2016-08-07, 10:34
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Crax
 Author
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: MY
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Single Player Only [CWN]
Original Title: 绝对单机游戏 (Single Player Only)
Author: 爱死爱抚(手机报) Current Chapters: 77 Qidian Link: http://www.qidian.com/Book/1003597652.aspx His name is Yue Qiang, a typical NEET. There was nothing special about him, or should I say he was the kind of scum with baggy eyes and unkempt beard that would disgust almost every person who comes across him. His life consists of computer games, noodles, and sleep. The cycle repeats. You know the drill. It was a day like any other. At 12 noon he went to the grocery store to buy a cup noodle, and the store clerk practically threw back his change. It was okay. He was used to being scorned at. He sat down in front on his computer, cracked his fingers, excitedly clicked on the icon of the new game he just bought 'Witcher 3' and... ... And he noticed something amiss. Number 1, it normally takes a few seconds for his old PC to load a game, but this time the game screen appeared almost instantaneously. Number 2, he thought that for some reason Geralt of Rivia looked a little like him, but of course, Geralt can roll himself in pig shit, shave himself bald and still look better than him. Number 3, the center of the screen was filled by two big Chinese characters '游戏' a.k.a Game, an 'Enter Game' button below it, and finally beside this button 3 colored bars of Red, Green and Blue. Yue Qiang was pretty sure he had never seen this 'Game Game' before, much less purchased it, much less installed it in his PC, much less replace his epic Witcher 3 game icon with... whatever this is. ----- ALT+F4 did not work. ALT+TAB did not work. CTRL+ESC did not work. WIN+D did not work. CTRL+ALT+DEL did not work. None of the usual commands worked, and yet he was sure that his controls worked perfectly. He restarted his computer and felt his jaw drop. Not only it rebooted instantly - as in the whole process took less than a second - the Windows logo was also missing and instead, replaced by the game screen. ImmagithaxxedHARD. ----- To be honest, Yue Qiang didn't want to play this game because it reminded him of classic Chinese RPGs. He is a hardcore single player gamer, and the biggest problem he had with those classics is that there's no player freedom. An engaging plot is all good and all, but when the game was more like a game slash TV drama; when you're so saturated with plots that you can guess an ending within five minutes of watching an opening, just how much 'fun' is left in the game? At least international developers recognize the issue and tries to resolve this dilemma, but the recent China-bred games... leaves much to be desired. Out of curiosity, Yue Qiang wanted to know exactly what kind of 'game' had invaded his life. He clicked the 'Enter Game' button and entered the Character Screen. The character model looks surprisingly similar to himself, except that the character wore a traditional Chinese robe. He also looked dirty and 'dirty', well, you get the idea. Speaking of which the graphics of this game looks pretty good. Unbelievably good actually; so life-like that it outdid even the latest games out there. Wow... Anyway, character stats: Strength : 12 (You're pretty strong and can consider a job in the construction site) Body : 6 (Your body is weak and you often get sick) Mentality : 14 (You're a very calm person and even a stark lifestyle cannot affect your mind. If anything, games will always be your virtual companion) Wealth : 2 (you're poor as a brick. A sad, chipped brick.) Charisma: 7 (You're not liked by any genders). Huh, Yue Qiang thought to himself. That is... uncannily close to my actual life. He looked at the free stats distribution. There were 8 points. On a whim, he threw them all under Charisma. Now his stat description looks like this: Charisma: 15 (You're absolutely adored by everyone, and even flowers bloom in your presence). Well now, that's much better. ----- Gah, he accidentally spilled his noodle. He went to the grocery store again to buy a new one. "Eh, gimme a pack of instant noodle, mushroom flavored please." "We're having a promotion. You can get a full 12 pack for the price of one!" the store clerk says shyly. Wait, what did she just say? "Oh! Since you're our long time customer, I'll personally gift you this bottle of chewing gum. C'mon, take it!" the girl practically pushed the goods into his arms while throwing him flirty looks every second. He went to the door. The clerk shouted, "Please, come again!" Seriously, what the f? ----- This game is unbelievable. To begin with, it REALLY felt like the olden games. He had to enter HUNDREDS of sentences straight out of Analects just to solve the first quest, and the quest reward for all his pain was a measly free distribution stats point. Classic. After some hesitation, he dumped the point into Charisma. If his intuition is correct, the difference between 15 and 16 points in this kind of game is massive. Back to the point. calling this game lifelike was an understatement. Impossible advanced graphics aside, the NPCs had responded like a real human being. For example, when he repeatedly harassed an teacher NPC with the same question he took out a ruler and smacked him dizzy in the head. For some reason, he kinda also felt dizzy in real life. That was really weird, but eh. Number 3, his stats description changed in accordance to his surroundings. For example, since