Morning, Feiyang Internet Cafe.
I repeatedly disassembled and reassembled a computer tower, gaining a large amount of Skill Experience in the process. It was crucial for me at this stage to max out several Advanced Programming Tier 2 skills as soon as possible!
"Don't eat instant noodles for lunch."
Lu Xiaobei leaned over the counter and looked at me. "I'll go to Aunt Xue's Restaurant across the street and cook a few dishes for you."
"Something this good exists?" I was overjoyed.
Lu Xiaobei rolled her eyes and ignored me.
At noon, she really did return from the restaurant across the street, carrying several takeout boxes in a plastic bag. We ate behind the bar counter together: fish-fragrant shredded pork, cured pork stir-fried with garlic shoots, and stir-fried pork kidneys.
"That was fast?"
I set aside my work, picked up a box of rice, and started eating.
"Mm, their business isn't very good."
Lu Xiaobei said, "I heard Creek City University recently banned food delivery into the campus and required all students to eat at the school cafeteria. Apparently, the cafeteria owner is the principal's brother-in-law. The students are all complaining, so the restaurants outside the school are doing badly too. Aunt Xue's Restaurant has especially poor business. There were barely any customers at noon."
"The food actually tastes pretty good."
I wolfed it down.
"Mm, I think their chef is pretty skilled too." Lu Xiaobei nodded in strong agreement.
After lunch, I packed up the containers and threw them into the trash can outside, then continued working.
Lu Xiaobei sat beside me with a cup of milk tea. She pulled a palm-sized novel from her pocket and started reading. Its title seemed to be something like Don't Speak, There's Someone Under the Bed. I figured it was either a horror novel or an adultery novel.
"Ding Han."
After reading for a while, she put down the book and said, "Quite a few people have been topping up their cards lately. I've saved thirty thousand yuan. How do you think we should use it to make Feiyang Internet Cafe even more popular?"
"Are you humbly seeking advice?" I asked.
"Mm!"
She nodded heavily, then propped her chin up with both hands and stared straight at me with her beautiful big eyes.
"Fine. Since you're asking so sincerely, I'll teach you a little something."
I leaned back in my chair and crooked a finger. "Come closer. The fewer people who know this sort of business secret, the better."
"Okay!"
Lu Xiaobei immediately stood up, braced a hand on my shoulder, and leaned her ear close.
"First, the zoning at our internet cafe isn't very good. There are only two price tiers. Of course, that has to do with the number and quality of our machines, and we can't rush that for now. But since we're in the service industry, I think we should put more effort into personalized service."
"Mm-mm!"
She repeatedly agreed. "Keep going!"
The faint scent of her perfume drifted into my nose, making me feel a little dazed.
"Our internet cafe has plenty of old-school gamers. Once they get on a computer, they stay there all day and don't even have time to eat. I was thinking, since Aunt Xue's Restaurant isn't doing well either, why don't we cooperate with them? We can make Aunt Xue's Restaurant our partner and establish an ordering system for Feiyang Internet Cafe. When customers get hungry while browsing, they can pay at our bar counter. We'll place the order with Aunt Xue's Restaurant, and they can deliver the food here. That way, both the internet cafe and restaurant benefit, while customers get a better online experience."
"Ah?"
Lu Xiaobei's beautiful eyes widened, as though the door to a new world had opened before her. "Ding Han... you really are a business prodigy!"
"Save the praise for later."
I wore an expression that said this was only the appetizer and continued, "It's not just food, either. Milk tea works the same way. Buying equipment to make milk tea in the internet cafe would be a hassle, but there's a milk tea shop less than fifty meters away. Their business is only so-so as well. We can go talk to them about a partnership and create a new order channel between Feiyang Internet Cafe and their milk tea shop."
"Possible, definitely possible!"
Lu Xiaobei nodded lightly. "I can go discuss the partnership with them."
"Mm."
I nodded lightly. "Also, to improve customers' browsing and gaming experience, I think we can create a voice call announcement system."
"Ah?"
Lu Xiaobei's lips parted slightly. "W-what do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
I smiled. "Take Legend, for example. A player logs into their account at our internet cafe. If he's a level 42 Blaze Warrior and nobody knows he has logged in, he'll lose interest. But if we establish a system that automatically collects game data, then once it detects that a player's data has reached a certain threshold, an announcement can play over the internet cafe broadcast the moment he logs in. For example: 'Welcome, level 42 warrior Blade After Blade Blaze from Legend Server 7, logging in at computer 22.' Or: 'Welcome, level 71 bishop I'm Great at Healing from Digimon World Aries, logging in at computer 18.' Wouldn't that create a completely different experience?"
"..."
Lu Xiaobei was dumbstruck as she stared at me blankly.
"Well? Shocked?"
"To be honest, I really am shocked..."
Lu Xiaobei looked deeply at me. "Ding Han, how did you come up with all this?"
"Start from the depths of the customer's psychological needs, and you'll think of it too."
"But..."
Lu Xiaobei said, "Wouldn't it cost a lot to build a voice call announcement system like that?"
