After a simple conversation, Qin Miao sat in the driver's seat of the machine under the boss's guidance.
But it wasn't over yet. After Qin Miao sat down, the boss circled around him several times, adjusting the pedal position and the steering wheel position.
It took about five minutes to get everything ready.
At this point, Qin Miao was tightly locked in the seat by a five-point safety belt, unable to move his body at all, with a VR headset on his head. All the sensations matched Qin Miao's imagination of a professional racer in competition.
Since he was wearing the VR headset, Qin Miao couldn't see the data and buttons on the steering wheel in front of him, so the boss would change the corresponding steering wheel according to the game Qin Miao wanted to play.
Although the boss couldn't find the exact model of the steering wheel for every game, he had similar-shaped and functional steering wheels available.
Qin Miao was truly happy now. He estimated that the realism of the equipment could reach at least sixty-five percent, and he only needed to run a few laps to increase his proficiency on the Spa circuit.
After the boss helped select a GT3 racing steering wheel, Qin Miao asked him to launch Assetto Corsa Competizione.
Though the game had just been released recently, a boss running a racing simulator store would certainly be someone knowledgable about racing games, so the game was naturally available in the store.
Looking gratefully at Qimeng, who was below looking up at him, Qin Miao smiled and gave a thumbs up before pulling down the VR helmet to enter the game.
And Qimeng didn't feel any discomfort from Qin Miao focusing only on what's in front of him. She was even somewhat comforted and expectant, curious about how far Qin Miao could grow with her help.
"Come over here."
Just as Qimeng was still watching Qin Miao with emotion, the boss's voice brought her back.
"Even though we're on a concrete floor, and it's impossible for this machine to flip over, standing this close you might still get hit when he takes high-speed turns."
"Oh, okay."
The boss led Qimeng to a rest area in front of Qin Miao's machine, where she could directly watch Qin Miao racing, plus there was a big screen displaying what Qin Miao was seeing in VR.
"Your boyfriend?" The boss handed Qimeng an unopened bottle of mineral water and asked.
Qimeng nodded but didn't drink.
The boss was a bit surprised: "Usually, the ones who come to our store are all guys. You guys are the first couple to come here."
"Don't girls usually come here to play?" Qimeng asked curiously.
The boss laughed and said: "My store's location is out of the way, plus the business model is quite fixed, just racing simulators. This niche is small in China, not many guys play, let alone girls."
Qimeng nodded and then asked: "Do many people usually come here to play?"
The boss smiled freely and shook his head: "Frankly, not many people come to play here normally, and those who do are curious about experiencing my equipment. Basically, those who know how to drive or are good at simulators don't come here."
"Then why open such a store?" Qimeng was surprised, "Isn't it always a loss?"
The boss nonchalantly said: "It doesn't matter, I don't miss the money this store loses anyway. I opened this store purely because sometimes I want to play, but I feel it's a bit lonely playing alone. So I opened a store, and when I want to play simulators, I can play in the store."
Qimeng felt envious: "You have economic freedom, so you live entirely the way you want."
Meanwhile, while Qimeng and the boss were chatting idly, Qin Miao felt somewhat skeptical about life being jolted by the simulator.
He used to feel about the same driving at home, without needing to consider other factors, with the only strong feedback being the torque from the direct-drive steering wheel, repeating to achieve his fastest possible lap.
But now, in the G-force seat, Qin Miao was initially quite fascinated, yet when he started lapping as he did before, he realized the curb held immense malice for racers.
That thing is uneven, and when Qin Miao drove over it, the entire seat vibrated finely, combined with the tilt of the racing seat while cornering, Qin Miao for a moment truly thought he was sitting in a Porsche 911GT3 speeding on the track.
Those unfamiliar with G-force seats might think that when the car body tilts during turns, the physical sensation is just feeling yourself leaning in the direction of the tilt.
But actually, when you're in a G-force seat, you're firmly locked in the seat, and then this tilt changes the direction of gravity pressing on you.
With the VR headset on your head and subtle vibrations from the G-force seat below, everything tells you you're driving a real car.
This change in gravity can simulate some G-forces you experience driving, and Qin Miao, having driven go-karts, knows this well.
Qin Miao, after all, is just an esports racer. He might handle many corners well using only a steering wheel on a computer, but now in an environment with much more information, even if he knows how to run the track in his mind, too many distractions prevent him from unleashing his true skill.
However, sometimes you have to admire Qin Miao's adaptability; in less than six laps, he began to gradually get used to this feeling, and his results started to show a noticeable improvement.
...
[Ding!]
[Practice lap completed, Track Proficiency +0.7]
[Current Spa Circuit Proficiency: 92.5]
[Simulator Realism: 70%, Proficiency gained is (1*0.7)]
After finishing a lap, Qin Miao was quite satisfied with the gains from this lap, at least stronger than the 0.12 proficiency from the hotel lap.
If he keeps running, Qin Miao will soon max out proficiency on the Spa circuit.
Qin Miao's idea was simple, to reach 100 proficiency on the Spa circuit, then log off, because after all, he came out to have fun, he can't just enjoy himself, he also needs to take care of Qimeng.
Plus, Qin Miao's budget for racing is ample, with 600,000 right there. If he wants to continue experiencing this feeling, he can just buy this equipment when he gets home.
Thinking like this, Qin Miao started to work hard on lap times, finding it somewhat difficult but enjoying it immensely.
With a goal in mind and not wanting to waste too much time, Qin Miao focused solely on grinding lap times on the Spa map.
Soon, in about an hour, Qin Miao completed 11 standard practice laps, reaching 100.2 proficiency on the Spa circuit.
Just as Qin Miao finished his goal and was about to exit the simulator, the system's sudden alert distracted Qin Miao's attention.
[Ding]
[Congratulations to the host for reaching 100 proficiency on the FIA-certified Grade 1 track: Spa-Francorchamps Circuit]
[Achievement: Spa Regular (completed)]
[Reward: Purple Lottery *1]
When Qin Miao saw this message, he was stunned for a moment, and then when he saw the reward was a Purple Lottery, he became completely excited.
Looks like he's hitting the jackpot!