High-Tech Quick-Dry Material!

Hangzhou.

A bookstore called One-Way Space.

Gao Yuan bought an iced Americano on the second floor, then found a secluded seat. He planned to mooch off the bookstore's air conditioning and Wi-Fi while giving some serious thought to the strange things that had happened to him recently.

In truth, when the system first appeared in his mind, Gao Yuan had not been pleasantly surprised. He had been frightened.

That was perfectly normal. Any mentally sound person would be shocked by such a sudden change if a mysterious, boundless starry sky suddenly appeared in their mind, with an enormous screen of light before them.

Everything took time.

Gradually, as time passed, Gao Yuan adapted to the change. He learned to open and close the system panel with his thoughts and began considering what he could do with it.

Soon, the waiter brought his coffee. Gao Yuan also put on a show of picking a book from the shelf—Calvino's Cosmic Wonders Collection.

The book's contents did not really matter. The important thing was looking sophisticated.

Looking around, he saw a girl quietly drawing comics, a top female student preparing for the bar exam, a young girl dressed in Lolita fashion holding a Haruki Murakami novel, and a shy handsome guy who had just returned from the basketball court, reeking of sweat. Most of them were young people anyway.

Gao Yuan firmly believed that the thing that might defeat Starbucks in the future would not necessarily be another café. It might just be a bookstore.

Because these new-style bookstores were not really selling books. They were selling coffee, milk tea, cake, and a quiet corner where people could read.

Gao Yuan closed his eyes and entered the system interface.

[Claim gift: High-Tech Quick-Dry Material.] The system's contents were absurdly simple. There were no other options.

As for the system itself, it was called [Future Technology].

Gao Yuan recalled the web novels he had read. The protagonists who acquired futuristic technology either started by developing Photolithography Machines or mastering robotics. At the very least, they got to play around with holographic projections.

Yet when it happened to him, the whole style was different. High-Tech Quick-Dry Material was clearly a chemical fiber technology meant for the textile and apparel industry.

Gao Yuan was slightly disappointed. This was the Internet age, after all, while textiles and apparel belonged to traditional manufacturing. The sunset was infinitely beautiful, but it was already nearing dusk.

So many miserable physical businesses worked tirelessly all year, only to earn less profit than a property flipper made from reselling a secondhand apartment. It was rather heartbreaking when you thought about it.

Look at Boss Ma, who claimed to have absolutely no interest in money. Every day, he sat in his office building, strategizing and leading his employees to enjoy the blessings of 996, while money came rolling in like the waters of the Qiantang River, impossible to stop.

Boss Lei from Mi once said that when the wind came, even pigs could fly.

In this restless society, would you rather bury your head in a factory and work in manufacturing, or stand in the wind and become that pig flying into the sky?

Of course, Gao Yuan understood the importance of the real economy. Without industrial production and technological research as foundations, the digital economy would be like rootless duckweed, slowly withering away.

History had long told us that fate had to be firmly held in our own hands. Core technologies had to be firmly held in our own hands as well, or there would be serious trouble.

Then the question arose again: what did it mean to firmly hold fate in one's own hands?

Very simple. From Photolithography Machines to controlled fusion, from instant noodles to diapers, children made choices. Adults wanted it all.

"Life is really interesting. I finally got a system, and the first technology it gave me turned out to be textile material. How great would it be if it were Photolithography Machine technology instead?" Gao Yuan shrugged and muttered softly.

No matter what, having a system and not using it was clearly idiotic.

With that thought, Gao Yuan got up and left. By the time he returned to his rented apartment, his roommate Cao Feiyu had not gotten off work yet.

He tossed his backpack onto the sofa and headed straight back to his room. He adjusted the air conditioner to the most comfortable temperature, then lay down on the bed and took a deep breath.

"Do you wish to claim the gift?"

Facing the system's question, Gao Yuan hesitated briefly before choosing yes.

The process seemed to go smoothly. Blueprints, chemical formulas, ingredient lists—countless pieces of information instantly appeared in his mind.

It was like installing an app on a phone. With a light tap, the system automatically handled everything else. It was fast and effortless.

After the data transfer ended, Gao Yuan saw a new line of text appear on the system panel.

Gift successfully claimed. Current task: develop High-Tech Quick-Dry Fabric.

Then...

There was nothing else...

"This really is a simple system." Gao Yuan muttered, rubbing his head in confusion.