Pokémon, but cultural invasion.

"Talent recruitment programs open to all regions..."

The meeting chaired by Ye Ci has concluded.

Aoki left with his briefcase, without any hesitation.

As he walked out of the headquarters building, he glanced at his watch—he had already worked a total of 22 hours of overtime this week.

That's good, two hours less than last week.

Aoki randomly picked a restaurant in Takakichi to have dinner, and the wait for his food was one of the few times he could get some rest.

He opened the video platform, but there was nothing he particularly wanted to watch. He just wanted to scroll through something to clear his mind and kill time.

Good games can heal a weary soul.

"A small overseas island in Hoenn, a love letter from Izumi to the modern-day office worker."

"A heretical strategy I've developed: Fishing without farming on Star Island, and stealing my friends' crops like crazy!"

"New Islander Onboarding Guide: Ten Essential Things Every Beginner Should Know!"

Beware of the "friends expansion trap"—the person they're interested in might not be you as a person, but rather your type!

Aoki discovered that his Pikachu homepage had recently been taken over by a dual-platform game called "Star Island Story".

"I haven't played games in years, but the platform's big data algorithm is still recommending them to me..."

The last time he played games was during his student days.

After graduating and starting work, I simply didn't have time to leisurely play games, let alone the extra energy to spend on them.

Fishing, farming, and bug catching: Live stream of games by DianDian streamer

The title of the next video that appeared made Aoki chuckle to himself.

Real life is tiring enough, who would want to farm in a game?

However, the host on the video cover looked very familiar; it was his colleague, Kiki, the owner of the Brewing Museum.

Out of curiosity, Aoki clicked on the video.

He quickly watched the five or six-minute clip of the live stream.

There is no main storyline, no plot, and not even any missions.

He remarked that games today have evolved to the point of simplification and a return to basics.

After the video ended, more game-created content was recommended.

Recently, the popularity of the game section on Pikachu is truly remarkable.

When did this situation begin?

Aoki recalled that it was about two months ago, and it seemed to be related to a newly established game company.

The games produced by this company seem to be pretty good, which has sparked quite a bit of discussion in the gaming community.

Even old friends from the game sent him messages asking if he would be online.

Aoki chuckled self-deprecatingly. Even if he had the idea of ​​returning, he didn't have the time or energy to put it into action.

He did not eat at his favorite Jin Hui Zhen Bao Restaurant as usual.

Instead of having to eat slowly, Aoki got home earlier than usual.

He glanced at the computer in the corner; the fan, which hadn't been turned on for a long time, was covered in dust.

Lying in bed, Aoki recalled that clip from the live stream once again.

He's a remnant of the old era and can't figure out what this new game wants players to do or what it's trying to express.

Based on his understanding of games, Star Island Story was undoubtedly a failure.

It lacks daily tasks to guarantee daily active users, an excellent plot with subtle foreshadowing, and captivating characters.

But for some reason... the image of that lush green farm appeared in Aoki's mind.

It is precisely because there is nothing there that it floats and sinks in the empty mind.

If it were filled with a grand narrative, a dramatic main storyline, and a complex background like other games, Aoki wouldn't have thought of it.

This game has no pre-game storyline, and planting a few vegetables won't take much time.

The gameplay is simple: open, plant crops, close.

You can start and stop at any time without worrying about how long it will be before your next trip, because the island is always there.

Aoki opened his eyes; he had several tens of minutes more than usual today.

Since it's been lingering in my mind, why not give it a try?

Perhaps the mystery will be dispelled after you actually experience it?

Thinking of this, he got out of bed.

The blue light representing the power supply lit up, the fan whirred and whirred, and the long-dormant engine began to roar.

...

As an adult, Aoki was very restrained.

After playing for about fifty minutes, he turned off his computer, making sure it wouldn't affect his work the next day.

The game's appeal exceeded his expectations; he had thought he would get bored while playing it.

But it didn't.

Playing aimlessly and haphazardly rekindled Aoki's passion for games.

If he didn't have to go to work the next day, he probably would have continued playing.

However, the patience and restraint of an adult allowed Aoki to postpone the game time.

Before going to bed, he was still thinking that the harvest of this batch of mixed seeds could buy some paint.

Once the farm fence is repaired, painting it with a layer of white paint will make it look even better.

...

"...I got a lecture from my boss again today."

