Chapter 273: "Cat Mario" Goes Viral! Su Mu Recognized by Aventurine and Topaz?
Though sudden, it was no surprise that Cat Mario became an instant sensation.
Just as Su Mu had planned, he invited Guinaifen to "accidentally" discover the game on the Interstellar Gaming Platform. During her subsequent livestream, she was so relentlessly tormented by the game that she nearly fainted from pure frustration.
This little game called Cat Mario was not sophisticated; at first glance, it even looked crudely made.
In Su Mu's previous life, it was originally a 2D platformer from Japan, known as one of the most "broken" games in history. Created by a Japanese indie developer and released in February 2007, its structure was similar to Super Mario Bros., but with altered characters, enemies, and content. Many referred to it as the "Abnormal Edition of Super Mario," and it spawned numerous fan-made variations online.
The protagonist changed from a classic plumber to a white cat, and the monsters became things resembling steamed buns.
The game was filled with unexpected traps: a block might suddenly appear over your head while jumping a gap, causing you to fall; the solid ground might collapse without warning; or a UFO might crush you just as you were about to reach the goal. It was packed with mind-boggling puzzles.
Every one of these "little surprises" sent the players' emotions on a wild roller coaster.
[This game is really simple, no joke. It's the easiest game I've ever played. The story and characters are so heartwarming. Even though the monsters knock Cat Mario down over and over, they encourage you to stand back up. It's an inspirational story about growth. I really hope the dev keeps going; everyone should play it. I was moved to tears—definitely the most touching game in the world.]
[This game is a total trip. It looks hilarious and the art style is abstract. As for the difficulty, it's fine; I only died three hundred times to beat it. Next time I'll still tick "Very Easy"!]
[Feeling like your life is too happy? Can't grasp the meaning of true despair and terror? Download Cat Mario now. It's not 998, not 98, but only 9.8! It'll make you realize how beautiful your "Earth Online" life actually is!]
[If reality is a messed-up game, then Cat Mario is God personally messing with you!]
[Another UPG (Unfair Platform Game) following in the footsteps of Getting Over It. The developer went out of their way to make things difficult everywhere... Anyway, I'm not playing it. I just love watching others play. Watching is basically beating it, right?]
For a time, Cat Mario—with its abstract art and comedic cruelty—swept through all major streaming platforms. History is indeed a circle; two years ago, Su Mu used Getting Over It to fire the first shot for UPG games and begin his journey as a developer.
Two years later, using a new pseudonym and a game centered on torturing streamers, he fired the first shot on the Interstellar Gaming Platform!
One week after release, Cat Mario, having "blood-washed" streamers across platforms, sold five million copies.
This number allowed Cat Mario to dominate the best-seller charts on the Interstellar Gaming Platform. To an outsider, five million might not seem like much—especially since the projected Game of the Year, Titanfall 2, broke ten million in its first week.
But one must not forget: the production cost of Cat Mario was outrageously low. More importantly, it was released by an entirely unknown developer. Even within MiHoYo, few knew Su Mu had created the pseudonym "4399" on the platform.
Aside from copyright fees and platform cuts, Su Mu made an absolute fortune.
The storm stirred by Cat Mario brought the name "4399" into the public eye. When people saw this unknown creator had uploaded many other high-quality indie games, they tried them out. The result was a bombshell that shocked the entire gaming circle!
The games released under this alias weren't big-budget productions; their graphics could even be described as primitive.
However...
Fireboy and Watergirl, Crazy Little Man Fighting, Beat the Little Kids, Dreaming Westward Journey... These classics from Su Mu's childhood in his previous life shone brilliantly once again in this world!
This proved one thing: truly good games stand the test of time.
Su Mu's collection of indie gems gave the industry a "4399 shock." The fuse lit by Cat Mario finally triggered a massive explosion! This meant Su Mu's plan to use games to knock on the doors of the Interstellar Gaming Company had successfully completed a vital step.
Discussions about the developer "4399" dominated forums. The players of this world were pure; if a game was fun, it was fun, and they would recommend it like crazy.
[Shocking! A hidden treasure author on the Interstellar Gaming Platform!]
[Cat Mario sells five million in the first week! Does the creator have other fun games?]
[Mystery numeric alias washes the gaming world in blood! Who created Cat Mario?]
[Why did Cat Mario explode? Revealing the chaos of the streamer circle!]
Similarly, countless creators made videos, driving massive traffic to Su Mu's alias. What started with a few hundred followers skyrocketed to a terrifying eight hundred thousand on the platform!
This explosion of data terrified Scott, the specialist at the Interstellar Gaming Platform who was supposed to interface with Su Mu.
"Useless! You're all useless! I said long ago that this '4399' person was talented! You wouldn't listen when I told you to sign him! Do you know how much we'll have to concede in the contract now that he's famous? A bunch of morons!"
The Interstellar Peace Corporation (IPC) is a world-renowned mega-conglomerate. Its wealth makes even the famous Schicksal Consortium pale in comparison; it is a true leviathan. Its business is vast, and its influence reaches every corner of the world.
Naturally, this included the entertainment industry.
