579 I, Teacher Qiao, am Not Weaker than Anyone!

Upon seeing that Boss Pei was calling him Qiao Liang was both surprised and happy. At that moment, his mind was filled with different thoughts.

How did Boss Pei know that I'm at the Thriller Hostel? Did someone inform Boss Pei in private?

Otherwise, did Boss Pei not know? Had he just thought about his good friend out of nowhere, and decided to invite me to visit Thriller Hostel?

Qiao Liang quickly accepted the call.

"Boss Pei!"

Neither man had said anything yet, but for some reason, Qiao Liang felt as happy as if he had just reunited with Boss Pei.

On the other end of the line, Pei Qian heard Qiao Liang's emotional voice and felt a chill run down his spine. One who was inexplicably solicitous would definitely be hiding evil intentions!

This Qiao Liang must be trying to stab me in the back. Why else would he address me so affectionately?!

Of course, to not agitate Teacher Qiao and cause the situation to backfire, Pei Qian tried hard to calm himself down and talk to him politely.

"Old Qiao, I heard that you've arrived at Thriller Hostel and that you're planning to experience 'Ultimate Horror'."

Pei Qian did not want to waste any time and end up causing miscommunication. Thus, he cut straight to the chase and addressed his main concern.

Qiao Liang paused and then felt inexplicably moved. As the saying went, a friend's sudden concern was the most touching thing on Earth.

If it had been someone else, Qiao Liang would not have thought much of it. He would have assumed that it was just a simple check-in. However, Boss Pei was a very busy man! He had a lot of work to deal with every single day!

In fact, he did not even have the time to visit Thriller Hostel on its opening day.

Even so, Boss Pei had been keeping an eye on Qiao Liang, so that he knew the latter was visiting Thriller Hostel and attempting the 'Ultimate Horror'. He had even thought about calling Qiao Liang.

A friendship like that was very moving!

Sounding even more emotional, Qiao Liang said, "Boss Pei, say no more. I understand! Everything has been expressed without words!"

Pei Qian: "?"

I haven't even said anything yet; how could you understand? Just answer my question honestly!

Has it become that difficult for humans to communicate with one another?!

How could you misunderstand me even though I cut straight to the chase? How did your imagination become so frightening?

Pei Qian cleared his throat, thinking that he had to speed things up or the conversation would spiral out of control.

"Old Qiao, I have to warn you very sincerely.

"Thriller Hostel was meant to torture visitors from the start. It's purely frightening; what kind of meaning could there be? I haven't included any riddles in the projects! I'm serious!

"Has Ruan Guangjian lied to you? He's so sadistic, and he loves acting afraid. In actual fact, his hobby is bluffing people into haunted houses and watching them get scared. Don't fall for his tricks!

"Just to prove yourself for one moment, you could end up hurting yourself and wasting your time. It's not worth it!"

Pei Qian tried hard to sound as sincere as possible.

Qiao Liang was even more moved now.

"Yes, Boss Pei! I realized that!"

He glanced at where Ruan Guangjian had been seated and then lowered his voice. "There's really a problem with Ruan Guangjian! He's too ruthless! Only someone as magnanimous as you can be friends with him, Boss Pei!"

Pei Qian: "?"

Since when did I become his friend? Don't spout nonsense!

What's more, I'm not magnanimous at all! I'm very petty!

Soon, Qiao Liang changed the topic. "Boss Pei, I appreciate your kind intentions, but I decided to experience 'Ultimate Horror' on my own. I wasn't bluffed into doing so!

"I believe that you—the creator of Game Designer and Repent and be Saved—would not disappoint me! Even if the 'Ultimate Horror' is terrifying, I want to give it a shot!"

Pei Qian: "?"

I'm finished; he's not listening to me at all.

Teacher Qiao was making things up in his own head!

Pei Qian was speechless. Do you think I wanted to waste effort trying to dissuade you? If you want to go at all costs, I wouldn't be bothered to try and dissuade you!

If your corpse could not stab me in the back by creating a publicity video about the contents of the 'Ultimate Horror', I wouldn't give a hoot about whether you survive or die!

Yet, it looked like Teacher Qiao was under a misconception. Trying to tell him how scary the project was now would only backfire.

Pei Qian decided to change tactics.

