Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 124: Optimize Operations! (Part 2)

Chapter 124: Chapter 124: Optimize Operations! (Part 2)

It was already past 11 PM when Instructor Ding once again perked up, starting a new round of the game.

He seemed to be full of energy again!

"Guys, I think if this method really works, maybe we can actually turn Xia Mi into a Fallen Angel!

"Don’t ask too much, it’s complicated, I can’t explain it in a few words, just watch me do it!

"What? A riddle speaker to get lost?

"Alright, I’ll give you a hint. Have you ever wondered why in this game the Good-Evil Value is set so that the lower it is, the more virtuous you are?

"That’s obviously a major hint from the game designers of Nitiandang!

"That’s all I have to say, let’s get together and test my hypothesis!"

Instructor Ding once again took control of the City Lord and set him into motion.

...

At this time, Lilith’s brow furrowed slightly; clearly, Instructor Ding’s sudden burst of energy gave her an inexplicable sense of crisis.

However, when she heard Instructor Ding mention the Good-Evil Value, she visibly relaxed.

It seemed to her like a "safe zone."

It was now approaching midnight, and some employees had already started to leave.

The only ones still persisting were Zhou Yang and Su Tong.

President Li didn’t say anything about the others leaving; after all, it was already very late, and it was highly unlikely that Instructor Ding or any other streamers would find any bugs.

No, to be precise, not tomorrow, the day after, the day after that, or even for a longer period, there should not be any bugs!

So, President Li let them go.

But at this moment, Instructor Ding suddenly became serious, reviving the drowsy crowd with a burst of alertness.

Gu Fan fell silent for a moment before asking a question that he too was very concerned about.

"President Li, I’ve been wanting to ask.

"Why did you set the Good-Evil Value so that... the lower the number, the more virtuous it is?"

This setup does seem counterintuitive, which is why many players suspect that a "hidden mechanic" might be involved.

President Li replied matter-of-factly, "Because I’m a demon!

"Your question is like asking why fish swim, birds fly, or why humans die.

"I’m a demon, so of course the concept of the Good-Evil Value is that the higher the accumulation of evil, the higher the number!"

Gu Fan was at a loss for words.

Ah, was that the reason?

He had always been puzzled about why President Li would design it that way, yet the real reason was so simple...

President Li asserted confidently, "Moreover, don’t you think this setup makes sense?

"Goodness has its limits, but evil doesn’t.

"Just like the Human World has an absolute zero, but there’s no upper limit to temperature.

"So, the lowest Good-Evil Value is set at 10 points, but it can exceed 100 points at its maximum.

"This also proves that we in Hell are destined to win! After all, the source of our power has no limits, while the power source of Heaven does."

Gu Fan was at a loss for a moment before finally saying, "When you put it that way, it does make sense!"

He had not expected this seemingly critical setting to be purely a personal touch of President Li’s.

"But this way, won’t players mistakenly think there’s some hidden mechanism involved and try all sorts of ways to drop Xia Mi’s Good-Evil Value below zero? Is that also not a problem?

"In your design proposal, you never asked me to set a fixed range for the Good-Evil Value in the code."

President Li smiled confidently: "There’s no need to set it in stone! Because I have already imposed perfect limitations elsewhere!

"If I had set a fixed lower limit for Xia Mi’s Good-Evil Value, then I would likely miss out on harvesting a lot of negative emotions!"

Gu Fan asked, "Why?"

With a chuckle, President Li said, "Heh, just keep watching and you’ll understand!"

...

At the start of the fifth round of the game, Instructor Ding seemed to have "returned to the basics."

He did not continue with the strategy from the third and fourth rounds but reverted to the state from the first round.

He just made some optimizations.

This time he still left Xia Mi at the Castle Lord’s Mansion, but unlike the first round, Instructor Ding set the standards for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation very low.

That was normal, since Xia Mi actually didn’t care about these material conditions, and even if they were improved, it wouldn’t give her more goodwill.

On the contrary, by saving these resources, they could feed a few more troublemakers.

But the decisions that followed were quite different from the first round of the game.

