Chapter Summaries

Shen Miaomiao arranged for Golden Wind to fund a massive Binjiang real estate project through Jinpeng Real Estate, while Peng Qianqian worried about its risks. As Gamescom opened in Germany, Yunwei’s heavily promoted The Lord of the Rings: Gollum dominated the attention, and Tiantian began a livestream from the crowded exhibition center.

• Shen Miaomiao told Peng Qianqian that Golden Wind would cover the project’s costs, while Pengcheng Real Estate supplied its expertise and connections through Jinpeng Real Estate.
• Peng Qianqian worried that the enormous project was too risky, but Shen Miaomiao encouraged him to pursue it on a grand scale.
• Yunwei’s worldwide campaign for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum overshadowed Golden Wind’s Minecraft in Gamescom coverage.
• On February 25, Tiantian livestreamed from the Cologne International Exhibition Centre shortly before Gamescom opened and prepared to interview visitors about the games they anticipated.

At Gamescom, players remained unsure what to expect from Golden Wind’s creative Minecraft, while Yunwei’s Lord of the Rings: Gollum drew higher anticipation thanks to its famous IP and lavish promotion. A Yin began playing Gollum and grew uneasy with its prolonged, incoherent opening, leaving the game’s first impression in doubt.

• Tiantian interviewed visitors, who praised Gollum’s recognizable appeal but said Minecraft’s open-ended sandbox gameplay was hard to judge before trying it.
• A Yin and other Shark streamers chose Yunwei’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum as their first Gamescom hands-on game.
• Gollum’s opening showed him muttering in a cave before Gandalf questioned him in the Elven King’s prison.
• A Yin frowned as Gollum’s disjointed monologue and cryptic cinematic continued for several minutes.
• A Yin questioned the opening’s approach and faced the prospect of playing Gollum, a mentally unstable character who screamed and mumbled to himself.

A Yin played Gollum and found its platforming, water effects, controls, and collision detection badly flawed. After repeated deaths, he called the game a steaming pile of shit on his livestream.

• A Yin began Gollum and noticed that only the opening puddle had convincing water ripples and feedback.
• A Yin tried to jump a cliff gap, but the game pulled Gollum onto the ledge and forced him to climb.
• A Yin traversed the narrow cliffs and watched Gollum's fingers pass through a protruding ledge, causing him to die.
• A Yin tested the next jump and confirmed that a supposed foothold had no collision, then died again when the game failed to protect Gollum at an edge.
• A Yin stayed silent for half a minute before condemning Gollum as a steaming pile of shit.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum collapsed under widespread ridicule, damaging Vendi’s soaring market value. Meanwhile, Dream began exploring Minecraft and discovered its floating blocks and crafting system.

• La Ye, Hank, Er Gou Jun, and pew condemned The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s design, while media outlets and streamers gave it scathing reviews.
• The game’s reputation plunged, and Vendi’s market capitalization began to evaporate.
• Dream spawned in Minecraft with an empty inventory and punched a tree to collect a log.
• Dream discovered that the tree’s remaining blocks floated in midair, surprising him and his livestream viewers.
• Dream converted the log into wooden planks and used them to craft a Crafting Table.

Dream discovered Minecraft’s crafting system and joined George to build a house, but strange sounds near their home left them uneasy as night approached.

• Dream used the Recipe Book to craft a wooden axe, then figured out how to make a wooden pickaxe by arranging blocks himself.
• George joined Dream’s world and built a tall dirt pillar so Dream could locate him in the oak forest.
• Dream and George met and decided to build a waterside house, chopping down nearby oak trees and raising square walls.
• Dream reassured George that their boxy house would look good once finished, as viewers joked about its shoebox shape.
• George heard a strange sound inside the house, and Dream thought it was coming from the oak forest.

Dream and George faced a night of terrifying monsters in Minecraft, turning their unfinished Shoebox Cabin into a desperate stronghold. As more zombies and skeletons converged, the brothers armed themselves and charged out to defend it.

• George heard a strange voice beneath the cabin while Dream heard eerie clacking in the Oak Forest as night fell.
• Two zombies startled George inside the cabin, while a Skeleton Archer shot Dream outside and chased him indoors.
• Dream mistook a zombie for George, then quickly crafted a Stone Sword and beheaded it before George revealed himself.
• A Skeleton Archer nearly shot Dream at the doorway, but George stepped in front of the arrow and dramatically pretended to die before Dream handed him a Stone Sword.
• With monsters converging on the cabin, Dream and George charged out together, determined to defend the Shoebox.

