Shocking! A Job Paying 100,000 a Year Actually...

2014, Hua Nation, Jinling City.

June's blazing sun scorched the earth, as if it wanted to evaporate the last trace of moisture from the asphalt roads.

Watching the hurried pedestrians on the street and listening to the noisy traffic and honking around him, Lu Zhou stood before the China Unicom service hall, staring blankly at the road. Though cool air occasionally drifted over from behind him, the inch-thick mascot costume kept him from feeling even the slightest blessing from the air conditioning.

Why was he standing here?

Because of life, of course...

All right, in plain terms.

During the summer break, the China Unicom service hall and vivo were running a promotion. As long as he wore the mascot costume and stood at the entrance, he earned sixty yuan an hour—nearly twice what handing out flyers paid—and he did not even have to endure people's disdainful looks. On top of that, with the outdoor temperature above thirty degrees, there was a ten-yuan hourly heat allowance, bringing it to seventy yuan an hour.

The moment he heard that hourly wage, Lu Zhou accepted without a second thought.

A rational analysis showed that, at an average of five working hours a day, he could earn 350 yuan a day. Over thirty days, that came to 10,500 yuan.

Who would have thought that a job paying 100,000 a year was right outside a China Unicom service hall?

Of course, Lu Zhou knew that not even vivo, let alone the deep-pocketed Huawei, could run promotions every day.

Still, even if he only worked for a week, that was more than 2,600 yuan in income.

Just as Lu Zhou was bored enough to start counting the leaves on the plane tree by the entrance, a slightly dark-skinned fat man walked over while wiping sweat from his face.

The fat man was named Wu Dahai. Like Lu Zhou, he studied mathematics at Jinling University, though he was two years ahead of Lu Zhou. He was currently a junior and would become a senior in a few months. As the leader of these part-time student workers, he was the one who had introduced Lu Zhou to this mascot costume job.

"Lu Zhou, can you keep going? How about I find someone to cover for you so you can rest inside the service hall?" Wu Dahai had always been sensitive to heat, and he looked as though he had just been fished out of the water, drenched from head to toe.

Though he desperately wanted to rest, Lu Zhou still shook his head. "I'm fine. I can hold on a little longer."

"I'm asking whether you're really fine or just pretending. You've been standing here all afternoon." Wu Dahai spoke with a miserable expression.

He was genuinely worried that Lu Zhou might get heatstroke.

"I'm really fine. You don't need to worry about me." Lu Zhou shook his head firmly. "There's only one hour left until we get off work. I've already stood here this long, so one more hour won't make a difference, right?"

Wu Dahai hesitated as he looked at Lu Zhou. "Then... I really won't worry about you anymore."

"Yeah. Go do what you need to do."

Seeing how resolute Lu Zhou was, Wu Dahai stopped insisting.

In truth, he also harbored a bit of wishful thinking.

In weather this hot, it was not easy to find someone to cover a shift. Though he had plenty of part-time workers under him, there were not many as willing to push themselves as Lu Zhou. Otherwise, he might end up having to put on this "big cotton coat" himself.

Watching the fat man's retreating back, Lu Zhou withdrew his gaze and continued staring blankly at the plane tree outside the service hall.

Then, he suddenly felt that something was wrong with the scene before him.

Why were the pedestrians on the street... flying into the sky?

His legs gave out, and his whole body toppled backward.

With what remained of his consciousness, he vaguely heard hurried footsteps and shouts coming from the service hall behind him.

"The mascot at the entrance has heatstroke!"

"Quick, take off his headpiece and get him some water!"

"Damn it, Lu Zhou, you can't let anything happen to you!"

"No good, he's unresponsive! Hurry and take him to the hospital!"

"Put him in my car."

"..."

The last sliver of light vanished from his vision, followed by boundless darkness...

Lu Zhou was an undergraduate mathematics student at Jinling University. He was currently a freshman and would become a sophomore in a few months. When he had filled out his college preferences, he had originally applied for software engineering, but his score had fallen a few points short, and he had been reassigned to the unpopular mathematics department.

Sometimes, Lu Zhou could not help asking himself what use there was in spending four years studying this damn major.

There seemed to be no answer.

There were only two conventional paths for mathematics students: continue their studies overseas or in graduate school, or switch to another field.

There was actually a third option—staying at the university—but that was not something undergraduates considered unless they had an exceptionally close relationship with their professors. Even then, staying would only mean doing miscellaneous work, so it was better to take the graduate entrance exam at the same university.

However, graduate school was not very realistic for Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou's hometown was Jiangling. Though it differed from Jinling by only one character, the two places were worlds apart geographically. His father worked as an ordinary laborer at Jiangling Steel Mill, while his mother had long been laid off and stayed at home. Her health had never been very good either, and her medical treatment had cost them plenty.

The entire family relied on his father's income, not to mention that he also had a younger sister in high school. Once she got into college, that would be another considerable expense.

His father's wish was for him not to worry about money, to keep studying as long as possible, and ideally come back with a doctorate.

