Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Handong University branch……

  Pei Qian quietly scrolled through He An’s long Weibo post, including the gamers’ comments at the bottom. His eyes widened, and his tongue was tied. He was stunned.

  “I see! I understand, I understand!”


  “I felt weird when the game was first released, but it all makes sense now!”


  “Boss Pei’s game has reached this standard now, hasn’t it? A giant in the local game industry has to step up to analyze it so that the rest of us would understand?”


  “I believed the official platform’s long Weibo post earlier and thought that Struggle had greatly refined reality and turned itself into a mirror, so that each person could learn some lessons from it. However, now that I’ve read the big boss’s explanation, I finally understand. I was only at the first level, but Struggle had a second, third, and fourth!”


  “Heh, Boss Pei is known to be a man of a thousand levels.”


  “Tengda’s games are so terrifying. Repent and be Saved had already broken the fourth wall one, but Struggle had done it countless times. It’s never-ending. Fourth wall, are you alright?”


  Among the many comments, one—in particular—had the most likes.

  “What moves me the most is the spirit that Struggle embodies. There were different interpretations of the word ‘struggle’. It seemed to overturn all basic theories, and yet, it still coincided with them again on a higher level.

  “Based on the Big Boss’ analysis, Struggle had gone against all the basic theories on the surface. However, on closer inspection, one would also find that the game brought all of those basic theories to new highs, thus coinciding with those theories on a higher level.

  “It’s the same with the concept of ‘struggle’. The main content of the game was a conceptualization of struggle. It kept showing us that the rich struggle in the clouds while the poor struggle in the mud.

  “The rich would be lying to the poor by telling them that they could climb to the clouds if they struggled hard enough; the poor would be telling white lies to their children by saying that they could change their lives if they struggled hard.

  “The game ruthlessly tears the lies apart, so that those who have been bluffed would wake up.

  “On the surface, the game seems to deny that struggling could change lives. It seems to say that the rich are on the clouds and the poor are in the mud, and no amount of struggling would change the vast difference between the two.

  “However, the ‘consumerism’ segment allowed us to make comparisons to reality and discover that we can still struggle to change our lives.

  “That’s not a concrete action, but an attitude and a choice. While we are yet deep in the mud and at the point of no return, we can search for all sorts of opportunities to live a better life and create more value. That would be the struggle.

  “Thus, even though we won’t be able to get to the clouds no matter how hard we struggle, we cannot lose hope in life. That’s because we all have to make choice after choice in life. Giving up would never be the right option.”


  Underneath that long comment were many people sharing their experiences.

  “That reminds me of a saying: We’re sent up a stage that we didn’t choose to perform a script we didn’t write. The script may be torturous and painful, but as long as we work hard to play our role well, we could create excitement in the pain.

  “I was reflecting on my own life. My parents gave me outstanding living conditions and forced me to work hard as well. Seeing many other poor people wandering about and taking things slow, I always thought that they were poor because they were lazy.

  “Now, I know I was wrong. Not everyone had the same living conditions that I did. I bought both the rich and poor versions. Hopefully, this game would always remind me never to make the same mistake as the rich protagonist.

  “Indeed. The rich and poor versions alike try their best to help each group understand the other. The poor are prevented from admiring the rich, so that they would not fall for their lies; the rich are forced to drop their arrogance by looking down at the poor.

  “This game creates a gap between the rich and the poor. Perhaps both groups would never fully understand each other, but at the very least, the bridge exists and speaks. That’s still meaningful.

  “That’s why I think that the best option isn’t to buy the rich version or the poor version, but to buy both! Looking at your own life would resonate within you and force you to reflect. Looking at others’ lives would force you to recognize your blind spots. The game’s true meaning can be found only if you buy both the rich and poor versions!”


  “Is that why buying both versions together makes the game more expensive? I get it now. I’ll buy it! I’ll spend the extra thirty yuan more willingly!”


  “Gamers are willingly spending more money to purchase the game and feeling so comfortable about it as well. That’s what I call a genius pricing model!”


  “You can decide not to purchase it and watch others play the game online as well.”


