Early in the morning, dawn was still a bit somber, with traces of drizzle floating outside the window.
Chu You was awakened by the vibration of his phone, he picked it up and glanced at it. It was full of messages from various banks transferring funds into his personal account.
It seemed that the business empire his parents had painstakingly built was starting to crumble from his hands.
Chu You stared at the phone screen for a while, feeling somewhat uneasy. He took a deep breath and got out of bed.
Coming to the kitchen, he looked at the pristine cabinets that had not been tarnished by smoke. He opened the fridge, which was filled with exquisite champagne and icy beers, but there was not a single vegetable or even an egg in sight.
When he was down and out earlier, this rich young master had learned a lot, including cooking.
Chu You let out a slight sigh, some habits were hard to change.
Why not go to the market and buy some vegetables?
This sudden thought made Chu You laugh.
Since he had the experience of being ordinary, let the normalcy continue. At least until the game officially launches, it would be good to temper the restless emotions in his heart.
He decided to give himself time to reflect on how to move forward. With that thought, Chu You walked out the door.
The surrounding scenery and the villa were simultaneously unfamiliar and familiar to him. Chu You arrived at his designated parking garage, pressed his fingerprint, and the garage door slowly rose.
A Koenigsegg Agera stood quietly inside, one of only ten of this model in the entire Huaxia region.
Is he really going to take this car to buy groceries?
The car roared to life, its breath like a dragon waking from a deep slumber. It opened its eyes and let out a croon.
He input the destination data and this eye-catchingly supercar slowly exited the villa.
Every pedestrian that encountered the car, eyed it admiringly!
The Koenigsegg entered the main road, and its speed gradually increased. Chu You was slightly rusty driving this fierce beast that was dormant and yet explosive.
Chu You stepped hard on the accelerator, and the four exhaust pipes instantly released intense airflows, making the car dash off.
Time flew by quickly, and when Chu You arrived back at the villa, it was already noon. He drove the car back into the garage and took out the plastic bags filled with various vegetables and meat from the passenger seat, then returned to his home.
While he was still buying groceries in the market, Chu You received a call from customer service. His top-tier "Celestial World" game pod had arrived at his doorstep. So, Chu You remotely controlled his home's security system to open the door, allowing the installers to set up the game pod.
Upon entering his spacious and simple bedroom, Chu You instantly noticed a sci-fi styled game pod set up inside.
He was all too familiar with this. In his previous life, Chu You had spent countless days and nights here.
Once everything was ready, Chu You lay inside it, and started the identity binding process.
Currently collecting data...
Human DNA recognition completed...
When the last item was completed, the screen switched, and Chu You suddenly appeared on the magnificent city wall, looking at the endless siege army that almost touched the sky. Looking at the organized formations, the menacing sharp edges, and the heart-shaking drumbeats, a sense of fervor surged within him.
Be a man! When you are king of the world!!
"Chu You... By appearing here, you have now formed a cause-and-effect relationship with the Celestial World." A deep voice descended from above.
"Ah! The ancient and sacred emperor's crown remains unclaimed, you! Are you ready for the crowning?"
"Then, leave your mark on this plane of chaos!!"
The style changed, and the cold, impersonal voice of the system began to sound.
"Please name your character..."
"Night Ghost!" Chu You said softly.
"Name set successfully, this will be your exclusive name and account in this game."
On September 28, 2187, at exactly 10:00, "Celestial World" officially opens, there are still 6 days remaining, please wait patiently...
The game suddenly quit at this point. The seamless game pod slowly retreated from the top to the surrounding area, revealing faint blue lights streaming from within.
Chu You stood up effortlessly. The long-lost experience felt great, he strode over to his computer and logged onto the official website.
At that moment, Chu You discovered that the top-up leaderboard showed that the player ranked first in the Huaxia region had already topped up to 5 million. Username: Sole Despot.
Chu You vaguely remembered this player. He was the head of the Dragon Hunting Alliance, a prominent and very rich figure in his forties.
The second-ranked player had topped up 3.5 million, the username was: Cun Manghuan. Chu You had no recollection of this player, he seemed to be a stranger.
Looking at the top-up figures changing on the leaderboard, he guessed that Sole Despot, ranked first, felt threatened by the second place and the two were engaged in a top-up battle.
Chu You took a deep breath, the moment of destiny had arrived. He clicked on the top-up page.
How much do you want to top up?
Chu You frowned when he discovered that the max top-up allowed at a time was 100,000, feeling that time was really running out. He quickly typed '100,000' and clicked confirm.
At that moment, an SMS verification code appeared on his phone, Chu You entered it, and finally, hit the enter key.
Top up successful!
Chu You's expression was calm as he continued...
...
