, which is truly admirable. However, may I ask if you could do me the honor of stopping this quest?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you calcte it yourself?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit troublesome; just tell me directly.¡±
Xuanjizi sighed and then said, ¡°The title of ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ is cherished by heaven and earth. The more difficult the title to attain, the more the world bestows its care, and the more spirituality one gains. Like me, I have very high spirituality and can roughly guess the origin of you Aliens, as well as know some of the secrets of this world. But if the title is taken, much of the spirituality will dissipate, and the person will be confused.¡± ¡°So, you want to keep your spirituality?¡± ¡°Precisely.¡± ¡°And this chip¡­¡± ¡°It was created by us, the top ranks known as ¡®First Under Heaven,¡¯ to cause trouble for you Aliens.¡± Hearing this answer, Fang Cheng nodded, feeling increasingly that the creator of this world was formidable indeed. This technique was almost on par with reviving the dead and creating out of the void. And the life created thus had considerable spirituality; this skill was somewhat extraordinary. Seeing Fang Cheng lost in thought, Xuanjizi quietly waited for him to ponder for a while before asking, ¡°So Mr. Fang¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m even more interested in obtaining the title of ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ now,¡± Fang Cheng said. ¡°Your creator has buried something in this world, and I really want to see what it is.¡± ¡°I understand, then there¡¯s no choice but to offend,¡± Xuanjizi said. Xuanjizi sighed, ready to use the Highest Mystical Method, only to feel a chill at his chest as a bolt of Palm Thunder pierced through, leaving him unable to muster any strength. This body was a mana avatar created by a level 50 Taoism skill, a pinnacle construct that even had strength surpassing the real body by a margin.
He hadn¡¯t expected to be vanquished in a single encounter, and with the most basic Palm Thunder at that. Palm Thunder! Realizing his supreme avatar had been extinguished by Palm Thunder, Xuanjizi was so shocked he couldn¡¯t speak, pointing at Fang Cheng with hisst bit of energy, he stuttered, ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will be thest one. After I collect all the tokens, I¡¯lle looking for your real body,¡± Fang Cheng said. Knowing his fate was sealed, Xuanjizi¡¯s avatar covered his face and departed, tears streaming down. Having sent Xuanjizi off, Fang Cheng finally understood the origin of the chip. After some deductions, Fang Cheng realized that his premonition had disappeared and everything was returning to normal. After all, when all these ¡®First Under Heaven¡¯ joined forces, they could only raise the difficulty for the yers, which would actually inspire their fighting spirit, urging them to continue the battle. Thereupon, he tossed aside the chip with satisfaction and continued to challenge the Temple Master. Xuanjizi, I¡¯ll being for you soon. Chapter 185: 135: Easter Egg Appears (Added Chapter 4 for Boss Qiu) Chapter 185: Chapter 135: Easter Egg Appears (Added Chapter 4 for Boss Qiu) Within the imperial pce, Zhao Qin did not hold the morning court session today. Instead, he had the ministers kneel outside the Golden Throne and listen to some nonsense for a while before dismissing them. ying with the young emperor in his arms as if the boy were a cat, Zhao Qin looked down and soon saw someone approaching. The footsteps of the neer were almost soundless, and even his breathing slowed to one breath per hundred counts, a testament to his terrifying mastery of internal energy. He was the Supreme Warrior known as First Under Heaven, Ye Qingguo. At the age of forty, Ye Qingguo¡¯s vitality and blood energy were impable, maintaining his physical strength at its peak at all times, making him appear to be an ordinary young man. But Zhao Qin knew beneath that seemingly average exteriory the strength of nine bulls and two tigers, enough to fend off a charging wild elephant with one palm and instantly end its life. Apart from his title as the foremost martial artist, he also held titles such as First Under Heaven in club techniques, First Under Heaven swordsman, First Under Heaven in the use of odd gates, but there were two First Under Heaven titles he had never attained. First Under Heaven swordsman and First Under Heaven in hidden weapons. One was not here, and the other wasn¡¯t here either. Although Zhao Qin had indicated there were important matters to discuss, one of them possessed high moral integrity and did not want to sully himself by associating with Zhao Qin; the other acted only on his whims, and his mood would certainly not be good after seeing Zhao Qin.
Watching Ye Qingguo enter the area, Zhao Qin flicked his finger lightly, and a chair flew to Ye Qingguo¡¯s side, inviting him to sit. After looking at Zhao Qin on the Dragon Throne, Ye Qingguo gave a light cough and then stood aside, no longer paying attention to him. Zhao Qin wasn¡¯t surprised by Ye Qingguo¡¯s attitude; it was within his expectations. In this world, too many wanted him dead and disliked him, but he didn¡¯t care. As long as they were willing toe, they were entering his game, and he would use them eventually. It wasn¡¯t long before the second person arrived. He appeared to be sixteen and usually graceful, but now he seemed as if he had encountered a ghost, utterly devoid of his usual liveliness. Upon reaching the ce, hey on the ground, expressionless like a dead fish, looking at everyone before pointing and saying, ¡°You, you, are all going to die.¡± ¡°Xuanjizi, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Zhao Qin asked with a smile, ¡°You look as if you¡¯ve seen a ghost.¡± ¡°I truly did see a ghost. Just an Alien, just a Palm Thunder¡­ Ha ha, ha ha ha ha¡­¡± Xuanjizi was like a madman at that moment, hisughter sharp as the gale, filling the hall with his terrifying mirth. Much time passed before he finally sat in a corner, murmuring to himself as he gazed at the wall, ¡°What exactly have I been doing for over a hundred years¡­¡± Shortly after, the air suddenly turned cold. Frost began forming on the ground as something slowly made its entry. His appearance was not visible here, but judging from the footprints that emerged on the ground, he was a tall man with almost no weight. He was the First Under Heaven Wraith, his origins unknown, but his mystique was well recognized. Soon after, one by one, the leading figures of First Under Heaven titles arrived. Some bore grudges against each other, some shared bonds, but in this moment, they all sat in their chairs, watching Zhao Qin upon the Dragon Throne. Due to the underlying logic of this world, when the title of First Under Heaven was usurped by an Alien, the original bearer would lose half of their Spirituality. This Spirituality is an important foundation for their memory, thought, and autonomy. Losing half, they would still be stronger than ordinary NPCs, but they would be muddled, forgetting many things.
Part of this lost Spirituality would enter the source of the world, while some would go to the other First Under Heavens, increasing their Spirituality slightly and making it easier for them to understand the anomalies of this world. ¡°Today, I¡¯ve summoned you all here, and I believe you understand why,¡± Zhao Qin said as he stroked the young emperor¡¯s head. ¡°You are all masters in your respective fields, and recently, you have been challenged by some Aliens. Some have been challenged already, and after losing half their Spirituality, have nearly be fools.¡± ¡°Old Zhao, get to the point and stop beating around the bush,¡± the First Under Heaven Rebelughed and said, ¡°After you finish talking, I¡¯m going to cut off your head and see if there¡¯s really something wrong with your brain.¡± ¡°Heh heh.¡±
¡°What are youughing at?¡± ¡°I¡¯mughing at your ignorance, facing death and still having the face to bellow here. Those Aliens mayck in many respects, but certainly not in treachery. As the First Under Heaven Rebel, I¡¯m afraid your title will be taken over soon.¡± ¡°Nonsense! I¡­why am I here?¡± He had just mmed the table and risen, but in the next second, the look in the eyes of the First Under Heaven Rebel became vacant. Then, atop a high mountain, a statue was pulled from the ground, clearly depicting a yer who had just received the title of First Under Heaven Rebel. Observing the now evidently confused former First Under Heaven Rebel, Zhao Qin threw him out of the Golden Throne and then said to the silent crowd, ¡°See? This is what we be when we lose our Spirituality. Gentlemen, I¡¯m sure none of you wish to lose it all and then be idiots, right?¡± The crowd fell silent once more, followed by the First Under Heaven Joker asking, ¡°So, Grand Elder Zhao, what should we do? These Aliens are overwhelmingly powerful and indestructible; we can¡¯t even kill them. Recently, several new troupes have emerged led by Aliens, and the ys they rehearse are captivating, with many I¡¯ve never even heard of, I¡­¡± Chapter 186: 135: Easter Egg Appears (Added Chapter 4 for Boss Qiu)_2 Chapter 186: Chapter 135: Easter Egg Appears (Added Chapter 4 for Boss Qiu)_2 As sadness gripped him, the Joker covered his eyes and couldn¡¯t help but cry out. Even though it was known that he was a man dressed as a woman, his movements were as gentle as a breeze caressing willow branches, embodying a myriad of charms, stirring the hearts of those with insufficient resolve. ¡°Stop crying,¡± Zhao Qin said with a yawn, ¡°you¡¯re just a Joker, it¡¯s not the end of the world.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, use this thing.¡± The First Under Heaven Joker looked up and saw something flying towards him, hitting him right on the forehead. With an ¡°Ouch¡±, he picked up the thing and found it to be a small shard, much like broken ss. ¡°The Great Way has fifty, and fifty is the extreme number of the Heavenly Tao; therefore, the skills we can control can only reach up to fifty at max. However, those yers have various means to know how different skills interconnect and enhance one another, thus exhibiting effects that exceed level fifty.¡± ¡°Then this shard¡­¡± ¡°It will let you surpass level fifty.¡±
Taking a breath, Zhao Qin continued, ¡°This thing¡¯s a bit dangerous. We¡¯ve tested it on sea beasts, and their size instantaneously broke through their limitations, indicating that this thing indeed has the effect of breaking limitations. We modified it slightly, so it can clear our own restrictions, allowing us to break through fifty.¡± ¡°And if it fails?¡± the Joker asked fearfully, ¡°Will we die?¡± ¡°Hehe, die? By that time, death may seem like a relief. Pray that you can die easily,¡± Zhao Qin said. Looking at the shard in his hands, the Joker became even more frightened. Staring at Zhao Qin above, he gulped and then asked, ¡°Then, how do you know this thing works?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯ve used it myself.¡± Peeling back his clothes, Zhao Qin exposed his body, showing everyone the shard flickering on his chest. After redressing, Zhao Qin said, ¡°I was lucky, seeded straight away, but those three we tested¡­ never mind, better not to mention it. One of my skills has broken through its limit, and now I possess that power which transcends the secr world, and even Xuanjizi might envy my power.¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± Xuanjizi suddenly regained hisposure and shouted at Zhao Qin, ¡°You haven¡¯t seen that person, you¡¯ll never understand how terrifying that person is!¡± Facing Xuanjizi¡¯s doubt, Zhao Qin just reclined on the Dragon Throne and pointed outside, saying, ¡°Let there be thunder.¡± A p of thunder sounded, and the clear sky was instantly filled with dark clouds, as if the whole world obeyed Zhao Qin¡¯smand, serving to fulfill his wish. ¡°See? This is the power ofnguage. Once you surpass level fifty, you¡¯ll wield the power where words manifest reality, and no one can stop me in this world.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re so powerful now, why would you still help us?¡± the First Under Heaven Joker asked, puzzled. ¡°If you are gone, then the Aliens will only target me. I know what¡¯s more important,¡± Zhao Qin exined. After hearing Zhao Qin¡¯s exnation, the Joker looked at the shard in his hand, then suddenly closed his eyes and swallowed the shard in one gulp. If you don¡¯t be mad, you won¡¯t survive. Let¡¯s go for it! Once the shard was ingested, searing pain surged through him, making him curl up like a shrimp, with his body temperature rising like mes. It was thought that he had failed, but a few minutester, the Joker struggled to rise, wiping away the drool from his mouth, revealing a madman¡¯s grin.
Staring nkly ahead, he suddenly shouted, ¡°My king~¡± With that coquettish cry, he turned around, transformed into a beautifuldy full of amorous looks yet tinged with sorrow, melting the hearts of all who saw her. But then, in a gruff voice, he shouted, ¡°Yu Ji!¡± The beautifuldy from a moment ago instantly became a heavily armored warrior, with neither voice nor appearance bearing any resemnce, yet it was indeed the same person.
¡°Endless transformations, what a trick. Who else wants it?¡± With the first precedent set, there was a second, and a third. However, the sess rate of this chip isn¡¯t high; only one or two out of ten seed. The failures, either die from their bodies exploding or they turn into peculiar monsters, and in the end, very few survive and break through their limits. The young emperor on the Dragon Throne struggled to get away, but Zhao Qin had already caught him. With a strong heart, she pried open the emperor¡¯s eyelids with her withered hands and said to the young emperor, ¡°Look! These are the ones who are First Under Heaven, they are human too, and they thirst for greater power. They spew curses at me whenever they see me, but now they¡¯re groveling at my feet like dogs.¡± ¡°Why are you making me watch this!¡± the young emperor yelled with a sob, ¡°I¡¯m only five years old!¡± ¡°You were previously the heir apparent, the most suitable person to be emperor. So¡­¡± With eyes wide open, Zhao Qin leaned in close to the young emperor¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that ruining someone like you feels especially fulfilling?¡± ¡°Madman!¡± ¡°Hehehe, thanks for your generous praise, Your Majesty. Now, just follow me and see what this world will turn into. Hahaha!¡± Amidst Zhao Qin¡¯s arrogantughter, the number of those who were First Under Heaven in the room swiftly began to dwindle; some of the Spiritual Energy they lost was absorbed into the new NPC First Under Heaven, and some also enhanced the others, rapidly increasing their Spirituality. By the time nearly all the First Under Heaven had used the chips, the vast Golden Throne hadpletely changed. Blood was everywhere, the ground was covered with sttered bloodstains, and strange monsters could be seen all over, emitting odd cries of anguish.
And those who survived, without exception, had all broken through their limits and reached another stage. A new phase was about to unfold, and a new game environment was on the horizon. The first thing yers noticed was that some of the challenge targets had changed. The recements were once the second best, who had attained their own sess due to the death of the former First Under Heaven; naturally, their strength couldn¡¯tpare to the seasoned predecessors. Seizing this temporal advantage, the major guilds decisively struck, and the rate of title acquisition immediately doubled, with a new First Under Heaven emerging almost daily, sending the game¡¯s poprity skyrocketing. But then, some yers discovered that the difficulty of achieving this title had increased. Some yers were nearlypleting the achievement of bing the First Under Heaven cksmith, but the title holder returned after a short absence, suddenly disying immense strength, as blowing the bellows with his bare hands was no trouble at all. And the items forged by this individual, even if just a kitchen knife, became exceedingly sharp, alerting these yers that something was amiss. Ascending military ranks became more difficult. yers aiming for the title of the First Under Heaven soldier initially found it manageable, but as time passed, their own ranking seemed to continually decline. Furthermore, when someone invaded the border, the military camp¡¯s leader would rush to the forefront, charging towards the enemy. His movements were like a swift wind, and before others could react, the Squad Leader, carrying a long spear, rushed ahead of the enemy cavalry, then with a shake of his spear, he toppled one adversary after another. The leader¡¯s actions no longer seemed human; his killing techniques were mastered to the point of bing art. Apart from them, the remaining First Under Heaven also seemed to have be tougher challenges.
Some simple ones had already beenpleted, but some of the difficult ones seemed impossible to conquer, as the strength of the target figures appeared to surge overnight, also making the yers feel¡­ Even more excited! It wasmon for Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games to hide Easter eggs and then suddenly change the game type, so everyone was anticipating the announcement of the Easter egg¡¯s discovery, but it hadn¡¯t happened yet. However, the changes in the game environment made them feel that the appearance of the Easter egg was imminent. As long as some lucky person stepped forward and found it, they could y two games for the price of one. Fang Cheng felt speechless seeing yers actually getting excited discussing the sudden increase in difficulty and the rumors about the Easter egg. This game, truly had no Easter eggs. Rather than wasting time thinking about how to trigger the Easter egg, it¡¯s better to figure out how to defeat those guys. Just as Fang Cheng thought the yers were being impractical, a bombshell piece of news appeared in the chat group. The Easter egg, it had been found! Fang Cheng, was left speechless! Chapter 187: 136: The Crazy Players (Part 1) Chapter 187: Chapter 136: The Crazy yers (Part 1) ¡°Morals Aid Group¡± is a somewhat famous yer QQ group. Although it hasn¡¯t been established for very long, it oftenes up with some game-breaking strategies, often resulting in buzz-worthy content spreading from it. However, this time the content wasn¡¯t particrly explosive; it was just that someone in their group had gone through great efforts to detect the attributes of one of the top-ranked yers, First Under Heaven. Seeing the screenshots of the data that were released, yers found that this top escort master had exceptional attributes in all aspects, with his basic intuition skill being particrly prominent. His advanced escort-rted skills had even surpassed level 50, with some reaching level 55. yers currently don¡¯t have level 50 skills, with most stuck just over level 30. It is conservatively estimated that reaching level 50 could take about half a year of continuous and relentless effort. Moreover, ording to the game¡¯s introduction, level 50 is the cap, and yers need tobine an understanding of the game, synergy between various skills, and coboration with other yers to have a chance at defeating the powerful First Under Heaven and iming the corresponding title. Once a skill level surpasses 30, every increment requires immense effort, but the payoff in terms of power increase is also immense. At level 45, each increment yields almost a transcendental effect, making the skills even more explosive. But unexpectedly, an NPC has now broken through the level 50 cap, reaching even higher levels. If it were any other game, yers might curse the developers for unfairly boosting NPCs to extend the life of the game. But since it¡¯s a game from Fang Cheng Studio, yers would think that it definitely represents an Easter egg in the game, a hidden feature for them to discover that would make the game even more exciting.
Seeing the screenshot thrown out by the Morals Aid Group, Fang Cheng was quite helpless. This is obviously an NPC¡¯s scheme; just follow the storyline and you¡¯ll be fine. It really isn¡¯t as explosive or extreme as you think. Be good, go y the game, don¡¯t think about anything else. Temporarily ignoring these yers, Fang Cheng went to the next Taoist Academy, nning to take the token from there, then continue on his journey. This Taoist Academy was located in the far north of the continent, a ce covered in perennial snow and bitter cold, barely visited by anyone. The good days herest only a short five months, the rest of the year is winter, which brings a tranquil atmosphere, quiet enough to hear the snowfall. Yet, in this ce, there was still a Taoist Academy. Walking on the snowy ground, Fang Cheng felt that this ce was nice, with its courtyard design having a lot of character. Before him stood the Taoist Academy, isted on the frozen riverbank. A young Taoist wrapped in cotton cloaks was chipping ice at the river to collect water. Seeing Fang Cheng approaching through the snow, he bowed and asked, ¡°Sir, for what purpose have youe? Are you here to convert or to make a charitable donation? If you¡¯re here to learn, we can only teach you some basic Taoism, nothing else.¡± Fang Cheng also smiled and returned the bow, then said, ¡°I¡¯vee for the token.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s you¡­ My master has been waiting for you for a long time. Please, Mr. Fang,e inside.¡± Nearly a month of game time has put yer¡¯s footprints in almost every corner of the continent, even this remote small Taoist Academy was no exception. However, yers are quite pragmatic, and after finding that this ce didn¡¯t offer what they wanted, the previously bustling Taoist Academy has now returned to its former quiet state. The Temple Master here was likely also a prophet, but predicting Fang Cheng¡¯s arrival was not hard. The Prophet knew someone was seeking the token, and after inquiring about the person¡¯s background, it was clear that the oneing here for the token had to be Fang Cheng. Since Fang Cheng hadn¡¯t made any effort to hide his movements, it was possible to guess a lot of information just based on intelligence analysis. With a slight nod, Fang Cheng walked straight into the Taoist temple and found an elderly Taoist squatting under the eaves with corn, peanuts, and some food beside a small stove. Hearing the door open, he didn¡¯t turn his head, and simply said, ¡°You¡¯ve finally arrived, quickly help me chop these into small pieces and put them into the plum wine.¡± Without hearing a response, the elderly Taoist turned around with dissatisfaction, but when he noticed it was Fang Cheng, he paused before realizing what was happening.
He took the Jade Pendant from his waist and tossed it to Fang Cheng, then said, ¡°Mr. Fang, here is the token. It¡¯s mealtime now; you¡¯re wee to eat before you go.¡± Then, pointing at the roasted food, he said, ¡°Do me a favor and eat lesster, so I can eat less as well. This way, my disciple can have a bit more to eat.¡± ¡°I brought some food, but only ordinary chicken, duck, fish, and some beef jerky.¡± The old Taoist¡¯s expression became subtle as he watched Fang Cheng take food out of thin air from his storage bag.
After that, dragging hisme foot, he wobbled into the back kitchen, returning with two bowls of plum wine in his hands. He ced one bowl in front of Fang Cheng and said, ¡°Drink it while it¡¯s warm. This wine is from my cer, and it¡¯s just the right temperature now; too cold or too hot wouldn¡¯t be up to standard.¡± Game characters can¡¯t taste, but Fang Cheng¡¯s Divine Sense can. Sipping the slightly tart but well-textured plum wine, Fang Cheng gazed over the wall and onto the river¡¯s snowy surface, feeling as though the whole world had be serene. The world was nketed in white, yet the gradations of proximity created a varied array of lines, revealing simplicity and the silent beauty of nature, which calmed the mind. Drinking plum wine and enjoying the scenery, Fang Cheng thought that having such a bowl once in a while wasn¡¯t too bad. Chapter 188: 136 Crazy Players (Part 1)_2 Chapter 188: Chapter 136 Crazy yers (Part 1)_2 ¡°` And though the old Taoist¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t very profound, he had a deep understanding of the natural core of his spells, so sitting together was not dull at all. While the two were enjoying their drinks, a group of yers suddenly stormed in, and the young Taoist outside couldn¡¯t hold them back. The gang of yers looked fierce and menacing, each resembling a wrathful deity. Their arrival gave off the impression that they were either going tomit murder or arson, or both. Looking at them, the old Taoist heaved a sigh, stood up, and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that even after I changed my identity and came here, you would still seek me out. Indeed, I am the First Under Heaven¡­.¡± ¡°Old Taoist, hold your tongue. We¡¯vemandeered this ce. Here¡¯s some Silver Coin for your trouble,¡± one of them said, interrupting. When the old Taoist saw the pile of silver sufficient to buy two Taoist templesid before him, he could only sit back down and then asked, ¡°What are you all up to?¡± ¡°We¡¯re from the Morals Aid Group, and today we¡¯re here to test some new tacticbinations. Old Taoist, we know you¡¯re the number one assassin, but don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not here to bully you,¡± they responded. ¡°Oh, and what are you here for?¡± ¡°For basic skills,¡± a yer stated righteously.
Upon hearing this answer, Fang Cheng felt there was something odd. Basic skills are skills that yers have from the moment they enter the game, such as breathing, walking, eating, drinking, and sleeping. Even though there are many such skills, and the levels can be increased quickly, each level provides a very small boost to personal strength. For instance, take breathing. No matter how well one breathes, only at a certain level might one gain an effect simr to channeling Qi, which allows yers to slightly strengthen their bodies and improve their physique while breathing. However, that requires one to reach level one hundred. Although basic skills have no level cap, the effort needed to reach level one hundred is almost the same as advancing a specialty skill to level thirty, but the resulting effect may not even match that of level twenty. Furthermore, even though future levels might unlock new effects, that¡¯s something for level one hundred fifty, requiring even more time, with minimal improvement in effect. So no matter how you look at it, for a rational yer, investing in this is definitely a very low return on investment. But the thing is, the members of the Morals Aid Group are no ordinary people. They are the hidden dragons and crouching tigers of the gaming world, with gifted individuals among them, breathing an atmosphere of yful trolling¡ªa ce capable of nurturing characters like Xiemen Waidao. They are dedicated to uncovering every secret in the game, developing differentbinations to expand gamey, and they are the rare kind of yers who both seek and find amusement in the game. After taking over the Taoist temple, they immediately turned it into a small base. Then they went out, broke the ice, and one by one, jumped in. A few minutester, shivering from the cold, they returned to the temple, stood in the snow, and focused on their status bars. Then, with satisfaction, they said, ¡°Good. I¡¯ve got a cold.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°I mutated. Now I¡¯ve got pneumonia.¡± ¡°Come closer to me, let¡¯s see if we can infect each other.¡± ¡°My health is dropping¡­.¡± ¡°Same here. Can someone break my bones? I¡¯m ready to see if two effects can stack. Thanks, buddy, that¡¯s perfect.¡± The old Taoist couldn¡¯t help but cover the young Taoist¡¯s eyes to shield him from the bizarre scene unfolding before them.
Under the torment of disease, these yers¡¯ physical conditions were deteriorating slowly, but the level of their basic skill ¡°self-healing¡± was also slowly increasing. Seeing the leveling speed getting slower and slower, a yer opened up an excel sheet, consolidated the data sent to the group chat by the yers, and then said, [Getting sick really does increase the self-healing level, but it¡¯s too slow.] [I¡¯m in Miaojing. There¡¯s a type of worm here that can inflict harm without killing the victim, a cruel form of punishment. Maybe this thing could increase the self-healing speed and level. I¡¯ll try to get some yers here.] [Not necessary, my wife is right there. She¡¯s in Miaojing learning how to use worms. Hey, I¡¯m not showing off about having a wife, okay?]
[¡­Offer your condolences.] [¡­Offer your condolences.] [Hey, why? Isn¡¯t it good to have a wife with the same hobbies as me?] [¡­Offer your condolences.] ¡°` Thanks to the yers¡¯ diverse species, it didn¡¯t take long for several with Gu arts over level 30 to arrive here via the Teleportation Array, each holding a porcin bottle containing a Gu insect. The yer responsible for the experiment personally swallowed the Gu insect, then looked at his panel and said, ¡°The self-healing speed has increased by three times, and the experience gain speed has also tripled, indicating that the experience gain method of the self-healing skill is multiplicative, not additive, and it is rted to the amount of healing.¡± ¡°Hmm, assuming the natural state of the self-healing ability is 1, and the skill coefficient of the self-healing skill is the skill level divided by 100, after eating the Gu insect, the coefficient is multiplied by 2¡­ I think we can still speed this up further.¡± ¡°How about stacking a bleeding state on ourselves then have a doctor to prolong our life?¡± ¡°Good idea, go get Hua Tuo!¡± Before long, the room was filled with several yers with medical skills above level 30. The yer testing the basic skill effects had transformed into a blur, the internal content was indecipherable, and the sight was nightmarish even for adults. Even the seasoned Taoist, known as First Under Heaven assassin, only dared to sit at the doorway, reluctant to look inside.
He even poured a cup of wine for the young Taoist, then couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What¡¯s the deal with you Aliens? ying such terrifying games in someone else¡¯s Taoist temple.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be fine if you just didn¡¯t rent out the Taoist temple?¡± ¡°They offered too much! Later they added three times the Silver Coin.¡± While sipping plum wine, Fang Cheng felt the old Taoist had be somewhat worldly and somewhat deserved it. Realizing the usefulness of doctors, the members of the Morals Aid Group were even more excited. Fang Cheng, who possessed Taoist skills, was brought back and then cast a spell to double their recovery rate again. Precious Life-Prolonging Pills were used, doubling the skill umtion speed once more. A mysterious sacrificial ritual was utilized¡­ The blood of Divine Beasts was employed¡­ The Morals Aid Group was popr and yers were abound with talents gathering here from all walks of life, focusing on enhancing the basic skill of self-healing, crazily improving the experimental yer¡¯s self-healing ability. After numerous measures were applied, the experimental yers hadpletely degenerated into self-healing machines. Their health bars would empty in an instant due to various negative effects on themselves and then be pulled back by various positive effects, with the individuals constantly hopping between life and death, causing ck and White Impermanence from the Underworld to waver betweening and noting. Such a living hell was definitely torture for the local NPCs, but for yers, it hardly mattered.
If left alone, they would just go offline and chat about topics unfit for children in the group. For instance, sries, mortgages, and how much New Year¡¯s money they gave away this year. Their self-healing ability had multiplied by over three thousand times due to this stack of effects, essentially aplishing in one day what would normally take ten years. When the ¡°Self-Heal¡± level reached 100, the physical attributes of the experimental yers had reached the human limit, and their health bars had be much more robust. Beyond that, a passive effect called ¡°Unyielding¡± appeared. With this effect, a yer could live for an extra three seconds after their health bar emptied, and if they could regain a bit of health during that time, they¡¯d be able to stand up again, though there was a cooldown period for this effect. However, that didn¡¯t matter because the yers knew how to utilize it. When the ¡°Self-Heal¡± level reached 150, the experimental yer¡¯s health doubled, allowing other yers to continue their maniptions. When the ¡°Self-Heal¡± level reached 200, the experimental yer¡¯s self-healing ability doubled once more and some healing methods could be discarded as the yer could now revive themselves. When the ¡°Self-Heal¡± level reached 300, the experimental yer gained the ¡°Regeneration¡± effect, turning each into a sort of undying entity, capable of quickly recovering from even the gravest injuries, as long as their head was intact. When the ¡°Self-Heal¡± level reached 400¡­ Seven dayster, it was very difficult for their ¡°Self-Heal¡± level to increase any further. Some yers calcted that after level 400, reaching level 500 might take a month, so it was not necessary anymore. It was time to begin the next phase of the experiment.
Watching these yers leave, Fang Cheng felt that in terms of madness, the Demon Lords seemed to becking just a bit. Chapter 189: 137: The Counterattack of the NPC (Part 2)_1 Chapter 189: Chapter 137: The Counterattack of the NPC (Part 2)_1 Although these yers seemed crazy, after observing carefully, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t find it too problematic. Underneath their madness, the driving force was to umte stronger power to obtain the title of First Under Heaven. This driving force aligned with the game objectives Fang Cheng had set for himself previously, so there was no issue here, and it was fine to let it be. However, Fang Cheng found the actions of the Morals Aid Group quite interesting. They were engaged in some oundish activities, their overly abstract methods were somewhat cryptic, but he felt they were enjoying themselves. Considering them as a key observation target for the future, Fang Cheng said goodbye to the old Taoist and headed to the next Taoist Academy to continue his journey as ¡°First Under Heaven Taoist¡±. The next destination was Lake City, a town dissected by extensive waterways, with each household owning a small boat in front of their doors. When it rained heavily, people traveled by boat; when the rains subsided, the roads underneath would emerge and they could also travel on foot. When Fang Cheng arrived, it happened to be a season of little rain; seeing the houses floating above was quite an amusing sight. However, upon leaving the Teleportation Array and trying to head to the Taoist temple to obtain the token, he noticed an increase in the number of soldiers around.
Leading each squad of soldiers was a constable dressed in dark red clothes, their faces grim and bodies stiff like zombies, yet their capturing skills were all around level thirty. Seeing Fang Cheng step out of the Teleportation Array, the leading constable¡¯s eyes lit up, and he shouted fiercely, ¡°That¡¯s an Alien, take him down!¡± The sound of arrows being fired rang out as someone aimed at Fang Cheng with a drawn bow, seemingly intent on shooting him dead on the spot. Fang Cheng waved his hand, and as the spell unfolded, the arrows immediately fell from the sky,nding on the ground. Leaving a clone in ce, the true body of Fang Cheng snuck past the group busy with the clone and entered the city. Although it was still daylight, the citizens had already entered a state of martialw. Every household had shut their doors, and fierce-looking soldiers patrolled everywhere, arresting aliens and throwing them into prison. Concealing his presence, Fang Cheng walked into the dungeon curiously and saw that prison guards were already stationed there. The arrested Aliens were immediately disassembled by the prison guards using the Bone Diverting Hand, their joints dismantled, and their limbs folded into blocks not even half a square meter in size, with only their mouths left to protest. Locked in their cells, these yers furiously cursed at the NPC guards and, finding no one paid them heed, they went online to various groups to unleash their rage against these NPCs. [The NPCs have gone mad!] [I was doing the First Under Heaven Butcher quest, almost had my ten thousand pigs for a statue! Now look, the pigs are gone, and so am I!] [One second the NPCs are all smiles and talks with me; the next, they¡¯ve turned around and captured me. You don¡¯t mess with Method-acting NPCs, but I like it!] [I¡¯ve made it to Top Schr with help from Wikipedia and various ancient texts. Next up was reviving Confucianism to be the First Under Heaven schr. Then suddenly I¡¯m thrown in jail. Can¡¯t handle the heat, can you?] yers with dislocated joints didn¡¯t count as dead but were imprisoned and couldn¡¯t leave the cells. While many yers could be defeated by NPCs, quite a few had managed to escape; some paths chosen by yers were particrly suited for breaking free in this chaos, and these yers quickly formed a QQ group to attempt the rescue of the trapped yers. Game journalist Chen Rang immediately smelled a big story ¨C confrontations where NPCs took action against yers were very rare events. Taking along his Mukuai, he made an agreement that should he be captured, Mukuai would leave immediately and note back under any circumstances. Moved by Chen Rang¡¯s words, Mukuai promised to run when the time came, but also insisted oning back for the rescue.
Thereafter, Chen Rang lived dangerously in the game, sneaking around various areas with Mukuai, their skills rted to espionage continuously improving, and their findings were reported hourly. [Latest Intelligence: NPCs pursuing yers is rted to First Under Heaven eunuch, powerbroker, and overlord Zhao Qin. Zhao Qin, aged sixty-five, once called by thete emperor as having the vision of an eagle and a wolf¡¯s guard, is born a scheming minister. However, before anyone could depose him, he died suddenly, the cause unknown. Afterwards, the young emperor took the throne, and Zhao Qin became the power behind the throne and has been controlling the court ever since. The order to capture yers came from him.] [Latest Intelligence: Many positions of First Under Heaven have changed; numerous strong yers have gathered at the imperial pce, indicating that something big is about to happen.] [Latest Intelligence: The First Under Heaven Taoist has gone mad, ughtering many Temple Masters. From what our reporters observed, he seems to have used some secret technique, improving his Taoism level with each batch of Temple Masters killed, having broken past the level sixty barrier, with profound and unfathomable strength.]
[Latest Intelligence: Many First Under Heaven title holders have started attacking others in the same field; yers could usually advance step by step, but now the path is blocked. It¡¯s spected that the game developers are increasing the difficulty for yers, but the operators have yet to respond.] [Latest Intelligence: I¡¯ve been captured, tell my Mukuai, I¡­] yers and media had differing reactions to this turn of events. Chapter 190: 137: The Counterattack of the NPC (Part 2)_2 Chapter 190: Chapter 137: The Counterattack of the NPC (Part 2)_2 ¡°` Some of the more radical yers expressed that this game is too thrilling! The predictable gamey no longer satisfies them, they want to see yers beating up the whole world, they want to see rivers of blood! However, some sensible yers have shown a bit of concern. Although they know that Fang Cheng is a genius programmer whose advanced artificial intelligence is several steps ahead of what¡¯s avable on the market, from the game¡¯s current behavior, it¡¯s clear that ¡°The Supreme One¡±¡®s NPCs are unmistakably heading towards war. In ¡°The Supreme One¡±, no character is isted; they are all connected to the world as if they were living people, forming a talking world. But once war breaks out, this interaction will grow a hundredfold, and the data load on the servers may increase by two orders of magnitude, which is a tremendous challenge for both the software and the servers. If mishandled, the entire world could copse into a chaotic mess, which is undoubtedly a challenge for the much-anticipated Fang Cheng Studio. Unlike these yers, outstanding producers see ambition and dominance.
Unlike minor siege battles, this is a true historical war epic, a demonstration of one¡¯s own strength. If sessful, Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s reputation will be greatly enhanced. Even if they fail, the courage they showed alone is worthy of praise. Nevertheless, many in the gaming industry still secretly hope they fail, so they might recruit some excellent employees. The impending war between NPCs and yers is brewing, and various discussions in the real world are starting to ferment; the official media even dedicated a section to introduce the causes and consequences of the entire affair, with Chen Rang naturally being the writer, and he and thepany he works for received a hefty exposure. As it was an invitation from the official media, Chen Rang went through extensive offline interviews and consulted various parties. After presenting the causes and consequences, he roughly restored the truth. [In the process of yers chasing the title of First Under Heaven, they inevitably affected the interests of some NPCs. Their representative is Zhao Qin.] [This mechanism must have existed for a while, as I have not seen any updates. This indicates it¡¯s not a whim but a premeditated n by Fang Cheng Studio.] [Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t interview employees at Fang Cheng Studio, as they said it might involve overtime and suggested that I interview them after the Lantern Festival. So, they¡¯re on holiday until after the Lantern Festival, huh! Editor, take note of this! It¡¯s someone else who miserably forces people to work overtime starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year! I¡¯m not deleting this sentence; if it¡¯s deleted, I¡¯m not writing anymore.] [Due to the existence of special mechanisms, yers are bound to trigger this process in their challenge for First Under Heaven. This process will significantly change the previous gamey, making yers focus more onbat with NPCs and cooperation from all sides, and the original challenge for First Under Heaven will be secondary.] [This transformation is a big challenge, but just like what the game developers often do, they like to do it. I guess it¡¯s because it¡¯s cool.] [There have been signs of this before, hinting at different yers engaging in different industries. With this in mind, even if yers be enemies with Da Liang, we have enough skills to face the onught from Da Liang. Thinking about it, it feels quite thrilling! It would just be nice to let us know in advance next time, but it seems less thrilling if known beforehand.] [To be honest, I am quite envious of this state of making games. They cater to yers, but they don¡¯t pander to yers. Although they might fail, most of the time it¡¯s a pleasant surprise.] [Lastly, I want to say, I really admire you, Fang Cheng Studio! Thank you for the Mukuai you sent over, my child loves it especially! This sentence can¡¯t be deleted either, if it¡¯s gone, I won¡¯t write anymore.] Having read Chen Rang¡¯s manic report, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t know what to say anymore. Staring at Dustfire, he saw that yers were already looking forward to war. Over the past month, they had been honing their techniques, learning various skills, familiarizing themselves with the entirety of Da Liang, and developing their characters into talents of various professions based on their interests. Now was the time to mobilize their characters. Looking at the Dustfire that was glowing a bruised red, Fang Cheng sighed once again. ¡°`
He had already started to be wary of yers causing trouble and had even listed the most troublesome ones as his key focus. He had been paying attention to yers¡¯ conditions all along and even spent some time with one of the most troublesome yers, Xiemen Waidao. But still, he had failed to prevent it. Yet who could have expected the backstabbing toe from an NPC?
The title ¡°The Supreme One¡± entailed some of the hidden arrangements in this world, and perhaps this was also one of the creator¡¯s ns as this world¡¯s countermeasure, serving as the final barrier against outsiders coveting treasures. What was thought to at least sustain a year¡¯s game has now changed color due to various reasons, truly a matter to sigh over. Knowing he had failed again, Fang Cheng came to terms with it. Since he had failed, he might as well join the yers in the game to get a close look at these yers and see what they really wanted to do. Failure is the mother of sess, and the experience of failure is the nourishment for the next attempt. All he needed to do now was consume itpletely. Havingposed his emotions, Fang Cheng logged back into the game to start a new journey. Not long after Zhao Qin gave the order, Qiu Yu sensed that something was amiss. yers in the game were easily identified, although others couldn¡¯t see the ID above their heads. If someone appeared suddenly and had little expression, or they became anxious during events but kept a calm face, then they were undoubtedly Aliens. Besides, there were many other small characteristics, such as asionally bouncing around while walking, swinging a new weapon a few times on the spot before swiftly changing it, and then swinging it again, or repetitive question-asking during conversations in search of supposed hidden side quests. Even if pursued, these behaviors would be exhibited, serving as the best tools to identify Aliens. After reading thetest reports and noticing the unfriendly nces from people around, Qiu Yu knew she had been exposed. Capturing an Alien was worth five hundred coins, equivalent to two months¡¯ ie, which made somemoners especially keen on capturing Aliens. Based on the intelligence shared within therge yer groups, he knew that the yers had decided to gather in the north and then use it as a base to develop before advancing to the south, storming into Da Liang¡¯s imperial city with the intent to rid the emperor of ¡°evil¡± ministers by executing Zhao Qin, that scoundrel!
The north might be covered in snow, but with supernatural forces present in this world, some yers had already mastered advanced skills in Taoism. Although their skill levels weren¡¯t high, they could still perform simple spells like Dustfire. And some yers over level 40 had demonstrated extraordinary traits of their advanced skills, using supernatural powers to alter the environment, making the harsh northernnds somewhat hospitable. But the current difficulty was how to escape. Not long after the orders to hunt down the Aliens were issued, a group of Taoists from Da Liang shut down the Teleportation Array. Looking from afar, Qiu Yu saw that these Taoists didn¡¯t seem like living beings but more like puppets or the like. Taking into ount that the level of the First Under Heaven Taoist¡¯s Taoism had reached 60, he must possess all kinds of incredible Divine Skills, and this was probably one of them. Knowing the Teleportation Array was unusable, she thought of escaping bynd, but there were many soldiers guarding the city gates, with yers being arrested from time to time, and then dismantled into blocks by the prison guards. With no ess to the Teleportation Array, no way out of the city, and all the surrounding NPCs being low-level, he couldn¡¯t even incite them to create a disturbance. Although the Morals Aid Group was active inside Da Liang, rescuing people, they were few in number and couldn¡¯t help here for the time being. What should be done now? Chapter 191: 138: My Lords, I Love War (Three More)_1 Chapter 191: Chapter 138: My Lords, I Love War (Three More)_1 Aliens are now like rats crossing the street, everyone wants to hit them. With this identity, Qiu Yu dared not go anywhere for fear that someone would capture him and deliver him to the dungeon, to be stacked up like Tetris blocks. But seeing the soldiers by the city wall looking around vigntly, Qiu Yu knew he had toe up with a n. He couldn¡¯t fight his way out. Although his Martial Arts Level was 31 and his Bone Diverting Hand was level 32, dealing with one or two soldiers might be feasible, but if a group swarmed him, he would certainly die. Moreover, this was a game; NPCs would respawn. It had been tested; kill an NPC, and before long a new one would spawn, identical to the deceased NPC. So without understanding the NPC respawn mechanism clearly, any rash confrontation was doomed to fail. Finding a straw raincoat, he covered himself with it, closed his eyes, andy down by the road, starting to ponder his next move. Although he could ponder offline, thinking within the game allowed him to stay more in touch with the world, making it easier to find answers. While Qiu Yu was pondering his predicament, he felt someone block the sunlight in front of him and walk over to where hey.
Looking through the straw raincoat, Qiu Yumented not having a nose; otherwise, he should be able to smell the alcohol on the person. Before he could say anything, First Under Heaven prison guard directly picked up Qiu Yu, skillfully applied Bone Diverting Hand on him, folded him into a t cube, and carried him to the jail cell. After tossing Qiu Yu into the cell and restoring him, First Under Heaven prison guard drank his liquor discontentedly and sneered, ¡°You little rascal, instead ofing to me in trouble, you make yourself look like a beggar by the roadside. What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s to avoid getting you involved,¡± Qiu Yu replied helplessly. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that. You¡¯re clearly afraid I¡¯d betray you. But you¡¯re right to do so; in times like these, trust no one, myself included.¡± After saying that, First Under Heaven prison guard suddenly stepped forward, made his hand into a w, and pinched around Qiu Yu¡¯s face for a while. Withdrawing his hand and his face flushed, he took a few sips of liquor to calm down, then said, ¡°Try controlling your facial expressions with the techniques I taught you.¡± Qiu Yu picked up a mirror with a puzzled look and was surprised to find that using various techniques, he could now make a range of lively expressions, making him indistinguishable from a regr NPC. ¡°How is this possible!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the sophisticated application of Bone Diverting Hand; you¡¯ll understand once you reach level 45 or above. Alright, I¡¯ve adjusted your face. Don¡¯t stick around here any longer. Hurry up and leave through the city gate and don¡¯t evere back.¡± The method soldiers at the gate used to detect aliens was simple: just make the three expressions ofughter, tears, and anger in session. Normal NPCs could make these expressions with ease, but alienscked facial expressions, so they could be captured at a nce. However, after considering for a while, Qiu Yu nced at his achievements list and realized he could no longer aim to be First Under Heaven prison guard, but in these circumstances, there was another title he could undertake. First Under Heaven traitor. Good acting, timely information, quick reactions needed for tasks, and a strongwork of brothers providing intelligence in the background. He had all that! In terms of acting, he¡¯d always felt it was a pity not to pursue an acting career. It was the absence of an actor like him that had turned the entertainment industry into a battleground for pretty boys. Having timely information and an intelligencework was the same thing; as long as he talked to his gaming groupmates, countless friends would help him act out scenes and ry information. There was no need to mention quick reaction; he had it covered.
Aftering to a realization, he looked at First Under Heaven prison guard, manipted his expression expertly, and said with bright eyes, ¡°I want to enter the pce.¡± ¡°¡­As an eunuch?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll chop it off myself when I need to. I want to rid the emperor of ¡®evil¡¯ ministers.¡± Coughing, Qiu Yu was about to use his smooth tongue to persuade First Under Heaven prison guard, when he saw the other let out a deep sigh.
Looking at the ceiling, First Under Heaven prison guard slowly said, ¡°You know, as First Under Heaven prison guard, I¡¯ve jailed butchers, generals, dancers, beggars, even emperors, but there¡¯s one person I¡¯ve never captured.¡± ¡°Zhao Qin?¡± ¡°Exactly. I don¡¯t really have a grand vision or any of that loyalty and filial piety ideology. I just want to jail that fellow.¡± ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you in. As First Under Heaven prison guard, I still have some clout and can rmend someone for entry. But if you get into trouble¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll decisively take my own life, no need for anyone to handle my corpse.¡± ¡°That¡¯s wise, but not enough.¡± Qiu Yu thought for a moment, then said, ¡°The aliens up north are quite in need of prison guards.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± That very afternoon, Qiu Yu was sent into the pce and started his work at night, beginning with a minor official organizing documents. And so began Qiu Yu¡¯s days of toiling during the day and also at night. As Qiu Yu infiltrated the pce and began gathering information slowly, Tang Mo also started to take action. Although he had been cking for a while, that time had instead provided him inspiration.
In his first month of entering the game, all he did was transcribe books and listen to storyteller First Under Heaven talk. After a while, he managed to grasp an advanced skill, Attending the Scene. Even at level 1, this skill was extraordinary, though it had virtually no lethal power and could only create various Light Effects to make story listening more enjoyable for those around. Only above level 40 could it manipte Coloured Sand with words, making the things spoken about in the tales materially appear before the listeners. Chapter 192: 138: My Lords, I Love War (Three More)_2 Chapter 192: Chapter 138: My Lords, I Love War (Three More)_2 Feeling that Tang Mo had surprisingly acquired this skill passively, the First Under Heaven storyteller immediately stopped and, looking in Tang Mo¡¯s direction, nodded in appreciation. Having drained theplimentary watered wine from the tavern, he wiped the drops from his beard and said to everyone with a cupped fist, ¡°That will be all for today, please, brother, follow me.¡± Tang Mo, of course, knew whom the other party was referring to, so he quickly caught up, and the two found a ce to drink and be merry, discussing various storytelling techniques and gradually bing friends despite the difference in their ages. As the First Under Heaven storyteller had read extensively and possessed countless books at home, Tang Mo temporarily stayed there, responsible only for cleaning the room each day and buying some food, which allowed him to read to his heart¡¯s content. Here the number of books was countless, most of them being traditional ssics of the country, but there were also many Tang Mo had once heard of but had since been lost to history, including records and such. Although he wasn¡¯t certain about the authenticity of these records, even if they were fabricated, he still read them with joy. He was fully immersed in these books, delighted and thrilled every day, and yet his own novel still managed to be updated on schedule, much to the amazement of those who knew he was ying video games. And when Zhao Qin issued the kill order against the Aliens, the First Under Heaven storyteller returned veryte, then looked at Tang Mo in front of him and fell silent. Tang Mo also learned of the news from a group chat. The two sat opposite each other at a desk, above whichy Tang Mo¡¯s spread-out books and an oilmp, the flickering light casting changeable shadows on the First Under Heaven storyteller¡¯s face.
Looking at the other, Tang Mo was the first to speak, ¡°Brother, don¡¯t agonize over it, whatever you decide, I¡¯ll support you.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°It¡¯s absolutely true.¡± The First Under Heaven storyteller let out a sigh of relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s great, I was worried I wouldn¡¯t be weed by your people.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Hm? Brother Tang, weren¡¯t you inviting me to head north and join you in your rebellion?¡± ¡°I thought you were agonizing over whether to report me or not?¡± ¡°What do you take me for! As a storyteller, what could be more delightful than getting into the action myself! I want to go north with you to see how you Aliens fight back! Whether we seed or fail, I feel it¡¯s worth it!¡± Watching the First Under Heaven storyteller getting excited, Tang Mo realized that he too had the potential to be a fun-seeker. However, a storyteller¡¯s aim is to craft stories and then spread them; being an eyewitness blustering about it is naturally something to boast about. Especially since he was the First Under Heaven storyteller, this desire could only intensify, to the point where he probably couldn¡¯t wait to take flight and join in to witness the views of that ce. Understanding the other¡¯s desire, Tang Mo quickly stuffed the surrounding books into his pockets, then said to his friend, ¡°Brother, I will borrow your Coloured Sand.¡± ¡°Take it.¡± Receiving the Coloured Sand, Tang Mo smeared it on his face, activating the advanced skill Attending the Scene, allowing the Coloured Sand to adhere to his face and letting him control his facial expressions through sensation gloves, making it look as if it were his real face. Prepared, they took their valuables and left the ce, heading northward. In the southern bamboo forests of the continent, there was also a First Under Heaven. That was the First Under Heaven Swordsman who had not gone to meet with Zhao Qin. He looked somewhat dignified, if a little absent-minded. Watching the Alien practicing swordsmanship in front of him, he kept nodding satisfactorily and then said, ¡°That¡¯s the vor! Your swordsmanship has the right taste! I¡¯ve told others before that swordsmanship needs to have vor, but they just didn¡¯t get it!¡±
¡°I feel the same way!¡± eximed the Monkey excitedly, ¡°I often tell my teammates that their techniquesck that vor, but they just don¡¯t understand what I mean.¡± ¡°A kindred spirit!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I like you so much.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s practice swordsmanship. By the way, is that Meditation Sword Immortal really that strong, stronger than me?¡±
¡°I¡¯m about the equivalent of him at nine years old, and you¡¯re probably nine and a half.¡± ¡°Then do you think he could be in the North?¡± ¡°Definitely, I feel like the boss is bound to appear in the North.¡± The First Under Heaven Swordsman nodded in agreement, ¡°The Swordsman understands the profound. I feel your intuition isn¡¯t wrong, he must be there. I¡¯ve decided, let¡¯s head North together, find your boss, and then we can practice swordsmanship together! Be a towering figure among swordsmen!¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Monkey shouted excitedly. Cleaving the bamboo beside him, the First Under Heaven Swordsman unleashed Sword Qi, splitting the bamboo into palm-sized chopsticks, before handing half of them to Monkey. ¡°As we travel, we will strike at each other with Sword Qi, and by the time we reach the North, we might even improve a few swordsmanship skills, then we can be equivalent to your ten-year-old boss.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not very modest, are you?¡± ¡°Is that so? Then I¡¯m even more eager to head North. Let¡¯s go.¡± As Zhao Qinunched attacks on the Aliens, a part of the First Under Heaven also began to move. They had no fondness for Zhao Qin but were more interested in the Alien-dominated North, where numerous remarkable figures left for the North, joining with the Aliens to see the changes they would bring to the region. Every First Under Heaven was a top-tier existence in their own realm. These people didn¡¯t care about being surpassed; instead, they weed the sight of more roads ahead, perhaps even paths leading them higher. With various dreams and desires, the strength of the North continued to grow, and war preparations linking this world were about to unfold.
Going to work by day and preparing for war by night had be the norm. Many yers went to their jobs with dark circles under their eyes whileining about how terrible the existence of jobs was in this world. Boss, how can you be so heartless exploiting your workers? Why can¡¯t wepromise? I¡¯ll stop going to work if you give me half the sry? If all else fails, the legendary virtual reality technology could do the trick ¨C gaming while sleeping, why hasn¡¯t anyone invented such a wonderful thing yet? Because it is a game, war preparations in the game are much simpler than in reality. Even though it¡¯s actually a Box Garden World of considerable size, it¡¯s still blended with Fang Cheng¡¯s Immortal Spell, and the appearance of various items follows the game¡¯s settings. So, a continuous stream of resources is spawned. On the other side of the sea, a small ind with few inhabitants could always generate a massive amount of finished shells, allowing the yers¡¯ artillery stock to grow daily. Fear of insufficient firepower is amon mdy among yers. Due to this condition, they frantically make money and stockpile shells, hoping to strike first in battle, hitting the enemy with an Italian cannon first thing. However, everyone also knew that the oue of the war would ultimately depend on the top-tierbatants. Most advanced skills above level 40 possess supernatural characteristics; those above level 50 have the power to surpass limits, and almost all of the First Under Heaven possess such levels. Thus, they could only choose their high-endbatants and use the previously discovered methods of farming basic skills to continuously enhance various fundamental skills, thereby strengthening their raw stats. Level 400 healing, level 400 running, level 400 breathing¡­ A plethora of level 400 basic skills became one of the yers¡¯ weapons against the opposition, yet even so, they still felt somewhat insecure. After all, the enemy consisted of bosses they had originally nned to defeat over a year, and now they had broken through their limits, making their actualbat power an unknown.
But certain things don¡¯t change just because of fear. Once all the farmable basic skills were maxed out, the yers nned their offensive against Da Liang. Under the banner of ridding the emperor of ¡°evil¡± ministers, a grand army of yers set out from the harsh northernnds, surging towards the South. The war, had officially begun! Chapter 193: 139 Pretty Good-Looking Battlefield Record (First Update)_1 Chapter 193: Chapter 139 Pretty Good-Looking Battlefield Record (First Update)_1 The southern expedition was easier to advance than anticipated. The only reason for the dy was that there were too many amusing incidents along the way, resulting in daily entertainment. For instance, NPCs could be resurrected; however, due to the mechanics of this created world, there were some inconsistencies, making their friends and families¡¯ reactions quite bizarre. It manifested in that NPCs knew their brothers had died, they also knew their brothers hade back to life, but thetter did not rece the former. Because the ¡°First Under Heaven¡± had sufficient spirituality, they could quickly sort out their logic, and since they had always lived with such realities, it didn¡¯t feel off to them. But the average NPC seemed very clumsy and caused a lot of hrity. yers personally witnessed Soldier B, who had returned from death, having a meal with Soldier A. In the middle of the meal, Soldier A started crying. With tears in his eyes and patting Soldier B on the shoulder, he wept, ¡°Brother! You were such a good person! It¡¯s a shame you died so young!¡± ¡°I also think I died too young!¡± Soldier B wiped his tears and said, ¡°Please take care of my old mother. When you die, I¡¯ll take care of your mother.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you, brother. You really are a good person; it¡¯s a pity you died so young.¡±
This is some ultimate swapping shenanigans. Fang Cheng, who also witnessed all this, felt the entire game had be quite peculiar. Normally such matters would resolve over time, but for some reason, the world¡¯s ¡°First Under Heaven¡± became even more spirited, while the base NPCs became duller and more clumsy. Something was about to happen. Using in-game methods, Fang Cheng deduced that the center of the event was in the Imperial City. Probably Zhao Qin was up to some new trick, increasing the difficulty for yers. However, since he had already failed his proof of the Way, how things developed from here on would depend on the yers themselves. He just needed to wait for the final oue to see what trulyy beneath this world. In the meantime, he needed to y the role of ¡°The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller¡± well, moving along with the yers to understand what they truly wanted. And after learning that ¡°Fang Cheng Ex¡± was ¡°The World¡¯s Best Fortune Teller,¡± numerous yers came to have their fortunes told daily for a bit of fun. ¡°Boss Fang, could I get a girlfriend this year?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be too strict with the gender; tomorrow wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Next.¡± ¡°Boss Fang, when can I get rich?¡± ¡°In your next life.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± ¡°So am I. Next.¡± ¡°Boss Fang, the college entrance exam is next year, but I find it very difficult. What should I do? Should I go burn some incense at a temple or Taoist temple first?¡± ¡°Uninstall the game first, then don¡¯t go anywhere. Just go back to school and study hard. You can do it. Next.¡± ¡°Boss Fang, there seems to be a problem with mypany. The boss is always making some somewhat abnormal gambling-rted mini-programs. What should I do?¡± ¡°Look for a new job. After the new year, there will be many opportunities. Before you leave, don¡¯t forget to call the police; better get it done in the next few days.¡± ¡°But the boss pays a lot¡­¡±
¡°No matter how much you¡¯re paid, it¡¯s only temporarily in your possession, and it will soon be vomited back out if you don¡¯t leave. Next.¡± ¡°Boss Fang, my girlfriend always says I¡¯m ugly,ins about my low ie, and that I y video games too much. What should I do?¡± ¡°Break up. Next.¡± While on the move, Fang Cheng felt that the yers¡¯ daily lives were quite colorful as he continued to read fortunes for them.
Besides fortune-telling, sparring every day with the ¡°First Under Heaven¡± Swordsman also proved interesting. The Swordsman was brought by Monkey and, upon arriving here, recognized him as his boss at a nce. It¡¯s no wonder; he was indeed a person with Sword Immortal potential Fang Cheng valued highly, exhibiting decisiveness and intuition befitting a Sword Immortal. The ¡°First Under Heaven¡± Swordsman brought by Monkey was also quite remarkable. The creator showed favoritism towards this Swordsman, gathering twice the usual spirituality in him, signaling that the creator too must be fond of swords. However, the other party didn¡¯t seem very smart. He charged at Fang Cheng roaring right from the start and was then pped away by Fang Cheng, afterwards even remarking appreciatively on the p¡¯s vor. All the entrics converged again; the Alien army was full of talent. The ¡°First Under Heaven¡± storyteller and Tang Mo were lively on the frontline everyday, recording everything they saw. At the battlefield¡¯s forefront, cannon fire began, and a barrage of shells smashed onto the ramparts, shattering the city gate into pieces. The General defending the city was unlucky, pulverized by shellfire in the first volley, leaving the yers to sigh inmiseration. It had been three days since the official march southward. In those three days, yers had enough time to figure out the war tactics within the game and realized that the game¡¯s approach to war could only be described as sly. The General defending the city was well-liked. After his death, the remaining defenders would receive a longsting positive effect of ¡°Hatred Toward the Same Enemy.¡± Under this effect, the defending soldiers would not lose morale even if they fought to thest man, and their strength would also increase somewhat. The problem was, NPCs could be resurrected. The resurrectedmanding officer, face wrought with grief, stood atop the ramparts and shouted towards the front, ¡°Avenge General Sun Chuan!¡±
Inspired by the General, the defenders erupted with morale, shouting at the top of their lungs, ¡°Avenge General Sun Chuan!¡± Chapter 194: 139 Pretty Good-Looking Battlefield Record (Second Update)_2 Chapter 194: Chapter 139 Pretty Good-Looking Battlefield Record (Second Update)_2 ¡°` By the way, the officer shouting thosemands was Sun Chuan. It might seem far-fetched for someone to resurrect and then cry for revenge on their behalf, but indeed, it is quite far-fetched. As a result, this defending general would rashly join the front lines due to a surge in morale, only to be easily in, causing another boost in morale. With repeated boosts, even the weakest of soldiers could be like a king of soldiers, wielding a hundred-plus pound axe effortlessly, their extended standby time allowing them to hack from the door to the yer¡¯s front without blinking an eye. The issue was that at this time, they couldn¡¯t be touched, or else it might identally kill the defending general, and then continue the cycle of building morale. Fortunately, yers had ways to cope with this situation. Just ignore the area and go around it. After all, yers didn¡¯t need supplies, and using the Frog Jumping Tactic could rapidly intersperse through to the center of the enemy¡¯s nk, and then directly charge. Taoist yers could set up a Teleportation Array here, to facilitate yer movement.
Some yers would establish bunkers at this location, fully equipped with bows and long spears, while materials would continuously be sent from the back to help fortify the front. After some time, when the enemy defenders realized the void in their troops here, they would certainly be overjoyed and sally forth to meet the enemy, giving yers the opportunity to leisurely teleport over and encircle them. Then, yers who had learned the Bone Diverting Hand could restrain the NPCs and lock them up. The process was a bit slow, but the advantagey in its solid reliability, allowing quick captures of some ordinary small cities. However, as the frontline advanced and Da Liang¡¯snd shrank, the density of NPCs increased, making this tactic less effective. Especially with the emergence of the general known as First Under Heaven, the battlefield underwent significant changes. This general, who originally had a deep aversion to Zhao Qin, had resigned and gone home to farm in the countryside, inquiring no further into world affairs. But now, seeing half of Da Liang¡¯snd conquered by a group of Aliens, he knew he had toe out of retirement. The eighty-year-old general once again led the charge, apanied by his three sons to the battlefield, and on the first day, noticed the issue with morale. Then, this uncouth old general simply sent his three sons, alone and unaided, into the enemy lines, where they were quickly sacrificed. Sacrificing one¡¯s sons to the heavens, Mana boundless. After all, being First Under Heaven, his own Spirituality was also considerable. He soon realized his sons could be resurrected infinitely, so why not sacrifice them as much as possible. Moreover, because of his and his sons¡¯ reputation, each heavenly sacrifice significantly boosted the morale of all Da Liang¡¯s soldiers, rapidly increasing their strength. Therefore, afterpressing the frontline to a certain extent, yers found this level seemed impassable. [Stuck on this level, what do we do now? School is starting soon, I won¡¯t be able to y anymore!] [This NPC is too despicable. Usually, we exploit bugs to bully others, why is there a day when we get bullied by a bug exploit?] [I finally understand how NPCs in games feel. This helpless sensation of watching the opposite side but being unable to do anything is truly agonizing.] [Can we only bring out the experts to capture him?] [The problem is, we have experts, but who knows where that old general is? His location seems to be hidden by the Taoist, invisible to us.] When everyone was at a loss, one yer said: [If that¡¯s the case, then why don¡¯t we just make him not First Under Heaven anymore?]
[How so? Oh, I almost forgot.] Opening the target interface, a group of yers looked into the requirements for bing First Under Heaven and realized that gathering yer strength didn¡¯t seem too difficult. After establishing a n, yers within began to revolt that very day, with the previously established positions crumbling and turning into separate small states. The news delighted First Under Heaven.
Holding the spy¡¯s report, heughed and said to his sons, who had just resurrected and were still somewhat confused, ¡°You see, these Aliens are nothing but a motley crew. When things are going well, their invasion burns like fire, but at the first sign of trouble, they flee like dogs. Now that they can¡¯t beat us, they¡¯ve instantly fallen into civil strife. We simply wait for them to destroy each other, and victory will be ours.¡± The three sons were confused for a long time before nodding and replying, ¡°Father is right.¡± ¡°But we cannot take them lightly, after all, Aliens are Aliens, who knows what they might do.¡± ¡°Father is right.¡± ¡°¡­Can¡¯t you say something different?¡± ¡°Father is right.¡± ¡°` ¡°Forget it, go down.¡± Pleased with the war report, First Under Heaven felt he had done well this time, actually knowing how to use these inconceivable phenomena to achieve his goals. Why hadn¡¯t he discovered this before? No, before¡­ when exactly was that? Suddenly, First Under Heaven could not remember his past. Or rather, it seemed he didn¡¯t have much of a past to begin with.
When other First Under Heaven titles were snatched away, his Spirituality would also improve. This Spirituality allowed him to feel more genuinely the existence of the ¡°true self¡± and also made him realize that he didn¡¯t seem to have much of an experience. It was as if from the beginning, he had always been First Under Heaven, but as for which wars he had fought in, he seemed to have forgotten. And this world seems to only have one Da Liang, so who had he fought against? Yet he remembered being undefeated in a hundred battles, so how had these military exploits been umted? He felt as though he was merely a prop in a storybook, with his past being nothing but a setup, but he knew nothing of his true self. ¡°Who¡­ am I?¡± However, his Spirituality wasn¡¯t enough to support him in recalling these memories, and so he could only sit bewildered in his chair, lost in thought. Soon after, he felt an intense sense of crisis. The prerequisite for bing First Under Heaven was to be undefeated in a hundred battles and to expand one¡¯s country¡¯s territory, making unparalleled contributions. The yer chosen for this task began with three men as his troops, reconquering fragmented yer nations one by one. Within half a day, he umted over a hundred military achievements and swiftly turned his tiny country into a vast empire. From division to unification, it all took only half a day. Everything seemed unchanged, but during this process, some yers, including First Under Heaven, achieved several objectives which caused some of the top figures inside Da Liang to be directly stripped of their Spirituality, bing confused.
As his title of First Under Heaven vanished, he felt his existence fading, his consciousness slowly converging to be like his three sons. Even as his Spirituality gradually dissipated, he continued to ponder this question. Who, exactly, am I? Having lost the title of First Under Heaven, the old general¡¯s Spirituality was halved, all sorts of strategies exploiting bugs disappeared, and he, like the famous generals from history, started to fight cautiously and meticulously. If it were a regr opponent, this would not have been a mistake. But this is a game world, and he was facing Aliens with no bottom line. War tactics and methods had long since be unfathomable due to a variety of game-like settings; ying it safe and steady led only to one oue. And that was defeat! The intense battles of yesterday started simplifying as First Under Heaven returned to normal, allowing the Aliens¡¯ bizarre strategies atst to be employed, pushing the front lines significantly forward. The storytellers and Tang Mo, who observed the entire process, spent half a day studying how to narrate this segment. No one would understand if they said it. If told to yers, they might think they¡¯re quite good at exploiting bugs, and find the game quite fun to y. If exined to NPCs, ordinary folks wouldn¡¯t get why people could die ande back to life, why the old general¡¯s regained strength led to his defeat, or how the Aliens won the battle? Realizing the dilemma, the two brainstormed for a long time and could only sigh helplessly in the end.
They had to make it up as they went. After all, they were storytellers, not historians; they didn¡¯t have to bear any historical responsibility. Describing the Aliens as Heavenly Gods incarnate or reincarnated warriors, materializing with one hundred and eight demonic generals from the heavens to teach humanity, any sensational story would do. Thus, the most outrageous battle record was born. The problem is, it¡¯s actually quite entertaining. Chapter 195: 140: The Real Treasure (Second Update)_1 Chapter 195: Chapter 140: The Real Treasure (Second Update)_1 ¡°At that time, Li Guang by the roadside realized he had fallen into the enemy general¡¯s ambush and found himself surrounded. He quickly turned his horse around and sought out the assistance of the divine strategist, Fang Cheng the Short, dying of thirst. With Fang Cheng¡¯s help, he calcted the enemy¡¯s movements. Do you know who that enemy was? It was none other than Jin Buhuan, an Immortal with powerful Mana, a heavenly general descended to earth, specifically to capture these demons.¡± ¡°So, the divine strategist set up the Eighteen Array of Capital Heaven, scattering the generals far and wide, lighting the Kongmingnterns in every nation to obscure the divine general¡¯s destiny, and ultimately ying him. Instantly, everyone cheered, their voices shaking the sky.¡± Watching the First Under Heaven storyteller¡¯s exnation, yers cheered him on and remarked that it was quite interesting; thebination of storybooks and advanced skills seemed thrilling, so they eagerly awaited more updates, losing sleep at night. Some who knew Tang Momented he should learn a thing or two; what was that historical text he was writing? In response, Tang Mo took note of their IDs, decided to add a Clown jumping over beams, the kind that dies a miserable death,ter in his novel. No, it would be a group of them. The front-line battles had been quite sessful, with the traitor Qiu Yu¡¯s cooperation; they had nearly full insight into the enemy¡¯s movements. Add to that the fact that various First Under Heaven titles around Da Liang had been usurped, the enemy¡¯s strength was considerably weakened, and many yers were already checking which First Under Heaven titles weren¡¯t in their faction, aiming to targetedly eliminate those holders. The nefarious yers of the Morals Aid Group continued their actions,mitting all kinds of evil, searching for ways to upgrade their skill levels, and helping yers continue to capture titles. Just as the Lantern Festival was about to end, the yers finally reached the front of Da Liang¡¯s Imperial City.
Thanks to the Frog Jumping Tactic, fighting was still raging in the rear, but the vanguard troops had already reached the base of the Imperial City walls. The towering walls soared into the clouds; the capital still held the jubtion of the New Year, with rednterns hanging on the city gates not yet taken down, reminding yers that they had celebrated Spring Festival here not long ago, setting off fireworks on top of these very walls. But now, atop the walls stood only elite Guard Army d in golden armor, crossbowmen ready to unleash their bolts, staring coldly at the yers below. Looking at these Guard Army, the yers felt quite nostalgic. Not long ago, they had thought the strength of these Soldiers unfathomable, and it might take ages before they could surpass them. However, as one after another tactic was discovered, these Soldiers, while still formidable, seemed within reach, no longer as unattainably high as before. Although the Soldiers were powerful, what drew the most attention was the person standing at the city gate. He had gs inserted all over his back and appeared as if he had just stepped down from the stage, an old General. Bncing on one leg, he stood in front of the city gate, unflinching in the face of the yer army, still standing dignified in his ce. Before the yers could understand his intent, a chip on his forehead shed a bright light, causing his physique to change drastically. The originally slender body became rugged, muscles emerging from nowhere, and in an instant, he swelled into a three-meter-tall giant. This was the Joker¡¯s advanced skill, a result of reaching level 50 in acting. Able to perfectly mimic anyone originally, he now also possessed Perfect Imitation, directly bolstering his own abilities with those of the person he was imitating, making his on-paper stats even stronger than the original. Exhaling a breath of white air, he looked at the crowd before him and spoke in gentle, feminine tones, ¡°Who wants to die?¡± Within the group of yers, two shes of white light appeared, one after the other, striking, piercing the Joker¡¯s chest, leaving behind two mosaic-filled holes. The Monkey and the First Under Heaven Swordsman looked at each other and then simultaneously shouted, ¡°I made a move, why are you joining in themotion!¡± The First Under Heaven Joker couldn¡¯t believe his own chest had been pierced like that. But he reacted swiftly, the next second mimicking a yer with a level 400 self-healing ability, and his wounds instantly healed. Clutching his chest, he stared angrily at the people in front of him, finally realizing the kind of monsters Zhao Qin¡¯s order had provoked.
No matter, he had another trick up his sleeve. Fixing his gaze on the First Under Heaven Swordsman among the crowd, his figure began to change, ultimately transforming into the likeness of the First Under Heaven Swordsman. ¡°Come on!¡± With a low shout, a beam of sword light flew out from the Imperial City,nding in his hands.
Though it was just a phantom, the mere shadow alone conveyed an indomitable sharpness and a chilling murderous intent. It seemed to be merely a shadow left by a Divine Artifact in the world, but even this shadow carried a frightening edge, unimaginable how splendid the actual artifact itself must be. Looking at the phantom, the yers present all felt a chill at their necks, as if in the next second they would be beheaded by the sword light, meeting a violent death. The Monkey and the First Under Heaven Swordsman also looked stern. No longer concerned with who struck first, nor seeking any fairness, they charged towards the Joker, quickly entangling in closebat. From the outside, one could only see the sword light swirling within, cold shes pouring out like a snowstorm, each point brimming with endless lethality. ¡°Holy crap, these NPCs in the game are fierce,¡± one yer couldn¡¯t help eximing. ¡°Just fierce is an understatement; that Joker seems pretty fierce too.¡± Chapter 196: 140: The Real Treasure (Second Update)_2 Chapter 196: Chapter 140: The Real Treasure (Second Update)_2 ¡°No, what surprised me more was that Monkey,¡± How could any yer keep up with an NPC¡¯s movements?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve recorded the screen. I don¡¯t know who that Monkey is, but I know that if this person entered e-sports, they would definitely make it big.¡± ¡°What a coincidence, I feel the same way.¡± Although thepetition video of Quiet Cultivation hadn¡¯t been released yet, Monkey had already made his first appearance here, disying his exceptional talents. The First Under Heaven storyteller and Tang Mo were not to be outdone, immediately beginning to document the scene before them and starting theirmentary. Though not versed in swordsmanship, with just a nce, the First Under Heaven storyteller could ascertain their intentions and, using various descriptions, narrated an obscurepetition vividly, also helping yers understand how dangerous the current situation was. Watching the three long swords dance between the trio, a slight misstep could lead to decapitation; the sense of being there, viewing the event live, sent shivers down every yer¡¯s spine, yet also stirred up excitement. However, unlike the tension and excitement of those around them, Monkey and the First Under Heaven Swordsman on the field wereughing. They reveled in the thrill between life and death, savouring the sensation of dancing on the edge of a de, their movements both perilous and harmonious, exuding a strange yet romantic beauty. Just when everyone was holding their breath in tension, Fang Cheng felt that something in the hands of the First Under Heaven Joker seemed familiar, yet he couldn¡¯t quite remember it.
He was sure he had seen it before, and that it should be something profound hidden within this world. As the title of First Under Heaven was taken one after another by yers, the locks of the world¡¯s deepest cage were being opened, and things sealed within were slowly being revealed. This sword light must be one of those emerging signs. While Fang Cheng was deep in thought, the battle on the field had already ended. The First Under Heaven Joker had his right arm cut off by a sword, and a doctor immediately rushed over to stop the bleeding. A prison guard came over to dislocate his joints, a Taoist stepped forward to seal his skills, followed by the Morals Aid Grouping forward to investigate and study the origin of his strength. Controlled by a group of people, the First Under Heaven Joker didn¡¯t show fear or anger, instead, heughed merrily. Afterughing in a sing-song manner for a while, he turned to the Alien beside him and said, ¡°You all are doomed!¡± Then, looking at the First Under Heavens who had switched sides to the yers, he added, ¡°You all are doomed, too!¡± Finally, looking at the crowd, he called out, ¡°Which one of you is Mr. Fang?¡± ¡°I am,¡± Fang Cheng stepped forward and said. ¡°Xuanjizi asked me to bring you a message; he made it!¡± Gazing at Fang Cheng, the face of the First Under Heaven Joker slowly changed, eventually adopting the appearance of Xuanjizi, seemingly trying to get a measure of Fang Cheng¡¯s mettle. His imitation skills might not match the proficiency level of acting skills, yet even so, they enabled him to mimic high-level Taoism, helpful for his escape. But after mimicking the Taoism, he realized something. He saw that Fang Cheng was an incredible entity, understanding that the character before him was just the tip of an iceberg, and that the true entity was an evenrger mass veiled in mystery, impossible to grasp, with nonguage capable of exining the shock brought by this realization. ¡°Xuanjizi, what sort of person did you mess with?¡± After uttering that sentence, blood gushed from the Joker¡¯s nostrils, the horrific onught finally broke his will, and he passed out instantly. The yers nearby looked at the First Under Heaven Joker in amazement before giving Fang Cheng a thumbs-up: ¡°Mr. Fang, impressive.¡± With the obstacle removed, the city gates finally swung wide open; after a barrage of artillery fire, the gates were ripped open, and a surge of yers poured in, shing fiercely with the Guard Army. As both sides were beings capable of respawning, their battle was not about killing each other but about controlling each other.
The yers familiar with the Bone Diverting Hand skill became the main force in this battle. The stalemate mightst a while, but the yers¡¯ target was the imperial city, not this ce. Protected by a group of yers, those in charge of the main assault finally broke through the encirclement, reaching the square in front of the Golden Throne. Many members of the Guard Army were distributed elsewhere, locked in drawn-out fights with the yers. At this moment, there were only two guards here: the First Under Heaven Taoist, Xuanjizi, and the First Under Heaven resentful spirit. With the help of chips, the First Under Heaven resentful spirit had be much stronger.
It seemed to solidify into a physical form, with malicious shadows haunting its figure as if it were an evil soul wing its way out of the Underworld, ready to shred everything in this world. Just when the yers thought they had to face two of the First Under Heavens, Xuanjizi suddenly made his move. The resentful spirit beside him was grasped in his hand, and the ck resentment, like boiling tar, flowed over his arm; the massive spirit, as if seeing a more horrific resentment than itself, wailed in the process of being rapidly absorbed by Xuanjizi, turning into ck tattoos on Xuanjizi¡¯s body. Having extracted the spirit¡¯s spirituality and power, Xuanjizi spread open his hand, and numerous chips, akin to eyes, emerged on his arm, making him appear deranged, a far cry from his initial suave and unbound demeanor. Now, Xuanjizi, with Demonic Qi swirling around him and shadows casting sinister red light behind him, his cultivation immeasurably deep, made the yers feel he was not just the game¡¯s final boss but perhaps also a hidden one. Chapter 197: 140: The Real Treasure (Second Update)_3 Chapter 197: Chapter 140: The Real Treasure (Second Update)_3 Watching the crowd in front of him, and especially Fang Cheng among them, he let out a mad cackle, ¡°Mr. Fang, we meet again. My Taoism has reached seventy, I¡¯ve made it! Seventy in Taoism, unprecedented! I have be an immortal!¡± ¡°You¡¯re jumping the gun. Besides, I¡¯m in a hurry, it¡¯s almost time for work, and I haven¡¯t prepared my red packets for starting work. So, sorry about that.¡± ¡°What are you sorry for! The only thing you should apologize for is angering me!¡± A group of yers looked at Xuanjizi with pity, then, without turning their heads, bypassed him and ran towards the Golden Throne. He reached out to grab the Alien beside him, but found he didn¡¯t even have the strength to lift his hand. Looking down, he saw a hole punched through his chest, and the familiar sensation made him cry out, ¡°Palm Thunder again! How could you do this, why Palm Thunder again!¡± ¡°It¡¯s enough.¡± With a simple reply, Fang Cheng followed the other yers as they ran towards the Golden Throne, ready to end the final scenario within five minutes so he could get red packets ready for his employees. Monkey had been a daily sighttely, but he hadn¡¯t seen the others in almost a month; he actually missed them a bit. Leaving behind the First Under Heaven Taoist, his face streaming with tears and unable to hide his departure, the group burst into the Golden Throne and beheld the scene there.
As for the Golden Throne, mosaics flew everywhere, and the tall Zhao Qin was still wearing a hemp robe, covered in blood. In front of him, the young emperor appeared to be sleeping peacefully, clean all over, but some things had already transferred from him to Zhao Qin, endowing him with an inscrutable and mountainous majesty. Flicking the blood off his weapon, he looked at the iing crowd with a mild smile on his face. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived, Mr. Fang. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°Yeah, can you tell us why you did this?¡± ¡°If not for you all.¡± Under everyone¡¯s gaze, he took his seat on the Dragon Throne, leaning on his sword and said, ¡°Originally, there didn¡¯t need to be all this fuss. We could have been your puppets and simply carried on quietly. However, as you continuously stripped away the title of First Under Heaven, the surplus spirituality was distributed among others, helping us gradually realize many things.¡± With a wave of his hand, he pointed towards the sky and said, ¡°Dark.¡± The bright sky instantly turned to night. ¡°Light.¡± The night was swept away, and the world was once again bathed in light, but Fang Cheng found himself alone; the other yers were gone without a trace. With a casual gesture, extinguishing and relighting the sky, Zhao Qin had shown a few miracles, making him seem all the more mysterious. ¡°You see, I have multiple titles. After the other First Under Heavens dissipated, I received the most spirituality. But what¡¯s the use of having more? What¡¯s the use of being able to control the heavens and the earth?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just puppets, made for your amusement. Everything about us is built on illusion and deceit, we¡¯re not real.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Mr. Fang?¡± Zhao Qin looked at Fang Cheng with sorrow, the curse of wisdom surfacing on him, allowing him to see the reality that he was a puppet, yet powerless to change it. After a sigh, Zhao Qin raised the sword in his hand: ¡°The increase in spirituality has allowed me to see the truth of this world and understand what is hidden within it. A being capable of rivaling you left this behind, and it will be my weapon to defeat you. Its shackles are almost undone, its power now manifests at ny percent. Even as a puppet, I will bare my fangs and shatter all of you who sit so high above us!¡± The ground cracked open, and ck mist emerged from beneath, countless Demonic Qi converging in the air, forming a Demon Sword that seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth.
The thing hidden by the creator here was finally revealed. And looking at the Demon Sword before him, Fang Cheng finally remembered. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the Sword Embryo that the Sword Demon Lord had just started to refine back in the day? No wonder I didn¡¯t recognize you at first; you¡¯ve actually been forged into shape.¡± The Demon Sword began to quiver.
In that moment, it also recognized the true person beneath Fang Cheng¡¯s in-game character. An overwhelming fear surged through it, causing the unrefined Demon Sword of the Sword Demon Lord to tremble violently. Reminded of the Sword Demon Lord who had been shed into pieces before it, the Demon Sword¡¯s shaking grew even more intense. Finally, it made a decision. At that moment, the Demonic Qi around it dissipated, and it decisively cut away arge quantity of Demonic Qi, leaving behind a solemn and awe-inspiring God Sword. Then, it flew over beside Fang Cheng and firmly joined his side. Seeing this, Zhao Qin was stunned. Momentster, he let out a deep sigh, raised his hands, and said, ¡°Can I surrender?¡± Chapter 198 - 141: Games, Just Have Fun (Three More)_1 Chapter 198: Chapter 141: Games, Just Have Fun (Three More)_1 The war that hadsted for more than ten days finally came to an end at this moment. Although there were many issues that needed to be resolved afterward, these matters could be left to the yers to handle, and Fang Cheng didn¡¯t need to be involved. He quickly logged off. The tasks of withdrawing money and giving out red envelopes werepleted in just one second. Then, arriving at the studio half an hour early, he first headed to the pantry to check on his Spirit Grass. Having not seen it for almost a month, the Spirit Grass seemed to have changed. Before leaving, Fang Cheng had made sure that factors like moisture, light, temperature, and soil fertility were taken care of, but now, the Spirit Grass looked robust yet wild, like a child without a home, healthy but deste. With a single gesture, the God Sword responded to Fang Cheng¡¯s summoning, emerging from the void, eagerly held in Fang Cheng¡¯s hand, and changed into the shape he desired. A Demon Sword that can¡¯t morph¡­ is not a good God Sword. Following a Heavenly Lord like Fang Cheng, the God Sword decided it must be perfect from now on, obeying the Heavenly Lord¡¯smands, bing a good God Sword that could unfold all of its master¡¯s troubles. So, Heavenly Lord, when are we going to hold the ceremony for me to acknowledge you as my master, so we can gallop wildly together and never return on the path of cultivation? Crack~ A crisp snap shattered the God Sword¡¯s beautiful dream, as it realized it had turned into a pair of scissors, and especially safe scissors without pointed tips. For a Demon Sword whose duty was ughter, if this wasn¡¯t an insult, then what was? It was the final masterpiece of the Sword Demon Lord, an unfinished work of his. Realizing he was being hunted, the Sword Demon Lord decisively abandoned the Demon Swords he had created and fled only with the Sword Embryo, which showed that the Sword Embryo had already surpassed all his previous creations. Never did it expect to be caught, chopped up, and scattered without a trace. Although created by the Sword Demon Lord, the God Sword didn¡¯t have a good impression of its creator. After all, the Sword Demon Lord was very strict with his creations,ying numerous restrictions before they were even formed. He would likely use it to craft a new Sword Embryo in the future, so it would be strange if it felt any affection. But to use the likes of itself as a pair of scissors, Heavenly Lord Fang¡­ ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be quite useful,¡± Fang Cheng said with satisfaction. ¡°The cut is smooth, and it doesn¡¯t harm the roots; you directly sever the Spirit Grass at the conceptual level. Not bad at all.¡± A single ¡°quite useful¡± instantly made the God Sword ted, and it began pondering once more about when the acknowledgment ceremony would take ce. After cing the safe scissors casually into his pocket, Fang Cheng dried the Spirit Grass and added it to thepany¡¯s tea reserves. He reced the air purifier¡¯s Spiritual Energy cartridges and checked the Spirit Gathering Array for any issues, turned on the power, the heater¡­ In addition, thepany¡¯s product gue Chickens were ced at everyone¡¯s workstation. These gue Chickens were made of Spirit Grass and were quite suitable whether used for aromatherapy, physical therapy, or as a pillow. With preparationsplete, the employees arrived just in time. The first to arrive was naturally Xu Qingling. Wrapped in a red coat, with her smooth long hair hidden beneath it, she looked dressed properly but still appeared a bit cold. After taking off her scarf and cing it on the rack nearby, she took the red envelope from Fang Cheng, thanked him, then sat at her desk and let out a satisfied sigh. ¡°I feel alive. I tend to have a chill in the winter; I¡¯ve seen many traditional Chinese medicine doctors but to no avail. Getting up in the winter is torture.¡± ¡°Actually, you could sleep until noon.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be good to do that on the first day back at work after the New Year,¡± Xu Qingling said, resting her head on her desk, turning to look at Fang Cheng with a gentle smile. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Moved by Xu Qingling¡¯s love for her work, Fang Cheng felt a bit touched. Especially during the New Year period when she voluntarily worked overtime to help resolve issues with ¡°The Physician¡¯s¡± merchandise. However, since Xu Qingling indicated it was mutual aid between friends, he couldn¡¯t offer her any leave inpensation, so a small gift would be appropriate. Approaching Xu Qingling, he said, ¡°Stretch out your hand.¡± Although she didn¡¯t know what Fang Cheng wanted to do, Xu Qingling extended her hand like a beckoning cat, looking at him in confusion. Grasping her hand, Fang Cheng gently pressed, and something transferred from his own thumb to hers, then sank into her dantian. And Xu Qingling only felt her thumb being rubbed for a moment, then released, which left her feeling somewhat disheartened. ¡°How does it feel?¡± Fang Cheng asked. ¡°My heart is racing¡­¡± Xu Qingling said with a blush. ¡°That¡¯s unexpected. Anything else?¡± ¡°I feel¡­ a bit warmer; it doesn¡¯t seem to be my imagination. Boss, do you also know massage?¡± ¡°Somewhat.¡± ¡°Then¡­ my neck feels a bit ufortable too. Could you possibly¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Xu Qingling sighed in disappointment but also affirmed that Fang Cheng really did know a thing or two about massage. The neck and spine are some of the most vulnerable parts of a working person¡¯s body; staring at aputer all year round makes it hard to avoid problems. However, her neck was well-maintained and had a beautiful line, and the boss immediately saw there was no issue, which showed he had real skill. As the rest of the colleagues arrived one after another, Xu Qingling knew it was time to begin working, so she took off her coat and started earnestly working on the financial reports and other tasks. Apart from Fang Cheng, the other employees looked a bit tired but excited. Just a moment ago, including Wang Xiaoying, a group of four had been battling in ¡°The Supreme One.¡± The major conflict had finally concluded, and this gave them plenty to talk about. Chapter 199: 141: Games, Just Have Fun (Three More)_2 Chapter 199: Chapter 141: Games, Just Have Fun (Three More)_2 And the realization that they had actually created this game only heightened their excitement! The only disappointment was that this time, they had not discovered the Easter egg the boss had hidden beforehand, since this egg was a bit too concealed. The original ancient nurturing game had transformed into a cycle of dynastic session. Now, Zhao Qin was still locked in a prison cell, while a group of people debated whether the young emperor should be killed or spared. Seizing the opportunity of having the boss nearby, Xiao Douzi washed his hands and brushed his teeth, making sure there was no odd smell, before asking politely and with a hint of admiration, ¡°Boss, did you consider from the beginning to incorporate the struggle for imperial power into the game? They say that all your designs from the start were to lead yers onto the path of conquest. Is that true?¡± ¡°No such thing,¡± Fang Cheng said frankly. ¡°I see, so can I understand that your design philosophy was to create a basic framework and then let the world operate on its own? It seems like a very high-end and new design concept.¡± ¡°I see it differently,¡± Huang Ping intervened, sharing his opinion, ¡°I think the boss¡¯s idea was to leave the gamey to the yers. The boss just designed the world and his ideal gamey, but how to y is up to the yers. However, looking at the current situation, the yers¡¯ every move has actually exceeded the boss¡¯s expectations.¡± Looking at Huang Ping, Fang Cheng felt that the other did understand him, but only to a certain extent. Because the yers hadpletely exceeded his expectations. And it wasn¡¯t just the yers, NPCs had learned as well.
However, the changes in NPCs were still caused by yers, so the mistake stilly with the yers. It was all their fault. That¡¯s it, none of you will get the chance to enter ¡°Theme Park: First Under Heaven¡± in person for years toe. Taking advantage of the lunch break, Fang Cheng stepped directly into the Box Garden, wielding the God Sword to deal with the final issues of this world. Hovering in the void, Fang Cheng discovered that the God Sword, the core of the entire Box Garden World within the pocket, had vanished. The original purpose of the Box Garden was to contain the God Sword, and now that the God Sword had left, the original settings of the Box Garden would also be invalid. The shell of this world would be opened, and it would appear in the depths of Shadows, beginning to bear the burden of shadow invasion and could be transformed by the shadows at any moment. Looking again at the exquisite setup here, Fang Cheng felt that this ce should not be corrupted by shadow. What is beautiful should be well protected. Taking out the safety scissors from his pocket, Fang Cheng lightly snipped at the Shadows trying to invade this ce. Snip~ The surroundings of the Box Garden World were cut open, transforming this area into a domain of Shadows. Countless Shadows enshrouded it, wanting to invade this world, but they just couldn¡¯t get in. The rule that ¡°Shadows cannot enter¡± was established, meaning that no matter how thick or powerful the Shadows were, they could never enter. The God Sword, knowing what it had done, trembled with the sentiment that this was indeed what a God Sword should do. Thinking this way, it seemed not so tragic to be a pair of safety scissors. Having dealt with the external Shadows, Fang Cheng conversed with the scissors about its past experiences, but regrettably, it didn¡¯t remember anything. At that time, it was only a Sword Embryo, and someone had deliberately obscured its perception. It only remembered that twelve Immortals had sealed it in this Box Garden World. In name, it was a sealing, but in reality, it was apletion. It became connected to this Box Garden World, with everything in the world serving to forge it, allowing it to be sessfully crafted within a thousand years. Understanding thisyer of design, Fang Cheng once again marveled that the creator here was truly a genius.
Now, the God Sword was taken away by Fang Cheng ahead of time due to Zhao Qin¡¯s maniption, the purpose of the world had disappeared, the rules that once bound them were slowly fading, and this world would thereby enter a brand new stage. A stage with more freedom. pping his hands, the original Spirituality was evenly distributed, entering into every NPC like a soul, endowing them with new wills and gradually allowing them toprehend the truth of this world. They would retain their immortality, they would still be a part of this world, but they would coexist with the yers for a long time as special NPCs and start contemting the purpose of their existence.
