Yue Shi sat in the milk tea shop for a long time.
The street view outside the window was no different from the film studio world he had passed through before.
Convenience stores, beauty shops, fast food signs—the only difference was the number hanging over everyone's head.
He glanced at the 0 above his own head again. "What impact does a 0 on the Good Person Card have in this world?"
Ghost checked the network. "Probably... you'll be slowly strangled by society. No bank will loan to you, no company will hire you, and even hotels won't take you in. Because you're 'morally bankrupt'."
"Morally bankrupt." Yue Shi repeated the phrase, his lips curling into a subtle arc.
"Let's go do some good deeds."
Ghost was stunned on the spot. "You? Good deeds? Did I hear that right...?"
Ever since he had met Yue Shi, he had never seen the man do a single good thing. He was either committing evil or on the way to doing so.
"What? I can't do good deeds?" Yue Shi stood up, the 0 above his head wobbling.
"I mean, are you serious about doing good?" Ghost floated out behind him.
Yue Shi refused to answer. Given his inherent nature, even if he wanted to do a good deed, it would inevitably lead to a disastrous outcome.
But...
He stood at the milk tea shop's entrance, watching the pedestrians passing by. The numbers above everyone's heads were fluctuating slightly.
A young man rushed out of the office building across the street, waving his hands anxiously at the roadside. He had a 312 over his head.
A taxi stopped, and the youth quickly dove inside. Before the door was even closed, he shouted, "Quick, First People's Hospital!"
The taxi driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror. He had a 445. He asked casually, "In a rush to the hospital?"
"My dad's having a heart attack!" The youth's voice was shaking.
The driver stepped on the gas, but after the car moved twenty meters, he suddenly stopped and locked the doors. He gave the youth a 'you know the drill' look.
The young man was furious, but he was in such a desperate hurry that he had to force a smile and shout at the driver, "Thank you, driver! Thank you!"
The 445 above the driver's head jumped, turning into 446.
The driver stopped while he was ahead, not wanting to be too greedy. It wouldn't be good if the guy got desperate and lashed out.
The car started again, merging into the flow of traffic and disappearing.
Yue Shi watched the direction the taxi had vanished in, lost in thought. "You see? That's the logic of this world. The driver isn't a good person; he even took advantage of someone's misfortune, yet he received that young man's gratitude and his score went up by a whole point!"
"So?" Ghost asked.
"So there are no good people in this world, only sophisticated egoists," Yue Shi remarked.
Ghost thought about it. "You're right. Morality is something that shouldn't be quantified."
Yue Shi stepped down the stairs, and Ghost followed with more questions. "So you're still planning to do good deeds?"
"In different environments, the semantics of certain words change. Just like in this world, doing good is essentially just doing business," Yue Shi said without looking back.
He crossed two streets and turned into an alley. The alley was narrow, flanked by old residential buildings. At the end of the alley was an iron door with an A4 paper taped to it, printed in bold: "Moral Accelerator, Enter for Business Inquiries."
Yue Shi pushed the door open and entered.
Inside was a tiny room with only an office desk and a sofa.
There was a computer on the desk, and a business license hung on the wall. The scope of business was listed as "Moral Consulting Services."
A bald, middle-aged man sat in a swivel chair, looking at his phone. The number above his head was 2890.
He looked up and saw Yue Shi. His gaze lingered on the 0 for a second before moving away, and he flashed a professional fake smile.
"Sir, what service do you need? We have 'Single-Thank Packages', 'Monthly Memberships', and 'Corporate Customization'."
Yue Shi sat on the sofa and crossed his legs. "I have a big deal for you."
The bald man paused, then looked at the 0 over Yue Shi's head again. What kind of big deal could an idiot with 0 points have?
"How much do you charge to help customers farm moral points?" Yue Shi asked.
The bald man's smile became subtle. He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the armrest. "That depends on the package. A basic single thank-you is five hundred yuan, and we guarantee it's real, effective gratitude. A monthly plan is eight thousand, three times a day, any occasion. Corporate customization is negotiable."
Yue Shi nodded. "What are your costs?"
A look of scrutiny appeared in the bald man's eyes. "That's a trade secret. I can't tell you."
"Let me calculate it for you," Yue Shi said to himself. "Your 'Professional Thankers' are mostly low-income groups. You pay them a wage, probably fifty to a hundred yuan per thank-you. The remaining four hundred plus is your profit. A profit margin of over eighty percent—it's a good business indeed."
The bald man sneered. "What exactly are you trying to do? Are you here to cause trouble?"
Yue Shi pulled a gold bar from his pocket. It wasn't large, but it reflected a brilliant golden light under the fluorescent lamps. He placed the gold bar on the desk and pushed it forward.
"Like I said, I have a big deal here."
The bald man stared at the gold bar for a few seconds, then glanced at the 0 above Yue Shi's head. "How did a person with 0 points get a gold bar this big?"
In this world, people with money and power didn't have low Good Person Card scores. They always had ways to boost their numbers.
How could someone who could casually produce a gold bar have 0 points?
He was now very suspicious of where this gold bar had come from.
Yue Shi smiled and pointed at the number above the man's head. "Your current score is 2890. Want to guess if I have a way to turn that number into a single digit?"
The bald man's expression changed instantly.
"Don't be nervous." Yue Shi withdrew his hand. "Just do exactly as I say. This gold bar is only a deposit. There will be plenty of benefits for you in the future."
The bald man could tell at a glance that Yue Shi was selling him a pipe dream. He had spent so many years selling dreams to others; now someone actually dared to do it to his face. The man truly didn't know his place.
However, looking at the brilliant golden light reflecting off the gold bar on the desk, he couldn't help but feel a surge of greed.
He really didn't want to let go of such a good thing.
What if... he just kicked this long-haired man out and kept the gold bar for himself?
The guy had 0 points anyway. No one would ever believe a person with 0 points could have a gold bar. He could flip the truth however he wanted.
Sensing the malice radiating from the bald man, Yue Shi sighed. Being a good person was truly difficult; he hadn't wanted to use violence.
In the next second, a sinister and terrifying aura spread throughout the small office.
...
Five minutes later, Yue Shi walked out of the alley. Ghost asked with a look of confusion, "What exactly are you trying to do?"
Yue Shi looked at the pedestrians passing by on the street. Two-digit and three-digit scores were common, making the 0 above his head look particularly eyesore.
"I want to see just how bizarre the rules of this world really are."
Where did these bizarre rules come from, were they directly related to the Bewitching Beauty Painting Workshop, and could he find a way out...
Rate on N.U.
