Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 473 - 456: Unpacking the Scoop!

Chapter 473: Chapter 456: Unpacking the Scoop!

In less than an hour, the Lie Hunter boss had already reached the top position on what Zhuge Jun considered to be the "birth rankings".

"Who taught you to play games like this!"

Obviously, the positioning of the Lie Hunter was somewhat like the first "Enlightenment Boss" in some games, just like the Great General that players encounter after arriving in the main city in "Ascension".

Its strength had a comprehensive improvement compared to the previous bosses, and its moves were very extensive, leaving almost no simple way to cheat or counter the boss.

This was essentially a thorough test; if players couldn’t grasp the core mechanics of the game, they would stay stuck at this point. But once a player managed to win, they would greatly advance their understanding of the game, truly experiencing the core thrills of the game and probably having a smoother journey afterward.

However, compared to "Ascension", "Blood of Lies" had an added twist.

The Lie Hunter would perform a "check" based on the player’s previous game progress. If a player had lied and cheated a lot before, the game’s difficulty would intensify even more; otherwise, it wouldn’t.

It had to be said that, from a non-player perspective, this design was quite interesting.

But... when you actually played the game, it was a whole different story!

Zhuge Jun felt like he was about to lose his cool again. The game was already difficult, and just as he had managed to reduce the difficulty somewhat by lying, now he was being punished for it?

Damn it, I quit, I won’t stand for this!

Zhuge Jun checked the time and saw it was about time to head back to his dorm room to sleep, so he shamefully gave up.

Of course, it wasn’t as if he was going to completely give up on the game. If things got really tough, he’d look at some guides tomorrow, calm his mind, and start all over again.

...

That night, back in his dorm, Zhuge Jun grew more and more frustrated as he thought about it.

Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he opened the forum to check out the players’ discussions.

What surprised him was that there were fewer people arguing over topics like "streamer-exclusive versions" today, and more people debating between the "Human Faction" and the "Doll Faction".

Zhuge Jun could almost represent the progress of the first batch of ordinary players who had more time, many of whom had also reached the Lie Hunter by now.

Only then did they deeply realize the advantage of starting with an Ancient God Face.

"Now it seems that ’Blood of Lies’ doesn’t actually encourage lying? Facing the Lie Hunter really puts you at a disadvantage!"

"How is the Doll Faction route with Ancient God Face?"

"The Doll Faction route is winning big! I’ve been following a streamer who took the Doll Faction route, and this guy went full-body doll transformations, always telling the truth. He struggled in the beginning, but later on, he really picked up steam!"

"Explain how he picked up steam?"

"Dolls take a lot of reduced damage, so they can tank some hits without getting critical parts destroyed. Dolls might roll slowly, but their mobility is still decent; after all, they can charge attacks while moving, and a lot of bosses can just be kited in circles. Plus, fighting the Lie Hunter is so easy for them. Tell the truth the entire fight, and the Lie Hunter can’t transform at all. Once you get good with the GP, you’ll get past it after a few tries."

"Damn, are you saying I have to delete my character and start over with the Doll Faction route? But wouldn’t that mean going through all the hardships I’ve already been through again? I don’t want that!"

"Hehe, you macho players with regular human strength can stop. Look at the Ritualists; they’ll probably never get past the Lie Hunter in this lifetime..."

"Stop, stop hyping up the Doll Faction; you should try it yourself and see just how odd it feels! To get used to such a weird way of playing, you’d need a good ten hours at least. Don’t you have better use for that time with any kind of boss?"

Obviously, players still had many disagreements about the correct way to play the game.

While the Doll Faction did have an advantage against the Lie Hunter, this advantage was bought with ten or more hours of suffering earlier in the game.

If a player restarted with the Doll Faction just for this advantage, they would struggle against the earlier bosses again, so it didn’t really seem worth it.

And then, looking at the Ritualists, everyone else felt more balanced in comparison.

Ritualists, because they needed to stack Spiritual Vision, were also maxing out their lies. Not only that, they hadn’t invested much in health, relying mostly on enchantments and long-distance rituals to fight enemies. It was highly effective against small mobs, sniping them from a distance. But now, facing the Lie Hunter, they were completely at a loss, praying to the heavens and the earth without response.

After the Lie Hunter transformed, a slick little combo could instantly finish them off, leaving absolutely no margin for error.

"Looks like everyone is suffering after all, so I feel a bit of relief."

Zhuge Jun decided not to worry about it for the time being. He would prepare for possibly three to four hours of grind to get the Lie Hunter down.

After all, once he mastered this boss, the content that followed should be simpler.

...

...

The next morning, Zhuge Jun finished his early classes and hurried to the gaming café to continue the struggle.

