Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

In the office, Pei Qian was feeling very worried and restless.

"What are the fake reviewers doing?!

"There are no effects at all. If this continues, public opinion would become completely one-sided!"

After Pei Qian arranged for the fake reviewers yesterday, he had been paying attention to the discussions on the forums and Weibo. A day had almost passed, and yet nothing had happened—other than the few posts that mindlessly criticized the game!

Those mindless criticisms did not stir up the emotions of the netizens. No one bothered about them, and those posts were quickly buried under other newer posts.

Moreover, the memes about Pudu were going viral. Even those not playing the game were using those memes!

That was especially so for the emoji packs such as the 'I shall 'Pudu' you' emojis. They were very popular in Weibo, gamer chat groups, and forums. The players loved those memes.

Once the memes become popular, many people would ask what game the memes originated from. Then, more people would be willing to try out the game!

The most frustrating thing was that many players with bad intentions were convincing others to play the game.

"This game is called 'Repent and be Saved'. It is a very satisfying hack-and-slash game and is a great way to relieve stress. It is very suitable for night owls. You must try out the game!"

There were many similar comments.

Pei Qian only had one sentence for such people—you guys are inhumane!

Many people were surprisingly doing that even though their actions harmed other players and Boss Pei, and they did not benefit from it at all. Moral degeneration in the world was getting worse day by day, and people had changed!

However, the only thing that Pei Qian could do was to wait in distress. He had no other solutions.

Pei Qian could understand the plight of the fake reviewers. After all, things were at that predicament; it was hard for the fake reviewers to find a critical reason to hate on the game.

After all, Pei Qian himself could not think of a good reason to use as well, not to say those fake reviewers who did not have a deep understanding of the game.

The trump card that they were previously using was regarding the game's difficulty. However, that card was now useless.

"Forget it. I shall arrange for what happens afterward."

Pei Qian started thinking about how many Fish-Catching Internet Cafes and Upwind Courier stations he needed to open up to offset the profit that he made.

He had three weeks to the settlement, but in reality, Pei Qian only had two weeks to do something about the situation.

No matter what, he needed to speed up.

Pei Qian gave Zhang Yuan a call immediately.

"How is the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe at Huanyu Tianjie doing?"

Zhang Yuan replied, "Umm… Boss Pei, we are currently still suffering a loss."

"What about the computer occupancy ratio?"

Zhang Yuan replied, "About thirty to forty percent. However, rest assured, Boss Pei. I believe that things were about to take a turn for the better soon!"

The corners of Pei Qian's mouth twitched involuntarily when he heard the words 'take a turn for the better'.

However…

Thirty to forty percent? That sounds okay! It was within the ratio whereby they would suffer a loss.

Then again, Pei Qian did not expect the computer occupancy ratio to reach thirty to forty percent at that location.

Maybe it was because Huanyu Tianjie was more prosperous. Therefore, more people were choosing to surf the internet there?

Yup. It was highly possible. After all, the cafe was located in the biggest shopping mall in Jingzhou City. It was only natural for that to be a high human traffic flow.

If he opened a few more cafes there, the situation would take a turn for the worse, wouldn't it?

Time was running, and Pei Qian made a decision quickly. "I'll give you the money to open two, no, three more Fish-Catching Internet Cafes! I want them to be located in big shopping malls, just like the Huanyu Tianjie branch. Do you understand?

"I'll give you two weeks. Make sure that the three stores are officially open for business in two weeks! You must open them in time, not even one day later. Can you do it?"

Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version had been profiting. The amount the game was earning was quite significant. Pei Qian was facing a lot of pressure, and he needed to spend more money. He must do so quickly.

Zhang Yuan was momentarily stunned. He answered in a firm tone, "Rest assured, Boss Pei. I'll make sure that the task is completed!"

After Zhang Yuan hung up the phone, he looked at the customers who were playing Repent and be Saved in the internet cafe and was feeling sentimental.

Boss Pei really had everything in hand. He had not come to the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe for a long time. How did he know that business here was booming?

Did Boss predict that the release of Repent and be Saved would bring customers to the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe because of the high computer configurations the game needed?

He recalled the time when the internet cafe opened. Business was bad, and the computer occupancy ratio was only around ten percent. Most computers were unoccupied.

However, slowly, more customers came to the store. Many of them played Repent and be Saved, and some played other large-scale games. However, the similarity was that all the games they played required high computer configurations.

As time progressed, there were more and more customers in the store. The recent computer occupancy ratio increased to about thirty to forty percent.

It seemed like Boss Pei knew that business was improving. Therefore, he decided to continue investing money in internet cafes and take advantage of the good business!

Yes, that must be the case!

Zhang Yuan immediately contacted other shopping malls and searched for suitable locations to open more internet cafes.

…

After hanging up the call, Pei Qian called Lu Mingliang. He asked Lu Mingliang to open a hundred more Upwind Courier stations.

Needless to say, a hundred courier stations were an ideal number. Even though opening courier stations did not cost much at the early stages, significant time was needed to rent working space, purchase logistic shelves, hire employees, and more.

Pei Qian merely asked Lu Mingliang to work towards the goal of opening a hundred Upwind Courier stations. The more courier stations he opened, the merrier it was. He just wanted Lu Mingliang to open as many as he could.

