3: The biggest fear for the unemployed is losing their job a second time (Please read and bookmark this page).

Jiang Feng had made a mistake, a mistake every man should make.

He didn't know how he had such strong stamina, nor did he understand why he felt no fatigue at all even after his blood was boiling, as if his body had returned to eighteen, as strong as an ox.

Lin Xiaoyu had been tormented all night, she didn't even have the strength to open her eyes, and even in deep sleep, her expression was very complex.

Sometimes she would slightly furrow her brows, as if residual pain lingered; other times she would smile brightly, softly murmuring Jiang Feng's name.

Jiang Feng couldn't sleep; he looked at her profile, liking her more the longer he looked, but the more he looked, the more an inexplicable sense of unreality crept in.

All of this felt like a dream, too illusory.

In Jiang Feng's own past, Lin Xiaoyu was his white moonlight, but due to his family background, he could only study desperately, work part-time desperately; whatever he could strive for, he had to strive for it.

He yearned for love, yet feared it was a pitfall for his career; later, even if he regretted it, there was no longer any opportunity.

Jiang Feng tried hard to recall past memories, hoping to make himself feel more 'real'.

After thinking for a long time, he couldn't recall any pleasant memories with Lin Xiaoyu at all; even if there were any, they were just fleeting fragments, as if all those beautiful memories had shattered when he fainted at the mine.

He didn't have time to think about how to respond; since things had come to this, he would absolutely not let regret continue to be regret!

The current priority was to understand the surrounding information so he could make effective responses.

'Damn it, who said that when you transmigrate, you inherit all memories...'

'Never mind, fortunately, I'm not completely amnesiac. I'll take good care of my family.'

Jiang Feng silently told himself: 'Let the past be the past.'

Whether it was an illusion or not, Jiang Feng felt the last trace of heaviness in his heart float away and disappear, never to return.

He activated his wristband, and a series of holographic images popped up.

They were posters, incredibly vibrant and extremely high definition.

"Great Leader Dong Chuan delivers a speech, proposing 'Trade protection is of paramount importance'!"

"'Lithoid lifeforms!' and 'Avebang Guardians' delegation visits! Avebang is the United Nations of Earth' best friend!"

"Bad news from the Barnard's Star System colony! Unknown source signal detected, possibly another alien lifeform!"

"The Human Federation's first female Grand Marshal awakens psionics, becoming a chosen one!"

"Human Federation Grand Marshal Viola Cromwell delivers a speech, proposing 'Resolutely oppose trade protectionism'!"

"The Terran Union accelerates research into Synthetic Ascension!"

"Our journey is to the stars and the sea!"

Jiang Feng's expression immediately stiffened; with such vivid posters, he instantly realized he had probably come to the wrong universe.

This universe was terrifying, not only with various aliens and fallen empires, but also countless space anomalies, dangers, and even illogical terrifying domains like the 'Shroud' and 'Warp Space'.

There were many major events here—robot uprisings, grey goo storms, the rise of the Great Khan, War in Heaven, the Aberrant, Purity Protocol, the Scourge...too many to count!

Jiang Feng's hair stood on end; coming to such a world, what could he, as an ordinary person, do?

'No, why do I feel like my body is missing a part?'

Jiang Feng looked left and right, not finding any missing parts of himself, but he just had a feeling of something missing.

Not only was something missing, but his current situation also gave him a very familiar feeling, as if he had seen it somewhere before? Heard about it? Or dreamt about it?

'Wait, over there, where is that?'

Jiang Feng sensed carefully, then suddenly looked up out the window; his wristband showed it was east, and in his mind, something was rapidly approaching, something that had fundamentally become a part of him.

It was like his limbs, like his heartbeat, like his breathing.

'I can't be without it!'

Jiang Feng almost had an impulse to rush out and snatch that thing, whatever it was, back!

But the next second, he regained his senses; currently, his knowledge of the outside world was minimal.

His previous memories were buried very deeply; even if he tried hard to recall them, it was like a frozen computer, only able to spit out one frame at a time.

Jiang Feng had heard of something similar, called "post-traumatic amnesia," which required certain contextual stimuli to recall things; he took a deep breath.

'I need to understand this world and my situation first, then make a decision.'

The intuition from years of writing reports, feasibility studies, proposals, and plans surged back into his heart.

He opened his wristband and quickly browsed information about himself.

He graduated with a major in Mechanical Engineering and was currently employed by the Deep Space Mining Group, serving as the Mineral Processing Supervisor at a factory near the Slums.

