5: Chapter 5 Time is Money

[Ding! Detected Zhao Ying's favorability toward the host has increased by 10 points. Current favorability: 60!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have successfully completed the special mission—Poor in Wealth but Not in Spirit! Reward: Modu Shenjiangwan Community, Building King! Property Certificates *101, currently placed in the System Space!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for completing a special mission for the first time. You have received 10 System Points! System Points can be exchanged for corresponding items in the System Mall.]

"Awesome!" Qin Yi couldn't suppress the wild joy in his heart and shouted silently!

He hadn't expected the System to reward him with an entire building for such a simple mission.

Shenjiangwan Community—this name represented prestige and luxury in Modu, the dream residence for countless people.

Back when Qin Yi first arrived in Modu for university, his father had thought about purchasing a property there, and Qin Yi had followed him to look at many developments.

However, at that time, Modu's housing prices were at a peak, and coupled with the Dragon Kingdom's policy that 'houses are for living in, not for speculation,' there were many restrictions on non-locals buying property, so they gave up on the idea.

At that time, Shenjiang Bay's unit price was as high as 380,000 per square meter, which was staggering; it was hailed as the number one luxury residence on the Bund, and its fame was unparalleled for a time.

However, in the past two years, overall housing prices in Modu have been falling; in some communities, prices have even been cut in half.

But Shenjiangwan Community, relying on its unique geographical location, still held firm at a high price of 220,000 per square meter.

Now, these 101 apartments, each at least three hundred square meters, had a total value approaching 7 billion based on current market prices!

"Holy crap ( ‵o′), 7 billion!" Qin Yi was stunned by the total price he estimated, and waves of shock surged in his heart.

7 billion!

For him, this number was simply astronomical.

Even during his family's most glorious period, their total assets had never reached this dizzying height.

This time, he had truly struck it rich!

System! I love you to death!

Qin Yi shouted in his heart, the smile on his face like a flower in full bloom, incredibly brilliant.

[Ding! Detected that the host has not yet performed the daily lucky draw. Would the host like to perform the lucky draw immediately?]

Right, how could I forget about that!

The System gave such a generous reward for such a simple mission just now, so Qin Yi couldn't help but look forward to the upcoming lucky draw even more...

"Draw! Now! Right now! Draw immediately!" Qin Yi responded eagerly, his voice betraying an irrepressible excitement.

Immediately, a dazzling Lucky Draw Wheel appeared on the light screen before his eyes.

The wheel was divided into several sections; Qin Yi's gaze swept over them and saw several options such as Skills, Items, and Currency.

However, when his gaze landed on a section labeled "Try Again," he couldn't help but freeze.

"Try Again? What the hell is this? Is it possible to not win anything?" A vague sense of nervousness welled up in Qin Yi's heart, but in an instant, the wheel began to spin rapidly.

Before long, that beautiful and ethereal synthesized System voice rang out once more.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for your first lucky draw. You have received gene strengthening potion (Elementary) *1, currently placed in the System Space.]

"gene strengthening potion? I won't turn into a super soldier instantly after drinking it, will I?" Qin Yi asked skeptically.

[Ding! Replying to the host: gene strengthening potion can comprehensively enhance the host's six-dimensional attributes, including: Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Endurance, Mental Energy, and Charm.]

gene strengthening potions are divided into five Ranks: Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced, Top-tier, and Divine-Grade.

The higher the potion Rank, the higher the six-dimensional attribute values that can be increased.]

"Whoa... this is a Heaven-Defying pace!" Qin Yi was so excited he almost jumped up; he could already see the shocking scene of himself transforming into a super soldier in the future.

While he was secretly enjoying the moment, the System prompt sounded again.

[Ding! Friendly reminder: Upon the System's initial binding, the host will have a 4-hour novice reward period. During the novice period, all of the host's expenditures, as long as they are real and valid, will be doubly reimbursed by this System. The novice reward period ends at 14:30!]

"What? Double reimbursement? Why are you only telling me such an important thing now!"

Facing Qin Yi's complaint, the System did not respond.

It seemed the top priority now was to spend money, to consume, and to accumulate a wave of funds while the novice period lasted...

He quickly calmed down and began to think about how to make full use of this final novice reward period.

Suddenly, he remembered the [Beginner Consumption Cashback Critical Hit Card] he had obtained earlier, so he asked eagerly: "System, if I use that [Beginner Consumption Cashback Critical Hit Card] during the novice period, can the critical hit effects be stacked?"

[Ding! After using the Beginner Consumption Cashback Critical Hit Card, the System will provide a random 1 to 3 times cashback based on the host's largest single expenditure of the day. The critical hit effect can be stacked with the novice period. Please plan your spending carefully to obtain maximum benefits.]

