“Alright, I’ll trade you the construction device for this gold. But you must not tell anyone about it. And whenever you leave the wilds, you must put the device away.”
Hearing this, Sang Chu was stunned. She only knew the construction device could build houses—she didn’t know it could be taken back at any time!
“Okay, I understand. Thank you, Doctor!”
She glanced at Hua Xi, who was about to pull her away, but Sang Chu quickly said, “Doctor, wait—I want to sell these mutated creatures first.”
She took out her storage box, and only then did Hua Xi and Dr. Li remember she had just come back from the wilderness.
Dr. Li said, “Alright, I’ll wait here for you. Hurry back.”
Hua Xi led Sang Chu toward the trading area.
“Sang Chu, just hand the storage box to that robot. After the calculation is done, the star coins will automatically go to your account. Every mercenary’s storage box is bound to the squad leader’s light-brain. Since you’re alone, it’s bound directly to yours. Next time you take on a mission, just come here to borrow a storage box.”
Mutated creatures could not be disposed of quickly, so normally they only settle the coins first. The storage box contents would be slowly processed later.
Sang Chu didn’t know the workflow, so she simply nodded and followed Dr. Li out afterward.
Research Institute
Dr. Li handed her a small sphere. “This is the construction device. It’s the newest light-energy robot. To build an ordinary house takes about one minute. A city… maybe one month.
“You must pay attention to the three lights here. Green means energy is sufficient. Orange means energy is low—you must recharge it soon. When the red flashes three times, the robot enters sleep mode.”
Sang Chu asked, “Doctor, how do I recharge the light energy?”
There was no such thing in the apocalypse!
Dr. Li smiled. “I have five permanent light-energy cores here. If you can afford them—I’ll sell them all to you.”
“How many star coins?”
“That depends on how much golden material you can give me.”
Seeing that smile, Sang Chu couldn’t help widening her eyes and stepping back subconsciously.
Dr. Li laughed softly. “Don’t worry. I won’t spread your secret. Otherwise I wouldn’t have brought you into the research institute. This place is mine—no one else will come in. My glasses can see the golden element inside your body. So, this material must be created by you, not something you found.”
Seeing Sang Chu silent, Dr. Li hurried to clarify, worried she had frightened her.
“I’m not threatening you. But mutated creatures are a huge threat. You’ve seen it yourself—the areas they occupy are far bigger than ours. Mutated creatures release toxic gas that accelerates plant growth. Those plants are not as dangerous, but they can’t be ignored. Human living space keeps shrinking; mutated vegetation keeps expanding. Cleaning them is extremely hard.
“That’s why cities are so far apart. From A City to B City takes five months by hovercar. You were out for so long yet never reached another city, right?”
Sang Chu nodded. She had thought fighting mutated plants was simple—she never imagined how difficult it was for the locals.
Dr. Li continued, “So, Sang Chu, I’m not threatening you. I’m pleading with you. If you have more of this material, please sell it to me. I’ll pay any amount. I don’t want to wake up one day and lose my home… forced to migrate to another city.”
Tu You whispered:
【You can agree. She’s not a bad person.】
After thinking a while, Sang Chu asked, “Doctor, besides the gold element in my body, what else do you see?”
Dr. Li immediately understood her concern. She quickly transferred her glasses’ scan data to a screen.
“Wind, gold… and this should be wood, fire, earth, and water. They’re all rotating in spherical clusters inside your body. Wind is the strongest.”
The image was extremely clear. Even Sang Chu was stunned—she had never seen herself in this form.
“Dr. Li… can you sell me a pair of these glasses?”
“I’m afraid not. These are issued by upper management and encoded. Outsiders can’t use them. I haven’t figured out how to replicate them yet. But the construction device is my invention, so I can sell it. Same with the light-energy storage cores.”
“Alright then… if I condense gold for you, what can you give me?”
“What do you want?”
Sang Chu thought for a moment. “Food. A large amount of food and water. Also space anchors, physiological suppressors, weapons. Hovercar and light-brains are expensive, but I need at least two. And… the more the better.”
Dr. Li looked stunned, then gritted her teeth. “Fine. I’ll prepare them.”
Sang Chu said, “You must be fast. Four days. In these four days, you gather everything. I’ll condense the gold beads.”
Dr. Li nodded. “Give me a rough estimate.”
Sang Chu pointed to a nearby storage crate. “About one crate of gold beads.”
Dr. Li inhaled sharply. “Alright. I understand. Go rest. I’ll contact you anytime within these four days. Don’t disappear like last time.”
Sang Chu smiled. “I won’t.”
They exchanged light-brain IDs and parted.
Ding—
A notification popped up on Sang Chu’s light-brain:
【2,000,000 star coins have been deposited into your account.】
Tu You squealed in excitement on her shoulder.
【Wow! So much money! As expected, you’re the perfect ticket holder I chose~】
Sang Chu was infected by the excitement. “Then I’ll transfer your share.”
【Yes yes yes!!】
Sang Chu didn’t know how to operate it—Tu You did it itself. With a tap of its small paw, 1,000,000 star coins vanished from her balance.
Suddenly, Sang Chu felt a thread connecting the two of them—almost like their lives were linked.
【A-Chu, you still have a million left. What should we do with it?】
Tu You flapped its big ears, floating in front of her, full of energy.
Sang Chu was about to speak, but Tu You said:
【You don’t need to talk. Communicate with me through your thoughts.】
【Like this?】
【Mm-hm! I can hear you.】
Sang Chu thought carefully. She couldn’t rely entirely on Dr. Li—no one knew if she might go back on her word. So she needed to buy things on her own.
【I’ll transfer the amount you need to you. And I’ll use the rest to buy food.】
Tu You replied:
【In that case, you should give me the money for the next train ticket too. Just in case you return to the apocalypse and can’t earn enough for the next ticket—you’ll be killed by the rules if you can’t board.】
(End of this chapter)