Pokémon, but cultural invasion.

So when the confused players ran back to the live stream, Qishu had the same reaction.

"Does the streamer know that this game is free?"

"The Gear platform has no bugs, and the game price of 'Star Island Story' is truly zero!"

"I apologize for not understanding Quanshu's performance art in the past!"

Is this guy doing charity work?!

Qi Shu quickly opened the Gear platform, and the game's price was indeed zero.

If a game is of high quality and is also free, its sales will skyrocket.

I heard you can get freebies from these deals, so all sorts of weirdos and freaks are popping up on the Gear platform.

'Has he gone mad? Even if he's rich, he can't spend money like that!'

However, it wasn't completely free as some viewers in the live stream claimed. After the game was launched, Qishu found a payment option in his inbox.

The letter was signed by a wandering merchant, selling a batch of beautiful furniture and plant seeds.

The currency used requires Pokémon to purchase.

She carefully examined every aspect; the furniture was ordinary, and apart from its pretty appearance, it had no other function.

The fruits produced from plant seeds can be sold, and their economic benefits are only slightly higher than those of ordinary crops.

However, the fruit's appearance is eye-catching enough to make it suitable for decoration.

'Will anyone actually buy this?'

For the first time, she questioned Izumi's decision: 'If sales are poor, won't it be difficult to even recoup production costs?'

Chapter 83 Inequality - Read it in seconds!

In this stagnant world, the era of free-to-play games has not yet arrived.

The 888 Fire Kirin that opened Pandora's box did not appear, and the trust between players and game developers did not collapse.

Therefore, initially no players cared about this item-based monetization.

This is just a nicer set of furniture, some plant seeds with collectible value... until it becomes something closely related to each player...

Well, there are no plans to hang Izumi on a street lamp anytime soon.

He designed very restrained paid items, and the purchase channels were kept quite secret.

But even so, it couldn't dampen the players' enthusiasm.

A high-quality game typically costs between 60 and 110 Pokémon.

The paid furniture set in Star Island Story, plus the launch-limited seed, costs a total of 20 Pokémon.

In contrast, many players readily pulled out their wallets without hesitation.

Since the game is free anyway, buying some paid items is like paying for the entrance fee.

Some well-meaning players even felt uneasy about playing Star Island because they weren't used to free-to-play games, so they paid for the entrance fee before they could play with peace of mind.

Qishu is also one of the buyers of paid items.

Of course, her purpose was not simple; she was simply worried that Izumi Shu wouldn't make money with "Star Island," which would cause the next game to be difficult to produce or delayed.

Either way, it would be an intolerable loss for her, who was trying to gain attention by associating with others.

After the game was launched, the live stream lost some viewers, but they were quickly replaced by new viewers.

When it got to 11 p.m., Qi Shu was still able to hold on, but some of the audience couldn't stay awake any longer.

"I encountered a hypnotist streamer who streamed for fifteen hours straight and was as strong as a monster. I couldn't defeat him no matter how hard I tried."

"I can't take it anymore, brothers. I'm out of here. See you tomorrow."

"It's a real treat to watch the live streamer hoeing the field while waiting for the parsnip to mature."

"How come I get more and more energetic the more I play this casual game?"

A casual farming game with a high degree of freedom in building.

Qishu, who was playing this type of game for the first time, got so hooked that he streamed for twenty hours straight before he started to feel sleepy.

At four in the morning, some viewers who went to bed early had already woken up.

To their surprise, they discovered that DianDian's live stream room was not shut down, and QiShu was indeed still streaming.

Compared to when she logged off yesterday, her farm has undergone a complete transformation.

"I've noticed that the Pokémon around the farm all have special abilities, and I've gained some understanding of how to utilize those abilities to increase productivity."

Qi Shu looked tired, but her emotions remained excited. She introduced, "Please follow my perspective—"

Ditto is in the upper left corner of the farm, where furnaces are belching black smoke.

Little Charcoal kept spewing flames into the bottom of the furnace, while a Screw Mole was holding a piece of ore nearby.

“I noticed that Little Charcoal’s [Ignition] can burn metal materials, while Screw Mole automatically collects underground ores.”

"If combined with the Qilin Qi's [Classification] special ability, it can achieve the effect of fully automatic generation of metal building materials."

Qilin carried the ore on his back, sifted it, and then transported it to different furnaces.

The solidified metal blocks from molten iron were then lifted by the superhuman strength and carried towards several unfinished buildings.

"The craftsman with the [Construction] trait is responsible for finishing up the materials and making them into all kinds of buildings."

The old construction worker carried a hammer and sledgehammer, striking the building with a clanging sound.

"Of course, all of the above is just one aspect of the Qishu Manor's production line."

Qi Shu chuckled and said, "If you think that Qilin Qi's function is limited to this, then you are wrong."

