Chapter 73: Mr. Ren, You’re Far Too Quick

On the seventh day, at 4:21 in the early morning, Ren Zhong entered the market, purchasing a lot of shares in Liancheng Reed Grain Liquor Industry Group at 41.21 points per share, with a total cost of 4,122.03 points.

On the candlestick chart, Ren Zhong's buy-in appeared at the bottom of a minor "trench." It was a low point, but only the lowest within the week.

Liancheng Reed Grain Liquor Industry Group, a first-tier subsidiary under Tianlong High-Tech, was one of the major consumer giants in the beverage and food sector on Origin Star, mainly manufacturing spirits, red wine, sake, fruit wine, and other consumer goods, holding over thirty percent of the market share.

Strictly speaking, these products were all luxuries, not necessities.

Yet, surprisingly, their sales at the Spark Town Supply Cooperative were by no means low.

Some of the lowest strata, those with daily incomes of only 0.1 points, would rather eat less, starve themselves to skin and bones, diligently save up money, and then rush to the cooperative to buy a bottle of strong liquor.

They didn’t aim to save money and change their fate. They only wanted to drink and enjoy today, living for the moment.

Conversely, Wen Lei, Zheng Tian, and others of the middle-upper class, though they indulged in snacks, drinks, and teas, rarely touched alcohol, which dulled the nerves and lowered cognitive response.

Ren Zhong could only sigh. Despite the society of Origin Star being distorted to a shocking degree, certain human instincts still persisted.

The more desperate the circumstances, the more the ordinary lower class would indulge in these numbing, ineffective luxuries, burying themselves in the mire of the abyss, rotting away unnoticed.

In short, before Ren Zhong entered, Liancheng Reed Grain’s stock was already considered overpriced by many analysts, strongly not recommended.

It was a leader, and its products were popular, but the market value of such consumer goods was tightly linked to population numbers.

No one anticipated a population boom on Origin Star, so even if there was room for Liancheng Reed Grain’s stock to rise, it wouldn’t be much.

The risk of entering far outweighed the potential gains.

But Ren Zhong knew the truth was otherwise.

Though he didn’t understand the logic behind the market’s rise, he was certain that in the next ten days, Liancheng Reed Grain would become the king of the month, peaking with a gain of 611.96%, reaching the summit on his personal timeline’s fifteenth night, then beginning a slow decline lasting a day.

Ren Zhong didn’t know what would happen to Liancheng Reed Grain on the seventeenth day.

That was irrelevant.

In any case, in this carnival affecting millions of shareholders, today Ren Zhong quietly went all-in.

At six in the morning, everyone rose early.

Following Zheng Tian’s idea, she didn’t even want to eat breakfast in the cafeteria, instead planning to pack it and rush out, eating on the road.

But they’d agreed yesterday that today, Mr. Ren would have the final say.

Going out hunting was akin to marching to war; unity was essential. The decisive Mr. Ren swept everyone up and led them straight to the armory mall.

On the way, he lectured Zheng Tian.

He pointed at Wen Lei’s armor: “Here, here, here… Wen Lei’s exoskeleton has at least thirteen spots of damage. And Zheng Tian, your gun—the rifling is worn, you need to replace the barrel. Look at your firing pin, slightly deformed. You’re a professional gunsmith, should I have to teach you about maintenance?”

“Today we’ll be out all day, facing intense, sustained combat. With your current equipment, can you really last to the end?”

“Zheng Tian, you’re the captain, the brain of the team. In any situation, you must stay absolutely clear-headed and calm. Every decision you make doesn’t just affect your own life, but also everyone else’s.”

“Yesterday you made an unforgivable mistake. Wen Lei can’t always be lucky enough to survive, you know?” Ren Zhong pointed at Wen Lei’s neck, still tightly bandaged, emphasizing his words.

“From now on, try not to let anyone die so easily, especially a mech warrior. Whether I act with you or not, I never want to hear of such a thing again. Understood?”

His subtext was heavy.

He was bluntly warning Zheng Tian.

You shouldn’t treat Wen Lei as less than human just because he’s honest.

In past reincarnations, Ren Zhong had learned things about Zheng Tian through Wen Lei.

With his former values, he would have abandoned Zheng Tian from the start.

But now he knew that for the lower strata to survive in Spark Town, everyone had their reasons for what they did.

People’s values are built on objective realities shaped by society.

Zheng Tian was extremely pragmatic, but her character hadn’t collapsed beyond redemption, so Ren Zhong quietly forgave her, granting another chance.

But if another incident like yesterday occurred—leaving Wen Lei behind to cover the retreat, taking only the others—he would abandon Zheng Tian without hesitation.

This was his ultimatum.

Zheng Tian lowered her head. “Yes, Mr. Ren, I understand. I’m… sorry.”

Ren Zhong shook his head. “Apologizing to me is meaningless.”

Beside him, Wen Lei listened, the gloom and disappointment flashing in his eyes, but he quickly scratched his head sheepishly. “I’m still alive and well! Hunting outside always comes with surprises, it’s fine!”

Ren Zhong rolled his eyes.

Hopeless.

At quarter past six, the group reached the mall.

