Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

January 6th, Thursday…

Pei Qian couldn't help but sigh when he looked at Ma Yang studying seriously in the study room.

Why was it that even Ma Yang—this slacker—could study without being distracted, but I couldn't…?

They were about to enter the exam week. This semester was about to end again.

Pei Qian set a target to pass on his own merits, but he found it difficult to do so.

He originally wanted to absorb some learning momentum when he got Ma Yang to come to the study room together with him.

However, while Ma Yang managed to find his momentum, Pei Qian remained totally uninterested.

Sitting in the study room was simply torturous.

Pei Qian's cell phone vibrated suddenly upon receiving a message: "Boss Pei, we have a preliminary proposal for the haunted house. I would like to make a report to you at your convenience."

Pei Qian looked at this message from Chen Kangtuo and sighed.

Sigh, it's not that I don't want to study. I'm busy at work.

What should this be called? A situation that took its own course regardless of my wishes.

No choice, I have no choice.

He checked his watch. It was 10:30 in the morning so he replied. "Come to my office at 11."

…

…

Chen Kangtuo reached Shenhua View. He had gone to the 16th floor and did not find Boss Pei. That was why he sent this message.

Since there was nothing to do between now and his appointment at 11 o'clock with Boss Pei, Chen Kangtuo planned to drop by on the 17th floor to see how Li Yada and Bao Xu were doing.

Chen Kangtuo found the enthusiasm for work to be rather high on the 17th floor. Everyone was busy. Many greeted Chen Kangtuo upon seeing him. Chen Kangtuo asked about the development of GOG after exchanging pleasantries with Li Yada.

Chen Kangtuo was part of the team responsible for the game previously after all.

Li Yada said, "It's coming along rather smoothly.

"Dream Realization Ventures put forward a lot of suggestions for modification previously. We only changed a small part, but the effect was unexpectedly good.

"Most players welcome this kind of 'easy' game mode that is easier to learn from the feedback of players in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.

"Therefore, we have been busy modifying all the remaining content recently.

"A pity that Dream Realization Ventures would be busy with new missions soon. They would not be able to test out the game and provide us with more suggestions for modification.

"However, He Desheng said he had written out almost all the recommendations he could think of.

"In the following period, our main task would be to continue to modify the basic gameplay, create more characters, and adjust the balance of the game according to these suggestions."

"The newly recruited group of people has good talents. They are quick in picking up game making so the efficiency of the entire project has obviously improved a lot."

Chen Kangtuo chatted with everyone in the gaming department for a while, checked the time, and walked downstairs to report to Boss Pei.

…

…

Pei Qian looked at the preliminary plan for the haunted house that Chen Kangtuo had just handed to him in the office.

The name of the haunted house was 'Thriller Hostel'.

The name was mainly based on three considerations according to Chen Kangtuo.

First, there would be no ghost or superstitions in the haunted house so no words such as 'ghost' would appear.

Second, they hoped that tourists could come here often so the 'hostel' here held the meaning of a 'hotel'.

Finally, the basic theme in the haunted house would be a hotel. There would be more scary scenes added later, but they would all be derived from hotels.

Pei Qian did not have any special thought merely looking at the name.

Hotels were common themes, but it was relatively less common than cemeteries, mental hospitals, and netherworlds.

The subject could be regarded as relatively now, or it could be said that the degree of shock may not be enough. In short, it depended on how it was done.

He continued reading.

The Thriller Hostel would have three major projects. The first would be a multi-person interactive project. The third project is a very scary traditional horror house. These two projects had a general framework with no specific plans.

The second project was like a transitional project. Some specifics had been penned down.

At present, they had six sub-projects planned; all of which were very simple. They could be completed with sites of a maximum of dozens of square meters each. Only one person was allowed at any one time.

These smaller venues would be in shipping containers. There would be wheels in under the containers, making them mobile where the order would be regularly disrupted. In that way, the player would be entering into a random room every time.

Pei Qian looked at these smaller projects in turn.

The first small project: Bathroom.

The scenery was a very narrow bathroom with a mirror, washbasin, toilet, bathtub, etc. The layout was similar to a regular bathroom.

The setting would be worn out. The dim lights, washbasin, mirror, and bathtub were all dirty, probably not scrubbed for a long time. The shadows in the corner of the bathroom seemed to be coagulated blood.

Guests had to enter the bathroom alone and must complete a series of steps given. Once all the steps were completed, the challenge would be deemed successful. Failing any of the steps would fail the challenge.

First, the guest would have to lock the bathroom, pick up a red candle by the side, and turn off the bathroom light.

Thereafter, they would have to light the candle. Relying on its light, they should find the mirror on top of the washbasin and place the candle on the platform in front of the mirror—where toiletries should be. That would be in between the mirror and the player.

Then, they had to cover their eyes with both hands for more than three seconds and then look into the mirror.

