Chapter 23
Chapter 23: The Worth of Money Varies with Each Individual
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Faced with Mo Lanhu’s query, Ling Baifei hurriedly explained, “Auntie, I am still a student. How can I have the power to arrange such a villa for you?”
Li Xiaonian had to tell a white lie. “Mom, I traded Uncle Ling for the villa with some very valuable information. From now on, our new home will be in Dream City. Let’s live here for some time first. If you’re not used to living here, we can move back to Xinyue Community when it’s safe there.”
If his mother knew that he owed a debt to buy a villa worth 16 million, she would be so mad at him.
In fact, Li Xiaonian also felt that he was crazy. He had no money, but he overdrafted tens of millions of yuan in advance. However, since God gave him another life, he just wanted to live it to its fullest.
Mo Lanhu didn’t believe him at all. “What information can be worth several million?”
“Economic information. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. This information requires a lot of data to calculate and verify. The difficulty is several levels higher than that of the Mathematical Olympiad. I have sold the information to Uncle Ling and signed a non-disclosure agreement, so I can’t tell you what it is.”
Mo Lanhu stared sharply at Ling Baifei. “Bai, look me in the eye. Tell me whether what he said is true.”
She couldn’t tell whether her son was lying, but Ling Baifei wasn’t as good at pretending as her son.
“It’s true.”
Ling Baifei was a little guilty, but then he thought of the news about the rapid appreciation of villas Li Xiaonian told him. It was true that Li Xiaonian provided his father with valuable information, so he added confidently. “Auntie, you’re wrong about one thing. The villa isn’t worth a few million, but 16 million yuan. You underestimated your son.”
“Really?”
Playing “Star Wind” for a day, Mo Lanhu had somewhat seen the madness of the rich and no longer reacted so strongly to money. Besides, she knew her son was good at making money.
“Of course I’ll never lie to you.”
Mo Lanhu was silent.
After a while, the car passed the security verification, and Ling Baifei drove the car to the sixth villa. “Auntie, your home is here from now on. Number 06, a very lucky number.”
To divert Mo Lanhu’s attention from the price of the villa, Ling Baifei introduced the villa like a real estate agent, “The villa is in a modern and simple style, with five bedrooms and two living rooms, with a total of three floors. See the small open-air courtyard? This is a grape shelf. Auntie, when you’re idle, you can plant some grapes here or some vegetables or flowers in that small open space.
“There are two rooms on the first floor, usually where guests and housemaids live. On the second floor is the master bedroom. The walls are made of diatom mud of various colors, looking relaxing and warm. In addition, there is a swimming pool on the balcony on the second floor. In the hot summer, you can soak in it. That must feel good!”
…
Ling Baifei gushed about the house.
Li Xiaoyue was so excited to see such a beautiful house, exclaiming excitedly, “Wow, I like this house!”
Li Xiaonian glanced at his taciturn mother, knowing that her mother had some difficulty adapting, so he simply said to Ling Baifei, “Bai, it’s late now. We need to tidy up today. Let’s have dinner together another day.”
Ling Baifei patted his own head. “Oh, yes, I almost forgot that I made an appointment with someone from “Star Wind” to farm. Auntie, Xiaoyue, I’m leaving.”
“Well… thanks.” Mo Lanhu said sincerely, feeling a little guilty about not keeping Ling Baifei for dinner.
“It’s my pleasure.”
Li Xiaonian accompanied Ling Baifei out of the house.
Ling Baifei looked Li Xiaonian up and down and couldn’t help but complain: “Hey, buddy, I find you’ve changed a lot since you graduated. You used to be quiet, but now you’re so glib-tongued. Do you know how fast my heart was beating when I lied to Auntie just now?”
Li Xiaonian smiled bitterly. “I have no choice. Okay, don’t complain. Get lost. Be careful on the road.”
“All right, I’m leaving now. By the way, my game ID is Lingjue. I am currently staying in Blood Demon City. After you leave the novice base, remember to come to Blood Demon City to find me. I’ve got your back.” Ling Baifei patted his chest with confidence.
“OK. My ID is June. I’m not leaving the novice base so soon. I think it will be a month or two before I leave.”
“Why so long? Doesn’t it normally take players only a week to leave the novice base?”
Li Xiaonian shrugged. “I’ve got a hidden mission.”
“Cool. I’m going back to play the game. Humph, in the real world, I’m no match for you, but in the game world, I certainly won’t lose to you!”
…
After Bai left, Li Xiaonian planned to go to the vegetable market to buy some food.
However, he suddenly realized that he didn’t have a car, not even a motorbike.
Looking at his cheap clothes and then at the luxurious villa, he couldn’t help but give a wry smile. “I should pay attention to things other than my new home. Now although there is no danger of being kidnapped by gangsters, my family and I are still wearing the cheapest clothes and using the cheapest items but living in a luxurious villa.”
Even he felt it was really weird, let alone his mother and sister.
Li Xiaonian rubbed his head. “I’ve gotta find a way to make money as soon as possible. Otherwise, we won’t be comfortable living in this house.”
…
In the end, Li Xiaonian and his family chose the easiest way to solve the dinner, to order takeaway.
After dinner.
Li Xiaonian and Mo Lanhu logged into “Star Wind”. Only his sister Li Xiaoyue wandered around in the villa, which was a mysterious unknown area to her.
In the world of “Star Wind”.
In the cave by the underground river, Li Xiaonian opened his eyes.
It was dark and silent all around. Gu Tong’s avatar stood in the hut with his eyes closed, like a cold sculpture. Obviously, Gu Tong was offline.
Li Xiaonian opened his personal information bar. There were three people’s messages.
