I never upgrade

Chapter 1 Birthday Gift: a Cheat

late at night.

Urban area.

A certain business district.

Under the dim streetlights, Xu Lun sat alone on the steps, holding a discounted cake he had just bought from a convenience store.

This is his 24th year in this world.

The cheap cake in his hand was a birthday gift he gave himself.

It's kind of funny, today is his birthday, and he originally planned to take a day off to go to a popular store nearby and completely indulge himself.

The clerk there, number 18, is not only beautiful and has a pleasant voice, but also a very gentle personality.

The key is that they have excellent skills, superb techniques, a wide range of knowledge, and are proficient in everything. Colleagues who have been there all praise them highly.

With her by my side, even the most boring games, like playing against AI, become incredibly fun.

Unfortunately, a phone call from home shattered Xu Lun's beautiful dream:

"Hello, Mom."

What are you busy with?

"Delivering takeout, what's up?"

"You've been busy doing nothing all day long, and it's been so long since you've even called home to ask about me and your brother."

"I won't bother you two; you can eat and drink whatever you want."

"Hey, you're still complaining? Let me tell you, your brother won another gold medal and two silver medals in the provincial competition! The provincial leaders are so happy, they all came to take pictures with him! Coach Gao even said that if this continues, your brother will soon be promoted to the highest level..."

"Alright, alright, stop talking. I need to deliver food now, I'm hanging up."

"Hey, wait a minute! Look how busy you are, you're about to hang up after only a couple of words."

"What exactly happened?"

"How dare you talk to your mother like that?"

"Alright, please, just tell me already. I'm really busy, or I'll get my pay docked."

"Um... could you transfer 8000 yuan to me when you have some free time?"

"What!?"

"Why are you shouting so loudly? It's just eight thousand dollars, transfer it when you have time."

"Why do you need eight thousand? What do you need it for?"

"Your brother is going to train in the south with Coach Gao and the others this summer. Lodging and food will cost money."

"Wait, didn't you just say he won the license? What about the prize money?"

"Oh dear, that prize money was hard-earned by your younger brother, so we should save it for him. Look how hard he trains, and he's achieved such results at such a young age. It's truly remarkable. He earned that money himself, so we should keep it for him and let him use it when he needs it in the future."

"..."

"Feed? Did you hear me? Feed?"

"..."

"Feed? Ah Lun, are you even listening to me? Feed?"

"..."

"Ah Lun, let me tell you, don't throw a tantrum about this. Your mother raised you two brothers all by herself, it was so hard, so difficult, you know that. Do you remember how small your brother was back then? I held him in my arms, and held your hand, from..."

"Alright, stop talking. I'll transfer it to you later."

"Then you absolutely must transfer here today, don't forget. Also, be careful when you're delivering food, don't drive too fast, and don't...feed?feed?"

……

In the end, Xu Lun still transferred the money to his mother and sent her a message to remind her.

The time on my phone is 23:58, and there are two minutes left until my birthday ends.

However, even now, there has been no reply from her in the chat box with her mother.

The only notification was my own seemingly insignificant transfer.

Xu Lun didn't have much emotion, because he had already expected this outcome.

But when I confirmed the result, I still felt a strange sense of loss.

Xu Lun took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and skillfully lit it.

The time on my phone had already reached 23:59, and there was only one minute left until the end of my birthday.

"Forget it, I'm not waiting anymore."

Xu Lun stopped thinking about it, unwrapped the transparent plastic shell of the small cake, and carefully held it in his hands.

"broken."

He suddenly thought of something.

A birthday cake can't be without candles, otherwise you can't even make a wish.

But it's too late to buy it now.

Xu Lun looked around, and as time ticked by, he couldn't find any substitutes.

"etc…"

Xu Lun paused slightly, as if he had thought of something.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth and stuck it upside down on the small cake.

"That works, doesn't it?"

Xu Lun couldn't help but admire his own intelligence.

However, the image of a cigarette stuck on the cake looks a bit strange... the more you look at it, the less it resembles a birthday cake.

"Oh well, never mind that."

Xu Lun didn't have time to dwell on those details anymore.

He stood up, turned around and placed the cake on the higher step, then stood below, clasped his hands together, and solemnly made a wish towards the "birthday cake":

"This is Xu Lun's 24th birthday."

Although I make a wish every year, it has never come true.

But I still want to say that I hope my family and I are safe and healthy, and I hope that one day I can make a lot of money.

Then, Xu Lun opened his eyes and blew a strong breath towards the cake on the steps—

Suddenly, all the lights around us went out!

What's going on?

Xu Lun was a little confused. He just wanted to blow out a cigarette, but he didn't expect that he would blow out all the lights on the street.

From streetlights to signs, from upstairs to downstairs, there wasn't a single ray of light; the surroundings were instantly plunged into endless darkness.

"Oh my god..."

Xu Lun was dumbfounded. He quickly took out his phone and prepared to turn on the flashlight function to provide illumination.

Just then, "buzzing"—accompanied by a noise like an electrical leak, the streetlights overhead flickered on and off.

This phenomenon quickly spread throughout the entire street.

All the streetlights and signs, even the windows upstairs, started flashing wildly!

Xu Lun was startled by this scene.

Just as he was at a loss, his phone suddenly rang:

Looking down, I saw it was a voice call from the station manager.

However, Xu Lun did not choose to accept the offer.

The current situation was too bizarre, and his only thought was to leave as soon as possible.

In the blink of an eye, as light and shadow shifted, he sped toward his electric scooter used for food delivery, still clutching the birthday cake in his hand.

The car was parked under a sunshade a few meters away.

Xu Lun ran over and immediately stuffed the cake into the delivery trunk. Then he pulled out the cigarette from the cake, put it in his mouth, and quickly took a puff to calm his nerves.

With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he got on his bike and was about to leave—

A girl's hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

Xu Lun was startled; in that instant, his body temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

Following the hand, he saw a young woman with pink hair looking at him with a pained expression, appearing very weak.

"Taskte...ku...dase..."