Tokyo: Oreimo

Before even reaching the intersection, you can see several huge promotional banners, printed with the logos of various doujin game circles and promotional images of their works.

"Although the number of clubs here can't compare to CM, the quality is pretty good."

As Tian Zhongxue walked and explained, he was like a seasoned tour guide. "Last year I bought an RPG fan book here. The world setting was quite interesting, but there were a lot of bugs. I got stuck halfway through and never touched it again."

"You seem to know quite a bit about fan-made games?" Ryosuke asked casually.

"It's not really research, I just buy and play with interesting ones when I see them." Tian Zhongxue scratched his head. "But to be honest, most fan-made games are not as well-made as commercial works, after all, they are all made by small groups out of love."

Horiuchi Ayumi chimed in abruptly, "So, the disc you bought last year, President, is still gathering dust in the activity room drawer."

"I'll finish this one day!"

"You said the same thing last summer."

"Ayumi, why have you been undermining me all day?!"

While the two were bickering, the group of four had already reached the entrance to the game area.

Unlike the fan art area we just visited, the game area has a more organized layout.

Each club has a standard display area with a laptop for testing the game on the table, and a banner behind them with game screenshots and promotional slogans.

Many people were sitting in front of the demo machines, trying out the game, while club members enthusiastically explained how to play.

Ryosuke's gaze swept over the stalls as he silently made an assessment in his mind.

The level of completion is indeed uneven.

Several booths had works that looked quite good; at least in terms of UI design and visual presentation, they were close to the level of commercial works.

Some were clearly made by beginners, with rough graphics and rudimentary UIs, but the stall owners still enthusiastically introduced their work to everyone who passed by.

This kind of scene is not seen at commercial gaming expos.

As Ryosuke was thinking, he suddenly noticed that Tanaka Middle School, who was walking ahead of him, had stopped.

Not only did Tian Zhongxue stop in his tracks, but he also seemed to have been struck by something, frozen in place, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

"President?"

Ayumi walked past him, followed his gaze, and was also stunned.

At the far end of the gaming area, a long, winding queue stretched out in front of a game store.

The line started at the store entrance, made two turns along the sidewalk, and ended up at the entrance of the adjacent side street.

Some people in line were wearing headphones and listening to music, some were excitedly discussing something with their companions, and a few were obviously otaku who had just rushed over from the stalls next door, panting as they ran to the end of the line.

The shop's signboard prominently displayed the words "MESSE SANOH".

"No."

Tian Zhongxue's voice sounded as if something was choking him, becoming high-pitched and thin.

"No way, no way, no way—!!!"

He turned around abruptly, clutched his head in his hands, and his face was filled with a tragic expression as if he had missed an entire century.

"I completely forgot!! Today is the release date of the SAO demo!!"

"What?" Ayumi hadn't reacted yet.

"Sword Art Online! Aniplex's new game!" Tian Zhongxue almost shouted. "It's been hyped up on the Future Dimension Forum for two months! Last week, the official website announced that the demo would be released on the day of the Electric Town Festival! I definitely saw that post! I even bookmarked it!"

"Then why did you forget?" Ayumi's tone was calm to the point of being cruel.

"Because all I can think about is inventory, inventory, inventory!!" Tian Zhongxue almost collapsed to his knees. "My God, what time is it? This line is..."

He rushed to the end of the line and grabbed the last boy in line who was wearing glasses.

"Excuse me, what time did you arrive to queue?"

"Uh...around 10:30?" The bespectacled man was startled. "I heard the people ahead of us arrived at 7:00. There are only 2,000 limited tickets available, and they're handing out numbered tickets. It seems like they're almost all gone."

"It's over."

Tian Zhongxue let go of her hand in a daze, swaying as if all her strength had been drained.

"Two thousand copies, it's almost 11 o'clock now, I'm doomed. I've been looking forward to this for so long, I even posted an analysis on the forum, saying that the world setting SAO has released so far would definitely be amazing..."

"President, please accept my condolences." Ayumi patted his shoulder, her tone unusually sincere with genuine sympathy.

"Is this guy alright?"

Ling Nai stood next to Ryosuke, looking at the miserable state of Tianzhong Middle School.

"He's probably even more discouraged than when he failed to write a good plot a couple of days ago," Ryosuke observed Tanaka's expression and offered a fair assessment.

"Now is not the time to blame yourself!"

Tanaka abruptly released Ryosuke, grabbed his backpack that had fallen to the ground, and rushed to the very end of the line. "There's still time! The line is long, but it hasn't closed yet! Ayumi! Takashiro! Ayano-san! Come and join the line!!"

...

