The Boss Behind The Game

Ba Lun was an international student who hailed from Dragon Nation.

When he was studying in Dragon Nation, Ba Lun's favorite pastime, besides playing games, was listening to rock music.

Due to his interest in rock music, he formed a rock band with his friends, aspiring to build their future with rock music.

After he was accidentally exposed to Battle Online, Ba Lun was hooked on the game. Consequently, he forgot about his dream to become a musician.

In the game, he was a berserker who was also a member of a certain guild. Now, his daily routine was to spend time with his guild mates, ardently engaging in wilderness player killing, making investments, and exploring places outside the Mansion of the Dead.

Feeling as though he could immerse himself in another extremely graphic and realistic world, Ba Lun completely indulged in the game.

On this day, the game finally ended after twelve hours when Ba Lun, who yearned to continue playing, was kicked out of the game.

After Ba Lun removed his helmet, he pursed his lips as he whined about the game, calling it a trashy invention. Then, he logged into the forum of the game routinely, intending to update himself with the latest intriguing news of the games and look for new tips from other players.

However, his attention was quickly caught by the title of the official announcement that was pinned on the page:

"Online Game Theme Song Contest"

In the underworld, there was a piece of land blessed with tranquility. Under their king's reign, thousands of tribes lived together in harmony, inhabiting this quiet land which was free of disputes.

However, there's a fine line separating peace and war. By virtue of the Demonic Dragon's advent, the Land of Beiqi was greeted by darkness.

Darkness grows in the loss of light, and vice versa. The emergence of a new evil force has triggered the bloodshed on the land that had been hushed for millenia.

Today is the day! You, the children of Beiqi, polish your long swords and put on your armor. It's time for you to release your righteous ardor in the woods and execute justice at sea. With blood and tears, pen down the dawn of your expedition now!

Requisites for the theme song:

The song should be optimistic and relevant to the content of the game.

The composers should own full copyrights of their submissions. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden.

The "Battle Online Corporation" reserves all the right of final interpretation.

Prizes:

Winner will be able to pick one from two prizes:

3000 soul coins

1 million dollars cash

Ba Lun read the introduction of the songwriting contest, then the prize options, with his eyes wide in shock.

He scanned the page for other comments and found that the other players appeared to be just as astounded as he was.

Invincible_Loneliness: "I'm taking the 3000 soul coins! I'm going to immediately hire someone to compose the music for me. Soul coins, wait for me!"

Crayon_Shinchan replied to Invincible_Loneliness: "Hey zillionaire, what if your song doesn't earn you the prize and you lose all your money?"

Invincible_Loneliness replied to Crayon_Shinchan: "I'm not short of cash. I'm only afraid to not have enough soul coins to squander!"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "3000 soul coins! Oh my god. I'm feeling a little dizzy right now. No, my eyes are slightly blurry too. That makes approximately 2.4 million dollars after conversion... someone hold me tight before I pass out."

Ye_Xueer_is_the_cutest: "I will pick 3000 soul coins!"

Strike_Gold: "Only idiots will pick 1 million dollars over the soul coins. There is a major shortage of soul coins now. One can easily sell the soul coins for 2 million dollars."

A_Mammoth: "I personally know a famous lyricist. I'll bring a few bottles of liquor to his place and develop a rapport with him. The prize of the contest is mine!"

Watermelon_Taro: "A loser like me can only sit here quietly while I watch you experts tear each other apart!"

Ba Lun fell silent after he read the comments.

Undeniably, he was very tempted to join the contest. On top of the alluring prize, he had the opportunity to compose a theme song for the game he really liked. His dream to be a rocker was reignited.

Finally, he found a notebook in his drawer. Then, he lifted his pen and began to write down the music…

The next day morning, a few of his good friends rushed to the school's music room after they received Ba Lun's phone calls. Shocked, they stared at Ba Lun who had dark circles under his eyes.

"Help me out, brothers!" Ba Lun said feebly.

Noticing that his good friends were exchanging looks in confusion, Ba Lun handed them the copies of music score he prepared beforehand:

"The Phoenix (The Immortal Bird)"

"Ba Lun, did you write this? I heard that you've been obsessed with video games recently. What makes you start to play with music again?" his friends exclaimed.

Ba Lun shook his head weakly and told them about the songwriting contest.

"So, are you willing to help me?" Ba Lun asked.

Seeing that Ba Lun was staring at them expectantly, his friends looked at each other before they giggled.

Ba Lun put on a grin after he received the answer from his friends.

They formed a band with a guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, a lead singer, and a member who was in charge of the rhythm section.

The five of them gathered in the music room after Ba Lun got some rest. Promptly, they took up the challenge of composing the song:

"Put on your war paint

You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down

Strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground

We are the jack-o-lanterns in July

Setting fire to the sky

Here, here comes this rising tide

So come on

Put on your war paint"

…...

Silver clouds with grey linings

So we can take the world back from a heart attack

…...

Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Put on your war paint

The melody resonated across the music room, attracting the attention of many students.

Listening to the upbeat song, they subconsciously stopped in their tracks as they gradually felt moved by the sonorous melody and overwhelmed by the hopefulness of the music.

…...

The theme song contest was led by Lu Wu, who reckoned that he might possibly be surprised by the players' talents as he awaited Wu Guoyi's reply.

Being the only judge of the contest, Lu Wu's workload had increased significantly since the day the theme song contest officially commenced. He was caught off guard by the innumerable submissions that swamped the inbox of his secondary email.

Expecting assistance, Lu Wu looked at Bei Li who was savoring her meal. However, she replied to Lu Wu with merely an assuring gaze and an encouraging gesture.

Flustered, Lu Wu had no choice but to pull himself together and begin to screen the submissions.

To ensure that he was fair to every player, he listened to every song carefully before he sieved the awful ones out. Then, he compared the remaining songs in order to choose the better ones.

After five days of hard work, Lu Wu was left with three songs.

Lu Wu liked all three songs immensely. The finalists were:

"Who Rules Over the Land of Beiqi's Destiny" by Invincible_Loneliness

"The Awakened King" by Midnight

"The Phoenix (The Immortal Bird)" by Ba Lun

Although he genuinely enjoyed all the songs, there could only be one winner. Lu Wu contemplated to decide on the winner.

After he repeatedly listened to the songs, Lu Wu finally decided to crown Ba Lun's "The Phoenix (The Immortal Bird)" as the champion.

In comparison to the two other songs, Ba Lun's song was able to pump up the audience more effectively. Therefore, it was apt to be the theme song of a war game.

After the result was decided, Lu Wu sent an email to Ba Lun to notify him about his victory. Meanwhile, Lu Wu also informed Ba Lun that the reward would be credited to his account after the song was officially released.

Next, Lu Wu only had to wait for Wu Guoyi to hire a professional singer.