The Surprise Explosion

"Weekly task completed. Reward: Attribute Wheel spin."

"New weekly task released: Upgrade three old phones to new ones. Reward: Attribute Wheel spin. This task can be completed in advance and repeated for multiple rewards. Failure to complete within the Earth week results in a penalty spin on the Negative Wheel."

"Yes!"

Finally, it was time for phone refurbishing. Compared to the sluggish home appliance market, the mobile phone industry still had life. There's plenty of maneuvering room in the used-to-new market segment. At the very least, the profit margin was higher and didn't involve the logistics nightmare of moving large appliances.

The excitement dispelled his fatigue. Just as he was about to enter the Attribute Wheel for a spin, he heard the sound of the shutter door opening. Then came the sound of someone resisting—Zhong Yu from next door:

"I'm still working here and haven't slept yet! You're drunk again, Old Third! This isn't okay!"

Xu Bin looked up toward the glass above the partition. A flushed young man was peeking in, eyes full of disappointment and frustration, before storming off with a hateful expression.

The shutter door closed again. Not long after, the bathroom door opened. Zhong Yu, now in different clothes but without removing her makeup, stepped out. She apologized:

"Still awake? Don't push yourself too hard. You can finish this tomorrow."

By this time, aside from two display models, Xu Bin had already rearranged everything. Those needing new boxes had been reboxed. Zhong Yu didn't notice the changes—just came over to greet him.

Xu Bin smiled. "Almost done."

"Then rest early," she replied.

She was, by city girl standards, the respectable kind.

Xu Bin had this impression based on the grand opening flower basket and her early morning start that day—and now, the way she stopped that guy.

He took a deep breath, swept the floor, turned off the lights, and entered the back room. Except for the pathway and the cot, the rest of the space was filled with refrigerators. Lying down, he spun the Attribute Wheel. Compared to the costly 64GB iPhone 4S repair, the spin excited him more.

"Congratulations, Host! You've won a facial treatment."

Xu Bin paused, then felt a wave of refreshing coolness sweep across his face. Touching his skin, the lingering pimples and stubborn bumps were… gone—or at least much lighter.

He got up and checked the mirror. Sure enough, those chronic skin problems had faded significantly. If he could get a few more treatments like this, his cheeks would soon be smooth and blemish-free.

Touching his face, he felt just one thing: joy.

Women love beauty. Men, too. Who doesn't want to be a handsome guy or a sunny stud? You can't change your bone structure, but skin and body can be cultivated.

Xu Bin didn't think he was handsome, but at least he looked clean—not the kind girls would avoid. Without the pimple issue, dating wouldn't be a problem.

The fatigue of the night melted away. Xu Bin gave up on sleep. Seeing his calorie count was 0/7, he came out and, with coffee milk, ate chunks of chocolate and a sausage. The feeling was nauseating, like he might throw up.

He pulled out the 2,000-yuan iPhone 4S and flipped it in his hand.

"Upgrade old to new."

A shiny, black 64GB iPhone 4S emerged. Only a few flagship stores in big cities still sold these, and the ones outside were mostly 8GB versions. Prices had dropped to around 2,300 or 2,400. No longer luxury items—affordable to most. But for true Apple fans, large capacity was essential. Initially hoping to make just a few hundred yuan, now it felt wrong not to sell it for at least 3,000.

"Ugh…" He burped again.

Placing the phone in the most prominent spot in the display case, driven by excitement and the pre-dawn quiet, he mixed together leftovers from the fridge and upgraded three more phones. Two no-name brands didn't consume all 7 calories; even the Samsung only used 6.

Anyone seeing Xu Bin now would've noticed his eyes practically glowing green. If someone ran into him at midnight, they might be scared stiff. For the Wheel spin, for profit, he pushed himself to the limit—eventually vomiting on the final bite of food.

The newly released weekly task was back to televisions—now eight units. Xu Bin felt like the system was punishing him for being too eager. Was working hard wrong? He thought he understood the system, but he was wrong. The system was the system. Just because phones became upgradeable didn't mean tasks would stay with phones.

