Chapter 72: Heavens, How Could He Do This! (1)

“How could a game possibly be completely free?”

“What kind of person is Zhang Yang? He is the quintessential opportunistic businessman. From the very beginning, he built his reputation on gimmicks, seizing upon the players’ desire for a bargain to pull people in and make money…”

“On the surface, it looks like he is losing money. But in reality, it is the same model as a lottery. According to my data, in a true sense, even if you count all the rewards in that game Desert Bicycle, only one in five people actually makes money. Everyone else is sinking in time and energy while providing him with free advertising. This is actually a reward mechanism in the human brain. You know it is a trap, yet you jump in anyway. I have to admit, the technique is very clever…”

“As for Beat the Grass Mud Horse, well, this game that got taken down simply tapped into the fact that everyone in modern society is repressed and needs a vent. Then he continued to create gimmicks to lure users in to let off steam. To put it bluntly, aside from the very satisfying combat feel, most of the game content is shoddy. Of course, the game also has some bugs. I mentioned these bugs in my previous ‘Talking Games’ post. If any of you still have Beat the Grass Mud Horse on your computers, you can try it for yourselves…”

“Let’s continue talking about Zhang Yang’s Universe Technology…”

“The only thing Universe Technology has produced that could be considered well-made is the educational version of God of Conquest. But if you think about it carefully, this game also used parents as a gimmick. He got lucky with a media interview and eventually sucked the parents in. Once they are in, they can’t get out. You can tell just by looking at the current sales of the educational version of God of Conquest, which have already reached seven hundred thousand…”

“…”

“What does all of this prove?”

“It proves that compared to making games, Zhang Yang is far better at grasping the user’s psychology. Furthermore, he is a pure materialist. To put it bluntly, if everyone liked filth, Zhang Yang would probably run to the toilet to dig it up!”

“A man like that—you are telling me he is making a free game?”

“How is that possible!”

“In this world, I have always felt that free things are the most expensive. For example, the free game Legend from a while back. I really don’t want to say anything more about that game; it is simply seeking its own death…”

“…”

The year was 2005.

Self-media had not yet formed.

However, a group of game reviewers and video commentators had appeared on Tieba.

Their goal was simple: to help players analyze games and avoid traps, thereby gaining followers and support.

Of course, game reviewers at this time were basically self-motivated, driven by a passion for games, and never considered the issue of profit.

Because of this, many people found their content very convincing.

For example…

The source of the posts on Tieba that universally cursed the boss of Legend, Liu Zhongshan, for only knowing how to rake in money and treating players like leeks to be harvested—calling him a black-hearted businessman blinded by greed—was Sun Jian.

A few days ago, Sun Jian’s post “Predicting Mumaen is at its Wits’ End, Hard to Remain the King of Huaxia Games” had already exploded across the entire Tieba.

The post used an objective and rational perspective to analyze Liu Zhongshan’s personality, covering everything from the start of his business to his various experiences.

Then it went on to analyze what Liu Zhongshan was currently thinking and planning, speculating on the upcoming update content for Legend, and finally predicting the future landscape of the gaming world, concluding with the downfall of Mumaen.

Every sentence in the article was well-reasoned, citing sources and classics in a convincing manner.

And!

What was even more exaggerated was that the game Legend actually updated exactly the way he said it would!

While the netizens on Tieba were shocked, they even suspected that Sun Jian was an internal employee of Mumaen leaking information. They universally advised him to turn himself in early to seek leniency.

This made Sun Jian incredibly smug!

He felt he could actually become a professional analyst.

People who lead miserable lives at work in reality often crave a sense of recognition and praise on the internet.

Sun Jian was exactly that kind of person.

Sun Jian actually wanted to start a Tieba column called “Sun Jian Looks at Games.” If the followers of the column reached a certain number, he planned to compile the articles and get them published.

Of course!

If he wanted many followers and high click-through rates, the content had to be persuasive!

“Keep up the good work!”

In the Magic City.

Inside his rented room, Sun Jian looked at his follower count, which had already reached twenty thousand.

He continued to scribble away at another article about Zhang Yang.

Why write about Zhang Yang?

Because just as Legend had stepped into the “free” trap and its reputation was in shambles, Zhang Yang had come along to step into the same trap!

Under the lamp.

He smoked a cigarette while his fingers flew across the keys, various pieces of information about Zhang Yang constantly surfacing in his mind.

He firmly believed that Zhang Yang couldn’t truly be making it free!

He felt that this man’s personality was the type that refused to suffer even the slightest loss. Sun Jian even boldly analyzed that Zhang Yang was the type of person who felt he had lost money if he walked down the street and didn’t pick something up!

A man like that—you are telling me he is making a completely free game!

Could Sun Jian believe it?

No!

Absolutely not!

Before the game was released, Sun Jian began citing various past deeds of Zhang Yang to speculate that, just like Legend, the game download would be free while items would be charged.

Of course, once the article was nearly finished, he felt that constantly criticizing one person and their games wasn’t quite right, so he added a fair word.

“It is impossible for Zhang Yang to be completely free, but objectively speaking, Zhang Yang is a smart man. He understands the concept of a long-term trickle… So even if there are item charges, they won’t be too high. Everyone can rest easy on that point and download it to give it a try…”

“…”

After Sun Jian finished the article, he looked at the night sky outside.

It was already the early hours of the morning.

He checked his followers again and found that the count had increased by several hundred. The internet was filled with comments like “Keep going, Teacher Sun” and “Don’t stop, Teacher Sun.”

He lit another cigarette, lost in thought as he smoked.

Tomorrow was the weekend and he didn’t have to work. Maybe he should just do a live play-through thread on Tieba to showcase the game.

That kind of live thread was a fast way to gain followers.

With that in mind, Sun Jian opened a new thread.

He titled it: “Live Play-through of the Romance Edition of God of Conquest: Exploring the Game’s Secrets!”

After posting it, he watched as a dozen comments appeared almost instantly, feeling a sense of pride.

My followers are pretty loyal, aren’t they?

Then…

He immediately went to the Universe Technology official website and began downloading God of Conquest.

While it was downloading…

He suddenly froze.

“Wait a minute!”

“Something’s not right!”

“Why does this game have a questionnaire?”

“…”

Sun Jian stared blankly at the survey questions.

The content was actually quite simple: height, personality options, some lifestyle habits, as well as family savings and whether he owned a house…

He was stunned.

Suddenly, he felt a bit uneasy.

What the hell? This feels exactly like a blind date¹.

He took a deep breath, but for the sake of the gaming experience, he eventually filled everything out seriously.

Once he finished…

The game finally began the formal download process.

It wasn’t a small game. Compared to other titles from Universe Technology, this one was actually over two gigabytes.

Is there really that much content in here?

It is just a romance game!

The download really did seem to be completely free. It looked like they were going with the “free to play, pay for items” strategy.

Let’s just play it first.

When the download finished…

He looked at the icon on his desktop.

He noticed that the icon featured the face of a mature, sophisticated woman wearing glasses.

At first, he didn’t think much of it.

However…

For some reason, after one glance, he couldn’t help but take another.

His heart rate quickened slightly, and his breath hitched.

He stood there, stunned, finding it hard to believe.

What was going on with this game?

Damn it!

This is so annoying!

How did they know I have a thing for mature women?

Wait!

Could it be because of that questionnaire?

I didn’t say a damn word about liking older women with glasses!

Sun Jian took a deep breath, then clicked into the game interface.

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes