A single meal costing over two hundred bucks?
For contestants at this stage, that could only be described as downright extravagant!
Outside the Restaurant
Cao Shengming decided to take a stroll by the river.
Ideally, he would've preferred heading to the beach. After all, Linhai City was a coastal city with breathtaking ocean views.
Having grown up inland, he had never seen the sea in his life.
Unfortunately, the seaside was quite a distance from his current location. With the sun setting soon, a riverside walk was the more practical option.
System Notification
Just then, a faint glow appeared in his system interface:
[Name] Cao Shengming[Popularity] 4.6w[Skills] None[Popularity Mall] Use popularity points to purchase or upgrade various skills. Two purchasing options available:
Spend 100,000 popularity points to acquire a specific skill.Spend 10,000 popularity points for a random skill—though there's a chance of getting nothing.
As a seasoned transmigrator, Cao Shengming wasn't fazed by systems. This one, in particular, was refreshingly straightforward.
Still, the random purchase option intrigued him—it seemed tailor-made for gamblers.
Curious, or perhaps just wanting to test his luck, he chose the second option and spent 10,000 points.
System Notification
— Ding! You have spent 10,000 popularity points on a random skill purchase. Kindly note: there's a chance you may receive nothing.
— Ding! Congratulations! You have acquired Lv1 [Clip Voice].
Cao Shengming: "???"
What on earth was "Clip Voice"?
And more importantly, how did this even qualify as a skill?
Glancing at the system panel again:
[Name] Cao Shengming[Popularity] 3.6w[Skill] Lv1 [Clip Voice]
He had no idea what it did. But before he could experiment, a commotion nearby caught his attention.
The Unexpected Encounter
Like any true onlooker, Cao Shengming instinctively squeezed through the crowd to investigate.
In the center of it all stood a well-dressed young man, looking utterly helpless.
"Please, someone help me! I swear I'll pay you back!"
Curious, Cao Shengming stepped forward. "Hey, what's going on?"
The young man sighed. "It's like this, brother—I lost a thousand yuan. It's not a huge amount, but my phone just died, and now I don't even have money to get home."
Lost… a thousand yuan?!
The photographer standing beside him widened his eyes in shock.
Cao Shengming, however, remained unfazed. Instead, he calmly asked, "That's unfortunate. Any idea where you lost it?"
The young man hesitated, then pointed in a direction. "Probably over there. I retraced my steps but couldn't find it."
The exact same spot where they had just found a thousand yuan.
The photographer swallowed hard.
Cao Shengming smiled. "How much do you need for the trip home?"
"About 300 yuan."
Without hesitation, Cao Shengming pulled out three crisp hundred-yuan bills and tucked them into the young man's pocket. "My parents always told me—when you're out in the world, you rely on friends. Consider this a loan. Buy your ticket and go home."
The photographer was speechless.
The livestream audience? Absolutely losing their minds.
The young man, clearly moved, gripped Cao Shengming's hand. "Brother, thank you! Out of all these people, you're the only one who believed me. Don't worry, I swear I'll pay you back!"
Cao Shengming laughed. "It's nothing. If I didn't help, my conscience wouldn't sit right."
"Now, hurry up and go home."
The young man nodded, then dashed toward the station.
An onlooker shook his head. "Bro, you're too soft-hearted. You really believe his story? That guy was obviously a scammer!"
Cao Shengming, still in high spirits, waved dismissively. "Nah, I believe him. He's definitely not a scammer."
"How can you be so sure?"
Cao Shengming grinned. "Because I just found a thousand yuan over there."
The crowd: "???"
The photographer grabbed him and bolted from the scene before the onlookers could recover from their shock.
Meanwhile, in the livestream chat:
[Popularity] +1 +1 +1 +1 +1...
[Popularity] +1 +1 +1 +1 +1...