America: I came here to study, not to show mercy.

Chapter 238 The Anywhere Door, Then Turning into a Cat

Ultimately, Sean Lee tried calling Michelle's parents, but the conversation eventually turned to Professor Sedgewick's sponsorship.

Indeed, having a reputation in American professional circles is very convenient.

Li Xiaoen thought to himself, glancing helplessly at Michelle. Now he was going to bother Professor Sedgewick again, and he wondered how many glares he would get in return.

He was a little embarrassed.

Afterwards, he met the other three teammates one after another, and then drove them to a large complex of buildings three miles away from Princeton University.

Haskell was already waiting in front of a sprawling two-story building at Princeton’s off-campus professional incubator, a special space used by the university to support student entrepreneurship.

The car stopped, and the group of people looked around at each other with familiar yet unfamiliar eyes, cheerfully greeting one another.

"Alright, if you really want to have an exciting exchange, you'll have plenty of time later."

After parking his car, Li Xiaoen chuckled and gestured with his chin towards the group, "Come on, I'll show you around our studio."

It's unclear whether Haskel's network is still small or if it's due to the so-called regional network boundaries in the United States. Without specifically seeking out information about other regions or people, there's no opportunity to even connect online. Currently, all of them are from various states in the United States.

There were no Black people among them. Apart from him, who was Chinese, the rest were all Americans: one white Indian and four white.

Perhaps due to Professor Sedgewick's help in coordinating, the studio allocated to them was quite large, with different independent areas and several individual offices, fully equipped with computers and office supplies.

Li Xiaoen didn't bother with anything else, so he arranged his team and his own workstation together in a large office area.

"This looks really like the training room of an e-sports player."

Looking curiously at the computers and equipment at several workstations, Michelle excitedly pointed to the others and said, "Add a pair of headphones and make the desk a little messier, and it'll look exactly like one."

"This isn't for you to play games."

With an amused look, Li Xiaoen moved to the nearest workstation and sat down, turning on her computer. "Sit wherever you like. There are plenty of workstations; pick one you like."

"Hey……"

Upon hearing this, before anyone else could react, Michelle quickly slipped over and grabbed the chair next to Sean Lee with both hands. "My basics are weak, so I need to ask Sean more questions. I'm going to sit here."

"If that's the case, then we won't answer any questions you ask us in the future."

He chuckled and cursed, and the others looked around before moving closer to Li Xiaoen and his companion's seats on the other side.

"You can access the studio's cloud server; I've uploaded the progress and results of each person and each stage of our work there."

Li Xiaoen gave a shout and activated the [Advanced Learning Domain Aura], bestowing its blessing effect upon the group. Several surprised shouts rang out.

Originally, it was just a temporary arrangement with a few people, to chat with them a bit more, and have a meal together. Li Xiaoen glanced around for a while and noticed that the studio was quiet except for the clattering of keyboards everywhere. He was taken aback.

They immediately threw themselves into their work as soon as they arrived at the studio. This is quite rare even in companies in China, isn't it?
Li Xiaoen's expression turned strange, and he stood up to greet them.

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. How about we go for afternoon tea and chat about how we cracked that arms company's server?"

"Sean, I feel like I have a clear idea of ​​how to compile now, and I want to take advantage of this state to put more effort into the code."

Michelle quickly looked up, her serious expression revealing a touch of innocence, which made Li Xiaoen subconsciously feel that this kid wasn't even this attentive in class.

Michelle, who had the worst foundation, was like this, not to mention the others, who all chimed in to agree.

"Okay, I'll order delivery and have our afternoon tea brought over."

Li Xiaoen nodded, both amused and exasperated, placed the order on her phone, and then immersed herself in the task.

While he knew the reason for the increased mental agility, it was understandable that others were pleasantly surprised by the rare and wonderful boost they had experienced.

Come to think of it, this kind of professional, consistent, and quiet environment is more suitable for work. Li Xiaoen even felt that she was in a much better state than in Suffer's room...

