Honkai Impact 3rd: Join Anti-Entropy at the start and dominate the entertainment industry.

Plants vs. Zombies became a hit in less than 12 hours after its release!

Someone recorded Sirin's live stream and posted it online. With Sirin's popularity, plus the participation of Qu Yin and Zhi Yin in the game, the video reached ten million views in just three hours!

In particular, the CG of Sirin's defeat went straight to the top of Pilipili's trending searches!

The images of Xilin, Jiuxiao, and the zombie have been turned into meme material by netizens and spread everywhere. From Xilin's initial arrogance to her later fear and defeat, to Jiuxiao's wicked smile, their memes have appeared in many group chats.

The combination of a game and two beautiful girls cuddling together is incredibly captivating; almost everyone loves watching it.

As a result, discussions about "Plants vs. Zombies" became increasingly heated and quickly became a trending topic on Weibo!

The next day, Bai Qianqu smelled a wonderful aroma early in the morning. When she got up, she found Bronya and Seele busily preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

The bitter aroma of coffee blends perfectly with the wheaty fragrance of bread, creating a delightful and refreshing experience.

Bai Qianqu walked to the dining table and sat down, turning on the TV. The morning news was playing. He looked around but didn't see Hill. Normally, she would be lying on the sofa scrolling through her phone.

Where is Hill?

"Hill went to the door to get the newspaper." Bronya came out carrying a plate of breakfast. "How was your sleep last night?"

"pretty good."

"That's good." Bronya smiled sweetly. "I was worried that you wouldn't be used to living in a new place."

While the two were chatting, the news on TV caught their attention.

The news anchor, holding a press release, smiled and said, "The annual music awards ceremony is about to begin. This year, we are fortunate to have invited several legendary singers to participate. In addition, a series of awards, including Best Song, Best Composer, and Best Singer of the Year, will also be announced."

Bronya watched the TV and muttered to herself, "Is it starting again? I wonder if a new music god will be born this year."

But soon she looked at Bai Qianqu and smiled.

"The music awards also have a Best Dark Horse award, and you're one of the nominees."

Bai Qianqu immediately became interested: "Is there a prize?"

Bronya:

"No, there's only one trophy."

"Is the trophy gold?"

"No, because it's in line with environmental protection, the trophy is made of a metal alloy, which is stainless steel."

Bai Qianqu immediately looked disgusted!

It's supposed to be an international award, yet they used stainless steel for the trophy.

It's really embarrassing.

Moreover, the best dark horse award doesn't have much effect on him. In Bai Qianqu's view, the ultimate goal of the music awards ceremony is to become the best composer.

At this moment, Hill returned with the newspaper. She casually tossed it onto the table and then excitedly said to Bai Qianqu:

"Teacher Bai! Our new game, Plants vs. Zombies, is trending on Weibo!"

"And the number of downloads on the first day also exceeded ten million!"

It's no wonder Hill was so excited; these sales figures are so high that even some big game companies might not be able to sell this many games on their first day.

The last time they made the Houmu game, they didn't even sell 100,000 copies on the first day.

Bai Qianqu was not surprised by the popularity of Plants vs. Zombies.

This game is the god of tower defense; in my past life, almost everyone, regardless of age or gender, had heard of it.

Almost everyone in the younger generation has played it.

The game spread incredibly quickly; if anyone in a school was playing it, the entire school would soon be overrun by it.

There can even be competition within a class; whoever plays well will see their status in the class rise rapidly.

The secrets to this game's success lie in its unique game design, simple and easy-to-learn controls, rich and diverse game content, relaxed and enjoyable game atmosphere, and extensive social features.

"not bad."

Bai Qianqu nodded in satisfaction. With over 10 million downloads, and each game selling for 6 yuan, that's 60 million!

Moreover, this game was released through Bai Qianqu's [miHoYo] account, so the platform's commission was not much, meaning that most of the revenue went into his own pocket!

However, these funds do not belong entirely to Bai Qianqu, but to the entire studio.

These funds will come in handy when it comes to making the next game.

Of course, Bronya wasn't stingy. Although she hadn't received the money from selling the game yet, she took out a sum of money out of her own pocket as a share of the profits for everyone involved in the game's production. Bai Qianqu received the most because he also took a share for Zhiyin.

The two of them together have a total of more than two million!

Selling 60 million units, but only one person receives a little over a million in dividends; it seems very unethical.

But that's not actually the case. As a small studio, most of these funds are invested in the next game. And generally speaking, the cost of making a game is not low, so the net income is not that much.

Chapter 297 The Reality of Parasitism!

However, Plants vs. Zombies is an exception; the game's production cost was less than two million.

It can be said to be a truly low-budget game!

Tencent's last release, Counter-Strike, had a production cost of 3 million!

When placed side by side, their sizes are completely incomparable.

Of course, the reason why Plants vs. Zombies had such a low cost was mainly because Bai Qianqu didn't receive any money.

That's right, the game's design, music, and art were all done free of charge.

And the little rabbit doesn't get a salary either.

This directly reduced costs significantly.

Seeing the success of "Plants vs. Zombies," Tencent's CEO, Mr. Ma, was green with envy.

