With nearly 500 million Korean Won on his back, Lin Ze was at a loss. He suddenly had money but didn't know how to spend it.
The most pressing task was to get legal identities for himself and Xiao Monü.
In the original movie, Xiao Monü was adopted by Teacher Ju and his wife, and then obtained her identity with the help of Chief Detective Do from the town. But now, Lin Ze and Xiao Monü couldn't feign amnesia, so they couldn't take that seemingly convenient route.
Just as Lin Ze was deep in thought, a person suddenly flashed through his mind—the small-time crook who helped him "lead the way to borrow money" yesterday. That small-time crook seemed to have his own set of survival rules here and should know a thing or two about various channels. Perhaps, through him, they could find a way to solve the identity problem.
In the early morning, as the sun shone down, the city awakened. But the small-time crooks should be sound asleep at this hour.
Carrying nearly 500 million Korean Won, Lin Ze secretly mused that with such a large asset, he no longer needed to shortchange himself.
Arriving at a decent-looking hotel, The Handmaiden at the front desk took his ID card, her gaze lingering for a moment between the photo on the ID and Lin Ze himself, a flicker of doubt in her eyes.
But Lin Ze was incredibly quick-witted. He immediately put on a friendly act, his face beaming with smiles, and began to joke around: "Oh, The Handmaiden, look at me. Haven't I changed a bit after losing weight? The photo on my ID was taken when I was a child, it doesn't really look like me. But don't worry, this is definitely me. I just had a little work done recently and haven't had time to update my ID yet."
As he spoke, he winked at The Handmaiden, perfectly conveying a hint of embarrassment about having plastic surgery.
The Handmaiden at the front desk was somewhat amused and helpless by Lin Ze's spiel. Seeing his seemingly sincere attitude, she hesitated for a moment but ultimately turned a blind eye, opening a luxury business suite for Lin Ze. Lin Ze was secretly delighted. After thanking her, he quickly entered the Room.
A large bathtub, floor-to-ceiling windows... he had never enjoyed such things in his previous life. He touched here and looked there, but finding it somewhat uninteresting, he lay down and slept. He slept until two or three in the afternoon, then got up, quickly washed up, took two wads of money, tucked them into his pocket, and hid his backpack in the wardrobe before leaving the hotel. It wasn't that he didn't want to carry the cash with him, but it was truly inconvenient. About thirty catties, imagine carrying one and a half bags of rice while shopping... Returning to the bar where he "borrowed money" last night, the atmosphere here had completely changed today. A dozen thugs stood guard at the entrance, without their usual laxness. His spiritual sense swept inside, revealing several yellow-haired men kneeling on the ground, their faces covered in blood from beatings. The fat boss sat on the sofa, his face full of menace.
"Heh heh, looks like they discovered the money was stolen!" Lin Ze chuckled inwardly.
The bow-legged man who led the way yesterday also stood among the crowd, not daring to speak. Even as a core member, he didn't dare to breathe heavily at this moment. The boss's safe was robbed last night, and it was said that most of the cash was looted. This was no small matter. This was the gang's money, and if it couldn't be recovered, even the boss's position would be unstable.
"Everyone go out and find it for me... Aish, I'm going to chop that little thief up and feed him to the fish." The fat boss, in a fit of rage, smashed another bottle of foreign liquor.
"Yes!" The subordinates agreed and rushed out.
"Han Taiyi, you stay... Hmm, you still go to Old Man Zhou's place for me and collect the debt! Aish! If he dies, bring his daughter back." The fat boss called out to the bow-legged man.
The quarterly profits had to be submitted by the end of the month, otherwise, why would there be so much cash in the safe? Now, it all benefited Lin Ze. At this critical juncture, they could only quickly collect the money that had been lent out to fill the gang's coffers first. It was rumored that the gang was preparing to go legitimate, and if they didn't perform well now, they might be abandoned by the gang, or even become sacrificial pawns.
"Uh, yes!"
The bow-legged small-time crook was named Han Taiyi. At this moment, he didn't dare to be as flippant as before. He nodded seriously, called two subordinates, and ran outside.
Lin Ze unhurriedly followed behind. Soon, Han Taiyi led the small-time crooks into a hospital. The target of their debt collection today was an old man lying in bed. Looking at the thin old man covered in tubes, this mission was likely to be difficult.
"Aish, pull out this old man's oxygen tube." Han Taiyi directed his subordinates to prepare to rough up the old man in the hospital bed.
"No! Don't do that!" At this moment, a girl rushed over and protected the bed. The girl was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with an oval face, delicate features, fair skin, and slightly Ran hair, giving her a look that was truly pitiable.
"Ah... that... are you his daughter?" Han Taiyi had never seen such a beautiful woman. He was instantly smitten, as if he had fallen in love, and couldn't even speak clearly.
"It seems this old man is not long for this world, so the money he owes will have to be repaid by you!" Han Taiyi straightened his ill-fitting suit. He was here for work, and personal feelings could only be put aside for now.
The girl ignored Han Taiyi, only looking worriedly at the old man in the bed, helping him straighten the blankets that had just been pulled Ran.
"Your father owes our company fifty million Won. He's about to die, so according to the rules, you will repay it." Han Taiyi pulled out a loan transfer contract from his bag and threw it on the bed.
