(A/N):
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Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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The day of the launch event finally arrived.
For the past week, it felt as though the entire UniNet had been counting down together.
Everywhere people went, the same topic appeared.
Super Mario.
The strange colorful game with a plumber hero.
The game where people raced across glowing rainbow roads floating through space.
The game where giant mushrooms could somehow make a man grow taller.
The game that made veteran game developers question reality and yet somehow made audiences smile every time they watched the trailer.
And now—
The launch event was finally here.
Several hours before the event officially began, a notification appeared on millions of i-bracelets.
The sender:
Star Entertainment
The moment people saw it, conversations stopped.
Students stopped what they were doing.
Workers checked their bracelets during breaks.
Families gathered around tables.
Streamers immediately interrupted whatever content they were making.
Everyone opened the notification.
Inside was a simple message.
The access link.
Across countless planets, sectors, stations, colonies, and cities, people pressed the link.
One after another.
Millions of them.
A businessman from Sector-17.
A farming family from Verdantis-9.
A group of college students from Astraea Prime.
A retired soldier from Sector-31.
A mother and her two children.
A group of gamers preparing snacks for the event.
All of them entered.
Their vision flashed.
The familiar UniNet transfer effect surrounded them.
Then—
The world materialized.
For a few moments, nobody said anything.
Not because there was a problem.
But because they were genuinely stunned.
The VR stadium was enormous.
Not the kind of enormous people expected from corporate events.
Not endless steel structures.
Not giant warships.
Not intimidating military decorations.
Instead—It looked like somebody had taken imagination itself and turned it into architecture.
Color dominated everything.
Bright greens. Warm reds.
Soft blues.
Golden pathways.
White stone bridges.
Flower gardens stretched between the audience sections.
Floating platforms slowly drifted through the air above the stadium.
Massive pipes decorated the entrances.
Strange smiling mushrooms stood beside walkways waving at arriving visitors.
Everywhere people looked—Something moved.
Something smiled.
Something seemed alive.
A young boy who had entered together with his father pointed excitedly toward one of the giant decorations.
"Dad! Look!"
The father followed his finger.
A huge mushroom-shaped character stood near one entrance.
It wasn't moving much.
Just gently waving at people.
Yet somehow it looked welcoming.
The father laughed.
"-Haha!!"
"I don't even know what that thing is."
The boy immediately replied.
"I like it."
Nearby, another family was having the exact same conversation.
People were used to gaming events being serious.
For generations, most successful games revolved around war.
Combat.
Conflict.
Power.
Competition.
Even the advertisements usually featured soldiers, battleships, weapons, explosions, and dramatic speeches.
But here?
There wasn't a single weapon in sight.
And somehow nobody missed them.
The centerpiece of the stadium was a gigantic stage built at the center.
Above it floated an enormous screen.
Calling it a screen almost felt wrong.
It was more like a floating sky.
The display constantly adjusted itself based on where each audience member stood.
Someone sitting on the left side saw a perfect viewing angle.
Someone sitting in the highest seats saw the same thing.
Even people walking through the venue could see clearly.
The technology fascinated many visitors.
The comments immediately began flooding UniNet.
💬 [@GalaxyViewer88: I expected a game launch. Why does this feel like a festival?]
💬 [@MushroomVeteran: Okay who designed this place because they deserve a raise.]
💬 [@SoftGalaxy: I don't know any of these characters but they all look adorable.]
💬 [@RainbowDrifter: Can we keep this place after the event ends?]
Screenshots started spreading everywhere.
People posing beside giant Mario statues.
Families taking photos next to colorful pipes.
Groups gathering around flower gardens.
Friends trying to guess which character would become their favorite.
The event hadn't even started yet.
And people were already having fun.
Meanwhile, one of the largest streams covering the event belonged to LumiNyx.
The moment she entered the stadium, she simply stopped walking.
Her avatar slowly turned in a circle.
Looking at everything.
The floating decorations.
The gardens. The cheerful atmosphere.
The giant stage. Then she laughed.
A genuine laugh echoed.
"Okay."
"This is not what I expected."
Her chat exploded instantly.
💬 [@ViewerPrime:"LOOK AT THE FLOWERS.]
💬 [@ChaosEnjoyer999:"THIS PLACE FEELS ILLEGALLY WHOLESOME.]
💬 [@RingDingWarrior:"WE WENT FROM HANGOVER TO THIS.]
💬 [@FreeSoul_77:"THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM ACCEPTS ALL.]
LumiNyx immediately pointed at the last comment.
"You."
"You absolutely need professional help."
The chat responded by posting thousands of mushroom emojis.
As more people entered, the atmosphere became increasingly lively.
Audience members wandered around exploring.
Some discovered hidden interactive decorations.
Others were discussing theories about the game.
Groups debated whether Luigi would secretly be stronger than Mario.
Some argued that Rainbow Tracks would become the most popular mode.
Others wanted to know more about Bowser.
A surprising number of people admitted they simply wanted to drive around and look at the scenery.
Near one of the giant Mario statues, a conversation between two older gamers perfectly captured the mood.
One looked around and shook his head.
"I still don't understand why I'm excited."
His friend laughed.
