Monster Escape Room Re-Employment Chapter 4

Reorganizing the Workplace!

“Hiss… that hurts, your desks are really hard.”

Inside the office, Jiang Lingyi sat at the workstation, holding up his reddened palm for Lou Xian to see.

“I thought they were going to pounce on me and tear me to shreds.”

“They can’t touch you while I’m here.”

Jiang Lingyi mumbled, “Anyway, I didn’t come here to play house with them.”

Lou Xian placed his hand over Jiang Lingyi’s. A minty coolness spread from the point of contact across his entire palm. A few seconds later, the stinging sensation completely vanished.

Jiang Lingyi took the opportunity to catch hold of him, his five fingers deftly sliding into the gaps between Lou Xian’s, interlocking their hands.

“You should conserve your energy; the pain will go away soon enough.”

“I’m taking it directly from you,” Lou Xian withdrew his hand and went to the nearby bookshelf to look for documents.

Jiang Lingyi propped up his head, his gaze following him. “I just made your employees so angry, you won’t blame me, right?”

“You know the answer.”

“Realistically, forget five thousand people, even half that would be good. November has no holidays or summer/winter breaks, Halloween just passed, and there’s even the Double Eleven shopping event diverting customers. People prioritize shopping over entertainment. There isn’t a single favorable condition.”

“Then why did you say…”

“To motivate them, of course. I don’t want to give up hope, and you must feel the same way, which is why you wouldn’t come to me unless absolutely necessary, right?”

Jiang Lingyi wished Lou Xian would rely on him a little more, but then he wouldn’t be Lou Xian.

“The operating license, fire safety, escape room blueprints, and other related documents are all here.” Lou Xian placed a stack of folders on the manager’s desk. “There are also some files on the computer. I don’t think anything is missing.”

“Alright.” Jiang Lingyi picked up the topmost folder, preparing to enter work mode. The tasks ahead were predictably mountainous, and time was running out for this establishment. The sooner he understood the situation, the sooner he could draft countermeasures.

Lou Xian hesitated for a moment. “Thank you.”

“Huh? For what?”

“You don’t need to feel responsible. I am still the owner of this establishment, and I will pay you market rate for your salary.”

“Minimum wage is fine. I’m only helping for one month.” It would be even better if there were other ways to compensate him.

“I’ll go check on everyone. I won’t disturb you.” Lou Xian quietly closed the door.

Jiang Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief. With Lou Xian nearby, he couldn’t concentrate on work at all; he hadn’t absorbed a single word.

Phantom currently has 32 employees on staff. Nine are local ghosts, mostly Wandering Spirits. Twenty-one came with Lou Xian from the other world, including Western, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai styles. What kind of system does their world even have?

Human employees… two people: the front desk attendant and the mechanical repair master. And the repair master doesn’t even come in every day, only dropping by once a week. The ghost employees don’t value RMB-denominated wages; their employment cost is lower than the mandated minimum standard, and there’s no need to pay social insurance. They only require sufficient vital energy absorption. The monetary expenditure is greatly reduced, barely covering the rent for the premises.

However… Manager Wu Yunying is too ruthless! Knowing the geomancy was problematic, he still charged the normal commercial rate! Perhaps he saw Lou Xian and the others’ attachment to this location and dared to raise the price. That old fox, Jiang Lingyi cursed him silently again.

There are currently about ten escape rooms open, which is frankly excessive given the dismal customer traffic. Jiang Lingyi decided to cut them down to four or five, prioritizing the best ones. Employees would be reassigned to other teams or put on rotation. Those who couldn’t be placed would have to find their own way to work elsewhere and experience some of the hardship their Lord Lou Xian endured. After all, Jiang Lingyi wasn’t a devil, and he absolutely had no intention of using his position for personal revenge.

Next was operational adjustment, which was easy to deal with. As soon as Jiang Lingyi opened the door, he saw several shadowy figures plastered against the walls and ceiling, fleeing into the crack of the break room door. He found it somewhat amusing.

Stepping inside, he saw everyone surrounding Lou Xian, some expressing grievances, others complaining, but the initial atmosphere of gloom and despondency was gone. It seemed the boss’s motivational talk was progressing smoothly, and they tentatively acknowledged Jiang Lingyi as the (acting) manager.

Jiang Lingyi stepped onto the podium and straightened his tie. “Starting today, we have several new operational measures.”

“One, operating hours are extended until midnight.”

The break room immediately erupted in a chorus of complaints.

Jiang Lingyi remained expressionless. “Two, public holidays are canceled. Everyone must work.”

A forest of international friendly gestures rose from the audience.

“Three, we are cutting down the number of escape rooms, keeping only four themes. The single ticket price will be adjusted to twenty percent of the original.”

Jiang Lingyi thought this measure would be the most easily accepted, as the ghost employees didn’t prioritize monetary income.

“I object!”

A vampire popped up from the crowd.

“Reason.”

The vampire argued passionately, “The original price was 200. Twenty percent is 40 yuan! That’s not even enough to hire Yuki-chan for an hour of companionship! Are you trying to ruin our lives?”

Jiang Lingyi recalled that this fellow was one of the few whose salary structure had a higher proportion of RMB than vital energy. He had assumed it was used to buy blood packs or eat spicy duck blood, but it turned out he was spending it on companionship at a maid café.

He decisively ignored him. “Four, I will reassign members of the functional teams. Unless there is a special reason, you must comply with the adjustments.”

