46: Chapter 46 Animation Project

Bedivere dissolved into golden stardust in the wind, and the clearance screen for the Sixth Singularity slowly froze.

Countless players on Blue Star sat before their VR devices, unable to calm down for a long time.

The shock and lingering regret from being immersed in such an epic tragedy left everyone feeling empty inside.

It wasn't until a crisp notification sound from the system broke the silence.

[Main quest reward issued: ★3 Saber (Guard) - Bedivere, has been automatically added.]

A-Dai, eyes red, tapped open the Servant library in the Chaldea lobby.

In the corner of the list, that wandering knight with long silver hair, draped in a tattered cloak, stood there quietly.

His face was no longer pained, but carried that gentle, relieved smile.

"Little Bedivere..."

A-Dai sniffled, breaking into a smile through her tears, "Welcome home."

"Guys, even though he's just a three-star card the system gave away for free, I will never use him as fodder in this lifetime! I'm going to give him all the best resources and let him live peacefully here in Chaldea!"

The chat stream was filled with frantic agreement:

"Absolutely! Even if it bankrupts me, I'm going to max out Little Bedivere's level!"

"How is one card from the system enough? You need five to max out his Noble Phantasm! I'm going to whale on this banner!"

...

Following the perfect conclusion of the Sixth Singularity, the [Sacred Round Table Realm: Camelot] commemorative summoning banner was simultaneously opened.

Two massive banner posters covering the entire screen instantly ignited a frenzy of spending across the entire web!

On the banner covers were the immortal Sun King Ozymandias, and the Lion King, wielding the Holy Spear and radiating divine brilliance.

The game "FGO" had an iron law: as long as the plot was written deeply enough, players would even be willing to go bankrupt to pull for the villain who had once made them cry.

Within just twenty-four hours, countless players with red eyes rushed into the summoning room, frantically scanning codes to top up, all just to bring these two kings and knights, who radiated unparalleled charm in the story, home to Chaldea.

The data backend of Youxing Network suddenly erupted with a piercing alarm for overload operation.

Operations Director Lao Zhang looked at the rapidly jumping red numbers on the big screen and felt like his heart disease was about to act up.

"President Gu... It's crazy, everyone's gone crazy."

Lao Zhang swallowed hard, his voice trembling so much the pitch changed, "On the first day of the Camelot dual banner... the total global revenue... has exceeded 500 million Blue Star Coins!"

"500 million?! In one day?!" The newly hired financial controller next to him opened his mouth wide, his brain buzzing.

In the history of games on Blue Star, even for those top-tier masterpieces that had dominated the charts for over a decade, a monthly revenue of 200 to 300 million would already be worth popping champagne to celebrate.

And yet "FGO"... 500 million in a single day!

This wasn't making a game at all; this was clearly printing money! And the kind where you run the printing press until it starts smoking!

"It's not just the revenue."

Lao Zhang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, "President Gu, we currently occupy nine of the top ten trending searches on all major social platforms on Blue Star."

"Two-dimensional fans across the web, and even white-collar workers and students who didn't play games before, are all discussing the plot of Camelot!"

Hearing Lao Zhang's near-fanatical report, Gu Yi, sitting before the floor-to-ceiling window, merely turned the coffee cup in his hand calmly.

"I see. Everyone has worked hard during this time; go to the finance department and collect a generous bonus. Keep a close watch on the servers next. You may leave."

Gu Yi waved his hand, cutting off Lao Zhang's excitement before he could express any more of it.

"Yes, President Gu!"

Lao Zhang tactfully exited the office and closed the heavy door behind him.

The large top-floor office fell completely silent.

Gu Yi stood up and walked alone to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the bustling and dazzling neon nightscape of Tianhai City.

A single-day revenue of 500 million was indeed a terrifying figure worthy of being recorded in the history of Blue Star's gaming industry.

But in Gu Yi's eyes, there was no trace of an upstart's ecstasy; instead, there was a depth that was impossible to fathom.

"The king of the gaming circle is, in the end, just data trapped inside a screen," Gu Yi muttered to himself.

In this parallel world, the dominance of traditional film, television, animation, and the big screen remained deeply rooted.

Those high-and-mighty film and television giants looked at the gaming industry as if they were looking at a bunch of upstarts making quick money, believing that games could never be taken seriously and could not become true cultural carriers.

