I Tied Up the Travel Check-In System - Chapter 13

Doumi: [Wow, you’ve updated quite a bit lately! Your followers are growing too!]

Yiqi: [Yeah, I’ve been drawing a few pieces lately when I’ve had some free time.]

Doumi: [Oh, I should have done this a long time ago. Taking those line drawing and coloring jobs isn’t difficult, but it’s incredibly tiring. I used to work day and night and still couldn’t make much. So, is your current income enough to live on?]

She knew how tight Yiqi’s life had been before, and it wasn’t uncommon for full-time artists at the bottom of the social ladder. Everyone had little money, just enough to get by.

And Yiqi was also in Shanghai, and she knew better than anyone how high the cost of living was. If a piece could sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars a piece, and she could keep filling up with orders, who would bother taking on such backbreaking work?

It’s all about financial necessity.

Tang Siqi was also momentarily stunned by this question.

Yes, just a few days ago, she was still worried about basic living expenses. These past few days, with the help of the system, although she still doesn’t have much money, she’s at least freed up some money to accumulate a few works. And with the gold mall having a sale, it can also improve her life, which seems not bad.

Yiqi: [Yeah, a little bit.]

Doumi: [Not bad, not bad, keep it up. I think your painting has spirit, but it’s just lacking a little foundation. The figures in your painting are a little out of shape, and the lines aren’t smooth enough. But the creativity is good, and it looks very pleasing to the eye, which is quite difficult to achieve.]

Professionals are different. Doumi immediately pointed out the shortcomings of her painting.

What she didn’t expect was that Doumi immediately handed her a revised drawing and showed her how to fix it using diagrams. Tang Siqi was deeply grateful, after all, she had revised it several times and still couldn’t figure it out.

She fixed the problems in the drawing software again, and after confirming there were no major issues, she uploaded it again.

The other party sent another message.

Doumi: [I’d say you’re talented, you fixed it so quickly. Hey… this picture of yours makes me want to try salty soy milk. Honestly, I just unknowingly walked to the breakfast shop downstairs. Say… should I go in and try it?]

Tang Siqi’s attention was still on the comments on the post. Netizens were engaged in a heated debate over whether to support the sweet or salty soy milk crowd.

Not a single sweet fan had expressed their skepticism, which made Tang Siqi feel deeply distressed. If she couldn’t convince even one sweet fan to try salty soy milk, then her mission would be a failure.

Just then, she saw Doumi’s message, which had been posted two minutes earlier.

Yiqi: [!!! Go try it!]

Yiqi: [ You won’t regret it!]

Yiqi: [Trust me!]

Yiqi: [Hey, are you still there?]

After a while, Doumi replied softly.

Doumi: [I’ve already ordered… I suddenly feel a little regretful.]

Yiqi: [Drink it! Be good~]

Doumi: [Suddenly scared.jpg]

Yiqi: [Did you drink it?]

Yiqi: [How?]

No matter how Tang Siqi asked, the other party didn’t answer. After a long while, Tang Siqi heard her phone vibrate.

[Congratulations host, you have successfully persuaded one person to try salty soy milk through your painting, completing the task. The system rewards you with 24 hours of health points, 100 gold coins, a total wealth of 477 gold coins, and a remaining health point of 73 hours.]

[Congratulations host, after repeated attempts over this period of time, you have gradually mastered the check-in function of this software. Your comprehensive ability has been evaluated and has been upgraded to level 3. You can view and purchase level 3 items in the gold coin mall.]

Tang Siqi: Hahahahahaha! Finally, I can redeem electronic products!

Tang Siqi hurried to the gold coin mall. The goods here are more expensive than daily necessities. A latest Huawei 5G phone costs 80,000 gold coins, a Sony DSLR digital camera 200,000 gold coins, and an HP inkjet color printer 30,000 gold coins. Ugh, too expensive, I can’t afford it.

She immediately checked the sales. To her surprise, the item on sale was the one she wanted most: a 2,800 yuan drawing tablet! And it was the model she’d always dreamed of. Her current tablet, bought in college, wasn’t sensitive enough to handle her needs, sometimes causing lag when depicting fine details.

This 2,800 yuan tablet not only doubled the pressure sensitivity but also added a row of shortcut keys. Of course, for a novice in drawing, these were just excuses.

There were no excuses; she simply wanted it. As for why she hadn’t bought it yet, it was simply because she was broke. Today’s 2,800 yuan tablet was on sale for only 700 gold coins! Ah…it’s still a bit pricey. Boston lobsters are only 50 gold coins after the sale, so they’re worth several hundred yuan each. But compared to 2,800 yuan, getting one for 700 gold coins is pretty good. However, she only has 477 gold coins in her account right now, 223 short. How can she earn more gold coins quickly? Oh, right?

She hasn’t written a review or started drawing at the Changle Apartments she visited yesterday.

She flipped through the photos and tried to compose them, but it felt like something was missing. Oh, I’ll have to practice the basics of line and perspective once I get my graphics tablet.

Tang Siqi posted her review of Changle Apartments on the review forum.

[This old apartment building, hidden in the downtown area, resembles a filming location for “Kung Fu.”]

She described in detail her feelings when she first walked into Changle Apartments and the lives of the people who live there.

“Sofa!”

“Hey, I was just about to compliment you on your update, but… where’s your picture? Just one photo?”

“You big pig! Such an interesting place, you didn’t even include a picture!”

“Ah… why did you put a picture? I want to see yours! Ugh…”

Ugh, there weren’t any pictures for now.

Tang Siqi grabbed her bag and prepared to leave. She could still complete her daily check-in mission today. As long as she could find an A-level check-in location, each A-level location would earn her 100 gold coins. Saving up 223 gold coins wouldn’t be easy, right? Just as she left the house, a message popped up on her QQ, which had been unresponsive.

Doumi: [I’m here…]

Doumi: [Hey… well… I just tried that salty soy milk you mentioned. It’s actually pretty good.]

Yiqi: [Hahahaha, yeah, I wasn’t kidding, was I?]

Tang Siqi was delighted. She was very grateful to Doumi. If it weren’t for her bravery, she wouldn’t have been able to complete this mission so easily.

Yiqi: [By the way, you’ve been in Shanghai for so long. Could you recommend anything fun or delicious to me?]

Doumi: [Lots! Have you been to the Bund, Nanjing Road, City God Temple, or the Oriental Pearl Tower?]

Tang Siqi thought to herself, these must-see attractions for outsiders visiting Shanghai wouldn’t be rated A in the system.

Yiqi: [Anything else?]

Doumi: [Disneyland?]

Yiqi: [Anything less popular and niche? Something almost no one has ever heard of.]

Doumi: [Hehe…smirk.jpg, there’s a place.]

Yiqi: [Where?]

Doumi : [It’s just a little far away. Are you okay with that?]

Tang Siqi figured it wasn’t a big deal; she could go anywhere accessible by bus. As long as the place was interesting enough, there was a chance it could be rated A. Remember, a C-level only rewards 20 gold coins, and there are only two non-A-level opportunities per day, while an A-level rewards 100 gold coins.

Yiqi: [That’s acceptable.]

Doumi: [Haha, I’m talking about the Wusongkou Lighthouse, in Baoshan District. It’s quite interesting. Pretty off-the-beaten-path, right?

Tang Siqi immediately looked it up online based on Doumi’s suggestion, and it was indeed interesting.

Yiqi: [Okay, thanks. I’ll go right away.]

Doumi: [Hey… you’re really free, but that’s rare. You used to go two weeks without leaving the house…]

There was a direct bus from her house, but it took over 20 stops.

Ugh… for that tablet, I’ll give it my all!

Tang Siqi boarded the bus and finally reached her destination after over an hour.

After getting off, she discovered the unique location: it was the estuary where the Huangpu River meets the Yangtze River.

To get closer to the lighthouse, she had to enter the Wusong Paotaiwan Wetland Park.

Tang Siqi arrived at the entrance and was about to buy a ticket when an elderly couple approached.

“No need to buy a ticket, little girl. Just follow their official WeChat account and you can get in for free,” the woman said enthusiastically.

Wow, she actually saved money! Tang Siqi quickly followed the woman’s instructions and, sure enough, she got free entry.

The park was quite large, so the three of them set off together.

“Little girl, are you here for sightseeing?” the woman asked.

“Ah, I guess. I heard you could see a lighthouse here, so I wanted to come and see it.”

“Haha, what a coincidence! My husband and I are members of the Senior Photography Association, and we love photographing lighthouses. You’ve picked the perfect time, little girl! It’s low tide now, so we can walk all the way to the base of the lighthouse.”

“Wow, really? So you can’t normally get to the base of the lighthouse?” Tang Siqi asked curiously.

The woman was startled, then smiled. “So you didn’t check travel guides. Normally, at high tide, the riverside path to the lighthouse is submerged, making it inaccessible. You can only admire it from afar.

Here’s a photo of the lighthouse and sunrise we took this morning. It’s spectacular, but it’s a shame we couldn’t get close then.” She showed Tang Siqi her own photo.

It was a stunning photo. Amidst the sunrise’s radiance, the lighthouse stood quietly in the distance, silently guarding these waters.

“Can you send me this photo? I love it!” Tang Siqi asked.

As soon as she said that, she felt a little awkward. After all, they were just casual acquaintances. Why should she let others send her their photographic works? She immediately added, “The light and shadow in this picture are particularly good. I am a painter. I want to draw a picture based on your photo. Is that okay?”

The aunt laughed and said, “Haha, little girl, of course you can! My husband and I are both amateurs. We are very happy to provide you with some inspiration.”

The uncle next to her also smiled and said, “Give me your email address. I will export this photo and send the original to you. You are welcome to use it as you like.”

Tang Siqi said happily, “Thank you!”