Chapter 9: Closed Beta Server Alpha 0.1
To be fair, Wang Zixu’s summary was extremely on point.
Now the few people who hadn’t received helmets were even more curious, itching with anticipation.
Unfortunately, being anxious was no use.
Sun and Moon Alike Astray converted the voice message Wang Zixu had sent into text, took a screenshot, and posted it in the Whale-Baiting Club’s main group chat.
He wanted all those little haters who had smeared Brother Jun yesterday to take a good look.
You were wrong! There’s nothing wrong with Brother Jun’s character!
“Six hundred sixty-six!”
“You actually got to play it? It looks pretty good!”
“Is it still not too late to pre-register now?”
Plenty of people had been skeptical yesterday, but after the Freeloader King personally tested it, a large batch of group members instantly switched sides.
Many people silently scrolled back through yesterday’s chat records, found the official website for Blood-Red Golden Triangle: Survivors, and secretly pre-registered for the game.
Those without medical examination reports could only tearfully book a checkup.
Quite a few others @’d Chen Jiajun, asking if he could ship the helmet first and let them submit the medical report later.
Meanwhile,
Chen Jiajun, who had everyone in the group clawing at their hearts,
was busy tinkering with the game update.
He had finally finished the character customization function, then optimized several other game features.
Now it was basically done. All that remained was to package the patch and link it to the virtual helmets.
With the work finished,
his tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
Chen Jiajun picked up his phone and immediately saw a string of missed calls on the screen.
They were all from Shen Yingying.
Most likely, she had died too quickly in the game again and wanted to grab him as a punching bag.
Good thing his phone had been on silent and he hadn’t heard it.
He had no intention of calling her back now, either.
He might as well pretend he hadn’t seen it.
He casually opened QQ, and sure enough, the group messages had exploded.
As he scrolled through the chat records, the corners of Chen Jiajun’s mouth unconsciously lifted into a fond smile.
That guy Freeloader really hadn’t let him down.
He was even more looking forward to how lively things would be once the other players entered the game.
Sun and Moon Alike Astray had merely tossed a screenshot of Freeloader analyzing the game into the group, and in just this short while, the number of pre-registrations on the official website had jumped from 11 to 32.
Interesting.
That was much more effective than him painstakingly trying to fool people for half a day.
Just as he was enjoying himself,
he saw someone in the group @ him again.
Chen Jiajun stroked his chin and pondered.
Maintaining a sense of mystery was fine, but if he kept acting aloof, it would be easy to create distance between himself and the players.
He still had to integrate with them and mingle.
That way, if they came up with any good ideas in the future, he could casually “borrow” them into the game. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Thinking of this, his fingers flew as he replied in the [Whale-Baiting Club] group.
“What Brother Freeloader said just now was more or less correct. I’ll briefly add a few points.”
“There’s no traditional quest panel in the game, but the main objective is actually very clear.”
“To sum it up in one sentence: escape, and survive.”
“As for the death penalty, aside from a one-hour cooling-off period, you’ll also lose part of your game progress.”
“If it’s early on, that’s still fine. But if you accidentally die in the middle or later stages, the losses will be huge.”
“So, everyone, cherish your little lives. Act cautiously. Don’t be reckless. If you can avoid dying, then try your best not to die.”
“The closed beta stage is meant for everyone to explore more and give more feedback. Feel free to speak your minds.”
“I’ll promptly pass along everyone’s opinions to enrich the game’s playability and balance.”
“As for the custom character gender option Freeloader mentioned, that currently can’t be done.”
“The main reason is safety. Male and female physiological structures are different, and in a holographic environment, it can easily cause cognitive discrepancies and public-opinion risks.”
“As for the specific reasons… those who understand, understand. Those who don’t can go ask their biology teacher.”
“Lastly, regarding real-name registration, canceling game nicknames and using real IDs is in response to the latest real-name internet policy passed under the Jiuzhou Act.”
“This game’s main theme is ‘anti-fraud,’ and this move is also meant to encourage everyone to be more real and sincere.”
In reality, Chen Jiajun could solve these problems with a wave of his hand, but there was absolutely no need.
Yet he also couldn’t say that directly. He had to make the players feel as if there were extremely complicated issues and irresistible external forces involved.
About to Quit the Game: “Then what if I manually change my gender in the game? (doge)”
“Bro, that’s seriously perverted!”
“Please… stop talking!”
Seeing everyone in the group roasting Brother Quit,
Chen Jiajun laughed inwardly.
But the topic was drifting further and further away, with faint signs of going out of control.
Chen Jiajun hurriedly activated the Great Topic-Change Technique.
“The game just completed its first closed beta update and developed some new features. The specific contents have already been posted on the official website. Those interested can go take a look.”
If he didn’t interrupt the spellcasting state of those horny bastards in the group, his group might be gone.
Freeloader King: “Holy shit! An update right after closed beta started?”
As they were talking,
a quick-handed member had already gone to the official website and screenshotted the update announcement.
[Blood-Red Golden Triangle: Survivors Closed Beta Server Alpha 0.1 Update Announcement.]
[1. Optimized and adjusted the game servers. The server capacity is now 1,000 players.]
[2. Developed the official website forum function. Players can log in normally through either the game or the official website.]
[3. Enabled the game recording function. Players can use the built-in function to record gameplay footage.]
[4. Added the character customization function. Players can freely choose their appearance.]
[5. Fixed a small number of bugs…]
Good grief. It was only the first day, and so much content had already been updated.
A game this conscientious was rare.
Quite a few guys in the group were looking forward to the game even more now.
Having been thoroughly tempted, they kept urging Chen Jiajun to hurry up and send them virtual helmets.
Meanwhile, Wang Zixu, who had already received his helmet, stared at the virtual helmet in his hands and sighed. There was still half an hour left in the cooling-off period. It was torture!
The more conservative members of the group felt slightly shaken when they saw the update announcement.
But they still couldn’t make up their minds.
“It’s getting late. Everyone should rest early.”
“Oh right, @Freeloader King, that analysis of yours just now was actually pretty good. You can consider organizing it and posting it on the official forum. You can post after binding your device account.”
“Good posts will be featured by the administrator. A points system will be opened later, and points can be exchanged for physical items such as game merchandise. Everyone can look forward to it.”
Naturally, the administrator was Chen Jiajun himself.
At present, aside from him, the company had one other employee, but that person had taken a long leave.
Chen Jiajun was wearing multiple hats alone—developer, designer, planner—and now he also had to moonlight as the forum moderator.
“Okie. I’m still in the cooling-off period anyway, so writing a post is just perfect to pass the time.”
Without another word, Wang Zixu charged straight into the game forum.
Combining it with the information Chen Jiajun had just supplemented, he began clattering away at the keyboard.
Chen Jiajun yawned,
closed the group chat window, and saw that quite a few people had also privately messaged him, hoping he could send the helmets over as soon as possible.
He replied to them one by one, promising that he would ship them out as soon as he could.
After going offline,
he washed up briefly and got ready to sleep. Lying in bed, he kept feeling as if he had forgotten something.
Just as he was thinking it over, a sudden “ding” rang out in his mind.
Immediately after, a line of text appeared before his eyes.
[Task completed!]
[Reward: one week of lifespan, Reputation increased by 300, Universal Model Asset Library.]