yournovel Chapter 262 Tencent's Carelessness
Chapter 262 Tencent's Carelessness
As the game begins.
Lu Ran sat in seat number eight, making him the last to act.
He glanced at the lineup on the field—the lord was Liu Bei, the second position was Zhang Fei, the third position was Guan Yu, the fourth position was Zhao Yun, the fifth position was Ma Chao, the sixth position was Huang Zhong, and the seventh position was Wei Yan.
Wow, an all-star lineup. And they're all from the Shu Kingdom.
Is Liu Bei perhaps planning to form a sworn brotherhood like the Eight Sworn Brothers of the Peach Garden?
It seems that at the beginning, when everyone was not familiar with the gameplay, most people chose the Shu Kingdom first, after all, the Shu Kingdom has always been very popular due to the support of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Although Lu Ran didn't understand why this world had "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" but not "Water Margin", "Journey to the West", or "Dream of the Red Chamber", it didn't have much impact, and Lu Ran didn't delve into it.
Lu Ran silently considered the current situation in his mind.
In the first few rounds, he did nothing.
Each round involves observing the stars, controlling cards, and creating an empty city.
Occasionally, a picture of something out of nothing or a picture of abundant harvests will appear, seemingly harmless.
Even if he does make a move, it's at most a devastating attack like "A Barrage of Arrows" or "Invasion of the Southern Barbarians," making it difficult for the lord to determine his identity.
Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, feigning treachery, unleash a fierce attack on Liu Bei. Zhao Yun and Ma Chao, claiming loyalty, desperately protect their lord. Huang Zhong and Wei Yan, their identities unclear, switch targets frequently, creating a dizzying spectacle.
Lu Ran slacked off the whole time, occasionally giving Liu Bei a peach, making him look like a loyal subject.
However, because Zhuge Liang had the ability to observe the stars, he always dealt cards with great skill. The cards he gave to the next player, the lord, and the cards given to the player after that, the rebel, were all carefully considered.
In the fifth round, the situation became clear.
Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were rebels, Zhao Yun and Ma Chao were loyal subjects, Huang Zhong was a rebel, and Wei Yan was a traitor.
At least from Lu Ran's perspective, that's how it is. He was also regarded as a temporary loyal subject by a group of loyal ministers and lords.
Ahead, thanks to Lu Ran's instigation, the rebels were quickly overwhelmed, but they also took two loyal subjects with them. Two lightning bolts were also struck.
The current situation is that he, a Zhuge Liang without any cards, is fighting against a lord and a loyal minister.
Thinking that Lu Ran was also acting as a loyal minister, Liu Bei was unable to determine for a moment which of the two was the truly loyal minister.
The remaining loyal minister was none other than Guan Yu, Liu Bei's invincible second brother.
With Zhuge Liang on one side and Guan Yu on the other, Liu Bei couldn't tell who the traitor was. Fortunately, he didn't help either of them, letting them fight each other.
Lu Ran glanced at his hand—Bagua Formation, Zhuge Crossbow, three Kill cards, and one Wine card.
He took a deep breath.
It's time to make a move.
When it was his turn, he first set up the Bagua Formation, then drank some wine, equipped the repeating crossbow, and fired all three Kill cards at Guan Yu.
Guan Yu was killed instantly.
They then adjusted the cards, causing Liu Bei to be killed by lightning.
Zhuge Liang's traitor wins.
The entire audience was shocked.
"Was Zhuge Liang a traitor?!"
"Holy crap, they hid it so well?!"
"I always thought he was a loyal subject!"
The moment the game ended, a line of text popped up on the public chat—
Lord Liu Bei: "Zhuge Liang, you're a traitor?! You acted more loyal than a loyal minister the whole time!!!"
Lu Ran suppressed a laugh and typed back, "Thank you for your kind words."
Liu Bei: "You flatter me, you old fool! Zhuge Liang was a loyal minister who devoted himself to the cause until his dying breath! Not a treacherous villain like you!"
Lu Ran: "...It's just a game, don't get worked up."
Liu Bei: "Excited? What's there for me to be excited about? I'm not excited at all! I just feel that you've tarnished Zhuge Liang's reputation! If Prime Minister Zhuge knew you were playing him like this in the game, he'd be turning in his grave!"
Lu Ran couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He looked at Liu Bei's ID, which belonged to a player named "Loyal Fan of Shu Han," whose profile picture was a portrait of Zhuge Liang.
No wonder you were so excited.
Another player, "Zhang Fei," chimed in, "Hahaha, my lord, you can't accept defeat?"
Liu Bei: "It's not that I can't accept defeat! It's that I feel the role of the traitor shouldn't have been given to Zhuge Liang! How could Zhuge Liang be a traitor? He was a loyal minister who devoted himself to the cause until his dying breath!"
