20: Chapter 20 Bonus Reward: 500 Merit Points! Livestream Announcement!

Meanwhile, back in the rented apartment.

Su Yun was in the middle of a beautiful dream.

In the dream, he had become the richest man in the world, holding the Ledger of Merit in his left hand and the Brush of Life and Death in his right. He could grant life or death to anyone he pleased with a simple stroke.

Just as he was enjoying himself, a rapid mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host assisted in solving a case. The event has had a massive impact, drawing attention from across the entire internet, greatly deterring potential criminals, and promoting justice!]

[Calculating additional rewards...]

[Congratulations, Host! You have earned 500 merit points!]

Su Yun snapped his eyes open and bolted upright in bed.

"How many? 500 points?"

Suspecting he had misheard, he quickly rubbed his bleary eyes and pulled up the system panel.

In the merit column, the number "500" was written clearly.

"Holy crap! I'm rich!"

Su Yun was so excited he nearly rolled off the bed.

Yesterday, after working himself to the bone, he had only earned a hundred and twenty points.

Today, he wakes up to a direct deposit of 500 points?

Is this the power of an official endorsement?

Is this the effect of internet-wide exposure?

"System, your algorithm is really something!" Su Yun gave the system a mental thumbs-up.

It seemed he couldn't just focus on catching petty thieves in the future; he needed to make big news!

The more sensational, the better!

As long as his influence grew, wouldn't the merit points come flooding in?

Looking at those 500 merit points, Su Yun felt like he was swimming in riches.

At a conversion rate of 10 points for 1 day, this was a full 50 days of lifespan!

Adding in his previous balance, his lifespan had already reached 150 days!

Nearly half a year!

While still a far cry from living to a hundred, his sense of security instantly skyrocketed.

"Exchange! Exchange it all for me!"

Su Yun waved his hand with grand generosity.

Keeping merit points wouldn't let them multiply; turning them into life was the only practical move.

[Ding! Host's command received.]

[Consuming 500 merit points. Exchanging for lifespan: 50 days.]

[Exchange successful! Current host lifespan balance: 150 days...]

As the notification sound faded, that familiar warm current swept through his body once again.

This time, the sensation was much stronger than yesterday.

It was as if his entire body was soaking in a hot spring; every pore was cheering with joy.

His originally heavy limbs became light, and the stifling feeling in his chest vanished completely.

Even his vision seemed to have improved significantly; he could clearly see the spiderwebs in the corner of the wall.

Su Yun jumped out of bed and stretched his limbs.

Crack, pop!

A series of crisp sounds rang out.

"Refreshing!"

Su Yun threw a punch into the air, the wind whistling from the force.

This body, while not yet back to its peak, certainly had an unparalleled spirit.

He was in a great mood.

Humming a little tune, Su Yun reached for his phone on the nightstand.

The moment he picked it up, he felt something was wrong.

The phone was as hot as a hand warmer.

No matter how he pressed the screen, there was no response; it had completely frozen.

"This piece of junk, dropping the ball at the critical moment."

Su Yun cursed and held down the power button to force a restart.

After waiting for two minutes, the bitten apple logo finally lit up.

As soon as he entered the main interface, countless message pop-ups flooded out like a bursting dam.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding!

The notification sounds blurred into a single line, making his head ache.

Su Yun quickly muted the phone so he could operate it normally.

He opened the Douyin backend to take a look.

Good grief!

His follower count had skyrocketed from yesterday's twenty or thirty thousand to 523,000!

And the number was still climbing at a visible rate.

The private message column was a glaring red, displaying "99+".

Su Yun randomly clicked on a few.

"Master! Are you taking disciples? I want to learn fortune-telling!"

"Hubby! You're so handsome! I want to have your babies!"

"Brother Su Yun, I'm from XX Entertainment. Can we talk about a collaboration?"

Looking at these chaotic private messages, Su Yun curled his lip.

"These people change their faces faster than flipping a page."

Yesterday they were calling him a scammer, and today they're calling him 'hubby'.

That's the internet for you; it's so real it makes you want to laugh.

Su Yun swiped his finger and suddenly saw a pinned long-form message.

The sender was an unfamiliar ID named 'The Watcher'.

Su Yun clicked it to read.

"Master Su, hello. I am the son of the victim, Mr. Zhao, from the Wang Dahai case."

"It's been twenty years. Our whole family has been looking for my father. We've searched so hard!"

