Chapter 470: Chapter 470

Thirty thousand isn’t much for Qi Deqiang.

He hesitated slightly, the temptation of making big money as an influencer crushing the remains of his rationality.

"Alright! Let’s give it a shot, maybe it’ll really take off!"

"Man, do you really think I’d lie to you? What do you mean maybe? It’s definitely gonna work! I’ll give you an account, just transfer the money over, and they’ll start customizing a script for you."

"Got it! Thanks, Brother Biao!"

Jiang Yuan upstairs was completely oblivious to what was happening downstairs, engrossed in his game. He initially started with the idea of working hard to trigger the Law of Cause and Effect, but once he started playing, he was genuinely hooked.

Actually, it wasn’t much different from other online games, but this one had a higher degree of freedom and combined various elements into different developmental paths.

If you like farming, you fight monsters to level up, earn money to buy land, and quietly grow flowers, veggies, and herbs for self-sufficiency;

If you like fighting, you can clear dungeons to upgrade your gear, and there’s even a dedicated PK area for players to enjoy, and you can help others level up;

If you enjoy horror, adventure, or solving puzzles, there are corresponding dungeons for you to clear;

There’s even the Immortal Clothing Workshop, where you can customize your avatar’s face and create various beautiful outfits. Many collectors worldwide are after limited edition and rare clothing sets, so it’s not too hard to find a direction to make money.

In the afternoon, he encountered a technical "brick-moving" player—a master at upgrading gear.

Jiang Yuan tried his hand at it and found that you needed experience and probability research to successfully upgrade equipment that could sell for a high price.

The boss provided a blank account, with only the necessary equipment to prevent being killed by minor monsters, and nothing else. To make money, he needed to find a way to raise some initial funds.

So, he thought of in-game purchases.

Game top-ups actually only cost a few hundred bucks, and the experience would be much better. Plus, the game didn’t require you to bind your account to a bank card—it was as simple as scanning a QR code to pay, very convenient.

But would experience gained from in-game purchases conflict with working hard to trigger the Law of Cause and Effect?

Logically, the harder you work, the quicker your boss goes bankrupt, right? Buying in-game currency pretending it was earned from hard work doesn’t fall under the category of working hard, does it?

With a slight hesitation, Jiang Yuan chose not to spend on the game, opting instead to mine, fight monsters, collect loot, and sell some gold to see where it got him.

Thus, he played until past eight in the evening, gotten about four hours of game time with a pretty good experience, and ended up with 250 gold from all his efforts. Chapters first released on novelꜰire.net

In this game, a million gold coins could only sell for four or five dollars. At first, you barely earned enough to make ends meet, and getting fully familiar with and thoroughly enjoying the game’s content made it even harder to earn a quick ten or twenty bucks.

"Forget it, it’s not much money anyway. Might as well top up and just play the game!" Jiang Yuan sneaked away from the cameras, scanned his phone to top up 698, and suddenly felt the bliss of a big spender.

He now had decent gear, weapons, mounts, and a hefty stack of gold coins in his inventory. He could go wherever he wanted, do whatever he liked.

After a good time playing till past ten, hunger and fatigue set in. As he stretched and thought about paying to work, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

But the game was really fun!

He’d probably download it later for a bit of leisure.

"Wanna grab a bite?" As more overnight customers showed up, Qi Deqiang started imagining the star-making company would transform him into a "heart of tiger, sniffs rose" kind of honest, kind-hearted, super influencer after transferring thirty thousand.

Feeling quite pleased with himself, he looked up and saw the new employee coming downstairs. He sold him the idea: "Our internet café has instant noodles, pancakes, stuffed egg pancakes, you name it. Eating here won’t disturb your work."

Even the comfiest gaming chair starts to feel uncomfortable after a while. Jiang Yuan waved his hand in refusal: "My classmate lives nearby. I’ll go there for dinner and sleep a bit; continue working in the morning. I’ve set my character to auto-farm, so I’ll be able to make some money in the morning."

