Chapter 125: Chad and Ge Li's Argument

Chapter 125: Chad and Ge Li's Argument

Chad, already a burly man, looked even more imposing as he strode down the street carrying a massive wooden crate. Pedestrians quickly moved aside to make way for him.

He rushed home in a frenzy, carefully set down the crate, and then, with an almost furtive air, shut the door behind him. Rubbing his hands together in excitement, he recalled the "unboxing" techniques he’d seen in videos and, with brute strength, easily pried open the crate.

Instantly, an indescribable scent of plant oil mixed with metal wafted out. Inside the crate, a bicycle frame wrapped tightly in hemp ropes lay before his eyes—precise, gleaming, mysterious, and brimming with mechanical beauty. It was breathtaking.

"The guild leader really didn’t lie to me!" Chad muttered to himself, thrilled.

He activated the Internet’s lighting function, and the room, dimmed by the closed door, brightened immediately. Unable to contain himself, he replayed the bicycle assembly video he’d secretly watched dozens of times, meticulously piecing the parts together like a pilgrim performing a sacred rite. He handled the delicate metal constructs with such care, afraid even to apply too much pressure.

After what felt like an eternity, a brand-new bicycle stood before him. He circled it twice, imagining Ge Li’s delighted reaction when she saw it, and couldn’t help but grin foolishly.

In this burgeoning city, bicycles were a rare sight—owned only by a handful of nobles and wealthy merchants. They were true luxuries. Riding one down the street would earn him genuine envy.

Eager to show it off, Chad quickly tidied up the crate and placed the bicycle right by the front door, anxiously awaiting Ge Li’s return from work.

Ge Li had become far more impressive than him lately. A couple of days ago, the Empire had dispatched two female officials to recruit workers for some project involving a weather station. Ge Li had applied on a whim—and to her surprise, she got the job.

Now, she earned just as much as he did, if not more, and her work was far easier. Her main duties involved accompanying the female officials to measure soil temperature, humidity, air temperature, wind speed, wind direction, sunlight intensity, rainfall, dew, and other such things.

It all sounded complicated to Chad, so he looked it up online and discovered that nearly every city now had a weather station. Rumor had it that Lord Ajef was carrying out the Internet God’s will, all for something called weather forecasting.

Chad didn’t really understand what that meant. Could the weather really be predicted in advance? But then again, if it was the will of a god, even the most unreasonable things suddenly made sense.

Of course, what concerned him most was whether Ge Li’s job was too taxing. So he secretly observed her at work and confirmed it was actually quite relaxed—just checking some small instruments in the yard every hour and jotting down the readings.

A couple of days ago, Ge Li had come home excited, telling him that the female officials had let her try riding their bicycle. Just as the internet had said, it was effortless and swift. With just a light push, she could glide around the yard—so much fun!

Seeing the sparkle in Ge Li’s eyes that day, Chad had made up his mind: if he ever got the chance, he’d get her one too.

Unexpectedly, he actually waited for the opportunity and managed to get a bicycle.

"Creak!"

Accompanied by the sound of the courtyard gate opening, Ge Li's voice followed.

"Chad, are you back?"

Chad knew it must be because the gate wasn’t locked, and she had noticed.

He didn’t speak, waiting for Ge Li to push open the door.

"Screech—"

With the grating sound of the wooden door hinges, the evening sunlight spilled in through the wide-open door, illuminating the bicycle and making it gleam brilliantly.

Ge Li froze in shock, standing dumbfounded at the doorway, staring at the bicycle placed in the main hall.

"Do you like it?" Chad asked with a grin.

"You… you bought this?" Ge Li stammered.

"Mhm!" Chad nodded.

"You… you—how much did you spend? How could you waste money like this!"

Instead of the expected delight, Ge Li suddenly burst into tears, interrogating him.

Chad panicked.

"I didn’t spend any money! Look, it’s all still in the bank!"

Chad quickly summoned the internet and opened the Interconnected Bank. There, the account balance of 1,786.58 copper coins remained untouched, lying quietly in place.

Ever since Ge Li gradually changed her mindset and started depositing money in the bank, the two of them would curl up together every night, opening the Interconnected Bank to check their savings and how much they had grown.

Watching their wealth accumulate bit by bit gave them both a deep sense of security.

"You didn’t spend money? Did you steal it?"

Ge Li’s expression instantly turned horrified.

