Chapter 6: How could there be thousands of downloads?!

Qiao Liang was dumbfounded.

That's it?

Is this the end?

Just one line of text to clear the game?

At least give me a trophy or an award podium!

If you don't have these art resources, at least give me a cheering sound effect!

How much can a cheering sound effect cost you? Are you really that stingy?!

After eight hours of gameplay, you just give me a black screen and mock me with one sentence!

Qiao Liang felt he couldn't take it anymore, physically or mentally.

He was really immersed in the game and was truly upset to the point of wanting to cry!

However, despite the frustration and anger, there was a tiny bit of relief in Qiao Liang's heart.

It wasn't because he was a masochist, but because he knew that these were all precious materials!

Seeing the YouTuber suffering so much, wouldn't the audience happily like and share?

Qiao Liang checked again and found that the entire eight hours of gameplay had been recorded, completely intact.

"Wait, once I wake up, I'll deal with you!"

Qiao Liang said menacingly to the game, saved the recorded video, and fell asleep on the bed.

...

Three days later.

Pei Qian woke up naturally in his dormitory, feeling very content with life.

During this period, he had already readjusted to college life.

Every day, he would wake up naturally, not worrying about going to work, having no KPI pressure, and not having to deal with his boss's attitude.

In short, he was satisfied!

Of course, it would be even better if he were a little wealthier.

The first thing he did when he woke up was to call the system!

[Wealth Conversion System]

[Host: Pei Qian]

[Profit Conversion Ratio: 100:1, Loss Conversion Ratio: 1:1]

[Next Settlement Time: 11 days later]

[System Funds: 0 (↓50000)]

[Personal Property: 367]

Seeing the "0" in the system funds, Pei Qian felt a dark sense of satisfaction.

Comfortable!

As for the pathetic number behind his personal property, Pei Qian had no choice.

He was already spending money very frugally, but it was not enough!

With only a thousand yuan living allowance per month, even if he ate in the cafeteria for every meal, it still wasn't enough.

After all, the money couldn't be used solely for food; there had to be some other daily expenses, right?

Pei Qian was already a little impatient, waiting for the settlement in 11 days, when the lost system funds would all be converted into personal property, he would be overjoyed.

The system funds were still 0, as the game platform's revenue share had not yet been transferred to the company account.

ESRO's official game platform shared revenue once a week, which was automatically processed, with developers and the platform having a 50-50 split. This was quite intelligent.

Before the revenue share, if you wanted to check your income, the number of game downloads, and other data, you could go to the editor backend.

In the first two days of the game's release, Pei Qian went to the editor backend from time to time and found that indeed, more than a dozen unlucky people had bought and downloaded his game.

It was normal for a few careless players to download a new game, especially one that had been featured in a small recommendation slot.

After splitting the revenue from those ten or so downloads with the platform, Pei Qian only got a few yuan, which was harmless.

And sure enough, these players all gave the game "Desert Bus" a one-star rating, making the game's rating quite miserable. It is expected that no more naive players would download it in the future.

After confirming that his game was bound to fail, Pei Qian spent the whole day yesterday in great delight, without checking the editor.

Although he felt that opening the editor's backend today wouldn't show any difference, Pei Qian still instinctively opened it.

Pei Qian's mindset was quite peculiar.

Other designers would check their game's data in the backend, hoping for higher numbers, wishing for thousands or even millions of downloads with each refresh.

But Pei Qian, on the contrary, hoped that his game's download count would be as low as possible, preferably a big zero.

"If I'm not mistaken, the download count should still be in double digits..."

"What the hell?!"

"What happened?!"

Pei Qian was dumbfounded.

He was shocked to see that the download count of his game had reached four digits and was continuously growing towards five digits!

Pei Qian slapped his forehead with his right hand, almost thinking there was something wrong with his eyesight.

"How could over 8,000 people have downloaded my game!"

"And it's about to break 10,000!"

"There are still ten days until the next system settlement!"

Pei Qian panicked, completely panicked.

Things were getting far beyond his expectations.

This was a simple math problem that even a grade-schooler could figure out. Over 8,000 downloads meant over 8,000 in revenue, and after the platform took half, it would mean a net profit of over 4,000.

According to ESRO's standards, most game revenues were taxed at around 5%, and indie games published on the ESRO official platform even had tax incentives, which were basically negligible.

That is to say, when the platform transfers the money to the company account this weekend, the system funds will increase to over 4,000!

What does this mean?

Did Pei Qian make more than 4,000?

No!

On the contrary, Pei Qian lost more than 4,000!

Originally, Pei Qian lost 50,000 in system funds and had a net gain of 50,000 in personal assets.

Now that the system funds have earned back over 4,000, the net loss is equivalent to 46,000, and the amount Pei Qian can convert has shrunk from 50,000 to 46,000!

What's even more terrifying is that the download count is still steadily increasing!

Every time Pei Qian refreshed the backend, the number would jump up, sometimes by tens, sometimes by hundreds.

Each jump felt like rubbing salt on Pei Qian's wounds!

Because, the more he earned here, the more his personal assets would shrink!

What's more, there are still ten days until the next settlement. If the download count increases tenfold during this period...

Hiss...

Big trouble!

Pei Qian couldn't sit still anymore.

"What's going on? Is there a bug in the official backend?"

"How could such a trash game have thousands of downloads? Are you messing with me?"

He still couldn't believe it and quickly opened the official platform to find the comment section of "Desert Bus."

To his shock, the game's rating hadn't changed much, but the comments had surged by hundreds!

"Qiao Lao Shi sightseeing group!"

"Qiao Lao Shi sightseeing group +1"

"LOL, there really is such an anti-human trash game! I've learned something new!"

"I downloaded it, I challenged it, and I gave up in five minutes."

"One dollar, it doesn't seem worth the effort to ask for a refund, let me just spit and leave... heh... tui!"

"I recommended this game to my friend and told him to stick to the end for a huge surprise and Easter egg. Now my friend wants to break off our friendship. What should I do?"

"Are you even human? I just honestly told my friend that there's nothing at the end of the game, just a black screen and a sentence. I even told him the exact sentence, but he thought I was lying and insisted on checking it out himself. He hasn't finished it yet and has already broken three controllers. I think we're not far from ending our friendship."

"Does anyone know the address of the producer? No other intention, just want to send him some local specialties or something."

"I suggest you guys don't play it, just watch Qiao Lao Shi's full gameplay. Qiao Lao Shi really recorded eight hours..."

"Heh, let me tell you, this game can indeed trigger some reflections on life, but you won't experience it by fast-forwarding through a video."

"Keep deceiving, continue deceiving."

"It's true. Isn't Tang Monk supposed to go through ninety-nine eighty-one difficulties in his journey to the West? Do you think you can become a Buddha like Tang Monk just by watching Journey to the West?"

Pei Qian was dumbfounded.

What on earth was all this?

Where did all these comments come from?

Qiao Lao Shi sightseeing group???

Was this game picked up by some internet celebrity?

Pei Qian was puzzled, so he opened the browser and searched for the keyword "Qiao Lao Shi."

Soon, he found Qiao Lao Shi's personal page on Yamsite and saw a video posted one day ago.

"Trash Game Rants Episode 64: I spent eight hours non-stop playing through a trash game, but..."

The number of views had already exceeded 200,000.

Pei Qian was speechless.

He seemed to have found the culprit.