Although he had verbally agreed, Pei Qian knew very well that he could not rush these things. He had to consider this at length and approach it carefully.
Lin Wan was now extremely confident. At the same time, she was extremely wary of her own family members.
Pei Qian was sure that she knew her father would be anxious about her game's success. She would expect him to plot for her return to the family. If Pei Qian made it just a little bit too obvious, Lin Wan would realize what he was up to for sure. Thus, not only did Pei Qian have to think of a way to send Lin Wan away, but he could not also allow Lin Wan to think that it had anything to do with her own family. She could not suspect that her father, Lin Yu, and the others were trying to cause trouble for her behind the scenes.
How should he go about it?
It would have been a good choice to select her as the most outstanding employee, but it's still too early to select the most outstanding employee now.
What if he made an exception for Lin Wan and held a selection in the near future?
On one hand, it seemed too fake. On the other hand, he could not guarantee that everyone would vote for Lin Wan. Bao Xu was also a strong competitor.
If he wanted to make sure Lin Wan was selected, Pei Qian would have to resort to under-the-table tricks. That was too troublesome.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and decided that the best way would be to expand the business.
He would tell Lin Wan that Tengda was planning to start a new business. As the most outstanding employee, Lin Wan would be put in charge of a new job.
Then, he would make her life more difficult so that she would back off. Yet, how should he go about it practically? Pei Qian had not thought about a good idea yet.
For now, Pei Qian had no choice but to verbally promise Lin Chang and Lin Yu. He could not rush things.
After all, Repent and Be Saved would be released in about a week or so. Pei Qian's primary goal was to ensure that he would incur losses before settlement.
September 29th, Wednesday…
Pei Qian went to check on Fish Catching Internet Cafe's new branch.
Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan followed Pei Qian's requests strictly and made opening for business as soon as possible their first priority. Thus, they did not spend too much time on renovation. The internet cafe still looked largely simple. However, they purchased identical tables and computers as before. In addition, they put up Fish Catching Internet Cafe's logo at the entrance. One would still be able to tell this branch belonged to them.
Pei Qian walked around the shop, feeling satisfied.
After getting rid of the coffee shop and bar, the entire shop became mostly occupied by computers. It looked much more compact than the existing branches.
There was a lounge area with a projector just like the mini cinema in the existing Fish Catching Internet Cafe branches.
After all, the mini cinema took up space but did not generate revenue. Pei Qian did not see a reason to get rid of it.
The hardware was still top-quality and guaranteed that bigger games would be able to run on them. In fact, it was more than enough to play games on.
After he surveyed the branch, he praised Zhang Yuan and Ma Yang's efficiency and then left. It did not matter what condition the internet cafe was in now-as long as it was able to incur losses with the next week or two.
Thus, Pei Qian had to observe the situation for the week.
Finally, Pei Qian returned to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Handong University branch. Research and development of Repent and Be Saved were almost complete. They were supposed to release the game on October 1st. At the moment, the final edits were mostly done.
In other words, Teacher Qiao had finished his historical assignment. In this month or so, Teacher Qiao had made significant contributions to the system's design of Repent and Be Saved. Pei Qian remained deeply grateful for him.
It was time for Pei Qian to say some sincere words to Teacher Qiao.
"Boss Pei, thank you for taking care of me during this period. This trip to Jingzhou has been very meaningful to me!
"Repent and Be Saved is rich in content and meaning. Once I get back to Beijing, I will produce a video to share the lessons I have learned from playing this game!"
Qiao Liang looked extremely energetic. Ever since he arrived in Jingzhou, Qiao Liang had been on an emotional rollercoaster. He faced many setbacks and difficulties.
He felt overjoyed, confused, and doubtful of his own life.
Yet, now, he only had one feeling: a sense of achievement!
Apart from the material rewards, he also had the chance to see Boss Pei face to face. He ate top-quality delicacies in the nameless restaurant and completed Repent and Be Saved before anyone else had the chance to play it.
To Qiao Liang, he already had a significant edge over other UP Masters. In terms of skills or understanding of the game, he would be much better than others. Once he produced a video introducing the game, it would prove to be another explosive one!
At that thought, Qiao Liang felt the fighting spirit ignite in his heart. He was going to gain much more popularity!
However, Pei Qian remained quiet. This was especially so when he heard Qiao Liang say he would produce a video as soon as possible. At once, both his hands began to tremble.
Pei Qian knew how influential Teacher Qiao's videos could be. From The Lonely Desert Road to Game Designer, Teacher Qiao's videos brought huge waves of attention and players. They always caused huge losses to Pei Qian.
Thus, he had to take care of an unstable factor like Teacher Qiao. At the very least, Pei Qian could not allow history to repeat itself. His expression still serious, Pei Qian said, "No, Teacher Qiao, you cannot publish a video."
Qiao Liang paused. "Why not?"
He looked confused. Aren't I advertising on your behalf by publishing videos?
What's more, Repent and Be Saved is such a difficult game. The plot is so deep. Don't you want a hardcore gamer like me to explain it to ordinary players?
Boss Pei had purposely invited me over here to try the game out. He must have intended for me to produce a video about it, right? Pei Qian cleared his throat and said, "Teacher Qiao, would you reveal and review the entire plot of a movie the moment it's released?"
Qiao Liang hesitated. "Er… I wouldn't."
Spoil the plot? That would be too cruel! It would be like circling the murderer on the first page of a detective comic. That was inhumane behavior!
Pei Qian nodded. "Exactly.
"The audience's experience would be greatly discounted if they read the plot review before watching the actual movie. There was a great difference between the first and second time watching the same movie.
"It was the same for games as well. The more special a game was, the more it was so!" Qiao Liang felt slightly confused, but he was beginning to understand. Indeed, Repent and be Saved was a special game. He had been tortured when he first played it.
Pei Qian tried to sound genuine as he said, "Think about the first time you played the game. How did you feel?
"Did you feel astonished, shocked, and slightly intrigued?
