I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 241
Chapter 241: The Gift of Angels
With fervent elaboration, I gained a deeper understanding of the underground “e-sports entertainment” or “cyberpunk-style” room that the cafe was preparing to open. Initially, I thought they were simply creating a fusion akin to a “bar plus internet café,” but now it seems my understanding was incomplete.
Despite the underground floor of the cafe indeed having the functionality of both an internet café and a bar, it appears to serve more as a promotional space, and the minds behind the design of this “internet café” seem to have a vision that stretches far into the distance.
Whether it’s the cafe itself and the surrounding commercial streets, the ten-year plan for the future of Shenzhen City, or the collaboration between the cafe’s underground futuristic room and the collaboration with the national chip represented by Xiongxiong, it’s evident to me that they are all part of a cohesive whole.
These elements all seem to point toward a goal that I cannot yet clearly discern.
Definite, mysterious, and brimming with the future.
Promoting the metaverse, promoting the upcoming game “Age of Aquarius,” and the Tenth District of Shenzhen City, the “Mianyun District,” all seem to be part of a very large chess game.
No wonder the Zhao family, representing old ideas, was so eager to come to the café and cause trouble. It turns out that the situation here is far more complicated than I thought.
I’ve heard discussions about the concept of the metaverse a long time ago, and it’s still the same now, with various promotions flooding the scene. However, because I’ve been extremely busy in recent years and have little understanding of digitalization and online gaming, I’ve never been quite clear on what exactly this thing is.
My general impression of the “metaverse” is… a digitized world detached from reality yet connected to it. Or perhaps similar to the virtual online games often depicted by many novel authors.
People can communicate, trade, and purchase various virtual goods in this world. I remember hearing that several celebrities have already purchased their own exclusive avatars and properties in the metaverse.
The main difference between the metaverse and real online games is that in the metaverse, spending money (“whaling”) won’t necessarily provide a very tangible boost to one’s character.
When I watched anime or movies related to online games before, I had similar thoughts. Whether it’s game-based anime like “Sword Art Online” or game-based movies like “Ready Player One,” the settings seem too idealistic.
It’s as if the companies running these games don’t need to make money. Take “Sword Art Online” for example, where the protagonist Kirito gets access to beta testing, uses his charm and hardcore skills to conquer dungeons, improve his own stats, and defeat all sorts of rich and powerful players. This in itself is a very fantastical scenario that contradicts the core concept of game operation for profit.
Would game companies really allow such “skilled players” like Kirito to exist? How would such scenarios play out in today’s real online games?
Even if they were allowed, would they let a non-paying player have all the power and even drive away paying players?
To take a step back, even if this company truly relies on peripheral profits from the game, such as advertisements, when super-rich players join the game and spend tens of millions or even billions, demanding the game company to customize a set of godly equipment for them, or promising to directly buy the company, would these whales not have a gaming experience?
In my understanding, if “Sword Art Online” were to really exist, Kirito wouldn’t be the only one with a weapon like the Elucidator. Even if it could be dropped by the 50th-floor boss of Aincrad, the game developers would add it to the lottery pool — increasing the drop rate significantly in the pool for the Elucidator and the Dark Repulser, and announcing a special event where if a player continuously draws two Dark Repulsers in a row, the third golden weapon will definitely be the Elucidator.
After cashing in on this weapon pool, if they still need money, the developers will release a new dungeon a few days later, like “Aincrad 50th Floor Boss PRO,” with increased difficulty to the point where even whales might struggle to defeat it. Then they’ll announce that this PRO BOSS drops a new weapon, “Dark Vanquisher,” which forms a set effect with the “Elucidator,” giving a +50% damage boost against bosses and players and a +30% critical hit damage boost.
Alongside the release of this new dungeon, they’ll introduce a new weapon pool: Dark Vanquisher and Elucidator, significantly increasing the drop rates for these two five-star weapons. This way, rich bosses and whale streamers can first draw the new weapons and then “pioneer” the new dungeon.
This allows technical players to spend several months continuously grinding, spending a lot of time and possibly even sacrificing their health to obtain the latest weapons without spending money. Meanwhile, whale players can easily spend hundreds of thousands or hire someone to level up their equipment. Then both sides can engage in PvP, satisfying everyone.
Similarly, under the premise of “everything for profit,” protagonists like Maple in “I Became the Strongest With the Failure Frame” would hardly be able to dominate the entire server without spending money. Under the meticulous calculations of top-tier planners from prestigious institutions, the game itself wouldn’t have such obvious “invincible” loopholes.
