Chapter 804: The 3D Zone Cannot Be Without Tifa, Just as the West Cannot Be Without Jerusalem

Chapter 804: The 3D Zone Cannot Be Without Tifa, Just as the West Cannot Be Without Jerusalem

Hearing Yang Xin’s words, Qin Yi, Meng Zuo, and the others all felt utterly frustrated.

What did she mean, all the secrets were hidden in Azeroth?

You're not the Great Pirate!

Still, everyone understood that if Chen Xu said so, it wasn’t just bragging.

There really must be Easter eggs for the new game hidden within World of Warcraft. After all, during the original development of World of Warcraft, Chen Xu had specially added numerous hidden characters and references that no one had noticed at the time.

It wasn’t until the release of subsequent projects that many people were shocked to realize those early inclusions had been intentional all along.

Knowing this precedent, Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, and others had quietly begun exploring Azeroth themselves, hoping to uncover minute clues.

Although Chen Xu would eventually hold a meeting when officially launching the new project, doing so now would spoil the fun.

While Qin Yi and the others searched for hints about the new project, players online were already discussing it.

Of course, ordinary players didn’t have insider information—they simply had developed a habit.

Almost every month, from both domestic and overseas communities, countless 'Insiders' would surface.

One day claiming Nebula Games was preparing a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the next saying The Witcher: Wild Hunt sequel was in development.

The day after, someone else would insist Red Dead Redemption’s sequel was on the way.

In short, no major IP under Nebula Games was spared. And their claims often sounded quite plausible.

What if they were wrong?

So what? It didn’t cost them anything. But if they happened to be right? Then they’d be awesome!

………

"Ah! Mr. Chen, how come there's absolutely no wind sound about this new project!?"

In the rest area, Yang Xin couldn’t help but wail.

Every day after work recently, they had been scouring Azeroth for these so-called Easter eggs, desperate to figure out what the new project actually was.

But with no clue about the game’s genre or theme, their search felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.

If they were ordinary players, they’d have given up by now and just moved on.

But the problem was, they all knew Mr. Chen was working on something new—and that made it unbearable.

"Just go ask Mr. Chen," Qin Yi said, smacking his lips.

"Yeah, just ask him directly," Ruan Ningxue agreed.

"Sigh… Last time I asked, he brushed me off like I was a kid. Changed the subject and acted super dismissive," Yang Xin sighed.

"Xin Jie! You actually asked Mr. Chen!?"

At first, they didn’t catch it, but upon realizing what Yang Xin meant, Qin Yi and the others’ eyes widened.

"Ahem… Just curious," Yang Xin coughed lightly.

"Xin Jie! That’s traitor behavior!" Ruan Ningxue scolded with mock indignation.

After all, these past days they had all been trying to find Chen Xu’s Easter egg clues in Azeroth by themselves!

"Alright, alright, I’ll go spearhead this again, okay?" Seeing the group’s outrage, Yang Xin spread her hands helplessly and stood up from her chair.

As Yang Xin rose, Ruan Ningxue and the others silently flashed each other a V-sign.

………………

Inside Nebula Games’ office, Chen Xu’s computer screen displayed a unique female character model.

Willow-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, cherry lips, a classic oval face, a high nose bridge, and flowing black hair—every feature of Eastern beauty perfectly combined, embodying an angelic face with a devilish figure.

As Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, and others entered the office after knocking and receiving permission, their eyes immediately landed on this brand-new character modeling.

"So beautiful!"

"Mr. Chen, is this a character from the new game?"

Seeing the female model on screen, everyone’s eyes lit up, quickly realizing its significance.

"You could say that. But technically, it’s not for the new game yet—it’s one of the protagonists in our upcoming CGI movie," Chen Xu nodded, then shook his head.

"What!?"

Qin Yi and the others looked bewildered.

Did they… hear that wrong?

What did Mr. Chen just say?

CGI movie?

They were a game company, weren’t they!

