Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 238 - 237: Why Did Your Majesty Descend First?

Chapter 238: Chapter 237: Why Did Your Majesty Descend First?

It was past 11 PM when Chen Tingquan ended his live stream.

He looked at the online public opinion with satisfaction and then dialed Heilong for a voice call.

"Hello, Brother Long, how about it? As soon as my hidden piece was played, did everything fall into place smoothly?"

Heilong was also surprised, "Indeed, there are signs of a reversal in online public opinion! But I really didn’t expect that this Chen Liang would be your hidden piece?

"You both share the surname Chen, could it be that there is some family relationship?"

Chen Tingquan almost spurted out old blood in response, "Pfft! Brother Long, now you’re just talking nonsense. With so many people named Chen in this world, how could they possibly all be related to me? That’s completely off the mark.

"However, Chen Liang indeed is the hidden piece I had arranged in advance."

Heilong still didn’t quite understand, "But isn’t his current popularity all due to the motorcycle videos? How did you convince him to agree to retire voluntarily?"

Chen Tingquan explained, "Actually, I didn’t entirely convince him.

"I knew Chen Liang from before, and he had been wanting to retire for quite some time now but hadn’t found the right opportunity.

"Using this competition as a chance, we performed a little duet, singing back and forth!

"He took this opportunity to retire, bowing out at the top and transitioning; and we could use his action to highlight the real-world significance of the ’Ghostfire Youth Challenge’.

"It’s a win-win situation!

"Moreover, the impact of Chen Liang’s decision to retire has slowly become apparent. Just today, two motorcycle influencers who are participating in the competition spoke to me privately, saying they want to retire too.

"On the one hand, they’ve been so outclassed in this challenge that they’re starting to lose confidence in motorcycle racing; on the other hand, after seeing so many brutal accidents, they’re suddenly feeling scared.

"Anyway, whatever the reason, I think making these motorcycle influencers retire is already a great merit!"

Heilong couldn’t help but admire, "Brother Quan, you really have got something there! You’ve really got a handle on this internet thing!"

Chen Tingquan said with pride, "Of course!"

By now, Heilong finally fully understood Chen Tingquan’s strategy, which was quite simple: it was to shift the focus in "Road Rage Simulator" from the act of motorcycle racing as a "fluke" to a "warning"!

Why was there controversy in the online public opinion before?

Because Heilong’s live stream primarily showcased a sort of "fluke."

In the game, as long as one raced motorcycles, one could become an internet sensation, with a daily income of 210,000, utterly eclipsing other professions. This was indeed a fluke since the number of people who could play like Heilong was very limited, but it gave the impression that just about anyone could.

This could indeed lead some people to mistakenly believe that Heilong’s behavior was something to emulate.

The Ghostfire Youth Challenge hosted by Chen Tingquan ruthlessly stripped away these people’s fig leaves, telling them that they really weren’t up to the task!

Whether it was the ordinary contestants or those overconfident motorcycle influencers, all of them crashed and burned in this competition.

Not only did they receive a warning, but the spectators of the competition did as well.

They truly saw the grave consequences and dangers of motorcycle racing!

Had these motorcycle influencers ever learned about these dangers before? Had they ever watched similar videos?

Actually, it’s quite unsure if they ever had because these influencers often have a lower level of education and are ignorant and arrogant. They don’t even listen to other people’s well-intentioned advice, so how could they possibly seek out and watch those warning videos by themselves.

Even if they happened upon one, they would surely mutter about bad luck and simply skip over it.

Even if they occasionally watched a few accident videos, they would hypnotize themselves into forgetting and not take it to heart.

But this competition was not just videos; it was a game.

The game’s hallmark was its intense sense of immersion; these confidently self-assured influencers entered the competition only to see vividly the wreckage of their own crashes.

Once or twice, they might not accept their defeat.

But as the number of car accidents increased and the humiliation of coming in last grew stronger, coupled with the visual shock of the crash scenes... all these factors combined, those influencers who could be saved really would choose to bow out of the scene at the height of its popularity.

Although Chen Liang was a sleeper move prearranged by Chen Tingquan, his desire to leave the scene was indeed sincere and could certainly motivate other motorcycling influencers to follow suit.

However, just when Chen Tingquan was basking in self-satisfaction, Heilong suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Eh? Brother Quan, trouble, Nitiandang officials... they’ve actually released an apology statement!"

Chen Tingquan almost thought he had heard wrong: "What? An apology statement?"

Heilong quickly said, "It’s an apology regarding the adverse social impact "Road Rage Simulator" has caused! It’s posted on the official account’s timeline on the official platform, go and have a look!"

Chen Tingquan was shocked; he hastily found Nitiandang’s homepage on the official platform, and sure enough, there was a newly posted update!

This was quite unprecedented!

Nitiandang did not have an official Weibo, nor any other messy social media accounts.

The sole way for players to learn about Nitiandang was through the developer’s homepage on the official platform.

While the official platform was a gaming platform, by clicking on a particular game, one could still navigate to the developer’s homepage and view the list of games they offered.

Of course, there was also a somewhat trivial function for updates.

This update feature allowed for various types of content; some developers used it to announce new version updates, while others shared reviewers’ opinions on their games.

In short, it could be used like an official Weibo, but most developers seldom utilized it, its primary use being for update notices.

And the updates page for Nitiandang games, in particular, could be said to be exceptionally clean.

After all, it was well-known that Nitiandang games never updated!

Since they never updated, there was no need to announce updates. Even before new games were released, there had hardly been any promotion.

But now, there was a brief apology notice on Nitiandang’s update feed!

"In light of recent online discussions triggered by "Road Rage Simulator," our company is highly concerned and hereby sincerely apologizes to all players and the concerned netizens who have followed this incident!

"Due to oversight in the game development process, certain design flaws and functional bugs have emerged, leading to ’motorcycles racing at high speeds becoming uncatchable’ and ’the exaggerated popularity of high-speed motorcycle racing live streams’—serious bugs that have caused an adverse social impact.

"For this, our company sincerely apologizes and hopes everyone will take this as a warning and resist all uncivil driving behaviors!"

Seeing this message, Chen Tingquan was absolutely dumbfounded.

At this moment, his feelings could only be described by one phrase: Your subjects are ready for a fierce battle, why has Your Majesty surrendered first!

Madness!

True, the online criticism had been intense lately, and the hired commenters were formidable, but Chen Tingquan and Heilong had started to turn the tide of public opinion with the Phantom Riders’ Challenge.

If they could keep the competition going for a few more days, intensifying it, there might be a chance that the public opinion would swing the other way.

But doesn’t this official statement just play right into the hands of the hired commenters?

Now that the officials have admitted their game has adverse effects, how can other netizens continue to speak in favor of Nitiandang?

How outrageous, absolutely preposterous!

Chen Tingquan suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, as if he ’couldn’t carry’ the situation any longer!