If the hard method wouldn't work, he had to try the soft one. Teacher Qiao was a loyal eater of his own words.

After some consideration, Pei Qian said, "Old Qiao, you need to be clear that you are just a UP Master. Your time is very valuable, and so is your health. Why don't you invest them in more meaningful things?"

Qiao Liang was stunned. "Such as…?"

Pei Qian pondered again and then said, "Such as trying a dish from the nameless restaurant and experiencing GOG in the Live E-Sports Museum? You could also walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds of Jingzhou!

"How about this? Come to Tengda's Headquarters at once. I can allow you to test out a portion of a game. How does that sound?

"If you insist on experiencing the 'Ultimate Horror'…

"You would lose all of these opportunities."

Pei Qian was playing his trump card and giving Teacher Qiao an ultimatum!

Do you want to wander around Jingzhou as a distinguished guest, with all expenses paid for, a meal at the nameless restaurant, and the opportunity to play games in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 3.0 for free?

Or do you want to give all of those things up to be tortured at the 'Ultimate Horror'?

The better choice would be clear to any logical person, wouldn't it?

Pei Qian was also making a huge sacrifice by saying all of those things.

That was because he had never forgotten how influential Qiao Liang was as an UP Master. He would make any place that he stepped into extremely famous.

It was also for that reason that Pei Qian had not mentioned Deposit Fitness or the Sloth Apartments. Instead, he only talked about projects that had already become famous. Additional exposure would be harmless to them.

As for Struggle… Qiao Liang would definitely buy the game once it was released anyway. Pei Qian was sure that he likely would not be able to run from being stabbed in the back with the Products of the Gods series.

Now, he was only throwing it out as bait to lure Qiao Liang in earlier, so that he could save Thriller Hostel. All in all, he would still benefit.

On the other end of the line, Qiao Liang fell silent.

Boss Pei's words had resulted in a double blow to him.

Boss Pei had said there was no substance in the 'Ultimate Horror', and he had questioned if Qiao Liang could invest his time in more meaningful things as a UP Master. That was an attack on the logical basis, on which Qiao Liang was going to experience the 'Ultimate Horror'.

The whole host of special treatment had attacked his materialism.

Obviously, he was shaken!

On one side was a wretched haunted house, and on the other side were delicacies, a high-end internet cafe, and a new game. Even fools would know which side to choose!

Subconsciously, Qiao Liang gulped his saliva. After hesitating for several seconds, he said, "Well… alright, then, Boss Pei. I am open to listening to others' suggestions."

Pei Qian was overjoyed.

Hear, hear! Teacher Qiao was quite wise after all!

This would be a win-win situation for both of us. It's pretty good that we stopped hurting each other, right?

"Alright, I'll get someone to reserve a system unit for you at the Live E-Sports Museum. You have to come down!" Pei Qian happily hung up.

Qiao Liang hung up, looked at the golden lantern, and felt a hundred emotions all at once. He had spent so much time mentally preparing himself today, and yet it had all come to naught.

He was not going anymore!

Since Boss Pei—his friend had spoken—there was no reason for him to torture himself. Instead, he could play games at the internet cafe and try out Boss Pei's newest work.

Now that Qiao Liang had made up his mind, he moved to put the golden lantern back where he had taken it from.

This move alerted everyone else around him.

He had lowered his voice earlier, a while after he had started talking on the phone. Still, everyone had heard him addressing the other party as 'Boss Pei'.

Now, seeing Qiao Liang prepare to replace the golden lantern after hanging up, everyone was sure that he was about to beat a retreat!

Ruan Guangjian immediately stepped forward, concerned. He asked, "What's the matter? Are you going to attempt a higher difficulty? The headwear with the little red horns is over there."

Qiao Liang was so furious that he nearly burst into laughter.

Headwear with the little red horns? You seem to be the one with the red horns! You can't wait to see me die inside there, can you?

Look at Boss Pei. He intentionally called me to ask how I am out of concern for me.

How about you? You seem more afraid that I wouldn't die quickly enough!

You're both humans, but why are you so different?! It's a good thing that Boss Pei tore down your veil of hypocrisy for me!

Qiao Liang sniggered. "No, I won't. Boss Pei just called me to say that the 'Ultimate Horror' is nothing but a haunted house that contains no deeper meaning whatsoever. It has no link to his new game at all, and so there's no need for me to enter!

