Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal?

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The entire hall of the Exorcist Division in Province C was filled with the sound of money printing presses at work.

Chen Huaian sat cross-legged at the center of the hall.

His subordinates bustled about between the printing machines.

"Money printing presses are truly the greatest invention of this century," Chen Huaian mused, watching his account balance rise steadily as his Electronic Girlfriend system was linked to the printers. The corners of his mouth curled into a smug smile.

"Premium Spirit Veins, here I come! Hehehe!"

He had just purchased one premium Spirit Vein, which now rested obediently in his player inventory. The construction store in his pocket dimension still had three more premium Spirit Veins available for purchase.

Chen Huaian planned to buy all the remaining ones.

[Purchase successful! Congratulations on obtaining Premium Spirit Vein x2]

"Hahahaha! With three premium Spirit Veins, my domination over both the Cangyun Realm and the real world is imminent!" Chen Huaian laughed uproariously, hands on hips as he gazed at the ceiling.

His manic laughter drew curious glances from his subordinates. At the entrance, Lin Lingling and Zhao Ying whispered to each other.

"What's wrong with the Governor? Is the pressure getting to him?"

"Don't talk nonsense," Zhao Ying flicked Lin Lingling's forehead in warning. "Even though all this printed money is becoming as worthless as hell banknotes... the Governor must have his reasons!"

"What reasons?" Lin Lingling rubbed her forehead and pouted. "I heard the Governor used to be extremely poor. I think he's just printing money to satisfy his cravings. Since the currency will be worthless soon, he might as well enjoy feeling like the world's richest man while he can."

Chen Huaian's laughter suddenly stopped.

"Wait, weren't there three premium Spirit Veins in stock? Why did I only get two?"

Checking the store again, he saw the inventory now showed '1', but the <Purchase> button was grayed out and unusable.

"What's going on?"

Determined, Chen Huaian clicked the button anyway.

A system message immediately popped up:

[Insufficient stock! Restocking in progress. Please try again later!]

Chen Huaian: "......"

Were they lying to his face?

Clearly there was stock, yet they claimed insufficient inventory? Were they selling graphics cards now?

"I want to file a complaint!" Chen Huaian fumed, though his anger was short-lived. The game system had no complaint mechanism whatsoever.

"Whatever. Four premium Spirit Veins are enough for my domination of the Cangyun Realm," Chen Huaian sighed. "I shouldn't drain the pond to catch all the fish. If the Cangyun Realm runs out of premium Spirit Veins, wouldn't the demonic beasts and Demon Cultivators go berserk? And if they go berserk, wouldn't they cause chaos everywhere? And if chaos erupts, wouldn't my Moon Shadow Sect disciples suffer?"

This line of reasoning immediately comforted him.

"Senior! Senior!"

Wang Shouyi's urgent voice came from the entrance.

"Holy shit, senior, what are you doing?!"

Wang Shouyi stared dumbfounded at the dense array of money printers filling the hall, the pungent smell of printer ink thick in the air. Unless he was mistaken, this was... mass counterfeiting?

He'd heard Chen Huaian was money-obsessed, but this was outright insanity.

"Oh, it's Brother Wang. What brings you here?"

Chen Huaian shifted on his mountain of cash, motioning for Wang Shouyi to join him. The hall was completely submerged under printers and banknotes, with ten ATMs working nonstop to deposit money into bank accounts while the Electronic Girlfriend system converted the funds into game currency.

As for why the banks were cooperating? Let's just say some minor... persuasion had been applied.

"Senior, wealth is but worldly possessions. You mustn't become obsessed!" Wang Shouyi sat beside Chen Huaian, offering earnest advice. "When you have time, you should visit Her Eminence for private discourse. Just the two of you in a quiet chamber with no disturbances. Her Eminence can help resolve your inner conflicts - a session of discourse would surely cleanse your spiritual obstacles."

Chen Huaian's mouth twitched.

Was this... "discourse" legitimate?

The way Wang Shouyi described it made it sound as casual as entering post-nut clarity.

"We'll talk about 'discourse' later," Chen Huaian said, noticing Wang Shouyi seemed to have urgent business. Checking the time, he already had an idea. "Did you come with news about the Spirit Jade veins? Are they about to emerge?"

"Senior's foresight is truly remarkable!" Wang Shouyi clasped his hands in admiration. "At midnight tonight, a Spirit Jade vein surge will erupt in Tianfu District! All sects will dispatch teams to compete for the mineral deposits!"

Chen Huaian pondered this, finding something odd.

Were the mineral deposits just popping out of the ground?

He couldn't help asking, "If the location is already known, why not mine them in advance?"

"Ah! Senior misunderstands," Wang Shouyi explained. "What emerges from the earth isn't the Spirit Jade veins themselves, but a treasure called Celestial Jade Marrow. By planting this marrow in a sect's soil, it will generate a complete Spirit Jade vein within three days."

"The Celestial Jade Marrow comes in superior, medium, and inferior grades, corresponding to the quality of the Spirit Jade vein produced. Our Kunlun Immortal Palace aims to seize the superior-grade marrow this time. Whether it's the Great Thunder Temple or smaller factions, everyone will compete fiercely for the superior-grade marrow - it'll be a brutal battle!"

So it's a competition for natural treasures... Chen Huaian thought to himself.

While Spirit Jade veins would be too conspicuous to seize, this Celestial Jade Marrow sounded perfect.

He'd been worried Old Zhang might draw too much attention if he made a big move, but this solved the problem. The small size of the marrow meant the battle would be chaotic anyway.

The superior-grade marrow could be left to the Kunlun Immortal Palace and Great Thunder Temple to fight over. Old Zhang's Wind Spirit Sect could target the medium-grade first. If opportunity arose, they could defend their medium-grade while making a play for the superior-grade, possibly coordinating internally and externally to obtain the best.

"Senior, we should prepare to depart now!" Wang Shouyi said enthusiastically. "We'll regroup with the main Kunlun Immortal Palace forces first. This Celestial Jade Marrow competition is a major event - all our disciples scattered abroad will return. I'll introduce you to some key figures."

Chen Huaian hesitated.

"Brother Wang Shouyi, I can't go to Kunlun Immortal Palace just yet. Why don't you go ahead? I'll catch up later."

"Why not?" Wang Shouyi looked completely baffled.

Chen Huaian's eyes darted about as he searched for an excuse.

"Last night I was... overly enthusiastic with your sister-in-law, and she's still upset with me. Since this trip might take several days, I should probably appease her first. You know how women are~"

Wang Shouyi immediately understood. "Ah, of course. You should hurry then."

As he watched Chen Huaian's retreating back, he felt not the slightest envy.

"Sigh, even someone as formidable as Senior has to consider his Dao Companion's feelings and go comfort her..."

His already minimal interest in finding a Dao Companion diminished further.

Wang Shouyi shook his head repeatedly. "Women will only slow down my sword drawing!"