At the entrance of the North Gate Food Street in Haidong City, Qingshai Province, China.
Li Chen lifted his phone, snapped a picture of the stone arch at the entrance, opened WebChat+, and shared it to his Moments.
Caption: "Came to eat Haidong Lamian Noodles during off-peak hours."
After that, he turned off his screen and walked into the market.
Although the number of tourists in Haidong was decreasing rapidly every day, it was still dinner time, and all the stalls were packed. There were long queues in front of almost every shop.
As for the famous Lamian Noodles, customers were lined up so densely that the seating in front of each restaurant was completely full.
Li Chen casually picked a place that looked decent, took a number, and sat down on a chair. Bored, he scrolled through shorts while waiting.
Just then, a message popped up.
Zhao Yuting: [You're in Haidong?!!]
Seeing that name, Li Chen's expression darkened.
Zhao Yuting was his former coworker.
She was bright, outgoing, and fairly attractive.
They interacted frequently at work, and over time, Li Chen gradually developed feelings for her.
Picking a good day, he confessed to her.
She neither accepted nor rejected him, only said shyly, "Let's see how sincere you are."
Li Chen thought he had a chance, so he put all his effort into pursuing her.
To win her over, he spent most of his salary on her.
He bought her food, gifts, and even sent her red packets. She accepted every single gift with a smile. Yet their relationship never made any progress.
Even after pursuing her for a year, he hadn't even gotten to hold her hand once.
And whenever he felt like giving up, she would take the initiative to contact him, give him a little sweetness, and say some intimate, ambiguous, half-meaning words.
It made him feel like the progress bar was already at 99%—just a bit more effort and he'd succeed.
Unwilling to let all his previous efforts go to waste, he kept sinking deeper and deeper…
A few days ago, Zhao Yuting messaged him saying her birthday was approaching and hinted that she wanted a Lunier luxury handbag.
Reading that message, Li Chen—who normally agreed to all her requests—hesitated for the first time.
This year's economy was bleak. The company's performance kept declining, and he had been laid off just last month.
Although he received compensation, after paying six months of rent in one lump sum, a third of the money was gone immediately.
That bag cost 20,000 yuan. He could afford it, but after buying it, he'd only have enough money left to live for one more month.
Yet, blinded by love, he gritted his teeth and agreed.
He thought that since she liked the bag so much, maybe after giving it to her, she would finally agree to be his girlfriend.
But what he never expected was that the next afternoon, after leaving a job interview, he unexpectedly saw her arm-in-arm with a man who looked to be in his thirties, laughing and chatting as they walked into a high-end restaurant.
The sight struck him like a bolt from the sky.
His mind went blank.
He stood across the street, staring at the restaurant entrance for a long time.
Then, unexpectedly, he let out a relieved smile.
No wonder. No wonder she never agreed after all this time—turns out he was just a backup.
He didn't send messages questioning her like a clown, nor did he angrily call her to curse her out. After all, he wasn't her boyfriend—just a spare tire.
Thinking of the Lunier-brand bag the courier had delivered at noon, he felt an intense sense of irony.
He gave her his sincerity, but all she wanted was to drain his wallet!
Being strung along for so long without realizing it—he was truly stupid.
Wouldn't it have been better to spend that money on himself?
So as soon as Li Chen got back, he immediately returned the bag, then went to a nearby mall and bought himself a pile of clothes and shoes—all brands and styles he had previously been reluctant to buy.
And even then, he didn't spend half the price of that bag!
However, shopping didn't improve his mood.
The double blow to his career and love life left him extremely depressed, as if a huge stone were pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
So he decided to go on a trip, relax, and change his mood.
Haidong had become one of the most talked-about tourist cities in recent years. He had always wanted to visit but never had the chance. Now that he was unemployed, he finally could.
The trip helped him temporarily forget his worries.
Especially the thought of finally tasting authentic Haidong Lamian Noodles he'd been craving filled him with happy anticipation.
But Zhao Yuting's message shattered that mood.
He stared at the message, frowned deeply, and without a word, deleted her from his friends list.
He had nothing to say to a woman like that.
"Beep! Congratulations to the host for awakening. System activation was successful!"
Suddenly, an electronic voice sounded in his mind.
Li Chen was startled and stood abruptly. He looked around to see if it was a prank. Finding no one, he calmly sat back down on the chair despite the gazes. Those gazes lasted a few seconds before everyone continued their business.
After sitting down, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Holy crap, is this the legendary system?"
"After all these years of suffering, it's finally my turn to cheat?"
As he was thinking, a futuristic holographic interface appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Li Chen]
[Age: 25]
[Height: 180 cm]
[Weight: 76 kg]
[Appearance: 68]
[Figure: 72]
[Physique: 67]
[Health: 69]
[Stamina: 70]
[Attribute Points: 0]
[Assets: 21,428 yuan]
Looking at the holographic screen filled him with ecstasy.
After a quick glance at his attributes, he continued reading.
[System Name: Supreme Goddess Strategy System]
[When the host spends money on a target with an appearance rating of 80 or above, strategy funds may be used.]
[Conversion Rate: 1 yuan = 10,000 strategy funds.]
[When target favorability reaches 80, the host receives attribute points (base reward: 10 points; +1 per appearance point above 80).]
[When favorability reaches 90, all strategy funds spent on that target will be fully refunded.]
"Holy crap—this is insane!"
Li Chen reread it several times to make sure he understood correctly and was utterly shocked.
As long as he spent money on a girl with an appearance score above 80, one yuan could be spent like ten thousand!
And the key point—if her favorability reached 90, all the money spent would be refunded!
That meant if he converted all of his 21,000-plus yuan into Goddess Strategy Funds, spent it on a goddess, and raised her favorability to 90, his personal assets would skyrocket to a terrifying 210 million yuan!
"Is this for real?"
The surprise was so huge that Li Chen could hardly believe it.
At that moment, system text appeared:
[Goddess Strategy Fund account has been activated. Bank card has been automatically linked to WebChat and Allpay. The host may complete exchanges through normal transfers.]
At the same time, Li Chen noticed that a black card had suddenly appeared in his hand.
It looked similar to a Centurion Black Card, but the design was completely different.
He put it away and opened WebChat, where he indeed found a newly linked bank card.
"Let me transfer one yuan and see."
Li Chen transferred one yuan from his WebChat balance to the new bank card.
[System account credited with 10,000 strategy funds.]
[Current balance: 10,000 strategy funds.]
It really was 10,000!
"Quick—find a beauty with at least 80 points and see if it works."
Li Chen immediately turned his head and looked around. He spotted many young girls, but as he stared at them, a problem arose: how could he tell whether a girl was an 80-plus goddess?
After all, there wasn't a definitive standard.
And nowadays, many girls' makeup skills were phenomenal, almost like magic; how could a straight man like him possibly see their true appearance?
Just as he was worrying about this, system text appeared again:
[Information scanning function has been loaded. The host may activate it to view a girl's basic information.]