Chapter 106 Exclusive Dungeon
Huo Xiaoyuan's heart was pounding, and he took two steps at a time as he climbed the stairs.
As soon as he entered, it felt like he had suddenly gone from a 360P world to a 1080P world, and he felt that his eyesight had improved a lot.
Instead of the perpetually gray sky and fake architectural textures, what greets the eye is a huge crystal chandelier sloping down from a nearly eight-meter-high roof, with each pane of glass shimmering and reflecting a faint firelight from every angle.
He was walking on oak herringbone parquet flooring, with a thick cashmere carpet as smooth as velvet in the middle. Every detail of the decoration here exuded the smell of money, and even the church in the town center was far more luxurious.
He stood by the door, unsure of what to do with his hands and feet.
The world inside and outside the door is like two different worlds: one is a small workshop making mini-games, and the other is a major project that a large company's core project team is investing heavily in.
Although he didn't know the identity of the man who arrived in the interstellar spaceship, Huo Xiaoyuan knew in his heart that the other party was most likely there to rescue him.
He no longer needs to pretend to be strong, because his strength has finally arrived.
Fang Zhuo gestured with the black mist, "Sit."
He opened the system's built-in live stream and briefly explained the current situation to Huo Xiaoyuan:
"You didn't actually travel to the Middle Ages, but rather to an infinite dungeon world. To prevent you from disrupting the dungeon's balance, the main god temporarily created a scene and placed you here."
"I came here to ask if you want to join my guild. The monthly salary is 50,000 ghost coins. I will tailor-make live streaming content for you and also pay to promote your live stream."
"As you can see, I'm very rich, so I have no reason to lie to you."
After speaking, Fang Zhuo handed Huo Xiaoyuan a booklet of survival rules for the instance, letting him digest it slowly.
Huo Xiaoyuan's mind was repeatedly bombarded by those few words.
He didn't understand what a "dungeon master" was, nor did he know where this live stream had come from, but one thing he was very clear about—
The man in front of him was indeed very rich, richer than anyone he had ever met in his life, and at least much richer than the god who designed this medieval town.
The so-called supreme god was so poor that he turned the town into a Cthulhu Mythos-like place, giving you the illusion of living in a paper-mache town.
Huo Xiaoyuan glanced through the booklet briefly, and when he saw the description of prices in this world, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
A meal of stew from a large pot costs three cents, which is still the daily staple food for most people, but the other party actually arranged a monthly salary of 50,000 ghost money for him.
Less than two minutes later, he slammed the booklet shut, walked over to the owner in a friendly manner, cupped his hands in thanks, and said:
"I have spent half my life wandering, and I only regret that I have not met a wise ruler. If you do not despise me, I would like to become your sworn brother!"
Fang Zhuo smiled and handed the contract to the other party: "No need for the sworn brother ceremony. Just sign the contract. I will tell you about the live broadcast tonight."
The system announced the contract the moment it was finalized.
[Investment Target Number Four: Huo Xiaoyuan]
[Intelligence: 91][Stamina: 82][Appearance: 51][Emotional Intelligence: 63][Loyalty: 93]
[Recommended Career: Researcher in fundamental disciplines such as physics and mathematics]
[Initial valuation: 400 (estimated value)]
[Congratulations, host, you have completed mission three: find the original protagonist]
[Reward: Efficiency Boost - Increases the speed of employee advancement and training by 15%]
Along with this announcement, the system's built-in live stream room continuously sent out donation notifications, and the chat was refreshing rapidly.
[Is this world also there to correct the plot? Why is the currency "ghost money"? Did this send me to the underworld?]
[Don't you check the high-difficulty dimensional bounties posted in the main system? They give a general overview of these high-difficulty worlds. I remember the problem with this infinite dungeon world is that the original male protagonist disappeared for some reason...]
[You mean Brother Fang directly invested in the male protagonist of the original story?? That's turning the tables, folks!]
[If you have enough money, that's fine too^^]
[After reading the original novel and Fang Ge's public business logs, I can see that the original protagonist spent more than ten years building a safe house, while our Fang Ge built a luxury hotel in less than a month. I can only say that money seems to be much more useful.]
