Chapter 122: Preparations

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“How’s the discussion with the Qiyou Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding Baode’s interview going?”

Zhou Hangxing

In an office of a certain building.

The general manager of Starry Sky Wanderers sat at his desk, looking at the lean man standing before him as he inquired.

The lean man in front of him had dark skin and bright eyes, dressed in a crisp shirt, giving off an impression of sharpness and keen intelligence.

“Manager, Qiyou said they are already communicating with the designer of ‘Cultivation Clan.’ It should be settled within a few days.”

“I’ve already sent my contact information over to them.”

“As soon as Qiyou finishes their coordination, their designer will be able to immediately integrate my neural interface.”

Hearing his superior’s question, Baode did not slack off and responded promptly.

His recent performance had been poor, and he had fought hard to seize this opportunity. Naturally, he didn’t want the manager to think he was incompetent.

“Alright, get back to work. Once you’ve coordinated with Qiyou, come find me. I’ll arrange someone to assist you.”

The manager’s expression remained unchanged, showing little interest.

Starry Sky Wanderers was called a company, but it was more like a personal organization.

The website was initially established mainly to find good games for him.

Profit was never a primary concern.

Having money allowed such indulgence.

Once the manager finished speaking, Baode didn’t linger and left immediately.

Though his manager was a bit idle, respect was still necessary.

Back at his workstation, Baode began drafting the questions and answers for the upcoming interview.

For example, asking why the designer chose the unique name “You Forced Me.”

Or the original intention behind making games without charging money.

As Baode pondered how to craft questions that would make the interview explosive, the neural interface implanted in his brain suddenly flashed a message alert.

[Notification: Yin Jian requests to become your friend]

Baode’s eyes lit up at the prompt.

“This must be the designer of ‘Cultivation Clan.’ That name—‘Underworld’ game... could make a good headline.”

Muttering to himself, Baode immediately accepted the friend request and introduced himself:

Baode: Hello, I’m Baode from Starry Sky Wanderers. Are you the designer ‘You Forced Me’ from ‘Cultivation Clan’?

Yin Jian: Yes, that’s me. You know all my conditions, right?

Baode: Yes, yes. During the interview, we’ll use a cartoon template and definitely won’t reveal your real identity.

Yin Jian: Please also modify my voice to sound like a mature uncle. When will the interview start? What exactly will you ask?

Baode: Whenever you’re available, we can arrange it anytime.

Yin Jian: I’m free anytime.

Baode: How about tomorrow?

Yin Jian: No problem.

Seeing Yin Jian’s reply, Baode breathed a sigh of relief. This designer was much easier to talk to than he had imagined.

Moreover, he was efficient, unlike other designers Baode had interviewed before who often delayed for half a month, making Baode’s scalp tingle.

Thinking this, Baode’s impression of Yin Jian improved considerably.

He continued typing, explaining some precautions and the interview content to Yin Jian.

Baode: I will ask you about your experiences, insights, and sources of inspiration during game development.

Baode: Just speak casually. The main purpose of the column is to bridge the gap between players and designers. No need to be too technical—just like chatting.

Yin Jian: Okay, notify me tomorrow then.

In his apartment,

After sending the message, Yin Jian shut down the neural interface.

“This column should help me gain quite a few more players. Just wondering how many it’ll actually increase.”

He glanced at the backend data of ‘Cultivation Clan.’

So far, the game had over ten million favorites.

He hadn’t inquired about the exact number of returning players but could feel it was not bad.

Compared to ‘Mystic,’ ‘Cultivation Clan’ players were extremely generous with in-game rewards.

Even before launch, it had already earned nearly two million—a staggering figure.

“I just don’t know how well it will sustain sales after going live.”

Pondering this, Yin Jian swiped open the Qiyou forum.

Recently, the virtual gaming landscape had shifted.

No longer was Qiyou the sole dominant force.

Two other large companies had emerged, forming a tripartite balance in the virtual gaming world alongside Qiyou.

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The other two companies were Chicken Farm and Pig Farm, both subsidiaries spun off from companies producing real-world games.

Their purpose: to capture the virtual game market.

Yin Jian harbored many doubts about the current situation.

The virtual game market share was trivial for real-world game companies.

Logically, they shouldn’t have ventured into virtual gaming.

Yet, more than one real-world game company had entered.

This baffled Yin Jian deeply.

So he decided to browse the forum to see the grand analyses of reading comprehension experts, hoping to glean information he sought.

After all, he intended to enter the vast real-world game market in the future.

Naturally, he wanted to understand this unusual phenomenon thoroughly.

Entering the forum, Yin Jian skipped the pinned warning posts and scrolled through recent threads.

[Lying in bed playing games, my whole body aches. Do I have some incurable disease?] +59

[Watermelon is so responsible, I messaged him at 3 am and he replied instantly.] +27

[Fake, fake, all fake. I have 500 favorites but not a single comment. Trash Qiyou, they assigned bots to favorite my game.] +14

[Analysis | Recent major moves in the virtual gaming world] +99

Scanning quickly, Yin Jian found a post that piqued his interest and clicked in.

Soon, the detailed analysis appeared before him.

[Analysis | Recent major moves in the virtual gaming world]

Recently, countless new platforms have risen aggressively, instantly ending Qiyou’s monopoly.

Some say this signals a second golden age for virtual gaming.

At first, I thought so, too.

But upon deeper reflection and following clues, things aren’t as simple as most think.