Lu Ran thought for a moment and typed a reply: "Historically, before Zhuge Liang came out of seclusion, he was also farming in Nanyang. If Liu Bei hadn't visited him three times, he might never have come out of seclusion. From this perspective, he was indeed an 'insider'—lurking among the people, waiting for a wise ruler to invite him."
Liu Bei was furious and immediately typed: "You have a lot of twisted logic."
Lu Ran laughed out loud and quickly exited the game, afraid that the other party would come over through the internet to confront him.
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, laughing so hard tears were almost streaming down his face.
This game is really addictive.
Especially the sense of role-playing—when you resonate with the historical figures you choose, the feeling of immersion is something other games can't provide.
This Liu Bei player, although he lost, at least shows that he played seriously, so seriously that he put himself in Liu Bei's shoes and regarded Zhuge Liang as a true loyal minister.
This is the true charm of "Three Kingdoms Kill".
It's not a simple card battle; it's a game of characters, identities, humanity, betrayal, and loyalty.
He picked up his phone and sent a message to Zhou Mingzhe:
[I just played a game, chose Zhuge Liang as the traitor, and won. My lord was Liu Bei, and in his frustration, he cursed me for tarnishing Zhuge Liang's reputation. This game is over.]
Zhou Mingzhe replied instantly:
"Are you bullying a newbie?"
Lu Ran:
No, I just played normally. I just happened to draw Zhuge Liang, just happened to survive to the end, just happened to have a one-on-one duel with the lord, and just happened to win.
Zhou Mingzhe:
【…】
Lu Ran smiled but didn't reply.
He opened TUTU and glanced at the number of posts in the "Three Kingdoms Kill" community—in just two weeks, starting from zero, it had already exceeded 100,000 posts.
Although it can't match the popularity of "Seven Heroes of the Jianghu" when it was first launched, its growth rate is incredibly stable.
Those college students are taking this game from online to offline, from dormitories to classrooms, and from the university town to the entire city.
Lu Ran believed that it wouldn't be long before "Three Kingdoms Kill" would spread like a virus among college students across the country.
By then, Tencent's card and board game empire will be in serious trouble.
...
Lu Ran asked Zhou Mingzhe to compile a daily report of the beta test data for "Three Kingdoms Kill" and send it to his email.
It's not that I'm worried, it's that I want to see how this game actually performs in this world.
After a week's worth of data came out, Lu Ran sat in his office and looked at each report one by one.
Daily active users: Stable at around 2,000 - 3,000 beta test codes, activation rate of over 99%, and retention rate is frighteningly high.
Average game duration: 47 minutes.
This number is even higher than that of "Seven Heroes of the Jianghu".
User-generated content: strategy guides, tutorial videos, general rankings, recaps of identity-based games... hundreds of new posts are added every day.
What surprised Lu Ran the most was that some players had already started to organize online leagues on their own.
A user with the ID "Sanguosha Referee Chief" posted on TUTU, saying that he wanted to organize the "First Sanguosha Closed Beta Cup", an eight-player tournament with elimination rounds, and he would personally pay for a skin for the champion when the game was officially launched.
Below the post, dozens of people lined up to sign up.
Lu Ran was very pleased to see that a wealthy man was doing his work.
Although "Three Kingdoms Kill" can't compare to the tens of millions of players in "Seven Heroes of Jianghu," this start is already quite impressive for a card game.
And this is just the beginning.
Meanwhile, at Weibo Technology headquarters.
Wang Huabing sat in his office, with news and discussions about the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" displayed on the screen in front of him.
He's been watching it for a week now.
From the very first day the game was announced, he made people keep a close eye on it.
After all, every product that Tutu Technology has released before has been aimed at their Achilles' heel.
Happy Farm has stolen away Weibo's casual users.
TUTU Pets has stolen away Weibo's emotional users.
"Seven Heroes of the Jianghu" has stolen away Weibo's game users.
Now another game, "Three Kingdoms Kill," is coming out. Who knows what it will steal?
"Mr. Wang," the assistant knocked and entered, "Tencent has sent an analysis report about 'Three Kingdoms Kill'."
Wang Huabing took the report and quickly glanced through it.
The report was very detailed, analyzing everything from gameplay and target audience to market prospects and potential threats. But the final conclusion brought Wang Huabing a sigh of relief—
The gameplay of *Three Kingdoms Kill* is relatively complex, with a high learning curve, and it lacks a broad player base. It is unlikely to pose a substantial threat to the existing card and board game market in the short term. We suggest maintaining a watchful eye, but no immediate countermeasures are necessary.
Wang Huabing put down the report, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long breath.
