Pokémon, but cultural invasion

After watching the comments for a while, Qishu understood.

The new audience members were all newcomers who had almost no experience with games.

FarmVille doesn't have an official forum, so these new players turned to the Qishu channel, where the first game clip was leaked, as their discussion forum.

Qi Shu was both amused and exasperated.

She opened the game and was surprised to find that the number of neighbors in the town had increased.

Xiao Gang, Xiao Ju'er, Du Juan, Guru Xia... The gym leaders among the Navigator's friends who frequently go online all registered for the game without prior arrangement.

"In that case, don't blame me for being rude."

Qi Shu chuckled, revealing a set of gleaming shark teeth.

?

Unova Region, Flying Cloud City.

As the largest port city in the United States, countless ships from all over the world dock here every day.

The booming commerce injected a strong boost into the development of Feiyun City, and skyscrapers lined up one after another, filling the city's sky over the decades.

Shengdian walked out of a tall office building, squeezed onto the crowded subway, and returned to his cramped rented room.

He lives alone and keeps a charming cat and two potted succulents.

Charming Cat loves cleanliness, so Shengdian always keeps the room spotless.

Tomorrow is his day off, and he should be doing something to enjoy himself, but instead he's lying in bed scrolling through his phone.

Shengdian glanced at the computer in front of the window; the fan, which hadn't been turned on for a long time, was covered in dust.

He used to be a hardcore gamer, but after coming to Feiyun City, the busy work and tiring commute overwhelmed him.

Gradually, he stopped playing games.

Even if tomorrow is a day off, Shengdian will choose to lie in bed and watch dramas.

He tried to rekindle his interest and change his depressed state, but ended up sitting in front of the computer scrolling through his phone for hours.

At that moment, Shengdian understood: he had received an electronic positive result.

I can no longer get excited about the games I used to love, and I have neither the energy nor the interest to try out popular new games.

Shengdian is trapped in a vicious cycle. Even if he has time to play interesting new games, once his rest day is over, he will turn back into an exhausted office worker.

By the time the next day off came, the enthusiasm for the new game had long since faded.

Over time, he stopped playing games.

"Digging to climb higher..."

While watching videos during the event, he remembered that this game was very popular recently, and it had made a lot of streamers suffer.

The streamer's pained mask and the cheerful chatter in the comments section make for a rather interesting electronic version of pickled vegetables.

The game's design and gameplay are also quite ingenious.

He still couldn't muster any interest in the grand ceremony. He was too lazy to even play ordinary games, let alone high-difficulty torture-style games.

Then a video clip caught his attention.

"A new work from Tingxiang, farming, fishing, bug catching... taking you to summer in Stardew Valley."

Upon seeing the title, the ceremony director couldn't help but chuckle.

Real life is tiring enough, who wants to farm in a game?

Fishing and catching insects are utterly boring; nothing beats the thrill of killing.

"The art style is good."

The video's cover featured a lush, pixelated green farm, and Shengdian almost inexplicably wandered inside.

The entire video was less than ten minutes long, and the ceremony was over quickly.

He was confused.

There is no main storyline, no plot, and not even any missions.

The grand ceremony couldn't understand what the game wanted players to do or express.

By the standards of a great travel game, FarmVille is undoubtedly a failure.

It lacks daily tasks to guarantee daily active users, a compelling storyline to attract players, and engaging character designs.

But...for some reason, Shengdian felt that it might be fun to give it a try?

This game doesn't have much background story; planting a few crops takes less than three minutes, making it very accessible to newcomers.

The gameplay is simple: open, plant crops, close.

It feels like you can turn it on and off at any time, without having to worry about the next visit being too far in the future.

Because there's only one way to play the game—growing crops.

Since I'm actually somewhat interested, why not give it a try?

Grand Ceremony looked towards the computer case.

The blue light representing the power supply lit up, the fan whirred and whirred, and the long-dormant engine began to roar.

Chapter Twenty-One: Armor

late at night.

Grand Ceremony opens a steaming bowl of instant noodles; the chewed noodles transform into a warm current, flowing down the throat and into the stomach, soothing the rumbling, hungry intestines.

On the screen, a pixelated figure sits by the river, casting a fishing rod.

In four hours, he had already done everything he could on the first day of the game.

Honestly, the gala was originally just about planting vegetables.

While plowing the field, he dug up a green caterpillar and thought he'd go fishing for a fish.

