I'm editing chapter 5 and Chapter 4. I'm working on making the jokes flow more naturally you can see the revised version at the bottom of Chapter 4 and throughout Chapter 5. If there are any awkward moments or typo, just let me know and I'll patch them up as soon as possible
...
...
...
"Ah, Qingyi's payment has arrived!"
Hearing the notification of funds entering his mobile account, Gojo felt a brief surge of excitement.
With this Denny, he could ease the financial pressure on the Jujutsu Small Shop and continue his carefree {bum life} a little longer.
He opened his phone, originally intending to relax and check the latest news.
But his expression froze.
The screen was flooded with debt collection messages.
Rent. Utilities. Social security. Furniture maintenance inspections…and the thought of a visibly depressed Nekomata was enough to give him a headache.
Of course, the most eye-catching thing was his bank card balance.
102,000 Denny.
This month's rent situation was already extremely critical, with less than five days left before all fees were due.
In other words, he needed to more than 150,000 Denny within five days just to keep the shop running this month.
A full-scale financial disaster.
"Fortunately, there's still 100,000 Denny… at least that's some comfort."
Gojo stared at the number and felt an unexpected sense of comfort.
Role-playing [(The Honored One)] was way too hard, okay?
What kind of family did [(The Honored One)] have in the original story and what kind of family did he have?
Trying to earn as much Denny as the Gojo clan while being completely alone was simply an impossible task.
In his heart, Gojo silently denounced the system's lack of mercy.
...
Right now, Nekomata was quietly counting her "children."
Each one she listed sounded less like an inventory entry… and more like something she was afraid to lose again.
A fleeting thought of revenge surfaced in her mind.
But it shattered almost immediately, replaced by something heavier. Fear.
Fear that acting on it would cost her even more "children."
So she swallowed it.
And just like that, she returned to her silent counting.
And now, she was considering "restocking" them.
"Teacher, I'm going to buy new siblings… maybe it'll calm down the remaining children. I need 50,000 Denny. You should have that on your end, right?"
From afar, Nekomata's hoarse, slightly choked voice came as she continued counting with hollow precision how many "children" she had left.
"Uh… haha, yes…"
Hearing Nekomata's words, Gojo felt as if his soul was about to float out of his mouth.
Great. Now the 100,000 Denny had become 50,000. Even his last bit of comfort was gone.
As the shop owner, why was he suffering like this? should't he lives like a {bum}.
"Hm? Teacher, what's wrong?" Nekomata poked her head out after neatly organizing the 'children,' looking toward him with a slight tilt of her head.
"No, it's nothing. I'll transfer it to you. Go out and bring back a few beautiful 'children' thanks for your hard work!" Gojo said, forcing a grin.
"Oh, I see. I thought you were heartbroken because Miss Ellen ate the display cases... and 15,000 Denny worth of cake"
"I'll go bring more 'children' then! Teacher, remember to contact Qingyi and the others before you sleep!"
Another critical hit.
Gojo's heart took damage.
Right Ellen had eaten the display cases, along with the 15,000 Denny cake.
Hiding behind the sofa, Gojo silently wept behind his sunglasses. His spirit had quietly shattered into pieces.
"Got it. Be careful on the road!"
"Okay, Teacher!" Nekomata replied, then stepped out the door with heavy steps, marching off with a determined expression to buy a few more 'children.'
The moment the door closed, Gojo immediately stood up and reached for his phone, searching for commissions like his life depended on it.
The Jujutsu Small Shop was closely tied to his role-playing. After running it for so many years, he had long since developed real feelings for it, so he absolutely could not let it go bankrupt.
He couldn't afford to live as a {Bum} anymore.
At the very least, he had to take a commission and rush out.
"Ding!"
Gojo opened his messages and checked his Inter-knot account.
Qingyi: "Mr. Gojo is quite efficient. The Team Leader sent some tea leaves. I'll visit you another time!"
Gojo: "Can the tea leaves be exchanged for Denny?"
Qingyi: "?"
Gojo: "Denny is more practical."
Qingyi: "…"
After a brief chat, Gojo switched windows and entered Inter-knot.
He switched to the ID account named [(W)].
This was the Proxy account he used to accept Hollow commissions.
The moment he logged in, a flood of messages rushed in, with countless commission requests piling up.
[Professional Girlfriend Recovery Service]
[Friend, I need you to help me enter the Hollow to find my lost girlfriend. Her skin is very fair and soft, almost like silicone. She's 165cm tall with a pure appearance...]
[Big Sister's Missing Man Department]
[W, I know you're very skilled. Commission: 100,000 Denny. Content: find my lost boyfriend, {(The Honored One)}. As long as you can retrieve Big Sister's lost man from the Hollow, I can add another 100,000!]
[Commission: Help me find something!]
[Commission...]
"It's as messy as ever. This one seems more serious, I'll take this one."
After a casual glance, Gojo accepted the first new commission. He only saw the high reward and didn't even read the details of the following requests.
Not looking at the content came from confidence in his own strength, so he didn't take the commission seriously at all.
"I'll just do one a day from now on. In five days, I should be able to earn more than 150,000 Denny!"
"Hm… I should go to bed early today too. I've got school tomorrow. Actually, I could play games for a bit first!"
Although making money was important, it was already late. Following the principle that {Bum} is life, relaxation came first.
Gojo tossed his phone aside, ran back to his room, and immediately started gaming.
"Buzz buzz." His phone rang. A message from the client popped up.
