Chapter 10: Crazy Game Promotion (Part 1)

Night.

It was late.

Whenever Chen Shou returned home, the “cling-cling-cling” of gold coins echoed in his ears, and scenes from the game Desert Bicycle constantly flashed through his mind.

For some reason…

He felt an indescribable surge of excitement.

Meanwhile, Chen Shou’s wife was in the computer room next door. She had already claimed the computer, finished installing the game, and was already playing.

She was a full-time housewife. Aside from looking after the children, she didn’t have much to do, so she had plenty of free time. Now that the children were asleep, her nightlife had officially begun.

Chen Shou took out his phone and started making calls!

“Right, big brother, that’s right. I really did go to that company…”

“The boss is incredibly young, gives off the vibe of a rich second-generation heir¹. I reckon he’s the type who’ll throw money around just to hit his performance targets…”

“It only costs five yuan to download this game. It’s just pocket change. Even if we lose out, it’s only five yuan. An hour at an internet cafe costs two yuan anyway. What if there really is a reward of tens of thousands? I even have a copy of the boss’s ID card. Don’t worry, he can’t run away…”

“Exactly. I’ll give you the website. I’ll text it to you, and it’ll have my Invitation Code in it…”

“…”

“…”

Chen Shou spent his time calling everyone he knew.

By the time he finished calling the tenth person and successfully invited them, his wife Liu Jia’s voice drifted in from the next room.

It was the middle of the night.

Liu Jia sounded extremely excited!

“Old Chen, did your invitation go through? Your account just got five hundred points!”

Hearing her voice, Old Chen was stunned.

The points arrived that quickly and could already be withdrawn?

He immediately ran into the computer room and saw his wife staring excitedly at the Desert Bicycle interface. On another account next to the game screen, it showed that five hundred points had been credited and were ready for withdrawal!

“Right, they arrived that fast? How about we withdraw this five yuan?”

“Old Chen, just withdraw four yuan. I’ve encountered a Hidden Quest here with very generous rewards. I need to scrape together thirty points to revive and continue… It’s your fault for failing me! Your account’s notification pop-up about the points arriving messed me up!”

“Alright, then…”

Chen Shou nodded helplessly.

After deducting one hundred points, he clicked on the withdrawal interface within the game and entered his bank account details.

Initially, he was still a bit nervous.

Although five yuan was a small amount, the feeling of being cheated would be terrible if he couldn’t withdraw it!

After clicking withdraw, he kept his eyes glued to the screen!

He felt a strange mix of anxiety and anticipation.

Not long after…

Buzz, buzz.

His phone vibrated.

He immediately saw a notification on his account stating that four yuan had been credited.

Looking at those four yuan, Chen Shou was ecstatic!

It really worked!

So, if I invite ten people, I can earn five yuan. This is real money, money that can be withdrawn!

If I invite a hundred people a day, I can earn an extra fifty yuan! That’s an extra fifteen hundred a month!

Of course, pulling in that many people every day wasn’t realistic. However, he could get at least thirty customers a day. As long as he mentioned it to every passenger, he wouldn’t ask for much, but earning some pocket money wouldn’t be a problem!

Earning enough for a pack of cigarettes² every day should be doable, right?

In the middle of the night, Chen Shou suddenly felt like heading out to drive his taxi.

He looked at his wife, who was playing with great gusto.

“Honey, let me tell you…”

“Don’t bother me, I’m doing a quest!” His wife, Liu Jia, was currently controlling the bicycle through a sandstorm in the desert.

The sandstorm was fierce, coming wave after wave.

She had to constantly use the left and right keys on the screen to dodge the storm.

“Honey, put the quest down for a second. Listen to me, stop playing the game and start reaching out to your relatives, friends, and former colleagues. Ten people is five yuan, twenty people is ten yuan… this is all money you can withdraw!”

“Chen Shou, what is wrong with you? Can’t you talk to me after I finish the quest! Now the quest failed again, and it takes forty points to revive. I could have withdrawn the rewards if I’d finished, but now it’s all gone. Are you sick in the head?” Liu Jia threw down the keyboard and glared at Chen Shou, her anger boiling over.

This game…

It was simply too addictive.

Several times, she had been on the verge of withdrawing money. If she could just focus a little more, she could withdraw one yuan!

But Old Chen kept prattling on beside her, causing her to fail!

She was furious.

The game didn’t look difficult, but the first time you failed and restarted, it cost ten points. The second time was twenty points, the third time was thirty…

The more she failed, the more her earned points were sunk back into it.

“I’m saying, stop playing for a bit and make some calls!”

“Are you insane? Making calls in the middle of the night, aren’t people sleeping? You’re sick! Or has your brain gone bad?”

“Uh…”

“Fine, you haven’t played on your account yet, right? You still have trial attempts?”

“I do!”

“Let me play it…”

“Alright, fine!”

“Get out. You have to drive tomorrow, don’t disturb me anymore…”

“Okay.”

Just as Liu Jia opened Chen Shou’s game and ushered him away so she could play in peace, her phone rang again.

The sudden sound made her flinch, and she was pushed aside by the wind and sand. The quest failed again, and it would cost another ten points to revive!

She was instantly enraged!

Is this person brain-dead?

Who would call her in the middle of the night?

When she saw the caller was her sister, Liu Mei, she was speechless!

She answered the phone.

“Hello? Sis, you can actually make money from this game! You really can! I just triggered a Hidden Quest. It was hard, but I finished it and already withdrew one yuan! I could have withdrawn one-point-three, but I spent thirty points to save my progress so I can play again tomorrow! I reckon I’ll make back the cost tomorrow. By the way, there’s also a no-damage clear reward. It doesn’t seem that hard. That thirty thousand, I think I can earn it!”

“…”

“…”

On the other end of the line, her sister Liu Mei’s voice was full of excitement. She even enthusiastically sent over a photo of her successful withdrawal.

After seeing the photo in the message, Liu Jia was suddenly filled with irritation.

She hung up, switched off her phone, and immediately lost herself in the game.

Time really does fly when you’re gaming.

By the end of the night, Liu Jia had finally scraped together a hundred points and tapped the withdrawal button…

About half an hour later, when she saw the notification that the withdrawal to her bank card was successful, a sudden sense of satisfaction washed over her.

She logged out of the game and checked the rankings on the Universe Technology app.

To her surprise, she was ranked somewhere in the two hundreds!

Man!

When did this happen? Over two hundred people had appeared in the rankings in a single night?

Then, she glanced at the withdrawal interface…

It was filled with one, two, and five-yuan withdrawals… there were even some for ten yuan!

She felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of crisis.

Just as she was about to lie down for a nap, the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Ding-dong!”

She ran to answer it.

Liu Mei came bursting in, looking ecstatic.

“Sis, I withdrew ten yuan overnight! I recruited twenty people. It’s actually really easy to make some pocket money with this. Now all my friends and colleagues are sharing it…”

“Sis, I only need three more people to withdraw another five yuan. Can you make some calls for me and share my Invitation Code³?”

“…”

Seeing how excited Liu Mei was…

…Liu Jia suddenly felt a wave of unease.

Right then…

The sound of a phone ringing drifted in from the next room.

Chen Shou was already awake and had immediately started making calls to everyone he knew…

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes