5: Chapter 5 A Small Amount of Money, and a Trouble

Fingers swept across the guitar strings, and the final note dissipated tremulously into the silent air of the bedroom. It wasn't a complex melody, just a few simple chords from "The Sound of Silence." The muscle memory instilled by the system made his finger movements fluid and accurate, but as he played, what churned in Alex's mind was the formal partnership invitation lying in his inbox that afternoon.

"Horizon Outdoors." He murmured the name, gently putting the guitar back in the corner. The PDF contract draft attached to the email was eight pages long and filled with legal jargon, but the core terms were simple and direct: They would provide a full set of new hiking gear (shell jacket, backpack, hiking boots, etc.) worth about five hundred dollars, and in exchange, he was required to showcase his usage experience in a "naturally integrated" way in at least three videos over the next three months, and add a purchase link in the video descriptions. Based on the sales generated from the link, he would also receive a five percent commission.

Five hundred dollars' worth of gear. For Alex, who had just bought a new pair of shoes with his ad revenue, this was not a small amount. More importantly, this was a validation—a validation of the value of the "Alex's Wonderland" brand in the real commercial world, and a validation of whether he could convert online attention into offline usable resources and... cash.

He needed money. Not the kind of money in the trust fund that could only be used for tuition and basic living expenses, but liquid capital that he could spend freely to upgrade equipment, pay for potential team costs, or even handle more "identity filling" needs. The system's popularity could not be spent directly as money, at least not yet.

He read the contract three times. The commission rate was on the low side, and the restrictive clauses had some gray areas that could cause trouble. He opened the document and began to annotate it line by line. Thanks to the vague memories of handling similar contracts at an MCN agency in his previous life, coupled with a bit of cautious instinct, his suggested changes went straight to the core: clarifying the ownership of the equipment (it would belong to him after the cooperation ended), refining the specific requirements for "natural display" (to avoid overly commercial hard advertising), and tentatively increasing the commission rate to eight percent. When replying to the email, his tone was polite but firm, emphasizing the value of his channel's unique content and the possibility of a long-term partnership.

After clicking send, he leaned back in his chair and let out a breath. This felt a bit like throwing a stone in the dark and waiting to hear it land. He knew the first lesson of the commercial world often started with bargaining.

A few days later, the reply came. They accepted the modifications regarding equipment ownership and display requirements, and the commission rate was finally set at seven percent. The manager on the other end of the phone laughed and said: "Alex, you're sharper than you look. Looking forward to your work."

The cooperation was reached. A small, yet significant, income was about to enter his PayPal account. More importantly, a path to monetize his influence had been preliminarily explored.

Just as he was preparing to go pick up the gear that had arrived by courier, another reminder from the "real world" intruded in a way that could not be ignored.

The doorbell rang. Outside the door stood two young people, a man and a woman, both wearing T-shirts with the University of Southern California logo, their faces carrying the laziness typical of summer and a hint of social enthusiasm.

"Hey! Is this Alex Su?" The boy was tall with a bright smile. "We're students at USC, living near this community. Before the fall semester starts, the student union organized some freshman outreach activities, and we're also helping local merchants promote... er, mainly 'Campus Pizza King' coupons. Freshmen can get ten percent off this semester with this!" He handed over a brightly colored paper coupon.

The girl added, speaking a bit faster: "We're also setting up a freshman group where everyone can exchange information about choosing classes, finding roommates, and sharing info. You live here, right? We checked the freshman list. Want to join?"

Alex took the coupon that smelled of printing ink, feeling a bit dazed. Student. Right, he was still a "student." This identity, which he had almost deliberately forgotten, was reminding him of its existence through various channels as autumn approached. Coupons, freshman groups, course selection... these incredibly real and trivial details seemed to come from a parallel universe compared to his ongoing video creation, system tasks, and business negotiations.

"Oh, thanks." He tried to make his expression look like a normal freshman, "The group... how do I join?"

Scanning the code, he joined a WhatsApp group named "USC Class of 2014 Trouble-Making Squad." In an instant, his phone buzzed non-stop, and dozens of unread messages flooded in. Someone was asking which dormitory was good, someone was complaining about the writing placement test, someone was grouping up to play the latest "Call of Duty," and others were sending silly selfies and memes.

Alex quickly set the group to mute. He placed the coupon on the entryway cabinet, an action that formed a subtle contrast with his focus when handling business contract emails.

However, the infiltration of the student world had only just begun. The next day, he received a formal email from the University of Southern California Academic Advising Office, reminding him that he needed to complete the online orientation module within two weeks and schedule his first course registration meeting. At the same time, the trust fund's custodian bank also sent a routine confirmation letter, requesting proof of registered courses to release living expenses by semester.

Reality was like a net that was gradually tightening. He could no longer be completely immersed in "Alex's Wonderland." He had to divert some energy to play the role of "Alex Su, USC Freshman" well.

This meant time was divided and attention was dispersed. And his video update plan, "The Singing Signboard," was only half finished.

A sense of irritability climbed like tiny vines into his heart. He needed to solve some basic problems faster, such as... money. The partnership commission wouldn't arrive that quickly. He needed a more direct source of funds that would allow him to calmly handle his dual identity, or even allow him to consider hiring a part-time assistant to handle repetitive editing work.

He opened the system interface again. Popularity: After the partnership was finalized and with sporadic video spread, it had slowly grown to 188 points. His gaze swept over the mall; those skills, knowledge, and even surreal options were shining, but none of them could directly turn into cash.