Their game "Counter-Strike Online" has only sold a little over two billion yuan so far, relying on paid items and VIP memberships!

It seems like a lot more than the 60 million from Plants vs. Zombies, but compared to the return on investment, it's less than 10 times! Plants vs. Zombies, on the other hand, has a return on investment of 30 times!

And it's a single-player game!

It's so uncomfortable!

"Mihoyo! It's that Mihoyo account again. So he's in cahoots with Houmu Studio!"

Old Ma gritted his teeth. He had been investigating this miHoYo, but hadn't found anything.

Now that he has learned that the other party has actually joined the opposing team, how could he not be furious?

But it was just impotent rage.

After a moment of anger, he quickly calmed down.

"This Plants vs. Zombies game doesn't seem too difficult to make. Maybe I can learn a thing or two and make a Penguin vs. Zombies game?"

At the same time, Seele also posted a concept explanation about "biochemical infection" on the official Weibo account of [Houmu Studio], explaining in detail how "zombies" are infected and manipulated by the virus.

Of course, Bai Qianqu didn't say much, only briefly mentioning that these zombies were infected by parasites and their behavior was manipulated.

These parasites were created by some mad scientists who wanted to use the virus to control the world.

Finally, he stated that Qian Jian was the one who proposed these concepts, successfully shifting the blame.

At this time, there were more and more comments about Plants vs. Zombies online, especially the new concept of zombie "biochemical virus", which successfully attracted the attention of countless people.

"Zombies are caused by a viral infection? Is that really possible?"

"Being infected by a parasite, becoming a host, and then being controlled—that's terrifying! Just hearing about it sends chills down my spine!"

"Is it really possible to create this kind of virus?"

Can humans also be parasitized?

Can one recover after being parasitized?

"If a biological crisis were to break out in real life, where would one hide to survive?"

"Haha, I'll just hide in the supermarket! Free food and drinks!"

"Wake up, the supermarket is obviously so crowded. If you go in, you'll become a zombie buffet."

As the topic of "parasites infecting humans" intensifies, even government officials have stepped in.

An official media outlet called "Approaching Nature" reposted a post from "Houmu Studio" about "Resident Evil" and wrote an article titled "Parasites? Be careful, it may not be fiction!"

Recently, the concept of "parasites controlling humans" appeared for the first time in a new game called *Plants vs. Zombies*. Many people are very interested in this, and although it's just an idea, cases of "parasites controlling biological behavior" do exist in reality!

For example, a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii can cause dramatic changes in human personality after infection! Research shows that infected women become more enthusiastic, outgoing, and caring; infected men become clumsy and even withdrawn. Both men and women are more prone to feelings of guilt and insecurity after infection. Furthermore, Toxoplasma gondii can alter the personality of mice, causing them to actively seek out cats!

There is another type of parasite called the horsehair worm, which secretes special proteins to control the behavior of mantises, causing them to intentionally jump into the water to commit suicide!

[Actually, there are many more examples; you can find them if you search carefully!]

[It can only be said that Qianjian's theory is not unfounded, but rather based on many real parasite cases, leading to this bold conjecture!]

Humanity's current exploration of nature is only a small fraction of its total potential. The Earth's surface area is 51 billion square kilometers, of which land accounts for approximately 29% and oceans make up 71%. Deep in the deserts, within the Siberian wilderness, within the vast mountain ranges, in the polar regions, and in primeval forests, there are still many places untouched by humankind. It is estimated that nearly half of the landmass remains unexplored. And this is only the surface; our knowledge of the subsurface and the oceans is even more limited. In fact, our understanding of the Earth may be less than our understanding of the Moon.

In places yet to be explored by humans, is there truly a parasite capable of infecting and controlling them? This is a question well worth considering.

However, compared to these undiscovered parasites, we should pay more attention to those that are easily contracted in reality, such as schistosomiasis and roundworms. Below are some ways to avoid or reduce infection.

Although it was a popular science article, it was an official piece, and people were immediately drawn to some of its points.

There is currently no evidence to prove that the parasites in the game do not exist!

In other words, a "biological crisis" might actually happen in the future!

After realizing this, some people felt panicked, but this feeling was quickly replaced by excitement and exhilaration!

Humans fear the unknown, yet they also possess a strong curiosity about it—a phenomenon commonly known as the desire for the unusual.

One of the main reasons people are drawn to apocalyptic scenarios is because they disrupt the peaceful atmosphere and monotonous life of today's society.

For humans living in a period of solar stability, the possibility of witnessing the apocalypse is virtually nonexistent. Therefore, the end of the world, like a prophecy, is filled with magic and allure, irresistible to them. Everyone harbors a degree of violent aesthetics; witnessing the destruction of Earth, where humanity has thrived for thousands of years, is a shock that nothing else can surpass.

As for another reason, perhaps it is that people yearn for a simpler life.

Humans are tribal societies whose original purpose was survival. Today's societies have grown into the massive social groups we know today, and the only way to maintain these groups is by imposing pressure on individuals, such as judicial, administrative, and even peer pressure.

What would the world be like if all this pressure disappeared one day?