As the qualifier creative period entered its final stretch, the organizers arranged a small pre-competition interview to maintain momentum.
The stage was set up simply and brightly, forming a stark contrast to the dark aesthetic of the Battlefield: Warhammer 40k trailer.
Host Charles sat in the center. To his left sat the striking orange-haired Neil, a casually dressed but somewhat distracted Medici, and another young man wearing black-rimmed glasses who appeared calm and reserved—Ray.
His work Interstellar Adventure, with its extremely high degree of freedom and vast cosmic setting, had secured third place in the preliminaries.
"First, welcome to our three top-hundred contestants!" Charles smiled, smoothly controlling the flow.
"I'm sure our audience is dying to know about your new works. Shall we start with Ms. Neil?"
The camera focused on Neil. She flashed her signature sweet smile, instantly triggering a flood of comments praising her looks.
"Ms. Neil, can you give us a hint about what direction your qualifier entry will take? Will it be another moving story like Crabapple blossoms speak their language?" Charles asked.
Neil shook her head gently, her voice clear and pleasant: "I've tried something different this time.
My new work isn't a traditional written novel. I've created it as an 'immersive visual novel.'
Players can truly 'enter' the story's world and interact with characters and environments.
Plus, the story contains multiple branches and hidden endings. Every choice a player makes could lead to a different future."
Her introduction sparked heated discussion in the chat, with viewers expressing strong interest in the interactive, multi-ending visual novel format.
"It seems Ms. Neil has some fresh ideas this time. We're very much looking forward to it! Let's wish Ms. Neil's new work great success!" Charles offered timely congratulations before turning his attention elsewhere.
However, when the camera panned to Medici, viewers noticed he had his head slightly lowered, eyes downcast, his focus seemingly nowhere near the current interview.
His fingers unconsciously tapped against his knee, as if calculating some complex formula in his mind, or perhaps conceptualizing some bloody battlefield. His distracted appearance, combined with his clean-cut profile, oddly gave him the air of a brooding male lead.
It formed an interesting contrast with the radiant Neil beside him and the attentively listening Ray.
The chat immediately picked up on this:
"What's Devil Medici doing? Spacing out?"
"Probably optimizing the damage on promethium bombs. I bet he'll never forget whether they can be changed or not. Five anti-tank bombs couldn't kill a Leman Russ!"
"Not gonna lie, he looks kind of cool like that. Like an artist pondering philosophical questions."
"Ray is listening so seriously, total good student vibes. Medici's like that genius who zones out in class."
"Host, hurry up and ask him! I want to hear Devil Medici explain it himself!"
After interviewing Neil and Ray—the latter introduced that Interstellar Adventure would add more explorable exotic planets and civilization ruins—Charles finally brought the topic to Medici.
He turned his head just as Medici seemed to be snapping back to reality from his own world.
"Mr. Medici," Charles said with a good-natured smile, smoothly avoiding any potential awkwardness.
"What were you thinking about so intently just now? Working out new game mechanics? Could you give us a brief overview of what specific content this Battlefield: Warhammer 40k update will add?
I watched your trailer—the visuals were stunning—but players are more concerned about how the actual gameplay will be different."
Medici lifted his gaze, his eyes returning to their usual calm focus. Facing the camera, he answered concisely:
"Sure. The core content of this update is the command system."
He paused, letting the concept sink in briefly, then continued his explanation:
"In the new version, players will no longer merely play as ordinary soldiers charging into battle.
They can choose to take on the role of small-unit commanders. For example, in the Adeptus Mechanicus faction, you can play as a Tech-Priest commanding an exploration detachment of Servitors and Skitarii.
In the Genestealer faction, you can play as a Purestrain squad leader, leading hybrid groups into combat."
"This means the game will test players' battlefield instincts, tactical decision-making in real-time, and macro-level tactical literacy. You'll need to consider not just your own survival, but the survival of your entire squad and the achievement of tactical objectives."
Medici's tone was steady, without excessive dramatization, but the content itself was explosive enough.
Though Charles wasn't particularly fond of hardcore games, he played along: "Sounds like you're making the game even more challenging and harder, haha."
His casual quip instantly ignited a firestorm in the chat.
The comments immediately split into two distinct factions:
"I knew it! Devil Medici is inhuman! Playing as a regular grunt already gets us killed nonstop, and now he wants us to command AI squads?!"
"Is this because we weren't dying fast enough? Now we have to babysit a squad of dead weight while we die?"
"That's it, us casual players are officially done with this game."
"Devil Medici: I know you're suffering, so I decided to make you suffer even more."
"Commanding AI in combat?! That's so cool! Now this feels like being a battlefield commander!"
"It's about time! Isn't the appeal of warfare all about large-scale military engagements?"
"Testing tactical literacy? I love it! Finally, I won't have to rage at brainless teammates charging in!"
"This is true evolution! From soldier to commander—the game's depth just jumped up a whole tier!"
Supportive and opposing voices clashed fiercely, the discussion's intensity even surpassing the previous two contestants.
With just a few sentences, Medici had once again thrust himself and his work into the eye of the storm.
He gazed calmly at the camera, as if all this heated debate had been well within his expectations.
For him, the game's "difficulty" was never the goal, but rather an inevitable characteristic of the brutal, authentic, and epically scaled battlefield experience he wanted to convey.
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones