After its release, the modern-day version of Holographic Script Sessions was met with widespread acclaim.

In addition to mystery-solving, escape-room puzzles, mission-based modules, and emotional narratives, this update also opened up a multiplayer entertainment mode—a feature inspired by suggestions from netizens.

When The Cases of Di Renjie first launched, a netizen had tagged @LittleSailboat, expressing a wish for a holographic version of a class reunion. After graduating from high school or university, many classmates end up scattered across the country, making it incredibly difficult to gather. If a “holographic gathering” mode existed, it would make things much more convenient.

Currently, the Qihang servers support up to 100 players within a single instance.

After some careful thought, Xie Yunfan created an open “Multiplayer Gathering” mode within Holographic Script Sessions.

In this mode, one player can set up a room and send the invite code to others; once they log in, they are automatically placed in the gathering room.

Within the gathering mode, players can choose from various backgrounds such as beaches, forests, desert campsites, classrooms, or restaurants. The game 100% replicates the players’ appearances, heights, and builds, generating accurate 3D models.

As for the activities, players are free to do as they please.

Of course, to prevent “illegal” gatherings, the mode is subject to review by game GMs. If any violations are discovered, the players involved will be permanently banned.

There are two payment models for this: either an “AA” split, where each player pays 5 yuan per hour; or a “Private Room” model, where the room host pays the entire fee upfront, allowing all invited players to log in for free.

Once the game’s official website released the detailed introduction for “Gathering Mode,” many players were eager to give it a try.

In a university graduation group chat, the class monitor, Yang Hua, sent a message: “@All members, this year marks our tenth anniversary since graduation. I wanted to organize a reunion, but considering many of our classmates are in other cities, it’s very hard to gather offline. Let’s discuss—would you all be interested in trying out the newly launched holographic gathering mode?”

This message was like a stone thrown into a calm pond,炸 (blowing) out many long-time lurkers.

“Holographic gathering? Damn, is it that advanced?”

“I’ve never played a holographic game before. Monitor, how exactly does this work?”

“This gathering mode sounds really high-end!”

“Is this for Holographic Script Sessions? There’s a custom gathering mode in there that supports large reunions of up to 100 people. As long as you have a game pod, players from all over the world can connect online.”

The monitor replied: “Exactly, that’s the one. I’ve read the official intro in detail. Players can replicate their models to join the gathering in-game, and the effect is almost the same as meeting in person.”

“Wow, that sounds great!”

“I’m working in the Imperial Capital and I’m too busy, so I can never make it to reunions. If it’s an online gathering, I can attend!”

“+1. Holographic gatherings are so friendly for people living far away.”

The monitor initiated a poll, and it passed unanimously.

The reunion was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Yang Hua built a room in the game titled “Happy 10th Graduation Anniversary” and posted the invite code in the class group chat. He set the background to a jungle campsite.

On the day of the gathering, one by one, classmates logged into the room via their game pods.

Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and many classmates hadn’t seen each other since graduation. Although the class had organized a few reunions over the years, out of the 40 people in the class, fewer than half usually showed up.

This was the first time 40 people were all present.

Looking at those familiar faces, the classmates were excited, shaking hands and hugging: “Long time no see!” “Has it really been ten years? You haven’t changed much at all!”

In the realistic wilderness environment, the game even provided tents and barbecue. Someone who was playing a holographic game for the first time asked curiously: “Can we eat the stuff in this game?”

A veteran player nearby enthusiastically introduced: “You can, but the taste is just average. Holographic technology still has some room for improvement when it comes to the sense of taste.”

Someone sighed with emotion: “Technology is getting more and more advanced. This kind of gathering mode is really convenient.”

A group of people sat in the camp, chatting around a bonfire.

It felt as if they were back in their university days; they had once gone to a campsite for a team-building event just like this.

By the end of the short few-hour gathering, many felt unsatisfied and agreed to do it again every year.

It was cheap, convenient, and they could catch up with old classmates—what’s not to like?

…

The high school classmates from Rongcheng No. 7 Middle School also arranged an online alumni meeting on Christmas Day, choosing a beach as the location.

After graduating from high school, everyone had gone to universities all over the country. Even though they hadn’t seen each other in half a year, meeting their middle school best friends in the game still felt very heartwarming.

While enjoying the sea breeze, everyone chatted about their experiences and what they had seen at their respective universities. Some even added each other as friends in the game, deciding to play script sessions together when they were free.

Beyond class reunions, this mode also facilitated many club activities.

For instance, dance club members could choose a dance floor background to host an online holographic dance party. The game featured a rich selection of music, and dancing in the game felt quite unique.

Students from the university mystery club could play large-scale werewolf games with over 20 people in the gathering mode, or engage in custom mystery games.

Forum users could organize “offline meetups” through this method.