Gu Tong: “Why haven’t you been online yet? Forget it. I’m going offline to cook for my family. If you are online, grind by yourself. Don’t worry. The items you get from monsters are yours. I won’t take them.”
Kitten: “Hey, little brother, where are you hiding? Are you giving up on the hidden quest?”
Tianyu: “Brother June, I took a lot of effort to buy you 1.2 catties of gold crystal from the NPC Kuiluo. How can I give it to you? I can’t leave the base now. As long as I step out of the base, I’ll definitely be killed in seconds.”
1.2 catties of gold crystal?
Li Xiaonian was overjoyed. Tianyu was offline now, so he didn’t rush to reply to him.
Walking into the hut, Li Xiaonian took the fishing rod and glowing bug left by Gu Tong.
Hanging the glowing bug on the hook, he threw it into the calm water pool.
Taking advantage of his free time, Li Xiaonian checked his personal attributes.
Player: [June]
Occupation: war doctor;
[Special Title]: Captain of the Shadow (Space Battleship).
Level: lv1;
Health Point: 210/210;
Mental Power: 8/8;
Energy Point: 1/1; (Once energy is expended, the damage is doubled)
Merit: 423/10; (Improve personal rank or skill level)
Attack Power: 1~2;
Defense: 0;
Attributes:
Constitution: 1; (Increase health points)
Strength: 1: (Increase attack power)
Dexterity: 1; (Increase attack power (slightly), speed and accuracy)
Intelligence: 1; (Increase mental power and reduce negative control effects)
Skills: Healing lv1 (For every 1 point of mental power cost, 10% of the target’s health points are restored;)
Equipment Slot: [Blaster Pistol];
Property: [Shadow (Space Battleship)];
Balance: 1131.24 gold coins;
…
He had already accumulated a full 423 points of merits, but Li Xiaonian was not in a hurry to use them to upgrade his level or skills. After all, the lower the player’s level, the easier items dropped if he killed a monster of a higher level.
Now, however, Gu Tong was not around, so for the sake of safety, he had to upgrade his level.
He clicked the “Level-up” button.
Ding…
System: Do you want to consume 10 points of merit to improve your personal level, Yes/No;”
He clicked on “Yes”.
With a flash of light, Li Xiaonian’s body was enveloped with warmth as if soaking in a hot spring. The pores all over his body were open, and he felt very comfortable.
Ding…
System: You’ve reached lv2 and got 5 free attribute points;
At lv2, if he wanted to raise the level again, the merit to be consumed would be 20 points, and Li Xiaonian clicked on “Level up” again.
Ding…
System: You’ve reached lv2 and got 5 free attribute points;
Just as Li Xiaonian was considering whether to upgrade to Level 4, Gu Tong’s avatar suddenly opened his eyes.
“June, you are online.”
“Yep, I just came online.” Li Xiaonian responded and asked, “Since you are already online, shall we continue to grind?”
“Okay.”
Gu Tong readily agreed. “When you kill the monsters, the drop rate is really good. You can rest assured I’m not an insatiable person. From now on, all the items that monsters drop and are suitable for you belong to you, and the rest is mine, okay?”
“No problem, thanks.”
The two continued to grind.
Gu Tong fished monsters, and Li Xiaonian killed them. They were working very efficiently and didn’t waste any time.
Ding…
System: “You successfully killed [Black Swordfish], merit +3;”
System: “You successfully killed [Electric Eel], merit +4;”
System: “You successfully killed [Electric Eel], merit +4;”
System: “You successfully killed [Ghost-headed Fish], merit +2;”
…
Li Xiaonian had reached level 4, still with a level gap from monsters, but his grinding speed had increased a lot.
The two spent more than three hours grinding.
Suddenly, a blue skill book burst out of an [Electric Eel].
[Lightning Strike Technique]:
A war doctor exclusive skill book.
Requirements for use: lv5, intelligence 15 points;
Skill effect: Able to cast a bolt of lightning on target by consuming 2 points of mental power, causing basic damage +15 magic damage to the target, and has a 20% chance to paralyze the target for 1 second. Cooldown time: 3 seconds;
“Oh… here finally comes an item that you can use, but unfortunately, it is a worthless skill book.” Gu Tong quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
During this period of time, no items dropped by the monsters could be used by Li Xiaonian, which made Gu Tong a little guilty.
Li Xiaonian smiled. “Although it is not valuable, it just fits me. I can’t return to the base, so I can’t learn higher-level skills. This skill book solves my urgent need.”
Gu Tong nodded. “That’s right.”
At this time, the message prompt sounded again, and it was another message from Tianyu.
Tianyu: “Buddy, how are you doing?”
Seeing Tianyu logging into the game, in a flash of wit, Li Xiaonian looked at Gu Tong next to him and asked, “Brother Gu, now there is a chance to make money. Are you interested?”
“Yes?” Gu Tong immediately asked with great interest. One man could never have too much money.
“This cave is only used by you and me. It’s a bit wasteful. Why don’t you bring Tianyu from the base to grind together with us? That guy is damn rich. You can overcharge him, for example, 5000 gold coins. I think he should be interested.”
“Fiv… five thousand gold coins?! Isn’t it too much?” Gu Tong gaped in shock.
This was equivalent to half a million yuan.
“The worth of money varies with each individual. Tianyu almost has money to burn. As long as you agree, not to mention five thousand gold coins, he would even accept ten thousand. Yup, five thousand gold coins is a very reasonable number.”
Selling Tianyu out, Li Xiaonian didn’t have the slightest guilt.
If Tianyu could come here, he would certainly bring the gold crystal he needed over. That was 1.2 catties of rare energy, which he should be able to trade for more precious items from [Shadow].
It would be even better if he could get another colorful skill book.