Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 379 Revisiting an Old haunt [The Hundred-Year-Old Comb]

June 27, Hongqiao Airport.

Upon arriving at the exit, Zhai Da looked at the unfamiliar and dilapidated terminal building with some surprise.

He thought it would be a familiar scene, but after asking the staff, he learned that the T2 terminal, including the train station, which he was familiar with, would not be put into use until just before the World Expo next year.
But it's still better than Pudong Airport.

Even dogs wouldn't go.

Zhai Da was pushing several suitcases; this was an intercontinental long-distance trip, and he had brought quite a lot of things.

Seeing Li Tiantian waiting in the distance, Zhai Da walked over.

This "Weibo Queen" theoretically doesn't need to participate in the recording, but she still came specifically to keep an eye on things for this domestic episode to ensure everything goes smoothly.

An assistant took Zhai Da's trolley. Behind Li Tiantian were people from the production company and ZTE Mobile, a total of about ten people.

Picking up one person and having ten people arrive is obviously inefficient, but it also represents Zhai Da's influence at this time.

He was nominally there to participate in the show, but both sides knew that the show was only created because Zhai Da "on a whim".

This is the father of the client, commonly known as: Grandpa!
Look, the senior executives ZTE sent to supervise the production were as enthusiastic as if they were meeting their superiors when they saw Zhai Da, not to mention Li Tiantian, who was all smiles.

"Is this your first time in Shanghai, Professor Zhai?"

Zhai Da smiled and said, "I guess so."

"The filming location is near Expo Avenue, and the hotel is also there. We're in a bit of a rush, so we might have a quick meal and a meeting first."

"Let's get to it quickly, everyone's working so hard."

They didn't rest along the way. This time, time was tight and the task was heavy, so all the staff were on high alert, making the most of every minute.

On the nanny van, they began coordinating many filming arrangements, such as the process, itinerary, and personnel. Of course, the most important thing was the large-scale magic show. However, Zhai Da would occasionally look out the window, seemingly lost in the skyscrapers.

The staff thought Zhai Da was shocked by Shanghai's prosperity, but they didn't know that Zhai Da was shocked by Shanghai's "backwardness".

To be precise, it was far different from the Shanghai he remembered, compared to his impressions from his previous life.
Memories older than the old slowly resurface, finally matching the scene outside the window.

However, this also precisely illustrates how fast this city, which already possesses a rich cultural heritage, will develop in the next decade or so.

About an hour later, Zhai Da checked into a five-star hotel near Expo Avenue.

And then he never went out again!

We had a quick meal at the hotel, then went straight to the meeting, which lasted from 2 PM to 9 PM.
"Teacher Zhai, these are the magic assistants I selected for you. They are all female students from the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Should I have them come for some training beforehand?"

Zhai Da looked at the producer, seemingly trying to discern whether there was a hidden meaning in his words.
"No need, just go to the venue as planned. The so-called magic assistant is nothing more than a decorative object to attract attention."

The meeting dragged on and on, but Zhai Da had no choice but to endure it. After all, the production team was in such a rush, partly due to his own demands, and the production team was working even harder than him.

Finally, the meeting ended at 10 p.m.

Zhai Da declined Li Tiantian and the others' invitation to have a late-night snack, saying he was going back to his room to rest. However, after taking a shower, he left the hotel again at 11 p.m.

He wanted to take a night stroll in a place he was familiar with.

In the Meilong area, after the taxi stopped, Zhai Da looked at the familiar dilapidated old building and felt a deep sense of emotion.

He had just arrived in Shanghai after graduating from junior college and was completely clueless about job hunting with no plan in mind. Just then, the wool textile factory finally removed his last catheter, causing him to bleed to the point of death, which greatly increased the financial burden on his family.

Confused and lost, Zhai Da plunged headlong into this city that didn't belong to him.

Looking back, there were so many opportunities in this city, but he didn't seize any of them. As a young man from a small town, he was given 2000 yuan, not including food or accommodation, to start advertising from scratch.

When your perspective is limited, what determines your fate is not what you can do, but what you can see.

