Money Changed Everything

“Little Four, it’s for you. That girl from yesterday morning.”

It was Qi Mu. Su Lai answered. “Got a job?”

Qi Mu: “No job. Trouble, yes.” “The village committee staff are useless. Before announcing the answer, they informed the reported people about the reports. Apart from Hu Xiang, who was taken away for detention, all these NPCs have gone berserk.”

So the rule “After 7 PM, you must return to your own home. This community does not welcome the homeless at night” only applied to players. Berserk NPCs weren’t bound by it.

“My cousin and I didn’t report anyone.” Su Lai said.

Qi Mu: “Normally, reported original residents target the reporter. But if a player uses a special item, blurring their attack range, spreading the reported person’s hatred evenly among all players… well, that’s another story.”

Qi Mu was being roundabout, trying to convey one thing: the berserk original residents who were reported would also target them as enemies.

Su Lai nodded. Excluding himself, their household was sharing two portions of hatred.

“Players can’t attack original residents. What will you do?” Qi Mu asked deliberately on the other end of the line. She knew Wang Xiaosi had a special identity.

Su Lai: “Players can’t. But original residents can.” As he spoke, he glanced at Wang Chunying washing dishes and Uncle Wang cutting watermelon in the kitchen.

The knife rack in the kitchen was full of cleavers. Wang Chunying used to run a wonton shop; she needed plenty of knives for chopping meat.

“Having a mother really makes a difference.” Qi Mu said meaningfully. “Just a heads-up: they’ve got numbers on their side and won’t listen to reason. Even having two mothers might not help. Prepare yourself mentally.”

With that warning, Qi Mu hung up.

Five minutes later, Su Lai understood why Qi Mu had told him to prepare mentally.

The berserk NPCs’ hatred was evenly distributed, but their numbers weren’t. The nine reported original residents gathered together at Wang Chunying’s doorstep, all wearing identical ferocious expressions.

Uncle Wang couldn’t even finish his watermelon. He quickly went to lock the doors and windows, still wearing his good-natured face. “Oh dear, this is terrible.”

Wang Chunying looked out the window. Without a word, she went to the kitchen and grabbed her cleaver.

“What’s going on? Why are the berserk original residents targeting only us?” Bai Ke was shocked and uncertain.

“Someone used an item, transferring the hatred. We’ve become the scapegoats.” Watching the berserk original residents in the alley, ready to break in at any moment, Bei Yao quickly searched for a suitable weapon.

But as outsiders, they were bound by rules. They couldn’t leave the house after 7 PM, couldn’t actively attack original residents. Couldn’t run, couldn’t fight. Severely restricted.

Bai Ke: “But why us…”

Bei Yao: “Probably the same principle as water flowing downhill. We have the lowest combat effectiveness among these players. The berserk NPCs have converged on us.” She tried to rationalize this absurd situation, giving herself a reason.

“Lowest combat effectiveness? How is that possible? We have Lai—… I mean, my cousin is here…” In his panic, Bai Ke looked at Su Lai. From Su Lai’s calm expression, he saw hope.

Su Lai: “I’m just a delivery guy. Not good at group brawls.”

Bai Ke: … A bucket of cold water dashed his hopes.

Lai-ge’s bike only had one seat on the back. If he ran, would he take him? Wait, as players, they weren’t allowed out at night. They couldn’t run.

The group of irrational original residents started banging on the doors and windows with their weapons. The previously gossipy neighbors finally fell silent. No doubt they were now pressing their ears to the walls, waiting to watch the excitement next door. Some across the alley had even carried out small stools and were sitting by their windows, ready for the show.

“Wang Chunying, hand over those two outsiders hiding in your house, or we’ll break down your doors and windows!” The berserk NPCs, wielding cleavers and hammers, banged on the door as they shouted.

Two outsiders? Bai Ke and Bei Yao looked at each other. Finally, they both looked at Su Lai. Had this mob missed one person?

At the same time, Wang Chunying and Uncle Wang’s gaze also fell on Bai Ke and Bei Yao. Their murky eyes rolled calmly, sweeping over Bai Ke, giving him goosebumps.

Finally, Wang Chunying turned to Su Lai. “Little Four, should we hand them over?”

Hearing this, Bai Ke and Bei Yao’s hearts trembled. They looked pleadingly at Su Lai.

Su Lai thought for a moment. “Mom, doors and windows are expensive, right?”

Wang Chunying’s expression was blank. “Very expensive.”

Hearing this, Bai Ke’s heart sank.

Uncle Wang’s hand was already on the lock, ready to open the door. Su Lai said: “Uncle, wait.” He turned to Bai Ke and Bei Yao. “If our doors and windows get broken, will you pay for replacements?”