Card game.
Ultimately, isn't it just a card game?
How many years has Tencent been operating its card and board game empire? Landlord, Mahjong, Upgrading, Piggyback, Gomoku, Chess… which one doesn't have tens of millions of users?
With its complex rules, confusing identities, and diverse general skills, this new gameplay of "Three Kingdoms Kill" is not easy for ordinary people to master.
He thought about it and felt that Tencent's analysis made sense.
This kind of game is destined to only be popular in a small circle and will never become a big phenomenon.
"Let's leave it for now," he told his assistant. "Just let the operations team maintain it normally. If we have the energy, let's focus on promoting Half-Life; that's our main battleground."
The assistant nodded and left.
Wang Huabing looked out the window, feeling a rare sense of relaxation.
Lu Ran, that kid, finally made a bad move this time.
Tencent Games Headquarters, Strategic Analysis Department.
Chen Mo sat in the conference room, in front of him was a more detailed analysis report than the one on Weibo.
He watched it for a full hour.
From gameplay innovation to user profiles, from market size to competitive landscape, every dimension is analyzed thoroughly.
At the end of the report, the analyst made a judgment—
The core gameplay of *Three Kingdoms Kill* is highly innovative, but its complexity and rule barriers limit its widespread adoption in the short term. Tencent's card and board games have a massive user base of hundreds of millions, with simple and intuitive gameplay and deeply ingrained user habits. The impact of *Three Kingdoms Kill* on Tencent's card and board game business is expected to be limited; continued monitoring is recommended.
Chen Mo closed the report, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
He didn't actually completely agree with this assessment.
As the head of Tencent's strategic investment department, he has seen too many products that seemed unremarkable but eventually achieved remarkable success.
What is initially underestimated by everyone is often the most dangerous.
But the problem is, what can he do if he doesn't agree?
The people working on Tencent's card and board game division have long since figured out the market.
They're right—games like Dou Dizhu, Mahjong, and Upgrading have a large user base, simple gameplay, and a strong mass appeal.
It's indeed unlikely that "Three Kingdoms Kill" can shake this foundation.
Moreover, he had someone try out the game briefly.
The rules are indeed complex. Identity, generals, hand cards, equipment, strategies... just figuring out these concepts takes a lot of time. Who has the patience for that?
He thought about it and realized that his worries might be unnecessary.
No matter how capable Lu Ran is, it's impossible for every product to be a hit. It's normal to make a mistake once in a while.
"Then do as the report says," he told his assistant. "Just keep an eye on it; no need to deal with it specifically."
Chen Mo never imagined that his decision would cause such a huge loss to Tencent.
...
Lu Ran has never been one to follow someone else's script.
One week after its release, the popularity of "Three Kingdoms Kill" did not explode, but the curve was very stable.
Daily active users gradually increased from 2,000 to 3,000, then to 5,000, and then to 8,000.
The growth wasn't rapid, but every step was solid.
Moreover, the users who get hooked are incredibly loyal.
The average game time increased from 47 minutes to 52 minutes, and then to 58 minutes. Some people play for an entire afternoon, even forgetting to eat.
Lu Ran knew that this kind of game relied not on explosive power, but on endurance.
Many players of "Three Kingdoms Kill" have been playing for over a decade, and they both love and hate this game.
It won't reach tens of millions of daily active users within a week of its release, like "Seven Heroes of the Jianghu".
But as long as those core users remain, it can snowball and grow bigger and bigger.
"President Lu," Zhou Mingzhe walked into the office, holding a data report in his hand, "the data for this week's 'Three Kingdoms Kill' is out."
"explain."
"Our daily active users have surpassed 12,000," Zhou Mingzhe said. "Although it can't compare to 'Seven Heroes of Jianghu,' the growth rate is accelerating. And—" He paused, "the feedback from offline demo events at universities has been very positive. We've already received inquiries from student associations at over a dozen universities who want cards and merchandise."
Lu Ran nodded: "Then give them to them. Print more cards; the cost isn't high, consider it a bonus."
"Furthermore," Zhou Mingzhe continued, "the UGC content about 'Three Kingdoms Kill' on TUTU is growing rapidly. Strategies, tutorials, general rankings, replays of identity-based games... hundreds of new posts are added every day. One user-made general strength ranking has already been shared over ten thousand times."
Lu Ran took the tablet and glanced at the leaderboard.
First place: Zhuge Liang.
Reason: Stargazing for card control, Empty City for damage immunity, invincible in one-on-one battles.
Second place: Sima Yi.
Reason: The reversal skill counters all luck-based strategies.
Third place: Zhen Ji.
Reason: Stunning beauty, draws eight cards in one turn, exclusive to the luckiest players.
……