The rain began just before six in the evening.
By the time Sang Yaoyao stepped out of Xinghe Group's office tower, the streets of Cloud City had already turned silver beneath the streetlights. Water streamed along the curb, umbrellas crowded the sidewalks, and impatient drivers leaned on their horns as the evening traffic slowed to a crawl.
Yaoyao stood beneath the building's glass awning and opened the weather app on her phone.
Heavy rain.
Possible thunderstorms.
Expected duration: three hours.
She sighed softly.
Her umbrella was in the bottom drawer of her desk.
On the twenty-third floor.
For several seconds, she considered going back for it. Then she looked through the glass doors and saw the long line forming at the elevators.
The subway station was only an eight-minute walk away.
Ten minutes in the rain would not kill her.
Probably.
Yaoyao pulled the hood of her inexpensive jacket over her head and stepped outside.
Cold rain immediately slipped down the back of her neck.
She flinched.
"Bad decision," she murmured.
The security guard standing near the entrance heard her and laughed.
"Student Sang, didn't you bring an umbrella?"
"I did."
"Then where is it?"
"Safe and dry in my desk."
The guard laughed even harder.
Yaoyao smiled and waved before hurrying into the rain.
She had been interning at Xinghe Group for almost four months. Although she was still a senior at Cloud City University, her schedule was already fuller than that of many full-time employees.
Classes in the morning.
Internship in the afternoon.
Reports at night.
Volunteering at Sunrise Children's Home on weekends.
Some of her classmates often complained that university life was exhausting.
Yaoyao agreed.
She simply did not have the luxury of giving up.
Her phone vibrated inside her pocket.
She ducked beneath the narrow shelter of a closed convenience store and checked the message.
It was from her roommate, Lin Xiaoran.
Xiaoran: Are you still at the office?
Yaoyao: Just left.
Xiaoran: Did you eat?
Yaoyao glanced through the rain at the noodle shop across the street.
A bowl of beef noodles cost thirty-two yuan.
She opened her banking app.
Her checking account contained ¥1,864.37.
Her next internship payment would arrive in six days.
Her scholarship covered tuition and most campus fees, but rent, transportation, food, books, and the money she regularly sent to Sunrise Children's Home all came from her own pocket.
Thirty-two yuan was not impossible.
It was simply unnecessary.
Yaoyao: I ate earlier.
The reply arrived almost instantly.
Xiaoran: A piece of bread at noon does not count as dinner.
Yaoyao blinked.
Yaoyao: How did you know?
Xiaoran: Because I know you.
A second message appeared.
Xiaoran: I left dumplings in the refrigerator. Eat them when you get home, or I'll tell Director Chen you're starving yourself again.
Yaoyao smiled.
Yaoyao: You fight unfairly.
Xiaoran: Eat the dumplings.
Yaoyao: Yes, ma'am.
She tucked her phone away and continued toward the subway.
At twenty-one years old, Sang Yaoyao did not own much.
Her laptop was secondhand.
Her phone was nearly five years old.
Most of her clothes had been bought during discount sales or passed down by older girls from the orphanage.
The jade pendant beneath her collar was the only valuable-looking thing she possessed.
It had been with her when she was left outside Sunrise Children's Home as an infant.
There had been no letter.
No name.
No clue explaining who had abandoned her.
Only a faded blanket and the pale green pendant.
Director Chen once offered to keep it safe for her, worried that a child might lose it.
Yaoyao had refused.
Even when she was young, she had understood that the pendant was the only thing connecting her to the beginning of her life.
She did not know whether it had come from her mother, her father, or a stranger.
She no longer spent much time wondering.
Children in the orphanage learned early that unanswered questions could swallow an entire childhood if they allowed them to.
Instead of asking why she had been abandoned, Yaoyao focused on what she could control.
Her grades.
Her work.
Her savings.
Her future.
Especially her savings.
Hidden inside her banking app was an account she had opened when she turned eighteen.
She had named it Home.
The balance was ¥126,430.
It had taken her three years to save that amount.
Scholarship bonuses.
Part-time jobs.
Internship wages.
Translation work.
Tutoring.
Every spare yuan she could protect from daily life had gone into that account.
