Gao Xiaojie had also heard of Fenglailou. He figured he could probably afford to treat them to a meal if he gritted his teeth, and since these guys had already helped him so much, it wouldn't be fair to offer them a meal of spicy hot pot at Ximen Snack Street. So he waved his hand generously and said, "Let's go to Fenglailou! Now!"
Chen Xu was fortunate enough to attend the celebration banquet. Although he hadn't participated in the game's development, he was still a tester. However, Gao Xiaojie was dumbfounded when he arrived at Fenglai Tower. It turned out that this group of animals hadn't just come alone; each of them had brought their families!
You know, those who can get into the computer interest group are basically geniuses in school. Using the computer interest group as a name to pick up girls is quite easy. So the original plan was for about fifty people, but then it almost doubled, and nearly a hundred people showed up! And Gao Xiaojie herself also brought someone... don't get me wrong, not her boyfriend, but Zhan Jing.
Once inside, Gao Xiaojie was completely dumbfounded when she saw the prices. She realized that the three months' worth of living expenses she had left wouldn't be enough to treat her to such a meal. Zhan Jing, seeing her expression, couldn't help but laugh and said, "Since we're already here, changing places would be a downer. If you don't have enough money, I'll lend you some first, and you can pay me back when you have the money."
Upon hearing this, Gao Xiaojie realized she couldn't back down now. She inwardly cursed these guys for being so disloyal. However, she also knew Zhan Jing was quite wealthy; with her skills, she could easily hold a high-level management position at a major security company, yet she remained a student. She'd heard that Zhan Jing hadn't relied on her family's money in high school, writing software that she could sell for a good price. Gao Xiaojie had secretly peeked at Zhan Jing's card when she withdrew money that time—it was a six-figure sum starting with 5!
So when Gao Xiaojie heard Zhan Jing say that, she didn't hold back. Although they hadn't known each other for long, their relationship was like that of best friends of over ten years. This amount of money was nothing to Zhan Jing, and she could pay her back slowly with her own earnings later, so Gao Xiaojie agreed.
Little did Gao Xiaojie know that he would regret it soon after entering. With over a hundred people, the private room definitely wouldn't be enough, so they simply booked a large hall on the second floor, squeezing in seven tables. Then these beasts went on a frenzy of ordering food and drinks, basically costing over six hundred yuan per table, not even counting the drinks!
And before this group had even ordered enough, one of the guys yelled, "Manager! Do you have any wild turtle soup? One serving per table, it's super nourishing!" Gao Xiaojie almost fainted. Whether the turtle was actually wild or not was another matter, but the bill said it cost over a hundred yuan per pound! A big turtle would cost over two hundred yuan, wouldn't it?
Gao Xiaojie's monthly living expenses are only a little over 700 yuan. Although 700 yuan is not bad for a student and is enough for university expenses, it seems that her monthly living expenses are only enough for one table.
“Jingjing…” Gao Xiaojie was almost crying as she held Zhan Jing’s hand, but Zhan Jing just chuckled softly to herself.
Chen Xu, who was at the same table as Gao Xiaojie, couldn't stand seeing the girl like this anymore. He laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Actually, the seniors had already discussed it beforehand—it's a split bill, how could we let you pay for everything? We each contributed fifty yuan upfront, and we'll make up the difference later. Do you really think we're animals?"
Gao Xiaojie exclaimed "Ah!" and then saw everyone at the table laughing so hard they were doubled over. It seemed he had indeed embarrassed himself. However, the thought of not having to eat meager rations for the next six months lifted his spirits. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Manager! Give each table six cases of beer! At least five bottles per person!"
"Five bottles?" Chen Xu and Wu Yuan slammed their heads on the table at the same time.
Actually, five bottles of beer weren't much for Chen Xu. His favorite snack since childhood was liqueur-filled chocolates, which back then actually had alcohol in them! Once, before Chen Xu even started elementary school, he secretly pried open his dad's cabinet and ate the whole box of liqueur-filled chocolates. He then spent the whole afternoon blushing and drunk.
