Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 608: In a world full of protagonists, which profession has the least risk?_1
The resignation process went smoothly, without any snags for Wang Linchi. His manager only sighed, allowing him to arrange his own salary settlement with the finance team, and didn't try to withhold any of his earnings. After all, the company pays the salaries, not the manager. The manager was just another cog in the machine, squeezed for all they were worth. Everyone's day-to-day interactions were generally quite pleasant, with a noticeable absence of office intrigue or backstabbing. They showed respect for Wang Linchi's decision to leave, although compensation packages were definitely out of the question. After settling his salary, Wang Linchi left the company without a whiff of hesitation.
Clutching the money in his hand, he eventually abandoned the idea of counterfeiting cash. The truth was, the cost, difficulty, and artistry involved in replicating the quality of the paper bills were simply too daunting. He calculated the cost approximately and found that producing a ten-dollar bill would cost around eleven dollars. The more he made, the more he would lose. He gave up on that idea and mulled over starting something in finance. Looking at the money he had, it dawned upon him that scratch-off lottery tickets were his best bet for getting rich quick.
The welfare lottery… forget that. The ID numbers wouldn't match, so even heaven-defying luck wouldn't work. After all, these things aren't acquired just by lucky chances. Fine, even if he could possibly win, why invite trouble for no reason? In a world full of protagonists, what if some protagonist wanted it too?
Let me see, what industry should I focus on now?
Online shopping platforms, the food delivery industry, or online payments... none of them seem feasible.
Wang Linchi felt that many of the traditional methods for sudden wealth couldn't be applied here. Just duplicating them wouldn't ensure success; he had to consider the local conditions as well. In Xing Country, there were too many elites, leaving the grassroots level impoverished. People like his predecessor, mere Cattle and Horses in the eyes of society, were a dime a dozen. They had no money for shopping and even less for ordering food. With everyone working overtime and living paycheck to paycheck, online payments were virtually pointless. As for offering these services to the upper class, they constituted such a tiny portion of the population. Besides, they most likely already had better options available. So even if he managed to replicate something, it would not gain much traction, unless the person doing this was a protagonist who possessed Fate. Wang Linchi also possessed great destiny, it was true, but he had suppressed its effects.
"The stock market?" Upon consideration, Wang Linchi thought that this seemed to be the only thing he could make money from. As for how, it was rather simple: he just needed to find companies linked to protagonists; they were a guaranteed profit. He could also go for stone gambling or treasure hunting, but that could easily draw unwanted attention. These two places were high-risk zones, bustling with protagonists. Being careless could easily put him in the sights of a protagonist.
On his way home, Wang Linchi passed a park and saw a crowd gathering, as if something exciting was afoot. He was walking home. His predecessor had been dirt poor, and now that Wang Linchi had finally received this paycheck, he planned to use it as his startup capital. As for cabs, they were far too expensive, and he couldn't even think about rental bicycles as they hadn't arrived on the market yet. Seeing the crowd, Wang Linchi, being a regular passer-by, joined to spectate.
"What's happening?" Wang Linchi asked curiously. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
"An old man fainted," a woman in the crowd replied.
"Oh, someone call an ambulance then," Wang Linchi instinctively replied.
That suggestion seemed to silence the crowd. It appeared no one had thought of that; they were all just gawking.
"Make way, make way, I can help!"
Just then, a shabbily dressed boy squeezed in, carrying a large woven plastic sack. Quite conveniently, a path cleared for him.
Wang Linchi squinted. Could this guy be some kind of Peerless Divine Doctor who's just come down from the mountains? He looked a bit simple-minded, though. The boy took out an acupuncture set. Spreading it open, his hands moved with such speed they were a blur. Before anyone could figure out what he was doing, he had already applied all the needles to the patient. Impressively, the effects were immediate; the old man woke up promptly.
"I… where am I?" the man asked, his voice weak.
The onlookers broke out in effusive praise for the young divine doctor. The boy, acting neither humble nor arrogant, packed up his silver needles into the set, preparing to leave. However, the old man stubbornly grabbed his sleeve, insisting on repaying him.