Time flew by, and with the help of the props, Li Xiaoen didn't even need to answer any questions for others, until his phone suddenly rang.

The food arrived within an hour—a typical delivery situation in the United States.

"Oh, yes."

Picking up his phone and walking out of the studio, Li Xiaoen suddenly remembered something and turned back to tell the group, "Good luck everyone. If we succeed this time, we'll split the reward equally."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked up in surprise, staring blankly at the speaker.

"Sean, what about your studio, and our travel expenses?"

After a moment of hesitation, Haskell felt it was his turn to raise the question. He exchanged glances with the others, all of whom shared the same thought.

Anyone who can delve into the hobby of hacking is not stupid. Back when Li Xiaoen offered to cover all their expenses and invite them over, their best-case scenario was that they would get a share of the bounty after they succeeded.

Regardless of whether they ultimately succeed or not, Li Xiaoen will have to spend a considerable amount of money to support their expenses. The entire script framework for the penetration attack was also created by him. They are only responsible for adding the details and components. They still need to consult Li Xiaoen on some difficult points. They do not object to this expected outcome.

"Since everyone worked together on this project, it's perfectly normal to split the profits equally."

Li Xiaoen didn't care about the money. He smiled at them and nodded, "It's settled then. I'll go get the afternoon tea."

After saying that, Li Xiaoen waved his hand, turned around and went out. His phone showed that the deliveryman was already waiting downstairs.

"bring it on……"

Two large rectangular cardboard boxes were delivered. Li Xiaoen carried them back to the studio and placed them on a long table not far away. "Have some afternoon tea first, replenish your energy, and then continue..."

"Thanks……"

Upon hearing this, several people got up from their seats, walked over with smiles, but after taking a small snack and coffee, they immediately sat back down. Some of them didn't even touch the food before putting their hands back on the keyboard in front of them.

Is this too much of a motivation?

Li Xiaoen snapped out of her daze, shook her head, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat back down.

The new plan was only started yesterday, and now, with the blessing of the halo, progress is even faster. It wasn't until dusk, when the twilight projected from the bedside, that they were brought back to reality.

"Does this place have some kind of magical effect?" Michelle stretched and looked around excitedly at the others, raising her hands. "In just one afternoon, I completed what used to take two days!"

"Me too, this feeling is just wonderful!"

Ansel, the young man of Indian descent, nodded in agreement and looked around at the group, "Do you guys have anything else planned for tonight? I'd like to come up again after dinner."

"Stop, stop..."

Seeing the others showing interest, Li Xiaoen quickly raised his hand and said, "The high-intensity work is exhausting, and this is your first time in New Jersey. Why don't you go and wander around and relax?"

Although the studio is currently only under the school's support program and not under the Market Supervision Administration, so he doesn't have to pay their overtime wages and they are willing to do so, Li Xiaoen still doesn't want to cause them too much trouble.

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances, nodded in unison, and remained silent.

The rented dormitory was nearby. Each person had a private room in the suite, and the kitchen and living room were fully equipped. Lee Shawn had already transferred $100,000 to Haskel in advance for dinner and accommodation expenses, which saved him from having to worry about anything.

Haskel is about to graduate with his master's degree, and he moved into his dormitory yesterday after renting a room.

After saying goodbye to a few people at the intersection downstairs, Li Xiaoen drove up to Serafina's Quattroporte. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and decided to get out of the car and go back to surround his studio with the halo effect before he felt a little more at ease.

Tomorrow is Monday, and he has classes and needs to get a guarantee from Professor Sedgewick, so he might not be able to come to the studio until the afternoon. This day-long Halo Field will come in handy.

After completing all this, Li Xiaoen drove back to school, filled up the gas tank on the way, drove to a professional car wash near the school, and then walked back to school.

Since it's someone else's car, you should be careful about this.

Walking back, the last time he felt this way was on Halloween, when he went to the cemetery with a few girls. It was only a few months ago, but it felt like a long time ago.

