Chapter 39: This Game is Going Viral (Part 1)

People live in this world.

To some degree, everyone has someone they resent but dare not speak against.

Many times, you grit your teeth, wishing you could pull off your belt and lash someone across the face, whipping them until they kneel on the ground wailing for their parents and admitting they are a piece of filth.

But…

In reality, you have to bow and scrape before them like a servant, constantly worrying about losing your job.

The world of adults.

Truly, not much of it is easy.

Sun Qi…

Was exactly that kind of person.

He was a worker in the building materials industry in the Magic City¹.

Every day, he exhausted himself running sales, acting like a groveling grandson² to please clients. Despite his diligence back at the office, he still faced the baseless scolding of a balding boss who was perpetually in a bad mood.

Often, for the slightest mistake, he would be berated like a dog.

“If you don’t want to do the work, then leave! This company will keep spinning without you!”

After the spit-flecked tirade was over, that was usually the parting shot.

Many young people had already reached their limit with this irascible boss and left in a fit of rage.

Every time he saw them leave, Sun Qi felt envious.

Youth is truly wonderful…

One can act recklessly without considering the consequences.

If this were ten years ago, he probably would have slammed his resignation letter onto the HR manager’s desk, shouted “Fuck you,” and turned on his heel.

But now?

He couldn’t.

He was an outsider³ in the city, with a wife and child living in the Magic City. Life was tight, and his entire family relied on his salary to survive. As for buying a house, that was a pipe dream; just getting by was considered a success.

Every day he opened his eyes, he was met with rent, utilities, the child’s breakfast money, food, clothing, and extracurricular classes…

It was a weight that left him breathless.

Of course, he had thought about returning to the countryside.

However, he was unwilling to leave. The education for his child in the countryside couldn’t compare to the Magic City. Even if he had to grit his teeth and endure, he would keep going.

But while he thought this way, his child did not. The child often cried and threw tantrums, already developing a sense of social competition, frequently complaining about why his father was so incompetent…

In the dead of night, Sun Qi would light a cigarette and wonder what the point of it all was.

The difficult clients, the boss’s constant berating, the hardships of life…

As he thought, he would always let out a long sigh.

He felt incredibly stifled.

Once, he too had been a high-spirited youth who dreamed of crossing mountains and seas⁴…

On the night of July 4th.

He received a call from a friend.

The friend recommended a game to him, saying it was a great way to relieve stress and felt amazing to play.

At the time, he thought his friend was being childish. Besides, it was a paid game; what was the point?

But eventually, unable to resist the recommendation, he went to the official website and steeled himself to spend five yuan to buy a game called Beat the Grass Mud Horse.

When he entered the game…

He kept criticizing it, thinking the game was a bit too “low-end.” Whether it was the graphics or the character designs, the quality was very average.

However, the sense of impact was indeed very strong…

After playing through a few levels!

When the protagonist burst into an office…

His eyes widened!

“Look at them, then look at yourself! What the hell is this garbage you’ve made!”

“Dammit!”

“Who do you think you are!”

“If you don’t want to work, then get the hell out!”

“…”

“…”

He saw a humanoid, balding horse constantly cursing at a submissive horse in a suit.

All sorts of harsh insults rose and fell.

As he watched, his blood began to boil. He controlled the game’s protagonist and charged forward fiercely.

Wait, you can throw books here?

He was stunned!

He pressed the X key and saw the protagonist pick up a file from the floor and slam it hard against that balding leader’s forehead…

That sense of impact stimulated his nerves, allowing the resentment and anger he had accumulated for so many years to be completely vented. He felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

Especially after depleting the leader’s health bar and seeing the expression of the leader kneeling on the ground begging for mercy…

He felt a thrill that reached the very core of his being!

Then, he controlled the protagonist to kick the man away!

After the kick…

He let out a long breath, and every pore on his body seemed to relax!

“Fuck you!”

“Beat the Grass Mud Horse!”

“…”

This game was truly amazing!

Later, he saw another scene in the office. In that scene, it seemed to be the company owner facing various unreasonable demands from a client…

He had no idea that on the other side of the city.

His boss, the one who constantly scolded people, was currently playing this exact level…

The man began to curse and shout in a state of vulgar excitement!

………………..

“Oh my god, this game is such a stress reliever!”

“Yeah, I just broke up today and was feeling really depressed. But then I saw a scene about a homewrecker. I controlled the protagonist and rushed over to give them a total beatdown. That cheating couple deserved it!”

“Me too, but what made me feel great was beating up those bratty, misbehaving kids. Haha, I took a belt and gave them a series of fierce whippings until they were crying for their parents…”

“After I finished, I ran into their parents. Their parents actually said ‘they’re just children⁵‘ and tried to hit me. Like I’d put up with that?”

