Chapter 16: Blind Date

The report went quickly. Sales at all the shops had risen on the second day of the server launch. Many players had stayed up all night grinding monsters and could now afford some basic equipment.

"Last up is you, Little Liu. How did things go today?"

Time to hand over money again.

Liu Kongkong wasn't happy about it, but he still pulled a pouch of in-game currency from his bag.

"All 100,000 Divine Power was used up today. The shop earned 42 silver and 40 copper, so here's 21 silver and 20 copper." He slid the coins across as he finished speaking.

He had no choice. With that many people lined up outside the shop today, handing over just a few dozen copper coins would have been completely unreasonable.

"Good, not bad. The rest of you should learn from Little Liu. Little Liu, care to share what method you used?" The Village Chief spoke, then pointed at an NPC. "Ah Hu, give your seat to Little Liu from now on. Everyone behind him shifts back one spot. In our village, seating has always been ranked by contribution — Little Liu contributed the most today, so his position should reflect that."

Oh? There was actually a system like that? Liu Kongkong glanced at Ah Hu's seat — he'd moved up at least five spots. Still, that line about "ranked by contribution" made him quietly scoff. What had Widow Wang contributed? How was she sitting so far up front?

Of course, he only thought it. Liu Kongkong "cheerfully" walked over to his new seat and plopped himself down.

As for his method.

"Hard work and sincerity!" Liu Kongkong said with a straight face, spouting the most generic platitude he could think of. The Village Chief raised a hand to cut him off. There was no point listening further — it was a pure waste of time.

"Alright, that concludes today's meeting. One more thing — the village seems a bit rowdy today, but none of you should get involved. Everything these people do is under the watch of the Divine, so there's no need for us to worry." The Village Chief added this note just before the meeting ended.

It actually made a fair amount of sense. In the Starter Village, NPCs weren't invincible, but the buildings were. Just duck back inside and nothing could happen to you — players had no way to hurt them. What was there to worry about? Liu Kongkong returned to the blacksmith shop, stepped into the bedroom, and logged off instantly.

Climbing out of the Game Pod, Liu Kongkong stretched lazily. He'd logged in just after seven in the morning, and it had been over ten hours since then. His stomach was a little empty, but his mind felt surprisingly clear.

Say what you will about the cheap price — the thing actually worked.

He opened his phone and checked his messages.

"Sold 4 gold coins today. After fees, that's over 47,000 deposited!" His bank balance had climbed to over 120,000 yuan.

For twenty-five-year-old Liu Kongkong, that was a small fortune.

After graduating from a junior college, he couldn't find a proper job, so he'd turned to boosting and carry work — grinding in-game currency for real money. He'd thought of it as a temporary thing, but a few years had gone by just like that. Living alone in the city, after rent and daily expenses, having this much saved up was already pushing his limits.

"But judging by the last two days, Hunt Heaven should be able to bring in quite a bit." Two days, fifty thousand yuan in income — that was something Liu Kongkong hadn't even dared to dream about before.

He glanced at the time.

"Almost forgot — I have something on today!"

After lying in the Game Pod all day, his clothes were a wrinkled mess. He changed into a fresh outfit and rushed out the door.

He jogged to catch the subway, stopped at a jewelry store, and came out cradling a birthday gift carefully in his arms.

"So expensive — a gold bracelet for nearly thirty thousand yuan." Liu Kongkong clicked his tongue inwardly. It was the most expensive thing he'd ever bought in his life. Then he hailed a cab and arrived at the entrance of an all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant. He was here for a blind date. A few days ago, his mother had specifically reached out to tell him about a girl from his hometown who was now working in Ningcheng, asking him to add her on WeChat, chat a bit, and take her out for a meal. Just meet her once.

"I'm only twenty-five — you're already setting me up on blind dates?" Liu Kongkong didn't quite understand his mother's thinking, but his parents back home had always worried about him being alone in Ningcheng. Coming out today was as much for their peace of mind as anything else.

"White dress — where is she?"

Liu Kongkong wandered around the restaurant entrance like a lost fly. He'd seen a photo of her, but in this day and age, recognizing someone from a photo alone was still pretty hit-or-miss.

