As Jiang Chen inhaled the familiar scent in the air, he nearly burst into tears.
Ahem, of course, the smell of smog wasn't exactly pleasant.
The clock on the wall pointed to eleven o'clock. It seemed that time in the post-apocalyptic world was indeed synchronized with the present. It was around 11 a.m. when he left that place.
Jiang Chen rubbed his slightly aching temples and took a deep breath.
His SAN value was nearing its limit. He wasn't sure if staying there any longer would have driven him insane.
As a man, Jiang Chen considered himself mentally resilient, but he had somewhat overestimated his endurance. Facing whizzing bullets, heavy machine gun fire, and a ground littered with corpses, he didn't tremble, but he didn't think the psychological impact on him was any less than on Yao Yao.
The familiar noise in his ears came from the road outside the window. In the past, these sounds would have annoyed Jiang Chen, but now they felt comforting.
Long live world peace!
...
Although Jiang Chen wanted to shout this out loud, he merely stretched his stiff arms without yelling, considering various concerns.
The unique constraints of civilized society—fear of being seen as a fool or a lunatic.
Feeling the heavy metallic sensation on his back, Jiang Chen's heart warmed, and he quickly cradled the backpack in his arms.
Gold! He had struck it rich!
Placing the backpack containing gold bars on the electronic scale, he watched the needle point to over seven kilograms. Jiang Chen's heart pounded rapidly.
Damn, that's over a million!
Jiang Chen wasn't sure about the exact gold price, but he knew it was roughly 200 to 300 yuan per gram. Even at 200 yuan per gram for seven kilograms, that's a whopping 1.4 million yuan!
This windfall was a figure Jiang Chen, whose monthly income never exceeded 3,000 yuan, could only fantasize about in dreams. Yet now, it had become reality.
Such a stark contrast left him not only elated but also somewhat bewildered.
With so much money, what should he do...
Buying a car was feasible, and buying a house? That seemed possible too... No, no, if he's going to live somewhere, it has to be a mansion.
Right! There's also the entire bank vault!
But when he thought about the bank vault, Jiang Chen's expression dimmed.
He would have to return to that place.
That post-apocalyptic world, filled with oppressive air.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chen couldn't help but hesitate. However, as he wavered, that beautiful figure surfaced in his mind.
—"I believe in you too."
—"No need to say anything, just come back soon."...
"Sun Jiao..." Jiang Chen murmured the name, unconsciously touching his lips.
The warmth of that kiss still lingered.
Thinking of the kiss, another petite figure appeared in Jiang Chen's mind.
—"...Also, I'm very obedient... Whatever you ask me to do, I won't resist..."
—"...I don't dislike having such a kind master. Yao Yao... is already very happy. I hope you won't abandon me."...
"Yao Yao..." Jiang Chen murmured another familiar name. That fresh kiss, though a bit abrupt, was also etched in his heart.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen laughed, casting aside all his depression.
"What am I thinking... I'm not a lolicon," Jiang Chen chuckled and jumped off the bed.
Anyway, let's make some lunch first.
Then, go out and cash in the gold.
As for buying a house or a car... If I'm going to live somewhere, it has to be a mansion; if I'm buying, it has to be a luxury car! I can't possibly buy a house that's worse than the one I picked up in the post-apocalyptic world, right?
The entire bank vault is mine!
As for this amount of money? Haha, let's enjoy it first! Since I'm back, I should relax properly.
Humming a tune, Jiang Chen walked into the familiar kitchen and picked up the slightly dusty kitchen knife.
For lunch, let's make some tomato scrambled eggs, and have a feast in the evening!
He decided to spend all this money. Otherwise, he might find it hard to muster the courage to go back.
Adapting would take time.
...
After lunch, Jiang Chen returned to the bedroom. This time, besides gold, he also brought back the holographic computer and a pistol.
Actually, he hadn't intended to bring such a troublesome item like a gun back to civilized society. After all, if someone saw it, he might end up in jail.
