To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

However, this team mainly helped search for clues and experiment with methods, the real force were the gaming experts from the forum who had reached the Ninth Round.

“Heavenly Demon” was extremely popular overseas, and when Eric announced that he had discovered new hints for an Easter egg, a group of people immediately joined in to search for the secret of the Easter egg with him.

Upon learning that the final Easter egg might only appear after clearing the Ninth Round, most immediately declared that this task was insanely challenging.

What they wanted was suffering, what they wanted was torment, what they wanted was the kind of fervor that kept you on the edge of life and death!

A large number of Ninth Round experts volunteered their unique tips and joined Eric in the challenge of the Ninth Round gameplay.

They began to exchange experiences on time management within the game and share time-saving methods they’d found so that Eric could better challenge the final boss of the Ninth Round.

Although Qiu Yu’s gaming skills were not the strongest, he was one of the few Huaxia people in the team and had a lot of insights into many things, so he was invited to serve as a consultant and became active in the gaming group.

And because of his role as a consultant, Qiu Yu found that the way these people played games was truly hardcore.

Every action had to be broken down to the finest detail, every moment had to be timed to the second, a group of them even factored in the time to turn around, turning a game into a speedrunning competition.

These foreigners might be a bit slack in real life, but in the game, they performed exceptionally well.

Seeing these people’s arrangements, Qiu Yu felt that his own notebook was a bit insufficient by comparison.

At the same time, he also saw that these game enthusiasts were really playing as if gaming was their life.

And the Ninth Round gaming pros who joined just highlighted what madness looked like.

Qiu Yu saw more than one player staying online for the entire journey, always replying to questions at any time, making Qiu Yu wonder if they ever slept.

Some would even give detailed explanations stretching over ten thousand words, as if they had nothing else to do in life, and the game had become their everything.

All these situations made Qiu Yu feel as if these people had not blood, but passion coursing through their veins.

A multitude of strategies emerged, new gameplay was developed, and Eric’s live streaming of the Ninth Round strategy gradually gained popularity, even sparking a number of copycat challengers.

Unknowingly, this matter seemed to have turned into a small-scale gaming event.

Some gaming media began reporting on it, and betting organizations even started taking bets, letting people guess who would be the first to successfully challenge the Ninth Round.

Hoffman also took notice of this matter.

This savvy old man knew how to catch a trend; realizing the marketing potential of this situation, he immediately offered a 100,000 Euro prize to players who could clear the Ninth Round first.

This was a lot of money, but compared to the attention it brought, it was negligible.

“Heavenly Demon,” a game full of topics of discussion, a masterpiece made by Easterners, with extremely high difficulty and a desperate storyline, each aspect enticing people to fall into the trap of the game.

And this bounty further fueled its popularity, resulting in a breakthrough increase in game sales.

As a multitude of players poured in, some confident in their gaming skills and believing themselves to be the potential winners of the 100,000 Euros, they all ended their quests in defeat.

Some players who had originally battled alongside Eric also went their way, hoping to become the first to clear the Ninth Round.

This was no simple task.

It required a profound understanding of the game, knowing exactly what to do at each step, and even good fortune was needed to complete some random events.

In addition, a strong ability to cope with pressure was essential, with despairing storylines in the game waiting for players to conquer, and the challenge from other players outside the game. Everyone who persevered in such an environment was tough mentally.

But such psychological pressure was virtually non-existent for Eric.

He had absolutely no interest in the 100,000 Euros; all he wanted to see was the final Easter egg.

For the Easter egg, he declined all business offers and began shutting himself in at home.

To enable him to better take on the challenge, his father started delivering meals to him three times a day and even allowed Eric to set up a sleeping bag in the living room, so he could catch some sleep when possible.

A man remains a boy until his death, having had his own times of obsession, knowing not to stop him at this time but to encourage him as much as possible.

Three days after the prize money was announced, someone was the first to defeat the boss of the previous area.

On the fifth day, the penultimate boss was killed, leaving only the last boss.

On the seventh day, the first form of the final boss was defeated.

On the ninth day, the second form of the final boss was reduced to critical health, but ultimately the challengers were counter-killed.

Among the challengers, Eric was the first to undertake the Ninth Round challenge, but he turned out not to be the fastest.

Many gaming prodigies had joined the fray, and it was no longer their game; it had become a challenge for the gaming community.

The betting company’s odds on him increased, and the popularity of his live stream dwindled.

More talented players were still striving, while he had essentially given up his base to fight for his passion, making some long-time fans unable to keep watching.