On the second day of Qiao Liang’s suffering journey, “Real Estate Agent Simulator” was officially released!

The designers at Tardy Studio, including Cai Jiadong, were all busy at work.

Although the game development and pre-release promotional work had been completed, everyone still felt quite uncertain.

This was because neither the release timing nor the current public opinion environment was particularly good, strictly speaking.

Originally, Cai Jiadong wanted to wait until the 1st of next month to release the game, which would fall on a Saturday and seemed like the most appropriate time.

But under Meng Chang’s strong insistence, they released it today, Tuesday, November 27th.

This timing was extremely unfavorable—end of the month and a workday—naturally reducing potential metrics.

And as for the pre-release promotion and public opinion environment, while there was some buzz, it could hardly be called positive attention.

Although Meng Chang had invested considerable resources in promotion, it was all centered around that one promotional video.

The video didn’t directly mention “Real Estate Agent Simulator”; on the surface, it merely showed everyone the hardships of an ordinary real estate agent’s work.

Meanwhile, Residence Group’s attempt to capitalize on the trend made the public opinion environment even more chaotic.

Yes, chaotic, rather than rapidly deteriorating.

Because of its massive size, Residence Group actually had a guiding and controlling effect on public opinion. Although the promotional video they made and the series of promotions that followed were criticized, they did indeed divert much of the attention.

Now, the focus of online discussions, whether positive or negative, was almost entirely shifted to Residence Group.

As for the original promotional video?

It had gradually been overlooked because it wasn’t extreme enough.

Some people even mistakenly believed that this promotional video was also made by Residence Group and included it in their criticism.

As for “Real Estate Agent Simulator,” which had been hiding in the background all along, only a small portion of core players who had been paying attention knew it was being released today.

Many casual players had no knowledge of it at all.

After all, most casual players had their own jobs and received too much information about new games daily. Not knowing about “Real Estate Agent Simulator” was completely normal under Tardy Studio’s promotional approach.

But regardless, everyone still trusted Meng Chang.

So, as Meng Chang had hoped, “Real Estate Agent Simulator” quietly appeared on the Doubt VR headset’s game store and homepage recommendations during this relatively quiet end-of-month period.

…

In the evening.

Shortly after Ding Xiyao returned to her rented Sloth Apartment, there was a knock at the door.

Most Tenda employees were housed in Sloth Apartments, though many had already bought their own homes.

As a new employee, Ding Xiyao had also been assigned a Sloth Apartment as employee housing.

Compared to her previous rental, Sloth Apartments offered much better conditions, so Ding Xiyao moved in without hesitation.

“Hello, your delivery,” said a Headwind Logistics courier at the door.

Ding Xiyao was surprised, as she didn’t remember ordering anything in the past few days.

What’s more, the delivery person was dragging two large boxes and several smaller ones behind him.

Somewhat confused, Ding Xiyao let the courier in after confirming that these items were indeed for her.

The courier first handed her a small box, then began unpacking the large boxes.

The large boxes contained a complete ROF gaming PC with monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals. The courier assembled everything, set it up on the desk, and made sure it was working properly.

Ding Xiyao opened the small box in her hands and found a card and an unopened Doubt VR headset.

The card was from Meng Chang, essentially thanking Ding Xiyao for her help in filming the promotional video. Since “Real Estate Agent Simulator” was officially launched today, he had sent her a computer and VR equipment so she could try it out if interested.

“Oh my, this is too generous. They already paid me for the filming…”

Ding Xiyao felt embarrassed—it was really too much!

She felt she hadn’t done much in the promotional video and had no real acting skills; she had just followed Meng Chang’s instructions to strike a few poses and make a few expressions.

Moreover, the promotional video hadn’t had much effect so far, making Ding Xiyao feel somewhat responsible, wondering if she hadn’t performed well enough.

After all, she was the only main actor in the promotional video. It was possible people didn’t like her face, which might be why the promotional video hadn’t achieved its intended effect.

The courier quickly completed his task and left. Ding Xiyao set up the VR headset, ready to experience the game.

Since it was related to her, and they had delivered a complete set of equipment to her door, she felt she should at least show her support.

The game entry could be found on the Doubt VR headset’s main interface, which was very convenient. As Tardy Studio’s own game, it naturally received this privileged treatment.

Pushing open a door marked the official start of the game.

During the loading process, an opening cutscene played first.

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a CG cutscene but the actual promotional video that had been filmed.

Ding Xiyao was a bit surprised: “Huh? Isn’t this the promotional video I filmed?”

