ATPnovel Chapter 10 A Pillow for Someone Who's Sleepy
Chapter 10 A Pillow for Someone Who's Sleepy
Compared to arcade games, the rent for a storefront costing a little over a thousand is negligible.
Faced with Lin Lixin's terrifying flaw detection capabilities, the shop owner had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree to their price, selling them the dilapidated arcade machines at scrap value.
When I got back to my doorstep, the queue in front of the machine hadn't shrunk; instead, there were a few more new, unfamiliar faces.
Lin Lixin clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention.
"Everyone, thank you so much for supporting the first day of the trial operation of Tetris. I still need to further debug and optimize the machine."
The implication was clear: they wanted to kick them out.
After spending a day here, many people know that Lin Lixin and Sam are the owners of this machine.
But that doesn't mean they can accept it!
"No! Sir, it's only six o'clock!" The loudest voice naturally came from the second person in line. He was about to be called, and then suddenly he was told not to play anymore. Who could stand that?
"Please, let me play one more game, at least until midnight, no, even 10 o'clock is fine!"
"Yes, sir, I can pay more!"
Lin Lixin reached out and gestured for everyone to calm down.
If we let this thing run for another night, we can definitely make a lot of money.
But he was a little timid.
Judging from this, several people had already brought large bags of snacks and drinks, and some even brought their own picnic mats.
He has no objection to letting them continue their charade, but the tax bureau is likely to come knocking on his door.
If this matter goes to trial, and he's imprisoned for "operating without a license," he'll have nowhere to turn for help.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we didn't expect you all to like our new game so much. Don't worry, it's just some simple adjustments. You can come again next weekend. We've already rented that arcade on the corner, and we'll be counting on your support then."
After much persuasion, they finally managed to see off the group of gentlemen. The two men breathed a sigh of relief and moved the arcade machine back indoors.
Sam deftly pulled out the heavy coin box, sat down cross-legged on the ground with a cheerful smile, and began counting the coins.
But the more he counted, the more stiff his smile became.
It's not because we're earning less, it's because we're earning too much, far too much!
"One, one..." His hands trembled slightly as he added up what he had received before, "One hundred and twenty-five dollars and fifty cents! My God!"
This has surpassed any record he knew, and it is a truly undisputed blockbuster!
"This is nothing. When we become successful, we'll go into the home console market."
Hearing Sam's exclamation, Lin Lixin promptly tossed out a large pancake.
Having witnessed the terrifying spending power of the video game industry in later generations, this amount of money was truly insignificant to him.
If Steam existed in this era, I can't even imagine how much money it could make by putting this thing on it.
Selling copies was the right thing to do.
"Sam, think about it, if you come across a book you like, how many copies would you buy?"
"The more the better, of course!"
Sam is a hardcore game enthusiast, and he even owns several copies of a terrible game like E.T.
Lin Lixin snapped his fingers: "That's exactly the point."
The famous Japanese philosopher Izumi Konata once said, "In my opinion, at least three are needed."
One sheet is for permanent preservation and should be stored in a special box.
"The other one is for occasional viewing and appreciation."
"The last one is for preaching purposes."
Every gamer who owns a home console is a sales terminal, scattered throughout the streets and alleys, and all over the world.
Of course, it's too early to think about those things now; he should focus his energy on arcade games for now.
……
The next day.
Sam got up early and headed straight to the arcade.
He was responsible for handling the complicated operational and leasing procedures, and of course, cleaning.
As for Lin Lixin, his schedule today was different from Sam's. He also left home early to go to school.
That concludes today's lesson.
Just as Lin Lixin was about to completely lose focus, the long class finally came to an end.
Since he acquired the skill that significantly improved his computer language learning efficiency, the content in class has become increasingly unappealing to him.
I didn't skip class entirely because this young, bald professor loved taking attendance.
Lin Lixin snapped out of his reverie, looked at the words "roller technology" that he had scribbled on his notebook, and had an idea in mind.
After leaving the classroom, he went straight to the school's science and engineering library.
Stepping inside, you'll find a huge space filled with tables and chairs that seem to stretch as far as the eye can see.
The students were hunched over their desks, occasionally doodling on their drafts.
A row of terminals lined the wall. Unlike the paper-thin devices of later generations, these terminals were bulky and had only a monotonous command-line interface, yet they were already rare advanced products of this era.
Lin Lixin walked past rows of bookshelves and stopped in front of the sign that read "Electronic Engineering".
This is simply a developer's paradise!
He flipped through the books and eventually focused on a few books about PPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Before graphics cards were invented, the PPU was the controller of graphics.
Lin Lixin reached out and took them down, intending to find a seat to study them carefully, when a gasp came from behind him.
"It's you!"
He turned around in confusion, meeting a pair of astonished eyes.
Vivian held a thin copy of "Video" in her arms, pressing it against her short-sleeved polo shirt that perfectly outlined her shoulders and waist.
Only when Lin Lixin turned his head did she realize that she had not mistaken him for someone else; his face was very distinctive.
Vivian glanced curiously at the title of the book in Lin Lixin's hand, and said with some uncertainty:
"I didn't expect to run into you here. Are you also a student at our school?"
"Sister, why would I rent a house in a good school district if I wasn't going to study here?"
"Oh, right..." Vivian realized she had asked a silly question, but she didn't care and changed the subject. "Tetris is really an amazing game. When I got home yesterday, I felt like blocks were falling everywhere I looked. It's so amazing!"
Lin Lixin smiled politely and pointed to the book "Video" in Vivian's arms, saying, "Are you still reading this book? I'd like to take it and study it."
"This one? This one is just an introductory textbook?"
Vivian was a little puzzled. Why would someone as powerful as Lin Lixin need to read such introductory books?
"Yes, I'd like to learn some graphics techniques; I need to use them for a game project. I'm a programming major, so I haven't taken any courses in that area."
"Wait, a new game?" Vivian keenly caught the key point in Lin Lixin's words, her eyes widening. "Well... actually, I can tutor you."
Vivian patted her chest, a confident look on her face.
"Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Vivian, and I major in Electrical Engineering, with a specialization in Graphics and Visual Applications."