Chapter 8: Makes Some Sense, but Not Much

The school forum.

Ever since Li Lei “accidentally leaked” that the creator of 《King of Fighters》 was Su Cheng,

over the past two days, 《King of Fighters》, Su Cheng, and the Supernova had become hot topics of discussion.

“Hey, did you guys hear? The creator of 《King of Fighters》 is a student at our school!”

“Is it Li Lei?”

“No, it’s his buddy. I think his name is Su Cheng. He’s insanely good at it, even pulled off a no-damage clear.”

“Well, duh. He made the game, so of course he plays it well.”

“Word is he’s planning to enter the Supernova Competition too.”

“??? Entering the Supernova with 《King of Fighters》? Isn’t that just a dimensional strike^[1] on the competition?”

“Old Zhang has been suppressed for so many years. Now that he’s finally fostered a student like this, he can finally take a step up.”

“Don’t even bring it up. I just heard from the student council that Su Cheng isn’t eligible to compete at all. The reason is that the game has already been released.”

“??? Why can’t he enter just because it’s released! There’s no rule like that.”

“Exactly! Are they kidding? Barring people from competing.”

“Do you even need to ask? If they don’t want you to compete, any excuse will do.”

“If you want to condemn someone, excuses are never lacking!”

“Old Tang went a bit too far this time. Is he doing this just to prop up that guy named Shi?”

“Seems like it.”

“Shi Xiaoqiang is Old Tang’s star student, and his dad is the founder and chairman of Chaoren Network. If he doesn’t back him, who else would he back?”

“I don’t really get it. An instructor wouldn’t stoop that low, would he? After all, there’s no personal benefit involved.”

“Saying a released game can’t compete technically makes some sense, but not much!”

…

Over the next week.

Su Cheng and Li Lei worked around the clock and finally finished 《King of Fighters 2》.

Following Old Zhang’s advice, to play it safe, they couldn’t call it the second installment, lest it get rejected again.

The title “King of Fighters” couldn’t be changed, so Su Cheng decided to add a subtitle. The game would be called… 《King of Fighters: The Gathering of Clouds^[2]》.

This version combined content from the ’96 and ’97 editions, adding characters like Chizuru, Orochi, and Blue Mary.

They added online multiplayer functionality, enabling remote battles.

They even added a leaderboard.

Rankings were determined by a points system based on clear time, remaining character health, combo count, and other factors.

Between the two of them, Su Cheng and Li Lei downed three whole cases of Red Bull.

Only after arriving at the studio did Li Lei realize that Su Cheng’s claim of having “more than half of it done” had been a complete lie.

The game had still been nothing more than an empty folder.

According to Su Cheng’s logic:

Once the outsourced CG, art, and sound effects were finished, that was basically more than half the work done.

“If I hadn’t put it that way, think of how guilty Old Zhang would have felt.”

“Forget that. You have to treat me to a feast. You worked me half to death.”

“No problem, pick wherever you want!”

…

Soon.

The main stage of the Supernova Competition began.

The venue was set in the lobby of the administration building.

Every seat was taken, packed with students who had come specifically to watch.

There were six judges in total.

Two of them were game company executives who were also professional producers.

These two judges would evaluate and score the entries from a professional, commercial perspective.

The other four were instructors from within the college.

Rather than limiting themselves to commercial viability, they would score entries comprehensively across multiple dimensions.

Old Zhang was one of the judges. He sat upright and proper, looking thoroughly stern and solemn.

On the school forum, besides trending news, gossip about influential figures was always popular.

Naturally, gossip about the instructors was frequently discussed as well, especially regarding Old Zhang and Old Tang.

Zhang Shunping and Tang Zhengfeng.

The two were sworn rivals whose feuding had never ceased.

Even as capable as Zhang Shunping was, he couldn’t escape the “age thirty-five curse^[3].”

However, he had been relatively fortunate. A year early, at age thirty-four, he passed the exams to become a teaching assistant in the university’s computer science department, later transferring to game design.

Old Zhang’s skills were genuinely formidable. Before transitioning into education, he had been a pillar of the gaming industry.

An industry titan switching paths, a former tech giant executive, a celebrated game designer; with all these titles, Zhang Shunping had instantly become a star teaching assistant.

After changing careers, he had also trained quite a few successful students.

This spotlight rubbed Tang Zhengfeng, a traditional academic theorist, completely the wrong way.

That was when the bad blood between them had formed.

Their promotions had essentially come neck and neck.

With retirement approaching, this was their very last battle.

Under institutional regulations, once someone passed a certain age, they were no longer eligible for promotions.

If you could climb, you climbed; if not, you were stuck in that position for good.

Though it was only a single rank’s difference…

…it was a difference of night and day.

Neither dared to slack off.

As the gaming industry gradually declined, fewer students enrolled, and the quality of incoming students naturally dropped.

In recent years, things had worsened; hardly any promising prospects had emerged.

Tang Zhengfeng believed the only capable student under Old Zhang was Li Lei, who had won a national programming award in high school and earned guaranteed admission to Ye University.

Yet that guy took freelance outsourcing gigs all day, squandering his talent. There was nothing to worry about there.

The rest of the students were basically slacking off.

As for Su Cheng, who had suddenly popped up recently, he wasn’t even worth mentioning.

If one had to analyze the success of 《King of Fighters》, it simply rode the coattails of flashy CG, mixed with a massive dose of luck.

Beyond that, there was nothing to it.

The project presented by his own student, Shi Xiaoqiang, was a major production. Tang Zhengfeng had personally offered numerous suggestions, all of which Shi Xiaoqiang had adopted and refined. He was a talented student whom Tang Zhengfeng favored deeply.

To be safe, Tang Zhengfeng had already rejected Su Cheng’s application, forbidding him from competing with 《King of Fighters》. What kind of waves could Su Cheng possibly make now?

Seven days?

Just managing to cobble together a game in that time would be impressive enough.

Entering it in a competition?

He might as well give it a rest.

He couldn’t influence the judges from the game companies.

However, Tang Zhengfeng had already touched base with the other two faculty judges in the department.

Although he hadn’t explicitly asked them to give Shi Xiaoqiang high scores…

…the hints he dropped had been more than clear.

At his rank, people no longer spoke so plainly. That would leave behind too much leverage. Everything depended on whether you were perceptive enough to catch the drift.

“Hey, Old Zhang, what kind of game did your student make this time?”

Tang Zhengfeng asked Zhang Shunping teasingly.

Old Zhang merely shot him a sideways glance, not bothering to answer.

“When you score them later, make sure you’re fair and impartial. No playing favorites with your own student!”

“Everyone knows you, Old Zhang, are famous for not caring about fame and fortune, clean-handed and incorruptible.”

Regardless of the truth,

he would pin the high moral label on Old Zhang first.

That way, he had nothing to fear even if Old Zhang gave high marks.

“Just shut your mouth,” Old Zhang snapped.

Tang Zhengfeng smiled with satisfaction.

Old Zhang was clearly rattled.

Normally, he would have traded barbs for a while.

“Don’t get worked up, Old Zhang. What are you getting worked up about?”

“Am I worked up?” Old Zhang retorted, stiffening his neck.

“Look at you, worked up again.” Tang Zhengfeng chuckled, lifting his cup to take a gentle sip.

“I’m not bothering with you.” Old Zhang tactically raised his cup as well.

It was still anyone’s guess whose hands the deer would fall into^[4].

What was he putting on an act for?