Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Nearing the end of the video, many comments that said 'full-mark essay' floated past the screen.

Yet, that was not the end. Teacher Qiao delivered a parting message to bring the comments to a climax once again!

"The above was the full content for this episode of Products of the Gods. I hope everyone will get to enjoy the rich gaming experience for themselves. After all, no matter how many times you watch others complete the game, you're only scratching an itch through a layer of clothes. Nothing compared to enjoying the game firsthand.

"You don't have to worry about not being able to complete the game because of your bad skills. After this, I will produce detailed walkthroughs so that other lousy players like me can work hard to complete the game for themselves!

"This episode of Product of the Gods will end here. I will update strategies to progress through Repent and be Saved later on. Please keep watching this space!

"If you like this series, please support me! See you again on the next episode of Products of the Gods!"

Comments like 'I can't wait', 'thank you, Old Qiao', 'I'm waiting for your update', and 'see you next year series' appeared on the screen.

Once again, Pei Qian fell silent.

I'm finished. This Teacher Qiao is going to come up with a series of videos! He's going to produce a detailed walkthrough for the game!

Pei Qian had expected a series like that.

He expected the series to have limited influence if it had not been posted in Products of the Gods.

Yet, now, Teacher Qiao had posted it in Products of the Gods! The situation was completely different!

Many gamers left various comments in the comments section. All of them were obviously encouraged.

"I waited a lifetime for this! Finally, there's a second episode for the Products of the Gods!"

"I never expected the second episode to be about Tengda's game as well."

"He's my son indeed. Every time he produces a video, he stands out. He beats all other UP Masters in the games channel, hands down!"

"This is extremely well-said. The game's spirituality has increased by at least three tiers! I must say that it's extremely rich in content. Ordinary people would have been blinded by the illusion of high difficulty. We needed a professional like Teacher Qiao to analyze the game for us so that we could all appreciate the richness of the game!"

"Old Qiao, you really XXX and produced a top-quality video! Not only is Tengda's game a product of the gods, but your video is, too!"

"Old Qiao, you really spent a full week grinding your sword to produce such a top-quality video! Not only is Tengda's game a product of the gods, but your video is, too!"

"I feel guilty after watching this video. I'm one of those who got the 'repent and be saved ending'. I refunded the game because I was too lousy. I'm going to buy it back right now!"

"I feel guilty after watching this video. I'm one of those who got the 'repent and be saved ending'. I refunded the game because I was too lousy. I'm going to seriously achieve Cloud Clearance!"

"Thank you for dissuading me from using the Pudu to speed through the game, Old Qiao. I'm going to drop the weapon and try to complete this game based on my own skills!"

"I didn't think there would be so much to the plot of a short game like that. Indeed, it's a respectable piece of work."

"While plots are treated as mere decorations in foreign games, Tengda has professionally designed and produced such a rich worldview and plot for their game. What's more, they left clues for players to locate a hidden weapon and used only a small part of the novel's content. They're so good-hearted!"

"I'm going to read the novel now!"

"I feel like there are still a lot of holes in the game's plot. I also noticed some details that Old Qiao did not talk about. I'll produce a video later on to share them with everyone!"

…

After reading the most popular comments, Pei Qian felt his eyes begin to well up.

You've all been brainwashed by him! The video is far from the truth! I wanted all of you to reach the 'repent and be saved ending'. Will you just give up once and for all?

Who told you to imagine the game's protagonist suffering in the sea of bitterness forever? It's just a freaking game. It's not real! Don't take it so seriously, alright?

The only comment among all of these that brought some comfort to Pei Qian was the one who talked about Cloud Clearance.

How good would it be if everyone just happily watched others play?!

Yet, this was obviously wishful thinking on Boss Pei's part.

Many gamers, who had initially given up on the game because they were too lousy, became determined to purchase the game after watching the video. Those who had already refunded the game wanted to re-purchase it. Those who were on the verge of giving up were motivated to keep trying.

Critically, the difficulty of the game had been completely explained away!

The haters and fake reviewers had been upset primarily because of the game's difficulty. They emphasized that point to demonize the game and persuade other lousy players, who were still considering whether to try the game or not, not to play it.

However, Teacher Qiao's video introduced a more high-level way of looking at the game that brought the focus away from the game's difficulty.

Indeed, the game was difficult. However, the game's difficulty contributed to its immersiveness. In fact, it was an important part of the plot.

It was precisely because it was difficult that the game was complete. It was precisely because it was difficult that gamers could fully experience the game and achieve emotional Nirvana!

What used to be the game's primary flaw had now become its selling point!

After introducing this view, Teacher Qiao established a stronghold so that he could not be defeated.

Once the detailed walkthroughs were released, lousy gamers—who had been worried about not being able to complete the game—would cast aside all doubts at once. If all else failed, they could at least depend on the walkthroughs and progress bit by bit.

This would lead to more players buying the game!

Pei Qian felt depressed.

Things were getting very bad!

He had completely underestimated the amount of damage Teacher Qiao could cause!

