Chapter 125: The Argument Between Chad and Gerri

With his naturally large frame, Chad appeared even more imposing carrying a huge wooden crate down the street.

As he walked, many passersby gave way to him.

Chad ran home with great speed.

He carefully set the crate down, closed the door with a touch of secrecy, and rubbed his hands together in excitement.

Recalling the ‘unboxing’ technique from the video, he easily opened the crate with brute strength.

An indescribable mixture of plant oil and metallic smells wafted out.

Inside was a bicycle frame wrapped in thick hemp ropes, revealed before his eyes.

Precise, shiny, mysterious, full of mechanical beauty! It was astonishing!

“The president wasn’t lying after all!”

Chad murmured excitedly to himself.

He turned on the Internet’s lighting function, instantly brightening the slightly dim room.

Eagerly, he watched the bicycle assembly video for what seemed the fiftieth time and began to assemble it like a pilgrim.

He didn’t dare apply too much force, fearing he would damage the exquisite metal creation.

After a long time, a brand-new bicycle was finally assembled.

Chad circled around it, imagining Gerri’s surprise when she saw it, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Bicycles weren’t common in this burgeoning city.

Only a few nobles and wealthy merchants owned them.

It was truly a luxury item.

Riding it through the streets would garner real envy.

With these thoughts, Chad quickly tidied up the crate, placed the bicycle at the main entrance, and anxiously waited for Gerri to finish work.

Gerri was now much more accomplished than him.

A couple of days ago, the Empire sent two female officials to recruit staff, saying they needed to build some weather station.

Gerri, wanting to give it a try, applied.

Unexpectedly, she was hired.

Now, she not only earned as much as him, but it was also much easier.

The main tasks involved following the two female officials to regularly measure soil and air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, light intensity, rainfall, and dew, among other things.

These tasks sounded a bit complex.

Chad, wanting to be sure, checked online and found that weather stations appeared in almost every city.

It was said that Lord Ajef was executing the orders of the Internet God, seemingly to forecast the weather.

Chad didn’t quite understand what that meant.

Can the weather really be predicted?

However, considering it’s divine will, even unreasonable things seemed reasonable.

What concerned him most was whether Gerri’s job was tiring.

To this end, he secretly observed Gerri at work and indeed found it was quite relaxed.

She just needed to check a few little things in the yard every hour and record them in a notebook.

A couple of days ago, Gerri excitedly told him she got permission from the female officials to try riding their bicycles, which indeed was as light and effortless as described online.

With a gentle pedal, she could circle the yard, which was very fun.

Seeing Gerri’s eyes light up then, Chad was determined to get her a bicycle if possible.

Unexpectedly, the opportunity came, and he got a bicycle.

“Creak!”

With the sound of the gate opening, Gerri’s voice followed.

“Chad, are you back?”

Chad realized the front gate must have been unlocked, noticed by her.

He remained silent, waiting for Gerri to open the door.

“Creeeak——”

Along with the creaking of the wooden door, the evening sunset poured in as it opened wide, shining brightly on the bicycle.

Gerri stopped in her tracks, standing at the door, dazed, looking at the bicycle in the hallway.

“Do you like it?” Chad asked with a grin.

“Did you… did you buy it?” Gerri stammered.

“Uh-huh!” Chad nodded.

“How much did you spend? Why would you spend money recklessly?”

The anticipated surprise didn’t come. Instead, Gerri tearfully questioned him.

Chad panicked.

“I didn’t spend any money! Look, the money’s still in the bank!”

Chad quickly summoned the Internet and opened the Internet Bank, where the account balance of 1786.58 copper coins remained intact.

Since Gerri gradually changed her mind about saving money in the bank, they had been snuggling every night to check their savings in the Internet Bank, watching it grow.

Seeing their wealth increase bit by bit made them feel particularly secure.

“Didn’t spend money? You stole it?”

Gerri’s expression turned to shock.

“No! You’re overthinking. Remember what I told you that I joined the worldwide campaign? This month my contribution was high. Initially, I planned to cash it out, but seeing your love for bicycles, I asked if I could exchange it for a bicycle. The president, having influence, agreed and sent it to me.”

