Chapter 168: When the Humanoid Stars Shine

"Brother, no more words—drink!"

Perhaps before the closed beta begins, a hundred players are still a hundred lines that can never intersect in a lifetime.

But after sharing hardships for fourteen days, they are already close friends who can together pull off a "billion‑level big deal".

Encounter is destiny; being able to meet an old friend here, Zhang Tu immediately pulled Qiu Yi to his house.

So we're both wanderers who have fallen into ruin…

After chatting, Qiu Yi raised his cup, clinked it with his, tipped his head back and downed it in one gulp.

Having run a startup in the big city for years, his once‑glorious past also makes him a veteran of taverns.

But for some reason, today's drink burned his throat, making it ache as if filled with knives.

After a while of calming down, he finally croaked.

Hey, let's drop this nonsense—so why did you also return to the village?

We made money selling invitation codes, and after thinking it over, we simply stopped doing any lousy side jobs outside.

Zhang Tu's face flushed red, pointing at the stir‑fry on the table.

Might as well come back! First, find some random work, since my old man died years ago, I have to look after my mother!

Hmm, that's the logic!

And you?

Uh… haha.

Qiu Yi lingered in melancholy for a moment, then let out a snort of laughter, spreading his hands.

After circling around half a life, still alone, after a reminder, I thought, better go home!

With his eyes closed, Zhang Tu inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly.

Alright! Then the two of us brothers will get out more!

No problem—once the closed beta opens, we'll keep playing!

Glasses clinked, host and guests were in high spirits; this dinner will probably go on for a while.

When you meet a kindred spirit, a thousand drinks are still not enough; when you don't click, even half a sentence is too much.

Riding the closed beta's East Wind, Chang Xi, who vaulted into a top Xunle streamer, feels as if he violated a heavenly decree and is now squatting behind iron bars in a grim cell.

This is the conference room of Tian Ting Entertainment, where a projection at the front scrolls recordings from the closed beta period.

Beneath the screen, a man in a loose shirt, slicked hair and powdered face, oddly sporting a bit of a goatee, is rambling into his phone.

"Noproblem, I've already gathered a fair amount of insight on the game 'Code·Sun Month', and I'm confident we can nail the best this time…"

Only when the assistant hurried over with a document did he finally close his mouth.

Unfortunately, it yielded not silence but a piercing scream, like an old eunuch discovering the emperor's demise.

Oh, Unbelievable!

He shifted his posture, looking toward the people beside the conference table.

"The draw results are out; together with the seven we bought, our team secured ten slots, already far ahead of other peers!"

According to the company's current orders, any employee who draws an internal test slot will be transferred directly to the game team.

Thus, without waiting long, the conference room door opened once more.

Two young men with anxious faces walked in, and upon seeing the seated crowd, they widened their mouths in surprise.

If Ji Ming were present, he would spot several 'acquaintances' he had previously seen in the official account's comment section.

Unfortunately.

A flicker of contempt passed through his eyes; the old eunuch didn't even wait for them to settle before continuing his exaggerated remarks.

"Good! Since two teachers are busy finishing other work and can't make it, eight minus two, we count as a full roster."

"So, everyone, let's start self‑introductions; I'll begin."

He stepped forward a few paces, pressing both hands onto the tabletop.

"I suppose many friends already know me; I'm Liu Zhen, you can call me Flo~wer!"

Several men at the table pressed their lips together, the woman couldn't help but adjust her crossed legs under the table, and Chang Xi silently shook her head.

—the 'flower' she knows is a strategic, handsome uncle, not this self‑satisfied abstract entity!

But as previously said, his self‑perception is extremely positive.

"I am the circle's gold‑medal manager, also the chief planner of this project, and also…"

In his drawn‑out tone, a honey‑sweet smile appeared on his face.

"I'm the manager of our A Xiao!"

Liu Zhen instinctively tried to lead the applause, but a sweep of his eyes revealed the table full of oddities.

He then recalled that this wasn't a small internal group, and with a new project, there aren't that many domesticated sidekicks…

"This…"

Lin Xiao offered a faint smile, diffusing the awkwardness.

"Right, Teacher Liu is actually a particularly formidable manager; many great performance opportunities I have were secured by him. So you can trust him."

Although his face bears an obvious professional fake smile, a few lingering rays of sunshine in his brows still make his performance far surpass that of other fresh‑meat peers.

