I am a demonic cultivator, not a capitalist with a conscience.

Chapter 217 He Died Because of Me (46)

"Since we're focusing on the early stages, we need to make the most of the gameplay."

“The story can unfold in an ensemble cast, and since the Ant Dali incident is also carried out in stages, the dream can also develop in stages. In each stage, multiple characters will be introduced, but once a character is captured or arrested, they can only leave the scene, and then someone else will take their place.”

"However, some adaptations are still needed. After all, players need to know that ants are innocent, and the ones who are at fault are the former committee and Ant Mighty's group. So we need to create a likable character who can help players when necessary... Hmm, you're the one, Spirit Beast Girl! However, Spirit Beast Girl can serve as a guide in the early stages, but later we need more important ant-like characters. Only in this way can we build up the understanding that ants are innocent."

"Because we need to collect information about the other party's crimes, we need to use our phones to record and provide lighting in many places, which is a bit like the movie 'Outlast'."

"Chase scenes are essential; they make the game more tense and exciting. Besides, that's how the news reports are written, so it just goes along with that."

"But what about the former committee? These people are so evil that there's no evidence of it. Players might not believe that anyone is really that bad... Let's just say that they are actually members of a demonic organization, since what they did is quite like that of demonic cultivators."

"Add some more puzzles, some time-related puzzles, and attribute everything to the Gold-Eating Ant Girl! This way, the impression of the Gold-Eating Ant will also be reversed."

By organizing all the details bit by bit, the overall tone of the dream was established.

It will be a story-driven dream world where players will experience that era firsthand and become various characters to gradually uncover the truth of what happened back then.

The dream world won't feature much combat, as the player is facing a corporation and a corrupt committee. All he can do is conceal himself as much as possible and gradually reveal the truth.

Infiltration and exploration will be the themes of the entire dream. Players will be exposed if they are not careful. The difficulty of the dream will be very close to reality, letting them know the difficulties and despair that the reporter faced back then.

Moreover, as the story unfolds, players will gradually realize what a colossal entity they are facing. This sense of fear is as if they are confronting an ancient god, and the icy oppression is enough to drive a person mad.

After finalizing all the gameplay and content, Chen Yu realized that this would be a huge undertaking.

Because it's made up, many details can't stand scrutiny. So I had to release it chapter by chapter, and then fill in the gaps based on player feedback, in order to achieve the desired effect.

After reviewing his project proposal, Chen Yu exclaimed again, "What a massive project!"

There are many things to consider both inside and outside the dream world; it's definitely a huge project.

Having compiled the art requirements for the first chapter, Chen Yu was worried that Lu Ziqi wouldn't understand his ideas, so he created a simple demo version and sent it to Lu Ziqi.

When Lu Ziqi received Chen Yu's request, he was having a fit of madness.

He was initially annoyed at being interrupted halfway through his rant, but after seeing that it was Chen Yu who made the request, he immediately drank two bottles of calming herbal tea and then began to look up Chen Yu's request.

Upon realizing it was a new dream, he excitedly rubbed his hands together, secretly hoping that this would also be a crazy dream, and that it would reach new heights of madness and bring new sensations.

After reviewing Chen Yu's art requirements, Lu Ziqi couldn't help but exclaim, "What a massive project!"

This dream involves a large number of character models. Some of these models can be found in historical documents, but others can only be imagined based on their physical features.

In addition, many buildings have been demolished, so in order to restore history, these buildings are also restored by searching for information, which is the only way to be professional.

After silently calculating the time cost in his mind, Lu Ziqi saw the Dreamscape demo sent along with the request and immediately decided to give it a try.

He saved the trial dream to his phone, entered the dream, set a name, and almost burst out laughing when he saw the scene inside.

The dream scenes were free materials; although simple, they were still passable.

However, the characters in the dream all looked like simple paper figures. Chen Yu probably chose these models intentionally so as not to interfere with the art direction. And for some reason, the paper figure's face had no facial features, but the word "Grandpa" was written on it. This way of presenting it inexplicably tickled Lu Ziqi's funny bone, making him want to laugh.

The paper-thin figure in front of me sat in a chair and then said in a general intelligent voice, "You want to hear about what happened back then? Why are you so desperate?"

Two options appeared before him: "Yes" and "I really want to." In addition, a countdown timer appeared between the two options, but both contained free materials.

The two options are identical, but this also reflects the gameplay of this dream: making choices.

Different choices lead to different outcomes, but Chen Yu doesn't give players much time to consider. They must make a decision in a very short time and then bear the consequences of their choice.

After selecting the option on the left, the dream continued, and the paper figure in front of me slightly raised its head, as if it were thinking about something.

Then he said softly, "That's a story from an old friend of mine..."

As "Grandpa" explained, Lu Ziqi noticed that his surroundings were beginning to blur.

When the fog-like blur dissipated, he found himself in a cramped office.

The office was shared by multiple people. In front of him was an old-fashioned brain, and an old inkjet printer was still constantly spitting out paper with the latest reports on the efficacy of "Ant Power".

After quickly skimming through it, Lu Ziqi found that the report was full of praise, as if Ant Power was a divine medicine from heaven, one pill for perfecting Qi Refining, two pills for achieving Foundation Establishment, three pills for immortality, and four pills for ascension to immortality.

Lu Ziqi knew some of the stories from back then, and knew that Ant Power was actually not very useful, and that eating too much of it could even damage one's foundation.

"It seems I've entered Grandpa's memories. So I must be Grandpa's friend now, since it's an old friend's story."

Just as Lu Ziqi was about to gather more information, his phone rang.

Looking at the flip phone in his hand, Lu Ziqi opened it and found that the caller was a person named Zhang Ai.

After the call connected, he heard a young male voice say, "You finally answered the phone. I've already tested the ingredients of Ant Power, and there is indeed a problem. I'm in front of the committee's office now. Should I submit the evidence?"

Options appeared before Lu Ziqi: one was to "give" and the other was to "not give".

Although he didn't know the full story of the Ant Power incident, Lu Ziqi instinctively trusted the committee and chose to send it.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then someone said, "Okay, I believe you. I'm going in now. Wait for my good news."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Ziqi felt that the dream was quite ordinary.

The next moment, a piercing scream rang out, and something flew out of the window and crashed to the ground with a terrifying sound.

Rushing to the window, Lu Ziqi saw a paper doll lying in a pool of blood, like a swatted insect, still trembling slightly.

Although there was no evidence, he immediately realized that the deceased was Zhang Ai.

The consequences of the first choice have already emerged.

He died because of me.

(End of this chapter)