I Can Win!

Chapter 17 I Can Win!

The Exiddi men were quick; in less than five minutes, they had unloaded the game console from the Ford pickup truck.

Once the tarpaulin was removed, the brand-new machine seemed to attract their attention like a magnet.

"Wow! Is this a prototype? They even have a design? This refrigerator's flat design looks so cool!"

"The dark green casing is so shiny? Looks like the spray painting is pretty good!"

"Hey bro, did you draw this white snake? From *Snake Game*? Is this game about snakes?"

Samuel Hawes stood with his hands on his hips, curiously examining the arcade machine Ethan had brought.

In response to his question, Ethan nodded and explained, "Yeah~ As you can see, the game I brought is related to snakes. Or rather, the player plays the role of a snake in the game."

"Oh~Cool~" Pete Kaufman laughed. "Letting players play as snakes? That's a pretty creative idea!"

"And to be honest, Ethan, just by looking at you, I can tell you have a strong commercial mindset."

"Combining appearance and content is a crucial point to grasp when selling machines. A qualified designer should be able to make the machine's functions immediately apparent to the customer! Brother, it seems you have extensive design experience!"

"Really? Thank you."

Ethan smiled and thanked him, while also revealing his work experience without reservation, "because I was still working at Milroyal two weeks ago."

"What?"

Before Ethan could finish speaking, Samuel Hawes, who had been watching the machine from the side, screamed.

"Dude! Can you say that again? Where did you work before???"

"Milohua".

"Oh my God!"

Samuel Hawes's face lit up with surprise, and he reached out his right hand to shake Ethan's.

"Ethan? Ethan Jones, right? Oh! It's so nice to meet you! You might not know, but I'm a huge fan of Professor Bell! His Odyssey was simply a miracle! Compressing a computer to the size of a briefcase and embedding 13 games inside! My God! Professor Ralph Bell's genius is simply divine intervention! Working with him must be a wonderful experience, right? Hmm?"

Ralph Bell was actually the inventor of the world's first home video game console, Odyssey. He created a prototype in 1966 and named it the Brown Box. Milrova was merely the company that invested in manufacturing and distributing the Brown Box. Therefore, in the industry, people respect Ralph Bell for his genius ideas and creativity and regard him as the father of video games.

As for Milrohua?

All capitalists are the same, right?

"I guess so." Ethan, who understood the key point, tilted his head and told a lie.

He also gestured for the other party to look at the game first, saying, "Mr. Hoyce, I'm here today to discuss cooperation with you."

"Okay, okay, okay, cooperate, cooperate, cooperate."

Perhaps because his status as a former Mirova employee was so impressive, Samuel Hawes simply rubbed his hands together and shouted to the employee next to him, "Get me a cable."

At his shout, the employees around him immediately turned around.

A moment later, a circuit extending from inside the warehouse was brought to Samuel Hawes.

I skillfully plugged the arcade machine into the power supply, pressed the power switch on the back, and when the circuit was connected, a "ding-ding-ding-ding" sound effect came out.

The sound startled everyone present.

The next second, almost everyone burst out laughing.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way?" Pete Kaufman sang it out loud.

At the same time, his eyes were filled with curiosity. "Ethan, if I heard correctly, this is 'Jingle Bells,' right? It's a Christmas carol, how come... it's become the background music for a game in your ears?"

This question made Ethan try to remain calm.

Actually, he didn't want to use this song when choosing background music, but unfortunately...

"There's no way around it, because I have neither musical talent nor money. The former prevents me from composing music for games, and the latter forces me to use copyright-free 'Jingle Bells.' After all, hiring professional voice actors in Hollywood to create music is too expensive; it's not something a machine that hasn't even been released yet can afford. So, I can only use this copyright-free music to demonstrate that the machine has this function. But that's not important, right? Because it can be modified."

"Oh! That's a brilliant decision."

Pete Kaufman's lips twitched, and he uttered words against his will.

During their conversation, Samuel Hawes also figured out how to play the Snake game.

He expertly pulled a twenty-five-cent coin from his pocket, decisively inserted it into the coin slot, and after a crisp clink, he stared intently at the screen.

For an experienced player like him, the sudden switch in the game interface meant the start of the game, but when he moved the joystick, he found that the horizontal bar on the screen did not move.

"Is this broken?" Samuel Hawes turned his head in confusion.

"Of course not," Ethan replied.

"But it won't move..." Samuel Hawes continued to move the joystick.

The next second, when he turned his gaze back to the screen, a sound as if he had been electrocuted suddenly appeared.

