6: Chapter 6 The Troubles of Spending Money

On the way home from school, Wang Pingan felt like a new monkey at the zoo.

No, even more rare than a monkey.

At least monkeys wouldn't be scanned from every angle by so many gazes.

There were too many mixed things in those gazes.

There was curiosity, inquiry, jealousy, and even some shy, heated looks from a few girls.

In the past, this was Li Moran's exclusive treatment.

He kept his head down, carrying his bag, walking fast, wishing he could take three-meter strides to teleport straight home.

But even so, he could clearly hear the classmates passing by, whispering in hushed tones.

"That's him, Wang Pingan."

"Damn, he looks pretty ordinary in person. How did he punch 186 kilograms? Did he cheat?"

"What cheat? He said it was because he mastered the Federal Military Body Boxing and got lucky with a breakthrough."

"You believe that? I don't. That's even more ridiculous than a sow climbing a tree."

Wang Pingan's mouth twitched.

He didn't retort, nor did he stop walking.

Inside, however, he felt an indescribable sense of comfort.

It felt good.

It felt damn good.

This feeling of being gossiped about, envied, and treated as the protagonist of a legendary story was more exhilarating than drinking ice-cold soda on a hot summer day.

In both his lives combined, he had never been this glorious.

In his past life at the company, the boss praised him at the annual meeting, calling him a workhorse, a brick of the company, to be moved wherever needed. He had to plaster on a smile, bow and scrape, and say thank you for the boss's cultivation, while actually thinking, 'Screw you.'

Now it was different.

He didn't need to say anything, didn't need to do anything.

A single number, a single punch, and everyone shut their mouths.

This was power.

Arriving home, he slammed the door shut with a 'bang,' shutting out all the noise from outside.

Wang Pingan tossed his schoolbag aside and spun around the living room in excitement twice.

Today at school, the way Liu Jianguo looked at him was like looking at a rare, unpolished gem.

After class, he was even specially called to the office, where he was earnestly encouraged, told not to be arrogant, to keep up the good work, and that the school would consider applying for extra cultivation resources for him.

Li Moran's handsome face remained tense all day, as if someone owed him millions.

All of this made the dopamine in Wang Pingan's body secrete wildly.

He couldn't wait to lie down on the sofa, and with a thought, he pulled up that familiar blue panel.

【host: Wang Pingan】

【Realm: First-Rank Martial Artist (Vitality Value 138 / 300)】

【Strength: 13.5】

【Speed: 13.2】

【Constitution: 13.6】

【Spirit: 17.2】

【Recovery: 13.8】

【pay-to-win points: 0】

That glaring "0" made Wang Pingan feel a bit uncomfortable.

Although his data today was almost the same as Li Moran's, he knew clearly that the 186 kilograms was the result of pouring in his "Mastery-level" Federal Military Body Boxing techniques and giving it his all.

And Li Moran?

That guy's expression at the time was relaxed and comfortable, no different from going out for a stroll.

Who knew where his limit was?

A sense of crisis emerged once again.

Must add points!

Immediately! Right now!

He rubbed his hands excitedly, preparing to see how many pay-to-win points it would take to add one more point of strength.

However, when he focused his mind on the "+" sign behind the "Strength" attribute, a new prompt popped up.

【To increase 1 point of Strength, 20 pay-to-win points are required.】

Twenty points?

Wang Pingan was stunned.

He remembered clearly that when he added points before, one attribute point only required ten pay-to-win points.

How did it double?

He quickly tried other attributes, and the prompts obtained were all the same.

【To increase 1 point of Speed, 20 pay-to-win points are required.】

【To increase 1 point of Constitution, 20 pay-to-win points are required.】

A chill went straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

The excitement he felt earlier, as if he had been injected with adrenaline, was instantly extinguished by half.

Twenty pay-to-win points meant two low-grade spirit crystals.

Two thousand star coins.

Just to increase one attribute point.

This damn...

Wang Pingan sat up abruptly from the sofa, grabbed the personal terminal nearby, and opened his interstellar bank account with lightning-fast speed.

Balance: 1250.00 star coins.

1250, that was all the pocket money he had scraped together by scrimping and saving this summer.

