Chapter 10: Can't Even Think About Romance

"I don't know much about taking boosting jobs. You should ask your top-rank friend. His rank is high, so he must know where to find them," Sun Mao said while playing with the little dress on his figurine. He looked completely discouraged.

"Alright."

Lin Wan opened QQ and found the friend he had saved as "Both Hands Create Dreams." They had added each other before because it was easier to ask game-related questions.

“Sorry to bother you. I'd like to ask where I can find boosting jobs.”

After sending the message, Lin Wan quietly waited. His heart was beating a little faster.

He had worked so hard for this. It was finally time to enjoy the results!

Looking back...

He had really gone through so much.

...Hmm.

Actually, he had only been playing this game for about a month. And honestly, it hadn't been that hard.

He reached Diamond in just one month!

Could he actually be a genius?

Sure, a top player had helped him a little... just a tiny bit. But his own talent was still shining brightly!

Buzz... Buzz...

His phone vibrated.

A reply!

Lin Wan quickly picked up his phone.

Both Hands Create Dreams: “You want to become a booster?”

Lin Wan, whose QQ nickname was "The Second Brother Escaping from Bear Ridge," replied:

“Yeah.”

Both Hands Create Dreams: “But you're only Platinum. That's a bit low.”

The Second Brother Escaping from Bear Ridge: “I'm already Diamond!”

Both Hands Create Dreams: “Alright then. What rank do you want to boost?”

The Second Brother Escaping from Bear Ridge: “Which rank makes the most money?”

That question left Zhuo Feng speechless.

Both Hands Create Dreams: “...”

That immediately brought Lin Wan back to reality. At least he knew his own limits.

The Second Brother Escaping from Bear Ridge: “Um... what rank do you think I can handle?”

Both Hands Create Dreams: “If you're playing alone, you can take Silver and Gold orders. Just play a carry role. Your best role is support, and support is risky in higher ranks. But if you have someone to duo with, it's much more stable, and you can take higher-rank orders.”

………………………

Dorm Room 502.

After sending that message, Zhuo Feng smiled with a scheming look in his eyes.

The bait is out.

The Second Brother Escaping from Bear Ridge: “Okay. So where can I actually get boosting jobs?”

Both Hands Create Dreams: “I have a few jobs here. Let's duo first so you can get a feel for what boosting is like.”

His plan was simple.

First, let Lin Wan boost a couple of Silver-to-Gold promotion accounts and earn around ten or twenty yuan.

Then, let him help with Platinum-to-Diamond accounts and make a few hundred yuan.

That way, Lin Wan would clearly see the difference.

As long as he wanted to earn more money, he would naturally want to take higher-rank jobs.

And once that happened, he would have no choice but to duo with Zhuo Feng.

That would completely bring Lin Wan onto his side.

Then, whether it was the National College League or even the World College League, his dream would finally be within reach.

Still, he was already a sophomore. He only had a little over two years left before graduation.

He needed to speed up his plan.

If they could win the prize money from the World College League, he could officially begin the first step of the future he had planned.

The Second Brother Escaping from Bear Ridge: “Okay! Thank you so much! You're really a good person!”

And so, the two of them officially started working together as a boosting duo.

At first, Zhuo Feng found two Silver accounts that needed promotion matches.

The pay was five yuan per win, and they needed two wins.

He even dragged the games out on purpose. Both matches lasted over thirty minutes before they won.

Then came two Platinum I accounts that needed to reach Diamond.

This time, he played at full strength.

Every match ended in less than twenty-five minutes.

He wanted Lin Wan to believe one thing.

Low-rank jobs took longer and paid poorly.

High-rank jobs were faster and earned much more money.

Only then would Lin Wan become completely hooked.

That night, after the lights went out...

Lin Wan stared at the 110 yuan that had just been transferred to him.

He grinned like an idiot, smiling so widely that the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears.

"My goodness... I made 110 yuan in just one night! If I spend more time doing this, won't I make a fortune?"

Still...

If he worked alone, he probably wouldn't earn this much.

But that didn't matter.

As long as he could make money, he was happy.

That night, Lin Wan slept very well.

He even had a wonderful dream.

He dreamed that money was raining from the sky, and he was stuffing it into a huge sack as fast as he could.

