Chapter 338 Do you get free access when you buy equipment now?
Upon learning that Su Chen was about to launch the Lingjing project!
Elder Qin was stunned for a moment and said with some surprise, "So soon? Are the preparations all done? Isn't this a bit too rushed?"
Su Chen replied, "I actually feel it's slow!"
"Since we are launching the Lingjing project to the whole world, we need to produce the relevant equipment. The investment in this equipment is also a significant expense, and we have to consider every aspect carefully."
Elder Qin had roughly understood the situation and knew that the equipment Su Chen mentioned was likely something similar to VR glasses used to "enter" Lingjing. He nodded and said, "It's fine, continue. I'm listening. Let's see what other issues need to be resolved."
Su Chen continued, "I plan to produce one million units for the first batch of Lingjing equipment, with a cost of approximately 10 billion Dragon Coin."
Hearing this, Elder Qin was stunned again. He widened his eyes and said, "Is this equipment that expensive? The cost is actually around ten thousand!"
"How much are you planning to sell them for? You must consider this price carefully; otherwise, I'm afraid it won't sell well."
Su Chen thought for a moment and said, "Let's just double it, 99,999 Dragon Coin. What do you think?"
Elder Qin was stunned, looking completely incredulous, and shouted, "One hundred thousand Dragon Coin for a device? Will anyone really buy it?"
"Little Chen, don't you think this price is a bit too expensive?"
"This is not a small amount. How could ordinary people bear to spend so much money on this thing?"
Su Chen didn't refute Elder Qin's words but asked with a smile, "Elder Qin, when are you free?"
Although Elder Qin was puzzled, he still said, "I'm free now. But why do you want me to come over?"
Su Chen kept him in suspense and said, "You'll know when you get here."
...
Not long after, once Elder Qin came out of Lingjing, it took him a while to regain his senses. His eyes gradually cleared, and he looked at Su Chen, saying excitedly, "Little Chen, is there an internal price? I want to own one!"
"Oh my, inside Lingjing, I felt the sensation of being young. That feeling was too… too wonderful. It was as if I had truly returned to my youth. This experience is truly unprecedented."
Seeing this, Su Chen smiled and said, "You count as a beta tester, so I'll gift you one as a token of thanks for your support all along."
After saying that, Su Chen rubbed his hands together and asked with some anticipation, "Um, do you still feel that a price of one hundred thousand is expensive now?"
Hearing this, Elder Qin slapped his thigh without hesitation and shouted, "One hundred thousand won't do! It's too cheap. It should at least be doubled again—one million!"
Su Chen was a bit embarrassed and quickly waved his hands, saying, "Let's forget about one million. Let's stick to one hundred thousand!"
"I'm afraid if it's any more expensive, nobody will be willing to buy it. We need to consider the acceptance level of the majority. Let's open up the market first."
Elder Qin thought about it and felt Su Chen made sense, so he nodded and said, "That's fine! However, for such a big matter, I have to discuss it with the superiors. After all, it involves global promotion, and we must consider every aspect."
Su Chen nodded and said confidently, "No problem. If anyone objects, just let them take a trip to Lingjing, and it'll be OK."
Sure enough, the plan to launch Lingjing was quickly approved, and everything was in intense preparation.
Next was the manufacturing work of the nutrition pods. Dragon Country cooperated fully; relying on the powerful manufacturing capabilities and speed of an industrial powerhouse, the efficiency was top-notch!
About a month later, more than half of the projected one million units of equipment had already been produced, and progress was very smooth.
Seeing this situation, Su Chen didn't want to wait any longer. It just so happened that the Mars-themed Lingjing had also been completed!
And fortunately, the popularity of Mars hadn't faded, and it still had very high attention.
At the same time, Su Chen contacted Elder Zhao, who was stationed on Mars, and had him briefly start a live broadcast!
This was incredible; it immediately attracted over 100 million viewers!
Everyone was full of curiosity and longing for Mars. This move truly hyped up the popularity of Mars once again.
And just as the whole nation was immersed in the hope of being able to travel to Mars, Dragon Country launched the Lingjing project at the right time. The main selling point was the ability to "teleport" to Mars, and the price was cheap—only 99,999 Dragon Coin. Once this slogan came out, it instantly attracted countless eyes.
Seeing Su Chen marketing it this way, Elder Qin was a bit worried and frowned, saying, "Does this count as deceiving consumers? After all, it's just experiencing Mars in a virtual world, which is different from actually traveling to Mars. Won't this promotion be a bit misleading?"
Su Chen smiled and explained, "Elder Qin, how can that count? I added double quotation marks to the word 'teleport.' It's meant as a metaphor!"
Elder Qin: "Eh? Isn't that for emphasis?"
Su Chen: "Don't worry, old man, I've thought it all through. Nothing will go wrong!"
Just like that, the Lingjing equipment went on sale. The slogan was "Only 99,999. Most importantly, buy it once, enjoy it for life."
