The gap in rank

By then, humanity's footprints had spread across the vast galaxy.

Its political, cultural, social, and economic systems had all undergone earthshaking changes.

The jumble of currencies from the old era had vanished. Credit points, accepted throughout human civilization, had become the sole currency.

Cheng Qi could hardly imagine it.

The amorphous alloy in his hands, which had undergone only two rounds of synthesis, was actually worth that much.

Then again, it made sense.

Materials science differed from other technologies. Every advance to a higher grade was revolutionary.

Moreover, materials science was the cornerstone of interstellar exploration.

Twenty-three pieces of amorphous alloy could be converted into 4.6 million credit points!

Even now, it still felt like a dream to Cheng Qi. A boy from the bottom rung of society who survived by scavenging had suddenly acquired a fortune worth millions.

The shock had even left Cheng Qi feeling detached from himself for a while.

I can't believe it, I can't believe it, I can't believe it... but it's real!

Using the communicator Hyena had "gifted" him, Cheng Qi contacted the buyer.

The man called himself Mo, a higher-grade human living on another planet. He wanted to purchase valuable alloys and did not care who the seller was.

His voice carried little emotion, but his wording was quite polite.

They agreed to meet at nine that night, after dark.

Mo would land his aircraft on Earth, and he hoped to keep the transaction as discreet as possible.

It was five in the evening.

The sun hid behind Earth's filthy atmosphere, its faint light like a candle about to go out.

Huff, huff-

Foolish Boy returned to the shack with an enormous safe on his shoulder, each step leaving a deep footprint.

Cheng Qi narrowed his eyes to look, then smiled.

On Foolish Boy's shoulder was the 2.2-ton safe from Hyena Luke's office. During the fight earlier, Cheng Qi had used it as a weapon and hurled it away.

"You just don't have the knack for keeping a thrifty household."

Foolish Boy set the heavy safe down with a thud. "In the end, you still gotta count on me!"

Cheng Qi gave a helpless smile.

No wonder he had not seen Foolish Boy while fighting the thugs earlier. This fellow had gone off to steal their safe.

Seeming to guess what Cheng Qi was thinking, Foolish Boy raised a mechanical finger. "How's this stealing? I picked up some scrap!"

"Right. Since someone 'threw' it away..."

"That makes it garbage."

Two peas in a crooked pod, Cheng Qi and Foolish Boy quickly reached an agreement.

Hiss-

A blazing white flame formed a sharp cone.

Foolish Boy deployed a metal-cutting torch and began cutting open Hyena's safe, inch by inch.

"Heh heh heh..."

"Heh heh heh..."

Cheng Qi and Foolish Boy both made gestures of wiping away drool.

Crash.

The safe's door fell flat onto the ground.

Foolish Boy reached a mechanical arm inside and pulled out package after package.

"Uncontaminated natural spring water! And it's only two years past its expiration date!"

"Holy crap!"

"And Fresh-Locked Natural Beef, only one year past its expiration date!"

"Oh my goodness!"

"There are even two apples!"

Cheng Qi was surprised too. Hyena's safe actually contained food.

But he could understand it perfectly. On an Earth covered in garbage and riddled with nuclear and chemical contamination, food like this was precious-even luxurious.

There were no crops left on Earth, and the surviving animals had all developed grotesque mutations.

Scavengers mostly survived on low-quality energy fluid.

The campfire flickered gently, lighting the small area in front of the shack.

The natural beef, a year past its expiration date, roasted to a fragrant golden brown, sizzling with fat.

Cheng Qi first took a swig of the spring water that was two years out of date. Its taste was astonishingly pure.

Then he picked up the beef and bit into it. The natural meat tore easily, rich aroma spreading through his mouth. Fat coated his teeth, adding a silky smoothness, while the distinctive flavor of charcoal blended perfectly into it all.

It had been at least five years since Cheng Qi had eaten anything so delicious.

After three large pieces of beef, Cheng Qi was nearly in tears.

Is this even food for mere mortals? How can it taste this good?!

Just then.

Wearing a chef's hat scavenged from somewhere, Foolish Boy slowly approached Cheng Qi with an aluminum tray missing a corner.

"Whatever you say, I'm still a Nanny Robot, after all."

On Foolish Boy's tray sat a fresh apple, completely peeled. Its exposed flesh was pale yellow and gave off a refreshing fragrance.

"Foolish Boy, isn't this a little wasteful?"

Cheng Qi scratched his head.

"Ta-da!"

Foolish Boy produced another tray from behind his back, with a coil of apple peel in the center. "How could I waste anything? You can eat the apple first, then the peel, or the peel first, then the apple. If that won't do, eat the apple and peel together!"