When the four of them reached the end of the line, there were at least two hundred people ahead of them.

According to what I've gathered from the information, the papers have already been distributed almost six or seven times.

Tian Zhongxue stood on tiptoe and glanced ahead, his expression a mixture of relief and anxiety.

"It's alright, the line is long, but at this rate, we should be able to get through in about an hour... or so."

Ayumi had also taken out her sketchbook and continued to doodle while waiting in line.

Ling Nai stood in front of Ryosuke, finished the last piece of takoyaki, stuffed the empty box into the roadside trash can, then dusted off her fingers, looking utterly bored.

Queuing is not unfamiliar to Ling Nai.

Before she remarried Ryosuke, she had seen queues ten times longer than this when she visited CM exhibitions alone.

But things are different now. If you want to play the demo version of SAO, it's just a matter of saying a few words. You can just go to the company and ask the Female Titan for it.

"Hey." She nudged Ryosuke's side with her elbow. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

"It should be ready in less than an hour," Ryosuke replied.

Ling Nai didn't say anything more, but her toes started tapping the ground lightly again, like an impatient cat, her tail slapping the floor.

"Let's be patient for now, after all, it's a club activity."

Ryosuke chuckled; he found it quite amusing.

The group moved forward at a snail's pace.

About twenty minutes later, the front of the shop could finally be seen.

MESSE SANOH's storefront is larger than that of a typical game store, with two booths set up at the entrance. The booth on the left displays monitors and consoles for demos, while the booth on the right is piled high with demo discs in transparent plastic boxes.

A slightly overweight middle-aged man dressed in a shop employee uniform was standing next to the stall, holding a counting board and handing out number tags to people in line one by one.

"Attention, guests behind, there are only 300 demo copies left, and we have already sent out number 173."

Tian Zhongxue's face turned pale instantly.

"Three...three hundred copies?!"

His gaze swept across the crowd ahead as quickly as possible, and after roughly counting the number of people, his lips began to tremble again.

"We're doomed. We have so many children ahead of us, but we've already issued almost two hundred license plates... We might be the last ones left."

"You're a jinx." Ayumi frowned.

As it turns out, Tian Zhongxue's concerns were not unfounded.

The line continued moving forward for about ten minutes when the middle-aged man with the counting board suddenly looked up and shouted to the back of the line.

"We are very sorry! There are only twenty demo copies left! Customers who are behind us in the queue, please check if you are within the top twenty. If you are, we suggest you do not continue to queue to avoid wasting your time!"

Tian Zhongxue's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down again.

"It's all over, it's all over, it's all over..."

He grabbed the shoulder of the person in front of him, frantically standing on tiptoe to count the number of people, muttering, "One, two, three..."

After he finished counting, he felt as if all his bones had been removed, and he slumped against Ayumi's body.

Ayumi silently moved aside, leaving him with nothing to lean against.

"President, please maintain your image."

"What's the use of appearance, waaaaaah! We're the last one! We just barely made it to the very end! If only one less person ahead of us, it would be our turn! My SAO demo! My Aincrad!"

At this moment, Tian Zhongxue really wanted to bang his head on the ground.

It's all my fault for being careless. I clearly saw the distribution information on the forum beforehand, but I completely forgot about it.

Ryosuke almost burst out laughing when he saw Tanaka's utterly hopeless expression.

Although the president is loud and boisterous, he is not a bad person. He is warm and welcoming, and he takes good care of him, a newcomer.

He patted Tian Zhongxue on the shoulder.

"There's still a chance; maybe someone ahead of us has a number and isn't waiting in line."

"Takashiro-kun...."

Tian Zhongxue looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, about to say something touching, when she saw the middle-aged man with the counting board walking towards her.

"The store manager from Yamashita came in person?" Tian Zhongxue blinked and subconsciously straightened up.

Kenji Yamashita walked to the end of the line, his gaze sweeping over Tanaka's face before settling on Ryosuke.

There was no superfluous expression on that weathered, middle-aged face.

Ryosuke nodded slightly at him.

He understood immediately.

"It's been a long time, sir."

Kenji Yamashita tucked the counter under his arm and spoke in the experienced yet gentle tone of a shop manager, "I remember you. You used to come to our shop often to buy Aniplex game discs, from FSN to S;G. I could see you on the release day of almost every title."

“Manager Yamashita has a good memory,” Ryosuke said casually.

I have indeed visited quite a few times, though not as a "fan," but as a "partner."

He is the president of Aniplex, and Kenji Yamashita is Aniplex's most important offline distribution partner. The two meet far more often on a business level than Ryosuke does when he visits stores as a gamer.