[ Congratulations, Host! You have accumulated 114,514 Popularity Points! Successfully unlocked a new ability! ]
[ Earth's complete music library has been unlocked! You alone can now create an era! A musical era named after you! ]
[ You are only 14,514 Popularity Points away from unlocking the next ability, Ultimate Beatboxing, to conquer all men, women, young, and old! Please continue to work hard, Host! ]
No sooner had the system's voice sounded than it replayed itself less than three seconds later.
[ Congratulations, Host! You have once again accumulated 114,514 Popularity Points! Successfully unlocked a new ability! ]
[ Ultimate Beatboxing has been mastered! You can now conquer most women with just your lips and teeth! This is truly amazing! ]
Although the description of Ultimate Beatboxing inexplicably changed from mimicking sounds to conquering others, Hua Jian still felt genuine joy as he sensed the skill that had suddenly become instinct.
Now it's truly perfect; I'll show you all in a flash!
He casually scanned the completed character design into the consciousness-editing animation production machine. In the blink of an eye, a vivid Live2D character model appeared on the screen, which could be freely dragged, have its background changed, and its actions modified.
As long as the freeze-frame button was pressed, the Live2D would instantly transform into a perfectly hand-drawn image, eliminating any slight, jarring discrepancies... This machine seems a bit powerful, doesn't it?
Hua Jian couldn't help but marvel at a fact he thought he understood but actually didn't at all.
Casually switching through several of the machine's preset backgrounds and trying to visualize the character within them, Hua Jian was surprised to find that, unlike typical sticker-style drawing, the machine itself seemed to have undergone high-intensity real-time rendering. From every perspective, from perspective to composition, no flaws could be found.
After a quick check to ensure he hadn't missed anything, Hua Jian unhesitatingly sat down in the production machine and put on the helmet used for reading consciousness.
The scanned characters appeared before his eyes, along with instructions on how to use the machine for creation.
In a short while, Hua Jian completely understood how he should go about recreating the story of steins;gate.
— — ["The universe has a beginning, but no end. Infinite."]
— — ["Planets also have a beginning, but they will inevitably move towards destruction. Finite."]
— — ["From history, it can be seen that those with wisdom are the most foolish. This can be said to be the ultimatum given by the gods to those who resist."]
A black screen of unclear meaning and a flashing, distorted screen like an old television, accompanied by extremely unique sounds, began to emanate from the nearby screen. This signaled the official start of "steins;gate."
— — "Oh my, this is intense? It's directly playing an animation?"
— — "Cowboy Hao?!"
— — "Wow, an opening as eccentric as the title, but the sound is strangely captivating. It seems to have struck a chord with me."
The audience's discussions also began as the screen played. Soon, the narration ended, and a character gradually appeared in the 畫面 of unclear meaning.
In a stark white light, Okabe Rintaro, with a hint of stubble, appeared.
He slowly put away his phone after finishing his monologue, and at the same time, a sweet call came from behind him.
"Okabe — —"
The girl clasped her hands behind her back, smiling as she looked at him.
The summer cicadas chirped, and Okabe Rintaro slipped his hand into his white coat:
"Let's go."
Shiina Mayuri should have followed his steps, but at this moment, she suddenly looked up, stretched out her hand towards the glaring midday sun, and then tilted her head back.
She widened her eyes, then smiled.
— — [Prologue of Origin and End]
"Now commencing infiltration of the venue, El Psy Kongroo." In the bustling Akihabara, Okabe Rintaro raised his phone, its screen completely black, and muttered to himself.
In front of him and Shiina Mayuri was the RAJIO Building, a brightly lit, neon-flashing building that looked incredibly lively.
"There are very few people. Is the Organization interfering, after all?" Okabe Rintaro said to himself in a choked voice, in the rather empty classroom.
"What's going to happen next?"
Mayuri's words immediately relaxed Okabe Rintaro's tone. He sighed, "You followed me without even knowing that?"
Saying that, he pointed to the banner hanging in front of the whiteboard.
[ Commemorative Ceremony for Dr. Nakabachi's Successful Invention of the Time Machine ]
Over a minute of screen time had already given the audience in the live stream many things to discuss. They eagerly began sending out bullet comments.
[ Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, it's really fast. I wonder if I'll be able to see him finish and broadcast all the content on the day of the live show? ]
[ Okabe's phone seems to be consistently black, doesn't it? And what's that strange code he uses? ]
[ El Psy Kongroo! That's kind of cool! ]
[ The person upstairs is amazing, memorizing that string of incomprehensible English just by looking at it once? ]
[ This intense? Starting right away with a Time Machine invention success commemorative ceremony? Does that mean the next plot will be the struggle between the Organization centered around the Time Machine? ]
"This amount of information... is a bit much." In front of the big screen, Host Fang Yuan exclaimed with a look of surprise.
"Although it seems a bit eccentric, both the narrative rhythm and the details are very rich. It's hard to imagine this is the standard of impromptu creation."
Cowboy Hao nodded, "Exactly. Even though it's only been playing for a short while, every scene seems to have a deeper meaning. If it's not just a pretense, then I think we might consider declaring the champion early."
"No, no, no, not that fast. We can't be so absolute with our words. We can only say that we're looking forward to his final result. Otherwise, people will criticize us for having a fixed outcome, and that's not good." However, unlike Cowboy Hao, Uncle Big Nose, who also favored steins;gate, quickly added and explained.
He probably got used to covering his bases, even in this situation, he still didn't dare to pop the champagne too quickly.
The judges on stage didn't dare to pop champagne, but the director backstage was having a grand celebration.
Other contestants were still perfecting their character designs, and yet you're already broadcasting an animation.
It's hard not to get their attention!
Such speed was astonishing both within and outside the show. Screenshots of the show spread across QQ groups within these short ten-odd minutes.
Word spread like wildfire, and in the blink of an eye, the show's popularity surged, and everyone was consistently coming for Hua Jian, for "steins;gate"!