Cherishing Leeks

Because there were people like Liu Manman around, Xia Yu didn't find a suitable opportunity to say anything to An Siyao.

Putting this matter aside, on Monday morning, Xia Yu arrived at the school.

He also had final exams to take. The exams were in the afternoon, but he came in the morning just to wander around.

In the class group chat, Xia Yu found out that almost all of his classmates were in the classroom, so he went in.

Upon entering, he saw a group of students who were nervously reviewing their lessons.

"Oh, you finally remembered you're a student," a mocking voice appeared first.

Looking in the direction of the voice, Xia Yu saw it was the counselor.

The counselor was surrounded by a few students, seemingly asking questions.

"I had no choice, I've been busy too," Xia Yu casually replied, and sat down next to Qin Youliang, who kept waving at him.

"We know, An Siyao from the Music Institute hasn't been to class in months!" The classmates started to tease.

Xia Yu didn't say anything else, responding with a smile, tactfully and politely bypassing the topic.

"Got any books? What are we tested on this afternoon? Let me take a look." Xia Yu looked at Qin Youliang.

Qin Youliang handed him his bag.

Taking the textbook out of the bag, Xia Yu began flipping through it.

The counselor left half an hour later, and the atmosphere in the classroom relaxed.

Qin Youliang threw the book aside, took out his phone, and clicked on an icon.

As Xia Yu was reviewing, he heard a familiar music sound.

Turning his head to look at Qin Youliang, Xia Yu saw the familiar game interface – it was his game.

Qin Youliang took out a Penguin Coin recharge card, clicked on the account interface, skillfully entered the redemption code, and then proceeded to the card pool to give money to the supplier.

If this scene were to be drawn in a comic, 280 characters would be floating above both Qin Youliang and Xia Yu's heads.

This game was the one Xia Yu had asked Duan Yi to create, a pay-to-win mobile game that successfully launched half a month ago. It's currently being heavily promoted, with a promising momentum.

Although it was wrapped in a 3D fighting skin, the game's essence was still a card-drawing pay-to-win one, with everything in its operation centered around spending money.

Xia Yu had thought that those players would complain while sending money, but they didn't. They were very positive about the luck-based card-drawing gameplay, playing happily.

Seeing this, Xia Yu couldn't help but sigh at how self-aware these leeks were.

"Damn, still didn't get it!" Qin Youliang finished drawing a charge card but didn't get the item he wanted. He hastily rushed out the door to buy a recharge card from the convenience store.

In a world without online payment, Xia Yu could only use the Penguin Coin method for players to enjoy the thrill of spending money in-game. Since the Yu family had a stake in Penguin, Xia Yu easily integrated Penguin Coins.

Five minutes later, Qin Youliang's returned, entered his recharge card's redemption code, and started a new round of card draws.

"I got it!" He slammed his hand on the table with a gleeful expression.

"What, you really got it?" Several classmates, who also played the game, gathered around him upon hearing his voice.

"How much did you charge?" one of the classmates asked Qin Youliang.

"Two six four eights." After saying this, Qin Youliang realized he had spent a bit too much.

"That's a lot!" a classmate said.

"It's fine, just save some money for the return trip and buy a seat ticket," Qin Youliang replied, "It's a rare thrill. I don't think I've spent that much. I know someone who has already spent ten thousand."

Seeing their addicted expressions, Xia Yu didn't know if he should remind them that moderate spending is fine, but extravagant spending can be harmful.

Before he could figure it out, Qin Youliang began to promote the game to him.

"Xia Yu, come and play Yīnbēng King. You can play it on your phone. It's really exciting."

Faced with Qin Youliang's demonstration of the game screen and the excitement of the in-game items he had purchased, Xia Yu could only smile.

Fortunately, he was Xia Yu, not Xia Yidan, or else he would show off his full-level, fully-equipped test account and watch Qin Youliang's expression change from smug to confused.

As he was dealing with Qin Youliang's promotion, Duan Yi rescued him in time.

After pulling Xia Yu out of the classroom, Duan Yi briefly talked about the company's recent situation, then looked at Xia Yu worriedly, "Is it really okay for us to do this?"

"What's the problem?" Xia Yu knew what Duan Yi was talking about, but still asked.

"Because of our game, penguin currency recharge cards in many places are sold out," Duan Yi replied. "Is it really okay to make so much money? We won't get caught, will we?"

