Plants vs. Zombies?

"Beep, beep!"

At the sound of the whistle, Spain beat Greece 70–47, winning by 23 points and taking the 2006 FIBA World Championship!

"Wooohooo!"

The Spanish fans at the arena celebrated wildly.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, at Su Yi's home in the U.S.:

Xu Rui was screaming with excitement too.

They had spent 1.36 million dollars betting at 13-to-1 odds on Spain to win.

Now that Spain had won, they were rolling in it.

"Yi, we're millionaires!"

Xu Rui grabbed Su Yi's arm, his voice full of excitement.

By comparison, Su Yi was much calmer. After all, he had a cheat-code-like script on his side. This wasn't unexpected!

But when Su Yi saw how excited Xu Rui was, he couldn't resist teasing him. "A Rui, you got that wrong. It's not 'we're' millionaires. I'm a millionaire."

As soon as Su Yi finished speaking, Xu Rui's excitement abruptly died. His expression visibly shifted from happiness to calm, then to disappointment.

That "acting" could put countless pretty-boy idols to shame.

Two and a half seconds later, Xu Rui said dejectedly, "I was careless. I should've bet along with you back then."

Then Xu Rui looked at Su Yi and said, "Yi, next time something like this comes up, bring me in."

Su Yi kept a straight face as he looked at Xu Rui. The next second, though, he couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

Still laughing, he said, "I'm messing with you. We'll split the winnings fifty-fifty. Without your stake, I wouldn't have made so much."

Getting back several million dollars he'd thought he'd lost made Xu Rui's eyes light up. He threw an arm around Su Yi's neck. "That's what I call a good brother!"

"Get off me. Why didn't you call me your good brother just now? You're so fake." Su Yi laughed as he scolded him.

Xu Rui hurriedly protested, "I was still feeling down just then. Cut me some slack, Brother Yi! Yi-ge~"

What the hell!

What was that supposed to be?

Disgusting!

Su Yi shoved Xu Rui away and hurried outside.

The next day, the two spent another two and a half hours collecting their winnings. When Xu Rui saw the balance in his account, he couldn't stop grinning.

Even after they got home, Xu Rui still couldn't close his mouth.

Su Yi couldn't help saying, "All right, A Rui. We only made a few million. There'll be plenty more opportunities like this."

"Really?"

Xu Rui's eyes lit up as he looked at Su Yi. The thrill of making fast money had him hooked.

Su Yi didn't answer. Instead, he changed the subject to the business they needed to take care of next.

"There are less than two months until the new season starts.

"The team has also notified me that I need to report for training camp by September 28.

"A Rui, we have money now. Let's buy a house in Cleveland that's relatively safe and has a basketball court.

"Then help me put together a personal coaching staff. And hurry up and get your agent license sorted out!"

Hearing Su Yi, Xu Rui quickly pulled himself together. They really did have a lot to take care of.

That afternoon, the two headed to Cleveland. As soon as they got off the plane, Xu Rui contacted the real estate agent they'd arranged to meet.

Su Yi told the agent what he was looking for and gave him a rough price range.

After hearing Su Yi's requirements, the agent quickly recommended Hunting Valley, Cleveland.

It was a historic, picturesque suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and home to the wealthy.

Hunting Valley was also the richest community in Ohio, with an average household income of up to $500,000 a year!

As soon as Su Yi heard that, he had the agent take him to look around.

When they arrived in Hunting Valley, Su Yi saw the surroundings and the many security guards patrolling the area. He immediately took a liking to it.

One reason Su Yi hadn't wanted to join the Cleveland Cavaliers was LeBron James. Another was that the city had a relatively high rate of violent crime and was one of the least safe cities in the U.S.

He didn't want to die young!

So, naturally, he wanted to find a house in a safer area.

Soon, the agent led him to the first villa.

The villa wasn't especially large, with a total area of 483 square meters. It had its own garden, seven bathrooms, six bedrooms, and a swimming pool.

"This one."

After looking around, Su Yi bought it without a second thought.

Men bought things quickly and decisively. What was the point of looking at one place after another? It was a waste of time.

It cost $1.06 million!

All the paperwork was completed very quickly.

That evening, Su Yi and Xu Rui moved straight into the villa.

The next day, Su Yi got back to training as usual, while Xu Rui was swamped with work.

He had to find someone to build a basketball court in the garden. Then he had to interview Filipino maids, recruit a personal coaching staff for Su Yi, and still make time to study.

But no matter how busy he was, Xu Rui steadily took care of everything.

After spending a hefty sum, he had an outdoor court installed in less than three days.

They hired two Filipino maids to take care of their daily needs.

Meanwhile, the personal coaching staff was already in place: head coach Kai Lei Menluo, strength and conditioning coach Nilufer Bello, physical therapist Cutler Garland, nutritionist Mikala Cooley, practice players Nikolai Hull and Jami Scott, and chef Saicang Halin.

It was all set, but when he added it up, the annual cost was even higher than Su Yi's yearly take-home salary.

The entire personal coaching staff cost $1.26 million a year!

Xu Rui told Su Yi about it at once and apologized. "Yi, I'm really sorry. I didn't pay enough attention to the cost. $1.26 million a year is just too expensive!"

Su Yi waved a hand. "A Rui, it's not your fault. Leave the money-making to me. Go get three of the most advanced computers available."

Su Yi had made up his mind in just a few seconds.

He didn't plan to take just any endorsement deal. Knowing that he only needed one or two seasons to break out, there was no need to accept endorsements that didn't match his worth.

The brands approaching him were only interested in his current buzz.

They were also offering relatively little money, and the contracts were long-term.

And with no opportunities to make quick money in the near future—the World Cup and the World Championship were both over—there was only one thing left to fall back on: his old profession as a programmer!

Su Yi planned to make a few little games and sell them.

They wouldn't take long to make, they could bring in money quickly, and most importantly, he wanted to play them.

Now that he'd been reborn, Su Yi wanted to relax a little. There weren't many games he could play, anyway.

"Okay, Yi!"

Although Xu Rui had no idea what Su Yi wanted to do, he obediently followed his instructions.

As Xu Rui saw it, Su Yi was a real superstar. All he had to do was stick close to him!

Before long, Xu Rui had set up three computers.

After that, Su Yi's routine changed. His training time dropped from fourteen hours a day to ten. Kai Lei Menluo was very pleased. In his view, Su Yi had been training fourteen hours a day as if he didn't even regard himself as human.

Su Yi used the four extra hours to write code.

Just like that, he finished in time on the 27th, the day before the team's training camp began.

"A Rui, come over here."

Once he was done, Su Yi immediately called Xu Rui over to try out the little game he'd just made.

"What is it?"

Hearing Su Yi, Xu Rui came over and asked.

"Try this game."

"What game? Plants vs. Zombies?"