Chapter 24

At last, he understood why so many people recommended this game. Without hesitation, Dream of Floating Life decided to recommend it to his cousin as well.

That cousin—the one he had convinced to play Dragon Slayer—was notorious for his poor skills and stubborn enthusiasm. Yet now, in Dragon Slayer, his cousin was thriving: the faction he founded effortlessly took first place in every major competition, and they dominated the most prominent, eye-catching server. Because he was willing to spend lavishly, his equipment was top-tier, making him look like a walking beacon wherever he went.

His gear was not only visually impressive but had exceptional stats. In other games, his cousin was little more than a mobile health pack, easily killed even by players with inferior equipment. Yet in Dragon Slayer, he could stand still and ordinary players would need several minutes to take him down. With such an enjoyable gaming experience, his cousin's smile had become noticeably brighter.

Thanks to recommending the game, his cousin had recently treated Dream of Floating Life quite well, even promising to reserve a set of the new immersive gaming capsule for him once it was available.

So, without a second thought, Dream of Floating Life dialed his cousin’s number.

As the saying goes, good games should be shared with friends—and lousy ones even more so!

“What is it?” The call connected, and a deep, magnetic voice came through, tinged with sleepiness.

Oh dear, Dream of Floating Life had forgotten that once his cousin started working, his schedule went haywire.

He silently cursed his timing, but since he’d already called and woken him up, he might as well continue: “Nothing urgent, just wanted to let you know that Dream Building Studio has released a new game. This time, it's genuinely free.”

“I just tried it out—it’s pretty good. Thought I’d recommend it to you.” With a hint of mischief, Dream of Floating Life deliberately left out details about the gameplay.

This suffering couldn’t be his alone!

“How did you do?” On the other end, Cheng Huaixuan shook off the last traces of sleep, his tone playful.

“I—I had a great time. The map is unique, with flowers, grass, and fruit trees. Looks really healthy.” Dream of Floating Life stammered.

“How many levels did you clear?” Cheng Huaixuan pressed on.

At this point, even a fool could see that his cousin wasn’t falling for it.

“So you’ve seen those videos too?” Dream of Floating Life assumed Cheng Huaixuan had learned about the game through widely circulated funny clips, and chuckled awkwardly.

Strange—wasn’t his cousin absorbed in immersive development and Dragon Slayer lately? How did he have time for this?

“Yeah, Dragon Slayer hasn’t updated in a while, so I checked up on what the studio was doing.” Cheng Huaixuan replied.

Though his tone was calm, Dream of Floating Life detected a subtle note of discontent.

“That’s right, Dragon Slayer hasn’t had an update since the last faction competition,” Dream of Floating Life realized.

Mentioning this, Cheng Huaixuan became more talkative: “If they won’t update, the least they could do is refresh the gift packs. I’ve bought everything in the shop and there’s still no new gear.”

“Especially, they haven’t merged servers in ages. I’ve disliked that neighboring faction for a long time—if the developers won’t merge, maybe I’ll just transfer my faction over there.”

Thinking of the plans Jiang Qiubai had shared with him, Cheng Huaixuan grew irritated. He’d waited so long, and not only were there no updates, but the studio had gone off to make other games.

If the new game was fun, he could accept it—but the reality was…

Cheng Huaixuan closed his eyes, unwilling to recall the day’s disaster.

“Tell me, what’s the point of making a free game? How could it ever earn as much as Dragon Slayer? If he just offered more recharge tiers or new gift packs, the money would roll in.” Cheng Huaixuan had paid close attention to Dream Building Studio’s monthly revenue. That adventure mini-game brought in less than a tenth of Dragon Slayer’s profits.

He simply couldn’t understand how someone could sit on a goldmine and not use it.

Dream of Floating Life: …

Clearly, his cousin was truly devoted to Dragon Slayer.

No wonder—the game was incredibly friendly to pay-to-win players. No matter how unskilled you were, as long as you spent enough, you’d be the best on the server.

Come to think of it, “pay-to-win” was a term Jiang Qiubai had coined during a livestream; it quickly caught on among the players for its vivid accuracy.

“Why don’t we leave a comment under President Jiang’s Weibo?” Dream of Floating Life suggested, “President Jiang is quite receptive to player feedback.”

For example, the latest update for “The Father-Trapping Adventure” was prompted by player requests.

“It’s useless. I spam Weibo with alt accounts every day.” The topic made Cheng Huaixuan even more annoyed. After all the spamming, the update turned out to be for that mini-game.

Why?!

“If there’s still no update, I’ll push him with my main account.” Cheng Huaixuan threatened.

“No! Bro, please! Calm down!” Dream of Floating Life hurried to dissuade him.

If Cheng Huaixuan really did that, Weibo would explode.

For the sake of the programmers’ hair and their vacations, Dream of Floating Life pleaded and managed to temporarily pacify Cheng Huaixuan.

