Chapter 6: Playing My Game Can Earn You Money!

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Chapter 6: Playing My Game Can Make You Money!

"In the future, the war between humanity and alien creatures has reached a boiling point."
"It is a protracted, desperate campaign."
"In this conflict..."
"All of humanity's modern equipment has been destroyed. The countless oases that once existed have turned into deserts of swirling yellow sand, filled with nuclear radiation and monsters. Humanity huddles in fear within safe zones, and the most terrifying desert of all is named Sahara..."
"You wake up..."
"To find yourself lying in an endless expanse of yellow sand. In the distance, there is a vast, desolate highway. As you regain your senses, you realize you are a medic. You must deliver medical supplies to the base camp within eight hours. If you fail, not only will the people at the base die, but so will you!"
"This is destined to be a lonely eight hours!"
"Players, are you ready?"
"..."

When Zhong Chongwen first read the background story, he was deeply expectant.
It is now 2005.
Although many interstellar-themed films and games have been released by 2005, many young men still hold a deep fascination for the vast starry sky and the battles between humanity and aliens.
Ever since Daidi Network released a game called "Star Mission" in March of this year, that anticipation had only grown higher...
Future worlds!
Alien combat!
What are the things that people yearn for most in this genre?
Bizarre alien designs, unheard-of modern weapons, massive starships...
As Zhong Chongwen thought about this, he instantly became excited.
Even before looking at the game framework, his mind was already racing with ideas on how to design interstellar weapons, how to fight monsters, and how to outline the level progression...
Thinking of this...
He became even more excited!
Then, he looked at the game framework provided below!
Finally...
He stared fixedly at the few lines of text...
He was in disbelief.
He felt cheated!
He felt as if he were staring right through the paper, yet...
Those lines remained exactly as they were, and at the very end, as if afraid he wouldn't realize it, there was even an "end!" written below.
The massive sense of disappointment made it difficult for him to accept!
He turned his head to look at Zhao Hang beside him!
At this moment, Zhao Hang had a vacant look in his eyes, repeatedly flipping through that simple, thin page!
Clearly...
He was in disbelief as well!
A game design!
One thousand words in total!
Five hundred words for the background introduction, one hundred words for character descriptions, and then the actual design of the game framework, the sprite maps, and the item introductions amounted to only one hundred words!
And the rest?
There was nothing else...

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Characters: Edward!
Map assets: Desert, cactus, bicycle, simple medical kit, highway, storm system, and night system.
Gameplay: Ride a bicycle for eight hours to deliver goods and reach the destination. The time in-game matches real-time, with cycles of day and night.
...
Both Zhao Hang and Zhong Chongwen were stunned!
That’s it?
Really, that’s all?
Modern weapons, eerie and terrifying alien creatures, thrilling and exciting levels...
None of that is here?
Before getting into the car!
Their hearts were full of excitement, a sense of having accepted reality, boarded a ship, and needing to pull off a big job to prove themselves!
After getting into the car, they received their first game design.
They were expectant and excited.
But after only a few seconds, that emotion was doused by a bucket of cold water.
They glared at Zhang Yang.
Yet they saw Zhang Yang in the passenger seat grinning, not feeling at all that his game design was terrible.
"Zhang, Brother Zhang... is this... is this really the first game we are developing..." Zhong Chongwen stammered, finally unable to hold back.
"Yes! Every beginning is hard, but as long as we take this step, the future won't be difficult!"
"We..."
He looked at Zhang Yang's expression, and just as he was about to stutter more, he heard the taxi driver turn his head, sounding very interested: "Hey, you guys make games?"
"Yes, we do. Recently, we've been working on an interstellar-themed game!"
"Damn, an interstellar game? Like 'Star Mission'? I'm a huge fan of 'Star Mission'!"
"Strictly speaking, it's different from 'Star Mission'. 'Star Mission' focuses on combat, but honestly, I think it's quite mediocre. The textures and graphics are very rough. While it's currently the newest interstellar competitive game in the industry, the gameplay is just average, the content suffers from severe lag that ruins the experience, the plot is messy, the buildings don't render correctly, and the narrative is very one-dimensional. The next stage of planning is nowhere to be found..." Zhang Yang, sitting in the passenger seat, spoke eloquently about his understanding of "Star Mission."
In the back seat, Zhao Hang and Zhong Chongwen were dumbfounded.
They had both played "Star Mission." Basically, thirty percent of players in the internet cafes were playing it.
"Star Mission" was a trend. The moment it appeared, they became addicted to it, unable to pull themselves away!
In this era, they felt they hadn't encountered a better game.
However...
When they heard Zhang Yang list the loopholes and fatal flaws in the game's mechanics, they suddenly realized that the game really did have so many flaws.
If they didn't know better, they would have thought Zhang Yang was a veteran player of that very game!
They had no idea that, in Zhang Yang's eyes, the "Star Mission" of this world was just a low-spec version of "Red Alert."
And it was low-spec to the extreme!
What they didn't know was...
In Zhang Yang's eyes, he had a hundred ways to fix these experience-related flaws, and he couldn't help but look down on "Star Mission."
Compared to the 2005 of his original world, the 2005 game industry in this world was truly a desert.
No "Dota," no "League of Legends," not even "Plants vs. Zombies." Standalone games were flooded with cheats, and all online games currently operated on a prepaid card model...
But...
For Zhang Yang, this was paradise!
"My god, man, are you that good? So this game you're developing..."
"It's a brand-new type of gameplay that has never appeared on the market, and what's more, playing this game can make you money!"

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"What? You can actually make money? Can you make money playing a game?"
"Yes! Others spend money on games, buying cards to play, but our game not only costs nothing, it actually pays you!"
"My god! What kind of game is this? Tell me, how much can you earn in a day?"
"As long as you put your heart into playing it, earning enough for your daily taxi fares in a single day is no problem!"
"For real?"
"I, Zhang Yang, never lie! If you don't believe me, I can even sign an agreement with you!"
"..."
When the driver heard this, his eyes lit up!
But he was still a bit skeptical.
Making money by playing a game!
This marketing strategy was unheard of.
In the back seat.
After hearing the conversation between Zhang Yang and the driver, Zhong Chongwen and Zhao Hang felt their scalps tingling.
Their emotions had been on a roller coaster ever since they met Zhang Yang!
They felt like Zhang Yang was a madman!
Zhang Yang!
He didn't have a single cent...
Even the rent for his apartment was about to expire!
Now, he was brazenly claiming that the game they were producing could make money, and he was even willing to sign agreements with players...
This!
If this isn't the behavior of a madman, what is?
And beside them...
The new member, Wu Zhuang, who hadn't spoken a word from the start, was looking at Zhang Yang with the eyes of someone looking at a god.
His gaze was filled with endless intensity!
Burning like a flame!
"For real?"
"Of course. If you don't believe me, I can sign a guarantee agreement with you right now! I've already drafted the terms!"
"What!"
"..."
The taxi pulled over to the side of the road.
Zhao Hang and Zhong Chongwen watched as Zhang Yang took a "Play-to-Earn Agreement" out of his briefcase!
They felt suffocated!
Zhang Yang!
What exactly was he trying to do?
Where would he get the money!
How could he dare to sign such an agreement?
Where would his money come from?
(End of Chapter)