The data analyst frantically took notes on the electronic screen:
"NPC activity routes are framed, lacking flexible Artificial Intelligence (AI), interactions are incredibly bland; the weather system and ecological environment are not yet fully built..."
That afternoon, inside the high-level meeting room.
The data analyst was presenting a long list of points requiring urgent fixes proposed by the Testing Department.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) sat at the head of the table, his cold gaze sweeping over the Department Heads sitting below with tense expressions.
"Leave the weather system issue to our department to handle!" As soon as the analyst finished speaking, the Head of the R&D (Research & Development) Department hurriedly spoke up, quickly snatching the easiest task.
After all, if he didn't voluntarily open his mouth, the CEO would just throw that job in his face later anyway. It was better to grab the light work himself to avoid being assigned a difficult task!
The CEO intertwined his hands, resting his chin on them:
"The weather system and day-night cycle are very simple, leave them to R&D. But the Design Department must find a way to make the NPC system more lively and realistic! You all must ensure that every NPC has the thoughts and reactions of a real person living in that world!"
He tapped his index finger lightly on the glass tabletop:
"Everyone, do not forget, the selling point of this project is absolute realism! You must ensure that every NPC has a distinct personality, background, skill system, and past experiences! For example, however many beginner villages there are on the Continent, the village chief of each place must have a different personality! If players encounter the exact same molds everywhere they go, then what appeal does our game have left?!"
The Head of the Design Department forced a smile, nodding repeatedly, but inwardly, he was cursing incessantly.
Easier said than done! This massive world had several continents, each containing tens of millions of NPCs, big and small. His Design Department ultimately only had a few dozen staff members; how could they sit and write complete biographies, set backgrounds, and build skill trees for every single NPC?!
He rolled his eyes, suddenly coming up with a cunning idea, and glanced over at the Head of the R&D Department sitting next to him.
That evening.
The Head of the Design Department gritted his teeth and paid, inviting the Head of the R&D Department to a lavish dinner at the most luxurious restaurant in the city.
One month later.
The dynamic weather system of the R&D Department was not yet complete, but in return, they had managed to churn out a Random Generation System.
"We have embedded a massive database encompassing personality types, physical traits, behavioral models, and past experiences into this system... It will automatically extract and randomly assign them to the NPCs!
I guarantee there will never be a case where two NPCs have 100% overlapping stats and lives! The number of NPCs in the game is incredibly massive. Therefore, except for important characters in the main storyline that we need to design by hand, all other background NPCs will be managed by this system. They have the ability to self-rationalize their behavioral logic! Even when a bug occurs, these NPCs will automatically adjust and patch the bug to fit the realistic context!"
The Head of the R&D Department stood at the presentation podium, talking endlessly with full pride.
The Head of the Design Department sat below, secretly applauding. Thanks to this system, the design team's workload had decreased significantly! It seemed that the costly dinner the other day was truly worth the money!
Just as he was secretly rejoicing, the Head of the R&D Department also finished his report.
The CEO nodded in satisfaction: "Very good. Integrate this random generation system into the server immediately. Later, have the Testing Department log in to check if the NPCs resemble real people yet. If everything operates smoothly, then..."
While the atmosphere in the meeting room was extremely serious.
At the central control room of the Core Artificial Intelligence (Core AI) managing the entire game system.
The massive energy sphere levitating in the middle of the room suddenly flashed violently for a beat, radiating a strange halo, and only slowly stabilized a few seconds later.
However, the technician in charge of the AI monitoring shift happened to cover his mouth and let out a huge yawn, completely missing that tiny but groundbreaking abnormal fluctuation.
That evening, using the excuse of going out to breathe some fresh air, Karen strolled past the Miller house and dropped a reflexive greeting just like countless times before.
"Elara, Lily, good evening!"
Although in his heart he was certain he would have to hear the chorus of "the clothes haven't dried" and "the game is really fun" again, uttering a greeting had become a hard-to-break habit for him.
However...
"Karen, young man, good evening!"
"Everything is fine, thank you for asking! Karen, you've been looking quite mature lately, shaping up to be a future warrior!"
Karen stopped dead in his tracks, his legs as if cursed with Petrification.
"What did... you two just say?!" He widened his eyes, glaring at the grandmother and granddaughter of the Miller family.
Could it be that old Elara and little Lily had just been possessed by a Demon or hit by the mind-manipulating Magic of some evil Mage?!
The two of them also looked at him with strange and apprehensive eyes.
"We just wished you a good evening! Karen, what's wrong with you? Could it be your ears... didn't you hear what we said?" Little Lily frowned, speaking in astonishment and worry.
Karen was so shocked he couldn't utter a word.
Five years! After five whole years of living like soulless Golems, Lily and old Elara could suddenly react and converse exactly like normal humans! What on earth was happening in this village?!
He subconsciously nodded, ignoring the bizarre looks from the Miller grandmother and granddaughter, and kept his head down, walking straight ahead. It took a long while, only when he reached the central square, did he snap out of it.
"Martha, good evening!"
"Good evening, Karen! Are you out for a walk again?" Martha flashed a radiant smile, her eyes lively, completely different from her usual dull appearance.
"Miller, have you had dinner yet? Seeing you smiling so brightly, there must be a special delicious dish at your house tonight?"
"I've eaten. Sigh! Where would I find any delicious dish?! It's still just stewed cabbage, not a single drop of butter or animal fat to coat the stomach!" Miller smacked his lips, shaking his head in boredom.
...
Walking around the entirety of Oakstone village, Karen's chest pounded like a drum.
Initially, he was still bewildered, wondering if only the Miller grandmother and granddaughter had been hit by dark magic. But now the truth was plain before his eyes: the entire village had changed!
It was impossible for an entire village to be controlled by magic simultaneously without creating any Mana fluctuations!
Although he could not explain why these soulless humans were suddenly pumped full of vitality and intellect, just the thought of no longer having to live among a bunch of wooden puppets from now on made him so overjoyed he wanted to jump up.