This old, run-down apartment was the first place he lived in. It was a two-bedroom apartment with no living room, shared with other people. A loud couple lived in the master bedroom, and he lived in the second bedroom. It cost 900 yuan a month.

After looking downstairs for a while, apart from the mottled walls, he didn't actually see any familiar people or things. Zhai Da looked around and avoided the surveillance cameras.

With a slight flick of his right middle finger, a pure gold cane appeared in his palm.

With a light tap of his fingernail, Bai Mo's vision expanded rapidly. In that dimly lit room he once knew so well, there were unfamiliar guests.

A young man, also in his early twenties, seemed to be tossing and turning in bed.

Is he also from a small town? And is he worried about his meager finances?

However, when Zhai Da's attention inadvertently swept over the master bedroom, he still subtly raised an eyebrow.

It turns out it's still the same couple who rented here, meaning they've lived here for over three years.
No wonder it was so loud
It turns out they weren't skilled enough and were only playing item-based races.
Reflecting on the young man's restless nights, Zhai Da had a different understanding.
Yeah...it must have been pretty tough!
Having inadvertently solved the mystery from years ago, Zhai Da turned off the white model's vision, put away his cane, and turned to leave.

He had lived in this area for about seven or eight years, moving around the company. The company had also moved, but only around the boss's house. So this time, he was mainly just looking around.

The further Zhai Da walked on the deserted streets, the more familiar things he saw.

The houses along the roadside belong to the owners, and the businesses are just those run-down, run-down shops.

The roadside trees that are sawed down into sticks every few years, yet they always manage to regrow.

There was a mysterious little house, even redder than the lights of a pork stall, with frosted paper pasted on its glass door, leaving only a foot-wide area in the middle.

With a changed mindset, Zhai Da no longer felt melancholic; instead, he felt a sense of excitement at revisiting a familiar place.

Occasionally, he would take out his "uncertainty pocket watch," which had been dormant for a long time and seemed to have been dead for half a year, and take a look at it.

Since I got it, this thing has only vibrated twice, once pointing to the [Mechanical Core] and once pointing to the [Souvenir Polaroid]. It proves that both pieces of equipment are absolutely heavyweight and can change your life.

One laid the foundation for his subsequent industrial development, the other gave him a deeper understanding of the system, and he also gained a valuable family member.

Unfortunately, the excitement tonight seemed to be limited to Zhai Da himself, and the pocket watch did not react in any way.

It seems to be saying: So what?

"Tsk tsk, never mind."

Zhai Da stopped at a corner under a certain overpass.

Staring blankly at the shop window.

This is a secondhand store, or rather a vintage store. It mainly sells decorative items and secondhand goods that don't quite qualify as antiques, but still have a high-end look.

An old-fashioned, ornate ringing telephone; a vase that's large but not particularly valuable; a sewing machine that's somewhat exquisite but has a retro style, etc.

The price is more attractive than its appearance.

And a broken line emerges from the deepest part.

"Congratulations, host. We have discovered the white equipment [Centenarian Comb]: It was made by the original owner's father when he was born. Until the original owner passed away peacefully at the age of one hundred, the peach wood comb was never lost or had any broken teeth. Just like its owner, it lived a long and peaceful life."

Ownership: Not owned, not activated.

Just seeing the name and description made Zhai Da feel his breathing quicken.

Holy crap! I actually found it!
Equipment that can extend a teacher's lifespan?!

"Equipment effect: Combing your hair and accumulating 100 hairs will extend your natural lifespan by one day, with a maximum of 100 years (excluding external diseases and accidents)."

"Note: Don't worry, people naturally lose 50-100 hairs every day. If you comb your hair frequently, it will still be very useful."

Zhai Da felt a surge of excitement; it really did extend his lifespan!

Even if its maximum lifespan can't exceed 100, it at least buys the teacher two and a half years! In those two and a half years, he can get new equipment, and the old comb can be given to his mother when it's no longer needed!

However, his smile quickly froze on his face, and the fire in his heart gradually died down.

Finally, on this sweltering Shanghai summer night, an embarrassing bead of cold sweat broke out.
"Gan!"

Zhai Da slapped his thigh.

The teacher has no hair!
(End of this chapter)