Deadlock

In this day and age, it's easy to make a small amount of money. You can find work anywhere, whether it's doing manual labor, running a small business, or getting a job. If you want to make a bit more money, it's either through gang-related businesses or industries monopolized by the big shots in the city, which you simply can't get involved in.

Han Yang thought long and hard, but he couldn't find a single job or business that would allow him to make money quickly.

"I still have to find a way to leverage the abilities I have. Right now, my brain is fast, and my memory is good, but how do I monetize that? Hmm, besides the gambling dens."

Han Yang racked his brain.

After a long time, Han Yang's eyes suddenly lit up.

That's right, how could I forget this...

He finally thought of a way, a method that could earn him more money in a short period without involving gang forces or monopolized industries.

However, this required a certain amount of startup capital.

After carefully calculating, Han Yang realized that he needed twenty thousand yuan to buy all the equipment.

Twenty thousand yuan...

He couldn't even scrape together two hundred yuan right now.

"I should still go ask Brother Shen to borrow some."

Han Yang sighed, "I really have no other choice now. Anyway, I already owe so many favors, it doesn't matter if I owe a little more."

Over the years, Han Yang had been able to gain a foothold in the wet market area and barely make a living, largely thanks to Shen the Butcher's care.

The next day at noon, Han Yang came to Aunt Wang's food stall again.

"Aunt Wang! A large bowl of noodles, plus... plus an egg!"

"Alright, have a seat first, it'll be ready soon."

Aunt Wang quickly cooked the noodles and brought them over. Seeing that the portion wasn't extra large, Han Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

He wolfed down the noodles. Seeing that there weren't many customers at Shen the Butcher's stall next door, Han Yang walked over.

Shen the Butcher glanced at Han Yang, "What brings you here?"

"I... I want to borrow some money. Twenty thousand."

Twenty thousand was not a small sum. Shen the Butcher was silent for a moment, then took out his phone and transferred the money directly.

Han Yang breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Brother Shen. I'll repay you within three months."

"Go on, go on."

Shen the Butcher seemed a bit impatient, shooing Han Yang away while lifting the lid of the pot to check the braised meat.

He sold not only raw meat but also cooked meat.

As the lid was lifted, the aroma of the braised meat wafted over. Even though he had just eaten noodles, Han Yang's mouth was still watering uncontrollably.

"Um... give me twenty yuan worth of pig's head meat."

Han Yang decided to splurge today, considering it a celebration.

"I'll bring the meat to your place tonight."

"Ah? Okay... alright."

Han Yang smiled bitterly in his heart.

He had finally made up his mind to buy meat once, planning to have a quiet meal tonight, but his wish was dashed again.

With money in hand, Han Yang returned home and immediately opened an online shopping website to start buying the tools needed for his money-making plan.

He selected some robotic arms, connecting wires, some drive motors, shafts, circuit boards, industrial chips, and other items, and placed an order for them all.

This cost him nearly 2000 yuan. After buying these things, Han Yang started looking at brainwave control devices.

Brainwave control devices were things that existed before the Ita Civilization arrived. They could initially achieve interaction between the human brain and computers, but their functions were quite basic and had virtually no practical applications. Even gamers didn't like using them; only some people who liked new things bought them to try them out.

But these things weren't cheap. A low-end model cost a full ten thousand yuan. Han Yang thought for a long time and finally decided to buy a used one, which cost him six thousand yuan.

In the blink of an eye, eight thousand yuan was gone.

Even so, he hadn't bought everything he needed. Han Yang planned to buy one set back to test first, and if it was really feasible, he would buy more.

In the evening, Shen the Butcher arrived as promised with the pig's head meat. But unlike before, Shen the Butcher was very silent today. He didn't mention the Blue Army, nor did he reminisce about the past or complain about the present as he usually did.

He was just silent, occasionally taking a sip of wine and picking up a piece of meat, which made Han Yang feel uneasy.

"Brother Shen, are you... are you alright?"

Shen the Butcher shook his head, still not speaking. After a while, he finally said in a low voice, "Old Wa is dead."

"Old Wa?"

"A codename."

"Oh..."

"At the Cloud Elephant Iron Mine, they abuse the workers. People who work there generally don't live for more than five years. Old Wa took people there to mobilize the workers, but the matter was exposed, and he was caught by the guard team and beaten to death on the spot."

Han Yang also fell silent.

Shen the Butcher's voice was slightly choked.

"So many years have passed, comrades have died one after another. Old Wa is dead, Kangaroo is dead, Box is dead, your parents are also dead, and there's still no hope... The sky is so dark, when will it finally be light?"

Boom...

Another sound of a speeding hovercar echoed through the night sky.

Han Yang's heart skipped a beat. "You know my parents? You know their identities?"

Shen the Butcher looked at Han Yang, his eyes slightly mocking. "Otherwise, why do you think I've been taking care of you all these years? And trusted you so much, telling you directly that I'm with the Blue Army? Do you really think it's because you're handsome?"

Han Yang was silent. After a long time, he said, "There's no hope on Earth, or even in the solar system. Hope... is outside the solar system."

How could the Ita Civilization sit by and watch the resistance grow right under their noses?

Only by leaving the solar system, far from the Ita Civilization, in a place not noticed by any power, could there be hope for development.

Shen the Butcher said gloomily, "We don't have the ability to leave the solar system at all. Even if we could, a small number of people would be useless. Without a certain number, we couldn't even survive in space, let alone establish a base and develop slowly."

For human civilization, this was an unsolvable knot.

Only by leaving the solar system could they develop. To develop, they first had to leave the solar system.

Han Yang didn't speak, but silently thought to himself, Perhaps, my appearance can untie this knot.

Shen the Butcher got drunk in front of Han Yang for the first time. Han Yang was a little worried about him and escorted him all the way home with a dagger before returning.

No matter what, let's earn the first pot of gold first. Without money, you can't do anything you want.

Han Yang thought silently.

Even the greatest goal, the most ambitious ideal, must have a very down-to-earth beginning. At this moment, Han Yang intended to put this truth into practice.

The industry Han Yang chose to enter to earn his first pot of gold was a very down-to-earth one.

Game boosting.

After integrating the computer chip, I can operate multiple computers by myself, take on multiple boosting orders at the same time, and earn multiple sums of money!

Of course, the premise is that my idea can really be realized.

Although times were tough, the online gaming industry was unusually prosperous. Apart from people like Han Yang who could only live in the chaotic district, struggling to survive day in and day out, and those who couldn't even be considered the bottom layer, who could only wander and beg, relying on social relief to live, anyone with a little spare money and a decent job was basically enthusiastic about online games.

Especially company employees living in the city, after a busy day, they were even more willing to play a few rounds of games.

The reason was simple: although these people had solved the pressure of survival, they had no upward mobility channels at all, and struggling was completely meaningless. With no hope for the future, they could only choose to enjoy life.

When enjoying life, other entertainment options were too expensive and simply unaffordable, so they could only choose online games, the cheapest form of entertainment.

Technological progress basically eliminated the existence of so-called game hacks, but with the huge user base there, the demand for boosting was extremely large. Han Yang targeted this market.

In Han Yang's view, at this stage, this market was simply tailor-made for him, fitting perfectly.

After the things Han Yang bought arrived, he immediately began researching and assembling.

His previous experience of manually manufacturing computer chips had cultivated his extremely strong hands-on ability. During this time, he also took time to specifically learn knowledge related to mechanical processing, and at this moment, he was full of confidence when he started working.

Those connecting rods, connecting wires, bearings, motors, and other things were assembled in his hands like magic, finally turning into a strange-looking object.