Chapter 189 - 140: So Touching

"...Game-breaking."

"Fake madman players: The Blood Robe Priestess of Fire, weakly hitting her teammates. Real madman players: So ruthless they’ll eat shit, taking out their own teammates when they use a Skill."

"The Explosive Bull build is fighting with normal players, and for some reason, the Madman Stream players are the ones suffering..."

"How the fuck is this game playable if Explosive Bull isn’t nerfed?"

"Shitty game, I quit!"

"Son of a bitch! I qui—... wait, I don’t think I’ve spent any money. Never mind then."

"Buff Mages, you motherfucking developer, buff Mages!"

As for all these player complaints,

Luo Ge, the so-called developer, of course saw them. But he just played dead.

It was the same old story. It was a bit ugly, and a little disgusting, but the Wax Oil in his pocket was steadily rising. So why stop it?

Besides, logically speaking, you have to choose between looks and power, right?

The Lao Ba players didn’t just abandon their looks, they abandoned their dignity. Isn’t it only right that they gain Power in return?

Game balance? How many drops of Wax Oil is that worth?

...

Some players chose to defect on the spot.

"Eheheh, brothers, I’m starting to eat shit."

"Don’t cut in line! I’m eating first!"

"HAHAHAHA, I’m already eating!"

"Please dine civilly!"

"Aiyo, holy shit, I can’t fucking take it anymore. Are there any normal people left in this game?"

One player even wrote a short essay that could be considered the emotional journey of a Spirit Candle Lao Ba player.

"You are a new player. You enter the game full of passion, thinking you’ll be able to fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth, only to find yourself getting bullied by Fish People who look like cannon fodder while you’re stuck with a rusty Longsword..."

"After arduous and tedious training, you spend a fortune to buy a Spirit Fire Raft and travel to Exile Island. The monsters on the island beat you to exhaustion, and the word ’DEATH’ fills your vision again and again..."

"In a cold, lonely, underground prison, the ugly and disgusting Rotting Prisoners become your only confidants. You serve as a Prison Guard for a long time just to scrape together enough Wax Oil to unlock other features..."

"You arrive at Exile Peak. Your rusty sword strikes the Law Knight’s armor, sending sparks flying, but he’s completely unaffected. With one strike, he skewers you like a kebab..."

"You want to enter Seaside Town to witness the sad story of the Mad Fallen Lord, but you discover you can’t even cross the stormy sea..."

"You get wrecked by the Fishman Coach..."

"You get wrecked by mobs of small fry..."

"You get wrecked by the Law Knight..."

"You get wrecked by all sorts of monsters. You die in a thousand bizarre ways. If your corpses were to pile up, they would probably reach the height of Exile Peak..."

"Finally, you see a forum post from a god named Niuniu. He tells you how to obtain Power, and the price is merely abandoning your handsome exterior."

"You hesitate for a moment, but then you remember your past of a prison-like grind. In the end, you choose to abandon your useless human form and embrace that foul, powerful strength..."

"From this point on..."

"Whether it’s the Fishman Coach, the annoying small fry, the Law Knight, the Iron-faced Warlock, the Blood Robe Priest, or the Mad Meatball, none of them are a match for you anymore..."

"Some say that the indomitable Warrior died the moment before he performed the Fire Ignition in front of the Spirit Candle."

"Others say he just survived in an easier way, because he didn’t want to be so tired anymore."

"But I say to you, my friend, no matter what you choose, the Spirit Candle has never rejected you. The Spirit Candle Fire... is with you."

This short essay truly captured the bitter journey of most Lao Ba players.

Qing Ti: "This is a top student from our Ceshua University! (Proud)"

Old Dice: "Waaah, it’s true. If the cool-looking builds weren’t such a pain to play, who would choose to eat shit? (Crying)"

Xiaoma Pony: "Brothers, I’m crying. My little brother wasn’t, so I tried to beat him up. I lost. Now I’m crying even harder..."

I do Bull’s Push-ups: "Ah, well said! (Like)"

Brother Miao Won’t Fail the Exam: "Right, right. It doesn’t matter what you play, as long as you’re having fun."

Iced Lemon Tea: "So moving! I never thought a Lao Ba player could be so eloquent!"