It was nowhere near enough to buy an apartment in Cloud City.
A tiny studio in a distant district could cost more than two million yuan.
Even a down payment seemed impossibly far away.
Still, Yaoyao added money every month.
One day, she would have a front door that belonged to her.
A kitchen where she could leave her favorite cup without worrying that someone else might need it.
A bedroom she would not have to vacate during school holidays.
A small balcony with sunlight.
She did not dream of luxury.
She dreamed of permanence.
A home where no one could send her away.
The traffic light ahead turned red.
Yaoyao joined the small crowd waiting beside the crosswalk.
Rain bounced from the pavement. A delivery driver pushed his scooter through the intersection. A woman struggled to hold an umbrella over herself and two shopping bags.
Beside Yaoyao, an elderly woman held the hand of a little girl wearing a bright yellow raincoat.
The girl stared at a puddle near the curb.
"Grandma, look!"
"Don't step in it," the elderly woman warned.
The girl nodded obediently.
Then the plastic windmill she was holding slipped from her fingers.
The rain caught it and rolled it into the road.
"My windmill!"
Before her grandmother could react, the child pulled free and ran after it.
The pedestrian light was still red.
A black van turned the corner.
Everything happened at once.
The elderly woman screamed.
The driver hit the horn.
The little girl froze in the middle of the lane.
Yaoyao dropped her bag.
She did not think.
She ran.
Her shoes splashed through the water as she lunged forward, grabbed the child around the waist, and twisted away.
The van's brakes shrieked.
A wall of metal stopped less than a meter from them.
For a moment, Yaoyao heard nothing except her own heartbeat.
The child clung to her jacket.
The van driver pushed open his door, his face pale.
"Are you hurt?"
Yaoyao looked down.
The girl's knees were trembling, but she did not appear injured.
"I'm okay," Yaoyao said. "She's okay."
The elderly woman rushed into the street and gathered the child into her arms.
"Yueyue!"
The little girl burst into tears.
"Grandma!"
The woman held her tightly before turning toward Yaoyao.
Her lips trembled.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done if—"
"It's all right," Yaoyao said gently. "Please take her somewhere warm."
The woman bowed again and again.
The van driver also apologized, although the accident had not been his fault.
People gathered beneath their umbrellas, murmuring about what had happened.
Someone handed Yaoyao her soaked bag.
"Miss, your hand is bleeding."
She looked down.
A shallow cut crossed her palm, probably from falling against the rough pavement.
"It's nothing."
"You should go to a clinic."
"I'll clean it when I get home."
The little girl peeked over her grandmother's shoulder.
Her eyes were red from crying.
"Sister."
Yaoyao bent slightly.
"Yes?"
The child held out the yellow plastic windmill.
One of its colorful blades had broken.
"For you."
Yaoyao smiled.
"You should keep it."
The little girl shook her head.
"You saved me."
Her grandmother's eyes filled with tears again.
Yaoyao accepted the damaged toy.
"Then I'll treasure it."
The girl finally stopped crying.
The crowd gradually dispersed after the traffic light changed.
Yaoyao picked up her bag and checked the contents.
Her laptop had survived.
Her notebook was wet around the edges.
Her lunch container had cracked.
Nothing irreplaceable.
She wiped rain from her face and started walking again.
Three steps later, the world stopped.
Not became quiet.
Stopped.
A raindrop hung motionless in front of her eyes.
Cars froze in the intersection.
A cyclist remained suspended with one foot above the pedal.
The flashing advertisement across the street stopped halfway through a sentence.
Yaoyao stared at the motionless city.
Her first thought was surprisingly practical.
Perhaps she had hit her head.
She touched her forehead.
No blood.
A tiny golden light appeared above the broken windmill in her hand.
Then another.
Hundreds of glowing specks rose from the pavement and drifted through the frozen rain. They gathered in front of her, spinning faster and faster until they formed a round white shape.
It looked soft.
Very soft.
Two black eyes opened.
Two tiny arms stretched outward.
The creature yawned.
Yaoyao stared.
The creature stared back.
It was about the size of a steamed bun, perfectly round, with rosy cheeks and a small silver crescent on its forehead.