As long as the settlement was not affected, everything was fine to Pei Qian.

After making those arrangements, Pei Qian heaved a sigh of relief.

Even if Repent and be Saved became viral and earned him a lot of money, it was not the end for Pei Qian.

Even if it was the end, he could at least salvage something.

Pei Qian slumped on the chair, and an air of melancholy surrounded him. Despite feeling melancholy, life must go on.

Pei Qian opened the forum and refreshed the page without harboring much hope. All of a sudden, he saw a post that made his eyes lit up.

"Huh? Are the fake reviewers finally doing their job?

"The money spent was worthwhile!"

…

While Boss Pei was busy making the calls, the fake reviewers were also busy working. Although hopes for a comeback were narrow, everyone did not give up. Many fake reviewers were still working hard. Some of them even missed the refund allowance period because they were too engrossed in their work.

However, even though they made huge progress in the game, they still could not find any good ideas to criticize the game.

Suddenly, a message in the chat group captured everyone's attention.

"Guys, look at this post! It says that Pudu can only be used to fight specific monsters. It can only be used for the six realms of rebirth and existence ending. If we were to use it to fight enemies in the lowest level of hell or in Yama's palace, the damage of the weapon would be greatly reduced! Do you think we can make an issue out of this?"

Hu Xiao was stunned. He opened the post hurriedly to check it out.

He paid extra attention to all the posts regarding Pudu as he hoped to clear the stages using Pudu as well!

It had been six days since the release of the game. Pudu was discovered two days ago, and it went viral yesterday.

Many talented gamers were almost at the last few stages of the game. Some players that used Pudu had also reached the last few stages.

According to the settings of the game, Pudu could only be used to clear the six realms of rebirth and existence ending. If it was used in the lowest level of hell or in Yama's palace, the damage of the weapon would be no different from other ordinary weapons.

Therefore, players using the Pudu would discover the problems with the weapon once they cleared the Road to the Underworld and the Three-Life Stone and reached the stage where they would choose the different endings.

However, what was there to criticize regarding that?

Hu Xiao was slightly confused.

Many people in the group chat raised the question as well.

"What are we going to make out of this?"

"This is just a normal game setting, isn't it?"

"No, I think this is a Trojan horse that the game company is using! It was meant to disgust the players!

"They give us a weapon that could only be used to fight certain monsters. They are tricking us into thinking that the game is easy. However, after five hours, when the refund allowance period was over; the players would then discover that they would continue being tormented at the later stages of the game!

"Therefore, this is a scam that prevents players from opting for a refund! The crux of the game remains unchanged. Its sole purpose is still to disgust the players!"

"What the hell?"

"This reason does not suffice, but it seems much better than those mindless critiques that we were using before."

"I think what he says makes sense! Is the game company trying to disgust the players deliberately? Why would they choose to design the hidden weapon such that it can only fight specific monsters? Why did they not allow us to use the weapon for everything?"

"That's right! I don't care about this anymore. I think we should stir some debate using this piece of information. We cannot do nothing after accepting the customer's money!"

Very soon, a trending post appeared on the forum:

"Pudu is a Scam! The Design Team Harbors Bad Intentions. Do not Fall for Their Trap!"

"Everyone knows that Pudu is very useful in the early stages of the game. Fighting the monsters was as easy as chopping vegetables. However, when you reach the later stages, the weapon is completely ineffective in fighting certain monsters. It becomes no different from an ordinary weapon!

"Many people also discovered that this weapon cannot be upgraded.

"This is where the game company's deviousness shows. They trick us into playing the game with this weapon. When the refund allowance period ends, it will be too late for us to regret it!

"I think that the designer is a psychopath. He or she designed the game just to torment the players. Do not fall into the company's trap!

"Players who do not want to be tormented must avoid playing the game at all cost. If you have purchased the game, seek a refund quickly! Do not be tricked by the Pudu!"

Once the message was posted, the fake reviewers started springing into action!

Some were tasked to reply to the post while others were tasked to forward the post. Very soon, the popularity of the post soared.

Of course, the nature of this post was also trying to criticize the game mindlessly. Therefore, it did not speak to the players.

Nevertheless, with the efforts of the fake reviewers, the posts achieved some impact.

Many netizens who originally thought of playing the game because of the Pudu weapon changed their minds.

If Pudu could only be used at the early stages of the game and they had to suffer for most parts of the game, wouldn't that be worse?

They had their fill of fun at the beginning, but they had to pay back for the stages that they cleared easily with the weapon at the later stages of the game. That discouraged many players from playing the game.

…

Pei Qian finally showed a smile.

The fake reviewers did a great job! My money was not wasted! They had actually found that reason to criticize the game mindlessly. That was not easy for them!

Pei Qian had the urge to pay the fake reviewers more for what they did.

Although the effects of the mindless criticism were not very impactful, it pointed out the fact that Pudu could only be used to fight certain monsters. That would definitely discourage many players with bad gaming skills from playing the game.

Even if it only managed to stop one of those people from playing the game, its achievement was still notable!

Pei Qian could not help but exclaim that the money spent on the fake reviews was indeed worthwhile!