What do you mean the games you make are all real?!

Chapter 73 Released, Captain Ao Asks for Help (4600)

Less than fifteen minutes after the announcement was released, the Xiaozonghe Forum's servers were brought to a semi-paralyzed state due to excessive instantaneous access.

The average lifespan of posts on the homepage has dropped to less than one second, with dozens of new discussion posts appearing with every refresh.

The hashtag "Resident Evil's 100 million dollar prize" soared to number one on the trending topics list, overshadowing a top celebrity's extramarital affair lawsuit and a newly released mobile phone.

"Am I seeing things? Miteng is organizing a speedrun competition, inviting top gamers from around the world to participate. Ordinary people can also register online and play the game at the same time, with completion times included in the rankings!"

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, am I seeing things?! A prize of 100 million?! Has Mi Teng gone mad?!"

"Upstairs, are you seeing things? I just read the announcement five times. It does say 100 million yuan after tax. Note that it's after tax. Miteng will pay the taxes, so it's a solid 100 million yuan in hand."

"The previous record for the highest single-player prize in gaming history was 20 million for the world championship of a certain MOBA game, and that was split among five people plus the club's cut. Now, Resident Evil has a single player winning 100 million, and that's after tax. It's truly terrifying!"

What will be the mystery gift from Umbrella for the top 100? Does anyone have a leak? What new product is it?

The Umbrella medicine given as a reward for the first clear has already gone up to nearly 20,000 per set on the secondhand market. Something that only a hundred people worldwide get can't be bad, right? It should be at least better than what the first 10,000 clearers get.

"Would Miteng give us the T-virus as a reward? (Just kidding)"

"Why is Miteng holding this kind of competition? This is the first time I've ever heard of a single-player game having a competition. I admit that Resident Evil is a masterpiece, but it is ultimately just a single-player game. I heard that the fourth chapter is the final chapter. Once most players have completed the game, its lifespan will be over."

"Upstairs, you yourself said that once the final chapter is released, the lifespan of Resident Evil will be counting down. So of course, Miteng will have to make a final, crazy profit. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"To put it bluntly, this 100 million yuan prize money is the GG fee they used to buy global trending topics. If you do the math, with 100 million yuan spent, all the game media, financial media, and social media platforms around the world are spontaneously reporting on this competition. If this exposure is converted into GG advertising fees, it would be worth at least several hundred million yuan. Miteng is doing a lot with a little money. You think they're crazy, but they're actually very shrewd."

"Is Chapter Four the final chapter? No way! After playing Resident Evil, I can't really play other games anymore. The graphics aren't as realistic, the controls aren't as solid, the monster designs aren't as imposing, and the storylines aren't as daring. I used to think those annual blockbuster games were pretty good, but now I open one and close it after one look."

"Indeed, the thought of not being able to play such a high-quality game for a long time after finishing the last chapter makes me feel a sense of loss."

"It's so hard to find a good game these days. I wonder if Miteng will run out of ideas for his next game. So many game companies had great previous games, but their new games just go crazy and then they never recover."

"Even if Mi Teng hasn't run out of ideas, it will still take several years for a new work to be released. A masterpiece like this requires a lot of time to polish."

"Alright, Chapter 4 hasn't been released yet, so let's not think about what to do next. Let's finish the final chapter first."

"I'm already getting excited. I heard that the first 100 people to clear the final chapter will receive an invitation from Miteng to have the game broadcast live globally from the stadium in downtown Deepsea City."

"I heard that top gamers from other countries have also started playing Resident Evil. August, a top streamer from the United States of America, and Yosuke Yamashita from Japan have already broken Liao Yunkai's previous record. There are also many people whose names I've never heard of before who have broken Liao Yunkai's record. Liao Yunkai's position is in jeopardy."

"As expected, there are many hidden talents among ordinary people. The competition is too fierce. I wonder if Captain Ao and Liao Yunkai can get Mi Teng's invitation. If these two who were the first to pass the test can't get the invitation this time, then it will be a real joke."

"I think it's unlikely. Captain Ao's skills are terrible, not to mention that he took a shortcut for the first flight. Liao Yunkai might have a chance to get an invitation, but he's unlikely to be the one to get the first flight this time."

"Liao Yunkai's skill level in Battlefield Vanguard is top-notch in China, but it can only be considered first-class in the world, not the best. Now the top players and streamers have started playing Resident Evil, and with such a large prize, they will definitely go all out. The suspense of this competition is too great, and it is really something to look forward to."

"Let's check online at 7 PM today. The final chapter will be officially released at 7 PM tonight, and then we'll know the result."

Meanwhile, after seeing the announcement from Mi Teng, Captain Ao arrived at Liao Yunkai's live streaming company building with his virtual reality headset and a large number of gifts.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Coming, coming! No need to knock if you're outside, just leave the delivery at the door."

