After two days of planning by the studio’s staff and a small-scale player beta test, the “Dragon Slayer” is set to officially launch tomorrow. However, the game studio is currently still working overtime.
After all, the Jing family had become the studio’s major financial backer and had put in a tremendous effort to help expedite the launch of “Dragon Slayer” by at least two years. The goal was to find the individual whom Young Master Jing sensed through his twin brother’s telepathic connection, someone trapped within the game.
Originally, the Jing family intended to have only their own people and trusted individuals enter the holographic world for the search. However, after some attempts, the elder and second brothers of the Jing family, who were initially reluctant to involve players, had their first taste of failure.
The unfamiliar game mechanics were only a secondary issue; with their learning capabilities, the two of them had pretty much grasped them in just a few days.
However, the massive task of exploring the game world’s map was something that couldn’t be accomplished in a short time by just a few people.
Currently, Jing Nian was lying in a medical capsule, his body’s functions undergoing incredible restoration. He was even healthy to the point where his body no longer resembled that of someone with a genetic defect, and occasional fluctuations in his mental state could be detected.
However, as long as Jing Nian remained unconscious, the danger persisted.
The only solution was to launch the game into public beta, uniting the strength of countless players to explore the map of the game world.
Only through this could they find Jing Nian as quickly as possible and figure out a way to bring him out.
The problem circled back to the initial concern of the Jing family members—they still didn’t know where Jing Nian was or in what form he existed within the game world. What if players accidentally harmed him?
After their initial setback upon entering the game world, the three brothers intensively studied the data and setting of this holographic game. They discovered that in order to achieve the ambition of creating a “realistic fantasy world,” the studio had prioritized growth and irreversibility in its programming from the very beginning while constructing the foundation of the world.
Once fully constructed, the game world became a realm independent of the studio’s control—a world that grew freely on its own.
What sets “Dragon Slayer” apart from other holographic games is that every NPC is distinct and possesses an individual personality. Not only the world but also the NPCs have growth potential.
In fact, in this world, NPCs experience births and deaths constantly…
When a portion of NPCs in the game world dies or gets injured, they won’t simply regenerate.
The character data for these developed NPCs gets reset by the world, turning into a formatted set of initial data. This initial data isn’t deleted; rather, it’s born anew in some corner of the world in a different way.
Past lives and present lives are also one of the Easter eggs in this game.
NPCs can endure the cycle of birth, death, and reset.
But what about Jing Nian? What happens if he gets injured or dies?
No one dares to take that risk.
The more they understand this game, the more uneasy the Jing family becomes.
Finally, with the studio’s recommendations and the assistance of external experts brought in by the Jing family, they collectively devised a solution.
They established a new overlay space above the game world’s data. The data in this overlay space is similar to player data, capable of being influenced and interfering with the game world through external forces, yet separate from the world as a whole.
In this way, the studio can monitor every detail of the game world through this overlay space. When they discover the potential existence of Jing Nian, every blade of grass, every leaf, and every tree can be promptly safeguarded.
With this approach, if players discover Jing Nian first, the overlay space will also monitor it. With the protection of the overlay space, players won’t be able to harm Jing Nian.
This method has gained approval from the Jing family for the time being.
However, the overlay space requires manual anchor points. To ensure players are motivated to plant these anchor points while exploring the map, the game designers burned the midnight oil, ultimately forcing generous rewards into the game program.
The anchor points were designed as small mushrooms. The first player to explore a map only needs to plant these mushroom markers, and the overlay space will cover that area.
To guarantee success, each map’s anchor point can be placed up to three times, with rewards decreasing with each placement.
Now, the remaining task is to use these anchor points as a little token in the search for Jing Nian.
So, what should be written on the token to allow Jing Nian to recognize it at a glance and use it to establish a connection with the outside?
The experts suggested, “Since we’re uncertain about Jing Nian’s mental state, it’s best to choose something recent that left a strong impression on him, an event or an item, as the clue.”
The eldest of the Jing family affirmed, “Rocking Horse (small wooden horse), I handcrafted it for Nian Nian before. He liked it so much that he would sneak out to ride it and stay up past midnight.”
As he spoke, a hint of tenderness and indulgence appeared on Jing Chen’s usually stern face.
