The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, warm and unforgiving. Mo Yu blinked against the glare, groggy but alert. His first thought wasn't breakfast, work, or even the weight of the looming Sunday meeting—it was the gold. He jumped out of bed, quickly washed up, and dressed in his most neutral outfit, a hoodie and cap. The small gold bar from the shop was wrapped carefully in tissue and tucked into a coin pouch. As he left his unit and headed down the narrow stairwell, the excitement in his chest refused to settle.

「如果这是真的，   那我可就发达了！」
If this is real, then I’m about to strike it rich!

He boarded the MRT, heading towards Chinatown, where some of the city's most reputable goldsmiths operated. As the train rattled through station after station, he kept his gaze fixed on the small pouch in his hand. All the way to the shop’s doorstep, only one thought looped in his head like a desperate chant:

「求你了， 拜托」
I'm begging you, please

The bell over the door jingled as he stepped into the goldsmith shop. Air conditioning blasted into his face, a relief from the already humid morning heat. A middle-aged auntie behind the counter looked up from her workbench.

“小弟，  要看金饰还是卖金啊？”
Hey young man, are you here to look at gold jewelry or to sell gold?

Mo Yu offered a gleeful smile.

 “卖金，   但不确定是真是假，   可以帮我鉴定一下吗？”
I want to sell gold, but I'm not sure if it's real, could you help me appraise it?

“可以可以。   请把金放在托盘上。”
Sure, sure. Please place the gold on the tray

He placed the gold bar gently on the tray atop the counter. The auntie raised an eyebrow and picked it up with tongs. Under bright light, she turned it over, inspecting its luster, weight, and purity stamp. Then, she slid it onto a small digital scale.

“嗯， 刚好一克。”
Mhh, exactly one gram

she murmured and reached under the counter, pulled out a testing kit, and scraped a bit of the bar on a test stone. A few drops of acid later, the reaction confirmed everything.

“小弟， 这是真金哦, 而且九九纯！ 市价大概一百块多一点。”
Young lad, this is real gold, and it's 99.9% pure! The Market price is probably just a little over 100

Mo Yu’s smile was even wider now. He couldn’t believe his ears.

「是真的！」
It's real!

“你从哪买的？ 不像是本地的货。”
Where did you buy this from? It doesn't look like it's from around here

Mo Yu laughed nervously and replied

“朋友送的。”
A friend gave it to me

As the auntie place back the gold onto the tray and return in back onto the counter,

"阿姨， 您能从我这里购买多少克金子？"
Auntie, how many grams of gold would you be able to purchase from me?

"这种纯度的金子，大概1公斤吧。"
For this kind of purity, probably about 1 kg

"好的， 那我稍后再回来， 等我一下。"
Alright, then I will come back later, wait for me

"好啊，但我得先提醒你，我这里的交易可是最划算的哦。"
Alright, but I’ll tell you first, my deal here is the best one

With a small laugh and a nod, Mo Yu wrapped up the conversation, turned around and left the shop. Stepping back onto the bustling street, basking in the bright sun, he couldn’t feel anymore elactic as the news of what he just heard replays in his head over and over. The fact that he could change his wen for real money means that he didn’t have to work those odd jobs with long hours just to barely survive every month. This 2 missions, although dangerous earned him a few thousand dollars, and in just matter of days.

With a small chuckle and a nod, Mo Yu wrapped up the conversation, turned around and and walked out of the shop. As he stepped back onto the bustling street, feeling the bright morning sun wash over him. A rush of exhilaration flooded over him. Euphoric at the goldsmith’s words, it echoed in his mind again and again: It’s real.

The realization hit him like a wave. He could exchange Wen for actual money. That meant he didn’t hve to grind through long hours of low-paying, soul-draining part-time jobs just to scrape by each month. Because, in just two missions, albeit terrifying and unpredictable, he had earned the equivalent of several thousand dollars, in just matter of days, something that would typically take him months.

「也许， 或许， 这个游戏没我想象的那么糟， 至少我可以赚到钱。」
Maybe, just maybe, this game is not as bad as I had thought. Well, At the very least, I can earn money

Mo Yu wandered through the streets, searching for a secluded spot, and finally found a dark alleyway. Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and opened the app, quickly purchasing more gold. He spent all of his Wen. 100 grams of gold was now in front of him. He carefully placed it in his pouch and made his way out of the alley.

「也许阿姨说得对。」
Maybe what the auntie said was right

On his way back to the same goldsmith shop, he passed by several other stores and decided to inquire about their gold buying prices. After comparing their offers with the actual market rate, he was shocked to find that most of them were buying gold at 15-20% below the market value. Stunned, he simply nodded at their responses and walked away.

He returned to the goldsmith shop, inquiring about their buying price while considering the possibility of striking a deal. If their offer was reasonable, he might even negotiate a contract with them. After all, with more missions ahead, he would be selling gold for quite some time.

It turned out the auntie was offering to trade gold at $122.68 per gram, about 10% less than the average market rate. Given that this was the best offer Mo Yu had encountered so far, he decided to negotiate a contract with the goldsmith. And he succeeded! If he could sell 100 grams of this purity every month, the goldsmith agreed to give him a 5% discount on future transactions—though this would only apply from the next sale onwards. They quickly signed the contract, and Mo Yu exchanged his gold, receiving $12,268 in his bank account. After thanking the goldsmith, he left the shop, feeling a sense of accomplishment.