Anonymous: [250,000 Denny. Commission: retrieve a silver safe from the Red Fang Gang.][Warning: Do not open it. Do not break it. Absolutely do not interfere with the contents.][Attached image: box.jpg][Commission status: Accepted]
...
The next day.
After waking up, Gojo opened his eyes to see the sky outside just beginning to brighten.
He glanced at the time. It was just after five in the morning.
He didn't rush to get up and instead first checked Inter-knot.
As expected, the platform was already filled with news about him. The incident of his appearance in the Hollow had become the number one trending topic on Inter-knot.
[Hollow Husband Fan Club (Member #1)]
[Sisters, I told you that the Mysterious Hollow Raider {(The Honored One)} would return. Look, he's back! He appeared in the Hollow!]
[City-Endorsed Girlfriend Enjoyer]
[Hubby, hubby, ahhh! I love him to death! Don't talk about any danger to New Eridu; even if he destroyed all of New Eridu, I could accept it!]
{(The Honored One)} Is An Idiot
[A bunch of brain-dead girls being brain-dead again. The investigation team said it's'suspected.' Are you blind? And saying you'd accept him destroying New Eridu? Ridiculous, a bunch of idiots with poison on the brain!][Your morals follow a face. All day long you fantasize about him being your husband; why not pay more attention to the recent trends in New Eridu.]
{(The Honored One)} Little Doggy
[Are you jealous that our baby is handsome, strong, and popular? Is it hard for you that nobody pays attention to you?][Stinking trash, you can only be a keyboard warrior. Looking at you, you probably don't even dare to leave your house normally. A rat in the gutter!]
{(The Honored One)} Is An Idiot
[I care about New Eridu. I can't be bothered to argue with you brain-dead people!]
W
[Stop fighting over {(The Honored One)}]
Feeling bored, Gojo posted a comment almost like an automated bot, just to participate.
He was already tired of seeing arguments like this.
Situations like this had happened countless times before.
Fans and anti-fans had formed two opposing camps and had been fighting for years.
Gojo stood up, preparing to wash up and change clothes, but then his phone rang with a ping notification, so he looked down again.
{(The Honored One)} Is An Idiot
[@W, right bro? I told you these girls are brain-dead. Just block them. All day long it's "{(The Honored One)} is my husband" and "I want to have {(The Honored One)} babies." If you ask me, we don't even know if {(The Honored One)} even exists. And if he does, he's just a future threat to New Eridu!]
[The key point is the silver hair and blindfold, it's like some 2D character design. Oh right, he's just like that cake shop owner on Sixth Street: soft, not a trace of masculinity. A real man should have big muscles, be tan, and covered in oil and sweat every day. Don't you agree? A man should look like a man!]
Gojo: …
The other party seemed to have mistaken his bot-like comment for a kindred spirit.Also… what the hell.
But could he really endure being insulted like that?
W
[Since you talk about him like that, aren't you afraid he'll read it and show up to smash your head in tonight?]
{(The Honored One)} Is An Idiot
[Tsk, he won't see it. Even if he does, so what? He doesn't know my address. Can he stop me from talking online? If he's so great, let him come find me in person!]
W: [Eighteenth Street, juan Road, No. 69?]
{(The Honored One)} Is An Idiot
[Holy crap, bro, how did you find that out?]
W
[Tonight, {(The Honored One)} is going to smash your head in.]
{(The Honored One)} Is An Idiot
[Holy crap, who are you?]
W
[{(The Honored One)} little brother!]
{(The Honored One)}Is An Idiot
[Damn it, you're brain-dead too!]
[Hey, answer me!]
[If you dare come looking for me, I'm calling the Public Security Bureau!]
[Where are you?!]
...
Looking at the continuous messages from the other party, Gojo put down his phone. He found it bit funny and didn't respond further. He was just playing around, giving the other side a small scare as a lesson for calling him effeminate.
It was about time to head out. He had already changed into his Jujutsu uniform and tidied himself up, ready to leave the shop.
But just as he reached the door, a sudden "ding-dong" sounded.
"Teacher, we have a guest!" Nekomata reacted instantly.
"Is it Ellen?" Gojo checked the time. It was just past six in the morning.
The only person he could think of who would come looking for him at this hour was Ellen.
But soon, a voice came from outside the door.
"Gojo, open the door for me! I want to eat cake!!"
Nicole's voice rang out.
The moment Gojo heard it, he snapped fully awake.
Isn't this the Queen of {plate tectonics}" the walking reason why New Eridu's seismic activity report is never zero.
the kind of person geologists would blame for a 7.0 magnitude earthquake just from her sitting down.
the kind of person seismologists lose sleep over and now she was here for the freshly baked cake for free?
"Nekomata, close the door! We absolutely cannot let her in!"
"Ah… yes, meow!" Nekomata reacted instantly and moved to lock it.
But BANG! The door was already forced open.
Nicole stood there with arms crossed, a smile on her face as she peered inside and the very "earth" itself trembled in response to her every movement.
Her hair was messy, and Anby and Billy also looked noticeably disheveled behind her.
"Gojo, it's been a long time!"
"…Uh, actually, I didn't really want to see you guys…?"
TBC
...
...
Answer to lord_Gilgamesh
Q: why make some words like 'bum life' bold?
A: Gojo seriously dreams of living a {Bum} life, so I bolded it because I find it funny. This is just for my own amusement if you feel it's not funny or it hurts the joke, I'm open to suggestions.
Did I get shadowbanned? I can't see my reply to lord_Gilgamesh on my other account. Could someone check? Thanks in advance.
I added several jokes in this chapter. If anything feels awkward or there are any typos, just let me know and I'll patch them up as soon as possible.