With money, his girlfriend Emily Reed's mother would no longer constantly complain about him being poor.

Even if he wanted to marry Emily Reed, the pressure would be much, much less.

The thrill of picking up money—once he experienced it, he just couldn't stop.

As for his career?? He had always worked at Master Uncle Jack's construction site, and was still taking various architect certification exams. Once he got more certificates, he could interview with big developers like Mingda, or apply for civil servant positions in competitive departments like the Land Planning Office—both were possible.

Eric Bennett was a bit speechless. "The day after tomorrow is the electronic toy expo. My electronic bug machine might really shine there..."

"Then let's talk after the expo. Let's take a break for now."

"By the way, Brian said he wants you to help find an excellent private detective?"

John Clark nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I turned 150,000 into 600,000. Even if I pay you back the 150,000, I still have 450,000 pre-tax savings!"

"I don't know why Brian needs a private detective, but Mark Harris, you really need to choose carefully for this."

Everyone knew that excellent private detectives often skirted the edge of the law when gathering evidence, and that Mark Foster's family had strong connections.

Mark Foster nodded. "Leave it to me. It's getting late. I have a late-night snack date with Emily. Tomorrow I'll have my big brother pick the very best detective."

Brian Carter and Julia Walker really hadn't said why they needed a private detective. Even if they did, it would only make the honest folks here—David Clark and his wife and son—worry.

Eric Bennett nodded. "I should head home too. See you tomorrow, Uncle David, Ms. Clark."

To the savvy Eric Bennett, he really wanted to give his good buddy John Clark a hint: your cousin is far from as simple as your family thinks, and that Brian is actually very shrewd.

You never know when he'll give you all a big surprise.

But since he was savvy, he decided not to say more.

……………………

A new day again.

Waking up on the fifth floor above Eric Bennett's home, Brian Carter washed up quickly and summoned the mall panel.

One year of lifespan, 1 million yuan.

+1 Strength, 100,000 yuan.

Master-level Xingyi Boxing, 20,000 yuan.

A big brick phone, 20,000 yuan.

…………

A can of Pepsi, 2 yuan.

Master-level firearms proficiency, 20,000 yuan.

+1 Speed, 100,000 yuan. Master-level traditional Chinese medicine, 20,000 yuan.

Master-level driving skills, 20,000 yuan.

…………

Including the 60,000 windfall he got yesterday, his wealth had accumulated to a whopping 880,000. Little Brian took a deep breath and bought master-level firearms proficiency, traditional Chinese medicine, and driving skills.

That was 60,000 in one go.

He spent another 100,000 to buy 1 point of speed.

Host: Brian Carter, 18 years old.

Strength: 12 (average adult male is 10.)

Speed: 9 (average... is 10.)

Endurance: 11 (average adult male is 10.)

Skills: Master-level "Bajiquan, culinary arts, revolver technique, firearms proficiency, driving skills, traditional Chinese medicine."

……

After lying in bed and slowly receiving the upgrades from the mall system, adapting to his new body, he started preparing a big meal to celebrate.

What a sin—making money was fast, but spending it was like water. After all this time traveling, he was down to just over 720,000 Hong Kong dollars.

And 100,000 for a single attribute point?? Damn, his speed attribute still wasn't even at the average adult male level.

If he wanted to get strength, speed, and endurance all to 20, he'd need another 2.9 million in cash!

The more he earned his first bucket of gold, the less he understood it, but it was necessary. Now it was 1990—no matter if you ran all over the mainland or went to Japan or Russia, where wasn't the folk customs so simple it made you want to cry?

If all three attributes reached 30, and he got a few more skills, then he'd have the confidence to run wild, but that would require another 5.9 million in cash flow.

The only truly awesome thing about the mall was that it could deduct your cash, whether it was in hand or in your account, with no aftereffects.

Brian Carter was still making his big meal when he heard a knock at the door. He went to open it with a kitchen knife in hand and saw Julia Walker excitedly sniffing, "What are you making? Is there anything I like to eat?"

Brian Carter was stunned. "What do you want to eat?"

Julia Walker shook the big shopping bag in her hand. "Fried noodles, youtiao, egg tarts, shrimp dumplings, char siu buns, sticky rice chicken, chicken feet, and so on. I've got all the ingredients. You cook, I'll wash the dishes..."

Little Brian was speechless. "Fine, anyway, arranging a private detective will take some time."

As he brought the bag inside and started showing off his cooking skills, Brian Carter said while cooking, "Do you think I should go out and rob someone? Just to make my wallet a little fatter?"

Julia Walker exclaimed in surprise, "How would you rob someone? Little Brian, you're still young, don't go down the road of crime! I'm still debating whether to call the police about that kidnapper from yesterday."

"After I got home, I looked into his background. He really is pitiful—worked diligently for over ten years, never got a raise or promotion, always the honest guy everyone in the company could bully, and then he got dragged into being an accomplice to a violent criminal..."

"Honest people can be pushed too far."

"If I call the police, the photos we have would be enough to ruin him."