Su Mingan immediately glanced at these sky-high price courses and looked at some courses with relatively affordable prices.
[Elementary Dance Class], [Elementary Piano Art Class], [Elementary Painting Technique Class], the price of this kind of course is 5 kelms per semester, which is an acceptable price. [Elementary Literature Courses], [Elementary Engineering Courses], these courses that are more knowledge-oriented will be slightly more expensive, the price for one semester is 20 grams. The cheaper ones are skill-based courses like [Elementary Cooking Class], [Elementary Tailoring Class], and [Elementary Blacksmithing Class]. The price for one semester is between 2 and 5 grams.
The reason is also very simple - the teaching staff is different. For example, in the [Elementary Military Class], children have to attend classes at a military school in the royal city, and the teachers are all military advisors who have retired from the army. For example, [elementary cooking class], you can go to the canteen across the block to attend the class, and the chef aunt in the canteen can be the teacher.
Because the schools and teachers are different, the prices of the courses are also different.
Su Mingan did some research and found that the player's decision-making is very important. Even the [Elementary Cooking Class] is divided into [Royal Cooking Class] and [Canteen Cooking Class]. If you pay a little more money, you can let your children learn from the royal chef, and their attributes will be improved a lot. If you pay very little money, you can only let your children learn from the canteen aunt, and the improved attributes will be relatively small.
"It's really...real." Su Mingan thought for a while. This is similar to Zhai Xing's situation. Children from wealthy families are more likely to get a better education. Even if they don't pay attention to classes and attend countless cram schools, they can get into it as long as they are willing to study and get some grades. As for children from ordinary families, if they don’t study hard, they really have no chance.
From this point of view, how to balance your own money and your children's attributes is a big problem in this game. The difficulty of the game does not lie in killing monsters and upgrading, but in the decision-making of development.
[Girl: Detective-sama...]
As if seeing Su Mingan's troubled expression, Alice on the sofa spoke up.
[Girl: I can study by myself. You just need to bring some books back and I can read them myself. 】
[Detective: That will delay you. I will find a way to get you to school. 】
[Girl (puzzled): I don’t understand why you are so nice to me. 】
[Detective: Don’t think of me as a good person, I just have another purpose. 】
[Girl: I once heard a saying, "The deeds have no regard for the heart." No matter what purpose you have for me, you are indeed the one who saved me. If it weren't for you, I might freeze to death in the back alley tonight. The 39 kelms you left behind really helped my companions. You changed our fate of death, didn't you? I am willing to hand over my future to you. You saved my life. You are a good person in my eyes. 】
【detective:……】
…
Su Mingan continued to look down in silence.
He suddenly discovered that there were many work columns under these courses. For example, [hospital handyman], [teacher], [going out to set up a stall], [selling newspapers on the street], [moving bricks at the construction site], [church volunteer], [underworld thug], etc.
After all, what is arranged here is the child's "schedule", whether it is study, work, or life and leisure, it is all part of the schedule. In addition to studying, children can help players earn money through work to prevent players' money from going out but not coming in.
In addition, there are vacation options such as [city tour], [seaside vacation], and [world tour], each of which requires a lot of money and should be exclusive to wealthy families.
Looking at these schedule choices, Su Mingan once again realized the pain caused by lack of money. Before the final war, players have limited time to train their children. If children are always asked to work, it will be difficult for them to have time to improve their attributes through learning. In the end, they will die in a war. But if you don’t work, your children won’t have money to go to school, and they will eventually die.
This is different from ordinary development games. The development in this game seems real and cruel. There is always a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of players and children. If they are not trained well enough, both parties will die in the end.
At this time, even though the background music in his ears seemed relaxed and warm, Su Mingan didn't feel that this game was very therapeutic. The urgency of the shortage of funds strongly oppressed him.
He looked at the girl wiping her hair on the sofa.
——She is the child named by the Eye of the Past.
