A Big Deal Is Coming

"A distant relative. My dad bought this shovel from him too."

"If I buy ten, can you get them to me soon?"

Gal was the person in charge of the D72 Star Ore Mine, and his role was far more than simply hiring workers and handing out wages.

He held considerable authority. As long as the mine turned in its required monthly quota, the union would purchase all remaining ore from the person in charge at the standard buying price.

The more they collected, the more contribution points they accumulated and the more rewards they received. Failing to meet the fixed quota, however, meant punishment.

It was basically a contract responsibility system.

Gal had long since grown dissatisfied with staying here. If his performance was good enough this year, he might be able to compete for a transfer to a Primary Crystal Stone mine in a B-class Star Block.

There was far more profit to be made there than in this low-grade Crystal Ore mine.

Even if he had to invest a little in advance, it would be worth it.

"I can deliver them next weekend, but..."

Zhou Yi took the shovel back from Gal's hand.

"I'll charge ten bottles of Nutrient Solution as commission for each shovel. You know how poor I am—I can barely afford food."

Xiao Fu happened to be offline at that moment. Otherwise, it would have cursed her for being shameless again.

Acting as your own middleman, Zhou Yi? You really were something.

"Fine. No problem."

A one-percent handling fee for each shovel was entirely acceptable to Gal.

"You can take this shovel. It's new—I only used it for one day. I'll take ten thousand Star Coins and the handling fee upfront. You can pay the balance when I deliver the goods next week."

Zhou Yi was desperately poor right now. If she could get something into her pocket early, she would.

Gal did not fuss over it. Perhaps this amount really meant nothing to him. He directly added Zhou Yi's contact information, transferred her ten thousand Star Coins, then took out a small case containing a hundred bottles of Nutrient Solution and handed it to her.

After completing the transaction, the two of them said goodbye, both thoroughly satisfied.

Zhou Yi returned to the school carrying the little case, covered in dust and dirt but still smiling.

The security guard uncle at the entrance watched her return and shook his head sympathetically.

Girls from poor families grew up early.

She still did not return to her dormitory, instead heading straight for the library storage room.

She owed someone nine little shovels now. Classes started tomorrow, so she had to hurry and make two more while she still had tonight.

After using one herself during the day, Zhou Yi was much more proficient when making the shovels this time. She improved several parts, making them better suited for mining.

The storage room lacked everything except scrapped mechs.

Most of these mechs had been left there for many years, and some were already covered in rust.

They had been left here as garbage, and aside from Zhou Yi, no one paid them any attention.

If mechs had not been difficult-to-degrade hazardous waste that could not simply be discarded—and required a disposal fee to throw away—Huadun would have gotten rid of all of them long ago.

Now that Zhou Yi was putting the waste to use, it was probably the best possible fate for them.

Zhou Yi skillfully dismantled the usable parts from those mechs. She then used a blowtorch to burn off the colored coatings and made everything silver.

Her hands never stopped moving.

Xiao Fu logged on once during that time. Seeing Master Zhou messing around with this useless stuff again, it was so angry that it fainted all over again.

Zhou Yi kept working like this, seemingly unable to feel fatigue at all.

By the time she stopped after using up all the materials she had just dismantled, three gleaming silver little shovels were lined up before her.

"It's just that this set of tools is too crappy. Otherwise, I could make them even faster."

Zhou Yi looked disdainfully at the tools she had picked up from the "junk pile," deciding that once she had money, she would definitely buy herself a proper set.

She had made three little shovels in one go, yet Zhou Yi did not feel tired at all.

Only a little over two hours had passed. Since she was in no rush to return and sleep anyway, she drank three bottles of Nutrient Solution, then sat on her little cushion and began examining the crystal stones she had left in the small storage room that morning.

All seven crystal stones had clearly shrunk by a full circle, and the impurities inside them had visibly decreased.

Zhou Yi had never seen Intermediate Crystal Stones before, so she had no idea whether these stones had reached that standard.

"You're still miles away from Intermediate Crystal Stones. What are you thinking? Trying to get rich overnight? Why not just have all the money in the world while you're at it?"

Seeing Zhou Yi finally getting down to proper business, Xiao Fu finally appeared and ruthlessly mocked her money-grubbing nature.

Zhou Yi was not disappointed. She stuffed all the newly acquired crystal stones into that small storage room and decided that it would be her crystal stone vault from now on.

After putting the Crystal Marrow into the pink little case and taking it outside, Zhou Yi began cultivating seriously.

She never had enough time, so she could only squeeze her cultivation into the night.

Zhou Yi did not spend most of her time studying and instead used it to make money, but it was not entirely because she lacked money.

Of course, being too poor to afford food was also a very important factor.

The main reason was that whether it was Mech Infantry, Mech Masters, or the even more important Star Weavers to Zhou Yi—

all of these paths of study revolved around two words: mechs.

Without a mech, no matter how much theory Zhou Yi learned, it would all be empty talk on paper.

That was why she had to find a way. Whether it was making money or upgrading crystal stones to obtain High-Grade Crystal Stones that could serve as energy devices, these were the most important matters at hand.

The night quickly passed.

Cultivation, which was painful for others, was instead an enjoyment for Zhou Yi. She enjoyed having complete control over every bit of energy in her body and enjoyed gradually becoming fuller and stronger through cultivation.

But no matter how pleasant cultivation was, it could not replace food and sleep.

Starving, Zhou Yi drank enough Nutrient Solution and went straight to the classroom without even returning to her dormitory.

The moment she sat down in the classroom, she collapsed onto the desk and fell asleep, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.

Fortunately, she sat in the last row. More than half the class was asleep too, so Zhou Yi did not stand out quite as much.

"She's really too pitiful."

Lu Xiaoxiao gazed at Zhou Yi lying on the desk, filled with sympathy, her eyes shining with maternal affection.

"Indeed..."

To Hu Manduo, Zhou Yi truly was the most destitute person he had ever seen.

It was no wonder the two of them treated her differently. After Zhou Yi returned from the mine yesterday, she had gone straight to the storage room. She had not even changed clothes or remembered to wash her face before coming directly to class today.

She looked bedraggled and miserable, just like someone who collected scraps on the street.

Zhou Yi had actually been someone who liked cleanliness before. But when she first arrived here and discovered that her family was so poor they could not even afford baths, she quickly abandoned her germaphobia and rapidly adapted to her new life.

She had not expected to adapt quite so well that she was now even more like a local than the locals themselves.

(The locals: We're not as filthy as she is!)

She had spent two days doing labor during the day and handicrafts at night. The poor girl was exhausted, and this sleep lasted until the afternoon. She did not even eat lunch.