Fen Su watched him leave with admiration. "No wonder Mr. Chen values him so much. Not just smart... he studies like a student too."
But then Fen Su sighed, picked up his phone, and dialed Chen Mo. I’d better report the spending before the boss thinks I pocketed the money. Newest update provided by novᴇlfire.net
"Mr. Chen, here’s the financial report from Horny Princess Interactive," Cho Rin said, sliding the papers onto his desk.
Suho skimmed the sheet. His eyes caught the bold number at the bottom: 2.2 million spent.
He leaned back, grinning. "Not bad. That plus the bus, we’ve burned over four million already."
The phone rang. It was Fen Su.
"Boss, everything’s done. Furniture’s ordered, office leased. By the way, credit goes to Director Jin—he bargained more than ten thousand off the rent."
Suho’s smile froze. Again with saving money. Why is everyone around me obsessed with cutting costs?
Still, he played along. "Good work."
After hanging up, he rubbed his forehead. The only one who followed orders exactly was Fen Su. Everyone else—Lee Wonho and Jin Wu especially—were like gremlins that multiplied whenever you poured money on them.
Fine. At least new hires will burn system funds faster.
He dialed HR and ordered a round of recruitment for the new office. The faster we expand, the faster my wallet empties.
The system funds ticked down nicely. Between new recruits, the bus, and cafeteria upgrades, Suho had finally spent more than half of the eight million.
But then something horrifying happened.
Lee Wonho submitted a purchase request.
And worse—Suho liked it.
Apparently, random outsiders had been sneaking into the cafeteria to mooch star-chef meals. So Lee Wonho proposed installing an electronic induction door system, with swipe cards for employees only. Cost? Over a hundred thousand.
Suho stared at the application. It was logical. It solved a real problem. And most importantly—it spent money. He approved it immediately, though he muttered, "Damn it, why is the sixth one suddenly useful?"
Just as Suho was preparing for a nap, his phone buzzed again. Fen Su’s voice came through the line, excited.
"Mr. Chen, the new equipment you requested is ready. Shall we release it into the game immediately?"
Suho’s lips curled into a grin. Finally, time to bleed that whale again.
Kim Suho nearly leapt out of his chair when he heard Fen Su’s voice over the phone.
The new weapons were finally developed. For the past week, he’d been sneaking into Horny Princess Online whenever he was free, only to be instantly surrounded by that arrogant player I Am A Rich Man and his little army of wallet-warriors. They’d ganged up on him so often that Suho half-expected the system to send him an official notice: "Congratulations, you’ve been chosen as today’s sandbag!"
He had been holding his breath for a long time. That local tyrant not only ruined his third settlement, but he also stomped on Suho’s dignity in front of thousands of players.
Uncle can swallow it. Auntie can swallow it. But Kim Suho? Never!
Now that the new equipment was out, he could finally flip the table and take his revenge.
"Okay, go online immediately," Suho said without hesitation, his tone sharp as a sword. "And remember, explosion rate to the lowest. I don’t care if it takes three reincarnations of a monk grinding in a cave to drop one—make it painful."
"Yes, Mr. Kim. I’ll arrange everything right away," Fen Su replied respectfully.
Two hours later, a message arrived: the new equipment had been put on the shelves, and Suho’s account was already fully equipped.
He logged in immediately.
Of course, the game greeted him with a giant update screen. Worse, the patch notes proudly announced the new equipment and the "fair and balanced" method of obtaining it—wild monster drops.
"Fair and balanced my ass," Suho muttered, waiting impatiently.
Finally, the update finished. He spawned into the game, and sure enough, his character was shining in brand-new gear. His avatar looked like he had just walked out of an anime opening, radiating golden light as if angels were humming in the background.
Suho smirked. Alright, rich boy, let’s see you laugh now.
He marched straight into the wilderness. As expected, it didn’t take long—soon enough, I Am A Rich Man showed up, leading a small battalion of equally well-geared cronies.
Five minutes later, Suho’s character stood proudly, while the corpses of the local tyrant’s squad faded into the grass.
"Ahhh~" Suho leaned back in his chair, grinning ear to ear. "This is what peak gaming looks like. Instant kill, zero effort. So cool!"
For the first time in weeks, he could walk sideways in the game without fearing an ambush.
Meanwhile, in another chatroom:
"Something’s wrong. Why is his attack power suddenly through the roof?"
"Yeah, I got one shot! What the hell?"
"Check the patch notes."
"Oh my god, they just dropped new equipment. And guess who’s wearing a full set already? That guy!"
Chen Cong—better known in-game as I Am A Rich Man—read the complaints with a frown. He pulled up the announcement, skimmed it, and his brows twitched.
New equipment... from wild monster drops?
He narrowed his eyes. "Impossible. This equipment just went live, and that guy has a complete set already? No way."
The chat was already exploding with suspicion.
"Hold on, that gear just launched. You’re telling me someone already has a full set?"
"He’s not grinding. He’s a shill, guaranteed!"
"Yeah! That’s a developer’s puppet account!"
Chen Cong leaned back in his chair. Shill accounts, huh?
Back in the peak days, shills were everywhere, planted to show off flashy gear and bait people into spending money. He hadn’t seen one in years and thought Horny Princess Interactive had stopped the practice. Yet here it was, staring him in the face.
So the company is trying to revive the game? Interesting... but laughable if they think a shill can act tough in front of me.
He cracked his knuckles and typed in the chat:
"Everyone refresh monsters for me. Any new equipment you loot, I’ll pay 10,000 per piece."
"Brother Hao, too awesome!"
"Brother Hao, I’ll pull an all-nighter for you!"
In a dingy rental flat, one of Cong’s guild members, Jiang Jiu, practically threw open his fridge, grabbed a stack of Red Bulls, and lined them up like ammunition.