"Well, it’s up to you." Qi Deqiang raised an eyebrow, and once the other left the café, vanishing into the night, he jumped up and rushed to the second floor.

Sure enough, the account given to the new employee already had a decent amount of money. The items requiring a lot of gold to purchase were set for farming, and though the returns weren’t high, it was better than nothing.

"Damn?! This kid’s got skills!" Seeing the new gear, weapons, mounts, items, and balance on the blank account, he immediately did some mental accounting.

The fact that so much was left implied he had at least gotten a decent weapon or gear and sold it, earning enough gold to buy things.

The game was fun, and there were plenty of wealthy bosses. There were also many wild bosses to farm, and if you got a rare drop, selling a premium item could easily net a few hundred bucks. So, maybe the new hire was a gaming pro; or maybe he just got super lucky.

As for top-ups—Qi Deqiang didn’t even consider it. Being broke enough to take up game hauling work and still have money to recharge? Must be out of their mind, right? If they had that money, why not just stay home and play?

"Making a few hundred bucks on the first day, he’s bound to work harder for higher commissions! It’s a shame he can only be hired for a month. Maybe I should find an excuse to delay his pay and make him stay a couple more months..."

He frowned, thinking about how to maximize his benefits. After all, spending thirty thousand so quietly today was quite painful, "Forget it, I’ll observe for a couple of days first. What if it’s just luck, and he doesn’t make as much tomorrow?"

Other brick-moving workers spend all their time at their "desks," ensuring they’re ready to keep grinding once they open their eyes. In comparison, that kid even went home to eat and sleep, wasting precious time.

Let’s see how much profit he can bring in a month before deciding whether to find a way to keep exploiting him.

"Getting paid to play games," having indulged enough in gaming, Jiang Yuan returned home, showered, and went straight to bed. The next morning, he purposely dug out his old college clothes, going for a "confirmed poor" vibe.

Sure enough, Qi Deqiang didn’t suspect a thing, and Jiang Yuan happily spent another day playing games, clocking out around five in the afternoon for a fishing trip with two old timers.

On the third day, just as Jiang Yuan stepped into the internet café in the morning, he heard Qi Deqiang on the phone, sighing deeply, "What should I do, Brother Biao? You know I’ve done time before! My record can’t be changed!"

"The company’s rising star influencer got exposed for serving time for assaulting a minor over a decade ago, and the trending topic’s only been taken down because the company paid for it. That influencer’s toast and won’t be making a comeback, so the company’s worried your record might surface too!"

"Mine was just for brawling, served a year, it’s not that serious, right?" Qi Deqiang was obviously lacking confidence, with a record hanging over him, he feared his past would be dug up. That’s why he initially bet heavily on creating a stark contrast image as a plain, honest man to wash clean his reputation.

But now, the promotional script wasn’t even ready, and he was stuck at his criminal record.

"We have a deep bond, Brother. I can’t just sit idly by without giving you a hand," Brother Biao sighed heavily, "Let me give you a tip—yours is just a minor case, find someone, spend a bit, and have your record hidden. As long as it’s not traceable online, it’s fine."

"Then even if those same-type influencer rivals of yours want to latch onto your mistake, they won’t find any leverage, right?"

Qi Deqiang widened his eyes, "You mean it can be hidden? Right, since it’s all electronic data, just tamper a bit, and it can’t be traced?"

But then he deflated again, "Brother, where would I find connections? You know I’ve not been doing well these years, no money in hand, not known in the underworld, can’t get it done."

Jiang Yuan pretended to rummage through the fridge and grab a drink, all ears to the gossip.

After just a few more words, Qi Deqiang gritted his teeth and spoke more emphatically, "Brother, thanks so much! Fifteen thousand, I’ll transfer it over in a bit!"

Isn’t this walking right into a scam?

Walking upstairs with his drink, contemplating slowly whether this scenario was just one scammer encountering another, and eventually getting scammed out of everything and going out of business...