[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-three-towers-game":3,"chapter-the-three-towers-game-the-three-towers-game-chapter-121":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Three Towers Game",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2294258,4488,"Chapter 121: If You Can't Even Trust the Game","the-three-towers-game-chapter-121",121,"\u003Cp>Desire Tower, rest area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu was already intimately familiar with the routine before him; ignoring the various hawkers, he headed straight for the Heaven Origin zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Desire Tower was ultimately easier to navigate than the Trick Tower; even on the fifteenth floor, Wen Xishu was not the one closest to the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He jogged all the way to the center, but this time, Wen Xishu was astonished—why was there such a long line at the center? It was as if everyone in the entire rest area had come to the central zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A large-scale Desire Tower team dungeon?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, that shouldn't be possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu quickly discovered the reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, he had actually encountered the bunker's heartthrob, Wenren Jing, in the Desire Tower's rest area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone around was there for Wenren Jing. Wenren Jing was, after all, not Xun Hui; few people knew what Xun Hui looked like, and Xun Hui had a volatile temper—in this situation, Xun Hui would have simply told these people to get lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wenren Jing was slowly answering various strategy questions. At Wenren Jing's signal, the people around were also standing in line, all thinking that even though the Desire Tower level they were in had no risks, it would be good to get more supplies if they could receive guidance from Wenren Jing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Wen Xishu simply stopped queuing, acting the part of the villain who refused to wait in line:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fifteenth floor, Senior Wenren, Wind City, keyword: Doomsday Survival Game. Do you have a strategy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu's act of not queuing immediately drew the dissatisfaction of the crowd. Some of Wenren Jing's female fans even began to curse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wenren Jing only smiled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah, Wen Xun, it's you. Come over quickly. My apologies everyone, my friend has arrived, and I may not be able to answer your questions for now. I ask that you please not follow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing beckoned Wen Xishu over, then led him away immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This treatment left Wenren Jing's fans stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to Wenren Jing's personal charisma, no one felt any dissatisfaction with his idea of favoring one person and ignoring the masses; they only thought: Lord Wenren is truly a good friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But everyone was also truly surprised—who exactly was this person?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu suddenly became the center of attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, quite a few students from the Desire Tower Academy recognized Wen Xishu. Wasn't this the Wen Xun who had gone to the Desire Tower Academy's forbidden area with Xun Hui back then?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now that I'm back at school, I'm afraid there will be even more rumors, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing smiled gently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You should be able to get your name back soon, so the current amount of rumors won't be enough to trouble you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu hadn't expected Wenren Jing to see through his thoughts on this level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Regarding the mission you just mentioned, I'm sorry, but I cannot help you with it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You appearing here means you must have already received the invitation, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu did not deny it this time and nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing smiled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then your entry point is different from ours. Even if my luck value is high enough to directly mark key figures, I didn't experience the Trick Tower, and my time node of appearance was also wrong.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For this mission, as people who normally only climb the Desire Tower, we are required to find a way to clear a game. A zombie survival game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But this game seems to have many problems, and it's impossible to clear.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu frowned. Impossible to clear?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why is it impossible to clear? Is it very difficult?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's not that it's difficult; it's because this isn't a single-player game, but an online game. Do you understand what an online game is?\" Wenren Jing asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since there was no concept of playing games in the bunker, most people didn't know terms like single-player or online games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wenren Jing was the type of person who liked to learn knowledge about the Desire Tower world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu nodded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know. An online game—that's no wonder. There's no such thing as 'clearing' an online game; at most, you get a server-first dungeon clear or rank first on the leaderboard. Online games are always updated intermittently. You only had seven days; of course, it's impossible to demand that a game company release all subsequent version expansion packs within seven days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The string of professional terminology took Wenren Jing by surprise, and he said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xiaoshu, I can call you that, right? Were you really... mentally impaired before?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu brought the topic back:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Senior Wenren, let's not mention my past. You only need to know that my illness is cured. By the way, how did you solve this problem?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I brushed up on the operating mechanisms of online games. It's all about making money, so I used my Sequence and my personal ability... and in seven days, I acquired the company. I forced them to give me an ending.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh? Is that how you clear a game?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Wen Xishu's turn to be shocked. This, damn it, is possible too?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In seven days, relying on a Sequence and personal charisma to earn enough money to acquire a company, and forcing a game to release all its plotlines...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This approach of Wenren Jing's to breaking the Desire Tower truly had a sense of the violent aesthetics of Xun Hui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing, however, felt a bit ashamed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But it's embarrassing to say, by the time I finished all this, it was already the seventh day, and I was about to return. So... I didn't have time to finish the game. Besides, the game's actual performance was vastly different from the advertisements.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu couldn't evaluate this Desire Tower experience; it felt like someone who had conquered the world with their own strength, only to die of a cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Wenren Jing had really managed to clear the game, would he have truly reached a level of six-grade completion just by climbing the Desire Tower alone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu gained a new understanding of Wenren Jing's personal charisma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One word: impressed! Alright, Senior Wenren, I understand the situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't know what your entry point will be like. Tell me about it when you get back?