Lin Feng hunched in the dimly lit dorm, laptop screen open in front of him. The light from the screen illuminated his furrowed brows and tight face. His father's hospital bills were on his mind. ¥8,000. It was not a huge amount, but to someone like him, it might as well have been a mountain.
He took a big gasp of air, his hands sitting on the top of the keyboard.
He needed a strategy.
He'd spent the past couple of weeks peddling used phones, but the returns arrived too gradually. Even after the sale of another couple, he would only be able to generate half of what he needed. It wasn't enough.
His daily login reward of his system had been a gentle help—¥200 today, ¥250 yesterday—but he was still too far along in the development of his system for the reward to accomplish anything meaningful. If he depended solely on the system, it would take too long.
Which meant he needed to think in bigger terms.
Chances in the Market
Lin Feng's eyes swept over the forums of the online marketplace, looking for patterns.
In the past few days, he had noticed something—certain models of second-hand laptops were selling fast. There was a consistent demand for cheap, mid-range laptops from students and office workers. Some second-hand vendors were selling them for quick profits, but the profit margin was much higher than that of phones.
A second-hand phone would fetch him ¥100–¥200 per sale.
But a well-sourced laptop? ¥500–¥800.
That was it.
The next step.
The Risk of Change
Lin Feng's heart raced.
Transitioning from phones to laptops wasn't just a question of money—it was more risk, more expense, more competition.
He had one cushion to fund the buying of a secondhand laptop. If it didn't sell, he'd be out of luck. But if he wanted to establish himself, he had to take the risk.
No more playing it safe.
His fingers flew over the keyboard as he browsed local sellers. He needed to locate underpriced goods—laptops being sold for pennies because the owner didn't know their true value.
It took him an hour of browsing, but he eventually located one.
A ThinkPad T480—a decent business laptop, barely used, for sale for ¥1,800.
Clean it, bump up the specs a little, and rewrite the listing so that it appeals to buyers, and it can be sold for ¥2,800–¥3,000.
Profit margin: ¥1,000.
Perfection.
But there was a catch—he only had ¥1,600.
A Tough Choice
Lin Feng massaged his temples and leaned back. He had two choices:
Wait until tomorrow's login reward and pray that it was sufficient to give him the extra ¥200.
Find a way to get the money right away.
Waiting was not an option—by then the deal would be closed.
His eyes shifted to his desk drawer. Inside, he had his old JBL Bluetooth speaker. It wasn't high-tech, but it still functioned.
He couldn't bring himself to sell it—it was the only piece of anything he'd ever paid for himself.
But sentiment couldn't cover rent.
He took a deep breath, picked up his phone, and listed it for ¥250.
In less than a minute, less than a minute at most, someone had messaged him.
Buyer: "Hey, is the speaker still available?"
Lin Feng: "Yes, still available. Meet up near the East Gate?"
Buyer: "Sure. Be there in 15 minutes."
Lin Feng grabbed his bag and left.
The Transaction
The East Gate of the campus was always full. It was one of the largest student gathering sites on the campus, with small food vendors on the sidewalk—fried skewers, bubble tea, hand-pulled noodles. The scent of hot oil wafted through the air as students hung around in clusters, laughing and chatting.
Lin Feng was waiting at the entrance, looking out over the crowd.
Before long, a kid in a hoodie approached him. "You Lin Feng?"
"Uh-huh." He took out the speaker. "It's in good working condition. Look, try it."
The buyer tried it, nodded in satisfaction, and paid ¥250 cash.
Lin Feng put the money into his pocket and let out a sigh of relief.
It wasn't a lot, but it was something.
Now he had ¥1,850.
He messaged the seller of the laptop immediately.
Lin Feng: "I'll take it. Can we meet tonight?"
The reply was prompt.
Seller: "Fine. Meet at People's Square at 8 PM?"
Lin Feng looked at his watch. 7:15 PM.
He was in a hurry.
Using the City
Lin Feng left campus and made his way to the subway station.
He was nervous—not with excitement, but because it was a risky investment.
If he lost, he wouldn't be able to eat. He was betting on everything he had.
The subway was crowded, filled with office workers heading home, their fatigued faces aglow with phone screens. The reek of cheap cologne, fast food, and perspiration mixed in the cramped room.
As the train rocked gently, Lin Feng looked at his reflection in the window.
This was just the beginning.
He wasn't just trying to make money—he was excavating himself from the pit.
Step by step.
The Meetup
By the time he arrived at People's Square, the sky had darkened. Neon lights flickered across the streets, illuminating the bustle of nighttime traffic. The city felt alive—so many people, so much wealth, yet here he was, scraping together every yuan he could find.
He spotted the seller—a middle-aged man wearing glasses, holding a black laptop bag.
"Lin Feng?"
Lin Feng nodded. "Yeah. You're Mr. Zhang?"
The guy handed him the laptop. "Have a look."
Lin Feng powered it up, checking for any defects. It was in better condition than expected. This was a good buy.
He handed Mr. Zhang the ¥1,800 and took the laptop.
"Thanks," Lin Feng said to him.
Mr. Zhang smiled. "Going to use it for school?"
Lin Feng paused before he nodded. "Something like that."
Back on Campus
When Lin Feng got back to his dorm, it was already past 10 PM. His roommate Zhao Peng was still out partying—no doubt with the same rich students who looked down on someone like him.
Lin Feng put the laptop on his desk.
He had to clean it out, reinstall an OS, and take good pictures.
But he wasn't tired.
Rather, for the first time in a very long time, he felt something else.
Momentum.
This wasn't about getting by anymore.
It was about building something.
He cracked his knuckles and got to work.