Chapter 9
【Just one step away from clearing the level, and Da Xiong disconnects at the last moment. It's really unfortunate for him.】
【It's not his fault. That curse is just too vicious.】
【Being followed for all eternity, anyone would be terrified.】
【Exactly, exactly. I felt like the Ghost Bride's voice had tendrils, sticking to my scalp, cold and impossible to shake off.】
【You're not alone. My energy value is still dropping. The aftereffects are too strong.】
【I don't know why, but I feel completely refreshed right now.】
【Me too, me too. Unlike other games where you feel exhausted afterward, this one is terrifying but somehow exhilarating after the scare. What's up with that?】
【I want to play it again.】
【+1】
【+2】
…
While the online community couldn't stop exchanging their experiences, Tong Yu was already waiting at the exit, helping each of the players out one by one.
Yes, the moment the five of them stepped out, not a single one had steady legs.
"Is there anything to drink? I need something hot." Just like Zhang Huai and the others after leaving the Secret Room, they needed something warm to recover.
Tong Yu apologized sincerely, "I'm really sorry, it's our first day open, and we weren't prepared. Next time, for sure."
He had intended to prepare something, but the second group of guests arrived too quickly, and he didn't have time.
Upon hearing there was no hot water, they couldn't sit still and insisted on logging out to get something warm to drink, otherwise, they wouldn't recover.
Tong Yu suddenly had an idea: selling hot water at the Escape Room exit. He figured they might even pay a hundred star coins per cup.
No, no, that would be too unscrupulous.
Tong Yu quickly dismissed his greedy capitalist thoughts and called over the Shop Assistant to set up a water dispenser in the store.
"Master, there are over ten thousand private messages in the backend. Would you like to check them?"
"Ten thousand messages? What's in them?" Tong Yu asked casually.
"Boss, if you have the guts to stream, have the guts to give us the address. I want to play but don't know where to go."
"Boss, you have three minutes to post the address, or else I'll kill your whole family."
"I lost 20,000B energy value because of you. If I can't lose another 100,000, I'll become the Ghost Bride and haunt you."
"Boss, I want to book your store. Name your price."
Tong Yu looked curiously at the Shop Assistant, "Why are you stuttering while reading a message? Is the internet slow? Didn't we post our address? Quickly put our address up. We'll start taking reservations tomorrow, eight groups a day."
As Tong Yu arranged things, he checked his streaming earnings in the backend, feeling better with each glance.
It was just a trial run, but one stream earned him five million star coins, and the amount was still growing. Viewers were still sending gifts through the replay channel. The interstellar community was truly enthusiastic.
Tong Yu couldn't wait to withdraw the money, but then he realized he didn't know his payment password, so even if he withdrew it, he couldn't spend it. He needed to reset the password first.
He decided to head to the bank immediately.
Tong Yu was about to instruct the Shop Assistant further before logging out when he noticed the assistant displaying a line of text in front of him. He glanced at it and saw it was a message from a user: "Why are you displaying a message?"
"I'm not stuttering."
"Huh?"
"Boss, I want to book your store. Name your price. I'm not stuttering," the Shop Assistant repeated.
Tong Yu paused, then looked at the message again, especially at the enlarged comma after "your store." He finally understood. The assistant was upset because he accused it of stuttering.
Are AI assistants this petty now? I was just joking.
After logging out, Tong Yu went to the Blue Ocean Bank headquarters.
Resetting the password wasn't complicated and didn't require much documentation. As long as you were present, the bank had plenty of ways to verify your identity. Once confirmed, the password could be reset quickly.
After resetting his password, the first thing Tong Yu did was log into his account to check his balance, which was a lonely two-digit number, highlighting the original owner's poverty.
This Sheng Jing is so stingy! The original owner was his partner, even if he was a househusband without a job, he should still get some pocket money, right? But Sheng Jing preferred to send living expenses to Little Fatty instead of his partner.
No matter how handsome he is, he's still a jerk!
So, folks, having a wealthy partner is not as good as having your own money. No matter what, having your own money is the real deal.
Tong Yu connected the Light Brain to the Virtual Helmet and withdrew five million star coins from the backend, immediately transferring eighty thousand star coins to Sheng Jing's account. After some thought, he calculated the interest for the past two days based on the bank's daily rate and sent that over too. Then he confidently headed home.
Sheng Jing discovered the transfer at two in the morning. He had been in excellent spirits for the past two days, diving into the lab without rest. If his assistant hadn't noticed he hadn't eaten in over ten hours and forced him out, he'd still be calibrating numbers.
After leaving the lab, Sheng Jing went straight to the medical room, skillfully took out a pack of Yin-Yang Liquid from the drawer, and drank it while allowing the nurse to attach the equipment. To ensure the scientists at the Research Institute didn't develop mental issues, they had to check their Mental Sea twice daily, once before and once after work. Any anomalies would force them to rest.
Doctor Choi glanced at the instrument's readings and signaled the nurse to remove the equipment. "Can I meet your Contractor?"
Sheng Jing frowned, "Why do you want to meet him?"
Doctor Choi replied, "Your Mental Sea's health has now ranked first in the Research Institute."
He displayed the analysis of Sheng Jing's Mental Sea on the virtual screen.
Sheng Jing scanned the series of numbers, stopping at the final comprehensive assessment.
Mental Sea Status: Excellent.
