Chapter 60: What Kind of Ridiculous Weapon Sells for 888?!
Huang Sibo couldn't help but chuckle with amusement and delight.
So that's what happened!
He'd almost forgotten, back when Lin Wan was still at Tianhuo Studio, she had been part of the Bullet Hole project team, which was also an FPS game!
At the time, Lin Wan was just an intern with little experience, so Zhou Muyan had assigned her to liaise with a group of core FPS players who had been selected as testers.
These testers didn't need to show up at the Tianhuo Studio offices—they could simply receive the Bullet Hole testing package online and play it extensively from home.
Afterward, they'd write detailed feedback about their gameplay experience and send it to Lin Wan. She would then organize and compile those comments and submit the final report to the project team.
The development team would use that feedback to make improvements to Bullet Hole.
Of course, Tianhuo Studio had plenty of funding, so they paid the testers, a sharp contrast to Tengda, where Huang Sibo was basically trying to freeload as much as possible.
Since Lin Wan had been responsible for receiving the testers' feedback and chatting with them regularly, she naturally got to know them over time.
In other words, Tengda was now benefiting from a tree Tianhuo Studio had planted—reaping without sowing.
To this, Huang Sibo had only one response:
Fantastic!
"Then I'll leave it to you. Try to gather as many FPS players as you can to test the game. Every tester will receive a commemorative version of the Desert Eagle in-game as a reward!"
"Also, for those who recruit a lot of players, we'll consider increasing their rewards. If someone can bring in 100 new players, we'll reward them with a permanent epic weapon!"
"Or, you can handpick some of the top testers yourself and reward them with a permanent epic weapon too."
Huang Sibo kept it fairly conservative.
He couldn't offer monetary rewards, but as the Lead Executive Designer, he had backend admin privileges. Distributing some weapons or currency to specific player accounts was easy for him.
Even though a permanent epic weapon would normally sell for 888 yuan, from the game company's perspective, it was just data.
If a player could really bring in 100 others for testing or uncover a game-breaking bug, then tossing them a permanent epic weapon was totally justified.
"No problem, leave it to me!" Lin Wan agreed readily.
This was her first task at Tengda. It wasn't a hard one, which made her even more determined to do it well!
She immediately reached out to a few of the FPS group owners she knew.
First up was a group owner with the online handle "Broken Spear in the Sand."
Real name: Chen Sha. He was a veteran FPS player, well-known in the Counter-Terrorism Plan community, and the owner of a large player group—some might even call it a personal fan group.
His group had over 2,000 members, and several hundred of them were very active.
Tianhuo Studio had taken Chen Sha's feedback seriously; quite a few adjustments to Bullet Hole had been made based on his suggestions.
Lin Wan only knew his name and got the sense that he was quite well-off, but beyond that, she didn't know much—like what he did for work.
"Old Chen, stop lurking, I need your help testing a game!" Lin Wan messaged him casually.
The two were on friendly terms, so there was no need for small talk.
Chen Sha replied quickly.
"Didn't Bullet Hole finish testing already and get ready for launch? They want more post-launch testing?"
Lin Wan explained, "It's not Bullet Hole—it's a different game. Oh, and I forgot to tell you—I left Tianhuo Studio."
Chen Sha: "…The game's just about to launch and you quit? That's wild. I heard the dev team gets big bonuses after release. You just gave up free money?"
"What bonus? Who cares about bonuses? Let me tell you, my new company is way better than Tianhuo Studio! Anyway, enough talk—just help me test this game already." Lin Wan urged.
Chen Sha replied, "Alright. Still the same price as with Tianhuo Studio? 500 yuan per test?"
"Oh, well… not exactly," Lin Wan admitted honestly. "After testing, you'll get a limited edition Desert Eagle in the game as a reward."
The other side went quiet for a while.
Chen Sha was baffled.
What the heck?
That's a serious downgrade.
You're basically just trying to get free labor out of me, aren't you?!
At Tianhuo Studio, every test Chen Sha did was rewarded with 500 yuan, regardless of how many issues he reported. As a veteran gamer, he could pick up on subtle gameplay nuances that casual players couldn't—his feedback was irreplaceable.
Bullet Hole was aimed at hardcore players, and Chen Sha was one of the best. Giving him a bit extra for his insight was totally justified.
Sure, 500 yuan was a bit steep. If this new company couldn't afford that, it was understandable.
But even 400, or 300, would've been something!
Instead, they were offering… just a virtual Desert Eagle?
Seriously?
Who the hell wants your glorified JPEG of a pistol?
It's just in-game data!
Chen Sha was a bit annoyed, but since he and Lin Wan knew each other, he didn't rage-block her or anything.
"You're telling me this new company is stingy as hell? No pay for testing? Just trying to scam me into free work?" Chen Sha was clearly unimpressed.
"Stingy? No, no, no—I swear on my honor, this company is not stingy! In fact, it's the most insanely generous company I've ever seen!"
"…Okay, I know that doesn't sound very convincing, but I swear I'm not lying!"
"How about this—if you do a proper test, I'll apply for one more reward. In addition to the limited Desert Eagle, I'll get you a permanent epic weapon as a bonus!" Lin Wan tried her best to sweeten the deal.
Still, Chen Sha remained completely uninterested. "What kind of nonsense is this? Who even wants your in-game weapons? And besides, how much could a permanent epic even be worth? 100, 200 yuan, max? It's way below my expected rate. I'm telling you—anything under 300, don't even bother."
"…From what I've heard, permanent epic weapons in this game go for around 888 yuan," Lin Wan replied thoughtfully.
Chen Sha: "?"
"???"
"You said how much?"
"888? Points? Or actual RMB?"
Lin Wan: "Of course it's real RMB."
Chen Sha squinted at his screen.
Nope—no decimal point. That really was 888.
They've gone completely insane!
A single epic weapon going for 888 RMB?!
Why not just rob people at gunpoint instead?
With prices like that, who in their right mind would actually buy this stuff?!
The more he thought about it, the more he felt like this whole game—and the company behind it—was just one big red flag.
Chen Sha was speechless for a long time.
Two minutes later, he finally responded: "Send me the game. I'll take a look. But fair warning—if the game sucks, don't expect me to sugarcoat it. I really can't help you then."
The truth was, Chen Sha wasn't really convinced by Lin Wan's pitch.
He was just curious.
What the hell does an 888-RMB gun even look like?!
"The game's called Ocean Fortress. It's already live on the official store." Lin Wan sounded confident. "Don't worry—even though I haven't played it yet, I truly believe it'll be a huge success. The person behind it is one of the most idealistic and talented designers in the country!"
Chen Sha: "…"
He wasn't so sure about that "idealistic genius" part.
But what bugged him more… was the name Ocean Fortress.
Why did it give him this uncanny hunch that the game was going to be a massive disappointment?
<+>
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