"On top of that, Boss Pei has also organized a series of activities for me. He said that they would all be gone if I enter the 'Ultimate Horror'.

"So, goodbye to all of you. I'm going to have fun with Boss Pei now!"

Everyone was shocked.

Finished!

Why did Boss Pei call Qiao Liang to ruin their plan on purpose?

Just look at Teacher Qiao; obviously, he had been persuaded. He did not look like he wanted to experience the 'Ultimate Horror' at all now!

They wanted to try and persuade him again, but they had no idea how.

Boss Pei had already called him to clarify things. He had even said that there was no deeper meaning in the project at all and that it was nothing but a haunted house.

Everything that they had said to Teacher Qiao before had been negated by Boss Pei's words!

"Ahem."

At that moment, Li Shi—who had been wandering around the entire time—walked over and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Brother Qiao, you seem to have made a grave mistake. Don't you… understand Boss Pei well enough?"

Qiao Liang was stunned, dissatisfaction written clearly on his face.

I don't understand Boss Pei well enough?

Quit messing around. I am the person who understands Boss Pei the most in this world.

Do you know the one who suggested that being misunderstood is any speaker's destiny? It was me!

Do you know the one who analyzed all of Boss Pei's game design concepts through the Products of the Gods series? It was also me!

How could you suggest that I don't understand Boss Pei well enough? That's the biggest joke I've heard thus far!

However, before Qiao Liang could retort, Li Shi continued speaking.

"Don't get me wrong. I know that you can understand and interpret Boss Pei's games better than anyone else, but… I don't think you interact with Boss Pei enough about everyday matters or work, right?

"You probably don't know much about the way he speaks or works, do you?"

Qiao Liang was stunned.

It seemed… true.

He and Boss Pei communicated more on a telepathic level. Boss Pei created games while he interpreted the riddles therein.

In reality, one lived in Beijing while the other lived in Jingzhou. They really had not interacted much, and he truly knew nothing about the way Boss Pei spoke or worked.

Looking at Qiao Liang's expression, Li Shi knew he was right.

He proudly said, "I have more understanding in this area! Boss Pei has one habit: he likes to 'test' people. Take us, investors, for example. As we invest in Boss Pei's projects, Boss Pei will try his best to dissuade us.

"Only those who stand their ground and refuse to budge would earn Boss Pei's trust!

"Think about it carefully. Do you really believe Boss Pei when he says this is nothing more than a haunted house? Do you really think it's possible that there's no deeper meaning to dig into this project?

"Boss Pei chases excellence, and he always takes the path less traveled. Even a simple shopping mall was turned into the Golden Maze! The 'Ultimate Horror' is meant to be the best project and the anchor of Thriller Hostel. How could it be nothing more than an ordinary haunted house?

"If the answers to the above questions are no, then you should reconsider your decision.

"If Boss Pei has invested so much effort and money into this place, why would he try to tell you not to experience it?

"This is obviously a test to see how strong-willed you are. He wants to see if you're capable of making it through the 'Ultimate Horror' and creating an exciting video!

"If you've been dissuaded… I can only say, with regret, that this is the end of the road.

"Think about what I said based on your understanding of Boss Pei. Consider it very carefully."

Qiao Liang was stunned. He had not expected there to be so many twists and turns hidden within. However, after seriously chewing on what Boss Li had just said, it seemed… logical.

That's right. Boss Pei's motives are a real question. Why would he offer such attractive terms just to stop me from entering the 'Ultimate Horror'?

That seemed quite illogical indeed!

Well, then… Boss Li's analysis was probably correct.

Boss Pei is really testing me! Does he think that, while I can interpret his games, I can't see through this haunted house in Thriller Hostel?

If I back out in the face of difficulty, would I lose the opportunity to interpret the 'Ultimate Horror' forever? Would I become like the investors who had been dissuaded and forever lost their chance to invest?

Qiao Liang had always prided himself on being the person who understood Boss Pei the most. Yet, he could not even guess the intentions behind Boss Pei's actions.

This really put him to shame.

After some more thought, Qiao Liang finally made up his mind. He picked up the golden lantern once again.

"I, Teacher Qiao, have never been weaker than anyone! I must be the one to solve the riddle that Boss Pei has set!"