Divine Income System: Level 1
Host: Ryan Mitchell
Age: 20
Height: 178cm
Looks: 67
Personal Funds: ¥2213
Physique: 70
Mental Strength: 72
Charm: 55
Return Multiplier: 1x
Starter Pack: Unclaimed
Lottery: None
Experience: None
Ryan woke up with a splitting headache, still feeling the effects of last night’s drinks.
And right in front of him, a strange screen just popped up.
At first, he thought he was just seeing things.
He rubbed his eyes, even pinched his arm.
Nope, screen's still there.
It was real.
He sat up, heart starting to race, staring at the floating screen.
Could it be? A system?
He held his breath for a few seconds to calm himself, then asked in a low voice,
"Hey, System, what do you do?"
No reply.
Instead, a bunch of info suddenly flooded into his brain.
In an instant, Ryan got it.
The whole rundown.
This system was simple. Straightforward. Brutal, even.
Right now it’s only Level 1, but for every yuan he earns, the system gives him one back.
Earn 80 bucks doing part-time? System hands him another 80.
Basically, a 2x income hack.
And that’s with the system at Level 1.
Level up to 2? The return becomes 2x.
Level 3? 3x, and so on.
As for leveling up—every yuan earned equals one XP point.
To go from Level 1 to Level 2, he needs 10,000 XP.
That’s 10,000 yuan earned.
Every level-up also unlocks one lottery chance and attribute point rewards.
But what you get? All luck.
The part that got Ryan excited was that the system even came with a Starter Pack.
He didn’t hesitate, and muttered, “System, open the Starter Pack.”
System: “Starter Pack opened. Congrats, you’ve received: Super Spicy Hotpot Base Recipe!”
Right after, his brain downloaded a full walkthrough on how to cook the hotpot base.
Ryan blinked.
That’s it? A hotpot soup base?
What was he supposed to do with this?
He couldn’t afford to open a shop—he barely had two grand to his name.
Even getting a food cart was pushing it.
But then, something clicked.
His buddy Ethan had mentioned Kimberly’s family ran a hotpot chain.
And not some roadside thing either—they had three branches just in Nandu City."Should I try Kimberly Young?"
Kimberly was in Ryan Mitchell’s class.
But honestly, they barely even talked in the past two years. At most, they’d nod if they passed each other. Not total strangers, but definitely not friends.
She was one of those perfect rich girls with everything going for her.
And him? Just an average broke college kid.
Would someone like her even give him the time of day about some homemade hot pot base?
Probably not.
But... what if she did?
Still, before reaching out, he needed to test this so-called super hot pot base to see if it really lived up to the system’s hype.
So, Ryan got up quickly.
He did a quick wash-up, grabbed two big pork buns and a soy milk from the breakfast shop downstairs, and headed straight to the market while eating on the go.
Most of the ingredients for the hot pot base were common seasonings—easy to find in the market.
Three specific Chinese herbs, though, had to be bought from an herbal medicine shop.
Luckily, there was one right near the university town.
After running around for over an hour, Ryan finally made it back to his rented apartment.
Following the instructions burned into his brain, he started preparing the super hot pot base step by step.
Next door in 503, in a room drenched in girly vibes, Emily Stone was curled up on her bed, watching a drama on her tablet and munching on snacks.
Then suddenly—bam! That insanely mouthwatering smell of spicy-hot goodness hit her.
“Who’s cooking at this hour? Seriously trying to kill me?” she grumbled, sniffing hard like she could taste the air, and popped a chip into her mouth.
Crunch.
The chips, which tasted fine a second ago, now felt bland in comparison.
Around forty minutes later, the hot pot base was finally done.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Ryan figured it was time to test it all out.
The smell was off-the-charts good.
But how did it taste?
No way to know till he tried.
He scooped out a third of the hot pot base, added two pounds of water into a round pot, and moved everything into the living room where he plugged in the induction cooker.
While he was at the market, he’d also grabbed thinly sliced beef, lamb, some tripe, two potatoes, and a small head of cabbage.
He prepped the veggies back in the kitchen, and by the time he returned, the broth in the pot was bubbling away, giving off a rich, fragrant aroma with a hint of herbal warmth.
Back in 503, Emily was on the verge of a meltdown.
“That’s it—I’m gonna go nuts!”
That unreal smell was driving her crazy. Her stomach was basically staging a protest.
"Delicious!"
Ryan tossed a slice of beef into the pot, waited about ten seconds, fished it out, gave it a quick blow, and took a bite.
The moment it hit his tongue, his eyes lit up.The rich, savory aroma exploded in Ryan Mitchell’s mouth, and he couldn’t help the satisfied look that crept onto his face as he swallowed.
Without missing a beat, he grabbed a slice of lamb and a piece of beef tripe, tossing them into the simmering pot.
Normally, hotpot isn’t complete without dipping sauces. But the super hotpot base from the newbie gift pack? Didn’t need any extras. The flavor alone carried the whole thing.
Ryan was from the Southwest—aka hotpot central. Saying he’d grown up on hotpot wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
But even with that kind of background, he could say without a doubt: this was hands down the best hotpot he’d ever had.
Then came a rapid knock at the door—loud and a little irritated.
Ryan frowned, set down his chopsticks, and headed over. When he opened the door, a girl around seventeen or eighteen stood there in thin pajamas, clearly just out of bed. Her messy hair and flawless skin gave off a mixed-race porcelain-doll vibe. Most noticeable, though, was how tight her pajamas stretched across her chest.
Ryan quickly looked away. If he remembered right, this was Emily Stone—the landlord’s daughter. Rumor had it she was in her senior year of high school.
“You’re Grace’s daughter, right? Something up?” he asked, a little puzzled.
Emily craned her neck toward the room and sniffed. “You making hotpot?”
“Yeah,” Ryan replied. “Wanna join?”
“Don’t mind if I do!”
Before he even finished the sentence, she darted to the table like she was going for the hundred-meter sprint. Ryan blinked in surprise, then chuckled helplessly.
Just as he was turning to go grab her a set of utensils, she was already picking up his chopsticks and dunking a slice of fatty beef into the pot.
“Hey wait, that’s mine! Let me grab you a clean set,” he said quickly.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind,” Emily replied without even glancing back, eyes fixed on the meat. Ryan swore he heard her swallowing.
By the time he returned from the kitchen with a clean bowl and chopsticks, she had already taken a bite of the cooked meat. Her eyes squinted in delight, and her pale, doll-like face glowed with pure enjoyment.
“How’s it taste?” Ryan asked.
“Mmm, soooo good!”
Hearing that muffled response, Ryan broke into a smile. He had a feeling... this hotpot base might just be worth a lot more than he thought.
