Many writers like to describe life as if it were a game, filled with choices, routes, and opportunities waiting to be discovered. But anyone who has actually lived in this world knows that those words have nothing to do with reality.
Reality is heavy, cold, and merciless. It is filled with unfairness, and its rules are so rigid that most people never get the chance to see any loophole at all.
The truth is simple: life is not fair. Some people are born struggling, barely able to maintain their footing, while others start at the top with endless chances already laid out before they even take their first step.
With differences that vast, calling life a game sounds almost insulting.
And if by chance this world truly was a game, then it would absolutely be the most poorly designed, broken, garbage-tier game ever created.
At least, that had been Lin Yichen's firm belief.
Right up until a moment ago.
The lecture had ended, and students were slowly packing their bags, chatting as they left the hall in groups. The atmosphere was ordinary, something he had experienced countless times. Yet Lin Yichen sat frozen at his desk, staring in disbelief at the students passing by.
His fingers tightened around the edge of the table, his face stiff, as if his mind couldn't decide whether he was imagining things or losing his sanity.
Above several students' heads floated distinct symbols.
A few had golden question marks hovering above them.
Others had bright green exclamation marks.
They shimmered faintly, as if illuminated by a light source that didn't exist in the room.
It looked exactly like something from an MMORPG.
A real-life quest indicator.
He had already rubbed his eyes so many times that they were turning slightly red. Earlier he even rushed out to wash his face in cold water, and after that used a chilled drink bottle to cool his forehead. None of it had changed anything. The symbols had not faded, flickered, or disappeared. Instead, they quietly remained there for almost an entire hour, clear and unmistakable.
He considered the possibility he was hallucinating.
But the symbols only appeared above some students, not all of them.
If his mind were playing tricks on him, the hallucination wouldn't be this selective.
A strange mixture of fear and curiosity filled his chest.
He forced himself to calm down, gathering whatever logic he could still hold onto.
If he could see game-like symbols above other people, then there was only one conclusion left to test.
If this world had suddenly decided to operate like a game, then he—
He should have a status screen as well.
The very moment that thought formed, a soft chime echoed in his mind, and a translucent blue screen materialised in front of him without warning. It hovered silently in midair, its edges glowing faintly, as if waiting for him to read it.
Status:
Name: Lin Yichen
Skill: Gamer Status
Refreshes all host attributes once daily when the status window is opened. [+1]
Occupation: Student, Part-time worker
Current Level: 1
Experience: 0 / 100
Conversion Rate: 100 Global Dollars = 1 Experience
Physique: 1 (Equivalent to the strength and capability of an average, healthy twenty-five-year-old man.)
Finance: 1 (Each point equals ten thousand Global Dollars.) [Current Finance: 120 Global Dollars]
Charisma: 1 (Normal appearance.)
Vigour: 1 (Average adult stamina limit.)
Intelligence: 1 (One point equals high school educational level.)
Refreshing host status…
9,880 Global Dollars will be transferred to the host account.
The words felt unreal.
But the most unbelievable part came next.
Lin Yichen instinctively reached for his phone when a notification rang. He unlocked the screen quickly, and his expression froze completely. His bank account had been credited with exactly 9,880 dollars, raising his balance to a perfect ten thousand.
For a long moment, he simply sat there, phone in hand, staring blankly at the glowing numbers. His mind replayed the events of the previous day. He had counted the cash he had—around one hundred thirty to one hundred forty dollars.
Today he had bought a few small things, so it made sense that only around one hundred twenty remained. The system had simply taken that amount, subtracted it from ten thousand, and refilled the rest.
It matched too perfectly to doubt.
A sudden, alarming tightness rose in his chest. If the system filled his balance back to ten thousand just because he opened the status screen…
If he spent all ten thousand today…
Would he receive another ten thousand tomorrow?
If that were true, he could obtain three hundred thousand dollars every single month without lifting a finger. An ordinary salaryman working in a top A-grade corporation would need an entire year to earn what he might receive just by breathing and opening a screen.
His thoughts spiralled even further when he remembered something else.
He had another account containing three thousand in personal savings.
Yet the system didn't include that amount in his Finance stat.
Which meant the system only recognised the money it provided, not the money he earned on his own.
The more he pieced together, the stranger it became.
