Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

In Beijing…

Qiao Liang was filled with indignation when he saw the debate regarding Repent and be Saved on the internet.

Why are they misinterpreting Boss Pei's intentions? This is a slander! An absolute and complete slander!

It was obvious that those mindless haters were fake reviewers. Who paid for the fake reviews? It must be those evil competitors!

They were not dedicated to producing games. They were envious of the good reputation and high sales volume of Tengda's games. They hated the fact that they could not earn money easily after Tengda appeared in the market. Therefore, they decided to use these ulterior measures to tarnish Tengda's reputation.

That was utterly despicable!

Qiao Liang wished that he could step up and produce a video to uncover the evil intentions that the fake reviewers had and protect the reputation of this rare well-produced game.

However, the fortunate thing was that there was only one day before his meeting with Boss Pei.

Tomorrow, Teacher Qiao would officially step back in the spotlight and teach those fake reviewers and haters a lesson!

Qiao Liang checked the clips on his computer and the synopsis that he had written.

According to his plan, he would finish the newest episode of Products of the Gods today, in which he would talk about the interesting factors regarding Repent and be Saved. After that, he would make a video regarding the game and provide a game walkthrough to the viewers.

It seemed reasonable that the game deserved dozens of videos.

He could make it into a video series to show off his achievements after the torture that he had been through. He could flaunt his skills in the video and satisfy his fans who had been waiting eagerly for his uploads.

Products of the Gods, followed by a string of related videos.

Perfect!

When he thought about that, Qiao Liang started making his videos.

The second episode of the 'Products of the Gods' series: Repent and be Saved, a Hardcore Game that Tortures the Players!

The clips for the video had already been filmed, and the synopsis was almost completed. He was left with the editing and voiceover before he could upload the video.

The content of the video was not centered on the difficulty of the game. There were already many debates about the game's difficulty level on the internet.

In Qiao Liang's opinion, the main factor that the fake reviewers and haters critiqued was the game's difficulty. Although what they did was utterly evil, he would be falling into their trap if he overemphasized it.

The motive of the fake reviewers was to highlight the difficulty level of the game. They wanted to demonize the game's difficulty and, in turn, discourage netizens who were unconfident about their gaming skills from playing the game.

If he emphasized that too much, it would only allow the notion that 'the game is hard' to sink into the minds of his viewers. That would deviate from his original intention of promoting the game to ordinary netizens.

Therefore, the difficulty level of the game was a natural barrier that prevented netizens from trying out the game. It was also the main battle scene for fake reviewers and haters.

If he wanted to defeat the haters and fake reviewers, he needed to attack that opinion from a higher perspective. He needed to explain the reason and purpose behind the high difficulty level of the game!

After experiencing the long torture that Qiao Liang had suffered, he had found new reasoning in the process.

The spiritual core of the game!

He could link the game's difficulty level with its spiritual core. That was the deeper meaning that the game was trying to bring to the players!

Qiao Liang referenced a few sentences that he found on Zhongdian Chinese Network. He noted down some of his thoughts when he played the game and included that in his synopsis. After completing that, Qiao Liang had finally finished writing the content for that episode of the series.

He read through it a few times. Satisfied with what he read, Qiao Liang nodded his head.

Afterward, he opened the video editing app.

"Rest assured, Boss Pei. I'm here for you!"

…

October 7th…

Pei Qian was scrolling through the webpage and checking the statistics for Repent and be Saved.

After the commotion previously, there was finally peace in the forum.

After all, a week had gone by; and those interested in the game had decided to buy the game while those who regretted their purchase had received their refund. Some talented gamers had even cleared all the stages.

At this point in time, ordinary issues were not enough to stir up an intense debate.

There was a golden phase for the transmission of every game. Pei Qian believed that as long as he survived that golden phase, his life would be much easier afterward.

From the looks of things currently, the discussion about the game's difficulty on the internet had its effects. The increase in sales volume for the later few days had evidently slowed down.

After all, the current market environment did not embrace high difficulty games as many players lacked the necessary skills.

Once the impression that a game was hard was imprinted on the minds of everyone—although that would not affect the reputation of the game, its sales volume would still suffer.

Many players might not admit that they have bad skills. However, in reality, once they hear that the game was torturous; they would vote with their feet and choose not to purchase the game.

After all, there was never a similar souls-like game in the domestic games market. Players' habits had not been developed. The players who enjoyed tormenting themselves in the game were the minority.

Pudu's existence greatly improved that situation. Pei Qian felt that the current situation was still acceptable.

Despite this, he could not let his guard down.

Teacher Qiao had not uploaded his video! As long as that dude's video was not uploaded, Pei Qian would not be at ease.

Pei Qian was mentally prepared for Teacher Qiao's new video.

He felt that Teacher Qiao would most likely post a detailed game walkthrough. He would talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the various weapons, give a tutorial on how to defeat every boss, and have other related content.