“There are even bratty kids scratching car windows here, and people blocking the road for no reason!”

“…”

“I ran into local thugs and school bullies in the third level!”

“…”

On the Beat the Grass Mud Horse Tieba forum.

Countless screenshots were being updated constantly.

Netizens were incredibly excited, continuously showing off their scores and levels!

To be fair!

This game was truly magical.

Every villain, every mini-boss, and every opponent was someone you could always see or hear about in real life…

There was always someone in the game who struck a nerve.

The overbearing boss, the bratty kid, the nitpicking client, the local thug…

Various characters, though all depicted as horses, were crafted with distinct personalities. They bared their teeth, brandished their claws, and acted out in every obnoxious way imaginable.

Every archetype was there!

Not only were the characters unique, but the game’s various items were also incredibly refreshing.

Leather belts, textbooks, baseball bats, stacks of documents…

The assortment of weapons perfectly simulated the things players wanted to do in real life but never dared to.

Though the combos were simple, the sense of impact was remarkably strong, complemented by subtle, satisfying sound effects.

As the levels progressed, the game’s ability to draw aggro and provoke the player increased, making it more and more addictive.

People found themselves playing for hours without even realizing it.

………………….

“That’s my Easter egg! My notebook Easter egg! Did you see that? My username is actually written on the notebook, haha!”

“I designed this scene! The fighting scene in the Xingxing Internet Cafe was my design…”

“This one is mine, do you see it? This rock has my username on it…”

“And mine too…”

“…”

The players were hyped.

The netizens who had participated in the design were even more ecstatic.

Not only had they been paid, but they could also see their own personal touches within the game.

They promoted the game like madmen, telling everyone they met about it.

As the sales figures continued to explode, their sense of accomplishment grew stronger and stronger.

They stared at the game download rankings.

They desperately wanted to see this small indie game become a massive hit.

Three thousand…

Five thousand…

Ten thousand!

Twenty thousand…

The numbers were constantly refreshing.

They shared in the glory!

…………………………

“People in this era are too repressed.”

“They want to vent, but they can’t find a channel for it…”

“What is the meaning of a game? It’s the sense of immersion from participating in it, just like a novel…”

“We aren’t just making a game; we’re creating an art form for stress relief…”

“We are serving the people⁶, providing the masses with a way to blow off steam!”

“…”

Zhang Yang watched as the game’s downloads surpassed thirty thousand in just five short hours, a smile playing on his lips.

Then…

He stared at the rankings.

His gaze suddenly turned burning and intense.

……………………….

Shengteng Network.

Their single-player game, Human Killing Machine, had been released on the same day.

The manager, Chen Qiang, was staring fixedly at the sales data for Beat the Grass Mud Horse…

In his wildest dreams, he never could have imagined this.

This indie game was ruthlessly climbing the charts, slaughtering its way from the top twenty into the top ten, and then…

It was closing in on their Human Killing Machine!

“What’s going on?”

“Has this game gone insane?”

“…”

(End of Chapter)

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Magic City: A popular nickname for Shanghai (Módū). The term reflects the city’s status as a bewitching, modern, and often overwhelming metropolis that attracts people from all over China with the promise of wealth and opportunity. ↩
2. groveling grandson: In Chinese culture, being called a “grandson” (sūnzi) or acting like one denotes a state of total submission or humiliation. It implies the person has surrendered their dignity to appease a superior, who is effectively the “grandfather” in the power dynamic. ↩
3. outsider: Refers to the wàiláihù status—people living in a city without local household registration (hukou). In major cities like Shanghai, being an “outsider” often means facing significant hurdles in social welfare and especially school enrollment for children, which explains the protagonist’s stress. ↩
4. crossing mountains and seas: A reference to the lyrics of the popular Chinese song “The Ordinary Path” (Píngfán zhī Lù) by Pu Shu. The phrase is a common cultural shorthand for youthful idealism and the desire for a grand, adventurous life before one is settled into the mundane struggles of adulthood. ↩
5. they’re just children: A reference to the common Chinese phrase “He’s just a child” (他还是个孩子), often used by overprotective parents to excuse the misbehavior of their children. In Chinese internet culture, this phrase is frequently mocked as a way for parents to avoid taking responsibility for their “bear children” (熊孩子). ↩
6. serving the people: A reference to “Serve the People” (为人民服务), a famous political slogan coined by Mao Zedong. In this context, the phrase is used humorously or ironically to frame the development of a violent stress-relief game as a noble public service. ↩