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My mission description is to bring happiness to a person named John. I think he should be the creator of the doomsday survival game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And this person likely possesses some kind of powerful aptitude. In the Slaughter Tower, he might be a leader-level or even sovereign-level existence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing nodded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good, it really is different from our entry point. Good luck.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu waved his hand:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Goodbye, Senior. I won't dawdle; I'm heading to the Desire Tower first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wenren Jing said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, me too. See you in the bunker.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Desire Tower, fifteenth floor. Zone: Wind City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike before, the area Wen Xishu could explore this time was the entire Wind City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It seems the higher the level, the larger the map? And thus the harder it is to find the target. The way the Desire Tower increases difficulty is really... not on the same magnitude as the other two towers. No wonder so many people love the Desire Tower.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wind City was not large; compared to Moen City, it was only about one-third the size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Wind City was indeed very prosperous. Wen Xishu was currently on the streets of Wind City. From afar, he saw that seventy-story-tall Golden Building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have to find John first.\" Wen Xishu looked around, preparing to use the Pseudo-Fate Luo Pan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he stopped quickly, because Wen Xishu saw overwhelming advertisements—game advertisements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost everywhere, there were various posters hanging, promoting a game called \"Doomsday,\" which claimed it would redefine gaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Redefining gaming,\" \"immersive experience,\" \"the most realistic game in history,\" \"all other games have no value from now on,\" \"no one can refuse its arrival\"—such sensational slogans, paired with various visuals, occupied every street and alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu looked at those images; the images were simply of things that existed in reality. He saw many familiar scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The school, the Violet Garden residential complex, and various landmark buildings of Wind City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Playing a game is nothing more than seeking a sense of immersion. When the people of Wind City saw that game, which claimed to be incredibly realistic, using Wind City as its setting, they all began to look forward to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wen Xishu suddenly felt that the game's slogans might not be boasting, but objectively describing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immersive experience, the most realistic game in history—this was clearly not an exaggeration, because the game in the images was the very Trick Tower scene Wen Xishu had experienced himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That couldn't even be called immersive; it was simply dropping people directly into a doomsday world filled with zombies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course all other games have no value, because the apocalypse has arrived. Whether there are games at all is another matter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"'No one can resist its arrival'—is that saying the apocalypse is coming and no one can stop it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every corner of Wind City was filled with the game's slogans, but no one realized that these were not game slogans; they were...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Signs of the apocalypse descending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu couldn't imagine that the Desire Tower start for this mission would be like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The level of distortion is even more exaggerated than I imagined. Normally, even people with leader-level aptitude like Tang Rui and Jack wouldn't realize the apocalypse was descending.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Up until now, there has only been one scenario where the NPC realized the apocalypse was descending and was preparing for it after I arrived. That was An Rong, the controller of the Three-Sphere Group.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wenren Jing said that the game he actually played was very different from the game's advertisements.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is evident that a doomsday survival game was indeed released recently, and the content is very close. This is definitely not a coincidence, because as Wenren Jing said, he had to clear that game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In other words, the zombie apocalypse in Wind City is connected to that game called 'Doomsday'.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mission was called 'The Troubles of the Genius John.' Wen Xishu guessed that the author of the game \"Doomsday\" was very likely John.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, back to the original question: find John first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu took out the Fate Luo Pan. He had many methods, but the Luo Pan was the simplest and most mindless; if he could cheat, he was too lazy to use his brain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, the Luo Pan's needle was chaotic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wen Xishu took out the Luo Pan, he also discovered something strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Scorpio cheating knife was actually trembling. The knife trembled, and the Luo Pan needle kept changing direction, pointing toward chaos...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This strange phenomenon made Wen Xishu realize that things were not simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is the knife interfering with the Luo Pan? No, that's not right; this knife belongs to me now, there's no reason for it to hinder me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Fate Luo Pan... it wasn't interfered with by the Scorpio knife. The Luo Pan pointing to chaos means there is extreme danger. It doesn't want me to go to where John is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Scorpio knife is the same; it is issuing a warning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a very strange feeling; Wen Xishu felt as if he could perceive the thoughts of two god-level items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although both the Luo Pan and the knife were orange-tier items, compared to orange-tier items like the Murderous Football, their status was clearly higher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You... don't want me to look for John at this time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if responding to Wen Xishu, the Scorpio cheating knife suddenly stopped trembling. The needle of the Fate Luo Pan also stopped moving erratically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu’s expression was grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Scorpio knife, the game... could this level be related to Scorpio? But John couldn't possibly be Scorpio; it’s only the fifteenth floor of the Desire Tower, that makes no sense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait, could it be...