Chapter Summaries

Wang Chuan’s Undertale became a major hit, with first-day sales surpassing one million and players praising its unconventional RPG mechanics and characters. As players uncovered its endings and Little Flower’s control over the save file, the game’s popularity surged further.

• Wang Chuan checked Undertale’s strong download numbers and overwhelmingly positive player reviews at Huangtu Game.
• Game developers and media outlets reacted to Undertale’s success after its first-day sales passed one million.
• Players shared clips and discussions about Sans, Papyrus, and Sans’s explanation of EXP and LV as measures of violence.
• Players learned that Undertale had four endings, and that Little Flower killed the king after the Normal Ending.
• Little Flower revealed that he knew about save files and had shattered the player’s file, while discoveries of the other endings drove the game’s popularity even higher.

The chapter recounted how Undertale’s endings captivated players, then showed Net Entertainment trying to imitate its success with Under One Person. The copycat game bombed, and Zhang Xi was hospitalized again.

• Players were moved by Undertale’s Normal and Pacifist endings, including Goat Dad’s battle, Undyne’s friendship, and Little Flower accepting his past.
• The Genocide Ending shocked players with Undyne the Undying, Sans’s battle, and the first human child’s threat to destroy them.
• Players who tried to restore a peaceful ending found their deleted save file returned, making them confront the consequences of their earlier slaughter.
• After Undertale surpassed three million sales, Zhang Xi told his assistant that Net Entertainment would copy its RPG and Meta Game formula with Under One Person.
• A week after Under One Person launched, it bombed, and Zhang Xi was angered into the hospital again.

Wang Chuan registered Huangtu Game Company for the government-run Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition and planned to use it to showcase new League of Legends champions. At Penguin Games, Lin Yao, Lu Hui, and Tian Boxun worried that Heroic Ballads was losing players and decided to investigate the cause and prepare updates for the exhibition.

• A government contact invited Wang Chuan to register Huangtu Game Company for the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition, and Wang agreed.
• Wang Chuan learned that the exhibition was a selective, government-run event and decided to showcase new League of Legends champions there.
• Lin Yao, Lu Hui, and Tian Boxun saw that Heroic Ballads was declining after its strong launch and feared the trend would sink the game.
• Lin Yao and Lu Hui suspected League of Legends updates were drawing away Heroic Ballads players.
• Tian Boxun proposed surveying departing players, preparing an event, attending the exhibition, and rushing ranked matches and new champions for a showcase.

Wang Chuan prepared Huangtu Game for the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition, where the company received a prime, unusually large space in Zone C. With only a few days left, he reassured his staff that League of Legends would get new champions and that they could create several mini-games for the event.

• Lu Hui proposed stabilizing players with an event while investigating the problem and preparing a new version, and Tian Boxun agreed.
• Wang Chuan learned that Huangtu Game had been assigned one of Zone C's best exhibition locations and discussed the setup with an organizer.
• Wang Chuan told the organizer that Huangtu Game would show several small games and update League of Legends with new champions.
• Wang Chuan hired a designer to prepare an exhibition layout after returning to the company.
• Wang Chuan reassured his concerned staff that they had enough time to make several mini-games for the exhibition.

Wang Chuan prepared new content for the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition, assigning the League of Legends update to his team and planning several casual games. He unveiled a detailed design for Plants vs. Zombies and said they would build a simplified Adventure Mode for the exhibition.

• Wang Chuan planned five new League of Legends heroes and handed their update to Qin Ming, Wei Wei, and the others while Huang Shanshan took charge of exhibition arrangements.
• Wang Chuan used a Memory Searcher to recall casual games and drafted designs for several new projects.
• Wei Wei, Huang Shanshan, Gong Yingnan, and the others questioned whether they could finish and test new games before the exhibition.
• Wang Chuan reassured the team that they would make simplified exhibition versions and displayed his Plants vs. Zombies design document.
• The team admired Wang Chuan's detailed designs, which covered the game's plants, zombies, rules, and balance values.

