Chapter 22 Feeling

Pei Qian pretended to be nonchalant as he approached Qiao Liang, smiling and asking, "How do you feel?"

Qiao Liang was still immersed in the game, not reacting immediately. He paused for a moment before standing up and saying, "I feel... uh..."

For a moment, Old Qiao, who had played so many bizarre games and made so many videos, was at a loss for words.

How did he feel?

His biggest feeling was that the game's difficulty setting was wrong!

Maybe the numerical planner had added an extra zero to the monsters' attack power; everything else was fine.

But looking at President Pei's warm smile, Old Qiao couldn't bring himself to say it.

President Pei was, after all, a celebrity producer. Could he make such a stupid numerical error?

Calculating numbers wrong, adding an extra zero; even numerical planners who had just entered the industry rarely made such mistakes. After all, to get a job as a numerical planner these days, you had to have a basic understanding of math.

Unlike story planners, who could get hired by writing a few fancy sentences.

So, Old Qiao ummed and ahhed for a long time, unable to come up with a response.

He even felt a little guilty.

Qiao Liang, Qiao Liang, why were you dropping the ball at such a critical moment!

President Pei had gone to the trouble of inviting you here, treating you to good food and drinks. Wasn't it because he valued your experience as a seasoned player and wanted to hear your opinion?

But you've been playing for hours and can't even answer such a simple question. You're really letting President Pei down!

He even felt a little embarrassed.

However, Pei Qian didn't mind at all, and instead laughed heartily, "Let's go, let's have dinner. I'll treat you tonight!"

Pei Qian wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, he was very satisfied with Old Qiao's reaction.

It showed that he was so dazed from playing *Back to the Shore*, which was exactly what Pei Qian wanted to see.

After all, Old Qiao's tolerance was among the strongest in the player base.

Back then, Old Qiao had actually run the entire route in *Lonely Desert Road*; he was a tough guy!

Of course, there were reasons related to his livelihood, but Old Qiao's ability to withstand pressure was definitely not to be underestimated.

But now, Old Qiao was so tormented by the game that he was dazed. Didn't that prove that Pei Qian's approach was correct?

Looking at Old Qiao's reaction, and imagining the reaction of ordinary players, Pei Qian was even more confident in the future of *Back to the Shore*.

...

...

Ming Yun Private Kitchen.

Pei Qian led Qiao Liang to the largest private room in the restaurant.

The decorations had all been changed in the afternoon. Matching interior decorations, dining tables, tableware, etc., had been selected for the dishes prepared for today, creating a unique atmosphere.

Only Pei Qian and Qiao Liang were eating; no one else was accompanying them.

The other employees still had to work hard for President Pei's money-losing cause. Only President Pei was relatively free, so he came to dine with Qiao Liang to show his respect.

Moreover, this wasn't a formal business banquet; too many people would make it feel too restrictive.

The environment was very good, and the service was excellent.

Even the pre-dinner snacks and appetizers were better than the main courses in ordinary restaurants.

Qiao Liang ate the appetizers and chatted casually with Pei Qian, feeling a vague sense of crisis.

President Pei was being too nice to him, wasn't he?

As the saying goes, "Something must be amiss when things are too good to be true." He was just an ordinary video up streamer; what did he have that made President Pei value him so much?

Could there be some kind of conspiracy?

Qiao Liang felt that President Pei's smile seemed meaningful and not so simple.

"How far have you progressed in the game?" Pei Qian picked up an appetizer and asked with a smile.

Qiao Liang answered truthfully, "I've reached the town."

Oh, he had already left the starting village?

Not bad, not bad, his progress was quite fast.

It seemed that Old Qiao's comprehension and skill were pretty good.

Similar punishing games were more difficult at the beginning. As long as you persevered, they generally became smoother as you progressed.

The key was the change in mindset.

Without a change in mindset, it wouldn't be strange to never leave the newbie village.

*Back to the Shore*, like other soul-like games, had a setting where all the monsters revived after death. If some hotheads only knew how to rush forward recklessly, then no matter how many times they tried, their game progress would only stagnate.

But if you could find the trick and proceed cautiously and steadily, the game progress would be much faster.

This was Qiao Liang's first time playing this type of game, so it was normal for his progress to be slow at the beginning.

However, thinking that Old Qiao had suffered in the newbie village for eight hours, Pei Qian couldn't help but smile, feeling a little gleeful.

"What do you think is the main difficulty?" Pei Qian continued to ask.

He had to increase the intensity of the things that Old Qiao thought were difficult.

He had to increase the difficulty of the things that Old Qiao didn't think were difficult.

Qiao Liang said without hesitation, "The monsters' attack power is too high."

"Anything else?" Pei Qian ignored that point directly.

"Anything else..." Qiao Liang fell into deep thought.

Eight hours of tragic encounters flashed through his mind.

For example, provoking a small monster and being ganged up on by a group of small monsters; suddenly being surrounded by small monsters on all sides when walking into a small alley; being pushed off a cliff by a small monster that suddenly appeared when crossing a precipice...

Eight hours of struggle was simply filled with blood and tears!

Qiao Liang felt like he was a piece of fish on a cutting board, at the mercy of others!

No, at the mercy of the monsters!

