That Stupid Gamer

Beneath the Tula Riverbed in Ulaanbaatar, across the fertile grasslands and through nearly 6,100 meters of underground rock strata, a vast cavity covering 63,000 square kilometers has become a settlement for people.

This is Forty-One District, a place that is both rich and poor.

The two adjacent regions are both Greenstone People's territory. Following an underground water vein westward, you will find the Eurasian Land Bridge Gold Vault, which starts from the Golden Township and ends at the Kurbo Gold Mine. People call this huge underground mining area the treasure of King Solomon.

Forty-One District is located right in the middle. In the early years, the Greenstone People, who was skilled in agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry, cultivated fertile land for it and led this little brother on the road to modern industrialization and rapid development.

From the 1980s to 2032, over fifty years, it underwent a complete transformation, initially focusing on heavy industry, and later shifting towards light industry and the tertiary sector.

The process is similar to that of other blocks, but Forty-One District has never experienced Madness Butterfly, making it a rare haven in turbulent times.

It is neither a major transportation route of the Eurasian Railway Network, nor does it possess special products such as calamity beasts or spirit mediums. The water vein network branching off from the Pompeii Sea almost runs alongside Forty-One District, slipping away from the two major areas where the Greenstone People reside—so it was only natural for the older brothers to come and help this younger brother.

These cities are considered poor because water is difficult to obtain, residents face water shortages, and water has to be transported from 36 geysers dug by hand in the surrounding area. Other basic infrastructure for people's livelihood is also very rudimentary.

It is considered wealthy because Forty-One District has never suffered from Spirit Calamity. It is like a gem that has not been affected by wind and rain or natural erosion. Most of the underground cities that settled near Mongolia at the same time as it have experienced severe disasters.

Let's cross the four dams of the Haila Water Vein and arrive at the drier loess land. We'll transfer at the eighteenth stop from Nine Realms towards Golden Township, fly over winding and complex mountain roads and slopes, and traverse the underground world of the Dashan.

Qi Ji lived at the first stop of Forty-One District, in a small county town.

This county town has a beautiful name, Chenguang (meaning "morning light"), because when you look from here towards the neighboring houses nestled among the mountains, and towards the Forty District, the morning light is the brightest, regardless of the season.

The Greenstone People, who love productive labor, are very close to the Cinder Kings. In the adjacent facilities, there is also the expensive energy source "Sun". In the early morning, Morning Light County can receive some sunlight, but there is no sunlight at other times.

From the county's train station, head towards Tula Khan Square, cross two commercial streets, and arrive at the intake of the geyser. Follow the artificial canal for about 700 meters, and you will find the secondhand market.

There's a fast food restaurant in the flea market. The owner is a Uyghur man in his forties, whose Chinese name is Ma Youguo.

The shops on the first floor are used to entertain guests, and the second floor is Qi Ji's rented room.

--Morning is the busiest time at Ma's Lamb Restaurant. Before the Morning Light County even shines, Mr. Ma and his two apprentices have to get on their tricycle and head to the fresh produce stalls and slaughterhouses four kilometers away.

Mr. Ma's daughter helps out at the shop. Between 5 and 7 a. m., Ma Fenfen can hear rustling noises coming from the rented room on the second floor—that's Qi Ji making money.

She wasn't sure how this young tenant made money online. Perhaps, like a livestreamer, she advertised various products. But could one really sell products through livestreaming simply by typing and clicking a mouse?

Qi Ji felt unfamiliar to her. This young man had been living in her father's shop for more than half a year, and his daily routine was unchanging: he would go to sleep at noon and get up at seven in the afternoon.

Before 7:30, when Ma Fenfen came home from school, she could see this dark-haired young man with a gloomy look in his eyes, climbing down the ladder like a walking corpse, and asking Ma Youguo for a bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce, a plate of vegetables, and a basket of steamed dumplings.

He doesn't eat peanut butter, and he only eats the cheapest vegetables. If the vegetables are in season, he'll eat whatever's available; otherwise, he'll just make the ever-reliable tomato and egg stir-fry.

Ma Youguo would occasionally go out to play cards, Qi Ji couldn't find the boss, so he asked Ma Fenfen to open the kitchen and he would cook for himself.

In Ma Fenfen's eyes, this young man looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old. She didn't know why, but Qi Ji, who was the same age as her, had already left his hometown and gone to Forty-One District to live a solitary life.

Perhaps this is what "otaku" is all about?

This term was popular for a period of time in the very early days of the internet.

However, after various distortions and the application of stereotypes, it became a strange and unusual name.