"Ding ding ding ding!"

The screen vibrates, the game disappears, and the initial screen reappears.

"WTF???" Samuel Hawes exclaimed in shock!

"I lost before I even started?" he asked incredulously.

The people of Exidi who were standing around were also confused about what was going on, and everyone's face showed bewilderment.

That bewildered expression on that face made Ethan laugh. He said, "Mr. Hoyce, I can assure you, there's nothing wrong with my game. If you think it's not right, you can try it again."

Before he finished speaking, Samuel Hawes inserted another coin.

Then, he stared intently at the screen, his eyes wide as big as saucers.

Then he discovered that after the game interface appeared, the bar in the center of the screen would pause for three seconds before moving naturally, and only then would his control be truly effective.

This discovery delighted him, so he manipulated the little snake to wander around haphazardly.

Just as he was pondering how to play this game, the electric shock sound, signifying failure, rang out again.

"Ding ding ding ding!"

"Oh my god! So I can't touch myself!"

This discovery prompted Samuel Hawes to put in another coin.

then……

"Ding ding ding ding!"

He's dead again!

"Damn it!!! And you can't even touch the boundary???"

After inserting coins three times in a row, he finally understood how to control himself to survive in the game.

"But how do you beat the game then?" Samuel Hawes wondered.

"Why don't you try hitting that white dot on the screen with the snake's head?" Pete Kaufman suggested.

"Hit the white dot? Isn't that an obstacle? Hitting it will definitely kill you!"

"But there's nothing to bump into now! If you just keep going like this, do you think you'll ever beat the game?"

"Oh! You idiot! You're doomed if you die!"

At Samuel Hawes's shout, the little snake on the screen crashed into the white dot.

With a snap, the little snake not only didn't die, but actually grew a bit bigger.

Not only that, the 0 in the upper right corner of the screen has also changed to 1.

"Ohhhhhh!!! I understand!"

This fact delighted Samuel Hawes.

"This game is about using a snake to eat white dots! The more you eat, the higher your score! You win when you reach a certain number!"

But unfortunately...

The idea was wonderful, but the reality was harsh.

As Samuel Hawes began to eat voraciously according to his research, the snake on the screen grew longer and longer, eventually reaching speeds of 10, 20, and 30.

The sudden surge in growth rate caused the snakes under Samuel Hawes's command to die one after another.

His eyes were bloodshot as he gripped the joystick!

"Oh! Samuel! You lost again! You're really terrible! Let me do it!"

After watching for a while and finding it interesting, Pete Kaufman wanted to try it out.

"No! I refuse to believe I can't clear the level today!"

Samuel Hawes refused to back down.

"Even if you manage to beat the game today, you have to let me play first! You've already played several rounds in a row, bro!"

Pete Kaufman got a little itchy and started pushing his way into the machine.

"Oh! Pete! Please give me one more chance! Just one last time! I swear! Please!"

however--

When Game Over appeared on the screen again, Samuel Hawes showed no sign of backing down, angrily reaching into his pocket, wanting to play one more time.

Then, he found nothing.

"What a load of crap!" This fact made him curse.

Then, while protecting the joystick with one hand, he roared, "Quick, quick, give me some coins!"

The subordinates who received the order immediately turned around.

But Pete Kaufman was furious.

"Samuel!!!" he shouted, "You should let me have it!"

"I'm getting into it! I can win!" Samuel Hawes clutched the joystick, unwilling to let go.

"But you just said it was the last time!" Pete Kaufman shouted.

"Really? I don't remember."

Samuel Hawes blinked as if he had lost his memory.

He looked completely innocent.

"Fxxxxxxx!" Pete Kaufman roared.

Ethan Jones witnessed the two men's screams.

He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the car, a smile on his face.

He likes this kind of scene!

I prefer the captivating magic of Snake!

Because all of this means—

Mane!

Thank you to [Book Friend 20170708061439846] for the 100 Qidian Coins reward, and thank you all for your votes.

Note: ① Ralph Bell: One of America's most outstanding inventors, he had more than 5 patents in his lifetime, and the vast majority of them were practical, commercial, or even world-changing. Surgical cutting machines, hair removal devices, and muscle therapy devices were all invented by him. In addition, he also invented electronic greeting cards, the submarine radar system used by the U.S. military, the Saturn V space camera and the Apollo 11 moon landing camera, as well as the Simon Gaming toy that Hasbro has been selling for forty years and is still selling today. Video games are just one of the more famous of his inventions, because his other inventions are more widespread.

(End of this chapter)