Although Fang Cheng didn¡¯t know what they would ultimatelye up with, it promised to be a very interesting topic. After wrapping things up here, Fang Cheng felt that, although there were still some minor loose ends, they probably weren¡¯t significant. So, taking advantage of the fact that the lunch break wasn¡¯t over yet, he went back. ¡°` However, after they left, something quietly arrived here. This shapeless white light was a fragment of Little Heavenly Way, but here, it was also referred to as a god. In the heart of the Shadows, hundreds of Little Heavenly Ways formed a Heavenly Taowork, resisting the Shadows together under the protection of thiswork andpeting with each other when the Shadows were not too strong. This divine entity discovered the Box Garden World enveloped by the Shadows and also noticed the active yers and NPCs within, its unique ecological structure filling it with curiosity. Immediately, something else caught its attention so firmly that it could not look away. The Demonic Qi remaining after the Demon Sword¡¯s sh was still there, floating in the air like arge,zy ck cat unwilling to move. Moving closer, the Little Heavenly Way tried for a long time, but ultimately could not absorb even a sliver of Demonic Qi. These substances seemed to possess extremely strong stability, not even the Little Heavenly Way could unravel them. Meanwhile, the power contained within made the Little Heavenly Way unwilling to let go. The power containingws was one of its favorite supplements, igniting an innate desire. In the end, it decided to take away the Demonic Qi.
Even though it knew that the Demonic Qi did not belong to it and was the treasure of some powerful being, it just couldn¡¯t control its greed to obtain them. Although it could not absorb them, the Demonic Qi was surprisingly easy to carry away. Under the guidance of the Little Heavenly Way, they entered the Shadows and then headed towards the center of the area. It wanted to deliver this Demonic Qi to its Priest, to have its Priest help analyze the Demonic Qi and deduce a way to utilize it. If it could sessfully harness it, then it would be more powerful, a strong entity within the entire Heavenly Taowork, leading everyone towards a bright future. With expectations for the future, the Little Heavenly Way struggled to carry the Demonic Qi towards its temple. In the afternoon, Fang Cheng returned to the studio and began tackling the studio¡¯s problems, while also thinking about what game to make next. In the more than eight months since he established the studio, he had made quite a few games, gaining many insights. Plus, having watched the Spring Festival G, he had umted quite a bit of inspiration, and it was time to consider making a new game. However, as he pondered which game to make, he heard Wang Xiaoying say, ¡°Boss, look at the news!¡± With curiosity, Fang Cheng opened the news link given by Wang Xiaoying and started to read in detail. At a nce, it was all official jargon. The general idea was to standardize the gaming industry, strengthen the regtion of the gaming industry, and strive to enhance the cultural attributes of games, boosting thepetitiveness of the domestic gaming industry in the international market, and so on. Seeing a pile of official jargon, Fang Cheng had to use Immortal Spell to trante these texts intonguage he could understand: ¡°We are preparing to try to introduce some outstanding foreign teams for a tentative reform, get ready to face internationalpetition. How exactly will things change? Of course, we will y it by ear.¡± After finishing, Fang Cheng asked in confusion, ¡°So what¡¯s happening?¡±
¡°What¡¯s happening? Boss, from now on, we¡¯ll bepeting with internationally renowned games!¡± Wang Xiaoying said anxiously. ¡°Yeah, I know, and then?¡± ¡°And then, um¡­¡± Being afraid ofpetition meanscking confidence in one¡¯s products. But looking at the games from their own studio, Wang Xiaoying felt that these games could stand out wherever they were. There was no reason tock confidence. Seeing Fang Cheng¡¯sposed demeanor again, Wang Xiaoying couldn¡¯t help but admire that the boss always remained so calm. But Fang Cheng truly didn¡¯t think there was anything to worry about. He only wanted to make games that he found fun and that yers would enjoy. As forpetition, he genuinely didn¡¯t care. Games, as long as they are fun, that¡¯s enough. And for a game studio, just producing good games is enough. ¡°`
Chapter 200: 142 Your Idea is Unreliable (Part 1) Chapter 200: Chapter 142 Your Idea is Unreliable (Part 1) Unlike Fang Cheng, who needed to use ¡°Immortal Spell¡± to trante the article before understanding its true meaning, many people clearly knew how to interpret the news. Quite a few had already started analyzing the report, deciphering various insights from it. Domestic games had be somewhat disconnected from the mainstream gaming market due to certain reasons in the past. Theck of game consoles as a medium meant that domestic yers had little general recognition for premium, single-yer games, which reduced the original gamey quality. Instead,parisons, strongpetition, and loot boxes became the means to generate profit, eventually leading to the flourishing of web games and mobile games. Paying for traffic, server rolling, game shills¡­ For a time, the gaming industry yed by the rules of capital, but in recent years, it had evolved and unleashed other possibilities. Recently, the big sales of several games by Fang Cheng Studio proved that creating premium, single-yer games could be profitable too. It was hard to say whether this open policy had anything to do with Fang Cheng Studio. However, the rxation of restrictions was an undeniable fact. Among various opinions, some argued that rxing regtions would lead to foreign games strongly impacting domestic ones, with numerous superior games flooding in. The shallow defensive moats of domestic games wouldn¡¯t even cover the toes, and they could be destroyed in the blink of an eye. Others imed this was essentially an event of WTO ession, which would only make domestic games more prosperous and even allow for cultural export to every corner of the world. Regardless of the opinions, things had already happened, and major manufacturers could only try to adapt to the new environment to avoid being crushed by the rising waves.
As arge gamingpany, Tianyi had been aware of this matter before the Chinese New Year. They began to activelyy out ns, preparing to use the Rong City branch as a pilot. ording to their strategy, they would import a batch of foreign games for domestic distribution and operation, and the Rong City branch would establish a separate project team dedicated to localizing these games. After gaining sufficient experience, this workgroup would be split and reorganized,mitted to the global release of games and various localization studies. Due to several failures, the Tianyi Rong City branch no longer had any quotas for game project proposals. Moreover, although they were the publishers, ording to the senior management, they needed to follow the directives from the other side, and even when submitting their own suggestions for modifications, it was expected to be minimal. It was truly like giving money and ying the role of a subsidiary. Although he was somewhat displeased with the headquarters¡¯ arrangement, the branch president, Zhang Ping, knew there was no alternative. For game studios, making good games was the highest principle. For gamingpanies, making money was the highest principle. All the games introduced by the headquarters were profitable and highly popr. Thus, for the headquarters, the most important task was to do well in the localization of these games. Therefore, although greatly dissatisfied with the headquarters¡¯ ns, Zhang Ping still had tidied up a spacious office early on and sent people to Shuangliu Airport to pick up and wee the neers. This time, the coborating partner was a second-tier gamingpany from Gaul, called Cat and Mouse Entertainment. The founder was a devoted fan of ¡°Tom and Jerry,¡± which led him to name hispany after it. The golden era of Cat and Mouse Entertainment was ten years ago, but due to money-squandering during its peak, thepany¡¯s financial chain broke. Many sought-after game IPs were painfully sold off, leading to a decline to mere licensing of old games and living off the past. There hadn¡¯t been many hits in recent years, but several games still had first-ss costs. Properly localized, making a profit should be no problem. The delegation from Cat and Mouse Entertainmentprised no fewer than eleven people. They didn¡¯t look like Gauls; their serious, no-nonsense expressions seemed more characteristic of people from Prussia. Upon arriving at Tianyi, ignoring jetg, they entered the conference room, booted up their game, and began an incessant exnation.
They spoke in authentic French, and very quickly at that, which made the invited French trantor struggle to keep up with their pace. They often had to ask the speakers to pause before exining their meaning. During these moments, the Gauls would look indifferently at Zhang Ping, silently exerting pressure. Zhang Ping knew this was likely their way of putting pressure on his side. But they were supposed to be partners in cooperation, and the Gauls¡¯ use of such petty tactics to torture them irritated Zhang Ping considerably.
However, if the games they brought were good, he was willing to ept it. But the issue was that what they brought was not something new, but an old game from a few years back, ¡°Magic Dynasty¡±. A few years ago, when battle royale games became explosively popr, ¡°Magic Dynasty¡±, as a battle royale-like game, had its moment of fame, and still had a following to this day. Mages, knights, clerics, druids¡­ these familiar fantasy archetypes were all present in the game, along with distinctive sses like Mercury Men and Prisoners. This game indeed was quite good, but on bnce, Zhang Ping would rather they had brought something like ¡°Murderer¡± or ¡°Invasion Action¡±, newer hits with potential that wouldn¡¯tpete with Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s offerings. Interrupting the ongoing presentation, Zhang Ping spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ve already seen your introduction, so I¡¯ll cut to the chase. I admit ¡®Magic Dynasty¡¯ is a ssic battle royale game, and I would have been very happy to operate and release it if this was a year ago, but the issue is, recently, we¡¯ve already got some excellent battle royale games domestically, and their online yer count just broke a million.¡± Chapter 201: 142 Your Idea is Unreliable (Part 2) Chapter 201: Chapter 142 Your Idea is Unreliable (Part 2) After listening to the tranted content, a Gaul raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°But I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡± ¡°There is no French version.¡± ¡°That just proves it¡¯s not good enough to even have a French version.¡± This joke made the team burst intoughter. The blond man at the front pped his hands to quiet everyone down, then said to Zhang Ping, whoseplexion wasn¡¯t great, ¡°I know you have concerns, but trust me, ¡®Magic Dynasty¡¯ is an exceptionalpetitive game. Moreover, we are currently operating a ¡®Magic Dynasty¡¯petition. We¡¯ve been preparing for this event for a long time, and I believe it will boost ¡®Magic Dynasty¡¯s¡¯ sales and significantly increase revenue.¡± As international games were unbanned, some ssic foreignpetitions would gradually be introduced. This was one of the reasons why Tianyi Headquarters considered cooperating with Cat and Mouse Entertainment. After all, the other party¡¯s products had fallen to the second tier, but their operation of various events was still quite good, which was one of the experiences Tianyi hoped to gain. Just as Zhang Ping was racking his brains trying to make the other party change their mind, the other side had already assumed he had no issues and turned to look at the other nners, asking, ¡°Does anyone else have any questions?¡± After a moment of silence, someone in the corner asked, ¡°Could we know what kind of event it is?¡± Turning his head, Zhang Ping saw Qiu Yu with dark circles under her eyes, sitting in the corner, curiously raising her hand to ask her question.
The trantor nced at Zhang Ping, who nodded his head, signaling the trantor to pass on the question. ¡°Good question,¡± the blond man nodded in agreement. ¡°We will group fighters by teams, and each region will have twenty groups battling it out to determine the champion.¡± After briefly introducing thepetition¡¯s format, the blond man started to exin various details, then looked at Qiu Yu and asked, ¡°Do you understand what I said?¡± ¡°I understand, but this doesn¡¯t seem quite right. Have you ever run a ¡®battle royale¡¯ typepetition before?¡± ¡°It¡¯s our first time, but there shouldn¡¯t be too many difficulties. After all, Cat and Mouse Entertainment is a very mature gamingpany, and we have done many simrpetition projects,¡± the blond man exined with a smile. ¡°But not including ¡®battle royale¡¯, right? May I assume that you are actually using Tianyi as cannon fodder to test out your ideas? As far as I know, there hasn¡¯t been a sessful formal ¡®battle royale¡¯petition so far because there are many problems that can¡¯t be resolved for the time being.¡± The trantor was about to trante, but Zhang Ping swiftly stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t trante that. Tell them we¡¯ll take a break and continue the discussionter. Qiu Yu, follow me.¡± Zhang Ping called on Qiu Yu and led her to the stairwell. Qiu Yu wasn¡¯t very tall, but Zhang Ping was even shorter. The two stood by the stairwell, clearly looking like they had issues to discuss, so other smokers decisively left the area to entertain themselves elsewhere. Zhang Ping opened his own Yuxi cigarettes, handed one to Qiu Yu, and then lit one for himself. Seeing that Qiu Yu didn¡¯t move, he took out the lighter again, ignited it, and held it out to her. ¡°I¡¯ve quit¡­¡± ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Putting the lighter away, Zhang Ping didn¡¯t ask for the cigarette back but instead stomped it out, then asked, ¡°Tell me what you¡¯re thinking.¡± ¡°About which part?¡± ¡°Thepetition part.¡± ¡°Well, Cat and Mouse Entertainment clearly wants to bring thepetition here and create a synergy with their own games. After all, promotingpetitions helps to promote the games and boosts their influence. The domestic market is too big; they also want a piece of it.¡± ¡°Continue,¡± Zhang Ping said.
¡°But thispetition clearly has pitfalls since ¡®battle royale¡¯ events are not yet mature. Many are looking for an appropriate solution, but unfortunately,mon methods haven¡¯t worked.¡± Zhang Ping leaned against the wall, thought quietly for a while, and then sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a pity we can¡¯t solve it either. The pressure from headquarters is too great; we have to cooperate.¡± ¡°So we drag our feet, right? Give it a few days, and they should know what to do.¡± Qiu Yu¡¯sposure gave Zhang Ping a hint.
Narrowing his eyes at the other party, Zhang Ping asked, ¡°You kid¡­ speak up, what news have you got?¡± ¡°It¡¯s information anyone can look up. Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ tournament program is about to start broadcasting.¡± Zhang Ping furrowed his brow in recollection, then nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s true, but what does that have to do with our current problem?¡± ¡°They can¡¯t be that foolish. Although they¡¯re treating us like guinea pigs, if a proven workable n emerges, they¡¯ll surely adopt it. I feel that Fang Cheng Studio has some capable people in operation as well, and they must havee up with a solution, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t spend so much money on this.¡± ¡°Are you sure they¡¯ve got a n?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be certain about anything else, but we are talking about Fang Cheng Studio.¡± ¡°¡­True.¡± It has to be said, Fang Cheng Studio is currently a golden signboard in the gaming industry. Even after losing to them twice, Zhang Ping had to admit, their strength was growing too fast, and their games were bing more and more fun to y. Moreover, it was rumored that they had formed a strategic partnership with Kirin Industry. Although the VR integrated tform was niche, it already established a safety for their games, ensuring that no matter what, they wouldn¡¯t make a loss. This condition was something every gamer dreamed of. After all, who wouldn¡¯t want a ¡®get out of jail free card¡¯ to make games without any restrictions? Sighing with envy, Zhang Ping continued to inquire at Qiu Yu, ¡°How long do you think we can dy to see the effects?¡±
¡°Hmm¡­ two weeks. Their program airs two episodes a week, after two weeks, we can finish watching four episodes, and the ratings and audience feedback will reflect in these four episodes. Those Gauls should be able to see it too.¡± ¡°Two weeks, huh¡­¡± The pressure from the headquarters was to start work within a week. However, if they started, many ns would be set in stone, and it would be very troublesome to make changester on. It would also be a heavy blow to our own operations and the morale of the nners. If those Gauls were as hardheaded as baguettes, insisting on following the original policies, it would be even worse for them. Zhang Ping also felt that traditional tournaments were unreliable, with a high chance of failure. If they failed, the Gauls would only lose an idea, but they might lose their jobs. Looking at Qiu Yu across from him, Zhang Ping took a deep breath and then said earnestly, ¡°Qiu Yu, when KongKong left, he rmended you to me directly, saying that you are a gaming genius and I¡¯ve also been keeping an eye on your recent performance in the small games department. It¡¯s been remarkable, very impressive. So I want to ask you, can I trust you?¡± Qiu Yu looked at Zhang Ping as if he had seen a ghost, and with a frown said, ¡°I¡¯m just a junior nner, and you¡¯re pressuring me? Are you the president or am I the president!¡± ¡°You know I¡¯m the president and you still talk to me with that attitude!¡± ¡°At worst, I¡¯ll just get lost. What era is this to still put up with your crap.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Looking at Qiu Yu, a post-¡¯00s, Zhang Ping felt that the other party truly came to shake up the workce.
But he did have the pride to back it up, reviving the nearly dead small games department with a few ideas; his talent truly wasn¡¯t something an ordinary nner could match. After a moment of thought, he patted Qiu Yu¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I understand. I trust you. I¡¯ll stall the headquarters for two weeks. After this seeds, you¡¯ll pretty much be the lead nner.¡± ¡°And if it doesn¡¯t work out?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be gone.¡± Looking at the serious Zhang Ping, Qiu Yu felt that his position as the lead nner was probably secured. It was time to think about what game he should make. Chapter 202: 143: Great Success (Second Update)_1 Chapter 202: Chapter 143: Great Sess (Second Update)_1 March 3rd, Sunday. For the first time, Wang sat down in front of the TV with his girlfriend, Zhao, turned on the set, and began to watch the program. The TV in his home had only been turned on twice this year, once for the Spring Festival G, and now for this. For tonight, he, a perennial no-show, had already prerecorded a video in advance and scheduled it to send, while he himself sat in front of the TV, awaiting the start of the program. He tuned the television to Rong City TV¡¯s public channel, which should have been broadcasting the news at this time, but now it was reced by another program. That was ¡°Who is the Champion¡±. This program was co-produced by Fang Cheng Studio and Multi-Dimensional Club, based on a gamepetition show of a game called ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± under Fang Cheng Studio. Thepetition elements were minor, while the entertainment content was more substantial. For confidentiality, even Wang Say Games hadn¡¯t seen the final edited version before this, so he was somewhat worried about the final result, fearing the editors might include his sneaky yet slightly bashful personality. Zhao, unlike the anxious Wang, was much more rxed. Watching the ads before the program, cracking sunflower seeds she said, ¡°You better perform wellter, I even told people my boyfriend would be on TV tonight.¡±
¡°It¡¯s all prerecorded, how could I possibly perform?¡± Wang replied helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t care, I haven¡¯t asked much of you usually, but you must do this one well.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°And are you sure you¡¯re the main character? It would be embarrassing if you only showed your face for five seconds.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll do my best.¡± With a nervous heart, the program finally began. The faces of dozens of yers appeared on the screen, each with their own number and code name. The voice of Coach Lin, thementator, started, exining the rules and the content of the contest. After a brief exnation of the rules, the first match unfolded immediately without dy. It was clear that the editors knew the strengths of their program and understood which part was most attractive to the audience. That was the gamey footage! Gamey is the most direct disy part of a game. Excellent game footage doesn¡¯t need anymentary ornguage; just watching the characters move can let people feel the charm within it. The first match was, conveniently, Heavenly Demon mode. The huge Ape Demon, appearing as the Heavenly Demon, disyed a majestic appearance that was fierce but not terrifying, with its enormous physique slowly revealed, each strand of fur showcased by the camera, showing a film-like effect on television. After the Heavenly Demon¡¯s arrival CG finished ying, Wang watched for a while, and then knew it should be stable this time. The editor was average, but had a good sense of what to showcase. He remembered this match because it was one of the earliest and everyone yed more conservatively; it should have been somewhat dull. However, the editor understood that the program should highlight the actual footage and the yers¡¯ antics. Moreover, they had to make sure the audience knew they were messing around, otherwise the yers might seem a bit foolish.
They couldn¡¯t afford to evenly distribute camera time and had to show how the defeated yers were beaten. It was like dancing with chains on, yet the editor managed to produce a decent effect. At least after the first match, Wang was sure even new viewers could understand the gamey and the intended effect of the show. Following briefments, the yers finally began their introductions, each getting an extra dozen or so seconds for a close-up, helping the audience connect them with their in-game performance. And then came the second match.
The second was the setup that easily created entertaining moments: ¡°Helping the Evil¡±, but the character names were changed to Insider to avoid tripping censors. Even the game¡¯s atmosphere was adjusted to a more celebratory mood, giving the game a brisker style and making it more likable. The second match had the yers adapted to the pace, and it was indeed more suitable for antics. The entertainers and streamers¡¯ performances finally kicked off. A professional yer, who dominated in the previous match, was sweet-talked and fooled by the hosts, and for a moment mettle gave way to wit, keeping the viewers engrossed knowing the oue, while even Wang himself who had experienced it couldn¡¯t help butugh. Zhaoughed even more exaggeratedly beside him. Seeing someone trick a yer to death, she couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter, pointing at the fooled yer and saying, ¡°That guy¡¯s so clueless, tricked twice and still not catching on! What¡¯s he using for a brain, a 3.5-inch floppy disk? Hahaha!¡± Wang looked helplessly at Zhao, ¡°That guy is me.¡± ¡°I know, I can see the ID, which makes it even funnier! Just thinking that this guy dares to call himself a technical broadcaster makes it sillier. Hahaha, I can¡¯t take it!¡± Watching Zhaough until she was out of breath, Wang felt somewhat insulted. After herughter, Zhao wiped her tears and continued watching the contest, still eager for more after two matches. Two matches were the limit for what a program could amodate, after all, at nearly forty-five minutes each, two matches made for an hour. Usually, she only saw Wang ying Heavenly Demon mode and thought ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± was straightforward. But today, she realized there was lots of fun stuff in it and nned to y a round for Wangter.
Chapter 203: 143: Great Success (Second Update)_2 Chapter 203: Chapter 143: Great Sess (Second Update)_2 After learning that ¡°Who is the Champion¡± aired two episodes a week, she set her rm in advance, determined to watch the next update on time without missing a single episode. Seeing Zhao¡¯s reaction, Wang nodded, knowing that this time it was really secured. Zhao¡¯s reaction was the best weathervane; if she wasn¡¯t interested in a show, it was unlikely to be popr. And through Zhao¡¯s reaction, Wang knew that ¡°Who is the Champion¡± already had the potential to be a smash hit. ¡°Fang Cheng Studio really hit big this time.¡± At the same moment, Wang Xiaoying, who had arranged to work at night, was writing her graduation thesis in the dorm while keeping an eye on the show¡¯s viewership ratings and onlinementary. Through the backend data, she saw that the real-time viewership ratings had reached 0.2%, a number that made her clench her fists. Sess! Rong City TV¡¯s public channel was just a local small channel, usually not high in viewership during this time slot, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have sold the slot to Fang Cheng Studio for a bargain price. 0.2% might be negligible for some big shows, but it was already the highest rating the Rong City TV public channel had seen recently.
And the onlinements were all rave reviews. In the dedicated Rong City TV public channel forum, Wang Xiaoying saw a flurry of new posts where there had been none before. [Have you watched ¡°Who is the Champion?¡± Who do you think will be the champion in the end?] [It doesn¡¯t matter who is the champion; the key is the fun. That Wang Say Games guy seems to be a streamer, now whenever I see him appear, I want tough, you rarely see someone that silly.] [I think so too, but maybe that¡¯s exactly the act he¡¯s putting on.] [The act is too good; doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s acting; you should check his IQ.] [I casually nced at it and couldn¡¯t help but watch till the end; the game effects are too explosive.] [My three-year-old son never watches TV, but this time he watched from start to finish, then nagged me to watch it again from the beginning.] [My wife doesn¡¯t y games, but after watching for a bit she asked me whether they were ying a game or shooting a movie, and if it¡¯s a movie, where can she watch it?] [Turns out the game ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± really exists, but its name doesn¡¯t match the content of the game.] [Heard it¡¯s their traditional art form.] TV viewers initially didn¡¯t have much inmon with gamers. However, ¡°Who is the Champion¡± used in, easy-to-understand cameranguage and entertainment-filled effects to pique TV viewers¡¯ curiosity about the game and got them deciding to give it a tryter. After looking through thements in detail and scrutinizing various data, Wang Xiaoying saw the possibility of the program bing extremely popr. And this was only its first episode; the effects of uing episodes would be even more explosive and fun. While Wang Xiaoying was intoxicated with the program¡¯s data, she heard her roommates quietly discussing something, asionally letting outughs. ¡°Have you watched ¡®Who is the Champion¡¯?¡± ¡°I have, some of the yers are dazzlingly handsome, good-looking and also good at the game, truly adorable.¡± ¡°Well¡­ they¡¯re actually just so-so at the game, not much of showmen, but they¡¯re handsome.¡±
¡°Exactly, being handsome is enough. But that game looks fun too; should we give it a try?¡± ¡°It seems a bit difficult, plus we have to pay to buy it; I n to just watch some videos. Wonder whichpany¡¯s game it is, just going by the visuals, thatpany is really amazing.¡± Hearing her roommates¡¯ments made Wang Xiaoying secretly thrilled. That first-person show-off feeling was exhrating.
Focusing her attention back on the data, the more she looked, the happier she became. The boost to game sales from program poprity was terrifying. ¡°Quiet Cultivation,¡± which was already in a stable sales phase, hit another sales peak and continued to reach new heights due to the poprity of the TV show. She believed that with the topic of the program further fermenting, game sales would further increase. Reaching ten million units sold would probably happen soon; just one game had brought in eight hundred million in revenue, and the online yer¡¯s pass was another steady stream of cash flow. This meant Fang Cheng Studio would hardly ever be short of money. Though Fang Cheng didn¡¯t care, Wang Xiaoying calcted that the profits brought about eventually might be triple the cost, and the more intangible benefits like prestige were immeasurable. If the viewership of the program continued to rise, it would prove that entertainmentpetitions also had a market. Audiences might not care about all the game¡¯s techniques and strategies, but they would support their favorite contestants, bringing additional ie to the contestants and ultimately achieving what she and Monkey had wanted, a result where ¡°even the losers don¡¯t walk away empty-handed.¡± As her roommates said, even being handsome could be a draw. What followed were advertisements, sponsorships, the involvement of other clubs, and all kinds of things were soon toe her way, making her very busy in the future. In fact, people with keen senses were already inquiring about her and expressed an interest in discussing product cements. After finishing her calctions, she took a deep breath, feeling she had finally done something worthy of her sry. And the thought of the eight-digit bonus she would getter made her even happier. It was time to buy a bigger house for her parents.
She wondered what expressions her parents would have when they saw the new house. Unlike the excited Wang Xiaoying, people from Tianyi¡¯s Rong City branch were also gathered in the break room, having watched thepetition show at thepany. Chapter 204: 143: Great Success (Second Update)_3 Chapter 204: Chapter 143: Great Sess (Second Update)_3 Every lounge on each floor was upied; nearly everyone was watching thepetition program, eager to see what kind of answer Fang Cheng Studio would ultimately present. Although no one had explicitly stated it, Tianyi¡¯s Rong City branch had already regarded Fang Cheng Studio as its greatest adversary. If eight months ago someone had told them that a newly established studio would challenge their status, they would have scoffed at the idea. But reality is often so fantastical; the opponent had indeed managed to do just that. After watching thepetition program, Zhang Ping¡¯s eyes widened, and his heart churned with shock and awe. Before the show began, he had secretly prayed that ¡°Who is the Champion¡± would at least meet the passing mark, providing the Gauls with some stimtion, forcing them to change their minds would suffice. But after watching it, he realized that the show was even better than he had imagined. And from the preview of the next episode, even more explosive effects were yet toe, which made him eagerly anticipate what would unfold, desiring to see the subsequent content. ncing at the Gauls, he noticed the eleven foreigners sitting up straight, stroking their chins as they pondered the impact of the show, remaining silent for a long time. Initially, when they learned that Fang Cheng Studio had apetition program, theyughed heartily and then expressed that they would take a look.
¡°But we might be quite strict, and we might say some harsh words then, so we hope it doesn¡¯t reach Fang Cheng Studio.¡± Of course, it doesn¡¯t matter if it does. A small studio, after all, it doesn¡¯t matter. The program had just begun, and they were still able to talk andugh. However, as soon as the game screen appeared for the first time, their expressions instantly transformed from disdain to shock and remained so until the show ended, after which they turned serious. After a brief discussion among themselves, the blond youth raised his hand and had the interpreter trante his words: ¡°Excuse me, did you record this?¡± ¡°Record? Oh, no need, the TV can rey it, we¡¯ll just rey it.¡± ¡°Good, thank you, please rey it.¡± Upon reying ¡°Who is the Champion,¡± the eleven Gauls immediately sat upright and started watching intently. This time, they were much more serious in their attitude, even pausing to have the interpreter trante theirments, asionally slowing down to scrutinize the actual images in the game. After watching it for the second time, they did not stop but continued to rey it. Observing the earnest Gauls, Zhang Ping felt an unexpected sense of satisfaction. Who says Gauls don¡¯t work overtime! When ites to something they¡¯re interested in, they enjoy working overtime more than anyone. Finally, after watching for the third time, the blond youth spoke to the interpreter, who then addressed Zhang Ping: ¡°Mr. Zhang, Mr. n says they have new inspiration and need to revise their original proposal. They need someone to work with them; whom do you think would be suitable?¡± After hearing these words, Zhang Ping breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought he would need to withstand two weeks of pressure, but it had only taken one night. Thank you, Fang Cheng Studio, your program is truly fantastic. However, after the gratitude came immense pressure because this meant they had to carve out their own unique features to taste the second victory. But regardless, the crisis was over.
As for the rmended candidate, he already had someone in mind. Pulling Qiu Yu over, he said to the interpreter, ¡°This is the one.¡± Chapter 205 - 144 Getting Better (First Update)_1 Chapter 205: Chapter 144 Getting Better (First Update)_1 In the following days, the poprity of ¡°Who is the Champion¡± increased with each passing day. Wang from Wang Say Games knew the show would be popr, but he hadn¡¯t anticipated it bing this wildly sessful. The bustling nature of the program led him to ponder for a long time before he gradually found the answer. In China, it seemed there was no other eSports program quite like it. The entertainment programs on the market were basically a group of celebrities performing awkwardly. A formerly decent show had been canceled due to being too down-to-earth, leaving only a bunch of actors following scripts. Each person, based on their own poprity, yed a different role, with scripted interactions among them. What everyone said on different asions needed to be customized, and the jokes that were made were tepid at best, to ensure nothing problematic could be found upon review. But ¡°Who is the Champion¡± was different. There were no celebrities invited, no big names, just a group of people being themselves and ying in diverse ways. Moreover, the quality of the game itself was solid, and thepetition segments were not boring to watch. yers eliminated early on could take the opportunity to trash talk, spouting nonsense as if they were school children. They were ustomed to making a living off their banter and, once familiar, had no psychological pressure even if the local stations hadrger tolerances; editors still had to check to pass the censors. It was rumored that the uncut versions contained even more trash talk, with some yers able to go on for upwards of fifteen minutes, enough to make a solo stand-upedy show. Beyond that, the audience also got to see another side of eSports yers¡¯ daily lives. eSports yers were flesh and blood too, and they often felt anxious due to poor performance. In behind-the-scenes footage, they saw how Coach Lin would counsel yers on mental health issues daily, revealing the hard truths of eSports. However, the show¡¯s sess provided new opportunities. Even if they never became champions, they could now consider positions like star-streamers. Thanks to the show¡¯s poprity, Wang Say Games saw a crazy increase in follower count, with a surge of people flooding into his live broadcasts. Daily, people would message him privately asking about the oue of ¡°Who is the Champion,¡± but due to confidentiality agreements, Wang could only feign ignorance and not respond. While the rate of TV viewership was on the decline year by year, television still held significant influence. The powerful advertising impact made ¡°Who is the Champion¡± and ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± hot topics of conversation, and the entertainment segment of the fourth episode took the show¡¯s impact to new heights. In this episode, Fang Cheng made an appearance. When Fang Cheng appeared on the screen, the viewership rate for ¡°Who is the Champion¡± instantly broke through 23%. The digital version of the show¡¯s y count soared online, and the hot topics of the day were even overtaken by enthusiastic fans, leaving celebrities who paid for trending spots at a loss. Looking at the hot topics of the day, one could feel the fans¡¯ excitement. [Boss, stop making games and join the entertainment industry, okay?] [No acting skills needed, no expressions needed, I¡¯d be willing to watch even if you presented with PowerPoint slides.] [I object to Fang Cheng acting; who do you think you are, seducing my boyfriend?] [Some choose talent, others choose looks, but the boss says he wants it all¡ªand Heaven gave it to him!] [As a gaming enthusiast, this is the first time I wish someone would stop gaming and start acting.] The day after the show aired, Xu Qingling looked at the media reports and felt that she should never have let her boss participate in any show. However, finding many people shared her discernment, she felt it might not be too bad after all. But some zealous fans might sniff out the scent ande over, which could impact the studio¡¯s regr operations. It was time to deal with this. If they could get through this period, the frenzied fans would gradually cool down, and Fang Cheng Studio would return to serenity. By then, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. After removing thepany¡¯s address information and registering a new one elsewhere, Xu Qingling tried to legally alter Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s information as much as possible, minimizing the impact to the lowest level. After handling these tasks, she saw Fang Cheng staring thoughtfully at the sales records of ¡°Quiet Cultivation.¡± The sales of ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± were better than they had anticipated; Wang Xiaoying had already urgently contracted artists to create a new batch of posters to celebrate the game¡¯s crossing of the ten million mark, then soaring to fifteen million copies. Although part of the sales were due to fanatic fans purchasing multiple copies, the number of yers online indicated the game was undoubtedly a recent hit. Yet, seeing such high sales did not make Fang Cheng particrly happy. High sales meant high revenue, but over the past nine months, he had been distributing profits and paying sries punctually each month, with Xu Qingling devising various perks for the employees, yet thepany¡¯s bank bnce had still reached 2.2 billion yuan. Looking at so much money made him as ufortable as seeing Tian Xuan¡¯s rued merits. After all, money on the books isn¡¯t truly money¡ªit¡¯s only beneficial to society when it¡¯s in cirction. ¡°So, how should we spend this money?¡± Fang Cheng pondered with a sigh during lunch. ¡°Start a business, something that burns through cash. Just pick an industry, and you¡¯ll probably run it into the ground,¡± Xu Qingling teased while sipping her tea. ¡°I know a few second-generation rich kids¡ªthey used to hang around aimlessly waiting to inherit the family fortune, but they had the bright idea to start a business.¡± Chapter 206 - 144 Getting Better (Second Update)_2 Chapter 206: Chapter 144 Getting Better (Second Update)_2 ¡°So, what was the result?¡± Fang Cheng asked curiously. ¡°Only one out of the ten buildings was left unsold, and that was because the guy was pushed to the brink of death before he finally didn¡¯t sell. Oh, he¡¯s in the gaming industry too, but kind of dumb; he can¡¯t even tell when he¡¯s being scammed. Speaking of which, gaming really burns through cash, but it seems only you, boss, have no problems there. Have you figured out what you want to do yet? If you¡¯re thinking of investing, I¡¯ve got some connections too.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Fang Cheng looked at Xu Qingling for a while and realized that she had the Fortune Fate naturally, as well as other minor fates like Husband Prosperous, luck, and Koi, which meant she was blessed with very good fortune and favored by this world. In her past life, she must have done many good deeds to receive such favor. Such a person is usually destined for great achievements in the future. Handing money over to her could contribute more to the world than just letting it sit in an ount. So, he straightforwardly said, ¡°Alright, I will leave the money with you; you can invest it however you like. But I have one condition: invest in the gaming industry.¡± Although the gaming often backstabbed him, Fang Cheng knew that his chance for achieving enlightenment was tied to gaming, and this feeling was bing increasingly certain. Despite several gaming failures, he still felt that his Taoist Heart was bing more polished, and his future path was bing clearer. Therefore, the more developed the gaming industry, therger the space he had for future endeavors. Having learned Fang Cheng¡¯s requirements, Xu Qingling smiled confidently, armed with his authorization, and began gathering information, preparing to invest. After listing out the promising game-rted industries, Xu Qingling soon realized the gaming industry was a mixed bag. Investing in websites was unnecessary, tform investments were toote, domestic gaming consoles were at a disadvantage, and the only noteworthy one turned out to be the VR integration machine of Kirin Industry, located just downstairs. After reviewing the information, Xu Qingling realized that Gao Tianyun might be more remarkable than she had thought. With a Ph.D. in Communications Engineering from Tsinghua University, experience studying abroad in North America, and a handful of invention patents, he had a deep passion for the gaming industry. Originally a heavy industrypany, Kirin Industry shifted its focus to gaming after Gao Tianyun took over. The quality of their integrated VR machine within the industry was solid and had great potential. Unfortunately, theycked talent in software, and the high cost of porting games limited the application of their VR machine. After her research, Xu Qingling gathered some internal information and felt good about Kirin Industry. Then she picked up the phone and called the front desk downstairs. When they found out it was a call from Fang Cheng Studio upstairs, Gao Tianyun, who was drafting, immediately lunged for the phone and excitedly asked, ¡°Mr. Fang, have you finallye to your senses!¡± ¡°No? Just want to invest? Sigh¡­¡± ¡°Two billion, huh? Alright¡­ But are you sure you don¡¯t want to join us, Mr. Fang? Okay, I got it.¡± After hanging up the phone, Gao Tianyun felt incredibly disappointed. Compared to a two billion investment, he had hoped more for Fang Cheng to join his venture and work together. Next to a soulmate in life, twenty billion was no different from toilet paper. As Xu Qingling was discussing the investment with Gao Tianyun, Fang Cheng was looking at the reviews of this year¡¯s Spring Festival G. It was a post-g ritual he did every year. After watching, he would examine the audience¡¯s reactions to understand what they wanted to see and to identify the discrepancies between his own perceptions and those of the audience. As in previous years, the mainstream media were full of praise, while inte forums were full of criticism. The prized responses made Fang Cheng feel like they weren¡¯t watching the same show. [Every year I think it can¡¯t get worse than this year, but the next year I find out I was wrong.] [Can¡¯t find the New Year¡¯s spirit anymore.] [This year I yed games with the TV on, only looking up during the final countdown.] [I was watching a rey, and I felt d that it was finally better thanst year¡¯s, only to find out my mom was ying one from two years ago.] [Doesn¡¯t feel as fun as the New Year in ¡°The Supreme One,¡± after all, they are truly celebrating the festival.] [Awful.] Having read the yers¡¯ments, Fang Cheng felt inspired. After observing the yers for over a month, Fang Cheng realized that yers were a group with great creativity, and they loved to materialize their creative ideas. Therefore, if given a stage to choreograph their own shows,pile their own program lists, and arrange their own actors, wouldn¡¯t the process be fun? After some thought, Fang Cheng found it was pretty interesting, akin to directing a Spring Festival G. Having decided on the direction for the film, Fang Cheng started taking action. His Primordial Spirit left his body, and he directly entered the Mirror Universe, arriving in the Shadow Area. Here, he meticulously inspected the condition of the Shadows. These Shadows had devoured arge number ofs and life forms, which caused the Shadows to be an existence much like a collective consciousness of life, and they could even manifest things simr to a Female Evil God from their main body. Clipping a small piece of the Shadow with the God Sword and holding it in his hand, Fang Cheng discovered that even in a tiny fragment of Shadow, there was a vast amount of information that could be fully materialized with a bit of Mana. Moreover, the Shadows could react based on stimuli; as long as certain rules were given, they could evenprehend which elements were appealing and respond ordingly. It was like arge collective of human consciousness, able to provide rational feedback through external interaction. After fully mastering the traits of the Shadows, Fang Cheng nodded in satisfaction, already knowing what to do. He decided to create a management simtion game. Once the direction was set, he integrated the Shadow Primordial Spirit back into ce, then started to search for various types of management simtion games, to learn and to construct. While learning, he also cleared out negative aspects within the Shadow, retaining only the information, and intertwined Immortal Spells within it, transforming the Shadow into the ideal form he envisioned. He incorporated elements that yers liked such as growth, added different levels of life forms, included the aspect of money, online leaderboards, studio elements¡­ Seven dayster, all the rules were nned out, everything in the Shadows was processed, and it was time to package and hand it over to Huang Ping and others for optimization. Upon hearing of a new game, the three nners immediately fell into happy troubles. There were too many games to y. Although the gap since thest game was rtively long, the previous games still had plenty to offer, and the arrival of a new game would inevitably encroach on the already limited game time, putting their sleep hours in jeopardy. This thought was simply biting the hand that feeds, so Huang Ping justined briefly before diving into the game. The name of this game is ¡°I Am The Director,¡± tagged as a management simtion, program filming, and positivity. Staring at the title and tags, Huang Ping didn¡¯t know where the problems would arise, but was certain there would be issues somewhere. However, this had be one of Mr. Fang¡¯s trademarks, and he had learned to embrace the problems, even finding joy in them. As long as the game was fun, there would be no issue! Moreover, figuring out the boss¡¯s true intentions and discovering a valid way to y was also a pleasure. Entering the game with enthusiasm, Huang Ping found that there was no beginner¡¯s guide, as usual, but the content of the game was straightforward and easy to understand. It was about directing shows. As a director who has just taken charge of a program team, the protagonist needs to direct shows, provide scripts, boost viewership, and make their program team the best. Each show required a host, assistant director, screenwriter, cameraman, etc., and they all had their own levels; the higher the level of the talent, the better the output and correspondingly, the higher the sry. The game also featured so-called legends, each with their special skills to further enhance the program¡¯s impact. Besides, there were sequels, crossovers, and other special arrangements in the program, which made Huang Ping a bit ecstatic after ying for a while. umting money bit by bit, multi-threadingyout little by little, starting from a small show and ultimately taking on the responsibility of arge evening g. The feedback from the game was excellent and unique. Although some areas were still rough, it would be even more interesting with some polishing over time. Huang Ping yed until the end of the workday, exhaling a sigh of lingering enjoyment. Mr. Fang¡¯s game development skills were getting better and better. Chapter 207: 145 I Understand (Second Update)_1 Chapter 207: Chapter 145 I Understand (Second Update)_1 From Huang Ping¡¯s perspective, the games made by Fang Cheng were as brilliant as ever. It wasn¡¯t about ttery or sycophancy, but a genuine feeling from a gaming enthusiast. Putting aside the visually stunning graphics, interactive items, and various systems, there was an intrinsic naturalness that seemed to emerge, giving Huang Ping the sense that Fang Cheng¡¯s games were developing a distinctive vor. Every work of art has its own vor: novels, movies, games, animations¡­ This vor mighte from a line of dialogue or an expression, but it¡¯s the detail that perfectly represents the game¡¯s vor, making it memorable. As Fang Cheng Studio produced more and more games, they improved at a visibly rapid pace, which made Huang Ping anxiously rack his brains on how to make them even more perfect and thereby enhance the game¡¯s quality a bit more. The process became increasingly difficult, but it also forced him to tap into his potential for greater improvement. A few dayster, the new game ¡°I Am The Director¡± was adjusted and ready. Xiao Douzi hadpleted the configuration for the game¡¯s values, and various rted gaming systems had been tweaked; the game¡¯spletion level was very high, ready for release at any moment. From a project progress standpoint, the development of this game went as smoothly as usual, without encountering anymon issues found in typical game development; the process was even smoother than eating Dove choctes. But the smoother things went, the more something felt off to Huang Ping.
It wasn¡¯t just him¡ªXiao Douzi and Monkey also felt that there was something abnormal about this game. Game development can be rather mystical¡ªin the absence of issues, there might be unseen problems; if it feels like there¡¯s an issue, there might be significant trouble. Despite their efforts, they couldn¡¯t pinpoint the problem and eventually had to give up, at least for the time being. On Friday, after work, the three nners realized they were all free, so it naturally became the night for their weekly ¡°nners¡¯ Night Out.¡± Somehow, the second Friday of every month had be their customary gathering, where they would buy various foods and snacks, then head to Huang Ping¡¯s home to eat and y games until they dispersed the following day after lunch. Huang Ping¡¯s girlfriend would make ns to spend that night at her best friend¡¯s house for their own ¡°Girls¡¯ Night,¡± conveniently leaving the home to Huang Ping and his two friends. Although the three of them had an age difference of up to fourteen years, that didn¡¯t prevent them from findingmon interests,patible personalities, and bing good friends. This kind of friendship, formed outside of work, was considered quite rare by all three of them. Carrying drinks, beer, and various barbecues, the trio sat on the living room sofa, ate while watching a Stephen Chow movie, and then turned on ¡°Who is the Champion¡± to check out that evening¡¯s show. After eating and drinking their fill, they chatted about recent gaming trends, discussed the ongoing game promotions by Tianyi, and eventually, the topic shifted to their recent gaming work. Huang Ping took a swig of beer and then, frowning, asked, ¡°Have you guys noticed that the boss¡¯stest game seems off?¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Xiao Douzi nodded, ¡°The graphics of the game are quite impressive, the sound effects are well-coordinated, the little animations during the filming of the show are quite amusing, and the various systems¡¯pletion levels are high, but I just feel something¡¯s not right.¡± Monkey, sipping a peach-vored c, scratched his chin and said, ¡°I can¡¯t quite put my finger on it, but it feels like there¡¯s something hidden within the game.¡± ¡°I feel the same, it¡¯s like the boss¡¯s quirky sense of humor is at it again,¡± sighed Huang Ping. ¡°That¡¯s not just a quirky sense of humor, that¡¯s a signature,¡± said Xiao Douzi with admiration, ¡°Only the boss could hide Easter eggs in such an extraordinary way.¡± ¡°¡­Fanatics are scary, but why do I feel like you make sense?¡± Nowadays, it¡¯s well known that Fang Cheng Studio likes to hide Easter eggs in their games. On Bilibili, there¡¯s even content specifically exining this meme, using ¡°This is an Easter egg¡± to refer to certain twists or moments of anticipation. In the eyes of yers, the gamey itself is just an appetizer, the Easter eggs are the main course.
This meme has be even more famous than the games produced by Fang Cheng Studio, indicating how the influence of gaming on mainstream culture is deepening. Considering that they hadn¡¯t discovered any hidden memes in Fang Cheng¡¯s games, the three nners felt as if they had neglected their duties, and the recent bonus they received started feeling a bit like hot potatoes. The previously joyful atmosphere suddenly became subdued; the only thing left in the room was the highlight reel of ¡°Who is the Champion,¡± with the bewildered scene of Wang Say Games asking ¡°Why?¡± After a moment of silence, Huang Ping took out a USB sh drive from his pocket and said seriously, ¡°I copied the game when I left work; want to take a look together?¡±
¡°Huang, you¡¯ve lost your mind!¡± Xiao Douzi eximed in horror, ¡°Have you forgotten what happened with ¡®Botanic Garden?¡¯ How could you dare?¡± ¡°But I really can¡¯t resist. I have to uncover this secret,¡± dered Huang Ping firmly. Looking at the tiny USB sh drive in Huang¡¯s hand, Xiao Douzi and Monkey felt as if they were gazing upon Pandora¡¯s box, involuntarily tensing up. They were eager to work overtime right then and find out the game¡¯s hidden secrets, to discover the game¡¯s real truth, but they were afraid of being found out by their boss, Fang Cheng. Chapter 208: 145 I Understand (Second Update)_2 Chapter 208: Chapter 145 I Understand (Second Update)_2 After being discovered, they could only eptpensatory time off, and they might even have to make up for it over the next weekend as well. At Fang Cheng Studio, the biggest punishment might just be not being allowed to work. After thinking for half a day, Xiao Douzi steeled her heart and then said, ¡°Let¡¯s sneak a peek and discuss in whispers, without writing documents or keeping records. Could the boss be an Immortal or something? Could he still know we¡¯ve worked overtime?¡± ¡°Mmm, that makes sense,¡± Huang Ping nodded. ¡°This time I¡¯m on Xiao Douzi¡¯s side,¡± Monkey also nodded. Having reached a consensus, the three of them eagerly turned on theputer, plugged in the USB drive, huddled together in front of the screen, and stealthily started running the game. With the additions over the past few days, the game had be even more polished. Now, the tutorial wasplete, the game¡¯s system guidance was perfect, and new yers could y with virtually no burden. The game could be yed offline or online; if online, one could visit other people¡¯s in-progress shows or even make a cameo in someone else¡¯s game, which was a neat little Easter egg. However, Huang Ping knew that this definitely wasn¡¯t Fang Cheng¡¯s big Easter egg.
The real big Easter egg was something that could change how the game was yed. Wondering why they shouldn¡¯t let the boss know about their secret overtime, Huang Ping specifically cut off his homework and started ying offline. He immediately turned off the tutorial and swiftly got into the heart of the game. This time, Huang Ping noticed that Fang Cheng had intentionally simplified the gamey by limiting it greatly. That was to continuously draw employees, train them, and then have them produce various shows. Although the yer had to handle everything from show nning to actual broadcast, the whole process just required a few clicks and assigning staff, almost instantly intuitive. And the game, with its witty and humorous performances, plentiful random events, and a wealth of richly varied animations, was not monotonous. However, contrary to the simplicity of the gamey, the game actually offered a lot of depth for thought. Different employees had different tags, which corresponded to different program tags as well. When the tags ovepped, the employees¡¯ work efficiency would greatly increase, thus producing better show oues. Apart from this, there werebinational effects between shows, and as the game progressed, yers would discover that different times could also have different impacts on the game¡ªdetails that could be found in reality. After arrangingbinations and ultimately broadcasting their shows, yers could see the final viewer ratings and audiencements. This part was Huang Ping¡¯s favorite. Viewer ratings determined the overall sess of the show and the financial subsidies from above¡ªa show had to be well-crafted to earn high ratings. Through audiencements, one could tell whether thebination of elements in the show was correct, and predict uing popr themes andbinations based on viewer preferences. Although Huang Ping didn¡¯t know what method Fang Cheng used, after several attempts, he found the audiencements to be flexible and varied, as though watching a group of real, live viewersmenting in front of their TVs. They could urately identify the themes andbinations yers used, and some could even recognize familiar faces. There were even professional critics who seriously reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the shows. Thements were either humorous or harsh. Somements could make peopleugh, while others could hit them hard. The game had a strong element of randomness, with final oues potentially affected by various factors.
Sometimes, a huge investment with associated stars could plummet in ratings due to negative news, resulting in nothing gained. But at other times, even with modest investment, if the show caught the wind of poprity, it could be an overnight sensation and make a hefty profit. In the game, yer ie mainly came from activity funds disbursed from above and advertisement fees. Expenditures included various costume and prop fees, reporter interview fees, program nning costs, and employee wages, among others.
After re-experiencing the game, Huang Ping and the others originally aimed to find the Easter egg, but after ying for a while, they became immersed in the game, starting to discuss the effects of variousbinations anew. ¡°I always felt thatedy and suspense didn¡¯t really mix well, but the actual effect is surprisingly good, and the audience feedback is especially positive. Could it be that thisbination was misjudged?¡± Monkey asked, puzzled. ¡°I think it¡¯s becauseedic elements can dilute the tension brought by suspense, allowing the audience to rx. And I have to say, a lot of times, viewers don¡¯t actually like to deduce. They just need an engaging story to immerse themselves in for a while. Plus, if the story is also pretty interesting, then that¡¯s even better,¡± Huang Ping exined. ¡°Hmm, that makes sense. So how about we try mixingedy with the gangster theme? What do you think we should call this show?¡± ¡°ck Club?¡± ¡°Hmm, sounds promising. Then how about dance and gangsters? What do you guys think?¡± ¡°I just pictured it¡­ please give me a brain that has never thought of such a thing.¡± ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just check out dance and gangsters.¡± ¡°Stop¡­ we¡¯re running out of money.¡± ¡°Toote!¡± Once the themes werebined and handed over to the screenwriters, the show could officially start production. In the official production process, the stage would showcase different animated performance effects based on the themes chosen by the yers. For example, if it were gangsters and dance, you could see on stage a bunch of guys in ck suits, covered in tattoos, with scars all over their faces, looking fierce as hell.
Just by their look, you could tell these guys were regrs on the wanted list, the kind the police would have to empty their magazines upon sighting. However, these guys started singing and dancing on stage. The bald Han Dynasty guys gathered together hand in hand, dressed in white ballet outfits, and then began dancing the Dance of the Little Swans. They moved gracefully and elegantly, and although it was extremely hard on the eyes, for some reason, it felt kind of cool after watching for a while. Seeing this, Huang Ping, who had just been dissenting, immediately burst outughing, and even Xiao Douzi started to giggle. Ridiculousbinations often bring a more interesting experience to the yers in front of the screen, and this was a nice little easter egg. But it was still not enough. After theughter, Huang Ping, holding his stomach, said, ¡°Oh boy, we can¡¯t keep this up, we¡¯re almost out of money. Luckily we saved the game earlier. Otherwise, just thisbination would be enough to bankrupt us.¡± Monkey nodded, ¡°You¡¯re right, this game is always short on funds. Buying good scripts costs money, hiring staff costs money, and training the staff costs money too. They eat at my ce, sleep at my ce, why do I still have to pay them?¡± It was just an offhandment, but it caused Xiao Douzi to freeze, as if he had realized something. He pulled Monkey aside and asked seriously, ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°Why do I still have to pay them?¡± Hearing this sentence, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck through Xiao Douzi¡¯s mind.
He restarted the game quickly and began to try over and over again, repeatedly attempting to unlock the plot. After several attempts, he stared at the screen and pondered. Fifteen minutester, he quickly restarted the game and continued to try. Seeing Xiao Douzi so engrossed, Huang Ping didn¡¯t dare say a word, and it wouldn¡¯t have mattered anyway. By this time, Xiao Douzi hadpletely entered work mode, and whatever was said would fall on deaf ears. Finally, Xiao Douzi mmed on the keyboard excitedly and said, ¡°I got it.¡± Turning his head, Huang Ping looked at the screen and finally saw the anomaly. In the assets column, Xiao Douzi¡¯s assets had already broken seven figures, but the staff value was not good, and the show group¡¯s equipment was also shabby,pletely inconsistent with his actual assets. Recalling Xiao Douzi¡¯s operations, Huang Ping also nodded and said, ¡°I see, I got it too.¡± Chapter 209: 146 Did I Do Something Wrong (Three updates)_1 Chapter 209: Chapter 146 Did I Do Something Wrong (Three updates)_1 After Huang Ping and Xiao Douzi expressed their understanding, Monkey was still utterly clueless. But after hearing the exnation from Huang Ping, Monkey had an epiphany and then expressed that he understood as well. When all three of them had grasped the concept, Fang Cheng, who was meditating at home, suddenly felt a chill. Startled by the sensation, Tian Xuan, who was eating cookies and watching past Spring Festival gs, thought for a moment and then handed over a cookie shaped like a Heavenly Tao Fragment. Declining Tian Xuan¡¯s offer, Fang Cheng gazed into the distance and murmured to himself, ¡°Someone might be persecuting me.¡± There was no way someone could beat him straightforwardly; the only ones who could possibly hurt him were the yers he loved and hated in equal measure. However, the meaning of the warning could be manifold; it might be because someone was nning to persecute him, or that someone might in the future. His divination skills were indeed poor, only able to sense a crisis, but whether this crisis was from the present or the future, he couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint. But based on his understanding of himself, most likely the crisis stemmed from the yers. Of course, it was also possible that Huang Ping and the others were up to something.
But they had recently been observing thepany¡¯s rules and regtions, not working overtime unnecessarily and were likely resting at home right now, so it was probably some shenanigans that the yers might be up to. Sighing, Fang Cheng felt that the yers were truly his lifelong adversaries, yet he couldn¡¯t do without them. Therefore, he could only continuously refine himself, making the gamey of his game as smooth as possible to prevent the yers from backstabbing him. But this process was also a form of self-examination and cultivation. Only a wless Taoist Heart can face all challenges; if it can¡¯t even withstand the yers¡¯ scrutiny, it¡¯s not worth keeping. Picking up a piece of Shadows Fragment again, Fang Cheng continued to scrutinize ¡°I Am The Director,¡± observing every issue within the game and pulling them out one by one for repair, remolding them entirely ording to his will. Before he knew it, the weekend was over. As Fang Cheng walked into the studio and had just settled into his seat, exchanging good mornings with Xu Qingling, he noticed the dazed expression on Monkey who had just walked in. His steps were unsteady, his demeanor listless, almost bumping into the wall several times, looking like someone who had overindulged to the point of being hollowed out. Even after drinking some tea and resting on gue Chicken for a while, he still seemed sluggish. Before long, Huang Ping and Xiao Douzi also entered thepany, one after the other. Upon arrival, they brewed a potent mix of coffee and Spirit Grass with hot water and drank arge cup vehemently, which somewhat revived their spirits. Recovering a bit, they nced at Fang Cheng guiltily, just about to greet him, when they noticed Fang Cheng narrowing his eyes, his gaze darting back and forth among the three of them. Confronted with Fang Cheng¡¯s calm gaze, the three felt a chill run down their spines as if someone had grabbed them from behind, and couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit guilty. After a moment, Fang Cheng sighed and said, ¡°You three don¡¯t need toe in tomorrow.¡± Normally when a boss says this, it means you¡¯re fired, contact HR to get yourpensation, and then leave. But they understood Fang Cheng. This statement was definitely literal, meaning he wanted them to rest. Clutching at straws, Huang Ping managed a strained smile and said, ¡°Boss¡­¡±
Fang Cheng sighed again and then pointed to the rules and regtions posted on thepany walls. The first rule was: ¡°No random overtime. Overtime must bepensated with time off (Fang Cheng excluded).¡± This rule was highlighted and bolded, one of the mandatory regtions in the studio. Hearing Fang Cheng say this, Huang Ping realized that their overtime work over the weekend had been discovered.
Knowing nothing they said would make a difference, Huang Ping straightforwardly said, ¡°Alright, since we¡¯ve been caught, do what you will with us. But at least let us finish our work, so we can make up for the time off properly!¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. You worked overtime for two days on the weekend; I¡¯ll count it as six days. You don¡¯t have toe in next week,e back the Tuesday after next.¡± The unexpected bad news caused Huang Ping to instinctively clutch at his chest. But he still resolutely went to his workstation, determinedly opened the game, and started making changes. Wang Xiaoying, who had observed everything from the sidelines and taken a sip of tea, felt that this ce was truly strange. In other ces, bosses try all sorts of ways to make their employees work overtime, yet here it was the exact opposite. But she could understand that sentiment, and then she felt weird for being able to understand it. At the end of the day, Fang Cheng looked over the modifications made by Huang Ping and nodded with satisfaction. To prevent yers from backstabbing him during gamey, he had made many changes. For instance, increasing difficulty, boosting in-game employee sries, raising advertising costs, all to enable yers to focus more on producing quality work. He also deepened thebinations of various show performances, adding more depth to the game. And the direction of Huang Ping and others¡¯ modifications happened to align with his intentions, making him feel that the prior sense of crisis probably didn¡¯te from his employees, so all he needed was to guard against the yers¡¯ backstabs. After encouraging Huang Ping and his team, Fang Cheng returned to his seat, looking forward even more to the final oue of ¡°I Am The Director.¡±
By the weekend, adjustments to the new game had finally been made. The game¡¯s difficulty had increased slightly, but more random events were added, and multiple development pathways were augmented, yet the ultimate goal of the game remained unchanged. Chapter 210: 146 Did I Do Something Wrong (Three updates)_2 Chapter 210: Chapter 146 Did I Do Something Wrong (Three updates)_2 The random events and animated performances in the new version became even more interesting, elevating the game¡¯s randomness and offering yers a different experience with each gamey. The gamey remains as straightforward as before, but the depth is still there, making it a game that requires yers to use their brains to get through. After testing the game with satisfaction, Fang Cheng added a ¡°rxing¡± tag to the game¡¯sbel, set the price, and it was ready to be released. The size of ¡°I Am The Director¡± is not big, and the gamey is rather rxing, so the game¡¯s final pricing was set at 48 yuan, ssifying it as a mid-lightweight game. Given the current reputation of Fang Cheng Studio, the game didn¡¯t need much promotion, as the name ¡°Fang Cheng Studio¡± alone was worth more than 600,000 in sales volume. Once the game officiallyunched, Wang Xiaoying did some simple promotions, and the studio¡¯s fans flocked to it. However, when they saw the game¡¯sbels, they almost immediately came up with the same thought. Fang Cheng Studio, what¡¯s wrong with you? Have you been kidnapped? Previous games from Fang Cheng Studio had a strong role-ying element. yers were either Soldiers or Little Elf Collection Masters. They yed a specific role with a specific identity within the game¡¯s world.
But in this game, although the title contained the word ¡°I,¡± there was no concrete image of ¡°me¡± in the game; even the presence of the secretary responsible for the new yer¡¯s guide was stronger than ¡°me.¡± Since it¡¯s not a role-ying game, the technical expertise and character experience previously umted by Fang Cheng Studio might not be applicable. However, this concern disappeared quickly after they purchased the game. And after ying for a dozen hours, the long-time yers developed the same idea: This time, thebel was actually correct! [When I saw ¡®rxing¡¯ and ¡®positive energy¡¯ on the tags, I thought it would be another tough, masochistic game. Surprisingly, after ying it, it turned out to be quite rxing indeed.] [Fang Cheng Studio actually got the tags right? That¡¯s the biggest mistake!] [Fake! It¡¯s all fake!] [Goodbye, my youth.] [I strongly suspect Fang Cheng Studio hid an important easter egg in the tags, but I haven¡¯t found it yet. I¡¯m sure Fang Cheng is sneakily watching us.] [How can it be sneakily! Have you seen my husband¡¯s face on TV? Handsome can¡¯t be called ¡®sneakily,¡¯ that¡¯s called charming!] [Got it.] [After ying for 15 hours, I advise everyone not to try the prison and beautiful girl themes; the neighbor and time-stop won¡¯t work either; nor will little demon and dark alley.] [Thank you, you¡¯re the real hero.] [Saw it, typical (sage time).] Although there might be some risqu¨¦ elements, overall, ¡°I Am The Director¡± is a 15+ game. yers will find some interesting memes inside, but the overall atmosphere of the game is still very positive. Furthermore, if yers deliberately lean towards risqu¨¦ elements, the audience will immediately react, and some will say it¡¯s too indecent, which then drives up the viewership ratings. However, even if the viewership ratings are high after filming it, no sponsor is willing to advertise such a show, and it ends up harming oneself.
And if it happens twice, the show might very well get directly suspended and deemed a game failure. These settings can be said to be quite realistic. Before long, the slightly high difficulty of the game also sparked discussions. In the game, the ultimate goal of yers is to organize a superrge evening g.
Although it did not mention any specific name, yers still inferred that this g was the Spring Festival G based on the timing and scale of the event. Because it¡¯s a game, Huang Ping altered many configurations, changing the conditions for organizing arge-scale g. For instance, to hold a Spring Festival G, sufficient funding is a must, the yer¡¯s own reputation needs to be high, and the employees¡¯ attributes also need to be top-notch. With various demands, yers must be time management masters, and the urrence of various random events adds great randomness to the game, easily immersing yers in the ¡°just one more program¡± mindset, gradually losing track of time. 24 hours after the release, the game¡¯s sales volume broke through 800,000. When 48 hours passed, it reached a sales volume of 1.2 million. For an ordinary studio, this number was already unattainable. But for Fang Cheng Studio at that time, it was just a drizzle. Moreover, since the simtion management genre inherently conflicted with the VR all-in-one machines, this game was not released on the Kirin All-in-one Machine, which left Boss Gao Tianyun quite frustrated. However, even so, yers still found a new electronic Subus and threw themselves into the frenzy of a new game. Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games had no cheats, making it impossible to cheat, so yers could only slowly and gradually explore to find various strategies and gamey, and then, turn them into experience. This setup tends to attract some hardcore gamers. One of those hardcore gamers, Liuzi, bought the game soon after its release.
He was a die-hard fan of the Living Immortal and upon learning about the intricate connection between the Living Immortal and Fang Cheng, he also became an ardent fan of Fang Cheng Studio. Previously, he had been striving hard in the game ¡°nt Grass,¡± though he was a bit tired of it. Now, with the release of ¡°I Am The Director,¡± he could seamlessly transition into this new game, ready to rx. As a hardcore gamer, Liuzi realized after ying this game for over an hour that it was actually quite hardcore. The game¡¯s overall span is about 20 years, and after 20 years, the game will automatically end and give a score based on the yer¡¯s performance over those two decades. However, these scores were trivial. The real goal was singr: to see if the yer could reach the pinnacle of a TV program directorship. To borate, it was about whether they managed to produce one or more grand soir¨¦es. And those soir¨¦es had to be both critically acimed and popr. This standard implied that the programs produced by yers must bnce entertainment and artistry, and be filled with positive energy to earn appreciation from superiors. Before that, yers needed to aplish one small goal after another, eventually building enough reputation. Unfortunately, after a strenuous 5-hour struggle, Liuzi had to admit that he had failed. In the game settlement screen, his personal secretary listed all the programs he had produced, then encouraged him, ¡°Over the past 20 years, you produced 150 programs, with the highest-rated show reaching an 11% viewership.¡± ¡°Although you didn¡¯t manage to produce a grand soir¨¦e in the end, you are already a director of local station grand soir¨¦es. Your productions were very popr and received rave reviews¡ªa truly colorful directing career.¡±
This resume looked impressive, but Liuzi still felt a sense of loss. He had been lucky this time around, having recruited many high-quality staff members at the start, and the oues from various random events were also very favorable. Through these random events, he gained enough fame rather early on, secured ample funding, and won approval from his superiors. But in the end, he still fell short of bing the director of a grand soir¨¦e. Leaning back in his chair, he reflected on his previous actions, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what he had done wrong. He had given his staff generous sries, kept overtime reasonable, trained his employees whenever he found the opportunity to improve their attributes, and produced better shows. He never dyed monthly sries, asionally gave bonuses, and retaliated againstpetitors in moderation¡ªhe had nearly perfected every aspect. So, where exactly had he gone wrong? Or was it that he was wrong from the beginning? Does this game have another solution? Chapter 211: 147: Are you there? Look at the Remaining Value (First Update)_1 Chapter 211: Chapter 147: Are you there? Look at the Remaining Value (First Update)_1 Liuzi re-entered the game and chose to start from the beginning. As soon as he entered the game, the tutorial NPC appeared. The NPC was a somewhat tricky girl with a ponytail, dressed in a professional suit. Her hair was an unrealistic pink that you wouldn¡¯t see in the real world, looking both formal and cute. On the screen, the secretary girl, holding a notebook, cheerfully said to Liuzi outside the screen, ¡°We meet again, dear Director Liuzi. Let¡¯s strive together again to be a famous director.¡± Flipping through her notebook, the assistant continued, ¡°Even though you¡¯ve already gone through aplete life and achieved good results, I still have to ask you, do you want to see the tutorial?¡± Liuzi had yed before and restarted more than a dozen times, he knew the game¡¯s various settings and systems like the back of his hand, he could even list the employees¡¯ traits with his eyes closed. The game system of ¡°I Am The Director¡± wasn¡¯tplicated with the depth mainly being variousbinations and capital operation, so there really wasn¡¯t a need to watch it again. However, this time he looked at the dialog box on the screen and eventually chose ¡°Yes.¡± The assistant smiled appropriately and then said, ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s start with recruiting employees. Our goal is to match various scripts, sensibly select and assign employees to shoot programs. The ratings of the shows will affect your advertising fees and financial support from your superiors. Please use your money wisely as it is your lifeline.¡± The word ¡°money¡± in the assistant¡¯s dialogue was highlighted in green, as if the other party was emphasizing this point specifically.
After staring at the green text for a while, Liuzi chose to continue. ¡°Right now the production team has no employees, but since we have no reputation, we can¡¯t hold arge-scale recruitment. So, let¡¯s start with campus recruitment at universities. Through campus recruitment, you can recruit up to five-star employees, but the probability of recruiting five-star employees is very low, so don¡¯t get your hopes up too much.¡± ¡°Moreover, the higher the employee¡¯s star level, the higher their initial attributes, and the higher the bonuses after leveling up. ordingly, they will demand higher monthly sries. Please note, on the 1st of each month is payday, and sries will automatically be deducted from your ount, so please ensure you have sufficient funds.¡± In the tutorial, yers will certainly see five-star employees, but that is not a suitable recruitment target. Their capability is strong, but they have the ¡°greedy¡± trait, their sry demand is twice that of an average five-star, but if given a high sry they will work even harder. Liuzi had already known these things by heart, but this time, seeing the words spoken by the assistant and the green text on ¡°payday,¡± Liuzi felt as though she was subtly hinting at something. Following standard procedure, he went through campus recruitment, the five-star employee appeared, just as he remembered, and the assistant appeared right on time. ¡°Wow, a five-star employee actually appeared, it seems your luck is quite good. However, the sry of a five-star employee is five times that of a one-star, and with the greedy trait, that makes it ten times. So, let¡¯s not recruit this employee and start with that smart-looking two-star employee instead,¡± the assistant advised. Liuzi didn¡¯t choose an employee but opened an Excel spreadsheet and started calcting profits. As a hardcore yer, creating a spreadsheet based on the game¡¯s numerical system wasmon practice, after all, this was a management simtion game where early advantages could snowball, and an early dor could be worth ten thousand or moreter on. Although it might seem a bit penny-pinching, everyone has their own way of ying, and Liuzi liked this painstaking gamey. After entering the employees¡¯ attributes into the spreadsheet, Liuzi saw that bringing the five-star employee on board would increase the overall quality of the show by about 50%, but the resulting revenue would not offset the loss incurred from the employee¡¯s sry. At this point, following the assistant¡¯s advice to forgo the five-star employee or to put them into the waiting pool was the optimal solution. This step should have been mandatory, but since Liuzi had already gone through the tutorial once, he was able to skip it now. Liuzi looked at the employee on the screen and the waiting assistant, pondering. Payday at the end of the month¡­ Five-star employees¡­ At that moment, the two concepts peculiarly merged together, creating a bizarre chemical reaction in his mind, as if he heard the explosion of fireworks. Moving the mouse, he decisively chose ¡°Turn off tutorial.¡±
After being turned off, he saw the assistant wave her hand and say kindly, ¡°You don¡¯t need me for now? It seems you¡¯ve already made your decision. Alright then, I won¡¯t disturb you. If you have any needs, you can summon me again in settings. Goodbye, Director.¡± Having turned off the tutorial, Liuzi first saved his game and then recruited all the employees. Recruitment didn¡¯t cost any money; all that was needed was to pay the sries at the start of the next month, and the game had a rigid way of calcting sries, meaning even employees hired at the end of the month required full sry on the 1st. Before, Liuzi had felt Fang Cheng Studio was running apany like it was charity, but now it seemed there must be a deeper meaning to it.
Chapter 212: 147: Are you there? Look at the Remaining Value (Second Update)_2 Chapter 212: Chapter 147: Are you there? Look at the Remaining Value (Second Update)_2 After recruiting this group of employees, Liuzi immediately maxed out everyone¡¯s working hours, keeping them busy without a break all month long! 996? That¡¯s a blessing, something you don¡¯t qualify for! At your age, can you even sleep? Give me 25 hours of work every day! If there¡¯s not enough time, get up an hour early toe to the crew! Haven¡¯t been home for a while, feeling down? I¡¯ll raise your sry! Work stress too much, don¡¯t want to do it anymore? I¡¯ll raise your sry! Feel that thepany¡¯s environment is too poor, the sleeping bags you use every night stink, want money to buy a new one? Forget about bonuses, I¡¯ll raise your sry! Each employee has their own stress bar and level of happiness, where rest can reduce stress, while a high sry can increase happiness. As long as the stress bar doesn¡¯t exceed the level of happiness, employees will remain emotionally stable and continue to toil for the boss, grudging and grateful at the same time. And through Liuzi¡¯s series of actions, the employees¡¯ daily stress levels soared, but so did their happiness, racing neck and neck, a fierce battle that left employees¡¯ heads shining bright red. Moreover, due to the 24-hour non-stop work, the employees¡¯ exhaustion levels were also skyrocketing. For this reason, Liuzi began to buy arge amount of beverages that could relieve fatigue, sincepared to the cost of drinks, the loss from letting employees rest would be even greater.
Every day he was promising pie in the sky, constantly demanding overtime, squeezing their mental energy to the limit, with employees oftenining: ¡°I don¡¯t have a brain left,¡± ¡°Grandma, is that you,¡± ¡°I really want to rest, but the director has given us too much,¡± and simr nonsense. In the blink of an eye, as the month in the game was about to end, he had already sessfully produced four programs. These four shows were created by the crew working day and night, with a weekly show¡¯s efficiencyparable to that of gods, every minute filled with blood and sweat. And because he used high-star employees, the quality of the programs was very high, making them highlypetitive in their first year, definitely at the level that would dominate the charts if released. However, high efficiency and high quality meant high sries, and by the end of the month, the employees¡¯ wages had been pulled extremely high. The sries of the greedy five-star employees were outrageously high; if he really paid out this money, it would likely lead to hyperintion, with prices possibly soaring by hundreds of times. The only path awaiting Liuzi was bankruptcy. But Liuzi chose another path. He fired the whole group. This group of employees had been working overtime day and night for a month, and just as they were looking forward to getting their hard-earned pay the day before¡­ They were fired¡­ If they were real people, not game NPCs, they undoubtedly would have already nned how to spend their wages¡ªwhether to pay off mortgages or car loans, send children to school, or treat themselves to some good food¡­ They were fired¡­ In reality, when the boss promises too much, employees quickly catch on, but here it¡¯s a game, and NPCs have their own set of game logic. They can¡¯t spot the problem; they can only passivelyply. Through the screen, Liuzi could see the astonishment and anger of this group of people. Some even kept asking Liuzi over and over, the dialogue box popping up again and again, repeatedly asking, ¡°Are you really going to do something like this? Weren¡¯t we cooperating happily before?¡± After forcibly firing everyone, each employee became exceptionally angry, and they were extremely dissatisfied but powerless. They were just a group of NPCs, what could they do?
The game had no severe penalty for the director who fired employees, only a hit to the yer¡¯s reputation. And those employees who were forcefully dismissed, their anger went off the charts, and in the future, facing Liuzi¡¯s banner, they would just spit fiercely, probably unable to use these employees again. But Liuzi didn¡¯t care. He was new to running a program group with no reputation to lose, and even if it went negative, Liuzi didn¡¯t mind.
After all, he already had four pretty good programs in hand, what did a little reputation matter to him? Convinced Liuzi was resolute, these employees could only file out of the program studio, cursing as they went: ¡°What a lousypany, I¡¯m nevering back.¡± ¡°Trash producer. Trash crew.¡± ¡°I hate you guys.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll regret firing me.¡± ¡°What you¡¯re doing is against thew.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call mywyer!¡± The employees on the screen could only keep cursing Liuzi, but due to the game mechanics, they couldn¡¯t do much except leave the ce angrily and go outside. Watching these humanized reactions of the employees made Liuzi feel a bit uneasy. However, great achievements require sacrifices of minor matters; what is a small sacrifice for one¡¯s grand directorial ambitions? After all, it¡¯s just a game; there¡¯s no need for such high moral standards. The world is so big, it¡¯s hard to find three-legged toads, but there¡¯s no shortage of employees desperate for jobs.
In the following year, Liuzi¡¯s tactics became very straightforward. Constant campus recruiting, constantly hiring employees, and then working them 24 hours straight to do his bidding, firing them the day before payday. This strategy required no sry payouts to the employees, and the monthly expenses were just some operational costs. Anyway, his initial capital was sufficient, and one year¡¯s time was insignificant. Easily umting over 60 quality programs, Liuzi felt ready to move to the next phase. Out of these, he sold forty programs that were of slightly lower quality. And though they were of lower quality, this was inparison to the other sixty programs. Compared to other programs on the market, the quality of these programs was excellent, and since each one was abination he had researched, every one of them had the potential to be a hit. Due to their superior quality, the market gave his programs extremely high ratings; the funds he garnered from selling the programs allowed Liuzi to umte arge sum of money in the first year, totaling to what he had in his sixth year previously. In business simtion games, as long as one¡¯s capital operations are solid, the earnings throughout the game don¡¯t increase linearly but exponentially. Having acquired the wealth of what one might only achieve by the sixth year, the achievements Liuzi could reach after might be ten times greater than his previous ythrough, or even higher. Looking at the rapidly increasing numbers on the screen, Liuzi felt as though he had unlocked the body¡¯s meridian channels; he had an epiphany. This is how the game should be yed! You can get your conscience back, but lost money is gone for good!
With the startup capital in hand, next up was to whitewash the past and provide positive coverage for himself through advertising campaigns, while hiring employees for training and enhancing their attributes. He split his employees into two groups very quickly; those with lower star ratings kept churning out subpar programs. Even programs riddled with ws could be sold, as his reputation was high, and the base enhancements were quite significant. Even if the clients weren¡¯t satisfied, it would only result in a deduction of some of his reputation, but he had plenty of paid posters, so a little blow to his reputation was no big deal. The high-starred employees with exceptional traits were his treasures; he rarely used them, instead, he let them train continuously and increase their attributes, secretly cultivating them as his ace in the hole. By the tenth year, Liuzi had mastered the unorthodox tricks of the trade. Theyoff strategy was still in use, but this time it targeted low-level employees who had maxed out their fatigue levels. These employees were worn out, and it would take them half a year of rest to recover, leaving their residual value almost nil. Rather than letting them upy his quota, it was better to give them severance pay and let them go. Since their star levels weren¡¯t high, their wages were not high either; the severance pay was a drop in the bucket for Liuzi and didn¡¯t matter to him at all. Moreover, because he provided severance pay, his reputation actually improved a bit, and the title of ¡®Conscious Director¡¯ emerged, making Liuzi feel like he was somewhat of a great phnthropist. Finally, in the fifteenth year, the long-coveted right to direct the Spring Festival G appeared, and his long-treasured employees were put to use. Their high attributes made the g a great sess and smoothly secured him the directorial rights for the following years. By the twentieth year, he had finally achieved fame and fortune. At this moment, he had been ying continuously for ten hours, from night until dawn.
Although he was exhausted, seeing the list of achievements presented by his secretary, he was satisfied and ready to wee the final ending. However, when he saw the ending with former employees appearing one by one, the smile on his face gradually froze. Chapter 213: 148 The True Hardcore Player (Second Update)_1 Chapter 213: Chapter 148 The True Hardcore yer (Second Update)_1 The ending animation didn¡¯t have anything special, just the awards he had won and the programs he had directed listed one by one, unfurling slowly like a scroll. But after the honors came the goodbyes from the employees, both those currently working for him and those he had fired appeared, starting to disy their achievements and their subsequent circumstances. This process was part of the ending sequence, but the thought of those employees he had used and then coldly discarded filled Liuzi with a sense of gloom. ¡°It¡¯s just a game,¡± Liuzi reminded himself once more, ¡°All the gamey is part of the game, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He didn¡¯t know why he felt uneasy, but still, he watched the screen to see what came next. First to appear were the employees who ultimately stayed on his team. These employees were handpicked five-star talents, each endowed with excellent traits and attributes, his right-hand men inpleting the final challenge. And because of these traits, even if they were to leave his team in the future, their achievements would be boundless. They looked splendid, their high sries freed them from worry, and the excellentpany environmentter on made them vibrant and spirited. Looking gratefully at Liuzi beyond the screen, they spoke their heartfelt thanks.
[Thank you, Director, joining your team was the most correct decision I¡¯ve made in my life.] [Back in the day, I was just a nobody, lost about my future. But you, Director, dug me out from the streets, nurtured me, and took care of me. It¡¯s been an honor to work with you on so many interesting shows. You are my benefactor. Without you, I really wouldn¡¯t know what to do.] [I never knew I had a talent for hosting. It was you who discovered my potential, thank you, Director.] [Cinematography has always been what I wanted to do, but I never had the support. You showed me what was possible; you are the best mentor.] These people had impable resumes and had no shortage of praise for Liuzi. Their gratitude was sincere, without a trace of falsehood. They were the sess stories from Liuzi¡¯s team, outstanding employees, each capable of standing on their own, top talents of the future. Butpared to these top performers, the rest were entirely different. If they were the jewels in Liuzi¡¯s crown, then what followed were the sacrificialmbs behind the jewels. Among these sacrificialmbs were five-star employees with less desirable traits and low-star employees who were used up and then ruthlessly discarded. The early staff whose wages were docked by him were also present, now watching Liuzi with indifferent faces. From the final illustrations, it was clear that those drained of their remaining worth had gaunt faces and vacant expressions¡ªthrough the screen, one could still see their lost and helpless eyes. Before joining his team, they each had high hopes for the future, a sparkle in their eyes. In front of Liuzi, they disyed tired smiles, offering their congrattions one by one. [Well¡­ congrattions.] [I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t walk with you till the end. You¡¯re a great director.] [I¡¯m sorry my health held back the progress, thank you for the severance pay.] [From the first meeting, I knew you woulde this far. You have this potential.] [Congrattions.]
[Congrattions.] [Congrattions.] ¡­ Compared to the sessful employees, there were twenty times more who were abandoned. Behind every sess story was a mountain of corpses, thedder they climbed to the top.
Watching these formerpanions pass by, Liuzi felt as if he had really gone through 20 years, reflecting on his once glorious days. Upon retrospect, he was astonished to find that these people had aged. They were the stepping stones on his pathway to sess, the so-called nobodies, the kindling, the fertilizer. Liuzi couldn¡¯t remember their names. After all, nobody cares about the countless times they¡¯ve eaten rice. But for some reason, as he watched the ending scene, these people once again became vivid in his mind. Although he knew it was just a game, and the goal of the game was to be the best show director, watching these aging, submissively smiling employees still made Liuzi feel a sharp sting in his heart. The game¡¯s ending after thepletion had nothing special. It wasn¡¯t preaching, nor did it ask questions like ¡°Is it worth it?¡±, it just ndly presented the employees¡¯ endings as usual. But the nder it was, the more suffocating Liuzi found it. The joy of gamepletion was gone, reced by a sense of confusion. Everyone except capitalists hates capitalists, but everyone wants to be a capitalist. Although it¡¯s just a game, Liuzi sadly realized that deep down, he still hoped to be a capitalist. He closed the game, and as the eastern sky gradually brightened, his mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts.
Opening the browser, he logged into Game Inn, browsed through the posts to see if there was anyone who felt the same way. Game Inn was originally for releasing the games of the Living Immortals, but games from Fang Cheng Studio had also been brought over and had their dedicated subforum. Chapter 214: 148 The True Hardcore Player (Second Update)_2 Chapter 214: Chapter 148 The True Hardcore yer (Second Update)_2 The website administrators also delegated some management rights, allowing various other types of game development teams to set up their own sub-forums, where they could release trial versions of their games without viting anyws, thus drawing traffic for themselves. Many small indie games took this as an opportunity to promote their games, further boosting the poprity of the site and steering its growth towards bing aprehensive forum. Logically, as the forum grew in scale, it would inevitably face issues like hacking attacks, me wars, verbalbats, or orchestrated controversies, but the site¡¯s managers seemed very experienced. They patrolled the forum around the clock, and whenever they spotted something amiss, they immediately intervened, nipping potential troubles in the bud. As a result, the atmosphere of discussion on the site was quite pleasant. Moreover, Game Inn had no ns to bring in advertisements or capital investment, which made the forum very pure andfortable, and Liuzi¡¯s favorite forum to browse recently. While browsing through the ¡°I Am The Director¡± sub-forum, he noticed discussions on ¡°I Am The Director¡± were flourishing, with some users starting topile the game¡¯s random events and others steadily improving variousbinations. Some even collected differentbination animations; while most were conventional, the quirky ones were quite entertaining. Others had noticed loopholes in the sry system and proposed their ideas. However, their theories were just spection for now, not yet put into practice like Liuzi had done. Their understanding of the game was not as deep as his, nor did they recognize the important aspects of capital operation in simtion management when ying. Thus, although they figured out a solution, because they couldn¡¯t manage it properly, the oues were actually worse than ying the game normally. Just as Liuzi was aimlessly browsing the forum, a post suddenly caught his eye.
¡°¡®I Am The Director,¡¯ the great reveal of Evildoer tactics!¡± The author was a yer named Xiemen Waidao. Seeing who the author was, Liuzi frowned, wondering what kind of mischief the other party had concocted this time. Some people naturally get along well together, while others just don¡¯t. Liuzi felt that he and Xiemen Waidao must have been sworn enemies in a past life, and he still couldn¡¯t stand the sight of the other party in this life. They had never met, but they had exchanged verbal blows on the forum. He disapproved of the other¡¯s habit of searching for bugs for amusement and disrupting the game¡¯s environment, while the other disdained him for being old-fashioned and rigid, content with ying by the book. This, perhaps, was the difference between hardcore gamers and those who yed for fun. However, despite his dislike for Xiemen Waidao, Liuzi had to admit that the guy thought fast and had a sharp gaming sense, often discovering peculiar things and managing to win through inexplicable means. Of course, sometimes he was so unorthodox that it made one wonder whether he was actually ying the game or ying around with the game. In the recent game of ¡°The Supreme One,¡± he had achieved the extremely difficult title of ¡°Number One Evil Person Under The Heavens¡± through various outrageous methods. And through aprehensive post he wroteter, other yers discovered that although the title was notorious, this fellow managed to y in a way that others quite enjoyed. Committing acts of infamy yet earning a good reputation, true to the name Xiemen Waidao. With curiosity, Liuzi clicked on the post and his heart skipped a beat. Inside, Xiemen Waidao posted a screenshot of his endgame. From the data in the screenshot, he had obtained the right to direct the Spring Festival G by the 18th year, three yearster than Liuzi, but still an impressive achievement. What surprised him most wasn¡¯t this but the list of employees at the end. His employees were all from the early stage of the game, meaning he only hired those initial staff members and didn¡¯t hire anyone else afterwards. Low-star employees tended to have poor quality and growth potential. Bringing them up required a lot of resources, not possible with a normal ythrough.
Moreover, these employees seemed to have aged somewhat, but because their stamina attributes were well-developed, they looked quite spirited, each with a cheerful smile on their face. Compared to the lifeless, zombie-like state of his own employees by the end, Liuzi grew even more puzzled. How did he manage that? Could it be that he found a cheat?
However, upon reading the main text, Liuzi discovered that the method used by the other party was exceptionally simple. It was the save/load tactic that every yer would use. ¡°I Am The Director¡± is a rare game by Fang Cheng Studio that allows saving progress. The game would present random events at intervals, some of which could be a kind of gambling minigame. Guess wrong and you lose everything, guess right and your principal doubles. Some had researched and found that the game had a high probability of a random event urring once a month, so all one needed to do was save at the beginning of the month, then wait for the random event to ur. Quietly calcting the funds needed to train these employees, Liuzi realized that the other party might have reloaded saves thousands of times. By repeatedly loading and gambling, then loading and gambling again, Xiemen Waidao could start with a massive amount of money and then y however he wanted. All that could be said was that it was truly befitting of a yer like Xiemen Waidao, who belonged to the most unorthodox category, spending tens of hours loading saves¡ªhe was the only kind of person who could do such a thing. This approach was a ssic shortcut and one of Liuzi¡¯s least favorite gaming methods. However, seeing the happy smiles of his employees, Liuzi felt a pang of envy out of the blue. Perhaps, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to load from a save a few times in the early stage to increase the funds a bit¡­ Dispelling this dangerous thought, Liuzi pondered for a moment and then decided to write out his own guide. It had nothing to do with spreading his own gaming philosophy; he just wanted to smack Xiemen Waidao in the face.
Not long after his post went up, it attracted a bunch of yers to watch and leavements. The sudden boost in poprity was automatically detected by the forum and consequently topped and featured in the hot section. Whether intentional or idental, his post was ced right next to Xiemen Waidao¡¯s, allowing yers to see both posts as soon as they entered and makeparisons. One required manual loading, the other had no conscience. Soon, two factions of yers began to amicably discuss in each other¡¯s threads, asionally resulting in heated expletives and being thrown into the ¡°little ck room.¡± Just when everyone thought that these were the only two ways to y the game, a third post appeared representing a third school of thought. ¡°Some package tactics summary for ¡®I Am The Director.¡¯ You all can have a look. Personally tested it, leading the Spring Festival G by the 20th year is no problem.¡± The poster was Pingping, a moderately popr YouTuber at the moment and the beloved mascot (in a positive sense) of the ¡°Botanic Garden¡± yermunity. This sister was beautiful and kind-hearted. Despite being disabled in both legs, she was optimistic, cheerful, talented, and watching her for a while would greatly uplift one¡¯s mood. However, she often spoke of horror stories, causing many yers to want to watch yet not dare to. Package tactics had been summarized by quite a few yers already, but for this post to be pushed up, it definitely had its appealing features. Upon opening the post, Liuzi gasped in shock. He already considered himself a hardcore yer, having gone as far as summarizing game data into an Excel spreadsheet, just to calcte the return on every choice. This alone was already hardcore to a somewhat romantic degree. But seeing the data provided by Pingping, he felt he was still a bit too conservative. Beyond thebinations the game allowed, there was another lessmonly used feature: detail adjustment.
