Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 208: Auctioned Goods Arrive
The workshop is right next to the craft brewery. The roller shutter door is open, revealing various equipment inside, and a tall, semi-finished stainless steel barrel is piled up in the corner.

The style was quite different from that of Dongyang County, but there was a dirty bowl at the entrance with some leftover food inside, guarded by a similarly dirty white cat.

Two apprentices were moving things inside, while Xu Xuejun was using instruments to perform tests. He turned his head and saw Zhai Da, but only nodded. However, when he saw Lu Wei, he rarely showed a smile: "Xiao Wei is here? Are you cold?"

Lu Wei simply shook her head.

Zhai Da waved his hand: "Feeding another cat? What about the one in Dongyang County?"

Xu Xuejun curled his lip: "An ungrateful fellow, he only comes to me when he's hungry."

"Stranger cats have a hard time surviving the winter. What will happen to it if you leave?"

The old man seemed a little worried: "I've already told the owner of the supermarket next door to leave a food bowl in front of my door, and he'll add some food to it for me every day."

Elderly people rarely have a natural fondness for pets. They grew up in environments where they were not so carefree and had no time to place their "emotions" on an animal.

People of Zhai Da's generation have probably all heard things like, "It's already a struggle to raise you, let alone a cat/dog."

Of course, as times change, those who become most addicted after experiencing it are also the loneliest.

Afterwards, Zhai Da took out his computer and drew CAD drawings according to Xu Xuejun's requirements. He would take them to the Industrial Innovation Center later to get them out, while Lu Wei read a book in a warm corner.

Even though I had only been busy for an hour, dusk had already fallen outside. The setting sun and the smog together cast a yellow light, and the whole city of Harbin was tinged with a sense of antiquity.

I checked my watch and it was only a little past four.
Zhai Da couldn't help but sigh: "I hope it snows soon, so it can cleanse the air here."

In recent years, smog has affected northern China. According to Lu Siwen, the situation in northern Beijing is even worse than in Harbin. At its worst, it even affected the Yangtze River Delta region. The whole country is studying how to deal with it.

Zhai Da doesn't remember how it happened back then, but 15 years later, he rarely hears news about smog anymore.

After another half hour of fussing, it was a little past five o'clock, and it was basically dark outside. Xu Xuejun took off his mask and said, "Let's go eat. Xiao Wei is starving."

Lu Wei, who was quietly reading, looked up blankly and blinked in confusion, as if to say: Me?

Zhai Da mentally added a line for her: "I can withstand hunger for a long time."
Just as we were about to leave, a dirty truck pulled up at the door, blocking the entire entrance. A driver jumped out, his eyes bloodshot.

Who will sign for the goods?

Xu Xuejun went up and asked a couple of questions, then turned to Zhai Da and said, "Your stuff? You said it was transported from your hometown!"

Zhai Da was taken aback, then got up and leaned over, a hint of surprise on his face.

It's been auctioned off!

The shipment was supposed to take 3-5 days to arrive, so Wu Yue said he would notify him when it arrived. But it's only been two days.

The driver's eyes were as red as a rabbit's; he was definitely driving while fatigued.
Zhai Da walked to the back of the truck, remembered something, and opened the system to look at the equipment list.

Lu Wei did not experience the "strong luck" effect, mainly because it was winter and her hands were cold when she took out her wooden fish to play.

Without further hesitation, he pulled open the latch himself.

The exciting blind box opening is here!!
He photographed a full 200 items this time, but I guess he'll be able to sell quite a lot of them.

With a creak, the carriage door was opened.

Zhai Da's excited smile froze.
Why is it a truckload of "dragon fruit"? Literally, it's the kind of fruit that makes a dog look like it's been beaten up if it eats it.

The box even had "Qianshi Specialty" written on it.

The driver quickly came over: "Boss, don't panic. Your stuff is in the back. You don't have enough here. It'll be too shaky if you don't fill it in a box."

