Making Money

Beep, beep, beep—

Chen Zhi looked at the frantically flashing penguin icon in the bottom right corner of his screen, unable to suppress the corners of his mouth from curling up. He clicked open the chat box. The other party's screen name was UltimateBadass.

[UltimateBadass: Bro, you there? I used the trial version, the efficiency is insane! How much for a month? I want to be an agent!]

[UltimateBadass: Say something! Don't play dead! If it can stably prevent bans, the price is negotiable!]

Chen Zhi wasn't in a hurry to reply.

He leaned back in his chair and fished a lollipop out of his drawer.

The sweet, sugary taste melted on the tip of his tongue, slightly alleviating the fatigue from his brain's high-intensity operation.

This was the charm of an information gap.

In 2024, this kind of crude macro script wouldn't even be able to catch a chicken; it would be detected by game companies' anti-cheat systems in minutes, resulting in a ten-year ban. But in 2010, this thing was a dimensional strike, a speedboat to financial freedom.

He had deliberately added a layer of random delay and simulated mouse trajectories to the code. In the face of this era's anti-cheat mechanisms, it was equivalent to putting an invisibility cloak on the script.

Chen Zhi slowly typed out a line of text.

[Deep Blue Savior: I don't sell monthly passes, only the source code and exclusive usage rights. One fixed price, three thousand.]

The other side fell silent.

Chen Zhi wasn't anxious.

He knew very well the money-making ability of this game, and even better the sharp senses of those gold-farming studio bosses. To them, three thousand bucks for a tool that could make dozens of machines produce gold coins day and night without stopping was practically the price of cabbage.

Even if they could only use it for a month, they could earn it back double.

Sure enough, in less than two minutes, the other party's reply came.

[UltimateBadass: Three thousand? Why don't you go rob a bank? One thousand at most!]

Chen Zhi chuckled lightly. His fingers danced across the keyboard, typing out a string of text sufficient to break down the other party's psychological defenses.

[Deep Blue Savior: Bro, let's not beat around the bush. The current gold coin ratio is 1:20. One of your machines using up all its stamina in a day can produce about 3 million gold coins, which is 15 bucks. If you have ten machines, that's 150. As long as the script runs for 20 days, you make your money back. And this isn't even counting the equipment and materials that drop. I'm only giving you this price because you reply fast. If you keep dawdling, I'll find someone else. There are plenty of people eyeing this piece of meat on the forum.]

Send.

This was a classic negotiation technique.

Present data, talk about profits, and create a sense of urgency.

The other side fell into silence once again.

Chen Zhi didn't push. He switched windows and looked at the Meteor Beam Sword and several top-tier pieces of equipment he had listed on 5173.

The view count had already broken a hundred, and a few people had left messages to haggle.

[Boss, will you sell it for 1500? I sincerely want it.]

[Student here, can you make it a bit cheaper?]

Chen Zhi ignored them all.

Good goods don't worry about not being sold.

Zhizhi? You're still awake?

Zhang Guifang's voice suddenly came from outside the door, scaring Chen Zhi so much his hand shook, almost closing the webpage.

Ah... Going to sleep right now! I'm... I'm looking up some... Math Olympiad materials!

Chen Zhi quickly grabbed a workbook to cover the keyboard and conveniently turned off the monitor's power.

The door lock turned, and Zhang Guifang pushed the door open and walked in, holding a cup of hot milk in her hand.

She glanced at the pitch-black screen, then looked at Chen Zhi, who was sitting up straight with a pen held upside down in his hand, and frowned suspiciously.

Working so hard? Before, making you do your homework was like slaughtering a pig.

Zhang Guifang placed the milk on the desk, her gaze sweeping around the room before finally landing on the computer tower. Play less on the computer. That thing has radiation, it hurts the brain. If I catch you staying up in the middle of the night again, I'll unplug your internet cable.

Got it, Mom. I'll sleep right after I finish the milk.

Chen Zhi was as obedient as a quail. He cupped the milk glass with both hands and took a large gulp.

The hot milk slid down his esophagus into his stomach, feeling warm and cozy.

Looking at her son's appearance, the strictness in Zhang Guifang's eyes softened a bit. She reached out and helped smooth down his bedhead. Alright, get some rest early. You've looked pretty tired these past few days, don't push yourself too hard.

After saying that, she turned around and closed the door behind her.

Chen Zhi looked at the tightly closed door, a warm current welling up in his heart.

If his mom knew that he had just emptied his savings to buy Bitcoin, she probably would have splashed this cup of milk right in his face.