This feature was somewhat superfluous, allowing yers to tweak every detail of theirbinations. For example, with ¡°sketch + anti-fraud,¡± yers could customize the number of actors, the key points in the actors¡¯ lines, where to cut costs in the process, and how to price things. But with so many details, it was hard to find the key points, and the effects were not very evident, so Liuzi gave up after trying for a while. Unexpectedly, someone had actually used this feature to fune the details of mainstreambinations! As Liuzi stared dumbfounded, he saw ament from an anonymous yer below. [This is what a hardcore yer looks like, the gamey is so hardcore. Some guy who ims to be a hardcore yer, what do you feel now, huh? Tell me.] Liuzi: ¡°¡­Xiemen Waidao, damn it!¡± Chapter 215 - 149 Abnormality of the Home Planet (Triple Update)_1 Chapter 215: Chapter 149 Abnormality of the Home (Triple Update)_1 ¡°` Although he was displeased with Xiemen Waidao¡¯s attitude, Liuzi had to admit that the other party was quite right. Compared with Pingping, what did he count for? ¡°I Am The Director¡± had over a hundred mainstreambinations, and even a slight change could lead to radically different results, which meant that one had to repeatedly load saves to get it right. But the final adjusted oue was immediately effective. Compared with the pre-adjustment status, post-adjustment, the show¡¯s cost was cut by one third, yet its effectiveness improved by fifty percent, which dramatically decreased the game difficulty. After reviewing theplete set of strategies, Liuzi thought about the entire game process, and then reflected that although the game was simple, there were quite a few points worth contemting within it. If one viewed the director as a capitalist, then he, Xiemen Waidao, and Pingping symbolized three different schools of thought. He was a typical early capitalist, who aimed to grow stronger and bigger by continuously exploiting employees¡¯ surplus value. The upside was rapid capital umtion and not needing to remember too much, but the downside was that it wasn¡¯t good for one¡¯s conscience, although having no conscience felt even better. Pingping was a typical tech-savvy capitalist. The core technology they mastered could significantly boost theirpany¡¯spetitiveness, yielding great results even without exploiting employees. Xiemen Waidao, well¡­ that was a typical shady capitalist, who started off with dubious methods andterundered their reputation through certain channels, appearing to be just getting by, but actually having a solid foundation. Realizing that he was seeing economic issues from a game, Liuzi felt he was a bit bizarre. However, he wasn¡¯t the only one who thought this way. Many yers also learned about the three different schools through forum posts and started having simr thoughts. Regardless of whether Fang Cheng Studio did it intentionally or not, once a literary work is published, the author is metaphorically dead. Games are also a form of literary work, and yers, after ying, can extend the meaning and metaphors of the game based on their own ideas, interpreting various details in the game in their own way, and it¡¯s best for the author not to make any definitive conclusions. This interpretation is part of the game; a game without room for interpretation is iplete. Sometimes, the interpretation is even more interesting than the game itself. Unbeknownst to him, interpreting ¡°I Am The Director¡± has seemingly be a trend. Some saw ¡°Capital¡± in it, others saw the philosopher-king, and some imed it was a perfect social practice. There were even those who believed they found the Highest Mystical Method and the Cultivation Scripture, dering they could ascend to immortality at any moment. Regarding this, Liuzi felt that these yers were a bit too extreme. And Fang Cheng agreed with Liuzi. These yers really were too extreme. And to that student who recognized the Highest Mystical Method, I didn¡¯t include those things, so please don¡¯t overly interpret, thank you. Through several days of discussion and fermentation, although the sales of ¡°I Am The Director¡± weren¡¯t very high, its poprity had already be a game second only to ¡°Quiet Cultivation.¡± Some even started to write columns on Bilibili, narrating the details within ¡°I Am The Director,¡± which left Fang Cheng speechless. This scene reminded him of situations from his previous life, when there were always monks circling around him, analyzing even his simplest meditative poses through photographs, and writing texts like ¡°The Heavenly Lord¡¯s left leg is on top today; could it be because the Heavenly Tao is leaning to the left, so he needs to do this?¡± Such things are trivial, right? Whichever leg you want on top, just put that one on top; as long as you¡¯refortable, that¡¯s what matters. Don¡¯t add unnecessary troubles for yourself! Sighing deeply, Fang Cheng looked at thements on Game Inn, and couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°That was fast.¡± ¡°I also feel it¡¯s too fast,¡± Huang Ping remarked on the side, ¡°I thought it would take at least a month for yers to find the easter eggs we hid, but it seems they found them so quickly.¡± ¡°Easter eggs?¡± Fang Cheng asked, raising his head in confusion. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who left them?¡± Huang Ping asked, puzzled, ¡°Boss, the wage loophole wasn¡¯t intentionally created by you?¡± Fang Cheng looked at Huang Ping, wanting to say, I did not. After all, he had never imagined that yers would mimic the worst of the capitalists, executing the heinous move of firing employees just before payday. Because he had never thought it was possible to do so, he didn¡¯t handle the associated logic at all; unexpectedly, it turned into a loophole, which was then exploited by yers. Indeed, one can¡¯t imagine things they¡¯ve never experienced. Fang Cheng had never contemted that someone would let others work without paying them their wages. While Fang Cheng was reflecting, Huang Ping also leaned in to read the forum posts, and couldn¡¯t help but muse, ¡°However, the yers¡¯ imagination is quite exceptional; I would never have thought that the ¡®Angel Path¡¯ would emerge.¡± The Angel Path was a school thatbined the strengths of the other three schools. This school focuses on getting arge amount of funding through early save/load, umting fame and money through mid-term detailed adjustments, andter on doing as one pleases. In this school, because money is no object, employees¡¯ welfare and benefits are maxed out, program teams are upgraded to the highest environment, employee attributes are boosted to full value through money, and every show produced is a hit. The TV station¡¯s staff could hardly wait to break the doors of the program group down, and previously arrogant managers now groveled, merely hoping the yers would produce a show so they would have something to show for the year. With the viewership hitting full capacity, a 60% viewership rate could only be described as ¡°deserted streets,¡± as spectators eagerly anticipated every day just to watch the newest show on television. ¡°` Chapter 216 - 149 Abnormality of the Home Planet (Triple Update)_2 Chapter 216: Chapter 149 Abnormality of the Home (Triple Update)_2 Letters of thanks and positive reviews emerged endlessly; the entire game experience could only be described as if someone had cheated, turning any ount of the experience into an exceptionally exhrating narrative, the kind that thrilled from beginning to end. And beneath the angelic stream, there were all sorts of variants, like dark then light, light then dark, and both dark and lightbined. Each style corresponded with a different ideological inclination, which made Fang Cheng feel that yers seemed to enjoy dabbling in ideological politics, even within the game. With another sigh, Fang Cheng instructed Huang Ping to continue working, while he himself leaned back in his chair, observing the Dustfire. This time, it really happened too fast. This instance of Dustfire was the most chaotically colored yet, with mes of all colors fighting endlessly among themselves. Each color tried to outdo the others, but none could seed. The strangest part was that when the mes battled one another, sometimes tiny new-colored mes would appear. Some of these would vanish, while others would inexplicably grow stronger, bing a new mainstream color. Seeing this, Fang Cheng felt as if he were cultivating gu, a type of venomous worm. In such circumstances, never mindpleting the refinement of one¡¯s Taoist Heart. If given to the cultivators of Miaojing in times past, they would have been overjoyed: ¡°Heavenly Lord, your cultivation of the gu me is quite extraordinary! May I ask you to share some insights? I¡¯ll offer you some freshly gathered fungi in return.¡± s. Despondent. After work, Fang Cheng entered the Mirror Universe, crushing and purifying Shadows in the Shadow Area to dispel the frustration in his heart. Feeling somewhat better, he then walked into his Botanic Garden, strolling leisurely among the nts and breathing in the fresh Spiritual Energy. He admired the various kinds of Spirit Grass before he started to feel a bit more at ease. Originally nning to go back and meditate until dawn, then contemte whether to give all the yers of ¡°I Am The Director¡± nightmares for a few nights, he heard someone calling him. Following the sound, he had just arrived when he saw three figuresing toward him, flinging themselves at him. ¡°Boss, there¡¯s big trouble!¡± Squirrel Man No. 2 clutched at Fang Cheng¡¯s clothes and cried out, ¡°Boss, there¡¯s a problem in our home.¡± ¡°Take it slow, no rush.¡± Although No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 were his employees on a temporary basis, recently they had been doing a fine job with the Game Inn website, even letting Alpha patrol 24 hours a day to nip any vitions and inciting posts in the bud. Moreover, he didn¡¯t need so-called traffic. The whole site was really just for the yers to express their opinions, and he would asionally visit to find out what the yers wanted. Because they had achieved some sess, Fang Cheng decided to watch their future performance and then consider promoting them to temporary employees if appropriate. Praise for outstanding employees was essential, though it was best done privately to avoid setting a bad example for others and fostering apetitive atmosphere in the office. After giving Squirrel Men an oralmendation, Fang Cheng asked, ¡°So, what problem have you encountered?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve just received intelligence from our mother.¡± Squirrel Man No. 1, perched on Fang Cheng¡¯s left shoulder, said, ¡°Our mother has been overrun, the King¡¯s whereabouts are unknown, and Star Squirrels wandering other areas are desperately trying to get back home.¡± The mother of the squirrels was located on the outer edge of the Heavenly Taowork in the Mirror Universe¡¯s Shadow Area. They were not one of the main species within the Heavenly Taowork and often faced discrimination; even their mother was only marginally protected by thework. This protection could help them resist the corruption of Shadows, but in return, they had to pay a steep price to buy the rights to use the Heavenly Taowork. However, recently, thework experienced some copse, consuming most of its resources searching for the cause and stretching over other areas. As a peripheral, the mother of the squirrels naturally fell within the reach of the Shadows. Having exined the situation, Squirrel Man No. 2 said, ¡°Our technology is mostly based on archaeology, and indeed some of the ancient artifacts can resist the erosion of the Shadows. But the problem is, we do not know how to use them, and using them always causes some side effects.¡± ¡°What kind of side effects?¡± Fang Cheng asked with keen interest. ¡°Spatial distortion is the most significant side effect I know of. It hides the home in an extremely small point and folds the surrounding space. In this way, the Shadows must go through these folded spaces to reach the home, thereby achieving a defensive purpose.¡± ¡°Then why do you still want to enter it?¡± Fang Cheng continued. ¡°To turn off that device. Once it starts operating, it will change its position on its own and randomly move to a small area near the home for reasons that are unclear. If we don¡¯t shut it down, it will continue to operate and drag the home into deeper space until it is forever lost.¡± Hearing this, Fang Cheng understood. The device used by the squirrels to protect themselves was a double-edged sword, which, while protecting them, could also put them in danger. This thing might be some super magical weapon used by millennia-old cultivators; only such weapons could create these inconceivable effects. And since the Squirrel Man didn¡¯t know how to use these magical weapons, side effects resulting from their use were fairly normal. Growing interested in the matter, Fang Cheng looked at the three squirrels and said, ¡°So, you want me to help you?¡± ¡°No, we would like to ask for leave, but if you can help us repair the spaceship, that would be even better.¡± Repairing the spaceship wasn¡¯t a problem; a reversal of time could restore the spaceship to its previous state. While using his Divine Sense to scan the Squirrel Man¡¯s spaceship, Fang Cheng found it quite interesting. Its inherent technological level was extremely high, yet many of the things inside were technologically inferior. As the squirrels had said, their tech tree was riddled with gaps, their technological system iplete, and technological development could only be achieved through archaeology, which made their progress peculiarly deformed. Take the navigation system, for example; they could use conceptual navigation, but since they had no idea about it, they were forced to use robotic assistants to chart the stars, which meant they spent half their travel time on positioning. Afterpleting his inspection, Fang Cheng found it amusing. The spaceship was like a gigantic magical weapon, with its photon furnace capable of continuously producing dark matter and then annihting it, to obtain the necessary thrust for propulsion. Theser emitters were like arge thunder pool, used for attacking and cutting minerals. The force field generator was also quite fascinating; it acted like a huge Formation, blocking as much external assault as possible. After studying for a while, Fang Cheng realized that these things could also be produced by a satellite factory, though the parts would be Spirit Grass, which might cause some issues with the final product. He set aside the previous failure of ¡°I Am The Director,¡± and a new idea emerged, making him feel like he had found a new direction for his path to enlightenment. However, whether to pursue this direction or not, he¡¯d need to take a closer look. Having repaired the spaceship, Fang Cheng stepped on board and said to the three squirrels, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Take me to see your home; I want to know what happened there.¡± The three, known as Number One, Two, and Three, were overjoyed to learn that Fang Cheng was taking the initiative to go. In their eyes, Fang Cheng was a far more formidable figure than the gods within the Heavenly Taowork; with his intervention, the mere Shadows were not a problem and would be wiped out with a backhanded blow. So, they didn¡¯t dare to dy and directly piloted the spaceship towards the nearest ck hole from here. The force field shield opened at this moment. The dark matter newly formed within the ck hole tried to attack the spaceship but felt the sacred and invible presence on board and immediately ceased all hostilities, retreating. However, Fang Cheng did not want to let them off so easily; he took out a pair of safety scissors inside the ship and snipped. Everything inside the ck hole was cut into thin slices and then dissipated. The next moment, they finally crossed the ck hole and arrived at the other end of the world. Chapter 217: 150 Boring Game (Part 1)_1 Chapter 217: Chapter 150 Boring Game (Part 1)_1 ¡°` The Heavenly Tao World in the Shadow Area is a considerably vast realm. Within a region sprawling hundreds of light-years, arge number of stars and thes orbiting them form an orderly and fascinating world. The Little Heavenly Way, which is a celestialwork constructed collectively by the Gods, enshrouds this area with its power, isting the forces of the Shadows from within. Beyond the overt celestialwork, there are also numerous hiddenworks here, some of which even extend into the Shadows, indicating an inexplicable rtionship between the Little Heavenly Way and the Evil Gods of the Shadows. Guided to the designated location by three squirrels, Fang Cheng saw hundreds of spacecraft forming a massive spacecraft matrix. At predetermined positions, they unfolded force field shields, and the emerald-hued aura connected them, umting energy to create a zone in the Shadows, linking to a ensnared by the Shadows. Through this aurora force field, some scientific teams had already begun researching the situation of their homeworld, but the detailed reports were not yet out, and formal rescue operations had yet to begin. Upon detecting the deployment of the spacecraft matrix, Number One immediately flew up in their ship, and soon after, a voice came through the broadcast, ¡°This is the temporary Rescue Committee. I am the leader of the seventeenth team, Sir Big Tail. What is your code number?¡± ¡°cial Squad¡¯s Numbers One, Two, and Three!¡± ¡°Voiceprint verification passed, wee back.¡±
After confirming their identities, the person¡¯s voice softened, ¡°Thank thework, I thought you had perished. It¡¯s surprising that you¡¯ve survived. The survival rate through a ck hole is less than one in ten thousand; you¡¯re really lucky.¡± ¡°Yeah, somewhat.¡± ¡°You must have had a tough time recently. Later, I¡¯ll send someone to deliver some pinecone powder for you to rest.¡± ¡°Hiss¡­¡± Number Two inhaled sharply, unsure whether to tell Sir Big Tail that they had been living quitefortably. They even gained weight. Unlike the synthetic pinecones on their homeworld, they had been eating genuinely natural,rge pinecones and drinking clear, sweet spring water. Each day, a dedicated medical team (Alpha) assisted in checking their physical and mental health. When bored, they could pick up aputer and engage in 24-hour intense banter with a group of yers. The living area was extremely spacious; just a little coquettish behavior drew a crowd of yers to watch. If they wanted to exercise, they could run freely across the mountains; if not, they just sat on a yer¡¯s head to sightsee for free, and the yer would even excitedly ask for help with taking screenshots. Especially Number Three, the Demon King Squirrel, who spent its days eating and sleeping, had doubled its weight, and its belly fur was now flipping up and down like a sack when it walked. Sir Big Tail did not notice Number Two¡¯s hesitation and continued, ¡°Oh, I detected a fourth lifeform on your ship. Judging by its size, it¡¯s some kind ofrge beast. Is this something you found behind the ck hole?¡± ¡°That¡­ sort of.¡± ¡°You sound hesitant. Is there any special circumstance you haven¡¯t reported?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± Sir Big Tail¡¯s questioning ceased there. The three squirrels¡¯ ship was drawn into the designated position by the pale green light, unfolding its force field shields, thus contributing to the rescue of their homeworld. Number Two thought the crisis was over, but just minutester, the ship¡¯s hatch was forcibly opened. Squirrel Soldiers d in power armor stormed in and, afternding, dragged the three squirrels to the rear. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared,rades.¡± Sir Big Tail¡¯s voice came from inside a power armor suit, ¡°We¡¯ve received your distress signal, and we are here to rescue you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got it all wrong!¡±
¡°Where is the viin who imprisoned you? That tall¡­ that tall¡­ that tall¡­¡± Sir Big Tail¡¯s voice seemed to get stuck like a broken tape, only able to repeat the same three words over and over. He gazed dumbfoundedly at Fang Cheng, who had been meditating until interrupted, his mind upied by a strange emotion. In his eyes, there was nothing else but Fang Cheng.
As an outstanding little squirrel, Sir Big Tail¡¯s powers of perception were even stronger than those of Numbers One, Two, and Three. Number Two had previously sensed Fang Cheng¡¯s unfathomable essence and his presence that rivaled that of a Star-level Giant Beast. Sir Big Tail immediately felt it as well. Moreover, he felt an iparable desire, making him feel that offering everything he had to the being before him was supremely honorable and exalted. It wasn¡¯t just him; the apanying guards couldn¡¯t help but half-kneel down and cry out with devotion, ¡°Oh, great Gods! Please ept my sinful and humble soul, and let me find peace and redemption in Your eternal God¡¯s Kingdom!¡± Watching the squirrels, tears streaming, Fang Cheng drew a circle, further restraining the aura of might within him to prevent the squirrels from perceiving it. Immortals naturally possess an imposing presence. If not properly constrained, it can produce various illusions to others, thereby deepening mortals¡¯ adoration of the Immortals. An aura of sweet fragrance and a back emitting radiance¡­ these are the visions that mortals might see. To avoid disturbance, Fang Cheng usually kept his aura of might in check, but he had not expected the squirrels¡¯ perceptual abilities to be so exceptional that they still noticed it. Once Fang Cheng reined in his presence, the kneeling soldiers finally realized the mistake, and Sir Big Tail hurriedly stood up. ¡°` Chapter 218: 150 Boring Game (Part 2)_2 Chapter 218: Chapter 150 Boring Game (Part 2)_2 Although the feeling from before had dissipated, the longing and yearning still flowed in his heart, making Sir Big Tail both wary and filled with a good impression of Fang Cheng. However, as a recognized noble, he relied on his strong will to shake off this influence and turned to look in other directions, asking, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, you must be an Outer God, right?¡± In the world within the Heavenly Taowork, every life form is a battery of faith for the gods, almost all of whom are aware of the existence of gods and can adeptly differentiate between Gods, Evil Gods, and Outer Gods. Gods are the builders and users of the Heavenly Taowork, whereas Evil Gods are gods devoured by the Shadows, directly transformed into a part of the Shadows. Outer Gods, on the other hand, are gods who have wandered here from beyond the Shadow Area. Some of them eventually join the Heavenly Taowork and be part of the gods here; others attempt to destroy this ce, eventually sparking a war among the gods. Therefore, the purpose of an Outer God is crucial, and every Outer God who manages to travel through the Shadows to this ce and is not corrupted into an Evil God possesses tremendous power. The gods within the Heavenly Taowork may not fear Outer Gods, after all, many among them were once Outer Gods. But not the Squirrel Tribe. Their homeworld had fallen deep into the Shadows. If a divine war were to break out, they would be the first cannon fodder, and in the end, only one or two squirrels might be left as gic prototypes, preserved in the Gic Museum at the center of the Heavenly Taowork, but they may never see the light of day again. As Sir Big Tail anxiously awaited the oue, No. 2 leaned in and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, my boss isn¡¯t an Outer God. Or rather, don¡¯t insult my boss by calling him an Outer God.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve started worshiping an Outer God!¡± Sir Big Tail eximed in shock, as the gun barrel swiveled to point at No. 2, ¡°I¡¯ll st you to smithereens, you cat-mothered thing!¡± ¡°Calm down! And as a noble, don¡¯t curse so filthy without cause!¡± As the standoff began, Fang Cheng cast Immortal Spell on the three squirrels to protect them, then stepped out of the spaceship and walked to the edge of the ship¡¯s array. The Squirrel Tribe¡¯s homeworld, Songta, is a simr in size to Earth. Because of a recent minor copse in the Heavenly Taowork, Songta was directly exposed to the Shadows and devoured by them. However, the moment the copse of the Heavenly Taowork was detected, the King quickly activated Ancient Technology, exiling the entire. Although it seemed to remain in its original position, itsary surface was now covered with countless spatial folds, each fold potentially epassing hundreds of light-years of distance, separating it from the Shadows through spatial folding. Beyond that, the whole was fragmented by folds, making the homeworld appear to be in its original location, but in reality, it had been stretched into an almost two-dimensional existence. This device had to be switched off manually, and upon closure, a mission was required to venture inside to rescue the trapped King and other members of the Squirrel Tribe. After studying the folds for a while, Fang Cheng realized that this was purely a feat of technology, but it already had nearly the effect of Immortal Spell. Highly developed technology seemed akin to Immortal Spell, and this further deepened Fang Cheng¡¯s judgment that Immortal Spell and science were two sides of the same coin. Having made his judgment, he first returned to his apartment to pour himself a cup of Spiritual Tea. After drinking it, he meditated for an hour to rest, and then returned to the ship¡¯s cabin. By then, Sir Big Tail and No. 2 were almost done arguing. One thought the other had be ackey for an Outer God; the other thought the old-timer was too stubborn and only fit for retirement. The two old squirrels were just short ofing to blows, but due to certain considerations, neither made a move. When Fang Cheng returned, the two squirrels had finally argued themselves out and were sitting on the ground, gasping for air. Sipping Spiritual Tea on the side, Fang Cheng asked, ¡°Who hasmand of the Rescue Committee?¡± ¡°Temporarily, it¡¯s me,¡± Sir Big Tail answered instinctively. But immediately after, he covered his mouth and said seriously, ¡°But I won¡¯t yield. I will try my best to adhere to my own will and wishes, and never do anything that goes against my conscience.¡± ¡°You¡­¡±
No. 2 leaped up, about to engage in another three-hundred-round debate for his boss, but saw Fang Cheng gesture for him to sit down. After pacifying No. 2, Fang Cheng said to Sir Big Tail, ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, rescuing your homeworld is not difficult. I have a fast solution and a somewhat slower solution.¡± Although he was still full of caution against Fang Cheng, the desire to rescue his homeworld ultimately prevailed. Furthermore, Sir Big Tail, who was well-versed in game theory, knew there were actually just two possibilities: either Fang Cheng had hostile intentions, or he did not.
If there were hostile intentions, then the divine battle would ultimately be unavoidable, and the squirrels would end up as cannon fodder¡ªeventually a pair of them would be sent to the Gic Museum, bing the final gic samples. Without hostile intentions, they simply had to obey Fang Cheng¡¯s words obediently, and maybe, just maybe, by mixing into the Heavenly Taowork, the Squirrel Tribe might even receive a blessing from the Gods, securing a divine presence in their favor. Therefore, Sir Big Tail realized the best option was to cooperate with Fang Cheng obediently. Thus, it didn¡¯t care whether Fang Cheng was an Outer God or not, and instead turned to the side and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the quickest n?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take action personally and retrieve your people, which might take about tens of seconds. However, there will be a small price to pay.¡± On hearing that the problem could be resolved in mere seconds, Sir Big Tail was overjoyed but still asked sensibly, ¡°What¡¯s the price?¡± ¡°An Immortal¡¯s intervention doesn¡¯te without consequences. I personally don¡¯t mind, but you might be affected by these consequences, possibly resulting in several hundred years of bad luck. But at least your homeworld would be returned.¡± ¡°Um, how bad can this bad luck get?¡± ¡°Asteroid impacts once a year, the onset of an ice age arriving sooner, increased activity of sr spots causing intense electromaic disturbances, and about a tenfold increase in the mutation probability of unidentified viruses.¡± With every issue Fang Cheng mentioned, Sir Big Tail shuddered. It had thought the price might involve bing a follower orckey to Fang Cheng but now realized its thoughts had been somewhat naive. These days, it seemed not even dogs were wanted; in fact, they might even be considered a nuisance. Swallowing hard, Sir Big Tail asked, ¡°What are the other options?¡±
¡°I can send a group in. They are not afraid of death, and their skills are extraordinary. They will rescue yourpanions safely and might even push back the Shadows a bit.¡± ¡°Really? Is that possible?¡± ¡°Hmm. Wait a moment, let me deal with the Shadows first. This part ispensation for my employees, so you don¡¯t need to worry about the consequences.¡± Fang Cheng pulled out safety scissors and cut around Songta, and an incredible scene unfolded before Sir Big Tail. All of the Shadows surrounding Songta disappeared in an instant; even without the protection of the Heavenly Taowork, the Shadows still couldn¡¯t prate this area. However, the Shadows that had entered the spatial folds still existed¡ªthese Shadows had fused with the folds, making them very difficult to clear. Seeing Fang Cheng easily dispel the surrounding Shadows, Sir Big Tail was dumbfounded. The Shadows were a major concern for the Gods, the biggest obstacle keeping them from leaving this ce, and most hoped to depart quickly, escaping this cursed world, but they nearly always failed. Yet, Sir Big Tail had not expected the Outer God before it to be so powerful, capable of breaking through the Shadows with ease. This disy of power made it feel that being Fang Cheng¡¯s dog would be a stroke of happiness. Unfortunately, it seemed that Fang Cheng didn¡¯t seem interested in that. To prevent the Shadows from further corroding Songta, Fang Cheng pocketed these particr Shadows and then began arranging things around the. This time, he needed gamers to help rescue the squirrels, clear the Shadows, and search for instruments. It all seemed quite dangerous and potentially dull, not really something that could be used to prove one¡¯s path to divinity. Therefore, Fang Cheng abandoned the idea of using this game to confirm his path and was content as long as it wasn¡¯t too boring.
After applying the techniques he had learned around the folds of Songta, Fang Cheng finished and reviewed his work, then frowned. Indeed. No matter how one looked at it, this game was just too dull. Chapter 219: 151 – A Big Business Opportunity Arrives (Second Update)_1 Chapter 219: Chapter 151 ¨C A Big Business Opportunity Arrives (Second Update)_1 The goal of this game is to have yers help find instruments and rescue the squirrels, so as not to let the squirrels rue too much karma. Sir Big Tail hopes to find the instruments within five years and rescue the people within them, so Fang Cheng did his best to make the process more attractive and easier for yers to get involved. To make the game more interesting, he and the squirrels requested various schematics of ships and then created different types of ships, thus giving yers a stronger motivation to search the folds, rescue squirrels, and earn rewards to purchase ships. Tobat the Shadows, he equipped the crafted ships with a variety of weapon systems and provided numerous upgrade paths. To prevent yers from being unclear about their objectives and also to lower difficulty, he deliberately introduced Alpha auxiliary robots, making the game not too tough. Despite having done a lot, he still felt it was too boring. The whole process simply involved flying forward, setting the direction to automatically proceed as indicated by Alpha, locking on and firing at enemies upon sight, maneuvering the ship to avoid Shadows and various obstacles, and then finding other squirrels and returning. Actually, it would be enough to just see the squirrels; Immortal Spells cast by Fang Cheng on the ships would automatically protect the other squirrels, but having them at the yer¡¯s side created a greater sense of immersion. Along the way, one might encounter various monsters extended from the Shadows, and due to the devouring nature of the Shadows, the more you eliminate, the higher the probability of being targeted by arge Shadow, inevitably leading to failure in the end. There¡¯s hardly any plot; the only goals are to save people and search for instruments. The sole gamey is steering ships to evade attacks by the Shadows, which is utterly dull.
Allowing Number One to try it out, Fang Cheng saw it blow up and perish after a few minutes. Itself protected by Fang Cheng¡¯s Immortal Spells, it could survive the explosion and return to the ship. When ites to yers, it doesn¡¯t matter; just discard them and resurrect at the Spirit Gathering Array. And almost instantly, the ship would appear outside, regenerated by the Spirit Gathering Array as well. Besides a negligible amount of Mana, there was no loss, but Number One, the snow squirrel, still sped its shoulders, trembling as it said, ¡°That was terrifying! As soon as I got on, I immediately remembered being chased by the Shadows. Is this thing even a game?¡± Number Two and Number Three looked at the ship with lingering fear, ¡°Do humans really like this thing? I feel it¡¯s like an instrument of torture.¡± ¡°Agree,¡± nodded Sir Big Tail vigorously, ¡°every time I have to pilot the ship, I¡¯m filled with fear and have to listen to music to ease it.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Same here, I have to have the standard music or I won¡¯t dare to pilot the ship. The quality of the speakers is directly proportional to the piloting skills.¡± Out of curiosity, Fang Cheng had Number One y the music and discovered that it was specificallyposed by the squirrels to alleviate the tension and fear of the pilots. The music was magnificent but carried a hint of sorrow; the various instruments blended softly together, creating marvelous chords that made the whole piece heart-stirring and uplifting. After listening for a while, Fang Cheng realized that the piece actually resonated with the Heavenly Tao and couldn¡¯t help but curiously ask, ¡°Whoposed this piece?¡± ¡°A legendary musician among us squirrels, who is also a genius ship pilot. It spent three years continuously researching and finally found this piece that can alleviate the pilot¡¯s fear to the greatest extent.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ Then, can I use it as the background music for the game?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s royalty-free, and if it¡¯s you, boss, you can use it however you want.¡± Incorporating the music into the game, Fang Cheng felt it became slightly more interesting. But still boring. With the game in hand, he returned to the studio and realized he had somehow spent another weekend on it. Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t forgotten about work this time, and he continued to contemte his game from his own spot, bing more and more entangled. The alias ¡°Living Immortal¡± was no longer usable, as many yers had guessed that Fang Cheng was the Living Immortal, and like a group of mindless fans, began specting on the profound meaning behind Fang Cheng¡¯s actions.
Some said Fang Cheng was just ying around, others thought it was because some games couldn¡¯t pass the review, but the most widespread belief was that he was making a big move for the next step: using free games to draw traffic to his ¡°Game Inn¡± and ultimately create his own gaming information tform. ording to their understanding of Fang Cheng, this tform wouldn¡¯t need to introduce ads, have no capital involvement, and would be managed by highly dedicated patrollers, with the website impably constructed. Every detail was perfect, and the scbility of the entire site was surprisingly good. To say that Fang Cheng did this unintentionally was an absolute impossibility. This showed that Fang Cheng not only made good games but also had great ambition; he was not just here to make games better but even to standardize the gaming information market.
Since he couldn¡¯t use the alias ¡°Living Immortal¡± anymore, and he didn¡¯t want to release such a boring game, he wondered if there was anyone willing toe to him with an opportunity to help him promote the game. Seeing Fang Cheng frown, Wang Xiaoying¡¯s eyes lit up instead. The boss is up to something! Excitedly poking the Monkey sitting opposite her, Wang Xiaoying said softly, ¡°Look at the boss.¡± Chapter 220: 151 – A Big Business Opportunity Arrives (Second Update)_2 Chapter 220: Chapter 151 ¨C A Big Business Opportunity Arrives (Second Update)_2 Monkey nced at Fang Cheng, excitement bubbling up in him as well. The boss is up to something! Anytime Fang Cheng furrowed his brow, good things were bound to happen. Sooner orter, a game that was both well-received and a hit at the box office would emerge, plunging yers into a new frenzy of excitement. But after waiting all morning, the nners didn¡¯t see Fang Cheng toss out a new game. Instead, during lunchtime, Xu Qingling received a phone call, had a whispered conversation with Fang Cheng, and both left the studio for a meal. Realizing there wasn¡¯t a new game this time, the four of them were greatly disappointed, idly eating their food while debating whether there was a new game in the making or if the boss was preparing to pull off a big move with an existing one. If it was thetter, which one would it be? Meanwhile, Fang Cheng and Xu Qingling exited the building and saw their old acquaintance, Gao Tianyun, on the first floor. With a worried frown, Gao Tianyun directed them, ¡°This way, both of you.¡±
They went to a rtively secluded Chinese restaurant where, after inquiring about any dietary restrictions, Gao Tianyun chose a famously good set meal. During the break before the meal, he briefly exined where the investment he received from Fang Cheng Studio had gone. Not long after receiving the investment, Gao Tianyun¡¯s research institute made a small breakthrough in the VR field. This minor breakthrough involvedbinations of screen colors and the center of gravity, which could effectively reduce yers¡¯ 3D motion sickness and other difort, significantly lessening the difort from VR driving experiences like cars and nes, and thus enhancing immersion and realism. Excited by this, Gao Tianyun invested in setting up a production line, only then to discover a rather sad issue. He had the equipment, but not the games. While there were some minor games on the market that could adapt, using them on the VR flight simtor was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, totally unnecessary. Some flight simtion games could be used, but these games were known for their realistic simtion, where making the ne take off involved repeatedly pressing keys on the keyboard, then hitting the caps lock, followed by keys with shift, and one more round with ctrl. If he wanted his VR flight simtor to run these games, he¡¯d need the developers to adapt them again, which they clearly didn¡¯t want to do. After three days of searching with no sess, Gao Tianyun had no other choice but to turn to Fang Cheng. ¡°Brother Fang Cheng, you¡¯re my only hope,¡± Gao Tianyun said with eyes brimming with tears. ¡°Considering you¡¯re a shareholder, please lend a brother a hand. Money isn¡¯t a problem, a guaranteed share plus bonus, I definitely won¡¯t let you down.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Noticing Fang Cheng¡¯s hesitation, Gao Tianyun immediately sensed that Fang Cheng had a powerful tool at hand and excitedly asked, ¡°Mr. Fang¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if this game is any fun, but we could give it a try,¡± Fang Cheng responded. ¡°Could your games possibly be not fun?¡± Gao Tianyun eximed. Deciding to use Fang Cheng¡¯s new game as an escort for theunch brought up another issue¡ªhow to release it. This VR flight simtor would require special peripherals, which increased its cost and made its market position awkward. Those who already owned VR all-in-one units wouldn¡¯t consider buying this device, and those without one wouldn¡¯t particrly want a VR flight simtor that could only y one game. Just when Gao Tianyun was once again at a loss, Xu Qingling, seated next to Fang Cheng, pondered for a moment before asking, ¡°May I take a look at the finished product model?¡±
¡°Sure.¡± Pulling out his phone, Gao Tianyun showed the finished product model to Fang Cheng and Xu Qingling. The VR flight simtor looked a bit unfashionable, with yers needing to sit in a cockpit-like device, appearing somewhat silly wearing gloves and a helmet. The gaming process included turbulence and various sounds, which made the machine seem noisy, and that was likely to impact its sales.
After a look, Xu Qingling frowned and said, ¡°Boss Gao, this won¡¯t do.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Gao Tianyun asked, puzzled. ¡°You haven¡¯t taken care of privacy. Nowadays, young people like to do things on their own, such as watching movies, singing karaoke, or bowling alone. If you make them y like this, it¡¯s like a public execution.¡± ¡°They can buy one for home use.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t like your VR all-in-one unit. It¡¯s too big and not cost-effective. This device is best suited for the small zas in shopping malls. It doesn¡¯t take up much space, it¡¯s not far from home, and they can y a round when they have some free time. If it¡¯s good, it can even drive traffic to the mall, and the mall managers won¡¯t hate it.¡± Opening up the photo¡¯s drawing function, Xu Qingling sketched a few strokes on the image and continued, ¡°You¡¯ve got to ensure privacy. Ideally set up separate little areas to block everything off, have good sound instion, don¡¯t let yers outside feel embarrassed. Also, the sterilization process must be thorough, no one wants to sit on a warm seat¡­¡± Xu Qingling might not be sure about whether a game was enjoyable, but she understood people¡¯s psychology. They love to y, and they care about their image. Give them a space full of privacy, and they will have a st. After hearing Xu Qingling¡¯s exnation, Gao Tianyun found it enlightening, yet he was still somewhat uncertain, ¡°Will this really work?¡± ¡°Give it a try, start with one unit in a nearby mall to test the waters. You just need one to gauge the market¡¯s reception, have someone keep an eye on it, and keep track of the data,¡± Xu Qingling suggested. Chapter 221: 151 – A Big Business Opportunity Arrives (Second Update)_3 Chapter 221: Chapter 151 ¨C A Big Business Opportunity Arrives (Second Update)_3 After listening to Xu Qingling¡¯s suggestion, Gao Tianyun finally made up his mind. Let¡¯s do this! He immediately stood up to apologize, then left to settle the bill, and as soon as he returned to his ownpany, he made a call to implement Xu Qingling¡¯s suggestions. The next day, he delivered a modified VR flight simtor to the first floor of the shopping mall. The new game ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± by Fang Cheng was already installed in it. ording to Xu Qingling¡¯s advice, the yers¡¯ privacy was very well protected within the simtor, so that yers could make as much noise as they wanted without any issues. The charge for the game was two yuan per y, with three lives to use after purchase. After their first purchase, yers could register an ount, and all their information would be recorded within this ount, allowing their progress to be saved and essed online on other VR flight simtors as well. When Gao Tianyun, who personally promoted the VR flight simtor, brought this machine to the shopping mall, the person in charge there didn¡¯t seem very keen on keeping it. Staring at the somewhat bulky VR flight simtor, he said with difficulty, ¡°It¡¯s quite big, and there may not be many people interested in ying it. It might be a waste for you to bring it here; better not spend the money in vain.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll split the revenue, thirty percent for us, seventy percent for you,¡± Gao Tianyun immediately said. Since the machine was brought for a trial run, a higher revenue share wasn¡¯t a problem.
The person in charge gave a wry smile, ¡°If no one ys, a high revenue share is still useless.¡± ¡°Eight hundred yuan a day, including electricity, revenue share calcted separately. We¡¯ll rent for a month, and if it¡¯s less than a month, it will be treated as a month.¡± The person in charge quickly calcted the revenue in his head and found the deal to be good. Part of this money would go to the shopping mall and part would be his bonus. He could easily earn extra without being responsible for anything; there was no reason to reject such a deal. Therefore, he agreed to Gao Tianyun¡¯s proposal, and the machine stayed. Relieved, Gao Tianyun returned to thepany, nning to rest for a while before checking on the results. But he was so tired from running around all day that as soon as he touched his chair, he fell asleep with his face on the desk. When he woke up, he saw that four hours had passed, and it was already five in the afternoon. As he wiped away the drool, he found his phone was burning hot. A stranger had called him more than twenty times, which left him slightly unsettled. With confusion, he called back, and in less than a second, the other party picked up and said eagerly, ¡°You finally answered your phone!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter, is the machine broken?¡± Gao Tianyun also asked nervously. ¡°No, the machine is fine, it¡¯s just¡­ Do you have any spare machines over there?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Confused and with another machine in tow, Gao Tianyun finally understood why the other party was so anxious when he arrived at the mall. It was early spring, and the temperature was still low, but customers were lined up in a long queue, hands tucked in and necks shrunken, eagerly waiting in front of theirpany¡¯s VR flight simtor. As soon as a game ended inside, someone immediately went in to chase the previous yer away and then themselves hurriedly settled into the seat. Seeing this scene, Gao Tianyun was stunned. In a daze, he seemed to return tost year¡¯s Mo City Game Expo, where the same group of people was queuing to y ¡°Doctor,¡± just like they were now. Both times with new machines, both times with Fang Cheng¡¯s games, the simr scenes made him smile involuntarily, further strengthening his determination to join hands with Fang Cheng and build the virtual reality world. Then, he immediately took out his phone and called the production line manager, ¡°Hurry, a big deal ising.¡±
Chapter 222: 152: Universe, Here I Come (Three More) - 1 Chapter 222: Chapter 152: Universe, Here I Come (Three More) ¨C 1 ¡°Qiu Yu,e quick, we¡¯ve found something fun!¡± At seven o¡¯clock in the evening, Qiu Yu, who was still working overtime in the studio, picked up the phone and heard n¡¯s broken Mandarin from the other side. n was the leader of the Gauls on this trip and also a quite charismatic Gaul. He was tall, with long golden hair, and he had an air of decadence typical of artists, which made him very eye-catching on the street. He himself was involved in game dubbing and music, and could hum a tune at will, making him even more attractive. After being pushed by Zhang Ping to coborate with the Gauls, Qiu Yu initially thought he was being spiteful, butter realized that the other party was actually helping him. The Gauls, though arrogant, had some discernment; after being schooled by ¡°Who is the Champion,¡± they quickly prepared to learn this entertainingpetition model and apply it to ¡°Magic Dynasty.¡± Although they might not have the local advantage of ¡°Who is the Champion¡±, they could still produce a fine Gaul-themed version, and since fantasy themes have a market in Europe, they should be able to grab a slice of the pie. Under these circumstances, joining this international project team became a golden opportunity for Qiu Yu, and after it ended, it would be even more convenient for him to be the lead strategist. But these Gauls, they were really annoying.
Their understanding of the domestic situation seemed to have stayed in the 1980s, worrying every day whether they would be robbed when they went out, asionally boasting about the abundant natural resources in Gaul, iming everything there was more plentiful than in Rong City. To this, Qiu Yu thought, I can¡¯t indulge your bad habits! I¡¯m a meddlesome master, specializing in mucking things up! When one of the group members proudly stated that Gaul had more electric cars, Qiu Yu snorted coldly and then said in the French he had just learned, ¡°True, we can¡¯tpare to your Gaulish capital, with so many uncles of the darkerplexion, it¡¯s strikingly diverse; fewer strikes than you, highlighting the fragrance of freedom; the subway isn¡¯t as vintage as yours, where the smell of urine has seeped into every nook and cranny; robberies aren¡¯t as frequent, ensuring everyone has the opportunity for employment and wealth redistribution. Vive France!¡± With his highly offensive remarks, Qiu Yu directly broke through n and the others¡¯ defenses, leaving the interpreter beside them speechless and secretly giving Qiu Yu a thumbs up. Qiu Yu had already braced himself to be kicked out, but to his surprise, in the following days, n and his team became particrly cooperative. They stopped being haughty and began to seriously discuss with Qiu Yu, and even started to venture outdoors. After discovering that they could go out for a stroll at eleven or twelve at night and even enjoy barbecue, they admitted that this ce was indeed great. Some members even took a liking to watermelons; their favorite thing to do every day was to buy a big watermelon and a bottle of baijiu, then each take half, scoop a big spoonful from the middle, toast each other, pour the baijiu into the center of the watermelon, stick it in the fridge, and enjoy a feast at night. Every day brought new discoveries and new joys for them. Now ustomed to these Gauls, Qiu Yu, after receiving n¡¯s call, typed on his keyboard while activating the speakerphone and asked, ¡°What did you guys find? Did you discover that Alipay can do facial payments?¡± ¡°¡­It can? I mean, I knew that already, but that¡¯s not what we found. There¡¯s a new arcade game here, super fun! Come down quick!¡± Then, Qiu Yu heard n whisper, ¡°Alipay can do facial payments, we should try it at the store next time.¡± With a sigh, Qiu Yu saved the document, then got ready to go downstairs to see what they had discovered. Following n and the others¡¯ instructions, he arrived at the square downstairs, only to be shocked by the queue of people there. So many people. Did some celebrity or goddesse? But a goddess in this weather¡­ that would be a real goddess. He walked past the crowd and saw at the end of the line ten machines covered up. Hanging outside the machines were screens cycling through gamey disy scenes.
After watching for a bit, Qiu Yu was unable to move away. He stared wide-eyed at the screen, his mind filled with one thought: ¡°Holy crap!¡± What¡¯s the most important thing about a flight simtor game? Realism.
As long as it¡¯s realistic enough, people would y it even if the gamey was terrible. But on the screen, it was clearly not an ordinary flight game but an interster flight shooting game. The game had a cool and futuristic look, with the pilot navigating through the vast ¡°Star Sea¡±, intermittently encountering various mist-enshrouded monsters which then just needed to be sted away. The monsters also looked incredibly realistic, and as the flight distance increased, the monsters¡¯ size grew bigger and some of them even appeared as giant humanoid figures constructed from machine debris, giving the monsters an imposing aura and an extraordinary divinity. Even so, the sense of realism conveyed by the game remained, just watching the screen gave a feeling of confronting immense beings, and the sensation of defeating them was even more intense. After staring nkly for a while, it was only when someone patted his shoulder that Qiu Yu snapped out of it. Turning around, he saw the blond youth n standing behind him, looking at him mockingly. ¡°Qiu Yu, to think even you would be surprised one day. I thought you Han people were used to stuff like this?¡± Chapter 223: 152: Universe, Here I Come (Three More) - 2 Chapter 223: Chapter 152: Universe, Here I Come (Three More) ¨C 2 ¡°` ¡°These things really aren¡¯tmon, are they?¡± Qiu Yu remarked, ¡°What is this, a movie promotion? Whichpany¡¯s?¡± ¡°No, a game. We¡¯ve already yed a round, and we think thispany is definitely one of the rare gamingpanies on the market. We are nning to investigate its origins, and with your participation, we will have a greater advantage against Fang Cheng Studio.¡± Qiu Yu watched the screen for a while, then sighed helplessly, ¡°No need to wonder, that¡¯s a Fang Cheng Studio production.¡± ¡°¡­ How is that possible, how do you know!¡± ¡°No one else has the technology but them.¡± ¡°But¡­ However¡­¡± After some hesitation, n sighed helplessly, ¡°You¡¯re right. We¡¯ve had our suspicions, but we didn¡¯t want to believe it. Especially since¡­ Forget it, wait until you listen to the game¡¯s musicter, you¡¯ll understand.¡± Pointing to the front of the queue, n continued, ¡°I¡¯ve held a spot for you, go ahead and keep your ce, I¡¯ll go back to the end of the line.¡± ¡°¡­ Thanks.¡±
¡°No problem.¡± Standing with a few other Gauls, Qiu Yu knew they had already yed a round, their faces animated with excitement as they gestured wildly and chattered in French. Qiu Yu only knew the French he¡¯d heard before, and at this moment it sounded like an utterly foreignnguage. Especially since these Gauls really liked pulling Qiu Yu into their discussions¡ªkey point being, he couldn¡¯t understand a word. As he neared the end of the line, Qiu Yu noticed that each machine now had a notice posted outside. ¡°One person per turn, each turn 2 yuan (crossed out) 5 yuan (crossed out) 10 yuan. Do not rub the Squirrel Citizen, nor deliberately stick to them. If killed by a Squirrel Citizen, your death count will be deducted.¡± Seeing this notice, Qiu Yu was curious about what someone must have done to the Squirrel Citizen earlier. Finally, it was his turn, and Qiu Yu discovered that the setup was actually thetest VR flight simtor. Seeing this thing, he felt a bit disappointed. VR flight simtors weren¡¯t too novel; essentially they were just VR headsets, tactile gloves, and motion sensorsbined to create the VR experience. But he got a bit dizzy with this stuff. After ying a few times before, he would be dizzy for hours, which really interfered with rest and work. But now that he¡¯d finally got his turn, and n had even held the spot for him, he had no choice but to bravely enter the VR flight simtor and put on the equipment as instructed. The device¡¯s soundproofing was excellent; the seat was fitted with a disposable paper mat, and there was also alcohol disinfection, ensuring it was fine even for someone with a bit of germophobia. After getting all set, the game officially began after a countdown. [Consciousness signal detected¡­] [Neer¡¯s presence detected¡­] [Hello, neer, may I know your name?] After thinking about it, Qiu Yu gave his name: ¡°Qiu Yu.¡± [Please set your password.]
After setting the password, another question surfaced on the screen. [Registered as a pilot, your exclusive aircraft has been configured. Wee to the world of Squirrel Citizens, please enter the game.] The next moment, Qiu Yu found himself seated in a spaceship, with a squirrel with a particrly fluffy tail standing outside his cockpit, stammering, ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s a pleasure to serve you, Mr. Qiu, Qiu Yu. I am your maintenance officer, responsible for fitting your ship with various equipment and parts.¡± The squirrel was a typical snow squirrel, with very shiny fur that could really make one want to touch it.
Looking closely at the squirrel, Qiu Yu noticed that its modeling was indeed impressive. Upon close observation, one could even make out the shape of the fur, almost like ck Tech. Turning his head, he began to study his own cockpit. The interior of the cockpit was equally futuristic, with a sleek and natural design, and its simple operating system made Qiu Yu curious about what would happen next. Sure enough, he soon heard a familiar voice. ¡°Mr. Qiu Yu, may I introduce the game to you?¡± Turning his head, Qiu Yu saw a device, looking much like a camera, hovering in mid-air, floating beside him. This voice was exactly like the Alpha robot¡¯s from ¡°Towards Death and Life,¡± making it clear that this indeed was a Fang Cheng Studio masterpiece. ¡°` Shaking his head with a smile, Qiu Yu said, ¡°No need, let¡¯s just get started.¡± ¡°Okay, safety belts and other devices are detected to be running normally, we¡¯re starting now.¡± The sky above suddenly opened up, revealing the endless gxy outside. Looking at it, Qiu Yu saw stars as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, saw ships linked into a matrix, saw the Squirrel Mother Star in front of him, and the boundless darkness behind the Mother Star. The vastness of the universe rushed towards him, making him acutely aware of the immensity of the cosmos and his own insignificance.
In that moment, everything else in the world lost its meaning, and his consciousness was filled only with the sky and the stars; nothing else mattered. He didn¡¯t know what the first thought of an astronaut stepping into space was when they saw the sky, but he felt that it must be the same as his own: a heart full of emotion to bemitting to the universe. Then, with a strong thrust on his back, the spaceship suddenly ascended, charging towards the Mother Star in front of him. The in front of him erged rapidly, itsrge and ethereal form within the mist overwhelming him instantly, making him forget that he was in a game. Although they kept flying towards the, the distance seemingly did not close, and soon the ship started to adjust its angle to fly. Alpha naturally controlled all these actions. ¡°Mr. Qiu Yu, the target has been corrected, and we will switch to partial manual control. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give you a warning in advance.¡± Suddenly, ck fog appeared, and bizarre monsters emerged from it, then lunged at Qiu Yu¡¯s ship. Firing frantically, he could feel the slight feedback; althoughser weapons had a light touch, thesers they fired were deadly, annihting monsters upon contact. But what Qiu Yu liked the most were the missile weapons. Every time he encountered arge monster, he had tounch a missile, and these weapons had an unparalleled explosive effect and tactile feedback. At these moments, he felt as if he were trulyunching a powerful missile. Weaving through the dense barrage, he focused intently, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. The 3D effects provided by the VR flight simtor immersed him in the joy of annihting monsters. However, after all, he was piloting an initial ship with less than ster performance, which soon lost him the advantage, and the barbaric monster conjured from the ck fog opened its mouth wide andpletely devoured his ship. The ship was torn to pieces in the creature¡¯s mouth, its steel deck turned into thin strips, and mes began to burn fiercely, letting him almost feel that terrifying temperature. ¡°Mr. Qiu Yu, our mission has failed. This time you didn¡¯t rescue the Squirrel Citizen, but you still did an outstanding job exploring part of the area and earned some points as a reward. Would you like to self-detonate?¡±
¡°Do I have any other choices?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then why do you ask?¡± ¡°It makes me seem more polite, and besides, self-detonating to destroy an enemy can also increase your points.¡± Qiu Yu felt that this Alpha was a bit talkative, but its suggestion was good. He chose to self-detonate, and Qiu Yu saw a bright light before his eyes, as he was blown into pieces and dispersed into the cosmos. When he opened his eyes again, he was back at the dock. His repairman stared at him with wide eyes, as if seeing a ghost. ¡°Outer God¡­¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Qiu Yu asked, puzzled. ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to ask how you felt?¡± ¡°Pretty good, I want to go again. Right, points can be used to upgrade weapons or buy new ships, correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Do you have any rmendations?¡± ¡°Escape pods are popr, but you shouldn¡¯t need them, I feel¡­¡± ¡°Hmm, strengthen my self-detonating bomb.¡± The repairman looked at Qiu Yu with fear: ¡°Are you sure about self-detonating¡­?¡± ¡°Certain.¡± ¡°Outer God¡­¡± Filled with fear, the repairman upgraded Qiu Yu¡¯s self-detonating bomb. Once it was confirmed that the instation wasplete, Qiu Yu opened the ceiling again and flew back into the endless universe. Chapter 224: 153 The Meaning of a Good Game (Part 1)_1 Chapter 224: Chapter 153 The Meaning of a Good Game (Part 1)_1 After dying for the second time, Qiu Yu¡¯s spaceship self-destructed again, with an enhanced destructiveness that obliterated everything in the vicinity. Before he was sent back to the hangar, he saw on a scanner simr to a minimap that nearly all the red dots symbolizing monsters had been wiped out by the aftermath. A variety of monsters were sted to pieces, ensuring he took a host of them to the grave with him. The death of these monsters brought a great number of points, allowing him to choose a more powerful body and to upgrade to better weapons. In the hangar, a technician gazed at the revived Qiu Yu, and after carefully checking the points, widened his eyes and asked, ¡°How did you manage that? Was the explosion really so powerful?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever self-destructed before?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve self-destructed, but nobody ever came back, nor was there any record to tell us the final effect of the self-explosion.¡± The Snowfield Hamster technician sighed, and said darkly, ¡°Our home encountered a simr situation before. Songta is one of the most neglected areas within the Heavenly Taowork, after all, we Squirrel People are weak and our technology is severely outdated, with little to no value. To retake our homeworld, we lost half of our pilots. Hmm, why are you looking at me like that?¡± Staring at theining technician, Qiu Yu said in surprise, ¡°No, I¡¯m just astonished that this game actually has a storyline.¡± ¡°A game, huh¡­¡± The technician, having received some training, knew that these special Squirrel People were envoys of an Outer God, with a thought process different from ordinary squirrels.
They have the ability to resurrect indefinitely and treated each death as if it was part of a game, so there was no need to worry about their safety or psychological state, and the task at hand was simply to support them with all might. This particr Outer God had even provided them with a ¡°Service Manual.¡± The manual was not lengthy, but it detailed how to deal with these envoys and how to keep them content. However, even just casually dealing with them was fine, as these envoys seemed to have no other desires beyond piloting spaceships. Aside from the few Squirrel People who always tried to trick the technicians into cuddles, these envoys were actually quite agreeable. The spaceships and their weapons were products manufactured by that Outer God. Although they looked exactly the same as those of the Squirrels, their intrinsic nature waspletely different. Sir Big Tail had conducted experiments and discovered that these spaceships seemed to be restricted by some sort of incredibly strange power, which gave them ridiculously powerful capabilities. Supported by this force known as ¡°Mana,¡± these spaceships appeared to be able to recover indefinitely, though the principle behind this was unclear. While it¡¯smon for Outer Gods to symbolize the iprehensible, in the technician¡¯s view, this particr Outer God¡¯s power was so immense it was hard to fathom, seemingly on par with the Main God within thework. If only this Outer God could protect them¡­ Quickly discarding this impractical thought, the technician felt the idea was far from realistic. The world was home to many intelligent species, but very few Gods, affording thetter significant choice. A benevolent Outer God had better options, with numerous races within the Heavenly Taowork eager to serve, far beyond the Squirrel People¡¯s standing. It was unrealistic to harbor such hopes. The mere fact that the Outer God was willing to help save their home was enough for them to be endlessly grateful. Shaking his head to clear it, the Squirrel came back to his senses and disyed the avable bodies in the game. Each body had its attributes; some emphasized speed, others defense, and even a colossal Interster Fortress was included among them¡ªthe so-called hexagonal warrior, whose speed and endurance were outrageously high. But this thing was expensive andplicated to operate; it required multiple Squirrel Drivers to assist and pilot together to ensure it couldunch. Unfortunately, the Squirrel Drivers had to be rescued by the yer in the game, and once rescued, the pilots had to agree toe aboard the ship. Even more infuriating, this game didn¡¯t support microtransactions, otherwise Qiu Yu would certainly have spent money to buy a 648 package and fill the ship with crewmembers right now. For the first time in his life, Qiu Yu actually found himself wishing the game had a microtransaction button.
Looking at the 3D model of the Interster Fortress before him, Qiu Yu had only one thought. That was cool. The colossal Interster Fortress wasparable to a small satellite; with this contraption, he supposed he could st through the region before him. Its trendy and futuristic design was every boy¡¯s dream, one that lingered even into adulthood.
Knowing he couldn¡¯t afford or use such a thing, Qiu Yu reluctantly averted his gaze, switched his body, and upgraded his weapons. Having talked, he bid his technician farewell and then closed his eyes, quietly savoring the sensation of thrust at his back. When he opened his eyes once more, he found himself amidst the stars. Although it was his third entry into this starry expanse, he remained intoxicated by its vastness and infinity, and was moved by its magnificence. After quietly enjoying it for a while, the game¡¯s BGM began to y. Qiu Yu didn¡¯t know which master hadposed this BGM, but from the first time he heard this music, he knew it was tailored specifically for this game. This symphony had no lyrics, just pure music. Its simple melody carried a mix of tragic and passionate air, making Qiu Yu feel as if he had truly be an astronaut on a mission to save his kin in the deste cosmos. It was a journey from which there was no return, yet he relished every moment. Chapter 225: 153 The Meaning of a Good Game (Part 2)_2 Chapter 225: Chapter 153 The Meaning of a Good Game (Part 2)_2 Humming along with the background music for a while, Qiu Yu saw darkness coalesce in front of him. The shrill rm sounded, resonating with the majestic background music, and propelled Qiu Yu immediately intobat mode. Dark silhouettes of machinery emerged from the mist. They looked like the mechs known to Qiu Yu, but he understood that these were the enemies he had to face. Without any need formunication, he pulled the trigger, sending a dense barrage of fire forward, frantically tearing apart everything before him. The enhanced firepower was wild and zing, shattering the mechs one by one. ¡°Come on, my lovelies!¡± Amidst the fireworks filling the sky, Qiu Yuughed heartily as he piloted his own spaceship, charging crazily towards the Shadow mechs ahead. This time, he intended to ughter his way through the whole world,pleting the game in one life! Six minutester¡­
¡°The self-destruct power still isn¡¯t enough, in the end, it couldn¡¯t even take out that boss.¡± Having exhausted his third chance at life, Qiu Yu crawled out of the VR flight simtor, muttering to himself as he walked to the end of the line. ¡°However, I should upgrade my flying speed a bit, or add a ¡®Taunt¡¯ chip to directly draw the monsters in and then bang, bang, bang, self-destruct. That way, I could rack up quite a few points in the early stages and upgrade from there. It¡¯s a shame to wait in line for so long only to self-destruct right away. Why must they limit the number of lives instead of the time?¡± Standing at the end of the line, Qiu Yu considered hisbination strategies while thinking about how to increase his point earnings in each round next time. After that, he took out his phone to search online for information about ¡°Squirrel Spaceship.¡± Unfortunately, the game had been released too recently and seemed to be exclusive to VR flight simtors, so people elsewhere couldn¡¯t y it. In one of the few forum threads, one seemed to be from the person who had first discovered the VR flight simtor. They had been live broadcasting on the forum since three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Now it seemed to continue, and they kept posting updates. Since there was nothing to do while waiting in line, Qiu Yu decided to check out the posts. [Guys, I found a weird gaming machine. It¡¯s two yuan a go, not too expensive, and the disy outside looks decent.] After he posted a photo of the gaming machine¡¯s exterior, a slew of mockery followed. [I¡¯ve heard of movie preunch hype, game preunch hype, but never April Fool¡¯s preunch hype.] [You¡¯re starting your scams early, huh? If I don¡¯t see you in the circus, I¡¯m not going.] [Gotham city wouldn¡¯t beplete without you; Batman would die of loneliness.] [Poker without you is an iplete deck.] [Buddy, deceive yourself all you want, but deceiving the dads here isn¡¯t right. Though I must say, your Photoshop skills aren¡¯t bad, managing to create a pretty realistic game screenshot. What¡¯s the original name of the game? I¡¯ll look it up online.] Original Poster: [Believe it or not, I¡¯ll show you guys the setup inside. It¡¯s a VR flight simtor, looks like it¡¯s about flying nes.] Original Poster: [Asked the person in charge, and it is about flying nes. With the help of the person in charge, I geared up and got ready to start.] Original Poster: [¡­another go.]
Original Poster: [¡­another go.] Original Poster: [¡­can¡¯t do it anymore, but I want another go.] Original Poster: [Can¡¯t go again, there are people lining up now, but there aren¡¯t many, I should be able to have another go shortly. This thing¡­ I didn¡¯t do well in Chinese, but anyway it¡¯s just like a stampeding bull.] Original Poster: [That screen, that feel¡­ the thrust when elerating is truly amazing, thepatibility of flight simtion with VR is just too good, you guys who haven¡¯t yed really don¡¯t know what it feels like.]
Original Poster: [Especially the music, no exaggeration, truly the best game music I¡¯ve ever heard. I wonder if I can find the original soundtrack online, I could listen to it over and over for a year.] Passerby: [Really? I live nearby, I¡¯ll go take a look. Don¡¯t you leave, if you¡¯re scamming me, I¡¯ll beat you up first.] Passerby: ¡°Bro, you¡¯re my real bro! Thank you for being so selfless!¡± Passerby 2: ¡°For real? I gotta check it out too.¡± Passerby 2: ¡°Seriously, we¡¯ve already sworn brotherhood like the ¡®Peach Garden Oath.¡¯ My big brother is awesome¡ªhe genuinely shares the good stuff.¡± After that, yers who believed and those who didn¡¯t started shing. Some argued that the crappy game had hired a bunch of paid posters, and the small theater drama was well yed, suggesting a video of it would probably be more fun than the game itself. Then supporters fired back saying that boars can¡¯t appreciate fine bran, and those who haven¡¯t seen the world should just get lost. The regrs on the forum didn¡¯t hold back¡ªif they enjoyed a post, they praised it; if they didn¡¯t, they cursed it. Remarkably, a single post sparked a me war, making Qiu Yu think these people really had too much time on their hands. Of course, he also realized that he too must have been pretty idle, constantly refreshing to follow the me war to its end. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but reflect that Fang Cheng Studio was indeed Fang Cheng Studio; a single coboration with Kirin Industry was enough to spark such quick discussion. This level of marketing prowess didn¡¯te without two decades of experience. If it wasn¡¯t intentional marketing, then it meant their game¡¯s quality had truly returned to its roots, reaching the point where whatever they did was exactly what the yers loved. Thinking of that was even more daunting. Kirin Industry was still shipping VR flight simtors to the area, but the queue of people didn¡¯t seem to shrink¡ªin fact, it seemed to grow a bit longer.
It wasn¡¯t clear who started it, but someone began humming the game¡¯s background music. Even when hummed, the lively tune had an uplifting spirit and a heroic boldness that could boil one¡¯s blood with excitement. Besides, this piece could amodate multiple vocal parts, leading to a group of people humming in harmony, addingyers and making the piece even more borate. Previously, Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games had no background music, just ambient sounds, which made many wonder if Fang Cheng Studio was incapable of producing music. Now it seemed clear that they just didn¡¯t bother, not that they couldn¡¯t. In the crowd, Qiu Yu couldn¡¯t help but hum along. Music had a special magic to it. It didn¡¯t feel like much while ying the game, but once he started humming, it easily brought back memories of his experiences in the game, making the wait less agonizing. When he got back into the game and logged in with his ID, Qiu Yu, after using up his turns, reluctantly stepped out and sighed, looking at the long line outside: ¡°This thing¡¯s gonna be a hit.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said n, who had waited outside for Qiu Yu, ¡°Fang Cheng Studio¡­ this studio is awesome, and so is their background music.¡± In China, not many developers focus on music and sound effects; usually, such work is outsourced to professional teams. However, in other countries, they are an indispensable part of the development team. n was the leader of the Gaul team this time, but he was also a sound designer. The background music for ¡®Magic Dynasty¡¯ wasposed by him, ying the Scottish bagpipes to create a distinctive fantasy vor, which won the Academic Award for Best Music and Sound Effects that year. Qiu Yu knew the music sounded good but didn¡¯t know why. Checking the time, Qiu Yu realized they probably wouldn¡¯t make it for the next round. The mall was about to close, and the person in charge had quicklyunched a queueing mini-app, asking everyone to scan a code and queue up to return the following day.
After scanning the code, Qiu Yu didn¡¯t feel like going back to work overtime. As a curious jack-of-all-trades in the gaming industry, he called for a trantor, and the three of them sat down together in a nearby caf¨¦ and started chatting away. The trantor had also been in line to y the game before and admired Qiu Yu, so when called upon, he didn¡¯t consider it overtime but rather leisure time after work to chat. Naturally, their conversation centered on ¡®Squirrel Spaceship¡¯ outside, and the three endlessly shared their in-game experiences, getting increasingly louder without realizing it. Coming back to their senses, they noticed other customers staring at them, feeling a bit embarrassed. Just as they were about to apologize, a customer leaned in and said, ¡°Can you include me too? I have a lot I want to talk about. Listening to you guys was driving me crazy.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Include me as well.¡± Turns out everyone in the caf¨¦ had just finished ying, even the caf¨¦ owner joined in, and a group of people happily talked about the game. Some started offering snacks, others coffee, and as it became clear that everyone was keen to discuss, the ordinarily quiet caf¨¦ instantly buzzed with activity, creating a unique and wonderful night. Chapter 226: 154: Unexpected Surprise (Second Update)_1 Chapter 226: Chapter 154: Unexpected Surprise (Second Update)_1 The next morning, Gao Tianyun left thepany after being woken by a call from the shopping mall manager and headed to the za. On the za, a group of yers, like ducks waiting to be roasted, craned their necks, waiting for the mall to open. The mall manager hurried over to Gao Tianyun and said eagerly, ¡°Boss Gao, ten machines are not enough. What about setting up another twenty? We have six floors in total, five per floor. That way the yers can spread out in line and it¡¯ll be more convenient.¡± Seeing that Gao Tianyun didn¡¯t say anything, the manager went on, ¡°We won¡¯t charge rent, a 40-60 split is fine. This thing is a ¡®Divine Artifact¡¯ for attracting customers.¡± Business hadn¡¯t been goodtely, even if the flow of customers had picked up a bit after the new year, but every day was still half-dead. Arge number of shops were vacant, making it hard for the mall too. However, customer flow had actually increased yesterday. Although most people were there for the game machines, some had bought bubble tea while waiting, picked up some snacks, or had a meal nearby, which improved business for some shops. If they could secure this customer flow, some shops might recover a bit, and the mall¡¯s business would improve as well. Listening to the earnest words of the manager, Gao Tianyun nodded his head and agreed to his request. Checking his phone, he found several missed calls. Some shopping mall managers with whom he had cooperated before had seen the prospects of the game machines and smelled the ¡°meat¡±¡ªthey had called, hoping to install some machines in their malls as well. Capital always loves to follow trends for profit.
As spokespeople of capital, those managers had a keen nose for business opportunities and thus extended their olive branches to Gao Tianyun, hoping to establish cooperative rtions. Some of the orders even came from abroad; heaven knows how the Gauls learned about his machines. He had only deployed ten machines yesterday, so how did those Gauls halfway around the Earth smell the aroma already? Gao Tianyun couldn¡¯t figure this out. After calcting the potential equipment deployment across the country and overseas sales, Gao Tianyun figured that the recent investment he got would just suffice to convert into a production line. Then, starting from Rong City, he could begin to expand nationwide and even globally. The business model could follow the existing one, only that the payment method needs to be considered¡ªwhether to charge by time or by y counts. But that was a minor issue; they could simply observe the current situation to decide. If all went well, the dividends for Mr. Fang alone this year could allow him to recoup his investment. The boastful ims Fang Cheng madest year were about to materialize at the start of this year, making Gao Tianyun feel that Mr. Fang was truly the ¡°luck¡± in business, unstoppable with even a slight touch. Satisfied, Gao Tianyun exhaled deeply and began contacting the factory to continue production. Unlike the exuberant Gao Tianyun, Fang Cheng was rather troubled. It didn¡¯t feel quite right to him to have yers work for their entertainment and then charge them for such a boring game. He wasn¡¯t worried that this concern would turn into a ¡®Heart Demon¡¯ or anything, but as an Immortal, he was always ufortable owing others, especially on such arge scale. When it was time to work, he looked out the window with a frown, his gaze prating the walls and the mall¡¯s exterior,nding on those queening up to y ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡±. ¡°Hmm¡­ Huang Ping.¡± The named Huang Ping turned his head and asked Fang Cheng, ¡°What is it, boss?¡± ¡°Yesterday, did you y the game machines in the mall?¡± Huang Ping squinted at Fang Cheng, ¡°Boss, next time you make a new game, could you let us have a look first?¡± ¡°Because it was a bit boring this time, we¡¯ll talk next time.¡± Huang Ping¡¯s heart sank for a moment, marveling at how the boss called such a high-tier game boring.
Flight shooting games are a big genre, but there have been few outstanding workstely, with most moving towards higher difficulty, even creating a bizarre news story about a hidden boss that had gone years unbeaten. The sole purpose of a boss is to be defeated by yers, and Huang Ping thought there was something wrong with a boss marketed on the idea that no one could beat it. The perverse pursuit of difficulty resulted in higher and higher entry barriers for average yers, pushing flight shooting games further into obscurity, ultimately only increasing the difficulty to serve hardcore fans. It was a vicious cycle.
Meanwhile, some game developers were pursuing realism, and the result of continuous iterations was increasingly realistic graphics and controls. So realistic that there weren¡¯t enough keys on a keyboard anymore. But ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± offered another direction. Thebination of gaming and VR provided a high sense of realism, which progressed to a world-shattering level of spaceship power, fully catering to yers¡¯ desires to be stronger. The arcade-style sales approach was nothing special, but overall, the final profit should be quite good. Not bad for a casual effort from the boss¡ªit was a hit. Soon enough, some game developers would realize the potential of this VR flight simtor and start creating games for it, further advancing the development of VR game machines. But, thanks to the boss¡¯s connection with Kirin Industry, every simtor woulde pre-installed with ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡±, and Fang Cheng Studio could always stay one step ahead. The better the others did, the more they would promote Fang Cheng Studio. The more Huang Ping thought about it, the more brilliant he found this strategy. Except for the game¡¯s name, which could have been better, everything was quite perfect. Chapter 227: 154: Unexpected Surprise (Second Update)_2 Chapter 227: Chapter 154: Unexpected Surprise (Second Update)_2 But this is also a characteristic of Fang Cheng Studio, and yers are probably used to it by now. Noticing Huang Ping had fallen into deep thought, Fang Cheng quietly waited for the other to ponder the rted issues. Once Huang Ping had finished thinking, he then asked, ¡°I feel that game has be a bit boring, is there a way topensate the yers?¡± ¡°Compensate for what?¡± ¡°Compensate them for the psychological trauma of ying a boring game.¡± ¡°Then ny percent of the gamepanies in the world would have to be fined into bankruptcy. Just so happens, I¡¯ve had an idea for quite some time, should we consider making a universal pass? The studio¡¯s games can actually be essed using one ount, allowing yers to log into all our games with a single universal pass, making it convenient for them to y.¡± Fang Cheng thought for a moment and felt that Huang Ping was right, so he encouraged him to continue. ¡°The game¡¯s official website could be linked to the Game Inn, making it convenient for yers toe and go. In addition, the previous easter egg, Mukuai, can also be utilized. I¡¯m not too clear on the difficulty of implementation, but I think having Mukuai as a permanent character on our tform is a good idea. Moreover, yers have a high eptance of Mukuai, which can be seen as giving the yers a surprise andpensation.¡± Hearing this idea, Tian Xuan, who was beside them, immediately turned her head, looking over with anticipation. The more frequent the appearances of the Mukuai, the more opportunities she had topensate yers for their merits.
If Mukuai appeared in every game, she would essentially be able to fully exhaust her merits and no longer have to worry about being in debt to yers. Huang Ping¡¯s suggestion was somewhat tempting to Fang Cheng. After a brief deliberation, Fang Cheng felt the idea was feasible, and sensing the yers would probably be happy with it, he nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take care of this.¡± He let Huang Ping continue with his work while Fang Cheng began to ponder how to integrate all the games into one entity. His physical body remained in ce, but his Primordial Spirit had already arrived in the Mirror Universe, starting to n how to proceed. Huang Ping was right; as the number of games increased, it was time to integrate them under a single universal pass. ¡°First off, we need a nk space.¡± Following hismand, nearby dust began to converge, and a massive amount of particte matter directly formed a vastnd to wee yers. ¡°Then, there must be Heavenly Dao Laws.¡± Tian Xuan was summoned here. Now dressed in splendid garments and having repaired her ws, Tian Xuan could finally include this ce in her own jurisdiction and manage this space. Bowing slightly to Fang Cheng, she produced a clump of daylilies and cast them toward the maind in front of her. As Little Heavenly Way, Tian Xuan epassed mostly wood-based Heavenly Ways, and the Laws she governed were also rted to wood. When the daylilies touched thend, they dissolved into points of light and vanished, and the entire maind weed its own Little Heavenly Way. Subsequently, it seemed to gain its own life, bing real and vibrant. After this ritual waspleted, the Mukuai arrived. The first to arrive were therger Mukuai, each of them enormous in size. Upon their arrival, they began to reshape the maind ording to Tian Xuan¡¯s ideas, making it more suitable for habitation. Then, the smaller Mukuai also arrived, starting to make detailed adjustments, changing the soil, water, and air, and began nting crops. Finally, the regr Mukuai arrived. They built houses, each of which would be a unique facility for yers in the future; every yer would be assigned their own unique Mukuai who would guide them in mastering everything here. Teleportation Arrays were set up by Fang Cheng, allowing yers to travel to different worlds and y different games through the arrays in their own homes.
After all this was done, Fang Cheng looked on with satisfaction. Afterward, this ce would provide services for the universal pass; yers entering the game would first create their own character here, then use different Teleportation Arrays to transform into the corresponding forms for each game. As for guiding yers to ept and get used to the universal pass, the Mukuai were very experienced. They were professional guides, highly skilled at guiding yers through games. Leaving it to them was a professional match, no need to worry.
Moreover, new yer onboarding could be left to the Mukuai in the future, significantly reducing their own workload. These features would be tested for a while; once the effect was good, they would be promoted all together. Having dealt with these issues, Fang Cheng also felt he had resolved a concern, so his Primordial Spirit returned to its ce, continuing to umte inspiration and insights. The Mukuai who came here quickly understood their tasks, then began to sense the location and tapped into the mana left by Fang Cheng to establish a connection with the yers they were assisting. ¡°` Soon, the first batch of yers would be greeted with this easter egg. Kylin Industry had its ownpany in Mo City, so the markets in Mo City were the second to obtain VR flight simtors after Rong City. Upon learning that this was another coboration between Fang Cheng Studio and Kylin Industry, Chen Rang immediately applied for a spot. As soon as the VR flight simtor became avable, he quickly found the person in charge and rushed over to experience it. The reason he was so eager was that he had heard an exciting rumor. ¡°The Squirrel Spaceship¡± had been updated. Moreover, following the update, pass certificates were added, and all of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games would be integrated into the pass certificate system, allowing yers to log into all the games with it. In addition to that, the game had added a fantastic easter egg, which could be seen in the VR flight simtor. However, when asked what the easter egg was, the leaker didn¡¯t say; they only mentioned that the easter egg was particrly impressive but not everyone could find it.
Carrying high expectations for the easter egg, the game-enthusiast journalist, Chen Rang, entered the game. After undergoing a real-name registration, he set up his ount and changed his nickname in ¡°The Squirrel Spaceship.¡± With the electronic voice of Alpha guiding him, he then entered the game, eagerly looking around. Unfortunately, other than his spaceship and a squirrel outside being serviced, he didn¡¯t see anything else. ¡°Indeed, my luck isn¡¯t that good, huh?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s not bad,¡± came a reply. A familiar voice sounded, making Chen Rang excitedly look up. Outside, a tall figure of Mukuai smiled and waved at him. Then, with a flip, they jumped into the cockpit and transformed into a form about the same size as Chen Rang uponnding. Rubbing Chen Rang¡¯s head vigorously, Mukuai said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be a squirrel here. You look pretty cute. Alright, let me exin some things you need to be aware of. You need to listen carefully.¡± Seeing a familiar face and hearing the familiar voice, Chen Rang felt like he was dreaming and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°You¡¯re Mukuai, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the figure confirmed. ¡°You¡¯re not some other Mukuai, nor someone else¡¯s Mukuai, right?¡± Rubbing Chen Rang¡¯s head again, Mukuai hugged him tightly, then consoled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m the Mukuai who will always assist you.¡± At that moment, Chen Rang¡¯s fondness for Fang Cheng Studio turned into reverence, and he decided he would from then on be an unwavering fan of Fang Cheng Studio, following them unconditionally.
Patting Chen Rang¡¯s back, Mukuai continued, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s continue the game! The first step, charge out!¡± ¡°Charge out!¡± Amid the stirring music, the spaceship soared into the sky, heading towards the wrinkled space ahead to rescue those squirrels. Just like Chen Rang, someone else had seen their Mukuai 1234. Xiemen Waidao looked at the Mukuai 1234 outside, who also looked back at him with a helpless expression. After a moment of silence, Mukuai 1234 covered its head and sighed helplessly, ¡°Ourst encounter should have been ourst.¡± ¡°To be precise, it was fifteen minutes ago.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were busy today, so you left ¡®The Supreme One¡¯ early and then went to handle things? Could you trante for me, what does ¡®handle things¡¯ mean?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you identally fell while walking, then idently stumbled into the gaming pod and unintentionally seeded in paying to start the game, and finally identally saw me.¡± ¡°Your excuse is good, can you delete it and let me repeat it?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± ¡°Actually, I just wanted to y the game, but I always felt like telling you to go y another game came with a, you know, that thing.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Mukuai 1234 stated expressionlessly. ¡°Well¡­¡± Normally quick-witted, Xiemen Waidao found himself at a loss for words and could only silently allow Alpha to help ascend into space, flying towards the space fold. ¡°` Chapter 228: 155: Angry Players (Three updates)_1 Chapter 228: Chapter 155: Angry yers (Three updates)_1 Silence. Still silence. Xiemen Waidao silently piloted the spaceship while Mukuai 1234 sat beside him, expressionlessly munching on Xiemen Waidao¡¯s merits. After eating for a while, Mukuai 1234 sighed and sat a little closer to Xiemen Waidao. ¡°Don¡¯t lie next time, I know you feel like ying other games is kind of a Minotaur thing to do, but they¡¯re all games from Fang Cheng Studio¡­ there¡¯s no need for that,¡± said Mukuai 1234. ¡°Ah, ¡®Squirrel Spaceship¡¯ is a game from Fang Cheng Studio?¡± Xiemen Waidao asked in surprise. ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°I just heard there was a fun game, so I came over to give it a try,¡± he replied. ¡°Then you should have realized it when you saw me!¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡±
Looking at the suddenly enlightened Xiemen Waidao, Mukuai 1234 wondered if this guy was too clever for his own good, ending up somewhat dull. However, after their past grievances thawed, the whole journey instantly became incredibly enjoyable. With Mukuai 1234 there to exin things and an Alpha to help with piloting, Xiemen Waidao didn¡¯t need to worry about time restrictions with his experimental machine; he could keep ying until he got tired of it. But that idea was a joke¡ªhow could he possibly get tired of it! Apart from anything else, just being inside the spaceship, beating up enemies while chatting with Mukuai 1234, made Xiemen Waidao feel like he could y forever and ever. asionally, he would self-destruct to set off fireworks, thoroughly enjoying himself here. Especially since Mukuai 1234 seemed to particrly fancy squirrels; if he wasn¡¯t paying attention, Mukuai 1234 woulde over and rub and rub inside the spaceship, making him feel a tickling sensation on his back. He also quickly discovered the self-destruction tactic; after each death, he¡¯d put all his points into self-destruct and then buy a high-level ¡°taunt¡± chip. With the chip¡¯s effect, as soon as he entered the game, it would draw the aggro of all the monsters around him. The beasts rushed him with roars, ferociously attacking Xiemen Waidao¡¯s spaceship and turning into points for him after a burst of white light. Finally, one by one, the squirrels were rescued, some leaving with gratitude to find Sir Big Tail to im their spaceships. They then joined the matrixwork, piloting the ships and bing maintenance workers, assisting the new Angel Envoys. As the spaceship matrix expanded, the increased functionality of the expanding matrix allowed yers to find some squirrel locations through the matrix¡¯s awesomeputing power. These locations could be marked directly for yers to search. yers were excited about these random tasks, urging each other to hurry and grab them. Sometimes, the matrix could detect the locations ofrge Shadow manifestations, looming space fortresses appearing from within,ter marked by the matrix as well. yers eximed that a world boss had emerged, urging each other to hurry and im it. The Angel Envoys werepletely indifferent to death, charging back into the fray after each demise without taking breaks in between, seemingly enjoying the process of dying, giving every maintenance squirrel an indescribable sense of facing something ineffable. Even though they knew the Envoys were on their side, the feeling was still bizarre, as if they were facing not somemunicable creature, but a being willingly meeting death for a purpose. But no matter what, being able to help was great. With the expansion of the spaceship matrix, tens of thousands of spaceships eventually epassed the entire home. Scanners continuously usedputing power here, making it extremely difficult for these fully operational ships to maintain support. However, this perseverance finally paid off.
The location of the ancient artifact was discovered atst, and the coordinates of the Squirrel King were also uncovered. The former could temporarily halt the folding of space, while thetter would allow them to wee their King and survive under his leadership. Given they were on the edge of the Heavenly Taowork, the harsh environment required a leader, and obedience to this leader¡ªdemocracy did not exist among the squirrels, they needed a strong and powerful figure to guide them. And the yers grew excited at the news. The King and the artifact, just the thought alone made it clear that they had to be very important NPCs and artifacts. Obtaining them would surely reward a lot of points, perhaps even enough to redeem the space fortress in an instant, allowing for unrestrained freedom thereafter.
Fueled by the incentives of point rewards, yers swarmed towards the destination. Some were even prepared for a shameless ambush on other yers along the way, but they retracted quietly under Mukuai¡¯s cold gaze. As an envoy for Heavenly Tao Tian Xuan, Mukuai had an ethical standard that was perfect for keeping those entric yers in check. But when the yers finally reached their destination, they found not only the artifact and the Squirrel King. Therey a massive female figure sprawling across space, her left hand clutching a crystal-like ancient artifact, and a cage floating beside her with a dimly-crowned king unconscious inside. The woman¡¯s body was colossallyrge, so much so that the biggest space fortress looked like a basketball next to her, and her body stretching for hundreds of kilometers made her resemble a mountain range floating in the air. Dressed in ck stockings and a ck-and-white dress, she looked like a woman who had escaped from a funeral. Her appearance was also very beautiful, her gigantic stature imbuing her with a divine quality, and hernguid expression made her divinity even more apparent. Chapter 229: 155: Angry Players (Three updates)_2 Chapter 229: Chapter 155: Angry yers (Three updates)_2 The majestic woman had not noticed the surrounding spaceships. She was just intently staring at the ancient device in her hands, sized like a speck of dust, asionally letting out delightful gasps of admiration. ¡°How beautiful, I never thought you squirrels were hiding something this nice. Squirrel King, why didn¡¯t you offer it to me earlier?¡± The Squirrel King inside the cage clenched his teeth, continuously resisting the enchantment of the divine being in front of him. To ordinary creatures, divine beings are an overwhelming presence. Even looking at a god, there is a chance of being captured by their charm and subsequently bing a ve to the divine. Although the deity before them was acknowledged by the Heavenly Taowork, she was definitely not a benevolent god; deception and maniption were her forte. Once fallen into very, she would certainly use one¡¯s own hands to inflict pain and despair upon the squirrels, dragging them into an even more wretched future. It had sought death several times, but the divine being used her power to create a cage, making it impossible to die, and forcing it to endlessly endure her temptation. She also reveled in the process, admiring the copse of the determined, like thest spoonful of pudding on a te, the sweet taste blooming from the despair and pain deep within the soul, indulging in it, unable to stop.
She hade here by chance, intending to report the losses to the Heavenly Taowork, when she happened to see the device in the spatial fold and the unconscious Squirrel King. She liked both of these things and so decided to stay here a bit longer, to thoroughly y with this ce. Only after she had her fill did she notice therge number of spaceships surrounding her. She didn¡¯t know what these spaceships were doing, but she still waved her hand in a seemingly friendly manner, hiding her deep and inexhaustible sinister thoughts behind a facade of goodwill. Looking at the female figure, the yers¡¯ exmations never stopped. [So huge¡­] [Really, so big¡­] [To see a woman sorge, am I really allowed to look for free? No, I paid for this.] [My goodness, I¡¯ve once again realized the artistic foundation of Fang Cheng Studio. Which grand artist are they? How can they create such wonderful things?] [My gaze has been taken by her, and now I no longer feel joy or sorrow in this life.] Xiemen Waidao also looked for a while, and then decisively said to Alpha, ¡°Help me trante. May I ask, can you release that rather pitiful little squirrel?¡± Alpha immediately transmitted the information, and the enormous deity received the message from Alpha in that moment, her face showing a proper and gentle smile. She sensed that the little ones before her were envoys of an Outer God, but that Outer God didn¡¯t seem to be anything special. Their use of power was somewhat clever, but that was all, she didn¡¯t sense anything particrly strong about them. An Outer God who wasn¡¯t very powerful could probably be persuaded to give something in return, for the courtesy ofing here. Although she still didn¡¯t know where this Outer God was, she could make full use of these little ones before her, to serve as an appetizer. So, she smiled gently, nced at the Squirrel King who was covering his head and desperately resisting her, and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m helping it heal. If I let it out, it will surely die.¡± ¡°I see, then what can be done to save it?¡± Xiemen Waidao continued to ask. ¡°What to do¡­¡± she mused, ¡°Ah, I have an idea.¡±
As the delegate appointed by the Heavenly Taowork council to this ce, she had another task, which was to restore the coverage of the Heavenly Taowork as much as possible, or to eradicate the Shadows. However, both tasks would consume her mana, and while the council wouldpensate her, those were barely enough to break even, not allowing for anything extra. But these envoys before her seemed quite powerful and exploitable. So, she pointed to the Shadows on the outskirts and said, ¡°Eliminate those Shadows, and I can focus more energy on helping this poor little squirrel.¡±
¡°A world quest, huh¡­ understood. But what¡¯s the extra reward?¡± ¡°Reward?¡± The Gods furrowed their brows, their fondness for these Angel Envoys waning by the moment. They actually expected a reward for serving the Gods. Indeed, some powerful races deserved rewards, but it was their ¡°strength,¡± not their ¡°service,¡± that merited these prizes. For the weaker, fringe races, even Gods¡¯ nces were more than enough for them to be grateful; the Gods didn¡¯t even need these inferior races¡¯ faith, lest it taint their own divinity. However, these Envoys seemed both foolish and greedy, so why not just promise them a reward and deceive them? So, He pointed to the ancient device in His hand and said, ¡°This, if you can help me expand a space one light-year across and clear out the corresponding Shadows, then I might consider giving this to you. In addition, I will bestow some blessings upon you to improve your living conditions.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± Excited by the activation of the main quest, the yers immediately sprang into action, following the God¡¯s orders to begin the game. A light-year is approximately ny-five trillion kilometers¡ªa truly vast astronomical number¡ªbut for yers with spaceships, it was not so difficult. Spaceships burning with Mana could use spatial folding to break through the speed of light barrier. While the distance of a light-year was long, it wasn¡¯t insurmountable, and they could stillplete it. Their weapons were somewhat weak, but the yers had the advantage of numbers. Tens of thousands of yers began piloting their spaceships, tirelessly clearing the Shadows and constantly self-destructing due to the Shadows¡¯ corrosion, taking nearby Shadows with them.
Thisrge-scale task quickly spread among yer groups. No one would believe that an apparently gentle, kind, and attractive older sister figure was a viin. Each yer took thisrge task as a part of the main storyline and began ceaselessly clearing the area of everything. Finally, after two days of arduousbat, the designated area¡¯s Shadows were cleared. The weary yers didn¡¯t have time to cheer before they piloted their spaceships back to the designated location. Feeling the disappearance of Shadows within the designated area, the God nodded in satisfaction and began calcting how much favor He could gain from the council. These Angel Envoys were indeed useful, and if possible, He really wanted to use them repeatedly. The surrounding yers converged, eyeing the ancient device in God¡¯s hand as well as the copsing Squirrel King He held. The God didn¡¯t speak, only smiling. The yers didn¡¯t speak either, just watching Him. Finally, a yer broke the silence, having Alpha convey his message: ¡°Um¡­ could you hand over the instrument now?¡± ¡°What instrument?¡± ¡°The ancient device you promised earlier?¡± ¡°When did we agree on that?¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re not thinking of reneging on the deal, are you?¡±
¡°What if I say yes? What will you do then?¡± The shameless reply left the yers at a loss for words. Then came the anger! This was the first time they had encountered such a shameless NPC, one who would go back on their word at thest moment. And from His demeanor, it was clear that He had intended to make fools of them from the start, making the yers even more intolerant. We cannot suffer this indignity! We¡¯ve paid money! No one knew who started it, but the first wave of attacks came swiftly, with a barrage ofsers targeting the enemy¡¯s weak spots. However, the feeble assaults only made the God yawn. Such is the fate of weak races. The firepower of the spaceships wasn¡¯t enough to injure Him, and in His eyes, missiles were mere grand fireworks. Facing the yers¡¯ all-out assault, the God simply waved His hand indifferently, taking the ancient device and the Squirrel King with Him. ¡°Thank you for your help, goodbye.¡± Hearing His insolent parting words, the yers, this time, were truly enraged! Chapter 230: 156: Somethings Off About the Picture Style (Part 1)_1 Chapter 230: Chapter 156: Something¡¯s Off About the Picture Style (Part 1)_1 When the angry yers returned to the spaceship matrix and informed Sir Big Tail that the bad woman had appeared and taken away the ancient instrument and the King, his delight immediately turned to grief. The ancient instrument was the squirrels¡¯ trump card for evading the Shadows; they had always been extra careful when using it, never expecting a god to discover it this time. After listening to the yers¡¯ descriptions of the bad woman, Sir Big Tail became even more despairing. ¡°That is Lady Tragedy, a deity who adores tragedy,¡± it exined to the yers, ¡°She believes that the essence of life is found within tragedy. Suffering, despair, and destruction are the best nutrients for the flower of tragedy. Now it seems that Her taking the ancient instrument serves not only to collect it but also to witness our despair.¡± ¡°So, She deceived us just to see our anger!¡± ¡°Being deceived is a tragedy in itself. Moreover, being powerless to retaliate after being deceived is the tragedy within tragedy.¡± After exining the origins of Lady Tragedy, Sir Big Tail managed a weak smile: ¡°Thank you for your help, envoys of the Outer God. The ancient instrument has been taken away, and your mission isplete. However, I still hope you can stay to help clear the Shadows and rescue the squirrels.¡± ¡°What will you do?¡± ¡°Without the ancient instrument, Songta will not recover for hundreds of years. We will choose a new to settle on, but with the scarcity ofs right now, our best option is to join a species willing to ept us and be contracted servants to them. Thank you again, Envoys.¡± Sir Big Tail had thought about asking for help from the Outer God, Fang Cheng, but ultimately gave up on the idea.
