Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 665 - 648: Cultivation Loan Exploded

Chapter 665: Chapter 648: Cultivation Loan Exploded

Under this mechanism, if the studios want to make quick money, there’s only one path left: creating multiple accounts, raising a bunch of low-level leisure accounts, and selling low-level materials.

But Nitiandang had preventive measures against this, with each account strictly bounded to one phone, one real-name authentication, and an official account, and no more than two accounts were allowed on the same device. They also encouraged players to report studio accounts or script accounts.

Under this multifaceted approach, studios could still make money, but not much faster than regular players.

Over time, many studios withdrew.

The studios were profit-driven, and earning less was equivalent to losing. There were plenty of other games making more money than "Reverse Heaven", so why waste precious time and energy on this?

This unique game mechanism of "Reverse Heaven", however, maximized the benefits for the average player, allowing non-spending players to persist through the "bones sharing" mechanism.

Zhuge Jun was one of the direct beneficiaries.

He now regularly posted on his account, analyzing the current market fluctuations of various materials, suggesting everyone stockpile and trade in small amounts, developing himself toward the direction of a goblin merchant.

"Here we go, shall we continue in the Barbaric World?"

Hou Ji sat down at the computer beside him, eagerly opening "Reverse Heaven".

As a graduate school recommendation student, Hou Ji slept in the dorm until he woke up naturally every day, then came to play games at Zhuge Jun’s rented apartment.

However, just as he logged into the game, Hou Ji’s eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

Zhuge Jun was a bit surprised: "What’s wrong?"

Hou Ji, in shock, said: "My... my Cultivation Loan has exploded!"

Zhuge Jun was taken aback: "Ah? What to do now?"

Hou Ji was also at a loss: "I don’t know! This is my first time encountering such a situation.

"Could it be that I borrowed too much from Cultivation Loan?

"But shouldn’t there be an overdue notice first or something? How come it just exploded!"

Most players didn’t research the Cultivation Loan in-depth.

Generally, they just borrowed without much thought.

After all, who’d meticulously read through that long contract? Players usually just clicked agree on the opening agreement of the game.

Most non-spending players signed for Cultivation Loan upon entering the sect, but the specific repayment amounted to a large difference for each person.

Like Zhuge Jun, who intended to cultivate naturally from the beginning, he only took the minimum loan amount even if he signed it.

All the Nine Dragon materials were sold for money, and he didn’t take new loans for unnecessary Magical Treasures, making repayments quite easy each time.

He even prepaid a bit more of the principal to reduce the pressure of the Cultivation Loan as much as possible.

He had already calculated, even if he kept eating bones every week, using only a small portion of his earnings to repay the principal, he could finish paying off the Cultivation Loan in two or three weeks at most.

If he used all the money for repayment right away, he could pay off the Cultivation Loan within a month of starting the account, and the rest would be pure profit.

So, for him, the Cultivation Loan was not a burden at all and needed no special attention.

But Hou Ji was different.

He played in the standard way of an average non-spending player, diligently taking Nine Dragon Elixirs to cultivate. Whatever he wanted, be it Cultivation Techniques, flying swords, Magical Treasures, or Cave Mansions, he used Cultivation Loan to purchase them in installments.

When split into many installments, the repayment amounts each time did seem small.

Some Cultivation Loans in the game even had interest-free deals, making it look even more cost-effective.

Each new loan changed the original repayment plan, making the cycle shorter and the amount larger each time.

But Hou Ji didn’t pay much attention; after all, it’s just a game. Even in reality, they’d give you a warning before marking you as delinquent, right?

Only after long-term delinquency would it affect one’s credit.

Now he regretted it because there was no such thing as "overdue" in the game’s Cultivation Loan.

Initially, Cultivation Loan seemed quite lenient, with flexible repayment timeframes for the same amount, whether split into 10 installments or 30. The more installments, the more the interest.

If one started with 10 installments and couldn’t repay on time, the system would kindly auto-extend to 20 or 30 installments.

This led many players to believe it was okay never to repay; the most that would happen was growing interest.

Until one couldn’t afford the interest anymore, things wouldn’t turn troublesome.

