Chapter 4 Finding Junk Games

At noon, the roommates returned one by one.

Ma Yang held a plastic bag containing food he had just bought from the cafeteria.

"Qian, you're really bold, actually skipping class. But you're lucky this time; the vice dean didn't call your name," Ma Yang said with a "you've got some dumb luck" expression.

The other roommates proceeded to open their laptops.

"No classes this afternoon, let's play together, shall we?"

"Let's do it, hurry up. Ma Yang, where are you?"

"Wait a minute, I haven't finished my meal."

"Come on, stop dawdling. Who's going to the other dormitory to call people?"

The other people in the dormitory had already set up small desks on their beds and opened their laptops.

The living conditions in the school were so tough that there were no proper desks, so they had to sit cross-legged on their beds to play games.

Pei Qian always suspected that his back discomfort started at this time.

So, to have the best gaming experience, even with their own computers and convenient dormitory gaming, many students still went to internet cafes.

Ma Yang held a stainless steel food container covered with a plastic bag filled with food. He quickly took a few bites, lifted the plastic bag, and threw it all into the trash can.

Fortunately, they had classes in the morning, so they all went to the cafeteria to buy food.

If there were no classes in the morning, they would all lie around in bed.

Whenever the first person decided to go to the cafeteria, the others would immediately start asking to be included.

Of course, food delivery appeared later, but there was no delivery app back then. They had to order by phone, and some poor students who were financially struggling would work part-time as delivery runners to earn some living expenses.

Ma Yang shouted outside, and the game room quickly filled up.

Pei Qian glanced at the computer screen. It was a 5V5 battle game called "Divine Inspiration," similar to Dota in gameplay but with completely different packaging.

Looking back, "League of Legends" started to gain popularity in 2011. It existed in 2009, but it was too crude to be considered decent.

Moreover, that was the situation in Pei Qian's previous memory. Now, with the world changing so much, whether "League of Legends" would appear was still uncertain.

At that time, the most popular game in internet cafes was MM, with "Fantasy World" being the hottest game.

"Divine Inspiration" was indeed popular, but its popularity was higher in dormitories because it was not a purely online game.

It could also be played in internet cafes and had a battle platform, but it was still not as popular as MM.

"Qian, why do you seem so out of it today? Haven't woken up yet?"

Ma Yang was puzzled by Pei Qian's state today. "Nine-to-one, are you in?"

Pei Qian shook his head. "No, you guys find someone else."

"Alright, I'll call Old Wang from next door." Ma Yang didn't ask further.

Soon, the dormitories were filled with chatter.

"Hey, mid-lane is missing, watch out for roaming!"

"Damn, how did he kill me?"

"Hahaha, three against one and still got killed, noobs!"

Pei Qian stood behind Ma Yang, watching him rapidly clicking the mouse and tapping the keyboard, making the laptop keyboard clatter, looking like a pro.

But looking at the scores, 10 minutes into the game, the team had a 10-9 kill count, and Ma Yang's record was 0-0.

The teammates were playing nervously, while he was missing last-hits under the tower.

Pei Qian couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Back in 2009, when everyone was young and could still enjoy the fun of gaming, it was truly great.

After he started working, he bought a lot of great games, but once he bought them, they all collected dust and he couldn't even remember to play them. Every day, he would work tirelessly and when he got off work, all he wanted to do was browse the web and watch live streams on the couch, too lazy to even play a mobile game, let alone one that required frequent operation.

Fortunately, things were different now.

As long as he lost all the system's funds, he could lie back and make money without having to struggle, and live a happy life as a lazy fish!

Pei Qian lay on his bed, happily imagining his future life.

So, how should he spend this first 50,000 yuan...

At least he had to get a high-end computer, right?

Then rent a house and live a shameless lazy fish life.

Hehehehe, Pei Qian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

...

...

"So, that's it for this issue of 'Trash Game Rants.' If you dads in the audience think this episode is not bad, please don't forget to like, share, and subscribe!"

In a rented room in the capital, a young man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a listless expression was sitting in front of his computer, recording a video.

He was a well-known uploader in the gaming section of the Sweet Potato Network, named Qiao Liang, with the online nickname "Old Wet." He was affectionately called the "godfather of the gaming channel" by his fans because he always called them "dads" at the end of his shows.

As a full-time uploader, Qiao Liang had some fame and a fair number of fans, but it was still 2009, and in this environment, he was basically living hand-to-mouth.

When he got a sponsored video, he could treat himself to a nice meal at a restaurant.

When he couldn't get a sponsored video, he'd have to settle for a bowl of clear soup and noodles, relying on hunger to lose weight.

Qiao Liang had tried many directions, but in the end, it was the "Trash Game Rants" column that was most popular, with higher views and attracting a group of gaming enthusiasts.

Qiao Liang also had a column called "New Games of the Month," specifically for sponsored content.

After all, his popular column was called "Trash Game Rants," and no game developer would dare to send their sponsored content to that column.

So, Qiao Liang created "New Games of the Month" for sponsored content, although the attention it received was far less compared to "Trash Game Rants."

After recording the latest episode of "Trash Game Rants," Qiao Liang hesitated to release it.

He felt it was missing something.

Yes, that's right, it lacked a bit of soul.

The game in question seemed to be so bad that it had no distinguishing features.

After writing the script, creating the material, and doing voiceovers, Qiao Liang felt that this episode was passable, but no matter how he thought about it, it seemed difficult to create a viral moment.

The game was just so bad that it didn't offer much to talk about.

This gave Qiao Liang a headache since his livelihood depended on it. If the views on his video didn't increase, it would be difficult to land better sponsored content.

So, Qiao Liang didn't rush to release this episode. Instead, he habitually opened the recommended new game list on the official platform and started "sifting gold from the trash."

Feeling a bit hungry, he took out a pack of instant noodles and boiled a kettle of water, preparing to replenish some energy.

With the water boiling, Qiao Liang continued his search for new games.

"'Desert Bus'? What kind of game is this?"

Qiao Liang saw the game's description.

"A simulated driving journey to ponder life?"

"How does one ponder life?"

This brief description sparked some curiosity in Qiao Liang.

As a dedicated video creator in the gaming section, Qiao Liang would typically try out any game that piqued his interest.

He clicked to download the game, and in no time, the game was downloaded and automatically opened.