Internet Cafe Expansion, Shrek Could No Longer Sit Still

Internet Cafe Expansion, Shrek Could No Longer Sit Still

The moment Lin Chuan silently used the Internet Cafe Expansion Card, the entire Grand Dao Internet Cafe gave a slight tremble.

It was not the kind of tremor that shook the ground.

It was more like space itself had been pushed outward by an invisible hand.

The previously cramped shop suddenly stretched out, and the walls on both sides silently receded. Behind the four computers, a row of brand-new tables and chairs appeared, with screens, keyboards, mice, and virtual helmets arranged neatly upon them.

The snack shelf beside the counter also expanded by a section.

A large Battle Replay screen appeared in a corner, with a line of small text written beneath it.

\n[Battle Replay: Replay key actions within ten breaths before a player's death.]\n

The words were small, yet those who understood their significance found them more alarming than the extra tables and chairs.

Ten breaths before death.

To ordinary customers, it might only mean seeing how they had been beaten to death by monsters.

But for Soul Masters, ten breaths were enough to clearly identify the most crucial factor in a defeat: whether their opening move had been too slow, their Soul Power had connected incorrectly, or they had been deceived by the opponent's feint.

Everyone in the internet cafe stared in stunned silence.

Flender was the first to react. He reached out and touched the table that had just appeared.

It was real. The wood grain, the edges, the metal ports—everything was as real as could be.

His throat bobbed. "Boss, can your shop... grow on its own?"

Lin Chuan answered solemnly, "When business improves, isn't expansion perfectly normal?"

Flender fell silent.

He had run quite a few shops in his life and met plenty of merchants, but he had never seen a shop expand by half its size in the blink of an eye without even a single worker involved.

Ma Hongjun's eyes were already shining.

"Can the extra machines be used too?"

Lin Chuan nodded. "Of course."

Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ning Rongrong exchanged glances. Their original intention of merely watching immediately began to waver.

It was not as if they had never seen strange Soul Tools.

But the things in this internet cafe were clearly far more than simple Soul Tools.

Tang San had become excited after getting thrashed, Xiao Wu had drawn Form-Gathering Qi-Scattering · Moonshadow Linked Steps on her first try, and Hu Liena had long since received a movement technique reward.

If they continued standing by and watching, they would truly be left behind.

Seeing their expressions, Flender's heart immediately tightened.

"Let me make this clear first: the academy won't reimburse you."

Ma Hongjun looked aggrieved. "Dean, this is cultivation."

"Cultivation costs money too!"

After saying that, Flender could not help looking at Lin Chuan again. "Boss, can you offer a group rate?"

Lin Chuan smiled. "Not for now."

The words "not for now" made Flender's eyelid twitch.

That was the most terrifying part of the boss's way of speaking.

He never completely ruled anything out, yet every sentence seemed to tell you: there might be discounts in the future, but you would not save a single coin on what you needed to spend now.

Ma Hongjun secretly glanced at Flender and whispered, "Dean, how about you treat it as rent for a training ground?"

Flender turned and glared at him.

Ma Hongjun immediately looked up at the sky.

Flender instantly wore the expression of someone who had just been bitten by a soul beast.

Hu Liena, watching from the side, found herself wanting to laugh.

She suddenly felt that the people of Shrek and Spirit Hall were simply not of the same kind.

Spirit Hall was concerned with rules and the affiliation of forces, while Shrek's first reaction was actually money.

But laughter aside, Hu Liena did not relax in the slightest.

The added machines meant more people could explore the game at the same time.

Her advantage as the first customer was shrinking.

Xie Yue reminded her softly, "Nana, you can't keep blindly charging ahead based on experience alone. This Battle Replay may be even more important than the rewards."

Hu Liena nodded.

She understood what her brother meant.

Rewards depended on luck, but replays could make every death worthwhile.

Xie Yue had thought even more deeply about this than Hu Liena.

Spirit Hall lacked neither resources nor teachers.

But no matter how strong a teacher was, they could not display each disciple's mistakes from the instant before death and replay them over and over.