But obviously, players borrowed Cultivation Loan much faster than anticipated, and the loan system had hidden traps.

In simple terms, there’s an invisible upper limit due to interest. Beyond a certain point, the interest would grow exponentially, making repayments practically unmanageable.

Once nearing this upper limit, players unwittingly carried exorbitant interest.

Under such circumstances, missing one payment landed players on the "Dishonest Cultivator Blacklist", restricting multiple functions.

Hou Ji quickly checked his character status.

Previously, he could buy anything using Cultivation Loan, but not anymore, unable to borrow another penny.

The NPCs, who once greeted him warmly, now ignored him, even denying him access to the purchase interface.

In the recharge interface, all the fancy reward icons were gone, leaving only glaring red reminder notices.

Worse of all, none of the sect’s cultivation facilities were open to him anymore!

Yes, he was now disqualified from cultivation.

His only option now was to gather materials in Barbaric World and sell them at the auction house.

All earnings from now on would be automatically deducted for overdue Cultivation Loan repayments.

This mandatory deduction was system-driven, preventing any clandestine asset transfers.

"It’s over, I’ve become a deadbeat!

"This isn’t just restricting high consumption; it’s locking all playable content, leaving me as a minor laborer!"

Hou Ji felt as if sky had fallen.

Once overdue, the Cultivation Loan’s compounded interest made relying on Barbaric World’s sparse, daily materials for money insufficient.

Of course, dedicated daily mining and herb gathering, with some luck like encountering Nine Dragon offspring, could still repay the Cultivation Loan.

In this sense, "Reverse Heaven" showed some mercy, not pushing players to a dead end.

But for players, this was hugely unprofitable!

Without the loan’s interest, material sales could yield cash for real-life treats.

With the interest, all the earnings were auto-deducted, making withdrawals impossible.

So, was this game truly free?

Hardly.

Hou Ji realized he hadn’t spent a penny, yet felt the pain of losing money to the game inefficiently.

Watching Zhuge Jun earn a steady daily income of a few bucks just magnified his imbalance.

"What should I do?" Hou Ji asked Zhuge Jun, hoping for advice.

After a brief silence, Zhuge Jun responded: "Delete your account.

"I warned you before, be cautious with Cultivation Loan, but you said it’s fine, and if necessary, you’d delete the account.

"Now, really, you have to delete it.

"Continuing means grinding materials in Barbaric World for measly earnings, most of which repay interest.

"Ceasing Nine Dragon Elixirs and cultivation means regressing your cultivation.

"You might risk venturing deeper into Barbaric World for better loot, only to encounter strong demon beasts, leading to death and costly Resurrection Pills.

"The Cultivation Loan sticks with your account. Even through rebirth, repayment continues.

If your body is damaged and only rebirth remains, it’s futile with your cultivation limited to Qi Refinement Realm, making Barbaric World survival tough, let alone gathering materials for sale..."

Listening to Zhuge Jun’s analysis, Hou Ji’s expression turned despairing.

This account was truly useless now!

Continuing meant working mostly to clear Cultivation Loan, equating to free labor for Nitiandang.

No direct spending, but it felt worse than if money had been spent.

Account deletion and restarting might solve it; debt was associated with the account, and the official didn’t heavily restrict this, needing only character deletion.

Players could transfer remaining materials to friends before deletion, but due to account-bound items like flying swords and Magical Treasures, it had limited effect on the server economy.

To players, deleting meant all prior efforts were in vain.

Characters also held emotional value, making it hard to let go.

"Nitiandang, Nitiandang, your Cultivation Loan is truly something, tricking me into a trapping kill!"

Hou Ji finally experienced the dilemma.

Too young back then, he didn’t realize everything gifted by destiny secretly came at a cost.

"What to do?"

Hou Ji hesitated, unable to decide.

After a long pause, Zhuge Jun quietly said, "Actually... there’s one last way.

"Strictly speaking, it’s the most economical method."

Hou Ji felt a glimmer of hope: "Oh? What way? I don’t know it! Did you discover another hidden mechanism in this game?"

Zhuge Jun shook his head: "Not a hidden mechanism, actually... paying real money."

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