Early the next morning.
Xu Feng got up early and boiled the last three eggs in the house.
He left two for Xiao Dan, ate the other himself, then took his things and headed out.
The morning light was faint.
A soft glow had just begun to spread along the horizon.
The Shanty Town still slept in the embrace of silence.
A few households kept their doors shut, and the streets were steeped in the stillness of a world not yet awake.
Xu Feng took a deep breath, hoping to enjoy the fresh morning air.
But the stench wafting from the makeshift waste-treatment unit soon made him quicken his pace.
If you had to sum up the whole Shanty Town in three words, they would be "dirty, chaotic, and run-down."
Yet Sky Moon Martial University had come up with a rather "ingenious" idea.
In this seemingly insignificant corner, it had carved out a "Trading Zone."
The goal was to attract wandering soldiers and lone martial artists from far and wide.
Rumor had it that those with outstanding talent even had a chance to be recruited by Sky Moon Martial University as contract security personnel.
These details flashed through Xu Feng's mind as he carefully skirted piles of rubbish and puddles by the roadside.
Dimension 13 had, in practice, been almost completely explored and brought under control by humanity on Earth.
The local Alien Races had also reached a state of dynamic balance with humanity.
That was why they had been stationed here for three years. Supposedly, Sky Moon Martial University was exploring a large deposit of rare ore.
The entrance was in the heart of the base.
What felt so jarring was that their current living conditions were even worse than the urban-rural fringes of the 1980s and 1990s that Xu Feng remembered from his previous life.
Rubbish was piled high along the roads and against the walls.
Clothes were hung out to dry wherever there was space, and weeds grew unchecked.
All of this was completely at odds with the sleek image of a high-tech martial arts society.
Just as he passed a water-recycling and purification unit, a group of women chatting by a nearby pool caught his attention.
"Did you hear? Something happened in the outer Shanty Town again last night. Someone else died."
"Ugh, it's dangerous out here. We need to save up some resources and move to the residential district as soon as we can. At least it'll be safe there."
"We should focus on training and become official base personnel. Then we can live there for free."
Xu Feng was listening when someone suddenly called out to him.
"Well, if it isn't Brother Xu! Off to get a foot massage again? So early?"
A long-haired woman in work clothes, with bright eyes and pearly teeth, looked to be nearly thirty. She teased him with an impish grin.
Her name was Liu Yu.
She came from a remote Satellite City, and her older brother had worked as security personnel for Sky Moon Martial University.
He had died while out on a mission two years ago, and now she lived alone in the Shanty Town.
When they were younger, she and her brother had lived next door to the previous owner of Xu Feng's body, making her something like an old neighbor of his.
She wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she had a distinctive charm, so Xu Feng remembered her quite well.
"Hehe..."
The young women nearby lowered their heads and giggled at her words.
They weren't trying to hide their amusement, but their laughter still carried a hint of shyness and scorn.
Xu Feng forced a laugh and replied cautiously, "Haha, you're joking, Liu. I'm sworn enemies with foot massages.
"I'm going to the Trading Zone to buy a few things today. I'm turning over a new leaf."
Seeing that Xu Feng showed no sign of embarrassment, the woman raised an eyebrow and shook her head with a sigh.
Then she said, "I thought you were doing repairs?
"If you could make a name for yourself with those repair skills, you'd have no trouble making money.
"Get your business going, and I'll introduce you to a pretty young woman. You're not getting any younger. It's time to find someone, isn't it? You can't spend your whole life running around after your daughter."
At this sensitive topic, Xu Feng hurriedly waved his hands, flustered. "Ahaha, maybe another time."
Then he beat a hasty retreat.
Watching Xu Feng flee in embarrassment, the women laughed even harder.
Their clear, lilting laughter echoed through the morning air.
Xu Feng waited until he was far away before suddenly laughing out loud.
It was as if something had delighted him.
"Even in another world, I still get mocked for being single. What the hell is this?
"But women in the cultivation world really do have their own unique charm."
Half an hour later.
Xu Feng finally reached the Trading Zone.
But as soon as he stepped inside, he froze.
It was his first time here, and the noise and disorder far exceeded anything he'd imagined.
Apart from a few permanent shops, most of the space along the roads was taken up by haphazard stalls.
The permanent shops were all run by staff from Sky Moon Martial University.
Outsiders had no chance of getting involved.
Countless university personnel streamed past, and Xu Feng even spotted quite a few official martial arts students.
The young people chatted and laughed, seeming carefree and full of life.
After taking it all in,
Xu Feng soon found a shop called "Tianyue Used Equipment Recycling."