However, Wu Yuan's alcohol tolerance was terrible; he was basically knocked out after just one glass. Everyone egged him on to drink half a bottle of beer, but he chickened out, clinging to his glass and refusing to let anyone refill it. Moreover, Wu Yuan's face flushed red as soon as he drank, turning as red as a monkey's bottom, which was quite frightening, at least enough to scare Gao Xiaojie into stopping the teasing… But actually, anyone who drinks knows that unless they're allergic to alcohol, someone who flushes can actually hold their liquor.
It has to be said that Chinese people have a unique habit: celebrating happy occasions always involves drinking. The success of this game wasn't really a big deal for the computer team... because some of their projects were far more technically advanced. But joining in the fun is a Chinese habit, and after a few drinks, the atmosphere immediately became lively. Amidst the clinking of glasses, everyone drank quite a bit.
Chen Xu happened to be sitting next to Gao Xiaojie, with Zhan Jing on Gao Xiaojie's other side, so this young woman dragged him into drinking quite a bit of alcohol. Don't underestimate Gao Xiaojie, this Hangzhou girl; she drinks like it's water. She started by downing a whole bottle of beer in one go, without even pausing for breath. And in that short time, many men came to toast her, and before she'd even eaten much food, she'd already drunk four bottles of beer, then kept going to the bathroom.
Chen Xu felt both unlucky and lucky. Unlucky because Gao Xiaojie, that little woman, still remembered that ugly photo incident, but the culprit, Wu Yuan, couldn't drink, so she forced him to drink; lucky because she was now the target of everyone's anger, and many scoundrels came to her to get her drunk, so she had no interest in paying attention to him anymore.
However, Gao Xiaojie looked really alluring after drinking too much; her face was flushed, and her slightly dazed eyes were enough to make anyone's heart flutter. Chen Xu really wanted to say, "If you can't take it anymore, just lean on my shoulder," but before he could say it, the woman leaned on Zhan Jing's shoulder instead.
Zhan Jing didn't drink much, because the girl seemed so serene that it was hard to bring oneself to force her to drink. A few men, emboldened by the alcohol, did come over to toast her, but each time she would only take a sip, and it had been quite a while since she finished her drink. Those who wanted to tease her, seeing her gaze, unconsciously lost their nerve, and no one joined in the commotion. They all felt that this girl seemed somewhat distant.
Chen Xu had the same feeling. He had tried to get Zhan Jing to drink with him once before, but the little woman only drank a tiny bit. Then, when Chen Xu went to the toilet, he was pulled away by a few guys. One of them said, "No good! That blue-haired beauty didn't drink enough. Young man, this task is yours. Make sure she drinks to her heart's content!"
This suggestion wasn't malicious; it's just a common practice in Chinese drinking circles. At the dinner table, gender doesn't matter. If a few bottles of alcohol are poisoned, then it doesn't matter if you're a girl or not. Just a little bit? No way!
Chen Xu said with a bitter face, "What can I do? I can't exactly force-feed her through a funnel!" Then those guys chuckled and said, "That's none of our business. Figure it out yourself. We're all watching how you do. If you can't handle it, we'll all come and force-feed you!"
Chen Xu exclaimed, "Damn it, you guys are shameless!"
The animals chuckled and said, "We've got our eye on you..."
Chen Xu had no choice but to return to the table, feeling dejected. At that moment, Gao Xiaojie went to the restroom, and Zhan Jing was just one chair away from him. Chen Xu glanced to the side and saw those bastards grinning lewdly at him; one of them even shook his bottle in a defiant manner.
Chen Xu broke out in a cold sweat. He was also a little tipsy at this point, so he mustered up his courage, picked up a glass of wine, and said, "Zhan Jing, let's have another one?"
Zhan Jing blinked: "Didn't we already drink it?"
At this point, Chen Xu went all out and said, "Who says you can only drink once? Besides, you drank too little. I drink a whole cup, and you only took a sip."
Zhan Jing's smile remained unchanged as she asked, "So how do you want to drink it?"
Chen Xu originally wanted to say that I would drink one cup and you would drink one cup, but then he thought it would be too unfair to force a girl like that, so he said, "How about I drink two cups and you drink one cup?" Then he saw Zhan Jing's eyes widen, and Chen Xu quickly changed his mind and said, "How about I drink a whole bottle and you drink one cup? It's not fair of you to keep drinking like this, sip by sip!"