Teacher Piao and Teacher Ma exploited the zombies’ inability to crouch to farm experience, but a Creeper blew up their base and killed Teacher Piao. Meanwhile, A Yin and Cousin found a diamond deep in a lava-filled mine, only to hear a hostile creature approaching from behind.

• Teacher Piao and Teacher Ma blocked their cave entrance and attacked zombies’ legs through a low gap, farming experience overnight.
• A Creeper approached the opening and exploded, killing Teacher Piao and leaving A Yin to loot his gear while Cousin protested over voice chat.
• After abandoning Yunwei’s booth, A Yin and Cousin played Minecraft at Golden Wind’s booth and explored an underground mine.
• A Yin and Cousin crossed a lava pool and mined a glowing aqua-blue ore block, earning the Diamond achievement.
• As A Yin celebrated finding the diamond, ominous groans, clacking, and hissing sounded from behind them.

A Yin and Cousin fought to save their diamond and gear from monsters in a lava-filled mine, while their livestream viewers watched Cousin's dramatic last stand. Minecraft's reception spread across livestreams and review studios, leaving the gaming industry watching for the verdict after Gamescom's first day.

• A Yin and Cousin were trapped by zombies, spiders, and Skeleton Archers beside a lava pool, so Cousin held the bridge while A Yin dug an escape route.
• Cousin battled the monsters on the narrow bridge and knocked several into the lava, while A Yin mined upward through the ceiling.
• A Skeleton Archer shot Cousin in the eye, and Cousin used Lightning Tornado Slash to kill a zombie but shattered his Iron Sword.
• A second arrow sent Cousin into the lava, where he gave A Yin an approving thumbs-up before sinking beneath the molten surface.
• Viewers and reviewers praised Minecraft's varied gameplay, freedom, and novel mechanics, while discussing how the industry would judge the first day of Gamescom.

At Gamescom, Minecraft overwhelmingly outperformed Vendi Cloud’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, triggering a sharp decline in Vendi Cloud’s market value. After Vendi Cloud claimed the demo did not reflect the game’s final quality, Gu Sheng and his colleagues predicted the company would likely abandon or indefinitely postpone the project.

• At Gamescom, players and international media condemned The Lord of the Rings: Gollum while praising Minecraft, making Golden Wind the clear victor of the first day.
• Vendi Cloud’s market value lost the 8.75% it had gained through promotion and fell another 0.2%.
• Sarah Gascone recognized the severity of Vendi Cloud’s predicament and concluded that its leadership had to respond.
• Vendi Cloud issued an announcement claiming The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s expo demo did not represent its final quality and promised continued updates.
• Gu Sheng dismissed Vendi Cloud’s announcement as damage control, while Da Jiang asked whether Golden Wind should prepare for a rematch.
• Sengoku and Lu Bian predicted that Vendi Cloud would cut its losses by canceling or indefinitely postponing the game to avoid further damage to its market value and reputation.

Golden Wind’s executives discussed using the Golden Engine’s Alpha test to make a cooperative shooter, and Lu Bian suggested adapting a film property to expose Vendi’s failure with The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Shen Miaomiao devised a plan that combined their ideas, but the chapter ended before she explained it.

• Sarah ordered Kornik to delay The Lord of the Rings: Gollum indefinitely after its demo drew condemnation and damaged Vendi’s market value.
• Gu Sheng and Golden Wind’s executives discussed making a small online co-op shooter to test the Golden Engine’s Alpha version.
• Lu Bian suggested adapting a film IP to demonstrate how to make a successful derivative game after Vendi’s Gollum failure.
• Moritani supported the idea, while Da Jiang warned that major film licenses could cost hundreds of millions.
• Gu Sheng rejected an expensive license, but Shen Miaomiao saw the project’s potential for costly Alpha testing and devised a plan to teach Vendi a lesson in both directions.

Shen Miaomiao proposed that Golden Wind create its own game IP and adapt it into a movie, turning Yunwei’s failed strategy back on them. Gu Sheng agreed and planned to contact Legendary Pictures, while he and Shen Miaomiao ended the day teasing each other over her new fiancée-exclusive car sign.