"That was because you had no clear expectation of the game before you actually played it. That was what contributed to these amazing feelings. "If you publish a video about the game so soon, you would be hinting to other players that the game would be incredibly difficult, and they would have to keep digging to understand the plot of the game. If players come to the game with these expectations, they would not enjoy the same experience as you. Do you understand?
"All in all, I'm just trying to say don't be the person who spoils the plot." Qiao Liang blinked hard, finally understanding what Boss Pei meant. What's more, he felt like the latter sounded quite logical.
When he first played Repent and be Saved, he was indeed tortured miserably. He was filled with confusion, but that confusion felt… quite beautiful at the same time.
He experienced the same thing for many other games as well. At first, he would always be the lousy one, being tortured by others. Yet, that was where the fun was. In fact, it could be quite addictive.
Once he became a professional at the games, his entire attitude towards them would change. He would not be able to recreate the same experience he had the first time around.
If he created a video explaining Repent and be Saved in detail, players would already expect the game to be hard before entering it. Wouldn't that affect their attitude towards it?
Qiao Liang guessed it most likely would.
Thus, Boss Pei was indeed thoughtful.
Yet… how about his popularity…?
Qiao Liang kept silent for a moment and said, "Boss Pei, you are right indeed. My video might affect players' first impression of the game.
"However, even if I don't create a video, other UP Masters might…"
Qiao Liang felt indignant. The first UP Master to create a video about the game would enjoy the greatest benefits. Was he supposed to give up such an excellent opportunity to gain more popularity?
Pei Qian expected that he would think that way. Thus, he nodded and said, "I know, that's unavoidable. However, you've spent such a long time on the game after all. You're the UP Master with the deepest understanding of the game. "I suggest that you wait at least a week after its release before you upload a video about the game. At the very least, the first batch of players would be able to experience the game firsthand.
"Even if you wait a week more, you would surely still be faster than other UP Masters.
"At the same time, other players would experience the torture that you went through at first."
A realization dawned on Qiao Liang. That's right!
When I first started playing the game, I was tortured miserably! I navigated my way around the game on my own. How can I make it so easy for others, then?!
The rest must suffer as well!
If players watch my walkthrough only after being tortured, they would see me as their hero. They would be immensely grateful to me!
That's amazing!
At that thought, Qiao Liang nodded profusely. "No problem! I shouldn't affect the players' gaming experience. I'll only upload a walkthrough a week later.
"Boss Pei, you have really thought everything through. What a noble designer; you're always prioritizing gamer experience!"
Pei Qian could not help but smile slightly.
Alright, I've successfully hoodwinked him!Actually, Pei Qian was not at all concerned about gamer experience. He was mainly concerned with lowering the influence of Teacher Qiao's videos. If Teacher Qiao published a video immediately after the game was released, players would watch it and grow in tolerance and patience for the game.
That would weaken the game's ability to repel gamers, and result in fewer people refunding the game. Wouldn't that increase the amount of revenue generated by the game?
Pei Qian could not allow such a thing to happen! On the flip side, if Teacher Qiao waited for a week before uploading a video, gamers would have no choice but to try completing the game on their own. After being battered and bruised by the game, they would surely leave a ton of negative comments on Repent and be Saved's page.
In a week, those who wanted to refund the game or curse its developers would have done so. Also, hardcore players would likely have roughly figured the game out. Naturally, others would start creating walkthroughs. Any video which Teacher Qiao released at that time would probably not be as influential.
Its effect on Repent and be Saved's revenue would also be minimized.
Pei Qian could not help but feel immensely proud of himself. He managed to deal with this threat with just a few words.
His hope was for gamers to become as irritated as possible with Repent and be Saved. That would cause its reputation to hit rock bottom and be unsalvageable within the first week after its release.
Even if Teacher Qiao published a video then, it would be useless!
Chapter 271 Ma Yiqun's Suggestion
After sending Teacher Qiao off, Pei Qian returned to Shenhua View. First, he went to Zhongdian Chinese Network—a level above Tengda-to walk around.
At the moment, Zhongdian Chinese Network was quite stable. Most people were just spending time entertaining themselves.
Traffic on the website was slowly increasing, but on the whole, the website was still doing miserably. What's more, it showed no signs of improvement in the short-term.
Zhongdian Chinese Network still had a bad reputation on many online literature forums. Most authors saw the website as a scam and strongly dissuaded new writers from working full-time for it.
Only authors with zero ambition would make Zhongdian Chinese Network their first choice and consider working full-time there for the sake of that bit of remuneration.
Thus, the editors normally only had two things to do.
Either vet manuscripts or entertain themselves by writing books or playing games.
Of course, some people—including Zhu Xingan-saw writing the official plot for Repent and be Saved as a form of entertainment.
However, Repent and be Saved's official novel was placed on the homepage of the website. This caused readers to curse it non-stop. If Zhu Xingan did not have such high tolerance for pressure and a strong mindset, he might have been critically hurt a long time ago.
The readers were cursing the novel for simple reasons: its plot was complicated and messy, and nothing was satisfying about the story. Everyone felt lost after reading the uploaded chapters. This thing was probably better off being referred to as a game plot design series as opposed to a novel. It didn't meet the expectations of most readers on the internet.
Everyone had gotten used to this. Most of them had a 'curse it if you want' approach to the matter. In any case, the plot was meant to serve the game.
Apart from managing Zhongdian Chinese Network's matters, Ma Yiqun was also managing TPDb's website. At the moment, he was beginning to see results.
When he saw Boss Pei, Ma Yiqun quickly got someone to serve drinks before personally reporting his recent progress to the former.
Five minutes later…
Although Ma Yiqun was trying his best to beautify his achievements with respect to Zhongdian Chinese Network, Pei Qian could accurately tell that the website was still a failure.
"Excellent. Zhongdian Chinese Network is showing signs of improvement, and you're doing a good job with TPDb's website, too.
"Don't be too preoccupied with results. Just maintain the status quo."
Pei Qian was very satisfied with Ma Yiqun as an employee.
