It was just a 3 hours flight from Ye Ci's city to the Fate HQ. But after departing from the airport early in the morning, it was already 4pm in the afternoon by the time the large group of 20-odd members finally reached their destination.
City C was in a different timezone from City A. For a citizen of City C like Ye Ci, who was used to having the sun hanging high on their head at 4pm, the sight of the darkening skies of City A was a very foreign one.
In City A, the sun rises and sets early every day. When the Fate employees received their visitors on the next day, the group was still tired from the jetlag.
Xie Ke, the employee who was in charge of receiving Ye Ci's group was somebody from the Public Relations Department. After discovering that their visitors were beset by jetlag, Xie Ke let out a hearty laugh,
"I am originally not from here as well. The sun sets earlier in my hometown. When I moved here I was not used to it as well and only adapted after living in city A for a long time."
Being close to the visiting group in age , Xie Ke was quick to acquaint himself with them.
As soon as Xie Ke began his brief introduction of the headquarters on the bus, the group's anticipation rose.
"Will you be the one showing us around the place, Xie Ke?" Fang Susu was very excited. She even wished to grow a pair of wings and fly into the Fate HQ right now.
"Oh, I will only be your guide for the outdoor area of the building complex. As for the intricate parts of how the game was created and how everything is operated, there will be an expert taking my place." Xie Ke shook his head. In such a huge company, every employee had a specialised field of their own, and Xie Ke was definitely not specialised in game designing. It was only natural for someone who was well-versed in that field to take his place.
The entire Fate territory was situated in a suburban area not far away from the lodgings of Ye Ci's group. It would take them an entire day to reach the place if they were living in the city. The group chatted excitedly on in the bus, and after an hour of travelling on the road, Xie Ke pointed at a verdant and lush place that looked like a garden, "Look! Our headquarters is right there!"
The group immediately looked towards the direction Xie Ke pointed.
A lush green forest stretched itself before Ye Ci's eyes, with a big, artificially made lake carved into the edge of the greenery. She could even hear the melodious chirping of birds and smell the sweet fragrance of flowers. Tears welled in Ye Ci's eyes. This is the place. I'm back!
When she walked out of here back then, she took part in the PVP tournament. Following that.. Following that..was the worst part of her life.
However, for her current self, it was just like a dream.
The entire complex was very huge. If Xie Ke had not pointed out that the buildings hidden from view behind the trees were in fact offices, nobody would've thought that this area that looked more like a park was the headquarters for the world's largest VRMMORPG, Fate.
Every step uncovered a new scenery, and the group stopped frequently for photographs. Ye Ci herself was not very enthusiastic when it got to taking pictures, but due to her promise to Bai Mo and a very passionate Fang Susu, she took many pictures. She even took a group photo with the World Conqueror members in front of a large Fate logo that stood in the heart of the complex. Xie Ke, who was in charge of taking photos of the group, went through 20 different cameras, helping members of the groups with their pictures. Afterwards, they headed inside while happily chatting with each other.
The main building was very unique, with a harmonious combination of Chinese and Western elements incorporated into its architecture. Despite not being flashy, the design of the building was pleasing to the eyes. It was a warm and welcoming place.
After leading the group through the door, Xie Ke approached the two gorgeous ladies at the front desk, "Notify the development team that our visitors are here. Get them to send someone to receive our guests."
The receptionists guided the group to the resting lounge, while Xie Ke took his leave, receiving words of gratitude for his hospitality.
Before the group could finish the coffee served to them, Ye Ci spotted an extraordinarily young man walking towards the front desk, who was then redirected to the resting lounge after a brief conversation with the receptionists.
Ye Ci was not the only one among the group who had noticed the man. The rest of the group started discussing the age of the young man in hushed tones.
"Is this person from the development team? Or is he one of the game designers?" they had received prior notice from Xie Ke that a member of the development team would be guiding their tour. In their minds, even if the game developers were not people of old age, none of them expected a member of the development team to be that young.
The person appeared to be roughly 19 years of age, and had a handsome appearance with fair skin. He was a very gorgeous young man, with dimples showing on his face as he smiled at them.
"You've gotta be kidding me. I think this could be an intern. He doesn't even look 20! How could he be one of the developers?! Besides, they must be very busy operating such a large scale game. Do you think one of them would have the time to show us around? This has to be an intern!"
