Chapter 6

With Qiu Gangyi disconnected, the Ghost Bride instance, which required four people to clear, naturally couldn't continue. Tong Yu went in and brought the remaining three out.

The moment the three stepped out of the Secret Room, they all exhaled deeply in unison, as if they had rehearsed it beforehand.

Tong Yu stifled a laugh, trying hard not to turn around and look at their expressions.

Xiao Fei was the only one besides Bold Brother who had come into close contact with the Ghost Bride. He had even witnessed the Ghost Bride sticking out her tongue to lick Bold Brother. To be honest, the shock of that scene was indescribable. How to put it, his legs were still weak.

"Is there any hot water? I feel a bit cold," Lingling said, only realizing her voice was a bit tight after she spoke.

"Well… I haven't had time to prepare food and water." In reality, it wasn't that he hadn't had time, but Tong Yu never intended to prepare any. This was a virtual world, where people could eat, but it was just for the sensation. They wouldn't actually feel hunger or thirst. Lingling feeling cold was purely from fright.

However, after today, he would have to consider preparing them. These interstellar people were really not good with scares.

Zhang Huai, with a pale face, was looking down, using his Virtual Helmet to dial Qiu Gangyi's real-world communication number. After a while, Zhang Huai looked up, his pale face suddenly flushed with color, and he stared intently at Tong Yu.

Tong Yu felt a pang of anxiety under his gaze. What was going on? Had something happened to Qiu Gangyi?

"Uh… Is Bold Brother okay?" Surely Bold Brother didn't have a heart condition and got scared to death?!!

Tong Yu suddenly felt afraid. He should have issued a risk warning in advance.

Zhang Huai didn't answer immediately but turned to his two friends and said, "Check your mental power consumption."

Xiao Fei and Lingling, who were clutching their chests to calm themselves, were startled by his words. Then, as if discovering something, they looked down to check their personal stats. Soon, both of them looked up with incredulous expressions.

Xiao Fei said, "I… I consumed 52,300R of mental energy."

Lingling added, "I consumed 61,321R."

Zhang Huai swallowed and looked at Tong Yu. "I consumed 50,991R."

R was a unit of measurement set by scientists for mental power, determined by the consumption of mental power in the virtual world. Tong Yu knew this. While constructing the Secret Room over the past few days, his Virtual Helmet had been calculating his mental power consumption. At first, Tong Yu would glance at it, but as he became more engrossed in building the scene, he forgot about it. He only looked at it once at the end, and the number seemed to be in the hundreds of thousands.

Tong Yu didn't grasp the amazement in their eyes and remained concerned about Bold Brother. "Did you get in touch with Bold Brother? Is he okay?"

Zhang Huai finally replied, "He's fine, just forced offline due to excessive mental power consumption."

So he got scared offline. Tong Yu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he was okay.

After confirming that no one died during his trial run of the Secret Room, Tong Yu remembered to ask about their experience. "How did you find the game? Was it too scary?"

While watching them attempt the challenge, Tong Yu had been reflecting. Unlike the real world, NPCs in the virtual world could use "magic." Simply put, in the real world, if the Ghost Bride was set to be a beauty who suddenly turned monstrous, it was hard to achieve because NPCs couldn't change costumes that quickly. But in the virtual world, as long as the script allowed, the AI Ghost Bride could change her face ten times in a second, as terrifying as you wanted. There were also long nails, floating feet, flying around the courtyard, and so on.

The more realistic the environment, the more scared the players were. So it wasn't entirely the fault of the interstellar humans for being timid; he did set some things too excessively.

The three seemed to recall the horror of the Secret Room and nodded vigorously.

"I've never been so scared in my life." Lingling, who had the highest mental power consumption among the three, was the most frightened, as the numbers showed. Of course, this excluded Bold Brother, who had already disconnected.

"Has it reached that level?" Tong Yu felt a bit embarrassed. "I'll adjust it, make it less scary."

"No!"

"No!"

"No!"

