Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 527 - 510: The Far-Reaching Luoshui Oath

Chapter 527: Chapter 510: The Far-Reaching Luoshui Oath

Evening.

Instructor Ding yawned, "Alright, that’s it for the ’Star Plan’ livestream for today.

"We’re still three hours away from ending the broadcast, let’s play a bit of an FPS game to give our brains a little rest."

After the game ended with Luo Shui San Qian, Instructor Ding played another round.

However, this game didn’t cause much of a grudge; he acted as the governor, and the player acting as the leader was also a newbie.

Two bad players, though they might become worse the more they play, at least knew they were poor players, so there was no mutual aggression.

Eventually, they happily walked together towards GAMEOVER.

At this moment, Instructor Ding felt his head was getting a bit big; after playing intensely all afternoon and half the evening, although he had a good grasp of the basic rules of ’Star Plan,’ the sheer amount of information was starting to overload his brain.

So, he thought about playing an FPS game that didn’t require too much thinking, for a change of pace.

But unexpectedly, the audience in the comments didn’t want to watch an FPS game.

"Take a rest, you’re indeed tired, and we’re tired from watching, too."

"Don’t play an FPS game anymore, you play it every day, take a break for today."

"But there are still three hours left in the broadcast, we’ve got to let Little Ding do something, right?"

"By the way, Instructor, go check it out, your video clip has gone viral!"

Instructor Ding paused, "Huh? My clip has gone viral?"

This was a surprise to him and he couldn’t immediately determine exactly which moment or which game the clip was from.

Was it a ’Star Plan’ video clip? It didn’t seem like it.

Since the game had not been released for long, Instructor Ding didn’t remember making any particularly impressive content.

He even worried a bit about what the evening’s video clip would be.

Popular UP masters like him typically have an editing team of their own or outsource to one; the team might not be big, at most two or three people, and their salary would not be too high. Their main job is to edit video clips from the livestream to attract flow.

Instructor Ding, of course, also had a two-person editing team, but which segment to edit was up to him.

Apart from these UP masters’ own editing teams making livestream video clips, there were also many fans who spontaneously cut video clips from the livestreams, sometimes even getting more views than the original.

Could it be a clip cut by a fan that went viral?

After all, video clips from Instructor Ding’s team are usually released after the livestream has ended.

Thinking this over, Instructor Ding searched according to the comments’ guidance.

The result was somewhat unbelievable, "Ah? It’s this clip?"

Based on its popularity, this video clip had indeed done quite well; it had only been out for over half an hour and already had tens of thousands of views, and the number of people watching it at the same time had even reached 5000+. This was a rather remarkable number.

And the content of the clip was the game between Instructor Ding and Luo Shui San Qian.

The editing wasn’t especially exquisite, given the limited time, but it had been done appropriately, with effects added not frequently but precisely where they emphasized the entertaining aspects.

Title: "Incredible! Instructor Ding encounters the ’Star Plan’ version of ’Luoshui Oath’!"

Instructor Ding was somewhat puzzled, "Huh, strange, can such a simple clip go viral too?"

Certainly, the edit wasn’t particularly exquisite, the title was somewhat compelling but not exactly earth-shattering.

Even Instructor Ding, the person involved, found it hard to understand.

"What is this ’Luoshui Oath’ anyway?"

With less knowledge of history than the average netizen, Instructor Ding could not decipher the mystery behind the title.

But obviously, the video had spread rapidly because netizens could instantly get the point.

...

At the same time, Chen Tingquan was also watching the video clip with great interest.

Having a deeper understanding of history, he could comprehend why the clip went viral far better than Instructor Ding could.

"Damn, how could this kid catch such sudden wealth!

"I can’t accept this! My treasure friends, why?!"

Chen Tingquan was truly heartbroken.

Today he had started his live stream late in the evening, and although he had played "Star Plan" for a bit, he hadn’t been particularly invested. Only now did he realize what a huge opportunity for viewer engagement he had missed, and he felt a profound regret.

Clearly, what Luo Shui San Qian had done might not seem like much at first glance, but upon closer examination, it would undoubtedly become a signature event in "Star Plan."

