272 If He had a Good Reason, the System would Pay for It!

After leaving Zhongdian Chinese Network, Pei Qian returned to Tengda's office.

The game was about to be released; everyone was obviously excited and expectant. Everyone—including Li Yada—was focused on trying out the game.

The game had already been tested. Although there were still bugs in it, the chances of players experiencing these bugs were very low. However, no one could relax. Up until this point, they continued to check the game as if they were checking their examination papers at the last minute. Most of them were just trying to comfort themselves.

As for Bao Xu…

He continued playing other games as if he had no plans to test out Repent and Be Saved like the others.

Pei Qian could not help but nod slightly.

Excellent! This is what I wanted to see.

It looked like Bao Xu had figured things out. After taking two paid leaves, he seemed to have realized something. Now, he seemed committed to slacking.

Each time Pei Qian walked past, Bao Xu seemed to be playing a game or surfing the net. Not once had Pei Qian seen him working.

This made Pei Qian trust Bao Xu even more.

Pei Qian had originally hired Bao Xu with the intention of seeing him play games and slack in the office.

Although he experienced setbacks along the way, Bao Xu's current behavior completely matched Pei Qian's expectations.

If Bao Xu kept this up, perhaps Pei Qian would assign him more tasks. However, Pei Qian still had to consider this seriously.

At that thought, he walked up to Bao Xu.

The latter quickly turned around and asked, "Boss Pei, do you need something?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask how Repent and be Saved's hand sensitivity is. Have the adjustments been made?" Pei Qian had a warm smile on his face as he asked this.

"I think…"

Bao Xu was just about to say, "I think they're all done." However, he quickly realized something was amiss.

If he said that, there would have been dire consequences!

He had been secretly playing Repent and be Saved recently, and reporting any small problem he spotted to Li Yada. Apart from the two of them, nobody knew about this.

If Bao Xu confidently replied that they were all done, what would it show? It would show that he understood the game's situation very well!

If he exposed that, wouldn't Bao Xu be wasting his efforts acting as a slacker during this period? He was doing all these just to avoid being voted the most outstanding employee again.

Bao Xu was so frightened that cold sweat began to drip down his back. That was close!

He quickly corrected himself. "I think… you should ask Li Yada. I'm not too sure about that."

"Oh, that's right." Pei Qian nodded, then turned, and walked towards Li Yada.

That was true. Ever since Bao Xu returned from Europe, he had not been responsible for this!

Before, he would have played the game many times to find problems with hand sensitivity or other details even if it weren't within his job scope.

However, it seemed like Bao Xu had kicked that bad habit now.

It was worth celebrating!

Pei Qian was relieved.

On the other hand, Bao Xu heaved a huge sigh of relief.

That was too close!

He caught glimpses of the dire consequences he would suffer if he had said the wrong thing at that moment.

Perhaps half a year later, he would be receiving a warm welcome at the Sahara Desert, the Nile River, or the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Thankfully, he had just successfully averted that crisis.

"I cannot relax, even for a moment."

Bao Xu let out a long sigh and went back to his game. He wondered if he should install a privacy filter or privacy protection film on his own computer.

Just thinking about having to keep this act up until the next Outstanding Employee Selection made Bao Xu feel melancholic.

…

When he returned to his own office, Pei Qian switched his computer on. He was still conflicted about whether to advertise Repent and be Saved.

If he did…

Every player would add to the risk of generating profit.

Yet, if he did not…

Given Tengda Games' current fame—even if he did not advertise the game, it would be well-known.

What's more, if he engaged in large-scale advertising, he might be able to spend more money.

After a long period of consideration, Pei Qian finally made his decision.

After his experience with Zha Zhuti and Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version, he decided that it would be safer not to advertise the game. It did not seem wise to take such huge risks for the sake of spending a bit more money.

"I should maintain a low profile to minimize attention to the game. Tengda has many loyal fans now, but I should avoid advertising the game so that fewer people know about it.

"If I intentionally avoid advertising it, it would take at least two or three days for the game to become a hot topic of discussion among the first batch of gamers, right?

"I'll take as much delay as I can get."

Pei Qian silently thought about all of these things as he accessed the official platform, intending to check on Bloody Battle Song's situation. To his surprise, Bloody Battle Song no longer took up the biggest recommendation spot on the official platform's homepage.

Pei Qian paused, not knowing how to react.

The official platform had just recommended Bloody Battle Song some time ago, and it had not taken it down since. A week had not even passed yet—why was the recommendation gone?

He looked closer at the title of the current recommendation.

'The glory of domestically-produced games: Tengda's newest game is going to be released!'