Just then, although the blacked-out screen showed no image, the connected speakers emitted a beep, beep, beep sound.

Chen Zhi quickly turned on the monitor.

[UltimateBadass: Fine! Three thousand it is! But I have a condition, we must use an escrow transaction! And you have to teach me how to configure it!]

It's a deal.

Chen Zhi clenched his fist, his nails digging deeply into his flesh.

[Deep Blue Savior: No problem. I've packed the tutorial in the file, guaranteed to teach you until you know how.]

For the next half hour, Chen Zhi acted like a patient customer service rep, guiding the other party through the transaction process and sending over the software and source code.

It wasn't until he saw the 3000 yuan figure added to his online banking that he let out a long breath of stale air, his whole body slumping into the chair.

This money had not come easily.

Chen Zhi withdrew the three thousand bucks to his CCB bank card—this was the one he had asked his uncle Zhang Jianguo to help set up, and he had sorted out the USB security key at the same time.

Ever since he bought Bitcoin last time, he deeply understood the importance of having his own bank card.

If he had gone to his mom, she definitely wouldn't have agreed.

By the time he finished all this, it was already 2 AM.

The streets outside the window were completely silent, with only the occasional passing taxi leaving a streak of light on the asphalt road.

Chen Zhi had no sleepiness at all.

He stood in front of the window, looking at this familiar city.

Early the next morning, Chen Zhi woke up with two big dark circles under his eyes and was ruthlessly mocked by Zhang Guifang for overworking.

He didn't retort, just giggled foolishly, and even volunteered to go downstairs to buy deep-fried dough sticks and soy milk.

Just as he walked out of the apartment building door, he bumped right into a pink figure.

Lin Wanwan was walking the Husky named Xiaobai, who was just about to commit a crime by the flowerbed.

The dog was squatting on the ground, pushing with a serious face, while Lin Wanwan held a tissue in her hand, staring nervously at the dog's butt as if conducting some sacred ritual.

This scene was simply too comical.

Chen Zhi couldn't hold back and let out a pfft of laughter.

Lin Wanwan was startled, and the dog was also frightened, cutting off its casting. It turned its head and barked twice at Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi! You did that on purpose!

Lin Wanwan stomped her foot in exasperation, still clutching the crumpled tissue in her hand. Xiaobai finally had the feeling!

Sorry, sorry, I really couldn't hold it in.

Chen Zhi walked over, squatted down, and brought his line of sight level with the little Husky whose casting had been interrupted. What's wrong, constipated? Do you want me to buy you some laxatives?

Pervert!

Lin Wanwan cursed with a red face and tugged at the dog leash. Let's go, Xiaobai. Stay away from this weird uncle.

Hey, don't go.

Chen Zhi grabbed the dog leash and smoothly pulled a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket, waving it in front of Lin Wanwan's eyes. "Just like I promised you last night: Little Pudding ice cream, cola, and... KFC?"

The red banknote gleamed in the morning light.

Lin Wanwan stopped dead in her tracks.

She turned her head, her big eyes darting back and forth between the bill and Chen Zhi's face, completely filled with disbelief.

"Did... did you find some money on the street?"

She knew that Chen Zhi's pocket money was strictly controlled. Ten yuan a week was already a huge sum for him.

A hundred yuan was an amount they usually only saw during the Lunar New Year.

"You could say that."

Chen Zhi stuffed the money into her hand, smiling somewhat enigmatically. "Come on, let your big bro take you on a spending spree."

"But... Xiaobai hasn't finished pooping yet..."

Lin Wanwan hesitated, looking at the money in her hand and then at the dog on the ground.

"Let him hold it."

Chen Zhi waved his hand domineeringly, taking the leash directly from Lin Wanwan. With his other hand, he naturally took her small hand. "How can taking a dump be more important than eating KFC?"

Lin Wanwan's small hand was soft, her palm slightly damp.

When Chen Zhi held her hand, she flinched slightly as if shocked by electricity, but she did not pull away. Only the tips of her ears quietly turned a flushed red.

"Then... I want to eat that newly released Beef Wrap."

"You got it."

"And a large fries."

"You got it."

"And a sundae, strawberry flavor."

"Buy, buy, buy. We will buy it all."

The morning sun stretched the two small silhouettes long, with a happily bounding Husky sandwiched between them.

Chen Zhi led Lin Wanwan, Lin Wanwan led the dog, and the dog led... well, the dog did not lead anyone. It was just happily nudging a roadside trash can with its nose.

At this moment, Chen Zhi felt that even without those twenty thousand Bitcoins, life was actually pretty good.