Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 126: Terrifying Market Share! The Second Half Begins

That morning!

Golden Wind Ga Studio!

The team was having breakfast.

"I've got two extra buns here, Yun, you want them?"

"Sure, pass them over, I've been chugging too much soy milk..."

"Senior, I ordered noodles but can't finish alone, want to share?"

"Oh sure, let's split..."

"Share! Not split!"

"What's the difference..."

"Just... ugh never mind!"

"Huh? What?"

"..."

As everyone was eating, the office door swung open and Lu Bian walked in waving a docunt, beaming with joy!

"Everyone! Comrades! The CDEA's first-week sales data is out!"

Whoosh—

The announcent caused an imdiate stir!

Ever since Titanfall's spectacular debut, the ga had maintained its soaring popularity!

And after CEO Gu personally negotiated the Legendary Pictures collaboration, it beca the undisputed champion among the six major launch titles!

Now!

The first week had passed!

Everyone wanted to see what kind of numbers their ch BT-7274 had achieved with this montum!

'How many, Bian?'

'Hurry up! Can't wait!'

'Over 300k?'

'Are you insane? 300k units would an 60 million revenue! This is next-gen VR!'

'True, it would've sold more on Yiyou X1'

'Here's an idea - Director Lu gives us the Yiyou X2 sales first, then our programming, design and art teams each guess the numbers. Whoever's furthest off buys breakfast tomorrow?'

'Hell yeah!'

'Bring it! Programming team's got this in the bag!'

'Hey! No cheating! Bian can't side with programming now - he's the referee!'

'CEO Gu! Sheng! You in?'

Instantly, the playful challenge spread through the office as everyone turned to look at Gu Sheng, who was finishing breakfast while lighting a cigarette.

Click.

Gu Sheng lit up, nodding through the smoke:

"I'm in. Haven't seen the numbers either - I'll play solo."

With that!

He pulled a sheet from the printer, wrote a number, folded it.

"My blind guess without knowing Yiyou X2 sales,"

He waved the paper before weighing it down with an ashtray:

"Your turn."

Whoa—!!!

The bold move drew impressed murmurs.

What confidence!

With their boss joining the fun, everyone eagerly pressed Lu Bian for answers.

"Alright alright,"

Lu Bian raised his hands amid the clamor:

"As of 11:59 PM last night, Yiyou X2 sold—358,920 units!"

Gasp—!!!

The number shocked the entire studio!

Three hundred fifty-eight thousand!

Rember!

Yiyou X2's first-day sales were just 46,000!

Titanfall had not just sustained but boosted sales—an unprecedented achievent!

Quick calculations followed!

Soon!

All three teams presented their estimates!

Da Jiang for art: "300k copies, 83% attach rate."

Jiang Yun for design: "250k, 73%."

Finally Kai Lang for programming: "280k, 78%."

All eyes turned to Lu Bian holding the true numbers.

After hearing the guesses, he gave a knowing smile:

"Comrades..."

"Either you're underestimating Old Gu or yourselves..."

"Not one guessed above 85%? Tsk tsk..."

Taking a deep breath, he announced:

"As of yesterday, Titanfall sold—"

"355,430 copies! 70.37 million revenue! 99% attach rate!!!"

Boom—!!!

The numbers detonated like a bomb!

'HOLY—WHAT?!'

'355k?!'

'Ninety-nine percent?! That ans 99 out of 100 X2 buyers got TTF?!'

'WHAT THE—'

'This is... insane! Absolutely insane!'

'Unprecedented attach rate!'

'First of its kind, probably never to be repeated'

'Wait, what was Sheng's guess?'

'Yeah, what did the boss predict? If he's closest, design team's buying tomorrow...'

Amid the uproar, all eyes returned to Gu Sheng.

What expectations had the creator himself set?

Flick.

Gu Sheng stubbed out his cigarette and retrieved his folded guess.

Unfolding it slowly revealed "350k, 97% " at the top—crossed out.

Below it simply read: "1 copy."

"Shouldn't have changed it, tsk,"

He feigned regret, shaking his head before smiling at the team:

"What's for breakfast tomorrow?"

The room froze for half a second—then erupted in laughter!

That was CEO Gu!

His market intuition bordered on supernatural.

And he remained the undisputed leader they admired!

'Wagyu buns! Sheng!'

'Lobster shumai! Director!'

'Triple-shrimp noodles! Boss!'

'I'd settle for so Buddha Jumps Over The Wall...'

'Hey! I was going easy on you! This is how you repay ?!'

'HAHAHAHA...'

The joyous noise from Golden Wind's offices went unnoticed as it slipped under the CEO's door, piercing Shen Miaomiao like arrows.

Ugh—

The news made Shen Miaomiao's blood pressure spike.

70 million in one week. 140 million in two.

Her projected 90 million loss had shrunk by two-thirds.

One billion beca three hundred million.

Devastating.

But the facts were undeniable—Titanfall's 99% attach rate was historic.

Whatever.

With a sigh, she blew a kiss to the six-seven hundred million that could have been hers.

Three hundred million profit still doubled Titanfall's budget.

A victory nonetheless!

Checking the ti—

"Phew—second half's starting. Maybe TTF will normalize now,"

"A week's hype should taper off, right?..."

As dusk fell...

Shark, Black Flag, Dragon Tooth, B Station...

Gaming sections across platforms lit up with Titanfall banners.

BT-7274 and Pilots dominated hopages.

Viewership numbers swelled unusually tonight.

Major strears' chats buzzed wildly even before going live:

'Day 7 without Titanfall. Withdrawal.'

'Literally been counting days...'