On his way to buy a fishing rod, Shengdian passed by a tavern and decided to watch other players chat for a while.

After buying the fishing rod, he passed through the friends area and found that many of his navigator friends had been playing for two days, so he casually stole some intermediate-level crops.

As he wandered around the map, he discovered more and more small details.

For example, if you walk into a general store with a coin you found in the forest, the Money-Grubber will change from its walking form to its treasure chest form.

The aimless and casual play actually rekindled the festival's enthusiasm for the game.

He doesn't have to be bound by the tasks the game gives him, nor does he have to worry about the penalties for failing the game; he can do anything.

After completing all the actions available on the first day of the game, Shengdian could only sit by the river and fish, but he felt a long-lost sense of satisfaction.

This feeling intensified.

Finally, he typed on the keyboard and wrote a document.

"Tingxiang's new work cured my electronic erectile dysfunction."

After struggling with life, I haven't touched games for a long time. It's not that I don't have time, I've just simply lost interest.

I once thought this illness would continue to accompany me throughout my life, until I accidentally discovered Tingxiang Studio's new work.

......

Tingxiang truly stripped away any design elements that might cause me anxiety, creating a fantasy valley that is completely free of worries and operates in sync with the real world.

Thanks to Tingxiang Studio, I am no longer young, but it has helped me rediscover my original passion.

After typing the last word, Shengdian casually recorded some game clips.

It was made into a video and uploaded to a website without subtitles.

He had no ulterior motives; he simply wanted to share his excitement and joy.

The grand ceremony even began to look forward to tomorrow, something he had never imagined before.

?

As dawn broke and the rising sun painted the horizon with a line of orange-red.

A Pidgey bird with its wings flapping against bamboo perched on the stone wall of the Tingxiang Welfare Home, startled by the rumbling of a truck.

It glanced sideways at the two people in front of the truck, then shifted to a more comfortable position to wait for the morning light.

The driver, with a towel draped over his shoulder, unloaded the cargo and patted the wooden crate on the ground: "These are the Pokémon food for the next three months."

"Thank you."

The spring tree beckoned to two Bulbasaur, who stretched out their vines to carry the box.

"Is this young man new? Dean Lanxing used to handle the deliveries. Is she out?"

"Well...she has something to do today."

Quanshu was also puzzled, as Lanxing, who usually got up earlier than Duduli, was not making any noise at this moment.

He couldn't just go up to the attic to check the situation.

"Oh, I have to deliver goods to the nursery next door, so I'll be going now."

The driver climbed into the cab and slowly drove away.

After moving the wooden crate to the food storage room, Izumi began preparing breakfast for the Pokémon.

"Breakfast time—"

With a shout, the Pokémon near the lawn all gathered around him.

The spring tree gradually became familiar with them.

The Grass-type Pokémon, who were previously uncontrollable, accepted him and were willing to follow his commands, while the Flying-type Pokémon remained unchanged.

"Looting is prohibited."

He tapped Arbok and Pidgey on the head as a warning.

Arbok ate its meal with tears in its eyes, while Pidgey's eyes darted around, looking quite resentful.

"This guy..."

Quanshu watched as Pidgey and a flock of Oddish fought over food, their initial complaints turning into hearty eating now.

The environment really can change Pokémon.

It's unlikely that Pidgey has truly let go of the past and accepted the fact that he was abandoned, but he's stopped making a scene, and life will eventually go on.

He went to the lake to feed the fish before returning to the hall to prepare his breakfast.

With improved economic conditions, the staff meals at Tingxiang Welfare Home are no longer just canned soybeans.

Buttered toast with milk and fried eggs—except for the freshly fried eggs, everything else is ready-made.

I'm hesitating about whether to do the Lanxing part.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the attic, and the old wooden stairs creaked and groaned.

A moment later, Lanxing hurriedly went downstairs in her shark-print slippers.

A few tufts of hair stuck up on her head, and her long, dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

The loose pajamas concealed her usually proud and erect breasts, and the hem of the pajamas hung loosely at her waist, revealing a section of her fair lower back.

Still drowsy, her crystal-clear eyes were veiled with a layer of mist. Lan Xing opened her mouth to speak, but her still-unconscious language system became disordered.

Seeing that the young lady was too anxious to speak and her face was flushed, Quanshu predicted, "I have already finished my work this morning, including receiving the goods and feeding them."