Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!

————Demonic Contract————

Party A (Employing Unit)

Unit Name: Hell's Earthly Office of Negative Emotions Collection

Legal Representative (Principal Responsible Person): Lilith

Party B (Employee)

Name: Gu Fan

Gender: Male

Age: 25

In accordance with Hell's Contract Code, Party A and Party B have unanimously agreed to enter into this contract based on principles of inequality, involuntariness, and coercion, to comply with the terms listed in this contract, and to acknowledge the contract as the basis for resolving disputes.

First, Contract Duration

From January 9th, 2024, until December 31st, 100 years after Party B's death.

Second, Work Content

1. According to the needs of Party A's work, Party B agrees to take on the position of "program development" and voluntarily becomes the legal representative of "Transcendent Heaven Gaming Company," collaborating with Party A in game production and the harvesting of human negative emotions.

2. Party B shall, in accordance with the job responsibilities and requirements set by Party A, improve his professional skills and strictly follow the design plans provided by Party A, ensuring that work is completed on time, with quality and quantity assured.

Third, Working Conditions

1. Party A shall provide Party B with 50 years of life.

2. Party A shall provide Party B with the identity of the legal representative of the Earthly company "Transcendent Heaven Gaming Company" to facilitate game development.

3. When "Transcendent Heaven Gaming Company" lacks sufficient funds to develop the next game, Party A must supplement the necessary development funds.

Fourth, Working Hours

As agreed by both parties, Party B agrees to abide by the "Standard Work Hours" system, with specific work hours from 9:00 to 17:00 on working days. When Party A needs Party B to work overtime due to work reasons, Party B shall unconditionally comply with Party A's arrangements.

Fifth, Labor Remuneration and Company Profit Distribution

The basic salary for "Transcendent Heaven Gaming" staff is: 80% of the highest basic salary obtainable at other Earthly companies.

When "Transcendent Heaven Gaming" is profitable, the income is distributed as follows:

1. 70% of the net profit for the current month: to be used for subsequent development and promotional expenses.

2. 5% of the net profit for the current month: to be used as a bonus for Party B.

3. 25% of the net profit for the current month: to be used as company operating expenses. (These funds may be used for any company expenditures apart from the previous two purposes.)

Sixth, Conditions for Contract Termination

1. The contract can be terminated upon mutual agreement of Party A and Party B.

2. The contract is automatically terminated when "Transcendent Heaven Gaming," the company which Party B works for, becomes the highest-valued gaming company in the Human World.

Seventh, Liability for Breach of Contract

If Party B breaches the contract, then Party A shall reclaim the remaining "life" of Party B.

Eighth, Miscellaneous

If there are matters not covered by this contract, they shall be dealt with in accordance with the Hell's Contract Code.

Attachment: Hell's Contract Code (a total of 114514 items)

Party A: (Seal) Hell's Earthly Office of Negative Emotions Collection

Party B: (Signature) Gu Fan

—————————————

"With this, the contract is concluded!"

Lilith took the quill and the contract from Gu Fan's hands, her face beaming with joy.

The contract was long, trailing from mid-air to the ground and curling several times, somewhat resembling a convenience store receipt that hadn't been torn for a very long time.

As for Lilith, this powerful demon's form in the Human World was that of a delinquent girl.

She sported grey pigtails, secured with two golden inverted cross hair clips. Her upper body was clad in a black T-shirt emblazoned with a red bloody pattern, while her lower half wore frayed denim shorts adorned with silvery white pendants. On her feet, she donned mismatched knee-high socks and thick-soled leather boots featuring black and white skull patterns.

While faced with fries and cola, she might give off the false impression of being "cute," but Gu Fan knew all too well that her true form was that of a sinister and terrifying Hell Demon!

"I never imagined that my life as a transmigrator would come to an end just as it was beginning..."

Gu Fan lamented inwardly as he looked at the "game design document" provided by Lilith.

That's right, he was a transmigrator.

This was a parallel world similar to his previous life, the year was 2024 in the Capital City. As a programmer with strong technical skills, Gu Fan was eager and felt he could make a name for himself here.

However, before his transmigration was complete, Lilith hijacked his soul.