As an insider, Duan Yi knew the true quality of this mobile game. The levels were repetitive, the monsters were repetitive, and there were a lot of fancy but messy equipment.

The materials and level designs in the game were obtained from a half-finished and failed single-player computer game.

In her opinion, if this game were on a computer, it would be priced at several dozen or at most one hundred yuan. It wasn't even as good as a game called Monkey Returns that was released a few months ago. Yet within half a month, the game had made a rough estimate of 300 million yuan!

Duan Yi was initially puzzled by the game's mediocre quality, but its selling power was strong. She thought it just filled a gap in mobile gaming. But when she saw a classmate spend half a month's living expenses on in-game items and then work part-time over the weekend to earn more money to buy them, she realized the game's core was not 3D combat, but rather the excitement of gambling on the items.

This upended Duan Yi's view of gaming. Shouldn't games be genuinely designed to be fun and engaging? How could they have become so sinister?

Many games relied on luck to acquire items, but they usually gave players a few free chances - they never deceived players into buying chances.

Looking at the players who were gambling on in-game items, Duan Yi felt like she was watching gamblers placing bets. Even though the two weren't exactly the same, those who had spent thousands on a set of equipment - would they still buy it if it was actually priced at that much?

Since they originally wouldn't have bought it, but in the end spent so much to get it, weren't they just being tricked out of their money?

Seeing Duan Yi's expression, Xia Yu contemplated. He originally thought he could comfortably use this method to make money, but now, he still felt a bit uneasy.

Otherwise, with his character, even if he didn't show off his full-item account, he would still want to show off with a rich account.

His own heart was still not ruthless enough.

Rubbing his forehead, Xia Yu said to Duan Yi, "I understand, I'll handle it after the exam."

"Alright." Duan Yi felt relieved.

Thinking about this matter, Xia Yu didn't return to the classroom. He walked in the courtyard, thinking about what to do.

After walking a few laps and failing to come up with a viable plan, Xia Yu suddenly remembered that he was no longer alone in this.

He called Yu Ningmeng and told her about this matter.

Yu Ningmeng responded, "I was going to discuss this with you after I had made preparations. The game committee has already noticed this game. Tsk, the total cost of development and promotion is only over 40 million, but it made 300 million in half a month after its launch, and it seems like it could continue to make money for years to come. This is not selling a game; this is like robbery!"

Yu Ningmeng also paid attention to the projects in Xia Yu's hands. Although she felt that any project that could be grasped by Xia Yu must not be weak, she did not expect it to be so amazing.

"How did the game committee respond?" Xia Yu asked.

"From the information I received, they want to enforce the disclosure of card draw probabilities and force a guaranteed draw for players after a certain number of tries," Yu Ningmeng slowly explained.

This world was very reliable in various aspects, such as the media, which never engaged in gossip or used other people's pain to attract attention. The same goes for the game committee that manages games globally.

"What about prohibiting the connection between recharging money and card draws?" Xia Yu asked.

"Right now, your game is the only one linking recharging and drawing cards. If you are willing, the game committee can include this rule in their regulations, as they originally wanted to do so, but were worried about the negative impact."

"Let's do it then." Xia Yu discussed some more details with Yu Ningmeng before returning to the classroom.

Duan Yi was still there, and she looked at Xia Yu.

"It's resolved. The card draw section will be removed, and the items will be priced clearly. The previous player's recharge will be converted into the equivalent game currency, or even returned in Penguin Coins. The game's ability to succeed and survive now depends on the actual quality," Xia Yu relaxed.

Duan Yi also relaxed, but after a moment, she began to worry about what would happen to her company's employees if this game failed.

"Start developing Plan 3," Xia Yu said to Duan Yi.

"Plan 3? I haven't heard of it?" Duan Yi was puzzled.

"That's because I haven't given it to you yet," Xia Yu pondered, "Yes, let's call this game the Undead Alliance."

"We're not doing card draws anymore?" Duan Yi asked cautiously.

"No more card draws, we'll sell clothes instead," Xia Yu replied.

"Huh?" Duan Yi didn't understand what selling clothes meant.

Patting her on the shoulder, Xia Yu didn't offer any explanation, and headed back into the classroom.

Qin Youliang had already put away his phone and looked at Xia Yu, who was studying seriously with a book. He asked, "You haven't been to class for months. How are you going to handle the exams?"

"I've reviewed," Xia Yu replied.

"Oh." Qin Youliang nodded, knowing that Xia Yu had entered the university with the top score in Su Province. For a student like him, it didn't matter whether there was a teacher or not.

