566 Being Stabbed in the Back with No Warning

With the guidance of the map, everyone arrived at the shops in the golden area.

It was very spacious, and it was not that different from the shops in ordinary shopping malls. However, the road that led here was so winding and twisted that the place felt like a silver lining of a dark cloud.

If not for the map that they had, it would have taken all of them eons to locate this space.

All the shelves had already been neatly set up, but they were all empty. What would be sold there had not been decided yet.

Pei Qian pondered for a moment and asked, "What are the other shops selling? Do we have a list of goods?"

Chen Kangtuo nodded. "Of course. It's right here."

As he spoke, he handed the list of goods that he had prepared earlier to Pei Qian.

Pei Qian took it and briefly flipped through it.

Every type of good listed was accompanied by a picture and a price. What's more, they had obviously been purchased according to the four zones that Chen Kangtuo had spoken about earlier.

For example, the orange zone represented…

The blue zone represented…

Headwear and themed costumes were sold in the wine-red zone, and interesting magic props or gadgets were sold in the purple zone.

A portion of those goods had been bought, and anything that looked slightly scary or horrific was included. The other portion had been custom-made using material related to Thriller Hostel and Be Quiet. Those included cell phone cases, pendants, and postcards which would be sold once the mall opened for business.

Pei Qian scanned all of those products and studied the prices closely. His mind worked very quickly.

The golden area was in the center of the Golden Maze. One could say that it was akin to a transport hub. The distance from any entrance to this place was the same. However, from another angle, it could be said that it was the innermost zone that was harder to find than all the other zones.

That meant that he could forget about selling luxurious goods here.

That was because all the goods were priced at a set percentage above their cost. The more expensive a good was, the more money Pei Qian would earn upon selling it.

The golden area was extremely difficult to find. If customers expended so much effort to get here, and they saw goods that were expensive but looked well worth their price, they would surely buy them.

After all, there was an ancient saying: "We've come all the way here anyway."

If more people bought those goods, Pei Qian would earn more income. On top of that, he could not sell products that were exclusive to the golden zone.

According to Chen Kangtuo and the other investors' plan, a few goods from each of the other zones could be transferred to the golden zone to be sold there. That would ensure that no two zones would have the same goods.

However, that would make the goods in the golden area rarer and more valuable, right? Then, people would buy as much as they could, wouldn't they?

Pei Qian could not allow that!

After conducting this simple analysis, Pei Qian quickly decided on several strategies for the goods that would be sold in the golden zone. They could not be too expensive. At the same time, people had to be able to buy them in other regions.

That way, consumers would not feel the need to buy anything there. They would be forced to pause and spend less money. Boss Pei would also be able to incur more losses.

That would really be beneficial to all parties.

Pei Qian scanned the entire list and randomly chose a couple of items that were neither expensive nor novel.

"This blue jack-o'-lantern.

"This small, golden lantern.

"This… light-green lightstick.

"I'll also add this glowing headwear with little devil horns."

Pei Qian chose one extremely cheap item from each of the four zones. Their prices ranged from five to fifty yuan.

The jack-o'-lantern was from the orange zone; the small, golden lantern from the blue; the light-green lightstick from the purple; and the glowing headwear with little devil horns from the wine-red.

Pei Qian had wanted to choose even cheaper items at first, such as postcards and small pendants. However, on further thought, while those things were cheap; they were also very universal in nature. Anybody could casually decide to buy them, and if too many people wanted them, Pei Qian would still be in trouble.

On the other hand, the four items that Pei Qian had chosen were neither here nor there. They were too low-quality to collect but too luxurious to be thrown away once they left the Thriller Hostel.

They would have a pretty good dissuading effect on consumers!

Chen Kangtuo and the other investors were evidently confused.

None of those things… were expensive!

Pei Qian had not chosen any of the more expensive and profitable things like the souvenirs from the blue zone and the custom-made costumes from the wine-red zone. Instead, he chose all the peripheral products with poor price-quality ratios that were just there to fill the shelves.

Of course, the Thriller Hostel's logo had been printed on all of those products. However, one could not expect visitors to mindlessly buy those items just because of the logo, could they?

Still, since Boss Pei had already spoken, nobody dared to raise doubts. All of them kept the question marks buried at the bottom of their hearts.

