VIP Early Access
Eksklusif untuk member VIP
Password Protected
Chapter ini dikunci dengan kode khusus
Chapter 9 : Scourge of Crooked Merchants, Friendly Fire Against Allies
Sitting in front of the computer, Lin Lixin still hadn’t started writing code.
He suddenly realized his tech tree wasn’t fully unlocked yet.
Scrolling technology sounded simple, but implementing it required coordination between both software and hardware. It even involved directly manipulating video memory and system memory.
His enhanced Programming attribute had indeed greatly improved him. The implementation of gameplay mechanics naturally came to mind almost instinctively.
But when it came to things he had never actually learned before, the attribute boost alone couldn’t help much.
Е̄ n ūmӑ .і̌ d̈.
“Still gotta look up the technical details…”
Lin Lixin scratched his head and decided to temporarily skip that part, focusing instead on implementing gameplay first. He planned to head to the school library tomorrow to research the relevant materials.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
It wasn’t until evening that Sam angrily shoved open his bedroom door and plopped down heavily onto the bed.
“That damn old bastard,” he cursed immediately in authentic North American fashion. “He actually wants a thousand bucks for each of those piles of electronic garbage!”
Only after listening to Sam rant furiously for quite a while did Lin Lixin finally piece together what had happened.
“He’s demanding you buy all the machines together? Otherwise he won’t rent the place?”
Еnû m а .і̀d
“Exactly! It’s outrageous! One thousand dollars per machine! Add a little more money and you could buy brand-new ones!”
Although the arcade on the corner wasn’t very large, at those prices, Sam would need to spend over ten thousand dollars to take over the place along with the equipment.
That was far beyond his budget.
Lin Lixin frowned. The pricing was obviously unreasonable.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
This shop had gone bankrupt because of the Atari shockwave. The owner should’ve been desperate to get rid of it by now.
The guy had clearly noticed Sam’s gullible rich-kid personality and decided to pressure him instead.
Е n̂um̃а̇ .і̇_d
“Take me there.”
…
“Mr. Lin, I already explained the situation very clearly to Mr. Sam earlier.”
Only one flickering light illuminated the arcade. The owner was an older man wearing an honest-looking smile.
“Look here. These machines all cost me a fortune back then. They’re only a little old. Selling them for one thousand each is already me trying to make friends with you two. I’m practically taking a loss.”
“Boss, can’t you lower the price a little? I really need this place.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Every sentence out of Sam’s mouth made Lin Lixin’s vision darken. He desperately wanted to physically cover his idiot friend’s mouth.
Lin Lixin kept smiling, though inwardly he snorted coldly.
This guy talked nicely, but there wasn’t a single truthful word coming out of his mouth.
Unfortunately, his expression and mannerisms were incredibly convincing, completely fooling Sam.
Lin Lixin looked toward a Pac-Man cabinet in the corner and silently activated his scanning ability.
A dense cluster of red highlights practically flashbanged him.
Wе ḃ n о v̇е́ l̃ Еn̆ ǔ m̂а̄
This kind of junk belonged in a landfill, yet the guy still dared ask a thousand dollars for it.
Unexpectedly, the machine Sam bought for eight hundred was actually one of the better-condition cabinets in the entire shop.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“Boss, can we power them on and check the condition? If they work, buying the machines together with the place would be fine. We’ll need arcade cabinets after opening anyway.”
Lin Lixin pointed at the machine before him and looked toward the owner, silently praying Sam would keep his mouth shut.
“Mr. Lin, look around. I haven’t had a chance to clean the place properly. This machine has accumulated quite a bit of dust. I’d recommend cleaning it first before powering it on, otherwise a short circuit might damage something.”
Then he turned toward Sam and continued,
Е n umа̌
“Don’t worry about quality, Mr. Sam. You should know yourself, the machine I sold you earlier didn’t have any major issues, right? At most it was just a few loose pins. A two-minute fix.”
Sam nodded thoughtfully, clearly becoming persuaded.
That machine really hadn’t had any major problems. If all of them were around that level of quality…
He gritted his teeth, preparing to accept it. Worst case, he’d shoulder some extra debt and resell repaired machines later to recover some losses.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Lin Lixin immediately sensed disaster approaching and quickly pressed a hand onto Sam’s shoulder, signaling him to stay quiet.
Then he pointed toward a Xevious machine and a Space Invaders cabinet nearby.
En ù má
“Boss, these two are maintained pretty well. A thousand dollars is honestly fair for them.”
Through his vision, these two had the fewest highlighted problem areas, and most were minor components.
“However…” Lin Lixin pointed back toward the earlier Pac-Man cabinet. “This one’s condition is way too terrible, isn’t it? The RAM is completely dead, and there’s corrosion across multiple areas of the circuit board. There’s no way this thing still works.”
The owner’s expression stiffened slightly. His narrowed eyes opened a bit wider.
Shit.
He’d run into an expert.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Facing Sam earlier, he’d thought he’d finally found a clueless rich sucker and could make a huge profit.
Who knew there was a genuine insider standing behind him?
This Mr. Lin’s eyes were terrifyingly sharp. He’d merely glanced over the machine a few times and accurately identified the damage.
Things had become troublesome.
“Ahahaha…” The owner laughed awkwardly. “That machine’s been sitting in the corner for too long. Probably got too damp. How about this? I’ll only charge you for the monitor on that one.”
Lin Lixin nodded lightly and walked toward another machine covered in highlights.
W е̊b n o v̀ е̂ l .Еń û m̌а̀
“And this one? Why does it look like even the CPU’s been pried out?”
“…”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The owner still wore that smile, but his teeth were practically grinding themselves apart.
Where the hell did this bastard come from?
Things had been progressing perfectly with Sam. A little more pressure and the deal would’ve closed.
Now the pricing negotiations had completely fallen apart, yet he desperately needed to dump these damned machines.
Е nü_m а̊
Atari’s collapse had destroyed the entire industry’s confidence in one blow. He originally thought the downturn would pass quickly, but no matter how long he waited, conditions never improved.
If this continued, his machines would only become more worthless.
Wait several more years and hope for a recovery that would never come? Dream on.
Video games were dead.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Selling everything and escaping early was the only smart option.
But selling everything dirt cheap still left him unwilling.
Е n̊ ũ m̂ а́ . ї d̀
These two seem really desperate to rent this arcade. Maybe there’s still room to negotiate.
He could only place his hopes on the urgency Sam had revealed earlier.
“Mr. Lin, your proposed pricing is honestly… difficult for me to accept. Why don’t you ask around elsewhere first?”
“Hey, wait, the price can still be negoti—”
Sam became anxious, thinking maybe both sides should compromise a little, only to be forcibly silenced once again by an utterly speechless Lin Lixin.
“Forget it, Sam. Worst case, we rent an empty storefront somewhere else and order a batch of new machines from Mr. Meyer. It won’t cost much more.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Sam froze.
Meyer…
That sounded familiar. Wasn’t that the Jewish guy Jesse mentioned before, the one who wanted to buy their machine?
He was about to say something else when he suddenly noticed Lin Lixin smiling at him.
For some reason, a chill ran down his spine.
“Oh~ You’re right. That really is a great idea.”
Е̃n̄ ŭ_m̈ а . їd.
Before he could finish speaking, he felt Lin Lixin dragging him toward the exit.
“Gentlemen, please wait!”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
(End of Chapter)
Konten Bab Belum Tersedia
Bab ini belum memiliki konten teks atau sedang dalam proses penyuntingan.
