Chapter 4

Even with a job, people could barely feed their families. Without a job, no income at all, they could resort only to trading away valuables for food or daily necessities. Markets and black markets sprang up everywhere.
Unemployment was everywhere. Only a lucky few managed to hang on to their jobs. It didn’t take long before Su Han joined the unemployed masses.
At noon on day seven, after everyone finished their last staff lunch, the Boss made the announcement: “The noodle shop’s closing. You’ll all have to find your own way from here.”
So much for free meals. Su Han was more than a little disappointed. After all, her first seven days in the game had mostly been spent mooching food at the noodle shop, not only had she managed to avoid using up her personal stash, she’d even saved up a decent reserve of milk, black bread, and soap bought with her wages.
Even when three daily meals shrank to two, she never had to dip into her own inventory, each day she’d go through about 50 satiety points, and two bowls of noodles topped her up again.
She just tweaked her meal schedule, breakfast at eight, lunch at three, and kept everything running smoothly.
Now, with no job, how was she supposed to get by? Su Han fell into thoughtful silence.
The chef didn’t say a word, just quietly packed up in the kitchen.
Seeing Su Han still sitting there, the Boss let out a sigh, looking utterly resigned. “I’m sorry, but I had no choice. The noodle shop really can’t go on any longer. I have to look out for myself, too.”
Su Han was briefly startled, then smiled. “It’s okay, really. I get it.” Honestly, she was grateful to have made it to day seven with free hospitality.
She waved goodbye, took nothing with her, and walked out the door.
After thinking it over, she decided to wander the market. Maybe someone would be desperate enough to trade a family heirloom for just a bite to eat?
But barely ten minutes out on the street, Su Han witnessed three robberies right before her eyes.
First, a scruffy middle-aged man, probably forty, stubble everywhere, grabbed a lollipop straight out of a kindergarten girl’s hand, then bolted.
Second, a seventy-something grandpa walking along got shoved to the ground without warning. The thugs rifled through all his pockets, found a wad of paper bills, and then stalked off, still cursing.
“They’ve all lost it. Totally lost it,” Su Han muttered, realizing she’d severely underestimated how dangerous things really were outside. She started picking only the main streets, keeping to open, crowded paths as much as possible.
Even then, someone managed to mark her as a target.
Su Han glanced calmly at the two men and one woman blocking her path, thinking to herself: being a young woman traveling alone really does make you stand out, and an easy target.
The only woman among the would-be muggers barked, “What’cha got to eat? Hand it over and I’ll let you walk.”
Su Han silently reached into her pocket, though what she really did was grab her slingshot and steel pellets from her portable storage.
The female mugger beamed, expecting this prey to meekly cough up her supplies. But the next second, Su Han drew back her slingshot and let a pellet fly.
With a sharp ‘clang’, a steel ball tore a hole right through the soda can in one guy’s hand, sending cola gushing everywhere.
The three muggers were shell-shocked.
Su Han lazily pulled out another steel pellet and loaded it up. Then she said coolly, “If I have to hit someone, I aim for the face.”
The mugger’s face went green. If a steel pellet could punch through aluminum, what would it do to her face…?
“Run! Now!” she yelped, bolting out of there at top speed.
The two men scrambled after her. The three of them took off like their lives depended on it, not daring to look back.
Su Han relaxed her grip, returned the steel pellet to her portable storage, and whispered to herself, “I really need to get a backpack. My portable storage is almost at capacity.”
Steel pellets came in packs of a hundred, but once opened, you could only store them individually, not by the pack. In other words, they took up more slots.
“If I had a backpack, I could stash all the loose ones in there.” Su Han looked forward to the idea as she headed deeper into the market.
Maybe word got out, or maybe some muggers had witnessed her little self-defense demo just now, either way, not a single idiot tried to mess with her after that.
Soon, Su Han arrived at the market.
This was a small park, now transformed into a bustling flea market, with people peddling goods everywhere.
“Candles! Super reliable candles! Don’t miss out, get them while they’re here!”
“Matches, lighters, flints, got ’em all! Just looking to trade for food, come take a look!”
“Extra-thick blankets, ultra warm! Anyone interested, come talk!”
“Nylon backpacks! Super durable! Barely half a month old, practically brand new!”
Nylon backpack? Su Han followed the voice and spotted the vendor negotiating. “Top-grade nylon, absolutely tough, feather-light on your shoulders! It’s elastic too, so it won’t collect your sweat smell.”
The buyer clearly wanted it but was wavering. “Two loaves of bread? That’s way too expensive! I’ll give you one. I’ll take it for one.”
The vendor got anxious. “Too expensive? I bought this for over 100 Bei! Two loaves of bread are nothing, worth twenty, maybe?”
