"You've finally come around, thank heavens I didn't give up..."
A song began to play in Mag's mind. It was a system-version remix, so it was tinged with an abundance of resentment.
"System, I'm not buying anything ever again if you play music with that surround-sound system of yours again." Mag furrowed his brows and expressed his displeasure toward the sound wave attacks being directed at him.
"I'm just trying to express the excitement in my heart. Don't you humans also like to hum and sing when you're in a good mood? How can you rob the system of its freedom like this?" The system delivered a stern retort.
"Alright, then I'm not going to upgrade the restaurant." Mag pursed his lips.
"You were right! Such a heinous method of expressing joy must be nipped in the bud!" The background music immediately stopped, and in a fawning tone, the system said, "Let's discuss the restaurant upgrade now. You have enough points to upgrade the restaurant to level two, after which you'll unlock many rights. At the same time, the restaurant will also undergo some renovation, so please confirm that you would like to go ahead with the upgrade."
A restaurant upgrade contract suddenly appeared in Mag's mind, and he read through it carefully from start to finish. It was just an ordinary contract with no traps or anything like that, nor did it specify the rights that would be unlocked following the upgrade. Thus, he pressed the "confirm" button on the lower right corner with his mind.
"Ding! The restaurant upgrade has been successfully confirmed!
"Ding! 50,000 points have been successfully deducted!
"Ding! Restaurant is undergoing renovation, which will require three minutes. During this period of time, please do not go down to the first floor of the restaurant!"
System notifications rang out one after another, following which some sounds began to erupt downstairs.
"By the way, system, while you're doing that, can you transform that room on the second floor into a miniature children's playground?" Mag asked internally. That room was empty anyway, so if he could transform it into a playground, then Amy and Ugly Duckling would be able to have a lot of fun.
"The upgrade package does not include this option." The system offered a stern rejection before continuing, "Also, please remember that the system is a cuisine system, not a construction contractor. Please do not insult the system by asking it to build a children's playground; that is unacceptable!"
"Just state your price!" Mag rolled his eyes. He had heard similar words being spoken by the system countless times before.
"Well..." As expected, the system immediately began to hesitate once money was mentioned.
"1,000 gold coins," Mag offered.
"Deal!" the system immediately replied.
"There's a good system." Mag pursed his lips before shaking his head as he said, "You may agree to this price, but I don't; it's too expensive!"
"We can negotiate on the price, and calculate production costs based on your requirements. The system's manufacturing quality is guaranteed to be of an extremely high standard, and every single copper coin that you pay will be well worth the price. The objective is to build a playground for the little princess in a limited space so she can have a fun and enjoyable childhood," the system urged.
"Show me the concept design first," Mag requested. 1,000 gold coins was 100,000 copper
coins. Business was quite good for the restaurant at the moment, but that was still a large sum of money, and he couldn't afford to let it go to waste.
"Ding! The indoor playground concept designs have been transmitted. You may view it at any time." The system's voice immediately sounded.
Mag looked at the concept designs that had appeared in his mind, only to find that the prices started at 500 gold coins before gradually increasing, all the way to 10,000 and even 1,000,000 gold coins.
Mag began to flip through the designs one by one. The 500 gold coin playground was quite similar to the indoor playground of the modern day. The place was decorated with a cartoon wallpaper, and within it was a trampoline, a seesaw, a wooden horse... The entire room was littered with all types of toys, and there were many options, but it reminded him of a low-level playground that one could purchase a daily ticket to access for 10 yuan.
He continued to flip through the options, and the 1,000 gold coin playground appeared to be a much more attractive option. There were many themes to choose from such as underwater world, purple dream kingdom... Not only were these themes reflected by the wallpaper, the toys had also received an upgrade. There was a miniature two-person merry-go-round in the corner, a cartoon dance machine, an electronic wooden horse... The whole thing appeared to be very high-tech.
This one's not bad. For a room of this size, a playground of this level should be the limit. If any larger toys are crammed in, there wouldn't be enough space. Mag was quite pleased with the concept design for the purple dream kingdom. However, he was curious about the more expensive options, so he continued to flip through the catalog, and his expression gradually became more and more peculiar.
The 10,000 gold coin playground essentially had the scale of an outdoor playground, with all types of large playground facilities. As for the 1,000,000 gold coin playground, it was pretty much the same scale as Disneyland. There were all types of themed sections, and it was clearly something that such a small room couldn't contain.
Furthermore, according to the system's introduction, some of the sections had super high-tech features, such as ultra-realistic space simulation, galactic tour simulations, black hole simulations, magic battle simulations... Even Mag was getting tempted by those features.
If I build a playground for 1,000,000 gold coins, then sell tickets for entry, would I be able to earn money that way? Mag thought to himself as he looked at the concept design, but he quickly shook his head to rid himself of that thought. 1,000,000 gold coins was a massive amount, and even if he were to sell tickets, he most likely wouldn't be able to break even after many years. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that kids would come to play.
Most importantly, if he used 1,000,000 gold coins to purchase strength points, he would most likely be close to returning to his peak. In comparison to building a playground, regaining his former strength was clearly far more important.
Of course, if someone could invest in this project, then it wasn't a bad idea. In any case, it would be fine as long as he wasn't the one putting in the money.
"System, can you quote a lower price for this purple dream kingdom?" Mag asked internally. That one was clearly the most suitable design.
"The prices listed are already the cost price, and the system can ensure brilliant quality of all designs. These prices are already a massive bargain, so what are you waiting for?" The system gave an earnest response.
"500 gold coins," Mag immediately offered.
A string of ellipses rolled through his mind, after which the system roared, "Who barters like that?!"
"Doesn't bartering always start at half price?" Mag asked.
The system fell silent.
"That's all the money I have. If you can do it, great; if not, I can just take them outside to play. The outside world is far more spectacular anyway." Mag stood up, and prepared to walk out of the room. The three-minute renovation period was almost up, and he wanted to check what changes had been made.
"Please wait! Can you maybe add a bit more to that price?" The system's voice sounded.