Chapter 262 - Why did the Purpose of the Epitaph Change? (1/2)

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 perspectivewith 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.

11 Il.