After several seconds, it cleared its throat.
"Greetings, selected Host."
Yaoyao looked around.
No one else moved.
The creature floated closer.
"I am the Randomly Spend Tycoon System, an advanced interdimensional intelligence designed to identify, guide, and empower a qualified wealth bearer."
Yaoyao blinked.
"You look like mochi."
The creature's expression froze.
"I am an advanced interdimensional intelligence."
"A very cute one."
"I was not designed to be cute."
"You have pink cheeks."
"They are status indicators."
"You also have tiny arms."
"They are functional projection units."
Yaoyao tilted her head.
The creature folded its tiny arms.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm trying to decide whether I'm unconscious."
"You are fully conscious."
"Hallucinating?"
"No."
"Having a stress-related breakdown?"
"Your mental health indicators are within acceptable limits."
"That does not sound especially reassuring."
The creature sighed.
"Host, I have crossed multiple dimensions and remained dormant for centuries while searching for a suitable person."
"That sounds lonely."
Its expression changed for the smallest fraction of a second.
Then it straightened.
"That is not the point."
"What is the point?"
"The point is that you have been selected."
"For what?"
A translucent golden screen opened in front of her.
Letters appeared one by one.
Randomly Spend Tycoon System
Host Candidate: Sang Yaoyao
Age: 21
Occupation: University Student / Investment Intern
Current Personal Assets: ¥128,294.37
Moral Evaluation: SSS
Financial Potential: Unmeasurable
Compatibility: 100%
Yaoyao frowned.
"Your asset calculation is wrong."
The creature blinked.
"It is not."
"My checking account has ¥1,864.37, and my savings account has ¥126,430. That totals ¥128,294.37."
She paused.
"No. You're right."
The creature stared at her.
"You were chosen by a miraculous system, and your first concern was verifying the arithmetic?"
"I study finance."
"That explains many things."
The screen changed.
Images appeared in the golden light.
Yaoyao tutoring children at Sunrise Children's Home.
Yaoyao returning a lost wallet to a police station.
Yaoyao buying medicine for an elderly neighbor.
Yaoyao giving her seat to a pregnant woman on the subway.
Yaoyao quietly transferring part of her scholarship bonus to Director Chen.
Her smile faded.
"How do you know about those things?"
"I conducted an evaluation."
"Were you spying on me?"
"I prefer the term observing."
"That sounds like spying with better public relations."
The creature's mouth twitched.
"The system does not select based on intelligence, beauty, status, or ambition alone. Wealth magnifies a person's nature. In the hands of someone cruel, it creates greater cruelty. In the hands of someone wasteful, it creates greater waste."
The images disappeared.
"You have lived with very little, yet you have never used hardship as an excuse to harm others."
Yaoyao looked at the broken windmill in her hand.
"I haven't done anything extraordinary."
"You ran in front of a moving vehicle for a child you did not know."
"I didn't have time to think."
"That is precisely why it matters."
The creature floated closer.
"The things people do before they have time to perform for others often reveal who they truly are."
For once, Yaoyao had no answer.
The creature placed one tiny hand against its chest.
"You may refer to me by my formal designation."
"Randomly Spend Tycoon System?"
"Yes."
"That is a little long."
"It is dignified."
"Can I call you Mochi?"
"No."
A soft chime rang through the frozen street.
Nickname registered successfully.
System nickname: Mochi
The creature's eyes widened.
Yaoyao covered her smile.
"I thought you said no."
"I did."
"The system disagreed."
"I am the system."
"Apparently part of you likes it."
Mochi looked offended.
Then a second chime sounded.
Host affection toward system increased.
Mochi emotional stability increased.
Yaoyao raised an eyebrow.
"Emotional stability?"
"Do not read system notifications that are not relevant to you."
"They appeared in front of my face."
"I will correct that later."
Despite the impossible situation, Yaoyao laughed.
Mochi turned away, although its rosy cheeks appeared slightly brighter.
"Host," it said, recovering its serious tone, "do you wish to form a binding agreement with the Randomly Spend Tycoon System?"
"What would I have to do?"
"Complete spending missions."
Yaoyao's smile faded.
