Shen Nian hadn’t eaten yet, so on the way back to the neighborhood, he treated Xia Yanchun to a meal.
No particular reason—just that a sudden wind had blown a thousand bucks his way, and not spending a bit of it felt wrong.
He wondered about the purchasing power of a thousand gold coins in the other world. Here, a thousand gold coins had been converted into a thousand RMB, which wasn’t bad at all. A couple more quests, and he could easily afford luxury items like watches or handbags.
"You’ve really changed. You actually treated me to a meal," Xia Yanchun said, still a little disbelieving.
"Buddy’s got money now."
Xia Yanchun eyed him skeptically. "What did you do?"
"The wind blew it to me."
"......"
After dinner, Shen Nian swung by "Shanghai Lady" to grab some milk tea, getting a cup for Xia Yanchun too.
"You should be secretly thrilled to have a friend like me."
"As if I’ve never treated you before."
Bantering back and forth, Shen Nian soon arrived at the entrance of his apartment complex.
The neighborhood was on the older side, nowhere near as upscale as high-end complexes. Security consisted of an elderly guard, and the booth often reeked of cigarette smoke. No one complained, though. No one expected the old man to keep the place safe, but he did his job watching the gate well enough.
"Sniff…"
A little girl sat slumped on a bench, rubbing her teary eyes. Shen Nian walked ahead, glanced around, and seeing no adults nearby, approached her.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"Seriously? Who talks to people like that?" Xia Yanchun facepalmed, gently nudging Shen Nian aside before crouching down and speaking softly to the girl. "Sweetie, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"
"Mom and Dad aren’t back yet… I came down to play with the kitty, but now the kitty’s gone. Sniff…"
"The white one?"
"Yeah… I always find it, but this time I looked everywhere and couldn’t. Did it run into the road…?"
The more she spoke, the more upset she got. At six or seven years old, she looked utterly heartbroken at the thought of something happening to the cat.
There was a stray cat in the neighborhood—people occasionally fed it, but no one had adopted it, and it was already quite old.
Shen Nian was about to comfort her like a big brother when the system panel abruptly popped up.
[Side Quest Triggered: Find the Adorable Kitty. Reward: 1,000 gold coins.]
Bam! There it was!
The quintessential RPG fetch quest—finding a cat!
Was there any RPG that didn’t have a damn cat-finding mission?
Shen Nian wasn’t particularly interested in stray animals. He’d planned to console the girl and send her home—it wasn’t safe for a kid to be out alone, even in the neighborhood. But now, he had no choice but to help find the cat.
Who would say no to a thousand bucks?
"Alright, I’ll help you look!" Shen Nian set his milk tea down, told Xia Yanchun to keep an eye on the girl, and dashed off.
Xia Yanchun blinked her almond-shaped eyes, sensing something different about Shen Nian today—though he still had that same cheeky vibe.
This was Shen Nian’s first time searching for a cat. He didn’t own one, had never even petted one. He’d made the offer confidently, but now that he was actually looking, he was stumped.
Luckily, the neighborhood wasn’t huge. After circling around, he finally spotted the cat lounging under a car.
"Pspspsps."
"Here, kitty."
"Meow."
Wow, really? No respect for this rookie adventurer?
Listen here, cat—you’re making a bad call. Watch out, or one day a certain greenhorn adventurer might wake you up in the middle of your nap just to mess with you.
"What kind of weird squat is that? Why are you sticking your butt out like that?"
Xia Yanchun had somehow shown up with the little girl in tow, staring at him like he was an idiot.
"Looking for the cat. Found it."
"Kitty!" The girl’s eyes lit up as she pulled a sausage from her pocket. The cat caught the scent and trotted over.
[Side Quest: Find the Adorable Kitty! (Completed). Reward: 1,000 gold coins.]
His phone buzzed—his bank balance had just jumped from a thousand to two thousand RMB.
"Thank you, big brother and sister! You’re the best!" The girl was polite.
"Hold up, I’m the one who found the cat. Next time, just thank me, okay?"
Xia Yanchun: "......"
Too lazy to argue. Honestly, no one but Shen Nian would care about something like that.
Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun headed upstairs together, parting ways without much chatter. Shen Nian delivered the milk tea, then got ready to shower—only for Shen Yue to stop him.