As a specialist for the Interstellar Gaming Platform under the IPC, Scott had significant authority. His job was to scout developers and "bet" on their potential.
Of course, for rookie developers, the shrewd Scott never missed an opportunity to exploit them. These dreamers, wanting to make their mark in the gaming world, were the easiest to deceive.
So far, the developers Scott had signed had produced several hits in the five-million-copy range. While this was meager compared to Titanfall, developers with such records were highly welcomed in the industry.
However, these developers rarely made money from their hits. Scott used every trick in the book when signing them—forcing them into "indentured servitude" contracts and skimming their shares. The developers were resentful, but with the contracts in hand, they were powerless against him.
"Scott, doesn't your conscience ever hurt?"
"Don't you have a shred of love for games?"
Facing these "aggressive" developers, Scott only sneered.
Conscience? He had thrown that away long ago.
Love? What a joke! To Scott, this was just a job—a ladder to climb. As long as he could accumulate performance metrics, it was enough. That "love" had been discarded centuries ago!
If anything, it was because these so-called developers held such foolish ideals that they walked into his traps like idiots. Seeing their humiliation and resentment only made Scott laugh.
While Scott exploited developers and used every scheme possible, he was equally harsh toward his subordinates.
Originally, the mission to sign "4399" was a task personally designated by a high-ranking figure in the IPC's Strategic Investment Department—one of the "Stonehearts," Aventurine.
"Interesting... I've never played a game like this. The graphics are simple, but the core is exquisite... Haha, this is an object worth betting on."
That veteran gambler with a sharp eye had taken a liking to the unknown "4399" in his spare time.
But Scott felt something "off" about this 4399, a feeling that made him very uncomfortable. He realized what it was: it felt like when the rival Homu Gaming Platform teamed up with MiHoYo, and that man named Su Mu took all the spotlight.
Su Mu was so much younger, yet he had created a legendary success and single-handedly led Homu to overtake the Interstellar Gaming Platform.
In the past two years, whenever Scott opened an app, it was Honkai Impact 3rd and Su Mu. They appeared so frequently that Scott was driven mad with jealousy.
Why?
Why could this brat Su Mu achieve such results?
Even the Stonehearts of the Strategic Investment Department spoke highly of him.
Topaz had even suggested that if they could break the tradition of not associating with Homu and collaborate with Su Mu, the Interstellar Gaming Platform might soon produce a masterpiece rivaling Titanfall.
This made Scott's jealousy burn even hotter. He had plotted and worked tirelessly to reach his position... yet this rookie had completely surpassed him!
This envy drove Scott to extremes. For two years, he tried to launch clones of Honkai Impact 3rd, but all failed. He tried to follow Su Mu's lead by proposing a mecha game after Titanfall blew up, but the result nearly broke him.
"Just a poor imitation of the Old Thief."
—That was the top comment on Scott's follow-up projects.
His resentment overflowed. He racked his brain for ways to eliminate Su Mu, but before he could act, he was warned by higher-ups to drop the idea.
Behind that young man stood Otto, Welt, Kevin, and the world-class superstar Eden. His background was not something Scott could shake, and the IPC would never offend such figures for a mere specialist.
Scott had been harboring a fire in his heart, and it finally erupted when his subordinates failed to sign 4399 before he blew up.
"Useless! Not a single one of you is getting a bonus this month!"
Scott stared at the 800,000 followers on 4399's account, feeling dizzy.
Those were followers on the Interstellar Gaming Platform—pure players! On top of that, hundreds of thousands of new users had registered just because of the hype!
This terrifying data meant Scott could no longer sign 4399 the way he treated low-level developers. He would have to pay a significant price to keep him—if he messed up, the dev might even defect to the rival platform.
This was not good news for Scott.
However...
Looking at the viral Cat Mario all over the internet, Scott felt a sense of déjà vu. Two years ago, Su Mu had appeared in the public eye in much the same way.
After carefully studying 4399's games, Scott broke into a cold sweat. He had initially been uninterested in these "crude" games, but after playing and becoming addicted from morning until dawn, he finally understood.
"A genius... this person is a total genius! He's a genius even greater than that bastard Su Mu!"
Scott was excited. If he could sign this person, he might truly be able to reverse the trend of being crushed by Su Mu for the last two years!
"No matter the cost, we must sign him..."
With trembling fingers, Scott opened his administrator backend and sent a private message to 4399 as a Senior Specialist.
"Hello, I am Scott, a Senior Specialist at the Interstellar Gaming Platform..."
His fingers moved as if playing an elegant melody on a piano. Through the screen, he could already see the day he would finally trample Su Mu under his feet.
Ding-dong! You have a new message!
Su Mu, who was working on a new game in front of his computer, opened the "4399" account.
"Hello, I am Scott, a Senior Specialist at the Interstellar Gaming Platform..."
Reading the message, Su Mu narrowed his eyes, his lips curling into a slight smile.
If Seele were here and saw Su Mu with this expression, she would sigh helplessly and say: "Big Brother Su Mu is going to prank someone again. Every time before he drives the players to despair, he makes that face! Big Brother Su Mu is bad!"
END OF CHAPTER
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