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu thought of An Rongzai once again. Through An Jincheng’s bullet comments, Wen Xishu had seen a scene where An Rongzai had met both Pisces and Scorpio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was because of this that An Rongzai knew the apocalypse would descend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, does the author of the game also know that the apocalypse will descend? And the reason he knows the apocalypse is descending is because...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He is currently in contact with Scorpio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Wen Xishu suddenly felt everything click into place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scorpio is bewitching a powerful Sovereign-level player, John.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the bewitchment succeeds, the game \"Apocalypse\" created by John will descend into the real world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this way, everything in Fengcheng will be the same as what he saw in the Strange Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is different from An Rongzai, who lacked aptitude and obtained it through rituals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John is someone who possesses aptitude and was actively recruited by Scorpio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, the two of you don't want me to go find John because I will very likely encounter Scorpio there?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Scorpio cheating knife and the fake Fate Luo Pan both moved again at this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, the two items are inanimate objects and cannot respond, but perhaps it is because Scorpio has descended upon Fengcheng, and Wen Xishu happens to be at the node where he descended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, many things began to become unreasonable. For instance, his own items began to have consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I must find John. I hope you can cooperate with me instead of going on strike.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, neither the fake Fate Luo Pan nor the Scorpio cheating knife reacted; they were as quiet as if they had lost consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu changed his line of thinking:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These items fear Scorpio, so they went on strike. Looking at it another way, perhaps Scorpio doesn't want anyone to disturb him...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So these items are disabled at this node.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In other words, if I don't act... then the apocalypse will descend upon this city in the form of a game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I must stop Scorpio.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu soon had an idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Luo Pan could not be used, but this did not hinder Wen Xishu; it just added a few steps to his process of finding John.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an alley outside an internet cafe, a young man with green hair cosplaying as a certain lost swordsman was beaten up by Wen Xishu, contributing a mobile phone and two bullet comments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the bullet comments, he learned that \"Apocalypse\" was initially a single-player project. Fengcheng, being a small place, actually had many online games but no excellent single-player ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier on, people discussed \"Apocalypse\" as a single-player game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as the release of \"Apocalypse\" became indefinitely delayed, there seemed to be a rift within the team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu quickly entered the keywords \"John\" and \"Apocalypse\" into the phone and learned more precise details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Apocalypse development team has decided to turn 'Apocalypse' into an online game. They have already reached a cooperation agreement with the Tengyi Group and expressed their willingness to accept guidance from the Tengyi Group's planning team, aiming to make 'Apocalypse' another hit following games like 'Alliance', 'Cold of Water', 'Dream Travels', and 'Underground City'.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tim, a game streamer who is paralyzed in both legs and in the late stages of cancer, wants to play the real 'Apocalypse', and John has stated he will find a way for him to play it before he passes away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"John Leon, a member of the Apocalypse development team, has been reported to suffer from depression.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The latest news was that John suffered from depression. However, there were no detailed reports on the cause of the depression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After browsing the information from the bullet comments and the phone, Wen Xishu patted the green-haired young man’s face:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Listen to advice and you'll be well-fed; leave Fengcheng early.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man trembled in fear, but Wen Xishu had already returned the phone to him, then disappeared at an extreme speed to start looking for the next target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beating people to create fear, fear produces bullet comments—relying on the Wen-style intelligence gathering method, Wen Xishu beat over a dozen people from Fengcheng East Road to Fengcheng South Road within an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a city as small as Fengcheng, information gathered randomly and indiscriminately from over a dozen people was enough to piece together quite a bit of information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu actually managed to find John’s address. It was indeed in the Violet Garden residential complex, though there was no house number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, Wen Xishu began sprinting toward the Violet Garden complex at a speed that the residents of the Desire Tower could not comprehend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was like a cheetah moving through the city, and many people saw this scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't that people hadn't seen people running before, but it was the first time they had seen someone run this fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After arriving at the Violet Garden complex, Wen Xishu even recognized those few people wearing security uniforms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, in the Strange Tower, they had already turned into zombies. In the Desire Tower’s Violet Garden complex, there weren't actually that many people yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when Wen Xishu arrived at the Violet Garden complex, the Scorpio cheating knife began to tremble violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, I get it, stop the warnings.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu was not sure if he would encounter Scorpio here. Based on An Jincheng’s memory, he judged that Scorpio’s appearance was that of a child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, whether Scorpio was truly young in age was hard to say. Having the appearance of a child and being young in age did not conflict for those who possessed divine authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu began to use the cheating knife in reverse to explore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wandered around the complex, judging whether he was closer to the target based on the vibration frequency of the Scorpio knife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Scorpio knife could speak at this moment, it would probably be speechless. Because it was frantically urging its master not to court death, but its master was frantically marching toward death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu was not unafraid of Scorpio; he knew better than anyone that the strength of those who held the names of constellations was not something any human at the current stage could deal with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The entry point of the invitation letter is always very special. At least in terms of the option of entry time, no matter how much luck a Desire Tower player has, they can't compare to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Given this, I have to consider that perhaps I am meant to have some kind of showdown with Scorpio. If I bypass Scorpio... perhaps I won't be able to save John.