The Long-Awaited Release

Chapter 133 The Long-Awaited Release

Old Wei was so angry he laughed.

Could you be any more shameless? Just keep trying to take advantage of me!

Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done.

After all, the law doesn't protect gameplay; if you can use this setting, others can too.

"Cousin, can't the mental hospital's studio sue or send a lawyer's letter or something?" Xie Yuan asked indignantly.

Old Wei shook his head: "It's useless. It will only excite them more. This is free publicity and traffic. Hongtu Studio is already being blatant, so why would they be afraid of your tricks?"

"First, 'Starry Night' tried to ride on someone else's coattails, and then 'War Souls 4' openly plagiarized." Xie Yuan frowned. "Is there really nothing we can do?"

"When you're weak, your competitors will either try to devour you or kill you; when you become strong, they'll stop at nothing to imitate and copy you." Old Wei sighed. "So, the only way is to make good products and prove them wrong with your strength."

"But lately, the operations of the mental hospital's workroom have been a bit mysterious..."

""

"What do you know? Chen Xuan is a genius. Do you think you can guess what a genius is thinking?"

Xie Yuan could only shake his head helplessly as he recalled the various Monster Hunter: World merchandise listings from pet and food bloggers.

Hopefully, there really is some deeper meaning behind this.

Rather than... simply trying to be funny.

Actually, it wasn't just Lao Wei and Xie Yuan.

Many players have discovered this magical reality.

Previously targeted by various forces, the mental hospital's workroom is no longer a thorn in many people's side.

Instead, it has become... an object of plagiarism and hype-grabbing?

Especially during game shows.

Many players were indignant and frequently argued with other players.

It has some effect, though it's not that it's minimal, but it's practically nonexistent.

A fierce online battle erupted in the player community.

[This is ridiculous. Aren't the designs in Dark Souls just improvements on some classic designs from the Famicom era? Anyone who didn't know better would think Chen Xuan created them himself.]

Honkai Impact 3rd is just an action game in name only; it's not even as good as Starry Night.

[Hilarious! Monster Hunter: World even referenced Antarctica! How can Chen Baiyao's loyal followers defend this?]

[Even Monster Hunter: World lowered the difficulty for casual players. Even the most talented developers eventually succumb to commercial pressures. Games with high difficulty simply don't sell well. Anyone disagree?]

[Hilarious! A game that spends all its time finding content creators (UPs) who promote food, beauty, pets, and crafts to do commercial projects—this one's probably going to be a box office flop upon release.]

This inexplicable rhythm eventually converged on the upcoming title, Monster Hunter: World.

And even after the game expo ended, there was no sign of it diminishing.

Amidst this rhythm, Chen Xuan had finished his business trip to the game expo and returned to Lincheng... university.

Accompanying him were his roommates, Yu Xiaoming and Zhou Qian, who were also in the same boat.

All three of them need to be busy preparing for graduation for a while.

And at the end of April, Monster Hunter: World, which had garnered a lot of attention amidst its controversial marketing campaign, was finally released on time.

Now that Xie Yuan has income from live streaming and being a content creator, he has moved out of the dormitory and rented a room near the school.

On such an important day, of course we have to go live.

"Brothers, I don't need to say much today, right?" Xie Yuan rubbed his hands together, eagerly awaiting the final half hour of the game's unlock. "Let's play Monster Hunter: World!"

[Who are you streaming with today?]

[Don't beg me, bro. Just ask the cute little female student to come along. I'll do anything.]

"Don't mess around, that's my cousin's junior, not mine." Xie Yuan was both amused and exasperated. "Besides, she's not a streamer, she's a game planner. Buying a few more copies of the game is more reliable than anything else."

[Can I get my female classmate to yell at me a few times if I buy games?]

[I want to hear trash, perverts, garbage!!!]

[I'm different. I want Yu Xiaoming to wear women's clothes and play games with me, hehe, hehe...]

That's it, these netizens are hopeless.

Xie Yuan was speechless.

I often feel out of place because I'm not weird enough.

However, he still explained, "We're playing solo today because I feel this game isn't that difficult, and playing in a team wouldn't be challenging at all."

While I was chatting with the comments, a message popped up on Qiuqiu.

I clicked on it and took a look.

[Lothric City Party Secretary: If you can't win, just say so! Daddy's got you covered!]

[Grumpy Fungus: LOL, your dad actually played it offline. My good son, just wait until you fall behind, then listen to my merciless mockery.]

Although they hadn't known each other for long, Xie Yuan felt that he and this Losrick City Party Secretary were truly kindred spirits.

We can chat and catch each other's jokes. Although we also joke around, we are very tactful and never blush or get angry.

