A video was launched on Nebula Games' VR platform and official website.
The content was very simple, just a few pictures and a narration.
‘Damascus during the Crusades, the Holy City of Jerusalem, Florence during the Renaissance, the Eternal City of Rome, Constantinople…’
‘In the long river of history, there was a war that people never knew.’
‘It lasted for thousands of years and never stopped.’
‘The struggle between freedom and order.’
After watching the entire video, many players were dumbfounded.
The video, less than 30 seconds long in total, seemed to reveal a lot of content, yet also not much at all.
Crusades?
Isn't this the new game theme developed by Zeus?
And what's with this Renaissance stuff?!?
Of course, many players were also very excited.
“What's this all about? Mr. Chen, don't be Riddler-like!”
“Exactly! I completely don't get it!”
“Guys, isn't this hint obvious enough? Mr. Chen is hinting at a new game!”
“But why is the time span so vast? The Crusades and the Renaissance are separated by several generations!”
“Don't ask me, how would I know? But combined with where Chen Xu went before, and this short film, isn't it obvious enough?”
“Damn, Mr. Chen is as usual, making grand promises at lightning speed.”
“23333, I'm just asking if you'll eat that ‘pie’ when the time comes!”
The messages published on Chen Xu’s and Nebula Games’ official Weibo accounts left many players a bit confused.
The only thing they could think of was that it might be related to Nebula Games' new game, and the background seemed to be set in the Renaissance.
But the key question was, what type of game was this?
Many players discussed various possibilities under Chen Xu’s official Weibo account, but they didn't get any replies.
Meanwhile, Zeus received the latest news and was thoroughly annoyed.
It's you guys again?
And why announce it now, not earlier?
Before, when you went on that trip to Italy and players online were discussing it so fiercely, why didn't you announce that you were making a medieval-themed game set in the Renaissance?
You kept quiet then, and now you pull this stunt, trying to piggyback on the medieval hype we generated, right?
Zeus was stamping his feet in anger, but he said nothing online, mainly because he couldn't.
After all, Nebula Games' previous products were all quality titles, and Nebula Games wasn't some small game developer. Why would they need to piggyback on hype?
Of course, Chen Xu could honestly say it was just a coincidence.
As for piggybacking on hype, that sounded too unpleasant.
Between game companies and designers, could this be called piggybacking on hype?
One could only say this was about fostering prosperity in the gaming industry alongside friendly competitors, adding bricks and tiles to the industry's development.
See, Zeus's ‘Medieval’ theme got a wave of promotion, and we at Nebula Games followed closely behind. Didn't player attention and excitement immediately surge?
And since you at Zeus have already worked so hard, just leave the rest to us at Nebula Games.
With this thought in mind, after nearly a month of location scouting, Chen Xu and his team returned to Nebula Games, and a brand-new small application was uploaded to Huanyu VR's Nebula Games Platform.
………………
That day, Zhang Yi, who was about to log in to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for a couple of quick random matches, paused the moment he logged into the Nebula Games Platform.
He found that the Nebula Games Platform had a pop-up window today, and it wasn't even for a Nebula Games product.
Zhang Yi was stunned instantly.
Pop-up windows on the Nebula Games PC platform were a major recommendation slot. Only Nebula Games' own first-party games or exceptionally high-quality third-party games could get one.
As for the Huanyu VR Nebula Games Platform, there had never been a single pop-up window, not even for Uncharted before. But now, there was one?!
This immediately shocked players like Zhang Yi.
“animus? What is this?” Zhang Yi looked puzzled, especially by the developer of this software, which struck him as very strange.
It appeared to be a product from a company called Abstergo. Its LOGO was three trapezoids interlocking to form an eye-like triangle, which looked quite mysterious.
“What kind of company is this, to get a pop-up on Nebula Games? That awesome? And what exactly is this ‘animus’ thing? There's no description either? And it's quite large!” Scratching his head, Zhang Yi was full of questions.
However, with a touch of curiosity, he directly downloaded the application.
If it were some shady channel, he definitely wouldn't download it; who knew what kind of bizarre thing it might be. But since it was on the Nebula Games Platform and even had a pop-up, its safety should be guaranteed, and he was indeed curious.
Zhang Yi quickly finished downloading animus.
Then he clicked to enter.
Accompanying a black screen, a strange white space appeared before Zhang Yi. He tried to move his vision, only to find he couldn't move yet. His vision was a vast white, with many lines connecting, looking like the code world from a sci-fi movie.
At this moment, a gentle female voice appeared, introducing it to him.
“This is animus, a brand new program released by Abstergo Entertainment.”
“Perhaps you're wondering what kind of device animus is. Let us answer that for you.”
“Everyone carries DNA inheritance, and within your genes are stored the memories of your ancestors from thousands of years ago.”
“And animus is a machine that allows you to experience the magnificent life of your ancestors.”
“Perhaps your ancestor from a thousand years ago was a warrior.”
As the voice faded, Zhang Yi was astonished to find the world before him transformed into an ancient town.
And now he could move.
“Using animus allows you to interact with the world you see. Try it now.”
As the words fell, Zhang Yi found he could move: running, climbing, and simple attacks. But soon, the surrounding noises grew louder, and everything around him became increasingly blurry.
“Of course, if a user performs actions in the seen world that deviate from their genetic memory, the synchronization rate will decrease. Synchronization rate is essential for maintaining animus; if you lose sync, you must re-read the memory.”
The screen shifted back to the previous white virtual scene.
“Now, please try using it again.” The gentle female voice spoke again.
Zhang Yi was equally surprised; he had now come back to his senses.
What's all this mysterious ‘animus’ and ‘Abstergo’ nonsense? This was Nebula Games' promotion for a new work!
It was just like the easter egg from Uncharted.
“So Nebula Games’ new work involves traveling back to ancient times using this machine?” Zhang Yi was very surprised.
At the same time, he followed the guidance of this 'animus' for some kind of verification.
But just as Zhang Yi was still thinking, the screen suddenly locked onto a tall tower, and a red cross mark appeared before his eyes, with a small line of text next to it – ‘May the Father of Understanding Guide Us’.
“You have been chosen!”
The previous gentle narration turned into a cold, mechanical voice. The next moment, Zhang Yi returned to the world of fragmented data.
At the same time, only an exit option appeared before him.
“What’s going on?!”
The sudden change startled Zhang Yi.
What's happening, what happened?!
(End of Chapter)
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