Xu Bin didn't expect much from the Wheel spin this time, thinking the system was annoyed. But when the reward came, he almost screamed—from excitement beyond anything he had felt, even more than the previous spins.

Luckily, he covered his mouth in time and didn't wake Zhong Yu. Grinning from ear to ear, he paced the room in silent delight, dancing awkwardly and mouthing the old song "Us ordinary folks are so happy tonight."

"Congratulations, Host! You've gained Full Body Enhancement!"

He didn't notice any obvious muscle gain or physique change, attributing his alertness to excitement. The biggest change? His residual calorie count, left at 1 after upgrading the Samsung phone, jumped to 2.

Everyone fantasizes when moving toward their ideal. After vomiting, he opened a bag of chips and devoured them—not savoring, but stuffing them down. Chips that usually gave him 2 calorie points now brought him up from 2/8 to 6/8.

He upgraded an old automatic washing machine, calorie consumption stayed the same—but input doubled.

Excited? You bet.

This meant no more endless food consumption. If this trend continued, he could eat half as much but do twice the work. Would further enhancements make him eat even less?

All the anxiety and frustration of previous days were wiped out in one night of surprises.

A chance to be handsome. A chance to be rich. A chance to grow tall. A chance to be strong.

Who wouldn't be thrilled?

A new day began. While Zhong Yu next door remained sound asleep from her hangover, Xu Bin had already opened the shop's shutter early. He let the stale air out and welcomed the fresh morning air of the city. Once the parts stores opened, he outfitted the four newly refurbished phones with chargers and earphones, arranging them neatly in the display case. Looking left and right at his small shop, he felt his path forward had never been clearer.

This high energy usage for refurbishing phones—whether a reminder from the system not to forget his roots or just a coincidence—he chose to see it as a message: do as well as you can. With help from the system, if Xu Bin still ended up doing worse than others, how could he face it?

Ji Peng didn't show up late that morning. In a provincial capital like this, if you didn't have some self-discipline and resisted the urge to sleep in, how could you make it? He arrived before 8 AM and told Xu Bin directly:

"I have a delivery before ten, so I can't help too long this morning."

Xu Bin thought for a moment and decided to load up just one refrigerator, two freezers, one automatic washing machine, and three televisions. Since he didn't have many walk-in customers yet, he'd have to take initiative and find his own.

Where were the customers?

They were the old colleagues and repair peers who hadn't been contacted by Li Jiuren or Che Dong—those he'd once met while sourcing parts. Anyone who could remember his face was a potential lead.

With good products in hand, why fear sales? The only issue was price.

Xu Bin had originally planned to spend the morning canvassing the area. But since Ji Peng had things to do, he adjusted his strategy on the fly. With last night's high spirits fueling him, he straightened his back and set off for the store of a senior repairman nearby.

He got straight to the point:

"Take a look. If you want it, great. If not, that's fine too. If you ever need refurbished appliances, come find me."

They were all repairmen. A few twists of a screwdriver was all it took to see that these were practically brand-new. How could they not be impressed?

But these old hands were all scraping by, not making much each month. They didn't stay long and didn't buy anything on the spot. Still, they all said they'd check with family and friends later, and acknowledged the quality of his products.

Xu Bin had three main target stores in mind—parts suppliers. The results? One freezer, one washing machine, and one TV sold. Checking the time, he signaled Ji Peng to head back.

Ji Peng, a bit irritable about being rushed, sped up the truck and dropped everything off at Xu Bin's shop. Xu Bin didn't bother hauling things inside just yet—he let them sit on the doorstep and urged Ji Peng to go on with his day.

"Yo, Shuangquan! You sure are busy these days. Never see you around anymore. Hired a pretty little girl to watch the store, huh? What, your old senior can't even come in for a bit?"

The voice was thick with alcohol and laced with hostility. Xu Bin instinctively frowned.

In his mind, a cold system voice echoed:

"Main Quest Triggered: Heart of Courage

Overcome your fear of senior Che Dong. Speak your mind and do what you want. This quest has only one chance to trigger.

Reward: One random skill upon completion.

Failure: You will permanently remain in Che Dong's psychological shadow.

Note: This is not a termination quest. The reward may be tailored to suit you. Please take this seriously."