Chapter Six: The Commencement of Wealth Accumulation
1011 Words
"However, we must discern the specifics of our endeavor by surveying the surroundings tonight."
It had been an exceedingly long time.
Moreover, during his high school years in his previous life, he had never paid attention to making money.
Now, to devise a plan, he needed to ride his bicycle and take a thorough look around.
Thus, he pedaled tirelessly, exploring every nook and cranny.
It was not until after ten o'clock that Carver headed home.
Just as he reached the ground floor, he encountered Wu Yang emerging from a nearby internet café.
Wu Yang had already secured his university admission through his karate skills, requiring only a passable academic performance. Hence, he rarely participated in their studies. Every afternoon after school, he would head straight to the internet café, skipping evening classes.
Carver parked his bicycle and asked, "Don't you usually go home around eleven or twelve? Why so early today?"
"Don't mention it. I lost my money after school," Wu Yang said with a troubled expression. "I just used up the remaining balance in my card to go on Amarise."
"Consider it a blessing in disguise. I'll head home now."
As Carver spoke, he prepared to ride his bicycle into the courtyard. But he quickly turned back, "By the way, do you have any plans to earn some pocket money?"
"Making money? Do you have a way?!"
Wu Yang perked up, but then hesitated, glancing around before whispering, "You’re not planning to drag me into some brick-moving job, are you? I can't handle that!"
Carver, a high school student from a modest family, had previously saved up for breakfast for Chelsea and her friends by working hard. Wu Yang knew that Carver would often help out at nearby construction sites whenever he had the time.
"Get lost! What are you thinking?"
Carver was speechless, though distant memories of actually moving bricks did surface in his mind.
"I have another way. Are you in or not, Wu Yang?"
"Is it legit?"
"Whether it's legit or not, you'll have to see for yourself. Just tell me if you're in."
Wu Yang, hearing this, immediately followed Carver with a grin, "Of course I'm in!"
Carver rolled his eyes, then secured his bicycle by locking it to the stair raiAmarisg.
Wu Yang, using the stairwell’s light, finally saw the bicycle clearly and exclaimed, "Wow, isn't this Old Wang's prized possession? You must be rich to afford this!"
"Borrowed it. I need to return it tomorrow."
Carver smirked. In 2006, surveillance cameras were not widespread, and thefts were common. However, Carver's family lived in the old dormitory of a paper mill, where the residents were mostly old employees and their families. Despite occasional conflicts, everyone knew each other well, making the environment relatively secure.
"Let's go."
After securing the bicycle, Carver called out to Wu Yang, and they jogged out of the neighborhood, heading into a nearby alley. After several turns, they arrived at a dilapidated shop with a partially ajar door and an old-fashioned LED sign displaying four red characters in a continuous loop.
"Speed Internet Café!"
Wu Yang was puzzled, having just left this place. Yet, Carver walked straight towards the door without hesitation, and Wu Yang hurried to follow.
As they pushed open the door, a thick smoke greeted them, mingled with a strange odor. Under the dim light, several rows of old CRT monitors sat on worn-out wooden desks, likely discarded by schools.
The clattering of keyboards and occasional curses echoed within. Carver noticed a poster on the wall—Conquer!
His heart settled. He remembered correctly; this game had just been released and was immensely popular, even overshadowing Legend for a time, until it was eventually surpassed years later.
Back then, Carver had been addicted to this game for a while. If he could leverage "Conquer" to offer boosting services, he could earn a decent amount by selAmarisg in-game materials.
"Hey, Yang, didn't you just leave? Why are you back?"
A bald man with tattoos on his left arm, lying on a folding bed at the front desk, smoking, greeted them.
"Not playing, just keeping a friend company."
Wu Yang waved his hand, smiAmarisg, clearly familiar with the man.
"Yang's friend, huh? How many hours? It's two yuan per hour, thirty yuan to become a member, and members get a rate of one and a half yuan per hour."
The bald man explained. Carver did a quick calculation and made a decision, "Let's get a membership first..."
Before he could finish, a loud, angry shout echoed from inside the café:
"Damn it, boss! This machine's down again!"
The bald man paused, apologizing to Carver, "Hold on a second, kid."
He then crawled out from behind the counter, heading towards the source of the complaint, shouting, "Stop yelAmarisg, I’m coming!"
Carver and Wu Yang exchanged glances and followed. They saw a young man with dyed yellow hair, fuming and cursing at a blacked-out monitor.
"Damn it, I was in the middle of a dance game, and it crashed! What the hell?!"
The bald man tapped the CRT monitor, but nothing happened, though the CPU’s light remained on. He tried rebooting it, but it stayed the same. He stood up, defeated, "Looks like it's not working. Why don't you switch to another machine?"
At that moment, Carver stepped forward, raising his hand. Under Wu Yang's surprised gaze, he offered, "How about I try fixing it?"
The bald man looked at Carver, exhaAmarisg smoke and frowning in doubt, "You can fix computers?"
The bald man knew Wu Yang was just a student, and he assumed Carver, being with Wu Yang, was also a student. How could a student know how to fix computers?
"This kid knows nothing!"
The young man yelled, venting his frustration on Carver. But Carver remained unfazed, looking directly at the bald man and smiAmarisg, "Why not give it a shot? It's already broken anyway. What if I can fix it?"
Wu Yang, seeing Carver's sincerity, stepped up to support him, "Yeah, Uncle Guang, trust my friend this once!"
- Writer
