Tokyo Video Game Tycoon.

Oda was overjoyed to have lent his father another life.

However, Tian Chong didn't have much time to play before he lost his life again.

Oda Oki: ...

Dad, look at my eyes, do you want another thousand yen?

"Again!" Tian Chong gritted his teeth and pulled out another thousand-yuan bill.

Oda Oki laughed even more heartily.

He was now thinking that if he had two more lives, he could buy another game cartridge tomorrow. He'd heard that Dragon Quest was super fun.

If we do this a few more times, we might be able to buy the Bomber Man!

How do I beat the fourth level of Chapter 46?

Who am I? Where am I? What time is it?

Tian Chong never imagined that he would be able to play that game with the child until one o'clock in the morning.

Then, when he arrived at the newspaper office the next day, he was in a daze.

Sigh, as I get older, even a little lack of sleep makes me feel unwell all over.

Tian Chong rubbed his temples at his workstation, his mind completely unrelated to work, but rather focused on how to defeat the final boss of the fourth level of Contra.

Just then, a person walked over, wearing a name tag that read "Editor-in-Chief".

He looked at Tian Chong, who was rubbing his temples, and said, "Tian Chong, it's your turn to write the lifestyle section today. Remember to submit your draft on time, or I won't let you off the hook."

Tian Chong opened his eyes, looking slightly tired: "I understand. I'll definitely submit the manuscript before I leave work."

"Hey? You don't look too well. Did you do something naughty last night?"

The editor-in-chief suddenly chuckled mischievously.

"Sigh, at this age, what bad things could he possibly do?"

"Don't worry, I won't tell your wife. Tell me, is it Ginza?"

"If you say that again, I won't submit the manuscript."

The editor-in-chief's face darkened: "Fine, don't tell me then." With that, he left to urge the other editors to submit their manuscripts.

Hmm, the fourth challenge should be... no, I should think about how to write today's news content.

Tian Chong casually picked up some manuscripts that he had just placed on his desk.

Those were articles by reporters from the morning paper and some contributors.

He only needs to find a decent-looking article or news item, polish it a bit, and then submit it.

Yes, we should be more careful with the final boss in the fourth level, and this is how we should fight him.

At this moment, Tian Chong's mind involuntarily began to recall the end of the fourth level, which he couldn't get past no matter what.

He and his child struggled for a long time but couldn't get past this hurdle.

My child said that it seems many people also get stuck here, finding it very difficult.

Wait, what am I thinking? I should be working!

Tian Chong shook his head vigorously, trying to get the Contra out of his mind.

However, it wouldn't be long before these thoughts would resurface, making it difficult for him to concentrate on reading the manuscripts.

Part of the reason is that these manuscripts are just incredibly boring.

They are all ordinary, everyday things.

Can't these incompetent contracted writers write something original? They can write about the same topic for months on end. They don't know what the readers think, but they're already sick of it.

And these idiot reporters, why do you always investigate those boring street news stories? Where supermarkets have raised prices, where trams are so crowded they've stopped running—can't you get some interesting news? For example, this FC-type home entertainment computer would be much better.

This thing is closely related to family and life. With this, I can play with my son for a long time without getting tired of it. I'll write a little about how I used this thing to rekindle and warm up my relationship with my son after it cooled down. Isn't that great?

What a bunch of idiots, they've wasted their royalties and salaries on dogs.

Speaking of which, the fourth level...

Hey?

and many more.

Tian Chong blinked.

Home entertainment computer!

He suddenly remembered something, and a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.

This... should be considered news, right? It should be considered something new, right?

Although it doesn't seem to fit into real life very well.

But recently the editor-in-chief has asked for more fresh content, as newspaper sales have been down and people say the content is outdated and makes them sleepy.

This news is just in time.

With this in mind, Tian Chong immediately turned on his computer with great interest.

Since neither reporters nor contracted writers are reliable, I'll just have to do it myself!

Tian Chong started typing frantically on the computer.

An hour later, a fresh and hot article was published.

The review and revision were completed in one go, without wasting much time.

He quickly marked the file and uploaded it.

Whew!

Today's work went exceptionally smoothly!

I rarely feel this exhilarated.

When he described playing with his children, his words were almost entirely heartfelt and full of the warmth of everyday life.

He didn't even make many changes.

Oh right, the fourth level should be...

……

Meanwhile, in Aya Tsukino's home, it remained as dark as ever, with only the server's signal light occasionally flashing.

Aya Tsukino stared at the online forum with dark circles under her eyes, resembling smoky makeup.

Did anyone buy a game console yesterday?

"Hehe, of course I bought it. I queued for more than four hours."

"Those people in front of me in line are despicable. They lined up days in advance. I should have done the same."

"How's it going? How's it playing at home? My game console won't arrive for another three days."

"Hehe, let me tell you, it's absolutely awesome! You can be completely unrestrained. You can play in bed whenever you want. Playing at home is pure freedom, and there are no time restrictions or anyone rushing you."

"Hey, it seems you're single and not being pressured by anyone. I'm so envious of you. Last night when I was playing, I kept having to fight with my kid for the controller. He insisted on playing Super Mario, but I wanted to play Dragon Quest."

"I suggest you buy another one."

Seeing so much discussion about game consoles, Aya Tsukino couldn't help but feel envious.

She still had to wait two more days, and those two days were agonizing.

However, at that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Hello, this is a home delivery service, there is a package for you."

When Tsukino Aya, who was initially feeling down, heard the word "delivery," she immediately jumped up from her chair, then lost her footing and slipped, falling heavily to the ground with a thud.

"pain……"

Aya Tsukino covered her forehead, but got up quite quickly.

She quickly went to the doorway and looked outside through the peephole.

At that moment, a deliveryman in red was holding a package and waiting for the door to open.

"Hello? You have a package. Payment is required. It will cost 31,000 yen in total." The deliveryman vaguely heard someone approaching the door, but wondered why he didn't open it immediately.

Just then, the deliveryman vaguely heard a rustling sound under his feet.

He looked down in confusion and saw four 10,000-yuan bills slipped out from under the door.

"Hello, please leave your package and change at the door."

The deliveryman was a little puzzled. This family was strange; they even wanted to slip money through the crack in the door. But since it was their request, he had no choice but to comply.

So he took out some change from his pocket and placed it at the doorway along with the package.

"Then I'll be going. Thank you for your patronage."

He still has a lot of packages to deliver today. The number of packages in the last two days has been unusually high, about twice as many as usual, and they are all from the same company, seemingly some kind of new product.

After the deliveryman left, Tsukino Aya carefully opened the door and stretched out a snow-white arm to pull the package inside with lightning speed.

She accidentally flung out a few hundred-yuan coins, but she couldn't be bothered to care.

bang bang.

Aya Tsukino suddenly felt her heart pounding.

Finally, I can play the complete Dragon Quest game.

She's going to play until the world ends!

I quickly carried the package to the living room, then opened it. Inside was the game console's box, along with several elegantly packaged cartridge boxes containing several launch titles.

Not all games are to Aya Tsukino's liking, but her obsessive-compulsive disorder compels her to buy them all.

If I don't buy them all, it feels like something's missing.

This kind of thing is usually referred to as obsessive-compulsive disorder later on.