The Failed Buyout

When the brocade box opened, the gleam of Gold Soul Coins nearly dazzled Flender.

He subconsciously took half a step forward.

Only after moving did he remember that the money was not for him.

Yue Guan looked only at Lin Chuan.

"The Papal Hall hopes to reserve the first three hours of machine time every day. The price can be raised; Boss Lin may name the exact amount."

The shop fell silent at once.

That was a very Spirit Hall move.

They did not seize anything, smash anything, or violate the shop rules.

They simply laid out the money and wanted to buy the best hours.

If Lin Chuan agreed, Shrek's training schedule would immediately be squeezed. The other academies and casual customers could only be pushed back as well. Given enough time, this internet café would still be open in name, but in reality, it would become Spirit Hall's training room.

Tang San looked at Lin Chuan.

Hu Liena also looked at Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan admitted that he had been tempted for a moment.

A long-term booking meant steady income and far less trouble with queues. If this had been the day he opened the shop, he might have asked about the price first.

Flender was watching him too.

His expression was complicated, as if he were saying, "You absolutely cannot agree," while also mourning that box of money.

Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, did not rush to speak.

She had grown up watching her sect negotiate business deals and knew that whoever shouted the loudest was not necessarily in the right. Spirit Hall's box of money was not simply money. It was asking Lin Chuan: how much were his rules worth?

But this would not work.

A system prompt had already appeared.

[Shop rule: No single faction may monopolize all or core machine resources over the long term.]

[Recommended activation: Reservation Token.]

Even without that prompt, Lin Chuan could work it out.

If he let Spirit Hall reserve the first three hours today, then tomorrow the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect, and every major academy could all come throwing money around. In the end, customers would no longer be customers, but names on faction lists; the internet café would no longer be an internet café, but a place where people queued up to fight over power.

That was not a long-term business.

That was inviting trouble through the door and giving it the best seat in the house.

Lin Chuan pushed the brocade box back.

"I do not accept long-term buyouts."

Yue Guan's smile paused slightly.

Flender nearly shouted for him.

That was money!

Lin Chuan continued, "Starting today, the shop will use Reservation Tokens. Each person may use a machine for no more than two consecutive hours before having to queue again. Individuals may make reservations, but factions cannot reserve all the machines."

Yue Guan asked, "What if we only reserve the first three?"

"At most two."

"What if we double the price?"

"The rules will not change."

Lin Chuan spoke very calmly.

After speaking, he lightly tapped the edge of the counter with a finger.

The tap was not heavy, yet several Soul Masters waiting in line secretly breathed sighs of relief.

They had been worried that if Spirit Hall truly bought the best hours, they might not even be able to get through the door in the future.

Lin Chuan's words, "The rules will not change," meant that even small customers like them were included in those rules.

Yue Guan watched him for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Boss Lin truly has rules of his own."

He did not press further.

Bibi Dong had given him a bottom line: they could negotiate and compete, but they could not forcibly break the shop rules.

However, Yue Guan did not withdraw immediately either.

He slowly closed the brocade box, as if showing everyone in the shop clearly that Spirit Hall was not unable to afford the money. Lin Chuan simply would not accept money meant to buy out his rules.

That was not necessarily bad for Spirit Hall.

As long as the rules truly applied equally to everyone, Spirit Hall could still rely on its people, money, and execution to get ahead.

What they feared was rules that appeared fair but were actually designed only to restrain Spirit Hall.

Yue Guan glanced up at Lin Chuan.

At least for now, this shop owner had not shown any favoritism.

Yue Guan put away the brocade box, leaving behind only deposits for two reservations.

"Then we shall follow the rules. Spirit Hall reserves two machines."

Flender reacted immediately. "Shrek reserves machines too!"

He shouted so quickly that even he froze for a moment.

A moment ago, he had still been mourning the box of money Yue Guan had taken back. The next moment, he was already trying to put Shrek's name onto the Reservation Tokens.

Zhao Wuji glanced at him but said nothing.

Flender coughed. "Opportunities only get more expensive if you fail to seize them."

Lin Chuan took out the newly appeared wooden tokens.