Beside him, Jing Yan intended to refute, but after recalling something, he first covered his head in guilt and took a few steps back before preparing to speak. However, his older brother Jing Xing beat him to it.
“The person who secretly rode the rocking horse at midnight back then was Jing Yan.”
Jing Chen’s gaze, sharp as knives, turned towards Jing Yan. “Is that so?”
While he asked “Is that so?”, his gaze conveyed, “Have you thought about how you’re going to face the consequences?”
Jing Yan, under pressure, nodded meekly, “…”
The Jing family’s ability to maintain their legacy for generations naturally relied on strict self-discipline. Even the education of their healthy children from a young age was held tightly and strictly.
This meant that even the youngest one, Jing Yan, grew up in the Jing family with an entirely different life from Jing Nian’s. With strict parents and two elder brothers who were more hands-on than talkative, it wasn’t easy.
However, the Jing family was far from an emotionally distant family; they valued their family members. This was why even the mischievous Jing Yan didn’t turn out crooked.
When young Jing Nian saw Jing Yan working hard in training and unable to play, he felt sorry for him.
So, he often secretly exchanged pajamas with Jing Yan. Young Jing Nian would pretend to be Jing Yan and sleep, allowing Jing Yan to pretend to be young Jing Nian and go out to play.
Because young Jing Nian’s health was extremely fragile, the Jing family never dared to be strict with him, let alone make demands. Yet, young Jing Nian never became spoiled; instead, he was so well-behaved that people couldn’t help but feel fond of him.
The Jing family members wished that Jing Nian could be a bit more mischievous and happy.
So, when Jing Yan was young, he often wore Jing Nian’s clothes. When he secretly went to play and was discovered by the Jing family, instead of scolding him, they praised him with gentle affection.
The secret of the unspoken bond between the twin hearts was once inadvertently revealed by Jing Xing.
But Jing Xing’s love for both of his younger brothers was equal, albeit expressed differently, so he didn’t reveal their secret.
The rocking horse that the eldest brother of the Jing family had handcrafted was just like that. Actually, the lively Jing Yan loved it even more.
After hearing the whole story, the eldest Jing brother gave a cold glance at Jing Yan. He didn’t say anything, but it was clear that this matter had hit him hard.
Who knew that once, when they were nearly trapped in a swarm nest of insect creatures, a subordinate suggested that everyone share some family stories to lighten the mood. Then, during their struggle to survive for the sake of their family, the eldest brother of the Jing family had subtly boasted about this incident.
Later, when they had indeed escaped, another subordinate found the eldest brother of the Jing family and taught him the marvelous art of crafting the rocking horse.
Knowing the truth, the eldest brother of the Jing family thought to himself: “Don’t cue, just internalize.”
After the suggestion of the eldest brother was KOed, Jing Xing cleared his throat lightly and said, “How about Rose Milk Balls? Little Nian likes them the most.”
After saying this, he remembered something and looked alertly at Jing Yan.
Jing Yan’s survival instinct kicked in since he had already upset one brother, and he vigorously shook his head, “I don’t eat overly sweet stuff.”
Jing Xing’s peripheral vision faintly glanced at the eldest brother of the Jing family, a touch of pride crossing his handsome and cold face: It seems that little Nian still prefers me.
However, his happiness lasted only a moment before a voice shattered his illusion.
“So, Jing Er, you’re the brother that little Nian mentioned, the one who likes making Rose Milk Balls, huh…” Suddenly, Qu Mu, who was also known as the “One Who Pours a Toast with a Song,” raised an eyebrow and interjected from the side.
The identical glares of enmity from the three Jing brothers shot over.
Qu Mu raised his hands and shrugged, “Let’s put aside our grievances for now and focus on finding Nian. Although I say that, there’s still a hint of awkwardness on my face when I talk about it.”
Even though he said that, a trace of awkwardness still flickered on his charming face when he spoke.
If he had known that Jing Yan was actually Jing Nian’s twin all along, he wouldn’t have…
“Do you mean to say that you, an online friend, are more familiar with little Nian than his own blood brother?” Jing Xing frowned, looking at Qu Mu displeased.