But Lu Zhou knew very well that was impossible.

With one foot already in society, he had no choice but to consider more practical problems.

More specifically, money.

He did not want to become a burden on his family, nor did he want to hold back his younger sister. So from the moment he entered university, he had worked hard to become financially independent. While others joined clubs and celebrated their youth, or studied diligently in the library, he spent more of his time handing out flyers, installing routers, and delivering takeout.

Sometimes, he could not help asking himself what meaning such a college life had. The work he did required no technical skill at all. Even someone with only a middle school education could do it, perhaps even better than he could. At the very least, they would not get heatstroke after standing outside an air-conditioned room for a few hours.

But like the earlier question about the future of mathematics majors, this question had no answer.

Now, he had collapsed...

His consciousness returned, and Lu Zhou found himself standing in a vast expanse of white, looking around in confusion.

Where the hell... am I?

No one answered.

His hazy memories told him that he seemed to have collapsed from heatstroke outside the China Unicom service hall. Later, kind people had apparently carried him into a car and taken him to a nearby hospital. But this place did not look anything like a hospital. It did not even seem like the real world.

Just as Lu Zhou began to feel anxious about his situation, a translucent screen suddenly appeared before him, startling him into jumping backward.

"Black Technology... System? What the hell is that?!"

As bold text gradually appeared on the translucent screen, Lu Zhou was first startled, then overcome with wild joy.

Could it be... that I've been chosen by one of those legendary systems?

He had read web novels before.

Swallowing hard, Lu Zhou quickly asked, "System... um, what functions do you have?"

Yet no mysterious voice responded to his question. The translucent holographic screen simply continued displaying text on its own.

[

Black Technology System:

This system is dedicated to raising the civilization level of indigenous inhabitants. As for the secrets of this system, the holder must explore them independently. The system's functions will now be explained in detail to the system holder.

The system's main interface is introduced below.

※ Core Sciences: (The trunk of the technology tree, focused on theoretical fields. The maximum level is ten. Experience can only be obtained through missions and cannot be exchanged for points. Fully leveling the technology tree will unlock options for future eras, as well as megastructure engineering missions.)

A. Mathematics: The foundation of all disciplines. Determines the maximum levels of all other core sciences.

B. Physics: It can help you understand the universe.

C. Biochemistry: It can help you understand yourself.

D. Engineering: Transform tools, transform the environment, transform the world.

E. Materials Science: Materials and engineering are inseparable.

F. Energy Science: From fossil fuels to helium-3, from solid-state lithium-air batteries to antimatter batteries, from wireless power transmission to ultra-long-distance laser transmission—life feeds on negative entropy. The end of energy development lies in the distant sea of stars...

G. Information Science: Genetics is God's code, and the ultimate goal of code is to create God.

----------

※ Branch Technologies: The branches of the technology tree. After unlocking a specific branch technology, the experience required for upgrades may be exchanged at an equivalent rate of 1 point per experience point.

For example: Genetics LV1 requires Biochemistry LV1. By spending 100 points, Genetics LV1 can be unlocked (0/1000).

Genetics LV2 requires Biochemistry LV2, Engineering LV1, and 1000 experience points. Once all three conditions are met, Genetics LV1 can be upgraded to Genetics LV2 (0/?).

----------

Technical Blueprints: As the name suggests, straightforward and easy-to-understand technical blueprints. They range from a single nanometer chip to a Dyson Sphere megastructure. Once the objective conditions required for production are met, production can be achieved by following the blueprint's steps.

----------

Points: Can be used to activate reward missions, or spend 200 points to reroll missions. Points can also be spent to solve technical problems. (The point cost is determined by discipline level, the nature of the technical problem, and the difficulty of solving it.)

Missions: Three random missions appear each time. One may be selected as the target to carry out, and completing the mission grants the corresponding reward. Once a mission is completed, the mission panel will reset immediately.

]

At that moment, Lu Zhou did not know what expression to make. The mathematics he had regarded as useless seemed to have become the father of every other discipline in this system. The feeling of a salted fish turning its life around left him speechless.

What left him even more at a loss for words came afterward.

After the explanatory text vanished, his attribute panel appeared.

[

Black Technology System:

Host: Lu Zhou

Core Sciences:

A. Mathematics: LV0 (0/1000)

B. Physics: LV0 (0/1000)

C. Biochemistry: LV0 (0/1000)

D. Engineering: LV0 (0/1000)

E. Materials Science: LV0 (0/1000)

F. Energy Science: LV0 (0/1000)

F. Information Science: LV0 (0/1000)

Branch Technologies: None

Technical Blueprints: None

Points: 0

Missions: Unclaimed

]

I'm a student at a 985 university, damn it. I may not be a top student here, but isn't this string of zeroes looking down on me a little too much?

Looking at that glaring string of zeroes, Lu Zhou did not know whether to laugh or cry.

This system must have made some kind of mistake!

Just as Lu Zhou thought that, his shoulder was suddenly shaken violently, and his consciousness was pulled out of the pure white space...