The second floor was originally a warehouse with only two ventilation windows. The owner initially rented it out because carrying food up and down the stairs was too troublesome. He made some simple modifications and rented it out as living quarters.

Six tenants came and went, but none of them could stand the cramped, oppressive, dark, and gloomy environment. Living there for too long would make anyone depressed.

But Qi Ji stayed for more than half a year, and his health actually got better and better.

This is something Ma Fenfen can't understand. Maybe some people are just born to enjoy being alone. They're not social animals and are different from ordinary people.

This autistic boy has an unusual physiological routine, eating only two meals or one meal a day.

He is very clean, and when he enters the kitchen, he complains about Mr. Ma's terrible cooking skills. Every time he cooks for himself, he cleans up the stove and kitchen counter.

He wasn't very fleshy, and the farthest he ever went outside was to the barbershop more than 300 meters away to cut off his excess hair and expose his forehead so it wouldn't block his vision.

To discuss Qi Ji's work in detail would be quite complex.

Around 6 PM, Qi Ji slowly climbed down from the second floor and asked Ma Fenfen for something to eat.

Ma Fenfen was scrolling through Douyin (TikTok) at the shop entrance when she heard the sound of a ladder. Suddenly, she looked up and exclaimed, "Wow! What a rare sight! Why are you having a late-night snack today?"

Qi Ji looked extremely tired; his eye bags and under-eye bags were connected. His voice was hoarse, and he was short, probably less than 170 centimeters tall, maybe only 1.68 meters at most.

He was wearing a vest and shorts, and thick, non-slip slippers. His palms and the backs of his hands were clean, but his fingers had calluses; he was a ruthless keyboard warrior.

"Please help me, Miss." The boy shook his arm, stretching his aching muscles, his face full of apology. "I encountered some tough dishes today, and my mana is low. I need to eat something to keep myself going until midnight before going to sleep."

For Qi Ji, eating at seven in the morning is like having a midnight snack.

"Okay! I'll make it for you!" Ma Fenfen was overjoyed to hear the title "Young Miss." It was a compliment from a boy her age who looked clean and presentable, so she naturally paid special attention to it.

After Ma Fenfen put down her phone and went into the kitchen, Qi Ji stood by the counter with his hands behind his back, like an old cadre.

From the moment Fenfen selected the ingredients, Qi Ji immediately began giving remote instructions.

"Don't choose beef, it's too expensive."

Ma Fenfen immediately said, "I won't charge you!"

Qi Ji: "It's too popular."

Ma Fenfen traded it for a skewer of mutton.

Qi Ji: "It's still too hot, it's really irritating. Can you cook me some potatoes?"

Ma Fenfen obeyed the order and received two large potatoes in return.

Qi Ji: "There are too many. Pick one and cut it in half. I'll eat half."

Ma Fenfen was getting increasingly annoyed. "Even the gas for a fire is more expensive than this stuff!"

"Uh..." Qi Ji thought for a moment, then retorted in the simplest and most direct way, "One cubic meter of gas only costs seven yuan; it doesn't need that much to cook a potato."

"Tsk," Fenfen glanced at Qi Ji sideways, unsure what to say, "Are you on a diet?"

Qi Ji: "No."

Fenfen immediately grabbed the half-cart of beef and threw it into the vegetable washing basin. "Then eat it! If you get a sore throat, can't you take some cooling and anti-inflammatory medicine?"

Qi Ji didn't know what to say, looking helpless, and muttered to himself.

"Taking medication while overeating is unhealthy."

After a while, Fenfen finished washing the vegetables and was about to start marinating the meat.

Qi Ji immediately resumed commanding.

"--Don't add soy sauce, and use less salt."

Fenfen obediently followed along and sprinkled salt.

Qi Ji: "Less."

Fenfen gathered the items and then shook the bottle.

Qi Ji: "Too many! Too many! Too many! Too many!"

Fenfen, both amused and exasperated, asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Qi Ji emphasized, "Just a little bit, just a tiny bit is enough. I'm not very active, so I don't sweat that much. Too much salt will raise my blood pressure—my profession is rather special, and I'm prone to high blood pressure if I'm not careful."

"Then you do it yourself?!" Ma Fenfen retorted irritably. "What are you going to eat with so little salt? It has no flavor at all!"

Qi Ji explained, "You guys usually make fast food for the uncles and elders at the construction site. They work so hard every day, it's okay for them to eat a little salty food. I'm different."

Ma Fenfen held up the salt shaker. "Then demonstrate for me. If I learn it, I'll cook for you every day."

Qi Ji still didn't understand the meaning behind those words.

He reached for the salt shaker, but Ma Fenfen wouldn't let go.

