Running escape rooms in the Interstellar Era

Tong Yu transmigrates into the body of a man who has just attempted suicide, waking up to immediate hostility from his father and a cold, handsome husband named Sheng Jing who is demanding a divorce. Tong Yu quickly deduces that he has landed in an interstellar era on a planet called Shui Lan Star, where humanity survives through the use of spiritual power. He learns that his new body is a contractor bound by a spiritual contract to Sheng Jing, an awakened individual with dangerously unstable spiritual power. The contract is a lifeline for both: Sheng Jing needs Tong Yu to regulate his chaotic spiritual sea, while Tong Yu, possessing a damaged spiritual sea from forced awakening, relies on Sheng Jing’s power to survive. The original owner had broken this contract through suicide, forcing Sheng Jing to re-establish it to save Tong Yu’s life, creating a debt of gratitude that Tong Yu is unaware of. The family pressures Tong Yu to endure the marriage for one year before the divorce can proceed without legal or spiritual repercussions.

Adapting to his new reality, Tong Yu discovers that the Interstellar Era suffers from a cultural collapse following an alien invasion, causing ancient Earth traditions and entertainment to be lost. Realizing he has no income and is entirely dependent on Sheng Jing’s funds, Tong Yu decides to open a business in the virtual world. After researching profitable ventures, he identifies a market for high spiritual power consumption, which is achieved through intense emotional stimulation like fear. Leveraging his past life experience as an NPC in escape rooms on Earth, Tong Yu designs a horror-themed virtual escape room called "The Ghost Bride." He constructs the venue using his limited spiritual power, occasionally drawing from Sheng Jing’s reserves through their contract, which inadvertently helps stabilize Sheng Jing’s spiritual sea during his work sessions.

Upon completing the escape room, Tong Yu invites a group of friends, including a stinky tofu vendor named Zhang Huai, to test the game. The experience is a resounding success; the players are terrified and consume massive amounts of spiritual power, far exceeding the levels generated by existing combat games. The group realizes the commercial potential of the escape room, suggesting a pricing model and live-streaming strategy to maximize revenue. Tong Yu learns that the horror genre is uniquely valuable in this era because it efficiently drains spiritual power, a scarce resource for awakened individuals. He sets the ticket price at ten thousand star coins and begins planning a live stream to attract a wider audience.

The story takes a significant turn when Tong Yu agrees to let a friend of Zhang Huai’s play the escape room to help relieve that friend’s A-level mech warrior partner’s spiritual instability. This interaction highlights the severe physical toll the spiritual contract takes on both parties. Meanwhile, Sheng Jing, who has been distant and resentful due to the original owner’s past manipulative behavior, begins to notice changes in Tong Yu. Unlike the previous contractor who used emotional blackmail, Tong Yu approaches their relationship with a detached, business-like attitude, focusing on his escape room venture rather than demanding affection. Sheng Jing’s spiritual stability improves unexpectedly after Tong Yu’s intense construction sessions, leading to a shift in his perception of the contract.

As Tong Yu’s escape room gains popularity, he becomes financially independent within the virtual world, reducing his reliance on Sheng Jing’s allowance. The narrative establishes a new dynamic between the two husbands: Tong Yu is no longer the desperate, clingy spouse of the past but a pragmatic entrepreneur navigating a foreign world. The core conflict remains the impending divorce, but the nature of their interactions begins to change as Tong Yu’s competence and indifference challenge Sheng Jing’s assumptions. The story sets the stage for Tong Yu to build a successful business empire while slowly unraveling the mysteries of his transmigration and the true history of the spiritual contract system.