Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Upon hearing the words 'Boss Pei', everyone present sat upright.

Chen Kangtuo became immersed in his memories. "Boss Pei gave me a very unreasonable mission that day. He told me to keep going through the 'Thriller Hostel' project until I was very familiar with every single detail inside.

"For a couple of days in a row, I spent seven to eight hours in the Ultimate Horror. I scoured every single detail and thought about how visitors would feel about them.

"On top of that, Boss Pei set up special props within the Golden Maze to further divide the difficulty levels. Depending on which props the visitors enter with, they would obtain a different experience…"

Everyone listened intently, a look of genuine respect on their expressions.

On one hand, they really respected and worshiped Boss Pei. They had not expected Boss Pei to be able to bring his gaming concepts into the haunted house, to deliver a unique wandering experience to visitors.

On the other hand, they also respected and worshiped Chen Kangtuo. How could he experience the Ultimate Horror non-stop for close to a week? That made him an ultimate ruthless man!

Qiao Liang perked up and listened intently, not willing to miss any detail.

Obviously, this was critical information!

Why was the experience at the Thriller Hostel so special? It was because Boss Pei had injected his gaming concepts into the haunted house! One only had to think about it for a while to realize that there was a lot of content to talk about here.

However… the prerequisite for using that content was that one had to experience it firsthand. Thus, they were back to square one: did they really have to experience the 'Ultimate Horror'?

Qiao Liang instinctively rejected that thought. However, at the same time, his resolve was being shaken like never before.

That was because there were too many role models in front of him!

Before this, he had been playing with his fans, who were not much stronger than he was. Of course, Qiao Liang thought quite highly of himself.

However, he now knew that all of Tengda's employees had completed it. Even a lady like Director Lin had immersed herself in the experience of 'Smog Mountain' State Mental Hospital just to collect material. Chen Kangtuo had also practically lived in the Ultimate Horror to give visitors the best experience.

On the flip side, a self-proclaimed hardcore gamer like Qiao Liang did not dare to enter. In fact, he couldn't even obtain a qualification! If word got out, he would be so ashamed!

Qiao Liang had no choice but to sip his 'Blood Juice' and say nothing. In his head, a bitter war ensued.

Chen Kangtuo glanced at Lin Wan, who turned to look at Ruan Guangjian. All three of them seemed to be feeling the same thing.

How could Qiao Liang not have fallen for it yet?

Obviously, all of them had a common objective: they wanted Teacher Qiao to win this battle against himself by going to attempt the Ultimate Horror and then producing a publicity video for the Thriller Hostel.

Yet, they had not expected him to be so determined—or should one say 'paralyzed with fear'? They had already said all that they needed to, and yet he was not reacting in any way.

Just as Qiao Liang considered this very carefully, they heard a surprised voice from outside the window. "Eh? Brother Chen? These are…"

Chen Kangtuo looked up and then grinned.

Wasn't that Boss Li?

This restaurant was Boss Li's. He had come to walk around on its first day of operations to check out how it was doing. Coincidentally, he bumped into familiar faces.

At once, Chen Kangtuo introduced everyone.

Li Shi was overjoyed. "You're all friends of Boss Pei? Then, say no more—this meal is on me! Just eat as much as you want!

"Since you're all friends of Boss Pei, you should eat and play to your heart's content. Welcome to Jingzhou!"

Boss Li exchanged a couple of pleasantries with all of them and then asked one of the nurses to serve two more dishes. He was very hospitable indeed.

Everyone ate and talked at the same time, and no one mentioned the 'Ultimate Horror' again.

Five minutes later, Qiao Liang, who had been eating with his head bowed the entire time, suddenly slammed the table.

"Alright, I've decided! I will attempt the 'Ultimate Horror'!"

Ruan Guangjian, Lin Wan, and Chen Kangtuo looked very surprised.

Eh? What had made Qiao Liang change his mind?

Hadn't he been more concerned about remaining alive earlier?

Qiao Liang now seemed to be viewing death with equanimity as he said, "All of you have offered me so much encouragement and help. I think it's very important to gather more information as well.

"However, none of that made me set my resolve.

"Instead, one sentence from Boss Li made me realize something: I am a friend of Boss Pei! Everything that Boss Pei wants to say to me has been injected into the 'Ultimate Horror' in Thriller Hostel. Can I still call myself a friend of his if I refuse to go and read his message?

"That means I must go!"

Looking at Qiao Liang's resolute expression, everyone else could not help but feel moved. What had changed Teacher Qiao's mind in the end?

At a critical moment like that, it had still been Boss Pei!

None of them could accomplish it no matter how hard they tried. However, Boss Pei's personality and charm alone had done the trick!

…

In the afternoon…

Pei Qian was drinking coffee at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe while basking in the afternoon sun. He was receiving many messages at rapid speed on his cell phone, and most of them were congratulations from various people.

After all, Thriller Hostel had just opened for business, and Boss Pei was a man of many connections. He had expected to receive many congratulations.

In fact, he had been receiving countless messages since the morning. Since Pei Qian did not want to get distracted, he had no choice but to set his cell phone on silent mode and check it every once in a while.

When he finished his cup of coffee, he picked up his cell phone and checked his unread messages.

After opening all the meaningless congratulatory messages, Pei Qian sat upright. At once, he went into high alert. He had received many messages from the Management Trainee in Thriller Hostel. What's more, they had been sent one after another!

This was the first day of business for Thriller Hostel. It was natural for there to be many people.

However, there was no reason for the Management Trainee to send so many messages to report updates to Boss Pei.

Pei Qian quickly opened the chat and read the messages closely.

