I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Not necessarily.

Things are different now than before. There are many more "armchair gamers" now. Many people are not good at the game themselves, or they don't have time, so they like to watch others complete the game. Video walkthroughs are considered as completions.

Therefore, Lu Ban needs to lower the barrier to entry. Interactive videos require no operation and anyone can click to play. After watching the streamer push the plot so many times, people will eventually try it themselves. Anyway, it's free, so they'll take a look at it at least once.

However, it wouldn't work if the interactive video was too easy to complete. Lu Ban doesn't need everyone's praise; he needs more views.

Tens of millions of views translate to tens of millions of video clicks.

Even if one person refreshes the page ten times, that would still require millions of clicks.

The average daily active users of the old video website are 50 million, and the monthly active users are 200 million. However, Lu Ban's videos do not have the widest audience and have a certain degree of audience selection. With this data support, if you want to reach 10 million views in one or two weeks, watching a lot of videos is an essential element.

Therefore, Lu Ban needs to come up with some fancy tricks to get more clicks from each viewer.

Another point is that, although Lu Ban has put together so many fancy things, people's patience has its limits.

If no one can beat an interactive video or find a way to beat it, viewers will eventually lose patience and stop watching.

It's like you keep studying hard, researching exam questions, focusing on learning methods, studying from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day, but you still fail the exam every time. After studying a few times, you get bored and finally choose to give up.

So, when everyone was already captivated by the video, frantically discussing possible ways to pass the level, and were about to think it was impossible to pass, Lu Ban paid some influential bloggers on Douyin (TikTok) to start releasing information little by little.

For example, what will happen next in the plot, what are the possible strategies, and in the end, the video will directly reveal its hidden secrets to the audience.

By gradually building suspense and releasing information, the audience gains a sense of exploration.

Now that several of the video's secret settings have been revealed, the video's viewership has reached a new level.

Of course, the novelty is also a highlight of this video. Lu Ban used Qin Tiantian to test the damage. Ordinary people would only think that the monsters, fish-headed people, brides and grooms bowing to heaven and earth are special effects and feel a little uncomfortable.

Lu Ban deduced that only by looking directly at these creatures, or by being in the corresponding alien realm, could that extraordinary power interfere with human consciousness.

Thinking about it this way, even those great beings can't cross world borders to respond to emergencies, so it doesn't seem so scary anymore.

Having garnered so many views, Lu Ban now believes that spending ten days producing the video was well worth it!

In less than a week, the video reached ten million views, which brought Lu Ban's fan base to over 500,000, and reaching a million fans is just around the corner!

Standing up and stretching his body, Lu Ban went to the balcony to photosynthesize.

Actually, for Lu Ban right now, the most suitable place is a place like an outdoor swimming pool.

In the water, he can breathe, expose more of his body for photosynthesis, and doesn't have to worry about being reported by concerned neighbors—a win-win-win situation.

Unfortunately, swimming pools nowadays prioritize comfort, so most are indoors with air conditioning. It wouldn't look good to get caught swimming in the river during the high water season, so Lu Ban had to settle for sunbathing on the balcony instead.

The phone rang, and Lu Ban glanced at it; it was a call from his old squad leader, Feng Yu.

I remember we chatted briefly on WeChat before. She said she was currently filming a TV series in the mountains with a crew, and the signal was bad. Now it seems she has returned to Jiangcheng.

When Lu Ban answered the phone, he heard some noisy sounds on the other end, as if it were raining heavily.

"Hey, are you done work?"

Lu Ban asked a question.

"Not yet, I've run into some trouble here, so I might be back a little later."

Feng Yu's voice was very energetic, giving off a cheerful feeling that even if there were raging floods outside, she would still be cheerful, as if the sunshine had dispelled the gloom. Just talking to her would make people happy.

"I saw your video too, it's really impressive! How did you come up with the idea to do it?"

"I just studied it a bit."

Lu Ban spoke the truth.

"But the special effects later on, wow, they're so realistic. I can't stand this kind of thing, but they're really good."

Feng Yu praised him again.

"Compared to this, the special effects in our production team are really bad. They look fake at first glance. Do you take orders over here? Otherwise, I'll ask the director and give you the special effects work."