——She is the training target of the No. 1 Dream Patroller.
If she is not strong enough in the end, she will definitely meet a very tragic ending. It is impossible for Su Mingan to cultivate a leisurely painter like Su Luoluo. This girl will definitely be involved in something extremely important in the end.
Su Mingan still remembered that when the game first started, the game reminded him that this game had a main plot, and the girl was likely to be closely related to this main plot.
Only if she is strong enough can she survive in the end.
…
[Detective: ...Right. 】
[Detective: System. Is it okay if I go work by myself? 】
…
After Su Mingan's inquiry, the game's prompt text appeared:
[Players can earn money through their own efforts. But please note that you are not a spectator of this game, you are in the game. If you obtain money through illegal means, you will most likely be caught by the guards. If you are exposed to too many dangerous things, you may suffer a nervous breakdown, so please proceed with caution. 】
…
The background of this game is not simple. There are "abnormalities", there are "instant death rules", there are "black fog diseases". And there is no resurrection. If the player dies, he will completely lose the qualification to play this game.
[Detective: Alice, I'm going out to find some money and come back. 】
[Girl: It’s late at night, you should have a rest first. No matter where you're going, it's past three in the morning and nowhere will be open. 】
…
Su Mingan originally wanted to go directly to the Royal City and chat with the supreme ruler here. But he looked at the night outside the window. It was snowing heavily, and now was really not the time to go out.
He looked through the books at home and found that the reception time in the royal city was usually noon, so it seemed that he would have to wait until daytime.
[Detective: Then I’ll quit the game first... huh? 】
…
Su Mingan is preparing to quit the game. The game prompt pops up:
[Since this game is a development game, the time span is large. Please plan your child's schedule for the coming semester before exiting the game each time. 】
[Please note: zero o'clock and twelve o'clock every day are time nodes that span "one semester". 】
…
Su Mingan understood clearly - it was now three o'clock in the morning, and when it reached twelve noon, the time in this world would suddenly be pushed back by one semester, just like the time jump in Caius Tower. It was the 32nd year of the Cataclysm when the player went offline, and it may have been the 42nd year of the Cataclysm when they went online.
Development games are generally like this. After the player arranges the child's schedule, the time will automatically advance for a period of time.
In "Girls' Dream Project", the time advancement period is fixed - [Every twelve hours, it instantly advances "one semester". 】
[Detective: It seems like... half a day has passed since the present world, and half a year has passed for this game. One day passes in this world, and one year passes in this game. And so on. 】
[Detective: In other words, I have to arrange Alice's schedule for the next semester. Because if I go online after 12 noon, half a year has passed in this world. 】
…
Su Mingan looked at Alice. She had already wiped her hair and stared at him with a pair of moist eyes.
Seeing Alice's timid appearance, the original words of the Eye of the Old echoed in Su Ming'an's mind: [Detective, as long as you train her to be an adult, all your glory and wealth will be due to her. 】
Raising adults?
Su Mingan thought.
What does it mean to be an adult?
Is it considered a failure to cultivate a child into an artist who does not have enough to eat but has an extremely rich spiritual world? If you train your child to become a social machine that only cares about making money and become a successful person in the social sense, is it considered successful as a parent?
These questions may be meaningful in an era of abundant resources, but in an era of impending war, Su Mingan hopes that Alice can become stronger so that she can survive in the future.
