Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Qiao Liang had still been engrossed in the game, and so he did not answer Pei Qian immediately. After staring blankly at the latter for a while, he stood up and said, “It feels… er…”

At that moment, Teacher Qiao—who had played many unorthodox games and created many videos—did not know what to say.

How did it feel?

The greatest feeling he had was that this game’s difficulty had been designed wrongly! Perhaps the systems designer had given the beasts too much attack power. Maybe he added an extra zero by accident. Everything else was fine.

However, seeing Pei Qian’s warm smile, Teacher Qiao could not bring himself to say that.

Boss Pei was now a celebrity game creator. How could he make such a stupid mistake in the system design?

Even systems designers who had just entered the industry seldom made mistakes like adding an extra zero to the figures. After all, to become a systems designer, one now had to have a certain understanding of basic mathematics.

It was not like plot designers who could write a couple of nice-sounding words to get the job. Thus, after hesitating for a long time, Teacher Qiao still could not think of the right thing to say.

He even began to feel a bit guilty.

Qiao Liang, Qiao Liang… Why are you fumbling at such a critical moment?!

Boss Pei had invited you over from so far away and provided you with good food and good drinks, all because he thinks highly of you-a veteran gamer. He wants to hear what you have to say.

Yet, even after playing for several hours, you can’t form a single sentence to describe your experience of the game? You’ve truly let Boss Pei down! Qiao Liang began to feel slightly embarrassed. However, Pei Qian did not seem to mind the least bit. Instead, he laughed and said, “Let’s go! We’re going to eat. We’ll throw a grand welcome party for you tonight!” Pei Qian was not angry at all. Instead, he was very satisfied with Qiao Liang’s reaction.

This meant that he had become muddle-headed from playing Repent and Be Saved. This was exactly what Pei Qian had wanted to see.

After all, Teacher Qiao was considered quite a strong player among gamers. Teacher Qiao had properly finished the entire journey in The Lonely Desert Road the last time; he was absolutely ruthless!

Of course, he succeeded partly because he needed to earn a living. However, Teacher Qiao’s resistance and ability to take stress really could not be underestimated.

Now, Teacher Qiao had been so tortured by the game that he had become muddle-headed. Wasn’t that proof that Pei Qian was proceeding in the right direction?

After seeing Teacher Qiao’s reaction, Pei Qian could imagine how ordinary gamers would react. This made him more relieved about Repent and Be Saved’s future.

At Ming Yun Private Kitchen…

Pei Qian led Qiao Liang to the largest private room in the restaurant.

All the decorations here had been changed in the afternoon. Now the room was decorated according to the dishes the restaurant had prepared for today. Even the dining table and cutlery matched the decorations.

Only Pei Qian and Qiao Liang were eating. No one else accompanied them.

All the employees were still working hard for Boss Pei’s loss-incurring businesses. Boss Pei alone had nothing better to do. That was why he decided to personally accompany Qiao Liang for dinner. At the same time, this showed his respect for the latter.

What’s more, this was not like official business meals. If there were too many people, it might be too stressful instead.

The environment was good, and the service was up to par. Even the appetizers and snacks they had before the dishes were served were better than the main courses in most other restaurants. Qiao Liang enjoyed the appetizers and snacks as he chatted casually with Pei Qian. For some reason, he felt threatened.

Boss Pei is too good to me, isn’t he? There’s a saying that ‘if something goes wrong, there must be a demon’. I’m just an ordinary UP Master. Why must Boss Pei treat me so well?

Could there be a hidden scheme behind the scenes?

For some reason, Qiao Liang felt there was a hidden message in Boss Pei’s smiles. They were not that innocent.

“How’s your progress in the game?” Pei Qian smiled as he grabbed an appetizer with his chopsticks.

Qiao Liang answered truthfully. “I’ve arrived at the town.”

Oh, you made it out of the village in the beginning? Not bad, not bad. You’re progressing very quickly.

It looked like Teacher Qiao was quite intelligent and skillful indeed. Similar torturous games were ordinarily more difficult in the beginning. As long as one persevered, the game would still go quite smoothly later on.

The key was a change in mindset. If one did not change their mindset, they would always be stuck in the village of newbies.

Repent and Be Saved was quite similar to other Souls-like games. It was designed so that all the monsters would be revived after death. If a reckless brute insisted on rushing through the game-no matter how many times they played the game, they would remain at the starting point. However, if one could get the hang of the game and advance warily and steadily, they would progress through the game much more quickly.

This was the first time Qiao Liang had come into contact with a game like that. It was expected that he would make slow progress in the beginning

However, the thought of Qiao Liang suffering in the newbie village for eight hours made the corners of Pei Qian’s lips curl upwards. He could barely keep his laughter in. “What do you think is the most difficult part of the game?” Pei Qian continued asking.

He had to increase the power at the parts which Teacher Qiao found the most difficult. He also had to increase the difficulty of the parts which Teacher Qiao found easy.

Without thinking, Teacher Qiao answered, “The monsters’ attack is too strong.” “What else?” Pei Qian completely ignored that comment.

“What else…?” Qiao Liang fell into deep thought. The eight hours of torture and suffering flashed before his eyes.

These included the time when he angered a monster and became surrounded by a group of them, when he walked to a sidewalk and suddenly found himself surrounded by monsters, and when he walked through sheer cliffs and a monster suddenly rushed up to him and pushed him over. His eight hours of fighting were filled with blood and tears!

Qiao Liang felt like he was a fish on a chopping board; he was completely at the mercy of people who would slice him however they wanted!

Oh, no, it was monsters that would slice him however they wanted!