"Holy crap ( ‵o′), awesome!" Qin Yi clenched his fists in excitement. The effect of the spending cashback critical hit card could actually be stacked with the novice period. This meant that as long as he spent all the money in his card at once before the novice period ended, he could get 2 to 6 times the cashback...

However, his bank card currently only had the ten million given by the novice gift pack. Even if he spent it all at once, the maximum cashback would only be sixty million. He shook his head, secretly lamenting the lack of funds.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: "Should I sell that building I was just rewarded?"

But he immediately dismissed the idea; after all, that building was worth at least seven billion, and it was impossible to find a buyer in such a short time.

It seemed he could only get as much spending cashback as possible within these 4 hours of the novice period.

Only by accumulating enough money could he maximize his returns.

Qin Yi made up his mind and began to plan his next moves.

He asked the System: "System, does transferring money to others count as a spending behavior?"

[Ding! Reporting to the host: Transfers do not belong to spending behavior, so there will be no cashback!]

Qin Yi sighed. *Sigh*, what a pity...

Qin Yi shook his head silently. He had originally thought he could first transfer that ten million in his card to his family.

Although this ten million wasn't much compared to his family's massive debt, even a mosquito's leg is meat. It would be good to relieve the immediate emergency first...

Now it seemed he could only go on a spending spree first, get a wave of cashback, and then transfer it to his family after the novice period passed.

Having made up his mind, Qin Yi couldn't wait to begin his spending cashback journey!

However, spending money was also an art.

How to spend money, how to spend it quickly, and how to quickly spend large sums of money—Qin Yi was actually quite familiar with this.

After all, half a year ago, he was also a second-generation rich kid.

Moreover, during these three years of university, he had spent quite a bit of money on Su Mo.

Like Fruit phones, Fruit laptops—as long as a new model came out, Su Mo would definitely ask him for it.

And things like brand-name bags from LV, GUCCI, YSL, cosmetics, clothes, shoes, and the like—Qin Yi had bought plenty for Su Mo.

Unfortunately, his devotion was fed to a dog; he had mistaken a green tea bitch for a treasure!

Of course, he couldn't blame others for this; he could only blame himself for being too foolish and naive.

Now that he had clarified his next goal, Qin Yi wasted no more time. He walked quickly to the roadside and reached out to hail a taxi.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Qin Yi said, "Driver, Jiangzhong Road, please!"

The driver gave an affirmative and stepped on the gas, driving away from Modu University.

After passing through an intersection, they happened to hit a red light. The driver stepped on the brake, turned to look at Qin Yi, and tried to strike up a conversation.

"Young man, are you a graduate of Modu University?"

"Sort of..."

Qin Yi responded casually while opening the map app on his phone.

He typed in Jiangzhong Road and clicked on the route, discovering it actually required a forty-five-minute drive.

Why so long? Qin Yi thought. He couldn't just sit here doing nothing.

After all, right now, time was money to him; every minute and every second was crucial.

However, his previous nonchalant answer had caused the driver some displeasure.

"Heh, you talk in an interesting way, young man... What do you mean 'sort of'? Either you are or you aren't. We're just having a casual chat," the driver said indifferently.

After waiting a moment, the driver didn't see a response from Qin Yi and felt the young man was a bit rude, so he turned his head to look at him.

He saw Qin Yi staring intently at the navigation on his phone map, seemingly pondering something.

"Are you in a hurry, young man? It's the noon peak now, and Modu's traffic is very congested... I reckon it'll take at least forty minutes to reach Jiangzhong Road," the driver continued.

"Time is money..." Qin Yi muttered softly. His voice was very low, and the driver didn't hear clearly, so he followed up: "What did you say?"

Qin Yi glanced at the driver, the corners of his mouth turning up as he smiled and replied, "Oh, nothing... Sorry, I was just spaced out for a moment. What did you just say?"

Hearing Qin Yi say this, the driver's displeasure eased slightly.

"Oh, I was saying, you just said you're 'sort of' a Modu University graduate. I thought that was interesting. What does 'sort of' mean?"

"Heh, it's a bit embarrassing to talk about. Originally, I really should have graduated this year, but due to personal reasons, my graduation was delayed. It's been pushed back a year, so I won't graduate until this time next year..." Qin Yi explained.

The driver nodded without questioning and continued talking about other topics.

"True, nowadays graduating from university is the same as being unemployed. Delaying graduation is fine; graduating a year later, maybe the employment situation will be better next year..."

"Yeah..."

Qin Yi gave a casual response and didn't explain further, opening the Douyin App on his phone for himself.

Seeing Qin Yi looking down at his phone again, the driver tactfully stopped talking.

A brief silence fell within the car cabin.