The passerby who had suddenly been grabbed had originally wanted to punch him, but the moment he saw his stunningly beautiful, androgynous face, he lost his nerve. Then he spotted the Compressed Starch Block, and his eyes lit up.
He snatched the compressed starch, stuffed it into his pocket, and only then explained, "It's been going on for a while. Before, the Lord Angels cracked down on the gangs, and those bastards tucked their tails between their legs. Once public security improved, it started up. It stopped for a while because of the lockdown, but now it's started again."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "This place is still pretty small. There are only a few thousand people gathered nearby. Some of the bigger ones have tens or even hundreds of thousands of people. I heard they've got things organized pretty well."
Liam let go and allowed him to leave. Looking at the bustling market, he could not help sighing. "Human adaptability really is incredible. It hasn't been long, yet they've already adapted to and started making use of the new rules."
Then he thought of himself and laughed at himself a little.
Who was he to talk about other people? When it came to adaptability, wasn't he pretty good at it too?
He just did not know what this place would eventually become.
Thinking as he went, Liam began strolling through the market.
Since he was already here, he might as well buy a few things before heading back. The Vitamin Pills were for buying gifts for the children; he could just spend some Starch Cubes here.
After wandering around for a while, Liam stopped in front of a stall selling purple ornaments.
They were called ornaments, but they were really just a pile of miscellaneous junk dyed purple.
Still, the purple on them was remarkably pure and even in color, making his heart itch.
He crouched down and picked through the goods on the ground while chatting with the stall owner. "Where did you get this dye? How much are these things each?"
Seeing that Liam was strikingly beautiful, tall, and carried himself unlike an Underhiver—almost with a hint of nobility—the stall owner did not dare slight him. "My family got this dye after accidentally killing a Mutated Creature. That animal's blood was this color, and it doesn't start smelling after being applied. We didn't dare eat it, so we brought it out to sell. As for the price..."
His eyes shifted. "One Starch Cube each."
Liam rolled his eyes. He picked out dozens of items he found fairly attractive from the stall and bundled them together. "One Starch Cube for all of them. If you won't sell, I'll go to the next stall."
What a joke. One Starch Cube, together with other miscellaneous food, could keep someone full for an entire day.
The purple dye on these little trinkets really was good quality, but it was absolutely not worth one Starch Cube apiece.
"Deal!" the stall owner shouted at once, afraid Liam would change his mind.
Liam knew at a glance that he had offered too much, but he did not care. He handed the stall owner one Starch Cube, carried the bundle, and returned home.
After hastily finishing dinner, Liam took out the pile of little objects and carefully examined the purple dye on them under the light.
He discovered that under the light, the coating looked evenly thick. Not a single spot revealed the item's original color, and nowhere was the shade darker or lighter than the rest.
"Could that stall owner really be this skilled?" he wondered. Then inspiration struck him. "Maybe the dye itself is just that good?"
He immediately had the idea of stripping the dye off and applying it to something else.
He acted as soon as he thought of it.
As an Underhiver, he should not have known how to deal with dried dye that had already been applied.
Yet the moment the thought arose, it was as though he had instinctively learned the perfect method of using the available conditions to process it. Liam himself did not find anything strange about it.
After a round of work, Liam successfully separated the dye from the objects.
Looking at the shabby items revealed beneath their coating, Liam said disdainfully, "If the dye hadn't been so good, I'd definitely have gone back for a refund over this crudely made junk."
Then he took out his Personal Terminal and carefully spread the dye across its surface, covering it evenly without leaving a single gap.
Once the coating dried, the Personal Terminal changed from an ordinary silver-gray to a gorgeous, vivid purple. Its high-tech structure combined with the mysterious bright purple, creating an arcane sort of beauty.
Liam admired it for a while, then nodded in satisfaction.
It really was beautiful. Tomorrow, he would buy more dye from that stall owner. Then he could paint all the Angel Sculptures for the children purple and tell them he had colored them by hand. The children would definitely be happy.
Filled with anticipation for the future, Liam took a bath and happily went to bed.
But that night, he had a strange dream.
In the darkness, something seemed to be speaking to him.
"What?" Liam found it strange. He could clearly sense something talking, yet he could not hear anything at all.
The sensation of someone speaking to him grew stronger and stronger, but Liam still heard nothing.
After dreaming like that all night, Liam got up feeling tired and washed up.
That strange dream from last night had kept him from resting properly, and it was still vivid in his mind.
When he finished washing and looked up at the mirror above the sink, Liam froze for a moment.
He looked at the face in the mirror, which seemed even more beautiful and androgynous than before. Touching his cheek, he felt a smoother, silkier sensation beneath his fingertips.
He could not help smiling. "Two good things at once. Looks like I've been eating well lately and finally built myself back up."
As the deputy manager of an Engineering Team for a district, he received not only Starch Cubes, but also supplies of protein and cellulose. Though they were all processed into blocks for easy storage, he ate far better than he had in the past.
His living environment had improved as well. He even had his own room and bathroom now, and could bathe every day.
So he attributed the changes in his appearance to better food and living conditions. His mood soared, and he no longer felt troubled by the strange dream from the night before.
Although he had changed jobs, being good-looking still put him in a good mood when he looked at himself.
And when he thought about how greatly the children's living conditions had improved, and how they would probably grow up looking presentable in the future, he became even happier.
Praise the God-Emperor's mercy, praise the Angels' benevolence. He prayed sincerely in his heart, wondering whether he should visit the church to worship sometime.
But the churches had all been locked down recently. They said they were being reorganized and would not reopen for some time, so even if he wanted to go now, there was nowhere to go.
He got dressed in his work uniform, went to the cafeteria for breakfast, and then headed to the Engineering Team office.
The Engineering Team supervisor was already processing documents. When he saw Liam enter, a flash of amazement crossed his eyes.
Liam had always been beautiful, but one got used to it after seeing him for so long. Why did he seem even prettier today?
He greeted him, "Good morning, Deputy Supervisor Liam. You look to be in a good mood today."
Liam smiled and took out his Personal Terminal. "Morning, Supervisor. I bought some good dye yesterday, so I'm pretty happy."
The supervisor looked at the vivid purple coating, which was full of mystery, and grew interested. "It looks pretty good. Where did you buy it? I'll go get some after work too."
Liam had no objection. "I bought it at a small market. I'll take you there after work."
"Alright, it's a deal."
After exchanging pleasantries, Liam threw himself into work.
Everything was as usual.