World's End: My Keyword is One More Than Others

Chapter 449: Targeted changes to rules

"You're right, Ross," the head of the Marketing Department agreed, opening a spreadsheet and projecting it for everyone to see. "The audience's approval of your plan to reduce the resource share to the top three is very high. Additionally, the most voted suggestion is that they want to designate Du Ge's keywords."

"What kind of keywords do they want to designate?" Ross asked.

The manager opened another spreadsheet.

It was filled with various keywords, each followed by a percentage of approval.

The top three keywords were: useless, low-key, and ordinary.

The manager said, "Ross, the audience feedback suggests they want to see if Du Ge can turn the tide and seize first place using these keywords, which are completely contrary to his usual style. Especially the keyword 'useless,' which has a particularly high demand."

Looking at the three keywords, Ross remained silent.

Below these three keywords was the word 'silence.'

Thinking about the consequences of Du Ge's excellent eloquence being restricted, Ross shook his head and dismissed the unwelcome thought from his mind, asking, "Have these words ever been successful before?"

"Never," the manager replied. "These words contradict the game rules. Only by doing nothing can one increase attributes, and any attempt to compete for rankings will inevitably cause one's attributes to drop. A person cannot be both useless and successful. And once attributes drop, it's impossible to rank in the top ten."

"Ross, we've already targeted Du Ge in various ways. Isn't it unfair to tamper with his keywords as well?" the head of the Planning Department said. "If Du Ge manages to play with these keywords, it's fine, but if he fails, it could severely impact the ratings. We can't just cater to the audience; they thrive on chaos, and if the show becomes unwatchable, they'll be the first to leave."

"I was just considering this issue," Ross said.

"Ross, but we've spent a lot of time gathering the audience's opinions, and not using them in the end might not sit well," the Marketing Department head said.

"I think we can try the word 'low-key,'" Ross said. "Being low-key is a humble and cautious attitude. It means having ability but not flaunting it, which doesn't imply being useless.

Du Ge's mental power is high enough; using this word can balance his abilities and give other contestants a chance, making the game more exciting.

Whether Du Ge loses a round or continues to win using these 'useless' keywords, we can boost the ratings. I don't believe that giving him a 'low-key' keyword will make him dare to reveal his identity on the Alien Star Battlefield."

"Exactly," the Marketing Department head nodded in agreement, smiling. "If he can still take first place even with 'low-key,' then Du Ge truly is a genius, and no word can suppress him."

"Are there any other suggestions?" Ross asked.

"The other suggestions are similar to what we considered before," the Marketing Department head said. "For example, directly reducing the three resource shares to one, or introducing planets unfamiliar with Du Ge to increase competition.

There are also a few extreme ones, like removing everyone else from Qi Yuan Star, leaving only Du Ge to face people from the other nine planets alone; or volunteering to personally participate in the game to meet Du Ge..."

"These people want Du Ge dead!" the casino manager said with some dissatisfaction.

In two consecutive game fields, Du Ge's unexpected performances had caused the casino's profits to soar, and he was the last person who wanted anything to happen to Du Ge. ????Ἀ????ỐBĘS

Ross ignored the casino manager and looked toward the Exploration Department: "Bas, have you conquered any new civilizations?"

Even if Nan Youlong hadn't said anything, he didn't plan to take another risk. The ability to split his soul couldn't be brought into the Alien Star Battlefield.

If he died, he would truly be dead. If things didn't work out, he just wouldn't get the resources.

If Pan-Universal Entertainment lost him, they'd only lose ratings, but if he died, he'd lose everything.

How could he go against himself?

However, Du Ge didn't plan to leave a soul fragment on Qi Yuan Star.

If the main soul perished, leaving a soul fragment with tens of thousands of mental power on Qi Yuan Star to barely survive would be meaningless.

...

Three days later.

Du Ge and the new batch of Alien Star warriors arrived once again at Pan-Universal Entertainment's launch center.

After three Alien Star Battlefields, Du Ge saw fewer and fewer familiar faces. This was also the cruelty of the Rotational Examination System. Keywords, skills, and various unexpected factors made it rare for anyone to survive four rounds of the Alien Star Battlefield.

Apart from Gao Ming, Feng Zhong, and other old friends of Du Ge who could still maintain high spirits, the enthusiasm of others was noticeably low, with hardly anyone speaking.

The new rule that only the top three could receive resources meant that the competition difficulty would increase exponentially this time.

The key issue was that people from other planets would likely team up against those from Qi Yuan Star, weakening Du Ge's support. The survival difficulty was unknown how many times lower than in previous Alien Star Battlefields, so it was no wonder their spirits were low.

The warriors' only hope was that Du Ge could still dominate the battlefield and lead them to victory with his absolute strength.

...

Before entering the battlefield, Du Ge was called over by Bai Long again, who warned him once more not to use his previous abilities.

Du Ge naturally agreed.

Even without the Power of Poseidon, he had still taken first place several times.

With two keywords, the probability of him losing to others was too low; at most, it would just take a bit longer.

Having understood the true strength of Pan-Universal Entertainment, Du Ge's mindset had genuinely relaxed, but he still aimed to take first place. Lying flat, as Nan Youlong suggested, was never in Du Ge's plans.

As long as he performed brilliantly enough, even if he made some fundamental mistakes, Pan-Universal Entertainment would protect him for the sake of ratings.

A clear self-awareness was the secret to Du Ge's enduring success.