Wang Chuan oversaw the rapid development of "Plants vs. Zombies" while keeping his next game a secret, promising that players would discover it for themselves. As the women at Huangtu Game became engrossed in the new game, Wang Chuan revealed that his other game was already finished and offered the staff a chance to try it.

• Wang Chuan gave the team the materials and plans for "Plants vs. Zombies" and said he would make another game that players would have to discover themselves.
• Huangtu Game quickly developed an initial version of "Plants vs. Zombies" that included only Adventure Mode.
• Huang Shanshan, Zhao Jing, and the other women became absorbed in the game, while Wei Wei, Qin Ming, Liu Qiang, and the other men found it enjoyable but less addictive than "League of Legends".
• Wang Chuan teased the men for not understanding what women liked, then assigned Qin Ming a month of cleaning after Qin Ming praised him.
• Wang Chuan said his other game was already finished and invited everyone to try it.

Wang Chuan made Qin Ming play Getting Over It, framing the punishing game as a lesson in map and level design, then left to prepare for the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition. The next morning, the exhibition opened to a huge crowd, including many curious players.

• Wang Chuan showed Qin Ming Getting Over It, and Qin Ming repeatedly fell back to the starting point while Wei Wei and the others watched.
• Wang Chuan told Qin Ming that the game’s map and level design could teach him, and Qin Ming stayed behind to keep playing as Wang Chuan went to check on Shanshan.
• Wang Chuan explained that he wanted Qin Ming to study how the game’s map design lulled players into a false sense of security before making them fall.
• The next morning, crowds of visitors and players gathered at the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition, where attendees chatted about the event and wished there were runway models.

Players flocked to Huangtu Game’s booth at the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition, where a League of Legends animation revealed five updated heroes. After entering, A'Dai and the others headed toward the new game area, which was unexpectedly quiet.

• Players discussed the major companies and games at the exhibition, while A'Dai and other Huangtu Game fans arrived at Wang Chuan’s booth.
• The group watched a League of Legends CG animation featuring Yasuo, Riven, Gragas, Draven, and Thresh, and the players cheered for the new heroes.
• After registering and entering the exhibition area, the players hurried toward the League of Legends section to try the new heroes.
• The group chose to visit Wang Chuan’s new game area instead, where they noticed there were few visitors.

At the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition, Wang Chuan introduced players to Plants vs. Zombies by guiding a child through its early stages. The gathered players downloaded the trial, but A'Dai and the others were more eager to ask about League of Legends' newly updated heroes.

• A'Dai spotted a new game area, and he and the other players hurried over to watch Wang Chuan teach a child Plants vs. Zombies.
• The child planted sunflowers and Peashooters, unlocked more plants, and eventually lost when a horde of zombies overwhelmed him.
• Wang Chuan comforted the child and gave him a tablet, then told the gathered players they could download the trial by connecting to the exhibition Wi-Fi.
• Players began downloading Plants vs. Zombies, while A'Dai and the others stayed behind to ask Wang Chuan about League of Legends heroes Yasuo and Thresh.
• Wang Chuan told them to play a few matches to learn about the heroes, and A'Dai said the crowd around Wang Chuan had kept them from getting a turn.

At the expo, Wang Chuan gave players a cryptic hint about Yasuo before leaving them to try Plants vs. Zombies. A'Dai and the others played the new game, struggled through its increasingly difficult levels, and drew more visitors to download it.

• Wang Chuan described Yasuo as a hero with a high ceiling and low floor whose minion kills were satisfying, then left behind the code 1050675011.
• A'Dai and the other players downloaded Plants vs. Zombies and discovered its friends list and expo player rankings.
• The group played through the early levels, but the rising number of zombies and resource demands caused the players to fail one by one.
• A'Dai nearly cleared a level before mistakes and insufficient sun led to his defeat.
• A'Dai told curious passersby how to find and download Plants vs. Zombies at Wang Chuan's exhibition area.

