Chapter 499: Oasis, Gamers

Martin finally managed to escape the sea of women.

Well, he was saved by his two guardians—Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron.

"Those bitches, Martin, can't you just show them some respect?" Nicole said indignantly.

Charlize nodded in agreement. "They're all like demons, eating people and leaving no bones behind."

Martin laughed. "More like demons than you two!?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a pinch on either side of his waist—Nicole and Charlize had grabbed him from both sides, spinning him around.

Martin maintained his usual calm demeanor, but cold sweat began to form on his forehead.

"What did you say?" Nicole said sweetly.

"Say it again?" Charlize's voice was soft and seductive.

Martin quickly apologized, "Sorry, I was wrong!"

In his mind, he thought, "I'll deal with you two later, make sure you both scream tonight!"

Steven Spielberg walked over. "Hello, Martin, how's Brokeback Mountain coming along?"

"We've finished shooting. We're just working on the post-production now."

Martin had regained his usual business tycoon demeanor.

Nicole and Charlize released their hold on him, each leaning on him like little birds.

"Really? I'm looking forward to your and Leo's performance. I heard there's a romantic scene between you two?"

At this point, Spielberg winked.

There was a playful side to Spielberg's personality, but due to his current stature, fewer people got to see that side.

Martin winked back. "Yes, that will be my eternal shadow!"

"Don't talk nonsense. You were the one who had the easiest time. I'm the one left with the shadow, okay?"

Leonardo appeared out of nowhere, fuming.

Tobey Maguire silently stood aside, watching, quite looking forward to the movie's release to see how his friends would handle their intimate scene.

After chatting for a while, a crowd began to form around them, occasionally bursting into laughter or nodding in agreement as if they were part of the conversation.

This was the "attraction effect" brought on by powerful people.

...

In the theater.

The lights gradually dimmed, and the giant screen lit up—the movie began.

When Martin published Ready Player One, online gaming had already become widespread.

In the second year after Ready Player One was published, Blizzard Entertainment released the real-time strategy game StarCraft. Whether it was for popularity or not, Blizzard claimed that they drew a lot of inspiration from Ready Player One during the creation of StarCraft.

Blizzard's president, Mike Morhaime, also claimed to be a fan of Ready Player One, saying he had read the novel at least ten times, and each time, the book's creativity inspired him.

In fact, some game companies even announced plans to create a game inspired by the "Oasis" concept in Ready Player One.

Honestly, Ready Player One had become quite popular among veteran online game fans.

Over thirty percent of the audience at the premiere were avid gamers.

Leonard Hofstadter and his good friend Simon Helberg were among them.

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[TL/N: The Cast of Big Bang Theory]

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"Wow, the movie hasn't even started, and I'm already shaking with excitement. I wonder if Spielberg's Oasis will be like what I imagined?" Simon Helberg said excitedly to his friend.

Leonard pushed his glasses up, teasing, "No way, Spielberg's Oasis is definitely not going to match what you imagined. In your version of Oasis, there's probably a bunch of women in sexy bikinis or tight outfits walking around, throwing flirtatious looks at you!"

"Hey, I'm not that perverted!"

"Really? What about that fat guy we interacted with in the Little Island Game in Japan? What was his name again? Hubie? Hus?"

"Damn it, I didn't know he was a guy! You heard his voice too, that damn hermaphrodite!" Simon Helberg got furious.

"Ha ha!" Leonard Hofstadter laughed.

"Shut up, the movie's starting!"

"Keep it down!"

"You're distracting me!"

Their laughter drew some stares of disapproval.

Leonard quickly apologized, his face turning bright red.

Now, it was Simon Helberg's turn to laugh, silently.

At that moment, the screen flickered, and a huge steam-punk styled slum appeared in front of everyone.

The camera zoomed in on a long metal house.

The door opened, and Tobey Maguire, wearing glasses and carrying a backpack, walked out.

The camera followed him, revealing the slum scene to the audience—metal houses, delivery drones, and... residents wearing virtual reality glasses, playing games. There were adults, children, men, and women...

Leonard Hofstadter and Simon Helberg went quiet, focusing on the screen.

Tobey Maguire's character, Wade Watts, arrived at a junkyard full of abandoned cars. He entered a broken-down van, put down his backpack, took out his virtual glasses, and prepared to enter the game.

Next was a dazzling game sequence, with a voiceover introducing the Oasis game.

"In here, you can do anything, go anywhere!"

"Like vacation planets, surfing on 50-foot-high waves, sliding down pyramids, climbing Mount Everest with Batman... check out this place, this casino is as big as a planet! You can lose money, get married, get divorced, or even have a one-night stand here..."

Leonard Hofstadter and Simon Helberg were captivated by the cool visuals, eyes glued to the screen, deeply impressed.

"If online games could really develop to this level, that would be amazing!" Leonard Hofstadter thought.

Simon Helberg murmured, "Oh my God, this realistic virtual reality game is perfect for online... wish it would be invented soon!"

The voiceover continued:

"People come to Oasis because they can do anything!"

"Yeah~ anything!" Simon Helberg whispered, following along.

Leonard Hofstadter gave his friend a suspicious look, thinking his friend's lewd expression didn't seem to be about thinking of good things!

But soon, his attention was drawn back to the movie.

"People stay in Oasis because they can become anyone!"

"Yeah~ anyone!" Simon Helberg's voice continued, sounding increasingly perverted.

"Tall, beautiful, scary, change gender, even change species—"

"Changing gender, that's not good!" Simon Helberg's murmurs turned strange, maybe remembering his incident with the fat guy in the game.

"...You can choose between real people or cartoon characters."

"Mmm, that's good! I like cartoon characters!" Simon Helberg said.