This Dreamscape Is Going to Be a Hit

By evening, the three of them finally left the Dreamscape, still wanting more. Even after coming out, they kept discussing its settings.

"I think it could use more action. I'm really good at sports! I mean it!"

"F-Fun."

"Tonight, let's continue."

Chewing on his pen, Chen Yu listened to the three of them offer their opinions, considering how to revise things next while also logging some overtime for them.

The habit of spending money had to be cultivated from the little things. After all, "do not fail to do good because it seems small." Even tiny mosquito legs added up to meat.

Besides, all three were graduates of Culture High School, and their realms were far above his. The opinions coming from them best represented the common thoughts of cultivators, making up for Chen Yu's own lack of experience as a halfway cultivator.

After recording their feedback, Chen Yu discovered that, like Luo Tong, their main opinions about the Dreamscape focused on randomness.

Quiz Melee was highly random, and Chen Yu had only spent one day making it, so its balance was rather rough.

Even the old Dao Ancestor had not balanced things properly when creating the world, so why should Chen Yu be expected to make a perfectly balanced Dreamscape?

If things were truly balanced, the hard work of those bottom-rung wage slaves would be enough to give them good lives.

Besides, overly balanced Dreamscapes were not that fun. Chen Yu could not be bothered to manage all that. He just needed to push the Dreamscape's defining features to the limit.

There were only two things players could do inside: answer questions, then hack people to death.

However, because of the random pool, getting a high score increased the chance of receiving good items, while getting a low score reduced it, though neither outcome was absolute.

That gave players expectations every time. When those expectations were met, it provided Positive Emotion; when they were not, it provided Negative Emotions.

And people's expectations tended to be high. When they were not met, disappointment was inevitable, giving Chen Yu another chance to gain Negative Emotions.

Combined with the Taunting Monsters he distributed at random, Quiz Melee could become a never-ending harvesting machine for Negative Emotions, allowing him to steadily walk the path of cultivation.

After happily imagining the future for a while, Chen Yu stared at his Constitution Panel and thought for a moment, feeling there was still room for improvement.

The Bratty Girls in the Dreamscape were one of his masterstrokes. This role allowed players to accumulate Negative Emotions while also serving as an outlet for them.

But judging from the Negative Emotions he had gained so far, these characters could be even more venomous. Their words could break people's defenses more thoroughly, and their tones could be more passive-aggressive.

Thinking of this, he said to Luo Tong, "Luo Tong, I have a new task..."

Luo Tong immediately snapped upright, sitting ramrod straight. After taking out a pen, he respectfully said, "President Chen, go ahead."

"...No, you don't need to be this dramatic. Seriously, stop being so humble. It scares me a little."

Luo Tong bent forward and said gently, "Then I'll be humbly gentle. I'll definitely make you like it, President Chen."

Looking at Luo Tong's fawning expression and his three equally shameless little brothers, Chen Yu sighed. "Forget it. You won't change overnight, so take it slowly. Can you help me collect some insults? They don't need to be too vulgar, but they must be passive-aggressive—the kind that can make people furious."

"Alright, I'll go find some other graduates right away. Some of them have jobs now, so they must have collected plenty."

At that moment, Chen Yu suddenly did not know who he should pity.

Those who had found jobs, or those who had not?

Waving his hand, he continued, "The rest of you can start promoting Quiz Melee. Though I doubt it'll be too troublesome. The Dream Maker Platform will promote it too. Just keep an eye on the comments there and report the feedback to me."

"Understood, President Chen."

Checking the time, Chen Yu said, "Alright, it's six in the afternoon. I'm logging one hour of overtime for everyone. Also, I noticed you bought books before without reporting the expenses. That's not good. Remember to make it up. This time, I'm fining you double the amount. Make sure you report it next time."

"President Chen..."

"Alright, I'm going back to class. I skipped two days recently, so I need to catch up properly. See you."

"Take care, President Chen."

Watching President Chen leave, Glasses wiped his eyes, marveling at how fortunate he was to have met such a good boss.

Even if he had to give his life to President Chen, he would repay President Chen's great kindness!

Holding his phone, Glasses looked at the Dreamscape on the screen and said to Luo Tong, "How about we leave the company and find somewhere to play for a while longer? I haven't had enough of multiplayer mode yet. It feels like it should be even more fun."

"No need. I'm going to find some old classmates and collect more insults."

"Alright, go ahead. We'll play while keeping an eye on the feedback."

Using the promotion privileges he had received from Chen Yu, Glasses uploaded the Dreamscape to the Dream Maker Platform exactly as it was, set up automatic statistics, then continued playing Quiz Melee by the roadside with Shorty and Tall Skinny.

Playing the Dreamscape alone was one kind of experience. Playing it with others was another.

Slaughtering Bratty Girls was fun. Slaughtering them together with your buddies was also fun. Getting betrayed by your buddies, then betraying them right back, was fun too.

Before they knew it, they had played until midnight. Glasses stretched, casually glanced at the data, and froze.

Frowning, he said in confusion, "That shouldn't be possible."

"W-What happened?"

"Five hours, thirteen hundred downloads, and it's still rising. Normally, there aren't that many cultivators in Heaven Origin—only about ten thousand in total. There shouldn't be this many downloads."

"The association? Promotion?" Tall Skinny asked doubtfully.

"Maybe... no, impossible. We haven't even started promoting it yet."

Shorty and Tall Skinny leaned over as well. When they saw the downloads and concurrent player count still climbing, their bodies trembled.

They had only been responsible for gathering the question bank. The real reason the Dreamscape was fun was Chen Yu. That meant Chen Yu's abilities far exceeded what they had imagined, and the result was that the Dreamscape had spread widely.

"So fast? How is that possible?" Glasses asked in confusion.

"R-Rewards?"

"Ten points of mana is indeed effective, but other quiz Dreamscapes promise greater rewards. And to attract players in the early stages, they give out rewards too. Some even use special methods, and their final payouts are higher than ours."

When they opened the comments section in confusion, Glasses and the other two let out enlightened exclamations.

They had found the reason!

[Played for three hours, lost for three hours. My resentment could raise a resentful spirit now! But after recommending this Dreamscape to my mortal enemy, I felt much better.]

[Cute art style, simple controls. It should clearly be a children's Dreamscape, yet I somehow played it with murderous intent! Damn Bratty Girls, I'm going to kill every last one of you!]

[After finally getting every question right, I drew a branch. Then I got every question right again, and it was still a branch. Meanwhile, someone else only got one correct and drew the Sword of Immortal Slaying... This Dreamscape is a perfect ten!]

[Even though I got ten points of mana, why am I not happy at all when I think of the humiliation I suffered in the Dreamscape?!]

[The quiz part can be skipped, but can the Bratty Girls have more ways to die? I want to grab their whips and use them as meteor hammers!]

Almost every player who had tried it left a sincere comment. Although most of them were complaints and mockery about the Dreamscape's settings, only people who liked a Dreamscape would leave feedback. Otherwise, they would simply discard it.

After reading nearly a thousand comments, Glasses nodded.

This Dreamscape was going to be a hit.