Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
Therefore, the plan of catching thieves had failed. Sometimes things would simply never happen as planned. While Chen Zuan was still at a loss, Lu Shu had begun picking up bottles on the streets as he walked.
“Brother Shu, could you please uphold your image as a pro? Is it really necessary to be so down-to-earth?” Chen Zuan was hesitant. Since when did a Class C expert like Lu Shu resort to collecting bottles?
“Are you hungry?” Lu Shu looked askance at him.
“Yea.”
“Then, is image edible?” Lu Shu continued glancing at him.
“No…”
“Then why aren’t you picking up bottles with me?!”
“From Chen Zuan’s distress, +488!”
Since he was young, he had never gone through this before…
“We shall collect bottles first. Later we’ll have a better plan,” Lu Shu comforted him, “We won’t be collecting bottles for 15 days anyway.”
For someone like Lu Shu who could get along just fine, of course he would need careful calculations. If the next step turned out successful, they would proceed from there and if not, collecting bottles would be another alternative too.
Until then, the Daoyuan Class geniuses were still discussing how to make money. However, they became more and more lost as the discussion went on. On their way to the Backsea, they realized that they might not make it there before sunset on foot. Thus, they ended up using their Practitioner power to run faster.
After their arrival at the Backsea, the pub owner was shocked to see such a big crowd requesting for a job there all together.
Since all of them were students and it was not yet time for evening service, he agreed to give them an audition. In the end, about half of them, who were pianists, were rejected as the owner insisted that the piano was too elegant for a pub.
Fine. The piano players stood aside to reconsider their means of livelihood.
Meanwhile, the owner was very pleased with the guitarists, who were much better than those low and common performers that never received professional training.
When it was dark-skinned Cheng Qiuqiao’s turn, the boss asked, “What do you play?”
Cheng Qiuqiao replied with great confidence, “I can play Erhu! I believe the combination of Erhu and modern instruments will be miraculous!”
Not sure whether it would be miraculous, but the owner almost laughed out loud at the ridiculousness.
Indeed, as a traditional Chinese instrument, Erhu enjoys considerable prestige. But which pub would play Erhu? Unreasonable!
In the end, many did not manage to find a suitable job despite the long journey to the Backsea. As the sky was getting darker, their accommodation was still in question. Cheng Qiuqiao hesitated, “Should we find a bridge first?”
“What for?”
“I heard that the homeless usually sleep under the bridge…”
The geniuses all started complaining. Was he wrong? They were already homeless people! They never expected life without their parents would be so tough.
But they still could not let down their face to do something else.
Then, the bunch of geniuses went to offices for vacancies. After all, a white-collar job was better than waiters and waitresses.
Without suspense, they failed again.
Suddenly, a person realized, “Where’s Cao Qingci?”
“Eh? She wasn’t with us at the Backsea just now, was she?”
“Never mind. We don’t need to worry about her.”
At that moment, Cao Qingci was standing in front of a construction site. In full witness of the labor contractor, she single-handedly lifted up a bundle of concrete bars that weighed a few hundred kilograms, “Need people? I got strength.”
“My goodness,” the man winced, “Practitioner? Or Metahuman?”
“I can’t say,” Cao Qingci replied with composure.
The contractor froze for a second and smiled, “Strength is more useful than anything, girl. I’ve got a place for you. Go and report to Li Qiang over there.”
“Thanks.”
The man turned to joke loudly with the other workers on the site, “Don’t mess with this girl. If not, don’t say I’ve never warned you. If she hurts you, it’s not considered as an industrial injury!”
“Save it! We’ve already seen how strong she is.”
…
Deep in the Lingjing Lane, Nie Ting was still staring blankly in the room full of screens. All images were projected into his eyes, and analyzed accurately in his brains.
By his side, Shi Xuejin put down his book and smiled, “How’s everything going?”
“Cao Qingci is working at a construction site and Lu Shu is collecting stones and bottles with Chen Zuan. But the rest are yet to relinquish their haughty airs,” Nie Ting’s eyes were refocused again.
“They are still kids. This is tantamount to throwing them into the High Lord’s alchemical oven directly. At the end of the day, it still depends on luck whether they become a horse keeper or Monkey King. Don’t you think it is a bit too hasty?”
“We are already very kind compared to those organizations yet to form. Fire is the test of gold. Without fire, we’ll never know whether it is real gold. If we are kind to them now, their future enemies will never be nice to them.”
“Then, what’s your view of Lu Shu?” Shi Xuejin was interested, “Any comments?”
Nie Ting mused for ten seconds, “Nothing can kill people like him.”
“Then why the need to bring Chen’s son with him?”
“… because he felt like it too?”
…
There’s another way to make money? Chen Zuan was suddenly happy, “Brother Shu! What’s your plan? Please share it with me!”
Lu Shu was pretending to be mysterious, “To perform breaking rocks with my chest!”
“From Chen Zuan’s distress, +667…”
I really wanna punch your face but I’m not sure whether I should do it…
Chen Zuan hesitated, “Well, how to perform?”
“You’ve never seen it before? Just put a big rock on your chest and then…” Lu Shu was shocked.
Chen Zuan did not agree, “I know. I mean we don’t have rocks?”
Hearing that his hard-thought idea was rejected, Lu Shu was displeased, “Then what? You’ll be the rock?”
“Errr, Brother Shu, can we just rob some rocks?” Chen Zuan diverted the topic. Why would someone in the right mind be willing to play the role as a rock and let a Class C expert punch him?
However, all of a sudden, Lu Shu became unprecedentedly serious at this topic, “Please remember, although we are constantly reminded that we can never afford to be too gullible, many have forgotten that we shouldn’t cause other people harm as well. We will not attack unless we are attacked. One must have integrity. What if the money you’ve robbed is actually someone else’s medical fees? And he needs it urgently for his family? The era of cultivation is upon us, people’s physical strength has broken free from our imagination to become a reality. Everyone must be restrained by their own principles. Otherwise, no one knows what kind of person you will become.”
Chen Zuan could not catch up with Lu Shu’s words, “Then… my watch…”
“What watch?” Lu Shu looked at him with complete calmness.
“From Chen Zuan’s distress, +667…”
But after careful consideration, Lu Shu realized that it was indeed difficult to find large rocks in a place as big as the Capital. Although it was relatively easy to find some bricks but… even those bricks on the construction sites would cost money!
“Stop picking up bottles! Pick stones!” Lu Shu said. Pick those big ones!
Chen Zuan thought to himself, at least now it’s better than collecting bottles, since he would not be easily recognized under the disguise of a scavenger. But… why did Lu Shu need stones?
