Ye Xia stood frozen on the sidewalk, students jostling past her. The voice in her head was as clear as if someone were speaking directly into her ear, yet there was no one around her.
"Who's there?" she whispered, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the strap of her backpack.
[I am the Money Wasting System, an entity bound to your soul. You may communicate with me mentally; there is no need to speak aloud.]
Am I hallucinating? she thought, deciding to test the voice's claim. Is this a side effect of… dying?
[Your death in the previous timeline was a factual occurrence. Your rebirth is also factual. This system is the third factual element. To begin the binding process, please confirm: Do you wish to gain the power to exact revenge on those who wronged you?]
The question was simple, its answer a burning brand in her heart. Yes. More than anything.
[Binding confirmed. Welcome, Host Ye Xia. Here are the core rules:]
A translucent blue screen materialized in front of her eyes, hovering in the air. She blinked rapidly, but the screen remained, displaying text in a sleek, modern font.
System: Money Wasting System (Beginner Level)
Host: Ye Xia
Age: 17
Current Personal Funds: 52.8 RMB
System Funds: 0 RMB
System Level: 1
Todays Wasting Quota: 10,000 RMB
Conversion Rate: 1% (System Funds to Personal Wealth)
Ye Xia's mind raced, trying to process the information. "Money Wasting System? What does that mean? I have to waste money?"
[Correct. The system will provide you with a daily quota of funds. You must spend this quota entirely on non-appreciating assets or experiences within 24 hours. You cannot save it, invest it, or donate it to charity. The purpose is purely to stimulate the economy through consumption. Upon successful completion of the daily task, a percentage of the spent amount will be converted into your personal, untraceable wealth, which you may use for any purpose.]
"So… you give me money to waste, and then I get a cut?" Ye Xia summarized, the absurdity of it warring with a burgeoning hope.
[Precisely. At your current Level 1, the conversion rate is 1%. If you successfully waste 10,000 RMB today, 100 RMB will be transferred to your Personal Funds. However, failure to spend the quota will result in a penalty.]
"What penalty?"
[At Beginner Level, the penalty is a mild electric shock. Repeated failures will lead to more severe consequences, including potential system detachment and reversion of your timeline.]
A cold shiver ran down Ye Xia's spine. Reversion of her timeline? That meant… dying again. Going back to the bottom of that pool. This was not a game.
"And if I succeed? What happens then?"
[As you consistently complete tasks, you will gain Experience Points. Leveling up will increase your daily quota, improve the conversion rate, and unlock system functions, such as skill shops, intelligence networks, and physique enhancement.]
A skill shop. Physique enhancement. This was the key. This was how she would transform from the bullied Fatty Ye into a force to be reckoned with.
Her eyes fell on the "Current Personal Funds" line. 52.8 RMB. It was all the money she had in the world, scraped together from her meager allowance. Ten thousand RMB was an astronomical sum to her. It was more than her stepmother, Wang Yan, gave her for an entire semester's expenses.
"How do I access the money to waste?"
[The system funds are virtual and can be expended through any form of electronic payment linked to your identity. A system-generated bank card number has been associated with your citizen ID. You may use it for online transactions or present it for in-person purchases. The funds are valid only for the daily task and will vanish at midnight if unspent.]
A plan began to form in Ye Xia's mind, sharp and clear. She needed to spend 10,000 RMB today. But how? She couldn't go home with bags of luxury goods; Wang Yan would seize them immediately and demand to know where the money came from. She needed to spend it on things that wouldn't raise suspicion, or on things that could be concealed.
She started walking, her steps now purposeful. She needed a smartphone. In 2012, they were becoming common, but her stepmother had insisted she only needed a cheap, brick-like phone for emergencies. An iPhone 4S was the latest model. That would cost over 5,000 RMB. It was a start.
She headed towards the city's largest electronics mall. As she walked, she passed a high-end salon she had always looked at with longing. The girls from rich families went there. They always emerged looking sleek and beautiful. Ye Xia caught her reflection in the glass door. Her hair was limp and greasy, pulled back in a clumsy ponytail. Her face was round, her features lost in the puffiness of poor diet and neglect.
An idea sparked. She couldn't change her entire body overnight, but she could start with her hair. And a salon visit was an experience, not a tangible asset that could be confiscated.
She pushed the door open. The air inside was scented with expensive chemicals and perfume. The receptionist, a stylish young woman, looked up. Her smile faltered for a microsecond when she saw Ye Xia's shabby tracksuit, but professional training made her recover quickly.
"Hello, miss. Do you have an appointment?"
"No," Ye Xia said, her voice firmer than she expected. "I want a full treatment. A cut, a deep conditioning, and the best stylist you have."
The receptionist's eyes flickered with doubt. "Our senior stylist, Tony, charges 800 RMB for a cut alone. The treatments…"
"That's fine," Ye Xia interrupted. "I want the works." She gave the system-generated card number when asked for payment. The receptionist swiped the card, a look of surprise crossing her face when the transaction for 2,500 RMB was approved without a hitch.
Three hours later, Ye Xia stared at her reflection in the mirror, barely recognizing the girl looking back. Her hair, now clean and expertly cut into a style that framed her face, had a healthy shine. It wasn't a magical transformation—she was still overweight—but for the first time, she could see a hint of the bone structure beneath the softness. Her eyes, no longer hidden by stringy bangs, seemed larger, brighter, and held a new, unsettling depth.
She paid for the salon visit and the new iPhone without a hitch. She had spent 7,800 RMB. She had 2,200 RMB left to waste.
As she left the mall, a bookstore across the street caught her eye. In her past life, she had been willfully ignorant of business and finance, believing Liang Rui would handle all that. Now, knowledge was power. She went in and bought every book she could find on stock trading, corporate law, economics, and even psychology. The stack cost her over 1,500 RMB. She then went to a high-end grocery store and bought exotic fruits and delicacies she had never tasted, spending the remaining 700 RMB just before the store closed.
She stood on the street corner as dusk fell, clutching her new phone and several heavy bags of books and food. She felt a strange exhilaration.
[Ding! Daily task completed. 10,000 RMB successfully wasted. 100 RMB has been converted to your Personal Funds. 10 Experience Points awarded. Current Level: 1 (10/100).]
A notification buzzed on her new phone. It was an SMS from an unknown bank. Her personal account balance was now 152.8 RMB.
It was a pittance. But it was hers. Earned not through groveling or pity, but through a bizarre, strategic act of wasting someone else's money.
A slow smile spread across Ye Xia's face. For the first time in two lifetimes, she felt a sense of control. The game had begun.