It's quite rare to find such a mischievous friend online.

Of course, this chat scene cannot be seen in the live stream.

Xie Yuan hadn't mentioned his identity as a content creator and streamer, and was somewhat worried that this close, albeit mischievous, friendship might be ruined.

After all, once her livestreaming career took off, her former roommates became noticeably more sarcastic and sarcastic.

The sound of typing on the keyboard attracted the attention of many people, and the Cyber ​​Judge in the live broadcast room immediately noticed something was wrong.

[You bastard, smiling so brightly, where did you get the chance to flirt with some random woman? Huh? ]

[It's definitely fried noodles, female fan, are you stupid?!]

[Reporter Wang from Huaguo Games News has written another interview, go check it out!]

"Don't talk nonsense, he's a guy, just a friend I play games with." Xie Yuan was somewhat amused and exasperated.

What kind of woman uses such a ridiculous name and profile picture?

What woman has been with the King of Salvation two or three times?

The dancer who tortured him for over ten hours, this guy beat in less than half an hour.

The Crystallized Elder and the Profound Bishops were even easier targets, requiring only one attempt each.

He completed Dark Souls in nearly 20 hours less than Xie Yuan.

However, this is largely due to the fact that I played with this netizen late at night and that video guides had already appeared online.

I can't talk about the netizens' situation, but I can take a look at the interview.

Xie Yuan still admired Wang Yuhan.

As a female journalist, she dared to write this interview in such an extreme style, using a method that no one expected.

This inspired him to write that article, which helped turn around the reputation of Dark Souls.

Take a look at the title first.

Interview with producer Chen Xuan: The new game is a relaxing and enjoyable hunting game.

Xie Yuan paused for two seconds, then touched his nose and said, "I have a bad feeling about this. The last game to say something like that was Dark Souls, which claimed to be healthy, positive, and uplifting."

[Are you chickening out? Are you traumatized by the dancer's live-in son-in-law?]

[I don't like hearing that. How is Dark Souls unhealthy, not positive, and not uplifting?]

But after clicking into the article and taking a closer look, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Words like "de-stress," "easy," and "relaxing" are very prominent.

"This time, no special writing style was used, and Chen Xuan said in all seriousness that the difficulty wasn't high. The demo version really wasn't difficult either, so there shouldn't be any problems this time, right? You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

As he spoke, Xie Yuan glanced at the time.

Ten o'clock!

The game unlocks on time.

I couldn't wait to click and enter.

A giant MONSTERHUNTER:WORLD appears on the screen, with its logo on the back resembling a totem, perfectly matching the game's world view.

Once the game starts, a voice-over-like narration appears, accompanied by a fluttering flag.

"Well then... fellow members of the Fifth Survey Corps, it's almost time. Let's skip the farewells. Once you're on this ship, there's no turning back. If you've already lost your resolve, I advise you to turn back here."

So, let's set sail for the New World! May the guiding blue star shine upon you!

Follow a first-person perspective and arrive at the cabin below the deck of a ship.

Xie Yuan's eyes lit up.

I get that feeling!

The passengers in the cabin were of different skin colors, heights, and builds.

Some were armored and carrying weapons, clearly combat personnel.

Some sat quietly at the table with books in their hands, seemingly office workers.

There was even a cat with a tray on its head, on which looked very appetizing grilled meat.

Cat waiter?

interesting.

Xie Yuan smiled gently.

Next up is the character customization section.

This time, Xie Yuan deliberately spent a long time creating a blonde, blue-eyed, fair-skinned, beautiful woman with long legs.

The character creation event ended only when the viewers in the live chat started to get impatient, leaving the audience wanting more.

This is what the character customization system looks like.

To be precise, this feature alone could waste two hours of refund time.

Even so, Xie Yuan still managed to create an adorable pure white cat, despite the barrage of complaints in the live chat.

Although it took some time, when I finished creating the character, in the real-time rendering, my creation, clad in armor, amidst realistic lighting and detailed visuals, toasted with cats and colleagues...

Yes, it was worth it.

Through the conversations of several characters, the simple and easy-to-understand main storyline also clarifies the secret of the ancient dragons, or rather, the current mystery of the ancient dragon migration.

The peaceful chat didn't last long.

A tremendous earthquake shook the ground, and several key figures quickly emerged from their cabins and came to the deck.

"Damn, this is like something out of a monster movie!" Xie Yuan's eyes lit up. "Shouldn't the real protagonist, Gu Long, make his appearance now?"

As Xie Yuan spoke, the camera pulled back from the three-masted ship.

A colossal creature emerged from the depths of the sea, part of its body protruding out.

