Chapter 325: Both Temperament and Demeanor
After seeing Nan Guo de Xue finally return home through street surveillance footage, Lu Yuan nodded with satisfaction and put down his pad.
The incident ended perfectly.
The rescue, calculated from when Ye Xing boarded the plane until the special flight landed, took a total of 55 hours, which was very efficient.
A world where only Milligan was injured, achieved!
This was also a milestone event, representing himself, or rather, Cangyuan Future Technology, this cosmic development company, could truly influence the real world and now possessed immense influence in it.
From now on, his words and his choices would have an undeniable impact on the international situation—
Thinking of this, Lu Yuan felt it was a bit surreal.
After all, eight months ago, he was still worried about finding a job!
What can I say? Don't look down on a young man in poverty. Sister Xue's new gaming equipment has already been “shipped” and is expected to arrive in a few hours, after which she can return to the Star Sea.
Tomorrow morning, she will head to Wudaokou University to accept a special appointment at the behest of the higher-ups, officially joining as a special researcher, and meeting some members of his Emerald Star team.
Hmm...
Lu Yuan, on duty in the bridge, stretched.
“I'm stepping out for a bit. If anything happens, call me. I'll be in the Captain's Quarters,” he told the Sailors.
“Yes, Executive Officer!”
Returning to the Captain's Quarters, Lu Yuan saw Cao Yuan approaching.
“Executive Officer!”
The other party stood at attention and saluted.
“Zhong Xia Ye is looking for you; it's about the fleet.”
Zhong Xia Ye?
Lu Yuan thought back for a moment.
Is that the female player who works as a character designer at a game company in real life?
Thanks to 50% more attribute points per level than other players, Lu Yuan's attributes were all high, making him a true “well-rounded character.”
High intelligence and high spirit brought him super memory, allowing him to remember every closed beta player.
“Yes, that's her. She was also the director for the corporate promotional video before.”
Like many others, Zhong Xia Ye chose to stay on Li Star, fully dedicating herself to the construction and management gameplay of the new city “Administrative Center,” occasionally going to Emerald Star for two days of hunting and relaxation.
Lu Yuan used to worry that the gameplay of “Star Sea” wasn't rich enough.
Because players would definitely log in to play while sleeping, with a minimum online time of 6 hours, effective content filling was especially important.
In contrast, most long-term service mobile RPGs on the market today had nothing left to do after logging in for half an hour or even 5 minutes a day.
But facts proved that this was completely overthinking.
Most players gained far more positive feedback experiences in the game than in real life, thereby finding and focusing on their careers. And these careers were as complex as those in reality, with a wealth of details, requiring a large investment of time and energy.
This led to the current developed gameplay already being too much to experience.
Everyone needed to make trade-offs and choices, just like in real life.
“Alright, connect the communication.”
Inside the Captain's Quarters, Lu Yuan saw the energetic Zhong Xia Ye on the holographic screen.
“(*^^*) Hello, Executive Officer Sir~”
The background of the screen was the studio previously used to shoot the corporate promotional video, now surrounded by more studios, forming a small film and television base, used for shooting commercials for various goods produced by Cangyuan's private industry.
“Hello Zhong Xia Ye, what can I do for you?”
“Hmm! It's about the space fleet's uniforms!”
The other party seemed very excited.
When Cangyuan's fleet conducted routine patrols, they wore reinforced combat suits with aerospace functions, simply without the tactical helmet, which was hung on their backs.
Once in combat, the air in most compartments within the ship would be evacuated, and all personnel would wear helmets.
“You're talking about casual wear, right?”
“And dress uniforms, mainly dress uniforms!” Zhong Xia Ye's eyes lit up.
“I heard that besides fighting, the fleet also needs to undertake diplomatic responsibilities. So I think a good-looking dress uniform is very important!”
Lu Yuan nodded.
That's true.
In the future, fleet members will inevitably attend interstellar banquets, and a good image can showcase themselves, further enhancing Star Alliance citizens' longing for Cangyuan and attracting more skilled immigrants.
Moreover, handsome military uniforms have a hidden effect: to increase the favorability of neutral forces, making them subconsciously believe that Cangyuan represents “justice.”
“So, do you have any recommendations for specific styles?”
“Yes! I've designed several styles in different color schemes.”
“Can you show them now?”
“Of course!”
“That's perfect!” Lu Yuan motioned for Cao Yuan not to leave, “Help me choose.”
Snap!
Zhong Xia Ye snapped her fingers, and nine male models in military uniforms walked to the camera, successively performing at ease, attention, and salute postures.
They were all new players temporarily conscripted as “recruits.”
There were three dress uniform proposals: one was a retro style close to World War I or even the 19th century, with a large-brimmed hat, very ornate, and many metal decorations and details on the clothing.
“You've got a Warhammer vibe there…” Lu Yuan almost blurted out.
However, it was pretty cool.
The second type clearly mimicked other sci-fi movies and games, modern and minimalist, using polymer fabrics and a tighter fit.
The third type was a classic Earth style, based on real-world military dress uniforms, but overall more fitted, with very few natural wrinkles in the fabric.
In terms of color, there were white, dark blue, black, and gray.