Asking for help with repairing the would involve ¡°causality,¡± and if Fang Cheng had to confront a deity, it would be even more impossible. If Lady Tragedy dared to fool an envoy of the Outer God, she must have perceived that her powers far exceeded those of the Outer God. Moreover, with the support of the Heavenly Taowork and numerous gods as her backing, the Outer God would definitely not intervene. Forcing a smile towards the yers, Sir Big Tail sat on the ground, powerless, its eyes dull and without luster, tail limply resting to the side, making therge squirrel seem extremely vulnerable. On the forum, yers were exploding with anger. Inside the Game Inn, a multitude of yers posted on their mobile phones, denouncing this NPC. Some yersmented ¡°I totally love that bad woman,¡± but most felt that they should drag her over and beat her until she cries. In the ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± sub-forum, yers used the filthiest words they could find to attack Lady Tragedy. This time not only did the moderators not delete the posts, but they even pinned those that were particrly eloquent in their curses, clearly indicating that the moderators were also beyond furious. Some suspected that the moderators were among those particrly affected yers, which is why they were so angry. [This is just too much! Really, way too much!] [That¡¯s right! Thest time I was this mad was when ying Warcraft and being tricked to the top of a mountain, then being forcefully sold a parachute by an NPC!] [That doesn¡¯t sound too bad.] [The parachute onlysted ten seconds!] [We worked hard for two days, I formed a deep friendship with the big brother in line for the game and decided to explore together, and now it¡¯s all for nothing! I¡¯m depressed, and so is big brother!] [You¡¯re still okay; I took time off to y, just so I could see if there were any special benefits whenpleting the task, and in the end, she didn¡¯t even have a slightly risqu¨¦ image.] [Uh¡­ Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games usually don¡¯t have risqu¨¦ content. And you already have Mukuai by your side, do you still want risqu¨¦ stuff?] [That¡¯s different. Anyway, what should we do now!] While the yers were angry, someone stepped up and made a post. [Being Deceived is What You Deserve] The provocative title appeared at this time, directly poking at the yers¡¯ sensitive nerves, readying their verbal weapons to vent the anger of being deceived.
However, inside the post, the user Liuzi directly said: [Sorry, I deceived you all, I too am a victim, I was grinding all day only to gain nothing. This was just a method to attract attention, without it you probably wouldn¡¯t have looked at this post. I just want to ask one question, do you want to fight back or not? If so, keep reading, if not, curse once and close the post.] [Not all gods are despicable, but this deity is particrly vile. I¡¯ve talked to other NPCs and know everything about that guy. Betrayal is Her specialty, toying with hearts is Her job. She is the worst scoundrel, the kind everyone wants to hit!] [Although She deceived us, let¡¯s not forget what She took away? The ancient instrument and the squirrel King, rewards that were supposed to be given to us! And just right, the spaceship matrix can now support us to lock on to the ancient instrument¡¯s location. So if we follow the path of the ancient instrument, we can find that bastard!] [Now, those who want to join me in revenge, get into my Revenge Squirrel Alliance Group, let¡¯s figure out a way to take down that boss and snatch back what we deserve!]
[Snatch it back!] A group of 2000 filled up instantly, and people began actively preparing for revenge. Apart from Liuzi, many others shared their opinions on Lady Tragedy, among them the most notable were Squirrel One, Squirrel Two, and Squirrel Three. Chapter 231: 156: Somethings Off About the Picture Style (Part 2)_2 Chapter 231: Chapter 156: Something¡¯s Off About the Picture Style (Part 2)_2 These three ounts had not posted before and seemed to have just been registered. However, after registration, they started furiously cursing Lady Tragedy in the forum, making people think he hadpletely immersed himself in the role of the Squirrel Driver and resonated with the squirrels who had their King stolen. Moreover, their organizational strength was unparalleled. They quickly called for others to join and soon after established QQ groups. Each ount corresponded to a group of 2000 people, and eventually, tenrge groups were formed. yers in each group began to work together to investigate the game¡¯s secrets, rapidly improving their strengths. A vast quantity of data and intelligence was shared in the groups. Methods like self-destruct sequences and auto-grinding for points were shared unconditionally, from entering the game to how to improve skills, all information was shared without cost, allowing every yer to get up to speed quickly. Ordinarily, yers are loose and unorganized, but once they have amon enemy, they can exhibit an extremely high degree of organization. If that guy was also despicably oily, making almost every yer grind their teeth in frustration, then the yers¡¯ willingness to act can be outrageously high. This whirlwind of vengeance did not just affect previous yers, future yers would also be drawn into the current atmosphere, seeing defeating the bad woman as the ultimate goal of the game. Kirin Industry continued to distribute products in major cities, which meant that the number of yers who could join ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± was increasing, and the overallbat power of the yers was continuously improving. Yet, it seemed not quite enough to fight against the bad woman. Inside the spaceship matrix.
Tens of thousands of ships had formed a vast spaceship matrix, with Sir Big Tail as the overallmander. However, he was asionally looking to the side, wondering if he should cedemand. In themand center, three squirrels heldptops suitable for their size, asionally issuingmands based on the situation in the groups. In the inte age, no one knows if the friend on the other side of the ethe cable is actually a cat, nor do they know if the QQ group administrator is a squirrel. After a period of adjustment, the three squirrels jointly led a team of 2000 members, with other yers managing nine other teams, preparing to reim the ancient instruments and the King together. Twenty thousand Angel Envoys were continually clearing the Shadows in the folds, efficiently gathering points, and striving toward the final Space Fortress. However, by that time, just one Space Fortress would not be enough. Weapons and equipment needed to be maxed out, and Squirrel Crewmembers required the best gear. The formed Space Fortress represented the pinnacle of the squirrels¡¯ military force, but each squirrel understood that such top-tier power was only considered average in this region. The Squirrel Tribe was not strong; some powerful races could even travel through the cosmos with their bare bodies, daring to confront the Space Fortress head-on with just an Ion Sword in hand. They even wielded mysterious powers that resonated with Gods, and in front of them, the Space Fortress was but a slightly threatening toy. But even they had to bow down and pay homage when they encountered the Gods. If pouring the entirety of a race¡¯s strength could challenge the Gods, and when the Gods contended with a single race, they were not allowed to seek help from other Gods. Yet even so, this act would still disgust other Gods and might likely strip them of their rights to use the Heavenly Taowork. After calcting the current bnce of power, Number One sighed. As the technical expert of the cial Squad, it understood that the situation was very troublesome. The technology of the Squirrel Tribe was riddled with holes like a fishing. An iplete tech tree meant they had to rely on archaeology to advance their technology, making progress difficult. The Space Fortress was already their most formidable spaceship, but it still seemed weak against a God. ¡°Our technological strength is insufficient,¡± the snowy squirrel sighed, ¡°Although we can rely on the boss¡¯s power to replicate spaceships, we must first obtain better ones.¡± ¡°How about trading with the nearby races?¡± Number Two asked, ¡°Issue temporary missions, let the Angel Envoys serve as mercenaries in exchange for some spaceship technology.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already reached out, but they¡¯ve refused,¡± Sir Big Tail joined in, ¡°They¡¯ve already inquired about our target, knowing that we¡¯re preparing to attack Lady Tragedy, then they tly refused our trade request. They don¡¯t want to anger a God because of this.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s beat them up first,¡± Squirrel Number Three suggested.
¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± Number Two stopped Number Three, ¡°They are innocent. We have no reason to do such a bad thing. Let¡¯s just proceed with the archaeology. Launch a temporary mission and have some Angels Envoy conduct archaeology and acquire technology.¡± ¡°But that also requires scientists to do research and replicate the findings. We don¡¯t have many research ships or scientists right now,¡± Sir Big Tail sighed. ¡°No problem, we have found this.¡± Seeing what Number Two took out, Sir Big Tail was stunned for a bit before he asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±
¡°gue Chicken,¡± Number Two said seriously. ¡°Are you serious with that name!¡± ¡°Dead serious,¡± Number One chimed in, ¡°It¡¯s a work of our boss. Try it for yourself.¡± Knowing it was a creation of an Outer God, Sir Big Tail became cautious. Even the worst creations of Gods had extraordinary effects and were coveted by ordinary Gods. Taking the doll, Sir Big Tail found that the gue Chicken had been made very lifelike. The look of utter despair in its eyes, the subconscious chewing motion, the body sprawled on the ground, all screamed top-tier salted fish, making one feel healed just by looking at it. After all, no matter how down on your luck you were, it seemed you could still be doing a tad better than gue Chicken. Although it appeared alive, its body seemed to be made of some kind of grass, light to hold but emitting an intoxicating and fragrant smell that was invigorating. After sniffing the gue Chicken for a while, Sir Big Tail felt a hundred times more spirited, and the pressure from confronting Gods seemed to vanish. Looking at gue Chicken, Sir Big Tail eximed, ¡°This thing is great for chasing away weariness!¡± ¡°It¡¯s even better used as a tea. Drinking it boosts efficiency significantly, increases energy, and makes fur grow thicker,¡± Number Two exined. Sir Big Tail nced at the three squirrels with their thick fur and then at his own balding tail, feeling conflicted.
Such a good item definitely didn¡¯te cheap. It should be used by scientists, but he was really worried about his balding issues. In the end, he had to let go of the gue Chicken, handing it back to Number Two with a heavy heart, ¡°Give it to the scientists, they need it.¡± ¡°Ah, no need. We have plenty of these. We¡¯ve discussed with Tian Xuan, a real Outer God, and she has agreed to provide us with gue Chickens for free since we¡¯re temporary workers now, entitled to somepany benefits,¡± Number Two said. Looking at the gue Chicken in hand, Sir Big Tail earnestly asked, ¡°Is yourpany still hiring?¡± Knowing they weren¡¯t short-staffed for the moment, Sir Big Tail felt a deep sense of loss. However, learning that they were actually facing two Outer Gods, Sir Big Tail felt that they weren¡¯t entirely without a chance and immediately perked up. Arge number of gue Chickens were brought here by the three squirrels through a Teleportation Array, and the establishment of the transit center made inter-world material transportation quite convenient. When each Squirrel Man got a gue Chicken, the style of the spaceship matrix got a bit weird. Every squirrel seemed to have changed into a gue Chicken Warrior. They carried gue Chickens almost the same size as themselves, each invigorated by the fragrance of the chickens, working with an energetic fervor. The unique expression of the gue Chickens contrasted sharply with the squirrels¡¯ earnest demeanor, prompting yers who saw this scene to feel that the style of the game seemed a bit off. Chapter 232: 157: Players Revenge (Second Update)_1 Chapter 232: Chapter 157: yers¡¯ Revenge (Second Update)_1 After confirming the need to maximize their technological threshold, the squirrels temporarily redirected their focus towards excavating technological relics. Within the domain of Heavenly Taowork, most of the ancient relics had already been excavated, so they had to risk venturing into the Shadows to dig further. The special force field shields installed on the ships could temporarily fend off the encroachment of the Shadows, but each activation of the shields caused a rapid increase in the reactor¡¯s workload, quickly leading to an overheated state. If they didn¡¯t shut it down within two minutes, the only oue for the spaceship was a reactor overload, with the casing melting due to intense heat and the ship vanishing into the Shadows. Because of the technological gap, the squirrels could not solve this problem and could only allow the pilots to enter and exit the shadow-covered area as quickly as possible within those two minutes, searching for any relics and bringing them back. Since the two minutes included the return time as well, the squirrels¡¯ operating range wasn¡¯trge¡ªthey understood that one had to stay alive to bring back anything at all. But for the yers, as long as the goods were retrieved, the person was dispensable. After receiving the new main quest to acquire ancient technology, some yers quickly figured out the corresponding version¡¯s answer. The vessel had to be the fastest one, the Kuafu, with the lightest mass and capable of repeated space jumps, allowing it to swiftly prate the Shadows and start scanning. Among the chips that could be fitted into the craft, scanning and extremeputing were necessary; the former increased scan range and speed, enabling quick situational awareness and rapid identification of various relics.
Upon finding a relic, they would warp it directly towards the array range, while the searcher would continue looking. Since yers didn¡¯t need air or water, air systems, water recycling equipment, and temperature control devices were all removed from the ship during the modification process, further increasing its speed. The modified spacecraft was practically a flying coffin. Engineers shivered subconsciously at the sight of it, and even more so as they watched yers enter nonchntly and then head towards the Shadows in search of relics. The Gods above, these envoys of the Outer God were truly fearsome. For yers, this process was jokingly referred to as ¡°drawing cards.¡± The price for the VR piloting simtion pods had dropped to 5 yuan for a chance at three lives. With those lives, one could y for about half an hour in normal mode, but only six minutes in Treasure Hunt Mode. In these six minutes, yers had to pilot the Kuafu, scan frantically within the Shadow domain, dart around, and locate as many ancient relics as possible before the ship exploded, eventually sending them back. Some relics contained only irrecoverable storage media, but others might containplete novel weaponry. This gamble-like behavior kept some yers hooked and earned them numerous reward points. The introduction of the new mode increased the ¡°coin-eating¡± rate of the VR simtion pods again, and many arcades even sought out Kirin Industry to bring in machines, and then made a fortune. Every time a yer¡¯s craft exploded, it left a trail of spectacr light within the Shadows, a beam that signified the passing of life and, due to the slow-motion effect of the Shadows, lingered in the sky for an extended period. For the squirrels, seeing these beams of light should have been a somber affair, but now it waspletely different. Tens of thousands of yers piloted the Kuafu in a frenzy of ¡°card drawing,¡± with the explosions creating a session of lights that were almost omnipresent in the dark Shadows, painting the outside world with brilliant colors like light pollution. The squirrels of the past would never dare to do this. Relic Hunters faced a death rate as high as 21%; venturing into the Shadows meant a 21% possibility of never returning. Not to mention the risk of being captured by the Shadows or chased by the monsters materializing within them; even the Ace Hunter cier Team narrowly avoided being torn apart by Shadow Hand. Had they not been lucky enough to fall into a ck hole and return to their home, they wouldn¡¯t be here today. The incredibly high death rate meant they only conducted a few dozen explorations each day, and their spaceships, once destroyed, didn¡¯t regenerate, the astronauts didn¡¯t return. The immense losses were a heavy burden weighing down on the squirrels. Yet, they werepelled to continue. The gap in technology forced them to use this method as the only chance to advance; surviving in this universe was a luxury, a chance that had to be seized with all their might. ¡°The Pilot Song¡± was the bestmentary on their philosophy, where all fear and despair dissipated within the melody, leaving only the courage to face certain death and still proceed.
But now things were different. The involvement of the yers increased the speed of exploration and continuously brought ancient technological artifacts into the base, making squirrel scientists the most urgently needed profession. Squirrels freshly rescued and still confused were swiftly fitted withb coats, given Yanjing-sses, and dragged onto research ships with a work badge pinned on them¡ªa new scientist had been freshly minted. Grab your gue Chicken, find any room to enter, and join them; they¡¯ll tell you what needs to be studied.
Chapter 233: 157: Players Revenge (Second Update)_2 Chapter 233: Chapter 157: yers¡¯ Revenge (Second Update)_2 If you¡¯re sleepy, take a bite of gue Chicken. If you¡¯re tired, take a bite of gue Chicken. If you can¡¯t get into your book, take a bite of gue Chicken. You¡¯re an omnivore, you¡¯ve got to eat your gue Chicken with a smile! This strange atmosphere also made yers frequently look sideways, feeling that this group of squirrels was really too bizarre. In a situation where both sides found each other very strange, and with a massive amount of ancient technology uncovered, a technological explosion was finally upon them. Room temperature superconductor materials were discovered, new manufacturing methods for Reactor Furnaces were found, new Force Shield Generators were invented, new¡­ The previously disconnected technologies were finallyplete that day, and the squirrels had managed to carve out a small main stream in their technology tree. Next, this main stream would converge all of the squirrels¡¯ industries, allowing them to officially conduct research, and start connecting other industrial fields. After verifying the findings, a loud cheer erupted from the multitude of squirrel scientists within the spaceship matrix, so loud that it was continuous and overwhelming, and some of the older squirrel scientists even fainted, only to be revived with a bite of gue Chicken. This time, they truly turned a misfortune into a blessing. The natural disasters of their homeworld ironically became the reason they obtained aplete technology tree, which gave them a new understanding of the saying that blessings and misfortunes depend on each other. When Sir Big Tail excitedly shared this news with the yers, their response wasn¡¯t significant. Only after the slightly balding squirrel exined the significance of this, did the legion leaders of the yers roughly understand, and they excitedly asked, ¡°So, are we saying we can go beat up Lady Tragedy now?¡±
¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s roughly the idea!¡± ¡°Hooray!¡± Looking at the apostles catching onte, Sir Big Tail felt that one should be careful not to offend these Angel Envoys. They held grudges for too long. The space fortress was still the most advanced spaceship, but new technology could rearm the vessel and evolve it into a new cosmic weapon, the Star of Destruction. Every Star of Destruction measured over thirteen hundred kilometers in diameter, with a coreprising some sort of ancient device. The squirrels had the manufacturing method for this device but didn¡¯t understand its principles. When it was produced, its core weighed only one kilogram, but once cast into any expanse, it would continuously absorb surrounding materials, transforming them into armor andyering growth into a Star of Destruction. Weapons, Reactor Furnaces, and even Force Shield Generators grew from its core on their own, and its terrifying growth rate made it an imprable fortress, epitomizing the ultimate fighting power of squirrel civilization. It also served as arge military station, where the yers¡¯ spaceships could be stored, ready for battle at any time. It also possessed a special gravitational field; any unmarked spaceship within its gravitational radius would suffer erosion like Shadows, and it could provide additional aid to the marked spaceships. When the Stars of Destruction appeared, their grand and perfect craftsmanship left every exacting yer wide-eyed and mesmerized by these perfectly destructive weapons. Ten Stars of Destruction perfectly corresponded to the ten battle legions. The yers¡¯ space fortresses were ced on the Stars of Destruction, using them as vessels, ready tounch an expedition against Lady Tragedy. To retrieve the ancient artifacts and the King, the squirrels and yers had united. During the war, the spaceship matrix didn¡¯t have much use, and these squirrels could only stay near their homeworld, awaiting the return of the expeditionary force. Taking in the stirring music, Sir Big Tail looked at the satellite-like grand weapons in space, his heart filled with intoxication. He had two greatest desires. One was to see the day when the squirrels obtained aplete technology tree, and the other was to witness the day when the squirrels gained supreme power. And today, his wishes had finallye true, filling his heart with pride and glory. ¡°Thank you, Great Heavenly Lord.¡± This was a phrase often said by the Mukuais, and throughmunicating with them, Sir Big Tail also came to know of that Outer God¡¯s title.
No, that was no longer an Outer God. That was the Great Heavenly Lord. Nowadays, Sir Big Tail had be a devout follower of the Great Heavenly Lord. He would transform into the sword of the Great Heavenly Lord, to clear paths and staunchly defend the name of the Great Heavenly Lord. Even if the Great Heavenly Lord didn¡¯t ept him, it didn¡¯t matter; it was his choice, as well as the choice of thousands of squirrels.
Standing in the cabin, Sir Big Tail looked at the ten Stars of Destruction in space, saw them beginning to charge, and get ready for spatial jump. He couldn¡¯t be on the Stars of Destruction because he had the duty to guard this ce, but even though he couldn¡¯t go to the front lines, he would still pray for the brave warriors, praying for the Great Heavenly Lord¡¯s Blessing to apany them on their journey. The Star of Destruction, finally fully charged. Its shadow vanished like a mirage, the massive spherical spaceship appearing tens of light years away in the next second, then disappearing again, leaping once more. Although it was massive, its jumping speed wasparable to that of the Kuafu. Following the coordinates of the ancient instrument recorded earlier, they arrived at the first station. The Heavenly Tao Zone was divided into more than a dozen rings ording to their distance from the center. The very center was the realm of the Gods, perpetually sacred, forever pure, where ordinary life did not even have the privilege to enter, only to worship ardently from afar. Then came the first ring. It was the dwelling of supreme warriors who had transcended the shackles of their own species¡¯ life, worthy of settling there to exchange martial insights and refine the power bestowed by the Gods. After that was the area where various powerful species were allowed to reside. Powerful species were allowed to draw near to the center, closeness to the Gods made it easy to feel the radiance of the divine. The further out one went, therger the area of the rings, but the less attention bestowed by the Heavenly Taowork, and the squirrels residing in the seventeenth ring were undoubtedly the least important part of thiswork, insignificant even if destroyed.
But today, the squirrels were about to give this world a little shock. Directly crossing three rings, ten Stars of Destruction jumped straight to the location of the fourteenth ring and saw the where Lady Tragedy had previously stayed. This was a species simr to foxes whose inherently cunning and greedy natures had earned Lady Tragedy¡¯s favor. After obtaining the ancient instrument, Lady Tragedy lingered here a while, and, in high spirits, imparted some sly knowledge to this species, making them even more cunning. Although Lady Tragedy had already left this ce, her generosity made this species be her devotees, deciding to defend Lady Tragedy¡¯s name. Therefore, when the Star of Destruction appeared, they were intimidated by its terrifying form. However, worshiping Lady Tragedy filled them with confidence, even broadcasting a challenge, ¡°This is a ce where Lady Tragedy has stayed, you cannot linger here.¡± ¡°Is that your satellite factory over there?¡± asked a yer captain from one Star of Destruction. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Is that your factory!¡± The satellite factory on the horizon began to glow brightly, the whole satellite enveloped in ayer of white light, making it highly visible. The supernatural circumstances made the broadcaster hesitate for a moment, but he still uncertainly said, ¡°Um¡­ yes.¡± ¡°Good, it¡¯s not anymore.¡±
No sooner had he spoken than the factory began to disassemble. All the workers were controlled by a force field, soaring through space, andnded on their home. Watching their factory disintegrate into dust, the outraged foxes had a plethora of ships ready to fly out for battle, but one Star of Destruction emerged, urately turning all the ships about to set sail into powder with the force field. The disappearance of the ships meant that the foxes werepletely disarmed; they had lost the ability to travel to space. Faced with this situation, the foxes¡¯ King decisively chose to surrender. After ascertaining Lady Tragedy¡¯s next stop, the Stars of Destruction immediately began preparing to jump. Before jumping, a captain said fiercely, ¡°Don¡¯t put your faith in just any deity; it will only ruin you.¡± ¡°Understood. May I ask, heroes, what do you n to do?¡± ¡°Lady Tragedy.¡± Having said this, the Stars of Destruction jumped again, vanishing before the eyes of the foxes. Chapter 234: 158: The Despair of the Disparity in Strength (Three Updates)_1 Chapter 234: Chapter 158: The Despair of the Disparity in Strength (Three Updates)_1 The actions of the yers were in no way disguised. They appeared openly and carried out spatial jumps boldly, like an imperial army advancing relentlessly in the wake of Lady Tragedy. When encountering blocks from other races, they would inform them of their purpose, uninterested in anyone but Lady Tragedy. But if the other party insisted on intercepting, a warning would be issued first, and then, they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to attack. It was then that these folks would realize what these ten massive spheres represented. They were the result of the squirrels breaking through their technology tree, the pinnacle of ancient technology, with terrifying force fields that shrugged off most attacks and a recovery rate so fast they could swiftly reassemble even after being shattered. Its core weighed just one kilogram and could move randomly within celestial bodies, enough to make Satellite-level Beasts think twice before approaching. Once they took action, other races¡¯ ships were like sandcastles on the sea, easily crushed at a touch, their pilots taken as prisoners to be released only upon payment. In the Outer Rim regions, these ten Hearts of Destruction were an invincible tool. And when the yers crossed the Outer Rim to the Inner Rim region, the favored ones of the Gods finally noticed this fleet from beyond their borders.
From the Tenth Ring on, one entered the upper central area of the Heavenly Tao Zone. Here, each race was sheltered by the Heavenly Taowork, unafraid of the eroding Shadows of the outer reaches, contentedly basking in the divine radiance of the Gods. They had the luxury to keep pets, with enormous Satellite-level Beasts amon sight in their Zoos, some civilizations even owning several star systems, each immactely cultivated. While listening to the news, they were astonished to hear of a bunch of hicks from the Outer Rim ranting about settling scores with Lady Tragedy and boldly progressing along her sacred trajectory deeper into the Inner Rim. ¡°These hicks,¡± On a in the Seventh Ring, a graceful cheetah sat on the grass outside the window, listening to the broadcast and saying helplessly, ¡°The attention of the Gods is a blessing, can¡¯t they learn to enjoy it quietly like us?¡± Next to it, its spouse, with eyes closed, leisurely said, ¡°Dear, if they knew how to serve the Gods, they wouldn¡¯t be hicks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Just as they were discussing where to rest next, they saw the azure sky twist as something breached the boundaries of space and arrived, appearing in the sky above. Ten gigantic satellites loomed overhead, their steel exteriors resembling cold, monolithic beasts, their white hulls emanating a chilling murderous intent like blocks of ice. They exemplified the apex of ancient technology, the strongest art of war that one couldy eyes on, and their very sight evoked thoughts of death and destruction, the inherent violence capable of effortlessly tearing apart all enemies before them. Swallowing hard, the male cheetah immediately recalled the recent report and realized what loomed overhead. My God, they were truly enormous. Seeing them in person, the cheetah understood that they were not mere hicks, but a squadron, one bent on revenge. Then the captain of the Star of Destruction began to speak. ¡°We haven¡¯te to conquer, we¡¯vee for revenge. Lady Tragedy tricked us, and we intend to make her pay the price! So, tell us where she¡¯s gone! We promise, once we beat her to a pulp, we¡¯ll leave!¡± After a pause, the voice of the Lord finally emerged, broadcasting to everyone: ¡°That¡­ how exactly did Lady Tragedy trick you?¡± ¡°She made us work for nothing for two whole days, then pocketed what should have been our payment. And we found out afterwards, that thing wasn¡¯t even hers! That fraudster, that robber, that thief, she deserves to live a lifetime of¡­¡± An outpour of rage spilled forth, turning the listeners pale at hearing even a single sentence.
In a world where Gods exist, such behavior was truly sphemous. Contrary to expectations, even after being cursed like that, Lady Tragedy did not appear. Someone smart quickly conceived a possibility: Lady Tragedy was evading them. She was afraid to face these people, as she had no assurance of victory.
As Gods are inherently higher-dimensional beings, when confronted with a challenge from mortals, they would usually fight on their own. This was an unwritten rule that almost always ended with the extinction of the mortal species. However, for a God to hide from sight was unprecedented, suggesting that even Lady Tragedycked the courage to fight, highlighting the formidable power of this group. When the captain finally finished cursing, the Governor said softly, ¡°It was only two days?¡± ¡°I spent a hundred bucks on that machine! If I don¡¯t torture her half to death, how can I justify that hundred bucks?¡± ¡°Only a hundred bucks¡­¡± ¡°You give me a hundred bucks then! What¡¯s with all your prattle, are you asking for a st from my force field? I¡¯m counting to three; either you tell me Lady Tragedy¡¯s whereabouts, or I catch you and force it out. Let me warn you, I have peculiar hobbies, and you won¡¯t like what happens if you fall into my hands!¡± Chapter 235: 158: The Despair of the Disparity in Strength (Three Updates)_2 Chapter 235: Chapter 158: The Despair of the Disparity in Strength (Three Updates)_2 ¡°Yes, he¡¯s a sick Furikontrol freak,¡± another yer¡¯s voice came over the broadcast, ¡°the really twisted kind, even rainbow ponies are controlled substances in his eyes.¡± Although they couldn¡¯t understand what a Furikontrol was, all the Cheetahs felt this guy was a tough character. Then the countdown began. Soon, the countdown ended. Realizing the Governor hadn¡¯t responded, the captain sneered and then yelled, ¡°Force field, ready!¡± Just when the Cheetahs thought it was all over, the sky twisted again. The gray-ck warships appeared on the horizon, their sides marked with fierce tooth patterns. The familiar pattern excited the Cheetahs, who shouted, ¡°It¡¯s the Predator Fleet!¡± ¡°They¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Take them down!¡± Apanied by the frenzied voices of the people, the Predator Fleet began to charge up.
Facing these yokels, they started charging their main guns; a dazzling white light burst forth, heading straight for the Star of Destruction in front of them. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t go as expected. Even though the white light hit the Star of Destruction, a tight force field deflected it, preventing the main gun of the warship from causing any damage to the Star of Destruction, not even breaching its defenses. Realizing the terrifying technological gap between them, the Predator Fleet quickly prepared to jump away, but the force field had already captured them. Only one Star of Destruction unfolded its force field; the web-like force field instantly caught the entire fleet and shattered it in a moment. All the crew members were captured at that moment and thrown into special cages. After swallowing the fleet¡¯s remnants, the Star of Destruction seemed to grow even bigger; the parts nging inside it like thunder, making the Cheetahs realize the gulf between them. After digestion, the captain spoke again, ¡°Force field, ready!¡± ¡°We surrender!¡± shouted the Governor. Having confirmed Lady Tragedy¡¯s location, the Stars of Destruction jumped again, disappearing from the sky, leaving only the unique spatial wrinkles of the jump transition behind. It didn¡¯t take long for the spatial wrinkles to smooth out, and the sky returned to its former blue. But all the Cheetahs understood that the good old days were probably gone forever. Leaving the Seventh Ring, the Star of Destruction continued on. The Fifth Ring had only three civilizations, which upon receiving the news, had united andid an ambush on the path the yers must pass. When the spatial fluctuations appeared, an overwhelming attack followed. The closer the races are to the center, the more they are affected by the gods and be more pious. To defend the dignity of the gods and to demonstrate their faith, they bravelyunched an attack on the audacious yers who came here, unleashing their strongest firepower against them. Huge-level monsters were also released as weapons; these massive creatures immediately pounced on the Stars of Destruction, eager to destroy them along with everything around them. The lengthy assaultsted an entire hour; the horrific attacks cleared out a void, destroying nearby satellites,s, and stars, which were then reduced to fundamental particles in the aftermath of countless energy weapons, spreading throughout the space. Yet, even so, they were in despair to find that the response of the enemy¡¯s energy level hadn¡¯t decreased at all.
The force shields of the ten Stars of Destruction still held strong; the relentless onught did not weaken them in the slightest, not even a ripple appeared, and they would stay unchanged even if the attackssted a thousand years more. The next second, the force field arrived. Just as Palm Thunder is to an Immortal, the force field is the most basic application of the Star of Destruction. But faced with the Star of Destruction¡¯s terrifying power, even the simplest force field possessed horrific strength. The nearby warships were directly trapped by the force field.
Due to the force field, the forces between the ship materials instantly dropped to zero. Without molecr forces, the once solid ships disintegrated into dust, and the crew members were captured by the force field and sent to prison. With the Star of Destruction at the center, arge number of warships began to dissipate; nearby warships were erased as if by an eraser, ultimately turning into nothing. The enemy fleet¡¯s captain was brought before the captain; sitting in the cockpit, the squirrel yer Xiemen Waidao looked at the crocodile before him and couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Why are all the enemies here animals?¡± ¡°ording to the setting, they¡¯re all essentially flora and fauna; it¡¯s just that after humans went extinct, they took over,¡± said Mukuai1234, rubbing his head next to him.¡± ¡°Even the goris?¡± ¡°The goris are gone too.¡± ¡°Pity, I quite liked goris.¡± ¡°What animals don¡¯t you like?¡± ¡°Quite a few. But why do you like to rub me so much? And I¡¯ve noticed in the group, it seems Mukuai are especially fond of rubbing squirrels.¡± Mukuai 1234 paused in her movements for a moment before speaking after a while, ¡°Well, squirrels have a habit, which is to hide pine cones and other nuts.¡± ¡°Yeah, and then?¡± ¡°Then they often forget where they¡¯ve hidden them, ande spring, some of these fruits take root, sprout, and turn into new nts. We, Mukuai, quite like those who help nt trees, so seeing you like this, I can¡¯t help but rub you.¡± After finishing, Mukuai 1234 paused for a moment and then whispered softly, ¡°Can we meet here again in the future?¡±
¡°¡­We¡¯ll see.¡± Xiemen Waidao turned his attention back to the crocodile in front of him and asked, ¡°Tell me, where is Lady Tragedy?¡± The crocodile looked proudly at Captain Squirrel and then turned its head toward the ceiling, unwilling to answer her question. In the face of such stubbornness, Xiemen Waidao simply ordered, ¡°Take him down and beat him.¡± A few minutester, the crocodile captain, bruised and swollen, was brought back but still refused to say a word. ¡°Take him down and continue the beating.¡± After the fourth time, the crocodile that was dragged back finally couldn¡¯t withstand anymore. Bring in a chair, the crocodile sat down on it, weakly saying, ¡°Go ahead, what do you want to know?¡± ¡°Where is Lady Tragedy?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you; I can¡¯t bring disaster on my species. You might not care, but we can¡¯t bear the wrath of the gods.¡± Looking at him thoughtfully, Xiemen Waidao said, ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is, you can bear our wrath, is that it?¡± The crocodile captain didn¡¯t respond, but his attitude seemed to agree with Xiemen Waidao¡¯s point. Sensing the crocodile¡¯s stance, Xiemen Waidao let out a coldugh.
¡°It seems that you have no idea about the power of the Star of Destruction. Prepare the force field, target, the fifth ring.¡± The fifth ring was a massive area, but after exchanging information, the other captains agreed to Xiemen Waidao¡¯s proposal, began to disperse, and prepared their force fields. The immense force field began to envelop the entire range of the fifth ring. All celestial bodies were shrouded in the force field, showing signs of disintegration. Making the crocodile captain stand beside the porthole, Xiemen Waidao let him witness everything outside and then said, ¡°You can now choose to let me destroy the fifth ring, or you can choose to tell us what we want to know, betting that we can beat Lady Tragedy severely and leave her too afraid to retaliate. Now, make your choice.¡± ¡°Demon¡­ you demon!¡± the crocodile captain cried out in horror. ¡°You¡¯reparing him to a demon; isn¡¯t that a bit disrespectful to him?¡± asked Mukuai 1234. ¡°Don¡¯t tter me. Okay, continue increasing the force field¡¯s strength.¡± Electric arcs began to form, and some small asteroids started to disintegrate. It would probably not take long for the entire fifth ring to break down into the most primitive soup of particles, then spread evenly across this space. Seeing his homnd about to be destroyed, the crocodile captain¡¯s defenses finally copsed. However, just as he was about to disclose the information, a sword light flew from the horizon. It was swordlight from the first ring; a Demi-God Powerhouse from the first ring had finally made a move, ready to rescue the crocodile captain. The sword light shed through the force field, heading straight for the Star of Destruction, and just when the crocodile captain thought there was hope, the Star of Destruction¡¯s secondary guns appeared for the first time and fired a fierce shot towards the origin of the sword light. The sword light was torn apart, a dull boom sounded in the distance, and then nothing else appeared, and all was quiet once again.
After the counterattack, Xiemen Waidao continued to shout, ¡°Force field¡­¡± ¡°No need, I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± The crocodile captain sat in the chair, defeated. He knew they had lostpletely. Chapter 236: 159 Compensation Issue (First Update)_1 Chapter 236: Chapter 159 Compensation Issue (First Update)_1 ¡°` The revenge action had only begun four hours earlier when the Star of Destruction advanced from the seventeenth ring straight to the fifth ring, continuing its relentless march toward the world¡¯s center. The squirrel yers, donned in captain¡¯s uniforms and assisted by Mukuai, made their way toward the world center, killing anyone who stood in their way, Buddha or mortal alike. Nearby force fields connected with each other, cascading toward the center like an avnche. The fifth ring had already surrendered, the twin civilization of the fourth ring attempted to flee but was promptly captured by the Star of Destruction¡¯s force field, and locked in ce, unable to escape. After being coerced into revealing information, the third-ring civilizations, resigned to their fate,unched a desperate charge only to be effortlessly disarmed. By this point, the information had be somewhat irrelevant. The force field of the Star of Destruction was an almost omnipotent force, capable of both offense and defense, as well as processing information. And as the encirclement shrank, the field had begun to seal off the surrounding space, advancing continuously along Lady Tragedy¡¯s trajectory. They advanced in silence, like mountains moving stoically toward the center, dismissing any opinions from the surrounding people, focused solely on vengeance. There was but one civilization left on the second ring. The first ring was the dwelling ce of the mightiest among the various civilizations, while the civilization on the second ring, being closest to the Gods, self-proimed as Priests, taking it upon themselves to mediate between the Gods and all living beings.
Pure white starships blocked the yers¡¯ inevitable path, with the Night Owls within, sending out amunication request to the yers. After the yers discussed, Liuzi epted themunication. ¡°Go back, children,¡± the voice of the Night Owl rang out, ¡°I¡¯ve understood the whole story, know that you are the Angel Envoy of an Outer God, and are fighting for the honor of that Outer God. You¡¯ve shown your strength and courage, and we shall help you negotiate with the Gods. You will be eligible to live in the third ring and bring your squirrel friends in with you.¡± Liuzi frowned, ¡°Angel Envoy of what Outer God? Moreover, we have no interest in residency. Hand over Lady Tragedy, we¡¯ll make her cry and then leave.¡± ¡°The dignity of Gods must not be tarnished, even if She has deceived you, that is still an internal matter for the Heavenly Tao Association. I will help you provide feedback, but no matter what, waging war on a God is not a righteous act.¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s our fault for being deceived?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Liuzi sighed, ¡°We¡¯re the victims, yet you don¡¯t mention the other party¡¯s wrongdoing, instead continually urging us to endure. We¡¯ve nothing to say to someone like you, out of the way, we¡¯vee only to pummel Lady Tragedy.¡± ¡°Is that so ¡­ then I am sorry.¡± The roof of the Night Owl¡¯s starship unfolded, and a kilometer-long ship slicer slowly emerged, wielded by the Demigod of the first ring in his humanoid starship, standing before the yers with a weapon longer than his own body. Besides this one, other Demigods from the first ring also made their appearance, guarding thest path, preventing the yers from advancing. There were no referees, and there was no need to signal the start. War erupted in that instant, as the fully armed Demigods rushed at the Star of Destruction but were soon captured by the force field. They might have been able to break free from a singleyer of the force field, but with tenyers intertwined and acting in concert, it was like a spider¡¯s web ensnaring them. The war was practically over as it began, and dragging these airborne Mecha, the Star of Destruction continued forward. They flew past the magnificent temples of the second ring, reached the first ring, and saw the colossal statues there. After taking amemorative photo with the statues, they pressed on until they finally reached the center of the world, the abode of the Gods, the eternally sacred Holy Land. Force fields enveloped the ce, its strength increasing each second. In other ces, the force field had already reduced the intermolecr forces to zero, but here some enigmatic and unfathomable power maintained a constant stability. Realizing they could not immediately breach the defenses, Liuzi sent amunication request, and upon eptance, immediately said, ¡°Hand over Lady Tragedy.¡±
¡°Is this how you speak to the Gods?¡± a crisp voice rose, tinged with a hint of mockery. The attitude of the other was not that of facing a challenger but rather like dealing with a problematic child, with a tone that was somewhat teasing and admonitory. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, we¡¯re here only for revenge.¡± ¡°No problem, that¡¯s your prerogative. However, I must remind you, your deeds are about to incur the wrath of nearly every God here, and your Outer God will also antagonize all the Gods here because of you. No matter how mighty that Outer God is, He will be resented because of you, which will make it very difficult for Him to integrate into ourwork.¡±
¡°We¡¯re not very patient, have you said enough?¡± ¡°¡­Fine then, we¡¯ve heard your request, your wish, we¡¯ll make the arrangements.¡± After speaking, the other party cut themunication. A few minutester, a big, big sister was pushed out of the Land of the Gods while a multitude of Godly apparitions appeared midair, looking with amusement at the forcibly ejected Lady Tragedy. She was not a God skilled inbat, her dominion over Laws mostly involving deceit and harm, flourishing as the unseen hand in the shadows. Of course, She wouldn¡¯t pay much attention to ordinary civilizations, but the power contained within the Star of Destruction was too formidable. Even She had no assurance of victory,pelled to flee continuously, but was ultimately caught by her pursuers, and then forced to engage in battle. Chapter 237: 159 Compensation Issue (First Update)_2 Chapter 237: Chapter 159 Compensation Issue (First Update)_2 epting the challenge of civilization is the duty of the gods, especially when the opponent has broken throughyers of blockades to finally arrive here, a persistence that deserves recognition. No matter the reasons they have forunching this challenge, the gods must ept it. Lady Tragedy¡¯s physical form stretched for hundreds of kilometers, a colossal entity in front of a regr spaceship, but before the one thousand three hundred kilometers in diameter of the Star of Destruction, she seemed somewhat tiny. Ten Stars of Destruction orbited Lady Tragedy, her face of terror clear for all the yers to see, resembling the sweet indulgence before the act of revenge that brought satisfied smiles to their faces. Finding herself scrutinized as a loser, Lady Tragedy¡¯s fury rose, ultimately overtaking her fear of the Stars of Destruction. Drawing her Divine Artifact, she faced the ten enormous entities and shouted fiercely, ¡°I am Lady Tragedy, a god, and I ept your challenge!¡± ¡°Challenge my ass! We already said it¡¯s revenge! Do you even understand the situation at all!¡± Xiemen Waidao was the first to make a move, his force field began gathering unceasingly, condensing to the limit like a clenched fist, violentlynding on Lady Tragedy¡¯s abdomen. The speed of the punch was unimaginably fast; though it seemed just a regr punch, it included the precise calctions of Alpha,bined with the controls of many yers and Squirrel Drivers. Just this punch alone could turn a to dust, obliterate civilizations, and Lady Tragedy, not adept atbat, took the solid punch, spewing out a myriad of Laws from within her being.
She wanted to strike back, but another Star of Destruction flew towards her, delivering another punch that sent her flying. Invisible force fields captured her, dragged her back to her original position, and the beating continued. The umted anger of the yers finally found its release today, each one eagerly awaiting their turn to coin up, to mercilessly pummel Lady Tragedy. Due to the overwhelming number of yers wanting to beat Lady Tragedy, they set up their own rule, each person could only participate for five minutes, then immediately had to step down for the next. Today, every yer had their fill. VR flight simtor sales doubled today, some machines operating all night, and some yers, after ying during the day, roamed the streets looking for machines avable all night, sharing with others in line the most satisfying ways to beat the opponent. Lady Tragedy had deceived the yers for two days, and for two days, the yers beat her. The terrifying scene deeply impressed the captives. ¡°I¡¯m d they¡¯re not targeting us.¡± ¡°Though I may not respect Lady Tragedy much, I actually feel like joining in.¡± ¡°Same here. Lady Tragedy has caused too much tragedy in our race, I¡­ I really want to hit her too.¡± There have been civilizations that challenged the gods before, but it usually ended in a one-sided ughter. The gap between a civilization and a god is vast; such challenges are more like performances where the gods demonstrate their power to assert their absolute rule over this ce. But now, they realized that gods might not be such untouchable beings after all, there are civilizations that could defeat these gods and take revenge for all the anger they suffered. Finally, the yers calmed down. Lady Tragedy could still talk tough at first, but as time went on, she¡¯d been beaten to a rag-like thing and could no longer speak. Returning the rag-like Lady Tragedy, the yers looted ancient devices and the Squirrel King from her, then prepared to leave, satisfied. But just as they were about to depart, the voice that hadmunicated with them before rang out again. The voice, like before, held the indulgence one might show a mischievous child, but the tone was now somewhat chilly:
¡°Alright, you¡¯ve resolved your dispute with Lady Pain. Now we can begin to consider resolving your differences with the other gods. You don¡¯t think you can insult a god and get away unscathed, do you?¡± The next moment, rms within the spaceship began to re wildly. Alpha started to sound the rm, red warning lights turned on within the cabin, intertwining with the darkness in a chaotic dance, bringing with them a strong sense of rm mingling with a terrifying atmosphere. An unknown power enveloped the Star of Destruction, the indestructible force field began to melt, and everything around seemed to turn liquid, including the yers¡¯ bodies, which also started to melt.
As they slowly melted, the voice continued, ¡°I am the chairman of the Heavenly Taowork, but they prefer to call me the Main God. You possess the gift of immortality bestowed upon you by the Outer Gods, which is also your arrogance¡¯s capital. But sometimes, immortality is not a blessing but a curse. If I were to melt you into a liquid, would you still enjoy being immortal?¡± A melting Star of Destruction was grasped by an unseen colossal hand and then flung away with great force. At this moment, thews of physics ceased to exist, the surrounding Laws changed ording to the will of the Main God, allowing the melting Star of Destruction to fly out at a speed surpassing that of light, eventuallying to rest near the Songta of the seventeenth ring. It floated quietly in midair, resembling a giant vani ice cream ball in the process of melting, its internal yers and Squirrel Drivers also bing part of the melting dessert. Molten metal flowed down from above it, but then dripped and solidified below it, forming a new Star of Destruction. Once a cycle wasplete, the Star of Destruction below would start melting again, perpetuating the process endlessly. The Star of Destruction, bound by the Laws, became a specimen of the Gods¡¯ power disy, also expressing the Gods¡¯ attitude towards the challengers. You may win once, but we must win in the end. Star after Star of Destruction was sent back, and when thest one had been returned, the voice of the Main God rang out, ¡°ept this blessing, and then immerse yourselves in eternal @$£¤£¤£¤#¡­%@¡­¡± The voice of the Main God came to an abrupt halt, then transformed into a series of muffled wails and piteous moans. The Main God on the other end seemed to struggle but was then overtaken by even more agonized screams. One scream after another rose up, and it seemed that the other side had turned into a ughterhouse, the distressing cries of pain echoing chaotically. Previously, to establish dominance, the voice of the Main God had been broadcast throughout the whole world, allowing every person within the Shadow Area to hear.
Even though They encountered something, this connection remained unbroken and became even clearer. The civilizations heard these cries of pain; some species even recognized the voices of the Gods they worshipped amid the chaotic wails. The unexpected turn of events plunged every civilization into panic; they did not know what had happened, only that something terrifying was about to ur. FInally, the wailing stopped. After a period of silence, the yers noticed that the melting of the Star of Destruction had ceased, and the Star, along with its pilots, was restored to its original state, while a synthesized electronic voice began to sound in every yer¡¯s ear. ¡°We apologize; due to some technical reasons, there was an ident in the game. We will correct it andpensate yers ordingly. We will calcte the points each yer should have earned during this time and offer three times thepensation.¡± The yers listened to the announcement in bewilderment, unsure what this so-called ident was. Reflecting on the past few days, they had acquired super cool spaceships, fought their way to the final boss, and given the ultimate boss a good beating. Although they had been sent back by an even more formidable hidden boss, they could ept this arrangement; they hadn¡¯t felt like they had been in an ident at all. But since the GM had mentioned an ident and offered three times thepensation, it would be somewhat embarrassing not to ept it. Seeing that the yers were satisfied, Fang Cheng also let out a contented sigh. Cutting off themunication, he looked behind him. There, thousands of Gods hung upside down, their faces filled with panic as they stared at the man in the ck coat in front of them.
Sitting down in his chair, Fang Cheng looked at them and said gently, ¡°Have you calmed down? Can we discuss thepensation issue now?¡± Chapter 238: 160 The Secrets of History (Second Release)_1 Chapter 238: Chapter 160 The Secrets of History (Second Release)_1 Before today, Fang Cheng had known about the existence of the Heavenly Taowork and also that a group of Little Heavenly Ways were here, posing as gods, receiving worship and offerings from the residents. However, previously, Fang Cheng had never been interested in contacting Them, because he really couldn¡¯t think of any benefits from interacting with them. When the incident with Lady Tragedy urred, he was stillprehending the Tao; he hadn¡¯t paid attention to the subsequent events until Huang Ping reminded him¡ªonly then did he realize that the game¡¯s development hadpletely exceeded his expectations, entering into an entirely new stage. Luckily, he hadn¡¯t used this game to prove the Tao, otherwise, it might have caused problems again. After reviewing the yers¡¯ gamey during this period, Fang Chengmented that yers were indeed impressive¡ªto be able to y so joyfully with such a boring method of y. Finding that someone actually had a 60-hour online time during this period, he was a bit worried that the person might suddenly die¡ªand only breathed a sigh of relief after calcting that the individual could live for quite a while longer. Especially after being bullied by Lady Tragedy, they still managed to y happily¡ªif it had been him, he would have sought out the developers to settle the score long ago. After scrutinizing the group of hanging Little Heavenly Ways back and forth, Fang Cheng asked, ¡°Where is Lady Tragedy?¡± One Little Heavenly Way silently pointed under Fang Cheng¡¯s chair. ncing down, Fang Chengmented, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s her. I thought it was a carpet.¡±
Calcting with his fingers, Fang Cheng figured that the other party had almost paid off the debt they owed, save for a little that could be repaid slowly over time. Moving his chair back a bit, Fang Cheng, while looking at the hanging Little Heavenly Ways, suggested, ¡°I personally am in favor of the triplepensation idea. How about youpensate me and my yers threefold for everything you¡¯ve done?¡± ¡°Outer God, it would be best if you let us down.¡± A youth looked up at Fang Cheng. He should be the leader of all the Little Heavenly Ways and could be referred to as the chairman of the Heavenly Taowork, the Main God. On his person, Fang Cheng saw an abundance of congregated faith; the golden color symbolizing this faith had already dyed his eyes the same hue, filling him with the majesty of a god. After observing for a while, Fang Cheng felt that the other had gone somewhat astray. The term ¡®Little Heavenly Way¡¯ is used in contrast to the ¡®Heavenly Tao,¡¯ which is the fundamental Law that runs through multiple worlds, epassing both the rules on the physical level and the more mystical ones like Mana, Spiritual Energy, and Karma¡ªabsolutely unemotional, utterly impartial Laws. The Little Heavenly Ways, on the other hand, are region-specific Laws. Sometimes they can override the effects of the Heavenly Tao; they are usually established by powerful beings to serve certain special purposes, or theye into existence through serendipity. Some of them have a sense of self; some can even practice cultivation, andbining with faith is a form of cultivation. But, to a certain extent, they need to be severed; otherwise, they will eventually mergepletely with the faith and be beings unable to exist independently. Now it seemed that the youth had fused too deeply, making it difficult for him to extricate himself. Withdrawing his gaze, Fang Cheng asked, ¡°So, do you agree with mypensation proposal?¡± The youth initially wanted to refuse, but he could sense a profound power emanating from Fang Cheng. This power was unfathomably deep, reminding him of the shadow of the creator that was left behind after they were created, and made him realize that Fang Cheng was an existence on the same level as the creator. Dialling back his attitude, he said in a low voice, ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°Good, then you are free toe down.¡± With these words spoken, the gods felt their restraints disappear. Godly Powers that follow one¡¯s word are very useful; they issue direct instructions to the Heavenly Tao, and the stronger the cultivator¡¯s Mana, the more forceful thepulsion over the Heavenly Tao. After they descended, Fang Cheng continued, ¡°We can discuss the details of thepensation nter; I have a few questions I want to ask. First question, who created you?¡±
The Main God pondered for a moment, then tapped his forehead, drawing out a strand of golden light, which heid before Fang Cheng. This was the Main God¡¯s memory, a memory that was highly restrictive. The information contained within was so massive that it could not be recorded in any text, only shown in this manner to Fang Cheng. It was a silhouette. This silhouette was the first thing the Main God saw after being born, and it onlysted for the duration of a finger snap before disappearing at the world¡¯s end.
Though it was just a silhouette, it seemed to epitomize the most magnificent aspects of the whole world, making it appear strong, resolute, grand, and full of sacrificial spirit. But as soon as the silhouette appeared, it entered the Shadows, vanishing into the boundless darkness, leaving no trace of where it went. Once Fang Cheng made out the image clearly, the Main God retracted the memory and said, ¡°That is the only memory left by our creator. I am the eldest among all gods, and I was the only one to see his existence. I suspect he went into the Shadows in search of a way for us to break free from them, but sadly he never returned. Afterwards, I and my younger brothers and sisters established the Heavenly Taowork, and together we resisted the Shadows here.¡± Contemting the scene he had just witnessed, Fang Cheng, rubbing his chin, remarked, ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem right.¡± ¡°What doesn¡¯t seem right?¡± ¡°Based on that silhouette, it seems that the individual should have already touched the threshold of the Heavenly Lord; the surrounding Shadows shouldn¡¯t be able to harm him.¡± The Heavenly Lord is the title that corresponds with the Demon Lord and refers to those who are well-acquainted with the essential elements like earth, fire, water, wind, past, and future. Chapter 239: 160 The Secrets of History (Second Release)_2 Chapter 239: Chapter 160 The Secrets of History (Second Release)_2 But because they have a solid foundation and are well-rounded, the number of Heavenly Lords is scarce, yet their strength is exceptional. They are overwhelmingly more powerful than the Demon Lords. Since the Shadows around could not possibly trap them, the purpose of their stepping into the Shadows became somewhat intriguing. After pondering for a while, Fang Cheng continued to ask, ¡°Then, the next question, after you were created, have you ever seen humans?¡± ¡°No,¡± the Main God shook his head, ¡°After we woke up, there were only animals and nts around us; humans had already disappeared by then. We taught them quite a few things, after which they settled in different areas. Some races experienced technological disruptions due to continuous Shadow attacks, while others were permanently swallowed by the Shadows and vanished. Our power was still not strong enough, and we could only maintain some regions intact in the end.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see. Sorry, I need to verify something, and please don¡¯t resist; otherwise, it might be a little ufortable.¡± cing his hand on the head of the Main God, Fang Cheng began to feel everything about him. The Main God immediately sensed that Fang Cheng had grasped all his information, as past memories were searched and carefully reviewed by Fang Cheng. Releasing his hand, Fang Cheng found the clues he had discovered earlier andpared them, then looked at the Main God and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you something, don¡¯t be too surprised.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°You are all humans.¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t prepared mentally¡­¡± ¡°What you saw was not the creator, but some Cultivator. That person was not the one who created you; actually, you are all a part of humanity.¡± The Main God looked at Fang Cheng, sensing that something about to overturn his own understanding wasing. And Fang Cheng did not disappoint his expectations, saying directly, ¡°You, you Gods, all the races here, and the Shadows outside, as well as that person who left this ce, were once united. You used to be a part of humanity, and collectively, you are humanity.¡± The sudden revtion made the Main God¡¯s mouth fall open. His first reaction was disbelief, yet instinctively he realized that what Fang Cheng was saying was true. Numbed by confusion, his mind was a total mess, leaving him with no idea how to react, just holding his head and muttering, ¡°But¡­ why?¡± ¡°The reason should be within the Shadows. If my guess is not wrong, these Shadows are simr to some kind of poison, and the original humans wanted to expel the poison from their souls. They identally failed, resulting in all humans being blown apart. Their souls and bodies mixed into a chaotic substance; the lighter part ascended, with the lightest bing the Far Traveler, the less light turned into you Gods. The middle parts merged with the surrounding flora and fauna, forming various races. The most turbid parts turned into Shadows.¡± ¡°Considering the previous war that urred on your mother, this poison integrated into the soul must have existed back then. If this is true, I can probably guess the reason for the disappearance of those powerful beings.¡± If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, the reason those Cultivators, those towering powers, created a Mirror Universe to escape from, was because of the poison. This poison was more dreadful than imagined, so much so that even those powers could not resist its corrosion and had to escape this universe to survive. And the poison must have been brought over by someone; to prevent that person from finding their traces, those powers even erased their own history to avoid being located by the mysterious person. Then, the reason for the mysterious person wanting to resurrect the Disease Demon Lord became clear. The Disease Demon Lord was an expert in using poison; inbination, they could create stronger poisons and wreak more destruction. Although the origin and purpose of this adversary were still unknown, there was now a lead, and he could continue making guesses bit by bit from there. Recording the information deduced from his reasoning, Fang Cheng¡¯s attention refocused on the Far Traveller. That person left with unwavering determination and nearly the strength of a Heavenly Lord, so they must have sensed something at the moment of birth and then followed the guidance of their inner heart far away. If where the Far Traveler went could be known, then the next lead might be found. But before that, it¡¯s necessary to let the Gods here pay back their debts. Fang Cheng didn¡¯t like to owe debts, nor be owed them.
So, he said to the Gods, ¡°I offer you all a chance to repay your debts, which is to think about how you can make the yers happy.¡± In Fang Cheng¡¯s view, these Gods emerged from the purest consciousness of humanity; they should understand what fun is, so their opinions are worth listening to. This proposal left the Gods looking at each other in bewilderment. They were all beings worshipped by mortals and had never considered how to make people happy.
In order to answer this question, they began to contact their respective priests and, through the priests, visited each of their followers, and soon found an answer: ¡°Making their gods happy is the happiest thing for them.¡± Looking at the self-satisfied responses brought forth by these gods, Fang Cheng suggested we could take this a bit more seriously, maybe not limit the research subjects so narrowly? This behavior is as ridiculous as asking people in a hospital what they¡¯re doing and concluding that everyone is sick these days. Go back and start over. Knowing that these gods had never thought about such issues before, Fang Cheng first returned to his studio, where Wang Xiaoying prepared a survey questionnaire, which was then distributed by the gods to their followers for research and investigation. While the gods assisted in the research, yers also discovered another Easter egg provided by Fang Cheng Studio. It was the appearance of a pass. When some yers logged back into the game, they were surprised to find that they didn¡¯t appear in another game but in a unique room instead. Xiemen Waidao, who intended to check out thetest situation in ¡°The Healer,¡± was among them. Now, sitting in his VR integrated machine, he saw himself appear in a three-bedroom, one-living-room, two-bathroom apartment as soon as he entered the game. It was a little after five in the afternoon, and the apartment¡¯s clock showed the same time. The spacious floor-to-ceiling windows faced the setting sun, with the beautiful sunset nearing the distant sea level, turning the clouds on the horizon a crimson red. But what attracted him the most was the girl lying on the sofa, reading a magazine and snacking.
She wasn¡¯t in her usual white pce dress but had tied her long hair into a ponytail and changed into a fitted homewear, full of youthful vibrance. Hearing the door open, Mukuai 1234 looked up and said to Xiemen Waidao at the door, ¡°Yo, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°¡­What are you doing!¡± ¡°Resting.¡± ¡°And where is this ce?¡± ¡°Your home.¡± ¡°I bought a house?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the universal pass, register and get an apartment. You can even lie in bed to rest, though it¡¯s a pity it doesn¡¯t have much functionality yet. By the way, let¡¯s use separate bathrooms; I don¡¯t want to share one with you.¡± ¡°Do I have this function?¡± ¡°Not now, but I¡¯m not sure about the future.¡± ¡°Then how do I y games?¡± Watching Xiemen Waidao, all anxious to y games from the get-go, Mukuai 1234 felt slightly annoyed. He hadn¡¯t even reacted to her changing clothes.
Pointing at the blue Teleportation Array on the balcony, Mukuai 1234 said, ¡°Just go over there, stand on it, and you¡¯ll see all the games you¡¯ve bought, and then you can also browse the games from Fang Cheng Studio that you haven¡¯t downloaded yet.¡± Walking up to it, Xiemen Waidao felt its power for a while, then realized it seemed quite formidable. After ying with it for a while, he lost the urge to continue ying ¡°The Healer¡± and began to experiment with other content. In his view, this ce was like a new game, and it seemed to have a lot of interesting content to explore. Just one pass could bring so many surprises; Fang Cheng Studio, you really outdid yourself! Chapter 240: 161: Dawn of the New Era (Three Updates)_1 Chapter 240: Chapter 161: Dawn of the New Era (Three Updates)_1 ¡°` Apart from the integration of the game, Xiemen Waidao discovered that Fang Cheng Studio had added many new features. For instance, the magazines on the bookshelf were actuallyptions of excellent posts from ¡°Game Inn,¡± categorized by date, making them quite convenient to read. The television could be turned on, and ¡°Who is the Champion¡± could be watched on it. Judging from the broadcast time, Mukuai 1234 must have secretly watched it for a while. The apartment door could be used to go outside, where one could immediately see a straight street. Incredibly, some yers had also appeared there and had begun discussing whether buildings could be constructed in this ce. After soaking in the atmosphere for a while, Xiemen Waidao realized that Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s ambitions were quite significant Merely a passport wasn¡¯t enough. Were they preparing to create a second life? Wandering joyfully in the world of Passport World, Xiemen Waidao found it to be even moreplex than imagined. There were parks and malls; the cars on the streets could even be driven, and some buildings could be entered and had basic functions. Beyond that, he even saw some small Mukuais.
These Mukuais, only two heads tall and incredibly cute, carried building materials around, processed them, and assembled parts into products like cars. After staring dumbfounded for a while, Xiemen Waidao felt that apart from eximing ¡°Amazing,¡± he really couldn¡¯t find any other words to describe it. From the perspective of a game yer, Passport World was already astonishing. But from the perspective of a game nner, it appeared utterly shocking. Qiu Yu, n, and the trantor had just finished the current phase of ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± and then discovered the existence of Passport World. The world was still rather rudimentary, but after squatting by the roadside for a while, they couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by its intricacy. ¡°Mr. Fang is impressive,¡± said Qiu Yu, eating ice cream. The ice cream in the game had no taste, but he wanted to try it out anyway, so he started eating it. Unlike other games with segmented animations, Passport seemed to have modeled the ice cream separately, allowing it to be eaten bite by bite. Outsiders might not realize how outrageous this was, but Qiu Yu understood. The idea of creating a model for a single ice cream cone was so extravagant that Qiu Yu felt like banging his head on the floor in envy and then dragging this programming deity to their project team. Just having this genius on board, conquering the domestic market in one year and the world in two years wouldn¡¯t be a problem! However, looking at n who was motionless beside him, Qiu Yu thought they wouldn¡¯t even need two years; it could be done this year. n had also bought an ice cream, but instead of eating it, he left it aside and watched it slowly melt. Under their gaze, the ice cream turned into a pile of cream, which then messily dried up slowly. When it was almost dry, n touched some of the cream and became even more astounded. ¡°Terrifying technical prowess. This is no longer a mere passport. This is an open-world,¡± he said. Qiu Yu nodded in agreement and decided to persuade Zhang Ping to stop any ongoing projects rted to open-world games within theirpany once he got back. With such a high benchmark set, any following open-world projects were bound to be doomed. They needed to focus on gamey as their strong point, topensate for their disadvantages in graphics and realism. Back in his own apartment, Qiu Yu began testing the Teleportation Array, television, and magazines, and then realized that Fang Cheng Studio seemed to have integrated their games, website, and programs into one.
His Mukuai had a very low presence, just a two-headed Mukuai, which suited his preference to forgo in-game guidance and explore on his own instead. Although it was just a little Mukuai, it could still understand hismands and inform him about what could be done there. With the guidance of such powerful artificial intelligence like Mukuai, yers wouldn¡¯t get lost here at all. The studio integrated everything organically, making their product ecosystem even stronger. n also examined everything with Qiu Yu and couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°We should have coborated with Fang Cheng Studio initially.¡±
¡°What could you have offered them?¡± Qiu Yu scoffed. ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°Give it up. Fang Cheng Studio doesn¡¯t need you. Their games don¡¯t even have a French version.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because¡­¡± n stammered, trying to exin something, but couldn¡¯t say anything. He had already gone through all of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games in these days. At the time, following Qiu Yu¡¯s guidance, he started from the first game by Fang Cheng and concluded that it was a very promising producer. When he yed ¡°Towards Death and Life,¡± he felt that the developer had good ideas, even though the running mechanics were a bit outdated. The third game, ¡°Princess Dungeon,¡± left him at a loss for words, especially after ying a PVP round and experiencing the earth-shattering effects, he silently opened the fourth game. The quality of ¡°Quiet Cultivation¡± he had already seen on a TV show, but ying it firsthand, particrly through a VR integrated machine, instantly immersed him in its mysterious characters, and he began incessantly asking for the names of every character and why they were made that way. ¡°` Chapter 241: 161: Dawn of the New Era (Three Updates)_2 Chapter 241: Chapter 161: Dawn of the New Era (Three Updates)_2 At this time, he no longerined that the gamecked French trantion, but began to regret not taking the opportunity to learn Chinese for free when he could, feeling it unnecessary at the time. ¡°The Nameless¡± made him fall silent. Western yers generally ept higher difficulty levels. Back in the FC era, the American version was always a notch harder than the Sakura version. They preferred challenging games with high difficulty, where the suffering was part of the enjoyment, and they demanded the production team make the games even harder. Therefore, even though ¡°The Nameless¡± quickly ramped up in difficulty, n felt it was still within his capacity to handle, but he remained troubled by the game¡¯s historical background. Afterpleting it once, he sought out a trantor to learn about that period of history, and then listened while quietly wiping away tears. After drying his tears, he holed up for two days. When he emerged, he produced an electronic music score, made a simple arrangement, and posted it to a forum where it was immediately pinned and widely praised. After that, he found rted videos online, watching and taking notes,pletely immersing himself in the history of that time. In this moment, the power of culture revealed itself, making Qiu Yu realize that the cultural attributes of games were more formidable than imagined. Then came ¡°The Physician.¡±
This game had n¡¯s blood boiling with excitement; it reminded him of the Paris Commune, the dawn of the revolution, and he joined other yers in overthrowing the evil Demon Lord Temple to bring peace to the realm. n also had a soft spot for the flora and fauna in ¡°Botanic Garden,¡± especially enjoying walking his dog through the Botanic Garden or ying frisbee on thewn for an hour at a time. ¡°The Supreme One¡± aroused n¡¯s deep interest in Chinese ancient style, with concepts unique to China such as benevolence, righteousness, and propriety providing a breath of fresh air and sparking his intense interest in traditional culture. After ying one game after another, n had nothing but admiration for Fang Cheng Studio. Their creativity seemed boundless; it was as if they could endlessly produce newer and more innovative games, a quality that made n rather envious. Cat and Mouse Entertainment, a venerable gamepany, was already showing symptoms of corporate sclerosis, with new projects constantly being hindered. While profits from old games were enough to sustain them for a while, they needed a deeper moat and better, morepetitive products. ¡°Magic Dynasty¡± was starting production on itspetitive gaming, but what was clearly a fantastic project was, paradoxically, at risk because of its solid foundation. There were endless appointments of personal proteges to the project, and some ignoramuses began to meddle, causing daily incidents that made n¡¯s blood pressure spike, wishing he could fly back immediately, grab the managers by the cor, and yell, ¡°Stop messing around, you fool!¡± Sigh. Feeling drained. With this on his mind, n temporarily lost the desire to y games, left the VR unit, and went outside to look at the night scene. The beginning of April in Rong City is its most beautiful season. The opposite building where Fang Cheng Studio was housed had already closed for the night, making it hard to imagine that such an extraordinary producer was leading an outstanding team, tirelessly working to create one interesting game after another inside. The window was open, and the night breeze blew through, stirring his blond hair, giving this handsome man from the other side of Earth an even more mncholic air. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Qiu Yu asked in French as he approached. After spending over a month together, Qiu Yu had learned some French, and n had picked up some Chinese. They could alsomunicate in English, so their conversations would jump between the threenguages, and eventually, they had managed to engage in basicmunication. Looking at Qiu Yu, n thought for a moment, then voiced his dilemma.
After realizing what n was struggling with, Qiu Yu thought for a bit and then took out his phone to show n an exhibition. ¡°What is this?¡± n asked, puzzled. ¡°It¡¯s an internal game expo at Tianyi where everyone can present a demo and thenpete against each other. The winner gets a rmendation within Tianyi and can form their own production team to develop their games.¡± ¡°So, what does that have to do with me?¡±
¡°I want to participate, and I don¡¯t have much time left.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a terminal illness?¡± Qiu Yu looked helpless as he watched n: ¡°What I mean is, I want to move faster.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re still very young.¡± ¡°Not that young anymore. The lifespan of people in the domestic gaming industry only goes up to thirty-five. After that age, if you don¡¯t have a strong resume, you basically can¡¯t stay. By that time, I¡¯ll have to consider bing a delivery man.¡± n looked at Qiu Yu with confusion, not understanding why he was so eager. What he didn¡¯t know was that in the country, thirty-five was like a curse¡ªas soon as you reached that age, you were optimized out of the system. Game nners in this age group had plenty of experience, but their sries were also high. In ces like Tianyi it might be fine, but many ces didn¡¯t need such experienced nners and would just dismiss them when they reached that age. After carefully listening to Qiu Yu exin thepetition, n said, ¡°Sorry, Qiu Yu, our contract stiptes that I can¡¯t do this sort of thing in private.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡± ¡°However, I have an ount in which I often upload some stuff. These things are not public but can be used. If someone took these items, there¡¯d be nothing I could do about it.¡± Turning his head, Qiu Yu looked at n in surprise as thetter winked at him, conveying an unspoken understanding. ¡°Thank you, n.¡±
¡°No need to thank me. You¡¯ve helped me a lot, and this is my way of repaying you. Also, if¡­ I mean, if one day I want to do something I¡¯m passionate about, I hope you can take me in toplete it together.¡± Looking at n, Qiu Yu understood what he was getting at. He gently patted n¡¯s shoulder and nodded: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I get it.¡± After sending n off, Qiu Yu looked across at Fang Cheng Studio. Bathed in moonlight, the studio¡¯s sprouts sparkled with a strange light, shining even in the night. At the moment, Qiu Yu longed to light up a cigarette, but he forcefully resisted the urge. He and Fang Cheng were the same age, but Fang Cheng had already reached an unthinkable height, while Qiu Yu had yet to produce his own signature work. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t be in a hurry next to a genius?¡± Leaning against the window, the shock in Qiu Yu¡¯s heart hadn¡¯t yet subsided. Passport World was a concept full of technical prowess and an amazing idea. With Passport World, Fang Cheng Studio would be a tform in itself. They had the software and Kirin Industry for hardware; the beginnings of a gaming empire were emerging, whichpelled the grassroots heroes to hasten their steps so as not to be left behind by the times. The old gamingpanies were about to be crushed, and a new era of gaming wasing. Qiu Yu didn¡¯t want to be cast aside just as dawn was breaking; he wanted to secure a ce for himself in the new era. ¡°I must speed up. I wonder what Fang Cheng is doing now, probably thinking about a new game.¡±
Meanwhile, on the other side, Fang Cheng was looking over the proposals given by the Gods, murmuring to himself, ¡°These Little Heavenly Ways, something¡¯s not right.¡± Chapter 242: 162: Confused! (First Update)_1 Chapter 242: Chapter 162: Confused! (First Update)_1 ¡°Death! Endless destruction! Only when everything around has beenpletely shed and felled could it be called fun!¡± ¡ª¡ª Lumberjack. ¡°That must be some despicable scheme, ying with people¡¯s hearts, secretly manipting them until they can¡¯t stop, to the point where they can¡¯t live without you.¡± ¡ª¡ª God of Writing. ¡°Rational investment, precise calculus, defeating one¡¯spetitors by any means necessary, and then guarding the fruits of one¡¯s victory with indifference and ruthlessness.¡± ¡ª¡ª God of Love. ¡°Tender protection, the ultimate enjoyment like a beautiful dream, without the need to ponder anything, letting everything return to a tranquil, eternal slumber.¡± ¡ª¡ª Grim Reaper. Reading the feedback from these Little Heavenly Ways, Fang Cheng expressed that although he still wasn¡¯t quite clear on what was ¡°fun,¡± he was certain that the suggestions these fellows were proposing were definitely not fun. yers often remarked that the tags of Fang Cheng Studio were messy, but what these Little Heavenly Ways said and their corresponding responsibilities were the most chaotic. Having read the results, Fang Cheng turned to the Main God beside him and said, ¡°This won¡¯t do.¡± The Main God immediately widened its eyes and asked with a hint of panic, ¡°So, have you decided to destroy us after all?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a bit too extreme? To be fair, you¡¯re doing a decent job, aside from a few Little Heavenly Ways that are a bit exasperating, but all in all, it¡¯s passable.¡± Ever since it learned that it was just a part of the collective human consciousness that had evolved, the Main God¡¯s world view seemed to have copsed.
It had previously elevated its own status quite high and, under the worship of those animals and nts, constructed a set of logical discourse to exin the greatness of ¡°gods¡± as well as the necessity of enjoying their worship. This logic had been operating for centuries, and it had already been packaged by them into an unassable truth, allowing them to manage the Heavenly Taowork with peace of mind and enjoying worship from the animals and nts. However, the revtion of their origins that Fang Cheng had exposed directly toppled their legitimacy, making it realize that it was actually a sibling to the animals and nts, rather than a lofty God. Currently, only a few gods knew this information, but the consequences for those who did know it were a bit dire. They retreated into themselves. Although the Main God could stille out, it had fallen into serious self-doubt, feeling, with every little stir of wind or de of grass, that Fang Cheng was about to annihte them. In Fang Cheng¡¯s view, this was a typical case of an unstable Taoist Heart , where a slight setback could cause them to copse. However, when he had just begun practicing Taoism, he too had had his moments of doubt about his cultivation resolution. So, he personally descended to the mortal world to take a walk, and aftering back, he no longer had any problems. During that time, he even spent some time as a merchant, traveling north and south like a mortal, buying and selling goods, slowly amassing wealth¡ªa process that felt quite interesting to him. Wait, interesting¡­ At this thought, Fang Cheng felt like he had grasped something. Where everyone bustles about, theye for profit, where everyone scrambles, they go for profit. Putting himself in the yer¡¯s shoes, Fang Cheng realized that making money did indeed seem quite fun. And within this Heavenly Taowork, there were even more ways to make money, and the feedback from having money was more intense, spurring yers to chase after wealth even more. The seventeen-ring world enabled interster merchant voyaging; the presence of interster pirates between the rings could make this process full of fun, and some unknown areas made exploring there a high-risk, high-reward job. Beyond that, acquiring crew members was full of surprises, and exploring the local customs of different ces was also a very interesting activity. Incorporating these as embellishments to interster trade could also provide yers with additional surprises. The existence of Little Heavenly Ways could grant yers various blessings, and to obtain some special goods, they would have to foster good rtions with local temples, triggering side quests to gain extra information. Imagining it for a moment, Fang Cheng felt that the whole process was indeed very intriguing. umting wealth, strengthening one¡¯s power, and then gaining more wealth, the entire process also could strengthen the connections between different rings in this star region and offer a great opportunity for improvement to the local fauna and flora.
Having thought it through, Fang Cheng realized that only minor changes were needed on top of the ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± base. With these ideas in mind, Fang Cheng returned to his studio and then found Huang Ping, sharing his concept with him. Since everything needed was already in ce, what followed was system integration and numerical tweaks, parts of which he needed to discuss with the trio of nners before making adjustments together. As soon as Xiao Douzi learned what Fang Cheng wanted to create, she became excited first.
¡°Interster trade sounds exciting! And with ¡®Squirrel Spaceship¡¯ as a warm-up, this game should be very appealing.¡± Huang Ping also nodded, ¡°I¡¯m interested in the division of power within it. yers can establish different tradingpanies, then collectively build awork of trading zones. There are a lot of elements to explore here, and I believe this could really boost the social aspect.¡± ¡°Can we fight?¡± Monkey asked excitedly, ¡°The scene where the Star of Destruction was deployed in ¡®Squirrel Spaceship¡¯ was really cool, but it¡¯s a pity it only thrashed Lady Tragedy once. So, will we have a chance to thrash her again in the future?¡± Wang Xiaoying also moved a chair over, ¡°It sounds like it has a lot of freedom, and it should be quite nice to y. I didn¡¯t get enough of ¡®The Supreme One,¡¯ the map was too small, and it wasn¡¯t free enough. Now having a gxy to run around in, just thinking about it is thrilling.¡± The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 243: 162: Confused! (First Update)_2 Chapter 243: Chapter 162: Confused! (First Update)_2 Just the idea alone sparked discussion among colleagues, and even Xu Qingling joined in, sharing her views on the employees. ¡°Let¡¯s add some favorability points, allowing yers to pursue in-game characters of the opposite sex and recruit them as crew members,¡± she said. After jotting down the various suggestions, Fang Cheng felt good about the progress. This time, the theme of proving one¡¯s way was set as trade. yers need to acquire money through trade in the game, then build their own fleet, and team up with other yers to dominate the business circles of a certain region. The space crafts in ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± must be limited to Songta to avoid impacting other games, but yers who have yed ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± and own a designated cargo ship will receive an extra cargo ship in the new game ¡°Space Navigator¡± as an initial reward. Given the vast expanse of the star region, yers would generally y solo unless they intentionally sought contact, thus satisfying both single-yer and multiyer gamers. However, yers could still influence the entire star region. Watching the star region rted to them develop better, with increasing goods, was indeed a gratifying and beautiful thing. Having decided the general tone, what remained was to bring the logic to life. Before officially starting the work, Huang Ping looked at Fang Cheng. He wanted to ask what the Easter egg was this time, and what the Easter egg would change the game¡¯s style into, but he held back. This mystery would be slowly uncovered.
The game required more content design this time, so it also took more time toplete. While Fang Cheng Studio was busy developing the game, the Main God of the star region was in a dilemma. The Gods had not gone through the mortal phase and didn¡¯t know what mortals would like. The problem posed by Fang Cheng was too difficult for them, and the Main God feared they could not answer it and would ultimately face a catastrophe. In the end, a tough decision was made. Within the Heavenly Taowork, the Main God contacted all the deities. Contacting all the Gods at once was a rare urrence, which meant that the Main God had encountered a major issue that even he couldn¡¯t resolve¡ªan issue intimately rted to them. Even Lady Tragedy, beaten to a rag, attended with the support of her best friend, bing a frightened bird hiding in the back. Seeing all the Gods assembled, the Main God said to them, ¡°I have some unfortunate news, we need you to reincarnate as animals and nts.¡± ¡°Why?¡± one of the Gods asked, puzzled, ¡°Is it because of the Great Heavenly Lord?¡± ¡°Yes. You all filled out the survey recently, right? To be frank, the Great Heavenly Lord is not satisfied.¡± ¡°But I think it¡¯s okay,¡± Game King said, ¡°Games are my expertise. I think games should be about winning by any means, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with that, is there?¡± ¡°The fact that you think there is no problem, that is the biggest problem. Alright, this is what I and several other father Gods have decided. All of you must reincarnate.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°No buts. I will preserve your memories; consider this a trial. When you understand what those Angel Envoys truly enjoy, that¡¯s when you shall return!¡± ¡°What about the Heavenly Taowork¡­?¡± ¡°The Great Heavenly Lord will help maintain it.¡± Hearing these words, the Gods understood that the Main God had made up his mind and would not retract his decision. Having no other choice, they respectfully bowed and then left the abode of the Gods, issuing oracles to their Priests, and proceeded with their reincarnation.
They would reincarnate as animals and nts and, due to the rapid growth rates of fauna and flora, they would mature quickly. They would grow to adulthood at great speed, then start interacting with the yers to understand what they truly desired. Fang Cheng noticed the change in the Little Heavenly Way but did not intervene. In his view, the Main God¡¯s arrangement was quite good. Letting these Little Heavenly Ways experience life as mortals could indeed help them better understand the sentiments of mortals and thereby understand what fun really meant in video games.
A monthter, the new game ¡°Space Navigator¡± quietly went live. This time whenunching, Wang Xiaoying did not engage in any promotions, she didn¡¯t even release a video trailer. It wasn¡¯t that shecked confidence in the game, but rather it was a sign of her immense confidence. This time, she needed to test the linkage of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s Passport World, observe the natural flow of yers within the Passport, and thus assess the traffic-driving effect of the Passport on the game. The decision was somewhat risky, but when she applied to Fang Cheng, he agreed without hesitation. Operational content was not his focus, but he knew that Wang Xiaoying was an exceptional operator. In just under a year, her abilities had advanced dramatically, from being green to now being adept; she had be a very excellent operator. She had already graduated ahead of time, her operational strength was evident to all, and each game she managed had nearly perfect operation methods, so Fang Cheng trusted that there would be no issues. Moreover, even if there were any issues, it wouldn¡¯t matter as long as the number of yers met the basic requirements. Then he would be able to prove the Tao, and the restrictions of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games could easily meet the requirements. Inviting more people in was just to reduce random variables. With Fang Cheng¡¯s approval, Wang Xiaoying felt a mix of gratitude and pressure. After coordinating the operational methods within Passport World with Tian Xuan, she took a deep breath and chose tounch the game. At eight o¡¯clock in the evening, ¡°Space Navigator¡± officiallyunched. That day, when Chen Rang tiredly returned home, nning to rest well in Passport World.
He had been working overtime a lot recently, with new newsing out every day. Coming home at eight o¡¯clock tonight felt like celebrating a festival. Ever since the overseas game ban was lifted, almost every day there was news of new games officially entering the market. Some major games had already targeted the domestic market as a big cake, preparing to offer a special domestic version using strategies like small profit margins, in-app purchases, and monthly subscriptions to make a good profit. Before long, a massive number of games wouldplete localization and then flood the market, engaging in fierce battles with domestic games until a new equilibrium was established. ording to some gamers¡¯ analysis, in the next period, the best strategy for domestic game manufacturers is to y defensively, pausing the release of some games, stopping the application for game licenses, and focusing on existing profitable projects to consolidate their moats. However, there are also aggressive gamers who believe we should strike boldly and im that we also have very excellent game studios. You think so, right, Fang Cheng Studio? Regarding suchments, Chen Rang invariably deemed them a kiss of death. Fang Cheng Studio was indeed quite good, but it was best not to act rashly at this time to avoid being targeted. Fortunately, Fang Cheng Studio recently had indeed been inactive, which relieved Chen Rang quite a bit. After logging into Passport World, Chen Rang was about to have his Mukuai pat his head to relieve some fatigue when he saw his Mukuai excitedly running over with a CD in hand. ¡°Fang Cheng Studio released a new game,e y with me.¡± ¡°Has Fang Cheng lost his mind!¡± Chen Rang blurted out. Mukuai was startled by Chen Rang¡¯s shout and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why, weren¡¯t you preupied with this a few days ago,menting every day about when a new game would be released?¡±
¡°That was the past, it¡¯s iparable to the present. The current gaming environment is dramatic; releasing a game now might not even recover the cost. Moreover, they didn¡¯t do any marketing before, howe there was no buzz at all?¡± ¡°Well, they wanted to do a test¡­¡± ¡°A test at this time? They definitely haven¡¯t researched the market.¡± ¡°Then, are you still going to y?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll y.¡± After readily paying 128 yuan, Chen Rang¡¯s spirits lifted, and then he immersed himself in the game. When he came outter, he yawned and said, ¡°Not bad, I take back my words, alright, off to work I go.¡± ¡°Have a good day.¡± Mukuai said goodbye to Chen Rang happily, expressing that she had a great time yingst night. Chapter 244: 163 The First Deal (Second Update)_1 Chapter 244: Chapter 163 The First Deal (Second Update)_1 This was a covert festivity. The Mukuais received the task of promoting ¡°Space Navigator¡± to yers after they logged into the game. All they needed to know was that a new game had debuted; whether to buy it was up to them. If a yer showed interest, then a simple introduction to the gamey was sufficient, letting them know it was a game primarily about making money. There was novish advertising, yet this game still silently sold five hundred thousand copies. In just one night. This figure gave Wang Xiaoying a basic understanding of Passport World¡¯s sales capability, which she could factor into future operational ns. Beyond that, Passport World would be her next major project. Promoting a single Passport World was essentially like promoting all the studio¡¯s games at once, resulting in extremely high cost-effectiveness. Liuzi began resting during the day. As a manga artist, he studied abroad in Sakura Country at the age of eighteen and learned painting there.
At twenty, he made his debut, winning an award for his short story ¡°With Your Sewer,¡± which was judged to be a horror mangabining mystery and morbidity. The judges advised him to develop his horror talent. However, when it came time for serialization, he instead produced a romantic manga like ¡°The Beautiful Girl Next to Me Keeps Sticking to Me,¡± with delicate strokes and dialogue that hit the mark and stirred hearts. The naive and beautiful romance between teenagers was irresistible, even allowing him to storm into the top three rankings of a passionate youth magazine like ¡°JUMP.¡± Despite his continued poprity, he announced a hiatus after three years of serialization and then truly disbanded his manga studio and dismissed his assistants. Since his career came to an abrupt stop at its peak, some said he had offended the chief editor and been cut off, while others spected he had be too attached to his female protagonist and couldn¡¯t bear to see her with the male lead, leading to his decision to pause. But the real reason was known only to him. He had never been in a romantic rtionship. Even though he constantly drew romantic manga, everyone understood that only someone who had never been in love could depict love so sacredly ¨C those who had been in love just scoffed. Even though he had relied on his imagination up until now, human imagination has its limits, and he truly didn¡¯t know what step his manga should take next. ¡°Forget it; I still have a hundred million in manuscript fees, so I might as well ck off and wait to die for a while. But suddenly stopping like this, it really does feel idle.¡± Previously, he could at least immerse himself in games to enrich his life, but ever since he¡¯d beaten Lady Tragedy in ¡°Squirrel Spaceship,¡± he felt as though he¡¯d lost a goal and couldn¡¯t get into any games. The VR flight simtor for ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± had been deployed in Akihabara, which was swarmed with people every day, but he temporarily lost interest in joining in. After logging back into the game, he entered Passport World and then saw his chibi-sized Mukuai approach. Like Qiu Yu, his Mukuai was also a little one, because he was clueless about how to interact with girls ¨C even a Mukuai wouldn¡¯t do. There¡¯s no problem when dealing with men; he could actively step forward to offer guidance andmands. Unfortunately, he just couldn¡¯t do the same with girls. After exchanging a few words with the little Mukuai and getting used to it, Liuzi was just about to enter ¡°The Supreme One¡± when he saw the little Mukuai hop to theputer and then hand over a new disc. Subsequently, a dialogue box appeared before his eyes with the words: ¡°Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s new game ¡®Space Navigator¡¯ is now avable!¡± After reading the introduction carefully, Liuzi found himself very interested in the content of this game. He had really enjoyed ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± previously; after all, the ethereal sky is every man¡¯s dream. Every time he looked up at the starry sky, it inspired a desire to fly into it and soar freely. ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± was already excellent, but it was, after all, a flight shooting game, and he wanted something more like interster travel, hard science fiction. He aimed to try contacting alien civilizations and learn about their cultures and stories.
