Chapter 10: A Frenzied Promotional Campaign (Part I)

The night was deep.

When Chen Shou returned home, the sound of chiming gold coins echoed in his ears, and the visuals of the game "Desert Bicycle" kept flashing through his mind. For some reason, he felt an indescribable sense of excitement.

In the next room, his wife, Liu Jia, had already set up the computer and finished installing the game. As a stay-at-home wife with plenty of free time once the children were asleep, her nightlife had officially begun.

Chen Shou pulled out his phone and started making calls.

"Yes, Big Brother, that’s right, I’ve been to that company..."

"The boss is too young. He gives off the vibe of a spoiled rich kid, the kind who just throws money around to hit performance targets..."

"The game only costs five yuan to download. It’s barely anything—even if you lose, it’s just five yuan. A single hour at an internet café costs two. What if there’s a reward of tens of thousands? I even have a photocopy of his ID card, so don't worry, he isn't going anywhere..."

"Exactly, I’ll text you the link. It includes my referral code..."

Chen Shou called person after person. Just as he finished his tenth successful referral, he heard his wife’s voice from the next room. It was the middle of the night, yet Liu Jia sounded incredibly excited.

"Old Chen, did you get a referral? Your account just went up by five hundred points!"

Chen Shou was stunned. Was it really that fast? Could he withdraw the money already? He rushed into the computer room and saw his wife staring intensely at the "Desert Bicycle" interface. On a secondary account, it showed five hundred points available for withdrawal.

"Is it really that fast? Should we withdraw the five yuan?"

"Old Chen, let’s withdraw four yuan. I hit a hidden task, and the rewards are huge, but I need thirty points to revive and continue... the pop-up notification from your account made me lose!"

"Alright, then..." Chen Shou nodded helplessly.

After deducting one hundred points, he navigated to the withdrawal screen and entered his bank account details. He was nervous at first. Although five yuan was a small amount, the feeling of being scammed would be terrible. He stared at the screen, a mix of anxiety and anticipation bubbling up inside him.

Not long after, his phone vibrated.

He immediately checked his account and saw a deposit notification for four yuan. Chen Shou was thrilled. It was real! If he could invite ten people, he could earn five yuan—real, withdrawable cash. If he managed to pull in a hundred people a day, he could make an extra fifty yuan! That would be fifteen hundred a month. Of course, that wasn't realistic, but he could easily pull in thirty customers a day. If he just talked to everyone he drove, he could definitely make some pocket money. Maybe enough for a pack of cigarettes a day?

In the dead of night, Chen Shou suddenly felt an urge to go back out and drive his taxi. He looked at his wife, who was deep in the game.

"Honey, let me tell you..."

"Quiet, I'm doing a mission!" Liu Jia was currently steering her bike through a sandstorm. The winds were relentless, coming in wave after wave. She had to mash the left and right keys to dodge them.

"Honey, put the mission aside. Stop playing and start calling your relatives, friends, and old colleagues. Ten people is five yuan, twenty is ten yuan... this is real money!"

"Chen Shou, what is wrong with you? Can’t you wait until I finish? I failed the mission! It costs forty points to revive now. I could have cashed out what I earned, but now it’s all gone. Are you sick or something?" Liu Jia threw the keyboard aside and glared at him, furious.

The game was far too addictive. She had been on the verge of cashing out several times—if she had just been a bit more focused, she could have earned a yuan! But Old Chen kept yapping, causing her to fail. It was infuriating. The game looked simple, but the first time you failed, it cost ten points to restart, then twenty, then thirty... before long, all the points she’d earned were gone.

"Just stop playing and make the calls!"

"Are you crazy? Who makes calls in the middle of the night? Are you out of your mind?"

"Uh..."

"Fine. You haven't played on your account yet, right? Do you still have your trial chances?"

"Yes!"

"Let me play it..."

"Alright."

"Get out. You have to drive tomorrow, don't bother me."

"Fine."

Just as Liu Jia opened Chen Shou’s game and chased him out, her phone rang. She jumped, her character was blown off course by the wind, and the mission failed. It was going to cost another ten points to revive. She was livid. Was everyone insane?

It was the middle of the night—who could be calling? She saw it was her sister, Liu Mei, and was left speechless. She answered the phone.

"Hey, sis! This game can make money, it’s real! I just triggered a hidden task. It was hard, but I finished it and already withdrew one yuan! I could have withdrawn one-point-three, but I spent thirty points to save my progress for tomorrow. I think I can earn my cost back by tomorrow. Oh, and there's a no-damage clear, it doesn't seem that hard. Thirty thousand! I think I can do it!"

On the other end, Liu Mei sounded ecstatic, even sending a photo of her successful withdrawal. Seeing the image in the MMS, Liu Jia felt a surge of frustration. She hung up, turned off her phone, and dove right back into the game.

Time flew by. After a night of playing, Liu Mei finally saved up one hundred points and clicked the withdrawal button. About half an hour later, seeing the money hit her bank account, she felt a rush of satisfaction. She exited the game and checked the "Universe Tech" leaderboard. She was shocked to see her rank was already in the top two hundred! How had two hundred people appeared overnight?

She looked at the withdrawal screen—it was flooded with notifications of one, two, and five-yuan withdrawals, even some for ten. A sudden sense of crisis washed over her.

Just as she was about to lie down and sleep, the doorbell rang. She ran to open it. It was Liu Mei, looking excited.

"Sis, I withdrew ten yuan in one night! I pulled in twenty people. This thing is so easy to make pocket money with; all my friends and colleagues are sharing it now..."

"Sis, I only need three more people to withdraw another five yuan. Can you help me call some people and use my referral code?"

Seeing Liu Mei’s excitement, Liu Jia suddenly felt a deep sense of unease. At that moment, the sound of someone making phone calls echoed from the next room. Chen Shou was already awake, having started his rounds of calls all over again.