Crafty Frog: "Feels like a script written by Storyteller."

Storyteller: "? The hell, I didn’t write it! (Angry)"

Hook Literature: "Right, right, this is exactly how we should promote us Lao Ba players! (Snickering)"

Momo: "Yes, all of us Lao Ba players are this eloquent. (Serious)"

Baka Cat: "I declare this was actually written by one of us Mage players!"

"..."

It had to be said, Power drove people to Madness.

Even in a game, the temptation of Power was immense for the players.

The price was that Spirit Candle, the game, seemed to be shifting from a mature game to an adults-only one...

On the island Luo Ge had anchored,

players in their Fecal Corpse Adhesive forms would often appear, squirming around. They looked like they smelled awful.

This was the situation after some improvement, which only happened because a few of those players got beaten up.

If things hadn’t improved... Luo Ge couldn’t imagine what Candle Island would have become.

He, the Candlekeeper, would have probably become the Toilet Guardian...

In response, he simply chose to close his eyes. Out of sight, out of mind.

’The Wax Oil is increasing quickly. I’ll just put up with it a little longer...’

...

Seeing the Lao Ba players gaining more and more momentum,

The Spirit Candle Players of other builds couldn’t sit still any longer.

As the saying goes, wherever there are people, there are politics. No one wanted to see their favorite build fall into obscurity.

But it was undeniable that the Explosive Bull build did allow many players to experience the fun of the game with relative ease.

After all, when you have enough Power, you can always choose how you want to play and even add your own difficulty.

So players of other builds wouldn’t go so far as to attack the Lao Ba stream.

But they couldn’t just let the Lao Ba build’s momentum keep growing like this. Otherwise, what would happen when no one played the other builds anymore?

They had to innovate on old playstyles, develop new strategies, and face the new market and challenges with a completely different attitude!

In plain English...

Promotion!

They had to promote!

If they didn’t promote their own builds, Spirit Candle would be nothing but Lao Ba players!

With this in mind, a group of old-school players began their own promotional campaigns.

As it turned out,

with a good game, as long as the developers don’t cause trouble,

then even if it has some small flaws, the players will spontaneously fill in the gaps.

For example, the Knight players spontaneously sought out the First Player of the Server, Brother Miao, and Storyteller. They shot a series of very cool photos and videos and posted them on the forums and Bilibili, receiving an enthusiastic response.

Seeing this, players of other builds naturally couldn’t sit back either and took action one after another.

Luo Ge was happy to see this and even specifically sought out a few more players to grant them filming and recording permissions.

This naturally led to more and more promotional videos and photos for Spirit Candle.

For instance...

...

First was the promotional video for the Madman Stream.

Under a torrential downpour, a bloody tongue writhed slowly on a stone table as frenzied Living Corpses swarmed in from the street one after another.

"Hehehe..."

"Corpses... all of you, live again..."

Along with a low chuckle, a hand reached out and grasped the bloody tongue. Shortly after, a person dressed in the robes of a Blood Robe Priest slowly walked forward.

He raised his hand, and a crimson tide surged. One after another, Sacrificial Living Corpses appeared by his side, surrounding him. The dark, gloomy weather made him look like a supervillain...

...

Then came the promotional video for the Demon Summoner.

The camera slowly pulled up from an indescribable, swirling mass of gray and black gas. It finally revealed a player with a Banner wrapped around their left arm, a Magic Staff in their right hand, and their face hidden beneath a gray robe.

Before him, the Law Knight was slowly rising to its feet within the fortress.

Faced with the immense pressure from the Law Knight, the Demon Summoner player remained calm and took out a Magic Pearl.

As the Magic Pearl entered the hollow in his chest, a mysterious Power began to flow.

The next moment, a massive Golden Bull Guard landed with a BOOM. An agile Gray Wolf Follower Warrior appeared alongside it, and a Resentment Ghost Giant Monster materialized behind him.

In an instant, three powerful summoned monsters appeared behind him.

The Law Knight’s oppressive aura vanished in an instant.

The player crossed his arms and calmly stared ahead.

"You’re the challenger here."

The next moment, the Giant Monsters behind him roared and charged toward the enemy, one after another.