Chapter 6

"Important information... How about we just keep the ID card as mandatory, and let players choose either a phone number or email as optional?" Xiao Wang followed the line of thought.

"Just the ID card, but leave the input fields for phone number and email. Players can decide for themselves whether to bind their phone or email." Jiang Qiubai took the idea of "simplifying to the utmost" to its extreme.

"Then maybe the ID card can also be filled in later?" Xiao Wang suggested, thinking it would be even more convenient.

Jiang Qiubai shook his head. "The ID card must be filled in, and it must be done before the first top-up screen pops up."

Seeing Xiao Wang's puzzled look, he continued, "If the ID card shows the player is a minor, immediately increase all the small monsters' damage from the backend, so the monsters instantly kill him."

"Don't even let him survive until the top-up screen appears."

Jiang Qiubai spoke the cruelest words in the gentlest tone.

This move was clearly meant to drive away underage players, but Jiang Qiubai didn't care.

Because most games in this world were still quite ethical, there hadn't yet been a system to prevent minors from becoming addicted, so he could only use this method to deter them.

Jiang Qiubai was well aware of the purpose behind designing this game—to make money, to make money, and to make a hell of a lot of money. The entire game design revolved around getting players to spend.

This wasn't suitable for underage students; they would have to step aside for now.

Xiao Wang couldn't understand why Jiang Qiubai would push players away so forcefully. Even if they weren't the main target, having more people play was always a good thing, right?

He opened his mouth to say more, but was silenced by a single look from Jiang Qiubai.

Xiao Wang: So frustrated, but I can only keep quiet.

"What about me, boss?" Seeing that the other colleagues had been assigned tasks, Old Liu couldn't hold back and stepped forward to ask.

Jiang Qiubai appreciated this initiative. "You'll be in charge of coordinating between departments, and also help me contact the advertising channels."

Even the finest wine fears a deep alley, as the saying goes. Considering that their target audience likely didn't have much time to seek out new games, advertising was necessary.

"Do you mean buying pop-up ads on major apps?" Old Liu hesitated. This was the common method for promoting new games in the industry.

He instinctively wanted to remind Jiang Qiubai that not only would this require a large budget, but the inability to instantly redirect users would also mean a low conversion rate.

But after thinking it over, Old Liu swallowed his reminder. Perhaps the boss already knew.

"No need." Jiang Qiubai shook his head. "Besides being expensive, most people who see those ads on their phones won't bother to turn on their computers to download, and we can't accurately target our core audience that way."

Just as he thought, Old Liu swallowed hard.

He didn't know why the boss seemed like a completely different person today, but it was clear they could no longer view him with the same old eyes.

"Then... where else can we advertise?" Old Liu was stumped.

Rent out billboards around the city?

That would cost a fortune.

If he wanted to save money and followed the boss's unpredictable style...

Would he actually ask them to hand out flyers at the doors of other companies?

Old Liu was startled by his own imagination, a trace of horror in his eyes.

Jiang Qiubai gave him a curious look. "Our target is office workers. Think about it—how do you usually get to work?"

The city they were in, S City, was the provincial capital, prosperous and bustling. Naturally, the preferred mode of commuting was—

"The subway! We can advertise directly in the subway!" Old Liu suddenly had an epiphany.

"That's right." Jiang Qiubai nodded in satisfaction. "Advertising in the subway isn't expensive. Old Liu, go inquire about it, focus mainly on corridor and TV ads." He quoted a budget. "We only need to run ads from Monday to Friday, mainly during the morning rush hour."

At that time, the subway was filled with office workers—precisely their target audience. Even in first-tier cities, this was cheaper than app pop-ups.

As for the duration, in his plan, five days was enough to establish a stable player ecosystem.

Of course, the real reason was that he only had enough money to cover five days of ads.

"Then, boss, what about cities without subways? Should we advertise on buses?" Old Liu followed up.

"No, most bus riders aren't our target audience." Jiang Qiubai said tactfully, "For cities without subways, contact the radio stations and place ads during the morning rush hour."

Yes, still the morning rush hour.

He only needed that time slot.

Only then could their premium—er, clients—see the ad and immediately open the game to slack off on their way to work.

After all, who would play this after work? Game consoles, mobile games, VR—they're all more appealing.

Old Liu: I don't quite understand, but it feels like the boss is playing a very deep game.

With the tasks assigned, Jiang Qiubai clapped his hands. "Everyone has worked hard today. I’ll discuss the details with each of you tomorrow. For now, go home and get some rest."