[Detective: Alice. I want you to be able to become stronger. As for those things like dancing, painting, and playing the piano, you may never have the chance to do them again. Is that okay? 】
[Girl: Sir Detective, you have shown me a great kindness by being able to keep me alive. You can still provide for me to go to school, so I am even more grateful to you. Whatever you want me to learn, I'll take it. 】
[Detective: Your age is twelve and a half years old. I just checked. Children cannot go to school until they are thirteen years old, so in the first semester, tell me whatever you want to do. When you are old enough in the second semester, you can go to school. 】
[Girl: Detective. I...I'm a little interested in medicine. Can you let me work as a helper at Aunt Jenny's nurse station next door? 】
…
Su Mingan looked at the job column in [Schedule], and there was indeed a [Nurse Station Helper] in it. He could earn 10 grams per semester, which was a very ordinary job. The job description is: [Let the child work as a helper at the nurse station on the next street, doing some chores such as carrying medical supplies and recording ledgers. 】
The game prompt appears:
[As the children's attributes continue to improve, the types of jobs will continue to increase, and more advanced job types will be unlocked! 】
[When the child comes into contact with more and more people in the future and triggers more and more events, the child will start some additional jobs that are impossible to contact through normal channels, such as [Priest], [Knight of Light in the Royal City], [Devil King], etc. Stay tuned! 】
…
...What the hell is the devil! Does this count as work?
Su Mingan realized that the story background of this game is not a simple steam era. Many things are like icebergs hidden under the deep sea and have not yet been discovered by players.
The jobs that Alice can do now are very limited, such as [hawker helper], [going out to set up stalls], [moving bricks at construction sites], etc., just like the jobs that ordinary people can do. Considering that she is only thirteen years old, these jobs are not suitable for It was even difficult for her.
Su Mingan doesn't know what her future will be like.
He looked at the hundreds of courses and hundreds of job categories, as well as thousands of courses and jobs that had not been unlocked - he suddenly realized that it seemed as if she had unlimited possibilities.
[Detective: The job of a nurse station helper is still too hard for your age. You can choose to stay at home and rest for half a year without going out to work. 】
[Girl: It’s okay. I know Aunt Jenny at the nursing station. She is a warm-hearted person and sometimes helps us street children. If I can go to work for her, she will teach me medical knowledge. Just like that, I will be very satisfied. Please promise me. 】
…
Seeing this, Su Mingan chose the option of [Nurse Station Helper]. The next moment, a text appeared in [Schedule]:
[First semester: Helping at the nurse station].
When this line of text appeared, all other courses and work were dimmed. It seemed that only one activity could be arranged for the children in one semester.
[Detective: Alice, I have arranged your schedule. I'll leave for a moment. 】
[Girl: Okay, Detective. 】
…
Su Mingan quit the game and tested it. He found that after he quit the game, the detectives in the game would disappear simultaneously, leaving only Alice in the room.
Considering that Alice might not be safe alone, Su Mingan planned to sleep in the game tonight and not exit the game for the time being.
[Girl: Detective, why are you back? 】
[Detective: I’m not leaving. You go take a hot bath and go to bed early. 】
…
There is only one bed in the room, and Su Mingan plans to buy some furniture during the day - of course, the prerequisite for everything is money, and he has to find a way to get money.
Su Mingan slept on the bed. Alice slept on the sofa not far from the bed. The two of them were separated by a distance, and the room was very quiet. Only the occasional sound of fire in the fireplace could be heard.
Su Mingan was lying on the bed that was not soft, his back was stiff from the pain, and he felt the embarrassment of poverty again.
"... Detective." The girl's thin voice came from over there.
"..." Su Mingan breathed evenly.
"...Thank you, Mr. Detective." the girl said.
Su Mingan didn't reply.
"... I originally thought that my whole life would be to live in the back alleys, and then when I grow up, like the sisters in the slums, I will be easily bullied by others... I don't have any expectations for myself." Girl explain:
"——But because of you, I start to look forward to the future."
Su Mingan turned over.
"Go to sleep." He said with his eyes closed.
There was no sound from the girl's side.
The white snow outside the window is fluttering, rubbing on the blurred window glass, like pure white goose feathers, and like the touch of angel wings.
Su Mingan fell asleep amidst the crackling sound of fire. The warm firelight danced on his face, and his closed eyelids glowed with a warm light.
When Su Ming'an fell asleep, the girl's voice floated gently.
"... Detective, the snow is so beautiful today."
"Good night."