Zhai Da chuckled dryly. "So that's why you drove almost 2000 kilometers in two days, huh?"
“I remember I was a deliveryman. If the goods were not moving much, you should have notified me first, instead of arriving at the destination with a half-load of dragon fruit and then being discovered by me.”

You should at least unload the dragon fruit before you come here!
Little did he know, the dragon fruit was even further away; otherwise, the driver wouldn't have been so foolish.

The driver immediately protested, "Boss, we have it tough too!"

Zhai Da frowned instantly and subconsciously looked at Lu Wei; he hated hearing that sentence the most.

If it weren't for that sentence, he wouldn't have bothered to make a fuss. The driver didn't realize that his usual sob story would only backfire on Zhai Da.

"It's not easy to earn extra money, is it? Did I skimp on the shipping fee? If you think it's too little, you don't have to take the job."

Seemingly sensing that Zhai Da was about to hold him accountable, the driver's tone immediately hardened: "Didn't I deliver it to you? You're not trying to renege on your debt, are you? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

They even went so far as to try to create a sense of oppression.

Zhai Da didn't bother with him at all: "Xiao Long! Get a few people to help unload the goods!"

Seven or eight people immediately ran out from next door. People in the three northeastern provinces are generally taller, and they were wearing thick clothes in winter. They ran out in unison, looking like a human wall.

Some of them still had the jogging posture of soldiers, and their fists swung in a very standard manner.

driver:"."

You know what, the cold wind made me much more reasonable, and I became more sober.

Half a cart of dragon fruit was quickly moved to make way, revealing a lot of miscellaneous items inside. Zhai Da, who had originally hoped to "find treasures right at the door," lost interest in staring at it and decided to sort it out slowly later.

He said to the driver, "It seems I only use half of your transport capacity, so paying you half the fare is reasonable, isn't it?"

This isn't to say he's picky; a pre-arranged delivery is a pre-arranged delivery. What if the other party secretly brings in a truckload of seafood? Wouldn't that marinate their own food and contaminate it?
A dozen minutes later, the driver left cursing and swearing, without receiving the other half of the fare.

Although he still wouldn't lose money by delivering the dragon fruit, he was still resentful about not earning enough extra income.

Wang Xiaolong, who understands transportation, shook his head: "If it's a company with strict rules, they would directly make him compensate five times the freight cost."

Zhai Da snorted coldly, no longer thinking about this troublesome matter, and returned to the workshop.

He had originally planned to go eat, and asked Lu Wei and Xu Xuejun to go ahead and get some food for him. Lu Wei naturally refused, so Xu Xuejun had no choice but to wait as well. Now, of the three, only the old man was hungry.
All the auctioned items were placed next to the workshop. Originally, there were two storefronts that had been opened up and separated by a roller shutter door in the middle. Now, the roller shutter door can be pulled down.

There's no need to hide here; he'll take all the "special items," leaving only useless junk that you'll have to figure out how to get rid of or sell.

Because there was so much stuff, Zhai Da had a list on his computer that took him two whole hours to sort out, and Xu Xuejun was starving, so he was smoking to fight his hunger.

Zhai Da held a rusty old military water bottle and examined it intently.

"Congratulations, host. A special white item has been discovered: The old postman carried a water bottle for thirty years, traversing thousands of miles of mountain roads, yet he could never escape the remote and impoverished area."

Ownership: Owned, activated.

"Equipment effect: The water contained in this water bottle can restore the user's physical strength and energy. The effect varies depending on the user's condition when drinking. It has no effect when the user is at full strength. When the user is exhausted, each full sip can restore 5% of the user's physical strength and energy. It will also consume additional body heat."

"Note: His son tried to leave the mountains again but chose the wrong path, and is currently spending more time in prison than in school."

This military green water bottle is of excellent quality; the paint hasn't chipped even after so long, though there are some scratches and blemishes on the surface. The lid is a very traditional wooden-wrapped iron lid, and it's already quite worn out.

It's a bit too big to carry around, and these old wooden stoppers are practically teeming with bacteria, so I'll have to get a new one made.
Titanium alloy would be a good choice.
In Zhai Da's other hand was a lighter.