"Me neither."
"We've spent twenty years playing military simulators."
The first man looked toward the bright colorful stage.
Then toward the giant smiling mushroom nearby.
Then back at his friend.
"...But this feels refreshing."
His friend nodded.
"Exactly."
And perhaps that was why the event felt different.
People weren't gathering because they expected the biggest battle.
Or the strongest hero.
Or the most realistic experience.
They were gathering because they were curious.
Because they wanted to have fun.
Because for the first time in a very long time—
A game had reminded them that adventure didn't always need explosions.
Sometimes a plumber and a mushroom kingdom were enough.
And as millions continued pouring into the stadium from every corner of known space, the excitement only continued to grow.
Because everyone knew that sooner or later—
The stage lights would turn on.
And when they did—
The people behind Star Entertainment would finally walk onto that stage.
As people continued arriving at the VR stadium, something unexpected started happening.
The event itself hadn't even begun yet.
No speeches.
No gameplay.
No cast appearances.
No launch announcement.
And yet—
UniNet was already being flooded with posts.
People weren't posting about the game.
Not yet.
They were posting about the experience of being there.
Across countless sectors, screenshots began appearing every few seconds.
Photos beside giant Mario statues.
Groups posing near colorful pipes.
Families taking pictures with the smiling mushroom mascots.
Friends gathering beneath floating rainbow arches stretching across the stadium sky.
One post that quickly went viral showed a grandfather and his grandson standing beside a giant Luigi statue.
💬 [@OldPilotVarren: My grandson convinced me to come. Now he's explaining mushroom politics to me.]
The attached picture showed the old man looking completely confused while the child enthusiastically pointed toward a nearby display.
The comment section loved it.
💬 [@StarryMom22: Protect them at all costs.]
💬 [@GalaxyViewer88: Bro got dragged into the Mushroom Kingdom.]
💬 [@LumiLover999: The kid looks more invested than most politicians.]
Elsewhere, groups of college students were taking selfies beside a giant rotating golden coin.
One image showed five students all attempting to jump simultaneously.
Only one succeeded.
The other four looked like they had tripped.
💬 [@Sector9Students: Mission failed successfully.]
The post gained hundreds of thousands of likes within an hour.
The stadium itself became one of the biggest talking points.
Many visitors admitted they had entered expecting another corporate launch venue.
Instead they got something closer to an amusement park.
A place people genuinely wanted to explore.
💬 [@SoftGalaxy: I've spent forty minutes walking around and forgot the event hasn't started.]
💬 [@PixelGoblin: Whoever designed this deserves a promotion.]
💬 [@RainbowDrifter: I came for a game launch and ended up on vacation.]
Even gaming communities that initially mocked the colorful design started changing their tune.
One particularly popular post showed a military game veteran sitting on a virtual bench near a flower garden.
The caption read:
💬[ @CombatVeteran88: I came here prepared to judge. Now I'm feeding virtual birds.]
That image spread everywhere.
Especially because many people secretly felt the same.
Meanwhile, streamers continued arriving.
Large ones. Small ones.
Movie reviewers.
Gaming channels.
Reaction creators.
Entertainment analysts.
Everyone wanted to cover the event.
On her stream,
LumiNyx had abandoned any attempt at professionalism.
She was currently racing through the stadium trying to discover hidden decorations.
At one point she found a tiny hidden area behind a decorative pipe.
The moment her audience saw it—The chat exploded.
💬 [@ViewerPrime: THERE'S SECRET AREAS.]
💬 [@ChaosEnjoyer999: THEY HID EASTER EGGS IN THE EVENT.]
💬 [@FreeSoul_77: THE KINGDOM REWARDS THE CURIOUS.]
LumiNyx immediately pointed toward the chat.
"There he is again."
"The cult leader."
Across UniNet, more clips began spreading.
Somebody discovered a giant Bowser statue and pretended to challenge it to a duel.
Another group started an unofficial competition to take the funniest photo with Mario.
One user somehow convinced hundreds of strangers to form a giant line and recreate a caterpillar using mushroom costumes.
Nobody knew how.
But it happened.
The audience count continued climbing.
Millions became tens of millions.
Then even more.
Every few seconds, flashes of light appeared around the stadium as new visitors arrived.
The seating sections that once looked massive slowly began filling.
People occupied every available area.
Balconies.
Gardens.
Observation decks.
Even decorative pathways.
The atmosphere no longer felt like people waiting for an event.
It felt like a festival.
A celebration. A gathering.
Back on UniNet, posts continued flooding feeds.
💬 [@GalaxyTraveler77: Arrived one hour early. Worth it.]
💬 [@MushroomVeteran: Still haven't sat down. Still exploring.]
💬 [@Sector31Gamer: I brought snacks. Prepared for a six-hour event.]
💬 [@CinemaGoblin: The game hasn't launched. The cast hasn't appeared. The show hasn't started. And somehow this is already the best event I've attended this year.]
Thousands agreed with that statement.
Because as more people entered the stadium, one thing became obvious.
This wasn't just another product launch.
It was becoming a shared memory.
And the actual event hadn't even started yet.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Check my new Fan fic: Karuppan: King of Openings
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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