Chapter 282: Everything Is Under President Pei’s Control!
Chapter 282: Everything Is Under President Pei’s Control!
“What the hell is going on? This makes no sense!”
“I hid it so well, how did they even find it?”
“Seriously? Someone’s got that much free time—running around randomly, poking at Buddha statues for fun? And then just happens to die six times in front of the old monk?”
“Damn it…”
Pei Qian felt his head spinning.
This was too much!
He still couldn’t quite believe that some random player had actually found Pudu. Deep down, he kept feeling there had to be some other explanation.
But the facts were right there in front of him—he couldn’t deny it.
In any case, the discovery of Pudu gave all those players who couldn’t get past the game a new ray of hope. Many of them had been hesitating about whether to ask for a refund, but now they weren’t refunding anything!
Even public opinion had started to shift!
Previously, most of the smear posts and troll comments attacking the game had focused on one thing—its difficulty.
“The game’s way too hard; playing it is masochistic.”
“The devs intentionally made it impossible just to annoy players.”
“So the game is trash—get your refunds while you can!”
But now, that argument completely collapsed.
The devs hadn’t been malicious at all! Look, they even made a special weapon for less-skilled players!
Once you got Pudu, the game’s difficulty dropped significantly. So casual players had no reason to refund anymore!
In fact, it now made the design team seem compassionate, even merciful!
Pei Qian’s head was pounding. What the hell was he supposed to do now?!
This wasn’t just about the refund rate plummeting anymore—if word got out that casual players could actually finish the game with Pudu…
Pei Qian knew perfectly well that even a clumsy player could reach the Six Paths of Reincarnation ending with that weapon. After all, he was one such player.
“No, no… I have to think of something fast…”
He couldn’t just sit back and wait for disaster. After thinking it over, he decided—he’d have to rely on the paid commentators again!
Of course, this time he couldn’t use the same strategy as before.
. . .
Peng City.
Hu Xiao was gleefully slaughtering monsters with Pudu (Salvation).
“That’s for killing me!”
“I’ll give salvation to every last one of you!”
“Oh, you think you’re an elite mob? Lie down!”
Hu Xiao was having the time of his life.
After getting Pudu, the game finally felt playable!
He was the kind of person who was easily satisfied. He didn’t even rush ahead to fight tougher enemies; instead, he just kept wiping out the mobs that had tormented him before, over and over again, farming extra souls and essence.
Who would’ve thought that even a clumsy player like him could find joy in this game?
After a while, Hu Xiao quit the game, content, and opened the forums to see if there were any new discussions about Turn Back Before It’s Too Late.
He found himself liking that forum more and more—it was fun!
Not only were the player arguments hilarious, but some users often uncovered hidden secrets in the game too.
Just like Pudu—that hidden weapon had first been revealed by a player post.
As he browsed, Hu Xiao suddenly got a new message from Hardcore Reviews.
“I want to buy some more paid commentators.”
Hu Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he quickly replied, “Got it, no problem!”
This was already the third wave of orders from this guy—very generous, always quick to pay.
Even though Hu Xiao had personally spent over a hundred yuan of his own money on the game, that misunderstanding had long been cleared up.
Hardcore Reviews: “This time the job’s a bit different. I’ve noticed the discussions are starting to lean too much in one direction. See if you can stir up more ‘discussion’ again, okay?”
Hu Xiao immediately replied, “Understood, no problem!”
. . .
Pei Qian finally let out a breath of relief.
Thank goodness the paid commentators were professionals—quiet, efficient, and never asked questions.
Lately, discussions about Turn Back Before It’s Too Late really had been getting too one-sided.
With the discovery of Pudu, complaints from clumsy players about the game calmed down, and naturally the controversy dwindled.
The paid commentators who’d been trashing the game lost their ammunition and many of them defected—joining the mindless praise squad just to finish their tasks.
If this kept up, word of mouth would flip quickly.
So the important thing was to keep people arguing. The paid commentators who were trashing the game absolutely could not give up—if they did, President Pei would be one step away from having to give up himself!
This time Pei Qian managed to fool the system again without a hitch.
If he’d asked the system to “get all the paid commentators to bash Turn Back Before It’s Too Late,” it definitely wouldn’t have paid out; but if he asked to “create a little more discussion around Turn Back Before It’s Too Late,” that was fine.
“Go all out and trash it! Trash it so badly everyone demands a refund!”
Pei Qian refreshed the forum and Weibo, quietly waiting for the paid commentators to move.
…
On the other side, Hu Xiao had cheerfully taken the job, but after posting the order in his group he ran into a bit of a problem.
