Chapter 11: Lu Xiaobei (Special thanks to our patron, Zuo Ge Su Ren 0723!)

Internet Cafe Management Area.

A long-legged beauty poured me a cup of warm water from the dispenser using a disposable plastic cup. She looked at me with bright, piercing eyes: "I'm the owner of this internet cafe, my name is Lu Xiaobei. What’s yours?"

"Ding Han."

"Alright!"

Lu Xiaobei continued, "Our internet cafe operates on a three-shift rotation. The day shift is from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, the evening shift from 4:00 PM to midnight, and the overnight shift from midnight to 8:00 AM. We have three staff members rotating. The salary is 1,800 a month, and we operate 365 days a year. Can you accept those terms?"

"???"

I stared at her blankly, thinking to myself: such a beautiful woman, how can your heart be so black? Is there any capitalist in this world more cold-hearted than you?

"Boss."

I cleared my throat and said, "I was being a bit modest earlier. In truth, I can fix almost any issue with the machines in this cafe. I can maintain the hardware, and I can handle re-imaging the systems as well. A skilled worker like me is different from an ordinary internet cafe attendant. Would you like to reconsider and bump up the pay a little?"

"This..."

Lu Xiaobei was clearly tempted, but she wanted talent without wanting to spend more money. The word "stingy" was practically written all over her face.

"You’ve seen it yourself; business at our cafe is quite average. There are barely any customers at this hour in the morning, and even around 8:00 PM, the occupancy rate is only about 30%. Under these circumstances, I really don't have the capacity to offer a higher salary."

She frowned. "How about this: I’ll secretly bump your pay to 2,000, but you mustn't tell the other two attendants."

"That's acceptable."

I nodded, "But since I’m new to the area, I hope you can provide room and board."

"Room and board?"

Lu Xiaobei bit her lip. "Food is no problem; you can take three cups of instant noodles from the counter every day. As for lodging... how about I assign you to the overnight shift? There are fewer people at night anyway, so you can just push some chairs together to make a bed. What do you think?"

I let out a sigh. She was certainly honest enough, and at this moment, I had no other choice.

"Fine. I’ll take one cup of instant noodles now."

"Deal!"

Lu Xiaobei was ecstatic.

"Boss, does this place provide social insurance and housing provident fund?" I asked again.

"What’s social insurance and housing provident fund?"

Lu Xiaobei looked at me with a bewildered expression.

I stopped overthinking it, hurried to open a cup of instant noodles, and poured in hot water. A few minutes later, I didn't even care that it was scalding, devouring it greedily and finishing every drop of the soup.

Delicious!

Master Kong Braised Beef Noodles—it truly lives up to the name!

"Ding Han, did you just arrive in Xicheng?" Lu Xiaobei asked.

"Yes."

I nodded. "I’m a wanderer from the wilderness, just arrived in the city."

"Oh..."

Lu Xiaobei pursed her lips and said, "There have been three consecutive machine failures in the cafe recently. Can you fix them?"

"Sure!"

No sooner had the words left my mouth than a task appeared.

[You have triggered a daily task: "Fault Maintenance" (Grade C)! Task Content: Repair the computers at Feiyang Internet Cafe and get at least three machines back in working order. Task Reward: A large amount of EXP, "Step Slash" (Grade B) Skill Grimoire!]

'Step Slash?'

My heart soared.

Step Slash is a Tier 1 general-purpose skill for Super Warriors. It significantly increases movement speed, maneuverability, and short-term survivability—truly a must-learn skill for any Super Warrior!

A mere Grade C task in exchange for Step Slash? A massive bargain!

I immediately began to busy myself.

I found a screwdriver, dismantled the tower of one of the computers, and checked for the source of the problem.

Lu Xiaobei held a flashlight for me, her hands resting on her knees. Her cascading hair fell forward, carrying a faint, subtle fragrance.

"The graphics card is dead."

I frowned. "Do we have spare parts in the cafe?"

"I collected some old computer parts a while ago; they’re all piled up in the storage room. But I don't know what a graphics card looks like. Could you look for it yourself?"

"Fine."

Led by Lu Xiaobei, I pushed open the door to the storage room. A wave of damp, musty air hit me instantly. After switching on the light, I found that the storage room was actually quite large. It was piled high with broken, discarded computers—presumably, this was how Lu Xiaobei bought parts on the cheap, and many of the computers currently in the cafe were likely assembled using this very method.

I easily located a compatible graphics card in one of the towers. After swapping it out, the first broken machine rebooted and began to function normally.

"That's amazing..."

Lu Xiaobei was a bit excited and gave my back a light pat. "Ding Han, what did you do before? How do you know how to handle such complicated things?"

"I once attended the Jingxi Technical School and learned how to repair computers. 'For tech skills, go to Jingxi; we're number one at computer repair.' Haven't you heard that?" I looked back at her and spouted nonsense.

"No, I haven't..."

Lu Xiaobei lowered her head, feeling ashamed of her ignorance, though it only lasted for a few seconds.

I began repairing the second computer. This one was simpler: insufficient disk space and a virus. I downloaded Kaspersky to run a scan, and it was back to normal afterward.

Come to think of it, the system in this cafe really had major issues. The entire management system should be overhauled to prevent these kinds of problems.

"Ding Han..."