After learning about the content of this game, Liuzi felt that since he had nothing better to do, he might as well buy the game and log in. He logged into the game with a VR all-in-one machine and, after passing through the Teleportation Array, found the surroundings grow dark. But quickly, the lights came back on, and he found himself inside his own spaceship. Just when he wondered if he¡¯d entered the wrong game, a maintenance worker beside him said, ¡°Mr. Liuzi, we meet again. Come here, I need to show you around.¡±
In ¡°Squirrel Spaceship,¡± yers had limited mobility, restricted to the interior of their spaceships. But now, Liuzi discovered he could leave his spaceship and step outside. He was about the same height as the maintenance worker beside him, and he also had a fluffy tail. Looking in the hallway mirror, he realized he had transformed into a chipmunk, clearly indicating that the world view here was consistent with ¡°Squirrel Spaceship.¡± That meant Lady Tragedy, whom they had previously beaten up, might also be here, and the world was stillposed of seventeen rings. The universe would expand further, and yers would learn more about the Shadow World, developing further within it. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 245 - 163 The First Deal (Second Update)_2 Chapter 245: Chapter 163 The First Deal (Second Update)_2 The maintenance worker led the way, and as he walked, he said, ¡°I will take you to thending pad, where you¡¯ll find your Easter egg reward¡ªa basic cruiser and a cargo ship. Later, we¡¯ll provide you with some starting capital, so you can try your hand at trading and then grow your business as much as possible. We¡¯ve purchased insurance for you, so even if your ship is destroyed and you perish, we¡¯ll resurrect you and repair your ship.¡± ¡°They sure got the setting detailed,¡± Liuzi remarked. The maintenance worker smiled and continued, ¡°The initial capital won¡¯t be too much, but it should be enough for you to buy three units of local specialty goods.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the specialty?¡± Liuzi asked curiously. ¡°gue Chicken.¡± ¡°¡­ A fantastical coboration indeed!¡± With another exmation, Liuzi felt that Fang Cheng Studio really knew how to have fun, incorporating their own products into the game. But that gue Chicken was quite useful; he had received the same gift in Sakura Country and had been using it as a pillow, sleepingfortably every night. Following behind the maintenance worker, Liuzi listened as the other party provided detailed exnations of the situation here, and his preliminary understanding of the world finally became moreplete. Their base was this massive flying matrix, the ancient device reimed by the yers had started to operate, and the King was still recovering. It estimated that some time was needed before full recovery. Songta had already been partially reimed, but the overall progress was rather slow. yers could attempt to help or invest, andter exchange their investment for a noble title based on the amount invested. The maintenance worker didn¡¯t mention what use the noble title served, but Liuzi felt that it must have significant benefits, perhaps even discounts on shopping or the ability to establish a territory. After exining the general situation, he finally brought Liuzi to anothernding pad, where he saw the gship and the cargo ship. Previously in ¡°Squirrel Spaceship,¡± he had either been in the cockpit or admiring through screens, so he had no real sense of howrge the battleships were. But now that he saw them, he was stunned to find that they were muchrger than he had imagined. The gship alone was like a small cruise ship, and the cargo ship beside it was like a behemoth of the sea, making him realize that he had never truly grasped the concept of the size of things. In the Star Age, distances were measured in light-years, and any casual space jump would span dozens of light-years, meaning the ships that carried them had to be evenrger. Upon seeing the ships, Liuzipletely missed what the maintenance worker was saying. In his eyes, only his own gship existed; he couldn¡¯t see anything else. ¡°You can swap out the gship, but there¡¯s an auxiliary chip inside. Your previous assistant robot was Alpha, but since your goal this time is to earn wealth throughmerce, we¡¯ve reced it with Delta, themercial robot.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Liuzi responded nkly. ¡°Delta is capable of tuning into interster broadcasts and can assist you with piloting. Just to note, your Deltas are personal editions, and will gradually adapt to your habits and preferences, so please cherish your bond with Delta.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°Alright, it seems I¡¯ve exined enough, so please take control yourself from here. I wish you a pleasant journey, Mr. Liuzi.¡± Beams of light shot down from the gship, capturing Liuzi in a beam cage, and the next second, he appeared in the cockpit of the gship. Afterward, a soft voice rang out: ¡°Hello, Mr. Liuzi, I have already registered your information, and you canmand me at any time.¡± Sitting in the pilot¡¯s seat, Liuzi found that the dashboard had been simplified to just one button. Recalling past experiences, Liuzi asked, ¡°I remember there used to be more buttons for control.¡± ¡°Technology is actually a process of continuous simplification. Squirrels havepleted their technology, and previously, they didn¡¯t know what some devices were for. But after thepletion, we discovered that some things were designed to adapt to humans. Those things are no longer necessary to keep, so we removed them all and made the controls even more straightforward.¡± ¡°I see. Can I check my ount bnce then?¡± ¡°Yes. I have built-in multiple disy modes, which you can freely change and select your preferred disy mode.¡± Liuzi at the pilot¡¯s seat enthusiastically made his choices and finally settled on a disy mode he liked. In this mode, his assets would appear on his retina, and information about some items would also be disyed, making it convenient for him to check. Moreover, his various abilities could also be enhanced with money here, as the squirrels had gradually developed aplete technological tree with an entire set of cybeic enhancement techniques. And because of his previous selfless contributions (recapturing the ancient instrument and the King, and leading the squirrels in retaliation), he could receive multiple additional cybeic enhancements for free here and gain the permanent right to a seventy percent discount. This arrangement made Liuzi feel quitefortable and also made him realize that his previous actions were not meaningless. Having fitted himself with an electronic eyepiece, Liuzi could now call Delta at any time and roughly judge the quality of goods in his field of vision, and estimate their approximate value. He installed aser sword on his right arm, a weapon capable of automaticbat and counterattack, which gave Liuzi some self-defensive abilities. After making the adjustments, Liuzi boarded the spaceship, purchased three units of gue Chicken, and then started the engines. Beyond that, Liuzi found that his character even had levels. Every time he spent money, he would gain experience, and the level determined the power of each piece of equipment on him, as well as influencing some NPCs¡¯ attitudes towards him. Having understood all this, Liuzi felt ready to go. Choosing a form, he confirmed his destination and saw the space around his body begin to twist, and in an instant, the surroundings turned into a brilliant white light. A few minutester, his body appeared at the target location. This, located in the fifteenth ring, didn¡¯t look too run-down, nor very prosperous. As soon as he appeared, he noticed he was being targeted by ground-based battleship cannons, but once they realized he was an Angel Envoy, the cannons immediately stood down. ¡°Respected Squirrel, wee to our world.¡± Hearing the voice of theary Governor, Liuzi asked in confusion, ¡°How do you know I¡¯m a squirrel?¡± ¡°The gship¡¯s style, it¡¯s the standard style of the squirrels. Please don¡¯t be too nervous, targeting with the cannons is standard procedure. Next time youe, please send an application in advance, and we will certainly approve it.¡± The previous ten Stars of Destruction had thoroughly intimidated the local civilization. Especially after they had thoroughly beaten Lady Tragedy, every civilization had a clear view of the footage, and the impression of this species that dared to beat up the Gods was profound. Although they were eventually beaten back by the Main God, the Outer God had also given the Main God a thorough thrashing. And recently, all the Priests had announced that the Gods had other matters to attend to, and all followers could temporarily stop their prayers, which made the civilisations suspect whether the Gods had been ughtered by the Outer God. The squirrels, favored by the Outer God, naturally became the new Favored Species. Every squirrel could potentially be an apostle of the Outer God, an entity they must please and support. After Delta ryed these developments to him, Liuzi marveled at how vibrant this world was, weaving together such a narrative from previous historical events. But the thought that all this respect had been earned by their own hands made Liuzi feel very proud. After docking at the local spaceport, Liuzi sold the gue Chicken and immediately doubled his capital. gue Chicken toys, a specialty of the squirrels, were popr as they significantly increased the efficiency of workers and the brainpower of researchers. It¡¯s a pity that the production of this item was low; it was a limited purchase even on Songta, or else one could have made a fortune from it in the early stages. Each warp jump caused slight damage to the body, but his body had self-healing capabilities, so it could recover after parking at a shipyard for some time. Knowing that it would take another hour to recover, Liuzi looked at the outside and decided to take a good wander around it. Chapter 246 - 164: The Way to Earn Your First Bucket of Jin (Three More)_1 Chapter 246: Chapter 164: The Way to Earn Your First Bucket of Jin (Three More)_1 Walking on the streets, Liuzi looked around curiously, feeling that everything was very fresh. The architecture here looked like some sort of burrow, possibly rted to the main species of the being a creature simr to hedgehogs. Their spines had originally been a tool for protection, but after having acquired better weapons, the spines had be something to be discarded. Besides that, Liuzi found everything here a bit monotonous; the buildings looked quite fashionable, but it seemed as if something was missing. Liuzi had intended to visit a bar to gather some intelligence, and to see if it was possible to recruit some reliable crew members, but just after taking a dozen steps, he saw a group of hedgehogs with very few spines walking from afar. This was a strange procession; they stacked themselves ording to specific rules, separating eachyer with wooden boards and mats of different colors, making them look like a ck champagne tower. The ones at the bottom were hedgehogs whose spines had been plucked out, symbolizing some kind of crime; even though they were covered in blood, they still bore the sad wooden boards and trudged along with difficulty. Following them were hedgehogs that were naturallycking some spines, who were of higher rank, and even allowed to use small cloth pads on their backs. At the very top was a hedgehog with no spines at all. It was small in stature, sitting high on the top of the tower, and without spines, it looked like a mouse, but it appeared to have a very high status. Wait, it actually was a mouse! Through his sses, Liuzi realized that the other was described in his sses as an ordinaryrge mouse; who knew why it had be one of the highest-ranked hedgehogs here and was even being worshipped by the other hedgehogs. After marveling at the vastness of the universe and its endless wonders, Liuzi kept his distance from these strange fellows and headed for the bar. Inside the bar, it was bustling with noise. Due to its proximity to the Star Harbor, residents of others filled the bar, in addition to the local hedgehog species. Being a Star Merchant was not a particrly rare upation; one could earn a lot from it, and apart from being a bit dangerous, there were no significant downsides. This bit of danger meant a mortality rate of about 7%. Some well-established routes did not make money, and if the body couldn¡¯t repair itself, running back and forth might not even recoup the money spent on repairs. However, the profitable routes were somewhat dangerous, as Interster Pirates would set up traps along the essential paths of the merchants. These traps were specialized force fields that interfered with the signals on the merchants¡¯ passing ships, causing their jump drives to produce an ¡°already arrived at destination¡± false signal. And once they stopped, a second force field would lock them in ce, enabling the Interster Pirates to board via jump attacks, directly leaping onto the merchant¡¯s ship and plundering their goods. Compared to those merchants who risked their lives, yer ships could self-repair, somon routes were feasible to make a living wage. But to grow and strengthen their operations, they had to find more dangerous routes, which required adequate self-defense capabilities to either flee or counter-attack in the face of pirates. Entering the bar and sitting down in an area designated for small animals, Liuzi noticed that the bartender here was arge elephant. Large animals often enjoyed performing manualbor; they could easily do the work of a hundred small animals with their strength and then sell theirbor for a good price. Although he couldn¡¯t taste it, Liuzi still ordered a ss of lemonade and began drinking after paying. The currency system adopted in the game was interesting; it wasn¡¯t an actual tangible general equivalent, but rather faith. The right to mint faith was in the hands of the Gods; the residents here needed to choose a God to worship, and the faith thereby generated would be split, with half going to the corresponding God and the other half kept by themselves. The half that was given away, that was the faith tax. Although making money out of thin air sounds wonderful, this job is not particrly easy. To worship a god, one must be sincere, as insincere worship will not be rewarded. Furthermore, one cannot easily change the object of their worship, otherwise, they will be punished by the gods. Worshipping for a long time may also attract the attention of the gods, and eventually, one may witness their descent and receive various blessings. But some blessings are not necessarily a good thing. For example, some gods¡¯ blessings make an organism¡¯s pain nerves extremely sensitive, causing pain equivalent to gout with every step. In the gods¡¯ view, they have already satisfied the believers¡¯ desire to be more sensitive, leaving themselves quite content. While drinking lemonade, Liuzi listened to Delta exin everything about the gods and faith in a voice only he could hear. This content actually inspired Liuzi, who couldn¡¯t help but pick up a napkin and carefully started drawing with his small paws dipped in water. Soon, the paper absorbed the water, leaving behind a blurry pattern. Thanks to the sensitivity of the haptic gloves, Liuzi could easily create a rather good drawing. This painting, inspired by legend, shows a god with an indistinct face, unidentifiable as good or evil, and of no specific gender. Although it is an unfinished piece, one can still perceive the divine quality nurturing within the god, giving it a special divinity unlike that of ordinary people. After about fifteen minutes, he finished the painting and looked at the water stains with satisfaction. He then noticed his surroundings were crowded with small animals. Some were staring at him, some at the painting, their expressions differing, but overall, they all shared one. That was astonishment. Liuzi didn¡¯t understand what they were astonished about until a little bat came over and asked in confusion, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Drawing.¡± ¡°Is this a drawing? I mean, if I¡¯m wrong, please don¡¯t get upset. Are you trying to imitate humans or gods in painting?¡± Liuzi still didn¡¯t understand until Delta exined in a voice only he could hear, ¡°In this world, all the paintingse from ancient humans, and the gods monopolize them. These residents haven¡¯t seen a new painting in a very long time.¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t there many statues in the First Ring?¡± ¡°Ordinary people do not have the privilege to go to the First Ring. Do you think they¡¯ve seen them?¡± ¡°Why is it like this?¡± ¡°There are many reasons. Ordinary peopleck a certain artistic creativity, so they cannot paint.¡± Liuzi didn¡¯t know that this was because the Far Traveler had taken away most of the ¡°qingqi,¡± or vital essence. The most beautiful and pure part of human consciousness had been taken away, leaving the remaining animals and nts utterly incapable, in fact unable to even paint a picture. Art had disappeared here, and people could appreciate art, but were no longer able to create it. Liuzi was unaware of the reason for this. But he knew that his chance to earn his first bucket of gold hade. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 247: 165: These NPCs Are Really Wild (First Update)_1 Chapter 247: Chapter 165: These NPCs Are Really Wild (First Update)_1 The game ¡°Space Navigator¡± adhered to the usual characteristics of Fang Cheng Studio, which is the absurdly high degree of freedom. Although trade is the primary element, there were no restrictions in the early stages on yers earning money through trade, so other means should also be possible. Liuzi tapped his sses, and Delta said in a voice he could hear, ¡°You¡¯re right in your conjecture, we don¡¯t limit yers¡¯ initial ways to make money. You can sell your own paintings, help out with jobs, or even wash sses for the bartender.¡± ncing at the sses on the bartender¡¯s counter, Liuzi felt that one ss was like a small cubicle for him; physicalbor was not quite suitable for a squirrel¡¯s small physique. Thus, selling paintings appeared to be a suitable method for yers to umte wealth in the early stages. Hence, Liuzi, with only a thousand faiths in hand, started to procure the rted items. Due to ack of artistic cells, the art industry here was not entirely nonexistent, but it could be described as disastrously poor. After searching the localwork through Delta, Liuzi found that there were no brushes that he wanted, and in the end, he could only purchase charcoal pencils and white paper. These items weren¡¯t expensive, only costing 3.5 faiths, but they were not easy to use, and he figured it would take some time to get used to them. The logistics of the Star Age were exceptionally developed; as soon as Liuzi ced his order, the items he wanted were quickly delivered to him by a force field orbiting the. The force field was one of the most incredible inventions of this era, which could affect the four fundamental forces through high-dimensional interference; it was the most widely used technological product.
Bncing the charcoal pencils and paper, he returned to the bar only to find the ce in shambles. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on!¡± eximed Liuzi in surprise. The countertop was overturned, chairs were knocked over and askew, and there were holes and scorch marks on the floor; it looked like the aftermath of a fierce battle. A group of wild wolves were lying scattered on the ground, some animals were catching their breath nearby, tending to each other¡¯s wounds; the bartender elephant¡¯s ear was missing a piece, with milky-white blood rolling down to the floor from its wound. Seeing Liuzi walk in, the eyes of the elephant became exceptionally fierce, and it casually picked up the mixer next to it, ready to head towards the door to give Liuzi a beating. However, after realizing it was Liuzi, its eyes softened again. Touching affectionately towards its chest, the elephant took out the napkin that Liuzi had used and handed it to him. The water on it hadn¡¯t dried yet, and one could faintly see the brushstrokes from Liuzi¡¯s earlier painting. ¡°You forgot this when you left, little guy. These wild wolves heard there was precious cargo here and nned to take it after seeing your painting, but we kept it safe. I don¡¯t know how you created this picture, but it¡¯s very good.¡± Liuzi wanted to say that it was just something he had casually drawn, not worth mentioning, and there was no need for them to do that. But seeing the bartender elephant¡¯s affectionate actions and the gaze of the other animals, he felt that these NPCs¡¯ actions had imbued the napkin with additional value. He carefully stored the napkin and said to the bartender elephant, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± ¡°To thank everyone, may I draw a portrait for each of you? It will be quick, just a few minutes.¡± The expression on the bartender elephant¡¯s face became especially lively at that moment. It widened its eyes, involuntarily opened its mouth, and then covered its face with arge hand, asking in disbelief, ¡°Really, I can have one?¡± ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± ¡°We get one too?¡± A bat swooped over and asked excitedly. ¡°Everyone gets one.¡±
Under the expectant eyes of a group of small animals, Liuzi hopped onto a chair, and the nearby bartender immediately obligingly brought over the paper, then let Liuzi start painting. The body-sensing gloves of the VR all-in-one machine had gone through an upgrade; now, their precision had increased by thirty percent, making it easier to perform some originally intricate movements. After a few strokes with the charcoal pencil to get the feel, Liuzi began. The key to portrait painting was not the likeness, but the urate form and spirit.
Besides, if it was just about likeness, cameras could achieve that, but he wanted to incorporate some of his own understanding and thoughts. In minutes, the elephant¡¯s portrait took shape on the paper, with just a few strokes delineating an elephant wandering through the forest, and a few swipes brought out beautiful effects of light and shadow. Carefully rolling up the drawing with its trunk, the elephant bartender pressed the painting close to its eyes and said excitedly, ¡°Oh my, this is me!¡± ¡°You can see yourself in the mirror on a regr basis,¡± a leopard added unimpressed, picking up a broken bottle from the floor and drinking the leftover liquor. ¡°You know nothing!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Liuzi, meanwhile, looked at the leopard and in a few minutes had drawn an image of the leopard running across the grass. Despite the simple lines, the leopard¡¯s movement conveyed a strong sense of power and speed, which left the leopard that saw the picture speechless for a long time. Although it had never been to the ce depicted in the painting, it felt oddly nostalgic. It felt a bit shy for being naked but also felt a sense of liberation, thinking that being unclothed wasn¡¯t so bad after all. About a dozen animals received paintings as a token of gratitude; each one marveled at their own image on the canvas, feeling that it was not them, yet it had to be them. Seeing the small animals¡¯ reactions, Liuzi felt confident that his first pot of gold shouldn¡¯t be a problem.
Chapter 248: 165: These NPCs Are Really Wild (Second Update)_2 Chapter 248: Chapter 165: These NPCs Are Really Wild (Second Update)_2 His repeated attempts at painting had allowed him to find some sense of touch, and afterward, the speed should increasingly pick up, and the quality of the paintings should also continue to improve. He had never imagined that the skill he used to feed himself could also be a moneymaker in the game, reflecting how a game with high freedom is truly splendid, offering endless ways to have fun. Upon learning that Liuzi intended to stay for a while to paint and earn money, the elephant bartender immediately offered that Liuzi could temporarily live there, waiving the room charge and providing three meals a day. Others who had obtained Liuzi¡¯s paintings also stated they could help promote his work, ensuring that he would be kept too busy to put his hands together. Some animals helped Liuzi set prices, indicating that if the quality was consistent, then a hundred faith was a suitable price. A hundred faith was the average weekly sry here, and spending a week¡¯s sry on a painting sounded crazy, but considering that nobody had painted here before, a hundred faith was an outright bargain. In fact, the residents felt that Liuzi was selling himself short. When Liuzi painted a few food pictures for advertising purposes, helping the elephant bartender by affixing them at the entrance, passing residents immediately gathered around, asking what kind of technology it was and why it had such an effect. When they learned that these were actually masterpieces by a ¡°legendary and great squirrel lord blessed by the Goddess of Art¡± themselves, the residents of Star Harbor were boiling with excitement. Although they didn¡¯t understand why the subject didn¡¯t wear clothes, it was art, definitely not dirty pictures!
They should view these dirty pictures through the lens of art, and must not think dirty thoughts! They began to queue up, and the previously moderately busy tavern thrived due to Liuzi¡¯s temporary stay, with many citizens who obtained the paintings even feeling that the tavern should be decorated. After all, this was the first stop after the arrival of a saint, and it should be renovated to match its sacred status. Sitting in his spot, Liuzi could earn a hundred faith in five minutes, then raised the price to one hundred fifty, and eventually to two hundred. After staying there for two days, working six hours a day in the game, both in the morning and in the afternoon, he easily umted over seventy thousand faith. This money was enough for him to purchase a second-hand cargo ship, hire some crew, and then happily continue trading. Satisfied with his profits, Liuzi announced his readiness to leave and head to the next trading post, and though the locals regretted his decision, they still chose to respect his choice. That evening, the elephant bartender held a grand farewell party; Liuzi had a few drinks during the event, and then returned to his spaceship to rest. But the next day, to his surprise, he found his spaceship surrounded. Spineless Hedgehogs, donned in power armor, encircled his ship with theary Governor standing outside, looking troubled. Seeing Liuzi awake, the hedgehog stepped forward and whispered apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, but I can¡¯t defy the Priest. You¡¯ve been arrested.¡± Puzzled, Liuzi looked at the Governor and asked, ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± ¡°Illegal seizure of artworks.¡± Hearing this charge, Liuzi was shocked. He was a model young man, always ying games by the rules, a universe apart from the goofballs who shouted about robbing banks as soon as they entered the game. Since arriving here, he had conscientiously brought love and joy to the residents; what did they mean by using him of illegally seizing art! Besides, every single painting was his own creation; what did they mean by seizure in the charge! Seeing Liuzi¡¯s incredulous face, the Governor said with difficulty, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I really can¡¯t do anything. I¡¯m just aary Governor, but the Priest has the backing of a True God and controls multiples; I can¡¯t oppose it.¡± ¡°Fine, you guys have guts, but next time I¡¯lle driving the Star of Destruction and sweep you all away.¡±
¡°I¡¯m truly sorry, and when youe to wipe us out, I¡¯ll tell you where the Priest¡¯s house is. As long as you wipe that out, we don¡¯t care about anything else.¡± Seeing the Governor in this state, Liuzi realized that he too was a pitiful little creature. However, being arrested was just another way to y the game, potentially involving some hidden plot line, so Liuzi could only sigh and follow the Governor to the jail. But when they got into the vehicle, he realized he wasn¡¯t being taken to jail, but to the center of Star Harbor.
There stood a pure white tower. It soared into the clouds, with colored lights stretching from the base all the way to the spire atop the clouds, making the White Tower twinkle with wonderful and mystical lights at all times. From the outside, it looked narrow, seemingly just ten meters in diameter, but it stretched up to tens of thousands of meters, making it look like a thin line reaching out to the edge of the world from afar. The entric structure indicated that the material was of extremely high quality, otherwise it could not have sustained such an oddly beautiful construction. Being taken straight there, Liuzi was escorted by the Governor onto the tower¡¯s elevator, which then ascended rapidly and reached the top in over ten seconds. Looking down from the top, the world below was covered in thick clouds, and here one could see the curvature of the, leaving Liuzi baffled as to why he had ended up in this ce. After delivering him, the Governor was taken away by someone and vanished. Before leaving, the Governor whispered, ¡°Take care of yourself, don¡¯t act rashly, I¡¯ll figure out a way to rescue you.¡± ¡°Thank you, but why are you helping me so much?¡± ¡°I really like your paintings.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± After the Governor was gone, Liuzi finally had the chance to look around and observe the structure of the ce. The room at the top was surrounded by breathtaking views, while inside it was filled with all sorts of art pieces. In the circr room, the walls were stered with various artworks from the past, but most of them were somewhat scorched, looking as if they were improperly stored.
And at the center of the room stood a white marble statue of a human woman. She was dressed in overalls, currently holding a paintbrush and gazing into the distance pensively. Although Liuzi didn¡¯t know who she was, he still felt a sense of intellect and artistry emanating from her. After staring at her for a while, Liuzi started to feel an itch in his hand. The statue of the woman seemed to possess a special magic; simply looking at her for a bit sparked his thoughts and gave him an urge to sketch her out. Normally, when seeing the opposite sex, he would feel nervous, and this was even the case in games. But for some reason, this statue was like a source of inspiration for him, making him want to paint. Just as he was searching the entire room for paper and a pen, an aged voice rang out, ¡°In the drawer on the left.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± Finding the paper and pen, Liuzi looked at the statue for a long time before he picked up the paper and pen and began to sketch seriously. Though it was just an ordinary charcoal pencil, Liuzi felt his right hand was incredibly flexible, and before long, he had detailed her features onto the paper. Before he could admire his masterpiece, the sketch was snatched from his hands. Three guards d in power armor shoved him aside, and his artwork was now held by a spineless old mouse. And this was no ordinary mouse but the very same one disguised as a Spineless Hedgehog that he encountered upon his arrival. The old mouse, showing signs of age, carefully studied Liuzi¡¯s drawing, silently appreciating it before finally nodding slightly and saying, ¡°Very good.¡±
¡°No kidding,¡± Liuzi said disdainfully. The bold attitude riled up the three guards, but the old mouse gestured for them to be quiet and then said to Liuzi, ¡°This is the Goddess of Art, our revered deity.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Liuzi said indifferently, ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with me?¡± ¡°Although She is the Goddess of Art and frequently blesses us, we have yet to fulfill Her wish and present Her with the perfect piece of art. Embarrassingly, despite the many blessings I¡¯ve received, this is the best I could do.¡± Seeing what the old mouse pulled out, Liuzi drew a sharp breath, thinking that if the mouse had attended kindergarten, he might have had better results. But the three guards didn¡¯t seem to realize how poor the item was, still speaking with faces full of admiration, ¡°As expected of the Priest.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, I know my level. Young squirrel, I only have one request, and that is¡­¡± Liuzi thought the mouse was going to ask him to stay and be a priest, but what came next was unexpected. ¡°That is to leave your brain as my tool for creating art!¡± Hearing the mouse¡¯s request, Liuzi felt the NPCs in this game were truly wild. Chapter 249: 166: Prison Break in Progress (Part 2)_1 Chapter 249: Chapter 166: Prison Break in Progress (Part 2)_1 Although he had an inkling, Liuzi still asked, ¡°Do you know about the things that happened recently?¡± ¡°You mean the attack your Squirrel Spaceshipunched on Lady Tragedy?¡± Liuzi was quite surprised as he looked at the other party, feeling that they didn¡¯t seem like someone who would know about it. After all, ¡°Space Navigator¡± and ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± shared the same worldview and even the timeline was sequentially linked, so if the other party knew, they should understand how terrifying a force the squirrels now were. Some of the races that had been beaten now suffered from squirrel PTSD, iming they weren¡¯t afraid, yet their legs were trembling and their trousers would be slightly wet. The old mouse, however, looked at the squirrel and solemnly said, ¡°I know about it, and I¡¯m very sure, this is a trial from the Gods.¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡± ¡°The Gods are invincible, this must be their arrangement. Only those who are not devout believe that the Gods can be defeated. Only we, the faithful, can see through the nature of the trial, understand the intentions of the Gods, and strengthen our faith.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Those who deal in faith are a bit problematic, especially old mice like these that want to use others¡¯ brains for art ¨C their own brains don¡¯t work properly.
The truth gets all muddled, and then they use their own logic toe up with an exnation that seems usible but is actually far from it, which rendered Liuzi even more speechless. Such individuals tend to be particrly stubborn and cling to their own theories because that¡¯s all they have left. When dealing with such individuals, don¡¯t bother trying to convince them; they are beyond help. Noticing that Liuzi had stopped speaking, the old mouse seemed convinced that Liuzi had been silenced by his arguments and appeared even more smug. Shaking the scepter in his hand, he pointed at Liuzi and said, ¡°Take him down, lock him up with that fellow from before. I need to bathe and pray, to beseech the Goddess of Art for her pity. After I have finished praying, I will turn him and that fellow into my artistic assistive robots.¡± Observing the three guards, Liuzi noticed that they were fully armed, wearing armor made of numerous chips assembled together, linked by force fields making it extremely light yet with formidable defensive capabilities. Not only that, they also had various weapons, and through the feedback from his sses, Liuzi confirmed that he could potentially defeat them one-on-one, but against three, there was only failure. Consequently, he obediently disarmed himself, was escorted into the elevator, and then taken to a certain floor in the middle, where he was locked up in a force field cage. His equipment had already been searched when he was locked up, but yer equipment was a bit different. It seemed that they didn¡¯t consider that yers had their own exclusive backpacks where items had no weight and were invisible to others. Besides being a little cramped, there were no other drawbacks. Since he still had his equipment, Liuzi was not concerned about his armaments; instead, he began to observe his surroundings. This level within the tower was all cages, even if only a circr cage with a diameter of ten meters, it was quite spacious for a hedgehog. Because of the force field, his connection with Delta was blocked, and he couldn¡¯t even call for help. The cage was divided into severalpartments, eachrge enough to amodate two hedgehogs, and thepartment he was in already had one hedgehog. The other stood idly by the window, presumably a Northeastern hedgehog by its shape, but it looked rather bare and cold with no quills. Hearing someoneing in, it immediately turned to nce at Liuzi at the door, then turned back around, staring nkly into the distance. Though feeling the other was not adept atmunication, Liuzi still asked in a friendly manner, ¡°Hello, what did you do to end up here?¡± ¡°My Priest wanted to turn me into his artistic assistive tool.¡± ¡°Your Priest?¡±
¡°Yes, I¡¯m the reincarnation of the Goddess of Art, but no one believes me.¡± Looking at the hedgehog in front of him with barely any quills, Liuzi couldn¡¯t help but think of the previous Goddess of Art and then admitted he didn¡¯t believe either. Seeing the skepticism on Liuzi¡¯s face, the Goddess of Art sighed, picked up some paper and a pen nearby, and began to draw for Liuzi. The movements were earnest and swift, focused and gentle,pleting a new piece in almost three minutes and presenting it to Liuzi.
¡°See, I guarantee there¡¯s no one in this era with artistic talent like mine.¡± Squinting for a while, Liuzi firmly said, ¡°Kindergarten level.¡± ¡°What kindergarten?¡± ¡°Kindergarten senior ss.¡± The Goddess of Art across from him instantly flew into a rage, throwing the pen at Liuzi while yelling, ¡°Then you do it!¡± Catching the pen mid-air, Liuzi stared at the Goddess of Art for a while, and then decisively replied. In the past few days, he had been drawing day and night, and his animal portrait skills had improved significantly. It took only a few minutes toplete the drawing, producing a portrait of the unclothed, quill-less Goddess of Art and presenting it before her. ¡°¡­F*ck!¡± Shaking, the Goddess of Art held the drawing, her tiny paws constantly touching the paper while she murmured, ¡°Amazing, it¡¯s so risqu¨¦! I mean it¡¯s so risqu¨¦, amazing!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡± ¡°Why does such a magnificent work exist? A lot of the previous artworks have been tainted and destroyed, and I haven¡¯t seen new art in so long. This is really incredible, why do such good things exist? Ah, the Main God was right,ing down here wasn¡¯t bad, withouting down, I wouldn¡¯t have seen something so wonderful.¡± Chapter 250: 166: Prison Break in Progress (Part 2)_2 Chapter 250: Chapter 166: Prison Break in Progress (Part 2)_2 ¡°` ncing at the Goddess of Art, who was engrossed in her painting, Liuzi became further convinced that she definitely was not the Goddess of Art. Otherwise, the dignity of this god was too low. The Goddess of Art indulged in her painting for half an hour beforeing back to her senses, then looked at Liuzi beside her and coughed awkwardly. It seemed she also realized that her behavior had been too undignified, so now she puffed out her chest and deliberately struck a noble pose, ¡°Envoy of the Outer God, you have gained my approval.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Liuzi said indifferently, then looked outside, pondering how to break out of jail. ¡°As a reward, I¡¯m willing to make you my Priest, to assist me and find out what you like.¡± ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Liuzi waved his hand to interrupt, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about whether I¡¯m willing to be your Priest, even assuming you are the Goddess of Art, what¡¯s your mission then?¡± ¡°To find something that makes you happy and then return to the Land of the Gods. When the timees, you¡¯ll be my chief Priest, and that old thing that can¡¯t even recognize its own True God can roll away.¡± ¡°You want to find a way to make me happy, and then have me assist you? And the reward you¡¯re giving me is to be your Priest?¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s the idea. You as an Envoy seem to be not very bright, do you really need to repeat that?¡± ¡°¡­Forget it, as long as you¡¯re happy.¡± Not wanting to engage with this mad hedgehog, Liuzi continued to think about the jailbreak. But while he wanted some peace, the other party didn¡¯t seem to want the same. After drooling over the painting for a long time, the spineless hedgehog carefully approached with the painting in hand and suggested, ¡°I want more, do you have any?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Where!¡± ¡°In my head.¡± ¡°Sss~ Envoy of the Outer God, your creativity is truly astonishing. So, when can you draw another one for me? I have a small request, do you think the colors here would be better if they were a bit softer?¡± ¡°¡­You don¡¯t want a portrait but a Dirty Picture, right?¡± ¡°This is art!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood for that right now, I want to leave this ce. I¡¯ve finally saved up enough startup capital, and I need to make money quickly.¡± ¡°Making money, huh¡­ I see, then you¡¯re in luck for running into an incarnation of a great god. So, I will take you out of here, and all you need to do, is to paint another picture for me.¡± Contrary to her sloppy appearance, her voice was somewhat clear and even sounded a bit cute. And after looking at her for a while, Liuzi found that the hedgehog actually had a somewhat delicate appearance, which made him wonder if he¡¯d been single for too long when even a hedgehog started to stir his heart. Painting wasn¡¯t a particrly difficult task, so Liuzi quickly drew a new picture and handed it over to her. As the Goddess of Art looked at the new painting and found that Liuzi had actually made the changes she requested, she voiced heartfelt admiration and nodded, ¡°Your work has reignited my passion for art, and I feel part of my power awakening. Leave this ce with me, Envoy of the Outer God.¡± Turning her head towards the window, she said earnestly, ¡°World, we are leaving this ce.¡± No sooner had she finished speaking than Liuzi felt the air around them grow heavier.
Looking at the Goddess of Art in front of him, Liuzi found that she seemed to be conversing with the world, those words as ifmanding the world to obey her will and fulfill her spoken words. And then, the worldplied. The next second they were outside, without any process, without any logic. The problem was, they were now thousands of meters high in the air.
Liuzi only felt his feet give way, and he involuntarily plummeted downwards, an unexpected sense of weightlessnesspelling him to scream. Meanwhile, the Goddess of Art next to him disdainfully said, ¡°Envoy, aren¡¯t you supposed to be unafraid of death?¡± ¡°Being unafraid of death and a fear of heights are two different things! Aren¡¯t you scared of dying!¡± ¡°` ¡°` ¡°As a god, this height¡­ holy shit, I¡¯ve reincarnated! What do I do if I die now? Somebody tell me!¡± ¡°How the hell would I know!¡± ¡°It¡¯s over, I¡¯m gonna die, gonna die, gonna die!¡± ¡°I knew you were a lunatic and unreliable! Delta!¡± ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± The familiar voice rang out, giving Liuzi a moment of relief, and his entire body rxed. Upon receiving Liuzi¡¯s orders, the gship and freighter at the dock were also activated. The guards in charge of surveince immediately contacted the Governor, but the Governor only replied with a few words: ¡°What are you saying, the signal is bad, I can¡¯t see.¡±
Realizing what the Governor meant, the guard immediately understood. They quickly dropped their guard, letting the two ships fly out and head toward the White Tower. Then, force fields captured the squirrel and the hedgehog, pulling them into the spaceship. Sitting in the cockpit, Liuzi let out a breath and then saw a swarm of guards from the White Tower rushing in behind him. These guards belonged to the Art Goddess Sect, it seemed that the old rat had sent them after discovering their escape. Seeing that they were beginning to charge up, Liuzi didn¡¯t have time to think and immediately said, ¡°Escape from here, the faster the better! The destination can be random, just do whatever you see fit.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± With themand given, Delta began piloting the ship in a rapid escape. It initiated jump after jump, leaving ripples in its wake ¡ª the inevitable traces of spatial leaping that also served as tracks for the guards to follow. The escaping squirrel and hedgehog were prime targets for the Priest, and if they weren¡¯t retrieved, the pursuers might as well not return either. To elude their pursuers, Delta continuously jumped the spaceship, but they couldn¡¯t shake the followers and instead allowed them to get closer and closer. Noticing that the pursuers were now close enough to attack, Delta¡¯s voice rang out mercilessly, ¡°Captain, our chances of escape are continuously decreasing, with an estimated probability now down to 6%. Unless a miracle happens, we will certainly be taken or die.¡± ¡°What happens to my faith if I die?¡± Liuzi asked.
¡°No problem at all, your faith will be saved as currency in your ount.¡± ¡°And the ship?¡± ¡°You bought insurance, so it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s no big deal, let them blow us up.¡± Seeing Liuzi issue the order so casually, the Goddess of Art became anxious. She grabbed Liuzi, screaming desperately, ¡°Don¡¯t give up so easily! What will I do if you give up? I don¡¯t even know what will happen to me when I die! I was thinking you could still try something.¡± ¡°6%, that¡¯s practically a small probability event. Let¡¯s die earlier and reincarnate sooner. I¡¯m d to have met you, the one who ims to be the Goddess of Art but is terrible at drawing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not iming! Never mind, we still have a chance, draw now, draw right now! A hundred drawings in one second, I have a method!¡± ¡°Who do you think I am? Wait, I remember there¡¯s a feature that came with thetest update of the haptic gloves¡­ Ah, found it. Hold on a second.¡± After thest update, the haptic gloves were equipped with an external scan function, allowing for rapid replication of scanned items in the game. This feature was designed to fulfill drawing functions but was perfect for their current situation. After scanning the first volume of hisic, Liuzi adjusted the settings, activated automatic drawing mode, and watched as his hands began drawing hisic in the game at an extremely fast rate. Though he couldn¡¯t achieve a hundred drawings in one second, one every ten seconds was still possible.
The text in theic was automatically tranted by the game system into the localnguage, and as soon as the Goddess of Art finished the first page, she couldn¡¯t help eximing, ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°` Chapter 251: 167 Too Artistic (Third Update)_1 Chapter 251: Chapter 167 Too Artistic (Third Update)_1 The Goddess of Art had always believed that the limit of a dirty picture was the ancient humans themselves. The highest-end art pieces were humanoid, the appearances of the gods were humanoid, and ancient humans were also humanoid. The human form was the sexiest design in the world, just assuming a human shape was enough to get the art connoisseurs collectively excited. Although called the Goddess of Art, She had almost no artistic cells, for the Far Traveler took away all attributes rted to art like ¡°creativity¡± at the conceptual level back in the day, leaving Her with nothing but the ability to appreciate art. She used to look at the surrounding gods through colored sses every day, appreciating those guys with the eye of an art connoisseur. She thought gods were the most artistic form, but today, She saw an existence that was even more artistic. ¡°Wow.¡± After spending a full minute appreciating the first page of theic, she flipped to the second page, then eximed again, ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°Stop looking!¡± Liuzi couldn¡¯t help shouting, ¡°What was that ability you used before to get us out of trouble immediately? Use it now!¡± ¡°No need, Captain,¡± Delta reminded, ¡°I have good news and bad news now, which one would you like to hear?¡± Liuzi silently looked at the ceiling, then said, ¡°The good news.¡± ¡°We got out of trouble. During the jump, for some unknown reason, we deviated from our original destination by about thirteen hundred light-years, and a mistaken ripple happened to form behind us, allowing us to escape pursuit.¡±
¡°And the bad news?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been captured by interster pirates.¡± Only then did Liuzi notice the dense green force fields around him, with arge number of ships flying pirate gs surrounding his vessel, preventing him from leaving. ¡°Bad luck, just out of the wolf¡¯s den and into the tiger¡¯sir,¡± Liuzi couldn¡¯t helpmenting. ¡°Wow.¡± The hedgehog without quills was still captivated by theic. Looking helplessly at Her, Liuzi felt that being caught by interster pirates wasn¡¯t too bad. After all, they only wanted money, not brains. Finding himself in this situation was tolerable, and a little faith might get him through. So when the interster pirates broadcast inquired his name and the goods on his ship, he straightforwardly said, ¡°Liuzi, no cargo. We just left the fifteenth ring and have no ns for the next step. I¡¯m willing to pay a ransom as long as you let us pass safely.¡± After the negotiation concluded, the interster pirates were silent for a long time before finally saying, ¡°Come here,e back with us.¡± Liuzi¡¯s brow furrowed. Interster pirates generally didn¡¯t take people back with them; they would either kill on the spot or take the money and let go. This situation likely meant they found him exceptional and wanted to take him back as a muscle man or a straw dog strategist or something of the sort. As long as he wasn¡¯t the princess consort of the raid, then everything was negotiable. Being towed into their base, Liuzi swore he would fit his ship with a self-destruct device once back, so if the situation turned sour, he would blow it up, since insurance would cover it. Sensing Liuzi¡¯s thoughts, Delta kindly reminded, ¡°Insurance only covers three times; after that, it¡¯s out of pocket.¡± ¡°¡­When did this rulee out?!¡± ¡°It was enacted after a recent update because some yers weremitting insurance fraud, going through a sequence of actions to cheat faith; the admins had no choice but to put a temporary ban on it.¡± In that moment, Liuzi thought of someone named Xiemen Waidao, feeling that only he would do such a thing. At the same time, he felt these yers were too unrestrained, opening up the option of insurance fraud and making him hesitate even to self-destruct.
If only other yers yed the game as honestly as he did, that would be great. The ship docked behind a dark zone. A dark zone was a ce where Shadows had invaded but hadn¡¯t been cleared promptly, eventually contaminating the area. Later, the Shadows were cleared, but the local stars had been extinguished, the nts and animals on thes extinct, and the zone had not recovered even now.
Such mysterious urrences of Shadows would happen asionally, even Heavenly Tao¡¯swork couldn¡¯tpletely prevent them. Since it had be a dead zone with no value, no pioneers were willing toe here, but it turned into a paradise for the interster pirates, who turned it into their base. Under the pull of the force field, Liuzi saw his ship deeply entering the dock, with specialists starting to take charge of the maintenance. These pirates seemed to have a particr fondness for red; their clothes were red, their ship¡¯s paint was red, even the interior of the base was painted red¡ªit looked somewhat stimting. The one who received Liuzi and the Goddess of Art was a burly rhinoceros, which led the two of them deeper inside and, upon pushing open a heavy metal door, said, ¡°The Leader wants to see you?¡± ¡°Leader? Your term for the boss is a bit strange,¡± Liuzi asked, puzzled. ¡°No, this title is the correct one. And don¡¯t call us pirates, please refer to us as the Freedom Alliance.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Behind the door, Liuzi saw a massive chair turned away from them, on which should sit a pr bear or an animal of simr size to match such a gigantic silhouette. The office was decorated simply and modestly, and the room yed ¡°The Pilot Song,¡± which seemed mournful and rhythmic, a favorite among squirrel pilots, and oddly fitting for the ce. Chapter 252: 167: Too Artistic (Third Update)_2 Chapter 252: Chapter 167: Too Artistic (Third Update)_2 Music was the only creative thing that the residents here still retained, which made the music exceptionally melodious, and also caused Liuzi toment that the world view setting was too detailed, to the extent that some small details all reflected the other party¡¯s diligence. Liuzi had wanted to say something, but a guard beside him gestured not to speak. They could only stand still in ce, silently appreciating ¡°The Pilot Song¡± for the third time, before the music suddenly stopped, and the huge chair in front of them was turned around by a North Pole bear. Atop the chair sat Mukuai. And in Mukuai¡¯s arms, there was a squirrel. At that moment, Mukuai was vigorously rubbing the squirrel fur, seeminglypletely indulged in the pleasure of petting the squirrel. Looking down on the squirrel and the hedgehog from high above, the squirrel on the table said: ¡°Wee, my friend, Liuzi.¡± ¡°¡­Xiemen Waidao?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Seeing your friend, shouldn¡¯t you be crying tears of joy and rush over in emotion? I didn¡¯t expect that we all entered the game in the same batch, you became a prisoner, while I am the leader of the Freedom Alliance. Just now when I found out about this, I was devastated. It took a lot of effort to control the urge to burst intoughter.¡±
Looking at Xiemen Waidao¡¯s feigned seriousness in front of him, Liuzi decided that he must buy a self-destruct device when he went back. Not for anything else, but so that next time he could blow Xiemen Waidao, this bastard, to smithereens! Knowing that the person opposite was an acquaintance, Liuzi also let down his guard and rxed. Although Xiemen Waidao kept pushing him, asking nonsense like ¡°Now that our statuses are different, what do you feel when you face me?¡± Yet the gxy was too huge; the chance of encountering another yer was extremely small, so seeing one now really felt like fate. Of course, it felt more like a cursed fate. After exchanging their experiences over this period, Liuzi also learned about Xiemen Waidao¡¯s subsequent gaming exploits. This yer, who had a penchant for bug hunting, didn¡¯t intend to y the game properly from the beginning and instead set out in search of bugs. After discovering that gue Chicken could no longer be farmed, he left the safe area and found the pirate organization known as the Freedom Alliance. Even though the boss here had repeatedly emphasized that they weren¡¯t pirates, after Xiemen Waidao had aplete understanding of the Freedom Alliance¡¯s profit model, organizational structure, and working hours, he managed to convince the original boss through well-founded arguing, meticulous logical reasoning, and listing various facts, that they were indeed pirates. The head of the pirates, who believed they were engaged in a righteous cause, was greatly shocked and then took a small broken ship to wander the seas. Before leaving, he handed over his leadership position to Xiemen Waidao. After hearing the whole process, Liuzi was rather speechless. The whole process was so absurd that it seemed almost real. Comparing their situations, Liuzi realized that while he had made over seventy thousand followers from selling paintings, the other party had simply taken over a pirate organization and begun indulging in the sustainable plundering of passing ships. But this also showed the freedom of ¡°Space Navigator¡± from another perspective; even ying as pirates wasn¡¯t restricted. This encounter made Liuzi even more curious about to what extent this game could be free. And when Xiemen Waidao found out that Liuzi was actually earning money by drawing, he curiously looked at Liuzi and asked, ¡°You can draw?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s sort of my bread and butter.¡± ¡°So that person next to you, is she looking at aic you drew?¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡±
Liuzi turned his head to see that the Goddess of Art was still looking at hisic, nearly eximing, ¡°Oh no.¡± Still, he calmly said, ¡°How could that be possible, I just happened to have thisic at hand, so I uploaded it.¡± ¡°Is that so, then why is it a sample copy? As far as I know, sample copies are usually the first editions sent by publishers to the authors, right? Are you good friends with Mr. Liu Liuzi?¡± Mr. Liu Liuzi was the pseudonym Liuzi used when creating ¡°The Beauty at the Desk Keeps Gluing Herself to Me,¡± which after all was a very popr work, and could be read on corresponding tforms domestically.
Now, Liuzi was exceptionally grateful that the VR headset did not disy expressions, allowing him to just control his tone. ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Liuzi said, feigningposure. ¡°I also really like Mr. Liu Liuzi. I heard that Mr. Liu Liuzi is an extroverted, lively, and cheerful beautiful girl, is that true?¡± ¡°¡­No, it¡¯s not.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, could you get me Mr. Liu Liuzi¡¯s autograph next time?¡± ¡°Not just one, I¡¯ll bring you ten.¡± ¡°Thanks a lot, Mr. Liu Liuzi.¡± ¡°¡­You freaking know and you still put on such an act with me!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it fun?¡± Leaning in close to Liuzi, Xiemen Waidao whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I really do like ¡®The Beautiful Girl Next Desk Keeps Sticking to Me,¡¯ so you don¡¯t have to worry about your identity being leaked. I know when you¡¯re gaming, you¡¯re afraid of people finding out you¡¯re a minor celebrity. I¡¯ll keep it a secret for you.¡± At that moment, Liuzi actually felt that Xiemen Waidao was a good person. But then, with a change of tone, he said to Liuzi, ¡°Business is business. I feel your previous artworks were quite profitable. It¡¯s just that your previous sales method was too simplistic. We could try some capital operations to sell them at a high price. Isn¡¯t this what you¡¯re best at, Mr. Liuzi?¡± Remembering his previous experience in ¡®I Am The Director,¡¯ Liuzi realized that the other party had been waiting here for him.
However, he was also very curious about how his artworks were being promoted here, so he decided to go along with Xiemen Waidao¡¯s experiment. Then, they would all make a fortune and be merry together. Other things aside, he was acknowledging Xiemen Waidao¡¯s brains. In the absence of bugs, the other party always managed toe up with some outrageous ideas and perform some cunning stunts. The Freedom Alliance was a small pirate organization, just over a thousand in number, with fifty ships, the very definition of a basic team. And this team was their first batch of guinea pigs. Before long, each pirate had received a benefit. That was an animal field guide. Seeing one animal sketch after another, the pirates gasped in amazement, then dered they¡¯d go through fire and water for their new leader, never thinking of their own lives. And Xiemen Waidao said, ¡°I don¡¯t want your bodies, I want your youth.¡± ¡°Everyone vote, then pick out your favorite images.¡± With Delta handling the vote counting, Liuzi and Xiemen Waidao discovered an astonishing consistency in the numbers. Each species would vote for their own, and while they said the artwork of other species was artistic, the most artistic were those of their own kind. ¡°This seems to involve a sense of species identity,¡± Xiemen Waidao noted when he saw the results. ¡°Although they say all under heaven is one family, when ites to artistic preferences, everyone still likes their own kind.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Liuzi agreed, nodding. ¡°That¡¯s a problem then. There are too many races in the gxy. To make a product profitable, it needs to be universally appealing. So we must find an artwork that everyone likes. That¡¯s the only way to make money.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not easy to find. Hey, how about selling yourics?¡± ¡°Although I¡¯m the original creator, I don¡¯t own the copyright all to myself. Using it formercial distribution is illegal. Plus, the copyright protection in Sakura Country is a mess; I don¡¯t want to end up in jail.¡± ¡°Hiss¡­ How about drawing doujinshi?¡± ¡°Do you think what you¡¯re saying makes any sense?¡± Just as the two were at a loss, they were interrupted by a series of disdainfulughter. Turning around, they saw a spineless hedgehog looking at them, seemingly waiting for something. Ignoring the goofball, the two continued their distressing discussion, pondering what kind of animal art could make them rich. Seeing that no one was paying attention to it, the Goddess of Art finally couldn¡¯t sit still. It ran to Liuzi¡¯s side, ced aic in front of him, pointed seriously to the male and female protagonists on it, and said, ¡°Do this kind.¡± ¡°Humanoid? But there are no humanoids in this gxy.¡± ¡°Trust me, do this.¡± Seeing the Goddess of Art so earnest, the two yers thought it over and felt it wouldn¡¯t hurt to agree. They adopted the idea casually, but the results were unexpected.
Every pirate who saw it said the thing was just too artistic! Chapter 253: 168 A Whole New Trade Method (One More Update)_1 Chapter 253: Chapter 168 A Whole New Trade Method (One More Update)_1 [Dressing is art, and so is going undressed; in any case, it¡¯s very artistic.] [I feel like I¡¯ve been purified by art and havepletely lost any worldly desires.] [I strongly suggest setting up a private bookshelf because the artworks I get are always stolen, forcing me to steal from others.] [Is this what humans look like? Are humans really this good-looking?] The feedback from the pirates was good; most of it said this thing was too artistic, while a minority suggested it could be even more artistic. Seeing these reviews, Liuzi found out that the Goddess of Art¡¯s opinions were actually effective. Dragging over the Goddess of Art who was still drooling, Liuzi asked curiously, ¡°Strange, most animals and nts here have never seen humans, some haven¡¯t even gazed directly at the gods, so why would they find the human form attractive?¡± The Goddess of Art, annoyed at being disturbed from appraising art, didn¡¯t want to offend her ¡®artwork dad¡¯ and obediently exined, ¡°Because our origins are all human. As ourmon ancestors, the human form has a fatal attraction for us.¡± ¡°Then what about Mukuai 1234? She¡¯s also human-shaped, but I haven¡¯t seen you lick her.¡± ¡°Mukuai 1234? Well¡­ that¡¯s not a human, why would I lick it.¡±
Although Mukuai 1234 had a human form, her essence was Tian Xuan¡¯s Angel Envoy; gods could see through her nature at a nce, while ordinary animals and nts would automatically ignore her existence. Then, it looked at Liuzi and said, ¡°Conversely, you Angel Envoys don¡¯t seem to feel much for the human form, which is weird.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because we¡¯re used to it. We are humans ourselves.¡± No sooner had he spoken, Liuzi saw the Goddess of Art pounce at him with drool dripping, shouting as she lunged, ¡°Let me have a look, let me have a look!¡± Right after, she was pushed back into ce by theser sword hanging from Liuzi¡¯s arm, too afraid to move. His own weapon turned out to be effective at a moment like this, making Liuzi realize that every weapon had its use, including theser sword. Moreover, he was once again sure that the creature in front of him with no spines was just crazy. Such low ssiness, yet always iming to be a god, she had to be a lunatic if not. Regarding her exnation, Liuzi felt it probably involved some basic settings and decided to jot it down for future research. Subsequently, based on the pirates¡¯ feedback, the first batch of artworks was produced. Liuzi drew the line art, then proceeded with coloring treatments; the paintings looked masterfully exquisite, also impressing Xiemen Waidao whomented, ¡°Mr. Liuzi, I thought you couldn¡¯t draw anything other than underwear?¡± ¡°¡­I know myics are a bit high on adult content, but how can you impugn my innocence from nowhere! I did that out of necessity for living.¡± Xiemen Waidao squinted at Liuzi, feeling the other was not being honest. It¡¯s obviously because you like it! The first batch of art books had started to be printed, and these were Liuzi¡¯s top-quality works, also those he preferred to create the most. These artworks weren¡¯tmercial pieces pandering to the masses but were distinctive paintings born from blending his own preferences with both Eastern and Western techniques. Seeing his creations recognized made Liuzi very happy, and he no longer felt bored. Looking at the printed works, Xiemen Waidao flipped through them for a while before saying, ¡°Now there¡¯s only one problem, how do we prevent piracy?¡± This was also what Liuzi was most worried about.
As a yer well-versed in the capitalist tricks of ¡°I Am The Director,¡± Liuzi knew that monopolizing a business was very profitable; they wanted to maximize profits by monopolizing the artworks. And as the original author of the paintings, he was even less willing to let others pirate his works. But the problem was that in the Star Age, it was very easy for works to be pirated;wless capitalists didn¡¯t care about so-called copyright, taking as much as they could. Even if they are squirrels who have beaten up gods, capitalists would still risk their necks to pirate, determined to fill their bellies.
After all, the Star Sea is so vast, by the time youe at us, we might already be dead. Furthermore, yers couldn¡¯t use the Star of Destruction right now because after the game¡¯s update, the Star of Destruction was restricted to just the Songta, temporarily unusable elsewhere. And apart from restraining the capitalists, there were even more brainless priests; even an old rat had the power to distort the truth, who knew what kind of shenanigans those sects woulde up with topete for the artworks. They kepting up with ideas such as digital anti-counterfeit and painting anti-counterfeit, but either due tock of technical capability or impracticality, these ended in failure. As the two squirrels were getting headaches, the Goddess of Art showed up again. She initially wanted to sneak off with a book of paintings to enjoy in her room, but when she found the two squirrels fretting over their treasure trove, she felt quite annoyed. Especially with Liuzi, you¡¯re supposed to be a master artist creating art, what are you doing here! Stepping forward, she asked discontentedly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you two, why aren¡¯t you working?¡± Liuzi nced at the Goddess of Art, and said helplessly, ¡°We¡¯ve run into a problem, we don¡¯t know how to prevent piracy.¡± ¡°Piracy, what¡¯s that?¡± asked the Goddess of Art cluelessly. After Liuzi¡¯s detailed exnation, the Goddess of Art finally understood the crux of the issue and had an epiphany, ¡°Ah, I thought it was something big, it¡¯s just that. Simple, hand me the book.¡± Chapter 254: 168 A Whole New Trade Method (One More Update)_2 Chapter 254: Chapter 168 A Whole New Trade Method (One More Update)_2 Taking a book from the Goddess of Art, she flipped through the pages to see the strong and seductive human figures, and giggled for a while. Suddenly, with a fierce look in her eyes, she said seriously, ¡°I dere that no thing may replicate you.¡± This statement sounded utterly bizarre, but when Liuzi looked at the book, the information prompt on his sses suddenly told him that the book could no longer be replicated. Xiemen Waidao had the same sses and saw the same message. He skeptically tried to replicate the book and was surprised to find that no matter what method he used, the content of the book could not be copied. Even attempting to manually transcribe it was impossible; all means of replicating these drawings were rendered ineffective. The specific principle was unclear. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Liuzi asked, puzzled. ¡°The power of gods.¡± The Goddess of Art proudly puffed up her chest, ¡°We gods are the embodiment of the Law, and we canmand the world to aplish things within our capacity. Although I have been reincarnated, as long as my desire to appreciate art is satisfied, then I can make slight adjustments to the world. The same principle applied to the jailbreak before.¡± ¡°I see, a reality interferer.¡± Liuzi nodded. ¡°Yeah, changing reality ording to one¡¯s thoughts, that must be it.¡± Xiemen Waidao also nodded, ¡°But judging from the performance, she must be a Rookie Level reality interferer.¡± ¡°So basically, you just won¡¯t believe that I am a god,¡± the Goddess of Art huffed in dissatisfaction.
¡°Who would believe someone who drools over art pieces every day is a god,¡± Liuzi snorted also, ¡°and a goddess at that.¡± ¡°You!¡± ¡°Cut the crap ande over here to add an anti-copying mark to these, and if you do a good job, tonight you¡¯ll be rewarded with one.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Encouraged by the promise of new drawings, the Goddess of Art quickly forgot the discrimination she had faced and began to focus on anti-counterfeiting. With the help of the Goddess of Art, the anti-counterfeiting issue was smoothly resolved. Every drawing was now anti-counterfeited, which slowed down the printing process, but it actually reduced the number of copies, further increasing the rarity of the artwork. After resolving the anti-counterfeiting issue, the next step was to sell them. Every pirate had a registered number, and just wandering near a would get them discovered, followed by arrest and a bullet straight to the head, no trial necessary. The nearby ck markets were no good either. The Freedom Alliance was just a small group, and artworks were likely to attract strong opponents. In that case, forget about making money; living through it would be a problem. Stuck on this issue for a while, Xiemen Waidao finally came up with an idea. ¡°Let¡¯s go robbing.¡± ¡°Hold on!¡± Liuzi held his head, ¡°I get your itching for a crime, but not every solution involves robbery, okay?¡± ¡°You misunderstood me. I mean, let¡¯s rob merchant ships.¡± ¡°How is that any misunderstanding!¡± ¡°Then we sell our books to them.¡± Everyone looked at Xiemen Waidao and then expressed that this was the most ludicrous idea they had ever heard. But after giving it some thought, it seemed like it could work. Merchants were capitalists, and capitalists were profit-driven. As long as we sell the artwork to them and let them know it¡¯s valuable, those merchants would be our distributors, and they too could make a hefty profit.
Furthermore, this method was quite flexible. Just target lone merchant ships for piracy, and if they want to do this kind of business again, they¡¯de directly to us. Then they could sell the artwork, thereby genuinely achieving sustainable exploitation. Liuzi, Xiemen Waidao, Mukuai 1234, and the Goddess of Art discussed for one night and finally decided on the specific details. Implementing this n wasn¡¯t too difficult. They staked out for an afternoon, and someone came right to them. Short Tail was the president of a small trading association, and it wasposed of a rabbit race.
The recent situation was veryplicated. Some previously stable trading routes had been disrupted, and the fluctuations in prices turned short-distance hauling into a losing business, so they had to try some previously untraveled routes. But upon sighting the white pirate ship, Short Tail sighed deeply, knowing that the god of wealth hadn¡¯t favored them but had instead favored the pirates across from them. Fortunately, this was just a tentative exploration. He had only brought two cargo ships with not many goods, not many crew members, and he had already made arrangements for his affairs. His thirty-seventh child was quite promising; he would make a good sessor to the president of the trading association. Looking back on his life as a rabbit, Short Tail realized that he didn¡¯t have too many regrets. Possibly the biggest regret was not having more children. 1 With a sigh, he saw a force field envelop the area. Two cargo ships were drawn by the force field into thergest pirate ship and docked inside it. Afterward, the gship¡¯s hatch was politely knocked on. The crew member at the door wanted to resist, but Short Tail stopped him. For some reason, he felt that these pirates were excessively polite, which made him think they were not mere pirates, and it also gave him a glimpse of hope for survival. He put on his captain¡¯s uniform and signaled the crew to open the door, only to see a huge pr bear appear at the entrance. Compared to the pr bear, rabbits were truly tiny. He almost chose to y dead on the spot, but his sense of honor as a captain restrained his instincts, and he greeted the other party, saying, ¡°Sir, I am¡­¡± ¡°Madam,¡± the pr bear said with dissatisfaction.
¡°Umm¡­ my apologies, madam. May I ask what brings you to us?¡± ¡°Are you the captain?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Come with me. Tell your crew not to resist; we will let you go shortly. And don¡¯t worry too much, our leader just wants to conduct some business with you.¡± Following the pr bear in silence, Short Tail began to ponder what this so-called business could be. Are we to help transport some drugs, or is it about a ransom? As Short Tail indulged in his wild spections, he arrived at a simple office and then saw therge chair. Then, the chair spun around, and Xiemen Waidao the squirrel appeared, looking down at the rabbit below him with a voice feigned to be hoarse, ¡°Wee, Sir Short Tail.¡± Short Tail bowed and took a seat in the chair pushed over by the pr bear. After sitting down, he looked at Xiemen Waidao in front of him and asked, ¡°May I know how to address you?¡± ¡°Xiemen Waidao.¡± ¡°¡­A unique name. You aren¡¯t an ordinary squirrel, but an Envoy of an Outer God, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite insightful. How did you figure that out?¡±
¡°The name is peculiar; typically, that¡¯s characteristic of an Envoy of the Outer Gods. We merchants need to be knowledgeable about many things, so these kinds of details are generally things we can find out about.¡± Xiemen Waidao looked at the rabbit opposite him with satisfaction. It¡¯s a pleasure to deal with intelligent people, and even more so if they are as greedy as they are clever. Using silence to heighten the atmosphere of the moment, Xiemen Waidao continued, ¡°My subordinates must have already told you, I want to conduct a piece of business with you.¡± ¡°Yes, please tell me, what business is it?¡± ¡°Not so fast, take a look at this first.¡± With a snap of his fingers, the pr bear handed over a beautifully wrapped painting. The world was not short of beautiful things, but the object on the cover of the painting made Short Tail catch his breath and left him speechless for a moment. Oh, Wealth God above, this thing is too artistic. The intense shock left Short Tail stunned. The emotional impact of the art hit him like a hammer, smashing onto his forehead, causing his mind to buzz. Especially after he turned to the first page, he felt as if he were facing an angel, experiencing an unprecedented wave of emotion that seemed to reveal why he had lived up to this day. Holding the painting, his face streaming with tears, he said, ¡°Oh Wealth God, is this the gift you have granted me before I die?¡± Watching his excited reaction, Liuzi said quietly from a hidden spot, ¡°Isn¡¯t his reaction a bit exaggerated?¡±
The Goddess of Art beside him nced at Liuzi with dissatisfaction and retorted, ¡°You¡¯re just a drawer, what do you know about art.¡± Liuzi looked back at the Goddess of Art, deciding to drain whatever value was left in this person and then ditch her without mercy! Such rampant insanity can¡¯t be kept. Chapter 255: 169 Im the Judge (Two more)_1 Chapter 255: Chapter 169 I¡¯m the Judge (Two more)_1 Clutching the book of artwork, Short Tail was flipping through it, utterly engrossed. Art pieces in this world were truly scarce. Most of the surviving artworks had suffered extensive damage, and their owners considered them treasures, not permitting even copies to be exchanged. But now, to be able to admire the artwork in his hands up close, Short Tail felt as though he was in a dream. The book was substantial and well-made, and holding it, one could feel its reassuring weight and the profoundness brought by the art. Upon turning the first page, he was delighted to see figures and elegant attire yfullyplementing each other, every line breathing artistry that drew him in, rendering him unable to pull away. Desiring to package it as attractively as possible to make money, although the book contained only six paintings, the craftsmanship was exquisite, exaggeratedly so to maximize profits. However, Short Tail waspletely unaware of the two yers¡¯ ulterior motives. He simply held the sacred object in his arms and excitedly asked, ¡°What does this mean, giving this to me?¡± ¡°Take it to sell, the profit we can¡­¡±
¡°Twenty-eight percent is fine! We¡¯ll take just twenty percent!¡± Xiemen Waidao originally meant to propose a fifty-fifty split, but seeing the other party self-exploit so drastically, he felt that agreeing to their terms was a good idea. To prevent Short Tail from taking the money and running, Xiemen Waidao specifically showed him some of the artworks stored in his warehouse, ensuring him they couldn¡¯t be copied. So, to make money, he¡¯d better do as he was told. He always believed in the principle of dealing with the viins before the gentlemen. It was important to rify these things with the NPC in advance to avoid any mishaps that would lead to unnecessary confrontation and trouble. After signing a contract with Short Tail, the first merchant guild took the artwork and departed. This guild would be the secret guild thatmunicated with the Freedom Alliance, granted the privilege of free entry into this Star Region, and tasked with transporting yers¡¯ goods to other areas. The next time they came back, they would bring the faith they had garnered from sales, then stock up and sell again, beginning to provide a continuous stream of wealth for Liuzi and Xiemen Waidao. Once the first sum of money was recouped, Xiemen Waidao was very satisfied. He and Liuzi split the faith equally; the two Squirrelsy on a bed with a view of the stars, sipping champagne that had no taste but set the right mood, feeling like they had turned the game into a vacation. Once they had enough money, they would recruit forces and offer amnesty to various space pirates, further advancing their art trafficking venture. Besides the two, other yers in the game were also using various methods to earn their first pot of gold. Browsing ¡°Game Inn,¡± Fang Cheng noticed that the ¡°Space Navigator¡± subsection already had many money-making strategies summarized. yers like Liuzi, who had skills and could mize through equipment, were still the minority, as most yers had their own ways of making money. The previous insurance fraud trend was one such method, which involved disassembling all cargo and ship parts, leaving only a skeleton that could fly, and then crashing it. Afterward, their ships would be restored due to insurance, but the extra parts remained, allowing them tomit insurance fraud repeatedly until an exasperated GM number two amended the insurance rules, putting an end to it. Later on, they developed the sacrificial method, which involved offering oneself to the mechanical Sect for money. However, due to the excessive number of sacrifices, the price continuously dropped until nobody wanted them, even for free. There were also other methods like ¡°Harbor Trading,¡± ¡°Biting Back,¡± etc. For the sake of quick capital, yers would go to any length, showing Fang Cheng the unfathomable depths of the yers¡¯ limits. Fortunately, he had already sent GMs number one, two, and three ahead of time.
The prestige of these three Squirrels within their own kind had risen considerably for bringing the Heavenly Lord, and they were respected by other squirrels as the ¡°Priests of the Great Heavenly Lord.¡± With the power to wield the Star of Destruction, their words carried significant weight in the vicinity, as they could physically persuade any dissenting yers or locals at any time. Plus, Fang Cheng had given them partial Immortal Spell permissions, allowing them to modify content as needed to fix ws. With the help of the three Squirrels and their backing from the Squirrel Tribe, the loopholes found by yers were being filled one by one, and the game¡¯s core gamey was bing clearer.
Although there were still some underhanded tactics in y, Fang Cheng believed that with the Squirrels¡¯ efforts, the game would only improve. Staring at the ceiling, Fang Cheng began to contemte the Dustfire of ¡°Space Navigator.¡± The golden Dustfire burned, containing some impurities, but overall, it was steadily improving. Although the situation seemed good, there was a need to remain cautious of certain yers. Such as Xiemen Waidao, Liuzi, Tang Mo, and others of their ilk. These yers were quite capable, but they indulged in all sorts of fancy tricks, leading to their own downfall. They were his challenges, and he needed to ovee each one of them to im sess in his pursuit of power. After searching through the star system, Fang Cheng found that Xiemen Waidao had already joined forces with Liuzi. Despite the vastness of the star system, the fact that these two coulde together showed that kindred foes always seemed to attract each other. Chapter 256: 169 Im the Judge (Second update)_2 Chapter 256: Chapter 169 I¡¯m the Judge (Second update)_2 But this time, things were okay, as they were still pursuing money, but the process was normal, so there should be no problem. Even with the addition of a Little Heavenly Way, that being didn¡¯t seem very smart and exhibited deep desires, which did not appear problematic. After gazing for a while, Fang Cheng withdrew his attention, feeling confident that the Dustfire could be refined further before attempting to repair the Taoist Heart. Just as he wanted to take a closer look, a voice arose from within Fang Cheng Studio, Wang Xiaoying¡¯s voice, ¡°Boss, the TV ratings are out.¡± The broadcast of ¡°Who is the Champion¡± was already more than halfway through, nearing the final stages, with the current TV ratings having stabilized at 2.1%. For a local station, this rating was almost unbelievably high. The person in charge at Rong City Satellite TV would call every now and then, inquiring about when the second season of ¡°Who is the Champion¡± would start filming, stating that they should just give the word beforehand and prime time would be arranged, avable for use anytime they wished. Money was not even mentioned; with such a good rtionship, bringing up money seemed crude. This program alone had revitalized a previously barren broadcast slot, and now the TV station was raking in advertising fees, with their annual bonuses already set at three months¡¯ worth, even though the year was not yet halfway through. Knowing the source of their profit, they were only too willing to be at the beck and call of Fang Cheng Studio, their major client, 24 hours a day.
Seeing the summary of TV ratings provided by Wang Xiaoying, Fang Cheng nodded slightly. Previously, he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to these reports. However, reading reports is also a technical task. It can show what the yers like, which could then be specifically researched to help in filling the gaps in his own Taoist Heart. Moreover, learning shouldn¡¯t be done mechanically; one must fully understand what exactly the yers enjoy, to truly grasp what ¡°fun¡± means. As Fang Cheng wasparing and contemting, a calico cat jumped onto hisp, kneaded it briefly, then curled up andfortably began to nap. This was a very ordinary calico cat, with a snowy white lower body and patches of ck and orange fur on the upper body, looking quite adorable. Xu Qingling, who was standing nearby, said softly, ¡°Sanmiao,e back~¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, let it sleep,¡± Fang Cheng said with a smile, as he gently scratched Sanmiao¡¯s chin, eliciting a series of contented purrs. Xu Qingling watched the scene with evident envy, her mind wandering to imagine what it would be like if she herself turned into a cat. Sanmiao was Xu Qingling¡¯s cat, now especially proficient in doing backflips, to the point that it could be considered a talent act. Besides backflipping, it was also particrly skilled at catching mice, killing cockroaches, and could approach mosquitoes silently, with a gentle sp of its pink paws sealing the fate of a female mosquito. It also knew how to water chives, remind Xiao Douzi to blink and use the toilet, and remind everyone to shut down theirputers when leaving¡ªit was essentially the eighth employee by now. It was Fang Cheng who had requested to have Sanmiao at the studio. Sanmiao carried a demon aura as well as spiritual energy, an intriguingbination of extraordinary substances that bnced each other, leaving just a hint that made Sanmiao somewhat different from others. After examining it, Fang Cheng realized that on Earth there were quite a few creatures with spiritual energy and demon aura, but only Sanmiao had such an abundance and bnce of both. Knowing all this, Fang Cheng couldn¡¯t help but admire Xu Qingling¡¯s luck, amazed that she could find such a creature. To observe what was going on with Sanmiao, Fang Cheng sought Xu Qingling¡¯s opinion, and the very next day, she brought Sanmiao to the studio. Xu Qingling had thought Sanmiao wouldn¡¯t like it here, but to her surprise, as soon as it arrived, it knew who the boss was and clung to Fang Cheng as if he were family, refusing to leave. Regarding this, Xu Qinglingmented, ¡°This bad cat¡­¡±
After petting Sanmiao, Fang Cheng saw that Wang Xiaoying had sent another report. And that was about the game Tianyi and Cat Mouse Entertainment¡ªthe game ¡°Magic Dynasty¡± had finally been officially released. The game underwent extensive localization and was concurrentlyunched in a VR version, but the VR tform wasn¡¯t produced by Kirin Industry, instead it was by a well-known foreign VR manufacturer called Origin Dynamics. A long with ¡°Magic Dynasty,¡± another program co-produced by Tianyi and Cat-Rat Interactive Entertainment emerged, ¡°The Dungeon Warrior.¡±
Although there were suspicions of riding the hype wave, this show¡¯s approach to activities was entirely different from ¡°Who is the Champion.¡± Each episode felt like a theatrical performance, which was very much in line with foreign broadcasters¡¯ preference for dramatization, making the audience feel like they were watching a series of small ys. However, the show also introduced some innovations, such as inviting not only well-known domestic broadcasters but also famous broadcasters from abroad. The program was broadcast not only domestically but also internationally. The program¡¯s schedule and the selection of participants showed domestic yers the sincerity of the other party, and ¡°Magic Dynasty¡± was also a very good and mature battle royale game. So, with the reputation and market quickly established, it became the first to reap the benefits of China¡¯s open market, boasting first-week sales of 1.3 million copies and an online yer count of 300,000. With this precedent, other foreign game manufacturers would quickly follow suit, and the battleground scenario that concerned some in the gaming industry was about to arrive. How to survive on this brutal battlefield would depend on their own abilities. After reading Wang Xiaoying¡¯s rted summary, Fang Cheng felt that this was also quite good. He always felt that domestic game manufacturers seemed to ce too much emphasis on themercial aspect, failing to see what made games fun, while the unenjoyable aspects were ringly obvious. The entry of foreign manufacturers would prompt them to further consider the meaning of enjoyable gaming. For domestic gamers, it was a challenge as well as an opportunity. Upon reviewing the reactions to this news, Fang Cheng saw mixed feelings within the colors of Dustfire; they were vigorous and filled with anxiety. But amid the anxiety, a new vitality was being born, one where some gamers were gearing up to meet the challenges from overseas and ready to create games that would astonish the world. ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± he said. Pleased with the nod, Fang Cheng was about to continue working when Xu Qingling said, ¡°Boss, Tianyi wants to discuss something with you. Do you have time now?¡± ¡°With me, why?¡± Fang Cheng asked, puzzled.
¡°They originally nned to hold an internal gamingpetition, but with recruitment season approaching, many graduates have been submitting their work, and there¡¯s quite a lot of it. So they decided to expand the scale of thepetition and turn it into a public gaming contest.¡± ¡°So, they want me to enter the contest?¡± Fang Cheng continued to inquire. ¡°No, they want to know if you¡¯re interested in being a judge.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Fang Cheng was even more confused. After some thought, he phoned Mr. Shen to seek his opinion. Upon receiving Fang Cheng¡¯s call, Mr. Shen listened to the full story and then said to Fang Cheng, ¡°Tianyi is making a friendly gesture.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Mr. Shen, somewhat helplessly looking at the phone, felt that while Fang Cheng was skilled at making games, hecked some social tact. But with strength on his side, social tact didn¡¯t really matter. If worst came to worst, he could just steamroll everything with a tank¡ªcrushing opposition recklessly, and if they didn¡¯t get crushed, just roll over them again. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have a bit of friction with Tianyi before?¡± ¡°When was¡­ Oh, right. I remember now. It was pretty minor.¡± Mr. Shen was at a loss for words again, and then felt a bit sorry for Tianyi.
What have you guys been reduced to? Don¡¯t you even qualify as rivals anymore? With a cough, Mr. Shen went on to say, ¡°Never mind the size of that friction, Tianyi ended up in the losing end. But now, with foreign games looming threateningly, Tianyi knows that internal strife isn¡¯t wise at this time, so they¡¯re prepared to make amends. Inviting you to be a judge is one way of doing so; if you¡¯d like to go, then go. If not, it doesn¡¯t matter¡ªeither way, you have the upper hand and can do whatever you like.¡± After thanking Mr. Shen and sending him some Spirit Grass, Fang Cheng pondered for a moment before saying to Xu Qingling, ¡°Okay, agree to their request.¡± Chapter 257: 170: Not Many Masters (Three More Updates)_1 Chapter 257: Chapter 170: Not Many Masters (Three More Updates)_1 Knowing that Fang Cheng agreed, Zhang Ping breathed a sigh of relief. He had already made ns to seek help from Mr. Shen or Huang Ping for mediation, but Fang Cheng¡¯s vision was evenrger than he had imagined, and he had actually agreed. However, Fang Cheng had another idea. Just now, on a whim, he had cast a fortune for himself and discovered a high probability that he would meet someone fated to him if he participated in thispetition. He didn¡¯t know who that talent might be, but having more Protectors was good for him. Although asionally they would stab him in the back, they could still teach him a lot and help him learn many things. Although asionally they would stab him in the back. With a sigh, Fang Cheng decided to join. It was not umon for apany to hold a gamingpetition and then invite others to participate. Gamepanies abroad even now like to use this method, where those interested in the game industry can prepare a demo version of their game in advance and submit it to majorpanies for evaluation.
Outstanding games might receive angel investment on the spot, and the more excellent ones might be acquired and be a subsidiary studio of the bigpany. Many well-known games were born through this manner, such as ¡°Defense of the Empire¡± and others. The reason Tianyi was doing this was also rted to the recent changes in the gaming environment. Some manufacturers had realized that games that once thrived on purchasing users were finding it increasingly difficult to survive in the current gamingndscape, with the cost of user acquisition growing higher and tforms that used to sell traffic even starting to develop their own games, which made it harder for reskinned and rotated-service games to survive. Games that forced yers to spend money, were boring, andcked innovation were increasinglycking vitality, while small but beautiful games full of gamey were on the rise and hit titles were emerging one after another. Tianyi¡¯s previous mobile game department had already proven that innovative minigames also had room to survive and that it was still an untapped market; it was time to further exert effort, preemptively seize the market, and secure more resources for survival. On the chosen day, Zhang Ping, the president of Tianyi¡¯s Rong City branch, made a special point toe out to greet Fang Cheng and the others. Although he had seen Fang Cheng on television before, he was still stunned when he saw him in person. This youngster¡­ was quite fearsome indeed. After introducing each other, he first apologized for many past issues and thanked Fang Cheng for gracing them with his presence to participate in theirpetition as a judge, insisting that while the invitation fee was not substantial, he should still ept it. Afterward, he saw Huang Ping among Fang Cheng¡¯s entourage. Compared tost year, Huang Ping looked much more spirited andposed. Although he was returning to his old employer, Huang Ping did not seem to feel awkward, which indicated that he had moved on from the past. But Zhang Ping had not moved on. He felt that he owed Huang Ping an apology forst year¡¯s events. If he had been more cautious at the time and paid more attention to the mental state of his studio personnel, perhaps the incident where the lead nner assaulted the producer wouldn¡¯t have happened. If that incident had not urred, perhaps Huang Ping would not have left, ¡°King¡¯s Dungeon¡± might have had room for improvement, and it would not have met a sudden end. The subsequent games that imitated ¡°Dark Builder¡± also wouldn¡¯t have crashed and burned, and the branch office wouldn¡¯t have been reduced to coborating with foreignpanies. In the end, Tianyi¡¯s Rong City branch suffered greatly, KongKong left thepany, and the situation plummeted rapidly, though it was not beyond recovery.
But who could have imagined that the departure of an employee could trigger so many chain reactions? Ultimately, it was still his previous management approach that was too rough; he definitely needed to apologize when the opportunity arose. Hesitating for a moment, Zhang Ping looked at the two people beside Fang Cheng and asked, ¡°Mr. Fang, who are these two?¡± ¡°Xiao Du, our number nner. Chen Liang, our executive nner.¡±
Xiao Du looked alright; although he was tall and thin, at first nce, he seemed dependable. But Chen Liang¡­ Isn¡¯t he the seeded yer from ¡°Who is the Champion¡±? Being both a referee and apetitor, is this really okay for you guys to do? Wait, ¡°Who is the Champion¡± is an entertainmentpetition; wouldn¡¯t such news make thepetition more popr? Could it be that Fang Cheng and his team had calcted this all along? Looking at Fang Cheng, Zhang Ping felt thetter¡¯s plotting was profound, and he grew increasingly reflective. He personally led Fang Cheng into thepany, guiding him and the others into the conference room. In the spacious conference room, various producers from Tianyi were ready to go and took turns praising Fang Cheng for his achievements at a young age. Although some of them might not even have yed Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games, they understood sales figures and knew that Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games sold well¡ªthis was sess, this was a young talent. The selection process for thispetition was simple: Tianyi wouldpile the games that had been sent in during this period, and each person would be assigned a random selection of games. These games were all anonymous to avoid being identified as works by insiders. After ying a game that they thought had potential, they could mark the highlights and submit them to a dedicated website for other yers to download for free and vote on. Having listened to what the judges needed to pay attention to, Fang Cheng felt that this suited him well.
Finding highlights required being able to recognize them; this would be a good opportunity for him to better summarize game highlights, so he had reallye to the right ce. After hearing the rules, Fang Cheng and the three nners were assigned to separate offices. Inside the office were fourputers, each installed with games from the contestants; the four could y the games together and discuss afterwards to decide whether to rmend them. After booting up hisputer, Fang Cheng started ying the first game and fell into deep thought ten minutester. ¡°Is this game too boring?¡± Fang Cheng asked first. ¡°Really boring,¡± Xiao Douzi said helplessly, ¡°like goldfish poop that¡¯s been swallowed and excreted by a goldfish over and over again, leaving onepletely uncertain about its purpose.¡± ¡°I think the character artwork is pretty good,¡± Monkey remarked. ¡°Those graphics were bought online, fifty yuan each, and so was the UI,¡± Huang Ping added. ¡°Oh, then there¡¯s nothing noteworthy.¡± The first game was thus swept into the trash. Fang Cheng had thought the first game was an outlier, but the second one was even more ridiculous. Characters yelled iprehensible lines, then hacked away at each other, screamed some more baffling lines after hacking, and looked for someone new to hack at. The whole game was just hack, hack, hack; after the hacking was over, there was nothing left to do ¡ª the game ended, leaving thempletely clueless about what they had been ying.
¡°Fun at all?¡± Fang Cheng became puzzled again. ¡°Feels worse than the first one.¡± ¡°Agreed, let¡¯s check out the next one.¡± After finishing the third game, Fang Cheng switched back to the first one resignedly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I feel like the first game actually has something salvageable. Although I can¡¯t tell what it is, the other two games are much worse inparison.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± They had arrived at Tianyi at nine, collectively yed games for three hours with resignation and then headed to the cafeteria. The morning was just wasted like that. They yed thirty games. Some were discarded just from the opening, some were reskinned, and others were garbage gamescking any yability. While eating, Fang Chengmented, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you all couldn¡¯t see where the fun is either.¡± ¡°Definitely,¡± Xiao Douzi said, munching on cafeteria beans, ¡°there aren¡¯t many experts. Actually, some games do have their highlights, but they¡¯re not bright enough.¡± ¡°Indeed. But boss, you can¡¯tpare our games with theirs,¡± Huang Ping pointed out. ¡°Is that so?¡± They hastily finished lunch and returned to the office to continue reviewing.
Although they expected to encounter further heaps of bad games, they surprisingly discovered a decent one among them. This was a music game with quite remarkable sound design. Several tracks seemed original and fittingly matched the game¡¯s setting. In the game, the character wielded a Flying Sword to battle enemies, needing to use the sword in time with the music¡¯s rhythm when enemies appeared, while the adversaries could resist and counter, which added a sense ofbat to the game. Although it was a music game, the creator had incorporated some dove-like elements, with some items even having side effects that could speed up or slow down the background music, disrupting the rhythm, but also providing additional effects. Each BGM represented a scene, with different scenes having their sub-scenes. In the end, the game offered different endings based on the yer¡¯s choices, showing a high degree ofpleteness. After carefully enjoying it for a while, Fang Cheng said, ¡°This game seems kind of interesting.¡± Xiao Douzi nodded in agreement: ¡°Right, it has the essence of ¡®Rhythm Dungeon,¡¯ but it has paved its own way. Although there aren¡¯t many items, you can see the rival¡¯s ingenuity. If nothing unexpected happens, this game should be able to make it into the top three.¡± Huang Ping also nodded, ¡°It¡¯s veryplete, probably made by someone in the industry, or it might even be a game produced by a nner inside Tianyi. Many areas show clear thoughtfulness. Moreover, the creator didn¡¯t rush to add content but perfected the existing framework, which makes the game experience very enjoyable.¡± Monkey couldn¡¯t say much, but he still expressed, ¡°It¡¯s pretty fun. If it really gets made, I¡¯d consider spending money to buy and y it.¡± Seeing everyone in agreement, Fang Cheng decided to rmend this game and summarized its highlights, then posted them on the official website for yer voting. At that moment, Qiu Yu was also monitoring the official website. He submitted his proud creation to thepetition this time and even had npose music for him, striving to make his game stand out. Although cing in the top ten was enough to win a prize, his goal was the top three, ideally first ce. Only by winning first ce could he get the chance to own his independent studio and achieve the starting point he desired. He was confident in his demo version, but he was still slightly anxious as his game had not appeared for a long time. Just as he frantically pressed F5, a familiar icon shed by, and his game finally appeared, giving him a sigh of relief. He immediately clicked open and saw thements on his game: ¡°A very decent game, the music is cleverly integrated with the gamey.¡± ¡°Quite interesting.¡± ¡°High degree ofpleteness, rmended.¡± ¡°Fun.¡± The feedback eased Qiu Yu¡¯s mind, and the subsequent download numbers and positive reviews from yers were a relief. However, just when he felt secure, another game appeared. The icon looked a bit unsophisticated, it didn¡¯t even have its own character art, and seemed tock sophistication. But when Qiu Yu clicked to see more, he realized this game was something special. Chapter 258: 171: Did the Studio Go Out of Business? (Part 1) Chapter 258: Chapter 171: Did the Studio Go Out of Business? (Part 1) The game icon featured a white background with a ck Chinese character: ¡°Letter.¡± ¡°Letter¡± was the name of the game. Although it looked simple, this website was the tform for disying entries in thepetition. Without a sufficiently impressive game, it would not be showcased here. Thepetition required a highlight, but thepletion of the game was also essential. Unless certain aspects of the game were particrly outstanding, it wouldn¡¯t be disyed on this tform. With its very simple icon, no character portraits in the game¡¯s introduction, and only a single phrase for its description¡ª¡±The World of Characters¡±¡ªit seemed as if a reserved game developer had silently submitted their game. When Qiu Yuunched the game, the screen went dark and the title appeared, with therge character for ¡°Letter¡± growing bigger and bigger. Within this massive ¡°Letter,¡± there were numerous other characters embedded, which then shattered like raindrops scattering, leaving only the character for ¡°one¡± on the screen. The visual effects disyed at the opening were quite stunning; though they consisted only of ordinary text, Qiu Yu could feel an exuberant sense of self-expressioning through. The developer, shedding their earlier aloofness, had fully showcased their vision, resulting in a powerful impact. And with that, the game truly began. Watching the flickering ¡°one,¡± Qiu Yu dragged the character and saw it replicate itself continuously through the dragging motion.
After ten ¡°ones¡± appeared, they suddenlybined into a new character, ¡°ten.¡± Witnessing this, Qiu Yu murmured, ¡°From Taoes one, from onees two, from twoes three, and from threees all things.¡± Trying different dragging methods with the previous ¡°one,¡± Qiu Yu discovered that differentbinations of movements could form various Chinese numeral characters. Yet, this was just the beginning. Breaking apart ¡°ten,¡± the original character was split into ¡°one¡± and a vertical line. The emergence of new strokes allowed him to create even more characters and further expanded the range of characters he couldbine. By mid-game, nouns had started to appear. ¡°Wood,¡± ¡°again,¡± and ¡°inch¡± could turn into a tree, which, upon being cut down, yielded ¡°leaf,¡± ¡°branch,¡± and ¡°root.¡± A slight rearrangement of ¡°leaf¡± became ¡°sun,¡± and the appearance of ¡°sun¡± filled this ck world with light, giving rise to ¡°day¡± and ¡°night.¡± As Qiu Yu continued experimenting, he found that he could create an increasing number of nouns. Although some nouns had no practical use, those that did would change their form through transformations, creating a reflective rtionship with their corresponding real-world noun. Two hourster, the entire world was brilliantly illuminated¡ªmountains and rivers, sun, moon, and stars¡ªall familiar elements from daily life were recreated in the game, leaving Qiu Yu feeling both a sense of novelty and insight. This game, n and the others definitely couldn¡¯t y it. It was a game with a strong personal touch, one that fully showcased the developer¡¯s personality. The gamey integrated seamlessly with the intrinsic meanings of the characters, resulting in a game that only nationals could truly understand. The doctrines of Taoism embedded within made sense, not forced upon the yer but revealed through thebination of characters, culminating in an indescribably mystical and fascinating atmosphere. Once most of the nouns werebined, the game was consideredplete. After finishing the game, Qiu Yu leaned back in his chair, reflecting on the experience it provided. Although parts of it were still rough around the edges, the overall conception of the game was solid, and the gamey wasplete. It was a very impressive game indeed. The developer was clearly someone who had researched gamey profoundly. If assessed on the overall game, Qiu Yu had a slight advantage, but in terms of game mechanics, the other party was probably much stronger. Afterparing, Qiu Yu realized that besides his game and the developer¡¯s game, the other entries pretty much weren¡¯t worth noting. The final first and second ce would likely be between him and the other developer. Having yed ¡°Letter,¡± Qiu Yu was inspired with some new ideas. Closing the game and opening his document, heunched his own game and began reviewing it anew.
¡°Flying Sword Questions¡± was the game he had made for this asion, but it was not the game he most wanted to create. ording to his ns, once his studio was established, he would use ¡°Flying Sword Questions¡± as his stepping stone to make a name for his studio. But the game he truly wanted to develop was another one. It was a game he had conceived during college. The gamey was fairly simple, with some elements of microtransactions, but not excessive, focusing rather on content payment. yers could obtain materials through the game or purchase resources with money.
Simple though the gamey was, it had great depth. The payment model was not heavily emphasized but was enough to maintain about 10% monthly yer retention, which suited his desire for a game that could be operated over the long term. Such a game had been unrealistic in the past because a 10% monthly retention rate was formidable, essentially marking a game as a hit¡ªa normal game¡¯s monthly retention rate was around 3% to 5%. His career n was already in ce. Now, everything was ready¡ªhe only needed the right opportunity. If he could secure a top-three position, he would be qualified to build his own team and then embark on his journey. But would things really go that smoothly? The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 259: 171: Did the Studio Go Out of Business? (Part 2) Chapter 259: Chapter 171: Did the Studio Go Out of Business? (Part 2) Qiu Yu felt a violent throbbing in his temples, always feeling a bit uneasy. And this premonition turned into reality three dayster. Competition results were released that day, but Tianyi wouldmunicate with individuals ahead of time to see the situation before making a final decision. Qiu Yu¡¯s ¡°Flying Sword Questions¡± won first ce by a narrow margin, and ¡°Letter¡± secured second ce. The third ce went to an unknownpany¡¯s internal nner, whose work was standard but showed insight in terms of numbers. The preliminary selection of thepetition was made by various producers, while the final was decided by both yers and judges, ensuring the game¡¯s authority. However, the day before the award ceremony, a real problem emerged. That afternoon, Zhang Ping specifically called Qiu Yu into his office and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to headquarters.¡± Qiu Yu looked at Zhang Ping puzzled, not knowing why the other party would make a point of telling him this. ¡°You previously cooperated on the localization of ¡®Magic Dynasty,¡¯ and then won an award in thepetition. Logically, you should be assigned to a production team. However, the headpany has suddenly called me back, those promises are likely not to be honored by the new branch president. I can only inform you in advance.¡±
Once he understood, Qiu Yu felt a tremendous sense of loss wash over him. It was like being one step away from scoring, ready to cheer, only to have the referee suddenly call offsides; you can imagine how deting that felt. Though filled with regret, Qiu Yu quickly recovered and said with a smile, ¡°No problem, is there anything else?¡± ¡°I¡¯m preparing to fire you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Before firing you, I¡¯ll raise your sry so that you can get a severance pay for half a year, which should be around one hundred and eighty thousand. I¡¯m personally prepared to provide you with some start-up capital, and KongKong has also contacted me, expressing his willingness to invest in you. Plus thepetition prize money, projectpletion bonus and such, you should have enough to open your own studio.¡± Seeing Qiu Yu about to speak, Zhang Ping gestured for him to wait, then said, ¡°A couple of days ago, I spoke with Huang Ping. His recent predicament struck a chord with me. Bigpanies offer a sense of security, but now, in these tumultuous times in the gaming industry, small studios are actually better at pivoting. You have learned enough at Tianyi these days; it¡¯s time for you to go out there and make a ssh. Also, I¡¯ve long noticed that you, young man, are full of defiance and definitely have your own ideas, am I right?¡± Thinking about his actual purpose, Qiu Yu smiled. Zhang Ping also read Qiu Yu¡¯s thoughts and waved his hand, ¡°Alright, I knew you had your own ideas. I just want to know, are you willing? If you¡¯re not, then let¡¯s forget what was said here today. If you are, I¡¯m going to give you that raise.¡± ¡°Can I go back and think about it?¡± Zhang Ping looked at Qiu Yu and said helplessly, ¡°You¡¯ve already made up your mind; what¡¯s with the suspense? Just tell me!¡± ¡°Well¡­ Thank you, Director Zhang, for your care during this time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, thank KongKong. I haven¡¯t really taken much care of you. Now, go and get ready for the handover.¡± Just as Qiu Yu was about to leave, something suddenly urred to him. He looked at Zhang Ping and asked, ¡°Director Zhang, will the runner-up go to ept the award?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I just have a feeling he won¡¯t show up.¡± ¡°Indeed, he didn¡¯t agree to it,¡± Zhang Ping said, rubbing his temples. ¡°He only left a phone number. When the call was made to inform him of the victory, he just said ¡®I know¡¯ and then hung up. Since he doesn¡¯t want to ept the award, third ce will advance to second ce, and the others will move up ordingly.¡± ¡°I see, that¡¯s too bad. Onest question, who rmended my game?¡± ¡°Just like ¡®Letter,¡¯ it was rmended by Fang Cheng Studio. They indeed have good taste; the games they rmend always have bright spots. It¡¯s true that an excellent team has good vision.¡±
¡°Indeed.¡± Zhang Ping was incredibly quick: no sooner had he raised Qiu Yu¡¯s sry than he fired him. With six months¡¯ sry due on the next payday, along with one hundred and eighty thousand in severance pay and Qiu Yu¡¯s previous savings, he should be able to produce the demo. The news of Qiu Yu¡¯s dismissal was unbelievable to his colleagues.