Bei Yao and Bai Ke were stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

“Brand new ones.” Su Lai added.

They nodded even more vigorously, almost shaking their heads off their necks.

Bai Ke: “Buy the most expensive ones for Auntie.”

It was a bit pitiful, but survival was paramount right now.

Su Lai: “Okay. Got it.” “Once you step through my door, you’re family. Give them up? No way!”

Bai Ke was his non-blood-related cousin. Bei Yao was a tenant who had paid a hefty sum to stay in his house. Whether out of sentiment or financial sense, they were partners he couldn’t abandon.

“Good. Mom gets it too.” Wang Chunying completely respected Su Lai’s decision. Since he said not to hand them over, they would fight to the end. “Little Four, you go back to your room first. Mom will hold off these scumbags.”

The banging grew more intense. The entire self-built house shook. Wang Chunying tried to hand her cleaver to Uncle Wang. Uncle Wang shook his head and calmly pulled out his trusty watermelon knife.

“Mom, these people are crazy. Can you and Uncle handle it?” Su Lai had already rolled up his sleeves.

Wang Chunying’s eyes rolled. “Mom will find a way.”

“Haven’t fought in a long time. Let me have a go too.” Su Lai figured, since he couldn’t gain player benefits, doing things players couldn’t do would make it worthwhile.

Like beating the crap out of these arrogant neighbors and calming their restless, agitated bones.

Su Lai indeed wasn’t good at group brawls. He was good at taking on multiple opponents alone.

When he was young and foolish, he’d mixed around in the alleys. He’d fought as many fights as he’d eaten meals. But as an adult, he’d become civilized.

In the adult world, fighting couldn’t truly solve problems. But under special circumstances, fighting could teach the other party a lesson.

The moment the door lock was smashed, with a dull thump, Su Lai grabbed the clothes-drying pole and swept it towards the uninvited guests.

The crisp sound of bamboo striking wrist bones rang out repeatedly. The enraged neighbors fell to the ground. But these berserk neighbors were no longer ordinary people. Like rubber men, they felt no pain or fear. As soon as they fell, they bounced back up and attacked.

Bai Ke and Bei Yao watching from the side were stunned. If they’d known Lai-ge had these skills, why had they bothered chasing Pervert Xu and the gambler brothers? Just fight them directly!

Wait… weren’t players not allowed to actively attack NPCs? Was what Lai-ge was doing okay? Bai Ke was caught up in the heat of the battle and the confusion of cognition, finding it hard to process.

Wang Chunying wasn’t idle either. She used the flat of her cleaver to hit the neighbors’ restless hands and feet. Although she looked fierce, she was holding back. She wasn’t actually trying to cut them with the sharp edge.

Just then, Bai Ke and Bei Yao’s system prompts simultaneously sounded——

[Attention! You and your companions are frantically testing the boundaries of the rules. If you do not stop your violent behavior, a greater crisis may emerge.] [Warning! The berserk neighbors’ anger value is highly contagious. If the current situation is not resolved promptly, more uninvolved residents may join the melee.]

What the hell? Berserk could spread?

But negative emotions do indeed spread most easily in a group. When one person expressed anger towards you, there might already be a group behind them ready to deal with you. Thinking about it, it made sense.

The phone with no signal in Su Lai’s pocket vibrated non-stop. The rubber-man neighbors briefly fell to the ground. Su Lai took the opportunity to glance at the screen. His phone was like a virus had hit it. Countless small pop-ups with exclamation marks jumped out——

[Please stop your violent behavior!] [Please cease your behavior of beating neighbors!] [Please stop swinging that drying pole! Berserk neighbors are not moles!]

So much noisy spam. But the system had given him an idea. He could beat the neighbors like playing whack-a-mole.

Thinking this, Su Lai gave another two whacks to berserk neighbors trying to get up. The feeling was great—crisp thuds. He was almost getting a rhythm going.

『I’m not a player. Why can’t I beat up neighbors?』 『Don’t I have the right to go berserk too?』 He questioned the system via text message, with complete justification.

The system was stunned for half a second by his question, then replied in a business-like manner——

[Important reminder! Regardless of your identity, the neighbors’ anger value is highly contagious. If the current situation is not resolved properly, more uninvolved residents may join the melee.]

The unknown number sent him three messages in a row. The urgency was clear.

Su Lai suspected the system was worried that his special identity combined with unconventional actions might crash the system, so it was trying every way to send him warnings.

