Thanks to the reduced travel, Zhu Yao has a rare surplus of manuscripts, so there's no rush to update her writing.
[111]: Sure, let's play together!
Following Blade's instructions, Zhu Yao registered her own Steam account and added Blade as a Steam friend.
The blade is of a very high grade, has many friend slots, and its inventory is comparable to that of Yu Nan.
Seemingly knowing that Zhu Yao had just registered and didn't have many games, the razor blade directly enabled family sharing for Zhu Yao.
【YaoYaoZero】: This... isn't this a bit inappropriate?
[Blade]: It's okay, I have too many games in my collection to play them all. You playing them is like saving me money.
After a long download, Zhu Yao opened Cuphead.
"The art style is cute, it's relaxing and stress-relieving, and it's highly playable."
The two connected via voice chat. The voice of the razor blade sounded nice and somewhat familiar, but Zhu Yao didn't think much of it.
Cuphead won the "Art Design" award from The Game Awards, often referred to as the "Oscars of the gaming world," thanks to its unique 1930s animation style and distinctive art style.
When the game was launched, two little teacup figures, one red and one blue, swayed on the screen. Zhu Yao chose the red "Teacup Head," while Dao Dao chose the blue "Mug Person."
Zhu Yao couldn't help but exclaim, "The art style is like a retro hand-drawn animation."
Wolf Knife chose "Cuphead" as a trick; this game looks refreshing, but it actually tests your coordination skills.
Back then, Yu Nan got stuck for half an hour during the beginner tutorial.
However, Zhu Yao naturally possessed the attributes of a pro gamer, and the two quickly passed the tutorial. Zhu Yao quickly got the hang of the game by following the instructions.
Wolf Blade's expression gradually turned serious, and he couldn't help but sit up straight.
Author's Note:
In the next chapter, Zhu Yao will be playing a horror game with Yu Nan. Currently, I plan to write about *Silent Hill 2*, *Resident Evil 7*, *Hong Kong Ghost Stories*, and *Layers of Fear*. Friends, feel free to suggest games you'd like to see covered in the comments!
Chapter 32 A Massive Battlefield
There are two types of game awareness: strategic thinking and reactive response.
A broad perspective can be learned and replicated, but a strong emergency response is the ability to make the most rational judgment in a very short time, based on the current situation; this is innate.
This judgment ability is related to the brain's computing power and is closely related to IQ and reaction speed. There is a gap that is difficult to overcome between genius players and ordinary players.
Zhu Yao and Lang Dao'er are both genius players in the game, and Lang Dao'er discovered that Zhu Yao's talent is much higher than his own.
No wonder Yu Nan values Zhu Yao so much.
Wolf Blade felt a bitter taste in her mouth. If she had Zhu Yao's talent, would Yu Nan even give her a second glance?
Won't.
Wolf Blade met Yu Nan when she was at her lowest point. When Yu Nan first woke up in the hospital, her hands would tremble even when she was just holding a controller.
At that time, Yu Nan refused to accept her fate. She firmly believed that as long as she persisted in rehabilitation, her hand would get better. The quick-witted Lang Dao'er became a thorn in Yu Nan's side.
Wolf Blade, young and arrogant, always found a new way to attack Yu Nan, and Yu Nan became more determined with each setback, looking at her with increasing hostility.
In their repeated encounters, Lang Dao'er became increasingly interested in Yu Nan, who, despite her repeated defeats, refused to admit defeat.
They met at the wrong time, and Lang Dao'er knew there was no possibility of a relationship between her and Yu Nan...
With a silent sigh, Wolf Blade seemed to have made a major decision.
"Would you like to become my apprentice?"
Zhu Yao was taken aback. "Huh? Master and apprentice in the game?"
"No, it's an e-sports mentor-apprentice relationship. You'll learn game awareness from me and how to become a pro gamer."
The sound of the razor blade was a mix of Beijing dialect and a hint of Northeastern accent. Zhu Yao had a vague impression of this quiet and clear voice.
"Let me introduce myself," Blade dropped a bombshell, "I'm a game streamer, my name is Wolf Blade."
Wolf, wolf, wolf, wolf knife! That wolf knife from Yu Nan's brother's studio! The razor blade is actually a wolf knife!
Zhu Yao was deeply shocked; she had even read Lang Dao'er's strategy guide!
Zhu Yao suppressed her surprise and asked in a normal tone, "Then what price do I need to pay? Tuition fees?"
"No need, I just hope you don't waste your talent."
I hope you will not let Yu Nan down, and I hope you will become a pillar of Yu Nan's studio.
"This...isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Zhu Yao was internally screaming for help. Dao Dao must know Yu Nan. Was her disguise in jeopardy?
"If you have any concerns, I can talk to Yu Nan first."
“I have no concerns.”
Zhu Yao was on the verge of tears. Sure enough, Lang Dao'er knew Yu Nan, and she also knew that she knew Yu Nan.
Oh my god! Her author persona is in such a precarious state that Zhu Yao even considered deleting her posts, closing her account, and running away, since she can't make much money writing anyway...
