1: Chapter 1 Frustrating Reality

(No NTR, no stifling plots, feel free to read)

"What the hell kind of trash teammates am I getting matched with?!"

In front of the screen, a fairly handsome young man grumbled.

"You're playing a Carry and all you do is farm. A thirty-thousand-net-worth Anti-Mage getting dropped in a second, and you fucking blame others?! You're lucky I'm not flaming you! Noob, trash!"

A teammate's voice exploded in his headset through the game's voice chat.

Su Nange didn't want to argue anymore and exited the matchmaking screen!

He just muttered, "Seriously, who even wins in this game?"

He looked at the game icons on the Steam platform on the large screen before him, instantly losing interest.

He picked up a pack of cigarettes from the desk and walked to the window. The glass could only be pushed open a crack, but a bit of cool air still drifted in.

Su Nange lit one and gazed at the brightly lit city. In the distant sky, a blue comet streaked across.

This was the eighth day of his unemployment.

In less than two months, he had experienced this three times.

Just then, the apartment door opened.

The crisp sound of a high heel dropping echoed.

The apartment was small—a standard one-bedroom with a bathroom and a small living area. Fire safety regulations were strict, so the developer hadn't dared to include a kitchen.

Fortunately, Su Nange wasn't renting this apartment.

It was another failed investment his father had made while he was still alive.

However, the location was decent, so the loss wasn't too significant.

As the second high heel dropped, Su Nange's drifting thoughts were pulled back from outside the window.

Su Nange grumbled to the owner of the high heels, "Out entertaining clients with drinks again?"

A delicate-looking girl in a uniform skirt suit was massaging a small foot clad in nude stockings. Clearly, wearing high heels all day was very uncomfortable for her.

But hearing Su Nange's words made her even more uncomfortable!

The girl looked exhausted, but she raised her voice and replied, "What do you mean 'entertaining with drinks'? This is a business social arranged by the company! Could I have said no? If I don't go, how will the company assign me projects? And without projects, where would my bonuses come from?"

Su Nange tossed his cigarette butt out the window.

He saw the girl slumped on a small sofa.

She had a great figure, and as she sat, the uniform skirt was pressed against the sofa, accentuating her long legs even more beautifully.

But seeing this only made Su Nange feel worse.

Ye Tingting was the girlfriend he had started dating during his freshman year.

The two had always had a strong relationship, and they had even started living together before graduation.

But that's reality. Having just left the ivory tower, the two of them suddenly felt its cruelty.

Their university was mediocre.

Their family backgrounds were also ordinary. Su Nange, in particular, no longer had any family ties.

Even their major was unremarkable: Economics and Finance.

Despite the impressive-sounding name, in reality, it was hard to even find a job paying 5,000 huaxia currency.

Fortunately, Ye Tingting was something of a top student in her class and had managed to get into the banking system.

Su Nange had also done well initially, joining a large state-owned investment firm. However, he was fired after less than two weeks.

The reason for his dismissal was beyond ridiculous; they claimed he had sexually harassed a female superior.

Su Nange was stunned at the time. He had just gone there to get a signature—it was her own fault for changing clothes without locking the door!

But he didn't know that the young female leader was the daughter of some official, stationed there for temporary training.

Having offended her, Su Nange's reputation in the industry was instantly ruined!

To the point where he now had to face a career change before he had even truly started.

Su Nange sat down beside Ye Tingting and placed his hand on that silky texture.

But Ye Tingting swiped it away.

Ye Tingting said irritably, "How much longer are you going to waste away at home? You don't expect to rely solely on me from now on, do you?"

Su Nange was also depressed. "I went to several interviews today, but none were good. They either only had one day off a week or the pay was pitifully low."

Ye Tingting spoke like someone who had seen it all. "Nange, don't be so picky. You did make some money selling SIM cards in school and got used to the good life, but things are different now. No job means starving."

"Just find a job first. Anything is better than staying home playing games."

Su Nange froze, realizing that he and Ye Tingting were drifting further apart.

The girl she used to be wanted to be by his side every second.

But now? Her actions just now said it all.

Su Nange sighed. "Tingting, I know your bank is full of wealthy young men and you see a lot of big bosses. It's normal for you to look down on me now."

Ye Tingting turned her head. "What are you talking about? I'm telling you to find a job, and you're doubting me?"

She stood up and stomped toward the bedroom.

However, she paused and added, "You have no idea how tired I am every day. I didn't expect to come home to find you without even a single word of comfort. I'm going to bed early."

With that, she walked into the bedroom.

Su Nange returned to the window. Another blue light streaked across the dark sky.

Su Nange wondered, Are there really this many meteors tonight?

He lit another cigarette. In truth, Su Nange was suffering inside. He had been the student union president, the kind of student teachers loved most.

But now, the massive gap between expectation and reality was about to crush him.

No matter how excellent you were in school, interviewers in the finance industry didn't care. They only cared about your family background.

And how much business you could bring them.

Su Nange felt that he really had been neglecting Tingting.

But wasn't Ye Tingting the same? She spent almost every day in that uniform skirt suit, attending various business banquets.

She used to hate wearing high heels, but now, with every new pair she bought, the heels got even higher.

Her reason was to show confidence in front of clients.

Su Nange smiled bitterly. What a lame excuse. It wasn't like he'd never been to a bank.

This was probably due to the influence of Ye Tingting's current boss, Manager Wang of Qianjiang Bank's Marketing Department.

Just now, when Su Nange opened the window, he had seen his girlfriend getting out of a black executive sedan.

Su Nange recognized it; it was Manager Wang's car.

Ye Tingting had once mentioned in passing that Manager Wang took good care of her.

He had even given her an extra set of bank uniforms, saying she looked very confident in them.

Su Nange tossed his cigarette butt away.

Right now, he really wanted to find someone and beat them up to vent his frustration!

Speaking of beating people up, Su Nange sat back down at his computer and reopened Steam.

There was a game icon inside that he hadn't touched in years.

So, Su Nange clicked on the icon, and the game "GTA5" showed it was loading.

The local files for "GTA5" were huge. Su Nange's internet speed wasn't slow, but it would still take nearly an hour to finish redownloading.

Su Nange checked his watch and simply slumped over the desk, falling asleep.

In his daze, he seemed to have a dream.

In the dream, a voice asked him.

"Do you wish to bind your Los Santos account?"

Su Nange, thinking he was playing a game, immediately nodded. "Bind!"

After a "ding," the voice spoke again.

"Congratulations, player Su Nange. You have successfully linked your identity and account in Los Santos. Once bound, you can use all items, money, vehicles, and more from Los Santos in any setting."

"But please note! Should you die in either setting, your identity in the other will also be permanently erased."

"Good luck, player Su Nange!"

After saying this, the voice vanished completely.

Su Nange woke up to find a blanket draped over him.

Su Nange shook his head and looked at the screen. The original green Roman numeral 'V' icon had actually turned black with a gold border.

Su Nange wondered, Is this what it looks like after the update?

Still, seeing the blanket made him feel a bit better. He turned off the computer and got up to go to the bedroom.