Chapter 23: You decadent woman!

After finishing the meal, Lu Xiaobei packed up the leftovers and placed them in a plastic bag.

"Shall we rest here for a while?"

She looked at the shimmering ripples on the canal and smiled, "Whenever I’m alone with nothing to do, I like to sit here and watch the boats come and go."

"Oh?"

I used to watch cargo ships along the Suzhou Canal when I was a child, so I didn't refuse and sat with her for a moment.

"Ding Han."

After a heavily laden cargo ship glided past, the ripples washed toward the banks. Lu Xiaobei seemed lost in thought as she asked, "Tell me, are the waves in the water right now the same ones from a second ago?"

"They aren't."

I replied calmly, "The rhythm of the waves follows the 'momentum' of the water. Each wave rises according to that momentum, yet every second, the waves are different. It’s like the saying, 'Generations of talent emerge from the land, each leading the way for hundreds of years.' History is a stage, constantly repeating the cycle of entrances and exits."

"That's so profound..."

She glanced at me. "I think you're just showing off."

I laughed out loud.

"Actually, I really like the idiom 'cleaving through the waves'."

Lu Xiaobei clasped her hands under her chin, her bright eyes fixed on the boats in the canal. "Regardless of whether the waves before me are the same as the ones before, as long as you keep cleaving through them, you can keep moving forward instead of constantly looking back at all the ugliness of the past."

"That was a pretty good show of intellect..."

I clapped lightly.

"..."

Lu Xiaobei glared at me indignantly.

"How was your market research at Fengyun Internet Cafe this morning? Any findings?" I asked.

"Not really. I was too busy playing Bubble Fighter."

"..."

I was speechless. Relying on her was clearly not an option.

"Let's go. There are two more cafes waiting for us."

"Mm!"

...

In the afternoon, the two of us stealthily slipped into the second target, Leiting Internet Cafe, a spot focused on the game *MU Online*.

Lu Xiaobei opened a machine and observed her surroundings calmly.

I wandered around for a bit before sitting down next to her and whispering, "It's 2:30 PM, which counts as peak hours, yet less than a third of the people here are playing *MU Online*. I see quite a few people playing *Wonderland Online* and the newly rising *Fantasy Westward Journey*. It just so happens our cafe's server doesn't have these two games. I'll make sure to add them when we get back."

"Mm!"

Lu Xiaobei nodded heavily, her beautiful eyes shining with excitement.

"By the way."

I frowned. "How have your earnings been from the stall in the old town lately?"

"Average. Sometimes I don't sell a single thing all day, not even enough to cover my lunch box." She wore a look of helplessness. "Do you think people's hearts just aren't what they used to be? Tourists these days are so hard to swindle..."

"Good lord..."

I nearly spat out blood. I couldn't help but retort, "Whose heart isn't what it used to be, exactly?"

I looked at her and said sternly, "For the sake of the development of Feiyang Internet Cafe, I think you need to restrain yourself. You can't keep wandering around like a street urchin. When business isn't booming during the day, just sit in the cafe at a station. You’re so pretty—as long as you're there, you'll attract quite a few people to come and surf the web."

"Is that so?"

Lu Xiaobei seemed quite pleased. She brushed a lock of hair from her temple and smiled, "You think I'm pretty too, right?"

I nodded painfully. "Yes..."

Feeding her arrogance was my original sin.

Lu Xiaobei was clearly enjoying it, squinting her eyes and smiling at me.

...

Not long after, Lu Xiaobei and I finished our market research at the third location, Jisu Internet Cafe, which focused on the shooter game *CS*. Before sunset, we sat by the canal again to enjoy the view and summarize our findings.

"Actually, the management strategies of the other three cafes are quite rigid. Their only advantage is having more machines and slightly better hardware. I think surpassing them is only a matter of time."

"Mm-hmm!"

Lu Xiaobei nodded repeatedly, her eyes full of light.

"You need to take a trip to the game disc wholesale market."

I looked at her and continued, "Buy more promotional posters for popular games like *Audition*, *Legend*, *MU*, and *CS*. Then, clean up the advertisements on our exterior glass windows and put up these posters. We need to create an atmosphere for our games. You know, they say details determine success or failure. Don't be lazy about things that are easily done."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Lu Xiaobei nodded again. "Ding Han, I've realized you're really amazing... your understanding of market research is much deeper than mine."

"It's alright, I just like to think things through."

"What are we having for dinner? My treat."

"Does it count as a business expense?"

"It does!"

"Would having hot pot be considered excessive?"

"It would!"

"Then let's stick to lunch boxes."

"Okay~~"

...

Days passed.

Waiting for the utilization rate of Feiyang Internet Cafe to increase felt like a long, drawn-out process—much like waiting for a flower to bloom. It was a period of market incubation that couldn't be rushed.

However, Lu Xiaobei had changed a lot. She spent most of her days at the cafe, starting to mingle with the crowd. She even added many customers on her friends list and danced along to the hot, rhythmic music with them!

Seven days later.

Around 8:00 PM.

