Chapter 86: Game Unlocked

Just then, the system prompt suddenly sounded:

[Upgrade complete! New functions unlocking—]

Ron's attention snapped over instantly.

He put down the barbecue fork in his hand, his eyes flashing with anticipation.

He knew this system upgrade could bring about a whole new turning point.

A semi-transparent blue light screen reappeared in front of him. The progress bar had filled to 100%, and the system's voice rang out in his mind:

[Upgrade successful.]

[Congratulations to the host for unlocking a new entertainment app: Honor of Kings!]

Ron raised an eyebrow, staring at the system prompt for two seconds. "Honor of Kings?" He rubbed his chin subconsciously. "Is this the same one I know?"

He pulled out his work phone, and sure enough, next to the TikTok icon, a new app icon had appeared.

The icon design was quite aggressive—a silhouette of a Marine warship, with two crossed swords piercing a skull above it, looking especially fierce against a dark red background.

"Interesting..." Ron tapped the icon with a finger.

The screen dimmed, and a flashy CG animation began to play: Roger kneeling on the execution platform, his black hair blowing wildly in the sea breeze. "Want my treasure?"

With that classic line, the entire screen suddenly shattered into countless fragments, which then reformed into a full One Piece treasure map.

Immediately after, ten figures charged in from different directions, clashing violently over the treasure map. In the chaos, the map split into two halves, which transformed into two gleaming crystal towers, standing at opposite ends of a canyon.

The ten warriors split into two teams, forming a 5v5 battle lineup.

"Only by destroying the enemy crystal can you obtain the complete treasure map..." Ron read the guide softly, the corner of his mouth curving up. "This setting fits the Pirates world perfectly."

The One Piece world was all about endless conflict. Where there were interests, there was war. It broke out constantly, everywhere. This game matched that chaotic nature to a tee.

Ron couldn't wait to open the Hero Shop. As he looked at the dazzling array of characters, he let out a long sigh. "Thank goodness the system didn't make me design the heroes myself..."

Otherwise, just imagining creating hundreds of skill sets from scratch was enough to give him a headache.

"Start a match first?" His finger hovered over the "Start Match" button, but then he paused. The game had just launched—where would players come from?

Luckily, the system had already considered this and provided a Human vs AI mode.

Ron entered the backend settings interface and began adjusting the AI difficulty curve:

"Simple mode lets newcomers feel good..."

"Then suddenly throw in hard mode to smack them..."

"Then drop it back down so they feel confident again..."

"Then spike the difficulty so hard they start screaming..."

"And finally, ease them back in with simple mode again to keep them hooked..."

Ron stared with satisfaction at the rollercoaster-style difficulty curve he had designed. This kind of emotional rollercoaster would absolutely keep players coming back for more.

When they're happy, hit them with frustration. When they're on the verge of quitting, give them a sliver of hope. It was a perfect loop to keep them chasing that one more match.

"For now, I'll launch 5v5, 3v3, and 1v1 battle modes," he muttered while configuring. "We'll add Ranked and Casual modes after we build a player base..."

To lower the entry barrier, he directly linked the TikTok account system. No need for players to register or even choose a username.

Just as he finished the final setting, a notification popped up in the backend: A user has logged in.

Seeing the username, Ron's expression turned strange. "Kaido?" He rubbed his chin, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Perfect guinea pig to test emotional endurance..."

He swiftly switched to the admin interface and customized a 'Simple–Hard–Simple' difficulty curve just for Kaido.

"Let you taste sweetness first..." Ron grinned darkly as he hit the confirm button. "Once you're hooked, I'll let you experience five straight soul-crushing defeats..."

...

Inside the Onigashima main hall.

Kaido leaned lazily on his bronze throne, his thick fingers scrolling across the phone screen.

He had just finished watching a donkey hoof trimming video. The "scrape-scrape" sound was oddly satisfying, making his dragon-scale tattoos pulse gently with his breathing.

Gulp. He tilted his head back and downed a swig of liquor. The strong brew trickled down his beard and soaked into his massive chest muscles.

Just as he was about to power down the phone for a nap, a strange icon next to the TikTok app caught his eye.

It was a silhouette of a Marine warship, with two swords stabbed into a skull. Against the dark red backdrop, it looked especially menacing.

"Hmm?" Kaido's thick brows furrowed, his dragon-like pupils narrowing.

He extended one thick finger and cautiously tapped the mysterious icon. The screen dimmed, and with the sound of crashing waves, the scene of Roger being led to the execution platform appeared.

Kaido's expression instantly darkened, his fingers tightening unconsciously.

"Want my treasure?" Roger's voice echoed from the phone, and Kaido's breathing grew heavier.

He abruptly sat up straight, dragon scales rippling out from beneath his skin uncontrollably.

But what came next replaced his rage with pure shock. A complete One Piece treasure map actually appeared on screen!

The glowing golden map was a bit blurry—its details unreadable—but unmistakably real.

As ten figures fought over it, the map split in two, morphing into a pair of crystal towers.

"This... this is..." Kaido's breathing turned ragged, his claw-like fingers practically gouging the screen.

He had never imagined that a random app he tapped would actually contain clues about the Great Treasure!

A fiery fighting spirit blazed in Kaido's eyes. "If I destroy the enemy's crystal... I can get the full map!"

He muttered to himself, completely sucked in by the game's setup.

"Brat's little trick..." he grumbled, but his fingers obediently followed the tutorial step by step.

"Please select your hero."

A prompt popped up on the screen. Kaido frowned as he looked at the characters appearing one by one. "Kaizer? Fuzi? Arthur... Who the hell are these guys, calling themselves heroes?!"

His tone was full of disdain. To Kaido, the word "hero" carried a weight no random name could bear.

But as he skimmed the descriptions, the hand holding his sake gourd froze.

"Impossible!" He stared at their character bio, a flicker of doubt appearing in his eyes.

"Lived in ancient times? What, 800 years ago? Or even before the Void Century?"

Kaido's mind buzzed. How had he never heard of these so-called heroic figures?

(To be continued.)

***

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