The three spoke in unison, even their tone and expressions were identical, firmly stopping Tong Yu.

Tong Yu was stunned. "Why… why not?"

"If it's not scary, how will it consume mental power?!"

"Playing here for half an hour is equivalent to a whole day of fighting the Zerg in interstellar wars."

"A good scare is nice, just to clear out the Mental Sea."

Tong Yu blinked and scratched his head, finally remembering the first principle of making money in the virtual world: maximize mental power consumption.

In simple terms, it's about paying for thrills. The scarier it is, the more profitable it becomes.

"So… do you think my shop can take off?" Tong Yu asked.

"It can, absolutely! If your shop can't make it, what shop can?" Zhang Huai said excitedly. "I'll book in advance. I want to come play every week."

"Me too, me too!" The other two chimed in excitedly.

Tong Yu was speechless. Who comes to the same Secret Room repeatedly? "If you like, you can keep coming until you clear it. But once you clear it, it won't be scary anymore."

"I think even if I come ten more times, I'd still be scared," Lingling said in a small voice. "The background music alone, without a single lyric, is particularly eerie."

"…" With such courage, they dare to come every day. Truly timid yet eager to play.

However, as the owner, Tong Yu decided to respect the players' personal choices. "So, how much do you think I should charge for the ticket?"

Tong Yu decided to first listen to their suggestions, then compare prices outside, and finally set a reasonable price before spending money on promotion for the official opening.

Zhang Huai said, "I don't play many games, so I'm not clear on game pricing. But in our catering industry, if a meal can consume around 50,000B of mental energy, it should cost at least 10,000 star coins."

When Tong Yu heard Zhang Huai mention "our catering industry," he couldn't help but mentally scoff. Just with your stinky tofu, you dare to mention the catering industry? But when he heard the amount of 10,000 star coins, he was so shocked he almost lost his footing.

"How much?!"

"10,000 star coins," Zhang Huai added seriously. "That's the pricing standard in our catering industry."

"10,000 is reasonable. In interstellar wars, each game level consumes about 10,000B of mental energy, and the charge is 8,000 star coins. But it takes too long to complete the consumption in one go, so your price can be higher. And our consumption of 50,000B mental energy was just in the first half-hour. If we persisted until clearing, it might be more. So 10,000 is actually a bit low," Xiao Fei, who loved playing games, immediately compared it to the most popular game for Tong Yu.

"That's right. Your game is very special. For someone like Bold Brother who got scared offline, the price could be several times higher," Zhang Huai added.

What? 10,000 star coins could be several times higher? I only spent 80,000 star coins to buy a Virtual Helmet.

Yes, in just two days, Tong Yu had already started using "only" for the number 80,000.

If you define prices by food, the cost of living on Water Blue Star isn't much different from the Earth era, meaning one star coin is equivalent to one RMB from his time on Earth. Charging 10,000 for an Escape Room seems too steep. Can these people afford it?

Tong Yu organized his thoughts. "Isn't that price too high? I actually want to make a more accessible game."

"Mr. Tong, I didn't expect you to be such a generous person," Zhang Huai suddenly became excited, looking at Tong Yu with admiration.

Huh?

"You designed such a great thing, yet you're not thinking about making money but about benefiting humanity."

I'm not not thinking about making money; I'm just afraid the business bureau will come after me. I spent two days making this, and I'm earning 40,000 in half an hour. I'm feeling guilty. Also, I just made an Escape Room for my own profit. How is that benefiting humanity?

Tong Yu was completely flabbergasted by the praise.

"10,000 star coins isn't high at all," Lingling also said. "This price is set based on mental energy consumption, and no one can easily break it. If you set the price too low, other industries will be affected and forced to lower their prices too."

"Is it… is it that serious?" Tong Yu was bewildered.

"I know you want to do something for humanity, Mr. Tong."

No, no, no, I don't have that intention. Please, don't praise me anymore, miss.

Lingling looked at Tong Yu with admiration. "Personally, I think instead of lowering the price, you should start a live broadcast."