Although Ma Yiqun had a very strong work ethic, Pei Qian was ensuring that he could not reach his maximum potential by allocating him to the right places. Pei Qian had to give himself credit where it was due—Ma Yiqun was one of his greatest successes.
Ever since he took over Zhongdian Chinese Network, the website had been consistently incurring losses. There were few readers and even fewer reliable authors. All of these showed Ma Yiqun's outstanding capabilities.
Pei Qian felt moved. Ma Yiqun was one of the rare talents whom he really did not need to worry about!
Noticing that Boss Pei was in quite a good mood, Ma Yiqun hesitated. He wondered if he should talk about what had been on his mind for a long time.
After some consideration, he decided to speak up.
"Boss Pei, I have a thought-or rather, suggestion-for Zhongdian Chinese Network."
"Oh? Let me hear it." Pei Qian was slightly surprised, but he did not overreact.
Ma Yiqun gravely misunderstood online novels, but he was quite an intelligent man. He had been the CEO of Zhongdian Chinese Network for a long time. Pei Qian expected him to develop his own ideas for the future of the website.
Ma Yiqun said, "Boss Pei, I've given it some thought. At the moment, Zhongdian Chinese Network's biggest problem is that we can't increase our mid-tier writers' income.
"Low-tier writers have a sense of security thanks to the basic remuneration.
"However, it's almost impossible for these low-tier writers to try to move upwards to the middle tier and hope to support their families or earn their living solely from subscriptions.
"Our website has too few readers. We can't generate enough subscriptions. Even if an author manages to produce a good book, he will be limited by the website's number of visitors. There's a low chance that his book would become popular."
Pei Qian nodded.
That's right. I thought about this problem earlier. I just had to act like I didn't know about it so that the website would continue incurring losses…
Yet, now that Ma Yiqun had mentioned it, Pei Qian could no longer act unaware. He could only nod along and express his agreement.
After all, it would seem too fake if the intelligent Boss Pei did not understand this problem.
Ma Yiqun continued, "So I thought of a way to resolve this.
"We should artificially give mid-tier writers a boost until they reach the possible income that top-tier writers could earn. If there aren't enough subscriptions, we will fork out the rest of the money to supplement their income.
"Imagine if a good book appears on our website. If its quality is as good as the elite books on Infinite Chinese Network, we can fork out money to supplement the author's subscription earnings.
"This way, low-tier writers do not have to worry about being buried in our website.
Pei Qian fell silent for a moment. "That sounds reasonable, but how do we judge whether a book has achieved top-tier standard?"
Ma Yiqun replied, "On one hand, we can depend on figures on the website, such as the ratio of the number of subscriptions to the total number of paying readers, votes, clicks, and the like. On the other hand, we can also judge the quality ourselves.
"Only I will be able to make the call on this."
Ma Yiqun had not only discovered the problem today. However, he had to develop this solution and pluck up the courage to bring it up. It was not easy.
Until now, Ma Yiqun had been apprehensive and afraid that Boss Pei would be angry.
This was because he knew the suggestion was extremely bold to make. He was essentially asking for a lot of discretionary power.
If an elite writer was to earn ten thousand yuan in terms of royalties, but Zhongdian Chinese Network only paid hundreds of yuan as basic pay, it meant that the website would have to fork out the rest of the sum.
If there were ten or twenty authors who could achieve top-tier writing, the website would have to fork out at least a hundred or two hundred thousand yuan each month.
What's more, Ma Yiqun would be able to decide who should get all the money. He still had to refer to the figures on the website, but the website only had that many readers to begin with. How difficult could it be for Ma Yiqun to play around with the numbers?
Thus, Ma Yiqun would still get to decide who the money would go to at the end of the day.
If he was a bad person, he could arrange for his own family and friends to create alternate accounts and make minor edits to unpopular books. Then, he could resort to underhanded tricks to ensure the money went into his own pockets.
Thus, while Ma Yiqun was raising an objective problem, his suggestion might not seem that appropriate.
It was an idealistic plan. As long as he harbored a single bit of self-centeredness, the entire plan could go awry and backfire. If a corruption scandal blew up and the authors heard about it, the website's reputation would go down the drain, beyond repair. It was a huge risk to take.
However, Ma Yiqun could not think of a better solution.
There were very few readers; no matter how well low-tier writers wrote, they would not be able to earn royalties. This was seriously hindering their motivation. Ma Yiqun had to think of something fast.
Thus, he had to pluck up the courage to bring it up, whether Boss Pei would ultimately agree to it or not.
Pei Qian did not reply immediately. He considered the solution in silence. Allow Ma Yiqun to take charge of this sum of money? He could think about that.
Pei Qian trusted Ma Yiqun and his eye for online literature.
Every novel that Ma Yiqun wrote failed. It revealed a huge problem with the way he vetted online literature. Since that was the case, Pei Qian believed that no book that Ma Yiqun thought was good would truly be so.
In other words, even if he selected books to fill the recommendation spots and distributed royalties at the rate that elite writers were paid, Zhongdian Chinese Network's business would not pick up.
At the same time, the website's expenses would continue to balloon!
To Pei Qian who was eager to spend as much money as possible, this would be an extremely great help!
After carefully considering the risks and benefits of the suggestion, Pei Qian nodded. "Alright, no problem. Apart from the basic pay meant for our contracted writers, I will transfer another two million yuan to you. You can spend that first."
Ma Yiqun paused and quickly said, "Boss Pei, two million yuan is too much! There aren't many capable writers working for our website now. I think I only need about two hundred thousand yuan per month."
Pei Qian waved his hand. "Don't worry!"
"It wouldn't hurt to give the top-tier writers more money. Our website could afford to buy more talents over as well. It might not be a bad idea to give the writers more money.
"Don't be too stingy as well. Since you've decided to distribute royalties to authors out of the company's pocket, just give them more money. Let them feel a greater sense of belonging to Zhongdian Chinese Network."
Pei Qian was not too worried about this.
