Shenzhen City, 17th Floor.
By the window, Bai Zhiyuan’s upper body was bathed in sunlight, her fair face as if illuminated, revealing even the fine fuzz on her cheeks.
She had only splashed some clean water on her face, without any makeup. Her delicate skin was as smooth and tender as that of a high school student.
Today was the day when major game developers would showcase their masterpieces. As the Art Director of Penguin VR, she hadn't rested since the Chinese New Year.
With the game launching today, everyone except the development department had been given a short holiday.
Bai Zhiyuan woke up early, tidied herself up, had a simple breakfast, and went straight to the control room of the BT access pod.
After nearly half a month of research, she was already intimately familiar with the access pod's functions.
Currently, apart from automatically dragging players into the control room, no new capabilities had been developed.
However, Bai Zhiyuan, with her keen senses, was certain that such a complex piece of machinery like the access pod didn't just have this one minor function for its right arm.
Driven by curiosity, she donned the pilot helmet in the control room, found a comfortable posture, and secured herself.
Pilot, BT-7274, Titanfall… her ever-sharp sixth sense told her that these real-world devices were definitely related to the VR game that was about to be released.
Therefore, Bai Zhiyuan directly abandoned the idea of being the first to experience the VR game "Holy War," which she had participated in.
As a member of the art rendering team who had been involved throughout the development, she had some basic understanding of "Holy War's" content.
For the general public, it was definitely above average, on par with most of the company's key projects. In this battle of titans, it could hold its own within her scope of ability.
However, compared to works of this genre, Bai Zhiyuan preferred games with a strong "Lu-style" of emotional torment. If it could deliver some high-quality "stabs," it would be a dream journey.
If those stabs could be seasoned with a bit of salt, she would be ecstatic!
She felt that the previous game, "Wang Daer and the Colossus," didn't deliver enough of a "stab." Clearly, the experimental attempt had fallen short in developing and utilizing VR performance.
This time,
She found the exquisite experience of tasting forbidden fruit for the first time. With high hopes for Lu Li, Bai Zhiyuan stepped into the world of "Titanfall" with a trembling heart.
Accompanied by BT's slightly mechanical prompts, Bai Zhiyuan quickly entered the game.
When she opened her eyes again, she was in a battlefield of gunfire and bullets.
Smoke, war, ruins – a scene of doomsday.
In Bai Zhiyuan's god-like perspective, a brave figure traversed the dust and smoke, accompanied by soaring background music, elegantly dodging dense bullets. Wielding a high-precision weapon, it captivated her gaze.
Most importantly, that person was wearing the same helmet as her in reality!
As the pale blue screen appeared in the helmet, lines of analytical data rapidly emerged before her eyes.
Bai Zhiyuan's breathing quickened.
It turned out that the real-world helmet served such a purpose within the game, creating a sense of reciprocal destiny.
A strong sense of surprise surged within her, a thrill akin to uncovering a mystery and finding its solution.
Now, Bai Zhiyuan was even more eager to see what strange correspondences would occur between BT-7274's appearance later and the real-life full immersion access pod.
As she was lost in her thoughts, a narration appeared:
[On the frontier, in all battles, Pilots are top hunters – agile, fast, keenly observant, resourceful, ruthless, destructive, yet elegant.]
Following the narrator's elegant description, the Pilot, with a slide, easily broke through the enemy's defenses, penetrated deep into enemy territory, and took on ten with the strength of one.
The moment the narration ended, the Pilot had just finished off the enemy squad. With a close-up shot, the Pilot's imposing figure was fully displayed in the player's god-like perspective.
Hiss!
So cool!!
Even for a seasoned player like Bai Zhiyuan, whose heart rarely wavered after witnessing grand spectacles, she couldn't help but exclaim inwardly at this scene.
Meanwhile, Mo Zhi, who was live-streaming, screamed out loud to create a better show effect:
"Absolutely stunning!"
"This opening scene has such high artistic value!!"
Her viewers were already accustomed to this.
'How high?'
'As high as a three or four-story building, perhaps...'
'Uh... although the opening is indeed good, it feels a bit like forced praise... one might think the streamer received sponsorship.'
'Brother, is this your first time watching a stream?'
......
Hearing the real-time barrage of comments, Mo Zhi realized she might have gotten a bit too excited.
She softly explained, "Perhaps there's a subtle difference between the stream footage and the actual experience. In just that moment, the Pilot used several high-tech devices like a dagger akin to the Flying Thunder God, plasma boosters, a light-blast grenade, a high-precision machine gun, and the pilot helmet."
"At the same time, it showcased the numerous exquisite physical abilities of a Pilot, such as speed, strong coordination, and masterful combat skills. Moreover, these seemingly complex actions were executed seamlessly before the narration ended, complementing each other perfectly, which is why I praised its high artistic value."
"I haven't even included the tactile feedback, such as the smell of gunpowder, the impact of air currents, and the sound of bullets whistling past the air."
[The world seen through a Pilot's eyes is different from that of ordinary people; even a wall can be a path to attack.]
As Mo Zhi spoke, the narration continued. The Pilot in her view moved like a nimble rabbit, dancing through various environments, a sharpest blade on the battlefield.
Wherever they went, blood splattered a hundred paces!
Mo Zhi didn't bother explaining further to her viewers because she realized her words were redundant. The game was hundreds of times more exciting and shocking than her explanations.
Even the narration's script was flawlessly integrated into the visuals, like refined poetry, whereas her vulgar descriptions had lowered the prestige of the opening.
[But what differentiates Pilots from all other infantry machines on the battlefield is their relationship with Titans.]
Boom!!
A thunderous roar echoed from the sky as the mecha warrior made its grand entrance.
At this moment, everyone in the livestream room was exhilarated!!
'Holy cow! The mechs actually appeared, not just a promotional hoax!!'
'You can always trust Lingjing... for its budget!'
'Mechs are the romance of men. I'm buying "Titanfall" after work tonight!'
'After work? I can't stand this job for another minute. I quit, I'm going home to pilot a Titan!'
'The brother upstairs has a rather peculiar taste, but it might be worth a try?'
......
As the viewers' discussion veered off course, and they were on the verge of receiving a warning from the supervisor, Mo Zhi quickly intervened.
"Guys, let's not mess around."
"It's the first day of broadcasting in June; getting banned wouldn't be appropriate."
Immediately afterward,
A special notification sound played from the real-time comment feed:
[Supervisor Xiao Wanwan: Mo Zhi, you wouldn't want to get banned, would you?]
The perfectly timed intelligent broadcast added dramatic flair, instantly livening up the stream.
"Damn it!"
"Wanwan, don't mess with me!"
Mo Zhi wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead in mid-air, instantly suppressing the restless crowd, and shouted loudly, "Whoa, look!"
"The Titans are about to show off!!"
......
(Brothers, I think I might have caught it, it's my turn. The car salesman, the friend who gave me a ride, the friend who put a film on my car – they've all swollen up sequentially. I've been running from the toxicity.)
(Yesterday, my throat was dry and itchy, and the right side of my cheek hurt. Today, I have a slight cough. The very back molars on both sides feel like they have countless screws embedded in them; they hurt when I bite down on anything.)
(Besides that, there are no other symptoms. It might be a lazy strain. I just sit in front of the computer and stare blankly; I can't seem to write anything.)