Deep City.
Xiawan Residential Complex.
Inside a small apartment, Chen Yang leaned against the wall, a cigarette between his lips.
"I'm leaving. Do you have anything else you want to say?"
Standing by the door in her flight attendant uniform, Zhe Rou—curvy, stunning, and cool-eyed—pulled her suitcase behind her as she looked back at him one last time.
Chen Yang stared at her for a while, then stubbed out his cigarette and said quietly:
"...One more time?"
Zhe Rou bit her red lips, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Bang!
Chen Yang swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
Afterwards.
"I know it was all my fault," she said softly.
"If you're angry, if you resent me, just let it all out. Hit me, yell at me—do whatever you need to. I won't complain. I deserve it."
"I'm sorry, Chen Yang."
Two hours later, her hair disheveled, a few faint marks on her face, and walking with difficulty, Zhe Rou dragged her suitcase out of the apartment and disappeared from his life.
After she left, Chen Yang sat on the balcony, cigarette in hand, gazing at the green plants they had nurtured together. Memories surged in his mind, and he let out a deep sigh.
They had met in college during a campus event—pure chance that brought them together.
They studied hard, worked side by side, and dreamed of a future.
After graduation, Zhe Rou, beautiful and elegant, became a flight attendant. Chen Yang also landed a job at a foreign company, earning over 10,000 yuan a month—not bad by any standard.
Together, they made over 20,000 yuan monthly.
But this was Deep City—a place where dreams came with astronomical price tags.
Just renting this tiny apartment cost 6,000 a month. Add in daily expenses, random purchases, holiday celebrations... the total monthly cost easily exceeded 10,000 yuan. Their combined income only barely kept them afloat.
At first, they thought it was temporary. If they worked hard enough, one day they'd own a place here.
But after two or three years of grinding, reality crushed them.
They calculated that—at their current pace—they'd need over two hundred years just to afford a place in the suburbs.
That moment of silence after seeing the number? That was when it all ended.
No fights. No cheating. Just... resignation.
Before she left, Zhe Rou even paid three months' rent, labeled everything in the apartment, and made sure Chen Yang wouldn't struggle without her.
Then she walked out of his life.
Chen Yang smoked quietly, slumped against the wall.
He had tried—really tried.
He worked tirelessly for promotions, raises. He did 996 shifts. Pulled all-nighters. Even drove ride-share on weekends. He'd climbed to deputy team lead in just a few years.
But none of it mattered.
No matter how hard he worked, the reward was a mere drop in the bucket.
"'If you come to Deep City, you'll become a Deep City citizen,' huh? What a joke..."
"I'm tired."
That was all he could think as he looked up at the sky.
After so many years of suffocating struggle, maybe it was time... to let go.
His eyes drifted to the massive foot massage center across the street.
He stubbed out his cigarette.
A new look of determination filled his gaze.
Back in his room, he booted up his ten-year-old laptop, opened JD Mall, and went straight to checkout.
i9-K + RTX 4090 desktop PC.
30,000 yuan.
Order placed.
Relief washed over him.
That PC had been sitting in his cart for god knows how long. But he'd always hesitated—saving for a house, trying to be responsible. He didn't even dare look at it.
But now...
[Card ending 4680 used at JD Mall, July 2nd 13:21. Remaining balance: ¥*]**
With just a few taps, 30,000 yuan was gone.
But Chen Yang felt no regret. In fact, he felt something he hadn't felt in years—pure joy.
That crushing weight of "buying a house" was gone.
So what if he couldn't stay in Deep City? He could go back to his hometown, back to the county. Would that be so bad?
These years had worn him down.
He was just... so damn tired.
He opened Steam and bought all the games he had long dreamed of playing—Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, Sekiro, Red Dead Redemption 2…
Before, he could only watch gameplay videos. Now, he was finally buying them himself.
After that glorious spending spree, he lay back in bed, grinning.
"God, it feels so damn good to spend money."
Suddenly, a cold mechanical voice rang out in his mind.
[System detected indulgent spending. Activating the Indulgence & Wealth System.]
[This system's philosophy: Life is short—live it to the fullest. Don't let fine wine sit untouched beneath the moon!]
[If you're not living for yourself, then what's the point of living at all?]
Before Chen Yang could react, the voice returned.
[Indulgent spending detected. Awarding ¥220,000.]
[Indulgent spending detected. Awarding ¥10,000.]
[Indulgent spending detected. Awarding ¥10,000.]
[...]
His phone buzzed repeatedly.
Opening his banking app, Chen Yang saw notification after notification:
[Account ending in 3302: Income Received (Legitimate Source)]
[Account ending in 3302: Income Received (Legitimate Source)]
[Account ending in 3302: Income Received (Legitimate Source)]
It was real.
Not a dream. Not a hallucination.
A system had actually awakened.
As someone who grew up reading all kinds of web novels, Chen Yang instantly understood what was happening.
After more than 20 years—his system had finally arrived.
He quickly analyzed the pattern.
The biggest reward came from the computer purchase. The smaller ones were from the games. The more he spent—and the more indulgent the purchase—the bigger the reward.
But when he tried to buy more games, the rewards stopped.
The system clearly wasn't abusable. Once it identified repeated or similar indulgences, it would stop rewarding them.
Still, that was fine.
Because from this moment on...
Chen Yang's life was about to change—forever.