1250.

According to the market price of 1000 star coins per low-grade spirit crystal, his entire net worth was only enough to buy one.

One spirit crystal converted to ten pay-to-win points.

Not even enough to add half an attribute point.

This realization poured down on him like a basin of ice water.

Wang Pingan froze completely.

The feeling of being the center of attention at school, floating on clouds, vanished without a trace in an instant.

He was kicked back into cold reality.

An intense "anxiety about becoming stronger," like a bone-eating maggot, tightly gripped his heart.

He could imagine it.

A heaven-favored child like Li Moran, with family support behind him, probably counted the spirit crystals he used for cultivation by the crate.

He had finally managed to close the gap today, but what about tomorrow? The day after?

People were improving every day, paying to win every day.

And he could only watch his pitiful balance in his account, stuck in place.

It wouldn't take long for him to be left far behind.

The bigger the sensation he caused today, the louder the ridicule would be when he stagnated later.

"I told you, he just got lucky, took some drug, and once the effect wears off, he'll be back to his original form."

"Just a flash in the pan."

He could even imagine the gloating faces of those people.

No!

Absolutely not!

Wang Pingan paced back and forth in the living room, agitated, his fists clenched tight.

He had finally crawled out of the mud, breathed the fresh air at the top of the mountain, he absolutely could not fall back down!

Money!

He needed money! A lot of money!

A thought uncontrollably emerged from the bottom of his heart.

How about... asking Mom and Dad?

He picked up the personal terminal, his finger hovering over his parents' communication number, but he couldn't press it.

Before his eyes appeared his parents' weather-beaten faces.

They were far away on the interstellar battlefield, fighting for their lives against hideous alien races every day.

Those 50,000 star coins were exchanged for their lives.

He had already spent 50,000, and now he wanted to ask for more?

For what?

To show off more at school? To satisfy his selfish desire to become stronger?

He couldn't do it.

He, Wang Pingan, having lived two lives, even if he wasn't a good person, couldn't be such a useless parasite.

Besides, he had a system.

With such an heaven-defying golden finger, if he still had to rely on his parents, he might as well just bang his head against a piece of tofu and die.

"Damn it!"

He cursed lowly and threw the terminal heavily onto the sofa.

For the first time, he realized so deeply the essence of his golden finger.

"Pay-to-Win System."

The point wasn't the "System," it was the "Pay-to-Win."

Without "money," what would you use to "pay"?

This thing was like a top-tier interstellar warship, with earth-shattering performance, but if you couldn't even afford the energy blocks to start it, what was the difference between it and a pile of scrap metal?

Wang Pingan slumped onto the bed, eyes open, staring hollowly at the ceiling.

A huge sense of powerlessness enveloped him once again.

He was not reconciled.

Really not reconciled.

He suddenly turned over and sat up, grabbed the terminal, and started searching frantically on the Star Net.

"Fastest way for high school students to earn money legally."

"Recent martial arts competitions in Shen City."

"High-paying part-time jobs with no threshold."

Pieces of information flashed before his eyes.

【Stardust Express, recruiting temporary sorters, hourly wage 40 star coins, requirements: strong and healthy.】

Too slow. If he worked ten hours a day without eating or drinking, it would only be 400 star coins, not even enough to buy half a spirit crystal. All his cultivation time would be wasted.

【The 2nd 'New Star Cup' Youth Martial Arts Competition, registration closed last month.】

Too late.

【Black market bounty: Looking for the missing pet cat 'Mimi' in the west of the city, characteristics: orange, very fat. Bounty 500 star coins.】

Wang Pingan: "..."

He searched all the keywords he could think of, but the results were all trivial odd jobs or tasks with outrageously high thresholds.

As for selling martial arts techniques?

The "Federal Military Body Boxing" he knew, everyone knew it. Even if his version was stronger, who would believe it? And how would he explain why he knew it?

Should he say, an old man lives in my brain?

Don't be funny.

One hope after another was shattered.

Wang Pingan agitatedly closed all the pages and buried his head in the pillow.

Was there really no way?

Was his script for a counterattack, with the climax in the first chapter, going to be cut short in the second?