Zhou Luo, who had just finished his live stream and was about to take a break before preparing for the final chapter of Resident Evil, heard a knock on the door and said somewhat impatiently.

But when he opened the door and saw the person outside, he was stunned, and then shouted in disbelief.

"Proud Captain Arrogance!"

He never dreamed that Captain Ao, who had been competing with Liao Yunkai for viewership in the live stream for so long, would personally visit him with bags full of gifts.

Captain Ao nodded politely, clearly pleased with Zhou Luo's expression. Although he was often called "Arrogant Dog" online, in real life, who wouldn't respectfully address him as Captain Ao?

"I'm here to see Liao Yunkai, Brother Kai. Can you let me in?" Captain Ao said, lifting the heavy load in his hands.

"Please come in—please come in quickly!" Zhou Luo quickly stepped aside, reaching out to take the things from Captain Ao's hands while shouting into the house.

"Brother Kai! Brother Kai, come out quickly! Captain Ao is here to see you!"

Captain Ao walked into the living room carrying the gifts, his gaze sweeping around the room. Liao Yunkai's live-streaming company was much more modest than he had imagined, incomparable to his multi-million dollar luxuriously decorated villa. He had basically invested all the ill-gotten gains he had made over the years into that house.

Of course, he didn't come here to show off his superiority; he came to ask for a favor.

"Captain Ao? Where is Captain Ao?"

Liao Yunkai didn't come out, but Shu Yiheng and the other junior anchors rushed out after hearing Zhou Luo's shout. When they saw that it really was Captain Ao, they were all speechless.

"Brother Kai is probably reviewing the route of Chapter 3. Wait a moment while I go call him." Zhou Luo poured a glass of water and placed it on the coffee table, then ran towards Liao Yunkai's room in his slippers.

"Brother Kai, open the door quickly, Captain Ao is here!" Zhou Luo knew that Liao Yunkai had already finished his broadcast at this time, so he knocked on the door directly.

Liao Yunkai, who was reviewing the speedrun of the live stream inside, frowned upon hearing the knock on the door, but still took off his headphones and opened the door.

"What's going on? Didn't I tell you not to bother me unless it's important?"

"It's Captain Ao looking for you," Zhou Luo said as soon as he saw Liao Yunkai open the door.

"Captain Ao? What's he doing here?" Liao Yunkai frowned again. Although he didn't say anything when his first call was stolen last time, he was still a little unhappy. Moreover, he didn't really like Captain Ao, who liked to make money through dishonest means.

"I don't know," Zhou Luo shook his head and continued.

"However, he brought quite a lot of things over. I glanced at them and saw two bottles of grain, three sticks of firewood, and some other things. They weren't cheap in total."

"What's this guy up to? Let's go check it out." Liao Yunkai racked his brains but couldn't figure out why Captain Ao would suddenly bring some valuable things to his door. But since he couldn't figure it out, he might as well just go and ask.

"Captain Ao, what a rare guest! You've come all this way, what did you bring?" Liao Yunkai pushed the wheelchair to Captain Ao's side, glancing at the items on the coffee table.

"There's no reason to come empty-handed." Captain Ao smiled and pushed the things towards the center of the coffee table.

"It's just a small token of my appreciation, Brother Kai, please don't find it offensive."

Liao Yunkai didn't reply, he just looked at Captain Ao.

The two stared at each other for about three or four seconds before Captain Ao looked away first.

"Brother Kai, I've come here to discuss something with you." Captain Ao took a deep breath and delivered the opening remarks he had rehearsed several times on the way.

"About this speedrunning competition."

Liao Yunkai leaned back in his wheelchair, his expression not changing much, only slightly raising his chin to signal him to continue.

"I know my own limitations. My skills are only good enough to rank in the top 50 in the country. I'd be lucky to even make the top 500 globally. This speedrunning competition is packed with top competitors. I might not even make the top 100, let alone win first place."

"But Kai, you're different. Your skills are top-notch in the country and in the top tier globally. You have the ability to compete for that number one spot."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Liao Yunkai asked directly.

Captain Ao didn't continue speaking, but instead glanced at the others around him.

Liao Yunkai's brows had been furrowed ever since the beginning. He didn't understand what Captain Ao was up to, but he still gestured with his eyes for the others to go back to their rooms.

In the end, only Liao Yunkai and Captain Ao remained in the large living room.

"Now you can tell me, right?"

"I came here to copy homework—" Captain Ao stammered, holding his virtual reality headset in his hand, which had a long tube at the back.

"This is a connecting pipe? You want me to help you cheat?!" Liao Yunkai's face turned extremely ugly.