After all, in the Celestial Empire, firearms are strictly regulated. Jiang Chen didn't want to cause too much commotion here; quietly dealing with the gold and living a peaceful life as a wealthy man was enough. He had returned to enjoy life, not to seek trouble.
As for the holographic computer, Jiang Chen had brought it solely to watch movies. The electronics store owner had confidently assured him that the 100TB of movies stored within were all top-notch, which piqued Jiang Chen's curiosity about the experience of watching films on a holographic display.
With that in mind, Jiang Chen pressed the power button on the holographic computer.
A sleek holographic screen projected from the pen-like device, its interface constructed from light particles, appearing even more dazzling than Sun Jiao's gadget.
It turned out to be a high-end computer.
Unable to contain his excitement, Jiang Chen immediately opened the folder labeled "Movies" and quickly selected the first film on the list.
However, the scene that appeared left him utterly stunned.
"Ah, ah, harder..."
An intensely arousing scene was projected directly into the room, with moans no less intense than those in real-life passion, startling Jiang Chen into hastily shutting off the computer. The sound was likely audible to both the upstairs and downstairs neighbors.
Jiang Chen gave a wry smile, reopened the computer, and slid his finger along the progress bar. This time, he took a closer look at the movie titles.
"In the Office: 16 Shots, Continuous Climax"
Wikipedia
"The Female Teacher's Secret Lesson"
"..."
What the heck were these? They were all adult films. Jiang Chen finally understood the ambiguous look on the store owner's face.
In the past, Jiang Chen might have eagerly indulged in such films.
But now... his tastes had evolved.
Ahem, after experiencing the pleasures with Sun Jiao, Jiang Chen no longer found interest in solo activities.
Casually tossing the holographic computer onto the bed, Jiang Chen shouldered his seven-kilogram backpack and prepared to head out. Before leaving, he hesitated while holding the handgun. This was the very weapon Yao Yao had given him, the one that had saved his life. After a moment's thought, Jiang Chen remembered his storage space ability. Slapping his forehead, he promptly stored the handgun and bullets into the storage space.
This storage space, despite its slow activation and the "handling fee" required for storing and retrieving items, was quite convenient. Moreover, Jiang Chen wasn't short on money—or rather, he wasn't short on crystal points. It only took about 10 crystal points to fully charge the energy slot on his wristband. Storing an item the size of a handgun consumed less than 1% of the energy slot.
As for the EP, Jiang Chen didn't remove it. Hidden under his sleeve, it didn't appear suspicious. Its ergonomic design made it feel unrestrictive, so much so that he didn't even need to take it off while showering.
After locking the security door, Jiang Chen left his low-rent apartment and stepped into the sunlit city.
"Good afternoon, sir. Are you here to buy a ring for your lady? We have a lovely selection right over here—" A saleswoman enthusiastically greeted Jiang Chen the moment he walked through the door. Though his outfit screamed "bumpkin," there was always the chance he was a low-key millionaire. Years of retail experience had taught her that the more powerful someone was, the more modest they tended to dress. Of course, those at the very top of the food chain usually didn't come to stores like this at all.
"Do you buy gold?" Jiang Chen raised a hand, cutting off her barrage of marketing and went straight to the point.
The saleswoman froze for a second. Her trained cheerfulness faded a little, but she still replied politely, "We do purchase gold, but only high-purity, 24-karat gold. If you—"
"Call your manager. This isn't a deal you can make the call on." Jiang Chen smiled faintly, interrupting her again. The amount of gold he was about to offload clearly wasn't something a floor staff member could handle.
The saleswoman's expression soured a little, but she didn't want to give her colleagues any excuse to complain about her "offending a customer." So, she swallowed her pride and went off to notify the manager. She didn't believe for a second that this country-looking guy with a dumb backpack could possibly be here for serious business.
She could practically already imagine the dejected look on this "hillbilly's" face as security tossed him out of the store.