“That’s not how this works.” The buyer wasn’t buying it. He insisted, “Do you even know what times we’re living in? Backpacks are gold right now, but can you eat a backpack? Gold has a price; food’s priceless!”
Su Han sized up the nylon pack, it really did look almost new. She cut in, “Two loaves for it? I’ll take it.”
The vendor froze for a moment, then lit up. “See? Someone knows a good deal when they see one!”
The buyer shot her an annoyed glare. “Pretty rude to butt in when someone else is bargaining, don’t you think?”
“Then why don’t you pay two loaves? I’m not stopping you.” Su Han was unfazed. “You’ve been lowballing so hard, it’s obvious you aren’t serious about buying. That’s why I spoke up.”
“Exactly! He keeps haggling like crazy, clearly not serious!” The vendor nodded frantically, eager to take her side. “Miss, it’s yours! Two loaves, that’s it!”
The buyer felt wronged; he’d just about convinced himself he could snag the bag for a single loaf, only for this troublemaker to show up.
All of a sudden, suspicion flickered in his eyes. He glanced between Su Han and the vendor, then sneered, “I get it now, she’s your shill, isn’t she? You two are in this together, right?”
Su Han rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Then you buy it. I’ll step aside,” The buyer made a show of giving her space. “No way I’m getting ripped off. That bag’s worth one loaf max!”
The vendor flashed a hopeful smile and asked gingerly, “So…?”
“Since he’s out, I’ll take it.” Su Han fished out two pieces of the black bread from her pocket and handed them over.
The vendor beamed, “Deal! Here you go, the backpack’s yours!”
Su Han slipped on the backpack and moved on to check out the rest of the stalls.
The original buyer was left staring, mouth wide open, completely dumbfounded.
Su Han used her last piece of black bread to get five candles, then headed for the next booth. “How much for the lighter and the flint?”
The vendor immediately perked up, here was a true VIP! She’d thrown around multiple loaves of bread without blinking!
He launched into his pitch: “Miss, you’ve got an eye for quality! This lighter’s a collector’s edition, super rare!”
Su Han cut him off, unimpressed. “Enough with the sales talk. I need a lighter to start fires, not to show off. Limited edition or not.”
After all, rare lighters only looked fancy, they didn’t hold any extra fuel.
The vendor was completely lost for words.
“Just give me a regular lighter. Name your price. And the flint, I’m interested in that, too.” Su Han said coolly.
See, flint was a real catch. Mainly made of cerium and lanthanum, alloyed with iron, it’s hard and brittle, give it a sharp tap and sparks will fly.
Add a magnesium strip, and you could start a fire in seconds.
Lighters were nice, but the fuel ran out quickly. A flint, though, you could use that over and over.
The vendor hesitated, then asked, “I’d be willing to part with the flint, but what’ll you give me for it?”
Su Han shot back, “How much do you want?”
She had plenty of supplies stashed away, but she wasn’t about to let herself be gouged.
“You tell me what you’ve got first,” the vendor persisted.
Su Han just replied, “You give your price. If it’s fair, we’ll talk. If not, I walk.”
Walk away… That stung. The vendor had been posted here for ages and barely anyone was interested in flint.
In truth, when it came to bartering, no one really cared about an item’s original price anymore. All that mattered was how many people actually wanted it. If something was in demand, you could name your price. If no one wanted it, even gold couldn’t buy you a loaf of bread.
The stall owner licked his lips, finally blurting out his bottom line, “Five regular lighters, one flint, and I’ll even throw in a magnesium stick, just for two loaves of bread. That’s my best offer!”
Su Han glanced over her portable storage with a sigh. “I’m out of black bread.” She did have pork floss cream buns, but she wasn’t about to give those away.
Then why are you even here? The stall owner gave her the biggest eye roll imaginable.
Su Han suggested instead, “How about one bar of soap and a bottle of milk?”
Soap?! The stall owner’s eyes went wide. Everyone knew that in the black market, soap was practically gold; a single bar could get you two, maybe three loaves of black bread!
“Deal!” The words tumbled out before he could stop himself.
Once the trade was done, Su Han stashed the flint and lighters in her backpack and strode away from the market.
Unsurprisingly, her show of wealth had caught a few greedy eyes. Some people started following her, thinking they’d find a quiet place to mug her.
Su Han walked along at her own steady pace, a smile tugging at her lips. She was under no illusions about money’s place in this world, food and daily necessities had long since replaced cash as real currency.
Most girls would keep their heads down in this situation, hop from market to market, stock up quietly, and avoid drawing attention. But… she wasn’t most girls.
She’d studied self-defense, practiced slingshot marksmanship, had defined abs, and was an avid camper, the very definition of a tough girl.
In her opinion, she’d spent too long holed up in that noodle shop. Most customers there were well off, hardly a representative sample. Time to grab someone for a chat and get the real dirt from the bottom rungs.