Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 122: Shatter the Ceiling! The Greatest Level in Gami

Full marks.

Xu Xiaolin had never given any ga such a high score in all his years.

Clearly, Titanfall, brought from Gu Sheng’s previous life, had level design concepts far beyond anything this world’s gaming industry had seen.

"The passive, mountain-yielding-to-water style of level progression was already enough to shock and excite—

But the way components were sequentially assembled, followed by the climactic boss battle unfolding like an operatic curtain rise, gave literal goosebumps.

There’s no doubt: Supernova Gu Sheng is once again using his genius-level understanding of gas to raise the bar of this industry—again and again.

I don’t know where Gu Sheng’s ceiling is, or how high Golden Wind can go…

But just talking about Titanfall, I’d say this level, Step Into the Void, is already the pinnacle of level design.

Maybe the levels after this are just as thrilling—

But in terms of level structure alone, even Gu Sheng himself might struggle to surpass what he’s created here.

Because this… feels like the hard cap of linear level design—

Unmatched. Unbeatable."

Scratch scratch scribble!

Xu Xiaolin’s fountain pen danced across his manuscript paper.

Yes, after finishing this level, Xu Xiaolin couldn’t contain the excitent in his chest. He climbed out of the sensory pod and began pouring praise onto paper without restraint.

Part of it was sheer passion—he couldn't wait to write this review.

But he was also exhausted.

Almost 20 straight hours of gaplay had left his ntal focus severely scattered.

Pushing on would only be an insult to Titanfall.

So, while tidying up his review outline, he opened a livestream to unwind.

However!

Just as he wrote the words: Unmatched. Unbeatable.

Suddenly, in the livestream—

Piao Teacher let out a string of incredulous yells:

“Holy sht? Holy—sht!!!”

“Y’er yo! What the actual f**k is going on?!”

Half an hour earlier.

After the grand, opera-like battlefield had been fully set—

Piao Teacher got wrecked.

Waves upon waves of simulated IMC soldiers and bots rotated in for a relentless gauntlet. Toward the end, he even had to destroy two enemy Titans without BT’s help, relying solely on his Pilot skills!

Brutal.

So brutal he died over ten tis.

Finally breaking through and reuniting with BT, they ran into Ash—the master of this enormous assembly factory.

And—

The one who erged from the void and ripped BT’s battery out, leading to Captain Lastimosa’s death!

That oversized alloy katana on her back, wielded from her Ronin-class Titan, was unforgettable.

It was revenge ti.

Piao Teacher, like every other player, went absolutely berserk.

Massive explosions, overlapping firepower, and primal roars of core overload—Titan versus Titan.

Ash’s blade struck with electromagnetic shockwaves. The two sides clashed through void-walking death-duels.

She was so powerful that even with BT fighting by your side, players were still often overwheld!

Once. Twice. Three tis…

Five… ten… twenty tis…

Through every round of defeat, players honed their skills—becoming increasingly proficient with all kinds of Titan modules.

Finally—

Ash swung her alloy blade one last ti at near-death HP—and missed.

Just like in the ga’s trailer, players and BT united in conviction, sending a steel-reinforced punch smashing forward. The kinetic impact triggered a full-blown shockwave across the entire battlefield.

BT ripped Ash straight out of her cockpit.

With clenched fists and hydraulic might like an industrial press, he crushed her to bits—right then and there!

Satisfaction!!!

Vengeance, sweet and absolute. Players across the world cheered at the top of their lungs.

Piao Teacher was so hyped he exited the sensory pod just to smoke two cigarettes.

After calming down—

He returned to the pod and followed BT out of the exploding, collapsing factory level that would live rent-free in players’ mories forever.

On the way, BT’s adorable little grumble brought fresh chuckles:

[BT]: Pilot, I believe we should avoid taking shortcuts in the future…

“You and both, bro…”

Piao Teacher laughed.

And so, they set off again.

After so trekking, the distance marker finally shrank to within a hundred ters.

[Causality]

Rendezvous with Major Anderson

A new mission objective appeared at the bottom-left of the UI.

Splitting up with BT for now, Piao Teacher received a ssage from him:

[BT]: According to the marker, Major Anderson is inside this building. Proceed through and investigate. I’ll et you on the other side.

“Got it, bro.”

Jumping down a vent shaft into the facility, Piao Teacher muttered:

“Don’t get kidnapped again, alright…”

Last level’s surprise trauma still had him on edge.

[BT]: I won’t be taking any more shortcuts.

The audience burst into laughter—

‘BT’s got PTSD now’

‘Our obedient wifebot’

‘BT is seriously too cute—dumb and lovable’

‘He’s learned his lesson now’

‘He’s totally panicking LOL’

‘Two guys, one shortcut, both traumatized’

‘I’m dying lmao’

Hearing BT’s reply, Piao Teacher relaxed—sowhat.

