Chapter 1 Watching the Video

After watching this video, Yan Qi felt a sense of loss that was hard to describe.

It was as if this video was truly made by the artificial intelligence Aeeis, using its AI perspective to impartially and objectively judge the entire incident. It seemed to be mocking the shortsighted players on the platform from the bottom of its heart.

It seemed to be saying: You humans pride yourselves on being advanced lifeforms and intelligent beings, but is this all you've got? You can't even distinguish between immediate and long-term interests, and you can't even control your base desires. You're just overgrown paramecia!

He was angry, but he couldn't seem to find a way to refute it.

Because that might actually be the truth.

In the internet age, this was a very frustrating phenomenon: everyone thought they were rational, intelligent, and capable of distinguishing right from wrong, and they would be indignant about many things. But when countless "rational" and "intelligent" people gathered online, they often made choices that were even more shortsighted than a paramecium, causing other rational people to laugh and cry.

Clearly, humans sometimes overestimated themselves.

Yan Qi didn't know how this problem should be solved, or rather, no one in the world knew. Countless philosophers, sociologists, biologists, and artists had explored this issue extensively, and there were many classic works on the subject.

But when it came to the complex topic of human nature, there would probably only ever be incremental progress, never a final conclusion.

Yan Qi even asked himself, if he wasn't the designer of *Empire of Blades*, but just an ordinary player who had stumbled into the Chao Lu Games platform, would he have been able to consistently judge these games objectively and resist the temptation of a 50% refund after they were delisted?

To his surprise, he found that his answer was, he didn't know.

Perhaps he would have made the right choice, but he wasn't sure.

This made him feel even more lost.

However, Yan Qi quickly emerged from this sense of loss, because he realized that the appearance of this video was in itself something to be thankful for, and that he had indeed gained something from this incident.

At least he understood one thing: in many cases, if everyone chose to look out only for themselves, then things might never change. And the first person to stand up and do something might seem foolish, be misunderstood, and suffer great pressure and losses, which would seem meaningless, but at least they would awaken more people.

Just like the Chao Lu Games platform, its fleeting existence allowed many designers and players to re-examine themselves.

Yan Qi had always felt that players couldn't be trusted, and that the designer's mission was to create all sorts of restrictions so that players who liked to exploit loopholes couldn't find any, and so that the game could operate normally.

But now Yan Qi realized that this might be the most efficient and problem-solving approach, but it wasn't necessarily the most correct one.

Like the famous saying: there are only two ways to solve problems in the world, the easy way and the right way.

Come to think of it, wasn't it something to be proud of and honored to witness the entire process of this gaming platform, from its emergence to its demise?

In any case, doing the right thing with this gaming platform, what did it matter if the game was delisted?

Money could always be earned again, but this kind of meaningful thing wasn't something you could do just because you wanted to.

The Chao Lu Games platform had already done the hardest part. For game developers, all they had to do was finish the game, fix the bugs, and then wait silently.

But even with such a simple task, many game companies still didn't do it well.

Seeing that their game was about to be delisted, they ran over to pressure the Chao Lu Games platform, demanding that they change the platform's rules. They only saw their own interests being harmed, completely ignoring the fact that the Chao Lu Games platform was actually sacrificing more and bearing most of the pressure.

Even Yan Qi himself had previously had many doubts about the Chao Lu Games platform, and had even wanted to abandon it and look elsewhere.

This was truly embarrassing.

"I will also contribute my meager strength to the platform and persevere to the end!"

"The worst that can happen is that it will be delisted. After it's delisted, I'll put it back on the shelves after a month, and I'll be a good man again. Besides, I can also make money on other platforms, so I don't have to worry about starving to death."

"No matter what, let our game always be in the Chao Lu Games platform's game library, which can be regarded as contributing our meager strength!"

Having figured this out, Yan Qi felt suddenly enlightened.

Even if this matter didn't have any results in the future, so what? It was enough to be able to act with a clear conscience.

With a clear mind, Yan Qi opened the comment section of this video.

While he was struggling with his thoughts, the video's comments, bullet comments, and other data were growing rapidly.

This video was well-produced, the content was refined, it discussed the hot topics in the current gaming circle, and it had been forwarded and recommended by Qiao Laoshi, so the traffic was naturally excellent.

Obviously, the netizens in the comment section were like Yan Qi, as if they had been enlightened and suddenly woken up.

"That was so well said! I used to think the Chao Lu Games platform was too stupid, how could they be so stupid? Now I know, it's not stupidity, but knowing that something can't be done and doing it anyway!"

"It's so touching, it makes me feel heartbroken. Alas, sure enough, many people just don't deserve to have such a good platform!"

