104: Chapter 104 This dowry is too impressive; Earth's bride price is simply inadequate.

Yunding Villa, living room.

The floor was covered in A4 paper, densely packed with all sorts of complex conversion formulas.

Jiang Chen slumped in the middle of the sofa, his hair a bird's nest, clutching a calculator in his hand, his eyes staring blankly at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

That expression was just like a failing student who had just checked their college entrance exam scores and realized they were five hundred points below the cutoff for a bachelor's degree.

Despair.

A bone-chilling despair.

"Forget it, it's impossible to calculate."

Jiang Chen loosened his grip, and the calculator fell onto the carpet with a "clatter."

He had spent two whole hours trying to take stock of his current net worth and comparing it with the entire "family assets" of Earth, to see if he could scrape together a decent "betrothal gift" to give back to that Empress who had just gifted him a planet.

The result was—no chance. Absolutely no chance.

"Fifty billion tons of gold..." Jiang Chen muttered to himself, feeling his teeth ache, "How much is the proven gold reserve on Earth? Twenty thousand tons? Even if we hollowed out the Earth's core and robbed the vaults of the five major powers, it wouldn't even be enough to cover the pocket change of a single mine on her planet."

And that was just the gold. Not to mention that entire ocean of Helium-3.

That stuff is sold by the gram on Earth, but she gave it away by the "ocean."

"How the hell am I supposed to return a gift like this?" Jiang Chen grabbed a glass of boiled water from the table and gulped it down, his heart as bitter as if he had swallowed coptis.

"She gifts me a mountain of gold, and I return a brick? She gifts me an ocean of nuclear energy, and I return a barrel of oil?"

"That's too embarrassing! I'm a 'Father God' after all! This free ride... is a bit too hard to swallow."

He had originally thought that by relying on the "insecticide" and the "Photonic Chip" to make a fortune, he had reached the pinnacle of human wealth. But now, looking at the opulence of an interstellar civilization, his money was at best that of a village party secretary who had just escaped poverty.

Just as Jiang Chen was questioning his life while staring at the ceiling.

"Boss? Are you... practicing qigong?"

Zhao Gang pushed the door open, carrying a bag of barbecue he had just bought from outside. Seeing the floor covered in paper and Jiang Chen's "I don't want to live anymore" expression, he was startled, thinking some kind of business crisis had occurred.

"Practicing my ass." Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. Smelling the barbecue, his stomach growled uncontrollably. He waved his hand, signaling Zhao Gang to sit down.

"Old Zhao, come, help me think this through." Jiang Chen picked up a lamb skewer and asked indistinctly while chewing: "Hypothetically, I mean, let's just assume. There's a girl, and her family is insanely rich. How rich? Probably rich enough that buying our entire country would be like child's play."

Zhao Gang widened his eyes: "That is pretty rich. Do they have mines at home?"

"Mines? Their whole home is made of mines; even the floor tiles are gold."

Jiang Chen sighed, "Now this girl has taken a fancy to me and sent me a terrifyingly large dowry. You tell me, if I want to return a gift, or rather... give a betrothal gift, what should I give?"

Zhao Gang was stunned. He scratched his buzz cut and looked at Jiang Chen with a naive expression: "Boss, this question is off the charts. I've been a soldier for over a decade, and the richest person I've ever met is you. A girl richer than you... is she an alien?"

Jiang Chen coughed guiltily: "Ahem, a metaphor, an exaggerated metaphor. Just tell me what to do."

"I think..." Zhao Gang picked up a bottle of beer and popped the cap off with his teeth, his wrinkled face revealing a kind of wisdom hidden in simplicity: "Boss, you're overthinking this."

"Think about it, since that girl is wealthy enough to rival a nation, does she lack money? Definitely not! If she were after money, why would she choose you? Wouldn't it be better to just find a money-printing machine?"

Jiang Chen was stunned, the lamb skewer in his hand stopping at his mouth. "That... makes some sense."

"Then what is she after?"

"She's after you, obviously!"

Zhao Gang slapped his thigh, his tone firm and decisive, "Women, no matter how rich they are, at this point, all they really want is 'affection,' someone who knows when they are cold or hot, someone to have by their side."

He leaned in closer, lowered his voice, and spoke with the tone of an experienced man: "Boss, to be blunt. In front of that level of wealthy woman, even if you sold your kidneys, she wouldn't care about that little bit of money."

"So, the best betrothal gift isn't money, nor is it some rare treasure. It's you yourself."

Boom—! A single remark awakened the dreamer. The skewer in Jiang Chen's hand dropped onto the table. He stared blankly at Zhao Gang, as if looking at a hidden emotional master.

Right! I'm such an idiot!

Does Jiang Wanqiu lack resources? She sits on an entire Wasteland planet, and now she's unearthed alien ruins; she has more resources than she knows what to do with!

What does she lack? It's a Father God! It's faith! It's emotional support! It's the man who can make her feel warm on those cold Wasteland nights!

I'm comparing money with her? Isn't that taking my own weakness and hitting her strength with it?

What is my strength? It's this face of mine... no, it's me!

"Old Zhao!" Jiang Chen stood up abruptly, hugged Zhao Gang, and patted his broad back forcefully, "You're a freaking genius! With this kind of insight, being a bodyguard is a waste of your talents; you should be a relationship coach!"

"Giving myself to her... isn't this what they call—eating soft rice with a hard backbone?"

Jiang Chen's eyes became brighter and brighter. The depression suppressed by "poverty" in his eyes was swept away, replaced by a heroic feeling of going all in.

Since I can't afford a betrothal gift, I'll pay with my body! It's fair and reasonable!

"Boss, don't... don't get excited." Zhao Gang was choked breathless, looking completely confused, "I was just saying... you're not actually planning on 'marrying' yourself off, are you?"

"Something like that." Jiang Chen released Zhao Gang, a mysterious smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He turned and strode toward the bedroom, leaving Zhao Gang with a determined back: "Since I've decided to 'give myself to her,' I can't just talk about it. Old Zhao, guard the door well. Tonight, even if the King of Heaven himself comes, don't let him into my room. I'm going to... do something big."

Inside the bedroom, the curtains were drawn tightly. Jiang Chen locked the door, sat on the edge of the bed, took a deep breath, and adjusted his mindset.

He took out his phone and opened the system interface that he both loved and hated. The account balance column was currently displaying a number that made his heart race.

That was all the wealth he had accumulated during this time by frantically making money, scamming the Eagle, selling chips, and selling insecticide. Although it was still a long way from "buying the Earth," it was... just enough for that "1 billion" threshold.

"System." Jiang Chen chanted silently in his heart, his tone unprecedentedly firm.

[Present.]

A cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

"That... the physical traversal function." Jiang Chen glanced at the cold moon outside the window, then thought of the silver-haired girl in the holographic projection waiting for him eagerly. That longing across dimensions, that regret of wanting to touch but being unable to, tonight, must come to an end.

"Cut the crap." Jiang Chen's finger hovered over that golden [Upgrade] button, his fingertips turning slightly white from the force.

"One billion energy points, I'll pay it. Open it for me—the two-way physical traversal channel! I'm going to the Wasteland to bring my wife home!"