Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 454 - 437: Changes in the Physical Store

Chapter 454: Chapter 437: Changes in the Physical Store

Li Wenhao simply couldn’t understand Nitiandang’s motives, no matter how hard he tried to figure it out.

But he didn’t dwell on it too much, as even the staff member Xiao Guo had said, not just the streamers, but even the employees themselves couldn’t make sense of it.

If it’s incomprehensible, then so be it, as long as there’s money to be made.

Pie doesn’t fall from the sky, but after all, Nitiandang is a company with a peculiar way of thinking. It wasn’t the first or second time that they’d handed out free pies to streamers—Instructor Ding had taken advantage several times, so why not Li Wenhao?

The key question was whether the condition Nitiandang set was achievable or not.

According to the contents of the agreement, the event lasted a month, requiring streamers to play between 8 and 10 hours a day, so by the minimum standard, streamers had to play at least 240 hours.

The assessment criteria were to complete at least two major boss battles without taking damage, or to achieve stable clears of all bosses.

What does a stable clear mean? The agreement provided a detailed explanation: after practice, during the full process of boss rush, streamers had to fight consecutively against all the bosses in the game, ensuring that all bosses could be dealt with within two deaths.

If one couldn’t meet this goal, they would only receive a basic consolation prize, about only 20% of the original amount, which was just slightly better than nothing.

Of course, considering that the event itself was a fully reimbursed beach yacht entertainment activity, plus there was gaming involved, even the minimal reward seemed quite tempting.

Now, what Li Wenhao considered crucial was whether he could achieve this goal.

After a brief reflection, Li Wenhao was almost certain he could—with a high probability!

You see, 240 hours was not a small number.

Generally speaking, most action games or ARPGs have a first-run duration of 30 to 50 hours, with a platinum completion time of around 100 hours. If one were to extend this period to 200 or even 300 hours, the vast majority would become experts at the game.

Especially since Nitiandang’s 240-hour event already excluded grinding, navigating, and progressing through the storyline—it was purely boss battle practice time.

If the player was someone with higher Talent, they should be able to accomplish this goal in about 50 hours.

Of course, there was another issue to consider: would this game be exceptionally difficult, say, like a fighting game where hundreds of hours are just the beginning?

After thinking it over, Li Wenhao felt this was highly unlikely.

That’s because those types of games that take hundreds of hours to learn are mostly player-versus-player combat games, but this was an ARPG.

Moreover, Nitiandang had already released a promotional video for "Blood of Lies," showing the full process of a boss battle. From the content of the video, there didn’t seem to be any malicious settings meant to torment players.

Of course, it can’t be ruled out that the operator in the video was a top-notch expert, but from the video’s gameplay, an average player could also achieve some of the expert’s maneuvers through extensive practice.

What’s more, considering the amount of effort Nitiandang had put into this event, it was more likely aimed at players rather than streamers.

Because targeting streamers made no sense—it was merely a way to save on some business expenses. But for a company as wealthy as Nitiandang, the expense of conducting such an event was already considerable, and they weren’t even sponsoring it themselves, so why bother saving that money?

So, the conditions set for the streamers seemed more like a push to make sure they played seriously and met the goal, thus achieving a better effect of deceiving players.

As for why deceive players and what exactly could be gained from it, Li Wenhao still couldn’t figure it out.

So, rather than keep pondering, after careful consideration, Li Wenhao decisively signed the agreement.

"I’ve made up my mind, I’ll participate!" he declared.

Guo Zhao Sheng nodded, "Alright, a staff member will contact you afterward to arrange your plane tickets and accommodation, among other details.

"If you have no other questions, I need to leave now; I’ve got to rush to the next meeting," he added.

Li Wenhao thought for a moment, "I don’t have any other questions for now. We’ll get in touch if something comes up."

"No problem," Guo Zhao Sheng nodded, then stood up and hurried off, apparently having other streamers to meet in Capital City.

Li Wenhao continued to sip his coffee, his anticipation for the trial event growing.

...

...

February 27, Saturday.

"Blood of Lies" was officially released!

Outside the Nitiandang experience store, Zhuge Jun and many of Nitiandang’s players had gathered early at the storefront, waiting for the store to open.

When the time came, they quickly flooded in, each securing a strategic spot to enjoy the game to the fullest.

Zhuge Jun didn’t waste a second as he beelined for his favorite spot in the corner of the first floor. There was a sofa and a TV, and beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows was a view of the outside—a spot he loved.

There was no doubt that playing games comfortably inside, while being able to look at the busy office workers outside with just a turn of the head, was a real pleasure.

However, the thought of joining the ranks of those office workers as soon as he graduated made Zhuge Jun feel a kind of melancholy welling up inside.

As soon as he sat down, Zhuge Jun noticed that the experience store had undergone some changes compared to before.