Excellent. Except for the first six months after awakening, his Mental Sea had never been excellent! For a moment, Sheng Jing thought he was hallucinating.
Doctor Choi sincerely said, "You've been in the lab for over twelve hours a day recently, with the highest Mental Sea activity in the Research Institute. You generate over 100,000B of Riot Energy daily. Most importantly, two days ago, your Mental Sea's Riot Value exceeded 500,000B, but now it's only in the tens of thousands. I'm really curious how your Contractor managed this. Or did you go home for Mental Cleansing?"
"No!" He would never use the Mental Cleansing skill on Tong Yu again.
About a year ago, shortly after he and Tong Yu got married, he was busy with research. Due to prolonged work, he overused his Mental Power, leading to excessive Riot Energy in his Mental Sea. He could handle it, but Doctor Choi suggested he go home for Mental Cleansing with his Contractor.
"You've been in a Mental Contract for a month, and your Contractor has consumed too little energy. He can't support your mental consumption," Doctor Choi advised. "I suggest you go back and complete a Mental Cleansing with him."
Sheng Jing frowned, "I've heard Mental Cleansing is very painful. I don't want to use it unless absolutely necessary."
Doctor Choi persuaded, "You're mistaken. On the contrary, Mental Cleansing is only painful if used infrequently. The longer you suppress it, the longer the cleansing takes. Think of your Mental Power as water, and the contract connecting you as a pipe. Is it more painful to flush through one ton of water or ten thousand tons? Most importantly, he can't support your mental consumption. You can only expand his Mental Sea to store more water, or your Mental Contract must end."
In simple terms, Tong Yu's Mental Sea was too small, and his outlet wasn't big enough. If he couldn't release more water, he'd have to expand his Mental Sea to store more.
Because of this, Sheng Jing took leave to go home and informed Tong Yu about it. Tong Yu immediately agreed to the Mental Cleansing, saying his dream was to awaken through it. After confirming several times, Sheng Jing began the cleansing.
During that Mental Cleansing, Sheng Jing didn't release all his Mental Power, only about a third. But even that made Tong Yu unconscious for three days. When he woke up, his eyes were filled with fear, later turning to resentment, and eventually, it became a form of blackmail. Whenever they disagreed or Tong Yu wanted something Sheng Jing didn't, he'd bring up the Mental Cleansing to manipulate him.
"Do you know how much pain I was in? I almost died."
"Just because you're an Awakened and I'm a Contractor, you think you can mentally abuse me? I'll report you to the Contractor Association."
"If you don't agree with me, I'll die in front of you."
"I'm sick, mentally ill, and it's your fault. It's all because of your Mental Power Cleansing!"
"Brother Sheng Jing, I didn't mean it, but I can't control myself."
Sheng Jing closed his eyes tightly, pushing these memories out of his mind. "I've been at the institute this whole time, not home."
"That's why I'm curious how he did it. If this skill could be mastered and promoted, those trapped old experts in our institute would be saved," Doctor Choi said expectantly. "Ask him how he did it. It would contribute to the institute."
Personally, Sheng Jing didn't want to contact Tong Yu. He wished to dissolve the contract tomorrow, but thinking of the old experts in the institute, who were knowledgeable yet unable to work due to their Mental Sea's instability, he hesitated.
Many of these old experts were already in their sixties or seventies. Due to years of work, their Mental Seas were riddled with holes. They might only be clear-headed for an hour a day, spending the rest in mental torment. And that hour was dedicated to work. With the advancements in interstellar technology, human lifespans had exceeded 130 years. Sixty or seventy was middle-aged outside, but in the institute, they seemed ancient.
Awakened individuals generally had shorter lifespans than ordinary people. They were risking their lives for Water Blue Star's future.
If there was a way, no matter the conditions, he'd agree.
"I'll ask," Sheng Jing said, activating the Light Brain.
In the Research Institute, no communication devices were allowed in the lab.
He activated the Light Brain, quickly skipping over his parents' daily greetings, and focused on a transfer message.
In the afternoon, Tong Yu had transferred two sums to him: eighty thousand star coins and twenty-eight star coins, marked as loan and interest, respectively.
Sheng Jing suddenly recalled the message Tong Yu sent two days ago about repaying the loan. He hadn't paid much attention then, but now he realized Tong Yu had indeed repaid it, even calculating the interest.
Twenty-eight star coins, calculated based on the bank's daily interest for two days, with an extra 0.6 star coins.
Sheng Jing didn't calculate it on purpose, but his math skills were so good that he instinctively computed simple numbers at a glance.
After a year of knowing Tong Yu, Sheng Jing found himself unsure of his tactics. After some thought, he sent Tong Yu a message. After waiting a while without a reply, he concluded, "He must be asleep. It's the weekend in a couple of days. I'll go back personally then." Given Tong Yu's personality, he would definitely set conditions. Phone communication wouldn't suffice; he needed to go in person. Perhaps that was Tong Yu's intention all along.
Meanwhile, Tong Yu was happily dreaming, counting money in his sleep. There was so much money that he couldn't finish counting, and even when his hands cramped, he was still smiling. While he dreamt, the Ghost Bride's live video went viral overnight, and the Secret Room reservations skyrocketed at an alarming rate.
Author's Note:
Tong Yu: Sleep until you wake up naturally, count money until your hands cramp.
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