Chapter 84: Poor but Virtuous, Rich but Generous

Chapter 84: Improve Yourself in Hardship; Aid the World in Success

"'Complete this mission, and the reward is fifty million!' Seeing the fifty million, Gu Hefan couldn’t resist the allure."

"Improve yourself in hardship; aid the world in success."

"And he now had the means to do so."

"Gu Hefan discovered that there were so many people in the world who couldn’t afford healthcare. Aside from some fraudsters, many genuinely couldn’t pay for their care."

"Even with health insurance, it was the same. Many impoverished people simply couldn’t afford insurance. Others suffered from illnesses not covered by insurance."

"And with so many con artists—people who still had homes and cars, yet refused to spend their own funds on medical bills—they wouldn’t sell their assets, even when nowhere near destitute, and still sought online donations."

"The prevalence of such people made many good Samaritans hesitant to offer help."

"Ordinary workers still had to rent homes, grinding daily by foot, bus, or subway just to earn a pittance. If they managed to save a little, donating some to those truly in need was one thing."

"But giving their hard-earned money to people with homes and cars? Nobody’s that dumb!"

"As a result, many genuinely impoverished patients—those who had sold everything, whose families couldn’t even afford blood donations to cover medical fees—saw their hope for aid vanish."

"The internet was a minefield, and ordinary people struggled to distinguish who truly needed assistance."

"Records could be faked, test results and payment receipts all fabricated."

"To avoid having their kindness exploited, many chose to shut their wallets completely. No giving, no getting scammed; no helping hand, no scams."

Sheng Qingquan let out a sigh reading this.

In reality, this was indeed the case.

But it was about to become a thing of the past. The government was now striving to establish free healthcare for all.

After the public purchased home medical units, the need for hospital visits decreased significantly. It freed up a ton of medical resources, laying a solid foundation for free healthcare.

It wouldn’t be long before this plan was fully realized.

Thinking of this, Sheng Qingquan felt a little lighter.

"Gu Hefan was once just an ordinary person. But now, things were different."

"He had money—and would soon have even more."

"Worried about online donations not reaching those truly in need? Afraid of encountering fraudsters, not only failing to help but also encouraging dishonesty?"

"Other charity funds were dogged by constant scandals, with negative news always popping up. Couldn’t trust them with money?"

"These were no longer problems."

"By continuing to complete missions, he could fully fund his own foundation. They could investigate and confirm who truly needed help—or even collaborate directly with hospitals to ensure funds weren’t wasted on those who didn’t need it."

"It wasn’t just children. Teenagers, adults, the elderly—anyone who couldn’t afford healthcare became people he helped."

"As his wealth grew, Gu Hefan gradually noticed other causes needing attention."

"Retired veterans battling poverty in old age; malnourished children in mountain villages; girls skipping school over period poverty; environmental conservation; saving endangered wildlife..."

"And natural disasters—floods, blizzards—sending relief to disaster victims and first responders."

Although they had long known Gu Hefan was a good young man, the staff were still somewhat surprised to see him take it this far.

It should have been a heartwarming thing, but for some reason, they felt a lingering unease.

"Gu Hefan is flinging money around like confetti. Aside from a small portion used to upgrade his lifestyle some, almost all the money he gets from daily sign-ins is spent on helping others."

"What’s most remarkable is that he does this entirely of his own volition. No one is forcing him."

"If someone else got the daily sign-in wealth system, even if the money came easily, it’d be hard to take it this far."

I mean, that’s just basic decency, right?

Gu Hefan felt a little embarrassed by the praise. Sure, there was some risk involved, but it wasn’t anything serious—just a few scrapes or just a scare most times.

This fortune might as well have been found money on the sidewalk.

Keeping it all would’ve eaten at him. Spending it to help others? No problem there.

And it wasn’t like he took nothing for himself—he upgraded his lifestyle some, after all.

Though Sheng Qingquan’s inner thoughts didn’t mention it, Gu Hefan knew himself well enough.

By "improvement," he meant buying at least one house and one shop for each family member, setting aside enough cash for their lifetime expenses, plus a fat emergency fund. Only then would the rest go to others.

Not like he was some saint.

Too busy doling out cash, Gu Hefan didn’t notice that the money deposited into his account by the system had accumulated to an astonishing figure.

Even the former richest person on Tianlanxing, with all their assets combined, didn’t have this much.

But the money in his account came fast and went just as fast—in and out in a flash.

Normally, the balance sat in the eight-figure range. A lot, sure, but to Gu Hefan, it felt like chump change next to real wealth.

Ordinary rich people might not have this much liquid cash, but their total fixed assets would easily match or exceed this amount.

Compared to that, what was his money worth?

On top of that, he was crisscrossing the globe every day for daily sign-ins. He had to keep tabs on the charity, even bone up on finance/NGO management to prevent anyone from deceiving him.

So even though Gu Hefan had quit his job long ago, he was still drowning in work. Spread way too thin. Exhausted every day, passing out the second he hit the mattress—no time to overthink things.

Because of this, Gu Hefan never put two and two together.

Until the financial crisis fully erupted, and inflation reached a point where many were getting priced out of life.

Despite constantly helping others, the number of people in need inexplicably kept growing.

Gu Hefan only realized something was wrong when he saw the cheapest fruit at a roadside stall going for ¥888 a pop.

But it was too late.

Too many people couldn’t survive. The rewards from the system, once considered vast sums, now didn’t even move the needle.