Many members of the group reached a similar conclusion. However, they were not dispirited. After all, the fact that they were allowed to get a tour around Fate HQ was enough to excite the group. At this point, the identity of the tour guide was no longer their concern.
Looking at the young man, Ye Ci mused to herself, this is a very small world. I never thought that I would run into him in this place.
She could still remember her last visit to the Fate HQ. The picture of this person was shown among one of the Founder Fathers of Fate, crowned as a hero. But at this point of time, he was still an insignificant young developer. The world is such an unpredictable place.
"Hi everyone. My name is Wang Jiangnan, but I'm sure a lot of you know me by my ingame name.I am Customer Service No.094!" Wang Jiangnan bowed to the group, and a broad smile appeared on his youthful face.
Ye Ci casted a sideway glance at the rest of the World Conqueror members. As expected, they were all astonished.
Most of them knew Customer Service No.094, as he was the moderator for the Dragon Dance Competition. At that time, he was working with a low level Human character. Despite sounding young, he was expected to be over 30 years old due to his graying hair and his long beard. They had never expected him to be someone that was barely 20 years old. How could they not be surprised?
"Wow! You're No.094? Are you one of the developers?"
"Customer Service No.094, how old are you?"
"Is it tough working for Fate?"
...
When they had recovered from their initial shock, Wang Jiangnan was peppered with endless questions. Ye Ci, who was standing at the back of the crowd, noticed that the receptionists paid the visitors no heed. It appeared that situations like this were a common occurrence. The young age of one of the members of the development team was definitely shock inducing.
Wang Jiangnan was used to the torrent of questions. He led the group into the facility while methodically answering their questions.
Ye Ci trailed slowly behind the group. She basked in the strange feeling of revisiting this place, paying no attention to whatever Wang Jiangnan had to say. She silently compared the current Fate HQ and the Fate HQ during her visit in her last life. At that moment, even somebody as cold as Ye Ci felt a pang of sadness.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that Ye Ci had already been here in her past life, she was not intrigued at all by Wang Jiangnan's introduction. As someone who had reincarnated, Ye Ci already possessed the knowledge of any trailers and future patches of the game. The central point of this trip held no interest for her.
She herself did not even know why she made the decision to visit the Fate HQ. There was really nothing significant in this place.
"We're currently at the exhibition hall. This is where we display the awards received by Fate and the gifts we received from our players." As Ye Ci was bored out of her mind, the group was suddenly led by Wang Jiangnan into a very large gallery.
The hall was decorated lavishly, and the entire place was bright and clean. Soft light fell on the displayed items. The atmosphere resembled a visit to a museum.
"This trophy was awarded to Epoch Online, the predecessor of Fate, for being the most favourite MMORPG game of players. I'm sure a lot of you had played or perhaps heard of the game. It was the game that Fate was based on, known as the most advanced game of its time. Of course, every game loved by players is a good game. This is why the trophy was very important to us." Wang Jiangnan explained to the group as he pointed at a large trophy in the exhibition room.
As Ye Ci looked at the trophy, she remembered her trip to the Fate HQ in her past life. The shelf was full of medals and trophies awarded to Fate. In the 10 years the game was released, Fate has won countless awards and trophies that decorated the shelf with their brilliance.
"Wow! This thing here is made by us!" Fang Susu spotted a familiar item among the gifts from players that were displayed in the hall, and immediately called Ye Ci over, "Little Ci! Look at this!"
Ye Ci had originally not paid attention to Fang Susu, and was silently staring at the Epoch Online's trophy, reminiscing about the moments of her last life. She had never seen the trophy among the sea of trophies awarded to Fate. She was startled by Fang Susu's gentle and pleasant voice, which was able to catch the attention of everybody in the room.
Noticing that she had somehow became the center of attention, Ye Ci lowered her head and walked towards Fang Susu at a quick pace.
Wang Jiangnan stared at the girl who was walking quickly. Despite having her head lower, he managed to get a glimpse of her face. She felt familiar. It was as if he had met the girl somewhere. Wang Jiangnan was very confident with his memory, but he could not just initiate a conversation without knowing for sure.
And most importantly… He did not think that it would matter if he got an answer from her.