Chapter Ninety-Seven: An Unexpected Windfall

The two of them quickly made their way through the Energy Capital exhibit, and by the latter half, You Ya had clearly lost much of her enthusiasm.

Ye Chen, on the other hand, found the bizarre creatures raised by the Research Bureau rather interesting. Among them were pets with two heads, or ferocious beasts that could actually understand human speech, all of which left him wide-eyed with wonder.

He faintly sensed that the city he lived in had taken two very distinct paths: one was unparalleled in energy development, and the other had veered down a strange road in biological research.

What was shown here today could still more or less be accepted by the public, but there was no way the Research Bureau’s scientific achievements ended there.

Seeing those creatures, Ye Chen could not help but think again of Zhang Jingye’s half-human, half-beast appearance.

He even found himself speculating that since Zhang Jingye had escaped from prison, perhaps the inner-city prison was also conducting some kind of bizarre research.

At that moment, You Ya said coolly in agreement, as if reading his mind, “What you see here is only what they allow you to see.”

Ye Chen paused slightly, understanding why she had suddenly said that.

...

By the time the two left the Energy Capital exhibit, Ye Chen had somehow ended up with a plate of meat in his hands.

“Delicious, really delicious. Who knows how many times better this is than the dried meat from the outer city!”

Without realizing it, You Ya quickened her pace, putting some distance between herself and Ye Chen, whose cheeks were puffed out with food, as she strode toward an exhibit area arranged in a style that was both rugged and dazzling.

Ahead of them was the Ore Capital’s exhibit.

Rugged was inevitable; just hearing the name Ore Capital gave one a sense of sturdy, down-to-earth strength.

As expected, the goods on display were mainly all kinds of ore.

The dazzling part came from the fact that, besides their vast variety of ores, they also had an eye-catching array of gemstones.

Under the lights, the gems constantly emitted a brilliant, blinding radiance.

It was like some nouveau riche: dressed in the tackiest clothes imaginable, yet wearing a hand full of gemstone rings.

Ye Chen suddenly asked a question:

“I read in a book that the ores we use now are not all that different from those used by the people of the old world.

“But the energy they used was very different from the energy cores we use now. Why is that?”

When You Ya looked back and saw that Ye Chen had finally finished the food on his plate, she slowed her steps and, like a proper teacher, explained, “If my brother were answering this, he’d be a lot more professional, but I can still explain it.

“The wind, water, solar, and nuclear energy used by the people of the old world did not vanish. It was the technology that was broken by a gap in continuity.

“Especially nuclear energy. When we searched the ruins, we never found any related academic documents.

“And as for the efficiency of the other energy sources, compared with the energy cores we use now, they’re simply not worth mentioning.”

Hearing this, Ye Chen silently nodded.

Indeed, when a better choice was right in front of you, would anyone still insist on using some technology that had been obsolete for hundreds of years?

The answer was no. Anyone would make the correct choice.

Just then, a booming voice rang out from the Ore Capital exhibit, interrupting their conversation.

Ye Chen followed the sound, then froze.

At the Energy Capital exhibit, the guides had all been attractive young women with top-tier figures, looks, and voices. But here, every single one of them had been replaced by burly, muscle-bound men.

Those corded muscles were clearly forged by years of swinging pickaxes.

Ye Chen even suspected that the guide might still have been mining ore right up until the moment before coming to the Energy Capital.

“Ladies and gentlemen, come and take a look at these accessories, all handcrafted by the master designers of the Ore Capital!”

In high society, how could there be any shortage of luxury goods? And the biggest producer of such luxuries was actually the Ore Capital.

Still, it only confirmed one thing: gems were nothing more than prettier ore.

As Ye Chen and You Ya passed display cases covered with thick glass, they only spared them a glance before losing all interest.

The former was because he had no money and was painfully short on funds.

The latter simply felt that she did not need such glittering things to embellish herself.

Just then, they ran into Chief Director Wen Yu, whom they had only just parted from.

She was holding up a necklace with obvious satisfaction, posing before a mirror and measuring it against her neck.

It was a sapphire necklace, dazzling under the light, exquisitely crafted at a glance, clearly the work of a master artisan.

The gem was a pale blue, with a cluster of water element energy naturally sealed within it, flowing slowly in the confined space.

When worn around the neck, it was not only beautiful, but also had a cooling, refreshing effect.

And beside Wen Yu stood a man preparing to take out his card. You Ya knew him.

Wasn’t he the Chief Director of the Energy Capital Construction Bureau, Yang Jicai?

You Ya let out a faint snort, thinking to herself that she had long heard the two of them had an unusual relationship behind closed doors, and now they were openly buying necklaces for each other.

Seemingly sensing the contemptuous gaze behind her, Wen Yu turned with a confident smile and looked back.

Then her gaze settled on the necklace You Ya was wearing.

Compared with the necklace Wen Yu was wearing at the moment, You Ya’s looked much more modest and unremarkable.

She gave a smug, chilly snort.

“A tasteless woman who doesn’t even understand what it means to coordinate an outfit.”

Ye Chen snickered inwardly.

Here we go again. It was starting again!

One was mocking the other for liking to cling to men, even taking pride in the fact that men were willing to spend lavishly on her.

The other was looking down on her for lacking taste and planning to use the size of her gemstones to prove her own worth.

How amusing. Truly amusing.

However, just as Ye Chen was happily savoring the spectacle, a voice suddenly sprang up in his mind:

[Temporary Mission]

[Obtain the self-awakening artifact before you]

Ye Chen instantly let out a curse in his heart.

Damn it—just by casually strolling around, he had actually run into a self-awakening artifact, something so rare it could only be encountered by chance?!

At this moment, he did not even need to enter his consciousness space to check the task board to know that he had stumbled upon treasure.

But the problem came immediately after.

Looking at the rows upon rows of necklaces, rings, and earrings, Ye Chen had no idea which one was the awakening artifact. There were simply too many accessories in front of him!

How was he supposed to tell them apart?

It was not as if he could just pack up every luxury item here, was it? Damn it, I’d go mad!

You Ya took a few steps forward, then turned back and found Ye Chen standing before a pile of luxury goods, brows tightly furrowed. She immediately came back.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Chen’s mind suddenly lit up.

Maybe this would work.

He said to one of the guides, “Please take out this necklace for me to have a look.”

Beside him, You Ya let out a sound of exasperation, grabbed his arm, and asked in a low voice, “What are you up to? I brought you here, not to let you buy these flashy trinkets!”

“Fine, fine, I get it. I’m paying myself.”

Heh. Just wait until you find out later that it’s a self-awakening artifact, and see how you come begging me then...

Ye Chen imagined it with cheerful anticipation.