"A live broadcast?!" How do you live stream an Escape Room? If it's live-streamed, everyone will know the content and levels inside. How will you sell tickets then?

"Exactly!" Xiao Fei caught on and continued, "You only have this one Secret Room. Even if you operate continuously for 24 hours, assuming you host four people at a time, how long does it take to clear… to clear?"

Xiao Fei looked at Tong Yu.

Tong Yu replied, "I set the clearance time to three hours."

"Are you sure three hours is enough to clear it?" Zhang Huai questioned.

Tong Yu wasn't sure anymore. Initially, he set it to two hours because it was a small instance, and if quick, it could be cleared in an hour. But seeing them still on the first level after half an hour, he silently extended it by an hour.

"Let's say three hours, then in one day, you can only host eight groups, totaling just thirty-two people," Xiao Fei continued calculating. "There are over eight billion Awakened on Water Blue Star, and that number is constantly increasing. Relying on online games won't help. And even if the Secret Room is terrifying, the more people play, the more spoilers there are, and eventually, it won't be scary or effective anymore."

Tong Yu nodded in agreement. "Yes, the best part of an Escape Room is when the instance first comes out. Over time, it loses its effect." Back on Earth, Escape Room owners didn't want players to leak game content, but players loved sharing online. So every so often, owners had to change the level settings, trying to maintain players' interest, or business would dwindle.

Lingling chimed in, "So live streaming is the most effective. Let the first group of players broadcast their experience live on major platforms on the Star Network, allowing the entire Water Blue Star to join them in the challenge. The horror level will always be at its peak, maximizing mental power consumption. There will also be revenue from millions of viewers watching the live stream, and even if there's no tipping, advertising revenue is substantial."

Zhang Huai added, "Just like a horror movie."

In the interstellar era, due to special environmental needs, theaters were filled with horror movies, while romance films became niche. Why? Because romantic movies didn't help much with mental power consumption.

After hearing this, Tong Yu understood. It meant that the ticket price of 10,000 star coins could only go up, not down. But he could start a live stream, which would not only help more people but also bring in significant revenue.

This business logic wasn't hard to grasp; it existed back on Earth.

"Alright, let's do it then." After all, it was just a low-cost Escape Room, a trial run. If it didn't work, he could build a new Secret Room. Tong Yu made a decision. "Do you want to do the live stream?"

After all, these folks had just cleared the first level. Even if they went again, it wouldn't affect much.

"I… I can't. My partner's mental power has already been drained by half. If I live stream, I'd probably be forced offline before clearing," Zhang Huai waved his hand. "To live stream, you need to ensure clearance, so find someone with strong mental power."

Xiao Fei added, "Yes, at least an A-level mental power Awakened's Contractor. Isn't your game's horror level A-level? Perfect."

Lingling added, "And find someone timid. The more timid, the better the effect."

Tong Yu was worried. "Too timid won't work either. What if they get scared and something happens, like a heart attack?"

Zhang Huai waved his hand confidently. "Don't worry. The Virtual Helmet has a body detection function. What you're worried about won't happen."

Tong Yu thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll post an ad online to see if anyone meets the criteria."

When Zhang Huai heard Tong Yu was going to post an ad, he quickly grabbed Tong Yu's hand. "If you don't mind, I can recommend someone. How about I pay 20,000 per person for the ticket?"

Tong Yu was shocked. "Zhang, what are you saying? If you help me find customers, I should be thanking you, not charging more."

Zhang Huai insisted, "No, Tong, can I call you Tong?"

Tong Yu naturally had no objections.

Zhang Huai continued, "The person I'm recommending is a friend of mine. His contracted Awakened is a Mecha warrior, awakened for ten years. When he awakened, his mental power was already at B-level. After ten years, it's long surpassed A-level. In recent years, his mental power has become extremely unstable, requiring Mental Cleansing almost every month. He's barely holding on."