Continuing to sign in was like bailing water with a sieve. And stopping wouldn’t improve the situation at all.

The cost of living was too high, too many were getting priced out of life. Social order was in chaos—suicides on the daily, muggings left and right. The whole world was coming apart at the seams.

How the hell did we get here?!

Gu Hefan was stunned.

And he couldn’t figure it out—*even if* he’d been buried in work, he shouldn’t have been this oblivious.

Didn’t he eat out, buy water, or take taxis?

He was rich now, but he still *lived in the real world* on Tianlan Star. How could he have been so unaware of the inflation?

Especially since he had been poor before—unlike many wealthy heirs born with silver spoons, he knew what a *decent* fast-food meal *goes for*.

He knew roughly how much a meal should cost, the price of a bottle of mineral water, or the fare for a taxi ride…

Someone like him, no matter how slow, wouldn’t have realized something was wrong only when *even discount* fruit sold for *888 yuan* for a *pound*?!

Causing inflation and economic collapse *all by himself*—sounded like a fantasy at first. But when the staff recalled the bonus amounts Sheng Qingquan had mentioned earlier, where the reward money *ballooned* several times over with each successful check-in, it made sense.

With that kind of growth, how could inflation not happen?

The economy hadn’t collapsed *yet* only because, after reaching a certain amount, the check-in rewards stopped multiplying and became fixed.

"Kid’s got a good heart. It’s just that the system had ulterior motives."

"Was Gu Hefan really that oblivious?"

"No, he was just influenced by the system. Like when he thought about slacking off but coincidentally saw that fundraising post for the four-year-old child."

"*Just* a coincidence? *Please.*"

"Of course not. That was the system’s doing. The situation was real—there really was a child in need of help."

"The system *steered* that info straight to him."

"This time was the same. The system *actively* blocked Gu Hefan from receiving relevant information."

"Especially since, aside from these tactics, the system had also rigged *his* check-ins with interference."

"Every check-in, though seemingly normal, safe, and ordinary, would *always* trigger some *freak* accident."

"The first accident burned into his brain. Something a normal person would never forget. Instead, it would remain vivid in their memory."

"This made Gu Hefan believe that these accidents were the price he had to pay for the money."

"Since he’d already paid the price, it never occurred to him that there might be other issues behind these vast sums."

"Even when later accidents weren’t as severe as the first, Gu Hefan just wrote it off as bad luck."

"The first time was *cursed*-level unlucky; the rest were normal."

"Occasionally, he’d have doubts. But as someone a tad superstitious, he’d think maybe it was because he’d done so much good—he’d *given away* most of the cash."

"Though the money came easily, it genuinely helped people. So perhaps he’d stacked up *good karma*?"

"Maybe karma *had his back*?"

"It has to be said, the *‘Get Rich by Checking In’* system was really good at picking its targets. It *played* his personality *like a fiddle*, *had him hooked*."

*All he’d wanted* was to help people, but instead, he’d *unwittingly* become the *grim reaper*.

Finally, Gu Hefan understood why *every other* system user had *landed in therapy*.

He was totally wrecked right now.

He felt he also needed professional help.

So there really are no such things as free rides. Even if a pie did fall from the sky, smacked him right in the face, and dropped into his mouth, that pie would still be poisoned.

What Gu Hefan couldn’t wrap his head around was: Why would the system do this?

Sheng Qingquan also tried to find the reason in the book.

But he couldn’t find it until he reached the very end, where he discovered a bonus chapter.

["This plot is too cliché, so played out. When will there be some new reality shows? People becoming slaves to money, going crazy, destroying themselves, and killing each other—I’m so tired of it. It’s just lame now."]

["If you’re tired of it, why not find another show to watch? I actually think it’s hella entertaining. This kind of plot never gets stale. Come on, let’s have more! Where’s the next location for filming? When does it start?"]

["I know of a small planet. Does the production team need one? If so, contact me, and I’ll give you the coordinates!"]

["Actually, the intelligent beings in this world are easy on the eyes to me. It’s a shame—no matter how handsome someone is, when they go mad for money, their face becomes terrifyingly ugly."]

["Next time, pick a child as the protagonist. Adults are boring. The only mildly interesting part is when they realize they’re the ones fueling the chaos, and that look of despair on their faces. Kids are different—they don’t know shit and can’t hide the system’s existence. Also, don’t set up too many protections. Let people notice the treasure on them, let them see the child can conjure money out of thin air."]

["Wow, you really know how to turn up the heat. I was getting a bit bored, but now I’m excited again. A child carrying a priceless treasure—I can already imagine the frenzy of people fighting to control and exploit them. Schemes, deceit, the child manipulated like a puppet. That plot would be next-level messed up!"]

["I can’t wait to see it. Production team, pick a child as the next host for the system. If you do, I’ll get my whole crew to boost your ratings..."]

Sheng Qingquan had to stop reading.

This plotline made him even sicker than when he saw Gu Hefan fall into the cesspit.

But even just these snippets were enough for everyone to understand what this was all about.

So, was everything just a reality show?

Were they capable of pulling this fucked-up shit just for entertainment?

And Tianlanxing wasn’t even the first planet they’d toyed with. They had even more sick fantasies.

No one with a conscience could accept this.

When the staff first saw the fate of Tianlanxing, they thought their bad vibes had come true.

After all, Tianlanxing was already in such a state—how much more screwed could it be?

Little did they know, things could indeed get worse.