'Why such long wait ughhh'

'Need TTF (BT addiction acting up)'

'I BEG YOU unlock already (crying) hands itching (sob) please I'll behave (foaming) (twitching)'

'*chanting sutras* seeing other Pilots run faster *slapping self* tears flowing NEED BT NOW (weeping)'

'Y'all infected by Old Crafty'

'Golden Wind players need therapy'

'New copypasta just dropped'

'...'

Finally!

8 PM.

The countdown ended. Titanfall's grand second act began!

"OH—HOLY SHIT GUYS!"

Dai ii's scream echoed through her stream.

After waiting at the title screen, darkness fell.

Golden Wind's logo appeared.

Then Yiyou's.

Even Legendary Pictures got a "Special Thanks."

Finally—

【Director: Gu Sheng (SamGu)】

An orchestral swell rose as wind howled—

Like standing atop a mountain.

Goosebumps covered Dai ii.

"It's starting! Hear that wind?!"

Her chat exploded:

'OHHHHH FINALLY!'

'CHILLS LITERAL CHILLS!'

'*turns off chat* *mutes stream* *gets popcorn*'

'You're treating this like a movie'

'Muting stream is genius'

'Just needs that THX sound'

'*humming THX the*'

'LMAO with the sound effects'

'I turned off my lights already'

'Peanuts! Beer! Get your snacks here!'

'Wrong venue buddy this ain't a train'

'Y'all gonna kill with these jokes...'

Dai ii's full-sensory imrsion deepened.

Mountain air carried gunpowder traces.

tallic vibrations beneath her—clearly riding BT upward.

The screen brightened.

Rocky cliffs ca into view.

She was literally on BT's shoulder as it scaled a mountain!

"HOLY—!!!"

Mist swirled between peaks.

Looking down induced vertigo—the drop was bottomless.

Whoosh—

Thruster flas roared as BT leaped, making Dai ii shriek and cling tight.

Her stomach dropped.

Her fear of heights combined with full imrsion left her weak-kneed—

"Whoa whoa slow down BT! FUCK! THIS IS TOO HIGH!"

"WHAT GA STARTS MID-CLIMB?!"

"NO NO NO—AAAAAH!!!"

Thud.

They landed on a mountain path as BT's familiar baritone spoke:

【BT: Pilot Cooper, Anderson is dead. But by linking with the fleet, we can complete his mission. That comms tower ahead will help.】

Now!

The militia's Typhon advance force was decimated—Lastimosa and Anderson dead.

Scattered survivors fought separately with no coordination.

anwhile, IMC was preparing their Fold Weapon to destroy Harmony.

The weight fell entirely on Cooper's shoulders.

He had to transmit his intel and stop General Marder.

A lone hero.

Though currently, this hero's legs were jelly.

After recovering, Dai ii slid down BT:

"Jesus—"

"Next high-altitude mission, I'm staying in the cockpit..."

BT moved forward along the winding path as dawn broke.

Golden light bathed the cliffs.

【BT: Pilot, the tower is ahead.】

Reaching the summit, the vista took Dai ii's breath away—

Peaks stabbed skyward like daggers.

The sun played hide-and-seek in the clouds.

A massive comms dish faced the sunrise like a steel sunflower.

Chat marveled:

'HOLY—Old Crafty's visuals are god-tier'

'This composition! This lighting!'

'Golden Wind's art team is cracked'

'Cracked? They're on another plane'

'First the ti-freeze detail, now this scale—just make movies already'

'Legendary collab might be step one'

'So we just upload from this tower?'

'Probably not that simple—might need repairs'

'LMAO imagine climbing that—Dai would piss herself'

'Are Yiyou X2s waterproof?'

'?'

'...'

Seeing the tower's height, Dai ii grimaced.

Please no.

She and BT approached the control building when—

Static crackled in her helt:

【Cole: *static* Pilot! Sir! *static* We're under attack! *static* Stalkers everywhere...】

【Cole: *static* Request backup... can't hold...】

Gunfire and explosions filled the comms.

Seeing "Cole" on her HUD, Dai ii smirked.

If she recalled...

Wasn't Cole the rifleman captain who'd tossed her a gun during training?

"Ahem! Pilot copies!"

She charged down the path with BT—

The control building was besieged by Stalkers!

The chanical horde resembled Left 4 Dead zombies.

Bullet-riddled doors barely held.

BOOM BOOM—

WHOOSH—KABOOM!

BT's cannon and missiles shredded the robots.

What overwheld infantry fell like toys under Titan feet.

【BT: Hostiles eliminated. Well done. This victory demonstrates our combat efficiency.】

"Damn right!"

Dai ii grinned:

"Been training daily—still got it!"

At the control room, she comd:

"Acting Pilot Jack Cooper to Captain Cole—area secure. Open up."

Clank—!

"Roger!"

Cole sounded relieved:

"Thank god, sir! We were done for."

Seeing Dai ii, Cole blinked—clearly surprised she was BT's new Pilot.

But he still respectfully called her "sir."

Dai ii's grin threatened to split her face.

The tables had turned!

She was Cole's superior now!

Trying (and failing) to suppress a smirk, she patted Cole's shoulder:

"Ahem! Little Cole—"

"No need for thanks. Just doing my job."

"While you're here—report on the tower's status."

Chat erupted:

'LMAOOOO SHE'S MILKING THIS'

'Cole's regretting surviving'

'Cole: Should've let Stalkers kill '

'Peak cringe behavior'

'Lastimosa died for this?'

'UGHHH THAT SMILE IS UNBEARABLE'

'FINALLY YOUR MONT EH?'

'I wanna reach through the screen and slap her'

'HAHAHAHA...'