Chapter 103
After discovering how fun Fight the Landlord and mahjong were, the whole group happily played all night long.
The next day, when it was barely dawn, Xie Xingchen saw everyone getting more and more excited, so he yawned and shooed them off to bed.
After he’d finally chased everyone away, he stumbled back to his room, eyes half-closed.
He flopped onto the bed and, in a sleepy haze, stuffed the red envelopes he’d received last night under his pillow.
The next second, he was out cold.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already bright daylight.
The courtyard was quiet and still—clearly no one was awake yet—giving Xie Xingchen the perfect excuse to lazily roll around and keep lounging in bed.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he yawned and opened the system interface.
A habit built up over countless days made his first post-wakeup action: open the system game mall and check the daily refresh section.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the items in the daily refresh made Xie Xingchen spring up from the bed.
“Ding-dong. The game mall has stocked a ‘New Year Gift Pack.’ Players, please shop to your heart’s content!”
Ignoring the belated system notification sound, Xie Xingchen’s brain was completely flooded by the price of that New Year Gift Pack.
Fifty billion. This gift pack cost fifty billion?!
He was stunned.
Because a “gift pack” like this was supposed to be a welfare bundle—basically the system slashing the original price to the bone.
But now, even after the so-called discount, it still cost fifty billion?
Compared to believing the system was offering a ridiculous bargain, Xie Xingchen would rather believe the system was selling at full price this time.
He tapped “New Year Gift Pack.” It only showed “Item 1,” “Item 2,” “Item 3.”
He tapped “Item 1,” and a prompt popped up:
“Ding-dong. Welcome to purchasing the New Year Gift Pack. After purchase, you may view the pack details.”
Xie Xingchen: ?
System, come out here. I swear I won’t beat you up.
It’s the New Year, and you’re pulling this non-transparent shopping nonsense?
Fifty billion! That’s not pocket change!
Xie Xingchen was furious.
He’d already spent a ton of money on road infrastructure earlier. He’d finally recovered a bit thanks to the New Year shopping event… and now the system drops a fifty-billion “New Year Gift Pack”?
This was basically a direct attempt to squeeze his wallet dry!
With dead eyes, he said, “Xiao Mo, if you want me to buy this, at least let me see what’s inside.”
“System: Friendly reminder—items contained in the New Year Gift Pack are extremely rare. The system recommends purchasing as soon as possible, or you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
Xie Xingchen immediately perked up. Half-believing, half-doubting, he asked, “Really? You’re not lying to me?”
“System: The system never lies!”
He opened his StarNet account page and looked at his balance. Then, with a very gentle hand, he tapped those three unknown items.
Thinking about the system’s “regret for the rest of your life” warning, he finally decided to go for it.
In an instant, the once-stacked balance that took time to count turned into a number you could take in at a glance.
At the same time, Xie Xingchen received the New Year Gift Pack.
With the New Year’s Day pack as precedent, he placed enormous hope in this one—praying it would contain something amazing!
If it could give him a whole bag of full-collection seeds, that would be perfect!
That fantasy was so beautiful it made the corners of his mouth lift, and if you looked closely, you might even see something sparkling at the edge of his eyes.
Well, it couldn’t be helped—after all, Feifei seemed to be “getting ready for the New Year” too.
Because of that, his good buddy hadn’t gone on any long trips in ages.
Sure, the bunny’s short trips brought back decent stuff, but it wasn’t related to any tasks.
Xie Xingchen rubbed his hands together, checked the time, and deliberately chose an exact o’clock moment—hoping superstition would bless him with good luck and he’d pull an unbelievably exciting haul from the pack.
“Ding-dong. Congratulations, player. New Year Gift Pack opened. Contents: Stealth Barrier x1, Life Potion x1, Planetary Shield x1.”
“Stealth Barrier: A small 100 x 100 x 100 stealth protection field. Comes with a special ‘You can’t see me’ concealment effect and has some impact resistance. The best companion for guarding you in dangerous regions.”
