The world is in trouble

Chapter 250 Crushing Strike! A Devastating Strike!
Faced with Liao Feng's anger, Wu Lingxi remained silent, simply staring at him without moving.

Gradually, Liao Feng calmed down.

"At least discuss it with me first," Liao Feng said gently. "Wouldn't it be better if we discussed it and then made a decision together?"

For some reason, Wu Lingxi now particularly dislikes hearing the word "discuss".

Because Liao Feng is too shrewd, once the negotiation begins, even if it's for the company's good, you have to pay a price to get him to agree to any conditions.

He always manages to use persuasive language to make what should have been the right thing to do seem like a sacrifice on his part, making you feel indebted to him.

Therefore, Wu Lingxi instinctively resisted.

After a long pause, Wu Lingxi said, "Let's discuss these things after Yang Zhiyuan and Son Zhengyi's visit, and after we've secured the investment, okay?"

Liao Feng: "Of course!"

"Of course!"

He gave Wu Lingxi a smile, trying his best to be gentle.

........................

This temporary service shutdown has once again generated a huge number of complaints.

The gaming community is filled with complaints again.

However, everyone at the top knew that they had escaped a disaster this time.

Fortunately, this serious bug was discovered within two hours of its appearance, and the servers were immediately shut down for repair. If it had taken five or six days to be discovered, like last time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Let's not even talk about the data rollback.

The key point is that it could really have a devastating impact on the entire game.

Because what is the ultimate goal of players in this game? Isn't it to obtain the best equipment? Once this top-tier equipment can be directly copied, it's like instantly exhausting all the game's potential, and players will no longer have any goal to strive for.

At that point, even rolling back the data wouldn't help.

Therefore, the Perfect World game operations team has a feeling of surviving a disaster.

Liao Feng was well aware of this. If he continued with his previous style of doing things, using force and oppression and firing people at the drop of a hat, the consequences would be unimaginable.

This time, it was Wu Lingxi who stepped in and saved the game.

However, after a series of setbacks, the number of online players for "Perfect World" has dropped from a peak of 35 to around 18, but this is still a very successful result.

"We must find a way to get the number of online players back to over 200,000," Liao Feng said. "Although 180,000 is already a great success, it's still not impressive enough compared to Masayoshi Son and Yang Zhiyuan."

Renren.com does have some tricks up its sleeve when it comes to stimulating online users.

For example, distributing game cards, giving away in-game items, or organizing large-scale events can all boost the number of online users.

After all, this game is quite engaging, and players have already invested about twenty days of time and effort into it.

Wu Lingxi: "Wait a minute."

"Today, 'Zhu Xian' will begin its closed beta test. Let's see how their game performs before deciding on the intensity of the game's activities."

"But Mr. Liao is right. When Masayoshi Son and Jerry Yang visit Renren.com, we must show them the most successful data."

..........................................

The closed beta test for "Zhu Xian" officially started around 14 PM.

A total of 5000 places are available.

These players had downloaded the game well in advance, and many even waited in front of their computers for two hours beforehand.

Li Qing, the lead planner of "Perfect World", along with the core members of the team, and even Wu Lingxi and others, were sitting in front of their computers waiting for the server to open.

In fact, the entire Renren Group was very curious and puzzled as to why Lin Xiao was so patient.

"Zhu Xian" started development more than two years ago, and the cost, manpower, and time invested far exceeded those of "Perfect World", so its completion level is definitely higher.

Therefore, if Lin Xiao wanted to, he could launch the open beta before Perfect World.

However, he did not do that, but instead allowed Perfect World to preemptively snatch the title and take away the banner of the first domestic 3D game.

at last……

It was two o'clock in the afternoon.

Wu Lingxi logged into the game almost immediately because her computer had extremely high specifications and her network environment was excellent.

No account creation is required; you can log in directly with your Facebook account.

However, once you enter the game, you need to go through the character customization process.

Moreover, the level of character customization is extremely high, completely different from other games of the same period.

But at this moment, Wu Lingxi really didn't have the patience to customize her character's appearance. Instead, she randomly selected an avatar and entered the game.

