novelODS Chapter 1388 - 361: The Worker Among Workers
Chapter 1388 - 361: The Worker Among Workers
The game room door slid open slowly, and a smell mixed with sweat wafted out.The first to emerge was the girl who had earlier been puffing on an e-cigarette, with her silver-dyed hair now messily plastered to her forehead.
Her previously smoky eye makeup eyes were now wide open, pupils not yet recovered from intense contraction.
She leaned against the door and staggered two steps, her knees visibly trembling, but upon noticing Lex was watching her, she forcibly straightened her back and pulled at the corner of her mouth:
"It’s okay... just like that."
Just after speaking, she instinctively swallowed, as if suppressing the churning in her stomach.
The boy in ripped clothes followed closely, with bulging veins on the back of his hand, his right hand tightly gripping the safety bar.
As he stepped across the game room door he stumbled, nearly crashing into the metal rack beside him.
"The special effects are... quite real, the experience was good."
In front of his friends, he mumbled ambiguously, yet his gaze involuntarily glanced towards the game room interior, as if fearing something might suddenly lunge out from inside, then he feigned calmness:
"It’s just that the sound effects are too loud."
His voice noticeably quivered while talking.
The last boy to come out looked the most disheveled, with a large damp patch on the back of his white T-shirt, as if he’d just been fished out of water.
He said nothing, merely leaned against the wall breathing heavily, his complexion pale as if covered by a layer of paper.
His gaze was somewhat unfocused, seemingly still immersed in the horror scene.
As if recalling something, the next second his legs turned so weak they almost failed to support his body, wanting to collapse to the ground, but was nudged by a companion’s elbow.
His gaze at this moment turned towards the two friends watching him, suddenly straightening his waist forcefully, with a stiff neck he said:
"Nice experience, quite interesting."
After that, he stealthily moved half a step sideways, using his companion’s body to block his wobbling legs.
Lex stood behind the control console, looking at the screen with the newly refreshed Shock Value earnings +36, unable to suppress the corners of his mouth lifting.
He cleared his throat, pointing to the payment terminal beside him:
"Gentlemen, the total for this experience is 180 star points, just a scan at the terminal will do."
The boy in cargo pants seemed to just remember this, reached into his pocket, fumbling with his fingers in his trouser pocket for ages before pulling out a personal terminal, muttering "Hurry up," though his eyes didn’t dare meet Lex’s.
Subsequently, after scanning at the payment receiver, only hearing the "beep" of payment confirmation, then as if relieved tugging his companions towards the door.
Lex deliberately pretended not to see their embarrassment, asked with a smile:
"Are you satisfied? Want to try other scenes?"
"No, no." The leading boy waved his hand backing away:
"Next time... we’ll come back next time."
Then the three nearly turned synchronously, quickly heading towards the door, none dared to look back.
Upon reaching the door, the boy in the white T-shirt nearly stumbled on the steps, his foot slipping, only barely stabilized with the arm support of his companion.
Once the door closed with a "bang," Lex turned his head towards the screen.
Shock Value points couldn’t exchange for any merchandise, but he was quite satisfied with the preliminary test results.
He believed it wouldn’t be long before the screams in the city would surge like a tide, paving a road to the transcendent for him.
To attract more guests to challenge, he decided to first organize a challenge ranking through the local network.
With an idea in mind, Lex acted immediately, his fingers quickly tapping on the control console.
A new document popped up on the screen, titled by him as [Hero Ranking].
The ranking he wanted wasn’t about who cleared the game fastest.
That was too mundane, unable to extract more Shock Value.
There’s monitoring in the game, he decided to observe tourists’ states through the monitor.
Courage Value obtainment can be calculated by how long players remain in the scene and the dangers triggered.
For instance, facing a monster in the scene for several seconds could award Courage Value.
The higher the Courage Value, the higher the ranking.
This setting was meant to prick at modern young people’s competitiveness.
Additionally, some reward mechanisms can be set.
For example, the top ten on the weekly Courage list can earn cash rewards.
Names can also be displayed in the most prominent location of the venue, followed by a line of small text: Neon Port’s Bravest Warriors.
To enhance immersion, he also planned to bury more monitors in the game room, automatically capturing players’ momentary reactions to horror situations.
Upon ranking updates, pick several "highlight moments" to stick on the board, though privacy would be masked.
The intention is for them to compete with each other.
Staring at the draft on the screen, Lex laughed like a fox that stole a hen.
He understood Neon Port’s young people too well.
They’d rather stand trembling than tolerate being called "wimps."
Even if they repeatedly spend star points to challenge, they have to push their name to the top of the list.
The essence of this ranking is to build a cage with vanity and competitiveness.
Once inside, they’d willingly contribute wave after wave of Shock Value for him.
Perhaps even introducing a group experience mode, such as teams of five, evaluate their performances and list a group ranking.
But the most crucial is the realism of the scene experience.
The Nightmare System and reality experience that is indistinguishable, the thrill it brings is beyond compare to any drugs.
The kind of immersive horror, even knowing all is fake, still causes the body to shiver all over.
The brain may rationally tell itself it’s merely a virtual experience, those mangled monsters, the whispers echoing in the ears... they’re all fake.