"Come on, I know your character all too well. I've transferred 520 to you, consider it a birthday gift."

"Thanks, Mom." Lin Li wasn't used to celebrating birthdays and never asked for birthday gifts, so it was no big deal for him.

"Wu Min: Transfer of '5', pending your receipt."

Lin Li: "..."

Switching his phone to speaker mode and looking at the message on WeChat, Lin Li fell silent.

"Mom, why is it just five bucks?" Lin Li asked.

"Oops, my hand slipped. I forgot to add the two zeroes, sorry about that, I'll fix it right away," Wu Min apologized.

"Wu Min: Transfer of '20', pending your receipt."

"There, it's fixed. Go ahead and take it."

Lin Li: "..."

"Carelessness Saves Wu Min Five Hundred Bucks".

"Ha, Mom, if you're going to give me the money in installments, I'm about to head to the rooftop and make a dramatic exit to meet you piece by piece,"

Lin Li opened his bedroom window, letting the sound of the wind outside be more noticeable.

"Wu Min: Transfer of '1800', pending your receipt."

The threat worked.

"Alright, use this money to have a good time with your classmates over the weekend. If it's not enough, just ask me for more," Wu Min said with a smile.

"Thanks a lot, Mom." Lin Li nodded with a smile and accepted it.

Lin Li didn't really need the money; in fact, comparing just the current account balance, Lin Li might have more than Wu Min—since Wu Min preferred fixed deposits and stable investments.

But because his own sources of income were inconvenient to explain for now, and he hadn't found a suitable excuse, in order to avoid suspicion, Lin Li still received weekly allowances like normal.

He'll just hold onto the money for now, and return it to Sister Min when she grows up and gets married.

"Did you clean up the house like I asked yesterday? Make sure you did the living room and bathroom," after chatting for a while, Wu Min inquired.

During their routine weekend call the night before, Wu Min mentioned that the house needed a thorough cleaning and remotely directed Lin Li to work.

"I did clean, didn't I? Didn't I send you the photos? Everything's spotless." Lin Li replied leisurely.

"Alright then, Mom's going to rest now. You should sleep too. You have to get up for school in the morning."

"Okay."

After exchanging goodnights, Lin Li hung up the phone.

There were other messages on his phone.

"Yangliang: Happy birthday, Lin Li, transfer of '88'."

"Yangliang: Uncle knows if it's too much you won't accept it, but it's less than a hundred bucks, so there's no need to refuse."

"Lin Li: Thanks, Uncle."

"Yangliang: No need to thank me, Lin Li, you're eighteen now. If Uncle catches you at some entertainment venues again, I won't cover your face, and if someone snaps a photo, well, it'll be public knowledge, got it?"

"Lin Li: Got it, I'll bring my own mask next time."

"Yangliang: That's not what Uncle meant at all!!!"

"Lin Li: Don't worry, Uncle, I haven't been to places like that in ages, and I won't go again."

"Yangliang: Good, Lin Li, you're a man now. You need to be responsible for what you say. Uncle trusts you."

"You retracted a message."

"Lin Li: 'Rose' 'Rose' 'Rose'"

"Yangliang: ?"

After chatting with Yangliang, Lin Li turned to the "Three Guys and a Dog" group messages.

"Bai Bufan: Lin Li, happy birthday 'Poop' 'Poop'"

"Bai Bufan has initiated a 'Happy Birthday' group payment request of 888 yuan."

"Bai Bufan: Just a little token, nothing much."

"Bai Bufan: Where are you? Pay up first?"

Lin Li: "..."

The group only had his messages since the "three guys" didn't have their phones with them.

As for why the message was in the group, it's because you can't do "group payments" in a private chat.

"Lin Li: Idiot."

Sure enough, after seeing Lin Li's reply, Bai Bufan immediately private-messaged him.

"Bai Bufan: STARS-804. 'Image' magnet:?xt=..."

"Bai Bufan: Your favorite, Thunder, in 3D. 'Image' magnet:?xt=..."

"Bai Bufan: Short film, decent plot. 'Image' magnet:?xt=..."

"..."

A flood of pop-up messages overwhelmed the screen.

Lin Li: "..."

What the hell are these, all freaking links.

Completely uninterested, Lin Li long-pressed, selected them all with a look of disdain, and saved them despite his nausea.

"Bai Bufan: That's all I've gathered lately, a salute to the birth of the king!"

What kind of salute is this crap.

Besides Bai Bufan, Wang Ze, who also had his phone this week, sent his regards too.

He heard his senior brought her phone too.

Once everything was handled, Lin Li turned his attention to the system.

On Monday, the system also had an update, adding a chance to refresh a product slot.

This time, Lin Li wasn't in a rush to use it.

Because he had 830 system currency in hand already, and after the school announced Wang Yuhui's situation during the morning assembly today, Task Five would likely be completed, netting him another 100 system currency.

If he went to the apocalypse later and managed to complete Task Two of escorting Ms. Beauty home, he'd gain another 100, bringing him to 1030 system currency.

Sufficient to exchange for a mecha.

And once this mecha was exchanged, Lin Li wouldn't be able to save up nor would he bother to exchange for a second one in the short term, making it the best use of the free refresh on its slot.

Plus, the total amount of historical system currency earned would reach 2800, unlocking slot five, which might also be used for a refresh.

And if Task Two wasn't completed, then he'd simply exchange the "Upgrade Symbol" slot instead.

So he'd hold off for now.

Getting up, Lin Li changed his clothes, grabbed his things, and headed to the bedroom.

Setting out.

A flash of white light, outside the dilapidated building, the sky was darkening.

Checking the watch he left on the ground, time had passed by fifty-nine minutes, longer than last time, calculating it, it was also running at a 1:170 ratio.

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