8: Chapter 8 A First Look at the Antique Market
It was the weekend.
Wang Pingan got up very early.
From the very bottom of his wardrobe, he dug out an old school uniform that had been washed until it was faded, with a slightly stretched-out collar.
Putting on this outfit, he looked in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction.
The person in the mirror had messy hair, eyes filled with the confusion and timidity typical of a student, and combined with this plain, almost shabby outfit, he looked exactly like a poor student preparing to go to the second-hand market to hunt for cheap or used parts.
Perfect.
He didn't want to dress up too slickly, letting those old veterans who had spent their whole lives in the market see at a glance that he was a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
The Shencheng City Antique and Second-hand Trading Market was located in the old district and was one of the few places in this steel metropolis that still retained the style of the last century.
Wang Pingan took the cheapest public hoverbus and wobbled his way to the destination.
Just as he got off the bus, a scent mixed with dust, old wood, and various indescribable odors hit his face.
It was bustling with noise and excitement.
On both sides of the street, stalls were lined up one after another, and the spread-out tattered cloths were filled with all kinds of miscellaneous items.
There were rusty ancient weapons, jars and pots claimed to have been dug out from some ancient ruins, and some unknown ores flashing with faint spiritual light.
Wang Pingan's heart accelerated uncontrollably.
This place looked promising!
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart, lowered his head, and pretended to wander aimlessly while reciting silently in his mind.
"Activate, Energy Scan!"
【Command received, Energy Scan function activated, current consumption: 1 pay-to-win point/minute.】
【pay-to-win points remaining: 9】
The cold system prompt rang out.
Wang Pingan's vision switched instantly, and a three-dimensional map made of blue data lines covered the reality.
The dazzling array of stalls and the bustling crowds were all transformed into precise models on the map.
His heart was in his throat, his eyes frantically searching the map, hoping to see green light spots, or even blue light spots, representing treasures.
However.
One second.
Two seconds.
Ten seconds passed.
The system map was dim.
It was so clean that it made him panic.
Occasionally, on a few stalls, one or two white light spots, no bigger than dust, would flash, so faint that they wouldn't be noticed if one didn't look carefully.
【Weak energy reaction detected, convertible pay-to-win points: 0.01】
【Weak energy reaction detected, convertible pay-to-win points: 0.005】
The corners of Wang Pingan's mouth twitched.
What is this called?
Even a mosquito's leg has more meat on it than this.
For this bit of energy, he would have to haggle with the stall owner for a long time, spend dozens or hundreds of star coins to buy it, and after conversion, he wouldn't even earn back the cost of one second of scanning.
A total loss.
【pay-to-win points remaining: 8】
The system prompt rang out again, as if urging him to his death.
Wang Pingan's heart sank a little, but he didn't believe in bad luck and continued to walk deeper into the market.
He passed a stall where the owner, a middle-aged man spitting as he talked, was grabbing a young student's hand and excitedly introducing a palm-sized piece of black metal.
"Little brother, you really have a good eye! This is a treasure I collected from a retired veteran!"
"An ancient martial artist's weapon fragment! See the patterns on it? This is called 'Quenching Pattern'! It is said that the martial will of that ancient powerhouse still remains inside! If you can comprehend a thing or two, forget about getting into Galaxy University; you'd even have a chance at Xuanyuan First Martial Arts University!"
The student was bewildered by the sales pitch, his eyes filled with longing.
"Boss, how... how much for this?"
"Seeing that you are a person of destiny, I won't ask for much! One price, 8,888 star coins! Fortune, fortune! Wishing you martial prosperity!"
Wang Pingan happened to pass by, and he subconsciously glanced at the system map.
On that "ancient fragment" which was being hyped up to the skies, a cold line of data was marked.
【Iron element, carbon element detected... No convertible energy substances found.】
Energy value, zero.
Wang Pingan shook his head and quickened his pace.
This market was too deep.
Without the system, if a rookie like him came in, he would probably be scammed out of his underwear.
Time ticked by second by second.
【pay-to-win points remaining: 7】
【pay-to-win points remaining: 6】
...
He wandered for an entire morning, having walked through almost the entire large market.
The system map remained silent.
The few white light spots that occasionally flashed were worth at most 0.1 pay-to-win points.
He finally understood.
99% of the things here were complete fakes.
The remaining 1%, even if they were treasures once, had their energy long exhausted after the erosion of time, turning into worthless, ordinary objects.
【pay-to-win points remaining: 1】
When the system issued its final prompt, Wang Pingan stopped.
He stood at the edge of the market, watching the flow of people, his heart feeling cold.
Could it be... that this method wouldn't work either?
Was he really going to be suffocated to death by this "money" issue?
The hope he had finally seen, the fighting spirit he had finally ignited, was at this moment mercilessly doused with a bucket of cold water by reality, extinguished completely without even a wisp of smoke.
A huge sense of loss and powerlessness welled up in his heart.
He dragged his heavy steps to a step outside the market and sat down.
He fished a few coins from his pocket and bought a bottle of the cheapest mineral water from a roadside stall.
Unscrewing the cap, he tilted his head and took a big gulp.
The cold liquid slid down his throat but could not extinguish the irritability and frustration in his heart.
He looked at the "250.00" star coin balance on his personal terminal and pulled the corners of his mouth in self-mockery.
This was all his assets.
He didn't even have enough money to buy two more spirit crystals to support the system's scanning.
Just when he was disheartened and almost ready to give up.
Two stall owners next to him, who had just packed up, started chatting while wiping off their sweat.
"Old Li, how was the harvest today?" a tall, thin man asked.
"Don't mention it, damn it, bad luck!" the fat man called Old Li spat, "Ran into a few poor students, haggled for half a day, and didn't sell a single thing. These days, business is getting harder and harder to do."
"Indeed." The tall, thin man sighed with empathy, "I heard that the 'Industrial Waste Trading Station' in the west of the city recently brought back a batch of 'foreign trash' from the border battlefield. I wonder if it's possible to go there and scavenge for some good things."
"Give it a rest." Old Li said with disdain, "Just that scrap metal? Anything valuable among the things the military eliminated would have been scraped clean by them long ago; would it be your turn? I went there once last time and was almost choked to death by the smell of engine oil; in the end, I only scavenged a few broken parts, which didn't even earn me as much as selling fake goods."
"You can't say that; what if there are some that slipped through the net?"
"Slipped through the net? What kind of daydream are you having..."
The two men's voices gradually faded away.
But a few words in their conversation exploded in Wang Pingan's mind like thunder!
West of the city!
Industrial Waste Trading Station!
Border battlefield!
Retired!
Wang Pingan suddenly raised his head, and the extinguished flame in his eyes reignited in this instant, burning even brighter than before!
That's it!
How did he not think of this!
The things in the antique market were indistinguishable between real and fake, and their energy was exhausted.
But what about the things retired from the battlefield?
Those were things that had truly seen blood and experienced energy impacts!
Even if they were waste, even if they had gone through the military's screening, with such a massive quantity, during the transportation and processing, would there be one or two high-value items that were missed and treated as trash?
Could there be some fragments of starship energy cores, or remains of powerful martial artist weapons, mixed in with that scrap metal?
Once this thought arose, it could no longer be contained, growing wildly in his heart.
He stood up from the steps with a sudden motion, the mineral water bottle in his hand crinkling as he squeezed it.
He grabbed his personal terminal from the side and quickly located it on the map.
West of the city, Industrial Waste Trading Station.
Thirty kilometers away from here.
He glanced at his pitiful balance and, without hesitation, called the cheapest ground speeder.
Screw it!
This was his last chance!
Gamble on it!