After the initial problems were solved, the road ahead became a mechanical repetition.
As they progressed mechanically, Li Shuoxing finally had some time to think about this trip.
In fact, he felt that there was something wrong with the design of the travel system.
This wasn’t due to the bad game experience or his money and time being cheated, but that there were some very intuitive and obvious logical problems.
There was nothing wrong with the game adding a travel system if it wanted to, of course.
But, as a game with a chibi art style, when adding a travel system and opening up a new map, it must also consider the chibi art style. How could it happen that the little person remained chibi while the surrounding scenery was realistic, making the art style inconsistent.
This problem, let alone professional game practitioners, even ordinary people who weren’t involved with games would find it strange.
Moreover, the situation of the landscape in front of them.
Obviously, this was the Grand Canyon National Park… Then the second question arose. Why would a Chinese game, when choosing a travel destination, choose a foreign one over a domestic one?
It couldn’t be because foreign landscapes looked superior, right?
It didn’t make any sense!
Li Shuoxing took a breath and replaced his index finger on the screen with his middle finger. After pressing the screen for so long, his fingers were getting stiff.
Even if this game is stupid, it shouldn’t be stupid to this level.
After all, it’s a game company that can create AI of Su Mingqian’s level. If it were to make such a spectacular mistake, it’d be too contradictory.
So…
Does this trip, this realistic scene, have some deep meaning?
Is there something I haven’t noticed?
Li Shuoxing fell into thought.
As an author, he couldn’t help but form conspiracy theories on some problems that were too illogical.
Then, he saw the game screen gradually darken, gradually darken, then suddenly go black.
Li Shuoxing: “!”
His arm shook with shock and the phone in his palm almost flew out.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough and hooked the phone’s case at the last moment. After regaining a firm grip, he pressed the function button to find that everything was fine, just that the phone was running out of battery.
…Come to think of it.
I’ve been playing for six or seven hours.
…It’s been six or seven hours already?
Li Shuoxing couldn’t believe it. He glanced at the clock on the wall, then glanced again.
No matter how he looked at it, the hour hand was steadily pointing to the number 2.
It’s 2pm.
I feel like I’ve forgotten something.
Oh, I haven’t had lunch yet.
But this trivial matter of not having had lunch yet isn’t worth my suspicion.
There must be something else important…
As he was thinking about it, his phone vibrated. Someone was looking for him on QQ.
He opened it and saw that it was Night Tour.
This Terminal editor-in-chief was concise and comprehensive, getting straight to the point. “Today’s chapter hasn’t been updated yet. You’re not already out of stock, are you?”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
Shit…
Li Shuoxing finally realised what he’d forgotten!
He got so high from playing the game that he forgot the daily 10am update!
Li Shuoxing hurried back to the game and said to the little person, “I have something to do. I’ll leave for a moment and be right back.”
After saying that, Li Shuoxing went offline, got out the charging cable, plugged his phone in, then returned to his computer. While opening the webpage to prepare the update, he replied to Night Tour’s words.
Li Shuoxing: “This trivial matter is worth your directly messaging me.”
Night Tour was also helpless. “If you update on schedule for me to read on time, would I have to look for you?”
Although Calamus said that the two had a good relationship…
There really was no dirty deal between them.
They had a good private relationship just because Night Tour liked Li Shuoxing’s writing.
In addition, as Terminal’s group six editor-in-chief, Night Tour himself was a very experienced reader and reviewer. He had some really good insights on the development and design of his writing, and Li Shuoxing was willing to communicate with him.
Gradually, as they talked more, their relationship got better. After all, for the sake of the same novel, they had stayed up many nights hand in hand and dedicated a lot of their lives together.
Night Tour asked the question just now again, “You just started a new book after three or four months of break. You’re not out of stock now, are you? How are you going to mass update like this if you’re given a good list and channel?”
Li Shuoxing: “I still have some. I forgot to update today.”
Night Tour: “…”
He didn’t know how Night Tour felt when he got this reply.
