Chapter 124: The End

The young girl's question plunged the scene into an instant, heavy silence. Everyone present was shocked by the boldness of her behavior.

It took quite some time for the audience below the stage to react.

"Damn it, I was beaten to the punch." One male audience member exclaimed, sounding truly regretful.

As soon as he spoke, the people around him immediately distanced themselves. At the same time, they were secretly amazed that the charm of "Force Me" was so potent it could captivate both men and women alike; it was truly terrifying.

Yin Jian, however, did not notice this small interlude in the audience.

After regaining his composure, he coughed awkwardly twice and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any considerations in that regard for the time being."

"Ah, is that so..." Upon hearing Yin Jian's words, the female fan's face clearly showed a look of disappointment.

Bao De, standing nearby, quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "It seems this beautiful lady really loves the games created by 'Force Me'; it's truly enviable. Can I ask why you wanted to date the teacher?"

Hearing Bao De's question, the girl replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "Because he's rich."

"...Ahem." This answer nearly made Yin Jian choke. Speechless, he quickly shot a glance at Bao De, signaling him to move on to the next person.

Bao De was a seasoned interviewer and handled such minor situations with ease. He exchanged a few polite words with the girl and ushered her off the stage, then proceeded to select the next lucky audience member.

This time, it was a young man, slightly plump in build. After getting on stage, he introduced himself to Yin Jian with great excitement: "Hello, Teacher 'Force Me', I am also a game designer. However, I can't compare to you; I'm just a failure. So, I would really like to ask you some questions about game development."

Hearing the chubby designer's words, Yin Jian nodded. "Go ahead."

"I just wanted to ask, have you ever experienced a creative block? And how do you resolve it when you do?" The plump designer asked his question immediately after receiving the go-ahead. He looked at Yin Jian with anticipation; this issue had been plaguing him for a long time, often leaving him stuck for days and in utter misery.

It wasn't just him; the vast majority of designers had experienced creative blocks. Since the majority of those watching the live stream were designers themselves, they all pricked up their ears upon hearing this question, eager to know what advice this rising star, "Force Me," might have regarding creative blocks.

"Creative blocks, huh..." Yin Jian pondered for a moment and replied, "I get them too. But my approach isn't like most people's—racking my brain, insisting on finding a solution immediately. Instead, I skip that node, jump directly to another part, and put the matter at the back of my mind for a while."

"Inspiration often blooms when you least expect it. After a while, you naturally figure out how to handle that stuck part."

The plump designer nodded thoughtfully. But then he remembered something and quickly asked, "What if there’s no inspiration?"

"Then play more similar works; draw parallels from them," Yin Jian answered.

"Thank you, Teacher 'Force Me'." The plump designer thanked Yin Jian immediately after getting the answer he wanted.

Yin Jian waved his hand, sat back in his seat, and looked at Bao De, signaling him to continue.

Question: "Teacher, are your games fully completed before they are released?"
Answer: "No, the demo content is created first. The actual content is made right up to the release deadline to ensure it's absolutely fresh."

Question: "Teacher 'Force Me', when I play some games, I feel bored after playing for a while. What is the reason for this?"
Answer: "This means the game is no longer able to generate a sense of anticipation for you."

Question: "How can that be solved?"
Answer: "Methods vary for different types of games. For example, in a narrative game, if you want players to maintain a strong sense of anticipation, you need to..."

Question: "What is the designers' group chat like? I heard from others that the designers' group is very different from other groups."
Answer: "There's no difference. Everyone is a designer, so we often discuss things related to game production, just like in any normal group. I also consult the experts in the group when I have questions I don't understand."

...

The Q&A session moved quickly, and soon it was nine o'clock. Bao De checked the time, felt it was enough, and stood up to conclude the segment.

"Thank you, Teacher 'Force Me', for answering these questions for us."

After speaking, Bao De turned to Yin Jian. "At the end of this interview, I have one more question I'd like to verify with you. According to rumors, Qi You has the intention to develop into real-world games, and the construction of these games will be chosen from among existing master-level and platinum designers."