After all, Ma Yiqun would probably select rubbish books. So what if they gave the authors more money?
If the books were lousy, readers would not visit their website. They would be making ducks and drakes of this sum of money. Pei Qian could not be more satisfied with this plan.
What's more, they were approaching settlement. Pei Qian had to spend his money as quickly as possible.
Ma Yiqun might have thought that two million yuan was a bit too much, but Pei Qian wished he could hand more money to him.
Ma Yiqun was especially touched.Indeed, Boss Pei lived up to his name. He was as generous as ever! He put it well when he said we could afford to buy more talent over!
If they paid more royalties to the better writers, Zhongdian Chinese Network would have an edge over other small novel websites. As time went by, a virtuous cycle might be established!
What moved Ma Yiqun even more was the amount of trust Boss Pei had for him!
He essentially gave Ma Yiqun free rein over these two million yuan.
How much did he trust him?! Would ordinary leaders have this amount of courage?! Would he still be human if he didn't do his best for Boss Pei?
Ma Yiqun patted his own chest and announced, "Don't worry, Boss Pei! I will work hard to choose the most capable writers. I won't let your money go to waste!"
Pei Qian smiled but sniggered inside.
As long as you work hard, my money will be wasted. Why else would I regard you so highly as my employee?
Chapter 272 If He had a Good Reason, the System would Pay for It!
After leaving Zhongdian Chinese Network, Pei Qian returned to Tengda's office. The game was about to be released; everyone was obviously excited and expectant. Everyone—including Li Yada—was focused on trying out the game. The game had already been tested. Although there were still bugs in it, the chances of players experiencing these bugs were very low. However, no one could relax. Up until this point, they continued to check the game as if they were checking their examination papers at the last minute. Most of them were just trying to comfort themselves.
As for Bao Xu…
He continued playing other games as if he had no plans to test out Repent and Be Saved like the others.
Pei Qian could not help but nod slightly.
Excellent! This is what I wanted to see.
It looked like Bao Xu had figured things out. After taking two paid leaves, he seemed to have realized something. Now, he seemed committed to slacking.
Each time Pei Qian walked past, Bao Xu seemed to be playing a game or surfing the net. Not once had Pei Qian seen him working.
This made Pei Qian trust Bao Xu even more.
Pei Qian had originally hired Bao Xu with the intention of seeing him play games and slack in the office.
Although he experienced setbacks along the way, Bao Xu's current behavior completely matched Pei Qian's expectations.
If Bao Xu kept this up, perhaps Pei Qian would assign him more tasks. However, Pei Qian still had to consider this seriously.
At that thought, he walked up to Bao Xu.
The latter quickly turned around and asked, "Boss Pei, do you need something?"
"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask how Repent and be Saved's hand sensitivity is. Have the adjustments been made?" Pei Qian had a warm smile on his face as he asked this.
"I think…"
Bao Xu was just about to say, "I think they're all done." However, he quickly realized something was amiss.
If he said that, there would have been dire consequences!
He had been secretly playing Repent and be Saved recently, and reporting any small problem he spotted to Li Yada. Apart from the two of them, nobody knew about this.
If Bao Xu confidently replied that they were all done, what would it show? It would show that he understood the game's situation very well!
If he exposed that, wouldn't Bao Xu be wasting his efforts acting as a slacker during this period? He was doing all these just to avoid being voted the most outstanding employee again.
Bao Xu was so frightened that cold sweat began to drip down his back. That was close!
He quickly corrected himself. "I think… you should ask Li Yada. I'm not too sure about that."
"Oh, that's right." Pei Qian nodded, then turned, and walked towards Li Yada.
That was true. Ever since Bao Xu returned from Europe, he had not been responsible for this!
Before, he would have played the game many times to find problems with hand sensitivity or other details even if it weren't within his job scope.
However, it seemed like Bao Xu had kicked that bad habit now.
It was worth celebrating!
Pei Qian was relieved. On the other hand, Bao Xu heaved a huge sigh of relief.
That was too close!
He caught glimpses of the dire consequences he would suffer if he had said the wrong thing at that moment.
Perhaps half a year later, he would be receiving a warm welcome at the Sahara Desert, the Nile River, or the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Thankfully, he had just successfully averted that crisis.
"I cannot relax, even for a moment."
Bao Xu let out a long sigh and went back to his game. He wondered if he should install a privacy filter or privacy protection film on his own computer.
Just thinking about having to keep this act up until the next Outstanding Employee Selection made Bao Xu feel melancholic.
When he returned to his own office, Pei Qian switched his computer on. He was still conflicted about whether to advertise Repent and be Saved.
If he did…
Every player would add to the risk of generating profit.
Yet, if he did not…
Given Tengda Games' current fame—even if he did not advertise the game, it would be well-known.
What's more, if he engaged in large-scale advertising, he might be able to spend more money.
After a long period of consideration, Pei Qian finally made his decision.
After his experience with Zha Zhuti and Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version, he decided that it would be safer not to advertise the game. It did not seem wise to take such huge risks for the sake of spending a bit more money.
"I should maintain a low profile to minimize attention to the game. Tengda has many loyal fans now, but I should avoid advertising the game so that fewer people know about it.
"If I intentionally avoid advertising it, it would take at least two or three days for the game to become a hot topic of discussion among the first batch of gamers, right?
"I'll take as much delay as I can get."
Pei Qian silently thought about all of these things as he accessed the official platform, intending to check on Bloody Battle Song's situation. To his surprise, Bloody Battle Song no longer took up the biggest recommendation spot on the official platform's homepage.
Pei Qian paused, not knowing how to react.
The official platform had just recommended Bloody Battle Song some time ago, and it had not taken it down since. A week had not even passed yet—why was the recommendation
gone?
He looked closer at the title of the current recommendation.
'The glory of domestically-produced games: Tengda's newest game is going to be released!'
Pei Qian, "???"