This little girl has a lot of tricks up her sleeve; her plans are all over the place.

Qi Ji didn't go to school, so where would he get the money to pay the rent?

My dad said this kid is either trading stocks or doing high-class escort services; in short, he's either in the financial services industry or in some borderline service industry. He must be very quick-witted.

Boys like this, who stay home, don't cause trouble, don't get involved in gambling, drugs, or prostitution, and simply stay at home making a fortune, are practically a national first-class endangered species in this era.

Working from home is the dream of so many young people. Qi Ji may seem a bit aloof and eccentric, but he has accomplished so many people's dreams at such a young age. In Ma Fenfen's eyes, he is a true leader in society.

So when Qi Ji picked up the salt shaker, he also took Fenfen's hand and demonstrated it like an old scholar.

"You see, when you shake the salt grains, you need to tilt the bottle at about -12 degrees, because in real life, gravity will naturally carry the salt grains towards the bottle opening."

Ma Fenfen smiled and said, "Mmm! Salt! So cute!"

"It's not cute and adorable," Qi Ji corrected. "These Little Pink can be tapped out with your fingers, slowly tapped out."

Ma Fenfen responded forcefully, "Mmm!"

Qi Ji gently tapped the bottle, and a cloud of white salt mist fell from the mouth.

"It's that feeling, a feeling that's enough—I can't quite explain it, it's like it spilled, but there's also a feeling that it didn't."

"I think I heard those words, but it also feels like I didn't." Ma Fenfen squinted, trying to suppress a laugh, unsure of what to say.

"And one more thing," Qi Ji said to Fenfen after sprinkling the salt, "I don't want you to cook for me every day. Today is a special case; I still have a few big orders to finish. After I eat, I have to go back to jail. Thank you so much!"

Ma Fenfen: "Fine! You wait!"

Fifteen minutes later, a bowl of beef and potato rice was served to Qi Ji.

The kid started eating right away, and Ma Fenfen asked curiously.

"Brother Qi Ji, what exactly do you do for a living? What was that order you mentioned? What is it?"

Qi Ji still had food in his mouth, so he swallowed it quickly and immediately replied, "I'm just a lousy gamer. I like playing games and making money by playing games for others."

"Mobile games?" Ma Fenfen immediately became interested.

Qi Ji answered while eating, and his eating speed also slowed down.

That's a junk market.

Seemingly realizing that this explanation wasn't quite right, Qi Ji started talking more.

"Mobile games are different. Compared to desktop online games, the value of accounts depreciates too quickly. The money you spend can shrink tenfold in less than a second. The items in the official store are very expensive, but they are all restricted from trading. There is no interaction between players, the social attributes are almost zero, and there is no way to monetize them—the boosting services don't earn much money."

"However, there are some exceptions. Some mobile games target the high-end market, such as historical war games, which consume resources equivalent to real-world currency. Studios can't afford to play them; the costs are too high. To profit from them, you not only have to compete with the big spenders but also with the official supporters of the game operators—in other words, you have to outwit and outmaneuver the official shills. I don't do that; I can't compete and I can't afford it."

Ma Fenfen only understood half of what she heard.

"--So what do you do?"

Qi Ji: "Playing online games."

Ma Fenfen: "Huh?"

"Is it surprising?" Qi Ji asked, puzzled.

Ma Fenfen: "Specifically? What games do you play?"

"We welcome all comers." Qi Ji patiently explained, "Any desktop online game you can still play now, the players are mostly in their thirties or forties."

"They've been working for a long, long time and have the spending power. Online game item trading isn't as rigid as mobile game trading, so it's easy to monetize them."

"These users have an emotional attachment to the game, but they can't play it much anymore, so they entrust us, the 'players,' to help them nurture their characters."

Speaking of this--

Qi Ji paused for a moment.

"Yes, it's about raising children. These veteran users treat the characters in the game like their own children or partners. This is a game they played when they were kids."

"The two orders I mentioned before were for a Korean online game. This thing has been around for over twenty years and hasn't gone out of business yet. The game level is already up to 150, and they've released a bunch of long and tedious story quests. The boss is very generous and wants me to level up two new characters to the maximum level."

"These two orders cost 180 Hui Stone Currency, enough for me to last half a month."

"So how long will it take you to level up?" Ma Fenfen immediately changed her question, "How long will it take to complete these two missions?"

Qi Ji replied, "It will take at least three days."

Ma Fenfen looked worried. She thought she had found a money-making expert, but it turned out to be just as Qi Ji had said—just a noob gamer.

