Chapter 443 - 289: Putting Wheels on the World
During this period of research and development, the firearms department had produced more than just the Type 56; they had designed many other guns as well.
There was the "sniper rifle," which used special long-range bullets for precision targeting, then delivered a strike to the marked location via a Magic backpack.
Essentially, it used firearms to solve the accuracy issues of Magic, with a maximum effective range of up to 800 meters.
A cheap bullet Enchantment method designed by goblins had a success rate of less than 10% and a duration of only three minutes, but its cost was a mere one-thousandth of the original.
This led to the practice of enchanting and firing on the spot. By attempting to enchant bullets with many different kinds of Magic simultaneously to increase the overall success rate, a new saying was even born.
Life is like a Peter-style heavy machine gun; you never know what effect the next bullet will have.
But the coolest of all had to be the Grace Hand Cannon. No one knew what strange romantic notion possessed Peter to give his biggest "gun" a girl’s name, but you had to admit, the hand cannon was seriously awesome.
The grenades it fired were all manually enchanted, meaning every shot was a fortune up in smoke. It couldn’t be mass-produced for standard issue, and even in Doomsday Warrior, players had to pay per grenade used.
Fortunately, Craig could afford it.
He just didn’t dare to fire it.
Craig, clad in a full suit of Mechanical Armor, huddled and shivered at the entrance to the demo level, clutching a Grace Hand Cannon that was taller than he was.
As a young nobleman who had been coddled his whole life, he was the type to scream at horror movies. He only acted brave to look tough, still stuck in that phase where saving face was everything.
Having a real-life Pervert Demon jump in his face, however, was a little too much for him to handle.
Paying to experience Doomsday Warrior was probably the biggest waste of money in his entire life.
As for the Pervert Demon on the other side, this was the most mentally exhausting money he had ever earned during his acting career in Doomsday Warrior.
This Pervert Demon was the first to appear in the level, his role being the tutorial target for the demo.
His script contained no attack moves.
After jumping out, his job was to sway back and forth in front of the player, waiting for them to fire that one damned shot so he could die and return to Hell.
It was a good gig. Compared to his colleagues who appeared later in the level, he had more downtime but got the same pay.
But so far, he’d never seen anyone come in and be too scared to move.
Why?
The Pervert Demon’s small head was filled with great big questions.
’Could it be that I don’t look scary enough? Is that why the player has no desire to attack?’
So he tried his best to look as terrifying as possible.
"ROAR!"
"AHHH—"
Craig’s miserable shriek echoed throughout the level.
"BANG!"
The hand cannon finally went off.
But it wasn’t Craig who fired it.
The Pervert Demon actor, "unable to bear the humiliation," had grown tired of swaying back and forth and decided to put himself out of his misery.
He grabbed Craig’s hand, aimed the massive muzzle at his own head, and helped the noble boy pull the trigger that should have been pulled long ago.
Loud music began to blast from within the Mechanical Armor—metal from the band Underground Discard.
The mix of solids and liquids that burst from the exploding Pervert Demon splattered all over Craig’s face shield.
Then he lost consciousness.
From fright.
The staff rushed in and dragged the VVIP out.
Fortunately, he was fine.
Craig’s fainting spell ended up being a major contribution to the development of Feilin’s amusement park.
From then on, all thrilling attractions required a brief stress tolerance test beforehand, and all of them were plastered with long lists of safety notices and liability waivers.
Until Craig came to, the hearts of every staff member present were in their throats.
They were afraid he would hold them responsible.
But fortunately, when Craig groggily came to, he chose to say nothing.
He was just as concerned with saving face as ever.
Realizing he’d been carried out and was now surrounded by venue staff, he gave two awkward coughs. "I... I just stayed up late last night. I was so tired, I must have fallen asleep in there. It’s nothing. You can all go."
His friends also started finishing their demos and coming out of the level, every one of them looking incredibly excited.
"That was awesome! I blew everything away!"
"That was so much fun! I’ve never played such a thrilling game before. I have to play again!"
"Oh my god, did you guys use the Magic Energy Chainsaw? The one that comes with the Mechanical Armor? That thing is insane! It feels just like you’re really sawing through a Devil. I’m starting to suspect it’s not an Illusion—that it’s all real."
Listening to their conversation, Craig felt his skin crawl.
’So terrifying... sawing Devils with a chainsaw.’
’And it was real. He’d bet his life on it. That Pervert Demon had grabbed his hand and forced him to pull the trigger.’
"Speaking of which, what was the story about? I didn’t really get it. Something about the character I was playing charging into Hell all because of a rabbit?"
"You’ve got to be kidding. You were actually paying attention to the story? Is the story even the point of this game?"
"This won’t do. I have to play again!"
"Didn’t they say the full game is in Deepwater City? Where’s that? Have you guys heard of it?"
"I think it’s a city that’s still under construction, up north. Let’s all go play there together when it’s finished."
The group of friends chattered excitedly.
Like nearly every player who had tried it, they were completely won over by the incredibly realistic and thrilling battlefield experience.
Regardless of who they were in real life, in Doomsday Warrior they could become heroes who tore Devils apart with their bare hands, filling them with an immense sense of accomplishment.
Zog had set the demo’s difficulty to "I’m Too Young to Die"—the easiest, baby mode. As long as you weren’t as hopeless as certain video game journalists, clearing the demo was no problem at all.
An attendant chose this moment to make their sales pitch. "Distinguished guests, if you wish to experience the full game, you can reserve your tickets now. If you pre-order, you will also receive a special souvenir when you complete it in the future."