Immediately afterwards...

It's a three-minute-long CG sequence.

A moment...

Wu Lingxi was stunned.

The quality of this CG is simply amazing.

It could almost be used directly as an animated film.

The grand scale and the realistic animal fur effects.

The character's facial expression.

A scene of the sky collapsing and the earth splitting open.

It's absolutely epic.

Both the visuals and the voice acting are epic.

It really is like watching a fantasy blockbuster.

Lin Xiao, are you crazy? Spending money on this place... do you really think you're Blizzard?
As everyone knows, Blizzard's greatest strength isn't in making games, but in making CG animations.

For every generation of World of Warcraft, players eagerly anticipate its trailers. Even before the game's closed beta, these CG trailers are already circulating widely. And it's not just World of Warcraft; the CG trailers for Warcraft and StarCraft are also fantastic.

But the most stunning was World of Warcraft; these CG trailers amazed countless players worldwide.

Even people who don't play World of Warcraft were deeply moved by these promotional videos.

"Well said, but it's meaningless!"

"You are asking for your own death!"

"On the day you were born, the entire forests of Lordaeron whispered this name: Arthas."

These classic lines are also very familiar to everyone.

Lin Xiao almost replicated this fighting style in "Zhu Xian", and there are three large-scale CG animations in the game.

These three large-scale CG sequences alone cost tens of millions!

Of course, this is certainly not comparable to the $2000 million cost of Wrath of the Lich King.

But this cost is absolutely unprecedented in the domestic game industry, and it's even incredibly high on a global scale.

Even Wu Lingxi, who had played World of Warcraft, was still amazed.

At that time, almost all players in China had never played World of Warcraft, nor had they experienced such a visually stunning experience.

A moment...

Players who participated in the closed beta were completely stunned and amazed by the opening CG animation.

It even gave me a creepy feeling.

I am!

This CG animation completely blows away countless animated films.

The texture, the visuals, the epic feel.

The depiction of the fantasy world of immortals and heroes is especially stunning.

Lin Xiao rejected the script and storyboard for this CG again and again, almost driving the art team at Lightning Games to their wits' end.

Because he had actually eaten coarse grains, his standards were particularly high.

It is extremely difficult to fully depict the world described in a book on a screen.

World of Warcraft has succeeded in this regard, and another show that has done it very well is Game of Thrones.

But what amazed Lin Xiao the most was "The Elden Ring," whose world was truly the best of all fantasy worlds. It perfectly presented the world described in the book, and even exceeded his imagination.

For example, the map of the Eternal City in the Underworld, or the map of the world of Crimson Corruption, really gave Lin Xiao a huge sensory impact at the time.

Through round after round of rejections, and with each person proposing their desired visuals and world, and in collaboration with the company's best art designers, the storyboards for these CG scenes were finally finalized.

It brings the fantasy world of "Zhu Xian" to life. (Similar to the fantasy of "Black Myth: Wukong," even more brutal.)
Currently, many players' concept of the graphics of Xianxia games almost entirely comes from the single-player game "The Legend of Sword and Fairy," which is not to say that it is bad.

Rather, it's that these games all share a drawback: their excessive pursuit of beautiful visuals and an ethereal, otherworldly feel leads to a loss of realism, especially the feeling of two-dimensional characters.

Even the later version of JX3 (Swordman Online 3) was like this.

Even the later "Sixteen Sounds of Yanyun" is still like this.

Black Myth: Wukong is definitely one of the few games that has truly broken free from the artificiality of this kind of Eastern aesthetic.

Of course, it's difficult for Lightning Games' "Zhu Xian" to completely escape this false sense of beauty.

But at least, it will take us a step closer to reality.

In the CG, the sense of grandeur, darkness, fear, and epic scale is even more prominent.

Therefore, the impact it brought was unparalleled.

After watching the three-minute CG, Wu Lingxi was still not satisfied and even wanted to watch it again.

She even paused the game.

He was in a daze for a while.

Why didn't Lin Xiao release such stunning CG and such a breathtaking opening video before?