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu unknowingly arrived at the pavilion; this was the place where he had designed the death of Duan Donghuo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was originally still wondering where John lived. But at this moment, Wen Xishu suddenly heard a child’s voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Big brother, you seem to be lost.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu immediately felt a huge sense of crisis, because after this voice sounded, he suddenly felt as if the surroundings had gone still. Even the Scorpio knife went silent, no longer transmitting that sense of vibration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu turned his head and saw a child wearing a light blue children’s suit, with a red bow tie at the collar and a childish face, looking at him with a smile:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Big brother, where are you going? I’m very familiar with this place, let me take you there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dust in the air seemed to stop at this moment, but then, everything returned to normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feeling of space freezing just now felt like his own hallucination or illusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wen Xishu was very certain that it was not an illusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sense of crisis brought to him by the child in front of him was incomparable even to the Red House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could only think of one answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scorpio—he had run into it head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At this time node, it shouldn't have appeared here, but seeing it appear before you in this posture, I am very happy. Big brother, we have quite the fate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scorpio looked at Wen Xishu with a grin and pointed to the short knife at Wen Xishu’s waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu knew that being nervous and afraid now was meaningless, so he simply let go:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I came to find John Leon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I guessed as much. Yay, we're going the same way, let's go together.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was completely different from facing An Rongzai; when facing An Rongzai, Scorpio was like a tyrant with a child’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could coldly watch An Rongzai kneel and kowtow to him. But facing Wen Xishu, Scorpio changed his attitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He very friendly extended his small hand, signaling for Wen Xishu to hold it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like a big brother holding a little brother’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu could not refuse; facing an existence that could wipe him out without a trace with a snap of its fingers, just maintaining his current composure was already his utmost effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Wen Xishu took Scorpio’s small hand, and Scorpio revealed a cute smile:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's over here, big brother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scorpio began to lead Wen Xishu toward the villa area. Before long, the two had arrived in the courtyard of a villa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the courtyard, John Leon was staring blankly at the river, his whole body curled up on a swing chair in the yard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John had curly hair like an angel in a Western oil painting, and his eyes were very deep; when he gazed in one direction, it didn't give people the feeling of being dazed, but rather as if he were observing this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu noticed that when he was truly holding Scorpio’s small hand, the world seemed to have frozen again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, John should logically have noticed their arrival, but John was motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the river surface was in a static state. Only then did Wen Xishu confirm that time had once again been frozen by Scorpio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But can Scorpio also control time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if knowing Wen Xishu’s question, Scorpio actually took the initiative to answer:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Big brother, this is a game, and games have a pause function. From the moment I arrived, Violet Garden became a game world. And you, you just happen to have the ticket to enter here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu did not fully understand this ability, but he only felt that not to mention himself, even if Xun Hui had activated Selflessness, he feared that coming here would make it impossible to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this, he instead let his guard down a little more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, what do you intend to show me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Naturally, it is the life of John Leon. The fact that you were able to gain the recognition of that blade means that you and I, brother, are the same kind of person.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John's life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu had originally thought of evoking John's emotions and then obtaining information from the barrage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, he seemed to have no need to do that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A more monstrous power was displayed before Wen Xishu's eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Wen Xishu's eyes, an interface appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[New Game.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Load Save.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Reminisce the Past.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[End Game.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combined with the image of John looking lonely at the river surface, it truly seemed like some kind of indie game exploring the human heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu was not surprised, and his reaction was also observed by Scorpio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can choose to start a new game to change John. But I suggest you don't do that first; I believe I am the person who understands John best in this world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I came to find him today originally intending to load a save and then continue my cooperation with him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, brother, would you like to take a look at Reminisce the Past first, understand John's past, and then consider what method to use to end this journey?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although it was phrased as a question, the overly vast gap in strength left Wen Xishu with no choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scorpio had even turned the protagonist, John Leon, into a game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Xishu could only follow Scorpio's suggestion and chose Reminisce the Past first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new interface appeared, a sixteen-grid CG appreciation interface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These are all microcosms of John's life journey. If you piece them together, they can form a movie. Brother, you watch first. I will await your decision.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scorpio was very well-behaved, squatting down beside John Leon, as if becoming a part of the background.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Wen Xishu clicked on the first image.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG01.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Charles, let me play with you too!