010, A Small Profit of Twenty Thousand

After reading the entire trending news story, a cold sweat broke out on Lin Mi's back.

“What should I do now?”

If she were unaware of this incident, she would have reacted like everyone else, reading the news, sighing, and mourning the loss. But now, she possessed the ability to foresee the future.

Given that she had learned of it in advance, how could she ignore the imminent loss of so many innocent lives? The sense of helplessness she’d felt about the earlier car accident still lingered in her heart. This time, however, the system's information was so precise: the location, time, and cause were all clearly laid out.

If she chose to stand by and do nothing, her conscience would be tormented.

Moreover, she couldn't believe that such a miraculous and powerful system had landed on her only to let her turn a blind eye to human life. The system’s rules brimmed with positivity; it even set up rewards and penalties for changing the outcomes of trending events, which suggested she had a responsibility.

Of course, she could never reveal her “golden finger” to anyone.

“What should I do…”

Call the police?

Lin Mi immediately shook her head.

If she could genuinely attract the attention of the police and prevent the fire, it would be a great deed. But what if the officers didn’t focus on the hotel fire and instead suspected her of being a dangerous individual? That would be disastrous!

She had no wish to throw herself into trouble.

This time, she definitely had to save those people.

But how to go about it? She needed to think carefully.

Directly prophesying a fire was out of the question—she’d never be able to explain that away.

Perhaps she could try making an anonymous call to the hotel, advising them to pay attention to fire safety?

But a single anonymous call was insignificant. The Xinghui Hotel was unlikely to carry out a thorough inspection based on an unsubstantiated warning. The credibility was too low—they might even think someone was playing a prank.

She needed a more proactive approach, something that could actually make a difference.

“Xinghui International Hotel… the third-floor Chinese restaurant kitchen…” Lin Mi muttered as she quickly calculated her options.

After careful thought, she realized it wasn’t suitable to inform anyone else in advance, given the unpredictable factors involved.

This was something only she could do.

Perhaps, she could go to the hotel herself the day after tomorrow.

If she could, without drawing attention, find a chance to alert hotel management or security—using a more persuasive method, such as “accidentally discovering” some safety hazard—she might be able to warn them.

Or, around the time when the “accident” was likely to occur, she could find a way to create a minor “incident,” like triggering a smoke alarm in a certain area, forcing the hotel to investigate and uncover the real danger in advance.

Only by being physically present at the scene would her warning carry any weight.

If she could successfully prevent or lessen the disaster, there might even be unexpected rewards for her.

She wanted to save lives, and she also wanted the system’s reward.

As expected, opportunity and risk always went hand in hand!

“Luckily, there’s still time to plan.”

With her thoughts in order, Lin Mi breathed a sigh of relief. The summit was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, so she still had time to prepare.

She exited the “Get Rich” system and began searching online for information and reports related to the summit.

The trending news had also mentioned that the site of the fire would be close to the banquet hall hosting the summit. That floor would have the greatest number of people trapped, since the other floors mostly had scattered guests, while the banquet hall alone would have hundreds.

If danger struck, the chaos would be unimaginable.

Therefore, she wanted to learn all she could about the summit in advance—perhaps it would reveal another way in.

As she searched, time slipped away unnoticed.

Only when Lin Mi lifted her head and glanced out the window did she realize dusk had fallen. She hurriedly put down her phone and stood up to take care of dinner.

**

At half past eight in the evening, after finishing her meal and tidying up, Lin Mi received a call from her friend Yuan Yuan.

“Mi Mi! I’m so mad! Let me tell you, today I really saw what it means to be looked down upon by snobs!”

The instant she picked up, Yuan Yuan’s trademark booming voice rang out.

From the sound alone, Lin Mi immediately understood—clearly, the system’s earlier “friend update” prediction had come true.

“Don’t be upset! Tell me slowly, what happened that made you so angry?” Lin Mi suppressed a smile, pretending to know nothing.

“Let me tell you…”

Yuan Yuan launched into a rapid-fire account of her experience trying on clothes at the mall.

It was a simple story: Yuan Yuan had encountered a snobbish sales assistant. Because she was dressed casually and tried on several outfits, the assistant grew impatient, made sarcastic remarks, and even gave her the cold shoulder.

Yuan Yuan, being straightforward and unable to swallow her anger, ended up getting into a heated argument with the saleswoman.

Lin Mi listened patiently, chiming in now and then, comforting Yuan Yuan until she finally hung up.

Though it was a trivial incident, it confirmed the system’s “friend update” function for her.

From now on, she could help those around her avoid trouble more effectively.

It made her all the more eager to unlock more days of access to the system’s privileges.

Suddenly, Lin Mi recalled another trending story about a heatwave in Rongcheng and had an idea.

She immediately composed a friendly reminder: [Rongcheng Weather Tip: For the next three days (starting September 18), Rongcheng will experience a continuous heatwave, with temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees. Please take precautions against heatstroke, and elderly and children should avoid going out during the hottest hours.]

Ordinary posts like this—if they reminded people to be careful—should earn her a little energy value, right?

Shortly after posting, the “Wealth Melody” system popped up with a notification: [Ding! You have provided a positive guide and earned +5 energy points!]

Her energy points rose from 55 to 60.

“Not much, but it all adds up in the end.”

Lin Mi nodded in satisfaction, glanced at the time, and immediately opened her stock account.

“It hit the limit! It really hit the limit!”

Lin Mi jumped off the sofa, excitement tingling through her. The bright red letters on the screen—“Limit Up”—made her exhale in relief, a smile breaking uncontrollably across her face.

At a purchase price of 12.58 yuan and a 10% daily limit (mainboard stocks in the A-share market are capped at 10% movement), the current price was 13.84 yuan.

She had bought 13,180 shares, so the market value was 13,180 * 13.84 = 182,411.2 yuan.

Subtracting her initial cost of 164,750 yuan, she’d made a profit of 17,661 yuan on this single trade!

In other words, she’d netted over 17,000 yuan in a single day.

Nearly 20,000.

That was far more than what she could earn in a month at Huanyu Corporation—where she worked hard, endured others’ moods, and had to socialize just to get her paycheck!