"Exactly, strictly controlling the quality of games, requiring all games to be launched after all bugs have been fixed, and also giving players the special right to delist games, and this is how they use the rights in their hands? They're simply beyond redemption!"

"I refuse to accept this! Don't AOE all the players, only a small group of locusts who are running around on various platforms are causing trouble on the Chao Lu Games platform, they don't care about the life or death of the platform! Most players can still tell right from wrong, but this is a new platform, and most rational players haven't gone there yet."

"That's right, I only saw the advertisement for this platform online before, and I had no idea that there were so many stories behind it. I'm going to log in now!"

"Such a good platform, we can't let these low-quality players ruin it, I'm going to help too, to contribute my meager strength!"

"The Chao Lu Games platform's feeling of being born towards death is really touching, and it reminds me of Tengda. I originally thought that only Tengda would do such a stupid thing, and I've always been looking forward to Tengda coming out with a gaming platform. Although this platform wasn't created by Tengda, it's doing the same thing as Tengda, and I'm going to support it just for that!"

"Who exactly is this Young Master Tian? He gives people the feeling that he's just a puppet making videos. Could it be that the real author of the video is Aeeis? This feeling is exactly the same as when I was arguing with Aeeis, they leave people speechless."

"Indeed, this aggressive posture is completely different from other content creators."

"No way, is the Robot Uprising about to begin?"

Many players were speculating about who exactly this Young Master Tian was.

They all felt that he wasn't an ordinary person.

Unfortunately, nothing could be found online, and the video didn't reveal any information at all.

It was like a completely transparent existence.

In addition, a large number of players were obviously moved by this video, just like Yan Qi, and went to the Chao Lu Games platform to help.

Given the current situation of the Chao Lu Games platform, a few more rational players wouldn't have any effect at all.

After all, whether the platform's entire mechanism can continue to operate in a healthy manner depends on the decisions of most of the players on the platform. A few players aren't enough.

But what if enough players poured in to change the structure of the previous player base?

Yan Qi suddenly realized that things might not be as bad as he had imagined.

The current situation of the Chao Lu Games platform seemed hopeless. After all, when the right to delist games was handed over to the players, the platform no longer had the final say in how things would develop.

The platform couldn't go back on its word and take back this right, because that would be like slapping itself in the face, and it would also completely lose its uniqueness.

But hoping that these players would suddenly have a change of heart? That was obviously unrealistic.

But now Yan Qi suddenly discovered another possibility for solving the problem.

That was to let the entire gaming platform undergo a major reshuffle and completely change the structure of the players on the entire platform!

Currently, most of the players are only focused on immediate interests and don't care about the life or death of the platform, because the Chao Lu Games platform is originally a new platform, and the games on it aren't attractive to many old players, so it can only attract these relatively low-quality players.

This video was obviously not enough to move these players and make them give up their immediate interests.

To be precise, probably nothing could move these players.

But if this video could publicize the actions of the Chao Lu Games platform and allow more rational players to join, gradually diluting these shortsighted players and changing the entire platform's player structure, spontaneously forming a better environment?

This might require a certain process, which couldn't be completed overnight, and the cost would be huge, requiring long-term losses.

But as long as they persisted, there would always be hope.

As for whether this would ultimately succeed, it would depend on how the entire player base was viewed.

If it was believed that most of the players were shortsighted, irrational, and only focused on immediate interests, then the Chao Lu Games platform would definitely not last long.

If it was believed that most of the players were rational people who could distinguish between immediate and long-term interests, then as long as the Chao Lu Games platform could hold on for a while, it would eventually develop slowly, and it would become smoother and better in the later stages.

Yan Qi asked himself, and he would still choose to believe the latter.

Reality is different from ideals, and the real reality is also different from the expected reality.

For many people, they have to believe in something in order for life to have meaning, to have a goal to pursue, and to have the motivation to persevere.

"I should learn more from the people on the Chao Lu Games platform, not seeking eternity, but seeking a clear conscience."

"Just continue to make my game well!"

Yan Qi suddenly had a very open-minded feeling. The previous entanglement and melancholy completely disappeared as he figured this out.

He seemed to be infected by some kind of optimistic spirit, and he had figured out some things.

If a certain goal is extremely difficult to achieve, then don't think about it repeatedly, but focus on taking the first step and let nature take its course.

Anyway, a company like Tengda has already stood up, so how difficult can it be to silently follow one step behind?

…

At the same time, Yangcheng.

The southern studio of the Poor Road Project Incubation Base.

After the northern studio in Dijing got on the right track, Qiu Hong came to Modu and Yangcheng non-stop, opening eastern and southern studios in these two places respectively.

Everything is currently running smoothly.

Dijing, Modu, and Yangcheng can be said to be the most developed places in the country's game industry, with a large number of talents. Therefore, the incubation base will definitely not lack people, the only problem is how to find them.