"I only do small-scale work, so my efficiency is very low. It might take me more than half a month to complete just a little bit."

Lu Ban continued to speak the truth.

"Hey, when I go back this time, you absolutely have to have a meal with me, right?"

After chatting for a few minutes, Feng Yu extended another invitation.

"sure."

Lu Ban replied, said goodbye, and hung up the phone.

"Seeing everyone so busy and fulfilled making money for their lives, while I'm lying here sunbathing, I feel really guilty."

Lu Ban couldn't help but sigh.

He then changed his posture to ensure that his sides were heated evenly as well.

"But do you think Feng Yu is so persistent in inviting me to dinner, is there some ulterior motive behind it?"

Lu Ban asked his "air friend" a question.

"I think she might have ulterior motives."

“I checked my Alipay account and I don’t think I owe her any money. We didn’t have any contact during college.”

"Could it be..."

Thinking of some terrible things, Lu Ban's expression turned serious.

He sat up straight and spoke earnestly to his air friend.

"Could it be that she wants to borrow money from me?"

Lu Ban hesitated for a while.

"Actually, it's not impossible. She used to ask me to have meals when I was penniless. Now that I have money, lending her some shouldn't be a problem. Anyway, I don't have to worry about food and drink, and I don't have any worldly desires."

He thought about it seriously, and then asked the air next to him.

"what do you think?"

"I think it's very reasonable."

"Right, I'll ask her if she's having any difficulties next time we have dinner together. She works so hard every day, it must be tough for her."

"Okay, sure."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ban turned to look at his surroundings.

There was nothing there.

Only air is my friend.

Chapter 086 Where is my big piece of meat?

The bright September sun shone on Lu Ban's balcony. He looked at the air beside him and asked a question.

"You can talk?"

There was no echo in the air, as if what Lu Ban had just experienced was all an illusion.

He reached out to touch the spot where his invisible friend was, but received no response.

"I always thought you could only listen to me and not talk to me."

Lu Ban said, but there was no response from the other party.

"Or perhaps, you were contaminated in the silt, which caused the mutation?"

When Lu Ban went deep into the mud to retrieve the statue, he was completely enveloped by the mud that emitted a metallic stench. His friend, Air, must have been in the mud as well.

The silt not only pollutes the mind, but also alienates humans into monsters.

Since that's the case, it seems there's nothing wrong with the air friend mutating and starting to talk.

Lu Ban didn't get a reply, but it didn't matter.

His phone vibrated; it was a WeChat message from Qin Tiantian.

[Wangchuan]: Someone has gotten through to your video!!!

She put a lot of force into it, and typed three exclamation marks.

[Motionless]: Oh.

[Wangchuan]: Give me some reaction! Shouldn't you be saying something like, "What? My carefully designed puzzle has been solved? I really can't underestimate humans!"

[Still motionless]: Be normal.

[Wangchuan]: ...You're trying to make it sound normal, but it just doesn't feel normal at all.

[Wangchuan]: Want to have dinner tonight? I found a new restaurant nearby that's cheap and delicious, and most importantly, I've never tried it before!

[Still motionless]: I have something to do. My virtual friend just spoke.

[Wangchuan]: ? ? ?

[Wangchuan]: Are you kidding me?

[Still motionless]: No, my greatest virtue is honesty.

[Wangchuan]: ...I believe it.

[Still motionless]: Well then, if you're not worried, I'll take my air friend out to dinner tonight.

【Wangchuan】: Let's meet at the entrance of the community at six o'clock.

Qin Tiantian put down her phone.

"Air friends? That's something only kids believe in, isn't it?"

She knew that Lu Ban was a bit strange in his behavior and thoughts, but it didn't matter; he was still a good person.

She turned her gaze back to the screen, where precise walkthroughs for clearing the game were already circulating in the streamer group.

This guide is a sprawling fifty-page A4 sheet of paper, complete with illustrations and text, explaining the origin of each ending and how to achieve it.

One particularly rigorous aspect is that you must use a stopwatch to follow the video guide, meticulously recording the timing of clicking options, the pause points, and the angle and direction of moving the panoramic video.

It has transformed a video adventure into a hardcore game that requires memorization and skillful gameplay.

Even so, many people are unable to achieve the true ending and can only watch those skilled streamers play.