This lighter looks even older than a military green water bottle, with rust stains on the surface that could scratch your hands. Its shape is even more retro than a "Zipo," but it's basically a square box.

"Congratulations, host. A special white item has been discovered: [Enchanting Lighter]: The previous owner liked to use kerosene with added ingredients as fuel to capture those careless girls in KTV rooms. Of course, he also added ingredients to the drinks, but when he was caught, he only confessed to the latter."

Ownership: Owned, activated.

"Equipment Effect 1: This lighter has been marinated. As long as fuel is added, even if it is not lit, the evaporation effect will have an aphrodisiac effect. The effect is poor in open spaces and better in enclosed spaces."

"Equipment Effect 2: Cigarettes lit by this lighter have an 'allergic' effect on men. The next maximum duration will not exceed 30 seconds."

"Note: This is the most accurate description of how smoking is harmful to health."

After reading the description, Zhai Da almost dropped it.

What vicious equipment!

If the first effect is already malicious, isn't the second effect purely negative?

Thankfully, I've never smoked. If I were still a smoker, it would be a disaster if I accidentally touched the wrong lighter one day.
Let's keep it for now.
A weak voice came from behind: "Aren't you done yet?"

Xu Xuejun had already smoked four cigarettes, but he still couldn't resist his growing hunger.

Zhai Da suddenly thought of waiting.
Ye Mei said that you have to light your own cigarette with this lighter, right?

However, there was no fuel inside at the moment; the court had already emptied it out. Zhai Da put it in his pocket and said, "Give me three more minutes, and I'll finish fiddling with what's in front of me."

Xu Xuejun complained, "More of this garbage."

Zhai Da checked the list, tiptoed through a pile of miscellaneous items, and finally found something that interested him the most.

A wooden box.

After Zhai Da opened it, inside was an "L"-shaped stick wrapped in foam paper, with dragons and phoenixes carved on the surface and a thick layer of patina.

To be precise, it is a combination unit. The base is fixed, while the L-shaped extension of the upper part can rotate continuously and can be folded.

It has a considerable weight to it, it's quite heavy, I don't know what material it's made of.

When Zhai Da bought this item online, he was particularly interested in it, and it turned out to be a piece of equipment, and a green rarity one at that.

"Congratulations, host. We have discovered a special green item, the Desperate Dragon-Seeking Ruler: This item has been used more than 70 times, but it has never led to the discovery of a tomb. Instead, it has caused the group to perish in the mountains."

Ownership: Owned, activated.

"Equipment effect 1: The holder has a slight increase in persuasiveness, and followers will not question your choices. It has a double effect when it comes to discussions about direction."

"Equipment effect 2: When holding this item, your sense of direction will become weaker."

"Special Effect → Counterpoint: Using this item will target the person with the strongest life force nearby."

"Unsealing Quest: With this item in hand, get lost once. Current progress (0/1)."

"Note: Pure metaphysics, but it does indeed entangle people's strong 'thoughts'; a group of tomb raiders were all in despair before they died."

The effect of this thing is quite mysterious. It seems to have actually caused the deaths of a group of people.

I just don't know how it ended up in the hands of a judicial auction house. Maybe it was an old item, perhaps the owner's son picked it up and then got arrested?

Even the court probably didn't think this thing was "useful," but it was still put up.

However, its effect slightly increased persuasiveness, which gave Zhai Da an idea.

Urged on by Xu Xuejun, he put the "Dragon-Seeking Ruler" into his pocket, pulled up the roller shutter door, and walked out.

It's very safe here. Wu Yue has installed cameras nearby, and there are people at the base until late at night.

The remaining items can be tidied up when we get back.

However, on his way out, Zhai Da had already quietly opened the system interface.

After a moment, he smiled slightly.

Indeed, the description of persuasiveness is quite unique.

[Young Straight Stick] + [Desperate Dragon-Seeking Ruler]. There's also a [Painless Knife].
It can be synthesized; it's a three-in-one process.
　There should be an extra chapter later, a little self-redemption.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)