Chapter 160-1: Public Monster World (1) |
The next day, the moon.
Lunar Eclipse City, Dark Land special briefing.
Before the livestream had even begun, the number of visitors in the streaming room was already close to 3 billion.
As time passed, the viewership was still skyrocketing.
Netizens across the entire network were full of curiosity about this special briefing on whether Dark Land existed as two different games.
Before this, the Lunar Eclipse race had not even held a press conference when Dark Land first went online, yet now, because of an online public-opinion incident, they wanted to take the initiative to explain the reasons.
This did not fit the usual style of the Lunar Eclipse race’s upper leadership at all.
One of the mock nicknames for the Lunar Eclipse race on the internet was ‘beings of the upper realm.’
This label had two layers of meaning.
The second was the Lunar Eclipse race’s aloof posture in diplomacy.
Although they had numerous external assistance projects every year, apart from the projects arranged by the Starnet, no matter how other races sought help, the Lunar Eclipse race would not respond. There was rarely room for negotiation, and their lofty attitude was very much like beings of the upper realm.
In truth, the Lunar Eclipse race had always been the core cornerstone that allowed the Earth Alliance to operate stably.
They were both the leader of the Earth Alliance and the imaginary enemy that kept the races internally united.
All races, including the human race, held very complicated feelings toward the Lunar Eclipse race.
This insurmountable leading position made all races with historical pride feel resistance deep down.
An environment of absolute peace also did not help resolve internal problems within a race.
Especially when internal contradictions came to the fore, these races needed to create a powerful imaginary enemy to force their members to twist into a single rope and thus forget their internal issues.
The powerful Lunar Eclipse race was the best vessel for this imaginary enemy.
And the Lunar Eclipse race had never cared about being resented, even actively cooperating by transferring contradictions into the game.
They let the Lunar Eclipse race become the challenge target for netizens of all races in the virtual world, helping each race dissolve internal contradictions.
So this Lunar Eclipse race was both a leader and the cornerstone of unity.
This time, their public statement that they would explain the online public-opinion issue truly made netizens of all races drop their jaws, and it drew attention from across the entire network. It was also one of the very few chances to see the upper leadership of the Lunar Eclipse race online.
The last time had been fifteen years ago.
Before the briefing began, the netizens in the livestream were already chatting enthusiastically.
“I don’t understand why the Lunar Eclipse race wants to explain publicly. Could it really be that there are two versions of Dark Land?”
“I was dumbfounded when I saw the news saying the Lunar Eclipse race was going to address online conspiracy theories. That does not match their consistently icy-cool image.”
“Even if there really are two Dark Lands, given their external style, there’s no need to come out and explain, right? After all, the Lunar Eclipse race has never cared about the thoughts of the lower-realm mortals, being the beings of the upper realm (sarcasm.jpg).”
“When something happens, there must be a ghost behind it. The Lunar Eclipse race doesn’t care about online opinion at all. The fact they’re coming out to explain means something they care about has happened. And all behavior of the Lunar Eclipse race is based on the Starnet AI core, which is oriented toward the interests of the Lunar Eclipse race. Therefore, behind this briefing there is an interest issue the Starnet cares about, possibly related to the development of the Lunar Eclipse race.”
“I treated that human post as a joke, yet it’s being taken seriously by the Lunar Eclipse race. I can’t understand it. My curiosity is running wild. Waiting for the briefing to start.”
“Predicting the content in advance: the Lunar Eclipse race’s No. 1 governor will state there is only one Dark Land, and all online rumor-mongers will have their accounts banned (sarcasm.jpg).”
—
Just as netizens were hotly debating whether there were two Dark Land games.
A Lunar Eclipse race man in a finely tailored black outfit strode steadily to the podium and stood still, his gaze turning to the livestream camera.
In the livestream image, the Lunar Eclipse race man had a handsome face and long, slender ears, looking like an elf out of a fairy tale, very much in line with human aesthetics.
This was the current No. 1 governor of the Lunar Eclipse race.
He lowered his eyes, swept his gaze over the reporters of all races below the stage, gave a slight nod of greeting, then lifted his head. A faint light flickered in his deep blue eyes, as though he were organizing his words.