"No! Ah, you’re overthinking it. Don’t you remember what I told you before? I joined Conquer the Four Directions. My contribution points this month were really high. I was originally planning to withdraw the money, but then I saw how much you liked bicycles, so I asked if I could exchange it for one instead. The guild leader has connections—he agreed and sent it over."

Chad hurriedly explained.

As a warrior among the helots, his combat skills and experience were clearly exceptional, given how he had disrupted the Church’s divine shield during the Sparda Battle.

Thus, in the Conquest of Subdomains, he was able to shine even brighter.

Especially after joining the guild, with the incentive of being able to withdraw cash in real time and deposit it into the Interconnected Bank, his enthusiasm for killing beastmen soared to new heights!

His contribution points had consistently ranked at the top within the guild.

"What? A cash reward? How much?"

"About thirty-something silver coins!"

"What? Thirty-something silver coins? Are you insane? How many years would it take us to save that much? Such a huge expense—why didn’t you discuss it with me first!"

"I—I just saw how much you liked the bicycle..."

"Liking something doesn’t put food on the table! I like gold coins too—can we just go rob some?"

Chad was stunned. He never expected that his eager attempt to please Ge Li would instead provoke her fury.

Angry now, he shouted, "Fine, just sell it then!"

This was the first time he had ever raised his voice at Ge Li.

Ge Li froze.

He froze too.

The argument died down. Chad stormed out of the main hall in anger and sat on the doorstep in silence.

After a long while, footsteps sounded behind him.

Ge Li approached, her voice filled with remorse:

"I'm sorry, I know you mean well. I remember all your kindness in my heart. But our family's circumstances simply don't warrant owning a bicycle. The world is so chaotic—what if we suddenly lose our jobs? What if war breaks out again..."

Before she could finish, Chad turned to face her, his voice firm with rebuttal.

"What chaos? The chaos was where we used to live. This is Keville, the Internet God's domain, not our old kingdom. Here, no one can bully us—not even the noble lords dare to mistreat us at will!"

"Since we arrived, have we ever gone hungry? No! Not a single day. Everyone I see is the same. We can learn magic, cultivate Battle Aura, earn more and more money—no one dares to steal it, and the noble lords can’t make excuses to withhold our wages. Even the bank makes our savings grow. Our lives are getting better every day. Why shouldn’t we have a bicycle?"

"Didn’t Lord Ajef create it for people like us to use? Your monthly salary could buy two or three of them in Willis—how is that beyond us?"

"And if there’s no work here, we’ll go to Willis and join a factory—they’re hiring every day! The web says factories are opening in many cities now. Ours will have one soon enough—why fear unemployment?"

"I earn money by day and from Conquer the Four Directions by night. What’s there to fear? Look at you—you’ve found a good job too, haven’t you?"

"I know you’re afraid of war. But you really don’t need to be. Even if war comes, this city was destroyed once before—do you think the Empire would let it happen again without preparation?"

"I have powerful magic puppets in Conquer the Four Directions, and I own firearms. If war breaks out, the Internet God will surely reactivate the summoning function. We’ll have the strength to protect our home."

"The Internet God will protect us too! He’s powerful—haven’t you seen the videos online? Even the Five Great Righteous Gods are no match for him!"

"This place is safe! Our lives will only get better! You really don’t need to live in constant fear. Truly, the Internet God is so mighty, so benevolent—no one can harm us."

Chad’s words left Ge Li stunned.

Yes, her frustration with Chad wasn’t really about him—it was her own insecurity and deep-seated inferiority making her feel undeserving of good things, of a happy life.

She was always anxious, afraid of losing what she had.

She had been preparing—preparing to flee at any moment.

Yet she didn’t even know where to flee to.

Only now did she vaguely realize—she didn’t need to flee. The Internet God had been keeping his promises all along.

Her time in Keville had been the happiest of her life.

A home. Full meals. Music to listen to. The chance to practice magic. A job that could support her family.

The people here were kind.

The noble lords disciplined themselves.

Idle troublemakers were rare on the streets.

Everyone was busy—

Busy cultivating. Busy working. Busy enjoying themselves. Busy with Conquer the Four Directions. Busy earning money.

Their wealth grew every day.

Life had purpose.

The Empire was strong—it had even defeated the Five Great Righteous Gods. What was there to fear?

The Internet God had fulfilled his promises and redeemed her.

She just hadn’t yet redeemed her own soul.

Now, she understood.

Why am I not worthy of a good life?

This is the right bestowed upon me by the Internet God, and I have the right to enjoy it!