Chen Kangtuo asked, "Er… Boss Pei, we won't sell those items in the other zones, then, right?"

"Huh?" Pei Qian looked at him strangely. "You won't? Why not? Of course, you still have to sell them."

Chen Kangtuo opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Alas, he said nothing.

Obviously, that idea did not match the original intentions behind the mall's design at all!

The golden zone was the hardest to locate. It should be selling high-value and unique products that would trigger visitors' urge to buy. Now, all the items that Boss Pei had chosen were going to be sold in the four other zones, and none of them were of any sentimental value!

Yet, since Boss Pei had decided, Chen Kangtuo could not say much else. He silently took down notes.

"Alright, if you have no other questions, this is it for now." Pei Qian was quite satisfied with everyone's reaction.

Leaving the Golden Maze had not been that difficult. Everyone walked in random directions and managed to find a path that led to an exit. The entire process was very smooth. They did not even look at the map once.

On the other hand, if they turned back and tried to trace their original footsteps back to the shop in the golden zone that they had been at, it would have been extremely difficult.

When they arrived back at the square, Pei Qian suddenly felt the urge to go to the washroom.

"Where is the restroom?" Pei Qian asked.

Chen Kangtuo pointed in two directions and said, "There are public restrooms in both directions. There are also restrooms in the restaurants and hotels. Do you need me to lead the way?"

Pei Qian quickly waved his hand. "No, you can just wait for me here."

It would have been embarrassing if Pei Qian asked for company to the washroom.

Pei Qian took a moment to estimate the distance and found that both restrooms were equidistant from the square. That was to be expected. After all, restrooms would ordinarily be located by the sides and not in the middle of the square or beside the fountain.

Would visitors wash their hands at the fountain after releasing their urge to pee? It seemed very unlikely.

Pei Qian walked towards one of the restrooms. While he was at it, he checked how well they had been renovated, whether they had stayed true to the Tengda spirit or not, and whether visitors would have a good experience there or not.

As he watched Boss Pei walk away, Li Shi immediately turned to Chen Kangtuo and asked, "Why did Boss Pei decide to sell all of those things? It doesn't seem appropriate!"

The other investors chimed in one by one. "That's right, it would not be profitable!"

Obviously, everyone was concerned about this problem. After all, they all had a share in the income earned by the Golden Maze. Of course, the more that they earned, the better.

No one had mentioned this earlier, mainly because Boss Pei had been present. It would not have been good to discuss this in the open because that would have made their suspicions about Boss Pei's plans very obvious.

Yet, Boss Pei was gone now. If they didn't talk about it then, what else would they be waiting for?

Chen Kangtuo had many questions about this. He frowned as he tried to think of a solution and figure out Boss Pei's deeper intentions using the Tengda Spirit.

"Boss Pei was the one who thought of the Golden Maze. He must know how important the golden zone is. Everything sold there must be very rare and valuable.

"Yet, he purposely chose common and worthless things!

"What did they all have in common…?"

Chen Kangtuo still had no idea, and he could do nothing but brainstorm. Turning to the investors, he said, "Do you think there's anything in common between the goods that Boss Pei selected? If we can find a common characteristic, we'll be able to move to the next step in our hypothesis."

Everyone exchanged confused looks.

"They are all averagely priced? They're neither expensive nor cheap?"

"They are all portable?"

"Er… they can all emit light?"

The investors took turns to chime in, but each guess seemed more ridiculous than the last.

All of a sudden, a light bulb switched on in Chen Kangtuo's head. "That's right! They're all portable and can emit light!"

Li Shi looked confused. Clearly not understanding, he asked, "So… what does that mean?"

Chen Kangtuo excitedly said, "That means they can bring them into Thriller Hostel's three projects, and they can be used as interactive props!

"Think about it carefully. Four of those objects emit light, but they have different shapes and colors. We can use them as props to divide the visitors even more finely.

"The blue jack-o'-lantern can help to distract the beasts.

"The golden lantern can help to drive most beasts away.

"The light-green lightstick can be used to attract the attention of surrounding monsters.

"The red headwear with little devil horns can be used to provoke monsters. All monsters would aim for it, creating the most terrifying experience!

"Wouldn't that amount to a further division of the difficulty levels?