"Spend money?"
"Yes."
"My own money?"
"No."
A black card materialized in the air.
It rotated slowly before settling into her injured palm.
The cut vanished beneath a warm golden light.
The card was matte black and unusually cool. It had no bank name, number, signature strip, or visible chip.
A silver crescent moon gleamed on one side.
Beneath it was a tiny smiling mochi.
Yaoyao turned it over.
"How would this work in a card reader?"
"Perfectly."
"It doesn't have a chip."
"It does not require one."
"Is it connected to a bank?"
"No."
"Does it have a spending limit?"
"No."
Yaoyao nearly dropped it.
Mochi continued calmly.
"The card may only be used while an official spending mission is active. Once the mission ends, it becomes unusable until the next mission begins."
"So I can't spend from it whenever I want?"
"Correct."
"And the money I receive from rewards?"
"Belongs entirely to you. It may be saved, invested, donated, or spent according to your judgment."
Yaoyao studied the card.
"What is the purpose of the missions?"
"To teach you how to control, direct, and multiply wealth."
"I already know how to save."
"Yes."
Mochi glanced pointedly toward the noodle shop she had refused to enter.
"You are exceptionally talented at not spending."
Yaoyao felt accused.
"I have financial goals."
"You skipped dinner to save thirty-two yuan."
"There are dumplings at home."
"You did not know that when you made the decision."
"That is a minor detail."
"It is evidence."
"Of what?"
"That you require intervention."
Yaoyao stared at the tiny creature.
"Are you a wealth system or my grandmother?"
"I can perform both functions if necessary."
She laughed again.
Mochi's expression softened.
"Main missions will normally be assigned from Monday through Friday. Weekends are rest periods unless an extremely rare emergency mission is triggered."
"That sounds almost like a job."
"A highly compensated job."
"How compensated?"
A new screen appeared.
Beginner Spending Mission
Requirement: Spend at least ¥2,000 within one hour.
Mission funds must create genuine value.
Deliberate waste, fraud, or meaningless destruction will reduce the final evaluation.
Reward:
10× Cash Rebate
One Mystery Reward
Time remaining: 01:00:00
The timer immediately began counting down.
00:59:59
00:59:58
Yaoyao stared.
"Shouldn't I have agreed before you started the mission?"
"Accepting the card completed the agreement."
"You handed it to me."
"You accepted it."
"My hand was underneath it."
"Technical acceptance remains acceptance."
"That seems legally questionable."
"I am governed by interdimensional law."
"That sounds even more questionable."
Mochi floated beside her shoulder.
"Fifty-nine minutes remain."
Yaoyao looked around at the frozen city.
"How can I spend anything while time is stopped?"
The instant she spoke, the rain crashed back to earth.
Traffic moved.
Horns sounded.
The cyclist completed his pedal.
The advertisement flashed to its next line.
No one reacted to the floating creature beside Yaoyao.
She glanced at the passing pedestrians.
"Can they see you?"
"Only you and creatures with sufficiently strong spiritual perception can see my complete form."
"Creatures?"
Mochi abruptly looked away.
"That information is not currently relevant."
Yaoyao narrowed her eyes but let the subject go.
The mission timer ticked down.
She needed to spend two thousand yuan.
For someone who had spent years calculating every grocery purchase, the amount felt enormous.
She could buy clothes.
A new phone.
A better laptop bag.
She could walk into the noodle shop and pay for every customer's meal.
But the mission required genuine value.
The reward would be twenty thousand yuan if the rebate worked exactly as stated.
Twenty thousand.
That was more than two months of her internship income.
A sensible person might have questioned whether the system was real.
Yaoyao had already watched time stop and spoken to a floating mochi.
She decided the black card deserved a chance.
"What qualifies as genuine value?" she asked.
"You must judge."
"That's vague."
"It is designed to measure your decisions."
"Can I donate the money?"
"Pure donation is permitted, but missions may evaluate impact, efficiency, and intention."
Yaoyao began walking toward the subway.
Her eyes moved across the shops.
A pharmacy.
A bookstore.
A bakery.
A small appliance store.