Qu Mu’s regretful expression had long been put away, and he returned to his graceful demeanor. He smiled lightly, “Little Nian often mentioned that he has a brother who likes making Rose Milk Balls. However, from childhood until now, he always put an excessive amount of sugar in them. Fortunately, it’s a special nutritional sweetener; otherwise, his body wouldn’t be able to handle it. I used to think it was an exaggerated claim, but now I know it’s true.”
Jing Xing was taken aback, his thin lips tightened, and a deep regret emerged between his eyebrows. He hadn’t realized that his brother…
Regarding this matter, the twin Jing Yan had something to say, “Second Brother, it’s not that you didn’t do well. It’s that Nian Nian said that he appreciates the thoughtfulness of his brother, and adding a lot of sugar must be because he wants his brother to have a sweet life. So, he intentionally didn’t tell you.”
“It’s not bad either, just a tad too sweet… Second Brother’s signature flavor.” Jing Yan gestured with his fingers to indicate a tiny amount.
Jing Xing was dumbfounded.
In the end, the two brothers ignored their number one rival in the Jing family, Qu Mu, and looked at Jing Yan.
When it came to losing to the twin bond, there was nothing to say.
After receiving the gazes from his two brothers, a chilly aura emanated from Jing Yan.
Ever since he sensed that Nian Nian was doing well in the game, he hadn’t had any reliable sensations again.
The most recent one was a dream where he saw Jing Nian becoming a father and taking care of his offspring… which was beyond the realm of possibility.
Jing Xing and Jing Chen of the Jing family: “…” Unbelievable!
“Now, can you let me continue? After all, I’m also a former… ” Qu Mu started saying, but he was suddenly stared at by three pairs of eyes as cold as blades. He promptly stopped himself and cleared his throat.
He handed a team emblem to his three brothers.
Jing Chen and Jing Xing were puzzled.
Jing Yan recognized it at first glance – it was the emblem of the Qu and Jing team, formed by Qu Mu and Jing Nian. He couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
Jing Chen and Jing Xing turned to look at it.
After Jing Yan’s explanation, both of his older brothers frowned.
“Actually, Xiaonian is…” Qu Mu was initially going to say that Jing Nian was a fan of the Double Emperor CP, but he realized that if he said that and got exposed later, these three “little brother enthusiasts” brothers probably wouldn’t let it go. So he quickly changed his approach.
“Cough, Xiaonian is a fan of Yin Nian’s works.”
Jing Yan couldn’t help but exclaim again, “The telepathic connection between twins is so real! We even have the same idol!”
Jing Chen and Jing Xing turned to look at Jing Yan in unison: ? When did you have an idol, and how come I didn’t know, and it’s not even me?
Jing Yan tactically retreated.
Finally, with Jing Yan’s technical support, the two-person Q-style emblem was modified to only have Jing Nian’s emblem, as an additional symbol on the little mushroom.
Because the emblem was too well-known, later, all registered players would have this pattern blocked, only NPCs in the game could see it, and only Jing Nian could understand it.
Once the setting was finalized, there were only three hours left until the official launch.
–
Inside the game.
Innocent Jing Nian was still unaware that the game’s launch had been brought forward so much for his sake. He was still preparing for the distant future. He even thought that the time span in the game and real life would be quite large since it would take many years for the little dragon cub to grow up.
After learning light elemental magic with the little dragon cub, he received a letter from his dwarf friend, Ga’erfu.
In the letter, Ga’erfu thanked him for his advice and told Jing Nian that his little gadgets had sold well using the methods Jing Nian suggested. As a token of gratitude, he wanted to invite him to his new home for a reunion if Jing Nian was willing.
Additionally, Ga’erfu mentioned that many outsiders had come to the town recently. If Jing Nian decided to visit him, he should use magic parchment to write a letter in advance to let him know.
He also mentioned that he had sent a messenger pigeon to deliver a gift to Jing Nian. If Jing Nian placed a positional array on the parchment, the pigeon would deliver the gift to him.
If there was no positional array, Jing Nian could write back with the location to receive the gift.
Author’s Note:
This is the end of the chapter, unfortunately. There will be a cliffhanger tomorrow. I’ll make up for it tomorrow! Sending hearts~
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