Chapter 382 - 242: Cyber Merit Is Merit Too!

Why does Chen Ba dare to implement the "Merit White List" system? Isn’t he afraid that players will switch to other games and won’t come back?

He’s really not afraid!

Because he seriously analyzed and consulted with players through surveys, he arrived at an astonishing conclusion.

"What do you think merit is?"

This question in the context of the game would likely get answers like "a game resource" or "game currency" and so on.

But the players of "Cultivation Fantasy" think differently; they believe that "in-game merit" is actually a reflection of good deeds.

"How should I put it..."

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Ba said, "Do you believe in the saying ’doing good deeds will be rewarded’?"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Lu and Luo Ji gave completely opposite answers.

Chen Ba didn’t mind their answers and continued by asking in a different way: "Then let me ask you, do you wish for good deeds to be rewarded?"

"Of course, we hope so!"

This time, both nodded.

The truthfulness of the saying ’doing good deeds will be rewarded’ is doubtful because there are too many examples that prove doing good doesn’t necessarily lead to good results.

But people sincerely wish for good deeds to be rewarded because this represents the most beautiful and simple wish in everyone’s hearts!

"Then there’s no problem."

Chen Ba snapped his fingers and said, "It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not; what matters is whether you hope such a thing happens!"

Clearly, regardless of the belief in "good deeds will be rewarded," most people won’t reject merit that can be easily accumulated.

This introduces a new concept.

"Cultivation Fantasy" is just a game, and the merit here is nominally similar, not "true" merit.

But players hope it is true merit!

And in practice, because these merits are hard to accumulate and because the gameplay to accumulate merit also allows players to fantasize.

"What kind of fantasy?"

"Say, if I defeat a cheater and get a 100-point merit reward, wouldn’t that be a good deed?"

"Of course, it counts!"

Luo Ji said without hesitation: "Good deeds don’t distinguish between big or small; small good deeds are also good deeds. Do not avoid doing small good deeds."

"Then here’s the problem!"

"Since that’s considered a good deed, what if there were merit and Heavenly Dao in reality as well..."

At this point, Chen Ba raised his eyebrows and said exaggeratedly, "Now you understand why ’Cultivation Fantasy’ players, especially those merit players, are so obsessed with merit, right?"

If you believe, it exists; if you don’t, it doesn’t!

Instead of hitting a cyber woodfish and losing ten years of merit due to a funny meme, why not play ’Cultivation Fantasy’ with me instead?

This is much more engaging than electronic woodfish!

"Again, whether you believe this theory or not isn’t important; what’s important is that you can easily accumulate merit, even if it’s just in-game merit, so why not do it?"

Chen Ba, feeling a bit awkward, said, "Do you think without ’Cultivation Fantasy’, they wouldn’t play other games?"

No, they would play them just the same!

If you’re going to play, why not run a ’Cultivation Fantasy’ Heavenly Dao Program in the background and earn cyber merit by hitting a cyber woodfish while playing other games?

Lu & Luo Ji: "..."

They didn’t understand, but they were greatly shocked!

Is this really the mental state of modern youth? Is this concept of cyber merit too ahead of its time?

Indeed, I’m getting old!

Luo Ji, incredulously, said, "If that’s the case, then I can understand why these players get so excited when they hear about double merit rewards from ’Hero, Please Stop’."

They are not playing a game; they are hitting the cyber woodfish to accumulate cyber merit, aren’t they?

Double merit?

That’s great!

For other games, double rewards might only be amusing for a short while, but double merit in ’Cultivation Fantasy’ is as attractive to these merit-crazed players as an excavator on the roadside.

Who can resist that?

Old Luo couldn’t figure out in his wildest dreams how a perfectly good xianxia-themed MMORPG turned into this?

The key is, he can’t pinpoint what’s wrong. After all, there’s no rule saying you can’t play a game like this. Who says cyber merit isn’t merit?

"I understand now."

Compared to Old Luo, who’s a washed-up old fool, Lu, being young, was much quicker to catch on.

After thinking for a moment, he understood why Ba wasn’t afraid of these players leaving and never coming back.

What a joke!

Do you think these players will never return after being attracted to other games?

What are you thinking? Can other games let you accumulate cyber merit like ’Cultivation Fantasy’?

As long as this feature exists, players won’t abandon ’Cultivation Fantasy’, and they’ll even follow Ba’s lead.

Where there is merit, there are these merit players. Ba gives them cyber merit, and they go to other games to make money for Ba. It’s truly mutual benefit, and neither side has any complaints.

Take ’Hero, Please Stop’ as an example.

With Chen Ba leading a massive influx of merit cultivators, there are at least a hundred to two hundred thousand active players.

This group of people is very pragmatic!

As soon as the source of merit is cut off and they can’t gain merit from the game, these merit players will leave the way they came, with only a few staying behind.

"Once you’ve used the white list, you can’t do without it."

Chen Ba chuckled and said, "Once you’re on the Merit White List, even the most obscure game will become instantly popular. But the downside is obvious, without ongoing merit, you can’t retain those players."

"Good, good, good!"

Lu clapped his hands delightedly, saying, "Really squeeze the competitors, charge them protection fees, and if they don’t pay, just watch as players leave!"

Bam!

