432. Global Call for Participants

The recruitment of NPCs is proceeding smoothly.

Lu Ban quickly recruited more than a hundred NPCs.

These NPCs are divided into two groups. One group consists of important NPCs who interact with the main storyline, including the bartender with the broken leg and members of the gang's family.

The other part consists of background NPCs. These NPCs are mostly passersby and don't provide any important clues. Often, if players don't keep asking questions, these NPCs might not even have the chance to say their prepared lines.

Just like when playing a game, most players don't talk to every NPC while doing a quest. Sometimes, the designers might hide Easter eggs in these NPCs, but very few people will find them.

Lu Ban divided these NPCs into two groups, who took turns working. Each script experience lasted four days, which was considered four days on and four days off.

With the help of an extraordinary script blessed by the Silent Land, these actors hardly need to study acting skills, and can even answer questions outside the script according to their character settings.

Lu Ban believes this may also be due to the enhancement effect brought about by the store's level upgrade.

The earliest videos and movies could at most achieve an immersive experience.

But now, these materials can already instill some knowledge into the viewer's brain.

Once actors accept a role, the corresponding knowledge and memories flow into their minds, transforming their cognition. Performing these roles becomes like an innate instinct for them.

Once they're no longer acting, the NPCs can return to their own lives without being affected by the script and becoming mentally unstable.

Just like Lu Ban's suona and crowbar, this knowledge clung to their brains like a spider web, giving them memories.

Although pollution may eventually increase slightly with the spread of knowledge as the performances continue, it remains within an acceptable range for ordinary people.

The construction work lasted for several months, which is quite slow in the context of a country known for its massive infrastructure development.

As the year draws to a close and the weather turns cold, parents start nagging about wearing long johns. At the same time, preparations for Lu Ban's large-scale immersive real-world game, "Glass Flower," are finally complete.

Unlike traditional murder mystery games or escape rooms where players can only choose to solve the puzzle, "Glass Flower" allows fifteen players to participate in a single game.

These players will receive scripts for detectives, gangsters, etc., and play their respective roles in their respective areas to advance the plot together.

The ending of each scenario is uncertain. The gang may ultimately cover up the truth, Stone may succeed in his revenge, or, like Lu Ban and his friends, the detective may solve the case. All of these will change depending on the players' decisions.

Some might ask, how can you achieve the goal of 10 million positive reviews if you only have 15 people at a time?

Lu Ban had his own plans.

He first released a trailer for the live-action game, and then recruited the first batch of participants worldwide.

On social media, this sparked a huge wave of discussion.

[Holy crap, Lu Ban's real-life game, the special effects must be amazing! How are the participants selected? By drawing lots?]

I thought scalpers would be making a killing, but Lu Ban actually launched a global search. How am I supposed to choose?

[Will some world-renowned detectives or high-tech police officers participate in the game? Those professionals would solve cases effortlessly, wouldn't they?]

[This global recruitment campaign is just a show. It'll probably just be a bunch of Lu Ban's acquaintances who go in for a few days and then come out praising him. I've seen it all before, with colleagues fawning over each other.]

"Such a huge project, with fifteen people involved at once, how many years would it take to recoup the investment? Lu Ban doesn't lose money?"

[You're worried Lu Ban might lose money? He's made more money in just a few movies than you could earn in hundreds of lifetimes, and you're still feeling sorry for him?]

I'm really curious about how to register and how to get selected.

[Only fifteen people in four days at a time. For the average person, is it a pipe dream to ever participate?]

Since no one knows the specifics of the Lu Ban live-action game, there's not much to discuss. The focus is on how to play it.

A typical escape room lasts one or two hours, with several people at a time, and there are at least four or five sessions a day. Even for award-winning, top-rated escape rooms, you can usually book a room after waiting a few days.

But Lu Ban's immersive game only lasts four days at a time, with only fifteen people playing each time, meaning only a little over a hundred people can play it each month. How expensive would it have to be to support the salaries of so many NPCs and the development costs?

In the past, Lu Ban's movies had a very low barrier to entry. People could watch them with just a movie ticket for a few dozen yuan. Even works that participated in awards would be screened in China, and after a while, they could be uploaded to video websites and watched by members.

But now, not everyone can play this kind of real-life game.

Even the best works are detached from the masses if only a handful of people can see them, or if only the wealthy and powerful can appreciate them.

Even those who collect antiques know to display their collections.

Many people think that Lu Ban's move has made him arrogant and that he is trying to establish privileges or class distinctions.

If a single ticket costs tens of thousands of yuan, who will go to support him?

So many people are watching and seeing who Lu Ban will choose to participate in this debut show, and what their opinions will be.

Of course, in today's industry, there is a lot of mutual flattery among peers, some for money and some out of personal obligation.

After all, we're bound to run into each other again, and we might even have been business partners before. If someone sends you a terrible video, you can't just tell them to go back to sweeping the streets, right?

Therefore, many people have low expectations for this debut show, because Lu Ban will definitely select some acquaintances to go in, experience it, and then come out to praise it. Even if the public entrance is opened later, those who can afford to buy tickets at a high price will not say that they experienced a lot four days later. Otherwise, wouldn't that be blatantly telling others that they paid money to suffer?

Just like many food reviewers on the internet, they spend thousands of dollars to eat at Michelin-starred restaurants, but even if the food is really bad, they won't tell others that the restaurant is overrated and terrible. First, it's a matter of face, and second, if they really said that, the restaurant would cause trouble for them.

Therefore, some food review content creators with high emotional intelligence advise against ordinary viewers spending money to experience these places.

After spending a week collecting participants, Lu Ban roughly finalized the list and then released new information on the official website of the Silence Project.

The fifteen participants will begin the game in the last few days of December and continue until New Year's Day, ending on January 1st.

They will also carry action cameras and live streaming equipment to broadcast the entire gaming experience live.

Live broadcast worldwide!

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Bonus chapter for the second monthly pass in November (2/3)

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