The System Mistook Me for a Cat

The simple VR devices still use the previous real-name system, while the VR experience pods have been upgraded to a real-name system using voiceprint and fingerprint recognition—

This is why Universal Gaming Platform has the confidence to implement age restrictions.

If minors want to purchase 18+ games, they can only use accounts already bound to adults, and they cannot use the VR experience pods for deep immersion, which significantly reduces the gaming experience.

For players who still insist on borrowing adult accounts to log into the games under such circumstances, Universal Gaming Platform has also imposed restrictions: different devices cannot log in simultaneously. That is, when an adult is playing on the experience pod, they cannot lend their VR device to a minor. Additionally, each login records the IP address, device, and playtime.

Universal Gaming Platform isn’t preventing minors from playing games without age restrictions. If they insist on playing 18+ games and their family supports it, then there’s nothing more to say.

Chu Tingwu also figured out why the simple murder mystery game they created ended up being rated 18+. While the character models weren’t perfect, the depictions of their deaths were scientifically accurate, extremely gory, and completely uncensored.

After confirming with the uploader that they really didn’t want to apply automatic censorship, the game was tagged with “blood and gore,” “horror,” and “18+.”

Chu Tingwu: “==”

She sipped her tea.

She didn’t advise the team on how to fix it because once the game was uploaded, other platform users could download and purchase it. Any modifications to the game’s content or data would require review—after all, players couldn’t just buy a game and have the developers delete important content afterward.

So, if there were major changes to the gameplay or content, it would be difficult to get approval. The quickest solution was to upload a censored version, which couldn’t be priced higher than the original.

Once everyone figured this out, Chu Tingwu finished her tea, and then her senior brother noticed:

“Huh? Someone’s already downloaded it?”

He had drawn the characters, and as he recalled the content he had created… he felt a pang of guilt! Fortunately, the game was free. He had only set a price for the accompanying assets, all priced at two dollars each.

Surely no one would buy them, right?

The first to notice the new game on Universal Gaming Platform were regular users, but the fastest to react were those who made a living off social media—like gaming YouTubers.

Just like Yue Si, the rise of semi-holographic games had diluted the popularity of traditional online games, making it a hot topic everyone wanted to capitalize on. From VR live streams to semi-holographic games, it was clear that this was the future of gaming content.

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‍same was true for the most popular gaming YouTubers on Fenghua Network.

“Last year, VR experience pods were still a novelty, but within a year, the price has dropped,” Tang Ji Yaya, a gaming YouTuber, remarked to her assistant. “Even though it’s still a five-digit price tag, most people can justify it as buying a high-end gaming console and bite the bullet.”

Especially since Wu Voice Group had promised free upgrades for the next three years, with price reductions not exceeding three thousand dollars.

…Many users saw it as spending three thousand dollars for early access to VR gaming, which wasn’t a bad deal.

As more and more fans in her community purchased VR experience pods, Tang Ji Yaya had her team keep a close eye on Universal Gaming Platform’s developments. Everyone knew that the new games the company would release in the future would likely set the trend for gaming content.

And then, without much fanfare, Universal Gaming Platform quietly released a murder mystery game set in an Antarctic research station.

Tang Ji Yaya was somewhat disappointed.

As soon as the game launched, she gathered a group of friends (all gaming YouTubers) to try it out. The story was decent, and the realism was high, especially the corpses and crime scenes. Unlike text-based murder mysteries, the VR version required players to physically search for evidence—

To be precise, it wasn’t exactly a VR game but more of a semi-holographic experience. Compared to regular VR, it added touch and smell, enhancing the realism, though the visual fidelity wasn’t up to Universal’s usual standards.

The credits confirmed that the developers were a group of… unknowns, not affiliated with any company, as if they were just ordinary people making a game for fun.

This made Tang Ji Yaya incredibly excited—

Even though she hadn’t thought of a game idea yet, once the Universal Game Editor launched, wouldn’t anyone be able to create semi-holographic games? While the quality might not match Universal’s, there was potential for some games to stand out and even go viral.

This was an untapped goldmine.

Universal Gaming Platform also timely announced that the editor would be launched in three days.

So, what kind of game should she make? With her fanbase, she could essentially self-promote her product… and the development difficulty was low. With this in mind, she spent the next three days brainstorming, though perhaps she had too many ideas and couldn’t decide.

Then, on the evening of the editor’s release, she heard that a multiplayer game had gone viral.

It had surpassed five-digit downloads in a single day, clearly a professional effort with Universal Gaming Platform’s collaboration and recommendation.

The game was called… “The Water Gun Maze Murder.”

Tang Ji Yaya: What’s going on? Another murder mystery?

Xi Ming: “Of course not! It’s a 5v5 competitive maze exploration game, but the weapons are water guns, and yes, they can actually ‘kill’ people!”

As for the name, he was just riding the wave of popularity, or rather, paying homage to his boss! Although the Antarctic research station game wasn’t made by the boss, it had inspired him.

He was on the phone bragging to his friend Lu Tinglan, chuckling:

“I had the advantage of early access to the editor through work, and I realized—with our current technology, we can’t create semi-holographic games as realistic as the ‘Flying Bird’ Easter egg. But if the characters look too strange, players won’t feel immersed. So, I came up with a simple solution—”

Why not make a maze game where players are split into two teams for competition, and their characters are… slimes?

In the game, the slimes would be cute, jiggly, and jelly-like, with no complex facial features, eliminating the “uncanny valley” problem. Since slimes are mostly water, it naturally led to the idea of using water guns for combat.

In the game, players could raise their water guns above their heads and fire using voice commands or gestures.