Chad explained quickly.

As a warrior among the Black Laborers, his ability to disrupt the magic shield of a church during the Sparta battles testified to his considerable combat skills and experience.

Consequently, he excelled in [Conquest Sub-Dimension].

Especially after joining the Guild, where real-time cash withdrawals to the Internet Bank were encouraged,

his enthusiasm for defeating orcs soared!

He always ranked at the top in contribution value within the Guild.

“What? Rewards in money? How much?”

“About thirty silver pieces!”

“What? Thirty silver pieces? Are you crazy? How many years would it take for us to save that much? Why didn’t you tell me about such a huge expense?”

“I just saw you like bicycles…”

“Liking it doesn’t fill our bellies. I like gold coins too! Can we go rob gold coins?”

Chad was stunned. He never thought that his eager attempt to please Gerri would make her so angry.

Feeling a bit irritated, he shouted, “Why don’t you just sell it then!”

It was the first time he was angry at Gerri.

Gerri was stunned.

He was stunned too.

With their argument paused, Chad left the hall in anger, sitting silently at the doorstep.

After a long while, footsteps came from behind him.

Gerri approached, speaking apologetically:

“I’m sorry. I know you mean well. Your kindness is noted. But our family can’t afford a bicycle. The world is so chaotic. What if we’re suddenly out of work or war breaks out again…”

Before she finished, Chad turned to refute.

“Where is the world chaotic? It’s just where we used to live. This is Quever, the territory of the Internet God, not our former kingdom. No one can bully us here, not even the nobles dare beat or scold us!”

“Since coming here, have we gone hungry? No! We’ve never been hungry for a day. Everyone I’ve seen is like this. We can learn magic, we can learn Battle Qi, we keep earning more money, no one dares rob us. The nobles don’t dare find excuses to deduct money. In the bank, it earns more. Our lives are getting better. Why shouldn’t we have a bicycle?”

“Lord Ajef created it for us to use, didn’t he? Your month’s salary can buy two or three of them in Vis Els. Why can’t we afford it?”

“If there’s no job here, let’s go to the factory in Vis Els. They are hiring every day! Many cities have opened factories now, our city will eventually have them too. Why worry about not having a job?”

“I can earn money during the day and earn more in Conquest at night. What are you afraid of? And you’ve found a good job, haven’t you?”

“I know you’re afraid of war. But there’s no need to fear. Even if there is war, this city was destroyed once before. Do you think the Empire won’t be prepared to stop it from happening again?”

“In Conquest, I have powerful magical puppets; I have guns. If there is a war, the Internet God will surely open the Summoning function again. We have the power to protect our home.”

“The Internet God will protect us! He is powerful, haven’t you seen online videos? Even the Five Prime Gods aren’t his match!”

“It is very safe here! Our lives will only get better. You don’t need to live in fear, really. The Internet God is so powerful, so kind. No one can hurt us.”

Chad’s words left Gerri bewildered.

Indeed, rather than blaming Chad, it was her insecurity and deep-seated inferiority that made her feel unworthy of such good things and a beautiful life.

She was always anxious, fearing of losing her current life.

She constantly prepared to escape.

Yet didn’t know how to escape?

Until now, she suddenly realized – she didn’t need to escape, the Internet God had always kept his promises.

Her time in Quever was almost the happiest period of her previous life.

Having a home, eating well, listening to music, practicing magic, with a job to support the family.

Here, the people were friendly;

the nobles were self-disciplined;

There were hardly any idle troublemakers on the streets.

Everyone was busy.

Busy practicing, busy working, busy entertaining, busy fighting, busy making money.

Wealth was growing every day;

Life had prospects.

The Empire was strong enough to defeat even the Five Prime Gods; what was there to fear?

The Internet God fulfilled his promise, saved her.

But she hadn’t yet saved her own soul.

Now she understood.

Why shouldn’t I deserve a good life?

It’s a right the Internet God gave me. I have the right to enjoy it!