"Brother Kai, there's no need to make it sound so harsh about cheating. I just looked at the strategy guide a little earlier than everyone else," Captain Ao said.

The tube on his virtual headset is a multiplayer mod, specifically designed for single-player games. This tube can overlay the images of two virtual headsets, allowing players to see each other and making it appear as if they are playing online, but the monsters are still fought by each player individually.

Since it's impossible to read a walkthrough while playing a virtual game, some less skilled players resort to finding expert players to demonstrate the game for them, which they then follow along to reduce the difficulty.

Captain Ao knew his own limitations. There were more and more skilled players of Resident Evil these days, and his abilities were no longer among the best. Moreover, to normally obtain an invitation, one needed 20% pain simulation, so his previous underhanded tactics were no longer effective.

However, he is a player who has achieved the world's first clear once before. If he can't even get an invitation to this competition, he will definitely lose a lot of fans and be ridiculed again. So he has no choice but to resort to this tactic and find someone to help him.

Liao Yunkai was the person with the highest gaming skill level he could contact, so he swallowed his pride and went to his door.

He doesn't care about his ranking; he just wants to get the invitation.

"Don't worry, Kai-ge, this pipeline is special. You won't be able to see my phantom image from your side. Just continue your live stream as usual. Besides, I won't be broadcasting this time either," Captain Ao continued.

"Why should I help you?" Liao Yunkai said coldly.

He has no connection with Captain Ao, so why should he risk helping him?

"Five million—I'll hand it over immediately if you agree, Kai! And you don't want to be laughed at by those foreigners, do you? If I, one of the top agents, can't even get an invitation, they might look down on you too." Captain Ao said through gritted teeth.

Liao Yunkai originally wanted to refuse immediately, after all, he was now a top streamer and not short of money, but he was stunned when he heard the second half of Captain Ao's words.

He's been under a lot of pressure lately because his playthrough record is being surpassed by one person after another, like August, the FPS genius from the Stars and Stripes, the king of "True Vanguard".

He had only been playing Resident Evil for less than a week, yet he had already shrunk Liao Yunkai's completion record, which had taken him more than half a month, by nearly two minutes. Two minutes is an almost insurmountable gap in the world of speedrunning.

Then there's Yosuke Yamashita, a gaming prodigy from Japan, known for his exceptional understanding of game mechanics. His completion time was less than twenty seconds faster than Liao Yunkai's, but his precision in maneuvering left everyone who watched the recording in awe.

And then there are those names I'd never heard of before, those IDs representing unknown geniuses from who-knows-which country, which city, which basement.

They appeared at the top of the rankings overnight, as if they had sprung up from the ground, pushing Liao Yunkai's name down one place, then another, and yet another.

Liao Yunkai did put in effort. After each day's live broadcast, he would spend several hours reviewing the footage, watching it frame by frame, calculating the arc of each turn, the angle of each gun raise, and the timing of each reload.

He had memorized the maps of the first three chapters perfectly; he could draw every route from the starting point to the end point, the location of every monster, and the drop probability of every supply box with his eyes closed.

He did everything he could to the best of his ability.

But that's still not enough, because those people are doing the same thing, and they're even doing it better than him.

Moreover, his inbox began to receive many messages from foreigners, all of whom showed disdain for him.

Some say he was only allowed to play Resident Evil because it was first released and heavily promoted in China. Now that the whole world is involved, his good luck is over.

Liao Yunkai was naturally not going to admit defeat, so he reviewed the game again and again, optimized his route, and desperately tried to improve his performance, even if it was just by a second. He didn't want to be looked down upon by those foreigners, and he hadn't gotten to where he was by luck.

Liao Yunkai remained silent for a long time, so long that Captain Ao's expression changed from anticipation to trepidation, from trepidation to unease, and finally to disappointment.

"Brother Kai, if it doesn't work out, just forget about it. Pretend I was never here." Just as Captain Ao was about to get up and leave, Liao Yunkai called out to him.

"Wait a minute, I can take you, but I have one condition."

"What are your conditions? Tell me!" Captain Ao said with delight.

"That means if you do get the invitation and arrive at the Shenzhen Stadium, you have to give it your all and not embarrass yourself in front of foreigners," Liao Yunkai said.

Captain Ao was stunned. He hadn't expected Liao Yunkai to make this request. His expression turned serious, and he nodded.

"I promise you, I will do my best."

"Then let's start training now. You need to be able to keep up with my pace before seven o'clock." After saying that, Liao Yunkai turned around and returned to his live broadcast room, and then connected his virtual reality headset with Captain Ao's headset.

After several hours of practice, Captain Ao was able to keep up with Liao Yunkai's pace.

And at 7 p.m., it finally arrived on time amidst the eager anticipation of countless people.

Resident Evil: Raccoon City: The Final Chapter was officially released globally.

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