Collapse? No, this is just everyday life.

Because the official hotel was too crowded and seemed chaotic and noisy, Mei decided to take the others to a villa near their home. So, shortly after leaving the restaurant, the two groups had to part ways.

"Yes, don't worry, I'm a model citizen who obeys traffic rules."

After gently patting Seele's head to dispel her worries, Nangong Yu placed her next to Bronya and then said goodbye to her new friends.

"Actually, there are many empty rooms in the villa. You can come along with us."

With Seele and Bronya's relationship in mind, Mei felt comfortable inviting Nangong Yu to stay at her house.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I have a few friends over. It's fine if I skip dinner for them, but it wouldn't be right to skip dinner for them too."

Nangong Yu waved his hand in rejection of the suggestion, and then saw Kiana jump out from next to Mei.

"Hey, see you tomorrow!"

Kiana waved her hand and said with a smile that she would also be helping out at the venue tomorrow, so it would be easy to run into her.

"Well, see you tomorrow."

"Hey, I'll be helping Bronya promote her game on the first day, so your game will have to wait until the second day. You don't mind, do you?"

When it was her turn to say goodbye, Xilin crossed her arms and said somewhat awkwardly.

"How could I possibly have any objections? It would be great if you could help. Thank you so much."

"Hmph, it's just a little perk for my fans. Don't forget to follow my account!"

"Of course~"

As she spoke, Nangong Yu took out her phone and opened the live stream interface. Even though the screen was completely black, there were still a few comments floating by from time to time, indicating that she was indeed a well-known streamer.

"I'm now a fan of Ms. Pufferfish!"

Because Celine puffs out her cheeks when she gets angry, her fans affectionately call her Miss Pufferfish.

"How did you know that nickname? No, you're not allowed to call me that! Forget it!!!"

"Haha, such a cute nickname, I probably won't forget it. Goodbye~"

"Waaaaaah! Just you wait, I'll be saying bad things about your game the day after tomorrow!!"

"Then please be mindful of your words."

"Hmph, it's good that you know you were wrong."

"Miss Pufferfish~"

"...You, you bastard!"

Xilin blushed with anger. She raised her finger as if to accuse or threaten him, but found that the person had already run far away and was even smiling and waving at her.

"You, you, you're driving me crazy!!!"

Chapter Seventeen: Even the best wine needs advertising.

"My sons, I'm home!"

Since it was still early after dinner, Nangong Yu went for a stroll around St. Freya after returning home, and didn't go back to the hotel until it was completely dark.

Upon opening the door to his assigned suite, he greeted his three sons with a smile.

"Get lost!" x3

The three people were lying in a row on the sofa, looking limp and weak, as if they had no strength left to even scold him.

"What happened? Why are they all lying down?"

Upon hearing this, both Grandpa Kiri and Sugisaki Ken turned their heads away without saying a word. Only Kitahara showed a moved expression. He looked at Nangong Yu and said with a sigh, "I feel that I have no regrets in this life."

"..."

Well, it seems this guy is quite satisfied with the service he arranged tonight.

"Alright, you've had your fun. Don't forget to complete my game tonight, otherwise it would be too embarrassing for a staff member to not even know what game they're responsible for tomorrow."

"really."

Nangong Yu's voice made the three of them slowly get up. They nodded, looking like they agreed.

They pulled out a computer they planned to use for the demonstration the next day, connected it to the projector in the living room, and had Grandpa Kiri, a recognized gaming expert, operate it while the other two watched from either side.

"Don't worry, no matter how boring your game is, we'll still stick with it and beat it!"

Patting his chest, Kitahara assured him.

"Well, I still believe in the quality of my game."

Smiling and nodding, Nangong Yu took out a box of tissues and placed it on the table, saying to them, "You might need these soon."

"Hmm? Are you playing some kind of creepy game?"

The three of them were puzzled.

"No, I'm afraid you won't have any tissues after you cry."

"cry?"

Nangong Yu's words made the three of them laugh dismissively, especially Beiyuan who directly swore: "Cry? I say, Yu, don't be ridiculous. If this game can make me cry, I'll wash my hair upside down, okay?"

"Okay, I've got it."

"Heh~ Kazuto, let's get started. I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of game could make this guy Ame spout such nonsense."