After all, except for today, there might not be another day this month when they could leave work on time.

Understanding the hidden meaning, the employees left the studio with bitter faces, lost about the future but harboring a trace of secret anticipation.

Watching the last employee leave, Jiang Qiubai turned back to his office.

The broad outlines had been assigned, but the core design ideas had to come from him. No one here had dealt with pay-to-win games before; he had to personally oversee the event planning.

On top of that, he would have to find time to mortgage the last apartment he owned to maintain the game's development.

None of this could be entrusted to others.

Feeling as if a mountain was weighing silently on his shoulders, Jiang Qiubai sighed, sat down at the computer, and began typing away.

He worked straight into the night.

It wasn't until his phone warned of low battery that he rubbed his eyes, looked at his watch, and realized how late it was.

Who would have thought that the first day after transmigrating would end with working overtime?

What a boss he’d become.

Jiang Qiubai laughed at himself and shut down the computer.

Well, so be it. You can’t eat a fat pig in one bite.

Over the next half month, with Jiang Qiubai closely following up and guiding them, the game was finally completed before the budget ran out.

Even though the other employees didn’t understand the reasoning behind his requirements.

After the final test was passed, Jiang Qiubai patted Xiao Yang on the shoulder in satisfaction. "Everyone’s worked hard recently. Go home and rest up today, and come in early tomorrow."

Tomorrow was the official open beta; they needed to be on site in case anything unexpected happened.

With that, Jiang Qiubai was the first to leave the studio and go home to catch up on sleep.

Everyone had been busy since development began, Jiang Qiubai most of all.

The endless late nights and early mornings brought back memories of when he’d first started his own business in his previous world.

The rest of the team lingered, cleaning up and chatting.

"Will this game really succeed?" Xiao Wu, who only wrote story content and knew little about the rest, couldn’t hide his anxiety.

"I doubt it. The boss had me design a ton of top-up events," Xiao Li said, stretching out his hands to show how much. "So much money, it hurts just to look at it. Who would be willing to spend that much?"

"I think the boss is just being greedy, not considering the reality at all," Xiao Wang, who had always been skeptical, chimed in. He glanced toward the door after Jiang Qiubai left and whispered, "Just wait—when players see everything costs money, they’ll leave immediately."

"I thought the gameplay was pretty good when I tested it," said Xiao Yang, who had experienced the game the most, somewhat uncertainly.

"That’s because you played a version without top-ups. Of course it felt good. Players will have to pay," Xiao Wang retorted.

"Enough, you two," Old Liu glared at them. "I don’t understand the boss’s design either, but I can feel he’s not just making things up."

Xiao Wang fell silent, still unconvinced.

No matter what anyone said, the next day, the new game launched as promised.

At eight in the morning, Gao Yang squeezed into the subway right on time.

Unsurprisingly, there were no seats left, and even the spots near the handrails were crowded.

He finally found a vacant handle, hung onto it, and gazed sleepily at the screen by the subway door.

Valentine’s Day had just passed; even the ads were full of lovey-dovey scenes.

Hopefully today’s ads would be more entertaining, Gao Yang thought. He had particularly enjoyed a snack ad a few weeks ago—it had made him so hungry he’d placed an order as soon as he got to the office.

As he was thinking this, the screen suddenly brightened, immediately catching his attention.

On the screen, a tiny figure with a Level 1 tag and a sword was stabbing at a monster many times his size. After a few quick jabs, the monster collapsed with a crash, while the little figure leapt in the air, celebrating as his level shot up to 999.

A pile of glittering, rainbow-colored treasures and coins appeared where the monster had fallen. The little figure picked them up and instantly transformed into dazzling new gear.

How satisfying—instantly max level, and all the best equipment!

Wide awake now, Gao Yang stared at the screen in amazement.

If he had looked around, he would have noticed that many others were also watching the ad intently.

But, like the rest, his eyes stayed glued to the screen, not sparing a glance for anything else.

At the end of the ad, a line of flashy text appeared:

"Dragon Slayer’s Blade launches today!"

Below that, in slightly smaller text:

"Start with a single blade, earn all your gear through battle.

One slash to level 999, top-tier equipment rains down.

No download, no purchase—click and play!

Come and claim your own imperial conquest!"

My own imperial conquest? Free to play, no download needed?

This game seems so generous!

Gao Yang’s eyes lit up as he made a mental note of the name Dragon Slayer’s Blade.

He’d be sure to check it out as soon as he got to the office.