Future (2)

Lin Qiang shifted the conversation, "How long have you been in the industry? You must be quite the veteran."

"I've been here lot longer than you guys, about ten years now. I'm a client manager," Zhang Jiaming replied, still beaming and assuming a mentor's demeanor.

"You must really love working at the grassroots level!" Lin Qiang remarked to Zheng Shuai, "I remember it took me less than a year at the bottom before I got promoted. How long did it take you, Zheng Shuai?"

"Three months!" Zheng Shuai immediately caught on to Lin Qiang's implication and laughed loudly, "I really admire those who spend their whole lives on the front lines!"

This statement instantly hit Zhang Jiaming's sore spot.

"You guys..." Zhang Jiaming, momentarily speechless, stopped talking, holding back his anger as he continued to lead them down the underground passage, cursing inwardly. These two ignorant brats, no wonder they were sent here. I'll teach them a lesson on how to behave!

In the banking industry, no one wanted to stay in an outlet forever. The work was intensive, largely mechanical, and required dealing with all sorts of difficult characters. For someone like Zhang Jiaming, who had been at the grassroots level for ten years without advancing, the chances of further promotion were slim.

For women, it was more acceptable to have a stable job on the front lines without seeking great wealth or status. But for men, it somewhat reflected their capabilities and could make them feel a bit ashamed.

After much effort in the dim passageway, Zhang Jiaming finally opened an inconspicuous little door on the wall, releasing a wave of musty odor mixed with dust.

"Pfft..." Zheng Shuai immediately covered his nose and waved his hand in disgust, "What a strong moldy smell..."

Zhang Jiaming found the light switch and turned it on. Once the room was lit, he turned to enjoy their reactions.

The cement floor, bunk beds, a coffee table and desk covered in mold, and a tattered sofa that came from who knows where, all combined to create a smell of lacquer and mildew in the damp, unventilated room. 

"This place is for people? Brother, you must be joking," Zheng Shuai frowned and backed out of the room.

"Gentlemen, bear with it. The duty electrician lived here, and it was fine," Zhang Jiaming said, placing the flashlight on the old desk with a mischievous grin, "You might be here for a while, so the flashlight is yours. Be careful going up and down the stairs."

After Zhang Jiaming left with a swagger, still smiling, Zheng Shuai cursed, "What the hell? A tiger in troubled times is being bullied by a dog! Boss Lin, let's go rent a place ourselves!"

"Let's stay here for a while. I can endure this," Lin Qiang also disliked the situation but considered Zhang Jiaming a minor inconvenience. However, it was clear that even such a small character dared to treat them this way, indicating strong hostility from the staff at the outlet.

Lin Qiang knew he hadn't made any mistakes at work, and so his position couldn't be demoted too much.

He was here to serve as the deputy of the outlet. His presence threatened the promotion prospects of the existing staff and put pressure on the higher-ups. It seemed everyone hoped he and Zheng Shuai would leave soon.

"You've worked in administration for a long time. You should have some connections, right?" Lin Qiang asked, unwilling to swallow this insult.

"Definitely, if nothing else, I have my connections."

"Then contact the administrative head of the branch and ask about renting a place. See if there's any chance."

"Absolutely!" Zheng Shuai quickly pulled out his phone and cursed, "I checked before; this outlet has eight people. Let's see how many units they rented."

Soon, he cursed again, "Damn it, no signal in the basement!"

With that, Zheng Shuai grabbed the flashlight and dashed upstairs.

Lin Qiang started unpacking, generously making the top bunk for himself. Zheng Shuai was half a year younger and he had always taken the top bunk in school. He had never expected that many years later, he would have the opportunity to experience this kind of dormitory life again.

While throwing out the moldy bedding, a thin booklet fell out. The dark yellow, old booklet caught Lin Qiang's interest. He tossed the bedding aside and squatted down to examine it.

The booklet's cover was old and yellowed, wrinkled and battered, but the three large characters on the cover were still visible—

Pictures of Money 

Curious, Lin Qiang picked up the booklet. He had always dealt with money but rarely saw actual cash, usually just playing a game of numbers. He figured this was probably an ancient coin catalog.

Surprisingly cultured for an electrician.

The pleasant rustle of old paper accompanied Lin Qiang as he opened the first page.

Sure enough, the first page depicted a large copper coin. The coin was unusual, not round but octagonal, like a bagua.

The octagonal copper coin was entirely bronze, almost free from corrosion, and its vivid colors seemed to shimmer with a golden light on the paper.

Normally, the central hole of a copper coin would be inscribed with the emperor's title, such as "Yongzheng Tongbao." However, this octagonal coin bore the characters "Money—Chart—Profit—Loss," which was very peculiar.