The boss wanted the online discussion around Turn Back Before It’s Too Late to stop being so one-sided—create as much controversy as possible. Right now the haters were losing steam, so the boss wanted the paid commentators to help them push the narrative and bring things back into balance.
But how were they supposed to do that?
The old angle—that the game was too difficult—was invalidated by Pudu. Trying to bash it on that point now would be painfully obvious and ineffective.
Hu Xiao relayed the request to the professional paid commentators in the group and let them brainstorm. As the saying goes: offer a big reward and brave men will appear—give enough money and who’s afraid of not finding things to attack?
At the news of another payday, the group exploded into activity, wracking their brains for weak spots to exploit.
“What if we say the game distorts traditional culture?”
“Or accuse it of having a thin plot?”
“Or claim they hired paid commentators?”
Each person had their idea, but nothing really good came out of the discussion.
Those angles were just lame—forced attacks. Forced attacks aren’t impossible, but they rarely spark enough controversy to satisfy the boss’s requirement.
In other words, it’d be twice the effort for half the result.
If the game actually had quality problems, there’d be lots to work with: shoddy production, deceiving consumers, selling cheap domestic nostalgia—plenty of good accusations to pin on it.
But the game’s quality was solid—rock-solid.
Those accusations would be unconvincing and might even backfire, pushing more people to support Turn Back Before It’s Too Late.
Besides, many of the paid commentators hadn’t really played the game; they’d tried for a few minutes, their PCs couldn’t handle it, and they’d refunded—how were they supposed to find any deep, substantive flaws?
So they discussed for a long time and still couldn’t find a good entry point.
And that’s how things stalled.
In the end, Hu Xiao couldn’t think of any better ideas, so he typed:
“Brothers, no rush. For now, just post a few half-hearted smear threads to keep the controversy alive. Meanwhile, the rest of you keep digging for deeper issues we can attack.”
“We’re professionals—we have to do everything we can to complete the boss’s mission!”
“This is a long-term job. Keep an eye on the forums and other players’ posts. If you spot any loophole or flaw, report it to the group immediately!”
. . .
October 6th.
Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Li Yada looked at the game’s sales numbers and the glowing reputation it had gained on forums and across the internet. Her eyes curved into crescents behind her thick glasses as she smiled from ear to ear.
As expected, everything was under President Pei’s control!
Her earlier worries about Turn Back Before It’s Too Late being taken down had been completely unnecessary.
During this period, there hadn’t been a single warning from the platform. The game was still featured on the homepage, and the recommendation banner hadn’t been removed at all. The message was clear: the platform was fully backing Tengda!
And just as President Pei had predicted, everything was steadily improving.
Li Yada had known about the existence of Pudu from the start, but she’d worried that it might have been buried too deeply—that months could pass before anyone discovered it.
Yet less than a week after launch, players had already found it!
That not only showed the incredible power of the player community, but also demonstrated that President Pei’s understanding of player psychology had reached an almost divine level.
Why had President Pei designed a hidden weapon like Pudu? Obviously, it was meant to be found by players.
And sure enough, the players didn’t let him down—they found it quickly. That just proved that President Pei and the players were truly in sync!
What’s more, the release of Pudu completely reversed public opinion. The refund rate plummeted, and everything was turning for the better!
Even more amazingly, players on the forums were now expressing genuine delight—almost no one was complaining about the game’s difficulty anymore!
Li Yada knew perfectly well that even with Pudu, Turn Back Before It’s Too Late was still a hard game—especially compared to others on the market.
At best, it had gone from “hell difficulty” to “hard difficulty.”
But the players weren’t complaining anymore!
That was the result of President Pei’s precise grasp of player psychology.
At first, he’d thrown them into an extreme challenge—letting them suffer and struggle. Then, right as they were about to give up, he allowed them to discover Pudu on their own, dramatically lowering the game’s difficulty.
That sudden drop in difficulty brought players a huge rush of happiness. So even though the game was still tough, their overall experience had greatly improved—now even casual players could enjoy it!
The game retained its challenge and depth, but players had become calmer and more satisfied. No more refund demands—truly a win–win solution!
Li Yada couldn’t help but sigh. So this… this is what it feels like to be Lu Mingliang!
Complete, effortless victory.
With a mastermind like President Pei, every little adjustment he made became a stroke of genius. Working under someone like him was absolute bliss.
Seeing that the game’s success was now practically guaranteed, Li Yada felt a surge of genuine joy.
“Let’s keep it up. Time to start planning the next version update!”
She pushed up her thick glasses and dove back into work with renewed enthusiasm.
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