"It won't cost anything. I can write the program myself. It won't be difficult. We just need to collect game information from the client machines and set certain trigger values."
"Alright!"
She nodded forcefully. "I'll leave this to you. I'll handle the partnerships with the restaurant and milk tea shop."
"Sure."
That afternoon, I began writing the voice call announcement program. Before starting, I used all the Skill Experience I had accumulated that morning to upgrade Advanced Programming, raising it straight to level 5. It greatly expanded my understanding and perspective in programming. After that, it took me less than three short hours to finish the voice call announcement system.
At four o'clock, Sakura came to take over the shift.
Lu Xiaobei had returned as well.
"I've settled things with Aunt Xue's Restaurant, but we need to think of a way for them to hear whenever we receive an order here."
"That's easy. I can write a small program that automatically plays our order announcements on their phones."
"Good!"
"What about the milk tea shop?"
"That's settled too!"
"Alright!"
Just then, three blond-haired teenage boys crowded around a punk girl as they entered the internet cafe. They were regular customers.
They each got on a computer. When the girl logged into her Audition account, the internet cafe's voice call announcement suddenly rang out.
"Welcome, Dance King 'We Are Sugar, Sweet Enough to Hurt' from East China District Langtaosha, logging in at computer 21!"
In an instant, the entire internet cafe erupted!
"Holy crap!"
One blond-haired guy stared wide-eyed at the girl with the explosive hairstyle. "Zhou Lijuan, did you hear that?"
"I heard it! That's freaking awesome!"
The girl named Zhou Lijuan stood up. "Xiao Bei, how did your internet cafe make that sound? That's so awesome..."
"It's a voice call announcement system."
Lu Xiaobei smiled. "It's a feature that Feiyang Internet Cafe just launched. We're the only one in all of Creek City with it."
I continued from where she left off. "Our voice call announcement system is still being optimized. It currently supports seven games: Audition, Legend, Miracle, Digimon World, Stone Age, Red Moon, and Fantasy Westward Journey. We'll keep adding more later."
"Awesome, way too awesome..."
One of the blond-haired guys said, "Boss, your voice call system is unbeatable!"
Lu Xiaobei smiled and said, "Then please help spread the word. Feiyang Internet Cafe will keep improving and strive to give customers a better browsing and gaming experience. If any friends around you don't know about us yet, just help us promote the place a little."
"Definitely, definitely!"
The group sat down excitedly.
Lu Xiaobei gave me a look that said, "You really are a genius."
I returned a look that said, "Basic stuff. No need to make a fuss. Sit down and watch."
That evening, I bought some groceries and returned home to cook.
"Han."
While I was stir-frying, Milo said, "Want to come sit at our bar tonight? I happen to have a free seat card, and I can give you some drinks too. Come show your support. Tonight will be my first time performing The Ordinary Road at the bar, and I hope you'll be there."
"Sure."
I thought about it. There really wasn't anything important to do that night. I had originally planned to disassemble and reassemble my Blue Roarer a few hundred times to earn some Skill Experience, but that could wait.
"Ok, it's settled then!"
"Mm."
After dinner, Milo did not rush off. Instead, he handed me his guitar. "Can you play?"
"I know a little."
"Alright, play something."
"You think I'm afraid of you?"
I held the guitar in my arms and played and sang Richie Jen's Too Soft-Hearted.
"So you really only know a little." Milo pinched his nose and laughed. "You got at least three out of ten notes wrong. I could only barely tell what song it was."
"You're demanding that much from an amateur?" I glared at him. "I only learned for a little while from a buddy back then. I felt like I hadn't put any talent points into music, so I stopped learning."
"Your vocal tone is actually pretty good."
Milo said seriously, "How about... spending a skill point to learn Instrument Mastery?"
"Learn music?"
I frowned. "With all due respect, not even dogs would learn it. What's the point of wasting skill points on instruments? When someone points a shotgun at me, am I supposed to pull out a suona and play A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix for him?"
Milo said speechlessly, "You really won't consider it? With your vocal tone, if you raise Instrument Mastery another seven or eight levels, you could basically form a band with me. You could be the lead singer, and I'd play for you."
"Not interested."
I shook my head. "I'm really not interested in music. I prefer fighting and killing."
"Damn it, how crude..."
The two of us chatted until eight that night, then went out, took a taxi, and headed straight for the bar where Milo worked.
About ten minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of a bar.
As I got out, I looked up and saw that the bar was called "The Fifth Element." It had a sci-fi theme. There were even two warriors standing on either side of the entrance, dressed in Power Armor and holding Power Swords, though unfortunately, they were fake.
I followed Milo into the bar. The seat he had reserved for me was very close to the stage, on its left side. Quite a few customers had already entered the field, and dim, ambiguous lights floated through the bar.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, two beautiful women at a nearby table stood up together and stared at me in disbelief. "Ding Han?"
They were none other than Zhang Ruolin and Ling Baiwei!
I was instantly speechless. Those two decadent bad women! So the resident singer they had come to support was actually Milo!
Before you continue