Impactful Goods

"The Heavenly Emperor Ancestral Hall, your Asgari City is really interesting. It's already Year 2077, and you still have these Old Fossils from hundreds of years ago."

Alfred traveled north, chatting with the audience as he appreciated the increasingly rich local customs and traditions.

However, not only him, but even the viewers in the live chat were mostly looking at him strangely. After all, for people of this era, this kind of decoration style, which had basically disappeared with the popularization of modular cities decades ago and could only be seen in special themes of virtual communities, was truly a rare sight.

However, just as everyone was discussing the architectural style and practicality, Alfred's terminal suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips:

"The manager called, surely it can't be that this guy's reaction time is so slow that it's only now that he's realized it, right?"

Amidst a burst of laughter in the live chat, he answered the phone, but before he could even say "hello," the other end launched into a tirade:

"Alfred, where are you now? Get back to the company right now!"

Alfred had an "I knew it" look on his face and said without any hesitation, "Who are you? I'm off work. We can talk about it tomorrow."

"I don't have time to waste with you. The client just called; they have new revisions to the proposal you sent me. Get to the office right now!"

The manager's voice was urgent, but Alfred ignored it completely and said slowly and deliberately:

"Sorry, I don't work overtime. We can talk about it tomorrow after we start work. If you really can't wait, you can revise it yourself first."

"You're not going to..."

"[Beep--]!" Before the manager could utter a threat, Alfred hung up the communication, opened the terminal interface, and set the manager's number to be blocked from use after work hours in front of all the viewers.

"Done, the mood-ruiner is dealt with, let's continue."

Alfred clapped his hands as if he had dealt with some cockroaches or flies, and calmly walked towards the Heavenly Emperor Ancestral Hall in the distance, causing an uproar in the live chat.

[Damn, even though I know it's all fake, it's so enjoyable to watch, what should I do?]

[Even though I know the streamer's confidence comes from his money, why do I still feel good about it?]

[The host incorporated a sense of immersion.]

[The host is empathetic.]

A considerable number of comments flooded towards Feng Xue along with the barrage of messages, but he didn't hesitate to throw them into the Supernatural Tale Fire. This time, he didn't intend to create any Weird Tale, or rather, given his current persona, whether he created a second-generation character or a working-class character, it wouldn't do him any good. On the contrary, it would easily add various weaknesses to himself.

After adjusting his mindset slightly, he reverted to his Alfred persona, and at that moment, a memorial archway with the three large characters "Heavenly Emperor Ancestral Hall" appeared before him.

Yes, Heavenly Emperor Ancestral Hall is not an Ancestral Hall, but the name of a street. On this street, all kinds of shops and stalls are scattered in an orderly manner, from gambling on stones and seeds to antique seals, giving it the feel of a ghost market for antiques.

While this would be a common sight in any city with a bit of history in the early 21st century, it's quite rare in this world. Cyberpunks, accustomed to online shopping and at most visiting physical stores and specialty shops, scoff at the various street stalls, sending out all sorts of hilarious comments. Alfred, however, wore a strange expression and muttered:

"It's a little different from what I imagined."

As he spoke, he walked towards a stall displaying rows of unidentified small boxes and began:

What are you selling here?

"Great Strength Pill." The stall owner glanced up at Alfred, uttering a term somewhat unfamiliar to cybernetic people, then, seeing Alfred's puzzled expression, continued:

"This thing cures all diseases, as long as you're not missing an arm or a leg or have your heart ripped out, it can even cure Cybernetic Psychopath!"

[What nonsense!]

[Exactly! Rhine Life and Loken Water Tank have been researching this for years, and they still haven't figured out how to cure Cybernetic Psychopath. How dare you, a street vendor, claim you can?]

[Is this a scam?]

[This is obviously a scam!]

The comments section was flooded with messages, and Alfred shook his head, saying:

"I heard that the Heavenly Emperor Ancestral Hall sells local specialties? Do you know where it is?"

"Local specialties?" The stall owner's eyes First Turn, then he said with a puzzled look:

"You're so young, what's the rush? If you're not up to the task, just take a couple of these pills from me, it'll be much better than wasting money!"

