Chapter 717: Chapter 680: Too Busy to Attend to All
“Next up in the news, from the [Hunter] Hunting Ground outside Metropolis Amusement Park.”
“But before that–”
Zhen continues to report the news, while the audience has already figured out the logic of this episode:
“I knew it! Ad time, right?!”
“One news, one ad, I’ve never seen anything so outrageous in my life!”
“If this happened in reality, I would have to report you!”
…
Of course, complaints and rants cannot stop the program’s development, and the advertisement starts playing again–
This time the advertisement format is still familiar to everyone, just like when Night City was first publicized. It is also a promotional video for travel.
—Fortunately, it is not old content, but a whole new set of materials.
Because the protagonist of this urban promotional film is [Virtual Xiajing].
Countless players are looking forward to [Virtual Xiajing] opening soon.
Even if we ignore the curiosity of overseas users about Xiajing City, considering only domestic users, Cloud Dream has a full 200 million Daxia users. How would they not be interested in their own country’s capital?
Ever since the airship flew over Xiajing City for a brief glimpse that day, countless people have been looking forward to the completion of this virtual city.
And now, Cloud Dream finally announces that [Virtual Xiajing] will be opening soon!
Starting next week, “going to Xiajing for a trip” will become an effortless thing to do.
Many people see this news and think first not of themselves, but of their elders at home.
The desire for the capital is often stronger among the older generations than among the young.
The opening of [Virtual Xiajing] will provide a “low-cost,” “effort-free” way to fulfill their dreams.
The advertisement ends and returns to the studio once more.
This time Qiang takes over to report the news:
“Recently, a series of vicious serial killings have occurred in the [Hunter] Hunting Ground outside Metropolis.”
“In the past week, eight hunters have been killed, all with fatal injuries caused by sharp weapons.”
“Each of the victims was experienced, robust, and top-notch in their field. Judging from the nearby traces, they all put up a tough fight against their attackers in the jungle.”
“Unfortunately, none of them survived.”
“The staff at the [Hunter] Hunting Ground have tried to enter the hunting area to capture the mysterious killer. If they fail within three days, they will consider issuing a bounty, recruiting powerful hunters to enter the hunting ground and chase down this mysterious killer.”
…
As Qiang reports, the video materials are also displayed one by one:
Pixelated hunter corpses, bloodstains everywhere, traces of pursuit and combat in the jungle, charred and burnt trees, and—
Some still-undried unidentified liquid that glows green in the dark.
The camera cuts back to the studio, where Zhen adds:
“In addition, over the past week, numerous hunters have reported sightings of fantastical animals such as unicorns, centaurs, and winged lions in the hunting grounds.”
“Experts speculate that they might have accidentally ingested some hallucinogenic fungi.”
“The program group hereby reminds all viewers: Please do not eat any mushrooms you don’t recognize.”
“That’s all for the news about the Hunting Ground. Next up, a commercial break.”
So the advertisements begin once more.
Taking advantage of the commercial break, the audience started to speculate on what this news meant:
“No need to ask, new event in ‘Hunter: Call of the Wilderness’!”
“Nonsense, the question is… What event? Hunt down the killer in the wilderness?”
“Feels like it might be inspired by the Hunting Contest, and they’re really starting a Hunter Battle now?”
“Are there any clues? Or is that green glowing liquid a clue? Is the killer a drug lord? An alchemist? A chemical expert?”
“I don’t understand! I don’t understand at all!”
…
The discussion had just begun, but it quickly subsided as the commercial started playing again.
Because this time’s advertisement was really unexpected–
“Windwalker Metropolis and Night City, the most popular instant shooting games in the world!”
“The gunfight dream of 300 million players!”
“‘Battlefield’!”
“‘Battlefield’!”
“Introducing a brand new mode – Extraordinary Battlefield!”
“Super physical abilities, accelerated senses, curved bullets, battle sense!”
“Experience an extraordinary battlefield like never before!”
“Join the game now and become a true superhero!”
“What… are you waiting for?”
The screen freezes, and two lines of large text pop up —
December 23rd
Extraordinary Battlefield, don’t miss it!”
As the advertisement ends, the audience is still bewildered.
There are many things to criticize about this ad:
“What do they mean? Are both we and the NPCs playing ‘Battlefield’?”
“Three hundred million players’ gunfighting dreams? Wow, it might actually be possible!”
“This has to be a joke, right? 300 million? There’s no way it happens so fast!”
“Extraordinary battlefield? Never seen before? Never seen before my ass! I’ve experienced all of them!”
“Although I’ve experienced them, combining them all together seems quite interesting! I really want to play it right away!”
“Wait, this ad is serious, right?”
…
The comments are a mess, but the program isn’t affected.
Qiang calmly continues to report the next news:
“A large seaside amusement park in Night City is completed and about to open.”
“Whether it’s land area or investment scale, the seaside amusement park is the largest in recent years.”
“To celebrate the opening, the park will collaborate with Metropolis, Night City, and Xiajing City to host a large-scale car racing competition that spans the three cities!”
“Not only is the prize money extremely generous, but the top three will also receive a permanent membership card to the seaside amusement park, granting them the highest level of courtesy treatment for life.”
“There are no barriers to entry for the competition, and all residents of the three cities who own a car can freely sign up to participate!”
“The only thing to note is that the organizers will not be responsible for the insurance of the participants. Those who are preparing to participate, please purchase insurance.”
“Lastly, the organizing committee solemnly declares: hot weapons are strictly prohibited. Once discovered, they will be confiscated immediately.”
…
Before this news is even finished, the players start to complain:
“[Once discovered, they will be confiscated], meaning as long as they are not discovered, there’s no problem.”
“Come on, what about the residents of the three cities? If only NPCs participate, Night City would easily dominate the other two cities.”
“Hot weapons are forbidden, so cold weapons are allowed? This is amazing! Who in the ‘Death Racing’ still uses a small gun?”
“My Super Meteor Hammer is already starving!”
…
With one news and one advertisement pacing, “Metropolitan News” continues:
“Next up is a commercial break …”
“‘Light Encounter’ new season …”
“[Card King], [Mahjong God] tower climbing battles in full swing …”
…
…
There is no doubt that this issue of the “Metropolitan News” has the most explosive information.
The contents of the event are greatly reduced, and everything is about the upcoming big events scheduled to start next week.
After the staff’s “death persuasion” (threatening Lincoln in the virtual world: “Boss, if you don’t change the name, I’m going to kill myself here!”), Lincoln took back the super cheesy name “New Year’s Seven Days Joy.”
Moreover, each new game event is painstakingly crafted by individual project teams, and it would be a shame to have them open for only one week.
So in the end, they didn’t mention the “seven days” part anymore. Instead, they pushed them all out under the name “New Year’s Activities.”
The large number of new content overwhelmed the players, who were excited throughout the whole show.
Only after all the content had been shown and the program ended did they realize a serious problem:
Today is only Wednesday.
And all these events, all these thrilling and exciting new content, won’t start until next Monday at the earliest.
There is a gap of a full 4 days in between.
Round it off, it’s almost equivalent to 12 years.