Caused Interest

"So dark..."

Staring at the measly one hundred yuan left in his bank card, Wang Chuan felt a desolate wind blow past him.

It didn't just bring him sorrow—it took his money too.

After carefully picking and choosing, he'd finally found a public account media outlet with 800,000 followers and a solid reputation.

The price they offered was already fairly reasonable: nine thousand yuan for one soft ad promotion.

But they also threw in 100,000 keyword searches—that was exactly why Wang Chuan had chosen them.

However, they also demanded that before running the ad, he send the game over first.

They wanted to play through it, confirm the game's content, and only then could they promote it.

Mm, on the surface, they said it was to have a basis for their claims, but in reality, it was to make sure the game had no rule-breaking content.

"Sigh, belly, belly, you just endure a few days. Once the money comes in at the end of the month, you can have a big feast."

Wang Chuan looked at his stomach with a hint of bitterness, sighing inwardly.

There was no other choice—he'd poured all his savings into making the game, leaving only a hundred yuan for food.

These days, what could a hundred yuan even buy? He had no idea if he could last these ten days.

If only there were someplace cheap to eat.

"Hey, wait a minute... there really is such a place!"

Suddenly, Wang Chuan's eyes lit up. How could he have forgotten about the school cafeteria!

With that thought, he casually put his computer away, packed up, and got ready to eat.

The school cafeteria—the blessing of all students!

Three meat dishes for just eight or nine yuan, free rice—this was a perk you only got at school.

As for vegetable dishes? Can't afford it, can't afford it~~

Just as Wang Chuan was sighing with emotion over his meal, in an office somewhere in Modu, Xia Xiao sat tiredly in front of her computer, looking at the interface in front of her, and couldn't help but yawn.

"This game—one look and you know it's a flop. So boring~~"

She was an employee of this public account media outlet, specifically tasked with testing the quality of promotional games.

And after playing them, she'd write the soft articles.

Don't think this job was easy, just playing games all day.

But when it came time to write the promotional soft articles, she had to rack her brains to think of selling points to lure players in.

"Xia Xiao, what's wrong? Tired? Want me to help you out? Thirsty? I'll go buy you a drink."

Xiao Chen, standing nearby, saw his goddess acting off and immediately crawled over with a fawning face, showering her with concern.

Mm, ever since he'd laid eyes on Xia Xiao, he'd resolutely set foot on the path of a simp with no return.

Too bad—at the end of it all, he'd have nothing!

"No, it's this game. I haven't even played it yet, but I can already tell it's no good."

Xia Xiao glanced at Xiao Chen and casually complained.

She might not like simps, but having one around sure was comfortable.

"Oh?"

"Because this game was made by an ordinary person, and the buyout price is a dirt-cheap five yuan. Chances are, it won't pass."

Xia Xiao leaned lazily back in her chair, explaining in detail.

After hearing her explanation, Xiao Chen understood why she'd said that.

Their job was to play games, so they had some insight into this industry.

To become an official game producer, both ranking and recognition were indispensable.

Forget about ranking for now—just getting player recognition and having the number of paying users reach ten thousand was incredibly hard.

Even if the game was priced at rock bottom, it was the same. Even free games didn't always get ten thousand players, let alone a dirt-cheap one.

So, those who could make it through this path to become official game producers...

Every single one of them became a hot commodity, since they'd already proven their mettle in the market.

Though she couldn't stop complaining, Xia Xiao was still very dutiful.

She downloaded the game onto her computer, took a deep breath to clear her mind of distractions, ensuring she wouldn't be swayed by bias.

Then she jumped straight into the game.

The game started right into the gameplay screen, with no cutscene.

That didn't surprise Xia Xiao—after all, it was an indie game.

But the visuals that followed piqued her interest a little.

Unlike the scene she'd imagined, the game's graphics were actually quite refined.

On the screen appeared a suited man, sitting in front of a computer, just like herself.

A narrator beside the screen began telling the story's background.

It turned out this man was named Stanley, and the game was actually named after him.

Stanley's story? What story did he have?

This piqued Xia Xiao's interest.

After entering the official interface, the screen rotated like a flipbook, and a BGM started playing—simple yet eerily unsettling.

"This is the story of a man named Stanley."

"Stanley worked for a company in a big building, where he was Employee #427."

"Employee #427's job was simple: he sat at his desk and pressed buttons on a keyboard."

"A monitor told him what to do."

"But one day, something strange happened."

"Something that would change Stanley forever."

"When he came to his senses, he stood up from his desk and walked out of his office."

With the narrator's simple background introduction, the game officially began.

The god's-eye view suddenly vanished, replaced by a first-person perspective.

Though there were no instructions, Xia Xiao instinctively understood how to play.

The same WASD keys as other games, and the mouse to change direction.

"This game seems kind of interesting! What exactly happened to this Stanley?"

After getting a little used to it, Xia Xiao decided to go out and explore.

The narrator's earlier background left her full of confusion, and a natural human curiosity drove her to uncover the mystery.

"Xia Xiao? How is it? Is this game fun?"

Just then, a sycophantic voice came from beside her—it was that simp Xiao Chen.

Well, as a simp, his essential skill was caring about the goddess at all times and finding common topics.

"Go away, I'm playing a game. I don't have time for you."

Glancing slightly to the side, Xia Xiao said expressionlessly.

As a qualified employee, she didn't like anyone getting close when she was reviewing a game—it would affect her judgment.

"Alright, alright, I'll come back later."

Xiao Chen awkwardly rubbed his nose and turned to leave.

Well, a simp's day always involved countless rejections and awkward moments.

But so what? He was used to it by now~~

Without paying any more attention to Xiao Chen, Xia Xiao threw herself fully into the game.

She controlled the character Stanley, leaving the office, passing through a hallway and a meeting room.

During this time, she didn't find a single person.

And the narrator's lines happened to chime in, accompanied by the eerie music, vaguely stirring up a desolate atmosphere.