Chapter 83: The Road to Slaying Gods (Part 2)

On the walls…

Handsome photos of Zhou Yang were plastered everywhere.

There were posters from every stage of his career, from his debut until now.

A large tape player was currently blasting Zhou Yang’s “Storm”…

That was the song that had made Zhou Yang famous in a single night!

It held the memories of Sun Lei’s beautiful youth!

A year ago…

To afford a concert ticket, he had scrimped and saved for over two months before finally scraping together enough money!

The venue had been a sea of people. Everyone was roaring and screaming. The moment Zhou Yang appeared, Sun Lei felt as if a true megastar had descended, his entire body radiating a brilliant light.

His name was Sun Lei.

He was a fan of Zhou Yang.

A fanatic!

Sitting in front of his computer blog, Sun Lei saw Zhou Yang’s post supporting Road Rash. After reading it, he immediately clicked on the Universe Technology official website.

He had originally downloaded it solely to support Zhou Yang’s endorsement.

He didn’t actually take the game seriously.

He liked playing games, but he didn’t have much interest in the racing genre.

After all…

He had played the old FC racing games on the Subor console¹ until he wanted to vomit.

He truly couldn’t understand what was so fun about racing games. Wasn’t it just competing and speeding?

However…

The moment Sun Lei finished downloading and launched the game, his eyes went wide.

“In the world of the future, the battle between humanity and alien lifeforms has reached a fever pitch.”

“This is a long, drawn-out campaign that has driven people to despair.”

“During this campaign…”

“A traitor named Beast emerged from the human ranks to join the aliens. The information Beast leaked turned once-prosperous cities into ruins, at one point pushing humanity to the brink of collapse…”

“The Human Alliance has placed a bounty of one hundred and fifty million on Beast’s head…”

“And you are one of those hunters…”

“Please remember!”

“This is a world!”

“Without order…”

“On this highway, everyone except yourself is your enemy!”

“…”

On a highway engulfed in flames, piles of withered bones were visible.

Vultures occasionally landed on the remains, staring at the road with sharp, greedy eyes…

On both sides of the road, collapsed buildings crisscrossed one another. There were broken traffic lights, charred streets, and mountains of weapon wreckage…

Sun Lei watched the scenes in the opening cinematic.

He was somewhat shaken!

The graphics were incredibly detailed – so detailed that you could even see traces of blood seeping from an inconspicuous crack in a corner.

Subtly, your senses told you that this was a tragic and brutal interstellar struggle!

Occasionally, a billboard with a missing corner would appear…

The charred signs of a large shopping mall seemed to belong to a mother-and-baby store, or perhaps a pet shop or an electronics store…

The ruins everywhere provided hints, suggesting the former prosperity of this city!

“This scene is so detailed!”

Sun Lei was stunned!

He had played racing games before, but he had never seen scenery rendered with such meticulous detail.

He subconsciously clicked into the game.

The game allowed you to choose from eight characters…

Each of the eight people had different attributes.

After picking one at random, the system prompted him that his current funds were insufficient to buy a motorcycle. He could only be matched with a basic bike provided by the system…

“Some games have great cinematics but terrible gameplay graphics…”

“I wonder how this one is!”

“…”

When the game finished loading, he was shocked to find that if the cinematics were detailed, the actual in-game content seemed even more so.

He turned up his speakers…

He heard the roar of the motorcycle engine through the speakers…

He instinctively pressed the drive key.

Immediately, the motorcycle hurtled down the flaming highway. The visual impact of the various scenery rushing past was incredibly strong, creating an immersive sensation…

Sun Lei felt as if he were flying down the road. It was a visual treat…

“Boom!”

“Wait, what’s going on with these bikes?”

Sun Lei suddenly discovered that someone next to him was attacking him…

They were kicking and swinging their fists…

His motorcycle lost stability, leaped into the air, and crashed into the ruins on the other side…

The entire screen shook with the impact of the bike!

Boom!

He could hear the sound of the motorcycle exploding, and then…

“You can hit people in this game?”

“Wait!”

“This isn’t just a simple racing game?”

When he restarted and pressed the enter key, he discovered that the driver he was controlling could actually kick. After pressing the spacebar, he found he could throw a punch!