Aoki is an employee of the Pokémon League's sales department, but his performance is not good.

In a sales department where performance speaks for itself, it's normal to be reprimanded by your superiors occasionally.

That's right, in our Padiya Alliance, where wolf-like culture is prevalent.

Because the other party is the head of Jin Hui Dojo, a Flying-type Elite Four member in training, and suffers from chronic sleep deprivation, resulting in a worrying mental state...

If scolding someone might lead to their death, does that mean we shouldn't do it?

But that's... a useless mindset!

Exhausted, Aoki, a corporate slave, returned home after finishing his meal.

A slight smile appeared on his face as he sat down at the computer.

"Finally, I can play again."

But when he logged in, he found a string of footprints at the entrance of his farm.

Aoki suddenly had a bad feeling.

He opened the game log.

[At 2:10 AM on the 30th, the "Buried Electric Frog" sneaked around.]

[At 5:30 PM on the 31st, the "Buried Electric Belly Frog" sneaked around.]

Both batches of crops, which matured at different times, were tragically killed.

"That brat..."

Veins bulged on his face: "Uncle, I'm really angry now!"

Aoki's back, which had been bent over all day, finally broke when he logged into the game.

Chapter 85 Boss, let's make another comeback!

"Because of work and life pressures, I haven't played games for a long time. It's not just that I don't have time, I've also lost interest in games."

I once thought this situation would continue throughout my life, until I saw this game.

...

The creators really stripped away any design elements that might make me anxious, creating a fantasy island that is completely free of worries and operates in sync with the real world.

"Thanks to Quanshu and his studio, I may not be young anymore, but they've helped me rediscover my former passion."

——Aoki.

Looking at the comments in the game's review section, Quanshu couldn't help but feel gratified.

Players can finally understand him.

Although office workers suffer greatly on Mondays because they spend the weekend indulging in games, they all agree that it's their own fault.

"If only every player or viewer had the same awareness," Izumi shook his head.

He also downloaded "Sing Island Story" on his Rotom phone, where he mainly played farming and vegetable stealing games.

Think of it as a childhood game like Happy Farm; playing it brings back a sense of nostalgia.

It's worth mentioning that since he registered his account, Qishu has been visiting his farm every day.

Their furtive behavior clearly indicates they have ill intentions.

As a result, she failed to steal any vegetables even once.

Are you kidding me? With GM privileges and a Rotom cheat system, you can still let someone steal your crops?

Every time Qi Shu failed to steal vegetables, he would go to the other farm and steal a batch of mature crops as punishment.

Quanshu guessed that this guy was about to lose his temper.

"Boss, there's new information about the navigator, Loto!"

Rotom followed him to another world and picked up a strange verbal tic.

Quanshu thought it was a trivial matter and didn't bother with it.

The lit screen showed Xiaoxia's phone calls.

These past few days she has been discussing the adaptation of the new stage play with Quanshu. The stage has moved from the sea to land, and the actors need to adapt.

Later in the call, Xiaoxia complained, "I might not have time for the next few days. Quanshu, do you remember the wildfire in Honglian Town at the beginning of the month?"

"Yes, I remember."

He was preparing for the preview screening when the news happened to be broadcast on the big screen in Yuhong Square.

"The alliance initially believed the wildfires were caused by a simple factory explosion, but that wasn't the case. Residents witnessed mysterious figures floating in the sky that night..."

"Hey! Isn't this a secret of the Alliance?"

Quanshu raised an eyebrow. "Your sister Xia is so carefree. She just blurted out things that should be kept secret."

"Hmph, if everyone kept things secret, there wouldn't be so many rumors, they just wouldn't spread widely."

Xiaoxia, who had been interrupted, gave a light snort and continued, "The initial fire site was an unregistered, illegal research facility. Its head and researchers are nowhere to be found, and the Alliance is still investigating..."

"beep--"

Suddenly, a busy tone came from the other end of the phone. Xiaoxia put down her phone to check, and the call had been disconnected.

Is the internet connection bad?

...

On the other side, Izumi also put down his phone.

He glanced at the screen and, damn it, the signal in downtown Yuhong City was still zero bars.

"Did the Rockets finally lose their temper and blow up the signal tower in Gantt?"

Just as they were wondering what was going on, Yan Shibao, who had been following them, suddenly became restless.