Chapter 45: Joy of Upgrade
"In one warehouse, there's rice and corn; in another, there's tobacco."
Upon hearing about tobacco, Zhou Lin immediately recalls the illicit tobacco trade in Jinshanwei. Tobacco is smuggled from overseas and then sold to cigarette factories.
Zhou Lin understands why the Lu family's basement had so little money—it was spent on buying tobacco.
If there's no war, the tobacco in this warehouse will turn into gold and silver.
Once war breaks out between China and Japan, Lu Zhiyong won't be able to ship the goods; with the military around, attempting it would mean risking theft.
Zhou Lin decides to stay at the Lu residence for another day. He instructs Qiao Shaowen to go to the Hangzhou Exchange and sell all of Lu's property deeds.
While Qiao Shaowen is away, the system tempts Zhou Lin again.
"Host, you've accumulated two thousand points; you can upgrade the system now."
Zhou Lin asks, "What benefits do I get after upgrading?"
The system replies, "All attributes increase by 50 points. All skills advance by one level. Spy skills advance by one level. Time reversal extends to a maximum of four days."
Seeing Zhou Lin unmoved, the system adds, "There's one more thing. You will gain a storage space of 10 meters * 10 meters * 10 meters."
Storage space? This temptation finally convinces Zhou Lin.
With storage space, he can hide many things, like the tens of thousands of francs and yuans from today.
Oh, tobacco! A valuable item that can be stored in the space.
He can sell it at the right time.
"System, let's upgrade."
"Consuming two thousand grams of gold, upgrading the system."
"Upgrade in progress... Upgrade successful."
Is that it? Why no reaction? Zhou Lin quickly opens the panel.
Name: Zhou Lin
Age: 22
Occupation: Spy, Military
Rank: Military Intelligence Lieutenant: Second Lieutenant
System Level: Level 3
Attributes:
Strength: 280
Speed: 240
Agility: 240
Endurance: 240
Spirit: 310
Spy Skills:
Reconnaissance Mastery
Intelligence Theft Mastery
Paid Function: Time Reversal (Ninety-six hours per reversal)
Points: 2
This upgrade propels Zhou Lin to a new level. His marksmanship, martial arts, reconnaissance, and intelligence theft skills have all reached a high level. He's now a sharpshooter with five hundred steps of accuracy, surpassing many seasoned agents.
Most importantly, he now possesses a storage space of a thousand cubic meters, which delights Zhou Lin.
Taking advantage of the night, Zhou Lin sneaks into the warehouse and stores twenty tons of tobacco in the space. The tobacco only occupies a quarter of the available space.
At the current price of five francs per kilogram, twenty tons of tobacco is worth one hundred thousand francs.
The price of tobacco has been rising. Before Zhou Lin's time travel, good-quality tobacco was priced at thirty yuan per kilogram.
Deciding not to sell, Zhou Lin treats it as a hedge against inflation. In the space, the tobacco remains unchanged; taking it out years later would be like the day it was stored.
In a whimsical mood, Zhou Lin also stores unused kitchenware and daily necessities from the Lu residence in the space.
Zhou Lin informs the remaining Lu servants that the Lu family is no more, and they can divide the valuable items in the courtyard among themselves.
After some chaos, Zhou Lin reminds them to wait until they leave to avoid attracting attention.
Thinking about the granary, Zhou Lin instructs the servants to announce that villagers can come and take fifty kilograms each of rice and corn.
By the time Qiao Shaowen returns, the warehouse is empty.
Zhou Lin decides to leave Jinshanwei that night.
Qiao Shaowen asks, "Young Master, why give food to the villagers?"
Zhou Lin replies, "We can't stay here for long. If we don't distribute the food, others will seize it, creating another powerful force like the Lu family. We need to leave Jinshanwei without any temptations for the villagers to collaborate with the Japanese."
This strategy prevents a repeat of past events where villagers betrayed the Chinese army for a few francs.
Back in Shanghai, Zhou Lin rests his team and heads to the Bank of China with Qiao Shaowen and Zheng Sanfu.
Following the account provided by Dai Su, Zhou Lin deposits all the francs, yuans, and yen.
In secret, Zhou Lin converts the six thousand francs and one thousand yen he obtained from looting into gold.
One hundred francs for a tael of gold. Six thousand francs and one thousand yen result in a total of eighty taels of gold.
Zhou Lin converts it all into system points, totaling 2570 grams.
This time, the system doesn't tempt Zhou Lin.
According to the system, further upgrades require four thousand grams of gold.
Without reaching that amount, the system won't offer an upgrade.
Returning to a small courtyard, Zhou Lin keeps this location confidential, known only to Qiao Shaowen and Zheng Sanfu.
Zheng Sanfu, who gives Zhou Lin daily cooking lessons, becomes suspicious.
"Young Master! What's going on? Your Hunan cuisine is even better than mine. I'm confused. Are you from Hunan?"
Proudly, Zhou Lin says, "I'm a smart person, quick to learn anything."
Covering his face with his hands, Zheng Sanfu says, "I've been a chef for over ten years. I can't compete with a newcomer like you who learned in just a few days. How can I go on living?"