  “Brother, listen to me. You could watch others play the game, but you would never be able to experience the emotions that the game could invoke in you. Why are games referred to as the ninth form of art? That’s because they’re interactive!

  “Watching others play would result in you remaining as an observer throughout. You wouldn’t be able to make your own choices. How is that interactive?”


  “Everybody can choose what they want to do. You can choose to pay attention, watch others play, only buy the rich version, or buy both versions…… I think Boss Pei wouldn’t mind it.

  “Struggle has already become a hot topic online, and it’s even gone out of the gaming circles. Even those who don’t normally play games are paying attention. As an interactive movie game, its mission is already complete.”


  “Still, I think those that have the capability to and who have real a passion for domestically-produced standalone games should buy the game and store it. After all, being able to afford a game like that is a privilege in itself!”
……

  After reading those comments, Pei Qian quietly closed his laptop.

  At first, he had thought that working hard to keep Teacher Qiao locked away would mean that Struggle could surely incur losses.

  Never would he have expected He An to pop out of nowhere!

  The official Weibo post had also given He An inspiration for some reason, causing him to gain a good position from which to stab Pei Qian squarely in the back!

  Pei Qian was completely dumbfounded after reading He An’s analysis. He An said that every creator would express their own thoughts in their works. Yet, Pei Qian wanted to say that he had not!

  He had only decided to do this because he wanted players to hate the game!

  As for going against all four basic theories of game design, it went without saying that Pei Qian had done that on purpose!

  After He An explained all the theories to him, Pei Qian had done the opposite on purpose. Yet, Teacher He had pulled a fast one on him. He had been the one to teach Pei Qian the lessons, and yet he had also been the one to say all Pei Qian’s wrong answers were correct! How ridiculous was that?!

  Pei Qian was furious. Obviously, Teacher He was to blame for all of this!

  The most infuriating thing was that He An had posted his thoughts on Weibo, thereby taking Teacher Qiao’s place!

  Pei Qian refused to accept this. He would take revenge for sure!

  Since it was almost Friday, He An would probably arrive in Jingzhou for the next lesson soon. It would be their final lesson. Pei Qian had to ask why none of the lessons that He An had taught him were reliable! All of them were wrong!……

  September 9th, Friday……

  Pei Qian angrily stomped into the cafe near Handong University.

  Ever since Struggle had gone up for sale on September 3rd, its comments had taken two sharp turns. At last, the rating of the game reached 9.5 on the official platform and 9.3 on TPDb.

  Pei Qian could not bear to look at those numbers any longer!

  It had even surpassed Repent and be Saved. Repent and be Saved’s ratings had been low at first, but as time went on, it slowly increased. Now, it was at 9.2.

  Boss Pei had been hopeful about Struggle, but it had ended up surpassing Repent and be Saved in a short one week. He found that extremely ridiculous!

  Of course, even the best games could not please everyone.

  What the majority interpreted from the game also could not resonate with everyone. Some people felt tired of struggling and wanted to rest. They thought that struggling was meaningless. Of course, they would not agree with the concept behind the game and would give it one star and a negative review.

  However, that couldn’t be helped. Nothing in the world could please everyone at the same time. Just as He An said, the key was to see what the game encouraged and discouraged.

  Not encouraging enthusiastic self-improvement would be akin to encouraging giving up on oneself. Obviously, the latter could not be encouraged under any circumstances.

  Spreading negative energy could indeed trigger negative emotions in a group of audience and bring the game into the spotlight. However, everyone would know full well that this would be wrong.

  Negative energy could not change one’s life for the better.

  Struggle’s sales were not through the roof at the moment. If this extended for a year, Pei Qian would probably be able to profit a little. Now, he was less than a month from settlement. No matter how he looked at the situation, he could not find a way to recover all the investment he had poured into the game.

  That was the silver lining.

  Clearly, Pei Qian’s strategy of investing a huge sum into the game from the beginning had proven very effective. The work was exquisite, and the game’s production allowed others to free-ride.

  Yet, Boss Pei still felt wronged! He was not supposed to earn either fame or fortune. Yet, now, while he wasn’t gaining much fortune, he was gaining much more fame!

