If such software really existed, then game making would be something anyone could do?! What would be the point of having game companies then?!
"Impossible!" Lin Guopeng shouted, "It's fake! Fake! How could such software exist? Show us the software! It's garbage!"
"If you say another word of trash, I'll tear you apart!" Chen Xu's patience with this Lin guy had reached its limit. One wild glare from him made Lin Guopeng swallow hard, swallowing back the rest of his words. But he was still wondering, why, why was he afraid?
The representative from Softstar Entertainment couldn't help but wipe away sweat. If this software really existed, it would undoubtedly be a fatal blow to their ongoing development of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy 4," and a fatal blow to any single-player game company! The major internet companies were also excited; with such simple software, the production of online games would become incredibly easy!
Several representatives then asked simultaneously, "Could we take a look at this software?"
"I'm sorry, this software was lent to us by that expert, and it was only valid for one month. In the early morning of the 28th, the software was automatically uninstalled and disappeared from our computer."
Upon hearing this, everyone sighed or gasped for breath, except for Lin Guopeng, who sneered, as if he had known he would say that.
What good is a realistic video if you can't produce the software? How could such software possibly exist? And why would anyone lend it to you?
So Lin Guopeng said with a forced smile, "The software is gone? Heh heh, fine then, why don't you call out the genius who gave you the software? Let me see who he really is, and if he's the kind of guy who thinks he's all that!"
This remark elicited a burst of malicious laughter from the Yinfeng people, but apart from Guan Yi, the group from Hexie University all showed expressions of pity.
Chen Xu looked at him with interest: "You actually dare to talk about that genius like that? Do you know that if he just says one sentence, all the programmers in China could drown you with their spit!"
Lin Guopeng exclaimed, "Who's got such great skills? Let him tell us!"
At this moment, some players realized what was happening and asked in a trembling voice, "That expert... it can't be, it can't be..."
Chen Xu glared at Lin Guopeng and shouted, "That's right! The great god who helped us is the one who discovered and solved the Beacon Virus and single-handedly defeated the world's number one hacker organization, Snake... the great god SMMH!"
Chapter 68 Complete Victory
This statement elicited gasps of surprise. However, many others exclaimed in sudden realization.
So it was him? It was that elusive hacker, SMMH, revered as the most powerful and greatest hacker in the world!
Among the group of people present, there may be some who do not know that SMMH fought Snake alone, but everyone knows that he single-handedly solved the most perverted, terrifying, and insidious virus in the world!
His prowess lies in the fact that for three full days after he independently solved the virus, all security companies in the world had to use his proprietary removal tool to eliminate it! This result made even the most reputable security companies worldwide too ashamed to challenge this legendary figure!
High-ranking personnel at companies like Shanda and NetEase were aware that SMMH had intervened at the last minute, using a god-tier firewall to block all attacks from Snake, the world's number one hacker group. They also vaguely knew that this mastermind had casually gifted this multi-million dollar firewall to the military, doing them a tremendous favor!
SMMH, both in terms of his technical skills and his character, is worthy of being called the king of hackers in the new century and the greatest programmer in the world!
In particular, he is Chinese!
Many of those present were programmers, and their admiration for SMMH was like a never-ending river. Chen Xu was absolutely right; if anyone dared to insult SMMH, then all the programmers in China could kill him with a single spit!
Lin Guopeng couldn't help but shudder when he heard the name SMMH. He wanted to say something, even curse, but ultimately didn't have the guts. After a long while, he stammered, practically scraping each word out: "You said SMMH, just SMMH?! What...what evidence do you have?"
"You want evidence?" Chen Xu sneered. "You won't give up until you're absolutely certain, huh? Fine, I'll give you that."
Seeing Chen Xu's confident expression, Lin Guopeng felt a mix of emotions, wanting to say something to boost morale but unable to utter a single word.
The pressure from the name SMMH was immense! So immense that Lin Guopeng dared not utter a single word of nonsense. He knew perfectly well that if he uttered another disrespectful word towards this god, while he wouldn't be instantly obliterated, his fate would certainly be grim. Lin Guopeng's earlier arrogance stemmed from his arrogance only towards those weaker than himself. Once he encountered someone many times stronger, someone he couldn't even look up to on tiptoe, Lin Guopeng wouldn't dare utter a single word.
The others also took a step forward, wanting to see what evidence Chen Xu could produce regarding the SMMH master.