This appears to be its back, resembling a dorsal fin.

But even so, it was as big as several ships in the fleet combined.

[Holy crap!! That's so cool!!]

[This is weird, carrying a volcano on its back? Is this even a carbon-based life form?]

[Yes, yes, that's exactly the feeling I wanted!]

[Huh? I'm going to hunt this kind of thing?]

"Holy crap, how do you fight this thing?" Xie Yuan asked, but his eyes were full of excitement. "This part wasn't in the demo."

The animation on the screen continues.

Even if the massive Lava Dragon attacks unintentionally, its normal actions are enough to cause enormous waves.

Three-masted ships were being overturned one after another, and it seemed that the investigation team was about to perish before even getting started.

Xie Yuan had no choice but to fall onto the Lava Dragon's body along with the receptionist.

This section is the tutorial in the game.

The chat was also very lively.

[Holy crap!! They can actually climb and jump? The Undead are green with envy!]

[Sorry, Fire Keeper, I also really like the Hostess. From now on, you can be my mistress.]

The atmosphere and immersion are absolutely top-notch.

The Lava Dragon's intense heat caused the nearby seawater to boil, and its massive body was covered in magma with terrifying temperatures, causing pterosaurs living nearby to flee in panic.

Xie Yuan and the female investigator worked tirelessly for a long time, only to find that they had only moved a small distance on the massive body of the Lava Dragon.

In desperation, Xie Yuan's character cleverly slid down the body of the Lavasioth and then used the grappling hook in his hand to entangle the pterosaur's ankle, barely escaping from the Lavasioth's body.

It wasn't until the camera zoomed out that we finally got a full glimpse of the Lava Dragon.

At the same time, with the help of this pterosaur, they completed the final leg of their journey and arrived at the New World.

At dawn, a giant tree soared into the sky, its thick trunk as thick as a hundred people could hug.

The sky gradually brightened.

At the base of the trees, evergreen broad-leaved forests flourish, providing a habitat for various herbivorous dragons to breed and live.

Some were running and playing, while others were using their hard bony head plates to ram other males in competition for mates, presenting a scene of vibrant life.

[As expected of a monster hunter, this is really exciting!]

[Holy crap, what a breathtaking view!]

[That's amazing! It's so impressive!]

But before they could fully appreciate the beautiful scenery, a single pterosaur ultimately couldn't support the weight of two people.

Unsurprisingly, the plane crashed.

Ahead lies an unknown, dense jungle, and behind lies the Lava Dragon, which has reached the shore and is about to become an ecological destroyer.

Xie Yuan wasn't in a hurry to complete the mission.

He controls the protagonist as he wanders through the jungle.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, leaving patches of light on the ground.

Vines tightly wrapped around moss-covered trees, and the bones of many animals could be seen in the gaps.

Upon closer inspection, you can also spot some reptiles, such as lizards, foraging for small insects.

This reptile wasn't so lucky; it was soon swooped down from the sky, its body torn to shreds by sharp talons, and swallowed whole.

As they continued forward, they encountered even more creatures, including the Great Ferocious Jackal Dragon, which Xie Yuan was very familiar with, making him extremely annoyed.

"Hey buddy, you're my defeated foe, aren't you? If I weren't unarmed right now, would I be avoiding your attacks?"

But there was nothing they could do.

That's how the plot was designed.

Xie Yuan could only flee towards the base at full speed, together with the receptionist and the investigation team leader who came to meet them from the investigation base, to evade the pursuit of the ferocious jackal dragon.

[I must say, although this ferocious jackal dragon isn't exactly a tough opponent, the tension it creates is pretty good.]

[I want to beat him up right now! You ferocious jackal dragon? What kind of dragon dares to chase me?]

Before a few comments could even be posted, another earthquake shook the ground.

A nimble yet massive body leaped down from the mountainside.

It has black fur on its back, thick hind legs, a powerful tail, and a gaping maw that inspires fear.

Up close, you can even see individual strands of hair, the lines on the skin, and the scars left from past battles.

"Holy crap! Anjanath!" Xie Yuan's eyes lit up. "This guy's appeared so early? I thought it would be much longer. Hope you can give me a challenge, okay?"

The once arrogant and domineering jackal was no match for the Anjanath. It was instantly killed by the powerful bite force that locked its throat, without any ability to resist.

The battle between the two behemoths kicked up dust, and splinters of wood and broken plant leaves were scattered everywhere.

But taking advantage of this precious time, Xie Yuan and his two companions finally managed to rush through the gate, escaping this thrilling pursuit, and arrived at the first stop of their journey.

Investigation base: Starry Sky.