"Don’t look so shocked. This is mainly to promote Nebula Games’ influence—including our Nebula Games Theme Park. Relying solely on games isn’t enough. Film and television adaptation is a crucial direction," Chen Xu explained, observing their surprised expressions.

"Besides, it also serves as advertising for the upcoming new work."

In his previous life, major game developers had already been moving toward diversification.

Classics like Uncharted, The Last of Us, The Witcher, and Halo had all experimented with film adaptations.

Even in this Parallel World, many game developers had done the same—Atari being a notable example, though often adapting films into games.

This was just another attempt. More importantly, Nebula Games had no shortage of funds.

While Chen Xu remained unfazed, Yang Xin and the others couldn’t help grumbling inwardly after hearing his explanation.

Who promotes like this!?

Others make promotional videos for ads—now you’re making a full movie!?

Still, despite their internal complaints, everyone was intensely curious about this new project.

"So Mr. Chen, is this a project focused on a female character?" Qin Yi asked cautiously.

"Not exactly. The new project will be an Ensemble RPG, similar to the traditional RPG mode of Xenoblade Chronicles, but with a more stylish and realistic aesthetic," Chen Xu replied, shaking his head.

Listening to Chen Xu and staring at the model on screen, the others instinctively nodded.

"As for the theme, it will blend Magic (attack type), weapons, Steam Machinery, and Summon Beasts—creating a world of fantasy. And its name will be Final Fantasy."

Chen Xu gave a brief introduction of the background.

The character displayed on the screen was none other than Tifa—the female protagonist from the seventh installment.

A character ranked among the most beloved female characters in gaming history.

For over a decade, even amidst rising stars like Marie Rose, D.Va, and 2B, Tifa continued to dominate the 3D Zone. She had even sparked an unexpected assassination incident in the Italian Senate, prompting countless players to感慨: The 3D Zone cannot be without Tifa, just as the West cannot be without Jerusalem.

Similarly, Final Fantasy, with its long history, had birthed many classics.

The reason for choosing this particular installment centered on Tifa wasn’t merely her status in the 3D Zone.

After all, while Tifa was iconic, Lightning—the FF protagonist who later endorsed LV—was no vegetarian either.

The primary reason was the game’s derivative film.

In his previous life, the Final Fantasy series had released three major CGI movies: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Advent Children, and Kingsglaive.

The Spirits Within, with a budget of $160 million, nearly bankrupted Square Enix.

They learned their lesson and adapted their flagship title, FF7, once more.

Advent Children, unlike The Spirits Within, became extremely profitable, earning Square Enix massive returns and earning invitations to the Venice Film Festival for two consecutive years.

But after success, Square Enix grew overconfident and launched the much larger-scale Kingsglaive—resulting in losing even their underwear.

Meanwhile, FF7’s global popularity stemmed not only from the game’s quality but also significantly from the influence of Advent Children.

In fact, many players first learned about Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Sephiroth not through the PlayStation Era games, but through the Advent Children CGI movie.

This was precisely why Chen Xu decided to launch this title first, combining game and film to expand the IP’s and Nebula Games’ recognition.

Indeed, although Kingsglaive received overwhelmingly negative reviews and nearly crashed Square Enix again, the subsequent sales of Final Fantasy XV clearly demonstrated the movie’s promotional impact.

Despite being met with negative reviews at launch, its sales still reached fourth in the main series.

Of course, later cancellation of DLC content and completing the story via novels left players with endless regrets.

But for Chen Xu, he naturally didn’t just want to rely on a CGI movie to boost game sales.

He wanted the dual power of game and CGI movie to amplify the IP and Nebula Games’ influence—that was his true goal.

Moreover, from a merchandise standpoint, Final Fantasy was a perfect fit.

Handsome and beautiful characters like Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa, and Aerith; adorable mascots like the Moogle and Chocobo; darker tastes could enjoy Professor Hojo and Don Corneo; and for those uninterested in humans, Red XIII was available—truly covering every demographic!

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