262 Why did the Purpose of the Epitaph Change?

September 16th, Thursday…

Pei Qian headed over to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Handong University branch once again to take a look at Teacher Qiao's progress with the game.

Pei Qian came with a completely different mindset from before.

That was because… he had cleared all the stages!

Of course, those stages were merely at easy difficulty. He used the 'Pudu' and jumped from the Road to the Underworld to the six realms of rebirth and existence. After clearing the boss there, he had finished his job.

If Pei Qian had to complete one whole round, he might be helpless.

The initial difficulty level of the second round was hard enough. Moreover, 'Pudu' was different from other weapons in the second round. Because it could not be upgraded, it would slowly fall behind other weapons. Using it to fight would simply be a suicidal act.

However, that did not concern Pei Qian. He had completed the system's tasks and felt that the weights were off his chest.

Over on the other side, the matters regarding the new stores for Fish-Catching Internet Cafe were almost all settled.

The location that they chose was the biggest shopping mall in Jingzhou City. The rent was not cheap. It was 12 yuan per square meter. That was the most expensive place that Pei Qian had rented.

Although that was nothing compared to rent ten years later, it was already shockingly high.

The area of this shop was around 800 square meters. The store was not as spacious as before as it was located within a mall.

After they have decided not to offer coffee and drinks services, that saved a huge space in the store. Pei Qian specially allocated an area to be the public leisure and entertainment area. He set up a projector there.

The rest of the space could fit 150 computers.

Pei Qian estimated that the monthly rent would be around 300,000 yuan. He needed to hire two cashiers and four internet cafe administrators. That would cost him thirty to forty thousand yuan each month. Adding internet fees, cleaning, and other expenses; the internet cafe would spend about 400,000 yuan each month.

Currently, the occupancy ratio of the computers at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes was at thirty to forty percent. The standard operating duration was from 0800 to 2400 daily. If he continued charging 10 yuan per hour for the computers, he could at most earn 300,000 yuan.

Of course, many internet cafes operate 24/7. However, Pei Qian did not plan on doing so.

It was not because the mall would close at night.

Even if the mall was closed, the movie theaters in many malls all had midnight slots. There would still be customers around two to three in the morning. They were not affected by the closure of the mall.

The mall simply had to keep its doors open. That was not a new occurrence.

Pei Qian's purpose for opening the internet cafe was to lose money. He would, of course, try his best to reduce the operation duration.

Thinking about it from another perspective—with the current expenses, the internet cafe needed to achieve a computer occupancy ratio of about sixty percent to profit. Pei Qian thought that the target was almost impossible to hit.

After all, even though the flagship store for Fish-Catching Internet Cafes was very popular, it did not reach that number either.

Of course, Pei Qian did not completely trust the statistics as they were volatile.

Pei Qian did not rush to open many stores. He wanted to open one first and observe the situation there.

If the loss reached his expected amount, he would invest in a few more stores before the settlement. If the internet cafe managed to profit for some unknown reasons, he would find a way to stop that.

…

When Pei Qian reached the Handong University branch, he pulled out the chair beside Teacher Qiao and sat down. He sipped on his cocktail as he watched Teacher Qiao play the game.

His original intent was to see Teacher Qiao suffer. That would add some excitement to his busy work and life.

Qiao Liang felt that he was being valued by Pei Qian and was instantly energetic.

The main designer of the game was watching him play the game and was prepared to listen to his opinions and suggestions at any time. That was such a thing to be proud of!

Teacher Qiao was in high spirits.

At that moment, Qiao Liang had finished updating the game. He opened the update list conveniently.

"Eh? The epitaph function is completed?"

Qiao Liang was pleasantly surprised. The problem that he raised previously had been quickly resolved by Boss Pei. That showed that Pei Qian really valued his opinions!

Pei Qian saw the update list, too. He said regrettably, "The epitaph function is only available at the beginning of the game. I don't think you will be able to use that unless you open a new account."

Qiao Liang entered the game as he replied, "That's alright. I have coincidentally reached the second round."

Pei Qian was speechless. "…"

What the f*ck?!

Teacher Qiao's words might have sounded nonchalant, but they were akin to a sharp knife that pierced into Boss Pei's heart.

He had reached the second round?

Pei Qian had indeed completed the first round. However, he relied on 'Pudu' and skipped many stages in the process. He might have only truly experienced about thirty to forty percent of the game.

However, Teacher Qiao was different. He completed the first round without skipping any stage. Moreover, he had experienced a huge challenge in the process. The weapon that he was familiar with was downgraded by an unscrupulous game designer, and he had to familiarize himself with a completely new weapon.

Even if that happened, Teacher Qiao's progress in the game was about the same as Boss Pei.

That comparison made Pei Qian upset…

He felt that his mood turned for the worse, and he was starting to doubt himself.

He did not doubt his gaming abilities. Boss Pei knew that he was a noob, and he had never doubted that.

What he doubted was mainly the difficulty of the game.

How did Teacher Qiao manage to clear the game when the game's difficulty had been raised to such a level?

God knew how much effort I spent in increasing the difficulty level for the players when producing the game!

However, despite what he did, Teacher Qiao still managed to clear the game. That made Pei Qian extremely dejected.

Even his favorite cocktail appeared less fragrant than before.

