Chapter 1 - 1 I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time
Chapter 1 - 1 I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time
Chapter 1: Chapter 1 I've been wanting to do this for a long time
In the early morning, on the banks of a great river, came a crashing sound. A young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven had just thrown a bottle of white liquor onto the nearby gravel, creating a sharp echo. After guzzling the contents of two liquor bottles, his speech had become slurred, but his mind was unusually clear.
"Screw this society, I won't submit to this! If I ever find a chance, I swear, no matter who can make me rich, I'd give my life to them!" The young man yelled loudly at the rushing river, having struggled to his feet.
"Are you sure?" A cold voice audibly rang out in his mind.
"Who?" The young man shook his head, looking around.
"I am a super robot life form from an extraterrestrial civilization. Are you sure you would sell your life to anyone who could make you rich?" The icy voice repeated.
"Alien life? Bugger, you think you're so superior because you're an alien? Let me ask you, can you make me rich?" The young man, reeking of alcohol, waved his liquor bottle around as he spoke.
"I can."
"I want to see the money."
"How much?"
"One hundred million. Can you get it or not? If you can't, get lost." The young man laughed heartily.
"Ding dong" The text message notification sounded. The young man took a swig from his liquor bottle, pulled out his cell phone, and opened the message with his blurry eyes.
"95588: As of 29th, 05:33, 100,000,000 Flame Nation coins have been credited into your account ending with 7575 (inter-bank transfer), your current balance is 100,001,123.32 Flame Nation coins. [XX Bank]"
His bleary eyes widened in shock, and after a long while, he managed to mutter a swear: "Holy hell!"
"The money has arrived." The icy voice echoed once again.
"You're an alien?" The young man asked one more time.
"Yes, an almighty alien life form." The icy voice recounted as if it was the most common occurrence.
"Let me sober up first." Feeling dizzy, the young man felt that this was all too unreal.
"Buzz" As soon as he finished speaking, a flicker of pale blue light struck his stomach causing him to feel nauseous. He stumbled to the riverbank and vomited forcefully.
After about ten minutes, the young man finally calmed down and said, "Man, so this is how you sober me up?"
"The alcohol had not yet fully entered your bloodstream, so making you vomit was the most effective measure. You can use the river water to wash your face; you will be sober immediately." The icy voice remained emotionless, its tone steady.
Feeling much clearer, the young man hurriedly fished his phone out of his pocket again, and lighted up the screen. The text message was still clearly visible, and after a while, he suddenly started to laugh heartily, as if he had gone mad.
Twenty minutes later, the young man hailed a taxi. "To F University." He curtly instructed the driver.
"Man, your filthy clothes might dirty my..."
Before he could finish, a bundle of at least twenty or thirty red Flame Nation bills were tossed onto the dashboard.
The cab driver, seeing the young man's dirty clothes and strong alcoholic smell, was initially reluctant to take him. However, he had never expected to be handed a bundle of money like that.
Without another word, the cab driver stepped on the gas, and the cab swiftly headed towards the city. An hour later, they reached the university gates. Just as the young man was about to get out of the taxi, something occurred to him, and he sat back in. "Take me to the main branch of the City Industrial Bank." he commanded.
Without uttering a word, the driver obediently restarted the car. Half an hour later, he dropped the young man off at the headquarters of the Industrial Bank. It was still early, just past 7 AM, and the bank was not yet open. The young man didn't get out, instead, he waited in the car. The driver didn't dare say a word either; the money the young man had thrown at him earlier was enough to cover his day's wages.
As soon as the bank opened, the young man walked in, just in time. "Sir... you..." The glamorous lobby manager hesitated as she attempted to stop him.
"I'm here to withdraw money." The young man tersely answered.
"Please, this way." The lobby manager, possibly intimidated by the young man's tone, didn't manage to finish her sentence. She just ushered him to the counter. In any case, he was their first customer of the day.
"Withdraw." He tossed his card across the counter.
"Sir, how much would you like to withdraw?"
"Two million." The young man replied straightforwardly. The bank teller and the manager were taken aback. They had seen large withdrawals before, but never from someone dressed like this young man.
"Sir, for such a large cash withdrawal, you would need to make a prior appointment."
"Cannot be withdrawn?"
"You need to make a reservation one day in advance so we can arrange the cash," the lobby manager hurriedly reminded.
"Transfer all of it, a total of one hundred million, to my bank card." The young man pulled out another bank card.
The lobby manager and the counter worker were taken aback. Bank deposits were fiercely competed for around the country. If they drove away a deposit of one hundred million because of this, they wouldn't need to work here anymore.
"Sir, please wait a moment, I will immediately contact our director." Upon noticing the young man's agitation, the lobby manager didn't dare to talk much. She hurriedly gave an order and quickly picked up the phone.
The call was quickly connected, and a middle-aged man rushed downstairs from the second floor. Seeing the young man, he immediately yelled at the lobby manager, "What is the matter with you? A VIP customer's request is our command. Sir, may I know your surname?"
