Optical Computer Deciphered

"I must say, your acting was quite good. You perfectly portrayed what it means for a villain to unleash their ultimate 'chuunibyou' (adolescent delusions of grandeur) spirit and try to overthrow the world," Ma Xiaoyun said with a smile.

Xiao Yu's forehead creased with annoyance. "Alright, I'll take your words as a compliment—thank you for the compliment."

While he does enjoy reciting cringeworthy lines, looking back, it does feel a bit like cheesy play.

"Oh, I was just stating the facts. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Ma Xiaoyun said, about to leave, when Xiao Yu suddenly remembered something.

"Wait a minute, there's something I've been hesitant to say, but I think I'll say it anyway, since it's quite important."

Seeing Xiao Yu's serious expression, Ma Xiaoyun became interested as well. "What's wrong? Why are you so serious?"

Xiao Yu said, "You should know Medivh, right?"

Ma Xiaoyun rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm the GM. If Medivh doesn't even have a GM, I don't know if he'll still be around."

Xiao Yu shrugged. "When I first went to Draenor, Medivh opened the portal for me. After a brief interaction with him, I noticed he was a bit different from typical NPCs. He actually asked me what a GM was and what a player was. It felt like—like he had become a self-aware, intelligent NPC."

"An intelligent NPC with self-awareness? You mean the kind of artificial intelligence that often appears in science fiction novels? Haha, you're really joking. Scientists have been researching for so long and haven't been able to create it, and we, a game company, have made it? Is this for real?" Ma Xiaoyun gave him a look that said, "You're kidding me."

Xiao Yu shook his head. "I'm not joking, it's true."

Upon hearing Xiao Yu's words, Ma Xiaoyun's expression also turned serious. He hesitated and said, "Logically speaking, this should be impossible. According to the computational rules of the optical brain system, all NPCs are theoretically just a surface representation of the optical brain system's computations."

Xiao Yu, however, was somewhat confused. "Let's not use such advanced language, okay? Speak in Chinese."

Ma Xiaoyun paused for a moment to choose her words before explaining, "It's like this: all NPCs are controlled by the system. When an NPC encounters different events, the system will react accordingly based on the NPC's background and personality. Different NPCs will react differently to the same event. For example, when encountering a monster, if the character's background is that of a daring hero, they will face the challenge head-on; if they are a coward, they will choose to run away. Sometimes, various temporary values will be input. For example, if the coward's family is harmed, the coward's chance of running away will be reduced, while the chance of fighting will be increased. If the fighting value exceeds the running away value, they will fight."

This makes the characters in the game look like living people, but in reality, they are all the result of calculations by the computer.

Xiao Yu finally understood. Damn it, all those NPCs under his command acting so human was just a facade.

But he found it a bit unbelievable. If it were just fighting or running away, calculations would be understandable, but how could someone like Amalarui, with his chuunibyou (delusional) personality, be calculated like that? Could a person's personality really be measured by numbers? He just couldn't understand it. However, he didn't press further and nodded slightly. "Then what about Medivh?"

Ma Xiaoyun hesitated and said, "Perhaps, I mean perhaps, it's possible that Medivh is very intelligent and knowledgeable due to his background setting, so the quantum computer makes him seem as if he realizes that this world is a game. But in reality, he probably doesn't have his own intelligence. He just gives the impression that he has his own intelligence. It's like an Easter egg. Players will think it's cool, but that's all."

"Is that really the case?" Xiao Yu felt that something was not quite right.

"So if what you say is true, if Medivh discovers that he is indeed in a game, will the AI make him react accordingly based on his character's background? For example, destroying the world, or opening a portal to another world or something like that?"

Ma Xiaoyun was stunned upon hearing this, and gave a wry smile, saying, "Well, I really didn't know. I'm just a C-level administrator. But I don't think the computer is that stupid. Even so, I'll report this to my superiors when I get back. They definitely know what happened, and I'll let you know if there's any news."

Xiao Yu nodded. "Yes, there's another matter, concerning the Alliance of Sages. This organization seems to be planning something big, even saying they want to create a magic system that will change the rules of the entire world. Should I be worried about this?"

Ma Xiaoyun said, "Don't worry, after all, we are a game company, and we have the highest authority over the game. Although we can't directly modify the game data, we still have several god accounts in our hands. With the power of the gods, the Alliance of Sages and the like are definitely not a threat. If things really get out of hand, we can just throw a divine decree at them and solve it."

