Chapter Nine: Gu Meng Had Many Matters to Consider

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Understood, completely understood. So it turns out you are this kind of game! Thank you, you really are this kind of game! Sorry, I almost missed it. Please forgive my doubt. When I reluctantly agreed, thinking I understood everything, I was inexplicably moved. I also realized why, even during promotion, Maodou’s side never sent out a strategy guide or a confidentiality agreement, hinting that that teacher Tong’s diary was the key, which left even their main content creators unable to grasp the true core gameplay of this game. I fully understand their difficult predicament. After all, the opposing forces are so vast and their methods so brazen, one can imagine how powerful the connections behind them are. Facing such ruthless opponents, Maodou naturally cannot leave any leverage behind. They must be hoping that among the main content creators, the true Maodou fans will discover this “bug” themselves and introduce this mechanism as a “bug” to other players. Goosebumps rose. I already knew what I had to do. There was no need to message Maodou again to confirm if this was a hidden mechanic—that would be too naive. “I’ll take this order.” The moment I pressed Enter to reply, I had already made up my mind! I must do this episode well, even if it might be throttled, or even if this account might be banned by the dark forces. But I have an unshirkable duty! At worst, I can go back to washing cars! Let’s do it! In life, there must be a moment where one charges forward without hesitation. Some choose to become “warriors charging for love.” I choose to fight for the game and justice, even if I lose everything. At this darkest hour, Maodou’s little boss Gu Zong should have been hiding quietly, obediently making a single heroine game. Yet now, under such circumstances, he still chooses to burn his indomitable will and unyielding harem spirit, painstakingly working toward approval and edging the content carefully. Even the Dragon King is at the final battle; if so, how can I retreat at the last moment? So, pretending to know nothing, I completed the cooperation process, feeling as if I had accomplished something great.

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I wonder how many other main content creators, like me, have discovered Gu Zong’s painstaking effort this time. Even if in the end I’m the only one posting recommendation videos, and even if this video might be throttled or blocked by dark forces accusing me of “teaching players to flirt and corrupt children,” it doesn’t matter. The Maodou liaison staff said the game has already passed approval and will be released in a few days. As long as there are true Maodou fans who download it at the first moment, this “bug,” this hidden mechanism, will eventually see the light of day. When that time comes, I believe concepts like “harem,” “all collected,” and “big bust” will once again appear in players’ mental worlds. Even if the game is ultimately reported and removed, and Maodou goes bankrupt, those long-time fans who downloaded it first will have experienced this boldly innovative masterpiece that epitomizes the “male-oriented dating sim” genre. Perhaps years later, Maodou’s fans will recall: “Back then, there was a foolish game company specializing in pushing boundaries, which was targeted by peers and couldn’t push the limits anymore, but in the end, they went all out and played a trick on them.” Hahaha. But such an ending would be too sad. There’s no need for such pessimism now; those people only seem powerful in dark corners. I just want to put my heart into making great game videos. Dark forces, huh? Bring it on! Humanity’s anthem is the anthem of courage! I want to tell you all that the gaming world is not a place like your entertainment industry, where black hands manipulating fan circles and buying followers can rule the sky with a single hand! Charge! … While I was declaring war against the nonexistent “behind-the-scenes dark forces,” indeed another content creator also realized the “truth.” “Sorry, I’m chicken... I can’t take this order.” PureFan, a well-known game content creator, an expert in uncovering Easter eggs, and a recognized master of trolling. He intentionally seeks out various game bugs. He discovered the consequence of switching the “teacher Tong’s diary” when the hidden ending’s mentality resets even earlier than I did, despite also being a Maodou fan. PureFan initially thought this was obviously a bug, but the more he examined the game’s details, the more he was convinced it wasn’t that simple. First, the game’s completion level was too high. As Maodou’s first game to completely abandon live-action filming in favor of motion capture and facial capture, it also contained so much exquisite and substantial content. Normally, there should be many bugs, but PureFan only found that one bug throughout the entire process. Second, some things in the game cannot be experienced through normal play without triggering the bug. The latter is the key point—it shows that the bug was deliberately left in; otherwise, why make all those things? Doesn’t making all that stuff cost money? Uh, actually it didn’t. Because when Gu Meng time-traveled and inherited Maodou’s game company, the system judged that the new player task was instantly completed upon release, granting an extra free game optimization opportunity. This opportunity might sound unimpressive, but it was extremely valuable—letting the system handle everything and abandon manual work saved a lot of money and was completely worthwhile. Gu Meng thought it was free, so he went all out to pile on the content, instructing the system to make it perfect. The game’s details were already maxed out, with many unnecessary workloads. If the demo base wasn’t like that, the game’s ceiling could be even higher. In short, there was a lot of content that normal gameplay in just two and a half years wouldn’t even reach. For example, how to operate various industries in the late game; what players could do with massive funds that ordinary people couldn’t imagine; and a wealth of follow-up interactions after forming intimate relationships with NPCs other than the heroine. Since it was free, the system generated everything, and the text was massive—Gu Meng’s system was black technology, much better than AI which might easily write dissertations but often lacks logical coherence in novels. Also, the bug was generated by the system rushing production, originating from contradictions in the design plan itself. On one hand, early planning stated this was a spiritual sequel to “Master Flirt Simulator,” with the previous protagonist “Teacher Tong” as an important figure. On the other hand, the entire script was a pure love collection and simping storyline demo, where the male lead couldn’t flirt at all, and “Teacher Tong” was just a minor NPC. Amid these conflicts, the system resolved most, but some irreconcilable parts still generated bugs. After Gu Meng was warned about the contradictions, he let the system solve it itself, as long as no malicious bugs appeared. Since it was free, he pushed the system to the limit. Thus, “Teacher Tong” was given a setting like the old beggar in “Kung Fu” — although a minor NPC, he was an important figure who gives the protagonist a secret manual. His manual represented the inheritance of the “Master Flirt Simulator” spirit, which clashed with this game’s “pure love spirit.” This ideological conflict naturally led to a series of non-malicious bugs that didn’t affect gameplay but resulted in this somewhat twisted presentation. Speaking of which, managing to embody that abstract “spirit” as a game item was quite an achievement for Boss Tongzi. The system approach was like this: the system just needed to quickly generate the game, adding content madly following Gu Meng’s instructions. But Boss Gu Meng had many other concerns to consider. …

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