“Life Potion: As you can see, a magical life potion! It can heal any living creature. As long as there’s still one breath left, even someone at death’s door can become lively and full of energy again! (So if you love them, gift them a Life Potion!)”
“Planetary Shield: Currently the Star Alliance’s most powerful tech product. Only applicable to independent medium-sized planets and above. Once installed, it protects the planet from the effects of war! (P.S. It can withstand up to three hits from super-large planetary attack weapons.)”
The more he read, the wider Xie Xingchen’s mouth fell open.
If the New Year’s Day pack had been the system “slashing prices,” then this New Year pack was basically the system doing charity work!
These three items—forget fifty billion together. Each one individually was worth far more than fifty billion. If he sold any single one, five hundred billion would be easy.
Was the system really this generous?
For the first time, Xie Xingchen was truly shocked by the system’s huge move.
It took him ages to find his voice again.
He said, deeply moved, “Xiao Mo, you’re my good friend. You really are my good friend!”
Forget shameless flattery—if the system gave him another big gift pack, he could be even more shameless.
Faced with Xie Xingchen’s nonstop sweet-talking, the system chose to respond with icy silence.
Did Xie Xingchen care?
Not even a little.
His Xiao Mo was just… slightly bad at social interaction, that’s all.
How could anyone demand a system to be good at socializing?
So if the system had no social skills, that wasn’t its fault—clearly the creator’s ability was the problem.
System creator: ? Seriously, thank you so much?
Xie Xingchen jumped around in excitement—hopping here, bouncing there. He’d only just woken up, but he managed to look like he’d already been exercising for ages, his cheeks flushed and his clothes damp with sweat.
But before he could celebrate for long, the next second, an icy bucket of water poured straight over his head.
[Ding-dong. Detection complete: the player already possesses a large planetary shield. Therefore, the system will reclaim the system-provided planetary protection service within ten minutes. Please confirm whether to replace the shield. [Yes] [No]]
Xie Xingchen: ?
Didn’t he just praise the system a bunch? And now the system turns around and demands he replace the planetary protection barrier?
His heart hurt.
He struggled. “Xiao Mo… can I keep using yours for now?”
The system barrier was ridiculously convenient!
He hadn’t studied it closely, but it had clearly blocked multiple waves of “stowaways,” and most importantly—
It didn’t cost money!
Free and effective—where else could he find that? He didn’t want to replace it.
However—
The system refused with cold indifference.
He tried every argument. He talked until his throat was dry. The system didn’t make a sound. Xie Xingchen felt miserable. No matter how reluctant he was, he could only choose to replace it in the end.
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, player. Planetary shield successfully replaced. Wishing you a happy game.]
Xie Xingchen: On the New Year you pull this? I’m not happy at all. I honestly feel like crying.
Was the planetary shield good?
He could confidently say: extremely.
Did it have strong defense features?
Also yes.
So why didn’t he want to replace it?
Simple: money.
There wasn’t any war here right now, and he hadn’t offended anyone to the point that they’d use planet-level super weapons.
So the system-provided barrier was already enough.
But once he installed the planetary shield, even if he only enabled some minor “monitoring and protection” functions, the daily energy stone consumption would still make ordinary people wince—let alone the long-term cost, which would make Xie Xingchen wince too.
But what was done was done.
On the first day of the New Year, Xie Xingchen got both a jackpot and a heart attack.
Losing a huge chunk of money on day one even made him feel like the God of Wealth was warning him: his money bag might have holes this year.
Xie Xingchen, exhausted: Seriously… thanks a lot.
He was so heartbroken he wanted to do nothing—just crawl back into bed and sleep to avoid reality.
But because he’d been sweating from all that excitement, he had to shower first.
He returned in a bathrobe and straightened the crooked pillow on the bed.
That movement exposed the red envelope hidden underneath.
The bright red envelope looked especially obvious against his pale-blue bedsheets.
From its ugly shape alone, you could tell how bad the maker’s crafting skills were.
And yet the glue paste along all the seams and edges was actually done quite well—Xie Xingchen couldn’t find any overflow no matter how he looked.
How to describe it?