On a high-speed motorcycle…

“Boom!”

He smashed into the bike next to him.

The neighboring bike erupted in a spectacular explosion. The visual and audio effects were astonishing…

Then…

“Wait, how can this guy have a weapon?”

“What the hell? He can even pick up a sign from the ruins to hit me?”

“Damn!”

“…”

…………………………

“This game! You can actually play it like this?”

“…”

In the Xingxing Internet Cafe, a young man who had just finished downloading the game stared with wide eyes.

He discovered that almost everything in the exquisitely crafted ruins along the road could be picked up to hit people, or be picked up by opponents to hit him…

Billboards, small stones, steel pipes, even torches…

All of these could be used to attack opponents!

He cried out instinctively.

“Please remember!”

“This is a world!”

“Without order…”

“On this highway, everyone except yourself is your enemy!”

That line from the game’s cinematic suddenly surfaced in his mind…

He felt goosebumps rising all over his body. The most primal emotions in his mind were being unleashed!

As he shouted, a crowd of people instinctively gathered around him.

They all stared blankly at the screen!

They were completely stunned by the brand-new gameplay and graphics!

My God!

A game could actually be played like this!

That was the very first thought that flashed through their minds…

They had played racing games before.

However, they had never played a game quite like this!

“What game is this?”

“It’s Road Rash! You can download it from Universe Technology’s official site. The net cafe owner even posted a download notice…”

“Heavens!”

“Alright, I’m going to download it and play right now…”

“…”

A group of young people who couldn’t find anything interesting to play logged onto the official website and downloaded Road Rash.

And then…

“The map I’m on seems to have snow, it’s so slippery! Haha, this guy was driving along and just slid right off the cliff by himself. And he was trying to hit me, too…”

“This is hilarious!”

“What’s going on? My bike is out of control too… You can’t try to hit people in the ice and snow. If you want a good rank, you have to drive honestly…”

“…”

Inside the net cafe.

Many people realized that this game was almost too realistic!

They had switched to a snow map, and the road surface was incredibly slick, making the handling extremely difficult. The faster you drove, the more unstable your motorcycle became, and the easier it was to skid.

There were many comical scenes in the game…

An opponent would try to hit you, but the moment they swung their fist, their bike would spin out of control and plunge off a cliff.

If you wore headphones, you could even hear their screams. The screams faded from loud to faint as they fell, sounding incredibly layered and realistic…

Of course, an out-of-control bike wouldn’t always go over a cliff. Some would slam into the mountainside. After hitting the mountain, you would feel the screen shake along with the impact of the bike. In the first-person perspective, you could even see detailed visuals of bike parts breaking off and the fuel tank leaking…

“Boom!”

Details!

It was full of details!

Even the explosions were magnificent…

“Look, everyone, there’s a local area network mode here!”

“I’m setting up a LAN game. Is anyone joining? If you want to play, come join!”

“The room is 433, the password is 123456!”

“…”

Before they had even recovered from the thrill of the single-player mode, everyone excitedly discovered that this was a game that supported local multiplayer!

Several people instinctively joined the LAN lobby and selected their characters…

……………………….

No one could have imagined it!

Even Changhong, who had been bad-mouthing Zhang Yang, never expected this game to be so addictive.

Yes!

He had tried it!

His original plan was to find any flaw in the game so he could continue blasting Zhang Yang as nothing more than a businessman!

But…

Once he logged into the game and started playing, two hours passed in the blink of an eye!

The game offered a high degree of freedom!

Even though it was a highway motorcycle race, you could use anything on the road to attack your opponents, hinder their speed, or even destroy them entirely!

It was a hearty, dripping sense of satisfaction. Once you started playing, you couldn’t stop!

Besides motorcycles, massive vehicles like sedans and sprinkler trucks would occasionally appear.

If you weren’t careful, you would be sent flying by a collision!

The level of realism compared to an actual highway was very high!

You could even hear that cheesy, ubiquitous music coming from the sprinkler truck² as it approached!

He really couldn’t understand it!

How could such a fantastic game experience be created in such a short amount of time?

The game certainly had its flaws, but the problem was that compared to the level of detail, those flaws were practically negligible.

It’s over!