However, if this “virtual world” isn’t just a network game but a “metaverse” managed and operated by the government, it seems possible that the ecosystem wouldn’t be as bad as in network games. The premise here is that the game doesn’t rely on internal item sales for profit, and the operation isn’t solely driven by monetary motives but rather by ecological ones. Only then would planners shift their focus from “how to make players spend money” to “how to make the game better.” This is necessary to truly realize the concept of the “metaverse.” Otherwise, what everyone keeps discussing as the “metaverse” would just be another money-grabbing scheme.
“The Apocalypse 300… that’s the TQ3000, the latest graphics card product from my family’s side. It’s already almost integrated with ‘Age of Aquarius,’ and the optimization is basically done. When you’re configuring computers over here, you can use this directly. I’ve already discussed it with Tongmeng Net.”
At a table on the second floor of the cafe, Xiongxiong aka Sikong Yue unpacked a large box on the table and carefully took out an internal packaging box, holding up a strangely colored graphics card from inside. “Consider it as our investment.”
“Is this the TQ3000?”
Even Su Yunjin became interested at this point. “The graphics card market has been flourishing recently. The strongest card from Huangpi just came out, the 4090. How does yours compare to the 4090? What are its advantages?”
“For the optimization done for ‘Age of Aquarius,’ because the main focus of this game is realism, the demand for graphics quality and immersion is very high. If all the effects are turned on, ours can be made to be almost as good as the 4090.”
Xiongxiong smiled, “But if we only pursue frame rate and smoothness, the Tianqi 3000 is slightly better than the 4090. Considering they might have a 4090ti in the future, our graphics card cannot be compared to their technical prowess for now.”
“Your color scheme is so unique, all yellow and black.”
Ai Luodi chimed in, “I feel like I’ve seen this kind of color scheme somewhere, cyberpunk?”
“Yeah, it’s specifically designed for ‘Age of Aquarius,’ so the color scheme and design also reflect the futuristic urban style.”
Sikong Yue took the graphics card out of its packaging, rotating it to show the three fans on top. “Actually, our family also produces CPUs. So you might consider using our complete set, which has a corresponding cyberpunk style.”
The graphics card on the table… The main color is yellow, a very pure yellow, slightly leaning towards black. The secondary color is black, and both the lines around the graphics card and the patterns around the fans are very clean and clear, presenting a completely different style from our daily lives.
This belongs to the cyberpunk style, which is exemplified by previously popular games like “Donna Donna: Let’s Do Bad Things Together” and “Cyberpunk 2077.” Especially Donna Donna, which is itself an anime-style game, with its loading screen consisting of large segments of yellow, and then yellow intertwining with purple and pink, with very clear lines and paragraphs, giving players a completely different gaming experience.
“I’m starting to feel more and more that quitting my previous job and coming to work here was the right decision.”
Placing Xiongxiong’s graphics card in front of herself, Ai Luodi examined the product filled with a sense of technology, showing a somewhat reluctant-to-let-go look.
“Age of Aquarius” has been hyped for almost a year now, I’ve seen the movie too, it’s very impressive. If this game can really integrate with the metaverse, that would be perfect. I’m fed up with today’s games, where it’s all about daily tasks, dungeon runs, and ten pulls with guaranteed drops.”
“Age of Aquarius has a very high ceiling. It can be a human society, a futuristic sci-fi, or even a fantasy world…” Su Yunjin nodded.
“I know quite a bit about this game. Ordinary players can earn money in it based on their abilities, then buy land, build houses. Players who like fighting can also specialize in technology and firearms, and those who like outer space can develop in that direction.”
“I heard…” Ouyang Xue suddenly interjected, “If the government takes over, can we use our money directly in this game for payments? Is that true?”
“If the plan goes smoothly, yes,” Su Yunjin nodded.
“We’re now at the most crucial step. Age of Aquarius is likely to launch its open beta in the next two months, capitalizing on the popularity of the movie. Our cafe’s underground floor should be almost finished by then, and then we’ll move the equipment in… Speaking of which, have you guys seen it downstairs?”
“We have,” I nodded. “It’s completely a different world from outside.”
I’ll never forget that night when Ouyang Xue, Ai Luodi, and I ran to the alley behind the cat living area. Walking down the stairs to the basement level, the light-polluted world gave me such a shock.
It was like… just standing there, I could feel the entire world brimming with technology, giving me this illusion that I had somehow traveled to the future, to the year 2077.
All sorts of RGB light strips, floating screens, suspended lights, and the central bar with small rooms surrounding it… I believe those rooms will be even more impressive when filled with modern computers, CR equipment, and gaming consoles.