Chen Ba flicked Lu on the head, scolding irritably, "How many times do I have to tell you, this isn’t protection fees, it’s the white list."

"Right, right, the white list!"

Lu quickly corrected himself, stating it was just a slip of the tongue. How could such a positive company like theirs charge protection fees?

Call it whatever you want, but in the end, you have to pay.

Qudou Interactive Entertainment was the first competitor to reap the benefits, but it definitely won’t be the last.

With the persuasive sales push from Chen Ba and Lu, over ten games quickly joined the Merit White List of "Cultivation Fantasy," giving players more choices to explore.

Of course!

As the number of white-listed games increased, the effectiveness of funneling players naturally decreased. After all, with so many games, players can’t play them all, causing a division of traffic.

So at this point, Chen Ba stopped expanding the white list, keeping the status quo unchanged.

The white list is limited to these games!

Unless a game is removed from the white list, new games won’t be added to ensure the best funneling effect. It’s to avoid the white list becoming too common, where joining or not makes no difference.

Meanwhile, as time passed and the open testing period extended, the concurrent player count of "Cultivation Fantasy" reached its cap, a whopping 700,000 people.

This is the real cap...

After all, the game only has eight zones and is not planning to open new ones, so this is the maximum possible player count, with no room for growth.

Speaking of which...

The potential of "Cultivation Fantasy" is even stronger than the renowned "Don’t Leave After School." After all, you can run "Cultivation Fantasy" in the background without having to constantly monitor the screen.

Then why can’t it match the online player numbers?

Aside from server factors, the main reason is still "Cultivation Fantasy" can only be played on personal computers, not on work computers, making it hard for office workers to play comfortably.

Chen Ba also understood this issue.

After all, with employees’ computers running a Heavenly Dao Program that constantly monitors, no boss in their right mind would ignore the risk of leaks.

Even though that concern is unnecessary since the Heavenly Dao Program isn’t spyware and doesn’t monitor everything, Chen Ba gets why companies are worried.

It’s not a big problem!

If it can’t be played at work, then just play it at home, or if all else fails, play in an internet café where "Cultivation Fantasy" can be played too.

Talking about this, Chen Ba had to admit that "Don’t Leave After School" is really impressive...

As everyone knows, internet cafés are struggling!

With the rapid development of smartphones and the widespread use of personal computers, internet cafés, once a booming business, now decline year by year.

The number of powered-on computers keeps dropping.

Business was fine in peak times, but during mornings, noon, and early hours, nearly nine out of ten computers in internet cafés are black screens.

To save the power-on rate and make some extra income, café owners have come up with various inventive strategies, including a policy on "Don’t Leave After School."

Whenever you go to an internet café, the staff will recommend this game, stating that by using the accounts they provide, internet fees are halved, and overnight stays might even be free!

That’s right, you heard it correctly.

Spending an overnight session playing "Don’t Leave After School" at an internet café is free of charge.

But the condition is, you must use the Tianba Account provided by the café and not log into your own account; otherwise, you won’t enjoy this benefit.

"Then why don’t internet café owners just turn on all their computers and log into ’Don’t Leave After School’ during the off-peak season?"

"Firstly, there’s no benefit in AFK-ing this game; you have to actively play!"

Chen Ba patiently explained, "Secondly, there’s AI that checks if a real person is operating the computer, eliminating the presence of bots and scripts."

The only feasible solution is hiring someone to watch each computer, maintaining activity.

But hiring people requires wages, right?

Labor wages plus electricity and internet fees, just to earn a small margin? Forget it, it’s a surefire loss!

Only in a unique place like an internet café can the staff recommend "Don’t Leave After School" to customers, offering them accounts and partially or even entirely waiving the internet fees.

Others are more cunning; as long as you use the provided account to play "Don’t Leave After School" online, the staff will reward you with a pack of cigarettes, a drink, or snacks after a while.

Anyway, it’s all about milking resources!

But Chen Ba won’t intervene even after finding out about this way of extracting resources.

Mainly because there’s no way to control it.

Although these accounts belong to one person, there are real people operating them in front of the computers, watching ads and playing the game, not scripts, so there’s no reason to ban the accounts.

Moreover, these internet café owners, by actively promoting such side activities, are in a way advertising "Don’t Leave After School," attracting a batch of players into the game...

With this premise in mind, Chen Ba just ignored them, turning a blind eye, and moved on from the issue.

However, these actions by the café owners have drawn considerable outrage among "Don’t Leave After School" players, who consider them quite unscrupulous.

Tricking customers into playing "Don’t Leave After School" all night and rewarding them with just a drink? Generously waiving just the overnight fee?

Whoa, that’s ruthless!

Staying overnight at an internet café playing "Don’t Leave After School" just to enjoy free internet? Buddy, you’ve been fooled!

Players of "Don’t Leave After School" are kind-hearted, unable to watch naïve newcomers be manipulated into working for free by café owners, so they spread awareness about the benefits of playing "Don’t Leave After School" everywhere.

The most important advice is:

"Don’t Go Home: Marbles Storm" — don’t log into someone else’s account, create your own!

The cost is low and it’s a one-time setup!

Don’t believe the internet café owner’s spiel, use the account they offer. Open a new account, and in the future, not only will you not spend money on overnight sessions, but you might even earn some...