"Okay, disciple," Wolf Blade's voice was smug, "Good disciple, you should also write well and stop creating unfinished stories."
Zhu Yao nodded obsequiously, abandoning her plan to run away.
Now that he had revealed his identity to Zhu Yao and become her master, Lang Dao'er no longer needed to make things difficult for Zhu Yao with his "Teacup Head" persona, nor did he play games with her. Instead, he assigned her tasks.
"Watch the video for my third column first, and then share your thoughts after watching it tomorrow."
Wolf Blade plans to cultivate Zhu Yao's "big picture" perspective, intending to have her see problems from the perspective of game development.
"The first step in playing a game is to disassemble it, just like making a machine requires disassembling its structure and then reassembling it."
As a seasoned gamer, the first thing you should do when you get a new game is understand its purpose. Even if it's an unfamiliar game, you should figure out its genre as soon as possible.
There are only a few types of games in the world: action, adventure, simulation, role-playing, casual, and others. Gameplay styles can be combined, and games can also incorporate many different gameplay styles.
The objectives of games are often limited to a few things: perhaps collecting clues to solve puzzles, telling a story like in a novel, experiencing the exhilarating thrill of an action game, or enjoying the endless fun of competing against others in a competitive game…
Wolf Blade's assignment to Zhu Yao was to understand all game genres and the characteristics of different genres, so that she could immediately discern the creator's intentions upon receiving an unfamiliar game.
Wolf Knife started his live stream, Zhu Yao started watching videos to learn how to disassemble games, and on the other side, the listless Yu Nan received a call from Li Yue.
"The account owner has passed away. Please burn paper money if you need anything," Yu Nan said weakly.
"Zhu Yao's background is not simple."
Li Yue only uttered these few words, but Yu Nan, who had been listless for several days, instantly perked up and almost jumped up.
"You investigated Zhu Yao's background?!" Yu Nan was unhappy that Li Yue had investigated Zhu Yao, but she was also very curious.
What made Li Yue feel that he was not simple...
"I suggest you give up on Zhu Yao, especially since she's not interested in you."
Yu Nan was annoyed. "Whether I give up or not is my business."
Li Yue remained silent for a while, then said, "Well, you can decide for yourself."
What exactly is her background?
"You want to know from me?"
"...Never mind, I don't want to."
After hanging up the phone, Yu Nan stared blankly in the direction of Zhu Yao's room. She preferred to hear from Zhu Yao herself rather than ask Li Yue.
Early the next morning, Zhu Yao, who was cutting back on sleep to do homework, came out of her bedroom with dark circles under her eyes and was surprised to see Yu Nan looking at her with a smile, which was very different from her drowsy appearance a few days ago.
Is this... a change of heart? That's a good thing!
"Let's play a horror game!"
Aren't you scared?
“I’m afraid,” Yu Nan nodded, “so you play while I watch.”
"Aren't you afraid just looking at it?"
“I’m scared,” Yu Nan nodded, “but since I’ve already bought it, I still want to play with it.”
Zhu Yao couldn't understand why people who were afraid of ghosts would still buy horror games...
Yu Nan opened "Layers of Fear," tossed the controller to Zhu Yao, and quickly ran to the back.
Zhu Yao glanced behind her and saw Yu Nan had moved a chair and sat at the entrance of the game room, covering her eyes with her hands and peeking through her fingers at the screen, looking like she was about to run away at any moment, with a gloating look on her face, wanting to watch but also being cowardly.
Helpless, Zhu Yao was about to enter the game when she heard the doorbell ring upstairs. Yu Nan, who was hiding by the door, was so startled that she knocked over her chair.
It's the middle of the night, who could be ringing Yu Nan's doorbell in the middle of the night?
Without thinking twice, Zhu Yao first helped Yu Nan, who had fallen to the ground and was grimacing, to her feet, and then went upstairs with Yu Nan, who was clutching her waist and cursing, to open the door.
"Whoever it is, she'd better pray she has something important to do," Yu Nan glared fiercely at the door, "otherwise... hmph."
As the door opened, a tall figure pulling a suitcase stood outside against the moonlight.
Yu Nan slammed the door shut and dragged Zhu Yao to the basement.
The shrill doorbell started ringing incessantly behind me.
"I'll have Li Yue remove the doorbell tomorrow," Yu Nan muttered to herself. "Then we'll buy enough supplies to last a month, and the two of us won't go out anymore."
When the two arrived at the basement, the doorbell stopped ringing, but Yu Nan's phone started ringing.
It was Li Yue calling.
"Open the door for Lang Xi."
"You tricked me!" Yu Nan exclaimed in disbelief. "When did you and Lang Xi get together?!"
"What do you mean by 'getting together'? Kids shouldn't talk nonsense."
Li Yue looked at Gu Wanqiu and made a gesture of praying to Buddha, but Gu Wanqiu simply turned her head away and refused to look at her.
"Yu Hua is having renovations done, so please let Lang Xi stay for a few days."
"Did you ask for my permission?!" Yu Nan snapped.