That was expected. After all, there was bound to be a couple of players in any group who enjoyed a good challenge.
Among the group of fake reviewers, there were a few youths who were addicted to the internet and used to playing at internet cafes. They had vast gaming experience. Their first reaction when they met with such a game was not to smash their computers in anger but to rise up to the challenge.
Although these were the minority, they represented a different voice.
Hu Xiao pondered for a moment and realized that it was impossible for everyone to come to the same conclusion. However, there was no need for them to do so.
The boss asked for everyone to comment on the game based on their first impression. He had not specified whether he wanted positive or negative comments.
Since that was the case, Hu Xiao decided to allow everyone to comment whatever they wanted!
Hu Xiao typed, “Alright, stop arguing. Get to work. If you want to give it one star, then do so. If you want to give it five stars, then do so.
“We’re all professionals here. If you have personal feuds, use your keyboards to resolve them on the forums. Don’t argue in this group. You’re being paid to type in the forums, but if you argue here, you’ll be banned from speaking.”
Everyone in the group thought about it and realized that Hu Xiao was right.
What was the point of arguing in the group? It was time to get to work!
Fake reviewers who had a bad impression of the game immediately gave it one star. They expressed disappointment in it and did not recommend it to others. Then, they refunded and uninstalled it.
Those who felt more interested in the game gave it five stars and left good comments. Then, they came up with a list of good things to say about it.
After all, they were all professionals in mindlessly praising and criticizing.
They were naturally good with words. In fact, they would find it more difficult to write ordinary and boring comments.
What’s more, their jobs did not consist purely of writing comments.
Each person was being paid three or four hundred yuan. Of course, they could not earn that amount by writing one comment.
Everyone had been assigned a task: they were to write reviews, posts, and comments on the official platform, Weibo, forums, and the like. They were also to comment on other popular posts, and like and share one another’s comments and posts.
The boss had paid them a huge sum after all. They had to employ every method in the book.
Thus, fake reviewers who had already written their posts and comments began to share the respective links to the chat group. “Please like this comment for me, brothers.”
“You can copy and paste this comment. Brothers who need it can use it as reference.”
“Brothers, this is my Weibo post. Please share it.”
“I think a gamer on Aili Island published a video to diss the game. To the brothers who want to diss the game, like and share that video as much as possible. Fight to push it onto the homepage.”
‘There is a post praising the game here. To the brothers who want to support it, go and give the post a boost.”
The fake reviewers went full steam ahead with their tasks. They kept sharing posts about Repent and be Saved on various platforms. One group kept posting negative comments while another group kept giving the game five stars on every review site.
They moved the catfight from the group to various other websites and forums, making sure to amp up their resilience and determination. The fight was so intense that neither side seemed to be winning.
As he observed these developments, Hu Xiao could not help but bury his head in his hands. For some reason, he felt like something was amiss.
“This is my first time encountering a situation like that. It’s like two parties on opposite sides had hired the same group of fake reviewers…
“But it doesn’t matter. In any case, I’ve already done what I could according to the boss’ request.
“Yet, the comments on the game seem to be in a mess. They’re basically on two extremes.”
Out of curiosity, Hu Xiao checked online for other comments about Repent and be Saved.
They were indeed extremely divided. There were many five-star and one-star ratings!
Of course, this was partly because the fake reviewers had been adding fuel to the fire. However, even after discounting the fake reviewers’ influence, Hu Xiao could tell that gamers were divided about the game.
Those who were cursing the game developers to no end were doing so for the same two reasons: the game had high hardware requirements and was way too difficult!
Many gamers complained of dying more than ten times while fighting the little monsters at the beginning of the game. They insisted that something had gone wrong with the system design!
Some cursed the operations staff and others cursed the planners. All in all, most people thought that the systems designer had added an extra zero in one of the figures.
“I can’t take it anymore. This game is way too difficult. I can’t even play it! Can someone tell me if the system will be adjusted to ordinary levels in the future? If they are going to adjust it, I’m not going to refund the game.”
Many comments were expressing similar thoughts.
Although they were not all on the same page, the gamers did not seem too upset. Perhaps this was because they could refund the game within five hours.
The game had only just been released; it would be a long time before their five hours would be up. After trying the game out, many people realized that its quality was quite good. In terms of graphics, movements, impact, art resources, and the like; the game was outstanding.
They could figure out a way to meet the hardware requirements.
However, it seemed unusually difficult. They could only hope that the developers would make the necessary adjustments. Many people thought that there was a malignant bug in the game. For that reason, they did not rush to refund it. Instead, they waited for an announcement from the official platform.
If the officials agreed to repair the bug which allowed little monsters to kill the players, they could continue playing the game.
However, a while later, a post was published on the game’s official Weibo page.
