There was a choice of three rewards: permanent bonus, AI assistant, and an empty skill slot.
The AI assistant could be ruled out immediately, but choosing between the permanent bonus and the empty skill slot proved difficult.
Xia Yu had previously received the permanent bonus. The “Agility +1” in his skill list was a permanent bonus. Its meaning was that Xia Yu could practice this skill within his body.
His agility skill had never used any experience cards, yet it had already reached level 4. If it weren’t for the music skill using a level-up card, agility would be his highest-level skill.
On the other hand, the empty skill slot allowed Xia Yu to store multiple body accounts, which was also very important.
Anyway, there was no requirement to choose immediately. He could leave it for now and decide when the time came.
Ignoring the options, Xia Yu returned to his villa.
As he was about to head to An Siyao’s place, he received a call from An Tianfeng.
An Tianfeng wanted to discuss some software matters with him.
Therefore, Xia Yu left the villa again and took a taxi to An Tianfeng’s company.
Inside the office, besides An Tianfeng, Manager Ruan was also present.
An Tianfeng offered Xia Yu tea, had him sit down, and then directly said, “I want to buy this software.”
“Oh?” Xia Yu was somewhat surprised. He had indeed brought the software intending to ask An Tianfeng to introduce a buyer, but he hadn’t expected An Tianfeng himself to want to buy it.
“Do you think what will be the focus of this era moving forward?” Without addressing Xia Yu’s surprise or continuing to discuss the software, An Tianfeng stood by the window, gazing at the view below as he asked the question.
“The Internet,” Xia Yu replied. Having come from a past life, he naturally knew what the next era would center around.
“Exactly. At this point when real industries are in decline, only the Internet offers the profits we pursue.” An Tianfeng glanced at Xia Yu. Although he admired Xia Yu’s insight, he felt slightly disappointed that he couldn’t show off more.
“There’s also entertainment—the Internet is still about consumer entertainment,” Xia Yu added, praising An Tianfeng’s vision.
Although the technology in this world was no different from Earth’s, due to the global war before unification, the focus had always been on reviving real industries, leaving entertainment underdeveloped and the Internet underutilized.
“That’s why I established the Internet department, but currently it’s not going very smoothly,” An Tianfeng said, glancing at Manager Ruan, who immediately looked away.
Xia Yu understood An Tianfeng’s meaning. In short, An recognized the Internet’s potential but couldn’t develop products, so he wanted to buy this software.
Couldn’t he just say that directly instead of going through the trouble of setting up a background story like in an anime?
“How much does Uncle An think this software is worth?” Xia Yu asked directly.
An Tianfeng, who had been preparing to continue expounding his grand vision, had no choice but to abandon the explanation.
“Twenty million,” An Tianfeng said solemnly.
That price was inflated. In this world, entertainment wasn’t yet well-developed, and mobile entertainment options were even fewer, so there weren’t many users needing phone addiction treatment.
“We plan to port it to PC,” An Tianfeng added.
Xia Yu nodded and agreed to the quote.
He casually added, “Actually, this software also has a derivative use.”
“What is it?” An Tianfeng asked, puzzled.
“Most users of this software will be students and young people, an extremely precise user group. As to what you can do with them, that’s up to you.”
The concept of traffic was already commonplace on Earth, but in this world, it was still in its infancy.
An Tianfeng and Manager Ruan exchanged glances, and Ruan indicated he needed to think it over.
An Tianfeng pulled out another file folder: “We’ve already prepared the company documents for you. But building a good platform isn’t easy. What are your next plans?”
“Uncle An, do you have any suitable people who could help?” When it came to these matters, Xia Yu felt somewhat troubled. He only wanted money; company affairs were too troublesome.
Perhaps he should find someone with business management skills, but such skills weren’t easy to come by.
“Then Manager Ruan can help you set up the platform,” An Tianfeng said casually, tossing the responsibility to his subordinate.
He then asked, “What are your next plans?”
“I have an idea, but not for now.” Xia Yu asked An Tianfeng, “Do you have any photography talent available?”
“Photography? Aren’t you working on Internet stuff?” An Tianfeng was surprised.
“Because the next software I’m developing will need it,” Xia Yu replied.
“Okay, I’ll keep an eye out for that.”
After playing some tennis together on the company’s court downstairs and swimming in the indoor pool, they had dinner, and Xia Yu returned home.
He opened his game interface, ready to visit An Siyao, but suddenly remembered something.
He dialed Xu Youxiang’s number.
“What do you want?” Xu Youxiang asked.
“Come to my house. I have something fun for you,” Xia Yu replied.
“What do you want to do?” Xu Youxiang asked cautiously, feeling a thrill at the same time.
“If you don’t want to come, forget it. You have ten seconds to think. If you agree, I’ll come pick you up now.” Xia Yu checked his watch and began counting down.
“Ten, nine, eight… three, two, one.”
“I agree.” At the last moment, Xu Youxiang accepted.
“Then get ready. I’ll be there in about half an hour.” Xia Yu went downstairs and dialed a taxi driver’s number.
Before the era of ride-hailing apps, people who often went out for fun usually had several taxi drivers’ phone numbers in their phones. Otherwise, they might wait for tens of minutes without seeing a cab.
The driver was a bit far away but immediately connected Xia Yu with a friend nearby. Five minutes later, Xia Yu was in the car.
Half an hour later, Xia Yu met Xu Youxiang. She and her maid stood waiting at the door.
After seeing Xia Yu, Xu Youxiang sent the maid back and wheeled herself to him.
Xia Yu bent down, picked Xu Youxiang up into the car, and placed her wheelchair in the trunk. Then he asked the taxi driver, “Where’s the nearest hotel around here?”
“Are we not going to your house?” Xu Youxiang exclaimed in surprise.
“There are other people there. It’s inconvenient,” Xia Yu replied.
“So what exactly do you want to do?” Xu Youxiang felt a bit scared. If it was something inconvenient at home but possible in a hotel, what could it be?
…
He tapped her head and said, “Can’t you have a little more confidence in me?”
Of course, Xu Youxiang trusted Xia Yu, but faced with something so easily misunderstood, she couldn’t stay calm.
Ten minutes later, the two entered a hotel.
Pushing Xu Youxiang into the room and locking the door, Xia Yu said to her, “Next, don’t panic, understand?”
“What are you going to do?” Xu Youxiang felt increasingly uneasy.
However, Xia Yu had no intention of telling her. He liked seeing others surprised and delighted.
Sitting on the bed’s edge, Xia Yu clicked on Xu Youxiang’s interface.
[Single Player Mode / Double Player Mode]
He selected Double Player Mode.
[Matching]
[Match Complete]
After everything went dark for a moment, Xu Youxiang was shocked to find another version of herself standing in front of her.
Is this a mirror? Did Xia Yu suddenly bring a mirror to scare me?
To her horror, she hadn’t moved at all, but the reflection of her in the mirror turned its head and opened its mouth.
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