An hour had passed, Chu You glanced at the time, then checked how much he had topped up so far - 3 million. He shook his head, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to make lunch today.
He took another look at the leaderboard, the first position was still at 5 million. Chu You smiled slightly, he had chosen to hide, this meant that no matter how much he topped up, his name wouldn't appear on this list.
He had to keep a low profile, absolutely low profile. Otherwise, if people found out he, Chu You, was investing so heavily in a game that hadn't even started yet, it might cause some kind of historical trajectory shift.
The amount Chu You planned on topping up would indeed astonish everyone.
Continue...
At one-thirty, Chu You had topped up a total of 4 million...
At two-thirty, Chu You had topped up a total of 6 million...
At three-thirty, Chu You had topped up a total of 9 million...
At four-thirty, Chu You had topped up a total of 14 million...
He couldn't go on, he was genuinely hungry. Chu You got up and went to the kitchen to cook some noodles, the brand new utensils were being used for the first time by their owner.
Order takeout? Honestly, Chu You wasn't interested in anything else at the moment. When his stomach growled, his first instinct was to cook for himself, a habit he had maintained for years when he was down and out in his previous life.
Some habits are hard to break.
After hurriedly finishing the noodles he cooked, which were quite bland because he didn't have any condiments or appetizing toppings, he sat back down at the computer. Thought for a moment, and decided he'd probably pull an all-nighter, then dialed his life assistant.
"Xiao Zhou, could you buy me some medicine, the kind that..."
Ending the call, Chu You continued.
At seven-thirty, Chu You had topped up a total of 20 million...
Ding dong, the doorbell rang. Chu You activated the video monitor and saw a woman of impressive demeanor standing at his front door. She was in her late twenties, dressed professionally, and holding a bag in her hand.
This woman was Chu You's life assistant. A hint of complexity flashed in Chu You's eyes as he pressed a button, and the front door automatically opened.
Soon, there was a knock on the door of the room where Chu You was.
"Come in."
The bedroom door opened, and Chu You stopped what he was doing. Supported by the swivel of the leather chair, he faced the woman who entered.
To be honest, this woman was top-notch in appearance, with a fascinating charm. She was the life assistant Chu You had personally hired.
She greeted Chu You with a smile, "Brother You, I've brought the stuff you asked for." with a charming and tempting voice that gave off a sensation one might want to indulge in.
"Just put the stuff there." Chu You responded indifferently, ending the conversation there.
The assistant put the bag in its place, her enticing lips pursed up a bit, she couldn't help but feel a tad unsettled. She felt that Chu You seemed a bit different than he usually was.
"Boss, is there anything else?" the female assistant said.
Chu You looked down, a slender smile formed on his lips, he shook his head and said to the assistant, "That's it, you can go."
Sensing Chu You's coldness, the assistant nodded and left the room with a hint of disappointment. As she passed the kitchen, she smelled something and curiosity drove her to enter.
With her experience, she could tell at once that these kitchen wares had been used, but they had all been brand new before this.
The attractive female assistant looked back at the door of the room where Chu You was in surprise. Then with a thoughtful look, she left.
From the video, Chu You saw the female assistant leave the villa. He couldn't help but sigh deeply, shaking his head, and continuing to top up!!
At ten o'clock sharp, Chu You had topped up a total of 37 million...
Keep it coming!!!
It was midnight, at this time it was the dead of the night. Chu You massaged his sore neck, flexing his head, trying to alleviate his body fatigue.
At this moment, Chu You had topped up a total of 75 million.
From another's perspective, this might seem insane. No one with normal intellect would ever do such a thing.
Only Chu You knew, if he didn't top up the astronomical amount he had on his card into the game in the next few days, once the game began, he'd never be able to do so again. Once the main brain auto-activates, his money would become worthless.
Chu You didn't want to go through the memorable pain a second time.
He was too tired, his eyes could barely stay open. Chu You hadn't stayed up all night for a long time. He glanced at the things his assistant had bought and decided to use them now.
This was a type of green liquid medicine. Chu You poured it into a bathtub full of warm water, took off his clothes and lay in it.
This medicine was quite expensive, it could alleviate body fatigue. The effect was quick and good, but it shouldn't be used often.
When Chu You reappeared at the computer, he was full of energy and showed no sign of fatigue.
Unconsciously, the birds started tweeting outside.
Chu You lit a cigarette. He rarely smoked, even in his previous life he seldom did so, but he did smoke.
He glanced at his top-up record, he had topped up a total of 130 million.
Chu You hadn't done the math, so he didn't realize that his top-up amount of 130 million was 50 million more than the total amount on the global top-up leaderboard.
There were five days left until the game launch, he needed to make haste. Chu You looked at the early morning view from his window and stubbed out the cigarette butt.