"Lin Wan, Ye Zhizhou, and other higher management from Shang Yang Games have arrived at Thriller Hostel and experienced all three projects."

"Lin Wan, Chen Kangtuo, and the others went to the mental-hospital-themed restaurant and bumped into Ruan Guangjian and Qiao Liang there."

"Ruan Guangjian whispered something to Lin Wan and Chen Kangtuo."

"Qiao Liang joined his fans' tables, and they're eating together now."

"Qiao Liang seems to have been scared by 'Haunted House Nightmare'. He hasn't gone to the 'Ultimate Horror' yet."

"Ruan Guangjian, Lin Wan, and the others are thinking of ways and means to tempt Qiao Liang into experiencing the 'Ultimate Horror'. They hope for him to publicize Thriller Hostel in a new channel."

"Li Shi agreed to waive their bill for that meal and that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Qiao Liang is deeply moved by your friendship, Senior. He has decided to buy props from the Golden Maze before challenging himself at the 'Ultimate Horror'."

"We have arrived at the golden zone of the Golden Maze."

Obviously, the Management Trainee had joined the group for the meal and kept a close eye on them throughout. The last message had only been sent when Pei Qian decided to check his phone.

Pei Qian's mind immediately filled with question marks.

?

Teacher Qiao?

Ruan Guangjian?

It was not surprising that either of them had appeared at the Thriller Hostel, but the fact that they had appeared together and even eaten together was very strange!

Pei Qian could not be bothered to find out if they had bumped into each other or arranged to meet. Now, there was a problem far more urgent than that in front of him.

Qiao Liang was going to attempt the 'Ultimate Horror'! He was the second name on the list in Pei Qian's little notebook, and Pei Qian knew his destruction ability very well.

Pei Qian would not be that afraid if anyone else had gone to play at Thriller Hostel because no one else was that influential.

However, Qiao Liang was a famous UP Master with more than a million fans on Aili Island. If he published a video to praise Thriller Hostel, Pei Qian would be finished!

It was also for precisely that reason that Pei Qian had not informed him when Thriller Hostel opened for business.

Although he would have been happy to take revenge on Qiao Liang and see his enemy being frightened to death in Thriller Hostel, he had also had to think about his failed experience with Repent and be Saved. Pei Qian felt like whenever he tried to set Qiao Liang up, he always ended up losing out even more.

Thus, Pei Qian had intended for both of them to let each other off. I won't inform you about Thriller Hostel, and you won't do me any harm. Between both of us, one is in Jingzhou and the other is in Beijing. We can live our own lives.

He never would have thought that Qiao Liang, a UP Master in the gaming channel, would take the initiative to visit Thriller Hostel!

"No way, I have to stop him!"

An ominous feeling overwhelmed Pei Qian. All the estimates that he had done before this had been based on the condition that the initial popularity would not be sustained and would dissipate after a while.

However, if Thriller Hostel gets another wave of publicity during this time or even multiple waves of publicity, the consequences would fall outside of Pei Qian's expectations!

He stood up and prepared to instruct Little Sun, his driver, to send him to Thriller Hostel so that he could stop Teacher Qiao.

However, five seconds after he stood up, he sat down once more.

He knew that he could not show his face!

Too many people at Thriller Hostel knew who he was! If everyone addressed him as Boss Pei, would fans of Tengda become curious and take pictures of him?

Then, wouldn't his identity be exposed?

On further thought, he decided to give up. They were in an age of telecommunications, where people could send messages or make calls to resolve problems. Why would he have to personally make a trip down?

At that thought, Pei Qian dialed Qiao Liang's number.

…

At the same time, in the golden zone of the Golden Maze…

Lin Wan, Chen Kangtuo, and the others were all there. Even Li Shi had followed them, intending to see how sales at the golden zone were doing.

Everyone had spent a lot of time wandering around the Golden Maze before they finally found the golden zone. Since it was their first time walking in, everyone gasped in amazement and wondered how Boss Pei came up with such a mystical idea and turned it into reality.

The maze-cum-shopping-mall provided everyone with an extremely novel shopping experience. They had to spend so much time and effort just finding the products; wouldn't it be a waste if they didn't purchase anything?

Ruan Guangjian held onto the headwear with the devil horns, refusing to let go.

Yet, Qiao Liang hesitated for a long time before he finally picked up the golden lantern. He had no other option. Although he had to go to the Ultimate Horror for the sake of his friendship with Boss Pei, he still wanted to come out of it alive.

The golden lantern could repel most of the beasts and ghosts in the 'Ultimate Horror'. One could say that it was the simplest mode. Considering his performance in the 'Haunted House Nightmare', he could only go with this difficulty level.

At that moment, Qiao Liang's view of Chen Kangtuo changed for the second time.

When Qiao Liang had visited the 'Haunted House Nightmare' and been scared half to death, he had already cursed the designer a thousand times in his heart.

When he had met and heard from Chen Kangtuo himself and learned that the latter had sacrificed so much for the sake of Thriller Hostel, he had felt respect.

Now, seeing the four props, and the golden lantern that offered the simplest mode in particular, Qiao Liang felt immensely grateful for Chen Kangtuo.

Anyone who can reduce my suffering would be considered family to me!

The golden lantern had been meant to be sold in the zone for handicraft and art pieces. It looked very beautiful and exquisite. Of course, it was also the most expensive of the four props.

However, to Qiao Liang, the price was very acceptable. After all, he was not just buying a little toy. Instead, he was buying a gaming experience!

It was like the Red Kilin in Ocean Stronghold, which was only expensive because it offered additional in-game experiences.

Qiao Liang picked up the golden lantern and prepared to make payment. However, at that moment, his cell phone rang.

"Eh? It's Boss Pei?"