Chapter 1: Rogue Software? Making Money by Watching Videos?
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A Place to Store Your Mind!
(This isn’t a pure historical novel—it's a bit wild... To clarify, the protagonist is just a tool in the early chapters, so stop asking why he’s missing! He’ll show up for real later! Of course, apart from some fun, I still respect history. I saw someone say Empress Wu Zetian was the greatest emperor of all time, which nearly made me furious. Clearly, they know nothing.)
Dear readers, fasten your seatbelts... the train to history is about to depart!
Allow me to don my armor for a moment... Esteemed readers—all beautiful, kind-hearted, dazzlingly handsome, graceful and charming, with faces as refined as jade and looks rivaling that of Pan An!
Lastly, I wish you all good health, success, family harmony, delicious food, and the ability to eat without gaining weight!
Alright, now that you’ve received my blessings, please go easy on my book...
…
Winter!
The first snow of the year arrived earlier than usual, and it was colder, too.
The wind, laced with snowflakes, stung the eyes so much one could barely keep them open.
The streets were buried under thick snow, rendering the entire city a sea of white.
Pedestrians and vehicles moved with the utmost caution, terrified of slipping and discovering some new way to injure themselves.
Liu Tao carried his lunch to the door, stomping the snow off his black leather boots.
He opened the door, took off his hat, swapped boots for cotton slippers, shed his coat, and headed to the dining table to open the beef soup.
Time to dig in!
The moment he opened the beef soup, Liu Tao frowned in displeasure.
“Seriously? Does this shop owner not understand plain language? I said no cilantro!”
Yet here it was, a generous heap.
Doesn’t the owner know cilantro is a man’s nemesis? Are they hoping I’ll leave no descendants?
Muttering under his breath, Liu Tao picked out the cilantro leaves with his chopsticks. By the time he was done, the soup was nearly cold.
He quickly soaked the sesame flatbread in the remaining warmth, otherwise it wouldn’t soften.
…
Eating beef soup with soaked flatbread and gazing out at the swirling snow, Liu Tao felt a sense of disorientation.
Who would believe that a graduate from a top university like himself had ended up as a security guard?
Ah, it’s all because he chose the wrong major.
No one in their right mind would study history these days!
In today’s world, people work harder than oxen and horses.
He did try looking for a job after graduation, but his major was different—in this field, if you had no connections, not even schools would hire you as a history teacher.
Museums or archaeology? Forget it. No chance at all.
So, after half a year at home, his girlfriend—who graduated a year after him—broke up with him, saying he couldn’t give her the life she wanted.
Well, so be it. He wasn’t the sensitive type. University students break up all the time.
At least he’d never been taken advantage of!
…
After half a year of lying around, he tried delivering food, but lasted only a month.
The reason? The old security guard in the community would always stop him just as he was about to run late, causing his orders to be marked as overdue!
After a month, more than half his reviews were poor. His wages dwindled to nothing.
…
So he changed tracks and became a security guard himself—a so-called “five-star general.”
He made 3,500 yuan a month. After becoming a security guard, he’d become the very person he once despised.
He’d block delivery guys at the gate, no matter how skilled they were. If he was on duty, he’d make them register for at least ten minutes before letting them in.
All in all, Liu Tao was quite satisfied with his job now.
Aside from the low pay, everything else was fine. He even flirted with Xiao Dan, one of the residents, for fun.
Plus, the apartment—135 square meters—was fully paid off by his parents before they passed, so as long as he didn’t think about marriage, life was pretty comfortable for now.
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In Liu Tao’s own words, being a security guard now had saved him forty years of detours compared to the old man next door.
Life was meant to be lived lying flat!
…
After lunch, Liu Tao opened TikTok, ready to enjoy some videos for a little after-meal happiness, when a screen suddenly took over his phone.
Congratulations, esteemed Mr. Liu Tao! Having seen through the vulgarities of life and embraced the spirit of lying flat, you have been recognized by our company as a premium customer. The Wan Dynasty Projection TikTok System has been successfully bound to your account!
For every three minutes you watch, you’ll receive a cash reward of 50 to 300 yuan. This is a real promotion. Would you like to install it?
Liu Tao was dumbfounded...
What on earth?
Every three minutes, you get cash? And 50 to 300 yuan?
A windfall from heaven? And it landed on me?
“Damn, did I get hacked yesterday visiting shady websites? Otherwise, why would I get such a scam message?”
Cursing under his breath, Liu Tao tried to exit, but the thing installed itself.
Even more aggressive than those infamous shopping apps!
A total rogue app.
