13
Game Mall
Jiang Qi hesitated for a moment, then ultimately went to the street-side convenience store to buy a chilled bottle of yogurt and brought it upstairs.
The idea of using yogurt to sober up was something Jiang Qi had learned from his college roommate. Whether it worked or not, he figured it was worth a shot.
When Jiang Qi delivered the yogurt, the session had just reached the story-sharing and information-exchange segment. He quietly handed the yogurt to Liu Lan, signaling her to find an opportunity to give it to the drunk girl. Just as he was about to leave, the intoxicated girl began sharing her story.
“I’ve had such a rough time. I was deceived by a scumbag in a relationship. That bastard even gaslit me, saying I was introverted and never went out, that my personality was flawed, and that my education wasn’t good enough. And I actually started believing there was something wrong with me. That asshole was always out socializing—no wonder, with three alternate WeChat accounts and four ‘fishing ponds’! Ugh, what a piece of trash…”
Jiang Qi: ?
Was this part of the script?
Surprisingly, the other five girls didn’t catch on, thinking she was genuinely recounting the script’s content.
The round-faced girl sitting to her right gasped in shock and exclaimed, “Oh my god, scumbags really are all the same.”
“Wahhhhh…”
Soon, the gaming session turned into a scumbag condemnation rally.
Jiang Qi, who was about to play the scumbag role: …
It seemed he’d have to tone it down when acting as the scumbag later. The outrageous line, “Do you know how hard I’ve worked? I have to support two families all by myself!” during the marital infidelity scene would have to be cut.
Realizing that no one in the room cared about his presence, Jiang Qi decided not to leave. Instead, he pulled up a small stool behind the curtain and settled in to watch the drama unfold.
Through the drunk girl’s ramblings, Jiang Qi got a rough idea of her ex-boyfriend’s traits.
A scumbag, a player, and a master of gaslighting—it aligned perfectly with the character Jiang Qi was about to play and closely matched the ex-husband in the script. No wonder the girl’s mix of truth and fiction went completely unnoticed by everyone present.
The chaotic story-sharing session lasted nearly an hour.
By the time it ended, the drunk girl was starting to fade. Liu Lan noticed and began rushing through the progression. As the plot advanced, the girl sobered up slightly.
Liu Lan shot Jiang Qi a look, signaling him to go downstairs and fetch Old John for the upcoming Performance. The moment the lights went out, Jiang Qi heard the drunk girl exclaim in surprise, “Huh? Did the power go out? Does that mean my place lost electricity too?”
Somehow, she managed to be both dazed and lucid at the same time.
The entire Performance was nothing short of chaotic.
Old John, relying on his strong professional ethics, delivered his part flawlessly. But Jiang Qi and Liu Lan couldn’t quite keep it together—no amount of conviction could withstand a drunk audience member. The intoxicated girl cycled through emotions: sadness, tears, anger, and condemnation. As she gradually lost coherence, her five friends could only shoot apologetic glances at Jiang Qi and the others.
By the time the script concluded, Jiang Qi doubted anyone had fully grasped the story.
“How much, boss?” The round-faced girl stepped up to scan the payment code.
“158. Since it’s not past 1 a.m., no overtime fee,” Jiang Qi replied. Even if the guests might not have understood the game, he didn’t hesitate when collecting payment.
The round-faced girl paid promptly. Meanwhile, the drunk girl, supported by two friends, mumbled softly, “She’s so pitiful… Her ex-husband was even worse than my ex-boyfriend. Wahhhhh…”
Is she getting the game or not?
“Right, right, right, all scumbags come to bad ends, sooner or later they’ll end up like Brother Cheng.” The drunk girl’s friend used the most sincere tone to utter the most perfunctory words.
“Who’s Brother Cheng?”
Friend: …
“How can you still think clearly when you’re this drunk?”
“Wah wah wah wah wah…”
The round-faced girl forcefully squeezed in, hoisted the drunk girl over her shoulder, turned to Jiang Qi and said, “Sorry, boss.”
“Where does she live? Come give me a hand, otherwise when she completely passes out we won’t be able to carry her at all.”
The six girls strode away under the stunned gazes of Jiang Qi and Liu Lan.
“Incredible.” Jiang Qi was impressed.
“Incredible.” Liu Lan was dumbfounded.
Only Old John remained calm: “Are we off work now?”
After returning home, Jiang Qi opened the system panel to check if his popularity had increased.
His popularity remained at 9, but satisfaction had changed to 4.
Someone was actually satisfied with tonight’s session where even the Game Master got confused by the end!
Deeply moved, Jiang Qi decided to reward himself with an extra hour of phone gaming. After losing five consecutive matches in the canyon, he reluctantly went to sleep.