I’m finished!

He exited the game and immediately logged onto Tieba.

He had to delete all his previous posts. Right now, those posts were basically a pillar of shame.

And then, sure enough!

He found that the comments, which had previously been entirely in his favor, were now a solid wall of curses!

Along with the wave of insults, his follower count on Tieba was plummeting.

Even deleting the posts couldn’t stop the speed at which he was losing fans.

Many people had already taken screenshots the moment he started his rant and had reposted his words everywhere. He was being nailed to a pillar of shame across the internet.

To be fair…

The internet always leaves a trail…

“Dammit!”

“If I have to be shameless, then I’ll be shameless!”

“Apologize first…”

“After apologizing, I’ll fiercely praise this Road Rash!”

“To recognize one’s faults and correct them is the greatest of virtues!³“

He immediately shifted his strategy and shamelessly began to heap wild praise upon the game!

However, there was still a massive outcry calling him a shameless fraud!

……………………….

Dadi Technology.

The mood among the staff had truly reached rock bottom.

They realized that even if they launched their game immediately, there was no way they could compete with Zhang Yang’s game!

The gameplay and mechanics they had racked their brains to come up with were not only present in Zhang Yang’s game, but Zhang Yang had even included many mechanics they hadn’t even thought of!

Everything that needed to be done!

This Road Rash had already done it all, and it was more perfect and more shocking than anyone could have imagined!

Manager Ding Ziguang stood by his office window, feeling a sense of powerlessness for the first time.

Even a lion hunting a rabbit needs to use its full strength!

But the opponent didn’t seem to be a rabbit – it was a giant dragon!

What he found most unacceptable was that the hard work of everyone in his company for the past half-month seemed destined to go to waste.

Damn it!

How are we supposed to compete with this?

Ding Ziguang racked his brain, but the most he could hope for was to make their graphics slightly better than Zhang Yang’s…

But…

At this stage, what use was being slightly better in one area?

After tasting the finest delicacies, who would ever go back to flavorless cabbage porridge⁴?

After so many years in the gaming industry, this was the first time he had faced a situation that made his scalp tingle with such dread…

Just then…

His phone started ringing.

He answered it.

“My god, Director Ding, Road Rash is absolutely incredible. When will your game be available for download? Will it be even more amazing than theirs?”

Smith’s voice was filled with a hint of anticipation.

Upon hearing the voice, Ding Ziguang remained silent for a long, long time.

At this moment, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer, but rather that he didn’t know how to respond to Smith.

What could he say?

“Director Ding? What’s wrong? Director Ding, you’re not going to tell me that you… you can’t compete?”

Smith’s voice turned incredulous.

Shocked, even!

“Director Ding, you’re not… going to lose, are you?”

“…”

Ding Ziguang’s heart sank to rock bottom. His entire being radiated a sense of unwilling defiance, but that defiance soon dissolved into bitterness.

In the end…

He gave a helpless smile.

“As much as I hate to admit it, President Zhang’s game is indeed superior to ours… We were caught completely off guard.”

“What?”

“I think we’ll have to take responsibility for our own arrogance now…”

Ding Ziguang let out a long, low sigh.

Even though those were the words coming out of his mouth.

After thinking for a while, he still felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

They were indeed arrogant.

But was arrogance really the reason?

No!

They had been serious enough, but in this world, being serious didn’t guarantee perfection.

And Zhang Yang…

“Regardless, the game will still be released as scheduled. Our pre-launch marketing channels should win us back some ground. Even if the odds of winning are slim, it shouldn’t look too bad. After all, we’ve hired top-tier celebrities…”

“…”

After hanging up with Smith, Ding Ziguang felt a heavy weight of pressure on his shoulders.

He then had a brief discussion with the marketing department…

Not long after…

The marketing department delivered a piece of news that was even harder to swallow!

“Little Heavenly King Zhou Yang urges fans to play Road Rash!”

“Zhou Yang missed a press conference because he was playing Road Rash; he didn’t have time to style his hair, leading to an extremely awkward scene…”

“…”

After seeing this series of news updates.

He forced another bitter smile.

Great!

Why even bother with top-tier celebrities!

How the hell are we supposed to compete with that!

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes