Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 193: Plagiarism is the Ultimate Black Humor!

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Plagiarism is the Ultimate Black Humor!

Huang Wang felt aggrieved, but after all, he was just a programmer without much strength who could be replaced at any time, and there was nothing he could do in the face of an unreasonable boss.

"President Sa, I’m heading back first."

Huang Wang picked up his things and left the room with a dark expression on his face.

Azazel didn’t care about Huang Wang’s mood at all. After all, to a cunning demon like him, all humans were merely tools for harvesting negative emotions.

Programmers like Huang Wang were not irreplaceable. There are not many truly top-notch programmers in the world, but mediocre ones are a dime a dozen.

Azazel was very sure that even if Huang Wang resigned in anger, he could easily spend five or six thousand yuan to hire a programmer who was good at creating bugs.

What he cared more about was the profitability of the game.

...

...

The next day, 10:00 a.m.

Huang Wang was quite angry last night, so he decided to sleep in until he woke up naturally before deciding to go to work.

Xingwang Garden was located outside the sixth ring of Capital City where the transportation was underdeveloped; there was no subway station nearby, and it took at least 20 minutes by bus just to get to the nearest one.

However, Huang Wang’s own rented apartment was not far from Xingwang Garden—it was just a fifteen-minute walk away.

Upon arriving at the company, as expected, President Sa was not there.

This made Huang Wang a bit disappointed. If President Sa had been there and had asked him why he was late, he wouldn’t have minded talking back a few words to vent his anger.

But with President Sa absent, that expectation fell through.

While still angry about President Sa’s actions last night, Huang Wang browsed his phone, checking the status of Henggang Middle School Simulation once again.

"Ah, it’s over; players are still very resentful towards things like plagiarism. Henggang Middle School Simulation already had a bad reputation, and if there’s a scandal confirming plagiarism, it’s definitely done for..."

Huang Wang felt somewhat dejected.

As a programmer, even though his skills were lackluster and the games he worked on had many bugs despite using templates, he still harbored the desire to create a good game.

If the game had started with a bad reputation, then so be it, but just when there was a glimmer of hope for improvement, it was utterly extinguished—who could withstand that?

A night had passed, and the topic should have started to ferment by then.

Huang Wang didn’t ask for much, just that people ignore the post and let it naturally sink to the bottom.

However, seeing the popularity of the post, Huang Wang despaired.

The heat was high! Just on one forum alone, there were already more than twenty pages of replies!

Huang Wang sighed and clicked on the details of the post, but after seeing the content of the discussion, he couldn’t help but stop and stare wide-eyed.

"Eh? What’s going on here?

"How come... hardly anyone is criticizing it??"

He had expected that dropping such a bombshell of plagiarism would create waves and attract widespread condemnation, but the reaction from players on the forums was completely different from what Huang Wang had anticipated!

"Pfft, that’s it?"

"I thought it was some big news. Isn’t it just copying Prison Tycoon? Those who played that game must have realized it long ago, right?"

"Exactly, you’re the only one with sharp eyes, and the rest of us are blind? Did you really think we couldn’t tell it was plagiarized?"

"Hey, isn’t that wrong, though? Why is everyone so tolerant of plagiarism? This isn’t reasonable!"

"Strictly speaking, this doesn’t really count as plagiarism because this game uses the same template as Prison Tycoon. You can find the template on the official platform, so it’s not really copying, it’s just that Prison Tycoon used the template better and made features that fit the game setting well; whereas Henggang Middle School Simulation used it awkwardly."

"Moreover, I think this is the highest level of black humor! Don’t you think so? Henggang Middle School Simulation seems like a performance art, and its plagiarism elevates this performance art to the pinnacle, turning it into an immortal classic!"

"Absolutely, it’s deliciously thought-provoking."

"The ’One-Click Course Scheduling’ feature not working well, isn’t that normal? Aren’t those who arrange courses selfish too? Do capable teachers always teach key classes? Do ineffective teachers always teach regular classes? It’s not always the case! As a principal, if you delegate the scheduling power to others, isn’t it normal for things to go awry?"

"The bug where students eliminated from the key class mysteriously disappear is horrifying when you think about it. Put yourself in their shoes—carrying the expectations of your parents and family, you finally make it into the key class. But under the pressure of academics, school, and parents, you’re already on the verge of breaking. You’ve been anxious about your poor grades, and one day, you’re eliminated from the key class. Imagine you can’t handle such a blow or face your parents and so... Well, it’s terrifying!"

"The texture errors are a stroke of genius! They remind me of ’Ascension’! Except that ’Ascension’ was made intentionally, a bit premeditated, but the ones in Henggang Middle School Simulation happened naturally, that’s even more awesome!"