The consequence of staying up late was waking up late. By the time Jiang Qi woke up the next day, it was already lunchtime. Old John had cooked dumplings by himself and even went downstairs for a walk, where he was stopped by an elderly man from the neighboring building to practice “How are you” conversations with his granddaughter.
Old John had an extremely strong ability to adapt to his environment. Even in a foreign country, it only took him a few days to adapt to local customs. Last time when Jiang Qi took Old John to buy jianbing, he already knew to ask for an egg.
Jiang Qi felt that as long as Old John’s ID card worked, he could probably find a job to support himself now.
After changing clothes, Jiang Qi started cooking dumplings while yawning. Old John was watching the noon news on the sofa. Looking at the energetic Old John and comparing him to his own listless self after just two late nights, Jiang Qi fell into deep thought.
“Old John, how many dumplings do you want?” Jiang Qi asked.
“15.”
Ms. Jiang Xiaohong’s dumplings were each large and plump – 15 could fill an entire plate.
After eating, Jiang Qi checked the payment account. The income from the past two days was 1,638 yuan. If the shop could maintain this level of income, Jiang Qi would soon be able to make his fortune and reach the peak of life.
Jiang Bing had handed over the payment account to Jiang Qi before leaving. When Jiang Qi took over, the balance was 0 yuan. Based on Jiang Bing’s stable performance in running shops over the years, Jiang Qi suspected this zero balance represented normal income and expenses rather than Jiang Bing having withdrawn the money in advance.
Just as he was about to go out, Jiang Qi received a WeChat recommendation from Jiang Bing.
Jiang Bing recommended [Card Game Studio – Customer Service Xiao Ka] to you.
Jiang Bing: Two weeks should be almost up. Remember to contact the publisher to return the script, little brother.
Jiang Qi clicked to add as friend, and was instantly accepted.
Card Game Studio – Customer Service Xiao Ka: Hello, respected player Jiang Qi. I’m your sales customer service Xiao Ka.
Sales customer service?
Card Game Studio – Customer Service Xiao Ka: You currently have a new player special script pending payment. Original price 4999, current price 499. The discount expires in 6 days and 11 hours. Would you like to make the payment now?
Jiang Qi promptly transferred the money.
Card Game Studio – Customer Service Xiao Ka: Okay, received on our end, dear. The game store is now open, you can click the following link to enter. Feel free to contact me for any after-sales issues.
There’s even an in-game store?
This card game is so well-developed?
Jiang Qi clicked the link. The network was a bit slow, taking nearly a minute to load.
Then Jiang Qi was dumbfounded.
The first thing that caught his eye was:
[Avici Hell] Type: Deity/Demon, Brain-burning (6 players)
Price: 3,900,000,000 RMB
3.9 billion!
To be honest, the last time Jiang Qi saw so many zeros on something related to money was on the paper currency of the Heaven and Earth Bank. The joss paper he burned for his grandparents every Qingming Festival didn’t even have such large denominations.
Jiang Qi continued scrolling down.
[Divine Descent] Type: Deity/Demon, Mechanism (6 players)
Price: 3,800,000,000 RMB
[Immortal Journey] Type: Cultivation, Mechanism (8 players)
Price: 3,800,000,000 RMB
[Devil on Earth] Type: Deity/Demon, Horror (5 players)
Price: 3,700,000,000 RMB
…
Jiang Qi scrolled all the way down and didn’t see a single item priced below 2 billion. The purchase interface didn’t even have an option to sort by low price—only by sales volume or ratings. It was clear the in-game store had zero consideration for the gaming experience of players with limited budgets.
Then Jiang Qi noticed the small label in the upper right corner, with text so tiny it was almost invisible: Limited-Time Flash Sale.
[I Was Born Before You] Type: Xianxia, Emotional (8 players) (10% off)
Original Price: 10,000,000 RMB | Discounted Price: 9,000,000 RMB
[Cinema of Time] Type: ?, Emotional (6 players) (50% off)
Original Price: 4,999 RMB | Discounted Price: 2,499.5 RMB
[God of Cookery Competition] Type: Food, Mechanism (6-30 players) (70% off)
Original Price: 4,999 RMB | Discounted Price: 1,499.7 RMB
No one could resist a 70% off discount. Although Jiang Qi had no idea what kind of Mechanism Book could accommodate 6 to 30 players, a 70% off item was an instant buy!
Jiang Qi placed the order at lightning speed, and the customer service immediately sent a message.
Card Game Studio – Customer Service Xiao Ka: Dear Player Jiang Qi, your purchased Exclusive Edition Mechanism Book [God of Cookery Competition] has been shipped. It will be delivered within 6 hours. Please be ready to sign for it.
Card Game Studio – Customer Service Xiao Ka: [Heart gesture]