Chapter 107 – Second Expedition to the Coal Mine
by Salted FishThough he owned an internet cafe, Meng Chudong, as an absentee landlord, wasn’t well-versed in business. Fortunately, Diamond and Fifth Brother were experts, especially Ma Jianfeng, who had once partnered with someone before—though it ended with the partner absconding with the funds due to ideological differences, leading to a broken capital chain and a failed venture. But that’s another story. All Meng Chudong needed to figure out was how much money to invest. In a way, Diamond had summed up the essence.
According to the budget, the initial cost was 80,000 yuan. Fang Zheng had contributed 10,000 less, so Birdy only needed to fill that gap. However, this was a tight budget. With an additional partner now, the budget could be more relaxed. After some discussion, it was decided that Birdy would contribute 20,000 yuan, making the four partners’ investments roughly equal and avoiding internal discord due to imbalanced shareholder status.
Meng Chudong had no real concept of money—this was the truth—and only vaguely felt that 20,000 yuan wasn’t a huge sum, so he agreed readily. After lunch, he went to the balcony and called Lu Yue.
“Why’d you think of me now?” Lu Yue yawned, his voice lazy—either just waking up or about to sleep.
But Meng Chudong didn’t care about that and got straight to the point: “I need 20,000.”
“Huh?” Lu Yue was fully awake now. “What?”
“20,000 yuan,” Meng Chudong explained patiently, a rare occurrence. “I’m going into business with some people.”
“No, bro, are you awake or am I awake? Or are both of us asleep? Weren’t you supposed to go find your Princess Fluffy? How’d it turn into starting a business?” His childhood friend’s train of thought was impossible to follow!
“He’s starting a business with others, and I want in. That’s it.” Meng Chudong had initially planned to remind Lu Yue not to casually give nicknames to his friend’s significant other. But when he inadvertently looked up and saw a small cloud shaped like a crown in the blue sky, drifting until it settled above a large, round cloud, the thought vanished. Instead, he felt genuine admiration for Lu Yue’s ability to pinpoint and distill the essence of things.
Lu Yue, unaware that his status had just been upgraded from “fairly capable childhood friend” to “exceptionally capable childhood friend,” wouldn’t have cared even if he knew. Right now, he had bigger concerns: “Did you want in, or did he rope you in? Are you sure you’re not being scammed? This is textbook material for Legal Report1A long-running Chinese legal TV program that analyzes real-life crimes and scams to educate the public.! Damn it!”
“Having strong awareness of scams is good,” Meng Chudong encouraged him, then pivoted sharply, “But could you at least have some faith in my intelligence?”
“I have zero doubts about your intelligence,” Lu Yue said earnestly, “but I have zero confidence in your emotional intelligence.”
“……”
The most frustrating thing in the world wasn’t being looked down on by a friend—it was being looked down on and having no rebuttal. =_=
Seeing Meng Chudong’s silence, Lu Yue grew even more convinced he’d grasped the truth: “Never mind how long you’ve known him online. In real life, you’ve only met for two days, and he’s already asking you for money? That’s way too fast.”
Meng Chudong sighed and corrected him: “He didn’t ask me for money. I insisted on giving it.”
Lu Yue felt a deep despair: “You’ve lost your damn mind…”
What was so great about Fang Zheng? Lu Yue didn’t know, just like he didn’t understand the appeal of gaming. All he knew was that Meng Chudong rarely wanted anything, but once he did, he had to do it—no stopping him. Coming out, running away from home, opening an internet cafe, refusing to strive for anything but gaming… Put nicely, it was called following one’s heart. Put bluntly, it was sheer recklessness—not giving a damn about anyone. The reason few people saw this side of him was that his “wants” were as rare as endangered species, so this infuriating stubbornness didn’t surface often.
But now, it was out in full force, charging ahead at full throttle—
“Besides gaming, I want a real-life connection with him. Money is the best way—the hardest to untangle.”
How could Lu Yue argue with that?
A few more words, and he might’ve switched sides himself.
Damn it, since when was dating so conniving?! Are you some female demon trying to kidnap the Tang Monk for your wedding night?!