But just in case, every ten to twenty seconds he’d check in via his Pilot helt—

“BT? You still there?”

[BT]: I’m here, Pilot.

“What are you doing right now?”

[BT]: Proceeding to the rendezvous point to assist you.

“Oh, oh, cool. How far are we now?”

[BT]: I’m at the building’s exit. We’re quite close. We’ll et soon.

“Y’er yo… this is sounding super gay, bro. Feels like we’re dating.”

[BT]: Based on human definitions of love, romance involves affection, attraction, devotion, and respect. Friendship is a more accurate descriptor of our relationship.

“Aiyo—hahahaha—”

Even Piao Teacher, notorious for being as shaless as they co, turned red, scratching his head wildly while chuckling:

“Bro, you got ga. Damn, now you’re making blush a little…”

He bantered as he ventured deeper into the abandoned, crumbling facility.

But suddenly—

The space around him warped unnaturally.

A strange hum, like it ca from another dinsion, buzzed in his ears.

He felt a sudden pressure on his body—

Zoom——!!!

The dilapidated hallway around him transford in an instant!

Suddenly, everything was clean and new. At the reception desk, a neatly dressed attendant was organizing visitor records.

Researchers in white coats passed by, chatting in low voices.

Even a cleaning robot nearly bumped into him.

“...The f*** is this?!”

That shout? That’s what Xu Xiaolin had heard in the stream!

But before the echo even faded—

Zoom——!!

The surroundings changed again, reverting to the ruined, deserted state.

“What… the… f***???”

Piao Teacher was stunned.

That flash—it felt like he had traveled through ti.

And the further he walked, the more it kept happening!

Zoom—

A worker bot passed him by, its display flashing a smiley face.

Zoom—

The hallway rusted, cracked, overgrown.

Zoom—

In a sleek break room, researchers sipped coffee by the machine and scribbled equations on whiteboards.

Zoom—

The coffee machine was now a charred wreck, and the whiteboard, burned and broken.

The shifts ca faster and faster. Each jump felt like ice down the spine.

The livestream chat lit up—

‘WTF?! What is this?!’

‘Looks like ti distortion?’

‘Is the tiline unstable now?’

‘Sa place, different ti… deja vu vibes’

‘OH—f***! The Ark?! Didn’t IMC say they found an ancient core that manipulates ti?!’

‘Tchhh! That’s gotta be it!’

‘Is BT okay?!’

Realizing what the chat ant, Piao Teacher snapped back and called BT:

“BT, you alright? What the hell is going on here?”

[BT]: Ti distortions are flooding this facility. They appear to have created fractures in space-ti. I recomnd caution until we obtain more data.

As he spoke—

Piao Teacher passed through a shattered sliding door into a wide conference hall—

Zoom!

Flashback again.

Now, the hall was brightly lit and filled with people.

On stage, a gray-haired, stern-faced general was giving a speech:

“…Everything we do is for the future of humanity…”

“If the Resistance stands in our way, then it must be eliminated…”

“...Pilot, is there a problem?”

Spotting Piao Teacher walking in, the general—General Marder—asked with a puzzled expression.

Zoom!

Back to present day.

The hall was in ruins, only a broken teleprompter left on the podium.

Curious, Piao Teacher tapped it—

A crackling playback began:

“—hzzzz…everything…hzzz…future of humanity…”

“…Resistance…hzzzz…eliminated…”

“…Pilot…hzzz…problem?”

HOLY—!!!

Piao Teacher’s heart skipped a beat.

Back in the flashback, General Marder didn’t know his true identity—he thought Piao was an IMC Pilot, hence the question.

But that interaction had sohow bled into the present tiline.

aning—

Each flashback here could affect the current world line.

A sense of overwhelming awe washed over Piao Teacher.

Sure, movies and books had explored ti travel…

But this? A ga actually executing it with this level of integration?

Never done before.

Pushing past the conference room, Piao Teacher entered a wide corridor.

As he ran forward, the space-ti distortions beca more frequent—twisting and resetting over and over.

He sprinted toward the end—

Zoom!

Back to present ti. A Hunter Beast suddenly lunged out in front of him—

Only to be snatched up midair by a flying creature!

Zoom!

Another flashback.

Piao Teacher approached a massive glass curtain wall and looked out.

He was on the second floor of the facility.

Below, a pristine garden pathway stretched ahead. At the end of the path stood a colossal dual-ringed machine, surrounded by unmanned drones, all seemingly experinting on what to install into the rings.

Zoom—!!

Back to the present—glass shattered, rings collapsed into a pile of twisted scrap.

“D*mn… What is this place?”

[BT]: IMC has research stations across the Frontier systems. But this one, we had no prior record of.

“That’s insane, bro,” Piao Teacher muttered, leaping out of the second-floor window. “How many of these places are there?”

[BT]: Eight months before Operation Broadsword, the Resistance Ninth Fleet destroyed twenty-nine such facilities.