Plants vs. Zombies spread through the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition as players became engrossed in its mobile demo and online rankings. At Net Entertainment Games' exhibition area, Zhang Xi saw players choosing to keep playing on their phones instead of taking their turns on the equipment.

• Wang Chuan's demo of Plants vs. Zombies drew players with its cartoon visuals, balanced levels, unlockable content, and online ranking system.
• Players shared strategies and reactions as the game spread among exhibition areas, including those belonging to Net Entertainment and Penguin.
• Players whose turns came up often refused to put down their phones because their twenty-minute demo sessions had ended before they cleared the game.
• Zhang Xi arrived at Net Entertainment Games' exhibition area and was stunned to find players gathered around their phones instead of using the equipment.
• When staff told a player that an equipment spot was free, he insisted that someone else go first because he had not cleared the third major stage.

At the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition, players flocked to Plants vs. Zombies, disrupting other developers’ booths as they waited to play. Wang Chuan revealed that Getting Over It was hidden on one device as a surprise, leaving Huangtu Game’s staff eager to see who would find it.

• Players waiting at other booths refused to try the games and played Plants vs. Zombies on their phones instead.
• At noon, developers discussed Plants vs. Zombies’ growing popularity and planned to visit Huangtu Game to try it.
• Gong Yingnan and Huang Shanshan told Wang Chuan that players across the exhibition were downloading and playing Plants vs. Zombies.
• Qin Ming asked Wang Chuan why Getting Over It was not on display, and Qin Ming recommended it to the curious staff as a horror game.
• Wang Chuan explained that Getting Over It was hidden on one device and would be uploaded to the Huangtu Game platform after the exhibition if no one found it.

The Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition drew large crowds to Wang Chuan’s Plants vs. Zombies, which outshone other games and attracted international visitors. As the exhibition continued, an international visitor asked Wang Chuan whether the game would later include an Endless Mode.

• Huang Shanshan and Gong Yingnan discussed hinting at a surprise event while Wang Chuan stayed quiet and Qin Ming and Wei Wei imagined a man sitting in a cauldron with a sledgehammer.
• Game producers from other companies visited Wang Chuan’s exhibition area to try Plants vs. Zombies and build connections with him.
• On the exhibition’s second day, international visitors arrived, and players across the venue played Plants vs. Zombies on their phones.
• Online media and players praised Plants vs. Zombies, while League of Legends’ new champions drew less attention because visitors faced long lines and short play sessions.
• The exhibition organizers and Huangtu Game staff helped manage the growing crowds at Wang Chuan’s area, where an international visitor asked him whether Plants vs. Zombies would get an Endless Mode.

Wang Chuan revealed that the hidden game Getting Over It was available to play after a foreign visitor discovered it on a computer at the exhibition. The visitor accepted the warning about its difficulty and began the game, emerging into its bizarre opening scene.

• Wang Chuan confirmed that Plants vs. Zombies would receive more content and mod tools for players to create levels.
• A foreign visitor discovered the hidden Getting Over It icon, and A'Dai and nearby players protested when they learned it was not on the other display computers.
• Wang Chuan explained how to update the systems so everyone could access the game and warned that it was difficult and more entertaining to watch someone else play.
• The foreign visitor confidently accepted the warning and started Getting Over It.
• The game showed a bizarre valley scene as a muscular, bald man with a small mustache emerged from a cauldron-like object.

A foreign player tried Wang Chuan’s mountain-climbing game and gradually learned its mouse-based hammer controls. After boasting that the game was easy, he made a mistake and fell back underground, losing his progress.

• A cartoon tiger introduced the game’s controls, and the foreign player learned to move the burly man by swinging his hammer with the mouse.
• The foreign player struggled for several minutes to get past a tree while Wang Chuan and the nearby players watched and commented.
• After finding the right technique, the foreign player climbed past the tree and claimed the game was easy once he understood the controls.
• The foreign player confidently approached a steep slope and asked Wang Chuan about the strange house and construction objects embedded in the mountain.
• The foreign player made a mistake and fell underground, undoing his progress, but he was not discouraged.