A weird mix of refinement and roughness.
It was an odd style, but also extremely… Ludwig.
Xie Xingchen picked up the red envelope, intending to put it away.
This was the first red envelope he’d received since arriving here, and it was also a New Year blessing from his best friend in this world. So even if it was just one energy coin Ludwig had “re-gifted” from the envelope Xie Xingchen gave him, Xie Xingchen still believed it had to be the most special one.
But the moment he picked it up—without last night’s New Year’s Eve excitement filter—he suddenly noticed the size of what was inside didn’t match an energy coin.
“Did Ludwig put something else in here?” he murmured, puzzled.
He squeezed it again. Still couldn’t guess. So he opened it.
“This…”
Xie Xingchen’s eyes widened as he pulled out a glittering gold coin.
It was a beautifully made coin with a mechanical gear design. It was about half again as large as an energy coin, and the craftsmanship was meticulous and elegant.
Just from appearance alone, he could tell it was a collectible commemorative coin.
Unable to resist, he opened his light-brain and aimed the camera at the coin to search it.
When the StarNet encyclopedia entry popped up, Xie Xingchen suddenly felt the coin burning hot in his hand.
This was the first set of commemorative gold coins issued after the mechanical civilization was founded. Ten coins per set. Limited mintage. Extremely expensive. Made of gold plus a special mechanical-civilization metal. This particular gear coin could only be obtained as part of the full set. The most recent auction price: three million Star Coins per coin—rare and practically unobtainable.
“Should I give it back to Ludwig…?” Xie Xingchen muttered, his head starting to ache.
Returning it felt wrong—but not returning it also felt wrong.
His hesitation wasn’t because of the three million price tag, but because of what it represented.
Limited, out-of-print, and part of the first commemorative set issued after the mechanical civilization’s founding.
Even without Ludwig explaining, Xie Xingchen could guess this coin had huge sentimental value to him—maybe even a gift from Ludwig’s father, the legendary “Lord Aelsop.”
And yes—he’d guessed correctly.
It really was a gift from Ludwig’s father.
And now Ludwig had given Xie Xingchen the one he liked most.
Xie Xingchen lay on the bed struggling with it for a long time.
Then… while struggling… he fell asleep.
When he woke again, the courtyard was filled with a child’s bouncing laughter, along with Ludwig’s low, rational voice gently lecturing.
Xie Xingchen fell asleep thinking about Ludwig, and woke up still hearing Ludwig—so after rolling around twice, he finally decided: forget it. If Ludwig gave it to him, he would treasure it properly.
He carefully picked up the coin—he’d been gripping it tightly before sleeping, but it had fallen onto the bed—and wrapped it in velvet cloth, placed it into a molded clay box, and then locked it in a safe.
Only after confirming it was secure did he go outside.
Ludwig turned his head sharply. He hadn’t expected to see someone with a messy little tuft of hair sticking up in every direction—strangely adorable. When Xie Xingchen wasn’t looking, Ludwig’s gaze softened.
Ludwig walked over naturally. “Xingchen, you’re up?”
Wearing new clothes, Xie Xingchen looked even more handsome. His warm brown coat made him look like his whole body temperature had risen.
Xie Xingchen lifted his eyes as he walked out, smiling.
Seeing Ludwig reminded him of the commemorative coin.
Even though he’d decided to accept it, he still found a chance to poke Ludwig’s arm and ask quietly, “Ludwig… you really meant to give me that commemorative coin?”
If it were anything else, he wouldn’t ask—friends don’t nitpick like that.
But this coin was different.
His intuition screamed that it was extremely important to Ludwig. So even if there was only a one-in-a-million chance Ludwig had accidentally put it in, Xie Xingchen had to mention it.
Hearing that, Ludwig lowered his gaze.
He didn’t explain. He only asked, “Do you like it?”
Xie Xingchen: “……”
Xie Xingchen looked at him helplessly and complained, “Who asks like that?”
But from that exchange, he knew for sure: Ludwig had personally put the coin inside as a New Year’s gift.
Not getting an answer, Ludwig asked again, “You like it?”
