Chen Siyao remained calm. She handled the school's affairs as usual each day and occasionally visited the lab to check on its progress.
Cai Jingwen had put the commercial framework firmly in place.
The supply chain, production capacity planning, quality control system, and after-sales service contingency plans were all arranged in advance.
Ten months.
One week before New Year's Day.
The Training Pavilion's content was finally... complete.
Instances spanning fifty worlds. Thirty types of climate and terrain simulations.
Single-player mode, multiplayer mode, teaching mode, and free mode.
After four iterations, the AI opponents were intelligent enough to adapt their difficulty to the user's cultivation level and fighting habits.
On the evening Chen Hao returned from Jupiter, he sat for a while in the lab's lounge.
Cai Jingwen pushed the door open and came in, carrying two cups of coffee.
"It's settled. We're launching on New Year's Day." She handed Chen Hao a cup.
Chen Hao took it and had a sip. Instant coffee. Awful. But he said nothing.
"What about the name?"
Cai Jingwen sat in the chair beside him.
"Origin World."
"Who came up with it?"
"I did." Cai Jingwen sipped her coffee. "Chen Siyao said it sounded too much like some teenage power fantasy.
"Yang Wanqing said it wasn't cute enough. I can't say much for your sister's or your disciple's taste."
Chen Hao offered no comment.
"Origin World." He repeated it once. "All right."
Cai Jingwen set her coffee cup on the table. "The product's finalized. I'll start rolling out publicity for the launch two weeks in advance.
"Chen Siyao's personal page, Haoyue Si's official channels, and the High Martial Arts School's internal announcements. All three will go out together."
"Mm."
"And... do you want to host the launch?"
"I'm not going."
Cai Jingwen had already expected