Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 511 - 494: The Key Comes!

Chapter 511: Chapter 494: The Key Comes!

"Fine, it’s not like you can clear this up in a few words..."

"He’s the leader, what he says goes."

On the surface, Li Wenhao appeared to be speaking to the audience in his live stream, but in reality, he was also trying to convince himself.

The issue was indeed complex, and likely involved calculations of data; not something that could be clarified even in a voice chat, let alone typing.

Of course, voice chat would definitely be better, but Li Wenhao naturally resisted the idea of voice chatting with netizens.

Who knows who was on the other side? If things heated up and they started arguing, it could ruin his whole day.

And if the other party brought up sensitive topics, it could explode his live stream room.

So, there was no need for that.

Since the division of labor in the game had already been arranged, then it was best to respect that division.

With that in mind, Li Wenhao typed, "Then I’ll follow your targets exactly. Just make sure you update in time, so we don’t run out of resources."

Mouth King replied, "Isn’t that how it should have been from the start?"

"Do your own thing and stop worrying about me."

Li Wenhao was at a loss for words, frustrated beyond expression.

He was beginning to understand why co-op mode could get so infuriating.

But since they’d gotten to this point, why not just mind their own business?

Li Wenhao stopped pondering; he no longer considered the game’s planning and strictly followed the leader’s set targets.

If the leader had set the resource production levels, then he planned strictly according to those, not a bit more.

Even if Li Wenhao felt it might not be enough, he resolutely refused to mine any further.

If he met the targets ahead of time and the leader hadn’t updated the goals, then Li Wenhao would just go AFK.

He realized that if he took initiatives like mining on his own, or adding production lines while the leader had other ideas in mind, it was bound to create conflict again.

So rather than that, it was better to just go AFK and wait for instructions.

For the time being, there were no further conflicts, and the game continued.

Quickly, the environmental temperature started to drop rapidly, and the dugouts and shelters were clearly insufficient.

Mouth King abruptly increased the production of several resources and set several technological points that could provide cold protection.

Li Wenhao was speechless, "Making it up as you go, huh?"

"Do you not realize it’s already too late to start this?"

"Fine, if you want to die, I’ll bury you; I don’t care, I’m just a ruthless executor."

While verbally complaining, Li Wenhao neither typed nor sent out markers to mock, but simply went all out with his actions, quickly placing multiple energy mines and smelting furnaces in response to Mouth King’s demands, and began mass construction of shelters and heating facilities.

One by one, energy towers were erected, radiating heat to the surrounding areas, significantly raising the environmental temperature nearby.

Moreover, heating pipes constantly transported heat to each industrial zone, ensuring that they could still operate normally under harsh cold conditions.

But obviously, the temperature was dropping faster than expected.

Li Wenhao continued to operate as fast as he could, but all kinds of chain reactions were still occurring.

When the temperature reached a certain level, the previously laid heating pipelines were no longer enough to sustain the normal lives of the silicon-based little people.

As a result, these little people couldn’t leave their shelters to produce in the industrial zones or build in the outside world.

They could only shiver in their shelters, constantly grumbling and demanding higher heating temperatures.

And the inability to work brought about new chain reactions; if the industrial zones weren’t running, materials couldn’t be produced, and without working smelting furnaces, there were no new raw materials. Soon, the resources stored in the warehouses were exhausted.

There were resources, there were people, but the chain reaction in the production caused by the severe cold environment led to an inevitable production standstill, and everything collapsed completely.

Li Wenhao was trying hard to operate, but once it passed a certain tipping point, no matter how fast his reflexes were, it was too late to turn things around.

However, the person who was clearly most anxious wasn’t Li Wenhao, but Mouth King.

"Thud!"

"Thud thud!"

"Thud thud thud!"

Exclamation points continuously popped up on the screen, especially over unmined energy sources, where a series of exclamations would occasionally appear.

Just like the question mark, the exclamation point was a commonly used symbol in the game’s basic information system, mainly for highlighting urgent reminders.

Although there were certain restrictions on rapid-fire in a short time, it still bothered Li Wenhao.

"Damn it, bro, what’s the use of spamming exclamation marks? The game only builds stuff so fast, I’m doing my best, okay?"

Being unangry was impossible, since Li Wenhao had already reminded them once, and even twice.

The first time, Li Wenhao actually wanted to go the mechanized construction route, but Mouth King chose manpower.

