9: Reason

George composed a message and sent it, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't receive a reply. This made him uneasy, and the feeling that the key to wealth was slipping away grew stronger.

At the same time, Alex was running on the school playground, and his phone was left in the dormitory.

It's summer vacation, and he chose to stay at school. There aren't many people on campus.

About half an hour later, Alex left the playground and returned to the dormitory after a walk. Though there weren't many people around, there were still a few.

He took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and admired his youthful face in the mirror. "Being young is a great thing, just like the morning sun at eight or nine in the morning," he thought. They say a man stays young until he dies, and his heart never ages, but the body has to obey the laws of aging.

Traveling back to 2008, in this vibrant 20-year-old body, Alex felt the beauty of youth once again.

Just then, his phone received a classic QQ message alert.

Alex picked up the phone and checked it. He saw that George had sent two messages and entered the chat window to check.

[Hey, are you there?]

[Why haven't you been to the internet cafe recently?]

Alex chuckled, realizing that George couldn't bear the absence of a week after tasting the sweet success of making money. It was all part of the plan.

George's emotions were being manipulated by Alex. He wanted to create leverage from George, but he would never ask for help directly. To achieve this, he intentionally played it cool and disappeared for a few days.

After a while, Alex composed a message in the chat window and sent it: ​

[I'm increasing my investments. I've been busy with that lately, trying to secure more capital.]

On the other end, George, upon seeing the response from Alex, replied quickly: ​[Did you manage to secure the funds?]

Alex looked at the message, with a smile on his face, and replied: ​

[Not yet. It's summer vacation, and most of my college friends have gone home. I plan to go back to my hometown tomorrow to try to secure around fifty to sixty thousand dollars.]

George, upon seeing the message, was taken aback. Alex was planning to go back to his hometown.

George was instantly worried. He thought about it for a moment and replied: ​

[Why didn't you reach out to me? I can provide you with fifty to sixty thousand yuan.]​

Alex, when he saw George's message, was hardly surprised, as he expected George to offer his help. It was all part of the plan.

However, he still needed to keep the conversation going. Alex quickly edited a message and replied: ​

[Is that so?]​

The aim was to make it look like George was the one actively offering the money, rather than Alex seeking it.

George quickly replied again: 

[There's nothing wrong with it, my friend. If you consider me a friend, I can prepare the money for you right away. You can come see me tomorrow or send me your address, and I'll come to you.]

Alex saw the message in the chat window and smiled. Everything was going according to plan. George's emotions were firmly in his control. He was eager to offer help.

After a while, Alex sent a message: ​

[I'll see you at the internet cafe at 8 a.m. tomorrow.]​

It was settled. George was relieved to have Alex agree to meet him.

But George didn't waste any time. The market was still open, so he logged into his securities account and transferred half of the money in it to his bank account. This way, he could make the transfer to Alex's bank account the next day.

Meanwhile, Alex, with nothing else to do, thought about the social reputation system. He activated the interface of the social reputation system, curious to see if anything had changed.

"Huh? The reputation points have increased?" Alex was surprised by the changes in the data.

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[Social Prestige System]

[Binder: Fang Hong]

[Current Fame Point: 10]

[Available Achievement Points: 1]

[Note: The item store is open]

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"It seems George contributed these reputation points..." Alex realized that he had established significant influence over George in the past few days.

He then explored the item store. There were six categories: Research and Development, Operation, Loyalty, Attributes, Clearing, and Health, offering item cards that could be exchanged. These item cards could only be used by Alex and his team members. Other individuals couldn't benefit from them.

Using these item cards on his team members could improve their abilities. For instance, the "R&D" item card would enhance research and development skills, "Operation" would improve operational skills, and "Loyalty" would increase loyalty towards Alex.

The "Attributes" item card provided a view of the comprehensive attributes of the target, and the "Clearing" item card erased the bonus effect on the target. However, the "Health" item card was only applicable to Alex himself and would improve his health.

Alex paid particular attention to the "Health" item card. After experiencing rebirth and gaining a new life, he understood the value of good health. As he grew older, he recognized the importance of youth and vitality.

After exploring the item store, Alex closed the social reputation system interface for the time being. He knew that redeeming an item card required 100,000 achievement points and that collecting these points from a substantial number of people would take time.

Nevertheless, Alex wasn't too concerned. He was most interested in the "Health" item card, and he was currently in excellent health, being in a 20-year-old body.

He set aside the thought of item cards for now and continued with his day.