It's already on YouTube and Renren Video.

Once this CG is released, it will immediately shock the entire gaming industry and amaze countless players.

In fact, this CG alone could allow us to reclaim the title of the number one domestically produced 3D game.

But Lin Xiao didn't do that; it was as if he wanted to give all the surprises to the players at once.

After entering the game.

Wu Lingxi then discovered that this... didn't seem like an online game at all.

It's more like a AAA single-player game.

In a normal online game, once you enter the starting area, you're guaranteed to find it packed with players, each with all sorts of names above their heads.

This certainly gives a sense of prosperity, but... it also gives a sense of absurdity.

For nearly an hour after the start of "Zhu Xian", you can't even see other players; it's completely like a single-player game.

It's all about getting you into the game's world, into the story, and into the world's lore.

The plot of the mission in the previous hour was also full of twists and turns, and very exciting.

The script is ingeniously crafted.

This is completely different from all current games, even from World of Warcraft.

It's even more extreme than World of Warcraft.

That extreme sense of immersion, and the construction of the entire worldview.

This is a tragic and terrifying world.

It takes a full hour of playing the prequel story before you actually enter the starting village.

Wu Lingxi even forgot what she came here for, and instead became completely absorbed in the game.

Until the prefix quests are completed and you enter the starting village.

Then, she began to observe the task models, buildings, landscapes, plants, and so on.

No better than not knowing.

In comparison.

The graphics of Perfect World were originally quite good, but... compared to Jade Dynasty, the gap is really too big.

Wu Lingxi even asserted that the visuals of "Zhu Xian" were even more stunning than those of "World of Warcraft".

This is not to say that Blizzard's technology is bad, but rather that Blizzard has to weigh the pros and cons and try to accommodate as many players as possible.

But Lightning Games seems to be different; it strives for perfection, seemingly unconcerned that many players can't run the game due to insufficient hardware. It even disregards the fact that many internet cafes' computers struggle to run the game smoothly.

It's all about showing off skills.

Therefore, it is almost completely different from the original "Zhu Xian".

Its overall structure is actually the same as World of Warcraft.

It boasts a vast world view, an extremely rich plot and text, and many bizarre worlds.

In some ways, it even transcends the plot structure of the original work.

It has undergone a certain upgrade in terms of worldview.

However, it won't be as long as World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft has over a dozen expansions, while Jade Dynasty will only have a maximum of five!

And at the climax, it will deliver a stunning ending.

Yes, even online games need an ending.

................................................

About two hours later!
When Li Qing and the others arrived at Wu Lingxi's office, their faces were ashen and dejected.

"Mr. Wu, they are products of a completely different era."

"Whether it's the visuals, the world-building, or the script, the game's structure is from a completely different era."

"I fucking think that Er Gou doesn't want to make a game at all; he wants to create a world. He's aiming for the ninth art."

"He didn't even think about how long the game would last. He just crammed all the good stuff into it. I just focused on making this version of the game good. I didn't care about what to do later or how to improve it. I didn't care about the future. I just wanted to do it to the best of my ability right now."

"No wonder it took more than two years to complete, no wonder the budget more than doubled, no wonder they invited the EPIC team, the Ubisoft team, and others to provide support."

"He doesn't even care how many players won't be able to play."

"Anyone with a normal sense of aesthetics can clearly see that these two games are not even in the same league."

"Who dares to compete with China's number one 3D game? If we rashly try to seize this title, we'll only be inviting humiliation!"

"He was only after World of Warcraft; he had no intention of competing with us."

Wu Lingxi said slowly, "I understand. Go and report to General Manager Liao."

Then, she sat quietly in front of the computer without saying a word.

This is yet another instance of her thinking being subverted.

She had always thought that the world was commercial and capitalist.

So-called products are all just a game of capital.

There is nothing that capital cannot do; capital is supreme.

So she forcibly merged Renren.com through capital maneuvering. By leveraging capital, she maximized Renren.com's traffic.

They then used capital to snatch "Perfect World" from someone else and released it ahead of time, thus hijacking "Zhu Xian".