Suddenly, I felt confident about the idea of opening an internet café at the bottom of the cafe.
If ‘Age of Aquarius’ could really achieve something so incredible… no, even if the game could recreate the scenes from the movie perfectly, capturing the essence of the game’s background, then it would already be considered a success.
“As long as you guys like it… Ouyang.”
Seeing my appreciation for the basement floor, Su Yunjin turned to Ouyang Xue with satisfaction. “How about the task of hiring more waitress that we discussed earlier?”
“It’s still just Fei Luo.”
Ouyang Xue gestured towards Fei Luo with her eyes, wearing a troubled expression.
“Boss, I really don’t have much time. I’m already busy enough with work and deliveries every day. After work, I still have to deal with the trivial matters on the outdoor display software and social media. I also have to handle videos for PR. At most, I can just post a job recruitment notice online. If it weren’t for Nuo’er and Xiao Mo knowing Fei Luo and taking over the workload for two people, our cafe wouldn’t be able to keep up.”
“Fei Luo, huh?”
Su Yunjin turned to Fei Luo, “How have you been feeling these past few days?”
“I feel pretty good, everything here is just… what’s the word, awesome.”
Fei Luo looked very happy, “There’s hardly any work pressure, and most of the customers are really friendly. When there’s nothing to do, I can play with my phone or watch TV. It’s like living in heaven… um, I mean, hell.”
Because it’s her first time on Earth and her first exposure to things like “TV” and “phones,” the several TVs on the second floor of the cafe, even when showing commercials or weather forecasts, have a huge appeal to Fei Luo.
?Wow, the way you advertise here is so different from where I come from. It’s much better than going door-to-door selling stuff like we do over there. But that guy wearing underwear outside doesn’t quite fit my aesthetic.?
?Nuo’er, what are black plum and black garlic? I saw that influencer eating them and it looked terrifying. Do they taste good??
?Nuo’er, Nuo’er, I have a question. Today, I saw a TV ad for something called a ‘flying cup.’ I stared at it for a long time but couldn’t figure out what it was. But its packaging box looks pretty. Can I use a flying cup??
?Today, I was playing with Xiao Mo’s phone and stumbled upon your readers’ group. I saw them talking about something called a ‘2D graphics card,’ and the packaging box looks like a flying cup. Does a graphics card equal a flying cup??
Dialogue like this unfolds almost every day when Fei Luo and I meet.
It’s clear that Fei Luo really enjoys this job, the kind where she wouldn’t mind not getting paid, as long as she can watch TV and play with her phone for free in the café, experiencing human society.
“Are most of the customers friendly?”
Ai Luodi, upon hearing this, became somewhat curious.
“I really don’t feel those customers are friendly during my night shifts. Many of them come in without spending a penny, expecting me to serve them as soon as they enter. They even ask for food and porridge, and after that, they want me to bring the cat over for them to pet. This month, I’ve encountered a bunch of weirdos. It’s like poking a hornet’s nest—it’s eye-opening. Some customers even come in all dirty, find the biggest spot to sit, and linger until dawn. They’re like toads pretending to be frogs, ugly but acting fancy, more outrageous than some of the outlandish authors I’ve dealt with.”
Uh… Ai Luodi, your sarcastic nature is showing again.
“Oh, really? I find them quite adorable. At least the customers who come upstairs to buy milk tea are cute.”
“I had a much tougher time at my previous job. Some goblins… cough, guys who look almost like goblins, couldn’t even speak properly. They’d come in, order the most expensive wine, drink it all, and then refuse to pay. They’d smear some itchy fruit they picked from who-knows-where onto other customers’ chests, causing allergic reactions. One time, they made that orc girl’s B-cup chest swell up to a D-cup.”
I could see Su Yunjin’s mouth twitching a few times. “What kind of fruit has such powerful effects?”
“And that’s not all!” Fei Luo’s face flushed with excitement.
“When I was mixing drinks in the shop, there would be fights almost every day outside. Either the pigman warrior and the lizardman, whose daggers were coated with poison and immune toxins, would start brawling, or those annoying angels and demons would start preaching. Then the demon would get irritated, casually throw a black energy ball, and the angel would retaliate with a light energy cannon. It would veer off course, and I’d be mixing drinks, and when light magic comes into contact with water elements, it causes an explosion. The whole glass would be blown away!”
Ouyang Xue and Lan Jiajia were also dumbfounded. After a while, Ouyang Xue spoke up, “Fei Luo, was your previous workplace… really from another world?”
“Pay her no mind,” Yin Xiamo calmly picked up a glass of water from the table. “That’s just how she is, a bit chuunibyou. Let’s continue with the previous topic.”