"I wonder if Teacher 'Force Me' has any thoughts on this?"

Hearing Bao De's question, Yin Jian frowned. He had received a piece of news from the other party that surprised him. Qi You was actually planning to make real-world games.

However, after a moment of reflection, he felt relieved. This was an inevitable stage in the development of game companies like Qi You. Because the virtual game market was already saturated, if they wanted to earn more money, they had to change. Whether it was changing the game recommendation framework of the existing platform or stepping out of their original comfort zone to share a bigger piece of the pie, these were all things that were bound to happen.

Thinking of this, Yin Jian's brow smoothed out. He said half-jokingly to Bao De and the audience watching the interview: "If they really are picking from designers, then I will certainly fight for the opportunity to produce a real-world game. After all, creating a real-world game is the dream of every designer and player."

"Then I look forward to the day your real-world game comes out, Teacher 'Force Me'," Bao De laughed.

The interview went very smoothly, which put him in a great mood.

"Thank you, Teacher 'Force Me', for taking the time out of your busy schedule to participate in our Star Nomad's [Star Interview]. Here, on behalf of Star Nomad and our vast community of wanderers, I wish your work full success, both in reputation and sales."

"I also wish Star Nomad continued success," Yin Jian said, rising at the same time.

Once finished, a ripple appeared in the surrounding space. When everything returned to normal, the surrounding audience had all disappeared. Evidently, Star Nomad had closed the connection channel for the online interview.

With the interview wrapped up, Bao De returned to his normal self, wearing a smile. "Thank you very much, Mr. Yin. Without you, my performance this month would have been a disaster."

"It's a small matter. You also helped promote my game, didn't you?"

Yin Jian exchanged a few more words with Bao De before logging out of the data space, claiming he still had things to do. He truly wasn't used to making small talk; it felt incredibly awkward.

"Sure enough, lurking in the group chat is much more comfortable."

Thinking of this, Yin Jian opened the group chat, wanting to see what the group members had been talking about while he was away.

*Master of the Sword Sect: Stone and the others should have reached their destination by now. I wonder how things are going? @Stone*

*Divine Phoenix: I heard the food at Goose Factory is quite good; they eat rare species every day that are hard to find in the Xia Hua Star Sector.*

*Green Hat Wind and Moon Landlord: After all, they are on the edge of the border. A little further out is the uncultivated area.*

*Happy Afro: Handsome guy peeking.*

*Force Me: Stone is in for a treat this time.*

...

...

Xia Hua Star Sector
Far South Unexplored Region

A small spacecraft was rapidly weaving through a group of meteoroids.

Inside the ship, Yu Jia looked at the repetitive scenery outside with a face full of worry. She was almost there.

"Sigh~"

She sighed, then opened her light-brain and tapped into her contact interface. She found the contact account her father had pushed to her.

The person she was under was her father's friend, which made her very reluctant to contact him. But knowing her father's personality, Yu Jia knew that if she didn't contact this "Uncle Yin," her father would absolutely rush over himself. By then, things would only become more troublesome.

"Just call."

What's meant to be will be. Thinking this, Yu Jia dialed directly.

...

"Boom!"

"Report! Target 72871, 27193, E27191 has been eliminated."

Inside a warship as large as a star, Yin Bi watched the screen as a red planet was pulverized by a linear beam contraction cannon, and nodded slightly. Another creature that posed a threat to human society had been eliminated.

"Only 10% progress left in this star sector."

He muttered to himself, opened the communication, and gave orders to his subordinates in the warship's control room: "Initiate contraction, head to G3 station to replenish supplies."

"Yes!"

The order was given, and a response came quickly from the other side. Seeing the warship begin to turn, Yin Bi ended the call and opened his light-brain, preparing to contact Lan Jiao to ask about her situation.

Although they both belonged to the reclamation team, the nature of his position and Lan Jiao's were actually different. He was primary combat, while Lan Jiao was responsible for diplomacy. That is, when a planet with life was discovered, she would go to investigate and try to communicate to understand them. If she found that the other party had little impact on society, it would just be reported; conversely, it would be destroyed.

