Chapter 169 - 136: Where Ke Taichiro Belongs

Chapter 169: Chapter 136: Where Ke Taichiro Belongs

Huai Yu harbored some doubts, but whether Uncle Zaozi went to work wasn’t the most pressing matter right now. Therefore, her first stop was Huaxia Gold.

It was rare for the shop to have other customers when she visited. Keeping quiet, Huai Yu stood off to the side, simply browsing the goods on display in the glass counters.

As she wandered around, her gaze fell upon the large hole in the glass window, patched up with stickers. She couldn’t help but think of Big Pup and Second Pup.

Ke Taichiro was so intelligent, and so were Big Pup and Second Pup. Their original owner, Gao Ming, was truly no ordinary person!

Only after the two customers left—looking both pained at the expense yet utterly thrilled—did Huai Yu walk over out of curiosity. "What good stuff did they buy to be that happy?"

"What else could it be?" Boss Tang said smugly. "My shop has the best quality gaming consoles in all of Flower City! Little Yu, do you like playing video games? I highly recommend Master’s Sword!"

The last time Huai Yu was here, she had heard that annoying middle-aged woman nitpicking Master’s Sword, which had made Boss Tang angry. Hearing his enthusiastic sales pitch once again, she couldn’t help but laugh. "Is it really that fun?"

"Of course it is! Just look at this console—it’s practically brand new. Mint condition! And look at the screen. It might be inconvenient to connect it to a TV nowadays, but playing on this built-in screen doesn’t ruin the experience one bit!"

It was a cartridge-based handheld console. Huai Yu took a couple of looks and felt a surge of eagerness to try it out.

But there was a problem.

"I don’t have electricity at home," she said dejectedly.

"How is that possible?" Boss Tang laughed. "How could your home not have power? With your family’s background—"

He abruptly stopped talking. Looking at Huai Yu, he asked in confusion, "You really don’t have electricity?"

"I really don’t." She had already told Uncle Zaozi the truth, so how could she keep hiding it from Boss Tang?

Feeling unexpectedly carefree, Huai Yu admitted, "It’s just me at home. I... I tricked you before! I’m sorry."

Boss Tang was speechless.

"Tricked" was an understatement—she had thoroughly fooled him! However, the fact that Huai Yu was all alone yet consistently managed to get her hands on such high-quality goods sounded even more impressive than having a large, powerful family backing her.

Besides, who didn’t have a few secrets these days?

Boss Tang didn’t mind too much. He simply asked out of curiosity, "Which residential district do you live in, then? Most districts have electricity now. Can’t you afford it?"

Huai Yu thought about the massive fortune of over five thousand points she currently possessed. She could definitely afford electricity. However...

"I doubt anyone would be willing to supply power to the Rose Corridor, right?" she asked.

Boss Tang looked blank for a moment before nearly jumping out of his skin. "The R-Rose Corridor?!"

He stuttered, his usual slick and worldly demeanor vanishing completely.

"Mhm," Huai Yu nodded. "You know the abandoned Rose Mansion next to the Rose Corridor? I live there."

HISS.

Boss Tang gasped sharply. He looked Huai Yu up and down, feeling a mix of shock, admiration, and disbelief. He simply didn’t know what to say.

"But you..." He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but with too many questions swirling in his mind, the words caught in his throat.

Finally, he just waved a hand dismissively. "I really... To think I was so smug before. I never expected I’d misjudged you completely."

"It’s fine," Huai Yu consoled him considerately. "Every good friend who knows me has said the same thing."

Boss Tang was speechless again. He thought, "Thanks, but that wasn’t comforting at all."

"Then why did you suddenly tell me all this?" he asked, suddenly curious.

Huai Yu smiled sheepishly. "Because I’ve made a lot of friends lately, and you’ve all been so good to me. It wouldn’t be right to keep hiding it."

At least she had a conscience.

Boss Tang snorted and handed the console to her anyway. "Being able to live over there is your own skill. Just don’t forget me when you get good stuff in the future. Come on, since you’ve got nothing going on, play a couple of rounds.

"With your abilities, you’ll earn plenty of points sooner or later. When the time comes, even if they can’t supply power to the Rose Corridor, you can just buy your own diesel generator."

"A generator?" Huai Yu’s eyes lit up. "How much is that? Do they have solar-powered ones?"

"We do have solar ones, but their conversion rate isn’t high. A set of solar panels costs two thousand points. Diesel is still a lot more practical." He thought for a moment. "Five thousand points should be enough to get a small one, I think? Diesel costs extra."

Five thousand points?!

Huai Yu instinctively clamped a hand over her wristband. She only had a little over five thousand points in total!

If she bought a generator, how would she afford to eat? From feeding Zhou Qian every day lately, her rice bin was already hitting rock bottom.

At that thought, she sighed gloomily, suddenly too afraid to even touch the game console.

Boss Tang then asked, "By the way, did you get your hands on any good stuff to sell over these past few holidays?"

At that question, Huai Yu’s expression grew complicated. "I did, but..."

Her hesitation made Boss Tang anxious. "Don’t tell me you sold the good stuff to someone else?"

Huai Yu sighed. "What I sold were Ke Taichiro’s rolled-up balls."

Boss Tang was dumbfounded.

"You... You really sold them?"

"Mhm," Huai Yu nodded. "I sold them to Uncle Zaozi and Chen Xing from Star River Exploration. They insisted on buying them."

Boss Tang’s expression turned incredibly complex. People were truly willing to try anything in these few years since the apocalypse!

Then, he heard Huai Yu say, "I came over to discuss this with you. Let’s split the points into three shares."

One share for her, one for Boss Tang, and one kept for Gao Ming.

Whether or not they split the points wasn’t actually that important to Boss Tang. What he really cared about were Ke Taichiro’s balls. "Are you sure eating and drinking that stuff is safe?"

Huai Yu thought of Zhou Qian, who was still in the hospital, and nodded with certainty. "They took it for testing. They said it’s edible and will probably be sold as rolled tea. Its Mutant Value is 5.3."

This was good news that could make money, but Boss Tang’s expression didn’t improve. Instead, it grew increasingly ugly.

"What the hell is that scumbag Gao Ming messing around with every day?"

"I’d like to know that too," Huai Yu agreed, equally curious. "Ke Taichiro is simply too smart and has such an unbelievable ability. I haven’t dared to tell anyone else."

"Yes, exactly! You did the right thing!" Boss Tang nodded repeatedly before telling her bluntly, "If you have a channel to sell those balls, sell them yourself. I don’t want to touch them, anyway.

"Besides, Gao Ming isn’t really lacking in this regard.

"But Little Yu, you absolutely must keep this secret safe. Do not let anyone else find out."

Come to think of it, her living in the Rose Corridor made her exceptionally safe! After all, if she had the capability to live there, she definitely had the capability to defend herself.

Huai Yu nodded, then asked, "Ke Taichiro really likes it over there. I came here today to ask: how can I get him to stay at my place permanently?"

Truth be told, Boss Tang had been worried about Ke Taichiro. If Huai Yu hadn’t mentioned selling the rolled-up balls, he genuinely would have considered bringing the creature back. However, considering it had such a unique ability, keeping it in a bustling market with constant foot traffic was absolutely out of the question.

Therefore, Boss Tang actually breathed a sigh of relief. "Just let him stay at your place. It’s safer there than it is with me."

Huai Yu hesitated for a moment. "I want to see Gao Ming. Is there any way to do that?"