Little did Chen Xu know that he had opened a forum-like webpage through the internet here, and then clicked on a post: "Today, a group of adorable children will be showcasing their game creations at the XX City International Convention and Exhibition Center. I also helped out a little with this project. If you have any friends in XX City, you can go and support them."
Signature: SMMH
Posted at 8:30 AM on October 31, 2006.
Lin Guopeng looked at the post and couldn't help but twitch his lips. He deliberately laughed out loud, "I'm saying, you think you can just register an SMMH account on any forum and post something and that makes you an SMMH? That's ridiculous!"
But no one laughed. Chen Xu watched his death throes with an air of nonchalance. After a moment of silence, the people below whispered among themselves, and finally someone shouted, "It really is SMMH! That's KillSoft Paradise! KillSoft Paradise!"
Lin Guopeng stubbornly persisted: "Anti-virus Paradise? What a trash forum! If you're so capable, go post this on Sohu and Sina using your SMMH account!"
Chen Xu looked at Lin Guopeng with pity. In fact, he had known for a long time that there would be doubts when Gao Xiaojie and his team announced SMMH, so he made preparations in advance.
The others looked at Lin Guopeng with disdain. A reporter wearing a Sohu reporter's badge couldn't help but say, "Mr. Lin, are you mocking us? As everyone knows, SMMH first appeared on the forum where the antivirus software was installed, which is Antivirus Paradise! This account is the only one that has been recognized worldwide as being registered by SMMH himself!"
A chorus of agreement erupted. The Sohu reporter glanced at Lin Guopeng with disgust and said, "Mr. Lin, I don't know if you can fully represent Yinfeng, but I think the media friends present today will truthfully report everything that happened today. To be honest, your actions have really damaged the image and reputation of a well-known company!"
A reporter wearing a Sina journalist badge stood up and said, "It's not just SMMH who couldn't stand it, even we couldn't stand it anymore. Your company is maliciously suppressing the work of amateur enthusiasts in order to promote and hype your game, and you keep talking about fair competition? If it weren't for SMMH standing up for these lovely students, a good game would probably have been lost forever because of your suppression!"
"You call it a good game just because you see the opening CG?" Lin Guopeng felt a surge of urge to vomit blood. He wanted to shout, "Give me that software, and we can make even better CG, even better games!" But little did he know, in the midst of the chaos, these reporters, whose senses were sharper than dogs, had already used various means to search online for reports about "Jin Yong's Heroes... A New Beginning," the game that had been suppressed by Single Player Games Network.
Meanwhile, the reporters also found the Tiexue Danxin forum. Seeing the overwhelming praise for the game's content and the criticism of the single-player game website, the reporters quickly figured out what had happened.
It turns out that the genius SMMH couldn't stand Yinfeng and Single Player Games Network's suppression of a newcomer's work, so he casually helped them out by giving them a god-level game creation software. Within a month, the game was completely transformed... no, it should be said that Cinderella was transformed into a beautiful princess after being dressed up!
Given this situation, and considering Lin Guopeng's previous behavior, the reporters easily determined their stance and collectively began to condemn Lin Guopeng.
Reporters from several major media outlets chimed in, and the players joined in the commotion. Lin Guopeng and the Yinfeng team looked ashen-faced, thinking, "It's all over. It's all over now."
This exhibition failed to generate any buzz for the game; instead, it was a complete disaster. Lin Guopeng could already foresee that because he had inadvertently suppressed an insignificant game, resulting in this situation, the company would definitely take him seriously… being fired was probably within his expectations.
Thinking of this, Lin Guopeng felt dizzy and staggered. At this moment, players were already shouting, "Hurry up and let us see the game content!"
When will the game be released?
"I just played the game, only a little bit. Yeah, I also played 'The Legend of Shushan Swordsmen'! The graphics and the storyline are nowhere near as good! Guys, please let me continue, I finally made it into Shaolin Temple!"
Chen Xu quickly called out from above, "Everyone, please be quiet! Quiet! Now, let Gao Xiaojie, the planner of the game script, explain the problems with the game!"
Gao Xiaojie, beaming with pride, walked onto the stage: "Thank you all for your support! A special thank you to SMMH and my classmates. Without them, this game wouldn't exist. And as for releasing this game… frankly, we hadn't considered it. Although we made the game, it still carries Jin Yong's copyright. Our purpose as amateur enthusiasts was simply to allow Jin Yong fans to relive their memories and fulfill our regrets. Besides, we're just a group of students; we can't possibly print CDs and distribute them. Therefore, this game will be uploaded online for all players to download and try for free."