After honing his skills in Dijing, Qiu Hong was already very skilled at quickly finding people and quickly judging whether a game should receive funding from the Poor Road Project.

Of course, this was not a difficult technical task in the first place, after all, President Pei had never cared about whether these games succeeded or failed.

Moreover, Qiu Hong didn't even need to take the initiative to look for them, and naturally a large number of independent game designers came to him.

Since the official platform's editor Xia Jiang published that interview last time, many people have been suspecting that the real funder behind the Poor Road Project is President Pei of Tengda Group.

But Qiu Hong always remembered President Pei's teachings and refused to admit it no matter what.

Previously, the official platform first interviewed the Poor Road Project Incubation Base, and then interviewed Meng Chang, who was in charge of the promotion of the "Domestic Game Collection," with only a little over a day in between, which obviously had some kind of suggestive meaning.

In addition, the layout of the Poor Road Project Incubation Base has some similarities with Tengda Group, eating Mo Yu takeaway, using managed fitness...

It's hard not to suspect in this direction.

But suspicion is suspicion, and Qiu Hong will not admit it even if he dies, and it won't do anything.

Moreover, the Poor Road Project has so many independent game designers, and not every game is very popular. There are also some games that don't perform well and are not very popular with players, and the creators are still working hard to modify them.

In the final analysis, pure feelings are definitely not enough. Players will ultimately only pay for excellent games.

In short, the Poor Road Project was popular for a while after that, and then the popularity gradually decreased and returned to stability. In addition to some players who are enthusiastic about domestic independent games who have been paying continuous attention, it is more famous in the circle of independent game designers.

Now, independent game designers are proud to receive investment from the Poor Road Project, and the three studios of the incubation base have developed and grown rapidly.

After half a year of development, three studios of the Poor Road Project have emerged a batch of new games, and the previous games that were highly praised after being released or pre-sold, such as *Working Dog Survival Handbook* and *Ink and Wash Clouds*, are still being continuously updated and maintained.

For independent game creators, the speed of production is far from being comparable to that of large companies, after all, there are not enough people.

Therefore, after a game is developed, it may still need to be constantly added and added to for a long time in one or two years in order to fully express all the ideas they want to express. This is an inevitable process.

In any case, the Poor Road Project has incubated a batch of excellent games as President Pei expected.

At this time, Qiu Hong had just finished watching Young Master Tian's video.

"There's actually this kind of gaming platform?"

"Why doesn't President Pei invest in it?"

Seeing the deeds of the Chao Lu Games platform, Qiu Hong's first reaction was that it would definitely get investment from Dream Venture Capital.

Because this is so in line with President Pei's style!

Qiu Hong even suspected that this might be the gaming platform that President Pei was running.

Later, after studying it for a long time, he found that the Chao Lu Games platform did not grab the data of Tengda accounts, nor did it put any Tengda games on the shelves. Qiu Hong reluctantly recognized the fact that this platform had no direct relationship with Tengda.

"This kind of gaming platform is really too valuable!"

"I have to help them!"

"After all, President Pei asked me to do the Poor Road Project in the first place to support the development of domestic independent games, right? So, it's also my duty to help and support good domestic gaming platforms, right?"

"After all, President Pei has been teaching us by words and deeds, passing on this concept to us!"

Qiu Hong immediately decided to pack all the games in the Poor Road Project and put them on the Chao Lu Games platform!

How can there be so few excellent games on such a conscientious gaming platform?

The Poor Road Project and the Chao Lu Games platform sound like a perfect match!

Of course, there are also some games in the Poor Road Project that are not of very good quality or have many bugs, which may not meet the requirements of the Chao Lu Games platform.

But so what? If there are bugs, fix them, if the game quality is not good, then change it.

Anyway, President Pei originally had high requirements for the games of the Poor Road Project, and all the failed games had to be redone. Compared with President Pei's requirements, what are the requirements of the Chao Lu Games platform?

Qiu Hong felt that this was because President Pei was too busy at work and probably hadn't noticed the existence of this small platform yet.

If President Pei saw it, according to the spirit of the Poor Road Project, wouldn't he directly provide strong support and invest a lot of money?

Anyway, he will help sooner or later, and there is nothing wrong with the Poor Road Project taking the first step.

Thinking of this, Qiu Hong immediately called Xi Hao.

"Pack up all the games that have been completed in the current Poor Road Project and send them all to the Chao Lu Games platform!"

"We can't just watch such a good platform collapse."

"Send all our games up there, after all, the Poor Road Project has accumulated a group of more rational players who support domestic independent games, which will definitely play a certain role in improving the ecology of the entire platform!"

"It may not have a very obvious effect, but it can be regarded as contributing a meager strength!"