Looking at the whole picture, the large copper coin appeared vividly lifelike on the paper, making one feel as if it were real. Perhaps only a cubist painter could create such an effect.

Despite knowing it was foolish, Lin Qiang was irresistibly drawn to this coin, as if under some mesmerizing spell. At that moment, he felt as if the hole in the coin contained a bottomless vortex, capturing his soul.

Unable to resist, he reached out with his right hand, slowly extending it towards the coin's hole, trying to touch it.

Buzz... buzz...

Just as he thought he would miss, a cold metallic sensation from his fingertips startled him. The vortex in the coin's hole suddenly brightened, and a beam of golden light shot out straight into Lin Qiang's left eye.

Lin Qiang couldn't dodge in time and was hit by the golden light. His left eye immediately felt sore and itchy, followed by a sudden wave of comfort. At the same time, a buzzing sound resonated in his mind, like the vibration of a coin flicked by a finger.

On the blank page below the booklet, a few lines of small characters slowly emerged:

[Accumulate virtuous deeds, gain righteous wealth, and the path of money will open]

[Trapped by money, seeking profit and loss, the end of reincarnation]

[Even if obsessed with money, you must not fall into the trap of money, otherwise you will not have a good ending]

[Master the money chart, do not invert good and evil, or misfortune will ensue]

....

The lines of text silently appeared and then disappeared like a ghostly script!

Lin Qiang was so frightened that he screamed, instinctively jumped up, and dropped the booklet, taking two steps back. He didn't know that in his left pupil, the image of the copper coin still flickered, with the dark hole seeming to contain endless mysteries.

In his confusion, Zheng Shuai pushed Lin Qiang awake:

"Boss Lin, what's wrong? Didn't you just say you could adapt to this place?"

"Is this place haunted?" Lin Qiang blurted out in his still-shocked state.

"Haunted? Maybe! Ghosts that mess with people!!" Zheng Shuai responded angrily, punching the door with a dull thud. He was usually quite kind, but this time he was really pissed off. "I asked the branch administration, and they said they rented three rooms in total. The basement is for storage. Each room above can accommodate four people, but now there are only eight of us here! Clearly, we could stay upstairs!"

The more Zheng Shuai talked, the angrier he became: "Then I called that guy named Zhang, and he said they had to leave space for two women who would be coming! He even said that men should be more accommodating! Accommodating, my foot! Why doesn't he accommodate?"

Listening to Zheng Shuai's rant, Lin Qiang finally snapped out of his shock. He walked a few steps forward, slowly picked up the booklet from the floor, and reopened it. The copper coin was gone. He flipped through two more pages, finding only blurry text.

"Hey, hey! Are you out of your mind?!" Zheng Shuai patted Lin Qiang. "Why don't we rent our own place? We could probably share a place for under 1000 yuan a month."

Lin Qiang turned to Zheng Shuai, about to speak when the buzzing sound echoed in his mind again. His left eye felt an urge, and as he blinked—

GoldenEye, it really worked!

An annotated stock chart quietly appeared:

[Zheng Shuai, Liquid Assets: 130,000 yuan.]

[From a wealthy family owning two properties, long-term outlook is bullish!]

[Unsuccessful job transfer, irritable mood, short-term outlook is bearish!]

...

There was more information, but it was blurry. No matter how hard Lin Qiang tried, he couldn't see it clearly.

A sharp pain struck, and his eyes watered. He had to rub his eyes.

In an instant, the stock chart vanished.

"What's wrong? Didn't you just say you could endure this hardship? Have you already broken down?" Zheng Shuai quickly supported Lin Qiang.

"You sneaky guy, hiding two properties at home!" Lin Qiang rubbed his eyes and joked.

"What?! How did you know?!" Zheng Shuai's face twitched in shock. "Nonsense, I never talk about my family affairs. What are you guessing at?"

No matter what Zheng Shuai said, his expression betrayed him. If it were false, an average person would have laughed it off. But because it was true, Zheng Shuai became flustered.

In fact, it was normal for Zheng Shuai to keep his family background quiet, to avoid envy and jealousy.

"Let's stop joking and find a place to rent?" Zheng Shuai suggested, trying to change the topic in his panic.

"No." Lin Qiang firmly refused. "Why should they stay in comfortable free housing while we pay for ours?"

"Isn't it better than staying here and getting humiliated?"

"You're with me now, give me some time." Lin Qiang grinned. "I'll make them realize that a person's strength doesn't diminish because of their location."

"But... 1000 yuan... It's not much..."

Lin Qiang immediately scolded, "Zheng Gongzi, I owe millions in mortgage payments!"

"Fuck... I feel so stressed..."