Chi Cheng felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was stuck there, neither going up nor down.
He took a deep breath, staring at the screen.
"Brothers, I really want to calm down right now."
"But I just can't, you know?"
"How could they do this?"
"If the game wasn't fun, I'd just curse a bit and let it go. Ten bucks for some entertainment, just for a laugh."
"But the problem is, it's fun!"
"Even though the game is a half-finished product, and being stuck here is driving me crazy, making me want to buy a plane ticket to the game company and kidnap the producer to code, but..."
"This game really has something! It's highly playable! Deserves a big thumbs up!"
"Really, I'm not just saying this for money, I didn't get paid."
"Ten bucks, you can't lose, you can't be fooled."
"I suggest you try it out yourselves."
The fans in the livestream room joined the discussion.
"I'm going to try it, this creativity really beats those reskinned trash games on the market."
"But this pause in updates is so damn annoying! I protest! But I feel like there's a lot of content in the urban village too!"
"I finally understand those readers who chase after novel updates."
"And the game is only ten bucks! Ten bucks! Nowadays, you can't even buy a cup of milk tea with pearls for that price!"
"Streamer: I can't leave the village today, and everyone here is responsible!"
"Already bought it, downloading now."
"Chi Bro, don't worry, I'll go light a candle in the comments section for the dev team."
...
The next day.
The speed of information spread on the internet is terrifying.
Especially in this era where the whole internet is tired of assembly line reskinned games, an indie game with a unique art style and a concept a hundred years ahead of humanity, combined with clips from a top streamer, creates a chemical reaction akin to a nuclear explosion!
By that morning, several livestream clip accounts had already posted videos.
Each title was more outrageous than the last.
"Streamer spends ten bucks to become an emperor, only to find out he's just a village chief!"
"A domestic indie game drives a streamer crazy: Just let me leave the village!"
"Competing for the Central Plains, the big map just opened, and the game is gone!"
"Zhaoxi Games: We let you become emperor, but didn't say you'd unify the world."
The most viewed video happened to capture the moment Chi Cheng broke down.
On screen, Chi Cheng pointed at the words "Stay Tuned," his face full of disbelief.
"Demo version? You call this a demo version?"
"I damn well worked all day, only to be a village chief!"
"Hahaha, the village chief can't hold it anymore."
"What do you mean Great E Dynasty? It's just the Xinghe Residential Complex Village Committee."
"I wasn't interested at first, but after watching this, I suddenly want to buy it."
"No, the game's setting really seems to have something."
"Ten bucks? I'm in."
Soon, in the data backend of the Deep Blue Gaming Platform.
The data curve for "I Picked Up the Imperial Jade Seal!" began to soar.
Originally, it was just a small indie game with no presence in the new games section.
No featured spots, no promotional resources.
And no backing from any major company.
Yet overnight, the download numbers suddenly began to rise.
First dozens.
Then hundreds.
And then, more and more players who had watched the clips rushed into the Deep Blue Platform.
Their thoughts were simple.
It's just ten bucks.
The streamer was tormented like this, so they had to go in and take a look.
And once they did, many couldn't leave.
This game calls me Your Majesty!
The once quiet comment section was gradually taken over by players.
"Just finished playing, ten bucks well spent, but being stuck at leaving the village really got me."
"Fuck! Refund! No, I don't want a refund! I want you to update! Do you know how I spent these four hours?"
"I admit I'm anxious. Zhaoxi Games, send your address, I won't send blades, I'll come work for free, okay? Just release the full version!"
"The delivery guy being enfeoffed as General of Agile Cavalry is hilarious, and it actually works."
"I've never begged anyone in my life, but this time, I'm begging you!! Release a full version!"
"I can't eat or sleep well!"
"Bad review! This Mandate Value is too hard to obtain!"
"Without you, who else would pamper me like this!"
The more comments there were, the more unified the tone became.
At a glance, all were positive reviews.
But on closer inspection, they were all complaints.
"When will the Old Commercial Street open?"
"When will the Xinghai Group be attacked?"
"The game is good, but the dev team is not."
As time passed, players went from initially jumping on the bandwagon to being deeply addicted.
This game, priced at only ten bucks and without even a proper opening CG, saw more and more downloads!
In the Deep Blue Platform's game community and major forums, discussion threads about "I Picked Up the Imperial Jade Seal!" sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
"Brothers, don't just watch the videos, play it yourself, the content in the urban village is really interesting."
Under this comment, many replies quickly appeared.
"Indeed, I thought it was just a joke game, but once I got in, I realized it can really be played."
"I'm taking the Orthodox Route, first enfeoffing the security guard, then the restaurant owner, and then relying on the delivery guy to open the route. Four hours and my National Destiny Value is only at a hundred, I'm exhausted like I'm really starting a business."
"The Orthodox Route is too slow, brothers, I discovered a Heretical Cultivator Build!"
This comment immediately attracted a group of players.
Because what everyone cared about most now was how to quickly get the National Destiny Value to a hundred, and then leave the urban village to take a look at that damn Old Commercial Street.
Even though they couldn't leave after seeing it.
But people are like that.
Being stuck and knowing how you're stuck are two completely different things.
Soon, that player posted a detailed mini-guide.
"Guide Post: Don't Mindlessly Enfeoff! The Strongest Speedrun Build on the Internet: 'Empire of Hounds and Steeds'!"
In the post, he arrogantly shared a game screenshot.
In the screenshot, Jiang Xiaoyu, wearing a tank top, stood in the center of the residential complex square, surrounded by a dozen stray dogs of various sizes and breeds!
Each dog's head was topped with a dazzling golden title!
"General of Agile Cavalry: Dahuang (Chinese Rural Dog)"
"Grand General Who Guards the Nation: Heizi (Labrador Mix)"
"Commander of the Divine Machine Battalion: Ha Ge (purebred Stupid husky)"
"Imperial Blade Guards: Doudou (Chihuahua)"
"Assistant Commander of Cavalry: Naipi (Silver Shaded)"
"..."
A total of over a dozen, forming an explosive "full general lineup"!
This player also shared his strategy below the picture.
"Brothers, take my advice, don't enfeoff the security guard right away!"
"Everyone knows how hard it is to accumulate Mandate Value in the early stages! You have to save it!"
"Yesterday, I accidentally discovered a game-breaking mechanism! That is, the stray animals in this game can also be enfeoffed! And the cost-effectiveness is extremely high!"
"Go to the small shop downstairs, buy a two-yuan starch sausage, break it into pieces, and walk to the trash can nearby. As long as a stray dog comes to eat, you can directly click to interact and enfeoff it!"
"Here's the key, brothers! Enfeoffing a stray dog only costs a mere 2 Mandate Value points!!!"
"Look at my empire, the Royal Ferocious Dog Corps!!"