Lin Xiao's approach, on the other hand, prioritizes both product quality and content.

So-called capital serves the product and the content entirely. Whether it makes money or not, I don't know.

But the things I make have to be awesome.

In fact, Wu Lingxi was already starting to doubt herself in the competition between Facebook and Renren.

This time, the doubts are even more thorough.

Is the path I've chosen really the right one?

Capital supremacy or product supremacy – which is the true path to success?
Of course, regardless of right or wrong, do I really have a chance to start over?

................................................

Li Qing arrived at Liao Feng's office.

"You don't need to tell me how good or awesome 'Zhu Xian' is. I know it, I've seen it, I have good taste."

"Just tell me straight, how much of an impact will this have on our Perfect World?"

Li Qing was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "President Liao, what I'm about to say may be politically incorrect."

"Most people in this world are idiots."

"Most players can't actually enjoy overly advanced games."

"So as long as we cater to the majority of idiots, our game will still be successful."

"However, in terms of reputation, we will be completely crushed."

Liao Feng: "I don't care about fame, I only care about commercial success."

Li Qing: "World of Warcraft uses a time-based subscription model, and so does Jade Dynasty. Let these two games fight it out."

"We adopt a free-to-play system, with in-game items that require payment, allowing players to spend money."

"As long as you cater to the emotions of many players, you can still make a lot of money."

“We let them upgrade, we let them have fun, instead of… showing a world to others.”

"And... don't worry about the ninth art."

Liao Feng: "Nonsense, of course I wouldn't care about some bullshit ninth art?"

..........................................

That same day!

Almost all gaming forums were in an uproar.

Even the chat area within the game "Perfect World" exploded.

"Damn, that's a masterpiece!"

"Damn, the first three minutes of CG animation completely blew me away. It was so unexpected, it just suddenly appeared in front of me."

"He peed all over my diaper."

"That's awesome."

"Games can be done like this? Can anyone tell me how much that animation cost?"

"It cost tens of millions. The script and storyboard alone took several months to develop, and we even hired an overseas team to help with the production. Lightning Group was making the animated film 'Kung Fu Panda,' so they assembled a team early on and started by collaborating on this CG animation."

"There were several dozen people involved, and it took about a year and a half."

"Can someone tell me, is this still an online game? I'm young and inexperienced, why couldn't I see any other players for the first hour? And do online games even have such an awesome storyline and such awesome text?"

"I never pay attention to the storyline when I play games, but... for a whole hour, it taught me a lesson about life and how to be a player."

Has anyone played World of Warcraft? Is it really that awesome?

"Damn it, even though I'm not very knowledgeable, I can still tell that compared to others, Renren Games' Perfect World is a pile of crap!"

"No, no, Perfect World was pretty good at the beginning, but... it's still a typical online game after all. It's just that Jade Dynasty is too awesome."

Although there were 5,000 participants in the closed beta test, its reputation exploded online in a short period of time.

If we say that "The Last Days" received the same treatment as "The Wandering Earth"...

The game "Zhu Xian" also enjoyed a lot of the same treatment as "Black Myth: Wukong".

However, by the time of "Black Myth: Wukong," Chinese single-player games had fallen far behind the rest of the world. Countless players had already seen a great deal and played many world-class AAA titles.

In 2005.

Domestic players haven't seen much of the world yet; they've been immersed in 2D online games for years, and more importantly, they haven't played World of Warcraft.

So this wave of impact is quite significant.

Moreover, compared to "JX3", "Zhu Xian" has a natural advantage in terms of world view.

JX3 is, after all, a martial arts world, so there isn't much room for creative expression, and therefore the visual impact isn't that great.

When Lin Xiao played World of Warcraft, his favorite thing to do was to ride a flying mount and explore the whole world.

Especially in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, he flew to Icecrown Citadel time and time again, deeply feeling his own insignificance and experiencing the magnificent architecture and awe-inspiring presence.

While playing Elden Ring, I experienced a magnificent and bizarre world time and time again, and felt even more deeply my own insignificance.