"I disagree; don’t put one down to praise the other! Maybe ’Ascension’ also happened naturally."

"Actually, graphic glitches in the school, including the desks and chairs turning into prison furniture and the classroom doors and windows turning into iron bars, can be interpreted as hallucinations students get under high stress."

"The most amazing thing is, Henggang Middle School Simulation is supposed to be about ’college entrance exam factories’, but it completely copied Prison Tycoon’s gameplay, and at first glance, there doesn’t seem to be any problem! What does this indicate? Could it mean that these college entrance exam factories have no difference from prisons? Otherwise, why wouldn’t the players feel anything wrong with it?"

"Initially, I thought Henggang Middle School Simulation was just a decent act, but now, I think it’s an incredible feat! An absolute masterpiece, full marks!"

"Although this clearly wasn’t the intention of the creators, it doesn’t matter. Masterpieces are often created unintentionally by authors, and this game deserves a positive review!"

Staring at these discussions on the forum, Huang Wang couldn’t help but widen his eyes, feeling like he was reading something otherworldly.

What’s going on?

The game has inexplicably gone viral again?

Huh, why the ’again’?

This is very similar to what happened with Hell Inferior Demon, incredibly similar!

Did President Sa foresee this day coming with his superior vision?

No, that’s absolutely impossible!

Huang Wang knew Azazel all too well from their day-to-day interactions. No matter how you looked at it, Azazel was far from a visionary genius designer. He was a shoddy creator who did things half-heartedly, got by with the bare minimum, and only thought about making trashy games, without a doubt.

Huang Wang even seriously suspected that President Sa had a grudge against the investors.

Otherwise, why would he deliberately release "plagiarism" scandals to stab Henggang Middle School Simulation in the back?

Although it turned out that the scandal actually boosted the game’s popularity, Huang Wang was sure that it wasn’t President Sa’s intention.

Because President Sa’s attitude was too clear at the time!

If all this had been planned by President Sa, he would have explained it in advance, or at the very least, he would have appeared nonchalant, letting Huang Wang come to his own conclusions.

If that were the case, Huang Wang would no doubt be wholeheartedly convinced by now, and staunchly committed to sticking with President Sa through thick and thin.

But President Sa didn’t. Not only was he furious, but when Huang Wang tried to intervene, President Sa shoved him aside and used his authority as the boss to pressure him.

That means...

The success of both Hell Inferior Demon and Henggang Middle School Simulation wasn’t President Sa’s intention, but rather, there was an external force propelling it!

Upon reflection, from Hell Inferior Demon’s "Sewage Pool Butterfly Stroke Speedrun Competition" to Henggang Middle School Simulation’s "Streamer Paid Renaming Event," the success of the two games may have seemed coincidental, but there were traces of human manipulation within these random factors.

As for who was behind the manipulation?

Huang Wang was just an average programmer, not a detective, so he couldn’t figure that out at the moment.

But he didn’t plan to share this with President Sa either.

You treat me as a tool to be used and discarded, so why should I share information with you!

With this thought, Huang Wang’s mood inexplicably improved a bit. Humming a tune, he continued to play games on the company’s computer.

...

Just past 6 p.m., Lilith had already arrived at Xingwang Garden.

Gu Fan, of course, had also arrived early.

"Let’s go!"

Lilith waved her hand and strode confidently to the building where Hell Frontline was located, then knocked on the unit door.

At that moment, Azazel had apparently just arrived from Hell to the Human World.

He had been in Hell all day and hadn’t had the chance to figure out what was going on, nor could he be sure whether the trump card he played last night had taken effect.

Just as he was about to check the backend data, Lilith barged in.

Huang Wang was not in the room, clearly having left once the workday ended, not sparing any face for Azazel.

Gu Fan and Lilith sat down on the sofa, then spread his hands out, "President Sa, it’s about time your company’s entire profit was turned over, right?"

Lilith also spoke with anticipation, "Yes! And three-quarters of the negative emotion value too!"

Azazel was caught off guard, "Wait, has Henggang Middle School Simulation already made a profit??"

Gu Fan smiled slightly, his face saying, "What do you think?"

Azazel hurriedly checked the backend and found that during the day when he was absent, Henggang Middle School Simulation’s reputation and sales had experienced an explosive increase!

So far, Henggang Middle School Simulation’s reviews were "Mostly Positive," and the sales had reached a terrifying 300,000 copies!

This number nearly made Azazel collapse on the floor.

The game’s selling price was very cheap, only 6 yuan, so sales in the tens of thousands were insignificant to Azazel. Recovering the investment of 1 million yuan seemed almost impossible.

But he never expected this lousy game to suddenly blow up, and the 6 yuan price tag became his death knell!

Who would have known the game could become such a hit!!

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