Chapter 167: Can We Get Qiao Liang Banned?!
After Tengda Games rolled out its latest update, it stirred up a massive wave of discussion online.
Aside from players of Ocean Fortress, who were furiously cursing the Tengda boss and demanding the immediate removal of the purchase limit on the Barrett · Destruction, all other players were overwhelmingly grateful and overjoyed.
Naturally, all the major gaming media outlets quickly jumped to report on the update. Even some independent gaming content creators seized the chance to ride the wave of popularity.
One such creator was Qiao Liang.
After the success of his channel Masterpiece Showcase, Qiao Liang received an offer from Aili Island and left Fanshu.com to join them.
Although he only signed the most basic content creator incentive agreement—earning just about 30 yuan per 10,000 views—Qiao Liang already had a loyal fanbase. With the site also promoting him as a star creator in the gaming section, each of his videos would easily get several hundred thousand views.
Thanks to this, Qiao Liang no longer had to live the hand-to-mouth life he once did. His income had become relatively stable.
As long as he put out two videos per month—one to boost engagement, the other to do a paid promotion—he could reach around 1.5 million views monthly. The incentive plan combined with ad revenue from sponsorships meant a steady monthly income of 5,000 to 6,000 yuan, which was a massive improvement compared to before.
However, his most popular channel Masterpiece Showcase, which had taken his popularity to new heights, had yet to see a second video.
Fans begged for updates every day, but Qiao Liang always replied firmly:
"Sorry, but there just aren't any domestic games right now that can compare to Game Producer in terms of depth and themes. If one appears, I'll instantly put out a new video. If not, I'm not going to force it and risk ruining my brand."
There was some truth to his words—but also a bit of exaggeration. In reality, he could easily make a few videos covering old international games or classic series if he really wanted to.
But now, with his other ongoing channels like Trash Game Roast, This Month's Recommended Games, and a bunch of smaller side channels keeping his income steady at around 5,000–6,000 yuan, he didn't feel the need to pour so much time and energy into producing the highly polished Masterpiece Showcase videos.
After Tengda released what was being hailed as "the most generous DLC update in history," even Qiao Liang couldn't hold back his excitement and published an article in his column.
"I've been following the recent generous update to Tengda's games."
"I expected updates to Ghost General and Ocean Fortress, but I never imagined that even Lonely Desert Road would get one!"
"Now, a lot of people might misunderstand this game."
"It was Tengda's very first title—and I roasted it back in the day. From every angle, it looked like a rushed, half-baked game with zero care put into it. Many people even saw it as a stain on Tengda's history."
"I used to think it was just a cheap, sloppy project Tengda made during its early days due to budget and other constraints."
"But now I realize—I was wrong. Everyone who thought this game was trash was also wrong!"
"If Tengda truly saw this game as a black mark on their record, they would have stopped updating it and let it fade into obscurity."
"But the reality is quite the opposite—Tengda knew the game's popularity had long since vanished, and hardly anyone was still playing it. And yet they still pushed out a remarkably generous update: not only did they add five times more content than before, they even included the endless mode and multiplayer features I once suggested in a video!"
"So what does this tell us?"
"This shows that Tengda doesn't see the game as some kind of shameful mistake. On the contrary, they've treated it with the same level of care and sincerity as any of their other titles—giving back to the players who supported it with heartfelt enthusiasm!"
"Even knowing full well that this DLC update is unlikely to ever recover its costs, they still didn't hesitate. And the pricing? Still just as fair as always—five times the content for the same price! That's beyond generous!"
"This proves that Lonely Desert Road was crafted with just as much intention and dedication as Game Producer. It's a piece of dark satire, a work of artistic commentary—just as much a part of Tengda's conceptual performance art!"
"The game's summary, and the final lines that appear on the black screen when it ends… now take on a whole new meaning."
"And honestly, Tengda really does care about player feedback. Let me just strike a pose for a moment: I mentioned some of these features offhandedly in one of my videos—and they actually implemented them! Guess I've still got a little bit of influence, hahaha~"
Qiao Liang's article was quickly shared, liked, and spread widely, resonating deeply with players.
"So well said! I had no idea Lonely Desert Road had such depth from the beginning!"
"Wait, all of this was part of Tengda's grand plan? That's one massive long con!"
"Now I'm even more curious about Tengda's mysterious boss!"
"With this kind of track record, I think I can blindly buy any game or DLC they put out. If they're willing to keep updating even their 'worst' games and take losses just to improve them, what's there to worry about?"
...
Back in his office, Pei Qian stared at Qiao Liang's new article in silence, deep in thought.
"System… can I get reimbursed for hiring a hitman?"
After receiving a firm rejection and a light warning from the system, Pei Qian sighed in melancholy.
How the hell do I get this "Teacher Qiao" to shut up…?
You're like a ghost haunting me!
It was bad enough when he hyped up every new game I released—making me fear for my losses every time. But now he's even hyping up a damn DLC update?! In this kind of absurdly elaborate way?!
"Can I ban this guy...? No, I can't."
"No, this has to stop. I need to make him shut up."
Pei Qian felt a headache coming on.
His grudge against Qiao Liang wasn't new.
It all started when that bastard made a roast video about Lonely Desert Road, which ended up making the game blow up in popularity—completely ruining his plan to burn through his initial 50,000 yuan investment.
Then, during Game Producer, Pei Qian had been this close to succeeding, even managing to get "Qiao-ism" coined. Revenge was almost his—until Qiao Liang pulled off an insane last-minute reversal.
This time, even though hyping up the DLCs wouldn't technically cost him much (aside from maybe slightly increasing sales), as the saying goes—once might be chance, twice is a pattern, but there can't be a third and fourth time!
This was getting out of hand!
Pei Qian had a hunch that Qiao Liang might become a major problem in the future—and he had to do something about it.
But what exactly?
Brute force was obviously out of the question. That left... softer tactics.
Maybe offer him money in exchange for never mentioning Tengda again?
No good. That would be way too suspicious.
If word got out, people would start calling Pei Qian "noble and selfless" again.
For now, with no better ideas, he called in his assistant, Xin Hailu.
"Find two people and assign them to investigate Qiao Liang. I want a full dossier on him."
As the saying goes: know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never lose a battle.
Pei Qian was planning to do a deep dive into his persistent nemesis—learn everything he could, pinpoint any weaknesses, and strike accordingly.
If the guy turned out to be greedy and easy to tempt with material wealth, well… that'd make things much easier.
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