• Shen Miaomiao suggested that Golden Wind develop a game first, then adapt its original IP into a movie to make Yunwei’s costly licensed-game strategy look foolish.
• Moriya warned that making a successful movie from a game would be difficult, but Gu Sheng declared the plan was feasible and envisioned a cooperative online shooter suited to Alpha testing and film adaptation.
• Gu Sheng decided to contact Legendary Pictures president Thomas Tull and seek a charismatic actor to help with the game’s character modeling and star in the movie.
• Shen Miaomiao showed Gu Sheng an acrylic sign screwed into his car that read “Fiancée Gu Sheng’s Exclusive,” and he explained he had been checking whether it could interfere with the airbag.
• After Shen Miaomiao demanded that Gu Sheng care about her, he eagerly offered to find her a jacket, plan dinner, and play Minecraft with her.

Shen Miaomiao and Gu Sheng played Minecraft together for the first time in a while, exploring the rainy world and joking as they searched for a place to build. They reached a mountain overlooking the sea and decided to build their house at its foot.

• Shen Miaomiao suggested using Minecraft to find inspiration for decorating their new home, and Gu Sheng agreed to create a world for them.
• Shen Miaomiao and Gu Sheng entered the game as Block People and explored the forested mountains in the rain.
• Shen Miaomiao enjoyed the peaceful freedom of the game and joked with Gu Sheng about being alone together in the world.
• Gu Sheng teased Shen Miaomiao by leading a creeper toward her, and its explosion made her chase him up the mountain.
• Gu Sheng showed Shen Miaomiao the sunlit ocean and rainbow after the rain, and she suggested building their house by the sea at the mountain's foot.

Shen Miaomiao and Gu Sheng shared a quiet moment in their Minecraft home after she returned from exploring with a diamond for him. The chapter then followed a Block Person’s journey to The End, where he fought and defeated the Ender Dragon.

• Shen Miaomiao chopped wood and reflected on Minecraft’s freedom and relaxing gameplay.
• Gu Sheng fed his animals, tended his farm, and welcomed Shen Miaomiao home after another day of exploration.
• Shen Miaomiao gave Gu Sheng a diamond she had mined through dangerous caves, and he told her that she was the most precious thing in the world.
• A Block Person entered The End, fought the Ender Dragon, destroyed the End Crystals, and defeated the dragon with his diamond sword.
• The chapter ended with the Ender Dragon’s defeat and a reflection on the Block Person’s journey from a wooden sword to the final battle.

The chapter celebrated Minecraft’s limitless creativity through visions of Redstone engineering, elaborate architecture, and the players who brought its world to life, as the game earned perfect scores across the media. Vendi erased its Gollum promotions after Minecraft’s success, and Golden Wind announced a new title built with the Golden Engine alpha: Mercy Hospital.

• A Block Person showcased automated Redstone factories and a 1Hz computer capable of running games and other programs.
• Another Block Person explored a vast Jiangnan-style city built from hundreds of millions of blocks, illustrating Minecraft’s architectural possibilities.
• The chapter connected Minecraft’s many styles of play to its players and quoted outlets awarding the game perfect scores.
• Media compared Minecraft’s gameplay-focused strengths with To the moon’s story-focused design, praising both as low-budget masterpieces.
• Vendi removed its Gollum promotions and related media after the game’s failure, enraging director Sarah.
• Golden Wind announced Mercy Hospital, a new title built with the Golden Engine alpha test version.

Golden Wind announced the first Alpha Test of Golden Engine and released PAYDAY as its testing game, drawing attention because players expected it to connect to Left 4 Dead. Brother Shu and his friends began a hospital mission, where they encountered a man who looked like Nick from Left 4 Dead.

• Golden Wind announced that Golden Engine’s Alpha Test was complete and opened a free demo for PAYDAY.
• Brother Shu’s livestream team downloaded the demo, and viewers speculated about the game’s connection to Left 4 Dead.
• Bane briefed the team on retrieving a blood sample from a patient in Mercy Hospital’s intensive care unit.
• Brother Shu, A Yin, Liu Liu, and Zhuang Zhuang entered the mission and realized they were armed for a robbery-style operation.
• Liu Liu let a passenger leave the elevator, then recognized him as Nick from Left 4 Dead.