She considered buying books for Sunrise Children's Home, but the children already had many donated textbooks. New winter coats would be useful, but two thousand yuan would not stretch far enough for all of them, and buying for only a few children might cause hurt feelings.
She could purchase supplies for the orphanage kitchen.
Rice.
Cooking oil.
Milk.
Fruit.
That would create genuine value.
Her steps quickened.
Then she noticed a handwritten sign taped to the window of a small restaurant.
Tonight's community meal postponed due to supplier cancellation. We apologize to our sanitation workers and delivery drivers.
Yaoyao stopped.
The restaurant was narrow and old, with only eight tables. Through the window, she saw an elderly couple speaking anxiously beside several empty food containers.
A group of sanitation workers waited beneath the awning next door, sheltering from the rain. Several delivery drivers were also gathered nearby, checking their phones.
"Community meal?" Yaoyao asked.
Mochi scanned the restaurant.
"The owners provide discounted dinners every Thursday to outdoor workers in the district. Their regular food supplier failed to deliver ingredients."
Today was Thursday.
Yaoyao looked at the workers.
Most were soaked from the rain.
One older man took a cold steamed bun from his pocket and broke it in half.
The mission timer showed forty-seven minutes.
Yaoyao pushed open the restaurant door.
A bell rang overhead.
The elderly woman behind the counter looked up.
"I'm sorry, young lady. We only have a few dishes available tonight."
"I saw the sign outside."
The woman sighed.
"We ordered ingredients for the community dinner, but the supplier's truck broke down. We tried to buy replacements, but the nearby wholesale market is already closing."
"How many people usually come?"
"About fifty or sixty."
Yaoyao looked toward the kitchen.
"What do you need?"
The elderly couple exchanged confused glances.
"Excuse me?"
"To prepare dinner. What ingredients do you need?"
The old man picked up a handwritten list.
"Rice, pork, eggs, cabbage, tomatoes, cooking oil, flour, and a few other things. But even if we had the ingredients, it would cost more than two thousand yuan at retail prices."
Exactly what she needed.
Yaoyao held out the black card.
"I'll pay."
The woman stared at her.
"You'll what?"
"I'd like to cover tonight's ingredients."
"No, no." The woman shook her head immediately. "We can't accept that. You're only a student."
"How did you know?"
"You're wearing Cloud City University's internship badge."
Yaoyao looked down.
She had forgotten to remove it.
The woman softened.
"Your kindness is enough. Keep your money."
"It isn't my money."
Mochi coughed beside her.
Yaoyao corrected herself.
"I mean, the money has already been set aside for something useful."
The couple still hesitated.
The timer reached forty-two minutes.
Yaoyao smiled.
"Please let me help. The workers outside have probably been in the rain all day."
The old man looked through the window.
His expression changed when he saw the sanitation worker eating the cold bun.
After a long silence, he nodded.
"There's a supermarket two streets away. It should still be open."
"Make a list of everything you need."
The elderly woman hurried behind the counter and began writing.
Ten minutes later, Yaoyao stood at the supermarket checkout with two carts full of food.
Rice.
Pork.
Chicken.
Eggs.
Vegetables.
Flour.
Cooking oil.
Milk.
Fruit.
Disposable containers.
Bottled water.
The total appeared on the screen.
¥2,186.40
Yaoyao's fingers tightened around the black card.
The cashier glanced at it.
"I haven't seen this card before."
"It's new."
"Which bank?"
Yaoyao looked at Mochi.
Mochi looked back innocently.
"Private bank," Yaoyao said.
The cashier inserted the card into the reader even though it had no visible chip.
The screen flashed.
Transaction approved.
A soft chime sounded inside Yaoyao's mind.
Mission spending requirement completed.
Evaluation in progress.
The card worked.
It had actually worked.
The cashier printed the receipt.
Yaoyao stared at the total.
For the first time in her life, she had spent more than two thousand yuan without feeling her soul leave her body.
Mochi floated in front of her.
"You are breathing too quickly."
"I just spent two thousand yuan."
"Mission funds."
"My hands still remember poverty."
"That is not how hands work."
"You don't know what my hands have experienced."
Mochi looked down at her fingers.