"Yes, we've already contacted the Iron-Blooded Loyalty Chinese Forum, and they'll help provide a server for the download. Uh, as for other download servers, we're still trying to find one. Players who are here today, if you have any USB drives or external hard drives with you, um, anything over 2.45GB in size, you can copy them back directly."
Everyone present couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
The first time I'd ever seen a game release where players were asked to bring their own USB drives to copy the game was quite an experience. No sooner had I said that than reporters and staff from several major websites exclaimed, "We can provide a download platform for this game! And we'll help you promote it!"
While the other internet companies couldn't get a word in edgewise, someone had a sudden inspiration and exclaimed, "Hey, we can make CDs right here and distribute one to every player in the room."
Upon hearing this, the players cheered loudly, because who among the players here would carry a USB flash drive or external hard drive with them for no reason? The only thing they could probably store was a memory card from a digital camera, and even that might not be enough...
Another reporter asked, "May I ask how much the production cost of your game was?"
Gao Xiaojie thought for a moment and said, "The cost must be quite high... There are dozens of us working in the school's computer lab for a month straight. Because the food is pretty good, it costs 15 yuan per person per meal. If you add it all up, it must cost tens of thousands of yuan."
"Thump..." The reporters and game company staff at the scene collapsed to the ground.
Lin Guopeng, who had been ignored from the beginning, kept twitching his lips, then suddenly burst into maniacal laughter: "Tens of thousands of yuan? A trash game worth tens of thousands of yuan?! You dare to compare it with our game that we've invested tens of millions of yuan in? You bunch of trash, all of you are trash! All of you are trash!"
These words offended everyone present. However, everyone noticed that Lin Guopeng's condition was not right. His assistant behind him gently tugged at him and said, "Manager Lin, please stop talking!"
Lin Guopeng seemed oblivious, muttering "trash, trash" to himself. Finally, a player timidly asked, "Is he crazy?" Then they saw Lin Guopeng stagger two steps and fall headfirst to the ground...
Chapter 69 Fame
Yinfeng's people scrambled to carry Lin Guopeng away. This little incident didn't attract much attention; in fact, nobody noticed him at that moment. Chen Xu, being rather cunning, seeing that the Yinfeng manager was gone, promptly seized the opportunity, taking over the booth they had painstakingly set up for hundreds of thousands of yuan… well, he meant starting to promote their "Jin Yong's Heroes… A New Beginning" there.
Now, Yinfeng not only failed to steal a chicken but also pitifully ended up doing all the work for someone else. After a quick discussion, the bastards at Hexie University simply installed "Jin Yong's Heroes" on all the dozens of laptops left by Yinfeng. Then, a group of players shouted, "Don't push, don't push, I was here first!" and instantly snatched up all the seats.
The most excited were the reporters present. They seemed even more excited than the students from Hexie University. First, they made a copy for themselves to play with, and then they frantically interviewed the Hexie University students. Microphones and recorders were piled up in front of Gao Xiaojie and Chen Xu; the scene was comparable to that of a top celebrity.
The most frustrated were the other game companies. They'd worked so hard to get a chance to participate in the expo, only to have it all go to someone else's expense. This summit was originally organized by various game companies to promote their games. But the problem was, at that moment, no game could compare to "Jin Yong's Heroes... A New Beginning," a game made by amateur enthusiasts.
If it were just a game, it wouldn't be so bad. Even if the game were incredibly well-made and outperformed all others, it wouldn't have caused such a sensation. Besides, this summit wasn't hosted by a single company. If any other company had attracted all the attention like this, it would inevitably have become the target of criticism… It's too much of a stunt!
But the situation is different now.
First of all, Chen Xu and his team were just a group of students, and the game was released completely free of charge. They didn't even have their own servers, which naturally provided an opportunity for major portal websites. Reporters would naturally try their best to obtain information and see if they could get any relevant data... This was mainly because not only was the game well-made, but the process of making the game was also nothing short of miraculous.
Other game companies whose business was being taken away didn't dare to express their dissatisfaction, partly because players showed immense enthusiasm, and any expression of discontent at this point would easily be attributed to companies like Yinfeng "suppressing newcomers." More importantly... behind them is what can be considered the ultimate boss in the online gaming world... the legendary SMMH!