"Hahahaha!"

"I'll have the peel as my starter dessert and the flesh as my main dessert!"

Cheng Qi rocked with laughter. "Now that's how you make an occasion of it!"

Their after-dinner fruit finished.

Cheng Qi and Foolish Boy lay on their backs atop the shack. Though they could not see the stars, simply gazing at the sky somehow made their hearts feel more open.

"If we could have meat and fruit every day from now on, that'd be great. I guess that's what being a higher-grade human means."

"Don't you worry. We'll have it all sooner or later!"

A black Technology Box rested beside Cheng Qi's hand.

It had also come from Hyena's safe, but it was damaged, and its function remained unknown for now.

There was only one symbol on its exterior: a perfect circle with a tiny white dot in the center.

"I've entered Earth's atmosphere."

Mo's voice came through the dedicated communicator. "I'll land in two minutes."

Cheng Qi looked toward the northern sky. A hazy point of light flickered briefly, then vanished completely.

That was Mo's aircraft. His landing site was near Bar Street.

Cheng Qi rose, his expression turning solemn. "I hope the deal goes smoothly."

But five minutes later.

Mo's voice came through the communicator again. "Cheng Qi, my sincerest apologies. I've landed, but a minor matter has held me up. We'll need to postpone our meeting by ten minutes. The location remains unchanged."

"A minor matter?"

Cheng Qi frowned.

He had just heard some strange, hard-to-describe sounds through the communicator.

Cheng Qi immediately sat up, his eyes flickering.

He called Foolish Boy over, and they made their way toward the meeting place under the moonlight.

In a secluded spot roughly two kilometers from Bar Street, Cheng Qi spotted the small aircraft. Sleek, compact, and brimming with advanced technology, it looked completely out of place amid its surroundings.

Cheng Qi did not recklessly reveal himself.

Instead, he hid behind a heap of garbage and watched through narrowed eyes.

The small aircraft's cabin door was open.

When Cheng Qi saw the scene inside, he froze, his eyes widening slightly.

He saw Mo, dressed in a suit and polished shoes.

And Hana, wearing a red dress.

"If you want..."

"You can do anything to me..."

Her voice was syrupy, accompanied by unmistakable panting.

Hana had her arms around Mo's neck, her beautiful eyes filled with seductive charm, as though she were lost in passion and freely unleashing her allure.

Yet Mo, the recipient of all this attention, showed little expression.

"Miss, I'd like you to stop."

"My patience is almost at its limit."

Mo pried away Hana's arms, which clung to his neck like an octopus, and pushed her back a little.

The flush had yet to fade from Hana's face. Her gaze trembled as she retreated a few steps, her expression gradually filling with profound disappointment. In Mo's face, she saw the most painful, unbearable thing: she was like a pebble tossed into the deep sea, unable to raise even a ripple.

"Miss, I'd like you to leave of your own accord."

"Also, I suggest you put on a protective suit as soon as possible."

Mo's voice was calm and rational. "Your constitution won't hold out long in this environment."

Hana's eyes were wide, her lips visibly trembling. The mechanical boarding stairs beneath her feet activated and carried her outside the aircraft.

In the dim night, Hana's bright red dress fluttered gently, but she stood motionless, like a puppet whose soul had been lost.

The small aircraft projected a red warning beam over her body and issued an electronic announcement: "Please leave immediately."

In that same dim night.

Standing straight, Mo slowly turned toward Cheng Qi's hiding place, a faint blue radiance flowing through his sharp eyes.

Mo adjusted his suit and walked straight over, slowly rounding the garbage mound to appear before Cheng Qi.

Cheng Qi felt a faint jolt of alarm.

He noticed me that easily?

Of course, we weren't that far apart, and my hiding place wasn't exactly concealed... That doesn't necessarily qualify as some sort of superpower, but it has to count as extraordinary perception, right?

"I'm sorry for delaying our transaction."

The suited man before him gave a slight, apologetic nod. "Would you like an explanation?"

Cheng Qi's thoughts were a little muddled. "You know Hana?"

Mo shook his head. "No."

Cheng Qi was taken aback. "Then you two..."

Mo lifted his head and glanced at the sky. "Not many things can fly here. Anyone watching the sky closely would certainly notice my aircraft. The woman you call Hana was presumably one of them. She found me and asked-even begged-to engage in homologous chromosome synapsis and crossing over with me."

Cheng Qi tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Mo's voice remained calm. "In other words, reproductive activity. Mating. Sex..."

Cheng Qi's eyes widened slightly. "How could that be?"

"It's perfectly normal."