After a thoughtful pause, it patted the back of her hand with one tiny arm.
"Your hands will experience larger transactions in the future."
"That was not comforting."
The supermarket arranged delivery for the groceries after Yaoyao explained the restaurant's situation.
By the time she returned, the elderly couple had already called two relatives to help cook.
The sanitation workers were still outside.
The old woman smiled when she saw the delivery cart.
"You really bought everything."
"And extra fruit."
"This is too much."
"It's raining. Everyone should eat something warm."
The couple tried to ask for her name, but Yaoyao only introduced herself as a nearby student.
She helped carry the lighter bags into the restaurant.
Soon, the kitchen filled with the sounds of chopping vegetables, boiling water, and sizzling oil.
The old man prepared large pots of braised pork and cabbage.
His wife made tomato-and-egg soup.
Their relatives rolled dough for flatbread.
The smell spread into the street.
The workers beneath the awning began looking toward the restaurant.
The elderly woman stepped outside.
"Dinner is ready after all!"
A sanitation worker hesitated.
"But the sign said—"
"A kind student helped us."
The woman turned to point at Yaoyao.
Yaoyao had already picked up her wet bag.
"I should leave."
"Wait," the owner said. "At least eat with us."
"My roommate saved dinner for me."
"Then take some fruit."
Before Yaoyao could refuse, the woman placed two apples and a carton of milk in her hands.
"This is not payment. It is a grandmother worrying that you're too thin."
Mochi nodded solemnly.
"She is correct."
"You are not helping," Yaoyao muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
The old woman squeezed her hand.
"Good things will come to you, child."
Yaoyao smiled.
She had heard similar words many times.
Usually after helping someone carry groceries, tutoring a child, or returning something that had been lost.
She never expected life to reward kindness.
Kindness was not an investment.
It did not need to produce interest.
Still, as she stepped back into the rain, warmth spread through her chest.
Behind her, the workers entered the restaurant one by one.
The timer disappeared.
A bright golden screen unfolded.
Beginner Mission Completed
Required Spending: ¥2,000
Actual Spending: ¥2,186.40
Mission Evaluation: SSS
Evaluation Summary:
The Host identified an immediate community need.
The spending created food, dignity, warmth, and meaningful benefit for sixty-three people.
No personal recognition was requested.
10× rebate activated.
Reward: ¥21,864
Yaoyao's phone vibrated.
She took it out.
A banking notification appeared.
Deposit received: ¥21,864
She opened her account.
The money was there.
Real.
Available.
No strange bank name appeared beside the transfer. It was labeled simply:
Mochi Reward Settlement
Yaoyao counted the digits twice.
Then a third time.
Her Home Fund had taken three years to reach ¥126,430.
In less than an hour, she had earned more than twenty thousand yuan.
She looked at Mochi.
"This is legal?"
"Completely."
"Taxed?"
"Automatically."
"Documented?"
"Yes."
"Traceable?"
"Where appropriate."
"That answer worries me."
"You may request financial statements at any time."
She relaxed slightly.
"I think I like you."
Mochi lifted its chin.
"That is the expected response."
A second notification appeared.
Mystery Reward unlocked.
Golden light gathered around the broken yellow windmill still sticking out of Yaoyao's bag.
The damaged toy began to spin despite the absence of wind.
A distant dog barked.
A bird cried from a rooftop.
A stray cat beneath a parked car lifted its head.
The golden light entered Yaoyao's chest.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the cat spoke.
"That human smells like soup."
Yaoyao stopped walking.
She slowly turned toward the parked car.
The orange cat licked one paw.
"Also rain. Too much rain. Terrible day."
Yaoyao stared.
The cat stared back.
Its fur puffed up.
"She can hear me."
Another cat answered from inside an alley.
"Impossible. Humans are stupid."
Yaoyao's mouth opened.
Mochi floated beside her, looking pleased.
Hidden Blessing Acquired: Animal Language
The Host may now understand and communicate with animals.
The orange cat crept forward.
"Human."
Yaoyao swallowed.
"Yes?"
The cat jumped backward.
"She answered!"
Three pigeons exploded from a nearby rooftop.
A small dog across the street began barking excitedly.
