Chapter Sixty-One: Opening the Box
Chapter Sixty-One: Opening the Box
Shi Bai was taken aback—someone actually wanted to buy it!
“I want to buy one too.”
At that moment, Gao Yang stood up as well.
Shi Bai looked at him in surprise. “Why do you want to buy one too? Didn’t the game just say it’s a useless box?”
“If it’s really useless, why put it on the shelf?” Gao Yang looked unconvinced. “Besides, this game is so generous, and the box only costs one yuan. It’s not too much to show a little support.”
Gao Yang walked to the counter and topped up ten yuan on his game card. The others also bought a few boxes each, leaving Shi Bai both amused and exasperated.
“Why won’t these people listen?”
As he shook his head, Gao Yang had already bought a useless box. “I’m going to open it.”
He placed his mouse over the box, his expression tense.
Shi Bai could only sigh and say, “Go ahead.”
Gao Yang’s eyes narrowed. He gently clicked the mouse, and the box began to rattle and shake.
Gao Yang’s heart leaped into his throat. “What will come out?”
The progress bar slowly crept forward, and the box shook more and more violently. At last, as the bar reached the end, a listless voice sounded in his headphones, the screen flickered, and a line of text appeared:
“I told you it’s useless—why won’t you believe it? Look, now you’re one yuan poorer.”
“Nani?!” Gao Yang clutched his head and jumped to his feet. “Damn it, there really is nothing!”
Outbursts rose from other parts of the internet café as well. “Are you kidding me? It’s actually like this?”
“It really is completely useless!”
“I bought a hundred of them!”
Shi Bai nearly burst out laughing. “I told you it was a useless box, but none of you believed me.”
After about two hours in the café, the two of them headed home. Shi Bai returned to Green Water Pavilion, sprawled on his bed, playing on his phone and eating grapes.
He was feeling perfectly content when his phone rang. To his surprise, it was Qian Yiwei calling.
“This guy never calls me after work. Why is he calling now?”
Shi Bai hesitated a moment, then picked up.
“Hello, President Shi! I have great news!”
Before Shi Bai could say a word, Qian Yiwei’s excited voice came through the line.
Shi Bai paused. “Great news? What is it?”
“Our game is making money!”
Shi Bai thought about it. It should be earning a bit, since people like Gao Yang were actually buying those useless boxes. But it couldn’t be much—once everyone found out the boxes were useless, nobody would waste their money on them anymore.
Shi Bai popped a grape in his mouth and asked casually, “Oh? How much?”
“Ten million!”
The grape caught in his throat, and Shi Bai started coughing violently.
“Wh—what did you say? Ten million?!”
“That’s right, President Shi! You’re truly a prodigy! I have to admit, I underestimated you. Today, I must offer you a sincere apology!”
Shi Bai gave an awkward laugh. “Ha... haha, there’s no need.”
Qian Yiwei continued, “President Shi, you’ve ushered in a new era! A shop with nothing for sale except those useless boxes, and it’s precisely that word ‘useless’ that attracted everyone’s attention! Each box is only a yuan—such a low barrier to entry. It broke through the mental block of so many non-paying users. Our paying users now exceed three million!”
Shi Bai smiled dreamily. “Heh... is that so.”
Qian Yiwei went on, “This move not only earned back our investment but also built a stellar reputation among players. You should check our official website—it’s all glowing reviews!”
Shi Bai was stunned. “Glowing reviews? The box is so useless—aren’t people calling us scammers?”
“No! We made it perfectly clear from the start that the box is useless, so no one is blaming us,” Qian Yiwei replied. “You really should read the comments on our site.”
“Alright!” Shi Bai hung up, immediately turned on his computer, went to the official site, and sure enough, saw a flood of positive reviews.
“Five stars! A true gem in domestic gaming!”
“Five stars! Nothing more to say!”
“I can’t believe this game was made by the same company behind ‘Zhang Gouzi’s Adventure’—the difference is night and day!”
“Why is the art style so wild? Why is the story so absurd? See ‘Zhang Gouzi’s Adventure.’ Why is this game so fun? Why is it free? Play ‘Zhang Gouzi’s Adventure.’”
“After reading so many reviews, I can’t help but be curious about Happy-Go-Lucky Studios. What kind of company would make such an incredible game as ‘Zhang Gouzi’s Adventure’? It’s fun, it’s polished, and it’s free!”
“I bought one box at first and got nothing. I was a little annoyed, but when I got to the shady shop boss, I stood up and bought a hundred more. Don’t ask me why—it’s my way of supporting a great game, like giving a tip. I’m afraid they’ll go out of business.”
“Already tipped—I bought ten.”
“Already tipped—I bought five.”
“Already tipped—I bought fifty.”
...
“So this is how money is made.”
Shi Bai’s eyes grew misty.
Yes, in a world so harsh, when every game wants to squeeze money from players at every turn, it’s the games that truly wish for everyone’s happiness that win the greatest support.
“Thank you... everyone.”
The night passed quietly. The next day, when Shi Bai arrived at the company, he was greeted by a round of applause.
“President Shi, you’re amazing!”
“A young genius!”
“A talent beyond compare!”
...
The employees showered Shi Bai with praise, until he felt embarrassed.
“Hey! It’s thanks to everyone’s hard work!”
“No! It’s all because of you! If you hadn’t insisted on the free model, our game would never have been this successful!”
“That’s right, President Shi! I have to tell you, our active player base has now reached ten million! That’s a historic record—unmatched by anyone!”
Shi Bai laughed heartily. “I never imagined this.”
Just then, Qian Yiwei spoke up: “President Shi, I have more good news. Now the players have started a wish poll—they hope our useless box can become useful. In other words, they want to get prizes from the box!”
Shi Bai was startled. “How is that good news?”
Qian Yiwei explained, “It means players want us to release paid items—they’re willing to keep buying the boxes!”
“I see!” Shi Bai hadn’t thought of that, but on reflection, he remembered how much he had enjoyed opening dungeon boxes in his previous life—they weren’t expensive, but could yield all sorts of surprises.
With that thought, inspiration struck Shi Bai again.
“Good! Let’s put things in the boxes. Everyone, think—what can we add?”
“Um... pet eggs?”
“Revival potions?”
“Attribute boosters?”
“Enhancement scrolls?”
...
Shi Bai considered it. “Add them all! Everything we can—potions, equipment, pets, mounts, even rare bosses—put them all in!”
The staff were stunned. “Bosses too?”
“Yes! It’s fun, isn’t it?”
The employees exchanged bewildered glances. Then Qian Yiwei said:
“That won’t work, President Shi. If all the items are in the boxes, then rich players will just open boxes and totally crush ordinary players!”
“Right—the game will lose balance, and players will quit and curse us!”
Shi Bai raised a finger and wagged it, “No, no, no. We’ll set a limit—each person can only open a hundred boxes a day. Then we’ll introduce a system to exchange coins and vouchers, so whether you’re a free player or a whale, everyone is equal when it comes to the boxes. And a hundred boxes a day isn’t too little, but if they want more, they can’t have it—creates a bit of scarcity. That will actually make them want to open boxes every day.”
The staff stared at him for a long moment. “President Shi, you’re a genius!”