However, as he checked the forums on his phone, he realized that overnight, everything had fallen apart!

It wasn’t because of some game-breaking strategy that emerged, but because around midnight, someone had uploaded a video unpacking the game files!

Sure enough, "Blood of Lies" couldn’t escape the fate of being unpacked either.

If it had been just an ordinary unpacking, it wouldn’t have mattered much, maybe providing players with some minor details that only the game developers would know.

But this unpacking video was filled with bombshells!

Almost all of Zhuge Jun’s previous predictions came true!

To start, it was confirmed that the GP invincibility frames in the prologue and the formal Chapters were inconsistent!

According to tests in the unpacking video, the prologue’s Transformation Slash GP had about 5 more invincibility frames than in the formal Chapters!

Though it doesn’t seem like much, the impact on the feel of the game was indeed massive.

So when players were in the prologue, they felt like GP geniuses no matter how they played, but when they reached the formal Chapters, the failure rate skyrocketed.

And given that the character’s movements and attack hitboxes, among other attributes, remained the same, along with the changes in monsters, player stats, and various other factors, most players vaguely sensed the GP had become harder, but attributed it to other reasons without considering the change in invincibility frames.

Just seeing this made many players spitting mad.

After all, some players really thought it was their own fault and had defended Nitiandang online, even telling others "if you’re bad, just practice more"...

Now it seemed they’d made fools of themselves.

Many people shouted angrily, "Fraud! Refund!"

But after the anger, these viewpoints were not unanimous, and there was actually another group of players defending Nitiandang.

"So what if the GP invincibility frames changed, Nitiandang never promised that the GP invincibility frames couldn’t change, did they?"

"Yeah, if it stayed like the prologue invincibility frames, wouldn’t that be too overpowered? Just spam GP and clear the game, if you want to grind, why play an ARPG?"

"The GP difficulty now is just right, stop talking and practice!"

"What? There are people demanding to revert the formal Chapters’ GP invincibility frames back? Come on, give me your address, I’ll send you a buff through the Internet cable!"

Although many players were angry about the change in invincibility frames and even demanded to revert them back, this suggestion was met with strong opposition from another group of players.

The reason was simple, they had spent a lot of effort practicing the GP!

If the GP invincibility frames were reverted, everyone could GP easily, then wouldn’t their hours of practice, be it short or long, turn into a joke?

That was absolutely unacceptable!

You can criticize Nitiandang all you want, they’re like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, but you want Nitiandang to change the GP invincibility frames? You’ll have to step over our dead bodies first!

The crowd in the comment section was at each other’s throats, and the unpacking rather than settling disputes, reignited those that had previously calmed down.

Besides that, the issue with the GP invincibility frames also brought to light another new problem.

That was... what’s the deal with these live streamers?

Logically, it should be impossible to adapt quickly to such a significant change in GP invincibility frames, and with the difficulty of "Blood of Lies," most players should be struggling when they first enter the formal Chapters—only a few top action game players should be able to breeze past bosses.

Players like Heilong performing well was one thing, but how was Ning Meng, notorious for being bad at games, also looking skilled with GP?

Was there a special version of the game provided to the live streamers? Or were the streamers using some kind of auto-GP mod?

This question couldn’t be answered by the unpacking video and could only be proven by the streamers and content creators themselves.

And besides that, the unpacking video had another major revelation.

That was the confirmation of "Dynamic Difficulty" in "Blood of Lies"!

And this dynamic difficulty was different from the usual kind.

Most games with dynamic difficulty make it easier for beginners and harder for skilled players; but "Blood of Lies" had it the other way around, making it harder for novices and easier for skilled players.

So if you think you’re bad at the game, it’s very likely not your fault, but rather, the game’s problem.

Or if you find the game too easy and boring, it might not be because you’re really strong, but rather, you’re just moderately skilled and the game intentionally lowered the difficulty for you.

Upon hearing about the dynamic difficulty, players were shocked again.

There was such a bizarre setting??

Insane!

What’s the point of such a setting?

It’s like going against the natural way of compensating inadequacy while supplying the excessive; in plain language, it’s lacking in virtue.

This goes completely against mainstream game design philosophy and player experience—newbies are already prone to quitting, yet you make it even harder, isn’t that deliberately disgusting?

Instantly, countless players unleashed a tirade of rage against "GP Invincibility Frame" and "Dynamic Difficulty," and the debate clearly intensified today.

However, as fierce as the debate was, people couldn’t exactly take it to Nitiandang’s doorstep.

Instead, the live streamers were forced to the front lines, bearing the brunt of the players’ first wave of fury.

Zhuge Jun couldn’t help but wonder, faced with a barrage of comments during their broadcasts, how would these streamers resolve such a public relations crisis?

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