Then he casually asked, "How long did you review for?"

Xia Yu pondered for a moment and replied, "Ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Qin Youliang widened his eyes.

"I'm already looking at it, and it's been ten minutes," Xia Yu held up the book in his hand.

"What can you see in ten minutes? Aren't you taking it easy?" Although Qin Youliang knew that top students were different from ordinary people, he didn't think that Xia Yu's last-minute effort would be useful.

The exam was in the afternoon, and there was only half a morning left. It was impossible even for a top student to finish a semester's worth of coursework in half a morning! This was Hua University, not some third-rate school with a set question bank!

"Don't worry, everything is under control." Xia Yu patted Qin Youliang's shoulder, glanced at his Test Prep Education lv5 in his skill column, indicating that everything was not a problem.

Although Hua University does not focus on test-oriented education, dealing with exams is still about test-taking, and all Xia Yu wanted was to pass the test.

Qin Youliang still didn't believe him: "You're great at music, but you're studying literature, and this is Hua University. Have you figured out the situation? Won't it be a problem for you? Don't screw this up."

Seeing that no one believed him when he told the truth, Xia Yu could only start talking nonsense.

Pulling Qin Youliang closer, Xia Yu whispered, "Actually, I've already bribed the exam marker to add points to my score to make it pass."

"Really?" Qin Youliang's eyes widened, "But most of the exams are multiple-choice questions, and the answers are machine-graded!"

"...I even bribed the machine!"

"Ah?" Qin Youliang opened his mouth wide.

"Machines grade the papers, but humans can still operate them," Xia Yu found a suitable reason.

"Oh." Qin Youliang was half-skeptical and half-convinced.

After dealing with him, Xia Yu casually flipped through the book in his hand. At noon, he went to the cafeteria for lunch, returned to the dormitory to rest for a while, and then went to the examination room with Qin Youliang.

Among the three invigilators of the exam, one was Xia Yu's class teacher.

Xia Yu's entrance into the classroom caused a small stir, which drew the attention of the teacher.

As soon as the exam papers were handed out and the exam began, the invigilator stepped down from the podium and came over to Xia Yu's side.

He wanted to see what tricks this student, who had skipped classes for months, could pull off during the test.

Although Xia Yu was talented in music, music was music, and literature was literature. Music was valuable at the Music Institute, but the Literature Department did not appreciate it.

Those who should fail would still fail, and those who needed to take make-up exams would still take make-up exams. If they couldn't pass the make-up exams, they would have to face penalties.

Thinking of this, the teacher's heart couldn't help but expect some misfortunes for this bad student.

Under his anticipation and gloating smile, Xia Yu wrote his name, and then quickly answered the questions. He didn't need to draft or think and wrote the answers as soon as he saw the questions.

The invigilator's eyes involuntarily followed Xia Yu's pen as it moved quickly; under Xia Yu's Dexterity lv5, his writing speed was very fast, and it was difficult for the teacher to keep up.

It wasn't until Xia Yu had completed the first page of the exam paper and turned the page that the invigilator had time to take a breath.

He rubbed his sore eyes and took a deep breath. At this moment, he realized that he hadn't seen a single wrong answer just now?

He moved his hand away and continued to watch Xia Yu answer the questions in disbelief.

Xia Yu's speed remained unchanged, only giving the invigilator a chance to rub his eyes when he turned the page.

At the same time, the invigilator also confirmed that there were really no wrong questions!

It was already against the heavens to have not a single wrong question, so what kind of ghost was that answering speed which was even faster than old-fashioned printers!

Five minutes passed, and Xia Yu had answered all the questions. Unexpectedly, he found that his Agility Lv5, which hadn't moved for a long time, had quietly increased by one level, reaching Lv6.

After checking one last time and seeing that he didn't miss anything, Xia Yu handed the answer sheet to the invigilator next to him.

He asked, "Teacher, can I go now?"

Holding Xia Yu's answer sheet, the invigilator still couldn't accept the scene he had just seen. He waved for Xia Yu to leave, taking the answer sheet to another invigilator, hoping that he had made a mistake.

But what he got was confirmation that this answer sheet had a perfect score.

The invigilator sighed.

Skipping classes for months and getting a perfect score in the exam - is this the real genius?

On the other side, Xia Yu, who had left the room, let Yu manage himself and drove home. He focused and came to Wen Ziyin's body.