Signing this contract would naturally transfer the debt to the girl, and if she couldn't repay it later, it would become a contract of indentured servitude. Seeing that the girl still ignored him, fifty million Won was no small sum, and with compound interest, if there were no accidents, the woman would definitely find it very difficult to repay it in the future.
"Aish, push this old man out for some fresh air." Han Taiyi felt he had lost face, and blustered, telling his subordinates to continue acting.
"Ah! Don't do this, I'll sign, I'll sign..." The girl cried out hysterically.
"Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier?" Han Taiyi felt a bit guilty but didn't want to show it.
"Isn't this a scene from some romance movie?" Lin Ze watched this scene from outside the hospital Room with surprise. It seemed like a romance movie about a small-time crook falling in love with a debtor and coercing the female lead to be with him through the debt? Was it called 'When a Man Loves a Woman'?
"System, what, what's going on?" Lin Ze called out in his mind.
"This is quite normal! Who said a world can only have one story and one protagonist? Another story might be happening in places you can't see!"
"Alright, then if I interfere here, can I also get modification points?" Lin Ze asked excitedly.
"Yes!"
"That's great! Then it's my turn to make an appearance."
According to the movie, this girl seemed to be named Zhou Haoting.
"Hey, I'll pay her debt." Lin Ze pushed open the hospital Room door and walked in. The Room suddenly fell silent.
"Kid, are you sure? Do you know how much they owe us?" Han Taiyi asked arrogantly.
"Isn't it just fifty million Won? Here's ten million, come back with me to get the rest of the money later." Lin Ze pulled out two wads of fifty thousand Korean Won bills from his pocket and threw them into a subordinate's arms.
"Oh, he's a rich kid. Alright, since someone's paying, then this matter is over. Let's go!" Han Taiyi gestured for Lin Ze to lead the way.
"Wait... you are..." Zhou Haoting didn't recognize Lin Ze. She didn't know what had happened.
"I'm a friend of your father's, but it's not important." Lin Ze waved his hand and walked out the door first. If he had an adult body, Lin Ze wouldn't mind getting close to this beautiful Zhou Haoting, but he wasn't in the mood now. The priority was to disrupt the fated romance of two people to gain modification points.
Back at the hotel, Lin Ze had Han Taiyi go up alone with him to get the money, while the two subordinates waited in the lobby. Han Taiyi thought for a moment and then agreed.
Entering the Room, Lin Ze directly opened the wardrobe and counted out eight more wads of large bills, placing them in front of Han Taiyi, which was exactly the agreed-upon forty million Won.
Han Taiyi's eyelids twitched a few times. Looking at the bulging backpack, Han Taiyi seemed to be deep in thought.
"Haha, since I dared to take it out in front of you, I'm not afraid of you reporting me. In fact, I should thank you. If you hadn't led the way yesterday, I wouldn't have found that place." Lin Ze looked at Han Taiyi teasingly.
"You're in big trouble." Han Taiyi suddenly felt the money was burning his hands.
"I'll tell you two pieces of news, and then give you two choices: First, your father has Alzheimer's and needs your care. Second, you have a tumor here (Lin Ze pointed to his head) and have at most two years left..."
"Damn it, what nonsense are you talking about..."
"These are all easy to confirm. For example, you can call about your father's condition right away... I'll give you half a day. If you don't come to find me before nine tomorrow morning, then you won't find me anymore."
Han Taiyi didn't ask what choices Lin Ze gave him. He left Lin Ze's Room in a hurry. Lin Ze knew Han Taiyi was a smart person; he wouldn't report Lin Ze.
Another leisurely night passed. The next morning, Lin Ze saw Han Taiyi with dark circles under his eyes in the hotel restaurant.
"Come over and eat something." Lin Ze waved to him.
Han Taiyi was not polite and sat directly opposite Lin Ze, picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat.
"Didn't sleep all night?" Lin Ze asked.
"Both things were right! I went to see a familiar doctor last night, and luckily it was discovered early. He said the possibility of a cure is very high, but the location is special, and the cost..." Han Taiyi didn't say how much more, but his life was already tight, so it was clear that Lin Ze had now become his lifeline.
"Hmm, do you have a way to help me make two ID cards? The kind that can be used online." Lin Ze asked.
"Yes! I know a computer repairman who can help you register them in the login system." Han Taiyi thought for a moment and immediately replied. He understood that only by demonstrating his value could he hope to get Lin Ze's help.
"Okay, do you have a car? Accompany me to pick someone up, and then we'll go get the documents together." Lin Ze realized that Xiao Monü also needed an ID, and he didn't even have a photo of Xiao Monü on hand right now.
"No, but I can borrow one first." Han Taiyi said.
"Okay, go prepare and come pick me up here. After the matter is done, I'll give you two hundred million Won, which is enough for your medical treatment and supporting your father." Lin Ze said.
"Good!" Han Taiyi went out to borrow a car.
Lin Ze had a sudden thought about driving back to pick up Xiao Monü. Taking a train meant cameras everywhere, not to mention the trouble of not having real documents. Buying tickets would be difficult. He couldn't possibly steal an ID for Xiao Monü, could he? Not to mention the issue of resemblance, it couldn't be used anywhere with internet connectivity. As soon as the owner reported it lost, using it would immediately attract attention.