Chapter 147: This Song Is Pretty Good, Who Wrote It?

Chapter 147: This Song Is Pretty Good, Who Wrote It?

"It looks like Chen Mo is really loaded now. The games he makes are getting more and more impressive!"

"I take back what I said. It's not that he's unwilling to spend money on promotion—he had this method planned all along!"

"It feels like since Warcraft, he's gotten back on the path of quality games. Look at him now, making a Chinese-style game and even getting Zhou Yifeng to sing the theme song. What a conscientious guy!"

"Probably bought it with money, right..."

"Even if he bought it, that's fine. Other companies wouldn't even be willing to spend that kind of cash."

"Anyway, I'm listening first! If Zhou Yifeng is singing, the lyrics and melody can't be bad, can they?"

But before these people could finish their discussion, Zhou Yifeng posted on Weibo too!

"Exclusive preview of the lead single 'Sword and Dream' from my new album! [Click here] This song is a collaboration with Mr. Chen Mo of Thunderbolt Interactive. Also, I highly recommend Mr. Chen Mo's new game, 'Wulin Heroes'—an authentic martial arts game, a great title you can't miss!"

As soon as this Weibo post came out, the onlookers were stunned. What the hell?

Zhou Yifeng was personally promoting it too!

Earlier, some had said Chen Mo bought the song, but if that were the case, why would Zhou Yifeng go out of his way to promote it? And since the song was being used as the lead single, it showed that Zhou Yifeng himself was very satisfied with it!

With this post, many players who hadn't paid attention to the matter were drawn in and started listening.

And when they listened, they realized the song was really good!

Soon, comments on Weibo and music websites about the song multiplied rapidly, and its popularity climbed steadily!

"This song is amazing! Full of heroic spirit, smooth and exhilarating—it perfectly captures the martial arts vibe. Even if it were in a martial arts drama, it would be a classic theme song!"

"It feels like I'm back in that world of chivalrous grudges and uncontrollable fate."

"My wine, my blade!"

"This is the true feeling of martial arts!"

"Martial arts songs are always bold and atmospheric, full of a wandering spirit. This song doesn't scream like others, but it perfectly expresses that carefree, thrilling essence of martial arts!"

"Right now, I just want to roam the martial world and don't feel like doing homework..."

"There are four doctors in a mental hospital: one laughs all day, one sighs all day, one is always cheerful, and one is always gloomy. The patients call them: the Laughing Doctor, the Sighing Doctor, the Cheerful Doctor, and the Sad Doctor."

As soon as the song came out, it immediately caught the attention of the onlookers and quickly shot into the top three of the day, with its popularity still rising!

Everyone was wondering, who actually wrote the lyrics and melody for this song?

Many guessed it was Zhou Yifeng himself, since he was a singer-songwriter who had written many popular hits.

But others thought that was unlikely. Zhou Yifeng's previous songs were mostly love songs—he had never written a martial arts theme before!

Moreover, the lyrics of "Sword and Dream" clearly required someone with deep literary skill and a thorough understanding of martial arts culture. Zhou Yifeng didn't seem like that kind of person.

Just as the discussion was heating up, Zhou Yifeng posted another Weibo update.

"Many people are asking about the lyricist and composer of this song. Both the lyrics and melody were created by Mr. Chen Mo. I forgot to mention it earlier—my apologies."

When this post came out, the onlookers were dumbfounded. What? Chen Mo wrote it?

Chen Mo could write songs too?

"Really? Chen Mo can write songs? I find that hard to believe!"

"Are you stupid? The entire soundtrack for Warcraft was done by Chen Mo, and he oversaw the story too. Do you think he lacks musical talent or literary skill?"

"But this is a martial arts style!"

"Exactly. He's making a martial arts game. Would he dare to do it without understanding martial arts at all?"

"I still don't buy it. Is he really good at martial arts themes too?"

"I'm thinking of trying this game. If Chen Mo really wrote this song, then he must have a deep grasp of the martial arts spirit. This game might be a pleasant surprise!"

The song was an undeniable hit. Not only did Zhou Yifeng's new album take off, but the popularity of "Wulin Heroes" also skyrocketed!

The promotional team at Zen Interactive was practically spitting blood. They had put in so much effort, laid out so many ads, spent so much money, and thought they had the victory in hand—only for Chen Mo to pull a stunt like this!

Hiring Zhou Yifeng to sing the theme song was bad enough, but the song was also damn good and incredibly popular!

Damn it!

...

In the experience store, Qian Kun was playing "Wulin Heroes" while humming, "Come in haste, go in haste, where can we meet again..."

Zheng Hongxi: "I beg you, stop singing..."

Su Jinyu: "You're getting the lyrics wrong, hey!"

Wen Lingwei: "Quick, someone save my ears..."

Chen Mo was speechless too: "You're like a death chanter. Others sing for money, but you sing for lives!"

Lin Xue, playing a game nearby, raised her hand in protest: "Please stop! The viewers in my livestream are saying they'll unfollow!"

Qian Kun was a bit exasperated: "Is it really that bad?"

Su Jinyu said, "I don't know how you manage to make such a simple melody sound so awful."

Chen Mo said, "Let me play the original to cleanse our ears..."

Chen Mo turned on the speakers, and the experience store filled with Zhou Yifeng's rendition of "Sword and Dream."

Zheng Hongxi said, "This song is really good. And it's addictive. I feel like after listening to it, I need to pick up a blade and hit the road..."

Qian Kun said, "Yeah, I think only Zhou Yifeng could sing it with that feel. Other singers without the skill or depth couldn't pull off that carefree spirit."

Wen Lingwei said, "When the boss first posted on Weibo, a lot of people didn't believe it. They thought the song was bought with money. But it turns out the boss didn't spend a cent and might even make some profit..."

Su Jinyu sighed, "The boss is truly talented. Admirable, admirable."

Chen Mo said, "Sit down, sit down. Just routine operations. Alright, the pre-release hype is about done. Player attention is up, and the game content is basically solid. Everyone, take a rest and wait for the game to launch."

...

At the end of the month, a large number of Chinese-style games were released one after another.

Among them, mobile games were the majority, along with some PC games, and most were single-player. Clearly, these games were mostly made in response to the Game Committee's call, aiming to win awards.

Although they were political tasks, there were still quite a few quality games among them. After all, the Game Committee's judges had picky tastes—pay-to-win games wouldn't catch their eye.

But players also knew that despite the many games, the only ones with a real shot at the first prize were Zen Interactive's "Sword of Inquiry" and Thunderbolt Interactive's "Wulin Heroes."

Players and the Game Committee judges alike were downloading and trying out the games. The judges, in particular, were paying far more attention to these two Chinese-style games than the players.

After all, in the grand scheme of things, domestic games lagged behind foreign ones. Although Chinese-style games existed, they had never really taken off.

Would this batch of Chinese-style games produce a high-quality classic?

[Reminder: Your output must contain ZERO Chinese characters. Translate or transliterate everything.]