“Dear players, officials have vetted the game before releasing it, and it is already at optimum difficulty. There are no malignant bugs. No more adjustments will be made to the difficulty. This is to ensure that every gamer can enjoy the full game experience.” Within a few minutes, the Weibo post was shared in various forums and gaming chat groups. More and more comments began to appear underneath the Weibo post.
11?”
“I’m slowly typing a question mark.”
“What are the officials up to? How can this be the ‘optimum difficulty’ after vetting?”
“Ensuring every gamer can enjoy the full game experience… (yeah, right).” “I thought the officials made an accidental mistake. They did it on purpose?!” “What? Can someone explain what the meaning of the epitaph is?”
“No more adjustments will be made? Are you sure? Hehe, once the sales volume drops, I wonder if you will still be so stubborn. I’ll wait for you to slap your own face.”
“I’m laughing as I read these complaints from lousy players. ‘It’s the officials’ fault that I can’t beat the little monsters. They made the game too difficult! It’s not because of my sh*tty skills!’”
“You wonder why people say local gamers are only fit to play mindless web-based games that solely require them to click the ‘enter’ button. The moment the officials make a game slightly more difficult, they cry and insist that the officials reduce the game’s difficulty. Why don’t you just ask them to let you deal 999 damage with just one blow?”
“How the h*ll is this just ‘slightly more difficult’?!”
“Why are you playing this game if you’re retarded? Save the time and get yourself treated.”
“I @#*%
*…”
Soon, a battle ensued in the comments section of the Weibo post.
Hu Xiao thought he saw hints of his fake reviewers in the comments section, but he could not be certain.
Nevertheless, Hu Xiao knew very well that his fake reviewers had joined in the argument. In fact, the comments with the most likes could have been written by his own friends.
Yet, he could not tell who exactly they were!
This was because other people’s comments looked like they could have been posted by his fake reviewers as well.
Chapter 276 - Who are You Despising? I’m Happy!
This was the first time Hu Xiao had ever seen fake reviewers blend into ordinary comment sections this way-it was seamless.
Hu Xiao had wanted to refund the game at first, but the intense argument online was confusing him once again. He was starting to get curious.
The officials had obviously made the game so difficult on purpose.
The tone of this Weibo post was clear; they were establishing the upper hand against players. Apart from sounding more tactful, the message was no different from the six-syllable mantra.
But why?
Were they offending players on purpose?
That did not make sense!
Why would a game merchant offend players on purpose? Wouldn’t they be more interested in earning money?
More and more questions filled Hu Xiao’s head. He planned to research more on the game’s strategy. For all he knew, he would be able to find some clues.
He accessed the game’s forum and browsed it quickly.
The posts on the forum were similar to the comments section on the Weibo post and the game’s page-everyone seemed to be arguing.
The fake reviewers had also added fuel to this fire, but Hu Xiao still could not tell fake reviewers from genuinely angry gamers.
In the midst of these angry posts, Hu Xiao found a few posts about others’ experiences in the game.
One of the more popular posts was titled ‘An Elite Action-Based Gamer Updates His Progress in the Game in Real-Time’.
“In the beginning, I was miserably tortured by the game as well. However, after some observation, I realized that the game is not as difficult as people say it is. People have demonized its difficulty.
“The monsters can kill people with only two blows, but you can easily get rid of those monsters with four or five attacks. You just have to be careful not to make any errors, and you would be able to progress in the game.
“This game reminds me of extremely difficult platform games that I used to play when I was younger. For some reason, it ignites anger inside me, hahaha.
“I want to curse and swear as well. Each time I die, the monsters would revive. I feel freaking helpless.”
“…I’ve made it past a small setting.”
“The elite monsters here have already killed me five or six times. I’m fighting to pass through them.”
Many netizens commented on these posts.
“Holy sh*t, brother! You’re an expert in action-based games!”
“…I’m still fighting with the little beasts at the entrance, and yet you’ve progressed so
far?”
“Boss, you must remember to record your progress. Upload it on Aili Island, and we’ll all watch it!”
“Can you live-stream on ZZ? I want to learn from you!”
At that time, livestreams were still on the rise. Although there were livestream platforms and people were getting the hang of live-streaming techniques, investors had not yet caught on to the investment opportunity. Thus, most people instinctively recorded themselves playing games. Only a small portion of gamers would mention livestreaming
The original poster obviously had not thought about livestreaming as well. He only uploaded two screenshots every now and then, with short captions to explain his own view and understanding of the game.
Soon, people began uploading simple videos on Aili Island as well.
Some were tortured by the monsters for a long time, and others defeated them on their first try. There were all sorts of videos of various styles being uploaded.
Hu Xiao could not help but feel moved. This ‘monkey see, monkey do’ method is really unique.
