The Great Thief

Chapter 1: Rebirth

Panda Novel

“Big brother’s going to go look for work. Be good, and stay at home and do your homework. Here’s 10 dollars- don’t forget to buy some food for lunch.”

In front of the door of a small house in the Slum District, Lu Li patted the little loli’s head. He simply couldn’t help but lovingly stroke her hair- to see his little sister so healthy and playful was simply wonderful!

“Alright, alright, big brother,” The little loli pouted, “Stop playing with my hair, you’re going to get it messy.”

Lu Xin affectionately straightened up Lu Li’s clothes, and reminded him like a little adult, “Do your best, alright? Big brother’s so hardworking, so I’m sure you’ll be able to find a job this time.”

“Don’t worry, big brother will definitely find a good job, earn a lot of money and let Xin Xin live a good life,” Lu Li said as he hugged her. He said silently in his heart, “I definitely won’t be so poor that I can only watch as you slowly die.”

“When Xin Xin’s older, she’ll earn a lot of money as well,” The little loli said as she squirmed in his embrace, solemnly raising her fist in determination.

Despite the fact that he was extremely unwilling to leave, Lu Li said his goodbyes to his little sister.

On the bus, he reached into his pocket and froze, bitterly smiling.

The money he had given to his little sister had lunch had reappeared in his own pocket. He knew that she would probably do this. She was simply too lovable and cute.

It was currently the 23rd Century, and science had been improving by leaps and bounds. All sorts of AI technology filled every corner of the world, and this development had caused people’s lives to improve tremendously. However, it also meant that human labour was becoming obsolete.

Unemployment was no longer something that was rare, especially to people like Lu Li who were at the bottom of society. To them, finding a stable job was simply a dream.

If nothing changed, he would have continued to wander in unemployment.

It was not until he joined a game union’s Gold Collection Unit, by a stroke of incredible luck, that he finally enjoyed a stable life. However, because he only entered the game called “Dawn” a year after it was released, he was at too big of a disadvantage, and was never able to become an expert.

Two years later, his little sister, Lu Xin, was diagnosed with a serious illness during a school check-up.

Without the money to afford the millions of dollars of medical expenses, coupled with the fact that he had been hunted down by a few other game unions, Lu Li could only watch as his only family slowly died.

That feeling was worse than being cut with a knife. Lu Li had hugged his little sister while sobbing on many occasions.

However, his fate had been changed.

On the day he had received notice of his sister being critically ill, Lu Li had cried for a long time before passing out on his little sister’s hospital bed. When he woke up, he found that he had returned three years in the past - a sort of rebirth.

He knew that while his little sister was still healthy, he needed to earn money- a lot of money.

Only with enough money could he cure his little sister of her illness, so that she could be like the other children her age and live a blissful life.

Only with enough money would he not be humiliated by his girlfriend’s parents. He had been asked, “You don’t have a roof to cover your head, nor do you have a foundation to stand on. Without a car or a house, and just your words, what do you think makes you good enough for our Mei Mei?”

Only with enough money, would he be able to lift his head high and not be looked down upon!

The easiest way to earn big money would be through the lottery. However, it was a pity that Lu Li never thought that he would experience rebirth, and so never paid attention to the numbers. Neither did he have any experience with the stock market: him, a poor boy, could never afford those sorts of things. Moreover, because the stock market was so volatile, it was something that poor people like him could never risk…

After thinking and thinking, Lu Li was frustrated to find that although he had experienced rebirth, becoming rich would not be easy at all.

The only thing that he seemed to be able to do was play games- and the game that he had played for 2 years, “Dawn”, was set to be released in just a few days.

Lu Li had already given up on finding a proper job. Today, he would pay a visit to the Star Moon Union’s headquarters, where he had worked in his “past life”.

The Star Moon Union was not one of the 10 Great Unions, nor was it in the Chinese Top 4. It was just a game alliance created by a group of university students. The union’s leaders all had extremely rich parents, so they could spend money as they pleased. That was the only reason why their union was still of considerable size.