Heh, the era of mediocrity is just that tragic.

But this isn't his fan meet‑and‑greet; there are no screaming girls, no scowling security guards, and no one will humble themselves to flatter anyone.

Perhaps those two amateurs would still stare spellbound at the big star.

But the others, male or female, simply watch him calmly.

After all, near or far, those seated here are all insiders; the underlying nuances are naturally known.

But Lin Xiao is very 'dedicated', still displaying his scant, pitiful acting.

So at this point, a slightly deliberate yet still tolerable hint of surprise appeared.

"Oops, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Lin Xiao, still working on improving my acting."

Indeed, can't sing or dance, but number one in the fan circle.

Just a slight move, and you can clash with other companies for tens of thousands of floors under the game's official—who wouldn't know that…

Although a few people on stage wore even stranger expressions, they still offered scattered applause.

In fact, Liu Zhen deliberately steered the topic to Lin Xiao, also for his own selfish reasons.

According to the entertainment industry's seniority rules, even if the first introducer can be the chief planner, the second should never be Lin Xiao but the woman sitting opposite him.

"Hello everyone, I'm Su Ban Yu, honored to join the big family of our Tian Ting Entertainment gaming division."

A graceful figure and pleasant voice—these are hard‑skill capital in the entertainment world.

Not even eight years, even five years back, she would never let a newcomer in his twenties speak before her.

But.

The entertainment circle is still the entertainment circle; it's a sad bowl of youthful fare.

Perhaps aging male stars can rebrand as "acting specialists," becoming "veteran actors" for a second life.

But when female stars age… the tide of the times never lacks fresh blossoms in their twenties and thirties.

—and they come in swarms, too many for the circle to contain, forcing a few to be packaged for debut.

And she is already thirty‑five this year.

Looking at her résumé and positioning, she was clearly near top‑tier back then, but the waves have washed everything away, leaving almost nothing.

So now, she has sunk to the point of joining a group of teenage gaming pros for some "New Era Game Variety Show."

Becoming the very "Variety Show Contrast Senior Group" she once quietly mocked and despised.

Not only must she play the kind senior, but she might also be subjected to fabricated bullying rumors or scandalous gossip by the company.

But let the trash talk be trash; if it succeeds, she can snag a "fashion aunt" tag and linger a couple more years.

After all, if a comeback fails… she can only, while the hype remains, quickly find a good family and prepare to marry.

Probably because her fame was truly widespread back then, her reputation never hit the ground.

"I actually watched the urban romance film Sister Ban Yu starred in back then; the theme song was catchy, the Douban rating was sky‑high, and now I finally get to see the real person."

Beside her, a broad‑shouldered, plump man with a gentle smile spoke up.

He pushed his glasses back, stood, and gave a slight bow.

"Compared with everyone else, I'm no big shot, so let me introduce myself properly!"

"Hello all, I'm the captain of the BCZ squad, Hu Bian, my real name is also 'Hu Bian,' but I'm on the fringe of the fringe."

"I've been on a break lately, so I accepted Tian Ting Entertainment's invitation to provide some professional technical support."

Perhaps because they're both on the fringe of the circle, the young man on the other side quickly added his support.

"Yeah, Brother Bian is awesome; back when we joined the New Year's Game Night, he led me to win several rounds—so impressive!"

Hu Bian may not be as slick as the others, but as captain he's no fool, and immediately replied.

"That's an exaggeration; you're a bona‑fide tech player. I specialize in FPS—clearly you were the one who brought me in, right?"

Since the team recruited pro gamers, there will surely be a fairly professional game streamer as well.

And this 'wonderfully skilled Li Tianzun,' though his ID sounds imposing, is known in the circle for his gentle temperament.

He also stood and bowed.

"Hello everyone, I'm Li Tiankai, mainly playing MOBA games. I'm new here, hope you all can give this junior a hand!"

After all the big veterans had spoken, it was finally Chang Xi's turn, who had been left hanging for a while.

Times have changed; stripped of her 'only' aura, she's like a mermaid princess whose magic mirror was taken away, no longer able to turn her flowing hair into a rope.

If she hadn't actually gathered a fanbase during the closed beta and still retained some first‑move advantage.

Given her former 'famous cosplayer' positioning, the company would never let her join such a heavily funded team.