Once this product came out, it immediately attracted a huge wave of buyers!
After all, being able to experience the feeling of traveling to Mars for less than 100,000 was considered dirt cheap by everyone!
More importantly, it wasn't just a one-time trip; you could go whenever you wanted. The cost-performance ratio was just too high. Therefore, the 700,000+ units produced were almost snapped up instantly. The sales scene was incredibly hot.
Meanwhile, the scenes inside Lingjing were also broadcasted via the nutrition pod's live streaming function!
Everyone saw the "authentic" Mars appearing before their eyes through the live stream!
The pitted craters, the thin air where one could almost see the stars!
And the volcanoes waiting to erupt at any moment—everything seemed so real, as if one were truly standing on Mars.
After experiencing it, 700,000 people didn't say a word about it being fake. Even when encountering situations like air walls, the players explained it themselves!
They said it was set up intentionally by the authorities using high technology to prevent people from accidentally stepping into dangerous places!
Everyone praised the Lingjing experience.
As these videos were released, it caused a huge sensation!
It immediately attracted over 10 million more people to pre-order!
The popularity of Lingjing continued to soar, like a shining new star, sparking a craze on a global scale.
And at this moment, Chen Jian, as a technician, made an unexpected move!
At a press conference, he stood out publicly and said with a sincere yet slightly guilty expression, "Sorry, we deceived everyone. Actually, this Mars… is fake!"
Once these words were out, public opinion exploded instantly and began to ferment wildly. An overwhelming wave of public opinion immediately targeted the Lingjing team!
Voices of doubt and accusation rose one after another, endless.
However, those who had experienced Lingjing simply didn't believe it was fake!
One hardcore player stood up, looking unconvinced, and loudly questioned Chen Jian, "People can be teleported there; how can the immersive feeling be fake!"
"Don't talk nonsense. We experienced it ourselves; the feeling was clearly real. How could it be fake?"
Seeing this, Chen Jian hurriedly and patiently explained, "That is the magic of our Lingjing technology. It can digitize human consciousness and upload it to the terminal, which is why everyone has that immersive feeling. But in reality, this is not the real Mars."
Someone else immediately asked, "Then what about the incredibly real Mars? The scenes we saw are exactly the same as the real thing. How is it not Mars?"
Chen Jian replied, "It was all meticulously built by our Lingjing development team. The Lingjing material library has many assets derived from reality, so it can be made very realistic, almost indistinguishable from the real thing."
"However, you can rest assured that our team has indeed been to the real Mars, just to restore it as one-to-one as possible. But no matter how it's restored, it is still fake after all, and there is still a difference from the real Mars."
"Therefore, to express our apologies, we will open a free return and refund channel. If you are not satisfied, you can all apply for a refund."
At this moment, one of the male reporters suddenly shouted excitedly, "How could you do this? Do you know how heartbroken we are that you deceived us?"
"Are you just dismissing us now with a refund? We don't want a refund; we want to be able to actually travel to Mars. Aren't you just fooling people?"
Others, after realizing that they had experienced a fake Mars, also followed suit in denouncing Lingjing. The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became very tense, with accusations and complaints filling the entire venue.
Chen Jian said with a helpless face, "We are powerless regarding this. We truly wanted to bring everyone a good experience, but perhaps our promotion caused a misunderstanding. This was truly not our intention. We are already doing our best to make amends."
Then, Chen Jian changed the subject and said, "For those players who do not want to refund, we also have compensation measures! We are willing to open Level 1 Developer Authorization to these players for free!"
Hearing this, the people below immediately quieted down, all pricking up their ears to hear what this Level 1 Developer Authorization actually meant.
Chen Jian continued to explain, "Level 1 Developer Authorization means that under the Lingjing rules, you can obtain a piece of territory that is almost infinitely large, granting you the authority to create for free!"
"In other words, you can create Mars one-to-one on this territory, or create anything else you want to create. The degree of freedom is very high."
The players below, hearing this, immediately became interested. Someone asked impatiently, "Can you create people?"
Chen Jian said without hesitation, "Create them as you wish! As long as it complies with the Lingjing rules."
Someone else asked excitedly, "What about beautiful young ladies? Can they also be created at will?"
Chen Jian smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course! As long as you want, you can create them, and you can shape them to be beautiful according to your own ideas."
Someone else asked with anticipation, "What about luxury cars, weapons, and cannons? Can these be created too?"
Chen Jian continued to respond with a smile, "Of course! Our Lingjing technology engine is very powerful and can almost satisfy everything you can think of in reality. Even luxury cars, weapons, and cannons can be used!"
"Of course, all of this is done under the Lingjing rules; you cannot violate the rules."
Once these words were out, everyone present was stunned!
In other words, Mars is fake, but one can intentionally create a utopia that belongs only to oneself!!!
The player who had previously led the rebuttal against the reporter now obediently raised his hand!
And asked cautiously, "Then, if I buy the equipment now, will it come with this authorization?"