Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 98 We Are All President Gu’s People! (Sixth Update, 16,000 Words, Asking for Monthly Passes!)

Chapter 98: Chapter 98 We Are All President Gu’s People! (Sixth Update, 16,000 Words, Asking for Monthly Passes!)

Zhou Yang nodded. "So, this is what I’ve been unable to figure out all this time!

"This issue has been torturing me for a long time, nearly driving me insane!

"I mean, as a game designer, I’ve racked my brains to come up with game mechanics, yet it turns out to be less impactful than a random bug. It’s really easy to start questioning the value of my existence..."

"But today, I finally understand!

"In the end, what President Gu says doesn’t count! He’s just another high-level worker. Above him, there’s an idiotic investor who likes to meddle!"

Zhao Haiquan was startled and quickly lowered his voice: "Shh! You can’t just say things like that willy-nilly! How do you know that the investor is an idiot?"

Zhou Yang replied, "That’s why I didn’t discuss this with you over chat software. Indeed, we can’t openly talk about these things.

"Didn’t President Gu just hint at it?

"But if we combine the known factors, the conclusion isn’t hard to deduce, is it?

"Look, President Gu said the investor has a ’unique’ vision for his ideas and won’t accept anyone else’s suggestions. Plus, all of our company’s games have always originated from this investor’s ideas.

"See, isn’t this investor just the kind of game company leader we hate the most? Not only does he meddle in matters he doesn’t understand, but he also likes to teach players how to play!

"What about those ideas he had? What does one feel after looking at the design document? It’s nothing but pure disgust for the players. It’s like he’s deliberately going against the players, designing the game in a way that makes sure it’s not fun to play!

"Are such people rare? Not at all in the gaming industry! And yet they are still doing quite well, which is enough to prove that games don’t lead to violent behavior, otherwise, how could they have survived this long?"

Zhao Haiquan, as if enlightened, nodded: "I see what you mean now, I think I’ve connected all the dots!

"Why did President Gu want to insert bugs into the game?

"Because at the very beginning he signed his life away to the investor. In reality, the company is at the investor’s mercy. Unfortunately, this investor doesn’t understand gaming and loves to interfere, leading to game designs that are a mess.

"President Gu wanted to make changes, but the investor flat-out ignored his suggestions. Left with no other choice, President Gu had to resort to inserting bugs into the game!"

Zhou Yang nodded. "Exactly, that’s the whole story!"

Zhao Haiquan still had doubts: "But, our game is making money! Wouldn’t the investor want to get along with the profit? Shouldn’t he value President Gu more and give him more say?"

Zhou Yang shook his head: "That’s what a normal person would think, not the logic of an idiotic leader!

"Who knows, instead of being happy, the investor might even take his anger out on President Gu!

"Yes, nobody would go against money, but what does the success of the game prove? It shows that the investor’s design philosophy was wrong, just a mess. The players initially criticized it, and the investor must have seen all that. The game’s popularity is not due to the original design, but the bugs.

"Do you think with the investor’s paranoid nature, he could be pleased? Admit his own mistake?

"The investor might feel that there was nothing wrong with the original design and without the bugs the game would have been even more successful. So, after the consecutive bugs, not only would the investor not be relieved, he might get very angry, thinking that President Gu is incompetent for not discovering these bugs!

"Don’t doubt it, that’s just how idiotic minds work.

"We’ve all been crawling through the workplace for years now. Isn’t it just like this?"

Zhao Haiquan nodded earnestly: "Indeed!"

After this analysis, the situation became increasingly clear.

Even the bugs in the game now had a more reasonable explanation.

Zhou Yang continued: "So, now it seems we’re in a questioning phase, but in fact, it’s a matter of picking sides!

"We only have two choices.

"Either stand with President Gu, or stand with the investor!"

Zhao Haiquan nodded again: "Indeed!!"

Why did the investor come here? To praise everyone? That’s definitely not possible.

Otherwise, there was no need for one-on-one talks. President Gu wouldn’t need to give everyone a heads-up to think carefully about what to say.

The investor was here to investigate the bug issue!

Clearly, the investor didn’t think there was anything wrong with his design; instead, he believed the bugs deviated from his plan.

Thus, he wanted to find evidence of sabotage by President Gu through one-on-one talks.

Did President Gu sabotage the game? If you look at it objectively, he certainly did plant those bugs; but subjectively, those bugs are the foundation of the game’s entertainment value and the source of everyone’s bonuses!

If a game runs entirely on bugs, then they aren’t bugs, they’re the core mechanics.

If a company operates entirely on traitors, then they aren’t traitors; they’re pillars of the state, the foundation of the country!

If Zhou Yang revealed his suspicions, even with no evidence, the investor would surely deepen his suspicions against President Gu.

What would happen then? Perhaps they wouldn’t let President Gu touch the code anymore? Or worse, they might replace him with a new CEO?

All of these were possibilities!

So, it’s a matter of picking sides, where you can only stand with one person. Once you’ve picked a side, it means completely breaking with the other.

So the question is, whom would everyone choose to stand with?