What is the official platform doing?! Did I ask for recommendation spots? Why are you forcing me to accept them?!
reco
Pei Qian did not know what to say. There was no need to think about whether he should advertise the game anymore. The official platform had already done all the advertising for him!
He could not even hope for two or three days before the game became a hot topic of discussion; it was already generating a lot of discussions! This was all because the official platform gave it a recommendation spot in advance of the game's release!
Pei Qian was speechless. What is the meaning of this?! The official platform's recommendation spots are extremely important. Aren't they fooling around by giving the best spot to a game that has not even been released yet?!
However, on further thought, Pei Qian understood.
Repent and be Saved had to be sent for vetting before being released. They could only release the game if it passed the vetting process.
The official platform's staff probably developed an understanding of the game's content after vetting it.
Of course, those in charge of vetting the game did not have to complete it on their own. Tengda had to send an official hack and detailed explanation of the game for them to vet it. This would ensure every staff in charge of vetting would be able to experience each stage of the game.
The vetting staff had obviously been impressed by the game's traditional Chinese style and content!
The official platform had been keeping an eye on Tengda Games, the creator of games like Ocean Stronghold and Game Designer. It also tended to give the latter recommendation spots very easily.
Since Repent and Be Saved was preceded by so many outstanding games and it had top-quality, Chinese-style content, the official platform naturally left the best recommendation spot for it! Pei Qian was really speechless. Official platform, you're really something. I'm already in such a state – why are you still showing me special treatment?! I just want to be a minor, transparent, game designer. Can't I?!
was
Pei Qian was filled with sorrow as he clicked on the recommendation.
Once he clicked it, he entered what would be Repent and be Saved's details page after its release. However, there were very few details of the game's content. There were only the game's title, a simple introduction, and a few images.
The game's official release date was set for October 1st. However, many gamers had already posted comments.
"Impressive! The new game hasn't even been released, but it's already given the recommendation spots on the official platform's homepage. Tengda Games is awesome!"
"The official platform is treating it like its biological son."
"Tengda's operations staff must be quite capable; they know how to establish good relations with the official platform."
"Do they even need to establish a good relationship with the official platform? The company is just capable, understand? Game Designer shot to the top so quickly. Tengda Games deserves this treatment. Are other games companies unhappy? If they think they're deserving, they can try creating a similar game." "Ai, I admire them."
As Pei Qian read these comments, his eyelids kept twitching; and his head began to hurt.
Impressive my foot! Admire my foot!
He continued reading the other comments.
"What game is this?"
"According to the images, I guess it's going to be a Chinese-style RPG." "Tengda is finally moving in the direction of AAA projects? I'm so excited!" "Indeed. The official platform has already vetted the game's content and is now recommending it. It seems like the game will be good. It's worth being excited about!"
After reading the first few comments, Pei Qian's heart felt heavy. However, he could not help but smile.
Is everyone this optimistic? Hehe, I might not have been able to deal with the official platform, but I have a way of dealing with
you!
At that moment, Pei Qian felt like he was a butcher with a chopper while the gamers were bamboo rats who had no idea about the threat they were under. They were happily chewing on their bamboo, not knowing that they were about to meet their end.
"Whatever. I'll let them be happy for now. The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
"When they play the game, their initial love would breed hate. They would have no choice but to curse it."
Just imagining this cheered Pei Qian up considerably.
"Should I just wait until the official release of the game? Hmm… I don't feel safe. Although it's meaningless to sharpen my spear at the last moment, I must still try.
"I'll spend more money while I'm at it."
Since the official platform had advertised on Pei Qian's behalf, there was no point in trying to hide the game anymore.
Pei Qian decided to look for other avenues to spend money.
He accessed Aili Island and found Shaohu Reviews. Pei Qian had decided to buy fake reviewers!
Although the fake reviewers Pei Qian hired from Shaohu Reviews disappointed him before, he could not shift the blame entirely on them. After all, they had been paid to work for him.
If he wanted to closely analyze what went wrong, Pei Qian had to accept a bigger part of the blame.
What's more, Shaohu Reviews had refunded Pei Qian the one thousand yuan. Pei Qian was extremely satisfied with their attitude.
Since they were so upright, Pei Qian thought they deserved a second chance.
The last time he bought fake reviewers, his plan fell through. This time, Pei Qian had to alter the way he would make use of these fake reviewers.
Whether he would be able to change the outcome or not was another matter; his main priority was not to spend his own money this time. In fact, strictly speaking, his plan technically did not involve buying fake reviewers this time.
If he had a good reason, the system would pay for it!
Chapter 273 I'm Stingy with My Own Money, but I Go All Out with System Funds!
Pei Qian used Hardcore Reviews' account to message Shaohu Reviews. Two minutes later, Hu Xiao replied. "Brother, tell me what you need!"
Pei Qian was slightly shocked. This man really surfed Aili Island 24 hours a day. Pei Qian sent Hu Xiao a private message on Aili Island, not on other social media platforms.
Yet, the UP Master of Shaohu Reviews replied so quickly. It proved that he was always keeping an eye on private messages he received on Aili Island.
Of course, he might have been surfing Weibo and other forums apart from Aili Island as well.
Pei Qian could only say that he had the attitude of a professional UP Master. Pei Qian considered his words carefully.
The System did not allow him to buy fake reviewers. Perhaps it was because the System saw buying fake negative or fake positive comments as trickery nonetheless. Either way, consumers' judgment of the product would be affected.
Since the System saw this behavior as trickery, Pei Qian was not allowed to use System Funds.
However…
He would be able to use the System Funds if he was not planning to resort to trickery.
I'll hire a group of people to comment on the game honestly, in the same way with paid reviewers. The System can't prohibit that, right?
Boss Pei was extremely good at finding loopholes in the rules.
"Do you take on custom assignments?" Pei Qian asked.
Hu Xiao seemed eager to tend to Pei Qian. His reply came quickly. "Of course! Our brothers are very good at their assignments. Not only do they have vast experience, but they are also highly adaptable. Just name your request; we will satisfy it for sure! "Of course, there might be a slight adjustment to the prices. It's a custom assignment after all; it's considered skilled work…"
After what happened the last time, Hu Xiao paid a lot of attention to Hardcore Reviews' UP Master.