"Brother Qi Ji, how are you going to support yourself like this? Working three days a week to earn fifteen days' worth of living expenses, eating only noodles with soybean paste and steamed dumplings every day—your body won't be able to take it."

Qi Ji didn't answer immediately, because he had a little secret.

Besides this most basic game boosting service, he also has a large number of orders.

This includes, but is not limited to, MOBA ranking matches, buying low and selling high in the auction house to make futures, selling initial accounts in new game lotteries, finding game bugs for profit, or uploading bug recordings to demand payment from the operating company.

Calling Qi Ji "electronic gold farmer" is most fitting. He's a fighter, and a very skilled one at that. Whether it's online games, mobile games, or even racing games on consoles, he'll try his hand at being a bounty hunter as long as the price is right.

His life revolves solely around games; he's a very pure person, an omnivore who isn't picky about food at all.

As mentioned earlier, the reason he doesn't accept mobile game boosting orders is simply because the mobile game market is terrible; someone like him, a skilled online gamer, can't earn much money in this market. He can make much more money with the same time and effort in other games.

His secrets don't stop there; if Ma Fenfen had the chance, she could climb up to the second floor and take a look.

Qi Ji's workspace contains six computers, three mobile phones, ten split screens, and a projector. Input devices, including game controllers, keyboards, and mice, are scattered throughout every corner.

Each screen is divided into different work areas, where people either type manually, use macros to automate tasks, or occasionally check the in-game auction house prices.

He's practically a human computer, constantly thinking about how to play games. The reason he can run multiple instances of the game is simple: he possesses a spiritual body and can control so many devices simultaneously, allowing him to multitask.

He has successfully emerged from his pupa, possessing spiritual silk and a complete ball of silk threads, and is moving towards the cocooning stage.

"I said... Brother Qi Ji?" Ma Fenfen waved her hand at Qi Ji: "Brother Qi Ji?"

"Oh! Go on," Qi Ji said, snapping out of his reverie.

Ma Fenfen: "You work so hard playing games and only earn 180 yuan in three days, why don't you go out and find a job?"

At this point, Ma Fenfen's voice grew softer and softer.

Because she could sense that Qi Ji seemed a little angry.

She wasn't a psychic, but she could sense the changes in the psychic tides. The fogging in the plastic water cup was caused by the temperature drop due to psychic fluctuations.

Qi Ji pursed his lips, cleaned up the plate, nodded to Fenfen to thank her, and after thinking for a long time, decided to make things clear.

Everyone has something they're good at, right?

Ma Fenfen: "Indeed."

Qi Ji: "Why?"

Ma Fenfen didn't understand. What exactly was being asked by that "why"?

So Qi Ji patiently pressed for more information.

"Why do you have the right to point fingers at me, young lady?"

"Why? I didn't steal or rob, I didn't break the law, I didn't bother anyone, and I didn't disgust anyone."

"I didn't go to school like you because I really couldn't understand it, I couldn't read it, and I couldn't learn it."

"I'd also like to find a class to attend, if possible."

"Sometimes it's not like that, Miss. It's not as simple as you think."

"Why can you so simply say, 'You work so hard for such a small amount of money, you might as well go out and work'?"

"I can't do manual labor, I can't, I can't take it, I hate this kind of life."

Qi Ji spoke very humbly and sincerely to Fenfen.

"I want to make my own decisions about my life. I really, really love playing games. Don't let my being alone fool you; I don't have time to reply to every message online. I have many friends."

"I have many friends."

Ma Fenfen said nervously, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not angry," Qi Ji said calmly. "I'm just very sad."

Ma Fenfen didn't understand Qi Ji's sorrow.

She didn't understand.

Qi Ji changed his approach, bringing up the matter of the 180 yuan from before.

"Actually, my work efficiency is very high, it's not about the money. The most terrifying thing about leveling those two level 150 characters to the maximum in three days isn't how tedious it is to do quests and run around the map."

Ma Fenfen asked in confusion, "What is that?"

"You'll see for yourself." Qi Ji composed himself, waved to Fenfen, and pulled her upstairs.

When Fenfen arrived at his workspace, she was immediately stunned; the place looked just like the headquarters of a mysterious hacker in a movie.

Qi Ji led Fenfen to a screen--

"--It's too harmful to the body."

The game's visuals depict characters offering boosting/leveling services in revealing and extremely pornographic attire. It's utterly [unbearable to look at, a sign of moral decay, where is the world's moral compass? Where is the bottom line? Where is the link?]—such vulgarity! It deserves severe condemnation!

Fenfen covered her face, feeling her cheeks burning, yet she couldn't resist peeking through her fingers again.

--That's so weird! Let me take a closer look!