Chapter 609: The Chef Shoved the Flatbread Directly into Their Mouths! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

“A purely story-driven interactive cinematic game?”

“Three artificial androids as protagonists?”

“Mr. Chen, this game…”

In the conference room, looking at the design draft Chen Xu provided, Qin Yi, Meng Zuo, and the others were all surprised.

Initially, when they heard Chen Xu talking about Artificial Intelligence discussions, they thought it would be an FPS and action-adventure type of game.

After all, robot rebellion, then humanity rising up to fight back, and then revealing deeper content—isn't that the mainstream for such sci-fi themes?

But clearly, the genre of this Detroit: Become Human was completely different from what they had imagined.

“As I said before, it’s more of a practice for new operating modules, including how to most accurately capture player information and the feedback from various in-game options. That’s what Detroit: Become Human is designed to do,” Chen Xu told the group.

For him, Detroit: Become Human was primarily about the new technology’s operating methods.

………………

Online, the buzz surrounding The Last of Us had completely cooled down.

Meanwhile, projects supported by new technology from various game developers became a hot topic.

As news about new games from different developers trickled out, even without any concrete revelations, it still attracted a lot of player attention.

After all, unlike before, the new technology offering a different kind of game operating experience was indeed something many players were incredibly interested in.

Besides the games currently under development, performance reviews of various models of domestic and international equipment from device manufacturers also captivated many players.

However, what left many players puzzled was how Nebula Games managed to keep so quiet.

Not a single crumb of news was revealed.

It could be said that many players were stomping their feet in impatience.

After all, as a developer known for making grand promises, when there was news, they usually had to wait a long time, let alone now when not even a hint of anything had been seen.

But this time, it was genuinely different from before.

………………

In Nebula World, Song Ren logged into the game as usual, preparing to grind a bit in Bloodborne.

Compared to Dark Souls, Bloodborne had now become his favorite new obsession.

As for why?

Because Bloodborne had a special mechanic: Chalice Dungeons.

After defeating the Blood-starved Beast BOSS, Chalice Dungeons would unlock. Also, many veteran players had specifically created dungeons where one could farm Blood Echoes and gems.

So, in the game, he could quickly build up a fully developed character.

On a new first playthrough account, he would max out all attributes to 99, fill all gem slots for damage, and experience the thrill of hitting 9999 with one strike.

You might ask, what's the point of that?

Song Ren could only say, it was extremely fun.

However, today when he logged into Nebula World, he noticed something different.

His in-game butler, Chloe, was behaving a little unusually.

Every player entering Nebula World had a common NPC butler: Chloe.

A blonde beauty, whom players could freely dress up.

Previously, Chloe's behavior, though seemingly lively, had a somewhat robotic quality.

But now, Song Ren found it to be a little different.

‘We’ve been together for a while, and I’ve been wondering… are we friends?’

As Song Ren entered Nebula World, preparing to use the portal to start Bloodborne and experience the stress relief of a max-level veteran invading a newbie village, Chloe, the young lady standing at the entrance, tilted her head and asked.

“Eh… brand new dialogue!” Song Ren seemed a little surprised.

He had noticed when he logged in earlier that Nebula World had a big update.

So, this was an update for Chloe, but there was no list of changes.

Song Ren was a little puzzled, but he quickly responded.

“Of course… we’re friends, of course.”

Listening to Song Ren’s answer, a faint smile appeared on Chloe’s face.

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but Song Ren felt that Chloe’s smile seemed more lifelike now.

Chloe always maintained a smile before, but now?

How to put it?

He felt she possessed more of a human touch.

‘I agree. There’s no reason humans and machines can’t be friends, right?’

‘What I wanted to say is… well, I’m very happy you answered [yes].’

Chloe smiled happily.

‘Then, would you like to know our story… the story of androids?’

Looking at Song Ren, Chloe slowly retracted the smile from her face.

“Wait, Chloe’s story? The story of androids? Is this new game content?” Song Ren was suddenly stunned as something dawned on him.

‘Thank you… but please consider carefully. The life and future of androids are all in your hands.’

Accompanying Chloe’s words, a prompt box appeared before Song Ren.

[Detected device connected to signal controller. You can now enter the new world, Detroit: Become Human (Demo Version). Would you like to proceed?]

“Holy cow, it really is a new game!?” Song Ren was utterly shocked.

This was too fast!

This time, Nebula Games and Mr. Chen hadn’t just made grand promises!

While other game designers and developers were still researching how to implement new control schemes and what features they might have, Mr. Chen had already finished the game!?

It was well-known that Nebula Games and Chen Xu were famous for making grand promises.

And in recent years, those promises had become increasingly perplexing.

But now, without a sound, a new game was directly launched?

It was like the chef directly shoved the freshly baked flatbread into their mouths!

It was a little unbelievable, and even quite hot to the touch!

As a player who had enthusiastically bought the device at launch, only to find that there wasn't even an application, let alone a game, Song Ren immediately became excited after seeing the news about Detroit: Become Human.

The device wasn't bought for nothing!

Even if it was just a demo, he could still actually try it out!

The only question was what kind of game this mysterious title would be.

“Become Human”—did that mean the protagonists in the game weren't human?

And the setting of the story should be Detroit, as indicated by the title.

Song Ren was quite familiar with the city of Detroit.

Once known as the “Motor City,” it eventually went bankrupt.

Many dystopian films and novels would use this city as a prototype.

Looking at Chloe before him, Song Ren thought to himself while confirming the relevant options in Nebula World.

Difficulty? There was no need to even consider it; it would definitely be the easiest.

‘Ready. I will now lead you into the new world. Please remember: our destiny rests in your hands.’

As Chloe spoke with anticipation, Song Ren stepped forward, and everything around him began to transform into data.

Constantly reorganizing, shaping, separating, until the entire environment was completely replaced.

And finally, it settled inside a rising elevator.

(End of Chapter) <>