……
Lu Yue didn’t know much about power leveling, but after hearing Meng Chudong’s explanation, it sounded reliable. Still, caution was necessary. While 20,000 yuan wasn’t a huge sum, the internet cafe had just expanded, and pulling funds now was tough. If it was for a high-risk venture, there was even less reason to do it. So, he came up with a compromise—one that would let Meng Chudong join the partnership smoothly, save money and effort, and, most importantly, allow Lu Yue to keep an eye on things to prevent disasters.
“You know the internet cafe just expanded, and most of the money’s tied up. Twenty thousand isn’t much, but right now, we really can’t spare it. But we can contribute fixed assets instead. You’re doing power leveling, right? You’ll need machines, a place to rent, and employees. We can’t help with the last one, but the first two are no problem. I’ll pull out ten machines and, for the sake of friendship, give you two big private rooms. Then you can move into my place—we’ll clear out the second floor and turn it into a few partitioned rooms, so you won’t even need a separate dorm. Didn’t you want more ties with him? This’ll settle it all at once—bring him right to your lair. Then you can do whatever you want with him, heh heh heh…”
At first, Meng Chudong thought Lu Yue didn’t want to fork over cash and was just making excuses. But the more he listened, the more he realized the plan wasn’t just feasible—it was downright perfect.
Yes, perfect.
“Fixed assets as investment?” Xiong Yun and Ma Jianfeng exchanged glances before turning to Meng Chudong. “Please elaborate.”
Meng Chudong: “Did I ever mention… I own an internet cafe?”
Ma Jianfeng, firm: “Absolutely not!”
Xiong Yun, howling at the sky: “This is such a scam—!”
The initial 20,000-yuan investment was based on the startup budget. To sustain the business long-term, more funds would be needed—worker salaries, rent, utilities, all expenses. But with the Deputy Leader contributing fixed assets, at least the cost of machines was eliminated. The rent and utilities for the power-leveling space wouldn’t be entirely free—after all, occupying private rooms meant compensating for lost revenue—but it’d be heavily discounted. Most importantly, this discount had no expiration unless the Deputy Leader withdrew his stake. And why would he ever do that…
“Why’re you all looking at me?!” The Guild Leader felt unprecedented pressure.
Diamond, uncharacteristically serious: “You’re the key player now. Who else would we look at?”
Fifth Brother patted the Guild Leader’s shoulder, solemn: “Be good to Zombie, don’t mess things up, alright?”
The Guild Leader was indignant.
Damn it, I’ve already forked over 20,000! Why do I have to contribute my skills too?! TAT
Fifth Brother and Diamond were all for the fixed-asset investment. Fang Zheng didn’t voice an opinion, seemingly acquiescing on the surface. But only he knew he was hesitating—not about whether to move the partnership to Birdy’s internet cafe, but something more fundamental: whether to partner with Birdy at all.
The worst outcome of going into business with a friend? Losing money and a friend.
But the worst outcome of going into business with a lover? Losing money and the entire relationship.
He didn’t know if what he felt for Meng Chudong counted as love. But even if it didn’t, even if it wasn’t anywhere near that level, he still didn’t want to lose it.
For now, though, the partnership had to be set aside—because night had fallen, the lights were up, and it was time to focus on matters in the world of Huaxia.
[Five Peaks Pavilion – Temporary Team YY]
Drink Till You Drop: “Everyone here?”
Big H: “Should we do a headcount?”
Drink Till You Drop: “1.”
Big H: “…”
White Dragon Horse: “Guild Leader, no sarcasm—genuine praise here. I feel like ever since you dipped a toe into the Ghost Server, your offbeat combat power’s been skyrocketing…”
Not only was the temporary team from Five Peaks Pavilion, Ghost Server, and Meteor Blitz all present, but War Banner Dominion and Burn Books and Bury Scholars had also arrived. The two teams met again at the dungeon entrance—sixty players, all decked out in flashy gear and fully buffed, looking like backup dancers for the Spring Festival Gala.
A major battle was imminent. Though they weren’t enemies, they were certainly competitors. A pre-battle exchange was inevitable—but with sixty people typing, the chat would be flooded. So, letting the team leaders speak was the way to go—
[Local] War-Snow Wolf: “Think you can clear it?”
[Local] Drink Till You Drop: “No idea.”
[Local] War-Snow Wolf: “Then let’s see who comes out last?”
[Local] Drink Till You Drop: “Deal.”
Neither leader was chatty—a blessing.