Though more platforms mean a qualitative leap in virtual game promotion, increasing overall audience several times over,

If you think this is good for designers, you’re gravely mistaken.

Though total audience increased, the original unified traffic is now dispersed across many platforms.

Take Qiyou as an example.

Earlier forum posts predicted designers’ incomes would soar.

But in reality, this month’s earnings fell by seven percentage points.

Why?

Because Qiyou’s traffic was diverted to other virtual gaming platforms.

Although Qiyou responded promptly with upgrades and benefits, these mostly help underperforming designers; mid- to high-level designers’ incomes remained largely unchanged.

With the rise of other platforms, income decline is inevitable.

Having discussed the impact on designers and platforms, let’s talk about why so many forces suddenly entered virtual gaming.

This traces back to a collaboration between Goose Platform and Qiyou.

Previously, Qiyou’s game ‘Super God Mech’ had its real-world adaptation rights acquired by Goose Platform.

‘Super God Mech’ was an excellent game, consistently ranking in the top ten on Qiyou’s bestseller list.

It had market recognition.

After Goose Platform adapted and released the real-world version, it proved this further.

The real-world version’s sales skyrocketed, instantly breaking into the top ten among over a thousand active real-world games.

Its subsequent growth was astonishing—taking first place was not impossible.

Developing new games carries high risk, but Goose Platform’s move overturned the real-world gaming industry.

They used low-cost virtual games as market tests, then adapted market-proven virtual games into real-world ones.

This undoubtedly reduces the risk of new real-world games flopping.

Pure benefit, no harm!

After this, top real-world games will likely be adapted from elite virtual games.

And the profits from such adaptations will drive everyone crazy.

——————

Handsome An: Damn! Does this mean the elite few designers will take off?

Chaos of Confusion: I think the original poster might be wrong; increased traffic should be a positive development—more people will come.

Starlight_Glow: Earning 2,500 a month but worrying about millionaires? Seems I’ve been floating lately.

Only Shiji: I heard Qiyou also plans to develop real-world games, but no one knows which game they’ll adapt.

Wang Lai Carrying the World: Some virtual games just aren’t suitable for real-world adaptation. Like ‘Your Depressing Game’—I bet it wouldn’t pass real-world game approval.

...

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“Virtual games adapted into real-world games...”

After reading the post, Yin Jian stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Achieving a 500 billion target within three years would be very difficult.

But if his game could be adapted into a real-world game, that goal could be reached instantly.

“Forget it. I’ll stay grounded and take things step by step.”

Yin Jian shook his head. That was too much luck.

Besides, his game had never broken into the top 100 on Qiyou’s overall ranking, only hovering near the edge.

Obviously, such good fortune wouldn’t fall on him.

Though nothing is absolute, hope often leads to disappointment.

He saw this clearly and dismissed the matter.

He continued browsing other forum posts.

[1203 Qiyou’s new top designer speculations]

Flame Blast Fire Dragon God, Big Watermelon with a Sword, My Uncontainable Charm, You Forced Me, Tian Dan...

Seeing his name on the speculation list, Yin Jian raised an eyebrow and immediately left a comment under the post.

Yin Dashing: You Forced Me is trash! No chance of becoming a god.

After posting, he continued browsing other threads.

Checking the replies,

Heaven’s Decree: @Yin Dashing_ I’m the director of the Fourth Psychiatric Hospital. Sorry for the escape of some patients.

XuS: @Yin Dashing_ If you said others aren’t qualified to become gods, I’d stay quiet. But calling ‘You Forced Me’ trash—I can’t stand that. ‘You Forced Me’ is a designer who creates purely out of love. If he can’t become a god, then who can? The internet isn’t lawless. I advise you to calm down.

Silent Icebug Summer bcbyx: @Yin Dashing_ Just blabbering nonsense like a fool. Maybe you should see a doctor. Some people aren’t to be insulted casually. You Forced Me is truly powerful.

...

Yin Jian scanned all the replies quickly, just as he expected.

A flood of people tagging him, defending ‘You Forced Me’ and praising his strength.

His lips involuntarily twisted into a wild grin.

How helpless.

This person is too outstanding; he tries to be humble but others won’t let him.

So hard.

After this reflection, Yin Jian continued browsing the forum, seeking useful information.

Such as the situation and styles of other platforms,

And recent major events at Qiyou.

Which game exploded, which was expected to but flopped after launch.

There were analyses for all.

Yin Jian read with great interest. Though not his own experience, he could learn a lot.

In the blink of an eye, a whole day passed.

The next morning, Baode’s message woke him.

Half-asleep, Yin Jian glanced at the message and found a link.

Apparently, the interview would be held online in virtual space.

Baode: The interview is at 8 pm, live broadcast with an audience. Please be mindful.

After briefly reading Baode’s message, Yin Jian replied.

Then shut down the neural interface and got up to wash.

After washing and breakfast, he pondered what kind of personal image to project for the interview.

Should he be timid or strike hard?

“Have to perform well; so many people watching. Poor performance might hurt conversion rates.”

“Also, can’t say too much—if I brag and get carried away, my designer account could be banned.”

Yin Jian mentally reviewed the precautions.

Later, he even pulled up previous interviews from Starry Sky Wanderers to study, as he had no experience in this area.

Once ready, Yin Jian checked the time and, seeing it was nearly time, clicked the link Baode sent to enter the virtual space via the attached IP address.

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