Chapter 157: Public Opinion

Watching the livestreams one by one, Yin Jian felt his heart growing colder and colder.

He felt that everyone else's games were far more awesome than his own.

Take the ones broadcasted by the official Xia Hua media channels, for instance.

They were ridiculously strong.

Among them was a game called "Fabricating History," whose premise was utterly outrageous.

It was simply mind-blowing.

The player could control two bodies—one in the modern era and one in ancient times.

The backdrop was an impending apocalyptic crisis.

The modern world had ten years left before destruction.

And what the player needed to do was bring modern knowledge back to ancient times in order to change history.

They had to cause a massive leap in technology to help civilization weather the crisis.

"Incredible! That imagination is something ordinary people could never think of," Zhou Shun exclaimed involuntarily upon seeing the gameplay.

He felt that he was already falling behind the times; these designers were more perverted than the last.

Finishing his sentence, as if remembering something, Zhou Shun hurriedly said to Yin Jian: "Of course, compared to you, Brother Yin, it's still a bit lacking."

Hearing Zhou Shun's praise, Yin Jian felt a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, Brother Zhou, you surely didn't come here today just to watch livestreams with me, did you?"

Zhou Shun had arrived just as he turned on his stream in the morning, so he hadn't yet asked about the other man's purpose.

Hearing Yin Jian's words, Zhou Shun slapped his forehead: "If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost forgot."

"I got word that a cosmic auction will be held at the end of this year, where rare items from all corners of the universe can be seen."

"What do you say? Want to go together?"

Yin Jian furrowed his brows.

He searched his mind for specific information regarding the cosmic auction Zhou Shun mentioned.

It was an auction hosted by the state, without a fixed schedule.

It would only commence once the consigned items reached a certain quantity or a specific value.

It could be considered a rare sight.

"We'll see when the time comes."

Yin Jian didn't agree immediately; right now, his mind was entirely focused on his game.

He didn't have much energy to spare for such matters.

"Alright then."

Zhou Shun understood Yin Jian's current mindset, so he didn't say much more.

Having finished discussing the matter, Zhou Shun stood up directly: "Then I'll be heading off first."

Seeing this, Yin Jian wanted to ask Zhou Shun to stay for a meal.

However, as if knowing what he was thinking, Zhou Shun spoke up beforehand: "Collecting rent today."

"..."

Yin Jian silently saw Zhou Shun out.

Then he returned to his room.

Checking the time and finding that there was still a long while before Baode's broadcast, he thought for a moment and opened the Qiyou Forum.

It had been quite a long time since he last lurked on the forums.

Yin Jian spent some time browsing through the previously trending posts.

Most of them were controversies surrounding contract offers from other gaming platforms.

Some minor website was docking the earnings of its designers.

Some platinum designer had poor character, only wanting to cash in on cheap products without any professional ethics.

There were also predictions for the finalists of the current game development contest, and so on.

As Yin Jian browsed, he was suddenly attracted by the title of a post:

[I want to report adult games, but sometimes I'm truly helpless]

For this Qiyou contest, I originally thought the gaming industry was about to usher in a new rebirth.

However, upon seeing that the vast majority of the top-ranked games were adult games, I began to doubt my initial conjecture.

What was the original reason for the creation of games?

Why did virtual games develop into their current state?

I don't know any of this.

Because I am just a very ordinary independent designer.

Even so, I know that this situation where adult games reign supreme is highly unreasonable.

I believe that if this continues, adult games might completely destroy the gaming industry!

Human nature should not be mixed into games.

Driven by this anxiety, I thought about reporting these adult games.

Yet the answer I got was that they complied with regulations and were reasonable.

...

Seeking Defeat is Lonely: I share the OP's view. I'm truly sick to my stomach from these adult games. I can already feel my nutrition lacking, and I'm only sixteen years old.

Crimson Snow: @Seeking Defeat is Lonely_You're acting sus. But to be fair, adult games have indeed been a bit overly flooded lately. Although the plots are very stimulating, it's clearly a bit excessive.

Shrimp and Fish: You haven't even signed a contract yet, and you spend every day worrying about things that big shots should care about. If you're really that idle, you might as well experience the joy of mining on a mineral star.

Change Nickname Costs Ten Thousand Points: I think he just finished relieving himself and entered the sage mode.

Red Zenith: Everyone's really just a pervert, huh? However, these adult games are indeed affecting the selection process of Qiyou's current contest. It would be a joke if the top twelve all turned out to be adult games. I remember that real-world games still don't have this type of game, and I hope Qiyou can pioneer a new path.

Never Despaired: These games only feel fresh when you first play them, but you get tired of them after going through them once. I estimate that ordinary games will make a comeback after some time; I think the OP's worries are completely unnecessary.

...

After reading through the posts, Yin Jian felt that what the last guy said made some sense.

An average man would most likely not watch the exact same short video a second time.

As for how he knew this—

Suffice it to say, those who know, know.

Although this information was still just speculation, it managed to relieve Yin Jian's mind a little.

His original confidence was restored.

"Now I can only pin my hopes on the effect of Baode's livestream. I hope it can bring in a massive influx of players for me."

Only in this way could "Infinity" secure that rather slim chance of advancing.

Time flew by.

Soon, it was ten o'clock in the evening.

Yin Jian opened the livestream punctually.

He tuned into the Gamer's Sky segment.

At this moment, Baode was smiling and greeting the audience.

Taking advantage of this moment, Yin Jian checked the comment section of the livestream.

He found that the popularity was noticeably lower than when Aijang was streaming.

The comment frequency was probably only about a sixth of hers.

However, this was understandable, as the opening ceremony was naturally the time with the highest viewership.

"This audience count is still acceptable."

Muttering this to himself, Yin Jian refocused his attention on Baode.

By this time, Baode had finished his opening remarks.

He brought up the game backend provided to him by Qiyou.

Unsurprisingly, Baode soon selected "Infinity" from among the numerous games.

Seeing this, the last stone in Yin Jian's heart finally landed.

He had been afraid that Baode would go back on his word.

Fortunately, it seemed Baode was still a man of his word.

And just as he was thinking this, Baode spoke again.

"I've previously interviewed the designer of this game 'Infinity'; he's a very interesting person."

"Of course, besides the person himself, his games are equally interesting, and the premise of each game is quite unique."

"Alright, I won't talk nonsense anymore. Let's take a look together at what this 'Infinity' is really like, and whether it maintains the style of my teacher."

Reaching this point, Baode directly clicked on the video window of a player currently in the "Infinity" game.