Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Chen Jixian did the calculations.

Even the cheapest tennis courts cost 1 won per hour. If you add the cost of a ball machine, it comes to 1.5 won per hour.

How much money does he have?

In the bank card, 2000 silver dollars lay lying face down!

That's 43 Korean won.

To put it another way, it's only 28 hours in the tennis court.

[Backhand 10000-Practice Training Package]

[Performance Achievement: 0/10000]

28 hours, 10000 backhand shots? And not just 10000 casual backhand shots, but 10,000 backhand shots that meet the standard!

Chen Jixian tested his only professional-level technique—his forehand. He was absolutely certain that the Dog System's requirements were not simple; they were very likely comparable to professional-level techniques!

With that calculation, the 28-hour timeframe becomes even tighter.

And that doesn't even include his daily expenses. In other words, he would have to forgo eating and drinking, attend no parties, default on his water, electricity, and gas bills, and walk to school every day just to squeeze out those twenty-eight hours of training time.

Sell ​​it!

"Sell everything that can be sold to get money."

"By the way, Irene's bubble tea business, which cost five or six thousand won a month, has also stopped... Let's say hello."

-

-

It's 11 p.m.

An apartment in Seoul.

Bae Joo-hyun leaned back on the sofa when her phone screen lit up. A message popped up on her phone.

It's that boy:

"I'm going to do some manual labor now. I don't need Bubble anymore."

Then another one came:

"You should get some rest too, don't let your face get worn out."

She stared at the words "bricklaying" and frowned slightly.

벽돌나르기? Moving bricks?

Bae Joo-hyun, not quite getting it right, typed a line and sent it:

"What do you mean by 'moving bricks'? Aren't you a senior in high school? Your goal is Seoul National University, why are you suddenly working on a construction site?"

send.

The message is public; everyone who subscribes to her bubble can see it.

A few seconds later, the Bubble backend system crashed.

The message list scrolled up rapidly.

"Sister!!! It's not really about moving bricks!!!"

"It just means 'try to live a good life'! It's a Chinese slang term!"

"A self-deprecating term used by office workers to describe the low pay and arduous work, like carrying bricks."

"He's a senior in high school now, so it means 'he can only study and can't do anything else,' or 'he's frantically doing practice problems.'"

"Hahaha, who exactly told my sister this?"

"Oh, it was posted by a Chinese fan..."

"Yes, yes, yes! It's not actually about moving bricks! It's a metaphor!"

"That's just how it is in the final year of high school... I'll be back after the college entrance exam, don't worry, sister."

Bae Joo-hyun read through them one by one.

I read about twenty.

Then she understood.

It wasn't a real trip to the construction site.

I'm a senior in high school now.

"I can only focus on studying; I can't do anything else." This is a form of self-deprecation, a uniquely Chinese way of speaking that involves speaking indirectly.

She glanced at Chen Jixian's message again:

"You should also get some rest, don't let your face ruin itself."

Bae Joo-hyun's lips twitched slightly.

I typed a line of text.

send.

"...So that's what it means."

"Then good luck with your move, and remember to come back when you're done."

After sending it, she stared at the screen for a while.

Read.

"Roger (Received)."

fart boy!

She put her phone aside, picked up her water glass, took another sip, and looked out the window at the scenery.

"He's working so hard to get into Seoul National University, and what about me? When will I be able to return to the stage?"

……

……

Chen Jixian placed his phone face down on the bed.

A while later, my phone vibrated.

Bae Joo-hyun replied.

"...So that's what it means."

"Then good luck with your move, and remember to come back when you're done."

Chen Jixian stared at the two words "come back".

When you see me next time, I'll either be shining on the front page of sports news or making the front page of legal news.

The title is something like this: "High school senior fails in training, causing his aunt's property to be forcibly sold by the system."

Thinking of this, Chen Jixian couldn't help but laugh:

"Haha, even legal news outlets wouldn't write such an outrageous headline."

But the meaning is similar.

Chen Jixian couldn't help but frown when he thought about the current economic situation.

43 Korean won.

What can it do?

That's not enough to buy a good racket!

He turned off the calculator.

Switch, cartridges, mini cartridges. Sell them all; it won't last until next Friday—a drop in the ocean!

He opened WeChat and found the chat window for his home. He stared at that profile picture for a long time before finally making up his mind.

He typed a line of text.

"Mom, I signed up for a math tutoring program."

send.

Another line was typed.

"800,000 Korean won."

send.

I waited for about two minutes.

Mom has returned.

"What academy?"

"One in the Jiangnan region. A classmate recommended it; the reputation is alright."

His mother didn't reply; about a minute later...

"Okay, I'll call you."

His mother sent another message.

"Do you have enough living expenses? Would you like some more?"

He looked at that sentence.

Looked for a long time.

My finger hovered above the screen, and then I typed two words:

"Need not."

send.

The phone screen went dark.

He stared blankly at the ceiling.

Chen Jixian suddenly discovered—

His hands were shaking.

The shaking wasn't too severe, just a little bit at the fingertips, and only for a short while.

It's stopped shaking.

He put his hand down.

But that sentence still remains.

"Do you have enough money for living expenses?"

He locked his phone and placed it on the bedside table so he wouldn't see that message.

But it's always been there.

I woke up from a nap.

Chen Jixian was woken up by the system—

[The system has detected a risk of misappropriation of certain funds and will temporarily escrow the user's funds!]

[…Coverage completed!]

What?

Chen Jixian was stunned.

What is temporary custody?

Then the system panel pops up.

Incoming funds detected.

[Hana Bank account received: 800,000 Korean Won.]

[Funding source: Family support (under the guise of math tutoring).]

[Account Status: Frozen.]

Soon, he received a message on his phone: "Young man, your Alipay account has been frozen due to suspected cyber fraud."

Chen Jixian's vision went black!

The system said it was freezing bank cards, and as a result, Alipay also suffered a terrible fate!

What merit or ability did he possess to alarm higher authorities? Or perhaps the system was too powerful, capable of influencing even special agencies.

Chen Jixian lowered his voice, gritting his teeth: "What are you trying to do? This is illegal!"

[Special Mission: Equipment Identification.]

[Note: Obtain a high-performance tennis racket.]

[Duration: 7 days.]

[Special Rule: 80 Korean won in tutoring fees will be frozen until the mission is completed, unless used to complete the mission.]

[Overdue penalty: Loss of all funds in bank card, -1 slot in living expenses package]

[Extremely Rare Reward: Tempo +1.]

"Hold.

"This is robbery! This damn system saw I have money coming into my account, and it wants a piece of the pie too?"

The penalties for exceeding the time limit are also quite severe.

Whether it's losing all your savings or having your living expenses reduced by 1 slot, the consequences are very serious!

Don't forget, the learning pack can't be attached to the training slot, it can only be attached to the life slot. Furthermore, the life slot contains many useful items, such as health packs and battery life packs.

Putting everything else aside, Chen Jixian absolutely has to carry the grocery bag.

This is what real youth learning should be like!