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A girl named Catherine looked at the Monopoly board on the table and very much wanted to play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Charles cast a look of disgust:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go away, go away. This game is called Monopoly. Do you know how much this set of cards and board cost me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine lowered her head. In that era when prices were not yet outrageous, her daily living allowance was three yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One yuan in the morning could buy a chicken leg bun; two yuan at noon could buy a mess-hall meal with meat at school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She truly had no money to buy expensive toys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John Leon watched from afar. He truly loathed Charles and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Catherine, let's play!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine was somewhat puzzled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah? John, did you buy one too?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John revealed a smile:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, but it's too simple. I can draw one!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, John really used white paper to draw a Monopoly board, then used a small knife to whittle an eraser into the shape of dice. This scene attracted many onlookers:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wow, John, you really drew it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Monopoly board John drew was even more interesting; it contained many buildings from Wind City, and even the school they were attending, as well as everyone's homes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, when everyone played, they felt a special sense of immersion, especially when acquiring someone else's house, some male classmates would say very smugly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your house is mine now!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charles suddenly felt that his own Monopoly didn't seem as appealing anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final image was a group of children surrounding John, everyone filled with laughter and joy, enjoying the simplest pleasure brought by the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG02.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene shifted quickly; this was when John was in the sixth grade. John looked to have grown quite a bit taller.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this period, John's favorite game was a game called Bomberman. There was a Bomberman Story on the Sega console that allowed for two players on the same screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The story this time was simple: John came back very late one time, and because he played too late with his friends, he missed his appointment with his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he returned home, his father was holding the controller, playing Bomberman Story, and the game had already reached the boss level of the second act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bomberman relied on placing bombs to deal with a pyramid monster capable of jumping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, John thought he was going to be scolded, but John's father only said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Quick, I've been stuck on this level so many times, come help me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John's face lit up with joy, and he immediately picked up the controller and squatted on the ground with his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the final image of CG02. John, with a smile, squatted on the ground playing Bomberman with his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG03.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still playing! Don't you look at what time it is! Why are you so worrisome?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I scrimp and save just so you can study well, but why are you addicted to games?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because old-fashioned game consoles would heat up after playing for a long time, and the heat was very obvious, John would sometimes play games frantically while his mother was not at home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his mother later became smart too. When she returned home, she only needed to touch the game console, and based on the degree of heat, she knew how long John had been playing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John was somewhat unconvinced:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But... but Dad plays with me for this long! Mom, some games just need to be played for a while to be cleared.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then go live with your father! Go on!\" his mother yelled hysterically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That year, John was fourteen, and his parents divorced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father owed gambling debts, and because he gambled with leaders and colleagues, his workplace even stopped paying him his salary because it was used to offset the debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And... it had been a long, long time since his father played games with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father was always addicted to a game from the East—Mahjong. Later, John discovered there were also Mahjong games, so John, by not eating breakfast for many days, bought a Mahjong-style game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He happily pulled his father to play Mahjong together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was also the last time he played a game with his father. Because no matter who it was, John could always find happiness on the faces of those playing games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine when she was little, his father in elementary school, and even all his own partners...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were happy when they played games because only at that moment was time their own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, he saw the impatient expression on his father's face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long, long time later, John finally understood. It wasn't that the game wasn't fun, it was just that the game didn't involve gambling money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father was once a good father, and in fact, he still was later. But he truly let his mother down, and he let this home down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, his mother paid off the debts his father owed, and his mother also divorced his father. And John was awarded to his mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John learned for the first time that money could take away the happiness a person feels when playing a game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The image of CG03 was John wiping away his mother's tears, comforting her, and indicating that he would study hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG04.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John had already been admitted to university.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his style in the university dormitory was quite alternative. While everyone else was playing online games, John stubbornly played single-player games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When others showed off the equipment they had \"paid-to-win\" for in games, John would always have a very strange thought:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Those things, weren't they supposed to belong to you in the first place? Why do you have to purchase them separately?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he would also be happy when he got equipment in some games that had equipment design. But that happiness had nothing to do with money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John always felt that his roommates' showing off was more like labeling how \"valuable\" this piece of equipment was. And every time John suggested whether this numerical design would harm the game...