"Hey." A slightly impatient voice came from behind him.

Liu Kongkong turned around. White dress — had to be her. He looked more carefully. Sure enough, she looked quite different from her photo, though she was still fairly pretty.

While he was sizing her up, Gao Yiwen was doing the same to him.

Messy hair, scrawny build, tall enough at least, but cheap clothes — everything about him screamed broke...

Gao Yiwen could barely stand to look. If her mother hadn't forced her to come, she'd have turned around and left already.

"Hi, I'm Liu Kongkong." Since both hands were holding the bag, Liu Kongkong didn't extend one — he just gave a nod. "Let's head in. You must be hungry too."

Gao Yiwen gave a short "mm," then cast a disdainful glance at the barbecue restaurant. They were on a commercial street, and this all-you-can-eat barbecue place was the cheapest one on it — 59 yuan per person. She was almost afraid to eat here.

She turned to see Liu Kongkong pull out his phone. He'd obviously bought a group-buy coupon in advance.

"Let's go." Once the server had scanned the coupon, Liu Kongkong smiled and waved her in, then walked ahead himself. He'd been starving all day — tonight he was going to eat his fill!

They found a table and sat down. Liu Kongkong watched as Gao Yiwen furiously wiped down the chair and table with napkins.

Not happy with the environment? Liu Kongkong didn't mind. He was just here to get a good meal and complete his mission.

"I'm mainly here today because of my mom, so don't read too much into it." After going through seven or eight napkins, Gao Yiwen was barely satisfied. "Quick introduction — I'm Gao Yiwen, currently doing my postgraduate studies. And you?"

She hadn't wanted to say any of this, but she was afraid Liu Kongkong would go back home and not know a thing about her, so she forced herself to speak first.

"Liu Kongkong. I do boosting and carry work in games." Liu Kongkong said it while placing slices of meat on the grill.

Boosting and carry work? Gao Yiwen's brow furrowed. "Do you pay into social insurance?"

"No..."

"Do you have a place in Ningcheng?"

"Yeah, renting — a studio apartment, 1,800 a month." Liu Kongkong had the same concerns she did, so he just answered whatever she asked.

"A car?"

"No."

"Does gaming work pay well?"

"No — wait, hm? It's... decent enough. Gets me by." Liu Kongkong had instinctively started to say no, then caught himself and corrected course.

"I remember there's a game called Hunt Heaven that's been really popular lately. Are you playing that?" Hunt Heaven's advertising was everywhere — even Gao Yiwen, who had never played a game in her life, had heard of it. She'd even impulsively ordered a Game Pod yesterday, though with so many people ahead of her in the queue, hers hadn't arrived yet.

"No." Liu Kongkong shook his head. Admitting he had one would mean having to make up a whole story to go with it, so he just said he wasn't playing.

Absolutely no future.

Gao Yiwen looked at Liu Kongkong across the table. He claimed to do boosting and carry work in games, yet he wasn't playing the hottest game out right now.

"Then I'll just be straight with you. The main reason I'm looking for a boyfriend right now is that I don't want to keep spending my family's money — I'm still a student, after all. So I'd want the other person to support me for a while. We may be from the same hometown, but your situation..." She paused. "What's in that bag of yours?"

She'd rehearsed this whole speech before coming, but mid-sentence Gao Yiwen suddenly noticed the bag beside Liu Kongkong. From the logo on it, she could tell it was probably a piece of jewelry.

"This?" Liu Kongkong lifted the bag. "A gift."

"Can I see?" Gao Yiwen's interest was piqued. She reached over and took it, opened it, and found a simple gold bracelet inside. She gave it a little heft — it wasn't light at all!

Liu Kongkong had been busy eating his meat, but when the bag was taken he instinctively reached out.

"The style is a bit plain, but it's quite nice. Who's it for?" Gao Yiwen turned the gold bracelet over in her hands.

"It's a birthday gift for my mom — her fiftieth..."

Gao Yiwen let out a long "oh," then quietly set the bracelet back in its place.

After that, the two of them fell into silence.