Taking a deep breath, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but look up at the deep night sky. He hadn't eaten dinner yet, but at this moment he felt a deep sense of melancholy.

Finally, his entrepreneurial journey was about to begin.

In this unfamiliar land of the beacon, aside from the possible assistance of the young ladies of Sophie, he could only rely on his own strength and the system.

To transcend social classes and reach a position that even Sophie and Victoria's family cannot ignore, simply having money is not enough; one must rely on online or physical industries, and these industries must be of a scale that is recognized worldwide.

Unfortunately, the rewards from his childhood betting system were substantial. Now, six months after acquiring the system, his current assets amount to only a little over one million US dollars, along with a few luxury cars and a villa—that's all.

As for his career, apart from the daily income from his virtual employment card, he only works as a software engineer at Apple in the game of pretend. With each virtual time he invests, and given his current professional knowledge, the system has positioned him as a chief engineer with an annual salary of around $400,000.

If he had set smaller goals, broadened his horizons, and been less greedy, he would have already achieved financial freedom and was traveling freely all over the world—unfortunately, he couldn't.

The road ahead is long and arduous, and the task is heavy and the journey is far from over.

With a slow, deliberate exhale, Li Xiaoen regained his composure and focused on the system screen that had appeared in front of him.

He eloped with Victoria, and the Virtual Time Pool was filled with energy twice. The first time there was no reward, and he had been accumulating energy for the second time without using it. Now there is another chance to get energy in March.

[Used one fishing opportunity this month, no harvest obtained]

Li Xiaoen remained calm, his mind racing once more.

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Limited-Time Choice Card after 100% energy consumption!]

[Limited-Time Choice Card: After use, the host will obtain an item or ability, accompanied by certain trials or restrictions, for a limited time of two days.]

"..."

What is this?
Li Xiaoen frowned slightly. This didn't seem to have anything to do with the various powerful tools he had imagined to help his career.

Sure enough, he didn't have such a strong sense of ambition when he was a child. If it were Suffer, perhaps the system's rewards would be more biased towards that aspect.

While inwardly grumbling, Li Xiaoen's mind stirred, and he immediately confirmed the use of the card he had just obtained.

[Limited-time Choice Card successfully used. Congratulations, host, you have obtained Doraemon's gadget: Anywhere Door.]

[Item selection in progress...]

[Item Usage Restriction Confirmed: Whenever the host uses the Anywhere Door, they will transform into a cat.]

"..."

"Ah-"

With his eyes narrowed, Li Xiaoen couldn't help but hiss in disgust, finally understanding the true meaning of the [Limited Time Choice Card].

It would be better to choose the blue pill, or just give him ten million US dollars so he can be chased by a snail at any time...

With a constant stream of complaints in his mind, Li Xiaoen glanced at the limited-time red door frame displayed in his inventory and then put it away.

Back in the dorm, after greeting Daniel and Michael, who were sitting on the living room sofa with a white girl on each of their laps, Lee Shawn waved goodbye and went upstairs, not bothering to tease them about their explicit sexual acts.

"Sean, is he in a hurry?"

Michael blinked twice and looked at Daniel blankly.

"It's an emergency, but we shouldn't be needed to help."

Shaking his head, having some understanding of his roommate Sean Lee, Daniel waved his hand, then lowered his head and buried it in the chest of the girl sitting on his lap, making a muffled sound, "Don't worry, Sean will let us know if he needs help."

"Oh, that's true."

Nodding, Michael smiled, and seeing Daniel's passionate actions, he couldn't wait to slip his hand inside the girl's skirt...

Despite his dislike of the side effects, he genuinely wanted to try this amazing gadget he'd seen since childhood, especially since it was only for a limited time.

After closing the door tightly, Li Xiaoen quickly summoned the system and took out the red door frame, placing it in front of him.

It's better to try it out first, and find the safest place where there's no one around to test it out.

After stroking his chin and thinking for a moment, Li Xiaoen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly came up with an idea.

(End of this chapter)