“I object!”

Another person stood up—the Bandage Guy who had first caused trouble earlier.

“Objection overruled.”

“Lord Lou Xian, say something!” Bandage Guy pleaded, looking at the composed boss sitting calmly on the nearby chair.

“The establishment has been fully entrusted to Mr. Jiang’s management. I will comply with all his arrangements, and you must do the same.”

With the boss speaking, the others understood that the matter was settled and began to console the vampire and Bandage Guy.

“Oh well, I can play with you instead.”

“If we don’t have money, you just won’t see Yuki temporarily. If we don’t have customers, you’ll never see her again!”

“I think the (acting) manager makes sense. Now is not the time to be picky.”

“Ah, this strong-willed approach… I’m kind of into it…”

Amidst the noise, Jiang Lingyi announced, “The employee meeting is adjourned. The leader of the Actor Team, stay behind.”

The functional teams are currently divided into the Actor Team, Operations Team, and Logistics Team. Fortunately, the leader of the Actor Team is Ripper Woman. She has always been relatively supportive of Jiang Lingyi’s side, and her professional skills are excellent, making her a reliable employee.

Lou Xian understood Jiang Lingyi’s intention. “Ripper Woman, take him through all the escape rooms and see which themes should be kept.”

“Yes, Lord Lou Xian.”

“You come too,” Jiang Lingyi said.

“I have other things to attend to.”

“Alright.” Jiang Lingyi felt a little disappointed but quickly hid his emotions.

After Lou Xian left, Jiang Lingyi and Ripper Woman toured the various escape rooms, occasionally noting points for improvement. She answered all his questions in detail, and he was practically moved to tears.

“Oh, I have one more question,” Jiang Lingyi said. “The documents state that Phantom occupies an area of over three hundred square meters. How is it possible to run ten or so escape rooms, all of which feel quite large?”

“It is the Spatial Illusion Technique deployed by Lord Lou Xian.”

“That sounds very impressive…”

“It is,” Ripper Woman said proudly. “Even in our homeland, few people can simultaneously deploy so many flawless Spatial Illusion Techniques, especially in this foreign world where energy consumption is accelerated.”

“Then he must be working very hard?”

“Lord Lou Xian’s power is difficult for even us subordinates to estimate.” She was also worried. “I’m not boasting, but in our homeland, our magical power levels were exceptional, allowing us to transform freely. Since coming here, let alone changing forms, just surviving is difficult. We can’t even tell if Lord Lou Xian is pushing himself too hard.”

Only the person drinking the water knows if it is cold or warm. That must be it. Jiang Lingyi felt that even if he asked Lou Xian, the other party wouldn’t be honest.

All he hoped for was that Lou Xian wouldn’t disappear from this world.

“I heard the manager knew Lord Lou Xian before,” Ripper Woman said earnestly. “Everyone here follows Lord Lou Xian willingly… We don’t want to disappoint him.”

“You can be strict with the Actor Team. I will ensure they are trained to deliver the best performance for the guests.”

The themes ultimately retained were Horror Hospital, Lucky Girls’ High, Pink Secrets, and a three-in-one modified version combining Evil God Sacrifice, Buried Alive, and Red Wedding Dress, tentatively named Mountain Village Wedding Feast. Reducing the number of themes would also lessen the burden on Lou Xian of maintaining the Spatial Illusion Technique.

Jiang Lingyi knew that Phantom’s only advantage was its realistic NPCs, offering great potential for terror. But good wine also fears deep alleys; marketing and promotion must be the first step. He instructed Ripper Woman to independently design improvements to the escape room content based on the notes he had taken and asked a Wandering Spirit to summon the leader of the Operations Team.

“Hi~ Manager!” A guy in a white tailcoat, white top hat, and white hair—all white, in short—slid in. With a pair of curved, squinting eyes, he sat casually on Jiang Lingyi’s desk, supporting himself with his hands. His ten long, black fingernails looked like claws. “Manager, what exactly is your relationship with the boss~~ We’re so gossipy!”

“Is White Impermanence adopting a modern style now?”

“Gotta keep up with the times!” White Impermanence tossed his head dramatically. “I’m not like Old Black, that stubborn mule. What can I do for you, Manager?”

“Hmm, I wanted to discuss the promotion plan with you. We need to place ads and free trial vouchers on review apps, as well as social media pushes and promotional short videos. Also, the staff responsible for greeting guests at the front desk and in the lobby need to be replaced.” The front desk attendant with the naturally stone-cold face had already been unknowingly transferred to the Actor Team.

“What do you think is our biggest selling point?” Jiang Lingyi posed the crucial question.

“Well… naturally, handsome guys like me!” With a foot-long, bright red tongue hanging out, White Impermanence struck a seductive pose on the desk.

…

…………

………………

“I apologize.” White Impermanence bowed his head in apology.

Jiang Lingyi rubbed his forehead. “No, let’s film various types of videos.”

“What about equipment? Photography? Editing? Post-production?” White Impermanence pressed him with questions, leaning closer with each word, his black-rimmed, white eyes rolling in front of Jiang Lingyi’s face.

“Figure it out yourself.”

“But I wanted to use the Pink Secrets set to film a horror micro-movie featuring the boss, with a bit of soft eroticism.”

“Excellent plan. I’ll pay for it.” Jiang Lingyi immediately agreed. “Bring it to me for review after you finish filming.”