Su Lai was good at taking on multiple opponents. But if all the neighbors watching nearby joined the melee, relying only on physical combat without any skill buffs, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Plus, given the neighbors’ tense relationship with Wang Chunying, if it truly escalated into a full-scale brawl, it would be very unfavorable for their family. He had to consider his “mother’s” future life.

After a moment’s thought, Su Lai put the drying pole behind his back. “Let’s stop fighting for now.”

Hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned. The berserk neighbors, just beaten down, lay stiff on the ground, looking at Su Lai and the pole in his hand with half-doubt.

Su Lai remembered the hidden skill he had forcibly activated not long ago: 「Money Makes the Ghost Turn the Mill」

People were fickle. That morning, he’d complained about the skill’s less-than-one-percent success rate, saying he’d rather play scratch-offs. That night, he was thinking about how to activate the skill at minimal cost.

[Skill Note: Under special circumstances, the skill user can spend a significant amount of money to resolve an imminent crisis.] [Initial usage success rate estimate: 0.99% (This value fluctuates greatly, varies from person to person, for reference only).]

The 0.99% initial success rate fluctuated greatly, changing with external conditions. Undoubtedly, the biggest variable in this skill was the amount of money that could be paid to the “ghost.”

As long as the money was right, let alone making the ghost turn the mill, you could make the ghost get milled by the mill.

“Little Four, what’s wrong?” Facing the deadlocked battle situation, Wang Chunying was puzzled. One restless neighbor even tried to sneak attack her from behind. Su Lai knocked him crooked with a whack from the drying pole.

Amidst the groans of the beaten, Su Lai turned to Wang Chunying, his tone calm and sincere. “Mom, last night you said you wanted to reopen your own wonton shop.”

In the middle of last night, Wang Chunying had hung upside down from Wang Xiaosi’s ceiling. While swaying to fan her son, she had described her unfulfilled dreams in a distant tone.

About to fall asleep, Su Lai had heard her. Wang Chunying wanted to pick up her wonton-making skills again and reopen the shop abandoned years ago.

Her husband had left to work elsewhere after the child disappeared and never returned. But that didn’t mean this wonton shop had to stay closed forever. Wang Chunying could be her own boss.

Hearing this, Wang Chunying was stunned. “Yes. But I don’t have enough help. I’m too old to make a fuss like this…”

Bai Ke and Bei Yao were even more confused. With disaster looming, why was Lai-ge chatting with an NPC?

Su Lai: “Mom, you’re not old. As for help, just hire people if you spend money.” He turned to Bai Ke and Bei Yao. “You two, invest and buy shares. Wang Chunying’s Wonton Shop is a guaranteed winner.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Bai Ke was full of questions.

Su Lai didn’t have the patience or time to explain. “Just agree to give money. Spend money to help my mom open her shop and solve the problem of these neighbors with itchy hands and feet.”

“O-okay…” Urged on, Bai Ke nodded blankly.

“With investors, this problem is easy to solve.” Su Lai sent a 「Hidden Skill Activate」 message to the unknown number. Then he turned to the neighbors just starting to get up. “Listen, stop fighting. Save your energy. My mom’s wonton shop is opening. We need help. I’m willing to hire all of you here at a high salary.”

For a moment, everyone “present” was stunned.

Su Lai continued. “Five hundred per person per day. The work is varied—chopping meat, marinating, washing dishes, serving customers. Flexible hours, negotiable. No insurance, but room and board included. Interested?”

The moment his words fell, the air fell silent. His phone vibrated. A message appeared on the screen: 「Hidden skill is struggling to activate.」 The success rate, based on Su Lai’s offered terms, had risen from 0.99% to 39.99%.

Su Lai frowned. The success rate hadn’t reached 60%. His offer wasn’t tempting enough.

He gritted his teeth. “Salary increased to one thousand per person per day. Other conditions unchanged. Interested?” As he spoke, he glanced at Bei Yao and Bai Ke out of the corner of his eye. They were the funders, after all. He should symbolically seek their opinion.

“I’m interested…” Bai Ke reacted quickly, gritting his teeth. “I’m willing to pay this money!”

Among the neighbors, beaten down and silent, someone finally lifted their head. “How is the salary paid?”

Su Lai was very direct. “Daily.”

The phone screen flashed again. The success rate had risen to 69.9%. Su Lai’s guess was right. The initial success rate wasn’t very meaningful. Since the skill was called 「Money Makes the Ghost Turn the Mill」, the key was how much money you offered.

“I’m willing to work.” “Me too.” “I’m also willing.” “I’m quick with my hands and feet. I’ll be a good worker.” …

Hearing about a thousand-a-day, daily-paid job, these neighbors, blinded by hatred, suddenly sobered up. Their bloodshot eyes cleared, becoming so bright they could reflect the cash Su Lai was holding.

