Chapter 26: Game Showcase

At this “pseudo-game showcase,” Su Cheng focused heavily on the art issues players had criticized, hyping up the new artwork to the heavens.

He practically praised Shen Manman and Du Xi to the skies.

Listening to Su Cheng brag like this back at the studio, Du Xi cringed so hard her toes could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment^[1].

She had watched the entire live stream of the [King of Fighters Championship] from start to finish.

To be honest, it was pretty entertaining.

She didn’t understand games that well.

But having Su Cheng win the championship as both the organizer and developer was just too dramatic.

He hosted a tournament, won the championship himself, and even made cheats for players to use.

Li Lei’s commentary style was also quite amusing. At first, he had boasted to high heaven, but after losing, he was as stubborn as a dead duck with a stiff beak, making excuses about being off his game, his energy levels, and his lack of focus.

Even as someone who didn’t play games, she was thoroughly captivated watching the stream, let alone the players of 《King of Fighters》.

Du Xi slightly regretted not going to the venue with Shen Manman.

It wasn’t because the audience had mistaken the four pieces of concept art for Shen Manman’s work, stealing her credit and the spotlight.

Du Xi simply wanted to experience the atmosphere of the venue in person.

In the end, Su Cheng’s over-the-top praise for her and Shen Manman made Du Xi feel a little embarrassed.

Did Su Cheng say that just to boost game sales, or did he genuinely appreciate the effort she and Shen Manman had put in?

Right now, Du Xi still hadn’t figured out what kind of person Su Cheng really was.

At first, when Du Xi saw Su Cheng always holed up in his office playing games, she had felt a bit disappointed, thinking this wasn’t a proper game studio.

She had assumed Su Cheng just got lucky by making 《King of Fighters》 and hitting it big, but in reality, he was just playing around.

Du Xi had actually been trying to mentally reassure herself this whole time.

There were only four of them in the studio, with no QA testers or operations staff, so Du Xi tried to convince herself that Su Cheng was just looking for game bugs.

Later, when news of the esports tournament came out, Du Xi realized that Su Cheng simply loved playing games; it had nothing to do with hunting for bugs at all.

He hosted a tournament, won the championship himself, didn’t even want the rewards, and just wanted to play games.

She had never seen a game producer like this before.

Just a moment ago, when she glanced at the official website, Du Xi changed her mind once again.

The pre-order count on the official website had skyrocketed past forty thousand, nearing fifty thousand!

This was truly terrifying.

In hindsight, Du Xi began to understand why Su Cheng had organized this esports tournament.

Loving games was one thing.

Driving traffic and marketing was another.

Aside from the several hundred people at the venue.

There were at least eighty to ninety thousand viewers in the live stream, and the engagement level was exceptionally high.

This was equivalent to a massive promotional campaign for the game!

At the very least, it saved the studio a substantial marketing budget.

The move Su Cheng pulled off was brilliantly clever!

Host a tournament, then open pre-orders.

It not only alleviated financial pressure, but also made a name for Qianhe.

Originally, Du Xi felt that working with a few sophomores who hadn’t even graduated yet… carried a bit of a feeling that she was stooping, lowering herself to their level.

But now.

Du Xi gave a very objective evaluation of Su Cheng in a single sentence: “This guy really has something to him.”

…

【Congratulations to the host for completing the quest [Displaying Slight Skill]】

【Acquired: 280 honor points】

【Acquired: Honorary title [Esports Pioneer]】

After the tournament ended, a system notification popped up for Su Cheng indicating task completion.

Besides the honor points, there was this buff-granting title.

“Previously, one hundred thousand copies of the game would give me 100 honor points. Now, it can provide 110 points. A ten percent increase is actually quite significant.”

At the same time.

The Producer Store had refreshed as well.

【《Elite Action》 Main Game Program Expansion & Optimization Pack (281/58) [Limited-Time Discount -75%]】

【《Elite Action^[2]》 High-Octane Sound Effects Pack (281/39) [Limited-Time Discount -50%]】

“Holy crap?”

“The store actually has sales?”

The two game resource packs on sale had a 24-hour limited-time discount.

“Buy!”

“I’d be losing out big time if I didn’t buy this!”

“Another steal!”

Su Cheng swiftly purchased both packs.

【Current remaining honor points: 184】

Su Cheng inspected the two resource packs in detail.

This so-called 《Elite Action》… looked a bit like a certain first-person FPS game he had played when he was young.

Whether it was the character models or the sound effects… calling it a bit similar was an understatement; it was practically identical.

“Now I have a direction for the next game.”

【You have a challenge quest awaiting acceptance】

“A challenge quest?”

【Challenge Quest [Displaying Talent]: Please spend 150,000 Yuan on yourself and 10,000 Yuan on others within 8 hours】

【Quest reward: 200 honor points】

【Obtainable achievement: [Throwing a Thousand in Gold^[3]]】

【Once accepted, the preset countdown will begin. If time expires, 50 honor points will be deducted】

Su Cheng: ???

“A challenge quest about spending money?”

“It even gives a damn achievement?”

Su Cheng looked into it a bit and realized this achievement was different from a title; it didn’t come with any special buffs.

“Once I accept the quest, the countdown starts…”

“Forget it, I’ll leave it for now and accept it when I have time.”

Su Cheng had already booked tables at an upscale restaurant, inviting the staff who had contributed to the [King of Fighters Championship] out for a meal.

Li Lei came over and suggested to Su Cheng, “Should we invite Du Xi along as well?”

Even though Du Xi hadn’t contributed much, an occasion like this wouldn’t miss an extra pair of chopsticks^[4].

If they didn’t invite her, it would feel like they were leaving her out.

Qianhe Studio was a team.

Besides, the four pieces of concept art displayed on the official website were entirely her doing.

“Of course we’re inviting her. I was just about to call her.”

“I also have something to tell you all tonight.”

Su Cheng immediately dialed Du Xi’s number, told her the time and location, and asked her to come over for dinner.

At the restaurant, they were split across three tables, all in private rooms.

Two tables were for the contributing staff.

One table was reserved for Su Cheng and his core team.

When Du Xi met Su Cheng, the first thing she did was apologize to him for her previous attitude.

“Huh?”

“I don’t get it.”

“What are you apologizing to me for?”

Du Xi explained that she had been a bit aggressive before without fully understanding the situation.

“Huh? Attitude?”

“I didn’t notice anything!”

Su Cheng played dumb, not wanting to put Du Xi on the spot.

He had certainly noticed her attitude, but he was never going to take it to heart.

“Let’s not bring up other matters on an occasion like today.”

Du Xi took the hint and dropped the subject as well.

Beside them, Shen Manman’s joy was plain to see.

Working with Su Cheng was so much better.

The feeling of being valued and acknowledged made her feel wonderful and put her in high spirits.

Shi Xiaoqiang’s place had been a one-man show, with an oppressive atmosphere all around.

“Besides celebrating the success of the [King of Fighters Championship], the reason I arranged the seating like this is that I also want to talk about something else.”

“I plan to launch and release 《Metal Slug》 in three days.”

Pfft!

Hearing Su Cheng say it would be released in three days, Du Xi sprayed a mouthful of red wine right onto Li Lei’s clothes and neck…