He had thought Zhan Jing would try to bargain, but the girl just smiled and said okay, then told him to drink first.
Seeing that the animals were all staring at him, Chen Xu decided to take the plunge, opened a bottle of wine, and gulped it down!
It's important to understand that drinking a whole bottle in one go and downing a glass in one go are completely different concepts... First of all, the required lung capacity is different! After downing a bottle of liquor, Chen Xu felt a bit overwhelmed. He chuckled foolishly through his drunken eyes, "Your turn, don't cheat!"
Zhan Jing smiled and said she wouldn't, then filled her glass to the brim with beer. She was so generous with the beer that Chen Xu thought it was a bit over the top. She tilted the glass to pour the beer, which minimized the foam. After filling the glass, she gently blew away the beer bubbles and then slowly added more until the glass was completely full.
"I drank it?" Zhan Jing smiled slightly, picked up the wine glass, tilted her head back, and drank the whole glass of wine in a few gulps. She then showed the bottom of the glass and said, "Is that enough? Would you like another glass?"
Chen Xu was dumbfounded. He had thought Zhan Jing was the type who would get drunk easily, but this girl seemed to be able to hold her liquor quite well. At this moment, Wu Yuan chimed in, saying, "Third brother, drink with her! I wholeheartedly support you!"
Then everyone at the table shouted, "Chen Xu, one more!"
Hearing so many people cheering, and seeing Zhan Jing's ambiguous smile, Chen Xu gritted his teeth and said okay, then went to pour wine into his glass. But at this moment, Zhan Jing gently reached out and pressed her hand against the rim of her glass, indicating that she wouldn't drink it. Then she didn't say anything, looked at Chen Xu, and then at the empty wine bottle on the table.
Chen Xu naturally saw her expression. On one hand, he thought, "How can this woman's eyes speak?" On the other hand, he thought, "Sister, are you trying to kill me? Another 'I'll drink a bottle, you'll drink a cup' scenario?"
At this point, the people around him started to cheer, and Chen Xu also felt that if he backed down, he might really never be able to hold his head up again. So after burping twice, he opened another bottle of beer, put on a bitter face, raised his head, and gulped down another bottle.
After finishing that bottle of wine, Chen Xu felt he couldn't take it anymore; the wine felt like it was about to spill over at any moment. He didn't dare speak anymore, but gestured to Zhan Jing, meaning, "It's your turn."
Zhan Jing didn't hesitate either, filling a full glass just like before, and downing it in one gulp. Her expression didn't change much; she was still looking at Chen Xu with that ambiguous smile.
Now Chen Xu was scared; he'd figured it out. This woman was definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing, the kind who could drink a lot but pretended to be an innocent little lily at the table. Chen Xu thought that if she suggested another bottle now, he'd probably embarrass himself by passing out, but before he could think of an excuse, Zhan Jing said, "Adding the previous one, that makes three. That should be enough, right?"
Her words clearly meant she was letting Chen Xu off the hook, not pushing him to the brink. Looking into her smiling eyes, Chen Xu realized this girl was no ordinary person, so he nodded repeatedly before rushing to the toilet… he needed to vomit.
When Chen Xu returned, he overheard Gao Xiaojie exclaiming, "Jingjing, you can drink so much!" He then asked Wu Yuan, who said that five more men had been forced to drink in the toilet, and that Zhan Jing had drunk ten cups of wine while the other man had drunk ten bottles.
Chen Xu was shocked to see that the girl's face had only turned slightly red, but she still looked calm and composed, yet there was a hint of coquettishness from being drunk.
Looking at this girl, Chen Xu finally understood that some women are not as simple as they appear on the outside; these creatures are very complex.
Zhan Jing's performance made no one dare to go up to her and force her to drink anymore. However, by this time, everyone had basically drunk their fill and eaten quite a bit of the food on the table. Some of the "beasts" at other tables even moved on to other tables to continue eating after finishing their own food.
Judging from their expressions, they clearly enjoyed the celebration banquet immensely. After dinner, the group went to a karaoke bar and booked several large private rooms. Chen Xu's voice was surprisingly good, which surprised Gao Xiaojie. In her own words, "I thought your singing sounded like a duck's quack."
