Chapter 498: Chapter 302: As an RPG Player, Is There a Problem with Rummaging Through NPCs’ Homes? (2)

Looking at the game’s review page, there were only scattered two or three hundred comments. Liang Xuan simply couldn’t believe that this was the new work from Tianba Studio!

What’s going on?

Tianba Studio is so popular, why is the new game so unpopular?

Forget it, who cares!

Based on the good impression left by "Cultivation Fantasy," Liang Xuan decisively paid for "Abab’s True Story" without even checking the game’s genre.

No need to look!

Games from Tianba Studio are a guaranteed buy, even though "Abab’s True Story" is a new game and quite pricey at 198 yuan without any discount. But if it’s not fun, you can refund!

Having bought the game, the backend started downloading the game files. Only then did Liang Xuan take the time to check the introduction and player evaluations of "Abab’s True Story."

"In "Abab’s True Story," you will play as a young man with physical disabilities, experiencing a different life..."

The game introduction was quite brief, but it covered what needed to be said.

After looking at the game’s classification, Liang Xuan roughly understood. "Abab’s True Story" should primarily be a simulation game with exploration adventure elements in an open world.

The main character is named Abab, seemingly a person with a disability.

As for gameplay, players roughly play as Abab, seeking success through various means in a hyper-realistic game world.

The game supports online play, likely resembling GTA5’s battle sessions, wherein teams complete missions together.

In-game visuals look alright!

Generally, simulation games tend to use a "cute and colorful" cartoon art style.

But "Abab’s True Story" stands out as it features very realistic in-game visuals, with rendering effects and visual performance approaching AAA titles.

Since the game just launched, the review area didn’t have valuable comments, mostly stuff like "Today is Cattle Festival, like it to make the cattle longer" and "Bought it for my kid, the kid loves it," which are quite meaningless.

After ten minutes, the game was downloaded.

Liang Xuan couldn’t wait to start the game. Accompanied by the familiar flashing "Tianba" controller logo, he promptly entered the game’s main menu.

He wanted to play online mode.

But unfortunately, whether it was Ba’s potato server exploding again or his internet having severe fluctuations, despite trying several times, it kept saying "Server connection failed."

"Can’t get in!"

After complaining, Liang Xuan reluctantly started the single-player story mode.

Given the server connection failure, unable to play online mode, he might as well play single-player first, if only to familiarize himself with the game’s playstyle and controls.

Abab, male, 23 years old...

Upon entering the game, Liang Xuan noticed the protagonist Abab had gained a permanent status—Hearing Impairment!

This seems to be randomly assigned?

Liang Xuan tried it out and found this status significantly impacted the game experience. Even with the game’s volume turned up to the max, the headset was "dead silent."

If not for the popup reminder on the game interface saying it was a normal condition, he almost thought his headphones were broken.

Of course!

Can’t hear, then so be it. In all honesty, even set to mute, the game’s sound and BGM probably wouldn’t have much impact.

Liang Xuan was thinking this, agreeing wholeheartedly, but when he enthusiastically went to do the newbie guide task, he found not only couldn’t he hear game sounds, but there was also no dialogue box popping up, and he was instantly dumbfounded.

No, but...

Can’t hear the game’s sound, fine, but not even giving a dialogue box, with all dialogues relying on guessing, how is one supposed to play?

Heck, do I need to learn "lip reading" skills to play a game?

It’s really too difficult!

The protagonist Abab’s lines are displayed normally, but other NPCs’ dialogues lack both sound and text boxes, so you can only watch their lips move without a clue.

There’s really no experience to be had since, apart from Abab’s soliloquy, you know nothing about what others say, making understanding the plot nearly impossible.

Fun fact!

Following the task flow, Liang Xuan found the task NPC, who seemed to say a long string of things to the protagonist. But due to not seeing or hearing the dialogue, Liang Xuan had no idea how far he’d progressed.

Oh god, stuck!

Liang Xuan didn’t know how to proceed with the task as he barely understood the task’s information.

All he had were the protagonist’s words and the narrator’s descriptions, which indicated the next step was seemingly to find the "father working at a construction site."

But here’s the problem:

Where is the father working, and where should he be found? With such a vast game map, he couldn’t wander around aimlessly like a headless chicken!

"Damn, this is so annoying."

Having no better ideas, Liang Xuan had to use his two legs, wandering around the city’s alleys and streets, looking for any NPC with an exclamation mark on their head, determining who was Abab’s father.

You know what, the game scenes were quite well-done. Boosted by the latest-gen BTX graphics card, the city’s streets were faithfully rendered like real photos.

There’s a benefit to this!

The game creates an almost realistic "shopping" delusion due to its ultra-realistic scenes, making Liang Xuan feel not a bit bored.

Not just not bored, he was curious every time he passed a shop or building, testing if he could enter, and once inside, he rummaged like a bandit pillaging a village.

Classic RPG player move!

Come on, playing these games, you don’t just pass by a building; even a roadside trash bin isn’t ignored; if it can be rummaged, then why not? Embarrassment isn’t your problem, so what’s to fear?

What if something valuable is found? Or perhaps treasure lurks in the bin?

As a seasoned RPG player, Liang Xuan maxed out this skill, exploring and looting every corner thoroughly.

And then... He got caught!

Because the setting of "Abab’s True Story" is modern, with surveillance everywhere, so he was jailed for three years for "theft."

Other games usually have fast time progression, where a day passes in an instant. Some that support "speed adjustment" can fast-forward months with a press.

But "Abab’s True Story" doesn’t have quick time progression. On the contrary, in simulation games, its time flow can be called "snail-paced."

Normally, it takes about 10 minutes to pass one day!

And Liang Xuan needed to serve a three-year jail sentence, roughly a thousand days, meaning he’d be released after 182 hours, which referred to "real-world" 182 hours.

Also, exiting the game doesn’t count towards jail time; once you exit, the save remains at the exit moment.

Liang Xuan: "..."

Discovering this brutal truth, Liang Xuan broke down.

No way, spent 198 on a game, played for under an hour, and you tell me I need to serve 182 real hours of jail time to continue playing?

I’m really fed up!

Having never been this speechless, Liang Xuan first realized the "internet isn’t a lawless land" phrase’s weight.

Whose game is this realistic?

As an RPG player, rummaging and looting warrants a three-year sentence; is this reasonable?

I mean...

While capturing a screenshot to post online, complaining about spending 198 for silver bracelets and a three-year free board and lodging package, Liang Xuan also considered another question.

Can the sentence be reduced in this game?

If possible, then doesn’t that mean I wouldn’t need to start a new save to continue playing?

"Forget it, better start a new save!"

Shaking his head, Liang Xuan ultimately dismissed the idea of "reform for sentence reduction."

It’s too time-consuming.

With the time spent in reform, wouldn’t it be better to start a new save?

Starting fresh could also reset the hearing impairment, enabling him to hear game audio and view dialogues, so why not start anew?

```