Anyway, he sent an ellipsis, then nothing afterwards. He’d gone offline.
During their conversation, the browser had opened and automatically restored the pages from before it closed, the author’s backend page and the novel’s frontend page.
Li Shuoxing had copied the chapters to be updated. He was going to enter the author’s backend, but he’d used too much energy when moving the backpack and his fingers hadn’t fully recovered, so his hand holding the mouse slipped and went to the novel’s frontend.
The frontend opened.
He saw numerous and various comments urging for updates.
Scrolling down, there seemed to be one or two hundred discussions in the discussion forum alone, the hottest one of which had over 500 replies. A glance at the title read:
Knowing that Ximu isn’t a man, I still fell in love with this man. Let’s make a thread to discuss when Ximu will become a man today. Support Ximu, 10 coins a reply, 100 replies a knot, no limit.
Li Shuoxing: “…”
I thank you for helping me warm up the discussion forum!
Originally, discussions were something that you didn’t care about if you didn’t read them, but once you read one, you couldn’t help but want to finish.
So, Li Shuoxing not only looked at the discussion forum, but also entered the discussion forum’s most replied threads, and entered his latest chapter to read the chapter’s comments.
He’d thought the various discussions in the discussion forum were exaggerated enough.
He didn’t expect to enter the chapter page to see the comments were even more exaggerated. Looking at the statistics, there were 4000 comments.
Li Shuoxing: “…”
Li Shuoxing: “???”
How the hell did these guys leave so many comments? It couldn’t be a system counting error, could it?
Li Shuoxing cautiously opened it.
He found it wasn’t an error.
There really were so many comments.
A bunch of people in this chapter urged for updates, angrily cursed, discussed the plot, discussed the plot of his last book, recognised relatives, confessed… In short, there were all kinds of things being said.
Li Shuoxing silently closed the chapter.
One urging for updates didn’t matter.
Ten urging for updates didn’t matter.
The pressure of fifty or one hundred didn’t seem very great.
But, after all, people had their tolerance limits.
Today’s comments were a little beyond the limit of Li Shuoxing’s tolerance.
So, after updating two chapters of 5000 words as originally planned and explaining that he’d forgotten the update time, Li Shuoxing updated today’s third chapter with heartache, adding a bracket after the title of the third chapter with the content:
(Add an extra chapter to compensate everyone. Please pretend that nothing has happened.)
After posting the three chapters, Li Shuoxing looked at his further shrinking stock. Reason told him he should put the game down and write, but…
Li Shuoxing looked at his computer and then at his phone.
Words suddenly flashed through his mind.
Novel, I’ve always loved you deeply.
Cub, I can never let go of you.
…
He shook his head.
What nonsense am I thinking?
A few minutes later, Li Shuoxing made a difficult choice.
The inability to let go overcame the depth of love.
After all, there was still some stockpile left to hang on to, but the cub was now in the game anxiously waiting for him to return.
This time when he entered the game, Li Shuoxing intended to finish the travel scenes in one go, so he made adequate preparations.
He rummaged through the fridge for bread and milk, and grabbed an ice pack in passing.
The battery continued to charge to ensure it lasted.
The ice pack was tucked under the phone to keep the body from overheating.
He then opened the milk and bread, took a few mouthfuls to ease the hunger in his stomach, and did finger exercises to stretch his tense fingers.
The preparations were finished.
Li Shuoxing entered the game again.
Under the azure sky, white clouds floated like waves; reddish-brown rocks were wrinkled with age by the wind, layered with insect-like green spots clinging to them, which were trees growing in the mountains.
And Su Mingqian.
The 2D little person remained in almost the same position as when he left. It seemed that in the ten minutes he was gone, he hadn’t moved a muscle, just waiting for him to come.
Li Shuoxing typed, “I’m back.”
Almost at the same time, a text bubble popped out of Su Mingqian’s head.
Su Mingqian: “Mm.”
Li Shuoxing continued typing, “I have a good idea.”
