Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Su Xiaoqiang: I received a text message from the bank, 2000 yuan. Tell me how to buy it.

路明非：你先在8月4号，买一个叫孙一峰（F91）的选手赢，然后在8月5号买他输。

Su Xiaoqiang: Betting on losing? Isn't it only possible to bet on winning?

Lu Mingfei: Stupid, if you bet on Sun Yifeng (F91) to win, isn't that the same as betting on him to lose?

Su Xiaoqiang: ...

Su Xiaoqiang: You're the stupid one, your whole family is stupid! Pah!

After Su Xiaoqiang replied to this sentence, Rin Tohsaka's profile picture went gray, seemingly because she was angry with Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei didn't expect Su Xiaoqiang to get angry so easily. He felt that in his past life, when they argued, she was much more sarcastic and defensive than she is now.

I don't know if the little fairy has really gone offline or gone into hiding, but anyway, I should apologize to her first.

After all, she had done him such a big favor; he couldn't afford to offend the God of Wealth.

Even if she really goes offline, she can see her apology as soon as she comes back online.

Lu Mingfei: I didn't really mean to say you're stupid, it's just my habit. If it made you feel uncomfortable, then I'm sorry.

There was no reply, and Su Xiaoqiang's profile picture was still gray, so he was probably really offline.

……

A little later, on the top floor of the Black Prince Hotel in the capital, Su Enxi's phone rang.

While enjoying a massage, she heard the phone ring. Somewhat impatiently, she lifted her head out of the hole in the massage bed and took the phone from Lily's hand.

Turning my head, I saw a number etched into my DNA, and suddenly froze, immediately answering the call.

"Hello, boss."

A voice, both strange and familiar, rang out on the other end of the phone: "Long time no see, potato chips."

"It's been a long time since we last met, boss." Su Enxi held the phone tightly to her ear, focusing her attention. "Is there a task you need to assign me?"

"No, it's just that I saw you've been working so hard lately, so I came to give you a bonus."

"Give out bonuses?"

Su Enxi pursed her lips on the other end of the phone, thinking to herself, "How long have I been managing the finances of this whole family? Do you think I don't know your tricks? You're already being lenient by not taking large sums of money from me, and you're even giving me bonuses."

However, while I might complain in my heart, I still had to offer some compliments verbally.

"Thank you for your concern, boss. It's only right that I work so hard for our company. There's no need to give me a bonus or anything... So, which card will you deposit my bonus into?"

"Not cash. I'll teach you how to place a bet on the game."

"Bet on the game?"

"Yes, on August 5th, at the WCG China Regional Finals, you should bet on a player named Sun Yifeng to lose."

Su Enxi was taken aback: "Bet on losing? What kind of tactic is this?"

“You don’t need to ask,” the boss said. “Just know that he will definitely lose.”

"Good boss."

Su Enxi knew that her boss rarely did anything without being sure of it. Since her boss had spoken so confidently, what else was there for her to do? Of course, she would carry out her boss's orders without question.

"Oh, and remember to buy it overseas, not Hong Kong sports lottery tickets," the shopkeeper instructed.

"Why?" Su Enxi asked.

"I'm afraid you'll lower the odds for Hong Kong sports betting."

……

Sun Yifeng, the famous StarCraft player known as the Zerg King of China, was still working hard to prepare for the upcoming WCG China Regional Finals, completely unaware that two mysterious Eastern forces had quietly foreshadowed his fate with heavy bets.

……

August 4th, the first day of the WCG China Regional Finals.

The day before the competition, Lu Mingfei finally made up his mind to borrow the 1000 yuan from Liu Miaomiao.

Liu Miaomiao wasn't in the city either; it seemed she had gone out with her parents on some business.

However, it was simpler than he had expected. Just like his senior brother, Liu Miaomiao lent him the money without asking what he wanted to do with it, and transferred the 1000 yuan to him directly through a bank transfer.

He had prepared a rather lame excuse to deal with Liu Miaomiao. But since he didn't need it, that was even better.

That day, Lu Mingfei went to Xinyu Internet Cafe early, turned on a computer, and watched the WCG live stream all day long.

His old laptop and the slow internet speed from the slow-moving wired connection at home were completely insufficient for him to watch live sports broadcasts.

Although he clearly remembered the outcome of the project in his previous life, he was also afraid that his return might cause a butterfly effect and change the original timeline.

Today, four games are being held simultaneously: Warcraft III, StarCraft, Counter-Strike, and FIFA Soccer.

However, since Lu Mingfei only bet on StarCraft, he didn't pay much attention to the other three games, and his computer was always on the live stream of Sun Yifeng (F91)'s match.

Sun Yifeng's opponent was Sha Junchun (PJ), a well-known StarCraft player in China. Sun Yifeng played his best Zerg champion in this match. The two were evenly matched in the early game, with Sha Junchun even gaining an advantage in the early to mid-game.

Judging from the situation on the field, it's hard to imagine that Sha Junchun would lose this match.

However, seeing the current situation, Lu Mingfei was relieved, because the course of this match was exactly the same as he remembered.

As a StarCraft Zerg expert, Lu Mingfei has naturally watched this classic battle countless times.

Knowing that the game was entering its later stages of offense and defense, Sha Junchun would suddenly fall ill and make several fatal mistakes in a row, ultimately losing the game in a shocking upset.