Watching this scene, Wang Linchi was rather taken aback. This old man was no ordinary person. At first glance, he seemed mundane, but Wang Linchi could discern his wealth from the fabric of his clothes, the jewelry on his hand, and the cane he was using—details only someone with a keen eye could notice.
This is really... Wang Linchi, of course, knew how things were going to unfold next, and thus left at the first opportunity. He had no intention of taking anything from the old man; desire makes one weak, after all. As for intentionally provoking the young man—who clearly possessed Destiny and was a protagonist—that would be tasteless, and he was not that kind of person. When there was no conflict of interest, he quite liked protagonists. After all, when something big happened, it was these protagonists who shouldered the burden, not him.
This region should be the novice area for this Peerless Divine Doctor, Wang Linchi mused. It's relatively safe for now. I shouldn't need to worry about running into Martial Artists or Metahumans yet...
Wang Linchi noticed that the young divine doctor possessed some sort of biological field and biological energy, similar to True Qi or Mana. Wang Linchi leaned more towards Martial Arts True Qi because, judging from the doctor's gait and the calluses on his hands, he seemed to be primarily focused on martial arts. If he were an immortal-path Cultivator or a spirit-path Cultivator, this kind of situation was unlikely.
Before a protagonist appeared, this region was definitely ordinary. But once a protagonist began practicing Martial Arts or Cultivation in an area, corresponding powerful individuals and strange phenomena would begin to sprout like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. He didn't yet know the principle behind it. They had probably existed for a long time, just subtly waiting for the protagonist to arrive and be put in their place.
What if there aren't enough old villains to go around? Wang Linchi suddenly had a thought. Where there's a protagonist, there must be a villain. But given the frequency of protagonists in this world, were there truly enough old villains for them to victimize? Usually, it only takes ten or so years to nurture a protagonist, but an old villain needs to cultivate step by step, thus requiring at least thirty to forty years. These were still early-stage villains, which is why they hadn't gone extinct yet; they indeed possessed some capability. Unless there's some sort of rotation system in place, there definitely won't be enough villains!
Not everyone can become a high-level villain. Small-time hooligans, for example, are just cannon fodder. Spoiled brats, on the other hand, are mid-tier villains; they can be mass-produced, to some extent, simply by siring more offspring. But high-level villains, those at the elder level, are very unlikely to be mass-produced.
Wait, I know what I want to do!
With a sudden shift in his thought process, Wang Linchi realized one thing: nothing had a brighter future than matchmaking for these protagonists. More importantly, the partners Wang Linchi would introduce to them would be Cyborgs of his own creation—extremely realistic ones at that. This move would be like investing in the protagonists. Then, forget just fleecing them for money; he could even exploit entire worlds.
Wait a minute, isn't this just pimping? Wang Linchi came to his senses, wondering if he was being too shameless.
But on second thought, he quickly refuted the idea. This shouldn't be considered pimping. At most, it's... pet breeding?
This is just getting more and more ridiculous. But even if I want to establish such a Destiny matchmaking agency, I'll probably have to wait awhile.
He needed to build his lab first. How else would he cultivate custom-made, beautiful female Cyborgs? After all, this business of his was aimed at seizing the world's origin, so it naturally required some initial investment. Unless he was very wealthy, he couldn't even think about building the lab now. No, even money wasn't enough—he needed influence too. After all, most of the lab equipment was under strict regulation.
I can only start by setting up the shop... but it seems I don't have enough money. I'll have to 'borrow' some. After doing the math, Wang Linchi looked at the salary his predecessor had left him. This little bit of money couldn't even cover the deposit for a storefront, let alone rent one.
Public order used to be quite good, perhaps because I hadn't come into contact with the darker side. But since there's now a divine doctor type of protagonist, Dark Evil Forces should also exist, right?
If Wang Linchi wanted to 'borrow' money, he certainly wouldn't approach ordinary people or companies, because they would report him to the police. But Dark Evil Forces were different; if he took money from them, they wouldn't dare make a fuss. As for any underlings who might get punished because of it, that was none of his concern. They weren't good people to begin with, so Wang Linchi felt little guilt about exploiting these villains. He wouldn't 'borrow' much, just around a hundred thousand. He wasn't really looking to rent a shop, but rather to buy one. A simple renovation, and it would be a once-and-for-all solution.