Then Chen Xu humbly said that only our boss could reach that level... At this moment, Wu Yuanzheng was holding the microphone and shouting "I will love you even if I die".
By the time the group dispersed and returned to school, it was already eight or nine o'clock in the evening. The group, still reeking of alcohol, stormed into the school, startling even the security guard.
We were supposed to scatter like birds and beasts after we got back, but since the student activity building wasn't far from the school gate, one of the guys suggested we go check out the online reaction.
Upon hearing this, Gao Xiaojie abandoned her plan to go back and take a shower. So, the group marched to the computer room in the activity building, turned on their computers, and logged onto the homepage of "Single Player Network".
Sure enough, there was a report on the homepage titled "Jin Yong's Heroes... A New Chapter," but everyone's expression changed as soon as they saw the title.
"The most ridiculous and absurd knock-off game in history, Jin Yong's Heroes: A New Chapter, show everyone what it means to be the most absurd, only more absurd!"
Chapter 55 Malicious Comments
"Recently, I discovered a rather quirky game called 'Jin Yong's Heroes... Rekindling the Romance.' As a loyal fan of Jin Yong's Heroes, the name immediately caught my eye, and I assumed it was another mod created by a skilled player, allowing players to continue their unfinished Jin Yong story. So, I downloaded the game."
I was surprised to find that this game was over 300MB in size, as most mods are only a few tens of MB at most. And when I finally managed to download it and opened it, I immediately burst out laughing. Below is a screenshot of the game's initial screen…”
"Does this look familiar to everyone? That's right! This is the opening screen of 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 2'! Okay, I have a high tolerance for shock, so let's jump into the game and take a look..."
"Oh my god, the protagonist of this game is Wang Xiaohu? And Nan Xian, oh my god, he looks like Dugu Jiansheng from the new Legend of Sword and Fairy!"
"Look at this scene again, does it look familiar? That's right, it's the Zen temple at the end of Chinese Paladin 2."
"We have to admire the developers of this game; their cost-cutting is outrageous! Look at these character designs, and then look at these scenes. My god, do you see this map? This is the legendary Dali Kingdom, and they're even using images of Dali from the Legend of Sword and Fairy. The image below is Luoyang. Does it look familiar? That's right, it's the Central Plains Royal City from the Legend of Mir."
"I find it strange. Aren't the people who developed this game afraid of copyright infringement? How can they so blatantly copy other games' content and then brazenly turn it into their own? What are these game companies thinking? Do they really think we players are idiots?"
"Although this is just a free game and the game company doesn't use it to make money, using this method to promote themselves and build their reputation is still a very irresponsible approach!"
"As a platform for publishing and reviewing single-player games, SingleP has always adhered to the principle of seeking truth from facts. We are also independently developing our own games, and we are serious about our work. We would never resort to such unscrupulous means as these knock-off games."
"The new game 'Shushan Swordsman' that we are preparing now has entered the later stage of closed beta testing and will be released soon. Please be patient and give us your support."
...
...
Upon seeing this, everyone was furious!
How could this happen? How did it suddenly turn out like this? Didn't that single-player game website promise to recommend games? How did it suddenly become an article like this?!
Several animals quickly found a computer nearby to log in. The animal who contacted the Iron-Blooded Loyal Heart Forum logged onto QQ, and a pig's head flashed wildly on the screen. It was Little Pig!
"Damn it, little pig, what's going on?!" The animal, its eyes red with anxiety, rushed up and asked.
"Damn it, we've all been tricked!" Little Pig had obviously already received the news: "I just messaged you and you weren't there! That damn single-player game website is just using us as pawns!"
"What's the meaning?"
"Haven't you seen that paid article yet? It keeps bringing up the plagiarism of the game's graphics and characters, and then talking about their own game development, etc. Haven't you figured it out yet? Damn it, I just heard that their single-player game website is collaborating with a game company to develop a single-player game called 'Shushan Swordsman Legend.' They were just worried about how to promote it, and your game just happened to come along and they were immediately used as scapegoats! They belittle you and then elevate themselves, you son of a bitch!"
"Damn it!" All the guys couldn't help but curse. Gao Xiaojie, his face flushed, also cursed. Little Pig continued, "Damn it, we game developers don't have the equipment and engines to create our own characters and artwork. Anyone who plays mods knows that we use engines from other games, modifying and altering the plot to make the game more fun. Who would bring that up?"
