Chapter 2: Crowdfunding - 1000 Per Person!
After a moment had passed, Qin Mu discovered a surprise in his system backpack—a gift package for beginners.
"Open it," Qin Mu couldn't wait and promptly gave the order.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained a random master-level skill book*1."
"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have earned 100 challenge points."
Qin Mu looked up and noticed a book icon had suddenly appeared on his system panel.
"Random master-level skills?" Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and reached out to touch the book.
In an instant, the book transformed into a beam of light that merged into the center of his forehead.
Countless painting skills and experiences rushed into his mind instantaneously.
"[Grandmaster Painting Skill]?" Qin Mu quickly realized, his expression shifting slightly.
With grandmaster-level abilities, his art would be incredibly lifelike and resemble real objects. This would provide him with a solid source of income, even if live broadcasting didn't work out. At least he wouldn't have to worry about starving.
With this in mind, Qin Mu's mood lightened, and his mindset calmed significantly.
As for the 100 challenge points, he could use them to acquire various magical items from the system mall. For instance, a random skill book required 100 challenge points, black technology design blueprints needed 2000 challenge points for exchange, and a super-intelligent computer required 5000 challenge points.
Moreover, once he completed the task of "Establishing Shanhe University" with a 100% completion rate, he would receive 10,000 challenge points—an offer too tempting to resist.
"Why not give it a try?" Tempted by the substantial challenge points, Qin Mu decided to take the plunge.
First and foremost, the task's completion depended on factors such as the school site, school badge, school motto, the number of students, and faculty.
However, without a doubt, the school site took precedence. Without a suitable location, recruiting students and hiring teachers would be impossible.
Building a school required a substantial amount of money, and the land alone cost hundreds of millions.
"There are over 300 million people in the four provinces of Shanhe. If all else fails... let's resort to crowdfunding!" Qin Mu pondered for a moment and came up with an idea.
He intended to establish a university for the four provinces of Shanhe, so naturally, the people from these regions should contribute. Everyone could pitch in a small amount to fund the university.
With this thought in mind, Qin Mu summoned the system, accessed the system mall, and found a black technology item named "[Directed SMS Sending]."
This feature allowed him to send SMS messages directly to specific individuals, with two options: traceable sending, which costs 20 challenge points per use, and untraceable sending, which costs 200 challenge points per use.
As the name suggested, traceable sending used his own phone number, which could be traced to the sender. On the other hand, untraceable sending uses advanced technology and shows an empty number as the sender.
Qin Mu glanced at his meager 100 challenge points and chose to send a traceable message.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, for using the directional text message service. Please select the target group."
After deducting 20 challenge points, the system quietly chimed in.
"Within the four provinces of Shanhe, individuals aged 18 to 60, regardless of gender."
Qin Mu considered it and defined the target group. Although it was a crowdfunding effort, he couldn't expect everyone to participate. Targeting those between 18 and 60 seemed most likely to respond.
"Ding! Successfully screened 111.91 million target groups."
"Ding! The text message is being sent!"
...
In a small county, inside an internet cafe filled with recent high school graduates, a loud cacophony of mobile phone notification tones suddenly erupted. The gamers paused to check their phones.
"Is this a scam text? Someone wants to build a university and is crowdfunding? Are they trying to deceive us?"
"Even though I didn't pass the exam, I'm not gullible. Why would I donate 1,000 yuan? That's enough for a summer in this internet cafe!"
"These scam artists have no creativity. I, Qin Shihuang, could come up with a better scheme!"
...
Nobody took the message seriously, and they returned to their games.
In another district of Jincheng, Wang Yi, who had just received his college entrance exam results and fallen short by 30 points, was idly scrolling through his phone. Suddenly, he received a message that made him shiver.
"The Four Provinces of Shanhe is vast, but they lack four 985-ranked universities!"
"My plan is to establish a university for our Four Provinces, compete with Tsinghua University in three years, surpass Peking University in five years, and rise to become one of the world's top universities!"
"However, we currently lack the necessary funds. I implore the compatriots of the Four Provinces to contribute generously!"
"All it takes is a 1,000 yuan donation to the bank account 6217xxxxxxxxxxxxx, and I will strive to make Shanhe University a reality!"
As Wang Yi read, he couldn't help but gulp. The message seemed suspicious, but no matter how he looked at it, it appeared to be a real appeal for help.