Listening to Qiao Liang's complaints, Pei Qian tried hard to keep his expression serious, but no matter how hard he tried, he could only see four big words on Qiao Liang's face: "Increase the intensity!"

Hearing Old Qiao personally describe his suffering, Pei Qian felt even happier.

What did he spend so much money to make this game for?

Wasn't it for this day!

But Qiao Liang hadn't realized President Pei's subtle expression. He was still immersed in his suffering, unable to extricate himself.

"The most ridiculous thing is that there are small monsters in the town that are similar to night watchmen, two in a group, one with a gong and one with a clapper. Wherever they go, all the sleeping monsters will wake up, and it takes a long time for them to fall asleep again. I wanted to assassinate them, but these two guys were carrying lanterns and their eyes were so good! One hit and my health bar was bottoming out. I just wanted to run, but these two guys could even use hidden weapons. I was like..."

"Pfft."

Pei Qian finally couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

Qiao Liang froze, "President Pei?"

Pei Qian felt a little embarrassed. Damn it, he couldn't hold back!

Mainly, Old Qiao's description was so immersive and vivid. Pei Qian could even imagine him being chased and slashed by the lantern-carrying watchmen when he encountered them. It was really hard to stay serious.

Fortunately, the dishes were served one after another at this time.

"I was happy to see the dishes coming up, come on, Old Qiao, please."

Pei Qian quickly pushed the sea urchin sushi that the waiter had just placed on the table towards Qiao Liang, signaling him to eat quickly.

Qiao Liang felt even more uneasy.

President Pei's expression was very strange.

How did it feel like he was gloating?

He seemed very happy to see me dying like a dog in the game? He even couldn't help but laugh just now?

Could it be that President Pei had gone to the trouble of inviting me here just to watch me suffer?

And this table full of good food was his way of easing his conscience?

Qiao Liang couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Although he was an ordinary up streamer who had signed a contract and received his money, he was also a person with personality and dignity!

If his guess was true, then even if the contract had been signed, he would definitely protest strongly and expose this behavior of disrespecting his partners online!

Qiao Liang thought angrily, picking up a piece of sea urchin sushi.

"Hmm? Delicious!"

The cold, fresh taste of the sea urchin roe combined with the warm, fragrant glutinous rice in the sushi, two wonderful sensations merged on the tip of his tongue like a passionate French kiss, instantly conquering Qiao Liang's taste buds.

Qiao Liang had eaten some Japanese food in the capital, but he could clearly feel that this was definitely not ordinary sea urchin!

Ordinary sea urchins were very cheap, but some auction-level sea urchins could sell for thousands of yuan apiece.

That was why, when Xue Zhebina had asked about sea urchin at noon, the waiter had told him that he needed to make a reservation, because Ming Yun Private Kitchen didn't sell ordinary sea urchin.

Of course, to be more precise, the kitchen did have sea urchin at that time, but it had all been reserved by Pei Qian to treat Old Qiao, so it couldn't be used for Xue Zhebin.

Looking at the plates of expensive dishes on the table, Qiao Liang felt the suspicion in his heart melting away like snow and ice.

President Pei valued him so much, treating him to such delicious food. How could it be just to watch him suffer?

If he could eat so much delicious food just by playing games and suffering a little, then he could only say... please increase the intensity, he could still bear it!

Qiao Liang ate the delicious food while secretly resolving in his heart.

"President Pei is so good to me. I must play this game seriously, complete it successfully, and do a good job of promoting it for him!"

...

...

"Thank you for your hospitality, President Pei!" Old Qiao was still a little unsatisfied, but his stomach was indeed full.

So much delicious food was simply the ultimate satisfaction!

Old Qiao even felt that it was worth coming to Jingzhou just for this meal!

Pei Qian didn't know that Old Qiao's mentality had undergone a huge change at the table. He instructed Little Sun a few words, asking him to send Old Qiao back to the hotel and then come back to pick him up.

After seeing Qiao Liang off, Pei Qian found Lin Canrong and asked about the recent situation.

There were also tables and chairs in the garden of the villa. The cool night breeze was refreshing.

"How is the number of customers coming recently?"

Ever since Zhang Zuting posted on Weibo, Pei Qian had been feeling uneasy and worried about the situation at Ming Yun Private Kitchen.

Lin Canrong immediately understood.

From no one caring at the beginning to people coming to the door one after another recently, it was clear that Ming Yun Private Kitchen's publicity work was steadily progressing without most people knowing.

President Pei probably wanted to ask about the recent number of customers to judge the effectiveness of the publicity, right?

However, how should he answer?

Logically speaking, in order to highlight the success of the publicity work, he should be optimistic. But in that case, he would be suspected of deceiving President Pei.

After all, there were fewer than ten customers who had come in the past two days combined, and most of them were scared away after looking at the menu. Only two or three people actually stayed to eat.

The only returning customer was the young man named Xue Zhebin who had come at noon.

Judging from the numbers alone, it was impossible to be optimistic!

Seeing Lin Canrong hesitating, the corners of Pei Qian's mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

It was good, it was good that Lin Canrong didn't immediately report the good news with joy. That was the biggest good news!

It showed that Zhang Zuting's Weibo post didn't have such a significant effect and didn't stimulate the flow of customers much.