Chapter 150: 144, a booklet of children’s doodles (please subscribe for monthly tickets)
Feibei City was built over three hundred years ago to accommodate the ever-increasing population of Chongnuo City, particularly its common people.
Over the centuries, Feibei City has truly become the backyard of Chongnuo City.
Countless ordinary people who couldn’t achieve Awakening chose to live here, unwilling to leave the alien world.
The cost of living was low, living conditions were poor, housing was crowded, and public security was chaotic.
The wealthy district in the city was built around the Peace River, where houses were bright and well-equipped, a stark contrast to the nearby civilian areas.
Of course, Youjia Hutong wouldn’t be in the wealthy district.
In the east of Feibei City, Lu Lin stood at the entrance of Youjia Hutong, a wave of nostalgia washing over him.
It had been many years since he had seen such traditional architectural settlements.
It made him feel as if he had suddenly returned to the old residential area where he lived back on Earth.
Power lines and signal lines crisscrossed overhead. Clothes, quilts, underwear, and socks were hung out to dry everywhere. Various small advertisements were plastered on power poles, anti-theft doors, and walls. However, these ads no longer promoted toilet unclogging or key duplication services, but rather all sorts of bizarre Awakening training institutions.
"Qiling College Entrance Exam Training Class: Ten years of service to tens of thousands of families, guiding thousands of candidates to successfully Awaken and reach the pinnacle of life."
"Are you still troubled by living in the civilian district? Are you still worried about your future employment? Choose Star Creation, and choose a brighter tomorrow."
"Wanlutong’s Elite Sprint Class: only 19,800 for 30 days! Guaranteed instruction, guaranteed mastery, and guaranteed Awakening. Full tuition refund if you don’t Awaken."
...
This was Youjia Hutong.
Lu Lin parked his car and strolled inside.
He soon found Residential Building No. 26.
This was a 32-story military-civilian building with aging facilities. The elevator made a disconcerting groaning sound as it ascended, making Lu Lin worry it might plummet.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. The elevator door creaked open with difficulty. Lu Lin got his bearings and walked to the door of Room 1004. He had found the spare key for the room in his car earlier, and now it came in handy.
As he opened the door, a pungent mixture of odors assailed his nostrils, forcing him to pause for a moment before stepping inside.
He entered directly into the living room. There was no sofa, no television—only a whiteboard and two or three cheap blue plastic stools.
The whiteboard displayed various traffic layout maps of the Peace River District, with key shop locations highlighted.
Lu Lin noticed that the Zhonghe Pharmacy’s storefront was prominently listed, and two other locations were specially marked:
Xiaozhuang Pet Supplies Store.
Jiulong Galaxy Bath Center.
Lu Lin glanced at them and then began to search the room.
Stinky socks, leftover fast-food containers, instant noodle boxes, torn scraps of paper with writing on them, black opaque ski masks, whiteboard pens...
These items were jumbled together in a disorderly mess, significantly hampering Lu Lin’s search.
After a thorough look around, Lu Lin found nothing of value.
Fortunately, there were three other rooms, and Lu Lin checked them one by one.
The first room was relatively tidy, though, of course, it didn’t contain much.
A large bed and a wardrobe. Lu Lin opened the wardrobe and saw packaging for some adult products inside—quite a number of them, in fact.
There were also several strange items made of black and white lace and straps.
Lu Lin didn’t recognize what they were and had no interest in finding out.
This room likely belonged to Mi Yan.
The second room was much messier: jeans, athletic socks, T-shirts reeking of sweat, a game console discontinued many years ago, its buttons worn smooth of their original color, revealing the transparent plastic underneath.
There were also two deflated human-shaped balloons on the floor; Lu Lin had no idea what they were for.
Numerous crumpled tissues were scattered haphazardly across the floor.
In theory, Mi Yan, Bai Lang, and Jin Dun were all Star Core Warriors whom ordinary people looked up to. It was hard to understand why they would live in such squalor.
When Lu Lin had lived alone, he had never let his own room get into such a state.
There was only one room left; Lu Lin hoped to find something of value here.
Upon opening the door, he found... his intuition had been spot on. There truly was a "haul" to be found here: 50-kilogram bags of Premium Pet Food were stacked high, filling the room.
If this was considered a find, then Lu Lin had found... far too much.
This stuff was completely useless to him.
Afterward, Lu Lin checked the kitchen and bathroom, both of which were just as squalid.
It seems there are no easy pickings in this world.
