It's just that they have money.

His impression of gyms was that they were just selling memberships and classes, with poor service and a bad reputation, but to escalate it to the level of fraud, isn't that a bit much?

"Boss, think about it, what's the business model of a gym? Pre-sales. Annual memberships, three-year memberships, lifetime memberships—they collect tens of thousands of yuan upfront, then provide services in installments. The problem is, they're collecting money from the future, but spending money from the present."

This explanation makes perfect sense to Fang Chen.

First, open a flagship store to quickly gather funds before opening branch stores.

Gyms usually don't need major renovations; they're often just bare shells.

Even for high-end gyms, the initial investment is negligible compared to the hefty fees charged for a yearly or even lifetime membership.

Unlike Fang Chen, who often buys the most expensive personal training sessions right from the start, even the cheapest annual membership costs 36,000 yuan.

One hundred basic members can generate 3.6 million yuan.

Moreover, gym equipment can be reused, so the real expenses are only rent and staff costs.

Once a gym has drained the surrounding area of ​​resources, it can simply declare itself closed down, but it will still announce that you can exercise at the main branch, which is perfectly legal.

A simple calculation reveals that the profits are outrageous.

"No wonder nine out of ten gyms have gone out of business, what about Luo Shanshan and her group..."

"Coaches are usually the last to know, and they may not even find out they've lost their jobs until the day the business closes."

Fang Chen fell silent.

Luo Shanshan was not unaware that this store had problems.

She had no choice.

"I see."

Fang Chen replied to Xu Wen with one sentence and said nothing more.

If given the chance, he would help Luo Shanshan.

But opening a gym is clearly not a good opportunity.

Tuesday evening, in the airport waiting area.

Zhang Zhenghao was wearing a slightly worn windbreaker and carrying a faded backpack. His hair was neater than usual, but he still had a stubble on his chin.

Fang Chen looked him up and down: "You call this a business trip?"

"It's not like I'm going to do business; I'm on vacation," Zhang Zhenghao said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I'm just a matchmaker. You guys do the talking, and I'll just sit back and watch."

"Okay, I'll treat you to something nice when I get back."

"It can't be like last time, expensive and terrible!"

"I'll go clear the mines first, then I'll ask you to come!"

"Okay."

The two joked around for a while, and with an hour or so before boarding, there was really nothing to do.

Xu Wen is currently handling the data that needs to be organized.

Fang Chen leaned back in his chair, took out his phone, and scrolled through it aimlessly.

He accidentally clicked on a GG (Goblin) post, which redirected him to a mini-game called "Ask the Way Little Qian".

Since he had nothing better to do, Fang Chen tried playing some games to pass the time.

Upon opening it, the art style was so rudimentary that it seemed like something from ten years ago, and the gameplay was also simple.

Control a little character to jump left and right, collect coins, dodge obstacles, and fight monsters. Each level you pass increases your combat power by one point.

"What the hell?" Fang Chen muttered, but his fingers didn't stop.

Zhang Zhenghao leaned over for a look: "How old are you to still be playing this?"

"boring."

Fang Chen played for ten minutes and found that the game's strategy was very simple.

Early stages are easy to pass, but mid-stages become difficult due to combat power limitations. To progress, you either need to wait for time to accumulate resources or spend money.

First recharge of 6 RMB, get a free purple weapon.

Fang Chen clicked "recharge".

The little character on the screen immediately upgraded his weapon, doubling his attack power, and cleared the level that had been stuck for two minutes in one hit.

"Oh."

After playing for another ten minutes, I ran out of purple weapons.

A pop-up window appears: Limited-time offer, get a legendary weapon chest for 30 yuan.

Fang Chen ordered again.

The treasure chest yielded a golden weapon, boosting my combat power and allowing me to clear five levels in a row.

After passing a few more levels, another pop-up window appeared.

A super value gift pack for 98 yuan, including a rare mount and 1888 diamonds.

Fang Chen nodded.

After passing a few more levels, a pop-up window appears: Limited-time Divine Beast, 648 yuan, combat power +300%.

Fang Chen paused for a moment.

I glanced at my combat power ranking and saw that I had jumped from outside the top 100,000 to the top 5,000.

Zhang Zhenghao, watching from the side, frowned: "You're not getting carried away, are you?"

"It's only a few hundred yuan."

Fang Chen ignored him and continued playing.

For the next twenty minutes, Fang Chen was like a man possessed, clicking on every pop-up window and buying every gift pack that appeared.

Golden light flashed across the screen, and the combat power numbers jumped up rapidly.

The ranking went from 5,000 to 1,000, from 1,000 to 100, and from 100 to the top ten.

He quickly rose to the top of the entire server.

[Congratulations! You have topped the power rankings and become number one in the entire server!]

"Damn." Fang Chen was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Zhenghao slumped in his chair, his expression contorted.

He did try to stop him, but after shouting several times without success, he let him go.

"How much did you top up?"

Fang Chen exited the recharge page and glanced at the transaction history.

"More than 20,000."

Fang Chen himself found it a bit funny.

More than 20,000 yuan, which used to be more than two months' salary for him, was spent in just over half an hour and a half, on a game that he would most likely never open again.

To be honest, that feeling of being number one is really addictive.

But now that I'm suddenly number one in the entire server, it feels rather dull.

Just as Fang Chen was about to close the game, an unknown number called.

"Hello, is Brother Chen taking you flying?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was that of a young man, polite but with a hint of urgency.

Fang Chen was stunned for a moment before he remembered that he had just randomly chosen this name in the game.

"it's me."

"Hello Chen-ge, I'm Zhou, the operations specialist for 'Wenlu Xiaoqian'. Congratulations on becoming the number one player on our server! I'd like to discuss with you whether you'd be interested in opening a dedicated server. We'll provide you with an independent gaming environment, free from other players' interference, allowing you to enjoy the smoothest gaming experience..."

"No need," Fang Chen interrupted him.

"What about dedicated customer service? We can arrange a one-on-one VIP customer service representative for you, who will respond to any questions at any time..."

"No need."

"Brother Chen, is there anything you're dissatisfied with about our service? We can..."

"It's not that I'm dissatisfied," Fang Chen said, "it's that I'm not playing anymore."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Zhang Zhenghao chuckled beside him.

The operations specialist, clearly unfamiliar with this situation, hesitated for two seconds before managing to squeeze out, "Okay, sorry to bother you. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further needs."

"It's kind of you to be working so late." Fang Chen added before hanging up the phone.

"You're so mean," Zhang Zhenghao teased from the side.

"Um?"

"What's wrong?"

"My number one ranking in the entire server has dropped."

"ha?"

[Congratulations to player Zhao Ge for topping the power rankings and becoming number one in the entire server!]

Fang Chen raised an eyebrow.

This is probably a provocation tactic used by the game's operators using zombie accounts.

He's about to board; who gets there first is no longer his concern.

Then, Fang Chen saw a provocative message on the world channel.

"This is my exclusive server. No matter how much you spend, I'll still be number one."

"..."

"What an idiot."