It didn't feel like a trick, or an illusion, or some unstable breakdown in his mind.
It felt structured.
It felt logical. It felt designed.
Almost as if he had stepped into a real, functioning game world. His voice slipped out before he realised it, barely audible in the empty lecture hall.
It really feels like I've stepped into a game. Thankfully, the classroom had already emptied. No one saw him staring at an invisible window floating in the air.
The world hadn't changed. The sky hadn't cracked open. Nothing dramatic had happened around him. But for Lin Yichen…everything had changed.
'Alright, let me just think. I really have turned into a player. But… it's not such a bad thing. I can actually make a living without even lifting a finger.'
After calming down, Lin Yichen rested his elbows on the desk, letting the idea sink in properly. The more he thought about it, the more obvious it became—his life had simply switched to easy mode.
An account that automatically received ten thousand USD every single day, another connected savings account that absorbed the leftovers and generated profit… with that kind of setup, he could absolutely spend the rest of his days as a carefree salted fish.
No deadlines, no pressure, no worries.
The exchange rate of RMB to USD is currently eight to one. That meant his daily ten thousand USD translated to becoming a monthly millionaire in RMB. A million a month, without touching a single piece of work. The absurdity almost made him laugh.
'But if I raise my level, my Finance stat will increase by one point. If one point really equals ten thousand… then I'd get twenty thousand per day. Should I level up?'
The moment the thought settled, his expression twisted slightly. He could almost see it—the confirmation button lighting up, the entire ten thousand USD vanishing instantly just to increase his level by one. Even ten thousand RMB used to be a huge sum in his old life for someone raised in an ordinary middle-class family. Spending ten thousand USD just to hear a "Level Up" chime made his scalp tighten.
Though he just shook his head. After all, there was still quite some time before 12 am, so he is going to see if he can level up in another manner.
He let out a breath and pushed himself up from his seat. If this whole thing really followed RPG logic, then those floating question marks and exclamation marks above certain people's heads definitely meant something. They had to be quests. Completing them might give him Exp, or maybe even direct USD rewards he could convert into Exp later.
As he walked toward the hallroom door, the faint background noise in the corridor grew clearer—shoes tapping against the floor, distant laughter, someone's rushed conversation echoing around the corner. The next class was about to flood into the room, and he slipped out just before they arrived, the door clicking softly behind him.
The corridor stretched ahead, sunlight pouring through the windows in long stripes. Lin Yichen's eyes moved quietly from person to person, scanning for those familiar symbols.
'If quests exist… then I need to find them. One good quest could change everything again.' With that thought guiding him, he stepped forward, ready to explore whatever this new "player life" was about to throw at him.
Walking out of his class, Lin Yichen let his gaze wander across the bustling gallery. Students were scattered everywhere—chatting, rushing, laughing—and a few of them had those tiny '!' and '?' icons hovering above their heads.
He slowed his steps, observing them one by one, hoping something would trigger. Yet even after exchanging a few casual words, no quests popped up.
It left him wondering if there was some hidden condition. 'Do I need to say something specific? Or maybe the system just hates giving me easy ones…'
As he was contemplating that, he noticed a professor walking toward him. Qin Yifeng's question mark was larger than anyone else's—almost twice the size—and before Yichen could even process why, the man looked up and smiled.
Lin Yichen quickly straightened his posture.
He had taken Qin Yifeng's class before and naturally greeted him.
"Good morning, Sir."
Hearing that, Qin Yifeng's smile grew warmer as he nodded. "Yichen! Come, I have something that needs your help." His tone carried a hint of expectation, almost like he was testing the waters.
And at that exact moment, a transparent screen slid into Yichen's view, crisp and unmistakable. He glanced at it, then back at his teacher, and smiled.
"Alright! I don't have an elective class right now," he replied, walking beside Qin Yifeng. His calm and straightforward response earned him a pleasant glance from the professor. Yichen was already known as one of the more dependable students, and this only solidified that impression.
[Quest: Help teacher Qin Yifeng.]
[Reward: 10 Exp + 10 Teacher Reputation Points.]
[Hidden Quest: Accept and complete Reputation Point Quest.] [Triggered.]
[Reward: Title: Hidden (R) + Skill: Hidden (SR)]
[TLN: R = Rare, SR = Super Rare.]