This UP Master was obviously rich and skilled in terms of his marketing. What's more, he seemed to have a complex relationship with Fei Huang Workspace.
Hu Xiao was happy to establish a good working relationship with this UP Master. For all he knew, he would need the latter's help in the future.
Of course, Hu Xiao did not mind earning a bit more money, too.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and typed. "I'll let you and your brothers play a game. Then, I'll need you to write comments on the game based on your first impression.'
Hu Xiao paused. "That's all?"
Pei Qian replied, "That's right. Name your
price."
Hu Xiao felt confused. He quickly asked, "Brother, let me confirm this. You're asking us to give our first impression of the game? Clarify what you mean. Do you want us to write good or bad comments?
"I'm afraid I'll misunderstand you."
Hu Xiao's head was beginning to hurt. This was the first time someone was hiring fake reviewers for this purpose.
You have to give fake reviewers a clear aim once you hire them, right? Should they mindlessly praise, mindlessly curse, masquerade as enemies, make biased arguments while pretending to be logical, offer praise and criticism hand-in-hand, or divert attention…?
Fake reviewers were good at all the above.
However, the payer had to be clear with his instructions, right?
There are so many ways of doing things. If you don't clarify which method you want us to adopt, what if we achieve the wrong effect?
Pei Qian replied, "I just want your brothers to try the game and comment on it based on their first impression. I've made it very clear. Be it good or bad, just comment on the game based on your first impression.
"Also, I must emphasize that I'm not buying fake reviewers. I am just spending money on getting your brothers to try the game. I want them to give their opinion of it."
Hu Xiao was speechless.
You named so many requests to the leader of fake reviewers and then ended off with 'I'm not buying fake reviewers'?
Brother, we are having a private conversation. I won't expose the contents of this conversation. You don't have to be this nervous.
Hu Xiao was very uncertain, but his principle had always been 'the customer is king'. He read the other party's words carefully from beginning to end and tried hard to understand him.
"So you're spending money to invite everyone to play the game and write a few comments.
"As for whether they are to be good or bad, you don't have specific requests. We're just supposed to write our first impression of the game, right?"
Pei Qian answered, "That's right." Hu Xiao asked, "Which platform?"
"Everywhere, including the official platform, Aili Island, Weibo, forums, and the like. I'll leave it to you," replied Pei Qian.
"Name your price."
Since he could use the System Funds, Boss Pei immediately sounded much more generous.
I'm stingy with my own money, but I go all out with System Funds!
After two minutes, a reply came in.
"I'll base the price on our premium reviewing standards: twenty yuan for every hundred comments. Of course, we will properly consider the contents of more popular Weibo posts before we post our own comments. That will make our comments look more realistic.
"On other platforms such as games channels on Aili Island, we'll try our best to produce popular comments as well.
"There are more complicated issues related to fees here. We'll have to calculate things like the cost of every like, share, and comment we get on Weibo. However, you can rest assured that we are very professional. We will make sure that we cover all ground and give you a favorable price.
"This is the price list…"
Hu Xiao had just sent the price list over when he received a reply almost immediately.
"Don't make it so complicated. I'm too lazy to do the calculations.
"I'll pay you according to the number of people working for me. I'll pay three hundred yuan for every person. Help me form a team of three to four hundred people. Assign the workload to them according to the price combination.
"It doesn't matter whether the comments would be good or bad, as long as they are made based on their first impressions.
"Any problems?"
Hu Xiao felt light-headed. Of course there were no problems—what problems would he have?
I can't be happier with you being so willing to spend. But why? What are you spending so much money for?
It would be much more worth it to pay per comment rather than per person!
Hu Xiao just had to do the math to realize that Pei Qian would end up paying over ten thousand yuan if he paid three hundred yuan to each of three or four hundred people. Yet, the problem was that ten thousand yuan would be wasted just like that!
However, on further thought, Hu Xiao doubted that the UP Master of Hardcore Reviews would mindlessly throw money into asking others to play games when he was so good at marketing.
He must have had his own intentions.
Thus, Hu Xiao did not question him any further and agreed. "No problem. Don't worry, we'll do the job well! I'll notify my brothers and reply to you soon."
After getting the reviewers settled, Pei Qian felt much more stable. Ten thousand yuan was a small figure; it did not hurt to use the System Funds to pay this sum.
Pei Qian knew very well that he could not buy enough reviewers to change the direction of the wind.
Even if hundreds of fake reviewers tried to change the general direction of the comments, they would still prove to be the minority among tens or hundreds of thousands of players.
What's more, Pei Qian was being restrained by the System. He could not request for the fake reviewers to comment positively or negatively. He could only employ this method to make them comment based on their first impressions of the game.
Pei Qian could be this confident because he knew very well that the fake reviewers would have an extremely bad first impression of Repent and be Saved!
One only had to think for a while to realize that the fake reviewers would not be skilled players. Pei Qian was not even sure if they would be able to figure Repent and be Saved out.
This group of people probably had very a poor experience in gaming. Could they possibly have a good impression of Repent and be Saved?
Thus, Pei Qian had found the perfect loophole in the System's regulations. Not only had he managed to buy fake reviewers to influence the direction of discussions online, but he also managed to avoid spending his own money for this purpose.
It was perfect!
Ten thousand yuan was not a lot of money, but Pei Qian was interested to see what kind of results he would achieve.
Whether it proved effective or useless, he could continue to spend more money on this.
However, if it backfired… he could hold back and minimize losses.
Pei Qian did not dare to spend too much money yet. If things developed like they did the last time, he would be in big trouble.
He was just about to close the chat window when he received another message from Hu Xiao.
"Brother, we have to purchase the game. How should we pay for it…?"
Pei Qian was speechless. Didn't you just say you were professional fake reviewers? Do you need me to teach you how to buy the game and then return it within the stipulated period?
