Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Qiao Liang quickly restarted the game and headed to the ruined temple. After dying a few times, he managed to obtain the Pudu weapon successfully.

Qiao Liang looked at the shining staff in his hand and felt extremely at ease.

"There really is a hidden weapon!

"You can only obtain it after dying six times. Who would think of this?

"After all, the monk was too weak. He was even weaker than the monsters at the mass grave. If not for the players in the group chat who liked to walk around without any defensive equipment, I would definitely not be able to test that out on my own.

"Is this weapon an upgraded version of the staff?

"What the f*ck! What kind of damage was that?!"

Qiao Liang tried using this shining stick to attack a monster soldier with a rather high health level. With just one blow, the monster was wounded; and it collapsed onto the ground!

After two blows, the monster's health bar was instantly empty!

Qiao Liang remembered clearly that he needed at least four or five blows to kill that monster using other weapons. After all, he was already at the second setting in the game; and the stats of the monsters there were higher than before.

That meant that if he used this staff to fight weaker monsters, the effects would be even better. He might even be able to kill the monsters with just one blow!

The only pity was that the weapon did not possess any special attack skills. Its attack skill was similar to the original staff and could only deal heavy damage. Although the damage was high, it was not fanciful at all.

Qiao Liang originally thought that Pudu's attack skill would be something similar to dealing AOE damage when the character raised the staff in the air and shone divine Buddha light on surrounding enemies. However, there was none of that.

From this perspective, Pudu's extravagance could not even be compared to the mourning stick dropped after defeating the Black and White Impermanence.

After all, the mourning stick was the reward for defeating the Black and White Impermanence. New players did not even have a chance to obtain it easily.

However, even the mourning stick was not as effective as Pudu in fights. That was because Pudu's basic attack damage was higher than that of the mourning stick.

After using Pudu to fight a few more monsters, Qiao Liang realized that the weapon was almost invincible!

Although Pudu's basic attack move was not easy to use, it could be used with leap attacks and sprint attacks, just like other weapons. That greatly increased the attack speed of the weapon.

In the hands of experienced players like Qiao Liang, the weapon was almost like a bug. It has a long attacking distance and high attack speed. Moreover, it had insane damage and possessed strong endurance-decreasing effects. That caused the monsters to freeze on the ground with just one blow.

Those monsters that used short knives and daggers could not even go near the player. They would fall onto the ground because of the staff's attack from a distance away. It was a one-sided abuse.

As for the monsters that carried hay forks—although their weapon attacking distance was similar to the player, their offenses could be dodged easily. After dodging the monsters' attack, it was once again a one-sided abuse.

The player did not even need to possess any fancy skills. The fight could end even if the player simply used Pudu to attack repeatedly.

Looking at the powerful weapon in his hand, Qiao Liang was at a loss.

"If I knew that there was such a strong weapon, why would I f*cking need to suffer all the torture in the game?

Qiao Liang recalled his arduous journey at the start of the game. He inched forward in the game with such a terrible weapon and had to be careful every time he faced a small monster as he could be instantly killed by them.

What about now?

He could easily defeat all those monsters that used to dominate over him!

He looked at the fan chat group again. It was chaotic inside.

"F*ck! I got that weapon, too! As long as you sprinted forward without caring about anything else, you will receive the weapon once you die near the monk!"

"This weapon is invincible. Isn't it so easy to torture those monsters?"

"This is way too impressive. Is this a kind of official hack?"

"Quick! The guy who discovered this should post it on the forum quickly! You are definitely the first person who discovered this hidden weapon!"

"F*ck. I have already killed the old monk. What can I do now? I have already used the Buddha beads."

"Restart the game. It doesn't take much time."

"I announce that Pudu is officially the strongest weapon ever! Nothing can be compared to it!"

There were already people posting about the hidden weapon on the forum. This was definitely a huge discovery!

Many design teams would usually create hidden story plots, hidden weapons, Easter eggs, and other surprises in the game because of various reasons. A large part of it was to bring surprises to the players or to add on to the existing world view and story plots in the game.

Amongst the various types of surprise elements, hidden weapons were definitely the most discussed topic.

That was because most surprise elements would not affect the gameplay within the game. It was also not difficult to discover them. As long as there were sufficient players, those surprise elements would be quickly discovered.

However, Pudu was different. It was a hidden weapon that had insane stats. It changed the players' gaming experience entirely!

Moreover, the weapon was very well-hidden. That attracted even more discussion about it.

Very soon, the post went viral on the forum. Players all reposted it and news spread in no time!

…

…

Meanwhile, Pei Qian was staring at the refund rate of the game. He was rooting for the fake reviewers that he had just paid for.

One of the posts gained his liking. He had almost wanted to give that fake reviewer extra money for the post.

The title of the post was: Do Not Fall for the Developer's Trap. You Must Opt for a Refund!

"The design team had a deep understanding of what the players think. They lengthened the refund allowance period intentionally. On the surface, it seems as though they are righteous; but in reality, this is a complete scam!

"Extending the refund allowance period naturally results in the gaming duration for many players to extend as well. That was in a way forcing you to familiarize yourself with the torturous experience in the game!

"When the game reaches its refund allowance period, there will be a few sentences in the notice to disgust you… and the epitaph that always reappears… the purpose of all of that was to use reverse psychology on the players!

