Chapter 257: President Pei's Theory of Relative Balance
September 5th, Sunday.
Moyu Internet Café, Handong University Branch.
Qiao Liang stared at President Pei's smiling face, wanting to speak but hesitating again and again until he forgot what he wanted to say in the first place.
Pei Qian smiled. "If you've got something to say, just say it. Don't hold back. I'm a designer who values feedback."
The corner of Qiao Liang's mouth twitched slightly. Inwardly, he thought, Yeah, that much I definitely believe.
Last time, he had shared some of his thoughts about the game. Not long after, the game received a lightning-fast update—and every single change matched the things he'd mentioned, with a 99% overlap.
The only problem? Every single one was the opposite of what he meant!
He had suggested buffing some of the less popular weapons. President Pei instead nerfed the popular ones.
He had suggested lowering the difficulty of the early stages. President Pei instead raised the difficulty of the later ones.
So yes, President Pei was indeed a designer who "listened" to feedback—but apparently, listening didn't mean actually following it.
These past three days had been pure torment for Qiao Liang.
The balance adjustments to Turn Back Before It's Too Late forced him to keep suffering, since his favorite weapons had all become useless, leaving him no choice but to start learning new ones.
And the increased difficulty of the later stages had slowed his progress even more. Even the areas where he used to easily farm now gave far fewer rewards—and it was easy to die if he made one wrong move.
In short, what had once been a smooth gaming experience had now turned into a nightmare!
But after thinking it over, Qiao Liang realized maybe it wasn't entirely President Pei's fault—it was his own for being too vague last time.
He had merely mentioned that the machete and guandao were strong; he hadn't explicitly said he wanted the other weapons buffed.
That might have led to a misunderstanding.
So this time, Qiao Liang resolved that he would stand his ground and make himself perfectly clear!
"President Pei, as the game tester, I'm allowed to give feedback, right?" he asked cautiously.
Pei Qian smiled and nodded. "Of course."
"Good."
Qiao Liang chose his words carefully. "About the last balance update—I personally think there might've been… a few issues with it."
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Pei Qian asked. "After the last patch, the balance did improve, didn't it?"
Huh?
For a moment, Qiao Liang was stunned.
Well… technically, yes. If you looked purely at weapon viability, the balance was better now. Before, the machete and guandao dominated, while everything else was useless.
Now, the machete and guandao were just as bad as everything else. So yes, everything was equally awful—perfectly balanced.
"Uh… the balance did improve, but… now none of the weapons are any good, so…" Qiao Liang said weakly.
Pei Qian smiled. "By weakening the popular weapons, the unpopular ones are relatively stronger. It's relativity—you understand that concept, right? That's basically what's happening here."
Qiao Liang: "???"
Relativity, my ass!
Pei Qian continued, "Look, Turn Back Before It's Too Late has dozens of weapons, and the balance among the unpopular ones is already fine."
"If we were to buff all the unpopular weapons, that would mean adjusting dozens of them at once. That could easily create a few overpowered ones, which would destroy the balance completely."
"But there are only two or three popular weapons. So if we just nerf those two or three, doesn't that automatically make the remaining dozens seem stronger?"
"And we also preserve the balance among the others. It's the perfect solution."
Qiao Liang: "???"
That actually sounds logical… except it's completely insane!
Qiao Liang protested, nearly in tears, "President Pei, you can't handle balance like this! You can't just nerf anything that's good! There's an old saying—'If you only nerf and never buff, even the best game will die!' Blind nerfing is never the answer!"
"Who says I only nerfed things? Didn't I also increase the stage difficulty and the enemies' damage?" Pei Qian immediately corrected Qiao Liang's accusation.
Qiao Liang: "…But those are all making the game harder!"
Pei Qian smiled. "Indeed, they all make the game harder."
"But tell me—since when is higher difficulty a bad thing?"
Qiao Liang froze.
Of course it's a bad thing!
He'd been playing this game every day and still hadn't beaten it. The mobs had been beating him into the ground so often he was starting to feel nauseous. Whenever he finally found an easy method, within two days it would get patched, forcing him to start from scratch and suffer all over again.
How could that not be a bad thing?!
Before he could voice his protest, Pei Qian spoke first:
"Teacher Qiao, think about it carefully. For a high-level professional player like you, is high difficulty really a bad thing?"
"The game's difficulty is like a ceiling. Imagine you and the other players are all high jumpers—if the ceiling is low, you'll all just hit your heads on it, and no one can tell who jumps higher."
"But now, I've raised the ceiling. It's easier to see who's truly the best."
"By increasing the difficulty, I've given expert players like you a bigger stage—more room to sweat, to show your skills, to do things other players can't even dream of."
"Now tell me, is that really a bad thing?"
Faced with Pei Qian's heartfelt reasoning, Qiao Liang was stunned—then gradually started to feel a little… proud.
Wait a second—did President Pei just acknowledge him as a high-level professional player?