"Pokémon with the [Scattered] ability will drop all sorts of materials, such as Trapinch's clay, Whimsicott's cotton, Mareep's wool... all of which can be sorted and put into a storage box by Giratina."

"The clay will be sent to the furnace to be fired into bricks, but unfortunately I haven't set up a reasonable production line for cotton and wool yet."

She said regretfully, "I might have a reward if I explore more areas and discover more Pokémon."

The abandoned farm is now a thriving place, just waiting to be equipped with a steam engine and enter the era of industrialization.

Longtime viewers who chose to go to sleep last night were stunned to see this scene when they woke up.

"If you don't understand, just ask: Where did my leisurely farming life go?"

"Your grandfather wanted you to come back and be a farmer, not to exploit Pokémon."

"Stop! This isn't how you play Star Island Story. This has nothing to do with casual games anymore!"

"Are your Pokémon really working voluntarily?"

She was trying to share her understanding of the game with good intentions, but the comments section said she was making Pokémon work like slaves.

Qishu said innocently, "I didn't force any Pokémon. It's just that everyone likes me so much. They're doing this for the farm voluntarily, okay?"

She sighed and said solemnly, "Being loved should not be a mental burden."

Two months of working as a second-rate livestreamer have honed Qi Shu's shamelessness to perfection.

After hearing this shameless and invincible statement, even the most indignant audience had no choice but to comply.

"Just forgive her. She played for twenty hours straight, turning a casual game into a corporate slave simulator."

"Host, your assembly line approach is indeed very effective, but what will you do when Miss Officer Jenny comes knocking?"

"You've been streaming for so long, why don't you take a break? Your lips look a little purple."

Qi Shu was watching the comments section closely.

What's with her lips turning purple? That's the color of her lipstick.

Besides, she's always been in excellent health; most people can't outrun her.

However, she was indeed sleepy.

Quanshu really should pay her a salary for streaming the game for twenty hours.

"On our first day at Sing Tao, we completed the planting of crops, the repair of log cabins, and the trial of the assembly line."

"Although I'm a little reluctant to leave, this test is about to end."

Qishu carefully considered his words and recalled, "In terms of gameplay experience, this is a very special game."

"There's no leveling up by fighting monsters, no survival crises, and not even a main storyline."

"But once you start playing, you'll find that this game has a unique charm, and I almost got addicted to it myself."

The barrage of comments was completely stumped.

"Playing for 20 hours straight does not mean I'm addicted."

"Qishu is the most cunning guy. He streams himself playing games all day long, he's really addicted, but he insists he's doing game testing."

"You were almost addicted, I'm too embarrassed to call you out on it."

Seeing the comments on the screen, a embarrassed Qi Shu hurriedly said, "Alright, this game trial is over. Ghana~"

She turned off the camera in the live stream, walked to the window, and pulled back the heavy curtains.

In the city of Niangguang, known as the city that never sleeps, countless lights are extinguished as the sun is about to rise.

The morning light was warm and gentle.

The same rosy morning light shone through the gaps in the curtains onto the floor tiles.

Office workers around the world who had stayed up all night looked up, their faces blank.

What's going on? Why is it already light?

Their memories of the real world are still stuck at 8 pm last night when they started playing "Sing Island Story".

It was like I had a blackout in the middle of it, and when I came to my senses it was already the next morning.

Is this still a casual game?

For a time, office workers all over the world were plunged into self-doubt.

They watched the game live and there were no problems.

So... I was the mole?

Chapter 84 But this is... the mindset of a loser!

The Union Headquarters Building, northwest of Tabletop City, Padiya region.

Aoki frowned slightly.

How could someone be fast asleep before the meeting even starts?

He glanced at the pink-blue-haired girl who had been pressing her head against the conference table, remaining motionless in an odd posture for more than ten minutes.

If it weren't for the faint sound of her breathing, Aoki would have suspected that she had suddenly died.

For office workers, there are always a few cases every year where being too enthusiastic about work leads to unhappiness.

Aoki stretched out his finger and tapped the solid wooden table: "Wake up, Yeci is here."

"Hiss—that was close..."

With astonishing willpower, Qi Shu climbed up from the table, closed his eyes, and said, "It's okay to keep my eyes closed during a meeting, right?"

Aoki didn't say anything more.

So even live streamers suffer from sleep deprivation?

He touched his heavy dark circles, and his lower eyelids were slightly puffy with circles.

My situation is only worse than hers.

Aoki had his hair neatly combed back, his thick eyebrows drooping, and two deep lines pressing between his eyebrows and eyes.

His face was expressionless, only numbness and weariness remained.

...

"To accelerate the industrial transformation and integration in the Padiya region and promote regional economic reform and development, the alliance must attract more talent."