Translated by Coldtaco
Edited by Aelryinth
The experience store was located northeast of the Imperial Capital around the fourth ring. It was within a middle-upper class area. It was slightly off the beaten track, but this also meant that it would be quiet.
Chen Mo stepped out of the taxi and walked in front of the experience store with his luggage trailing behind him.
The experience store was a two-story building. The store wasn't big, there were no signs outside, and the door was locked. Chen Mo unlocked the door and carried his luggage inside.
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From the inside, it seemed very spacious. Every floor had about two hundred square meters and a few pieces of furniture, such as a sofa.
"It's quite spacious." Chen Mo was quite surprised. He thought that an experience store with a hundred square meters would be impressive; he wasn't expecting it to be so big.
Two hundred square meters. If it was decorated like a normal (non-VR) internet cafe, it could probably fit thirty to forty computers. The extra space could be used for sofas, plants and a drink dispenser.
Basically, the first floor was decorated in the style of an internet cafe, to allow players to try out games, whereas the second floor was used as an office space and a resting area.
The first floor was still mostly empty to cater to the different plans a designer might have for this space. Video game designers that focused on VR games would obviously have VR gear set up on the first floor, therefore the organizers could only start renovations after confirming things with the designer.
Chen Mo was quite satisfied by the interior and the cleanliness of the building.
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All of the second floor was the designer's own personal space.
The designer's office had standard VR gear, a high end computer, and many different brands of mobile phones. There was also a professional grade computer for designing games with the video game engine preinstalled.
Video game designers drew inspiration from playing large numbers of games. Therefore an office space equipped with all three main modes of video games — VR, PC and mobile — was included with the experience store.
The resting area contained a desk, a bookshelf, and a large bed for a minimalistic look. There were also some basic home appliances, so living here long-term wasn't a problem. At least the living area was much better than his rental house!
Many video game designers in this world were workaholics, therefore a resting area next to the office space was a must.
The decor in the entire experience store was customizable. The staff members from the competition might help with small tasks. Large tasks required money out of his own pocket and required the approval of the staff from the competition.
Chen Mo only had the right to use the experience store,he didn't own it. After all, it was a massive property in a place like the Imperial Capital, where land was expensive. Buying the property would easily surpass eight digits, with another million for the procedures required. It was highly unlikely that the organizers would give the rights to the property away, even if they felt extremely generous.
Of course, just the right to use it was saving Chen Mo a huge sum of money at the end of the month, so Chen Mo wasn't ungrateful.
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After checking out the building, Chen Mo gave the staffer from before a call to ask him about the decorations.
After half an hour, the staffer arrived.
"Two-thirds of the main hall will be for computers, the rest of it will contain massage chairs and equipment for mobile games. There will be a bar installed over here. As for the drinks, we'll use a vending machine for now.
"A fridge over here, and a snack bar here.
"And put a bookshelf over here. I plan to buy some gaming-related books and magazines.
"Build a divider around the sofa and put a small meeting desk and a projector there.
"Could I get some plants on the second floor balcony?
"And over here..."
The staffer was jotting down notes as Chen Mo threw out his requests.
The first floor was basically an internet cafe, although the computers weren't as tightly packed. According to Chen Mo's requests, there would be eighteen computers and ten massage chairs on the first floor.
The massage chairs were there for mobile gamers. Every massage chair was equipped with a high specced phone and a tablet.
The second floor was decorated to Chen Mo's liking. Chen Mo didn't have many requests, as he could always add to in the future, changing it to his heart's content.
After all the plans have been made, the staffer nodded: "Alright, I'll arrange for some people to come over, It should be done by this afternoon, the evening at the latest."
Chen Mo replied, "Alright, I'll leave it to you. I'll need to go back to pack my stuff tonight anyways, so I'll be back here tomorrow."
The staffer nodded. "Leave it to me. There aren't any big changes and the orders are pretty simple, just moving stuff around. It's guaranteed to be done by tomorrow morning.
"Also, I have sent the license agreement to you. Just look over the main points, we can discuss the details some other time."
Chen Mo nodded. "Alright, I'll look through it in detail."
Chen Mo trusted the staffer, leaving them in the experience store while he took the train back to his house he had rented.
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While on the train, Chen Mo read through the license agreement several times.
Basically, Chen Mo only had the right to use the experience store, with no right to own it. The store was fully owned by the organizers. Of course, Chen Mo could buy it, but it was basically based on market price with barely any discount.
It was impossible for Chen Mo to bring out such a huge sum of money right now.
Everything in the store, such as the computers and VR setups, did not belong to Chen Mo, he only had the right to use them. These things were spelled out in the contract. Anything that was lost or damaged had to be paid back.
Chen Mo didn't need to pay rent or any other fees for using it, and didn't have to worry about the utility bills, either; everything was covered by the organisers.
However, this didn't mean Chen Mo could stay there indefinitely, there was a quota!
The games that Chen Mo released must hit a certain threshold, otherwise the rights to the experience store would be revoked.
Moreover, the profit target wasn't a constant amount, but increased over time.
The experience store was basically an investment by the organizers. If the champion designer was able to keep a high standard on a game, the organizers would continue allowing them to use the experience store, just giving and taking. If the video game designer wasn't able to maintain their standards, the experience store would be repossessed.
Chen Mo thought that wasn't bad. At least they weren't after cash. In addition, Chen Mo didn't even entertain the thought of not being able to hit the target.
In this world, in terms of profitability of the game, if Chen Mo claimed himself to be number two, nobody was willing to claim first place!
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After leaving the train station, Chen Mo headed back to his old house.
After working for the whole afternoon, it was dark. Chen Mo went to a nearby restaurant to grab some food, and went back home to pack afterwards.
As he didn't own any big pieces of furniture and didn't own much in general, everything he owned fit in four large cardboard boxes. After booking a van online, Chen Mo laid down to get some rest.