Such an entity is definitely not one that these self-important game companies can afford to offend. Heaven knows why SMMH would help these poor students? Was it simply because they disapproved of Yinfeng and Single Player Games' actions? Or was there some other reason?
This is also the question that reporters are most interested in, and even very eager to know.
“I don’t know either,” Gao Xiaojie answered into the microphone. “After the Single Player Games Network started suppressing us, I was already prepared to give up temporarily. Then that night I couldn’t sleep, so I was on the rooftop thinking about things.” She glanced at Chen Xu and changed the subject. “But just then, a very mysterious phone call came in. He said he was willing to help me, that he and my brother were friends, and that he would give me a month to fulfill this dream… He told me his name was SMMH.”
Upon hearing this, the reporters immediately became incredibly excited, as if they had been injected with adrenaline. Was SMMH a friend of this girl's brother?
The reporters quickly asked, "Where is your brother now?"
A hint of sadness flashed across Gao Xiaojie's face as he pointed to the sky: "He passed away a few years ago in a car accident."
The reporters fell silent, some even immediately making the connection. If that were the case, SMMH might simply be using this as an excuse to help the students. However, some reporters persisted, immediately attempting to investigate Gao Xiaojie's deceased brother. They discovered he was just an ordinary boy, with absolutely no connection to the renowned SMMH experts.
People saw this petite and delicate-looking girl from Jiangnan standing silently on the exhibition stand, her face showing a hint of sadness and melancholy.
Hmm, thinking back to when I was little, I was always a bit of a wild child. My parents always called me a tomboy and a crazy girl. In my dad's words, he originally thought that having a daughter would make things easier for him, but he didn't expect her to be another little rascal.
From a young age, she was always her brother's shadow, constantly following him around, and she was always up to her old tricks. It wasn't until she grew up that she toned it down a bit, but she still followed him everywhere. Her unscrupulous brother never considered whether raising his sister like this would make it easy for her to get married. He tried to cultivate her interests in everything he liked, like soccer, novels, and video games…
When "My Fair Princess" was all the rage, I didn't enjoy watching this type of Qiong Yao drama like other girls. I preferred to read Jin Yong's novels over and over again, and then discuss the plot, characters, and foreshadowing with my brother.
And then there are games. Besides the Legend of Sword and Fairy series, my favorite is still The Legend of Jin Yong. I remember hand-drawing the world map of The Legend of Jin Yong, traversing every corner of Mount Hua in search of the Golden Snake Cave, and desperately fighting Granny Jin Hua to practice my martial arts...
After completing the game "The Legend of Jin Yong," a sense of regret suddenly arose. The game contained far too few elements; the plot from Jin Yong's novels only comprised about one percent of the content.
Around that time, the brother and sister were discussing how they would structure the script if they were to make such a game themselves.
A brother and sister, kindred spirits, set out to work towards a common goal. But they'd barely begun when the brother was gone… because of a car accident, because of a truck that couldn't brake in time, at a crossroads…
That year, Gao Xiaojie had just started high school.
I completed this game to fulfill a dream of mine, and also to give my brother something to do in heaven. We siblings completed it together. Ah, brother, can you see this from heaven?
At this moment, Gao Xiaojie felt that everything around her was quiet. Although the noise of people was still deafening, her heart was at peace.
She succeeded. The game gained everyone's approval, and her three years of hard work paid off. More importantly, in the past month or so, she made a group of new friends—a group of friends who could work together towards a shared dream.
At that moment, she saw Chen Xu surrounded by reporters. This seemingly silly guy had actually thought she wanted to jump off a building; he was incredibly adorably foolish. And there was Zhan Jing standing beside her, smiling. Although they had only known each other for two months, she felt that Zhan Jing had become her best friend.
I sighed softly; three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Some things, I can let go of now…
The most legendary game in history... Jin Yong's Heroes: A New Beginning
A masterpiece of domestically produced single-player games, created by the legendary developer SMMH.
"Stunning visuals, familiar characters—experience that same feeling of emotion once again."
"A girl who never gave up created a legend in gaming history."
As expected, the next day, major online media outlets were filled with praise for this student-made game, which greatly boosted its download rate.
Players who downloaded the game almost unanimously expressed their support, finding it hard to believe that it was independently developed by a group of students. While the graphics benefited from the work of the legendary SMMH creator, the game's content captivated Jin Yong fans.