He immediately received a text message... Your data is insufficient... Your data...
Staring at the message, he was stunned...
“My God! Downloading one app used up 89 gigabytes?”
It was the end of the month, and his 100GB data plan still had 20GB left. Now, suddenly, he’d gone 69GB over and his phone service was suspended for unpaid charges.
Liu Tao pitifully looked at the remaining hundred yuan in his WeChat account and reluctantly recharged his phone.
Eighty yuan gone, just enough left for a pack of cigarettes.
“Damn it, what a trash app! I want to see if you’re legit—try scamming me again if you dare!”
He resolutely opened the app. As his finger tapped the screen, the Wan Dynasty Projection app began to play.
Boom...!
Several five-clawed divine dragons circled the screen!
All manner of colors, but the black dragon was the most striking.
With the dragons’ roars and the powerful background music, Liu Tao was left speechless.
“Whoa, these effects... this is intense! Does my 1,500 yuan phone even support visuals like this?”
The opening effect and the crystal-clear image quality reminded Liu Tao of a familiar line:
“I am Zhazahui... If you’re my brother, come hack me... One swing for a 999x drop rate!”
…
After the effects faded, he filled in his personal information as prompted, linked his account with his bank card (which had a grand total of 25 cents), and input his phone number.
With only 25 cents left, he was almost as broke as could be.
Soon, all the forms were complete!
You have entered the Wan Dynasty TikTok App. Please begin your TikTok journey. Enjoy your life!
Current withdrawable balance: “0 yuan”
Please watch more videos to earn rewards.
With a “why not?” attitude, he started scrolling through short videos.
As the background music played, a title appeared at the top of the screen.
This opening show was to his liking. The algorithm really knew him well!
Victoria’s Secret... a paradise for men!
Then, one after another, voluptuous models in sexy lingerie strutted down the runway!
Black, white, all shades of women, each as luscious as a ripe peach.
With every beat of the music, they walked in high heels, hitting every mark with the precision of dancing butterflies, utterly captivating!
Those stunning proportions, matched with those alluring outfits—every step fanned the flames of desire, stirring every man’s hormones.
…
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Liu Tao was a die-hard fan of the show, rewatching the annual extravaganza numerous times!
Not for anything else, but for the pure, intoxicating pleasure of it.
…
As the video’s progress bar reached the end, the final model took the stage.
A fair-skinned, full-bosomed blonde swayed her curvy hips with a professional stride.
Her high heels clicked on the stage... tap, tap, tap... crisp and pleasant.
With every step, her ample assets seemed ready to break free, bouncing joyfully, full of vigor and elasticity—truly breathtaking!
“Seems the algorithm really gets me... heh heh...”
Just as the video was ending and he was about to scroll for more dancing beauties, a message popped up.
Congratulations, user “I Love Beef,” you’ve watched for three minutes and earned a cash reward of 80 yuan...
“Huh?”
No way, really?
He tapped the notification in disbelief.
Sure enough, the balance showed an extra 80 yuan.
And below that, a small note read: “Click share mode to earn one hundred times the reward.”
Liu Tao could hardly believe it... his finger trembled uncontrollably.
One video, 80 yuan, and it could be multiplied by one hundred... since when was making money this easy?
He couldn’t help but tap the share option.
Then... he watched his balance add two zeros.
“Eighty becomes eight thousand! Is this for real?”
He looked carefully at the page—there didn’t seem to be any withdrawal threshold. Tentatively, he clicked the withdrawal option.
Ding!
A text from his bank arrived.
Your account has been credited with 8,000 yuan. Balance: 8,000.025.
He rubbed his eyes, unable to believe the numbers on the screen.
“Eight thousand? It really arrived?”
Just for watching a video, he got 8,000 yuan?
According to the earlier promise, every three minutes would get him at least 50 yuan, and with a hundredfold bonus... so, that’s 5,000 yuan every three minutes?
Three minutes equaled nearly two months’ salary? In one day...
Damn! This is insane!
…
Could it be that his late parents saw how pitiful he was and, fearing the family line would end with him, intervened from beyond the grave?
There was no other explanation...
At that moment, the black-and-white photo on the wall suddenly fell with a crash, the glass nearly shattering into rippling waves.
Liu Tao was stunned. What happened? Why did his parents’ portrait fall?
…
After a moment’s calm, Liu Tao finally accepted this was real.
The goddess of fate had finally smiled upon him.
This was a windfall with no downside!
In that case... bring it on! Either you go bankrupt or I die!
Liu Tao’s eyes blazed with excitement!
(That’s Liu Tao for you—let the chips fall where they may!)