Let's Go Grill

The city lights began to glow.

Li Xian sat by the floor-to-ceiling window in his bedroom, a bottle in his left hand and a cigarette between his fingers, taking in the boundless sea view. His chest rose and fell unevenly, a whirlwind of emotions churning inside him.

"No wonder everyone wants to climb higher—the view really is something else up here. Damn beautiful." He wanted to compose a poem to voice his feelings, but he didn't have the literary chops, so that one line was all he could muster.

Fine, he wasn't cut out to be some scholar or poet. Might as well post on Moments and show off a bit.

He tagged his location, snapped two photos of the night view from different angles, and one of the wine bottle. He uploaded the three pictures with a caption: "I've got the wine—who's got the story?"

After editing, he sent it out.

Back in the day, he looked down on people who checked in everywhere. Strutting around all day—what, showing off that you can afford to travel?

Back then, he silently swore to himself: when I get rich, I'll show off so hard your scalps go numb.

Jealousy made him ugly, and that wasn't good. Better to let them be jealous of him instead.

Li Xian was insufferably smug when suddenly a ding rang in his head.

[Random Quest: Come On, Try to Kill Me!]

Holy crap, another quest? System, your grudge runs deep—that's not a good look.

What? It's related to my passive skill?

Don't you dare pin this on me!

Li Xian fumed, refusing to take the blame.

Accept quest.

[Come On, Try to Kill Me: If you can't kill me, I'll show off so hard your scalps go numb! Host, get out there and flaunt it—show them what real check-ins mean. Time limit: 60 days. Check in at the four major domestic tourist cities. Countdown begins: 59 days, 23:59. (0/4)]

What the hell!

System, you're definitely targeting me!

Can't take a loss, huh?

And you tell me to flaunt it? You're the one pulling off the ultimate show-off move here.

Li Xian wanted to curse the system out, but this crappy system just played dead on him.

No matter how much he yelled at it, it didn't give a single peep—which was seriously infuriating.

Getting into a fight with the system would only give him a stroke. Forget it—he was magnanimous.

This stupid quest really put Li Xian in a bind. He was a total shut-in—the kind you had to drag out and push forward.

If you told him to stay home for two months, he'd overdeliver. But making him travel across the country in two months? That would kill him.

This gut of his really couldn't handle the running. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken a phone-based job, sitting in an office all day.

Life was hard—couldn't even spend money in peace.

His new Moments post already had a few likes and comments, but not as many as he'd hoped—a bit sparse.

But thinking about it, the numbers made sense. He didn't have many people on VX to begin with, and he'd blocked quite a few. It'd be a miracle if the likes and comments were high.

Tomorrow, he'd unblock everyone. The whole point was to show off to them.

Li Xian glanced at the comments. The first one was from his buddy Wang Meng.

"Brother Xian, weren't we supposed to talk on the phone? What time is it now?"

Oh, my memory...

Li Xian slapped his forehead. He'd completely forgotten he had plans with Wang Meng.

After getting the system this morning, he'd told Wang Meng he'd call him and then went off to do quests. The day had been so hectic that it slipped his mind entirely.

He checked the time—it was around seven or eight. Nothing much to do. Li Xian thought for a moment and sent a message: "Wait for me downstairs in 20 minutes. Let's hit up some skewers."

Li Xian had originally planned to cruise around in his G-Wagon, but since he'd had a few drinks, he opted for the hotel's Courtesy Car instead.

A little booze in him—better not challenge the law. Not taking himself seriously was one thing, but dragging others down with him was a line he wouldn't cross.

The hotel arranged a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter President for him. On the outside, this car looked "unremarkable"—a rounded, bulky front end and a fat, wide rear compartment. At first glance, it resembled an oversized, stretched-out bread van.

With that shape on the road, most people would overlook it. Even if they caught the Mercedes logo, they'd probably just mutter to themselves: "Oh... it's a Mercedes bread van. They make these?"

