Paradise/Part 1
"You choose." Nick came to Luke with the game planning and plot text that the designers had racked their brains day and night to produce.
"Why do I have to choose?" Luke took the data chip handed to him by Nick, his face full of surprise.
"Don't we need to choose?" Nick, stunned by Luke's words, froze for a moment, frowning and asking, "Isn't it just about selecting the best from the best, choosing the one that's most likely to be accepted by the other person, and having the highest success rate after implementation?"
"That's a resource-intensive approach," Luke pointed out Nick's limited thinking. "With limited resources and manpower, you can only focus on developing and promoting the game with the highest potential for success. Once that game succeeds, you can then leverage that success to support other projects and strengthen your foundation."
But you also have to understand that just because we chose to implement it in a gaming model for a certain purpose, it doesn't mean we are truly a game production company. The real-world model doesn't apply to us."
Nick woke up instantly, and he finally realized where the vague feeling of something wrong that he had been feeling these days came from.
"This is the result of a collaboration between half the world's top game designers. I believe it would be difficult for people to choose. So let's just not choose.
The data dimension has enough computing power to support the launch of all these projects, and as for the final bill, I believe that as long as some results are achieved, the owner of the nightmare dimension should be willing to pay the corresponding bill.
There are enough resources, and someone will reimburse any expenses. Why should I be so restrained? The things you've selected and brought to me must have already been filtered multiple times. There's no point in me filtering them again. Just promote them all."
Luke said softly as Nick looked startled awake.
"Promotion isn't a problem. SHIELD and the major member states won't impose any restrictions in this regard. I already obtained the board's permission before coming here. This time, we can utilize all media resources, even official endorsements." Nick said hesitantly, "But, if we release all these games, won't it cause some promotional resources to be dispersed, resulting in unsatisfactory results?"
Nick had never imagined that his hesitation, always a decisive person, would be linked to these unreleased game projects! This was completely outrageous!
But the reality is so incredible. The significance and future represented by this mission cannot help but make Nick cautious.
The weight of debt and future development made Nick extremely cautious and careful in his dealings with Luke, Hebron, and other supernatural powers. Sometimes he wished he had been more ignorant. If he hadn't learned so much intelligence from Luke and the mages, perhaps he wouldn't have been so overtly anxious.
"Why do we have to promote them separately?" Luke asked again.
Nick opened his mouth and smiled bitterly as he came to his senses.
"It's good to package these projects into one. It's nice to have them somewhat connected but distinct. If they are set up as mission-based scenario guides, the subsequent maintenance costs and direction will be clear.
As a friendly reminder, the power of the Nightmare Dimension has the power to turn dreams into reality when certain conditions are met. You can make many preparations to deal with this power.
For example, if you need something, you can add it to the subsequent script. As long as the dream world is good enough and can meet the conditions for realization, then you have opened up a new path."
Luke gave a few more reminders, then closed the remaining game projects and scripts that he had not finished reading, and threw the data chip back to Nick.
…
Giant companies such as Osborn that had purchased technology and equipment from Heberon received huge orders from S.H.I.E.L.D., who asked them to temporarily stop the production of all extraordinary equipment and put all their productivity into the production of new equipment.
In the words of Nick Fury in the virtual conference call, this is a war that will determine the future status of these people in the extraordinary world.
Nick delivered a passionate speech on the virtual conference call. Norman Osborn and the other veterans discarded the irrelevant bits and extracted the key points that required careful listening and reflection, summarizing them as follows:
[1. This is a large order, one that will determine the future of these companies. It's a significant opportunity. Participation doesn't guarantee success, but not participating will inevitably lead to a bleak future for them in the extraordinary world. Furthermore, similar opportunities may not arise in the future.]
[2. This is a project that is likely to incur significant losses, but no matter what, companies that persevere and succeed will reap rich rewards! They may even gain a long-lasting and stable source of new currency!]
[3. It's not mandatory, but those who don't participate will certainly not be able to participate in the distribution of the cake in the future.]
[4. SHIELD and the governing nations behind it are going all out this time.]
After summarizing and grasping the key points, Norman was the first to pledge his participation. Even though he hadn't yet delved into the so-called transcendental world, he had already begun to enjoy some of its amenities and benefits. For example, he now looked much younger, more energetic, and his physical fitness was far healthier and stronger than before, when he was plagued by illness.
Each of these giant companies selected by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Heybollen automatically receives Heybollen internal currency points based on their year-end performance. This currency can be used to purchase all of Heybollen's technologies and products.
This includes some special products that are not sold to the public at all, or even sold only to a small circle of talented people.
For example, the Heibollen version of the longevity potion?
Norman and his companions, who had enjoyed these technologies and conveniences, could no longer go back. They believed that their small group, which had only been established for a few years, was the most special among all human races in the world.
In this situation, let alone gamble for a future, even if Nick said that this was a business that was bound to lose money and had no future, they would still invest everything they had after hesitating for a while.
…
Thus, quietly, a trend within the game, fueled by the tacit cooperation of various forces, swept across the entire gaming circle in a short period of time, and then spread rapidly outward.
The hot topics in various countries are all dominated by the game GGs and promotions of major game companies. Celebrity politicians who used to be good at showmanship also seem to be joining in the trend and expressing their opinions on this topic.
