Chapter 111: Knock-off Phones Are Simply Unbeatable

Having sent off the unwelcome guests, Alpha Ji felt quite pleased at the thought of the massive influx of materials she was about to receive. She could finally renovate her sleeping quarters and indulge in some extravagant wastefulness.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Hey, you don't have any objections to us letting Boss Qian go just like that, do you?"

Ye Chao remained silent.

It wasn't that he had an objection; he was simply lost in thought.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Alpha Ji poked him.

She missed.

The effect of the time-space bubble seemed to be fading as time passed, no longer as potent as it once was.

However, Ye Chao did eventually respond: "I was wondering, should I major in biology, or should I stick with programming..." The incident with Boss Qian seemed to have caused a certain shift in his worldview.

"You think you're some kind of pop star who can actually change the world and change yourself?"

"Let's just finish building the combat suit and focus on protecting ourselves first." After all, that hundred-thousand-ton bounty was still hanging over his head. Even if Boss Qian was gone, there would be a Boss Cash, a Boss Ticket...

"That, indeed..."

"If you have time, go find a few more time-space bubbles to play with. If you're too afraid to enter, it's perfectly fine for your master to take over."

Time-space bubbles were truly fascinating!

And they would be even more fun if one wasn't acting out of spite! Plus, there were rewards for clearing them.

Alpha Ji produced a pacifier.

*Endless Pacifier: Provides a permanent supply of milk, 200ml per day. Enhances physical constitution, boosts immunity, and possesses certain detoxifying capabilities.*

It was likely the same as her materialization—not truly permanent, but lasting as long as her obsession remained. Still, that wasn't bad; it would at least be worth dozens, if not hundreds, of tons of supplies.

"Master brought you a gift." She tossed the pacifier to Ye Chao.

"Oh, thanks." Ye Chao caught it mechanically, answered mechanically, then stood up and walked back to his room, lost in thought. He didn't even realize he'd been taken advantage of. It was clear his "spacing out" disease had flared up again.

"Where are you going?"

"Time is fleeting, wait for no one. Time to get to work..."

Unexpected events followed one after another. It seemed as if everything had changed, yet it also felt as if nothing had changed at all. Alpha Ji smiled faintly and followed Ye Chao back to his room like a guardian spirit.

***

It was definitely not the case that nothing had changed; the changes were immense!

The biggest change was the exposure of his identity as a "disciple" of a master from the Imaginary Space.

After settling into his new home, Ye Chao enjoyed less than ten minutes of peace before the endless stream of visitors threatened to drive him mad.

There were teachers, students, parents, people seeking advice, people wanting to discuss knowledge, and people looking to buy helmets... but in reality, they were all there to see what was special about Ye Chao and why a master from the Imaginary Space had taken a liking to him.

It was like when a neighbor's child suddenly participates in the Olympics, wins a gold medal, appears on national television, and shakes hands with top leaders. Everyone wants to see why that child is so exceptional and whether their own children can replicate that success.

It wasn't until Guan Junyuan couldn't stand it anymore and issued an official ban that the craze finally died down.

However, those who were banned couldn't help but grumble: "Blocking us all out just so you can keep all the benefits for yourself, huh?"

Guan Junyuan: "Proximity brings the best opportunities, so what? You got a problem?" He knocked on the door, loud enough to be heard several blocks away: "Ye Chao, have you had lunch? Come on, I'll treat you at the faculty canteen."

Ye Chao was incredibly annoyed. Meanwhile, Gungun and Uncle Bird, the two internet-addicted animals who had finally regained their freedom, were having the time of their lives. They teamed up—one provided verbal harassment, the other focused on the controls—and their coordination was seamless. They were absolutely thriving.

During this period, the mental and physical compensation from Boss Qian, along with an apology from Jiangcheng, arrived in succession.

It even came with a massive order for six hundred helmets, which were reportedly to be divided among the Council of Elders, the military, the police, schools, hospitals, research institutes, and agricultural departments...

The cutthroat competition and hidden agendas involved were best left unsaid. It had nothing to do with Ye Chao; he simply followed Alpha Ji around, checking the goods, counting the supplies, and lounging around while counting his money.

"Hahaha, we're rich, we're rich!" Facing the warehouse piled high with supplies, Alpha Ji couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear.

They were truly rich!

According to the statistics, Boss Qian’s net worth was about three to four hundred thousand tons, roughly equivalent to three or four million in pre-disaster currency. His business profits were four or five thousand tons per month, and even splitting that, it was still two or three hundred thousand.

As for the six hundred helmets, based on pre-disaster prices, they were worth roughly six million.

So, all in all, Alpha Ji’s little act of playing the mysterious master had netted them nearly ten million in supplies!

"The most profitable business really is doing business with those in power!" Lying on a pile of electronic goods, Alpha Ji felt like a dragon resting on a hoard of gold. She was so satisfied that even her snores carried the scent of nouveau riche.

+10, +20, +30... Favorability points kept popping up.

Not toward Ye Chao. She wasn't targeting any one person; she was just expressing her love for this wonderful world!

"Isn't your conscience hurting at all after swindling so much?"

"What do you mean, swindling! What do you mean, swindling! How can you call recycling and repurposing 'swindling'?" Alpha Ji protested.

"Look at these things: phones, cameras, game consoles—oh, a laptop too, what a beauty... and these tablets, smart TVs, iPods—wait, is this a Tesla?!" As she excitedly tallied the inventory, Alpha Ji couldn't stop talking.

"In the hands of the people nowadays, could these things even perform half—no, even a tenth—of their original utility?"

"Tablets used as calendars, phones as watches, laptops as recorders... We are 'swindling'—I mean, recovering them—and using your technology to integrate them into helmets. It maximizes their utility and helps the people of Jiangcheng level up and grow stronger. What’s wrong with that? Tell me, what’s wrong with that?"

Ye Chao fell into a thoughtful silence.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking, you're right!"

Though he had been "persuaded," Alpha Ji couldn't help but feel that Ye Chao’s line of reasoning had spiraled into a place she couldn't quite follow.

Even though she was curious, Ye Chao stopped talking and went into the laboratory to get busy. Alpha Ji had no choice but to wait quietly. Several hours later, Ye Chao emerged, looking jubilant.

"Calculator, after hearing what you said, I realized our helmets were lacking in functionality. I drew inspiration from products like Google Glass and projection tablets to redesign them. Take a look!" He presented the Holographic Helmet 2.0 as if it were a treasure.

The Holographic Helmet 2.0 featured built-in radio, recorder, phone, TV, camera, and projector functions. Combined with external speakers, it could satisfy almost all the entertainment needs of a typical family.

Furthermore, it included functions like a calendar, weather forecast, compass, flashlight, and even integrated a portable lighter, charger, and night-vision assistance.

As for the high-end positioning features, those were still under development...

From every angle, this hodgepodge of a Holographic Helmet 2.0 reeked of a cheap knockoff. Alpha Ji’s mouth twitched: "As long as you're happy, that's what matters."