Tong Yu knew that undergoing Mental Cleansing was painful, but to the point of being unable to endure it once a month, it seemed far more painful than he imagined.

"Why not dissolve the contract?" Tong Yu asked.

Zhang Huai sighed. "To dissolve the contract, unless one party is brain dead and the mental power dissipates on its own, both parties' Mental Seas would be affected. His Awakened would suffer from Mental Sea disorder, and his mental power level would decrease."

"Wouldn't decreasing be a good thing?"

"It's not that simple. His contracted Awakened is an A-level Mecha warrior. If his mental power decreases, he won't be able to pilot an A-level Mecha. Moreover, the Mental Sea would suffer secondary damage, and the extent of the damage is unpredictable. In severe cases, it could drop directly to E-level."

Even if Tong Yu didn't fully understand, he knew what it meant for mental power to drop to E-level. An ordinary person's mental power could potentially reach E-level with effort, so if an Awakened regressed to that level, it would be equivalent to being ruined.

What about Sheng Jing? Insisting on a divorce, determined to dissolve the Mental Contract, wasn't he afraid of problems?

His mental power should be strong, right? After all, Tong Yu had drawn tens of thousands of B of mental energy, and Sheng Jing hadn't even flinched. Zhang Huai had only drawn 50,000B and was already halfway consumed.

"This game, as long as it can consume 200,000, no, 150,000 is enough. As long as it can consume 150,000B of mental energy, he won't have to undergo Mental Cleansing," Zhang Huai said heavily.

"But that's just a temporary fix. What about next month? This Secret Room is just a courage-building game. The more you play, the braver you get, and the effect diminishes."

"One step at a time," Zhang Huai said, his tone full of helplessness.

"Alright." Tong Yu hadn't expected that creating a game would lead to such a heavy story, but helping people was always good. He readily agreed. "Let him come. Do you know anyone else who needs it? The minimum for this game is four people, but I can adjust it to accommodate up to eight."

"Really? I have friends who need it too." Xiao Fei and Lingling became excited.

In this era, there were many Awakened with uncontrollable mental power outbursts. Contractors like them always had friends who urgently needed mental power soothing. This was why Zhang Huai hesitated when he spoke. If Tong Yu's Secret Room was truly effective, the queue of players wanting to play the first round could be unimaginably long.

"How about tomorrow?" Tong Yu set a time.

"Can't it be today?" The three of them seemed very eager.

"… It's not impossible, but don't you need time to contact people?"

"No need, it's just a phone call away." With that, the three of them started making calls.

Indeed, those who urgently needed to consume excess mental power were likely immersed in the virtual world 24/7. Tong Yu didn't stop them and instead returned to the counter to start adjusting the details of the Secret Room. For instance, hiring a few more NPCs. Such a big house needed some servants, and the servants could help catch players.

Hmm, maybe add a special effect, like the Ghost Bride tearing apart a scumbag.

Make the background music even more eerie…

Meanwhile, at the Research Institute.

Sheng Jing had been working in the lab since waking up at dawn, already working for twelve consecutive hours. Usually, he could only work for two or three hours before his headaches forced him to stop and rest. After the pain subsided, he would continue working for another three or four hours before having to stop completely.

Sheng Jing, who had been working for twelve consecutive hours, was starting to worry his lab colleagues.

"Mr. Sheng, do you want to take a break?"

"Mr. Sheng, please remember to rest. We all know you want to complete the warship engine design as soon as possible, but you also need to maintain the stability of your Mental Sea. If your mental power becomes overloaded, it won't recover in just a day or two."

Only then did Sheng Jing come to his senses. He checked the time and was a bit shocked himself.

It was already past three in the afternoon. He had been working for twelve hours straight? But why didn't he feel the slightest discomfort, and his mind was still sharp?

Sheng Jing thought of something and opened the detector on his wrist to check his mental energy consumption.

Mental energy consumption: 389,326B

Sheng Jing's eyes widened.

What on earth was Tong Yu doing? Was he using a knife to pry open his brain and let the mental power flow out?