Some cosplay enthusiasts could wear their favorite pretty outfits to socialize and take pictures with like-minded people. The built-in camera in the game could snap many beautiful photos.

Relatives and friends who couldn’t gather offline during the holidays could also conduct “group greetings” online to send blessings to their families.

There were also company team-building events, online meetings for studios, and so on.

There even appeared a “Holographic Matchmaking Event”…

This was something Xie Yunfan hadn’t expected.

Reportedly, a warm-hearted auntie from a matchmaking agency organized a group of single men and women within the province, created a room named “Holographic Matchmaking,” and let everyone log in via game pods to find partners. If anyone took a shine to each other, they could add each other as friends to continue getting to know one another.

At a large matchmaking event for 100 people, some people actually hit it off.

This young couple’s journey from holographic meeting to meeting in real life, dating, and getting engaged went very smoothly.

On the day of their engagement, they left a message to @LittleSailboat on the internet: “Thanks to the holographic gathering mode for helping us find our other half. @LittleSailboat, you can be considered our matchmaker too.”

Xie Yunfan: “??”

How did he suddenly become a matchmaker?

Seeing the message, Xie Yunfan smiled and replied: “Congratulations, congratulations! Wishing you both a happy and fulfilling life ^^”

The couple replied: “We also wish LittleSailboat finds his true love~”

Many netizens egged them on, asking for wedding candies, and the hashtag #HolographicMatchmaking actually surged onto the trending searches.

Passersby were stunned.

“There’s this kind of operation too?”

“Hahaha, LittleSailboat inexplicably acted as a matchmaker.”

“Holographic matchmaking—I say, can you guys stop being so trendy?”

“Laughing to death, in the future, when going on a blind date, you don’t need to meet up for a meal; just log into the game pod to model and check each other out first?”

Although Xie Yunfan himself was still a “single dog” who hadn’t even been in a relationship, he was quite happy to accidentally help some couples find their way to each other.

The existence of holographic games would gradually change people’s lifestyles.

Currently, a 100-person gathering was already a major technological breakthrough, and there was still a long way to go before large-scale networking was possible.

…

In early January, Luo Hang took a few people abroad. He intended to promote The Cases of Di Renjie and Holographic Script Sessions globally.

The multi-language translation for the games was already finished; they only needed to negotiate the operation models and profit distribution with the local agents. Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America—Luo Hang had many countries to visit over the coming month.

With Luo Hang out developing overseas markets, Xie Yunfan stayed in the country to stabilize the rear guard.

The operation of The Cases of Di Renjie had already matured, so he handed the project over to the assistant lead, Zhang Su. As for Holographic Script Sessions, Xie Yunfan also began the handover process.

On January 3rd, the official website of Yangfan Studio released an announcement:

“Respected players of The Cases of Di Renjie and Holographic Script Sessions:

In the next version update, we will open a Player Script Platform, providing templates and materials for creating script sessions for your reference.

Players can upload scripts they have created to the platform to be evaluated and reviewed by our professionals. Yangfan Studio will purchase the copyrights for excellent scripts and produce them for public release.

At the same time, the game will include a built-in script editor. Players can use this simple editor and Yangfan Studio’s public assets to create private scripts and invite specific friends to join.

The 1st Script Session Creation Competition will officially launch on January 3rd, with a submission deadline of February 1st. Players can upload their work to the official contest channel, where it will be graded by Yangfan Studio’s copywriter team to select the top three.

The Champion, Runner-up, and Second Runner-up will each receive cash rewards of 100,000, 50,000, and 30,000 yuan, respectively, and sign a contract with Yangfan Studio. The scripts written will be officially produced and released in subsequent version updates.

We very much look forward to your active participation!”

This Weibo post was forwarded over a hundred thousand times in a short span.

The enthusiasm of the players was unprecedentedly high.

Having played so many script sessions during this time, many players were already very familiar with the format. Some talented players immediately opened computer documents and started brainstorming outlines for their scripts.

At this moment, the author “Ye Xuan,” sitting in front of his computer, looked at the announcement thoughtfully.

Yangfan Studio was indeed very visionary.

If players participated in the creation process, there would be a constant stream of scripts in the future.

Ye Xuan was an “obscure” author on the Zhongdian Huawen website. He loved writing suspense novels; he had persisted in writing over a million words for the Criminal Investigation Detachment series alone, but unfortunately, they were all flops.

Suspense and crime investigation novels weren’t popular in the web novel market. He wasn’t a major author, so he couldn’t get a contract for physical publication.

But he had always had a dream: he hoped someone would like his work.

Script sessions were perfect for writing suspenseful stories!

This competition by Yangfan Studio was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for him.

After a moment of hesitation, Ye Xuan opened a Word document and wrote out a murder case he had deduced in his head many times, presenting it in the format of a script session.

No matter what, he’d try first. What if he got lucky and won an award?