the village his character is currently in all average about 20 points per stats, his Body stat description now says, "You're so weak you probably won't live over 30." Jesus Game, is it normal for a game to curse its own player?! Speaking of strange, he remembered something REALLY strange... ----- He received a phone call from his classmate. He answered it. "Hello Yue Qiang, this is the hottest girl in your class Rao Xiao Ting speaking." Huh. That was a weird way of talking, but he didn't get to think much about it before Xiao Ting continued, "Yue Qiang, I've always thought that you were a pretty cool person. You don't talk much in the chat group, but anything you type was either humorous or meaningful, deep and delicate. I've always wanted to become your friend, but I could never gather the courage. But today I finally did it and called you, just because I want to listen to your deep, magnetic voice." "Yue Qiang, can we become friends?" He murmured, "The difference between 15 and 16 is HUGE, man." "What are you talking about?" "No, nothing." ----- He was neither blind nor stupid. Things have reached a certain point where he could not longer ignore the strange things that were happening in game AND around him. He had to test it. If he was wrong, then he'll probably be locked up in a cell and spend the night feeling cold and suicidal. But just in case he was right - he HAD to try it out. Before he left, he posted a thread in the forum titled '[Game]Game: Does anyone know about this game?' with a short description about... things, although he was careful not to mention the 'finer' details. Then he dressed himself a bit, SPECIFICALLY chose his dirtiest, ugliest and smelliest bunch of his clothing, and left. The first place he picked was an expensive salon. One whiff of his 'awesome' smell and the shampoo girl almost crotch-kicked him out of the door. But the moment she - no, the moment HE sets his eyes on her, her attitude changed entirely. "Sir... what kind of hairstyle would you like to cut? We have a few packages ranging from 388 Yuan, 588 Yuan, 888 Yuan..." she asked him nicely. He thought for a moment before replying, "I want a bald cut." Almost immediately the look in her eye changed into shock, but when he sets his eyes on her again her attitude softened, "Of course. Right this way, sir." Now comes the real question. At the end of the haircut, he walks right up to the counter, stair the cashier right in the eye and feeling cold sweat running down his back, asks, "I'm not paying." The clerk didn't even blink. She replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world, "Of course you don't have to pay, sir, you're a VVIP! You can't imagine how honored we feel to even have you here! Have a good day!" He tested this a number of times. Hell, he even went to the bar and asked for someone he absolutely wasn't old enough to ask for, and it all ended with the same results. He sat by the river feeling the cool breeze blowing across his face. It was real. His 'Charisma' was real. Every time he add a point into his in game character, it actually affected his real life. For a second, he actually believed that he had become the protagonist of a web novel - Is he OP? Not yet, but give him enough time and he'll own the entire world! Is there harem? He already got the first girl call in his life, baby! Is there snusnu? Well, no, maybe not that. But it sure as hell was something to think about!... ... But wait a second. Does 'Charisma' really work that way? Imagine if the President on the United States had worn and smelled like a hobo from hell, then waltzed into every high class place and enjoyed every luxury imaginable, all the while not paying a single cent. Surely not every person he met would have treated him with perfect adoration and admiration, would they? Surely not all of them would give him a free pass and not kick him out like the hobo he looked and smelled like? That is assuming they actually KNOW that they're talking to a President too, and Yue Qiang was definitely NOT a President. No, something isn't right. Something definitely... isn't right. He needed to think some more. ----- Did he say that the game was hard before? It was HELLISH. Did he say that the game was hellish? IT WAS OUTRIGHT INSANE. He tried doing a side quest and nearly got KILLED by a DYING SOLDIER BLEEDING OUT OF HIS GUTS. HOW!? Worse, every NPC he talked to in the village said that they were gonna get destroyed by the Zhao army in 3 months time. Not 'invaded' or 'attacked', mind you, but 'destroyed' with the utmost certainty. There's no time. ----- "So, you're here to train your body, correct?" He was going to say 'get fit', but she wasn't wrong. "Yeah." "The faster the better, huh?" the gym leadER - not to be confused with a certain mobage - asked again, "And preferably in 3 months time?" He froze up. believing that the real world and the Game world affected one another, Yue Qiang had came to this acclaimed fitness gym hoping to train himself. It was a fetch, but there was a slight chance that if he became fitter in the real world, so will his in-game character. He had requested to meet with the manager, but the manager had instead directed him to meet this incredibly beautiful lady before him instead, saying that she had 'anticipated his arrival'. That didn't make sense. He didn't think much of it earlier, but first, he told no one that he was going to attend a gym. Second, she had said, 'in 3 months time', which also happens to be the time he has before the Zhao army comes, and he was absolutely