Pei Qian, "???"

What is the official platform doing?! Did I ask for recommendation spots? Why are you forcing me to accept them?!

Pei Qian did not know what to say. There was no need to think about whether he should advertise the game anymore. The official platform had already done all the advertising for him!

He could not even hope for two or three days before the game became a hot topic of discussion; it was already generating a lot of discussions! This was all because the official platform gave it a recommendation spot in advance of the game's release!

Pei Qian was speechless. What is the meaning of this?! The official platform's recommendation spots are extremely important. Aren't they fooling around by giving the best spot to a game that has not even been released yet?!

However, on further thought, Pei Qian understood.

Repent and be Saved had to be sent for vetting before being released. They could only release the game if it passed the vetting process.

The official platform's staff probably developed an understanding of the game's content after vetting it.

Of course, those in charge of vetting the game did not have to complete it on their own. Tengda had to send an official hack and detailed explanation of the game for them to vet it. This would ensure every staff in charge of vetting would be able to experience each stage of the game.

The vetting staff had obviously been impressed by the game's traditional Chinese style and content!

The official platform had been keeping an eye on Tengda Games, the creator of games like Ocean Stronghold and Game Designer. It also tended to give the latter recommendation spots very easily.

Since Repent and Be Saved was preceded by so many outstanding games and it had top-quality, Chinese-style content, the official platform naturally left the best recommendation spot for it!

Pei Qian was really speechless.

Official platform, you're really something. I'm already in such a state - why are you still showing me special treatment?! I just want to be a minor, transparent, game designer. Can't I?!

Pei Qian was filled with sorrow as he clicked on the recommendation.

Once he clicked it, he entered what would be Repent and be Saved's details page after its release. However, there were very few details of the game's content. There were only the game's title, a simple introduction, and a few images.

The game's official release date was set for October 1st. However, many gamers had already posted comments.

"Impressive! The new game hasn't even been released, but it's already given the recommendation spots on the official platform's homepage. Tengda Games is awesome!"

"The official platform is treating it like its biological son."

"Tengda's operations staff must be quite capable; they know how to establish good relations with the official platform."

"Do they even need to establish a good relationship with the official platform? The company is just capable, understand? Game Designer shot to the top so quickly. Tengda Games deserves this treatment. Are other games companies unhappy? If they think they're deserving, they can try creating a similar game."

"Ai, I admire them."

As Pei Qian read these comments, his eyelids kept twitching; and his head began to hurt.

Impressive my foot! Admire my foot!

He continued reading the other comments.

"What game is this?"

"According to the images, I guess it's going to be a Chinese-style RPG."

"Tengda is finally moving in the direction of AAA projects? I'm so excited!"

"Indeed. The official platform has already vetted the game's content and is now recommending it. It seems like the game will be good. It's worth being excited about!"

After reading the first few comments, Pei Qian's heart felt heavy. However, he could not help but smile.

Is everyone this optimistic? Hehe, I might not have been able to deal with the official platform, but I have a way of dealing with you!

At that moment, Pei Qian felt like he was a butcher with a chopper while the gamers were bamboo rats who had no idea about the threat they were under. They were happily chewing on their bamboo, not knowing that they were about to meet their end.

"Whatever. I'll let them be happy for now. The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.

"When they play the game, their initial love would breed hate. They would have no choice but to curse it."

Just imagining this cheered Pei Qian up considerably.

"Should I just wait until the official release of the game? Hmm… I don't feel safe. Although it's meaningless to sharpen my spear at the last moment, I must still try.

"I'll spend more money while I'm at it."

Since the official platform had advertised on Pei Qian's behalf, there was no point in trying to hide the game anymore.

Pei Qian decided to look for other avenues to spend money.

He accessed Aili Island and found Shaohu Reviews. Pei Qian had decided to buy fake reviewers!

Although the fake reviewers Pei Qian hired from Shaohu Reviews disappointed him before, he could not shift the blame entirely on them. After all, they had been paid to work for him.

If he wanted to closely analyze what went wrong, Pei Qian had to accept a bigger part of the blame.

What's more, Shaohu Reviews had refunded Pei Qian the one thousand yuan. Pei Qian was extremely satisfied with their attitude.

Since they were so upright, Pei Qian thought they deserved a second chance.

The last time he bought fake reviewers, his plan fell through. This time, Pei Qian had to alter the way he would make use of these fake reviewers.

Whether he would be able to change the outcome or not was another matter; his main priority was not to spend his own money this time. In fact, strictly speaking, his plan technically did not involve buying fake reviewers this time.

If he had a good reason, the system would pay for it!