…
When Jiang Chen opened his backpack and revealed its contents, Liu Anshan couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
After working at Jinlilai for nearly twenty years, he'd seen plenty of gold transactions—but never someone walking in with seven kilos in a backpack.
Once the appraiser nodded to confirm the purity, Liu cleared his throat and offered a warm smile.
"A total of 7,122 grams. The quality is indeed 24-karat gold. May I ask, sir, do you have an invoice for this?"
"No," Jiang Chen replied flatly, locking eyes with him.
Liu was a little taken aback, but after a moment's thought, he waved the appraiser away. Now it was just the two of them in the room.
"Forgive me for being blunt, Mr. Jiang, but the origin of this gold… seems a bit unusual." Liu's eyes glinted with a subtle sharpness. The bars looked like they came straight out of a bank vault—standardized, professionally processed. And gold bought from a bank always came with receipts. Jiang Chen didn't have one.
This gold likely had a... colorful backstory. Liu figured it wouldn't hurt to probe a little.
"Relax. It's just not registered domestically. The source is perfectly legal—it was payment for a job." Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow casually. He wasn't lying. This was, after all, the fruit of his labor... in the apocalypse.
Liu Anshan wasn't new to the game. But the aura around Jiang Chen made it hard to get a read on him.
Gold as payment? An international mercenary, maybe? No, that was a bit far-fetched...
Letting Liu spin wild guesses in his head, Jiang Chen calmly took a sip of tea and looked back at him.
"Boss Liu, interested in doing this deal?"
"Of course, of course, Mr. Jiang." Liu chuckled, then said with a slight frown, "But without an invoice, it's a little..."
"7,122 grams at 220 yuan per gram. That totals 1,566,840 yuan. Let's round it off to 1.5 million flat. Consider the rest your tip. Current market price is 270 per gram. You'd still make a tidy profit," Jiang Chen said, idly playing with his phone.
He had just checked the gold price online right in front of Liu, so there wasn't much room to bargain.
Jiang Chen wasn't naive. He knew full well that a seasoned player like Liu had no problem moving "off-book" gold. All he needed was to offer a cut.
"Heh, Mr. Jiang, I graciously accept." Liu was floored by the price—he'd make well over 100,000 yuan just from this one transaction. He hurried to finalize the deal. "Would you prefer cash or bank transfer?"
"Transfer." Jiang Chen gave him the number to his payroll bank card. A few moments later, a notification pinged: the money had arrived. Deal done.
As Jiang Chen walked out of the VIP room, the saleswoman from earlier looked on in disbelief. Her boss had personally escorted that "bumpkin" to the door with a cheerful "Hope to see you again!" The sight left her so stunned her jaw nearly hit the floor.
But Jiang Chen couldn't care less about what someone like her thought.
"Mr. Jiang, here's my business card. Don't forget about me if you've got more to sell, alright?" Liu Anshan beamed. He'd made a fat profit in minutes. Jiang Chen had nailed it—offloading that much gold was no issue for someone like Liu.
The purity was so high, he wouldn't even need to refine it. He could just log it and take it straight to the gold exchange. Or even just flip it through his store—provided he smoothed over the paperwork, of course.
But what really intrigued Liu wasn't this deal—it was the potential future ones. That's why he treated Jiang Chen with such apparent respect.
Handing over his card was part of the long game.
Jiang Chen accepted it without a word. After bidding Liu goodbye, he flagged down a cab and left.
Watching the taxi drive off, Liu Anshan narrowed his eyes.
He was now debating whether to have someone tail Jiang Chen. His instincts told him that a man who could casually part with seven kilos of gold without blinking definitely had more stashed somewhere. Probably a lot more.
If he could just figure out where it all came from...
A glint of greed flickered in Liu's eyes. But after wrestling with himself for a moment, he relaxed his thick brows and turned back toward the shop.
Let's wait and see. Better safe than sorry.