Chapter Summaries

Nebula Games continued developing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare while atrai promoted its Storm Operation adaptation, setting up a contest for player attention. Chen Xu announced the new game and assured Yang Chen that its quality would not be sacrificed to rush ahead, though development remained at an early stage.

• Nebula Games developed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, outsourcing much of its art production while working on its action systems and VR feedback.
• NetDragon announced a PC version of Rainbow Six: Siege and related esports tournaments as Storm Operation promotion spread through the Channel Alliance.
• atrai revealed Storm Operation footage and details, including lead actors participating in motion capture, prompting excitement among fans.
• Chen Xu announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would arrive on the Huanyu VR platform, and players reacted enthusiastically to its modern warfare theme and weapon imagery.
• Yang Chen warned Chen Xu not to rush development to compete with atrai, and Chen Xu assured him the game's quality was guaranteed and said the team was not racing them.
• Chen Xu noted that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was only about one-sixth complete, while Nebula Games' CG production was progressing rapidly.

After atrai promoted the game adaptation “Storm Operation,” Chen Xu and Nebula Games released a mysterious video link for “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.” Zhang Yi, Song Ren, and Wang Han stopped playing “Rainbow Six: Siege” to watch its VR version, but the chapter ended before it played.

• Domestic media reported on “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” and players eagerly speculated about the game’s content.
• atrai and the Channel Alliance made “Storm Operation” free to watch, shared behind-the-scenes footage, and released a promotional video teasing a hidden mastermind.
• Chen Xu and Nebula Games posted a video link on their Official Blog shortly after atrai’s promotional video appeared.
• Wang Han told Zhang Yi and Song Ren that Chen Xu’s promotional video had a VR version, and the three left “Rainbow Six: Siege” to watch it.
• Zhang Yi opened the VR version of the video, but the chapter ended before it began.

Zhang Yi watched the promotional video for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and was thrilled by its cinematic scenes of war, including the fall of the White House and a city destroyed by a nuclear blast. The trailer ended by announcing the game was coming soon.

• Zhang Yi watched a first-person battle scene that revealed the White House had fallen, leaving him eager to buy the game.
• A boonie hat-wearing commander interrogated and killed a captive after learning that Zakhaev, Imran Zakhaev, was involved.
• Zhang Yi watched a nuclear explosion devastate a city, overturning vehicles and leaving a vast crater.
• The trailer showed battles and chases across the Middle East, space, Marseille, a snowy wilderness, and other locations.
• Two nuclear missiles rose into the sky before the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare title appeared with a coming-soon announcement.

Chen Xu’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trailer thrilled players at home and abroad, while leaving them unsure what the gameplay would be like. At Nebula Games, Chen Xu and his team worked on the story, which Yang Xin warned would devastate players.

• Nebula Games released the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trailer worldwide through Target Software, now its largest shareholder.
• Domestic and overseas players praised the trailer’s explosive scenes and compared the game with Zeus’s Storm Operation, but wondered whether it would focus on single-player or multiplayer.
• Chen Xu explained to his team that the story would use CG cutscenes and dialogue during missions to keep gameplay flowing, even if players might miss some conversations.
• Yang Xin warned Chen Xu that the story would make players send him razor blades, and Chen Xu joked that he would endure the misunderstanding for their gaming experience.

Howard Warsa watched Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s promotion as it competed with Storm Operation, while Chen Xu tested a Price level and added the Kingfish Operation story to the game. The chapter left Nebula Games preparing the first installment to connect with the later games in the trilogy.

• Howard Warsa worried that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare could rival Storm Operation, though he believed hardcore games like Rainbow Six: Siege had limited mainstream appeal.
• Storm Operation and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare traded promotional materials and gameplay clips as their releases approached.
• Chen Xu’s brief cargo-ship gameplay clip stunned players and industry designers with graphics that appeared far more impressive than Storm Operation’s.
• Industry designers inferred that Nebula Games had concentrated processing power on linear levels, likely accepting loading delays in exchange for better visuals.
• Chen Xu tested a level as Captain Price and added the Kingfish Operation story as an end-of-game extra to bridge the first game with the later trilogy.

