Time: The seventh day, 6:15 PM.
Location: Slums, northern outer district near the city wall.
This is a relatively desolate alley, with only half of the buildings completed, while the other half are either vacant lots or ruins of old collapsed houses.
The lower-class scavengers who have ended a whole day of dull and tedious life just finished a dinner mainly consisting of cheap synthetic food and are at a time where everything feels pointless and nothing seems to have significance.
Some scavengers sit idly by their own doorsteps, calculating the time to see if it’s time to head to the sleep pods to grab a spot; others gather in small groups, chatting about topics that are neither nourishing nor meaningful.
In front of a shop that deals in repairing home appliances and selling second-hand electronics, a crowd of men and women, old as if in their seventies or eighties, and children as young as eleven or twelve, gathered around.
Everyone craned their necks to look inside, their expressions extremely focused, with their eyes shining brightly.
Ren Zhong saw this scene and couldn’t help but feel curious.
He had stayed in the town for many days and rarely saw such expressions in the eyes of the lower-class scavengers, similar to when he first opened a quantum physics popular science book back in middle school.
He quickened his pace towards the shop.
"Hmm..."
"Oh~~"
"Mmm~~"
The intense and passionate moaning was emitting from a low-quality speaker, like noise pollution.
Ren Zhong’s steps halted abruptly.
When he looked back at the crowd, there was a playful look in his eyes.
No wonder these usually dull-eyed people suddenly became so eager to learn.
Observing life skills together in public regardless of age or gender, truly an open society.
He quietly retreated.
Alas, once again failing to blend in.
Elsewhere, seven or eight ragged children were running around in the street in a panic, like a frantic flock of ducks being chased, followed by several simple-dressed women cursing continuously.
Ren Zhong keenly noticed that these women were dressed loosely and sloppily, almost fully exposed.
These people might as well have "poverty" written on their faces.
Even in the slums, the alley where Miracle Clinic is located and Zheng Tian’s team’s alley appear much more prosperous and affluent than the alley in front of Ren Zhong.
Even workers in special services disdain coming here to solicit customers.
The scavengers living near the city wall are undoubtedly the lowest of the low.
No business to be done here, only freeloading.
...
"Young man. I have a job for you. Help me build a 5-meter by 5-meter temporary house next to your home, and I will give you 3 Contribution Points. Interested?"
Ren Zhong smiled at the young man in front of him and said with a grin.
The naïve young man looked up in confusion at the man in front of him.
There was a young man sitting on a luxury motorcycle in front of him.
The man was wearing a Balanced First Level exoskeleton, looking like a powerful and elite professional scavenger.
At this moment, the man took off his fully enclosed helmet and looked kindly at him from a higher position.
The young man didn’t know what was happening.
He suddenly appeared with a supply and marketing cooperative’s delivery truck in the vacant lot next to his home.
Then, these first-class alloy panel building materials, enough to make one salivate, were unloaded with a thud.
Afterward, the man directly approached him, who was watching the commotion.
He said he wanted help with the work.
That made sense.
Many scavengers with no hunting ability earned extra income by doing odd jobs.
But after hearing the price, the young man was stunned.
Contribution Points! An astronomical price!
Typically, when lower-class scavengers help each other build houses or make things, they would at most receive 0.2 Contribution Points, often just pocket money, usually using food vouchers at the cafeteria as a means of payment.
After all, everyone had empty pockets, with no surplus food at home.
As for those professional scavengers with money, sometimes they would hire lower-class scavengers too.
But these scavengers never were generous enough to offer more than the market price.
How could anyone offer 3 Points at once!
The surprise was too enormous and too sudden; the young man almost believed he was hallucinating.
He wanted to find out who this person was.