As they talked, BT’s massive fra ca into view at the research station’s entrance.

He picked up a corpse and scanned it—

[BT]: None of these match Major Anderson’s profile. He may still be alive. I suggest checking the main hall.

“Got it.”

Relieved at the possibility, Piao Teacher headed inside with his EVA-8 shotgun and slid through the lobby entrance.

The hall was wrecked—burn marks everywhere.

Bullet holes riddled the walls. Weeds grew between cracks in the cent floor.

He climbed a broken escalator to the second floor—and then looked up.

There hung a Titan Pilot.

Or to be precise—embedded in the ceiling.

Head down, one arm dangling, half his body was in the first floor.

The other half?

Wedged deep into the upper floor slab—his legs likely on the second floor.

“Wha… WHAT THE F***???”

Piao Teacher froze.

What kind of ssed-up position was that?

He quickly yanked off the pilot’s helt and confird—it was Major Anderson.

“BT… I… uh…”

He couldn’t even put it into words:

“I found Major Anderson. He’s… in the ceiling.”

[BT]: Objective complete. We have successfully rendezvoused with Major Anderson.

Piao Teacher fell silent.

“…Bro, that’s the most cursed joke I’ve ever heard.”

[BT]: I was not attempting to be humorous.

BT was serious. Piao Teacher was speechless. The chat?

Exploded.

‘HAHAHAHAHA this reply is killing ’

‘That’s one hardcore reunion’

‘Didn’t say how much of him, just that they reunited lol’

‘Half of him’s here… where’s the other half?’

‘And… Der… Son…’

‘OMG this is so cursed it’s beautiful’

‘How the hell did he even get stuck up there?!’

‘Failed a noclip attempt’

‘Packs up the past 🎶’

‘I’m on the floor laughing!!’

‘Where’s my monk bell, I need to repent!!’

DONG DONG DONG DONG DONG—

‘ 1 virtue –1 virtue 1 –1…’

‘Stopppppppp I’m gonna die laughing’

Even Piao Teacher cracked up, tears rolling down his face:

“Y’all need to quit it—my ribs are killing …”

While the chat went nuts, BT completed data compilation on Anderson.

Turns out, two weeks ago, the Resistance intercepted IMC comms and learned about a massive discovery on this planet.

Soon after, a powerful explosion rocked the facility—tearing space-ti apart.

Anderson had been sent in using a device called the Wristband to investigate.

But clearly—

He failed.

Now—

[BT]: It is our duty to continue Mission 217 and complete Major Anderson’s investigation.

To help Cooper enter the facility’s upper levels, BT pulled a lamppost from the plaza.

With one arm bent, the other aiming upward, he ran and hurled the lamppost like a javelin.

The cable attached turned into a zipline.

“Tch—bro, that was badass,” Piao Teacher admired, eyeing the new UI prompt.

“You should try throwing next ti.”

[BT]: Acknowledged.

No hesitation.

Piao Teacher hooked onto the zipline and shot toward the opening in the building’s roof—

anwhile—

At the headquarters of Thunderstorm Ga Studio, inside the ga director’s office—

Zhou Ting, co-founder and lead director, was watching the sa stream.

At that mont—

His fingers tingled.

He opened his mouth, but no words ca out.

Deep down, he knew—this level was different.

Ti jumps that altered the present, Anderson’s bizarre death, and environnts constantly shifting due to temporal flux…

A wild theory ford in Zhou Ting’s mind.

It flashed through like lightning—and made him shudder like he'd been electrocuted.

“No… No way. That’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!!”

It was too insane.

Even just the previous level’s passive-motion-based level design was shocking enough to drop jaws.

Even he, a top-tier FPS ga director in China, couldn’t help but gasp at the brilliance.

That tight, elegant level language felt like it had reached the pinnacle of the current era.

No matter dostic or international—

The Step Into the Void level was the absolute ceiling of linear level design.

But now?

Zhou Ting was lost.

Zhou Ting was terrified.

He had a sinking feeling—he knew what Gu Sheng was trying to do in this level.

But he dared not believe it.

Gu Sheng.

Just how greedy was this man?

Wasn’t reaching the ceiling of level design glory enough for you?

Would you only be satisfied by shattering that long-standing ceiling?

Breaking it—smashing it—obliterating it?

Would you only rest easy when you’ve crushed every psychological defense I, a top FPS designer, ever had?

Until I’m kneeling before you in surrender?

Swarm 2100 already lost!

I lost the mont Titanfall’s last level launched!

What more do you want?!

Zoom———!!!

Before Zhou Ting could finish screaming in his heart—

The sound of ti-warping rang out in the stream again!

On screen, Ayin clenched his gloved fist.

Ti shifted.

Zhou Ting was struck like lightning.

He knew—

Tonight, the ceiling of level design was going to fall.