Chapter 1 After the Update

The update of Tenda Games sparked a wave of enthusiasm online.

Apart from the players of *Fortress at Sea* who were cursing the boss of Tenda and hoping for an immediate lifting of the purchase restriction on the Barrett-Devastator, all the other players were moved to tears, overjoyed beyond measure.

Naturally, major game media outlets were also reporting on it, including some independent game bloggers, who were riding the wave.

Like Qiao Laoshi.

After the success of his "Masterpiece" program, Qiao Liang also received an offer from Ailidao and jumped ship from Sweet Potato Net.

Although he only signed the most basic content creation incentive agreement, earning only about 30 RMB per 10,000 views, Qiao Laoshi had a group of loyal fans. Plus, the website promoted him as a star up-and-comer in the gaming section, so each of his videos got hundreds of thousands of views.

As a result, Qiao Laoshi no longer had to live the hand-to-mouth existence of the past, and his income became relatively stable.

As long as he released two videos a month, one for popularity and one for paid endorsements, adding up to about 1.5 million views, the incentive plan plus the endorsement fees would keep his monthly income stable at five or six thousand RMB. Compared to before, it was a vast improvement.

However, the "Masterpiece" program, which had propelled Qiao Laoshi's popularity to new heights, had yet to be updated with a second episode.

People were urging him to update it every day, but Qiao Laoshi's reply was firm: "Sorry, but I can't currently find any domestic games that are comparable to *Game Producer* in terms of ideological content. If there is one, this program will be updated at lightning speed. If not, I can't force an update and ruin my own reputation."

Qiao Liang was only about 30% sincere in his words. If he wanted to update, he could easily make videos about older foreign games or classic series.

But now, he could earn a steady five or six thousand RMB just by relying on his "Trash Game Reviews," "Monthly New Game Recommendations," and other miscellaneous small videos. He simply couldn't be bothered to put in so much effort to update the "Masterpiece" program with such meticulous detail.

After Tenda Games rolled out what was being called the "most conscientious DLC update in history," Qiao Laoshi couldn't suppress his excitement and updated an article on his column.

"I've been following Tenda Games' conscientious updates recently."

"I expected *Ghost General* and *Fortress at Sea* to be updated, but I never imagined that even *Lonely Desert Road* would be updated!"

"Speaking of this game, many people may have some misunderstandings about it."

"This was Tenda's first game, and I even criticized it. In every way, it's a rough, uninspired game that many consider to be a black mark on Tenda's history."

"I used to think that this might have been a crude game that Tenda Games was forced to make in its early stages due to various limitations such as funding."

"But now I understand, I was wrong. Everyone who thought this was a garbage game was also wrong!"

"If Tenda really regarded this game as its own black history, it should have stopped updating it and let it die a natural death."

"But on the contrary, Tenda knew very well that the game's popularity had completely faded and there weren't many players left, yet it still arranged for an extremely conscientious version update. It not only updated with five times more scenes than the original, but also added the endless mode and online features that I suggested in my video!"

"What does this mean?"

"It means that Tenda doesn't regard it as its black history. Instead, it treats it as seriously as its other games, repaying all the players who support the game with the greatest sincerity and enthusiasm!"

"Even though it knows very well that this DLC can't recover its costs, it still doesn't hesitate at all, and the pricing is as conscientious as ever. Five times the content for the same price, it's truly a bargain!"

"This proves that *Lonely Desert Road* also embodies Tenda's efforts. Like *Game Producer*, it's a dark, humorous satire and part of Tenda's performance art!"

"The game's description and the lines on the black screen at the end of the game now seem to have profound meaning!"

"Moreover, Tenda is truly a company that values player feedback. Allow me to brag a little: they actually made the features that I casually mentioned in my video. I guess I still have a little bit of influence, hiahiahia~"

Qiao Laoshi's article was widely reposted and liked, quickly sparking widespread resonance among players!

"He's right! So *Lonely Desert Road* had this deep meaning from the very beginning!"

"Damn, is this all within Tenda's calculations? What a huge scheme!"

"I'm becoming more and more interested in Tenda's mysterious boss!"

"So, it seems that we can blindly buy Tenda's games in the future, and blindly buy their DLC. They're even insisting on updating such a trash game, even at a loss. What's there to worry about?"

...

Pei Qian was sitting in his office, reading the article published by Qiao Laoshi, and fell into deep thought.

"System, will you reimburse me for hiring someone to kill him?"

After receiving a negative answer and a slight warning, Pei Qian felt very depressed.

How can I shut this Qiao Laoshi up...

You're haunting me!

Every time I make a new game, you hype it up, making me tremble with fear every time I make a new game. I can accept that, but you can even hype up a DLC like this?

"Can I get this Qiao Laoshi blacklisted... no."

"No, I have to shut him up."

Pei Qian felt a bit of a headache.

His hatred for Qiao Laoshi wasn't formed in a day.

In the beginning, it was because of this guy's critical video that *Lonely Desert Road* became popular, ruining Pei Qian's goal of losing 50,000 RMB.

Last time, *Game Producer* was only one step away from success, and he even successfully invented Qiao Studies. He was about to get his revenge, but Qiao Laoshi turned the tables at the last minute.

This time, although hyping up these DLCs doesn't cause Pei Qian too much actual loss, at most it will increase sales, but as the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; but don't fool me a third time.

This is too much!

Pei Qian vaguely felt that this Qiao Laoshi might become a major obstacle in the future, and he had to find a way to deal with him.

But how to solve it specifically...

Using force is definitely out of the question, so he can only use softer methods.

Give him a sum of money and ask him not to mention anything related to Tenda in the future?

No, that would be too unreasonable.

If the news gets out, everyone will say that President Pei is indifferent to fame and fortune again.

Pei Qian couldn't think of any good solutions for the time being, so he called Assistant Xin over.

"Arrange for two people to investigate Qiao Laoshi for me. I want his detailed information."

As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

Pei Qian planned to study this nemesis who had repeatedly ruined his plans to see what kind of person he was, whether he had any weaknesses in his personality, and then prescribe the right medicine.

If he's greedy for money and can be defeated by material things, then it will be much easier.