The slimes would move by bouncing, but they couldn’t jump over walls after charging up.

Slimes could refill their water guns with the “water” inside their bodies, which would regenerate over time, like MP in RPGs. Enemy shots were toxic, causing the slime’s body to shrink gradually. Teammates could “heal” each other by shooting them, effectively giving them a health boost. Each player had three lives, and if one team was completely eliminated, they’d lose. The map would also shrink over time to prevent players from hiding indefinitely.

The logic was flawless, so once Xi Ming came up with the idea, he refined it further and submitted a proposal to the company.

He was using the company’s editor for his personal project and even planned to leverage company resources. If he tried to hide it, he might ruin his reputation in the industry—

But since he was upfront about it, Universal Gaming Platform reciprocated, stating that the game was simple but had a standout concept. If he wanted to develop it independently, the company could provide resources and a featured spot in exchange for a share of the profits.

It was essentially company sponsorship.

Xi Ming: “Old Lu, I think Universal doesn’t care much about the small profits from my game. Are they planning to develop true holographic games instead?”

Before the editor was released, he thought the indie game scene might be heading into an even harsher winter.

After the Universal Game Editor was released, Xi Ming noticed that the independent game developers in his circle of friends were all buzzing with excitement... Even though they had to venture into the unfamiliar territory of VR games and invest in purchasing VR experience pods, they saw a brand-new, hopeful path ahead.

Whatever!

Xi Ming: "Anyway, Lu Tinglan! You're my best friend, and this is the first time I'm making a new game since we worked on *The Lonely Spirit Temple* together. No matter how busy you are, you have to make time to play this one."

Lu Tinglan: "Got it. I'll cancel my meetings. How about we meet at 8 PM?"

Xi Ming: "Deal! I'll team up with you then!"

*Maze Water Gun* allowed random matchmaking. Xi Ming teamed up with Lu Tinglan and matched with three others. Five slimes were assigned to the red team, randomly spawning in one half of the map, with none of them near each other. Communication was only possible through the team chat.

He thought to himself, "I’m a game developer after all... Surely I can’t lose at my own game, right?"

He glanced at his teammates and let out a surprised "Huh!" Both he and Lu Tinglan were only level 1, but one of their teammates, with the ID "Tang Ji Yaya," was already level 5. Had they been playing since the game launched? And they even managed to snag a two-character ID.

Any gamer knows that if IDs can’t be duplicated, shorter ones are harder to claim since they’re usually taken by other players.

On their team, four out of the five players had two-character IDs. In contrast, the opposing team seemed like a complete mess: one was named "Why Is the Internet So Bad in Antarctica," another "Rest When It Gets Dark," and another "But It’s Polar Day Outside." There was also "Reincarnate as a Researcher Next Life," and finally, one that stood out with the ID "The Only Cat at Home," clearly a random match.

They were even chatting in the public channel, probably because they couldn’t find the team chat—

Rest When It Gets Dark: "Can we only jump? How do I get up this wall?"

Polar Day: "Dummy, it’s a maze. If you could jump onto the walls, wouldn’t that be like cheating? Just draw your own map and try to regroup... Why can’t slimes run? They can only jump and wiggle. So slow!"

Antarctica Internet mocked: "If slimes had legs, would they even be slimes? By the way, can we change weapons? This water gun’s firing rate is so slow."

Reincarnate as a Researcher checked the guide: "You can find crates to swap weapons. Look for crates. Oh, hey, Cat, where are you?"

The Only Cat at Home: "Ah..."

The Only Cat at Home: "[Roaring Hippo], I got a cannon-type water gun, but I prefer snipers. Wanna swap after we regroup?"

Compared to the red team, which seemed more experienced and organized, especially with Tang Ji Yaya activating skills to locate teammates, the blue team, with their icy-themed IDs, looked like they were on a casual outing.

As Xi Ming hopped forward, he thought, "This feels like an easy win for us..."

But the next second, a water cannonball the size of a boulder came crashing down from above, completely engulfing his slime. His HP started plummeting rapidly. Above him, a blue slime holding a cannon sent a question mark in the chat, followed by—

The Only Cat at Home: "Not dead yet?"

Xi Ming: "Wait, wait, wait..."

The Only Cat at Home fired another cannonball at him.

Xi Ming’s ghost, unable to rest in peace, screamed in the public chat:

"I haven’t leveled up, haven’t picked up any skills, and don’t even have a weapon! Also, how are you up there?"

But as soon as he asked, he realized he’d been outsmarted—

The Only Cat at Home: "You can’t jump onto the maze walls, but the walls are pretty realistic. Slimes can slowly slide down by clinging to the bricks."

So, if she had anticipated Xi Ming’s arrival and positioned herself on the wall beforehand, she could ambush him from above.

The Only Cat at Home jumped down, still holding the cannon above her head, and continued in the public chat:

"Who’s got a sniper? This cannon feels awful, and it drains my MP after just two shots. Someone swap with me!"

After being killed twice in a row, Xi Ming respawned weakly in a random corner of the map. He hopped out with his basic water gun, only to run straight into a blue slime.

Blue Slime: "..."

Xi Ming: "..." Aaaah!

After being sniped to death, he finally saw the opponent’s ID—

"Rest When It Gets Dark."

Xi Ming: "..."

But "It’s Polar Day Outside" right now!

Update! They must update the game! After dying twice in a row, he felt like a righteous hero facing a villainous group, his sense of justice burning fiercely within him.

They should give players a 10-second invincibility and invisibility buff after respawning. Attacking others during this time would break the buff, but at least they’d survive for 10 seconds—

This was the least he, as a developer, could do for the players!