As the game progressed, the first wave of players gradually cleared it.
Players were utterly devastated by the story, and the online outcry began to intensify.
It started on game forums, the primary place for players to vent after exiting the game.
"Stop with the sad endings, stop! The kid is going to be completely destroyed!"
"I've put on the best armor in the world, and nothing can hurt me anymore!
Protocol Three: Protect the Pilot
(Crying cat face)"
"Abstract, yet full of emotion."
"t/
"Twelve years in gaming, and this is the first time I've been emotionally broken."
"After finishing the game, I felt so dejected, like I'd lost a true friend who genuinely cared for me. My feelings are complex, and tears keep welling up."
"You old scoundrel, I want to kill you a thousand times over! It's not enough!!"
"Kill the old scoundrel, take his Bt!!"
Of course, besides the outcry against the game's overly brutal emotional blows, many players were deeply moved by the game's small details, their praise spilling out onto the screen.
"Bt-7274 and Cooper's bond has dispelled my distrust in the AI crisis over the years [Sad][Crying]"
"The pilot's helmet flickers, indicating the neural link is still intact. This means Bt should not be dead. There was a level earlier where, while traversing through time with a device, Bt detected its own signal. It's highly possible the final explosion caused a time warp, sending Bt to the past."
"Whoa! This is the first time I've seen such a refreshing interpretation. While it's wishful thinking, I sincerely want to believe this explanation [Sobbing]"
"This VR game is too powerful. The graphics are incredibly smooth, and the combat, story, and level design are full of imagination and whimsy. Many scenes in the game are also very shocking. After playing, I can't help but praise it!"
"Titanfall is the most exhilarating shooter game, bar none. Even Call of Duty doesn't give me this feeling."
"One is for PC, the other is for VR. It's a dimensional reduction attack, really. There's no comparison. Although both are produced by Ling Jing, we still can't compare them like this."
"Oh, my old friend, I like it too."
"Oh, my God, if you keep speaking in that damn accent, I think I'll kick your ass with my boots. Oh yes, I will!"
"The plot of this game is just too short, but it's truly shocking, especially the part where Colonel Anderson was found in a time-frozen explosion. The visual impact was immense [Laughing]"
...
Whether it was affirmation, negation, or incoherent crying, all the discussions revolved around one character – Bt!
It can be said that Bt was one of only two characters in Ling Jing's entire game development journey who garnered immense favor from players, streamers, and casual viewers alike. The last one to enjoy such treatment was Ghost.
They sculpted a machine character, devoid of emotion yet overflowing with it, who, after winning everyone's affection, sacrificed himself in the most tragic way.
And it wasn't over yet. The line that ran through the entire game, "Protocol Three: Protect the Pilot," had been foreshadowed from the very beginning.
Finally, it became the last straw that broke the camel's back, a fatal blow to the players' hearts, leaving them with irreparable regret and an unshakable psychological wound.
Moreover, the intensity of this pain was directly proportional to the player's investment. The happier the player's time spent with Bt in the game, the more real the pain when the final blow landed.
VR games, incidentally, offered far greater realism than PC games. After spending over a month in close combat with Bt, even a heart of stone would have been melted by this goofy hunk of metal.
It was a clear home-field advantage. The resentment had been building steadily since Bt was caught in Sloan's fiery blast. The designers had truly won this round.
However, did Lu Li, the designer who was the instigator, truly win?
"Hiss~~~"
In reality, Lu Li, who had been ejected from the specially modified Bt-7274 simulation docking bay, gasped for air upon landing. With lightning speed, he wiped away the lingering tears from the corners of his eyes.
That's right, Lu Li, who knew the entire game's plot, was also emotionally devastated by the final moment.
"This blow..."
His clear voice carried a tremor. Lu Li's facial muscles twitched slightly, and after a long pause, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "It was exhilarating!!"
"I f***ing love VR games!"
Lu Li felt his dead youth blooming with vitality once more. His overly mature psychological age had diminished his enthusiasm for gaming, but this VR game journey had opened up a new world for him.
He had initially thought VR games were merely enhanced visual feasts, offering players more realistic and perfect graphics. However, Blue Star's VR games had bypassed this stage entirely, reaching directly into the soul.
Entering a VR game was almost indistinguishable from an out-of-body experience. It felt as if one's physical body was cultivating in the real world, while the soul ascended to another realm to grow alongside the original inhabitants, fighting the IMC and resisting oppression.
The world constructed by virtual reality technology was flawless, the game's immersion was incredibly powerful, truly achieving a state of "self-forgetfulness."
Even though his mind constantly reminded him that he was merely experiencing a game, once he entered the zone, all worldly factors were cast aside. He poured his entire being into the plot, delving into this world, experiencing it through Cooper's perspective.
At such moments, companions became incredibly precious, especially when one arrived in an unfamiliar world alone. Bt became his most steadfast reliance.
Through their gradual interactions, Bt became increasingly "human," and the player himself, as the game journey deepened, became increasingly like Cooper.
When he finally merged perfectly with the character, and Bt was struck down, in the final moments resolutely fulfilling Protocol Three to send him, as Cooper, away.
At that moment, even though he knew the final outcome, the sensation of the wind rushing past his ears as he was ejected, and Bt's figure gradually blurring, blurred Lu Li's eyes as well.
It must have been the wind, Lu Li stubbornly insisted, even at this point.
Then came the gift from the esteemed elder Wang Lunshan to Lu Li. The specially modified Bt-7274 was more professional and advanced than the versions sold online, with all its functions specially processed and upgraded.
The final effect, aside from a slight difference in size, was no different from Bt in the game, giving him an identical experience. This greatly stimulated Lu Li's already fragile emotional state, utterly breaking him.
After a long silence, a slightly tearful complaint echoed through the room:
"Damn it, I'm hurting myself, aren't I!"