"She talks! The wet human talks!"
"I am not a wet human," Yaoyao protested.
The dog tilted its head.
"You are very wet."
"That is unfortunately true."
The orange cat moved closer again, suspicion in its green eyes.
"Do you have food?"
Yaoyao looked down at the milk and apples in her hands.
"No cat food."
The cat sighed.
"Useless magical human."
Mochi burst into laughter.
It was the first truly unrestrained sound Yaoyao had heard from the tiny system.
She looked at him.
"You knew this would happen."
"It was a mystery reward."
"You knew."
"I suspected."
The cat sat on Yaoyao's shoe to escape the rain.
"Take me to the soup place."
"They probably won't let a cat inside."
"Then steal pork."
"I'm not stealing pork."
"You are more useless than expected."
Yaoyao crouched and carefully lifted the cat.
It stiffened.
"Kidnapping!"
"I'm moving you out of the rain."
"Oh."
She carried it beneath the restaurant's awning and set it beside a dry cardboard box.
The cat inspected the box.
"Acceptable."
One of the restaurant workers came outside carrying a small bowl containing scraps of cooked chicken.
"There you are, Orange. I was looking for you."
The cat immediately forgot Yaoyao existed.
"My servant has arrived."
The man placed the bowl near the box.
Yaoyao smiled and continued walking.
The rain had softened.
Cloud City's towers glowed through the mist, their windows shining like scattered stars.
An hour earlier, Sang Yaoyao had been an exhausted intern with wet shoes, an empty stomach, and a dream that felt decades away.
Now she had a floating system beside her, a mysterious black card in her pocket, more than twenty thousand yuan in newly earned money, and the ability to argue with cats.
Her life had changed so quickly that she could barely understand it.
"Mochi."
"Yes, Host?"
"Why does the mission requirement increase?"
"The next main mission will require ten times the spending amount of the first."
Yaoyao stopped.
"Twenty thousand yuan?"
"Correct."
"And after that?"
"Two hundred thousand."
She stared at him.
"And after that?"
"Two million."
Yaoyao's eye twitched.
Mochi smiled sweetly.
"Your hands should prepare themselves."
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she began walking again.
"How do hands prepare for two million yuan?"
"I recommend stretching."
"That is not financial advice."
"I am multidimensional, not magical."
"You stopped time."
"A technical function."
"You made money appear in my bank account."
"A settlement function."
"You taught me to speak to cats."
"A blessing function."
"That sounds magical."
Mochi considered this.
"I am multidimensional and somewhat magical."
Yaoyao laughed beneath the fading rain.
The sound surprised her.
She could not remember the last time she had felt so light.
Her apartment was still small.
Her savings were still far from enough for a home.
Tomorrow morning, she would still attend class.
Tomorrow afternoon, she would still return to Xinghe Group, where supervisors would hand her work that should have belonged to permanent employees.
Nothing around her had visibly changed.
And yet everything had.
She touched the black card through her pocket.
For the first time, the future did not feel like a narrow road she had to crawl along one careful step at a time.
It felt enormous.
Unpredictable.
Perhaps even dangerous.
But it was finally hers to choose.
Far across Cloud City, at the top of Lu Group's headquarters, a man stood before a wall of windows overlooking the rain-soaked skyline.
Lu Jingshen closed the development proposal in his hands.
"The auction list has been confirmed?" he asked.
His assistant nodded.
"Yes, President Lu. The eastern riverfront parcel will be included next month."
Lu Jingshen's gaze settled on a dark stretch of land beyond the city center.
Lu Group had spent three years acquiring the properties surrounding it.
That final parcel was the key to the entire development.
"No mistakes," he said.
"We will secure it."
At that same moment, Mochi opened a hidden map inside Sang Yaoyao's system interface.
A small plot of land near the eastern riverfront began glowing gold.
Potential strategic asset detected.
Estimated future value: immeasurable.
But Yaoyao did not see the message.
She was too busy explaining to a sparrow that no, it could not move into her apartment.
The paths of two people who had never met had already begun moving toward the same piece of land.
And when they finally crossed, neither Cloud City nor its five great families would remain unchanged.