“Reporters of all races and the netizens of all races in the livestream room, good afternoon.”
“We have been paying attention to the various remarks online concerning Dark Land.”
“Dark Land is the crystallization of many years of our Lunar Eclipse race’s effort. Through countless days and nights, the Starnet AI core and our R&D team were immersed in the ocean of code, carving out every detail in the game, only to bring everyone an ultimate gaming experience. This is not merely a game but a virtual world brimming with vitality and life.”
“We are keenly aware that games carry everyone’s yearning for another kind of life and curiosity about the unknown. Therefore, we crafted Dark Land with care. There are vast and boundless fantastical continents and mysterious and unfathomable ancient ruins. Every inch of land hides numerous stories, waiting for you to unearth your own infinite possibilities.”
The No. 1 governor’s words seemed to possess a kind of magic, making everyone present involuntarily sketch that wondrous game world in their minds.
But as soon as this passage ended, the livestream chat exploded.
“Well said, so why haven’t you issued qualifications to us Georock People? You’ve run several rounds already. Is this racial discrimination?”
“What are you even talking about? Where’s the ultimate experience? Are you referring to the experience of scrambling for qualifications? If you’ve got the guts, just open downloads directly. Every time you hand out a batch like you’re flicking scraps to beggars. Disgusting.”
“So since you’re so considerate of players’ experience and feelings, when will qualifications be fully open? Did you eat my qualification?”
But the comments from the livestream did not disrupt the speech of the Lunar Eclipse race’s No. 1 governor.
After a brief introduction to the original intention behind creating Dark Land, the No. 1 governor changed tack.
“Recently, we discovered that the issue of whether there are two Dark Land games has sparked heated discussion across the entire network. I will explain the situation in detail here.”
Upon hearing this, the barrage of comments in the livestream instantly decreased.
Everyone was waiting for the No. 1 governor’s next remarks.
“The facts are exactly as that posting netizen said. Our Lunar Eclipse race did indeed create two games. One of them is Dark Land, released through official channels and already experienced by many players. This is also what we described in our publicity as an epoch-making virtual game. This game does not have any of the problems mentioned in online rumors such as a simplified or censored version of the content.”
“As for the cracked version of Dark Land mentioned by the human netizen Kindergarten Principal on the Rise of Humanity forum, it is actually our next-generation game, still in the internal testing phase, so we have not publicly disclosed any game-related content. Whether in game quality or in realism, it far surpasses Dark Land. Internally, we call this game Monster World.”
“So there is only one Dark Land, and the other game is Monster World, which has not been publicly released.”
The No. 1 governor’s explanation made the livestream explode in an instant.
The barrage and comments were flashing across the screen at a rate of several million per second, making it impossible to read the specific content.
“Damn, a next-gen internal test with even better quality, that is too outrageous. How am I only hearing about this now? How do you get internal test qualifications?”
“Hell, the internal testers get to feast for free while the legit buyers eat crap. Lunar Eclipse race, screw your XX. Why is the one I spent 128,000 on of worse quality? No wonder the posting player lost it. If it were me I would explode too. In fact I am exploding now. I demand to convert my Dark Land qualifications into Monster World qualifications.”
“Idiotic Lunar Eclipse race, pulling shady moves huh. You secretly released an internal test and even distributed it by link. Absolutely disgusting. Even if it is internal testing you could have publicly let players scramble for qualifications. Before this we did not even know such a game existed. Back then I was replying to mock the thread owner, thinking he was spreading rumors, and now you tell me it is true.”
“I am dying of frustration. The good stuff is given out for free, the inferior version costs money. Truly worthy of the Lunar Eclipse race. Beings of the upper realm really are willful.”
“Yesterday I was still overjoyed to finally grab a spot in this round of game qualifications, and now you tell me this is just a transitional version, and there is something even better? I am going to punch the moon to pieces.”
Facing the livestream barrage’s frenzied anger, the No. 1 governor’s expression remained unchanged. He lowered his head to look at the reporters of all races below.