Therefore, throughout the game, it highly values ​​the visual impact and epic feel.

And this pursuit of his was a constant throughout the game.

This magnificent, bizarre, and magical world can only be presented in "Zhu Xian".

His next Fallout 3, which is even more spectacular, won't have the opportunity to showcase this kind of spectacle, but its world-building will be even more top-notch.

..........................................

Although there are still many online players on the Perfect World side.

Liao Feng even launched the first major game event in a grand and spectacular manner.

Although the closed beta test for "Zhu Xian" only had 5,000 participants.

However... Perfect World has completely lost its momentum.

Almost everyone agrees that "Zhu Xian" completely crushes "Perfect World," and there's no need for comparison; it wins in every aspect.

Not only do all the players think so, but even the top executives of Renren Group think so. They silently removed all the promotional slogans for the "first domestic 3D game" and "national game".

No more sentimentality.

All they care about is making money.

On the evening of May 16th, and early tomorrow morning, Masayoshi Son and J.W. Yang will be visiting Shanghai.

Then Lin Xiao sent a text message.

"Let's have one last talk, see you at the usual place?"

Wu Lingxi did not reply.

But at 8 p.m., she and Lin Xiao appeared at the restaurant at almost the same time.

Then, the two remained silent for a long time.

"Have you launched a fatal attack on Perfect World?" Wu Lingxi asked.

Lin Xiao: "No."

Wu Lingxi: "Why? I don't believe you don't have any means of attack."

Lin Xiao: "No reason."

Then, the two fell silent.

Lin Xiao suddenly said, "Your Renren.com is inflating its traffic. Even if you do it very cleverly, and you sponsor the CCTV Spring Festival Gala on a large scale to bring the traffic to its peak, it directly covers up the fact that Renren.com has declined before."

Wu Lingxi: "You're so clever, you're as cunning as a devil!"

After she finished speaking, she realized that her tone was off.

Lin Xiao: "You threw away that SIM card?"

Wu Lingxi: "I can throw it away whenever I want."

Then, the two fell silent again.

Wu Lingxi: "Say something! You're usually so talkative and adept at sexual harassment, but why can't you speak properly when we're face to face?"

Lin Xiao: "You've become an idiot."

Wu Lingxi: "Tell me honestly, has Facebook's traffic surpassed that of Renren?"

Lin Xiao: "You surpassed us more than half a month ago, and even after YouTube split up, you still surpassed us. It's just that later you spent a lot of money sponsoring a lottery during the Spring Festival Gala, which boosted your traffic and made you surpass us again. Then you boosted your traffic to cover up the decline, so your apparent data is still very prosperous and you still surpass us, Facebook."

Wu Lingxi: "You must possess a deadly weapon to attack 'Perfect World,' right? 'Perfect World' is just a half-finished product, riddled with flaws. Why don't you attack it? Why don't you expose our Renren.com traffic manipulation?"

Lin Xiao remained silent.

Wu Lingxi: "Talking is so annoying!"

Lin Xiao: "I want you to join me, but I want you to join in glory, not to flee in disgrace. I want you to make your own choices at the peak of your career, not to be left with no way out!"

Wu Lingxi raised her voice: "Naive, childish, soft-hearted, they will die!"

"Is this a business war, or child's play?"

"Have you finished speaking?"

"goodbye!"

Wu Lingxi stood up abruptly, didn't eat a single bite of food, and turned to leave.

He rushed into the car.

"Go back to the company, get out of here right away!" After giving the order, Wu Lingxi instinctively clutched her heart.

Then close your eyes and breathe heavily.

After a long while, she opened her bag, inside which was a voice recorder that recorded the entire conversation.

I put on my headphones and listened to the entire conversation again.

The original intention was to record Lin Xiao's flaws and weaknesses.

However, after thinking for a while, she began to delete the recordings, even the part where Lin Xiao indirectly admitted to sexual harassment, she deleted it all, leaving only the last sentence.

"I want you to join me, but I want you to join in style, not flee in disgrace. I want you to make your own choices at the peak of your career, not when you're left with no way out!"

