I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

A-Che stood beside Liu Jie, holding the other's phone, his fingers awkwardly swiping across the screen.

His own phone is one of those smartphones that cost a few hundred yuan; it's incredibly laggy and doesn't have enough memory to run such a large game.

Strictly speaking, this was the first time he had actually sprayed pesticides by hand.

But he has a strong learning ability.

Although he hasn't played much, he watches live streams and videos when he has free time, so he knows some of the basic operations.

Movement, basic attacks, skills, item builds... He really didn't understand item builds, so he used the recommended default build and learned as he played.

Three minutes into the game, he was ganked and killed by the enemy jungler in the bottom lane.

Five minutes into the game, the support took a wave of minions from him. He wasn't sure if this would have any impact, so he didn't say anything and just quietly farmed.

Eight minutes into the game, his teammates started taunting him: "Hou Yi, do you even know how to play? Why aren't you joining team fights?!"

Ah Che was a man of few words to begin with, so he pretended not to hear and continued to grow his hair while glancing at the mini-map every now and then.

Then he discovered something.

This game doesn't seem as difficult as I imagined.

The opponent's movement is predictable, their skills have pre-cast animations, and the jungler's gank routes seem predictable, just like how he controls the heat when frying rice. Everything is traceable.

If you are focused and calm enough, you can find the right time to act.

Twelve minutes into the game, he ambushed the enemy mage who was alone in the bottom lane, used his ultimate to stun him, followed up with basic attacks, and instantly killed him.

First Blood!

Fifteen minutes into the game, he joined his teammates in team fights, dealing massive damage from the backline and securing a triple kill.

Eighteen minutes into the game, his equipment was finally complete. Standing under the high ground tower, he frantically auto-attacked, and the opponents couldn't withstand the firepower, falling one by one.

Twenty minutes later, the enemy's crystal exploded.

【victory!】

Ah Che looked at the victory image on the screen and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Not bad, at least we won.

At this point, his record had reached 8 kills, 2 deaths, and 5 assists. The system gave him a godlike rating. Ache didn't know if this record was good or bad, but as long as he won, that was fine.

He was just about to put his phone back on the table and go back to his room to sleep when Liu Jie woke up groggily.

"......Um?"

He stared blankly for a few seconds, then as if he suddenly remembered something, he abruptly looked down at his hands.

empty.

Oops!

This is the boss's account I just got. I'm supposed to be placing an order for Honor of Kings today, how did I fall asleep? If I leave it running and get points deducted, I'll have to farm points again, which is a waste of time.

He quickly looked down to find his phone, and then he saw that A-Che was holding his phone.

"Bro, my phone..."

Before he could finish speaking, a glittering golden "Victory" icon popped up on the screen.

Liu Jie: "???"

He grabbed the phone and checked the score.

Hou Yi.

8 kills, 2 deaths, and 5 assists.

Godlike + MVP!

Liu Jie was surprised when he saw the score: "Damn! You're pretty good, kid! You actually got a godlike MVP! You know how to play this game?"

A-Che shook his head.

"First time playing."

"First time?" Liu Jie clearly didn't believe it. "Are you kidding me? You can't achieve this result on your first try?"

A-Che: "I've watched the videos and live streams before."

Liu Jie stared into his eyes for a few seconds, and after confirming that he didn't seem to be lying, he said:

"Damn! You're a genius! For your first time playing, even though it's Diamond rank, you've done incredibly well. Do you know this new season has only just started? A lot of the Diamond players are actually Challenger from last season. You actually managed to play this well, that's amazing!"

"Let me tell you, the first time I played this game, I got chased all over the map by the enemy team, and I got a 0/8/0 score. Then my teammates reported me and I lost eight points in my reputation score..."

"Later, after much painful reflection, I practiced diligently for a month and reached the King rank. Aren't I a genius?"

"And then..."

A-Che: "..."

Liu Jie talked on and on for more than ten minutes about his glorious gaming exploits. A-Che felt like there was a fly buzzing in his head that he couldn't get rid of.

As for what Liu Jie specifically said, he didn't hear a word of it.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Liu Jie finally finished speaking, patted his stomach, and said, "How much was my fried rice? Is 20 yuan enough?"

Ah Che shook his head: "I added a fried egg for you, just give me 10 yuan."

Liu Jie immediately scanned the QR code: "It's been transferred."

A-Che hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you a game booster?"

He only asked because he heard the other person mention that he was playing on a "boss account".

He's really short of money right now.

He only makes two or three hundred yuan a day at his stall, and four or five hundred on good days. After deducting costs and his own food and drink expenses, the rest goes to his family. He has to find a way to make extra money to cover the 30,000 yuan tuition fee.

Liu Jie nodded: "Yes! This is how I make a living right now. Otherwise, if I just stayed home all day and didn't go out to earn money, I'd starve!"

Ah Che then asked, "Then why don't you do it back in your hometown?"

He couldn't understand why he had to travel all the way to Jiangcheng to do something that could be done at home, especially since the cost of living here was so high. It wasn't worth it.

Upon hearing this question, Liu Jie suddenly sat up straight, his expression serious, and uttered a rather philosophical statement.

"Brother, you'll remember this."

"Playing video games at home is considered idleness and being a useless otaku."

"But when I'm out there, especially in a big city like Jiangcheng, playing games is considered a success."

A-Che: "???"