However, on further thought, Pei Qian realized that they probably hardly acceded to custom requests like his.
Others probably gave clear directions when hiring fake reviewers. All the latter would have to do was copy and paste the message or make minor edits to it before starting work. Yet, Pei Qian was hiring the fake reviewers to experience the game for themselves.
He was putting them in a spot.
Pei Qian replied, "Don't worry. You can try it and then refund it. If you think it's too troublesome, I can pay you twenty thousand yuan more for your hard work."
Hu Xiao replied, "Thank you very much, Boss! Speaking of which, does your game have a lot of hardware requirements? I don't know if my brothers' computers are good enough." Pei Qian was speechless. "…"
You're so troublesome!
So what if they're not good enough? Just download the game and play it. If the screen freezes, leave a bad comment.
If you can't even download it, leave a comment as well! Curse the game as much as you can. I wouldn't come after you!
How do you want me to answer this question?! I can't give you so many details.
Pei Qian pondered for a while and replied, "I'll give you twenty thousand yuan more for you to solve the problem on your own. If you really can't, look for a good internet cafe nearby."
Hu Xiao replied, "Ai, alright! Brother, you're too kind!" Indeed, money could solve all problems, especially when the System was paying. With everything resolved, Pei Qian happily resumed working.
The game would be released the next day!
October 1st…
Repent and be Saved was officially released!
The moment the 'purchase' button was activated, countless anxious and excited gamers clicked it without hesitation!
However, a small number of gamers were careful enough to notice a line of words in the game's introduction: 'You may unconditionally refund the game within five hours of purchase.'
On the official platform's other games, the same sentence read, 'You may unconditionally refund the game within three hours of purchase.'
Of course, an even smaller number of gamers who read this thought that Tengda was being good-hearted once again. They did not realize there was a hidden threat in the message.
Shenzhen…
In his own house, Hu Xiao had just finished briefing his brothers about the new assignment. Although the assignment seemed slightly confusing, the payer seemed extremely generous. Since he had paid them so much money, Hu Xiao did not think other problems would arise.
Hu Xiao had already picked his candidates. They were all waiting for the game to be released before they started work.
"Why don't I try it out, too?"
Hu Xiao did not have anything better to do anyway.
He was not getting any offers for sponsored partnerships, and he did not feel like watching videos either.
Of course, Hu Xiao did not have to write fake reviews on his own. He could not be bothered to earn that bit of money.
However, the game looked quite popular on the official platform. He thought it would be a good idea to try the game out and de-stress while he was at it.
At that thought, Hu Xiao downloaded the game and started playing it. "The game requires 8.0 GB?
"That's fine. I'll download it."
Repent and be Saved had high requirements for hardware, and its art resources were also top-quality. However, since the game was not long and it had been significantly improved, the entire game remained below 8.0 GB.
This was not an intolerable size.
Hu Xiao was curious as to why the payer was only asking them to leave comments about their first impression of the game.
What would everyone's first impression be like?
Chapter 274 The Fake Reviewers are Confused
The internet speed in Hu Xiao's house was quite fast. Soon, the game's download was complete.
As a professional UP Master, Hu Xiao had a relatively high-quality desktop in his home. After all, he had to edit videos and play some games.
He did not have a controller, but he could play this game using his mouse.
Since Hu Xiao treasured custom, he brewed himself a cup of tea and sipped it before entering the game. He was not even sure what kind of game this was yet.
However, its title made it sound like a Buddhist-themed game.
What's more, the game looked like it had an overall Chinese style. The images on the official platform also seemed to depict reincarnation, rebirth, and transcendence.
Hmm, it must be filled with Buddhist messages, right?
Since it's going to be a Buddhist game, should I relax and experience it with my heart?
Hu Xiao realized that he was beginning to look forward to playing the game. He saw a black screen and then heard a melody. The melody was mellow, but it also felt cold and sorrowful. Hu Xiao could tell that it was played using traditional Chinese instruments.
The hoarse voice of an old, experienced lady sounded.
"Rebirth after rebirth, we travel different paths and miss each other. Conflict and bloodshed fill our lives in this mortal world.
"The flower blooms and misses its leaves. It's hard to hold onto both on the Road to the Underworld.
"The River of Three Crossings is long, and there is heartbreak by the Bridge of Forgetfulness.
"The former life ends with a cup of tea and a bowl of soup. A mouthful smooths the journey ahead."
Her voice sounded aged and tired, but it chilled Hu Xiao to the bone. It was almost as if she was summoning his soul.
Her words sounded like a poem or lyrics to a song-it sent chills down Hu Xiao's spine.
An image appeared. A bright-red maple leaf fell into a stream of water before it was carried away. Immediately after that, bright-red blood dripped into the stream and faded away.
The camera began to pan upward. A bony, wrinkly hand smacked the surface of the water, creating ripples in the stream. Then, it stopped moving.
The camera panned up along the bony, wrinkly arm. A corpse appeared on the screen, dressed in torn and tattered clothing. He was covered in wounds, and his eyes were wide open.
Although he was already dead, his opened eyes would cause one to shiver involuntarily.
There seemed to be fear, helplessness, conflict, and a hint of indignance in his eyes.
The camera continued to pan upwards to reveal several bony, wrinkly legs walking past. There was a wild dog, skinny as a skeleton, with dried-up fur. Dark-red saliva was dripping from its mouth, and its eyes were blood-shot. It glanced at the camera before walking away, looking for its next target.
It looked like everyone had lost their sanity and become blind, ruthless killers.
The old, hoarse voice sounded once again.
"Everyone has three immortal souls and seven mortal forms.
"Once one's time is up, he would be picked up by the Black and White Impermanence. After that, he would step on the Road to the Underworld and begin his journey towards the netherworld, where he would be judged by Yama.
"He could reincarnate, enter the six realms of rebirth and existence, or be sent to hell."