In the past few days, the experience store had been closed, with the official explanation being that it was preparing special setups for the launch of "Blood of Lies."

At that time, Zhuge Jun was puzzled—what sort of special setup did that entail?

Wasn’t it just a regular action game?

Could it possibly mean that they would remodel the entire experience store into a Cthulhu style? That would truly be an eye-opener.

Not to mention that Nitiandang couldn’t possibly change the store’s décor with every game release, and even if they did intend to change it, remodeling isn’t something that can be completed in just two days.

Today, however, when Zhuge Jun saw the changes in the experience store, he understood what those changes were.

And he found them to be utterly preposterous!

First and foremost, the most obvious thing was that the figurines in the display cabinets at the front desk and inside the store had changed.

Nitiandang had officially released a new batch of figurines for "Blood of Lies," including beautiful female figures, stylishly dressed Hunters, and large monsters.

These figurines varied in size, with the larger ones even featuring movable joints, allowing players to pose them as they liked.

Even bigger were the various weapons used in the game.

For instance, in the display cabinet, Zhuge Jun saw the double-edged sword that was used to obliterate a boss in the promotional video.

The structure was incredibly intricate; it could not only be dual-wielded but also combined in two different ways. When the blades were aligned, it became a wide-bladed two-handed sword, and when the blades were arranged in opposite directions, it turned into a Double-edged Sword.

Both the dual-wield and the combined form looked quite cool.

Of course, the current materials were not metal but at best large toys for posing in cosplay, and it was unclear whether the officials would later offer a non-sharpened metal version.

Beyond that, the experience store now even featured mannequin models dressed in the game’s clothing!

The clothing style from "Blood of Lies" was reminiscent of both male and female fashion during the Victorian Era. The clothing of that time was quite similar to modern suits in both structure and appearance and could even be considered more stylish.

The store even displayed several sets of clothes for sale, with their prices clearly marked.

Thus, the experience store now resembled a mishmash that had added a clothes sales area.

The store staff used to be as minimal as possible, but now they had to add a dedicated area and staff for selling clothes, mainly for helping with measuring sizes, coordinating fitting rooms, and so on.

According to the signs, the first floor was just a display area. If you really wanted to buy these clothes, you should go to the third floor, where a dedicated clothing sales area was arranged. However, the price tags on the clothes in the display area were enough to deter people.

Zhuge Jun was already booted up and waiting; he had arrived a bit early, and there were still a few minutes before "Blood of Lies" would officially unlock, so he had to wait patiently.

At this moment, he spotted a familiar figure who had also come to the experience store.

"Hey? President Gu! President Gu has come to the experience store today?"

Gu Fan was casually strolling around the first floor of the experience store with a cup of coffee in hand. When he heard Zhuge Jun calling him, he naturally walked over and casually found a single sofa in the corner of the rest area to sit down.

Zhuge Jun asked, "President Gu, aren’t you incredibly busy with daily tasks?"

Gu Fan smiled slightly, "What daily tasks? I’m just a fringe figure at Nitiandang for now and don’t have much to do. I might as well come to the experience store to sell some clothes."

Zhuge Jun couldn’t help but laugh, "President Gu, you really have a good sense of humor.

"By the way, speaking of which, there are quite a number of physical peripherals for ’Blood of Lies’ this time around, including figurines, weapon models, and clothes. If one wanted, couldn’t they just assemble a full cosplay outfit?"

Gu Fan nodded, "In theory, that’s true. And have you noticed that the changes to the experience store go even beyond that?"

Zhuge Jun was somewhat surprised, "Oh? What do you mean specifically?"

Gu Fan pointed towards the table in front of the large TV, "The highlight of this time’s physical products is actually this custom controller partnered with ’Blood of Lies.’ Besides that, all the devices in the experience store are equipped with cameras. Anyone can use these devices to start livestreaming at any time."

Zhuge Jun was even more astonished, "What? That’s a thing? I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t mentioned it, President Gu!"

In front of him on the table was indeed a camera, and it was mounted above the large TV, positioned to capture the area perfectly.

The camera, however, had an unusual design; it looked like a group of Imps holding up a mysterious scroll. These Imps were called "Messengers" in similar worldviews.

On closer inspection, one could see that the mysterious scroll held up by the Messengers actually contained a camera, but it was covered by a default cover, so before, Zhuge Jun had thought it was just a decoration and hadn’t immediately recognized it as a camera.

There was also indeed a custom controller placed on the table.

But Zhuge Jun wasn’t very interested in it. After all, a co-branded version usually just meant a change of skin.

However, after picking it up, Zhuge Jun was a bit stunned; the controller had two large paddles on the back, or more accurately, two large triggers that looked like small wings.

"President Gu, what’s this?" Zhuge Jun couldn’t understand, but he was greatly impressed.