Of course, learning a language isn't just about memorizing words. There's pronunciation, writing, grammar, and immersion. But once you've mastered the vocabulary, everything else becomes much easier to absorb.
What amazed Li Ge was that he had calculated all of this—every factor—in a single flash of thought. That's how he'd arrived at the conclusion: one month to fluency.
Now he truly understood how terrifying this "Transcendent Mind" was. It felt like dumping all his skill points into the Intelligence stat of an MMORPG.
He didn't want to waste it. For a moment, he felt the urge to grab an English dictionary and start memorizing right away.
But there was something more urgent to do.
He remembered exactly where the winning scratch cards were. But anything could happen in the next hour—someone else might come in and buy them first.
Luckily, the driver had gone full throttle the entire way, eager to earn that bonus. Once they hit the highway, he was pushing 100 km/h or more, doing everything he could to beat the clock.
By the time they reached the lottery shop on Shennan Road, the one-hour trip had been shaved down to just 45 minutes.
"Nice driving, right?" the driver said proudly.
"WeChat or Alipay?" Li Ge cut him off, already unbuckling his seatbelt and pulling out his phone.
The driver blinked, caught off guard by the abrupt response, but quickly snapped back to reality. "Fifteen minutes early, that's 1,500 yuan. All good?"
Li Ge didn't say a word. He scanned the payment code, paid, and headed straight into the store.
The driver's phone chimed. Payment received. He grinned, then curiously watched as Li Ge walked into the lottery shop. "Wait… he really came to redeem a ticket?"
But even if he had won ten thousand, who would spend fifteen hundred just to get there?
Still, before the driver could think too much about it, Li Ge was already back out. Less than a minute later, he had vanished down the street.
The driver shook his head and laughed. Whatever. He reopened his ride app and looked for his next order.
Meanwhile, Li Ge was already heading to the second shop. It was the one where he scratched the tickets on the first day of the game—only a ten-minute walk away. Jogging at his current speed, he made it in five.
The shop was crowded—it was the weekend. Li Ge tensed up, afraid someone might have beaten him to it. But when he stepped inside, he saw the prize-winning stack still in place.
Relieved, he walked over and pretended to browse, putting on a show of indecision. After a minute, he pointed.
"How much for that bundle?"
"Five hundred," the owner said without even glancing up. Clearly, he'd seen this kind of customer before.
"I'll take it."
Li Ge hesitated for a moment—just enough to make it look realistic—then pointed at the sealed bundle inside the glass case. The owner didn't suspect a thing and handed it over. Li Ge paid by scan, didn't scratch anything, and tucked the stack into his coat pocket before heading out.
He hailed a taxi and headed for the third shop—ten kilometers away. That was where the 200,000 yuan prize was waiting.
In under ten minutes, he reached the shop, went straight in, and bought the final bundle.
He'd gotten lucky—while the shops were busy, not many people were buying scratch cards today. In just over an hour, he had all three bundles in hand.
Still, he didn't scratch them.
With his perfect memory, he was absolutely confident which bundles contained the winning cards. No need to double-check. He hopped on the subway and headed home.
Between transportation and the cost of the cards, he'd spent nearly 3,000 yuan—a huge amount for him. That's why he took the subway back instead of another car.
That was Li Ge's habit: even when he was about to get 400,000 yuan, he remained cautious and restrained.
The return trip took nearly two hours, with three subway transfers. But finally, he was back in his cramped rental room.
He took out the three bundles. Thanks to his photographic memory, he knew exactly where each winning ticket was.
He pulled the three cards, grabbed a one-yuan coin, and started scratching.
His hands trembled slightly. Until he saw the winning symbols with his own eyes, he couldn't be sure it was real.
But he didn't have to wait long.
The first scratch revealed the winning symbol and the prize amount.
"It's real!"
Heart pounding, he scratched the other two cards. Sure enough—100,000 yuan, 200,000 yuan.
All three were winners. His memory hadn't failed him.
Li Ge's excitement surged. He wanted to tell someone—anyone—but quickly realized this wasn't the kind of thing you shared casually.
He couldn't tell his parents either—not yet. He planned to invest the money in Xinli Group's stock.
After a long moment, he calmed himself and made a decision: he'd take a day off and go to the lottery center tomorrow.
But first, he needed to figure out what the hell was going on with that headset.
He pulled it from under the bed, found the small "power" button, and pressed it.
"Unable to start. Low energy."
"Unable to start. Low energy."
He froze. That wasn't the response he expected.
But after a second's thought, it made sense. A device like this—something capable of virtual reality that felt real—had to need power.
"How do I recharge it?" he muttered.
"This product uses clean energy. Please place it under direct sunlight to recharge using solar power."
Li Ge chuckled softly.
Of course. A futuristic device using solar energy? Makes perfect sense.