A Yin and the others began their PAYDAY robbery at Mercy Hospital, where Nick’s return hinted that the PAYDAY and Left 4 Dead worlds shared a universe. After Liu Liu convincingly fooled a monitoring call, two guards emerged from the elevator and Zhuang Zhuang shot them.

• Players recognized Nick at Mercy Hospital, and A Yin and the others realized the PAYDAY Gang operated in the same world as Left 4 Dead.
• A Yin and his crew entered the hospital, threatened the crowd, disabled the lobby cameras, and forced everyone to the floor.
• Bane warned the crew that police monitored the cameras and instructed them to answer the ringing reception phone.
• Liu Liu impersonated a receptionist and persuaded the caller that the camera outage was harmless.
• Two guards stepped out of the elevator, and Zhuang Zhuang shot them before one could raise the alarm.

A Yin’s crew took control of the hospital and used a doctor disguise to enter ICU Zone C, where they searched for their target patient. They identified the patient with a tattoo on the right side of his neck, preparing to make their move.

• Zhuang Zhuang shot the security guard, and the crew implanted a virus in the hospital database to locate their target.
• Brother Shu and Zhuang Zhuang set up fake sentry guns while Brother Shu calmed the hostages with a persuasive speech.
• Bane found that the target was in one of five rooms in ICU Zone C and had a tattoo on the right side of his neck.
• Liu Liu suggested disguising themselves as doctors, and Brother Shu used a doctor’s badge to invent an inspection visit.
• The crew entered ICU Zone C and identified the patient with an unexplained fever and deep coma as their target.

A Yin and his crew launched an armed hospital heist in Payday, fighting off waves of police while collecting blood samples from Patient No. 3. As Brother Shu waited for a sample to finish testing, rapid footsteps and an alarm-like beeping approached from behind.

• A Yin unmasked himself, subdued a nurse, and triggered the hospital alarm as police began preparing to raid.
• Zhuang Zhuang revealed a chainsaw hidden inside a teddy bear, and the crew armed themselves as the police advanced.
• Brother Shu and Zhuang Zhuang fought off officers, but a sniper shot knocked Zhuang Zhuang down before Shi Liuliu slid into position and killed the opposing sniper.
• The crew sawed through the intensive care pod lock, drew blood from Patient No. 3, and began testing samples in centrifuges around the unit.
• Brother Shu placed the first sample into a centrifuge in the southeast lab, then heard hurried footsteps and alarm-like beeping approaching from the corridor.

Brother Shu, A Yin, Liu Liu, and their teammates fought through endless police reinforcements to collect blood samples that finally met Bane’s requirements, but the dead Patient 3 began mutating. As they prepared to escape, heavy footsteps sounded from the reception hall, and the robbers saw something that terrified them.

• Phantom Agent knocked Brother Shu down and beat him until Zhuang Zhuang shot it, while the centrifuge rejected their first blood sample.
• A Yin was trapped in a seemingly endless stun by a Taser Trooper, and Liu Liu entered the northern laboratory to help him.
• The team continued collecting and testing blood as Patient 3 died, grew feverishly hot, and developed severe mutations on the left side of the body.
• Bane announced that the sample met the required standard and ordered the team to collect three more tubes before escaping to the underground parking lot.
• Liu Liu noticed Patient 3’s right index finger twitch as she finished drawing the blood, then A Yin called the team to retreat.
• Heavy footsteps came from the reception hall, freezing the robbers in fear as they faced an unknown presence.

The PAYDAY demo ended with the gang’s escape connecting the stolen blood samples to the Left 4 Dead outbreak, and A Yin praised the game’s co-op action and nostalgic appeal. The game won acclaim for its design, but critics judged the new Golden Engine merely passable, leaving Golden Wind facing high expectations and room to improve.

• The PAYDAY Gang fled a Gatling-wielding operative, and a robber’s mask fell as the blood samples were dropped and one vial shattered.
• The gang escaped in the elevator, where the clown-masked leader shot a doctor before a sudden cough hinted at the virus taking hold.
• Viewers connected the demo’s ending to Left 4 Dead’s outbreak, while A Yin praised PAYDAY’s co-op gameplay, stealth-or-loud approaches, shooting, and nostalgia.
• Media and industry figures praised Gu Sheng’s game design but criticized the Golden Engine’s visuals and performance as merely passable.
• The chapter concluded that the engine’s short development time made its debut an achievement, but Golden Wind’s reputation had led players to expect more.