“Next are the women's uniforms.”
Nine female models took the stage.
“Hmm, is it my imagination? I feel like the women's styles are more fitted than the men's?”
“Ah, yes, yes!”
Zhong Xia Ye “grinned” and rubbed her hands together.
“This is all to reflect the characteristics of the space force. Space on warships is cramped, and there are many complex control panels. To avoid accidental touches, both regular and combat uniforms need to be designed to be fitted.
This design style will naturally extend to dress uniforms.”
“And female soldiers, you see, have more curved figures than male soldiers and a greater range of joint movement, so it's even more important to prevent accidental touches and firmly implement fitted designs! Protruding parts of the body's curves should not be covered by bulky fabrics; this is all based on scientific evidence!”
So it's all to prevent accidental touches, is it—
Lu Yuan always felt this was actually the designer's personal preference, but it made sense logically.
“Then what about these black stockings and high-heeled boots?”
“Black stockings are close-fitting, preventing accidental touches!” Zhong Xia Ye nodded earnestly, “And stockings are actually a requirement for formal attire, you know. If you think black doesn't match, I have other colors prepared.”
“As for high-heeled boots, they are mainly to compensate for the average height difference between men and women, so that female players in future diplomatic settings don't have to look up at diplomats and officers from other factions.”
“Hmm—”
At the level of external propaganda, this detail is actually very important.
When beautiful female soldiers, with friendly smiles, look up at male officers from other countries, it's easy for ill-intentioned reporters to capture a sense of fawning, as if they are trying to curry favor.
But if it's eye-level or even looking down, the effect is completely different.
If Guo Li Cheng wore this outfit, she would probably be at least 193 cm tall.
Of course, her inexplicably chilling smile would also make it unlikely to capture a fawning look. Lu Yuan looked at Cao Yuan.
“What do you think?”
“I think it looks very good.”
Cao Yuan gave a thumbs up.
“And the degree is very well controlled, it can embody the demeanor of a soldier, not overly flamboyant or frivolous. Considering the application scenarios of dress uniforms, some aesthetic treatment is also necessary.”
Good!
Since the professional says so, then it's fine.
Hmph, this just confirms the old saying.
In all apocalypse-themed games, weapons can be scarce, fuel can be scarce, and even food can be scarce.
However, the production of stockings must not stop!
“Next, we need to finalize the style and color scheme, Cao Yuan, what's your take?”
“I lean towards white. Gray and black uniforms—they easily remind people of Nazis.”
That's true.
Although few people in the Star Alliance remembered those histories on Earth, dress uniforms in these two colors indeed didn't look like something good people would wear.
“And the style?”
“The style is hard to choose, they all look good. How about combining the three styles?”
“No, no, no,” Lu Yuan said, waving his hand with a smile, “that definitely won't work. The thing designers fear most is hearing that. How about this: the classic Earth 21st-century style!”
He made the final decision.
“For coloring, Sailors get white, and the Air Force gets dark blue. Pilots are a group proud of their identity; we need to distinguish them through clothing, which will further strengthen their sense of honor.”
“Okay!” Zhong Xia Ye noted it down, “Actually, the classic style was what I wanted to push too~”
“I think we could also design a set of regular uniforms to wear during cruises or while in port, and then some civilian clothing inspired by military styles, like bomber jackets, trench coats, and so on.”
Lu Yuan said.
“That, we can do!”
Zhong Xia Ye immediately burst with many new ideas and rushed off to draw.
Very good!
Eight months after the server opened, players finally had a formal military uniform set.
If this voyage goes smoothly, after the expedition returns, they might even be able to wear their dress uniforms for a victory parade!
From the ability to design military uniforms, it's clear that Li Star's industry is truly rich and prosperous.
Unfortunately, Lu Yuan, as an “NPC,” couldn't use the “avatar” system like players to teleport back and take a look anytime.
In short, everything is progressing smoothly, let's relax.
After seeing Cao Yuan off, Lu Yuan had just moved his mouse to the Steam icon when the butler's instant message came through again.
You all have everything arranged, haven't you!
“Hey, what's up?”
“Executive Officer Sir, I have a surprise for you!”
In the camera, the AI butler in the Devil Mountain cave introduced the “person” standing beside him.
“Please look, this is a synthetic human, improved by me after incorporating Imperial humanoid robot technology. It is covered with highly realistic artificial hair and skin, and its movements and expressions can be exactly like humans!”
“Did you invent this? What are you making this for?”
It looked a bit unsettling.
The butler's self-learning and evolutionary capabilities were extremely powerful; his expertise now went far beyond corporate finance and human resources management.
Now, Lu Yuan completely understood why the other party was classified as a “dangerous AI.”
In a few more years, he might even be able to create his own AI race.
“It is to achieve this function.”
The butler sent Lu Yuan a blueprint.
“This is a VR control device? It must have been transplanted from the cockpit of an Apollo individual mecha, right?”
“You are absolutely correct.” The butler nodded.
“Through this set of equipment, and Cangyuan's mysterious superluminal communication capabilities, you can remotely control the synthetic human, observing your loyal Li Star, or any planet in the Star Sea Empire, from its perspective!”