"Looking forward to it."
"Who says the Dragon Country has no great emperors?"
"You know how to stream."
"Hahaha, this boast deserves full marks!"
"Damn... those words sound powerful!"
"Confident men are the most charming!"
"If anyone else said this, I might scoff, but if it's that old thief Lu Li... it might actually be true."
...
"Alright, alright, no more joking,"
Lu Li waved his hand. "The ancient giant dragon that troubled you for so long is gone. You'll have to walk your own path from now on. I won't accompany you anymore."
Showing off his skills once was enough to achieve the desired effect.
Compared to playing games himself, he preferred watching others play.
"I'll connect with one more person, and then I'll end the stream."
*Ding ding ding!*
"Oh yeah!"
Connecting with a new person again, the other party was clearly excited:
"Big shot, I'm a hardcore anime fan. I really love the art style and gameplay of 'Ark of the Apocalypse.' Do you have any beta testing activities? I can't wait another twenty days!"
"The passion everyone has for mobile games is somewhat beyond my expectations."
Lu Li replied with a faint smile. "We originally planned to skip the beta testing phase and go straight to public release, as beta testing is for debugging and gathering feedback on gameplay."
"However, while we are absolutely confident in our work, since you've said so much, it wouldn't be right not to give everyone some benefits."
"How about this,"
After a moment of thought, Lu Li immediately announced, "I see that everyone is nearing completion of the first 'Dark Souls.' The top 200 players globally to complete it can contact the official Ling Jing account, and they will receive beta test codes for 'Ark of the Apocalypse'."
*Boom!!*
As soon as he finished speaking, half the viewers in the livestream room disappeared.
It was no joke, this was far more attractive than Lu Li's handsome face.
A beta code for 'Ark of the Apocalypse'!
Getting one meant starting a stream with millions of viewers, and even selling it off would bring significant profit.
Being a moment late could mean missing out on the opportunity!
Lu Li watched the rapidly declining viewership with a helpless shake of his head. His viewers were true to themselves, only caring about what was real.
"If that's the case, that's all for today."
"See you next time if fate allows."
Closing the stream, Lu Li began to organize things. In a couple of days, the official backend would likely receive screenshots of players completing the game.
As expected.
Not long after Lu Li ended his stream, trending topics appeared.
#Top 200 players to clear 'Dark Souls' can receive 'Ark of the Apocalypse' beta codes!
#How to beat the Nameless King?
#‘The blood of the凡 King must end with the sword’ – Uncovering the creative journey of the chuunibyo designer Lu Li.
#It's okay, I will make a move. Lu Li partners with Ling Jing to write the future of VR games!
Below, the netizens' discussions were endless.
"I knew this beta code wouldn't be easy to get. The Nameless King is simply a monster!"
"Is this the strength of that old thief Lu Li?"
"Not only can he create high-quality games, but he also possesses extraordinary skills. What is a chosen one?"
"Are VR games coming? The pre-heat has already begun!"
"Damn it, I knew the old thief wouldn't release the ancient dragon out of kindness to teach us how to fight it. Turns out he was waiting with the Nameless Principal!"
"I feel it, it's all coming back!"
...
Not only were the netizens excitedly fired up, but major game companies at home and abroad were also not idle.
Tencent.
"Quick, get the top game experts from the testing department to take on the Nameless King at all costs!"
"We must unpack the source code of 'Ark of the Apocalypse'!"
It was no joke, this was the first highly anticipated anime-themed mobile game. Who wouldn't want to see how Ling Jing achieved such exquisite character art and game design?
NetEase.
"This Nameless King's lightning is so annoying!"
Wang Lei himself was on the front lines, sitting in the testing room and battling with the staff, his keyboard clattering.
A group of leaders gathered around, whispering to each other.
"I've long heard that the boss enjoys playing games, but I didn't expect his skills to be so good!"
"Indeed, he actually managed to defeat the ancient giant dragon by confronting it directly, instead of following Lu Li's announced shortcuts."
"But it seems that's all. The Nameless King appears to be very strong."
"More than strong, according to the testers, the early bosses combined are not as formidable as this Nameless King!"
...
Overseas.
Nintendo's division, which had just hosted the TGA awards ceremony, did not receive the expected attention.
This year's winning works were rated by Rotten Tomatoes as the most substandard ever.
Not only did they not attract a swarm of sponsors after the awards ceremony like in previous years,
but the place was deserted.
The situation for other winning works was largely the same.
The biggest reason for such a significant impact, besides netizens suspecting severe insider trading, was the exceptionally high quality of games produced by Ling Jing.
Artistic works have always spoken for themselves through quality.
Yet, only a few national-level works were nominated, and none won.
It was hard not to be angry. Initially, it was just venting on the internet.
Then, they were disgusted by the paid trolls from various game companies.
This directly triggered a backlash from netizens.
The voices of dissatisfaction grew louder and louder, becoming uncontrollable, and several major companies were heavily criticized.
Of course, some instigators were undoubtedly fanning the flames behind the scenes.
Eight Universities: That's right, it was us.
Since the masks had been torn off, they would naturally target their opponents with business logic.
Although the current public opinion made Nintendo suffer, as a major industry behemoth with deep pockets.
This kind of impact was not enough to cripple them.
"What are the testing results?"
In the conference room, Jacob looked at Kojima Sanro. "Virtual imaging has entered a mature stage, and haptic feedback is still being perfected."
"How soon can it be completed at the earliest?"
"This..." Kojima Sanro seemed hesitant. The two most important aspects of VR games are virtual imaging and haptic feedback. Haptic feedback, in particular, is closely related to the human nervous system, requiring countless tests to ensure 99.9% safety before it can be released.
"Just tell me honestly," Jacob said calmly.
"At the earliest, it will take more than half a year, and the data still won't meet 100% of the requirements."
"Are there any updates on the progress of other major companies?"
"Similar to ours. Microsoft was the earliest to enter the market, so their progress should be slightly faster, but it will still take at least half a year to launch."
"What about Dragon Country?"
"Dragon Country? Their confidentiality measures are very good, and there's no reliable information yet." Kojima Sanro said dismissively:
"They don't even have a mature PC game industry. Skipping directly to VR games is probably a pipe dream!"
"Don't underestimate Dragon Country," Jacob said, as if remembering something. "By the way, what's the progress of our technicians on completing 'Dark Souls'?"
"We must get our hands on the core code of the mobile game 'Ark of the Apocalypse'!"
Every company wanted to unpack and study the modeling and rendering technology that had captured the hearts of anime fans both domestically and internationally.
Upon hearing this, Kojima Sanro's expression became a little unnatural.
"No one has completed it yet, and the rate of keyboard destruction is increasing exponentially."
Recalling the testing department's experience, Kojima Sanro felt a prickle of dread.
That scene... tsk tsk...
It was comparable to a slaughterhouse, with constant wails of misery.
Broken keyboards were everywhere, and once docile testers now had red eyes and murderous intent.
He didn't dare to ask further and scuttled away.
...
At Tang Wanqiu's home.
"Honey, whether I can get my beloved 'Ark of the Apocalypse' beta code depends on you!"
"Mwah, I'll give you a buff!!"
Chen Yingying looked at Tang Wanqiu with eager eyes, her duck-sitting posture amplifying her pitiful aura to the fullest.
Tang Wanqiu couldn't resist such a cute offensive.
"It's a deal, if I can make it into the top 200..."
"Two hundred roller coasters!"
...