The era of online games rises grandly, sweeping the globe. Heroes compete for supremacy—who will prevail?
With countless adoring fans, supreme rookies, and super gods, who will rule?
Immortal wars, time travel, ancient times to today, heaven and earth—who will win?
001 Game Launch
Nowadays, in the inevitable process of human society’s development, as the Engel coefficient continues to decrease, the materialistic nature of the world becomes less apparent. Instead, cultural entertainment and spiritual life increasingly come to the forefront. Due to the rapid development of internet communication and computer production technology, high-end technological achievements are becoming more accessible to the public, and business competition increasingly focuses on user experience.
The development of the new era naturally requires a new generation of young people to infuse fresh blood into the economic pulse. In the context of daily life becoming more electronic, video games inevitably emerge one after another, with more exquisite production, more stunning effects, enduring popularity, and the potential to ruin lives, harming one generation after another. No one can avoid the proliferation of games that use the internet and application software as carriers. Some countries have even legislated to prohibit manufacturers from producing, distributing, or selling game software. However, the boundary between games and software is unclear, and small office games, text games, web games, etc., still appear.
Any technological achievement is a double-edged sword. Games have the advantage of providing joy and relaxation, which can alleviate stress after work. However, for those who abandon work and study to immerse themselves in games all day, they pose a significant threat, especially games with unhealthy content such as violence and pornography. Local governments’ intervention cannot stop this. To resolve this situation, the power of the state ultimately intervened. After consulting various opinions, a preliminary policy was formulated to manage and control the situation through guidance. Strangely enough, to eliminate the negative impact of games, a new game was developed—
“The First Legend,” painstakingly created by Tianlian Company, with billions of units of investment, a worldwide online game.
Nationwide, almost everyone felt the extraordinary nature of this game. First, its publicity spanned five years, with “The First Legend” posters covering streets, supermarkets, big stores, small shops, and even public toilet walls. Needless to say, the mass media—every TV channel, every website, advertisements—were filled with traces of “The First Legend.” From middle-aged people in their forties and fifties to children as young as four or five, casual conversations inevitably touched on the game, making “The First Legend” a hot topic and making other games seem inferior.
Despite the overwhelming publicity, “The First Legend” itself had not been released or launched, not even a public beta. In fact, although the state was involved, it was essentially a commercial action rather than a political one. Tianlian Company, a consortium of global business giants and corporate magnates from several developed countries, was established under the name Tianlian. The company’s high-profile listing and strong economic strength, being top-tier and influential worldwide, made state intervention unavoidable.
“The First Legend” consistently stirred public enthusiasm, from posters to images, trailers, and finally game scenes, mostly featuring content within the game or reflecting the game’s themes. Tianlian Company’s establishment already attracted much attention, and the focus on “The First Legend” was understandable. Until recently, a piece of news from Tianlian Company’s official website spread like a bomb:
“The First Legend” will officially launch in two months!
Websites are essential, and Tianlian also has an official website for releasing game-related news and promotional materials, many of which originate from the website. There is also a forum on the website, and the game was already popular even before its launch, with many discussions about its content and release date.
The key point is not the website but the news: “The First Legend” is finally going live! After endless anticipation, everyone wanted to see what was so great about “The First Legend.” This news naturally stirred countless enthusiastic youths. The game was scheduled to launch at 8 PM on a specific day two months later. Besides the release time, the official site provided no other game information, only stating, “Everything is up to the players to explore.”
Meanwhile, the forum buzzed with discussions, one of the hot topics being the game’s genre. Tianlian had not revealed the genre yet—fantasy? Military? Another hot topic was the discussion of game characters, perspectives, and plots, but everyone knew that speculation was pointless—the game was about to be released, and everyone eagerly awaited that day.
Time flew, and Tianlian Company began selling “The First Legend” game accounts. Unlike usual games where online registration suffices, “The First Legend” required a unique account card connected to the main device via a special card reader to log in with a unique account. The card reader could be shared, but the account card was unique, requiring an ID card to purchase, with each ID card eligible to buy only one account card. This policy aimed to prevent multiple accounts per person, although it was not entirely avoidable.
Tianlian’s stores selling account cards saw long queues stretching out onto the streets. The first batch of account cards was limited to 100,000 in mainland China. Despite needing to buy a special card reader to play “The First Legend,” the card readers were sufficient, and many internet cafes prepared plenty of them, so players were not worried about card readers. The account cards, however, were the real hot commodity. Additionally, people generally believed that the earlier they bought an account card, the better, catering to their vanity.
In the capital, coastal areas, and other developed cities, the account cards sold out within two days. The second- and third-tier cities were no less enthusiastic, with account cards selling fast. On the opening day, the scene was spectacular, more intense than the Spring Festival travel rush. Some people even camped out the night before to buy an account card. However, that was likely the approach of the wealthy. Would an average person, with no car, no house, no money, and no girlfriend, be foolish enough to spend a lot of money on a trendy online game and camp out the night before to buy an account card? Speaking of which—
On a dark and windy night, under the enchanting moonlight, a young man secretly followed a beautiful girl. The girl, with long hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, her skin as white as snow, quietly walked forward as if unaware of the young man’s presence. The young man continued to follow, smiling quietly. Eventually, the girl walked to the city center’s open-air plaza and then into a residential area. The young man quickened his pace.
“Huh?”…
Well, he was there to buy an account card. The sales window for account cards was near the city center. Worried about not finding the city center, he followed a resident for safety. He clearly remembered that the account card sales started at 8 PM. It’s 8:10 PM—why is there no one at the window? Did he come too early? Was the time postponed? Or were the cards already sold out?
Ring, ring, ring! An alarm suddenly sounded urgently. Was security needed to maintain order for selling account cards? It seemed “The First Legend” was really popular, and he wasn’t late. Wait a minute, why were the security guards rushing toward him?
“Stop, don’t run!”
“Huh?”
The young man, without hesitation, seeing the residential guards coming towards him, started running. If you tell me to stop, I will stop; if you tell me not to run, I will not run!
“Hmph, I said I came to buy an account card!” Unable to outrun the guards, the young man was eventually caught, leading to a verbal battle. He followed a beautiful girl all the way, of course raising suspicions. The girl informed the residential guards of the danger, and they came for him.
“Then why did you run?” The young man was frustrated. “You tell me to stop, I will stop; you tell me not to run, I will not run!” He had no choice but to say this. The guards didn’t believe him and insisted on calling the police. To prove he was there to buy an account card, he suggested waiting there. The guards, not wanting to make a big deal, agreed to wait. Thus began his long wait.
Should I tell you that account card sales start at 8 AM the next day? Generally, guards on night duty have a room with a bed where they can rest. The guards here were no exception, working through the night without sleep. 8 PM to 9 PM, 10 PM, 11 PM, midnight, the guards told him to leave, but the young man, out of spite, kept waiting, thinking the time was postponed. The guards, not in a hurry since they weren’t sleeping anyway, waited with him.
Determined youth is forged this way; he showed great perseverance—2 AM, 3 AM, 4 AM, 5 AM… until 8 AM. As he wished, he bought an account card. Under the morning sunlight, the golden account card gleamed, bringing a smile to his tired face. The guards were truly helpless.
Back home, he opened the door, closed it, and collapsed into sleep. (Why didn’t anyone