Chapter 81
Chapter 81
The cold wind blowing from the top of the rooms was particularly biting, leaving people shivering uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, the Players in the other half of the rooms were drenched in sweat. They had stripped off every layer of clothing they could, yet the sweat continued to pour out of them.
[Ding! Players will have a twenty-minute rest period.]
Why was the Game being so merciful today? It was actually giving the Players a break?
The next second, Yun Youyou suddenly noticed a small door opening next to the control console. She walked over to investigate and found it filled with supplies for both cold protection and cooling.
There were sweaters, down jackets, and scarves, as well as electric fans, cooling patches, and more.
[Drag these out and knock on the Players’ doors one by one to ask if they want them. I have other matters to attend to. I’ve sent the specific prices to your Light Brain; take a look first.]
Yun Youyou opened the file on her Light Brain.
A single ordinary candle was priced at two hundred Game Coins, and it had to be purchased as a bundle with a lighter. One lighter cost five hundred Game Coins.
Yun Youyou: “…”
Merciful? Ha, impossible. These wicked capitalists would love nothing more than to skin you alive, drink every drop of your blood, and finally use your ashes as a mixture for inorganic fertilizer.
Yun Youyou pushed the supplies toward the exit. This Game really exploited both the NPCs and the Players.
Wait!
Yun Youyou’s clever eyes darted around as a brilliant idea suddenly struck her. Taking advantage of the fact that the Game was busy with other things, she first ran to the doors of the Players experiencing the sweltering heat.
A single cooling patch was priced at fifty, while a piece of clothing was six hundred.
Yun Youyou grabbed a megaphone and shouted, “Limited time offer! One piece of clothing can be traded for two cooling patches. First come, first served! Don’t miss out!”
“I want it!”
“Give me four patches! I have two pieces of clothing!”
Yun Youyou’s business was a massive hit. Before long, her small cart was piled high with clothes. There was a gap of about five centimeters at the bottom of each room’s door, allowing the NPC to slide supplies through.
“But what if I don’t have any clothes left! Can I use something else to trade? I’m going to die of heat! Save me!”
The agony of the heat was tormenting the Players. Sweat flowed incessantly down their necks like a stream, soaking their shirts through again and again until it practically formed a small river on the floor. The indoor temperature had already reached nearly fifty degrees Celsius.
Yun Youyou suddenly thought of another clever trick.
“Wait for me, I’ll be right back.”
Yun Youyou pushed her cart back to the extreme cold zone on the other side.
“Attention Players! The Game is now launching a promotional event! You can trade ice for clothes. I assume everyone has large icicles in their rooms right now? Don’t let such a great opportunity go to waste! Break off those icicles and bring them to your door!”
Hearing this, the Players who had been huddled on their beds shivering suddenly acted as if they’d been injected with adrenaline. With trembling hands, they gritted their teeth and snapped off the ice.
If the NPC hadn’t been immune to the temperatures here, Yun Youyou would have frozen solid long ago.
After a short while, Yun Youyou had harvested a massive pile of ice. She distributed the clothes to the freezing Players, then turned around and pushed the ice back to the sweltering area to sell it.
After just a few trips, Yun Youyou became filthy rich. She had barely consumed any of the Game’s supplies, the Players each got what they needed, and Yun Youyou’s pockets were stuffed to the brim.
When the Game finished its business and returned, seeing that only a tiny amount of supplies had been sold, a hint of confusion entered its electronic voice.
[How have we only sold this much? Are these players not afraid of the cold or the heat?]
Seeing that only a third of the players had been eliminated, Game ordered the intensity to be ramped up further.
Yun Youyou glanced at the temperature displayed on the LCD screen.
If she were in there, she’d probably turn into a giant popsicle herself.
She wondered what brand those surveillance cameras were; it was already over thirty degrees below zero, yet they were still holding strong.
Game, likely thinking Yun Youyou was too idle, turned to the players and announced: [The phone number for the control room has been released. Those in need may call this number. Each call must not exceed three minutes.]
Yun Youyou: !!!
Increasing my workload like this!
The players were currently either shivering from the cold or going mad from the heat. They desperately wanted someone to scream at to vent their frustrations and distract themselves.
Not even a second later, the phone on the console began to ring.
Game added, particularly slyly: [This is also one of your work tasks. You are not allowed to ignore it.]
Yun Youyou quickly picked up and said in a sweet voice, “Hello, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Sorry, uh…”
To her surprise, the player was incredibly stubborn and didn’t hang up.
Yun Youyou really couldn’t manage the rest of the English and came to an awkward, stuttering halt.
The air on both sides of the line was thick with a suffocating silence.
A player’s furious voice came through the receiver.
“Hurry up and turn the temperature up! I’m freezing to death!”
Yun Youyou had no choice but to stall.
“Well, regarding this issue, it’s not that I won’t handle it for you. It’s just that we have to follow official procedures. What if something goes wrong, right? Besides, I’m aware of your situation and I know exactly what needs to be done. The key point lies in…”
Yun Youyou rambled on, talking about nothing in particular for a long time.
Finally, the three minutes were up.
Yun Youyou didn’t spend a single extra second on the line.
“Oh, look at that, three minutes are up. Let’s chat again next time.”
Before the person on the other end could get a word out, the call was disconnected.
No, they had to keep calling.
Game had only said that a call couldn’t *exceed* three minutes; it never said they could only call once.
In an instant, Yun Youyou was bombarded by a frenzy of phone calls.
Meanwhile, the culprit, Game, had already quietly slipped away.
As another call came through, Yun Youyou felt like she was developing a split personality.
She picked up the phone and said in a dainty voice, “I’m a bit busy right now. I’ll let my colleague speak with you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Youyou switched to a gruff, coarse voice and barked into the phone: “Beat it!”
Then, she quickly switched back to her female voice and said apologetically, “I’m so sorry, my colleague is far too rude. I’ll make him get lost right now!”
The player on the other end was left completely stunned by Yun Youyou’s performance.
Before they could say anything, the three minutes were over.
Even so, Yun Youyou still had an endless stream of calls to answer.
As she handled the calls, time flew by.
Fortunately, there was only one phone line, so not many people could get through at once.
As another call ended, Game finally reappeared.
Yun Youyou’s voice was nearly hoarse.
She desperately needed some Golden Throat Lozenges right now.
[Golden Throat Lozenges? Why would you need something so troublesome? A dedicated employee like you gets special treatment. One of these days, I’ll catch a Ghost with a Good Voice for you. If you eat them, I guarantee your throat issues will vanish instantly.]
The Ghost with a Good Voice: …How noble of you, using me to do someone a favor.