"Hello, transmigrator. You wouldn't want others to know about your transmigration, would you?"

Unable to enter the body of a native soul, Gu Fan was forced to sign this Demonic Contract.

The terms of the contract were that Lilith provided him with fifty years of life, and in return, he had to work for her, writing code and developing games.

As for why Hell had become so progressive as to start a side hustle? Lilith explained it as such.

"Oh dear, it's so annoying just talking about it!

"Hell was doing just fine, our traditional business had always been doing well, but over the past couple of years things have changed.

"Some executives from your big corporations died and, after going to Hell, somehow they managed to bamboozle Lucifer, that old fool, with all their talk.

"You know, all that jargon like viral marketing, leverage, calibration, granularity, enabling, and so on...

"As a result, Old Lu really thought there were serious issues with Hell's organizational structure and insisted on 'flattening management' and 'exploring new business models.' Not only do higher-ups like myself have to personally get involved in business, but all demons are now loaded with a pile of quotas to meet!

"Relying on traditional business to meet these quotas is out of the question. I also have to move with the times and try to harvest human negative emotions on a large scale through gaming!"

And thus, the miraculous company "Transcendent Heaven Gaming Company" was established.

On paper, Gu Fan was the legal representative of the company, but in reality, he was a programmer who had been kidnapped by a Demonic Contract, utterly deprived of freedom.

He had to strictly follow Lilith's instructions in developing the game. If he disobeyed, his life would be immediately reclaimed!

On the surface, the contract seemed to offer a fairly decent deal.

As the president and chief designer of "Transcendent Heaven Gaming", Gu Fan not only received a basic monthly salary of 8000 and 5% of the game profits as a bonus, but he also gained a corresponding reputation and social status.

If "Transcendent Heaven Gaming" could miraculously become the gaming company with highest valuation in the Human World, Gu Fan could immediately cancel the contract and regain his freedom.

But how could a contract with a demon come without pitfalls?

This contract was full of traps, and the biggest one was: if the game didn't make money, then aside from the 8000 monthly salary, everything else was just an empty promise!

The first game Lilith wanted to make was called "Infernal Trajectory."

The main content of the game was this: The seals on the Gate of Hell were loosening, and a variety of powerful demons were pouring out. Players were to roleplay as heavily-armed soldiers, starting from a human city and progressing towards the Gate of Hell, tracing the trail of the hellish invasion, eliminating various demons along the way, and ultimately sealing the Gate of Hell.

Content-wise, it was a very standard FPS (First Person Shooter) game.

But upon a closer look, one would find that the humans played by the players and the demons played by the AI were completely imbalanced!

The players' side had the usual firearms found in FPS games, such as Desert Eagles, AK47s, 98Ks, AWM sniper rifles, and so on.

In contrast, the firearms equipped by the demons could be described as "outrageous." Weapons like the "Hellfire Gatling," "Apocalypse Cannon," and "Plague Smoke Grenade" came into play.

The attributes of these weapons were wholly enhanced, with rate of fire, lethality, attack range, and other attributes completely dominating over the players' conventional weapons!

Not only that, but the AI of the demons was also absurd.

In the design plan, Lilith had set the AI of these demons to the highest level, meaning their reaction speed and shooting accuracy could crush most humans, and even professional players would take some hits!

Gu Fan had no doubt that if the game was made strictly according to the plan, the vast majority of players would likely be dissuaded right at the first minor demon in the first level.

The pricing model of the game was also bewildering: it was priced at just 18 yuan, and payment was to be made after 2 hours of trial play.

Clearly, Lilith had no intention of making money from this game. She had only one goal - to lure players in as much as possible in order to harvest negative emotions as quickly as she could!

These games could not possibly make money or gain a good reputation.

Transcendent Heaven Gaming could only become a trash game factory, and Gu Fan would be scorned by thousands, becoming a major culprit in the gaming industry!

As for the condition to dissolve the contract if "Transcendent Heaven Gaming became the highest-valued game company in the Human World," that was an impossible feat to achieve.

So Gu Fan said, his life as a transmigrator had only just begun, and it was already coming to an end!