People were swept up in this sudden promotional storm. Print media, the internet, television, GG cards, movie theaters—everywhere GG could appear, there was inevitably a place for the new games being hyped up by major gaming companies. Overnight, these gaming companies had become so powerful they could dominate the world's information space.
Under the continuous bombardment, whether interested or not, everyone either actively or involuntarily participated in this GG feast.
The major GG companies are completely overwhelmed by this wave. They have to think about new game GGs when they wake up every day. They cannot be shoddy and must be creative and attractive. This makes their GG planners pull their hair out. They are in pain and joy between the client's harsh requirements and huge financial rewards.
Some manufacturers also received large orders for unknown parts. With financial resources and official influence, these orders were given the highest priority. Over 80% of the manufacturers that received these orders invested their entire workforce and production capacity into this order.
As the world was in turmoil, journalists were celebrating, and game fans were furious because game companies delayed releases of new games, giant companies such as Osborne also joined forces to add fuel to the fire.
The virtual world pod and headset, the flagship product, have begun a countdown to global sales. Major game companies have also announced new games will be released on the virtual game world platform.
Norman and other industry leaders have been giving interviews lately, promoting their products. For example, Norman declared, "Osborn Enterprises has the best cyborg bio-pods, which can provide users with the best sleep, relieve physical fatigue, and provide a highly realistic gaming experience after entering a dream. The first batch of Osborn bio-pods will be sold at half price."
Stark Industries has come up with a fully mechanical game cabin equipped with an intelligent control system. According to Stark Industries' internal engineers, this game cabin has Stark's exclusive technology and patents, which can bring people a better real experience and safety than other game cabins.
People around the world watched a wave of gaming extravaganzas, followed by a wave of product marketing from giant companies like Stark and Osborn. Just when they thought that was it, celebrities and familiar politicians made their presence felt. Even Captain Rogers couldn't escape the clutches of the attack. At Nick's insistence, he returned to his old job and became an official spokesperson.
So under the continuous bombardment, the people have witnessed various GGs and marketing methods that they may have never seen in their lives, and also witnessed what may be the only large-scale GG and product promotion.
They are now either feeling a little numb or their anticipation has been raised to the highest level. Many people have started counting down the time for the game to be launched and the game cabins to be sold, just like the major networks and televisions.
…
Asgard.
Fairy Palace.
Alliance meeting.
In addition to Luke, Odin and other veteran members, there is finally one more position today, and a new figure - the master of the Nightmare Dimension, Nightmare!
He was dressed in green, human-like, about two meters tall, clad in a layer of green clothing. He was cautiously surveying the people at his table. When his gaze fell on the bald woman in a plain yellow robe beside Strange, his face twitched involuntarily, a hint of anger emerging.
"Ahem, why don't you come over in person?" Mephisto coughed twice, looking at Nightmare with a tone of strong regret. It seemed that he was very disappointed that Nightmare didn't come over in person.
"Facing you and the Ancient One, I think it's better to be safe." Nightmare glared at the Ancient One. His true form wasn't even considered powerful outside the Nightmare Dimension, let alone his fake form. With his current strength, it seemed that only one person here could defeat him—a mortal?
Nightmare rubbed his eyes and looked at Nick Fury, who was sitting next to Luke, with some uncertainty. He always felt that this person's presence was an accident that had somehow sneaked into this meeting.
But soon, Nightmare no longer cared to understand why someone as powerful as Nick could sit here. His eyes fell on Luke who was standing next to Nick. "Are you the creator of the [Black Nightmare Seed]?"
"If you mean the seed I asked Master Strange to give you, then that's me." Luke didn't care about the arrogance in Nightmare's tone. Back then, the God King Odin was much more arrogant than him.
"How can you tell me how to create the [Black Nightmare Seed]?" Nightmare asked directly. He had spent much of his time studying the [Black Nightmare Seed] countless times within his own dimension, using the power of its own dimensions to create a batch of replicas. However, these replicas could only be used and digested within the dimension itself; once brought into reality outside the Nightmare Dimension, they would completely disintegrate into pure Nightmare energy.
After numerous failures, Nightmare finally realized that he couldn't replicate the Black Nightmare Seed on his own, but he couldn't ignore it. After much deliberation, Nightmare had no choice but to agree to attend the meeting and have a formal discussion with Luke and the others.
"It's not difficult to do, provided you are in the same group with us," Luke said.
"I'm one of you now, can you tell me?" Nightmare agreed without hesitation. However, his straightforwardness earned him a sneer from Mephisto.
Nightmare glared.
"You have to sign a contract first before you can be considered one of us." Mephisto said happily, and carefully took out a piece of parchment with a pure black ominous color. He used energy wrapping to operate the whole process.
Without a doubt, this parchment contained the purest power of the Abyss. It was a combination of the power of the Abyss, the power of the Hell dimension, and the power of Mephisto. It also included a small amount of Odin's divine power, and trace amounts of power from Luke, the Ancient One, and others.
This was a special contract Mephisto had prepared specifically for the bank's high-ranking customers, the dimensional demons. Violation of this contract would be targeted by the Abyss, who would then harass and erode it endlessly. For less powerful totems and dimensional demons, this contract's binding force and toxicity were quite significant. Even for dimensional demons of Dormammu's caliber, it posed a significant threat.