Chen Xu announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would launch as a trilogy before Storm Operation, with multiplayer included for anyone who bought an installment. Nebula Games aimed to seize the release-window advantage, leaving atrai and Howard Warsa scrambling to finish Storm Operation sooner.

• Chen Xu replied to players that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would have a story mode and multiplayer, and that its storytelling would leave a deep impression.
• Nebula Games announced that the three installments would release on June 1, June 10, and June 20, with multiplayer unlocking on June 25 and included with any installment purchase.
• Nebula Games explained that the campaign was too long to release as one game, while Chen Xu also intended the early schedule to give the game an advantage over Storm Operation.
• atrai and Howard Warsa were stunned by Nebula Games' release plan, and atrai ordered Howard Warsa to complete Storm Operation as quickly as possible.
• Howard Warsa led the staff into overtime and hoped Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would fail.

On launch day, Zhang Yi entered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and began its campaign as rookie Soap. After completing the basic weapons tutorial, he faced a timed CQB test and confidently prepared to show off his experience.

• Zhang Yi, Wang Han, and Song Ren entered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare when it unlocked, and Zhang Yi admired the realistic menu visuals before selecting Campaign mode.
• Zhang Yi watched the opening briefing about civil war in Russia and Khalid Al-Asad, then learned that rookie Soap was joining the unit.
• Gaz welcomed Zhang Yi as Soap, directed him through the weapons tutorial, and led him to Captain Price.
• Price ordered Soap to complete a cargo ship CQB course within sixty seconds and said Gaz held the squad record at nineteen seconds.
• Zhang Yi spotted a player leaderboard topped by RPG at 17.1 seconds and boasted that his Rainbow Six: Siege experience would make the test easy.

Zhang Yi fumbled through the CQB tutorial, then chose Veteran difficulty for Task Force 141’s raid on a cargo ship. After an easy opening made him overconfident, he charged into enemy fire and died.

• Zhang Yi fell from the second-floor platform during the CQB test, earned the hidden Watch Your Step achievement, and restarted the checkpoint.
• Zhang Yi completed the test in 25 seconds, disliked the Recruit recommendation, and selected Veteran difficulty.
• Captain Price briefed Task Force 141 on its mission to seize a target item aboard a cargo ship, and the SAS team rappelled onto the freighter in heavy rain.
• Zhang Yi followed the squad as they silently cleared the ship, impressed by his teammates’ coordination and convinced Veteran difficulty was easy.
• When Captain Price called in helicopter support against guards on the second floor, Zhang Yi charged out alone and was killed by three shots.

Zhang Yi played Soap through the cargo ship mission in "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," relying on his teammates to survive the realistic combat and escape the sinking ship. The chapter ended with Captain Price pulling Soap onto the helicopter, leaving Zhang Yi impressed by the importance of reliable teammates.

• Zhang Yi respawned and advanced cautiously through the cargo ship, letting the armed helicopter and his teammates clear enemies.
• Zhang Yi repeatedly died on Veteran Difficulty, then relied on Gaz, Price, and the others to defeat enemies inside the ship.
• Soap and Price found the cargo manifest, but enemy aircraft attacked and an explosion flooded the ship's hold.
• Gaz shook Soap awake, and Price hauled him to his feet as the team fled through the tilting, flooding ship.
• Zhang Yi guided Soap through the ship and reached the helicopter, where Captain Price grabbed his hands and pulled him aboard.

Zhang Yi was deeply impressed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s immersive combat and dependable NPC teammates, though Veteran Difficulty repeatedly overwhelmed him. He praised the challenge to Song Ren before secretly switching to Normal, while Song Ren became curious enough to try Veteran himself.

• Zhang Yi progressed through the Blackout stage on Veteran Difficulty and learned to rely on cover and his teammates instead of charging ahead.
• During the close-quarters section, Zhang Yi followed Captain Price’s squad cautiously after a failed attempt to rush ahead got him killed.
• Song Ren called Zhang Yi and praised the second stage’s atmosphere, while Zhang Yi recommended Veteran Difficulty and described how it made him depend on his comrades.
• After ending the call, Zhang Yi quietly lowered his own difficulty to Normal so he could feel more involved in the game.
• Song Ren wondered what Zhang Yi meant, then changed his difficulty to Veteran when he reached the Third Stage.