However, the good news was that Teacher Qiao was about to challenge himself with the second round. The difficulty of the second round was evidently higher than the first round.

He entered the game.

The opening story plot was still similar to before. After the opening CG, the starting village appeared on the screen. Many villagers who had lost parts of their three souls and seven spirits were lingering around. At the mass grave near the village, the protagonist lifted open his coffin and sat up.

He was deemed to be a dead person, and yet he managed to wake up and head on the Road to the Underworld.

According to the original story plot, the player should now pick up a broken sword and fight the monsters.

However, after the update, there was a new transition scene.

The protagonist stood in front of his tomb in the mass grave and saw a shabby tombstone. There were no words on it.

The protagonist knelt down in front of his tomb and touched the coarse and shabby tombstone. He spoke in a low and husky voice, "There is no inscription. In that case, I shall write my own epitaph."

A text box appeared on the screen. Players could type whatever they want. The word limit was ten Chinese characters.

Qiao Liang scratched his head.

Naming was his biggest frustration. He was currently facing a serious challenge.

What kind of epitaph should he write?

A more optimistic one to encourage himself?

Or a resolute one to fit in with the solemn atmosphere?

Or, maybe he should try to be funny?

He squeezed his brain juices for some literary phrases, and yet he did not have the academic ability for that. Moreover, Boss Pei was watching him from the sides. If what he wrote was too long, it might appear as though he was trying to show off. That was not very appropriate.

Qiao Liang pondered for a while and wrote down four words: You can do it.

This simple sentence could serve as an encouragement to him!

After all, the difficulty level of the game was very high. If he died in the game, seeing that encouragement could boost his confidence and prepare him for the incoming challenges.

After another simple transition animation, the four-word epitaph written in ancient characters was ingrained into the tombstone; and the game had officially begun.

Round two, here I come!

Qiao Liang was extremely energetic. He was prepared to perform well in front of Boss Pei.

After all, he had been receiving Boss Pei's salary for such a long time. He must be bound to show some improvements.

Qiao Liang took out the mourning stick that he earned after defeating the Black and White Impermanence in the first round of the game. It was a two-handed weapon that looked like a long and thick rod. There were many white papers stuck on the rod.

It was a good heavy weapon, and its damage is quite high. Moreover, it had an additional weapon effect. After using it, the weapon could deal AOE damage to the enemies at the front and extract a small amount of their three souls and seven spirits.

I need to showcase my abilities properly in front of Boss Pei!

Qiao Liang was very confident. After all, he had completed round one with his own abilities. He had fought many bosses and was very experienced. Those few monsters in the newbie village did not pose a threat to him at all.

The protagonist rushed forward with his mourning stick.

Qiao Liang remembered clearly that those few monsters at the beginning of the game would just stand mindlessly at the mass grave. They would only fight back when they were attacked. Therefore, he rushed forward valiantly.

However, in the middle of his tracks, the three monsters near the mass grave turned and looked at him simultaneously. Then, they surrounded him!

Qiao Liang was shocked at what happened, but it was too late for him to retract. He tumbled on the ground instinctively and found himself directly in front of the monster's blade.

The three monsters each slashed the protagonist once. Qiao Liang was instantly dead.

The screen turned gray. In the middle of the screen was the epitaph that he had written. The words were bloody red and were written in ancient Chinese.

"You can do it."

No. Wasn't the epitaph supposed to encourage me?

Why did the connotations of the same few words change?

It was a little awkward.

Qiao Liang scratched his head involuntarily.

He felt that he was using the weapon that was a reward for defeating the boss to fight little monsters. However, he had been killed in no time. When he lost, it felt as though there was a voice-over saying, "You can do it."

Reading between the lines, those words were saying that he did great, considering that he was dominated by the little monsters even though he had the boss's weapon.

Qiao Liang was unsatisfied with the previous outcome.

When he was revived, he decided to proceed steadily. He managed to successfully defeat the three monsters at the entrance of the mass grave. However, very soon, he was dead once again at the next turn.

"You can do it."

Those four bloody red words once again appeared on his screen.

Qiao Liang did not know what to say. "…"

He cupped his forehead and was starting to doubt himself.

What was happening…?

Pei Qian was watching everything from beside Qiao Liang. He was trying to hold in his laughter.

This epitaph was incredible. It had perfectly achieved his desired effect!

In reality, Pei Qian had already planned that the words on the epitaph would turn into a sarcastic comment no matter what the players wrote on it.

Even if the players wrote encouraging epitaphs such as 'Good job. You did great.', they would become a form of irony when the players died.

If the epitaphs were already sarcastic—such as 'Noob', '?', 'Loser', or 'Hehe'; the effects would be much better.

That meant that no matter what the players wrote as their epitaphs, 99% of them would be toyed by Boss Pei and mocked repeatedly by him!

That would definitely create an excellent effect that discouraged the players from continuing with the game. Combined with the refund mechanism that never expired, Pei Qian would lose huge numbers of sales volume and money.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Thinking about it made Pei Qian extremely happy!

Furthermore, seeing how Teacher Qiao was doubting himself, Pei Qian's mood turned for the better.

Pei Qian could only tell himself this:

Although inflicting harm onto each other was bad, it made him extremely happy!