advance/early chapters : p atreon.com/Ritesh_Jadhav0869
Dinner concluded in a subtly charged atmosphere.
Ivy's beauty was genuinely stunning — the kind that turned heads and stopped conversations — but Blake's thoughts kept drifting back to the grand undertaking about to unfold. The game. The launch. The empire he was building.
After polite farewells outside Skyline Palace, Blake returned to his somewhat spartan apartment.
He didn't rest immediately. Couldn't, really. Instead, he sat in front of his computer, organizing his upcoming plans, fingers tapping absently on the desk as his mind raced.
"Longbow Valley is complete," he murmured to himself, pulling up project files. "Space City and Brakkesh are also in production..."
Three maps. Three distinct combat experiences. Each one designed to cater to different playstyles.
"There's plenty of time." His fingers drummed an unconscious rhythm on the desk. "But the next round of testing has to move online."
"The offline hundred-person test was too small. The data sample isn't enough, and it's nowhere near satisfying the players' enthusiasm."
He leaned back, staring at the ceiling as he thought it through.
"Online testing allows for flexible numbers. Ten thousand testers. No — even fifty thousand isn't out of the question..."
"No need to worry about server capacity." A small smile crossed his face. "The System-maintained servers won't crash no matter how many people connect. And we'll get far more extensive player feedback through online testing."
His thoughts gradually crystallized into a concrete plan.
A week would be enough time to first release the Longbow Valley promotional trailer and continue stoking the hype. Then seamlessly transition into recruitment for large-scale online testing.
But as he thought of this, a more fundamental question surfaced — one that had been lurking in the back of his mind for days.
System points.
All his current achievements were built upon the initial points exchanged for Delta Force.
Subsequent development had relied entirely on the "free labor" of the System's automated production pipeline — virtual workers who never slept, never complained, and never demanded overtime pay. But if he wanted to exchange for the next game, where would the points come from?
He currently had only 1,000 points remaining. Nowhere near enough to afford another high-quality title.
"System," he asked internally, "how do I acquire additional points?"
As if it had been waiting for exactly this question, the System's cold, clear mechanical voice immediately responded:
[Ding!]
[System point acquisition methods are as follows:]
[Method One: Game Milestones]
[Each game released by the Host has milestones across multiple dimensions: sales, daily active users, and revenue.]
[Reaching a milestone will grant point rewards.]
[Example: Desert Bus — Sales reach 100,000 copies → System Points ×1,000]
[Method Two: Quest Rewards]
[Subsequent main quests and randomly triggered side quests all have a chance to offer point rewards.]
[Method Three: Festival Activities]
[During holidays and festivals, the System may launch limited-time activities, providing opportunities to acquire points.]
Blake processed this information, his mind already calculating possibilities.
"Milestones... sales, daily active users, revenue..." He nodded slowly. "In other words, it depends on whether the game is successful. Whether it can attract players. Whether it can make money."
All things he fully intended to accomplish.
He casually clicked open his Steam developer backend, and the sales data for Desert Bus was clearly visible:
Total Sales: 94,387
Only a little over five thousand copies short of the 100,000 milestone.
Although the explosive growth in the game's early days had passed — that initial viral surge when everyone was talking about the "worst game ever made" — subsequent growth had flattened to a steady trickle. But reaching 100,000 sales was only a matter of time. Probably within the week.
Currently, another reason Desert Bus hadn't cracked the milestone was piracy.
There had been plenty of piracy in his previous life, and naturally, it was the same in this world. Especially since the game's popularity was driven mainly by its music rather than its gameplay. The soundtrack had spread across the internet like wildfire, and not everyone who listened felt compelled to buy the $1 game that came with it.
Blake was surprisingly zen about the widespread piracy.
Firstly, the game only cost a dollar. Anti-piracy measures would probably cost more to implement than the revenue they'd protect. And the rock-bottom price point meant most players chose to support the legitimate version anyway — it was barely more than a tip.
Secondly, the music itself — tracks like "See You Again" — had already spread freely through streams and video platforms.
This music was the advertisement. It had accumulated crucial initial word-of-mouth and player anticipation for him and Horizon Interactive. The value of those intangible assets far exceeded whatever tens of thousands of dollars he might have lost to piracy.
"Since the source of points is clear, then it's easy to handle," Blake said, feeling considerably more at ease.
As long as high-quality games were produced, points would snowball. Accumulating more and more. Each success funding the next, larger success.
A virtuous cycle.
"System," he said, "extract all the music files from Desert Bus and send them to my computer."
The soundtrack was excellent promotional material — professional-grade production quality that put most commercial releases to shame. It shouldn't go to waste sitting in a game folder.
[Received.]
[17 music files extracted.]
[Sent to Host's computer — designated folder.]
The audio quality produced by the System was naturally impeccable. Each track had undergone master-level processing, far exceeding any so-called "HIFI" standards in the current world. Studio-quality stuff that audiophiles would drool over.
Blake skillfully logged into Horizon Interactive's official accounts across major social platforms and uploaded all 17 music tracks one by one.
For each piece of music, he used the same artwork: concept art of the "Vyron" character from Delta Force — a lean special operations soldier wearing a goggle-equipped tactical helmet and holding a pistol. Anonymous. Badass. Mysterious.
The data growth for the other sixteen electronic and ambient music tracks was stable after release, with instant play counts hovering around several thousand each.
Only "See You Again" broke through ten thousand plays the moment it was released.
And it was still climbing. Wildly.
The comment section and live chat exploded instantly, flooding with crying emojis, "the feels are back," and "who's cutting onions."
The song had become something of an anthem. A meme. A cultural touchstone for everyone who'd experienced Desert Bus.
Many players who had participated in the offline test smiled knowingly when they saw the Vyron artwork, feeling an inexplicable sense of superiority and belonging wash over them.
While others could only guess what was coming, they already knew how captivating the world behind this character was. They'd been there. They'd fought in Zero Dam. They'd felt the rush.
But constrained by the NDA, they suppressed the urge to share, instead leaving various "those who know, know" coded messages in the comments section.
"IYKYK"
"Can't say anything but... trust me"
"The reveal is going to be INSANE"
This cryptic, insider energy only piqued the curiosity of ordinary viewers even more.
What do they know that we don't?
What's coming?
Watching the rapidly soaring numbers for "See You Again" and the reignited topic trending across multiple platforms, Blake smiled with satisfaction.
Very good. The hype was maintained. The anticipation was building.
Next, it was time for Longbow Valley to make its debut and drop another bombshell on this unsuspecting world.
He took a deep breath, his gaze falling on the video file already prepared on his computer desktop. The file he'd been waiting to release. The next piece of the puzzle.
The filename glowed on his screen:
"Longbow Valley — Operation Preview: Hell Black Shark"
His finger hovered over the upload button.
Time to shake the world again.