August 15, Saturday.
The public challenge matches had concluded, and with no new assignments for the school team, Lu Ye could finally relax.
Despite looming debts of 7,000,000 Pokedollars, sleeping in took priority—especially when cuddling Eevee felt so satisfying.
Enjoying a rare lazy weekend, Lu Ye stayed in bed, holding the soft and fluffy Eevee.
"Vee…"
Eevee pretended to struggle for a moment, then quickly dozed off again.
Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt—
At noon, the alarm clock buzzed.
The sun was high in the sky, and the room was bathed in light as Lu Ye reluctantly threw off the blanket.
"Vee…"
Eevee curled up, shielding its face with its tiny paws to block the sunlight, letting out a small grumble of protest.
Lu Ye chuckled, giving Eevee's little head a gentle rub. As he grinned, his phone buzzed in his hand.
"Hey, Dayou," Lu Ye greeted with a yawn. "What's up?"
Liang Dayou's voice was brimming with excitement.
"Did you check the backend for ORAS? Our numbers are exploding! We just made over 1,000,000 Pokedollars!"
Lu Ye paused in surprise.
While the response to Plants vs. Zombies had been positive recently, its reach had been limited.
Making over a 1,000,000 Pokedollars meant nearly 100,000 new purchases… Without any major promotions, where did all these users suddenly come from?
"Take it slow," Lu Ye replied calmly. "There's always the chance of a data error."
Though even a 1,000,000 Pokedollars was just a drop in the ocean of his debt, it would still be worth celebrating if true.
First, however, he needed to confirm its accuracy.
Liang Dayou took a deep breath to steady himself.
This guy… acting like 1,000,000 Pokedollars is nothing.
'No wonder you're Lu-ge…'
"Turns out," Liang continued, "someone posted about the game on Twitter during your match."
Lu Ye, stirring a cup of coffee, nodded. "Go on…"
"That person seems to be a fan of your game, with close to 20 million followers."
"Her last post was about the Oscars a year ago, but now she's promoting our game!"
Liang's voice grew increasingly animated, rising with excitement.
"It's Cynthia! The Sinnoh Champion! She promoted Plants vs. Zombies!"
"Pfft—"
Lu Ye choked, coffee burning his tongue as he dropped his phone and danced around in pain.
Liang Dayou chuckled in amazement.
Even such big news can't faze this guy.
He's truly someone who rubs shoulders with Devon Corporation's executives!
Recovering, Lu Ye grabbed his phone and croaked, "No… no way."
Last time, I joked with Cynthia—did she really take it seriously and advertise for me? Wouldn't this hurt her public image?
"It's right on Twitter's homepage. Big accounts are already resharing it!" Liang laughed.
"We're going to strike it rich, Lu-ge!"
Lu Ye fell silent.
Rich or not, he'd be happy just to pay off his debts.
But now, it seemed he owed yet another huge favor.
Ending the call, Lu Ye opened Twitter and clicked on Cynthia's profile.
The top post was game-related.
[A fun game. The creator asked me to promote it. @DidTeacherLuHaveLunchToday?]
[Attached: Screenshot of Plants vs. Zombies]
Lu Ye stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
Her last tweet had been over a year ago, celebrating Diantha winning an Oscar.
Now, she broke her silence… to promote a joke request?
Clutching his chest, Lu Ye muttered, "Why is my heart racing so fast?"
The comments under the post were equally hilarious.
"This game is so hard! My brain is about to be devoured by the Coffin Zombie!"
"Crazy Dave calls himself a Grass Master? His Venusaur doesn't even know Sleep Powder!"
"At first, I thought this was an official announcement. Checked the ID—damn, it's Teacher Lu!"
"Teacher Lu, die already! Oh wait, it's a sponsorship? Never mind then!"
Cynthia's renewed activity caused quite a stir.
Combined with Plants vs. Zombies' excellent gameplay, ORAS downloads surged dramatically.
Twenty million followers translated into nearly 100,000 sales in just a few hours.
Such influence was terrifying.
Still, this couldn't compare to celebrities from his past life, whose fans would sell kidneys to buy albums.
Otherwise, Teacher Lu's net worth might've already exceeded a billion.
Putting down his phone, Lu Ye fell into deep thought.
A year-long hiatus, and her first tweet back is about a game?
Yep… that's so Cynthia!
At this rate, ORAS's revenue would likely reach 3,000,000 Pokedollars by month's end.
While he still owed Cynthia 5,000,000 Pokedollars, this would let him clear his other debts and prepare gifts for Eevee and Squirtle.
With a long sigh, Lu Ye murmured, "I missed her…"
"Wait—could I make a new game we could play together?"
Smacking his forehead, Lu Ye decided his next project would be a co-op game.
With limited funds, large-scale online games were out of the question.
But single-player games with co-op potential could maximize profits.
---
In the afternoon, Lu Ye called the manager from his last delivery.
"Mr. Lu Ye? Buying more items?" The manager sounded thrilled.
Lu Ye gritted his teeth. "This is the last time. Absolutely the last!"
The manager chuckled, "I understand, I understand!"
Sabrina's Calm Mind manual required a higher-quality Dawn Stone, which the manager promised to source.
Lu Ye stroked his chin, his expression darkening.
Though the cost was still estimated at 2,000,000 Pokedollars… Rare items at auctions often sold for far more than that!
Wait a second…
Could this have been Sabrina's real plan all along?!
"Whatever," Lu Ye sighed.
"Today's unexpected income can count as a reward to myself!"
Dinner was berry salad and pan-seared steak.
Haunter, wearing sunglasses and flanked by Squirtle, strutted in after training like a boss.
Haunter & Squirtle: ヾ(⌐■_■)
"Haunter? (￣▽￣)／" "Dinner time?"
Lu Ye glared. "Wash your hands first!"
The peaceful evening passed.
Lu Ye absently opened Pokémon: Battle, staring at his empty friend list.
A notification beeped.
[Gold: Wanna battle?]
[Lu Ye: Buzz off!]
Gold wiped his nose bitterly. Fine, fine. No need to be so harsh!
Lost in thought for two hours, Lu Ye yawned, ready to log off for the night.
Suddenly, a notification lit up at the bottom of his screen.
A blonde avatar had come online.
[Cabbage Ice Cream: Wanna play?]
[Lu Ye: Sure.]
Lu Ye thought to himself, maybe this is the point where parallel lines intersect.
Lu Ye sighed and called Cynthia, "I might need a little more time to pay you back. I've got to support those three little ones, prepare manuals, buy items, and keep Haunter training…"
Like a grumbling old dad, Lu Ye felt inexplicably tired.
The blonde beauty paused, then smiled warmly.
"Alright."