The Azure Lake District next to the Higher Education Mega Center was one of the most beautiful places around. It had mountains on one side and water on the other, with cherry blossoms carpeting the ground. In front of Lu Li was an office building, and behind him was a Villa District. Only extremely rich people would be able to set up their companies here.

Lu Li walked into a building, and the beautiful receptionist looked at his attire in disgust. She called a number, and told Lu Li that he could go in for his interview.

“Currently, we’re only recruiting people for our Suicide Squads; our Gold Collection Unit is not recruiting anymore.” The interviewer was a fashionably dressed woman. She painted her nails as she talked, and didn’t even bother to look at him.

The so-called “Suicide Squad” was simply cannon fodder. Dying 10 times in a day was normal for them.

The reason Lu Li wanted to find a union to join was so he could use their game helmet for free. Although members of the Gold Collection Unit didn’t have very good future prospects, they could at the very least train and level up. Those in the Suicide Squad were destined to never rise to high levels. After all, dying in the game meant losing EXP.

“To be honest, I’m quite talented at collecting gold,” Lu Li wasn’t willing to give up and join the Suicide Squad. If he gave up now, his plan to earn money would be ruined. He calmed down his breathing as he coolly said, “If you’re willing to recruit me to be part of the Gold Collection Unit, I can earn at least 20 gold per week…”

“What? 20 gold?!” The woman was so shocked that she accidentally flicked nail polish onto her face.

Although Dawn was created with the most advanced virtual game technology, and had world-class developers, it was impossible for it to be released without any beta tests. However, not many people had been selected for beta testing, and what they experienced would not have any impact on the actual game.

In just a few days, what all players realised was that it was incredibly difficult to earn money.

For normal players, they would not even be able to make their ends meet. Members of the Gold Collection Unit with some skill or experience were only able to earn a few silver per day.

According to the estimates of experienced players, at least 100 gold was required to establish a guild. Even with 100 members of the Gold Collection Unit working day and night, assuming that they didn’t spend any of it, it would take at least a week to earn that much money.

And yet, this guy had promised that he would be able to earn at least 20 gold in a week!

20 gold- that was the equivalent of 200,000 copper!

“Have you been part of the beta testing? Did you find some sort of way to earn money?” The interviewer’s heart raced as she suspiciously asked.

Lu Li gave a mysterious smile, pretending to have some sort of secret.

“Ao Jian, come over for a bit, something just came up… Mmm, someone came to apply for the Gold Collection Unit, and says that he can earn 20 gold in a week. I think he’s found some sort of bug.” The beautiful interviewer had no choice but to tell her superior.

Very soon, Lu Li heard some hurried steps running towards the room. Turning around, he was quite shocked to see who had appeared.

The people who had arrived included the boss of Star Moon, Ao Jian, as well as a few other people. From Lu Li’s two years’ worth of experience in the Star Moon Union, he could see that they were all high-profile members of Star Moon.

“Ohh? Don’t tell me that the person who can earn 20 gold in a week is this boy.” A short man next to Ao Jian yelled out. This person’s in-game name was Half A Cigarette, and was the leader of Star Moon Union’s Thief Group. He was an incredibly abrupt and rash person.

“Is what she said true? Do you really have a method to earn 20 gold in a week? Are you sure that you’re talking about “Dawn”?” Ao Jian’s face was quite unsightly. He had carried a sliver of hope as he ran over, but seeing what Lu Li looked like, he felt it disappear.

Lu Li’s looks were extremely ordinary, and his face was a yellowish-black colour. His clothes were wrinkled, and there were threads sticking out of it. One could tell at a single glance that he was one of those people at the bottom of society.

“I don’t have any evidence, but even if I can’t deliver, you won’t lose much, right?” Facing the crowd of rich and talented young people, Lu Li didn’t look like someone who was at the bottom of society at all. He calmly smiled, his eyes filled with boundless confidence.

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