Xie Xingchen sighed and nodded honestly. “I like it. But I feel like it must be really important to you.”
Ludwig didn’t explain further.
He reached out and—like Xie Xingchen often did to Randy—rubbed Xie Xingchen’s head. “If you like it, that’s enough. The rest isn’t important.”
No wonder Xingchen liked ruffling Randy’s hair so much. It actually felt pretty nice.
After rubbing Xie Xingchen’s hair into a total mess, Ludwig thought that to himself.
But when he saw Xie Xingchen blinking at him with that wildly chaotic hairstyle, Ludwig suddenly felt guilty.
He lifted his hand and used his fingers like a comb, gently smoothing Xie Xingchen’s hair.
The warm pads of his fingers against the scalp felt soft and soothing—like a head massage that could make you melt.
Both of them quietly enjoyed the rare calm and comfort.
Until little Randy hopped over, crouched in front of them, and stared up curiously—only then did they reluctantly end the “scalp massage.”
Xie Xingchen picked the little curiosity up and affectionately flicked the child’s tall nose. “Randy, happy New Year! Why are you up so early today?”
They’d only been sent to bed at five in the morning, and now it was eleven. That was only six hours of sleep.
Kids usually needed eight to ten hours, or they’d get cranky.
Randy, used to being carried, wrapped his chubby little arms around Xie Xingchen’s neck.
He rubbed his soft cheek against Xie Xingchen’s cheek and said in a sweet baby voice, “Brother… kitty cats… watch kitty cats.”
Starting the New Year by watching cats?
Thinking about the money he’d just been “scammed” out of, and then thinking about lucky cats, Xie Xingchen nodded immediately. “Okay. But wait a bit. Let me make some cat food first, then I’ll go with you.”
He still didn’t know how those palace cats had survived in an empty Chang’an City before, but now that he knew they existed, he couldn’t just leave them to fend for themselves.
So yes—Xie Xingchen was now a wild, self-appointed cat servant.
Randy tilted his head, confused, then pointed accurately at Xie Xingchen’s space button. “In there… still dried fish… okay?”
He meant the dried fish Xie Xingchen made yesterday. The leftovers had been stored in the space button.
Xie Xingchen bounced Randy lightly and laughed. “Did Randy forget it’s New Year? On New Year, we eat tasty food—so the kitty cats should get something tasty too.”
Randy’s mouth fell open in delight. “Wow, New Year is so good! Even kitty cats can eat yummy food!”
As he spoke, he kicked his short little legs happily, his pretty face full of joy.
Xie Xingchen agreed and then asked, “I’m going to make cat food. Do you want to come help me, or play in the yard?”
Without thinking, Randy said, “Go with Brother Xingchen. Make food for kitty cats.”
So Xie Xingchen took him into the kitchen.
Ever since he learned Ludwig’s group would stay for the holiday, he’d stocked up on food, so the kitchen had everything.
Boiled chicken breast, egg yolk fish rice, organ-based nutrition meals—cat favorites.
They were simple enough that anyone who could cook could do it, and for Xie Xingchen it was effortless.
But to let the kid participate, he assigned Randy some tasks: after boiling the chicken breast, he fished it out and handed it to Randy to tear into small shreds. Then he had Randy help mash egg yolks and mix them with fish and rice…
By the time they were satisfied, they’d successfully made three kinds of cat food.
They hopped onto hoverboards and, before lunch, Xie Xingchen and Ludwig took the child to the palace wall again.
The sudden movement startled the cats inside the holes, making them shrink back.
But once they saw the familiar two-legged creatures, the cats peeked out again.
They placed clean bowls facing the cat holes and carefully portioned out cat food into each bowl.
The delicious smell made all the cats still hiding in the holes come running out. They wound around their legs, dragging out long “meooow~” sounds.
The sweet voices and eager eating made both cat-food chefs laugh happily.
When the cats were mostly done, Xie Xingchen handed the bag of dried fish to Randy and let him distribute it.
