527 Golden Maze

May 24th, Tuesday…

At Thriller Hostel…

Chen Kangtuo was standing at the entrance of the old industrial zone, looking around anxiously. All of a sudden, he saw a rented car parked outside. A young man alighted from it.

At that moment, Chen Kangtuo did not dare to approach the young man. He knew that he was meeting an architect by the surname of Liang today and that the architect would be a bit young, but the man in front of him looked a bit too young.

However, on further thought, both of them had set the time and date yesterday. What's more, nobody would come by the old industrial zone anyway.

After some hesitation, Chen Kangtuo walked briskly forward. "Mr. Liang?"

Liang Qingfan nodded. "Yes. Are you Boss Chen?"

"Are you really Mr. Liang? How are you, how are you?" Chen Kangtuo shook Liang Qingfan's hand excitedly. Then, both men walked into Chen Kangtuo's office. Once they entered, two more people who had been sitting on the couch came forward to welcome them.

Chen Kangtuo introduced the two people to Liang Qingfan. "Mr. Liang, let me introduce you. This is the colleague who is heading Thriller Hostel with me, Hao Qiong. This is the current designer in charge of altering and renovating Thriller Hostel, Shi Zherui."

Liang Qingfan greeted both of them. He expected to have many common topics of interest with the other architect, Shi Zherui.

Shi Zherui was a young and capable architect in Jingzhou. He was a year older than Liang Qingfan, but neither his academic results nor his resume was as bright as Liang Qingfan's.

As for why Pei Qian had put him in charge of Thriller Hostel… it was obviously for the same reason as to why he chose Liang Qingfan. He did not want to choose a famous architect to design Thriller Hostel, in case it brought unnecessary fame and popularity.

Chen Kangtuo poured a cup of tea. "Mr. Liang, you have arrived in the nick of time and resolved my greatest worries."

Liang Qingfan was stunned. "Oh? Why do you say that?"

Chen Kangtuo gently placed the cup of tea in front of Liang Qingfan. "It's a long story. Thriller Hostel is an amusement park project that Boss Pei had decided to turn this old industrial zone into in response to multiple appeals.

"You should know that by now, right? A group of investors had also been persuaded to follow Boss Pei and invest in the surrounding area.

"This group of investors suggested building a huge shopping mall for Boss Pei and Thriller Hostel's benefit. Props and other peripheral products would be sold in that mall. We are to come up with the plan while they fork out the money.

"Thus, I invited Teacher Shi to come up with a common design for a shopping mall, with the intention of using it for the actual thing.

"Yet, alas, Boss Pei is a man who enjoys perfecting something that is already outstanding! He emailed me yesterday, asking us to design the shopping mall as a maze!"

Shi Zherui continued from where Chen Kangtuo left off. "I felt confused when Boss Chen told me about this, too. At first, I thought that there was nothing much one could do with a shopping mall. That was why I used a typical plan. I didn't think that Boss Pei would be unsatisfied!

"At the moment, I am still in charge of the construction of the Thriller Hostel, and I have to watch the progress like a hawk. If any problems occur, I have to change the plan on the spot. Time is already tight, and yet Boss Pei is requesting that I work on a maze. That would kill me.

"I don't have much experience with or knowledge of mazes, and I already have so many things on my hands! Thus… we've been leaving this on the back burner, and Boss Chen has been worrying about it."

Chen Kangtuo nodded. "That's right, but thankfully, Mr. Liang has arrived! Mr. Liang, do you have any good ideas about how to carry out this project?"

Liang Qingfan raised his eyebrows.

Turn a shopping mall into a maze? That was very bold! Boss Pei might have been the only one in the entire world who could come up with such a bold and imaginative idea.

Liang Qingfan sipped his tea and asked, "What exactly did Boss Pei say? I have some thoughts about the maze, but I need to understand what Boss Pei requires so that I don't get it wrong."

Chen Kangtuo laughed and said proudly, "Don't worry, I am considered an old employee of Tengda Games. I've learned a thing or two about figuring out what Boss Pei wants!

"Boss Pei mentioned two points in his email. First, he wants it to be expensive—luxurious and dazzling. He wanted the shopping mall to be filled with luxury brands.

"Second, he wanted most of the shops selling peripheral products to be hidden within the maze, so that the majority of the customers would exit the shopping mall without even realizing it. They should not be able to find a single shop.

"Let me try to interpret Boss Pei's intentions from my angle. If any of you have anything to add, please feel free to add on.

"I think that Boss Pei's 'maze' idea has something to do with games! It'll be like collectibles created in games; they would all be hidden. Gamers would then have to search for them repeatedly, which would keep them playing the game for a long time.

"At the same time, once a gamer finds a hidden shop, it would be like finding a hidden merchant in the game. It would have a psychological effect on them. They would think that, after spending so much time locating the shop, they had to buy something to reward themselves. Otherwise, it would feel like they're losing out. That way, we would be able to encourage spending.

"It would be even better if the various shops regularly update their products and gifts for people to purchase as proof that they have been there.

"As for why the renovations must be expensive… I haven't thought about it yet."

Liang Qingfan nodded as his right hand caressed his teacup. "Yes, we can easily make gamers spend more time in the game with the maze design. However, from the architect's point of view, there are other considerations as well.

"Boss Pei said that customers should exit the mall without even realizing it. Obviously, there should be many exits in the mall. That means that the crowd would be split up, and the customer experience would be improved. At the same time, in case of any emergency, customers would be able to disperse very quickly.

"What's more, creating a maze would require us to divide the mall into segments. For the purposes of designing the building, segmenting could increase the efficiency of space usage in the building. Practically, it's a sign of far-sightedness.