The mechanism activated, the system loaded, and almost every comrade in front of their screens unconsciously held their breath. Level 70 dungeon, here we come—
Tunnel!
Mudslide!
Frantic escape!
The gate!!
Coal Sprite: First question: Which of the following is an effect of instant noodles?
A. The more you eat, the hungrier you get
B. Picking locks
C. Preservative storage
D. The more you eat, the fuller you get
…This kind of despair from being toyed with—how do we cope?! TAT
White Dragon Horse (inner monologue): I think there’s something deeper here.
Big H (inner monologue): I think all of them sound right.
Fang Zheng (inner monologue): I think it’s not that complicated. No need to overthink it?
Hu Yifei (inner monologue): I think Drink Till You Drop choosing D without waiting for you guys was very wise.
White Dragon Horse & Big H & Fang Zheng: Stop peeking into our minds! >_<
Coal Sprite: Second question: Which of the following compounds is an alum
A. Sodium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate
B. Potassium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate
C. Magnesium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate
D. Zinc aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate
Drink Till You Drop’s hand hovered steadily over the mouse, waiting.
This was the team’s prior agreement—absolute silence on YY during the quiz. As soon as a question appeared, if Drink knew the answer, he’d click it immediately. If not, he’d wait for input from the other twenty-nine teammates. Anyone could call out an answer, but only if they were 100% certain. Even a shred of doubt meant silence. And answers had to be limited to “A,” “B”, “C,” or “D”—no extra words. This way, even if multiple people answered at once, the answers would likely align, preventing overlapping voices from muddying the response and letting Drink choose quickly.
The strategy was efficient.
But the questions were downright sadistic!
Every teammate cursed the question-writer’s ancestors eighteen generations back. As time passed, they slowly resigned themselves to the cruel reality of another day of Stand to the End—until a calm voice suddenly spoke on YY:
“B.”
Drink’s physics might’ve been weak, but his reflexes were top-notch. He clicked the option almost the instant he heard it.
B, correct!
Per the agreement, no one dared speak on YY—but internally, they were all buzzing. Broadly, reactions fell into four categories—
<Familiarity>
Fang Zheng: Sister Blood Bull, you’re amazing!!
2B Fighter Jet: Wife, I love you!!
<Stranger>
Northern Frontier Rouge: Who just spoke? Who was it?!
Kill Gods If They Block Me: Feels familiar… but I can’t place it! [scratches head]
<Reflective>
438: A straight-up academic goddess!
Your Uncle: Girls like this were the bane of boys’ existence in school. [cries]
<Distracted>
Bastard Zeng: It’s too much pressure being the only one stuck with that guy. Maybe I should rope in Beef & Scallion Dumpling Wrapper and the others?
Hu Yifei: Please clarify who “that guy” refers to, thank you.
Bastard Zeng: …Dumpling Wrapper, remember to burn some paper money for me this time next year. TAT
From then on, it was Blood Bull’s show.
Language, math, English, politics, physics, chemistry, history, geography, biology—no question was too obscure for Blood Bulls Don’t Graze. When did Leifeng Pagoda collapse? What’s the fifth decimal place of √2? Among four indistinguishable foreign names, which one wasn’t from The Sign of the Four2The second Sherlock Holmes novel.…
At first, teammates were reluctant to admit defeat. If they missed one question, they’d hope to compete on the next. But by the time they even grasped the next question, she’d already answered it. Slowly, they had to concede: There’s such a thing as IQ suppression. TAT
Fifth question…
Seventh question…
Ninth question…
According to forum intel from players who’d cleared this stage on other servers, though the questions covered everything under the sun, the Coal Sprite only asked ten per run. Now, they’d reached the tenth!
Coal Sprite: Tenth question: Which brand does the fragrance “Miracle” belong to?
A. Dior
B. Lancôme
C. Gucci
D. Chanel
After nine questions, Drink had largely stopped thinking, relying solely on his ears. Teammates were zoning out, smoking, or—in the case of particularly shameless individuals—alt-tabbing to peek at actresses’ sexy photos. But after a few seconds, Drink realized something was off—Blood Bull wasn’t answering!
Drink snapped back to attention, only to be floored—This is designed to torture the male gaming population!! Damn it, who the hell spends their gaming time memorizing…
“B.”
This time, it wasn’t Blood Bull—it was 2B.
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