Chapter 5: Just Two Chapters!

Chapter 5 Only Two Chapters!

"Even if the balance is a meager two-digit number, it's still a balance!"

"Don't dismiss small things as insignificant."

"No matter how I got these coins, the fact is, I have coins now! I can purchase the plot!"

Sheng Qingquan was so excited that his eyes lit up. Realizing his expression was a bit over the top, he quickly added, "This sour and spicy rice noodles smells so good, I can't wait to eat it."

In the kitchen, the owner, hearing the praise, placed the freshly made sour and spicy rice noodles on a tray. After taking the fried squid, he couldn't help but take an extra skewer of grilled sausage.

Poor guy, the owner, unaware that he was hearing the customer's inner thoughts, misunderstood on the spot.

He couldn't help but sympathetically think: With only two digits left in the balance, after paying for this meal, wouldn't this kid be flat broke?

The owner brought the food to Sheng Qingquan, mentioning that the extra items were complimentary, then wiped his hands with his apron and returned to the kitchen to continue his work.

Sheng Qingquan didn't notice the wave of kindness on the owner's face. He ate while taking out his phone, his eyes glued to the screen, appearing deeply engrossed.

In reality, he was looking at the book he had summoned.

His acting was superb, but his inner thoughts gave him away.

Ning Luoxing and his husband, who were closely watching Sheng Qingquan, didn't miss his mention of the coins.

Contrary to Sheng Qingquan's thoughts, they were eager to figure out how the coins came to be.

Only by figuring it out could they find a way to obtain more coins.

Fortunately, Sheng Qingquan's excitement was just a brief moment.

"So, there's no need for me to top up because the money comes automatically?"

"I misjudged the golden finger. Not only is it not flawed, but it's also incredibly thoughtful to recharge automatically."

Sheng Qingquan blew some flattery, calming it down with his words, but then he became puzzled again.

"I just checked the book when I woke up this morning, and nothing had changed."

"Now, suddenly, there's a balance. Could it be because of the altered storyline?"

Thinking this, Sheng Qingquan had an epiphany.

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened today."

"The only thing somewhat connected to the novel is probably the storekeeper being fired. The warehouse fire that was supposed to happen is unlikely to happen now that management has been tightened."

"After this plot point was altered, the golden finger earned coins?"

"No wonder the currency for this book is called Qiankun Coins."

"Is it because they signify a reversal of fortunes?"

So, the book uses Qiankun Coins as its currency.

Ning Luoxing and his husband, while realizing this, also agreed with Sheng Qingquan's speculation about the source of the Qiankun Coins.

"It shows I have 66 Qiankun Coins. Let me see how many chapters I can buy."

"Wait!"

What's going on now?!

Sheng Qingquan's thoughts suddenly stopped, and Ning Luoxing and his husband couldn't help but feel their hearts tighten.

Please, no more bad news.

This fragile world really can't take any more hits.

Fortunately, the next moment, Sheng Qingquan's confused thoughts started up again.

"But if my guess is right, changing the plot earns Qiankun Coins, and these were just obtained."

"I’m sure when I woke up this morning, the balance was completely empty, just a gray void."

"Doesn’t that mean the apocalypse isn’t coming, and this whole thing isn’t actually resolved?"

"Otherwise, I should’ve gotten some Qiankun Coins last night."

"Did the main couple trick me? Did they not send the ring to the museum for safekeeping, or even if they did, is there still a chance something could go wrong and trigger the apocalypse?"

The more Sheng Qingquan thought about it, the more anxious he got, and even the tasty sour and spicy noodles didn’t seem appetizing anymore.

Luckily, the busy kitchen boss didn’t notice this. Hearing the constant chatter, the boss just thought the young guy was a bit loud, figuring he was too into his novels.

"But given his financial situation, maybe he’s a writer. Even while eating out, he’s still brainstorming story ideas. With that kind of dedication, even if he’s struggling now, he’ll make it big eventually."

"Too bad I don’t have time to read novels, or I’d ask him for the title."

What confused Sheng Qingquan, however, gave Ning Luoxing and his husband some relief.

Unlike Sheng Qingquan, who was in the dark, the ring had been in their hands, so they knew more than most.

After the storekeeper incident confirmed the apocalypse might be real, the white jade ring became even more important.

Just ten minutes ago, a team quietly came to take the white jade ring. Only after sending it off did they feel relaxed enough to come down for a meal.

The ring’s still en route, not yet at its destination or under top-level protection, so there’s still a chance something could go wrong. So it’s normal that there are no Qiankun Coins yet.

If the Qiankun Coins don’t increase in a few more hours, then they should start worrying.

After all, the higher-ups went against the majority, deciding not to study the white jade ring and instead sealing it right away. They’ll use both tech and traditional methods, sealing it layer by layer. Even if one or two procedures fail, as long as not all are compromised, as long as there’s still one layer of protection, no one will be able to drip blood on the ring.

Completely eliminating the possibility of accidents. The protection level of national treasures isn’t even this high.

It can be said that unless the planet is destroyed, or unless the high-level officials gather and unanimously decide to unseal it, this ring will not see the light of day again.

If even then, the Qiankun Coin balance still doesn’t increase, rather than guessing the wrong method of obtaining Qiankun Coins, they would be more worried that even with such strict protection, the activation of the spatial ring and the arrival of the apocalypse might still be inevitable.

This possibility is utterly despairing just to think about.

Sheng Qingquan didn’t know what Ning Luoxing and his husband were worried about. After worrying for a while, realizing that worrying was useless, Sheng Qingquan shifted his attention back to the novel.

