Chapter 188: Discussion
But Lin Yuyu’s long-honed combat instincts were no joke.
She immediately retaliated with Palm Thunder.
She quickly assessed that her opponent’s combat strength was about the same as her own.
’So, a carbon copy of me?’
The live comments were also incredibly lively.
The viewers were ecstatic. Lin Yuyu had been slacking off for three days since she started streaming, and now they could finally witness a true battle between Cultivators.
Even if this Cultivator was just a carbon copy of Lin Yuyu.
But at least it was a person!
Until now, the only thing viewers had seen was Han Tian’s stream. But besides fighting demon beasts, all he did was trade. There hadn’t been a single proper battle yet.
It wasn’t just the viewers who were excited. Many people from the film and television industry were also glued to the stream.
Ever since Broken Sect appeared with its miraculous technology, public tolerance for cultivation-themed TV dramas had plummeted. It was debatable whether the genre was completely dead, but viewers were certainly less forgiving.
When you could see a truly magical Cultivation World, who would want to watch a poorly produced cultivation drama?
For example, a recent historical cultivation romance starring an A-list celebrity had initially generated good buzz. But once it aired, audiences found it was the same old trope of immortals in a melodramatic romance, complete with cringeworthy special effects.
It was being raked over the coals.
The film and television industry wasn’t the only one affected; Broken Sect was sending shockwaves through many other sectors as well.
Take the gaming industry, for example.
As Lin Yuyu’s battle began, a man watching her stream from his computer had a grim expression on his face.
He was sitting in his office when his phone rang. The voice on the other end said, "We still can’t find the creators of Broken Sect. There’s no contact information through any channel. Our only option is the website’s contact form, but they’re not responding. Boss, what do we..."
The man slammed his hand on the desk. "A game this huge, and we can’t even find the owner? What the hell?"
’A game has to come from somewhere, right?’
Broken Sect had only been out for a few short months. While some still dismissed it as a gimmicky, fake game, most people had already realized the massive impact it was having on the gaming industry.
Now that a fully immersive holographic game existed, who would want to sit in front of a computer or phone playing a game that was just a string of fake data?
Admittedly, the impact on the broader gaming community was still small. After all, Broken Sect only had a few available spots, so the number of players nationwide was tiny, and its genre was also quite niche.
There will always be plenty of people looking to kill time, and a variety of game genres is a great way to do that.
But that only applied to those who hadn’t won a spot in the game.
But if you won a spot in the Broken Sect beta, who would still bother with traditional games?
The man already knew that the concurrent player counts for some games had started to drop noticeably, while traffic on streaming platforms had exploded.
Many people would rather watch Han Tian’s stream than play their own games.
The game boss felt he had to get ahead of the curve. He wanted to find Broken Sect’s developers and partner with them. If an Immortal Cultivation Game was possible, then sci-fi and post-apocalyptic games would be next.
Too bad he couldn’t find them.
"Boss, it’s not just us. I heard the V Family is also trying to contact Broken Sect’s developers, but apparently without any luck."
The boss was shocked. "How is that possible? I saw players saying they’re using V Family hardware. If the V Family didn’t develop a compatible version themselves, how could players possibly be using their devices to play the game?"
"That’s the thing, we don’t know. The V Family is saying they have no partnership with this game at all..."
Games for VR hardware all need to be specifically adapted for compatibility. It’s the same reason most PC games can’t be played on a mobile phone—the platforms are completely different. So how is this possible?
But Broken Sect was completely different.
It was simply using the V Family’s hardware as a gateway, a medium to enter the game. That’s why the V Family was also stunned by the game’s sudden appearance.
On top of that, the V Family was a foreign company, which made the situation even more maddening.
Of course, he wasn’t the only game company boss who was shocked.
Outside the game, Liu Wen Yu received the latest report.
"It’s confirmed. All VR hardware currently on the market is compatible for logging into the Broken Sect game. This aligns with our theory that the VR headset is just a medium, a gateway. The game just needs a login portal to pull the players through."
Liu Wen Yu breathed a small sigh of relief as she read the report in her hand. "At least it’s not the worst-case scenario we predicted. This means those foreign manufacturers can’t get their hands on the data, either."
The person who gave the report nodded. "That’s about right. We can’t even access Broken Sect’s data, so there’s no way they can."
Liu Wen Yu looked up, her gaze distant as she fell into thought. After a moment, she shook her head. "We can’t be too sure. Just in case, let’s partner with several domestic VR hardware manufacturers to produce a new batch of devices. If we identify a player who’s won a spot, we’ll gift them a new headset for free."
Her subordinate asked, "What about the ones they’re already using?"
Liu Wen Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Boss Zhan and the others are using domestic hardware, so they’re fine for now. But Zhen Qiang is using an imported model. Once the new devices are ready, we’ll have him run a test. He’ll ask the game system if he can switch his login device. If the system allows it..."
A small smile touched her lips. "...then we can be fairly certain about the game’s disposition toward us. If it works, we’ll offer a free replacement to any willing players, and we’ll cover all after-sales service and repairs. Our own people shouldn’t object to that."
After making this decision, Liu Wen Yu returned to her office, where she was told that Zhan Sheng had arrived.
Hearing it was Zhan Sheng, Liu Wen Yu stood up and straightened her clothes. When he entered the office, a warm, respectful smile spread across her face. "Boss Zhan."
"Don’t call me that," Zhan Sheng said, waving a hand dismissively. "Just call me Zhan Sheng. Wei Jun told me you’ll be handling all game-related affairs from now on. Does that mean I can bring things to you?"
Liu Wen Yu smiled. "Boss Zhan, rest assured, we have no intention of interfering with how you play. We just want to gather information about the game. The more people we have on the inside, the more information we can obtain."
Zhan Sheng nodded. "I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything I know. But right now, there’s something important."
Liu Wen Yu asked, "What is it?"
Zhan Sheng said, "The Sect Master previously forbid me from revealing my aptitude because I have a rare Metal Spirit Root, which is extremely uncommon even on the Yunzhou Continent. The Sect Master must have been concerned about something, so he kept me from venturing out. But now, someone unexpected has shown up. He’s a native of the game world, named Zhai Xiaotian. He’s going to hide my information to get me into the Major Sect, Taixue Sect, and the Sect Master has agreed."
Liu Wen Yu immediately glanced down at her laptop.
"Zhai Xiaotian? We know of him. He’s a local Yunzhou Cultivator who has been cooperating closely with the players."