"If it weren't for you, I'm afraid my father would have lain beneath that cold floor for who knows how many more years."

"Our family will never forget your kindness..."

It was a long message of several thousand words, every word written in blood and every sentence filled with tears.

As Su Yun read, the playful grin on his face slowly faded.

The cynical mood in his heart also dissipated slightly.

Although he had started this to earn merit to extend his life, seeing this letter made him suddenly feel that what he was doing was perhaps more meaningful than he had imagined.

"Alright, at least you have a conscience, kid."

Su Yun muttered to himself. He didn't reply, but simply gave it a mental thumbs-up.

At a time like this, anything he said would seem redundant.

Closing the private messages, Su Yun went to browse the trending videos.

This browse made him chuckle again.

He saw that a blogger who had wanted to expose him as a fraud yesterday had not only deleted yesterday's mocking video but had even set several pinned 'Fraud Exposure Records' to be visible only for the last six months.

The latest update was: "Feeling unwell lately, taking a break from updates for a while. Don't worry about me."

"Pfft!"

Su Yun burst out laughing.

"Chickened out already? 'Feeling unwell'? I think you're just afraid of getting your face slapped until it's swollen."

Su Yun shook his head; he didn't even have the desire to deal with such a clown.

Just then, another private message popped up.

It was a verified account, the CEO of a well-known MCN agency.

"Hello Mr. Su, I am President Zhang of Xinghuo Media."

"We are very interested in your live streaming style and sincerely invite you to join us."

"The signing fee starts at five million, with S-class resource promotion. If you're not satisfied, we can discuss further!"

Five million?

Su Yun raised an eyebrow.

If this were in the past, he probably would have knelt down and called him 'Daddy' immediately.

But now...

"Five million to buy my life? Keep dreaming!"

Su Yun swiped the message away, not even bothering to reply.

With the system and his newfound abilities, money was just a number to him.

What he wanted was merit, lifespan, and the thrill of being in control of everything.

Work for someone else?

Not a chance.

After looking around at the excitement, Su Yun felt his stomach start to protest.

Gurgle!

The sound was as loud as thunder.

"Food is the first necessity of the people. Better fill my stomach first."

Su Yun put down his phone and shuffled in his slippers to the small, waist-high refrigerator.

He pulled open the door.

Completely empty.

Only a single bottle of milk lay lonely in the corner.

Su Yun picked it up to check the production date.

Good grief, it was from last month.

"If I drink this stuff, I'll probably lose half the lifespan I just exchanged."

Su Yun tossed the milk into the trash in disgust.

"Forget it, I'll treat myself."

Although he had donated most of his money yesterday, he still had at least two thousand left for living expenses.

Su Yun picked up his phone and opened a food delivery app.

Usually, he only dared to order cheap group meals for ten or so yuan, but today he went straight into that high-end restaurant he usually only dared to look at.

"Braised pork, one order!"

"Steamed sea bass, one order!"

"And a slow-cooked soup!"

"Oh, and two bowls of rice. This body needs nourishment."

After a flurry of ordering, the total came to two hundred and fifty.

Su Yun felt a pang of regret for a second, then decisively clicked pay.

Money is just a tool; spend it and earn more!

While waiting for the delivery, Su Yun didn't stay idle.

He opened Douyin and recorded a short video.

In the lens, his hair was messy and he was wearing that same faded white T-shirt, but now he possessed an indescribable air of laziness and confidence.

"Morning, everyone."

"I heard you all missed me quite a bit?"

"In that case, I'll see you in the live stream room tonight at six sharp."

"Spots are limited, first come first served."

"As for what I'll be reading..."

Su Yun gave a mysterious smile to the camera, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"We'll just have to see which fated soul dares to walk into my line of fire."

The video was only a dozen seconds long.

But the moment it was posted, the number of likes began to skyrocket.

The comment section was instantly overrun.

"He's here, he's here! That man is here!"

"Tonight at six! Be there or be square! I've set my alarm!"

"Selling melon seeds, peanuts, and mineral water in the front row!"

"Master, please connect with me! I have a great injustice!"

"Don't push, let me go first! I want to see if my girlfriend is seeing someone else!"

Seeing the buzz, Su Yun nodded in satisfaction.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Hello, Meituan delivery!"

Su Yun's eyes lit up, and he tossed his phone onto the sofa.

"Coming!"

Compared to the noise online, that hot braised pork was far more enticing.

Now this is living.