Song Ren struggled through the Marine Corps assault on Al-Asad’s stronghold after accidentally selecting Veteran difficulty, while Zhang Yi enjoyed the mission on Normal difficulty. As the SAS and Marine Corps storylines advanced in parallel, Paul Jackson’s forces learned that a nuclear weapon might be hidden in the city and began evacuating, leaving Zhang Yi dreading what would come next.

• Song Ren charged into Al-Asad’s stronghold as Paul Jackson, but died almost immediately after discovering he had selected Veteran difficulty.
• Zhang Yi played the Marine Corps assault on Normal difficulty, helping destroy enemy tanks and machine-gun positions before returning to Soap’s SAS storyline.
• Soap and his team fled after their helicopter was shot down, lost Boris and two pilots, and escaped under AC-130 cover after using a Stinger against a pursuing helicopter.
• Zhang Yi controlled Paul Jackson during a massive urban battle, helping rescue a trapped friendly force amid widespread destruction.
• The Marine Corps received news that a nuclear weapon might be hidden in the city and began evacuating, while Paul Jackson boarded a helicopter with the rescued troops.

Zhang Yi played through Modern Warfare’s nuclear disaster, Price’s Chernobyl flashback, and the SAS’s attempts to stop Zakhaev. After Soap killed Zakhaev, the story left Soap and Price as the only surviving SAS members, with their fate unresolved.

• Zhang Yi watched the nuclear blast kill thirty thousand soldiers, including Paul Jackson, before the story returned to the SAS capturing Al-Asad.
• Price recounted his 15-year-old mission with MacMillan to assassinate Zakhaev in Chernobyl, and Zhang Yi struggled through the stealth mission after MacMillan was injured.
• Soap and the SAS fought their way through enemy forces, but Mac was killed, and Zakhaev launched nuclear missiles toward the United States after his son Victor died.
• The joint forces entered Zakhaev’s base and stopped the missile attack, then Soap, Price, and their teammates fled under pursuit.
• After the highway bridge was destroyed, Griggs and Gaz were killed, but Price pushed a M1911 toward Soap, who shot Zakhaev as Makarov’s reinforcements arrived.
• Zhang Yi saw that Soap and Price were the only SAS members left alive, though the story had not yet ended.

After finishing the first Modern Warfare campaign, Zhang Yi unlocked a bonus mission featuring Task Force 141. The mission ended with Price apparently killed, and Shepherd revealed that the captured target was Makarov.

• Zhang Yi learned that extremist groups had grown stronger after Zakhaev's death and that Price and Soap had joined Task Force 141.
• Soap, Price, Roach, and Ghost infiltrated a camp in the Ukrainian mountains with support from Sandman, Frost, and an AC-130.
• The team found a room covered with information about Zakhaev International Airport and a photograph of the original SAS team, then escaped after a bomb destroyed the building.
• A Stinger missile shot down their aircraft, and a rocket wounded Soap as the team reached the extraction point.
• Price ordered the helicopter to evacuate without him, then fell after being shot as enemy soldiers closed in.
• Shepherd told Soap that the target captured and killed in the operation was Makarov, leaving Zhang Yi stunned by Price's apparent death.

After finishing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Zhang Yi was stunned when the game ended without revealing whether Captain Price had survived. Players around the world shared his frustration and grief, flooding forums with complaints about the cliffhanger and demands for the next games.

• Zhang Yi worried that Captain Price had died after staying behind to cover Soap and the others' retreat.
• Zhang Yi reached the end of the game, but the screen returned to the main menu before Price's fate was revealed.
• Players across domestic and overseas forums complained about the cliffhanger and mourned Gaz, Griggs, and the other losses.
• Players demanded the later games and asked whether Captain Price and Soap were still alive.

The chapter explained how Call of Duty: Modern Warfare used story-driven cutscenes and carefully paced combat to conceal loading and deliver a cinematic experience, while its story fueled players’ petitions and enthusiasm. Chen Xu refused to comment on the petitions to avoid spoilers, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launched on June 10.

• Designers realized Nebula Games used story cutscenes as loading transitions in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, preserving visual quality and pacing while moving players between levels.
• Chen Xu joked with Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and Qin Yi about players’ petitions for Price to survive, which had surpassed 300,000 signatures.
• Chen Xu declined to respond to the petitions because he wanted players to discover Task Force 141’s fate without spoilers.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare continued driving Huanyu sales and attracting players despite online complaints and story spoilers.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released on June 10, and players who had preordered and preloaded it entered the game.

