[System Prompt]Would you like to assign a nickname to [林嚣]?
A) Lex B) Xiao C) Keep original
Chapter 1: The Bronze Tyrant
Lin Xiao gulped the last bitter dregs from his thermos. The metallic tang of corroded coffee filters clung to his tongue - a parting gift from the tenth-floor breakroom's wheezing espresso machine that had been dying a slow death since the Obama administration.
"Bro! The neural net's evasion algorithm's glitching again!" Programmer Zhao's wail cut through the hum of servers.
Before Lin could explain threshold adjustments for the thousandth time, Art Director Li Muqing stormed in on stiletto heels that clicked like gunfire.
"Wu Shiren replaced the Bronze Tyrant's execution animation with a fucking pay-to-win light saber!"
The blue glow of triple monitors deepened the shadows under Lin's eyes. "We agreed to keep my martial arts combo last week."
"Director Wu says..." Li pitched her voice into a nasal parody of their boss, "...players want sparkly microtransactions, not your kung fu ballet." Lin's fingers brushed the scar on his neck - a relic from the Shanghai riots.
Through the smog-choked window, the Oriental Pearl Tower pulsed like an infected wound in the night.
"All-nighter again, eh?" The cleaning lady clattered her cart past cubicles reeking of stale curry.
She dropped a packet of goji berry tea by his keyboard.
"Youth ain't forever." Three screens flickered before him.
The leftmost displayed Wasteland: New Genesis forums blazing with [OUTRAGE] tags.
Top post: "Devs suck! My $10K Ghostblade build got nerfed to shit!" Middle screen showed rendering progress stuck at 87%.
Lin cracked his third Red Bull of the night, the fizz mixing with memories of Wu Shiren's crocodile briefcase getting drenched in pu'er tea six months ago.
They'd sacrificed environmental physics for lootbox sparkles that same morning.
"Forget gameplay depth," Wu had sneered at the emergency meeting, laser pointer dancing over monetization charts.
"Whales want shiny new toys to flex on plebs." Now forum DM notifications pinged.
User CottonCandyPink87 pleaded: "Pls Tyrant-senpai! 237 deaths at Bloodmoon Clocktower QAQ".
Her avatar's pink twin-tails bobbed in a clip of botched katana swings.
Lin's tutorial reply froze mid-typing.
Security feeds showed Wu smuggling black drives into his Gucci suitcase - same model holding their original anti-piracy code.
The man who once bought team bubble tea now booked first-class tickets to Seychelles.
Pain lanced through Lin's gut.
Neon-blue blood splattered his drawing tablet, matching exact #6A5ACD hex codes from the Tyrant's mutation effects.
Screens flooded with cascading glyphs as a synthetic voice vibrated his skull: [CORE DEVELOPER CRITICAL][NEURAL LINK PROTOCOL ENGAGED] His last blurred vision captured the Tyrant NPC from his tutorial video turning its head - golden data streams swirling in eyes that should've been lifeless code.
"Should've...burned corporate HQ..." Lin chuckled through bloody lips as the gilded wall motto dissolved: "Tencent - Crafting Joy Through Exploitation."
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"Lin Xiao is pronounced 'Lin Sh-ow' (like 'show' with an L)'