Suddenly, he remembered the direction the system had hinted at after completing the "First Steps" achievement—the "Resource Exchange" sub-page. It required completing the "Secular Starting Point" task (monthly ad revenue of one thousand dollars) to unlock. But now, were there any other ways to use his existing popularity and knowledge to leverage a little bit of real-world capital?

His gaze fell on the guitar in the corner, then drifted to the pizza coupon on the desk. A vague idea began to form. No, not street performing or delivering pizzas.

He needed to use information asymmetry to do a short, flat, and fast "transaction." A small "project" that didn't require complex skills, didn't take up too much time, but could leverage his future memories and his existing bit of popularity as an endorsement. It would be best if this project could be related to his identity as a "student" or "creator" so it wouldn't seem too abrupt.

He didn't have a clue what to do exactly. But the direction seemed clearer: between creating videos and dealing with schoolwork, he needed to open up a more flexible and direct "cash flow" channel.

Just then, that quiet "USC Class of 2014 Trouble-Making Squad" group suddenly had someone @ everyone.

"Emergency help!!! Does anyone know a computer whiz or someone who is really good at cybersecurity? My roommate's laptop seems to be possessed; all files are encrypted, and there is a red skull on the screen asking for Bitcoin! Our group project PPT for tomorrow is all in there! Help!!!"

Below followed a string of "Upvoted," "Scary," and "Sympathize but don't understand" replies.

Alex looked at that message, then looked at an option in his system mall priced at [Basic Computer Security and Data Recovery Principles] - 120 points.

His heart skipped a beat.

Perhaps... this was more than just a chance to help a classmate?

He suppressed the urge to exchange it immediately and first replied in the group: "What's the specific situation? Any error messages?" He acted like an ordinary classmate who only knew a little and was willing to try to help.

Soon, the other party sent a more detailed description and a photo of the screen full of fear, taken with a mobile phone.

Alex quickly searched his memories. 2010... this type of ransomware seemed to be just budding and gradually increasing during this period. The encryption methods of many early variants were not complex, and there were even some public, though not widely known, cracking methods or decryption keys. He vaguely remembered from his previous life that he seemed to have seen a summary of related cases in some cybersecurity popular science article...

If... if he exchanged that [Basic Computer Security and Data Recovery Principles], combined with his own possible "fragments of future memory," was it possible to solve this problem?

Solving this problem would not only gain the classmate's gratitude (perhaps convertible into some real-world resources or favors), but could also preliminarily demonstrate his "ability" in a certain aspect in an extremely natural and unsuspected way, paving the way for future small-scale monetization involving "information asymmetry" or "technical services." This was much safer and more covert than directly buying and selling stocks or Bitcoin (the latter of which was still extremely immature at this time).

The risk was that it might expose some knowledge that shouldn't be there. But he could use "happened to have studied it" or "lucky enough to see the solution on some obscure forum online" as an excuse. A college student being particularly obsessed with a certain technology was a very good protective cover.

More importantly, could this bring in some "extra money"? Asking for money directly might be inappropriate, but if it was a "thank you fee" "voluntarily" paid by the other party, or if they used other equivalents (like an idle, better-performing laptop?) as a reward, it would be reasonable.

The thought took less than a minute. Alex's eyes became sharp.

He closed the group chat interface without replying immediately. Instead, he stood up, locked the bedroom door, then sat back in front of the computer and took a deep breath.

"System," he murmured in his heart, "Exchange [Basic Computer Security and Data Recovery Principles]."

[Popularity consumed: 120 points]

[Exchange successful.]

[Remaining popularity: 68 points]

A large amount of knowledge about malware operating mechanisms, common encryption methods, system vulnerabilities, data storage principles, and the use of some basic troubleshooting and recovery tools flooded into his mind. These knowledge points quickly combined and complemented his scattered impressions from his previous life, becoming clear and usable.

He closed his eyes and carefully recalled the details in the help-seeking message and the clues in the photo. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes, opened the browser, and began to search in a targeted manner, combining the newly acquired knowledge for cross-validation.

An hour later, he was 70% sure. He clicked on the group chat again, found the anxious classmate who asked for help, and sent a private message:

"Hi, I might have some ideas. The one your roommate has sounds a lot like a variant of early ransomware. I can't guarantee I can solve it, but if you're willing, I can help you remotely. I need you to cooperate with a few steps."

At the end of the message, he didn't mention any remuneration. But sometimes, not mentioning it carried more weight than mentioning it.

Pressing the send key, Alex leaned back in his chair, a complex smile appearing on the corner of his mouth. The commercial cooperation contract lay quietly in his inbox, the student group's plea for help flickered on the screen, the newly acquired knowledge in the system swirled in his mind, and his popularity had returned to a "needs accumulation" state.

Life had never been so "fulfilling." He was advancing on multiple fronts simultaneously: creation, business, academics, and the "gray" small attempt he had just started to solve real-world problems using information asymmetry.

Outside the window, the sea of Santa Monica was calm and waveless. But he knew that beneath the surface, his own undercurrents were beginning to accelerate. That guitar, that contract, that coupon, and the private message he had just sent, were like different threads, intertwining and pulling him toward a future that was more complex and full of possibilities.

Next, it would depend on that "roommate's" luck, and his own "craftsmanship."