The international friend fell back to the beginning of Getting Over It, and Wang Chuan watched the players react to the punishing game. Wang Chuan then released it for free on the Huangtu Game platform, where online players could try it while Plants vs. Zombies remained unfinished.

• The international friend climbed through a narrow passage but swung in the wrong direction and fell all the way back to the valley floor.
• The game’s tiger greeted the international friend and played a song as Wang Chuan laughed and told him to keep a good mindset.
• Another player fell back to the starting point, prompting the watching players to laugh and speculate about the game’s difficulty.
• Wang Chuan slipped away from the international friend and returned to the exhibition office.
• Wang Chuan used the Pangu Editor to upload Getting Over It to the Huangtu Game platform, where it quickly passed review and went live.

At the Sino-Foreign Exchange Exhibition, players who had been tormented by Getting Over It kindly invited onlookers to take their places, eager to watch them suffer in turn. The game drew in more spectators, who soon became trapped in its frustrating world as well.

• The international visitor fell again in Getting Over It and recognized the game's music and difficulty as Wang Chuan's malicious surprise.
• The international visitor invited an onlooker to play, and the gathered players generously let him cut in line.
• Players across Wang Chuan's Experience Zone gave up their computers and explained the game to newcomers.
• Ten minutes later, the newcomers screamed and begged to quit, while the international visitor laughed along with the former players.
• Passing players came to investigate the commotion and became absorbed in Getting Over It themselves.

At the exhibition’s close, Huangtu Game’s Plants vs. Zombies and Getting Over It had overshadowed the other companies, and Wang Chuan returned with his team. He uploaded Getting Over It to Huangtu Game’s platform, where streamers and ordinary players quickly made it a viral hit through their frustration and rage.

• Zhang Xi saw that players had abandoned his exhibition area and learned that Wang Chuan and Huangtu Game had drawn them away.
• The three-day exhibition ended with Plants vs. Zombies and Getting Over It dominating discussion among players and gaming media.
• Wang Chuan returned to Huangtu Game and uploaded Getting Over It, which went viral on livestreaming platforms within a day.
• Streamers and ordinary players tried Getting Over It, suffered repeated failures, and either raged on stream or deleted the game.
• Wang Chuan let anyone who downloaded and played the free game leave a review so players could vent.

Wang Chuan explained that Getting Over It reflected the struggle to recover from setbacks, while players remained reluctant to start over. The free game became a hit on streaming platforms, puzzling other game producers as they also anticipated Plants vs. Zombies' release.

• Wang Chuan read the funny reviews for Getting Over It and posted a message describing the game as a metaphor for overcoming failure and continuing forward.
• Players considered Wang Chuan's interpretation but mostly decided they did not want to try the game again yet.
• Getting Over It grew popular on streaming platforms because viewers enjoyed watching streamers suffer and fall back to the beginning.
• Streamers drew larger audiences and unusually harmonious chats as viewers united in laughing at their mistakes.
• Game producers discussed the game's surprising success and predicted that Plants vs. Zombies would also become popular after its official release.

Getting Over It and Plants vs. Zombies became major hits, leaving rival Game Producers eager to imitate them. A'Dai reached the snowy mountain in Getting Over It and reflected on how the game had made him more resilient.

• Getting Over It spread through streaming and player recommendations, reaching nearly four million downloads within days.
• Wang Chuan launched Plants vs. Zombies, which sold around one million copies on its first day and climbed to the top of the charts.
• Players embraced Plants vs. Zombies' Endless Mode and competed on its official leaderboard as the game ranked among the most popular titles.
• Other Game Producers considered making similar games to capitalize on the success of Getting Over It and Plants vs. Zombies.
• A'Dai switched from League of Legends to Getting Over It after reaching Platinum I and advanced close to the snowy mountain area.
• A'Dai felt calm and accomplished as he neared the game's end, believing its challenges had taught him not to give up in League of Legends.