At the entrance of each exhibition zone, lots of players were chatting.
"NetDragon and SkyNova really came prepared this year!"
"Damn, didn't they just drop a big VR game during the New Year holiday? And now there's a new one already?"
"Don't get your hopes too high. It's probably just a demo. Isn't that how it always is?"
"Still, that's awesome! I'm lining up right now!"
"Yeah, me too. I've got to try it out—it's NetDragon and SkyNova's newest VR game."
"But there are way too many people here."
"There's gonna be even more later. Might as well get in line now."
"Forget it, I'll go check out the other booths instead."
For most players, their first stop was obviously the SkyNova and NetDragon zone.
And everyone had a clear goal—to try out the newest VR title from those two studios.
It was just too eye-catching to pass up.
But a lot of players backed off the moment they saw the insanely long lines.
It was just way too packed.
Of course, if you didn't line up, you couldn't try the game—but there were still other things to see.
Like all the showgirls at each booth with their long, bare legs.
"Whoa, look at those legs—wait, I mean how long they are!"
"That's what I call legs for days."
"You guys are so shallow. Me? I'd admire them for two years."
"So we're all just a bunch of degenerates, huh?"
"Don't say that—we're just really good at appreciating beauty in the world!"
"Exactly!"
Of course, not everyone was staring at legs the whole time.
There were exceptions.
"Stop staring already, your eyeballs are about to fall out," Hannah rolled her eyes and looked at Zack in annoyance.
"Ahem, hey now—I wasn't looking! Not my thing." Zack looked a bit awkward and quickly changed the subject: "Anyway, where should we go first? NetDragon's booth?"
"Sure, I'm actually kinda interested in their new game." That was Ben, the big guy who once got totally spooked playing Outlast.
Alongside him were another guy and a girl—they were all friends in real life.
They'd planned in advance to attend the gameplay expo together.
"I think we should skip that line. It's way too long! Waiting two or three hours just to try a game for a few minutes? You won't even get the VR pod warm." Hannah said.
To be honest, she was really curious about NetDragon and SkyNova's new VR game too.
But one look at that line, and she gave up on the idea.
"Oh right, I think Nebula Games is here too. Let's check out their booth—maybe they've got something new!" Hannah suddenly remembered.
She had a pretty good impression of that company.
To the Moon, Undertale, Overcooked—all games she really enjoyed.
"Good idea. Let's go check out the Nebula Games booth. I wonder if they've got something new this time," agreed another girl named Joey.
"Fine by me," said a guy named Wells, shrugging.
But Zack and Ben, standing nearby, both widened their eyes when they heard that.
They still hadn't forgotten the reason they'd ended up doing so many dishes at home lately.
Ben still couldn't forget how Outlast had nearly scared the crap out of him back then.
But in the end, they decided to check out the Nebula Games booth first — the lines at NetDragon and SkyNova were just too long and kind of intimidating.
And they weren't the only ones heading for the Nebula Games area.
After several high-quality indie hits, both Lucas and Nebula Games had earned a solid reputation in the indie scene and among certain player groups.
So a good number of people were there specifically for Lucas and his studio.
Some game media and streamers who came to cover the event were also focusing more on third- or fourth-tier games and popular indie titles instead of just the mainstream giants.
Why?
Because NetDragon and SkyNova were obviously going to be covered by the big media outlets.
But with so many covering them, how do you compete for attention and clicks?
It made more sense to focus on studios that had some name recognition but weren't in the middle of a media frenzy.
And Nebula Games definitely fit that category.
However, once players arrived at the Nebula Games booth, many of them were a little thrown off.
The style here was totally different!
Just look at the other booths — sure, it was an indie section,
But you still had flashy booth girls and lots of exposed legs everywhere.
Then there was Nebula Games — like a breath of fresh air.
There were still a few girls, maybe three or four, but most of the people were dressed in big mascot costumes.
On the mini-stage, they were playfully pushing and bouncing around, looking absolutely ridiculous.
"What's going on here? Why is Nebula Games doing their booth like this?"
"Dude, these aren't booth babes. Aside from the staff, there are only three female cosplayers."
"Haha, but not gonna lie, this is actually pretty fun to watch."
"Look at the sign — this is Lucas's new game!"
"Legends of the Three Kingdoms and Fall Guys? Never heard of these before. Did Lucas save these as a surprise just for the Expo?"
The players who stopped by the booth were all super curious.
They started chatting about it right away.
Compared to the other booths, this one was really out there.
"Gotta say, those colorful mascot suits do kinda look like jellybeans. It's hilarious."
"Yeah, at least when it comes to presentation, Nebula Games is really doing its own thing!"
"But wait — they brought new games, so why are there so few demo stations?"
"Exactly! Fall Guys takes up so much space, but there are only 15 computers?"
"And Legends of the Three Kingdoms only has five PCs? The rest is just a bunch of tables and chairs — what's that about?"
"Is this Nebula Games' first time at an expo? Maybe they're just inexperienced?"
"Doesn't seem right — they had plenty of time to prepare."
The crowd around the Nebula Games booth started whispering among themselves.
What confused everyone most was why there were so few demo machines available.
But their question was about to be answered.
The Nebula Games booth was split into three areas, with a stage left open in the middle.
On that stage were the Fall Guys mascots — you couldn't even tell if they were guys or girls in those costumes.
Soon, the bouncy Fall Guys mascots spread out, and Lucas walked up onto the stage. He was serving as the presenter for the booth.
And once he showed up, some of the Nebula Games fans instantly recognized him and started waving and shouting.
Though what they shouted made people around them burst out laughing.
"Lucas, give me back my girlfriend!"
"That's right! Lucas, give me back my girlfriend!"
"What happened to the so-called 'warrior of love'?"
Seeing the fired-up crowd, Lucas didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He raised his hand to calm everyone down and said, "Alright, everyone, settle down a bit. Looks like you're all really passionate!"
"But it seems like there are some... misunderstandings about me."
"Not to worry, though—these new games we're showing at the convention will clear up those doubts. It's time for me to prove myself again!"
"No need to drag things out. Fall Guys is a lighthearted, fun multiplayer obstacle course party game full of laughter and good vibes. Legends of the Three Kingdoms is a multiplayer strategy board game."
As he spoke, promo images for Fall Guys and Legends of the Three Kingdoms appeared on the big screen behind him.
At first, the crowd had been fairly quiet. But when Lucas said the words "lighthearted, fun, and full of love,"
They couldn't help but burst into laughter.
That line sounded very familiar.
But before they could say anything else, what Lucas said next really caught them off guard—in a good way.
"I'm sure many of you have noticed that we don't have many demo stations set up here. The reason is simple."
"You can scan the QR code and download the mobile versions right now—so you can try out both games during the convention."
"And on the final day of the event, we've also got a surprise for everyone."
(End of The Chapter)
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