For criminals like Mi Yan, living hand-to-mouth, any valuables would surely be kept on their person; leaving them here would be far too risky.
"You have a new communication request. Answer?"
Lu Lin saw it was from Zhou Ziqiang and connected immediately.
"Mr. Lu, are you coming back tonight?"
Zhou Ziqiang was currently in his room playing video games. Compared to their home at Keming Street No.11, Building 11, Room 1101, the conditions at Youjia Hutong No.26, Room 1004 were truly awful.
"Damn, Mr. Lu, where are you? Why is there so much Premium Pet Food around you?"
"That stuff costs over 1,000 yuan a bag! Xiao Ru mentioned wanting to buy it for her little animals before, but how could I possibly afford that?"
"Mr. Lu, you’re not actually at a pet store buying feed, are you? That’s way too expensive. With that kind of money, we could treat ourselves to some good food instead."
"Uh."
Zhou Ziqiang’s words made Lu Lin realize something.
Although he had no use for this pet food himself, he could give it to Xiao Ru’s pets. Moreover, according to Zhou Ziqiang, a single bag cost a thousand yuan. A room full of this stuff must be worth tens of thousands!
"It’s fine," Lu Lin said. "A friend’s family had stocked up on it, but their pets had a bit of an accident, so they decided to get rid of it privately."
"I’ll call for a vehicle later, and we can move it all back together."
"Mr. Lu, isn’t this too much of an expense?"
Zhou Ziqiang felt a little embarrassed. He and his sister had come to Chongnuo City, eating Lu Lin’s food and living in Lu Lin’s place, which was already embarrassing enough. Now, even Xiao Ru’s pets were going to freeload. Although Zhou Ziqiang usually liked to joke around with Lu Lin, he had his principles when it came to important matters. It was one thing for friends to take small advantages of each other; it could even strengthen their bond. But if one party showed no restraint, it became distasteful.
"It’s nothing. If you really feel bad about it, you can cover the cost of the vehicle," Lu Lin replied.
"Deal!" Zhou Ziqiang agreed cheerfully.
After hanging up, Lu Lin went online and ordered a moving truck, noting that they needed to transport several hundred bags of pet food.
The price wasn’t too steep: the handling fee was 1,000, and the transportation fee was another 1,000.
If they needed help unloading it in Chongnuo City, it would be an additional 1,000.
However, Lu Lin only paid for one round of moving. Once back home, he’d get Zhou Ziqiang to help with some of it. That way, Zhou Ziqiang wouldn’t feel so awkward about everything all the time.
Less than twenty minutes after placing the order, someone arrived at the door.
Lu Lin directed four workers to help move the bags, and soon everything was loaded onto the truck.
"Alright, you guys can head out first," Lu Lin said. "I’ll pay online once you arrive."
"Okay, Boss!"
The only one making the trip to Chongnuo City this time was the driver. He nodded and was just about to get into the driver’s seat when he suddenly remembered something.
He took a small booklet from the pocket of his wear-resistant Tooling Vest and handed it to Lu Lin, saying, "Boss, this fell off one of the bags while our guys were moving things. You should keep it safe."
After Lu Lin took it, the driver smiled, started the truck, and drove off.
Lu Lin picked up the booklet but couldn’t understand the writing inside.
It must be something a child scribbled, Lu Lin thought. He tossed the booklet onto a car seat, sent a message to Zhou Ziqiang telling him to be ready for the delivery, and then hurried to the Peace River District in Feibei City.
Xia Jinwu, having finished his work, had messaged Lu Lin while the movers were still transporting the feed. He said he’d booked a table and told Lu Lin to navigate straight there.
「Jiang Family Fish Banquet.」
Lu Lin parked his car and saw Xia Jinwu standing by the entrance, smoking.
"Brother Lu, want one?" Xia Jinwu offered.
Lu Lin waved his hand, declining. Xia Jinwu chuckled and didn’t press further, leading Lu Lin to their reserved table.
"Brother Lu, go ahead and order some dishes."
"Today, your big brother here really failed to recognize Mount Tai and nearly offended you. I hope you won’t hold it against me."
"Brother Xia, if you keep talking like that, I’m leaving right now," Lu Lin said, making a motion to stand up.
Xia Jinwu quickly reached out and pulled him back down.
"Alright, alright, Brother Lu, my mistake, big brother was wrong. I won’t say such things again, okay?"
"Waiter!" Xia Jinwu called out. "One grilled fish, your signature dish."
"And bring two Qingdaos."
"Get those small dishes, dried fruits, and nuts out here quickly."