Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Industrial Revolution in the Tang Dynasty_i
After seven days spent on warming up, combined with the studio’s prior reputation, the sales of “The Nameless” just barely crossed the million mark. For an average studio, that number might call for champagne, but compared to its predecessors, the sales of “The Nameless” can only be described as bleak. Moreover, the completion rate of the game was only 3%, and most players who finished it scored no higher than 60, which shows just how punishing the difficulty of this game really was.
The only consolation was that the game received high praise.
Players who enjoyed this type of game declared it a masterpiece and said they felt uneasy if they didn11 play it every day, loving the thrill of going through life and death.
However, this group of players was after all a minority, with most preferring games that were more relaxing and casual.
Life was already tough enough; there was no need to suffer again in a game. After analyzing the data for half the day, Wang Xiaoying sighed and felt that she had screwed things up.
No matter how she looked at it, this operation couldn’t be considered a success. Compiling this operation into a case study, she uneasily approached Fang Cheng with the report and said nervously, “Boss, I didn’t handle this well, the game sales… aren’t great.”
“It’s okay, you’ve done very well,” Fang Cheng revealed a smile as warm as a spring breeze, “Don’t worry, there is no problem with the outcome this time.” Seeing Fang Cheng’s smile, Wang Xiaoying felt even more uneasy.
Boss, could he have been angered into confusion?
Full of doubt, Wang Xiaoying returned to her seat, and the “Workplace Survival Guide (Intern Edition)” she had read involuntarily sprung to mind.
“When you feel you’ve botched something, you indeed have; when you think you’ve done something quite well, it’s possible you’ve also botched it.” “After you’ve messed up, it’s best to pray for the boss to berate you; that means he still holds some hope for you. If the boss smiles at you, it means he’s already found a better employee.”
Filled with trepidation, Wang Xiaoying found Huang Ping and asked in a low voice, Brother Huang, has the boss lost his mind from anger?” “No, why should the boss be angry?” Huang Ping asked in confusion.
Look, the game sales aren’t doing well. Compared to ‘Princess Dungeon’ and
‘Quiet Cultivation’ before, this data is really bad.”
Seeing Wang Xiaoying’s worried face, Huang Ping felt it was time for some rookie education.
Having her sit down beside him, Huang Ping asked, “Did the boss smile?”
“He did.”
“Then there’s no problem. The boss isn’t one to play mind games with us employees; at most, he would make some small jokes.”
“…What’s considered playing mind games, and what’s considered a joke? I can’t tell the difference,” she said.
“You’ll understand in time. In any case, if the boss smiled, it means that everything is under control.”
“What if he didn’t smile?”
“That would mean the boss is brewing something big; after a while, when the boss unleashes it, there will be no problem,” Huang Ping replied.
Wang Xiaoying looked at Huang Ping doubtfully, then hesitantly asked, According to what you’re saying, everything is fine no matter what happens?” “Absolutely,” Xiao Douzi, who was sitting nearby, turned his head and said seriously, “The studio actually has only one rule, and that is to trust the boss.” Huang Ping pushed Xiao Douzi aside: “Don’t listen to him; he’s just a fanatic. But he’s not wrong; you can always trust the boss.”
Looking at the confident Huang Ping, Wang Xiaoying felt that there wasn’t much difference between him and Xiao Douzi; both were fanatically trusting to an extreme extent.
Although the two said everything was fine, Wang Xiaoying was still quite worried, and could only repeatedly refresh the videos and information on various platforms, hoping to find an appropriate breakthrough.
Unlike the anxious Wang Xiaoying, Fang Cheng was feeling somewhat pleased at the moment.
Refreshing the steam platform, he watched the players1 comments with satisfaction, feeling that the developments this time were quite good. Although most were complaining about the difficulty, players who enjoyed battle stated univocally after getting into it that it was very satisfying. “The feeling of killing someone with a single blow is genuinely exhilarating.” “The bow and arrows feel spot on, and even though there’s no reticle, I can make one myself.”
“I especially love cutting off my opponent’s thumb and then putting it back, they 11 never be able to shoot a bow and arrow again in their life.”
So-so.” (From a player who had spent over too hours in the game.)
The high difficulty of battles and realistic environmental simulations highlighted the fine line between life and death excellently, fully demonstrating the cruelty of war and the pleasure of victory.
Looking at these comments, Fang Cheng was very pleased.
Staring intently into the sky, Fang Cheng saw the emotions of the world converge into flames that burned fiercely in the air.
These were the flames of the secular world, also the flames of Dustfire, with countless people’s emotions gathering here, forming the melting pot of earthly sentiments.
While gazing at the Dustfire, Fang Cheng also narrowed down the scope, filtering the content of the Dustfire he saw using “The Nameless” as a keyword, until he saw a red flame.
Red symbolized strife, and for most players mentioning “The Nameless,” their first impression was the combat within it.
And he had defined “The Nameless” as red as well.
As long as the red nurtured by “The Nameless” reached a certain level, he could immerse his Taoist Heart into it, blend the two together, complete his Taoist Heart through this, and achieve enlightenment.
As Fang Cheng waited for the red to increase, a hint of green began to form and started to constantly infect the surrounding red.
Although some impurities would not affect his Taoist Heart, this green had a sense of tranquility and determination, and it was continuously interfering with the surrounding red, making Fang Cheng feel that some anomaly was about to happen.
Before he could figure out why, he heard Wang Xiaoying exclaim with surprise,
“Boss, is this also part of your plan!”
“What plan?” Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze and asked with confusion.
Wang Xiaoying then revealed an expression of sudden realization and admiringly said, “Boss, so you’ ve been planning this all along? Worthy of the boss, truly bold. Creating a talking point through hidden gameplay and using easter eggs to overturn the previous gameplay. But this approach is too risky, and next time, you better let me know.”
“So what are you talking about?”
Wang Xiaoying looked dissatisfiedly at Fang Cheng, “Boss, don’t hide it from me now, see for yourself.”
Clicking on the video link Wang Xiaoying had sent over, Fang Cheng realized where that hint of green was coming from as soon as he saw the title of the video.
“The Nameless: Farming is the Only Way to Break Through A Hundred Percent”
Seeing this title, Fang Cheng had a bad feeling.
What have these players discovered now!
Immediately clicking on the video, Fang Cheng saw a completely different scene.
In the Protectorate of Anxi, there were workshops everywhere, electrical wires transmitted the electricity generated from simple power stations to every household, making the entire Protectorate of Anxi seem as if it had come to the early 20th century ahead of time.
The industrial revolution had arrived nearly a thousand years early, with steam engines fueled by coal roaring as they transported materials to Anxi, thus forging a massive industrial empire.
Viewers of the video commented that it seemed like a mod, made quite convincingly.
But Fang Cheng knew it was not.
Some player had brought about the industrial revolution.