Chapter 4 - A Pay-to-Win Cheat1 Indeed

Su Mu gave his old Glory smartphone a cursory glance before pocketing it.

"Wait a minute, the balance seems off."

His face suddenly changed color, and he hurriedly pulled out his phone again, reopening the message he had just glanced at. The displayed balance read '1735.42'.

Ten thousand yuan was missing!

Su Mu broke out in a cold sweat. That ten thousand yuan was saved up for his sister's chemotherapy!

When had the money disappeared? How? And why couldn't he remember anything about it?

In a frenzy, Su Mu checked the previous bank messages but found no transaction records that would account for the missing sum. Instead, he noticed that the balance mentioned in all the messages was short by ten thousand yuan.

It was as if the money had never existed.

A guess formed in his mind, but unwilling to accept it, he opened the online banking app to check the detailed transaction history. The situation was the same. Finally, he called the bank's customer service, only to be told that there had never been an additional ten thousand yuan in his account!

At that point, Su Mu was certain—the missing ten thousand yuan had been devoured by the damn Golden Finger!

Only a power granted by the Heavenly Father could make ten thousand yuan vanish so mysteriously and thoroughly, without leaving a trace.

There was no such thing as a Golden Finger with a conscience, after all!

But who would have expected that the cost of using this Golden Finger was money?

It was a pay-to-win cheat!

Was this retribution?

In his past life, Su Mu had used pay-to-win strategies to trick countless players, leaving them so poor they could only eat dirt. So in this life, had the Heavenly Father given him a pay-to-win Golden Finger to let him experience the "joy" of spending money firsthand?

I'm not against spending money, but could you not give me a heads-up before charging? Deducting money without any notification, isn't that a bit tyrannical? Lucky for you that you're not running a game company, or you'd be bombarded with complaints from thousands of angry players until you went bankrupt!

If only he had known that perfecting Cultivation Methods and alchemical formulas relied on spending money, Su Mu would have budgeted carefully, ensuring at least that his sister's chemotherapy and nutrition costs were covered. But the Golden Finger didn't give the slightest hint—it was a huge trap.

Now, with only seventeen hundred yuan left in the account, there wasn't enough for the chemotherapy.

He had to find a way to make money, enough to cover next week's treatment for his sister!

And if possible, to earn more, as the upcoming specialized subject examination might require spending money too...

"Since you've given me the ability to become stronger through spending, why not also give me the wealth to rival nations? If I were as rich as Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, or Wang Yiyi, who started from nothing, I could become a master in minutes and defeat anyone who dared to challenge me!"

Su Mu let out a deep sigh, left the pharmacy, and headed home.

On the way, he pondered over ways to make money.

After much thought, the only way to earn enough money quickly was by making qi refining pills.

As long as his qi refining pills were more effective than those sold on the market, especially at this crucial time right before the examination for cultivation, he was sure to make a fortune! After all, in the exams, an extra point or even half a point could determine one's fate, and there were plenty of people willing to pay for that edge.

Fortunately, qi refining pills are a basic type of alchemical pill, and the Drug Administration Bureau doesn't impose many restrictions on their production or sale. As long as the quality is good, one can find many homemade and home-sold varieties. If it were a higher-level alchemical pill, the regulations would be much stricter; without the proper qualifications and permits, production and sale would be prohibited.

To measure the effectiveness of the qi refining pills, Su Mu made a detour to Liu Peng's house.

Liu Peng was visibly surprised to see Su Mu and reached out to take the bag of medicinal powder Su Mu was holding: "It's nice of you to come by, and even nicer to bring a gift... What have you got there?"

Su Mu slapped his hand away: "Don't flatter yourself, this isn't for you. Where's your Huawei smart band? I need to borrow it, I'll return it tomorrow." He paused, then added, "If everything goes well, I'll have a surprise for you tomorrow."

Liu Peng's interest was piqued: "What kind of surprise? Did you get your hands on some good stuff? Send it to me now."

Su Mu played coy: "Don't ask; I won't tell even if you do."

"All mysterious," Liu Peng mumbled, but still went to fetch his Huawei smart band for Su Mu.

Back at home, Su Ye had just finished blanching the spare ribs to remove the blood foam.

This task was no challenge for Su Ye; she was a great cook and often prepared meals, but her brother's sweet and sour spare ribs had always been her favorite.

She loved the taste of the dish as well as the person who made it.

Seeing Su Mu return, Su Ye approached him curiously, asking, "Brother, what did you buy?" But when she saw clearly, she was taken aback: "Medicine? For making qi refining pills? Didn't you still have some left from your last purchase?"

Su Mu replied, "I’ve got some new formulas I want to try out."

Su Ye uttered an "Oh," not questioning where he got these new formulas, and helped him place the bags of labeled medicinal powder together with the previous bunch.

Su Mu didn’t start making the pills immediately. It was already past eight in the evening, and his sister must be hungry. He decided to cook the sweet and sour spare ribs first and discuss other matters after dinner.

As he cooked, Su Ye stood by, her eyes shining with anticipation as the sweet aroma filled the air, making her mouth water.

"Look at you, drooling over there. Here, have a piece, but be careful, it's hot," Su Mu said with a shake of his head and a smile, giving her a freshly cooked piece of sweet and sour spare rib.

Su Ye, wary of the heat, kept switching the rib between her hands, puffing her cheeks and blowing on it to cool it down.

As Su Mu plated the spare ribs, he mentioned, "Oh right, I’ve also got a special birthday gift for you."

"A special birthday gift? What is it?" Su Ye asked, both curious and expectant.

Su Mu said, "Haven’t you always been envious of others who can cultivate qi? After we eat, I’ll teach you a new Qi Cultivation Technique that will definitely help you cultivate qi."

Su Ye's expression dimmed slightly: "Will it work? I practice with you every day, but I've never managed to cultivate qi."

Su Mu assured her with a smile: "Don’t worry, the Qi Cultivation Technique I’ll teach you will definitely be effective."

"Really?" Su Ye's eyes lit up instantly.

"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?"

"That's great!" Su Ye exclaimed excitedly, jumping up, "Long live my big brother! Teach me now!"

"Now? Let's eat first, then we'll get to it."

In the end, Su Mu couldn't resist his sister's insistence. After serving the sweet and sour spare ribs, he warmed up the leftover dishes from noon and began to explain the content of the perfect version of the Qi Cultivation Technique.

He explained it in detail, and Su Ye listened intently. The lecture continued even as they ate their meal.

Fortunately, the Qi Cultivation Technique was just a basic Cultivation Method, so there wasn't too much content to cover, and thanks to the pay-to-win cheat's organization, it was straightforward and easy to understand.

They hadn't even reached the halfway point of their meal when he had almost finished explaining it.

After taking a sip of soup to moisten his throat, Su Mu asked, "Is there anything you don't understand? Tell me, and I'll go over it in detail."

Su Ye thought hard for a moment and then shook her head: "No, I understood everything pretty well."

Footnotes:

Pay-to-win cheat(氪金外挂): The term "pay-to-win"(氪金) originates from Chinese online gaming culture and refers to spending money to purchase virtual items or services to enhance the gaming experience or gain advantages within the game. This term is derived from the element Krypton(氪) in the periodic table, because its chemical symbol is "Kr," which is homophonous with the Chinese word "可" (ke), meaning "can be obtained through payment" in Chinese internet slang.