Su Lai deliberately waved a thick stack of bills. The dim hall instantly brightened from the money.

「Money Makes the Ghost Turn the Mill」 skill activated! Forgetting all about the reports, the berserk neighbors enthusiastically threw themselves into the cause of helping Wang Chunying run her wonton shop. After all, a thousand-a-day job was unheard of in the urban village.

Wang Chunying was still stunned on the sidelines. She wiped her cleaver on her apron, looking troubled. “Little Four, isn’t the salary you’re offering too high?”

“A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. That way, Mom’s shop will get off to a good start.” Su Lai turned to the bewildered Bai Ke and Bei Yao, revealing an unprecedentedly brilliant smile. “Right, cousin? Sister Bei Yao?”

The two questioned had twitching lips, but the crisis was resolved, which was a complete relief. “Right. Cousin is correct.”

“This delivery guy cousin of yours is really something.” Bei Yao muttered. “Can fight, and can really spend money.”

Bai Ke nodded, thoughtfully adding. “Yeah. Spending other people’s money, at that.”

That said, Bai Ke and Bei Yao had already started obediently counting out money. In a contaminated world, money always came after life. If spending money could resolve a crisis, then all was well. The real fear was having money but no life to spend it.

The berserk neighbors, having received their advance payment, followed Wang Chunying and started cleaning up the abandoned wonton shop.

With the boost of their berserk energy, they had boundless strength.

Now, all that energy was channeled into working by the 「Money Makes the Ghost Turn the Mill」 skill. In no time, they had the shop looking presentable.

In the dead of night, deep in the urban village alley, the long-closed wonton shop was bustling with activity, preparing to reopen. The scene was lively and absurd.

The neighbors who had carried out stools to watch Wang Chunying’s humiliation returned disappointed. Just on the other side of the wall from the busy shop, there was a chorus of boos.

“Money makes the ghost turn the mill.

With money, everything’s good—” “Shh! It’s the seventh lunar month. Why mention ghosts?”

 “So what if I mention ghosts? Who isn’t a dead person? Is accepting that reality really so hard?”

“Didn’t expect Wang Xiaosi to be so successful now, helping his mom reopen her wonton shop.”

“What’s good about it? Chopping meat and washing dishes in the middle of the night? Let people sleep!”

“I curse his shop to close within a week.”

“I wonder what Wang Xiaosi does for a living, to come up with this much cash all of a sudden.”

“Mom, I want to work at the wonton shop next door too. Working at the factory for half a month doesn’t pay this much.”

“Get lost! Stop your nonsense and go to sleep. People need face like a tree needs bark. Talking about this is so embarrassing…”

Meanwhile, Su Lai, while counting the money Bei Yao and Bai Ke had given him, helped Wang Chunying assign tasks to the nine new hires.

At the very end of the line stood a high school boy in a school uniform. His long, permed, straightened bangs covered most of his face. His uniform was covered in garish patterns drawn with a felt-tip pen.

“Over sixteen?” Su Lai asked the high schooler. He didn’t want to hire a minor and cause himself trouble.

The high schooler couldn’t even be bothered to toss his head. He glanced at Su Lai from beneath his bangs. “Been an adult for a while.” “From repeating grades.” He patted his uniform and held out his hand for the deposit.

Su Lai couldn’t be bothered to pry. He made a show of handing over money with one hand while holding a notebook to register with the other.

As he received the money, the high schooler smiled sinisterly and lowered his voice. “I’ve been observing all of you. I know your secret.”

This guy was the one the Qi siblings had caught earlier—the peeping original resident who secretly recorded everything happening behind every window and then wrote it into essays. He was the observer of the entire urban village. He knew most people’s secrets.

“Give me ten times the pay, and I promise not to tell your mom.” The high school boy threatened Su Lai.

Su Lai raised an eyebrow, expression unchanged, heart unflustered. “What secret?” Ten times the pay was ten thousand. He was curious what secret was worth that much.

The high school boy: “You’re not Wang Xiaosi at all.” “You’re fake. You don’t want your mom to hear this, do you?”

“One sentence: are you giving me ten times the pay or not?” The high school boy pulled out his trump card to blackmail him.

Su Lai smiled indifferently. “Ten thousand? Dream on.” He was the contractor, not a charity.

Failing to get his way, the high school boy’s lips twitched. Revengefully, he raised his voice and repeated what he had just said. “You’re not Wang Xiaosi at all! You’re fake! A liar!”

“Liar my ass!”

The high school boy deliberately made sure Wang Chunying, standing beside Su Lai, could hear him——