Just then, a crisp, mechanical electronic sound boomed in his mind.

[Ding! Detected that "FGO" single-day revenue has exceeded 500 million, Blue Star player emotional value has reached an epic peak!]

[System Mall has been fully upgraded, officially unlocking a brand new section: Pan-Entertainment Cultural Matrix!]

Accompanied by the notification, the system mall, which originally only had the game development section, suddenly unfolded a brand new list of products emitting a dazzling golden light:

[New redeemable modules are as follows:]

[1. Holographic Movie-Grade Animation Rendering Engine (Can automatically render scripts, comes with a top-tier storyboard library and voice actor vocal print simulator) — Price: 5 million emotional value]

[2. Blue Star Compliant Film and Television Asset Acquisition Channel Network (Can seamlessly acquire bankrupt cinema chains, video websites, and peripheral factories) — Price: 2 million emotional value]

[3. Virtual Idol (VTuber) Holographic Motion Capture and Intelligent Performer Cultivation Plan — Price: 3 million emotional value]

[4. Life-Size Servant Holographic Projection Concert (Fes) Audio-Visual Construction Blueprints — Price: 8 million emotional value]

[5. Offline Immersive Theme Park (Chaldea Amusement Park) Architectural Blueprints and Security System — Price: 20 million emotional value]

...

Looking at the dazzling array of black-tech options on his retina, Gu Yi's breath hitched slightly, and then the smile at the corner of his mouth gradually widened.

"Virtual idols, offline conventions, and even blueprints for theme parks? Have you prepared all of this for me?"

Gu Yi leaned back in his leather chair, his eyes flashing with fanatical ambition.

"System, your ability to paint big pictures and go with the flow is getting more and more proficient."

However, one must eat one bite at a time.

Although those offline concerts and theme parks looked very tempting, at this stage, if he wanted to break the arrogant prejudice of Blue Star's big manufacturers that "games are just tools to make quick money," the most direct and violent method was to use a cross-border visual feast to smash their reputation.

Gu Yi's gaze finally locked onto the first two items.

On the system panel, the project plan for the Seventh Singularity [Absolute Demonic Beast Front: Babylonia] was quietly displayed.

That was the ultimate farewell between humans and gods.

Not only was there the Hero King in his prime, but also the Mother Goddess of Creation awakening from chaos, and a massive tide of demonic beasts that blotted out the sky.

Relying solely on the in-game 3D engine calculations and hundreds of thousands of words of plot text was no longer enough to fully carry the epic sense of the end of the Age of Gods.

The computing power of the original game engine had its limits, but now with the newly unlocked black-tech animation rendering from the system, the artistic expression would have no upper limit.

"Now, we need a new carrier that can break through circles and has more visual tension to seize the cultural discourse that truly belongs to us."

Gu Yi typed out the following three-step strategic blueprint on his computer memo.

Step 1: [Channel Control]

Allocate funds, consume emotional value to exchange for [Acquisition Channel Network], and precisely acquire an ACG bullet-screen video website that possessed a complete broadcasting license but was currently on the verge of bankruptcy.

Chaldea's cultural output must never be constrained by those traditional, arrogant television stations.

Step 2: [Luxury Production]

Consume 5 million emotional value to activate the newly unlocked [Holographic Movie-Grade Animation Rendering Engine]. Using top-tier animation frame rates, the most luxurious storyboard scheduling, and the most stunning symphonic soundtrack, spare no cost to directly produce a soul-shaking, long-form animated masterpiece!

Step 3: [Dual-Line Nuclear Explosion]

At next month's global pan-entertainment annual exhibition, drop the first three-minute animation teaser PV, and subsequently, when the Seventh Singularity game update arrives, broadcast the TV-level long-form animation of "Absolute Demonic Beast Front" simultaneously to the world!

Games and animation running in parallel, with the plot feeding back into each other.

Gu Yi wanted to force ordinary people and mainstream film and television audiences who never touched tower defense games to be drawn into the grand universe of Chaldea.

Looking at the declaration of war on the memo that was enough to overturn the entire Blue Star pan-entertainment industry, Gu Yi smiled slightly and finished his coffee in one gulp.

"The true ninth art is only just beginning."