If that's what you thought, you'd be dead wrong. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter President was a tool for the wealthy to indulge in luxury—a genuine million-level luxury car. It was the real deal in understated opulence.

From the outside, you'd guess it cost a couple hundred thousand, tops. But when you opened the door, the lavishness of two million yuan hit you right in the face.

Leather-wrapped aviation seats that could recline into beds, hand-carved Burmese rosewood decorative panels, a 40-inch retractable LCD TV, a BOES sound system, a central control system with voice recognition, plus a wine cabinet, storage compartment, mobile fridge, and electric table—this car was a mobile palace.

Li Xian was very satisfied with this Courtesy Car. The interior was spacious and comfortable, way better than his G-Wagon. The G65 was a great tool for showing off, sure, but comfort-wise, it couldn't compete. All the space in the G-Wagon went to the trunk.

The car set off from Xinghai Square, heading for Lingbei Residential Area on Huichun Street.

Wang Meng lived in Lingbei Residential Area, very close to the south gate of their alma mater, Dongruan Institute of Information Technology. The guy would wander back to campus whenever he had nothing to do. Li Xian, on the other hand, had graduated two years ago and could count the times he'd returned on one hand—he was just too lazy.

Ten minutes later, the car pulled up smoothly at the side entrance of Lingbei Residential Area.

Li Xian pulled back the curtain to look outside. He didn't even need to search—he spotted Wang Meng right away. The guy lived up to his name: tall and mighty, nearly 1.9 meters, weighing over 200 pounds. Standing there, he towered over everyone like a crane among chickens.

"Mengzi, get in!" Li Xian rolled down the window and waved, shouting.

Wang Meng's eyesight wasn't great. He heard Li Xian's voice but couldn't see him, looking left and right in search without even glancing toward the car. It amused Li Xian, who laughed and scolded, "You blind fool, can't you see a car this big?"

"Huh? Damn, I thought it was someone's truck." He really hadn't expected Li Xian to show up in such a large vehicle. When the car pulled over earlier, he'd even moved a few meters away, afraid of having his view blocked.

"This van is too..." Wang Meng stepped one foot into the car, about to complain about its size, but when he saw the luxurious interior, his eyes went wide, "Too... awesome!"

"Holy crap, what kind of car is this?" Pulled into the car by Li Xian, Wang Meng plopped down on the seat, his restless hands touching everything, "Damn, real leather. Holy shit, a TV this big. Oh wow, this little fridge..."

He was like a curious kid, muttering as he touched everything. Li Xian twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking, Bro, this is my first time in a car like this too. Can't you just learn from me and stay calm?

I need to save face, you know.

Li Xian had also been stunned by the luxurious interior when he first got in, but he was better at hiding it than Wang Meng—after all, he'd been through the baptism of the G-Wagon and the Presidential Suite.

Mainly, it was his mindset. If it were someone else, a day this intense might have given them a heart attack.

A broad mind and a thick waist—that's the way to be.

"Brother Xian, what kind of car is this? Where'd it come from?" Wang Meng suddenly asked.

"Sprinter President, the Grand Hyatt's courtesy car."

"What? You actually went to the Grand Hyatt? I thought you stole those pictures."

"Stole my ass, am I that vain?" Li Xian rolled his eyes. Plenty of people in his Moments had said he was faking it, and now Wang Meng thought the same. How was he supposed to explain—take a picture of the room key?

That kind of move... Li Xian could actually pull it off. He pulled out the room key and tossed it to Wang Meng. "See for yourself. Grand Hyatt Room 3908, Presidential Suite. Only someone at my level gets to ride in a courtesy car like this."

"Brother Xian... you're showing off... uh, I didn't mean it like that." Wang Meng glanced at the room key, then handed it back to Li Xian. Suddenly remembering the unusual ten-thousand-yuan transfer Li Xian had sent him that morning, and connecting it to the Presidential Suite and courtesy car now, a thought seemed to click in his mind.

Probably... won the lottery?