Lin Feng was beginning to panic.
How did I lose the money? I haven't even moved.
He patted down his pockets again, checked the sheets, even glanced at the floor beside his bed. Nothing.
But then, a notification appeared before him.
[System account has been credited with ¥415.00]
He stared at the floating text in confusion.
This thing can even take physical cash from my pocket?
No - that aside, would the money just disappear into the system? He really needed it.
He summoned the system with a thought.
[Infinite Money System]
[Total System Balance: ¥415.00]
[Available System Balance: ¥415.00]
[Personal Balance: ¥880.00]
Seeing that the balance was still there and hadn't vanished into the abyss, he heaved a sigh of relief.
Still, he didn't calm down completely. He needed to know if he could actually access the money.
He navigated the system with a thought, selecting the Total System Balance first. No options appeared - it seemed locked. He moved to the Available System Balance instead. This one had options, just like the Personal Balance. He selected "Transfer," then chose his personal account as the destination.
He held his breath.
A moment later, a new notification appeared.
[Personal account has been credited with ¥415.00]
His phone lit up too, displaying the same message.
He exhaled slowly. It worked.
He had been genuinely scared that the money would be trapped forever. Now that he knew he could retrieve it, he looked back at the system with fresh eyes.
Then what's the point of this thing?
[Infinite Money System]
[Total System Balance: ¥415.00]
[Available System Balance: ¥0.00]
[Personal Balance: ¥1295.00]
Hmm.
The Total System Balance still showed 415 yuan. He wondered what that meant.
After tinkering with it for a while longer, he couldn't figure it out. He also realized he couldn't transfer money into the system accounts - only out of them. Did that mean the system only absorbed cash he physically held? And what was with the frozen total balance?
Argh.
He scratched his head in frustration.
I'll figure it out later. For now, I need some sleep.
He dismissed the system and slowly drifted off.
…
The next day, the training wasn't as intense as before due to it being a Saturday.
Lin Feng felt his body was slowly getting used to the strain.
What surprised him was the short break.
The number of people selling items had more than doubled. Makeshift stalls had popped up everywhere, students hawking water and snacks with varying degrees of success.
It seems my idea to pull out was right.
With this level of competition, there was no way they could have earned anything meaningful.
The rest of the day continued as usual until it was finally time for sleep.
Lin Feng lay on his bed, about to drift off, when he remembered something.
That's right. The system.
He pulled it up to see if anything had changed.
[Infinite Money System]
[Total System Balance: ¥415.00]
[Available System Balance: ¥415.00]
[Personal Balance: ¥1295.00]
What?
He stared at the screen in shock.
The Available Balance... it had recharged?
He didn't remember receiving any cash during the day. He wondered if it was some sort of glitch.
He decided to test it - transfer again and see if it would actually work.
[Personal account has been credited with ¥415.00]
His phone lit up, showing the same notification.
It actually worked.
In the system, his Personal Balance was now 1710 yuan, and the Available System Balance had returned to zero. As for the Total System Balance, it remained stuck at 415.
Lin Feng's eyes lit up.
I think I finally understand how this thing works.
He really hoped he was right about this.
He sat up on his bed and began scrolling through his phone. He was mostly checking the stock market and researching some general information about the current time. Hours passed as he dove deeper into articles and forums.
Finally, he glanced at the time.
It's almost midnight.
He had been waiting for this moment to test his theory. He summoned the system.
[Infinite Money System]
[Total System Balance: ¥415.00]
[Available System Balance: ¥415.00]
[Personal Balance: ¥1710.00]
It really worked.
He finally understood how the system operated.
It really was an Infinite Money System.
The way it seemed to work was simple: every day at midnight, his Available Balance would be credited with an amount equal to the Total System Balance. He could then spend it however he wanted.
If this wasn't infinite money, then he didn't know what was.
His expression brightened as he ran the numbers in his head.
With this amount every day... in a year, I should be able to earn about the average income of a middle-income household.
His breath quickened.
If this was really how the system worked - and he wasn't missing something - then his current situation had already surpassed where he'd been in his previous life.
He looked at the system balance again.
Although earning that amount was quite good, he couldn't help but wonder...
What if I could earn more?
Then he could turn their entire situation around.
But how could he increase the Total Balance? There didn't seem to be any way to transfer money into it.
After some thought, an idea struck him.
What if I overflow the Available Balance? Would the excess carry over to the Total Balance?
It seemed plausible.
He decided not to spend the Available Balance and wait for midnight the next day to see what would happen.
With that plan in mind, he closed the system and tried to sleep.
Today is probably going to be rough. I haven't slept at all.
…
Just three hours later, his alarm went off.
Around him, the other roommates stirred, groaning and shifting in their bunks. They looked just as exhausted as he felt.
Chen Ming spoke up in a tired voice. "Why do you still have that thing on... it's Sunday..."
Lin Feng's eyes snapped open.
Sunday?
That's right, today was a Sunday.
He quickly reached for his phone and silenced the alarm, then burrowed back under his blanket with a relieved sigh.
Thank god.
If there had been military training today, he really might not have survived. His body felt like it was filled with lead, and his eyelids refused to stay open.
He let himself drift back to sleep.
...
When Lin Feng finally woke again, sunlight was streaming through the window at a much higher angle.
He checked his phone. Almost three hours had passed.
Around him, his roommates were also stirring awake - and judging by the sounds of movement from neighboring rooms, they weren't the only ones. It seemed the entire dormitory had collectively decided to sleep in.
The training was really taking its toll on everyone.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully.
Li Jun stayed in his bunk, earphones plugged in, fingers tapping away at his phone as he played game after game. Zhang Wei sat at the study desk with his textbooks spread out before him, nose buried in the pages as usual. Chen Ming came and went throughout the day, a stack of new fliers tucked under his arm - it seemed he was already moving on to his next venture.
As for Lin Feng, he spent most of his time on his phone, scrolling through articles and forums. He was mostly trying to see if he could recall important events from this time period - stock movements, trending products, anything that might be useful - and noting them down before the memories faded.