Then, for some inexplicable reason, she listened to it over and over again.

........................

Inside the Lightning Corporation!
Lin Xiao took out a voice recorder and pressed the play button.

His entire conversation with Wu Lingxi was recorded.

After hearing this, Xia Xi immediately threw a punch and cursed, "You dog of a man."

"That's why I never fall in love. Between men and women, falling in love means losing!"

Damn it, you, Xia Xi, devised the whole plan, and now you're attacking me?
Because in this conversation, Lin Xiao didn't reveal many flaws, but Wu Lingxi revealed a fatal flaw.

Because she almost indirectly admitted that Renren.com was manipulating traffic, and she also personally admitted that Facebook's traffic exceeded that of Renren.com.

They even said things like "Perfect World" is only a half-finished product, full of flaws.

Because these things don't require evidence, as long as Wu Lingxi tacitly agrees, it's not necessary to expose them online, but rather to let Sun Zhengyi and Yang Zhiyuan hear them.

Moreover, the Lightning Group had already prepared the deadly cheat for "Perfect World" and was ready to deploy it at any time.

Even the source code for "Perfect World" and the setup of private servers are ready.

With a single move, Perfect World could be brought to the brink of annihilation.

But Lin Xiao did not lie to Wu Lingxi. Up to now, the Lightning Group has not launched a fatal attack on Perfect World.

Several serious bugs were discovered by the players themselves; it was the game itself that was flawed, and had nothing to do with Lin Xiao.

Moreover, weren't Lin Xiao and Wu Lingxi's words also their true intentions?

Prepare for the worst, but strive for the best.

"We still can't pin our hopes on Wu Lingxi; that's absurd," Lin Xiao said. "She's entirely driven by self-interest. We can only hope for her, but we shouldn't count on her!"

Xia Xi: "You dog of a man!"

....................................

Wu Lingxi remained awake well into the night.

At around 2:30 a.m., she sent a text message.

"You have one last thing to say."

The reply came quickly: "Honey, the path you're on isn't happy!"

Wu Lingxi sent a text message: "Naive. I only feel happy when I defeat you. Do you think you're a three-year-old? Happy? In the adult world, there's only profit and success or failure!"

However, she didn't send it; instead, she deleted it directly.

Why should I argue with him?

Xia Xi put away her phone in bed and went to sleep.

I'll curse that dog of a man again.

Because it was Xia Xi who was playing this game from beginning to end.

During that year, she also invested her emotions and gradually came to regard Wu Lingxi as her younger sister again.

………………

That night, Liao Feng and the entire senior management of Renren Group lived in constant fear.

Because Masayoshi Son and J.Y. Yang are visiting tomorrow, I'm really afraid that something fatal might happen again.

but……

All night without incident.

The following morning, Liao Feng and Wu Lingxi, dressed in their finest attire, rode in a Rolls-Royce and a convoy of luxury cars to the airport.

Around noon.

Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group, Jerry Yang of Yahoo! Group, and their professional teams, totaling more than twenty people, landed at PD Airport in a large private jet.

A long red carpet was laid out.

Liao Feng and Wu Lingxi, along with Renren Group, and other internet tycoons and major shareholders from the entire faction, were all present to welcome them.

Moreover, department leaders from Shanghai were also present to greet them.

The entire ceremony was very grand.

More than three television stations followed the entire process from beginning to end.

After getting off the plane, Yang Zhiyuan and Son Zhengyi went to relevant departments in Shanghai immediately to hold talks with higher-level leaders.

Liao Feng and Wu Lingxi accompanied them throughout the entire process.

During the meeting, both Masayoshi Son and Jerry Yang stated that China's internet industry has demonstrated tremendous vitality, and that both SoftBank Group and Yahoo! Group regard the Chinese market as their most important global market and will engage in in-depth cooperation with China's best internet companies to establish strategic partnerships.

Half past four in the afternoon.

The luxurious motorcade arrived at the office building where Renren Group is located.

Two international giants officially visited Renren Group.

........................

Note: Finished writing! I'm begging for your monthly votes, thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)