[I'm crying. In this world, I'm still clinging to the original male lead's coattails, while the big boss has already registered the original male lead as an employee. Even among CEOs, there's a difference.]
Practice makes perfect.
[If you can't train any further, I suggest Brother Fang just transfer one million ghost coins to me to demonstrate your strength.]
[I want one too, to have a number for love.]
[Does Brother Fang have any extra interdimensional employee binding cards? I'm not ready to work anymore, can you take me in too?]
Meanwhile, the hotel butler, who had just arrived in the TK69 Infinite Dungeon world, was patiently selecting the initial construction modules for the dungeon at the general service center.
As a veteran employee who has served more than 20 different employers, Zhao Weiyi believes he can accurately grasp his boss's preferences.
When selecting hardware facilities, quality is paramount, and the price should ideally be mid-range or higher. However, you shouldn't choose the most expensive items for everything, otherwise the boss will feel that the cost-effectiveness is too low.
After all, the tenfold return for business owners doesn't come from thin air. Every penny corresponds to the number of days the business can survive. CEOs often know when to save and when to spend, and they always have a scale in their hearts, constantly calculating whether this investment can break even.
"Once you've made your selection, fill out this form. This is your first time building a custom instance for a new boss, right? Let me tell you first, you'll need to pay 1% of the price for all the initial hardware facilities in the instance. The cost for most mini-bosses is between one thousand and twenty thousand."
A staff member in the service hall tapped the screen with a ten-centimeter-long green fingernail:
"The initial choice is very important, and all subsequent modifications within the dungeon will have to be paid for entirely by the boss himself."
"Think it over carefully. If the dungeon is decorated better, more levels can be set up, and more ghost money can be deducted from the dead players."
"Actually, you can build a pretty good dungeon for around 5,000 ghost coins... Hmm? How come your dungeon has such a high degree of freedom? Generally, the official servers will provide the major building modules for free, but your dungeon is completely empty except for the basic terrain?? What bad luck..."
Zhao Weiyi shook his head: "It's okay, our boss is rich."
The boss's requirements for the dungeon design were very clear: it had to be an island resort manor that could accommodate all the current employees of the Giant Guild as well as several hundred players.
Although I don't know the boss's exact budget, this request sounds like they have plenty of money.
Zhao Weiyi first selected a small villa-style employee dormitory, and then checked the central restaurant.
In the restaurant ingredient selection section, he thoughtfully chose high-quality and inexpensive local ingredients, selected three dishes from the five major cuisines, checked Indian and Spanish specialties, and finally noted that he needed five chefs.
He decided that the mode of transportation in the instance would be a small speedboat, and he took photos of all the options and sent them to the boss for confirmation.
Time ticked by, but no message came from the other end.
Even though the air conditioning in the service hall was set very low, Zhao Weiyi still couldn't help but break out in a light sweat.
Could it be that the boss thinks the basic modules he chose are too expensive and not cost-effective enough, so he's deliberately ignoring him?
Not wanting to appear unprofessional from the start when dealing with a new employer for the first time, Zhao Weiyi considered for a long time before reaching out to swipe away some service options on the screen.
The next second, a cloud of black mist extended over and, without hesitation, quickly pulled all the hardware device prices to the maximum on the right.
The original small houses have been transformed into seaside villas, and the 300-square-meter central canteen has been transformed into a luxurious floating restaurant of more than 10,000 square meters, with all the ancillary services fully provided.
The small speedboat was transformed into a giant ship, and a custom weather function was even added to the instance, turning it into the most expensive instance that Zhao Weiyi saw in the list.
The self-paid price for this instance is over six million, with a total construction cost of six hundred million, which translates to over five billion in terms of global prices...
Zhao Weiyi even wants to live here for the rest of his life.
He turned his head and stared blankly at the black mist, where he saw a dark shadow forming the shape of a throne, lifting the young man up.
Through the window behind the young man, he saw a huge starship parked there, over a hundred meters long.
He was saved; it was as if he had witnessed godlike wealth.
Upon seeing this, the staff at the service window exclaimed with delight, "General Manager Fang!" and quickly pressed the call button to summon the leader.
Even though there were other small business owners queuing up to do business nearby, their big order went smoothly, taking only five minutes from submitting the proposal to the payment page.