Qiao Liang couldn't hide his grin. "Oh, come on, it's not that big a deal. I'm just a bit more diligent and focused than most players, that's all…"
Pei Qian smiled warmly. "You're too modest, Teacher Qiao. A true expert like you deserves tougher challenges."
"Lowering the difficulty would be an insult to a real hardcore player like you! Increasing the difficulty and keeping the challenge alive—that's the greatest form of respect we can offer to hardcore gamers!"
Qiao Liang glanced at his monitor, then back at the very serious President Pei. His mood suddenly lifted.
That actually made sense.
Why had President Pei personally invited him to test such a difficult game?
Because he trusted his gaming intellect, his skill, and his perseverance!
With that thought, Qiao Liang no longer felt so bitter about the machete and guandao being nerfed.
As a true high-level professional, he should aim for mastery of all weapons. Focusing only on one or two easy ones really would be letting President Pei down.
After adjusting his mindset, the game suddenly didn't feel quite so punishing anymore.
But then another thought struck him—he'd only managed to endure this long because President Pei had been encouraging him the whole way.
Ordinary players didn't get that kind of support!
That was a serious design flaw!
Qiao Liang quickly pointed it out: "President Pei, that reminds me—I've got a new suggestion."
"The game itself is great, but for most players, it's just too hard to stick with it in the beginning! I only managed because you kept encouraging me to keep going, and gradually I started to enjoy it."
"So… maybe there's some way to fix that?"
Pei Qian thought for two seconds. "That's easy. I can arrange for a change right away."
Qiao Liang felt a surge of respect.
As expected of President Pei—he came up with a solution in just two seconds!
Pei Qian continued, "We can add a new feature early in the story. When players start the game, during a cutscene, they can write their own epitaph—a message to encourage themselves. Each time they die, that message will appear on screen to cheer them on."
…Huh?
Epitaph?
Qiao Liang had a faint feeling that something wasn't quite right… but for the life of him, he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Pei Qian glanced at his watch. "Alright, that's enough for today. You've worked hard these past few days—let's go get something to eat!"
"Ah, sure!"
Qiao Liang had still been pondering whether there was something off about that whole epitaph idea, but the moment he heard the word food, every thought about it vanished instantly.
It was time for another feast!
'President Pei treats me way too well,' Qiao Liang thought with heartfelt gratitude. 'I don't even know how to repay him!'
. . .
The two soon arrived at the entrance of Mingyun Private Kitchen.
Pei Qian couldn't help but smirk as he saw how Qiao Liang's eyes lit up the moment he caught sight of the restaurant.
'Poor Qiao Liang,' Pei Qian thought gleefully, 'completely dancing in the palm of my hand. What a villain I am.'
But his smugness disappeared the instant he looked around the area.
This was Pei Qian's first visit to Mingyun Private Kitchen since it had become popular.
And the situation… was hard to describe.
He had bought this commercial-residential villa precisely because it was isolated—separated from the main housing area, with its own gated entrance and limited access for vehicles.
Originally, that had been the reason these villas were so hard to sell.
But now?
The entire parking lot around Mingyun Private Kitchen was packed with luxury cars—the kind rarely seen even in Jingzhou City.
And it wasn't just the rich. Some customers had clearly come by taxi.
Because these days, Mingyun Private Kitchen's clientele wasn't limited to big-shot executives; plenty of ordinary salary workers were coming too—making the long Sunday trip just to treat themselves to a fine meal and excellent service.
The number of guests wasn't enormous, but compared to last time, the change was dramatic.
When Qiao Liang had come here before, the place had been dead quiet—no customers at all, just the waitstaff going about their duties.
But now, several luxury cars gleamed outside, and the villa's interior was clearly bustling.
In the spacious dining hall, only four or five tables were set far apart from each other—yet every single one was full.
The diners spoke softly as they savored their food with visible satisfaction.
No one had their phone out; the whole atmosphere was peaceful, refined, and natural.
Of course, since Mingyun Private Kitchen offered only a few seats, even at full capacity the hall still felt roomy—completely unlike those packed, overcrowded restaurants where customers had to line up outside for hours.
Pei Qian took it all in, and his heart ached.
To him, every one of these diners was a menace, they weren't here to spend money. They were here to steal his money!
Meanwhile, following behind, Qiao Liang was filled with quiet admiration.
Last time, when he'd seen how empty the place was, he'd assumed it was one of President Pei's personal hobbies—some private restaurant he ran for fun, just to eat and drink with friends.
But looking at it now? Clearly not!
With this many customers and such steady business, this place had to be raking in serious profits.
Sure, the food was amazing—but how had President Pei managed to make such an out-of-the-way private restaurant explode in just two weeks?
Qiao Liang could only sigh inwardly.
It seemed President Pei wasn't just a genius at making games—he was a true business prodigy, someone who could command the winds and waves no matter what industry he entered.
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 294: Keep the Money for Yourself, Don't Transfer It Back to Me![2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/144949310?collection=1399284[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/144949310?collection=1399284
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/144949310?collection=1399284
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded