Chapter 989: Matrix Mall
Chen Mo had been working nonstop for five days, finally managing to write a rough draft of the design concept for *Grand Theft Auto*.
For the review process, Chen Mo specifically prepared plenty of "intelligence-dampening auras" and came up with a set of talking points about "exposing the ugly capitalist truth of the Lighthouse Nation," to be used for fooling—oh no, I mean, convincing—the leaders at the Game Committee responsible for approval.
Of course, a straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe. A work as full of satire and exposé as *Grand Theft Auto*, pointing straight at the rotten core of capitalism like an essay, is a fine piece reflecting systemic superiority. If it doesn't pass review, is there any justice left?
At the same time, remastered versions of VR games like *Dark Souls*, *PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds*, and *Assassin's Creed* were all in development. However, these didn't require Chen Mo's direct oversight. The key to remasters was staying true to the original—strictly reproducing the original gameplay while focusing on artistic presentation and immersion, adapting the games for the next-gen VR experience. That was perfectly fine.
Chen Mo handed the design concept draft to Qian Kun, telling him to organize the team for development. If there were special needs, they could even send some people to Los Angeles in the Lighthouse Nation for research. But considering how detailed Chen Mo's design concept was, such a trip would likely turn into a publicly funded vacation.
No matter—it was all within the development budget anyway.
Qian Kun read through the entire design concept draft from start to finish and had only one question.
"Isn't this way too big?! And it's a three-protagonist model. If players switch protagonists, doesn't that mean they'll be loading forever?"
Chen Mo chuckled. "No problem. By the time the game is finished, the game pod's storage technology and data reading speed might have improved significantly."
Qian Kun's face was full of black lines. "Is that something that can just improve on demand? What if it hasn't improved by the time the game is done?"
Chen Mo: "If it hasn't improved... then we wait until it does before releasing."
Qian Kun: "..."
...
...
The hype for *Detroit: Become Human* hadn't faded yet, and sales of the Matrix Game Pod were climbing steadily.
Up to now, the shortage of Matrix Game Pods hadn't been fully resolved. Some predicted this situation might even last about half a year. In response to such "predictions," Zhou Jiangping said: No, it won't, stop talking nonsense!
But as for exactly when the Matrix Game Pod would no longer be in short supply, Lehui didn't have a very clear answer either. After all, the overtime crunch during this period had made some of Lehui's employees question life itself: Just how many people are waiting to buy Matrix Game Pods? Do all your families own banks?
Still, overtime was overtime, but it was happy overtime. Because of the global sensation caused by the Matrix Game Pod, Lehui's valuation had been rising steadily. Already a top-tier domestic tech manufacturer, it was now striding toward becoming a world-class giant.
The emergence of the Matrix Game Pod was rapidly reshaping the landscape of global tech companies. Upstream and downstream industries related to the Matrix Game Pod all showed strong performance, but Lehui was the most eye-catching of them all.
Many people asked: What about Thunderbolt Entertainment? Wasn't it supposed to be making the biggest profit?
The problem was, Thunderbolt Entertainment hadn't gone public at all!
What stock price fluctuations, what valuation increases—if you're not listed, what does that have to do with you?
Everyone knew that Thunderbolt Entertainment was the most upstream company in the entire Matrix Game Pod ecosystem, but exactly how much money Chen Mo had made was anyone's guess. Chen Mo didn't even need to release financial reports—he had no shareholders to report to anyway. He just needed to keep track himself.
As for why he didn't go public, people had been discussing that for years. As Thunderbolt Entertainment gradually grew into a globally renowned game company, the debate over "when will it go public" never stopped.
Eventually, everyone realized: Chen Mo had never even considered that option.
Why?
For most companies, the only benefit of going public was to raise money. For example, Lehui had gone public many years ago mainly to solve its cash flow problems.
But by common sense, Thunderbolt Entertainment wasn't short on money. Not at all.
The company was running smoothly, every game was a hit, it had the Thunderbolt Game Platform as a cash cow, an excellent reputation in the industry, dominated the domestic market, and had the Game Committee's backing. Why go public?
Besides, going public would bring other issues, like losing some freedom or being vulnerable to hostile takeovers. Of course, given Thunderbolt Entertainment's current scale, it was more likely to be the one making hostile takeovers. Anyone trying to do that to them would be unrealistic. But regardless, Chen Mo simply couldn't be bothered with it.
As the Matrix Game Pod sold like hotcakes worldwide, it also received its first update since launch.
Players eagerly waiting for various remastered VR games were disappointed, because the update's main content was still *Oasis*.
Many players were initially let down, but when they saw the update details... Holy crap, this update was way more impressive than reheating leftovers!
...
Previously, the Matrix Game Pod had already updated *Oasis*-related content, mainly a comprehensive 360-degree spiral enhancement of the "Oasis Guardian," "E-Champion," "Close Combat Master," and "Superhuman Girl" Nuan Nuan. Up to now, no ill-intentioned person had ever managed to escape Nuan Nuan's combo in the mansion.
So what if you were a karate black belt, a combat master, or a wrestling expert in real life? Nuan Nuan would still handle you thoroughly.
Many people had made all sorts of jokes about this, and some even speculated: What would happen if Nuan Nuan were sent to "link the fire"?
It felt like even Lord Gwyn couldn't withstand that kind of suplex!
Although bold ideas couldn't be realized, many people said they had never felt so secure. As long as Nuan Nuan was home, even if a whole army showed up instead of a burglar, Nuan Nuan would beat them all into submission...
This time, the *Oasis* update added a new section: Matrix Mall.
After this update, all players could hail a taxi to the Matrix Mall, about a five-minute ride. According to the update notes, the Matrix Mall was a large, comprehensive shopping center with various foods and stores, integrating shopping, leisure, entertainment, and dining.
Moreover, in the Matrix Mall, players would randomly encounter other players and could invite friends to shop together with no upper limit. This was great news for many players, because previously the beachfront mansion could only invite up to five friends, but in this massive shopping center, even large-scale gatherings were no problem.