"Let me see how many chapters 66 coins can get me."

"Yuck!"

"This is way too expensive—66 coins, a whole 66 coins, and it only gets me two chapters."

"Just two lousy chapters!"

Sheng Qingquan couldn't help but complain.

"What kind of greedy scammer is this?"

"Monopolies sure have it easy. They charge an arm and a leg, and there's nothing I can do."

Though curious about the storekeeper's fate, Sheng Qingquan flipped to the back of the novel.

"I have to take a chance, even if I'm buying blind. My luck is so good—I even got a second chance; maybe I'll luck out and find the chapter on fixing the space ring."

"I'll buy one chapter first. If it's not the right one, I'll skip ahead and buy another."

"I refuse to believe I won't get the plot I want this way."

Sheng Qingquan thought he had a solid plan, but soon realized:

"What the heck? It won't let me buy."

"Not enough subscriptions, can't buy. Why is it just like that glitchy Green River site?"

Sheng Qingquan tapped the page a few times in frustration, but finally gave up.

"I wanted to take a shortcut, but forget it. I'll just buy chapters one by one."

Ning Luoxing and his husband were disappointed too, but they had no choice but to accept it. They just had to work harder to earn more coins.

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Sheng Qingquan clapped in admiration inside his head.

"That jerk got what was coming to him—died well, though I wish it had happened sooner!"

Unfortunately, before he could be happy for long, Sheng Qingquan couldn't help but feel down again.

"Even in the apocalypse, people still find ways to oppress each other."

"Not to mention, plenty of scumbags who barely passed as human before the apocalypse now show their true colors."

"Normally, this wouldn't bother me, but since I'm stuck in this book, and it might all become real, it's different."

"Who gets this emotionally invested in a book? Even if you get into it, you don't go this far."

"I'm just unlucky. Stuck in an apocalyptic novel, with all this happening around me, it's hard not to feel down."

Sheng Qingquan kept reading.

"Another act of betrayal?"

"Some random guy pushed another into a zombie mob."

"This is also a classic plot in zombie apocalypse stories."

"What, you can't write a post-apocalyptic story without throwing someone to the zombies?"

"Awesome, the main couple has discovered his actions."

"Unfortunately, it's too late to save the person now. But at least they know his true colors and won't fall for his tricks."

Sheng Qingquan silently cheered to himself.

Ning Luoxing and his partner looked at him with even more warmth in their eyes.

"Crazy, it turns out that Cannon Fodder A and Cannon Fodder B had a grudge even before the apocalypse."

"Cannon Fodder B targeted him because they were competing for the same job before the apocalypse."

"During a company meeting, the CEO and shareholders were present. It was a high-stakes meeting, and everyone was trying to impress the CEO. Management even hinted that whoever performed the best would get a promotion."

"But as soon as the meeting started, Cannon Fodder A's stomach started acting up. When it was his turn to present, he completely lost control of his bowels."

"He had an accident right then and there!!!"

Ning Luoxing, who was mid-bite, froze, and the beef he had just picked up dropped back into his bowl. The spicy broth splattered all over him, but he was too stunned to clean it up.

Ning Luoxing looked up, shocked, and almost turned to stare at Sheng Qingquan. Luckily, Luo Huanian quickly handed him a tissue to clean up, snapping him out of it.

Even so, Ning Luoxing was at a loss for words.

How could someone be so unlucky?

"So tragic, it's practically a nightmare!"

"After being humiliated in public, there was no way he was getting that promotion. The meeting wasn't even over before the CEO told Cannon Fodder A to leave. Even though they said it was to send him to the hospital, Cannon Fodder A felt like he was being kicked out—it was beyond humiliating."

"At the hospital, Cannon Fodder A found out his diarrhea wasn't from being sick—it was from eating oilfish."

[The doctor said: "Another oilfish incident? Kids these days will try anything."]

That's when Cannon Fodder A remembered—there had been a dish of steamed cod in the cafeteria.

"Unscrupulous vendors often pass off oilfish as cod."

Stuff like this really happens, and Sheng Qingquan couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"Did the cafeteria order the wrong fish? But others who ate the cod in the cafeteria were fine."

["Afterward, I investigated for a long time and found out that after the meeting notice was issued, he bribed the cafeteria staff. He secretly prepared a portion of oilfish just for me. No wonder he specifically told me that the fish in the cafeteria was especially fresh and delicious that day. He was afraid I wouldn't order it!"]

["I love fish, so he designed this poisonous plan specifically for me!"]

["I've wanted to get back at him for a long time. I just didn't have the chance until now."]

["An eye for an eye!"]

"Even so, losing face and a promotion opportunity is still different from losing one's life. The nature is not the same."

Thinking this, Sheng Qingquan couldn't help but sigh.

"I've heard about the crazy tactics in real-life corporate battles. Things like pouring boiling water on a rival company's money tree, deliberately spilling fish food to overfeed the rival's feng shui tank's lucky fish, or slashing car seats, stealing official seals, and cutting off power. I never expected workplace competition in real life to be so chilling!"

"This is workplace intrigue, it's so unscrupulous!" Tactical lean back [image].

Someone who has never worked and never experienced the harsh realities of society is shocked. While Sheng Qingquan is 'getting an eye-opener', Ning Luoxing and his husband exchange a subtle glance.

Novels usually revolve around the protagonist. Following this logic, even though this nameless cannon fodder character doesn't have a name, it shouldn't be hard to find.

Both of them suddenly remember that if they hadn't known about the apocalypse, they would have been attending a shareholders' meeting this afternoon.

Their eyes gleam with determination.

This Qiankun Coin, they are determined to earn it!