40: Real-world feedback: One million has arrived! Landlord: Brother Qiang, this way please!

"Ring, ring, ring—!"

The piercing sound of the alarm clock drilled into Li Qiang's ears like an electric drill.

Springing up from the bed, Li Qiang subconsciously took off the somewhat worn-out VR helmet on his head.

Before his eyes was no longer the humiliated yet stunning face of the Elven Princess.

Nor were there mountains of dragon bones and magic Materials.

Only the familiar, dust-covered rental room of less than ten square meters remained.

Outside the window was a gray sky and the noise of a distant construction site.

The air was filled with the sour, rotten smell of instant noodles mixed with sweat.

"Every time, it feels like a dream..."

Li Qiang rubbed his face; what his hand felt wasn't the metallic scent of dragon blood, but the rough sensation of stubble.

That one million bounty... that princess's crown he had forcibly snatched... a massive sense of loss washed over him like a tide, nearly drowning him.

Buzz, buzz.

The second-hand phone by his pillow vibrated.

Li Qiang picked it up numbly, thinking it was a death warrant from the Foreman urging him to get to work.

A bank notification popped up without warning.

[Longxia Bank: Your savings card ending in 5869 received an income of RMB 1,000,000.00 at 07:15. Current account balance: 1,000,250.50.]

Li Qiang's brain stalled for three seconds.

One.

Ten.

Hundred.

Thousand.

Ten thousand.

Hundred thousand.

One million.

He extended the finger that had crushed countless monster bones in the game and counted the zeros on the screen one by one.

His hand began to tremble uncontrollably.

The phone hit his face with a "thwack."

It didn't hurt.

It didn't hurt at all.

An ecstasy a hundred times stronger than winning a five-million-dollar lottery erupted like a volcano, instantly overwhelming his reason.

"Heh..."

"Hehehe..."

"Hahahahahaha!!"

Li Qiang covered his mouth tightly, suppressing the wild laughter that almost burst from his throat.

Tears, however, flowed down uncontrollably... 8:00 AM, Chengnan Construction Site.

"Li Qiang! Do you fucking want this job or not?!"

The Foreman opened his mouth full of yellow teeth, spraying spittle all over Li Qiang's face: "Look at what time it is! You're nearly an hour late! Don't expect a single cent of this month's salary!"

The surrounding coworkers all cast sympathetic glances.

Normally, Li Qiang would have been bowing and scraping to apologize.

But today.

There was only a calm smile on Li Qiang's face.

"I don't want it anymore."

The calm voice brought the Foreman's roaring to a dead stop.

Li Qiang walked slowly to the pile of neatly stacked red bricks nearby.

That was the power surging within him after moving bricks and killing monsters in the game repeatedly, bringing his reality feedback synchronization to 8%.

He extended his index finger.

Under everyone's suspicious and uncertain gazes, he lightly pressed it onto the center of the top brick.

He didn't use force.

Just a gentle press.

Crack—

A clear crack spread out from his fingertip.

Then, like falling dominoes.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The entire stack of nearly a hundred red bricks split cleanly in half from top to bottom!

The noise of the construction site vanished.

Everyone's mouths hung open in an "O" shape.

The Foreman's eyes bulged like copper bells, and he didn't even notice the cigarette falling from his hand to the ground.

"This... this is..."

"I quit."

Li Qiang withdrew his finger, took off the yellowed hard hat he had worn for five years, and casually tossed it into the Foreman's arms.

"Keep this shitty hat for yourself."

"I'm done serving you."

He turned and left.

Behind him, he left only a ground full of shattered bricks and a group of workers whose worldview had collapsed... Back at the bottom of the rental building.

A bloated figure stood like a wall, blocking the entrance to the stairwell.

It was the Landlady.

"Li Qiang! So you finally decided to come back!"

The Landlady stood with hands on her hips, her slanted eyes narrowing as her sharp voice sprayed like a machine gun: "Where's this month's rent! If you don't pay today, pack your things and get out! Don't think I don't know you're about to lose your job. A poor brick-mover trying to dodge rent?"

Li Qiang stopped walking.

No anger, no argument.

He simply pulled out his phone and opened a real estate app right in front of the Landlady.

His finger tapped on a newly listed, fully furnished three-bedroom apartment in this neighborhood.

"What's the current price for this place?"

The Landlady froze for a moment, then sneered: "What? You want to buy a house? You can't even cough up fifteen hundred for rent!"

"The down payment is about three hundred thousand, right?"

Li Qiation ignored her mockery, speaking to himself.

"But I don't need a loan."

"I'm paying in full."

The air instantly froze.

The fat on the Landlady's face twitched, and her slanted eyes blinked in disbelief.

"You... what did you say?"

Li Qiang put away his phone and looked up at her with a playful smile.

"I said, I'm buying this house."

A full five seconds passed.

The Landlady's face changed like a Sichuan opera mask, instantly piling on a smile that looked like a blooming chrysanthemum.

Her voice was sickeningly sweet.

"Oh my! Brother Qiang! Look at my big mouth! I... I was just joking with you!"

"You've struck it rich! I knew it; with your full forehead, you were never meant to be a commoner!"

"Brother Qiang, please come in! I'll brew some tea for you! If you like this house, I... I'll find an agent to help you haggle the price down!"

"Stop."

Li Qiang raised his hand, interrupting her nauseating flattery.

"Don't call me Brother Qiang; it makes me sick to hear it."

He pulled out the chipped key from his pocket and threw it on the ground.

"I'm moving out."

"Keep the five-hundred-yuan deposit. Consider it a tip."

With that, he pushed past the Landlady, who was frozen in shock, and headed straight upstairs.

He left the bloated woman staring at the key on the ground, her face flushing between red and white, her heart filled with bitter regret... Mid-mountain villa, basement.

On a massive holographic screen, the scene of Li Qiang swiping his card at the sales office was displayed.

Beside it, a row of data flickered clearly.

[Target: Li Qiang (Also a Ruthless Person)]

[Reality Feedback Synchronization Rate: 8.0%]

[Comprehensive Physical Assessment: D+ Rank (Near human physical limits)]

Su Mu held a cup of coffee, a satisfied curve hooking his lips.

"Money is the best catalyst."

"With money, people have desires. With desires, they will work for me even more frantically."

"However, brute force alone isn't enough. Earth's future enemies cannot be solved with just fists."

"I need to give them a new, irresistible dream."

Su Mu's fingers tapped lightly on the virtual keyboard.

A command was sent out... "Brother Qiang! Take care! Come back and visit when you're free!"

The Sales Young Miss bowed ninety degrees, seeing Li Qiang out the door.

Holding the newly signed full-payment housing contract, Li Qiang looked at the sun overhead, feeling that his life had never been so bright.

Just then.

His phone vibrated again.

It was a notification from the "Void Realm" app.

A golden announcement with flame effects filled the entire screen.

[Version 2.1 Update Preview: Trials of the Magic Tower!]

[Game Master Su Mu: Still troubled by only having brute force for demolition in reality?]

[Game Master Su Mu: Do you want to truly bring that world-destroying magic back into your own body?]

[Game Master Su Mu: The new version 'Magic Tower' is about to open! For every floor cleared, reality synchronization +1%! Clearing the hundred-floor summit will grant full synchronization permissions between reality and illusion!]

The housing contract in Li Qiang's hand drifted to the ground.

He stared at the announcement, his breathing suddenly becoming rapid.

The joy of buying a house vanished in an instant.

In its place was a more primitive, more immense ambition.

He slowly raised his palm.

It was as if he could already see it.

A true flame, capable of incinerating all things, was burning fiercely in his real-world palm.