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His roommates all looked at John with the gaze of looking at a monster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, upon discovering that they felt no joy when they obtained equipment, only wanting to show how expensive the equipment was, John also felt they were monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The image of CG04 was John on his bed, playing a game from many years ago that he hadn't cleared in middle school, while under the bed, three roommates sat in a row, playing games with exquisite graphics but screens full of payment portals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG05.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Graduation project? Teacher, I recently met a few partners, they are from outside the school, can I... use a game as my graduation project?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course you can, but you must indicate your division of labor in the game, hahaha, otherwise, I won't pass you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you, teacher. For the next year, I will find a way to make it. That is my dream. I want to make a... pure game that can let people regain happiness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG05 was exceptionally simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of the performance, John created a folder on the computer—\"Doomsday\".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG06.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the cramped office building, everyone had dark circles under their eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is where miracles are born; in such an office of only a dozen square meters, eight people lived, with eight computer desks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine, a friend from the past, has now become John's lover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The predecessor to the game \"Doomsday\" was created by these eight people in the beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, John believed he had met a kindred spirit—Catherine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the team that completed the graduation project with John was brought together by Catherine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine marveled that John was still the same as when he was a child, full of passion for games, possessing unconstrained imagination for games, and... pure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What she had always been looking for was someone just like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, many years later, John was still single; fortunately, many years later, John was still the same as before, shining brightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine’s eyes were filled with smiles; she truly enjoyed the time spent with John.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine also relied on her own resourcefulness to pull in a group of like-minded people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In CG06, they chatted together, so perfectly in sync.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In a serious-themed game, if too many lottery systems are added, it means this game doesn't deserve to be called serious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, lotteries and card draws do give a kind of simple pleasure, but once that happens, under long-term stimulation, users will gradually lose their passion for playing games... They might feel that all slow-paced games are trash.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, yes, yes! So our game must, absolutely must not do that!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In everyone's eyes, there was a belief in their dreams. Amidst such laughter, CG06 ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG07.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher, how is our game?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's great, very great. But I have a suggestion: you had better not release it in its entirety, or better yet, don't release it at all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean? Teacher, I don't quite understand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"John, I have seen your efforts. While other students are still indulging in games, you are always studying diligently, thinking about how to bring various detailed experiences to players within the game. This game is great... but it is not enough to defeat other games on the market. My suggestion is to polish it well. Hmm, I will also help you modify it properly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John froze. He had actually thought about this problem too. How impressive could a game made by eight people be?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, this game was indeed not enough to defeat those games from top-tier game companies with teams of hundreds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why must they be defeated? If players like it and it can bring joy to the players, that is actually quite good, isn't it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But John thought that since his teacher told him to polish it, there must be a reason. Could the game be further optimized? Yes. Could the visuals be further improved? Yes. Could the bloated systems in the later stages be simplified? Yes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, John felt he had motivation again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The conclusion of CG07 is John setting a goal to make the world's number one game!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, even if he couldn't do it, it didn't matter; just thinking that there would always be someone better than him, someone worth learning from and surpassing, made him happy too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG08.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half a year after graduation, John suddenly received news that he found hard to accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine cried and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"John... he lied to us! He changed the art style of our game and took it to sell for money!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No... that's impossible, how could that be! Teacher... he loved games so much; how could someone who loves games do such a thing?\" John found it hard to accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he called his teacher, all he heard was the cold, robotic voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The betrayal of his mentor made John suddenly feel an unprecedented loneliness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So everything was fake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So you didn't let me release the game not to help me polish it, but just because you thought... it could help you make money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What made John feel the most uncomfortable about this game that plagiarized the team of John and Catherine was not the plagiarism itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was that the game was filled with a lot of content that induced microtransactions. Even... even the skins of the zombies could be changed through microtransactions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you were a player afraid of gore, you could even pay to turn the zombies into cute little animals from daily life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as you had money, you could almost redefine forty percent of the game's content.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at all this, John was desperate for an answer; he really wanted to ask his teacher why he did this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the only response to John was the repeatedly played \"The number you have dialed is powered off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep inside John's heart, a blurry black shadow suddenly appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this was the world of adults; after stepping out of the ivory tower, he was immediately given his first social lesson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of CG08, John was in a bar, drunk, but he held up a wine bottle and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will not fail! I will definitely be able to make the game I envision in my heart.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the betrayal of his mentor, that big boy who loved games was not defeated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG09.