I Found A Planet

On the 1st of January 20X3, the first day of the Lunar New Year, after many days of heavy advertising, Xing Hai Technologies released a game product:

“100% Science Lab”

Chen Jin said during the conference, “This is the first game in the world that has a 100% simulation degree. Hold me responsible as I shall say that no other game will be more realistic than this. Rather than calling it a game, it should be called the almighty assistant for scientists. No matter what field, no matter what technology realized in the game, it is possible for all of them to be actualized in reality. It is very similar to the Virtual Factory, but even stronger. Many of Xing Hai Technologies’ forbidden tech has been included in the game. Besides, this is a game that can earn you money. The credits you earn in-game can be exchanged with dollars that will be credited to your bank account. One credit is equivalent to 1 dollar, and 1 million credits will be equal to 1 million dollars. If the player chooses to cash out, the money will quickly be transferred to their bank account. But of course, you could use your credits to redeem your scientific research results, extracting the data of your scientific research within the allowed scope into reality, thus transforming them into greater economic benefits. Hence, once you find your game mode, and if your brain has what it takes, do join us in this game and start excavating your own goldmine! The ‘100% Science Lab’ welcomes you!” Chen Jin spread both of his arms.

That’s right, he added player monetization mode to the game. For a game, if it was boring, hard to master, and if players couldn’t get something out of it, the game’s player base would completely evaporate in no time, especially for the “100% Science Lab.” Its path was destined to be parallel with flunkies and all those outside the field of scientific research. Only a small number of professional talents would be able to enter the game and carry out their explorations. It would definitely expend a ton of the player’s time and energy to dive profoundly into bewildering professional knowledge. In the end, if players did not get any substantial rewards, it would be difficult for them to last long in the game.

Hence, Chen Jin provided players with two paths of collecting profits. Firstly, credits to cash. Secondly, extracting the results of their research into reality. 1 credit was worth 1 dollar. If players were to accomplish a research project with higher difficulty and was rewarded with 1 million credits, it would be equivalent to them earning themselves 1 million dollars hard cash. Extracting research results would be even more intense. Once players employed some advanced technical result that carried great value in the actual world and turned them into some sort of product, the wealth players would gain might be in the billions. Without question, the price for this type of withdrawals would cost a lot more. The amount of credits players would need to expend might be tenfold or even more. In spite of that, Chen Jin believed that there would be more players that would choose to extract their research results.

“If there are players who created an artificial sun in the game, extracting their research results might cost them at least 10 billion credits.” Besides, credits would also be needed for laboratory upgrades and exchanging learning materials for players to enhance themselves. “It will become that, the smarter the player, the more they will realize that they do not have enough credits. In the aftermath, they will work their lives out to earn more credits and again discover that they will need even more credits… falling into a vicious cycle that goes on eternally. Their brainpower will be squeezed to the utmost by the game. But this, however, is the personality of a wise man. Those who seek the truth will forever desire to know more. At last, the person who will gain the most benefits will naturally be… me.”

Chen Jin, with planet Haierfa in his hands, would be the biggest winner.

…

On the same day, after Xing Hai Technologies’s game “100% Science Lab” was launched, it induced a sizable repercussion shortly after. On the internet, netizens were all over it.

“Woah, has Xing Hai Technologies just gone into games?”

“This is unprecedented. Xing Hai Technologies has never released any games. This is their virgin attempt.”

“Be wary game companies, Xing Hai Technologies has entered the arena. They are butchers of the market. For any field they enter, they will wipe out everyone within and emerge as the lone survivor.”

“Can you not be so ignorant? Xing Hai Technologies has long entered the gaming industry. Soon after the Starry Sky Game Engine was launched, it occupied more than 90% of the market. The mainstream games in the market are basically all from Starry Sky… Xing Hai Technologies has already earned a lot from this. But making a game on their own however, is a first.”

“The tycoon said during the conference that ‘this is a game that will earn you money,”you can convert all the credits you can are able to earn into dollars,’ why does it feel like some game from third-rate websites? ‘Fast leveling,”High rebate, make money online,’ it sounds just like these to me.”

“For goodness sake, isn’t it for money after all that our young tycoon made the game? How could players actually earn money?”

“It’s a trap, it’s definitely a trap from some third-rate websites! I’ve seen through this in a glance.”

“Trap or not, I’ve already found the official download website and I plan to give the game a try. If it really was a trap, even if it’s Xing Hai Technologies’ game, I’ll still uninstall it… Woah, the game client is just a little over 500 megabytes, a game with 100% simulation degree in such a small installation pack, Xing Hai Technologies, even if you just wish to con people, can you please at least put in more sincerity?”

“I’ve logged into the game, it’s indeed the same as what was shown at the conference. The game client is small because most of the game is in cloud servers, the local file is only for the video projection. My oblivious friends, please stop showcasing your ‘intelligence’.”

“Game entry test? What have I just witnessed? How is there a test in a game? But I can’t seem to understand any, what should I do?”

“Dumbass! This is a ‘Science Lab,’ if you don’t know science, how could you play this game?”

“12 marks, I only got 12 out of 100. Not qualified to enter the game.”

“I got just 5, school dreg here bidding adieu.”

“Graduated from a prestigious school with considerably good results, gone with 39 marks.”

“Oh well, I think I’ll continue playing LOL.”

“Uninstalled it, this game is not meant for people like me.”

Two hours after the game was launched, the game client swiftly went over a million instances of downloads. But a few hours later, the amount of uninstalls was also over a million. The player uninstall ratio was over 80%.

…

Lee Yan was a postgraduate in bioengineering, apprentice of a renowned biology professor in Z, involved in research in frontier fields such as genetics and molecular science, and published several research papers in international academic journals. He was considered an exemplary researcher in an excellent research team. Lee Yan was also a “Xing fan.” He paid close attention to every move of Xing Hai Technologies, including the “100% Science Lab.” He, too, was greatly intrigued by it. Using his spare time, he downloaded the game to his local computer and challenged the introductory test questions that must be passed in order to enter the game.

He was thinking that, with his academic level, 60 marks should be no problem. However, the difficulty of the introductory test questions far exceeded his expectations. He wrung his brain three hours straight and when the time was up, the answer sheet was automatically submitted.

Upon seeing his own score, Lee Yan can’t hold himself back and screamed, “55 marks? How is this possible? A world-class university, world-class mentor, excelled in all professional courses, and I only got 55 marks? Even I am not qualified for this game?” Lee Yan looked awful. At that particular moment, he suffered a great blow. Subsequently, an expression of discontent bubbled up his face. He clenched his fist and said, “I can take the test once every week. Next week, I must get in the game! I must get over 60 marks!”

His pride as a scholar must be recovered!

…

The following day, less than 24 hours after “100% Science Lab” launched, an article went viral on the internet: “The Most Hardcore Game in History. Terminated 99.9% of Players Before They Even Got Started”