After all, his ideas were always viable; the small games he handled were popr, and it was hard to imagine someone as talented as him being fired. Besides him, several other nners with active minds and aspirations had also been dismissed one by one. The specifics were unclear, but everyone was guessing whether they had offended Zhang Ping, resulting in this fate. Consequently, Zhang Ping¡¯s reputation began to decline, but he, who was about to transfer to headquarters, did not care. Carrying his luggage, Qiu Yu left Tianyi. For the first time since joining Tianyi, he was leaving work at five in the afternoon, and the sunlight outside took a moment to get used to. Suddenly, his phone rang; it was n. After answering the call, Qiu Yu heard n speak in broken Chinese, ¡°You resigned?¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± ¡°But you¡­¡± ¡°It does seem a bit off to resign right after a victory, but this is the path I¡¯ve chosen. Don¡¯t worry about it. As for you, when do you n to head back to Gaul?¡± ¡°¡­We¡¯ll see what happens.¡± Qiu Yu turned her head, puzzled, and saw that the handsome blond n was squatting not far behind her.
Upon seeing Qiu Yu turn around, he lifted the shopping bag in his hand and said to her, ¡°I bought some liquor. Tonight, we drink until we drop, celebrating the first step towards your dream.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to work tomorrow?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve wrapped up work for the time being and taken annual leave. Everyone else has gone back to be with their spouses, but I¡¯m free, so I thought I¡¯d keep youpany.¡± Qiu Yu took a step back, ¡°You¡¯re not¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not British!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± Qiu Yu replied. Feeling relieved, Qiu Yu joined n and then saw several people emerging from the building opposite. The young man leading them was very eye-catching, making n look quite ordinary byparison. Upon seeing the man, n eximed in surprise and then asked, ¡°That person¡­ must be Fang Cheng, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Should we go say hello?¡± ¡°No need. We¡¯re strangers.¡± Qiu Yu turned to leave, but as she brushed past Fang Cheng, he suddenly stopped, looked at her, and asked, ¡°Are you Qiu Yu, the author of ¡®Flying Sword Questions¡¯?¡±
Qiu Yu¡¯s steps came to an abrupt halt. Her heart raced, but she feignedposure and replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Fang Cheng from Fang Cheng Studio. I really like your game; it has great gamey.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee, goodbye.¡± After saying this, Fang Cheng left without lingering. He wasn¡¯t harboring any significant thoughts; he had just happened to see Qiu Yu and wanted to share his impressions. Meanwhile, Qiu Yu also turned and continued on her way. She then heard n beside her say, ¡°I thought you would take the initiative to rmend yourself and try to join Fang Cheng Studio.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. I don¡¯t have that in mind.¡± ¡°Hey, but I thought you really liked their games?¡± Qiu Yu smiled rxedly, ¡°Yes, which is why I¡¯d rather be a goodpetitor.¡± Looking at Qiu Yu, n didn¡¯t quite understand her mindset but decided to respect her decision anyway. Raising the alcohol and ingredients in his hands, he said excitedly, ¡°Forget about everything else; let¡¯s enjoy a good meal together. Tonight, I¡¯ll show you what authentic Gaul cuisine is all about.¡±
Before eating, Qiu Yu mentioned that she was looking forward to it. However, after eating, Qiu Yu suggested, ¡°Next time, just make me some inauthentic dishes.¡± Who said Gaulish cuisine was tasty! As Qiu Yu strode ambitiously toward her dream, there were others who mustered courage for their dreams and survival, bringing their resumes and works to the entrance of Fang Cheng Studio. After taking several deep breaths standing at the foot of Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s building, and another deep one, she then slowly made her way into the building to head up to the third floor. Muttering to herself as she walked, ¡°Lin Nan, it¡¯s okay, you can do this. Your work has already proved to be second best, you can get this job.¡± Continuously boosting her own morale, she eventually overcame the urge to run away and stepped onto the final staircase. Then she saw that thepany¡¯s door was firmly closed, no one was inside, and a tricolor cat lifted its head, watching vigntly. After staring at the tricolor cat for a while, Lin Nan lowered her head and typed into her phone¡¯s search bar, ¡°Has Fang Cheng Studio gone out of business?¡± After all, how could a gamepany possibly finish work before nine o¡¯clock? Chapter 260: 172 Hes Here for Charity, Right? (Second Update)_1 Chapter 260: Chapter 172 He¡¯s Here for Charity, Right? (Second Update)_1 The next day, Huang Ping was the first to arrive at the studio. Ever since Sanmiao started treating the studio as its home, Fang Cheng Studio had installed an electronic lock, and since then, they just had to let Sanmiao take care of opening and closing the studio each day. When Huang Ping first saw Sanmiao, he even doubted if it was secretly a border collie because the little cat was too clever. It strictly adhered to the office hours, dutifully opening and closing the doors every day, making sure that nobody worked overtime. It kept an eye on everyone¡¯s water consumption, and if it noticed someone was too absorbed in work to remember to drink water, the cat would jump in front of their screen and stare at them motionlessly until they got up to drink. Quitting time was even more terrifying. If you didn¡¯t want to leave when time was up, the kitty would start fiddling with the power button of yourputer, causing a panic with each poke until you saved your work and shut down. With Sanmiao¡¯s addition, Xu Qingling¡¯s workload had dropped again, now everyday was bing more rxed. Arriving just in time at the studio, Huang Ping saw someone curled up at the door. He had thought it might be Boss Gao from downstairsing up for a visit, but as he got closer, Huang Ping realized it was actually a girl he had never seen before. Her short hair was messy, her clothes seemed rather unfashionable, but her features were delicate and pretty, the kind that would look quite nice with a bit of grooming.
She was dozing against the wall, covered with a thin nket that appeared to belong to Sanmiao. Huang Ping didn¡¯t approach rashly but instead took out his phone ready to call the police. Then he saw the door open and Sanmiao elegantlye out, nipping at Huang Ping¡¯s trouser leg to indicate everything was fine. Pointing to the girl who was still sound asleep, Huang Ping asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s she here for?¡± Sanmiao dove under the girl¡¯s nket and soon came out with a resume in its mouth. ¡°Oh, here for an interview, from Wulong Technology¡­¡± Wulong Technology was a gamepany that even Tianyi felt inferior to. Huang Ping had had the privilege of meeting its leader. He was said to have started in the coal business, with both Panlong and Wolong residing within him, very ostentatious. He was also notoriously unreliable, never signing contracts upon starting work: they¡¯d only sign once the game development team made a profit. Thepany began with browser games, and at its peak employed seven hundred people. They were hiring new staff virtually every day, and just as many people were let go daily. Thepany had nearly a hundred studios under its name. Whenever a browser game became popr, they would ruthlessly clone and reskin it. If it seeded, they¡¯d continue skinning; if it failed, they¡¯d find another game to copy. The average employee tenure was less than six months; anyone whosted a year was considered a veteran, eligible to lead their own project. The girl in front of them, named Lin Nan, had stayed there for a full three years. She had been working at Wolong since she graduated from college, had gone through all the major job types rted to game nning, and her most recent positions, which hadsted for a good year, were copy nning and level design. But what surprised Huang Ping the most was her unique experience. [Independentlypleted the game ¡°Letter,¡± which won second ce in the Tianyi Game Contest.] ¡°The author of ¡®Letter¡¯¡­¡± Seeing this item, Huang Ping became interested in her. The erstwhile delicate Lin Nan now seemed to be glowing brightly. It wasn¡¯t long before Fang Cheng and Xu Qingling arrived. Seeing the person at the door, Xu Qingling curiously asked, ¡°Boss Gao? Why would he be here?¡±
¡°Miss Xu, we came up together in the elevator,¡± Gao Tianyun followed up, somewhat reluctantly. ¡°Oh, then why are you here?¡± ¡°We had such a nice chat, I came up by mistake. I¡¯ll go down now. Let¡¯s have dinner together sometime.¡± After seeing off Gao Tianyun, Xu Qingling looked at Lin Nan, who was still deep in sleep, and asked, ¡°Who is she?¡±
¡°The author of ¡®Letter,¡¯ here for an interview,¡± Huang Ping answered. ¡°I see, let¡¯s bring her inside then.¡± Tucking her in with the nket, Xu Qingling crouched down, then with a graceful movement, effortlessly picked her up. The held Lin Nan continued to sleep soundly, and was thus carried into the bed in the break room. All she did in the meantime was roll over and then resume sleeping. She only woke up due to hunger at noon, and upon seeing the time on her phone, she let out a scream. In a rush, she stood and ran towards the door, only to hit it and nearly burst into tears from the pain. Clutching her head, she staggered out of the break room, and, carelessly, directly fell onto the floor. By the time she struggled to stand up, she realized that everyone in the office was looking at her with grave expressions. At that moment, Lin Nan knew what it was to wish for death. She covered her face, hating how robust she was for not fainting from those two collisions. When she was eventually led into the conference room, her face covered with an ice pack, she looked entirely gloomy. Across from her, after reading her resume, Fang Cheng asked, ¡°Miss Lin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±
¡°There¡¯s no need to start off with an apology.¡± ¡°I¡¯m extremely sorry¡­¡± Seeing Lin Nan already ming herself, Fang Cheng shook his head, ready to switch the topic. ¡°Miss Lin, did you create the game ¡®Letter¡¯ all by yourself?¡± When Fang Cheng brought up her proud achievement, Lin Nan finally perked up a bit, lifting her head excitedly to say, ¡°Yes. ¡®Letter¡¯ was an idea I had back in university. Later, when I saw that Tianyi was conducting a game contest, I took it out and refined it a bit. I majored in literature in college, and at the time, I was contemting how tobine words with games, and the result was ¡®Letter.''¡± Chapter 261: 172 Hes Here for Charity, Right? (Second Update)_2 Chapter 261: Chapter 172 He¡¯s Here for Charity, Right? (Second Update)_2 Afterwards, Lin Nan danced and gestured with her hands and feet as she went on and on about her design philosophy, speaking for more than ten minutes before stopping. As she spoke, she was like an orator on stage, with words pouring out like an endless river. But when she started to drink water after speaking, she felt so embarrassed that she almost wished she could dig a hole for herself to escape through. She had been somewhat socially anxious since childhood and was also unlucky, with a naturallyrge frame. As a child, her height earned her a spot on the volleyball team, only to be kicked off due to her cluelessness. Not skilled at dressing up and always a step slow with her reactions, she only got into the literature college after taking the college entrance examination twice. After graduating, she was often scolded by the head nner and called ¡°useless¡± and ¡°trash.¡± The only highlight of her life was the second ce in ¡°Letter¡± before this, which, although not an official award, gave her the courage to apply for a job at the studio she admired. But, she had messed it all up! She intended to sit and rest for a while, but unexpectedly fell asleep and woke up in a strange room. Aftering out, she even publicly demonstrated how to fall t on the ground, now she was almost too ashamed to face anyone. Just now she had gone on and on for more than ten minutes about her own game. During the interview, she had hit every possible pitfall, and she thought her impression on the interviewer must have hit rock bottom.
Then, she saw Fang Cheng hand her the resume and he said, ¡°When can you start?¡± ¡°Thank you boss, may the boss prosper, goodbye boss.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± After watching Lin Nan for a while, Fang Cheng said with regret, ¡°You don¡¯t want toe? Well, that¡¯s okay then¡­¡± ¡°Boss, I misspoke, I actually really want the job. A sry of four thousand is enough, I¡¯m easy to manage.¡± ¡°Our studio doesn¡¯t offer such low sries.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll manage!¡± ¡°You won¡¯t. Xu Qingling, please exin our studio¡¯s system to Miss Lin.¡± As Xu Qingling exined the studio¡¯s policies and regtions, Lin Nan¡¯s mouth never closed. Especially after hearing that the starting sry was thirty-six thousand, she waspletely dumbfounded. She trembled as she looked at Xu Qingling and couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Really? This isn¡¯t a scam, and you¡¯re not going to send me to some small southeastern country six monthster?¡± ¡°Your reaction is so familiar. Wait, there¡¯s something wrong with this sry.¡± ¡°I knew it.¡± Just as Lin Nan breathed a sigh of relief, she heard Xu Qingling call out, ¡°Boss, it seems we forgot to adjust the sry.¡± ¡°Oh, then let¡¯s increase it a bit,¡± Fang Cheng replied. ¡°50% okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± After an efficientmunication, Xu Qingling announced in the group chat, then with a smile said to Lin Nan, ¡°Now it¡¯s fifty-four thousand, after-tax, and the year-end bonus at the end of the year is no less than half a year¡¯s sry. There¡¯s also project profit-sharing and other bonuses. Take a look, this is the contract. If you have no objections, go ahead and sign it.¡±
Lin Nan took the contract, not clearly reading a single character on it, her mind was filled with the fifty-four thousand monthly sry. With this money, wasn¡¯t she going to get struck by lightning? About to sign her name with trembling hands, she dered she could start work tomorrow, then wobbled as she prepared to leave. Before she left, however, she saw Fang Cheng check his watch and then announce, ¡°We have a new employee, it¡¯s a good time for some team building. Everyone, finish up what you¡¯re doing and get ready to go.¡±
A wailing filled the studio; Monkey was reluctant to get up, but seeing Sanmiao approaching his power supply, he quickly saved his document and got ready to leave. Lin Nan hadn¡¯t yet reacted when she was pulled into the buffet restaurant in the mall next door and ate a buffet she never dared to try before. After eating, she expected everyone would go back to work, but Fang Cheng dered the day over, and the group said goodbye and naturally went their separate ways, leaving her standing there, dumbstruck. It was three in the afternoon, the sky was still bright, and unexpectedly clear, with white clouds drifting above. She feared this might be some kind of test, but after returning to the studio and finding it really was empty, she confirmed it was true. A gamingpany that didn¡¯t go back to work overtime after team building indeed existed! She sat downstairs for a while, originally nning to take the bus home, but suddenly she didn¡¯t want to anymore. The spring breeze was still a bit cold, yet she felt incredibly warm. Whether it was from getting enough sleep or some other reason, her spirits were high, and her mood surprisingly buoyant. She bought a bottle of liquor from a convenience store by the roadside and walked while drinking, gradually getting a little tipsy. The journey home was a bit long, but she didn¡¯t care anymore. Gazing at the horizon, she felt like she was the wind, the clouds, the sunshine, the sea, the indestructible bronze peas, the impurities that couldn¡¯t be cleared away. She didn¡¯t know how long she had walked, only seeing the surroundings gradually darken. The streetlights began to light up, and the noise around her grew louder. The boisterous chatter from the roadside hotpot restaurants mingled with the scent of the food hit her, reminding her that she was still in the world of the living.
At that moment, her phone rang. The callbeled ¡°Head nner¡± vibrated like a death knell. In the past, Lin Nan would shudder at the sight of the caller. But today, she felt nothing at all, only calm. Even though the speakerphone wasn¡¯t on, the roaring from the other end was deafening, startling a passerby. ¡°You useless piece of trash, where did you go!¡± Frowning, Lin Nan calmly said, ¡°I¡¯ve taken a leave of absence.¡± ¡°Did I approve it! Get back here, we¡¯re releasing a patch tomorrow!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taken a leave of absence.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®you¡¯? When I tell you toe back, you roll back here! Everyone is waiting for you, do you have any conscience!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taken a leave of absence.¡± ¡°Did I approve it! Are you sick today! Is that the only thing you can say?¡± ¡°¡­Head nner, when can I sign the contract?¡±
¡°You want to sign a contract? Dream on!¡± ¡°Since I haven¡¯t signed a contract, then I¡¯m no longer an employee of Wolong, So you¡¯d better be polite! You stinking, bloated pig!¡± ¡°You!¡± ¡°Stop with the ¡®you, you, you¡¯! I have a name! I quit! Just throw away my things; there¡¯s nothing of value anyway.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± The other end tried to suppress Lin Nan as usual, but her resolute tone made the Head nner uneasy, and the voice softened. ¡°Lin Nan, I know my attitude just now wasn¡¯t very good, but you know I mean well¡­¡± ¡°Shut up, fat pig!¡± ¡°You¡­ okay, okay, I apologize for what happened before, but you can¡¯t just walk away like this. You¡¯re in charge of the copywriting, systems, UI, and code, and the game is going live tomorrow, it¡¯s about to make money. If you leave now, isn¡¯t it all for nothing?¡± ¡°So, that¡¯s why you pay me six thousand a month? Even the new grads earn more! I may be easy-going, but I¡¯m not stupid, okay! Does being honest mean I deserve to be bullied?¡± After taking a swig of alcohol, Lin Nan exhaled deeply and said fiercely, ¡°Screw it, I quit! Consider thest ten days of my sry as your coffin fund; find yourself a ce to be buried!¡± Having said that, Lin Nan hung up the phone with a vengeance, then blocked the number, feeling utterly exhrated. She should have done this a long time ago!
The next day, Wolong announced that the release of a much-awaited web game was dyed because the Head nner could not contact a key person in charge. The game was halted for this bizarre reason and eventually fizzled out. But Lin Nan didn¡¯t care anymore. That morning, for the first time, she woke up before the rm clock went off, washed up full of anticipation, and got ready for work, then received a call from Xu Qingling. Hearing the ringtone, Lin Nan nervously picked up the phone and whispered, ¡°Qingling, what¡¯s up? Is there a problem with my contract? I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s all my fault.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t apologize for everything¡­ it¡¯s like this, I forgot to tell you yesterday, we¡¯re off for today and tomorrow after the team-building, and then it¡¯s the weekend, so juste to the studio next Monday. Also, do you live far away? Are you nning to move closer to thepany or nning to buy a car?¡± Lin Nan paused for a moment, then said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t have a driver¡¯s license.¡± ¡°Would you like to take paid leave and then get your driver¡¯s license?¡± ¡°¡­No need, I¡¯ll learn over the weekend.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll note it down for you, and the studio will cover the driving school fees, and count it as overtime, too. All right, see you next Monday.¡± After hanging up, Lin Nan pinched her face hard. It hurt. Her boss couldn¡¯t possibly be in charity work, could she? Chapter 262: 173 Lurking Shadows (Part 3 of 3)_1 Chapter 262: Chapter 173 Lurking Shadows (Part 3 of 3)_1 As Lin Nan tossed and turned in bed, pondering what merits had allowed him to join such an extraordinary studio, Fang Cheng had already taken advantage of the break to re-enter the world where Heavenly Taowork existed. The world of the Heavenly Taowork had already amodated millions of yers, who either obeyedws ormitted various misdeeds; overall, they yed with great abandon. Millions online was indicative of a hit game, but in the context of this world, it was a rtively small number. There were over a hundred thousand species within the Heavenly Taowork, with each species having at least one to their name. The smallest poptions numbered in the tens of thousands, while thergest reached hundreds of billions; to them, a million yers were not a significant amount. As such, as long as these yers didn¡¯t get their hands on the Star of Destruction, Fang Cheng wasn¡¯t worried about them causing too much trouble. The game would continue as previously nned. Seeing their happy faces as they made money, Fang Cheng felt there was no need for immediate concern, but still, he needed to keep an eye on these troublemakers and make adjustments to the ns as necessary. Besides, there was another matter that needed attention. That was the awakening of the Squirrel King. This esteemed king had been taken away by Lady Tragedy, who intended to turn his story into a tragedy, yet it seemed he had be a tragedy himself first. One can only say that heavenly retribution is impartial, not even sparing Little Heavenly Way.
After awakening, the king, having understood the causes and effects, immediately initiated a nationwide referendum, making the worship of the Great Heavenly Lord the squirrels¡¯ top priority; they had to ensure they served the Great Heavenly Lord to His satisfaction. To this, Fang Cheng was indifferent. At his level, karma was irrelevant, faith was of little consequence; he could take offerings when they came and dispose of them when no longer desired. In more casual terms, whether you worship or not is your business; whether I respond or not is mine. Although he made it clear that he did not need the offerings and that they could keep them for themselves, it seemed the Squirrel King had misunderstood. The Outer God says he doesn¡¯t want it, so it must be because it¡¯s too little! And then, the hamsters from the neighboring were brought over. When they heard there was a chance to worship an Outer God, and a powerful one at that, the Hamster King ran so fast to Songta from his own without even remembering to put on his pants. After seeing Fang Cheng, he sighed in admiration of the true form of an Outer God, resisting none of his charm. He went back and rallied his subjects to start worshipping the Great Heavenly Lord. Finding the Great Heavenly Lord still seemed unsatisfied, the hamsters immediately dered that the field mice were their close kin. ¡°Great Heavenly Lord, please wait, we¡¯ll immediately call them over to worship you together,¡± they said. Fang Cheng was left somewhat speechless by this group, eager to worship any Outer God they could find. However, when all the species of the seventeenth circuit began to worship him and a vast amount of faith started to converge, Fang Cheng began to feel an itch in his hands again. The Heavenly Taowork was an interesting creation. Although not powerful by itself, multiple Little Heavenly Ways interconnected without merging was intriguing in itself. To thiswork, faith worked like fuel, keeping it running and, over time, offered a glimpse into the profound mysteries of the greater ways, an amusing experience to perceive. Sensing the ripples in his Sea of Consciousness, Fang Cheng didn¡¯t want to miss this rare opportunity to experience something ¡°interesting,¡± so he harnessed the faith to start delving into thework of Heavenly Tao. Beyond him, others from the studio had also entered this game, ready to seriously study it. Lin Nan was one of them. Even though Xu Qingling told her she could do anything she wanted as long as she didn¡¯t work overtime, Lin Nan couldn¡¯t resist the guilt within. She eventually came here, intent on fully experiencing ¡°Space Navigator¡± to better understand her boss¡¯s vision and create superior games. Her in-game ID was ¡°Munan Hua,¡± and to better experience the game, she painfully found a VR experience hall and purchased an all-day pass. However, once inside, she felt the money was well spent.
This game truly needed to be yed with VR to enjoy it to the fullest! Her first encounter with a Fang Cheng Studio game was ¡°I Am The Director,¡± where the capitalist gamey made her cry, also making her realize she might just be the kindling in the capitalist ystyle, discarded once used up. Some people immersed themselves as capitalists in the game, and she saw herself as the early kindling. Every time she yed that game, she cried, remembering herself exploited by 007, the me with no hope in sight, the me taking money from beggars while worrying about a boss¡¯s heart.
So, when Evildoer appeared, she joined without hesitation. When Angels came into y, she transformed into an angel and began giving wild raises to employees. Thanks to that game, she soon underwent a psychological revolution. She swiftly resurrected the game project from her university years for remodeling and submission, realizing her own strength, and promptly aimed to join Fang Cheng Workshop ¨C and to her surprise, she seeded. Moreover, she had thought that such a good boss could only exist in a game. To her astonishment, the boss in reality seemed even better, making her marvel that sometimes, fairy tales really aren¡¯t just lies. Lost in her daydreams on thending pad, Munan Hua, the squirrel, suddenly received a message from a friend on her friends list. Chapter 263 - 173 Lurking Shadows (Part 3 of 3)_2 Chapter 263: Chapter 173 Lurking Shadows (Part 3 of 3)_2 Qingling: ¡°Munan Hua, once you¡¯re online, let¡¯s meet under the statue on Songta.¡± Arriving at Songta with trepidation, Lin Nan saw a squirrel waiting for her under the statue of the Great Heavenly Lord. Facing her senior, Lin Nan was nervous. The other person was pretty, dressed fashionably, and had an outgoing and cheerful personality,pletely different from herself. She didn¡¯t know why the other person would invite her to y games together. Could it be out of pity for her? With various not-so-good thoughts in her head, Lin Nan approached Xu Qingling and said stiffly, ¡°Sister Qingling¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we about the same age?¡± Xu Qingling asked, puzzled. ¡°At work, female seniors must be called ¡®sister,¡¯ and male seniors ¡®brother.¡¯ Otherwise, you get punished with push-ups.¡± ¡°What kind of bizarre corporate culture is that?¡± Xu Qingling asked in surprise. ¡°Was yourstpany in gaming or in pyramid schemes?¡± ¡°Our boss used to be involved in pyramid schemes¡­¡± ¡°Oh, okay. Rx though, Fang Cheng Studio doesn¡¯t have so many rules and regtions.¡± After a moment of silence, Xu Qingling suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking you to y games during the break.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I also want to understand ¡®Space Navigator.¡¯ But Sister Qingling¡­ Qingling, you don¡¯t seem like the type who enjoys ying games.¡± ¡°Well, I prefer ying romance simtion games. I can y these money-earning ones, but I don¡¯t really enjoy them.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve yed a bit too much of the real thing.¡± Lin Nan looked at Xu Qingling in surprise and then came to realize that this HR person was not simple either. And Xu Qingling continued, ¡°But look, I¡¯m in the gaming industry after all, and it doesn¡¯t sound great if I don¡¯t even y our own games. So I want to y more of our own games to understand the boss better.¡± ¡°I see.¡± After hearing Xu Qingling¡¯s exnation, Lin Nan gained a new respect for her. She knew that HR people she was familiar with were definitely not like Xu Qingling, willing to consider thepany boss¡¯s perspective. On the surface, they ttered the boss, but behind his back, they wished they could desecrate his ancestors¡¯ graves. Their time was entirely spent undercutting each other. ying games could get one reported for shirking duties, and they certainly wouldn¡¯t think like Xu Qingling did. So she nodded slightly and then said earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you get to know this game well.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± That single ¡®thank you¡¯ almost melted Lin Nan¡¯s heart. Such a cute HR sister sure made one happy. But it seemed she could easily pick her up and carry her to the rest area¡­ Was she always hanging out at the gym¡­? Putting that thought aside for the moment, they immediately sprang into action. After iming the newbie rewards, they first headed to the sixteenth loop¡¯s trade center to sell off the gue Chicken on their ship. However, when they asked for the price, the manager of the trade center said regretfully, ¡°Sorry, there¡¯s been an oversupply of gue Chicken recently; we can only offer this price. But if you don¡¯t go through official listings and trade privately instead, I can give you a better offer.¡± Seeing the offered price, Lin Nan formted a n in her mind and then realized their starting funds would be a bit tight, but not unmanageable. She had already gone through the Game Inn¡¯s materials and her sensitivity to gamey allowed her toe up with a set of rather good strategies. The money would be enough for now. Just as she was about to agree, Xu Qingling was already tilting her head, staring at the trade officer in front of her. yers¡¯ squirrel avatars could express themselves through pre-set faces, and Xu Qingling¡¯s default expression was a smile, but her eyes held not a trace of mirth. Looking at the trader before her, Xu Qingling asked with a smile, ¡°Why lie?¡± ¡°¡­What do you mean!¡± the trader suddenly became agitated, ¡°What reason do you have to say I¡¯m lying? What are your intentions in using an innocent and cute sheep right from the start? What on earth are you trying to do!¡± ¡°Why get angry?¡± ¡°Anyone would get angry if they were used! So what exactly are you trying to say!¡± ¡°Then why did you lie? What do you think would happen if I were to report a lying trader? Delta, y back the recording I made just now.¡± ¡°Wait a second!¡± The sheep-like trader stared fixatedly at Xu Qingling and then spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ll take your goods at four times the standard price. Also, don¡¯t go through the normal listing processes, use a private channel.¡± ¡°We Angels are immortal, do you understand that?¡± Xu Qingling continued to ask with a smile. ¡°¡­I understand.¡± ¡°So, if you try any tricks, I assure you that I will use our immortal nature to hound you incessantly, and I guarantee that it will be done in a civilized and legal manner, making your life a living hell. Do you understand?¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Good, thank you for your understanding. Please check the merchandise.¡± After apanying the sheep onto the cargo ship, Xu Qingling turned to Lin Nan and asked, ¡°What do you think? My negotiating skills aren¡¯t bad, right?¡± Lin Nan¡¯s mouth agape, it took him a moment to respond, ¡°How did you know it was lying?¡± ¡°Something felt off; it seemed a bit too keen on making a private deal. An excessive enthusiasm usually indicates a seller¡¯s market, which means that the prices should be higher, not shed in half like this. So, I tried to bluff it, and it worked.¡± Looking at the seemingly harmless Xu Qingling, Lin Nan vowed never to mess with this sister. With the initial funds settled, Lin Nan was about to bid Xu Qingling farewell when he saw her nodding her head, then saying, ¡°Wang Xiaoying and Tian Xuan areing too, and a certain UP host named Pingping also wants to join. Do you want to y together?¡± ¡°Um¡­ you don¡¯t need to ask for my opinion, just agree directly.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do. I invited you to y, so naturally, I need to ask for your opinion first. After all, you seem a bit shy, but I think it¡¯s good to interact with colleagues. Of course, it¡¯s up to you.¡± Watching Xu Qingling earnestly consider his feelings, Lin Nan felt that if he were a boy, he would definitely start chasing her right now. Even if it¡¯s out of reach, he would still chase! Although still somewhat scared, Lin Nan decided to give it a try. After all, if he didn¡¯t try now, he would have to try at the studioter anyway, so it would be better to get to know each other in the game first to avoid awkwardnesster. After agreeing, the other three yers arrived quickly. Although Pingping wasn¡¯t a part of Fang Cheng Studio, she had some connection with Wang Xiaoying and interacted with her asionally, which was a method Wang Xiaoying used to keep her ount active. Their personal rtionship was also good; both liked games with a high degree of freedom and would sometimes team up. As for Tian Xuan, she wanted to get to know the Little Heavenly Way here. Having never encountered Little Heavenly Way before and learning about the existence of the Heavenly Taowork, with its abundance of Little Heavenly Ways, she was eager toe and meet a hundred of them. Thus, the five of them formed a trade organization and merged their gships together, beginning to expand trade in this star system. Gathering the initial funds from the five of them, Lin Nan began tomand the fleet to move deeper, opening up new trade routes and building a deeper tradework. Besides them taking the game seriously, there were yers who reached the first circle, found the Demi-God Powerhouses, and began to challenge them, earning their rewards. In the bustling arenas and the deepbyrinths, the traces of the yers became more distinct, and their influence on this world grew deeper. Dustfire was condensing, its color approaching gold more closely, but amidst this harmonious atmosphere, a reincarnated deity suddenly awoke. Surrounding them, a massive amount of Demonic Qi coiled around, agitating the nearby Shadows and starting to expand wildly. Chapter 264 - 174: Catastrophe of the Gods (Part 1)_1 Chapter 264: Chapter 174: Catastrophe of the Gods (Part 1)_1 ¡°` The moment the Gods awoke, They fell into contemtion. Drifting within the boundless Shadows, They could sense the Shadows embracing Their bodies, allowing Them to draw vast amounts of knowledge from within the Shadows. They faintly remembered that They were once Gods who, during Their travels and adventures beyond Their own realm, discovered some substances infused with formidable power. This material was incredibly stable, yet upon opening it slightly, They found it could nearly sever anything. They handed these substances over to Their Priests, who began to analyze these things¡­ and then¡­ Then, the Priests dared a certain method, which resulted in an explosion so great it made the whole Heavenly Taowork tremble for a while. What happened after that? The Shadows snatched Them along with that part of the substance, and They sank deep into the Shadows. They still remembered Their own name, but They feltpletely surrendered to the Shadows. They were no longer Gods but had be an Evil God, fully transformed and devoted to the Shadows. The Shadows morphed into their garments, enrobing Their graceful figure with attire as resplendent as the stars, giving Them an allure that was both dangerous and fatal. Demonic Qi brought Them new abilities, further enhancing Their original powers, making Them feel omnipotent. They were still Them, yet They were no longer Them. Behind Them, numerouss transformed at Their will and disciples consumed by the Shadows stepped out from within. They resembled ordinary flora and fauna but could be born infinitely from the Shadows; their information already recorded by the Shadows. As long as the Shadows existed, they would not perish. Vast amounts of Shadows began to attempt to infiltrate the Heavenly Taowork, but as they approached, thework¡¯s power would dissolve their essence, preventing them from even getting close to infiltration. ¡°Be still, my children,¡± They softly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush, carry this Demonic Qi with you¡ªit can help you sever part of your information, rendering you undetectable by the Heavenly Taowork.¡± A low chant of prayers rose, the hidden prayers of the Cultists. ¡°The Heavenly Taowork was built by the Gods, so if the Gods are sealed, thework will also vanish. While they are absent from the Land of the Gods, find them, and then seal them.¡± The Cultists nodded, received the Blessing of the Gods, and once again moved toward the world of the Heavenly Taowork. No sooner had the first group of Cultists appeared than they were discovered by the first ring of powerhouses who had reced the Gods to guard this ce. Upon realizing that the Heavenly Taowork did not react to these Cultists, they promptly arrived and unleashed their own power, shattering the heretics. However, even as they defended relentlessly, wisps and strands of Shadows mixed with Demonic Qi slipped into the world, beginning to carry out their tasks. The anomaly began swiftly and silently. The yers had not yet noticed this change inyers and were still actively ying the game. On her second day in the game, Lin Nan waspletely immersed. She had been online intensively since her vacation started, and every time she thought about logging off for a rest, she¡¯d think, ¡°Just one more jump,¡± taking advantage of the ship¡¯s recovery time to grab a quick bite before continuing to y. Although the work was repetitive, with eachpletion her capital grew. When it reached a certain level, she could exchange her ship, causing a qualitative change. A series of small changes umted into a major transformation, making the game as addictive as a perpetuum mobile, impossible to put down. There were no levels or skills in the game, but money or rather faith was omnipotent in this starry space. In a world where Gods existed, as long as you had money, most temples on thes were the best enhancement zones. And if one didn¡¯t follow the path of the Gods, technological enhancements were another option. In addition to power armor, various forms of bio-modification technologies were explosively advanced, allowing yers to freely modify themselves. After catching on to the game¡¯s mechanics, Lin Nan was now exhrated. Meanwhile, through this game, she truly understood the strengths of the various members of the Fang Cheng Studio. Boss Fang Cheng, naturally, needed no introduction. A coding guru, he alone hammered out the gamey and crafted an entire open world¡ªa figure revered enough that Boss Wolong would dly carry him to and from work, and even act as his chair if needed. Statistician Xiao Douzi was definitely talented; receiving the game when most of the stats were already set, he nheless managed to incorporate an additional set of values. With a new approach, he bnced the entire system and made it incredibly enjoyable to y. To Lin Nan, his work seemed nothing short of miraculous. Huang Ping was the type whose significant contributions were not outwardly apparent. Although he seemed to do nothing, in reality, he perfected every detail, making adjustments sofortably that even Boss Wolong would greatly value him. Beyond that, the members of her own team were also remarkable. Xu Qingling needed no mention, always giving off a vibe of a hidden boss to be wary of provoking. Wang Xiaoying was exceptionally adept at processing information. With just a bit of hearsay, she could guess what events might happen soon, preparing in advance to procure goods before reaping a profit from the event. Tian Xuan seemed like a mascot-type character, but for some reason, the Mukuai in the game would turn pale at her sight, and other yers apanying Mukuai would treat her with utmost respect. ¡°` Chapter 265: 174: Catastrophe of the Gods (Part 1)_2 Chapter 265: Chapter 174: Catastrophe of the Gods (Part 1)_2 Pingping seemed quite simr to herself; neither were fond of words, but Pingping appeared especially lucky with raffles, often receiving gifts from the squirrel managers, many being valuable items. ying games with these people was exceptionally rxing, and it filled Lin Nan with anticipation for the new work environment. The only thing she couldn¡¯t understand was why Xu Qingling and Wang Xiaoying specifically warned her just to y the games for fun and absolutely not to take notes, or else Fang Cheng would notice and she would have to take makeup rest days. Although she didn¡¯t understand the reason, Lin Nan felt that the advice of the old-timers was right, so she decided not to write anything down, just to remember it all in her heart. On Friday afternoon, they piloted their spaceship to a ten-ring where they nned to stay and rest for a while. Lately, there had been numerous rumors on the forum, many of which required trading with the in-game currency. Most of the information sellers were Information Hunters; they usually joined the Sect of the Shadows, obtained intelligence by offering tributes to the Sect, and then sold the information to other yers for profit. Because information was time-sensitive, they had to analyze it quickly upon receiving it, and formte a n to maximize its value, which would facilitate their acquisition of greater benefits. Now, they were in a bar, trading with an Information Hunter. The Information Hunter across from them clearly wanted to set a high price, but their Mukuai drastically undercut themselves, selling information valued at three thousand faith for a mere three hundred, making Xu Qingling feel that the other party was perhaps too kind.
Tian Xuan also typed to express that the other party was indeed too kind. After receiving this intelligence, Lin Nan and Wang Xiaoying read through it together, and soon discovered that there were quite a few events happening recently. [The most popr goods ranking has been released, and the human art book is at the forefront with an overwhelming advantage. The Freedom Alliance is thus constantly expanding its strength and beginning to recruit talent. Although they repeatedly assert that they are not pirates, the nearby Governors have already started to take precautions, and it is estimated that a military race will soonmence.] [Believers in various ces have found that prayers to the Gods are being widely answered, a phenomenon they im is absolutely abnormal. In the past, the Gods rarely responded to their prayers, and currently, the believers are studying the rted anomalies and feel that something must be wrong with these Gods.] [yers exploring relics in the seventeenth ring have discovered active signs of Shadows nearby. However, they became active for only a few seconds before ceasing and returning to a dormant state. The specific cause is unknown.] [A new God of Mighty Lord has emerged near the seventeenth ring, and arge number of civilizations are constructing rted statues. Unfortunately, the statues¡¯ features are unclear, or else there might be fresher intelligence avable.] [Sects everywhere have issued statements that a group of impostors iming to be Gods has appeared recently; they are generally arrogant and possess the ability to interfere with reality. When encountering these impostors, please send them to the nearest Sect, but do not harm them; the Sect will give a certain reward.] [Strong individuals from the first ring have all left, for reasons unknown.] ¡­ After reading thetest news, Lin Nan felt the game was truly spectacr. yers were like a drop of ink, scarce, yet enough to tint the world with their color, leaving their mark. Moreover, the game¡¯s economic system was also impably established; it was said that many economists hade here to study the faith-currency system, conducting various rtively authoritative research. After her research, Lin Nan became curious about the goods from the Freedom Alliance. The art books they produced couldn¡¯t be copied; they were the current trendiest reading material, and every wealthy person took pride in collecting a volume. This was obviously the work of yers, which made Lin Nan feel that there was profit to be made. However, if they were to stock up on those goods now, the other party likely wouldn¡¯tck transport services, meaning the profit here wouldn¡¯t be high; therefore, it would be better to find another blue ocean to explore. After summarizing the information, Lin Nan asked, ¡°Do you have any art pieces?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Xiaoying nodded, ¡°We bought one, then tried to screenshot it, but no matter what, we couldn¡¯t. The anti-piracy measures in this game are too good; we couldn¡¯t copy it even if we wanted to.¡± ¡°What if we use haptic gloves to create copyright-free items in reality?¡±
¡°Some yers have tried that, and they lost everything,¡± Wang Xiaoying sighed, ¡°Right after those items were produced, they were pirated by the local NPCs, resulting in total loss.¡± ¡°How tragic!¡± ¡°Yeah, someone tested it, and items from other sources can be replicated, but items from the Freedom Alliance just can¡¯t. It¡¯s spected that they¡¯ve used some special means, but they haven¡¯t disclosed it.¡± ¡°And what about the NPCs making bootlegs, don¡¯t the squirrels have anything to say?¡±
¡°They beat up a bunch of people, but it¡¯s too costly to sustain. Plus, those NPCs have different moral standards from us; they believe it¡¯s a gift from the gods, so they bootleg shamelessly, withplete impunity.¡± Lin Nan pondered this issue, then felt it must involve some game mechanics. She didn¡¯t think the Freedom Alliance had found a bug, but rather that they¡¯d discovered some special profit-making mechanism and were exploiting it to make an excess profit. So, what could it be? While Lin Nan was pondering how this could be, she saw someone appear beside them. The individual was a grimy Spotted Cat, caked in mud and wearing tattered clothes, appearing extremely wretched. However, upon seeing Tian Xuan nearby, the cat¡¯s face went pale with shock, and it rushed to Tian Xuan saying, ¡°What is this about! Why haven¡¯t you reincarnated and instead used an avatar! No, wait, you are the Outer God!¡± As soon as it had shouted this, its voice attracted the attention of the nearby Cultists. After verifying the Spotted Cat¡¯s state, several believers approached. Upon noticing the approaching Cultists, the Spotted Cat turned to flee, only to find another group of believersing up from behind, creating an encirclement and trapping it within. Looking at the closing Cultists, the Spotted Cat was scared out of its wits and hurriedly clung to Tian Xuan, pleading, ¡°Outer God, I¡¯m the Food Lord in charge of cuisine, please, you must help me! I swear I will obey your everymand. I don¡¯t want to be taken away by these believers!¡± With the Cultists closing in, Lin Nan felt they must have triggered some hidden mission. This hidden mission¡¯s trigger point must be Tian Xuan, although she had no idea why this strange fellow called Tian Xuan the Outer God, but it might be useful.
Although she was socially anxious in reality, Lin Nan really enjoyed various puzzle and deduction games; in the virtual realm, she could easily deduce gamey based on information, noting she¡¯d make a good detective if she weren¡¯t a game designer. In-game, surrounded by all types of small animals and no people, Lin Nan could meet her social needs on the one hand, and on the other, she could unleash her deductive skills. Recalling the information she had seen earlier, Lin Nan felt the Sect was definitely pursuing these self-proimed gods with ulterior motives. These thoughts shed through her mind like sparks, making her feel the situation was likely profitable. Nodding slightly to Pingping, Pingping immediately knew what she meant. At a whistle, a spaceship on standby appeared, then power armor materialized around Pingping, who charged fiercely towards the outer group of Cultists. The opposition didn¡¯t expect anyone to fight back. Cultists supported by the Gods have an exalted status in this area, even the Governor has to politely salute in the presence of a Priest. But the yers didn¡¯t care about any of that. A group of Cultists, facing Pingping in power armor, were knocked away like bowling pins, and thisdy with disabled legs, once she put on her power armor, became apletely different person; she sent the pursuing Cultists flying with her swift movements. The rest of the team picked up the Spotted Cat and rushed to the outskirts to meet the iing spaceship, and then quickly flew off into the distance. At the helm of the spaceship was Xu Qingling. Aboard the spaceship, Xu Qingling seemed to transform into another person.
This girl, as tough as any man, activated the spaceship swiftly, starting it up in milliseconds, leaving ripples behind as she carried the Food Lord off into space, fleeing into the distance. Chapter 266: 175 What is Gourmet Food (Two Updates)_1 Chapter 266: Chapter 175 What is Gourmet Food (Two Updates)_1 Under Xu Qingling¡¯s piloting, the scenery outside the ship changed rapidly: what was a vast gxy just moments ago soon turned into gigantics, making everything look as though they were flickering slides in a projector. Lin Nan had never seen such quick maneuvers; the terrifying speed of her hands was like witnessing a piano maestro, whose tempestuous movements were as precise as a machine¡¯s. Even though there was the assistant robot Delta, Delta couldn¡¯t rece all the operations. Critical ones still needed to be performed by humans, and Xu Qingling¡¯s movements and expressions showed that she was undoubtedly a top-tier pilot. In the blink of an eye, the spaceship had conducted hundreds of jump operations. To confuse the Sect¡¯s pursuing ships, Xu Qingling even used a method of repeated jumps, which involved continuously returning to the same jump point to increase the number of potential trajectories at a critical location, thereby confounding their pursuers. Once or twice might have been okay, but each repetition increased the demands on the pilot. In the end, only a handful could aplish this feat, and Lin Nan hadn¡¯t expected one to be right in front of him. Before the Sect¡¯s ships could react, the spaceship¡¯s trajectory had already woven a dense web in the starry sky, with the dense tracks obscuring the ship¡¯s point of departure. By the time they decoded theplex paths to find the real one, Xu Qingling had already piloted the ship far away, beyond their reach. Once she confirmed they had sessfully evaded their pursuers, Xu Qingling let out a sigh of relief. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she turned to Lin Nan and shed a V-sign with undeniable coolness, revealing an impressive and forceful demeanor that showed women could carry such spirited distinction.
¡°Haven¡¯t been this tired in a long time. I¡¯m going to rest for a bit; call me if you need anything.¡± Xu Qingling yawned as she switched the spaceship to autopilot. ¡°Qingling, what did you do before? How do you even know how to fly a ship?¡± ¡°Picked up a bit of piano when I was younger; my teacher said I had some talent. Flying a ship feels simr to ying the piano. Just get a feel for it and you¡¯ll get the hang of it.¡± ¡°¡­I think it¡¯s not just a matter of familiarity.¡± After getting Xu Qingling to log off and rest, the remaining four began to consider how to deal with the newly arrived big cat. The squirrels were about ten centimeters tall, about a mouthful for the Spotted Cat. From a squirrel¡¯s perspective, the Spotted Cat was massive and looked ferocious, puffing breath through its mouth as if it could pounce at any moment for a meal. However, upon realizing it was truly free from its predicament, the Spotted Cat, also known as the Food Lord, burst into tears with a loud ¡°waah¡±. It cried torrentially, emotionally. After having its fill of tears, it wiped the tears from the corner of its eyes, grabbed Tian Xuan¡¯s paw, and gratefully said, ¡°Thank you! Thank you! I will never forget what you, the great Outer God, have done for me.¡± ¡°Do I need to remind you that it was us who saved you guys?¡± Lin Nan said discontentedly from the side. ¡°You followers of the Outer Gods, stop talking. Now is the time for interaction between the Gods themselves; followers shouldn¡¯t always interrupt.¡± Lin Nan squinted at the Food Lord, then deployed his exoskeleton armor and executed a shoulder throw,nding the Food Lord on the ground. A squirrel performing a shoulder throw on a cat was an inherentlyical sight, something you¡¯d only see here. The flung Spotted Cat felt dizzy, propped itself against a corner, and then started crying silently again. Seeing it cry once more, Lin Nan felt somewhat embarrassed. Approaching, she rubbed therge head of the cat and asked with concern, ¡°Why are you crying?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a deity, a powerful deity second only to the high Gods, and yet, I was thrown over the shoulder by a follower of an Outer God. Anyone would cry in this situation.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Well, keep crying then, you might have to cry even louder in the future.¡± Upon hearing this, the Food Lord sobbed even more sadly.
Seeing the cat¡¯s sorrowful state, Lin Nan wondered whether he had made a mistake in saving such a useless NPC. Only after the Food Lord had had enough of crying did Lin Nan finally ask, ¡°Why were those followers chasing you?¡± The Food Lord initially wanted to maintain an air of dignity, but seeing Lin Nan get ready to perform another shoulder throw, it quickly said, ¡°Recently, us Gods reincarnated, and those followers used to be mine. The Main God tasked us to understand the preferences of you followers of the Outer Gods. I figured everyone likes to eat these days, so I found my old followers and thought to offer you a good meal, thus fulfilling the Main God¡¯s mission, right?¡± ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Lin Nan interrupted. ¡°Why does the Main God want you to learn about our preferences?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know! If I did, I¡¯d be the Main God! Anyway, whatever the Main God asks us to do must have its significance, so I did it, but then I got caught for sphemy while contacting my followers.¡± Lin Nan looked at the Spotted Cat helplessly: ¡°If I were them, I¡¯d catch you too.¡± ¡°Why! I am their deity.¡± ¡°Do you have any proof?¡± ¡°No,¡± the Spotted Cat looked innocently at Lin Nan, ¡°but they once promised me that no matter how many times I changed form or how I tested them, they would always recognize me.¡± Lin Nan sighed, feeling that the cat was genuinely naive. Never mind whether it was a God or not, even if it were, promises made before marriage should not be taken seriously afterward. Anything can be said in the heat of hormonal explosions, but once that subsides, none of it holds. Chapter 267: 175: What is gourmet food (Second update)_2 Chapter 267: Chapter 175: What is gourmet food (Second update)_2 ¡°We¡¯re not going to delve into that issue right now,¡± Lin Nan asked, ¡°Although we saved you, we¡¯re also here for our own benefit. Are you of any use?¡± ¡°I¡¯m particrly good at eating!¡± ¡°Open the hatch, we¡¯re sending thedy back to the west.¡± ¡°Wait! Give me delicious things to eat, and I can weakly produce the ability to change reality. The reincarnation of a god is also a rtively powerful reality interferer, but it requires corresponding items to activate the relevant abilities to change reality.¡± Knowing this, Lin Nan felt that this ability could be put to some use. Soon after, under Delta¡¯s autopilot, the spaceshipnded on a nearby, rundown remote. The environment of this was not good and even harsh in some respects; it was too close to the nearest star, and the surface temperature often exceeded 50 degrees Celsius, making it difficult for vegetation to grow here. Noticing the plight of this, the Food Lord said with difficulty, ¡°This ce doesn¡¯t look like it has anything delicious.¡± ¡°What do you think is delicious?¡± Hearing about eating, the Food Lord immediately felt up to it.
It puffed out its chest and said excitedly, ¡°Food, first of all, is about the vessel. The quality of the vessel determines the taste of the food. Stew needs to be served in ceramic, barbecue should be ced on silverware, grilled fish must be brought on an iron te, and the final vor definitely requires the iron te to bake for taste. Now that we¡¯ve talked about the vessels, let¡¯s move on to the various¡­¡± Lin Nan threw the Food Lord with a shoulder throw and directed the spaceship tond above the only bar on the, then entered the bar with the Food Lord. Tian Xuan and the others were tired and had gone to rest, but Lin Nan, on the contrary, was past the point of sleepiness and became more active as she yed, deciding to stay up a little longer before going to bed. The bar¡¯s owner was a muscr Maine Coon with a face full of scars, even bearing three w marks over its left eye, looking quite ferocious. Upon seeing Lin Nan and the Food Lord entering, it naturally picked up Lin Nan and asked, ¡°How would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Braised¡­¡± said the Food Lord. The Food Lord was thrown out with a shoulder throw. Lin Nan pped her hands and said to the Maine Coon, ¡°Boss, stop joking around.¡± ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just that a squirrel and catbo is quite rare, so I unintentionally made a joke. Alright, what would you like to eat, or drink?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not picky, and neither is it.¡± The Maine Coon nced at them, had Lin Nan pay first, then went to the kitchen and soon returned with two tes of fried rice. The fried rice looked colorful, and although it was hurriedly made in a few minutes, it still looked rather appealing. Even though she couldn¡¯t smell it, Lin Nan still felt that the fried rice must be quite delicious. The Food Lord, dizzy from being thrown, got up smelling the fragrance. Although it wanted toin, a look from Lin Nan made it quietly sit down and eat. After the first bite, it put down its spoon, covered its face, and started crying. ¡°¡­What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°¡­And here I thought there was poison in the food from your reaction.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s really delicious. I haven¡¯t eaten something this tasty in a long time.¡±
The Food Lord continued eating and crying, its tears making the fried rice even saltier. It recalled its experiences during this time, and the more it thought, the sadder it became. After being reincarnated, it was abandoned by its parents, then grew rapidly to its current state, attempted to return to its sect but was treated as a sphemer, and could only turn its eyes toward garbage cans and slop buckets to find something to eat. A simple te of fried rice, in its eyes, was an unsurpassable delicacy, making it almost forget the exquisite dishes it ate as a god, with only this te of fried rice left in its sight.
After contentedly finishing the fried rice, it held its belly satisfied and then noticed that there were no other customers here. ¡°Boss, if your fried rice is so good, why isn¡¯t there anyone here?¡± ¡°No money,¡± ¡°Why no money?¡± ¡°We¡¯re too close to the sun, so we must purchase blessings from the nearby food sect to exchange for a good climate. However, they¡¯ve recently stated there¡¯s a problem with the gods, so they want to increase the faith tax. We can¡¯t afford it, and so it has be like this.¡± ¡°` After finishing his statement, the Maine Coon looked toward the sectarian Floating City floating in the distance and sighed, ¡°Although it sounds a bit disrespectful, the Food Lord, as a god, sometimes really isn¡¯t up to the task.¡± Facing direct criticism, the Food Lord instantly flushed with embarrassment, standing stiff-necked and said, ¡°Maybe¡­ maybe He¡¯s just busy, so He didn¡¯t notice?¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t noticed for a hundred years?¡± ¡°Well¡­ that was the personal behavior of the sect members below.¡± ¡°Taxes are for the gods, but misdeeds are the fault of those below. You speak quite like a High Priest.¡± With a sneer, the Maine Coon slowly added, ¡°Truly so moral.¡± The Food Lord was instantly broken.
It cried again. It wept as it left the bar, and then there came a loud scraping noise from outside, as a meteor with a long tail headed straight for the Floating City of the Food Lord¡¯s sect, mming it forcefully to the ground. The deafening sound and the powerful shockwave arrived here three minutester, shattering the bar¡¯s windows instantly. The Maine Coon and Lin Nan were utterly shocked. They walked out just in time to see the Floating City wobble and crash to the ground. Numerous ships emerged from the Floating City, looking for whoever dared to attack them, but found nothing. Later, the Spotted Cat came back, tears and snot streaming down its face. Wiping its nose, it pointed at the still smoldering ruins of the Floating City in the distance and said, ¡°I taught them a lesson! Give me tastier fried rice, and I swear I¡¯ll make this a better ce!¡± ¡°Dear me¡­¡± remarked the Maine Coon. ¡°The Food Lord is a kind god, He definitely didn¡¯t mean to overlook you, He just forgot! Give me the fried rice!¡± The Food Lord, a powerful god second only to the Main God. Even though reborn, it still could transform the emotions it felt when tasting delicious food into the power to alter reality. The fried rice it had just consumed was the most delicious food it had eaten recently, and that emotion had directly summoned a small asteroid to give the Floating City a good hit. The Maine Coon had intended to cook for the Food Lord right away, but Lin Nan stopped him. Looking at the Food Lord, Lin Nan asked, ¡°Do you know what the tastiest rice is?¡±
¡°¡­Fried rice?¡± Noticing that Lin Nan did not agree with its immediate response, it scratched its ear in thought, then seemingly had an epiphany, ¡°Fried rice with dried fish kes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the rice you eat afterbor, you fool. The fried rice here isn¡¯t cheap, so you have to work for me. Come on, start by sweeping the spaceship¡¯s floor.¡± The Food Lord, groggy and confused, followed Lin Nan onto the spaceship and, six hourster, crawled back into the bar. During those six hours, it swept the wholeyer of the ship under Delta¡¯s supervision, getting shocked whenever it cked off, which made the Food Lord, who had never done anybor, think it was going to die. It was born Little Heavenly Way, everything taken care of by believers; even without believers, it could use the Heavenly Taowork. Doing things on its own was a foreign concept to it. Six hours ofbor left it with calloused hands. The fried rice it had eaten seemed to have been fully digested, making it so hungry it could eat itself. But it had to wait. To prevent dine and dash, the bar demanded payment before serving food. With nothing in its pockets, the Food Lord could only sit there nkly. To make matters worse, at this time, a customer arrived. The patrons here only ate fried rice, specifically fried rice with dried fish kes. The aroma of the rice and the crunch of the fish kes being chewed mixed together, which made it drool profusely, but it had to restrain itself. Finally, just as the Food Lord was about to burst into tears, Lin Nan came online. She took the time to eat dinner, take a shower, and get a good night¡¯s sleep, now re-energized and ready to y again!
Seeing Lin Nan, the Food Lord felt like it had seen family, grabbed her tail, and sobbed, ¡°Why did you take so long? I¡¯m starving.¡± ¡°There, there, don¡¯t cry, here¡¯s your fried rice.¡± Seeing the Food Lord happily eating fried rice, Lin Nan felt her n was quite sessful. What came next was to test to what extent the other party could interfere with reality. ¡°` Chapter 268: 176: The Arrival of the New Era (Three More Updates)_1 Chapter 268: Chapter 176: The Arrival of the New Era (Three More Updates)_1 ¡°The seventh experiment, fine-tuning world climate, seeded.¡± ¡°The ninth experiment, adjusting the distance between the and the stars, seeded.¡± ¡°The eleventh experiment, regting the thickness of the atmosphere, seeded.¡± After giving the Food Lord an ice cream as a reward, Lin Nan looked at his experimental records and realized that this reality maniptor was even more powerful than he had imagined. As long as the subject was deeply moved when eating something delicious, it could unleash a formidable reality maniption ability, yielding unimaginable effects. Moreover, the potential of this ability was very high, as multiple tastings of delicious food could stack up to a limit, allowing for even more powerful effects when used. Apart from that, Lin Nan felt he was doing a pretty good job at managing. The Food Lord had alreadymitted to heart the teachings of ¡°Labor brings happiness,¡± ¡°He who does not work, neither shall he eat,¡± and ¡°Snacks can only be eaten once a day,¡± which made it deeply moved every time it ate something. This discovery made Lin Nan feel that he might have to revise his previous gamey objectives again. Now he realized that the reason the Freedom Alliance was able to create counterfeit art was probably that they had found a reality maniptor and satisfied the conditions to activate its ability, thereby attaching anti-counterfeit tags to their goods.
No wonder they didn¡¯t want to disclose that condition, because achieving it isn¡¯t too difficult, as long as you have a reality maniptor. But the issue is, reality maniptors are rare, and the various sects are hunting them, which greatly reduces the chances for yers to encounter them. Having reviewed previous intelligence, Lin Nan concluded that reality maniptors might truly be reincarnations of gods. If that hypothesis were true, there would be a thousand reality maniptors, yet about seventy percent of them were likely to be captured by their corresponding sects, leaving perhaps only three hundred atrge. And the number of yers¡­ as of now, 2.6 million¡­ It¡¯s one in ten thousand. The power of reality maniptors allows them to easily reap high profits, after all, monopolies can be profitable, and transcendence represents an even higher dimension of monopoly. What¡¯s more, these reality maniptors might need to return to their roles as gods, so establishing a good rtionship now could lead to higher profits once they return, earning more money. When Xu Qingling and the others came online, Lin Nan specifically went to the room to hold a meeting and shared the intelligence. After learning that the dirty big cat could actually be a god, the group started thinking about how to make use of the Food Lord. ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a strong im and then dominate this?¡± Wang Xiaoying suggested, ¡°With a as our base, we can gain more profits in this star system, and we can also gather the entire¡¯s resources to provide delicacies for the Food Lord.¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± Xu Qingling nodded, ¡°Moreover, Lin Nan¡¯s experiments have transformed many areas, making this increasingly habitable.¡± ¡°What about the sects? They have deeply entrenched themselves here for hundreds of years. It seems wrong for us to just take over,¡± Pingping expressed concern, ¡°And stealing isn¡¯t very nice, is it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Lin Nan nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s get in touch with the local culinary sect and see if they are willing to sell. However, we¡¯ve had some conflicts with them before, so it¡¯s better to ask a third party to help.¡± After the discussion, Lin Nan found the Maine Coon in the bar and conveyed their desire to purchase the. The bartender was very happy to hear this news. Theary Governor is a secr ruler, and a strong one can stand on an equal footing with the sect¡¯s priests, and the public can thus get better treatment. Therefore, it immediately helped to facilitate the purchase of the, reaching out to the sect in the morning, but was imprisoned in the sect¡¯s prison by the afternoon. The culinary sect made it clear they would not sell.
Not only that, they used the Maine Coon of recklessly altering the climate and worshipping other gods uwfully, and evenunched a despicable sneak attack on the Floating City. Though there was no evidence, they were convinced that this was a conspiracy by other gods, a ploy while the Food Lord was preupied. As the main culprit, the Maine Coon was to face the cruelest punishment tomorrow, water torture! It would be thrown into a cage and repeatedly drenched in water until it drowned alive in agony.
The entire process wouldst three days, serving as a warning to the public about the consequences of defying the sect. Upon hearing this news, the Food Lord broke down. It stared nkly at the Floating City rising in the distance, mumbling continuously, ¡°How could they do this! How could they be so cruel?¡± ¡°How do you think they should behave?¡± Lin Nan asked. ¡°They used to be so cute! They would give me delicious food every day, tell me what good deeds they did today, which areas they helped adjust the climate for, how much faith they spent to support refugees, and so on. They were always doing good things, so why has ite to this?¡± Lin Nan looked at the creature, somehow reminded of Boss Wolong¡¯s only daughter. She interned at her father¡¯spany, and during that time, thepany kept strict work hours: start at 9 AM, finish at 6 PM, with no overtime. The chief nner was all kindness and smiles then, never raising his voice above 40 decibels, treating everyone to milk tea and barbeque every day. He was a super good guy. But once the wealthy daughter left, everything resumed as usual. The Food Lord in front of her was just like that wealthy daughter. Lin Nan could lecture on many grand principles, such as ¡°different clothes for different people,¡± or ¡°every ce pretends to be at peace.¡± Yet in the end, she was sitting on top of the Food Lord¡¯s head, looking into the distance and saying, ¡°Hasn¡¯t it always been this way?¡± ¡°And what can you do about it? I guarantee that if you can rescue it, I¡¯ll agree to anything you want.¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t your promises a bit too cheap?¡± ¡°But promises are all I have left.¡± For the first time in his life, the Food Lord felt a special dependence on an ordinary cat. The cat was cold-tempered, tough in action, and not considerate enough. But it always managed to serve up a te of fried rice after a hard day, sometimes even with a small serving of dried fish on the side. The thought of possibly never seeing that big cat again caused the Food Lord great heartache. Patting the Spotted Cat¡¯s head, Lin Nan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already done it.¡± The Food Lord looked up sharply, dislodging Lin Nan, whonded right on its nose. The Food Lord then carefully picked her up in its mouth. Carefully cing Lin Nan down, the Food Lord asked expectantly, ¡°What have you done? Did you seek help from your Outer Gods?¡± ¡°No, I wrote a strategy guide.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°The guide details how the reality interferers might be Gods and lists the number of interferers, their characteristics, and so on. Then,bining intelligence from various sources, I deduced the likely locations of the reality interferers, most of which are within the Sects. This information is authentic, but I mixed in one piece of false information.¡± The Food Lord swallowed hard. This tactic of mixing mostly true information with a bit of falsehood was not umon, but when used by a master, it could have decisive effects.
¡°So, what is the false information?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not exactly false. I simply suggested that the Maine Coon might be a reality interferer. So, I need your help with something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Adjust the mes and spell out ¡®HELP¡¯ in the atmosphere. Then, without us having to do much, yers wille to help.¡± The Food Lord pointed skeptically at the sky, where red mes bloomed like lotuses in the atmosphere, organizing themselves into therge word ¡°HELP¡± as willed. This signal stirred many yers who had read the guide and confirmed its authenticity to action. The precedent set by the Freedom Allianceid before them; the profit gained from art trafficking turned an unknown small organization into a giant, and the business opportunities it implied tantalized every yer. The first batch of troops began to assemble, with numerous spaceships hovering on the outskirts of the, causing the Sects to tremble. The technology between them didn¡¯t differ too much, but this was quite remote, and the Sect¡¯s stationed spaceships were few. A volley would be enough topletely dispatch them. Without much hesitation, the local Sect dered surrender. All spaceships were taken away, and Sect members were exiled on the spot. The Maine Coon was released, and discovering that it was not the so-called reality interferer, the yers quickly left for the next location. After all, if the guide only indicated a possibility here, instead ofining about its inuracy, it was better to head to the next site to capture a reality interferer as soon as possible. Each rare reality interferer meant immense wealth and needed to be kept tightly in hand.
Watching the yers who suddenly appeared and then vanished just as quickly, Lin Nan knew a new era was approaching. The quest for reality interferers would direct the yers¡¯ next objective, exacerbating the antagonism between yers and Sects, ultimately evolving into an all-out war, propelling the game into a new phase. As for what might happen in this stage, it was all unknown. The Food Lord didn¡¯t have as many thoughts; it only saw the Maine Coon slowly approaching. Seeing the safe and sound Maine Coon, the Food Lord couldn¡¯t restrain itself and pounced forward, biting the cat¡¯s neck in a yful tussle. And with that, a grand era was about to unfold. But these were not what surprised Lin Nan. What surprised her was that she seemed to have quite a talent for stirring up trouble in the game; she might not understand office politics, but it appeared she was rather skilled at scheming within the game. ¡°Could it be that I am inherently a bad person?¡± Reflecting on everything she had done in thest two days, Lin Nan sighed quietly. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 269: 177: Exciting Collaboration (Part 1)_1 Chapter 269: Chapter 177: Exciting Coboration (Part 1)_1 As time passed, a new gamey emerged, and yers began to embrace the changes in the new version and adapted to it. For Wang Say Games, this period could be described as in sailing and full of confidence. The poprity of Who is the Champion greatly boosted his fame, especially since he had an honest and upright face on television that seemed reliable, but his actions were efficient and decisive. His high-ss expressions paired with low-ss deeds created a fascinating contrast, earning him a massive surge in poprity. Now, simply ying games without having to rack his brain for ideas, his live streaming room was always filled with people, and gifts poured in endlessly every day, making him feel like he had reached the pinnacle of his life. Thank you, Mr. Fang, thank you Who is the Champion, thank you to myself. He was highly popr in reality, and things were going smoothly in the game too. Just now, he finally acquired his first Destruction Star ¨C Light Version in Space Navigator. The actual Star of Destruction was out of reach for the time being, as it consumed too many resources. The only ten avable were on Songta, where they were strategic weapons. The Light Version, however, was a downscaled Destruction Star, which perhaps only had seventy percent of the original¡¯s capabilities. But even so, it could look down on all others in the game¡ªit was among the most advanced ships currently avable. Even if one traveled to the second ring, the civilizations there would have to stand up and toast, saying, ¡°Wang, thank you for your hard work.¡± Highway robbers on the way? No need to bother with them. If encountered, just charge straight at them; it¡¯s not certain who would be robbing whom.
In the live stream, Wang deployed a small reconnaissance ship, turned off the force field, and used the ship¡¯s camera feature to continuously take photos of his new ship, which brought numerous gasps of admiration and a flood of gifts. Seeing these gifts, Wang felt he had indeed made a name for himself and that it was time to find an opportunity to propose to Zhao. Just as he was blissfully envisioning his future, his vision suddenly shook, as if something had fiercely struck his ship, causing it to tremble violently. At that moment, Wang¡¯s heart sank. My brand new ship! A dazzling red light appeared, and a flood of data swarmed before his eyes. The voice of the assistant robot Delta rang out, informing him of what had just happened. ¡°Alert, the gship has been struck by an unknown object, the power furnace pierced, cargo hold pierced, Force Shield Generator pierced¡­ Estimated repair time is seven hours¡­¡± Hearing the alert, Wang felt as if his heart was bleeding. The original Star of Destruction could be restored, as long as the core wasn¡¯t damaged, the other parts could regenerate quickly. But not the Light Version! Particrly the cargo hold, where he¡¯d stored arge collection of art pieces he¡¯d hoarded, ready to transport to the second ring to sell for a good price, a single piercing could lead to untold losses. Donning his power armor and picking up his weapon, Wang Say Games immediately went to the damaged area following Delta¡¯s instructions, only to almost cry at the sight of the devastated cargo hold. The object that had attacked the ship must have been something extraordinarily sturdy. It hade at high speed, taking advantage of the gap when his force field was turned off for the photo shoot, andnded a critical hit on him. This was definitely a premeditated attack, and the attacker was surely envious of his new ship,unching a sneak attack while he was too preupied with taking photos to boast. This attack was just the beginning; the real terror was yet toe! After instructing Delta to reinforce the defenses, Wang began to assess the damage. His luck had been good since entering the game, although he hadn¡¯t managed to find the Reality Interferer. However, those he knew had generally built their power bases with the help of Reality Interferers and then relied on them to start making money. Using these connections, he constantly gained benefits and finally earned a ship¡ªonly to have an ident before it even warmed up, with many items lost from the cargo hold. The ship¡¯s cabin was beginning its self-repair, and firefighting robots were at work. Many art pieces were burnt up, and the loss was incalcble.
After estimating his losses, Wang realized that he had lost around a hundred thousand in faith¡ªhis efforts from the past two days were in vain. Silently watching the cabin still self-repairing, Wang knew that even after it was fixed, there would always be permanent marks left behind. This grudge, he must avenge! There¡¯s one thing about me, Wang¡ªI may not be petty in many ways, but I sure am when ites to grievances!
Once the force field generator had repaired itself, Wang first reactivated the force field, then began frantically searching for the audacious object that dared to attack him, and atst, he found it far away. It looked like a humanoid statue, mostly human in shape but retaining some wolf characteristics. The entire statue appeared lifelike, with clear muscle lines on the body and a ferocious and painful expression on the face, resembling a petrified human. After staring at the statue for a while, Wang felt there was something extraordinary about it. Even without the force field defense, his ship would only cause ordinary meteors to shatter upon impact with the hull; they couldn¡¯t prate his ship and remain intact. Besides, the local inhabitants of this world were not very creative; such a half-human, half-wolf statue was improbable. Could it be an Easter egg? With this thought, the frustration from the ship¡¯s damage disappeared, knowing he could now live stream the event. The force field captured the distant statue and dragged it towards his position. Chapter 270: 177: Exciting Collaboration (Part 2)_2 Chapter 270: Chapter 177: Exciting Coboration (Part 2)_2 While setting up the live stream, he dragged the object into view and then spoke to his audience, ¡°Guys, today¡¯s stream features ¡®Space Navigator.¡¯ I¡¯ve just stumbled upon something peculiar¡ªit might be an easter egg in the game. Let¡¯s check it out together.¡± [Wang¡­] ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± [You¡¯d better make sure it¡¯s a real easter egg and not likest time when you mistook aary beast¡¯s gallstone for a treasure.] As someone brought up his past blunder, the live stream chat erupted intoughter, filling the room with a lively atmosphere. Wang teased the viewer who had exposed his secret but internally, he gave them a thumbs-up. He wasn¡¯t a naturally talented content creator. His standing was earned through constant learning and replicating what worked. Many content creators rise quickly but fall just as fast, mainly because they get cocky after finding fame and start to be pretentious. But a content creator¡¯s livelihood hinges on pleasing the audience. No matter what kind of persona you¡¯ve established, you have to stick to how your viewers initially fell for you and not forget your core fanbase. While joking around with his audience, he continued to transport the statue. By the time he had brought the statue into the gship¡¯s workspace, the viewers also began to sense that this thing was not ordinary.
By now, much of the game¡¯s lore had been uncovered; everyone had also realized the local inhabitantscked creativity. So, this statue was either some kind of ancient artifact or truly transformed from a local inhabitant. As people pondered the origin of the statue, someone suddenly said, [I remember now, in ¡®Squirrel Spaceship,¡¯ I¡¯ve taken a picture with a statue simr to this one. Let me show it to you guys.] Half a minuteter, the viewer pulled up the screenshot, and afterparing it for a while, everyone concluded it was indeed the same statue. The screenshot showed a ferocious Wolf-headed Human with amanding presence, gazing into the distance with an awe-inspiring and invincible appearance. However, the statue in the cabin looked terrified, as if it had seen something extremely horrifying. After the analysis, everyone reached a consensus, ¡°This thing must be a Demigod.¡± Demigods were the term for highly powerful beings who had allowed their bodies to evolve through biotechnology and, through the worship of Gods, gained formidable strength. Each one was a God¡¯s favorite. Because of their closeness to the Gods, their physical forms evolved to resemble the Gods, eventually turning into tall, mighty, humanoid figures. Although they looked like living beings, they were in fact concentrated entities of faith and energy. Each of them was a powerful warrior, capable of contending with a medium-sized warship on their own. With such a being beaten to this state, what exactly had it gone through previously? As people pondered how to open this thing, the spaceship¡¯s power furnace was repaired. The moment the power furnace was repaired, the energy that had just ignited was suddenly drained, even sapping the spaceship¡¯s own reserve power, leaving the ship in darkness save for Delta, which flickered with a faint green light from its independent power source. The energy that could sustain the ship¡¯s operation started to converge on the statue, which seemed to transform into a bottomless pit, voraciously sucking in the surrounding energy. At the sight of this, a series of astonished ¡°OMG¡± exmations echoed through the live stream. [OMG, Wang really struck gold this time, not just scraps of paper.] [Gold or weeds, it¡¯s too soon to tell. It might just explode the next second and send Wang to the heavens.] [My divination suggests that it¡¯s quite possible.] [I¡¯m actually looking forward to Wang getting blown up. Wait, has he got insurance?] [Seems like he has, but it might not beprehensive enough.]
[Then forget it, we can¡¯t let this old rascal off easy.] [However, the CG rendering is excellent; Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s attention to detail is amazing.] Amidst the crowd¡¯s astonishment, Wang watched as the statue¡¯s exterior began to fall off, the obsidian-like shell cracking down the middle and then king away piece by piece, revealing the Demigod within. As all the exterior fell off, the Wolf-headed Human quietly floated in mid-air, as if asleep. But soon after, it erupted into a roar and its eyes zed with brilliant golden light.
Energy swirled around his hands, converging into a translucent spear. Once the spear materialized, his wounds began to heal, using the energy of the spaceship for self-repair. He turned his head and looked seriously at the Squirrel Wang and asked, ¡°What time is it now?¡± ¡°Saturday evening, 8:16.¡± Wang quickly replied. ¡°¡­Envoy of the Outer God, please give me the time in our star system.¡± ¡°Oh, my apologies.¡± After letting Delta tell him the time, the Wolf-headed Human sat down with the spear and then addressed Wang, ¡°Envoy of the Outer God, may I requisition your spaceship?¡± ¡°No way.¡± ¡°Thank you for your cooperation¡­ wait, why not?¡± ¡°You said it¡¯s my spaceship. Why would I just give it to you for free?¡± The Wolf-headed Human was momentarily lost for words but still patiently exined, ¡°Our star system is currently facing an unprecedented catastrophe. An unknown Evil God has obtained new means and has started assaulting our world. I must find someone to ry this information, to make everyone aware of the seriousness of this matter.¡± Chapter 271: 177: Exciting Collaboration (Part 1)_3 Chapter 271: Chapter 177: Exciting Coboration (Part 1)_3 ¡°Oh, in that case, there¡¯s no need to spread the word, they already know.¡± Wang Say Games had been breaking poprity records, and discovering an extra easter egg was quite an eye-catching event. Even if he didn¡¯t deliberately promote it, someone else would spread the word. In the inte age, the speed of information dissemination was astoundingly fast. As soon as the news broke out, practically every online yer knew about it, which further boosted the poprity of Wang Say Games¡¯ livestream room. The Wolf-headed Human¡¯s eyes widened as he watched Wang, trying to see if thetter was lying. Soon, he realized that Wang seemed to be telling the truth. He wanted to continue discussing details, but a fierce disturbance came through, making the hair on the Wolf-headed Human stand on end, his fangs bared as he let out a powerful roar. Then, the rms of the Delta also went off. ¡°Alert, unidentified attack detected, all scout robots have been destroyed, requesting the captain to decide on counter-attack strategies.¡± Upon hearing this, Wang felt a pang of pain. To capture the best pictures, he had bought the best scout robots, each of them equipped to take high-definition photos. He hadn¡¯t expected them all to be gone in a sh. But as much as it hurt, he immediately began reviewing thest pictures sent by the scout robots, only to discover that it was pitch ck around the spaceship.
In the cosmos, all light was devoured, the glow of the stars disappearing into darkness, making the space around the ship seem iparably silent and cold. The hull of the spaceship started to show signs of Corrosion, and the surrounding darkness seemed to possess a formidable eroding power, steadily consuming his gship. Seeing these traces, the Wolf-headed Human¡¯s face showed a look of despair. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s already toote. Sorry, Angel Envoy of the Outer God, it looks like we¡¯re both going to die here.¡± Wang Say Games paid no attention to him and instead pondered the Corrosion marks on the pictures. The Wolf-headed Human thought Wang had been frightened into a stupor and continued speaking on his own, ¡°They are Shadows, they have powerful erosive and shape-shifting abilities, we are no match for them. But at least the message has been sent out, our sacrifice won¡¯t be in vain. We¡­¡± ¡°Shut up, stop talking. Delta, adjust the energy allocation, channel all energy to the light sources.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked the Wolf-headed Human, puzzled. ¡°Is light useful?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you guys experimented with that before?¡± ¡°¡­No, nobody ever thought about that.¡± Wang looked at the Wolf-headed Human in amazement, and then it dawned on him that they were a race almost devoid of creativity. Lacking creativity, they hardly ever considered such a possibility, nor had anyone experimented to see if light could disperse the Shadows. However, through the traces left by the Shadow Corrosion, Wang quickly thought of another game created by Fang Cheng¡¯s alias, which was ¡°Dark Builder.¡± In that game, Shadows could be dispersed by the light of a bonfire, so he wanted to try it out here. Quietly waiting for Delta to charge up, the searchlights around the ship lit up, and surging energy converged at that moment, making the spaceship shine like a miniature star. In this sea of darkness, it was like a lighthouse, the thick Shadows pierced through, driven away, opening a path for Wang to leave. Feeling the departure of the Shadows, the Wolf-headed Human was dumbfounded. By the gods above, were the Angel Envoys of the Outer God all this formidable? But what Wang was thinking was that this crossover was quite spectacr.
Chapter 272: 178: Will Working Overtime Get Me Fired? (Second Update)_1 Chapter 272: Chapter 178: Will Working Overtime Get Me Fired? (Second Update)_1 Easter eggs have always been a hallmark of Fang Cheng Studio ¡ª one simply cannot miss out on them. Wang had once heard from Monkey on the down-low that their boss, Fang Cheng, was a maniac for Easter eggs. He couldn¡¯t bear the thought of their games not being stuffed with Easter eggs, to the point that even the in-house nners would often stumble upon new ones while ying. If you haven¡¯t encountered any Easter eggs while ying the game, then it means you haven¡¯t been ying attentively and thoroughly enough. As a penalty, you¡¯re sentenced to start over and y again. Now, looking back, ¡°Dark Builder¡± probably foreshadowed the ¡°Shadow Invasion¡± event all along, with the solution hinted at early on; it all depended on how closely yers were willing to look. Luckily, I knew Fang Cheng well enough to notice this. Discovering that bright light could indeed temporarily drive away the darkness, Wang puffed out his chest, spread his hands wide, and positioned himself so that the live stream camera could capture just how handsome he looked at that moment. [Damn it, Wang¡¯s reaction this time was so quick, he managed to pull off being cool.] [That¡¯s right, he did pull off being cool.] [Hiss~ Wang actually has a brain now, what an anomaly!] [Did he actually recover his brain after appearing on a TV show?]
Amid the ¡°praise¡±, Wang became even more pleased with himself. I just love how you can¡¯t stand me yet still have topliment me! However, the Gnoll beside him couldn¡¯t see what was happening in the live stream room; he could only see Wang preening by himself, and what exactly he was proud of waspletely beyond the Gnoll¡¯s ken. By the gods above, envoys of the Outer God are truly bizarre. Having momentarily expelled the darkness, the bright spaceship began to travel toward the nearest, while swathes of Shadows trailed behind like Larva that Gnaws on Bones, neither encroaching nor willing to give up on their elusive prey. Shadows loathe strong light, but it seems they¡¯re not destroyed by it. If Wang wasn¡¯t mistaken, these Shadows likely share the same origin as those in ¡°Dark Builder¡±. Therefore, yers could totally utilize the same method to eradicate the Shadows. Still, since the gamey of the two titles isn¡¯t quite the same, further study is needed. Quick-acting yers have already reopened ¡°Dark Builder¡±, and afterparing the effects and characteristics of Shadows in both games, the identity of Fang Cheng as the Living Immortal has been undeniably confirmed, virtually set in stone. Looking at the previous games produced under this alias, some people realized that Mr. Fang is a wiz atmercial games and also quite adept at ying with yer psychology. And the habit of assigning random tags seems to be a constant. Even a game like ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me¡± dared to sport the ¡°educational¡± tag ¡ª were they seeking a more fervent bacsh from yers? Some video content creators have already started analyzing how the two games intertwine, their discoveries thrilling yers and prompting them to actively unearth simrities between the two games. The Female Evil God from ¡°Dark Builder¡± had also been dug up, with various details discussed and dissected in the public forum. On the subforum of Game Inn, yers had gone wild. The sudden surge in activity was so unexpected that even the admins of the site were taken aback. Had their website¡¯s architecture not been robust enough, this wave of traffic alone could have crashed an ordinary site. Seemingly forgetting about making money, everyone plunged into the search for clues,paring the nuances of both games and constantly summarizing various pieces of intelligence. The matter of the Female Evil God was dug up, and upon realizing there was a sequel to that story, yers¡¯ emotions were further stirred, leading them to continue their frenzied digging. And in the forum, a piece of gaming news was pinned to the top, ushering yers into a state of full-on revelry. [Shocking! This Is How Games Can Interlink!] ¡ª Chen Rang. ¡°Although I¡¯m sure everyone is clear by now, it still needs to be emphasized that the Living Immortal is none other than Fang Cheng,
ording to thetest discovery by a newbie content creator who insists on being named ¡ª Wang Say Games ¡ª signs of a Shadow Invasion have emerged in ¡®Space Navigator¡¯. Key NPCs have revealed that a Demi-God Powerhouse in the first arc is battling against a powerful Evil God. The Shadows in this game are identical to those in another game, ¡®Dark Builder¡¯, and some people have found through starmapparisons that the location of this game is within the same star system. Currently, yers have tried to warp through the Shadows and reach the world of ¡®Dark Builder¡¯. If we seed, then we can attempt to bring two different game characters together. Although this mode of y has been done before, this is the first time I¡¯ve heard of a domestic developer aplishing it. Imagine using the magical weapons from ¡®Dark Builder¡¯ to fight the external Shadows or employing the spaceships from ¡®Space Navigator¡¯ tobat the Shadows of another world. Such actions would greatly alter gamey and add more diversity to the games.
This kind of endeavor is quite bold. One misstep could easily disrupt the bnce of the games and make things overly exaggerated. But regardless, I have great admiration for Fang Cheng and his willingness to take such risks. He never seems to follow a script; he always manages to stun me. His moves, endlessly full of pleasant surprises for the yers, truly endear him to the crowd. Thank you, Fang Cheng.¡± The emergence of this gaming news inspired another realm of possibility among yers. They began to actively seek out the where ¡®Dark Builder¡¯ was set. Although most attempts to reach it ended in vain halfway through the journey, the yers continued their enthusiastic exploration undeterred. Chapter 273: 178: Will Working Overtime Get Me Fired? (Second Update)_2 Chapter 273: Chapter 178: Will Working Overtime Get Me Fired? (Second Update)_2 The wealth that had been umted before was all used to purchase the Kuafu Spaceship, bringing new vitality to the once quiet ¡°Squirrel Spaceship,¡± boosting its sales once more. ¡°Dark Builder,¡± ¡°Squirrel Spaceship,¡± and ¡°Space Navigator¡± ¡ª these three games produced an astoundingly effective cross-promotion effect. Although they are different types of games, and one even has a distinct style, under a shared universe, the games promoted each other and saw their sales soar terrifyingly. On Bilibili, the well-executed cross-promotion became an excellent case study for operations management, and the previously low-key promotion of ¡°Space Navigator¡± turned into a strategy for people to constantly analyze. Some people started analyzing from the perspective of topic selection, pondering why Fang Cheng chose to develop ¡°Dark Builder¡± first. Others approached from the angle of ground marketing strategies, analyzing the reasons for using ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± to bridge the games. Some expressed that using making money as the main method in ¡°Space Navigator¡± was a ¡°premeditated¡± gift. The money yers had saved up before became more than just a number; it turned into a key to unlock even greater treasures. Seeing these reports, Qiu Yu, who was working on a proposal at home, also became curious about the details and then fell into contemtion. By his side, n, wearing white bunny pajamas, was drinking Qingdao beer and watching the news of his home country when he sighed, ¡°This news has even spread to Gaul.¡± ¡°Gaul knows about it too?¡± Qiu Yu asked in surprise, ¡°I thought the Gauls didn¡¯t care about this kind of thing?¡± ¡°Some people still care. After all, Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games aren¡¯t very well-known in Gaul, but there are some die-hard fans. Their games have great gamey, and gamey is universal.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true. What are they saying over in Gaul?¡± ¡°Let me try to trante it for you.¡± After taking a sip of beer, n said, ¡°A brilliant cross-promotion, an unimaginable world-building architecture. When they first yed ¡®Dark Builder,¡¯ Fang Cheng must have already thought about how to expand this universe and where to nt Easter eggs.¡± ¡°Our game developers should take note, games should be about fun, not political correctness.¡± ¡°I really like Mukuai, but it seems they don¡¯t like me. When I yed ¡®Medic,¡¯ I wasn¡¯t greeted by Mukuai but by an NPC from the game. It feels like racial discrimination.¡± At this point, n added, ¡°I didn¡¯t encounter Mukuai either, is that a bug?¡± ¡°You¡¯re using my ount, that¡¯s the Mukuai. What are you looking at me for?¡± ¡°In Gaul, employing childbor like this would get you thrown in jail.¡± ¡°¡­But this is just a game.¡± ¡°Even in games, it¡¯s not okay. Recently, there have been more and more restrictions in games. Last time, there was a game that got death threats from LGBT organizations just because they only offered two genders instead of one hundred three.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why your recent games aren¡¯t fun.¡± n frowned and thought about it, feeling that Qiu Yu was right. Then he read many morements. The Gauls¡¯ signature exaggeration and romanticism were on full disy, leaving Qiu Yu feeling that their ttery was anything but repetitive. But it can¡¯t be denied, hearing people from other countries praise your nation¡¯s creators is kind of thrilling. After finishing, n said with a mischievous smile, ¡°So, choosing topete with such people, do you feel the pressure?¡± ¡°There¡¯s pressure, but it¡¯s fine,¡± said Qiu Yu, stretching his fingers, ¡°Fang Cheng Studio is known for realism andrge-scale games, with diverse gamey and aplete and detailed universe as a foundation. Plus, their programming is top-notch. They must have their own engine and the ability to continuously recycle various materials, which is why they can produce games that are both fast and high-quality.¡± ¡°What about you? What advantages do you think you have?¡± n asked. ¡°Repeatability.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡±
Repeatability in gaming isn¡¯t a bad design; in fact, many designers intentionally make games reyable, using the same gamey to extend game time while still keeping it enjoyable. Difficulty spikes, numerical enhancements, feedback at critical junctures, and negative feedback from monster strength are all important considerations for repetitive design. ¡°Diablo 2¡± is a prime example of a repetitive game, also known as a grind game. The advancement at each step can lead to a qualitative change through quantitative increases in the gaming experience. Having honed rted skills in the casual gaming department at Tianyi, Qiu Yu¡¯s designs also capitalized on repeatability, creating a unique signature style.
While letting n continue to work on music for him, Qiu Yu kept reading reports about Fang Cheng Studio. ¡°` As he watched, he thought, no matter how he considered it, he felt that the other party was outrageously strong, daring to use such a method for promotion. However, upon rethinking, he believed that this promotional effect must have been a fluke. The recent poprity of Wang Say Games was an opportunity; the shared world view of the three games was a catalyst, while the coincidentally discovered Easter eggs ignited everything, leading to a rapid explosion of public opinion under various coincidences, even making it known overseas. The other party was simply making games as they pleased, and even without this incident, the quality of the games alone was enough to make them the talk of the industry. And it was precisely this that allowed Qiu Yu to sense the terror within. This indicated that Fang Cheng Studio, even if they made games casually, each game contained a high degree of topicality. This effortless sense of topicality would grow as the number of games increased. After cultivating yers¡¯ habits, every time a new game was released, yers would subconsciously search for Easter eggs, seeking connections to previous games, thus creating a synergistic effect for their own games. ¡°Fang Cheng Studio, indeed extraordinary.¡± After sighing with emotion, Qiu Yu found his hands beginning to tremble. It wasn¡¯t out of fear, but excitement. The other party¡¯s interlinked methods did not intimidate him; instead, they gave him some new insights. He would start pondering how to add new highlights to his games, allowing them to self-propagate after release.
Moving his sore fingers, Qiu Yu continued to type on the keyboard. Amidst the outside world¡¯s praise, Fang Cheng was in his own studio, looking at the screen with confusion. [A tremendously surprising way of interlinking.] [From best-sellers to hot items, he used only three games.] [What does Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s break into the mainstream indicate?] [How did Fang Cheng Studio respond to the news of the open gamingmunity?] He read each one and Fang Cheng had a question: Are they talking about me? In these media articles, he seemed to have be a game genius, a marketing wizard, almost omniscient in game production and promotion. Arriving at the studio this morning, his colleagues looked at him with admiration; the new colleague Lin Nan couldn¡¯t say a word, just a face full of worship. Wang Xiaoying, the operations manager, excitedly pulled him aside, expressing that she had never thought that in-game methods could be used for marketing, asserting that games truly need to speak through their gamey. Surrounded by praise, Fang Cheng was bewildered. Staring at Dustfire, which others couldn¡¯t see, he found its colors bing even more chaotic, with yers¡¯ desire for money serving as a stepping stone for other desires, showing him how unpredictable yer thoughts could be.
However, after some thought, he felt that it wasn¡¯t over yet, that there was still a chance to turn things around. yers were now having different thoughts due to the Shadows¡¯ invasion, but as long as he could get the yers to repel the Shadows and restore peace to the world, they would certainly shift their attention back to making money, thereby purifying Dustfire once again. Embracing this idea, he reorganized his thoughts, then said to the nners, ¡°Huang Ping, prepare for the update! We need to link Dark Builder together now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this!¡± Huang Ping immediately jumped up and said, ¡°I guessed you would think this way over the weekend, boss, so I¡¯ve already prepared a proposal in advance.¡± ¡°Go home now and don¡¯te in tomorrow.¡± ¡°Understood. Xiao Douzi, the proposal is yours now. Lin Nan, you work on it with Xiao Douzi; I¡¯m heading home.¡± Watching Huang Ping leave the studio, Lin Nan¡¯s eyes widened, his mouth agape, his body trembling. No wonder Xu Qingling discourages working overtime. In here, does working overtime mean getting fired? ¡°` Chapter 274: 179: Decisive Battle (Three More)_1 Chapter 274: Chapter 179: Decisive Battle (Three More)_1 Having understood thepensation system for overtime here, Lin Nan finally realized that there was overtime pay and time off in lieu. Knowing the reason behind it, Lin Nan couldn¡¯t help but recall the time she was at Wolong, where she had only three hours off for Mid-Autumn Festival and didn¡¯t even have enough time to get a haircut. But wouldn¡¯t running a business like this really lead to bankruptcy? If this ce went under, what would I do? At that thought, Lin Nan finally understood why her colleagues were so motivated and serious, even keeping an eye on the studio¡¯s game over the weekend and actively taking on projects. Thispany simply couldn¡¯t be allowed to close down. Therefore, she went over Huang Ping¡¯s nning proposal, reading it carefully before falling into silence. It was¡­ really well written. A nning proposal is a nner¡¯s basic skill, and although different nners have different writing habits, as long as one can effectively and directly exin their ideas, it is considered a qualified proposal. Differentpanies will have different formats for their nning proposals, and Huang Ping¡¯s format seemed easy to understand, with each module well-organized, making it quick for nners to grasp and for programmers to get started.
Such talent would be wasted at Wolong even as a lead nner. Feeling the gap between them, a strong sense of tension overwhelmed Lin Nan, causing even her stomach to hurt. Nheless, she controlled her nervousness and approached Xiao Douzi to engage in a slow and steady exchange. While Xiao Douzi worked in a serious manner, he was quite amiable in private, and the two had no troublemunicating. New ideas emerged from their interaction, and Lin Nan gradually forgot her anxiety and started to blend into the studio¡¯s work rhythm. It was their first coboration, but Lin Nan had already yed the game for four days and had umted many thoughts, leading to substantive discussions and making Xiao Douzi realize that Lin Nan indeed had something to offer. By next Monday, the game¡¯s new version had also been updated. The new event DLC, ¡°Shadow Invasion,¡± went online free of charge. In the new version, ¡°Space Navigators¡± would link with ¡°Shadow Builders,¡± allowing yers to choose three different magical weapons from thousands andbine them into one, with the effects inherited ording to certain rules, bing usable magical weapons for the yers. yers could then ce these magical weapons on their gship, enhancing its power to resist the Shadows. The magical weapons could also be swapped out with only a one-minute cooldown, allowing yers to explore different strategies to repel the Shadows promptly. During the week of preparation for the update, the situation in the gxy had already changed. Unknown Evil Gods began to invade, and the Demigods responsible for resisting them were retreating. To avoid being corrupted by the Shadows, these Demigods had no choice but to seal themselves into statues and wait for others to rescue them. The corruption started from the outer arm of the 17th ring, where a breach had been opened in the Heavenly Taowork, allowing massive amounts of Shadows to pour in. Hundreds ofs¡¯ residents began to flee, continuously leaving the region. The Main Temples of various sects started to stay brightly lit all night, with devout followers praying inside, hoping for the Gods they worshipped to manifest and drive away the Shadows. However, the Gods confined in the next-door cells indicated that they were powerless to act. The power of the sects was still very strong, and although yers continuously tried to free the imprisoned real-world interveners, the sects remained unwilling to release them. They even imed that the Shadow Invasion was the price paid for these real-world interveners¡¯ presumptuous im to be Gods, and only devout prayers to the Gods could earn redemption and save their people. Seeing such stubborn followers, most Gods realized that perhaps they had been quite mistaken in the past. Having faith is fine, but could they not use their brains when believing?
Yet, some earthbound Gods fared rtively well, such as the Goddess of Art from the Freedom Alliance. Once the DLC was updated, Liuzi immediately logged into the game. Compared to the previous period, the scale of the Freedom Alliance had expanded fivefold. Some civilizations fled from the Shadow Invasion and reluctantly turned to banditry, being absorbed by nearby Interster Pirates.
As a nearby and wealthy entity, the Freedom Alliance absorbed the most pirates. Unlike ordinary pirates, they always prided themselves on being an independent force with their own guiding principles. Their recent focus shifted to trading in artworks, with art pieces marked with anti-counterfeiting stamps garnering substantial market interest. Moreover, Liuzi was diligent, rapidly producing four sets of artwork, and although each set contained only six pages, they sold extremely well. They even recruited over a thousand yers, and thisrge yer team made them even wealthier. They had umted thirteen units of the Eye of Destruction¡¤Light Version. After logging into the game, Liuzi greeted the other squirrels and then immediately headed for the dock. Compared to the previous crude dock, the Freedom Alliance¡¯s dock had also undergone a dramatic transformation. A small asteroid had been converted into a dock, where a dozen ships always entered and left, bringing in urgently needed goods and transporting their own goods elsewhere. The recent emphasis had shifted to specialties brought by other real-world interveners. Some of these goods were luxury items that could be sold at high prices when transported out; others were consumables needed by yers, like fried rice from a certain that was infused with extraordinary effects, temporarily enhancing bodily functions by 20%. This type of item could be used by yers as well as the half-Gods who joined them, making for a very affordable prop. After confirming the recent state of the Freedom Alliance and finding no issues, he was about to choose the magical weapon he wanted when he saw the Goddess of Art squatting in front of his ship. The spineless hedgehog sat bored on the steps, looking mncholic, asionally ncing towards the door as if waiting for someone. On seeing Liuzi running over, she immediately stood up and excitedly said, ¡°Liuzi, you¡¯re finally here!¡± ¡°Yeah, did Xiemen Waidao say when he¡¯d be online?¡±
¡°¡­How about first showing concern for me? Didn¡¯t you notice anything different about me?¡± ¡°Did you gain weight?¡± ¡°¡­Anything else?¡± ¡°Grew spikes?¡± ¡°¡­Really, there¡¯s nothing else?¡± ¡°New clothes?¡± The Goddess of Art finally sighed in relief and then proudly said, ¡°Exactly, new clothes! Haven¡¯t you noticed how sexy my clothes are? Do you like them?¡± Looking at the Goddess of Art, who was dressed in an evening gown that fully entuated her barrel-shaped figure, Liuzi said helplessly, ¡°I want to emphasize again that we Angel Envoys don¡¯t like this.¡± ¡°Really? Then this won¡¯t do. I heard from a certain Angel Envoy that this was pretty good, you¡¯d definitely go wild after seeing it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that guy was Xiemen Waidao.¡± ¡°He asked me to tell you that he isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°¡­Don¡¯t listen to that guy¡¯s words from now on. Besides, didn¡¯t you want to know what Angel Envoys like? You should ask a few more people, not just harp on me alone.¡± The Goddess of Art rubbed her small hands together in confusion, ¡°That¡¯s true, I should ask more people. But strangely, why do I only want to know what you like?¡±
¡°Spit it out, are you craving my new artwork?¡± ¡°Yes, that must be it!¡± After handing his new creation to the Goddess of Art, Liuzi opened the new DLC interface, starting to ponder which three magical weapons to fuse and load up. Since it was DLC, all the magical weapons were unlocked, with a dazzling array of effects that were eye-catching, and whenbined with the game¡¯s spaceships, they could produce even richer effects. As Liuzi was considering his options, the Goddess of Art had already finished looking at Liuzi¡¯s work and began to look at Liuzi himself. For some reason, she had been thinking about Liuzi a lot recently. At first, she thought she was craving Liuzi¡¯s work, but now upon reflection, it seemed she was actually craving Liuzi himself. Because she soon stopped looking at the new work, but she wanted to keep looking at Liuzi. After pondering for a while, she asked, ¡°Liuzi.¡± Liuzi, who was examining the effects of magical weapons, looked up and asked, ¡°Hm? What is it?¡± ¡°Are you interested in bing my High Priest?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference between a High Priest and a Priest?¡± ¡°There is! A High Priest is the person closest to me. Once I regain my God Position, you will stay by my side and paint for me every day, alright?¡±
¡°What¡¯s the sry?¡± ¡°You would be my High Priest, shouldn¡¯t you be giving me money?¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± ¡°You Angel Envoys are so rude!¡± While they were chatting, Xiemen Waidao was brought in by Mukuai 1234. Looking at Liuzi and the Goddess of Art chatting, he stroked his chin and asked, ¡°Have Ie at a bad time?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯vee at just the right time. I¡¯ve already chosen the magical weapons, do you have any suggestions?¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ve certainly asked the right person!¡± Xiemen Waidao leaned in excitedly, ¡°Back in the day, I also yed a character who killed a Female Evil God, I know thebinations of various magical weapons like the back of my hand, just follow my lead and you¡¯ll be set!¡± ¡°¡­Sheesh, isn¡¯t thisbination a bit too weird?¡± ¡°Is it? I think it¡¯s quite normal.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t your brain a bit too weird?¡± Nevertheless, Liuzi still chose to take Xiemen Waidao¡¯s advice, augmented the magical weapons, and then contacted the other members of the Freedom Alliance before heading towards the direction of the Shadow Invasion. Behind them, the online yers took off in force, a fleet of Kuafu Spaceships flew off into the distance, charging towards the distant Shadows. A fleet of refugee ships flew past them, and the yers going against the current formed a stark contrast with these refugees, making them the current-defiers in the Star Sea. When they arrived at the battlefield of the Shadow Invasion, the battle had alreadymenced. Although it wasn¡¯t their first time facing the Shadows, yers with insufficient willpower still got goosebumps at the sight of them. Some yersmented that these things were clearly just a mass of ck fog, but somehow they felt creepy no matter how they looked. As expected of the Living Immortal who created ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me,¡± even ordinary darkness possessed an eerie, horrifying sensation; he really understood psychological horror. At the forefront of the battlefield, the Shadows blotted out the sky, and a massive number of them poured in from the rupture¡¯s depth, with no known entrance point for the Shadows. The Heavenly Taowork was originally a tool to resist the Shadows, but now, for some reason, these Shadows had gained the ability to go unnoticed by thework, rendering it virtually obsolete. Ordinary spaceships simply couldn¡¯t stand against the invasion of the Shadows, but there were still some local spaceships stationed nearby, casting a strong light to create a cage and binding the movement trajectory of the Shadows in order to reduce the area of resistance. Governors from various ces had already received support requests from Songta, and arge number of ace pilots were converging here. Among them, some had old feuds, but they decided to put aside their grudges in the face of a greater cause and began to fight against the Shadows. Every second, yers charged at the Shadows; with new magical weapons loaded on their spaceships, shining with the power of the Great Heavenly Lord, they plunged into the fray, slicing through the Shadows and keeping chaos at bay. There was no need for any rallying cry, as yers arriving here immediately assembled and charged into the Shadows in squads until they vanished within them. The wealth umted from before started toe into y, as yers, fearless in the face of death, again disyed their cmitous nature, entangling themselves with the Shadows using their undying trait. Outside the range of the Heavenly Taowork, an Evil God silently watched everything unfold. After noticing the Shadows being held at bay, it wasn¡¯t too surprised; instead, it extracted its own Demonic Qi and hurled it towards the Heavenly Taowork. The Demonic Qi cut off its own existence and began invading the Heavenly Taowork, entwining itself and slowly merging into thework. Chapter 275: 180 Fate Comes Full Circle (Part 1)_1 Chapter 275: Chapter 180 Fate Comes Full Circle (Part 1)_1 As the Demonic Qi began to corrupt the Heavenly Taowork, the Main God who remained in the Land of the Gods sensed it. The corruption of the Demonic Qi was silent and discreet, as nodes of the Heavenly Taowork quietly shattered before it, eventually dissipating into nothingness. Externally, this manifested as a gradual retreat of the Heavenly Taowork, while the encroaching Shadows silently invaded, engulfing smalls. And though the Shadows loathed the light, if they amassed in sufficient numbers, even stars could be devoured. The stars consumed by the Shadows would transform into dark stars, which would release a ck light and exhaust their energy at a rapid pace. Even ifter reimed, these stars would remain forever dim and lifeless, and thes around them would lose their value, bing barren wastnds. ¡°God of Lies, you have fallen so low¡­¡± The downfall of the Gods asionally happened, each time leading to an invasion by the Shadows. But as long as the response was swift, the impact wouldn¡¯t be significant. It was just that this time, the timing of the invasion was somewhat dangerous. Apart from the Main God, all other Gods had been reborn, leaving the maintenance of the Heavenly Taowork solely to Him, though the burden was not too heavy. However, this time the God of Lies seemed to have introduced some strange elements that temporarily cut off thework¡¯s surveince of the Shadows, preventing a quick response from the Heavenly Taowork.
At such times, it was necessary to increase the investment of faith, to ignite faith in the Heavenly Taowork to its utmost, fortify its power, and thus expel the Shadows. Such events had urred frequently before, so the Main God was confident this matter could be handled well. However, just in case, He still needed more faith to support the Heavenly Taowork, so He directly contacted the High Priests of various Sects, conveying His will to them. ¡°Conduct a grand mass, and then fully assist the envoys of the Outer Gods. They are engaged in a righteous deed, do not interfere,¡± He said. After a pause, He added, ¡°Treat well and release those who interfere with reality; their existence holds great significance. Do not ask me anything, for I will not have time to respond.¡± Upon receiving the message, some Sects immediately released the reality interferers imprisoned in their cells. These Gods were swiftly snatched up by yers who had long plotted for them, ready to make a handsome profit. After all, there were no major issues at the frontline; the Shadows had been contained by the dirty tricks of the yers, and everything was basically under control. As long as logistics were ensured, the final victory was already theirs. But some Sects hesitated upon receiving the orders from the Main God. The gods these Sects worshipped were not particrly kind, and vacition was normal for them; even their gods often showed a certain closeness to the Shadows, influencing the attitude of their followers, causing them to waver. Especially this time, it was rare for the Main God to ask them to conduct a grand mass, a measure which had been taken before but signified that the Heavenly Taowork faced a severe crisis, requiring the power of all the Gods. Even more unsettling for them was the fact that this time, the Main God personally delivered themand. Where were the other Gods? Rumors began to fly about, and after the Main God conveyed Hismand, He immersed Himselfpletely in moderating thework, no longer responding to the prayers of the High Priests. To Him, mortals only needed to obey the wishes of the Gods, without hesitation. However, it was this arrogance that panicked the High Priests even more. They began to pray fervently to their own gods, hoping to hear just a word or two to alleviate the fear in their hearts, but they heard nothing. Even though the Gods were close at hand, they still couldn¡¯t see them; they continued to pray to the gods of their hearts, but to no avail¡ªthere was no response. Among them was the High Priest of Lady Tragedy, the Hyena Scavenger.
In the prayer room, it chewed on a piece of half-rotten synthetic meat, its melting texture failing to delight him, and filling him with worry instead. After dinner, it prayed again to Lady Tragedy, but to no avail¡ªheard nothing. As the High Priest of Lady Tragedy, it knew all too well the nature of its god; that being would not hesitate to use its own followers as pawns for the sake of witnessing tragedy, inflicting a living death through an array of schemes. This time, it suspected it was going to be made a sacrifice, then served up on Lady Tragedy¡¯s dinner table.
The best gods are indifferent to mortals; lesser ones view them with benevolence, and the worst consider them as food, relishing in their pain and despair. Unfortunately, Lady Tragedy belonged to the worst category. Because of its understanding of Lady Tragedy, Scavenger was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, easily frightened by any minor urrence. It had a wife and beloved children, and having witnessed the tragedies Lady Tragedy could concoct, it seriously doubted whether she would harm them to enjoy watching its debasement. She might spare one child and hide it away as a means to keep it in check, forcing it to serve her while hating her existence at the same time. Ultimately, it would be killed by that very child, who would be the new High Priest and, before long, learn of their origin, sparking a new tragedy. Chapter 276: 180 Fate Comes Full Circle (Part 2)_2 Chapter 276: Chapter 180 Fate Comes Full Circle (Part 2)_2 The script conceived by the Scavenger filled it with dread, and the arrangements by Lady Tragedy would only turn out a hundred times more terrifying than anything it could imagine. After another fruitless prayer, it carefully took out a capsule. The capsule was tiny, barely half a centimeter long when held in its hand, but the poison contained within was immensely potent, enough to kill it instantly without any pain. As it gazed at the object, it began to contemte whether to end its own life, yet it worried that even this might be part of Lady Tragedy¡¯s n. While it was torn by indecision, someone knocked on the door, the sudden sound making it almost drop the poison in its fright. It barely managed to grasp it securely and tucked it into its pocket. Staring at the door of the prayer room, it temporarily suppressed its emotions and then asked, ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°My lord, a friend of yours is here, it says it wishes to see you.¡± ¡°Tell it to leave.¡± ¡°It ims it knows what you are worried about, and it says it can solve your problem.¡± ¡°¡­Let it in.¡±
Those driven to desperation will always try to clutch at every straw within reach. The Scavenger knew that the other might harbor ill intentions, or possiblye with some vile purpose, but it had no other options left. Yet, when the other entered, it still widened its eyes in shock. The other was a disciple of the Shadows. Ordinary believers could not perceive it, but having been blessed by Lady Tragedy, it could sense the aura of shadows carried by the other. But this was impossible! Under the Heavenly Taowork, any emergence of the Shadows would be annihted, all the more so in the temple, the ce closest to the Gods; they should not appear here. As the Scavenger was in shock, the other lifted their hood, revealing the pale face of a penguin. ¡°Long time no see, Scavenger.¡± The penguin smiled, its mouth full of sharp teeth. The Scavenger stared at the other party, and after a moment said, ¡°It¡¯s you, Egg Thief. I thought you were dead.¡± ¡°Almost. Having been devoured by the God of Lies, as Its High Priest, I met a simr fate. I was reborn in the Shadows and havee here on the orders of my lord.¡± The Scavenger silently backed away, then found its weapon. It wasn¡¯t primarily abat creature, but it too had been blessed by Lady Tragedy and was capable of holding its own against the other for a while. As long as it could dy for enough time, the guards responsible for protecting the ce would arrive, and the intruder would not seed. However, the penguin in front did not adopt a fighting stance but pped its arm and said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about. You can¡¯t get in touch with Lady Tragedy anymore, can you?¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°Of course I know. My lord has already begun invading the entire Heavenly Taowork; it¡¯s only a matter of time before thework falls. Ah, but I forgot, I am the High Priest of the God of Lies; you must doubt my words. No worry. Everything may deceive you, but facts and logic will not.¡± Leaning against the secret door, the Scavenger ensured it could retreat at any moment, finally feeling much safer. Observing the Egg Thief again, it noticed that the other¡¯s body was permeated with massive amounts of Shadows, transformed into another state of existence by it.
Yet, there was a force relentlessly severing the aura from its body, keeping the Heavenly Taowork from detecting it. The Scavenger didn¡¯t know how many such creatures as the Egg Thief there might be, but it was certain there were many. They took advantage of the panic of such High Priests to approach them and then began to spill all sorts of conspiracy and trickery. It knew it should leave and call the guards to chop the penguin to death or find an Envoy of an Outer God, but in the end, it did not leave. What if, this too is a part of Lady Tragedy¡¯s n?
Although Lady Tragedy has a somewhat ambiguous rtionship with the Shadows, after all, She has not yet defected to the Shadows, which makes the current Egg Thief a somewhatughable, yet ironically trustworthy person to her. Seeing that the Scavenger did not speak, the Egg Thief took out a round, egg-shaped stone from his pocket and carefully positioned it under his body before saying contently, ¡°That¡¯s better, some things are indeed better done with a body. If one were to die, they wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy this kind of thing.¡± The Scavenger continued to remain silent, but its will to survive grew even stronger. Knowing that this was the Egg Thief¡¯s rhetoric, it still asked, ¡°What brings you to me? What is it you want?¡± ¡°The Main God has issued amand to you, to conduct a great mass, to believe in the Apostles of the Outer God, and to spare those reality interferers. What do you think His intent is?¡± ¡°¡­We should not try to fathom the will of the Gods.¡± ¡°How devout,¡± replied the Egg Thief, ¡°but the little pill in your pocket doesn¡¯t seem to think the same way.¡± The Scavenger¡¯s expression changed drastically as it hurriedly covered its pocket. ¡°Don¡¯t panic,¡± the Egg Thief said calmly, ¡°we Priests of the evil gods are all the same, always preparing something in our pockets. But after being devoured by the Shadows, I no longer entertain such thoughts. It¡¯s hard for you to understand that feeling, we are all information, information enshrouded by the Shadows. At the moment of being devoured, I merged with the Gods into the Shadows, our consciousnesses blended at that moment, we became one, inseparable.¡± ¡°That is corruption!¡± ¡°That is understanding. The more one knows, the less happy they be, this is the norm for us Priests. We all know the power of the Shadows is inevitable, the Heavenly Taowork will eventually be breached, the Shadows will upy everything here, and we will be a part of the Shadows. We should not resist this change, we should embrace it. And you, my fellow, are right at this crossroads.¡± The seductive voice arose as the Egg Thief began to narrate endlessly the exquisite sensation of merging with the Gods. ¡°Mortals cannotprehend the Gods, let alone the fact that there are a multitude of Gods dwelling within the Shadows, where our consciousnesses intermingle, beginning to understand one another. I havee to know the greatness of the Gods, and the Gods have understood my fear and my devotion. We have sunk together in the sea of Shadows, a sense of return to the womb that you will never understand.¡±
The overwhelming seduction turned the Scavenger¡¯s face pale, yearning for the endless quiet it now desired most. After the introduction, the Egg Thief did not continue, but looked at the Scavenger with a sinister smile, ¡°One more piece of news to tell you, the Gods have reincarnated as humans, this I learned by infiltrating the Heavenly Taowork, also the reason you couldn¡¯t get a prophecy from Lady Tragedy. However, we do not know why They have chosen to reincarnate; it may be up to you to figure that out.¡± There are many ways to y with lies; even if every statement is true, suggestions can lead others topletely wrong conclusions. Now, under the Egg Thief¡¯s bewitchment, the Scavenger had already started to develop very unfavorable associations. Being inherently a pessimist, the absence of Lady Tragedy had already thrown it into immense panic, and the Egg Thief¡¯s implications led it to an incorrect conclusion¡ªthat the Heavenly Taowork was about to be doomed, and the Gods had already started to seek refuge from this world. Noting that the Scavenger¡¯s gaze was bing bewildered, the Egg Thief knew the brainwashing was nearlyplete. The other had been convinced by the ¡°truth,¡± beginning to ept the existence of ¡°lies,¡± and had been brainwashed, bing a servant of the Shadows. Moreover, with the blessing of the God of Lies, it was even easier to capture the other¡¯s timidity and fear, and thus, to capture the other. The Scavenger, on the other hand, thought of the reality interferers that had never appeared before, a fact which made it mutter to itself, ¡°Reality interferers¡­ why? Why would the Gods do this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe they want to y a big game before the destruction of the world? Isn¡¯t it you who said we shouldn¡¯t guess the thoughts of the Gods?¡± the Egg Thief said indifferently. ¡°What should I do? Should I not hold the great mass?¡± ¡°Continue to hold it, but change the target from the Heavenly Taowork to our Lord. As for the reincarnation of Lady Tragedy¡­ you can continue to worship Her, it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not foolish!¡±
After saying that, it took up its weapon and headed toward the prison, and soon after, the tragic screams of Lady Tragedy could be heard. Yet, even though the reincarnation of Gods also carries the attribute of immortality, this trait on a mortal flesh is a tragedy, and it turned Lady Tragedy into Her favorite food. At this moment, fate intertwined into a loop, returning exactly what She had done before back to Her. And High Priests like it were gradually bing more numerous. Chapter 277: 181 Welcome to the Second Loop (Part 2)_1 Chapter 277: Chapter 181 Wee to the Second Loop (Part 2)_1 On Cat Star, Pingping was busy handling things here. Lin Nan and the others had to work, so during working days, Pingping took charge of all matters of Cat Star, assisting the Food Lord in creating extraordinary food and then selling it as goods. As an UP host focused on lifestyle, she quite liked this job. ¡°Space Navigator¡± itself was attractive, and while some people enjoyed watching frontline pilots battle the Shadows in their spaceships, others took pleasure in watching logistic yers leisurely farm and support their families on rears. The climate of Cat Star had improved, the power of the reality interveners was stronger than expected, the surface temperature had been lowered to an appropriate level, and methods for adjusting the rainwater had beenpleted under the Food Lord¡¯s arrangement. The had been purchased, arge amount of agricultural machinery had been delivered here, and vast fields had been cultivated, filling the ce with a natural vibe. Thanks to gic breeding, the apples here were bright red and juicy, the rice was robust and resistant to lodging, and the per unit area yield of rice was seven times that of reality; and because of the presence of agricultural robots, the work was very easy. And it wasn¡¯t just her, there were other yers here too. After learning that Pingping and the others had bought the, arge number of yers came here, under Mukuai¡¯s advice, to assist in the agricultural production here and establish a food supply chain, thereby gaining vast resources. Some hardcore yers even turned this ce into a farming simtor, enjoying their daily farming, and saying it felt just like ¡°nt Grass¡± from the old days.
With reality interveners present, the rice here could mature in seven days, and the golden grains were husked into white rice by machines, after which the rice could further be processed into various delicious snacks, making the people of Cat Star happy as well. Sitting on the eaves of a newly constructed house, Pingping watched the cats she had hired begin to rest. Having just sat down, the Food Lord who was sleeping under the eaves instinctively snuggled up to her, wrapped around Pingping, curled up, and thezy movement made Pingping yawn too, thinking of sleeping alongside the Food Lord. The rice had been harvested, the machines began to tidy up the paddy fields, and even through the screen, one could smell the fresh scent of earth; everything seemed peaceful and beautiful. In the distance, arge ck cat was working in the orchard, picking plump and juicy apples one by one, tasting them and showing a satisfied smile. The kittens yed hide and seek, the mother catszily watched over them, and a sturdy Maine Coon ambled over, rubbing against the Food Lord, then covered it with a nket. Life without a Sect was so carefree and beautiful. The atmosphere made Pingping feel sleepy as well. She closed her eyes intending to nap for a while when suddenly she heard the sound of a spaceship¡¯s warp jump. Opening her eyes, she saw the Sect¡¯s spaceships reappear, hovering above the. The Food Lord also woke up. It looked up at the spaceships overhead and asked in surprise, ¡°The Food Lord¡¯s Sect? What are those rat mothers¡¯ followers doing here?¡± Then, looking back at Pingping, it said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not talking about you. I definitely have no prejudice against squirrels; it¡¯s just that I can¡¯t understand what these Sect people are up to.¡± Pingping watched the Food Lord with resignation: ¡°Have you forgotten that you are a reality intervener, and also a reincarnation of the Gods?¡± ¡°¡­Oh, I forgot! Are they here for me? Well, they¡¯vee to the right ce then, I¡¯ll definitely give them a good scolding!¡± However, the Food Lord was mistaken. It seemed that the Sect¡¯s spaceships had forgotten the thrashing they had received from the yers before, announcing through a broadcast that could be heard across the entire, ¡°Everyone, the Heavenly Taowork needs your support, please cease your current work and begin to pray devoutly.¡± The Food Lord: ¡°¡­Meow? Why? Aren¡¯t we supposed to be farming?¡± Pingping looked at the Food Lord, and then realized that this God had been well reformed.
It had been conditioned to think it couldn¡¯t live without farming, now spending its days working on the farm and then eating, polishing off three bowls of fried rice in one meal, having grown much rounder. ¡°Labor transforms the world,¡± ¡°Even Gods mustbor,¡± ¡°Labor creates happiness¡±¡ªthese were the phrases it said every day, and followed through with earnest, working happily every day. Noticing that the spacehips above were still repeating their message, the Food Lord walked dissatisfied into the room, turned on the broadcast in the room, and demanded, ¡°It¡¯s the busy farming period, keep it down! And with only six million cat mouths here, any nearby has billions of cat mouths, why must we pray.¡± ¡°They have more important tasks.¡±
¡°Like what? Licking your fur for you?¡± As if expecting resistance from the cats here, a member of the Sect continued, ¡°This is the Main God¡¯s order. Refusal is possible, please provide plenty of food as payment. If you refuse toply, we will resort to force.¡± Thus it was clear, that all previous rhetoric was a preamble for the uing plunder. Realizing that the opposition was prepared to loot openly, yers who were farming put down their tools, shook the mud off their paws, and along with their Mukuais, approached the spaceships. Before long, arge fleet of spaceships took to the skies, and the Sect¡¯s ships, caught off-guard, were captured by force fields and dragged down to the ground. Chapter 278: 181 Welcome to the Second Loop (Part 2)_2 Chapter 278: Chapter 181 Wee to the Second Loop (Part 2)_2 All the cats on the boat were dragged out, and every single one was pinned to the ground and severely beaten by the squirrels. Only after repeating ¡°Conquer¡± dozens of times were they taken to the reform camp forbor reform. The Food Lord also got in a few vicious kicks, and had the Maine Coon not been dragging Him, He could have continued kicking. Even as He was being dragged away, He was still saying fiercely, ¡°These members of the Food Lord¡¯s Sect are really shameless, picking on us all the time! Pah, don¡¯t stop me, I want to kick more. When their masteres, I¡¯ll kick them too!¡± Seeing such a Food Lord, Pingping really wanted to remind Him that He was their master. Pingping was also rmed by the actions of the Sect. When she opened the Game Inn, she found that not only Car Star was being extorted by the Sect. On the forums, yers started to rant about the Sect¡¯s overfishing and overestimation of its power. ¡°I was peacefully hunting Shadows when the nearby Sect suddenly notified me to help pray in preparation for resisting the Shadows. I want to ask, who are you praying for? The Shadows?¡± ¡°I was transporting supplies to the frontlines when my spaceship was detained by a Sect spaceship nearby. Their reason for impounding my ship was that I hadn¡¯t prayed on time. Let me ask, isn¡¯t there a chance that transporting supplies to the frontline could be more effective than praying?¡± ¡°I¡¯m bankrupt¡­ I admit, I gambled a bit, I hoarded arge amount of military supplies, then they were requisitioned by the Sect for nopensation, iming the Sect had the highest interpretive authority and unlimited requisition rights during the grand mass. Abuse of power for private gain, huh!¡±
¡°We saved a real-world interloper, who said that it¡¯s quite normal for the Sect to do this kind of thing recently. When I told it that the more the Sect robs, the worse its treatment with us, it also started cursing the Sect.¡± Such malicious robberies were happening everywhere, and what should have been a solemn grand mass seemed to have be an opportunity for the Sect to gather wealth, causing resentment around the world. ording to the Information Hunter, such grand masses had happened before with simr situations, where theary Governors led the forces at the frontlines against the Shadows, and the Sects used the excuse of holding grand masses to gather wealth. yers at the frontlines also conducted a survey, and the results were somewhat surprising. Considering the church¡¯s wealth-gathering efforts, even if only one-fifth made it to the frontline, the number of their warships should be twice what it is now, support should be countless, yers should be able to make a fortune by participating in the war, instead of currently having to pay out of their own pocket and using their own magical weapons to attack the Shadows. After all, in this world, prayer can earn faith, and faith is currency. This calction is simple and undeniable. However, overall, the yers¡¯ resistance against the Shadows is still on track, even though the Sect is constantly scheming behind the scenes, resisting the Shadows remains the mainstream, and any outstanding issues can be dealt withter. But then, yers discovered they had overestimated the bottom line of these Sect NPCs. While the yers led by Pingping didn¡¯t go to the frontline, they provided a batch of extraordinary ingredients with the help of real-world interlopers. These ingredients, blessed by the real-world interlopers, could temporarily enhance various attributes when consumed, such as rapid physical recovery, swift healing, and fast movement. With these ingredients, along with some magical weapons that came as support, the united Demigods also became a main force in resisting the Shadows, and consuming these ingredients became an essential part of their post-battle routine. These items had been clearly defined as irreceable, and everything else could be touched, but these were truly off-limits. Later, however, the spaceship transporting these supplies was hijacked by an unidentified force, and all the goods on the ship disappeared. The Freedom Alliance used their influence, along with the Information Hunter, to investigate the whereabouts of the supplies, only to discover them on the dining tables of the Sect. Aside from the food, the Information Hunter discovered other things as well. Power armors intended to support the frontlines were stored as craft pieces in the warehouse of the High Priest, a magical weapon powerful enough to extinguishs was tossed into storage, cartoons meant to boost morale were hoarded inrge quantities, bing useless wealth rather than weapons. Although they knew the Sect¡¯s greed, they never imagined it would be so extreme. Seeing the warriors at the frontlines making do with simple meals, and then seeing the screenshots the Information Hunters released from the Sect, the yers felt they had reached the peak of rage. We take the hits for you, and you y mind games with us, right?
But the angriest of all were not the yers, but the reincarnated Gods within the yers¡¯ ranks. These extraordinary items were produced in cooperation with the yers, and some items were quite difficult to create, even the Gods had to ponder how to make the world heed theirmands and produce the relevant items. In the past, they were the ones worshipped by the Sect, and even if the Heavenly Taowork suffered damage, it could be managed by holding a grand mass. But now, they have be suppliers, and it was only after actually engaging in it that they realized, the Sect was truly no good.
Besides what was rightfully due to the Gods, eighty percent of the faith was withheld, various rare items that could change the course of battles were embezzled, they¡¯re no longer just parasites but naked fat pigs, even actual pigs would drool at the sight. Chapter 279: 181 Welcome to the Second Loop (Part 2)_3 Chapter 279: Chapter 181 Wee to the Second Loop (Part 2)_3 ¡°What¡¯s even more infuriating is that when yers, demigods, and reincarnated gods initiatedmunication to question what was going on, the response from the other side was just a flippant sentence, ¡°This is the divine will, you don¡¯t need to obey, you just need toply.¡± The reincarnated gods unanimously responded, ¡°Go to hell! We never said anything like that!¡± The ship began to change direction, and the reincarnated gods decisively turned their guns on their own once-beloved sects. The weapons ofst resort, the Stars of Destruction, were activated, and one sect after another was uprooted by the yers, plunging the entire world into a state of civil war amid the madness of yers and gods. Meanwhile, the Shadows began to massively invade the front lines, and it was only after the yers had wiped out the sects that they realized the situation had be irretrievable. More than half of the star system had fallen into the hands of the Shadows, the Heavenly Taowork hadpletely copsed, and the flora and fauna were forced to retreat to the remaining areas, where they struggled to survive. Although there were no casualties for the time being, their territory was shrinking continuously, and everything seemed beyond redemption. After seizing more than half of the Heavenly Taowork, the God of Lies suddenly became a power that could rival Mr. Main God. This graceful god, donned in a gorgeous robe, entered the Land of the Gods with the poise of a king, ready to represent the Shadows in taking over this ce and to proim the victory of the Shadows. The Shadows, flora and fauna, and gods, were originally part of the same existence, separated beings from the ancient race of ¡°humans.¡±
And now, it was time for them to merge back into one and return to the Shadows. Individual consciousness would no longer exist, barriers wouldpletely disappear, and everyone would merge into the collective grand consciousness, bing an almostplete being. They could feel the joy in the messages from the Shadows, with every assimted consciousness congratting Them, and a long-standing wish finally about to be realized, filling Their heart with profound emotion. Of course, there were still questions. For instance, this time, They could sense the Shadows constantly invading, but failing to add new consciousnesses. Even if damaged, the Heavenly Taowork still protected everyone, which took Them by surprise. But no matter, They were on the verge of victory. As They approached the Land of the Gods, They heard a voice in the empty sacrednd, ¡°Mr. Main God, I don¡¯t think this is right. Theissez-faire attitude you gods have is not correct, having consumed their faith, you should at least do something humane. Not to mention anything else, but could you at least discipline your followers? I can¡¯t stand to see the extent of their corruption.¡± ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not using you, I just feel it¡¯s not quite right. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you showed yourselves more often and took more responsibility for teaching your followers?¡± ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡± Upon entering, the God of Lies found Mr. Main God and another Outer God sitting face to face. The Main God, with his head bowed, had none of his usual dignity and appeared utterly uneasy in the presence of the Outer God. Looking at this Outer God, the God of Lies couldn¡¯t help but swallow hard. Nevertheless, They approached politely, paid Their respects, and said, ¡°My respects to you, Lord Outer God.¡± Fang Cheng turned his head, nced at the God of Lies, then said to Mr. Main God, ¡°The God of Lies is also a problem, such a big god goes missing, and you don¡¯t think of ways to prevent it? And, Him dabbling in things outside, you don¡¯t keep watch? As a leader, I think you¡¯re quite negligent.¡± ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡± ¡°No need for apologies now, this is your cmity. However, part of the reason lies with my scissors here, so I still have a reason to act. But if you don¡¯t fundamentally change the way you gods interact with the secr world, the same issues will ur. I will take the least impactful approach to repair all this, so you have to be more careful next time.¡± ¡°¡­ Thank you.¡± ¡°I also need to discuss this matter with the yers. This failure was a bit outrageous, but why am I not surprised at all?¡±
Fang Cheng sighed, feeling that next time, he needed to consider things moreprehensively. Under the watchful, panicked gaze of the God of Lies, Fang Cheng opened his right hand, palms up, and then ced his left hand over it. Subsequently, he flipped his hands, so his left hand was now on the bottom, and his right hand was on top. Although it was a simple action, the God of Lies suddenly realized that time was rewinding, the Shadows were retreating, and everything around them was rapidly returning to its original ce, eventually bringing time back to the moment the Shadows had just invaded.
Under the terrible power, She was dragged back to Her original ce, outside, and She couldn¡¯t resist this power at all, no matter how hard She tried. Then, the voice of the Great Heavenly Lord rang in Their ears, as well as the ears of everyone else. ¡°Dear yers, wee to the second cycle.¡±¡± Chapter 280: 182: The High Priests Flight (Third Update)_1 Chapter 280: Chapter 182: The High Priest¡¯s Flight (Third Update)_1 The state of the world was reset at that moment, and everything was restored to the moment just after the DLC had been updated. The stars returned to their positions, stars extinguished by the Shadows were relit, devoured nts regrew, entropy began to reverse, and everything within the range of the Heavenly Taowork flowed backward to restoration. yers had just received their magical weapons, the Shadows were just about to officially invade, and the Main God had not yet held the grand mass; everything was in its initial state. But everyone¡¯s memories were preserved. The Sects clearly remembered how they had been uprooted by the yers, the yers also remembered how these catgirl nurtured fellows had caused trouble, and the reincarnated gods clearly remembered how their Sects had leeched off them. Themon people clearly remembered who had risked their lives for them and who had been violently extorting from behind, who they should support and who they should oppose; the situation had be quite clear. A massive influx of traffic headed for the Game Inn where arge number of yers analyzed and expressed their opinions, which miraculously converged into one viewpoint. Deal with the Sects before the spread of the Shadows! If they didn¡¯t get rid of the Sects early on, these guys woulde up with all sorts of tricks again and continue to feed off the blood of soldiers from behind. A group of yers immediately modified their magical weapon types, choosingbinations that could release strong light, which had once been scorned even by dogs, and now became the darling of the new version; it¡¯s really a case of one generation¡¯s weapons being another generation¡¯s gods.
The Demigods that had been turned into statues were immediately sought out, and these Demigods, bearing the memories of the past, understood their mission as soon as they recovered and started resisting the Shadows with effective magical weaponbinations borrowed from the yers. With a variety of magical weapons working together, plus the formidablebat power of the Demigods, the invasion of the Shadows was directly contained at the front. Using this time, the yers began to rapidly rally their forces, following the hints of their reincarnated gods and franticallyunching decapitation strikes on the High Priests of various Sects. Of course, the High Priests of the Sects were reborn as well. Knowing they were on a dead-end path, some High Priests with lesser sins decisively chose to surrender, then assisted the yers in liquidating their own assets. Some with heavier sins chose to end their lives, while others who attempted to resist were discovered by the enraged popce and were directly hanged. Only the lucky High Priests could quickly react, taking with them captured reality interlopers, along with their guards, rushing onto spaceships, and beginning to flee outward. Nearly every was in turmoil; the ending of thest cycle showed the popce that the Sects were not invincible, that they were no match for the Angel Envoys, and even if their resistance failed, the Outer Gods¡¯ Angel Envoys could still hang those sinden Priests. Disturbances were happening everywhere, even some armies within the Sects joined in the chaos. Long-standing grievances against the Sects finally exploded that day, and through the turmoil, the people discovered that they were more powerful than they had anticipated. Among the few escapees, the Hyena Scavenger was undoubtedly the luckiest one. Its spaceship was decent, it had a group of loyal subordinates, and it was usually kind, so when it fled, there were even people covering for it. But it knew that the crimes it hadmitted were unforgivable; it had cozied up to the Shadows and then abused a reincarnated god. On the spaceship, apart from itself, there was also Lady Tragedy who had been captured and its friend who hade to persuade it, the Egg Thief. They kept jumping through space, each jump bringing an impact that made the Hyena dizzy, but it stayed in its cabin the whole time, refusing toe out. Even its most loyal guards were not allowed into its bedroom because that was where it hid its most important bargaining chip, Lady Tragedy. With the knowledge obtained over the previous weekend, the Scavenger already knew that reality interlopers were reincarnations of gods and about their inconceivable power to alter reality. The current state of Lady Tragedy was a tragedy, yet this tragedy provided Lady Tragedy with power, allowing Her to interfere with reality on a small scale. To fully exploit this ¡°prop,¡± it took certain measures with Lady Tragedy.
In the bedroom¡¯s nutrient tank, Lady Tragedy¡¯s body was filled with tubes of various colors, while the tank contained arge supply of reagents that were continuously injected into Her body. These reagents left Her drowsy and mentally unclear, ultimately able to obey only the Scavenger¡¯s orders and fulfill any conditions stated by the Scavenger . . . Because of the Lady¡¯s own undying nature, the Scavenger did not need to worry about overdosing causing Her to die suddenly; it was enough to make Her follow its arrangements. And this act further intensified the tragic nature inherent to Lady Tragedy, enabling it to continuously umte Lady Tragedy¡¯s power through such means.
For the current state of Lady Tragedy, the Scavenger maliciously gave Her a name. Universal Wishing Machine. After reveling in Lady Tragedy¡¯s current pathetic state, the Scavenger began to tune into the interster broadcast. The interster broadcast was spread through the Heavenly Taowork; this broadcasting method could send the signal into the Heavenly Taowork as a concept and then emerge from thework, achieving almost zerotency, allowing them to hear the broadcast simultaneously across thousands of light-years. Chapter 281: 182: The High Priests Flight (Third Update)_2 Chapter 281: Chapter 182: The High Priest¡¯s Flight (Third Update)_2 These past few days have unquestionably been the busiest days for media practitioners. Entire star systems have fallen in recent days, as the shameless Apostles of the Outer Gods shredded their hypocritical facade andunched brazen attacks against the Sects, tearing the old order to pieces. Almost every second, someone was hanged, while those whose sins were not as heavy were sent directly tobor camps for reformation. Car Star and other agriculturals were very weing of these people; thoses had always suffered from shortages ofbor, and a certain reincarnation of the Gods was very fond of personally telling others just how wonderfulbor was. Whenever the Scavenger heard such news, it felt extremely relieved. Relieved that it had reacted in time and fled directly to the Shadows while there was still something left to save. Based on the experience of thest cycle, it understood that the Shadows would achieve ultimate victory. The Apostles¡¯ arrogance was only temporary, and everything would eventually return to chaos and peace. Not to mention that it was bringing Lady Tragedy as a gift; the Shadows had no reason to refuse such a grand offering. While it was offering prayers to the Shadows, there was a knock on the door. The Scavenger stood at the door cautiously and then asked in a low voice, ¡°Who is it?¡±
¡°Let me in,¡± the low voice of the Egg Thief sounded from outside. The Scavenger sighed in relief and then opened the door to let the Egg Thiefe in. The Egg Thief was a part of the Shadows and one of the few allies it could trust at the moment. After letting him in, the Scavenger noticed that the Egg Thief seemed to be trembling incessantly. Lies require confidence to sustain, so the followers and Priests of the God of Lies always present themselves with an air ofplete confidence. Even when faced with desperate situations, they still had to remain confident. But now, that confidence had vanished, leaving no trace behind. Instead, stood a trembling, timid Egg Thief. Noticing this, the Scavenger grew tense as well. It gestured for the other to sit down and passed a stiff drink, asking seriously, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°We¡¯re doomed,¡± said the Egg Thief, holding the drink weakly. ¡°How can that be? The Shadows are bound to win.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t seen them, so you can¡¯t understand,¡± said the Egg Thief, shaking, ¡°The information within the Shadows is interconnected. The God of Lies saw them and copsed as a result. The Shadows are now infiltrating on instinct, but we no longer have amander. We should have realized who he really is.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to understand. You just need to be afraid. They¡¯re an existence beyondmon sense. If you see the Main God acting obediently like a primary school student in front of them, then you¡¯ll understand how high their status really is.¡± The reaction of the Egg Thief took the Scavenger aback. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Who are you talking about? Haven¡¯t you already nearly taken over the whole world? Aren¡¯t the Apostles no match for you? What else is there to fear?¡± Clenching his teeth, it took a while for the Egg Thief to whisper, ¡°The Outer God.¡± ¡°Just an Outer God? Could they really be stronger than the Main God?¡±
¡°Just an Outer God?¡± The Egg Thief, who had been consumed with fear, lifted his head and looked at the Scavenger before him, releasing a contemptuous sneer, ¡°The Outer God you¡¯re talking about has done what the Main God would never dare to do. You haven¡¯t witnessed that power; time, in their hands, is merely arger toy. Haven¡¯t you ever wondered why we can manipte time? Because it¡¯s the Outer God¡¯s doing!¡± The Scavenger¡¯s expression grew serious as well. After hearing the Egg Thief¡¯s exnation and understanding the cause of time reversal, it suddenly realized that the power of the Outer God was even stronger than it had imagined. However, it still harbored a sliver of hope, ¡°With such formidable power, using it must consume a lot of strength right? Does that mean the Outer God is in a weakened state? Do we still have a chance then?¡±
¡°Hah, a weakened state. Haven¡¯t you understood yet? They did it with ease. They just flipped their hand and time flowed backward so much. I seriously doubt that if they wanted to, we wouldn¡¯t survive even a single breath,¡± replied the Egg Thief. Seeing the current state of the Egg Thief, the Scavenger began to seriously doubt its decision to choose the Shadows. But it also knew that there was no turning back. For one thing, it had already offended Lady Tragedy. Even if the Angel Envoys did not settle ounts with it afterward, Lady Tragedy certainly would. An immense fear washed over the Scavenger, leaving it at a loss, but after the fear receded, it realized that there was still one path open to it. That was to throw Lady Tragedy to the Shadows and then pretend as if nothing had happened,ter imingplete ignorance of the situation. Although it could still possibly be discovered by the Main God, it held onto a one in a million chance of luck. What if the Main God didn¡¯t find out? With this thought in mind, not only did it not flee from the Seventeenth Ring, but it also elerated the spaceship, heading for the area outside the Heavenly Taowork. However, when it reached the periphery, it was astonished to find that the Heavenly Taowork had been reinforced in an unprecedented manner. Huge holographic screens surrounded the area within the Heavenly Taowork, separating it from the outside world. Through these screens, it could clearly feel the traces of the Main God¡¯s presence. That Main God had finally started to burn itself without restraint, consuming its own faith to strengthen thework andpletely cutting off any chance for these traitors to escape.
It seemed now that the only direction left for it to go was the direction of the Shadow Invasion. Reversing the ship¡¯s heading, it sped towards the Shadow Invasion, then heard the unfortunate news from the navigator. They were being tracked. The nearby energy field was intensifying; the spaceship felt like it was hitting a thick, sticky membrane, slowing down continuously. When the spaceship finally came to a halt, it ordered its subordinates to not resist and to first see what the intentions of the people outside were. The Sect insignia on the spaceship had been erased, and the cargo bay was filled with ordinary goods, making them appear to be just an average merchant convoy, unlikely to reveal any ws. A massive pr bear boarded the ship, along with two squirrels and a spineless hedgehog; they were clearly abination of two Angel Envoys and one reality interferer, but their purpose was unknown. Its subordinates began to receive these visitors. Using the listening devices, the Scavenger heard them asking questions about the ship¡¯s purpose, origin, and crewposition. The group asked very detailed questions, but the Scavenger¡¯s subordinates were verypetent. One subordinate, who had once been a merchant, answered all questions wlessly, even exining in an orderly fashion why they were going where they were to trade goods. After finding no ws, Liuzi nodded his head and then asked, ¡°Sorry to bother you. I was wondering if you would be interested in transporting a batch ofics to the front lines? The Demigods there are very fond of theics produced by the Freedom Alliance. After reading them, their morale greatly increases, and they¡¯ve dered they would definitely see the stories through to the end before dying.¡± The subordinate let out a slight sigh of relief and then said, ¡°I would be d to.¡± The Scavenger in the room also breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it had gotten through this ordeal. But as it turned its head, it saw that Lady Tragedy in the nutrient tank had opened her eyes. This damned Gods!
The Scavenger nearly instantly understood why she had awakened¡ªthe constant self-healing of her body also led to the build-up of drug resistance, and she must have regained a hint of consciousness long before, then sensed the presence of another reality interferer and woke up at this moment. Without considering the consequences, it drew its weapon and rushed forward, severing Lady Tragedy¡¯s neck, but the flying head still managed to sputter a few words: ¡°See¡­ me¡­¡± Reality was distorted at that instant. The deck became transparent, and everyone could see the scene unfold; they all saw everything in the room and understood what was hidden there. In that moment, the Scavenger knew it was finished. Grasping Lady Tragedy¡¯s head, it said earnestly, ¡°Thestmand, give me strength.¡± ¡°¡­alright.¡± Chapter 282: 183: Not a Bad World (Makeup) _1 Chapter 282: Chapter 183: Not a Bad World (Makeup) _1 The Scavenger¡¯s finalmand waspleted in a very bizarre way. The head of Lady Tragedy in its hand began to melt, its own body began to melt, and the Egg Thief next to it started to melt too. Their bodies melted like wax in an iron pot, the biological tissues dissolving in a strange way, eventually fusing together and beginning to infiltrate the spaceship. Apanied by the sound of tearing steel, Liuzi and Xiemen Waidao saw the deck split open, inside which were densely packed with various tissues and blood vessels, and dark eyes emerged and began to extend towards the distance. Xiemen Waidao, ¡°¡­Look! Liuzi! This is too much!¡± Liuzi pped Xiemen Waidao on the back of the head, ¡°What kind of meme are you spouting at a time like this? Run with me!¡± ¡°If you want to run, you run. I¡¯m riding on my pr bear.¡± It was only then that Liuzi remembered the pr bear was also there, so he immediately grabbed the Goddess of Art and clung tightly to the pr bear. And the bear did not disappoint, carrying the three little ones at a full sprint, knocking away countless creatures in its path, and finally leaped out of the spaceship at the critical moment to the outside. The gatekeepers of the Freedom Alliance controlled the force field, capturing the pr bear mid-air. The four pirates were immediately pulled towards their own spaceship.
In space, they looked back and saw the spaceship behind them had beenpletely transformed. A massive amount of flesh had enveloped the spaceship, with fibrous materials hanging all over it, red muscles mingling with mushroom-like structures, spreading and giving this spaceship a sinister aesthetic of flesh flying everywhere. Gazing at this thing for a while, Liuzi felt his sanity plummet, but also perceived a wondrous sense of beauty from it. ¡°Wow, this thing looks pretty cool if you stare at it long enough,¡± mused Liuzi. ¡°I think so too,¡± agreed the Goddess of Art. ¡°Having one of these in the bedroom would be incredibly stylish.¡± Xiemen Waidao squinted at the two weirdos and decided not to hang out with them anymore. The Scavenger, now transformed into the Flesh Spaceship and merged with the powers of the Egg Thief and Lady Tragedy inside it, evolved into something indescribable, emanating an iparable sense of strangeness and frenzy. Although it had transformed into a different kind of being, it still retained its self-awareness and reveled in its own form. ¡°Perfect body, surging power, I feel I am now immensely strong.¡± The arrogant voice echoed across the region, the sound emerging directly in the ears of every creature, showing that it was not a real sound but some kind of mental ability. Xiemen Waidao, who had returned to the spaceship, looked at the yer and said while stroking his chin, ¡°This guy is quite arrogant. Liuzi, lend me your magical weapon.¡± ¡°Ah, herees your weird tactics again¡­ Take it.¡± Every yer¡¯s magical weapon can integrate three magical weapons, and Xiemen Waidao had tailored one specifically against Liuzi¡¯s weapon, ultimately creating a very tricky magical weapon. First step, enchant another magical weapon to summon a Pixie. Second step, enchant another magical weapon with the effect of summoning Chain Lightning, which constantly jumps between two targets and diminishes. Third step, cast regeneration on the Pixie. Fourth step, reduce the Pixie¡¯s regeneration time. Fifth step, lock the weapon onto the target¡¯s location, always maintaining a certain distance. Sixth step, reverse the effect of Chain Lightning so that its power does not diminish, but amplifies.
Six steps down, if the Pixie¡¯s cement is right, when the Chain Lightning jumps back, it can coincide with the Pixie¡¯s revival time, causing Chain Lightning to jump without end and umte damage. Generally speaking, this tactic is decent for trapping single targets; the downside is that it¡¯s a bit rough on the Pixies. After all, Pixies die at a touch, but how much damage can you take? And there are many ways to counter this tactic, but a spaceship that had justpleted its transformation shouldn¡¯t have any such methods, right?
Liuzi¡¯s weapon was taken by the force field, the Pixie was summoned, followed by the Chain Lightning beginning to jump. The pale blue arc shed out, first turning the Pixie the size of a palm to ash, before jumping onto the Flesh Spaceship; inflicting a slight damage. The slightlyrger arc returned to the weapon, killing the recently revived Pixie; then it became evenrger before going back onto the Flesh Spaceship. At first, the Flesh Spaceship paid no mind to this little critter. It had decided to start by devouring the nearest spaceship, but when the arc red up again, it caused damage once more. Shaking off some charred marks, it ignored the arc and moved towards a nearby spaceship, but the weapon behind it stuck like a shadow, and the leaping light grewrger and more powerful with each pass, bing increasingly hard to overlook. Only then did it realize something was amiss. Extending its tentacles, it tried to bat away the arc, but the arc had locked onto it. When encountered, it would only circle around, growing stronger after each shock. It wanted to destroy the weapon, but the weapon was formed of Mana, which it couldn¡¯t destroy. It tried to flee, but their distance remained constant; in the end, it could only watch helplessly as the weapon followed it relentlessly, unable to shake it off even with warp jumps. The arc grewrger andrger. Until atst, each arc could turn half of its flesh to nothingness, its fearful regeneration rate only made the arc shine brighter until it obliterated it along with the spaceship.
Chapter 283: 183: Not a Bad World (Makeup) _2 Chapter 283: Chapter 183: Not a Bad World (Makeup) _2 On the brink of death, it still couldn¡¯t believe that it actually died at the hands of a tiny electric arc. Only after the Scavenger hadpletely perished did Xiemen Waidao, following the weapon¡¯s guidance, jump to this location. The Flesh Spaceship had disintegrated into nothingness, but Lady Tragedy¡¯s body coalesced in the void and was subsequently retrieved by two yers and brought back aboard the spaceship. After securing his magical weapon, Xiemen Waidao looked at the fox-like Lady Tragedy before him and then asked, ¡°Liuzi, do you have any inspiration?¡± ¡°¡­ How could I possibly have any!¡± ¡°I saw you looking all eager at the spaceship; I thought such things could excite you as well.¡± Liuzi squinted at Xiemen Waidao and decided not to y with him anymore. Once her body was fully reassembled, Lady Tragedy woke up faintly, nearly screaming at the sight of the two squirrels in front of her. Memories of being beaten to tatters were so vivid that she couldn¡¯t help but want to scream at the sight of squirrels, as her tragic nature began to condense once again. Seeing Lady Tragedy like this, the two squirrels felt pretty good.
Just standing there could turn her into the embodiment of tragedy, and then they would try to use her to change reality. Pleased with themselves, they took Lady Tragedy and the Goddess of Art and flew toward the headquarters of the Freedom Alliance, ready to fight the Shadows in their own way. Second-round yers had more experience and became moreposed. They already knew what they were about to face and whom they could trust and whom to abandon. The direct intervention of the Main God stabilized the Heavenly Taowork, and the loyalty of the reincarnated Gods allowed the yers to resist the Shadows at a brisker pace. The Sect had be nominal, and the experience of the reincarnated Gods finally made them shed their aloof mindset and instead reflect on their rtionship with all beings and how they should manage their connections with them. When some Godspleted their tasks ahead of time and returned to the Land of the Gods, they came to Fang Cheng and presented their findings with utmost respect. ¡°Your Angel Envoy, they like to rebel.¡± Seeing the surprisingly consistent response, Fang Cheng held his head and sighed. I knew it. This bunch of yers were born to be rebellious, and the thing they loved most was to go against their own, even if they managed to expel the Shadows, they wouldn¡¯t think of doing business afterwards but would start thinking about how to bnce the rtionship between the Gods and the mundane. In the sub-forums of Game Inn, what they discussed every day were the characteristics of each God, how those characteristics could be exploited, and what kind of regimes could be established against those characteristics. Those in the know understood they were ying a game; those not in the know might think they were discussing Marxist philosophy. Although they will probably return to the old path of making money, that time is too far off to foresee. Instead of waiting for that day, it¡¯s better to think about what to do for the next game. After having been through this catastrophe, some Gods began to show empathy for sentient beings. But there were also some Gods who didn¡¯t want to return to the Land of the Gods temporarily and chose to stay in various ces instead. The Food Lord chose to remain on Car Star, eating fried rice from Maine Coons every day, doing his business, running a farm with people like Pingping and enjoying the sunset, having a very happy life every day. And every day there were stubborn old foolsing to the farm for transformation; making them slowly fall in love withbor was another of his sources of joy.
Unlike the intensely happy Food Lord, one reincarnated God was feeling rather gloomy. The situation with the Shadow Invasion was gradually stabilizing, but that breach was still there, with some yers working with Demigods and others to research the properties of the Shadows. Once they obtained the research results, they could try to counter-attack the Shadows, purify them, and ultimately aim to leave this ce. After all, the outside world was vast, and they wanted to explore.
However, within the Freedom Alliance, Liuzi had no intention of leaving. With his desire to make money fading, he decided to take a break for a while, waiting for something more interesting to happen beforeing back. Especially since numerous enjoyable foreign games had entered the market since it opened up in his country, it would be a good opportunity to try them out during this period. He had only sampled Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s several games superficially before and could now y them properly. Knowing that Liuzi was leaving, Xiemen Waidao felt a bit reluctant, but it didn¡¯t matter. Anotherpanion, the Goddess of Art, came to Liuzi rather coyly and asked, ¡°Um, you¡¯re leaving, don¡¯t you have anything you want to say?¡± ¡°Oh, goodbye.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Stop eating; you¡¯re turning into a ball.¡± ¡°¡­Anything else?¡± ¡°Goodbye. I¡¯m leaving.¡± As she watched Liuzi leave, the Goddess of Art mmed the snack in her hand and said discontentedly, ¡°What does he mean by that!¡± ¡°He¡¯s just not that into you,¡± Mukuai 1234 said, rubbing the Xiemen Waidao in her arms.
¡°How is that possible! We gods are both adorable and great, how could he not be into me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just suggesting a possibility, just a possibility. Could it be that you¡¯re into him?¡± ¡°Impossible, absolutely impossible. What are you implying with that?¡± the Goddess of Art began shaking her head frantically. ¡°Oh. Then I won¡¯t tell you the method to see him in other ces.¡± After a moment of silence, the Goddess of Art passed over some of the faith she had umted. This faith could be converted into merit, and the amount was probably enough topensate for the merit Mukuai 1234 had eaten from the Xiemen Waidao, and perhaps even allow her to eat a bit more. After epting the faith, Mukuai 1234 called the Goddess of Art over and whispered something in her ear, which made the Goddess of Art hesitate and ask, ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Then¡­ thank you.¡± Waving goodbye, Mukuai 1234 looked at the suddenly empty base and, still holding the Xiemen Waidao, said, ¡°It¡¯s gotten so quiet all of a sudden, feels a bit unusual.¡± ¡°Can you keep your hands calm when you say that?¡± grumbled the Xiemen Waidao, now pinched into an equteral triangle. ¡°Don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t like it.¡±
¡°But I like it.¡± ¡°¡­Alright, I like it too then.¡± ¡°Good.¡± After logging off, Liuzi first took a nap, catching up on the sleep he had missed recently. Upon waking, he replied to his editor¡¯s messages, telling him that he had no immediate ns to resume publication, but would inform him if that changed. With nothing else to do, he watched some variety shows, video chatted with his family back home, cleaned his room since it was still early, read through a pile of umtedics, and then began preparing to y a game. Although he hadn¡¯t decided what to y yet, he logged into Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s pass, intending to start from there and consider his options. But just as he logged into the game, he noticed an extra person had appeared in his apartment. The person was a quite cute girl, dressed in a white dress, with long, silky, ck hair. She was lying on the couch with little Mukuai, both of them reading aic and asionallymenting on the content. Everything about this girl was great, except that she was only as tall as a figurine, which made her seem more like a living doll than a human, naturally not triggering Liuzi¡¯s anxiety around women. Hearing the door open, both the figurine girl and little Mukuai looked up and said to the entering Liuzi, ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± ¡°You¡­ Goddess of Art?¡±
¡°¡­You actually recognized me!¡± ¡°Your voice is exactly the same, okay! But how did you get here? Are the easter eggs that high-end now? And why are you so small? Is there a special reason?¡± ¡°Those little details don¡¯t matter. Just know that I might asionally drop by. Are you weing me or not?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s okay, I guess.¡± Watching the Goddess of Art continue reading with little Mukuai, Liuzi felt his apartment suddenly filled with life, giving him, who lived alone, a long-missed feeling ofing home. Sitting on the lounging chair by the bed, he suddenly lost interest in continuing to game and, instead, stared at the distant beach and sea, listening to the excited voice of the Goddess of Art, and quietly rested. This world, it¡¯s quite nice. Chapter 284: 184 Satisfaction (Part 1)_1 Chapter 284: Chapter 184 Satisfaction (Part 1)_1 Like many subsequent games, ¡°Space Navigator¡± only required some minor updates and adjustments. yers are now chasing after the remnants of the Sect online, discussing the rtionship between Gods and the secr world, and then piloting their spaceships to fight against Shadows. Lin Nan began to create some mini-games using the existing game mechanics, such as farming and terrain editing, to make the game more interesting. No one was pressuring her during this process; even Huang Ping said that the workload wasn¡¯t much¡ªjuste in whenever¡ªand that made Lin Nan feel this was simply the best ce to work. And when the bonus payment was calcted at the end of the month, she was so surprised at her seven-figure bonus that she couldn¡¯t close her mouth. When she saw that other people¡¯s bonuses could reach eight figures, she was so shocked that she started hupping, which didn¡¯t stop until after work. Veteran employees participated in more projects, and every new game release boosted the sales of older games, so such achievements were quite normal. The ie, the environment, and the self-motivation made Lin Nan¡¯s blood boil with excitement, wishing a new game project would appear immediately so she could show off her knowledge and skills. Although tomorrow is Saturday, next Wednesday is Labor Day, and the studio will probably arrange a day off in lieu; there will be two days to get more familiar with the previous games. Just as she was gearing up to dive into work, she heard Fang Cheng say, ¡°Let¡¯s all take a good rest this weekend. I¡¯ve noticed that recently a fewrades tend to work overtime on weekends, though it¡¯s not obvious. Still, I hope everyone can pay attention to this.¡± Lin Nan sheepishly lowered her head, then realized that others were doing the same.
Uh¡­ I guess I do fit in after all. But then, she noticed that Fang Cheng seemed to ce particr emphasis on the weekend. Just when she wondered whether to ask about it, she heard Huang Ping ask, ¡°Boss, aren¡¯t we adjusting workdays for tomorrow?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t find adjusting workdays particrly friendly, so I don¡¯t ept it.¡± ¡°So, are we working as usual next Monday and Tuesday?¡± ¡°Others are resting while we¡¯re working, which I also don¡¯t think is friendly. So let¡¯s take these two days off as well. After the five days off, everyone cane back.¡± Looking at Fang Cheng¡¯s peaceful demeanor, Lin Nan felt sure he was settling some private scores as a warning not to work overtime. The boss is really petty, huh. Once all the work was wrapped up, Fang Cheng realized it was already time to leave. He rubbed Sanmiao¡¯s head, the little creature sleepily getting up and rubbing against Fang Cheng before elegantly jumping down to the floor and heading over to y with Lin Nan¡¯s power switch. Xu Qingling, having packed up her files and waited until almost everyone had left, approached Fang Cheng and handed over two amusement park tickets. It was no longer working hours, so she changed her form of address and asked directly, ¡°Fang Cheng, Rong Cheng Happy Valley has some new attractions open. Do you want to go have a look tomorrow? I have extra tickets, and Tian Xuan can join too.¡± Tian Xuan was still ying with Sanmiao but looked up at Xu Qingling, then at Fang Cheng, and shook her head vigorously, indicating she would not go. Fang Cheng picked up the tickets and pondered. The amusement park was worth a visit; the inspiration for ¡°Botanic Garden¡± hade after a previous visit, and ¡°The Supreme One¡± had elements of a theme park too, proving that going out for fun indeed broadened one¡¯s horizons and sparked inspiration. It was a pity that Tian Xuan wouldn¡¯t go; it would¡¯ve been good for her too. Andtely, Tian Xuan had been staying out all night, preferring to hang out with Little Heavenly Way at Heavenly Tao Inte, and he hoped she wouldn¡¯t pick up any bad habits from those young Little Heavenly Ways. After he had thought it through, Fang Cheng put down the tickets and said to Xu Qingling, ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s meet at the entrance of the Happy Valley at nine o¡¯clock tomorrow morning, okay?¡±
Xu Qingling touched her chest and let out a sigh of relief; her hanging heart finally settled, and a bright smile appeared on her face, ¡°Sure, see you tomorrow.¡± At 8:30 in the morning, a long line had already formed in front of the gates of Rong Cheng Happy Valley. In the waiting area next to the entrance, Xu Qingling sat in the shade, sipping sparkling water while waiting for Fang Cheng to arrive. She was wearing the earrings that Fang Cheng had given her, her delicate earlobes looking smooth as jade highlighted by the earrings.
Her upper body was d in a long beige knit sweater, and below she wore jeans with sneakers; her simple makeup made her look proper and graceful¡ªan existence that could attract countless nces just by sitting still. Recognizing that she still had time to spare, she took out the visitor¡¯s guide again to double-check the route, only to hear a familiar voice say, ¡°Sorry for the long wait.¡± ¡°Fang Cheng, why did you alsoe so early?¡± Xu Qingling asked in surprise. ¡°I had a feeling you woulde early, so I prepared toe a bit earlier as well.¡± Xu Qingling looked at Fang Cheng, feeling that her boss was bing increasingly considerate. Queueing up for the entrance, Xu Qingling pulled Fang Cheng onto the tour bus. Knowing that Fang Cheng wouldn¡¯t know what to do, Xu Qingling had already nned out their route, and confidently said, ¡°Leave it to me; you just need to bring your brain.¡± Seeing Xu Qingling so confident, Fang Cheng started to feel a bit of anticipation and then asked, ¡°What¡¯s the new attraction?¡± ¡°A haunted house. It¡¯s designed by experts and is the super-scary type. Although I haven¡¯t tried it myself, I¡¯ve heard good feedback¡ªit scared so many people that they swore they¡¯d nevere back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s high praise, but such feedback doesn¡¯t seem good for the amusement park¡¯s reputation.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it; the haunted house is just a tool for attraction, simr to a gimmick in a game. After getting scared in the haunted house, visitors can wander around the adjacent theme park. The contrast in emotions enhances the fun.¡± The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 285: 184 Satisfaction (Part 2)_2 Chapter 285: Chapter 184 Satisfaction (Part 2)_2 Fang Cheng nodded, feeling he had learned something new. Contrast is amon tactic in games, I can try using it in the future. But a haunted house¡­ The tour car stopped right in front of the haunted house. Sharp screams erupted instantaneously, turning theplexion of the couple beside it pale. The man, being tightly embraced by his girlfriend, gritted his teeth but still tried to act brave and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a small scene.¡± After getting off the tour car, Fang Cheng discovered that including himself and Xu Qingling, only four people got off at this stop, and the couple was one of them. The haunted house in front of them appeared to be a reasonably sized elementary school. The school seemed to have been recently renovated, with everything looking shiny and new, very much in the style of the 1990s. On the wall at the entrance, the words ¡°Yuchai Elementary School¡± were written in ck paint, with numerous visiting instructions beside them, warning yers with heart conditions not to enter. From the moment they entered through the main gate, it would be a horror-filled Different World, and those not mentally prepared should not proceed. If you wanted to take the tour, you¡¯d need to wait two minutes apart, and go only when the indicator light came on. The small gate was left open, revealing the interior to be a security room. The sound of a broadcast could be heard from inside, but no one could be seen; perhaps you¡¯d have to walk in to find out.
Perhaps not wanting to appear cowardly in front of his girlfriend, the young man went through the iron gate first, noticing the decor inside also resembled that of the 1990s. A grandfather covered with a nkety on a bed, humming along to an opera broadcast on the radio, looking quite rxed. Feeling relieved it was just an old man, the young man asked through the window, ¡°Grandpa, is this the haunted house? Do we need to buy tickets?¡± The old man on the chair woke up from his dream-like state, turned his head with a smile and said, ¡°No need, just go right in. I suggest you put on a diaper, or it¡¯ll be troublesome to washter.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be that exaggerated¡­¡± The old man¡¯s kind smile made the young man feel much more at ease, even jocr. But then, he saw the old man turning his head. His neck made cracking sounds as it twisted to its limit, yet his kind smile remained while he continued turning his head until, amidst the chilling sound of snap, his head had turned a full one hundred and eighty degrees to face the young man behind him. ¡°You should really change it,¡± the old man kindly suggested. Watching the old man like this, the young man felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, his jaw shook involuntarily, and he began making ¡°crack crack crack¡± sounds without thinking. He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn¡¯t obey, and he was so scared stiff he couldn¡¯t even move. ¡°Young man, aren¡¯t you going to change? Shall I help you?¡± ¡°Augh!¡± Only then did the young man scream miserably, dashing out the door to grab his girlfriend and leave without looking back, leaving behind only the kindughter of the old man. After chasing away the young man, the actor turned his head back to its original position. The trick wasn¡¯t difficult. The bed had a headless dummy covered with a nket, while he himself was hidden in apartment in the recliner. Thepartment was quite spacious and outfitted with a mechanism that, when the time was right, rotated him into view. If the other party wanted to take a closer look, then by turning off the light, dropping the blinds of the window, and hiding himself in thepartment, he could scare the person on the other side when the light came back on. The door to the guard room was locked, and visitors couldn¡¯t enter ¨C the only options were to flee in terror or to boldly enter the next level.
The haunted house had many more mechanical tricks set up, creating genuinely terrifying effects that even scared the staff. Having scared off the young man, the old man returned to his spot before peering through a corner monitor to see more people approaching. Ready to repeat his act, he noticed they didn¡¯t stop but instead bypassed the security room, preparing to move further inside. Although they didn¡¯t follow the script, the old man was a professional.
He coughed politely and then asked, ¡°Young man, what are you here for, please sign in.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Fang Cheng nodded and began to sign his name in the register at the entrance. After he finished, he noticed the old man¡¯s head had already rotated 180 degrees and was now looking at him amiably. After they made eye contact for a while, Fang Cheng said, ¡°You have a bit of a problem with your neck. After work, you should go to the hospital to check it out. Three days of physical therapy should do the trick.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± ¡°That¡­ put on the wristband next to you. And draw your identity card while you¡¯re at it.¡± The wristbands here monitor one¡¯s heartbeat and also have a distress signal function. If the wearer¡¯s heartbeat is too fast for too long, or if the tourist presses the distress signal, it can send out an rm, thereby getting assistance from the staff to leave this ce. The next part of the path requires two people together. From an overall environmental perspective, this path has a very spooky atmosphere. The locust trees block out the sunlight here, and one cannot see the end of the twisted path at a nce. The obscured field of vision easily gives the illusion of being attacked, thus increasing psychological pressure. However, Fang Cheng took one look around and knew there was no one nearby, so he wasn¡¯t scared at all. After putting on the wristband and drawing a card, Fang Cheng waited in the waiting area for a while before he saw Xu Qingling walk in. With her expression as usual, she walked in and frowned, asking, ¡°Fang Cheng, how do you feel?¡± ¡°What feeling?¡±
¡°The somewhat scary old man at the entrance?¡± ¡°Is that old man scary?¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, he doesn¡¯t really seem that scary. By the way, what¡¯s your identity?¡± Unfolding his own identity slip, Fang Cheng said, ¡°A student couple that wandered into the haunted school¡­ the female side?¡± ¡°What a coincidence, I¡¯m the male side. ording to the hints on the strip, next we need to put our hands together and walk the following path. It¡¯s okay not to hold hands, there¡¯s another way to y. I must say, the arrangement of paths here is pretty diverse. It makes one quite interested in walking them several times.¡± Fang Cheng nodded in agreement, while he began to wonder if setting up multiple routes for a game simr to a haunted house would be interesting. In front of him, Xu Qingling held out her hand with a smile and asked, ¡°So, Fang Cheng, would you like to experience the couple¡¯s route with me?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± They held each other¡¯s hands and walked towards the chilling path ahead, heading deeper into the school. Two hourster, both of them walked out of the haunted house, followed by apletely dumbfounded staff member. They had seen visitors screaming as they entered the haunted house, seen those who fought the ghosts they encountered, seen those who could do nothing but cry, but they had never seen a couple that held hands the whole time and chatted merrily. And that girl, what do you normally do that allows you to carry objects weighing tens of kilograms upstairs like a guy?! We¡¯re putting so much effort into our performance, could you not ignore us, please?!
Those of us in this line of work love to hear the visitors scream and shout! Could you show us some respect?! Just as the staff were full of sorrow, feeling that their acting was unsatisfactory, they noticed the two visitors had returned. Facing the puzzled staff, Fang Cheng exined, ¡°We just took the couple¡¯s route and started with full favorability. But this time, we¡¯re taking the strangers¡¯ route and will start from zero favorability. Oh, I¡¯m ying the female role, so don¡¯t get the identities mixed up.¡± Looking at the two who were unfazed by anything and yed the haunted house as if it were a dating sim, the staff thought they were really weird. Especially when they noticed that the duo didn¡¯t seem to care about the ghosts at all, only the story, the staff realized scaring these two didn¡¯t give them any sense of achievement whatsoever. After spending a day exploring every part of the haunted house, Fang Cheng and Xu Qingling finished most of the side stories and then remarked that the ce wasn¡¯t scary, but the story and plot were well-written. Agreeing toe and y together again next time, Xu Qingling watched Fang Cheng walk into the world of bright lights, while she got into her private car, then began smiling at her crystal bracelet. The bracelet was a souvenir for those who sessfullypleted the haunted house and was also a key prop within it. Only those visitors who managed to hold hands throughout the couple¡¯s line received this reward, and there weren¡¯t many who had managed to do so. ncing at the bracelet and then at the palm of her hand, Xu Qingling gently kissed her palm once she was sure the driver was focused on driving, and a shy yet content smile spread across her face. Chapter 286: 185: Regret of the Unfinished (Two More)_1 Chapter 286: Chapter 185: Regret of the Unfinished (Two More)_1 Back in his own home, Fang Cheng began to contemte what game to work on next. With a light tap on his temple, the memories of the haunted house were pulled from his mind, unfolding like a vast three-dimensional hologram, suspended silently in mid-air. Then, grabbing and flinging the memories, he dragged out multiple copies, each containing a version of himself and Xu Qingling, coborating and exploring the entire haunted house. It didn¡¯t take long for him to understand the plot of the haunted house, and even the parts he hadn¡¯t yed through then were now clear to him. The entire haunted house was crafted following arge script, created by a team of over a dozen people exploring and interpreting continuously, ultimately building this massive script of one million four hundred thousand words. On the first ythrough, one would feel terror, but the script included multiple narratives, sub-plot branching options, and variations with key items, so each gamey offered new experiences. Afterwards, the charm of the script became apparent, irresistibly highlighting the effort they had put into it. Although Fang Cheng hadn¡¯t found the ghosts in the haunted house particrly terrifying, after thoroughly digesting the story, he still found an element in the script that moved him. It was a different kind of helplessness. Unlike the protagonists in traditional horror houses, the role he yed that day was more of an extraordinary figure who, after acquiring certain items, could even chase demons and ghosts away.
But the ingenuity of the plot lies right there. Even though these protagonists possessed special powers, sometimes even capable of defeating the ghosts, a curtelike doom was present from the start, making them, the more powerful they were, the more likely they were to hurt the ones they loved, ultimately leading to irreversible tragedy. They possessed strength far beyond that of ordinary characters, but this power couldn¡¯t help them break free; instead, it caused them to sink deeper into the mire of despair, eventually losing all hope. Suppressing the urge to use Palm Thunder, Fang Cheng approached the entire script with a slightly stronger mindset, and then he realized this sense of helplessness could easily stir people¡¯s emotions. Particrly when one already had considerable abilities, but could only reach one bad ending after another, such a horror game, even without jump-scare tactics, still infused yers with despair and terror. So, how about creating a game with absolutely no good endings, only despair? After a search on hisputer, Fang Cheng found that there were quite a few such horror games. The Witch¡¯s House is one of the representative works, with the protagonist¡¯s identity being very special, meaning every ending implies some form of despair. The Silent Hill series, aside from some obviously bizarre endings, mostlycked good oues in the entire collection. This was used a lot in movies too, The Mist was a typical film that yed with your mind, with an ending so heart-wrenching it was torturous. After watching rted movies and ying rted games, Fang Cheng felt he could understand the content, but now he faced a problem. He wasn¡¯t confident about releasing a game that could make yers emotionally explode. Though yers always backstabbed him, deviating from his designed gamey,ing up with all sorts of weird ideas, and turning the game environment upside down. They always managed to start strong from small things, linking up everyone to create massive events, each enough to be his adversaries. But sometimes, they were alright. He had even utilized yers to do him a few small favors, so making a game that torments yers didn¡¯t seem quite right. Immortals prefer not to get too entangled with karma, but he already had some connections with them. After much thought, he decided to give Mr. Shen a call to seek his opinion. Before picking up Fang Cheng¡¯s call, Mr. Shen was pondering whether to get a haircut.
His hair volume had returned to the level it was six years ago, his receding hairline had finally held its ground, and started to push back. Now, his hair was luxurious enough to warrant a cut, but he was uncertain if it would stay that way, so he kept contemting various hairstyles in magazines. Having received Fang Cheng¡¯s call, Mr. Shen temporarily set aside his indecision and began to listen to his proud student¡¯s queries. As soon as Fang Cheng mentioned he wanted to create a horror game, Mr. Shen cut him off, ¡°Don¡¯t do it.¡±
¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Although the domestic environment has opened up, horror games are still somewhat ambiguous. You know, there¡¯s no ssification system in our country, all games should be yable by everyone. This actually sets a baseline, which is that your game should satisfy everyone¡¯s needs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Fang Cheng said, puzzled. ¡°Indeed, games can¡¯t possibly meet everyone¡¯s needs, so the regtory agency has a rtively flexible standard of measurement. This standard has not been made public, but ording to our guess, this internal review is linked to the game¡¯s potential forints.¡± New terminology made Fang Cheng pause. He carefully recalled it, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t find a rted memory. Mr. Shen, knowing what Fang Cheng¡¯s silence meant, exined, ¡°Comint potential is established by the regtory agency themselves, and called differently in different ces. It¡¯s used to gauge the likelihood of certain themes or elements beingined about. When a game receives an excessive number ofints, that¡¯s the time it gets banned. Of course, the weight of theints varies ording to the status of theinant, and this is also taken into ount.¡± Chapter 287: 185: Regret of the Unfinished (Two More)_2 Chapter 287: Chapter 185: Regret of the Unfinished (Two More)_2 Fang Cheng began to understand when he thought of ¡°Spreading Traditional Culture Starting from Me.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it is,¡± he said. Mr. Shen nodded in satisfaction, ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s good that you understand. Horror games can hardly beunched because they are bound to beined about, and not just a few times. Moreover, if you¡¯re the one making it, I¡¯m afraid theints would reach the sky.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Fang Cheng replied. ¡°However, if you really want to make it, there¡¯s a way around it. You couldunch it overseas and then allow domestic yers to ess it through scientific Inte surfing methods, which could help you avoid a lot of trouble. I can help you with the necessary qualifications and procedures, so don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Mr. Shen assured. This option seemed feasible to Fang Cheng. He had no karma with foreign yers, and his main base was in China. In the end, he would need Chinese yers to verify everything. Thus, he could use foreign yers to first test some of the games that he felt were a bit tricky, adjust them based on their responses, and then release them in China. Therefore, he said to Mr. Shen on the other end of the phone, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Shen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Mr. Shen replied.
After hanging up, Mr. Shen felt in a good mood. His student was progressing quickly, but it seemed that he, the old antique, had not been forgotten. This feeling of being needed was quite nice. However, looking in the mirror, he once again contemted his own problem and then realized he should have ordered some tea leaves. As he was regretting, a text from Fang Cheng arrived: ¡°Mr. Shen, I¡¯ve acquired a batch of tea leaves and will bring them to youter.¡± Upon reading this message, Mr. Shen couldn¡¯t help but remark, What a good person. With no more worries, he finally decided to get a haircut so he could enjoy the feeling of walking into the barbershop with his head held high and chest out. Fang Cheng was also happy to have Mr. Shen¡¯s assistance. With the channel issue resolved and no further concerns, he could now use Mukuai as a guinea pig and then test his ideas. The next problem, though, was that he needed a good script. He had no problem writing a few ssical Chinese texts; after all, he had once won a schrly honor and then stopped because he felt no connection with it, but he had no trouble in that area. What he wanted was a more thrilling script, and for that, he needed more professional input. Continuing his research, he discovered that the haunted house had an original model, which was a novel of tens of thousands of words. The main creative team of the haunted house greatly admired this novel, stating that the author¡¯s horror stories were the best they had read, and they were honored to adapt this teacher¡¯s work. Following the main creative team¡¯s rmendation, Fang Cheng found the original novel, purchased the electronic version, and upon reading, confirmed the team¡¯s praise was not unfounded. The original novel¡¯s writing was still immature, but its logic was already very tight. The sense of ¡°helplessness¡± tragedy was vividly portrayed, and after finishing it, even Fang Cheng could deduce that the protagonist was doomed from the beginning given his capabilities. However, this book wasn¡¯t even the author¡¯s pinnacle. Another series was the culmination of this unique horror atmosphere, but there were very few printed copies of this series avable, and no resources were online, which Fang Cheng found a bit disappointing. But upon seeing the author¡¯s name, Fang Cheng felt there might still be a chance. The author of this series was none other than one of his own nemeses, Tang Mo.
He still remembered what Tang Mo had done in ¡°The Nameless,¡± a historical simtion game of delivering letters that Tang Mo had turned into a fun transmigration story. This memory was still fresh in his mind. Tang Mo was a slightly famous online historical fiction writer, but Fang Cheng hadn¡¯t expected that Tang Mo had previously written such a series and published it. After some thought, Fang Cheng found Tang Mo¡¯s Passport World ID and left him a message. On the other side, Tang Mo was still immersed in ¡°The Supreme One,¡± spending his days in bliss, reading and drinking with the world¡¯s number one storyteller.
Realizing it was gettingte and he hadn¡¯t finished today¡¯s update, he reluctantly bid farewell to the world¡¯s number one storyteller and left for Passport World. Intending to log out, he saw his littlepanion Mukuai approaching with a letter, and the sender¡¯s identity surprised him. ¡°Fang Cheng¡­ Weird, what does a producer want with me?¡± he wondered. Confused after reading the letter, Tang Mo was even more puzzled. The sender was interested in acquiring adaptation rights. Before writing online, he had written physical books, including a series. While drafting those, the publisher, for some unknown reason, had asked him to write a particrly despairing series. Normally, he would have ignored such unreasonable demands. But they offered too much. Two thousand yuan per thousand words, plus separate royalty fees¡ª as long as the content was dark enough, scary enough, and filled with enough despair, he could write as much as the publisher wanted. With no choice, Tang Moplied. He first wrote a nove to test the waters, which was highly praised. This nove waster adapted into the haunted house that Fang Cheng had yed. To earn money, he embarked on a novel, making the content increasingly bleak, which also increased his earnings.
However, after a while, he felt tired. The texts written for money somehow felt awkward, especially as the emotions they contained were not what he wanted. This made writing be a form of torture. Just as he was prepared to change his style and give everything a satisfying conclusion, the publisher suddenly said they had to terminate the contract and couldn¡¯t go on. The previous books were published haphazardly without follow-up, and his final ending was left with only an outline. He thought this series would vanish along with his dark past, but unexpectedly, Fang Cheng found it. Fate was indeed unfathomable. As one of the people who knew Fang Cheng best, Tang Mo liked ¡°The Nameless¡± very much and believed his transmigration approach was one of the correct solutions in the game. Now, having received an email from Fang Cheng, he mused that he truly was kindred spirits with Fang Cheng, even his old books were appreciated by him. Thus, he replied promptly, ¡°Sure, the publisher didn¡¯t sign the adaptation rights with me, so the rights are still in my hands. I¡¯ll send you the full text shortly.¡± Looking at the electronic version, Tang Mo pondered for a moment. After hesitating, he included the framework he had previously envisioned and sent it along to Fang Cheng. As for why he did that, he didn¡¯t know. Maybe he also wanted his kindred spirit to help himplete the work he had left unfinished.
Chapter 288: 186 Desperate Game (First Update)_1 Chapter 288: Chapter 186 Desperate Game (First Update)_1 After confirming the electronic version, Fang Cheng asked about the adaptation price for the novel-based game rights. Tang Mo had never expected his dark past to sell for much, so he suggested that Fang Cheng could just quote a nominal fee. However, when he realized that the ¡°nominal fee¡± amounted to five million, he felt that Fang Cheng might have misunderstood him. Looking at the bank transfer notification on his phone, he agonized for a long while before saying to Fang Cheng, ¡°Mr. Fang, how about I handwrite the book and give it to you again? You¡¯re being so generous that I feel guilty.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, this is what you deserve.¡± The chance to ascend to greatness is worth more than gold¡ªFang Cheng saw no issue in spending such an amount. Furthermore, although the studio had recently invested its funds in the downstairs Kirin Industry, the various games had yielded a profit of over a billion. This made Fang Cheng feel that Xu Qingling¡¯s luck was exceptionally strong; whatever was spent could be earned back. Copying the novel¡¯s digital version onto a USB drive, Fang Cheng stepped into the void with the device in hand. When he opened his hand again, there shone a small Teleportation Array. He activated the Teleportation Array and stepped inside, where he could see a world continuously in motion, evidently one that was derived from the novel¡¯s contentbined with various Divine Skills. The framework of the world was based on Tang Mo¡¯s novel, but the content wasbined with the inspiration Fang Cheng had acquired from ¡°The Supreme One¡± and the Heavenly Taowork, ultimately creating a world manifested from his own mana.
Although he had read the novel in advance, it was only upon seeing the extrapted world that Fang Cheng realized an issue. The world depicted in Tang Mo¡¯s writing was somewhat simr to reality. The novel described a fictional ancient world, which was mysteriously contaminated by toxic substances, causing myriad gods and Buddhas to flee without a trace. The protagonist, a mere Cultivator, wanted to escape with his Sect, but couldn¡¯t bear to leave his parents behind and chose to stay to protect the people here. Knowing his resolve, his Sect left him some magical weapons and a token; they promised to contact him once they settled in a Different World. If he was still alive by then, they would bring him back to the Sect and also protect the remaining mortals. The early part of the story was light-hearted and humorous. Although there were asional downpours of monsters contaminated by the toxic substances, the overall mood was pleasant. The protagonist, a prodigious talent, would grasp the Cultivation Techniques and magical weapons left by his Sect as soon as he reached the corresponding stage. Moreover, he had some fellow cultivator friends, and they would fight the corrupted monsters together every day, making life bearable. The people sheltered by him, althoughcking in talent, neverined. Instead, they built shrines for the protagonist, offering prayers day and night, allowing him to cultivate faith to withstand external threats. But as joyous as the early stages were, thetter parts became equally tragic. All close to him perished, one by one, and none of the people he wanted to protect survived. By the end of the first volume, everyone around him was dead, leaving only his old dog Huang alive, and his own Divine Sense was severely damaged. In the second volume of the novel, the protagonist had no choice but to seek refuge with his fellow cultivators for healing. They kindly took him in. Once mostly recovered, he helped them eradicate nearby monsters and eliminate the demons attacking their towns. Only at the end did he realize that his mind was no longer clear, he couldn¡¯t discern right from wrong, and those he considered fellow cultivators had degenerated into demons; all his deeds were evil. The third volume was even more tragic. When the protagonist, inplete despair, sought a ce to end his life, he unexpectedly received a message from his Sect. Apanied by the surrounding people, they struggled to reach their destination, only to find that the Sect had been contaminated long after they had left; it was all just a trap. In the fourth volume, the protagonist discovered that he was no longer human; his body had beenpletely corroded by the toxic substances, and his personhood was merely a fa?ade created by the toxins. The fifth volume added tragedy upon tragedy, and the sixth was the peak of despair. Compared to thest volume, Fang Cheng actually felt the protagonist in the previous volumes was somewhat fortunate. Or rather, at the end of each volume, the protagonist seemed to have the most happiness he could experience at that time. After reading through the entire plot, Fang Cheng thought that Tang Mo deserved to go to jail for writing such material. The protagonist¡¯s ending wasn¡¯t writtenpletely, but Fang Cheng felt it was just as well; who knows what other trials awaited him. To the protagonist, death was a reward.
Looking at the nearlypleted world, Fang Cheng felt it was both desperate and terrifying. The protagonist¡¯s final strength was incredibly powerful, but ironically, he had be the cause of various tragedies. And looking back, he realized that his descent into such a state was not the least bit surprising. He had done his best at every step, he had tried his hardest, yet in the midst of the universe¡¯s horrors, those boundless terrors destroyed everything about him, inexorably leading him toward tragedy. After extrapting, Fang Cheng found that ording to the novel¡¯s tone, there was no way out of the entire story.
The descent of the toxins was inevitable; the world would be continuously eroded, and extinction was a certain oue. All the protagonist¡¯s and other characters¡¯ actions ultimately resembled bubbles in a storm, soon to burst. This story bore some resemnce to events that happened a thousand years ago, causing Fang Cheng to wonder if Tang Mo might have unconsciously remembered something. After all, people have past and present lives; some great beings erase their historical presence, but it is possible that they miss one or two, allowing them to retain some fragments of memory. Chapter 289: 186 Desperate Game (First Update)_2 Chapter 289: Chapter 186 Desperate Game (First Update)_2 Thinking of this, Fang Cheng felt it necessary to check on it. After organizing everything, he returned to the studio after the May Day holiday and handed over the USB drive processed with Immortal Spell to Huang Ping and the others. ¡°I did a framework over the weekend, Huang Ping, why don¡¯t you refine it ording to your own ideas?¡± Then, he looked at Lin Nan and said, ¡°This game will involve some mini-games, you¡¯ll design them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Nan immediately nodded, then asked cautiously, ¡°What¡¯s the principle of the design?¡± ¡°Make the game a little more rxed, just don¡¯t make it too despairing.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± Upon hearing this requirement, Lin Nan was utterly perplexed. What kind of game would be so despair-inducing that it required mini-games for adjustment?
In the end, he seemed to remember something and said to everyone, ¡°I forgot to mention, this game¡¯s genre is horror, so we¡¯re not going to sell it domestically but rather choose an international tform for its release. Mr. Shen will invite a person in charge from a foreign publisher to coordinate. Once you¡¯re about done, we can get in touch with them.¡± Knowing that this game was actually targeting the international market, Huang Ping became excited. Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games had a great reputation domestically, but since Fang Cheng was not very interested in the international market, there had been no such arrangements. Domestic games were, after all, quite weak; being able to appear in the international market and show one¡¯s strength was the dream of every game developer aspiring to create sessful home-grown titles. The thought of being able to showcase his talent on an international stage thrilled Huang Ping! He downloaded and ran the game Fang Cheng had provided, full of anticipation, and started quite rxed. The name was pretty decent this time, ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± had the right feel for a horror game, and tranted conveniently into English. But as for the content¡­ It seemed the boss had misunderstood the theme again. Although it was a horror game, Fang Cheng seemed to have gone against several key points of horror games. Recent horror games focus on being weaponless, to emphasize the yer¡¯s sense of powerlessness, but ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± started the protagonist off with immense power, making it feel more like an exhrating game. It felt good using a PC, starting off running on the ground was quite ordinary, but once you learned to ¡®Ride the wind and control the sword,¡¯ the game¡¯s temperament immediately improved. Once the Sword Pill was wrapped, the sword light took off, and the speed and thrill of breaking through the air made Huang Ping unable to stop. He became more certain that this was indeed an exhrating game. The appearance of Demons did scare him momentarily, but seeing how easily he sliced them to pieces, Huang Ping thought to himself, ¡°Exactly as expected.¡± This game was indeed an exhrating one. ¡°Monkey, this game is pretty¡­¡± Facing Monkey sitting beside him, he was about toment on how thrilling the game was, but then he turned to see Monkey nervously staring at the screen, continuously operating it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you guys?¡± Huang Ping asked, puzzled. ¡°You can¡¯t, damn it, you just can¡¯t!¡± Monkey couldn¡¯t help but mutter.
¡°So, what¡¯s going on?¡± Huang Ping was even more confused, ¡°Xiao Douzi?¡± Xiao Douzi, usually as silent as a y statue when ying games, was now wide-eyed, muttering the very same words as Monkey, ¡°You can¡¯t, damn it, you just can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Does that phrase have some deep meaning?¡± Knowing his colleagues were better gamers than he was, and presumably further in progress, Huang Ping could only turn around with confusion and continue ying.
Soon, he experienced his first betrayal. He thought he was happily heading home, only to discover a massacre upon his arrival. Under the bright sky, the sight of the ravaged vige was bleak; he had good rtions with every viger who now had been cleanly shredded, leaving Huang Ping with a chill down his spine as waves of despair and fear washed over him. Especially when he saw that the terrifying monster actually bore the face of his childhood friend, he suddenly realized, knowing that this monster was in fact his childhood friend transformed. But what fault was there in his childhood friend? She was merely contaminated by poison and helplessly turned into a monster. Sadder still, he was without the strength even to seek vengeance. The monster before him was not on the same level as those from before; as satisfying as it had been to beat the monsters, it was just as satisfying for the monster to beat him. In a daze, he felt that it was no longer the protagonist being beaten, but himself, with each punch bringing him intense real pain, leaving him unable to fight back. After being defeated by the monster, the game did not end. However, because it was his childhood friend, the monster ultimately still controlled him to flee, leaving behind Huang Ping, battered and powerless, sprawled on the ground. ¡°Monkey¡­¡± Huang Ping couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°I¡¯ve tried it, it can be beaten,¡± Monkey said, staring at the screen. He didn¡¯t need to look back to know what Huang Ping wanted to ask; ¡°But it¡¯s useless, after that the path is different, but dead is dead.¡± Because of different actions, the plot branched here with Huang Ping¡¯s protagonist embarking on a path to pursue his childhood friend after recovery, while Monkey¡¯s protagonist set out on a journey of self-improvement to eliminate more demons.
The multi-branch setup provided various possibilities for the game, which also led Huang Ping to believe there must be a way to save everything. So, they read documents to perfect the game while hoping to use the game mechanics to avoid the various tragic endings. They soon discovered that the game was the very embodiment of malice. It was especially adept at ying with the yer¡¯s emotions. Every time Huang Ping felt a glimmer of hope, a greater tragedy would strike head-on, plunging him into even greater despair. However,pared to Monkey and Xiao Douzi, he felt he was still okay. This game was absolutely unparalleled in messing with one¡¯s state of mind. The stronger the yer¡¯s abilities, the more tragedies they encountered, while the weaker yers could recuperatively get through some events and suffer less severe mental impacts. After ying through one-third, Huang Ping said he could not take it anymore. In that moment, he felt that yers in China should build a temple of life for Fang Cheng, thankful that this thing was not directly released domestically, but instead went to torment yers abroad. He believed that after ying this game, they would surely understand what a heart-wrenching masterpiece is and what qualifies as a game of the year for healing. Especially after learning that the script was actually written by Tang Mo, Huang Ping decided that if he ever got the chance, he would send Tang Mo a de in the mail to thank him for writing such a great script. After roughly ying through the game, Lin Nan also understood why Fang Cheng was so insistent that the mini-game y should be as rxing as possible and alleviate yers¡¯ emotions. Just looking at the darkness level of the plot, without some rxing mini-games, it truly wouldn¡¯t be alleviated. However, she also understood that these mini-games were merely like drinking poison to quench thirst.
After drinking the sweet nectar, there was still the despair of the story to experience and the malice from the entire world. The nectar served just as a line of defense against the horror of the world, and inparison, the game¡¯s horror became even more profound. Forgive me, unnamed yers abroad. After mentally apologizing to the yers abroad, Lin Nan continued making mini-games and couldn¡¯t help butment how fun her own mini-games were, how light the content was, and how amusing the dialogue within them was, which seemed to make the main storyline even more tragic. Before they knew it, the follow-up work on the game was nearing its end. After experiencing the initial despair, Huang Ping was now somewhat immune to horror games. Jumpy horror games couldn¡¯t scare him anymore, and he could even find humor in most horrorics after undergoing real despair, he didn¡¯t care anymore. The game was also close to being perfected, with all aspects bnced, but one question still remained unanswered for Huang Ping. What was the game¡¯s Easter egg? Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games were always known for hiding Easter eggs, but this time he could not find any, nor had Fang Cheng mentioned it, presumably it was a game-changing Easter egg. Compared to before, Huang Ping particrly hoped that this Easter egg would appear soon, otherwise, the protagonist was just too miserable. However, the search for the Easter egg had toe to a halt soon, because the Prussian publisher introduced by Mr. Shen had finally arrived.
Chapter 290: 187 Infamy Spreads Far and Wide (Second Update)_1 Chapter 290: Chapter 187 Infamy Spreads Far and Wide (Second Update)_1 At 3:15 in the afternoon, the Lufthansa flight finallynded at Shuangliu Airport, with passengers pleased by the on-time arrival. Eighteen hours of flight time left everyone thoroughly exhausted; even walking on the ground, one could still feel a slight tumultuous sensation. A domestic flight attendant politely escorted everyone onto the shuttle bus. Just as she turned to go tidy up, she almost fell with a twist of her foot but was gently steadied by a man in his fifties. ¡°Thank you,¡± said the flight attendant, still shaken. ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± the old man replied fluently in Mandarin. His Mandarin was very authentic, without themon Prussian ent. If one were just listening to his voice, they might not even realize he was a foreigner. But upon seeing him, one could tell he must be particrly fond of pandas. He wore a panda sun hat, carried a panda backpack, and his clothes also disyed panda patterns. Even the tourist manual in his hands was an introduction to the Panda Breeding Base. After sitting in the shuttle bus and continuing to browse the manual, he picked up his luggage upon arrival and spent a long time at the exit, but could not spot the familiar Mediterranean-bald head. Looking around in confusion, it took him quite a while to spot someone holding arge sign with his name ¡°Hoffman¡± in the crowd.
The sign holder looked somewhat familiar, resembling his old buddy Mr. Shen, but his old friend shouldn¡¯t have had so much hair. While he was pondering who the person was, the sign holder approached,ining as he walked, ¡°Hoffman, you see me, yet you have no reaction at all.¡± Hoffman remained wary of the creature resembling Mr. Shen in front of him. Facial features, simr¡­ Sense of style, simr¡­ Voice, simr¡­ Amount of hair, not simr. Stepping back, he asked cautiously, ¡°Who are you, and how do you know my name?¡± ¡°Stop joking around,¡± Mr. Shen replied helplessly. ¡°It¡¯s me, Shen.¡± ¡°My dear friend Shen didn¡¯t have this much hair.¡± ¡°Well, people change,¡± Shen responded. ¡°You once said that hair transnt was yourst stand and that you would never wear a wig.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a wig or a toupee; it¡¯s all me. Alright, you just want to y this joke, right? We¡¯re done with ¡°Gintama¡±; let¡¯s go,¡± Shen insisted. Only then did Hoffman warmly embrace Mr. Shen, afterward looking at Shen¡¯s hair with astonishment, realizing for the first time that it was indeed possible for a human to vanquish baldness. Mr. Shen¡¯s hair now was like the chives from Fang Cheng: dignified, upright, each strand proudly puffing out its chest, disying its robust stature. After looking for a while, Hoffman remarked appreciatively, ¡°Not bad¡­¡± ¡°Right?¡± Mr. Shen touched his hair, proud yet careful. ¡°Okay, where to next? Just to tell you, the Panda Breeding Base is a no-go; I didn¡¯t book it for you.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± said Hoffman, seemingly resigned. ¡°And we can¡¯t have hotpot just yet; it¡¯s too early. I¡¯ll mention it againter¡­¡± Shen added.
¡°I see,¡± Hoffman repeated. His own ns seen through, Hoffman didn¡¯t feel too awkward; instead, he said directly, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Fang Cheng Studio first.¡± ¡°Sure, let me just give a heads-up,¡± Shen offered. ¡°No need, we¡¯ll just take a distant look. Shen, you have an old saying: ¡®Suspect before you trust.¡¯ Even if they are your students, I won¡¯t be overly considerate. If I dislike their way of doing things, I will leave immediately. The game publishing matter, I will find someone else to handle it, but I won¡¯t help out,¡± Hoffman dered.
¡°No problem,¡± Shen confidently replied. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± They got into a ride-hailing car, with Hoffman resting with his eyes closed in the back seat and Shen sitting beside him, not contacting Fang Cheng. Shen knew his old friend Hoffman was a principled old man, who also happened to be the vice-chair of the Prussian gaming industry¡¯sbor union, and had an absolute distaste for overtime in the gaming industry. Exploitation was severe in the gaming industry, both domestically and abroad. The industry has a significant emotionalponent, and many international game studios often use the ¡°powered by passion¡± approach to subject their employees to unpaid overtime. Furthermore, developers abroad often have a strong influence. Some of them talk about giving juniors better learning opportunities, but in reality, by oppressing and inducing unpaid overtime, they brainwash the juniors into believing they¡¯re doing it for their good. Since games are usually backed by sizeable capital, individual power is minimal against capital; hence, the game developers union is an organization striving to unite gaming professionals worldwide, aiming to form a group capable of standing up to capital. This organization has branches in Europe and Americas, but the domestic front remains a nk te with no one involved yet. Traveling from Shuangliu Airport to the High-tech Zone, they reached their destination around four fifty. After depositing their luggage at the service desk of a nearby mall, Hoffman saw that the indoor za floor was lined with arcade machines, their external screens looping through game footage, which looked quite exhrating. There were people waiting outside the machines, and they all seemed familiar. At the moment, they were harmoniously discussing the usage of different machines. Although Hoffman was now in his early fifties and many exhrating games were beyond him, he still enjoyed watching streamers y these types of games, nodding frequently at the gamey.
Chapter 291: 187 Infamy Spreads Far and Wide (Second Update)_2 Chapter 291: Chapter 187 Infamy Spreads Far and Wide (Second Update)_2 ¡°` ¡°Impressive graphics ¨C it reminds me of the arcade games I used to y as a kid. Whichpany made this game?¡± ¡°It¡¯s by Fang Cheng Studio.¡± Mr. Shen said proudly. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Hoffman nodded, understanding why Mr. Shen held Fang Cheng in such high regard. The visuals alone were on par with top-tier titles, and even though using arcade machines was a bit niche, judging by the foot traffic, each cab was almost always at full capacity, which meant significant revenue. When it came to what constitutes a good game, his standards were the same as Mr. Shen¡¯s. A money-making game wasn¡¯t necessarily good, but a good game definitely needs to be profitable. Games that didn¡¯t make money were ssified by him as art pieces. He might appreciate the artistic vision, but he didn¡¯t consider them good games. And Fang Cheng¡¯s ¡°Squirrel Spaceship¡± was definitely a good game.
Although he hadn¡¯t met them yet, the game he saw made him think highly of Fang Cheng Studio. After admiring a little while longer, he said to Mr. Shen, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can go check out their studio now.¡± ¡°Toote.¡± Mr. Shen said helplessly, checking the time, ¡°They¡¯ve finished work for the day.¡± ¡°¡­They don¡¯t work overtime?¡± ¡°No overtime.¡± Hoffman looked at Mr. Shen incredulously, utterly disbelieving. However, when they arrived at the entrance of Fang Cheng Studio and saw the deserted workce, he had to ept that his old friend was telling the truth. The studio was empty except for a tricolor cat licking its paw,pletely ignoring the two men outside. Standing next to Hoffman, Mr. Shen asked, ¡°Do you want me to call and ask for you?¡± ¡°No need¡­ no, actually, please do.¡± Mr. Shen then made a call, and afterward, he asked, ¡°Fang Cheng, the overseas publisher I told you about has arrived. Do you have any interest ining over to meet now?¡± ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t have time, you say? Why? Because I don¡¯t wish to work outside of office hours?¡± ¡°But this is important. Still no good? Alright. We¡¯lle over tomorrow morning then.¡± After hanging up, Mr. Shen shrugged. ¡°As you see, it¡¯s not possible.¡± ¡°Impressive,¡± Hoffman eximed with wide eyes, ¡°It¡¯s rare to meet people so principled. Did you tell him I¡¯m the vice-chair of the union?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t really care about that.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Despite the rejection, Hoffman was quite happy. The steadfast adherence to their principles, the absolute refusal to work overtime, left him quite satisfied and confident about future cooperation.
They headed to a famous hotpot restaurant near Yulin West Road for dinner, then to a nearby pub for a few beers, after which they returned to the hotel and happily went to sleep. After waking up, Hoffman shook off the tiredness from the day before, put on his checkered suit, and headed to Fang Cheng Studio with Mr. Shen. Upon seeing Fang Cheng, Hoffman was wowed. The producer in front of him was very eye-catching; Mr. Shen looked on with satisfaction at Hoffman¡¯s reaction and then said, ¡°Does he have the same ir I had back in the day?¡±
¡°No, he doesn¡¯t like to brag.¡± While Hoffman was sizing up Fang Cheng, Fang Cheng was also observing him. The man was a robust Prussian, his bushy beard very noticeable, his features somewhat resembling a great Prussian figure from the textbooks. After introducing themselves, Hoffman nced at the size of the studio and asked with a hint of confusion, ¡°There are only eight of you?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s enough. Basically, I provide a framework, and my colleagues help bring it topletion,¡± Fang Cheng replied with a smile. ¡°Yesterday at 5:21 PM we came here, and you had already closed up. Is it like this every day, or just asionally?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this every day.¡± Hoffman asked a few more questions and found that Fang Cheng answered quickly and promptly, without any signs of lying. ¡°` Through the ss of the meeting room, he watched the others outside and found everyone working with dedication and efficiency. They weren¡¯t cking off or stopping their progress; if an issue arose and they got stuck, they would quickly ask for opinions from those around them and would be able to obtain solutions rapidly. Their intensity was high, but each one seemed happy; it looked as though they weren¡¯t just working but engaged in their own passion projects. This is a very dynamic and potential-filledpany, Hoffman asserted.
After observing for a while, Hoffman curiously asked, ¡°Fang Cheng, I see your colleagues are full of enthusiasm when they work, so I¡¯m a bit curious, how do you manage them?¡± ¡°Normal management,¡± Fang Cheng replied. ¡°Just regr work hours, regr holidays, regr pay, and then the usual sry raises and dividends.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Hoffman nodded his head. The ¡°normal¡± here is actually the most abnormal aspect. Many gamingpanies in Prussia fail to achieve this, with many studios even requiring their employees to live on the floor, their treatment not much better than what¡¯s found domestically. Having understood all this, Hoffman found the environment here even better than he had expected. With the basic environment being sound, it was then time for the main event. Under Fang Cheng¡¯s arrangement, Hoffman sat down in front of aputer, started it up, and began running Heavenly Demon. Though the VR integration machine within thepany could also run the game, Hoffman, after all, was a fifty-year-old elder, and it was better for him to use aputer for such tasks. The game¡¯s setting interface already allowed fornguage switching, and upon discovering Prussiannguage was avable, Hoffman¡¯s impression of Fang Cheng Studio greatly improved. And when the opening animation appeared, the veteran game producer instantly widened his eyes, marveling at the images on the screen. The lifelike modelingbined with the traditional feel of the visuals made the game¡¯s first impression nothing short of stunning, reminiscent of his wife thirty years ago, provocative and alluring to the imagination.
However, deceptive presentations aremon, and many bigpanies are no exception, much like what his wife looks like now¡­ Setting aside those personal matters, he focused his attention on the game and subsequently realized that the trantion was spot on. The character¡¯s voice was still in Chinese, but the dialogues added Prussian subtitles, and many passages used colloquialnguage, including examples that Prussians could understand, further enhancing Hoffman¡¯s appreciation for the game. Moreover, the content of the game didn¡¯t pander to overseas yers but fully exhibited its own traditional charm, showcasing its unique allure. Even yers ustomed to mythology and their own brand of fantasy could feel the charm through the visuals and immerse themselves into this game filled with Eastern essence. Seeing Hoffman quickly drawn into the game as soon as he sat down, Mr. Shen also felt a bit intrigued. While drinking tea from Fang Cheng Studio, he looked at Fang Cheng and asked, ¡°Fang Cheng, can you set up a machine for me too?¡± Fang Cheng didn¡¯t immediately agree, but instead looked at him and asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, have you been experiencing some irregr heartbeats recently?¡± ¡°Yes, how did you know?¡± Mr. Shen asked, surprised. ¡°And you overindulged in alcohol yesterday, didn¡¯t you sleep well, right?¡± Sniffing his own sleeve, Mr. Shen felt he hadn¡¯t really drunk that much. How could such a thing be noticed? But soon, he realized what it meant and continued to ask, ¡°What does this have to do with the machine?¡±
¡°Horror games, yers with irregr heartbeats are advised not to y them.¡± ¡°¡­Is it really a horror game? Not just a thrill game masquerading as a horror?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mr. Shen frowned at Fang Cheng, not believing that he would actually make a horror game. But soon, he believed it. In less than half an hour, Hoffman let out a scream, followed by a string of Prussian curses that Mr. Shen had never seen his old friend loseposure like this. The dignified Vice President of the guild was now utterly bereft of his usualposure, his face twisted as he clutched his thigh, and then he bitterly said, ¡°The plot nner of this game should be shot.¡± Next to him, Huang Ping nodded in agreement. Tang Mo, your infamy has now spread from the domestic scene to Prussia. Chapter 292: 188 Feel the Despair (Three More)_1 Chapter 292: 188 Chapter Feel the Despair (Three More)_1 An hourter, Hoffman took off his sses, wearily pinched the bridge of his nose, and couldn¡¯t help but stop. The game was fun, the graphics were as exquisite as wallpaper, the character movements natural and coordinated, and thebat felt powerful. Whether it was bare-handed or with weapons, one could feel the thrilling sensation of blowsnding on flesh. The music and sound effects were great, too. It seemed they were created by someone called the God of Music. Although the name didn¡¯t quite fit with the modest elegance of the East, it had to be said that the person¡¯s work was quite excellent. The most captivating part was the story. It could be said that all other aspects of the game served the narrative, with eachponent meshing wlessly, making it hard to imagine that it was the work of just a few people. So, he couldn¡¯t continue ying for the time being. The story¡¯s transitions were too smooth, the overall experience toopelling, which made the unfolding tragedies before him all the more heartbreaking. Every NPC was vividly alive, each with their own logic, personality, and life, and they held emotions like admiration or fondness towards the protagonist. Then, they all died. Moreover, death was the best oue. Some turned into unrecognizable monstrosities, some were driven mad forever, andter became bosses that attacked yers. The deeper the emotional connection, the more intense the agony when they turned enemies.
So, could one just lie down and ept it? The answer was no. Time in the game passed on its own, and all kinds of tragedies would unfold even if one did nothing¡ªseemingly in the most horrific ways. By trying to save people, perhaps a few could be saved. But by doing nothing, not a single one could be saved. Yet, if one tried to rush to save people, one would fall into another vicious cycle¡ªthe more you tried to save, the more tragedies ensued. By the early to middle stages, Hoffman realized that every monster seemed to have transformed from a human. They were all innocent, but a pervasive poison in the world corrupted them, turning them into monsters. For a man past fifty, this game was truly too cruel. After quietly resting for a moment, Hoffman turned to Huang Ping beside him and asked, ¡°Excuse me, are you¡­?¡± ¡°Huang Ping, the lead designer,¡± Huang Ping answered amiably. ¡°I¡¯m Hoffman, one of the heads of Cayman Entertainment. I¡¯d like to ask if this game is always this despairing, or just asionally so.¡± ¡°Always like this.¡± ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s very interesting.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Huang Ping was somewhat taken aback by the unexpectedpliment, then realized that the old man didn¡¯t seem to be forcing himself. Although he was being tormented to end, it was like authentic spicy hot pot¡ªpainfully spicy, and yet satisfying in its pain. And the interspersed light-hearted mini-games were like milk-vored ice cream that temporarily alleviated the tongue¡¯s spiciness. But as one continued eating the hot pot, they would feel an even stronger burn. For a Prussian with strong tastes, this stimtion was indeed too intense. Having rested, Hoffman resumed the game. Each time he witnessed a tragedy, he couldn¡¯t help but clutch his chest, but then immediately continued ying with enthusiasm.
For an entire day, he sat in front of theputer, relentlessly ying, trying to trigger every side quest and sighing over the irreversible fates. Finally, when Huang Ping noticed he had been ying for too long, he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Mr. Hoffman¡­¡± Hoffman, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m still hanging on.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re hanging in there, and you seem to be enjoying it quite a bit. But I wanted to say, it¡¯s time to close up shop.¡±
¡°Eh?¡± That¡¯s when Hoffman realized it was already five o¡¯clock. With a sigh of regret, he didn¡¯t insist, and reluctantly said after saving, ¡°It¡¯s a pity, just when the story was getting to the crucial moment. Does this game have a New Game Plus?¡± ¡°Yes, and because you¡¯ll be stronger, you can ess more areas, unveil more truths, so it¡¯s even more tragic.¡± Clutching his chest, Hoffman exaggeratedly mimicked being shot, as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. ¡°Thrilling, this setup is really thrilling. Although I¡¯d like to y a bit more, I respect your studio¡¯s choice. Ah, and you, kitty.¡± Petting the head of Sanmiao, who had been trying to y with theputer power cord, Hoffman asked, ¡°Your studio¡¯s cat is really cute, she¡¯s always trying to y with me.¡± ¡°Once she turns off yourputer by lying on the power button, you won¡¯t think she¡¯s that cute,¡± Huang Ping said with a smile. Haha, Huang Ping, you¡¯re really funny. Cats turning offputers, can you imagine that?¡± Hoffman chuckled. Huang Ping watched Sanmiao¡¯s innocent face helplessly, thinking to himself, I didn¡¯t believe it at first either. In the following days, Hoffman came to the studio on time every day, yed the game on schedule, and was tormented by the plot twist after twist, yet each time he yed with great joy. The not-soplex main quest intertwined with the side quests, and the alluring characters were swiftly ¡®snuffed out¡¯ just as they appeared. Sometimes there are moments when nothing happened, but through some side storylines, Hoffman discovered that thepanions around him seemed to have changed from who they were before.
But when the change happened, whether it was before or after they met him, or what they had turned into¡­ these were things he couldn¡¯t know and didn¡¯t want to find out. After realizing he had also changed, Hoffman felt relieved instead, d that the protagonist had already died, but then he fell into the philosophical dilemma of whether the personality that had personality was actually himself. He spent a week ying through the first loop of the game and was thoroughly satisfied. Although he didn¡¯t discuss serious matters during that week, all the serious matters were actually taken care of. Through ¡°Heavenly Demon,¡± he saw the capabilities of Fang Cheng Studio and felt confident about marketing this great game. After signing a most favorable agreement with Fang Cheng Studio, Hoffman shook Fang Cheng¡¯s hand before leaving and said emotionally, ¡°This game is the best one I¡¯ve seen recently. The excellent storyline coupled with great content has deeply moved me. I sincerely hope this is a good start for us to move forward together.¡± ¡°It will be,¡± Fang Cheng calcted, then smiled and nodded. Although he didn¡¯t get to see the pandas, Hoffman felt pretty good. The overseas gaming world might look thriving, but the gaming industry has fallen into a vicious cycle of major investments and production, where most games no longer seek gamey but stability to reduce costs and increase profits. Games had started to be monotonous, political correctness was bing the norm¡ªit was time to give them a shock from the East, to show them what a good game really looks like. Hoffman, the old man, had an amazing ability to take action. As soon as he got back to Cologne, he immediately started nning theunch. The demo version of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± began to be distributed for free. Media partners and game review organizations started operating; some streamers began to broadcast the demo on YouTube, and the reactions after ying were consistent: This game is quite fun, but is it categorized correctly?
Though he seemed friendly, Hoffman knew how to create a sensational marketing buzz. The demo he released included the opening part of the game, where the malice was neatly coated with a sugaryer, its venom not yet apparent, tasting sweet in the mouth. Although it was just the first half, it was enough to catch many people¡¯s attention. Variousments began appearing on YouTube and TikTok, and many were incredulous once they realized it was a game from the East. ¡°Incredible¡­¡± ¡°Flying gave me a scare and made me realize this isn¡¯t the traditional game as we know it. I did some research; this is Sword Flight, a mode of movement for the gods in Eastern mythology, but with a romance quite different from the West.¡± ¡°Lighthearted, fun, the mini-games are humorous and fresh, making the already casual genre even more rxed.¡± ¡°I really like an elder in the starting vige. He made me feel not like a fellow viger but an elder of mine. He selflessly taught me various skills, told me his secret spots for gathering herbs without asking anything in return, and that made mefortable.¡± ¡°Agreed. In other games, I¡¯m off to save the world, to rescue people from peril; I will be a great hero, and yet you want me not to save the world but to help you find your lost dog? With a reward of five coins while you charge me fifty for a wooden sword? Each time this happens, I start to doubt if what I had done before was meaningful.¡± ¡°My childhood sweetheart is so cute.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the game tags.¡± ¡°My God, don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s noticed this is a Fang Cheng Studio game. I can¡¯t wait to y the full version! I¡¯ve set the date, taken annual leave; it¡¯s going to be a gaming frenzy, and I can hardly wait anymore! Long live Fang Cheng Studio!¡± ¡°Madman¡­ Wait, are you talking about the developers of ¡®Quiet Cultivation¡¯ and other games, the ones I really liked on ¡®Who is the Champion¡¯? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m starting to look forward too.¡±
¡°Heavenly Demon¡± hadn¡¯t officiallyunched, yet the game had already generated some heat, drawing gamers¡¯ attention. After all, once the gaming environment was open, the market became bteral; your games coulde in, and ours could go out. The games from Fang Cheng Studio were a bit special; the horror genre couldn¡¯t be sold domestically, but the demand for it always existed, and this time it served as an excellent knock on the door, to see if there was a difference between the domestic horror sense and that abroad. On the day the gameunched, n, who had been ying guitar and singing on the streets of Taiguli, nced at his messages and then said apologetically to the surrounding audience, ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s it for today.¡± A chorus of disappointed sighs arose, and some dropped money into his guitar case, earning n¡¯s sincere thanks. After packing up his guitar and closing his stall, n waved goodbye to the other street vendors and walked to the subway station on his way back. After spending a week in Rong City, he grew to like the ce even more and decided to resign from his job to stay in Rong City for a while. During this period, he helped Qiu Yu with game music during the day, and in the evenings, he went to ces like Taiguli to y guitar and busk. The blond handsome guy with an outstanding voice and skilled performance drew in various buffs; he earned well every day, enough to share rent and utilities with Qiu Yu, and his life was veryfortable. Moreover, the security in Rong City was good, with almost no dubious characters to be seen on the streets, even at night, which was a rare treat in Gaul. Wearing flip-flops, n returned to Qiu Yu¡¯s ce, left the barbecue he bought at the door, and then said, ¡°Qiu Yu, are you still alive?¡± ¡°Still hanging on¡­¡± ¡°Come on, stop it,e out and have some barbecue.¡± ¡°No worries, I¡¯ll work a bit longer.¡± ¡°¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ hasunched, and I bought a copy with my Gaul ount; don¡¯t you want to y it?¡± A few minutester, Qiu Yu, who had been up all night, crawled out. He looked exhausted but still dered firmly, ¡°I¡¯ll y!¡± That day, nearly all game streamers and review organizations experienced true despair. Chapter 293: 189 This Game is Not So Good (First Update)_1 Chapter 293: Chapter 189 This Game is Not So Good (First Update)_1 The ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± was priced at about $50 and was initially released in Europe. Following the preunch hype, the first day sales of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± reached 1.2 million copies, and ording to the revenue-sharing ratio, Fang Cheng Studio could make about $30 million that day alone. Seeing this number, Fang Cheng was indifferent, Xu Qingling had no concept of it, but Huang Ping was taken aback. The revenue-sharing ratio was exorbitantly high, but since thenguage trantion and localization issues had been dealt with, it was normal for them to ask for a higher percentage. Moreover, the other party was a friend of Mr. Shen, so there must have been some internal discount. No matter how you look at it, the terms offered to them were quite excellent. After telling them today¡¯s sales volume, Hoffman, the old man, half-jokingly said, ¡°The game¡¯s graphics are very good. Many people bought it just for the visuals, having no idea whates after. I can¡¯t stop thinking about their expressionster on, it makes me want tough. Also, don¡¯t bother looking at the game¡¯s reviews, they mean nothing.¡± Although Fang Cheng didn¡¯t know why Hoffman specifically mentioned reviews, he thanked him and then started observing the Dustfire of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡±. 1.2 million in sales were enough to form a very tangible me. What waspletely different from the previous mes was the pitch-ck color of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡¯s¡± me. It symbolized despair and fear; the pure ck mes seemed eager to devour everything, turning all things around it into pure ck.
Within the thick ck, not a glint of light was visible, not even a shadow of hope could be seen. asionally, a rxing green hue would appear, but it didn¡¯tst long before being consumed by the ck, disappearing without a trace. Looking at it, Fang Cheng felt relieved that he hadn¡¯t released this thing domestically, or who knows how many people would have been driven to tears. Focusing on the mes, he realized it might be too much. While the color was pure and matched his expectations, after watching for a while, Fang Cheng wasn¡¯t sure whether using such mes for enlightenment would cause any problems, given their intense concentration. Frowning, Fang Cheng began to ponder whether or not he should use it for enlightenment. As Fang Cheng was in a dilemma, some overseas streamers had already started their unboxing livestreams. They had bought the physical edition of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± and exaggerated in a light-hearted tone how long they had queued, how they had shed with the store clerks, and possibly some fabricated stories that made their purchase seem even more bizarre and exaggerated the difficulty of obtaining the game. After getting hold of the game, they would im that it¡¯s a horror game from the East, but Eastern games are often known for their subtlety and sorrow, and without getting the point, you¡¯d have no idea what the game was about. The East was an easy topic to spark conversations about, with many people harboring vague imaginations about it. Many couldn¡¯t even distinguish between Huaxia, Sakura, and other regions, lumping them all together as one ce. But Eric was different; he was well-versed in Eastern games, not out of affection but as a profession. He was a neen-year-old energetic guy who often livestreamed high-intensitypetitive games like ¡°Hammer of Thor,¡± attracting viewers with his professional-level gaming, then taking on some sponsorships to introduce single-yer games. Upon receiving a sponsorship from Cayman Company, the young man furrowed his brow and exaggeratedly stuck out his tongue. One of his sponsorship deals was for roughly 30,000 euros, but the costs were for him to calcte. Streamers epting sponsorships essentially assisted manufacturers in cutting the chives; some sponsorships were like small sickles, allowing the chives to grow back after being harvested. But some sponsorships werebine harvesters that not only removed the original chives but also uprooted their roots, leaving oneself the one to cry in the end. ording to his experience, deals from Anyhell were not bad, sometimes even painless, as if they were fertilizing the chives. However, deals from Cand could be troublesome; some were fertilizing, but others were like wildfires, necessitating mental preparation beforehand. Shameful deals were simr to Cand¡¯s, thoughtely, it seemed as if there were morebine harvesters than usual.
But Fang Cheng Studio¡­ Furrowing his brow, Eric couldn¡¯t recall what kind of reputation this gamepany had, so he just shrugged his shoulders and put the game disc into his console. During the instation process, he skillfully set up the camera in the living room, then started recording. ¡°Hi, this is Eric, your gaming expert. Today we¡¯re going to y a game I personally really like, ¡®Heavenly Demon.¡¯ Many of you might guess whichpany made this game, but let¡¯s not talk about that, let¡¯s just y the game first,¡± he said.
Although he hadn¡¯t started ying yet, Eric was already adept at introducing the game, using ambiguousnguage to hype up how fun the game was, giving the impression to the sponsor that their money was well spent. However, fans familiar with him knew that the more exaggerated his praise, the more it confirmed one thing. He took the money. Using two camera angles to capture both the game screen and his expressions, Eric waited until the instation wasplete, then started the game. The opening of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± was filled with Eastern atmosphere, with the protagonist walking alone with a sword, surrounded by mist, and ck shadows spreading behind him like ink, giving the impression that the Heavenly Demon was contained within the protagonist himself. Chapter 294: 189 This Game is Not So Good (Second Update)_2 Chapter 294: Chapter 189 This Game is Not So Good (Second Update)_2 ¡°` Sitting crossed-legged in front of the television, Eric held the controller and stared at the screen for a while before nodding and saying, ¡°The opening scene is great, a simple dynamic screen sets the tone of the game right away. It¡¯s a horror game, but the only one that ever scared me was ¡®Ominous Sign¡¯, and that was when I was seven. Alright, enough talk, let¡¯s get into the game.¡± Choosing to start the game, Eric found that as the mist cleared, the protagonist woke up on a bed. When Eric saw the scene in front of him, he was dumbfounded for a good long while, staring at the screen intently. To get a better gaming experience, he used a 100-inch ultra-clear, high-refresh-rate, widescreen TV. Most games at this distance looked all pixted, but good games could be seen much more clearly. He thought that if ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ was free of pixels, that would be a sess, but now that he saw the actual graphics, Eric felt he might have underestimated Fang Cheng Studio. He already knew that people from the East were hardworking, but he had not expected them to go to such lengths. Every now and then, some ck Tech would pop up from the region, but he never imagined that today he would witness such a qualitative leap. ¡°The mysterious East¡­¡± On the screen, the 3D modeling was lifelike, the game¡¯s ray tracing was as dazzling as real life, and the micro-expressions of the surrounding NPCs seemed as though they could be discerned through the screen.
Although he knew that graphics aren¡¯t the same as gamey, just by looking at the graphics, Eric felt that his fifty Euros were well spent. And when he actually started moving, he thought about Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s background again, but still came up empty. That shouldn¡¯t be right¡­ The character¡¯s movement felt outstanding. The graphics, motion details, and control feedback all worked together to give the character on Eric¡¯s screen a strong sense of immersion. This was not the effect of technology umtion alone, but should be the result of years of experience in the action field. He shouldn¡¯t have never heard of apany with such technology before. However, Eric quickly cast his confusion aside. Because the game was just too thrilling. Usually, during the recording of his show, he would talk a lot to spark viewers¡¯ interest, so they would want to watch his ads, making the audience happy and the publishers satisfied. But today, he didn¡¯t want to say a word. Although it was a game with an Eastern theme, and he had no concept of ¡°Cultivation¡± before, not understanding the concepts of refining essence into Qi, Qi into spirit, spirit returning to the void, and merging the void with the Dao, it didn¡¯t prevent him from finding it enjoyable. Authentic trantions made it easy for him to ept the rted settings, and the exotic Eastern culture filled him with a sense of novelty. Especially when he discovered that people could obtain extraordinary powers without the help of Gods, without mutations, lineage, or technology, he became intensely curious about the so-called methods of cultivation and began to travel in the world of ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯. His character was not a hero from the start; his journey was not a Hollywood-style hero¡¯s journey. The protagonist was clear from the beginning about what they wanted to do and set out resolutely to follow their own heart. ying up to this point, Eric stopped, then said to the camera, ¡°A very curious protagonist. Many of our games are about role-ying, striving to get us into the game. But ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ is different; it has created an almost perfect protagonist and makes us imagine that we are him. I¡¯m not saying who is better or worse, but I want to say, I appreciate this innovation.¡± After that, he continued ying. Eric didn¡¯t y fast; he spent most of his time attempting interactions with the environment, and the possibilities of interaction astonished him. The whole game had itsplete physical system. Some methods of interaction seemed bizarre, but they formed their own coherent system. Although it was a bit baffling at first, like why that pigeon was so huge, and why the people around were indifferent to it.
A mysterious energy, Spiritual Energy, governed the cycle of the whole world, and everything circted with Spiritual Energy, encapsting the Eastern philosophy of harmony between heaven and humanity. However, Spiritual Energy would concentrate in some ces. The huge pigeons were a manifestation of this concentration of Spiritual Energy, but they were clever and wise. Therefore, they were epted into the vige. ¡°` Understanding this, Eric became even more curious about the game¡¯s setting.
The game opened with the message that the world was sick, the Spiritual Energy was still there, but in some ces, it had been polluted and terrifying Demons could be born at any moment. Even though the Sect was leaving, they thoughtfully left behind magical weapons and other items to help the protagonist learn and improve before they left. The childhood friend next door also knew some methods of utilizing Spiritual Energy. Whenever the protagonist got hurt after subduing Demons, the childhood friend woulde over to heal him without charging a fee. The vigers in the vige were kind and friendly. When they found out the protagonist needed some weapons for protection, the cksmith at the vige entrance immediately crafted a long sword for him, making Eric feel somewhat embarrassed. The game also had a currency system, but within thismunity, there wasn¡¯t much need to spend money. It seemed that everyone sincerely treated the protagonist as one of their own and provided support to the best of their abilities. At this point, Eric stopped ying again. ¡°Collectivism, huh¡­ Although many people don¡¯t have a good impression of collectivism, after some recent events, we have to admit that it¡¯s the best system to resist natural disasters. We¡¯ve always felt that we were too arrogant, to the point that we fail to see a lot of the right things¡­ Sorry, I digressed again. Let¡¯s continue the game.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for Eric to get the hang of the game. He knew all the settings by heart and, even though he wasn¡¯t ying fast, he hadn¡¯t enjoyed a game this much in a long time. The game wasn¡¯t frightening. On the contrary, it was quite leisurely. The only terrifying aspect seemed to be the polluted creatures in the wilderness¡ªsome monsters were covered with eyes, and others were simply made of arms, which could make anyone¡¯s sanity plummet just by looking at them. However,pared to them, Eric felt that the protagonist seemed more like a monster. The protagonist was incredibly powerful, able to ascend to the heavens and burrow into the ground. The monsters in front of him were no match, not scary except perhaps a bit ugly. Besidesbat, he could go fishing or cksmithing. Various interesting minigames were woven throughout, making him feel that the game shouldn¡¯t be called ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± but rather ¡°Cultivation Simtor.¡± Just as he was about to make a set of clothes for his childhood friend, the rm clock rang.
¡°Two hours already? This game really¡­ takes a lot of time.¡± With reluctance, Eric put down the controller and picked up his camera to check the materials for his live stream. This time, the footage he recorded wasn¡¯t up to standard. Usually, he would continuously talk about rted content so that even if viewers weren¡¯t watching the video, they could listen to what was being said and could enjoy his program while driving. But today, he had beenpletely immersed in ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± and hardly said a few words, making his gaming video seem somewhat dull. Having no choice, he edited and did voiceovers repeatedly, each time almost deciding to stop and go back to ying for a while, but ultimately he held back. He was busy until midnight before he finally uploaded thepleted show, announcing he would make this game into a series until he finished it. Not long after the video was released, he saw a message from one of his loyal fans. [Eric, are you ying ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± too?] [Yeah, I think it¡¯s a great game, veryfortable to y. I took amercial order, but I feel this game is worth ying. Top ten of the year, no problem.] [Have you watched other people¡¯s gamey videos or guides?] [No, you know my habit. After I take amercial order, I won¡¯t watch other people¡¯s games or guides.] [I respect your habit, so I won¡¯t say much, but with ¡°Heavenly Demon,¡± just stop ying when you reach a certain point. Especially when you notice something is not right, stop immediately!]
[¡­Why?] [Don¡¯t ask, just y for another hour at your pace, but don¡¯t go any further, okay? I have to go, I¡¯m running out of time, and I have to y the game¡ªI need to find a possibility. Goodbye.] Watching the concerned fan go, Eric felt a chill run up his spine, giving him a sense of fear as if the game was encroaching upon reality. Chapter 295: 190 Chapter 295: 190 Eric had only ever contacted this fan online before, but he knew the person was not someone who liked to joke around. He wandered downstairs to the living room, puzzled. He nned to check what was going on with the game, only to discover that his father had somehow already returned. His father was a game review columnist, and his own love for games was guided by him. His tough-guy styled father had always been his pride. And although reserved and taciturn, his father always fully respected his choices. Even when he expressed his wish to drop out of school to be a game streamer, his father only repeatedly made sure he had thought it through before providing him with startup funds to begin from scratch. Even now that he was earning far more than his father, he still held him in high regard. At the moment, his father, reeking of smoke and with a stubbly beard, was tidying up the game console. The console had been shut down and put away, but the game disc and even the game case were nowhere to be found, which Eric found utterly bewildering. ¡°Dad, where¡¯s my game?¡± Eric¡¯s father paused, then said, ¡°That game¡­ How far did you get?¡± ¡°Just started, why?¡±
¡°Stop ying it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not healthy.¡± Eric looked at his father in astonishment, finding it hard to believe as he said, ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything when I saw that first porno, but now you tell me a game is unhealthy?¡± Eric¡¯s father stepped forward, ced his hands on Eric¡¯s shoulders, and looking sternly into his eyes, he said, ¡°Listen, you¡¯re neen, a young adult. There are things you really shouldn¡¯t be exposed to; this is for your own good. Alright, it¡¯s already eleven o¡¯clock, go to bed.¡± ¡°Dad¡­ this is amercial gig¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exin it for you, go to bed.¡± Faced with his father¡¯s absolute authority, Eric could only think of walking upstairs. On the stairs, he saw his father standing by the window, holding a phone and whispering, ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s yed it¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed it, he¡¯s just started¡­ Yes, it¡¯s not toote, I¡¯ll watch over him. I know, he¡¯s a sensitive kid, it¡¯s too soon for him.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all.¡± After hanging up the phone, his father didn¡¯t leave but instead stood looking out the window, murmuring to himself: ¡°¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯¡­¡± Tiptoeing back to his bedroom, Eric felt increasingly strange. Lying in bed, he waited until his father was asleep before sneaking downstairs, where he found an oldptop in the basement covered with dust. He booted it up and connected to his mobile hotspot. Then, he purchased the digital version of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± and began ying again. In the dark, cramped basement, only the dim light from theptop in his embrace flickered. Without a mouse, he could only control the game using the touchpad, but since he had already yed once, he sailed through the beginning and quickly reached the early to mid-stage. It was only at this moment that he understood why this game was categorized as horror.
In the darkness, the Heavenly Demon opened its fierce eyes, and despair from another world captured him, making it impossible for him to break free. The facade of ease was ripped away. The sweeter the atmosphere before the game, the more despairing it became now. He watched helplessly as his parents fell into a pool of blood, with a three-meter-tall monster appearing before him, its ws carrying the clothes he had made for his childhood sweetheart. The tragic death of his rtives filled him with sorrow and anger. The emotional bond formed through two rounds of gaming made him feel double the pain.
At this moment, he was no longer Eric, but the protagonist! His empathy with the protagonist surged, driving him to pull out his weapon and rush at the enemy without a second thought. It was a tough fight. The foe was not just anymon soldier, but a formidable, stage-specific boss. If he hadn¡¯t cultivated his abilities properly earlier on, he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance now. However, this was Eric¡¯s second time ying the game. He had managed his time well, and although facing the monster was perilous, it wasn¡¯t impossible. Leveraging the skills honed in ¡°Hammer of Thor,¡± after dozens of rounds, he finally chopped off the neck of the monster, with its head falling behind him. As he watched the monster copse with a thud, Eric finally felt the thrill of vengeance, but soon he saw the monster revert to human form. The headless body looked all too familiar. Staring at the familiar figure, Eric froze. He instinctively wanted to turn around, but someone held his hand. When he looked up sharply, he saw his father appearing silently in the basement, then restraining his hand to stop him from continuing. ¡°Just walk away, walk away slowly from here, and don¡¯te back. Remember, what you just killed was a monster disguised as a human, the whereabouts of your childhood sweetheart are still unknown.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve yed this game at thepany. I know what happens next, so there¡¯s no need to look back, keep moving.¡±
¡°¡­Thank you, dad.¡± It was only at that moment that Eric understood the well-intentioned efforts of both his fan and his father. But it was toote. He had seen despair, and he knew he couldn¡¯t let go of the game until he hadpleted it. Chapter 296: 190: Complete Victory (Second Update)_2 Chapter 296: Chapter 190: Complete Victory (Second Update)_2 ¡°` Controlling the protagonist to walk out, Eric believed that the protagonist¡¯s expression must have been exactly like his own. This world was really too fucked up. However, the high degree of freedom in the world gave him some hope. With Spiritual Energy¡¯s pollution everywhere, if we could find out why the Spiritual Energy got polluted beforehand, could we save this tragedy by restarting the game? Yes, that must be Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s n, a beautiful endingy ahead, we can do this. The most intense despair often contains a sliver of hope. But when they found out that this hope was like a rope with nothing at the end, a deeper despair would arrive. Then, this process would repeat itself, making the yers continuously dig their own graves towards Despair Hell, until they could no longer climb out. Three days after its release, ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± finallynded on G-site and began receiving ratings.
G-site was an internationally renowned gaming review website, which had two parts: expert reviews and yer reviews, each part having a maximum score of ten, and a minimum of one. Among these, expert reviews were more focused on the game¡¯s artistry,pleteness, and innovation, while yer reviews were more focused on yability. Usually, the scores between these two sections would be poles apart; games satisfying both were almost non-existent, and every such game was a blockbuster. However, there were quite a few games that both groups hated, and the number seemed to be increasing recently. And ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± had created another spectacle. Its score was exactly six, the average, but the number of reviewers reached three hundred thousand. Considering its sales, this meant that a quarter of the yers eagerly started rating it right after ying the game, while some were so engrossed in the game that they temporarily didn¡¯t have time to rate it. Whether experts or yers, the reviews for this game were prized. Some people loved the game to death, and thements below were extremely exaggerated, with overflowing praise. [There are only two phases in your life, before ying ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± and after.] [Wee to the world of despair, you little bastard. It¡¯s time to feel what the pain of the world is like.] [I tried to save my childhood sweetheart, my parents, mypanions, but one by one they turned into monsters in front of me. If I didn¡¯t kill them, they would kill even more people. I couldn¡¯t hesitate, because the longer I hesitated, the more people would die, and the more they would suffer. This damned world, full marks.] [While ying this game, I cried like a sissy. My roommate made me sleep in the living room after seeing me cry like that, and she started to y. Now, she¡¯s depressed in the bedroom, and I have tofort her while crying, full marks.] [It¡¯s rare to see a game where you have great power and yet get tortured to death. Fang Cheng Studio, I¡¯ll remember you, full marks.] [My ranking system for horror games: 13+, 16+, 20+, ¡°Heavenly Demon¡±.] However, apart from those whovish praise, some expressed their fear. [Now when I close my eyes all I see is ¡°Heavenly Demon¡±. Although all the gory scenes are censored, the feeling of powerlessness is just too strong.] [Great game, but I don¡¯t want to y anymore.] [I admit it¡¯s excellent in all aspects, but I really can¡¯t continue ying it. Some say to y the first part and just treat it as a farming simtion game, but I can¡¯t. Every time I restart, I try to escape the tragedy, but each time I feel like I¡¯m making everything worse. Compared to this game, other horror games don¡¯t seem that scary because I know they can¡¯t hurt me through the screen, but ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± can.]
The massive controversy was also within Hoffman¡¯s expectations. As the reviews prized, the game¡¯s sales kept increasing, and by the end of the first week, sales in Europe had reached three million copies, making it a very sessful game case recently. However, Hoffman knew that some troubles were just beginning. An email arrived at Cayman Company, startlingly from an animal protection organization.
The organization demanded the concept of equality of life be promoted in all games, and in ¡°Heavenly Demon¡±, yers could even ughter animals that had been polluted, which was a heinous offense against life. ¡°` Before Hoffman could reply, the Rainbow g also came forward to state that having only a male protagonist in the game was a form of gender opposition, demanding the immediate inclusion of a female character or the announcement that the character was gender-neutral before the game could be eptable. Of course, if making the changes was too troublesome, they wouldn¡¯t mind certifying the game, but they absolutely couldn¡¯t do without sponsorship. Some organizations also came forward to express that the female characters in the game were too beautiful, which could easily cause gender anxiety. Seeing these emails, Hoffman simply ignored them as if they were nonsense. They might sound good in their emails, but at their core, it¡¯s all business. You wouldn¡¯t think it from their righteous tone in the emails, but if Hoffman were to donate a portion of the revenue to these organizations, they would practically worship him the next day. But, after all, as long as the game is fun, what does it matter to cater to these people? So, Hoffman, adhering to his policy of ¡°you do your thing, I¡¯ll do mine,¡± ignored all the emails and continued to prepare the game¡¯s release ns for other countries. If it were just an ordinary little game, these organizations might shout for a bit and then let it go if there was no gain to be had. But with ¡°Heavenly Demon¡±¡®s sales figures in in sight, that juicy piece of meat was too tempting for every hungry dog not to want a bite. Also, the game had an original sin: it was a creation from the East.
For a while, criticism of the game was relentless, and in many media outlets, ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± had be the headquarters for spreading evil thoughts. Some even imed that buying ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± was like purchasing a ticket to hell, and the train to hell would snatch up these gamers, trapping them in a world with only their consoles to y the game endlessly until theypleted all the levels. Others called for those who had bought ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± to get a refund and to cease the survival of such a rotten game! Seeing this criticism, Hoffman was indifferent and even felt the other party made good points. He had seen too much of this. After all, if nobody criticized it, it only meant the approach was wrong. Moreover, he trusted the gamers¡¯ judgment. After all, the first users after the game¡¯s release were the gamers; it didn¡¯t need to be politically correct, sometimes it even needed to be politically incorrect¡ªthe point was to enjoy mocking, sarcasm, and all kinds of crass humor. Besides, if you don¡¯t respect our game, why should we respect you? Nevertheless, he was a bit worried about Fang Cheng, so he contacted him again to tell him not to worry about thements. After receiving Hoffman¡¯s call, Fang Cheng was puzzled and asked, ¡°Someone is attacking me online? Why?¡± ¡°Because the game is too good.¡± ¡°¡­Is it wrong to be too good?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, the world is. Anyway, don¡¯t worry about those things. I was concerned it might affect your mood, but it seems you¡¯re doing pretty well.¡±
After hanging up the phone, Fang Cheng did some calctions and then furrowed his brow. Some people were going to suffer. Maliciously ndering others for no reason, especially an Immortal, could lead to severe karmic bacsh. If ¡°Heavenly Demon¡±¡®s final sales were poor, there might be a chance for redemption, implying their criticism was valid, but now, as ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± was surging in momentum, they might not be so fortunate¡­ Three dayster, Hoffman watched the pressure closely and released ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± in the American market. Despite the widespread chorus of condemnation in public opinion, it was not these voices that ultimately voted but rather the gamers. The game broke through five million copies in the first week alone, with global sales expected to reach ten million. The enormous figures directly shamed those so-called impartial reviewers and silently ushered in the bacsh. Some organizations mysteriously suffered financial cut-offs, somepanies inexplicably went out of business, andter, it was discovered that these closures were all rted to ¡°Heavenly Demon,¡± adding more and more urban legends to the game. Regardless, as the first studio to enter the international market, Fang Cheng Studio won aplete victory. Chapter 297: 191: Hidden Easter Egg (Three More)_1 Chapter 297: Chapter 191: Hidden Easter Egg (Three More)_1 Although ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± was selling hot in overseas markets, domestic media were strangely silent. Chen Rang, a well-known media journalist, looked at the sales of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± every day, and the gaming group he was part of shared updates about ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± daily. When sales broke ten million, he even saw yers in the group covertly changing their signatures to ten million, and the Game Inn¡¯s headline was also changed to arge celebration icon, but surprisingly, there was not a single piece of news inside¡ªthere was an air of unspeakability. There were also yers wearing T-shirts printed with ¡°ten million¡± walking on the streets; asionally, two ten millions would brush past each other, exchange a knowing smile, and instantly feel the d¨¦j¨¤ vu of finding their organization. Some people found rted resources through scientific methods of circumventing inte blocks, and after excitedly paying for the download and starting to y, they were immediately touched by the great kindness of Fang Cheng Studio and said that this game indeed was not suitable for release in China. Nothing else, it was just too despairing. Although everyone always said ¡°Under the Plum Tree¡¯s Sacrifice, Mana is Boundless¡±, when they actually saw the tragic state of their own plum tree, arge number of yers broke down. The game was good, but we were not worthy; let the overseas yers y it instead. There were also yers who wouldn¡¯t believe in bad luck and insisted on continuing to y to see how the ending would turn out. They believed that Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s games must have sweetness¡ªevery cut was in service of the sweetness, and the veryst bite would be especially sweet.
Then, they went from the first ythrough to the second, from the second to the third. With each ythrough, their strength grew significantly, each time unlocking some special areas and some special magical weapons. Every time they discovered a new area, those yers felt they could find a way to save everything, but in the end, they just repeated the tragedy in an even more brutal fashion. Everyone was wounded all over but still marched forward bravely, madly searching for the legendary perfect ending. Not many yers were able to continue ying such a despairing story, and Qiu Yu was among those few. By day he worked on his own games, rewarding himself with a session of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± when tired, which after leaving him heartbroken, gave him the courage to continue with his game development. Seeing the current state of his good friend, n, who was in the middle ofposing music, began to feel restless. This handsome Gaul had already sessfully integrated into his surroundings; although he still didn¡¯t understand most of Chinese, he had learned to argue in Rong City dialect and knew how to retort when foreigners in Capital City sneered at him online. Recently, drinking tea around a stove had be popr, so he set up a small stove downstairs;ter, he was reported for producing too much smoke while roasting beef. n, now half a Rong City native, noticed that his good friend Qiu Yu hadpletely immersed himself in the game. He was fine while developing games, but when ying ¡°Heavenly Demon,¡± he began grinding his teeth; he had already filled three notebooks with game-rted notes and was continuously adding more every day. With each ythrough, yers grew stronger, but as new areas unlocked, the strength of the demons on the other side increased synchronously. There were rumors that the storyline would change after the tenth ythrough, but those were quickly corrected as false information. Some people had already started to give up, but Qiu Yu was still persisting. Seeing the slightly crazed Qiu Yu, n could understand. He had a simr experience as a child with a music game he particrly loved; he just couldn¡¯t get past the highest difficulty level of 13. Every strategy guide said that level was impossibly difficult, but he kept trying and ying and finally passed after three years, then deleted the game. For a long time afterward, he didn¡¯t touch music games until coincidence led him back to music. Addiction can quickly teach people some things, but it also wears away patience and eventually makes one lose the joy of gaming. As a good friend, n admired Qiu Yu¡¯s dedication to making games; however, judging by Qiu Yu¡¯s attitude, if he didn¡¯t help him get out early, he might end up not wanting to make games at all. After some thought, he decided to start with the game itself.
He didn¡¯t much like ying these heart-wrenching horror games, but he could try to find those involved and see if they might have some good solutions. While Qiu Yu restarted the game, n opened ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± and then checked the staff credits. The nners and programmers were all from the studio¡¯s internal staff, but only a name, ¡°motang,¡± seemed a bit unfamiliar. ¡°Original author Tang Mo, is it adapted from his novel? Is he famous?¡±
While tranting web pages, n opened a browser and, using his own methods, began searching in the vast sea of the inte. The process wasn¡¯t easy, and the search was quite troublesome, but he still relied on his perseverance and resolve to follow limited clues and eventually found Tang Mo¡¯s Q group. When he saw the line ¡°Original author of ¡®Heavenly Demon''¡± in the group¡¯s description, n was filled with emotion. It wasn¡¯t easy! The inte is really huge! With great joy, he clicked to join the group only to find another dialogue box popping up, ¡°What is the name of the male protagonist in Tang Mo¡¯stest novel?¡± Seeing this question, n fell back into confusion. Whattest novel? Where is it serialized? Where should I go to read it? With no other choice, n started again, following this clue to search for Tang Mo¡¯s novels. After oveing each obstacle and finally joining the group, he felt he had gained a deeper understanding of Huaxia culture. The inte here was truly marvelous.
He clicked on Tang Mo¡¯s avatar and sent his request earnestly. When Tang Mo received n¡¯s message, he was still moved. He had yed ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± a long time ago; the atmosphere of despair was exactly what he had been expressing, and it had be even more so after being adapted into a game. Just thinking that his novel had been turned into a game filled him with pride; he felt like he had reached the pinnacle of his life. What moved him even more was that his soulmate, Fang Cheng, had truly understood his thoughts! He had indeed made arrangements! Seeing the little secret door appear in the starting vige, he knew Fang Cheng understood his feelings and intentions, which touched him even more than seeing his novel adapted into a game. Unfortunately, up to now, no one hade to ask him about the easter egg. Not many domestic yers had yed it yet, and foreign yers couldn¡¯t find him; though he wanted to publicize it, he felt it was a bit too showy, so he had been stifling it, and it was still bothering him. Just as he felt he couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer, n¡¯s message came through. ¡°Dr. Tang, is there really only despair in ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯?¡± Seeing this sentence, Tang Mo felt relieved, and then replied, ¡°Try taking a look at the water tank in the starting room, how about that?¡±
Chapter 298: 192 Transnational Team (One More) _1 Chapter 298: 192 Chapter Transnational Team (One More) _1 With Tang Mo¡¯s hint, n thanked him and then turned to Qiu Yu, ¡°What¡¯s in the water jar in the initial room?¡± ¡°The water jar? I¡¯ve been searching it for a long time at the beginning, but there¡¯s nothing. Wait a minute!¡± Qiu Yu stared at the patterns at the bottom of the water jar, feeling something was off. He had thoroughly investigated every item in Newbie Vige, checked the gender of every stray cat, and tried to see if each egg could hatch a chick, so naturally, the water jar was no exception. At a cursory nce, the jar was big enough to hide a person, and its porcin was solid and durable, showing grooves worn from prolonged use. There was water in the jar, and with a pinch, he cast a spell to empty it. Qiu Yu jumped into the water jar and inspected it closely for a long time, even checking the traces inside from different angles of light, eventually noticing something different. The cracks at the bottom seemed to have increased a little. There were originally some cracks at the bottom of the water jar, which were not visible when it was filled with water and no yer would care to inspect such supposed patterns. If it wasn¡¯t for Tang Mo¡¯s hint, Qiu Yu would not have noticed this detail at all. Starting a new game, Qiu Yupared screenshots of the water jar bottoms from two runs and discovered that the patterns at the bottom had indeed increased by a few lines.
The additional patterns looked like a special symbol, but the strokes blended perfectly into the other patterns, making it difficult to discern what the symbol actually signified. Since the game¡¯s textures wouldn¡¯t change arbitrarily, if Fang Cheng Studio had deliberately reced the water jar¡¯s texture, it could only mean one thing, that it was rted to some very important function. After realizing this, a thrilled smile appeared on Qiu Yu¡¯s face. Indeed¡­ Fang Cheng Studio had indeed hidden an easter egg! At that moment, Qiu Yu felt an epiphany, instantly alert, and began to search for relevant information anew. He started the game over, and after each small stage, he would return to observe the water jar¡¯s bottom patterns,paring them for any changes. After clearing the game with a new character again, he restarted the cycle, and when he returned to the water jar, he discovered that an additional pattern had appeared on the inner side. From this, he concluded the following. That is, the patterns on the bottom of the water jar were rted to the number of cycles of clearing the game. Other yers had already stated that a perfect ending required a high number of ythroughs, which obviously seemed like a rumor at the time, but this rumor seemed to have identally struck the truth. Afterward, Qiu Yu encountered a new problem. Exactly how many times did one need to y through the game? In the game, clearing it counted as one cycle of reincarnation. Each time the final boss was defeated, yers were maliciously sent back to the beginning of the game by the boss, but the protagonist remembered nothing. The more cycles they cleared, the more tragic the storyline seemed, and the difficulty of the game also increased, bing ridiculously hard in the end. Although he didn¡¯t know exactly how many cycles were necessary, Qiu Yu decided to give it a try himself. He had already cleared the game six times and was now on his seventh cycle. The game was now so difficult that he was considering using a cheat tool, but like other games from Fang Cheng Studio, ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± waspletely unmodifiable. Struggling through the seventh cycle, he noticed another change in the patterns, but looking at them in istion, they still seemed iplete. Afterparing with previous changes, he felt he needed to clear at least nine cycles.
Realizing he was reaching his limit, Qiu Yu understood that he couldn¡¯t do this alone. ¡°n, is there a dedicated gaming forum on the externalwork?¡± Qiu Yu asked during a break. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already found one for you. Thedder is already set up, you can just go have a look.¡± ¡°¡­You really are a good person.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know you¡¯re cursing me.¡± Upon logging into the forum n had found, Qiu Yu discovered it was quiterge, with a high volume of daily posts, most of which disappeared as soon as they emerged. Foreign yers were even more fanatic about ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± than Qiu Yu had imagined. These yers were hardcore and had high stress tolerance. They didn¡¯t mind suffering while ying as long as the game was fun. Moreover, although ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± didn¡¯t have as much freedom as Fang Cheng Studio¡¯s other games, foreign yers hadn¡¯t yed those other games, and ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± alone was enough to astonish them. So, although the game had been released for a while, discussions in the forum were still lively, convincing Qiu Yu that a good game truly had universal appeal. Even more outrageous to Qiu Yu was that, in this forum, yers didn¡¯t refer to each other as buddy orrade, but as Daoist friends. They addressed each other as Daoist friends, and some even started reading tranted xianxia and fantasy novels, discussing everything from cultivators to mystical adventures. Some yers even taught themselves Chinese, adoptingplicated characters such as Qi as their usernames, giving Qiu Yu a sense of magical reality. And those who had cleared multiple cycles were referred to as having passed through several trials, with the strongest yer having cleared eight trials and embarking on the ninth. Even more terrifying was that this section had opened a new Chinesenguage learning forum, and many yers, eager for a deeper understanding of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡¯s¡± context, even started to learn Chinese on their own, reminding Qiu Yu of his own days mastering the world map to y ¡°The Age of Great Navigation.¡± Chapter 299: 192 Transnational Team (One More) _2 Chapter 299: Chapter 192 Transnational Team (One More) _2 Looking at the myriad of information, and the group of people exchanging their experiences in learning Chinese, Qiu Yu couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°This is really the right way to cultural invasion.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, this invasion is quite effective,¡± n said, munching on spicy grilled rabbit. ¡°A few of my former colleagues have been asking me if Huaxia people are like those in the game ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯, meditating every day, bing Immortals on the spot, and then beating up all the Heavenly Gods and Buddhas.¡± At this point, n paused and then, looking at Qiu Yu with excitement, asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you an Immortal yourself? Could you show me a trick or two?¡± ¡°Have you been ying the game too much?¡± Qiu Yu retorted. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like that. Are you going to keep secrets from your good brother?¡± n protested. Pushing the dissatisfied n away, Qiu Yu continued browsing the forum. Due to ack of relevant cultural knowledge, many foreign yers missed small details and also failed to find ways to quickly enhance their strength. But thanks to theirrge numbers, they still discovered many strategies and devised a variety of tactics, which Qiu Yu found very beneficial. Moreover, they were more willing to share their insights and experiences gained in the game, and some of the stories they told were quite touching. Apart from that, arge number of users tirelessly created fan fiction secondary settings, and the writing of many looked quite good.
They strived to write different endings for every NBC they met in the game, but sadly, most of these endings ended in tragedy. Someone had once asked why the author insisted on arranging such tragic endings. An author then exined that under those circumstances, he really couldn¡¯t think of a normal way to give these characters a less tragic ending. Some conclusions that seemed refreshing often involved interventions like time travel or mechanical deities, but these wouldpromise the atmosphere of ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ and render the fan fiction unwriteable. Reading this, Qiu Yu felt that the script was really good¡ªit even managed to ¡°kill¡± the fan fiction. Qiu Yu¡¯s English was proficient. He had no trouble reading what others wrote on the forums. And with n¡¯s help, he quickly grasped how to use the forum and then started searching for what he wanted. After going through various strategies and texts, he found no one had mentioned the issue with the crack under the water tank, which meant this Easter egg had yet to be discovered. Having no other options, he left a post on the forum, detailing his findings in the game unchanged. Not long after he posted it, the post sank without a trace. There were too many posters in the ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ forum every day, and an abundance of yers were there to discuss their insights¡ªif a post didn¡¯t stand out, it hardly gained traction. There were also too many rumors about perfect endings in the game, with people iming every day they¡¯d discovered a new Easter egg, but most turned out to be false. Seeing his post sink, Qiu Yu could only return to ying ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯, continuing the game and asionally checking the forum to see if anyone made a significant discovery. Sometimeter, a yer logged into the forum to start searching for information. Eric was one of the few yers on the forum who had made it to the ninth trial. The story of ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ had deeply shocked him, making him lose interest in eating and drinking as he was wholly focused on finding the perfect ending. Although many yers pointed out that this game simply had no such thing as a perfect ending, that there was only the deepest despair within the game. But a few yers who had yed other games from Fang Cheng Studio dered that the studio¡¯s games definitely contained Easter eggs, and these Easter eggs could turn everything around. Even though he hadn¡¯t yed any other games, he believed in the existence of a perfect ending to the game. This belief had turned into a sort of faith for him, and even after being tortured to death and back on the ninth round, he still held onto this initial conviction and continued ying the game.
Like usual, he searched the forum for information tonight, flipping through the pages in chronological order. He also saw the post by Qiu Yu but merely paused briefly before moving on to the next one. At its peak, there were over three hundred such rumors a day. Even though it has calmed down now, there are still a dozen or so every day. Most of them make logical sense and are well-structured, making them seem credible, but in the end, they all turned out to be rumors.
Having gone through the new posts, Eric didn¡¯t find what he was looking for, so he restarted the game again. In between gamey, he took out his notebook and re-established his n. By the ninth run, the game¡¯s difficulty had risen to an inconceivable level, truly making it a masochistic game. Monsters became harder, one-hit-kill moves were moremon, and sudden events became more frequent, most of which led to negative oues. A single slip, and all was lost. In the ninth run, time management had to be perfect. The game itself featured a time drainage mechanic, so what to do next had to be nned in advance to avoid missing out on dealing with many events. At this point, personal skill wasn¡¯t very important, as without sufficient skill, one wouldn¡¯t have made it past the first few runs. He wasn¡¯t live streaming today but was preparing to challenge the ninth run¡¯s content from the beginning. Just as he entered the game and was about to make the most of his time to get out of there, he was drawn to a water tank nearby. Initially, he didn¡¯t want to bother with it, but recalling the posts he had read before, Eric felt somewhat uneasy. As if possessed, he walked over, drained the water from the tank, and then began to examine the patterns at the bottom. At first, he didn¡¯t notice anything amiss. But just as he was about to leave, a change in angle made him realize the patterns at the bottom seemed to be some kind of symbol.
Looking from this angle, he discovered the pattern didn¡¯t appear naturally formed but was a mark purposefully left by someone. Capturing the pattern and searching by image, he found that this symbol resembled a Daoist talisman, but it seemed iplete. Like Qiu Yu, he also started a new game andpared it with the image from the weekend, realizing this image was indeed extraordinary. As a live streamer quite familiar with the game, he was very aware that this meant the game developers had nted an Easter egg here, which likely hinted at the true perfect ending. At that moment, Eric¡¯s heart started to race. He couldn¡¯t wait to log back into the forum, found Qiu Yu¡¯s post, and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve verified it, and I can confirm that the content of this post is true. There are indeed cracks under the water tank in the initial room, and the crack pattern looks like this.¡± Crack.jpg ¡°Immortal Qiu Yu, how did you find this Easter egg? And what do these cracks have to do with anything?¡± Before seeing Eric¡¯s reply, Qiu Yu was idly browsing the forum. When he saw the new post, he immediately perked up and quickly replied: ¡°Immortal Eric, we learned of this Easter egg through inquiries. The person who revealed the Easter egg was the original author of ¡®Heavenly Demon,¡¯ so I believe in the authenticity of this information. I have only undergone seven trials so far. But I am certain that the more trials you experience, the more patterns there will be, and the closer we get to the truth.¡± Eric: ¡°I see, then Immortal Qiu, how many trials do you think we need in order to finally activate this symbol?¡± ¡°Probably nine.¡±
Reading this reply, Eric breathed a sigh of relief. He was already on the ninth run; if he pushed a little more, he might get through the final challenges and see the ultimate ending. However, to discover the Easter egg quickly, he needed more people to help. Thus, he asked in the post: ¡°Immortal Qiu Yu, you¡¯re a Huaxia person, right? I want to find people to tackle this challenge together. Would you like to join me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± An impromptu ¡®Heavenly Demon¡¯ international coboration team was thus formed. Chapter 300: 193: The Endpoint of Despair (Two more)_1 Chapter 300: Chapter 193: The Endpoint of Despair (Two more)_1 Although just a second-tier streamer, Eric had a huge number of die-hard fans, many of whom were willing to assist him in gaming, so he quickly put together a team. However, this team mainly helped search for clues and experiment with methods, the real force were the gaming experts from the forum who had reached the Ninth Round. ¡°Heavenly Demon¡± was extremely popr overseas, and when Eric announced that he had discovered new hints for an Easter egg, a group of people immediately joined in to search for the secret of the Easter egg with him. Upon learning that the final Easter egg might only appear after clearing the Ninth Round, most immediately dered that this task was insanely challenging. What they wanted was suffering, what they wanted was torment, what they wanted was the kind of fervor that kept you on the edge of life and death! Arge number of Ninth Round experts volunteered their unique tips and joined Eric in the challenge of the Ninth Round gamey. They began to exchange experiences on time management within the game and share time-saving methods they¡¯d found so that Eric could better challenge the final boss of the Ninth Round. Although Qiu Yu¡¯s gaming skills were not the strongest, he was one of the few Huaxia people in the team and had a lot of insights into many things, so he was invited to serve as a consultant and became active in the gaming group. And because of his role as a consultant, Qiu Yu found that the way these people yed games was truly hardcore. Every action had to be broken down to the finest detail, every moment had to be timed to the second, a group of them even factored in the time to turn around, turning a game into a speedrunningpetition.
These foreigners might be a bit ck in real life, but in the game, they performed exceptionally well. Seeing these people¡¯s arrangements, Qiu Yu felt that his own notebook was a bit insufficient byparison. At the same time, he also saw that these game enthusiasts were really ying as if gaming was their life. And the Ninth Round gaming pros who joined just highlighted what madness looked like. Qiu Yu saw more than one yer staying online for the entire journey, always replying to questions at any time, making Qiu Yu wonder if they ever slept. Some would even give detailed exnations stretching over ten thousand words, as if they had nothing else to do in life, and the game had be their everything. All these situations made Qiu Yu feel as if these people had not blood, but passion coursing through their veins. A multitude of strategies emerged, new gamey was developed, and Eric¡¯s live streaming of the Ninth Round strategy gradually gained poprity, even sparking a number of copycat challengers. Unknowingly, this matter seemed to have turned into a small-scale gaming event. Some gaming media began reporting on it, and betting organizations even started taking bets, letting people guess who would be the first to sessfully challenge the Ninth Round. Hoffman also took notice of this matter. This savvy old man knew how to catch a trend; realizing the marketing potential of this situation, he immediately offered a 100,000 Euro prize to yers who could clear the Ninth Round first. This was a lot of money, butpared to the attention it brought, it was negligible. ¡°Heavenly Demon,¡± a game full of topics of discussion, a masterpiece made by Easterners, with extremely high difficulty and a desperate storyline, each aspect enticing people to fall into the trap of the game. And this bounty further fueled its poprity, resulting in a breakthrough increase in game sales. As a multitude of yers poured in, some confident in their gaming skills and believing themselves to be the potential winners of the 100,000 Euros, they all ended their quests in defeat. Some yers who had originally battled alongside Eric also went their way, hoping to be the first to clear the Ninth Round. This was no simple task. It required a profound understanding of the game, knowing exactly what to do at each step, and even good fortune was needed toplete some random events.
In addition, a strong ability to cope with pressure was essential, with despairing storylines in the game waiting for yers to conquer, and the challenge from other yers outside the game. Everyone who persevered in such an environment was tough mentally. But such psychological pressure was virtually non-existent for Eric. He had absolutely no interest in the 100,000 Euros; all he wanted to see was the final Easter egg. For the Easter egg, he declined all business offers and began shutting himself in at home.
To enable him to better take on the challenge, his father started delivering meals to him three times a day and even allowed Eric to set up a sleeping bag in the living room, so he could catch some sleep when possible. A man remains a boy until his death, having had his own times of obsession, knowing not to stop him at this time but to encourage him as much as possible. Three days after the prize money was announced, someone was the first to defeat the boss of the previous area. On the fifth day, the penultimate boss was killed, leaving only thest boss. On the seventh day, the first form of the final boss was defeated. On the ninth day, the second form of the final boss was reduced to critical health, but ultimately the challengers were counter-killed. Among the challengers, Eric was the first to undertake the Ninth Round challenge, but he turned out not to be the fastest. Many gaming prodigies had joined the fray, and it was no longer their game; it had be a challenge for the gamingmunity. The bettingpany¡¯s odds on him increased, and the poprity of his live stream dwindled. More talented yers were still striving, while he had essentially given up his base to fight for his passion, making some long-time fans unable to keep watching. Chapter 301: 193: The Endpoint of Despair (Part 2)_2 Chapter 301: Chapter 193: The Endpoint of Despair (Part 2)_2 ¡°Eric, just give it up, you¡¯re stillcking here.¡± ¡°Yeah, just keep streaming ¡®Hammer of Thor,¡¯ you won¡¯t seed.¡± Facing these doubts, Eric turned a deaf ear and just yed his game. Behind him, his father was still supportive, Qiu Yu in the group was still offering help, and he himself wasn¡¯t interested in who cleared the game first; he just wanted to see the end. Compared to when he started the challenge, he had lost seven pounds, and each day he would gaze at the screen unconsciously, with only his fingers moving on the controller. The poprity of his livestream had plummeted to rock bottom, ranking had fallen beyond the top hundred, and almost speechless throughout his gamey, only the loyal fans were ustomed to this and kept it on. Although his focus was in the game, Eric felt as if his consciousness had transcended his body, allowing him to observe himself from the perspective of a bystander. Now it was 10:13 PM, the dead of night. He could hear the sound of the clock¡¯s second hand moving, the dehumidifier was softly humming, and a cricket was stealthily crawling on the floor. His attention was highly concentrated, yet his consciousness felt as if it were floating in the room, this state allowed him to watch himself from a third-person point of view, and also enabled him to spot the mistakes in his character¡¯s movements.
His consciousness became infinitely ethereal, his execution at this moment was nearly perfect, and the game began to follow hismands, all random events started to serve him. He easily defeated the boss of the previous area, and the penultimate boss fell under his sword. His outstanding state drew the attention of some, which led to a rise in his poprity, but facing the final boss, a mistake caused him to be reduced to critical health, and his supplies were exhausted at this moment. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± A sigh arose, letting everyone know that there was no hope this time. In a high-level run, failing against a boss meant instant death, no saving, yers would be sent back to the beginning of the game, and all effort would be in vain. Next, the final boss¡¯s second phase started with an almost certain-death full-range attack, requiring dodging within three frames (0.25 seconds), or else you¡¯d lose health. This attack would continue thirteen times, but one hit and Eric would be done for. Experts would rely on their health to get through this, but if you mismanaged your time and didn¡¯t have enough health left, then this phase meant certain death. One could say, Eric had already failed. The recently gathered poprity began to dissipate again, only Qiu Yu and n remained till the end, silently watching Eric¡¯s performance. Even though he made a mistake, Eric didn¡¯t back down. As the terrifying full-screen attack began, he calmly observed the boss¡¯s attack direction, then began to react. Once, twice, three times¡­ He dodged all thirteen attacks with miraculous agility, his heroic feat exploded the chat in the livestream room in an instant. Viewers who heard about it held their breaths, silently watching Eric¡¯s performance. And after that, it was as if Eric was possessed by the gods. The character he controlled seemed toe alive, each movement radiating with brilliant vitality, responding to every strong attack by the boss with powerful breaths. The smooth movements burst forth like a waterfall, shining as bright as moonlight, his current health so low that the slightest touch would bring him down, but there he was like a lighthouse in a storm, defiantly standing strong against the roaring waves, beforeunching relentless counterattacks.
10%¡­ 5%¡­ The boss¡¯s health visibly dropped, dazzling counters kept appearing, but Eric navigated through the nearly impossible onught, repeatedlyunching bold strikes. Finally¡­
On the thirteenth night at 11:43 PM, the final boss was defeated. The viewers who came upon the news almost burst Eric¡¯s livestream room, with incessant congrattions and cheers, his earnings in tips for the single day exceeded 300,000 euros, the wild poprity pushing him to the top of the charts,memorating this historic moment. Compared to the frenzied audience, Eric was unusuallyposed. He quietly watched the ending animation and then began his tenth week. After thanking everyone calmly, he quietly walked upstairs,y on his bed, and fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. The next day, after waking up, Eric found that his phone had exploded with messages. Hoffman himself had sent congrattions and invited him to Cologne to receive his award, with all expenses for the ne ticket covered. Streamers he knew had all sent texts, congratting him for being the first person toplete the ninth round. Up to that moment, Eric still didn¡¯t feel like it was real. It wasn¡¯t until he went to the living room and found his father watching the video of him clearing the game the night before on repeat. In the video, Eric looked stiff and wooden, a stark contrast to the agility of his character in the game, and at the moment the final boss was defeated, he saw his usually stoic father¡¯s eyes glisten with tears. Since his mother had passed away, he had never seen his father cry. When his father saw Eric walking down, he quickly wiped his eyes and sincerely said, ¡°Son, I¡¯m proud of you.¡±
¡°¡­Thank you.¡± After hugging his father, the joy of victory finally swept over him, making him realize that he had won. But the victory of the ninth round was just the beginning. He hadn¡¯t forgotten his initial purpose and immediately began to livestream to reveal the truth behind the easter egg. In the tenth round, he saw that the mysterious symbol in the tank had beenpleted and, when all the water was drained, the symbol began to draw in the surrounding spiritual energy and emitted an eerie ck light. A brand new teleportation array appeared above the tank; behind the teleportation array, nothing could be seen but rolling ck fog surging and lingering. Seeing this scene, Eric knew they had truly found the easter egg. Yet after personally encountering the easter egg, he felt more anxious than ever. He worried that there was actually nothing behind the teleportation array. It could possibly be just a word of encouragement from the development team and nothing else. But in the end, he still stepped forth and walked into the teleportation array. As he entered, he found the light around him fading, and his entire field of vision gradually darkened. He was surrounded by pitch-ck fog, deprived of light and guidance, alone in a world shrouded in ck fog, wandering aimlessly.
He didn¡¯t know how long he had walked when the fog around him dispersed, and he found himself standing in front of a huge altar. This altar looked like an ancient sacrificial tform, with half-meter-high stone steps extending upwardsyer byyer; the whole tform couldn¡¯t be seen from end to end, leaving one to wonder about its true height. Even as he began his sword flight, it took him a full ten minutes to reach the end, and upon the spacious tform sat a handsome young man, cross-legged, lightlyughing while watching Eric fly up. ¡°Thanks to fellow Daoist¡¯s help in retrieving this strand of divine sense for me. Although I have not yet resurrected, with this strand of divine sense as a lead, it shall not be long now,¡± said the young man. Then, looking at Eric with curiosity, he asked, ¡°Strange, why is your physical body also made up of mana, yet internally you are a barbarian? After a thousand years, you all y in such fanciful ways, huh?¡± ¡°Forget it, it doesn¡¯t matter. To thank you, tell me what you want, and speak to this Demon Lord.¡± Looking at the young man, Eric felt as though he wasn¡¯t speaking to the game character, but to him directly. Just as he pondered how to express his desire for a perfect ending, the young man burst into a roar ofughter, holding his belly. ¡°Naive, to have struggled this far only for a perfect ending? All this is my doing, Barefaced Demon Lord. You want me to grant them aplete resolution? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!¡± the young man eximed after hisughter. Then, looking at Eric, he said, ¡°There will be no perfect ending, as long as I exist, nothing can be perfect! I am the Barefaced Demon Lord, and despair is my finest sustenance. Not only this world but you too shall be nourishment for me¡­ Great Heavenly Lord?¡± The next moment, Eric¡¯s screen wentpletely ck. Chapter 302: 194 - Bitterness Ends and Sweetness Begins (Three Updates)_1 Chapter 302: Chapter 194 ¨C Bitterness Ends and Sweetness Begins (Three Updates)_1 While Eric was confusedly staring at the screen, considering whether the host machine had been ying for too long and encountered a problem, Fang Cheng had already chopped the Barefaced Demon Lord into mincemeat once again. Just to be safe, he chopped him up once more, then burned him with Samadhi True Fire to ensure he could not resurrect, before searching through the ashes with Great Divine Power to trace the source of how the Barefaced Demon Lord was able toe back to life. Like the Disease Demon Lord, the Barefaced Demon Lord had relied on a strand of remnant will to resurrect sessfully, but Fang Cheng was certain he had thoroughly ughtered them both before, leaving no chance of survival. This strand of remnant will was hidden in the depths of Tang Mo¡¯s Primordial Spirit and had apanied Tang Mo¡¯s reincarnation into the modern era. Initially nourishing itself on despair to cultivate, it was this strand of remnant will that led Tang Mo to write such a novel of despair; and it was the will that merged into the novel, eventually bing the key to its own resurrection. The Great Divine Power the opponent used was Returning from the Dead, transforming the false into truth¡ªfirst erasing its own death from reality, and then relying on the remnant will to resurrect. This did not seem like the style of a Demon Lord but rather the handiwork of some outsider; the reasons were still unclear, but it was enough to put Fang Cheng on alert. Leaving a Divine Sense in the void to scout, Fang Cheng began to study the issues left behind by the Barefaced Demon Lord. With the Barefaced Demon Lord¡¯s death, the entire world evolved once again. The tragedies of the past were influenced by the subtle maniptions of this demon. Once he disappeared, the yers still faced hardships, but Divine Skills had deduced a way out of the situation,ying it within the game.
Clearing the ninth cycle was a necessary condition for this process, and the Barefaced Demon Lord was also evolved, though it was nothing but a shell without will, merely a hidden boss that had been deduced. By eliminating it, the world¡¯s tragic narrative would be concluded, and the real ending the yers had long yearned for would emerge. The previous oppression of despair would be flipped at this moment; every character in the game would be saved, and while the hopeful ending might be clich¨¦d, nobody would truly dislike a happy one. Erasing the existence of the Barefaced Demon Lord, Fang Cheng left the ce. When the screen lit up again, Eric saw that the young man had turned into a bizarre and unpredictable monster, a terrifying pressure rushing towards him, but Eric felt not the slightest panic. He saw the opponent¡¯s health bar. As long as there was a health bar, it meant that the enemy could be defeated. Having faced countless trials, he was fearless and boldlyunched an attack on this hidden boss. Meanwhile, Fang Cheng¡¯s Primordial Spirit returned to its ce, contemting the Dustfire in his hand. Although he hadn¡¯t seeded this time, he felt okay about it. While overly dark themes certainly had their market, he still preferred stories with hopeful endings. The ck Dustfire slowly transformed to white, mirroring his mood. This transformation deepened his understanding of what was fun and also his self-awareness. Understanding what was fun was essentially understanding himself. To see into one¡¯s nature and true self, probing deeper into one¡¯s being based on a single point was also a key aspect of the quest for enlightenment through cultivation. Unknowingly, his Taoist Heart seemed to have be more rounded, filling in some minor ws that in turn made his Taoist Heart even moreplete. Feeling the change within himself, Fang Cheng nodded contentedly, reflecting that these games had not been in vain; the games were indeed his path to enlightenment. What followed was the time to solidify his state of mind, and then to continue working hard. Before long, news of ¡°Heavenly Demon¡¯s¡± rave reviews and outstanding sales reaching a dual harvest shocked the yers of Huaxia. The immense sess showed domestic gamepanies the potential of exporting games; some games that struggled to pass domestic censorship faced no issues overseas. Though none couldpare with ¡°Heavenly Demon¡±, in other aspects, our other games were also up to par!
Some game manufacturers began to focus on morally questionable content, with lowbrow jokes filling the skies, making people exim in surprise that Huaxia people could be this wildly entertaining! Others started to focus on the second dimension, with one talented individual making foreign yers realize how racy characters could be when political correctness in games was disregarded. And racy wasn¡¯t just a trivial matter¡ªit was something we could evoke even while fully clothed. Suddenly, game exporting seemed to be the collective desire, as the closed borders were finally chipped away just enough for people inside and outside the wall to discover that their counterparts were actually quite charming.
A game unexpectedly became the opportunity formunication, causing game analysts to reflect on how the gaming industry was truly miraculous, with no one knowing what might happen within it. In hindsight, everyone found that the entire process was a happy one. After the hidden boss was defeated, the tenth run officially began. Although the hidden boss dubbed himself Barefaced Demon Lord, everyone agreed his true title should be Heavenly Demon. Evidence was, after defeating him, the world quickly returned to normal. The contaminated sect could finally be purified, the high-ranking upants in the cities could be cleared out, and the world¡¯s Demonic Qi was slowly dispersing, allowing the world to finally start reverting to normal. Demons might still emerge, but cultivation was no longer a significant risk, and past tragedies could now be avoided one by one, leading toward a world where nobody would get hurt. Seeing this perfect ending, the yers were filled with emotions. The game was still very difficult, but everyone hoped to personally craft a perfect ending. This determination drove them to continue fighting in ¡°Heavenly Demon¡±, taking on difficult but achievable tasks with the help of walkthroughs. As the first yer to clear the game, Eric truly hit the jackpot. When he went to Cologne to ept his prize, he was met with more camera shes than he had ever seen in his life; by the time he came back, his face was stiff. The one hundred thousand Euros was a secondary concern, as this first clear finally gave him the stature to step into the top tier of live streamers. Back at his home, he immediately got in touch with Qiu Yu and gratefully said, ¡°Thank you, Qiu Yu, my fellow Daoist. If it weren¡¯t for you telling me about the Easter egg, I would never have achieved this.¡±
¡°I should be thanking you. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t even know the ending.¡± ¡°No, I should still be the one thanking you more. Since we¡¯re fellow Daoists, is there anything I can help you with?¡± Reading the response, Qiu Yu felt that Eric seemed to have adopted a bit of Eastern color, understanding the importance of repaying kindness. After some thought, Qiu Yu said to Eric, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m working on a game. I¡¯ve got my own game demo ready, but I¡¯d like to get some more people to test it. Could you help me promote it?¡± ¡°No problem, send it to me.¡± After sending the game, Qiu Yu let out a long sigh. Thanks to the fortuitous connection through ¡°Heavenly Demon,¡± he felt he was now on the path to independent game development, slowly but surely making his way toward sess. Indeed, one should really make more friends. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!