The first ray of morning sun streamed through the window, shining directly on Shen Lu's eyelids.
"Mmm..."
The young woman let out a soft groan, reluctantly opening her eyes.
The air was thick with a strange, foul smell. The room was a narrow, crude, and dilapidated tin-sheet shack. 'Alright, so the sweet dream didn't come true. I'm still in this wasteland world.'
After a night on the sofa, her body ached down to the bone. Shen Lu stood up, did a few simple stretches, and instinctively went to find the bathroom to wash up.
Her fingers had just touched the doorknob when she paused.
'Wash up? Like hell,' she thought. 'Where am I going to find clean water to wash up here?'
'Besides, this rental is just one room. There's no bathroom.'
Shen Lu sucked in a sharp breath. The reality of this world was sinking in even deeper.
'Forget the original owner of this body; even I can't stand living in poverty for a second longer. I have to hurry up and make some money to improve my situation.'
Shen Lu ran her fingers through her hair to comb it out, and with that, she headed out.
She had been too tired yesterday. After renting the place, she had gone straight to sleep without buying any tools. Since she woke up early today, she could go buy what she needed, collect more junk, and trade it for more food.
Arriving at a ramshackle general store, Shen Lu spent 50 Star Coins on a few handy tools and casually asked the owner if there was anywhere to buy groceries nearby.
"Groceries?" The owner laughed. "Are you kidding me? How could there possibly be a place to buy groceries in the Seventeenth District?"
Only the Upper City District had places that sold groceries, and only the upper class had the means to buy them.
Shen Lu had only asked on the off chance there was another way to get ingredients.
The body's original owner had always lived in the Upper City District, the area for upper-class citizens. She had never set foot in a place like the Seventeenth District, let alone understood what it was like here.
'It seems that, for now, scavenging is my only way to get ingredients.'
Shen Lu grabbed her tools, covered her nose and mouth with the strip of fabric she'd torn from her skirt yesterday, and plunged into the No. 3 Landfill.
Since she arrived early, there were only a few people at the landfill.
Shen Lu switched on her detector and began carefully scanning the piles of metal scrap.
The detector was the most expensive of the tools she'd bought. It could find more valuable metals, like gold, silver, tungsten wire, or magnesium strips.
The System also accepted high-quality steel plates, but they weren't worth much—10,000 grams only traded for three pounds of flour.
Shen Lu had already decided what she would sell today. Mint water was a definite must, and the egg waffle maker she'd won in the lottery yesterday had to be put to use.
The Shop had a special egg waffle mix, and the System said 500 grams of tungsten wire could be traded for two pounds of it.
One pound of the mix could make ten egg waffles, so two pounds would make twenty. Shen Lu planned to sell them for 40 Star Coins each, meaning twenty waffles would bring in 800 Star Coins.
'This business of trading junk for goods is pretty sweet,' she thought. 'It's all pure profit.'
Now in high spirits, Shen Lu's scavenging became much more energetic.
With tools to help, her efficiency skyrocketed. In less than three hours, Shen Lu had traded the metal she'd collected for half a bucket of water, a handful of mint, a fingernail-sized pinch of sugar, a two-pound bag of egg waffle mix, and a plastic bowl for mixing the batter.
Shen Lu stored the ingredients in the System's temporary inventory, then, for show, picked up a few pieces of scrap iron before leaving the No. 3 Landfill.
Rushing back to her rental, Shen Lu carefully shut the door and windows. She used a little of the water to quickly wash up, then poured the dirty water into an iron bucket that was already in the room instead of throwing it out.
After mixing the egg waffle batter, she set it aside to rest.
Shen Lu bruised the mint leaves, tossed them into the bucket of water, and sprinkled in the sugar. The mint water was ready.
She took out the egg waffle maker and glanced at the instructions. 'This thing is pretty high-tech,' she noted. It was solar-powered, which saved her a lot of trouble.
After five minutes of sunning in the window, the machine's red light turned green, indicating it was fully charged.
The egg waffle batter was also ready. Shen Lu enthusiastically poured some onto the preheated machine, closed the lid, and waited for it to cook.
In less than two minutes, a rich, sweet aroma filled the entire room and seeped out from under the door.
Nearby residents all caught the scent at once. They sniffed the air involuntarily, their faces filled with astonishment.
"Is someone cooking?"
"That's impossible. Who around here has the Star Coins to buy ingredients? A single egg costs 100 Star Coins!"
"It's... the smell of egg waffles." A white-haired old man's expression grew nostalgic. "I had them when I was just a child. So fragrant and sweet... They're especially delicious with chocolate sauce and fruit..."
Shen Lu waited patiently until the machine went DING. She opened the lid to reveal a perfectly puffy, adorable, bubble-shaped waffle.
Her stomach immediately rumbled. Since arriving in this world, she had only drunk two cups of mint water and hadn't eaten a single thing to fill her belly.
Now that the first egg waffle was ready, she was, of course, going to eat it herself. It was a taste test for her new product to see if anything needed improving.
Using the Ice Ice Cup, she scooped up some mint water and took a sip. The icy mint flavor exploded in her mouth, instantly refreshing and soothing.
After blowing on the steaming hot egg waffle, Shen Lu tore off a piece and eagerly popped it into her mouth.
A slightly crispy shell gave way to a soft, fluffy inside. The rich, cake-like aroma that wafted up was incredibly comforting, soothing her empty stomach.
Shen Lu devoured the first egg waffle in a flash and immediately started making another.
'Making money could wait,' she thought. 'The most important thing right now is filling my stomach.'
After eating another half, Shen Lu was finally full. It wouldn't be right to sell the leftover half, so after a moment's thought, she soaked the pieces in mint water and fed them to Fu Cheng, bit by bit.
"I'm only feeding you because you saved me yesterday."
"It's a good thing it's me, too. Someone brave enough not to be scared by your mangled appearance."
"Fu Cheng, if you ever make something of yourself, you'd better remember this favor."
Shen Lu rambled on about nothing in particular, mostly just to hear the sound of her own voice. She didn't expect Fu Cheng to hear her.
After all, she'd never seen him open his eyes and assumed he was completely unconscious.
"Alright, that's all the food," she said, putting down the cup. "I know I should be taking you to a hospital, but I don't have that kind of money right now. This will have to do."
"You just stay here and rest today. I'm going out to earn some money."
Shen Lu picked up her bucket, tucked the Ice Ice Cup away, grabbed her small iron stool and the egg waffle maker, and headed out. Just as she opened the door, a finger on the man lying on the bed twitched slightly.
He had heard.
He had heard every single word Shen Lu said.
Fu Cheng desperately wanted to answer her, to tell her he would remember this favor. If he lived, he would absolutely repay her.
'And what in the world was that thing Shen Lu had fed him? It tasted strange, but it was also delicious. Moreover, it had a calming effect on his Spiritual Sea; otherwise, he wouldn't have been pulled from his semi-hibernating state just now.'