The second time, Li Wenhao thought they should prepare in advance, stockpiling enough fuel and various resources.

But clearly, Mouth King didn’t listen either time.

If they had gone the mechanical route, despite needing more resources and later tech, mechanical means wouldn’t be as delicate as the silicon-based little people, and now they wouldn’t bear such a heavy burden.

Of course, it was also Li Wenhao’s first time playing the game, so he wasn’t confident enough to guarantee his own strategy would definitely be better.

But he felt it had to be significantly better than the current one.

Soon, the exclamation marks on the screen stopped, and so did the game.

With the mass death of the silicon-based little people, normal production could no longer be resumed, and the game naturally came to an end.

"Forget it, just restart a new game."

Li Wenhao wasn’t angry, after all, it was a random match, and getting paired with some peculiar players was possible.

Everyone was new to the game, so it was normal not to be skilled.

Did he really have to say Mouth King completely screwed up? Perhaps not; it was just a difference in choices.

With that thought, Li Wenhao prepared to leave the game.

However, just at that moment, a message popped up on the screen.

"It’s not, bro.

"Your reaction speed is way too slow."

Seeing the first four words, Li Wenhao felt a surge of anger well up instantaneously.

Reading the second sentence, he became completely uncontrollable with rage.

"Keyboard warrior!"

Li Wenhao typed furiously, his words flashing on the screen.

"Is it your first time playing this type of game?

"You taking laxatives to make production lines that fast?

"I told you earlier, to build a warehouse to store resources in advance; you waited until the last moment to start building, do you think that’s got anything to do with how fast or slow it is?

"Got a ’smart drive possession’ or something? Bail out of ’smart drive’ right before a crash and leave me to take over, then it’s none of your business anymore?

"Did you leave enough lead time when you were planning?"

The other side wasn’t cowardly either, coming on strongly like they were opening the gates of heaven with keystrokes.

"Is it not because you’re building too slow?

"Bro, do you have OCD? Do you have to arrange every line so neatly?

"Can’t you just slap it down anywhere when it’s an emergency?

"Being a bit crooked won’t affect normal use.

"If you had acted faster, held off that wave of cold, maybe we would have made it through?"

Li Wenhao was shocked at how shamelessly the other player spoke.

"Just slap it down? Have you ever played this type of game?

"Slapping down stuff feels good for a moment, but when you have to tidy up the production lines later, you’ll want to die!

"Besides, I was already building quickly. How much time can just slapping buildings down save? A few seconds for each structure, what’s the use of that!"

As the two argued, the game silently began to smolder.

After a game ended, there was usually just a simple review of the civilization’s development history, like setting up a monument for players to briefly commemorate.

But if the players didn’t exit the game immediately, an automatic replay feature would kick in.

All the operations performed earlier would be replayed before the eyes of the two players, maximizing their convenience to settle old scores.

Both could freely drag the action bar or press the pause button for an in-depth game analysis.

Li Wenhao discovered the feature first and quickly dragged the progress bar to the crucial moment.

"Open your eyes and look!

"Is there enough time to build a warehouse and mines now?

"Now look at when you started building.

"The cold wave is just over five minutes away, come on, your turn, I want to see how you can build so many shelters and heating units before the cold comes."

Unexpectedly, the video didn’t shut up the other player but instead made them even more self-righteous.

"What’s with over five minutes? See if this position couldn’t have quickly fit five smelting furnaces?

"If you hadn’t kept adjusting those lines over that ore patch and just slapped down a bunch of mining facilities and connected them to the furnaces, couldn’t it have been done in seconds?

"See how much time you spent selecting the location and adjusting the lines?

"At least a minute, right? Calculate it; if each is a minute slower, how much does that add up?

"It’s not a problem to push it to the limit, alright!"

It was clear there would never be an end to their argument.

It wasn’t just because Mouth King had a bit of a quarrelsome nature; it was also because the game mechanics themselves exacerbated the conflict between the two players.

Just like in a game of chess, everyone has their own strategy, and while it seems clear to an observer, if the observer were to play, they might perform even worse.

In the game, the leader felt the executor’s actions were too slow, too slow when speed was needed, too fast when it should have been slow, whereas the executor felt the leader did nothing but give foolish commands.

This was a systemic issue; it’s just that the players’ irritable characters further worsened it.