Isn’t that obvious?

Who made the game more enjoyable?

Who has been developing Prometheus nonstop?

Who distributed generous bonuses to all the employees?

Whose bread are we eating, whose clothes are we wearing?

Of course, we’d dine on President Gu’s dime and wear the clothes provided by President Gu! Without President Gu, we couldn’t make money from the game, and we’d still be scraping by on a measly monthly base salary begging for food!

On one hand, there are fame and fortune, and on the other, the loss of both. Even a kindergarten child making the choice couldn’t get it wrong!

In this world, there’s no stronger bond than that formed by shared interests. So the bonus of 188,000 from President Gu, that’s the most solid relationship between him and the employees.

The two exchanged a look and reached an agreement.

Even if the sky were to fall, that would just be a BUG, absolutely nothing to do with President Gu and not a single penny of his money!

"Even..."

Zhou Yang had a new thought: "In the future, we could sneakily add BUGs to the game, right?

"It’s just a matter of tweaking a few lines of code, isn’t it?

"Brother Haiquan, since you handle back-end programming and we loop in Big Brother Da Hui, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake for two programmers to plant a BUG?

"Of course, we’d have to plan carefully on how to plant it. We absolutely can’t go for something too obvious that can be spotted right away.

"But no matter what, President Gu is really shouldering the heavy load alone, shielding us from the elements, not only dealing with idiotic investors, carrying the team alone but also sharing his wealth with us so generously...

"We must do something in return! We can’t just take such a hefty bonus without doing anything!"

Zhao Haiquan nodded seriously: "Indeed!!!"

Soon, both of them were completely on the same page.

But just the two of them wasn’t enough. What if others also doubted the BUG, but didn’t think one step further and accidentally betrayed President Gu? What then?

So, they had to keep the communication flowing!

Of course, they had to be careful with how they spread the word, initially testing the waters to gauge the other person’s attitude, then gently guiding them, not revealing the core secrets right away.

In the afternoon, back at the office, Zhou Yang and Zhao Haiquan split up to discreetly speak with company employees in quiet spots on the first floor.

All in all, the progress was very smooth!

This obviously had a lot to do with Gu Fan’s previous bonus distribution strategy.

The strategy was simple: first, excessive; and second, inclusive.

’Excessive’ means that everyone received a bonus far beyond their actual contribution.

’Inclusive’ means that from the management to the rank and file, everyone was treated equitably, and even those at the bottom did not receive a small amount.

Take the three Testers, for example. Though they only completed their assigned tasks, they got a bonus of 47,000 from the first payout.

And that was just the initial bonus paid out retroactively. After that, ’Prometheus’ was in development for two more months with a bonus issued at the end of each month. Though sales slowed down towards the end, resulting in somewhat reduced bonuses, added up, even ordinary Testers could receive a bonus of around 120,000 or 130,000!

If the bonuses had only gone to the upper echelons, it would be inevitable for those at the bottom to harbor some resentment. Then it would not be so easy for Zhou Yang and Zhao Haiquan to get everyone on board.

But now, the bonus distribution was just right.

Everyone felt like they received more than they should, and they all very clearly understood that sticking with President Gu meant enjoying the good life while betraying him would leave them with nothing but chaff to consume!

What choice they would make was no hard guess.

And so, after an afternoon of hard work, the entire company’s employees were united in thought.

...

At 6 p.m., everyone had already eaten dinner early, waiting for the investor to arrive.

"Let me introduce everyone to our investor, you can call her President Li," Gu Fan introduced.

All together, the crowd greeted: "Hello, President Li!"

Zhou Yang’s gaze swept up and down Lilith, and his expression turned serious.

An investor so young... she really hit the jackpot with her rebirth skills!

And why does she have the look of a non-conformist? No, that’s not right, non-conformists don’t have this style, strictly speaking, she looks more like a rebel girl, right?

In any case, she perfectly fits the stereotype Zhou Yang had imagined before.

Definitely an ignoramus about games! Definitely a little brat with a foul temper who won’t listen to reason!

For President Gu to have tolerated such an investor for so long, constantly cleaning up after her design proposals, is indeed no easy feat.

But don’t worry, President Gu, from today on you’re no longer fighting alone. All of us at Nitiandang Games will stand behind you, fighting to the end against this evil investor who seeks to destroy the gaming industry!

Lilith looked around at everyone, and felt that something was slightly amiss.

Why did it feel as though she was being rejected by the company’s atmosphere?

However, she didn’t care much, after all, she owned the company – if she wanted someone gone, they would have to go. With her status as the superior clearly established, what was there to worry about?

"I want to have a private word with you all, starting with you."

Lilith nonchalantly pointed at a Tester in the corner and called him downstairs for a one-on-one talk.

About ten minutes passed, and another person went down.

But whether someone was going up or coming down, they exchanged a firm and resolute look.

Lilith had been questioning since six and continued past eight, beginning to deeply doubt her life choices.

Strange, not a single clue? It’s really just a BUG? The entire company’s staff didn’t find any problem?