Cute little Randy walked around like a tiny serious adult, his pale face set in a solemn expression as he handed out dried fish one by one—carefully, strictly, and fairly.
The little “grown-up” vibe was so adorable that Xie Xingchen couldn’t stop taking photos of him with the cats.
Half an hour later, Xie Xingchen and Randy finally said goodbye to the cats—reluctantly.
When they returned to the Xie Residence, it was right on time for lunch.
After a luxurious lunch, Aier and the others—who still hadn’t gotten enough of last night’s all-nighter—started another round!
Those playing Fight the Landlord played Fight the Landlord; those playing mahjong played mahjong.
But this time, their punishment wasn’t sticking paper strips on faces—it became drinking “special mixed drinks.”
Yes. Special mixed drinks. This was Xie Xingchen’s secret idea.
They set out a bunch of nutrition fluids, energy drinks, juices, seasonings, and so on, letting everyone choose freely.
Before the game, each person picked one item and poured it into an empty cup. After a round, the winner added another ingredient. In the end, the loser had to drink the entire cup of “special mix” made of multiple bizarre ingredients.
Xie Xingchen had seen this in variety shows before. The feeling was unbelievably brutal—just watching made your scalp tingle. But if you weren’t participating and were only there for the spectacle… that was a different story.
After all, people love drama. To make the “lesson” deeper, Xie Xingchen even supplied extremely sour freshly squeezed lemon juice.
As expected, anyone who drank a lemon-based mixture immediately had their facial features flying in all directions. After swallowing, it was like they were one step away from tears.
Then Xie Xingchen provided freshly squeezed bitter melon juice (brought back recently by Feifei), and also chili powder so spicy it felt murderous.
His “crime technique” was getting more and more practiced—and the number of “victims” kept rising.
In the end, Xie Xingchen offended the whole room and got dragged to the mahjong table.
Unfortunately for everyone else, the four-player table included: a Ludwig sitting upwind who kept feeding him tiles, a partner across from him who played terribly (Aier), plus Xie Xingchen’s absurd luck.
From the moment he sat down, he never lost. He got so many chances to mix drinks that he almost felt embarrassed!
After three rounds, everyone except Ludwig had tasted consequences to some degree.
All Xie Xingchen could say was: today, while he taught them how to be human, he also taught them two truths.
First: sometimes luck really can beat calculation.
Second: the most terrifying enemy often hides among your own people.
At that moment, the bodyguards looked at Ludwig like he was a traitor.
If their boss had gone even slightly easier on them, they could’ve made Boss Xie drink the “delicious” special mix!
But no—there was no “if.”
Their boss simply refused to lift a hand and spare them.
So they weren’t just fighting Boss Xie’s luck—they also had to fight their own boss’s calculation speed and memory.
Who the hell can beat Lord Aelsop?!
And so, Xie Xingchen was “ruthlessly” kicked off the table. Everyone declared they were not willing to play with him anymore.
Xie Xingchen was perfectly happy with that.
Watching other people play was more fun than playing yourself.
After all, this was free “variety show” entertainment!
Not watching would be a waste.
Watching was definitely worth it.
So both sides ended up satisfied.
Especially Xie Xingchen—he even brought out creamy milk-flavored sunflower seeds, fluttered around like a social butterfly, and later dragged Randy along too, peeking here and watching there.
Whenever a loser drank a miserable special mix, Xie Xingchen laughed loudly—and the kid giggled right along with him.
Xie Xingchen: Ah, what a pity. If only they could appear on stream without face-masking, I could turn this whole bunch of comedy geniuses into instant internet-famous funny men and women!
Somebody sneezed. Then someone else. People scratched their heads in confusion.
“Can mechanical lifeforms catch colds?”
“Probably not?”
“Then why are we sneezing?”
“No idea.”
“…”
“Are we watching fireworks again tonight?”
“That one you have to ask Boss Xie.”
“…”
Everyone: “Boss Xie, are there fireworks tonight too?”
Xie Xingchen: “……”
Xie Xingchen: Speaking of which—here’s the real question.
System, where’s my New Year fireworks gift pack?
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