Ever since he had slightly gained the upper hand in the last meeting and thrown his colleagues a small "act of grace" by treating them to coffee, Li Banjia felt his days in the office had become just a sliver smoother. At least Zhao Dezhu had stopped giving him a hard time, Wang Mengmeng looked at him with an increasingly "adoring" gaze, and even a seasoned slacker like Liu Ming seemed to greet him with an extra touch of (perhaps illusory) politeness.
However, this subtle rise in his workplace status did little to directly improve the embarrassing state of his bank account balance. The emperor's majestic aura still lingered in his ears, but the harsh reality of his bills had already slapped him in the face.
That noon, as Li Banjia was walking to the convenience store downstairs to buy his "luxurious lunch" (a pack of instant noodles and a sausage), his pocket phone suddenly buzzed at a most inopportune moment.
He pulled it out, assuming it was yet another app pushing junk advertisements. But when he looked closer, the push notification icon at the very top of the notification bar was unmistakably that familiar yet speechless... pixelated eunuch avatar!
[System Prompt: To facilitate Your Majesty's handling of state affairs at any time, mobile access has been enabled. Please make good use of it, Your Majesty.]
Li Banjia: "???"
He almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Swiping to unlock the screen, he tapped the notification with slightly trembling fingers. A flash of (cheap) light washed over the screen, and it directly jumped to the login of the Nine-Five Supreme Simulator... No, this thing didn't require logging in at all; it went straight to the main interface!
What terrified him even more was that on the very last page of his phone's app list, a lonely, pixelated eunuch app icon had indeed appeared!
"What the hell!" Li Banjia almost formatted his phone on the spot. "Automatic installation? Background permissions? This system is a virus! It's definitely a new type of highly intelligent disguised virus! And 'facilitate Your Majesty's handling of state affairs'? I'll handle your head!"
He opened the app with a mixture of dread and suspicion. The interface was identical to the PC version, and the scrolling fluidity... well, it fit its shoddy positioning. He tapped on [Personal Info]; the stats were unchanged, and the 30 taels (RMB) in the [Imperial Treasury] were quietly resting there.
"Fine..." Li Banjia was too exhausted to complain. "Now I can use my bathroom breaks for 'diligent governance'. Thanks a lot, system."
While silently grumbling, he habitually opened the mobile banking app beside it, hoping to see if his salary had been deposited. His salary hadn't arrived, but a stark red repayment reminder jumped into view—[Respected customer, the final repayment date for your XX credit card is XX, with a minimum payment of XXX yuan].
Looking at that minimum payment amount and comparing it to the pathetic balance in his bank card, the tiny spark of novelty that Li Banjia had felt from the system's "upgrade" instantly vanished into thin air.
"Sigh, I must be the only emperor in history and the present without any money to spend," he thought, waves of grief washing over him. He casually opened the system app again, and seeing the "enormous fortune" of 30 taels in the [Imperial Treasury] only made his heart ache more.
Just then, the system interface on the phone screen suddenly let out a "Clang—!" of its own accord, startling Li Banjia.
[Detected that Your Majesty's imperial health is sound, yet the Imperial Treasury is empty, which threatens to shake the foundations of the state and lacks the bearing of an emperor.]
[New quest triggered: [Imperial Treasury Enrichment Plan] (Junior).]
[Quest objective: Within three days, increase the balance of the [Imperial Treasury] by at least 100 taels (excluding direct system rewards).]
[Quest reward: [Imperial Treasury Silver] x50, unlock the life skill [Meticulous Calculation] Lv.1.]
[Hint: Open-source and cost-cutting is the proper way to run a household (state).]
The quest popped up right on his phone screen!
Li Banjia looked at the quest objective, and his blood pressure shot straight up.
"Three days! One hundred bucks! And that doesn't even count your reward? System, do you think making that hundred bucks yesterday was too easy for me?!"
He finally understood the anxiety ancient emperors faced when confronted with an empty treasury, except that while they worried about military pay and disaster relief funds, he was stressing over next month's rent and credit card bills.
"Open-source... cost-cutting..." Li Banjia stared at the prompts on his phone screen. Cost-cutting? Looking at his standard lunch (instant noodles and a sausage), was there any room left to cut? Cut any further and he'd have to survive on photosynthesis.
It seemed he still had to focus on open-source.
Drawing on his previous experience, he familiarly opened his mobile browser and began searching across several freelance platforms. Thanks to his 6 points of [Intellect] and the convenience of mobile operation, his speed in filtering information was much faster.
During his lunch break, while gnawing on instant noodles, he swiped through his phone.
"Hmm... writing product reviews for pets, 50 yuan, sounds doable, but I've never kept a pet..."
"Gaming booster... my clumsy hands say goodbye."
"Ha! This one! 'Write promotional copy and Moments posts for a newly opened local milk tea shop.' Requires a trendy internet vibe and down-to-earth appeal, reward 120 yuan, delivery within two days!"
This was good! Milk tea, the essential lifeline of young people! Though Li Banjia couldn't afford expensive ones, he had certainly read plenty of posts on his WeChat Moments!
He quickly accepted the task and added the shop owner on WeChat. Using his afternoon slacking time and the evening after returning home, Li Banjia fully unleashed his increasingly clear train of thought (bolstered by the system) and his (passive) understanding of internet memes, quickly churning out a set of proposals.
"Life-saving water for working stiffs, XX milk tea brings your soul back to life!"
"Glug glug glug! Down goes this sip, and all your worries and sorrows vanish!"
"The nine-square-grid Moments photo layout is ready, leaving center stage for XX's divine new creation!"
After sending the copy over, the milk tea shop owner replied quickly with a "nice!" sticker, immediately followed by a 120-yuan red envelope transfer.
[XXPay received: 120.00 yuan.]
Almost simultaneously, the system prompt tone rang out on his phone.
"Clang—!"
[[Imperial Treasury Enrichment Plan] (Junior) quest completed! Rating: Good (resourceful, decent efficiency).]
[Quest reward: [Imperial Treasury Silver] x50, life skill [Meticulous Calculation] Lv.1 unlocked.]
Li Banjia quickly opened the system app to check.
The [Imperial Treasury] balance changed from 30 to 80 (including the 50 taels awarded by the system).
In the skills column, a new skill appeared: [Meticulous Calculation] Lv.1 (Effect: Slightly improves resource planning and cost control capabilities).
Looking at the red envelope from the milk tea shop owner in WeChat, then looking at the increased "silver" and the new skill in the system, Li Banjia let out a long breath of relief.
Although the process was still full of the bitterness of being a wage slave—a dignified host of the "Nine-Five Supreme Simulator" actually having to write milk tea commercials to fill the "Imperial Treasury"—this feeling was indeed much more grounded than before.
Moreover, the mobile version of the system was truly convenient to use.
"Very well," Li Banjia put away his phone, a smile he didn't even realize was there curling at the corner of his mouth. "My 'mobile Imperial Treasury' finally has some foundation. Next, it's time to consider matters of the 'imperial court'..."