The corpse by the stream suddenly twitched. The camera did not focus on it for long. Instead, it continued panning across the stream and the wasteland. Finally, it stopped at a small village by the stream, hidden deep among tall mountains. "At least, that was so… until the Black and White Impermanence stopped picking up the souls of the dead.
"The souls were dissociated from the earth, and yet they were not picked up. They had no choice but to wander around on the Road to the Underworld.
"They were left to suffer a fate worse than death.
"As time went by, these wandering souls became more and more ferocious. They lost their sense of humanity and their memories.
"The mortal world turned into hell."
The camera turned to show several innocent people being killed by villagers with pitchforks and axes. Their helpless and desperate cries filled Hu Xiao's ears.
Divine Buddha light-faint and goldenshone from inside a worn-out temple in the outskirts of the city. It formed a shield, isolating the temple from the wandering ghosts, who tried to charge into it.
An old monk sat cross-legged on a futon in the temple. He looked at the Buddha statue swaying back and forth in front of him and chanted continuously. Not far away from him, a scholar ran out of a burning house. He tripped over and knocked into many things along the way as he ran for his life. His messy hair made him look like a lunatic.
He laughed as he shouted, causing his words to be muffled.
"The rebirth cycle is like a house on fire; we are absorbed in worldly suffering.
"We remain stubborn and refuse to change our ways.
"There is no path to the Soul Mountain; you clasp your hands together in vain.
"The Road to the Underworld is long; repent and be saved.
"Repent and be saved? Hahaha…"
As the scholar laughed maniacally, the screen turned black.
Then, the laughter faded.
Once again, the old, hoarse voice spoke, "Wandering and evil ghosts roamed the earth. The six realms were broken; the gates to hell opened…"
The screen remained black for a long time.
Dong!
Dong!
There were two low rings. A sliver of light appeared on the black screen. It was the first-person view of a person being buried. Soon, the camera turned to face the outside of the grave.
It was a deserted mass grave. Broken signs were either sticking out of the ground crookedly or being covered by long, withered weed. There were many opened coffins lying around the mass grave. These coffins were made out of low-quality thin wood, and they were dilapidated beyond recognition. Some coffins contained the remains of corpses they once held; perhaps hungry beasts had fed on those corpses. Other coffins were empty apart from rainwater and mud.
A huge number of corpses were scattered haphazardly around the mass grave. Most of them were incomplete, missing limbs or heads.
Two holes were smashed into a particularly thin coffin cover. A scrawny hand—that still had a bit of meat left on it-stuck out of the hole, pushing the cover aside with all its might.
Then, a pale-looking corpse sat upright.
Hu Xiao looked at the cup of tea in his hand and then at the unwelcoming cut scene. He felt like the game had fallen short of his expectations somehow. How is this a Buddhist-themed game? There's a huge problem!
Hu Xiao wanted to give up. He had just bought the game anyway; he could return it right now if he wanted to. However, on further thought, he decided to give it a shot. What if it turned out to be fun?
"Eh? I can write my own epitaph? What a weird detail. I'll skip it."
Hu Xiao instinctively wanted to skip it, but he realized he could not. He had no choice but to write a message.
He wanted to type an ellipsis. However, thinking it would be inappropriate, he settled on one word instead.
After some consideration, Hu Xiao typed 'hehe'.
He did not think too much; he just wrote the first word that popped up in his mind.
Once he was done, he officially began playing the game.
Hu Xiao steered his character towards the monster in front of him.
Three seconds later…
His character screamed out in pain and collapsed onto the ground. The screen turned gray, and the word 'hehe' appeared on his screen. Hu Xiao, "???" He was slightly confused about what had just happened. My health bar was full, wasn't it?
The beast only touched me twice-how did my health bar become empty so quickly?
Is there a bug in the game?
Hu Xiao revived himself indignantly. He climbed out of the mass grave and charged towards the monster once again.
"Hehe."
"Hehe."
"Hehe."
Hu Xiao was stunned. After a few minutes, he pushed his keyboard and mouse forward and leaned back on his chair, falling into deep thought.
What the h*ll is happening?
Why is my character as weak as a paper doll? The monster just touches me and I die?! Did I open the grave wrongly?
Is there something wrong with the way I started the game?
Still confused, Hu Xiao opened his chat with his fake reviewers, intending to ask them how they found the game.
Yet, other people seemed to be just as confused as Hu Xiao.
"Has anyone downloaded Repent and be Saved? My computer is too lousy. It keeps lagging, and once I recover from the lag, I'm
dead."
"My computer lags, and I keep dying mysteriously, too."
"This game's requirements are too high. My computer can't seem to accommodate it either. It looks like a slideshow."
"Hehe, my computer can't run the game, too. Honestly, I don't think you're dying because you're lagging…"
"Sh*t, what a lame game. The first beast can kill you?!"
"How can we continue playing?"
"I don't know. I've already refunded the game. The boss didn't request for positive or negative comments, right? I'm going to give it a bad comment!"
"I don't think you should give it one star immediately. You're not giving it a second chance?"
"I can't run the game on my laptop. I'm planning to look for an internet cafe later
on."
"This boss is quite generous. Would it be irresponsible of us to give the game bad reviews based on this alone? He didn't ask us to spam bad comments either. He just asked us to review the game based on our first impression."
"That's right. My first impression of the game is that it's horrible."
"But maybe it's because of your computer."
People in the group began to argue. Hu Xiao scratched his head, feeling light-headed.
This was the first time he was witnessing such serious discussion in a group of fake reviewers.
The group used to feel more like a well-trained army. At the sound of command, everyone would either like or share a post, attack a particular account, or agree with someone else. All in all, they always responded instantly to any instructions.
Yet, the group felt more like a marketplace today. Everyone seemed to have their own opinions.
A group of people wanted to give the game bad reviews after playing for just a couple of seconds.
Other people felt this would be letting the generous boss down. They refused to act irresponsibly and insisted on trying harder at the game.
Hu Xiao found himself in a predicament after reading everyone's thoughts. What if the fake reviewers begin to fight among themselves? I'll wait and see; this is serious!