“The previous topic… Oh, Ouyang,” Su Yunjin took out a document.
“These are the design plans and layout diagrams I’ve organized for the underground floor in the company these days. Since Fei Luo can also double as a bartender there, we still lack a server.”
“Spare me…” Ouyang Xue took the documents.
“I really can’t handle the recruitment. Being able to hire Nuo’er in the first place was already my limit… Oh no, wait, Nuo’er can’t even be considered someone I hired. Recruiting is your expertise, General Manager Su.”
“What do you mean my expertise? Nuo’er’s rarity is like an SSR-level worldwide. I was lucky to come across her before, but it’s not like I’ll always be that lucky and bump into beauties wherever I go,” Su Yunjin said helplessly.
“You’re the manager, figure something out. We really are short-staffed right now. Fei Luo alone is not enough. We need at least one more server, and the more, the better. It’s better to play it safe. You should recruit four more employees like Nuo’er and Xiao Mo, have them work different shifts to ensure there’s always someone downstairs in the café. Otherwise, the underground floor won’t be operational.”
What do you mean by my rarity! I’m not a Valkyrie or some five-star character in a game!
“I won’t do it. Find someone else. Where do you expect to find so many girls who are willing to work hard, look good, and have a good figure? Just gathering the people at this table is already pushing it.” Under Su Yunjin’s gaze, Ouyang Xue appeared resolute.
“General Manager Su, do you know how many roles I’m currently juggling? I’m already acting as the interim store manager, and just like Li Chen, I’m also a delivery person. I have to inspect the ingredients and logistics in the store, manage the café’s software every day, work as a customer service representative online, answer all kinds of annoying questions from those brats, handle public relations, edit and produce videos, and manage after-sales… Now that you’ve started paying salaries, I also have to be the accountant. And now you want me to be HR and handle recruitment? Just say you want me dead already.”
“Huh?” Su Yunjin suddenly pointed a finger at Ouyang Xue, wearing an approving expression on his face. “You know how to refuse.”
“Why?” Ouyang Xue gave him a glance.
“Isn’t refusing my right? You’re not even giving me a raise.”
“No, I mean you finally know how to refuse. I remember someone ended up in the hospital because of overwork before, and Nuo’er had to take them there,” Su Yunjin clapped his hands.
“That’s a good thing, Ouyang.”
Ouyang Xue frowned. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“It’s okay if you don’t understand. Just keep it up,” Su Yunjin turned to me. “So, Nuo’er, I’ll leave the recruitment task to you.”
“Huh?”
I paused for a moment. “Wh…why me?”
“Because Nuo’er has already successfully completed several tasks, hasn’t she?” Su Yunjin gestured with his eyes towards Ai Luodi, Lan Jiajia, and Fei Luo. “Mission objective: recruit at least two more girls this month. No need to set the bar too high, just hire whoever you think is suitable.”
Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Oh, right, one more thing, Nuo’er, when you recruit the next girl, make sure she has a good temperament. When ‘Age of Aquarius’ launches, we’ll need her to do a live stream for the launch, for publicity.”
“Another female streamer?” Ouyang Xue was dumbfounded. “Do we really need to hire another one just for a live stream? We have so many beautiful girls here already…”
Su Yunjin shook his head. “Ouyang, how’s the turnover this month?”
“Uh…” Ouyang Xue pondered for a moment. “Far exceeded the target.”
“So, we can still hire people. It’s called expansion,” Su Yunjin clarified.
“That’s different,” Ouyang Xue clearly didn’t understand Su Yunjin’s point. “Even if we want to promote the game and the café with a female streamer, if you don’t like me, can’t Nuo’er or Xiao Mo do it part-time?”
“No.”
Su Yunjin shook his head. “What we need is a full-time streamer, someone who represents the café by playing games and casually introduces the environment downstairs. Although Nuo’er is the cutest in the world, having her work and also livestream gaming would be too demanding for her.”
“Is it really necessary to specially hire someone to come and play games?”
“It is necessary. This game will definitely explode globally when it enters open beta in the future. I’ve already had my dad and them talk to the game developers. They’re in the Craftsman District of Shenzhen City, that high-tech special area, you all know about it, right? It’s next to the base with the particle collider. The server for ‘Age of Aquarius’ will also be hosted there.”
Su Yunjin patiently explained, “Believe me, I’ve played many games. The quality of ‘Age of Aquarius’ is definitely stunning enough to impress the world, even stronger than the performance of the movie. When this game integrates into the metaverse in the future, it will even increase our influence. So, for us who are focusing on this game, livestreaming is indispensable.”
