When the white glare on the computer screen gradually faded, a desolate land appeared before her eyes!
There were no warships here, no outer space, and no magnificent battlefield like the one shown in the video!
There was only this barren land—
And an armored vehicle parked beside it!
"This is… a scam?"
The girl began to doubt. Could it be that Antarctica Company had also resorted to those low-grade marketing tricks?
Was this really the case?
Was the so-called StarCraft nothing more than a military game about driving an armored vehicle?
Just then, a prompt appeared.
[Press 'E' to board the vehicle.]
Without thinking, the girl boarded the armored vehicle.
Another prompt followed.
[Select an area and deploy the base vehicle.]
"Base vehicle?"
She froze for a moment, but in the end decided to continue following the game's guidance. This was entirely based on the trust she had always placed in Antarctica—otherwise, she would have closed the game long ago!
Following the step-by-step instructions, she quickly grasped the basic gameplay.
Barracks, power plants, and factories sprang up one after another, and legions bearing her name were born on this land.
"So that's how it is!!"
Suddenly, realization struck her!
This game did not begin by handing players a fleet of battleships to dominate space.
Instead, everything started from a single foundational unit!
At the beginning, every player possessed only one base vehicle, which then evolved into different factions based on their chosen development paths.
First, players competed for planetary resources, then gradually advanced into space, ultimately following the path of StarCraft!
Thinking of the grand scenes shown in the video, every player would be filled with motivation!
The reason lay in its emphasis on immersion!
The game merely accelerated the process!
No one on Earth is born an interstellar warlord. Everyone starts as an Earthling, and the greatest capability an Earthling might possess is a base vehicle!
Develop, develop, develop—and then go to space!
However, during this time, players also had to remain vigilant against their competitors!
A planet's resources are limited, and everyone wants exclusive ownership of their share!
As a result, ground warfare becomes unavoidable!
Thrilling!
But there was still another issue!
Conflicts between new and veteran players were inevitable, and newcomers could very easily be captured outright by established forces!
Of course, Xu Dan had already thought of this. That was why each batch existed within an independent galaxy!
Just like in the universe itself—unless you reach the required level of interstellar navigation and can independently leave your own galaxy, you cannot invade others!
The girl couldn't help but completely immerse herself. That entire day, she didn't even feel hunger, and like countless other players, she continued to develop relentlessly…
————————
At the same time StarCraft was officially released, Xu Dan received a phone call from Dr. Banner.
He immediately set aside any thoughts of monitoring the game's first-day performance and drove straight to Brooklyn.
With a mix of anticipation and anxiety, he hurried up to the Antarctica Biotechnology Building and finally met with Banner.
"Huh?"
"Mm."
The brief exchange of two syllables sent Xu Dan into a surge of joy!
Bruce Banner—currently his CTO of Virtual Holographic Games!
After returning from Asgard last time, the two sides had stayed in close contact and dispatched relevant personnel to jointly develop a server capable of crossing dimensions!
Because if virtual games were to be promoted in Asgard, a machine capable of interdimensional transmission was absolutely necessary!
Otherwise, the servers would have to be moved to Asgard…
But that was obviously impossible!
Neither Xu Dan nor Banner could stay in Asgard permanently!
Nor could they leave their research成果 unattended in Asgard!
They needed data—and the Asgardian warriors were the perfect test subjects!
Due to limitations of virtual helmet technology, the virtual version of League of Legends could not yet be released on Earth, so experimentation had to be conducted using the physically powerful Asgardians to collect sample data!
And now, this so-called interdimensional server—bordering on the metaphysical—had finally been completed with the aid of Asgardian technology!!
How could Xu Dan not be ecstatic?
This marked the first time since the conception of virtual gaming that it could be officially put into operation!
"Banner! Excellent work!"
Xu Dan stepped forward and patted Banner on the shoulder.
Ever since returning from Brazil, Banner had remained cooped up in this small laboratory. Although Xu Dan had provided him with every possible benefit, Banner had never indulged in pleasure.
He devoted himself wholeheartedly to fulfilling Xu Dan's vision!
Hearing this, Banner pushed up his glasses and smiled shyly.
"You know, I enjoy this kind of work. It gives me a sense of accomplishment, doesn't it? And… honestly, without Asgard's support, I wouldn't want to spend my entire life trying to build an interdimensional server on my own…"
Looking at the ever-modest Banner, Xu Dan patted his shoulder again and said nothing more.
What was astonishing was that the so-called interdimensional server was not even as large as a computer tower!!!
It was perfectly cube-shaped—just like the 'Spark' from Transformers!
It completely defied conventional physics, hovering silently in midair without any visible power source.
"Amazing!"
"Well, it really is beautiful. It's wirelessly connected to the Bifrost, so there's no need to worry about energy supply. Honestly, if humanity could fully study this little cube, I'm afraid it would trigger an explosive leap in technology!"
Xu Dan nodded in agreement. Asgardian technology—what they called divine power—was indeed at the pinnacle. Otherwise, they would never have been able to dominate the cosmos.
Now that the interdimensional server was ready and the helmets on the Asgardian side had already been distributed, all that remained was to import the game itself and then—
Boot up!!
As for the game content, Wolverine Logan had been the first to experience it last time.
Logan had chosen a small village in Ionia, and even such a humble village had completely addicted him.
The amount of effort Xu Dan had invested in this project was enormous.
For this first-ever virtual online game, he had chosen the Advanced Optimization Package from the Points Mall!
This was the first time he had ever purchased an Advanced Optimization Pack!
Even when World of Warcraft had been destined for explosive success, he had only used the Intermediate Optimization Pack!
And even that alone had delivered an immersive experience!
Let alone the Advanced Optimization Pack!
If anyone were to enter the game with all interface prompts disabled, they would likely prefer to remain in that world forever!
Because that world was even more beautiful than reality itself!
Even the well-traveled Asgardian warriors would be utterly captivated!
What's more, the continent of Valoran offered far more freedom than the real world, which bound people in so many ways!
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)