He really did have a good idea. When he went offline and came back, his head suddenly cleared and he thought of something he should’ve long ago. He said to Su Mingqian, “We should buy a car. Try saying you want a car and see if it works.”
Su Mingqian: “…”
In fact, he was a little confused for a while as to why whatever he said he wanted would appear. And instead of getting it directly, it was bought by Ximu and then passed on.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. These minor issues could wait until they got back.
Su Mingqian obediently called out according to his words, “I want a car.”
Li Shuoxing had already opened the store waiting for it to refresh.
Then.
The store didn’t refresh.
Two lines of words popped up on the screen.
System: “…”
[The system prompts the player: In the early stage of the game, please spend sensibly.]
Li Shuoxing: “…”
Li Shuoxing had so many complaints he didn’t know where to start for a moment. “Sensible spending is sensible spending. Why add early stage of the game? Could it be that the early stage of the game won’t do, but the late stage will? Is this to fatten up the player before killing them?”
However, no matter how he spoke, he couldn’t get a response from the system.
So, he could only instruct the system’s son again, “Put it another way. Say we want to rent a car, and a cheap one will do.”
Su Mingqian did as told like before.
Just as a new text bubble came out, the system store refreshed with a mountain bike. This mountain bike didn’t have a direct purchase option but rather an additional rent function at 5 contribution points/hour.
You figured it out!
Li Shuoxing fiercely pressed his finger down and rented it out.
After renting a means of transport, the rest of the journey would become easier.
They set out again.
The sound of wheels sounded on the road again. The backpack was hung on the mountain bike, and the suitcase was in Li Shuoxing’s hands. It accompanied the mountain bike, twisting and turning as it sped along to the rhythm of the wheels.
The bright sky had begun to slowly dim at some point.
Su Mingqian had a flashlight in his backpack.
However, Su Mingqian didn’t take it out under the pretext of tired hands. Instead, he asked Ximu to send a message every once in a while to keep the light screen on.
The silvery-white light screen could act as half a light source at night, and could also serve some more important purposes.
It made this strange trip not so lonely.
For there was someone else, always by his side, talking to him.
He didn’t know how long he’d been riding forward.
Around the time when it was getting darker and darker, to the point it was almost impossible to see his fingers, Su Mingqian, who’d been moving forward, suddenly stopped. A text bubble popped out of his head, which read:
“There’s a railing ahead.”
The text fell away and the light on the screen began to change.
First, a bit of crimson roundness was revealed in the distant pitch blackness. Then, the crimson grew brighter and brighter. It tore open the pitch black sky, dyeing the clouds to the left and pouring its heat through the rift.
The golden light came in sheets, caressing the canyons, the deep ravines and the heavy mountains.
And then, with a sudden leap through the sea of clouds, the burning sun leapt up to untouched heights and looked down to illuminate this vast and majestic world!
“At sunrise, a new day comes!”
Watching the sunrise over the canyon on his phone, Li Shuoxing suddenly remembered a sentence in the task. This sentence only felt stupid at the time, but looking back on it now, it was strangely fitting.
At that moment, a line popped up on the screen.
Su Mingqian: “Ximu, I think…”
I think…
Those two words revolved in Su Mingqian’s mind.
He couldn’t help grasping the railing in front of him and leaning forward.
The magnificent scene was reflected into his eyes, and then through his eyes, into his mind.
His nerves were gently tugged.
He seemed to remember something vaguely. He felt the beautiful scenery in front of him oddly familiar, as if he’d seen it before.
I…
Maybe…
Su Mingqian murmured, “Ximu, I think, I’ve been here before. Also, maybe you couldn’t search my name last time because I have another name, an English name. But I can’t remember…”
The author has something to say:
Discussion forum: The main interface of Terminal novels has a message system called the discussion forum. Messages left here are in the form of topic posts and can build threads.
Chapter comments: The message system on chapter pages of Terminal novels allows people to leave a comment after a paragraph. There will be a small number at the end of the paragraph to show how many people have left comments on that paragraph.