Chapter 24: Party Invitation
While David was busy running around, contacting various game companies, and tackling technical challenges on his own for his comprehensive
'Design Framework and Core Rulebook for Battle Royale-style Multiplayer Online Tactical Arena Games,' Leonard finally completed the paper based on the results of his and David's late-night experiments.
The paper, with Leonard Hofstadter and David Mitchell as joint first authors, was successfully published in the prestigious physics journal 'Physical Review B.'
This work, which validated David's 'multi-parameter scanning framework' and for the first time clearly revealed the coexistence of specific scattering mechanisms in topological insulators, caused a significant stir in the condensed matter physics field.
For a time, lecture invitations from various academic institutions and conferences snowballed toward Leonard and David.
However, David was entirely engrossed in finding game collaborators and overcoming technical barriers at that time, making it truly difficult to spare any time.
He could only politely decline all invitations, leaving Leonard to present their exciting research findings alone on various stages.
The situation only changed after David and Polaris Interactive finally finalized the contentious performance-based agreement.
Although David remained busy—he needed to maintain close communication with Polaris's development team via phone and email, providing crucial guidance on core gameplay finalization, technical roadmap selection,
and even subtle experience optimizations, his mature solutions always allowed him to pinpoint optimal approaches with precision.
Occasionally, he also needed to drive to Polaris after finishing work at Caltech for face-to-face in-depth discussions—but compared to the previous aimless search for partners and the solitary, exhausting self-study of technology, he now had clear goals and a clear path. He could finally redirect some of his game-occupied thoughts back to his main work.
This morning, the sun was bright. David tidied his clothes and went downstairs to find Leonard.
He'd promised last night that he'd accompany Leonard today to their undergraduate alma mater, UCLA, to give an academic presentation on their sensational paper.
As he reached the fourth-floor landing, the door to the opposite apartment also opened, and Penny came out carrying a bag, apparently heading to work at the Cheesecake Factory.
"Hey, David!" Penny's eyes lit up when she saw him, then she gave a teasing smile. "Wow, what a rare sight! I've barely seen you around Leonard's place lately.
What, finally realized it's too nerdy hanging out with these guys and decided to quit their 'Genius Boys Club'?" She winked mischievously. "If you're planning to form your own new circle, remember to count me in, I'll definitely sign up!"
David was amused by her words and shook his head, explaining, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Penny. But I haven't quit, I've just been busy with other things lately. I'm collaborating with a game company to develop a game I conceptualized myself."
"What? You? Developing a game?" Penny's blue eyes widened in surprise, as if she'd heard something incredible. "I know you're great at games—Sheldon and the others respect that—but I didn't know you could actually make games!"
"I know a little bit," David smiled. "Once the game starts beta testing, I promise you, Leonard, and the others will be among the first players worldwide. I guarantee all of you will be blown away by this game."
Just then, the door to 4A clicked open, and Sheldon's voice, accompanied by his appearance, carried over: "I highly doubt your so-called 'amazement,' David. Given your background as a theoretical physicist,
lacking systematic game development training, I'm very concerned that what you ultimately produce will be a primitive entertainment product riddled with low-level logical errors, graphics as crude as Atari 2600 games, and gameplay equivalent to 'cavemen throwing rocks.'"
Leonard followed Sheldon out, his face full of curiosity.
Before this, when David had repeatedly turned down academic activities, he'd only vaguely mentioned he was 'making a game,' without revealing details, which had already piqued everyone's curiosity.
"Yeah, David," Leonard echoed, his eyes full of inquiry, "What kind of game are you developing? Can't you just reveal a little bit?"
David remained mysterious, using his previous rhetoric to deflect his friends' probing: "Trust me, preserving this anticipation is worth it. You'll understand when you play it, but for now, allow me to keep you in suspense—it's also to preserve a truly novel experience for you."
Penny looked at them, then suddenly clapped her hands. "Hey, since you're all here, I might as well tell you. Next Saturday is Halloween, and I'm planning to host a themed party at my apartment. I'll invite some of my friends, and you guys should come too! It'll be fun!"
"Halloween party?" Leonard became interested. "Can we wear costumes?"
"Of course! It's Halloween!" Penny affirmed. "You can dress up as anything you want, the funnier the better!"
Upon hearing they could dress up as they pleased, Sheldon and Leonard immediately perked up, and the two began discussing.
"I believe The Flash is an excellent choice, as its core ability involves the application of relativistic time dilation..." Sheldon already had his pick.
"Uh, Sheldon, actually, there's something I've always wanted to say—your physique in a tight suit makes you look like a traffic cone," Leonard complained, then fell into his own fantasy, "Maybe I could consider something from 'Doctor Who'..."
"Stop! Hold it!" Penny quickly interrupted their potentially endless discussion. "You two, when you see Howard and Raj, remember to invite them for me."
Leonard immediately asked, "Will there be... girls at the party?"
Penny had an expression that said, "Does that even need asking?" "Of course! Lots of my girlfriends are coming!"
"Then it's no problem," Leonard nodded knowingly. "No need to ask—Howard will definitely come. A party with women, he's like a moth to a flame, never misses it. As for Raj..." He paused. "As long as Howard comes, he'll definitely come too."
Leonard seemed to recall something and cautiously asked Penny again, "Uh... your boyfriend, Doug, will he also be at the party?"
Penny's face instantly darkened, and she said irritably, "Doug and I broke up. I don't want to see his face ever again!"
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that," Leonard said, feigning regret, but his lips, which he tried desperately to suppress but ultimately failed to keep from curving upward, completely betrayed his true feelings.
Sheldon keenly caught this and immediately exposed him with his characteristic flat tone: "Yes, in Leonard's hometown of New Jersey, people commonly use this uncontrollable upward facial muscle contraction to express deep sympathy for 'unfortunate news.' It is a unique and regionally specific custom."
Leonard's face instantly flushed red, and he hastily reined in his smile, adopting a somber expression, trying to change the subject. "Uh... Penny, what exactly happened? Didn't you say Doug was always very busy at the gym?"
Penny put her hands on her hips and said furiously, "Yes! He was very busy! So busy that he 'coached' the female client who called him her 'personal trainer' directly into bed!"
This explosive news made the three men present freeze. David shook his head sympathetically. Sheldon pondered, apparently conducting some kind of human behavioral analysis. Leonard, meanwhile, had mixed feelings—both angry that Penny encountered a cheater, and a hint of inappropriate secret joy brewing in his heart.
The group went downstairs together and said goodbye at the apartment entrance. Penny drove off to work alone, while Leonard first drove Sheldon to Caltech for work, then turned around and drove with David to UCLA.
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