Lu Xiaobei looked at the second computer as it returned to normal, her pretty face full of joy. When she looked at me, her eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of having found a "high-quality, low-cost" bargain.

I started fixing the third computer. This time, it was a power supply issue causing game crashes and screen tearing. I found a replacement power supply in the storage room and swapped it out, and the third computer came back online!

Just then, a chime rang in my ears; the task was complete!

[Congratulations on completing the daily task "Fault Maintenance" (Grade C). You have received the reward: Character EXP +30,000, and an additional reward: "Step Slash" (Grade B) Skill Grimoire!]

Done!

I took a deep breath. While Lu Xiaobei was happily testing the computers, I leveled up to 10 and then turned around, drawing the Skill Grimoire from my interdimensional storage space. It was a treasure book glowing with a faint green light.

[Step Slash] (Grade B): Instantly dash 5 yards in the direction of movement and gain a layer of protective Qi for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 3 seconds. Each use consumes 3 points of Origin Power. Class: Super Warrior.

With a wave of my hand, I learned it instantly, and a new icon appeared in my skill bar.

Step Slash is a dashing skill. It teleports you 5 yards, and the cooldown is extremely short. It can be used to close in on opponents or evade incoming fire. It also provides a layer of protective Qi, reducing the damage taken to your health, which is crucial in combat.

The downside is the high consumption of Origin Power—3 points per use. A player at full capacity only has 100 points, and those must also be used for attack and defense skills. Once empty, one has to wait for the Origin Power furnace to recover slowly. Ordinary players simply cannot afford to use such a high-consumption skill freely.

As for me, with my SS-grade furnace offering a 99% conversion rate, I had no such worries.

I checked my skill experience; I still had over 90,000 left, enough for the required upgrade.

I blew through the levels and upgraded Step Slash to level 10, gaining an additional 6 points in Strength!

"You're on the night shift today. Try to find a chance to get some sleep this afternoon."

Lu Xiaobei gave me a look of disgust. "Smell yourself, you're starting to reek. Why don't you go take a shower?"

"I can shower, but I'm penniless."

I said helplessly, "Boss Lu, could you perhaps advance me some of my first month's salary? I need to go to the bathhouse."

"Huh?"

Lu Xiaobei frowned. "Forget it, I'll make a sacrifice. I live in the loft above the cafe. There's solar-heated water there. I'll let you go up and take a shower, but only this once!"

"Fine..."

At 4:00 PM, a chubby girl with braided pigtails walked into the cafe. Her name was Yingzi, the other attendant.

After handing over the front desk, Lu Xiaobei took me upstairs.

The entire Feiyang Internet Cafe was located in a single-story building. The loft above occupied about a quarter of the total floor area. It was built with cheap plywood that didn't look very sturdy, reinforced slightly on the outside with steel plates. I suspected a strong gust of wind could blow it away.

However, the loft was fully equipped—a living room, bedroom, restroom, and shower room were all there. I could see Lu Xiaobei’s private room at a glance; the walls were covered with cute wallpaper, and the hanging lamp on the ceiling had a unique style, making it look quite cozy.

"The shower is over there. Go wash up quickly, and make it snappy."

"Got it, thanks, Boss."

I showered as quickly as I could and put on my old clothes again.

"Boss."

I glanced at Lu Xiaobei and, emboldened, said, "Actually, there's quite a bit of space up here in the loft. If it comes to it, you could just partition off a small cubicle in the living room for me. I only need four square meters."

"No way!"

A look of caution finally appeared on Lu Xiaobei's pretty face. "Ding Han, what are you trying to do?"

"Don't overthink it."

I sighed helplessly. "I just want to get a good night's sleep..."

"Either way, that's definitely not happening."

Lu Xiaobei felt a bit guilty, but her stance didn't budge. "Once business picks up a bit, I'll advance you your salary so you can go find your own place."

"Alright."

I nodded and said nothing more. I went back downstairs, dragged a few chairs over, and laid down in the narrow space beside Yingzi. She looked at me with pure disdain, as if looking at a pile of dog droppings.

...

Perhaps I was just too exhausted, but I slept soundly until nearly 10:00 PM.

After getting up, I grabbed a cup of instant noodles and devoured it without complaint. Yingzi, sitting nearby, gave me a smile. "Ding Han, the boss has gone up to sleep. My... my boyfriend said he’s coming to pick me up for hot pot."

"Oh?"

I glanced at her. "Is he inviting me to join you for hot pot?"

"Don't misunderstand. I was just wondering if you could take over my shift two hours early." She gave me a wheedling look that made my skin crawl. "Thank you so much! You're a good person, and good people are rewarded~~"

"Fine, but don't make a habit of it."

For the sake of maintaining a good relationship with a colleague, I didn't refuse.

Yingzi left happily, and I started my shift early, handling tasks like turning on machines and settling tabs. Not long after, a group of young people with dark circles under their eyes but boundless energy walked in. "Attendant, overnight pass!"

It usually cost one yuan per hour, but an eight-hour overnight pass was only five yuan, so business was actually decent.

...

After a short burst of activity, I pulled down the rolling shutter and closed for business.

The sound of keyboards clacking echoed throughout the cafe as a group of boys and girls engaged in intense gaming. I sat in my chair, summoned my Star Map, and whispered into it: "Newbie coming online, calling all nearby partners!"