After hanging up, Dream of Floating Life wiped his brow and looked up at the sky in despair.

Why was it that his attempt to prank his cousin ended up hurting himself? Now he’d have to figure out how to contact the studio.

If only there were in-game customer service—he could at least submit feedback.

Dream of Floating Life wished for this, though he doubted it was possible.

After all, they’d already found out that Dream Building Studio only had a handful of staff; there was no way they could spare anyone for customer service.

Maybe he could rally his faction members to collectively petition on Weibo? He was just about to suggest it when a notification popped up.

He stared, stunned.

A corporate account named “Dragon Slayer Exclusive Customer Service” had sent him a friend request, with a note:

Dear Dream of Floating Life, I am your exclusive customer service representative.

Exclusive customer service? Was it because he’d listed this number when registering?

Dream of Floating Life was both surprised and delighted, quickly accepting the request.

It seemed the other side was prepared; as soon as he accepted, a message arrived:

Hello~ I’m your exclusive customer service agent, Huahua. If you have any feedback or suggestions about the game, feel free to tell Huahua, and I’ll relay them to the boss~

“Ah, hello, hello.” Dream of Floating Life had never experienced customer service proactively reaching out. He wiped his hands nervously and couldn’t resist asking: “Did Huahua add all the players in the game?”

“This is a benefit for players who’ve reached the highest recharge tier~” came the quick reply. “From now on, Huahua will keep you updated on major events and new content in the game, and there will be periodic drops of various in-game perks~”

“This is our first meeting, so Huahua has prepared a Dragon Slayer commemorative gift box for you. Please send your address to Huahua~ The gift box will ship at the end of the month, and you’ll receive a tracking number~”

The customer service agent sent a long message.

Dream of Floating Life was nearly moved to tears.

What a wonderful company—not only did they have dedicated customer service to solicit player feedback, but they also sent gifts. How thoughtful!

No, he couldn’t let such a good company suffer losses!

Dream of Floating Life hurriedly logged in and bought several of the most expensive recharge packs, even though he didn’t need them right away.

Almost every player who’d reached the highest recharge tier did the same.

The reason was simple—being treated with such care, even special attention, by the game was simply…

Amazing!

“All accounts added?” In the studio, Jiang Qiubai looked at the three newly hired customer service agents and asked.

“All friend requests have been sent, but a few players haven’t accepted yet,” one replied.

Jiang Qiubai nodded. “If they haven’t responded after an hour, try contacting them by phone. If that fails, compile a list and I’ll handle it.”

He continued, “Your job is to send players game updates—daily tasks, new content, and so on. If players have suggestions, summarize them and report to me the same day. Remember, no matter the player’s attitude, always be polite when communicating.”

“Of course, except for harassment. If players use inappropriate language, come to me immediately and I’ll handle it.”

After seeing the three agents nod in unison, Jiang Qiubai turned to leave.

He’d hired them at double the industry standard, with only one requirement at the interview: a good temper.

After all, they’d be dealing with the highest-spending players, and if things went sour, it would be costly.

Exclusive customer service and special gifts during holidays—these were basic strategies to retain high-spending players.

For now, the operation was small, but when it grew into a full-fledged company, Jiang Qiubai planned to lower the threshold and hire more agents to win over more players.

Still, he’d need to distinguish between customer service tiers to ensure the top spenders had the best experience.

While Jiang Qiubai pondered how to differentiate customer service, Dream of Floating Life discussed game updates with his exclusive agent.

“Thank you for your suggestion. Huahua will report it to the boss shortly~” The agent replied instantly.

Dream of Floating Life nodded in satisfaction and was about to ask his cousin if he’d received the same request, when he spotted Dragon Slayer trending on Weibo’s recommendations.

#Game Designer Criticizes Dragon Slayer#

Surprisingly, the hashtag was quite hot, lingering at the tail end of the trending list.

Dream of Floating Life frowned and clicked in.

A stranger had posted a long essay, relentlessly attacking Dragon Slayer’s recharge packs.

The language was so fierce it was hard to look at.

Dream of Floating Life scrolled down and paused at these lines:

“Dragon Slayer is a garbage game. Any game that requires payment has no value. I can’t imagine any sane person playing something like this.”

“If you’re bad at the game, practice. If you lack brains, get treatment. If you beat others by paying, aren’t you ashamed?”

What nonsense.

Dream of Floating Life sneered and was about to type a reply, but suddenly stopped.

If he could see this trending topic, then his cousin…

No! Dream of Floating Life quickly grabbed his phone, intending to call Cheng Huaixuan and urge him not to act impulsively.

Before the call connected, a fresh Weibo post flashed on his feed.

Cheng Huaixuan V: [Repost] Criticize Dragon Slayer? Who do you think you are?

Too late.

Dream of Floating Life closed his eyes in pain.

As expected, that comment set Weibo ablaze.