Chapter Twenty: The Golden Rule

“Did you get anything interesting this time?” Saya, who was sitting on the living room sofa munching potato chips and watching a Korean drama, looked up with curiosity as Hao Ren emerged from his room.

“Just these.” Hao Ren casually tossed the items he’d bought onto the table, including the Lucky Dice, which he also flung onto the table—and immediately regretted it.

“Player 73950 has used item ‘Lucky Dice’ x2. Effect will occur in 10 seconds.”

Heavens above! The dice had registered as used just from tossing them. When Hao Ren heard the system prompt, he nearly bit through his tongue.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Saya, noticing Hao Ren’s sudden change of expression and cold sweat, began wiping his forehead with the sleeve of her shirt.

Hao Ren didn’t reply. His fragile heart pounded with the rolling of those two dice. Heavens, he really hadn’t intended to use them—(then why buy them, and two at that?)—but if his luck ran wild and he lost his two innate skills, he’d be in for a world of pain.

He was sure these were the longest ten seconds of his life—longer even than the endless hours of Marxism-Leninism classes.

“Player 73950 has lost item ‘Summoning Card of Illusions’.”

“Player 73950 has acquired skill ‘Golden Rule’.”

At the sound of the system prompt, Hao Ren collapsed onto the sofa—or rather, onto Saya Takagi.

“You pervert! Are you going to lose control in broad daylight?” Saya, startled by Hao Ren’s sudden move, first froze, then her pretty face flushed bright red, steaming like a boiled octopus, as she pounded ineffectually at Hao Ren.

With Saya’s pitiful strength, she couldn’t harm Hao Ren at all. Relieved, he took advantage of the moment, enjoying the sensation of her ample bosom before wisely moving aside.

“What’s going on?” Shiki Ryogi, eating ice cream in the warm room, looked at Hao Ren’s odd behavior in confusion.

“It’s nothing. I just accidentally used two luck-based items, but thankfully nothing major happened—just lost a summoning card, no big deal.” Hao Ren tried to sound magnanimous, but inside he was bleeding. Yet the moment he checked his new skill, he was utterly shocked.

Skill: “Golden Rule” (no level). Effect 1: Passively increases LP points gained in game instances, the amount varying randomly. Effect 2: You can easily and reasonably obtain anything related to money; you could even become a tycoon, and never again will you be troubled by finances. This skill cannot be upgraded.

Hao Ren’s eyes instantly turned to dollar signs.

Suddenly, the background music from the “Abandoned Space” map of Melty Blood: Actress Again began to play—his Noah phone’s ringtone.

Startled out of his reverie, Hao Ren glanced at the caller ID: “It’s my mother. What wind has blown today for her to call? Hope it’s nothing serious.”

“Son! You won!” his mother’s excited voice came through the line.

“Won what?” Hao Ren was completely confused.

“The double-color ball numbers you picked before! First prize!” His mother could barely contain her excitement.

“I’ve finally shaken off the title of ‘Prince of Five Bucks’!” Hao Ren’s first reaction. “Holy crap! This Golden Rule is insane! Not even ten seconds have passed and I’m already making money!” he shouted in excitement.

“Huh? What are you talking about, son? Mom doesn’t get your game stuff. Oh, by the way, I’ll give you some extra allowance this month. Withdraw it with your card and spend as you like. That’s all.” With that, she hung up.

Why didn’t she tell me how much I won? Ah well, I’ll go buy a few more tickets myself later. With that plan, Hao Ren threw on his old coat, put on a mask, and, under the puzzled gazes of the others, dashed out the door—only to return ten minutes later just as hurriedly.

He cradled a set of five lottery tickets, each with the same numbers, as if they were fragile glass. Life suddenly seemed full of hope.

“What’s that?” The Japanese girls had never seen a lottery ticket before.

Hao Ren explained.

Shiki Ryogi had no concept of money; Saeko Busujima had never lacked it; but Shizuka Marikawa was extremely excited—brand-name bags would no longer be a problem.

“Then I guess I’m useless now,” Saya Takagi said, sounding a bit downcast.

“Don’t worry, Saya. Once I get the money, you can use it however you want—spend, invest, whatever you like.” Hao Ren, the notorious penny-pincher, seemed to have said something outrageous. Apparently, now that money was no longer an issue, he had shed his miserly ways.

“W-who said you could just call me by my name!” Saya blushed again, tsundere as ever. “Well, since you put it that way, I’ll allow it from now on.” She clearly wanted to but needed an excuse.

“Sayachan!” Hao Ren pressed his luck.

“No honorifics!!”

“Yes, yes.”

“And only once!”

“Yessss—”

“No dragging it out!”

At noon, seeing an extra fifty thousand in his account, Hao Ren was excited for only a moment before going shopping at the supermarket. Thankfully, prices in the small city were low, but after a big haul and hiring a car and movers, he still spent nearly five thousand.

That afternoon, on his way back to campus, Hao Ren found three pink hundred-yuan bills on the street, reinforcing his confidence in winning again tomorrow. Even though he knew he’d never lack for money now and that working was pointless, as a university student, he wasn’t ready to give up this lifestyle just yet; after all, his student status provided a good cover for many things.

Well, the real reason was something else entirely—if he dropped out without permission, his mother would kill him.

As soon as he opened his dorm room door, a cloud of smoke almost knocked him back out.

Surrounded by cigarette butts, the other three in the room were all busy at their computers. Brother Piao held a cigarette in his right hand, mouse in the other, headset on, still yelling commands in his raid group. Brother Dayue also had a cigarette in his right hand, mouse in the other, headset on, conquering “Shattered Dimensions.” Xiaoqiang, on the other hand, had the cigarette in his left hand, mouse and keyboard likewise, headset on, playing Dota in a voice-chat party.

These three were perfectly synchronized. As the only non-smoker in the dorm, Hao Ren felt enormous pressure.

He’d always wondered: Xiaoqiang, where did you even get that left-handed mouse and keyboard set? He’d never seen them for sale anywhere.

“Hey, you’re back. Order us three fried rice, will you?” Brother Piao didn’t even look up, knowing Hao Ren was the only one willing to venture into the smoke zone.

Hao Ren resigned himself; it was his dorm, after all.

He obediently called the little restaurant, went downstairs to get the food, and distributed it to the three.

“I’m tied up these two days, Brother Piao, could you call my name for roll?” Upon hearing this, Brother Piao turned with a pitiful look, then obediently lowered his head at the sight of an entire carton of Su cigarettes that Hao Ren produced.

“Don’t worry, it’s taken care of,” Brother Dayue said, snatching the cigarettes.

“Hey, we split everything fifty-fifty! Don’t hog them all!” Xiaoqiang protested.

The moment Hao Ren stepped out of the room, the carton of cigarettes was instantly demolished.