Chapter 37: Making Money to Buy a House!

Lu Ming soon arrived at the Tower of Specters.

Upon entering the Night Watchman Camp on the first plane, he summoned all his Necrotic Warriors and mentally commanded them to begin the slaughter. Bolstered by the "War Stomp" and "Fortress of Life" formations, his undead legion was as unstoppable and invincible as ever.

Lu Ming’s experience bar rose visibly, growing at a rapid pace. The only downside was that without Lin Youwei’s drop rate bonus, the loot rate for the undead legion had significantly plummeted. Previously, he could reliably harvest one Soul Stone for every three to four undead killed; now, it took about ten kills to secure a single stone. Copper coin drops had also plummeted, with an average yield of only two to three coins per kill. Having grown accustomed to the triple drop rate from earlier that morning, Lu Ming found the current reality deeply unsatisfying.

He ground solo in this sluggish state for nearly an hour before Lin Youwei finally arrived.

"I'm sorry, Brother Nether, I'm late..."

Hearing the familiar voice behind him, Lu Ming turned to see Lin Youwei hurrying toward him. It was evident she had run all the way; she was flushed, breathless, and panting.

"Why did it take so long?" Lu Ming, feeling somewhat impatient, asked.

Lin Youwei clutched the hem of her mage’s skirt, her small face filled with embarrassment. "I... I went to see an old friend, hoping I could stay with her for a while..."

Hearing this, Lu Ming suddenly remembered Lin Youwei mentioning that her landlord had kicked her out. With no money for a hotel, she had been scrambling to find a place to stay for the night. Judging by her current dejected appearance, it was clear her friend hadn't agreed to take her in. It was easy to imagine—a frail young girl dragging her luggage through a massive city, only to find she had nowhere to call home.

At that moment, Lu Ming finally understood why Lin Youwei had been so desperate to beg him to take her along. She had reached the end of her rope. She had absolutely nowhere left to turn.

"Where are you now?" Lu Ming asked.

Lin Youwei’s voice grew even fainter. "At an internet cafe."

She was so mortified she could barely speak. She wasn't trying to elicit sympathy; she was merely terrified that if she didn't tell the truth, Lu Ming would refuse to continue leveling her up, leaving her with no way out.

Lu Ming said nothing, simply creating a party and pulling Lin Youwei into it. As her "Drop Rate Boost" talent was shared with the party and further amplified twenty-fold by Lu Ming’s own power, the drop rate for the Necrotic Warriors instantly surged back to life. Seeing Lu Ming turn back to the monsters, Lin Youwei’s face flushed an even deeper shade of red.

"Brother Nether must think I'm so useless..."

"It’s true. I can’t help him with anything. I’m just a burden. He must be so sick of me..."

Lin Youwei’s fingers almost tore at the corner of her clothes. Just as she was spiraling into self-doubt and despair, a notification pinged.

*Ding-dong.*

A WeChat message. Lin Youwei opened it to find a location pin sent by Lu Ming.

At the same time, Lu Ming looked back and said, "After you log off tonight, take a taxi to this location. I’ve arranged a place for you to stay."

Lin Youwei couldn't hold it back any longer; her eyes welled with tears. He had paid her debts. He was helping her level up. And now, he was arranging a place for her to live.

"Except for my brother, no one in this world has ever been this kind to me..."

Lin Youwei nodded, struggling to keep him from noticing her tears. Of course, to Lu Ming, this was simply a matter of value; Lin Youwei was worth the investment. He had to ensure her safety to keep her creating value for him. If something were to happen to her in the real world that caused him to lose this "God of Wealth," the loss would be far too great.

As for the location he sent, it was a residential complex he had his eye on, not his current residence. To escape the torment of his two awful neighbors, Lu Ming had been searching for apartments on his phone whenever he had a spare moment, and he had finally found one.

The coordinates were in the Jiangbei District of Linhai City, at the Jiangshan Wanli complex. With a Wanda plaza in front, a Wuyue plaza behind, and a university town with a pedestrian street nearby, it was the most prosperous area in the Jiangbei District—and the dream home of his past life.

The price, however, was not cheap: 38,000 per square meter. The four-bedroom, two-living-room unit he favored had a total price of over 6.3 million. The main reason he liked it was that it was fully furnished and move-in ready, and the decor was exactly to his taste.

He had intended to look around more and save up some money, but now, he felt a sense of urgency.

He messaged the agent he had been communicating with: "Regarding the unit at Jiangshan Wanli you showed me via video at noon, what is the minimum down payment percentage?"

"The minimum is twenty percent, brother! I've calculated it for you; including fees, you can close the deal with a total down payment of 1.4 million. If you’re sure, I can handle all the paperwork this afternoon. You won’t have to worry about a thing, and you can move in tonight once the payment is made!"

Seeing the response, Lu Ming replied, "Give me some time. I'll give you an answer before six this evening."

"You got it!"

Lu Ming then threw himself entirely into monster hunting. The grinding lasted all afternoon. The undead in the Night Watchman Camp were practically shredded by his Necrotic Warriors, leading to constant complaints in the regional chat channel:

"Which big shot is summoning those Necrotic Warriors? Can you have some pity on us and leave a few monsters for us to farm? I haven't even managed to snatch ten monsters all afternoon, I'm about to starve!"

"Damn! It feels like a level 100 whale coming to a level 10 zone to crush us! Go bully someone else, let us newbies have a chance to survive! Please!"

...

At 5:00 PM, a golden light washed over him. Lu Ming had reached level 15.

The agent checked in: "Brother, have you made a decision about the house? Several other people came to look at it this afternoon, and they seem quite interested. Since you were the first, you have priority..."

Regardless of whether this was a sales tactic, Lu Ming had his heart set on the place.

"Hold on."

Stalling the agent, Lu Ming brought Lin Youwei out of the Tower of Specters. As he headed toward Starshine City, he checked his inventory.

"Including this morning and afternoon, I've dropped 1,485 Soul Stones today."

"Among them, 1,344 are Grade 5 Soul Stones, worth 26,880 total; 142 are Grade 4, worth 7,100 total."

"99 Silver Coins, worth 19,800 total."

"Selling everything gets me over 50,000. Combined with the 160,000 in my bank, that's only a little over 200,000. Even if I sold the 5 Gold Coins I kept, it’s still nowhere near enough..."

Facing a 1.4 million down payment, Lu Ming felt the pressure. Just as he was worrying about it, a voice suddenly rang out ahead: "Buying Soul Stones at a high price! Buying unlimited quantities!"