012. Frost-Plated Republic's Counterattack
If it were just a rant, it wouldn't be enough to bring Li Aozi's speech to a climax.
The post-production team at Qiqiao Network became very interested in Li Aozi after obtaining the video footage. After studying his identity and information, they made a more appropriate judgment about his personal image than the Frost-Plated Law III and IV mechanisms.
Li Aozi is a warrior who resists injustice, or rather, a chivalrous hero.
Wandering the world, enduring hardships, drawing his sword to help when he sees injustice—these romanticized terms are truly captivating.
The promotion department personnel believed: Frost-Plated lacks distinct game features; if players value prosthetics, why not go to Red Arrow, which has the most advanced technology?
If players aspire to martial arts, then why not go to Tianhuan, where cold weapon combat is more refined?
Besides, the Frost-Plated Republic's poor political situation is not conducive to an investment environment, which displeased state-owned enterprises and public institutions that had secured beta testing spots. Additionally, for male players, the prevailing public opinion might cause some discomfort.
The former came here to participate in the electronic migration project and make big money; they are enterprises from Yanxia, not blood donors for the Frost-Plated government.
As for the latter, it would deter most male casual players, and even female players would feel disgusted by such a distorted social system. They would likely prefer the beautiful scenery of the Zhengxu Democratic Republic.
Therefore, the promotion department keenly captured Li Aozi's 'chivalrous' character and, based on this, redefined the core gameplay of Frost-Plated:
"The fun of being a player in the Frost-Plated region lies in destroying Frost-Plated."
In fact, Li Aozi does not represent any faction. If anything, he belongs to the outside world, but he was born in Frost-Plated and is a hero who destroyed an anti-human organization—perfect for giving players a strong sense of justice and empathy.
The promotional video had a limited time allocation for each country, with each segment lasting no more than 13 minutes.
The Frost-Plated Republic itself could only promote its features of being 'insidious,' 'scheming behind the scenes,' and 'women holding high positions of power.' These aspects were mentioned briefly, and to fill the remaining nearly ten minutes, the employees of Qiqiao Network's promotion department lazily changed filters, added music, and edited the footage, almost stuffing the entire mission plot of "Remember It" into it.
Accompanied by Li Aozi's passionate cries, the tragic experiences of the Calamity Armament test subjects were vividly presented, and with tear-jerking music, it fully aroused the audience's anger and sympathy.
However, even Li Aozi didn't expect that these segments of his would become the most frequently interacted with moments during the entire press conference.
"This country has gone mad!"
"Their actions disgrace women; how could they conduct such cruel experiments on babies?!"
"My blood pressure is rising; I can't wait to log in and start killing."
This live broadcast was not just aimed at players but at all those who had the desire and hope for electronic migration. People inclined towards electronic migration generally had characteristics of being 'lonely,' 'emotionally sensitive,' and 'world-weary,' with strong empathy and a desire to care for others from the start.
They might not have played any games before, but after seeing the advanced technological environment of the Red Arrow Empire and the cool combat of Tianhuan, they became very interested. Many were emotionally and rationally inclined toward life in the electronic world.
But when they saw that there were still countries like Frost-Plated in the 'second homeland' they yearned for, it immediately caused a strong psychological shock. Especially after witnessing the Abyss's humanitarian atrocities, almost all pre-immigration reservists firmly stood against Frost-Plated.
The fundamental difference between electronic migrants and players is that players come to play games, entertain themselves, and fight, while electronic migrants are more inclined to a gentle colonization. They are happy to trade with friendly natives, make friends, and live there for a lifetime, but they have a stronger sense of crisis and anxiety than players.
Many electronic migrants had already obtained maps of the Azure Star and were imagining whether to live on the coast of Red Arrow or become a bloodthirsty mercenary in Tianhuan. Li Aozi's performance, however, made them uneasy—but as migrants, their first thought was not to abandon their plans but to place their hopes on completely destroying Frost-Plated.
This magical chemical reaction quickly ignited public opinion. For a time, players were excited, many found identity in the group's momentum, joined the wave, and continued to snowball.
Li Aozi was surprised to find that even before the profession system was introduced, he had already become the first NPC that players recognized. He was the individual character featured the longest in the national and regional promotional video.
Even his old, junky outfit was leaked by an insider at Qiqiao Network, and it was revealed that it would be available as a costume in the [Mall] system. Many players expressed that they had to buy it.
Not to mention, he had genuinely become the global leader in promoting products—if the CEO of Qiqiao Network knew, they would probably bow to him.
As a result, the subsequent performance of Zhengxu was also influenced by the atmosphere created earlier. Many players, after seeing the beautiful scenery, leisurely atmosphere, and good public security of the Zhengxu Democratic Republic, formed a strong contrast with the poverty-stricken, treacherous environment of Frost-Plated—the key point being that in this icy world, Zhengxu actually had oceans and beaches!
Many migrants were instantly moved and immediately decided to migrate to Zhengxu for retirement.
Zhengxu's biggest flaw is that its excessive welfare has led to lazy citizens and stagnant economic growth, but happiness is all about comparison.
Zhengxu never initiates foreign wars and actively attracts investment, with a solid industrial foundation and high worker benefits, which Yanxia finds very satisfactory.
After that, some scattered small countries and external warlord organizations were briefly mentioned, with no important information.
As for Frost-Plated?
Li Aozi never imagined that even before showing his combat strength, millions of people were already prepared to follow him and take down Frost-Plated together.
After a brief regional introduction, a series of gameplay systems were introduced. Players were very interested in these parts, while Li Aozi turned to check the forum.
Among the player forums, a heated discussion thread caught his eye. When he clicked on it, it was a poll about which country players most wanted to start in on Azure Star.
The Red Arrow Empire, with its awe-inspiring iron and steel army, and iron-blooded aura, became the players' favorite country.
The second... was actually Frost-Plated.
Most thrill-seekers and players dissatisfied with Frost-Plated were influenced by the official sentiment and decided to make a big splash in Frost-Plated, grab an AK, and achieve great things.
Li Aozi was quite satisfied and stated that he would provide any assistance needed beyond that. These players' combat abilities and skill levels were at most good for sneak attacks, robbing banks, blowing up bunkers, and fighting guerrilla warfare.
"It seems that choosing Triangle Town, Abyss Humanitarian Refuge, and Tianhuan as my development areas can form a triangular trade network."
Li Aozi thought.
Third place, just like in his previous life, many electronic migrants decided to retire and relax in Zhengxu. For these outsiders, the high welfare and beautiful natural scenery of Zhengxu were truly hard to resist.
Surprisingly, the last place was the military nation of Tianhuan, known for its spectacular battles and cold weapon combat. Almost all professional players chose to start in Tianhuan, intending to get into real combat as soon as possible to level up quickly.