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still in that cramped office, Catherine said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"John, I want to marry you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All their companions joined in the teasing; John had never expected that he would be proposed to by Catherine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"John, I like you. You are the one among us who works the most seriously and puts in the most effort. I have liked you since I was little. You have a passion and creativity for games that we don't have.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know this is our most difficult moment, but... I want to tell you in this way that we are a team, and we have the same original intention.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"John, will you marry me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Life is just like this, with its ups and downs; John did not expect that after experiencing betrayal, a light would immediately appear to heal him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, he looked at Catherine and felt as if he were looking at an angel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The end of CG09 is John holding Catherine and kissing her passionately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG10.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This scene is very similar to CG06.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone is working hard; everything seems like a cycle. They seem to have returned to their college days, carrying their purest original intentions, starting to make a work truly worth their best efforts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Doomsday.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the predecessor that was plagiarized by the teacher, this time, John achieved a personal technological breakthrough, made more interesting designs, and the worldview was more complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the overall art style became increasingly hardcore and realistic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John's team had studied it, and in the comment section of the plagiarized work, many players indeed expressed that those skins in the game were very immersion-breaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am fighting zombies in the game, while other players are wearing revealing and skimpy clothes, and the zombies all have plastic surgery faces...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John's team realized that everyone needed an immersive world with a sense of presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A serious theme can only be truly realistic if it is paired with a serious game style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, John believed that although the teacher plagiarized it, due to the mindset of wanting to make money, the teacher did not grasp the essence!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of CG10, Catherine's eyes were shining; she looked at John, who continued to create with full passion, and firmly believed that this man would definitely be able to bring victory to everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG11.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gameplay demo of \"Doomsday\" sparked a lot of discussion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fengcheng's own 3A game!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look at this texture! Do you dare to believe it was made by a team of eight people?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Many zombies in the game have their own pasts. It is said that a particularly interesting setting has been added to the game: zombies will follow their instincts, but because of their obsessions before death, they will produce some behaviors different from other zombies. If you observe some zombies carefully, you can slowly learn about the zombies' pasts from their behaviors!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the game, we are playing the savior!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only those who pay are the saviors; we are just the savior's sidekicks!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To the one above, this is a single-player game!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was the gameplay demo or the demo of the first level released, it truly ignited the players' expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John looked at the players' comments and shed tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew that he had not deviated from the players' expectations; the game he made was exactly the game that matched the players' imagination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't wait to see the smiling faces of the players after this game was released.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at the end of CG11, someone on the team suddenly received a collection call from the bank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Catherine had just finished talking to the landlord, who stated that if the rent was not paid, he would arrange for people to throw all the equipment in the house out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John did not know that the operation of this world was far darker and crueler than he imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG12. This is a very long CG.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Different from the visuals of other CGs, the opening of CG12 is a cold white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Winter in Fengcheng has snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many couples come to build snowmen and have snowball fights when the goose-feather snow falls. This is the joy that belongs to the people of Wind City in winter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only, John is not happy. CG12 is a thorough, complete... winter that belongs to John.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In stark contrast to this is the continued popularity of \"Doomsday,\" which started high and ran wild.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the game \"Doomsday\" received what could be called an advertising bombardment of promotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And everyone on the development team for \"Doomsday\" finally achieved financial freedom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their names are destined to be written into gaming history. Whether it was the fact that they made a fortune or this super-promotion that didn't match their financial resources, no one would think it unreasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply because \"Doomsday\" was sold to the Tengyi Group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wen Xishu saw the CG12 scene, a trace of sorrow flashed through his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if he could feel that John's loneliness at this moment was about to completely swallow him up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What an ironic scene this is; a game that took two years, that everyone exhausted their efforts to make, even going into debt... just when they thought they were finally about to welcome a turnaround in their lives...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The game could never pass the review.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had to modify some of the content in the game, but even so, it still couldn't pass the review.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young team did not know that whether a game passes review depends on human relationships and worldly wisdom, not the game itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, for the sake of everyone's livelihood and the beautiful future they had originally planned, Catherine made a decision that everyone agreed to, but which had to be kept from John.