“How about… letting Ai Luodi do it?”
Ouyang Xue seemed to understand Su Yunjin’s implication. “She’s also quite a gaming enthusiast, having played many games on the market, or Lan Jiajia?”
“Me? I can’t do it.”
Lan Jiajia quickly waved her hand. “I can be a waitress, an editor, anything else, but I can’t be a streamer. I wouldn’t know what to say facing so many people, and I’m not that good at gaming either. I’m only familiar with the game ‘Jianwang III’ [1], I haven’t touched most online games.”
Ouyang Xue turned to Ai Luodi.
“I could do it, but I might not understand live streaming very well, and I can only stream at night.”
Ai Luodi hesitated for a moment. “What are the specific requirements?”
“No, neither Lan Jiajia nor Ai Luodi will work. Ai Luodi’s night owl vibe is too strong. We’re not going for the virtual streamer route. We have a lot of requirements for the full-time streamer in the café.”
Su Yunjin looked at me. “That’s why I said let Nuo’er try to find a streamer who fits the café’s vibe as much as possible. I believe you have the ability to work wonders.”
I remained silent for a moment. “What kind of streamer are we looking for specifically?”
“First of all, we’re not going for virtual streamers, so this streamer needs to have a good appearance. Their physique doesn’t need to be especially slim, but they need to have a high level of attractiveness, at least after putting on makeup.”
“Then there’s the temperament. This streamer’s temperament should lean towards… being a gaming enthusiast, and she needs to have plenty of energy, preferably as energetic as Fei Luo every day. But don’t actually let Fei Luo do it, her chest… uh, the streamer might need to wear relatively revealing clothes later, like the girl-next-door style. If Fei Luo streams like that, it’s easy to be judged as inappropriate and unstable.”
“Have you seen ‘Eromanga Sensei‘? The streamer needs that kind of vibe, a homebody otaku girl.”
“Most importantly, this girl’s voice needs to be pleasant to listen to. She can be a bit silly, but she needs to have a sense of showmanship, be outgoing, and dare to say anything.”
“Finally, the most important thing for this streamer is to be optimistic, to be sunny, like an angel who can bring warmth to the audience in the stream room. They can’t just silently play their game for a long time without speaking.”
After rambling on, Su Yunjin lay back on the chair behind him. “That’s all.”
“Are you dealing with humans here?”
Ouyang Xue was the first to criticize.
“Where in the world would you find a female streamer willing to come and work under these conditions? My General Manager Su, can’t you be a bit more realistic? You’re not young anymore. These… these many requirements, are you dreaming? And to be like an angel? How much salary would you have to pay for those demands? Twenty thousand a month? Thirty thousand? I suggest you all go to the West and find a big church to talk to a priest. Maybe if you’re lucky, the next day he’ll really bring you an angel.”
“Yes, yes, an angel, aim as close to that standard as possible.”
Even after being criticized by Ouyang Xue, Su Yunjin still had the appearance of ‘I believe you can do it.’
“Does Nuo’er feel pressured?”
“Yes, I feel pressured.”
I shook my head. “Instead of saying pressure, it’s more like… this kind of thing is basically impossible.”
“I also think it’s impossible.”
Ai Luodi yawned. “Master Su Yunjin, don’t make things difficult for Nuo’er.”
“If you really find a girl who meets all the criteria, Tongmeng Net will give all of you a bonus of 5,000 yuan this month, and Nuo’er will get 8,000 yuan.”
“What?!”
I instantly perked up. “For real?”
“For real.” With that, Su Yunjin picked up the graphics card from the desk and handed it to me.
“In addition to the 8,000 yuan, this card is also a prize. It’s worth almost the same as the 4090ti now, around 10,000 yuan. Once everyone discovers the benefits of using this card to play games during the public beta of ‘Age of Aquarius,’ it’s estimated to increase to over 15,000 yuan. You can take it back to try it out in advance. The drivers are already configured, and the user experience is good.”
What do I need this graphics card for…
I remembered the 3090ti graphics card in the computer at home that doesn’t even turn on the fan most of the time.
Oh, using a 3090ti for coding isn’t enough, this time I’ll take back another card similar to the 4090… for watching anime?
But then again, I’m quite tempted by that 8,000 yuan bonus.
“Nuo’er.”
Just as I hesitated whether to agree to this, Yin Xiamo leaned over, lowering her voice. “Coordinates” appeared magical fluctuations. Someone is following the route I provided and is likely to arrive here in two or three hours.”
“If nothing unexpected happens, it should be Gabriel.”
“……”
……
TL Note:
Jianwang III (???):