After all, as compared to other UP Masters, Teacher Qiao had the biggest advantage. He needed the least effort to produce the video.

That kind of video would not affect Pei Qian too much.

Even if Teacher Qiao did not post about that, other talented gamers who cleared all the stages would definitely do so. That was unavoidable.

Such videos were very helpful to players who purchased the game but were stuck in one of the stages or to cloud players who would just watch the video and pretended that it was them who had cleared the stages.

However, it would not stimulate the sales volume of the game.

Pei Qian had thought about that thoroughly when he invited Teacher Qiao over to try out the game. It should not pose a huge risk to him.

As long as the 'fortress' regarding the game's difficulty was not demolished, there was nothing for Pei Qian to worry about.

After refreshing Aili Island's webpage once again, Pei Qian decided to take a rest and watch a drama series.

However, a new video suddenly appeared on the updates section of Aili Island.

The second episode of the 'Products of the Gods' series: Repent and be Saved, a Hardcore Game that Tortures the Players!

Pei Qian was confused. "?"

He clicked on it quickly.

There were some words in the description section: Many players gave up on the game because of its difficulty level. That is really disappointing. In my opinion, this was not a game that turned away players with bad skills. Contrary to that, only players with bad skills can truly understand the value of this game!

Pei Qian's mind was filled with question marks.

What the hell? Only players with bad skills can truly understand the value of this game? What sh*t are you talking about!

Be careful of your words. You would be held responsible if the players' understanding of the game deviated!

Pei Qian was instantly flustered. He checked out the video hurriedly.

…

"Hey, y'all. I am still your Teacher Qiao.

"Actually, when the game Repent and be Saved was first released, players had been urging me to make a video about it.

"However, I have only uploaded the video today.

"Was it because I was standing you up? No, no, no! It was the complete opposite actually. About a month ago, when the game was still in its development stages, I received an invitation from Tengda to try out the game.

"The reason why I am only uploading this video today is that I promised the design team that I will only reveal what I know about the game a week after the release of the game. This video was originally supposed to help y'all experience the deeper intentions of the game with your hearts.

"However, I did not expect that everyone's attention was on the difficulty level of the game and neglected the deeper intentions of the game. I must say that this is a very disappointing observation.

"What I'm trying to say is that the game's difficulty was supposed to help to convey the meanings behind the game.

"This is not an ordinary work, but instead a masterpiece in terms of its gaming experience. It surpasses all other high-quality games.

"My dear audience daddies, hear me out!"

After watching the opening introduction, Pei Qian was dumbfounded.

Holy f*ck? Teacher Qiao was not taking the usual route!

Pei Qian had originally thought that Teacher Qiao's video would focus on the game's difficulty. He thought that Teacher Qiao would make a walkthrough about the game and focus more on the game's combat system and details.

However, that was not the case!

It seemed that Teacher Qiao did not plan to talk about the game's difficulty but instead talk about the game from its spiritual core. He oversold the merits of the game and claimed that it is a masterpiece in terms of its gaming experience?

Pei Qian was puzzled.

A masterpiece in terms of its gaming experience? Was he still talking about Repent and be Saved? How did that game have any form of gaming experience?

The game setting was terrible. The moment players enter the game, they would immediately be tortured by the monsters. How was there any gaming experience?

Completely puzzled, Pei Qian decided to continue watching the video.

"Please take note, guys, the following analysis of the story plot came from three sources.

"First, the details in the game that I have observed when clearing the stages in the game.

"Second, the story settings in the official novel Repent and be Saved that was published on Zhongdian Chinese Network.

"Third, my thoughts after the continuous suffering that I went through and improvements that I have achieved through the game.

"Among the three sources, I would like to point out that the content in official novel Repent and be Saved published on Zhongdian Chinese Network was more elaborate than in the game itself. I had many questions regarding the game, and I found the answers to them in the novel. If you are interested in these, feel free to check out this novel.

"The link is in the pinned comment. You can use that to access the novel."

Pei Qian shivered.

Why did he mention Zhongdian Chinese Network?

Pei Qian knew that the official novel for Repent and be Saved was published on Zhongdian Chinese Network.

However, wasn't the novel generally hated upon?

Pei Qian once looked at the comments section of the novel. It was a ruckus. Everyone scolded the novel differently. He had absolutely no idea how Ma Yiqun and the others withstood the pressure and kept the novel at the homepage of the website.

Pei Qian felt that not only did the novel not contribute to the human traffic flow on the website, but it had also discouraged many readers from using the website. Netizens might think that Zhongdian Chinese Network was a horrible website that was corrupted and only recommended trashy books.

From that perspective, the achievements of the novel were commendable. Therefore, Pei Qian did not care about that matter.

However, all of a sudden, Teacher Qiao had eyed the novel. What was happening?

Pei Qian felt that he was on tenterhooks. He continued watching the rest of the video.