Faint glowing patterns ran across them, displaying numbers, time slots, and customer names. Who had reserved what, when they could use the machines, and whether they had exceeded their time limit could all be seen at a glance.

Ma Hongjun muttered, "Now it'll be hard to cut the line."

Oscar looked at him. "You used to want to cut the line?"

Ma Hongjun put on a righteous expression. "I was worried for other people."

After the Reservation Tokens were hung on the wall, another system prompt appeared.

[Fair reservation rules established.]

[New stage mission: Obtain ten buyout customers and complete one valid training session with all eight machines occupied.]

[Mission reward: Multiplayer Co-op Trial entrance.]

Lin Chuan's gaze shifted slightly.

Multiplayer Co-op.

The instant he saw those words, he knew something big was coming.

He looked up at the Reservation Tokens on the wall.

The wooden tokens were still new, their glowing patterns faint, yet they had already placed Spirit Hall, Shrek, and casual customers under the same order.

It looked insignificant, but when it truly mattered, it was even more useful than a rule like "Private fighting is forbidden in the shop."

Single-player games had already put this group of Soul Masters through plenty of suffering. If cooperation was added, the coordination between assault-type, agility-type, control-type, and support-type Soul Masters would all be forced out.

He looked at everyone in the shop.

Tang San, Xiao Wu, Hu Liena, Yan, Ma Hongjun, along with Ning Rongrong, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Xie Yue, who would eventually be tempted—ten buyout customers were not far away.

The difficult part was a valid training session with all eight machines occupied.

The system clearly would not accept people simply sitting down and wasting time.

As Lin Chuan looked at the words "valid training," he had a rough idea of what it meant.

It did not count if customers merely sat down and got beaten up.

Someone had to learn something, change something, or at least understand a little more before dying the next time.

That suited his business now.

If he treated customers like crops and harvested them once, the internet café would not stay popular for long. If they felt a little stronger than yesterday every time they came, they would keep paying even while complaining about the price.

Lin Chuan tapped the counter.

"There is another new rule. Ordinary viewing is free, but watching in explanation mode costs one Gold Soul Coin per half hour. Pausing, slow motion, and move markers all count as explanation resources."

Flender's eyes widened. "You have to pay just to watch?"

Grandmaster was the first to nod. "Reasonable."

Flender stared at him in shock. "Why are you taking his side too?"

Grandmaster said calmly, "If you treat it as a training class, one Gold Soul Coin for half an hour is not expensive."

Zhao Wuji added from the side, "Cheaper than hiring a teacher."

Flender turned and glared at him.

Zhao Wuji immediately looked up at the ceiling.

Ma Hongjun muttered, "Dean, how about having Grandmaster teach part-time here later? We could even take a cut."

Flender's eyes lit up, but he quickly coughed. "What nonsense are you talking about? Does Shrek Academy look like the kind of place that lacks this little money?"

Oscar looked at him. "Yes."

Flender clutched his chest, feeling that far too many people had betrayed him today.

Yet he did not say he would refuse to pay.

His mouth might hurt from the expense, but Flender understood better than anyone that money spent to keep students from taking detours would ultimately have to be spent.

He had even begun rearranging the academy's accounts in his mind.

What expenses could be cut, what could be bought later, which old friend he could shamelessly borrow from one more time. The more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt, yet the more he realized there was no avoiding it.

The worst thing about being a dean was knowing something was expensive but having to buy it anyway.

And he could not pretend he had not seen it.

Lin Chuan was in an excellent mood.

Machine time, buyouts, reservations, explanations.

As one rule after another went up on the wall, this small shop finally began to look like it was truly going to take root in Spirit City.

He glanced at the account book behind the counter.

A few days ago, that ledger had been pitifully thin. Now it could barely keep track of all the names of people waiting in line. Lin Chuan suddenly felt that he was becoming more and more like a proper boss.

People were already peeking in from outside.

Yesterday's news had spread too quickly. It was not just Shrek and Spirit Hall who had come.

Lin Chuan looked at the Reservation Tokens on the wall, then at the growing crowd.

"Open for business."