sure he didn't tell her about that. Was it a coincidence? "Really, it's not a problem if your goal is just to keep fit. You're actually pretty strong already and can most definitely consider working at the construction site. That being said, your body's a bit weak and you get sick often, do you? I'm curious, though. Why would you want to train yourself, when you're so adored by everyone that even flowers will bloom in your presence? Isn't it easier to find a rich wife and live comfortably for the rest of your life?" If he was just freezing up earlier, now he felt shocked to the very core. If you would recall, that was almost exactly the same as his initial stats description. He almost shouted, "Who are you!?" "My name is Duan Yi," She says. Finally turning around, Yue Qiang immediately notices that this woman was incredibly attractive. It wasn't just her face, but even through a supersized baggy pants he could see that she has perfect curves and legs, not to mention that her voluptuous chests was hidden underneath a tight sports bra, "Surname Lu Qiu. You can call me by my first name or my last, it doesn't really matter. After all, I'm the last one left in my family." ----- The game was getting realer and realer. No, seriously. At the beginning it was a simple 3rd PoV with very little player freedom. Now it was a 1st PoV that made him feel like he was in the world itself. Moreover, it had perfect textures that he was sure not even the latest of latest VR technology could render, and certainly not something his ancient PC was capable of at perfect frame rate. Moreover, if the NPCs were a bit, well, NPC-like at first, he notices that they were acting more and more lifelike as time progresses. Hell, he knows these NPCs better than he knows his own classmates. Perhaps even more amazing was that he can make his character MOVE, like a real person. He can raise a left hand to pick up something on the ground. He can punch in any direction he want, or he can change it to a hand chop and well, chop. Every limb was controllable. He wasn't really sure how he did it either; do remember that this was ultimately all mouse and a keyboard. Of course if he wanted to run straight he can still tap 'W' and run straight, but if he wanted to do precise movements... it was possible. He wasn't sure how he KNEW, he just did. How... odd. ----- He received a phone call today. It was the classmate who called him a few days ago, Xiao Ting. To be honest, he had completely forgotten about her for the past few days and he felt a bit embarrassed. "Hello Yue Qiang, this is the hottest girl in your class Rao Xiao Ting speaking. We haven't talked for three days, have we?" "Erm, yeah, we definitely haven't. How are you?" "Yue Qiang, based on the Chinese principle, 'When a man dates a woman a hill stands between them, but when a woman dates a man only a curtain stands in between'. I believe we are ready to advance to the next procedure. Let's start dating. Don't you think it's a great idea?" Yue Qiang frowned. Something didn't feel quite right about the conversation. Does Xiao Ting always talk like that? "Actually, I have some personal matter to deal with," he said, "I'm sorry, but maybe I can call you later when I'm free? Please don't misunderstand; I er, I do think that you're a great girl." "Okay, Yue Qiang, thank you for your compliment. I look forward to our next phone call procedure then. Goodbye." And the phone call breaks. Yue Qiang pondered as he walks in the middle of the street. Something was really off about that conversation. The way Xiao Ting talks and the terms she used, such as 'principle', 'advance', 'procedure'... suddenly, he felt a cold chill climbing up his spine. Her wording was too precise, too mechanical. It was as if he was answering to a bunch of computer generated dialogues, as if Xiao Ting was more NPC than the NPC in the game itself! He felt cold sweat breaking in the middle of the day. He needed to know. He began running. ----- "We're not following the menu today?" He had been training with Duan Yi for a while now. Although he knew nothing about her, he felt a strange trust towards her, and to be frank, he needed her there to be his emotional support, being seemingly the only other person in the world who understands his predicament. Also, her training schedule had been really effective even though it looked nothing like it at the beginning. Anyway, case in point. Today his menu was wildly different from the 'health food' he was slowly getting used to. "Are you the trainer? Besides, aren't you bored eating the same food everyday?" "Hell yeah! Let's dig in!" Yue Qiang took to the table of food like fish to water. It was unhealthy as fuck but god, he felt as if he hadn't tasted food like this since AGES. While he was munching off like a dinosaur, he suddenly hear Duan Yi sighing, "Enjoy it while it lasts... right?" Yue Qiang did not answer. ----- The Turing Test is a way to test if an AI is good enough to fool a human. The basic setup goes like this: Within 5 minutes, if an AI can answers a series of question asked by a human being, and convince the questioner that it was human, that it passes the test. Below is a simple example: Question: Can you play chess? Answer: Yes. Question: Can you play chess? Answer: Yes. Question: Please answer my question one more time: can you play chess? Answer: Yes. In the above case, the answerer is most likely a computer. On the other hand, if the case had gone like this: Question: Can you play chess? Answer: Yes. Question: Can you play chess? Answer: Yes, I mean, haven't I said that earlier? Question: Please answer my question one more time: can you play chess? Answer: Seriously, why do you keep asking the same question? Then the answerer is most likely human instead. Now, Yue Qiang is going to conduct such a test - not on an AI, but a human instead. He felt a distinct pang of irony. Why can't I remember how Xiao Ting looks like? "Hello, this is Xiao Ting speaking. Is it Yue Qiang?" "Yes." He took a moment to calm himself, "Xiao Ting, I would like to ask you a question." "Thank you for you phone call. Ask away." Yue Qiang didn't try to be clever; he was feeling way too stressed out at the moment. He just used almost the same question format as the one he found on the internet and asked, "Do you like me?" "Yes." "Do you like me?" "Yes, I mean, haven't I said that earlier?" "Please answer my question one more time: do you like me?" "Seriously, why do you keep asking the same question?" Finally, a surge of relief overwhelms Yue Qiang. Thank god, he thought to himself, thank god that was the answer of a normal person. He was about to apologize and lift the awkward atmosphere, when a sudden surge of fear gripped his heart. If I am to develop an AI to pass the Turing Test... would I make one so dumb that it would repeat the same answer over and over again? Would I not make at least a basic filter so that it'll avoid looping the same answer? Suddenly, he pulled his phone away and stared at the screen. Just before the phone call he was reading about the Turing Test, then during the call pulled a basic sample straight out of the page itself. Though the context differed, Xiao Ting's answers were exactly the same as the sample's. He turned his phone off. - He remembered that one of the first things Duan Yi taught him was to never die in the game no matter what. He watched a cutscene showing his character, after risking life and limb to setup the boss to fall into his death trap - a gigantic mechanical crossbow capable of firing a giant arrow so powerful it could pierce through several human beings and then some more - only to have him catch the arrow easily between his two fingers. He looked at the three colorful bars at the side of his screen, and note that the red one had just turned completely empty. The screen faded to black. He remembered hating her for talking in riddles, but he endured it, knowing that there is a real reason why she tries so hard not to bring up any 'in-game terms' at all. Even if she could never say it. He flipped open his phone, and suddenly recalled that he had posted an ask thread earlier. He clicked into it with shaky fingers. He noticed a pattern. "Hey dude, do you have any angpau to gift me?" "The one below me has no D." "The fifth person to reply will surely know the answer." "You inferior worms, I will ban every single one of your inferior accounts to the oblivion!" "You inferior worms, I will ban every single one of your inferior accounts to the oblivion +1!" Every single reply was either trolling or meaningless. He suddenly had a revelation, and checked the forum stats instead. Activity was high as usual, but since the day he started playing the Game every single thread, every single POST in the forum were troll posts. Every. Single. One of them. He remembered her advice: Only by becoming stronger, will you have the power to resolve everything. "Why is there a cutscene in the Game? What happens if you die in the Game? What happens if the blue bar hits 100%? Why the fuck is the people around me turning into NPCs? Why the fuck do you always talk in riddles and not just tell me in the truth! JUST TELL ME! TELL ME! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT JUST TELL ME THE TRUTH!!!" But he couldn't handle it any longer. He was going insane.
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Last edited by Craxuan; 2016-08-07 at 11:36. |
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2016-08-07, 10:53
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Crax
Author
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: MY
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Naaah, I have an actual game localization to handle (sounds cool, but it's payless work so...) and I've recently finally agreed to Eccentric Translations to help them translate Doctor The World, so.
Yeah it's a wall of text. I wrote them all myself, basically summarizing the tone and some plot of the story WITH, a story. I'm telling you; it's REALLY good. It's unbelievably eerie and I can feel my hair stand on the back RIGHT NOW with the release of the latest chapter. I have to check my surroundings to make sure I'm still in the real world. Or maybe I never was...
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2016-08-15, 03:18
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Confused Shark
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Atlantis
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^Thanks for the translation man~
Craxuan has translated 3 chapters of this So it's about a guy who played a mysterious game on his PC, but found out that his character stats in the game has an influence to his real self. Just like The Gamer yea. The stats work differently for in-game and real life though. No heroines yet, maybe that cashier? He put 8 stats points to his charisma making it 15, and that value has already making everyone love him, for real life. In-game it's considered low. When is the next update boy?
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So you gonna have to translate them 