After all.

—What fringe‑edge girl, you don't qualify.

Precisely because of that, after Hu Bian and Li Tiankai exchanged a couple of lines, the remaining echo was merely polite applause.

She let out a light sigh; after everyone finished introductions, she habitually opened her phone and entered the still‑active closed‑beta player group.

Actually, not every player chose to sell invitation codes; under the lure of up to three million revenue, only a handful can resist.

Besides someone like Ji Ming who no longer cares about money, there are also Fu Le and Fei Huo Liuxing, who aren't short of cash and are preparing to lead a team startup, and can keep invitation codes in hand for future use.

Nevertheless, at any time, there are always those who choose to follow their ideals.

"Alright, let's give a round of applause to this lucky netizen!"

As a star player during the closed beta, Zhao Jun hasn't been able to log into the game these past few days, but almost daily answers various questions from viewers in the live stream.

Especially after the official released the list today, five lucky netizens consecutively appeared in the live stream to share their experiences.

When one is on a roll, they talk a lot, so Zhao Jun kept chatting with them until now, finally finding a narrow chance to end the broadcast.

"Friends, the scenic area is about to close, that's about it for today."

"Right, after the game launches, you can come find me; I guarantee we'll play together!"

Recently the scenic area's performance has surged, all because a huge internet celebrity called 'Gun Soldier No Weapon' emerged.

So whether young junior guides or elderly cleaning ma'am, everyone smiles brightly upon seeing him.

Having sincerely said goodbye to everyone, Zhao Jun hopped onto his little electric scooter, humming a light tune, and arrived at a nearby bone hot pot place.

From outside, one could see a somewhat gaunt figure by the window, one hand holding a flame, the other a cigarette, occasionally trying to bring it to his mouth.

Unfortunately, the server beside him kept staring, causing him to fail lighting at the last moment, covering the awkwardness with a light cough.

With an understanding smile, Zhao Jun walked over.

"Sorry, sorry, senior brother; I'm late."

"There you finally are; how can you invite people to a meal and then be late yourself…?"

Muttering, the senior brother handed out the list he had written.

"Don't worry, they're all dishes everyone loves!"

"You order, I'm confident!"

Zhao Jun also brought two bottles of cola, placing one down.

"So, did you get the game qualification draw?"

The senior brother let out a cold snort.

"What game qualification? You all have slipped away, the martial arts hall is busy every day, where would I find the time? I haven't been paying attention at all, I…"

He slammed the table hard at that point.

"Of course I didn't get it! Tens of millions are drawing; if I got it, it would be a miracle!"

"That works perfectly."

Zhao Jun pulled out a finely crafted card and slid it over.

"My invitation code just arrived today."

The senior brother stared at the un‑scratched coating on the black card, raising an eyebrow.

"Kid, this thing is worth three million; don't joke about it."

Zhao Jun wore a calm expression.

"I'm not kidding; the money I make from live streaming already makes me uneasy, so let's go, play!"

Rubbing his calloused hands, the senior brother stayed silent, lowering his head to ponder for a moment.

He waved his hand.

"Stop kidding, you brat; why not give it to junior sister? She's grinding in the entertainment circle now and needs exposure. With this…"

"But junior sister just took a new drama, so she's temporarily unavailable."

Seeing the senior brother still trying to decline, Zhao Jun added.

"Senior brother, we run a martial arts hall in reality; even if you're great with swords or skillful with spears, how many students can we take, how many can we teach?"

"Now we have platforms; why not show off in the game, clash real blades and guns with all kinds of monsters."

"If people like it they'll be willing to learn; that way we can fulfill Master's old wish of passing on the martial arts even more."

When Master was mentioned, the senior brother's face gradually darkened; finally he exhaled and let out a snort of laughter.

"Damn, you kid, now you're lecturing me!"

Zhao Jun also grinned.

"Haha, just a fourteen‑day closed‑beta after‑thought."

"Alright, look at how this thing is put together…"

He reached to remove the black card, lifted his cola to take a sip, but suddenly heard his phone vibrate.

Zhao Jun grabbed his phone, glanced at it, and his eyes froze.

"What's wrong?"

He opened the link posted by the closed‑beta group admin, enlarged the video, and placed it between them.

"The game's official… released an internal‑test trailer…"