On the Rise

"President Chen, our Dreamscape has gone viral! It's already nearing two thousand downloads, with countless positive reviews!"

"Oh, nice work. Keep it up. If the results stay good, I'll hand out bonuses."

When Glasses excitedly told Chen Yu the news, Chen Yu's reaction was remarkably calm.

After ending the call, Glasses pondered for a while before suddenly realizing. "As expected of President Chen. So young, yet already possessing the bearing of a great general. Even hearing about such high download numbers and ratings, he's still this composed."

"M-Maybe... he... doesn't care..."

"Average." The tall guy nodded and said coldly.

"That's right. To President Chen, results like these are far too ordinary! Is this the domain of the strong?"

Unlike Glasses's guess, Chen Yu had actually seen these results coming long ago.

He had just finished making up lessons with Teacher Zhao when he saw his accumulated Negative Emotions and Positive Emotion skyrocketing together, reaching twenty-five thousand.

Compared to his total of twenty thousand Positive Mana, Chen Yu held his head high and puffed out his chest, feeling like he was capable again.

After doing a quick calculation, he realized he could now gain twenty-five thousand Negative Emotions per day.

Although Positive Emotion had the boost from the previous two Dreamscapes, even with Quiz Melee, it was only twelve thousand.

And it could even be used as a reward, "washed" through the Dreamscape into legitimate income of his own. It was simply perfect.

This portion of emotion would slowly decrease afterward, but it was expected to hit its cap in around five days, giving him a huge amount of Mana he could freely use.

It still wasn't enough for financial freedom, but two hundred thousand Mana would definitely be enough to spend. More than enough to get into the archaeology program he wanted.

He happily returned to his dorm room, only to find a burly man sprawled across the floor, occasionally letting out strange laughter.

"Ma Daqiang, what are you doing?"

Ma Daqiang scratched his arm in his sleep and grinned lecherously. "Hehehe, you guys, don't run away. Keep insulting me!"

Chen Yu took half a step back, feeling that this dorm room was beyond saving.

It had to be burned down!

Stepping around him, Chen Yu saw that the homework on his desk had been opened. He knew Ma Daqiang had most likely come to copy it again, but finding Chen Yu absent and his own homework unfinished, he had lain on the floor and started dreaming.

He was having a Freakout even in his dreams. What a rare talent.

Just as Chen Yu was about to lie down on his bed for a while, he noticed the hamster-like class monitor lying there, her teeth clenched so tightly they were practically about to spark.

What were these two trying to do?

Since he couldn't lie down, he could only review his lessons at the desk and finish all his homework.

When neither of them had gotten up by four in the morning, Chen Yu finally ran out of patience and gave each of them a kick.

Liu Qing, who had been kicked awake, rubbed her eyes and got up. She then climbed down from her bed and gave Ma Daqiang a kick before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Chen Yu, you're finally back."

"Don't make it sound like you've been waiting for me all this time."

"I was waiting for you."

After yawning again, she looked at Chen Yu, crooked a finger to beckon him closer, then whispered mysteriously into his ear, "Chen Yu, I need to tell you something. Don't be too surprised."

"Don't worry. I'm a high school student, after all. I'm not easily surprised."

"I found a way to make money."

Chen Yu stood up and glanced at the hamster. Then he nodded. "I have a feeling it's definitely a legitimate way."

"...Sooner or later, I'm going to smash your eyeballs! Seriously, do you know about quiz Dreamscapes?"

"Not only do I know about them, I know them very well."

Class monitor Liu Qing shot Chen Yu a disdainful look, then raised a finger and wagged it. "I think you don't understand them at all. Quiz Dreamscapes can be exploited, you know?"

"That, I really didn't know."

"Heaven Origin's quiz Dreamscapes start out by luring you in to answer questions, then promising cash refunds if you win. But after you withdraw a few times, they'll say their quota is insufficient and tell you to top up before withdrawing again."

"Mm, and then?"

"Once you top up again, they'll say that to comply with Heaven Origin laws, their Dreamscape has stopped allowing withdrawals. However, your top-up can be used to purchase value-added services within the Dreamscape, like skins or something. Then when you call their customer service again, you can't get through."

"A classic scam."

"That's right, I knew you'd understand. This sort of thing usually happens right when a quiz Dreamscape first launches, so we can skim a dozen or so Mana from it and then leave. That counts as upholding justice for Heaven, so it won't deduct Morality. I happened to find a new quiz Dreamscape today, so I hurried over to find you."

"...You want me to help you answer questions?"

"Wrong. Good things should be skimmed by everyone together."

After digging around in her pocket for a while, Liu Qing excitedly showed Chen Yu the Dreamscape she had just downloaded. It was none other than Quiz Melee, which Chen Yu had just released.

After a moment of silence, Chen Yu asked, "Liu Qing..."

"Use my title while we're working! Right now, I'm not Liu Qing. I'm the class monitor leading everyone to fleece the capitalists!"

After getting the righteous class monitor off his bed, Chen Yu continued, "Could there possibly be—just possibly—the chance that this Dreamscape was made by our company?"

"Huh?"

Pointing at the Dreamscape's publisher, Chen Yu said, "Look here."

"Heaven Origin Morning Light Co., Ltd... It really is."

Seeing the name, Liu Qing suddenly understood, then whispered, "In that case, when are you planning to run away? Or do you have some channel that can help cash out? I've been short on Mana for my training lately. Maybe my realm is about to advance. It's really hard for a Body Cultivator to condense Mana."

"...Class monitor, I think your Moral Score could stand to be a little lower."

"Keep your voice down. Don't let the Day Patrol God hear you."

The higher one's realm, the more Mana was needed every day to maintain it.

And Body Cultivators also needed to burn Mana to cultivate their techniques, so they required more Mana than other schools. Without some spare money, it was difficult to keep cultivating.

However, Body Cultivators had broad employment prospects afterward. Even if they only graduated from high school, they could become security guards. If that didn't work, they could deliver food. They were faster than bicycles, after all.

Watching the class monitor eagerly prepare to fleece him, Chen Yu decided that once his company expanded, he would recruit Liu Qing and Ma Daqiang.

No matter what, these two had taken care of him for so long. He had to help them get work!

But for now, he needed to dispel Liu Qing's notion. "Class monitor, our company's Dreamscape is a legitimate one."

"Give me a break! They hired someone with a Morality score of twenty like you. How could it possibly be legitimate?"

"It's twenty-seven," Chen Yu immediately corrected. "And whether it's legitimate or not, you'll know once you try it."

Liu Qing thought about it and felt that Chen Yu was right.

So she wrapped herself in Chen Yu's blanket and quickly entered the Dreamscape.

A few minutes later, Liu Qing began crying and laughing at the same time, sometimes baring her teeth and sometimes wildly waving her arms around.

Looking at the clearly deranged Liu Qing, then at his steadily rising Negative Emotions, Chen Yu sighed. Life was really getting better and better.

The ever-increasing Negative Emotions gave him the motivation to move forward, prompting him to open his phone and continue adjusting the Dreamscape.