It wasn’t business hours yet; the doors were tightly shut.

Ren Zhong said nothing, just waited with everyone outside.

Ou Youning squatted on the steps, gnawing on a marinated synthetic meat chunk, complaining, “We’ll have to wait until seven… uh, I guess.”

Before he finished, a red beetle-shaped hover car swung round the corner, drifted, and stopped beside them.

The window rolled down. Dressed in casual clothes, hair still damp, Ju Qingmeng poked her head out, “Ren Zhong, wait a minute, I’ll park the car first. Be right there.”

Ren Zhong made an OK gesture. “Mm, hurry up.”

Ju Qingmeng: “Got it!”

Ou Youning’s meat dropped to the ground with a splat.

People’s joys and sorrows are truly worlds apart, damn it! There are still forty minutes until work starts, damn it! These two even call each other by name, damn it! Manager Ju, you’re a noble mall manager, at least a second-tier citizen, how can you rush for the wastelanders, and say ‘got it’ too! You never treated me this way before.

You’ve changed.

...

Thirty minutes later, the group briskly exited the mall.

By now, Wen Lei’s armor had been fully repaired, and all irreparable parts replaced.

Zheng Tian had her rifle barrel and firing pin changed, with recalibration done.

Ou Youning, at Ren Zhong’s request, used public funds to buy two Cold-Absorption Grenades at ten points each.

Cold-Absorption Grenades could create ultra-low temperatures within a five-meter diameter in water, freezing it rapidly—a special type of grenade.

Ren Zhong’s equipment changed the most.

Ju Qingmeng took him to her personal lab, and at true cost price with no labor charges, made four modifications to his basic armor.

She added four special devices, including an amplifier.

The amplifier was a “scrapped part,” actually eighty percent new, forcibly written off, only costing ten points.

The other three devices were an advanced scanner for improved reconnaissance, a flexible metal transmission chain for torso stability, and twin shoulder mini-cannons capable of firing eight thumb-sized grenades.

These three cost 120 points.

Ren Zhong’s exoskeleton outwardly appeared no different from a standard first-tier balanced exoskeleton, but its combat performance had greatly improved.

If he hadn’t wanted to avoid troubling Ju Qingmeng, and wasn’t nearly broke with only 17.78 points left, he would have snatched up the heavy arc-blade second-tier weapon worth 200 points as well.

“Let’s go! Move out!”

Zheng Tian: “Where are we headed?”

“First, to the dense forest where you found me. I have some old friends there.”

Zheng Tian: “Uh… what? As far as I know, that area has a few first-tier Ruin Beasts, like the Crystal Wing Dragonfly you killed bare-handed. But it’s mostly second-tier Ruin Beasts, and their abilities are bizarre and hard to deal with.”

Ren Zhong turned and smiled, “They’re tough, but that’s only true for the old me.”

A wanderer out in the world will always miss home.

When Ren Zhong first started out, he owed much to the Ruin Beasts near the dense forest.

Those fierce creatures warmly greeted him, letting him quickly grasp the customs of this world.

Now, having made some achievements outside, it was time to return triumphantly, surrounded by his team, to revisit those neighbors who’d shown him their affection one hundred thirty-six times.

Having perused the Ruin Beast database, Dr. Ren recognized most of the neighbors by name.

Some were too powerful to visit—next time, certainly.

The first neighbor he chose to greet was the metallic fish lurking in the puddles, whose barbecue aroma he’d smelled many times but never tasted.

These metallic fish, scientifically named Transparent Water Electric Eel, were second-tier Ruin Beasts.

They were incredibly cunning, only revealing their silvery bodies when releasing millions of volts of electricity.

Normally, their bodies were completely transparent, invisible to the naked eye.

Each time Ren Zhong saw them, it was almost too late.

Typical melee attacks were useless.

Strike at them, and the eel was unharmed—humans cooked first.

Long-range shooting was also pointless.

Their transparency wasn’t simple; they truly merged with the liquid, so even if bullets passed through, they remained lively.

Similarly, ordinary bombs wouldn’t work either.

The only trick was to freeze them in an instant, then peel the frozen fish.

...

At 7:03 in the morning, the distant blue sun had just risen.

Sunlight slanted across bodies, still carrying a chill, dewdrops clinging to the tips of leaves.

Zheng Tian, her head buzzing, gazed at the cargo truck’s compartment.

It was empty, yet her heart brimmed with intense self-doubt and overwhelming joy.

She still hugged an insulated box, inside which two silver-white frozen fish, each a foot long, lay peacefully.

They had been thoroughly greeted—skulls opened, chips perfectly extracted by Chen Hanyu.

Two Transparent Water Electric Eels, bodies and chips together worth sixty points.

Zheng Tian rubbed her forehead, dazed as if in a dream.

Just fifteen minutes since leaving, without a single proper battle, and already sixty points?

Mr. Ren, you’re too fast!

Where’s the promised high-intensity, continuous combat?

Is this the power of hunting with your mind?

Does that mean I have no mind?

Ah…

An overwhelming tide of self-abasement swept over her, and Zheng Tian began to question every achievement and pride of her nineteen years.

She couldn’t understand why, when both were human, the gulf was so vast.