Chapter 257: Adventure Island Launches!

Xiao Hua was an utterly ordinary female college student.

She wasn't particularly fond of studying, her grades were just barely passing, her plans for the future weren't really clear, she didn't have big goals, so…

Xiao Hua was very idle, idle to the point that after class, after watching her favorite TV dramas, she could only stare blankly at the computer.

Her roommate invited her to play games together, but Xiao Hua just couldn't get interested.

She felt those games were too bloody and lacked any aesthetic appeal, so…

Xiao Hua's college life grew increasingly boring.

Today was another extremely boring day.

"Xiao Hua, let's play Adventure Island together later," a roommate called out to Xiao Hua, who was sitting there dazed.

Xiao Hua wasn't unfamiliar with Adventure Island, because over the past few days she could hear people discussing the game wherever she went.

In class, the boys would discuss it excitedly; back in the dorm, her roommates would occasionally utter a sentence or two about it.

Xiao Hua had originally intended to refuse outright, but… after thinking, she still agreed, saying, "All right."

Otherwise, she really wouldn't know how to get through this night.

Boredom can drive a person crazy; it's better to do something, even if you don't like it.

By eight o'clock in the evening, Adventure Island finally went live.

Wanting to download this game was incredibly easy!

Penguin's pop-up ads would appear; opening any portal site you could see the download link, let alone Grand's official website.

Xiao Hua quickly found the download link, then waited patiently.

Ding-dong!

Half an hour later, the download finished!

Xiao Hua began installing.

During the game's installation, a poster for Adventure Island would appear.

Looking at the cartoon characters on the poster, Xiao Hua… thought they were pretty nice-looking, unlike those stiff figures in whatever "Legend".

Maybe I could give it a try?

Xiao Hua finally had some interest.

After installation finished, Xiao Hua opened the game.

At that point, her roommates had also finished installing and started shouting excitedly.

"Hurry hurry hurry, let's enter the game together and create our characters."

"As we agreed, this time we'll level up together and then sweep everything away!"

"Sisters, let's go wild!"

Yes, this is the girls' dorm, when it gets lively… the boys' dorm's liveliness doesn't even count!

Xiao Hua felt it was a bit noisy, she didn't really like this passionate vibe, but since she'd already opened the game, she might as well play a bit…

How cute!

When she opened the character selection panel, Xiao Hua instantly felt this way.

Xiao Hua casually picked a male character, then entered the game.

The game's music started up, what a cheerful sound!

Then Xiao Hua saw the game's background.

How cute!

This is basically another dimension, right!

Xiao Hua thus began Adventure Island on this whim, and then… she couldn't stop.

Yes!

Whether ten years ago or ten years from now, girls are essentially more emotional than rational, and they're always more prone to getting caught up in appearances.

There's no shortage of ordinary female college students like Xiao Hua!

So, that night countless girls were ensnared by Adventure Island.

……

Adventure Island's first-day download volume?

At least Lu Yu and Chen Qiao weren't the slightest bit worried about it.

The preceding hype had already become so huge it could be said to have reached universal awareness—how could there still be a need to worry about download numbers?

"Ten million!"

"From last night until now, Adventure Island's download count has reached a terrifying ten million."

The technical director's voice even trembled a little; this figure was simply too unbelievable.

One can't say there's no one after, but it's definitely unprecedented.

According to current Huaxia market conditions, if a game's first-day downloads hit 100,000, it can already be called a blockbuster.

If it reached one million?

That would be a divine masterpiece!

If it reached ten million?

Sorry! This has never happened before, and nobody even imagined such a possibility, so there's simply no way to give an evaluation.

Even if Lu Yu and Chen Qiao were mentally prepared, hearing this number actually left them stunned.

"Xiao Yu… this download volume is a bit shocking, I'm even a little scared now…" Chen Qiao not only lacked delight, but his expression turned solemn.

"Let's check the reviews on the portal sites and forums." Lu Yu pondered a moment, then said that.

Chen Qiao took a deep breath, then nodded.

From the start to now, Chen Qiao knew that the ultimate battlefield was actually always on the "evaluation".

Then, Chen Qiao opened a portal website and entered the comment area.

"Adventure Island" is a pretty fun game; the music is nice, the character design is interesting, and there are many career choices. If we keep playing, we should be able to find many interesting things.

"What I look forward to most is character leveling; after leveling up, I can change jobs and wear even prettier clothes."

"Right now everyone in our dorm is playing this game together; we want to form the Adventure Island first-day team!"

These are some current mainstream comments; it seems they are still quite friendly toward Adventure Island.

Chen Qiao thus couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Yu, however, showed no change in expression.

To be honest, the quality of Adventure Island is actually really high; especially in this era lacking online games, it can indeed stir up a wave.

Back when Adventure Island first came out, it becoming the hottest game and staying popular for a long time was not without reason.

If it were normal times, Lu Yu would naturally not care about Adventure Island's performance, but now...

"Let's take a look again this afternoon."

"What we're seeing now is just the opinions of ordinary players."

"Perhaps this afternoon will bring a different scene."

Lu Yu said as such.

Chen Qiao pondered for a moment and also nodded his head.

By afternoon, the online wind direction indeed began to change!

"What kind of lousy game is this? Online games should get people's blood boiling, right? The characters are all cartoonish—how can anyone get excited?"

"Since it's a monster‑grinding, level‑up adventure game, could you please change the background music? Listening to this music really gives no drive at all."

"This game's gameplay… isn't it too ordinary? Grinding monsters and leveling up, over and over—just the same routine, with no fun at all."

It started!

Someone started to set the rhythm!

Of course, the rhythm they brought actually isn't much of a rhythm.

Most importantly, Adventure Island's quality is good, so there aren't many places to criticize.

But...

People's words are fearsome!

Three people make a tiger.

At a certain moment, public opinion began to develop toward a worse direction!