It was now Thursday. He would receive Repent and be Saved's revenue by Monday. In these three days, the game's reputation would probably greatly improve; and sales would balloon.

This was a massive problem!

At that thought, Pei Qian quickly called Lu Mingliang.

He wanted Lu Mingliang to work as hard as he could to open tens more Upwind Courier stations. He had to keep opening new stations until the next settlement. All the additional money that Pei Qian would earn had to be spent as soon as possible!

Even after ending the call, Pei Qian could not relax.

No way, I have to personally go down! I have to supervise the progress myself!

Pei Qian was afraid because Lu Mingliang did not understand the gravity of the problem. He wanted to go down to Upwind Logistics's office and personally push all the employees there to work harder!

Now, Pei Qian did not want to wait a single minute more. He arranged for the chauffeur to pick him up and quickly rushed out of the office.

Before he left, he said to Li Yada, "I'm going to deal with some things at Upwind Logistics. If there's nothing else to do, all of you can call it a day."

The employees in the office observed Boss Pei who looked like he was in a rush. They could not help but feel sorrow.

Eh, didn't our game just become unexpectedly popular?

Boss Pei isn't even giving himself a break to celebrate? Instead, he's going to deal with Upwind Logistics's problems?

He's so hardworking!

The leader was working overtime while his employees were allowed to knock off early. What kind of spirit was this?!

…

Upstairs from Tengda, in Zhongdian Chinese Network…

Ma Yiqun had been kept busy with TPDb. Now, the website was finally almost complete, and there was nothing much left to do.

Of course, although Ma Yiqun was in charge of both Zhongdian Chinese Network and TPDb at the same time, he still had a lot of free time on his hands.

This was because ever since Zhongdian Chinese Network was set up, Ma Yiqun did not have to do much for the site. He could allow it to run on its own.

After training his subordinates for such a long period, Ma Yiqun could finally trust them to do their work independently. The editors, led by Zhu Xingan, could now responsibly vet manuscripts, distribute recommendation spots, and make suggestions to various authors on their own.

In their free time, Zhu Xingan and the other editors even worked on Repent and be Saved's official novel.

Although the novel had been heavily criticized by many readers, nobody really minded. They only wrote to entertain themselves.

Ma Yiqun felt moved from time to time as he observed them. They were talents from Handong University indeed. Although they all showed hints of sociopathic or autistic behavior, they picked things up quite quickly.

After Ma Yiqun explained to them rules and ways of online novels, everyone seemed to develop a good understanding of it.

All things aside, they did seem suited for this business.

On the whole, Zhongdian Chinese Network was developing correctly.

Not many people thought well of it ever since the website started; there were not enough readers or authors. However, the situation was showing signs of improvement.

Boss Pei had given Ma Yiqun a sum of money a while ago to pick the business up. Now, Ma Yiqun could boost the remuneration for authors who produced better-than-average online literature.

Ma Yiqun could decide which books had elite potential and peg the distributions against the novels' figures. This would vastly change Zhongdian Chinese Network's reputation among the circle of writers.

With a higher ceiling, the website would surely catch the attention of more skilled writers.

The only problem that Ma Yiqun was finding it difficult to solve was the lack of readers.

After all, supplementing authors' income was not a long-term solution to this problem.

Yet, Ma Yiqun was not worried. As long as they could continue supplementing authors' income for a while, the number of good authors on the site would increase. Someday, they would produce a viral novel.

The number of readers was bound to increase someday, right?

Ma Yiqun accessed the platform to look at the novels' figures.

He was holding onto a huge sum of money, and he had to be extremely careful with choosing which author he should give the money to.

This was because the process was not entirely transparent. Conflict could arise from his decisions. If unselected authors became envious, they could diss Zhongdian Chinese Network online and ruin its reputation forever.

Thus, he had to be as objective as possible.

Of course, Ma Yiqun could not possibly read every novel online. It would tire him to death. He would mainly refer to the numbers and his own judgment when deciding how much more he should pay the authors each month.

First, he had to narrow down his options using the figures on the platform. He would look at figures like the number of saves and the number of recommendation votes. Then, Ma Yiqun would study the chapters in the beginning and the middle. He would compare the number of comments to see if there was any obvious drop and look for any signs of fake reviewers.

This way, he could roughly determine each novel's popularity.

Even if a book started well but deteriorated in the middle, the figures would reveal this. Ma Yiqun could adjust the income supplements accordingly.

After all, the money belonged to Boss Pei. Ma Yiqun had to be accountable to him. He had to spend the money purposefully and not frivolously.

He scanned the novels with the highest figures on the platform. All of a sudden, he became shocked.

Why are the figures for these books increasing so rapidly?

Repent and be Saved's official novel was experiencing the greatest jumps. The figures were not just increasing rapidly; they were practically exploding!

Ma Yiqun looked at the number of registered accounts on the website and found that even that was rapidly increasing!

He was surprised and elated but also deeply confused.

What's happening? Where are all the new users coming from?

Could Boss Pei have advertised Zhongdian Chinese Network somewhere else? Yet, Boss Pei did not tell me anything about this!