As expected, just as Lu Mingfei remembered, Sha Junchun made a mistake on a crucial move, which Sun Yifeng seized to regain control of the game.

Perhaps due to anxiety, Sha Junchun made several more basic mistakes after this initial setback.

He ultimately conceded victory to his opponent and was relegated to the loser's bracket. This was the first time he had fallen into the loser's bracket since participating in the WCG.

Although Sha Junchun was surprisingly defeated by Sun Yifeng, Lu Mingfei also knew that this was actually Sun Yifeng's only win in this competition.

In the next two competitions, Sun Yifeng suffered a crushing defeat, ultimately finishing fourth and missing out on the World Championships.

Lu Mingfei closed the webpage and stretched contentedly.

Before the match, he checked the odds and found that Sun Yifeng had the odds of winning at 3.11.

After a simple division and deducting the relevant taxes, Lu Mingfei earned 6000 yuan from this match.

However, after browsing the portal websites, Lu Mingfei discovered that there were quite a few unexpected stories that broke today.

Not only did Sha Junchun lose, but the strong Counter-Strike team wNv.cn also lost their first match 12-16 to Newlife. The odds were even higher than those for StarCraft, a result that Lu Mingfei hadn't remembered.

It's normal that he can't remember, though. Lu Mingfei doesn't pay much attention to CS projects; he still wants to make money where he's confident.

The first day went as expected, and I hope the second day will be just as smooth.

Go, Sun!

……

Chapter 73 Preparing to Rent a House

In the following days, Sun Dianjun's performance did not disappoint Lu Mingfei.

He was first defeated by Luo Xian (LX) in the winners' bracket and was knocked down to the second round of the losers' bracket. Then he lost to Ding Wei (jaystar) in the second round of the losers' bracket and finished fourth, missing out on the qualification for the 2006 WCG Monza World Finals in Italy.

Ultimately, the players who qualified for the World Championship were Luo Xian (LX), Zhuang Chuanhai (66), and Ding Wei (jaystar).

Lu Mingfei's assets also increased to around 67000 in these two rounds of competition.

Seeing Lu Mingfei make a fortune in the first two rounds, Su Xiaoqiang couldn't resist and also used her own pocket money to place a bet in the third round, eventually winning a small profit of 2.5 times the initial investment.

With the WCG China regional competition day coming to an end, Lu Mingfei's personal assets finally settled at 67000.

The next time you can place a bet will be in November when the WCG World Finals begin.

While 67000 may not sound like much, it was still a respectable number for Lu Mingfei.

After all, the gap between top StarCraft players is actually very small, and the odds for a single match are at most two points, rarely exceeding three.

Moreover, it's only 2006 now, and consumption hasn't upgraded yet, so 67000 yuan is already considered a lot.

Lu Mingfei had inquired beforehand and found that the average monthly rent for a house in a mid-to-high-end residential area near Shilan Middle School was around 1500 yuan, with a deposit of one month's rent and three months' rent paid in advance, totaling only 6000 yuan.

My senior lent me 2000, and the rich girl Liu Miaomiao lent me 1000.

After deducting the above expenses, Lu Mingfei would still have about 58000 yuan left.

With 8000 yuan, you can buy a domestic mobile phone, build a decent computer, and the remaining money should be enough to put together a couple of clean and refreshing outfits.

"Sigh, I was hoping Su Xiaoqiang would buy me a decent grey market Nokia, but unfortunately I don't have enough money," Lu Mingfei sighed.

As for more upscale outfits... I'll buy them after November.

Lu Mingfei plans to set aside 50,000 yuan as principal for the WCG World Championship in November.

The day after the final, at noon, Su Xiaoqiang sent a message to Lu Mingfei saying that all the money had been transferred to Lu Mingfei's account.

Lu Mingfei took his card to the bank's ATM and, sure enough, it showed a balance of 67347 yuan.

This small amount of money wouldn't move Lu Mingfei right now, but it did give him a temporary respite.

Now that I have the money and a plan to live alone, all that's left is figuring out how to get my uncle and aunt to agree to let me move out during high school.

After all, he is still a minor, and he needs his guardian's consent if he wants to live outside.

While Shih Lan Secondary School tends to turn a blind eye to students bringing electronic devices to school and dating, it becomes extremely strict when it comes to student safety.

It's important to understand that many of the students at Shilan Middle School are children of powerful and wealthy families. If even one of them gets into trouble, Shilan Middle School simply cannot afford the consequences.

Lu Mingfei thought about it for a moment and decided that he still had no choice but to ask that person for help.

……

"You want me to tell your uncle and aunt that I want to rent a place with you outside of school?"

In a coffee shop, Chu Zihang was taken aback when he heard Lu Mingfei's request.

Lu Mingfei had borrowed money from him just a few days ago. Chu Zihang originally thought that Lu Mingfei would have to wait a while to repay it, but he didn't expect that Lu Mingfei would repay him in just one week.

It doesn't really matter whether he pays it back or not; he doesn't need the 2000 yuan. It's Lu Mingfei who might need the money more.

However, when Lu Mingfei asked him to meet this time, he said he had other things to ask him to do. Unexpectedly, after meeting, Chu Zihang heard Lu Mingfei make this request.