"Timid people could buy the golden lantern to enter the projects. Hardcore players who want to experience everything a second time could then take the lightstick or wear the headwear with little devil horns in.

"The higher the difficulty, the better the reward!

"What better way of making sales is there than tying the goods in with the main content?"

Li Shi pondered about this for a moment. "However, they don't seem very unique, do they? Those four props can still be bought from the other zones."

Smiling, Chen Kangtuo answered, "That's the best design! If the four props could only be bought inside the golden zone, then all the players would fight to enter the golden zone. On one hand, it would be hard for us to control the crowd. On the other hand, it would cause the other zones to be deserted.

"If the other zones have less traffic, fewer goods would be sold. That would do nothing to boost our revenue.

"The current design leaves those props scattered in the other zones as well. If customers only seek one type of prop, they can purchase it from the other zones. If they want to obtain all four, they could either visit all four zones or get to the golden zone. That would still maintain the golden zone's superior status."

The investors finally understood.

So that was why!

When put this way, everything made much more sense.

Not only would the golden zone's superior status be maintained, but customer traffic would not be taken away from the other zones as well. Items that would otherwise be difficult to sell had been made into props in the game. With a symbolic meaning, they would be much easier to sell.

What's more, those props were neither cheap nor expensive. Most customers would be able to afford them, thus guaranteeing revenue…

Li Shi could not help but raise his thumb. "You really are a genius from the games department. Your hypothesis is perfect!"

Chen Kangtuo quickly said, "You flatter me. I was just doing my best to analyze Boss Pei's intentions based on the hints that he dropped."

On the surface, Chen Kangtuo looked humble. However, inside, he was extremely proud.

Once again, I have resolved Boss Pei's difficult problem!

I'm so awesome!

The joy that comes from solving Boss Pei's riddles is really addictive!

While everyone continued their discussions, Pei Qian returned. From afar, he sensed something amiss in the atmosphere.

When he left, everyone had looked troubled and burdened. However, a mere few minutes later, everyone was chatting and laughing as if all of their problems had dissipated!

Seeing that Pei Qian had returned, Li Shi held up his thumb again. "Bods Pei! The goods that you chose for the golden zone are perfect! I really respect you!"

Pei Qian: "?"

He confirmed that something was indeed amiss. The situation had changed!

Boss Li was suddenly praising him for no reason. Everyone seemed to have misunderstood what he had said!

Then, Pei Qian turned to look at the proud Chen Kangtuo. At once, the ominous feeling in his gut intensified.

"What have you figured out?"

All the investors turned to look at Chen Kangtuo. After all, he had been the one to figure out Boss Pei's intentions. No one else wanted to steal his credit.

Chen Kangtuo very arrogantly explained his hypothesis one more time.

"What do you think, Boss Pei? It's pretty close to what you had been thinking, right?" At that moment, Chen Kangtuo looked like a student who had just scored full marks on an exam.

Pei Qian was so shocked that he did not know what to say.

In the time that I took to go to the restroom, you conjured up so many things in your head?!

Does this skill of yours activate without any warning?!

Back then, Pei Qian had put Chen Kangtuo in charge of the haunted house to get rid of him. That was because the latter had been working overtime in the games department too much, and Pei Qian had to get rid of him.

Pei Qian would never have thought that Chen Kangtuo would not rest after that. In fact, he became even stronger!

Scanning Boss Li, the other investors, and Chen Kangtuo; Pei Qian was sure that they had agreed to collude with one another in private.

No matter what, he could not allow them to do whatever they wanted anymore! He had to severely punish them!

After a moment of silence, he said, "Chen Kangtuo."

Grinning, Chen Kangtuo said, "Yes?"

Boss Pei looks so somber. Is he going to… reward me?

Pei Qian paused. "As the person-in-charge of Thriller Hostel, you should understand every detail of the Thriller Hostel before it opens for operations. That's a reasonable and natural expectation, right?

"You haven't even experienced this place fully. How would you conquer the customers?

"Before we open for business in a week, make sure that you experience every little corner of the Thriller Hostel. Pay special attention to the details in the second and third projects. You have to be so familiar with the entire process that you feel like you're walking through your own backyard."

Chen Kangtuo's smile froze on his face.