Listening to Qiao Liang’s complaints, Pei Qian tried his best to keep a serious expression. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he could only see four words on Qiao Liang’s face: Make it more powerful!

Pei Qian felt even more blissful now that he had heard Teacher Qiao describe the torture and suffering he had been through.

What have I spent so much money creating this game for?

It’s just for a day like that!

Qiao Liang did not seem to notice Boss Pei’s subtle expression. Instead, he was too engrossed in recounting the pain he had been through and was finding it hard to pull himself out of it.

“The most ridiculous thing is that there are monsters in the village that look just like night watchmen. They travel in pairs, one holding a gong and the other holding a watchman’s rattle. Every monster that they walk past would be awakened. They would only go back to sleep after a long time.

“I wanted to kill them by stealth, but both of them have lanterns and excellent eyesight. Just a single stab and my health bar would be emptied. Each time I want to run, they would use their secret weapon. So I turn-“

“Pfft.”

Finally, Pei Qian could not hold it in any longer and laughed out loud.

Teacher Qiao was stunned. “Boss Pei?”

Pei Qian looked very awkward. Sh*t, I didn’t hold it in!

Teacher Qiao had been too engrossed in his description, and he narrated every detail about it. Pei Qian could even imagine the watchmen holding the lantern chopping Qiao Liang up once they bumped into each other. This made it very difficult for Pei Qian to maintain his serious expression. Luckily, at that moment, the dishes were served.

“I’m just glad that the food is here. Come, come, please help yourself, Teacher Qiao.” The waiter had just served a plate of sea urchin sushi. Pei Qian quickly pushed it towards Teacher Qiao, gesturing for him to dig in.

Qiao Liang felt even stranger. There was something off about Boss Pei’s expression.

Why did it feel like he was celebrating Qiao Liang’s misery?

He seems very happy to hear that I’ve been tortured like a dog in the game. Was he unable to hold in his laughter just now? Could it be that Boss Pei invited me over from so far away just to watch me suffer?

Is this table full of dishes meant to soothe his conscience?

Qiao Liang could not help but become more suspicious.

I might be an ordinary UP Master, and I might have signed your contract and taken your money; however, I am still a person with character! I have my pride!

If my guess is right-even if I did sign the contract, I would solemnly protest! I will expose your shameful behavior on the internet!

Qiao Liang thought in silence as he picked up a sea urchin sushi.

“Hmm? Yummy!”

The sea urchin was cold and refreshing, and the sushi rice was warm and fragrant. Both contrasting flavors melted into his taste buds, tasting like a romantic French kiss. At that moment, Qiao Liang’s taste buds were overwhelmed.

He had Japanese cuisine in Beijing, but this was obviously no ordinary sea urchin!

Ordinary sea urchins were quite cheap, but auction-grade sea urchins could cost thousands of yuan.

Thus, when Xue Zhebin visited the restaurant in the afternoon and asked for sea urchin, the waiter told him that they had to be pre-ordered. Ming Yun Private Kitchen did not sell ordinary sea urchins.

Of course, strictly speaking, there were sea urchins in the kitchen at the time. However, Pei Qian had pre-ordered them for this meal with Qiao Liang. That was why they could not serve Xue Zhebin at that time.

Looking at the expensive dishes on the table, the suspicion and doubt in Qiao Liang’s heart melted away.

Boss Pei thinks so highly of me that he’s treating me to so much good food; how could he be doing that to watch me suffer? If being tortured by a game could earn me such delicious food, I can only say… increase the power! I can take it!

As Qiao Liang enjoyed the food, he secretly hardened his resolve.

Boss Pei is so nice to me. I will take this game seriously and make sure I win it. Then, I will publicize this game well for him!

“Thank you for hosting me, Boss Pei!” It was obvious that Qiao Liang wished he could eat more, but his stomach was already bloated.

There were so many delicacies; he was extremely satisfied!

Teacher Qiao was even beginning to think that this meal had made his entire trip to Jingzhou worth it!

Pei Qian did not know that Teacher Qiao’s mood had made a 180-degree change at the dining table. He instructed Little Sun to send Teacher Qiao back to his hotel and then come back to pick him up.

After seeing Qiao Liang out, Pei Qian turned back to talk to Lin Canrong. He wanted to ask about the current situation.

There were tables and chairs in the villa’s garden. The gentle night breeze there was particularly refreshing.

“How has the traffic here been recently?”

Ever since Zhang Zuting posted about the restaurant on Weibo, Pei Qian began to panic. Somehow, he could not relax about Ming Yun Private Kitchen’s situation.

Lin Canrong immediately understood. In the beginning, no one visited the restaurant. Now, people were slowly streaming in. Obviously, Ming Yun Private Kitchen was being publicized while most people remained unaware.

Boss Pei must be asking about the traffic so that he could judge the effectiveness of his publicity. Yet, how should I answer him?

Logically, in order to show the effectiveness of the publicity, Lin Canrong should frame things positively. However, this might come across as him bluffing Boss Pei.

After all, less than ten customers had visited the restaurant in the past two days. What’s more, most of them had been scared off by the menu alone. Only two or three people had actually stayed to try their food.

The only recurring customer was the young man named Xue Zhebin who had visited this afternoon.

The traffic alone could not be framed positively!

Seeing Lin Canrong’s hesitation, the corners of Pei Qian’s lips curled upward. That’s good, that’s good. Lin Canrong was not excitedly reporting good news. That was the best news!

This meant that Zhang Zuting’s Weibo post had not been that effective. There was no drastic change to the traffic in the restaurant.