"Ah."

Grandpa Tong nodded and opened the only game icon on the desktop.

The window popped up, and the first thing that flashed on the screen was an icon composed of the three large characters 'Gensokyo' with a background of red and white yin-yang jade. Then, a melodious background music slowly began to play.

Hearing this, Nangong Yu smiled slightly, opened the door and went back to her room to sleep and rest. She knew she would be busy starting tomorrow!

......

The next day, Nangong Yu got up early. After washing up, he went out to bring back breakfast for his three sons. When he put the breakfast on the table, he quickly noticed that there were about half as many tissues as yesterday, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

After waiting a while, the three people, whose eyes were still a little red, slowly walked out of their respective bedrooms. They looked at each other, then at the smiling Nangong Yu, and were immediately filled with embarrassment.

"Please get me a basin of hot water."

Kitahara suddenly spoke to Sugisaki Ken.

"what?"

With a slightly annoyed glance at Nangong Yu, Beiyuan said impatiently, "Washing hair, what else is there!"

"Pfft~ Okay, okay, I'll catch it for you right away!"

"Tsk."

Turning back, Bei Yuan looked at Nangong Yu and said, "This time, you're really something."

"I look forward to your performance."

"..."

Then, to Kirito's astonished gaze, Kitahara performed a real handstand hair washing routine. It has to be said that Kitahara's physical abilities are truly outrageous.

After breakfast, the group arrived at the venue in a great hurry. Compared to yesterday when there were only staff members, today's venue was much more lively.

Many players who had come from afar stood outside with anticipation, excitedly chatting amongst themselves in small circles.

"Wow, so many people!"

Standing on tiptoe, Kitahara glanced at the seemingly endless queue and sighed with emotion.

"This is the world's most famous mini-game festival. Although the games are not large, there are always many interesting and creative ideas, so it is very popular among players."

As a seasoned player, Kirito was naturally familiar with these things. They didn't look for long before quickly walking in through the staff entrance using their work badges.

Just then, Grandpa Tong suddenly approached Nangong Yu, looked at him with a slight frown, and whispered, "Yu, I have a feeling that things won't be too good soon."

"I know."

"Your game is indeed great, but for a story-driven game, the disadvantages of offline exhibitions are really too great... wait, you know what?"

"correct."

As a game developer, how could he not know people's concerns? Without fame, don't they just rely on gimmicks to attract people?

Other games might attract players' attention in a short time with exquisite and beautiful CG, or cool combat and unique level design, but what about this one? Does it rely on those pixelated graphics that have been outdated for many years?

He had planned to rely on word-of-mouth and buy some press releases for promotion, since the game was indeed good, no exaggeration. However, before doing any of that, he had a trump card that he couldn't possibly lose.

“If you had observed carefully yesterday, you wouldn’t have asked me this question today.”

"?"

Patting Grandpa Tong on the shoulder, Nangong Yu said with a smile, "Don't worry, even if my game only has a blank CG, it will still be a huge hit."

"?"

Grandpa Tong didn't understand why Nangong Yu was so confident, but since he had said so, Grandpa Tong could only nod slightly.

Soon, it was time for the exhibition to begin, and Kitahara and the others were all on high alert, sitting in their seats waiting for the players to arrive.

However, Grandpa Kirito's concerns were not unfounded. Throughout the entire day, their booth was practically deserted, rather than just empty. Those who passed by out of curiosity immediately lost interest upon seeing that it was a pixel game. The few who came up to try it out only clicked for a couple of minutes before putting down their mice to look at other games. The only person who stayed for a while didn't even touch the game; he just listened to music with his headphones on for ages. There was no way around it; under these circumstances, story-driven games were really at a huge disadvantage.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Sugisaki Ken said to Nangong Yu with some concern.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. This situation was somewhat expected."

"Well, in today's society, even the best wine needs advertising. Why don't you go and buy some promotion? It would be such a waste to let such a great game go unnoticed."

"Who said I didn't promote it?"

The sudden question startled Sugisaki Ken: "Huh? But, today's tourists..."

"Don't worry, it's almost time. You'll understand in a couple more days. Oh, and remember to go to bed early these next few days to conserve your energy!"

"?"

Chapter Eighteen, Seele, you didn't want this either...