"Didn't you notice? I just analyzed it with some forum members. Look at this ghostwritten article; it's already subtly identifying you as a company, using this kind of haphazardly cobbled-together stuff to make money or gain fame! To be honest, nine out of ten netizens who don't know the situation will get this misunderstanding after reading this article and then criticize you for not caring about anything for money."
"Furthermore, the game you guys made, 'Reunion,' has absolutely amazing content! Honestly, once players get hooked, the gameplay is so captivating that who cares about the graphics? I suspect they felt their 'Shushan' couldn't compare to yours, so they resorted to this underhanded tactic. Didn't you see it? That paid article was entirely about how great your game's graphics were, how great the character designs were, how great the character portraits were. It completely focused on those things, without mentioning the game content at all! Don't you understand what's going on?"
"Damn it, this is shameless!" Everyone couldn't help but curse after seeing Little Pig's analysis. "Damn it, you're a big website, and you use such underhanded tactics against us students?!"
Chen Xu, standing to the side, also had a gloomy face as he scrolled through the comments on the post.
As expected, the comments below were filled with insults, all saying that the game company was unscrupulous, and some even calling for a boycott of the company.
"Damn it, what kind of unscrupulous game company is this? What kind of game company are we?!" Chen Xu couldn't help but slam his mouse down and curse.
His outburst attracted Gao Xiaojie, a girl from Jiangnan who was initially flushed with anger, but upon seeing the overwhelming comments, her face turned deathly pale! Completely pale, devoid of any color!
Chen Xu turned around and saw her, saying, "You'd better not look anymore. Damn it, let's find the people behind this single-player game website!" Chen Xu was now practically wishing he could appear as the legendary SMMH and rally hackers to take down this heartless website!
Meanwhile, Wu Yuan and his team were already at it. The alcohol they drank at noon was still going strong, and who could resist seeing this news? A few bastards were already there, their eyes bloodshot, launching a DDoS flood attack, determined to completely hack this damned website!
Gao Xiaojie didn't leave. Her face was pale as she flipped through the comments page by page, her hand gripping the mouse so hard that her knuckles turned white!
Because the single-player game website is a relatively large gaming site, it has a large user base. The post already has over a thousand replies, all of them either cursing or mocking. Not a single one of them is in their defense.
“Those who spoke up for me should have been deleted by the administrator,” Zhan Jing said after looking around. “Little Pig and the others should have posted an explanation, but it’s not visible, so it’s obvious that it was deleted.”
Zhan Jing gently placed her hand on Gao Xiaojie's shoulder, a hint of anger appearing on her usually calm face. She lowered her head and whispered in Gao Xiaojie's ear, "Don't think so much, let me handle it."
Gao Xiaojie immediately understood that Zhan Jing meant she would hack the website, and looked at her with great emotion. Gao Xiaojie knew that Zhan Jing was a very traditional hacker; they would never proactively attack and hack other people's websites. Zhan Jing's statement was already an exception, crossing her bottom line. Moreover, it was because the actions of the single-player website were truly disgusting that even this usually quiet girl was slightly angered.
"No," Gao Xiaojie suddenly said, "Wu Yuan, you guys shouldn't attack anymore. If you hack them once, they'll recover quickly, and hacking them will only give them more ammunition. Forget it."
"never mind?!"
Even Chen Xu felt that this matter absolutely could not be left like this! And everyone knows that Gao Xiaojie has contributed the most to this game!
When she first approached the computer science team, they didn't take it seriously when they heard it was about developing a game. It was only after she begged and pleaded that they reluctantly agreed to take a look.
For this game, since there was no artist, Gao Xiaojie searched for countless photos and scenes online, filtering them one by one to decide which image would be best for which scene... She handled all these tedious tasks by herself.
She really put in a lot of effort for this game. Although the computer interest group members were addicted to computers, none of them were idiots! Everyone could imagine what this game might mean to this girl, because you could tell from the times when she was staring blankly at the computer and the game planner that this game must have a very important meaning for her.
Otherwise, how could a girl persist for three years to create a game plan that would put even established game companies to shame? And how could she pour so much effort into this game?!