  Struggle had successfully broken out of the circle. Not only were gamers paying attention to it, but those who didn’t normally play games were as well. There were many walkthroughs of Struggle on Aili Island, and the discussions were unstoppable.

  All Pei Qian wanted to do now was to interrogate Teacher He.

  Pei Qian furiously sipped his coffee. Soon, He An arrived.

  “Teacher He, about Struggle……”


  Pei Qian wanted to ask why none of his theories proved accurate. However, at that moment, He An burst into laughter and interrupted Pei Qian.

  “Boss Ma, I know what you want to say!”


  Pei Qian: “?”


  He An sat down across from Pei Qian. “Did you tell Boss Pei about the four basic theories that I taught you?”


  Pei Qian’s mind filled with question marks.

  Confused, Pei Qian asked, “Why do you ask that?”


  He An smiled. “Isn’t it obvious? Struggle had coincidentally gone against all four theories that I taught you. Could Boss Pei have telepathy? Of course not!

  “Boss Ma, you must have told Boss Pei about it accidentally, so that Boss Pei decided to use Struggle to show off his skills!”


  “Why do you say he’s showing off his skills?”


  “That’s because game developers would be able to tell what he’s done, but ordinary gamers would not! Boss Pei broke all four basic rules of game design and then coincided with the theories on a higher level. That’s akin to writing a textbook on those theories.

  “Boss Pei must have realized that you’re learning about this now. That’s why he used the game to create a reference point and support for you!

  “Before this, I guessed that you and Boss Pei are good friends who talk about everything. Now, I can confirm that. Boss Pei probably did not intend for the game to become your textbook when he first started out. However, some details within had been adjusted for your learning!

  “Boss Ma, I have to say that your friendship with Boss Pei is admirable.

  “Boss Ma, can you arrange for me to meet Boss Pei some time? I really want to get to know such an outstanding game developer!”


  Pei Qian was tongue-tied at He An’s words. He could not bring himself to say anything that he had wanted to earlier.

  He An had done so much analysis that he had discovered Ma Yang’s character and the relationship between Ma Yang and Pei Qian. He had just fallen short of finding out that Ma Yang was Boss Pei.

  Pei Qian was helpless!

  The more He An analyzed, the closer he thought he was to reality, and the stronger the beliefs in his mind.

  Pei Qian realized that ever since he started acting as Ma Yang, he had been finding himself caught in more and more misunderstandings that he could not clarify!

  Now, He An was certain that he was Ma Yang. If Pei Qian introduced himself as Boss Pei, wouldn’t the old man pass out at once?

  Thus, despite still feeling furious, Pei Qian swallowed his anger and said nothing. He had no other option. He had chosen to act as Ma Yang in the first place, and so his hands were tied now.

  It didn’t matter. On account of the old man’s age, he would let this matter slide.

  Pei Qian was just about to invite He An to start the lesson when he suddenly noticed that He An had not prepared any teaching material.

  At once, an ominous feeling rose up in his gut.

  “Er…… Teacher He, we’re not going to talk about Struggle today, are we?”


  He An grinned. “Not bad, Boss Ma! You’re becoming increasingly aware! You think that talking about Struggle today would be the best option as well, right?

  “The game is one for the textbooks. It would be most appropriate to use it to end our series of lessons, review everything that we learned before, and integrate all the theories together!

  “Of course, Boss Ma, I have already posted what I did on Weibo. Thus, I decided to waive today’s fees! I will return you one lesson’s worth of fees from the money that you transferred me earlier. I’ll send it to the company’s account……”


  Pei Qian was stunned.

  Pei Qian quickly rejected him. “No! You can’t return that money! I’ll be d*mned if you do!”


  He An was stunned. Why was Boss Pei so agitated?

  He An nodded satisfactorily. “Yes, alright. Boss Ma, you’re not very quick at understanding, but you’re sincere and eager to learn. Your attitude is very commendable.

  “I’ll start the lesson now!

  “First, let’s talk about Boss Pei’s original intentions when he first thought about the concept of this game……”


  Pei Qian sipped his coffee quietly, feeling terribly alone.

  How upsetting!