"Stay right there." Shen Yue circled him, muttering to herself.
Her little brother seemed… different. He used to have that tired, homebody vibe, but now there was a bit more youthful energy to him.
"Did I get handsomer?"
Shen Yue studied his face for a long moment before shaking her head. "Meh."
"Then why’d you stop me? I’m gonna shower."
"Go ahead."
School officially started tomorrow—senior year of high school. After pulling an all-nighter, Shen Nian planned to sleep early to reset his schedule.
Post-shower, he checked himself in the mirror. Huh. He couldn’t spot any changes either.
What’s the point of +1 Charm, huh? System, I swear, if this isn’t on a ten-point scale but a hundred-point one…
Cross-legged, he pulled up the system interface.
The main quest was still there:
[Main Quest: Courage is the Ode of Humanity!
Defeat a low-level monster for the first time. Reward: 1,000 gold coins.]
Shen Nian stood at 182 cm and weighed 75 kg. He’d never played sports, didn’t have superhuman lung capacity, and hadn’t built any impressive muscles.
Right…
So you’re telling me—an average guy—to go fight a monster?
Bravo, system. Not even pretending anymore.
Then again, considering his sister was a "Saintess" and yogurt was "holy water," the system’s idea of a "monster" was probably… unconventional.
The problem was, without knowing what counted as a monster, there was no way to hunt one.
And how was "defeat" defined? Did he have to land the killing blow himself?
If the system classified livestock like pigs, cows, or sheep as monsters, it might be doable. But if it went nuts and labeled aggressive, hard-to-find animals like tigers, lions, or crocodiles as monsters…
Welp. Game over. Trash system, don’t screw with me. I play Naruto—mess around and I’ll hit you with the "Mother-Extraction Jutsu."
Still, he’d made two grand today. The rewards weren’t life-changing, but at least he wouldn’t have to stress over pocket money during senior year.
The next day, Monday.
Shen Nian woke up early and rode the elevator down with Xia Yanchun.
"Didn’t sleep well. Got too used to lazing around during break. Now we have to leave by six every morning…" Xia Yanchun yawned, her backpack sagging to her butt.
"Tell me, why do we get up so early every day…?"
"To prep for our future lives as corporate drones," Shen Nian answered.
Xia Yanchun scoffed. "I could score 650 with my feet. You bust your ass for 500. Clearly, you’re the one destined for wage slavery."
"Oh yeah? Well, just you wait. Once I get serious, I’m gonna surpass you—hard."
"Is that sexual harassment?"
"Password-protected Xia Yanchun, you're such a shrimp-head, with such a filthy mind!"
Shen Nian couldn't hold back—who was the narcissistic one here? Did they even have the looks of a boundary-pushing Xu Sheng to be this full of themselves?
Xia Yanchun didn’t take the insult to heart. Since Shen Nian had treated her to a meal and bubble tea the day before, she returned the favor by buying him breakfast.
Pork and egg rice noodle rolls + two shumai + two tea eggs + a serving of xiaolongbao.
"Are you a pig? Eating that much." Xia Yanchun felt full just looking at it.
Shen Nian stayed silent, devouring everything as he walked, shoveling food into his mouth. Once he finished, he started rambling again.
"Hey, do you think there’ll be any transfer students in our grade this year?"
"Maybe. Who knows?"
"Heh, what if a blonde rich girl transfers in and becomes my new desk mate? Sounds interesting."
"Idiot."
Shen Nian wanted to snap back, but the words died in his throat. Instead, his lips curled into a smug, devil-may-care grin.
Xia Yanchun felt a chill down her spine.
Getting scolded and still happy about it? A... a masochist?
God, after two months apart, had Shen Nian mutated or something?
But Shen Nian wasn’t happy about being insulted—it was just that another side quest had triggered.
[Side Quest Activated: Fully Prepared Before Departure!
As you embark on your journey, you’ll face bloodthirsty monsters and the darkness of human nature. Head to the weapon shop and gear up. Reward: 1,000 gold.]
Yanxi Reminder: Due to Tomato’s request for 3 million+ daily updates straining the servers, we now recommend using other big players' sources:
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