He couldn't understand what the other person meant at all. As long as you make money, isn't it the same no matter where you are?

"Of course, I came to Jiangcheng mainly to see what the largest city in China looks like, experience life there, see the skyscrapers, see the river view, and feel the atmosphere of a big city."

"After experiencing it, I had only one feeling: the cost of living is damn expensive! It feels like I haven't done anything and several thousand yuan are gone in a month."

"........."

On this seemingly trivial topic, Liu Jie launched into a long rambling account of his hardships in Jiangcheng, from commodity prices to housing prices, from housing prices to rising food delivery prices, and from rising food delivery prices back to how difficult it is to become a game booster... and so on.

A-Che: "..."

He suddenly understood why this guy was talking so much.

I stay home all day, eat takeout, play video games, and am basically disconnected from society. If I don't find someone to talk to, I might really go crazy.

Liu Jie, his mouth dry from talking, finally stopped: "Let's not talk about this anymore, I'm making fried rice. I'm almost starving."

"On the table."

The fried rice had gone cold, but Liu Jie didn't mind. He picked up the plate and started eating, praising as he ate, "Brother, your fried rice is great! It's much better than the takeout I usually order. I'll definitely come back to you when I'm hungry again."

A-Che nodded, then asked, "Um... I wanted to ask, how much do you game boosters earn in a month?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jie raised three fingers.

"3000?"

Liu Jie: "Who do you think you are, kid? What 3000? As long as you're willing to work hard, 3 is no problem! Last month, I was rushing to close a deal, worked for 28 days, and made 28000!"

"Also, playing games isn't just about making money with Honor of Kings. You can also make money by playing games like Warcraft, Eternal Burst, or Delta Force. If you're skilled enough and can endure the grind, earning 3 a month isn't difficult. It just means you'll basically have to say goodbye to social life."

When A-Che heard about 3, his eyes lit up.

If he can really earn that much money, then besides setting up a stall and doing some part-time work, it seems like he has a chance to save up enough for his tuition!

"So... how does a game boosting service accept orders?"

Liu Jie: "What's up, young man? You want to get into this business too?"

A-Che nodded.

Liu Jie didn't discourage him; instead, he acknowledged his idea: "If you weren't bragging earlier, then you really do have talent. With some practice, you can definitely make a living in this field!"

"But let me tell you, the game boosting industry is murky. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's just playing games; there are a lot more tricks to it than meets the eye..."

Then Liu Jie started talking non-stop again, for a full half hour.

A-Che automatically filtered out 99% of the nonsense and only asked the question that mattered most to him:

"Does game boosting require a very high-performance phone?"

"You definitely need something better. Putting everything else aside, your current phone is definitely not good enough. You need at least a phone around two thousand yuan to run smoothly. If you're on a tight budget, you can find a reliable second-hand phone for eight or nine hundred yuan to make do. You can upgrade to a better one when you earn more money."

After listening, A-Che nodded: "Then I'll set up a stall first to save up some money, buy a phone, and then do game boosting with you."

Liu Jie said, "If you don't mind, I happen to have a spare old cell phone here that you can borrow."

"Also, I think you shouldn't go and set up a stall anymore. It's tiring and the money is slow. You might as well do power leveling full-time."

A-Che shook his head: "Boosting is just a transition for me. I want to be a real chef. Setting up a stall can also help me practice my cooking skills."

"You're really going all out, kid."

Liu Jie leaned back in his chair, looking at the boy who was a few years younger than him, and suddenly felt a little dazed.

For some reason, I was reminded of when I first came to Jiangcheng.

Back then, he was full of energy and thought he could make a name for himself in this top-tier city. In the end, he became a game-playing otaku in a rented room, and all he could do was play games.

It's not that he doesn't like being a game booster, but he's worried about his future because he's 23 years old.

"Brother, I fully support your dream of becoming a chef!"

"The scariest thing in life isn't being poor, it's not knowing what you want to do. If you really want to be a chef, then work your ass off. Don't be like me. I have no choice but to stay home and play video games."

"Playing video games is a job that relies on youth. If you don't have a better career path, you'll be eliminated sooner or later. But it's different for you chefs. Skills become more valuable with age. If you really master them, it's a secure job for life."

"You're definitely better than me at this!"

This was a statement that A-Che had completely taken to heart, and it gave him a new understanding of the hot-tempered and talkative Northeastern man in front of him.

Although this person is a chatterbox, he sometimes has insightful remarks.

Liu Jie finished eating the fried rice on his plate, then took out an old cell phone he had discarded from the drawer and handed it to A-Che.

"Come on, stop chatting. You can use this phone for now. Let's play a duo match and I'll see how talented you really are."

A-Che shook his head: "I'm going to sleep."

Liu Jie didn't insist: "Okay, then come back when you're awake. I'll teach you how to play. From now on, we'll duo queue and play solo. You'll be the marksman, and I'll be the jungler. We'll take off like a rocket!"

A-Che nodded and turned to go back to his room.

He had just lay down on the bed when his phone screen lit up.

It was a message from my father.

[Ah Che, your mother's leg is much better; she can get out of bed and walk a few steps now. That's a blessing in disguise. Your younger brother can also go back to school. It's just... Dad is sorry. Dad is useless; he made you drop out of school early and suffer outside. Don't worry about home over there; take good care of yourself.]

After reading his father's message, A-Che felt a pang of sadness and replied with a message.

【it is good. 】