Zhao Weiyi was dumbfounded the whole time: Is the service hall of the dungeon world always this efficient?
As the payment was smoothly processed via the wristband, the staff member approached with an embarrassed smile: "Mr. Fang, I wonder if you could sign your name on this card so I can share in the good fortune?"
Fang Zhuo signed his name on the card handed to him, raised his hand and used black mist to create a staircase towards the starship gate outside the window, then turned to Zhao Weiyi and said:
"Don't agonize over six million ghost coins for so long in the future. For such small expenses, just choose the most expensive option. The overall cost of living in the dungeon world is very low."
Zhao Weiyi pinched his philtrum, trying to remain calm under the immense impact of his money-oriented mindset.
Is this still Chinese?
Why does this sound so unfamiliar?
If six million ghost money can be considered a small expense, then what would be considered a large expense?
Fang Zhuo continued, "By the way, I'm planning to send a newbie into our dungeon this week, and also organize a live stream for him. You can meet him inside the dungeon."
He transferred the information to Zhao Weiyi's bracelet, tapped on the ID photo, and said, "That newcomer's name is Huo Xiaoyuan."
Hundreds of ID photos circulated simultaneously on the towering domed screens all around, like chains binding all the players in the instance at the same time.
Huo Xiaoyuan clenched his fingers slightly as he looked at the stone pillar in the center of the square.
This was his first time entering a dungeon since he learned that he was currently in the instance world.
The boss told him that this was a private instance, with basically no danger, but there would be some math puzzles, and he just needed to hurry up and solve them.
Solving math problems is very easy for him. Huo Xiaoyuan got full marks in both math and science in the college entrance examination, and he also majored in mathematics in college. Unless it is a problem of the century, he doesn't think there is any problem that can stump him.
The other players in the square were looking around warily. Huo Xiaoyuan calmed himself down, but his elbow was lightly touched.
Next to him was a young man with a dimple on his right cheek, who was smiling and talking to him:
"Hey buddy, my name is Yin Hu. I have a tool that can get vague information about the dungeon, and I know it's an intelligence test dungeon. I think you're the only one around who seems a bit cultured. How about we team up? I have some homemade white cakes here, they smell amazing."
"This should be the second-stage trial mode. After passing this level, we will be teleported to another space. I also have a communication device. Let's exchange information with each other then."
Huo Xiaoyuan scratched his head. Before he could speak, he saw a mathematical formula suddenly appear on the stone wall in the center of the square.
All the surrounding sounds were fading into the distance. He could only hear Yin Hu cursing and complaining, "Damn it, what kind of ridiculous formula is this? I can't even understand the question. What do these symbols mean? They look like an old man's asshole..."
As a newly released instance, the chat in the instance's public area is refreshing rapidly, with tens of thousands of eyes focused on this instance.
What's the name of this dungeon? Is it opening for the first time? Does anyone know who the final boss is?
Don't ask things that nobody knows the answer to...
[The instance is called Endless Sea. Someone previously leaked information saying that the second space after passing the intelligence test has a high degree of freedom.]
[...It's that classic excuse again: everyone knows high freedom equals a bare-bones apartment. Since the official dungeon developers won't provide basic modules, do you think the bosses will spend their own money to buy such expensive items?]
[I feel sorry for these players. They might not even have anything to eat after completing the quiz. I hope they don't end up like those Red Mountain Waterfall dungeons where half the players starved to death.]
Those who bring their own food are in luck! ^^
[Wow, this question is way too hard! Who could answer it? Are they screening PhD students in mathematics?]
[Don't say that. Maybe the boss is being kind and doesn't want players to enter a bare-bones room so early.]
[Generally, the questions in these puzzle-solving dungeons change daily, and the difficulty should be lowered tomorrow. I'm still quite envious of the first person to clear the new dungeon; I remember the highest reward is a purple item.]
[Holy crap, buddy, hold on, someone actually got it right!]
With a flash of dazzling light, Huo Xiaoyuan heard a reward announcement, and then he was teleported to a sunny island.
He looked up and found himself in front of a three-story seaside villa with a floor area of several thousand square meters.
Meanwhile, the view of the villa in front of him was being simultaneously broadcast to the screen on the plaza's dome, watched by hundreds of players on site.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