The so-called "Luoshui Oath" is a well-known historical event.

Simply put, initially, Liu Xiu swore by the Luo River to pardon Zhu Wei, the Luoyang Garrison Commander who had killed his brother. Later on, true to his word, Liu Xiu titled Zhu Wei as a marquis, and the act became celebrated.

But the second oath by the Luo River was taken by Sima Yi, who swore by his decades of reputation as a veteran minister through three dynasties, promising that he only sought military authority and that his political rival Cao Shuang could still live as a wealthy man. But after Cao Shuang surrendered his military power, Sima Yi eradicated him root and branch.

This act direly tarnished the reputation of the Luo River and began the era of mistrust between sovereign and ministers.

Of course, how significantly Sima Yi’s Luoshui Oath negatively impacted history is a matter of perspective.

Some think its negative effects were exaggerated, while others believe that the reason why dynastic changes after the Jin Dynasty almost always involved exterminating the former sovereign can be attributed to the precedent set by the Sima Family.

Regardless of the debate, the term "Luoshui Oath" indeed has a significant impact in modern internet discourse.

Because such actions severely bankrupt political credit, undermining the consensus necessary to sustain society. This slippery slope tends to have long-lasting and worsening effects on mutual trust.

And re-establishing that kind of mutual trust is nearly impossible.

Perhaps Sima Yi’s Luoshui Oath was not the only act of betrayal at the time, but due to its significant impact, it has become symbolic and cannot really be considered unjustly blamed.

Interestingly, the game played by Instructor Ding and Luo Shui San Qian has also severely damaged the mutual trust between virtual governors and the head of state.

Was there ever mutual trust between virtual governors and the head of state?

Of course, there was quite a bit.

Not to mention friends in reality, even strangers online would defer to each other during gameplay, sharing the goal of cooperating to beat the game.

But Instructor Ding’s manipulation has clearly set a very bad example for everyone.

It showed that a well-playing virtual governor might indeed stage a coup for some trivial reason and turn the game into a solo victory!

Until now, players hadn’t realized this.

They would instinctually feel that the game was different from reality.

In real life, after Sima Yi usurped the throne, he could indeed enjoy ruling the kingdom; the difference between being an emperor and being a subject, in terms of power and lifestyle, was incomparable.

So, it might seem that what Sima Yi did under the Luoshui Oath was a bit underhanded, but from the perspective of an extreme egoist, his actions are somewhat understandable.

But what about in the "Star Plan"?

After all the effort a virtual governor puts in, in the end, all they do is sideline the head of state and leave them to fend for themselves on the Comet.

Compared to a normal game completion, only the ending animation differs, while 99% of the game content remains the same.

Even so, a virtual governor still shamelessly orchestrates a power grab through a coup?

This kind of behavior breaches moral boundaries.

But here’s the question, is there a way to avoid such situations?

There isn’t!

Because this is gameplay allowed by the game mechanics: once a virtual governor gains control of the army, they can choose to use it to stage a coup whenever they want, and the initiative rests entirely in their hands.

Of course, heads of state can choose not to grant any military control to the virtual governors.

But, by doing that, they forfeit the resource savings and efficiency boosts that technology offers.

And the head of state’s constant vigilance against the virtual governor could very well provoke a defiant attitude in them, leading to non-violent non-cooperation.

This could even lead to a complete breakdown in their relationship, ending in the ultimate deadlock where "the head of state erects monuments for the virtual governor and the Comet’s functionality grinds to a halt."

If we were to sum up Instructor Ding’s event, it would be to illustrate one issue to everyone:

"A virtual governor, no matter how reliable and power-averse they previously seemed, might suddenly seize power in a coup at the last moment."

This is incredibly unsettling!

While it might just be a difference in the ending animation, it matters greatly, psychologically, to both the virtual governor and the head of state.

Had either side not cared, this wouldn’t have become an issue, but everyone cares and that makes this problem a spiral, deepening the mutual distrust between the two.

Clearly, from the first day’s events, it is a bit premature to assert that virtual governors and heads of state will ultimately get along harmoniously.

No one can predict what form the game will ultimately take.

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