If this were used in the training of the Golden Generation, its value would definitely be far more than merely "fun."

As everyone gathered around the new equipment and discussed it, another system notification rang through the shop.

[Grand Dao Internet Cafe expansion complete]

[Current number of devices: eight]

[New function: Battle Replay]

[New shop rule: Forcibly probing a customer's origin is forbidden within the shop.]

When the final notification fell, Tang San and Xiao Wu raised their heads at the same time.

Xiao Wu's heartbeat skipped.

She did not look at anyone else, instinctively turning her gaze toward Tang San.

Tang San was looking at her as well, a faint trace of relief appearing in his eyes.

Forcibly probing a customer's origin was forbidden within the shop.

To everyone else, it was simply another rule.

But to Xiao Wu, it was like an umbrella temporarily opening above her in Spirit City.

Tang San's fingers loosened slightly.

He did not turn to look at the people from Spirit Hall.

Some secrets, once watched too obviously, became easier to expose. But he knew that this shop rule had appeared too timely—so timely that it was as if this place had long known what Xiao Wu feared most.

This raised his assessment of Lin Chuan another level.

The boss appeared not to care about anything.

Yet the internet cafe itself seemed to be establishing rules in its own way.

She still did not dare let down her guard completely.

After all, beyond these doors lay Spirit Hall.

But at least here, she did not need to stay so tense that she barely dared to breathe.

Lin Chuan noticed Tang San and Xiao Wu's reactions, but did not look at them any further.

He knew the rule had appeared at just the right time.

But as the boss, he had to act as though it were merely an ordinary feature added with the upgrade, rather than a special exception made for anyone.

"The new devices are ready to use."

Lin Chuan tapped the counter. "Same rules as always: pay first, then use the machines. Each person gets a maximum of four hours per day."

Ma Hongjun immediately reached for his money pouch.

Oscar also gritted his teeth and took out ten Gold Soul Coins.

Dai Mubai glanced at Tang San. "Little San, I'll give it a try too."

Tang San nodded. "Be careful. Don't treat this place like an ordinary illusion."

"Don't worry."

Dai Mubai answered lightly, but once he actually put on the helmet, his expression quickly changed.

The Shrek group entered the game one after another.

The internet cafe immediately became lively.

Ning Rongrong had only intended to give it a try, but the moment she entered the game, a Little Demon chased her around a tree three times.

When she took off her helmet, her face was flushed with anger.

"Why does this thing specifically bully support-type Soul Masters?"

Just as Oscar was about to comfort her, his own screen went black.

He fell silent for two breaths, then very naturally pressed his helmet down lower, pretending nothing had happened.

Watching this, the smile on Dai Mubai's face faded somewhat.

He finally understood why Tang San had been so grave from the very beginning.

Some had barely left the mountain path before Little Demons chased them around, some swung their sticks and missed, and some were cut down by the first minor monster until they began questioning life itself.

Oscar stood nearby, laughing so hard his shoulders shook.

At the height of his laughter, Ma Hongjun was chased to the edge of a cliff by a Little Demon. In his panic, he lost his footing and tumbled straight down.

His screen went black.

Ma Hongjun removed his helmet, his face blank with confusion.

"I wasn't killed by the demon?"

Lin Chuan calmly replied, "You fell off by yourself."

The internet cafe immediately erupted in laughter.

Yan wanted to laugh too, but when he remembered his own miserable experience, he forcibly held it in.

Standing behind the counter, Lin Chuan watched all eight machines light up and felt quite pleased.

Now this was starting to look like an internet cafe.

But before long, a new figure appeared on Tang San's screen.

The man wore white and held a spear, standing beside the water. His aura was completely different from that of the Little Demons before him.

[White-Clothed Scholar]

The moment those words appeared, Hu Liena immediately looked over.

She had reached this stage too.

But at the time, she had only found the monster difficult to deal with and had not truly figured out its nature.

Tang San gripped his wooden staff tightly, his gaze calm.

"So this is the next opponent?"

Lin Chuan watched the screen without spoiling anything. He merely said softly, "Be careful."

"He's different from those things before."