The segment everyone loves to see

Wen Nan was stunned.

There was really no need... to go that far.

In reality, the fatty would never do such a thing. Given his family's influence and his status as the Second Young Master Wang, outside of this game, in the vast majority of cases, it was others who would be fawning over him.

In real life, even if he truly wanted to curry favor with someone, he would usually choose to transfer 500,000 to them first, letting them see his financial power before "reasoning" with them.

Regardless, it would never be like this—resorting to physical action, and slapping his own face at that.

However, this wasn't real life. The gold coins in this game couldn't be bought with real-world currency at all!

The endless string of zeros in his bank account back home were truly just zeros here; they were completely useless!

He was a man accustomed to a life of luxury and indulgence. It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Now that he was here with a pathetic one hundred coins in his account, it was simply too hard for him.

How did that saying go? Only those who have seen the light can truly find the darkness unbearable.

He had seen the prosperity of the world, which made his current poverty all the more intolerable.

What's more, this wasn't just a matter of poverty. This place was crawling with female ghosts. Physical pain was one thing, but if things went wrong, it could actually cost him his life.

He couldn't go on like this.

He wanted to make money; he wanted it so badly.

For his first task, he had endured over three hours of brutal beatings, struggling to earn 1,861 gold coins, just enough to buy a single Safety Bubble.

Yet, this Great God Ye before him... had earned 395,554 gold coins from just one task!!

Nearly four hundred thousand gold coins! If they weren't still at Level 1, having not even cleared the trial zone, they could have bought high-end items from the mall. With this amount of gold, he could have even bought a small safe house in a remote area!

This was only the first task in the trial zone, and this big shot had already earned enough to buy a safe house. What kind of level was this?

To him, this was the God of Wealth himself descending to earth!

If he didn't cling to this man's leg until it broke, he would write his surname "Wang" backward for the rest of his life!

After finishing the slap to his own face, seeing that the other party still wouldn't relent and even wore a troubled expression, the fatty immediately stepped forward and said:

"Grandpa Ye, are you still not satisfied? It's okay if you're not satisfied yet, I can keep going, until—"

"—No, stop, cut it out."

Wen Nan hurriedly raised his hand to stop him.

He actually wanted to offer a rebuttal, to say he really wasn't some big shot, but he was afraid that if he spoke, the other man would start slapping his face again. In the end, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Seeing this, the fatty assumed he was tacitly accepting his status as a big shot.

Looking up at the light screen, the fatty glanced at the final balance of 395,554 gold coins on player Ye Jiu's settlement panel, and tears of envy couldn't help but stream from the corners of his mouth.

He really wanted to ask: Grandpa Ye, could you lend me some money?

He didn't need much, just a few thousand would be enough. As long as it allowed him to buy a few [Safety Bubbles] to stock in his equipment slot, and as long as it could help keep his backside from being shredded in the next task, he would be satisfied.

However, these words circled on his tongue, but in the end, the fatty still didn't ask.

He had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth; he knew all too well the feeling of casual acquaintances approaching him and asking for money after only a few sentences—the disgust, the disdain, the way one would avoid them like a rat crossing the street.

No, he absolutely could not let his image in the eyes of the God of Wealth turn into that of a street rat.

He was lucky; he had encountered such a big shot the moment he entered the trial zone.

He had to make good use of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—by any means necessary, he would become the big shot's hanger-on!

Since the God of Wealth didn't want to hear him talk, he would just shut his mouth and behave. As for borrowing money, he wouldn't utter a single word about it.

Thinking of this, the fatty nodded vigorously and stood there without a sound, like a silent gourd.

Wen Nan was a bit bewildered. He hadn't expected that a single simple sentence would leave the other man as if he had been struck by a mute spell, truly not saying another word.

At this moment, the settlement panel on the light screen above vanished, replaced by a new set of prompts—

[Congratulations to all participants! Main Task 1 has officially concluded!]

[Main Task 2 will be issued promptly at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning. Please keep an eye on this screen at that time.]

[Before Main Task 2 officially begins, this is a rest period for participants. During this time, participants are free to move about.]

[Participant live streams will reopen after Main Task 2 officially begins.]

[Please be advised: It is not recommended for participants to leave the spawn point outside of task periods. Otherwise, you will bear all consequences yourself!]

[The countdown to the start of Main Task 2 begins now—]

[8:00:00--]

[7:59:59--]

[7:59:58--]

The countdown above refreshed second by second.

The realization that a new task was about to begin caused the expressions of the remaining three people in the dormitory to turn grave once more.

Huang Tao, the athlete, walked toward the balcony without a word. He pulled open the balcony door and stepped to the edge of the safety railing, raising his hand to push against the wire mesh as if checking to see how sturdy it was.

Shao Ling saw this and pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "This spawn point is surrounded by special protection; apart from players, no NPCs or special characters within the game can enter."

As he spoke, he scanned the small four-person dormitory. "If I'm not mistaken, this entire room, including the balcony and the bathroom outside, is considered part of the spawn point's range."

Hearing this, Huang Tao nodded, his mind put at ease. He left the balcony, returned to his desk, and with a flick of his hand, hopped effortlessly onto his bed. He waved at the other three. "I'm going to sleep. Gotta recharge; we have a mission to do first thing tomorrow morning."

Within the same map, the target of his strategy wouldn't change. For the next main quest, he would definitely have to see that buddy of his who loved singing, dancing, and basketball. He could guess with his eyes closed that the guy would surely torment him with a basketball again...

Thinking of this, Huang Tao sighed in agony and raised his arm to cover his eyes.

Shao Ling also thought of his own next mission, and images that even a livestream channel couldn't broadcast involuntarily surfaced in his mind...

His sigh became even deeper and heavier than Huang Tao's.

The fatty was different; he chose to try his best not to think about those unpleasant pasts and instead focus on the present.

And what needed to be focused on right now...

He looked at the desk next to him. "Grandpa Ye, are you going to sleep? I can lend you my quilt."

Wen Nan looked at the fatty in disbelief.

It was the height of summer, and their dormitory had no air conditioning; it was too hot even to lie directly on the floor, so what would he need a quilt for?

"No, thank you." Wen Nan politely declined, afraid that if he said too much, the fatty would start slapping himself again.

The fatty thought for a moment and added, "Or, do you want to cuddle with me while you sleep? I'm fat and soft; I feel great to hold."

Wen Nan: ...

"No, thank you. I'm not sleeping."

"Then what do you want to do?" The fatty leaned in eagerly.

Wen Nan pulled up his player panel from the system and curled his lips into a smile.

What to do?

Naturally, it was the segment that all players loved to see most—

The gacha!