We offered you a summer job, but you went and became a mercenary?

Twenty-odd days passed in the blink of an eye.

For nearly a month, Lin Ye lived the kind of useless life he had always dreamed of.

I sleep until I naturally wake up every day, and the first thing I do when I open my eyes is order takeout.

After eating his fill, he would turn on his computer and, in the world of "Nine Heavens Mystic Demons," ride his jet-black +20 divine gear, hovering in circles above the main city on his Nine Heavens Imperial Golden Dragon, receiving the worship of all the players on the server.

He was so bored that he bought all the outfits in the game store, changing into a different outfit every day, mainly playing a cyberpunk dress-up game.

This simple, unpretentious, and monotonous life of spending money on in-game purchases left Lin Ye feeling an unprecedented emptiness.

Even more empty and tormented than him were the National Security Bureau agents outside his neighborhood who worked in shifts around the clock, secretly "protecting" him.

"Camera number three, the target is awake and stretching."

"Received. Delivery team, get ready. Based on big data analysis, there's a 73% chance the customer will order soy milk and fried dough sticks from Zhang Ji downstairs today."

"Report! Report to command center! An emergency has occurred!"

A young agent's tense voice reached Eagle's ears through an encrypted channel.

The eagle jolted awake, sitting bolt upright on his cot: "What's going on?! What kind of trouble is the target planning?"

"No... it's that when the target was ordering takeout, they noticed that the fried dough sticks from Zhang's downstairs had gone up from 1.5 yuan each to 2 yuan."

Eagle: "..."

He felt so tired.

For the past month, their elite team, which has been responsible for counter-terrorism, drug enforcement, and the capture of international spies, has been recording what this human nuclear weapon ate, how long he slept, and how much money he spent on in-game purchases.

They watched helplessly as Lin Ye turned the prices on a server upside down, forced a rich kid to delete his account and quit the game, and even caused the game's official team to add more than a dozen servers overnight because of him.

Everyone was on high alert, afraid that one day he might get bored with the game, be in a bad mood, and accidentally demolish Jiangcheng while out for a walk.

The eagle wearily rubbed its temples and answered the phone.

"Director Zhao, it's me."

On the other end of the phone, Zhao Jianguo, director of the Jiangcheng National Security Bureau, was in his office looking at a detailed report on Lin Ye's daily life over the past month, with veins bulging on his forehead.

The report was extremely detailed, even including when Lin Ye left home, what he did there, and how long he stayed.

"Tell me, what's new today?" Zhao Jianguo was already numb.

The eagle cleared its throat and, in a serious tone as if reporting on national affairs, said in a deep voice, "Reporting to the director, based on our 24-hour continuous observation, the target's emotions have remained extremely stable for the past month. The only significant emotional fluctuation occurred five minutes ago."

He noticed that the price of fried dough sticks at the breakfast shop downstairs had increased by 50 cents.

Zhao Jianguo remained silent for a full half minute before hanging up and dialing another red number.

The underground command center in the capital city.

After listening to Zhao Jianguo's report, Chief Li's weathered face showed no impatience, but rather an unprecedented solemnity.

"The price of fried dough sticks has gone up?" Chief Li frowned, pacing back and forth in the conference room. "This is a very dangerous sign!"

"This shows that although Comrade Lin Ye has transcended vulgar tastes, he still cares about the hardships of the people! He is using this method to subtly express his dissatisfaction with rising prices!"

"If he develops negative feelings towards society because of this five cents, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

Chief Li slammed his hand on the table and gave an order to his secretary that left everyone speechless.

"Immediately! Right now! Have the people in Jiangcheng buy that breakfast shop for me!"

"From today onwards, that shop's fried dough sticks will forever be sold at the original price!"

"As for the price difference and all the store's losses, they will all be covered by the national treasury!"

"Furthermore, issue a notice: within a five-kilometer radius of Xingfuli residential area, all shops that Comrade Lin Ye has visited will be subject to price controls! Anyone who dares to raise prices arbitrarily is going against our Dragon Kingdom!"

······

Lin Ye was completely unaware of the "price storm" he had unintentionally triggered.

Three days before school started, he figured it was about time and finally called home.

"Mom, it's me, Lin Ye."

"Hey, back in that electronics factory, they didn't allow us to use cell phones."

Lin Ye felt a warmth in his heart and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face when he heard his mother's concerned voice on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, I've finished my summer job and I'm ready to go back to school."

"By the way, Mom, didn't I say my salary was 8,000? Later, our project went well, and the boss was so happy that he gave me an extra 2,000 yuan bonus."

"I'll transfer the money to you later. Don't be too frugal with your dad and me. Buy whatever you want to eat."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ye promptly transferred a sum of money to his mother's bank card—exactly ten thousand yuan.

······

At the end of August, the day for new students to register at Jiangcheng College of Arts and Sciences finally arrived.

Lin Ye glanced longingly at the image of himself, a pure gold statue standing in the center of the main city, on the alien computer, then decisively pressed the power button.

He pulled out his new T-shirt, which he had bought for seventy yuan yesterday, a pair of slightly formal trousers, and a pair of Adidas flat shoes from the bottom of his wardrobe.

Then, he pulled the red, white, and blue striped snakeskin bag out from under the bed.

He skillfully stuffed several changes of clothes and toiletries into the bag, zipped it up, and patted it down.

This bag, which once contained a Gatling gun, an RPG, and a head worth a hundred million dollars, has now finally returned to its most original and simple function.

Lin Ye walked to the mirror, looked at the clean-cut, handsome young man with clear eyes in the mirror, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Perfect."

"This is what a freshman should be like."

Who would have thought that such an ordinary student, who seemed harmless, would be "Shura," the mercenary king who struck fear into the hearts of countless terrorists on the Middle East battlefield?

Just then, his cracked phone rang.

It was Zhao Jianguo's phone call.

"Mr. Lin! Good morning! Today is your big day of starting school. We've made all the arrangements for you. Should we send a helicopter to pick you up, or use our Hongqi motorcade?" Zhao Jianguo's voice on the other end of the phone was full of ingratiation and flattery.

Lin Ye's face instantly darkened.

"Director Zhao, are you out of your mind?" Lin Ye retorted without hesitation. "Flying a helicopter to university registration? Are you crazy?"