Don't let the impressive title fool you; in reality, he was only responsible for one mineral crushing production line, with three or four subordinates, earning a meager salary, and constantly at risk of being finished by an industrial accident.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Feng had a bad premonition; since there was also a tariff war here, positions like mineral processing, which could easily be replaced by robots, clearly had no need to retain human workers and drag down company performance.

He couldn't believe that over two hundred years later, there would still be no robots.

Searching for relevant news, Jiang Feng immediately felt uneasy.

"Intelligent labor on duty! Full automation liberates productivity!"

"Galaxy Heavy Industry's new product! 'Buddy' robot, your best companion!"

"Breakthrough in management Artificial Intelligence! Logical capabilities surpass humans!"

"Positronic Artificial Intelligence technology receives preliminary funding approval! Initial companies involved include the following..."

Jiang Feng blinked, and related memories constantly surfaced in his mind; he quickly made a judgment about his situation.

'Not optimistic! The company has audit regulations, and abusing brain stimulants like me would be flagged as a violation.'

He immediately checked the company's email system and, sure enough, a notification from the HR department lay quietly in his inbox.

The information in the title completely chilled his heart.

"Layoff Notice"

"Due to deteriorating economic conditions, the company has decided to optimize personnel. The following employees' contracts will be terminated. Please complete handover procedures within today. If you have any dissatisfaction, you may appeal to the 'Labor Arbitration Management Department'."

"Name: Jiang Feng"

"Reason for layoff: Personnel structure optimization, illegal drug use"

"Note: Your personal belongings have been sorted and packed and will be delivered within 15 minutes. Have a pleasant day."

Jiang Feng looked at those few lines, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

'I didn't expect to lose my job a second time, even after transmigration.'

His heart was filled with mixed emotions, but then, he suddenly remembered something: 'Debt, please, no debt!'

Connecting to his bank information, Jiang Feng's chilled heart completely froze.

"Account balance: 3016.24 earth federation coin"

"Loan details: Housing loan (1.24 million); Medical loan (730,000); Vehicle loan (30,000)"

"Interest due this month: 14650 earth federation coin"

"New message: You have an outstanding medical bill: 5000 earth federation coin"

'How could it be so much?'

Memories surfaced in Jiang Feng's mind; he and Lin Xiaoyu had initially decided to use his employee status to purchase this house at a lower price, thinking it would be a worthwhile transaction in the long run.

The medical loan came from his father's heart surgery; two consecutive surgeries had exhausted his parents' retirement savings, and as an only child, he naturally felt obliged to cover the remaining deficit.

Fortunately, his parents were fine and healthy, which was truly the most important thing.

Finally, the car, a second-hand hovercar, thirty thousand wasn't expensive, but the subsequent maintenance cost an extra seven or eight thousand.

And that last five thousand should be the medical expenses for his sudden death at the factory.

'Damn capitalist behemoths, but fortunately, I didn't spend money I shouldn't have...'

Jiang Feng exhaled, but he silently calculated in his heart, wasn't this interest rate too high?

He hastily checked, only to find that the Terran Union was truly not an ideal environment for survival: housing loan annual interest rate was 8%, medical loan annual interest rate was 10%, and vehicle loan annual interest rate was 12%.

This was a rhythm designed to drive people to their deaths!

He glanced at Lin Xiaoyu, still asleep; all his good mood instantly turned into bubbles, bursting with 'puffs'.

'I have to find a job, but this month... there's only half the time left!'

Jiang Feng suddenly remembered that after Lin Xiaoyu graduated, she worked at the Trade Union; her salary was slightly lower than his, but she still covered over thirty percent of the household expenses.

And it was well known that the Trade Union was not an iron rice bowl, especially during a trade war.

A terrifying thought emerged in Jiang Feng's mind: 'No way, she wasn't laid off too, was she?'

Lin Xiaoyu's account was never hidden from him; his biometric authentication could open her account.

He didn't know until he checked, and when he did, it startled him.

"Account balance: 1610.3 earth federation coin"

'It's over!'

Jiang Feng looked closely and found dozens of small deposits, all for tens or dozens of yuan, marked with "hourly wage"; Jiang Feng's heart sank to the bottom.

'It looks like she's been laid off for almost half a month and has been working odd jobs to supplement the household.'

He turned his head; Lin Xiaoyu lay quietly on her side, black hair scattered across her fair arm.

'What should I do?'

Jiang Feng gritted his teeth, the pressure in his heart like an avalanche.

But he couldn't collapse; if he did, what about his family?

What would they do?