The lobby manager felt somewhat wronged. Was it her fault? She merely reminded him as per the routine, but who knew that the man would want to transfer everything to another bank.
"Lewis."
"Mr. Lewis, please wait a moment, and we will get your money right away." The director wasn't foolish; he knew that words were useless at this point. The only way to keep the deposit was to immediately get the money for Mr. Lewis.
Luckily, the cash transport vehicle hadn't left yet and had just delivered quite a sum. Moreover, this was a business hall under the headquarters, so it was not difficult to gather so much cash in a hurry.
An hour later, the young man walked out carrying a green bank cash bag. There was two million Flame Nation coins inside. He boarded the waiting taxi and said, "Take me to F University."
After the driver started the car, the young man picked up his cellphone, found a number in it, and dialed it. The call was answered quickly. A clear voice rang out from the other end, "Finn Lewis, what do you want? I told you, we've broken up, okay?"
"In half an hour, in front of the teaching building, let's talk. After that, I won't bother you ever again." Finn Lewis wasted no words and spoke directly.
The voice on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then said, "You said it, see you in a bit."
The driver looked at Finn through the rearview mirror. Was he just broken up with? After years of driving, the driver had seen it all and was able to guess.
The car quickly reached the entrance to F University. Finn pulled out a stack of cash from the bag and threw it to the driver. "This is for you." Finn said and got out of the car.
Watching Finn walk away, the driver was stunned. After driving a taxi for over twenty years, he'd never seen anyone pay their fare in this way. This isn't counterfeit money, right? But he'd clearly seen Finn exit the bank. And that canvas bag looked like the kind used to carry cash in the bank.
What a prodigal! The driver shook his head looking at the bills in his hand. But he quickly cheered up, accelerated, and left. The tip he'd just gotten was equivalent to what he'd normally make in over a month. He thought to himself - it would be great to encounter more prodigals like this one.
Standing in front of the teaching building, Finn finally saw the person he had been waiting for: an attractive face, stunning physique. She was not a ravishing beauty, but she could certainly attract attention on campus. Finn used to be infatuated with her, but not anymore.
"Finn Lewis, what do you want to talk about?" Cora Franklin stood in front of Finn, looked at him and sneered. His family was poor, and he had been spending all his money on her for several months. It hadn't taken long for him to be broke. She felt it a disgrace that she had slept with him so many times.
"Nothing much, just one question. Once it's clear, I will leave." Finn held up a finger.
"Go ahead." Cora sneered, was he going to ask if she had ever loved him? What an idiot.
"You broke up with me because that man has more money, didn't you?" Finn asked coldly.
"Finn, how could you say that? I told you it was because our personalities clashed." Cora was a bit surprised. Finn seemed different somehow. But she still sneered.
"Enough! Just answer me, yes or no? For the past half a year, I have been working damn hard to earn money. All I earned, including my living expenses, I gave it to you, right? Wasn't it still not enough for you? I bought you that handbag worth thousands without batting an eyelid, right?" Finn burst out, like an enraged lion.
"What about the ones costing tens of thousands? Can you afford them? Moreover, you did buy me a bag worth a few thousand, but you could only afford one every two months." Cora laughed scornfully, "So what if I left you for his money? You blame us women when you men don't have money? You're broke because you're not capable. Who do you have to blame for that? Can't I pursue a better life?"
There were a lot of students attending morning classes, and Finn and Cora's quarrel drew a lot of attention. Many students stopped to watch. Hearing Cora's words, others shook their heads. Another breakup. They had witnessed countless such incidents, invariably because the guy didn't have enough money.
"Also, in the future don't..." Cora was about to say something more, but before she could finish, there was a crisp 'thwack' noise, and a stack of red bills hit her face hard. The stunned Cora was immediately infuriated. She was about to flare up when she saw what Finn had thrown. It was a thick stack of Flame Nation coins. She was stunned.
"Just so you know, I've been wanting to do this for a while." Finn sneered, opened his canvas bag, and threw stacks of Flame Nation coins at Cora. The neat money scattered and fluttered in all directions.
After throwing a dozen or so stacks of bills, Cora lost her balance and fell to the ground. She was completely stunned and couldn't process what was happening. The crowd of students surrounding them were equally dumbstruck. This... This... was a shocking turn of events.
Finn walked forward, grabbed his canvas bag, and shook it upside down. Over a million Flame Nation coins poured out, raining down on Cora.
"Here's a total of two million. Although it can't kill people, I just want to tell you. Next time when you're gold-digging, I hope you open your eyes wide. Don't brag about 'gold-digging' with your eyesight. It's embarrassing. This money is for the times you 'spent the night' with me." Finn sneered, threw his canvas bag on the ground, and walked towards the campus exit.
The students who had formed a circle around them unconsciously stepped aside to make way for Finn. Countless boys admiringly looked at Finn's retreating figure. So cool, too cool! Truly satisfying!
A gust of wind blew, and thousands of Flame Nation coins that had scattered took to the air. Suddenly, someone shouted, and countless students rushed in towards the center. In the middle of the circle, Cora let out a high-pitched yell, "Everyone fuck off, this is my money."