"Just tell me where it is!" Alfred's expression stiffened slightly, but the man pointed to the north side of the street and said:

"Keep walking straight ahead, there are three shops: the Bing Tai Sui Palace, the Yi Suan Hall for Asking for Fate, and the Tai Bai Mansion for Seeking the Murderer. My Great Strength Pill is made from Shi Rou. Although it has some additives, it's cheap. Putting aside whether you need Shi Rou treatment, the price is already beyond the reach of ordinary working people."

"Thanks." Alfred nodded and immediately headed north of the street, saying as he went:

"Judging from what this stall owner said, the Heavenly Emperor Ancestral Hall mainly sells three kinds of products, called 'Disease Removal,' 'Asking for Fate,' and 'Seeking the Murderer.' He mentioned that the Great Strength Pill's is related to the Tai Sui Palace, so the so-called 'Disease Removal' should actually cure diseases. However, ordinary medical treatments certainly wouldn't be carried out in Lawless Zone. I suspect there might be something fishy going on."

[Could this be organ hunting?]

[Stop joking. If it's really about transplantation, whether it's a bionic organ or a cloned organ, isn't it still better than others? You've been watching too many old medical dramas, haven't you?]

[Exactly, but speaking of shady practices in the medical field... could it be smuggled drugs or equipment?]

[Could it be a high-quality generic drug that bypasses the patent?]

"Just go and see for yourself." Alfred guided the audience by sending comments on his alternate account as he walked to the end of the street. Looking at the three shops that looked more like shrines than stores, he first entered the Tai Sui Palace, which had the most customers.

Upon entering, you'll see a row of windows resembling those at a hospital registration desk, where young women sit and hand over bags and packages to customers who are paying.

Seemingly noticing that Alfred didn't intend to make a purchase immediately, a woman in a business suit who was wandering around the hall approached, offering a professional smile, and said, "Hello, how can I help you?"

What do they sell here?

Although Alfred's question sounded a bit like "going to the hospital to ask what they can do here," the young woman displayed considerable professionalism, explaining in a gentle voice:

"The Tai Sui Palace sells 'Shi Rou), which has a smooth and tender texture, a fresh and delicious taste, and can activate cellular totipotency, possessing extremely high medicinal and nourishing value..."

[Damn, I thought it was something else! Could it be some rare animal?]

[That's it? That's it? That's it?]

Seeing the increasingly agitated comments, Alfred had an idea and then saw a man with Mechanical Prosthetic Body right hand take a fist-sized package from the counter next door.

However, unlike the others who left in a hurry, he tore open the packaging right there in the store and stuffed the meatball that looked like a light pink konjac into his mouth.

[Damn, this looks like it's taking Dopamine supplements? Aren't those supposed to be sold exclusively by retailers?]

The moment that comment popped up, all the other comments that were halfway through their input froze in the input box, because in that instant, all the viewers were completely dumbfounded.

Before their eyes, the mechanical right hand of the man who had eaten the "Shi Rou" inexplicably fell to the ground. With a wriggling of flesh buds, his missing arm actually grew back!

Regarding the issue of using paper money...

This involves a regulatory challenge.

In an era where online payments are so prevalent, the very act of using paper money speaks volumes.

The simplest point is that it leaves no record. This is similar to how Black Market transactions don't use bank transfers but involve carrying a suitcase full of cash. Virtual Currency are the same. Why are Virtual Currency valuable? Because they can facilitate Black Market transactions.

Even if digital payments are changed to a different type, such as using QQ coins, Happy Beans, or Primal Stones, they will still leave traces online, but cash will not.

For example, trading with a digital independent currency is like spending real money to buy items in a mobile game and then using those items to draw cards. It's essentially skirting the rules. Although it seems to circumvent the regulations, your transaction history can still be easily verified if someone investigates.

It's like if you're selling something like aphrodisiacs or White Elephant medicine, it's perfectly normal to use online payment, because this kind of thing is something like "if you get caught, you might as well step on a sewing machine."

But if you're smuggling a batch of iced Americanos from South Korea, then using online payment is a bit reckless, and it's not just you who's reckless; everyone along the entire route is reckless.

Of course, smuggling iced Americano, something that deserves to be torn to pieces, is just plain stupid.