36: Sowing hearts

Lying on a bed that was incredibly soft, Chen Feng calmly analyzed the current situation.

Through a miniature camera hidden in the crack of the door frame and connected to his personal terminal, he could clearly see the two Guards standing tall outside the door.

“Strict ‘protection,’ unprecedented safety, and absolute time alone,” he said to himself. “This is the golden window of opportunity to accumulate strength.”

Without delaying for a single moment, he closed his eyes, and his consciousness instantly sank into that infinite space composed of pure information streams.

The Interstellar Exchange.

This time, he didn't browse through the dazzling array of goods but went straight to his warehouse. There, all the undead crystals he had risked his life to collect over the past ten or so days lay quietly.

“Bundle them, all of them.” Chen Feng issued a command to the system.

Soon, a product named [Primary Entropy Sequence Information Pack (Jintu Star Batch 07)] was generated.

He didn't choose to list it on the public market; that would be like throwing a stone into the sea. Not only might it attract sharks, but it could also drive down the price due to oversupply.

“Send targeted inquiries.” He pulled up a list of customers who had recently browsed his previous item. “Target: Sequence Zero, and three other silicon-based civilization buyers with transaction records for ‘conceptual information.’”

Almost the instant he sent it, a high-priority communication request popped up.

It was from Sequence Zero.

“High-match information pack detected.” The emotionless, composite electronic voice rang directly in Chen Feng's mind. “Requirement: All. Quote: 7.3% higher than your set average market price.”

Chen Feng's eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Additional condition,” Sequence Zero continued, “Our side wishes to establish a long-term, stable exclusive supply channel with ‘Independent Information Source Prospector No. 734.’”

In an instant, Chen Feng understood.

The other party was in a hurry—very much so. This urgency far exceeded his last test.

“Agreed,” Chen Feng replied calmly. “An exclusive supply is no problem. But I need a fairer cooperation framework.”

“Please define ‘fair.’” Sequence Zero's voice remained steady.

“First, the price needs to be linked to the ‘purity’ and ‘rarity’ of the supply. For example, the ‘Echoes of Heroes’ I mentioned last time—that isn't ordinary entropy sequence information.”

“Logic established. Acceptable.”

“Second, as an exclusive supplier, I need priority for technical support. When I encounter unsolvable technical problems, the Divine Court needs to provide paid consulting services.”

A brief silence followed, seemingly for high-speed calculations.

“...Acceptable. Protocol updated,” Sequence Zero replied. “Confirm transaction?”

“Confirm.”

The next second, Chen Feng's account balance jumped wildly as a massive amount of interstellar credit points—enough to make even Bachm's heart race with envy—was injected into his account.

Chen Feng looked at the number without a flicker of emotion. Without any hesitation, he immediately clicked on the exchange's procurement page.

His goal was terrifyingly clear.

“High-energy nutritional paste, military standard with a three-year shelf life, ten thousand units.”

“Portable water purification tablets, each can purify twenty liters of contaminated water, one hundred thousand tablets.”

“Multi-functional thermal fiber cloth, five thousand bolts.”

“Universal mechanical repair tool sets, three hundred sets.”

Like a cold machine, he frantically converted the newly arrived credit points into a massive amount of survival supplies. To pass Giant Star Mining's logistics inspection, he disguised and packaged everything as ‘deep mining exploration auxiliary equipment’ and ‘new geological sample sealed containers,’ paying high expedited and disguise fees.

He set the delivery location to an underground abandoned material transfer station on the edge of the mining area that had long been forgotten by everyone. Using his current database permissions, he quietly activated a temporary receiving beacon for this location.

That night, when the rolling door of the transfer station slowly rose and he saw the mountain of supply crates, even Chen Feng felt a moment of shock.

How to bring these things in and distribute them without anyone noticing was the first challenge he faced.

The following day at dusk, outside the mining area cafeteria, the Mine Slaves who had finished a day of hard labor were lining up, waiting to receive their portion of the mushy nutritional paste that barely sustained life.

Under Chen Feng's direction, Ma Liu walked into the center of the crowd.

“Listen up, everyone!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “From today on, food and water are no longer handouts for people waiting to die!”

Everyone raised their numb heads and looked at him.

“Chen Feng... no, Brother Feng said so!” Ma Liu's voice carried a hint of fanaticism. “If you want to live like a human, if you want your families to eat their fill, then trade your labor and value for it!”

He announced the birth of the ‘Mutual Aid Credit System.’

“Brother Feng will issue tasks!” Ma Liu announced loudly. “Clean up the abandoned dormitory area for 2 credits! Collect one kilogram of scrap usable parts for 5 credits! Map out the Guard Team's patrol routes for a reward of 100 credits!”

“1 credit can be exchanged for one standard nutritional paste! 3 credits for one liter of pure water!”

The crowd instantly erupted into a commotion.

“What credits? This is just a new way to exploit us, isn't it?” a skeptical voice rang out.

“But... as long as we work, there's really food?” an eager voice followed immediately.

“Mapping patrol routes? Isn't that just seeking death?!”

Skepticism, observation, fear, and an uncontrollable craving for food were intertwined on the face of every Mine Slave.

Just then, the water circulation pump responsible for supplying water to the living area nearby gave a harsh screech and exploded with a ‘bang,’ spraying turbid sewage everywhere.

The crowd let out a howl of despair; this meant that even the pitiful sewage ration for tonight was gone.

A few miners with some technical knowledge gathered around and tinkered for a long time, eventually shaking their heads in frustration.

“The core circulation shaft is broken. It's hopeless unless we have a new replacement part.”

While everyone was falling into despair, a thin man who had been silently huddled in a corner walked over. He looked to be in his forties, his face covered in grease, as silent as a stone.

He was the one the Mine Slaves called ‘Lao Mo.’

Under everyone's astonished gazes, Lao Mo didn't speak. He simply pulled several polished, crude tools he had scavenged from somewhere out of his shirt. With some tapping and hammering, he recombined and fixed several pieces of scrap metal at a clever angle, actually forcing the broken circulation shaft to temporarily hold together.

With a series of unpleasant creaking sounds, the water pump miraculously shuddered and began working again, although the water output was pitifully small.

The crowd burst into a cheer.

Standing not far away, Chen Feng's gaze pierced through the crowd, locking onto that still-silent figure who was turning to leave.

That night, in the most remote and dilapidated corner of the mining area where Lao Mo resided.

He was about to gnaw on half a piece of hard, dry black bread when a figure blocked the light in front of him.

Lao Mo looked up and saw Chen Feng.

Chen Feng didn't speak. He simply placed a portion of steaming nutritional paste—five times the amount of an ordinary Mine Slave's—and a small bottle of precision tool lubricant, which was more precious than gold in the mining area, in front of him.

Lao Mo was stunned.

“Skill has value.” Chen Feng looked at him. His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a heavy hammer smashing into Lao Mo's dead heart.

Lao Mo's grease-covered body jolted. He slowly raised his head, and for the first time, a long-lost spark called ‘dignity’ flickered in those eyes that had been shrouded in numbness and despair for years.

This scene was clearly witnessed by a Mine Slave informant in the shadows who was responsible for monitoring Chen Feng.