CHAPTER 15: CHAPTER 15: WELCOME, MR. EXPLODING TENTACLE MONSTER, TO VISIT

To be honest, if it weren’t for going to Chao Li Country, but to another country, Lin Qianxuan would definitely hesitate.

But Chao Li Country is a bit special.

The two countries are very close, and their relationship has always been good, almost never heard of any Xuan Country person having issues in Chao Li Country.

At least compared to other countries, it’s not that frequent.

It’s even less likely than encountering incidents while traveling within Xuan Country.

So when feeling restless from being still for too long, there is a chance he would accept the invitation.

However, now that Lin Qianxuan is going to Chao Li Country again, his mindset is completely different from restlessness.

He’s heading there for the Dragon Lady.

The aspect of traveling is actually not that important to him.

The monotonous scenery outside the window made Lin Qianxuan a bit tired, so he chose to put on an eye mask and rest for a while.

After an unknown amount of time, there was an announcement, Lin Qianxuan groggily opened his eyes, and first checked the time.

Six hours had already passed.

This journey of over two thousand kilometers was actually quite quick.

The airplane landed smoothly, Lin Qianxuan got off the plane, and soon received a call from Flash Studio.

"Mr. Lin, have you arrived?" Yan Yilin asked.

"I have, where are you?" Lin Qianxuan asked.

"We can see you, right in front...."

Yan Yilin’s voice came through, Lin Qianxuan looked ahead and saw four people waiting in front of the elevator, among them were three men and one woman, the woman was Golden Mary, who differed somewhat from the game AI’s style, but was still recognizable at a glance.

Golden Mary was holding a sign that read: [Warmly welcome Mr. Exploding Tentacle Monster for a visit.]

Lin Qianxuan almost couldn’t hold it together.

Hadn’t he already given his real name?

Why were they still using his online name?

Lin Qianxuan wasn’t the only one who saw the sign; many in this place knew Mystic Text.

Many people were curious about the name on that sign.

For a moment, Lin Qianxuan was almost hesitant to recognize them.

"Mr. Lin!!" Yan Yilin waved his hand and called.

"I’m here!" Lin Qianxuan waved back.

As he came down from the elevator, Yan Yilin excitedly came forward to shake hands with Lin Qianxuan.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lin. You’re even more handsome than in the photos." Yan Yilin complimented.

"I’m also honored to meet you, Mr. Yan, and all of the Flash Studio members." Lin Qianxuan replied politely.

Yan Yilin appeared to be a young man about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, dressed in a black suit, looking quite mature.

"Let me formally introduce you, I’m Yan Yilin, the boss and founder of Flash Studio. This is Jiang Chengyou, who handles all the text work in the studio. This is Li Renjun, the game’s artist. And this is Golden Mary, she works on the program architecture....."

Yan Yilin introduced them to Lin Qianxuan, and Lin Qianxuan shook hands with each of them.

Jiang Chengyou and Li Renjun seemed like more introverted people, both wearing glasses, their smiles when shaking hands with Lin Qianxuan appeared slightly formal.

It was clear that they had little contact with people.

However, judging by their appearance, they were probably only twenty-two or twenty-three, likely having graduated from university not long ago.

Golden Mary was slightly more lively; she even learned a few clumsy words of Mystic Text and said to Lin Qianxuan, "It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Exploding Tentacle Monster!"

Lin Qianxuan’s smile froze on his face, responding awkwardly, "It’s nice to meet you too, Miss Golden Mary."

"Mr. Lin, you’ve had a long journey, we’ve prepared a welcome banquet for you. Please join us for a meal first," Yan Yilin said.

Lin Qianxuan nodded and said, "Then I’ll leave it to you all."

Arriving at the parking lot, they all boarded Yan Yilin’s van and began departing from Xugu City’s airport.

At first, Lin Qianxuan didn’t feel like he had left Xuan Country.

It wasn’t until the vehicle was on the road and the scenery on both sides began to make him feel he wasn’t in Xuan Country anymore.

Compared to Xuan Country, Chao Li Country is indeed a bit behind.

Many buildings look like they did in Xuan Country twenty or thirty years ago.

Moreover, this is still an area within a first or second-tier city. In many less developed third or fourth-tier cities, one can even feel a retro, primal lifestyle.

Golden Mary at this moment took out her phone, typed a sentence, and immediately an AI voice said, "Mr. Exploding Tentacle Monster, what do you think of here?"

The machine translation software was a bit odd, Lin Qianxuan felt a bit uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Lin Qianxuan took out a simultaneous translation earphone, adjusted it, and handed one to Golden Mary.

He also put on his translation glasses.

This was a precaution he took.

"Can you understand?" Lin Qianxuan asked.

Upon receiving Lin Qianxuan’s voice, the earphone in Golden Mary’s ear automatically translated it into the Chao Li Country language she could understand.

"Amazing! We never thought of that! Mr. Exploding Tentacle Monster, you must travel abroad often, right?" Golden Mary said.

Lin Qianxuan shook his head slightly and said, "No, this is actually my first time going abroad. Also, Miss Golden Mary, my name is Lin Qianxuan. You can call me Xiao Lin, or Mr. Lin if you prefer."

"Eh, I thought you might prefer others to call you by your online name! Isn’t that your achievement title?" Golden Mary said.

