I Spend Money Without Reason

Inside Little Kitchen, not a sound could be heard. Only the Iron Golem moved between the tables, occasionally asking, "Alone... a single dog? Couples get ten percent off. Want to buy one and give it a try?"

Compared with its usual emptiness, Little Kitchen was unusually packed today.

Liu Qing, the class monitor of Senior Year 2, Class 6, stared wide-eyed at the tableware before her. She was deeply moved, yet did not dare make a single move.

The tables, chairs, and benches were clean. The chopsticks were ivory and white. There was water in the cups, tissues in the tissue box, chili peppers in the chili bowl, and side dishes on the small plates.

Outside was the clamorous night market, while inside was an elegant restaurant. Having never entered a place like this before, Liu Qing was like a tiny sculpture, held captive by the atmosphere and unable to move.

It was not just her. No one else dared move either. The only one who did was Chen Yu, who was studying today's menu while clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction.

Chen Yu's voice jolted a little reason back into Liu Qing.

Turning sideways, she said to Chen Yu beside her, "Dad Chen, actually, I think gutter oil is pretty good."

"Why are you bringing that up? Since when was gutter oil good?"

"Sure enough, you're not the class monitor. You don't understand the unspoken hints of people like us in official circles. What I mean is, there's no need to treat us at Little Kitchen. We can just have a thirty-yuan-per-person meal outside. There are forty people in Senior Year 2, Class 6. We can settle it for twelve hundred altogether. If I show my face around a bit, maybe we can get it done for a thousand."

The words "save money" nearly made Chen Yu leap to his feet.

Staring at Liu Qing, Chen Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Don't save money for me! Every last one of you eats until you're satisfied! Iron Golem, are your dishes always this cheap? Is deep-sea salmon really the most expensive thing here? Two hundred per jin is an insult to a place of your caliber."

At the mention of two hundred per jin, a classmate immediately fainted.

Liu Qing was dizzy from all this too, but she still forced herself to say, "Chen Yu, even if I acknowledge you as my dad and you acknowledge me as the class monitor, that doesn't mean you need to pay for my food, drink, peeing, and pooping. Listen to me and leave now. We'll just pay for the air."

"Stop arguing."

"This isn't arguing! I'm the class monitor. I can't watch you stray onto the wrong path! We need to earn clean money!"

But after saying that, she leaned closer and whispered, "Though it's fine if it's just a little gray. Where are you raking in money? Introduce me, will you?"

"...As expected of the class monitor. Your Moral Score isn't very high, is it?"

"Exactly sixty."

"Barely passed. Don't worry, it's fine. This was arranged by the Tianyuan Cultivators Committee, so just eat without worry."

"A last meal before execution? After we eat, are we going undercover in the Demon Sect?"

"With that imagination of yours, it'd be a waste if you didn't write novels."

But Liu Qing's words did remind Chen Yu of something.

Without a specific reason, casually spending money on people would always cause problems.

They would wonder: What does it mean that you keep spending money on me? Do you have some improper intentions? What exactly are you trying to do?

The more he gave, the more they would suspect him. In the end, the secret of his Constitution would be dug out.

How about starting a company?

The moment that thought arose, the whole world suddenly seemed bright.

That was a great idea!

He could casually establish a company, make its business scope entertainment and related industries, have the company step in to coordinate whenever necessary, and use the company's name whenever he needed to hand out money.

Meanwhile, he could hide behind the company and conveniently harvest Negative Emotions.

Thinking of this, Chen Yu immediately searched for how to start a company in Tianyuan, only to discover that creating one in Tianyuan was extremely simple.

He logged onto the Committee website, entered his ID number, filled in the security deposit, and registered. Just like that, the company was set up.

He put himself down as the legal representative, himself as the employee, and registered capital of eighty thousand. After using spiritual power to verify the capital, everything went through smoothly.

Letting out a long breath, Chen Yu said to Liu Qing beside him, "I've recently been working part-time for a company, and they need me to help them with some things. Today's meal counts as entertainment expenses. Everyone can eat whatever they want."

"But we haven't done anything. We can't eat this meal." Liu Qing frowned.

"...This company likes doing charity work. They have connections above, and every month they have a quota they need to clear. Eat without worry. Once you're done, I'll submit the bill upstairs. The more you eat, the happier they'll be."

Though they were reluctantly persuaded, the students of Senior Year 2, Class 6 still ate as if walking on thin ice.

They firmly refused to order expensive dishes and chose only the cheap ones. Forty people ate here with extreme stinginess.

But after one bite, they understood why this place was so expensive.

The meat was cooked to perfection. The vegetables were fresh and free of additives. There were no detectable spells or vicious tricks in the soup. After several dishes, their stomachs and intestines felt comfortable all over.

There were even spiritual herbs in the seasonings. Not long after eating them, they began to sweat, and the qi and blood in their bodies boiled. It was greatly beneficial to the physical bodies of Body Cultivators like them.

Though they only ate until half-full, the students' spirits were clearly lifted. After returning, they almost wanted to tell others about it for three days and three nights.

Everyone was happy, but Chen Yu was not particularly happy.

"One meal cost four thousand. Did you really need to be this frugal? Tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow won't be necessary." Liu Qing immediately refused. "It's fine to eat it once in a while, but eating it all the time will spoil our tongues, so there's no need."

"...All right."

After seeing them off, Chen Yu looked at the remaining seven thousand six hundred points of spiritual power and once again worried over how to spend the money.

Fortunately, this problem did not trouble him for long.

Five days later, Teacher Zhao, reeking of deathly exhaustion, called Chen Yu out of the dormitory and handed him the Dreamscape fragment on his phone.

Yawning, Teacher Zhao said, "It's done. All twenty basic knowledge points have been included, along with some of the combo chains and variations you mentioned. I put everything in."

"Thank you, Teacher Zhao!"

Wiping his glasses with his clothes, Teacher Zhao said softly, "You're welcome, but my surname is Wang... no, my surname is Zhao. Five days without sleep has left me too tired. My brain's gone numb. I also added some points that can be configured as you requested. Adjust them yourself later."

"Thank you!"

"It's nothing. Take it slow. I'm going to rest now. Also, about the money..."

"Please get some rest quickly, Teacher. Don't worry about me! Goodbye!"

Chen Yu decisively left, giving the other man no chance to return the money.

Cradling his phone, Chen Yu excitedly lay on his bed and swiftly sank into the Dreamscape.

After importing the Dreamscape fragment Teacher Zhao had given him into the Dream Maker Platform, Chen Yu soon saw the movements Teacher Zhao had recorded one by one, and could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

"As expected of Teacher Zhao, accomplished in both letters and martial arts. These movements are truly beautiful. And the difficulty can be adjusted, from level one to level ten. Wait, why is every knowledge point Teacher Zhao made at level ten? How did someone this talented end up in Tianyuan?"

The question was somewhat baffling, but Chen Yu set it aside for the moment and began experiencing the most important part inside:

Combat!