Mo shook his head helplessly. "My genetic grade is D, while the Hana you mentioned is grade E. She wanted to obtain some superior gene segments from me and conceive a child with higher-grade genes. Then she might be able to rise in status through her child and leave this place."

At that moment.

Cheng Qi's gaze settled on Mo's pupils. It was a subtle feature: his irises were a purer black, and within them shimmered three interlocking rings, emitting a mysterious, profound pale-blue glow.

Cheng Qi's unremarkable pupils contracted as he recalled the extraordinary perception Mo had just displayed.

Mo continued, "I patiently tried to reason with her and comfort her, but it was no use. She kept clinging to me."

Grade D genes...

Cheng Qi's eyes widened. This was a concept he had heard of but never encountered.

Indeed, scavengers' genes were all inferior, not even worthy of a clearly defined grade.

For that very reason, certain people had placed an unseen "sky restriction" on Earth, intending to prevent its inferior genes from escaping and contaminating human civilization as a whole.

Thus, this place was a cage for scavengers.

And every scavenger harbored a dream: to leave Earth and join true human civilization.

"But Hana..."

Cheng Qi felt lost. He understood the reasoning, but actually confronting it still dealt a tremendous blow to his worldview.

Hana was the most beautiful sight on Bar Street.

Perhaps even the most beautiful sight on this entire garbage-covered Earth.

Every day, she sat in the same place, silently gazing at the sky.

Anyone who saw that scene would marvel inwardly, perhaps even feel spiritually cleansed, because it was so refreshing and beautiful.

Hana never spoke or made any unnecessary movements. Surely her inner world was strong, rich, and vibrant. Everyone wondered what she was thinking.

But she shared it with no one. No one could enter her heart.

Cheng Qi had thought so too. He had believed Hana was immersed in her own spiritual world.

He had never imagined.

She was simply watching the sky to see whether an extraterrestrial aircraft would land.

She was simply waiting for a Higher-Grade Gene Bearer to descend.

That proud red rose scorned every bee, yet longed for a flower grower to snap her stem and place her in a lofty bouquet.

"You seem quite surprised."

Mo tilted his head and said with interest, "You've never seen the world of higher-grade genes, have you? To be honest, I had no desire whatsoever to take advantage of her. In the world of higher-grade genes, that girl's looks are utterly ordinary."

Mo actually gave Cheng Qi a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "As long as humanity exists, so will class divisions. You're still young. You still have a chance. Don't fixate on what's in front of you. The vast universe is beyond anything you can imagine."

The ragged scavenger's cloak fluttered gently.

Cheng Qi watched the distant figure in the red dress disappear into the night, and something inside him changed in silence.

But perhaps he had spent too long struggling in the mire at the bottom. Staying alive had already taken every ounce of his strength, and he no longer even thought of "getting back on his feet."

Did Cheng Qi like Hana? He didn't know, or perhaps he was a little afraid to admit it.

After all, how could a naive eighteen-year-old boy possibly not feel drawn to such a beautiful, unusual girl?

Yet Cheng Qi had just seen it with his own eyes: Hana, who had rejected every scavenger, had been as servile as a bitch before a Higher-Grade Gene Bearer.

But that no longer mattered. What Cheng Qi yearned for had changed.

Mo's voice reached him. "Can we begin our trade?"

Whoosh-!

Cheng Qi slowly let out a breath. "Of course."

Cheng Qi's expression gradually grew resolute. He took out a piece of amorphous alloy and set it on a discarded iron box beside him. After checking Mo's expression, he pulled a second piece, then a third, then a fourth from different places on his body, until he had laid out twenty-three pieces.

He watched Mo's expression the entire time.

There was no excitement, joy, or eagerness on the man's face. He simply regarded it all calmly, with exactly the expression an apple dealer would wear when looking at ten pounds of apples.

Just as I thought.

There was an enormous gulf between scavengers and Higher-Grade Gene Bearers.

Not just in their genes, but in their knowledge, awareness, material resources, and more. In every conceivable respect, the gulf was enormous.

Taking Hyena's earlier behavior into account as well, Cheng Qi knew that Mo really was a legitimate merchant.

But Cheng Qi still decided to keep the high-entropy alloy hidden for now. He would only consider showing it after completing at least one successful trade with Mo.

"By scavenger standards, you're already exceptional."

Mo nodded quietly, gazing at the amorphous alloy without asking any questions about its source. "These alloys are very valuable. What do you need? Credit points, or some other goods?"

Cheng Qi clenched his fists and raised his head inch by inch. "I want to trade for Gene Catalysis Agent. The cheapest, most basic model. I'll take as much as this can buy-every bit of it!"