Lin Qianxuan didn’t quite understand what she meant.

After a few more exchanges, he realized that Golden Mary meant that this online name carried his glory.

Somewhat like saying this name is more respected and recognized.

"Online names are different. In real life, calling someone by their online name can often make people feel awkward," Lin Qianxuan said.

"Oh, ’Exploding Tentacle Monster’ does sound a bit strange," Golden Mary nodded and said, "Then I’ll call you Mr. Lin."

Yan Yilin listened to their conversation, a smile appearing on his face.

Actually, he already knew this in advance, but he didn’t correct Golden Mary.

He also wanted to see how Lin Qianxuan would react when he heard his online name.

Honestly, if he hadn’t seen the livestream, he wouldn’t have believed such an online name would match someone like Lin Qianxuan.

After all, Lin Qianxuan looked sunny and cheerful, completely unrelated to such a strange name.

But that was just Yan Yilin’s stereotype.

If he stayed in Xuan Country for a year or two, he’d realize that people like Lin Qianxuan are actually mainstream.

How can you attract traffic online without creating some contrast?

As Lin Qianxuan chatted with them, the vehicle gradually approached the destination.

Most of the conversation on the way was between Lin Qianxuan and Golden Mary, with Yan Yilin occasionally chiming in.

Only when Lin Qianxuan intentionally brought up the game content of "Love of Daily Life" could Jiang Chengyou and Li Renjun talk endlessly.

After all, Lin Qianxuan was a streamer, and although not particularly impressive, he had the basic skills to liven up the atmosphere.

Even if Jiang Chengyou and Li Renjun were "I-people," he could accurately find their entry points.

"Having once experienced happiness together is enough... That text that disappeared after Tissue Girl was used up was really well-written. I couldn’t help shedding tears as a strong man at the time. Teacher Jiang Chengyou, if you were to write romance novels, you’d definitely bring a flood of tears," Lin Qianxuan praised Jiang Chengyou.

"You flatter me," Jiang Chengyou said a bit shyly.

"He actually wrote romance novels during university and even published them in magazines," Golden Mary added.

"That’s impressive. My dream was to become a novelist, but I can’t even bear to read what I wrote myself. This kind of thing really requires talent..." Lin Qianxuan praised further.

After praising Jiang Chengyou, Lin Qianxuan turned to lavish praise on Li Renjun.

"Teacher Li Renjun, that drawing of Folding Fan Girl you did was truly amazing! That semi-concealed look... I even kept that picture as my computer wallpaper!" Lin Qianxuan said.

This was a lie; his wallpaper was already changed to Dragon Girl.

Li Renjun blushed from the praise, lowered his head, and repeatedly said he wasn’t that great.

Yan Yilin was also complimented by Lin Qianxuan, mainly saying that he had a discerning eye to discover three outstanding talents from the vast crowd and create such an excellent game.

Although Yan Yilin handled it better than Jiang Chengyou, Lin Qianxuan felt that Yan Yilin was still quite pleased with it. He even slowed down the vehicle just to hear more compliments from Lin Qianxuan.

But the road eventually reached its end.

Soon, they arrived at the hotel.

The sign in front of the hotel was in Chao Li Country script, but Lin Qianxuan was wearing translation AR glasses, which immediately displayed the translated Mystic Text, [Luxe Grand Hotel].

Despite having played the game for so long, it was the first time Lin Qianxuan learned the name of the hotel he was staying at.

He felt a bit sentimental. Then Yan Yilin led Lin Qianxuan into a private room in the hotel.

The dishes had been pre-ordered and prepared, so they just needed to be served one by one.

Inside the private room, Yan Yilin directly raised his glass in toast to Lin Qianxuan.

The main thing was to thank him for promoting the game.

Even though their game "Love of Daily Life" was of decent quality, the marketing was lacking, and it was quite niche, so not many people had purchased it since its release.

Their studio almost disbanded as a result.

It wasn’t until Lin Qianxuan played the game and made a video that it accidentally became a hit, selling tens of thousands of copies.

After deducting the platform’s share, they earned over a million.

This wasn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it was sufficient in this country, directly resolving their urgent needs.

Now they had the means to upgrade the studio’s equipment, find a better place to work, and even have some surplus to make life a bit better. The studio wouldn’t have to dissolve.

Lin Qianxuan didn’t drink alcohol, and apart from Yan Yilin, the others didn’t drink either.

So they used beverages as substitutes for wine and toasted each other.

Having sat on the plane for so long without eating much, Lin Qianxuan was genuinely a bit hungry, so after the toasts, he started eating heartily.

The dishes were mainly from Xuan Country, with only a few specialties from Chao Li Country.

Lin Qianxuan could tell this was a deliberate arrangement by Yan Yilin, worried he wouldn’t be accustomed to the food.

After the meal, they each went their separate ways, and Lin Qianxuan was also escorted to his room to rest, where Yan Yilin mentioned he would organize a travel itinerary for Lin Qianxuan over the next seven days.

In the room, Lin Qianxuan took out his phone, which had a guide written on how to meet Dragon Girl.

The content was extensive, but it needed to be condensed into a single day’s worth.

"Hope everything goes smoothly!"

Lin Qianxuan sighed and lay down on the bed.