After that, they had to open the tap to wash their hands.

Next, they should lie in the bathtub, covering their eyes with their hands. They could not move their hands no matter what happened for three minutes. A rusty timer would be next to the bathtub. It would tick-tock continuously for three minutes after being pressed.

At this point, the guest would be able to stand up from the bathtub, leave the room, and the challenge would be completed.

It would seem simple, but in this process, there would be a series of things that happen randomly.

For example, the dim lights would flicker violently a few times when turned off and would then make a 'bam' sound, as if the light bulb shattered.

After they uncover their eyes after three seconds while standing in front of the mirror, there might be a face with torn flesh or a pair of red eyes staring at them. There might even be cracks or blood oozing from the mirror.

While washing their hands, the originally clean water may suddenly turn black or blood-red. There might also be some bloody bits mixed in the water.

When the tourists lie down in the bathtub, a series of events would also occur in the bathroom. For example, the broken light turning on again suddenly, the faucet turning on automatically to make the sound of running water, the flushing of the toilet, the door being opened, and someone dragging heavy footsteps into the bathroom. The shower curtain might even be opened, and someone might lean in front of the guest.

In short, these actions would be randomly decided by the staff and be controlled. The experience of every guest would be different.

At the same time, there would be many hidden cameras within to know the state of the guests. That mirror would also be special. It would look like nothing but a mirror on the surface, but it would actually be a display screen. It could not only display bleeding red eyes or bleeding effects, but they could also create effects such as the reflection of someone disappearing in the mirror while the person looked at him or herself within.

The second small project: windowsill.

The setting would be a narrow corridor of the hostel. As usual, the guest would need to lock themselves in after they entered.

There were four windows in the corridor with a slight difference in the state of each window.

The first window was completely broken and left open. The broken window frame would hit the wall from time to time due to the night breeze. It would make noises while the curtains were blown randomly.

The roars of unknown monsters would also be mixed within the sound of the wind from time to time.

Of course, that would just be a setting within a shipping container. The area 'outside' the window would still be within the container, completely dark. The breeze blowing with the roar of the monster would be artificially created.

The second window seemed to have some cracks. A few clear bloody handprints were on it as if someone had repeatedly hit it with a blood-stained hand.

The curtain of the third window would be slightly drawn.

The fourth window would have no curtains. It would be pitch black outside, unable to make out anything.

The guests would have to stand with their back towards the fourth window. They could not move, turn their heads, or make any sound no matter what happened. The challenge would only be successful if they managed to stay that way for five minutes.

During this period, random events might occur in these windows.

For example, the monstrous roar from the first window might strengthen as though the monster would jump out at any moment.

Someone outside the second window might slap the glass of the window and cry for help in misery. However, his screams would get farther and farther away as if being dragged away by some terrible monster.

The third window might be knocked open suddenly. A monster's big hand might stretch into a grope or hit and even drag a dummy item in the corridor away.

The fourth window, which was the window that the guest would be standing with their backs against, might also hear rhythmic hitting or nails scratching through the glass.

In addition, there would be huge shadows passing by the window, heavy footsteps, and the sound of iron chains dragging along the ground. The low roar of the monsters would also be able to be heard faintly.

The guest would be able to open the door and leave the room once the timer stopped.

However, by then, the window behind the guest would suddenly open. A huge monster might probe in, biting and roaring around with its huge mouth and causing rusty blood stench to fill the air.

Of course, to clear the mission, the guest needed to stay still and silent for another three-minute timeframe. The last scene would be just for the effect and would not affect the clearing of the mission.

The other small projects included TV sets, staircase, ceiling, and the bottom of the bed.

These small projects had one thing in common: they were not traditional horror scenes unlike cemeteries, underworlds, morgues, and other exciting settings.

There were also no exaggerated horror elements in these scenes such as staff roleplaying as ghosts, very complicated mechanisms, exquisite and terrifying props, and so on.

They used psychological effects to achieve horror.

Going down further was the fee policy for the Thriller Hostel. However, Chen Kangtuo obviously did not manage to come up with the appropriate amount. He simply wrote: 'guests are allowed to buy the tickets once and play multiple times'.

Pei Qian looked at this plan, lost in thought.

Logically speaking, the first and third large projects should be more brilliant, but Chen Kangtuo had yet to think up a specific plan, only a framework.

How to go about 'directing' him then?

The second large project had a specific proposal, but it was neither here nor there to Boss Pei.

Looking at the second project alone. It might not be thrilling enough for the brave-hearted, but it would also be too scary for the timid to try. Moreover, the process was relatively short. The gameplay was relatively monotonous as only one person could play at one time.

It looked like there was a high probability of failure, and there was nothing much that could be changed.

Pei Qian gave it some thought. He'd just do something to the ticket pricing since there was nothing much he could change for the plan!