Xiao Yu nodded. He couldn't say too much about such things, nor did he need to worry about them. After all, these were the game company's business. He could just give them a brief reminder. In any case, even if the game world was destroyed, it wouldn't concern him. As long as he could get the bonus, that was all that mattered.

"Okay, then I have no further questions. Goodbye."

Then Ma Xiaoyun left.

After seeing Ma Xiaoyun off, the next step is to prepare for the competition.

He has already decided to participate in the Evil Forces Competition. He is not entirely confident in either the Strongest Demon King Competition or the Demon King Team Competition, but when it comes to troop deployment and commanding battles, he believes he has some confidence. Coupled with his personal strength, this tournament is definitely the most suitable for him.

So the next step is to make some arrangements for the troops to be deployed.

Anyone who has played real-time strategy games knows that different types of units should be used to face different enemies. Considering that he might encounter all sorts of strange and unusual enemies during the game, Xiao Yu also needs to prepare all types of units.

Although only 1,000 troops and 3 bosses (including himself) can be deployed, this can obviously be adjusted on the spot depending on the enemy, so the number of troops should naturally be calculated as more.

Moreover, as Ma Xiaoyun said, the rules for each map are different, and some unexpected situations may occur, so thorough preparation is essential.

The first step is to select your units. There are a wide variety of elemental creatures, with dozens of standard templates alone, not to mention all sorts of mutated units. In addition, there are units from subordinate races such as murlocs, hydras, and dragon turtles to choose from.

However, considering the scale of the battle, there are some standards for the combination of troop types.

The first step is choosing advanced unit types.

Hydra: This thing is still a very useful non-boss unit. It has high health and can be used as a meat shield. Moreover, its three heads can spray different types of breath. Even the regular Hydra is not to be underestimated. The only drawback is that it takes up too much population.

Ancient Hydra: Same as above, but with an additional Devour skill compared to the regular Hydra. Its 20-population cap makes it extremely expensive, and there's also a production limit; he currently only has five in total.

Xiao Yu planned to bring 10 ordinary hydras and five ancient hydras.

Dragon Turtle: Thick-skinned and tough, it takes up 5 population slots and can breathe fire, making it a suitable tank.

Xiao Yu brought 50 dragon turtles as backup.

Then came all sorts of giants.

Mountain Giant, Sea Giants, Lava Giants, Storm Giants, and Granite Golems are all newly recruited units. Bring 50 of each type. Each giant has a population of 9, which is almost as much as the population of Hydra.

After selecting the advanced units, the next step is the magic units: Fire Priest, Siren Priest, Stormwalker, and Rock Spirit Priest. In addition to using magic attacks, they can also provide various buffs to the troops. Each unit requires 2 population points, and you can't have too few. Bring 100 of each type.

Next comes the selection of basic troops.

Fire Element: The advantage of the fire element is its stable damage, and it explodes upon death, causing AOE damage. It is perfect for dealing with groups of enemies and is undoubtedly the main source of damage output. Moreover, it only requires 2 population units per element, and Xiao Yu brought 500 of them.

Water Elemental: Water Elemental's damage isn't as high as fire element's, but it has a slowing effect and the Frost Nova skill to limit its effectiveness, so it's still somewhat useful. Xiao Yu plans to use it to deal with enemies with high fire resistance, one for every two population slots, and he brought 500 of them.

Rock Golems: Earth elemental creatures are needed as the main tanks and melee fighters. Xiao Yu did not choose the classic earth elementals, but instead chose rock golems. These creatures have high close-range defense and magic resistance, and they also have a Rock Throw skill. The downside is that they are relatively slow and have poor mobility, and they occupy 4 population slots. Xiao Yu brought 100 of them.

Wind Element: Average combat power, its biggest advantage is its ability to fight by flight. It is also essential as a scout and mobile force. When encountering enemies without ranged abilities, the Wind Element can definitely outplay them. It takes 2 population to build one, and you can bring 500 of them.

Lightning Element: Compared to Wind Element, it has stronger group combat capabilities. It can unleash the Thunderstorm skill, which has an AOE effect. It takes 4 units to form one, and I brought 100 of them.

In addition, he also selected 100 Dark Shaman are very useful as support units because they have the ability to enhance and restore the health of elemental creatures.