"I think we can make a few key walls in the maze moveable. When we close them off, the paths would be closed; when we open them, there would be an additional path. Once we make the mechanism automatic, we can use an algorithm to automatically generate new mazes. The paths would change every once in a while, so that the sense of novelty remains for customers.

"Of course, for safety, we have to make sure that someone would be watching the automated system at all times. Even if the electricity gets cut, we should be able to ensure that customers can find the exits and would not be trapped inside.

"As for why the maze has to be expensive… I think it might be because Boss Pei is going for a 'golden maze' style. It makes one feel as if they're surrounded by all sorts of treasures. Without even meaning to, the maze would display to everyone else the value of the products inside the mall.

"It'll be just like luxury shops. Why did they have to renovate their shops so extensively? It was to create a subtle atmosphere to make customers feel as if they were walking around in a palace. Only then would they think that the valuables in front of them were worth buying and being worn. Customers would then be unable to resist the urge to purchase them.

"The facts have shown that, to achieve such an effect, one has to stick to the dazzling and grandiose styles.

"That way, the Thriller Hostel can say this for publicity: in the faraway Thriller Hostel, if you make it through the thrilling, frightening, and horrifying experience and make it out of the splendorous and majestic golden maze; you would find the hidden treasure!"

Chen Kangtuo's eyes lit up. "I see!

"Before this, I kept interpreting Boss Pei's plan in terms of games, and I already thought that the design was not bad. Now, after hearing Teacher Liang talk about it from an architectural and psychological point of view, everything makes more sense!

"Boss Pei actually considered this from an architect's perspective? He's really knowledgeable.

"Since that's the case, let's just call the shopping mall the Golden Maze. Then, not only would it be a shopping mall, but it would also be a free amusement project within Thriller Hostel. We'll be killing two birds with one stone!

"Mr. Liang, this is urgent. I'll leave the Golden Maze's design to you! I'll pay your designer fees according to Tengda's standards!"

Chen Kangtuo gazed at Liang Qingfan warmly.

Liang Qingfan pondered for a moment and then said, "Of course, I can design it, but… after some time, Boss Pei will get me to design the new Sloth Apartments. I'm afraid I won't be able to keep an eye on this project all the way through."

Shi Zherui patted his chest. "No worries. Mr. Liang, you just have to come up with the design. Let Boss Li and the others look for a construction team to watch over the construction. I can help to keep an eye on it, too.

"However… if we run into problems that I cannot solve in the future, we would still need you to come down personally."

Liang Qingfan nodded. "That's alright. Even if I'm in charge of the Sloth Apartments, I will be in Jingzhou. I can come over at any time."

Chen Kangtuo was elated. "We'll leave this to you, then, Mr. Liang!"

…

…

May 25th, Wednesday…

Pei Qian browsed the webpage quietly, looking very confused. Things had developed beyond his expectations.

Tomorrow is Beautiful was covering the entire internet once again!

The last time this happened was when Tomorrow is Beautiful first premiered in the country and became popular. One month after the movie premiered, it featured on Aili Island for over a month. That was already an extension of its life.

Everyone who wanted to watch it had already watched it. The entire plot and various details in the movie had already been discussed countless times. Logically, it should not have been this popular anymore.

Yet, Pei Qian never thought that one award would bring the movie back into focus!

This time, local netizens were no longer focusing on the film itself. After all, they had already studied the film's contents to the point of exhaustion. Instead, netizens focused on the film's performance in overseas box offices and foreigners' reviews!

On top of that, many people online were resoundingly 'digging graves'.

Ever since Tomorrow is Beautiful premiered, people who hated the film never stopped dissing it. Some of those people were fake reviewers, but a significant number of them were genuine.

After all, no matter how good something was, it was impossible for everyone to like it. What's more, those who loved popcorn flicks were generally uninterested in studying the meaning of Tomorrow is Beautiful.

Further, the loud praise that the movie had been getting online had the reverse effect on others, who thought that the film was overrated and had to be dissed.

As time went by, those dissers points kept changing.

When the movie first premiered, they said that the film had forced a Western background into the story, that it was nondescript, and that neither locals nor foreigners would like it.

When the film's figures started looking good, they said that its profoundness was fake, that it only became popular because of sales, that the box office was probably faking the numbers, and that the film's true colors would show in about a week.

After some time, when the high figures were stuck and overtook Flying Star Journey, they said that once a real blockbuster appeared, Tomorrow is Beautiful would collapse for sure.

Once Flying Star Journey failed, they said that Flying Star Journey was too rubbish, that it was not representative of the real standard of Western movies, that Tomorrow is Beautiful had just been released at the right time, and that it would not have achieved such success otherwise.

When Tomorrow is Beautiful premiered overseas and did badly in the box offices, the dissers appeared again. "Look, I said that the film was nondescript. It could bluff the local audience, but foreigners would not fall for it!"

Tomorrow is Beautiful's fans had been keeping their frustration in for a long time. The dissers were extremely peculiar and aggressive in going against the current. What's more, they appeared with every minor development and refused to be eliminated.

This was especially so when Tomorrow is Beautiful did badly in overseas box offices. The dissers rubbed this loss in the faces of the film's fans for a long time, causing them to boil in anger.

Yet, now, Tomorrow is Beautiful had been awarded the Jury Prize for the first time in eleven years. The entire situation had turned! Could the fans let the opportunity to gloat pass them by?

Their 'loss' had been rubbed in their faces for so long. Now, they were getting a rare opportunity to fight back. Of course, they had to prepare a mass grave for all of those dissers.

At once, they released the deep-seated hatred that they had for the dissers. This caused Tomorrow is Beautiful to become popular throughout the internet once again!

A movie that premiered in February was still so hot today…

Pei Qian was really f*cking unlucky!