"Boss, do you have any secondhand communicators?" Xu Feng asked calmly as soon as he walked in.
"Sure! What model are you looking for?"
The shopkeeper looked to be around Xu Feng's age, a middle-aged man.
Hearing that Xu Feng might be a customer, he immediately smiled and asked politely.
"Anything from the Weihua Mate 9 series. I'll take a look at all of them."
Xu Feng didn't rush to explain why he'd come.
Before selling anything, he had to find out the going rate.
"Oh, I've got three models here: the 940, 945, and 950. Have a look. They're all in near-mint condition, and the prices are fair."
The shopkeeper set the three communicators in front of Xu Feng.
"How much for this 940?" Xu Feng asked, picking up the same model as the one he had.
This communicator was nowhere near mint condition. Calling it seventy percent would have been generous.
"This one? 1,800. Cheap, right? Those black-market ones go for over 2,000, and mine come with a quality guarantee."
Xu Feng nodded. "This is only seventy or eighty percent condition, right? Do you have anything better? Something genuinely close to mint?"
Seeing that Xu Feng knew a thing or two, the shopkeeper chuckled. "I do. Practically brand-new. It'll just cost a little more—2,200."
Xu Feng nodded. Only then did he place all three communicators in front of the shopkeeper. "Then take a look at these. How much would you pay for three secondhand ones in better condition than that?"
The shopkeeper stared at Xu Feng in surprise. His lips moved slightly before his expression turned cold.
After inspecting them one by one, the shopkeeper frowned. "These have all been repaired? That brings the price down. They're in decent shape, but I'll only give you a thousand each."
"Eighteen hundred?" Xu Feng frowned in displeasure.
"A thousand, not eighteen hundred." The shopkeeper replied grumpily. "That's the buyback price."
Then he plopped into his chair and leaned back, his attitude appalling.
A thousand?
"Do you have any broken communicators, then? How much are those?"
Xu Feng asked again.
The shopkeeper gave a short laugh. "I do. They're not expensive. Six hundred each, no exceptions."
Xu Feng's face darkened.
Damn it, after all that work, I'd only make four hundred for repairing one, while you'd turn around and pocket eight hundred?
"Fine, I'll look around some more." Xu Feng smiled politely and turned to leave.
Once outside, Xu Feng stood in the street, in a foul mood.
This was proving more troublesome than he'd expected.
He raised his hand and checked the time on his communication bracelet. It was eight in the morning.
He had to be at work in an hour.
What now?
Set up a stall and sell them himself?
He glanced at the stalls lining the road. They were chaotic, but there was certainly no shortage of things to see.
Some stalls sold secondhand weapons: alloy Battle Swords, Battle Blades, Flying Blades, and spears. There were no firearms in sight.
Others sold all kinds of electronics and equipment, as well as secondhand Combat Suits and combat backpacks for martial artists.
There were also stalls selling vegetables, meat, rice, flour, cooking oil, and Blood Qi Potions.
In short, anything you could think of that belonged to either the martial artists' world or ordinary life was here.
Prices varied, and quality was all over the place.
If he tried to sell from a stall here, he simply didn't have the time.
Unless...
Xu Feng wiped his face and took a deep breath.
"It's all for the sake of making a living. There's no shame in it!"
Then he hung the three communicators from his hand and walked along, shouting:
"1,500! Don't miss your chance! Secondhand communicators, 1,500 each! Only three left! I'm packing up once they're gone! Last three!"
An hour later.
Xu Feng returned home carrying the two communicators he hadn't sold, a bag of rice, two jin of meat, and five jin of apples, his face beaming.
He hadn't sold them all, but at least this proved his approach could work!
1,500 wasn't much, but it was his first pot of gold!
With that money, he could buy two or three more broken communicators.
That would let him grow his business.
He could also build a reputation for himself and perhaps attract more customers in the future.
On top of that, he'd promised, "You cover the cost of materials, and I'll provide a lifetime repair guarantee."
He believed things would get better.
He went inside, changed his clothes, and put the food away in the refrigerator.
Then Xu Feng locked the alloy door and hurried toward the Sky Moon Martial University base.
It was nearly nine. Time for work.
He'd never been this tired before crossing over.
Now he understood what life was like for the colleagues who worked themselves to the bone every day, only to spend most of their wages paying off their mortgages and car loans, then still have to look after their children.
He thought of how they went about their daily lives, exhausted but still forcing themselves to keep up the appearance of being "full of fighting spirit."
Life was hard. Brothers and sisters, you've worked so hard.
Brothers and sisters, please keep reading!
(The End of This Chapter)
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