Instructor Ding only did two things, first, he personally dealt with the affairs within the city in Xia Mi’s manner, and second, he desperately clicked on the "goodwill type" operations!

The so-called goodwill operations were nothing more than reading and entertaining with Xia Mi, which aside from increasing her goodwill, had absolutely no other significance.

Instructor Ding had never considered this operation before because, anyway you looked at it, Xia Mi’s goodwill was a waste Attribute.

If Instructor Ding explored the Demon Ruins, then Xia Mi’s goodwill would drop drastically and definitely could not be increased back with just one or two play sessions, which meant having demon power guaranteed a fallout between them;

Similarly, if Instructor Ding neither explored the Demon Ruins nor managed the City Forsaken by Gods in Xia Mi’s way, their conflicts would gradually deepen, and it couldn’t be resolved by playing a few times either;

If he did everything according to Xia Mi’s wishes, she would end up triggering "Angel’s Descent" by constantly donating blood to treat the plague victims, resulting in only her divine side remaining, rendering goodwill meaningless.

But this time, Instructor Ding seemed determined to boost Xia Mi’s friendliness.

He actually succeeded, as all affairs were chosen according to Xia Mi’s thoughts, and after choosing, he would type to voice his agreement with her views, which in itself would increase her goodwill.

In fact, it was a reverse operation of the "Reversed Celestial Firmament."

Furthermore, in Xia Mi’s nurturing system, continuously performing goodwill operations further improved her goodwill.

This move also puzzled the audience in the live feed.

"Isn’t it about Good-Evil Value? What’s the use of boosting goodwill? These two aren’t even related!"

"Exactly, if Xia Mi becomes an Angel, then wouldn’t the goodwill Attribute be a total waste? You’d be better off making her work for you!"

Instructor Ding smiled confidently, "Don’t rush, I’ll have her work for me soon!"

Sure enough, under Instructor Ding’s lavish spending, the city was soon running low on supplies.

At that point, Instructor Ding finally chose to let Xia Mi out to deal with the city’s affairs!

Not only that, but Instructor Ding also transformed once more into a pressure monster, following behind Xia Mi and flooding her with messages.

"You’ve grown up, it’s about time you started helping your father solve problems.

"Look, under your father’s governance, the city has thrived and flourished!

"The disaster victims outside the city have all received timely treatment, while I’ve made sure that everyone in the city has a place to stay and enough food to eat.

"Since you’ve repeatedly asked, from now on, you’ll be handling the affairs of the city.

"You must work hard and not disappoint your father’s expectations!"

Xia Mi: "Rest assured, Father, I will do my utmost!"

However, as soon as the next wave of disaster victims had just been taken in, the city’s supplies began to run short...

...

The audience watched, dumbfounded.

"Ah? Shameless old thief!"

"Can you even do that? Waste supplies on boosting goodwill when there’s plenty, then put Xia Mi in charge when there’s a shortage?"

"...Despicable! I need a word that’s more offensive than ’beast’!"

"Why am I suddenly feeling sympathy for Xia Mi?"

Instructor Ding defended himself righteously, "What are you all talking about? Is there something wrong with my arrangement?

"How could a little girl be in charge of the city from the start? Of course, she needed to watch and learn first! Wasn’t I just showing her a demo?

"Now that the demonstration is more or less complete, it’s time for her to take charge. I choose to trust her and hand over the City Forsaken by Gods to her. Is there a problem with that? There’s no problem at all!

"What about the supplies?

"Weren’t the previous supplies also hard-earned by me, the City Lord? I can spend however I want; why should I save it? If you’re out of supplies now, that’s your problem.

"You’ve grown up now, you can’t always rely on your daddy, understand?"

While engaging the audience for show effect, he didn’t forget to continue putting pressure on Xia Mi with his messages.

[Daughter, how could you let everyone go hungry?]

[How did your father demonstrate? The hungry are also people; they should also have the most basic rights. If they don’t eat enough, they might get sick, or even trigger more severe consequences.]

[Why was your father able to provide enough food, and you can’t do it now? Think about it, have you truly learned your father’s governance?]

[(The City Lord’s goodwill towards you has declined)]