020 The Course of History
Coming out of the subway station and walking a short distance, they arrived at the main entrance of the University of Electronic Science and Technology. Along the way, Wang Heng and Lu Qi walked side by side, chatting happily—of course, the happiness was one-sided.
Wang Heng had no intention of currying favor with Lu Qi, merely chiming in from time to time on the topics she casually brought up. However, perhaps due to the inertia of their past interactions, every one of his replies made Lu Qi feel exceptionally comfortable. It was as if no matter where her train of thought jumped, this kid could keep up.
Lu Qi felt that it had been a long time since anyone had clicked with her so well…
On the sidewalk not far from the school gate, Lu Qi slowed her pace and suddenly said, “Actually, I’m a little uneasy about this job change.”
“Uneasy?”
“Yes. According to the company’s wishes, my work in the future may be focused on mobile games. Do you think mobile games have a future?”
Wang Heng knew the correct answer very well, but he replied ambiguously, “Who can say for sure what the future holds? But looking at the trend, it should… be pretty good, I guess.”
“Trend?” Lu Qi glanced at him with some curiosity. “Where did you see this trend?”
“It’s obvious. Fragmentation.”
Lu Qi nodded and smiled. “Not bad, you’ve grasped the key point. Because time is fragmented and mobile phones are more convenient to carry, they have an overwhelming advantage. And in the next few years, the hardware performance of mobile phones will definitely evolve significantly, and the game functions they can support will become more and more powerful…”
As she spoke, her gaze was no longer on Wang Heng. She seemed to be looking into the distance, talking to herself.
Wang Heng then understood that Lu Qi had probably already made up her mind. She was just feeling a little apprehensive about the uncertainty of the future and needed a little reassurance. Letting go of the achievements in her old field and stepping into a new one always required more confidence.
But he also understood that, as the saying goes, a general’s success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers. The future mobile game market would expand exponentially, but in the end, only a few games would truly have a future. Most of the works, whether due to mediocre quality, operational errors, or just plain bad luck, would sink to the bottom of the sea without making a splash.
Wang Heng asked with some concern, “What kind of mobile game will Sister Lu be working on in the future?”
Lu Qi hesitated for only two seconds before answering freely, “It’s okay to tell you. It’s a 5v5 battle type. The current project codename is Honor of Kings.”
Wang Heng: “…What?”
Lu Qi: “Honor of Kings. Is there a problem?”
Wang Heng was stunned. Honor of Kings, Penguin Company, mobile game—these keywords colliding together seemed…
After a while, Lu Qi noticed that his expression was a bit off and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me you’ve heard of our company’s internal project?”
Wang Heng could only shake his head. “No, but it sounds very domineering, like it’s going to become the hegemon of the mobile game market.”
“Hahahaha, it’s not that simple!” Lu Qi laughed. “Behind every game is the blood and sweat of the developers. The difficulty of making a hit game is really too great.”
Wang Heng: “A person’s destiny, of course, depends on their own efforts, but one must also consider the course of history…”
**
After bidding farewell to Lu Qi, Wang Heng walked into the campus alone.
At the end of August, specks of bright yellow could already be seen on the sweet osmanthus trees by the roadside, but the petals had not yet fully bloomed, and the delicate fragrance of osmanthus had not yet wafted out.
It was the hottest season of the year, and it was afternoon when he arrived on campus. The sunlight in Rongdu was not intense, but it still made people feel quite stuffy and hot, almost as if they were in a steamer. Of course, it was still far from being comparable to those famous “furnace cities,” and as long as one walked by the roadside trees and tried to find shade, it was still bearable.
But beads of sweat still formed on Wang Heng’s forehead, and it wasn’t entirely because of the stuffy heat.
As he walked, he was constantly looking around.
Within two hours of getting off the train, he had run into Han Yixuan and Lu Qi in succession. This kind of heaven-defying luck made him have to be on high alert. He still remembered the scene of his death before his rebirth; there had been four girls there. So far, two had appeared. What about the other two?
Remaining vigilant, Wang Heng finally arrived at the registration area for new students. The ones responsible for welcoming the new students were also students, mostly seniors from the sophomore and junior years. At this point, the difference in treatment between male and female students was clear.
The majority of students at the University of Electronic Science and Technology were male, especially in the computer science department that Wang Heng had applied to. There were five seniors welcoming the new students, four male and one female. And the new students who came to register were almost all boys wearing glasses. Looking at the girls from the School of Economics and Management not far away, the male seniors felt even more bored.
When it was Wang Heng’s turn, the male seniors were still listless, but the only female senior’s eyes lit up.
The female senior glanced at the list and said, “Your name is Wang Heng, right? Your admission notice… hmm, no problem. Do you want me to take you to your dormitory first?”
It was perfectly normal for a senior to lead a new student who didn’t know the way to their dormitory. But for a female senior to take the initiative to offer to lead the way was a little less normal.
A male freshman next to him, who was a bit wide and weighed over a hundred kilograms, couldn’t help but look back, feeling a little jealous.
Wang Heng subconsciously shook his head and blurted out, “That’s probably not necessary.”
The female senior was surprised. “You can find the way? Besides going to the dormitory to put down your luggage, there are other procedures. Can you find those offices?”
“I do need someone to lead the way, but could I trouble this senior brother?” Wang Heng looked at the nearest unfamiliar male senior.
The targeted male senior was even more surprised than the female senior. “Are you serious? You want me to lead the way, not the senior sister?”
Wang Heng looked sincere. “Of course. Since we’re going to the male dormitory, it would definitely be a bit inconvenient for this beautiful senior sister to go in.”
The senior sister muttered “honest kid” and sat down resentfully.
The male senior beckoned. “Alright then, come with me… Hey, you don’t have a suitcase?”
Wang Heng shrugged. “All my luggage is on me.”
The male senior led the way, saying as he walked, “You’ve brought so few things. You’ll definitely have to buy a lot of new daily necessities later. By the way, be careful when you’re buying things. Buy them at the school supermarket. Ignore those door-to-door salesmen. They all mark up the prices a lot, just waiting to rip off new students like you who don’t know any better.”
Wang Heng replied calmly, “I’ve learned my lesson. Thank you, senior brother.”
A little further from the welcoming area, this male senior looked back and suddenly asked, “You don’t happen to dislike girls, do you?”
“No, I like girls, but only the 2D ones.”
The male senior was suddenly enlightened, and his tone became much more enthusiastic and friendly. “So that’s how it is! Hey, are you a twintails person or a Zettai Ryouiki person?”
Do you have to start using weird sentence-ending particles when you talk about 2D stuff?
Wang Heng: “…Both are good.”
“So you’re an all-loving person,” the senior put his arm around his shoulder. “Young man, you have a boundless future!”
***
T/N:
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Twintails (双马尾, shuāngmǎwěi) / Zettai Ryouiki (绝对领域, juéduì lǐngyù): These are terms from Japanese anime/manga (otaku) culture. “Twintails” refers to the hairstyle. “Zettai Ryouiki” (Absolute Territory) refers to the area of exposed thigh between a miniskirt and thigh-high socks, a popular fetish or “moe” point.