"Once you fall for the reverse psychology, you will fall for their trap! If you do not want to refund the game, you have fallen for the design team's trap!

"Think about it. Because of the moment of impulse, you will waste a hundred yuan. Why would you want to do that? You can use that one hundred yuan for something else. Why do you want to pay for a torturous gaming experience?

"Therefore, I urge all of you to refund firmly. Do not be blinded by the design team!"

Pei Qian absolutely loved the post when he saw it.

It was so awesome!

This fellow over there, do you want to give me your contact number? I think that you are very talented. Being a fake reviewer is simply a waste of your talent! Pei Qian thought.

The post was a much-needed shot in the arm for Pei Qian!

Although there was a lot of debate in the comments section of the post and some people were scolding the post creator, it was apparent that this post went viral. It helped to contribute many refunds for Pei Qian.

That was not the only post condemning the game. Many fake reviewers were talking about the game on Weibo, various forums, and some gaming group chats. They were all urging the players to refund the game quickly and were emphasizing that there was no point in suffering in the game.

Pei Qian could only exclaim that his money was well-spent!

Some fake reviewers, however, went down the wrong path and started complimenting Repent and be Saved. That created some trouble for Pei Qian. Despite so, the general direction of things was in his favor!

The refund rate did not increase drastically. From the looks of things, it was almost impossible to achieve a 35% refund rate.

However, a stable refund rate was good news to him!

As various information about Repent and be Saved spread online, new players knew that this game was simply torture. They were psychologically prepared for the game. That resulted in a decline in the number of refunds.

However, with the continuous efforts of the fake reviewers, the refund rate became stable. That was obviously good news!

Pei Qian did not expect the apps store to take down the game anymore. He had waited for such a long time, and yet he did not even receive a warning. That meant that the apps store was adamant about keeping the game.

Anyways, one more refund meant that he was earning a few dozen dollars less. What he was doing was simply an act of beneficence!

"Huh? This is strange.

"Why is the refund rate dropping once again in the past hour? Are the fake reviewers not doing their job? I need to pay them more?"

Pei Qian was a little puzzled. He had just paid the fake reviewers not long ago.

He went to the various big forums to check if there were any twists in the public's opinions.

However, once he entered one of the forums, he surprisingly found a viral post.

"I Found a Hidden Weapon in the Game! Pudu is Simply Invincible!"

"Holy f*ck????"

Pei Qian felt that his blood was flowing in the wrong direction. He almost had a heart attack.

What the hell?

He clicked on the post hurriedly to have a look.

The general content of the post was very simple. The creator described the process where he discovered Pudu. He was a player with terrible skills. He wanted to test if he could enter a Buddha statue transportation point by running around the map. However, he entered the ruined temple by accident and was killed by the old monk many times.

The post also included a detailed explanation of how to obtain the weapon, a screenshot of Pudu, and the strength of the weapon.

There were already more than a few thousand comments below the post!

"Holy sh*t! This is actually real! There really is a hidden weapon in the game!"

"I got it, too! Thank you, post creator! You are such a great person!"

"This weapon is like an official hack in the game. It is way too invincible!"

"I managed to kill a monster with just one blow despite how terrible my skills are?"

"This seems to have become a game that we can just kill mindlessly!"

"Hahaha! This weapon gave me a reason to persevere in the game. I originally wanted to refund, but now I can clear the stages!"

"This weapon is evidently overpowering the game! How is the game still balanced?"

"Why is there a need for the game to be balanced? The producers know how we are suffering, and they deliberately hid a powerful hidden weapon in the game to allow those players with terrible skills to continue with the game."

"Is this a sign that the design team is showing mercy to us?"

"The designers are indeed great Samaritans. I used to insult their mothers in the past. I'm sorry! What I did was wrong!"

The post was full of joy and happiness. It was as though they were celebrating the new year!

Not only that, but many players went creative on the hidden weapon such as creating emoji packs.

Someone took a screenshot of the in-game battle scene: The protagonist waved the Pudu weapon in the air and managed to kill three monsters clustered together with one blow. There was a sentence at the bottom of the picture: I shall 'Pudu' you!

There were also other emoji packs such as memes about 'The Invincible Pudu', 'The Pudu Warning', 'The Other Party does not Want to Talk to You and so 'Pudu-ed' You', and 'Do not Talk to Me about the Spirit-Conjuring Flags or Mourning Sticks. I only F*cking Use Pudu. Smash It, Task Completed'…

Pei Qian slapped his forehead.

Holy sh*t! The lame netizens created those memes so quickly!

He looked at the time when the post was created. It had only been three hours, and yet those lame netizens had produced so many emoji packs!

Wait! The issue now was not about the emoji packs!

Pei Qian instantly understood why the refund rate of the game dropped dramatically! More and more people now knew about the official shortcut to clear the stages!

In the past, many players did not have a way to deal with elite monsters. They could only die again and again. That would deal a huge blow to their confidence, and many could only opt for a refund.

However, with Pudu, they found a way to survive the game!

As long as they survived the early stages of the game and obtained the Pudu at the old monk's ruined temple, the difficulty of the game would drop drastically. They could enjoy the game once again!

"Oh, no! Something terrible happened!"

Pei Qian felt that his hands and feet turned cold. His world was falling apart!