Compared to the version released online, this promotional video didn’t have much difference, except that the final scene showed the game title “Real Estate Agent Simulator” and the Tardy Studio logo.

The promotional video released online didn’t have the game title or studio logo.

Seeing her own performance, Ding Xiyao felt a little embarrassed, especially when watching the scene where she was secretly wiping away tears at home—she felt her acting wasn’t quite up to par.

This couldn’t be helped; after all, she wasn’t a professional actress. Even trying to portray genuine emotions, it was difficult to express them deeply and with nuance, naturally making it hard to move the audience.

Fortunately, the promotional video wasn’t long, and it quickly transitioned into the game scene.

Ding Xiyao found herself inside a small real estate agency office.

The office wasn’t large and had a very simple structure: a reception-like desk area, a consultation area with a coffee table and two single-person sofas, plus some basic furnishings.

This scene was completely different from the real estate agency where Ding Xiyao had previously worked.

But that made sense—this was a game after all, and the work environment needed some beautification.

If they had designed it based on an actual real estate agency office, it might have driven players away from the start.

The game had some basic operation guides. Since it was a casual management game, the operations were all very simple, and even someone like Ding Xiyao who rarely played VR games could quickly get the hang of it.

Next came going to the computer at the front desk, clicking to open files and programs on the computer screen, checking available properties, accepting commissions, matchmaking houses with tenants, going to properties for on-site inspections, introducing house features to potential tenants, closing deals, and finally collecting commissions.

Perhaps concerned that some new players might be confused, the game thoughtfully presented the entire process in flowchart form, showing players’ real-time progress. There was a dedicated interface that could be checked at any time.

For Ding Xiyao, whose former profession was real estate agent, this whole process was extremely familiar—she knew it like the back of her hand and could play smoothly without any prompts.

Ding Xiyao used the controller to simulate her hands, dragging the computer screen in the game, and quickly determined the house type and target customers.

Being in the early stages of the game, Ding Xiyao had very limited property resources—only three units, and each had some “deal-breakers.”

One was too small, one didn’t face south and lacked natural light, and one wasn’t well-ventilated.

After some consideration, Ding Xiyao chose the last one, as its flaw was relatively acceptable.

It had to be said that the game was quite merciful—players only needed to choose one favorite from the three properties and could ignore the other two.

According to the game’s setting, this property database was shared, meaning the other two properties were assigned to other agents.

In reality, Ding Xiyao often encountered old houses that couldn’t be rented out for long periods due to various problems, yet the agency still had to find ways to rent them out.

Whether by lowering the price or through persuasion, everyone had to use their own methods. Some agents, under pressure to meet performance targets, inevitably resorted to underhanded tactics.

Selecting a property was just the first step; next, she needed to choose clients and conduct an on-site inspection.

The game’s computer contained many potential clients to choose from—some living alone, others sharing with friends or partners, with varying ages and incomes.

Different clients had different levels of pickiness and specific preferences.

For instance, some young people hardly ever cooked for themselves and ordered takeout for every meal, so a small kitchen wasn’t a drawback—they wouldn’t use it anyway. But for those who enjoyed cooking, a small or run-down kitchen would be unacceptable.

After consideration, Ding Xiyao selected three groups of clients.

This was also a hard rule in the game mechanics: each property could have at most three client groups. If none of them closed the deal, the mission would fail. If more than one group agreed to the deal, they would compete by raising their offers, increasing the agent’s commission.

This was different from reality, clearly a consideration for gameplay.

Of course, this might also be because they were currently in the early stages of the game, the beginner experience phase, so various systems and gameplay were simplified to allow new players to quickly get started.

As the game progressed, more difficult tasks might appear, and the corresponding restrictions would gradually be lifted.

The three client groups Ding Xiyao chose were: a young couple who had just graduated and were starting to look for work, a white-collar worker with several years of experience and relatively high income, and two women who had been working for over a year and were looking to change apartments.

Of course, the system also noted some of their specific requirements, such as the young couple’s need to cook, while the two women owned a cat.

These three groups were instinctively selected by Ding Xiyao as relatively quality tenants, increasing the likelihood of closing a deal.

Of course, these three groups focused on different aspects of the property, requiring some improvisation.

After selecting these elements, it was time to go and inspect the property in person.

Previously, she had only looked at the floor plan of the house on the computer, noticing some layout issues, but many details could only be discovered through an on-site inspection.

After the inspection came meeting with clients, introducing the property, answering their questions, and closing the deal.

Ding Xiyao pushed open the door of the agency office, and the camera quickly panned out, shifting to the target community.