Feiyang Internet Cafe was nearly packed. I arrived early to witness the spectacle with Lu Xiaobei: the vacancy rate during prime time was less than 10%. There wasn't a single empty machine in the entire cafe—it was booming!

Just then, a chime sounded in my ear. The previous mission was complete!

[Congratulations! You have completed the daily mission "Business Goal" (B-Rank)! Reward: Character EXP +120,000. Additionally, you have received the bonus item: "Dungeon Crystal: Green Scrapyard" (Rare-grade ★★)!]

"Clatter!"

A rhombus-shaped, dark gold crystal dropped into my dimensional storage space!

I was ecstatic. Another dungeon crystal! My luck was truly incredible!

"Lu Xiaobei."

I turned to the beautiful boss behind me and said, "I'm a bit tired today. Will you keep me company on the night shift? I'll take the first half, you take the second?"

"Oh?"

Lu Xiaobei asked with concern, "Haven't you been resting well lately?"

"I sleep in the cafe every day; do you think I could ever get a good rest?"

"Fair point."

She nodded. "Alright, I'll stay with you."

So, after starting the overnight shift, I managed to push through for a while before drifting off. At 4:00 AM, Lu Xiaobei woke me up. She began managing the server while I ate a bowl of instant noodles and went back to sleep to recharge, just so I could use the new dungeon crystal the next day.

Dungeon crystals only depreciate in value if you hold onto them. Using them to convert into personal levels and combat power is the true path. Just as Old K said, to play games, you must learn to snowball; a player who doesn't know how to snowball is never an expert.

The next morning.

Lu Xiaobei bought breakfast herself. After eating, I made an excuse to go for a walk and left the cafe.

...

In the old town district, I activated the dungeon crystal.

"Whoosh—"

On the game map, a small gold dot began to blink continuously. Its location wasn't too far—about a mile away.

When I sprinted to the spot, I was dumbfounded. A dungeon portal, looking exactly like surging starlight, had appeared right on the railing at the edge of the canal. If I wanted to enter the dungeon, I would essentially have to jump into the river.

I looked left and right, confirming there was no surveillance nearby and that no one was around, sparing me the embarrassment of an old man rushing over to shout, "Young man, don't do something you'll regret!"

Once everything was confirmed, I took a leap and dove into the portal!

"Rustle..."

I stumbled as I appeared inside the dungeon map. A notification chime echoed in my ears—

[Please note, you have activated the dungeon: "Green Scrapyard" (Rare-grade ★★)!]

[You have entered the map: Mysterious Abandoned Open-Air Mechanical Graveyard in the Wilderness!]

[Objective: Destroy the "Boom-Bang" rocket car modified by the Goblin Scavengers!]

[Hint: Beware of the rocket car; it can deal devastating damage!]

...

"Squeak, squeak~~~"

Just as I was checking the map and getting familiar with the environment, health bars appeared in the grass ahead. Then, one after another, gray-brown insects appeared in my field of vision. They were covered in thick carapaces, their antennae twitching frantically, already drawn to me.

Wilderness Burrower, Level 20, Common Monster.

These monsters had low attack and defense, with only 1,000 HP, but they were high-level at 20. For my current level, killing them was a 4-level gap, granting at least a 20% bonus in experience. It was extremely cost-effective, allowing me to gain the most experience with minimal bullet consumption and equipment wear.

The next moment, at least a dozen Wilderness Burrowers charged over!

I immediately switched my main weapon to the "Roarer" and began firing wildly at the group. Bullets sprayed out in a dense barrage. There were too many monsters to be arrogant, and I couldn't afford to worry about saving ammunition. After rapidly emptying three magazines, I finally cleared out most of them. As the remaining five low-health burrowers closed in, I switched to my sword-wielding stance!

"Boom!"

With one sword strike, Force surged!

Earth Spike Slash!

In an instant, a dense cluster of sharp spikes erupted from the ground in a fan shape, dealing massive damage to the group of burrowers!

"553!"
"548!"
"527!"
"555!"

The dense damage numbers flashed. The remaining burrowers were wiped out instantly, letting out shrill squeaks as they turned into white streaks of EXP that flew into my body. This feeling of madly absorbing experience was incredibly fulfilling. Unfortunately, my level was high now; going from 16 to 17 required 500,000 EXP, so the path to leveling up was extremely long. I could only accumulate it slowly.

After clearing the wave of burrowers, I didn't let my guard down. I sat in place, refilled all my magazines, and only then moved forward to continue the dungeon.

"Beep!"

A WeChat message came in from Zhang Ruolin: "Ding Han, what are you doing? Want to come out for a drink tonight? Xiaobai and I found a nice bar; the resident singer is quite interesting. If you come too late, Xiaobai and I might get picked up by someone else, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

I was speechless.

I pulled out my phone, snapped a picture of the scene inside the dungeon, sent it to her, and added a doge emoji.

"Damn..."

Zhang Ruolin sent back a shocked emoji: "Next time you have a dungeon crystal, remember to bring me along to share the experience... I can pay to join the party!"

"Go back to your drinking, you decadent woman!"

"..."

Zhang Ruolin was speechless and sent back a kitten-shivering-in-fear emoji.