As for the resources on the planet? Sorry, the universe is so big that the last thing it lacks is planets. As for why threatening creatures had to be destroyed immediately, there were many reasons for this, and it couldn't be explained in one or two sentences. In short, this was a helpless move that humans had to make after paying many painful prices.

"Hmm? Yu Jia? Is that Old Yu's daughter?"

Yin Bi had just opened his light-brain when he saw a call request from Yu Jia. Seeing this, he didn't hesitate and accepted the call. This was something he had promised his old comrade, Yu Zheng—to help look after his daughter—so naturally, there was nothing to hesitate about.

"Um, Uncle Yin... I've arrived."

The call connected, and Yu Jia's voice came from the other side. Her tone gave the impression of a young girl who had just entered society.

"If only Yin Jian were like this. I don't know whose genes he inherited; his skin is as thick as iron."

Yin Bi muttered to himself, then said to Yu Jia: "Alright, send me your location. I'll have someone escort you over."

"Ah, Uncle Yin, are you not coming yourself?"

Hearing Yu Jia's question, Yin Bi's tone carried an apology: "Well, Xiao Jia, I have something else to attend to here and can't spare the time for now. Let's do this: when I have time later, I'll come to see you."

He had promised Yu Zheng he would escort her personally, but now he had to break his word, which made him feel a bit guilty.

"It's okay, it's okay, Uncle Yin. You busy yourself. I'm fine here; you don't need to go out of your way to see me."

Hearing Yu Jia's reply, Yin Bi frowned. He inexplicably felt that the little girl's tone on the other side carried a hint of schadenfreude.

"...She must be in her rebellious phase."

"Why didn't that brat have a rebellious phase? It makes me, as a father, feel like I haven't experienced it fully."

Yin Bi muttered to himself, chatted with Yu Jia for a few more sentences, and hung up the phone. Then he dialed Lan Jiao's number.

"Hello, Old Yin, what is it?"

The video connected, and Lan Jiao's cool figure appeared before Yin Bi. At this moment, she was on a desert planet, stepping on a terrifying creature the size of a small car. The creature was struggling constantly, and Lan Jiao, seemingly finding it too annoying, applied a little force with her foot and crushed the creature's head like a watermelon.

This scene made Yin Bi's mouth twitch. Sometimes he really wondered who between him and Lan Jiao was the man and who was in charge. Although Lan Jiao's mission looked very dangerous, Yin Bi was not worried about her safety at all. Because the personnel conducting planetary exploration used bodies formed by [Biological Mimicry]. Unlike civilian ones, military-grade bodies were far superior to civilian ones in both power and efficiency of free conversion. A simple comparison: civilian ones couldn't even beat an ordinary person, while military ones could blow up a small mountain.

"How is your mission going?" Yin Bi asked after hearing Lan Jiao's question.

"Oh, it's been confirmed that this planet is not dangerous; they are all creatures without developed intelligence. I'll be back soon. How about you?"

"Almost done too, just these two days. When I get back, I'll go to the real-world game site to meet Old Yu's daughter," Yin Bi said.

"Old Yu's daughter?" Lan Jiao's eyes lit up on the other side of the video. "I remember she was born in the same year as our Yin Jian, right?"

"Seems so, why?" Yin Bi frowned, wondering why his wife was suddenly talking about this.

"You're a grown man, don't go. I'll go," Lan Jiao said bluntly.

"That works too. If you go to light the way for me, I'll have more time to rest," Yin Bi agreed. In their home, Lan Jiao was always the one in charge, so naturally, whatever she said went.

With the matter decided, Lan Jiao patted her combat suit and said casually: "By the way, drink more goji berry tea during this time. Two taels of goji berries every day. Hanging up now."

With that, the video ended.

After it hung up, it took a long time for Yin Bi to come back to his senses, his forehead already covered in sweat. If he could, he didn't want to take a vacation.