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene in CG12 at this moment is of Catherine, John, and even the entire team sitting at a negotiation table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side of the negotiation table is a high-level executive from the Tengyi Group's gaming department, who is also... the teacher who once plagiarized John's work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hahaha, we really are fated. Rest assured, we will treat the work 'Doomsday' well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This time, we will learn from our experience and lessons. For the year before players get hooked, we will try our best not to change the underlying color of the game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Catherine, I heard John talk about you before. You are truly amazing. Behind every successful man, there should be a woman like you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I believe we will achieve success. I think children and even their parents will be willing to keep spending money in this game! We will create a revenue myth in the gaming world!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of the performance, John pulls Catherine to the old, ten-plus-square-meter house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine senses John's unhappiness, but she still wears a smile:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our game has been bought by the biggest gaming company, more people will be able to play our game, John, and we have completely said goodbye to the past...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the future, we won't have to work in such a cramped place anymore. We will work in a golden building where we can overlook this city through floor-to-ceiling windows. We will be an existence that countless people look up to! All of this is because of you, my hero, John! You are the hero for all of us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John can feel Catherine's joy from the bottom of her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He really wants to accept Catherine's embrace, he really does.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wants to convince himself that Catherine is right, that this is how the world works.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he still avoids her, and he says with a tremble:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Catherine... we did all of this... just for money, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine looks at John, not understanding why he has this expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is an expression of panic and timidity, without even sadness, leaving only fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Wen Xishu feels that he is not looking at the expression of an adult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But rather the look of a lonely hero who set out on a journey carrying the dream of saving the world, only to finally be scared by the demon kings of reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black shadow hidden deep within surges forth, as if to completely swallow John's soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When we were kids... playing Monopoly, was it for the sake of... earning more money later?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John still looks at Catherine with a cowardly expression, his eyes filled with tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The joy in Catherine's heart gradually empties out. She suddenly feels a sense of guilt, as if she had killed something with her own hands. But she quickly feels again that she did nothing wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone has to survive, and isn't what everyone seeks a wealthy future?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't betray you. When you were at your lowest, I truly believed you could do it. I am not like your teacher, not the same...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She repeats in her heart, I am not like your teacher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter how many times she repeats it, she is still afraid inside; she is afraid of seeing that look in John's eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Catherine, I... really like you. The way you stood up and proposed to me when I felt I was at my lowest, I will never be able to forget it for the rest of my life. I probably won't be able to believe in any feelings ever again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm sorry... I need to be alone for a while. We aren't a good fit, I need to be alone for a while.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can't beat the demon king... I can't beat the demon king... I need to hide.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John begins to ramble incoherently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He is trapped in his own memories, and he finally realizes just how terrifying the demon king is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he was a child, the demon king took away the joy on his father's face when he played games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In college, the demon king also caused his roommates to develop twisted values when playing games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, he thought he had met a teacher who was also a friend, but the demon king made that teacher become hideous and betray gaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later still, he pulled himself together again, thinking he would surely find a pure land that the demon king could not invade...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He finally gathered partners and a lover, just like every hero-slaying-the-dragon story, they had a mighty army of monsters and set off toward the demon king's castle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he didn't expect that the demon king would be so powerful; every one of them fell before the demon king's castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Friendship, mentorship, kinship, love... all the cornerstones of John's life were broken by the demon king.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the work into which he poured his life's blood and dreams... is about to become something he detests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world seems to collapse completely at this moment. When everyone else is reveling in the heavy snow, John suddenly bursts into tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine wants to embrace John, but is pushed away by John as if by a stress reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine will never be able to understand the hesitation and fear in John's heart. She doesn't understand why John has such a strong reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone's life is still long, everyone has better environments and equipment, and now everyone is no longer strapped for cash. This game has already fulfilled its mission, bringing wealth and fame to its creators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn't this a perfect ending?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She suddenly feels that John is too pretentious. She cannot understand a person like John. She will also never understand what kind of game John was straining to create.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And John is like a blind man, with Catherine no longer in his eyes, only that boundless black shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The end of CG12 is John softly repeating a sentence:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If... if in our world, children can't even believe in games... what else can we believe in?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CG13.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"John, I can realize the game in your heart, you know. Do you want me to help you? If you cooperate with me, the 'Demon King' can also be killed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My name is Scorpio, I really like your game.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the darkest moment of his life, at the moment when his spine seemed to have been pulled out by life, a child in a blue suit appears, wearing a devilish smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Doomsday\" has not yet arrived, but the doomsday is already here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Can't finish writing, let's stop here for now...)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",8258,"2026-06-20T04:46:41.185Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","c305acb742e23f61581cd8304b6c630237da9227e01d26684012bdb8b981079c","the-three-towers-game-chapter-122","the-three-towers-game-chapter-120",281,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-three-towers-game-cover.jpg"]