Dreams were wonderful.

Reality, however, was much harsher.

After Zhuo Feng told him which platform to use for boosting jobs, Lin Wan soon found that being a booster wasn't as easy as he had imagined.

Not only did he have to finish every order before the deadline, but he also had to keep a high win rate.

On top of that, he still had classes, so he barely had any free time to take orders. The only jobs he could accept were low-rank ones.

Some of those low-rank accounts were unbelievably difficult.

Not only were his teammates terrible in all kinds of ways, but the ranking points were painful too. Sometimes winning a match gave fewer points than losing one took away.

During the days when he had no one to duo with, Lin Wan worked himself to exhaustion and only earned a little over twenty yuan.

Most of the problem was that some orders took too long, and the platform deducted money for missing the time limit.

Thinking back to when he had made over one hundred yuan in just a few hours, the comparison made him sigh.

No wonder so many people liked being carried by a strong teammate.

Having a powerful partner was really amazing.

Finally, on a Saturday morning...

Driven by his desire to earn money, Lin Wan picked up his phone and sent Zhuo Feng a message.

Hello. Do you have any boosting orders that need a duo partner?

When Zhuo Feng saw the message, the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.

The fish has taken the bait.

Yes.

So they started duo boosting again.

However, Zhuo Feng's class schedule was very busy, so he couldn't always play with Lin Wan. They only teamed up every few days.

It was like feeding fish in a pond.

Every now and then, he tossed out another handful of bait.

About a month later...

After trembling all over in a restroom inside one of the teaching buildings, Lin Wan walked out.

He had just gone through another round of disease treatment.

His whole body felt unbelievably comfortable.

Still, compared to that, the one thousand yuan he had earned during this period made him even happier.

After leaving the building, Lin Wan naturally headed toward Cafeteria No. 3.

He had now completed a total of 400,000 steps.

That meant he had received four rounds of treatment from this mission. Including his previous rewards, his overall recovery had reached 2.4%.

He was making money. His illness was getting better. And he didn't even have to pay for his meals anymore.

Life was simply wonderful.

When he arrived at the serving counter before he could even say anything, the cafeteria lady smiled and asked,

"Young lady, what would you like to eat?"

Lin Wan froze.

"???"

Was she talking to me?

He looked around.

There wasn't anyone else at this counter.

Ma'am... your eyesight isn't that bad, is it? Can't you tell I'm a grown man?

He was just about to explain when she spoke again.

"Hmm? A young man? No... wait... maybe a young lady?"

Looking at Lin Wan's large, adorable almond-shaped eyes and his somewhat masculine facial features, the cafeteria lady became completely confused.

She looked once.

Yep, a girl.

She looked again.

Nope, definitely a boy.

She looked...

Then looked again...

In the end, she was completely confused.

So... is this student a boy or a girl?

"Ahem... Ma'am, I'm a guy," Lin Wan explained in what he thought was a deep and attractive voice.

"Oh! A young man then. What would you like to eat?"

"This one, and that one."

Lin Wan casually pointed at two dishes.

After getting his meal, he was about to find a seat when he noticed a tall young man staring at him.

Lin Wan glanced back, stepped aside to avoid his gaze, and found a seat in the corner to enjoy his food.

That guy was pretty handsome.

What a shame.

It's a shame that height and face aren't mine.

Zhuo Feng looked away.

He had overheard the conversation at the next food counter. The voice had sounded strangely familiar, so he had looked over out of curiosity.

After finishing his meal, Lin Wan returned to the dorm. He couldn't stop thinking about what the cafeteria lady had said. He walked over to Sun Mao, who was carefully cleaning one of his anime figures.

"Sun Mao, do you think anything about me has changed?"

Sun Mao looked up, gave him a quick glance, then immediately focused back on the figure.

"You're more handsome. Even more handsome."

Not satisfied, Lin Wan turned to Zhang Dingding, who was video chatting with his girlfriend.

"Old Zhang, take a look. Do I look any different?"

Zhang Dingding took off one earbud and carefully looked him up and down.

He frowned slightly.

Lin Wan's heart skipped a beat.

Do I really look that feminine?

"Hmm..."

Zhang Dingding tilted his head.

"Brother Wan... it's time for a haircut."