Hu Xiao watched several videos in which gamers displayed their skills. The monsters could not even touch them. Instead, they attacked the monsters’ back and dealt with them deftly.
After watching these videos, Hu Xiao began questioning himself.
Could I have been playing the game wrongly?
Why don’t other players experience the same problems as I do?
It looks like as long as I can grasp the technique, it wouldn’t be that difficult!
With renewed confidence, Hu Xiao returned to the game. There was still a long time before the five hours would be up and he would not be able to refund the game. Hu Xiao felt safe.
“Hehe.”
“Hehe.”
“Hehe.”
An hour later, Hu Xiao fell silent in front of his computer once more.
Indeed, it was an illusion.
This game is not for humans to play!
Hu Xiao was speechless. This time, he decided not to hesitate any further. He would refund the game and uninstall it!
This wretched game was being sold for 128 yuan. It was ridiculous!
I don’t want this game to remain on my computer for another minute! I’m going to spam the comments section with criticism!
Hu Xiao was infuriated. He had been wrong from the beginning.
Why did he have to test the game out? He had been torturing himself!
Hu Xiao found it hard to calm himself down. He glanced at the time and realized that there was still a couple of hours before his five hours would be up. Unable to wait any longer, he rushed to the comments section to post his complaints and look for like-minded friends.
The enraged Hu Xiao wrote a post of his own. “This game is rubbish! The officials mindlessly increased the monsters’ attack power. They’re grossing us out on purpose!
“Refund the game as soon as you can. If you haven’t bought it, don’t bother. It’s a waste of your life. You would be spending money to be tortured!”
Less than two minutes later, Hu Xiao refreshed his post and saw a new comment.
“Hehe, another piece of trash who could not defeat the monsters.”
“This game is really not for lousy players. The officials extended the refund allowance period to take care of old people like you.
“You’re quitting after meeting such minor setbacks? You’re probably the kind of person who would have sold our country out during wars, right? Hehe.”
After reading this, Hu Xiao felt even more furious!
With a short temper like mine, how could I take this lying down?!
Hu Xiao was used to battling with others online. How could he suffer in silence? He sucked in a deep breath and immediately began typing away on his keyboard, cursing and swearing
In the end, the other party refused to give way as well. A heated argument ensued.
They began talking about each other’s bodies and health and then moved the argument to each other’s loved ones. At last, they focused on each other’s lives and the source of humanity.
As he argued, Hu Xiao suddenly realized that something was amiss.
Why did this feel so familiar?
Hu Xiao rarely met a worthy opponent. After all, most people had real jobs to do. Few people had as much time on their hands as Hu Xiao did and were able to spend that much time on a forum.
Not only did this opponent have a wide vocabulary, but he was also very mystifying. Within a short time, he managed to type long, good-quality replies. Confused, Hu Xiao copied the link to his own post and pasted it into the group chat.
“Are any of you looking at this post?”
Soon, someone replied.
Jaiedg_0 said, “Don’t worry, Brother Hu. I’m talking to this retarded poster. I can finish my assignment
and disgust this lousy newbie. Hehe.”
Hu Xiao was so angry that his hands were trembling. F*ck, it was my own brother!
No wonder I found his typing so familiar.
However, precisely because the man was a brother from his own chat, Hu Xiao could not do anything. After all, it was a misunderstanding. If he kicked the man out of the group, he might turn others away from him.
He could only ban the man for 24 hours and deal with the hatred in his heart.
Muddle-headed, he had argued with his own brother for so long. Hu Xiao looked at the time and recalled that he had not exited the game. That meant he only had two hours left before he had to refund it.
“Forget it, forget it. I’ll refund the game.”
Hu Xiao looked at the ‘refund’ button and fell silent once again.
Should I really refund it?
Am I really going to give up just like that? Am I admitting that I’m a lousy gamer?
No, I must try again!
Hu Xiao felt indignant. If he gave up now, wouldn’t he be admitting that he was an incompetent, raging lunatic?
He had to at least deal with the little monsters at the mass grave, right?
Once again, Hu Xiao entered the game.
After dying so many times before, Hu Xiao finally learned a few lessons. He had to lure the monsters away one by one. He had to attack them blow by blow. Once the monster raised its hand, he had to dodge and look for another opportunity to attack.
All in all, he could not be greedy!
Hu Xiao kept in mind the lessons he learned from the gaming god’s videos. Slowly and steadily, he defeated several little monsters in the mass grave, despite being attacked once. ‘Hehe’ did not appear on his screen.
“I’m awesome!”
After killing those little monsters, Hu Xiao felt his heart pound with excitement. His hands were shaking non-stop.
So nervous! So exciting!
Was this what an adrenaline rush felt like?
The game was not as difficult as he had imagined. Hu Xiao was filled with renewed motivation as he steered his character forward.
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