Zhang Yi began Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, where he played Ranger Joseph Allen before the story shifted to Gary Sanderson on a snowy mountain. He discovered that Soap had become Task Force 141’s captain, leaving Captain Price’s fate uncertain.

• Zhang Yi watched a flashback recapping the first game and selected Normal Difficulty.
• Zhang Yi played Joseph Allen, skipped the Tutorial, and completed routine training at Phoenix Base.
• Shepherd recruited Allen into Task Force 141 and assigned him to an undercover mission targeting Makarov.
• The story shifted to a snowy mountain, where Gary Sanderson joined Soap for a climbing operation.
• Zhang Yi recognized Soap as Task Force 141’s new captain and wondered whether Captain Price was gone.

Zhang Yi played through Soap and Roach’s mountain infiltration and escape before entering the Zakhaev Airport massacre as undercover agent Allen. Makarov killed Allen and framed the United States, setting up a Russian war for revenge.

• Zhang Yi guided Roach across a treacherous icy ledge, and Soap saved him when the ice beneath him broke.
• Roach and Soap infiltrated the military base, planted explosives, and escaped enemy forces by snowmobile through a blizzard.
• Zhang Yi’s perspective shifted to Allen, undercover as Alexei Brodine, as he joined Makarov’s team at Zakhaev Airport.
• Makarov and his men opened fire on civilians, while Zhang Yi followed without shooting.
• After the massacre, Makarov shot Allen and explained that his body would serve as a pretext for Russia to seek revenge on the United States.

With war erupting between Russia and the United States, Task Force 141 pursued Makarov’s trail from the Favela to the Gulag. There, Roach and Soap found the missing Captain Price, bringing the core team back together.

• Russia’s air force bypassed US defenses with the cracked module and launched an assault on Washington as Task Force 141 traced evidence from the airport massacre to Rio de Janeiro.
• Zhang Yi experienced the brutal fighting in Washington as Ranger James Ramirez and Sergeant Foley, then followed Roach through the dangerous Favela alongside Ghost.
• Soap and Roach learned that Makarov wanted Prisoner 627 dead and led Task Force 141 into the heavily guarded Gulag to find him.
• After Ghost began hacking the prison’s security system, Roach and Soap pushed toward the underground armory and blasted through a wall.
• The prisoner attacked Roach, recognized him, and revealed himself as Captain Price; Soap welcomed him back and returned his M1911.

Task Force 141 launched simultaneous raids to capture Makarov after Price and Shepherd agreed on a two-pronged plan. Ghost and Roach found evidence at the Safe House but not Makarov, and waited for Shepherd’s extraction team as enemy forces closed in.

• Price fired an EMP missile above Washington, helping the Rangers counterattack and reclaim the White House before the US Air Force could bomb it.
• Price and Shepherd divided Task Force 141 into two teams to raid Makarov’s suspected hideouts, with Ghost and Roach assigned to the Safe House.
• Ghost, Roach, and their team triggered mines on their approach, then fought their way into the Safe House and killed its defenders.
• The team found evidence of Makarov’s crimes on a computer but discovered that Makarov was not there.
• Shepherd told Ghost to gather the intelligence and said an extraction team would arrive in five minutes, leaving Ghost and Roach to defend the Safe House.

Zhang Yi and Ghost fought their way out with the DSM Hard Drive, but General Shepherd betrayed them at the extraction point and killed them. Shepherd’s men burned Ghost and Roach as Price’s warning came too late.

• After the DSM Hard Drive finished transferring, Ghost and Roach escaped the Safe House under heavy enemy fire.
• An artillery shell wounded Roach, and Ghost dragged him toward the extraction point while Toad and Sharpshooter provided cover.
• Two Armed Helicopters suppressed the pursuing forces, and Ghost confirmed to Shepherd that they had recovered the intelligence.
• Shepherd shot Roach and Ghost, then took the hard drive and ordered his men to throw them into a pit.
• Price warned Ghost and Roach that Shepherd had betrayed them, but Shepherd set them on fire, and Zhang Yi cursed him outside the game.