7:00 AM the next morning.
Not long after the "clang, clang, clang" of the blacksmith shop began, Wayne stood at the entrance of the net cafe to unlock the door.
Tess, who was still lying on her floor bed, was woken up by the sound of the bells. She opened her eyes in disbelief:
"Boss, what's wrong with you? Don't you usually sleep until the sun burns your backside?"
"I can't sleep. I've been dreaming about customers. Come and help." Wayne placed a new set of goggles on the counter, then carried a screen inside. There was also a chair waiting outside.
Seeing that there was actual work to be done, Tess sat up. While putting on her clothes, she grumbled, "What a hard life. The boss is mistreating child labor, not even letting me sleep..."
While hanging the screen on the wall, Wayne said, "You can sleep if you want. This new set is for you anyway. If you don't want to play, just go back to sleep..."
Tess quickly pushed the chair in: "I want to play, I want to play!"
Wayne mounted the screen and debugged it. Under the influence of "Skynet," the equipment required no electricity and connected to the network automatically. The setup was seamless and incredibly convenient.
Tess couldn't wait to put on the goggles: "Where's the new game?"
Wayne took them off her head: "Go brush your teeth and wash your face!"
A moment later, Tess returned from washing up and asked again: "Where's the new game?"
By this time, Wayne was already drinking Coke and eating popcorn while watching Harry Potter: "We have to wait until noon. It'll only appear after we get customers."
He had calculated his finances in the cellar last night. He originally had a surplus of 214 gold, and the Old Wolf King had given him five 100-gold banknotes, totaling 714 gold.
The net cafe currently had seven sets of equipment. He needed to spend 750 gold to buy three more to satisfy the vending machine's mission.
750 minus 714 left a gap of 36 gold.
Considering expenses for food and Coke, he needed another gold or two, but this amount could be earned in a single day.
Consequently, he had spent 500 gold to buy two sets. However, the current room could only hold a maximum of eight chairs and eight screens, and it was already getting cramped. He left one set in the cellar and installed the other in the cafe.
The mission stated he needed to expand to ten sets, but it didn't specify that they all had to be in operation.
Fortunately, these were high-tech virtual reality devices. If this were a traditional net cafe requiring computer desks, towers, and sofas, the space would be even less sufficient.
The two of them watched movies from early morning until noon.
Tess finished watching the first Harry Potter film. As a Rogue, her interest in the plot was much greater than in magic. Furthermore, the trio in the first film was close to her age, and Harry's background as an outsider resonated with her.
Wayne, on the other hand, carefully finished the second film, timing it to end at exactly 11:55 AM.
In the plot, Harry faced the version of Voldemort preserved in the diary.
At the critical moment, Harry drew the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat—a weapon that could only be held temporarily by someone with the right qualities. He killed the Great Basilisk and used its venomous fang to destroy Voldemort's diary, which was one of the seven Horcruxes Voldemort used to achieve immortality.
It was Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Fawkes, who brought the Sorting Hat to Harry and blinded the Basilisk.
Wayne also learned a powerful spell in the second film: Obliviate. This spell could unknowingly erase specific memories or even an entire person's memory.
In the world of Harry Potter, this spell was most commonly used by Memory Obliviators from the Ministry of Magic to erase magical events witnessed by ordinary people, keeping the wizarding world a secret.
In the movie, through a series of accidents, the fraudulent Professor Lockhart accidentally cast this spell on himself, losing most of his memories and even forgetting who he was. However, based on the actual casting process, the more memories one wishes to erase, the longer the caster needs to maintain the incantation.
It wasn't as simple as a wave of the hand to make someone forget everything and become a fool.
Since viewers cannot substantially affect the characters in the plot, Wayne didn't have the chance to train this spell within the movie this time.
But clearly, he had more important things to do today.
At 11:55 AM, he walked to the door. The Westbrook quartet, who had been waiting for a short while, were stunned.
Verdan: "Exactly! I was just about to go to your room to shout for you to wake up. I didn't expect you were already playing."
Wayne held out his hand: "Come on, pay up quickly. Once you've paid, go inside and find a seat."
Each of the four men took out 8 gold coins and pressed them into Wayne's hand.
"Wait." Wayne looked at the four of them.
Hicks: "What? This is 32 gold coins total. It's the right amount."
Wayne: "Why are there only four of you today? Where's Deputy Commander Rainier?"
Hudson explained: "A transport convoy is passing through Westbrook Garrison today. It's some weapons and equipment from the Blacksmith Guild in the city intended for the People's Militia in Westfall. Rainier needs to escort them through his jurisdiction until they cross the Nazferiti River and enter Westfall territory."
Wayne: "You didn't have to go?"
Hudson patted Wayne on the shoulder while the other three entered the cafe: "Dughan sent a team, and Rainier brought two teams. They are fully armed, taking the main road, and there are Gryphon sentries overhead. The Gnolls and Defias bandits won't risk a suicidal attack."
"As for us... we still need to prepare for Hogger. You know, time is running out."
Wayne looked at the gold coins in his hand, feeling a bit awkward.
The original gap was 36 gold. He had opened a bottle of Coke this morning, so it became 37. Yet today, only four people had arrived. Counting the 32 gold he just received, he was still short 5 gold. Rainier, whom he expected to show up, hadn't come.
He was just one customer away from being able to buy the tenth set and unlock the new game. He looked down the street, but there was no sign of a fifth person.
No way. Is the net cafe not going to be full today?!
Do I have to wait another day?!
Dughan, or the people from Northshire—anyone would do!
Just then, a familiar figure stepped out from the inn across the street, waving with a smile at the distressed Wayne.
In that instant, it felt as if the whole world had returned to spring. Wayne felt that the withered flowers of autumn had bloomed again, the autumn wind became sweet, and the cool temperature turned into a warm embrace. The world became incredibly beautiful!
The person waving at him wasn't just the number one beauty of the Mage District; she was the number one goddess of Azeroth!
As the clock struck 12:00, he shouted to the two who had just arrived and the five already seated inside: "Wait for me! There's going to be a new game immediately!"
With that, he ran excitedly into his room and dove into the cellar. He set aside 16 gold coins and dumped the remaining 250 gold into the vacuum-like coin slot, purchasing the tenth set of equipment!
The vending machine's screen lit up:
[Mission 4: Expand the net cafe scale to 10 sets]
[Mission Completed]
[Mission Reward: Game Unlocked: Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia]
FUCK YEAH!!!